Closer, my dear come closer, with Web 2.0

We worry that IM, texting, Facebook are spoiling human intimacy, but Stefana Broadbent's research shows how communication tech is capable of cultivating deeper relationships, bringing love across barriers like distance and workplace rules.

from www.ted.com

Ten Tops Tips for Teaching with NET

"Innovation is the process of altering existing practice in order to achieve more effectively certain desired learning outcomes" (Fullan, 1985). You can read a summary of his book here. Without these three dimensions of change in ICT, these desired outcomes are not likely:

• Teaching materials
• Teaching strategies
• Teaching beliefs

These days we are extremely fortunate in that materials for teaching are readily available online. Our biggest challenge in the classroom is implementing our known strategies in new ways, and adjusting our beliefs to accommodate the new set of skills our 21st Century Learners need.

To help you in your quest to be a 'change agent' the George Lucas Foundation has posted a handy booklet, Ten Top Tips for Teaching with New Media, on it's website. You can download it for free, and it's choc-a-block full of tips for integrating ICT in the classroom:

What's Inside:

• Break the Digital Ice
• Find Your Classroom Experts
• Get Off to a Good Start
• Think Globally
• Find What You Need
• Make Meaning from Word Clouds
• Work Better, Together
• Open a Back Channel
• Make It Visual
• Use the Buddy System

I've been using some of these strategies and tools in my classroom, and they certainly do make integrating ICT into the daily program much easier. There are also heaps of ideas and websites, that I'm looking forward to trying out!

The next challenge of course, is getting the school to let me try out all these new and exciting disruptive innovations (Clayton, 1995)....!

Image: http://www.edutopia.org/ten-top-tips

I can teach Hip Hop!

I'm at home in bed today. I have two complaints: 1) I've lost my voice. 2) Every muscle in my body is protesting.

Now, it may be the lingering flu / lung infection that I've been battling since last week, or... and this is more likely ... it may be that I've taught my kids a Hip Hop dance for our upcoming production.

This is how it happened: I was in bed all last week, so we weren't able to practice the more traditional dance that I had chosen. (Our theme is 'The ebb and flow of the Waikato River'). When we eventually got around to it on Monday, I realized that the dance just wasn't working. The kids were NOT INTERESTED. So I asked them (like a good 21st Century Teacher should) "What kind of dance do you want to do?" "HIP HOP!" was the answer.

I already knew what Hip Hop was, as two of my boys had done their speeches on that subject. (See my previous post on Speeches.) I also do have extensive dance experience, having been a ballet dancer myself (way back when) and also having been part of a dance troupe as a student (many moons ago). But.... that was then and now I'm fat, frumpy and forty-plus. And recovering from a lung infection. And... I had one day to do it!

This is where the marvel of 21st Century Education comes in. I hit YouTube. There are loads of lessons - online and free - on how to Hip Hop. First, I found music I liked. I chose "The World's Greatest" by RD Kelly. It has loads of images which we could translate into dance moves, and a really strong motivational message. It empowered me to learn to Hip Hop!

My daughter helped me work out some 'moves'. My three teenage sons stood around making appropriate comments. (At their age 2 grunts means 'Cool' and 1 grunt means 'Not cool'.) One of them did say "Gee, Ma, I didn't know you could Hip Hop!" and the other one grumbled: "That's too hard for eight year olds." (Which actually means 'Wow, Mum, that's pretty impressive footwork'.)

Yesterday in class we pushed back the tables, got into rows, and learned the dance. We ripped up our flowing river fabric, and made them into bandannas and hand-scarves. We even added some glitter paint. My students' comments? "Mrs T, this is SOOO COOOL!" Praise indeed!

I will keep you all posted on the success of the production next week!Here's my class and our last practice before the final dress rehearsal!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com