See You Later Alligator... My ETMOOC Learning Summary

Photo Credit: pfala via Compfight cc

     You know that feeling you have as a kid on Labour Day when your whole summer vacation is over?  Well that is how I feel, except it is not a vacation that I am beginning to miss.  Quite the opposite, it is a whole lot of learning that just happened in the last 10 weeks.

     It was 10 short weeks ago that the adventure began.  And what an adventure it was.  I saw a tweet by someone at 11:00 pm on January 12^th about ETMOOC and I signed up and etmooc began the very next day.  I’m glad I didn’t think when I signed up because I had a whole lot of thinking ahead of me. 

What I learned:

Photo Credit: Marc_Smith via Compfight cc

1. ETMOOC is a great place to learn and to be connected to other educators but it doesn’t have to end here.  As we learned with Dave Cormier when he talked about rhizomatic learning,  we are all nodes in a great big growing, organic connection and the learning and creation of knowledge will continue well past ETMOOC.

2.  We need to know who owns our information on-line and we need to be well-Googled.  I’m still pondering the questions “Is anything completely free on-line?  What are the hidden costs?”

3.  Blogs are a great place for reflective learning for students and teachers.  Commenting on other people’s blogs is an important part in learning from them.  I learned so much from Sue Waters.

4.  Everyone has a story to tell and there are amazing tools to help you tell these stories.  Alan Levine's (@cogdog) storytelling tools wiki  is an amazing resource.

5.  Use copyright free materials and give credit for it. (Creative Commons, CompFight etc)

6.  We create who we are.   Your digital identity needs to be managed to convey what you want to say about yourself.  Naively, I am on-line, who I am in person, just a little more guarded about my personal information. 

                        

My successes:

I started to blog.

I participated in twitter chats.

I created a Google account and started some Google Circles.

I used digital storytelling tools such as: Haiku Deck, Glogster, iMovie,  Five Card Flickr, and Animoto to name just a few.
I began to curate my learning.  

I listened to and learned from most of the
Blackboard Collaborate sessions.

Photo Credit: courosa via Compfight cc 

My failures or “I am still working on…”

I did not make strong connections because I still have one foot in the lurker stage of digital participation.

I did not read very many blog posts because the sheer number on the ETMOOC blog hub overwhelmed me. 

I did not respond to as many blog posts as I should have. 

I did not use Google circles effectively to connect with others.

My Biggest Learning

Strangely enough, my most recent take-away from etmooc seems very powerful to me.  In the last session with Bonnie Stewart (@bonstewart), a few people mentioned in the chat that they felt like a fraud.  That resonated with me because that feeling has been with me since I started this course and I especially felt it when I began talking about what I was learning with my colleagues.  They seemed to be impressed with my learning and I just felt like a great big fake.  “I’m not that smart,” I kept thinking to myself.  I remember watching a TED talk by Amy Cuddy called "Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are," and in it she states that, “you fake it till you make it.”  You become what you act like.  So, at the moment, I may think that I am only acting as if I am knowledgeable but I am slowly becoming the part. 

Amy Cuddy: Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are

Sigh… it  (ETMOOC) was great while it was facilitated, now it will just have to be completely self-directed.  I will miss you ETMOC.   I now feel the need to sing the Kindergarten good-bye song.

Goodbye for now….(I may bump into you on Twitter)

See you later alligator… (maybe I’ll curate your work on Diigo)

Toodle-dee-doo kangaroo…(We may wander into each other on Pinterest)

Time to scat little cat… (maybe we'll see each other on Scoop.it)

It’s the end my friend…(so many possibilities - until next time, my friend :)

Our First Genius Hour Sharing

Photo Credit: K's Photo's via Compfight cc 

     Last week, my students shared their first Genius Hour Projects.  It was a hectic week because it was the last week before Spring Break and there were several other projects happening at the same time.  Everyone had something to share, even if it was to share what didn't work and what they would do next time.  During the sharing time, I was pleasantly surprised to see every student engaged in the presentations.  After each student's presentation, the class asked interesting questions and gave some good feedback to the presenter.

