No one ever said that change is easy. But it can be exciting. After Mary Ellen had participated in a ready-made project (Alphabet Adventure Gallery) in which she learned elements of technology, dealt with technology management in her classroom, and built her confidence, she was ready to strike out on a project of her own. Mary Ellen started with tentative steps when she needed to share her students’ work with the parents via the Internet. She chose to create a blog to do this. This led her to read blogs by other teachers. Soon she found herself learning from the work of others and she joined a social network – Classroom 2.0 where she came across a teacher from Oregon who was studying butterflies, as was her class. They arranged a Skype videoconference between the two classes. Through small steps throughout the year, the dynamic in Mary Ellen’s class has changed. The students are collaborating more within and outside the class and their voices are being heard. Whether she knows it or not, she is now a force for change in her school. Other teachers are seeing what she has done with her students and are interested in learning more. You can learn more about the process Mary Ellen went through by watching a video interview with her and with her Vice Principal. This interview took place just after the students’ Skype videoconference.

We are all different kinds of learners, as are our students. Our journeys may take different paths, but we are all on a learning journey. Where has your journey taken you this year?

I had the privilege of interviewing Karen about the process she and her colleagues went through as part of their Playgrounds project. There are a number of things that struck me. 

•  the project they chose was embedded in something they were already doing in the school
• the project evolved as the students and teachers saw needs to evolve
• technology solutions were added on a need-to-know basis
• students took ownership of the project as they saw the possibilities
• the teachers were given the opportunity to meet together and started to work more collaboratively face-to-face
• there has been an increase in interaction between students in the school
• students see the powerful possibilities of collaborating beyond their school
• a student found a personal use for the tools she learned in the classroom and now has a powerful way of family communication

There were so many other powerful ideas that Karen shared. What things struck you? I hope some of you will join St. Johns and collaborate with the students there. Podcast with Karen 

I have just posted a new podcast- an interview with Lisa Parisi. You can find it here. There are a number of things she said that really struck me.

She talked about how her teaching has changed since she started adding telecollaborative projects. She said her students are more in control of their learning. They self-select topics and are much more invested in their work. When the work comes out of the interest of the child, the work is much better. Whereas in the past she tried to be more in control of what happened in the class, she has learned to give more control to the students.

Lisa’s students have expressed how they prepare differently (whether written work, a podcast or video) if they know they have an outside audience.

Another issue she addressed was how to find teachers who are interested in collaborating with her students. She talked about the importance of her network. One difficulty she has is finding a teacher who is as interested in continuing a connection with her class.

She made many more important points. Listen to the whole podcast (just 15 minutes). I’d love to hear your feedback on what she is doing. Have you found any changes in your classes? How are your students reacting to being part of an online project?

Susan

I had the pleasure of interviewing Jennifer Wagner this week. She is a technology integration teacher in California. In addition to her teaching, she runs Technospud which sponsors several online projects each year. You can hear the interview (podcast) at http://www.learnquebec.ca/en/content/pedagogy/cil/teach/Collaborations.html I will be doing a series of interviews with teachers who are involved in online projects with other classes.

Do you have questions you would like me to ask them? Are there issues you want discussed? Add your questions to the comments and they will be asked.

I hope you will be able to draw inspiration from these practitioners. They, too, have struggled with some of the issues you have in your classes.

Susan