The inside of my head is currently a whirling vortex of information, ideas and resources all jumbled together and moving so rapidly it is next to impossible to catch one single thought to hold onto.
I began my week of exploring OER by watching an edWeb webinar a webinar titled "Using OER Smarter, Better & Faster for Elementary Mathematics." The webinar included a short YouTube video called “Why OER Matters”
The video addresses many of the points presented in one of the videos included in our week one reading/viewing list.
The webinar itself discussed the qualities of effective OERs (alignment with learning outcomes, quality of explanation of subject matter, utility of materials, quality of assessment, quality of technological interactivity, quality of instructional and practice exercises, assurance of accessibility) ) It included this link to a document for assisting educators in selecting OER for their classroom: http://www.setda.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Digital_brief_3.10.15c.pdf It presented some resources that I had not as of yet explored: Rubistar, MIT Open Courseware, PHET, ReadWorks.org. I look forward to exploring these more in depth at a later time. The webinar proceeded to address both the benefits and challenges associated with utilizing OER in the classroom. Some of the advantages listed included: spurring pedagogical innovation, the ability to modify or reuse materials, the potential to decrease costs associated with providing quality education, and the ability to promote educational technology developments. The challenges acknowledged with utilizing OER in classrooms included: resources required to produce high quality OER can be prohibitive, quality of available OER varies, OER require periodic updating to retain their value, educator resistance and others. The webinar than provided a sample Grade Three math lesson that utilized OER. The webinar was a good entry point. Now I was ready to do some exploring of my own. My first stop was the OER Commons. As I am exploring Google Apps for Education I was excited to see that it has links to upload content directly to Google Classroom! Next I visited OpenStax. The content seemed to focus on secondary and post-secondary content. I checked out a text book on Astronomy. As I am not an astronomer I cannot speak to the accuracy of the information contained in the text but I can say that the site was easily navigable, it was easy to download content, and the content was formatted in a way that made it easy to read with the chosen font style and size and inclusion of images. My final stop was Couesera. I found the range of materials broad. There is something for everyone there. Many of the courses are free (if you don’t want a certificate for credit) but others cost. The fees are, in my opinion, reasonable but does exclude them as free or open content. I decided to explore the resources on this site more in depth. I signed up for three courses. One I was able to begin this week, the other two do not open up until the end of next week. The first course that I chose to audit was Foundations of Teaching and Learning. The course is introduced with an introductory video. The video is comprised of a mixture of clips of the instructor (the stereotypical professor with gray hair, a beard and glasses) lecturing and PowerPoint slides. In spite of the dated appearance of the professor and background the video contained good, basic content. The first module proceeded with three more videos similar in nature to the introductory video and concluded with a brief, self-reflective assignment. I am eager to see what the next modules bring. So far the course has been a good refresher in basic teaching pedagogy and practice and even presented certain topics from a different perspective. I can see it being valuable for students contemplating going into education. I still feel like I am caught in a funnel cloud but I think I am close to entering the eye of the storm where one experiences calm.
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This week I explored other open sources of information about some popular Google apps. I turned to my new favourite source for professional development…..edWeb. EdWeb (www.edweb.net) is a site that curates professional learning communities on several teaching related topics, including technology. I am a member of the Tech Tools for Teachers community (among many others.) Members of this community have access to an archive of free webinars. Each lasts about one hour. I discovered 2 webinars hosted by one of my favourite presenters, Shannon Holden (https://www.edleadersnetwork.org/presenters/g-i/holden-shannon) The first was on Google Tools for Educators. It was produced and aired in 2013. It covered Creating an account; creating, adding events, sharing,and embedding a Google Calendar; the basics of Google Plus such as creating circles; using Google Hangouts to facilitate communication between teachers and students, peers and teachers and parents; and using Google Drive to disseminate information to students and colleagues and encourage collaboration., A second webinar focused exclusively on OneDrive by Microsoft and Google Drive more in depth.
