This is our class blog. It will serve as our discussion forum, connection to each other, and the main webpage you will be accessing. If this is your first visit, then please first read the entry below (titled, 'Practice Session') and follow the instructions there--- then return to this one.
I give detailed lessons on edublogs and their use in the classroom in my EDC921 course (which some of you are in this semester, so the first week or two some of the content may be redundant). The format and interface are similar to our class blog, but chances are you won't have too much time to spend there. The content here should keep you pretty busy--for now you only need to know a few things.
This blog can be viewed by anyone, but will only allow the participants of EDC922 to interact with it. When you would like to respond to someone or comment upon a session, just click on the 'comment' link below each of my postings (you should sign up for a Blogger account ASAP and choose a 'User Name' that is easily identifiable) until then choose the 'anonymous' button under 'choose an identity'; I sure some of you have already begun to practice a little.
In the left-hand margin you will see links to individual lessons (accessible every Wednesday).
If you need to contact me then please email me at DaveFontaine1@gmail.com.
This blog, in addition to its use as an interactive communication tool, will also be where you can access and download your weekly sessions. The presentation links to the left will be accessible on a week-to-week basis (Tues. or Wed. afternoons). I've said it before, but it bears repeating---When attempting to download always choose 'save' rather than 'open.'
The syllabus is also linked to the left. Google has a free service that allows you to just upload any Word document and with one additional click it gets published online with its own URL. The course syllabus is an example of how easy it is to use, and we'll practice with this tool before next week.
One more aspect that will be unique about this course is that I support a completely collaborative teaching philosophy. Following that mindset, I will keep your assignments, comments, and reflections viewable and accessible to future participants of this course. The 'goal' of that is:
- For future participants to gain from the collective knowledge of your experiences;
- Use what you have done; and
- Incorporate new ideas into their classroom.
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Some of the content for our sessions is also covered in 921. Where that is the case I'll also give you a link to the 'comments' of past participants about that topic.
Before we go any further I would like each of you to practice using this forum and introduce yourself. We will be spending the semester together, so it is important to learn as much about each other as possible. Click on the 'comment' link below this posting, then you may click the 'anonymous' button and write a few paragraphs about yourself. (If you are feeling bold you may sign up for a Blogger account now and use the 'user name' that you create when you 'comment' rather than choosing 'anonymous.')
Please include:
-your name
-email address (so that you may contact each other directly if needed),
-your educational background,
-teaching history,
-current teaching position with location, and lastly
-what you hope to come away with when this semester is over, along with any additional information about you that you wish to share, like your motivation for choosing this course...
After you have finished posting this profile, come back to this page and read the '922-Session 1' posting (below this one), then find the 'Session 1' link (along the left-hand margin), download it, and view it. When you are finished with the session please click on the 'comment' link again and add any comments, insights, or reflections you have for Session 1, under the Session 1 posting.
Sometimes it takes a little while to get the hang of using this forum. I have taken this into consideration by reducing the workload of the first session. (Of course, if you get distracted easily, then you could spend hours exploring.)
Its primary goal is to make sure everyone is on the same page and skill level before we sink our teeth into the meat of this course. However, if you run into any 'techno-speedbumps' then please feel free to contact me with any questions.
Everything here is protected by Creative Commons. This means that you have complete authority to download, save, share, and use all of the lessons in your classroom, but are prohibited from any commercial uses.
You will notice that each slide of the PowerPoint presentation has the narration transcribed in the 'notes section' of each slide. This is because each semester we have teachers from around the world taking this course. We've had teachers from Canada, China, Alaska, California, Phillipines, Sudan...taking my courses (And they may need help understanding my "Ro-diland" accent) but more importantly, the transcribed narration allows you to take these slides and use them in your own classroom. (or, if you find my voice putting you to sleep, you can just read the slides instead)
Good luck this semester! I look forward to working and collaborating with you.
Dave Fontaine
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STOP--DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER UNTIL YOU HAVE FOLLOWED THE INSTRUCTIONS ABOVE.
====================================================922-Session 1 "The World of Wikis!!!"
Welcome to Session 1
"The World of Wikis!"
This semester will take us onto a new path!
A path that leads to more collaboration--
more cooperative learning---
and more opportunities to create differentiated instruction and visual learning---all with the goal of helping foster literacy, and learning, for our students.
Don't worry if you have barely heard of the word, 'Wiki'. Here is a taste of the excitement that awaits you when you download our first session.
Good luck and take plenty of notes because I don't want to miss any of your ideas, excitement, and insights when you post your comments!
Here is a copy of Session 1 if you want to view it online w/o the download
922-1
More PowerPoint presentations from DaveFontaine
If you're eager to get started, but still have some apprehension then maybe some of the tutorials on the left might help.
You may also read past participants' comments here and here. Some people find reading them before the session helps with their perspective.
Have fun!
Dave
PS-If you have any trouble downloading any of these sessions from the link on the left, then I've got backups on Authorstream.com. Just visit the link and type in edc922 in the search box, then view the most recent session, or click here to go to Session 1 directly.
