Moving Forward

We just finished a 4 day institute “Teacher Tech Camp” with 18 teachers. This was our second year to give this a try. This year we used 2 labs so the groups would be small. This enabled more sharing and more one to one assistance as we shared new technologies with most of the group. One or two teachers knew much of what we offered but signed up anyway. Each day the participants spent time working on their new blog at Edublogs, discovering Google Docs, PBWorks- the wiki we used for the institute, and learning more about free tools to use with classroom instruction such as Bitstrips, VoiceThread, Kerpoof, Scratch, and Animoto.

This year we had two guest instructors LeAnn Dowty and Laura Smith, both graduates of last year’s Teacher Tech Camp. The focus of this intense training time is to help teachers she the power of collaborative interactive work that can motivate students, change their perspective about teaching today’s students and hopefully improve student work. Another tool that was a big hit was Podcasting. Participants used brand new iMacs with Garage Band and Snowball microphones to share what they were doing. At the end of the week, one teacher said, ” I want to buy and Mac after this. It was just so easy.” I love hearing that. All in all it was a great week. Plans are in the works for next year already.

Have you tried the new functions in image searches with Google? You find one picture but not just- one picture leads you to another but becomes graphically connected to the entire path of where and how you got to that picture. So as you search for images, you also see in a graphic organizer where one group of pictures are connected to a multitude of other pictures.

You can find it in Labs, here’s and example:

As I haven’t been here in a while I’ve been thinking much about the tools of the web and how we use them. To an entire generation iPods, netbooks, DVD, Google and the Internet are all part of daily life. To another generation they have no idea what these might be or what social networking entails.

Here’s an example: I got  an email from a retired teacher who asked about posting material on a website. She complained about all the tabs that appeared with each link. So has she been on the web very much? No, for tabbed browsing is not new.

So those of us in this other generation who do use the web and understand current tools and terminology must help any generation to learn new things. So learning is a life time event. We have all learned from others at one time or another. That was our community of learners. This community exists on the web for the generation of today. Their community becomes an informal social network where learning takes places. This learning usually takes place outside the classroom.

So the generations of educators in k-12 and higher ed must convert to this new world of learning and meet the students in their world if education and real deep learning move students from 5 to 80 from one level to another. One is never too old to learn. But one must be open to learning, have experiences that help with new learning and have a community or network where learning can take place.

Now that I have retired from public education and have a new role, I begin to see things from a much larger perspective. All educators must help colleagues as well as students learn new things. In my new role as Communications Services Administrator of Delta Kappa Gamma Society International, an honor society for women educators, I  see many adults who don’t have a presence on the web. Learning has forever changed. The tools will evolve again but connecting and learning from others in other places has changed the map of learning. I’ve been doing much reading lately as I continue to work on my dissertation. I’m looking at social networks and how participant can change practice, specifically the practice of k-12 teachers. Michael Dulworth states, “The world is globalizing, and distance is no longer the same factor it was in making and maintaining contact with others even a decade ago.”

Tomorrow I have the privilege of teaching someone something that will be very new for her…adding links to a blog post. I’m so excited for she is now senior in age and is a retired community college administrator. She worked with students and understands the needs of the typical college student somewhere in their 20’s. Two months ago, I nudged a little about starting a blog. Her goal was to post once a month. That’s a big goal for one who doesn’t text or twitter. I’m very excited for she is the international president of DKG and is open to learning new things especially in the world of Facebook and LinkedIN and social networking. If only a third of the country’s working k-16 educators has her enthusiasm, classrooms would be exciting places.

WOW! I can hardly wait to see this tool. Look to Wired Magazine for a great photo. You can also learn everything they know about the tablet. We might see it in March. It looks like a giant iPod Touch from the photo at Wired. Check it out.

It has been some time since I made a post. I’ve swamped. I recently retired from Memphis City Schools, then moved to Texas and took on a new job. My new title is communications services administrator. I now will manage a web, a private Facebook tool known as Go Lightly, and all print media as well as marketing efforts on the part of Delta Kappa Gamma Society International. This is an honor society for women leaders in education. There are over 100,000 members and located around the world. In November, Panama will join the society.

So I’ve been packing and moving for the past month and offline until my connections at home were hooked up. I’m back online and looking for more and more ways to introduce the use of technology to teachers but now I can do that across 16 countries. Truly awesome. I’m excited about the new challenges. I have a small department to guide so yesterday we learned about Google calendars ( this one is mine). One team member discovered the tasks option on her own and has gone wild.

