July 12, 2009
Digital storytelling with iMovie
In the technology course for preservice teachers that I am facilitating this summer, we spent the past week creating digital stories with iMovie. Here is the story I created. I like it. What do you think?
June 23, 2009
Competing copyright curricula
A recent eSchoolNews article about dueling copyright curricula couldn't have surfaced at a more opportune time, seeing as how I literally just days before had utilized some materials from one of the curriculums in question.
On the one hand, the Copyright Alliance Education Foundation (CAEF) recently published Think First, Copy Later, seen by some as slanted toward the interests of copyright owners.
On the other hand, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), unveiled Teaching Copyright. The EFF is characterized as an advocacy group that serves the interests of users and consumers of digital media.
Admittedly, I was not aware of the CAEF curriculum when I recently selected and distributed some of the EFF's support documents to a group of pre-service teachers at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. But I am inspired by the prospect of having access to and using "dueling curricula," if and when I teach about copyright again in the future.
What an opportunity for teachers to exercise professional discernment! What an opportunity for students to see copyright law presented from two different perspectives -- owner versus user, industry versus consumer! What an opportunity to engage higher-order thinking and some good, old media literacy skills, such as evaluating audience, authorship, message, and meaning!
Teachers need these resources now more than ever. It was not too long ago that teacher training on the vagaries of fair use doctrine were conducted in the faculty workroom, usually between classes, as we waited in line at the photocopier. We traded in stories, myths, and half-truths and competed for bragging rights to the title of "Greatest Copyright Infringer." We made half-joking references to a sinister, Gestapo-like "Copyright Police" waiting in the wings. (I know. I was one of those teachers.)
The surge of web-based information and communication technologies makes it easier than ever to facilitate content creation and sharing in our classrooms, but we must first be equipped to engage students in conversation about content creation that is safe, ethical, and legal.
The alternative is to do nothing for fear of violating the law. This phenomenon was documented by Hobbs, Jaszi, and Aufderheide in their 2007 report for the Center for Social Media, The Cost of Copyright Confusion for Media Literacy. In 2008 the Center published the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education, which states that fear and confusion about copyright:
Check out the accompanying video:
On the one hand, the Copyright Alliance Education Foundation (CAEF) recently published Think First, Copy Later, seen by some as slanted toward the interests of copyright owners.
On the other hand, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), unveiled Teaching Copyright. The EFF is characterized as an advocacy group that serves the interests of users and consumers of digital media.
Admittedly, I was not aware of the CAEF curriculum when I recently selected and distributed some of the EFF's support documents to a group of pre-service teachers at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. But I am inspired by the prospect of having access to and using "dueling curricula," if and when I teach about copyright again in the future.
What an opportunity for teachers to exercise professional discernment! What an opportunity for students to see copyright law presented from two different perspectives -- owner versus user, industry versus consumer! What an opportunity to engage higher-order thinking and some good, old media literacy skills, such as evaluating audience, authorship, message, and meaning!
Teachers need these resources now more than ever. It was not too long ago that teacher training on the vagaries of fair use doctrine were conducted in the faculty workroom, usually between classes, as we waited in line at the photocopier. We traded in stories, myths, and half-truths and competed for bragging rights to the title of "Greatest Copyright Infringer." We made half-joking references to a sinister, Gestapo-like "Copyright Police" waiting in the wings. (I know. I was one of those teachers.)
The surge of web-based information and communication technologies makes it easier than ever to facilitate content creation and sharing in our classrooms, but we must first be equipped to engage students in conversation about content creation that is safe, ethical, and legal.
The alternative is to do nothing for fear of violating the law. This phenomenon was documented by Hobbs, Jaszi, and Aufderheide in their 2007 report for the Center for Social Media, The Cost of Copyright Confusion for Media Literacy. In 2008 the Center published the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education, which states that fear and confusion about copyright:
detracts from the quality of teaching. Lack of clarity reduces learning and limits the ability to use digital tools. Some educators close their classroom doors and hide what they fear is infringement; others hyper-comply with imagined rules that are far stricter than the law requires, limiting the effectiveness of their teaching and their students’ learning.
Check out the accompanying video:
June 21, 2009
Featured student blog: meet Ann
Cross-posted at Fireside Learning and Classroom 2.0.
That quote comes from Ann, an aspiring music educator at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. She and 14 other pre-service teachers are enrolled in a section of IT486, Intro to Instructional Computing, that I am teaching this summer. The course examines how to use technology to support teaching and learning and is designed to prepare novice teachers to integrate a variety of computer-based technologies.
One aspect of the course design that I really enjoy and value is the blog for reflective journaling. This is a required component. During the first week of the course, each student signed up for a blog at Google's Blogger. They were given a certain amount of license in the look and feel of the blog, but the overarching rationale for the pre-service teacher blog is the same: to develop and practice the reflective process. (More on that later.)
