Tuesday, December 22, 2009

BPBPBPEvernotePhotPeachSlideShow!!!!Essay on Overload!!

I am BP'd out! My mind has nothing to offer good or bad regarding Evernote, PhotoPeach - Eat a Peach! Now there is one of rock n' rolls great albums by The Alman Brothers! SlideShare? I need to work on slide show presentations as effective means of communication. Currently, slide show (read powerPoint) have become the lazy minded professor's way to include visuals in their worn out lectures. I need more time to research these 2.0 tool. In the meantime, I need to spend most of my 2.0 research with the leapfrog org website and with Open Carbon (read those essays if you have the time). They are both great "FSO -AHA!" discoveries for my current projects.

BP12 2009123 WatchKnowEssay

I think WatchKnow fits nicely with out Leapfrogs to Laptops Project. The ability to match visuals with words should help to increase the English learning skills of both the child and the parent. I imagine the parent and child sounding out the word with the guidance of the teacher. As this point, I need to simply log in and play with the program. Perhaps I'll do so with my grandson Gavin.

BP#7 Essay

The application of WIKI for our nonprofit organization and our Leapfrogs to Laptops Project should help our team pull together and become more organized and focused on the challenges presented by this project. I need to further research the benefits of a grass roots nonprofit WIKI. Social Networking is the key skill in doing grass roots nonprofit work. One aspect on networking is establishing strong private (for profit) partners. One WIKI objective might be to include a private partner in the development of our WIKI. At this point, I am at the point of mindful overload. The brain needs time to incubate new idea, new concepts, new technology - Well, perhaps only my old brain needs this incubation period in order to hatch a new idea! I need to envision what connects and what does not. What needs to left on the cutting room floor. There needs to be fluency as to how the technology works in delivering the information to the learner. Will the WIKI help to turn that information into knowledge? Will it play a critical role in taking the knowledge and transforming it into to know-How (Innovation)?

Monday, December 21, 2009

IMAGINE.m4v

BP#14 2009123 Peer Review Becky Ward

Running head: WARD BECKY - PEER REVIEW








Ward Becky - Peer Review
TJ Pendergast
Full Sail University






Ward Becky - Peer Review
In BP 6, Anti – Teaching essay, Becky makes some salient points concerning her doubt about new technology being the savior of education.
“As Michael Wesch put it in his article, significance is the problem. Students absolutely need to see the significance and purpose in each one of their classes.” (http://beckyward77.blogspot.com/)
Becky via Michael Wesch’s video is referring to the content of the learning experience. Michael Wesch’s admonishment to pay attention to the significance of what we are teaching our students to learn is critical. Becky appears to understand this argument.
Becky’s BP #4 supports her proposition that learning math needs to connect to the real world whenever possible. This particular web toll does that. It is also a very timely tool for these particular recessionary times. (http://www.walletproof.com/) Teaching her students how to balance a check book offers a critical skill that will transfer over to other applications in the real world, “paying the rent/mortgage, car payment, car insurance, school loans, groceries, utilities, gasoline, just every day expenses in general.” (http://beckyward77.blogspot.com/2009/11/bp42009121web-20-tools.html)
In BP3, Google Reader, Becky presents the book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, by Sean Covey. She discusses the concern that teachers have about students not having the know -how when it comes to organizing the work. Unfortunately Becky is experiencing an “Administration glitch, “Unfortunately, our district could only afford the book, but not the workbook that goes along with it. Therefore, I am trying to find ideas of projects that I can do that will help my students see how they could personally use the 7 habits.”

BP13 2009123 Peer Review - Kenny McLaughin

Running head: MCLAUGHLIN PEER REVIEW








McLaughlin Peer Review
TJ Pendergast
Full Sail University






McLaughlin Peer Review
In BP #5. Kenny delves into the relevant applications of visual media as a learning tool for his students. He posts the following objectives:
Objectives:
- Increased Media Literacy Skills
- Practice of Professional Skills
o Cyber Etiquette
o Interpersonal skill development
o Job readiness skill development
o 21st Century Technologies skill development
(http://kingkenny3skingdom.blogspot.com/)
These objectives help the reader to frame the following information by relating Kehy’s comments and points of view to the stated objectives. The following example demonstrates this point.
“Classroom learning environments can create a news show on a unit of study, weekly, and even a daily practice of live broadcasting each morning, afternoon, or evening.

