Rethink Your World

Eco Trip # 3 - Elepants and Rivers!

2011-01-13T20:31:00.000-08:00

March 11-13 ISB will head out for the 3rd eco trip of the year. It promises to be an exciting one whereby we stay on a raft boat in Sai Yok national park on Friday and then work with elephants on Saturday and Sunday at Elephant's World in Kanchanaburi.

Permission forms can be picked up on Mr. Dyke's desk in the Community Service Office (next to nurse office and book store).

There is only room for 25 and it will fill up fast. HS and MS students are welcome, but swimming ability is a must as we will stay on a river.

See Eco Trip Itinerary and camping checklist here

Eco Survey

2010-11-15T20:40:00.000-08:00

Thank you for helping me with this survey.

I need people to take my behavioral survey and attitude survey. I just need synergy students to answer the questions honestly (don't say what you think I want to hear; just be honest). This will be the pre-test and in about 3-4 months I will ask you to take it again for the post-test.

Part 1: Pre-test. Please do both by clicking on the link.

Behavioral survey (Eco Footprint). Please copy and paste the survey in a word document, complete the survey, and email it back to kerryd@isb.ac.th.

Attitudinal survey. There are 3 groups. Please read to make sure you chose the correct group depending on your experience.

Group 1: Those who have never taken the Environmental Stewardship class before.
Group 2: I have taken the Environmental Stewardship class in the last year or less.
Grou p 3: I have taken the Environmental Stewardship class more than 1 year ago.

Part II: Post Test. This will take place in February.

Thank you for your help.

Meatless Mondays

2010-08-25T22:32:00.000-07:00

September 13th, 2010 ISB will host a Meatless Monday. Could this be the start of something more permanent?

Meatless Mondays

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Check out these films.

FOOD INC.

Food Matters

Earth Week

2010-04-22T00:32:00.000-07:00

Earth Week is from April 26-30. We will have different events each and every day as well as special guests. Hope you will participate. Check out the events below.

Earth week 40th anniversary

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If you would like to volunteer to help out. Please click here.

Earth Day at ISB

2010-04-22T00:27:00.000-07:00

Today is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. At ISB we celebrated it by looking at what we have accomplished over the past 5 years. Please check out this video to see what changes have been made at ISB... many of them by students.

This video shows what students are doing for the environment or what they will do during Earth Week (April 26-30)

Also today 3 students (Katie, Eng and Oliva) went on Spanish radio to talk about the environment. This was broadcast in Spain, USA, and South American countries.

Congratulations ISB for taking steps towards a greener school.

Ready to Launch 3... 2... 1...

2010-03-24T10:34:00.000-07:00

Our project is ready to be launched out into space... cyberspace that is.

Andy and I have put together a PE unit we are very proud of. It was really fun doing this unit with the 7th grade students and enjoying their work and their pride in their culture.

The unit is MULTI-CULTURAL GAMES. It is great because students get to learn about their own culture and the culture of others, they gain organizational and teaching skills, and they incorporate technology throughout.

Students did all the research, put together their lesson, taught it to their class and posted it all up on their blog. We took the best of the best and made a wiki for the world to use. It includes the game, country, rules, history, a video, and the student's reflection.

Our hope is that PE teachers and students around the world will use our games in their schools to teach about other cultures. We also hope others from every corner of the globe will contribute themselves by doing a similar project and having their students post their work on this wiki.

We hope you have as much fun with these games as we did!

MULTI-CULTURAL GAMES

Setting up the Multi-Cultural Games Wiki

2010-03-24T09:18:00.000-07:00

My colleague, Andy V., and I decided to expand our multi-cultural games unit to make it even cooler than it already was (which was pretty cool to begin with). The basics were the same; students do a little research on the history, rules, how the game might relate to that time or that culture, etc. Then students share this game by teaching it to the others in the class. Only this time we wanted to go beyond our class and share it with the world. All students were expected to then video their lesson, edit the video and put everything up on their blog. In the end we compiled nearly 100 games.

From what I recall, all the games were great and about 95% of students did a great job of being prepared and teaching it well. Since blogging was new to many of the students there were some things missing, but overall we were very happy with the results.

We then asked about 15 of the best groups to volunteer to meet with us once after school and transfer their work from their blog to our new wiki for multi - cultural games. More than half showed up. The lesson is in the video below.

Overall, I am very pleased with the lesson and was amazed at how smooth it was. The kids were switched on and with the exception of a few glitches of getting used to a new program (Wikispaces), it was pretty easy to figure out.

Stay tuned for the actual site itself... coming up!

Facebook in the classroom

2010-02-25T02:18:00.001-08:00

I'm sure you all experienced having students using computers in class and many of them are sometimes off task and on Facebook. Last week I actually encouraged my students to go to Facebook. We have started a project to ban plastic bag around Thailand. At the moment we have over 7000 members on Facebook. That Saturday we were hosting our first event, V-Day, to ban plastic bags. Villa supermarket agreed to ban all plastic bags from Feb 20th onward. Students were helping me with this project from the beginning and in class they went to Facebook and invited all their friends to attend, changed their status to promote V-Day and also contributed to the Ban Plastic Bags wall. It actually helped because I noticed numbers went up a significant amount that night.

Our goal was to have at least 500 supporters show up and shop. In the end we had 1397 supporters, almost tripling our goal. This method of consumers helping business make change is from a new organization called Carrotmob. I recently started the 1st Carrotmob in Asia. We are the Bangkok Carrotmob. The event was a huge success. Villa has now banned the bags, the owner wants to expand the project, students were highly involved in the process and technology was used throughout in the form of social networking and blogs.

Phones in PE

2010-02-24T17:44:00.000-08:00

You won't believe this but I actually started writing this blog during my PE class. Sounds like I am not doing my job, but I am. Kids all have cell phones here, and we constantly tell them not to bring it to PE. Well, today I told them to get their phones because we need the camera on the phone. We are doing photo orienteering. I just put the kids into teams of 3 with a map, phone/camera, photo cards and other needed orienteering materials. They are in a race to find different locations around the campus that are all outlined on their map. Once there they have to take a photo that matches the photo on their photo card.
As I speak groups are racing past me frantically looking for a mark in this area. This is a part of the Outdoor Ed course that we are developing for grade 7. There isn't a technology focus, but in this case it fits nicely.

My Big Prez

2010-02-16T00:22:00.000-08:00

Ok, so this is not the assignment I am supposed to do, but it certainly is integrating technology and making a difference in the world (even if it is within guarded walls at the moment).

This is a presentation I gave today in the Chevron theater to inform people about my cause of banning plastic bags in Thailand. Surprisingly the theater was full, so 500+ I think. The presentation explains in 5 chapters what we are trying to accomplish. I don't want to give anymore away, but I think it is certainly worth watching. Since this is a Tech class, those of you who like the presentation technology can find it at PREZI.