But why blend an introspective mode of writing such as journal writing with a public medium such as blogs?
As Christopher Sessums maintains:
So to that end, I have been making readerly comments on each pre-service teacher's blog, and I am encouraging the class to follow, read, and comment on each others' blogs.
And now, to go a step further, I seek to shine a spotlight (or, in the case of our music major, "sound a trumpet") on some provocative posts in hopes of inducting our novice edubloggers into some of the wonderfully generous and nurturing networks of teacher/learners that have supported me in the past -- communities such as Fireside Learning and Classroom 2.0.
Ann's commentary on the state of music education strikes a chord because she describes a phenomenon that transcends content area and grade level: teachers tend to teach in the manner in which they were taught. Why is this so? How do we press forward into new realms of teaching and learning and resist falling back on tired and familiar practices that have outlived their effectiveness for today's learners?
What do you think? I invite you to visit Ann's blog and share your thoughts and feedback with her.
Many teachers shy away from contemporary music. Why? It could be because their own teachers did the same.
That quote comes from Ann, an aspiring music educator at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. She and 14 other pre-service teachers are enrolled in a section of IT486, Intro to Instructional Computing, that I am teaching this summer. The course examines how to use technology to support teaching and learning and is designed to prepare novice teachers to integrate a variety of computer-based technologies.
One aspect of the course design that I really enjoy and value is the blog for reflective journaling. This is a required component. During the first week of the course, each student signed up for a blog at Google's Blogger. They were given a certain amount of license in the look and feel of the blog, but the overarching rationale for the pre-service teacher blog is the same: to develop and practice the reflective process. (More on that later.)
But why blend an introspective mode of writing such as journal writing with a public medium such as blogs?
As Christopher Sessums maintains:
Collaborative weblogs promote the idea of learners as creators of knowledge, not merely consumers of information. A collaborative environment like the one I'm suggesting can allow peers to be seen as valuable sources of knowledge and ideas; a connection that participants can rely on beyond any formal classroom structure, i.e., collaboration leading to a community of interest.
So to that end, I have been making readerly comments on each pre-service teacher's blog, and I am encouraging the class to follow, read, and comment on each others' blogs.
And now, to go a step further, I seek to shine a spotlight (or, in the case of our music major, "sound a trumpet") on some provocative posts in hopes of inducting our novice edubloggers into some of the wonderfully generous and nurturing networks of teacher/learners that have supported me in the past -- communities such as Fireside Learning and Classroom 2.0.
Ann's commentary on the state of music education strikes a chord because she describes a phenomenon that transcends content area and grade level: teachers tend to teach in the manner in which they were taught. Why is this so? How do we press forward into new realms of teaching and learning and resist falling back on tired and familiar practices that have outlived their effectiveness for today's learners?
What do you think? I invite you to visit Ann's blog and share your thoughts and feedback with her.
April 15, 2009
Know the feeling
I love this sentiment! It perfectly encapsulates the classroom teacher's state of mind when faced with the full potential of the read/write web.
The quip belongs to Peter Lane, a California middle school reading and technology teacher. I stole it from his profile in Classroom 2.0, an online professional network that, if you are a teacher even remotely curious about technology, you must visit! In fact, Peter's expression could serve as the tagline for the whole Classroom 2.0 site, which exists, in part, for those "beginners" who seek a "supportive community and a comfortable place to start being part of the digital dialog."
For his part, Peter is engaging his students in the "digital dialog" using a mix of young adult literature, blogs, and wikis. Take a look at Mr. Lane's Effective Reading Blog.
March 29, 2009
Wikipedia in the classroom?
This is of interest to classroom teachers and anyone else who cares about teaching and learning information literacy. If you are one of the lucky ones who gets to evaluate (and teach the evaluation of) online resources in the classroom without arbitrary content filters or system-wide bans, then here is some good advice regarding Wikipedia, framed in terms of curriculum:
It comes from the Point/Counterpoint column in the March-April 2009 edition of Leading and Learning with Technology from the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). The author is Thomas Hammond, a former classroom teacher and now professor at Lehigh University.
Some might take exception to Hammond's reference to "proven resources such as textbooks." Textbooks, along with all classroom materials, reside somewhere on a continuum of accuracy and authority and should be judged accordingly. They are not immune to critique.
Overall, I think Hammond does a fine job of cutting through the fog of fear and apprehension that shrouds Wikipedia. Quite possibly, educators could use his suggestions to teach about and through not just Wikipedia, but other collaboratively constructed knowledgebases and online communities as well.
And, no, that doesn't make me feel all "warm and fuzzy," as suggested by counterpoint author, David Farhie. Instead, Hammond's argument gives me hope and a glimpse of the kind of classroom where I would like to teach again some day.
What do you think? Is there room in your curriculum for Wikipedia?