I read an article on Digital Learning Environments from Jim Vanides that struck a familiar tune for me. The Internet, new technologies and collaboration are all new ways of teaching that create success when all work well.
In his article Jim says:

…the technology elements of their grants have allowed for new modes of instruction and new experiences for their students. But there’s more – the projects have changed their professional community of practice. As one team puts it, “teachers (are) helping teachers like never before…” Many teams describe the amazing spirit of collaboration that has emerged among the staff, well beyond the direct project participants.

I so agree with how using technology in new ways helps change the culture of one’s work. The team that I work with has only become closer through the creative uses of blogs, wikis, and sharing in Google docs our professional work. It is a real team effort. We are all successful because we have so many connections. We build wikis together. We read each other’s blogs. We share leadership. We interact with one another on Facebook. We have built an incredible section of intellectual capital in Google docs. All these tools have helped us learn from one another, learn more and want to continue trying new things. As I write this tonight sharing what a wonderful team I work with, it is a bittersweet thing for tomorrow is my last day in the office with this crew. ( I’m retiring.) What a ride it has been. So I salute each of you: Scott, Wanda, Jason, Jess, Cindy and Felicia.  If teams of teachers can latch on to this new culture of teaching, students will soar and teachers will find the joy of teaching again.

It’s all about establishing your own brand, then using that brand to empower those around to catch the storm you offer. I’m currently working on a presentation about women and creating one’s own personal brand. As I’m been reading and thinking and doing some planning, I ran across an interesting site, Brains on Fire. This is a group of individuals who hard at helping others find their passions in their work and build ownership and loyalty. What a fun way to make a living. That’s kind of what I do but on a tiny scale. It certainly is inspiring to find out what you think, someone else thinks.

In today’s market, women have powerful ideas, seek influenical positions, and have new perspectives on life, living, and learning. So ladies, put on your thinking cap and create your own brand and then put it to work.According to Robin Fisher Roffer, “Branding gives you the opportunity to become brand-new.”

1. Who are you?  What are your values? What are your passions? What are your skills?
2. How do others classify your skills set? Create a tagline or slogan covering your values and passions. Keep it short- 7 words max.
3. How do you package yourself, your work, your image? Your appearance counts.
4. What are your personal goals and objectives. Create your own mission statement.
5. Who is your audience? ( From executive board members to parents of your kindergarten students.) Create a personal website or blog and let your audience know who you are.
6. Block out barriers, put your brand out there. Do not sell yourself short.
7. Create your own squat of cheerleaders, your personal executive board. Find a mentor.
8. Develop a plan of action for your own success and keep your brand current.

How do you want others to see you? Go forth and create your image. It can only come from your inner self. Be that you are a teacher or CEO matters not. Start doing some thinking for those who are in education, as I have been all my life, what do you want the world to see or say about you.  Get your tagline out there and soak in more success. I’m working on my own…right now it’s Linda Eller: Digital Learning in a Connected World. It may still change ( only 6 words.) Until next time…..

This is hot off the press….

On the Facebook blog this morning says Lieutenant Colonel Kevin Arata (link to his FB page):

Allowing our audience — including our soldiers — to connect and communicate through social networking is still considered risky business by some, and we do face unique challenges. The risks to operations security felt by some, or the fears that our soldiers will post “unbecoming” information, are outweighed by increased communication and sharing.

This is so insightful of the Army. What about our k-12 institutions? I’m currently working on my dissertation towards my doctorate in educational technology. My interest lies in using social networking as an informal learning place for teachers. Does it make any difference? Does it connect today’s life with changing what our teachers do with students? If the Army sees this as a valuable tool for our soliders, then wake up educators and get on the bus. Otherwise you’ll be the one left behind by your students.

Check out the iTouch Apps for primary students that Wesley Fryer shares from NECC 09.

I Can Write, Etch A Sketch, and Comic Touch. Adding a few iTouch iPods to your classroom can make the day come alive.

And at the App store from Apple you can find more apps for toddlers.

This year I’m not at NECC. Sessions are being shared online in innovative ways for those of us who lost travel budgets. I just listened to a session that Wesley Fryer attended. He shared his notes from Scott McLeod’s session on “Effective Leadership in an Era of Disruptive Innovation” which was based on two books from Clayton Christensen, The Innovator’s Dilmena and Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learn.

The presentation, using audio and visuals, carries the listener through McLeod’s explanations and makes connections to education. I found it quite interesting and pertinent to what is and is not happening in k-12 education today.