Sustaining Change in Technology Practices in School

Top Six Ways to Model and Sustain Change in How We Use Technology with Students

1. Host a staff Professional Development Day during which staff members share what they are using successfully in their classes.
-at a Professional Development day which I co-chaired this fall, we invited teachers to share their expertise and were able to offer sessions on SmartBoards, Delicious, Senteo student-response systems, SchoolZone classroom website software, digital storytelling and assessment of technology projects. Teachers were excited to see what their colleagues are doing, and hearing what they have to say. The professional conversations were sustainable and collegial because the experts are at the school everyday! This allowed staff members to process what they had heard/seen and implement ideas at their own pace (even two months later people are still following up on inspiration from the day.

2. Give professionals time to learn, play and work! During our professional development day, each presenter agreed to allow at least 20 minutes (of a one hour session) to explore the technology/software. Teachers were able to set-up accounts, create sample projects, and collect ideas and resources. One of the most common pieces of feedback we received from teachers was that they appreciated the time, and that they looked forward to more. By arranging administrative coverage, staff meetings re-designed/shortened in order to allow work time for teachers to work collaboratively on a project that they can directly apply to work with their students.

3. With this applicability in mind, it is imperative that teachers be permitted to choose which technologies are most applicable to the work they do with students. Teachers, like students, must be able to relate new learning to something they already do or a need they have identified in their teaching or their students’ learning.

4. Delicious has been a great way for teachers and students at our school to share great websites. While it is a simple Web 2.0 tool, it allows teachers to collaborate and share resources on their own time. I have also learned of a number of websites that my students already use and enjoy that I am able to incorporate into my teaching. One of the biggest obstacles expressed by teachers is the shortage of time. A social bookmarking tool such as Delicious allows colleagues to follow each other’s favourite sites and to explore the sites to determine how they might be useful in their own teaching.

5. Lead by example – by exploring, playing and challenging myself this semester, as a part of my university course, I have modeled professional growth as well as new ideas for teaching. Others have heard/seen what I am doing and have chosen to add a number of the Web 2.0 tools into their own teaching. Some have become desperate for their own SmartBoards, others have created Delicious accounts, several have created VoiceThread accounts for their students, and others have expressed interest in setting up blogs for their students. I most certainly do not take credit for all of these changes, but by being open about my own professional development I believe I have become more aware of what others are already doing as well as have shared a few new ideas.

6. Share the ownership of learning and change with all stakeholders – support staff, parents and students. By engaging our entire learning community we have helped support staff to understand the efficacy of technology beyond gimmicks. We have inspired parents to raise funds for our wireless laptop labs and our SmartBoards. And finally, we have learned from our students about what they already know and use, and how we might more effectively use the technologies available to us. In the spirit of Web 2.0, we have engaged hundreds of minds to work collaboratively rather than a small group holding the information and handing it to the others.


I have been exploring the question of engaging staff in integrating and showcasing technology during this entire semester. As the co-chair of our Instructional Leadership Team. As such, I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on what has worked for us, and what experts would suggest we should keep in mind for the future. The challenge here is to be brief!
Dennis Sparks has written "Leading for Results – Transforming Teaching, Learning and Relationships in Schools" and now facilitates change in a number of school districts across North America, including Edmonton Public Schools (Corwin Press, 2007). Sparks’ book centres around the premise that teachers and leaders posses "the human energy required to actualize potential [but it] often lies dormant until it is aroused through the means described in [his book]." Sparks suggest that these means include
-connections with others in ways that enrich and energize us
-clarity of thought regarding our values and beliefs
-commitment to a compelling purpose
-the magnet-life force of a richly detailed vision of that which we desire to create
-the motivation produced by an expanded set of possibilities.

