Treasure Chest of Thoughts

Received my copy of Digital Directions in the mail yesterday and, as always, found several articles of immediate interest.   As I begin preparations for my 1:1 classroom, I appreciated the tip list on page 27.  Now this list actually goes with an article entitled “Characteristics of ‘Highly Qualified’ Online Teachers” by Katie Ash.  While my classroom will not be a “virtual” classroom, much of it will be online.

Tip 1:  Don’t wait for students to come to you with questions.

• My goal?  To have them questioning each other via my “old” tech tools (blogs and wikis) and the new ones I am discovering and learning this summer, including Etherpad, Webspiration, Penzu…and maybe Protopage.
• My goal?  To keep them busy learning and, yes, questioning.  Honestly?  We maybe questioning each other.  I have found that I daily learn from them also…shhhhh, sometimes I acknowledge it and pat them on the back; sometimes, though, I just go, “Good job!” and absorb and use the information!

Tip 2:  Be open to trying new technology tools.

• This one I partially addressed in Tip 1.  Summer is my salvation here, for during summer, I have the time to learn, to grow professionally, to self-teach, to share with peers (digitally, online…very cool!).
• CAUTION:  One has to be careful with Web 2.0, for there is just so much of it out there!  I spend the first part of the summer learning…then I stop and decide which ones work best for my learning and teaching style, and I begin to attempt to master my chosen tech tools.  Yes, this will be another post later!

Tip 3:  Experience online from a learner’s perspective by taking a virtual class.

• Several of my master’s level courses were online, and I very much enjoyed that experience.  I could work at my own pace and as my schedule allowed.
• The most recent way I experienced this was last week during which I spent five days with six peers as we worked on our new mini computers, learning and sharing:  yes, online.  A most valuable time.  So intense, but a week I would gladly plan for again.

Tip 4:  Promote responsible online behavior.

• Please consider this statement by Will Richardson in Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms (pg viii):  I can tell you from personal experience and from collecting anecdotal data from many other teachers, students don’t usually abuse the tools.
• This I, too, have found true.  One, I model this responsible behavior.  Two, I expect this behavior.  Three, my student appreciate this freedom to use technology.
• Ultimately, I take this responsibility on as a mother.  I simply want to protect my students, who are my kids, my children.  You know?

Tip 5:  Encourage an active online classroom community.

• My online classroom community will be student-to-student within our classroom (as we did last year).  Now, I am making contacts to increase our community with other classrooms within our district, our coop, our state, our nation, and, yes, even our plant.  That’s right…more blog posts about this within the next year!

Tip 6:  Learn to manage your online time well.

• This is a concern I hear voiced by many teachers.  My answer at this point?  Plan, plan, plan…and then plan some more.  Again, summer is the answer for me. 
• I hope that with the use of 1:1 computers this year and with students collaborating and submitting digitally that one result will be that I, the teacher, will have more time to plan.  This is what my ultimate concern is…that I will not have adequately prepared for each class, resulting in online time not being spent well.
• Efficacy.  Teacher ownership.  Teacher responsibility to her students. 

My favorite tip?  Tip 2.  Please try it out!