The new Millennium?

Millennium kids, the X gens, or digital natives. Is this what they want? As a librarian, this child is talking to me!

Watch this!

Which Life?

Once I explored Second Life in an online class as a student. Flying to exotic locations and wearing far out scifi type costumes was fun. Working as an online teacher has not been as theatrical but certainly thrilling in its own way. First, there is nothing to compare to the hysteria of emails when the main homework link goes down. To compound the problem it was not something on “our” end that we could fix although we tried mightily. Finally, it was a vendor glitch that was easily fixed. Not until the week for the assignments was done however. Bless every student that didn’t give up and got their assignment in!

I also was unexpectedly delighted to find the couple of students that sought me out in my library office, face to face or “F2F”. I felt some sort of celebrity. I guess the anonymity of the online environment produces that distance, that iconic status. I wonder if my unglamorous humanity was a letdown or a comfort. I would have dressed up if I had known I would be on display.

I have balanced my online teaching with F2F substitute teaching. Today I had 2^nd graders. Oh, the joy of learning how to spell “delicious” so one can declare the pumpkin pie a proper, heavenly dessert. Reading Stuart Little aloud to a rapt group of little people was the apex of the day.

My greatest challenge in both arenas is to be clear with my information and also to keep the interest of my students. I have some ideas to explore but it will be next semester’s students that will benefit. Games for the second graders? Video for the online class?

The Challenge

Challenge - something that by its very nature serves as a call to special effort. After a summer of experiences other than formal education, this fall I will be working with the students at Cerro Coso Community College as a librarian and educational support tutor. After getting my feet wet, I'll actually teach online as well - rather than theorize.

How will my previous posts about online instruction look in the face of a real teaching experience? In public education, my classroom experience was far from my college classes. In fact my first teaching observation in a downtown Memphis middle school was my last. The perfumed lady professor who observed me teach took a pill and went home never to return. She told me later, "My dear, you are doing mission work. You have no need of my advice. Of course, I am always here if..." Yeah, right.

I expect I will learn more from working with students than any class but only through the reality of trial and response. Probably, I will wish I paid more attention to my formal classes. What was that she/he said about Jing? I also expect to have a rollicking good time. I always have with students. Hey, I've also finally graduated from high school! I'm working with college students.

Stay tuned.

Balance in Teaching

Balance in Teaching: A Response to

Dumbing Down Teachers, Henry A. Giroux, Truthout, May 26 2010.

A self reflective discipline in a vacuum of experience is useless. I didn't learn how to teach until years after I went through my "teacher training". I needed to step into reality. Without the days in the real classroom all my critical pedagogy was smoke in the wind. I also have seen the use of practical experience in learning with the students Giroux seems to champion. Those at risk students when involved in service learning which has a solid academic basis come up with some of the more profound insights into subject matter than I have seen in a "regular" classroom. I suggest that students should practice not just the critical thinking Giroux yearns for but the other two "c"'s - communication and collaboration. (21st Century Skills) If modern education lacks anything, it is this step into application of learning. That takes freedom of expression in class and a respect for opinion that models our ideals of democracy.

As to his defense of teacher unions and measures of teacher performance, I suggest that instructional methods need to be assessed in a responsible data driven, self-reflective manner. I have belonged to both major teacher unions in my time and the only advantage I had was the provision of legal representation. That and contract negotiation seem to be their most intent function. For those reasons I supported them. However, the practice of evaluation of teachers is inadequate and at times, criminal in benign neglect.

Practical application does not have to be joined with the repressive production of worker bees without the ability to consider the world. If my teaching were not grounded in my deep thought about the implications of my subject matter as well as my methods, I could not effectively function. Cookbook teaching is not teaching, in my opinion.

Giroux is right to note that "schools are dominated by a politics of fear, containment and authoritarianism" particularly for schools of color and poverty. This is a reflection of our society that does need to be addressed. Knowledge is power. Without that knowledge these students cannot escape the cycles of poverty and hopelessness that follow them to class. Ruby Payne's controversial theories of poverty and social culture forced me to look at the assumptions I had about a "proper" classroom.

It is certainly easier to focus on data, standards and testing than to grow an articulate, informed, literate, critical thinking citizen. The schools run like businesses do have something to offer. I would have liked to go to "work" at a creative place like Apple. There the experience informs the debate and opinion is based in experience as well as theory. That's what our kids need in school.

