Learning Gems

I am teaching some colleagues about blogs at the moment but I have reached a crisis point. We have explored ‘best practice’ examples in education, fossicked about in the blogosphere, started blogs, written posts, added links, grappled with blog ‘buzz’ words and experimented with themes. One of my colleagues is convinced and blogging along nicely…the other is wondering why on earth she should bother!

Where do I go from here?

I love blogs (I have four!), I am already a convert. How do I convince someone else that blogging is worthwhile? I have spent some time pondering this question but time is running out…our third session is coming up in two days and I am getting quite desperate! In fact, this post is my last ditch effort to ‘tease out’ ideas

Use the force…of my PLN!!

I realised all I had to offer Sue, the non-believer, was my own (short) blogging experience. Clearly, I needed to widen my search for information and ideas. Hence, this plea to my plurk buddies:

11 responses later most seemed to think it was important to stress the importance of commenting on other people’s blogs and not being a blurker (someone who lurks on blogs but never leaves comments). Thanks to gkat, and drlaurie for their suggestions. Drlaurie also provided links to a relevant coolcatteacher post.

Next stop: Google Reader (665 unread)

Trawling through my subscriptions proved useful. I discovered this blog post by Dean Shareski: ‘Student and Teacher Blogging that Succeeds’. It seemed to reinforce what I’d learned from my fellow plurkers. It also forced me to face the worrying thought that had been simmering: the blogs started by my small group were in danger of failing!

Educational Blogging: be open to the possibilities and just do it!

Blogging is about being involved, really involved, in the ideas of others; engaged and passionate involvement in reading, writing and sharing; a commitment to reflection and, of course, some interest in the topic. My colleagues need to develop good blogging habits; they can’t just start a blog, they need to become engaged in the world of blogging.

The Challenge (Sue, you’re on your own…)

I’ve decided my next blogging session will be about getting involved. I will encourage my group to read, comment, share, and learn. I will also issue them with a series of challenges: write a post once a fortnight (at least); explore the blogosphere, subscribe to a few blogs and comment on them regularly (at least once a week); keep at it for at least three months and then decide if they are bloggers at heart.

The visual power of words:

Wordle is a cool little tool that makes word clouds from writing or web pages ‘fed’ to it. It is a great way to discover a focus in any piece of writing. The words used most often are larger so it is easy to determine which words, ideas and concepts are important. My blog wordle:

Wordle Analysis:

Analysing text via word clouds might be a useful tool for students compiling a resume, essay or poetry. It instantly reveals central points and might also show overused words that can make writing dull and flat.

I was happy to see that my ‘Learning Gems’ blog focuses on ‘learning’ and ‘students’ but surprised to see how often I’d mentioned Ning. I must enjoy the collaborative and social nature of learning a lot without realising it!

Wordle poetry

Wordle also lends itself to the quick easy creation of visually appealing poetry and other creative writing. My wordle poem on spring captures many of my thoughts on my favourite season:

The Power of Words in Web 2.0

Has anyone else noticed how happy and carefree some Web 2.0 applications sound? Ning, Twitter, Twhirl, del.icio.us, Jing, Skype…I feel like I’m dancing in Cyberspace rather than surfing it! On the other hand, ‘blog’ sounds a lot like hard work; it reminds me of something difficult, climbing a hill, doing it tough (I have no idea why!) but it’s not a very pleasant sounding word. Neither is wiki (sorry)

I do wonder how the names for some of these applications come about, though, particularly when I mention them to colleagues who are not au fait with Web 2.0. When I told one teacher I’d started a Ning his facial expression suggested twilight zone, crazy, alternative lifestyle, hippy commune, etc (Well, He was a child of the 70s!) Mind you, his look didn’t really change much when I explained the Ning to him!

A Ning for Teacher-Librarians

On a high after a Web 2.0 Conference by the School Library Association of Victoria (SLAV) I decided to start a Ning for Victorian Teacher-Librarians. The conference made me particularly aware of the number of teachers out of touch with Web 2.0 but also a little afraid of it. Teacher-librarians so often lead the way in schools when it comes to the mastery of new technology. Yet, amongst some of the T-Ls I know and those I met at the conference I have also noticed a certain lack of enthusiasm and understanding for the potential of Web 2.0 in education. I thought the Ning might provide a place for them to share, learn and play together.

