As we meet to talk about bringing all tools under one roof, as we
start to work toward a single solution, as we start to use the same
language to discuss learning, as we get on the same page with
professional development models, as we create in the same formats, as
we pull from the same information and databases, as we get into the
same ganntt chart and project plan, as we start to realize the same
vision…
As we begin to all of these things more and more, I feel as though we
may lose some of what makes pushing boundaries seem so right.
I believe that there is value in scope creep, so long as it is
reflective of the needs of learners.
I believe in not choosing a final solution.
I believe that disruptive innovation comes when fast moving ideas are
allowed to move fast.
I believe in knowing whose shoulders we are standing on and whose feet
we will support.
As things come together
LiC Podcast: Design with Forever in Mind Archive
Although I was thrown a whole bunch by not having wifi for the first 45 minutes, I think that the session was worthwhile. Here is the archive of all that we have done. I am also including my planning podcast from my drive up to copper mountain.
Presentation:
Drop Box:
Important Links:
Ben Wilkoff Links:
- Learning is Change Blog and Podcast>
- Twitter Page
- Other Presentation on Thursday (The On Button: Instant and Always-on Collaboration)
Presentation Links:
Exit Plan for Vocaroo:
- Wav files backed up to a hard drive/server
Exit Plan for Drop.io:
- Everyone who downloads the podcast will have a copy.
Exit Plan for JamGlue:
- Mp3 files of mixes
Exit Plan for Screencastle:
- Download Direct Link to File and store on hard drive/server
Exit Plan for Screentoaster:
- Mov Downloads before uploading to screencastle site
Exit Plan for DimDim:
- Download and build own DimDim server and store recordings there.
Exit Plan for Twitter:
- Backup twitter with Tweettake
Exit Plan for Google Docs:
Ustream Archive:
Twitter Archive:
Jun 23, 2009 09:46 PM GMT ·
from TweetDeck
·
Reply
· View Tweet
bhwilkoff: Thanks to everyone for adding value to my session #tie09 #forevertie09Jun 23, 2009 09:40 PM GMT ·
from web
·
Reply
· View Tweet
Jun 23, 2009 09:13 PM GMT ·
from web
·
Reply
· View Tweet
toniobarton: Learning needs real purpose and real audience. #cotie09 #tie09 #forevertie09Jun 23, 2009 09:08 PM GMT ·
from web
·
Reply
· View Tweet
bhwilkoff: How do you capture learning? Add to the spreadsheet: http://tr.im/pvz2 #tie09 #forevertie09Jun 23, 2009 09:05 PM GMT ·
from Nambu
·
Reply
· View Tweet
Jun 23, 2009 08:40 PM GMT ·
from twhirl
·
Reply
· View Tweet
CosmoCat: I’m searching for #forevertie09 live on TweetGrid Search – http://bit.ly/4A1lo3 (expand)Jun 23, 2009 08:19 PM GMT ·
from TweetGrid
·
Reply
· View Tweet
care507: I’m searching for #forevertie09 live on TweetGrid Search – http://bit.ly/4A1lo3 (expand)Jun 23, 2009 08:13 PM GMT ·
from TweetGrid
·
Reply
· View Tweet
forevertie09: I’m searching for forevertie09 live on TweetGrid Search – http://bit.ly/MVxM0 (expand)
#forevertie09Jun 23, 2009 08:13 PM GMT ·
from TweetGrid
·
Reply
· View Tweet
forevertie09: #forevertie09 Devonee – Technology Integration Specialist from Mesa CountyJun 23, 2009 08:12 PM GMT ·
from web
·
Reply
· View Tweet
forevertie09: I’m searching for #forevertie09 live on TweetGrid Search – http://bit.ly/4A1lo3 (expand)Jun 23, 2009 08:11 PM GMT ·
from TweetGrid
·
Reply
· View Tweet
villagegreen: #forevertie09 to back channel: I’m Matthew Woolums, Integration Coordinator from DPS. My blog: http://villagegreen.edublogs.orgJun 23, 2009 08:08 PM GMT ·
from twhirl
·
Reply