While the content contained in these webinars was covered more thoroughly in the first modules of the online training offered by Google but it was beneficial to have a different perspective My biggest frustration at this point is seeing the possibilities and not having the opportunity to fully utilize these tools. I am eager for my colleagues to get on board so we can streamline communication and work more efficiently. Next week my learniing will be hands on with some colleagues from a different school. I am excited to see how they are using these and other tools in their professional practice. Everyone has heard of copyright. And if we are to be honest, all of us have broken it. Copyleft (gotta love the spoof on the term copyright) appears to be an ingenious method of acknowledging the original work of the creator while allowing for the inspiration of further works based on it. I liked how the definitions of open content found on Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_content) I found that the 5 Rs that were articulated (retain, reuse, revise, remix, redistribute) really helped me clarify the scope of copyright and copyleft. I have used Creative Commons in the past. I appreciate how it allows me to enhance my work while promoting the work of another by including proper acknowledgment. Prior to reading What is Copyleft (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft) and About the Creative Commons (http://creativecommons.org/about) I didn’t fully understand how the freedom offered by open resources was actually secured through copyright. The statement in the latter article that declares that Creative Commons provides an infrastructure that creates a “balance between the reality of the Internet and the reality of copyright laws” really summed it up for me. My closing comments will be on Aaron’s Law, the recorded lecture of Larry Lessig, Once I got past the introduction, which I will refrain from commenting on, I found it not only deeply saddening to know that we lost such an intelligent, personable, sensitive person with a social conscious at such a young age but engaging and thought provoking. I only wish I had the opportunity to meet him. He seemed to be a dichotomy of introvert and activist. Intelligent and maybe naïve at the same time. The lecture provokes the questions: Did Aaron actually break the law in liberating the JStor database? It wasn’t clear if he actually “broke in” as the server room itself was unlocked. As a member of the institution he was, in fact, entitled to access the database. Did he exceed his authorized access? Unclear. Did he have intent to distribute? Unclear. Was there proof that his actions caused harm? Again, unclear. As an accomplished lawyer Larry Lessig was careful not to come out and state it but the way he presented certain facts and skirted around others suggested that Aaron’s prosecution was less about copyright and more related to his ability to hack into secure databases. A prospect that would surely scare a paranoid government with sensitive information to guard. Perhaps what struck me most was not related to copyright at all. What struck me was the essence of Aaron himself. Yes, he was a hacker. Yes he was an activist. Mr. Lessig is correct on these counts. But he was also a poet. Perhaps first and foremost. I wanted to find the description Aaron wrote of the picture he attached to one of his posts because it was particularly eloquent but was unsuccessful in finding it. Here is a different sample from his Stanford blog (http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/) where he talks insightfully and lyrically about the failing auto industry, An organization is not just a pile of people, it’s also a set of structures. It’s almost like a machine made of men and women. Think of an assembly line. If you just took a bunch of people and threw them in a warehouse with a bunch of car parts and a manual, it’d probably be a disaster. Instead, a careful structure has been built: car parts roll down on a conveyor belt, each worker does one step of the process, everything is carefully designed and routinized. Order out of chaos. And when the system isn’t working, it doesn’t make sense to just yell at the people in it — any more than you’d try to fix a machine by yelling at the gears. True, sometimes you have the wrong gears and need to replace them, but more often you’re just using them in the wrong way. When there’s a problem, you shouldn’t get angry with the gears — you should fix the machine. And here is another discussing how mistakes are frequently undervalued... This is a tale of two nonprofits. At one, they hate making mistakes. How else could it be? “We’re not ever going to enjoy screwing up,” they told me. But this attitude has a lot of consequences. Everything they do has to go through several layers of approval to make sure it’s not a mistake. And when someone does screw up, they try to hide it. It’s only natural — you know you’re going to get in trouble for screwing up, so you try to fix it before anyone notices. And if you can’t do, then your boss or your boss’s boss tries. And if no one in the organization can fix it, and it goes all the way to the executive director, then he tries to figure out a way to keep it from the press or spin it appropriately, so the world never finds out they made a mistake. At the other nonprofit, they have a very different attitude. You notice it the first time you visit their website. Right in their navigation bar, at the top of every page, is a link labeled “Mistakes.” Click it and you’ll find a list of all the things they screwed up, starting with the most horribly embarrassing one (they once promoted their group under false names). Extremely articulate and even elegant prose, I am sure you will agree, Coders will admit that there is a beauty and poeticness to eloquent code. Is it his eloquence that