Forward Slant

A priceless photo! A tough day for Big Ben! 9 Sacks for the Birds D...So glad to find those dirty yellow towels on the ground leaving the stadium! I still think the Steelers can make a run in the AFC. Will we see a PA SB??

I found this video on TED and it discusses open source in learning. I thought this was a perfect fit for my school district during our one to one journey. Richard Baraniuk really hits the nail on the head about where we stand in education and where we need to be.

Here's a video of our videoconference on March 12th. The schools each shared their community project ideas. What a smash hit! The students did an outstanding job making a difference in their communities. Check out our project wiki at http://projectlemonade.wikispaces.com

This is a great video that explains how blogs works!

Was Reading Jim Gate's Tipline and found this really cool trick when searching in Google. http://lifehacker.com/339474/top-10-obscure-google-search-tricks

In my district, We block Skype (and other great web 2.0 tools) from teachers and students. Our technicians see skype as a threat to our network. I have read blogs and sites that support this theory. How do we win this battle? How are some schools allowing Skype to work? Please tell us your thoughts? List any websites or resources to help support this issue. The more people we can get on it the better. Please forward this conversation on to as many people as possible as this is such as great learning tool most schools miss out on.

9 Students from around the world began a quest to voice their opinions and ideas about education. They began a blog http://students2oh.org/ What's important to note is how much knowledge they have about teaching, learning and it's pedagogy. What it's not about is a stereotypical negative slant on classroom learning. These kids really enjoy education and value it's impact on society. Do you think it's about time we stop and listen to kids? Maybe as educators, we can learn a thing or two from our students.

Did you ever imagine Star Trek technology in our lifetime? Take a look at this cisco technology where videoconferencing has moved to new levels. Very Impressive! How long until this becomes mainstreamed into everyday households?

OK, OK. It's time to pick up my feet and get this project off the ground! Project Lemonade is a world-wide, problem-based project on problems that surround us everyday. From the small problems, to the seemingly impossible ones, Project Lemonade tackles just that.

Come visit the Project Wiki at http://projectlemonade.wikispaces.com/for more details and see if your class would be a good candisate. Room is limited, so don't wait. Our goal is to pair you up with a class from another country (grades 3-8).

If you have an interest, simply email me at mcgeet@lmsd.org.

Good Luck!

Check out our new EDUWIki! It's a wiki by educators for educators. We decided to start something where teachers can collaborate their great ideas into one location. Please feel free to join our space!

Ok. I could use some help here! I have developed a passion for internet safe and responsible use. We are developing a program to integrate into our elementary schools. Netsmartz and iSafe are the tools I like most. Check out my blog for resources I have puled together. I am curious as to what others are doing. Here are some slides from a presentation I recently presented with our school counselors:

Ok, now I've seen it all! Room 33 of Perkiomen School District is playing tag on blogs! Soooo cool! Kudos to you all! What a great way to get others to connect to you. For those reading this, go check out their blog and tag them!

Ok dudes and dudettes...here are my 8 facts!
8. I went skydiving in Las Vegas over a really big dam (This is not a bad word, Can you guess the name)
7. I am a die hard Eagles Fan! I have been going to the games since I was in the 8 with my dad. E-A-G-L-E-S
6. I rock climbed an 80 foot cliff over looking the ocean in Maine....soo cool!
5. Unlike Kristen, I did not give birth to 3 kids. but I am a proud uncle of 3 boys- Seamus, Colin, and Brendan. They rock!
4. I guess on of my greatest accomplishments in life was graduating college and becoming a teacher ( I love to give kids lots of homework-JK)
3. My new passion is investing. I love real estate and stock trading. I think learning how to be financially successful is the most important lesson every kid should learn in life. (Hint hint, Mrs. M!)
2. I once duck-taped a student to his seat...he was very squirmy!
1. Ok, you want to hear my last fact? I guess you'll have to come back to school tomorrow to find out!!!

Your task: I will tag you when you least expect it. I will give you one question to answer. All you have to do is answer it as a class. Stay tuned Room 33...Feel free to comment on my blog in the meantime!