Teaching is a verb, a very active verb. Our kids deserve the best, all of them.

Focus on Students

This last weekend I went to Great Basin College in Elko, NV to watch a former student (and adopted daughter) graduate with an AA in Applied Science (Electrical Systems Technology). She graduated Magna Cum Laude and did 70 credits in one year. She would not have her high school diploma without the individual focus and support she had from her small high school, High Desert Academy. That school is now closing due to financial declines in the district. I am endlessly proud of the staff and students that have been at HDA and watch with great regret the closing of this "necessary small school". My wish is that somewhere someone would be able to fund this wonderful agricultural focused academy. Please read the students' comment in a local venue.

Letter to the Sierra Wave by High Desert Academy Students

Online Civil Debate

In examining the change in "mindscape" in an online class, we were talking about a "civil debate". Setting rules for this in the classroom is a skill we all develop as teachers but in the online realm things are different. There were two pieces that relate to the change in using an online discussion.

First, often what seems acceptable in a F2F encounter can come off cold or abrupt in an online settling. We just don't get the humor or the facial/ body language things that make a contradictory statement not so aggressive.

Second, online discussions can encourage the back of the room reluctant participant because of the feeling of anonymity. Often people are braver about talking online.

Think about it. How does it change your classroom world? How do you change to accommodate the difference?

New Frontiers?

"Second life is ideally suited for (at least) two kinds of learning activities - empathy-based learning and encounter learning. Second Life is inherently a random-access, exploratory environment. That offers a third "E" to this list of educational modes that are natural to Second Life:

- Empathy
- Encounter
- Exploration
* Rules (Logic, conceptual/factual structure)
* Play (Learning activity, processing)
* Culture"

(LaChapelle, 2007) (blog RE presentation by Sarah "Intellagirl" Robbins)

An article in the New York Times Education Life section was particularly illuminating. (Hafner, 2010)

What will happen if learning is free? Colleges and Universities still hold the key to the certification or degree - for that you still have to pay(for now).

In the past I have worked with Blackboard and WebCT in college classes. For my rural high school students and teachers I worked with USDLC, a distance learning group since 1985. They first broadcast to 51 schools in Texas and were thrilled to get their own Educational access channel through DirecTV. As they developed web based curriculum they created a professional development portal for teachers in 2005, video on demand 2007, their own YouTube channel in 2008, podcasting in 2009 and now are boasting Star Island in 2L. I think our future for education presentation lies in this blended technology. Frankly the affordability of the high school and college campus culture is on the line. Finances will be the key that presses us to this new educational access. The F2F personal classroom might not be supplanted but may be supplemented with this blended technology to provide access to expertise and varied learning modalities. The ubiquity of mobile connectedness provides a venue that is exploding now. The more people have cell phones in Africa than anywhere else because they didn't have to overcome an old technology (land lines). WiFi and mobile phone connectedness is the next level of adaptation.

I also question whether we are developing a new mode of learning beyond the multiple intelligences that requires the interactive social engagement exemplified by online gaming. If so this blended technology may save public education which is long due for a that is not based in theories formed in the Industrial Revolution. I am not placing a value judgment here. Just that evolution happens and the ECAR conclusion that "e-learning (so far) is about convenience not learning." (Sonwalkar, 2005) has that one caveat - time. I remember the generational theories and look at today's Z generation and think things are changing.

I went onto Second Life and enjoyed my experience there. I can see how the lovely fantasy can entice gamers. I also see the ease at which one can enter into a realistic environment to practice nursing skills or build collaborative engineering models. Very intriguing.

"Play, an important contributor to human development, maturation, and learning, is a mandatory ingredient of serious games."(Derryberry, 2007)

Derryberry, Anne. Serious Games: Online Games for Learning. Adobe Games, 2007. April 19, 2010. (ref:www.imserious.net ) http://www.adobe.com/resources/elearning/pdfs/serious_games_wp.pdf

Hafner, Katie. An Open Mind. New York Times : Education Life. April 8, 2010. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/18/education/edlife/18open-t.html?ref=edlife

LaChapelle, Neil. (The Cooperators General Insurance Company) Hired Ed's Blog: Some Foundations for Second Life Pedagogy. EDUCAUSE. July 18, 2007.