spawned his ability to appreciate and create brilliant code? Or has his ability to create and appreciate elegant code translated to his ability to communicate with the written word? Maybe a bot of both. The words recited from his blog posts demonstrated passion, vision and eloquence that are the hallmarks of a poet. I would suggest that it was this sensitive soul of a poet that called him to action and resulted in the torment that eventually caused him to take his life. I truly hope that he has found some peace. Choosing what to focus on for my individual learning project was not easy. Once I opened my mind to the possibilities I was flooded with ideas. I could study French, my ancestral language that for political and personal reasons my father never spoke to me. I could study novel writing. Seeing my work in print has always been a dream of mine. I could learn the nuances of dog training from experts (although I think my nearly eleven year-old retriever is beyond redemption.) Or I could get a headstart with Google Apps for Education which the school district I work in will be subscribing to next year. In the end I decided to pursue Google Apps for Education. I am familiar with some of the applications that comprise the suite. I have a Gmail account. I Have used Google docs and have saved documents to my Google Drive. Earlier this year I found online training from Google and only had time to complete the first few introductory units. I went back and continued with the training. This time I had two goals in mind. First, I wanted to expand my skill set. Second, I wanted to be able to share what I learned with staff and take a leadership role in assisting with the transition to this new medium for communicating with staff, students and parents. So far the training, which includes links to documents in the help center, video and audio clips and frequent quizzes to check understanding, has covered policy, locating experts, Google Docs, Google Drive, Gmail, Google Keep, Google Calendar, Google Hangouts, Google Groups and more. Part of the training involved exploring Google Education Groups. These are groups of educators who are using Google Apps for Education. It is a place to share ideas and seek help. I was surprised to discover that there were no groups on the Island. There wasn’t even a single group listed in British Columbia! I saw this as an opportunity to begin my role as a leader. Google recommended that those wishing to begin a group contact an active group close by. I joined the Google+ Community for the Alberta GEG (Google Educators Group) and asked for advice and a nomination to begin a group on the Island. They kindly directed me to someone whom I am hoping can get the ball rolling. I am also going to get together with some local teachers from pilot schools who are already trying the suite of applications out. My plan is to complete the free training from Google, collaborate with peers and seek out further open resources that can further my competency with the Google products that will be available to me in the fall. #ThisIsGoingToBeFun Check out episode 1 of Visible Learning at: http://screencast-o-matic.com/watch/cDhUhViikP In earlier courses in the Online Learning and Teaching Degree program I was introduced to the terms Open Education Resource (OER) and Creative Commons but had not explored either in depth.
The video “Why Open Education Matters” (https://vimeo.com/43401199) presented several points in favour of Open Education Resources. These included reducing financial burdens to those who might not be able to afford enrolment in traditional courses or print textbooks; reaching people in remote areas who would find it difficult to attend face-to-face classes; and the ability to keep materials current. These are valid arguments. I remember reading an article (I will have to do some sleuthing to find out which one) that cited research that disproved the theory that open education resources and free or inexpensive courses (like MOOCs) would equalize opportunities for less advantaged persons. For whatever reason, the target audience did not respond as enthusiastically as anticipated.. The already educated seemed to be getting more educated and the gap was not closing. It may even have been getting wider. The video “Laws That Choke Creativity” (http://www.ted.com/talks/larry_lessig_says_the_law_is_strangling_creativity?language=en) by Larry Lessig presented a lot to consider. Are our laws regarding copyright and licensing and property outdated? Do the laws continue to serve their intended purpose? Are copyright and licensing laws stifling rather than promoting and protecting creativity? Mr. Lessig would have us believe so. Maybe he is right. The examples that he showed demonstrated how materials had been remixed in very creative ways. Would I want to give up all rights to my work? I do believe in sharing and openness but I, too, have reservations. I might worry how my work might be remixed. The videos Lessig chose were irreverent and intended to be humourous. Would the artist whose work had been remixed approve of how his work had become associated with the new product? Or would he find it offensive? As humans our creative works are often highly personal and having them contorted to convey a message contrary to their original intent or completely misinterpreted could be highly distressing. There really is no original idea. All ideas are sparked off another. No idea can exist in isolation. Like a flame without oxygen it will be snuffed out. We might as well embrace this reality and attempt to contain the flames by offering creators licensing options as in Creative Commons so the fire doesn’t die but neither does it grow into a raging wildfire. Surely, some people will get burned in the process but others will have their imaginations sparked. Hello, my name is Chantelle and I am and EdWeb addict.
