Thing 23: Final reflection

At some point in this process, there was a reference to 'drinking from a fire hose' as a metaphor for trying to consume a lot of material at a very high rate.

What does it all mean? How has your thinking changed between Thing 1 and Thing 23? Has this program changed how you view the Internet or how view education in the digital world? What plans have you made for using these tools in and out of the classroom? How will you continue to learn about Web 2.0 tools. What are your big "take aways" from this experience?

It feels a little paradoxical, but I feel as though I'm getting to the point where I might know some things about working online that I could actually lead my students into. Perhaps it's hubris to think I'm ahead of some of them, but I feel I've been playing catch-up when it comes to technology. Don't get me wrong, I am and have been an early adopter when it comes to technology, but for many years I have considered some of these resources arcane gizmos that had little value in the real world.

Every time I visit Home Depot, I'm reminded of the different ways I could solve problems using their tools and supplies. Every home owner has a long scroll of projects, but the ability to connect the needs with the tools and supplies grows with experience. I've read and I've talked to people and I've experimented with projects, but there's no substitute for the wisdom that comes with time and practice.

When it comes to Web2.0 I feel as though I'm standing in a beautiful house in a great neighborhood and looking around at the bits of wear and tear that are showing around every corner. I know it needs attention, and I believe I could do it, but I'm not exactly sure where to start, which aisle or which tool. Fortunately, those guys with the orange aprons are pretty handy.

I've got lists of projects. I've learned about tools and techniques. I've walked through other homes to see how they did things, and I've collected all the how-to pamphlets I could carry. I feel like I'm ready to tackle the projects, but I that doesn't mean there isn't a lot of work to be done, that I don't feel a bit overwhelmed, and that I'm ready to start reinventing my living space.

Yes, yes. So many tools. So many projects. So many good ideas. So little time and entropy means that there's no such thing as standing still.

However I describe it, there's no doubt that everything I learn gives me more confidence and practical ideas for the classroom. I have plans to work on a Moodle website to support my LA I class and I'm sure that it will include many of the ideas I've learned here. It's a great confluence of ideas and now I need to get paddling!

Thing 22: Trikki Wikis

I've begun to create a wiki called "TrikkiRikkiWiki" and its purpose is to catalog shortcuts that are useful in Language Arts, Computer Applications, and the Classroom. I plan to include methods for remembering grammar rules (mnemonics) and other time-saving methods. The overall framework for this wiki is that shortcuts are only useful if they don't undermine the quality of the finished product or actually take more time/money than doing it the 'long way."

Trying to create a wiki in a short period of time is pointless because the real value comes from building a legacy of experience. It's about cataloging good ideas that stem from experience over time. Naturally, the scope and concept will have to be established in advance or the entire project will seem to be amorphous, but the finished project (if it truly is ever finished) will be about the contributions that are made over time.

Unlike a blog, a wiki really has the advantage of being organized by topic. Blogs can be searched and explored on the basis of specific content, but the structure of a wiki can be a bit more intentional. A bit more formal. I believe that wikis should be used in many of the cases where blogs are currently being used because it seems as thought the author intends for them to be more 'durable.' Blogs seem to be timely and contemporaneous, where wikis organize around the specific topics covered.

Thing 21: Wiki

I found quite a few wikis that seem to have value. I think the challenge will be to make wise selections about returning to the appropriate wiki(s) when there's something I need. (Yes, I know that I could mark and tag the site using Delicious, but I think it takes a while to know what the true value of a given wiki might be.

As for getting ideas for classroom wikis, I'm confident that I could use this structure for students to build knowledge. I continue to be concerned about the difference between the 'haves' and the 'have nots.' However, I'm thinking that I could minimize the duplication or the extraneous nature of the online content by asking students who would prefer to work in a hybrid environment to affirm that they will have access to the Internet during the duration of the course. This means that they will either have home access, or will make arrangements through friends, the library, school computer labs or elsewhere to get access when it's needed for homework.

I believe that most kids would prefer to work with online activities, all things being equal. Given the choice, I think it could be reasonably assumed that they (and their parents) could take responsibility for maintaining or arranging access. There are many public access options and the solution need not be home-based.

• Anecdotally, some parents have used computer access as a consequence for child misbehavior, and I've had students who beg for a computer based assignment so they can get their parents to permit them back on the computer.

I'm also wondering about the appropriateness of having a building-based wiki with access limited authorized staff. Could a wiki serve as a clearing house for building or department specific information (kind of like ORCA) but be used for information that might be a little less formal or a little more privileged. One of the things teachers at my school are required to do is keep a logbook of student 'interventions.' Mostly, as it turns out, these are behavioral interventions. Would it be productive--would it be ethical?--to maintain a wiki that uses student names as the topics and details their behavioral challenges and solutions teachers have found? For instance, is there a pattern of behavior that needs to be addressed? Is one teacher having great success with a specific approach to behavioral problems?

Invariable, when I have time to talk with my colleagues and the subject of individual students comes up, I generally get a lot of good suggestions. Unfortunately, these often don't happen until things have gotten really bad and we've scheduled a staffing with parents, student and other teachers. By that point it's often more of a crisis and the poor kid needs to dig his or her way out of a hole.

