I live in The Seabrook, a retirement center in coastal South Carolina. I live with senior citizens, all of who are older than I am, some of them by more than 30 years. Many of them don't want to learn about technology--they protest that they are too old to learn new things. For some that is true, but for others they just need the encouragement to try new technology. I am a leader in this community in technology in several ways. When we had a party for all of those people who were over 90 (and there were more than 70 people in that category in a group of 220 or so residents), I took a short video of the party. You can find it on my Facebook Page. There may only be a few who have seen it, but some said how amazed the were at what technology could do.

I have also shown several people my iPhone and the pictures on it. There are those who can't quite change the ink on their printers and ask me for help. Some have been given iPads and Kindles by their children who show what they need to do, but they don't quite remember and turn to me. Even some of the people in the office--who are all younger than I am--need help for the occasional spread sheet. So I am doing what I can to be a leader in a community that is still back in the 20th century in many ways.

I borrowed the video of Blade Runner from my nephew, Keith, who is, like I am, a science fiction and fantasy buff with an extensive video library. Because I was visiting Debra Hanks for the weekend, I took the video along to watch together; we reviewed the assignment before viewing the movie. Her son and my sister also watched the movie—Deb’s son kept pointing out the details that might be appropriate to our assignment, just about driving my sister nuts (she was less than enthusiastic about the movie, and the interruptions just kept making the experience longer).

DVDs and video on demand seem to me to serve different functions. I own all of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel DVDs because I know that I will want to watch them again. Video on demand is one of my favorite technologies on which to watch tv shows because I don’t want to keep them—one is probably enough. Before I bought the Buffy DVDs, I video-taped the reruns of it and had to remember to set the equipment and make sure there was enough room on the tape. I did the same thing with Star Trek the Next Generation, and ended up with boxes and boxes of tapes. Not convenient, but somehow I could not quite throw them away.

I am not sure where DVDs and video on demand are on McLuhan’s tetrad. Obviously, they have both enhanced the viewers’ ability to control when and where they might see productions. The both allow for the manipulation—fast forwarding for example, although NBC has started to make fast forwarding of their on demand tv shows unavailable so viewers are forced to watch the commercials they have on the shows. They have obsoleted VCRs to a large extent, at least on demand usually comes with a DVR capability. They retrieve story-telling and reading in some ways. They are probably going to be replaced by computers, television, home security, and telephony systems that are all connected somehow.

Module 4 Second Life

Second Life is addictive, creative, and social. While it may require basic knowledge of how things work to make the laws of nature different, it seems to have unlimited possibilities to reinvent yourself and the world in which you live, all for $1,000.00 down and a couple a hundred a month. Philip Rosedale, the man who created Second Life, in The Disruptive Power of Second Life says it is a bottom- up situation where digital people create, buy and sell digital items; it allows people the fundamental freedom to create. However, we may prefer our digital selves over our real selves. Regardless of the possible downsides, according to Rosedale it is unstoppable, inevitable, and disruptive.

It is much like the Internet and the Web in the early ‘90s. People can put themselves forth in the form of an avatar that is who they want to be, not who they are. It replaces cities, simulates space. Users create data that they can sell to earn real or digital money; people can build houses, businesses, and events anywhere. You can even have a baby, a digital baby, in Second Life. There is no structure to this game that is not a game. The economy of the game drives what people create; they want to sell their creations to exist in their virtual world.

Social creatures need others to learn, recommend, and experience information together. This may be the essence of constructivist learning. While this seems no more harmful than television in many ways for adults, is it applicable to people who are not adult learners?

Ryhmes of History Technology

Unfortunately, I have become addicted to the game on Facebook called Kingdoms of Camelot. This game, of course, harks back to King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. We are sanctioned by the king to build cities around a castle and produce resources to support the one industry that is available to us: war. Of course, other activities, such research on improving things like fertilizer to grow better crops and training our troops, are part of the game, but mainly they are ways to have more might than someone else so that we can beat them. Furthermore, we have alliances of other players that will help us if we are attacked or if we need to have more resources than we can individually support.

