Over the past few months I’ve become an enthusiastic advocate and user of Scoop.it. It is no longer in Beta and has now gone public. It is a fantastic way to compile resources on a single topic and to share these resources with others who can choose to follow your updates. So far I have created two topics on Scoop.it because they are topics I am passionate about: Livebinders and Screencasting. I am finding new resources to add to them daily because it has an amazing curation tool that makes suggestions for me based on key words I have selected. I also use a Google alert on my topics so I can get new recommendations there. There is a Scoop.it bookmarklet you can add to your toolbar so whenever you come to a website that you would like to add to your topic, you can click on the bookmarklet and add it instantly! You can learn more about Scoop.it by reviewing their Knowledge Base.
But the real bonus is that anyone can recommend a site for me to add to my Scoop.it and I get an email notification that a recommendation is waiting for me. This is such a fantastic way for us to collaborate and learn together! These widgets below will provide you a brief preview of what I’m adding to each of the topics. They feature the last 10 “scoops” and will continuously update as new scoops are added. You can click on them to see the full Scoop.it. I would love to have you check them out and make suggestions for new sites for me to add to my topics!
Scoop.it is free to join and I hope it remains that way for a long time! Teachers could easily use this tool to pre-select websites they would like their students to use for class projects/units. The visual image from the site along with a brief description make it really easy to see what the site is about and you can click on the link and go immediately to the full site in a new tab/window. I’m sure you’re wondering about how students can use it. This is in their terms of service: “The Service is not intended for children under 13. By using the Service, you are representing that you are at least 18, or that you are at least 13 years old and have your parents’ permission to use the Service.” But teachers have found ways to work with many social media tools with their students that have similar terms of service without doing anything that is breaking the law. But the incredible value I find with the tool is the sharing, collaborating and compiling of resources I can do with my educational colleagues!
Posted by Peggy George on Apr 28, 2010 in Uncategorized
Teacher to the principal as they are sharing bus duty one morning. One of my teacher friends told me about the neatest free tool on the internet that will make it possible for students to publish their writing anywhere around the world. I don’t really know much about how it works, but I would love to do this with my students. What do you think of this idea? Do you notice any problems with this scenario? Are there a few missing details? How do you think the principal will respond? It’s not that far-fetched and doesn’t usually result in the desired outcome. As an elementary principal for 25+ years in the US and a university professor who taught technology integration courses for several years I am very aware of the issues related to technology use in schools from both the user and administrative perspectives. In this section, I will provide my perspective as a principal with practical tips and resources regarding the change process and how to obtain support for technology-related issues. I hope it will provide some food for thought to other educators, whether a teacher or a principal initiates the change.
Above all, I believe we owe it to our students that we continue to make the integration of technology and Web 2.0 tools a priority for all students and not just leave it up to those teachers who are early adopters. We can’t continue to ignore or brush over those teachers who state that they aren’t comfortable with using technology and excuse this behavior. As has been stated in many awareness-raising presentations we have seen, “We are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist using technologies that haven’t been invented in order to solve problems that we don’t even know are problems yet.” Did You Know 4.0 by Scott McLeod and Karl Fisch. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ILQrUrEWe8)
Teacher Advice from a Principal Perspective:
Principals are very busy people with responsibility/accountability to many different stakeholders. That will sound like a “so what” statement to many, and an understatement to principals who live and breathe the daily, demanding, ongoing responsibilities of an administrator.
There are so many reasons (excuses) that teachers express that keep them from moving forward with technology integration in their classrooms. Sometimes these hurdles seem insurmountable to them and it can’t be denied that there are times when the technology you need just isn’t working. This is no small concern when you have a room full of students in these days of emphasis on “time on task” and accountability for those all-important test scores. Over my years as a principal, I found it very helpful to review the “Stages of Mastery of Technology” that were provided by Jamie McKenzie back in May 1993. (http://www.fno.org/FNOMay93.html) I created a visual image of these stages using Inspiration software so I could have it posted on my wall as a reminder that teachers, just as students, are not all at the same developmental stage in their learning. Understanding the change process helped me to be more sensitive and accommodating in providing the kind of support they needed as they moved through these stages. (http://www.slideshare.net/pgeorge/stages-of-mastery-of-technology/) Sometimes it’s the “just-in-time”support they need that will make the difference in their willingness to try something new. Because I am a tech advocate and personal user of technology, I frequently made “house calls”to spend a few hours on an evening or weekend to help a teacher cross that hurdle and create a newsletter or interactive PowerPoint presentation for their students. But this kind of support doesn’t need to come from the principal. It can come from anyone willing to collaborate and help. Many teachers call upon their own children to help them learn how to make technology work for them.