· View Tweet
matthewadennis: SpEd in middle school in NW Denver. #forevertie09Jun 23, 2009 08:08 PM GMT ·
from TweetDeck
·
Reply
· View Tweet
jcope50: #forevertie09 Hi! Jill – Skyline HS Teacher Librarian- St. Vrain – just moved to CO on Saturday from CA!!!Jun 23, 2009 08:08 PM GMT ·
from web
·
Reply
· View Tweet
toniobarton: #forevertie09 first year HS Computer Teacher from Manitou Springs High SchoolJun 23, 2009 08:08 PM GMT ·
from web
·
Reply
· View TweetJun 23, 2009 08:08 PM GMT ·
from web
·
Reply
· View Tweet
lbreed: #forevertie09 Hi! Lisa from Evergreen Middle School! I am looking forward to learning about authentic assessments.Jun 23, 2009 08:08 PM GMT ·
from web
·
Reply
· View Tweet
matthewadennis: Name is Matthew (obvi). Work in DPS. #forevertie09Jun 23, 2009 08:08 PM GMT ·
from TweetDeck
·
Reply
· View Tweet
Sara24lynn: #forevertie09 Audioboo.fm is an audio tool for iPhone My audioboos http://audioboo.fm/profileJun 23, 2009 08:07 PM GMT ·
from web
·
Reply
· View Tweet
matthewadennis: @forevertie09 mind being blown; didn’t realize so many tools out there that I didn’t know about. Not in the know at 25?? #forevertie09Jun 23, 2009 08:03 PM GMT ·
from TweetDeck
·
Reply
· View Tweet
bhwilkoff: How do you use audio to capture learning? Call 646-402-5701 x 25286 #tie09 #forevertie09Jun 23, 2009 08:00 PM GMT ·
from txt
·
Reply
· View Tweet
Jun 23, 2009 07:54 PM GMT ·
from TweetGrid
·
Reply
· View Tweet
McTeach: I’m getting real-time search results at TweetGrid http://tweetgrid.com/ #forevertie09Jun 23, 2009 07:54 PM GMT ·
from TweetGrid
·
Reply
· View Tweet
RickTanski: @jenwagner Slide 10 on http://tieconference.wikispaces.com/1117 #cotie09 #tie09 #forevertie09Jun 23, 2009 07:51 PM GMT ·
from TweetDeck
·
Reply
· View Tweet
toniobarton: #forevertie09 I like http://www.vocaroo.com/ recording website, easy to use.Jun 23, 2009 07:50 PM GMT ·
from web
·
Reply
· View Tweet
dlevesque: vocarro does not work on a eeepc #forevertie09Jun 23, 2009 07:47 PM GMT ·
from web
·
Reply
· View Tweet
erhubbell: @bhwilkoff Hi everyone! Looking forward to great conversations today. #forevertie09Jun 23, 2009 07:39 PM GMT ·
from TwitterGadget
·
Reply
· View Tweet
matthewadennis: Will the iPhone be forever, Ben? #forevertie09Jun 23, 2009 07:31 PM GMT ·
from TweetDeck
·
Reply
· View Tweet
Jun 23, 2009 07:29 PM GMT ·
from TweetDeck
·
Reply
· View Tweet
·Show Conversation
sroseman: #forevertie09 how do i get rid of the echoJun 23, 2009 07:29 PM GMT ·
from web
·
Reply
· View TweetJun 23, 2009 07:28 PM GMT ·
from web
·
Reply
· View Tweet
·
Jun 23, 2009 07:27 PM GMT ·
from TweetDeck
·
Reply
· View Tweet
·
courosa: #forevertie09 re: learning that lasts 4ever,think about boyd’s media attributes” persistence,replicability,searchability,invisible audienceJun 23, 2009 07:25 PM GMT ·
from TweetDeck
·
Reply
· View Tweet
dlevesque: #forevertie09 why last forever?Jun 23, 2009 07:23 PM GMT ·
from web
·
Reply
· View Tweet
#cotie09 #tie09 #forevertie09
Jun 23, 2009 07:22 PM GMT ·
from TweetDeck
·
Reply
· View Tweet
·
Jun 23, 2009 07:22 PM GMT ·
from web
·
Reply
· View Tweet
·
ericolsen: Will the computers ever work?#forevertie09Jun 23, 2009 07:20 PM GMT ·
from TwitterFon
·
Reply
· View Tweet
courosa: #forevertie09 Hey Ben, hi from the St. Louis airport, soon to get back to Canada.Jun 23, 2009 07:20 PM GMT ·
from TweetDeck
·
Reply
· View Tweet
villagegreen: Sitting in on design with forever in mind at tie #forevertie09Jun 23, 2009 07:20 PM GMT ·
from Twitterrific
·
Reply
· View Tweet
bhwilkoff: Say hello to all of the folks at #forevertie09Jun 23, 2009 07:19 PM GMT ·
from Nambu
·
Reply
