The (Potential) Downside of Personalization

This TED Talk by Eli Pariser has recently been making the rounds on Facebook. The talk begins with a discussion of the news feed in Facebook and how Facebook tailors that feed to your preferences, then Pariser quickly moves on to similar examples of personalization of web content by providers like Google, Yahoo! News, Netflix, and Amazon.

At first glance, personalization seems great; and, indeed, there are some tremendous upsides. However, Pariser points out some important downsides. I think this is "must see" viewing for anyone who relies on online research. For older students, I think showing, or at least discussing, Pariser's concerns prior to a research project could lead to some good ol' complex thinking.

What do you think?
How might the information Pariser presents impact your own research? How might you share this information with students?

Google Teacher Academy Is Coming to Seattle this Summer!

If you go gaga for Google like I do, this is exciting news indeed! The Google Teacher Academy is held in a different city each year and, although they accept applicants from outside the area, priority goes to those within a 100-mile radius. This year, that could be you and I hope it will be! Google isn't just a search engine, Google tools (Docs, Sites, etc.) and other Google products, like Google Earth, offer a lot of opportunities for teachers and students, and you could be on the cutting edge of this as a Google Certified Teacher. (Does that sound cool, or what!?)

Interesting in applying? (Pretty please?) Great--head on over to the Google Teacher Academy site, read all about it and get started on your 1-minute video. Application and video are due June 16. Let me (Kimberly) know if you have any questions or need any help. And, of course, if you get accepted, let us know that, too!!

Not interested in applying, but wondering what all the fuss is about with Google tools in schools? Visit the Google for Educators page and check out what's available. Then, if you're interested in the clock hours, come back here and tell us what you found and why you think it's worth reporting.

Let's Play a Game!

Gaming in education is getting a lot of attention at ed tech conferences and in the instructional technology literature. Because I've never been a gamer, I haven't really paid much attention. However, last week, Matt Tucker, English teacher at the high school sent me a link to the video you'll see below. A student had shared it with him because they were reading Daniel Pink's A Whole New Mind in class. It's definitely worth nine minutes of your time, and it offers up plenty for us to think about, regardless of how you feel about video games.

Update 11/7/2011: Video was removed from original hosting sight over the summer, but you can find it here: http://www.penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/gamifying-education

So this week, after watching the video, tell us what you think. What idea was most compelling or challenging for you? Why? Can you imagine incorporating gaming concepts and/or gaming in your classroom? Bonus points if you try the Wikipedia/linking exercise described at the end of the video with your students. (By the way, I "played" it myself with two random topics and I think the main learning goals of doing such an activity with students are really rooted in the Habits of Mind and/or Thinking Skills. It's not like kids are going to learn tons of stuff about your content area (although, they may learn some), rather, they get to see/think about how information is linked, practice skills like predicting and inferring, decision-making, metacognition, etc.)

Let's get Jing-y with it!

Have you checked out Jing yet?  Jing is the program I use to make the "screencast" demos for F1 Tuesdays and sometimes appear in this blog. For a while now teachers have been asking if they could have access to this program. Well, ask no more; it's yours for the asking! Jing now available on your laptop through advertised programs (look for TechSmith Corp.). (To find out how to locate and install advertised programs watch this video (made with Jing, by the way). By the way, you need to be at school to download advertised programs.)

I think Jing has a lot of classroom applications. Is there a set of instructions or other important information that you find yourself repeating over and over again to students and/or parents? Why not make a Jing? Is there information from today's class you'd like students to be able to review from home? For instance, you could make a PowerPoint that had images and/or information related to an upcoming test. You could record your slide show with your narration for students to review later.

Right now Jing is only available for teachers but in the future we'll look into the possibility of having it available for student use. However, in the meantime, there's nothing stopping a student (if older than 13) from installing and using it on their personal computer.

To learn more, check out the following
Jing Overview Video (click on Overview Video)
Jing Tutorial shows you how to get started using Jing
Jing's Education Page for more information about screencasting in education and some teacher ideas.
Creating Brief Instructional Videos with Jing is a blog post about using Jing in education
How to Adjust Your Microphone Settings You may need to do this before making a Jing.

If you think you might want to Jing (yes, I just used Jing as a verb), here are some helpful tips:

1. Introduce yourself (if appropriate) and your topic.

2. Establish relevance (why are you demonstrating this).

3. Demonstrate steps:

• Less is more: keep it simple.
• Focus on clear, ordered steps. Explain why you're doing what your you're doing when appropriate.
• Point out potential mistakes/mis-steps (e.g. "Here's where it's easy to goof, so be careful that you don't . . .")