The interesting thing to me is how this has drawn my family together. My brother and sister-in-law started playing and told us how fascinated they are. Then my sister started playing. Because of my classes in Walden, I resisted, but just like the Borg in Star Trek, resistance is/was futile. I joined and so did my nephew. All of these people are over 40; my 18-year-old nephew just thinks we are silly. There have been times that four of us sit in one room, each with his or her own laptop, playing the game and discussing strategies. It reminds me of a quilting bee, each of us working on our own project and chatting. There is also a very active chat online with this game. We have found a community of players who have avatars and names that hide their ‘real’ identities; my sister and I are taking our real selves to Pennsylvania next week to meet some of them and go to a Renaissance Faire. We also have a code of conduct, norms that are established by the high ranking members of the alliance. These norms sound very much like the Knights’ Code of Chivalry from the Song or Roland. So yes, the future is like the past, just with cooler toys. And only pixels died when we go to war.

While a Smart Boards is a product made by a specific manufacturer of interactive white boards, the concept may be called that regardless of who makes it, in much the same way that atissue is universally called a kleenex. Smart boards enhance the ways that teachers present material and information and students demonstrate understanding. They allow for students to have hands, eyes, and ears on concepts in ways not previously available to them. Asmart board obsoletes many tools used by educators: the traditional chalk board was replaced by the white board which is now being replaced by by interactive versions of the same concept. Smart boards connected to a computer allows for whole classrooms full of students to view what might have been on a TV/DVD set up. Because interactive boards naturally promote collaborative teaching and learning, they retrieve community learning, storytelling with illustrations collectively told. They can be reused in much the same way that slates in early public schools were reusable. But they can also save work done collectively, therefore they retrieve publishing as well. They might be replaced one day with holo-decks, as in Star Trek and virtual world.

Skype

Skype is an emerged technology that is shaping the future, if not in itself, at least in the expectations of the generations to come. It is an on-line telephony system in which you can see the person with whom you are chatting. It can also be used as an instant message system and a voice only service. Up to 24 people can all be in a conference call, although they can only talk. Furthermore, documents can be shared among participants.

I have used it for at least a couple of years for personal use, but I am interested in how it might be used in schools. Last year, Debra Hanks and I made history in her school district when we set up a Skype video chat between her students and me. They asked me questions about coastal South Carolina where I live. While I had difficulty hearing the students, it was a great experience for this ol’ teacher-without-students. I hope to get the pleasure of Skyping with her third-graders as well as another class of third-graders at the same school. There seemed to have been a bit of rivalry over who got to talk to the lady about the alligators.

I have been working on a volunteer program at a local high school to set up Skype between a Spanish class and some native Spanish speakers. Several of my Spanish speaking former students have shown interest in communicating with the students who are learning Spanish. Last night I introduced one of these now-college students to Skype. She was quite impressed that this old dog knew a trick that she didn’t. Another one found me in Skype the day before, and all she could do was worry about her hair. So, for some, seeing the person to whom you speak (or yourself as they see you might be a detriment.

Some of the problems—in addition to seeing yourself on your computer—have to do with poor quality video and sound that goes in and out. These are likely the problems with the individual computers. Another issue in collaboration is differences in time zones; users have to set up time when they can get together comfortably.

Another potential problem is that while you can call anyone even on a non-Skype phone, it is not free. To Skype for free, both parties have to download Skype.
Some of the advantages may come from actually seeing who you are talking to. I get to see a grandson on the West Coast every now and then. I also like that I can see who is online before I contact them.

If you would like to see more about Skype, go to http://about.skype.com/

Below is a graphic of Skype showing what it might look like once it is set up. I wrote a Skype tutorial for a previous class that will help you get going if you would like to try it:http://8847shelton.wikispaces.com/Skype+Tutorial

Digital Teaching and Learning

My video is viewable at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSU69G-ba1c

I realized as I put together the “static-dynamic continuum” that I don’t think it is a continuum that I intend to move along at all. I found it is difficult to think of any collaboration that is not dynamic. The very nature of collaboration—as distinct from cooperation where each participant creates a separate part of a whole—means that people have to be in a dynamic situation. Thinking will change as different perspectives are realized and explored. If we are all thinking alike, someone is not thinking.