17 comments:
Hello! My name is Karen and I'm currently a Kindergarten Special Education Teacher at Narragansett Elementary School. This is my 10th year teaching and I am at a master's + level. I took a summer course last summer on blogs and wiki's and really enjoyed the course. I am hoping to learn ideas in order to inspire student literacy for all students and hopefully learn ways to modify literary curriculum to meet individual student needs. My email is shireyk21@hotmail.com
I'm looking forward to hearing more from everyone else in this course. :)
I am currently a school media specialist in a high school (grades 9-12) in Suffolk County, NY. I have worked in public and academic libraries for the past 10 years, but I am just completing my first year as a school media specialist.
My school is very interested in moving toward more ebook use, especially as textbook replacements and I would like to learn more about the options that are out there. I am an avid ebook reader myself, mainly on my iTouch or phone where I have installed apps for Kindle, Nook, Stanza and Overdrive Media to support my addiction. So far I've been unwilling to tie myself to a single device, mainly because I don't want to have to carry an extra device around. I'm really looking forward to expanding my knowledge on this topic!
Jacque Wrightson
jacque.wrightson AT gmail.com
In reviewing the slides presented tonight I acquired a great deal of information about wiki's. As I was listening to the slides I had a few "I wonder's" which were all answered by the end of the presentation. I was curious about wiki's used as training and professional development. I think it's a great idea as a follow-up informational tool and link to other educators who might attend a specific conference. Often times I leave conferences with great ideas and think about how to incorporate them into classroom. Having a way to communicate, edit, and evaluate information shared by our colleagues is a great resource.
On a personal level, if I were to create or post on a wiki I feel like I would have to be extremely knowledgeable about the subject/topic.
Hi! I'm Carolyn. I work in Lexington, MA as a library teacher. I've worked there for the past 12 years. & years of my work experience in Lexington has been at the high school and 5 years at middle school. I love middle school. Previously, I worked at elementary school as well. I am also a grad of the URI GSLIS program. I feel I'm fairly current with technology but there's also something new and more to learn. This year our secondary school were just awarded a grant to purchase e-readers and e-books so when I say this course, it seem to fit perfectly with my newest school adventure. My email is clyn.kelly@gmail.com
Barbara Ruszkowski
bruszkowski@pduaacademy.org
BAAS English University of Delaware
MI School Library Media University of Delaware
I taught secondary English for twenty-five years in public school, including three years as writing lab instructor, twelve years as department chair and two years as district coordinator of writing. I served as middle school librarian for three years in public school.
I have been working for nine years as librarian at Padua Academy in Wilmington, Delaware, a 9-12 Catholic high school for girls. I also serve as literacy coordinator and department chair.
I enrolled in the class because I hope to gain insight and experience with digital content to assist my colleagues in the curricular areas. I also hope to develop digital content to support my students’ information needs. Finally, I have never experienced a totally online course format, and I am interested in learning how it works from the viewpoint of a learner.
I have read through the ppt one time. I have a comment on format. It is impossible for me to read the links in light blue. Could you please use some other color? I will have more comment after I have really digested the content of the lesson.
I agree about the links. They are nearly invisible.
Karen states above,
"In reviewing the slides presented tonight I acquired a great deal of information about wiki's. As I was listening to the slides I had a few "I wonder's" which were all answered by the end of the presentation. I was curious about wiki's used as training and professional development. I think it's a great idea as a follow-up informational tool and link to other educators who might attend a specific conference. Often times I leave conferences with great ideas and think about how to incorporate them into classroom. Having a way to communicate, edit, and evaluate information shared by our colleagues is a great resource.
On a personal level, if I were to create or post on a wiki I feel like I would have to be extremely knowledgeable about the subject/topic. "
I've found that many of the 21st century conferences that I attend and hear about lately all have some a wiki or some similar tool for the participants to use and benefit from. Here are some examples: http://wikis.ala.org/annual2009/index.php/Annual_2009
http://wikis.ala.org/yalsa/index.php/YALSA_at_the_2009_ALA_Annual_Conference
Hi! My name is Mary Ellen and I am the reading consultant at the Richmond Elementary School in Wyoming, RI. I was a fourth grade teacher for 7 years and this is my 5th year as a reading consultant. I am excited to learn strategies and ideas on using technology with my students. I would love to create an interactive blog to use with my students and parents. My email is mespo@chariho.k12.ri.us I have a BA in Management and a MA in Reading. I am certified in RI to teach grades 1-6 regular education and K-12 reading. Looking forward to a great 10 weeks!
Hello everyone! My name is Teresa Tartaglione and I am a school library media specialist in New York, NY. I am the campus librarian for six small high schools (all serving grades 9-12), with about 3000 students total. This is the end of my third year as a media specialist and before my current position, I worked as a library media specialist in a large, comprehensive high school in NYC. I am taking this class for two reasons--to get me towards my 30 above my masters and to help me get ideas as to how to begin to seriously integrate e-books into my library program. I have a few e-books and I just received a grant for 14 iPads and I'd love to make those as useful as possible to my students and staff! My email address is thisisteresat@gmail.com.
