MLTI Conference 2009

by Cheryl Oakes

A few months ago, I along with Kern Kelley, Alice Barr, and Sarah Sutter, were asked to be part of a presentation to 800 MLTI students at a student conference on the University of Maine campus. After several sessions on SKYPE and planning with conference organizer Jim Moulton, the 5 of us, were going to present to an auditorium of 800 participants in an interactive fashion. How can 800 participants interact with the presentation? With Google online tools! Wait a minute! I know we have a hard time when we get 20 students in a classroom using a wireless access point in one room, we freeze up, have slow speeds getting to a website, but with 800, oh my!

Jim assured us that the University would get their best thinkers and doers working on this. Dr. Bruce Seegee and the fine engineers from CISCO took on this mission and would actually join us in the session to watch the bandwidth use and troubleshoot if necessary. This would be a perfect opportunity for all the conference participants to observe what happens behind the scenes to make things work at their schools and for all to see that when using technology we always have a backup plan.

Our presentation was the final session at the end of a very busy and productive day. Our session was titled (http://archives.mainelearns.org/studentconference/)

Block 3 - Only Google is big enough - Everyone, all together, one room, one session!

• In 2009 Good Questions are More Powerful Than Good Answers - Google Super Session (Alice Barr - Yarmouth High School; Kern Kelley - MSAD #48; Cheryl Oakes - Wells Ogunquit CSD; Sarah Sutter - Wiscasset High School)Maine's own team of Google certified educators will be leading the whole gang through a series of activities that will demonstrate the power of the Google Toolset. Sure, we all use Google, but wait till you see what you can do when you understand how to leverage Google's power to go beyond getting answers and learn how to use Google to ask your own thoughtful questions of people in your class, in your school, around your state, or even around the world!

As part of the preparation, the five of us, created a series of questions in a Google Form, and sent the questions out to our worldwide networks, in 10 days we collected information from all our personal networks, and after some clamoring this information is published for all to share and use. Thank you to all who participated in our survey. We hope you will create a survey that we can participate in at some point in the future.

Here are the data points distributed on the global map.

We had over 550 respondents answer our survey. You can see the points on the map indicating the participation that spread throughout the world. Our personal learning networks reach far and wide. A take away points:

• Collaboration is a tool which will leverage the learning and opportunities for our students.
• The data we collected will serve to make our students more global and appreciative of the power of all of us versus the power of one individual.
• The process of collecting the data is viable for all types of projects.

Here are the questions:


The survey is no longer available for more responses! Please check out the data that you were part of in this collection! YOU now are part of this historical collection.

1. How many hours a day do you spend at school for academics?
   
2. How many days a week do you go to school?
   
3. What time does school start for you in the morning?
   
4. What time do you get out of school at the end of the day?
   
5. What would be your ideal time to start school?
   
6. What would be your ideal time to end your school day?
   
7. Do you attend tutoring or other academic content classes outside of the school day?
   
   
   
8. If Yes, how many hours do you spend in this additional class each week?
   
   
   
9. Are sports or other club activities available outside the school day at your school?
   
10. If sports or other activities are available at your school, when do they occur?
    
11. Does your country provide free public education?
    
12. At what age do children begin formal schooling in your country?
    
13. At what age does public education typically end in your country?
    
14. Where is your school?
    

Free Curriculum Materials from the SEED Archive

"If we represent knowledge as a tree, we know that things that are divided are yet connected. We know that to observe the divisions and ignore the connections is to destroy the tree."

- Wendell Berry

At this time of Spring planting, 143 Packets of seeds developed through the Maine SEED model are still available and amazingly viable for promoting learning. I came away incredibly impressed after coming back to them once again this afternoon. Chief Horticulturist Jenifer Van Deusen explains how the program worked here.

Anyone for starting a new garden?

"Gardeners must dance with feedback, play with results, turn as they learn. Learning to think as a gardener is inseparable from the acts of gardening. Learning how to garden is learning how to slow down. Wise is the person whose heart and mind listen to what Nature says. Time will tell, but we often fail to listen."

- Michael P. Garofalo

Photo Credit

Games for Change at Student Tech Conference

by Ed Latham

Today in Orono, Maine over 800 students and teachers from around the state gathered to learn and share technical innovations and ideas in education. Olga LaPlante and I offered two sessions introducing lessons designed around using educational games published on the Games for Change organization.

