Corkboard.me (now NoteApp)

I recently discovered a new collaborative tool called NoteApp (formerly known as corkboard.me). It is pretty neat as it is essentially an online, collaborative collection of stickies.

Feel free to check out the start of my board and help me fill it with more stickies!

https://noteapp.com/bW7p6gQfQ3

Web 1/2/3.0 Comparison

In recent years, there has been a shift from Web 1.0, which was essentially a set of webpages that provided static content, to Web 2.0, which are websites that use technology beyond simply providing static content. Web 2.0 pages typically allow users to collaborate with each other using some type of social media platform, be it social networking, blog, video sharing or other. Currently, I would say we find ourselves in what many people call Web 2.5, which is an intermediate state between Web 2.0 and Web 3.0. We are somewhere between technology being cautiously adopted, and technology being prevalent everywhere. 

This has several implications for education. A quote I read recently said “Students can take advantage of learning materials online, through games and programs they may have on systems at home, and through their extensive – and constantly available – social networks.” Clearly, we need to work on having a good mix of traditional and non-traditional learning taking place. Having students who are used to a digital universe also provides opportunity for students to produce course materials, and perform self and peer assessments. Further, I think that web 3.0 seems to be gearing itself to be more self-directed, where learning can happen from teacher to student, student to student, or student to teacher rather than simply being teacher dictated.

Currently, the feeling that I get from a lot of parents is that they view most of education as daycare. This new shift in the style or learning and assessment will help parents see that schools can be more than a daycare, and it is my feeling that web 3.0 tools will enhance learning in amazing ways.

21st Century Skills & Traits: Leadership & Learning

I spent some time researching the idea of a ‘21^st Century Leader’. The funny thing about it is, I read a lot of conflicting opinions. Many say that the idea of leadership has changed a lot in the last 100 years, while others suggest that the idea of a leader has not changed much, if at all. I tend to agree with the opinion of the latter – what makes a good leader has not really changed, it is just that we are finally realizing all of the traits that were necessary to make a good leader. Obviously, when I say a leader, I am not talking about a boss - being a boss is about authority, whereas being a leader is more about behaviour.

In my mind, there are several traits that I feel make up a good leader. Below are a few that I consider especially essential to the 21^st Century leader:

1) Creating Mutual Ideologies – the most difficult task any good leader will have is to try to align everybody around a common goal and a common mission statement. This is especially true in schools. While teaching philosophies may differ, if those around a leader commit to the mission at hand (the school as a whole, specific projects, etc), then they become a part of something much greater.

2) Empowering Those Around Them – In order to reform a school, or even education in general, requires a leader to allow for empowerment of those around them – in the form of shared decision making. We often discuss the idea of providing students with ownership over tasks that they are performing in class. That same idea applies outside the classroom and in any leadership setting. If a leader is surrounded by people around them who feel empowered, those people will be more likely to commit to self- improvement, and in doing so will have more success in the classroom. Further, if a leader manages to empower those around them, then these people will feel a sense of collective pride, which is so important for a successful school.

3) Being Good Collaborators – The challenges that education faces these days are too complex to be solved by one person alone. To achieve lasting solutions, and in education, lasting success, a leader must foster the idea of collaboration. If people have an open, honest environment where everyone is free and encouraged to speak their mind, then they will be more likely to co-operate, and co-operation typically provide nothing but good things.

In a similar manner, we often refer to the skills necessary to be a 21^st Century learner. While the tools that students are using have definitely changed over the years, and it is important that we provide them with access to these tools and technologies to prepare them for the world to come, the actual skills that students need have not really changed at all.

To me, there are two main components of being a 21^st Century learner, and these are skills that have been part of human development through most of history. It is not so much the skills that have changed, but the focus on actively preparing students for these skills.

1) Learners need to be good problem solvers: There will be many times where it will be important for a learner to think critically. The ability to think clearly and rationally will be important in whatever a learner chooses to pursue.

2) Learners need to be resilient: Learners need to be able to face, overcome, and be strengthened by the challenges and adversities that they face in life. If we can help learners to be able to deal with changes quickly and effectively, then we are providing them a lifelong, useful skill.

While we certainly spend a lot of time looking at 21^st Century tools, and web 2.0 tools in this course, it is the three traits that I’ve identified required to be a 21^st Century leader, and the two skills that I believe learners need to be provided, that can really help us be successful in educational settings, and allow us to prepare our learners for an ever changing world.

Fair Use in Instructional Leadership

As we continue to have increased access to technology, it becomes ever simpler to reproduce content, be it video, audio, print, or web based materials. It is imperative that we, as educators, and as leaders, both understand and follow copyright laws.

One of the principles of being a good instructional leader is that we develop a culture of public practice and reflective practice. In other words, to be an effective leader, we need to practice what we preach – whether it be with students or with other teachers. If we are not modelling appropriate behaviour to those around us, how can we expect that they will, either?  When it comes to fair use, that implies that we need to do a good job educating those around us about copyright law.  

