LEARN-Connect

Springboards is coming up on Monday and LEARN-CEFRIO is well-represented.

Mary Ellen will be giving a session on Media Literacy: Making Classroom Blogs. She shared her session with several of us in Live Classroom. If you were not able to attend, take some time to visit the wiki she created for the session: http://maryellenlynch.wikispaces.com/ You can learn about how she proceded and discover some of the tools she has found helpful.

Two of our other members, Karen Rye and Véronique Lemay are giving a session on Writing: Cross-Cycle Buddies. While this is not part of their work for our project, it is a good example of collabortion.

I will be taking part in a panel discussion on 21st century literacy. This will be a challenge as I will be 5th to speak. I’ll be relying on much of what I have learned with you.

Take some time to explore the blogs and wikis that are linked at the side. This group has grown so much as learners, collaborators and sharers.

Looking forward to our next LC session.

Susan

Sorry I couldn’t be at the LEARN-CEFRIO meeting last week but
I was surfing the web yesterday and found a great wiki put up by Sue Waters.  Click on her name and it will take you to her wiki. She does the Edublog blog.  I have an Edublog blog – http://teacher102.edublogs.org/ and am very happy with it.  Sue has given me a lot of support.

The wiki gives ideas and suggestions on how to develop a pln (personal learning network).  She says that it is all about using web 2.0 tools like blogs, wikis, twitter, and facebook to connect to others which extends our learning and helps us learn together as part of a global network.  She suggests 5 top tools to start using to start building your own pln.

* Set up a twitter account

*Start your own blog

*Subscribe to blogs and read them

*Start using a Social Bookmarking tool

*Join a Ning community

Go to her wiki and check it out. On the left sidebar you can click on how to open a twitter account, How to start a blog, how to subscribe to a blog, Social bookmarking tools and how to join a Ning community.

I joined Ning last Spring. I am a member of Classroom 2.0 and have made some connections there. At the end of last year we were learning about butterflies and I connected with a classroom in Portland, Oregon. We did a skype call with them that was very exciting. I recently set up a twitter account and am learning about that. I love having a blog and sharing what we do in my classroom with the global community. It is fun to get comments from all over the place. Reading other peoples blogs is great. I have learned so much. I have asked people for help on how to do things and I’ve helped people, too. I am excited about the global connections that I am beginning to make.

Another wiki that Sue has it about blogging. Check this one out , too.

Here are her sites:
The Edublogger
PLN wiki
her personal blog

She also has a podcast blog called Mobile Technology in TAFE

If you need any support or help let me know.
by Mary Ellen Lynch

Our school motto at Grosse Ile School, TEAM, says a lot and I think we can certainly use it to illustrate what we hope for through our CEFRIO-LEARN project.  As I looked around the room and listened to many things at our meeting this week, it was clear what a great team we are making together in all the collaborating we are doing. I say to everyone keep up the great work and lets keep on collaborating – we make a great team! I’m already looking forward to the next meeting day!

Donna Anderson

It’s been a busy and productive day.  It was great to finally put a face to email addresses and names.  Dana, Shelley and I had a great time planning our upcoming book blog wiki project.  Although we finished with questions still unanswered, we’re one step further in our collaboration journey.  Now that we’ve met each other we’re looking forward to our students ‘meeting’ through websites and Live Classroom.  Keep your eyes open on the LEARNConnect wiki for further updates.

Best of luck in your collaboration journeys.  Travel safely and take care.

Shelley L., Dana, Shelley O

We are both Grade 5 teachers in the ETSB  and want to have our students share their vision of their school community. They will, hopefully, do this through photo essays that they will help each other build on a common wikispace. So far we have planned to have our students brainstorm questions that they would have about the other school (A.D.S or S.E.S.). The students can use photos and text and/or voice-thread to answer the questions and tell the story of the photo. We are also looking at using this project as a submission for our classes in the School Board Arts Festival competition called “Show your Talent”.

That’s it so far. We can collaborate on the wiki as well as through chat on our school board portal and on our days that the school board can give us for the CEFRIO project.

