Category Archives: 2006- Overcoming Obstacles

Terry Freedman
Essex, United Kingdom
Blog: http://www.ictineducation.org/

Presentation Title
“Selling Web 2.0 to Senior Management”

Bio
Terry is an independent educational technology consultant with experience of bringing about cultural change throughout local authorities (equivalent to USA school districts) and in schools. He also tries to spread practical advice about managing educational technology and using it in the classroom through his website and blog at http://www.terry-freedman.org.uk./

Colleagues may also be interested in the ebook Coming of Age: An Introduction to the NEW Worldwide Web. The first edition is available at http://www.ictineducation.org/db/web2. The second edition features Sheryl, Darren, Wes and a number of other people you’ve met during this conference. Keep track of progress at http://web2booklet.blogspot.com/

Description
Terry’s view is that at some point it is going to be necessary to ‘sell’ Web 2.0 to the school’s management/administration. This may be from the outset, or it may be subsequently, in order to expand and embed its use into normal practice, eg in order to ensure equal opportunities in terms of access and experience. The purpose of his presentation is to look at the most common obstacles to the implementation of Web 2.0 tools like blogging, and how to address them. The presentation will equip delegates with the following knowledge:

– The seven general principles of presenting new ideas
– Objection analysis
– The four main areas of concern usually expressed, and how to deal with them.
– Seven proactive things you can do to get the management (or other influential people) on your side.
– Four reasons why a supportive management is not always a good thing.
– Four tactics to get a supportive administration or leadership team working with you rather than against you.
– Three things to do if blogging etc has already been banned.

The presentation takes the form of a podcast and an accompanying PDF which goes into much more detail.

Presentation
http://k12online.wm.edu/selling_web2_0_v3.mp3
http://k12online.wm.edu/overcomingobstacles.pdf

John Pearce
Geelong, Victoria, Australia
http://jpearce.suprglu.com/

Presentation Title
“It’s Elementary Kids, Working Web 2.0 With Grade 3-4”

Bio
John Pearce teaches grade 3-4 children at a school in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. Over the past two years he and his students have experimented with the use of blogs, wikis and podcasts in assisting learning in a range of interesting formats. These have included using blogs and wikis for collaborative projects with overseas schools, creating online stories using a wiki as well as the more ‘traditional’ formats. Along the way many lessons have been learnt not least of which is that students see that the tools they enjoy playing with can also be powerful learning tools.

Description
This presentation will explore that journey focussing on the lessons learnt along the way so far. Also included in the presentation will be some critical reflections from the students involved. As well as including personal anecdotal experiences, this presentation will also include artefacts and reflections from the students.

Whilst viewing the presentation please take the time to have a look around the Articulate window as John has included in the presentation some additional notes as well as some attachments including a survey undertaken by his students reflecting on the use of elements of Web 2.0. Included also are some tutorial notes that he has used with other teachers to get them started with edublogs, wikispaces, audacity and Microsoft Photo Story 3 as well as a “talking book” one of his grade 3’s wrote and narrated for out Middle P Stories blog. The attachments window can be found in the top right corner of the Articulate screen.

(Important Note, at the time of writing this blurb the server at my school is offline because of a service upgrade. As a result some of the links mentioned may not be functional so please check back later if they don’t work at first.):)

Presentation
http://k12online.wm.edu/its_elementary/player.html

Brandi Caldwell
Pinson, Alabama, USA
Blog: http://mtnbrookseniors.blogspot.com/

Presentation Title
“Trash to Treasures: Creating Your Own Computer Lab”

Bio
Having been a classroom teacher for ten years, Brandi has watched the evolution of technology in her classroom. She is a National Board Certified teacher who has taught in rural schools with no equipment, middle class schools with very little accessibility, and her current assignment is in a resource rich school system . Each kind of school has its own set of obstacles to overcome. Brandi feels that if you are going to be a pioneer, you have to expect to journey through some storms and mud along the way. This year she had the priviledge of being selected by the Alabama Best Practice Center as a 21st Century Fellow. Through this work Brandi has had opportunities to meet, network, and educate with teachers across the state and globally through presentations and online workshops. Not only is she an avid blogger, but Brandi is a soon to be second time mom, a coach’s wife, senior English teacher, and self proclaimed domestic goddess!

Description
At her previous last school, Brandi experienced the ‘loss’ of their one and only computer lab. This presentation (done in powerpoint along with a handout full of links changed to a wiki) was done at Alabama Educators Technology Conference two years ago. Brandi called it Trash to Treasures: Creating your own Computer Lab from Scratch. This is her story of the journey from a one computer classroom to a class of 20 computers completely networked. She relates her own obstacles with money and equipment as well as dealing with the IT folks at the district level. It includes links to sites that provide grants and computer recycling/donation sites.