Ban Plastic Bags on Prezi

Make it FUN!!!

2009-11-27T09:44:00.000-08:00

Technology or no technology?

Regardless of what you use to teach... MAKE IT FUN! If you want participation people need to enjoy it. This video is proof; just watch.

Peripheral Tools

2009-11-27T09:11:00.000-08:00

I haven't had much experience with peripheral tools, with the exception to the "Flip Camera". Teaching PE, the Flip Camera has been extremely useful, since it is so simple and user friendly. Currently we are using the Flip to film the students teaching their own multicultural games. The students will then edit the video and put it on their blog. At the time of this writing, this was not a completed process, but some students have finished and you can see it at PE period 1, period 2 or period 3.

Another class where we sometimes use the Flip camera is my Environmental Stewardship class.

Students learn to recycle by collecting items at home and then earning a little money when we take this trip. They also learn about the neighborhood composting program that is a win-win for farmers and the community. All this is done on an eco friendly solar bus which Nichada kindly provides for us.

Dangle Your Carrot

2009-11-27T00:12:00.000-08:00

Post is crossed referenced at Mr. Dyke's Blog

What the heck am I talking about? I'm talking about a whole new way Activism. The world is opening up due to technology and this has created new innovative concepts of changing the world. Traditional methods of activism included riots, protests, debates, boycotts, etc. Yes, some had success, but when we were 'holding the stick' often it developed an atmosphere of 'US' vs 'Them'.

This new way of thinking is about putting down the stick and tangle the carrot. With technology it is now easy to gather a large group of supporters from all over the world. A group believing in the same cause, that is able to communicate easily can be powerful. A group willing to put their money where there mouth is can shift a mountain. Consumer power at its finest!

I got this idea from Carrotmob and I want to start a Bangkok Branch. Ok, here's how it works. Get a large group of concerned citizens to join and support the cause. In this case it is ethical consumerism. Approach several similar businesses and propose a competition amongst them. The winner will have all of the carrotmob supporters show up and shop there. Not only does this give the shop extra large profits on the day everyone shows up, but concerned consumers are loyal to companies making a positive difference, so they will return. As well, the money made on the big day could pay for many of the 'good' things the business implemented to improve.

Where do I want to go with this? Right now I am looking at putting together a strong team covering many skills. Then we will spread the word and build a support base. Next step is to approach businesses. My goal right now supports another goal I have been working on and that is reducing or eliminating plastic bag use in Bangkok (join the Facebook group). I want to challenge Villa, Foodland, Carrefour, Central, Emporium / Paragon, 7-11 and others to reduce or eliminate their bags. There are several ways of doing this, but I won't go into that now. However, instead of threatening to boycott if they don't do it, we reward those who do by going there in a mass gathering and buying lots of things. To take it a step further, you make it an event with media covering it and giving the business positive press. This not only helps the business, but educates others about the movement, thus building more support and possibly attracting more businesses. I am currently in the beginning stage of this and should know more in about a week. If you want to have a positive impact on the world... stay tuned.

Carrotmob Makes It Rain from carrotmob on Vimeo.

Laptops in the classroom

2009-11-25T03:02:00.000-08:00

Is this what the next generation of teachers will be faced with... starring up at a hundred glowing apples?

Looking up at your class you see an outline of a body so you can only assume someone is sitting there, but you never see their face. You hope they are listening, but truthfully there are probably 100 more interesting things they can be doing on their computer instead of hearing what you have to say.

While you are trying to get your 'ever so important' point across she is updating her Facebook relationship profile to "It's complicated"; he is watching the latest skateboarding accident on Youtube. Another student is signing an online petition, while neighbor is in a chat room.

These are real situations some teachers face today and with increase use of digital tools the problem can certainly get worse. However, it doesn't necessarily have to be a problem. Perhaps the teacher can adapt the lesson to be more suited to using the computers. Perhaps he can encourage a chat room right there with everyone in the class and later post the chat online for the class to see. It's a way of sharing notes. I have no doubt that teaching the 'old' way will get 'real old' for students and they will switch off if the lesson is not engaging.

There are several excellent resources on the internet with guidelines to laptop management, such as Basics of Laptop Management, by John Rice. However, some methods I use to handle laptop use in the classroom are:

Traditional classroom management techniques
Lid half way down when I am speaking and really need their full attention
Encourage and compliment good behavior
Computers are a privilege not a right (this may not be the case in some situations)
Kids want to play games, well sometimes I send them to a game I want them to play.
Know what your computer has. It is frustrating to try an activity only to find out you are missing something on the computer to do it.
Don't be afraid of the technology; what may seem distracting at first may be used as an effective tool is used properly.

2009-11-25T02:34:00.000-08:00

How relevant are the NETs for Teachers and Administrators to being a "Good Educator" today?

I certainly agree that education is changing and we need to keep up with the times and technology has to be embraced because it will move forward regardless of how we personally feel about it.

The Nets have some really useful skills they want students to learn such as those below:

The new NETS-A emphasizes educational administrators' abilities to facilitate systematic growth in the following categories:
-- Visionary leadership
-- Digital-age learning culture
-- Excellence in professional practice
-- Systemic improvement
-- Digital citizenship

Although I feel these are 5 very useful areas to learn, I am not sure how important the NETS are. I am not saying that NETS are unimportant, but before taking this course I haven’t even heard of NETS. So to me it is not important, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t important on another level. Perhaps administrators have used NETS for a long time, thus it would be important to use NETS to keep up with the changing times.

What do you need to know?

2009-11-25T01:02:00.000-08:00

How can teachers and schools ensure that their students are learning what they need when it comes to Technology and Information Literacy?

There are probably as many different ways of accomplishing this as there are ensuring learning (without technology) is taking place. Since technology is constantly changing and the level of implementation varies around the world this is difficult to answer. However, to have success in this area students need to be given opportunities. A 1 to 1 laptop school will have more opportunities than a school with 1 computer lab, however, even this doesn't guarantee anything if the students are not using it appropriately.

If a school is serious about this, they need to implement an atmosphere encouraging use of technology and it might be necessary to have benchmarks at certain levels. For example, in Elementary students will learn how to type, write, internet search, podcasts, etc. In Middle school students will learn how to blog, voice threads, and do collaborative work with other schools in the world using things like wiki's or Google docs. Perhaps there could be electives such as moving making, etc.