By keeping these principles in mind, I believe it will be possible to sustain the energy and momentum at our school surrounding new technologies. Our professional development day in which we truly collaborated was rich with connections with others. Our compelling purpose for change is the needs and demands of our students who are living in a technology-rich world and must be engaged and challenged at school. Our motivation is our students, but also the expanded set of possibilities with which we have been provided: SmartBoards, Senteos, portable wireless laptop labs, document cameras, social bookmarking, podcasting, digital storytelling software, wikis, blogs........Inspiring (and expensive) hardware, and endless, free possibilities with Web 2.0.
The means which our staff may need to go next are those involving vision and beliefs. As a staff, we do not yet have clarity of thought regarding our values and beliefs, nor do we have the magnet-like force of a richly detailed vision of that which we desire to create. I imagine that many teachers (not only on our staff, but everywhere where technology is changing the face of teaching) are wondering Why on earth are we doing this, anyways? It is only when we discuss this question and work to create a vision, and shared beliefs that we can move forward. As I discussed in an earlier blog post, it is important to be reflective when introducing new technologies, rather than simply using every technology we hear about.

After much reflection about technology this term, and discussions with my grade six students, I am more convinced than ever that we must select applicable, engaging technologies for our students and use them!!! Pay Attention, a video on YouTube to which I referred to in my initial blog post, alerts us to the fact that students ‘power down’ to come to school (this video was also shared at our fall Professional Development Day). If I want to
engage
inspire
educate
my students, I will need to use meaningful and authentic technologies that relate to their ‘real world.’
Teaching with technology in this way requires all of us to change: to change our thinking, our practice, our understanding, our beliefs, our values, our spending, our planning, our vision.....our teaching. Dennis Sparks states that "human potential and energy become visible as they manifest through our words and actions and the world changes." Keeping his five means to change in mind, I will commit to sharing my potential and energy that I have gathered about technology this term, through my words and actions. My hope is that through these means, and the five strategies I shared at the beginning of this post, I will be a part of the change in my part of the world!

Five Sites to Convince Your Administrator that These Newfangled Blogs are Professional Development

I found these sites particularly interesting in my research this week. Perhaps some of them will make you (or your administrator) think!

1. An article of the efficacy of logging as reflective learning for occupational therapists (other proessions have already figured this out!)

2. Blog: A tool for reflective practice in teacher education?
Research paper from University of Macau, and UK

3. Blogs as Reflective Practice
The process of reflective practice using a variety of Web 2.0 tools.

4. Blogger in Middle-earth: Reflective Practice - blogging and learning
Blogging, reflective practice and action research

5. Blogging as reflective practice for students

Following the Crumbs: Blogging as Professional Development for Teachers

Blogging is a bit like the story of Hansel and Gretel. For three months I have been maintaining a blog about my professional research, exploration and learning. As I pause this week to consider the effectiveness of blogging and blogs as a professional tool for professional development, I can follow the trail of crumbs to see where I have been, just like Hansel and Gretel. I can read my old blog posts and consider old comments. But, unlike the story of the witch, the house of candy, and the journey home, this isn’t a trail to lead me home. These crumbs serve to show me where I have been, but through reflective practice and experimentation, I will use them to chart a course further away from ‘home.’ My blog serves to mark passages in experience and changes in thought. It reflects upon what I once thought and sheds light on where I mean to go. It is a guiding force in my professional growth.

Earlier in my journey this term, I wrote about the importance of reflective practice:
* "By taking this course I remain a reflective practitioner of students with diverse needs, with additional tools in my toolbox for meeting the needs of learners." (October, 2008)
* As a reflective practitioner, I am responsible for looking inward and backward simultaneously, and then tempering my excitement and inspiration. Only then can my students and I use Web 2.0 tools in a meaningful way without becoming overwhelmed or overloaded. (Oct. 08)
* My blog is evidence of "the very core of what sets teaching and teacher-librarianship apart from other occupations. It is the art and artistry of reflective practice." (Oct. 08)

But just how are my blog, and the blogs which I follow, evidence of professional learning and growth? In researching this week’s topic, I resorted to a paper copy of a professional reading. "Professional Learning Communities at Work" (DuFour and Eaker, 1998) is a book I am currently reading as a part of my leadership work at school. The authors suggest that most professionals refer to their work as a "law practice" or "I have been practicing medicine for twenty-one years." But, the authors point out, "when educators refer to ‘practice teaching,’however, they are typically referring to the nine-week period in their senior year of college in which they were expected to learn everything there is to know about teaching." If we are to truly ‘practice’ education in order to create professional learning communities in which colleagues explore the artistry and science of teaching, we must reflect. When teaching is ‘practiced’ and educators are reflective, there are five significant changes that take place. Blogging and blogs meet each of the criteria!