· View Tweet
Jun 23, 2009 07:10 PM GMT ·
from TweetDeck
·
Reply
· View Tweet
·
mjmontagne: tuning in to a bit of @bhwilkoff ‘s workshop #forevertie09Jun 23, 2009 07:09 PM GMT ·
from TweetDeck
·
Reply
· View Tweet
debh2u: RT @bhwilkoff: Session wiki page http://tieconference.wikispaces.com/1117 #tie09 #forevertie09Jun 23, 2009 10:53 AM GMT ·
from twhirl
·
Reply
· View Tweet
bhwilkoff: Session wiki page http://tieconference.wikispaces.com/1117 #tie09 #forevertie09Jun 23, 2009 05:55 AM GMT ·
from Nambu
·
Reply
· View Tweet
bhwilkoff: Creating a hashtag for my session tomorrow at #tie09. Come and Join in the session with #forevertie09Jun 23, 2009 05:54 AM GMT ·
from Nambu
·
Reply
· View Tweet
)
Piloting you!
I had a lot of conversation today about pilot initiatives within a
larger institution. it seems as though in each project that I take
part in, there is reason enough to get a small group of (semi)
dedicated people together who will try something out and report back
on their success. Whether that is moodle, gmail, google sites, dimdim,
or ning; it seems as though there is never enough at stake to require
all users to jump on board initially. While this is good in a lot of
ways: less kicking and screaming, learning from mistakes with small
group is better, and less chance of falling flat on your face with
everyone watching. But, it is bad in many as well: no ensuring that
the pilot will go further, no urgency in rolling out to everyone, and
all pilots are basically representations of the person who creates
them.
This last point is what I would like to focus this post on. What I am
finding as I do more pilot initiatives is that I am trying to model
the pilot on my own practice and workflow. I am taking what I feel is
valuable and important and I am saying that others should feel the
same way. At the end of the day, I am piloting a larger and more
unwieldy version of me.
While it is flattering that others would want to help beta test me, I
am not totally sure how smart it is. I am not a typical user of almost
anything. I want to break things open and push them to do what I
envision, not what they were intended for. While I may have a good eye
for what others may need, I need people who aren’t using tools in such
ways to help design the pilots too.
I guess what I am trying to say is that I cannot pilot myself if I
want the pilot to actually do what it is supposed to: test whether or
not something will work for everyone. But, how do I ask those who are
less willing to try new things to become a part of a pilot. How do I
ensure that all voices are heard so that when things do go live, the
backlash from these users isn’t fierce enough to shut it down?
Easy question, right?
Goomoodleikiog: Naming things is important
So, this came across my tweetdeck today:
http://sites.google.com/site/goomoodleikiog/Home
It outlines in very specific terms one way of integrating Google Docs,
Moodle, Wikis and Blogs. I say very specific because one of the
general hallmarks of the 2.0 version of teachers is that we tend to
all be pretty good at explaining things in vague terms for others and
specific terms for our students. We tend to be able to project a
vision to the outside world and not be able to back it up with the
specific ways of getting there, the ways that we got there in our own
situations.
The videos at this space are concrete (in-progress examples of just
how a classroom can run). The pedagogy page is a brilliant explanation
of how all of these tools should fit together, and it may be one of
the first coherent things I have seen that isn’t just a list of tools.
