CRAP test

Here's an Animoto project.  It was fun, once I got started.
CRAP test
The trick was to figure out how to fit everything into 30 seconds!

Ruminations on the importance of teaching internet skills

 "If we seek to prepare our students for their future, it would seem essential that we
would want to evaluate their ability with online reading comprehension." (Mokhtari 2008)

I agree.  It would seem essential that we teach students to develop questions, use keywords, find information, determine credibility, and produce a product for their audience (even if they themselves are the audience.)  The internet and online communication are becoming integral to many of my day-to-day interactions, especially in my economic and social demographic.  I use the internet at work to help students and communicate with my colleagues.  I use the internet at home to find stuff out and to communicate with my friends.  I am not yet connected on my phone.  I waste too much time "cruising" as it is.

We use the internet, but we also eat. As a society, we make poor food choices. Should our schools take that on as well?  They do to some degree with "healthier" lunches, but obesity is still a huge issue.  Most of our students will become parents.  Shouldn't we offer coursework on parenting?  We can work it in Science classes.  How about personal finance?  That's really important.  Math.  Basic car and home maintenance? The list goes on.

Actually in "the good old days" when college wasn't pushed as the only option, we did have Home Ec, wood shop, automotive classes, and "business classes" for those who didn't plan to further their formal education. My parents made me take typing in 8th grade.  That's the only reason I can navigate a keyboard. Maybe the changing times assume we will be prepared for the basics of day-to-day living - or we'll be able to Google it and find out!

I'm listening carefully, maybe with a more skeptical ear than some.  I'll be trying some new material out at school this year.  I work with some high-schoolers who don't have third grade reading skills.  Why?  Will learning to navigate the World WILD Web help them?  Maybe.  We'll see...

Module 3

Students are often challenged when evaluating the credibility and relevance of online information. Have you ever been fooled by information you read online?

Before social media websites were popular, I got a number of alarming emails from friends who had forwarded them from their friends.  Is canola oil lethal?  Is there a missing girl in Texas?  When I joined Facebook, I figured out why the alarming emails had stopped.  They were in a new medium where they could become viral more quickly than ever. When I reposted something that surprised me, a friend said, "Check Snopes."  I did, and a new world was opened to me! I live by it on Facebook - or I completely ignore the hype.

I came from the public library system.  There we had three computers with internet access and we had dial-up at home.  Twelve years ago, I started working at Abbott Tech, in the CT Technical HS system. By the time we got enough computers at for reasonable class instruction, I had read some sources the previous librarian had purchased on internet instruction, mostly because I didn't know anything!  A lesson involved looking up a site about Dihydrogen Monoxide (DHMO) and evaluating it as a source. The computer science professor who constructed the site, Tom Way, did a good job of making it fact-filled, though the information is explained in the same breathlessly alarming way the Facebook untruths are told.  I learned a lot, both about the substance and about evaluating websites.

For those of you unfamiliar with the site, DHMO is a main component of acid rain, you can die if you inhale it, and it contributes to soil erosion.  The website is http://www.dhmo.org/.  Those of you with a science background may have already figured out the other name for DHMO is H2O or water.  

Now that I have had tons of practice navigating the internet for both work and for my own reasons, I scan site descriptions without thinking about it, I quickly read the first page of a site, I cross reference sites, I check authors... quickly and efficiently.  This ORMS module opened my eyes to the fact that these are not innate skills for everyone who can read text.  There is a learning curve, and student need to be taught, step by step, the way to efficiently navigate the wild west of the web.

Someone posted a TED talk about how web browsers customize your searches according to your internet habits.  I always wondered why students were finding different information in their web searches than I was.  Students are always clicking in and out of sneaker ads, the latest music on YouTube, and unblocked social network sites like Tumblr. It depends on who is sitting at that computer.  The search engine customizing software must get a real workout!

Face Yoga ED 714

I want to learn something online, even though I am not in the class yet.  I will blog about it, and maybe use it when I'm actually in the class next year.

FACE YOGA METHOD
Yoga Master Fumiko Takatsu
28-Day series

I heard about face yoga by flipping through a women's magazine, and I checked it out online this spring.  I looked at some YouTube sites and read a bit about it.  I decided I need a "course," so I'm going with the Face Yoga Method 28 Day Series.  In my online world, I need to post photos of myself and I'm not quite so photogenic as I used to be.  If I can change that for free, why not?

Googled:    Day 1 face yoga
Learned:
- Drink hot water first thing in the morning and last thing at night.
- Wow (to loosen up)
- Open up the chest, rotate shoulder exercizes

- Neck exercise.  Shoulders down. 45 degree angle.  Oooh lips.
   Do at least 3 X a day, both sides, twice a day

Here's my photo... my "before" picture.

Day 2: Clasp hands straight out in front.  Same exercise.
Day 3. Turn head to side.  Stick out tongue. Breathe out.
Day 4: Tilt head to side. Stick out tongue.  (missed a couple of days of "new" poses.
Day 5. Shoulders down. Hee Hee Hee ten times.

One full week:

Couldn't re-create the angle but it looks like there MAY be a little improvement...?

