Lost Johns

RTI & EDUCATE Alabama

2009-12-07T22:54:00.001-05:00

It has been a while since I took the time to blog. Better yet it has been a while since I have had the time to blog but a new approach that we are utilizing in Alabama is worth sharing. Actually, there are two new approaches worthy of mentioning. First, we are now in the process of Implementing RTI or Response to Instruction not to be confused with its predecessor RTI or Response to Intervention. The second approach that we are in the process of Implementing is EDUCATE Alabama. I’m not really that proud of the name but the program does have merit. EDUCATE Alabama is the replacement of the former teacher evaluation process called PEPE. PEPE isn’t a little mule, although some may claim that it had some of the same attributes as a little burro. PEPE stood for Professional Education Personnel Evaluation Program. Part of PEPE is still being used as EDUCATE Alabama takes its place among the evaluation programs but seeks not to evaluate so much as to educate and improve teaching methods.

The great thing about RTI and EDUCATE Alabama is that they both tie together and attempt to improve classroom instruction. In our fast paced 21 century with jobs changing daily both of these programs seem to have a great deal of merit for Alabama educators and students. I attended my first RTI meeting last week due to numerous circumstances and what I came away with was “Student Engagement.” As educators we have and must find creative ways to engage our students in productive learning.
RTI is also about reading and other curricula but as I see it is primarily about engaging students and making them think about the learning process. It is beyond rote memorization and more about problem solving for all students with special emphasis on special populations. The essential components of RTI have to be the three tiers of instruction. Tier One takes into account around 80 to 90 percent of all students. Tier Two takes into account 5 to 10 percent of all students. And Tier Three takes into account 1 to 5 percent of students. In laymen terms Tier One accounts for “What students get from instruction.” Tier Two accounts for students that need a little extra push or “addition focus and intensity.” Tier Three accounts for students that require a great deal of help or “modification of instructional strategies.” All of the tiers require administrators and educators to evaluate students individually and to modify teaching methods accordingly.

EDUCATE Alabama ties into the equation by helping educators understand their current teaching practices. It doesn’t evaluate them with numbers but rather focuses on where they are from an educational standpoint. Is a teacher Emerging, Applying, Integrating, or Innovating in their educational practice? Most average teachers will fall in the Applying range and will have to work on their teaching strategies to reach the Integrating or Innovating ranges. The interesting thing about the process is that it focuses on improving teaching and not just writing down a score. As I see it, RTI will help teachers reach improved levels of instruction which should improve student engagement and learning across the board.

At the Center of Technology we are and have been implementing programs that engage all of our students and we have used some tier instruction. As such, we welcome these processes and look forward to utilizing them within our current programs of study. The key for me is to learn as much as I can about each of these programs so I can help educators do a better job in the classroom. This is the only way that we will be able to supply the workforce of tomorrow. Much of this can and is being accomplished through new innovative 21st Century Technologies. Seldom do I enter a classroom in our school system that the teacher isn’t utilizing technology. Unfortunately, not all teachers have the same ability to utilize technology or care enough about the technology to apply it to their lessons in a meaningful way. This is something that all of the administrators must help with as we move forward not only with RTI and EDUCATE Alabama, but also with technology.

Warm regards,

William “Bill” Bishop AKA LostJohns

Career Tech Opportunities

2009-03-12T00:04:00.001-04:00

As of January of this year I was transferred to the position of Interim Center of Technology Director/Career Tech Director while retaining the position of Assistant Principal in my school system. As such, I find that my time is even more limited than before. The transition has been wonderful and I am blessed to have the opportunity to work more closely with the great teachers at the center. They are all wonderful teachers and this has made the transition easier than expected. I am trying to help the teachers and the school move toward excellence and we are currently looking for ways to improve all of our programs.

As stated last year, I haven’t forgotten about this blog, but I am trying to figure out how to best to utilize it to help current leaders, future leaders, and technology enthusiasts move forward in the 21 century and beyond. A lot of my time currently is focused on workforce development, grant opportunities and how to best train highly skilled worker for today's workforce and the workforce of tomorrow. If you have any ideas shoot them my way. Thanks for dropping in and God bless.

Warm regards,

ALSDE SUMMIT

2008-05-08T10:27:00.001-04:00

A video from one of the sessions at the ALSDE Summit

Enjoy

Warm Regards

William Bishop (Bill)

New Beginnings!

2008-02-06T23:03:00.000-05:00

As of two weeks ago I was named Assistant Principal of my high school. As such, I find that my time is even more limited than before. Nevertheless, it has been a wonderful transition and I am blessed to have the position. We have a lot of wonderful teachers and administrators in the school and this has made the transition easier than expected. I am trying to help the teachers and the school move toward excellence.

In the near future I hope to help teachers more with technology integration among other things. Also, as stated prior in some previous postings, I am also finishing up my Ph. D and this in and of itself takes up a great deal of my time. I haven’t forgotten about this blog, but I am trying to figure out how to best to utilize it to help current leaders, future leaders, and technology enthusiasts move forward in the 21 century and beyond. If you have any ideas shoot them my way. Thanks for dropping in and God bless.

Warm regards,

William Bishop (Bill)

Fresh air! Macbook Air

2008-01-17T10:28:00.000-05:00

This is really cool. I'm a PC person, but I want one...

Warm regards,

William Bishop (Bill)

Web 2.0 Student Planning

2007-12-17T21:57:00.000-05:00

I was visiting Vicki Davis’ latest post and it seems that she has her students doing some Web 2.0 planning. All of their initial plans look great, but I particularly like the first one. It’s a private school wide social network for parents, students, grandparents, and teachers. Facebook, Bebo, and Myspace move over for Vicki’s class! In Vicki’s words,

“The students decided immersive learning is the best. Additionally, they wanted the elementary students to participate. After a meeting with me, I set up
the site, they joined and I made them administrators (yes I did.) They customized the look, added RSS feeds, and have just done a tremendous job. They are in the process of setting up groups for every class.”

My first thought is what a great concept and tool. My second thought deals with safety issues. My last thought on the issue is a question, How long are we going to wait before we get on board and start implementing these technologies for the good of our students? Of course, I realize that we have to make sure that security is in place, but we must also move forward when we are able.

In most cases our curriculums are out dated due to circumstance. What is the circumstance? Most curriculum coordinators know little or nothing about technology. Technology has advanced at such a rapid pace that it has left most teachers, coordinators, and systems behind. Personally, I have to make time to investigate theses new technologies. That’s what I’m doing right now. Then I have to figure out whether or not they apply to my classes and if we can use them safely. This is exactly what Vicki is doing with her students.

Warm regards,

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: web2.0, technology, teaching, social_networks, Vicki_Davis, william_bishop, lostjohns,

Idle thought and new beginnings!

2007-12-04T23:10:00.000-05:00

My class hasn’t had the opportunity to work on our wiki, blog at our blog, or moodle about as much as I would like because our library is being renovated. Nevertheless, I had the opportunity go in there today and it looks great. We have some nice new flat screen televisions on the wall and they should be fully functional soon. Then we will be able to show videos and use them for presentations. Also, our library has new bookshelves, reference desks, and a fresh coat of paint. It looks great!

The students and I are very blessed to have such nice facilities. Our superintendent and the board spent the money well and now that the renovation is almost complete, I hope to get my students back into the media center soon. However, this semester is almost over and with testing taking place in the library over the next couple of weeks things look bleak. Oh well, we will get back in there when we can...

Unfortunately, my aspirations will one day most likely take me away from the classroom and the media lab. Sad but expected! I feel that I could be much more productive promoting 21st Century Skills from an administrative position. Hence, that is why I have to spend so much time away from this blog. Not only do I have my regular duties to attend to, but I also have my doctorial classes to keep up with. Maybe, it will all be worth it one day in the near future. Until then I will continue to do what I can to promote educational technology within my classes. I’m not promoting technology for the sake of promoting technology mind you. I’m using technology to promote learning.

What is the premise of using technology to promote learning? Well, it’s like getting the most bang for your buck. In public education we need to make sure that we are using our funds well and appropriately. We have to think about what teachers and students need and what they get from the experience. For teachers, the most bang for the buck usually comes from professional development. We have to make sure that PD is productive and worthwhile. For students, we need to make sure that we are spending our money in areas that will produce positive gains in learning for their future. I believe by utilizing our state and federal funds correctly this can be accomplished. Moreover, Web 2.0 technologies can provide a positive avenue to accomplish the aforementioned.

Unfortunately, many administrators don’t have a clue as to what Web 2.0 technologies are or how to apply them. This is unfortunate with the expansive growth of the information superhighway and our ever evolving networks. The world is becoming flatter by the second. As such, digital immigrants and digital natives come to mind.

Is there really such a thing as a digital native? If so, does being a digital native really have anything to do with age? Young teachers coming into the system often know less about technology than some of us older folks. Personally, I’m not certain that age has anything to do with technology skills. Technology skills in my opinion come from application thereof. With that being said, who is promoting 21st Century Skills in your school?

Warm Regards,

William Bishop

Technorati Tags: 21st_century, 21st_Century_Learning, technology, School 2.0, william_bishop,

Laptop Security and FortiManager Article

2007-11-27T19:59:00.000-05:00

Dr. Margaret Rice at the University of Alabama brought this article to my attention. Well, I say my attention. She actually posted it for her technology class that I am enrolled in at the University of Alabama. Her class and my Intermediate statistics class at UAB, the web based and IVC courses I am teaching through ACCESS, and my regular teaching assignments have taken a great deal of my time this semester. Nevertheless, I wouldn’t take anything for any of them. I have learned a lot this semester about networking, quantitative statistics, and dealing with web based and IVC students. I am blessed, but busy. Maybe, I can find more time to blog next semester. I guess that I will just have to make the time. There goes my self diagnosis of ADHD again…Sorry...

The article that Dr. Rice pointed out to the class can be found at http://www.thejournal.com/articles/21572. The title of the article is Laptop Security: Covering the bases. From what I can tell the article address many of the issues that my system is facing and some issues that I hope we get to face in the near future. I’d love to get a grant for 3,000 student laptops for my system. Where do we sign up?

More specifically, my system may be interested in FortiManager. According to the article, “FortiManager is an integrated monitoring and management solution, the district receives active reporting from all laptops, regardless of whether they are on or off campus.” In the words of Solis, “We can follow up on exactly where certain laptops are pinging. [and] From there, we get more detailed sketches and actively circumvent any problems by, say, denying access to those IP addresses and/or Web sites." This all sounds pretty cool to me. Maybe someone who stumbles into my blog will benefit from the article. I know that my system is always looking for solutions like FortiManager. I will have to pass the article on to the IT staff at my school.

Warm Regards,

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: network security, busy, laptop security, FortiManager, Dr. Margaret Rice, UA, UAB, lostjohns, william_bishop,

Did you know 2.0?

2007-11-02T11:05:00.000-05:00

It's lunch and I was checking some of my favorite blogs and low and behold I came across a revised version of "Did you know?" Well, with all of the hype about Web 2.0 why not advance Karl Fisch's video to the same level. Why NOT! That is exactly what happened over the summer. I must have been busy because I am just now coming across the revised version. Well, better late than never. Below is "Did you know? 2.0" Enjoy!

Warm Regards,

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: Karl_Fisch, Fischbowl, 21st_century, web2.0, school2.0, classroom2.0, lostjohns, william_bishop

Dr. Bill NOT Dr. Phil!

2007-10-29T00:35:00.000-05:00

Yes, just in case you are wondering, I am still alive. I am finishing up the last few classes in a Ph. D. program and I will be ABD. “Good Lord willing and if the creek doesn't rise,” I plan to start my dissertation in May. Someday, I will be Dr. Bill. NOT Dr. Phil, Dr. Bill!

Keep my family and me in your thoughts and prayers as I have a very limited amount of time this semester. Nevertheless, the promise land is just around the corner and I plan to keep on keeping on. Now I just have to figure out what I want to do when I grow up. One thing is for sure, I plan to continue blogging. Wish me luck with it all...

Warm Regards,

William Bishop (Bill)

Not oh what! OoVoo!

2007-09-24T22:33:00.000-04:00

I received the following comment to my post about Interactive Video Conferencing Classes…

“Hi Bill, Interesting to see your work in this area as I have been looking for similar case studies using free video conferencing.I write for ooVooworld, the unofficial WOM world about the free video chat download ooVoo, and wondered if you think this kind of app is 'the future' as much as the more expensive, supervised systems you discuss here - potentially more democratic and accessible to everyone? Do you have any experiences or opinions of people using applications
like ooVoo in teaching in this way? Many thanks, Molly”

Now, I answered her question and I directed her to Viki A. Davis. I could have directed her to Wesley Fryer or Sheryl Nussbaum-Beech, Patrick Crispen or countless others, but then I got to thinking about her questions and I was wondering if any educators out there are using ooVoo as a teaching application with their classes. Is anyone out there using ooVoo as a teaching tool? My question reminds me of Pink Floyd lyrics “…is there anyone out there?” Let me me know!

Warm Regards,

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: ooVoo, free, video_conferencing, classroom2.0, school2.0, wesfryer, Vicki_Davis, Sheryl_Beach, patrick_crispen, william_bishop, lostjohns

Great Opportunity from Teacher Tube

2007-09-24T00:37:00.000-04:00

Great Opportunity from Teacher Tube

Did I tell you that I am teaching traditional courses, IVC courses, web-based courses, working on my Ph. D. and the list goes on…With all of the irons that I have in the fire, it’s hard to find time to post anything meaningful or otherwise. Nevertheless, I promise when things like this pop up I’ll do my best to post them for my readers that haven’t given up on me yet or that have an RSS feed of this blog. Teacher tube is going to give some lucky teacher a state of the art classroom. Here is the information.

“We at TeacherTube wanted to make sure our community members were aware of a great opportunity to win an interactive classroom makeover worth over $15,000.00. That\'s right-- $15,000.00! Interwrite Learning and TeacherTube are partnering to bring this contest to classroom teachers. Check out all the details at http://www.teachertube.com/makeover.
Your video submission could be
the big winner!

If you haven\'t been to TeacherTube.com in a while,
please come back and check out all the new videos and groups that have been
added.”
Warm Regards
William Bishop (Bill)
Technorati Tags: teachertube, free, classroom2.0, school2.0, opportunity

21st Century Skills and NCLB

2007-09-06T23:37:00.000-04:00

Things that grap my attention....

"College and workforce preparedness, 21st-century skills, and the use of data to inform instruction are among the new points of emphasis in a draft version of a bill to reauthorize the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Proposed by Rep. George Miller, Democratic chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, and the committee's senior Republican member, Buck McKeon." ...eSchool News

NCLB has some good points and some bad points, but adding 21st Century Skills to the bill isn't a bad idea. I just hope that the idea is funded and that ample consideration goes into the design process before it becomes law...

Warm Regards,

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: eschoolnews, NCLB, 21st_Century_Learning, William_Bishop

Microsoft Office, Open Office, OOXML, ODF, and ISO…

2007-09-04T01:13:00.000-04:00

I’m all about free open source software. The main thing I like about FOSS is the price. Nevertheless, to use an old cliché, “you get what you pay for.” Last year there was some talk within my school system about switching over to open office for all of our publishing needs due to the ever increasing price of Microsoft Office. It made sense due to the price, but referring back to the old cliché, it just wasn’t practical. The number one hindrance in switching over is that Open Office isn’t totally compatible with Microsoft Office. Moreover the state department of education, universities, and other entities within my state and outside of my state use Microsoft Office as the standard. Hence, switching to Open Office last year, this year, or in the near future isn’t going to happen. Why? It’s called OOXML.

For those who don't know, OOXML is open office XML an alternative to ODF (the open document format Open Office uses) and recently OOXML has been trying to become the ISO standard.

It’s all about ISO which stands for the International Organization for Standardization. The group describes itself as -
"a bridging organization in which a consensus can be reached on solutions that meet both the requirements of business and the broader needs of society, such as the needs of stakeholder groups like consumers and users."

It seems that the OOXML is most likely going to be the next ISO standard from the buzz around hyperspace, but what does this have to do with Microsoft Office and Open Office? Ironically, well formed OOXML documents produced by Open Office will not open in Microsoft Office. In the words of Stephen Walli –

“It means Microsoft Office DOESN'T ACCEPT WELL FORMED OOXML documents not
produced by Microsoft Office.”

Hence, if you receive an OOXML file you won’t be able to open it without Microsoft Office. I’m just glad that I own personal copies of Microsoft Office 2003 and 2007.

By the way, if you are having problems opening Microsoft Office 2007 documents, you should get the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for the Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats. The Compatibility Pack will let you read Office 2007 documents in Microsoft Office 2000, Office XP, or Office 2003. So you can open a .docx file with Word 2003 or .pptx with PowerPoint 2003. Some people are trying to say that you have to upgrade to Office 2007 and that just isn’t the case. However, I do recommend upgrading to Office 2007 when you have the money.

Warm Regards,

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: Microsoft, MicrosoftOffice, OpenOffice, ISO, OOXML, ODF, k12, technology, Office2007, William_Bishop

I am afraid!

2007-08-27T23:11:00.000-04:00

I often wonder why more teachers aren’t using 21st century technologies with their classes, but then I have a reality check and realize that most teachers have little or no formal training with 21st century technologies or the time to learn them. I was fortunate enough last year to be a part of the 21st Century Learning Initiative through a Microsoft grant tied to the Alabama Best Practices Center and I learned a great deal about these technologies. Unfortunately, we are not participating this year because the 21st Century Initiative lost its Microsoft funding. As for the ABPC meetings they were useful, but not as useful from my perspective as the 21st Century Initiative.

The 21st Century Initiative didn’t really teach me that much at the meetings per se, but it did provide me with an avenue where I could take the initiative and learn on my own. This is what I am all about. I love technology and I love learning. I love thinking of new ways of using technology with my classes and other classes. Last year after school, I would come home and spend hours researching other blogs, wikis, and new free open source software. I hate that the Initiative lost its funding because I believe that a number of schools benefited from the process. That is the thing with Initiatives, they don’t last. This is what scares me about School2.0 and Classroom2.0. How long will these movements stay alive? I hope that both will make it for the long haul, but only time will tell.

Personally, I plan to continue to promote and use 21st century technologies in my classroom while I am a teacher and then later in what ever position I end up in. I also hope that other individuals will also keep the initiative alive. If we don't keep them alive, then who will?