Of course teachers should have the freedom and creativity to implement and use their own set of tools, but a few bench marks along the way can help everyone. For example, right now my environmental class, which happens to be made up of a lot of 6th graders at the moment, are doing blogs. It was great knowing that all MS students actually have their own blog already so it was easy for me to implement this in my class. However, the problem I found was the students knew the tools, but didn't know how to write a good post. It either lacked content, links, pictures, and/or a pleasant appearance. This is our first year implementing all of this so it is evolving, but it would be great to know that all MS students will have the skills to use the tools and have already learned what is required to make a good post. If you know what skills students are coming to you with you know where you can start and can go further.

At ISB we have a set of evolving tech standards. However, I am unaware of how well this is known or implemented.

Solar E-Readers

2009-11-11T03:30:00.000-08:00

Recently in our class we have discussed the usefulness of Kindle's and newer versions of E-readers coming out. However, any truly futuristic product will have to consider the environmental impact. That's why I like the idea of these solar readers. Check out this article by Megan Treacy.

Standards... Are they needed and who should do it?

2009-11-04T01:12:00.000-08:00

I am no expert on this subject and let me be honest in saying I hate this kind of stuff. I realize it is important and I'm glad someone is does it, but I'm more of a 'doer' and I get no enjoyment out of discussing statements, standards, and wording things in the perfect way. I like to get on with the job. Nevertheless, as a class we compared and contrasted standards from NETS and AASL Standards. There were some obvious differences between the two types of standards, but more importantly there were differences in opinion if we need this at all.

Some felt we needed these technology standards and it should be embedded in the curriculum; others felt many statements were redundant. If we are to prepare students for success (survival) in today's world of course we need to give them the opportunity develop tech skills; but is a complete overhaul needed? I feel like most schools and programs already have up-to-date effective standards and that technology standards can/should be included into already existing standards. I don't feel the wheel needs to be reinvented. At ISB we have a group called ISB21 who have come up with these standards.

So who's job is it to teach it? Many people have to play a role. Parents should be informed and perhaps lead in the role of teaching and observing tech safety. Teachers should look for 'appropriate' opportunities to included technology into their courses where it enhances the program. Schools should take a stance and ensure that teachers are reaching a basic minimum standard of technology and Tech departments need to ensure that they train the teachers.

Some issues I face in my elective is I have students from grades 6-8 and all have varying levels of tech skills. I wish I could say each grade level ensures kids reach a certain level, but that is not the case (although some grade levels are very tech savvy). The problem is we don't have the standards worked out and there is no minimal level that a grade level has to reach; thus this would be a good start. With that in mind, there are other problems; we are an international school and our population is very transient. As a result, even if we made sure every 6 grader has a blog, made movies, etc that doesn't mean that in grade 7 you could count on those skills being there. Therefore, perhaps a more worldly approach in needed. Think about typical school curriculum and how they have solved this problem. Transient students moved from USA, to Germany, to japan, etc. Did they change curriculum every time? Yes, until IB came along. One of the goals of IB, MYP, and PYP was to be more internationally minded and although the students moved around the planet, if the student went to another IB school, they were still in a consistent curriculum. Perhaps tech standards need to take this approach so as students are shifting they come with the appropriate skills for level.

Project: Operation Starship 2009

2009-11-01T07:28:00.001-08:00

October 2009, 32 8th grade students from International School Bangkok took a journey to SPACE CAMP in Huntsville, Alabama, USA.

Throughout Space Camp students trained in similar conditions as astronauts as they prepared for their missions. All students found this experience to be more than worthwhile. I hope you, and future groups thinking of attending, will get a small sense of their experience through this video.

Screencasts in the class

2009-10-27T06:01:00.000-07:00

Often when new computer/internet tools come along I feel like it could be useful, but is probably more trouble to learn than its worth. I often question how useful it will actually be compared to amount of time consumed using it. Rarely, does something come along where I instantly see the potential and immediately think it outweighs the time needed to learn it. Screencasts were the exception. It is easy to learn and makes learning easier for EVERYONE else. As a teacher you can tell students how to do something and it if forgotten quickly, you can show them and they learn better, but they still forget how to do it 5 minutes later. If you type up the instructions it is sometimes hard to follow and confusing. However, screencasts work by filming the screen you are using as you use it. All you have to do is send the link to the students and they have a video that shows them the instructions of how to do something. I have used it to show students how to set up their energy savings on their computer, set up a blog, print double sided, etc. I also used it to show other schools our recycling center set up. Personally, I use Jing Project and found it to be fairly user friendly.

It can be used to help with homework and assignments, but I believe it is most useful in showing students how to do something on a computer. People can learn something as simple as opening and saving files, searching on Google, uploading a picture, or even how to make a movie, blog, etc.

In our dept it can be used to get everyone (hmmm Peter) up to speed, for example we used it to show everyone how to use google docs. It can also be used to help with Panthernet.

Web-based Videos

2009-10-27T05:59:00.000-07:00

How has the explosion of web-based video changed the teaching and learning landscape?

This is something I have totally taken advantage of. No more ordering the video and rewinding it to the right spot. Even though DVD was much better, it still had some drawbacks. Internet videos are more up to date and you can find videos on all kinds of topics for FREE. Before you would have to order and pay for a video that you weren’t even sure if it was what you wanted. Now I can view it myself and download it if I like it. I literally have about 50 or more videos for my class. I prefer short ‘to the point’ videos over longer movies and the internet seems to provide this.

Now with easy download tools, such as download helper, it makes it very convenient to build a collection of web-based videos.

Digital Story Telling

2009-10-27T04:32:00.000-07:00

What a cool assignment to give kids. They get to make a movie about some subject they are learning about. For my course, Environmental Stewardship, this is a key piece since there are numerous issues and a big part of the solution is getting the word out to increase awareness.

I have made several movies myself, but I would prefer to show you a very recent movie I received from a student helping the Green Panthers spread the word of reducing waste by renting the Green Panther dishes.

Presentation ZEN!

2009-10-27T02:11:00.000-07:00

I was all set to give a presentation during synergy. I had about 14 synergy groups ready to join for a total of over 140 students. The presentation was a follow up to an environmental speaker, Stuart Scott, we had the week before. I liked Mr. Scott's presentation, but wanted to follow up with more practical solutions of what kids can do.
I quickly put together some slides looking at our daily actions and then eventually having 140+ students go to Google Docs and compile a list of solutions. Afterwards, students would select 5 of the solutions/actions and pledge to do these for 1 month.
I thought I was all set, until I went to my tech course Saturday morning (3 days before the presentation). We learned about Presentation Zen and how boring presentations with only bullet points were. My project needed some serious help. I had to overall this thing and do it fast. Unfortunately, the downside is there is no fast with Zen. It takes time to find the right photos and get the right message and even the right atmosphere across. In the end I think I accomplished this.
Unfortunately I deleted the old bullet point version for comparison, but i'm sure you have seen enough of those to relate anyway. Enjoy the new and improved version.