The first of our sessions walked participants through a sample lesson that would begin a unit of study on energy policy. Participants were invited to use a sample simulation to play with different energy generation possibilities that all had potential to create stresses on the economic, environmental, and security aspects of the simulation city. Based on participant choices the game will provide a score and ranking. Students will then develop a brief energy policy based on the simulation and post their recommendation in a blog. The Resources and activity can be found at http://tinyurl.com/mltigames1

Our second session introduced a scenario that had local school board officials soliciting input from participants as to which game might be best to incorporate into the curriculum this next semester. Participants were asked to assume one of four different perspectives while they explored 3 different games. Each group of four students would then post their recommendation to the school board on a blog. The session resources and materials can all be found at http://tinyurl.com/mltigames2

Help to bring about change

Now it's your time to help bring about change: bring good games to school! What is your recommendation?

Energy Solutions

Please offer your solutions that you as mayor would propose to sustain your city energy needs.

Games for Change

Please select one question to reply to, and submit your response as a comment.

1. What are local energy initiatives in the different communities?
2. What alternative resources are available in Maine?
3. Should all cars be electric?

Mapping on the Internet at MVMS

Link
Review VoiceThread (Geography Threads)

"An Anthropological Introduction to YouTube"

Michael Welch, a cultural anthropologist at Kansas State University, studies the effects of social media and digital technology on global society. Tonight we have the opportunity to join him in an Elluminate session at 8 pm Eastern. Click here to join the room a few minutes before the starting time. (Be patient . . . let Java load and then click trust). More information can be found here at the Future of Education ning.

You might want to check out here before attending the session:



More related Videos and here as well.

Digital Ethnography Blog

Kite Flying

I just got back from camp at Worthley Pond in Peru, Maine, where besides the usual campfire, fishing, swimming, and feasting on smoked ribs and Beth's delicious Filipino creations, we more often than not also fly kites out on the lake. These days we generally pick up our kites at Marden's or the Christmas Tree Shop, where good nylon kites can often be purchased for less than the price of a greeting card. Today my nephew, Josh, a 4th year engineering student at UMO, successfully flew a large dragon kite out in the middle of the lake in a 12 foot aluminum rowboat. As is our custom, we cheered and teased from the shoreline as he sailed down the lake from the energy of the wind.

Back in my days of teaching 5th grade, we made our own kites out of newspaper, trash bags, string, pine sticks, and a bit of masking tape. Amazingly enough, they actually flew! I suspect that these days, in light of the bubbles and boxes of the NCLB mentality, this might no longer be permitted without some heavy campaigning . . .but I might be wrong. I mean, what on earth can be learned from flying kites?

Well *cough* for starters, kite flying is both an art and science:



Kite Flying can be an interdisciplinary or thematic unit that engages students and unifies learning:

NASA: Beginner's Guide to Kites
Education World: Kites
Webtech: Kites
Kite Day Theme (Pre-school)
Let's Go Fly a Kite (K-2)
eMINTS eTHEMES: Kites
The Physics of Kites
Welcome to the Adventure with Physics and Kites!
The Fun and Physics of Kite Flying
WebQuest: Flying High with Kites (10th Grade Geometry)
Wikipedia: Kite
YouTube: How to Make a Traditional Kite
More YouTube Videos on Making and Flying Kites
Kite Threads at VoiceThread

The Human Side: "Let's Go Fly a Kite" at Sunshine and Momma blog.

VacationLand Guide: Where Kites Go to Soar

NorEasters: The Kite Site for Maine Kite Flyers

Kite Flying has practical application:

Animation

I just recently viewed this delightful series of animations on Voicethread:

Some resources for animation in the classroom:

Amazing Animation Lessons on the Web
Be Very Afraid: Animation for Education
iStopMotion2
I Can Animate
Pencil
Blender (Open Source 3D Animation)

The Animator from Alon Perry on Vimeo.

What are some other tools available to do animation?
Who is doing animation in Maine classrooms?
What can be learned from doing animations?

Photo Editing with GIMP

A video tutorial, "Gimp: Basics and Photo Editing," by Conor Sullivan at MSAD#60

Twenty-five GIMP Video Tutorials to Get You Started

10 GIMP Video Tutorials Online

Other Tutorials

Place to Download GIMP

VoiceThread in the Classroom

VoiceThread is one of those simple-to-use web tools that is so powerful in providing a variety of solutions for diverse purposes. If you haven't had a chance to view how it is being used by all ages, take a few minutes here.

100 Ways to Use VoiceThread in Education:

7 for 7: Ubiquitous, Open & Simple Tools

"It's not about the tools, it's about the learning."

I find it amazing how far digital technology has come in 7 years. Prices have come down and power has increased in just about all areas. There has been a proliferation of new hardware and software (residing both on the devices and in the cloud), with manufacturers and programmers scrambling to find the sweet spot that will entice us to purchase their products and/or services.

