We plan to use the tool in a web 2.0 session for middle school teachers. EtherPad will allow us to collect a few words of reflection from every staff member in a few minutes near the end of the session. The combined text from the collaboratively written reflection will be transformed into a visual context using Wordle and we’ll display the collective thinking in a very powerful and compelling way.

I’ve been using this clip of Sir Ken Robinson from the TED Annual Conference for years, and there’s no good reason why I haven’t posted it here – so tonight I’m changing that omission! This clip has been a great idea-sparker for teachers, graduate students, and non-educators alike.

Robinson is a masterful presenter, and his content resonates with my thinking about the whole high-stakes testing push here in the US. External pressures shape our course, but it’s great to be reminded of the higher calling we have as a moral imperative. At about twenty minutes it’s not a quick view, but I gauarntee you will watch it more than once – and probably get others to join you… The video is available online -  Do Schools Kill Creativity?

Here’s exactly how the message appeared in Twitter, “final question on GMA for Dave Ramage from twitter…why do folks think i’m nuts then when I talk abt twitter if its SO mainstream these day”.

Of course I had no idea what was going on when I received the email with this quoted message. However, my curiosity was piqued, so I did what any 21st century investigator does – launched my browser and went to Google™. I realized that GMA was not the Gospel Music Association, but the Good Morning America show on ABC. A quick search on the Good Morning America site for the word twitter led me to discover a reporter named Dave Ramsey. We even resemble each other!

Now the confusion was clearing (slightly). The original tweet might be directed toward a Dave Ramsey remark concerning twitter? Instead of identity theft I believe I’m a victim of identity reassignment! For most people the story could end right there. But not me.

Inquiring minds want to know…what factors influenced this identity transfusion? Can it be attributed solely to our stunning foreheads? I didn’t receive the original tweet, so how did it’s creation become known to me so quickly? (Tweet posted 7:49 AM email from a friend 9:08 AM) Why would a professional acquaintance confuse me with someone they’ve never met? Did a spell-checker play a role? How does my newly-assigned comment align with my own beliefs about ubiquitous technology? I still have no idea what Dave’s original comments concerning Twitter contained, but I do know someone else wants me to communicate a response.

I doubt I’ll spend the time to seek further clarification on the matter, but the fact that the original tweet was posted via a mobile device makes me wonder if my contact information (possibly present in the tweet-poster’s mobile device) “corrected” the intended text to become my name. Was it an old-fashioned error that caused the tweet author to substitute my name because of the similarity in sound, or appearance?

The level of connectivity we’ve attained is amazing, but this incident reminds me that the real connection is from person to person. Infrastructure and application create the possibility, but people make the connections.  Maybe someday Dave Ramsey and I can sit down to talk about it…

Woopid is a great resource for Office 2007 and many other applications – both Mac and Windows. Check out their bundles at http://www.woopid.com/groups.php

I’ve only looked at the PowerPoint section, but it was an easy way to get up-to-speed on some fo the new features available in Office 2007 for Windows. (Not Keynote yet, but some nice improvements)

Tutorials are separated into short sections, most three to five minutes in length, so you can learn about a targeted skill/concept and then try it for yourself. Narration is well done, concise, and reassuring. The audio and visual quality are excellent.

I don’t know if the site will become a fee-based endeavor, but for now it’s a resource that you can recommend broadly. There are topics to help the beginning user, and enough depth to get even the most seasoned user a new skill or tip.

The interface couldn’t be easier! I’m anxious to check out the Picnik extension for Firefox too. I appreciate the fact that it will connect with “already online” pics you have in Flickr, Facebook, Picasa, etc – or allow you to upload a local image for editing. Once you’ve made your changes you can save the resulting file locally. I tried Picnik with a photo I had from NASA’s web gallery and I’m already hooked on the Orton-ish effect!

In a time when everyone wants your contact information Picnik allowed a surprising range of functionality without the need for an account. I’m sure I will create an account here (probably after I complete this post) but it’s refreshing to know I don’t need to. Account status allows you to archive your work on site, and purchase products created with your pics. I’m sure every grandparent would love a present wrapped in paper that features their grandchildren! You can even get your mugshots printed on a mug.

