Taste of Tech

I know. The National Educational Computing Conference was a month ago. Educators and educational technologists gathered from all over the country (and beyond) to discuss best practices and new innovations and better ideas for using technology in education. There were 17,000 people there. I wasn’t one of them.

For me to go to NECC, the stars have to align correctly. It’s always the last week of June or the first week of July. Since I have to be home for my daughter’s birthday on June 25, and I have to be in Boston for July 4, it doesn’t leave much time for a quick trip to NECC.

But that doesn’t mean I can’t go. This year’s NECC was the most connected in history. Everyone I’ve talked to about it has said that the best part was the Blogger’s Cafe, which was a space reserved for people to have informal discussions about the presentations, products, and ideas they were seeing. Guess what else they were doing? They were blogging about it. And, of course, those blog posts are all still online. In fact, each session had its own tag, so you can search the web for blog posts about a specific session, not just about NECC in general.

Then, there are the podcasts. The official podcast channel for NECC 2007 is hosted by Apple Learning Interchange. They have podcasts of 36 of the NECC sessions online. You could subscribe to the feed, listen to one a week, and have enough to last you until next spring.

Would you rather have video? Here are 27 presentations that were broadcast live over the Internet, and are available on demand through June, 2008.

I’ve been at a lot of conferences where people walk into the breakout sessions just to pick up the handouts. Sometimes, they stay for a few minutes, but they have no intention of watching the whole presentation. I don’t necessarily blame them — there are a lot of things to do at conferences, and sometimes there are multiple really cool things happening at the same time. But you can pick up your own handouts and print them yourself (or just read them online).

Nothing replaces the personal interaction or the excitement of being at the live event. But much of the best content is available online and the conversatios are continuing.

Assignment: Find at least two resources from NECC and read/listen to/watch them.

If you’ve been following along so far, you have encountered a lot of resources, and have learned a lot, and probably have opinions, ideas, and comments about what you’ve been finding. You can certainly leave comments here on my blog, and there are lots of places on the read/write/web where you can make your opinions known.

But at some point, it’s time to start your own blog. If you have something to say, blogs are one of the easiest ways to say it. Consider these potential blogging applications for teachers:

• Replace the class web page: A lot of teachers have web sites, and use various tools to maintain them. My contention is that teachers want to be teachers, not web designers. They want to focus on kids instead of CSS. They don’t have time to learn Dreamweaver. They just want to get their homework assignments online. Blogging is a great way to do that.
• Replace the weekly newsletter: Nearly every elementary teacher I know sends home a weekly newsletter. Instead of doing that, post each item to your blog. These can be short, simple posts. “Next week, please bring in an empty egg carton for the art project we’re going to do.” A few of your parents will grab your RSS feed and will get instant updates. A few more will sign up for email notification, so they get notified via email automatically when there are new posts. Others will just check your web site weekly to read the “newsletter” online. For the few that don’t have Internet access, print out the week’s blog posts every Friday, and send it home kidmail.
• Post student work: Everyone who has studied it has concluded that kids do better work when they have an authentic audience. If they’re creating something that is on the Internet, that Grandma can read in Florida, they’re going to work harder on it and produce a better product.
• Engage the professional community: You’ve been reading blogs at least since “Summer Renewal 2.” You’re reading one right now. Use your blog to document your own professional growth. Highlight neat things you’re doing with your classes. Discuss the challenges you’re facing. Other people will find your comments valuable.

How do you set up a blog? That’s actually the easy part. If you work for the Brecksville-Broadview Heights Schools, you can set one up on our server by logging in to the user management system, and selecting “Make Me a Blog.” If you don’t work for my district, or you would rather not have your blog hosted on the school’s server, consider Edublogs. James Farmer does an excellent job providing free blogging space for educators and students. He uses the same Wordpress blogging software that we use here at BBHCSD. If you’d rather go with something that doesn’t have to be education-related, try Wordpress.Com. They host free Wordpress-based blogs, too.

If you need help with Wordpress, check out my Wordpress Getting Started Guide. You can also check out the official Wordpress documentation, but you may find that it’s a little more technically oriented than it needs to be.

Assignment: Go set up a blog and say something.

Finding is 10% looking and 90% knowing where to look. If you’re searching for the best Tiramisu, go to Little Italy (or just come to my house). If you want you want to see a rainbow, turn your back to the sun right after it rains and look up in the sky. If you can’t find your car keys, check the lock in the front door. That’s where you used them last.