Most applications are like automobiles: The buttons and levers might be in different places, but the basic skills needed to operate them are increasingly consistent. Grasp how to run one word processing program and you can probably figure out the basics of others quite quickly.

Questions: Given the above, is there a need for everyone to buy the same car . . . or is there a need for everyone to use the same digital tools? In our learning adventures, does everyone need to travel to the same place to be educated, to be enlightened, and to share and collaborate with other inhabitants?

Certainly there is something to be gained in the cost-effectiveness of group purchasing, but where is that sweet spot that will leverage the most learning for dollars spent in purchasing, supporting, and maintaining these digital tools? That is the big question that is being asked and debated very frequently in Maine and beyond during these days of recession.

We do know that we want digital technology that is easy-to-use. Simplicity is important.

David Pogue: When it comes to tech, simplicity sells . . .

Here are some of the ubiquitous, open, and simple-to-use tools that I find appealing:

1. Wikis. The mothership, Wikipedia, which humbly first appeared about 7 years ago, is a massive repository of knowledge, democratically gathered, which has proven itself over time. And, of course, we all can easily create our own free personal or institutional wikis using a growing number of online sites. Each wiki user can easily and personally configure the wiki to his/her liking without having to deal with bureaucratic barriers. I am using Wikispaces and Google Sites for my own work. Wikis are both simple and powerful at the same time. Albert Einstein: "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler."

2. Skype. Started in 2003 with the motto, "P2P telephony that just works," Skype has proven itself to be the kind of tool that is simple and effective to use in sharing voice, chat, video, and files. Check out Jim Moulton's blog post, "Using Skype with Students" at Edutopia on Skype's virtues. By the way, my Skype handle is adagio10. Hans Hofmann: "The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak."

3. Blogs. Weblogs were first utilized as personal journals, but they have become so much more. Again, the user can shape and control the space without having to go through bureaucratic hoops to get it done. There are blogs on every conceivable topic now. It is a superb tool for educators who desire a read/write digital presence. Combine them with wikis and you have a powerful combination. E.F. Schumacker: "Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage - to move in the opposite direction."

4. Nings. Want to make your own free public or private social network with minimal aggravation? Nings allow you to sculpt your digital space, allowing forums, file storage, individual participant pages, video, audio, and so much more. Confucius: "Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated."

5. Facebook. I've had an account on Facebook for a couple of years now, but only started using it regularly about three or four months ago. Its power to connect people with one another is outstanding and, again, it is very simple to use. The user has full control of who he/she chooses to be connected. Leonardo DaVinci: "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."

6. Google Menu of Products/Services. So many easy-to-use possibilities! Elbert Hubbard: "The sculptor produces the beautiful statue by chipping away such parts of the marble block as are not needed - it is a process of elimination."

7. OpenOffice. An open source productivity suite which includes word processor, spreadsheet, database, presentation, drawing & formula. I do a newsletter for my church. Initially I used Appleworks drawing, then Pages. Now I use OpenOffice Drawing. It meets my needs as a desktop publishing app. No, there aren't a lot of fancy templates built in, but I like to start with a white canvas anyway. Frank Lloyd Wright: " 'Think simple' as my old master used to say - meaning reduce the whole of its parts into the simplest terms, getting back to first principles.”

What ubiquitous tools do you suggest?

Curiosity

"I think, at a child's birth, if a mother could ask a fairy godmother to endow it with the most useful gift, that gift should be curiosity." ~Eleanor Roosevelt


Essential Question: What is our role in nurturing curiosity in children?

I've always believed that children were born with innate curiosity, and that this was an extremely imortant gift in creating life-long learners. I've also worried that the means we structure their lives might very well diminish this propensity.

But now I'm looking at my unchallenged assumptions to see the issue in more depth.

I started by reading "Considerations for the Study of Curiosity in Children" by John Keller. It seems that the definition of curiosity isn't as clear as I thought it was. It means different things to different people. For example, is distractibility a component of curiosity, and if so, is that a good thing or a bad thing?

Then there is the viewpoint that children aren't born with natural curiosity:

"The curiosity and creativity of children is very superficial . . . it is mostly a low order curiosity concerned with immediate gratification of a particular desire to know, and mostly oriented toward immediate practical results. There is no persuasive evidence that any societies have ever had a high proportion of people who were deeply curious in a systematic, disciplined way.”

~ Steven Dutch

Steven Dutch: Why is there Anti-Intellectualism?

Curiosity and Creativity in Children, Perhaps Not Quite as Sir Ken Robinson Suggests?


Curiosity at the LIM Resources Wiki

So . . . what are your thoughts?