Clif’s Notes

Teaching and Learning with Web 2.0

I’m teaching a special topics seminar this summer for graduate students. The topic will be Teaching and Learning with Web 2.0 Technologies. I began preparing for this course in June 2007 and I’m very excited about it. While we’ll consider common trends and issues and survey many of the popular tools and services related to Web 2.0, the heart of the course will be learning to effectively integrate Web 2.0 technologies and principles with teaching and learning. The focus will be on K-12 education but accommodations can be made for individuals from other fields (health, corporate, military, higher education, etc.). This draft version of the Course Topics provides an overview of the likely curriculum.

While the dominate driving force in the development of the curriculum and resources has been the upcoming class, I always planned for this to be a relatively open learning community. In keeping with the principles of Web 2.0 I encourage the participation of everyone with an interest or expertise in this topic. You may contribute to the discussion and fun by using the following tag/keyword: idt7078

Related Resources

• Course Wiki
• Google Reader Shared Items
• Diigo Group
• News Notes on This Topic
• More Coming Soon

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More Favorite Children’s Books

I enjoyed our recent discussion of favorite children’s books so much that I wanted write a follow-up. A lot of teachers have mentioned that they have already bookmarked it for future reference. This blog exists for exactly that reason - to be a resource for teachers.

My favorite genre of children’s literature is wordless picture books. It’s fun to see kids get swept away in these books. The artwork is usually stellar and the author’s/ illustrator’s work typically invokes our creative interpretations. Wordless picture books can be a great way to encourage higher order thinking, creativity, and self-expression. They can often be used to practice the elements of a story (setting, plot, character, etc.) or to initiate activities in creative writing, art, drama, multi-media, etc. It’s often a good way to level the playing field with regard to student reading levels. Here are a few of my very favorite wordless picture books.

The Silver Pony - One of the very first books I “read” from my elementary school library. This book has many elements that I have always enjoyed: horses, Greek mythology, art, imagination and creativity. I wish I knew how many times I checked out this book. I need to go buy a copy for our family library.

Animalia - Another outstanding work by Graeme Base.

Tuesday - Mostly a wordless picture book about frogs.

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New STEM Resources and Games from PBS KIDS GO!

Our kids watch several of these programs and have enjoyed playing these games. All things considered these games are pretty good.

April 23, 2008 – Several new online science and math games are now available from PBS KIDS GO!

Fetch!: CSI: Squeak Sneak
Use problem-solving and logical reasoning strategies to deduce who stole Ruff’s squeaky toy. Search for clues at the crime scene, analyze and identify the clues in the crime lab and identify the thief by matching clues to suspects.

–From PBS Teachers

Favorite Children’s Books

Earlier this week I was a parent reader in the class of one of our children. Although I’m an elementary math and science teacher I do really like children’s literature. We read with our mother nearly everyday growing up. One of our grandmothers was an elementary school librarian and she kept us supplied with books, books on tape, magazine subscriptions, and more. I was also blessed with many teachers that loved books. I made a conscious effort to read books to my students because I wanted them to see books being appreciated by a man, a mathematician and a scientist. Now, our home’s bookshelves overflow with children’s books as we enjoy reading to our own children. All that to say, I always have a difficult time selecting the books to read in these types of situations. Here are some of the reasons.

1. There are so many great books with which I want all kids to be familiar.
2. There are some books that I really want to read to them, but am nearly certain that they’ve already encountered them (Where the Wild Things Are). I’m never completely sure, though.
3. I like to read a book that our son or daughter especially likes and point this out to his or her classmates.
4. Reading a book with a moral purpose is always desired.
5. I like to narrate the story (with character voices and sound effects) which limits the pool of potential books to some degree.
6. Books based on television programs, computer games, websites, toys, etc. pretty much are not going to make the cut.
7. I want all the children to fall in love with the book.

Do you see why I have a bit of trouble deciding what to read? It’s a great delima with which to be faced, though!

Here are some of the books that received strong consideration.

• Round Trip
• The Tale of the Three Trees
• Where the Wild Things Are
• Don’t Eat the Teacher
• Chugga-Chugga Choo-Choo
• Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
• Water Hole

I actually received input from many of this blog’s reader via Twitter. As a result, I thought it would be a useful idea and a lot of fun to mention and discuss your favorite children’s books here on the blog - thus, this post. So,…

What are your favorite children’s books?

UPDATE: Join this closely related discussion.

photo credit: ianus

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PBS Focuses on Digital Storytelling during May

I just ran across a couple of really good resources from PBS Teachers that I wanted to mention here. Here’s the first one.

May 1, 2008 - This month’s Media Infusion blogger, secondary school educator and filmmaker Joe Fatheree, looks at digital storytelling as a means to create independent learners, promote collaboration, improve research and writing skills, and educate the whole child. Fatheree takes readers through a step-by-step process of filmmaking that can be adapted for use in many contexts with students of varying ages.

PBS Teachers invites educators to visit Media Infusion in May and ask questions, comment on Fatheree’s suggestions or offer some of their own.

–From PBS Teachers

We the People…

I’m old enough to remember the Schoolhouse Rock videos airing between cartoons on Saturday mornings. I really liked (most of) them as a kid. I rediscovered them years later as a classroom teacher and was even more impressed by them. Not only do these videos cover a lot of curriculum they are also artistically impressive. My wife and I are getting to enjoy all the Schoolhouse Rock fun again with our kids.

We’re looking at integrating higher order thinking skills and word processing in one of my classes right now. The following video is connected to the lesson. Reminisce and enjoy!