Materials needed:
- Digital Camera
- imovies
- Internet access”
(http://kingkenny3skingdom.blogspot.com/2009/12/bp52009122discovering-web-20-tools.html)

This particular example clearly relates to all six objectives. The inclusion of the required materials is a good thought allowing prospective educators to do research into the ease and availability of these particular tools in their school districts.
BP#3 Anti-Teaching is still in development. Based on Kenny’s blog, this is most likely a case of reflection as opposed to procrastination. This particular assignment calls for some deep, critical thinking. I look forward to reading his reflection on this scenario.

BP 7 2009122 Tool#2WIKI

http://leapfrogstolaptops.wikispaces.com/

BP 17 2009123 Tool#6 Slidesharedemo

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Sunday, December 20, 2009

BP12 2009123 WatchKnow

http://www.watchknow.org/Video.aspx?VideoID=14691

This a great site for my pre-school Somali Refugee children. This url will lead to their Figurative Language video. Excellent content!

BP16 2009123 Tool#5 Evernote


I have installed Evernote on my computer

BP8 2009122 Tool#3 PhotoPeach 12/20/09

ETC on PhotoPeach

Friday, December 18, 2009

Posted responses to other blogs

Posted responses to other blogs:

1. Tersee, Nice one minute message. Music is great. Performs like a trailer should! I am ready for the movie to begin bout the six presidents


2. E. I like Timerime. I will look into it further for my adult students too. Thanks

3. Louria: Nice video. I need to explore your method of writing a story, Not familiar with this technique

4 Karen, nice one minute demo. Love the music. I will do some research on this web tool.

5. Interesting movie idea. I am not sold on second life or other "avatar" tools. I'll check this one out to see if it is more applicable to the online course I am developing. Thank for the idea.

6. I'm convinced. I will research Toxbox. Face to Face collaboration in real time via the internet. I am looking at a few of these web 2.o tools. Thanks for another alternative

7. Becky: Will do! Any age sounds promising. I teach dislocated workers in search of new career paths. I'll have them try CIS

Thanks

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Second one minute movie12/13/09

BP - One Minute video#2 12/13/09

BPExtra Curricular Elluminate Essay 12/13/09

Elluminate (http://www.elluminate.com/) offers a similar service as Wimba. Viterbo only has the chat room in Blackboard. The Elluminate platform offers a more robust set of options including a white board for visual presentation such as Keynote and PowerPoint. The student can either participate via microphone and headset or by typing in the dialogue box. Presentations can be recorded for review or for the student who cannot attend due to a schedule conflict. Part of the curriculum is a team visual presentation their final Global Sustainability Project. A team of evaluators will observe the presentations. After each presentation there will be a question and answer session. The evaluators will offer suggestions regarding necessary revisions to the presentations. The students will be given a second time to present the revisions. An option for the utilization of Elluminate is to offer a blended presentation with a live Viterbo student body audience. The audience would view the recorded or live Industry Expert chat before the beginning of breakout sessions. The breakout sessions would be blend of on ground participants and online participants dialoging via Elluminate. A PDF is attached for your convenience.

(http://www.elluminate.com/whitepapers/Best_Practices_for_Hosting_Blended_Events.pdf)

BP#3 12/13/09

BPExtra Curricular 2009121 Visual Open Carbon Video Example

Steelcase Assisting Suppliers With Carbon Footprint Reduction from Open Carbon on Vimeo.

BpExtra Curricular Essay - Open Carbon12/13/09

Open Carbon (http://www.opencarbon.com/)

Slogan is, “Open Lectures from Industry Experts. Free of Carbon-Free of Charge.”

Here is the biography of one of the Industry Experts.

Mary Ellen Mika, LEED-AP, C.P.M., is Manager of Environment & Energy within the Steelcase Supply Chain Management department. She leads global sustainability efforts for the department, including “green supplier” programs, assisting with materials chemistry and life cycle analysis efforts, and is responsible for fuel and electricity purchases for Steelcase North America, including renewable energy pursuits. She assists suppliers to Steelcase throughout the world to support efforts to lead the office furniture industry in providing the most sustainable products. She gives presentations on supply chain sustainability issues throughout the world and is currently co-chairing the West Michigan Sustainable Purchasing Consortium. She has a B.S. in Biochemistry, an M.A. in Counseling Psychology and over 20 years of experience in the environmental field.