4. Conclude with how to get help if they need it or where to get more information.

 

Other Considerations

• Speak slowly and clearly.
• Don't wiggle your mouse all over the place.
• Start with a screen shot that says what you're doing (e.g. a Word document that displays your topic).

So, what about you? Ready to give it a try? (Extra credit if you do and come back here and post the link to your Jing.) OR, if you're not ready to try it yet, just leave your two cents' worth . . . how can you imagine using Jing?

Have You Thought About Blogging with Students Like This?

Blogs are a great venue for sharing information and creating a venue for an ongoing dialog. I'd love to see teachers using blogs in this way (the way we do in this "class") with their students. In fact, studies are starting to show that the real power of blogging in the classroom is when a teacher regularly posts questions or content for students to respond to--much like I do here for you.

If I were using a blog with students like this, I'd regularly require participants to go back and revisit earlier thinking as well as comment on the thinking of their peers. I love how this format allows us (and students) to contribute to each others' learning without needing to be in the same room. Of course, teaching students good online communication through commenting on blogs is an added plus. Here's how one teacher does it: Notes from McTeach: Learning to Blog Using Paper. If you're interested in exploring the potential of starting a teacher blog for your students to respond to, let me know--I'd be happy to come by and help you get set up.

Your Assignment
Your job is to go back and revisit at least two previous posts (you'll find links to older posts along the right hand side of this blog), see what folks said, and reply to someone's comment. Or, perhaps you have an update to something you previously posted--now would be a good time to add that to the conversation. When you're done, come back here and post a comment regarding your thoughts about blogging (like this) in the classroom.

Now WATCH This!

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then what about a moving picture? The plethora of short (and sometimes long) videos available in the internet is staggering. Of course, not everything is worth viewing, but enough of it is that we're featuring some online videos you may not already be familiar with in this week's post. (Yes, I know I'm a day late. Sorry.)

For this week's assignment, we want you to complete one of the options below and report back.

Option 1: A Video that could impact the way you work with kids

Robert Talbert, Assistant Principal at CRMS, turned me on to this video from the author's of Change Anything. The video is 8:22 long, and could easily be used with students. In fact, Robert is having success showing it to students who need to change their behavior or else they are going end up in his office.

ASSIGNMENT for Option 1: After viewing this video, explain how you could incorporate it into work with students.

Option 2: Your own life-long learning with TED Talks
Anyone who knows me well (and even not so well) knows that I love TED Talks. The annual TED Conference invites leading thinkers to give "the talk of their lives" in 18 minutes or less. When I first discovered them (they are available online and in video and audio format on iTunes), I listened to them while I worked out, while I gardened, while I drove to work--basically I couldn't get enough of them! The TED Talk site offers a collection of fascinating topics ranging from education, science, music, and more. No matter the topic, I'm always left with something interesting to think about. I know that if I were still in the classroom I would figure out a way to incorporate some of them into my classroom. However, I think our own life-long learning is nearly as important as the learning we inspire in our classroom. Here are a few of my favorites:

Ken Robinson Says Schools Kill Creativity
Dan Gilbert Asks Why Are We Happy
Benjamin Zander on Music and Passion

ASSIGNMENT for Option 2: Watch one of the TED Talks above OR find visit the TED site and find one that interests you. Come back here and tell us what you think about TED.

Option 3: One of the coolest things I've seen lately

I stumbled upon this video a couple months ago. The content of the talk (changing paradigms in education) is fascinating, but almost even more appealing is the way the information is rendered--graphically. Basically, this hour-long talk is condensed to its highlights (11 minutes) and then rendered with what appears to be real-time (but probably isn't) drawing. It's amazing. Go watch it. Now.

ASSIGNMENT for Option 3: Watch the video then come back here and offer a comment about the content of the talk. What ideas most resonated with you?

LiveBinder: An Online 3-Ring Binder That Holds Websites, Media, and More

You may have already seen LiveBinders. it was featured last year on the weekly Featured Sites section of the Teachers First website. (If you click the Featured Sites link above and scroll down, you can read the Teachers First review.)  Also, lately it's been getting a bit of buzz in ed tech blogs. I can image a whole host of ways teachers (and students over 13 years old) might be able to use this tool. But let's hear from you: Visit LiveBinders, watch the 90 second video overview and check out some of the sample notebooks.
A couple gems I found:
Instructional Technology Support
Google
Facebook Privacy

After exploring LiveBinders, come back here and tell us what you found and how you think it could be useful to you and your students. Extra credit if you make a binder and share the link with us. :) (Don't forget, if you want to earn clock hours, make sure to include your first and last name AND (CH) after your name so we give you credit.)