     I learned a lot during the entire process of preparing for and sharing our Genius Hour Learning.   Before beginning the project, students were given this planning sheet.  I went over it with each student before they began their projects.  I will be making some changes to it before using it again.  On the sheet, there is a space for student reflections after each work block.  Unfortunately, because of time constraints, students were unable to write their reflections.  I regret skipping such a crucial step in the students' learning process.  Also, I would not schedule Genius Hour to be done at such a busy time of year where I wasn't able to give entire afternoons to the project.

    Despite all of these bumps in the road, the students enjoyed Genius Hour and so did I.  It was a great learning experience and we will definitely be doing it again. Here is a glimpse into our Genius Hour sharing.

From Scarcity to Abundance: Genius Hour and a Week of Firsts

Photo Credit: Paco CT via Compfight cc 

Overflowing with abundance.  That is what this week has been.  Not just for myself as a chief learner but for my students as well.  Between professional development for myself, a whole lot of firsts in the classroom, to a magical Genius Hour in the classroom; this has been a memorable week. 

This week I was fortunate enough to listen to a Blackboard Collaborate archived session on Literacies of Attention, Crap Detection, Participation and Collaboration facilitated by Howard Rheingold and a live session on The Challenges and Opportunities of Modern Learning facilitated by Will Richardson (author of Why School?).   As well I listened to Chris Lehmann speak at Engaging the Digital Learner Dinner Series put on my school district.   This is all on top of the normal amount of Twitter chatter that I listen to.  That has been an awful lot of information to assimilate and make sense of.  So, this is what I see from where I am. 

In a time where “Google” has become a verb, technology has redefined the role of the teacher.  We have moved beyond the teacher delivering content to facilitating learning.  We have moved from a time of scarcity of knowledge to one of abundance. Will Richardson convincingly argues that in order for schools to survive, they need to change their role.  Teachers are merely guides in the journey of learning a student takes.  We can show them the tools for learning, and, as Howard Rheingold so eloquently states, teach them “crap detection” so that they can evaluate the validity of what they are learning.  Besides the abundance of information, what other challenges do you think schools today face?  How has your teaching changed because of it?

Photo Credit: bernat... via Compfight cc  

Chris Lehmann talked about how traditionally schools were based on three institutions: the factory system, the prison system, and, surprising to me, the church.  Students were taught the same content in the same way as a factory.  They were not allowed to mingle and converse in the hallways and moved from cell to cell (classroom to classroom) like in a prison and they faced forward in rows and listened to an authority figure like in a church.  This made me reflect on how I am learning currently by participating in ETMOOC.  It is nothing like a factory, prison or church.  This is the style of education that future schools will increasingly engage in:  individualized, without walls, and inquiry driven.

Passion based learning seems to me to be the way to truly teach.   This week, during Genius Hour, my students were so engaged and I felt so fulfilled as a teacher.  It was truly magical what was happening in the classroom.  There was a wide variety of talent.  Students were researching, creating animations, knitting, and drawing.  There were discussions and sharing of learning going on and when it was time to clean up, there was a chorus of “awwww… but we just started.”

I remember when I was a child having to memorize facts to regurgitate for a test and then forgetting them.  I was a good student but I was not learning.  Students need to be engaged in meaningful learning and be allowed to formulate their own questions of inquiry.  Will Richardson states that schools need to move from “delivery” to “discovery”.  And Chris Lehmann said, “Do not deliver instruction.  Pizza can be delivered and then you can buy it and sell it.  Kids need to own their learning.”

A week of abundance.  That has been my students’ experiences this week at school.  It has been an exciting week.  The Spirit Team at our school, which most of my class is a part of and which I sponsor, created anti-bullying videos and was invited to Simon Fraser University to participate in a celebration for those standing up against bullying.  Also, our class’ letters to the editor, that where written to raise awareness about rhinos being endangered, were published.  The most exciting thing of all was the first ever Skype call for my class to Cape Town, South Africa to talk to Karen Stadler, the organizer of the Save Our Rhinos movement.  None of these experiences would have been possible if it had not been for my PLN on Twitter.  I learned about the video contest, Save Our Rhinos and Skype Education on Twitter.  So thank you to my PLN and thank you to technology.  May the abundance continue!

