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Karyn’s Meme May 22, 2008

Posted by Mr W in Technoglitteratiness, What else..., Who else....
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Karyn Romeis my not be aware of it, but she has actually started a really valuable meme for educators. As part of her dissertation, she is investigating the ‘how, why and what’ of social networking for teachers. As someone who is often asked the same questions by other educator, I would love to know the answers myself as I think their diversity will help to reassure and persuade colleagues who are curious about the tools I use regularly…

The MEME

SO… let’s get all 2.0 on the idea and make it a proper meme. Here are the three questions Karyn asked

  • How did you get started with social media?
  • What was your introduction, and how did the journey unfold?
  • What difference has it made in your professional practice?

Below is my response to Karyn, and in order to turn it into a meme, all you need to do is answer the same 3 questions she asked, and then post a link to your response as a comment on Karyn’s post. I’m going to nominate 5 people to answer (in time honoured meme-fashion), but I think this is too interesting and valuable thread for you to wait to be asked, so feel free to share and link to Karyn! Here’s what I wrote…

I started about two and a bit years ago when I was a lowly classroom teacher.

I started by reading some blogs and following their links. As I did so, I became more engaged… I could appreciate the points being made and came to understand the ‘lingo’… I also started wanting to chip in my thoughts. I encountered something that I thought was important, but as I didn’t have my own blog at the time, I posted (email) the link to Ewan Macintosh. He wrote a post about it and challenged me for not having a blog. I began that day.

Since then, I have used blogging and RSS reading to expand my own vision and knowledge of education and teaching practice. I have written my own blog (with varying degrees of regularity!) and commented on countless others (well, actually, since I found cocomment, they ARE countable).

I have discovered wikis and RSS and have introduced pupils in my school to the trinity of Blogs/wikis and RSS… again with varying degrees of success. One great success has been seeing one of my pupils become Sean the Bassman… http://thebassplayersblog.blogspot.com/ and the only UK blogger on http://students2oh.org/

I’ve been asked to deliver in-service training at school and authority level as a result of the knowledge I’ve gained. I’ve been invited to participate in a number of committees and consultations that I would never have been able to had I not become a ‘social networker’… and the knowledge I have gained from this has helped me become a more reflective practitioner… and more importantly, it has rekindled my enthusiasm for teaching.

As a result, I have gained the skills which made it possible for me to apply for, and be appointed, Principal Teacher of English in my school. I am also going to be delivering a seminar on wikis at the Scottish Learning Festival in September.

In short, I can honestly say that social networking has helped me develop and progress as a teacher and in ways that I could never have predicted — but the bottom line is that I do it because I enjoy it and it’s great fun…

So… that’s what I said and now I ‘m going to tag: Ewan Macintosh, David Warlick, Vicki Davis, Will Richardson and Jeff Utecht… Remember… don’t wait to be asked – and link back to Karyn’s blog!

Doing It For Themselves… December 6, 2007

Posted by Mr W in Students2.0, What else..., Where else..., Who else..., blogging.
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It’s time to let the kids speak for themselves…

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As some of you may know, I had the privilege of teaching Sean (The Bass Player) last year. Although not the most prolific blogger ;) in the world, he has written some insightful and influential posts. I’m delighted to let on something I’ve known about for a wee while, and that is that Sean has been asked to become involved in the Students2.0 blogizine being set up with guidance and help from Clay Burell.

There is an inevitability about the ideas behind the site… after all, if we are encouraging tech literate students who can grasp the possibilities offered by the online world, then it was always only going to be a matter of time before they started to turn the tools on the teachers! With Clay’s help and prodding and direction, they’ve managed to gather together a wide spectrum of student bloggers from across the globe, and I have the feeling they’re going to be worth listening to. In particular, I’m excited by the bold statement of intent they give… it is a warning shot across the bows of those who want us to continue teaching as if nothing has changed. As they say:

…we are now entering a new age: an age where thinking is more important than knowing, where the thought trumps the fact. Borders are melting away; project teams collaborate across the globe and intelligence is being continually redefined. The world’s information is at our fingertips…

…we see changes everywhere besides the closed bars of education. The system continues to “stay the course” upon a falling ship. Yet… Students are continually redefining their own lives and how they want to learn and interact.

Adults and teachers talk about education and students, but rarely invite students into these discussions. Fortunately, this blog plans to change that by offering an authentic student voice upon education. This is not a gimmick, there’s no puppet master: we’re intent upon confronting the issues of modern education, never backing down from a challenge. Students 2.0 is challenge for leaders and teachers alike: are you willing to listen to students?

These are challenging and loftily ambitious claims and aims… and I for one am waiting with great anticipation for the official launch on December 10th… but until then, you’ll just need to be content with the launch video which you can (of course!) find on YouTube!

Picture Credit: Fear Itself by Darkmatter – Creative Commons Licence

Larger Steps… September 26, 2007

Posted by Mr W in Classroom Blogging, School, What else....
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I gave a training session for some of the PKC Probationary Teachers on Blogging last night, and was struck by the increase in awareness of blogging as a tool. Some of the people that attended had already tried setting up their own blogs on edublogs, while others had encountered them during their training last year. One of the most encouraging signs was that the vast majority were from the primary sector because I believe that, if we get pupils ‘blogging’ early enough, we’ll be helping to produce literate, reflective pupils who will have a raised skill-set that will stand them in good stead for the rest of their lives… And yes, I know that sounds like a remarkably tall order, but having seen the enthusiasm generated by the pupils who are blogging already, I don’t think it is an unrealistic goal.

1427557237_1c190e855d I had real evidence of this over the weekend courtesy of another class in my school. Their teacher was inspired by some of the sessions she attended at the recent Scottish Learning Festival and so, with a little help from myself, set up a wiki for her Second Year class to accompany their study of A Midsummernight’s Dream. Say hello to Midsummer Dreaming! (Link to follow once I’ve cleared it with the class teacher!)

We set up a front page and a Shakepeare page which had 1 sentence on it, and then told the pupils in her class how to get a wikispaces ID and where to find the site… I think the correct phrase is ‘Light blue touch-paper and retire…’ By the time we got back to school on Monday, roughly half the class had signed in, over 150 edits had been made to the site… these included a Biography, a timeline, and more information on the characters of the play… But the one thing that has really got them writing, is the Chill page! Spontaneous, entirely their idea, and growing like topsy… oh, and greatly entertaining!

As of tonight, the edits and viewing of the site have gone through the roof… It is a joy to behold.

I think it is safe to say that what this class are doing is very different from, but strongly rooted in, all their previous learning. They are rapidly demonstrating the four capacities of A Curriculum for Excellence… and having a great time doing it! I only hope that they continue in the same vein… and that will be up to their teacher to keep the momentum going. It will require imagination and encouragement and careful mentoring by the teacher, but this is, perhaps, the challenge that faces all of us as the online world becomes more enmeshed with the real world. One way or another, it’s a fascinating time to be a teacher!