The principal may be a person who advocates for increased technology integration in their school, but more than likely they are not. It is rare for a principal in my experience to be the technology leader for their school although these numbers are definitely increasing. However, it is possible for a principal to be an essential support person who willingly advocates for resources, professional development and enthusiastically supports creative, effective uses of technology in classrooms. The principal of today can be a “technology leader”by supporting instruction that facilitates collaboration, communication, and connections. Ideally, the best way for principals to support the use of 21st-century skills is to model their use in their own work. One resource I created to use as an introduction to faculty to let them know the importance of integrating technology into their instructional methodology was a PowerPoint presentation that reinforces for teachers that although technology is a powerful instructional and learning tool, it will never replace a good teacher. It is simple, but reassuring to teachers. http://www.slideshare.net/pgeorge/technology-and-teachers/
Tips for teachers (when approaching a principal with a great new idea involving technology)
1. Ask for an appointment to discuss your idea. Don’t stop them in the hall or mention it in passing in the teachers’ lounge. They have too many things on their mind to remember and follow up on it.
2. Be very clear about what you are requesting. Stay focused on one topic and provide a written page that BRIEFLY summarizes your request with related details. Along with your enthusiasm, this will help to educate your principal about your request.
3. Follow your very clear request statement by stating what you believe the educational benefits will be and begin with student learning benefits. Provide your rationale of the benefits for students, yourself as the teacher, parents, and colleagues (if applicable). If you’re not clear in your own mind what these benefits are, have an informal brainstorming meeting with other teachers in your school who may also be interested in incorporating this tool. This type of collaboration will strengthen your request, both because it clarifies your rationale and also shows broader interest and support.
*Important Note: I will be listening for those points that indicate how the technology will provide “value-added”to their instruction and not just be “using” technology. It must be a tool/strategy that enhances and strengthens the learning experience for students and doesn’t just replace a paper/pencil task such as a worksheet with an electronic version of the same worksheet. How will this technology tool help them to do something that they couldn’t achieve without the technology? 3. Do your homework.
Come prepared with actual, successful examples that demonstrate what you want to do. If it is something you can best demonstrate on your computer, bring your laptop with you or invite your principal to meet in your classroom so you can go directly to the examples you want to share on your classroom computer.
Come prepared with pros/cons of the strategy or tool in anticipation of questions. If you are aware of any “cons” be prepared with a suggestion for how you might address them. For example, if parents may be concerned about internet safety on your classroom blog, be prepared to tell the principal your plan for ensuring safety for your students. Have an example of a blog user agreement you will ask students and parents to sign. Find an example on the internet such as this site that does a nice job of explaining the value of blogging http://education.qld.gov.au/learningplace/communication/blogs/aboutblogs.html or this site that provides an explanation, sample blogs, and many other resources. Blogging in Education by Peggy Steffens (http://www.amphi.com/teachers/psteffens/blogging.html) This site provides a great handout “Why is Blogging so Great?” (http://www.amphi.com/departments/technology/trainingpres/blogging.html)
This site provides an excellent example of a high school blogging policy that could be easily adapted for elementary schools.
(http://arapahoe.littletonpublicschools.net/forStudents/AHSBloggingPolicy/tabid/1486/Default.aspx)
• If you know there will be IT concerns related to such things as security, viruses, or bandwidth issues, be sure to share your idea with your technology coordinator or IT person to learn as much as possible about these issues. They may need to be helped to understand the educational value of your request so they can support you in finding a way to successfully implement it. One of my tech colleagues recently provided a great example of this. She made the point that the network people want to be considered apart of the educational team and be involved in the discussions as to what resources will be provided to students and teachers. She found she received much better responses when she “educated” folks to the reason she wanted certain things, and how they would be used in the classroom rather than just telling them we need this. One example she provided was: Think how many calls to the Help Desk could be eliminated by giving teachers podcasts on how to do simple things with their computers. If the network support personnel can see the value of these services for any user (teachers, students, parents, community) they will be much more supportive. Communication with any and all of the potential decision makers is essential to your request, but it’s also important to follow established channels of communication. Don’t go to the Governing Board to complain about a lack of technology support in your school if you haven’t started by talking with your principal.
If there is a purchase cost involved, bring the information. You can always provide the specific ordering details once the request has been approved (vendor, address, cost, method of payment, etc.) but it is very helpful for the principal to know an approximate estimate of the total cost of the item you are requesting, both short and long-term.
Wrap up your meeting by re-stating your request and clarifying specifically what the next steps should be to ensure that your request doesn’t just get placed on a very long “to-do” list.
And finally, after allowing a reasonable period of time for the principal to respond to your request, be sure to follow up to check on the status and to offer further support or information, if needed.
Strategies to Motivate Reluctant Teachers
If you happen to be a principal who has a faculty that isn’t showing interest in integrating technology in their classroom and your district has provided them with the necessary tools, you may need to consider some ways to motivate your teachers to openness to learning more about technology so they can begin using it with their students to improve student achievement.