I also found that content generation that is dynamic may also suffer from being like jello—it looks firm until you poke at it, it disintegrates in heat (translate to criticism), and it is often unsatisfying if you are really hungry. I do not want to “begin to move toward the dynamic end” of content generation completely. I want to be able to see the published version of ideas even when, or especially when, they are wrong or I disagree with them.

Communication is sometimes best when it is not dynamic. Sometimes a school simply needs to get information out to parents; a newsletter or electronic phone call, both static forms of communication, may be the best option. If there is a nut with a gun outside the school, I do not want to discuss it with parents; I want them to stay away and know that their children will not be released to them until it is safe to do so.

I am glad there are ways that classes can operate on the dynamic end of the continuum WHEN IT IS APPROPRIATE. But I do not want revisionist history or weird science to become the norm; I do not want stale, pale male literature to be omitted from curricula. I think we need all the tools and toys to motivate, inspire, and acculturate students in our arsenal to battle ignorance, illiteracy, and lack of motivation.

Responses

I responded to http://lkortecc.blogspot.com
and
http://farawaylearning.blogspot.com

Using technology in schools

On the left side of my graphic organizer, Content, there are qualities needed in any F2F class, but they are also important in a distance learning section. Adding technological tools that learners are using in their non-school learning makes sense (Soloway, 2009). They already own cell phones, iPods, and MP3Players, and in some schools, these devices are seen as a danger (Macleod, 2009). Cell phones can be used for calendars, homework reminders, and connecting to teachers and classmates regarding class work, in addition to connecting to the Internet and adding pictures to writing assignments (Prensky, 2005). Email, blogs, and wikis can and should be used for information and discussions; they can also be used for collaboration and assignment submission. Many of these same features are part of iPods and MP3 Player capabilities. It behooves teachers to create assignments at suggest to students that they could choose these tools—if the teacher and the school allow them, the students will find ways to use them.

Soloway, C. N. (2009, January 14). Get Cell Phones into Schools. BusinessWeek: Technology. Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jan2009/ tc20090114_741903.htm
Macleod, F. (2009, October 31). 'Treat mobiles in schools like offensive weapons' - Scotsman.com News. from http://news.scotsman.com/education/39Treat-mobiles-in-schools-.5783435.jp
Prensky, M. (2005). What can you learn from a cell phone? Almost anything! Innovate Journal of Online Education 1(5). Retrieved from http://www.innovateonline.info/

Storyboard for 8842

I think that I got the chart into GoogleDocs for my video. Find it at http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=ddng8qg6_3cfzgcqcq

Cynthia

I think that both the individual and the group work are important, but I lean toward allowing students who are unwilling or unable to work as a group to have some alternatives. The goal of any class is what goes on with the student singular. In work, such as designing a bridge or organizing a business, the individual is not as important as the final product. So, while students need to learn to play well with others in order to do well in a job situation, their individual ability to think critically, understand deeply, critique others honestly and fairly, and evaluate the critiques of others without being rude or over emotional are all needed for our final product to be able to compete in a global economy.

There are in my mind issues with group formation. Last quarter in Walden I was assigned group members within the first two weeks of two classes. One of those groups I found rewarding and valuable to my learning process. The other group was total frustration. I spent so much time and emotional energy on that group that I was not able to complete KAM as I had wanted to do.

So back to assessment of groups, I applaud peer, learner-centered, and self assessment of the functioning of the group and instructor assessment of the work product using a rubric. I base these ideas on using collaborative learning in F2F classes during my teaching experiences. I used Daniel’s Literature Circles, Reciprocal Teaching, and Socratic Seminars as tools to help my students own their own reading and interpretation of text. I monitored and used rubrics to assess the learning of my students, and I was pleased with the results.