(http://www.opencarbon.com/index.php/lectures?page=shop.product_details&product_id=28&flypage=flypage.tpl&pop=0)

One of the challenges with the new online Servant Leadership & Global Sustainability course is to demonstrate the advantages of moving beyond Blackboard. The college has little experience in online other than the CMS, Blackboard. The discussion of the integration of a personal leaning environment begins this January with a course launch date in March 2010. An orientation day (hopefully two days) will be held in early January. Part of the orientation will be the demonstration of the integration of CMS and PLE. Viterbo will be contacting members of the Open Carbon team asking them to partner with us with the objective of having them be our Industry Experts for a one-hour lecture/dialogue using Elluminate. Viterbo will also integrate many of the free webinars located on the site. I am uploading one example for your review.

BP-Extra Curricular Web 2.0 tool 12/13/09-OpenCarbon

BP Extra Curricular Leapfrog 2.0 Essay

The leapfrog website (http://www.leapfrog.com) is designed to assist learning organizations to create their curriculum using the wide range of leapfrog leaning products. In the Leapfrog Schoolhouse, there are sections for parents, teachers, and educators. Parents are shown how to register their children for a personal learning pathway that measures their success. There are tabs for all age groups including one for pre-school. The teacher’s tab leads to free webinars and a video demonstration on how to best use Leapfrog learning tools. The Educator Resource tab includes grants, professional development, teacher’s lounge, research, and success stories.

Part of the orientation for the Hands Across the World pre-school teachers will be to study the research, white papers, and success stories. They will also be responsible for opening a Leapfrog account for each child.

Leapfrog offers curriculum for all ages in their LeapTrack Assessment and Instruction System. The pre-k package includes basic interactive games for developing simple reading and math skills. The k-5 includes educational software applicable to the leapfrog computer. The following is an example of a Leapfrog research paper.

Effectiveness Study

Los Angeles Unified School District

Students Using LeapFrog SchoolHouse Literacy Center Program

Realize 74% Gain in Key Early Literacy Skills

Abstract

In a study conducted in three Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) schools, students

who participated in the LeapFrog SchoolHouse Literacy Center program outperformed

students in the control group by 37% in key reading predictor tests. Prekindergarten

students using the LeapFrog SchoolHouse Literacy Center made a 74% gain in early

reading skills, surpassing those children who received only the standard district literacy

program materials.

The School Readiness Language Development Program within the LAUSD participated in a scientifically

based research study designed to measure the effectiveness of the LeapFrog SchoolHouse early literacy

program, The Literacy Center. The Literacy Center is a research-based curriculum that combines

multisensory technology with direct instruction and practice in phonemic awareness and other key early

literacy skills.

Students’ early literacy skills were measured in the fall and, after using The Literacy Center program in

class, in the spring. Results reveal statistically significant gains for those students who received

The Literacy Center (74% gain in early literacy skills) compared to students in the control group who

received the standard district literacy materials (37% gain in early literacy skills). Early literacy skills were

measured through letter-word identification (Woodcock Johnson III), blending sounds (Comprehensive

Test of Phonological Processing), and phonemic awareness (LEAPDESK Assessment). There is ample

evidence that early literacy skills are key predictors of future reading engagement and success.

Sample

Three LAUSD schools with half-day Prekindergarten classrooms were chosen by the district. Forty-five

percent (45%) of the children were girls, and 55% were boys. There were 137 children (68 treatment,

69 control) participating in this study, and their average age was 52.5 months at the beginning of

September 2001. Forty percent (40%) of the children spoke English as their primary language and 10%

were bilingual in the fall of 2001. Fifty-seven percent (57%) of the children were Hispanic, 22%

Caucasian, 12% African-American, and 6% Asian-American.

Method

Twelve classrooms at the three LAUSD schools made up the age- and gender-matched LeapFrog

SchoolHouse (treatment) and control groups. The existing district-wide literacy program was Creative

Curriculum. The LeapFrog SchoolHouse treatment group used The Literacy Center in addition to

Creative Curriculum, while the control group only used Creative Curriculum. Assessments were

conducted in English at three points throughout the 2001–2002 school year (October, January, and

May). An index of key reading skills was computed by summing the raw scores for the Woodcock

Johnson III (letter-word identification), The Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (blending

sounds), and LEAPDESK Assessment (phonemic awareness).

