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.

One life seems like enough

I am having a hard time understanding the value of second life. The only thing I can come up with is that teaching through gaming can make education more fun for kids. That being my understanding, I don’t think that SL is the best platform to send students. There may be an advantage to virtual worlds in that they can show us things we cannot easily observe. For example in a virtual world you can visit foreign or ancient countries, but again I think that many of those experiences can be had using technology and real students.  I am not really up to date with the social media trends, and I do not even have a facebook account, but I really do not understand, what is the allure of hiding behind an avatar and meeting people who aren’t who they claim to be? What is to be gained by using this vast virtual world which cannot be gained by using real software and educational games?

Trying animoto

I have been looking this week at animoto. The program seems simple enough to use, but I am not sold on the functionality for the text based classes I teach. The videos on the site are a nice way of digital storytelling and could be used in introducing a concept or summarizing what was learned. But I do not see how it could be used in the learning process of a text based class, has anyone done this? The free version also seems very limited in the same way as a thirty second clip might be good for an introduction or motivational point, but seems limited in its ability to present a greater topic. It seems to me that this is a great tool for making slideshows come alive and turn pictures more into stories, but its application to the classroom seems limited. Students could use video to demonstrate mastery over a topic, see a Judaics example at https://sites.google.com/a/mhafyos.org/letters/home but this too is using student generated video as a project and not teacher generated video as part of instruction.

Trying Edmodo

I saw everyone in my EdTech class using Edmodo so I had to check it out. I am new to social networking, and I am not sure I like it either. I do not have a facebook, myspace, linkedIn, or any other social networking account, so this was new. (Ok, I set up a twitter account earlier this year.)
My early impression is that this is a good way to organize a class. I can post assignments, send notes to the class, even give and grade quizzes. The RSS feature allows me and my students to receive automatic updates and thus adds a level of convenience to class management.
What remains to be seen is how the communications and collaboration elements will work. As I use it in real classes I should get a better feel of how it will work. Anyone have any tips?

Purim and Yom Kippur

Rabbi Hutner (Pachad Yitzchak Purim 22) quotes from Vilna Gaon that Purim and Yom Kippur are not just linked, but are two halves of the same day. We paskin that Yom Tov is to be Chatzi Lashem and Chatzi Lachem, half for Hashem and half for you. Vilna Gaon suggests that Yom Kippur is the half of the Yom Tov which is Lashem while Purim is the half of the Yom Tov which is Lachem.
Rabbi Hutner explains that Yom Kippur is the day we were saved from Hashem’s decree to destroy the Jews after the sin of the Golden Calf (Devarim 9:14), while Purim is the day we were saved from Haman’s decree to destroy the Jews (Esther 3:13). Both decrees are described with the Hebrew root SHeMaD, and thus they are linked. The difference is that the decree we were saved from on Yom Kippur was heavenly while the decree we were saved from on Purim was earthly. Therefore the expression of Kedusha on those days represents the respective decrees from which we were saved on them, with Yom Kippur being a day of Kedusha which is Lashem (heavenly) and Purim being a day of Kedusha which is Lachem (earthly).
Rabbi Hutner explains that this manifests itself in the interpersonal aspects of the Holidays as well. On both Yom Kippur and Purim we have obligations to other Jews. On Yom Kippur the interpersonal aspects are spiritual, we have to appease others for wrongs we have done them. It is a connection of the spirit because the day is Lashem. On Purim we send others manos, food. It is a gift of the physical, because the day is Lachem.
Purim and Yom Kippur, two halves of the same Holiday.