Presentation
http://k12online.wm.edu/technology.mov

Errata: The link to the wiki is http://labforfree.wikispaces.com/

Steve Dembo
Skokie, Illinois, USA
Blog: http://teach42.com/

Presentation Title
“Mobile Learning Redefined”

Bio
Steve Dembo served as both a Kindergarten teacher and Director of Technology before joining Discovery Education. As the Online Community Manager for the Discovery Educator Network, he oversees the DEN virtual community including a network of over 20 educational blogs. The Teach42 podcast was one of the first educational podcasts and has served as the inspiration for many other educators to create their own shows. He is passionate about education and works with teachers around the globe in their efforts to explore and integrate new technologies. Steve’s blog and podcast can be found at Teach42.com.

Description
Students are bringing their cell phone, iPod, Palm handheld, and PSP to school and we respond by forbidding their use or treat confiscation. However, these are the tools of the new generation and educators must change and consider how to utilize and embrace these new online learning tools. In this session you will learn about how video can be brought to handhelds and phones, how to create websites designed for portable devices, and how the mobile internet is making information more accessible than ever. You will explore what students are using and how these tools can be harnessed to support good teaching. You may even learn how to convince your principal you need a handheld!

Presentation
http://k12online.wm.edu/MobileLearning.wmv

Supporting Links
Research
Kaiser Foundation Report- Generation M: Media in the Lives of 8-18 Year Olds
http://www.kff.org/entmedia/7251.cfm

The Internet and Education report by Pew Internet & American Life Project
http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/39/report_display.asp

Education tool a phone call away – Technology – theage.com.au
http://www.theage.com.au/news/technology/education-tool-a-phone-call-away/2005/08/14/1123957950672.html

eSchool News online – Youths use cell phones as mini-PCs
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStory.cfm?ArticleID=6228

New Study Recasts Cell Phones as Effective Teaching Tool
http://www.ergoweb.com/news/detail.cfm?id=1180

Every One Learns – Pedagogy, Technology, Motivation: Do Something Disruptive
http://everyonelearns.blogspot.com/2006/04/do-something-disruptive.html

Frieda Foxworth
Lexington, South Carolina, USA
Blog: http://friedafoxworth.edublogs.org/ 

Ron Bosch 
Lexington, South Carolina, USA
http://www.lexington1.net/rbe/21cc/index.html

John Geanangel
Lexington, South Carolina, USA
https://www.edline.net/pages/Red_Bank_Elementary_School/Instructional_Coaches/Technology_Coach_-_John_Geanan 

Presentation Title
“Cultivating Digital Educators”

Bio
Frieda Foxworth and Ron Bosch are fifth grade teachers at Red Bank Elementary School. They are partner teachers in a technology-enriched classroom. Their class, the 21st Century Classroom, was begun as a pilot program in their district in 2003. John Geanangel has been their Technology Integration Specialist since 2002. Their school now has 5 similar 2 to 1 computing classrooms in a program called Global Horizons. They have overcome many challenges and continue to work through new ones as they have worked to create a culture of digital educators. They have given presentations about our program at district, state, and national levels.

Description
How do you transform a traditional school environment into one where teachers effectively use technology for collaboration, curriculum development, instructional delivery, and student engagement? It doesn’t happen overnight, and many challenges must be overcome. Changes must be made in the pedagogical attitudes of both administrators and teachers. Necessary equipment must be secured within the realm of limited budgets. Educators must be transformed from lone workers on an island into contributing members of a collaborative community. Instructional practices must shift to keep pace with the daily changes occurring in the global digital world. This presentation will share how these obstacles have been overcome, and how transformation is taking place at one elementary school. Vision and leadership have paved the way for teachers to embrace radical change that is occurring through the taking of many ‘baby steps.’ Web 2.0 tools have played an important role in this process. A wiki was used to develop the Global Horizons Technology Initiative, a plan for creating classrooms committed to technology-integrated instructional practices. Wikis have also been used by teachers for grade-level collaborative planning and by students for writing stories online with a partner. Blogs are beginning to be used for staff development, as a parent communication tool, and for the delivery of some instructional activities. Students are learning to use a blog as a way to reflect on learning. A podcast will be used to make this presentation and will include samples of the solutions listed above.

