Psst! I have something to tell you!

Hi staff! Welcome back! I hope you all had a fabulous summer. I did -- I spent a HUGE chunk of my summer exploring the wonderful world of Web 2.0. What's Web 2.0? Oh, I am so happy you asked. I'd love to explain everything I learned, but that would take too long. How about I share two of my new favourite tools with you?
...It is going to be an exciting year!

Niki's New Number One Tool - Blogs

As Will Richardson defines in his great resource book "Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms", a weB LOG (blog) is "an easily created, easily updateable Website that allows an author (or authors) to publish instantly to the Internet from any Internet connection... They are comprised of reflections and conversations... Blogs engage readers with ideas and questions and links. They ask readers to think and respond. They demand interaction" (p. 17-18).

I am very excited to be creating my own classroom blog this year. I plan to use the blog to:

• Share important dates/calendar
• Share school and classroom procedures
• Share student work
• Share student pictures
• Share reading samples (in audio recordings)
• Provide a venue for communication with students, parents, administration, other classrooms, the community (neighbours, extended family, school division, etc.) The communication is initiated by either the teacher or the students and is meant to be responded to by our "audience".

Two good (free) blog hosts are Blogger and WordPress. However, there are many more. You can explore a list like 40+ Free Blog Hosts from Mashable to find one that will best suit your needs. I have used Blogger and would love to support you with this tool, or I'd be happy to discover a new one and learn alongside you.

Blogger has many "how to" videos that can help you along the way as well.

But the beauty of creating a blog is that it can be whatever you want. There can be as much, or as little student content as you want. You can decide if you want a specific theme or focus to the blog. You can decide how often you will post to the blog. You are in charge!

If I haven't sold you on the idea of blogging yet, consider these benefits explained by Richardson. According to research that Richardson studied, blogs can: (p. 20)

• promote critical and analytical thinking
• be a powerful promoter of creative, intuitive, and associational thinking to promote analogical thinking
• be a powerful medium for increasing access and exposure to quality information
• combine the best of solitary reflection and social interaction
  

Another Awesome Tool - Animoto

I thought I'd share this great, little gem with you as well because it is a fun, easy-to-use tool that produces fantastic, professional-looking videos utilizing music and your photographs. These videos can easily be integrated into your classroom blogs for a very polished finished product!

To add to the simplicity of this tool , if you utilize an on-line photo sharing site like Flickr, Animoto can retrieve the files from there. (I'd be happy to discuss photo sharing with you another day! hint, hint, nudge, nudge!)

Here is a sample video that I created of my son in under five minutes!

But why use Web 2.0 tools?

Manitoba Education and Training has developed a "Literacy with ICT" (Information and Communication Technology) document that states "Although students in the past have focused on developing literacy skills such as reading, writing, and numeracy, 21 st-century students must develop multiple literacies that will allow them to respond to changing ideas, attitudes and technologies as their communities and their world evolve."

Our students are growing up in a digital era. It is important that at a minimum, we keep up, but optimally, that we light the way for their journeys.

Ready to get started?

...And now, back to reality!

Do I think it will go so smoothly and everyone will be as keen as me? Definitely not! I have sat through many professional development sessions where the presenter is passionate, but I did not catch the excitement. I have tuned out even the most dynamic presenter when I had to sit still too long. I have dismissed someone else's passion when I had my own exciting vision to follow.

However, I can't be too pessimistic. Even if I inspire just one colleague, then I have inspired one colleague and that is worth celebrating! Yah!

I need to be transparent to my colleagues. I need to be actively, visibly using the tools I have promoted and be willing to assist others on their journeys, as well. This could be achieved by creating a monthly focus group. I will encourage my colleagues to participate through experimentation, but I recognize that some may feel more comfortable learning through observation. I will recommend the school purchase multiple copies of Will Richardson's "Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms" for this focus group. I found it to be an excellent resource -- easy to read, informative, and inspiring.

I will continue to promote and showcase my technology adventures through an informal sharing at our monthly staff meetings. Hopefully over time, shifting to having my colleagues (focus group) sharing their adventures. It would be important to keep the sharing somewhat brief to maintain interest and I would continue to extend the invitation to other staff to join the focus group. I hope this would also evolve into the inclusion of many more wonderful technologies. This feels like it is only the tip of the iceburg!

I am also making an assumption that I will even be able to access these tools at school. There are a number of sites that are blocked in our school division and I have not tried to access these yet. However, if they are blocked, I may simply be making my "pitch" to the school division to try to convince them to remove the filter from those sites. I would still try to bolster enthusiasm for the tools with my colleagues because there is power in numbers. The more educators who are keen to utilize a tool, the stronger the argument becomes.

Thanks staff! Let me leave you with this last video to ponder!