However the real reason for this post is not to talk about the site
itself, but rather the name. Goomoodlewikiog, although a mouthful, is
specific in terms of its purpose. It projects exactly what it aims to:
a collection of interrelated tools.
I believe that we should always be intentional in naming things that
we want to be associated with. We should always frame our
conversations in the terms that we want to be speaking about on a
daily basis. And although I’m not sure that I’m going to be using
Goomoodleikiog on a daily basis from now on, I am glad that someone
is.
My question is: what other terms do I need to make more concrete? When
is it time to drop Web 2.0 and start talking with language that
actually means something?
What is it now?
There is a syndrome that I see from many of the people that I work
with, and at many times, it I can be guilty as well. It happens when
someone asks a question or has a request of you. They have a simple
thought that they would like to discuss with you, but instead of
answering, you put it off or say that you don’t have time for their
tangent. You talk about all of the other things that you have to do
and you just don’t have time for their little project.
While this may be strictly true, you are shutting any opportunity to
advance your relationships with those people who ask or your skills
with the tools that are required for the request.
I know this sounds that I am advocating for dropping everything you
are working on to fix other’s problems, and I guess I kind of am.
If we have programs in schools that are called drop everything and
read for kids, I think we may as well have programs in schools called
drop everything and help for adults. I believe that if the culture
within a school or online space is based upon helping others to be
better or to know more, it is the only way to truly institutionalize
life-long learning.
When I shut people and their unique requests for help out (or put them
off indefinitely) I find that I stagnate. It take some going out to
help someone else in order to truly lean something new about what I
need to work upon.
I guess that I learn more and more that all learning is connected.
Even if I am not researching online schools when I am helping someone
to forward their email, it doesn’t mean that it won’t eventually end
up helping in the long run.
I guess all of the things in my brain really do have a long tail, and
it isn’t until it wraps around something important that I notice.
Making moving easy…
Every night this week and last I have been packing. I have been
packing up my family to move us to someplace better, with more room
and more possibilities (and more than one bathroom). This move has
gotten me thinking a lot about what to keep and what to let go of.
Without extending a metaphor too far out, it has also gotten me
thinking about how to move an entire school or even a district from
digital learning systems that they currently use, to ones that have
more possibility and room to grow.
And, what can we leave behind in this move. When you move from an
email based system of communication to a feed and “friend” based
system of communication (twitter, facebook, or even project wikis),
what is no longer neccessary?
When you move from a server based architecture for storing learning
objects to a cloud based repository, what is gained and what is lost?
The specifics are becoming more and more clear to me as I pack things
up. As I pack up our assessments for the online school, getting them
ready to move again, we can leave behind proprietary formats. We need
to be able to plug them in anywhere and reuse them for many purposes.
As I pack up all of our content, I realize that we can leave all html
pages without an edit button on them.
And, as I try to put all of our tools and resources for collaborative
and connected learningn into their box to be ported over to a new LMS
or to new PD spaces, I am realizing that there is no box big enough to
hold all of them.
Every tool must be allowed to connect to others, just like every
person must be able to connect. If there are tools that do not
connect, they will be packed away permanantly and placed under the
stairs.
Well, I am off to pack some more, but I will continue to think about
what can and can’t be thrown out when we make big shifts in education.
I hope to return to this theme soon when I figure more out.
Bigger than pedagogy
The last two posts that I have written have talked about ideas vs. Tools. I didn’t realize it until after I had written them that I had not used the word pedagogy once. I was speaking of ideas in education, concepts, schemas for how learning works now.
At some point I would like to figure out a new word, though, for what I would like to see happen in schools. Pedagogy is too small and idea is too large. Pedagogy is all about the art and science of teaching. It is about best-practices and research in the classroom. And ideas are simply the supporting structures that allow us to carry on a conversation.
What I would like is a word that describes an understanding of connected learning, a word that explains the use of a tool for all stakeholder’s learning, not just the student’s. I want a word that keeps a network in focus at all times to show that learning is not an isolated act.
Well, I will be thinking about this for a bit, but what I would love to know what your word for what you would like to see within people in education. Do you want them to know the pedagogy? Do you want them to have a schema? Do you want them to just get a clue?