1. Professional teachers emphasize learning rather than teaching.
-Because blogging is a new process and concept to many teachers, it forces us to actively learn something new. The nature of the tool pushes us outside of our comfort zone and pushes us to reflect on our learning. We are reminded of the feeling of trying something new, being frustrated and feeling overwhelmed. We are learners.
-RSS feeds ensure that we are learning regularly as we receive new ideas and research from those all around the world.

2. Professional teachers emphasize active student engagement with significant context. The real question is how to engage students in the exploration of significant content in real and meaningful ways over the sustained period of time that is necessary for students to reach high levels of proficiency.
-Blogging encourages us to reflect on how we are engaging our students. The public nature of a blog allows others to comment on our success and challenges, and to leave suggestions or ideas. Our blog readers further our reflection and push us to consider what will best engage our students. Our contact with educators from around the world adds context and a more rich perspective to our ideas and abilities.
-Reading blogs offers limitless ideas, content, meaningful connections, engagement, authentic inspiration and ‘experiences.’ Whether we are following blogs for our own professional development, or to share directly with our students, we are capable of more effectively engaging our students. And they may see a connection between their learning and the ‘real world!’

3. Professional teachers focus on student performance and production. "In schools that function as professional learning communities, students are asked to do the work of scientists, musicians, business entrepreneurs, politicians, mathematicians, attorneys, novelists, physicians, designers, historians, critics, etc"
-When writing our blogs, we can ask colleagues and others to help us reflect on what we are having our students doing. Our audience can help us to consider how our teaching ideas and strategies are engaging our students.
-By subscribing to a variety of blogs, not just those aimed at educators, we open our classrooms to scientists, musicians, business entrepreneurs, politicians........you get the picture! We gain knowledge about a variety of topics (for example, my RSS feeds on Sky Science) to share either directly or indirectly with our students.

4. Professional teachers routinely collaborate with their colleagues.
-This semester I have certainly collaborated with my colleagues in my school building, but the limitations of report cards, lesson planning, parent meetings, and staff meetings make our time scattered and minimal. But I have also corresponded with educators in Bangkok, Boston, England, Winnipeg and British Columbia thanks to my blog! Comments on my blog from these colleagues have furthered my reflection and practice with their fresh perspective, and have validated my concerns and frustrations with their share experiences – even a world away!
-Similarly, reading blogs of colleagues both locally and internationally, affords me the opportunity to seek out those with similar challenges or questions. I can relate to their experiences and reflect on my own in reading their blog posts.

5. Professional teachers are students of teaching and consumers of research.
-Blogs allow teachers to track, chart and map their personal professional development. They can read their thoughts and can share them with others. If there is one common thread I have noticed about teachers as bloggers this semester is that none claim to have all the answers. They all appear to be on a reflective journey of exploration and learning. It is refreshing, and permits me to do the same. To admit that I am a student of teaching, and to participate in a community of colleagues who believe the same.
-RSS feeds make being a ‘consumer of research’ simple, accessible and painless. By subscribing to some ‘research-ly’ blogs and others that share reflective journeys, teachers participate in daily professional development. It is important to remember, as I have learned this term, that being a consumer of research does not mean reading scholarly journals exclusively. Seeking out new ideas and making discoveries is research. And let’s not forget action research.
Wikipedia defines action research as "Action research is a reflective process of progressive problem solving led by individuals working with others in teams or as part of a "community of practice" to improve the way they address issues and solve problems." THAT’S BLOGGING AND BLOGS!!!!

