What do you consider the most important aspects of 21st Century Literacy?

21st Century Literacy has many aspects. I think we have come to a very important time in history when it comes to literacy. I think for the first time in history technology has changed the way we define what it means to be literate. It is no longer enough to just know how to read and write with a pencil and paper. In fact, I sometimes go days without using a pencil. I am constantly on my computer typing away. I'm creating documents, sending emails, sending instant messages while I'm working, sending text messages from my phone etc.....These are just some of the things that go into being literate.
All of that being said, to me one of the components of literacy that I think is coming to the forefront of conversation would have to be social literacy. Our lives, and our students lives, are so soaked in information on a daily basis that it becomes more and more of a challenge to maintain privacy (like the gentleman said in the posted video). This comes to mind because I was thinking of my day today. I spent a lot of time on the laptop today creating things for work, doing assignments for school, and staying in contact with people in my social life all at the same time. At one point I was writing a blog, creating a spreadsheet, checking the scores to a bball game, instant messaging a friend over seas, and answering text messages all at the same time. This got me thinking.
What happened to the days when you used to sit down to do something and you did it without any interruptions from technology? For me, it's been a while, and to be honest I start to feel weird if I don't have access to all those things. I feel as teachers it is important to teach students now when it is appropriate to use technology and when it is necessary to turn it off and not be disturbed. It is also important to teach them about social privacy. In other words, it is not necessary to tell the whole world what your doing every five seconds. For one thing privacy is important. It helps build self-thought and also self-awareness, which by the way, many of our students and just people in general lack these days. There are so many important components to 21st century literacy but we must not forget the most important component of all..........choice.

Resources on the subject:

http://edtechlife.com/?cat=41

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literacy

http://www.21stcenturyschools.com/What_is_21st_Century_Education.htm

What was the last GREAT professional development you attended and why?

I go to countless amounts of professional development every year, and to be honest, most of them are TERRIBLE. I have found that many times they are a little self-indulgent. Meaning the presenter is not really there to help you out in the classroom, but more so to show off their accomplishments. However, they haven't all been bad. I once had a great PD at Apple on iMovie.
The reason it was so great, in my opinion was because of the amount of hands on training we received on the software program itself. Also, because the entire PD was presented in the same way an actual lesson would be presented. So instead of some self-indulgent person up there with a power point the PD was presented as a lesson as if we were the students. Which in this case we so happened to be. The great thing about this approach though is that it allows you to see first hand the benefits of actually using it in a classroom setting with students. I can't tell you how many PD's I have been in where there was some sort of a product or tool pitched without any clue as to how it would be implemented into each teachers classroom.
To me a good PD is one that is relevant. What makes it relevant? It is relevant to me as a teacher when it is laid out in such a way that I can tell right away that it will somehow benefit my students. OR, it has to make my job easier so I have more time to focus on my students and deal with some issues I might not get to without it. This Apple PD on iMovie did both of those things. It was presented in a way in which I FELT COMFORTABLE TO IMPLEMENT IT IN MY CLASS RIGHT AWAY! That is why it was the best professional development I have been to in a long time.

Some resources on the subject:
http://serc.carleton.edu/teacherprep/inservice/ProgramTips.html

http://allwhowonder.wordpress.com/2009/01/16/what-makes-good-staff-development/

http://www.publicschoolinsights.org/category/blog-story-tags/professional-development

My experience of creating and implementing a problem-based lesson.

So I just did a problem-based lesson plan with one of my colleagues from my TIE cohort program for National Louis. We called the project "A Octopus'Garden", because it involved creating a little underwater world with the programing world called EToys. The creating of the lesson plan was not as difficult as the actual implementation of the lesson. Etoys itself is a sort of self-contained program, therefor the keyboard shortcuts we all know and love are non-existent. The program takes some exploration before you can just jump right in and ask students to create something. We found that there was more prior knowledge of some of the basics of the program needed in order for the students to feel comfortable and really get all that they needed out of the lesson. There was also a few minor glitches in some of our directions for the project in part because of the strangeness of the program itself. This of course meant that we spent most of our time helping students try to figure out the little discrepancies of Etoys.
In a more ideal situation the lesson would have been given after a couple days of going through some of the tutorials in EToys to have the students better prepared for the actual lesson instead of struggling through the program. Also, the idea came to me that this lesson could be split up into two lessons so that there is less to do in one sitting. Overall though, I thought the lesson was a success and it seemed to spark interest in the students for some programing basics.

What is the best way to get others at your schools to use more technology in their teaching and the students' learning?

What is the best way to get others at your schools to use more technology in their teaching and the students' learning? Well, If I knew the answer to that my job would be a lot easier. There are so many different ways to try to get teachers into using technology. One of them is throwing different ideas at them until you see that little gleam in their eye and know you have found something they are interested in. That can be time consuming and some what tedious though, and you may lose your sanity before that happens.
Another way is to find out what kind of projects the teachers are already doing in the classroom and try to show them how the could use technology to help create those projects. More often then not, teachers find that the technology offers something to the students projects that they didn't have before. Then they are usually hooked on something new that they didn't use before. That is one of the best ways I have found.
However, the absolute best way to try and spread the joy technological bliss for me is by pure example. I try to incorporate technology in everything I do throughout the day. If I'm in a meeting I'm using my laptop to take notes, and if it's really important I'm using garageband to record it. If someone has a question that needs answered I whip out my laptop and head to google and other sources. If someone tells me about an event or date I pull out my iPhone and put it in my calendar. If I'm doing a PD I am using the LCD projector to project whatever creation I have made using a new form of software or website. I have found that by doing things like this teachers are often curious and ask me how to do this or that. Then the conversation is opened up to discuss how they could implement different technology into their curriculum for the students.