A question that frequently comes up from technology facilitators and school principals is: “I understand and fully support technology integration, but how do I get teachers to buy into using technology? When asked this question in a recent conversation with David Warlick that was shared by Darren Draper on his YouTube video “Hello Teachers” (http://youtube.com/watch?v=omWi_XQgbvU) David’s response was “To be honest, I don’t have to sell it that much. I show them the power of the tools and the technology speaks for itself.”Many edubloggers repeat the notion that “Interest leads to motivation”, one with which I completely concur. While principals generally create the agenda for faculty meetings, a teacher could easily ask to have a regular 5-minute sharing time in each faculty meeting to focus on technology. Think of it like the “Book Talks” that teachers and librarians give students to motivate them to read a new book. Make it short and sweet. Limit each person to 1-2 minutes maximum. That will make it feel much more manageable for busy teachers and you can fit several in a 5-minute time slot. Give it a catchy name ”Technology Teasers, Tech Tidbits, or I Heard it on the Technology Grapevine.” Invite both your early adopters (who will eagerly accept the invitation) and those who may just be beginners but have used one strategy or tool very effectively. Don’t attempt to teach people HOW to do it in a faculty meeting” just provide enough information to tell them what you did and how it worked and leave them wanting to learn more. Often one “story”, especially one told with excitement and enthusiasm, will inspire others to try it out and be willing to share in a future meeting. To take this one step further and begin to embrace and model Web 2.0 tools, a wikispace could easily be created to capture these “stories” and tools by providing a place to access this information. A wikispace entitled “Have You Seen This?” or “Don’t Miss This” could be the perfect place to share those tools and resources they are excited about because ANYONE can contribute to the ideas, not just a webmaster.
And finally, another important step for principals then becomes how they can evaluate the effective use of technology during their regular teacher observations. These pre/post observation conversations can go a long way in emphasizing both the importance of integrating technology for strengthening instructional delivery and extending the conversation in ways that the teacher understands this is a priority. This is the perfect opportunity for a principal to keep this priority in the forefront and to show interest and support for those teachers, who are willing to take risks, make changes and integrate technology into their instruction. If this is a priority for a principal, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to their teachers when their principals are evaluating them. This was expressed eloquently in a brochure created by Greg Farr for his teachers and shared in a recent LeaderTalk blog posting: “Standards versus Expectations-Leave No Doubts.” (http://principalblogs.typepad.com/leadertalk/2007/09/standards-versu.html)
The challenges for both principals and teachers as we move forward with 21st-century literacies are great, but also very exciting. It’s essential that we continue to collaborate and communicate with other educators to find successful approaches to meet this challenge.
If you’re considering some live streaming, I strongly encourage you to give Mogulus (now LiveStream) a try!! I have been exploring and using the Mogulus Channel for live streaming and have been extremely impressed with how easy it is to navigate and produce online videos (both live and recorded sessions). The service has changed it’s name to LiveStream but appears to offer the same fantastic, free services I have been enjoying. This announcement was posted in the LiveStream Blog on May 19, 2009 and included the following information.
“With Livestream, anybody on the Internet who can connect a video camera to a computer can instantly stream live video worldwide, 24×7, via their own Livestream.com channels or to video players embedded on their own websites or social networks. To date, more than 300,000 people have registered and launched live video channels using Mogulus/Livestream since its introduction in 2007. “Livestream is doing for live video streaming what YouTube did for on-demand video clips,†said Max Haot, Livestream CEO and co-founder. “While we didn’t invent live streaming, we’re removing the barriers – making live video production and streaming easy and affordable for anybody to use and experience.â€
I was so pleased with my experience in the creation of a special AzTEA Channel (AZ Technology in Education Alliance) that today I decided to create a personal channel to be able to stream and upload videos for our very own family around the world to stay connected in one location. The AzTEA Channel is being used to record and stream live events such as meetings, conferences, and professional development sessions. I have also included several YouTube videos just so I could explore this feature and to be able to vary the content to inspire others to try this incredible tool. I decided to name my family channel “Family and Me“–a spin-off from the delightful movie “Marley and Me” because there are so many fun, family adventures in that movie. Feel free to drop in and view either channel to see what’s possible, recognizing you’re viewing the efforts of a real beginner! I love the fact that you can embed the player for your channel on your website or wiki. You can also embed just a single video (embed code is provided for you!) It doesn’t get any easier than that!!
Posted by Peggy George on Dec 10, 2008 in Uncategorized
One of the regular EdTechTalk webcasters, Matt Montagne, has been doing some amazing things with students, and I have recently had the privilege of tuning in to some of his latest endeavors.
If you are interested in hearing the “student voice” about the importance of technology in their learning, tune in to these podcasts and listen. The information is so valuable and the process of student focus groups is one that you might want to consider using with students in your schools.