Digital Storytelling

     This week's theme has been digital storytelling.  I enjoy telling stories.  I enjoy writing them, sharing them, and am interested in using digital methods to tell them.  In the past, I have used Movie Maker to create my family stories but this week I learned about the smorgasbord of tools out there for digital storytelling.  Earlier, during the second week of ETMOOC, I created a HaikuDeck and had a chance to try Animoto.  One simple tool that I enjoyed and could see myself using in the classroom tomorrow is Five Card Flickr Story courtesy of @cogdog.  The following is my poem made using Five Card Flickr.

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Five Card Story: Not Enough Minutes

a #etmooc story created by Kooner_j

flickr photo by cogdogblog

Walk me


flickr photo by cogdogblog

Time is short



flickr photo by Henriksent

Feed me



flickr photo by cogdogblog

Run off my feet



flickr photo by debbie.fucoloro

Nodding off at last

Not Enough Minutes
Walk me
Time is short
Feed me
Run off my feet
Nodding off at last

I also wanted to try my hand at a stop motion movie, but because of time constraints, I was not able to do that. However, I have been working with a group of students creating anti-bullying videos for Pink Shirt Day. They will have to do as my digital stories for this week.  I feel like it is a bit of cheating because I am using iMovie but I do promise myself to later on try to create a gif and a stopmotion.  In all honesty, I just learned how to use iMovie two months ago so it is still part of my learning.  Here they are.

I participated in the #etmchat briefly this week (between shuttling my kids to their various activities and trying to find a WiFi hotspot).  There was this very profound tweet:

lisa domeier ‏@librarymall

We need to teach the verbs of storytelling & not just the tech Tech will change tradition of story remains #sd36learn #etmchat

Retweeted by etmooc

Expand

It made me think of how the tools always change but stories have continued to be told, whether around the campfire, in a book, over the radio, or on television and now via the internet.  The skill of being able to connect with your audience is the same, using powerful messages and emotions.  I wonder if our students see the similarities between traditional and digital storytelling?  I wonder if one is more important than the other? It is difficult to say at the elementary school level where we are still focusing on some basic literacy skills.  What do you think?

Rhizomatic Learning

This week I participated in several Blackboard Collaborate Sessions for ETMOOC.  One of them was on rhizomatic learning led by David Cormier.  It was an interesting topic with a rich discussion.  As I listened to the conversation, I thought of my overgrown garden which is year by year being invaded by strawberry and mint plants, which are rhizome plants.  The roots of a rhizome grow laterally and it can propagate anywhere.  David was proposing that learning needs to be rhizomatic, especially with the use of collaborative learning communities on-line.

His 5 key points were:

- the best teaching prepares people for dealing with uncertainty
- the community can be the curriculum - learning when there is no answer
- the rhizome is a model for learning for uncertainty
- rhizomatic learning works in the complex domain
- we need to make students responsible for their own learning (and the learning of others)

It was a very interesting discussion, but the piece that resonated with me the most was that we need to make students responsible for their own learning.  I connected with this because I have been trying to learn more about and to implement Genius Hour in my classroom.  Genius Hour is self directed passion based learning.  Many teachers in our district and all over North America have been successfully implementing this kind of learning/teaching in their classrooms.  A high school, Fraser Heights Secondary, in our district even has a new elective course that students can take for credit that is based on Genius Hour.  (For more information on Genius Hour you can visit the Genius Hour wiki.)

David discussed how this kind of teaching can't be used to teach the basics such as the multiplication tables.  In elementary school, when we are trying to teach so many basic skills it can sometimes be difficult to use an open syllabus and begin teaching students how to take responsibility for their own learning.  However, if we make that leap into putting students into the driver's seat of their own learning, where they can choose what they learn and how they share their learning, the rewards can be amazing.