The use of computer games as educational tools

I was recently asked to contribute to the debate about the use of computer games as educational tools. It didn't take me to long to decide what my position would be. Especially since I come from the first generation of video and computer gaming. When thinking about the question I can't help but remember my first memory of gaming. I remember playing pong, and then I remember my aunt getting a Atari. I would sit there and play "Pitfall" or "pac-man" for hours!! I thought it was the greatest thing ever. Plus, it was difficult. It was a challenge. I wanted so bad to get to the next level that I would sacrifice a gorgeous day outside to achieve next level bliss. I remember my Dad hating it. He just didn't understand the infatuation, yet he still didn't know how to work the VCR, and had to ask me to turn it on every time he wanted to watch a movie. The whole time not realizing that the gaming was making me more comfortable with how to use technology.
I find my old recollections of my memories to be much like how some teachers feel about gaming in school, versus how the students feel about gaming. Teachers are often afraid that the students are just having fun or not really getting anything from what they are doing. A waste of time and brain power. Meanwhile.....The students are counting the minutes till they can get back home and play the latest version of Madden football on their Playstation 3. We are living in a time where it would be foolish for us to ignore the effects that gaming can have on our students learning.
If anything one of gaming's greatest qualities is grabbing the students attention. Believe me teachers, that 1991 VHS movie you still have of the planets......it's not going to do the trick. We have to take student interest in gaming seriously and figure out ways to incorporate it into some of our problem based learning activities. If there is anything I've learned about students it's they are only going to pay attention to you if they find you or something about you interesting. Gaming is a great way to tap into our students interest and to discuss problems and solutions.


Some resources on the subject:

http://www.futureofeducation.com/forum/topics/computer-games-as-educational

http://www.articlesbase.com/computer-games-articles/educational-computer-games-as-effective-learning-tools-904236.html

http://seayj.people.cofc.edu/cb/simgames.html?referrer=webcluster&

Essential Questions

The questions below are my first try at some Essential Questions for my Technology in Education courses at National Louis University.

Who are you?

What do you think she is thinking?

What makes a good artist?

Is this good music?

How long will he live?

When will it all end?

How do you love someone?

How do you know you love someone?

What is the meaning of life?

Is it all worth it?

Can I really make a difference?

What is the point?

Is there a God?

Does he really care?

Why does he let bad things happen?

What happens when we die?

Do dogs go to heaven?

Do the good really die young?

Why are some people luckier than others?

Why do people seek out the companionship of others?

These are my first tries so be gentle.

The evaluation of students' use of technology tools.

Upon looking at the scaling rubric provided by my professor at NLU, two important thoughts come to mind. 1. How do you seriously evaluate a student's work using a set of numbers and specific criteria. I will not be speaking for any of my colleagues I'm sure, but in my own personal opinion this is a very difficult thing to do, and there are always certain students who you can not grade using Bloom's WHATEVER! Everybody in the education world now is all about rubrics, test, and the next big educational philosopher. Here is my question..... What happened to personal attention and mentor ship? To me the the assessment of a student's work is plain and simple. It's the final product. Did the student do what I asked them to do and how did they go about making that happen? These are things that cannot be measured, correctly anyway, with the use of a rubric or test. It can only truly be a meaningful educational experience for the student if there is a very real feeling of one on one mentor ship. Meaning this, the teacher demonstrates how to properly do things. They break it down into how they themselves would go about finishing a project. Then they guide the student through the creation progress. They must be careful not to crush the creativity of a student because more than likely the student will come up with their own solutions to a problem. This is what we want as educators! To teach the students HOW to learn. Not to make them memorize the way we would do things, but rather teach them how to come up with there own solutions through trial and error. This is how real life works.
2.Why is everyone so worried about giving students a number that represents there success. I know it may seem like I'm on a soap box here, but what are we really teaching our students. That you need to do this or that to get a good grade, or score? Or, that projects and problems are solved with careful thinking planning and are not ever finished just because you got a B on it. There used to be a sense of pride and responsibility in doing a good job at anything. Getting it as perfect as you can and taking the time necessary to do so. Many times are students are thinking to themselves.... Well, I only have to do this and this to get a decent grade. Where as in the past, there was more time spent on the small details of a project instead of the Final product. I can't help but be afraid that with all the rubrics, and standardized testing that we are raising a generation of ROBOTS! "Do as we tell you, or you will not PASS!" That's enough to scare anyone into not thinking for themselves!

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/04/04/eveningnews/main1472010.shtml

http://www.gallup.com/poll/19552/testing-testing-schools-too-much.aspx

http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED430052&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED430052