Amidst all the options one pressing question about Picnik comes to mind, “Do I show this to my teenage daughter?”. She’ll love it, but the rest of our family will only be able to use our computer when she’s asleep or out of the house

It looks like something worth exploring! I know I’m going to…Dave

The guy that started it all, Dana Atchley, had an untimely death. Others have kept his work alive and these “older examples” are still some of the strongest digital stories we have. Visit his Next Exit site and do a little exploring  http://www.nextexit.com/drivein/driveinframeset.html

Examples
Here are some other digital story links to help you get a sense of what this process can produce for you and your students:
http://www.kn.sbc.com/wired/fil/pages/listdigitalpe.html#cat1
http://www.storycenter.org/index1.html
http://www.mobilelearninginstitute.org/ProDev/BAWP/OaklandUSD/OLA/ProDev_Summer06/
http://www.mobilelearninginstitute.org/ProDev/RCWP/DS2006/
http://www.storycenter.org/canada/index.html
http://storiesforchange.net/
http://www.digitales.us/

Music and images are so vital to the production! Here are a few sites to help you find royalty-free media. I can’t list these links without a short soapbox rant – it’s always best to create your own sounds, music, images, and other media!! OK now (without added guilt) feel free to browse through these links:

Music & Sound Effects
Music in Production Library format. Dave’s favorite “canned music” site (if you don;t have Garage Band to create your own) http://www.freeplaymusic.com/
Sound Dogs used to have free samples, but QT Pro may be needed to capture the samples now http://www.sounddogs.com/

Images
ImageBase at the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco http://www.famsf.org/
http://www.bigfoto.com/
http://www.freeimages.com/

 Here’s a PDF file of a Storyboard Template used by Dana Atchley to help others create digital stories. This kind of scaffolding can be considered a pre-production, and production tool.

My observed outcomes of “belief transformation” means I’ve been willing to engage in the challenging work of examining and shaping beliefs – even though it tends to move at a pace that is frustrating and maddening for those of us seeking reform. But I’m committed to classrooms, and teachers, that demonstrate a belief in student-centered learning.

A recent article in the Journal of Research on Technology in Education, an ISTE publication, helped me step back and consider the way beliefs are shaped and changed. It presents evidence that raises a sort of “chicken or egg” question. 

Authors Sung Park and Peggy Ertmer conclude that, “Changes in intended teaching practices may be an important first step in changing teachers’ beliefs regarding technology use and future teaching practices” (p. 259). This is an encouraging finding for anyone working with classroom teachers. Their finding aligns with conclusions from my own research that suggest the context (institutional expectation, opportunity for reflection, shared stories, etc) is perhaps the most critical element of technology integration in learning systems.

I know this is a rather “intellectual post”, but maybe that’s the contrast I’m trying to illustrate. We can engage in the intellectual work, examine beliefs and analyze research without waiting to engage in solid classroom practices. And perhaps doing them hand-in-hand will actually result in the faster adoption and authentic use of meaningful integration practices? This dual approach has short-term and long-term implications for the learning environments our teachers design for students.

Although Willard Daggett advises “evolution, not revolution” I want change to come quickly! I know this will not be the case, so what I really want is to invest time, energy and resources in a manner that produces an authentic difference in what we do.

 That leads me to the notion of how we spend our “curricular energy”. I wonder if we’re putting tremendous effort in the wrong direction. If US students suddenly surged to become the highest math achievers of any nation in the world would they have any better chance of landing a job when competing in a global economy? As professor Young Zhao asked in a conference in July, “what knowledge is most valuable?”. I parapharse the question for the title of this post.

Seymour Papert points to the same issue in The Children’s Machine: Rethinking School In The Age Of The Computer. On page 63 he observes, “Progressive educators do not see themselves as offering an alternative way for students to learn the same list of items of knowledge. They value a different kind of knowledge.”

Before I get a record number of (angry) comments I want to acknowledge the tension between core curriculum and 21st century skills/knowledge. I am not saying we should suddenly abandon our core curriculum (not completely anyway). I’m saying we have tipped the balance heavily in it’s favor – for far too long. Depth, not breadth, is a must!

So what do you know? What kinds of knowledge matter most? How can our outdated, yet deeply entrenched, system of curriculum and schooling respond to students in a relevant way? How can we create schools that will help our students to thrive in the years ahead?

We are re-aligning the grades of our middle and high schools, and this provides an opportunity to develop a revised program of study. All this background to pose a question for our conversation…

What should an 8th grader be able to know and do with technology when they exit our middle school?

 ISTE’s National Educational Standards for Students (NETSS) provide a great framework, but I’m interested in the less formal, in-the-trenches answer that you might have in mind. Our digital natives are bringing increased skills to the table, how will we respond?