I had an interesting conversation with our  Elementary Curriculum Advisor Guru teacher ( I forget what her official title is – but this one sounds good) the other day.  We were both at Learning2.008 in Shanghai and were reflecting on our time at the conference.

The conversation began with our mixed feelings on our individual “take-aways” from Learning2.0.  I had feelings very similar to Jenny Luca, whose post, Learning2.008 – my take sums up those extremely well.  I too, didn’t learn anything new that wasn’t already on my radar.  It was an honour to have conversations with like-minded and extremely talented and grounded colleagues.  Connections were strengthened by the opportunity to meet face to face people already an integral part of my PLN, and strong new connections were made, enhanced by the face to face connections.  The chance to “give something back” and “pay it forward” was a delightful experience.  Affirmation abound,  I’m still on the right track, have a sound pedogical purpose for using technology in the classroom and am still looking for ways to “kick it up a notch”.   As far as walking away with something practical – David Jakes’ two sessions I attended on Digital Storytelling were most beneficial for me with ways I can help my students enhance and add to the quality of the writing we have begun with  Lucy Calkin’s Writer’s Workshop.

But I digress ………  back to the conversation the other day.  Eventually the conversation rounded a corner into something like some teachers being sucked into the “WOW – gotta use all those amazing tools” stage of Web2.0.  I surprised (I think) said Guru by announcing – I used to be that one of those teachers.  (And this is why having conversations, having the time to have conversations and reflecting on one’s journey is so important).  I realised just how far I’d come in my own learning journey and identified the “tipping point” for me into a sound pedogical reason for doing all this Web2.0 stuff in the classroom.

In my first year of really discovering Web2.0 tools I was extremely fortunate to be teaching an extraordinary class of motivated, willing, curious 11 year olds.  They soaked up whatever I threw at them and asked for more.  It didn’t matter whether I knew how anything worked – we just figured it out together.  It was an amazing journey for all of us (give or take the odd student not that keen on the Web) but for the majority we surfed this big wave, having a whale of a time in discovery and learning mode.

I assumed it would be exactly the same the following year.  I couldn’t have been more wrong.  My next class didn’t want a bar of technology, the web or anything remotely close to a computer. Zip, zilch, nada!  No matter how I packaged it, what reasons I gave for it, nothing, and I mean nothing interested the majority of this class.  I even tried reverse psychology and packed away everything and bought out one thing at a time, thinking that I’d overloaded them with the abundance of “techie-looking” equipment scattered around the class.Nope, no good either.  I was heartbroken but I also learned a valuable lesson.  It was no longer about the tools – it was about the using the right tools for the job.  In the case of this particular class, they didn’t see the technology as “how we do things round here”.  I’m really not sure how they saw the technology.  It suddenly occured to me that, for this class – technology was not the best tool in my teacher’s toolbox for the job.  That didn’t mean we stopped using the technology altogether – because I still firmly believed that Web2.0 had a place in learning, but I began to consider, very carefully, what tool I bought out for the class to use for the learning that was going on in the class.

This became my tipping point and facilitated my change from being a teacher who was sucked into “WOW-gotta- use-all-of-these-amazing-tools-as-much-as-I-can”, to a teacher who now uses Web2.0 tools and technology when they are the best tools for the learning.  The beauty of all the amazing tools that are out there and the amazing teachers that are sharing what they are doing with those tools, means that there is almost the perfect tool for the job, no matter what you are learning.  You just need to chose the one that mets your needs as a teacher, mets the needs of the learning and the needs of the learners.

Now, I’m teaching in a different school, in a different grade, and in a different country but my pedagogical thinking about Web2.0 tools and their place in the classroom remains the same.  I just had bend in the road to negotiate in order to continue on with my own learning journey.

What is best practise?  Facilitated by David Jakes and Clarence Fisher during a Learning2.0 Conference unconference session.

The conversation was rich, it was real and it was authentic.  There were lots of questions, lots of discussion, not lots of answers.

Is it making the task authentic?  Is it making the teaching and learning transparent?  Is it building relationships? Is it collaboration?  Is it using the right tool for the job?  Is it establishing the climate?  Is it transferring knowledge?  Is it accepting the differences?  Are you applying technology in the right way?

It doesn’t matter how you engage the kids – the key thing is that you are actually engaging the kids.  But is there a danger that it’s easy thinking?  Thinking of the guy that just lectures and the kids dig it!  I bet he’s passionate!

Teachers telling teachers what they are doing?  Find out what others are doing – are we overburdening our students?