Listening online

I was talking to Tom after counting today, and I talked about the IT&DML program.  I mentioned that we're working on coming up with our own brand of ourselves online, and that kids need to do the same thing.  He commented on how necessary it is for kids to have blogging skills and "social listening" skills.  Tom works in marketing.  There are folks who spend their time going online to find out what is being "said" about a product, going back to their department, and tweaking their advertising to reflect what the public wants.  Sneaky!  He said some of the best folks are those with Library Science degrees.  Hmm...

I found an article about how some of it is done.

http://www.convinceandconvert.com/integrated-marketing-and-media/using-social-listening-for-competitive-research/

What challenges exist as students work collaboratively as opposed to working individually?

Students working collaboratively and co-constructing knowledge is a powerful learning experience. What scaffolds can the teacher put in place to support all students as they collaborate?

When I think of students working collaboratively, I cringe.  I get nightmares of middle school projects where one or two students do all the work and everybody gets the same grade.  With all the digital tools at our fingertips, you'd think things might change.  They have not.  I still hear complaints from individuals that the rest of the group bailed.  My goal is to catalyze change at my school with digital group projects.

The articles discussed the benefits of working collaboratively.  It can be exciting to create with others.  Some students don't take it seriously.  Students have different time frames.  Some get things done early, others wait until the last minute.  Not all students have access to a computer or the internet.  Some students make a point to not do any work outside of school, so they have limited digital access during class or study halls.  Some teachers, even in our BYOD school, are reluctant to let students use their devices during study hall.  If a student is in a group with students of similar motivation, things will go smoothly.  With a strong, respected group leader, things also have a chance of working out.

Scaffolding is important.  Initially taking small, guided steps in the classroom is important.  Helping students become familiar with the programs and tools they will use is also critical. Understanding legal use of material and proper documentation is important.  Also, recognizing that this work will become part of their digital footprint may give the project more weight.  The collaborative project must have some relevance to students' lives, not just be a fact-finding regurgitation mission.

It was interesting collaborating on the paper in CO 712.  I don't think any of us had worked that way before, and we just "winged it."  One of our four took charge and the rest seemed to participate fully.  Granted, we're all teachers who are invested in the process, but it was still a good learning experience.

A bit about me

I am the sole librarian at Henry Abbott Technical High School, one of the 16 schools in the CT Technical HS system.  I came to education via public librarianship.  Twelve years ago, it was a big change.  I like to say, I went from being adored by preschoolers to being ignored by teenagers!

When I started at Abbott, there were four student computers in the library, and the computer that housed the  library catalog was dead.  There was a physical card catalog.  The space was the size of 1 1/2 classrooms, and the wall-to-wall books were dusty and old.  Nothing circulated. The big round tables and chairs took up all of the floor space. Our decennial NEASC visit was eight months away, so things changed rapidly.

By the time the visiting committee arrived, we had ten computers in the library, I had cleared out the outdated books, the card catalog was gone, and the OPAC was up and running. Whew!  Since then, we have a renovated building, I have a brand new library 6 times the size, we have implemented the Accelerated Reading program, there 18 are computers in the library and we share two classrooms of computers. The State has provided an iPod cart (30 iPods and a Mac) and a netbook cart for student use.  We are wireless, and we have a BYOD policy. (Bring Your Own Device.)  BIG changes.

I feel like I struggle to keep up with all the new technology.  Ian and some of the authors of our assigned articles have taught at CTHSS workshops and worked with the CTHSS librarians, so I knew I would get valuable information, aligned with our system's philosophy, in my IT&DML courses.

Outside of my library job, I have a "rich and fulfilling life."  That's my way of saying "I keep busy."  Our school traditionally has a lame after-school culture. Sports. Period.  A colleague and I took over Yearbook three years ago and we meet after school.  I started the LEO club (think Lion's Club junior) with another colleague and we meet twice a month.  I also co-advise the Class of 2015 during school and act as the school liaison for the DSABC mentor program.  Previously, I co-advised two other classes and National Honor Society, and I have updated the school website.  I gave those up as I took on other responsibilities.

I am active in my church.  I chair the Stewardship Committee and participate in the handbell choir (Watch us in action:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Bns-fHKO1Y) and the adult (singing) choir.  I also co-chair a booth at the Yankee Fair and Barn sale in October.  What's life without a second job?  I prepare other people's income taxes from February to April 15th.  I've done that for over 25 years.

I do make some time for my family, believe it or not.  I am married.  My now-20-year-old son, John, can be seen in the handbell youtube video right beyond me (he was still in HS at the time.)  He tried college for one year and decided he'd rather work.  He is a fantastic guitar player and song-writer, but lacks self-marketing skills.  He plays in a band called "Dan's Garage," made of of a bunch of guys from church. (If interested, here's Comfortably Numb: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4hgJDBQ-LU)  My husband, Gordon, learned how to play bass in order to play in the band. He went through cancer treatment last year.  Since then, he is physically unable to return to his former job, so he's working hourly for a friend temporarily until he finds someone who will hire him. In my "spare" time, I sew and knit, have a small garden, and volunteer for things here and there. In spite of living in a standard 1960's ranch with a galley kitchen, Gordon and I love to entertain. We have one young cat, and one old dog and we live in Brookfield CT, 12 minutes from where I work.

A question: How many of you had at least one parent who worked in education?