Lessons learned from Ning…

T-Ls are great networkers: I twittered my Ning and also announced it on the OZ-TL email list. I gained a new member per day. My next suggestion will be that we each invite a fellow T-L to join the Ning. (Nothing less than total domination will be tolerated!)

Girls like Pink books! Our first discussion centred on the impact of location and gender on collections. Many of the Ning members are from single sex schools and/or isolated schools in the country. Location does not seem to impact on collections as far as I can see. Girls and boys both enjoy reading the Cherub series

Stephenie Meyer has a huge following at the moment!

T-Ls are passionate.

The best way to learn about Web 2.0 is to jump in! I’ve been blogging for a few months now but I had no real idea what a Ning was until I started one. A Ning is a great way to connect like-minded people.

If you’re a Victorian Teacher-Librarian (and even if you’re not) join and/or check out the Victorian T-L Ning:

Visit Victorian Teacher-Librarians

First, let me start with something completely irrelevant…

Many years ago I watched a game of AFL football and saw the president of the losing club cry on national television…Now that’s passion! At the time I was working hard to extract a similar response from my English classes (No, I didn’t want them to cry!) I wanted them to care; I wanted them to get so caught up in a task they didn’t want to stop… I wanted passion! I developed a new found respect for that AFL team, Collingwood, (much to my family’s disgust) because I admire that sort of commitment and passion, no matter what its origin.

Passion in Education
Web 2.0 is also creating a lot of passion and excitement at the moment. I saw this first-hand today when I attended the SLAV conference ‘Re-imagining: Web 2.0 applications and implications’. I spent most of my time listening and nodding my head in agreement through each presentation. I did this a lot as I listened to Will Richardson speak of the challenges and opportunities ahead for educators. Put simply, schools must learn to compete with the virtual, world-wide web as it connects people with similar interests and passions daily. The learning opportunities are endless and students need guidance. Web 2.0 is changing the way society operates and connects; educators have to respond to this.

Jenny Luca, Toorak College, virtually described my own Web 2.0 journey (including the bit about spending Saturday nights on the web!). Jenny also reinforced my ideas about how teachers need to connect with Web 2.0 and educate themselves. Essentially…just do it! Start a blog or wiki, sign up for things, build a network with other passionate educators; there are lots of them out there.

Web 2.0: what’s in it for me? Or…What will I do tomorrow in my workplace to move forward with Web 2.0?
Pass on what I have learned to school leaders. Our leaders need to be able to see the potential here and if they don’t then it is my job to try to show them.

Supply a context for using Web 2.0. Suggest ways that Web 2.0 can be used to enhance learning at our school. Some ideas: Begin a VCE English theme wiki to encourage discussion and learning with other students from other schools studying these themes; do some serious ‘selling’ of my Literature Discovery Tour to show teachers what is possible; Begin a Voicethread project to encourage discussion of the CBCA shortlisted title.

Continue to arrange and present professional development sessions: igoogle; google docs; voicethreads; animito; scrapblogs (and my other discoveries) in a simple, short, non-threatening way.

Encourage individual exploration.

Get the students involved. Students love all this stuff; I have a group I call the ‘library legends’ who are currently creating avatars and alternative identities so they can contribute to a library blog.

Attempt to demystify Web 2.0 for parents and teachers. Send details of my blogs home to parents so they can look at them with their children.

Keep Learning. Continue to sign up for things, subscribe to blogs, comment a lot, start a wiki…etc. I’m not sure if it’s possible to be a Web 2.0 expert but I know it’s important for me to become a Web 2.0 explorer, learner and innovator.

_{Collingwood v Brisbane Flickr photograph by Judi Donovan}

What a journey!  Twitter, Voicethreads, Diigo, del.icio.us, YouTube, Second Life…the list goes on (and on!)  I’ve been so busy exploring the learning potential of these tools that I almost forgot the relatively simple pleasure and excitement generated by a visiting author.