Results

Pre- and post-test results on this composite index of key reading skills demonstrate that students who

received The Literacy Center instruction in class performed 37% better (74% gain vs. 37% gain) on tests

of key reading predictors than students in the control group.

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

Control

(n = 69)

LeapFrog SchoolHouse

(n = 68)

20.7

15.1 16.5

28.7

Fall scores

Spring scores

Scores on Key Reading Predictor Tests

at Beginning and End of School Year

Conclusion:

This LAUSD study found a statistically significant difference in performance on key reading skills

between the Prekindergarten students using The Literacy Center and the Prekindergarten students who

used only district curriculum materials. Those children who used The Literacy Center outperformed their

peers by 37%. The implications of these results are critical because early literacy skills are highly

predictive of future reading success. Every expert at the White House Summit on Early Childhood

Cognitive Development (July 2001) stressed that reading is the keystone for both academic and life

success. The Literacy Center program includes research-based, multisensory instruction and practice with

essential pre-reading skills, and has been effective in thousands of classrooms nationwide. Mean Raw Score

Max. =

78)

© 2001-2003 LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

74% gain*

* LeapFrog SchoolHouse

group outperformed control

group by 37%

A226

(http://www.leapfrogschool.com/do/efficacyStudyDetail?name=lausdeffectivestudy)

Bpweb ExtraCurricular Leapfrog 2.0 website

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Blog Responses

I like what you are saying about the need to advance the effective application of technology in the class room and beyond he classroom. I once had a brief meeting with an executive from Phoenix online. He said that one day while he was shaving, he looked at his reflection and said out loud to himself, "It's not the technology, it's the content!" He said it was one of the best reflective moments in his life as an educator. At this point in the program I am somewhat overwhelmed by the quantity of options. I am not certain how to evaluate the quality. I understand the need to teach our students the skills they need to be marketable, my concern is how do we include ethics along he way? Great post! Thanks. Thomas Penderast

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

BP 10: 2009122Peer Review - Martinez, Yesenia

Running head: MARTINEZ, YESENIA PEER REVIEW








Martinez, Yesenia Peer Review
TJ Pendergast
Full Sail University






Martinez, Yesenia Peer Review
Yesenia presents her web 2.0 tools with clarity and depth of information. Her presentation regarding Slideshow is an good example of how to post the relevant information concerning the application of this tool for both the teacher and student (http://yesenia-martinez.blogspot.com/2009/12/bp13-2009121researching-and-blogging.html)
I would first implement Slideshare in my classroom by creating a few presentations so that my students could see how the presentations look and they could become accustomed to the tool, then I would ask them how they like the look of the presentation.
(BP #13 http://yesenia-martinez.blogspot.com/)

Yesenia includes a concen that appears in almost all student work. This is the issue of relating the application of the web 2.0 tools to the school administration in order to get approval. The either implied or explicit tone suggests that this id not any eacy thing to do.
“The only thing I will have to make sure of is that it is fully accessible on my district's network.” (BP #13 http://yesenia-martinez.blogspot.com/)

In Yesenia’s BP 11, she presents an excellent example of the application of a web 20 tool in her classroom.
The first tool I found which I absolutely love is one I found on classtools.net. It is a resource for creating Venn Diagrams. The service is free to use and quite simple to manage as well. The best part about the tool is that you can host the tool on your teacher website or blog. In science I use venn diagrams very frequently to compare and contrast as this is one of Bloom's higher order thinking skills. I was amazed at the simplicity of the use of this tool! You can make out questions for students and have them complete them and the rest of the diagram or they can create the entire assignment per your instructions. You have the option of selecting either a two or three circle template. As I stated before, I use venn diagrams to compare and contrast often and can see so many possibilities with this tool! We recently completed Weathering and Erosion and compared and contrasted the differences between physical and chemical weathering. We are now moving onto the types of cycles such as the water, carbon dioxide and nitrogen cycles. When we finish covering each of these, I could use this template to compare all three! I know that my students would be very happy to see a change in the paper form of doing the venn diagrams they are used to using in my classroom. I also have a large venn diagram that I use with index cards and I could also use it as a supplement to having my own version of a completed template of whatever I assign my students possibly on a projector for reference. I can't wait to begin using this tool this week.( http://yesenia-martinez.blogspot.com/2009/12/bp11-2009121researching-and-blogging.html).
In BP 10. Yessica presents an effective video trailer on how web 2.0 Toxbox csn bre applied to the middle school science classroom. The video touches on all key advantages. The visuals of the students paired with her narration get the point across. It is engaging and encourages the viewer to further investigate ToxBox. (http://yesenia-martinez.blogspot.com/2009/12/bp10-2009121reflective-media-asset.html)