Let’s share ideas about how any/all the following could be integrated with teaching and learning.

• This or any Schoolhouse Rock video
• Word processing technologies (desktop or online alternatives)
• Higher order thinking skills

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1 Thing

I’ve added a new feature to Clif’s Notes called 1 Thing. This special section is an area where guest bloggers can communicate “1 thing” they would like to share, suggest, say, demonstrate, etc. about a particular topic. This section will forever be a work in progress, so feel free to suggest guest bloggers and topics anytime. You can easily access this section by clicking on the 1 Thing link in the main menu.

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Suggested Reading

$125,000 a Year for Every Teacher? Quick, Update Your Resume!

March Madness (It’s Not Just for Basketball) Links

From Toy to Tool: Cell Phones in Schools

The Class of 2K8

The Nation’s First Blind Governor

Cell Phone Cameras in the K-12 Classroom: Punishable Offense or Student Journalism?

Twitter in Education?

Why You Can’t Explain twitter in 140 Characters

Teaching and Learning with Squidoo

*DISCLAIMER: I’ve hesitated to share this resource because of the advertising and economics tied to it. I have given it a quick test and think that all of that stuff remains invisible. I’m sharing this resource because, in the right context, I see true potential in its integration with teaching and learning.

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Have you seen Squidoo? I would roughly describe it as a means of mashing up information from a variety of resources into a lens (as in the eye of a giant squid; fancy word for webpage). This is accomplished through customization and pulling together a good number of RSS feeds, favorites, bookmarks, page rankings/voting, etc. Lenses are ranked, money is given to daily winners, etc.* You can actually earn money for charity or for yourself just by using the service.* I have browsed through many of the existing lenses and been impressed by their quality. I am guessing that the whole free market competition model encourages quality effort as those with lenses with the highest use and approval are rewarded. Most of the ones I reviewed were by doctors, therapists, professors, etc. and all seemed well-credentialed. It is likely that you will find some lenses that you can use in your own classroom.

I haven’t completely made up my mind about what I think of Squidoo (I found it very, very late last night) but it has certainly given me some things to consider. Ideas for integrating it with learning and instruction have flooded my mind. In the right context it would be an interesting tool for teachers and learners to use for webquests, research, scavenger hunts, presentations, cooperative learning, online classes, a Web 2.0 activity, etc. Additional ideas and strategies are very end of this post.

There is also a section called Hey Monkey Brain where students can pick, research and debate a topic. Again, in the right context this feature has several positive educational implications.

I joined and threw together my own lens on the topic of educational technology. Take a look…

• My Squidoo Profile: http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/clifsnotes
• My Ed Tech Lens: http://www.squidoo.com/clifsnotes

You can setup your own free account using here.

Integrating Squidoo

I thought it might be helpful to all of us if we brainstormed ways to integrate the use of Squidoo with teaching and learning. Here are some of the ideas (classes, lesson topics, activities) that came to me.

• Business
• Economics
• Research
• Writing and editing
• Information design
• Current events
• Math/ science/ health news and research
• Travel planning/ virtual field trip scenarios
• Marketing
• Student designed and developed webquests
• Homework helper
• Tips for parents
• Book reviews
• Debate/ critical thinking/ persuasive writing
• Newsletters
• Service learning/ moral education
• Instructional design/ lesson planning
• Online/ web-enhanced learning
• Focus on composers, painters, or sculptors
• Communicate information and resources to teachers about particular special needsMuch of the above can be modified for use in foreign language classes

Suggested Reading

Sickness has finally made its way into our home. All but one of us have been sick since the weekend and I am not that lucky one. As a result, I have had lots of time to grade, plan and read. I though I’d share these particularly interesting posts with you this evening.

Be Good to the Lunch Ladies

Web 2.0 Is the Future of Education

Student Voices on Cyberbullying

RE Social Network Sites-An Open Letter to the Superintendent

New Voicethread Export Feature

Blogging with Students

Happy Leap Day

It’s February 29th. Happy Leap Day everyone!!! Here are 15 activities to help you celebrate. You can also learn a bit more information about this date here.

On this date in…

• 1972 - Hank Aaron becomes the first player in the history of Major League Baseball to sign a $200,000 contract.
• 1956 - U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces to the nation that he is running for a second term.

7 Engineering Wonders of the Modern World

Wow! I’ve seen these engineering feats many times but I still find them impressive. Each has set world records in size, engineering, etc. “From Venice to Boston, Egypt to England, here are seven amazing engineering wonders of the modern world.”

How do you think students would respond to these images, stories, video, and information?

6.3 Earthquake in Nevada

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.3 shook Northeastern Nevada this morning at 6:16 AM. The quake was reported to have been felt in California, Nevada and Utah. Full details are available here.

Consider integrating this current event into your class. Off the top of my head there are good math, science, research, writing and service activities related to this event.

Classroom Resources

• U. S. Geological Survey’s educational resources
• Disaster News Network reports about disasters AND recovery efforts.
• Center for Earthquake Research and Information
• PBS’ Savage Earth
• TeacherTube videos

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Cell Phones as Learning Tools

Have you ever seen cell phones used in the classroom? Have you ever considered using cell phones in the classroom? If you keep an open mind you’ll find that there are some potential benefits in integrating cell phones with teaching and learning. “This video highlights the work of Carla Dolman and Gord Taylor and the grade 8 and 9 students of Craik School.”

Certainly there are things that must be considered when using cell phones in the classroom, but the effective use of math manipulatives also takes careful consideration and preparation. I’m just throwing the idea out there for discussion.

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