This Thursday, I have the pleasure of speaking to a class at the University of Richmond on social media in K-12 education.

I unfortunately have both good and bad examples to share, but I wanted to collect my thoughts on the talk here, along with a few resources I plan to share.

1. What’s your definition of “Web 2.0?” We used this as an interview question. We’re interested in your take (btw, if you’re ever asked) and not just a dictionary definition.
2. Tell me about your experiences in what you do, and your experiences thus far in this class.
3. Digital footprints. I’m going to take a cue from Professor Becker here and try this activity, to “Google” the students. What will we find? What’s their contribution to the crowd of voices online?
4. Pros/Cons What are some of the pros and cons of social media they’ve learned about thus far, and what examples do they have?
5. Blogging, and teacher blogging. What’s the point, and what are the potential advantages?
6. Goochland’s goals when starting teacher blogging in 2005. Blogs have played a role in the way we operate, and what’s come about from this?
7. Emulation, Copyright, and Legal Issues.
8. Twitter and the World of Tweets. Share guide posted today, Tuesday.
9. Getting Social. “Goochbook” and our Ning Social Network
10. Blogs, RSS, and Podcasting – discussion about the world of podcasting. Are we still social?
11. Final Exam: What does it take to learn online? Discussion about putting all of this into context… Khan Academy, MIT Courseware, open textbooks, and what’s next?

John Hendron is also podcaster for the Virginia Society for Technology in Education.

A few recommended blogs:

• Joho the Blog
• Confessions of an Aca-Fan
• Creating Lifelong Learners
• Classroom 2.0
• Teach Paperless
• Kottke – the Liberal Arts 2.0

While eating lunch today between sessions of my class, I read through this white paper by Dr. Jonathan Becker and associates on technology literacy, in connection with project-based learning with Generation YES. It was a new find for me (tweeted by the good professor) and did a good job at explaining the “whys” behind project-based approaches.

As I continue to refine and re-think our G21 (Goochland Twenty-First Century Skills) projects and framework, I think this will be a valuable resource to share with teachers and administrators.

See also: Collaborative document on digital literacy in education.

Some time ago, I began hosting a wiki on my own computer at home. I made things work so I could access it elsewhere, but I primarily used it at home.

I used some software called Instiki. The basic idea is this:

I wanted a single spot, accessible from anywhere (I had Internet), where I could collect information that would be, or was, important to me. I wanted John’s “wikipedia.”

It lasted for awhile, but then, I gave up.

It failed because the DNS settings would need updated, or the machine at home was off or asleep. And then I got a new router, and had to figure out how to open those home ports up again. Bother.

But I think the concept is still very important, and one that’s liable for expansion with the proliferation of cloud-based services.

First, a few points.

1. The type of tool used isn’t critical; it can be a wiki, or a blog, or simply a “notebook.”
2. It ought to be “cloud based” with a local capability, too.
3. It ought to have privacy and publishing capabilities.

In many ways, bloggers have implemented such a system. You may have seen a blog post (I know I have but do not have a reference handy at the moment) where the author notes that the post is “for themselves.”

Just today, I e-mailed myself about 6 URLs to things I was researching.

But e-mails get lost, and blog posts are typically public affairs. And wikis are great, but perhaps a bit too geeky for most folks.

More and more I’ve turned to using a cloud-based note system. I’m using SimpleNote on my iOS devices, and Notational Velocity on my Macs. NV syncs to SimpleNote (like so many services sync to DropBox), and I didn’t realize I had re-invented my wiki idea.

Let’s take a practical example.

I want to know some good places to eat in Philadelphia, as I’m going to ISTE in late June. After doing my research, I can post this in a number of places, including in e-mails to colleagues. But where can it go, so I’m ready to reference this list the next time I visit? I shouldn’t have to look it up again, at least, in a short time period. And if I visit Philly again in 3 years, I ought to add to the list, instead of totally recreating it.

A good blog, tagged and categorized, can work. But a wiki strips us of the temporal aspect of the blog, and instead, relies totally on search. My notes work in a similar way. I can search for them in either app, and make updates that get updated everywhere. The “server” in wikispeak is the SimpleNote server; each app is simply a client to the server.

And if I’m offline, the apps will sync the next time I’m connected.

After using this for over 6 months, I put a lot of notes into the system. I’ve been bitten once by a syncing mistake. But I’ve also found the single repository for John’s meeting notes, to-do lists, and basic information (like great Philly restaurants) really helpful. And I can publish my note, or share it with a friend.

I realize there are now a variety of tools now that will do this… but the individual tools aren’t important. It’s that you utilize the connectedness of the network to corral your digital thoughts and information in a central, digital collection.

I recall when introducing the Promethean board to teachers (using ActivStudio Professional version 3), I often would get the oos and ahhs when they’d see the “math” tools, such as the protractor, ruler, and compass. And while these have a place in elementary and middle school, by time we get to “advanced” math in high school, folks are asking “what’s left for us?” The problem is, the pedagogy of the flipchart and the included tools begins to fade a bit, in my opinion.

