Monday, February 23, 2009

Profound Quote

I have to write this down, so I'll remember it. It had profound impact on me.

In reading Edutopia, the December/January issue, there is an article written by Will Richardson...and very well respected Edublogger: one that I follow.

The article is entitled, "World Without Walls". The article is about teaching when learning is everywhere. How does that exactly change what we're doing?

These excerpts struck me....
"Inherent in the collaborative process is a new way of thinking about teaching and learning. We must find our own teachers, and they must find us. ...the best most memorable effective teachers are the ones that we discover, not the ones we are given."

"We as educators need to reconsider our roles in students' lives, to think of ourselves as connectors first and content experts second."

"We no longer need to be present to participate..."

"Many of our students continue to explore the perils and pitfalls of instant communication with little guidance from their teachers. The technology we block in classrooms, flourish in their bedrooms."

"In our zeal to hold on to the old structures of teaching and learning, and to protect students at all costs, we are not just leaving them ill prepared for the future, we are also missing an enormous learning opportunity for ourselves as learners."


I dare you to read the whole thing....once you do....let's discuss!!
http://www.edutopia.org/collaboration-age-technology-will-richardson

Monday, January 26, 2009

Why Blog or Wiki?

Electronic Communications Correlations to
Research Based Effective Teaching Practices

  • Blogs and wikis allow for an authentic audience. (Correlates to Effective Teaching Strategy: Engagement)

  • Blogs and Wikis allow for collaboration. (Correlates to Effective Teaching Strategy: Engagement) Collaboration is also research based (Marzanos, 2001)

  • Blogs and wikis allow for the strengthening of literacy (Correlates to Effective Teaching Strategy: Writing Across the Curriculum)
"Generous amounts of reading, writing and argument are essential to the
development of truly literate and educated students” --Schmoker, 2006
http://mikeschomker.com/write-more.html

  • Blogs and wikis can be used as a formative assessment by the teacher when a scoring guide has been prepared. (Making Standards Work, Common Formative Assessments)

  • Blogs and wikis give students a voice. (Correlates to Effective Teaching Strategy: Engagement and Differentiation)

  • Blogs and wikis could activate the learner through anticipation guides created by the instructor.

  • Blogs and wikis could further student use of non-linguistic representations and concept attainment (Effective Teaching Strategy: Engagement) (Marzanos)


Using blogs and wikis helps us support NCTE’s definition of 21st Century Literacies, which was adopted by the NCTE Executive Committee , February 15, 2008.
Twenty-first century readers and writers need to:


  • Develop proficiency with the tools of technology

  • Build relationships with others to pose and solve problems collaboratively and cross-culturally

  • Design and share information for global communities to meet a variety of purposes

  • Manage, analyze, and evaluate multimedia texts

  • Attend to the ethical responsibilities required by these complex environments.