EdTechTrek

It is so nice when things come together. It is even nicer when your students can witness and even participate in that synergistic event. This semester, I have been talking with my students about virtual learning advantages and opportunities. We have been looking at, reading about, and playing with various tools that allow us to participate, connect, and create well beyond the boundaries of our typical physical reach. The term PLN (Personal/Professional Learning Network) or PLC (Personal/Professional Learning Community) or VCoP (Virtual Community of Practice) or GOEWCAY (Great Online Educators Who Care About You) – I just made that up… Whatever the term one espouses, there is no better way to understand the implications of it than to dive right in and experience it. I have long had the belief that if teachers/my students are to ever truly understand the potential of technology-facilitated learning opportunities, they need to experience potential benefits for themselves first. For example, if one does not really understand blogs or blogging, skipping the step of using them for personal/professional benefit and hoping to implement them with students in meaningful ways is unlikely. Too often our professional development models are just like this. We “tell” teachers why _____ or _____ is so great, and then expect them to jump on board.

Well, last week both of my graduate classes enrolled in Introduction to Computers in Education experienced an “aha” moment that I feel compelled to share. For a while now I have shown my students a video of Kathy Cassidy that I found on YouTube, recorded by Dean Shareski. I liked it because it portrayed a teacher who began a lifelong quest of making learning exciting and meaningful for her students. Kathy began small and slowly, but continually progressed, challenging both herself and her students. That is what I am continually suggesting that my students do when the feel overwhelmed by so many new possibilities that technologies afford. They are overwhelmed. Where does one begin? Kathy’s story is one that helps paint a doable picture.

So, after talking about developing one’s personal learning network, I thought that it would be important to find an experience that pulled many things that we had read about, discussed, and tinkered with. Since my own virtual network has grown so much over the past few years, and since Kathy Cassidy and I were mutual followers on Twitter and members of some of the same professional learning networks, I thought that I would “tweet” her and see if she would be willing to talk to my classes about her experiences. Kathy was quite willing and

made herself available to my classes in spite of the 2 hour time difference between Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan and Rochester, NY. Via email and Twitter, we arranged everything, including the logistics of using Skype for this purpose.

Kathy sent on ahead a list of Internet links representing online learning opportunities that she and her students had embarked on so that my students could pull them up as she was talking about them. Although there were other possible technology setups that we could have used, we kept it simple. Surprisingly, many of my students had never used Skype before and some had never even heard of it. So it was also a great way to demonstrate this free and powerful tool.

The time came and the conversation began. Kathy spoke for a while and then opened it up to some questions. My students seemed particularly concerned with issues of equity, access, time, and safety. Kathy was able to offer her perspective on all of those. Below are some questions that were asked that include Kathy’s response.

But the final question seemed to pull everything together. It was a question seeking advice on how to enhance one’s knowledge about all of this beyond the classroom. This led to a follow-up question about one’s learning network and the importance of a virtual learning network… many of the ideas that we had been discussing and students had been wrestling with.

It was fun to watch the gears turn and the eyes light up in the students as they heard Kathy share her perspective on the importance of her own personal learning community in her own professional life. I think at that point many students became suddenly more responsive to the ideas that had been tossed around in class. Some students blogged about finally giving Twitter a try and being energized at how teachers were using these tools in real ways with their students. Others blogged about the “aha” moment of seeing how technology does not have to be an “extra”, but an integral part of curriculum and learning.

But for me, it was powerful for the students to see how this entire discussion with Kathy was facilitated because of our personal learning networks and virtual communication tools. It opened up the door to vast possibilities for my students that they had not even considered. Their perceptions of the purpose and use of these tools is so tainted by the mainstream media in how it represents their purpose and function in society… for trivial, silly, and sometimes dark purposes. They need many positive models of how new cultural tools can be used in powerful ways, both personally/professionally, and with students in the classroom.

I am thankful that my own professional learning networks have opened up the doors for such opportunities and relationships. My hope and goal is that my students find and experience doors that they never knew existed and begin to go through them and experience those opportunities they never knew they could.

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Technical Notes: an external DV camera was used so that I could zoom in on students who had questions and so that Kathy could see them well. an external omni-directional microphone (Blue Snowball) on a boom mic stand was used so that Kathy could hear my students when they asked questions. Kathy used Call Recorder to record the Skype chat. Kathy Cassidy’s first grade blog Read the blogs of my students Follow Kathy Cassidy on Twitter @kathycassidy Follow me on Twitter

- Special Thanks to Kathy Cassidy for sharing her time and experience with us!