Presentation
http://k12online.wm.edu/cde.m4v

Shawn Nutting
Trussville, Alabama, USA
Blog: http://vwnutt.blogspot.com/

Presentation Title
“Internet Access with Minimal Filtering”

Bio
Shawn has been involved with IT for over 16 years. Most of his expericnce comes from emerging software development companies. For almost two years now Shawn has been the Director of Technology for Trussville City Schools. He enjoys applying current technology in his schools. Shawn believes that Web 2.0 tools are essential in todays classroom.

Description
Parental and district concerns for internet safety is something that his school system invests a lot of time in. Internet filtering is an obvious key to this. Their basic level of internet safety was to install a filtering piece that maintains state and federal standards for K-12 internet safety. Their current product is very limiting. It blocks a lot of sites they would like to have open for teachers. They encourage and push teachers to use the 21st Century and Web 2.0 tools. This year they are changing products to allow them to be more customer service oriented. Teachers will have more freedom than ever with internet use in the classroom. A huge concern of their technical department is this freedom. Open internet access in the hands of a non-tech savvy teacher could do catastrophic political damage within their community. They invest a lot of time on professional development for their faculty and staff. They  also spend a lot of time with the Board of Education and City Council. In addition they have open forums with parents and bombard parents with information about their technology use within the classroom. After conversations with them, they walk away understanding the need for Web 2.0 in the classroom. They also have an open communication with teachers. Blocking or unblocking sites should only take a few hours, but no more than 24.

Presentation
http://k12online.wm.edu/K12Online_sn.mp4

Graham Wegner
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Blog: http://gwegner.edublogs.org/

Presentation Title
“No Teacher Left Behind – The Urgency Of Web 2.0”

Bio
Graham is an ICT Coordinator in a primary school in suburban Adelaide with a focus on inquiry based learning and interactive whiteboards. He sees that information literacy and Web 2.0 technologies go hand in hand and will have a significant impact on his role. As well as working with students who are comfortable in the digital world, his role also involves helping his colleagues come on board with the effective use of technology for learning in the classroom.

Description
The changing information landscape of the 21st Century demands that our students develop new skills of information literacy and become knowledge producers as an integral component of their learning. But what of the professionals charged with these students’ education? Can they be convinced of the need for personal change to keep pace with their students’ world? Are they even aware of the exponential changes taking place? How would they get started in their classrooms? This online presentation will explore some of the barriers faced by educators seeking to improve and influence their colleagues’ perceptions of the internet, and Web 2.0 in particular, as a vehicle for learning. It will pull together various resources that could be useful as starting points for discussion and explore some of the concerns and trepidations of average teachers struggling already with a heavy workload. This presentation will use a wiki as its base and seek to leverage the online Conference participants to help create some possible answers and resources for those of us who recognize the need for our colleagues to be at our sides, providing best practice for our digital age students.

Presentation
http://k12online.wm.edu/k12wegner.WMV
http://k12online.wm.edu/wegnerk12.mp4

Supporting Links
http://k12ntlb.wikispaces.com/

John Connell
Scotland, United Kingdom
Blog: http://www.johnconnell.co.uk/blog/

Presentation Title
“Glow: Lighting Up Learning in Scotland”

Bio
John was until recently Director of the Scottish Schools Digital Network, an ambitious programme of ICT and telecommunications developments for education in Scotland. The national schools’ intranet, known as Glow, will go live for every teacher and student in Scotland by Summer 07. He has now taken on the role of Learning Futures Strategist with the national education agency in this country, Learning and Teaching Scotland, to shape policy and strategy nationally on the use of ICT in education over the next few years.

Description
Some key interests in Scottish education recognized in 2002 that the Web would eventually become the primary platform for learning. The resulting Scottish Schools Digital Network is a national programme combining broadband infrastructure, content delivery network and a web-based learning platform, the aim of which is to integrate a comprehensive package of learning and collaborative tools for delivery through the browser.

Renamed Glow in anticipation of its imminent arrival in every school in the country, the programme will offer a virtual teaching and learning environment and a range of collaborative applications (video and audio conferencing, email, chat rooms, sms, virtual whiteboards, application sharing, threaded discussions, online interest groups) across the Web. This enables the service to be offered to every student and every teacher in the country no matter whether they use a PC, a Mac or a Linux computer, and no matter the particular network topology their school or local authority deploys.

With a national authentication system and national user directory at the core of the system, users will be able to build and manage their own interest groups, from a bunch of kids in a class to any sub-group across the country. It is a large nationally-driven programme, but one that devolves the power of the Web to the individual. The management of learning and collaboration will most definitely happen at the level of the individual teacher and learner. Glow is “˜the web as learning platform’ in action!

The presentation will be delivered by means of a podcast with slides.

Presentation
http://k12online.wm.edu/JConnell_Glow.mov