If the curriculum is a closed body of information and skills to be transmitted to students, you should ignore Wikipedia and direct students to proven resources such as textbooks. Wikipedia—with its uneven quality, vandalism, and distractions—will disrupt this transfer. If your curriculum is an opening into critical thinking and knowledge construction, however, teachers must use flawed sources such as Wikipedia, alongside more authoritative texts.
It comes from the Point/Counterpoint column in the March-April 2009 edition of Leading and Learning with Technology from the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). The author is Thomas Hammond, a former classroom teacher and now professor at Lehigh University.
Some might take exception to Hammond's reference to "proven resources such as textbooks." Textbooks, along with all classroom materials, reside somewhere on a continuum of accuracy and authority and should be judged accordingly. They are not immune to critique.
Overall, I think Hammond does a fine job of cutting through the fog of fear and apprehension that shrouds Wikipedia. Quite possibly, educators could use his suggestions to teach about and through not just Wikipedia, but other collaboratively constructed knowledgebases and online communities as well.
And, no, that doesn't make me feel all "warm and fuzzy," as suggested by counterpoint author, David Farhie. Instead, Hammond's argument gives me hope and a glimpse of the kind of classroom where I would like to teach again some day.
What do you think? Is there room in your curriculum for Wikipedia?
March 15, 2009
Behind the scenes at ThinkTime
It's been a little over two years since I started this blog. So, in honor of its second anniversary, today I unveil a new ThinkTime header, which features my two best reasons in the world to be passionate about literacy.
What do you think?
I must say that the photo for the header was captured in a rare moment of cooperation, and, yes, it was staged. Here is a fun outtake from our recent photo shoot:
[caption id="attachment_336" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Behind the scenes at ThinkTime"]
[/caption]
What do you think?
I must say that the photo for the header was captured in a rare moment of cooperation, and, yes, it was staged. Here is a fun outtake from our recent photo shoot:
[caption id="attachment_336" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Behind the scenes at ThinkTime"]
[/caption]
March 14, 2009
What is literacy advocacy?
[caption id="attachment_310" align="alignleft" width="116" caption="Support the youngest literacy learners"]
[/caption]
Cross-posted at Media Literacy.
April is Literacy Education Advocacy Month, sponsored by the National Council of Teachers of English.
What is "literacy advocacy"? Check out NCTE's advocacy calendar for March and April 2009. I like how it breaks down advocacy into manageable steps for the novice agitator, er, I mean advocate.
Each day on the calendar contains a small, simple act we can perform to gently persuade our colleagues, legislators, and other education stakeholders about the NCTE 2009 legislative platform.
You can start being an advocate by simply reviewing the calendar. Check it out!
[/caption]Cross-posted at Media Literacy.
April is Literacy Education Advocacy Month, sponsored by the National Council of Teachers of English.
What is "literacy advocacy"? Check out NCTE's advocacy calendar for March and April 2009. I like how it breaks down advocacy into manageable steps for the novice agitator, er, I mean advocate.
Each day on the calendar contains a small, simple act we can perform to gently persuade our colleagues, legislators, and other education stakeholders about the NCTE 2009 legislative platform.
You can start being an advocate by simply reviewing the calendar. Check it out!
February 1, 2009
"Media convergence," succinctly put
A rare treat -- home alone, folding laundry, drinking coffee, and watching CBS Sunday Morning.
Even better, media critic Jeff Greenfield's segment, in which he attempts to capture the meaning of "media convergence" in under four minutes. It's an intriguing exercise, especially within the context of the venerated Sunday Morning, a rather conventionally formatted news program that just marked its 30th anniversary on the air.
As we are all too well aware, a lot has changed in media in these last 30 years. What makes Greenfield's commentary worthwhile are his parting words about "fundamental" values. Do these values endure despite the sweeping changes brought on by digitization, as Greenfield asserts?
It's a great discussion starter.
Another fun exercise: how does Greenfield's definition of "convergence" contrast with the definition put forth by media scholar Henry Jenkins? In his 2006 book, Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide, Jenkins argues that convergence has less to do with devices and technological advances and more to do with cultural practices and heightened levels of participation and interactivity.
What do you think?
Even better, media critic Jeff Greenfield's segment, in which he attempts to capture the meaning of "media convergence" in under four minutes. It's an intriguing exercise, especially within the context of the venerated Sunday Morning, a rather conventionally formatted news program that just marked its 30th anniversary on the air.
As we are all too well aware, a lot has changed in media in these last 30 years. What makes Greenfield's commentary worthwhile are his parting words about "fundamental" values. Do these values endure despite the sweeping changes brought on by digitization, as Greenfield asserts?
It's a great discussion starter.
Another fun exercise: how does Greenfield's definition of "convergence" contrast with the definition put forth by media scholar Henry Jenkins? In his 2006 book, Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide, Jenkins argues that convergence has less to do with devices and technological advances and more to do with cultural practices and heightened levels of participation and interactivity.
What do you think?
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