BP 9 Flikr lesson

http://www.pimpampum.net/phrasr/?id=15518

This demo show how to connect simple words with Flickr photos Ths is a great exercise for our Somali refugee children. The exercise can be bilingual.

BP9a Flickr screen shot




Monday, December 7, 2009

Blog responses

Snowkedi

1. I love this site. The organization i work with is looking for good website for children. I am going to recommend this one

2. I never thought of using a blog for language development. My wife teaches English as a Second Language to Somali refugees. I will work with her trying this out. Great website. Nice blog

Vandy

1. I like this concept. A media journal could work well with out Somali pre-school children. hen they first arrive, they and their family fear the camera. We have discovered that it is cultural not faith based. I am wondering if we help them first take photos of objects then slowly move to portraits, this might help. BTW-Yes our annual Thanksgiving dinner is in honor of our new refugees. Photos coming t Flickr tomorrow.

Becyward

1. Joan, I love Photo Peach! I need to explore this further. Just played Where in the World. Great!

BP Media Literacy

Media Literacy

Literacy

The United Nations Educational Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) defines literacy as being having the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate, compute and use printed and written materials associated with varying contexts.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literacy)

Media

Media is “In communication, media (singular medium) are the storage and transmission channels or tools used to store and deliver information or data. It is often referred to as synonymous with mass media or news media, but may refer to a single medium used to communicate any data for any purpose”

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_(communication).

Media literacy might be defined as one’s ability to identify the meaning of the symbols presented in the data, interpret those symbols, and create a new reality or modify an existing reality.

Reality

Reality is, in everyday usage, means "the state of things as they actually exist."[1] Literally, the term denotes what is real; in its widest sense, this includes everything that is, whether or not it is observable or comprehensible.”

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reality)

It appears rather easy until one focuses on the “whether it is observable or comprehensible.” Viterbo U. is about to launch its first course in Global Sustainability. There are those who do not believe in global warming. Is it that they have solid evidence to refute those who believe otherwise or is that they are media illiterate?

Metaphor

The usual definition for metaphor is. “Figure of Speech.” A metaphor is a figure of speech concisely expressed by comparing two things, saying that one is the other.[

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metaphor)

Perhaps it is more than that. Media plus Metaphor might be defined as a, “Figure of Meaning.”

Global Warming has become a media metaphor. It is saying many things, comparing multiple things that have to do with the survival of our planet, the survival of the human species.

Media Literacy might also be considered a media metaphor. In order to be truly media literate, one might have to be competent in all the multi-intelligences.

This would mean that multi-intelligence is also a metaphor representing the holistic nature of intelligence. No one is mono-intelligent.

Here are a few sites I found interesting concerning media literacy.

Media literacy URL’s

http://www.medialit.org/reading_room/arti

cle540.html

Welcome!

The Media Literacy Online Project and

the Media Literacy Review are no

longer maintained as Internet sites.

Both served their purpose and now,

with so many excellent resources

online, it has come time to close both

projects. We are keeping this single

page updated as a gateway to

resources educators find of value.

A number of media education

organizations have become available

since the Media Literacy Online

Project was started in 1994. You are

encourage to visit and become

familiar with these organizations.

Action Coalition for Media Education

(ACME) ACME is a network of

educators, students, health

professionals, journalists, mediamakers,

parents, activists, and other

citizens joined as a member supported,

independent, nonprofit

continental educational coalition.

Alliance for a Media Literate America

(AMLA) The goal of the AMLA is to

stimulate growth in media literacy

education in the United States by

organizing and providing national

leadership, advocacy, networking,

and information exchange.

