Monday, April 27, 2009

Fun With Ustream.tv

I'm finding it harder and harder to make time for the day-to-day activities of school with all these cool tools and gadgets out there. Honestly, it's the end of the day, and it's sunny and warm out. Why would I want to grade when I can play around with my latest distraction -- Ustream.

Ustream is a great site that lets you stream live video over the internet. More than that, though, it also provides a chat feature so that you can facilitate a discussion about what is being filmed. There are a host of other great features to it as well, but for now, I think it's just great to be able to open up the classroom to a worldwide audience.

So, after a few practice runs, I finally tried it out with my students for real. Each year during our Greek mythology and Ulysses unit, my classes put together plays as a culminating activity. Sometimes, if there is enough time, they are able to write their own missing chapter to The Adventures of Ulysses. However, other times, like this year, they work in small groups of five and six to prepare short one-act myths from a book I have. The students prepare costumes and props, memorize their lines, and do just about everything short of selling tickets to their performances. At show time, on the day before vacation, we invite the entire team to watch the productions, and each year it goes really well.

However, this year, I decided to use Ustream to broadcast the performances live so that parents could also enjoy the plays. And, I have to say that aside from a few sound issues, it went really well -- especially considering that I was filming with a $40 webcam instead of a proper video camera. Here they are below:



So, the next day was even more fun. Our district hosted a Blue Ribbon Conference for teaching and learning, and many of us participated in Ustream backchannels. This one in particular was a question and answer session hosted by Will Richardson. The feed allowed people from all over the world to tune in and join the conversation. Another feed allowed me to sit in one session and watch and participate in another simultaneously.

If harnessed appropriately, this type of technology set up in a classroom environment can open up a tremendous amount of possibilities. Students could learn from the conversations in the room and they could learn from each other with the chat feature. Parents and other classrooms could watch and join in on the conversations to extend the discussion beyond the classroom walls making for a wider perspective and richer discussion.

If any of you out there have experimented with Ustream or are regularly using it as a classroom tool, let me know how it's working.

Friday, April 24, 2009

Back Away From the Cul-de-Sac

Now that my son has turned five and is preparing for kindergarten, I'm finding myself engaged in more and more in conversations with other parents about schools. They've been taking place in the usual locations - the end of the cul-de-sac, the grocery store, birthday parties, and as one might imagine, they often take a turn down perilous paths for the public school teacher.

Such was the case this week when I found myself having to stand up for our local district's third grade math curriculum. Mind you, I'm not a math teacher, I don't teach elementary school, and the only experience I've had with this district so far is the kindergarten registration night. However, because I am a teacher, I was expected to know the exact reasoning behind teaching geometry to third graders and why everyone (those on our street) did so poorly on a quiz.

I did my best to negotiate the divide between parent and teacher, but when the discussion turned to expectations that elementary school children should know and be able to use PowerPoint, I knew I was in serious trouble.

"I don't even know how to use PowerPoint. How can you expect an eight-year-old to use it?" one neighbor said.

My first instinct was to ask why would you use PowerPoint when you can use Photostory, VoiceThread, or something else equally more interesting and useful than PowerPoint. Then, my second thought was to let my neighborhood parent friends know that this was only the start of their kids using technology of which they'll most likely always be steps behind. But, I thought better of it and decided that my safest bet was just to back away from the cul-de-sac.

On later reflection it occurred to me how far ahead of the curve we are in both the district in which I teach and the district in which I live in terms of instructional technology and using Web 2.0 tools in the classroom. Often, I feel like there is so much out there that I'm not using or not even aware of. I look at my colleagues and wish that I could be doing a lot of the kinds of things they are doing and scheming ways to carve out more time to try them out. And, with my PLN, I definitely feel like the constant newbie, wondering if they are secretly chuckling at my seemingly naïve updates and postings.

