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» What’s “Print?” Bud the Teacher
"What does “print resource” mean anymore? Has it become a meaningless term?
Let’s consider for a moment what used to count. An article from a newspaper was, in my classroom, considered a print resource. How about now? I’m more likely to read my local paper online than I am to read the print edition. Is an article from the newspaper still a print resource?
How about a magazine article? When I was in middle and high school, one of the great resources at the local library was a collection of magazine articles on CD-ROM databases. Even then, a magazine article wasn’t a print source, but it counted as one. Maybe because I was required to turn in a printout of the article with the final draft of my papers.
Encyclopedias? By high school, encyclopedias shouldn’t be cited by anyone, much less count as sources. But they did, and often do.
So might I humbly suggest a small change to any assignment that requires students to provide a “print” resource? Ask them for a primary source instead."
» On Modeling Bud the Teacher
I wish I had something pithy to add to this, but I'm pretty much stuck on "well said" or perhaps "I agree completely."
This is pretty much what I've tried to say to the folks in my building. I try to be careful not to push them anywhere they don't want to go, but when they're ready to but are nervous about it, yours is the approach I take. If you're worried something you're doing is not okay for students (or others) to see, then perhaps you need to examine whether you should be doing it in the first place. But if you feel comfortable with what you're doing, then why would you be concerned with students (or others) seeing it? We should all try to be our best selves, whether that is online or off.
Modeling is definitely key, as well as the acknowledgment that we're all human and are occasionally going to make mistakes (both offline and online). As long as we're as honest as possible about that, then I think we're on the right track.
Like so many of the discussions we have around technology, I think there's an artificial separation between our online and offline lives. Just as I think we don't really need new policies to police student behavior online (because I think the same "offline" policies are just as applicable online), I'm not sure we need separate rules of engagement of our online personas. Yes, it's a different space. And, yes, our "digital footprint" is usually more permanent and accessible than an offline conversation. But that doesn't alter the fact that we shouldn't be changing our actions just because we might get "caught" or "noticed" in a digital space. I'll say it again, we should always try to be our best selves, online or off.
» The Filter. For the Moment. Bud the Teacher
Darren and Bud,
I have had similar conversations in my district around the idea of why do we think we have to have separate rules for technology. The basic values we ask teachers and students to adhere to apply just as well to technology issues as they do to everything else, why with technology do we suddenly think we have to have a laundry list of “shall nots?” Much like our earlier discussion about “acceptable use policies” versus “responsible use policies (http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2008/12/lets-get-rid-of-acceptable-use-policies.html),” I would like the focus to be on how students should be using these tools well, not on which ones should be banned or blocked.
Perhaps this is naive, but this is my basic position: students and teachers know when they are doing the right thing and when they are not. And when they don’t do the right thing, then we should have a conversation with them. But let’s don’t assume they are going to do the wrong thing and then try to “prevent” it somehow by filtering.
We trust our teachers to be physically in the classroom (and on the sports fields and in our activities) with our students day in and day out, pretty much without any kind of “supervision.” There is much more potential for abuse (in all meanings of that word) in that physical situation than with technology, so why do we continue to invest so much time, energy and money into filtering when we apparently don’t really care that much about what’s going on in the classroom (at least based on the resources we devote to observation/mentoring/professional development)?
» The Podcast: Worth Keeping Bud the Teacher
Thanks. It's a good start . . .
I'd like the next installment to delve a little more into what a comprehensive system might look like (that "suite of options" you mention) - with some specifics (even while realizing that that must be pretty flexible for different schools/districts).
You touched on this near the end, but will the things you've setup outlive you if you were to leave St. Vrain? Will students and teachers really be able to get their stuff out if need be on their own? (e.g., how does a student get all their work out of moodle in a usable form if St. Vrain has to lay off some of their IT staff?)
And, how "open" is Moodle in the first place? I know, I know, I need to learn it better, but it seems pretty separated from the rest of the web and reinforces the idea that student work is for school, and not for both themselves and the wider world. (And I know that's its appeal for a lot of folks, but not me.) And doesn't so much of this go back to what we are doing in the first place, whether it's "rich and meaningful and worthwhile" to do in the first place?
What delineates the difference between stuff that's just "in the moment" and is okay to do on a free tool simply because the learning is in the experience and not the archive, and something that is "worth keeping?" Do we always know that before we start an assignment/project? Who decides what's worth keeping? And do we sometimes value the product too much and want to keep it, when really we should be valuing the learning that took place in the moment?
As always, lots of questions from here in the peanut gallery, but not a lot of insights. Looking forward to the next podcast - and some of those draft posts seeing the light of day.
» Web Presence. On Purpose. Bud the Teacher
A lot to think about here, but I only have time for a quick comment.
You said "Luckily, I’ve got plenty of smart folks here to learn from and with. We should all be so lucky." Well, in many ways, given our ability to create, join or even just passively observe learning networks, aren't we all so lucky?
Oh, also wanted to mention how pleased I am that you've been blogging again the last month or two.
» (Re)Creating Ourselves Online Bud the Teacher
Perhaps it's just because I read them relatively close to each other, but for me this connects with a recent post by Will http://weblogg-ed.com/2008/making-kids-googlable/ . We need to think some more about how our students create and recreate themselves online, and how our efforts to keep them safe ("don't use your full name") may actually work at cross-purposes to that at times. Not that I have the answers, mind you, but I'm pretty sure our current approach isn't sufficient.
I think another piece of this is the idea of controlling (for lack of a better word) your online self (reputation). As somebody who has perhaps lost containment on that myself (being defined at least somewhat by others), I wonder if control is even possible (or desirable)?
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