Comments on Session One Presentation, Readings, and Ideas
I have two general observations. First, as a learner, I am finding that the difficulty with using exclusively online text lies in navigation. If the text is a two-column PDF, it is confusing to decide where in the text to stop and back up to the next column. In the case of the online collection, there is no way to navigate by linking from the contents page, so scrolling is the only, cumbersome way. Second, while I can definitely appreciate the multiple uses and benefits of Wikis in a closed community of peers, like the staff of a school, a group of professional librarians, or students enrolled in the same course, the idea of a totally open Wiki is not appealing to me. It is my experience that everyone’s expertise is not the same on every topic as everyone else’s; however, our society seems to be moving to an intellectual climate where personal opinion is the respected norm, valued above scholarship, research, and experience.
On the specific content of the resources, I can see that this can all be useful as I go about setting up my projects for both professional use and within the context of the course expectations. The resources also give me ideas about engaging in dialogue to work with my colleagues in other disciplines to explore the use of
Wiki technology to facilitate student learning. We have been using Google apps at my school for more than a year, and we have found that we can use that technology to enrich students’ experiences through collaboration, anytime communication, and better access to resources. We have enjoyed the same benefits with the apps we get with our subscription to Noodletools. In all my years as an educator, the idea of openly shared resources has been the norm. We have always freely shared lesson plans, evaluations, resources, and grading rubrics with each other to be adapted for individual situations. The most valuable resource for me in this week’s session, is the NCTE document “Writing in the 21st Century”. I have been trying to persuade my colleagues in our English department to consider teaching other forms of writing besides the academic literary essay. While I fully endorse the continued teaching of academic writing, the authority of NCTE behind this document may help in my persuasion. I will certainly share it at the next English department meeting.
Hello everyone,
It is Tuesday afternoon, a full 5 days after this course was posted. I downloaded the course material on Friday afternoon before heading to camp for the long weekend. My camp is rather secluded and for the most part we are disconnected. We have no Internet and thus the late response.
My name is Mary. I am a high school librarian in a large, suburban school district with over 1,750 students in Upstate NY. I've been in Education for 15 years, 10 of them as a librarian, 1st at the elem level and for the past seven years at high school. I have tried to take classes throughout my career to stay abreast of changes and offerings in education and especially in technology.
I am interested in this course for a couple of reasons. This has been a “Nook” pilot year for my library. I have a dozen Nooks with probably 20 or 30 eBooks. For the most part, I’ve loaned them as a set to English teachers to use with Literature Circles. I would like to expand circulation but am leery because of the size of my school and the costs involved. I’ve started with Nooks, but I am wondering what other reader options might work for us.
The other interest I have is in digital content for classroom/textbook use. NY State just changed their budget criteria for textbooks to include digital content and eReaders. Our district would like to move away from physical textbooks. Many of our teachers do not have the experience, knowledge or even the time necessary to make this transition. I want to investigate some of the available options so that I can report back and maybe guide or ease teachers in this direction.
I feel fortunate that I am taking this class with one of the English teachers in my building. We plan on collaborating and kibitzing to determine how to proceed as a department and as a school. I can be reached by email me at megotham@gmail.com. I don't always check it daily, but try to a couple times each week.
Best,
Mary Gotham
Hi again. We will be migrating our circ system to an open source system this summer. The interface is quite different and I thoughtba wiki might be an ideal tool to incorporate. My first thought was to tag websites for the curriculum and ask teachers to add the ones they use. But it might also be useful to them as wevall learn the ins and outs of our new system.
Betci
I've been thinking about wikis and a variety of other tools that are regularly used in classrooms. I'm wondering just what are the differences of some? For instance, I was thinking about google docs. Did google docs evolve out of wikis and a need for more controlled collaboration? Anyone use open classroom? It is relatively new to me but seems to allow teachers to have a wiki with their students in a more private manner but then it also seems to allow you to have a wiki between just one student and a teacher. Is that really a wiki? There are so many free sites out there to do such a variety of things (glogster, prezi, screencast-o-matic, wikis, blogs, twitter) It both seems overwhelming and overkill?
Just some thoughts of mine before moving onto the next session.
My name is Barbara Connolly and I'm a high school librarian in Oradell, NJ. I have been in education for 21 years, first teaching social studies, then a research class, and the past 6 years as a librarian. I have an MLS from Rutgers and an MA in history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I'm hoping to learn more about how to integrate ebooks into our library and ideas for overcoming the roadblocks to that integration.
I forgot to leave my email address: barbara.connolly@riverdell.org
And my user name is Dairy Queen
Carolyn and Teresa, I'd be interested in hearing about how you will be using your ereaders and ipads in your library. I have some nuts and bolts questions about how to start with those.
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