Webspiration

I like to use Prezi more than PowerPoint to make presentations because I think in flow charts and Prezi is more intuitive for me. I have been playing around with Webspiration, and I think it could be a good planning tool for students who think in flows. From my early trials Webspiration is pretty much a mind mapping tool. What is nice about it is tat it allos you to share your map with others and work collaboratively on it, thus allowing a group of students to chart a project before embarking on it. It should also serve as a good template from which to start putting data into a Prezi, giving you a picture of the whole before starting to create a Prezi. Try Webspiration, http://www.mywebspiration.com/,  and see if you think I am right about using it before Prezi. Also see the sugya I started to chart on Webspiration http://www.webspirationclassroom.com/launch.php.

Ya But...

I just watched Collaboration Fluency: Creating a Learning Environment for the Digital Age Classroom by Lee Crockett with 21st Century Fluency Project. You can find the session from the 2011 ISTE Conference at http://www.isteconference.org/ISTE/2011/program/search_results_details.php?sessionid=60754937&selection_id=77398005&rownumber=7&max=54&gopage=

I was disappointed by this session. Crocket opens claiming that in the past he and his partners have focused on the challenges, explaining that in the 21^st Century we are facing a different kind of student. In this session he claims “We are trying to move past the talk … and explain how you do that, how do you teach that.” He mocks the field of education claiming that no field ignores their own research more than teachers, indeed, it is “Ironic that we are over a decade into the 21^st century and we are still trying to define what 21^st century skills are.” He suggests that he will present the process of integrating these skills into the classroom. I felt let down because I didn’t see where he did that for collaboration. I felt this lecture was just more talk about collaboration, exactly what Crocket said he wanted to avoid.  

In his discussion of what he believes 21^st Century skills are, Crocket dismisses teachers who present ‘Ya, buts…’. I however was left with a large ‘ya, but’ at the end of this session: Ya, but you didn’t move past the talk, you didn’t give any examples of how to engender collaboration amongst students.

In the hours long lecture Crocket uses only four minutes (from 32-36) to present the 5 E’s of collaboration which compose the process of collaboration fluency. Establish the group, the roles and responsibilities, the norms, and the group contract. Envision what the groups goals are. Engineer how the group is going to reach its goal, and how the goals will be evaluated. Execution of the plan. Examine the process and determine if the goal was achieved and how the process could be improved.

This seems to be a reasonable process, but without the examples of how it is done it is little more than more talk.

Wiki vs. Apps

This week Edtech 102 has been looking at Wikis. There are three advantages to the Wiki. Fist, it allows students to work collaboratively on the same canvas, both adding their own content as well as editing other’s. Second, Wikis retain older versions of the work allowing edits to be easily undone. Third, they track each individual’s additions to the Wiki, enabling the teacher to monitor each student’s progress within the group Wiki. These features make Wikis a fine place for constructing collaborative work.

I am trying to figure out when it would more appropriate to use a Wiki and when it would be more appropriate to use Google Applications. It appears to me that Google Docs and Google Sites should give you the same functionality as a Wiki. It appears to me that they are similar softwares and one’s comfort with the different programs will dictate which to use.