I’m getting a slow start this year due to all of my other endeavors, but I started trying to fix Moodle today for my classes. Also, our new tech staff got it loaded online for my students and I am looking forward to seeing how this works out. Nevertheless, I know that using Moodle in combination with other 21st Century technologies will help my less tech savvy students improve their Spanish skills and their tech skills at the same time. As the old saying goes, it’s like killing two birds with one stone.

As for the really tech savvy students, they are already ahead of the game. However, don’t take my word for it. Go and visit Sheryl N. Beach and read her post “Be afraid...Very afraid.” Maybe, posts like hers will get more individuals involved with these technologies. Nonetheless, it is a very cool post and worth reading!

Warm Regards,

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: 21st_Century_Initiative, Technology, K12, APBC, School2.0, Classroom2.0, Sheryl_Beach, 21st_Century_Learning, Lost_Johns, William_Bishop, Bill_Bishop

Google Sky

2007-08-24T00:13:00.000-04:00

Vicki A. Davis beats me to the punch again in her blog post entitled "Take your class sky high... Oh well, I don’t really have time to blog right now anyway so I will direct you to a really great blog and blogger (CoolCatTeacher Blog)

“Ok, teachers of science. Go to Google and download the latest version of Google Earth and you will have a super cool new feature called Google Sky! View Google's mini tour to the left (which they handily posted to youtube.)This lets you turn heavenward to look at constellations and all sorts of things! You can explore: planets, constellations, the moon, galaxies, the life of a star, and the atmosphere.I'm also fascinated by the Google Earth Community which allows you to make and share these files.”

I use Google Earth to highlight the 21 Spanish speaking countries with my Spanish classes. I also show them our school and my house for fun. I’m not sure how I will use Google Sky with my classes, but I will introduce them to it for fun.

Vickie suggests using Google Sky in the following ways…

Ideas for use:

Use it in junior high for earth science to interactively explore the sky.
Discuss the life of a star.
Use it on your smartboard to explore, zoom in, and discuss things.
The Hubble Telescope images are available to you and your students!

Too bad I’m not a Science teacher. Well, maybe in the next life!

Thanks for the great post Vicki!

Warm Regards,

William Bishop (Bill)

Being busy is a blessing

2007-08-23T23:30:00.000-04:00

I consider myself blessed, but busy. I am currently taking six hours of post graduate work for my Ph. D. at two different institutions. I am taking an intermediate quantitative stats course at UAB and a computer networking course at UA. I am the chairperson for my High School’s Jostens Renaissance program, one of the senior play directors, head of the English department, and I teach over 150 students Spanish on a daily basis.

I teach traditional classes, IVC classes, and web-based classes. I teach 128 students on campus, 16 IVC students, and 12 web-based students. My IVC students and web-based students are part of Alabama’s distance learning program ACCESS. Additionally, I am a husband, father, friend, leader, and avid user of technology. Plus football season is starting. Life is busy, but good!

So if I don't get around to blogging as much as usual you’ll have to forgive me. I’m too busy to blog. Nevertheless, I still plan on having my students using technology when appropriate. We will be blogging, updating our wiki, and using moodle when we can fit it in with our lessons. Also, I plan on having my students create some photo stories in Spanish to help them and future students learn and retain the language.

Nonetheless, if you need my help with anything let me know. I’m sure I can find some time to help somewhere. Being busy is a blessing…That’s my new motto!

Warm Regards,

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: busy, Spanish, blogs, wikis, life, students, distance_learning, k12, william_bishop

Interactive Video Conferencing Classes

2007-08-15T22:24:00.000-04:00

I am fortunate enough this year to have the opportunity to teach some students on the other side of the state via IVC. We are just now getting all of the bugs worked out with our network, lab, and polycom IVC unit, but this type of instruction looks promising. Our new lab was funded by a grant and I am teaching as an ACCESS teacher.

Now, I just have to work the bugs out of my teaching and figure out how to best serve the students in my local classroom and the students in the classrooms on the other side of the state at the same time. My local students keep watching me on the televisions rather than watching me. Imagine that! A generation of students more interested in the video monitor than the real thing.

If you’re not familiar with IVC process then you are missing out. Our lab is set up with a polycom unit, which has two cameras. One of the cameras is dedicated to the instructor and the other is dedicated to my students. In the lab three plasma screen televisions, a computer, document camera, and LCD projector are connected to the polycom unit. Additionally, two very sensitive microphones are mounted in the class. Like the cameras, one is dedicated to the instructor and the other is dedicated to the students.

Connecting to the remote schools requires imputing the external IP addresses for the IVC units there and pressing call on a remote. Once connected with the remote schools I can see both of my remote classes and communicate with them. The lag time of our connection is less than one second and the IT people in my school are working diligently to decrease it even more. However, this will require a new dedicated switch for the lab. In laymen terms, the switch will create a almost direct route to our new lab and IVC unit. The new switch should almost entirely eliminate the lag time and make the process more efficient.

At the remote schools each lab has a facilitator to supervise and help with the classes there. Also, Alabama Super Computer Authority keeps the connections between the schools flowing at a sufficient rate. All in all, this is a very high tech setup and it is indeed the wave of the future. I’m just happy to be a part of the process now.

What does all of this mean? Well, in the intelligent words of Karl Fisch, “Shift Happens!” If you don’t understand the term then you should visit one of my old posts featuring his informative video. It can be found HERE.

Warm Regards,

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: ACCESS, Alabama, IVC, polycom, technology, k12, school2.0, William_Bishop

Words of Support!

2007-08-13T22:33:00.000-04:00

Our Superintedent was nice enough to send everyone an opening message and I thought that I'd share some of it here. I don't think that he would mind. Furthermore, it says a lot!

Effective teachers also understand the importance of a name. You realize that personal attention begins with a personal salutation. To you, students are not anonymous entities. You seek to affirm the student for his/her individual worth and by doing so, you let them know that they truly belong – that they are more than eight-to-three residents in some netherworld of
a small desk. To paraphrase Thomas Carlyle, “Great teachers show their greatness by the way they treat their students.” You are teachers that have come to realize that a pat on the back has enough force to propel a student toward excellence.
I thank you and congratulate you for the successful start and
for being an effective teacher leader sending the message that [our schools] are “CARING, COMMUNITY SCHOOLS PROVIDING EVERY CHILD EVERY CHANCE
FOR SUCCESS!”
Keep-on-Keeping-on throughout this year and beyond…

Thanks Dr. Baggett for the kind words of support!

This is exactly what our Renaissance process is all about. It is about recognizing every student for his/her individual worth and letting them know that they truly belong in our schools. It’s the pat on the back that Carlyle and you speak of and more…

Once again, thanks for the kind words of support and thanks for supporting the Renaissance process…I am going to post this at our Haleyville Renaissance Blog as well. What encouraging words…

Warm Regards,

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: teaching, support, renaissance, students, excellence, william_bishop, dr_baggett

Correction about Durff

2007-08-11T20:01:00.000-04:00

Mrs. Durff isn’t an English teacher per se. She was nice enough to drop back by the blog and leave another comment and correct my first assumption. Mrs. Durff is like many of the wonderful teachers out there she is busy wearing a variety of hats. In actuality, she is a library media specialist with emphasis on the word specialist due to all of the roles she has to fill within her local school setting.

Mrs. Durff referred to herself as a “gopher,” but based on her blog as well as other entities it was easy for me to ascertain that she was just being modest. She was also nice enough to leave the URL to her professional blog in her comment. It is http://durffsblog.blogspot.com/. She has great quote there by Mr. Lewis. "The next best thing to be wise oneself is to live in a circle of those who are" CS Lewis. Based on her blog role she not only believes in this creed, but she lives by it.

The more than impressive video that I plugged from teachertube about student blogging into my last post is from a teacher in New Zealand according to Mrs. Durff. Unfortunately, I haven’t taken the time to research the video, but I love it nonetheless. It presents student blogging in a positive light. What a great video!

Warm regards,

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: teaching, Durff, teachertube, educational_technology, william_bishop, lostjohns,

Blogging requires passion an emotion which leaves out most people!

2007-08-10T23:21:00.000-04:00

Durff was nice enough to drop by this blog and leave a comment about my last posting. As such, I found myself wanting to know who exactly Durff is. Well, it’s Mrs. Durff and she is an English teacher and blogger. I actually got the title of this post and the cartoon strip picture from her blog. I borrowed it and used it for this post. I hope she doesn’t mind. The URL for her blog is http://www.classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger_id=54610

My favorite thing about her blog is the quote by Alvin Toffler under the heading “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn. Alvin Toffler.” Inspiring! I also found this video at teacher tube as a result of Mrs. Durff's website. Enjoy!

Warm regards,

William Bishop (Bill)

Digital Directions, Education Week, & Michelle Davis

2007-08-09T20:33:00.000-04:00

I am very excited because I got an email today from Michelle Davis from Education Week asking me for an interview for an upcoming article on wikis in the classroom. The article will be featured in Education Week’s new technology magazine Digital Directions.

I called her this afternoon after school and had a very meaningful conversation with her about my classes and our Spanish wiki. I also spoke with her about other ways that we are implementing technology in our schools and student safety. It was an honor having the opportunity to interview with Michelle Davis and I look forward to reading her article in what I believe will be the second issue of Digital Directions. According to her, the next issue should be out sometime in September.

If you love educational technology, then I suggest checking out the first copy of Digital Directions. There is a lot of useful information for educational tech enthusiasts in the new publication. One of my favorite articles is the article entitled "Digital Tools Push Math and Science to New Levels." Ironically, the article was written by non other than Michelle Davis. Not only does this lady write well and cover all of the bases, but she does it with style. These are the type of articles that I enjoy reading. Looks like I will have to keep a closer eye on Education Week, their new publication, and articles by Michelle Davis. By the way, if you are interested in other articles by Michelle Davis at Education Week, they can be found HERE.

Warm Regards,

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: interview, education_week, technology, wikis, digital_directions, new_magazine, Michelle_Davis, William_Bishop, educational_technology

Back to School

2007-08-09T20:26:00.000-04:00

The school year is back in full swing and as usual this has been an eventful week. On Monday we had our institute day and I was fortuitous enough to be ask to develop a short video highlighting our High School’s Renaissance program. I used Microsoft Movie Maker along with some pictures from the Jostens’ National Renaissance Conference to complete the video. I received a lot of thoughtful comments from a number of the faculty and staff at my school regarding the video and that always makes one feel good.

On Tuesday I had the opportunity to teach three short sessions about blogs and wikis for our first ever school wide technology fair. Various sessions took place at the fair that covered a wide range of subjects. We had the blog/wiki session that I conducted, a moodle session, a clicker session, a riverdeep session, a library media session and the list goes on. I heard a few complaints from teachers about not having enough time to work in their classrooms before the start of school, but most of the teachers were excited about being introduced to these 21st century technologies. Of course, my system is very blessed with thoughtful and caring teachers who want to implement technology to help the teaching and learning process. As such, many of the teachers are currently working diligently on learning and implementing some of the technologies from our technology fair.
Wednesday we worked in our classrooms and had meetings with our departments and today the students returned. As a result of the Renaissance process, our Principal decided to have a school wide assembly to honor our student body, teachers, and new students. I will blog about this when I have a chance at the new blog that I developed for our Renaissance program. The URL for the blog is http://haleyvillerenaissance.blogspot.com/.

I created the blog at the beginning of the week to highlight some of the great things our school is doing to promote academic excellence. Currently, there is only one post there and it is about the Renaissance National Conference that we attended this summer. I hope to move forward and improve the blog as the year progresses.

Technorati Tags: renaissance, blog, blogging, wikis, school, lost johns

Blogging

2007-08-06T01:02:00.000-04:00

Back to school: Back to blogging…

I am getting ready to teach some short sessions for a technology fair that we are having at our school on Tuesday. The fair and my presentation as well as the presentations of others are the result of the Alabama Best Practices Center and the 21 Century Learning Initiative.

Anyway, I am currently putting the final touches on a presentation for the sessions. I am using many of the slides that Patrick Crispen used in his blogging 101 presentation at the Alabama Educational Technology conference this summer. As such, special thanks go out to Patrick for all of his hard work.

Luckily, I was able to sit in on a couple of Patrick's presentations at the conference before making my own presentation about School 2.0. My presentation is currently online if you're interested in School 2.0. It is entitled Plunge into School 2.0... The exact URL to download the presentation is HERE.

Enough said!

Warm Regards,

William Bishop (Bill)

Blogging: It’s elementary, School 2.0, and Classroom 2.0

2007-06-25T01:53:00.000-04:00

Blogging: It’s elementary, School 2.0, and Classroom 2.0

I had the opportunity to sit-in-on a couple of Patrick Crispen’s sessions at the 2007 AETC conference week before last and he had a great presentation on blogging 101 and blogger. You can download Patrick’s presentation on blogging here (It’s in zip format). Although I am very familiar with blogger, I found the presentation worthwhile and even learned a few new tricks and tips. Patrick always does a great job with his presentations. Such is to be expected of a graduate of the University of Alabama! If you are interested in elementary blogging and Patrick’s presentation doesn’t tell you everything you want to know about beginning a blog for yourself or with your classes, you should visit the following links...

E-School News article on Elementary Blogging

A post by Steve Dembo about Elementary Bloggers

A wiki with links to educational blogs

A wiki tied to Alabama Best Practices Center’s 21ST Century Initiative

John Norton’s bookmarks for the 21st Century Initiative (My blogs are here) Wow!

These should be enough to get you started. I would however point out that before you start blogging with your classes you should get your administrator’s approval. You should also make sure that your Acceptable Use Policy is up-to-date. And above all things you need to make sure that you keep your students safety in mind.

You can find a number of tips to help with the things you need to know about blogging at the ABPC wiki. I hope this helps administrators and teachers begin the move toward School 2.0 and Classroom 2.0 if they haven’t already made the move. Enjoy!

Note: In a future post I will discuss my presentation at the 2007 AETC (Plunge into school 2.0 and beyond: But don’t forget your PFDs). I am just waiting for them to get the 2007 presentations uploaded to their website.

Regards,

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: blogging, elementary, education, patrick_crispen, blogging_links, abpc, john_norton, 21stCentury, teach42, eschoolnews, lostjohns, blogger, blogspot, aetc, william_bishop

Is dissection a dying art in our schools?

2007-06-25T00:00:00.000-04:00

Are frogs finally safe? I found a rather interesting read today about dissection and thought that it tied in nicely with one of my previous posts entitled Cadavers and School 2.0. The headline for the article is WHY DISSECTION IS A DYING ART IN SCHOOLS. Here is a brief intro to the article.

Generations of biology pupils have learned the marvels of nature by dissecting specimens ranging from rabbits to worms. But the skill is dying out in schools because of health and safety red tape, concerns over animal welfare and pupil
squeamishness. A survey by the Institute of Biology shows that 85 percent of teachers believe dissections are far less common in schools than 20 years ago. The packed curriculum and lack of funding are partly blamed for the decline, but 22 percent of respondents cited confusion over health and safety regulations and 28 percent said many students were too squeamish to carry out dissections. Twelve per cent reported pressure from parents -- and even other teachers -- not to use animal material in class while 14 percent cited pressure from students themselves. For some teachers, dissections are too dangerous because disruptive pupils could harm others with scalpels and scissors. The rise of interactive whiteboards, which allow pupils to view images on screen, has led some staff to show children 'virtual' dissections instead. However, an overwhelming majority of the 220 teachers who took part in the survey are convinced dissections are valuable and enhance pupils' understanding. The threat to dissection has been intensified by a lack of specialist teachers, according to London’s Evening Standard. Graduates in other sciences, such as physics and chemistry, are now allowed to take biology lessons...

Also, I think that the article ties in well with the whole classroom2.0 and school 2.0 movement. Virtual dissections are great, but I can’t help but think that there is still a need for some "old school" dissections in the classroom. I love technlogy, but to totally go to virtual dissections would be a grave error in my opinion. What do you think?

Regards,

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: dissection, biology, anatomy, virtual_dissections, school2.0, classroom2.0, lostjohns, william_bishop, bill_bishop

Ponce De Leon Inlet

2007-06-18T23:33:00.000-04:00

A couple of weeks back the family and I had a chance to visit some of our dearest friends in the world who just happen to live in Ormond Beach Florida. It was wonderful seeing them as we only get the chance to see them once or twice a year. While on the trip the family and I also had the opportunity to visit one of my favorite places in the world (i.e. Ponce De Leon Inlet) and one of my favorite landmarks (i.e. the Ponce De Leon Inlet Lighthouse).
The Ponce Inlet lighthouse is the tallest lighthouse in Florida and in my opinion one of the most beautiful in the world. I love lighthouses as you can tell by the theme of my blog. Here are some more photos.

(A view from the beach...)

I just wish I had thought to take my video camera. If I had, I could have created a virtual tour of the lighthouse and the grounds. A virtual tour would be a great School 2.0 or Classroom 2.0 project.

(A view from the courtyard...)

I plan to create a photo story of the landmark. Also, I had the opportunity to visit St. Augustine and the St. Augustine Lighthouse as well as other historical landmarks. I will share these pictures and others as time allows…

(A view from the bottom)

(A view from the top overlooking the inlet...)

Regards,

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: vacation, ponce_de_leon_inlet, lighthouses, photos, florida, classroom2.0

AETC 2007

2007-06-12T22:08:00.000-04:00

It’s that time of year again. Not Christmas! It's time for the Alabama Educational Technology Conference. So for me, I guess it is a little like Christmas. I love it! Last year I was a facilitator at the conference and this year I am a presenter. The times they are a changing.

My presentation is entitled "Plunge into School 2.0 and beyond: But don't forget your PFDs." I am honored to be presenting at the conference. My presentation is at 3:30 PM in the North Hall/Room C/D. If you're attending the conference, drop by and say hello. For those of you that can’t make the conference, I’ll try and get the presentation up on slideshare soon…Here is the final AETC Program.

Sorry, I haven't been keeping my blog updated recently. I was on vacation week before last and last week/this week I have been very busy with other endeavors (e.g. doctoral classes, family, building fences, interviewing, and working around the house). I’ll try and do a better job! As a matter of fact, I have to get some of my vacation pictures posted to the blog ASAP. I'll put that on my list of things to do for the weekend…

Regards,

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: AETC, shameless_self_promotion, school2.0, conferences, williambishop, lostjohns

Profile Picture

2007-05-25T00:31:00.000-04:00

I guess I should tag this post as educational technology. For some strange reason my blogger profile picture stopped loading. I changed it and used a different picture, but then it stopped again. Maybe, I am just to rough looking for blogger. And who said that computers didn't have taste!