Blogs are the "Professional Learning Communities at Work" that DuFour and Eaker discuss. While it is certain that blogs are not what they had in mind while writing the book, participating in the Read/Write web by using blogs is active participation in a professional learning community. I came across the most wonderful term this week during my research. On the website Work Literacy, I discovered an article referring to the E-flective Practioner. I thought the term was fabulous! That’s what I want to be! With the skills I have learned in this course, and the guiding principles of professional learning communities in mind, I just might have a hope!

Until then, I will continue dropping my crumbs and following them at the same time – a mistake I am sure Hansel and Gretel never made. But the more I drop and the more closely I follow, I am discovering something curious. I set out on this journey to use a blog as an account of my professional development. I have written, and read, and reflected, and now I think I am back where I started. The trail of crumbs have led me back to my blog. What I thought was the map, is actually the path. Blogging and blogs, are the professional development, not just the crumbs! My blog has been my driving force and my reflective tool in this professional development. My teaching practice has changed significantly this term, and I can articulate why I have made these changes in my practice. That is powerful professional development! And for a teacher, that’s a greater discovery than a house made of candy in the woods!

This 'Feed Me' Tool Could Become the New 'Little Shop of Horrors' if left unchecked!

Demonstration of new knowledge
Before beginning this course, I will admit that I was not following any blogs, and definitely didn’t need help organizing all my blog reading. Prompted by this course, I dutifully set up a Google Reader account (as recommended by Will Richardson as the most simple RSS feed). After using my Delicious account religiously for two months now, my first inclination was to sign up to follow numerous blogs. I started with five blogs, then found that I wasn’t particularly engaged in reading what I was receiving. I thought that perhaps what I needed to do was to add more blogs. I wandered (truly) around the internet looking for the sacred orange RSS beacon.
I added blogs quite randomly, clicking eagerly and adding to my GoogleReader subscription list.

It was at that point, sometime early this week, that I became totally confused about the benefits of RSS feeds. I had to remind myself to check a new account (GoogleReader, in addition to University e-mail, home e-mail, work e-mail, and Facebook) and then take time to scan these blog topics and read articles that might interest me. It felt like additional reading, with the potential for one or two blog posts that might come in handy at some point in this course.
By Thursday, after continued research, I realized that I needed to take ownership of this new tool and explore a way that it might meet a need for me or my students. This had been a key learning for me this term – when exploring new tools and applications, it is important to consider how they might serve what I am already doing rather than looking for new ways to incorporate a new tool into new classroom routines.

After some reflection about my teaching, I acknowledged that, in moving from teaching grade one for seven years to trying grade six this year, Science is the area in which I lack the most knowledge and teaching resources. I decided to create a Folder in my Google Reader account to follow blogs, news sites, or daily photo updates on our upcoming unit on Sky Science. This would provide timely research for me that I could use with my students on a daily basis (checking GoogleReader to start the day with the ‘Amazing Photos of the Day’ from Space.com) or to supplement my own understanding and lesson ideas. In reading Will Richardson’s book ‘Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms’ this week, I was most struck by his analogy that RSS feeds can act "kind of like doing research 24/7, only the RSS feed does all the work." Someone else doing some of my work for me?! Now, there’s a tool I can use!!

The Discovery Process
As with most of the tools we are exploring on Web 2.0, it seems that the more time one can spend ‘playing,’ the more we can make authentic use of the tool and understand it’s capabilities. In all honesty, it took me a great deal of exploring RSS feeds over the past month in order to realize the potential of RSS as a useful tool. I needed to read many articles and reviews online, spend many hours on my GoogleReader homepage exploring settings, and reviewing sites and blogs that might interest me. Will Richardson offered important reminders that RSS can follow much more than blogs. An online video, What is RSS and how is it useful? RSS IS AWESOME! offers some additional great ideas, and helped me to realize that RSS feeds don’t have to just be academic in nature! Is this where people get insane tidbits of knowledge about Who Was Born on This Day?
Additional Useful Tutorial Videos are found at:
-RSS feed Tutorial at The Thirty Day Challenge site (The site challenges readers to take thirty days to make their first $10 online).
-Google Reader in Plain English from Lee Lefever