I am trying to post a table that I created in Word--I did not want to take the time to learn a new program to create the storyboard. I see now that I am not able to post this table as it looks in my version. Any thoughts on how to post it?


time text Images, videos
20s Introduction to Digital Teaching and Learning and Dr Christine Greenhow. Thank you for being here today at the Digital Teaching and Learning Conference to hear our keynote speaker Dr. Christine Greenhow, speaking on some of the major themes and issues surrounding DTL.

Picture of Dr. Greenhow
20s But before I introduce her, let’s work on defining digital teaching and learning. Clocks are now digital when they were once analog. We are currently moving from analog to digital television.
Video of Daddy’s clock and digital clock

Video of analogy tv→and digital tv.

20s And our taxes can be sent digitally with a digital signature. Pictures are now taken with digital cameras that have memory sticks instead of film. Video of someone signing taxes, then of the taxes sent online.

Image of film camera; video of digital camera
20s Publishing is changing. In the olden days, books and textbooks were the primary form of information transmission. Today, the Internet is the primary form information with more than 62% of people in the US connected to the Internet at home (Greenhow, et al., 2009a, p. 246).
20s People are even self-publishing, both in textual from and digitally. Every time we print something, we are publishing. Video of printer.
45s Then there are the Digital Divide,

the digital natives,

and the digital revolution. Video of Seabrook oldies, video of a group under 25

Video of preschoolers with computer

Stills of digital revolution
15 One outcome of this digitalization is the ever increasing use of social networking sites.
20s So how are we moving form “analog” classrooms to digital ones?

How are paper trails being converted to representations that are never in print?

When are we going to have roll books and diplomas that are in fact student portfolios saved to thumb drives?

How are we going to use social networking as an educational tool?
15s Defining digital teaching and learning
60s Best Practices in the digital classroom
30s Dr. Greenhow’s vita
30s Video clips of Greenhow’s presentations and tv interviews.
15s Credits and closing

Global Diversity and DE

Global diversity has been evolving since prehistoric times. As one culture encountered another, very often one was obliterated, either through conquest or assimilation. During the later half of the 20th century, after a war based on prejudice and racial hatred, perhaps some of us as a world have begun to see global diversity and tolerance as a benefit to society as a whole. This is an ongoing human development, and the desire for global diversity is not universal. New prejudices and racial hatred may be in the wind as terrorism, both international and domestic, strikes at the hearts of even the most stanch egalitarians from time to time.

Tolerance is fostered by knowledge of other cultures. Without tolerance, global diversity is dream not a reality. As Stephen Raymond, in this blog at http://sraymond-pofde.blogspot.com/ mentioned, “The world has gotten smaller, and I for one think it’s a good thing.” I for two think it is a good thing, too. As we are able to bring our friends and families closer and learn new ideas from those we may have considered less-than-friends, our global village will only thrive and strive for higher achievements.

Education and curriculum developers at all levels of education must be the vanguard of the movement for global diversity. This means that U.S. schools, especially the post-secondary ones, need to examine how they engage international students as well as how they invite U.S. students to become knowledgeable of other cultures. I agree with Karen Wondergem’s blog at http://wondergemprinciplesofdistanceed.blogspot.com/ that the curriculum design at universities must open up. I would go as far as to extend that to the K-12 curricula.

I posted comments to Luis Avila at http://farawaylearning.blogspot.com and Debra Hanks at

http://debrahanks.blogspot.com/

All of the authors seem to agree that distance education is being considered to be a quick fix for several of the problems facing education and training today. Teacher shortages, the need for more advanced courses, and an increasingly diverse learner population and geography are all reasons seen by policy-makers as reasons why distance education (DE) needs to be pursued as an alternative of face to face education at all levels.

Simonson (2000) points out that the brick and mortar environment and the distance education environment cannot be considered one in the same. The evolution of distance education must include ways to be more than a new delivery system for old pedagogy and practices. As the courses that are created for distance education proceed, new ways must also be developed to create an equivalency to the face to face education, while recognizing the unique opportunities afforded by online practices.