Story of Stuff

2009-09-21T04:06:00.000-07:00

I will use this picture in the my environment class when we do a unit on the power of consumerism. My instructions to the students might go something like this:

Look at the picture and what immediately comes to mind.
Look at the items, are they similar?
What the deal with the shopping cart and the trash can?
Can you think of items you bought that are now in the trash?
Is this type of behavior sustainable?
What are the impacts? - Depleting resources, more waste, consumer society, etc
Are you are part of the problem or solution?
What can you do to move towards the side of 'solution'?

I would follow up by showing the whole movie (taster below). I also have a follow up activity that tracks how much they consume/use in a day and how far it travels.

How has the course changed my teaching plans?

2009-09-21T02:30:00.000-07:00

I've certainly been open to a a whole new world, but it's been difficult to embrace it all and find the time and place to use each new part. However, my classes now use a few new devices that I didn't use in the past, such as:

Wiki: In Environmental Stewardship class we developed a wiki page and focused on making a difference. In one section, each student made a list of 25 changes they made to help the earth. As well, the class worked in groups to make a site for Caring Tourists in Thailand.
Panthernet: I have just recently dabbled in this one. I find it a little confusing and messy, but I like what can be done with it. We have used it for PE a little in the past. However, now several PE units will have quizzes and other assignments posted there. Not to mention, I have totally revamped the Environmental Stewardship Course and soon it will all be on Panthernet.
Google Docs for the PE dept: This tool is very valuable and I see much more potential with it then what I have used thus far. However, our PE dept used it to help improve our PE curriculum. Through using it we listed what we liked, didn't like, what we wanted to see in the future of our program, etc. As more of the dept added to the list we were able to record what was needed. From there we also used Google Docs to collaboratively work on the Scope and Sequence.
Google Docs for PE fitness testing: One very valuable help this year has been the introduction of google docs in recording fitness results and analyzing results sooner. In the past fitness testing often ended for the students after the physical part of the test, but continued for the teacher as we crunched numbers to come up with a grade. A lot of work, not to mention paperwork, for very little feedback to the students. As well, this feedback was not given in a timely manner. With Google Docs we have the students record their scores and immediately analyze where they are and reflect on what needs to be done. This not only eliminates loads of paperwork but also saves valuable work time and most importantly is meaningful to the students. In the end we also end up with usable data that can be used to improve the program.
Blogs: When we get to the multi-cultural unit, students will not only research and teach a folk activity from their culture, but they will post it on their blog for the world to see. We are also looking to do this in collaboration with another school in a different part of the world.

MASS COLLABORATION... The True Democracy

2009-05-10T23:30:00.000-07:00

The benefits of mass collaborative can already be seen in such things as Wikipedia and Linux. We vote for politicians to make decisions for us, but what about if we made the decisions together. According to Jono's IT blog, "the New Zealand Government in late 2007 gave the public the opportunity to directly contribute to law making, by launching an online wiki where people could make suggestions to the wording of a new police act."
A whole society building their laws together with continuous input from its people and not just a powerful few; now that's progressive.

Mass collaboration opens the doors to more creative thinking. We've all heard two heads are better than one. Well, this can be like having 2 million heads or even more. With everyone contributing towards a common goal it can not only be a huge success, but also more efficiently produced.

Are we preparing students for mass collaboration? I think we are in the beginning stages. As computers and the web become more and more entrenched in schools this will be more and more possible. Classes are now using things like wiki's and Google docs to work on things together. Some are even taking that a step further and working with classes from other parts of the world on common projects. This seems to be especially popular with classes dealing with global issues. If you are interested in doing a project with other schools in other countries go to The Flat Classroom.

It will be very interesting to see what the schools of the future will look like. Expect collaboration to be a big part of it.

Power of the Web 2

2009-05-10T22:47:00.000-07:00

In my first post on this subject I discussed some of the more serious issues that the power of the web can help with. However, on a lighter note, I would like to say the power of the web can also be used to shot people to super stardom. Take Susan Boyle for example. She was an unknown middle aged woman who never made it in singing. She went on the TV show, Britain’s Got Talent, and blew the socks of everyone watching. But, it didn't end there; what made her so big was that the show was put on YouTube and the world could now see it. It created such a buzz that everyone was hearing about it and checking it out. In fact, it is on track to become the most popular video in the history of YouTube, amassing nearly 100 million views in its first nine days. Susan Boyle went from a nobody to a house hold name practically over night due to the tube. If you are one of the few people in the world who is living under a rock and didn't see the video, you can see it now. Unfortunately, you can no longer embed the videos of this, so here is the link to Susan Boyle

The Power of the Web

2009-05-10T06:43:00.000-07:00

These are changing times; but haven't things changed throughout time? They sure have, but not at this rate. With current technology; especially the web, changes are taking place at an ever increasing rate; in some cases it is changing exponentially. The clearest way I can show you the power of the web is to show you this video.

Shift Happens

The web has the power to connect the world, but more importantly it has the potential to give access to everyone. Thus, the 'have not's' can access the same information as the 'have's'. For example, the 1 laptop per child site has been helping educate the 'have not's' in a way traditional methods could not. According to the One Laptop Per Child site "Most of the more than one billion children in the emerging world don’t have access to adequate education. The XO laptop is our answer to this crisis—and after nearly two years, we know it’s working. Almost everywhere the XO goes, school attendance increases dramatically as the children begin to open their minds and explore their own potential. One by one, a new generation is emerging with the power to change the world."

The web also has the power to get people involved in projects that help, such as the project above. However, now more and more people are involved in social networking sites such as Facebook. Nonetheless, even these social networking sites are now devices for change.

Harnessing the Power of the Web for Social Good

"The time has come to embark upon a cause to harness the power of the Web for social good, not just for social networking. Facebook and other social networking sites are changing human communications in ways that are as dramatic and life-changing as the printing press, the telephone, and television were in their times. Since the advent of the Internet, we have not seen such human impact as we now are witnessing with the mind-bending applications available to anyone with a computer or mobile device connected to the Web. Since Web technology and social networking are impacting so many people, in so many ways, all over the world, the time has come to raise a new standard."

I myself am even using Facebook to start a "Ban Plastic Bags in Thailand Group". Using the power of the web we can easily see build momentum for this cause.

What's your take? Copyright, CC, Fair Use

2009-04-12T03:45:00.000-07:00

After hosting a Earth Week design contest at school and picking the winner a discussion started about if the winning design was a copyright violation. Parts of the picture were taken from the web and the original was not referenced. The winning designer did have his own name on the design. This was a copyright issue, but we tracked down the designer and had him change that. Once that was sorted we thought the design fit under the Fair Use policy for education until we realized the designer was about to win a prize for his work and that again might be a violation. Nevertheless, the design is used for educational purposes and if needed the prize will be withdrawn.