By spending time with GoogleReader I have learned a number of things about myself and RSS feeds:
-I really enjoy receiving RSS feeds from site such as CBC, as they offer audio feeds. For example, since the beginning of this course I have been following the blog for the CBC Radio program ‘Spark.’ My feed from the site offers brief articles, and MP3’s of interviews and articles. It’s great to listen to them and to be able to scan my other feeds on GoogleReader at the same time.
-There are some posts that I have only seen because I had my RSS feed running, and I am very glad I have seen these articles. For example, I now follow Kim Cofino’s blog, Always Learning and have read some insightful and affirming blog posts from her thanks to my RSS feed. I am looking forward to sharing one of her articles on Professional Development with my staff
-The Trends tab on the GoogleReader dashboard is a useful tool when organizing and reviewing feed selections. I use the statistics to determine which blogs I am actually reading and which I could keep on my Delicious account and check occasionally rather than getting a feed of every entry.

Implications for Using RSS feeds as a Teacher
-At this time, I don’t think by grade six students will need their own GoogleReader accounts. We can create a class account to follow sites that are interesting to us.
-On my teacher/personal account, I plan to continue to follow sites, gadgets and blogs that will contribute to my lesson planning and overall understanding of teaching issues and pedagogy. I think it will be a great help as I work on adding to my knowledge of new curriculum in a new grade level
-We can modify some morning routines by following daily updates on particular sites. I am searching for great sites on phases of the moon, or word of the day sites that could be up on our SmartBoard when students arrive each morning.
-I look forward to using the ‘Share’ aspect of the GoogleReader site in order to collaborate and share articles of interest with my colleagues. At this time, some of us are using Delicious to collaborate in this way, but I like the idea of being able to share one particular post or article with colleagues. They don’t have any more time to search than I do.

Thoughts for Further Reflection
-Unfortunately, I don’t yet know many people who have GoogleReader accounts. My instinct is to print articles of interest and put them in people’s mailboxes at work, but I hope that I can find some colleagues who are using an RSS feed program to bypass this archaic step. However, as Kim Cofino mentions in her post entitled "Sustaining Change: The Next Level of PD" we need to permit our colleagues to move at their own pace, and to adopt new technology as they see the need. At this time, GoogleReader may provide me with the resources to keep up on professional reading and to source the articles and ideas that I wish to share with colleagues in other ways (even on paper!).

-RSS feeds don’t seem to be catching on as quickly as some other Web 2.0 applications. On his blog, Steve Hudson explores some of the reasons that RSS may not be catching on. One of his suggestions is that it is not as intuitive a tool as other Web 2.0 technologies. A number of other drawbacks of RSS feeds are listed at Hiveminds Magazine for your consideration.

A final consideration is important for me as I continue to explore RSS feeds. I am not sure if RSS feeds will help me to organize my online reading, or if it will make me read more. I am certainly not against more research and knowledge, but I need to me mindful of the balance between time spent seeking out/reading new material and time allocated to incorporating and playing with ideas. I think it will be important to carefully select which sites and blogs I choose to add to my subscriptions.

When Addictions and Academics Add Eachother as 'Friends'

I have been looking forward to this blogpost for a while! As a self-professed Facebook addict (not unlike most of my friends!), I never thought I would have the opportunity to reflect on this social networking tool as a part of my grad studies. Through Facebook I have re-connected with good friends from high school, learned more about my colleagues and their personal interests and reunited with friends from twenty years ago to meet for dinner. I’ve also had a ‘Friend Request’ from a parent of one of my students, and it gave me pause to consider who I invite into my ‘Friends’ group. I declined their request, in the interest of being over-protective of my personal time and revealing status updates (do parents need to know that I’m sick of report cards?!). I am always aware of my role as a teacher and consider it in all aspects of my life, so this was not new for me. But my attempt to delineate personal and professional life online was challenged this week by my consideration for Facebook and education.