Student Focus Group Meeting – Podcast #1
Kyle Barriger (HS math teacher) and I (Matt Montagne) will be conducting a few student focus group sessions over the balance of the school year. The idea of these meetings is to gather information from the students that could be useful in making decisions in the future relating to instructional technology. I met with 8 very sharp students today to begin these conversations. We had a list of 10 questions or so, and I think we only got through the first 2-3 in our 25 minutes together! I think you’ll appreciate the candor on the part of the students.
Another really interesting place to tune in to the “student voice” is on a bi-weekly radio show Matt Montagne is broadcasting with his students called GatorRadio. The students run the entire show and hold some very interesting, thought-provoking discussions. They don’t just talk about school activities and teen life, but tackle some very challenging world issues. One recent discussion had them debating which social network they preferred: MySpace or Facebook. Can you guess which one they chose? Listen to the show to find out. 🙂 The broadcasts are usually held on Wednesday evenings (8:00pm PST) and I encourage you to join the streamed conversation and participate in the chat with these creative, bright, talented, enthusiastic students! You won’t be disappointed! As educators, we need to be listening to our students as we plan our instruction to prepare them for living, learning and digital citizenship in the 21st century!
Posted by Peggy George on Oct 8, 2008 in Uncategorized
OneTrueMedia is an amazing online application that allows you to create videos from digital video, photos, and screenshots. You can edit, add titles, transitions, music, audio voiceover and much more. The videos can be shared via URL, embedded on a blog or wikispace, and the most exciting option for me…you can share it with Tivo and view the video full-screen on your own TV (with a wirelss adapter that connects to the internet). You can make your albums public or private and share with others who also have Tivo. If they don’t have Tivo, ou can share the URL and they can view the video on their computer. This is one of my favorite video applications. The videos you create are called montages. I actually created this video by uploading video footage from my digital video camera into iMovie on my MacBookPro, editing to provide photos and transitions and saving the movie as a QuickTime movie. Then the QT movie was uploaded to OneTrueMedia and now I can enjoy it on from my Tivo playlist or my blog. 🙂
This is information provided on the OneTrueMedia site about features and costs.
Creating a video montage and sharing it online is free. You just set up a free account and get started. You can also purchase copies of your creations as DVDs or Photo Books. Please see our Products page for more details. You can also upgrade your free membership to a Premium Account and receive access to all of our editing options, increased storage space and shared views, unlimited monthly uploads and creations, player skins for embedded sharing, premium music, and expanded downloading options. Premium memberships are just USD $3.99 a month or $39.99 a year.
Posted by Peggy George on Oct 8, 2008 in Uncategorized
This is an example of a very easy way to create a slideshow and embed it on your blog. This slideshow was created on Flickr by selecting a set of photos, clicking on share, and copying/pasting the URL and embed code provided to post on my blog. I love this Flickr application!
Posted by Peggy George on Aug 12, 2008 in Uncategorized
This is a great presentation that is part of a Webquest by Charlie Pitrolo, Marion County Schools, created to introduce teachers to Web 2.0. Webquest can be found here: http://www.questgarden.com/66/37/6/080530203752/
Note: To view the above presentation full screen (much easier to read!), click on the blue icon in the right hand corner below the presentation.
If you’re wanting to find videos and resources to help you introduce the concept of web 2.0 and to begin to lead teachers into conversations about why this is important for their student learning, you might want to explore some of these.
AzTEA on You Tube I have created a special group on You Tube to compile and share Web 2.0 videos with other educators. Videos can be newly created videos by participants and uploaded to the group, or videos found and saved from YouTube. The compilation of videos are those that I’ve found informative, helpful and entertaining related to schools, teachers, technology and Web 2.0. You are invited to submit a request to join the group if you would like to access the videos or upload your own videos. This will provide an easy option for uploading videos to wikispaces, blogs and websites by obtaining the embed code after uploading to YouTube. Please submit your own favorites for inclusion on this site. It will make a great place for you to return and select certain videos you might like to use in professional development events (if You Tube is not blocked in your school/district).
Web 2.0 Technology Videos (video list compiled and managed by Peggy George–feel free to contact me with questions/suggestions) http://youtube.com/group/aztea
Posted by Peggy George on Jul 31, 2008 in Uncategorized
Scrapblog is an amazing, free online tool that allows you to upload photos, videos, music and more to create special albums, greeting cards and other photo creations. Check it out! This is an example of a Scrapblog I created as a birthday thank you for my North Carolina family. (http://www.scrapblog.com)
Posted by Peggy George on Jul 9, 2008 in Uncategorized
This is a great, free widget you can add to your blog or web site from SurfNetKids. The quotes change each time the page is viewed. Just click on the link below the quote to go to a site where you can get details about adding it to your own site.