If you are a teacher and you’re looking to connect with other teachers to exchange ideas, resources, and best practices, you have to know where to look. Sure, the blogosphere is great for that. But that’s not the only way to connect with other professionals online. If you go to an online community where teachers are active, you’re going to benefit from and contribute to a wider community.

Tapped In is a resource that helps you do that. This online community of more than 20,000 teachers has been around for a decade. These professionals teach every subject at every grade level. If you’re working in education, chances are there are people in Tapped In who are doing the same thing you’re doing.

By Web 2.0 standards, it’s a low-tech community. You don’t need a headset or a webcam to participate. Most of the interaction takes place in text chats or online forums. The site uses a campus metaphor, with different buildings for different tenants. Organizations can lease space on the Tapped In system, and each get their own buildings when they do. While the tenants help pay the bills, most of the users of the site are not associated with a tenant.

The heart of the Tapped In community lies in the groups. There are more than 860 groups of educators, covering everything from the “ABC’s of Tech Integration” to the “Wisconsin Catholic Library Association.”

One of the really neat things about the site is the chat interface. The site uses frames, with the Tapped In content loading in the top part of the screen, and the chat room below. As you navigate the site, you can interact with others in the chat room. There are always “help desk” people there to assist and to show you around. When you leave, a transcript of the chat session is automatically emailed to you.

On July 25, 2007, Tapped In is having a festival with the theme “Playing to Learn”. This would be a good time to introduce yourself to the community and see what it has to offer. Even if you don’t make the festival, Tapped in is definitely worth a look.

Assignment: Sign up for a free Tapped In account. Log in. Chat with the people working on the help desk. Find at least one group to join, and see what they’re talking about.

It’s a “long distance” call from my home to my office. When we actually had a land-line phone in our house, we had to pay extra for my wife to call me at work. Unbelievable.

A few nights ago, I participated in a 40 minute conference call with a man from New Hampshire, a woman from Korea, and a guy in British Columbia, Canada. None of us paid anything for the call.

Skype makes it possible to have voice conversations with other people on the Internet for free. You download and install the software, sign up for a free account, and connect a microphone to your computer. You can call any other Skype user — anywhere in the world — for free. Talk as long as you want. If you’re willing to pay, you can also call land-line or cell phones and receive calls from these types of phones.

This doesn’t replace your existing telephone or your cell phone. I wouldn’t want to rely on it as my only source for telephone connectivity. But it’s very convenient for quick conversations, and it’s great for conference calls.

Did I mention that it does video? It also has a built-in instant messenger application.

Of course, if you’re the only one you know using Skype, it’s going to be a lonely experience. It’s kind of like Alex Bell sitting there waiting for someone else to get a phone so he could call them. If that’s your problem, let me know and you can call me.

Assignment: Download and install Skype. Sign up for a free account. If you don’t already have one, invest $10 in a headset with a microphone. Use Skype to call someone and talk to them. For extra credit, participate in a Skypecast with a group of people.

It gets harder and harder to send teachers to professional conferences. The costs are high, scheduling is difficult, and funding sources aren’t readily available. Just as important, pulling a teacher out of the classroom, even to do worthwhile staff development, shortchanges the students.

Last fall, the K12 Online Conference changed the paradigm for professional meetings. Instead of pulling teachers out of the classroom, sending them off to a different city, and having them physically attend conference sessions, this conference took place entirely online. It lasted for three weeks in October, with strands covering a week in the classroom, personal professional development, and overcoming obstacles. The presentations were both interactive and asynchronous. The opening keynote was a video that people could watch at their own convenience. At the same time, there was a discussion board and live voice and text chats scheduled to discuss this content. Throughout the conference, there were both pre-recorded and live interactive activities. The conference drew attendees from all over the world. Some immersed themselves entirely in the event. Others just watched or listened to a single presentation during a planning period or on their way home from work.

Did you miss it? That’s okay. All of the content is still available on the web site. You can watch or listen to the conference sessions, read the discussion forums, and comment on the issues and topics raised in the sessions. There are RSS feeds for each week, so you could subscribe to them as podcasts (though there aren’t any new episodes).

Right now, they’re getting ready for the 2007 conference, which will take place in October again. Teachers from all over the world will be able to participate live. Others will watch, listen, and interact with the content later. Some will even get graduate credit for participating.

Assignment: Go to the 2006 K12 Online Conference. Watch or listen to at least one of the presentations. Mark your calendar for the 2007 Conference, which takes place October 15 - 26. Start lobbying the powers that be in your school to get some release time to participate in the 2007 conference.