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Do kids really have this perspective? Is it really about Internet-based information or is it simply about information in general? I tend to think that if we handed out a legitimate-looking paper document in class, the students would have the same response. A great deal of writing has been generated on the topic of digital information literacy, but I think the same ideas hold true sans the “digital”. We need to assist students in looking at all information sources critically instead of accepting them “carte blanche”. I like this post by Michele Martin that contrasts the perspectives of today’s youth vs. today’s adults. In contrast, I think what kids and adults alike need most in this respect are to be equipped with effective tools and skills for finding and filtering Internet-based information. Granted, online sources of information bring the need for some unique evaluation skills, but perhaps the larger issue here is that we haven’t done such a good job of having our students evaluate information in general. We too often require assignments that simply require regurgitative types of responses and not enough critical examination, comparing/contrasting, justifying, persuasion, and other higher levels of critical thinking. I think if we all get in the habit of critically thinking about and evaluating the information that we receive, the transition to doing so online becomes more natural. Certainly, we should not check our brains at the door when using online sources of information, but neither should we when picking up a book, magazine, or multimedia source.

Having just read a recent post by Scott McLeod over on Dangerously Irrelevant, I felt compelled to ask the same questions that he raises… that being, why are districts compelled to enforce the same level of filtering on their teachers as they do for their students? The result of this is that so many potentially useful resources and related learning activities go unrealized. I do understand the vicious cycle that precipitates all of this, though. I don’t think anyone is intending to treat teachers like children, yet that is the perceived result. From an administrative point of view, I think all employees are simply not trusted to avoid situations that could bring about embarrassment and even litigation for individuals, schools, and districts. I also believe that is true… that there are always “bad apples” mixed in with the great apples of any basket. The problem is that policy tends to err on the side of caution rather than risk. The result is that all employees get treated like children… except for the I.T. folks who control the filters.

Although ‘how things are’ make sense to me, they do not appear ‘right’ to me. I cannot for the life of me understand why teachers cannot have control over filtering and enable or unblock sites they deem professionally worthy. Just as we have consequences for poor choices that students make, we should also have the same logical consequences for the poor choices that teachers [may] make.

On one hand, we criticize and admonish teachers for not quickly adopting new tools and implementing them in innovative ways, yet in the other hand, we put so many roadblocks in their path that – for most – are just not worth the time and frustration. If the administration is not going to advocate for teachers, then who?

Perhaps scissors and other sharp objects should also be off limits to teachers. After all, they are potentially dangerous. Heck, how about just removing the power cords on those interactive whiteboards while you’re at it. Oh, and put that software on all of the teachers’ computers so that if any changes are made to the system, they will all be undone on a reboot. After all, it’s all about minimizing risk and need for intervention/support.

…of course, we could always expect and assist teachers in being the professionals that they are.

(image by Scott McLeod)

Below you will find a poll/question and the results to date of that question. I have been thinking about this for some time now. The title, PLN, or Personal/Professional Learning Network, has been in circulation for some time now and it represents one’s support network beyond the physical, face-2-face relationships that we typically have within our daily reach. It represents the potential power one can tap into when harnessing a much more global and virtual network of like-minded and often expert groups. Tools such as microblogs (Twitter/Plurk), blogs, social networks (Ning, LinkedIn, Facebook) , backchannel conversations, social bookmarking (Diigo, Delicious), and other social applications (YouTube, SlideShare,…) that allow a community to participate in ideas are all key to building your PLN. However, I think we have sometimes represented the responsiveness (hence, the utility) of one’s PLN a little too simplistically at times. For example, the message may come across as “embrace these tools, build your PLN, and you will have a wealth of collaborative power. Or, blogging will revolutionize your teaching/learning. Or, use a wiki and the world will come and help you add content/flesh out your ideas. Or, get a Twitter account and your every question will be responded to by a wealth of great folks who will also all want to follow you. Perhaps some of that comes from watching the response that the “super stars” receive when they ask questions, post blog posts, twitter questions, or invite others to contribute in some way. It is just not that easy as it may seem… or as easy as we (I put myself in that boat) have sometimes communicated. Building a PLN is hard work and it requires diligent, active, and participatory excellence. Many times questions may go unanswered. Many times blog posts may receive no commentary. It is one thing to “take” from your PLN. That’s the easy part. It is a totally different thing to have your PLN “give” to – or work for – you. The latter requires a much more significant depth of relationship.

I have noticed that often my own PLN gets an intellectual shot in the arm when I have met folks face to face in various settings. So, I posed the following question. The response was what I suspected. It is far from a representative sample upon which firm conclusions can be drawn, but it does make me think that face to face connections remain critical for learning, networking, building, and sustaining a vibrant PLN. I noticed that many of this year’s NECC attendees mentioned how valuable it was that they were there physically versus simply being a virtual fly on the wall… that the face to face relationships were an essential part for them. I also recall reading some comments by folks who couldn’t attend physically and how much they missed the physical connective experience, myself included.

It is so much more than simply using the tools, isn’t it – just as being an effective teacher is so much more than the new tools one surrounds himself with.

What do you think? What has been your experience? Please contribute to the embedded poll below.