I’m interested in moving this conversation along.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Getting excited about an idea, not a tool
So, for a while in our district has been very excited about certain tools that they have invested in. At various times, they have been excited about SchoolCenter, iWork, Garageband, Powerpoint, Smart Notebook, and quite a few others.
While I have never been a real big fan of this type of technology integration, I can understand it. It exists so that most people have something to hang their hat on at the end of the day. It exists because it is so much easier to implement a tool than it is an idea. An idea (at least a good one) requires rethinking every tool and its usefulness; it requires questioning a strategy that is based on tools.
So, I have to say, when I put together the presentation earlier this week on asking the really big question of “what is the web for?” I didn’t think it would be taken seriously. I thought that it would be looked at only for the tools that are behind creating learning networks and role-specific portals. Well, at least so far, I have been proven wrong. All of my conversations this week have been without the specific tools that have bogged us down so many times before. I have actually heard other people say that tieing together all of the project-specific tools is a much better way than tying us to any one tool. I’m not sure how long this conversation is going to last, but you can bet that I will be riding it for all that it is worth.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
A wiki spreadsheet.
I have to say that up until recently I didn’t see what was so great about spreadsheets. I have been using them for years to analyze student achievement data and present findings to others, but the didn’t seem like the “killer-app” that so many others seem to be thinking about.
On the other hand, my wife speaks in spreadsheets and she can really make them sing. She can have fields reference across fifteen different sheets and set up a budget in a matter of moments.
This is extremely cool if all you want to do is present information or figure out what makes sense in terms of data, but as a collaborative process, I just didn’t see it.
That was until Google Spreadsheets started opening up anonymous access to spreadsheet using forms and protected links. I started using google forms in order to record interest in our district’s online school (http://edcsd.org). This proved an effective way of collecting specific information and storing it in a place that could be accessed from everywhere. So, in this sense, it was a mass collaboration that was added to with every entry. No one really is able to see the scale of the collaboration, that is, except for me.
Well that was a neat trick, but it is nothing compared to the idea of a spreadsheet wiki. One feature that was just added to google spreadsheets is the ability to share a link with others that will let others edit it without having to sign up for a google account.
This means that students could record data on the same spreadsheet without having to sign in. It means that achievement data (not on specific students, though) could be aggregated in one place, all without having to teach an entire staff about a new service. It means that you could keep track of all of your school’s goals with everyone adding their notes, never having to go through the extra hoop of remembering a password.
Perhaps best of all, it would allow all of those who do not yet see the value of massively-collaborative projects to participate in one without ever knowing about it and by using a tool they already recognize as important: spreadsheets.
Perhaps I am making too much out of this. Perhaps there are other tools that do this already, but as I am on a search for ways to eliminate as many logins as possible, this is one great step in the right direction.
Do you see any new ways of using this? Are spreadsheets more valuable now?
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Strategic vs. Slow
Am I just imagining things, or are more and more educators using the term “strategic” when they want to move slowly? Since when does having a strategy mean that there is no hope for reason to feel urgency.
I believe in research and I believe in planning, but these things do not seem to have anything to do with how quickly you can get things done.
I have had major conversations about making sure that everyone is on the same page before we move ahead with an initiative or roll out a new tool. While I seem to agree in principle, I think it is much more about our wish for everyone to be great, rather than it is based in reality. In reality, you will never have everyone on the same page. In reality, you wouldn’t want all teachers to be doing the same things in their classroom, only reaching the same kids. Why shouldn’t we let the truly exceptional work and ideas be what they can be? Why shouldn’t we run with a great, well thought out proposal, even if it doesn’t fit in with a strategy of standing still.
Now, I am not interested in only my ideas. I am not so egotistical to believe that I have a monopoly on change. However, it is my contention that the glacial pace of educational reform is not in place because of a lack of good ideas, but rather, it exists because of a lack of urgency.
How do we show the immediacy of how powerful connected learning is? How do we make sure that all of what we say has an overwhelming sense of need? I love the direction that our schools are headed, but I worry that we are going to strategize ourselves out of options for saving public education and reaching our kids. Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
