creating online connections 2008

Creating Online Connections

Jennifer Carrier Dorman

http://jdorman.wikispaces.com/PETEC2008

Agenda

• Why adopt a “flat classrooms” initiative?• Genesis of the collaboration

– Professional brainstorming and planning– Collaboration tools

• Collaborative simulation– Scenario, task, student roles, tools

• Challenges and successes• The future

Were really good at preparing students for . . .

A change – a systemic shift – is needed

Realizations

• Society is changing

• The skills and knowledge required for work and civic life in the 21st century are shifting

• Educational systems need to adapt to meet the needs of the digital natives in the 21st century

Societal Changes

• Globalization• Transformative

technologies• Shifting demographics• Changing values and

attitudes

Work and Civic Skills

• Released October 2, 2006, by The Conference Board, Corporate Voices for Working Families, Partnership for 21st Century Skills, and the Society for Human Resource Management groups.

What skills are most important for job success when hiring a High School graduate?

Work Ethic 80%

Collaboration 75%

Good Communication 70%

Social Responsibility 63%

Critical Thinking & Problem Solving 58%

21st Century Skills

Of the High School Students that you recently hired, what were their deficiencies?

Written Communication 81%

Leadership 73%

Work Ethic 70%

Critical Thinking & Problem Solving 70%

Self-Direction 58%

21st Century Skills

What applied skills and basic knowledge are most important for those you will hire with a four-year college diploma?

Oral Communication 95.4%

Collaboration 94.4%

Professional/Work Ethic 93.8%

Written Communication 93.1%

Critical Thinking/Problem Solving 93.1%

21st Century Skills

What skills and content areas will be growing in importance in the next five years?

Critical Thinking 78%

I.T. 77%

Health & Wellness 76%

Collaboration 74%

Innovation 74%

Personal Financial Responsibility 72%

21st Century Skills

Implications for Public Education

• Around what enduring understandings, essential questions, standards should our programs be built to better prepare our students for their future?

Implications for Public Education

• “This is a story about the big public conversation the nation is not having about education… whether an entire generation of kids will fail to make the grade in the global economy because they can’t think their way through abstract problems, work in teams, distinguish good information from bad, or speak a language other than English.”– “How to Build a Student for the 21st Century”, TIME

Magazine, December 18, 2006

Essential Questions

How has the evolution of Web 2.0 technologies impacted the reality of communication, collaboration, and the creation of content of value?

Essential Questions

How can technology be used to network professionally and connect users to learning resources?

Essential Questions

How has the nature of work and learning changed with the evolution of technology, globalization, and shifting demographics?

Technology Standards

21st Century Skills

• Play• Performance • Simulation • Appropriation • Multitasking • Distributed

Cognition

• Collective Intelligence• Judgment• Transmedia

Navigation• Networking• Negotiation

http://onlineconnections.wikispaces.com/courseinfo

Making the Connections

A Partnership is Born

• Anthony Armstrong - Korea International School, South Korea

• Jennifer Dorman - Holicong Middle School, PA

Partnering Schools

Planning Challenges

• Obvious challenge – Anthony lives and works in South Korea and I live and work in the USA (13 hour time difference)

• We needed the time and applications to facilitate our collaborative planning

Communication Tools

• Skype calls and chat

Communication Tools

• Ning Network – http://teachercollaborative.ning.com/

Collaborative Tools

• Google Docs – Documents, – Spreadsheets– http://docs.google.com

Connecting Students

• We used both a Wikispaces wiki and a Ning network to connect our students– http://onlineconnections.wikispaces.com/– http://onlineconnections.ning.com/

Collaborative Simulation

Scenario, tasks, student roles, tools

NETS-S Standards Addressed

• Creativity and Innovation – Students demonstrate creative thinking,

construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology.


• Communication and Collaboration – Students use digital media and environments to

communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others.


• Research and Information Fluency – Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate,

and use information.


• Critical Thinking, Problem-Solving & Decision-Making – Students use critical thinking skills to plan and

conduct research, manage projects, solve problems and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources.


• Digital Citizenship – Students understand human, cultural, and

societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior.


• Technology Operations and Concepts – Students demonstrate a sound understanding of

technology concepts, systems and operations.

Scenario

• Students are employees of the fictional Central Bucks Technology Corporation

• CBTC is relocating its Research and Development Division to South Korea

http://onlineconnections.wikispaces.com/CBTC

Task Overview

• Students are assigned to CBTC transition teams to support those American workers who will be relocated

• Teams will be competing to develop the most effective and complete products


Team Products

• Orientation video

• Wiki

• Ning network


Topics Researched

• Business and economy in South Korea • Housing and real estate in South Korea • Health care in South Korea • Education in South Korea• News and other current event resources for South Korea • Embassy resources for American citizens in South Korea • Resources for language learning Resources for moving people and

property to South Korea • Voting in U.S.political elections while overseas • U.S. State Department resources for international visas, passports, and

other required documentation for the relocating employees • Cultural resources (including religious and state holidays, societal

customs, etc.)http://onlineconnections.wikispaces.com/CBTC

Operating Budget

• Each team starts with an operating budget of $100,000.

• Bonuses are awarded when project goals are completed early

• Dollars are deducted when tasks are completed late or are below standard.


Outsourcing Project Tasks

• Each team has the support of South Korean CBTC employees to whom they can outsource project tasks - at a cost to your operating budget.

• Teams are required to track their operating budget on a Google Spreadsheet.

• Each team is able to outsource up to five project tasks by submitting Requests for Proposals (RFPs). All outsourced projects are recorded on the Bid List to be reviewed.