For instance, the program Mathematica, version 7, introduced palettes for using their software on IWB (interactive white boards). Calculators come with display software for demonstrations, and programs like the Geometer’s Sketchpad and Geogebra can take over the entire screen. Pen to board, tablet to board, but the software teachers are interested in is no longer ActivStudio (or today’s most recent version, Inspire).

So, when I’m thinking about how to best utilize the board in a high school classroom, these things come to mind.

John’s Thoughts on IWB in Secondary Math

1. Use flipcharts to prepare problems ahead of time. Remember to leave space or have blank pages where the problems can be worked out by you or a volunteer student. An ActivSlate is a good tool to use to pass around the room.
2. Utilize screenshots of your supporting software when presenting information or problems. You don’t have to be in Mathematica, SmartView, or even a sample test… capture pieces and parts from your math software or from release tests and put this content into a flipchart using the camera tool.
3. Utilize the resources library. Just because Inspire doesn’t come with everything you need, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use it… instead, build your own library of resources that you tend to use and re-use. This can include instructions, drawings, graph backgrounds, and more.
4. Create your own page templates. The actions in Inspire are there for embedding things like tools into your pages. You can also create your own actions and your own tools. Building them into a page template helps do two things: keeps your pages consistent, and provides at your reach the symbols and actions you need. You can create new pages utilizing these page templates from your resources library.
5. Augment your own content with simulations and interactive content. I really like the math content from Adaptive Curriculum, not to mention these from the University of Colorado.
6. Use video to change the pace. If you’re tired of standing up in front of the students, chances are, they might be too. Using video as an instructional medium has always been a mainstay in education, and of course, the board can be used to present videos (say, like those from the Khan Academy). But with students having access to their own devices, the board may be used instead to pose questions as the videos are watched independently by students.
7. Use a backchannel for questions. This isn’t for every teacher, but you can set up side-conversations that take place during class to capture questions from students in a non-threatening way. You may have your own tools at your school for this, or you can use a free tool like Poll Everywhere or Today’s Meet.
8. Share screens. If students are using school laptops with the proper software installed, you may be able to post a live view of what they’re seeing on their screen on the IWB. This can be a way to leverage student demonstrations without taking time to go to the board.
9. Post content online for reinforcement. Since teachers can share what they see on screen using screen capture software (I’ve found the software included in the Mac version of Inspire severely lacking), or by exporting a flipchart as PDF, it’s easy to export a lesson and post it to the Web. This is great if you’re a student who missed a lesson, but it also provides a great review to apply during a homework session or for a review for a test.
10. Connect to the real world. A promethean board isn’t essential for connecting math to the real world, but it’s certainly a tool we can leverage with the variety of rich media today online. Sites like “Where’s the SMATH?” and “Mathalicious” are two examples that inspire learning leveraging real-life scenarios and media with inquiry-based learning.

John’s Tips for the Newbie IWB Teacher

1. Let the kids become experts with the software. You’ll hate that they might learn faster than you, but then again, you’ve got 25 folks who can provide tech support when you need it. Plus, they really should be using the board more than you!
2. Leverage the interactive pieces. If you have Activotes or ActivExpressions – use them. Quizzes are possible, but boring. Instead, ask questions throughout class, and keep it going. Students use these to get feedback. It’s about engagement, and it’s all about them. Video games dole it out every 7 seconds. How fast can you go?
3. Sometimes paper might be better! I’m not a luddite, but sometimes paper is our tool of choice. Leverage the use of a document camera.
4. Save your flipcharts. Unless you’re running out of hard drive space, keep a separate copy for each class.
5. Share your flipcharts. Schools ought to be sharing their resources. Share with your school first, your region next, and then the world. The more high-quality resources that are shared, the better!

Places to go for support, sharing, and more:

• Promethean Planet
• CMS Flipchart Wiki
• Promethean Playground Wiki (with videos)
• ActivInspire QuickTips
• Interactive Online Activities Database
• John and Bea’s Promethean Training Flipcharts (Goochland County Schools)
• ActivExpression Setup Help
• ActivExpression in Use (video) from Graeme Boxwell.

Today the iPad app Flipboard finally added support for RSS feeds through its integration of Google Reader.

Readers of my book (RSS for Educators: Blogs, Newsfeeds, Podcasts, and Wikis in the Classroom) will know that aggregators are the class of software that lets you collect together your own version of the Web into one spot via RSS. I’ve downloaded Reeder for iPad, but have found myself using it less since using Flipboard. Now, Flipboard becomes infinitely more useful.

Flipboard makes a newspaper- or magazine-esque style reading experience for you via your iPad. But instead of reading the content from one source, you can of course collect together your own newspaper/magazine using content that interests you – and I mean either the content specifically (technology news, sports) or the source (Gizmodo, ESPN). Everytime you open it up, it’s got fresh content, and it’s like it’s all been custom made–just for you.

Add to this their own “channels” of content, Twitter, and Facebook—it really can be your entire digital interests in one app that continues to make me smile, using it now for over a month. Don’t delay–it’s free!

N.B. Both Reeder and Flipboard tie into the online aggregator from Google – Google Reader. So, you put all of your feeds into Google Reader. Reeder then pulls content from Google, and now it’s the same setup with Flipboard. So, once you’ve set up your favorite feeds in Google, either of these two apps simply offer a better “display” of the content.