During spring break I discovered the awesome archive or webinars by EdWeb. I have since viewed/participated in over 17 of them. It all started with a single webinar on how blended professional development could be delivered. Harmless in itself but then I discovered a whole learning community devoted to the brain. I am a wannabe neuroscientist and devoured webinars about the impact of technology on the brain, physical activity and the brain and sleep and the brain. I was hooked! Some of the webinars that stand out to me are from the new teacher community. They include presentations on finding some of the best online resources and the ten best educational apps. Many I was aware of but I was excited to make new discoveries. My most recent webinar was on Open Educational resources. In particular it introduced me to a website hosted by a non-profit organization called Curriki. It has over 85, 000 resources available to members (which there are currently almost 500,000) The Curriki team evaluates the resources based on Achieve (American federal standards.) Members can also rate the resources with a five star system and request the Curriki team review a particular resource if it has not yet been reviewed. This helps ensure quality. One glitch I ran into when signing up on Curriki was that although it includes Canada in a dropdown menu when registering, it does not recognize Canadian postal codes. I bypassed this hurdle by entering the American zip code I am most familiar with.....90210. As a result, my profile states that I am from California. Hmph. Could be worse. The webinars are sponsored so there is a minor marketing component but I have not found this to be off-putting or affect the quality of the content in the majority of cases. I am eagerly awaiting my next fix. There are webinars scheduled on UDL and Instagram. So help me, I am an addict. Let me begin by saying that there are maybe 5 photographs of myself that I can tolerate so making a video was far beyond my comfort zone. I think it took twenty takes to produce something I considered acceptable.
I do acknowledge that their is merit in producing introductory videos in a virtual classroom environment. Hearing a person's voice, seeing their face and observing their body language all help us to connect. Videos of ourselves also help us identify any personal quirks with tone or volume of voice or facial expressions that might interfere with effective communication. As it was an unusually sunny and beautiful day for February I attempted to create the video on my deck. The sun proved to be a detriment, however, causing issues with shadows and backlighting so I was forced to move inside. Environment is definitely a consideration when producing a screencast. One is forced not only to get over any issues about being on camera but must also take logistics such as lighting and sound into account. These are requisite skills one must master when teaching online. This assignment taught me not to be too critical - to go with the flow and accept imperfection. And remember.. "Dude, suckin' at something is, like, the first step to sorta being good at something." Thanks Chrome Momentum for those borrowed words of wisdom. As part of my exploration of tools for online communication I checked out Fluid Survey. It is a Canadian branch of Survey Monkey. I was intending to do a survey and was intrigued by the fact that the server was housed in Canada so use of this tool did not violate the Freedom of Information and Personal Privacy Act. It was extremely easy to use and had a great deal of options. It also has the capability of producing reports that compile statistics gathered.
In Seven problems of Online Group Learning (and their solutions) Roberts & McInnerney identify and elaborate on the challenges presented by online group work. Some of these challenges include student antipathy towards group projects, creation of the groups themselves, assessing group work effectively and a potential lack of group skills. These challenges exist at all levels, whether it is primary or post-secondary education.