Have a look and see what you decided.

Also check out the Earth Week video.

Thank goodness I was bullied in the 80's

2009-04-08T07:06:00.001-07:00

Back in the good ol’ days of bullying a bully physically, and sometimes mentally and emotional, harassed his or her victim. We have probably all grown up on one side of this situation at one point or another. It’s a rough time in a kid’s life, and if worrying about school and girls were not enough, I had to find random trails home for lunch and after school every day. I had an older, and much bigger and meaner, neighbor that got his kicks out of torturing the few of us who were on this route. Each day it was a guessing game; ‘do you think he went through the softball path or the back trail. Unfortunately, these were the only two options so you had a 50/50 chance of being pummeled. Both paths were through a forest so the bully had several hiding spots. Usually the only thing that gave away the bully’s location was when you heard the screams of another boy was just got caught. Those were rough times, but I feel lucky that I am not going through today’s version of bullying. Of course, the bigger nasty bully still exists, as does the smaller, but sharp tongued emotional bully. Nevertheless, the new kind of bullying is the cyber bully.

The cyber bully may not hold your head in the snow until it feels frostbitten, but what makes this bully more powerful is there is virtually no escape from it. This form of bullying through mobile phones, emails, chat rooms, you tube, social networks, and so on, follows you everywhere. Normally the best part of your day when you are the victim of traditional bullying is getting to your house. You feel like, whew, I did it and now I am safe. But, cyber victims are never safe. Another problem is it is not normally just one bully after you, it can be a number of people and you may not even know who is doing it; leaving you feeling like you are always being watched or even stalked and you are not sure who is doing it. Obviously, this can be very emotionally and socially damaging to a student and no one should have to go through this.

So what should schools do about cyber bullying?

Based on my experience in various schools I would say that most are reactive when dealing with this issue rather that proactive. This is probably because it is a relatively new problem in society and many are not aware of it or not sure how to deal with it. I suggest the first thing to do is to change this reactive way of thinking and take preventative measures. Perhaps, this means teaching it in health class when we normally cover traditional bullying. However, I don’t think that is the most effective method. Developing a ‘social wellness’ program throughout the school might be better. This program should educate students and teachers about what the problem is, how serious it is (including the legal consequences for the bully), followed by how to recognize it and deal with it. Most importantly, students should know how to prevent it. That means having a school program that deals with this issue on an appropriate grade level basis. In the ISB middle school, synergy would be the best forum and Comm. Groups in the high school. I honestly don’t know if it is needed in the elementary school. I think this proactive campaign should be run at the same time for everyone to bring about more timely awareness and make the message clear. Then there should periodic reminders about the topic. Anything less might actually just teach students how to cyber bully and increase the problem. If a program is in place to help students and they know tips such as do not delete a cyber bullying message; instead take it to the appropriate person in the school, and then you can deal with the problem before it becomes an unstoppable mess. Students should know to report cyber bullying.
I’m curious as to stories, experiences, policies, and proactive measure others schools/teachers might have. Care to share?

Copyright… what is copyright?

2009-04-07T09:30:00.000-07:00

What's our role as educators in copyright usage in schools?

The more I read about this topic the less I understand. Most of the articles seem to be about copyright in USA. However, I am a Canadian and I teach internationally, with no intentions of teaching in America. I’m not saying this doesn’t concern me, but is there something more applicable to my situation or a global copyright law? I live in Thailand where copyrights, patents, and trademarks are broken everywhere. Nevertheless, as an educator I want to role model the right behavior. As Cindy B put it in her blog, Our role in the Use of Fair Use, "We ourselves, as educators, need to be good models and follow the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education. Instead of "Do as I say, not as I do", it should be "Do as I do!" My problem is I don't understand what it is I should and shouldn't do.

It would seem to me like the original reason for copyright was to protect creativity and increase progress of ideas. However, it seems to have lost its way and now it actually can hinder creativity and stop progress of ideas. I assume this is where Creative Commons comes in, but I don't quite understand that either. So rather than pretend I know what I am talking about here, let's try this:

Blogs are all about reflecting and hearing other opinions and perspectives, so let’s put this blog to good use and draw knowledge from the global world. Is there anyone out there that can help me get a clearer idea of what copyright actually is? What it is used for? And most importantly, what's our role as educators in copyright usage in schools?

Don’t be shy, let me see the power of blogging.

UPDATE: While adding the pictures on to this site I decided to link them because I thought that was the right thing to do to reference the pictures. However, the copyright photo linked no problem, yet the Creative Commons photo said I could not add it. However, as you can all see it is there. Is this picture now there illegally? How would I get it legally?

Online Privacy – Is there any such thing? Part 2

2009-04-07T08:44:00.000-07:00

Beware of the Google car...

Just like Santa, it knows if you've been naughty or nice; except it tells the world.

While reading “The Thinking Chick” blog about online security it made me think when she stating “Where did we develop this concept of what privacy means? In other cultures, how is privacy viewed?” It reminded me of the differences I noticed when I finally left Newfoundland to travel the world. In a geographically large province with only 500,000 people in total, I was used to small towns and wide open spaces. Large crowds and lack of personal space was very new to me.

The article went on to discuss issues such as a privacy of pictures on Facebook. Later she stated “do we need to rethink what privacy means?" I definitely think privacy need to be given some serious consideration. However, as I started thinking about how lack of privacy might cause some people to ‘run’ away from technology just to avoid these problems, I realized technology is chasing you regardless. It’s not just what you put online. Recently, I’ve seen people in England getting very upset because a ‘Google car’ is driving down their street filming everything and will later put this online on Google Street. So even if you isolated yourself completely from the internet they can still find you. Although, I think Google Street is very cool, I wouldn’t want it filming my street, would you?

This is a video you should all watch about the Google car. Unfortunately, it had the embedding option disables, so you will have to try the link.

Online Privacy - Is there any such thing? Part 1

2009-04-01T23:45:00.000-07:00

Yes, there are boxes to check and terms of agreement before signing up for most things online. Then you have to type in your user name and a password before accessing information. Thus, one would think your things are secure, however, more and more I am starting to believe that nothing is total secure online. Ok, if you are posting photos up on Flickr, Facebook, or another site with a similar purpose, then you should realize these sites are intended for public sharing. Nevertheless, you are supposed to have some say in who gets to see what. It is not uncommon to hear of unwanted material showing up online nowadays, so I question if the system is working at all. Of course, this could be friends posting something about you that I you did not want posted. I really hate being tagged in a photo and everyone gets to see it before me since I don't go to Facebook everyday. I wondered why Facebook didn't allow the 'tagee' to approve it before being posted.