Warning! I am posting it again below and going to upload it to the profile area and see if I get better results. Maybe, the size of the picture was too large. I'll edit it first and then upload it here. Wish me luck!

Regards,

William Bishop (Bill) aka lostjohns

Technorati Tags: shameless_self_promotion, blogger, profilepicture

No rest for the weary!

2007-05-23T00:29:00.000-04:00

Since Thursday I have been under the weather. I had to take my oldest daughter to the doctor and she has strep. Then yesterday I went to the doctor and they said I had it too. I haven’t missed any school, but I haven’t really felt like blogging. Nevertheless, I have been doing some more research on School 2.0. I’m trying to put the final polish on a presentation that I am going to give this summer at the AETC. Hence, I thought a fitting title for this post would be “No rest for the weary.”

Currently, I am trying to pin down the graphics for the presentation. I don’t want the presentation to be the typical run of the mill Power Point. I want to move the presentation beyond bullet points. I’d love for it to be like Dick Hardt’s Identity 2.0 keynote at OSCON. If you haven’t seen his presentation, you’re missing out. The concept of Identity 2.0 is great, but the presentation itself is phenomenal. My presentation probably won’t even come close to his, but I’m not going to give up hope. I am going to keep on keeping on until I get a presentation that’s close.

This School 2.0 thing that arose out of the ashes of Web 2.0 like a phoenix is what keeps me going. Well, this and the fact that I care about the future of our students and our society as a whole. Also, I’ll keep on keeping on because it is a part of my nature. Keeping on is something that my father instilled in me as a child. The man is sixty and although he retired from his job last year, he hasn’t let stopped working. I am very thankful that I have a father that instilled in me a strong work ethic among other things. As such, I am trying to pass it on to my children and my students. We need to do the same thing with School 2.0. We need to work diligently to sale School 2.0 within our local school settings and beyond for the sake of all children and the future.

Regards,

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: school2.0, identity2.0, OSCON, dick_hardt, william_bishop, lostjohns

Horizon Project: What will 2020 be like?

2007-05-18T16:00:00.000-04:00

What will 2020 be like?

From Vickie’s Blog today, I found these videos from the horizon project that she found at Julie's Blog and I am adding them to my blog. Why don’t you add them to your blog so others can add them to their blogs.

What will 2020 be like? Remember the Internet started up in the early nineties and look where we are now. Part of Karl Fisch’s video comes to mind. Can you remember what life was like BG [Before Google]? Enjoy the videos!

Atif is from the ISD school in Bangladesh and this is his video…

Ginger is from the Shanghai School in China and this is her video…

Thanks Vickie and Julie for sharing these with us and thanks for the Horizon Project…

Regards,

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: horizon_project, global_learning, vickie_davis, julie_lindsay, william_bishop

My Scrapblog

2007-05-17T16:50:00.000-04:00

I send my scrapblog in the previous post via Scrapblog's built in tools. If you haven't seen scrapblog it's a really great Web 2.0 tool. It's online and you can set your scrapblogs up as public or private. Also, you can import photos to scrapblog from Flickr, PhotoBucket, Webshots, or you can upload them from your PC directly to scrapblog. What a great Web 2.0 tool for the classroom.

The classroom2.0 scrapbook was my first attempt at using the software and it turned out fine with the exception of one little item. I put a video on the last page and embedded on top of the iPod picture, but it doesn't play in the previous post. Nevertheless, you can go and view the scrapblog with the embedded movie at my scrapblog. It works fine there but you may have to flip through manually or pause the scrapblog player on the last page to allow the video to load. Of course, you have to click play on the movie!

I am going to use the code and embed the scrapblog directly into this post to see if it makes a difference with the movie player. Keep your fingers crossed!

If the movie didn't load checkout the scrapblog at
http://www.scrapblog.com/lostjohns if you want to see it. It's the movie I uploaded to YouTube a couple of weeks back "Are we there yet?"

Enjoy!

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: scrapblog, classroom2.0, students, family, web2.0, photos, williambishop, lostjohns

My new scrapblog

2007-05-17T16:47:00.001-04:00

Cadavers and School 2.0

2007-05-16T23:06:00.000-04:00

I took some of the Anatomy students down to one of the labs at UAB on Monday to get some hands on experience. When I say hands on experience, I mean it in every sense of the word. What is a Spanish teacher doing carrying a group of students to an anatomy lab? Well, I have a CDL and someone has to drive the bus! I hate leaving my Spanish students behind, but UAB where I am a Doctoral Student in the Educational Leadership department is one of the only universities in the nation that allows undergraduates to work with human cadavers. I started taking this trip with the anatomy teacher at my school and I’m happy to go anytime she needs me. It’s not everyday that you get to view human cadavers or actually touch and examine cadaver parts.

Some people may think that this is gross, but it is actually a tremendous learning experience. Of course, occasionally some students faint. None of our students have fainted as of yet, but some have turned white and have had to leave the lab. Nevertheless, this is one of the best hands-on field trips ever and I’m happy that caring individuals donate their bodies to science.

During our visit the lab director said that most universities were moving away from human cadaver research. Then he asked if anyone knew what was replacing cadaver research at universities. Drum roll please! The answer is virtual reality. Universities have started using virtual reality to teach various medical techniques including surgery. Being the computer geek that I am, I knew the answer. Peter Pollack wrote an interesting piece about this back in March for AAOS. This is just one of the many ways that virtual reality is being tested and applied within the educational setting.

Should virtual reality replace human cadaver research? I don’t think that it should and neither does the lab director. In contrast, we both believe that it should be used in combination with cadaver research. It’s like web 2.0 technologies. As teachers, we should be using these technologies, but we shouldn’t give up on effective educational strategies of the past. Sure school 2.0 is great, but sometimes we still need to go to the lab and dissect a frog or a cadaver.

My suggestion is that we use a combination of educational methods to make sure that our students are properly prepared for the future. School 2.0 isn’t about replacing teaching strategies that work, it’s about improvement. Some traditional teaching methods should at all cost remain in tact, while others should be cast by the wayside.

As 2.0 enthusiasts, we should continue to promote School 2.0, but we shouldn’t sacrifice good teaching or demand that teachers give up on tried and true methods. Instead, we should be asking why, what, and how can we use 2.0 methods to enhance teaching and learning. It’s not about redesigning the wheel it’s about making a better one. The wagon wheel works great for wagons, but I prefer something with a little more rubber and stability on my car. That’s just me!

Regards,

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: anatomy, fieldtrips, school2.0, UAB, cadavers, williambishop, lostjohns

The School 2.0 lens

2007-05-15T21:33:00.000-04:00

I’ve been re-visiting what all of the gurus in the blogosphere have to say about School 2.0 preparing for my upcoming presentation at the 2007 Alabama Educational Technology Conference (AETC). The problem that I’m having is that the concept [school 2.0] is still an emerging concept. Within a school, when all of our classrooms reach the status of Classroom 2.0 through teaching 2.0 our schools will have arrived as 2.0 schools. However, it isn’t about the school or the classroom per se. It’s about applying Web 2.0 technologies to the educational process to empower and energize our students. It’s about using available teaching methods to promote learning. Web 2.0 tools are the catalyst of School 2.0 and 2.0 learning.

School 2.0 is simply a frame or a way of re-framing the way we do business as educators. It’s a new lens. School 2.0 is a lens to look through to see what we are doing and what we should be doing in the field of education with Web 2.0 tools. John Seely-Brown in an interview with Steve Hargadon emphasis that the Cartesian way of thinking "I think therefore I am" should be a thing of the past. Instead, we should be looking through the lens and be thinking “we participate therefore we are." This puts a twist on the way most individuals view schools and learning.

With school 2.0 we aren’t moving away from learning, we are learning to learn differently via new technologies. I was listening to Silvia aka langwitches podcast from the 2006 k12online conference again and she points out numerous ways to use iPods and podcasting in the classroom. Silvia is using the School 2.0 lens and showing others how to frame and facilitate the educational process with one of the many Web 2.0 tools that’s available for educators. As such, the whole School 2.0 concept should change the way students participate in and beyond the classroom.

There’s always hope!

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: school2.0, aetc, john_seely-brown, langwitches, steve_hargadon, william_bishop, lostjohns

Cup of Joe School 2.0 Style

2007-05-13T22:50:00.000-04:00

I log into lostjohns and I find that Silvia aka langwitches was nice enough to drop in and leave a comment. Moreover, she even took the time to write a blog post of her own about what I wrote. How thoughtful! As a result of her post, Joe Dale visited lostjohns and left a comment of his own. Along with his comment he was nice enough to provide various links where Silvia had dropped by and left comments at his blog. I feel like I was provided with my cup of Joe for the day as a result of Joe’s visit. Actually, I’m not old enough to drink coffee yet. I’ve tried it, but it’s not my cup of tea.

In contrast, Joe’s blog is exactly my cup of tea. He has set up a blog called Integrating ICT into the MFL classroom. ICT stands for Information Communication Technologies and MFL stands for Modern Foreign Language [Joe can correct me if I am wrong about either of the abbreviations]. I spent a little time browsing Joe’s site and it provides a great deal of information about integrating information communication technologies into the modern foreign language classroom. It’s a blog that lives up to its name. I added Joe’s blog to my feeds and plan to spend some time in the future reviewing the site. What a great contact to have…

What does all of this have to do with technology? It’s called digital social networking. It isn’t MySpace, Facebook, or Bebo, it is better. I can’t think of a better way to learn about ICTs for my classroom, than discussing it other foreign language teachers that are using them in their classrooms. The premise of digital social networking is that I share what I know and they share what they know. We are no longer isolated by the school and classroom walls. Talk about taking it global! This is what School 2.0 is all about and it isn’t limited by locale.

I’d like to thank Silvia and Joe for connecting with me. I look forward to reading their blogs and conversing with them in the future. I believe that I will learn a lot of information that I will be able to take back and apply within my local school setting. It’s informal professional development school 2.0 style.

Regards,

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: dsn, socialnetworking, school2.0, langwitches, joedale, williambishop, foreignlanguageblogs, lostjohns

100th Blog Post and Silvia Tolisano

2007-05-11T21:53:00.000-04:00

I feel like it’s my birthday today because this is my 100th blog post since I started blogging back in October of 2006. As such, I was contemplating the significance of this blog and I have come to the realization that it has helped me more professionally than I could have ever imagined. I am constantly reading other blogs, searching the web, digital social networking and trying to keep up with emergent technologies. Who would have ever imagined that I would gain so much knowledge just by keeping an ole blog? I guess it’s like Joel Osteen says, “If you have a need, plant a seed.” As result of planting this blog seed, I am constantly coming across relevant information and networking in and beyond the blogosphere.

Today I finally connected with Silvia Tolisano aka Langwitches. Silvia was a part of the 2006 K12online conference, but somehow I overlooked her presentation. Luckily, I found it and contacted her today due to Vickie Davis’ blog. Silvia was a very fortuitous find as I had been looking for someone that was using iPods, and podcasting with Spanish classes. I can’t believe that I had overlooked her for so long. Chris Craft had mentioned her name but somehow during our conversation I didn’t make the connection. Moreover, she added me as a friend on the Classroom 2.0 network at ning a while back and I still didn’t make the connection. The “langwitches” bit kept throwing me off. I didn’t associate the “lang” with language. The Forest Gump, adage “Stupid is as stupid does” seems quite fitting for my failure to make the connection with lang and language. I’m sorry Silvia!

Who is Silvia Tolisano and why am I so flattered to be social networking with her? Silvia aka Langwitches was born in Germany, raised in Argentina, and is currently living in the United States. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Spanish with a Minor in International Relations and a Masters in Education with an emphasis on Instructional Technology. I bet she speaks German too. What a cool contact! Silvia is also responsible for a number of great sites (e.g. langwitches, langwitchesblog, langwitches wiki, langwitches podcast, langwitches mobile blog, travel blog Argentina, and a Spanish II blog). Did I mention that she was also a part of the 2006 K12online conference?

I have been browsing through her sites and they’re all wonderful. She provides a wealth of information covering numerous topics. If you have been overlooking Silvia aka Langwitches, I suggest checking out her sites. I love her headings at the langwitches’ sites, “The magic of language learning through technology and the magic of learning through technology.” Now I understand the name “langwitches.” Just call me Forest! After all, I am from Alabama and I did graduate from the University of Alabama, so if the shoe fits…

What a fortuitous find for my 100th blog post!

P.S. The picture is for Silvia aka langwitches.

Regards,

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: networking, language, k12online, langwitches, classroom2.0, school2.0, coolcatteacher, chriscraft, lostjohns, williambishop

Educational Technology, The Roles of School 2.0, and Systemic Technology Planning

2007-05-10T20:15:00.000-04:00

One of the biggest problems integrating technology within the school setting is a lack of systemic technology planning. Often we integrate technology for the sake of integrating technology, but to adequately integrate technology within our schools and to move toward School 2.0 we must do better planning. For example, we need to understand why we are integrating technology, what types of technology need to be integrated, and how the process will improve student learning? School 2.0 may be the best path, but we need to understand why, what, and how.

I decided to add my video “Are we there yet?” to Google Video today and I found a video of Tim Manger (Director of the Office of Educational Technology) discussing School 2.0. The sound on the video isn’t very good and the graphics on the data screen are too small to read, but luckily I was able to get a web address. I found an excellent School 2.0 map there. The graphic can be downloaded in PDF format from the site. It’s an excellent map of how School 2.0 should function and the concept is clearly defined both on the site and with the graphical representation.

Moreover, the map defines process areas of School 2.0 and breaks it down into digestible chunks. I’m sure many of you have seen this map, but I thought it was worth sharing again. I plan to create some posters of the map and hang them around my school. Enjoy!

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: school2.0, 21stcenturylearning, WilliamBishop, LostJohns

What’s in your toolbox?

2007-05-09T23:54:00.000-04:00

I was at the powerful conversations/21st Century Learning Initiative yesterday and something someone said kept nagging at me. An individual from one of the presenting groups stated, “We thought our teachers needed tools to embrace 21st Century Learning.” It reminded me of the line from Batman where the Joker asks “Where does he get all of those wonderful tools?” The premise hinges on the philosophy that educators need a toolbox of Web 2.0 tools if they are to truly be successful at integrating technology into their classrooms. As such, I set out on a mission to find the best [free] tools for a School/Classroom2.0 toolbox. Here are my top eleven picks…Enjoy!

OpenOffice (productivity/office)

Mozilla Firefox (browser)

Skype portable (Internet telephony)

Audacity (sound editing)

Microsoft Photo Story 3 (Create Photo Stories)

VLC Media Player (plays audio/video)

Wink (Tutorial and Presentation creation software)

Moodle (Classroom Management Software)

Gliffy (Online Diagram Creator)

Tuxpaint (drawing program for children)

VLC Media Player - plays video/audio.

Regards,

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: school2.0, classroom2.0, 21stcenturylearning, free, tools, teaching, web2.0, William_Bishop, LostJohns, technology

Powerful Conversations and 21st Century Learning

2007-05-08T21:43:00.000-04:00

Pictured: Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach and John Norton

Today some colleagues and I had the opportunity to attend the last powerful conversations quarterly meeting which showcased a few projects from the Alabama Best Practices Center’s 21st Century learning initiative. Numerous schools took part in the showcase from throughout the state. Cathy Gassenheimer opened the meeting followed by Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach who addressed 21st Century Learning with an amazing presentation. Her presentation closely resembled Karl Fisch’s amazing video “Did you know.” What a powerful way to get educators on the 21st Century Learning path. Another notable guest at the meeting was John Norton who is editor of “Working toward Excellence”. Also, Allyson Knox a liaison for Microsoft’s Partners in Learning Program was in attendance and spoke to the audience. It was an honor to be able to attend and take part in the discourse of the day’s events.

Although any of the schools could have provided noteworthy presentations, three schools were chosen to present at the meeting. The schools presenting were George Hall Elementary, Challenger Middle School, and Cullman Middle School. Each of these presentations was wonderful and showcase how 21st Century Technologies can be utilized within the school setting. My personal favorite was the Challenger Middle School presentation. I was fortuitous, as I was able to speak with Barry Leshinsky briefly about podcasting and the potential of podcasting for the future.

Within my school system we are trying to secure a classroom set of iPods or MP3 players to use with our classes next year. A few of my colleagues and I actually have a meeting this week to discuss the educational benefits of having a classroom set of these devices. Maybe we will be able to secure the funds and purchase them before next year. If not, we will continue to listen to podcasts via our media labs and classroom computers until we can secure a set.

As for the meeting, the entire day was a successful showcase and provided amble discourse for educators about 21st Century learning. I was honored to be in attendance and brought back a number of ideas to help move our school toward School 2.0. Moreover, I was flattered that John Norton and Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach actually recognized me from the blogosphere. John actually complemented this blog. That was a very thoughtful gesture and means a lot to me coming from an intelligent individual like John. Unfortunately, this was the last meeting of the year and I may not have face-to-face contact with John or Sheryl for sometime. Fortunately, we are in the 21st Century and I can visit them via Web 2.0 technologies at anytime.

If it wasn’t for this program I wouldn’t have created or helped create the following sites.
Lost Johns (This Site)
Bishop Blog (A Spanish Blog) I hope to fine-tune this site in the near future.
BishopBlogs Wiki (A Spanish Class Wiki) I hope to tweak this site when time allows.
HHS Library Media Center Wiki (A library media wiki)
Moodle at HHS (Intranet only) We hope to make accessible via the Internet next year.

I’m just happy that our school system could be a part of such a wonderful program. As such, I’d like to thank all of the individuals involved with the 21st Century Learning Initiative. It is an outstanding program and I have acquired a great deal of knowledge that I would not otherwise have obtained. As such, I plan to share this knowledge with others to promote 21st Century learning for the educational future of our schools. After all, we are living in extraordinary times and our students deserve more than just seat time. What a wonderful program!