Roberts and McInnery identify two challenging personality types encountered in groups. They talk about the Freeloader. The student who is all to happy to sit back and let the others group members do the work. They also address the Sucker. The Sucker is described as an individual who takes on the majority of the work. The other members of the group allow the sucker to pick up their slack while they make minimal contributions. I propse that there is a third personality type that can make group work challenging. It is the Monopolizer. The Monopolizer is a cousin to the Sucker. The Monopoloizer possesses a domineering personality and ends up dictating the direction of the project. They have strong opinions and ideas. They dominate the conversation and make it difficult for other students to interject with their own ideas and opinions. Remaining group members can be left feeling marginalized. This can create an atmosphere of resentment that is counter-productive to establishing effective group dynamics. Roberts and McInnery propose several solutions to challenges presented to online group work. While I find merit in several of the proposed solutions, such as the explicit teaching of the skills required for effective group work, I question the merit in others, such as rewarding Suckers (and their cousin the Monopolizer.) Rewarding students who take on responsibilities originally assigned to other group members encourages dysfunctional group dynamics and deprives other group members of the opportunity to learn and apply knowledge and skills. Annalise, a law professor portrayed by Viola Davis in How to Get Away With Murder sums it up succinctly in the debut episode when she chastizes a student who interrupts with the answer to her question before the student she calls upon has had time to respond by saying, "Don't ever take away another student's oportunity for learning." That is what Suckers and Monopolizers do. As an alternative to rewarding Suckers and Monopolizers for contributions beyond their expectations, I beleive that the emphasis should be on the initial teaching of group skills and clearly defining the roles and responsibilities of each group members. I also beleive that it is the responsibility of the facilitator to ensure that no one member of a group is being allowed to take over the project or that any member is being allowed to shirk his responsibility. This may require intervention and diplomacy but it is necessary. We must never allow a student to deprive another of a learning opportunity. References Roberts, T. S., & McInnerney, J. M. (2007). Seven Problems of Online Group Learning (and Their Solutions). Educational Technology & Society, 10 (4), 257-268 I found the Article Finding the Right Tool posted on webtools4u2use to be engaging, well-organized, practical and informative. The quote by Abraham Maslow, “If the only tool you have is a hammer you tend to see every problem as a nail” effectively hooks the reader and provides the audience with an immediate understanding of the perspective the article will present.
There is indeed an overwhelming amount of tools currently available to educators. This article reminded me that being aware of these tools and developing competency with them is only the beginning. Not all tools are equally suited to all tasks and selecting the appropriate tool for a particular learning activity or outcome requires conscious thought. What we are familiar and currently competent with may not be the most effective tool available for the desired learning outcome we wish to achieve. I appreciated how options for selecting tools were presented by: task, product cognitive level, learning style, instructional strategy and stage of inquiry. I have a tendency to select tools by task and had not given cognitive level, instructional strategy or stage of inquiry due consideration. The article also posed some thoughtful questions for educators to consider when selecting a tool for an assignment or delivery of instruction, such as: How intuitive is it? How many stages are there? Does it do what I want it to do? How much learning would it take for learners to work it out? Whether or not the tool is the right one for the job is not the only consideration. The learning curve of students to become competent with the technology must also be taken into account. One cannot assume that it is intuitive. Explicit instruction may even be required. Is the end result worth the time required for students to become competent with the technology? The article included a great many tools available to educators. Many I was familiar with (or had at least heard of) but, as expected in this age where new technologies emerge on a daily basis, there were tools that were not yet familiar to me. Among those that I wish to explore are: Poll everywhere and Quizlet. As comprehensive as the list of potential tools was it was by no means 100% complete. One striking omission was Zoom which has proven to be a cost effective, user friendly, effective tool for group collaboration and instruction. I am always eager to add to my toolbox as an educator and this article provided me with some new tools to explore and a new process for selecting them. |
AuthorI am a primary teacher and aspiring writer. Archives
February 2017
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