My own experiences with self-directed study as a student left me with mixed feelings.  I was given the opportunity to choose what I wanted to learn when I took part in the TLITE (Teaching and Learning in an Information Technology Environment) Program at Simon Fraser University.  I felt confused with this new found freedom to choose.  I missed the comfort and familiarity of being told what to learn and how to show my learning.  I wanted a set syllabus and I wanted to know what hoops I needed to jump through to finish the program.  However, with some guidance, I eventually created my own projects and reflected on my learning.  It was tailored to my needs and enriched my program in my classroom.  Now, taking part in ETMOOC, I am excited to drive my own learning and to go where I wish with my learning plan.  Finally, I have a label for it too: Rhizomatic Learning.

(Now, I have a newfound respect for the strawberry and mint in my garden, those industrious little rhizome plants.)

On Swimming and the Miscellaneous

On Swimming

I can’t swim.  It is one my biggest regrets in life.  I have tried to take lessons as an adult and I am now an adequate floater and can thrash around quite a bit to move around but I am not a graceful swimmer with elegant strokes that cut through the water.  But here in ETMOOC, I have had to dive into the deep end.  Not just a small dive with knees tucked, but an ugly belly flop with my eyes tightly closed.  But by diving right in, I have been forced to navigate through a sea of blog posts, twitter comments, and Blackboard Collaborate sessions.  I have to admit, I might not be graceful in swimming through this sea but I am starting to enjoy it.  My favourite thing so far is the Blackboard Collaborate sessions.  I love hearing the speakers and being able to see everyone’s ideas on the whiteboard.  The topics have been thought provoking and make my head hurt in a good way. 

On Sharing

This week’s session with Dean Shareski (@shareski) left me with many key points to ponder.  The one that I took back to my classroom with me and immediately shared with my Grade 6’s was that sharing is a responsibility in learning.  Even though we have touched on this topic may times in the class, some students still feel that others look at their work to “copy.”  We discussed sharing versus copyright of original materials and how all good ideas begin by a spark from someone else’s idea. 

On Accountability

One idea that has not left my mind is that in Finnish, there is no word for “accountability” and instead the word “responsibility” is used.  This made me think about the mandatory FSA (Foundation Skills Assessment) Tests that are being administered this week at my school.  Hmmm… Who are we holding accountable with this kind of test and what are the results supposed to lead us to?  These tests, given to the grade fours and sevens, also block off any computer and iPad time from being used by any other classes in the entire school.  We are discouraged from using the internet during these two weeks because it will slow the server down for the testing.  So, we put some of our teaching on hold.  Who is being accountable or responsible for the missed learning here? 

My Goal

I am a lurker.  I have been lurking on Twitter without being a true contributer.  I have been absorbing other people’s ideas.  But now I would like to grow and to contribute.  I am on the edge about to change from the lurker to contributer. 

Like the video “Ordinary to You, Amazing to Others”, I, too, feel my ideas are just ordinary, since I am in the company of so many people whose starting point of knowledge in the educational technology world far surpasses mine.  I am so far behind in the starting line that I can’t even see their shadowy figures in the distance.  But, since I will only get out what I put into ETMOOC, I will try to contribute. 

What do I want to get out of ETMOOC?  Learn some new tools to use for digital storytelling, increase my PLN and basically absorb everyone’s ideas and they may lead me to some new goals.  

Wow.  Those are more goals than I thought I had.  Well, I better keep on thrashing through the sea of ETMOOC if I am to achieve any of those goals.  Maybe I will meet you somewhere out there in the great blue beyond.  

Making My Learning Visible

After quite a whirlwind of a week, I feel like I can finally take a breath.  There were many challenges to overcome before I could answer the question, "How do I make my learning visible?"  Actually let me rephrase that...There was much learning I had to do before I could share it with the world.

I learned about Blackboard Collaborate.  I learned I cannot use it with Windows 8 and I cannot use it with my MacBook Pro OSX because I use Chrome, but I can access it on my iPad.

I learned that even if I miss a Blackboard Collaborate session, I can access it on the ETMOOC archives.

I learned a lot about other teachers around the world by reading and viewing their introductions.  I learned about Google+ and Google Circles. By learning about other teachers, I learned about ways to digitally share information.  I decided to explore some of these ways.  I was intrigued by Haiku Deck and decided to play with it.

Here is my HaikuDeck about my learning journey.
(I hope this link works :)

My Learning Journey


Haiku Deck is the best application for creating presentations on iPad