However, what Facebook recently did is much more serious. How can a company like this decide on its own that it will change the terms of service without consulting with its customers first. These new terms, according to Samantha MacConnel, who wrote the article 'Don't over estimate privacy of online information', would "ensure the site's [Facebook] permanent claim on personal content posted by the user. This would enable Facebook the right to use content even after a person's profile has been deleted." In other words, they own everything you posted and can do with it what they want. It's bad enough that they would have that policy, but what worries me the most is when people signed up initially they agreed to a certain terms of service and Facebook can change that without their consent.

Although, I don't think in today's set up we can ever be completely secure, there are some ways of increasing your online security. Here are 12 ways to increase your online security.

Also check out this video to see what some schools are doing about this problem. "EMPOWER THEM NOW"

My Digital Footprint

2009-03-18T22:45:00.001-07:00

I teach people to think about, discover, care about and reduce their environmental footprint, but today we learned about your digital footprint. It is basically saying that what ever you put on the internet will pretty much always be there and this can eventually come back to haunt you. What's even worse is someone else can even put up something about you, such as a not so flattering photo and this can sometimes be viewed by people you don't want viewing it such as college recruiters or potential employers. This is a concern I have with Facebook as many friends will take photos that are absolutely fine within that group setting, but not so fine when published/tagged and shared with the world.

According to Canadian Marketing Blog, adults can be classified into 4 groups:
1. Concerned & Careful (21% of online adults)
2. Worried by the Wayside (18%)
3. Confident Creatives (17%)
4. Unfazed and inactive (43%)

Kim Komando, wrote in the article 'Your online reputation can hurt you' people should assess their online footprint, then remove the negative and promote the positive. So immediately I typed my name in Google and then did it again with my name in "quotation marks". There were a few people with the same name including a female toddler who I don't think anyone will confuse me with. More articles about me popped up than I expected, however, to my pleasant surprise they were all good. I found an old website I created back in university and also a newspaper article written about me in the Bangkok Post. However, these were all positive things.

The key is not to be afraid of what is on the net but to manage it and make sure anyone trying to view information on you will find a lot of things, but all positive things. I should be highlighting my 2 blogs, my wiki, the newspaper write ups.

As I become more aware of this issue, I hope I can help my students think about their digital footprint. Again they should not fear this, but just be smart and responsible about their actions. Don't upload videos or photos that could be seen in a negative way. Don't write nasty and tasteless comments. Finally, do not join up with social groups you do not actually believe it. Students might find it funny to join up with a 'hate' group, but not realize that later in life someone might ask them about this. In a related topic, the interent can unfortunately be used in negative ways such as cyber bullying. Students also need to be educated about this topic.

Tech'n While Your Down

2009-03-18T21:29:00.000-07:00

I've experienced some really cool and new (for me at least) advantages in using technology recently. You see normally I am a very outgoing and active guy. It's quite hard for me to sit still and relax, but I've been forced to. A while back I busted me ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) in my knee. This required reconstructive surgery, whereby the take a piece of your hamstring tendon and use it for your ACL. So I had the surgery and was laid up at home for about two weeks. I later returned to work, but eventually my leg became infected. Long story short, I'm back in the hospital. I've been here for 2 weeks and have at least 2 more to go to clear everything up. Needless to say, I've missed a lot of school. However, I have not been totally out of the loop. Thanks to techonogy I have been able to stay in touch even while I lay in a hospital bed all along. Let me list the different things I have been using lately.

Skype - to attend my Environmental Stewardship class when we had a guest speaker.
Live feed - to attend the Technology Masters course.
Chat lines - to chat while attend the Technology course.
Wiki - this is actually the Env. class project. greenteacher.wetpaint.com It has struggled a bit, but is building.
Blog - to make Green Panther updates. green-panthers.blogspot.com
Email - to communicate with the sub and students.
JING - this was the coolest by far.

The JING site at www.jingproject.org allows you to capture clips and make movies on your screen. This is not like iMovie or MovieMaker. It is like when you are learning a Google application and there is a video showing you what to type, click, where to navigate, etc. So instead of typing out line after line of instructions, make a short video to show them rather then tell them. My class is struggling with their project and Wiki, so I made a video to show them how to do it then I email them the link. HOW COOL!!! Here is the link to the instructional project video I made for them.

Although I have spent many hours playing with this stuff and working though errors it has been fun. However, for me to continue using a product it does have to save me time; not take it.

Project Sketch

2009-03-02T04:22:00.000-08:00

Travel guide for tourists who care

How many times have you met tourists who came to Thailand and wanted to see the elephants, only to be overwhelmed with a feel of guilt afterwards because they get the sense they supported something they are not proud of? Whether, its elephants, monkeys or even people there are a lot of great things to see in Thailand, but often animals or people get exploited and these are not the things we want to support. Our travel guide will help travelers determine where they want to spend their money and what causes the want to support. ISB students will try their best to determine which companies are eco friendly, socially responsible, for animal rights, and are helping the community and all that other good stuff.

Students will be in groups and each group will research a region of Thailand (North, South, North East, Central). They will try to find what tourism exists; especially sustainable tourism. Then students will devise a set of criteria/rankings for sustainable tourism. It might be a kind of star system for each criteria. For example;

	Animal rights	Community development	Environmental responsible	Socially responsible	Overall rating:
Elephant Nature Park	5/5	5/5	3/5	4/5	17/20

Once the information is determined, students will display information on a wiki including rankings, videos, pictures, recommendations, links, contacts, and what you can do to help.

This information will initially be open to the ISB community, and is the basis of the project, but it has potential to grow. If successful, it can be open up to a larger audience. Other travelers can upload their information about what they thought of the sites they visited and it becomes a site for the world to use. As well, there is potential to work with travel agents to get information and give information. If this could support more of the good work that is happening in Thailand and help that industry grow, more of the ‘not-so-nice’ tourism might change their ways.

What are the students gaining from this project?

This project will incorporate Blooms higher orders of learning (including the newer version which includes using technology). For example, students will:

Analyze – Students examine a lot of data they find about different things to do it Thailand. Then they must validate their findings and will eventually 'mash' much of the data into one source.
Evaluate – students make judgments about each organization/company they research, then assess and recommend where they fit in the criteria. Students will be networking and collaborating, thus having to evaluate the skills of the contributors.
Create – Students will imagine and design the criteria sheet themselves. Students will create a wiki and publish information.

This project also meets the following STUDENT NETS STANDARDS:

1. Creativity and Innovation
Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology. Students:

Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes.

2. Communication and Collaboration
Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others. Students:

Interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media.

This project should start in April, 2009. If you are an outsider that would like to contribute, please leave a message.