Regards,

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: 21stcenturylearning, school2.0, technology_projects, k12, alabama, Microsoft_Partners_in_Learning, John_Norton, Sheryl_Nussbaum-Beach, William_Bishop, Lost_Johns

Are we there yet? School2.0, Classroom2.0, NextGen Teaching

2007-05-07T10:02:00.000-04:00

I took some time this weekend to create a video of my classes moving toward School 2.0, Classroom 2.0 and NextGen Teaching with technology. The integration of theses technologies into my classes is the result of the Alabama Best Practices Centers 21st Learning Initiative, K12Online, School2.0, Classroom2.0, and also a number of other individuals both within and outside of my local school setting. Thanks! We’re still not where we want to be, but my classes and I are currently on the 21^st century path. We hope our video helps other teachers get on the 21^st century path as well. Enjoy! Note: The teachtube clip doesn't play as well as the youtube clip. I don't know why...

This video is located at TeacherTube

and YouTube

Note: HHS Students are not allowed on YouTube at school. You may watch the embedded video here, but don't click on the YouTube link. Thanks

Feel free to share this video with others. Thanks

The song Graduation is by the artist Vitamin C

Regards,

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: school2.0, classroom2.0, nextgen_teaching, education, k12, k12online, abpc, technology, students, williambishop, lostjohns

Papa Satcher

2007-05-04T13:58:00.000-04:00

As a fundraiser to support our high school’s Renaissance Project our Principal Roger Satcher AKA Papa Satcher prepares the last pizza of the night at Pizza Hut. Thanks Mr. Satcher!

A number of faculty and staff members from my school helped with the fundraiser and I'd like to thank each of them for helping with the project. You are the best! Also, I'd like to thank Pizza Hut for providing us with this great fundraising opportunity. It's great having businesses like Pizza Hut supporting our school. The Renaissance Project is a process promoting academics within our school. Here are some pictures!

Regards,

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: fundraising, pizza, k12, renaissance, jostens, highschool, williambishop, lostjohns

School 2.0 and Classroom 2.0

2007-05-03T22:10:00.000-04:00

School 2.0 is the adaptation of Web 2.0 technologies within the school setting. When discussing School 2.0 with others I find that School 2.0 and Classroom 2.0 are very similar. Maybe, this is why Steve Hargadon set up both School 2.0 and Classroom 2.0 social networking sites at Ning. School 2.0 encompasses the broader perspective of how technology is being applied throughout the school setting, whereas Classroom 2.0 is more individualized on a per teacher/classroom basis. I am continually learning something new and passing it along to my students via these technologies. The passing along bit is a good example of how School 2.0 transforms into Classroom 2.0. Nevertheless, there is a fine line between what I call old school, School 1.0, and School 2.0. My previous post attempts to explain the differences between these schools as I see them.

How I am experimenting with School 2.0/Classroom 2.0 technologies.

When my students enter the media lab tomorrow, they will logon to the school network and then go directly to moodle (i.e. classroom management software). In moodle I have set up a class for each of the classes that I teach. Once students login an assignment has been posted and they find the post and then follow the instructions to complete their assignment. The only problem that I currently have with moodle within my school setting is that it is only accessible via the Intranet. Internet access to moodle would be a great advantage for students that are absent and for students that work slower than others. I hope this will change in the very near future.

When my students login to moodle tomorrow they will be directed to our class blog [Bishop Blog]. At the class blog, I have set up podcasts/MP3s that provide the day’s lesson. While and after listening to the audio files my students will complete their assignments. Three of my classes will be listening to a very short audio file and then they will work on adding information to a previous presentation. When they finish they will upload their presentation to moodle to be graded. However, before I grade the presentation, they will present the presentation in class for their peers and as a collaborative we will look for and correct the errors. I have the students point out the errors and I make sure they do this in a non condemning way. I interject my 2 cents based on my professional knowledge and my students go back and make the corrections. At some point in time we will share the best presentations at our class wiki [Bishop Blogs Wiki]. Some basic presentations have already been added to our wiki.

My other classes will listen to a longer podcast that explains and asks a series of questions. These students will create a word processing document with their answers and upload it to moodle to be graded. Like the presentations, these docments will be reviewed in class as a collaborative and students will point out the errors and suggest corrections. Again, I will interject my 2 cents based on my professional knowledge. At some point in time we hope to share some of these documents at our class wiki along with the original MP3 files. After the classes finish their assignments they are required to add comments to the blog post for their assignment.

Currently, most of the aforementioned technology is being used in a Classroom 2.0 fashion, with exception to the blog. Sure, I am adding audio files and creating assignments there, but students aren’t currently blogging on their own. They are merely commenting on the assignments. In the future I hope to help students set up personal blogs of their own related to class content and I would like to establish a safe social networking site for my students that we don’t have to block. Next year, I am certain that I will have some of my students creating class content related podcasts and maybe even some vodcasts. I hope to have other teachers applying these technologies to exemplify the true meaning of School 2.0 as well.

Suggestions that will to improve my classes are welcome! Moreover, tell me how you are using Web 2.0 technologies in your classes or in your school…

Regards,

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: classroom2.0, school2.0, learning, education, technology, k12, moodle, wiki, blog, williambishop, lostjohns

Old School, School 1.0, or School 2.0?

2007-05-03T00:37:00.000-04:00

Old School, School 1.0, or School 2.0?

Take a little time and think about the true meaning of the above concepts. What are they? Sometimes a couple of these topics seem like more than a conundrum. Old school for example has become something of a cliché. When teachers or individuals refuse to embrace change we often hear “That’s old school.” How appropriate! As such, I was reading the article from Time “How to Bring our Schools out of the 20th Century” [via the link at the school 2.0 wiki] and I thought that the introductory significantly framed the current predicament of many U.S. school systems. They’re stuck in the old school rut and they don’t really want out.

Wallis and Steptoe (2006) sum it up with an analogy, “Rip Van Winkle awakens in the 21st century after a hundred-year snooze and is, of course, utterly bewildered by what he sees. Men and women dash about, talking to small metal devices pinned to their ears. Young people sit at home on sofas, moving miniature athletes around on electronic screens. Older folk defy death and disability with metronomes in their chests and with hips made of metal and plastic. Airports, hospitals, shopping malls--every place Rip goes just baffles him. But when he finally walks into a schoolroom, the old man knows exactly where he is.” Unfortunately, this heartbreaking analogy is a reality in a lot of U.S. school systems. Sure we have a computer in almost every room, but often it isn’t used for anything more than taking attendance, submitting grades, and checking/sending electronic mail. With the exception of a few gizmos and gadgets, nothing has really changed since the early 1900’s. This is Old School!

Schools systems that are willing to spend money or that have money to spend are ahead of these “old school” schools, but not by much. These schools fall in the 1.0 category (i.e. School 1.0). They have the technology in house to use, but few teachers if any are actually integrating the technology into their classrooms. A typical 1.0 school uses technology for the sake of using technology. For example, if you did a walk through, you’d find teachers using LCD projectors or SmartBoards to show video clips, movies, and maybe even presentations. School 1.0 really isn’t that bad. Rip Van Winkle would be impressed if he visited a 1.0 school, but these schools are still stuck in the 20th Century rut of traditional schooling. There’s so much more!

What? School 2.0 or course! 2.0 schools embrace, seek out, and find new innovative ways to utilize 21st Century technologies to promote sound pedagogical practices in all classrooms. 2.0 schools are trailblazers. They don’t wait for others to build a road through the jungle; they get out their machetes [technologies] and clear a path. In a typical 2.0 school students are familiar with blogs, wikis, podcasts, classroom management software (e.g. moodle), and social networking. In these schools students are more than just aware of these technologies; they are using them responsibly on a daily basis. If old Rip Van Winkle walked into a 2.0 school, he would most likely go immediately into cardiac arrest. This is School 2.0!

To sum things up, we can’t nor should we embrace School 2.0 as the perfect solution for our schools. School 2.0 is just one piece of the elaborate puzzle, but it’s a significant piece. The tie that binds! The perfect solution is to take all of the best practices from the 20th Century and combine them with School 2.0. Creating a collage of Old School, School 1.0, and School 2.0 practices can bring our schools out of the doldrums of the 20th Century and into the 21st Century. It will have monumental affects on student learning and achievement. Moreover, integrating School 2.0 technologies may even reduce the dropout rate. Isn’t it time we moved our schools into the 21st Century? It’s like this… “If we build it, they will come.”

Regards,

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: School2.0, Classroom2.0, School2.0Wiki, SchoolReform, K12, Technology, EducationalTechnology, Learning, TimeMagazine, WilliamBishop, lostjohns,

Paradigm Shift, Connectivity, School 2.0

2007-04-30T00:34:00.000-04:00

There is so much information and so little time. Generally, I give a couple of hours of sleep up in order to find time to read my favorite RSS feeds, search the Internet, and do research for the sake of learning. Most of my posts are actually in the wee hours of night or early hours of morning. Luckily, I make it quite well on five or six hours of sleep.

As I was scanning through some of my usual RSS feeds tonight, I came across a posting at teachinghacks.com about Stephen Downes presentation “Toward a New Knowledge Society.” The presentation is up for the World’s Best Presentation Contest and after watching it, I understand why. Stephen’s presentation highlights the true concept of connectivity and more. It moves the viewer Toward a New Knowledge Society and brings to light the possibilities of School 2.0 in a surreal way. Kind of reminds me of a Salvador Dali painting about School 2.0. Great presentation!

Aha, it’s a paradigm shift of sorts and we all know that shift happens!

Good luck with the contest.

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: presentations, connectivity, School2.0, stephendownes, williambishop, lostjohns

School Fundraiser!

2007-04-29T18:35:00.000-04:00

Recently our school had a womenless beauty pageant to support the senior class educational tour to Washington D.C. and New York City. The contestants included several of the boys in the senior class as well as some teachers and administrators. Yes, I actually took part in the pageant. As such, no one can say that teachers and administrators don’t care about their students, at least not in our system. As a result of the experience, I have a new found appreciation for all women and what they have to go through on a daily basis. Putting on makeup and wearing the other articles of clothing to look sexy is the pits. Moreover, it didn’t really help any of us!
This picture is from our local newspaper. I’m the blonde on the left, the assistant principal of the high school is beside me, and the elementary principal is to our right.

Enjoy!

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: k12, school_fundraiser, shameless_self_promotion, williambishop, lostjohns

Embrace School 2.0

2007-04-28T22:12:00.000-04:00

Wesley Fryer says…

“Schools need to focus on preparing students for life, not just for academic tests conducted under artificial conditions that bear little resemblance to the real world outside academia. In line with this idea, rather than banning iPods, cell phones, laptops, and other types of technologies schools need to embrace them and find ways to adopt new assessments which can be taken by students with ‘open notes.”

I agree, after all, Confucius said, “I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand.” Open notes supplies an unsurpassed intellectual understanding that mimics real life learning. The concept is practical and moves beyond standardized tests, which bear little if any resemblance to real world circumstances.

Wesley continues…

“The most challenging assessments and tests I took in graduate school classes were “open note.” The reason they were so challenging is they required thinking and analysis that went far beyond the knowledge and comprehension level. Many schools are fighting against digital culture in banning cell phones and iPods because they remain rooted in 19th century paradigms of education and assessment.”

Once again I agree with Wes. Dewey said, “If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterdays, we rob them of tomorrow.” The agricultural and industrial ages are behind us. We are currently living in the age of technology and in this age there’s a great disconnect between reality and sound pedagogical practice due to an old school mentality. This mentality comes from an unwillingness to accept and embrace change to promote sound educational practice.

More from Wesley…

“Rather than adopting policies about technologies that are banned, school districts would be better advised to have their teachers craft new assessments. Our goal should not be, “How can we maintain our instructional and assessment paradigms from the 19th century today in our 21st century digital culture?” but rather “How can we craft authentic assessments our students cannot fake and they can take with open notes?” Open notes should include “open devices” like cell phones and iPods.”

Personally, I’m not ready to throw all of the previous methods of teaching out the window, but I am ready to embrace these new technologies and welcome them as additional methods of instruction. We should be looking for ways craft and integrate authentic assessments in our schools that students cannot fake in combination with teaching strategies that work.

Wesley goes on…

“The problem with this proposal is that it is very challenging to write and use authentic assessments. It is much easier to test at the knowledge and comprehension level, and that is why we see so many teachers doing it. When you want to have statistical reliability and validity with an assessment, it becomes much more difficult to assess higher order thinking skills with ‘messy assessments’ that include rubrics and subjective analysis. NCLB also encourages this simplified look at assessment, encouraging school districts, administrators and teachers around the United States to focus almost exclusively on multiple-choice, black and white forms of assessment that can be graded via a scantron.”

Wow! And I thought NCLB was the cure-all for all of the ills affecting K12 education. I am being satirical about NCLB. Although, the intentions of the bill make some sense, it was very poorly constructed and in my opinion seeks to punish schools for the ills of society. Moreover, it does little to help students succeed after they leave the K12 setting and influences schools to teach the test. If life were about bubbling in circles and memorizing facts, then NCLB would be a great bill. Unfortunately, life is more subjective. It’s about using higher order thinking skills to make the best decision based on a vast amount of available information.

Wesley drives his point home by asking the following…

“Why should students have to memorize formulas? Let’s take on an example from mathematics. How many times have you had to use the quadratic formula in “real life” outside of school? If you have, were you prohibited by someone from being able to look up the formula?
Do you think oral communication skills are important in life? If you do (and you should) then why do some schools hardly emphasize assessments which include oral communication? Again, the reason is that many schools are still focused on maintaining their 19th century pedagogic culture rather than preparing students for real life.

Let’s put an end to useless memorization and tradition in schools, and instead ask students to actually apply and use the knowledge and skills they are supposed to be learning in real contexts. That is what we do out here in the business world. It’s time schools stopped acting like the calendar still reads 1899.”

Excellent questions! What Wesley says makes a lot of sense. I don’t believe that we have to dismiss all previous teaching methods, but we should only include methods that are reliable and work. Think about the calculator. Many math teachers were reluctant to integrate the calculator into their classrooms. The old mentality was that students can cheat and won’t learn basic math skills if they use calculators. Are basic math skills important? Sure basic math skills are extremely important. We should continue to teach basic math skill in the lower grades. Students should know how to add, subtract, multiply. This is 19th century teaching that we need to continue to utilize.

In contrast, as students move up through the grades they need to be allowed to utilize calculators, iPods, laptops, and other technologies to prepare them for the real world. How many engineers do you know that perform their job without the aid of calculators, laptops, and other technologies? Let’s put an end to meaningless rote memorization and archaic teaching methods that bore students and increase the dropout rate. Hence, let’s move forward and embrace School 2.0. After all, it is 2007!

Thanks for the great post Wesley!

Regards,

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: school2.0, school_reform, leadership, education, k12, classroom2.0, wesleyfryer, williambishop, lostjohns

Heaven: How to get there

2007-04-27T22:57:00.000-04:00

I’m not a publicist, but an ex colleague of mine, Emily Head, who taught English in the classroom next to mine for a number of years and a life long friend of my wife has published a book called “Heaven: How to get there.” She published it this past fall and had a book signing a couple of weeks ago at a local book store. My wife and I actually got a copy in December for Christmas. Although, my usual posts are about educational technology and leadership, I thought I’d write a post about her book.

“Heaven: How to get there” is a short paperback book and the title says it all. Her book flows and is an easy read. It clarifies relevant Bible passages, answering such questions as 'why do we need salvation?’. I think it’s great when individuals are able to publish, specifically when they publish something as helpful and worthwhile as her book. Congratulations Emily on a job well done. I’m sure your book will help a number of people. I enjoyed your book immensely!

Vickie A. Davis would most likely find the book an interesting read as she has a great blog [in addition to her coolcatteacher blog] called the daily walk with Jesus.

Warm Regards,

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: heaven, religion, books, Jesus, emilyhead, vickiedavis, coolcatteacher, williambishop, lostjohns

On top of things!

2007-04-27T11:30:00.000-04:00

The High School Principal, Elementary Principal, and I all went to the Jostens National Renaissance Conference this past summer in Minnesota and it was great. As a result of last year's conference the faculty and staff have been doing a lot to promote academic excellence in our school. At our last academic pep rally, the science department and some of our tech savvy students designed a game called "Are you smarter than a high school student", based on the popular TV show "Are you smarter than a fifth grader".

Our principal was to be the contestant of the game and told the students if he lost he would sit on top of our school all day. Unfortunately, at the last minute something came up and the Principal had to be out of town. Being the good sport that he is and wanting to help our student body succeed, he allowed the Assistant Principal to take his place as the contestant. Moreover, he said if the Assistant Principal lost that he would still sit on top of the school all day. Did the Assistant Principal throw the game? Anyway, the Principal is on top of things today! Check him out...

I'd like to thank Mr. Satcher and all of the individuals who have helped with the Renaissance Project this year! You're all the best!

Regards,

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: k12, academics, promotion, leadership, slideshare, lostjohns, williambishop

Web 2.0 and LeaderTalk

2007-04-27T00:36:00.000-04:00

Using A Web 2.0 Credo to Help Frame Administrative Actions

Okay, so I overlooked Will Richardson’s post on the 25th, but I’m glad that Steven Downes didn’t. I was mucking about at Steven’s site and I came across the Web 2.0 credo post atWill's blog and it’s great. Actually, the credo belongs to Greg Farr, a principal from Texas. Here it is…

Quote: Our Campus Web 2.0 Credo

* Believing that all Web 2.0 educational endeavors are populist not elitist in nature, equal and full access to technology for learning will be a guaranteed right of all students on this campus. * Every student is entitled to an education that includes on-going opportunities for involvement with and participation in web-based learning communities. * Computer Literacy will be considered of equal value to all other forms of literacy. * Student self-expression, initiative, intuition, and exploration within the Web 2.0 environment are to be promoted with as few outside rules and as little authoritarian supervision as practical for an educational environment.(From Texas principal Greg Farr)

Will said…

I find that a pretty progressive take on how we might start leading with these technologies. The entire post is interesting in the way that Greg struggles with the best way to get all of his staff invested in the uses of Web 2.0 technologies. The only phrase that niggles at me is “computer literacy” as, obviously, it’s not so much about the computer as it is about the information the computer connects us to.

Well said! I just wish that I could get more administrators in my state to adopt the credo or a similar one. If you’re an educational leader or interested in being an educational leader, you should check out the post. BTW, Greg fixed the Computer Literacy bit. Enjoy!

Regards,

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: web2.0, leadership, school_administration, leadertalk, lostjohns

80 Open Education Resource Tools

2007-04-26T23:55:00.000-04:00

Via Stephen Downes I found this and thought it was worth sharing. There are 80 Open Education Resource (OER) Tools for Publishing and Development Initiatives posted at OEDb. Sorry, I’m not going to list them here. If you don’t go you’ll never know. Enjoy!