Request for Proposals

Bid List

Student Leadership Roles

• Team Leader– this is the group's "captain," the team leader meets with

Mrs. Dorman on a regular basis to report group progress and sets due dates, updates the group task graphic organizer and calendar on a daily basis, and records group progress on the task log

– the team leader may delegate specific organizational tasks, but is ultimately accountable for the functioning of the group and the quality of the final products



• Project Managers – each group has three project managers (one for

the video, one for the wiki, and one for the Ning)



• Financial Officer – this person is responsible for maintaining the

group's budget spreadsheet (adding awarded bonuses and deducting expenditures or penalties)



• Quality Assurance Engineer – this person is responsible for overseeing the

aesthetics (attractiveness and ease-of-use) and the of the group's products

– this person assures that all three team products integrate common themes, color schemes, and visuals and that all hyperlinks and other embedded media function properly



• Quality Control Director– this person meets regularly with the project

managers and creative directors to assure the visual quality and organizational quality of the team products



• Operations Manager– this person is responsible for submitting RFPs,

working with the team leader to adjust the calendar, and maintaining contact with South Korean team members


Student Tools

• Google Docs• Google Calendar• Google Reader• Flickr• Bubblr• Bookr• Diigo

• Bubbl.us• Wikispaces• Ning• Online video editors• Online image editors• Online citation

resources

Google Docs

• Google Docs and Spreadsheets are used by students to create and collaborate– Financial accounts spreadsheet– Video script and storyboard– Sharing resources between KIS and HMS

http://docs.google.com/

Google Calendar

• Students use Google Calendar to broadcast their project task checkpoint due dates

• All group members subscribe to their team calendar

• Calendars are embedded on the team’s planning wiki page

http://www.google.com/calendar

Google Reader

• Students use Google Reader to – subscribe to relevant RSS feeds– share items with each other – embed data as clips or blogrolls on their team

products (wiki and Ning network)

http://www.google.com/reader/

Flickr

• Students use Flickr to post photos and comments for the rest of their team to access

• Students post their photos to an Online Connections Flickr Group

• Students use their team number as a tag for each photo

http://flickr.com

Bubblr & Bookr

• Students use Bubblr and Bookr to create engaging mashups with their Flickr photos to embed on their wiki and Ning network

http://www.pimpampum.net/bubblr/

http://www.pimpampum.net/bookr/

Diigo

• Students registered for Diigo and joined our Online Connections Diigo Group

• They installed the Diigolet in their IE Favorites• They use Diigo for social bookmarking and

annotation – post bookmarks to our Diigo group or they created their own Diigo group

• They tag all their bookmarks with their team number for easy organization

http://www.diigo.com/

http://www.diigo.com/tools/diigolet

Bubbl.us

• Students used Bubbl.us to create flow charts to assign and track individual student responsibilities and task completion

http://bubbl.us/

Wikispaces

• Students used a page on our class Wikispaces wiki as a home base in planning and monitoring their work– Embedded Google calendars and Bubbl.us

graphics– Work log created on the discuss tab

• Students created their own wiki as one of their team products

http://www.wikispaces.com/

Ning

• Students used our class Ning network to post blog entries and to forge a relationship with the team members at HMS and KIS

• Students created their own Ning network with blog posts, forums, groups, and embedded media

http://www.ning.com/

Online Video Editors

• Eyespot – http://www.eyespot.com/

• Jumpcut– http://www.jumpcut.com/

• Cuts– http://www.cuts.com/

• JayCut– http://jaycut.com/

Online Image Editors

• Phixr– http://www.phixr.com

• Picnik– http://www.picnik.com

• SlashUp– http://www.splashup.com

• FotoFlexer– http://fotoflexer.com

Citation Resources

• Noodle Tools– http://www.noodletools.com/

• KnightCite– http://www.calvin.edu/library/knightcite/

• Zotero– http://www.zotero.org/

Reference Resources & Models

• Students were provided with examples of online resources for expatriate Americans– http://snipurl.com/1za8e– http://snipurl.com/1za8g– http://snipurl.com/1za8h

Outcomes and Experiences

Challenges

• Time zone and school calendar• Late-arrival equipment• Changing district-level online security that

periodically blocked collaborative applications• Crystallization of task • Assessment and monitoring • Defining the teacher’s role in the process

Value-Added Benefits

• Students were thoroughly engaged by the scenario and took on their leadership roles with more responsibility and creativity than anticipated

• Students learned how to employ many species of Web 2.0 applications in a rigorous and relevant manner

• Students began using the technology tools for other classes and for outside-of-school applications

• Students developed a more global worldview and became intrinsically interested in the learning and economic applications of online technologies

The Future

Learning From Each Other

• Two outstanding blog posts with teachers reflecting on what they considered to be a “failure” of an online connection initiative:– Susan Sedro, Adventures in Educational

Blogging• http://snipurl.com/1za98

– Graham Wegner, Teaching Generation Z• http://snipurl.com/1za9d

Learning From Each Other

• Here are some resources if you are considering a collaborative / global initiative:

• Kim Cofino, Always Learning– http://snipurl.com/1zaa9

• Flat Classrooms Project– http://flatclassroomproject.wikispaces.com/– http://flatclassroomproject.ning.com/

• Horizon Project– http://horizonproject2008.ning.com/– http://horizonproject.wikispaces.com/

Connect With Others

• Teacher Collaborative Ning Network– http://teachercollaborative.ning.com/

• Tap into my learning network– Blogroll - http://snipurl.com/1wnu9 – My shared items - http://snipurl.com/1wxt1 – Twitter - http://twitter.com/cliotech – My Blog – http://cliotech.blogspot.com