Center for Media Literacy (CML) A

pioneer in its field, the Center for

Media Literacy (CML) is a nonprofit

educational organization that provides

leadership, public education,

professional development and

educational resources nationally.

Jesuit Communication Project (JCP)

The Jesuit Communication Project

provides a variety of resources and

services for teachers, parents, church

groups, school boards, students, and

other interested groups. The goal is

to encourage, promote, and develop

Media Education across Canada

Media Awareness Network The Media

Awareness Network (MNet), home to

one of the world’s most

comprehensive collections of media

education and Internet literacy

resources.

Media Literacy Clearing House. A

comprehensive site with informational

resources of value to educators.

National Telemedia Council The

National Telemedia Council is a

national nonprofit organization that

has been promoting the concept of

media literacy for five decades.

http://www.mediaeducationweek.ca/downl

oads/Media_Education.pdf

Sunday, December 6, 2009

BP extra: My Avatar in search of Mary Oliver

BP 11a; leapin' Lizards! Leapfrog explanation!

BP 11 2009122 one minute video

BP 8 Researching 2.0 Tools


The most important 2.0 application for my current teaching is Ning (http://viterbodemo.ning.com/)
The Ning social network site allow me to consolidate forum, chat, video, photo, and groups together at one hub. It allows each group to set up and link their own websites such as iweb. I am required to use the University’s Blackboard as the CMS. It is important that my graduate students in the Master in Servant Leadership be able to continue their research and learning after the seven week course is over. Ning. Gives the students the opportunity do just that.

The Ning. Site is easy to use and modify. There is no need for a set of instructions or a YouTube presentation.

However, here is the address of a good Ning. Tutorial on YouTube.


The second web 2.0 tool that will enhance the learning of my graduate students is facebook. Each learrning cohort will be required to create a facebook group.
As we build our igoogle accounts, I believe it will be invaluable for my graduate students to do the same. By adding these three 20 applications, my students will be able to move beyond the limitations of Blackboard by constructing their personal learning environments (PLE).

The key is to teach my students how to consolidate all the web 2.0 applications. I see Ning. As the Hub. The students can link their blogs and relevant websitrs to the hub. They can upload critical videos from YouTube and TED for example. The can also upload their personal or team videos and photos.











BP9 2009122 Flickr Lesson Plan


TDSB Sustainability
Originally uploaded by gribbind
This is a flikr lesson plan I can use in my Servant leadership & Global Sustainability course. I my first thought is to have my learning cohorts create a flikr photo stream relating to their research project

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

BP5 2009121 Social Bookmarking Delicious


Delicious Account:

BP 6 2009121 Anti Teaching


CMS

Course Management Systems have been a part of formal education from the first time a teacher prepared to teach. The word curriculum comes from the Latin meaning to run a course (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curriculum). As a teacher prepares to teach he/she has a set of learning objectives in mind that relate to the chosen topic. These objectives may or may not be clearly defined. In fact, they may be tacit at first. The teacher may only have a sense that something needs to be learned and therefore needs to be taught. The belief is that whatever that learning is, it cannot be left to the whims of hit or miss experience. Perhaps the first CMS was the campfire where the storyteller told the story to the children who learned to recite the story and take the lesson of the story to heart and mind. Another example of early CMS is the one room school house.

One Room Schoolhouse, Interior

(http://www.ronsaari.com/stockImages/schoolhouses/oneRoomSchoolhouseInteriorClintonNJ.php)

The formalization of curricula requires a place or platform to support the learning. The teacher has an intention, intentional curriculum. It defines what the teacher imagines will happen when the curriculum is introduced to the student. Applied curriculum defines what actually takes place during the learning time. The actualized curriculum is what the student actually learns and takes away from the curriculum managed system. The virtual CMS platforms serve the same purpose. They are designed to support the intentional curriculum, the applied curriculum, and the actualized curriculum.

PLE

Personal Learning Environments are more ancient then curriculum management systems. The date back to the first moment human beings reflected upon their position in the world. First Person learning environments had to do with survival. The evolution of the human person moved from survival skills to symbolic language. The meaning of meaning and the reflection of self took root in the Neocortex.