If we make a list will that lock down what best practise is?  Is this dangerous?  Isn’t best practise really about meeting the child where they are at and moving the child on?

A conversation participant mentioned location – what was best practise in a classroom in Africa where she was teaching before is certainly not best practise in the International School classroom she is in now in.

We looked at Darren Kuropatwa’s blog to see the practise that he has going on in his class through technology. Building a community.  Megacognition – Scribepost – I want to look at that.  The blog has feed windows brings in classrooms from around the world.  His kids can virtually visit other classes.  All of Darren’s classes are podcasted – whiteboard work has been uploaded up to slideshare.  He has 4 of his own children, so this is not a man that spends all his time on the computer! It obviously has to be dead-easy system- apparently he has it set up so that this takes about an extra 10 minutes of his day.  All the work of the class is on the web.  Accessed and re-accessed anytime, anywhere.

So is best practise about offering the tools that are right for each student’s learning?  What does this mean for the teacher that is not comfortable with all this technology?  What if you think these are really great ideas and you strive to be the best teacher you can be and you just don’t know how to do this stuff?  I really admire the work of Darren Kuropatwa – but I don’t know how to begin with half of the stuff he’s doing?  I know that I have the resources at my fingertips and the personal learning network to learn how though – and is that really what best practise is all about?

So is best practise whatever engenders our students to learn whatever it is that they need to learn both within their own communities, and outside those communities?

At the end of the day does best practise mean it’s all about the relationships we build both inside and outside the classroom?

Posted by email from teachingsagittarian’s posterous

Posted by email from teachingsagittarian’s posterous

Calling New Zealand Middle School Teachers, I received this email in my inbox yesterday.  Unfortunately, as you are aware, I’m no longer teaching Year 7 or teaching in New Zealand, so I told Bev I would pass this onto fellow NZ colleagues.  If you are interested, or know someone who might be interested please follow the link given below.  It sounds like quite a worthwhile project contest.  It made me wish (just for a minute) that I was still in NZ.

I noticed your name on the CILC Collaboration Center and wanted to extend a personal invitation for you to consider participating in the 2008-2009 KC3 ~ Kids Creating Community Content Contest.  KC3 engages middle and high school students in authentic research, presentation skills and use of videoconferencing technology.  The contest is standards based and asks that students look at their community and explore ways to share something unique about their area with other students around the world.  Complete details and project requirements can be found at http://kc3.cilc.org

This might be a great way for students at Taradale Intermediate School to connect with kids from various geographic areas.  Let me know if I can answer any questions you might have.

I encourage you to submit a program as we’d love to have schools from New Zealand participate,

Best regards,

Bev

Bev Mattocks

Consultant / Project Manager

Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration (CILC)

Transforming Learning Through Collaborative Technologies

I could waste spend a lot of time here quite easily.

Go make your own mug over at Mug Maker!

It’s so cool!

I have to keep pinching myself because it seems so far-fetched that I’m flying to Shanghai, China in 6 days to attend the Learning2.0 Conference beginning with Edublogger Con on Thursday 18th September AND I get to fly with two fabulous friends and awesome bloggers Kim Cofino and Tara Ethridge AND catch up with fellow NZder Simon May who lives and teaches in Shanghai.

This is an amazing opportunity to catch up with invited guests David Warlick, Ewan MacIntosh, whom I have the absolute pleasure to meet and listen to already, as well as the chance to meet and listen to Clarence Fisher, Brian Crosby, Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach, Alan Levine and David Jakes.  That in itself just makes me incredibly excited.

My twitter network was a-twitter last week with questions of “Are you going to Learning2.0?”  My excitement was pushed three more steps up as I began to discover that many of the amazing people in my twitter-network were going to Shanghai also. I’m looking forward to meeting lots of fellow educators/bloggers from Australia and Qatar (can’t wait to meet you finally Julie!).  There’s going to be so much meeting and greeting – I was beginning to wonder when we might get time to attend a conference?!

Who would have thought that my excitement could step up a notch after all that? I didn’t think it was possible, but Jeff Utecht made it so.  He asked if I would be interested in doing a 45 minute presentation at Learning2.0 Shanghai!  Oh my goodness!  Are you kidding me?  Me?  Present? With all those famous people you already have lined up?  What a fabulous chance to give something back to the very community that got me started on this amazing journey of Web2.0 in the classroom.  Thanks for the opportunity Jeff!

So here’s the blurb for my presentation ……….  now I just need to put the finishing touches on it.

In my favourite colour too. Love it!