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: OER, resource_tools, online, tools, publishing, stevendownes, williambishop, lostjohns

Did you know?

2007-04-26T10:21:00.000-04:00

I had a post about Karl Fisch's video a while back called Shift Happens and I found this today on slide share. Great altercation of Karl's original video! “Shift Happens” by jbrenman.

Enjoy!

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: shift, web2.0, future, learning, karlfisch

21st Century Learning, School20, and K12 Online

2007-04-25T21:37:00.000-04:00

I have been an advocate of technology since I first started wandering around the Internet as an undergraduate in the early 90s. For me, using technology to teach just makes good sense. Nevertheless, I was wandering around blindly until I was introduced to APBC’s 21st Century Teaching and Learning Project. Although, I’m still wandering around, I now seem to be wandering around with my eyes wide open. As a result of the 21st Century Teaching and Learning Project, I have blogs, wikis, dsn sites, and more online accounts than I can keep up with. Moreover, my students are using my Spanish blog, Spanish wiki, and moodle on a weekly basis. Although, all of this takes up a substantial amount of my time, it’s all worth it. I plan to do even more in the future.

The past!

This past fall my school became apart of Alabama Best Practices Center’s 21st Century learning program. When my principal came to and ask me to be apart of the process I was a bit reluctant to jump in, and then he told me that it was technology based. Enough said! I told him if it had to do with technology to count me in and I thanked him for the invitation. Looking back I am thankful for the opportunity to be apart of the 21st Century Teaching and Learning Project. It was a real blessing.

At the first meeting Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach and notable others presented a presentation about 21st Century learning. The presentation was outstanding and presented a number of current and emerging technologies, but the main topic of the presentation had to do with the way schools are currently run and teaching the Net Generation. Most schools are stuck in a rut or have an old school mentality of the way teaching and learning should take place. The 21st Century Teaching and Learning Project provides an avenue to help teachers keep up with the Net Generation.

What we need for the future?

Nussbaum-Beach says that we have to stop un-plugging our students when they reach the front doors of our schools. After all, students have cell phones, iPods, laptops, and utilize a variety of gizmos and gadgets at home only to have these removed when they come to school. Then they are stuck with teachers that expect them to sit in their seats and listen to sometimes dull lectures without the assistance of technology. Nussbaum-Beach asserts that we have to plug our students back in if we want to create a 21st Century learning environment.

Warlick might say that the old school mentality deals with students being feed and consuming information only to regurgitate it at a later time. In contrast, in 21st Century learning students should contribute as much as they consume. If I’m wrong maybe David will correct my thinking, but I believe that students have to contribute as well as consume if we are to truly achieve School 2.0 and get out of the old school rut.

Richardson would say that we have to connect with our students if we want them to connect with us. If we don’t understand where our students are coming from, how can we connect with them? He points out that at most conferences when he asks about social networking only about 5 percent of the teachers have social networking sites of their own. It’s going to be hard to connect with students if teachers don’t have a clue where their students are coming from.

John Norton would say that if we truly want to reach our students, we must create virtual learning communities. In other words, we must create virtual learning environments (VLEs) or personal learning environments (PLEs) if we are intent on teaching and reaching our 21st Century learners. Moreover, we have to change the way we do business in our schools. School reform as a result of 21st Century Technologies is now more important than ever.

I agree with all of the above! If I over stepped my bounds or put words wrongly in the mouths of any of the persons above they can correct my thinking. What I am certain about is that we have to move forward with School 2.0 and away from old archaic teaching practices. I’m not saying that we should stop lecturing. Good lectures provide a strong foundation for learning, but too much of a good thing can be bad. Also, I don’t believe that we should be using technology for the sake of using technology. However, I do believe that we should be using technology to connect with our students. We should be using technology to promote learning and higher order thinking skills. But ultimately, we should be using technology because our students love technology and they will be using it throughout their lives. It isn’t hard to get a duck to take to water. Just show it the pond!

The future!

Speaking of showing a duck to a pond, Wesley Fryer’s latest post highlights the upcoming K12 Online Conference. In his words…

“Yes, it’s coming again in October 2007 - another outstanding professional development opportunity that can go on and on… The K-12 Online Conference! Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach posted a great summary of the conference and review of what took place last year on her blog, I’d encourage you to read it. Note that Frost and Sullivan just published an article focusing on what a tremendous professional learning event K-12 Online 2006 was!”

Thanks Wes…

I attended the conference and continue to revisit the posts from time to time. The 2006-K-12 Online Conference was outstanding. I look forward to the 2007 K-12 Online Conference with great anticipation. The only drawback is that I have to wait till October. Fortunately, we plan to have an onsite technology conference for our teachers at my school in August and the AETC conference is in June.

Regards,

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: k12online, 21stcenturylearning, k12, school2.0, NussbaumBeach, DavidWarlick, WillRichardson, JohnNorton, WesleyFryer, WilliamBishop, LostJohns

Audio Books and School20

2007-04-24T23:59:00.000-04:00

I like to read, so I haven’t listened to very many audio books on CD or by MP3 for that matter. Nevertheless, today I was rssing around and I came across a few free audio books at simply audio books and I decided to download them. The selection wasn’t that great with them being free, but being the miser that I am, I downloaded them all. The selection ranges from T.S. Elliott to Mark Twain and the readers are superb.

These audio books got me to thinking about how students can benefit from new technologies. For example, at our school we are trying to get a classroom set of iPods or MP3 players to check out from our media center. I plan to utilize these players to create a make shift language lab for my Spanish classes.

After finding these free audio books, I started browsing around and I found another site with a great selection of audio books called LibriVox. LibriVox provides free audio books from the public domain. The only drawback to LibriVox is that the books are read by volunteers like you and me.

Wait! I read well, and with exception to my southern accent, I sound okay doing podcasts. Maybe, I can volunteer and read a few chapters from a book for LibriVox. Better yet, maybe some of the students at my school could read for LibriVox or even create a LibriVox type site for our school. It wouldn’t be that hard. We could use Audacity to record the MP3s and then we could upload them to our school website. Students could take time out of their English classes and take turns reading various chapters from the same book. What a cool collaborative School 2.0 project.

I just wish I had thought of it first. Some schools are already doing this and the ages of the readers range greatly. All students can contribute and learning can be utilized throughout the school. What a concept!

Unfortunately, I noticed that Don Quixote had already been read. Just my luck!

Regards,

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: audiobooks, reading, mp3, ipod, teaching, learning, k12, school2.0, librivox, simplyaudiobooks, williambishop, billbishop, lostjohns

Gen Y and School 2.0

2007-04-23T20:53:00.000-04:00

Is Harry Wong promoting School 2.0? I just finished reading an article by Harry Wong, Teachers: the Next Generation and I was inspired by what Wong had to say. According to Wong, Generation Y born from 1977- 1986 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2001) brings a new and exciting venue to the teaching field. The baby boomers are retiring by the droves and our schools are being flooded with the young Gen Y faces. These teachers are products of our global economy, where knowledge travels at the speed of light and there is no doubt that Gen Y is a digital generation that loves technology.

In a paragraph entitled, “From Outer Space to MySpace”, Wong explains how Generation Y stacks up in comparison to the previous generations. Gen Y teachers are usually group oriented, output driven, and achievement oriented. But according to Wong these Gen Y teachers also need structure. They want clear rules and procedures to follow, but they also need to be valued as teachers. Alsop, (2006) points out that Gen Y teachers want to be relevant, have an impact, and enjoy a diversity of experiences. These teachers are a far cry from the baby boomers of yesteryear. As such, school administrators and current teachers [most being baby boomers] need to recognize the needs of this new generation of teachers and do their best to facilitate them accordingly for the sake of their schools.

If school administrators want Gen Y teachers to truly be successful in the classroom, they have to redefine the teaching process as a whole. According to Wong, “The newest generation of teachers is perhaps the most intelligent, talented, competitive—and compulsive—group this country has seen. It's a renaissance generation with great potential.” As such, I can’t help but think of the words of Dewey, “If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterdays, we rob them of tomorrow”. By the same token, if we continue to expect today’s teachers to teach like yesterdays, we rob them of tomorrow and their students as well. Isn’t it time to dig deeper into School 2.0, Classroom 2.0 and Web 2.0 technologies for the sake of our Gen Y teachers and their students? Like it or not, this is the 21st Century and we are living in a global society with information at our very fingertips. Why not use the available technologies today!

Regards,

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: generationY, genY, School2.0, Classroom2.0, Web2.0, teachers, educators, administrators, harrywong, williambishop, lostjohns

Digital Divide: What's going on?

2007-04-23T10:12:00.000-04:00

I have been doing some research on the Digital Divide and I decided to create a video to highlight some of my findings. Moreover, I believe that School 2.0 can help close the technology gap if applied properly within our schools. The problem is getting the point across!

Note: HHS students are not allow to browse YouTube. Hence, don't click on the YouTube icon if you are visiting this site from school. However, you may watch the video on this site. Thanks

Regards,

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: digitaldivide, school2.0, classroom2.0, web2.0, education, teaching, williambishop, lostjohns

Finding the Midpoint: 3 Types of Teachers

2007-04-19T00:22:00.000-04:00

I was RSSing (not sure that’s a word yet) Crafty’s blog (AKA Chris Craft) and he had embedded a rather enlightening slide show from slideshare about three types of teachers, by Jessen Felix. Very interesting! Here is what Doug Belshaw said…

“I often find it difficult to explain the midway position I want to occupy when it comes to technology. Often people see me as wanting to use educational technology for its own sake. Not true! Thankfully, via Chris Craft, there’s a presentation which explains very well what I’m about”

I find that I am often bias when it comes to technology. I love it! Of course, I do my best to refrain from using technology just for the sake of using technology. The video presents a good middle ground position or a midpoint.

Like Doug said, we need to get teachers to a midway point. Teachers need to reach a midpoint where they can utilize old school teaching and new school teaching (21stCentury Teaching/Classroom 2.0/School 2.0) to promote learning.

Here is the slide show from slideshare. You be the judge!

http://www.slideshare.net/jessenfelix/3-types-of-teachers/43

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: teachers, teaching, technology, education, classroom2.0, chriscraft, dougbelshaw, williambishop, lostjohns

Virtual Games and Learning

2007-04-18T02:57:00.000-04:00

Okay, so my oldest daughter and I go shopping today and we end up at Toys R Us. She wants a new video game for her PS2. My oldest daughter is seven by the way. We are looking over the selections and while I am opting for something like “Open Season”, “Over the Hedge”, or “Barnyard”, she is looking at more girly games. Imagine that! She finally decides on “Brats”. Poor daddy!

We get home and she starts playing the game and it has all types of great interaction for someone her age. Of course, I didn’t know this because I was avoiding the game due to its venue. Then I got the usual cry that she need my help to complete a level, so I reluctantly went and helped. I was praying that I wouldn't have to paint virtual finger nails. All of this from a guy that was wearing makeup and a dress in a womanless beauty pagent last week (It was a school fundraiser). Luckily, I just had to give a virtual dog a treat to get the game moving.

Anyway, before I could leave, my daughter started telling me about all of the great virtual features. I was about to excuse myself from the room when she pulled up a cell phone menu. I was impressed. Built into the game was a graphical interface that looks almost identical to the menu on my Motorola Razor. Amazingly, some of the functions were almost identical. Next week she will not only want a cell phone, but she will also know how to use it.

I stayed around a little longer admiring the various virtual functions of the game. There were problem solving activities, socializing activities, and more. Yes, they were all very girl oriented activities. Not that anything is wrong with these activities, there just not for me. I think I’ll go crank my chainsaw to make myself feel better. What’s a daddy to do?

Ultimately, the game made me think of all of the possibilities that virtual games can provide for children, specifically k12 students. Moreover, why aren’t we using more virtual games to teach our students at the k12 setting? Imagine creating virtual games that hinge around education content. We could take educational content and apply it as a theme and use character-focused avatars to progress through an interactive storyline that actually teachers specific content or across the curriculum content. This would be Classroom 2.0 at its best. Dora may actually have some real competition waiting just around the corner. Maybe, Byron Reeves, a professor at Stanford University and a proponent of game-based learning in the corporate sector is on to something when he says,
“Competition is fun and familiar, trial and error is a learning strategy and risk is understood as being necessary for success. The expectations that are being developed in games are the same ones that this generation will bring to work,”

We will just have to wait and see!

Regards,

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: k12, virtualgames, technology, learning, classroom2.0, lostjohns, wbishop

CPU Usage 100% AND svchost.exe

2007-04-18T01:52:00.000-04:00

This isn’t my normal type of posting, but I am posting this here to help anyone that is having the same problem that I had. A couple of weeks back I installed Microsoft Office 2003 on my desktop (Windows XP OS) and within a day or so my CPU usage went up to 100% just after booting my machine. I temporarily fixed this problem by cutting off the Microsoft Automatic Updates. I couldn’t manually install updates either. I would try to install them and the page would hang up and the CPU would max out. This also happened with Windows Defender when I would try to update the definitions. In the words of Joseph Conrad from his novel Heart of Darkness, the horror, the horror!

First, I looked for all of the usual culprits (spyware, keyloggers, viruses, etc.) but I didn’t find anything. Anyway, I didn’t want to leave the updates turned off, so I searched numerous forums looking for a solution to no avail until today. After Microsoft Hotfixes/Patches didn’t work, I finally found the solution HERE, thanks to a very intelligent individual named Pati610. I wish that I could give Pati more credit, but all I have is her great post from the forum. Was it helpful? To use my student’s lingo, “Heck yeah it was!”

Here is the solution or the fix to a problem that was created by corrupt files downloaded from Microsoft’s Automatic updates that caused my CPU usage to peg out via the svchost.exe.

"1) turn off automatic updates, reboot, then manually go to windows
updates and install the updates, turn on automatic updates, reboot.

or (as in my case)

2) Perform these steps:

1. Click Start->Run, type "services.msc" (without quotation marks) in the
open box and click OK.
2. Double click the service "Automatic Updates".
3. Click on the Log On tab, please ensure the option "Local System account"
is selected and the option "Allow service to interact with desktop" is
unchecked.

4. Check if this service has been enabled on the listed Hardware Profile. If
not, please click the Enable button to enable it.
5. Click on the tab "General "; make sure the "Startup Type" is "Automatic".
Then please click the button "Start" under "Service Status" to start the
service.
6. Repeat the above steps with the other service: Background Intelligent
Transfer Service (BITS)

Step 4: Re-register Windows Update components and Clear the corrupted
Windows Update temp folder

1. Click on Start and then click Run,
2. In the open field type "REGSVR32 WUAPI.DLL" (without quotation marks) and
press Enter.
3. When you receive the "DllRegisterServer in WUAPI.DLL succeeded" message,
click OK.
4. Please repeat these steps for each of the following commands:

REGSVR32 WUAUENG.DLL
REGSVR32 WUAUENG1.DLL
REGSVR32 ATL.DLL
REGSVR32 WUCLTUI.DLL
REGSVR32 WUPS.DLL
REGSVR32 WUPS2.DLL
REGSVR32 WUWEB.DLL

After the above steps are finished. Sicne temporary folder of Windows Update
may be corrupted. We can refer to the following steps to rename this folder
that

1. Click Start, Run, type: cmd and press Enter. Please run the following
command in the opened window.

net stop WuAuServ
(note, you might need to reboot before the net stop command will work)

2. Click Start, Run, type: %windir% and press Enter.
3. In the opened folder, rename the folder SoftwareDistribution to SDold.
4. Click Start, Run, type: cmd and press Enter. Please run the following
command in the opened window.

net start WuAuServ "

Thanks Pati for the great post. All systems are go thanks to you!

Regards,

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: technologyproblems, 100%CPU, Microsoft, cpu_usage, automatic_updates, wbishop, lostjohns

School 2.0 at Ning

2007-04-16T22:21:00.000-04:00

Well, yesterday I joined Classroom 2.0 at Ning and today I joined School 2.0 at Ning. Both of these sites are the creation of Steve Hargadon. Initially, I thought, what’s the difference in Classroom 2.0 versus School 2.0. Then the light came on!

Classroom 2.0 is set up to discuss what is happening with Web 2.0 technologies in the classroom and School 2.0 is set up to discuss how schools should change to facilitate Web 2.0 learning. Okay, I think I’ve got it! Either way, whether you join Classroom 2.0 of School 2.0, both provide some interesting discussions about Web 2.0 technologies in education thanks to Steve and the caring educational professionals that are signing on.

I guess Steve explains it best with his introductions to the sites…

“Welcome to the CLASSROOM 2.0 social networking site! This network is devoted to those interested in the practical application of Web 2.0 and collaborative technologies in the classroom and in their own professional development. Especially we hope that those who feel they are "beginners" will find this a comfortable place to start being a part of the community dialog and to learn more."

And…

“School 2.0 goes beyond the practical discussion of applying the read/write and collaborative Web technologies in the classroom. It is, instead, a larger discussions of how education, learning, and our physical school spaces can (or should) change because of the changing nature of our social and economic lives brought on by these technologies. A wiki associated with this site is at http://school20.wikispaces.com/(For those interested in a more focused, practical, and classroom-oriented discussion of the application of Web 2.0 and collaborative technologies, you can visit: Classroom 2.0)”

Thanks for the great Social Networking sites Steve.

I look forward to seeing everyone there. Either site!

Regards,

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: school2.0, classroom2.0, technology, k12, education, Web2.0, lostjohns, stevehargadon, williambishop

Virginia Tech Massacre

2007-04-16T19:21:00.000-04:00

My heart and prayers go out to all of the families involved in the senseless shootings at Virginia Tech. My understanding is that 33 individuals lost their lives in the massacre. What a tragedy! There is noting I can do or say that will make things any easier for those involved. I’m sure that we will hear gun control advocates ranting and raving about this unfortunate event demanding stricter gun control laws, but the gun(s) didn’t do the killing, an individual pulled the trigger. Most likely, a very troubled individual planned and carried out the killings without remorse.

I have been keeping up with the reports all day and I have heard various takes on the situation. A lawyer was interviewed and suggested that the person that did the killing probably played games like “Grand Theft Auto.” Personally, I don’t see the validity of such games in the first place. I have a much easier time justifying gun ownership than I do allowing such games to be sold in mainstream America. What do they teach our children?