Human Persons reflected upon the unseen as well as the seen. Reality was reshaped again and again. Yet, humans continue to need a personal learning environment in order to survive and thrive. The personal learning environment for Buddha was the middle path and a seat under the Bodhi Tree. The personal learning environment for Shakespeare was the Globe Theater and his writing desk. The personal learning environment for Sister Theresa was the Poor of India and a private place to pray. There is fluency to PLE’s. Humans tend to flow to and from private space to social space. An effective curriculum management system will support that flow.

No matter what the CMS-PLE relationship, it will only be deemed effective if it enhances the life on the Human Persons participating in the learning experience. Perhaps the equation should be

CMS-PLE-RLE:

Curriculum Management System-Personal Learning Environment – Real Life Experience.

2.0

2.0 applications is an advancement allowing the student to participate in the learning experience. Ironically it is a way to get back to a time when the learning distance between teacher and student was closer than it is today. The intimacy of storyteller to audience was critical for any learning to take place. Buddha’s students walked by his side. Jesus’ disciples did the same. Socrates perfected this form of CMS and paid for it with his life. The current teacher – learning model actually predates the industrial age and has its roots in the feudal system. The privileged class taught the privileged class. The democratization of education was born in the early stages of the industrial age to train the future workforce. The blossoming of colleges in America was to educate the merchant class along with the upper class. The lower class was still not in the education picture. In the early 1800’s many merchant’s sons attended private faith based colleges studying to become pastors. Most of them returned to tend their father’s business. The model of learning was still based upon the feudal system of lecture. Teachers became professors, the new high priests of knowledge. Professor priests evolved into professor bishops and professor cardinals as they moved from B.A.’s to M.A.’s to PhD’s. The ritual of tenure was created to protect their positions as the holy banks of knowledge. A priest or a teacher has no purpose if there is no parishioner in need of saving. In the case of the priest it is saving the soul. In the case of the student, the professor is saving the student from a life on ignorance and poverty. One might argue that the history of education is coming full circle. Once there were 2.0 as storyteller and story listener participated in the learning moment. It is where morals were first discussed and reflected on. The storyteller was changed as much as the story listener. No one stood outside the story. Today students are facilitators of learning before they have a “Teacher Experience.” Students who are home schooled test as high as students who attend brick & mortar schools. They are accepted at the best colleges. They are well adjusted. They have excellent social skills. They have computers and high speed internet connections. 2. 0 works because it relates to the most ancient of human dynamics, the need to participate with fellow human persons. Learning is like breathing. It is not something anyone can choose not to do. It is how it is done that matters. 2.0, CMS, PLE are not new. The technology is new. The ability to enhance the way human persons can move from information gathering to gaining knowledge to becoming innovative / creative is new. How we learn is as old as human kind.


CMS - PLE

Monday, November 30, 2009

Bp2 2009121 Goggle Reader Feeds url's 11/30/09

PendergastThomasETC

These are three igoogle reader feeds I find relevant to my current work:

1. Education Week

(http://www.edweek.org/ew/index.html?intc=ml)

2. Environmental Leader

(http://www.environmentalleader.com/)

3.Topix

(http://www.topix.net/city/minneapolis-mn

BP 4 visual 2009121 11/30/09 Storybird Demo

BP4 2009121 Tool#1Web 2.0 11/30/09-Storybird

Pendergast, Thomas 2.0 blogETC

(http://storybird.com/) as the web 2.0 site. . It offers a wide range of art work allowing writers to create a picture book by their own words. Here is a story created in approximately twenty minute

http://storybird.com/books/up-or-down/

This is an excellent site for pre-school children as well as elementary. It is also an excellent site for teachers to create their own stories to compliment existing curriculum or for the creation of new curriculum. Fill in the blanks stories can be created. A list of possible words could be offered for younger participants. Older participants can be challenged to create their own list. Old and new poetry could be printed with appropriate pictures. Math problems could be paired with relevant pictures. Storybird has a save function allowing the writer to save work and come back to continue. Once the work is done to the satisfaction of the author, the book can be published for public online reading.

The online service is free. They plan to offer a fee based print service in the near future. I consult for a nonprofit who works with Somali refugees and Spanish speaking immigrants. The stories can be typed in two or three languages. The students can create their own translations with the guidance of the teacher. I have uploaded the demo for your review.

The FAQ is comprehensive. The ethics are clearly defined. Finally, they offer an artist’s workshop site for artists to upload their own art work .