Demonstration of New Knowledge
My first challenge this week was to demonstrate new knowledge and understandings about Facebook. I participated in two Facebook projects to accomplish this:
One of my relatives works at the university as a Faculty Development Officer. It is their job to keep in touch with industry, alumni and small-business owners in order to further the success of the Faculty (scholarships, bursaries, public relations, etc). This week I helped him to extend his network of contacts by using Facebook as a networking tool. He will now be able to keep in touch with large groups of alumni or other related groups in an instant and public fashion. In a world where contact information and mailing addresses change frequently or are unlisted, Facebook is a great way to keep in touch with fellow students or to allow access to important information about Faculty events and opportunities. Facebook reaches this audience in a way which they are already familiar with and are choosing to use to expand their networks.
2. My second quest for new knowledge involved my own contacts/Friends list. On my status this week, I posed the question "...."Is there any way you'd use Facebook with your students?" Send me a message!" I received more replies to this Facebook status than any others I have posted.
Here are some of the responses I received:
CDH: Jill some people have told me that they make a special "teacher" address on facebook so you can add your students to that one. I am not sure what I would do.
JPS: No, no, no. Your admin would say absolutely not!
KC: If they were graduated from hgih school, yes, but ummm no.
CF: Can you create a "group" without allowing students to have access to your profile? Otherwise, I'd steer clear of this can o' worms!!!!!
JP: I'm not sure how I would use Facebook with students! You would have to have parental permission first, for sure, right? I'll think about it!
SG: Hi Jill, good question. We have discussed that at the faculty and for now have determined that it crosses professional boundaries. I'm sure it is different in many cases but thought I'd weigh in on the discussion. I know my students gather all the time and I heard a psych prof who said she uses facebook so I'm sure there are lots of opinions out there. Sue
CR: Hey! Just a thought, re. your status. You might be able to use facebook for data collection and survey purposes. Or, at an upper elementary level to talk about freedom of thought/speech and forums.

While it is important to acknowledge the casual and expressive tone of Facebook, I find the level of emotion and conviction in some of these posts very interesting. Several people were almost panicked that I would even consider using Facebook with my students. I also found it interesting that teachers were concerned about their own privacy, much as I was. If they could keep their personal information (photos, posts, etc) private, then they might consider the tool. This is discussed in an article entitled "Schools grapple with teachers’ Facebook use" on E-School News.

Using Facebook as an Instructional Tool
On the website Edumorphology, Inigral Inc. has posted a great video for teachers entitled "An Instructional Guide to Facebook for Teachers." (I have added the video at the bottom of this blog as well). The website offers great food for thought about how educators might use Facebook. While the ideas are likely most applicable for high school, or particularly for university students and professors, they suggest a number of important benefits of using Facebook with students. I have included some of their ideas in my list below.
Top Ten Reasons to Use Facebook with Students

10. To build relationships between peers and with instructors.
9. To create connections between school and students’ real life
8. To build a network of others with the same interest or course selection
7. To sustain conversations from class
6. To see professor as a real person with real interests
5. To make use of a familiar technology for students to exchange files, photos, videos and ideas
4. To help students appreciate what is happening in their professor’s life, and to be aware of what could possibly be more important than marking my paper!). I know I have benefited from that this semester!
3. To link course sections, or classes from different regions or countries who are discussing our exploring the same topics. (would still work best if each member had their own account, not one account for each class. This would stifle the wall posts)
2. To network with teachers with the same or similar teaching assignments, challenges, goals or initiatives. I certainly gained some ideas from other teachers this week in response to my status update asking about Facebook.
1. To gain perspectives or ideas from different groups who may have differing ideas (teachers in different regions, students in other countries, debate of best practices, etc).

