Category Archives: Web20

GAFE, Technology in Education, Todaysmeet, Web20

Web 2.0ing your staff meetings

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I had an awesome conversation with WRDSB  Principal Mark McMath after school today. Over the fall, he has been experimenting with some ideas for bringing staff meetings to life by making them more interactive and focused on discussion rather than information distribution. Check out these great ideas!

  • collaborate on generating agendas by leveraging Google Docs
  • gather good news itmes through a shared Google Doc – check out this  Sample Good News doc
  • share links to video resources in a shared document
  • use  Today’s Meet  to generate a back channel discussion
  • summarize group discussion in an online (Google) doc
  • gather feedback via Google Forms
  • create a staff  video message  using a tool such as  ScreenCast-o-matic

Mark has enjoyed learning through his Professional Learning Network (PLN) on Twitter too.  He has found that Twitter connections provide a wealth of knowledge for personal use and sharing with staff.   He notes the importance of gaining comfort in jumping in and out of the information flow as it can be overwhelming.

Additional Resources

Follow  Mark McMath  on Twitter

Follow Cedarbrae PS on Twitter

Follow the #edwrdsb Twitter hashtag

~Mark

Cloud Computing, OASBO, Web20

Clouds and Records

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Today I had a chance to connect with OASBO IMPAC (Information Management, Privacy & Access Committee) co-chairs Lorie Hough and Sandra Vieira via Google Hangout (GHO).  The provincial committee is examining school board privacy and records management considerations for business functions as they relate to cloud computing. Today we decided to document our initial discussion and thinking by live recording our  session. There are many aspects to consider prior to transitioning to a full cloud solution in this area.

The dialogue:

I want to acknowledge the work, learning and professional reflections of Lorie and Sandra in preparation for this session. I look forward to our next discussion.

~Mark

21st century learning, Technology Enabled Learning, TEL, Web20

Manifesto for 21C Learning

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The OASBO ICT  group (K12 IT Managers)  has prepared a document to capture network infrastructure needs to support 21C learning.  Read their thoughts on capacity, scalability and sustainability in a  Manifesto for 21st Century Learning.

~Mark

21st century learning, Leadership Perspective, Social Media, student voice, Technology Enabled Learning, TEL, Web20

CASA13 Presentation Resources

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CASA Conference 2013 Presentation Resources

Conference Theme: Theme: Pedagogy to Technology: Hardware to Headwear

Our presentation  : Leveraging the use of Social Media Tools in your School Community — the use of social media tools in the Waterloo Region District School Board as things are now,  the journey and the challenges.

Video Samples from our CASA2013 presentation:

Haley   (Student)
Aaron   (Student)
Andrew  (Student)
Andrew Bieronski  (Teacher)
Kevin Donkers  (Teacher)
Kathi Smith  (Trustee)

additional video resources 

Twitter  (Teacher)
Facebook (Teacher)
Edmodo  (Teacher)
Student Perspective  (Students)
Principal Perspective (Bill Lemon)

Q&A from Today’s Meet backchannel

Information regarding the WRDSB iPad approach

Related Resources

Canadian Association of School Administrators  (CASA)  conference.

WRDSB  Responsible Use Procedure  (RUP)

Social Media Drive By (Blog post)

Quest Radio 1-24  Programming Info  – watch here for announcements regarding additional rebroadcasts of this session.

Join a live broadcast or rebroadcast  on Quest Radio 1-24.

Mark W. Carbone  and  Ed Doadt

~Mark and Ed

Leadership Perspective, Social Media, TEL, Web20

Blogging with primary students

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Today (Wed. May 29th, 2013)  I will be interviewing  Waterloo Region District School Board  teacher  Jenni van Rees  at 4:30 (EDT).

Our discussion topic:  blogging with primary students.

Catch the live broadcast by visiting the   QueST Radio 1-24   website.   I will also be writing an upcoming blog post featuring Jenni’s work in this area.

~Mark

21st century learning, Social Media, student voice, Web20

Call to #WRDSB teachers

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Ed Doadt, Principal at Huron Heights Secondary School and I will be presenting at the Canadian Association of School Administrators (CASA) annual conference in July. The theme for this year is ‘Technology Meets Pedagogy: Hardware Meets Headware’. Our presentation will focus on how the use of web 2.0 and social media tools positively impact student learning and engagement.

If you have a great story to share about what has occurred in your classroom, we would love to hear from you.  Please  add your story/journey to our Google Doc.

~Mark & Ed

Social Media, student voice, Web20

Student Voice: social media in the classroom

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My daughter Charlotte just completed a grade 11 online secondary school course (HNC3OE) on fashion & creative expression here in the Waterloo Region District School Board.  She was recently sharing with me,  her work completed for the summative project on the topic of creative expression. There were 4 components to the work in addition to a personal reflection on the course.

The first component of the summative was a research assignment that reports on sweat shops in the apparel industry. The report is called  The Ugly Side of Fashion . Another component was to review wardrobes used in a high profile event such as a fashion show, new collection, red carpet event or video. Charlotte chose a  Costume Review.  One of the aspects of the summative that Charlotte really enjoyed was designing new clothing.  Her Fashion Design (graphic) was prepared using a drawing tablet and multi layer capable software called Art Rage 3.

The last component of the project really captured my interest. The idea was to research and explore, in a real life manner,  how personal  perceptions of attractiveness relate to how others see you.  The research methodology included comparing the subjects opinions of themselves, Charlotte’s perceptions  based on knowing the subject and input gathered from others who did not know the subjects.