Will
Bill
Alan
David

Later~

I was just playing with the camera by the pool with my nephews. I finally convinced my sister to get an ipod. Ahh, the first step in Digital Native Land! We're working on our first podcast launch! Can you say priceless?

Wow! Need I say more? Have you seen iTunesU? Amazing! I was just on a free podcast called Lit2Go. Go and sync these to an ipod or a laptop and add some fireworks to your reading class!

There was a K-12 lesson plan section with short 2-3 minute video on simple lessons! This really answers that same old question, "What does it look like", teachers most frequently ask.

Simply open up iTunes, and visit the iTunes music store. Click on iTunesU.

Did I mention that everything in iTunesU is FREE?

Here are a few points Sir Ken Robinson makes:

• If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you lose your creativity
• Mistakes are the worst thing you can make in education.
• All children are born artist.- Picasso
• We don’t grow into creativity, we grow out of it.
• Why do we place Math of greater importance over art?

Educational Leadership, in my opinion, is the most important piece in transitioning our classroom to the 21st century. You hear the buzz all the time about this paradigm shift, and new innovative teaching practices. I do enjoy talking about these topics, but sometimes it's just an uphill battle we'll never win. It's like debating politics. I think, that maybe, just maybe, if we change the verbage in the words we use to describe classroom learning, we might have a chance to make a change in education.

In supporting classroom learning, we need our leaders to design staff development where subjects are not the center of attention, but rather curriculum as a whole and big ideas are the emphasis. Let's try and phrase this without even using the word "technology". The difference in the past is that we design our curriculum and big ideas whereas students are engaged in critical thinking projects using innovative tools and ideas for learning. (notice I didn't individualize Math, Literacy, Science either).

I think sometimes we get so caught up in individualizing subjects, that we lose essential learning along the way. When we do this, we lose sight of the "Big Ideas" and learning loses it's way of making connections throughout other subject areas. Imagine if we could mash everything together, teach skills along the way, keeping sight of the big ideas, solve real world problems, and keep kids engaged by the technologies they are surrounded by?

Wow! I don't know what else to say. This is my 4th day at the 2007 keystone summit, and I am soo exhausted. I have been running on 4-5 hours sleep a day, and the work is non-stop. The atmosphere here is electric! I mentioned to someone that I feel like a kid in a candy store with my clones as playdates.

This was my first summit as a summit leader and I feel like a participant. The staff here embraced me as an equal, and the amount of sharing, collaboration, support, and generosity that goes on is incredible. I can just imagine what the participants feel like right now. 5 days of information overload!

The state of Pennsylvania has done an excellent job initiating this program for teachers. The schools who do not nominate a teacher for an opportunity to attend this summit is beyond my comprehension.

Well, I have to prepare my materials for tomorrow's session on garageband. I might get to bed before 2!

We call them digital natives. The Millenials. Born into our world's technology. When I work with teachers, I get statements like: "They will get this stuff at home." "They already know how to do this stuff." My question is, "Do they?" Hmm..

Ask a kid how to IM a friend. Can they do that? Probably yes. Ask a kid to text message a friend. Can they do that? Probably yes. Does that make them a Digital Native? The answer is most definitely ...yes! Confused yet? The term digital native is being applied to individuals who have grown up immersed in technology- Wikipedia.

Just because kids are "Digital Natives", does not mean that they can use today's technology at it's maximum potential, and get the richness out of their education. I think we need to be careful how we use the term Digital Native, and stop assuming kids CAN do it.

Thoughts?

Wow! A new video app on the web free in it's beta version- JOOST. Got Joost? If not, go get it! Well, you need to be invited to get joost, so just click on the link above to get it. Here's how it works:

Joost is a video on demand app. You need to download and install it on your machine. It works fro MAC intels and PC's. Watch your favorite TV show or movie and chat with your friends. What JOOST has done is combine watching television with the latest internet technology today. So cool!


Democracy is another tool. One difference is you have to download these videos. It's like a DVR!