The distinction between students in the younger grades and those in university is important. In university, students are generally adults who can be responsible for their decisions and choices online. These students still deserve, and likely require, guidance from instructors about using Facebook and other Internet applications wisely, but they are hold enough to be held accountable for their online posts. As well, at university age, many students are already using Facebook or other social networking sites such as MySpace. Professors would be not be encouraging students to create accounts, nor would I expect/wish them to require students to create a profile for a course. We must be aware of and allow for individual opinions and comfort levels about the technology. However, for a majority of university/college-aged students, use of a social networking site such as Facebook is simply meeting students where they are at, and making use of a valuable tool and networking engine.

Implications when Considering Facebook as an Instructional Tool
Naturally, a number of implications must be considered when using Facebook with students.
Some important factors for both teachers and students are:
-understanding how and why to select different accessibility for different ‘Friends’ on Facebook. You may not want everyone to be able to see all of your photos, posts, updates, etc.

-as mentioned previously, some students or colleagues may not wish to create a profile on Facebook. Our sense of privacy and personal space can be very different and we must make allowances for these differences. We can not demand the same from all.

-others can upload photos of you. Just a note to be aware of, especially with cell phones in classrooms taking pictures of bad hair days!

-it is reasonable to consider how much of our time we make available to students outside of class time. We need to be mindful of what we can offer students, and to follow through as a mediator or focal point online if we encourage students to collaborate there.

-some school Districts have blocked access to Facebook on school computers, as a result of policy and decisions. Other Districts/employers have called for teachers to refrain from maintaining a Facebook profile. It is important to know and understand the policies under which you operate before moving in a new direction. Will Richardson writes about this on his blog under the post "Filter Fun"

So What Now?...
Educate yourself! The most important piece of advice I could give educators is to educate yourself about the technology available to you and your students. Spend time using the technology yourself and reading research and opinions before forming your own opinion, or diving in with your students. Several good resources to consider are:
-Social Networks in Education wiki
-Study Groups Facebook Application
-Sakaw School Newsletter: Information on Facebook for Parents (An Edmonton Elementary School)
-A case of controversy involving Facebook, collaboration and academics.

Ultimately, as with all new Web 2.0 applications, I believe that we owe it to our students to investigate the technology, consider how it might make our teaching better, and, at the very least, consider how we might help students make wise and informed decisions about how they use the technology. As we become more knowledgeable, we are obligated to address the issues and concerns with our students, in order to keep them safe. As Will Richardson reminds us in "Filter Fun," they will, at the end of the day, step off the bus into an unfiltered world. It is our responsibility to prepare them for that world, and to meet them online after class if it will engage them more fully as learners!

A new stitch in my Web 2.0 quilt: VoiceThreads

Process of Learning about VoiceThreads
There was so much excitement online about VoiceThreads, it was easy to research and discover endless possibilities. In particular, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of educators online sharing their ideas and projects from VoiceThreads. Of course, the very nature of this Web 2.0 tool makes it easy to share and collaborate.
I logged on to the Internet one day afterschool, with the intent to spend 15 or 20 minutes finding out about VoiceThreads before zipping home for dinner. An hour and a half later I had searched dozens of sites, explored countless VoiceThread examples, and added my ‘top 14’ discoveries to my Delicious.com account. The variety of sites that are available is amazing, and the creativity that teachers show when using this web application in their teaching is inspiring.
After completing most of my research, I decided to take a risk to see if I could at least begin a VoiceThread project of my own. In thirty minutes I had uploaded photos from Flickr, created audio and text comments and uploaded my VoiceThread project to the Internet. The process was simple!!! And while my first project is plain, and much like a digital storytelling project, it has promise, and has shown me how easy it could be to use this technology with my students.

