Social Networking for Teachers

Anthony Marco, the teacher in this video makes a lot of sense.  We can not turn our backs on Social media in the classroom but we have to take on the critical thinking aspects of teaching media when we venture into this area.  In some schools social networking is seen as all bad.   I think that is like having the finger in the dike approach when the social media flood is already happening anyway.






As Buffy Hamilton puts it,

"The need for students to have a space they feel they can share information and express themselves openly is an important one; at the same time, transparent structures that encourage and allow for parental participation and involvement are also important. (2011)"  


As teachers we can not put our heads in the sand we must embrace and use social media.  What we need is leadership from administrators.


Reference:


Hamilton, B. (2011). social media « The Unquiet Librarian. The Unquiet Librarian. Retrieved October 29, 2011, from http://theunquietlibrarian.wordpress.com/tag/social-media/


Videos were found using twitter hash-tag "cpchat", thank you, 
Becky

Changing Technology New and Old

As we move forward with different technologies such as smart phones and various kinds of smart tablets. Old technologies still hang on.  The Washington Post reports that Google TV is upgrading.
So what?  I guess I find it interesting that television and radio still exist.

The pantelegraph

(http://courses.washington.edu/pioneers/images/petograph.jpg) 

One hundred years before I was born, Abbe Giovanna Caselli invented the pantelegraph in 1862. The pantelegraph transmitted still pictures over wires. Of course, there are many inventors before and after Abbe that created what we know as television.

What is my point?  We have the iPhone, Android phones and such but these are always changing.  What will the new technology look like in one hundred years.  I mean, we are way past Dick Tracy's watch phone.  How many of our current technologies will still exist?

Radio still exists but now I can listen when I want.  I don't have to warm up the crystal set to listen to my favorite show.  All I need to do is to subscribe to the podcast and the show is waiting for me but it is still radio.

I wonder if the iPhone and iPod will be as important as milestones in one hundred years or will whatever is current in 2111 be something that does not see its roots in TV, radio or the telephone?
                                            How will we network socially?      
                                     
                                       I just hope we don't go the route of Johnny Mnemonic!  

Keanu Reeves in TriStar's Johnny Mnemonic (1995) 

References:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/google-tv-upgrade-focuses-on-content-discovery-features/2011/10/28/gIQAVYbrPM_story.html 

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/who-invented-the-television.html 

http://www.history-timelines.org.uk/events-timelines/08-television-invention-timeline.htm

http://worldsbestinventions.com/2011/when-was-the-television-invented.html

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113481/

Appropriate Comments

As I approached blogging with my class I thought it would simple.  Our first project was simple.  Transfer our mission statement Wordles to our class blogs and make comments.  The transfer was easy.  We briefly talked about making comments.  I thought they had the picture.  Make positive comments.  No texting words.  Proper sentences, after all this is for school.  Many of the comments were superficial.  They commented on the font and the colour.  Yet the content of the wordle was a mission statement!

What to do?  I reviewed the information I had read.   Berger and Trexler (2010) say "Give Students, formal hands-on training session on how to interact with your blog"(p. 108). So, I found an excellent site called Notes From McTeach.  We restarted our blog by creating a paper blog.  Please check out the instructions on the site.  But in short form, we did a very "hands-on" blogging exercise.  Students created a paper blog about a passionate subject.  On Thursday afternoon, they commented using sticky notes.  Some students understood immediately but others need more time.

We had parent-teacher-student interviews on Friday so the complete follow up discussion.  From our initial discussion, many students seem to understand how the appropriate comments made them feel.  Blogging will take longer to develop than I thought but that is okay.  It is better to blog well than to blog poorly.  

Here are some pictures of my students paper blogging.

References:

Berger, P., & Trexler, S. (2010). Choosing Web 2.0 tools for learning and teaching in

 a digital world. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited.

McMillan, K. (2011). Notes From McTeach. Retrieved from 

        http://www.notesfrommcteach.com/p/about-me.html




Other useful links:


http://www.adrianbruce.com/blogging/why_blog/why_blog_with_students.htm

http://murcha.wordpress.com/2008/03/14/20-reasons-why-students-should-blog/

http://mrspripp.blogspot.com/2011/05/14-steps-to-meaningful-student-blogging.html

Robbery near you via Social Media!

I was trying to relax the other day so I checked the DVR and realized two things.  First it was very full and second that I had four episodes of George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight.  So I looked through the list and saw that Russell Peters had been the guest on September 29.  He is funny and I was feeling like have a laugh.  Before I even reached the interview George's "Debrief" caught my attention.  He talked about how thieves "case a joint" using  with Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare and Google Earth, and especially the Street View feature.  My first thought was, I can see this.  If you update where you are on twitter and a thief knows where you live then, it is easy pickings for the robber!  How much should we divulge on our Social Media networks?  What should hold back?  What do you think?