Cathy Watson

Jennifer Palik

Christiane and I had a wonderful meeting on Live Classroom with several of our LEARN-CEFRIO participants. It was exciting to hear the stories of how people’s projects are developing. The interest in learning new skills was evident. Even the most hesitant was willing to try new things in order to get her students’ voices heard in her community.

Each year there is hype about making resolutions, but we all know that most of those are easily broken because we don’t really buy into them. However I have found that it is easy to keep the ones about learning new things because of the pleasure it brings.

For years I have said that I should write more often – “this is the year I will write a journal” “This is the year I will blog every week” and then found that it never happened. This year I have embarked on a new adventure – 365 stories in 2009. There is a group of educators who have started a Flickr photo pool: 2009/365. The only requirement is that you post a photograph each day, taken that day. I seem, finally to have found the hook that makes me want to write. I have often talked about digital storytelling and about how the picture tells part of the story, while the text adds a different layer. I am using my participation in this adventure to explore this kind of writing and have started another blog to post my photographs and write about them. And I am really enjoying it! Writing is not a chore. This reminds me how, as teachers, we have to find the right hook for each student, to draw them into discovering the joy of learning. Once the excitement is there you don’t need to make resolutions, because the pleasure derived motivates you to do more.

I see for some of the teachers involved in our initiative – that hook is your students. While some of you may have been hesitant about learning about technology, once you see the possibilities for your students, learning new ways of communicating becomes a pleasure.

So for 2009, I wish you each to find the path that leads you on pleasurable learning adventures and that you help spark that sense of adventure in each of your students.

Susan

Some of you may know that I am a webcaster on EdTechTalk. I met my two co-hosts when we were in Webcast Academy, an online, informal course which introduced us to the possibilities of webcasting. The three of us, one from Michigan, another from Long Island, NY and I,  have a monthly show where we interview educators from around the world. Recent guests have included David Warlick, Ben Papell and Steve Muth (the founders of VoiceThread), and Wesley Fryer, an educator who is very involved in the K12 Online Conference as well as a new project, StoryChasers.

You can find out more by visiting our blog: http://teachersaretalking.blogspot.com/

Upcoming guests include: Kristen Hokansen (who specializes in copyright issues in the US as a librarian) on December 18 and Helen Barrett (portfolios) on January 15 – both at 7:30 pm

How do you listen to a webcast from EdTechTalk? During shows, listeners can use any common media player (i.e. Windows Media Player, Real Player, or iTunes) to listen to the discussion and use the chat room to make comments and ask questions. The show is located at: http://edtechtalk.com/ Just click on Participate Live, chose the icon for the player you want to use to listen and the audio should start streaming. You can Login to the chat to add your comments.

If you want to listen to past shows, go to http://edtechtalk.com/ On the left is a list of shows. Click on Teachers Are Talking and you will be able to download the shows. Or – go our blog for links to specific episodes.

Why do I webcast? It gives me the opportunity to meet, “virtually”,  people I wouldn’t otherwise have access to. I have a monthly opportunity to learn, discuss and share with fellow educators. It has put me in touch with a virtual learning network of educators who keep me informed, share ideas, discoveries as well as personal stories. It makes me risk (though in a supportive community), something I keep telling teachers they need to learn to do. It makes me try on a role I don’t usually take. Hope to see you in the chatroom at one of our webcasts.

Susan

Crossposted to Reflexions

I’ve taken some time to get back to reading blogs and was really struck by Kathy Cassidy’s blog. She really shares important aspects of blogging with young children. In this entry she talks about how she dealt with the first inappropriate comment received by one of her students (she was able to moderate it before the student saw it). And here she shares the list created by another blogger just starting out. The new blogger, Sheryl Forsman, created a list of why and in what ways she wanted to use her class blog.

Whether you have been blogging for a while or just thinking about it, these posts are worth reading.

I’ll share more gems as I find them.

Susan

Avez vous remarqué que le site de l’Aventure de l’alphabet comporte 2 sections : les abécédaires (http://www.qesnrecit.qc.ca/ccdb/aag/fr/gallery-welcome.php) et les pages web de classe (http://www.qesnrecit.qc.ca/ccdb/aag/fr/class-particip.php) ?