Implications of the tool for teaching and learning
The nature of VoiceThreads allows teachers to share ideas and build on the plans of their colleagues. If I were to describe the application to another teacher, I would suggest that they first look at the examples available on the VoiceThreads website . It is a great place to see what VoiceThreads is all about, and the ideal place for inspiration. It was here that I realized the power of VoiceThreads to bring people around the world together around a common topic or theme. I believe the power that sets this application apart of other Web 2.0 tools such as wikis or blogs, is the ability to post voice responses, in addition to visuals and written comments. There is something very powerful about the personal nature of the human voice. When viewing Classroom 2.0 and hearing voices from Israel to Florida, the world seems a little smaller, and as a teacher I feel empowered to be a part of world-wide network of colleagues.
So, what will I do with this empowerment? Well, parent-teacher-student conferences are just around the corner in November. When viewing ‘Goal Reflections Term One’ (found via VoiceThread4education), I was inspired to use VocieThreads as a part of my portfolio, conferencing and goal setting cycle with my students. While I believe that this could have been a possibility for my grade one students in my past years of teaching, I am convinced it will be a motivating and thought-provoking process that is well-suited to my grade six students. During my research and reflection this week I posted the following comment on the ideas wiki at VoiceThread4education:
"Creating portfolios and tracking goals on VoiceThreads allows parents, students and teachers to continue the conversation throughout the entire term, rather than limiting the conversation to report card/conference time. Students can upload regular updates, including their most recent work samples. Teachers could leave comments as a form of assessment. Parents can leave their own thoughts, and hear (first-hand) the feedback their child has received from the teacher. VoiceThreads could sustain the dialogue in a simple, accessible and authentic way."

At his blog, Gary Stager shares some of his concerns about VoiceThreads being used as another form of PowerPoint or digital storytelling. There are some important considerations to reflect upon when designing and posting projects on VoiceThreads. Here are a few considerations which may ensure high quality projects that use the capabilities of VoiceThreads:
-Who is your audience? Good writers keep their audience in mind while writing and editing
-Is this your first draft? If you are posting on the Internet, you will want to edit your work to be sure it is a great reflection of you and your ideas.
-Great voice/recording quality will make people enjoy hearing your ideas even more.
-Can you include your own pictures instead of relying on clip art or public photo sites?
-What do you have to say that no one else has to say?
-How will you engage others to participate? Who will you invite? Will you pose a question? Ask for feedback?

Demonstration of new Knowledge
I hope you will join my Delicious network (jkwasnie at www.delicious.com) to see the amazing sites I bookmarked while researching this web application.

My Top Ten List this week was selected to share my favourite new knowledge with you. Enjoy!
10. A VoiceThread example: Using VoiceThreads to discuss political cartoons. Gather ideas from students, and those around the world. Political cartoons can be sourced at www.cagle.com

9. After reflecting on Gary Stager’s blog post, perhaps this isn’t an example of Best Practices, but I think it would be a powerful way to introduce VoiceThreads to primary students and teachers. Colour Poetry on VoiceThreads.

8. AlwaysLearning is a great, inspiring blog by Kim Cofino a 21st Century Literacy Specialist at the International School of Thailand in Bangkok. In her post "KinderKidsDraw!" Kim reflects on using VoiceThreads with Kindergarten and primary students.
7. Bill Ferriter has named his blog "The Tempered Radical" (brilliant!). In this blog post, he reflects on using VoiceThreads as a collaborative tool for educators.

6. A VoiceThread with 100 Ideas for Using VoiceThreads. See what educators from around the world have suggested and shared!

5. Edutopia: The George Lucas Education Foundation – An article by Lara Weir about Bill Ferriter and his experience with VoiceThreads. "Extending the Classroom with Interactive Multimedia Albums"

4. A Wiki on VoiceThreads, with great ideas, how-tos and examples. Grazing for Digital Natives.

3. My inspiration for using VoiceThreads for goal setting and portfolio discussions: Goal Reflections Term One

2. VoiceThread4Education is an excellent wiki for learning, discussing, and exploring VoiceThreads.

1. My first VoiceThreads project! A walk around the walls around Dubrovnik, Croatia.
More links to come... I can’t wait to share some of the VoiceThreads that my students create. I plan to start using them in relation to our first term reflections and goal setting for term two.