My wife and I were discussing these type games and she said that she had 4th graders that were already playing them. I can’t imagine allowing a 4th grader to play such a game. 4th graders are not mature enough to play them. I’m not mature enough to play them nor do I have the desire. And the really bad thing is that when she asked how they got these games, some said that their parents bought them. I don’t understand this. I just think that these violent immoral games hurt our society and as a result individuals place little or no value on human life. How sad!

Fantasy games even the violent ones are just that fantasy. They do not resemble any form of true reality. I can justify these fantasy games with magic and dragons. I even like playing some of them. But these fantasy games are a far cry from games like “Hit Man” or “Grand Theft Auto”. I don’t foresee anyone turning into a dragon and devouring a class of innocent students. But I also believe in the freedom that our nation was founded on. As such, where do we draw the line? I just don’t have the answers and I’m heartbroken about the entire event.

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter if we are for gun control or banning violent video games. Neither will bring back the students that lost their lives today. It’s just all too ugly! What an unfortunate day! Once again, my heart and my prayers go out to the families. God Bless Them All!

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: school_violence, shooting, videogames, virginiatech, lostjohns

Classroom 2.0 at Ning

2007-04-15T22:52:00.000-04:00

Okay, I just bit the bullet and joined Classroom 2.0 at Ning. This is something that I should have done sometime ago. Well, better late than never! If your not familiar with Classroom 2.0 at Ning, it is a social networking (forum) site set up for the discussion of Web 2.0 applications in the classroom.

I had seen discussion of the Classroom 2.0 at Ning on a number of the RSS feeds that I read (will richardson, vikie davis, david warlick, chris craft, wesley fryer, etc.) but I hadn't joined. Believe it or not, joining the site was rather painless and there are a number of worthwhile posts and discussions going on there currently. Also, you can create a profile page like the ones at MySpace and FaceBook, share pictures and videos, and add friends. Pretty cool! Check out my page at Classroom 2.0 to get a better idea of what I’m talking about.

Steve Hargadon is the creator of Classroom 2.0 at Ning. Also, Steve has a number of worthwhile Web 2.0 projects going on and he is responsible for the Infinite Thinking Machine and SteveHargadon.com. Both, of these are excellent blogs relating to Educational Technology and Web 2.0 in the Classroom. I hope you’ll take the time to look into Classroom 2.0 if you haven’t already. If you’re already there add me as a friend when you get a chance. Thanks…

In the future, maybe I'll discuss Ning as an alternative to Facebook and MySpace. As for now, I am looking forward to reading and participating in the discussions at Classroom 2.0!

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: school2.0, classroom2.0, ning, education, technology, socialnetworking, stevehargadon, williambishop, lostjohns

School 2.0: Catch the WAVE!

2007-04-13T22:15:00.000-04:00

Leave it to Will Richardson to stumble upon one of the coolest Web 2.0 tools to hit the Internet. I'm talking about Mojiti. Mojiti is a really cool tool that allows you to edit online videos (well add comments and animation) and share them. After watching one at the read/write web (Will's Blog) I decided to give it a shot. I joined Mojiti and I was using this awsome tool within a matter of minutes. I can't think of a better way to highlight important Web 2.0 activities than actually utilizing Web 2.0 tools. As such, I thought I'd test out Mojiti and post my results here. But what topic should I discuss? Should I discuss Web 2.0, eLearning 2.0, Classroom 2.0, Teacher 2.0, School 2.0, or Bathroom 2.0.

Forgive, my feeble attempt at humor! And the WINNER is...Drum Roll Please... SCHOOL 2.0! Now if the embedded html works correctly you should be able to watch the video. Keep your fingers crossed...Here goes...

*NOTE TO HHS STUDENTS: This video is feed from YouTube. You may watch it on my site, but don't go to YouTube. YouTube is off limits for students per school rules! Don't click on the YouTube icon because it will take you to their site. Sorry and Thanks!

Let me know what you think!

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: school20, web20, k12, education, technology, mojiti, lostjohns, wbishop, william_bishop

Pedagogical Experts versus Content Experts

2007-04-09T21:22:00.000-04:00

Pedagogical Experts versus Content Experts

I am choosing to agree to disagree with one of my favorite School 2.0 gurus. In a recent post Wesley Fryer points out that “we need teachers with content knowledge, but today more than ever thanks to the Internet and the wealth of high-quality digital curriculum there, teachers don’t have to be the content experts anymore [but that] teachers need to be PEDAGOGICAL EXPERTS much more than they need to be content experts today.” Well, maybe I’m overlooking the point here, but I believe that teachers still need to be CONTENT EXPERTS as well as pedagogical experts. To remove the content experts and replace them with online digital curriculum and pedagogical experts would be futile to the educational process. It would be like putting the cart before the horse.

However, in Wesley’s defense, I do understand that much more can be done now than ever before with digital curriculum. I realize that with a pedagogical expert in place that learning of specific content can take place. Nevertheless, difficult questions often arise in content areas and an expert on hand is essential to the teaching and learning process. Sure teachers need to be coaches, facilitators, and cheerleaders for students who engage in REAL work as they learn and create knowledge work “deliverables” for prescribed deadlines, but they need to be teachers first.

If we remove the content experts (i.e. teachers) from the educational process, then we are left with coaches, facilitators, and cheerleaders. It’s like having the horse push the cart rather than pull it. It just doesn’t make a lot of sense. Now, I’m not saying that teachers have to have Doctorial degrees to be content experts, but they at least need a healthy dose of content courses on their college transcript to be considered content experts. Moreover, as much as I love technology (e.g. School 2.0), I’m not ready just yet to turn my children’s education over to coaches, facilitators, and cheerleaders.

In contrast, I am ready to turn my children over to content experts that are also pedagogical experts. It would also be nice if these experts were great coaches, facilitators, and cheerleaders. There isn’t anything wrong with having these additional skills in ones repertoire. As for technology, GOOD TEACHING with technology can make a difference and Wesley makes reference to a number of great resources in his post. For example, the 18 page PDF file from Cheryl’s organization (http://www.metiri.com/) is a sobering read and should make educators reevaluate the way they are using technology. Personally, I am just scratching the surface and will continue to evaluate the way that I use technology in my school.

All in all, my favorite thing about Wesley’s post is his satirical news headlines and I won’t disagree at all about the point he is making with these. As a matter of fact, he couldn’t be closer to the truth. Here they are…

- NEWS FLASH! SHARPER PENCILS DON’T IMPROVE STUDENT TEST SCORES!

- HOT OFF THE PRESSES! BRIGHTER OVERHEAD PROJECTOR BULBS FAIL TO BOOST SAT RESULTS!

- AMAZING DISCOVERY! COLORED CHALK DOES NOT INCREASE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT IN 132 SCHOOLS!

Thanks for the insightful satire Mr. Fryer.

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: assessment, education, educationreform

Fear Factor: Technology

2007-04-09T15:58:00.000-04:00

The following is a great video by Vickie A. Davis, but if you’re like me you’ll have to turn down the audio and pay attention to the video to get the message. It’s not that I have anything against the music; it’s just that I’m easily distracted. Nevertheless, the message is superb, and the shark part of the video is awesome. Great work! What a great message for School 2.0.

Great Job!

Thanks Vickie!

William Bishop (Bill)

safety, filters, technology, education, teaching, K12, vickie_davis,

lostjohns, williambishop

Accountability and Ability Rather Than Distrust and Disability

2007-04-07T14:08:00.000-04:00

Accountability and Ability Rather Than Distrust and Disability

Over the course of the year I have been doing more and more with technology. As a result, my students are doing more and more with technology. The whole premise of us doing more with technology is a direct result of Alabama Best Practices Center’s 21st Century learning initiative. I have learned a great deal from visiting their sites and by taking part in Illuminate sessions after school. Nevertheless, I have to ask where accountability and ability end and where distrust and disability begin.

Sounds confusing I know, but if you are a K12 educator that uses School 2.0 technologies, you probably know what I’m talking about. About the time educators start using certain technologies they get blocked. Now this doesn’t always happen in my system, but it could. Currently, we block social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook, and Bebo. Also, we block YouTube and Ebay. And of course, we do our best to block any site that is inherently inappropriate for students. Makes sense!

Nevertheless, from a leadership perspective, I believe that we have to start doing less blocking and more instructing. When students are out of line, they know that they are out of line and have to be accountable. I’m sure that all of us have been directed to sites that were inappropriate at some time in our lives, but I hope that most of us were accountable. I remember looking for something in Spanish a few years back and getting directed to an inappropriate site. I exited the site before it even finished loading. By exiting the site I was accountable.

Unfortunately, students often venture into sites that are inappropriate and fail to exit the site. If a system says that students can’t use YouTube and take the time to post signs and make announcements, then students shouldn’t be caught on YouTube, specifically 4-12 students. Students at this age are old enough to be accountable for following school rules and YouTube is clearly marked. No excuses!

However, when dealing with banned sites there may be some exceptions. With YouTube and other type services, individual bloggers can embed video from YouTube into their blogs. For example, Will Richardson at Weblogg-ed has a wonderful video by Karl Fisch “Did You Know?” embedded into one of his post (i.e. The same video I added from TeacherTube yesterday). In actuality the video is not on Will’s site, but is being feed from YouTube. This is where accountability becomes questionable. In such cases, students should ask their teacher if the video is appropriate for school use. Problem solved!

It’s basically like my oldest daughter taking a video to Kindergarten, she would submit the video for the teacher’s approval and then they would watch it. I actually remember her coming home one day disappointed because her teacher told her that they couldn’t watch one of her videos. Upon questioning her, I looked at the rating of the video and it was PG. In Kindergarten, at her school they only allow G rated movies. The movie was the “Neverending Story.” It’s a great movie, but it could also scare some young children. Kudos for her teacher! The Internet should be treated the same way.

We have to teach our students accountability.

Vickie Davis has a great post about the “filter gods” and I played off her post’s title for this post. Replace distrust and disability with accountability and ability! I like what Vickie says about School 2.0…

“So, what should School 2.0 include?

It should include accountability and ability!

Ability to unblock things and accountability for what is done in the classroom.

Right now I see a lot of distrust and disability.”

If we are to truly move forward with School 2.0 we have to teach our students accountability and ability rather than distrust and disability. Think about it! What are we teaching our students and are we creating ability or disability? You decide!

William Bishop (Bill)

filtration, School2, School 2.0, Web 2.0, web2, education, teaching,

Shift Happens!

2007-04-06T15:57:00.000-04:00

I posted this after school today and now I'm coming back in and adding some tags among other things. After watching this video [and please watch it if you haven't] you should understand the importance of technology. More specifically, you should see the reason we have to move away from our old instructional methods and toward School 2.0. In essence, Karl Fisch's Video says it all. I love it!

I first saw the video on youtube a few weeks back, but I didn't add it because my students aren't allowed to use youtube. As such, I waited and sure enough, it got added to teachertube. Thanks be to the divine. I love the video. I get chills every time I watch it. I hope you have the same reaction. Moreover, I hope the video sheds some light on why we have to move forward with technology at the K12 level. Forgive me if I already said that! This video is just so inspirational that I believe that ever educator, non-educator, well the entire world should watch it. Enough said!

What a powerful video. Thanks Karl!

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: shift, technology, education, School2.0, k12, learning, teachertube

Classroom Seat Time: Now I know!

2007-04-03T23:55:00.000-04:00

I just caught up on some of my RSS feeds and I found one of Will Richardson’s posts more than interesting. The title of his post is 91.2% of the time in their seats. Will’s data comes from a recent USA Today article that highlights the findings of the weekly magazine Science. The title of the post leads me to believe that 91.2% of all students are kept in their seats during the school day, but this isn’t the case. The stat of 91.2% is only fifth graders.

Nevertheless, after considering my classes, I can concur with the number. I teach 9-12th grade students and I have any where from 20 to 28 students in each of my classes. Hence, my students remain in their seats for the majority of their 50 minute class time. Off the cuff, I'd say that my students stay in their seats about 85% of the time.

A couple of issues come into play with classroom seat time. First, when students are in their seats they are less likely to cause disruptions or get into trouble. However, Will makes a good point with his article and I have to ask… Is classroom seat time the best practice for academic classes? Based on my years of experience with middle school and high school age students, I would say that classroom seat time is essential, but maybe not the best means of reaching all students all of the time. My students do however go to the media lab on a weekly basis to blog, moodle, wiki, create presentations, listen to podcasts, and to do research. Kudos for me!

As for the study, I am going to assume that being in front of a computer doesn’t qualify as seat time although the students are physically seated. I hope that this is a safe assumption due to the change of venue. Now I know why the majority of my students love going to the media lab.

In the future, I am going to do my best to limit seat time. However, there is a fine line between too much seat time and not enough seat time, at least at the high school level in my classes. I'd say that about 70/30 would be a good number for high school students (e.g. seat time versus tactile time).

Will cited the following blog style comment from one of USA Today’s respondents …

“Perhaps the problem is the fact that the formerly drugged up hippies of the 60/70s is the gerneration that are control of not only the government, but also run the colleges, universities and news outlets. These are also the same peace and free love people who do these studies.”

As an educator, I enjoy good satire, but I much prefer the following responses…

“I agree that an elementary school education should be well-rounded and include the development of skills such as problem-solving, reasoning, science, and social studies; however, in order to develop these skills students need to master basic reading and math concepts. To focus on the former before the latter would be to put the cart before the horse.”

And my favorite is …

“No, You can't problem solve or reason if you can't read and write.”

Well, there ya go!

Technorati Tags: k12, education, teaching, schools, students

Fuzzy Avatars

2007-03-27T23:26:00.000-04:00

I was scanning the New York Times online yesterday and came across a great article entitled Fuzzy Critters by Bob Tedeschi. What surprises me the most is that my oldest daughter hasn’t asked for one of these Webkinz, at least not yet. The Fuzzy little animals are real, but they also come with their own avatar online. Talk about Web 2.0 marketing. What will they think of next?

Anyway, I think that these little toys that bridge reality with virtual reality are really cool. As a boy, I would have loved to have a specialized GI Joe with its own online avatar. I just remembered! The Internet didn’t exist when I was a boy. Maybe, I should just try and get my hands on a couple of Webkinz for the girls.

Technorati Tags: webkinz, newyorktimes, virtualreality

Internet plumbing: Plunger needed!

2007-03-26T22:29:00.000-04:00

When we think about the Internet and networking, we generally think about a series of wires, but we may also view it as a series of pipes. Internet plumbing? Yes, the Internet is essentially like plumbing. At least, this is the way I have always viewed the Internet and networking. Ted Stevens, a senator form Alaska was widely ridiculed for making basically the same statement last year in a speech when he referred to the Internet as a “series of tubes”. Tubes, pipes, whatever! The point that he was trying to make was that tubes get clogged.

Thinking about the analogy of the Internet being a series of pipes, we may rationalize that it will also get clogged in the near future as a result of digital video. Wade Roush of Technology Review brings to light the possibility of such a dilemma occurring in the near future in an article entitled TR10: Peering into videos future. I haven’t as of yet seen a plunger for the Internet, but maybe it already exists. Hui Zhang’s idea of an Internet plunger seems to be peer-to-peer (P2P) file distribution technology. And as Roush (2007) points out, with a little luck and (P2P) file distribution technology, maybe the pipes will stay unclogged a little longer.

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: p2p, Video, Technology, Internet

Vixy: A cool online converter

2007-03-07T23:53:00.000-05:00

Anytime I find cool free open source software, I try and highlight it on my blog. As such, I was reading an interesting article posted by Stephen Downes and low and behold he provided a post about Vixy. I am not going to attempt to out write Stephen or Gunnar Schwede so I will use their words. They write:

I signed up for the Second Life Educators mailing list and it paid off in one day, as Gunnar Schwede posts this link. "This service allows you convert a Flash Video / FLV file (Youtube's movie,etc) to MPEG4 (AVI/MOV/MP4/MP3/3GP) file online." Even better, When you submit an url, it will download and convert to the video format. Then you can download the converted file. The the Flash Video to MPEG 4 converter is open source. Various Authors, Farside Inc., March 7, 2007. [Link] The link he mentions, in case you didn’t follow the above hypertext is http://vixy.net/.

This online converter looks very promising and I plan on using it tomorrow. I have some files that I can’t wait to convert. I’m sure with Stephen's endorsement it will do a more than satisfactory job of converting the aforementioned files. I just hope it lasts. Enjoy!

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: Flash Video, FLV, Youtube_movies, MPEG4, AVI, MOV, MP4, MP3, 3GP, file_converter, stephendownes, williambishop

Tux Paint: Free Educational Software

2007-03-06T12:08:00.000-05:00

It seems like I've been gone forever. I noticed that my last post was on February 16. Sorry! I hope this cool tool makes up for my lack of attention to the blog over the past few weeks. What is it? It’s tux paint. Tux Paint is a great free drawing tool for students of all ages.

Tux Paint can be found at www.tuxpaint.org. It seems more than applicable for K-8 students, specifically art students. I downloaded the program and my seven year old is already creating masterpieces. She is giving up TV time to draw and create art. I have access to our TV now, but unfortunately I lost my laptop to my daughter and Tux Paint. She loves the software.

Last night, I actually sat down with Tux Paint and built the Milky Way Galaxy in less than ten minutes using the stamps and a few brush strokes. I have to admit that it was pretty cool. Check out the screen shot! What do you think? I was proud of my feeble attempts at art and science. The stamps make it easy, so make sure you download the additional stamps. FYI, it's a second download. I hope teachers will download and use this software with their classes as a teaching tool, specifically K-6 teachers.

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: free, art, education, educational_software, k12, drawing, Tux_Paint, WilliamBishop

A few bad apples may spoil School 2.0!

2007-02-16T01:28:00.000-05:00

I was visiting the read-write web blog, AKA weblogg-ed today and there was an interesting post entitled “Worse before it gets better”. Will makes a couple of fine points with his post. First, he doesn’t foresee schools embracing social software in a systemic way anytime soon. Second, he highlights the DOPA bill purposed by Illinois. DOPA is being introduced because, Facebook, Myspace, and Bebo aren’t really that educational.
Many would argue against the bill, but schools and libraries have an obligation to protect children from potentially harmful material or materials. I just hate that a couple of bad apples can spoil the batch (e.g. individuals that are using School 2.0 for learning).