Charlotte has an active online component to her life as a fan fiction writer and co-administrator of 3 blogs.  The one blog, administered with 2 online friends from Malaysia, is  kpop fans can relate, and has over 15,000 followers. This blog was used to gather anonymous input from people for the research.  I thought this was a great use of social media and crowd sourcing some feedback to provide an authentic context to research.  This also demonstrates an example of why students should have access to social media and web 2.0 tools to support their learning. The topic, research and findings are presented in this Fashion Video (12 min.) which was planned, filmed and edited by Charlotte.

Note: All noting and final documents were prepared using Google Drive. The video was produced in iMovie and uploaded to Google Drive.

I enjoyed learning how social media added a key component to this learning opportunity.

~Mark (& proud Dad!)

Social Media, student voice, Technology in Education, Web20

Student Voice: A visit to MsJWeir’s Classroom

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I recently had the pleasure of visiting Ms. J. Weir’s classroom at WRDSB’s  Southwood S. S. to meet her students and gather some feedback about their online writing project. I was immediately struck by the calm and trusting atmosphere in the classroom. It was obvious that the students were very comfortable in this learning environment — a wonderful tribute to the teacher! The dialogue flowed freely and students were at ease contributing to the conversation.

I posed the following guiding questions to the students to facilitate our discussion regarding the project:

  1. How has writing online changed your learning?
  2. Is writing online what you expected?
  3. What would be the effect of removing the technology?
  4. Describe the pros and cons of back channelling (Today’s Meet and Twitter)
  5. What were the challenges?

The actual discussion happened in a rather free flow manner. I have grouped the responses to follow the question sequence outlined above.

Many students commented about the ability to ‘organize on the fly’ and being ‘in the moment’ when they write online because the process feels more natural.  Capturing ideas and shaping them is much easier electronically. The students also made that point that they felt more ownership for their work.

When asked question 3, the responses were unanimous: removing the technology would be a step backwards, poorer organization, less motivation and anticipated drop in achievement.

In terms of back channelling and online forums, many students commented that the variety of options to contribute to class discussions (Face to Face (F2F), Edmodo, Today’s Meet and Twitter) enriched the discussion, drew more students into the conversation(s) and created a much stronger sense of community within the class.  The students all indicated that having the comfort level to participate was a key ingredient to their learning.

In the area of challenges, a few things were identified.  Access to resources is dependent on a wifi connection. We talked about the importance of wifi reliability and high levels of up-time.  I was impressed by the fact that the iPads used for this particular project were set up with a small number of key apps that were aligned with class needs and learning goals.  This was a welcome observation on my part as people often become app focused rather than learning focused. Well done! Students also talked candidly about the need for a level of self discipline. Having wifi enabled devices in the classroom certainly support student learning, and a more personalized component to the learning. Yet, the potential for distraction is still there — it must be managed.

I found this to be an excellent classroom visit. I appreciated the candid conversation with  Ms. J. Weir’s class. The approach to learning in this classroom needs to be shared and replicated.

Related Resources

Ms. J. Weir’s Blog

~Mark

21st century learning, Leadership Perspective, Social Media, Web20

Skinny Down Your Technology

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The other day I was reviewing some draft system communications with @maryhingley and she commented that we should “skinny this down” to a cleaner more streamlined document.  While the comment regarding the document  we were reviewing was bang on,  it also made a connection for me to an earlier conversation that day about the constant evolution of technology tools. The context of the technology tools dialogue was around the challenge of building capacity in teaching when the tools evolve so quickly.

Fact:  We are all on a continuous  learning curve, new technology,  new apps, new potential to improve improve learning. There is certainly plenty of discussion around the notion of welcoming teachers with this new ‘technology enabled learning’ world – online, web 2.0, anytime, anywhere, digital, shared documents, authentic audience (etc.).

As we become more thoughtful about professional learning, determining the best point(s) of entry and consider learning continuums for staff, there is a greater realization that it is too easy to overwhelm.  People need safe and doable entry points with high success rates.  The fact is, people do not need 100’s of tools to start on their journey.

Challenge:  a call to experienced teachers using web 2.0 and social media tools – skinny down your tool list

Categorize the software, apps and web 2.0 tools you use into the following categories:

a) must have, use daily, addresses some important need

b) use regularly (a few times a week but not daily)

c) once in a while (a few times per month)

d) tried it, don’t use it regularly at all

Skinny down your list and share your suite of must have tools in this google doc.  Include your name, twitter ID, blog/web site and must have list.

Thanks in advance for sharing.

Related Resources:

I just can’t imagine teaching without ….

Cross posted to VoicEd.ca

~Mark

Tech, Technology in Education, Web20

Google Chromebook: first impressions

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Last week I felt a bit like a kid waiting for Christmas. I knew our shipment of Google Chromebooks was on the way, and very soon I would finally get a chance to try one out myself.  “Chrome Day” has now  happened, I have have spent a couple of sessions with a Chromebook.

Out of the box, the Chromebook was dead easy to setup up – no written instructions needed. Simply power up the device, answer a handful of setup questions, connect to wifi and presto. I logged into my Google account and everything was there: bookmarks, docs etc. – easy.  I must admit I was impressed with the ease of this process. I think I was online in less than 5 minutes.

The screen is clear and easy to read. (12″ diameter or roughly 7″ x 10″). Processor speed seems decent, and the battery life is solid so far.

Now that I have tried this ‘unmanaged’ approach, I need to investigate setup this up through the managed interface for comparison. It will be interesting to use a device where literally EVERYTHING is online. My testing will be with an eye to classroom applications and ease of use. Certainly from an IT perspective, the devices offers the browser interface for access to web content and web 2.0 tools for writing, communicating and collaboration with minimal maintenance.  I look forward to learning more about file management in this web only environment.

I will share my learnings and observations in a future post.

Related Resources

Google Chromebook
Samsung
Wikipedia

~Mark