Not long ago, only the "posh" carried cell phones. The funny thing was that they couldn't even put them in their pockets! Rememebr the movie Wall Street with Charlie Sheen and Michael Douglas? I can remember the scene with Michale Douglas walking on the beach making deals on his cell phone that looked like a remote control for a model airplane!

Today, there aren't many who don't carry cell phones in their pockets- not even kids. Kids use them as part of their pop culture. That is obvious. But what does the future hold for cell phones? With the release of the iphone, we have entered the legacy of carrying the "all-in-one" information in one location. I think cell phones will be the next generation of information sharing, networking, informating, etc. Thomas Friedman suggests in his book (As if you've never heard of it before), "The World is Flat" that cell phones will replace credit cards!

I found this cool video on cell phones. What do you think? Is this a good trend or not so good trend?

One night to go! It's been fun here in Atlanta. It's always nice to see another city besides Philly. The weather has been great and the atmosphere even better. I finally had a chance to hear some of the speakers I frequently read and follow. David Warlick, Bernie Dodge, Will Richardson and Karl Fisch. Tomorrow, I am excited to see Alan November session on global learning. What message do these guys send? 21st century learning - collaboration, connecting outside of the classroom learning, critical thinking, and authentic learning and assessment.

It's not easy making these kinds of changes in our classrooms. Sure the students are resilient, but it's hard to get teachers to move toward this paradigm shift in education. but that is exactly the reason why we are struggling with this transition. We are focusing in on the front lines- the teachers. What we need to do, is make the push from the top. We need to start with the superintendents. Leadership is essential in making this work. This change in our education system needs strong leadership in every way. If you can get the supers support, 100% all the way, you can now leverage the most important piece to the puzzle- the principals.

How far can you go in making changes on the front lines if the principals look the other way? Sometimes the principals look the other way and don't know even realize it. With the full support of the supers, you can now staff develop the principals on assessing the teachers, and pushing for more staff development for teachers. It's important that the principals understand the value of technology in student learning in order from them to make a true effort in making any changes.

Once you have top-down suport in leadership, changes WILL occur and students will be more prepared for future learning.

Ok, maybe I'm dreaming. I am here in my room listening to a live band in Olympic Park bounce their music off the skyscrapers. I think I need to head out and join the fun!

What great speaker! Technology visionary, Andrew Zolli tuned up the crowd of 6,000+ tonight with his dynamic keynote. Andrew's humor kept everyone's attention, but his message about where we are and where we need to be was well received. What stood out most to me was the photo he put up of a desolote land in China. 14 years later on that same spot, an entire city arose as China's population has increased to 5.2 billion.

Why are we (Americans) so afraid to change as a society? Is it possible that we will fall inferior to countries such as China and India? Why is that? Is it because we are still teaching our kids the same way for the past few centuries? Why is it so hard to change? There are many who see the vision of where we need to be, but it's unfortunate that the ones who we desparately need to help make the changes, don't see this vision. Or maybe they do, but can't figure out a solution to make the changes. We could be (or will be) heading for tough times in our near future if we don't make the changes we need.

It's that time of year again. Getting ready for NECC 2007 in Atlanta. I've never been to Atlanta, but I expect a good time, like last in San Diego. I know it's been a long time waiting, but I need to get this blog rollin' along! I am juggling my website(not ready for publish) , wiki and blog right now...stay tuned! Hopefully I will get to connect with someone at the PA Keystone Summit in July to help me with that "push" I need to get this blog up to par!

Ok, it's time for me to grab my beach chair and head down to the beach. Did you know Stone Harbor had waves this big?

Peace~

Yesterday, we had Will Richardson visit our district. Will is an education consultant who is leading the way into 21st Century Learning Skills. Will wrote a book titled, "Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools For Classrooms". This is a great read for every classroom teacher, or if you juts want to catch up some of the latest tools on the web.

I think Will did a great job with his presentation. Teachers were marveled at these new tools, but something else happened in the room. Will delivered a message that really rippled throughout the participants. This message was about using the tools that kids are comfortable using to communicate and access information. We need to help steer our students decision making, and responsible use in order for them to have success with these tools.