Course Reflection

2009-02-27T23:42:00.000-08:00

I feel like I am back in university again! As much as I hate 'having' to do work, it really has been an enjoyable course. I've gone from coming into this class wondering if I can even learn this stuff or will I ever want to use it to spending hours learning the little things about blogging because I wanted to. I still have the same concern as I had in the beginning, such as I only want to use technology when it adds something relevant to the lesson and not for the sake of adding technology. After taking the course I feel better equipped to make those informed decisions.

In the beginning I said I wanted to use this course to learn new technologies and to see if I can apply it to make changes in the world. I have found areas whereby I can implement this with my environment class for enhanced and useful learning that will not only help their learning, but make a difference in the world and have effects reaching way beyond the classroom. I am nervous about how effective I will be as a teacher, but very excited to give it a try and let the potential unfold. ... Stay tuned.

Reflection # 4: What are the implications for teaching and learning

2009-02-26T07:14:00.000-08:00

After reading Adopt and Adapt and Living and learning with new media I can say that I agree with a lot of it, but as always I have concerns and hesitations. I should point out that I liked Adopt and Adapt so much, I also used this as the blog of my choice selection, nevertheless, I will try not to repeat much from that post.

Both articles discuss a shift in the way education ought to be viewed. The recurring theme is use more technology, but use it with a different teaching style. A style whereby the class is working collaboratively on building something and don't limit it to just your class. Make your classroom 'flat' and collaborate with others around the world.

Students should have more say in their education and help guide it. Teachers and schools should listen to them.
"Adults who stand on the other side of a generation gap can see these new practices as mystifying and, at times, threatening to existing social norms and educational standards. Although we do not believe that youth hold all the answers, we feel that it is crucial to listen carefully to them and learn from their experiences of growing up in a changing media ecology."

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Reports on Digital Media and Learning | November 2008

The MacArthur report talks a lot about students on social networking sites and using that for education. I believe those sites have potential to be used for this, but I have to say I mainly use Facebook to update and get updates from friends and family. I find myself on the computer more now than ever before and that's the part I don't like, so although I support furthering the use of technology, I would hate to see an already less active generation of kids spend even more time in front of a screen.

The MacArthur report also stated:
"Rather than thinking of public education as a burden that schools must shoulder on their own, what would it mean to think of public education as a responsibility of a more distributed network of people and institutions? And rather than assuming that education is primarily about preparing for jobs and careers, what would it mean to think of education as a process of guiding kids’ participation in public life more generally, a public life that includes social, recreational, and civic engagement?"

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Reports on Digital Media and Learning | November 2008

Now, this I love! This is where I can see technology really helping. Too often now the quality of education is based on what district or country you live in. Are you in a 'good' school or 'bad' one? This has the potential to level the playing fields and give children in poor and/or isolated areas the chance for higher levels of education; that is of course assuming a system is in place to make sure even these areas have the technology available. For me learning is important, but if that isn't turned into useful action then what's the point. The world needs a lot of help and if this 21st century style of learning can help solve those problems, I'm all for it.

Blog of my Choice 4

2009-02-26T06:20:00.000-08:00

Green Panthers

Wow, how cocky is this guy, picking his own blog as the blog of his choice? Well the truth is since taking this course I have learned a lot about blogging and have spent numerous hours applying it to the Green Panthers blog. I've added posts, gadgets, videos, etc. In the past I had a colleague do all this work for me and it feels great to finally know how to do it myself. I should say that I didn't automatically chose this blog. In fact, I read numerous blogs for several hours before making this decision. However, many of the other blogs related to 21 century learning and making your classroom flat seemed to repeat the same thing. This was all new to me a few weeks ago, but I already wrote about it a few times since then and wanted something new. Then it hit me, I love updating the Green Panthers blog, I get more joy out of working on that blog then reading other blogs (no offense people, I just have never been a big fan of reading), and now I can say I am proud of my work, so yeah, it is the blog of my choice!

Oh, for those who are asking what this blog is all about, well it's a catalog of all the environmental activities taking place at the International School Bangkok. If you check it out, please leave a comment.

Blog of my Choice 3

2009-02-26T05:09:00.000-08:00

Edutopia

21st-century schools need 21st-century technology.

I enjoyed reading the Edutopia blog called Adopt and Adapt: Shaping Tech for the Classroom by Marc Prenskybecause it gives you a good perspective on where you are in using technology. I have only been teaching for 10 years and most of the early years were strictly PE, thus, I hardly had much to do with a chalkboard or even an overhead. My start on computers involved using documents and hotmail and even developing a website one time, but really had no idea what I was doing. Then along came Outlook and organized my life in a big way. Further down the road I learned PowerPoint and that became useful for presentations although looking back, my early PPTs were not much more exciting than the overheads with the bullet points. Reading this article made me realize that even though I have learned new technologies and applied them, I am basically still doing old things in old ways. It hasn’t changed my way of teaching, just gave me a new different device to do the same thing.

As I read further, I was relieved to see that I didn’t completely fail to adapt and I have recently started to use do some old things in new ways. Much of this is outside of education, such as downloading music and videos. However, in school I use a lot of video, but I also have students make videos. I am also running a blog for the environmental group and although this is new to me, and at the moment is nothing more than a place to catch up on what has been done, I hope to soon adapt it to enhance student learning.

The area where I struggle, and it seems where many struggle, is doing new things in new ways. I am learning how to use a wiki now and although that can be used to do old things in new ways, I hope to use it in a teaching and learning environment that is very different from what I am used to. The students will have much more control and ownership and we will build and learn together. I suspect I might even learn more from them. It will hopefully allow the students to be more creative and work collaboratively, which is something different from the standard model. In my PE classes I do a unit on multi-cultural games and the students become the teachers and I become a student. I take a lot of pleasure in watching them take control learn in a different way. However, I am comfortable letting go in that setting. Perhaps, it is my lack of confidence dealing with technology that holds me back from doing the same. However, my mind is made up and I will be taking the plunge!

Blog of my Choice 2

2009-02-12T00:13:00.000-08:00

I also really like www.worldchanging.com. It has articles about tools and ideas to help build a better future. Their content is very future oriented. One very cool article is about what Google is doing to help save energy in your own house by recording the powermeter on your computer to see when and where the energy is being used. How educational is that! Click the link to see the video.

Blog of my Choice

2009-02-02T01:22:00.001-08:00

The blog of my choice is ECO GEEK

It's no secret to anyone who knows me that I care about the environment. A big part of my life and career are dedicated to this cause. However, for many people, including myself at times, this can be a very depressing topic. There's a lot of grim news out there surrounding this topic, nevertheless, I like to focus on the positive side and look at solutions and action. Well this site does just that; except it is purely focused on technology and new gadgets. I find it really interesting to see all the new things that are out there being invented from a rechargeable battery covered with a solar panel and solar i phones to super fast electronic sports cars. I'm aware of a lot of the bigger changes happening since I follow this stuff a lot, but this site also has all kinds of little things going on too. It's the little everyday gadgets that I think many others might also be interested it. If a lot of these things catch on it will certainly make the world a more interesting place.