Yet, little exchanges like the one with the neighborhood parents remind me that a lot of what I'm constantly thinking about and much of what I'm implementing in my classroom is so far beyond the experiences of many parents, students, and teachers. It makes me feel thankful that I am surrounded by colleagues, both face-to-face and online, who help create a culture that is constantly trying to push the traditional boundaries of teaching and learning.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

The Tale of Antman

Walking around MassCue last November, I couldn't help but feel a little bit like a celebrity - and not just because of my movie star looks and rock star swagger (part Lovitz, part Popper). And, it wasn't because two of my middle school teachers from nearly thirty years ago were there. In fact it had everything to do with the plastic name badge draped around my neck. You see, my name just happens to be my father's name as well, and in MassCue land, Steve Olivo is a somebody.

My dad has been affiliated with MassCue for close to a decade now. Early on he was a teacher trying to learn something new, but more recently, since his retirement, he's been working with their On Cue publication and helping out with the Pathfinders Awards. At the conference he seemed to be everywhere. In one moment he might have been the one handing Marcia Grant one of her two door prizes, and in another moment he might have been introducing two educators "that really need to meet." I'm pretty sure he tracked down everyone who made it in from Reading, and he certainly made sure to point me out to everyone he knew (‘cause that's what dads do, I guess).

You might say that he was one of the innovators that was there at the beginning. When email was just becoming popular in the late 1990s, my dad, who was near the end of his teaching career at Chicopee High School, started getting involved in something called Learning Circles. Back then they were pen pal projects with overseas schools, but instead of mailing the work through the post office, they used email. As a writing teacher, he loved that the feedback was nearly instantaneous and the audiences were authentic, and learning circles soon became a focus for his class. Today learning circles are one of the more popular projects found at iEARN (the International Education and Resource Network).

Later, as my dad became more interested in using technology for teaching writing, he learned about VHS, the Virtual High School, and soon after wrote and developed his own course (using Lotus, no less). There he expanded his student clients to all over the United States, and expanded his learning circle partners to all over the world. Literally, he was doing the things we're all talking about right now in our little class.

Now here's the greatest part of this story. My father, Steve Olivo, knows nothing about technology. He is one of those heavy typers who often has trouble moving the cursor on the screen because he's run out of space on the table to move his mouse. He had a cell phone for six years before he figured out how to pick up his voice mail. He still has not figured out how to program in phone numbers. To him a bookmark is something that goes in a book, and a favorite is either something good on TV or something yummy to eat. He makes fun of George Bush for saying "the Google," but I'm not so sure he wasn't guilty of it until someone on FOX pointed it out as a faux pas.

And that brings me to the moral of this story. There is no reason for any of us not to be innovative in this 21st Century environment, and a lack of technology proficiency should never be used for an excuse to say, "I can't." There are enough people around who can help implement any idea you can dream up. All you have to do is commit to doing it because a good idea will always work.

And if you still don't believe me after hearing the tale of the real Steve Olivo, let me introduce you to Dave Williams, who this year has at least four students who are the children of former students. Mr. Williams will be the first to tell you that he doesn't know a lot about technology, but just today he gave an amazing presentation on blogging, something he's done for almost a year now. Check it out, and then repeat after me. "If it's not happening, it's because you're not doing it."

Lettin' 'Em Run

My daughter is running around the house naked again. Thankfully, she's two and not 22. Apparently, now that she's learned to remove her diaper by herself, she's enjoying a new sense of freedom and accomplishment. It's a new thing she's taken to and has run with...literally.

I bring this up because I've just recently introduced this year's students to MassONE, and so far, it's been great. It's something that they too have taken to and have run with. Among other things, MassONE allows you to post discussion threads to which the kids can respond. These can spark some really great conversations with the students that you wouldn't necessarily get in class. More importantly, because it's web-based, these conversations can happen outside of class.

Currently, we're reading The Revealers in advance of Doug Wilhelm's visit next week, but we've been discussing a lot of it online - actually, I should say the kids have been discussing it because I haven't had to do much facilitating. They're doing it completely on their own without the expectation of credit or a grade, mind you. All I've had to do is post a question or a topic and they have at it.

Here's an example:

Mr. O: Why do you think Russell and Richie are the way they are?