Would it be appropriate for teachers to use a closed wiki and share information about specific students? I would want assurance that the information was only used for valid instructional purposes, but if it was, it might serve as a great resource for teachers to plan interventions. Of course, it would rely on teachers using good judgment in their postings and being professional, but I'd like to assume that that expectation could go without saying.

Along those lines, is there a way to use the existing infrastructure of a site like ORCA (our district's Intranet and document management system) to achieve the same end without reinventing the wheel? Without duplicating the security requirements?

Thing 20: Searching for Podcasts

Hours have passed. Podcasts everywhere. Michigan. Florida. Scotland. Australia. I only have about 120 hours of other podcasts downloaded. Now I need someone to invent a system where the entire experience/understanding will download to my brain at about 10x speed! This is the stuff of science fiction, but I'm up for it. Maybe I'll get superconducting quantum interference brain implants that will allow direct download...or maybe I'll just keep trying to balance priorities.

Podcasts are cool and I really prefer the iTunes search function, but I'm a little iritated by its lack of support for non-Apple devices. I've used Creative (brand) mp3 players for many years and I'm pretty happy with them, but the Apple software won't synchronize with it. I suppose that's a marketing strategy designed to help sell iPods and iPhones (like they need help) but with all the software and products have going for them, I'm disappointed that I can't achieve all I'd like to with my own choice of products.

I subscribed to such podcasts as "An Idiom a Day", "Literacy 2.0", "Inside the Minds of Teens and Tweens", and "Just Vocabulary." Podcasts I've got range from very short clips of a minute or two to very long complete lectures. Building them into my routine will be a bit of a challenge, because I will have to listen on my computer or manually transfer files to another player or a disc. (blech!) No doubt, this is why Apple sells so many iPods and why so many people have docking stations in their cars and clasrooms and everywhere else.

My trusty 30gb mp3 player is having schizophrenic episodes (its alternate personality must be a toaster) so I suppose I ought to consider jumping onto the bandwagon and getting an iPod. Any other suggestions, anyone?

Thing 19: Poddities

I'd like to get a bit more evidence that kids would listen to school-based audio files on their iPods. I know kids seem to be attached to them, but they are also very picky about what they listen to. Perhaps it would be interesting to them at first, particularly if it was an alternative to doing 'real' homework, but I'm not sure how reliable they would be about listening.

Like everything, if you can't count on kids using the resource, it means that everything you do would be over and above everything else that needed to be done for the class. Generally, I suppose I'm struggling with the idea of balancing niceties with necessities. Anytime you invest time in the niceties, that means taking time from the necessities.

Is it safe to assume that the kids who might take the time to invest in the 'extras' available through a website, would be the kids who are already doing very well and looking for additional ways to investigate? The kids who are really struggling, the ones who need the attention the most in many cases, would be the last ones to benefit from Web2.0 stuff. At least that's the way it sometimes seems to me.

How does this relate to podcasts? Well, I like the opportunity that podcasts provide to supplement or reinforce the lessons covered in class. For students who would take notes but think they might have missed a detail, or might have misunderstood something, they might use the podcast to clarify. But is there any research that shows how podcasts can be used to reach reluctant students? (I'll keep looking.)

Thing 18: Slideshare

My first reaction to SlideShare was 'ho-hum, another way to share PowerPoint presentations.' But as I explored, I found more utility because of its social networking functions. I like being able to search for other people's presentations. I like that it has the ability to synchronize with audio files. I like that it's a lot easier (and more reliable) than trying to view a PowerPoint presentation that's been put online.

Here's one that I found interesting.

Integrating Technology into the English Language Arts Classroom

View more presentations from ashleyquark.

For distribution purposes, I know that I could provide a link to a Google Presentation file, and I'd probably take that approach in cases where I know the users are already working with Google's applications. However, in cases where I knew that no editting was required, I'd probable just embed one of these.

Thing 17: Online productivity

I tried a couple of these tools: Bubbl.us and Flashcardddb. Both of them were a little disappointing.

Bubbl.us worked well, but it was more limited than I would have liked. For me, a big part of brainstorming tools is the ability to use different organization styles. I looked around this site and found that it was adequate for organizational chart models, but not for any other organization models. Maybe this is asking too much, but when it comes to brainstorming, this tool is more like marching in line than a blank pallette where I could play with ideas and really develop them. That said, I will also keep this in mind as a resource to help students organize their ideas for writing before outlining. It could provide some utility despite its limitations.

The flashcard program I looked at was also a bit limited. I like the fact that users can put together card sets based on simple text files, but I've seen better tools for keeping track of scores and progress. The card sets that were available online were also pretty limited. I looked in the English and the public ones were pretty limited. I prefer one called Anki. It provides the practice and recordkeeping that flashcarddb does not.

Thing 16: Giggle Docs

I have had a chance to use Google Docs for years. I have used them as basic office productivity applications so I could access them on workstations where I didn't have any other software, but I have also used them to work in remote teams. We set-up a conference call and everyone had a copy of the same application. It was a spreadsheet so we could change numbers as we talked and everyone could see the new calculations in real time.