Another site in question as of late is Youtube. Unfortunately, unlike the social networking sites, youtube actually has or at least had the potential of being a great site to highlight educational videos. This was until some bad apples decided to use it to post malicious and inappropriate materials. Too bad! I was actually thinking about using youtube to highlight educational videos for my classes. Now, like the social networking sites, schools will have to block youtube as well.

Nevertheless, blocking sites isn’t the cure all that many would have us believe. Even with the best software, libraries and schools will not be able to prevent individuals from using web proxies to circumvent networks. Libraries and schools could pull the plug on public Internet access or block all of the search engines, but I think that there is a better way. I don't have all the answers, but it seems to me like we need to establish better policies in our schools and communities.

Schools have to start teaching students about the world we live in, about how to make smart, safe, ethical choices, both online and off. Maybe it’s just me, but I hate to see the majority of our students suffer because of a few bad apples. If you don’t understand the concept of a few bad apples, you should read an article posted in the New York Times yesterday entitled teenagers misbehaving and publishing it online.

In closing, web 2.0 and school 2.0 have real potential, but things like this will kill them. Sadly, most politicians, parents, educators, and administrators are digital immigrants and won’t even miss the technology until it’s too late. What a shame for the individuals that are trying to integrate 2.0 technologies into our schools for the sake of our students...

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: social networking, School2.0, Web2.0, Will_Richardson, DOPA, William_Bishop

What is School 2.0? It's a modified Pinto!

2007-02-08T00:33:00.000-05:00

Teachers and other individuals are constantly trying to get a grip on the concept of School 2.0. What is School 2.0? School 2.0 is creativity and innovation; communication and collaboration; research and information retrieval; critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making; digital citizenship; and technology operations and concepts. Now, I didn’t come up with this on my own.

Actually, The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) just completed a draft of its National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) for students—“a groundbreaking paradigm for what young people should know about technology and what they should be able to do with it before graduating.” I stumbled upon the news at eSchool News and I’m glad I did because I believe it encompasses the concept of School 2.0 in a nutshell. What do you think?

The old version of NETS had six categories (e.g. basic operations and concepts; social, ethical, and human issues of technology use; productivity tools; communication tools; research tools; and problem-solving and decision-making tools.) and in the new version the six categories have been modified (i.e. creativity and innovation; communication and collaboration; research and information retrieval; critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making; digital citizenship; and technology operations and concepts). Isn’t this cool? I love the modification. It’s like modifying a Ford Pinto into a Ferrari. Moreover, I believe that the new NETS encompass the concept of School 2.0…It’s a modified Pinto!

Individuals interested in the NETS Refresh can participate by accessing the following URL and responding to the NETS Refresh survey (hosted by SurveyMonkey) or you may download the draft Framework for ISTE NETS•S Refresh.

Ferrari Photo Link

Pinto Photo Link

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: schoo2.0, k12, education, technology, NETS, ISTE, WilliamBishop, LostJohns

Vicki Davis is one of my heroes!

2007-02-03T01:41:00.000-05:00

I guess I should have said that Vicki is one of my Heroines. Well, so much for political correctness. Vicki is always writing something cool on her blog about technology and education. As such, I commend her. Maybe, that is why she is the cool cat teacher.

Anyway, I am borrowing from her post without permission, so I hope she doesn’t mind. In Vicki’s latest post she discusses connectivism and as my student’s would say, it rocks. She attended George Siemen's Connectivism online conference where 197 people from around the world listened and chatted through the presentation about his connectivism theories and how they relate to education. Below are my favorite points:

The infrastructure of dreams is growing up around our feet. Visionaries have been talking about what can be done and suddenly have woken up and realized it can be done today.

The institutional level has not responded to the change in infrastructure.

We cannot make ourselves more intelligent (yet) with technology but we can use technology to augment our understanding.

"Roads no longer merely lead to places, they are places." John Brickenhoff Jackson (sp?)

I love the ideology embodied in the above as it relates to School 2.0. and the educational process.

First, we are waking up and realizing that it can be done. Not tomorrow, not next year, but right here, right now! We have the tools to currently prepare our students for the global economy that is upon us, but we have to start using them.

The second point is that the Litmus test is not the answer, the Litmus test of course being the basis for NCLB. Sure NCLB pulls up the grades of the lower functioning students, but in many cases it is pulling up their scores at the expense of the higher functioning students. It is a give and take relationship. Is this a sound practice? See her post for more information!

Next, “We cannot make ourselves more intelligent (yet) with technology but we can use technology to augment our understanding.” Haven’t we been doing this with textbooks and other resources for years? Yes, we have. Isn’t it time to embrace the digital age and bring about change in the way we educate our students?

Last, "Roads no longer merely lead to places, they are places." John Brickenhoff Jackson (sp?). I’m not sure about the spelling either, but I know I like the quote. With networks expanding on a daily basis, you can’t help but like the quote. I hate I missed the conference, but I'm glad Vicki took the time to share it with us. Check out her post!

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: OCC2007, George_Siemens, Vicki_Davis, Connectivism, Education, William_Bishop

Ignorance is bliss

2007-02-01T00:26:00.000-05:00

I just finished reading a rather refreshing article by Paul De Palma entitled The Software Wars. In the article, De Palma brings to light a number of key issues that programmers and software engineers face on a daily basis. Although the article is more than eight years old it is currently as applicable as ever. De Palma states, “something unique to software, especially new software: no experts exist in the sense that we might speak to an expert machinist, a master electrician, or an experienced civil engineer. There are only those who are relatively less ignorant.” Ditto.

Likewise, I propose that in the world of instructional technology no experts exist, only those who are relatively less ignorant. Wasn’t Socrates famous for saying that wisdom is related to an awareness of ones own ignorance? I know that I wallow in my own ignorance on a daily basis when dealing with technology, as do many of my contemporaries. Does this make us wise? Regardless of the answer, De Palma concludes the article eloquently with “Most people are shocked when they learn that their computer requires more care than, say, their refrigerator. Yet I can tell you that its charms are immeasurably richer.” As a tech lover and amateur instructional technologist, I concur. The charms of technology, specifically instructional technology, are immeasurably richer than you can imagine. Ignorance is bliss!

Technorati Tags: technology, software, instructional, DePalma

Wild Thing and now Library Thing. Cool!

2007-01-28T23:59:00.000-05:00

I’m always trying to find and learn new things. You could say that I love information, but this isn’t exactly the case. I do value information, but I love knowledge. Hence, I try to take time daily to visit some of my favorite RSS feeds. However, I have been really busy lately with my doctoral classes, playing PS2 with my seven year old, and chasing my toddler around the house. As a result, I missed the post by Will Richardson about Library Thing. This could have been a tragedy. Who knows when I would have found LT? I know what you're thinking, what is LT?

According to Will Richardson, “… Library Thing allows you to easily catalog all of the books in your personal library which, in turn, leads to all sorts of social goodness. I can easily find out who else is reading the books I have, see what’s in their libraries, and start conversations with them about what they are reading and recommending. Of course, I can tag the books in my collection, rate them, write a review, add comments to the listing, and access all of the Library of Congress information about the book in an instant. (They just added their 9 millionth book to their database.) There are widgets to add (scroll down and see mine in the right hand column) and it has a great zeitgeist page that gives an overview of all things…um…Library Things. (For instance, the largest collection is 14, 954 books…whoa!)

Obviously, this is a great way to not only track what you’re reading but find other stuff to read (although one look at the stack of books next to my bed and I wonder if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.) But I also thing it’s a wonderful example of the social potential of Web 2.0 in a very concrete way. I mean del.icio.us is a powerful tool, but I’m not sure how many people really “get it” without some bit of brainwork. This is easy and obvious, and let’s face it, everyone has a library…right?”

LT sounds really cool doesn’t it? I signed up and I will try and add some books to the library over the next few days. Until then, you will just have to look at Will’s example.

Thanks Will for another great find!

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: library, books, learning, social, willrichardson, williambishop, lostjohns,

Absolutely Delicious!

2007-01-28T00:03:00.000-05:00

I have been thinking about taking some time to locate resources and create a del.icio.us page to help fellow educators. Well, now I don’t have to bother. John Norton a very intellectual individual working with Alabama Best Practices Center and the 21st Century Learning Collaborative has done the work for me. You can see the site at http://del.icio.us/abpcjohn . Trust me when I say that you will find this page worthwhile.

Thanks John!

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: resources, delcious, k12, 21stCenturyLearning, APBC, JohnNorton, WilliamBishop

Is technology integration viable in 2007 at the K12 Level?

2007-01-27T23:30:00.000-05:00

True integation of technology sounds great, but is it viable in 2007 at the K12 level? According to Chayefsky, “When seamless technology integration is a priority, sound scientific research shows that students begin taking greater responsibility for their own education, teachers become facilitators instead of lecturers, classrooms become dynamic and flexible environments that develop a love of learning and knowledge. And technology integration naturally develops critical thinking skills.” Nevertheless, almost at every turn it seems like someone is setting up roadblocks or trying to sabotage the integration of technology in the name of student or network safety. When network protocols are not data driven or planned carefully they greatly interfere with the learning process and the use of technology. In many cases these premature measures actually prevent teachers from utilizing technology in a proficient manner. What do I mean?

Most teachers are digital immigrants, yet some have been able to keep up with technology better than a lot of digital natives (i.e. students and new teachers) especially when it comes to emergent technologies. As educators these teachers have and continue to devote a great deal of personal time helping students work with technology. They have their students using blogs, wikis, presentation software, podcasts and videocasts. Unfortunately, just about the time students get acclimated to the software and begin to move forward with these technologies they are often stopped in their tracks in the name of student or network safety. Understandably, we have to have safety nets in place for the sake our networks and our students, but the safety nets that we put in place should be strategically placed and evaluated by tech savvy educators before they are implemented into the school setting.

Why are such controls implemented? More often than not individuals that know little about technology implement controls bureaucratically after consulting only the IT department. These controls more often than not are based on hearsay rather than data driven. These are generally networking controls and are often counterproductive to student learning. They are like the email that we get that warns us of some malicious virus that will meltdown our computers if we open it. You know the one I’m talking about, the one that nine times out of ten turns out to be a hoax, but people still feel like they have to warn us without checking for factuality. Unfortunately, unlike the hoax email that we can simply dismiss, delete, or validate as a hoax, these network controls are network embedded IT measures that burden the most innovative of educators. As such, the integration of technology into the classroom in a Web 2.0 format may not be currently viable in many systems.

If educators are just using technology for word processing, presentations, and random Internet research, they could care less about unneeded safety measures. However, some educators spend at great deal of personal time designing blogs, wikis, websites, and other applications for students to better prepare them for our global economy only to be denied access to controls that allow software instillation on their classroom machines or lab computers. Understandably, students should have limited abilities on network machines, but most teachers on the other hand should have administrative privileges that allow them to use the machines in a productive manner. Imagine telling software engineers that they had to call the IT department or submit a work order anytime they wanted to test new software on their computers. The software engineers’ work would come to an abrupt standstill and productivity would be nonexistent.

In our schools these limitations are implemented sporadically and many educators rather than embracing technology are simply refusing to use it in their classrooms. Can you blame them? In many cases it would be easier and a lot less stressful to just go back to using the chalkboard and overhead. The irony of it all is that the same individuals creating these limitations are the ones that keep asking educators to implement technology into the pedagogy. It’s like asking a carpenter to build a house, and then taking away his tools after he begins the job. It would be preposterous to expect a carpenter to build a house without the proper tools, but in many systems teachers are expected to implement technologies efficiently without sufficient access. True intregation of technology into the classroom sounds great, but is it viable in 2007? I’d like to think that it is, but I often wonder. I suppose that I will keep on keeping on for the sake of my students, but I will also continue to question unnecessary security measures and protocols.

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: access, k12, education, technology, Amy_Chayefsky, William_Bishop, lostjohns

World War I Wiki

2007-01-23T10:54:00.000-05:00

I'm not a History teacher, but I recently had the opportunity to work up a WWI Wiki with a library media specialist. All in all, I think the wiki turned out rather well. I'd love to take the credit for the total content of the wiki, but I found a wealth of information via the Internet at Dan McDowell's site. His site was great and he has a number of wikis linked the site. If you're a History teacher maybe you will find some useful information at the WWI Wiki or at Dan's site. I showed the wiki to some of my students and they seemed excited about the site and its resources.

Technorati Tags: k12, education, history, technology, DanMcDowell, WilliamBishop, lostjohns

Plunge into technology!

2007-01-17T21:23:00.000-05:00

Technorati Tags: k12, education, educational_links, technology, cameron_mckinley, william_bishop, bill_bishop, lostjohns

Moodle it, just a little bit!

2007-01-15T16:33:00.000-05:00

Moodle it, just a little bit!

We have just got Moodle up and running in my school. Actually another teacher/tech guy and I are the only two teachers currently utilizing the software and we are just getting started. I had an orientation session last Friday with all of my classes to help them learn to Moodle. Mainly, they just learned how to navigate Moodle. This week I plan to use the software to teach course content. Wish me luck.

If you’re not familiar with Moodle, it is free open source software (FOSS) that allows educators to set up online style courses. More specifically,

“Moodle is a course management system (CMS) - a free, Open Source software package designed using sound pedagogical principles, to help educators create effective online learning communities. You can download and use it on any computer you have handy (including webhosts), yet it can scale from a single-teacher site to a 50,000-student University. This site itself is created using Moodle, so check out the Moodle Demonstration Courses or read the latest Moodle Buzz.”

It reminds me a lot of BlackBoard and other non-foss software that is currently available on the market. As for my classes, I plan to continue to use the Moodle in combination with our blog and wiki to better prepare my students for the 21 century.

What can educators do with Moodle? Moodle gives educators a medium for setting up online style classes. The applications built in the software package allow educators to build exams, tests, quizzes, and set up assignments. Additionally, a resource area allows importation of a variety of files and/or links. There is a messaging area, forum, wiki and chat area within Moodle as well. I will keep you all posted as to how the software is working for my classes as we Moodle about some more. If you’re interested in adding some zest to your classes through technology, then I suggest that you talk with your technology coordinator about looking into Moodle for your system. After all, you can’t argue with the price of the software. It’s FREE.

Technorati Tags: moodle, k12, education, technology, WilliamBishop, lostjohns

“We cannot change the past, but we can direct the future.”

2007-01-06T13:54:00.000-05:00

“We cannot change the past, but we can direct the future.”

Are your students bored or are they engaged in learning? More specifically, is rigorous learning occurring in your classroom? If not, then maybe you should rethink the way you teach. Students today are not the students of yesteryear. Students today are plugged in. Televisions, cell phones, I-Pods, game boys, palm pilots and monitors all have screens and according to recent data, the average student spends at least six hours a day in front of one or a combination of these screens. Unfortunately, in the typical school setting, most screens are taken from students for the majority of the day. As a result, students are bored and teachers and administrators can’t figure out why students aren’t excited about learning. If teachers and administrators want to get students excited about learning then they have to integrate the above screens into the school’s curriculum. Screens can be brought into the classroom in a number of ways, but one of the best ways to bring screens into the classroom is to take students on virtual field trips.

What are virtual field trips? Virtual field trips AKA virtual tours are guided explorations through the Web that organizes a collection of pre-screened, thematically based web pages into a structured online learning experience. (Foley, 2003) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_Field_Trips. More importantly, these trips are are great learning tools that get students excited about learning. I just finished reading an article from the Chicago Tribune about David Freeman and his virtual field trips. It seems that David has been helping students take virtual field trips for a few years now.

David Freeman founded an organization called the Wilderness Classroom Program in an effort to take students on exotic cyberspace field trips. Freeman says that the "program is designed to get students excited about learning ... We want the program to motivate students, especially those who aren't motivated by textbooks." Hats off to Mr. Freeman and people like Mr. Freeman that are doing more than their share to promote 21st Century learning. If you would like to read the article from the Chicago Tribune about David Freeman and the virtual project, CLICK HERE. If you are interested in going directly to the Wilderness Classroom program then CLICK HERE.

Here are some other virtual field trip resources. I hope you find them useful…

Teacher Created Resources by Core Area
http://www.uen.org/utahlink/tours/fieldtrips2.htm

Volcano World
http://volcano.und.edu/vwdocs/kids/vrtrips.html

Bob Godwin-Jones resources for emerging technologies
http://llt.msu.edu/vol8num3/emerging/default.html

The teachers guide
http://www.theteachersguide.com/virtualtours.html

Internet4Classrooms
http://www.internet4classrooms.com/vft.htm

Best regards,

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: virtual field trips, technology, vft, 21centurylearning, teaching, education, lostjohns, WilliamBishop, BillBishop, DavidFreeman,

Getting back to blogging!

2007-01-05T18:20:00.000-05:00

Sorry, I have been busy getting some much needed rest and relaxation. I hope I haven’t lost all of my readers. Being a teacher, blogger, student, dad, and husband, I felt that I needed to take a little time off. Well, I have had enough R and R and I plan to get back into the blogging grove over the weekend. I hope that last year was great for everyone and I hope this year brings many more blessings to you and yours.

Tracking Santa

2006-12-24T20:45:00.000-05:00

Amazing enough my oldest daughter came tonight and asked me to track Santa for her. She said, “Daddy you have to go to www. Something and track Santa for me.” Now, if technology is reaching 1st graders, what is the real potential of technology? I don’t know about other parents, but I donated my old computer to my daughter to use to play educational games (e.g. reader rabbit type games). As a result, she is currently more proficient with a mouse than many of adults I know. Imagine the potential of children that have access to technology. What will they accomplish in the future?

If you’re interested in tracking Santa for your children you should visit http://www.noradsanta.org/ . Once there you can choose the language you want and track Santa. The language options are English, Spanish, French, German, etc. The site discusses the most recent sighting of Santa and comes with some neat videos.

Feliz Navidad…

Technorati Tags: trackingSanta, Santa, Technology, Children, WilliamBishop, lostjohns,

Securing the future: An Educational Race Involving Technology

2006-12-22T13:10:00.000-05:00

The launching of Sputnik in 1957 created an educational race between the Soviet Union and the United States. Historians refer to the educational race as the Cold War. The race between the superpowers was an educational competition of sorts. It shows how competition between two superpowers affected domestic reforms, not only in the Soviet Union and the United States, but also in every corner of the globe. Ultimately, when the competition was over in the late 80’s, the Soviet Union had not only lost the educational race, but also their beloved union. What does this have to do with education?