Sonwalkar, Nishikant. Adaptive learning Technologies: One-Size-Fits-All to Individualization. EDUCAUSE: Volume 2005, Issue 7, March 29,2005. Boulder, CO: EDUCAUSE.

The Other World

Have you visited Farmville? Adopted a Virtual Family, been to the world of the SIMs or been the god of a bunch of virtual villagers? Two things lead me into this strange new way to live - studying how to teach online and boredom. Unable to fall asleep and not the biggest fan of late night TV, I tried the virtual family game that came free with my computer. Afterwards I found I just couldn't leave it alone! How is the little family doing? Do they have enough food? Are they tired? Did they ever pick up those wretched leaves? And deeper stuff because you can praise and punish your little people. Ah, yes. The game does warn you if you punish your little people too much they get depressed. So I switched to virtual villagers who just had to find food and shelter. But they needed to have children and as much as I bumped the guys and girls together it just didn't take. "Not this time." or "I don't feel well enough." Jez, I can't even get lucky in a virtual world! So I decided Farmville was my ticket. Just growing crops and caring for little virtual animals. Now I have whithered crops and hungry chickens if I don't play the game several times a day. Farmers are busy people.

Now my class for online teaching has introduced me to Second Life as an educational tool.

After a little research on Wikipedia, I learn that "in world" people date, have businesses, play music, create art as well as attend classes at well known universities. Real people are living their lives using real money online. Of course with a user driven culture, Linden Labs, the creators, have to set some limits - sexual play, for example. Linden also handles the business end of things and has links to some powerful Real Life businesses like IBM. I didn't see any death but there are taxes.

Although the lure of becoming a purple flying cat woman with a real tail is tempting, I think I've had enough. After I left the computer to join my husband in front of the TV last night I announced, "I've been playing Farmville!" "I know you have, " he replied with a pout. I guess I better pay attention to First Life a little more and let that virtual chicken wait.

How many can you name?

Elizabeth Green in the NYT Magazine of March 10th comments on how to build a better teacher. With the headlines screaming a new age of "carrots" from the revision of the NCLB legislation by Team Obama, how does this fit in? Uncommon Schools' Doug Lemov has an answer - or rather 49 of them in his Taxonomy being published in April, Teach Like a Champion. I counted 9 examples out of 49 in the article and on the website:

1. Strong Voice

2. Cold Call

3. Precise Praise

4. Positive Framing

5. Build Momentum

6. Warm Strict

7. The J-Factor (Joy)

8. Assume the Best

9. No Opt Out

I was chilled to know that Build Momentum has a subcategory called Narrate the Positive. How many of these could there be? So I challenge you, readers, can you come up with 40 more? I'll check when the book arrives. First person to win gets my copy when I'm finished reading it and laughing.

Warning - Adult Content! Talking about Education!

Recently a friend posted this and it's enough to make me repost and stand up and say "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take this any more!" a la Beale in Network

I've been taking an online line class and we've been hip deep in theory - Contructivism, andragogy and other epistemologies and methodologies ( I love Greek). I may begin to boycott any word that doesn't show up on my spell checker. Anyhow this is from the TED convention.

I call it -

Is anybody listening?

Engaging online students

Having been on both sides of the room so to speak, I am perplexed as to how to engage the "social capital" of online students who don't - just don't. In a classroom I would stand beside them or ask them questions but with a "class" of 100 or so, how can an online instructor keep up with who's sleeping in the back of the room or who's just checked out and is texting their boyfriend? In a physical classroom I have a sense of juggling the plates. Keeping everyone spinning at once, I enjoy the tension. But online? I feel like I'm learning a new language by sitting at the table next to foreign speakers.

Teaching with Avatars - Adobe Classes

I just went to a webinar at Adobe (free) that was discussing engaging millineums by using avatars for teaching. The jist was that for a 21 year old who has spent more than 10,000 in video gaming their expectations of content delivery are different. They expect an environment that is multitasking, media rich and with short attention requirements. So they are suggesting training with a second world using avatars and polls for testing and an experiential game-like anywhere anytime online world for the classroom.

Body check by email

http://deadspin.com/5477230/nyu-business-school-professor-has-mastered-the-art-of-email-flaming

Anyone dare to comment? or just cutpaste the email and send it out to your own xxxx students!

See Pages for review of Literature @ Blogs

Please check my page for class assignment on review of literature.

Initial Blog

This is the first post created for my online teaching class.