I recently invited popular author, Archie Fusillo, (The Dons, On the Mat, Bruises…) to work with students in Years 9 and 10.  His writing workshops were a huge success and the air was abuzz with that ‘learning vibe’ or hum that teachers everywhere recognise.   The students loved him.  They laughed a lot but were also challenged to examine the writing process and reflect on the ‘sound’ of good writing. 

Archie is funny, down-to-earth and a natural storyteller.   His visit provided a positive learning experience and a timely reminder for me…’Learning Gems’ take many forms and it’s important to find a balance between face-to-face interaction and the wonders of Web 2.0!

Last year I looked at Twitter and didn’t understand what all the fuss was about. I eventually deleted my account. Recently I signed up again, this time with some understanding of its potential. Now I’m hooked!

Twitter allows for the short and sharp sharing of information, something I believe suits educators perfectly. We always seem to be rushing somewhere, operating on the edge of chaos, planning on the run or snatching quick snippets of professional dialogue with colleagues on the way to class etc. Twitter can operate within that environment because tweets are limited to 140 characters and only take a few minutes to write or reply to. You can tweet throughout the day!

The educators I have ‘met’ on Twitter happily share links, ideas and professional knowledge as well as personal snippets about themselves. I love it. I feel like I’ve stumbled onto the global virtual staffroom…a place abuzz with activity, ideas and energy (and coffee, of course!). My global colleagues are generous with their knowledge, tech-savvy and passionate about education.

Twitter is a Learning Gem with huge appeal and potential.

Discovered Animoto yesterday…signed up, uploaded images of book covers and created a very cool video clip in less than 10 minutes. I can imagine it being used for all sorts of learning activities. Some that immediately spring to mind are:

• A visual reflection on a text’s themes (particularly useful for musical and visual learners)
• A pictorial essay
• Creative ‘writing’ (digital storytelling, poetry)
• Student Presentations (great for advertising projects etc)
• Adding ‘cred’ to teacher presentations.

I get very excited when I discover a ‘learning gem’ with so much classroom potential. Let’s face it, anything with the potential to engage and revive ’sluggish’ students is worth a look.

I wonder how many teachers have seen their schools purchase new ‘Wow-factor’ technology only to find it used to continue and reinforce outdated teaching methods. In the wrong hands a PowerPoint presentation can be just as monotonous as an hour of ‘chalk and talk’. Similarly, an e-learning course can be little more than an online presentation of black-line masters if not constructed to be engaging and stimulating.

In my opinion one of the best things about the 2.0 shift is the way many educators are now using technologies for different types of teaching and learning. Thinking has changed. Educational opportunities emerge almost daily and I recently discovered something with enormous potential: Inanimate Alice, interactive “multi-sensory” storytelling.

As a teacher-librarian I have been quite sceptical about the benefits of e-books, especially in terms of their ability to encourage students to read. Online books do not conjure up cosy images of reading; they still need to be read in the ‘traditional’ way. However, Inanimate Alice is different and I believe it represents the future of e-reading and online storytelling.

Teachers can sign up for a newsletter and education resource pack by clicking on the image below:


alt=”iTeach Inanimate Alice” title=”iTeach Inanimate Alice” border=”0″>

I am still exploring the web looking for ideas to help with my Book Week Literacy project, a story book using the prompt “Imagine if I discovered…” In my travels I found Big Universe Online Children’s Books and created a small story using the prompt myself. The book was easy to construct using illustrations provided on site although I did have to watch the demo first. It was approved for online publishing in a few hours. I decided that Big Universe has huge ‘learning gem’ potential. I can imagine teachers and parents using it as a literature and writing learning tool. Hopefully, it will also help me to create some excitement for my Book Week project!

The books are free to create and read online.

One of the projects I am working on for this year’s Book Week is a literacy project which will involve our primary school students in the writing, publication and launch of a school story book built around the prompt ‘Imagine if I discovered…” The aim will be for each student to contribute to the publication by responding individually to the topic. Each student will be allocated one page in the book.

Of course this is a major endeavour and today I have been searching the web for ideas and inspiration. I am always looking for imaginative ways to motivate students to write and think creatively and I was particularly looking for visual strategies to act as ‘warm up’ exercises. I stumbled across Toondoo and started to fiddle…

This site has huge potential as a creative writing and planning tool that is both fun and simple to use.