Most Americans view the end of the Cold War as a triumph for America and the world, however victory is sometimes bitter sweet. With the demise of the Soviet Union, came the demise of educational competition to an extent, not only in the United States, but also at a global level. Consequently, the quality of educational services within the United States and the world has declined until recently.

Currently two things are actually causing policy makers, business leaders, and educators to wake up and realize the need for an educational race. The two entities are technology and terrorism. Ironically, technology and terrorism may actually stop the educational decline and get the world back into educational competition. How so?

In the United States, due to the constant treat of terrorism, there is again talk of teaching critical languages (Arabic, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Persian-Farsi, and Russian) in the United States. The National Security Language Initiative proposes to produce advanced speakers of these languages by 2009. NSLI plans to further strengthen national security and prosperity in the 21st century through education, especially in developing foreign language skills.

As a foreign language teacher, I believe that NSLI is a step in the right direction, but we can do more. We must do more. I believe that teachers and the government have to rethink the way we are approaching instruction. We can only produce prosperity in the 21st century through education if we develop an understanding of the global economy, of its cultural, social, political and gendered impacts, of the revolution in communication and informational technologies.

In closing, educators have to embrace and allow their students the opportunity to embrace emergent technologies (Web 2.0) at the K12 level in all disciplines. Not for the sake of integrating technology, but to prepare students for the 21st century. As such, governments must find ways to adequately fund technology within their schools. With educators and the government working toward this goal, students of the world will prosper in the 21st century. However, if any group fails to participate adequately in the race, then the race will be lost and prosperity will most likly be lost as well.

Technorati Tags: NSLI, education, Web2.0, WilliamBishop, lostjohns

Podcasting Basics

2006-12-20T15:58:00.000-05:00

This is my second podcast and it discusses podcasting. Let me know what you think!

http://podcastingbasics.wikispaces.com
http://www.educause.edu
http://technosavvy.org/?p=422

Thanks,

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: technology, podcast, podcasting, education, WilliamBishop, lostjohns

My first podcast: Sorry

2006-12-19T16:46:00.001-05:00

My first podcast! Sorry

Crossing the Chasm Between the 20th and 21st Centuries

2006-12-18T21:45:00.000-05:00

Walk into almost any school in the United States and you will feel at home no matter your age. Why? Most classrooms look a lot like they way they did when you were in school. Actually, most classrooms look a lot like they did when your parents and grand parents were in school. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? If you’re afraid of change, then I suppose that it’s a very good thing. However, if you are looking for ways to move beyond the 20th century mentality of teaching, then you need to start looking for ways to move beyond traditional teaching methods. I’m not saying that traditional teaching is a bad thing. I’m saying that as educators we can and must do more to cross the chasm between the 20th and 21st centuries. The most logical way to make this crossing is through the technology that Web 2.0. has to offer.

If we continue to refuse to change for whatever reason, how many children are going to get "left behind"? What will happen if an entire generation fails to make the grade in the global economy of the 21st century because they can't solve abstract problems, work with others, perform basic research, or speak a language other than English? Can we afford to wait and see?

The United States currently resembles a third world nation when it comes to foreign language instruction. Too many of our policy makers have not had the foresight or fortitude to require foreign language P-12 and now we are facing a dilemma (i.e. individuals speaking Arabic languages). The same thing said about language may one day be said about technology, not because of the politicians this time, but because most teachers continue to refuse to implement technology efficiently in their classrooms.

Right now, as a result of NCLB, we're focused on testing and scores, but there is so much more. What about communication skills and technology? Aren’t both of these entities currently as important as ever? The current and future global economy will not allow tradition and complacency in our classrooms. The global economy now requires so much more. It requires not only competence in the traditional academia, but also competence in functional 21st century Web 2.0 skills. If students aren’t taught these skills in our schools, then where are they going to learn them?

The New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce, a high-powered, bipartisan assembly of education secretaries, business leaders, and a former governor recognizes the dilemma. It just released a report for rethinking American education P-12 and beyond. The report includes a remarkable consensus among educators, policy makers and business leaders on one key point: we need to refocus how we teach and what we teach to help students cross the chasm between the 20th and the 21st centuries.

Now, I’m not going to pretend for one minute to be an expert on Web 2.0 technologies or skills, but I do see their potential. As such, I am not willing to sit back and continue to teach the way I was taught. Therefore, I am reading and embracing technology at every turn. My ultimate goal is to create a nexus of learning for students that promotes creativity. Moreover, I want students to cross the chasm between the 20th and 21st centuries. I want students to recognize geography, customs, and culture, acquire and use communication skills in other languages, understand and utilize technology, and ultimately think outside the box. Wish me luck!

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: p12, k12, technology, web20, NCLB, WilliamBishop, lostjohns, NCEE

Teacher Techies, Techless Teachers, and The Tech Bus

2006-12-17T00:47:00.000-05:00

Geoffrey Moore, author of Crossing the Chasm, a book about fast changing technologies, divides personal technology consumers into five categories. His categories of tech consumers are, the enthusiast, the visionary, the pragmatist, the conservative, and the laggard. His categories although originally applying to technology consumers, may also be applied to teachers using technology. Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, a book about leadership strategy, compares the leadership strategies of great companies to individuals on a bus and their positions on that bus. Taking the concepts of Geoffrey Moore and Jim Collins and applying them to the teachers we can better ascertain the roles of teacher techies, techless teachers, and the tech bus within the K12 setting.

Before applying theses concepts to the current situation, we must first understand them. Teacher Techies are individuals that are technology savvy and use technology as a teaching tool. In contrast, Techless Teachers are individuals that are not technology savvy and refuse to use technology as a teaching tool. If we place these teachers on a continuum we would find them at opposite ends. As for the tech bus, it may be defined as the new emergent technologies appearing in our schools (e.g. blogs, dictories, wikis, moodles, mashups, search engines, etc.). The tech bus is inherently intertwined with technology through computers and the Internet.

Now, consider the teacher as a tech enthusiast. When offered a new tech tool, this kind of teacher says, "Great, let me at it, I want to see what I can do with this tech tool". These teachers totally engage with the new tech tool and become consumed by it and its applications. Moreover, they’re really passionate about using technology both inside and outside of the classroom. You can usually find these teachers standing in front of the white line right beside the bus driver.

Next, consider the teacher as a tech visionary. Adopting a new technology for these teachers is about staying in the game. Visionaries, more than anything else, like to be in the front seats of the bus right behind the driver. These teachers are often more practical than enthusiasts because they wait for the tech enthusiast to figure out how to use the new technology before applying it themselves. They're thinking, “If I adopt this new technology, I can use it to benefit my teaching in the following ways.”

Then we have the teacher as tech pragmatist. These teachers won't think about using new technology until almost all other teachers are using it. "They're asking their colleagues, “Do you have a class blog yet? Me, neither.” But when they ask around and people say, “Yeah, I’ve got a class blog” then they start looking for a seat near the front of the bus. Unfortunately, the front seats are usually taken by this time and they usually end up sitting in the middle of the bus.

The teacher as tech conservative’s preference is to avoid change at all costs. They are the individuals in the very back of the bus. They’ll try and move up a few seats after everyone else is onboard, but they will do so unwillingly and under duress. However, once they move up a few seats, they are so far back that they can’t see where the bus is going. As a result, they never tap in to the real potential of technology and their teaching suffers, as does student learning.

The teacher as tech laggard can best be described as the stubborn horse. As the old saying goes, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. These are the teachers who say, 'This is bad news. It won’t work and we don’t need it.” In the South, they live by the philosophy, “If it ain’t broke, then it don’t need fixin.” If you haven’t figured it out by now, these teachers never get on the tech bus at all. In fact, they miss the tech bus on purpose out of stubbornness and fear. Most of these teachers shouldn’t even be teachers in the first place.

In closing, I’d like to think that I am a tech visionary. Unfortunately, I most likely fall in the tech enthusiast category. I’m passionate about technology and it keeps me out of my seat. I guess this is something that I will have to work on in the future for the sake of my students. After all, standing in front of the white line on the bus is against the rules. If you’re an educator, are you on the tech bus? If so, where are you sitting?

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: Technology, Teachers, TechBus, GeoffreyMoore, JimCollins, WilliamBishop, lostjohns

In Response To: Teachers Not Blogging (Says Me)

2006-12-15T19:59:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I highlighted an article in EDTECH magazine by David Warlick and today I came across a blog post by Will Richardson about David’s article. Will’s post sparked the neurons in my somewhat limited cerebral cortex and I found myself asking the following, “What is educational blogging?” Will clarified this for me with the following points:

“Blogs are powerful communication tools. Blogs are powerful publishing tools. But blogging (the verb) is still much more... Blogging, as in reading and thinking and reflecting and then writing, is connecting and learning, neither of which are discussed in the article.”

I don’t think David meant to overlook the importance of blogging as a learning tool in his article, but he did. However, In David’s defense, the purpose of his article wasn’t to promote educational blogging as a learning tool, it was to promote safe and responsible blogging practices in our schools.

Nevertheless, Will’s ending premise makes a powerful point for educational bloggers. Will contends,

“I’m just asking the question: how are…teachers modeling the use of blogs to learn not just to teach?”

After thinking about Will’s question, I reflected on the way I am using my class blog and I found it to be lacking. I’d like to sit back and make excuses about being newbie, but I won’t. Instead, I am looking and will continue to look for ways to improve the class blog for my students. For example, I plan on making blogging more efficient for my students by setting higher standards for feeling, thinking, and writing. Blogging is more than just a platform for teaching. Blogging is a platform for learning. Hence, we have to move beyond posting, journaling, and begin blogging. Like Will, I too expect more…

Technorati Tags: blogs, blogging, teaching, David_Warlick, Will_Richardson, William_Bishop, lostjohns

Rules to blog by!

2006-12-14T23:48:00.000-05:00

Educators that blog should always blog responsibly and conduct themselves in a professional manner. As such, David Warlick has an insightful article in this month’s issue of EDTECH that highlights safe and responsible blogging practices entitled, “Blog Rules”. This article is a must read for current and aspiring School Administrators, as it lays out some ground rules for teacher blogging and student safety. Once again, we get our 2 cents worth of Warlick Wisdom. Thanks David!

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: schooladministration, blogging, blogrules, safety, teachers, warlick, WilliamBishop, BillBishop, lostjohns

Tappedin, taps you in!

2006-12-13T22:55:00.000-05:00

I went through a session tonight with Michael Misovec from helpingstudents.org at Tappedin. The session discussed their site and enlightened me further on the usefulness of wiki’s in the K12 setting. Thanks Michael.

HelpingStudents.org is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization service sponsored by community entities, volunteers, and advertisers. Together, they provide over 100,000 free Wiki web pages designed for educational purposes. It's Wiki fast and easy to create your own web pages at HelpingStudent.org. On the surface, the potential that HelpingStudents.org offers K12 educators looks great. I plan on utilizing the site ASAP. I will blog about the organization and the services after I have a feel for the site.

Michael Misovec is the President of Helping Students Education Corp. and he seems to be on top of his game. With Michael at the helm of the organization, I am sure that Helping Students Education Corp. and HelpingStudents.org will be a big success. I look forward to a follow up session about the wiki at tappedin in January. I hope I can make it! Once again, I’d like to thank Michael for taking the time to highlight his organization for others and myself. In addition, I’d like to thank Tappedin for providing a place where educators can tap in to educational resources.

William Bishop (Bill)
Technorati Tags: tappedin, k12, wiki, educationalwikis, helpingstudentsorg, MichaelMisovec, WilliamBishop, lostjohns

Ms. Dewey: Beats Google Hands Down

2006-12-13T10:38:00.000-05:00

Ms. Dewey is cool! If you don't go, you will never know. Will Richardson pointed this site out in a post entitled Google is Just Too Boring and as usual I agree with Will...Check Ms. Dewey out!

echnorati Tags: msdewey, willrichardson, williambishop, new, technology, lostjohns

(FOSS) How Suite It Is: Open Office 2.1 Released

2006-12-12T21:30:00.000-05:00

Free open source software is definitely on the rise. Open Office 2.1 has just been released and promises to be a significant improvement over all other versions. Open Office 2.0 wasn’t bad and now with the improvements Open Office may actually give Microsoft Office a run for its money. Wait, Open Office is Free Open Source Software. I guess money isn’t a factor after all. Isn’t FOSS cool?

Technorati Tags: FOSS, opensource, openoffice21, microsoftoffice, technology, williambishop, lostjohns

Moving students beyond the 20th Century

2006-12-11T21:02:00.000-05:00

I just finished reading a short post at Weblogg-ed by Will Richardson and it suggested the following to help move schools beyond the 20th Century practice of isolation.

1. Teach kids more about the world.

2. Think outside the box.
3. Become smarter about new sources of information.
4. Develop good people skills. (Communicate, collaborate)

Well, it seems that this is exactly what I have been trying to do with my Spanish students. We are currently using technology as never before and the students are starting to think on their own. We have a blog, a wiki (private), a website, and soon we will be using moodle if all goes well. We just have to work all of the bugs out with our IT people. But it looks promising. Are we doing everything perfect? No! We are making our fair share of mistakes along the way, but we are thinking outside of the box and moving beyond the 20th century.

As a matter of fact, our latest assignment was a Web Quest on the 21 Spanish Speaking countries and it seems to have been a success. We spent two days in the media lab and developed presentations for the classroom. Each student was required to pick a country, research the country, and develop a presentation with 10 specific slides. The slides ranged from geography to food. Now the students are presenting the presentations for their peers and we are critiquing the slides in the true spirit of Presentation 2.0. As such, I think we are addressing the four points suggested by Will Richardson. I am more than pleased with the assignment, as are my students. Moreover, we are going to pick out the best presentations and add them to our wiki for future reference.

Technorati Tags: school20, web20, presentation20, webquest, spanishclass, bishop, lostjohns, weblogged, richardson

The Literacy Project

2006-12-10T23:02:00.000-05:00

A great find for P-8 teachers, maybe even P-12 teachers. I’d love to take credit for blogging about this resource first, but I found a post about it at another Educational technology blog, “CUONLINE”. Nevertheless, I thought I’d highlight it here as well. Enjoy!

The Literacy Project is…“A resource for teachers, literacy organisations and anyone interested in reading and education, created in collaboration with LitCam, Google, and UNESCO's Institute for Lifelong Learning. Find books, articles and videos about literacy, or start your own literacy or reading group!”

Picture from The Literacy Project
Technorati Tags: Literacy, Google, GoogleLiteracyPortal, CUONLINE, WilliamBishop, BillBishop, lostjohns

Google returns to school to bully Microsoft.

2006-12-10T20:11:00.000-05:00

While Microsoft is asking K12 schools to dig deep into their pockets, it seems that Google is passing out generous gifts to the next generation of computer users. Allow me to elaborate. According to the Associated Press, “Google Inc., a company synonymous with searching the Internet, hopes to define far more of the world's computing experience with a helping hand from schoolchildren. For several months, it has been giving away to all takers an online word processor, spreadsheet and other programs that can perform tasks usually handled by desktop software. Offering a convenience that worries some privacy experts, the programs automatically store everything in Google's vast data centers so the information can be retrieved on any Internet-connected computer.”

Beyond the privacy issue, the idea of an inexpensive solution to Microsoft’s over priced 2007 Office Suite may make K12 superintendents smile. Microsoft is asking K12 schools to pay a yearly subscription to lease their 2007 Office Suite rather than buy it. The lease for the average K12 School for the software will tally up to about a six-digit yearly figure. Most K12 superintendents view Microsoft’s lease proposal as a budget buster and are looking for alternatives. Some systems are turning to Open Office, and now Google has arrived to save the day. Ironically, dear ole granddad used to say; sometimes it isn’t how you get on the wagon, but when you get on the wagon that makes all the difference. So, I guess the real question is…Why Excel When You Can Google?

William Bishop (Bill)

Photo by Ian Britton found at freefoto.com

Technorati Tags: google, microsoft, openoffice, microsoftoffice, google_documents, k12, WilliamBishop, BillBishop, lostjohns

Network Neutrality is safe for now: HR 5252 is dead!

2006-12-09T21:09:00.000-05:00

Like most average Joes and Janes, I didn’t realize that the Internet was in jeopardy until just the other day. It appears that Senator Ted Stevens was pushing HR 5252 referred to as the Telco bill. The Telco bill would have ended Network Neutrality and would have sent America spiraling into what I perceive as a modern version of George Orwell’s novel 1984. Maybe the term spiraling is a little harsh, but the bill, had it passed would have definitely clogged the pipes of the Internet.

I don’t know about you, but I’m glad to see that the 109th congress saw fit to kill the bill. Network Neutrality has been part of the Internet since its inception and it should remain as such. Anything but Network Neutrality is an infringement on our freedoms and the American way of life. As a matter of fact, since the bill was killed, I feel like the munchkins from the Wizard of Oz after Dorothy’s house crushed the wicked witch. Maybe, I should put my ruby red slippers on and sing the wicked bill is dead!

For related information see the following:
Slashdot
Huge victory for real people
David Warlick’s post

Technorati Tags: netneturality, politics, hr5252, Internet, warlick, bishop, lostjohns

Technology Literacy: What teachers need to stay in the tech race.

2006-12-08T20:27:00.000-05:00

Over the past 20 years technology has moved at such a rapid pace that it has left most teachers behind. Of course, the U.S. government’s answer to teaching and learning is NCLB, when it should have been NTCLB (i.e. No teacher or child left behind). For some reason or other, the government often forgets about teachers and the important role they play within society. However, recently the missing T of NCLB is starting to be recognized and various organizations are trying to help teachers with technology.

One organization that seems to be on the cutting edge of helping teachers help students through technology is the Alabama Best Practice Center and its 21st Century Leaning initiative. Another entity available for teachers is a Web-based learning environment created to transform teacher professional development called Tappedin. Both of the aforementioned provide a wealth of information and opportunities for teachers to become tech savvy and stay in the tech race.

What do teachers really need to know to be considered tech savvy and stay in the tech race? To stay in the tech race teachers need at least 20 technology skills, maybe more. What are the skills? I found the following article entitled, “20 Technology Skills Every Educator Should Have”, and I couldn’t agree more. If you’re an educator you should definitely take a look at the article. Not only does the article outline the 20 technology skills every educator should have, but it also provides numerous links for learning the skills. Enjoy!

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: technology, teachers, NCLB, skills, tappedin, abpc, 21stcenturylearning, William Bishop, Bill Bishop, lostjohns