Here are a few articles on the subject:


Ex-Burglars Believe Google StreetView, Facebook, Twitter & Foursquare Used To Plot Crimes

This Is Why You Need To Protect Your Home From A Google Maps Burglar

I think this is the story George refers to:

Samuel Watson Used Google Maps To Case Suburban Homes

Picture below from May 2011.

Why Geotag, Twitter, Facebook on remote devices are virtual self traps! helping Robbery

The Inquiry Begins....

As part of my Inquiry project for my University class, I present my first Web 2.0 challenge.   I will begin blogging with my students.  Here is the proposal

Begin the week of October 11 to 14.

Web 2.0 tool:  Edublogs kidblog

Rationale:  

To create a location for class projects in all subjects.  Initially, the blogs will be used for written assignments which students have already completed.  Eventually, new written work and other subjects will be added to each child’s content area.

Connect to reading: 

Within the classroom, Edublogs kidblog is a Web 2.0 tool which meets Language Arts curricular outcomes in meaningful way.  According to the BC Ministry of Education (2010) learning outcomes say,  

“write a variety of clear, focussed personal writing for a range of purposes and audiences that demonstrates connections to personal experiences, ideas, and opinions, featuring

- clearly developed ideas by using effective supporting details, explanations, comparisons, and insights

- sentence fluency through sentence variety and lengths with increasing rhythm and flow

- effective word choice through the use of an increasing number of new, varied, and powerful words 

- an honest voice

- an organization that is meaningful, logical, and effective, and showcases a central idea or theme” (BC Ministry of Education, p. 21).  

Blogging can provide clear ideas, sentence fluency, effective word choices and logical work organized by a central theme.  Richardson (2010) says blogs “gives teachers the ability to set permissions and access, and it allows them to approve work before it is published” (p.53).  This control over content appeals to me and I know parents will appreciate this kind of control.  Berger and Trexler (2010) describe the ease of registration and use (p.107).    

Tomorrow is launch day for my students.

We are at 

Reference:

Berger, P., & Trexler, S. (2010). Choosing Web 2.0 tools for learning and teaching in

 a digital world. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited.

Ministry of Education. Province of British Columbia. (2010).

 Grade 6 Curriculum Package. Retrieved from http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/curric_grade_packages/gr6curric_req.pdf

Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful Web tools for

 classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

The Internet:  Truth and Lies!

Current Event # 3
Do you use the first site in a google search? An interesting book has been published in Britian. Take a look.


http://blog.schoollibraryjournal.com/neverendingsearch/2011/10/04/truth-lies-and-the-internet/

Apps for Everything

I just came across this!  Wow cool stuff.

People Commonly Create Art when they Hit Record!

What would it be like if four hundred people collaborated on a project?
Would it be creative or a creative mess?
Who owns the creative effort?
If I record something with a video camera and then you record me and then someone else records us and then another person adds music and someone else remixes that and adds more instruments to the original soundtrack.  Who owns the copyright?  Oh and let's say that this creative effort is then shown at a live show and it is then recorded by a few hundred people while it is shown and then that is broadcast on the Internet.  Who owns the copyright?

It is good to step away from teaching, being a student and just relax.  Sometimes I read and sometimes I watch late night talk shows.  I preview Craig Ferguson but I also scan other shows to see who the guests are.   I am not a fan of Jimmy Fallon but his show does have good guests.   Joseph Gordon-Levitt looked like an interesting guest.  He is in a new movie about a cancer survivor called 50/50.  I began watching the interview but I was blown away by another project that Gordon-Levitt has been doing for about the last 5 years called hitRECord.  It is a collaborative creative process involving many artists which combines the efforts of anyone who wants to join.  They briefly mention the ownership issue in the interview.  Jimmy says, "... you encourage piracy..." Gordon-Levitt response, "...at this point we say please turn on all recording devices..."
To Gordon-Levitt copyright does not seem to matter in these projects.  Here is the interview.  They start talking about hitRECord at the 0:46 and ends at 2:52.
This is creative commons to the max!

  http://www.latenightwithjimmyfallon.com/video/joseph-gordon-levitt-9-27-11/1358850

Photo from hiRECord website
http://hitrecord.org/welcome/two

Background:Joseph Gordon-Levitt explains how hitRECord works to Carson Daly. Example mentioned in the Carson Daly interview.Morgan Morgans Date With Destiny video
Bibliography
Shoemaker, M. (Producer). (2011, September 27). Joseph Gordon-Levitt (9/27/11) Retrieved fromhttp://www.latenightwithjimmyfallon.com/video/joseph-gordon-levitt-9-27-11/1358850