Vos élèves vont mettre leurs images et leurs voix dans l’abécédaire. Et la page Web de classe sera le lieu de réflexion ET de communication qui servira à faire le lien avec les autres classes et avec les parents.

Ces deux sections ont des fonctions différentes, mais on les rempli essentiellement de la même façon au plan technique. Alors, c’est le temps de regarder comment vous allez créer votre abécédaire et votre page de classe.

NOTE : je ne peux pas mettre ici un lien direct vers une page dans la section privée su site parce que vous devez toujours vous « loguer » avec votre mot de passe (http://www.qesnrecit.qc.ca/ccdb/aag/fr/teacher.php) . Alors votre point de départ sera toujours la page d’entrée des profs.

Une fois rentré, allez aux « Ressources du projet » puis dans le dossier « Instructions ». Il y a deux documents dans la section « Publier sur le site ». Imprimez-les!

Votre première tâche : Créer une mascotte pour votre page Web de classe

Pour aider vos élèves à prendre conscience qu’il font partie d’un GROUPE qui contribue à créer un livre sur Internet, discuter avec eux l’idée d’avoir leur propre mascotte, logo ou image identificatrice.

Les enfants reconnaissent facilement des logo comme MacDo, le Canadien de Montréal, ou Nike. Ils comprennent que ces images représente quelque chose, qu’elle sont porteuses de sens (pré-lecture et pré-écriture). Demandez-leur de trouver une façon d’identifier leur classe de sorte que, quand leurs parents ou amis iront à la liste des classes, il sera facile de reconnaître l’image qui les représente.

Cela peut être un dessin, un photo de la mascotte de la classe ou toute autre représentation numérique. L’important c’est que cela fasse partie d’une démarche de découverte en classe.

Vous publiez cette image en passant par le menu de gauche « Modifier la page Web de classe » (voir les instructions que vous venez d’imprimer). Ce n’est pas plus compliqué que de chercher un fichier sur l’ordinateur et de cliquer sur « Envoyer ».

Cette étape est facile à réaliser mais elle vous aidera à vous familiariser avec l’interface du projet.

Si vous avez besoin d’aide pour créer votre image, par exemple pour changer le format et la grandeur de l’image, numériser ou utiliser un logiciel de dessin, envoyez-moi un mail et je mettrai en ligne des instructions que tous pourront voir.

QUESTION : comment pensez-vous vous servir de la page Web dans votre démarche de projet?
Utilisez l’option « comment » au bas de ce texte pour laisser votre réponse.

Christiane Dufour

This is the third year that the K12 Online Conference has taken place. These are a series of presentations (video and/or audio) that are posted in a two week period. I have only had a chance to watch a few but have been inspired. As part of the conference there is a 24 hour Elluminate session (like Live Classroom) where people can drop in for conversation about the conference. Each hour has a moderator so there is little blank time. For me, this was a wonderful opportunity to learn from others and to expand my own personal learning network.

What is a personal learning network? It’s the people and places you go to, to expand your knowledge and understanding. For me it starts with my colleagues. There is nothing like face to face. However, when you are in a small school, or the only art teacher, cycle one teacher or whatever, you can not always get your questions answered or bounce ideas off your colleagues. Where do you go next?

I have developed my virtual Personal Learning Network. There are places I go online where I can get answers to my questions about technology, pedagogy and more. I get ideas for projects and develop relationships with my online friends. I also share my expertise with others. You can do this with the people in this group.

Forum

As part of this blog there is a forum. This is a place you can go to share ideas, ask questions and learn from each other. Just click on Forum at the top of the blog. You can respond to a topic by just clicking on the topic name or add a new topic by clicking on New. Expand your Personal Learning Network – share with your colleagues from afar.

As for the K12 Online Conference….

Here are a couple of sessions you may want to share and discuss as a staff Never Too Young for those of you teaching Kindergarten or Cycle 1. We Like our Blogging Buddies by Kathy Cassidy, a grade 1 teacher. Her ideas are great for any age class. Another is Videoconferencing: It’s Easy, Free and Powerful by Brian Crosby. I’ll be recommending others as I watch them. I would love to hear your reactions. Is this a topic we should be adding to the forum?

Susan