Peter: I think Russell has no friends because he doesn't really try. Once he makes a fool of himself, he doesn't try to cover it up. He just gives up after his first try. I think the same thing happened to Richie, but in a different way, and with different results. With Richie, nobody liked him, perhaps for the same reason as Russell, or for a different one. Then, when nobody wanted to be friends with him, instead of becoming shy like Russell, he became mean. If either of them thought they could make friends with intimidation or shyness, they were both wrong.

Mary: I think Russell doesn't have any friends from when they all left him because he doesn't try making any new friends. Richie doesn't have any friends because he is too mean and he doesn't want any friends. Richie is really independent.

Peter: I agree. Russell's friends met new kids and made new friends, but Russell just gave up. He didn't stick with his old friends, nor did he try to make new ones.

Jason: I agree but I think that Russell is afraid to make friends because he might say the wrong thing.
It goes on, but what's really impressive is the richness of the conversation coupled with the degree of interest. The kids are doing everything you'd want from a classroom discussion, and they're doing it independently. And, not just a few students are participating. Last night alone, more than 50% of my students were on discussing the book - purely on their own!

But wait, there's more. Many of the students who are logging on each night are those that you'd never hear from in class - the quiet introverts who have a lot to contribute, but for some reason never do. (Coincidently, that's a theme in the book, as well) Right there, that's the real success story. This online setting finally gives those students the voice they've been missing in the regular classroom setting. Like my daughter in a full sprint, they too are experiencing a new found sense of freedom and accomplishment.

Monday, April 13, 2009

Holy Blogs, Batman!

I originally wrote this in October 2008 just a few weeks into my introduction to blogging. Then, blogging was a component to a district cohort class about 21st century education. I think this post still holds up pretty well six months later.

After a month of writing, I think it's time to step back and take a look at this whole "blogging thing." I've noticed a lot of good and not-so-good things about the postings that are flooding our little community here. I call them the 7 Habits of an Effective Blog.

Formatting Counts - If I can't easily read someone's post, I skip right on by. I need a reasonable font, proper spacing, and, demanding as this may be, paragraphs. There's a curious little clipboard icon with a W on it in the message composing box. Clicking on that after copying from Word allows you to post into your blog while still maintaining your formatting from Word. Everyone should take a look.

A Good Title Goes a Long Way - A few days ago, I was scrolling through the list of unread items, and I gotta tell you, there were few that I had any interest in looking at, let alone reading. I kept being drawn to the same titles over and again, even though I was quite sure I had read and reread them. Why? It's all about the titles, baby. Be creative and you shall win comments galore!

Find an Angle - Ok. So there are what, like 36 of us here? I'm sure there are lots of times when we're going to be writing about the same thing, and let me tell you. As an ELA teacher I read a lot of the same thing over and over. The ones that stand out are the ones that come at a topic with an interesting angle - that don't just rehash what fifteen others have already written. Need proof? Read those "World is Flat" assignments all at once.

Be Brief - This is practical on many levels. First, a short blog is much easier to write and when you have to knock one out late Saturday night, keeping is short is by far the way to go. Along the same lines, when looking for a post to comment on, you don't have to scroll far, far, far...far, far, far down the page to read an entire post. If I have to click more than one or two times in the scrolling bar, then I instantly check out.

Pictures - I'm as guilty as the next person (though not Connie, who is sitting next to me) for not including pictures in my blog. However, I recognize that it's really important. It gives a sense of reference and personality - dare I say voice?

Links - Along the same lines, I think embedded links are vital to an effective blog. Actually, I think that it was the original intention of a blog to create a system of links to important articles and such. If we don't include links to outside sources of interest, then what are we really saying about our thoughts and ideas? ...and yes, there are no links in this post. :-)

Post Regularly - I like the once a week mandate for this class. It keeps me regular, like a good bowl of broccoli. Honestly though, a boring blog is one that is not current and doesn't update frequently. Daily would be great, but that would require another paycheck from some sort of publisher.