Moller, Huett, Foshay and Coleman posit reasoning behind a push toward distance education that seems to expect that DE will solve education ills at the high school, college, and corporate training levels. However, the stress that if the courses are not developed well with new pedagogy and educational philosophy to match the potential of tools that are usable, then the results will not be satisfactory. Instructional designers need to be a part of the systems that are developed from the beginning.

I agree with these authors that distance education is something new. We have an opportunity to create ways to educate and re-educate using research-based thinking and 21st century tools. Unfortunately much of what changes in education often is what is expedient, haphazard, and slapped together. Perhaps we can change that this time.



Simonson, M. (2000). Making decisions: The use of electronic technology in online classes. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 84, 29–34.

Huett, J., Moller, L., Foshay, W. & Coleman, C. (2008, September/October). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the Web (Part 3: K12). TechTrends, 52(5), 63–67.

Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008, July/August). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the Web (Part 2: Higher Education). TechTrends, 52(4), 66–70.

Using technology with teachers

One of my first experiences with helping people use technology occurred when I was a Title One Resource Teacher for the 1996-1997 school year. We had computers in most of the classrooms, and I was released from classes to help teachers in English and Social Studies to improve their uses of the computers. I remember one older English teacher who told me that his printer did not work. I asked him if he had turned it on. He just looked at me and said, “Turn it on?” as if I had suggested that that he should fly to the moon. Another English teacher used the computer as a door stop. I worked with another teacher who thought that computers were the tools of the devil, and she would not allow her students to touch one. She asked me what someone who felt that way should do in light of the directives to use computers and that taking attendance on the Internet was soon to be mandated. I told her to get another job.

These teachers seemed to have had the attitude that if they ignored the computers, they would simply go away. They did not use them, did not want to, did not think that computers would in any way improve their teaching, and that it was somehow my responsibility to make their responsibility disappear. They did not pay attention to the computers or the inservice workshops I tried to provide, nor did they see the relevance of classroom computers. Because they did not have computers at home, they had no confidence in their ability to use them and covered their lack of confidence with disdain for the very idea of computers. They did not seemed to think that that a) there was any need for them to do things any differently from the way they had always done them, or b) the District would really make the technology work sufficiently well to require the use of the Internet for legal attendance-taking purposes. All of these teachers were gone from the school before the District mandate to use computers for attendance became a reality, so in a way they were right.

If I were in that position again, knowing what I now know, I would have tried to gain their attention by having classroom computer activities more visible to these teachers. One way to do this would be to demonstrate success at department meetings or in small groups. Making computers relevant to those teachers who resisted was another matter. Perhaps showing better student progress in the classes where computer use was consistent might have helped, but my District did not support displaying individual teacher success as indicated by student progress in testing. Many times during the first years that computers were regular class room equipment, we had staff development sessions designed to help teachers develop proficiency and confidence in computer use. But, as the teachers that I mentioned were rather senior teachers, they either did not go to the sessions or ignored what was being presented. They took satisfaction it seemed to me when things went wrong, thereby proving their insistence that computers were never going to be permanent fixtures in schools. I finally took my satisfaction in working with newer teachers who were more receptive to developing uses for computers.

Connectivsm

• How has your network changed the way you learn? I am finding that part of what I learn comes from bouncing ideas off other people. At times, I pose a question to one of the people in my network, and merely posing it helps me to solidify the problem, cogitate the possible answers, and decide a course of action. My mind needs the other person to make meaning, even when the other person does not have answers or ideas to solve the problem. I need my reflected thoughts to bounce back to me to be able to network my brain.
• Which digital tools best facilitate learning for you? I would be lost without my iPhone. I am so used to finding data at my fingertips, I feel somehow incomplete if I don't have it. But I don't want to compose anything on it. I want my Mac laptop for travel and my HP desktop for home use. However, I still like to books and newspapers in my hands. TV is probably the digital resource I use the least for information-gathering. I have the DVR to record shows and On Demand to find shows that I missed recording, mostly for entertainment.
• How do you learn new knowledge when you have questions? Gather information, research, whine to my sister, my wikipartners, and my blogmates, reflecting on my own whining, and reorganize to solve the issue.