Remember the first time you used a spreadsheet and 'got it.' When you realized that it was more than a collection of numbers but that it was really a collection of little calculators? Remember seeing the totals, or the averages, or other calculations updating instantaneously as you entered new numbers? That's the same kind of cool response you get when you start collaborating on a document with someone in another location. It doesn't just update when you refresh the browser, but to hear someone clicking the keys and seeing your spreadsheet recalculate all the formulae! It's just cool.

I tried to use Google Docs for collaborative discussion of a novel in my 9th grade language arts class this year. I can't tell you how challenging it was to do that without computers in the classroom, especially since I didn't have a formal procedure for getting the accounts set-up and the students weren't familiar with Google Docs. If I were to do it again (with kids) I'd want to have time with computers in a classroom where I could make sure that everyone was comfortable with the process before sending them out to collaborate.

This was a small group of the highest achieving students and the novel was one that I added to the curriculum specifically for them. It was a differentiation strategy that gave them additional reading and opportunities to work in small literature circles. Needless to say, I'd do things differently if I were to do it again.

Thing 15: Deja Viewing RSS

I have found RSS feeds to be easier to understand and use, but I have a complaint: I'm reading the feeds, and lets say that there are fifteen or twenty new items in a given feed stream. When I start reviewing them, I'll open one, scan it, and when I go back to Bloglines, all of the new items are no longer listed. I know that I could open the item in a new window or tab, but when I'm 'moving fast' to get through as many of the items as I can, it just seems easy to overlook. I wonder, is there a way to create a duplicate feed that I use to archive a feed so that I have one that's within the last week and another that's new over the last month...? It's food for thought.

Thing 14: Doin' Delicious

I love this tool! I'm sure that as time goes on and my database of bookmarks grows, it will be more and more useful. I think it will be useful for lesson development (I'm going to be making a Moodle site.) but it will also be a useful tool for class assignments such as research projects. My username is rick.hedden and this is a search I did for 9th grade English plans.

Thing 13: Isn't it de.light.ful!

Tagging is great! It's one of those ideas that I wish I'd known about long ago. Not only does it make sense for personal browsing, but as a teacher, it's a great way to build a set of resources in a community. The students and teacher can collaborate on the development of content without fear of plagarizing or the need to recreate content. The only disadvantage over traditional bookmarking is that it takes a bit more thought and care to make sure that the tags used are appropriate and useful. For your own use, it would be fine to make up your own tags, but to the extent that you want to share with known collaborators, you'll have to have agreement about the choice of tags. In cases where you want to open the tags to unknown collaborators, you'll need to be able to predict which tags will be meaningful and relevant.

By the way, in an earlier life, I was the marketing director for a company and two consortiums that helped large organizations develop publishing content using SGML and XML. ArborText, OASIS and XML.org.

Both SGML and XML relate to 'markup languages' which is just another way of saying 'tags.' It was those tags that made the content useful and meaningful for repurposing. The tags allowed the sharing and redistribution of content between different users and different publishing modes. It was pretty cool and pretty advanced at the time, but it was also limited (because of practicality) to only the largest organizations--because those could afford the investment in infrastructure, training, tools, and coding--but this is the same concept applied to mere mortals. Vox Populi!

Thing 12: Wiggle Widget

Widgets like this provide an opportunity for simple interactivity with the blog or website. I think kids will like them, but I would want to be very selective about the relevance to the topic I'm addressing. My sample widget, for example, could be used as a way to reinforce creative functions in language arts. It's fun and I think it will help students remember and return to my content.




Review the widget you selected. Are you getting comfortable with embedding code? Do you belong to other online communities? Are relationships formed online as meaningful as face-to-face relationships? Why do you think MySpace and other social networking sites are so popular with kids today?

What do you think? Is this widget a little contrived? Does it seemto be--or could it be made to be--relevant to creative writing activities? I think it's a bit marginal, but it's important to break up the solid wall of text that 'grown-up teachers' like me...especially language arts teachers like me...are comfortable with.

I, for one, have a modest involvement with other online communities and I can't say that I have formed meaningful relationships. I've formed few new relationships, but they are suitable for maintaining or enriching existing relationships. MySpace and FaceBook are popular with kids the same way the telephone has been popular for the last fifty years. Teenagers need to be connected because of their search for individual identity and affirmation. It seems natural, but that doesn't mean it will always be productive.

I'm concerned about the strange split I sometimes see between online personae and face-to-face behavior. I have students who behave painfully shy in class, but I've heard that they are gregarious and 'chatterbox' expressive when it comes to online interaction. Why the difference?

Thing 11 Community connections

I liked the list of recommendations for commenters. Most were common-sensical, but there were a few that I might not have considered. For example, I knew how important it is to cool off before sending a response to an email that has caused you to get angry or frustrated. I wish I had the self-discipline to practice this every time, but I have to admit that in my younger days I let a couple of flaming missives go unchecked and I've regretted it.

On the other hand, I can't get enough reminders to keep my comments short. I really tend to go on and on and on...and on.