A good way to educate those around us about the concept of fair use is to examine the following four point test:

1. Are the materials being used going to be used for a non-commercial, educational purpose? The nature of how these materials are being used is consequential to our ability to use them.

2. Is the work published or unpublished? Is it factual or creative? The expression of facts, as well as unpublished works tend to have stronger protections.

3. How much work is being used? Typically, the more that is being used, the less likely it is that you are using it fairly.

4. Is the copyright owner being deprived in some way? If everyone else uses the material in question in the same way that we are, would this do any harm? If so, it is not likely to be a fair use situation.

While this certainly does not cover all cases of fair use in Canada, it is a good benchmark by which to start.

Creative Commons is, to be honest, something that was completely unknown to me, and likely would still be had I not taken EDUC9F62/61 previously. Likewise, having informally polled people at my school’s staff meeting tonight, there was not a single hand that indicated having used or heard of Creative Commons. It is something that I intend to incorporate into a future staff meeting as a brief presentation, as well as something I intend to educate my students about to benefit them in their future.

Barriers to 21st Century Tools

As evidenced by the litany of school boards, schools, and individual educators embracing 21^st Century teaching and learning tools, they have the potential to be extremely beneficial in the classroom. That said, implementing 21^st Century Tools does not come without a
few drawbacks, which I will discuss below. 

1) Existing infrastructure: Every school is unique, and has their own systems of technologies that they currently use. The question is – how do you incorporate 21^st Century Tools, which are very free form and constantly evolving with the infrastructure/technologies that already exist in the school? How do they mesh together in a way that can be educationally
beneficial?

2) Resistance: Consider the ‘good old days’ as a student – learning was lectures, notes, and textbooks as our only source of knowledge. For many of us, this is our learning background, and this creates resistance to learning new things. Many teachers do not see these 21^st Century tools as an advantage, find them gimmicky, or view them as distractions, not enhancements to learning.To paraphrase what Sir Ken Robinson says in the video below - they are trying to teach the future by repeating what's been done in the past.

3) Time: With most teachers, time is at a premium. It is difficult to find time in the day to get the ‘regular’ daytime stuff done in our job, let alone teachers with families, teachers who coach, or teachers who hold supplemental jobs. How are we supposed to find the time necessary to learn many of these 21^st Century tools? Now, having said that, it is my personal opinion that we as teachers do not need to be experts in all tools – just that we be accepting that students may
choose to use them when they produce things in school. If this is the mindset we take, it can make the incorporation of 21^st Century tools a bit more smooth. 

Social Networking in Education: A Personal Perspective

I recently read a quotation about social networking in the healthcare field. The writer said “in order to educate and communicate as a professional, you have to go where the audience is.” I found this quote to be incredibly compelling, because I feel as though it applies to the classroom as well. Social media is how students get their news and share their lives – so wouldn’t it make sense that we, as educators, follow suit?

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I work at a school where science, technology, and mathematics are the focus. Students in our STEP program arrive, laptops in hand, to be prepared for their future. While we have not been obligated to use a social networking tool, we have been asked to look at a variety of learning management suites, including but not limited to Edmodo, Schoology, and the eLearning LMS. In essence, we are using these suites as teacher webpages, however each of them has their own social networking component, should teachers happen to want to use them. I find that many of my associates at school have decided that these tools are an effective way to communicate with students and parents, and have chosen to embrace their preferred tool. If we are truly looking to ‘go where the audience is,’ and considering our job is to prepare students to be productive members of society, I believe that it is incredibly important for social networking to become an obligation at many levels of a school infrastructure.

Transparency in education is the ability for parents, universities, community members, peers, and related organizations to see what is happening in the classroom and at your school – I see no reason why leaders should not be transparent.

My school, Lockerby Composite School, has embraced the idea of social networking. We have several Twitter accounts (https://twitter.com/LockerbyNet, https://twitter.com/LCScancerdrive) that we use to keep parents and students aware of the ongoings in our school.

A teacher that I follow who has become very involved in social networking is Kyle Pearce. He is a teacher from Belle River, Ontario who piloted a paperless classroom using iPads, and uses social networking as a way to gather resources, network with other like minded teachers, and communicate great ideas in math! (https://twitter.com/MathletePearce, http://tapintoteenminds.com)

Social Networking in a Leadership Role

From a leadership standpoint, I can see a lot of effective uses of social networking in a school. Social networking is real-time. This means that as educators, we can provide current information on student achievement, meetings, as well as important events and innovative ideas that are happening around the school. As the program leader of mathematics at my school, I sometimes find it difficult to touch base with everybody in my department in a timely manner when I want information to be conveyed. Social networking (be it twitter, schoology, or other) provides me the opportunity to relay any information without having to find face time. In a similar manner, social networking can be used to keep families of our student body aware of school events in an engaging manner. Finally, social networking could be used as a method of offering professional development – an example of which could be hosting a virtual staff meeting. Teachers could watch an informative video on their own timelines, which increases the convenience of these PD opportunities.

Obviously, there are a few caveats when using social networking tools – it is important to plan ahead before embracing social media tools, and it is important to be careful about what exactly is posted online, both for privacy reasons and others.