Reflection # 3: How are my thoughts changing?

2009-02-01T23:20:00.000-08:00

Based on the readings of Messing Around, Bloom's new taxonomy and Connectivism: A Learning Theory For A Digitial Age

It's been a while since I did a course on Bloom's taxonomy in university. It's nice to see his model, although being modified, is standing the test of time and is as relevant today as in the past. The model starts with the lower forms of thinking such as remembering and understanding and moves into higher forms of thinking such as applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating.

Remembering - Recognizing, listing, describing, identifying, retrieving, naming, locating, finding
Understanding - Interpreting, Summarizing, inferring, paraphrasing, classifying, comparing, explaining, exemplifying
Applying - Implementing, carrying out, using, executing
Analyzing - Comparing, organizing, deconstructing, Attributing, outlining, finding, structuring, integrating
Evaluating - Checking, hypothesizing, critiquing, Experimenting, judging, testing, Detecting, Monitoring
Creating - designing, constructing, planning, producing, inventing, devising, making

Through a lot of the older models, knowledge has always been looked at as something intrinsic, newer models, such as Connectivism, are looking at learning through a collective group. I like this idea, but I still believe that learning through your own experiences are still the deepest form to learn. For example, chatting with a person half way around the world is nice, but cannot replace the experience of traveling to this place and experiencing it for yourself. Of course, one person cannot experience everything themselves so learning through experiences of others is also very effective.

It is also important to note that there is a shift in the needs of learning. In the past it was ideal for a person to know as much as he/she could. However, this is not as effective in today's digital world because knowledge is constantly changing. Today it is more important for people to know how to access knowledge rather than remember it themselves. I think a fine balance of both forms would be best.

Reflection # 1: My thoughts on Personal Learning Networks

2009-02-01T06:37:00.000-08:00

I like the idea of learning networks, but I have to admit I am uncomfortable with the technology and how to use it with my class, but I want to learn because I think this is an empowering tool. After reading 'World WIthout Walls' I can certainly see the usefulness of having students learn through networks, but there are concerns as well. A quote from the blog states:

"I believe that is what educators must do now. We must engage with these new technologies and their potential to expand our own understanding and methods in this vastly different landscape. We must know for ourselves how to create, grow, and navigate these collaborative spaces in safe, effective, and ethical ways. And we must be able to model those shifts for our students and counsel them effectively when they run across problems with these tools."

World Without Walls: Learning Well with Others
How to teach when learning is everywhere.
by Will Richardson

I agree that we need to explore this technology to help move us forward. However, I sometimes feel we push technology too much because we want to find ways to use it, but it may not necessarily be helping the students learn. I think we are at the beginning stages and over time it will become more clear when it is apppropriate to use certain technologies in certain situations.

For a very long time our actions have been controlled by outside sources and it continues on today with media, government, corporations, etc controlling (or at least influencing) what we see, do and want. This is mainly because we live in a profit based society where the goal is to get ahead of everyone so you get richer (The Rat Race). This leaves us with a competitive society full of 'Have's' and 'Have not's'. As well, we usually get our information from media with their own political agenda and one sided story, but getting it from a collorative group with different perspectives opens the story up and can possible lead to more wide ranging opinions and can help spread the truth.

On a more positive side, I love the idea of the world being connected and working in a collaborative, instead of competitive, way. Using the internet people can work collaboratively to help solve problems and learn together.
I believe using the internet in a positive way can start whole movements of empowering people again to take control of society. It gives people a venue to meet and share ideas and opinions and I think training students to use these tools now in schools can have huge beneficial impacts in the future. In other words, it gives people a voice again.

Clarence Fisher is a Middle School teacher in Snow Lake, Manitoba, Canada. He joined our class via Skype video and gave us some insightful information. Clarence has been using PLN's with his students to collaborate with students outside of USA and Canada. He finds this very worthwhile, but admitted sometimes he had projects that completely failed and we should not be afraid of that. I personally found that reassuring as sometimes I hold my self back from using technology because I want everything to be successful and worry it might not work.

From reading Clarence's blog, REMOTE ACCESS "Are Ideas Contagious?", it shows the teacher centered model and how it is out dated. However, the newer model has ideas and input coming from various sources on a learning network I think this concept of collaborative engagement for ideas is more creative, student centered, and effective. Not only does it help the student expand and refine their idea, but the idea can now spread to other parts of the world. What a great way to help humanity.

Final thoughts:

Collaboration over competition
Learning networks empower

Reflection # 2: Finding information online: How do we address truth and bias in the classroom?

2009-01-30T22:21:00.000-08:00

Chris Betcher, a technology coordinator in Sydney, Australia, joined our class via Skype in the afternoon. Chris has his own educational blog Betchabl og. He gave many useful tips such as how to refine your Google searches. He also helped us better determine if a site is trustworthy or not. We looked at several sites and videos from the past that fooled people before. I also added a similar video to the collection such as The House Hippo which is an awareness program for people to realize not everything you read or see is true.

We then discussed 5 factors of a good website. These were:

Authority - who is responsible for the site? Are they a well known resource or do you have to look for other clues? Ending in .com or .org doesn't hold much clarification since there is no set standard for this. At least .edu endings have to verify they are actually an educational resource.
Currency - Is the site up to date? Sometimes the information doesn't need to be updated, but this is still something that should be considered.
Content/Purpose - What is on the site and why is it there? Ask yourself some questions, such as, is the site trying to make a profit? If so, the information is likely to be one sided.
Audience - Who is the target audience and does the site's look and feel seem to reach that audience?
Structure/Workability - Is the site user friendly?

I believe another point that should be made is use more than 1-2 sources if looking for specific information. As well, Wikipedia can be a good start since it is a puzzle of information put together from numerous people adding pieces. However, this obviously means that someone can write anything even if it is false. The good news is as others check it they can erase it and correct it. Once you have your general information from Wikipedia you should use other source to verify your findings.

Once you have done all of the above you have to use your good judgment to make the final decision.

My hopes for the course

2009-01-30T20:49:00.000-08:00

I hear a lot of these words out there such as wiki's, RSS feeds, and more and feel "oh boy, I need to catch up". I feel like I should learn about this to increase my knowledge and keep up with the times, as well, I hope this can help me enhance my courses that I teach. I honestly hope this will make things more fun, interesting, and time saving. My fear is it will be time consuming and not as useful as I want it to be in the end. I don't like the idea of adding technology to my courses for the sake of adding technology. If it is time saving and beneficial I plan on implementing it as much as possible.