BioBlog

Jack, who is blind, enters classroom 2020 and selects an MP3 player loaded with a CBS update on the outbreak of MRSA in area high schools.  Mason and Alena are checking their Pageflakes for the latest news on antibiotic resistant bacteria, while Janet and Celine check their blogs and del.icio.us accounts and discuss how to refine their tags in order to narrow the scope of the information they are receiving.  Lawrence and Murphy, who is quadriplegic, are designing a wiki where the entire class will share their learning about the nature of bacteria and the spread of infectious disease.  Brianne and Fred, two academically gifted students, are engaged in a webinar with the CDC in Atlanta being run by the specialists on the growing outbreak of tuberculosis in large inner-city areas of the United States.   In another area of the room, Wyatt and Terry are checking their bacteria cultures, and Joni, who has difficulty reading, but who is an excellent photographer, is taking digital photos to upload to the class wiki.  She will add these to the growing collection in her flickr account.  The remainder of the students are taking part in an online program form the Cleveland Museum of Natural History called “Disease Detectives.”

Where is the teacher?  She and her colleagues are in the room carefully monitoring and assisting students as needed.  Their hardest work, designing an atmosphere where students are encouraged to learn and to enrich each other, has been done behind the scenes.  This is an organic classroom where every student is able to learn, and where students have something to say about what and how they learn.  There is no “inclusion” here because everyone genuinely belongs and everyone contributes to the total learning of the group.  The instructors have set the framework, but the color and the flavor of the learning are determined by the students.  These young people will leave this classroom able to solve problems, think critically,  collaborate, publish, and make decisions about what information and tools they need and where to find them.  In other words, these kids are ready for the real world.

The classrooms in 2020 will not be devoid of direct instruction and personal contact with teachers.  Web 2.0 offers wonderful opportunities for expanding learning networks, but the teacher is still the motivator who can nurture and inspire.   Inquiry learning is a great way to simulate the real world, but children need fundamental knowledge before they can be expected to inquire about anything.  It will still be the job of the teacher to build that foundation and to plant the seed that will grow into the desire to know more and then to apply that knowledge in various ways to construct meaning.  Kids need to feel safe and valued.  The human connection is the first step toward building any kind of meaningful network, and that role cannot be taken by a machine of any type.

 If teachers are to be able to offer quality instruction, not only will classrooms look different, but faculty planning rooms will have a new look as well.  Teachers will be checking their own del.icio.us accounts to keep up with new ideas and new tools.  The departments in the high school and middle school and the elementary buildings will have blogs on which they can network with people around the world who are experts in various disciplines or who are doing cutting edge research in the area of effective instruction.  Wikis will be developed to share information district-wide as an answer to the longtime problem of having no time to meet with one another.  Teams of teachers will consist of representatives from all disciplines and specialists who can recommend the best practices for educating children with special needs.  This team will work as a unit, not as individuals.  Roles will change with each new layer of learning so that the person who is best equipped to deliver the initial content in one unit may be the one who is producing the podcasts for another.   In this same room, paperless submissions are being evaluated by language arts teachers, math teachers, science teachers, fine arts teachers, tech teachers, and anyone else who is able to give quality feedback for growth to each student.  This can be done more efficiently than passing around a printed document because the work can be seen online by all the teachers, and the student can work on one in-depth project rather than several smaller unrelated ideas.  This also means that students do not have to move to a different room with a different teacher every 40 minutes, powering down in one class, losing continuity, and then quickly regrouping for the next session.   In effect, every student will have an individualized education program of sorts.  Students will design a learning schedule each week to accomplish goals agreed upon by the team of teachers, the student, and his parents.  Care will be taken to ensure that the weekly plan is nicely balanced in terms of exposure to a variety of disciplines and activities including physical education, multicultural interaction, and extracurricular activities.

By the year 2020, the “digital divide” will have closed substantially as more businesses utilize web 2.0, increasing the demand for employees who are capable of social networking.  School systems, including universities, will have to prepare competent students who will be able to walk through the doors of the workplace with the skills of the twenty-first century.  To achieve this, teacher leaders must emerge who will dazzle the doubters with creativity and accomplished students.   School systems must support their innovators by ensuring that the entities in charge of decision-making and budgets are in touch with what teachers and students need.  It follows that teacher-leaders must increase the awareness of school administrators along with colleagues and parents.  Success speaks for itself, and most schools are data driven; therefore, it is imperative that teachers consistently evaluate the learning of their students to be sure that new ideas are producing the desired results.  Just using web 2.0 is no guarantee of increased learning.  Teachers will need to evaluate which technologies or other methodologies are the best choice for the desired result.  They must continue to take an honest look at what they do so that schools have concrete evidence that these learning tools are good for kids. 

In the near future, school systems will be increasingly populated with teachers and parents who have grown up with technology.  Resistance to its use should diminish as people become less fearful, and software companies create more secure environments.  Of course, this also means that what is new and trendy will become the norm.  Sustainability will depend upon continual refinement and innovative thinking.  Linking to local and national businesses who can act as adjunct educators will help those in the school buildings remain aware of the expectations of employers.  At the same time, students who are used to networking and project-based learning will change the face of the work force.  Smaller or more traditional companies may be surprised by the vision of new employees who have grown up with web 2.0.  The new faces in the work force will be ready to move at warp speed to gather information through RSS subscriptions and networking.  They will have been trained as both leaders and team players, ready to assume responsibilities and confident in their abilities.  These young people will have high expectations of their employers and be attracted to more innovative work-spaces.  They will be used to communicating with people from other cultures, and they will have a deeper respect for the opinions of others because they have learned the power of group problem solving as opposed to one person with a single vision.  Companies who want to attract the brightest and most creative minds will be expected to offer such opportunities.

Conceptualizing how learning will look in the year 2020 increases my awareness that this prediction includes only those tools that we have today, and, therefore, probably falls short of the mark.  As this post is published, new technologies are being developed that have been unimagined until now.  Over the next decade, what I am writing about today may very well have become obsolete, replaced by something newer, slicker, and faster.  Regardless of what is to come, social networking will continue to shrink the globe and open portals to sharing ideas and knowledge.  Our schools must change to accommodate how the world does business so that our students are prepared to assume their place and to become part of  the creative juice that will continue to change how we learn, how we live, and how we work.

Gambol, Lee D. and Thomas Bills.  “Disease Detectives.”  2007.  Cleveland Museum of Natural History.

“The Lab.”  Online image.  December 13, 2006.  Grafix Guru’s photostream.  Retrieved November 16, 2007, from http://flickr.com/photos/ndisi/321507194.

2020 vision
classrooms of the future

Google Notebook is a tool that I would recommend to students and/or parents of students who have a fear of being published on the web.  Since the Google Notebook cannot be edited like a wiki and can be sent only to those email addresses chosen by the learner, it may serve as an alternative for parents who will not allow their children to use other social networking tools.  While it is not the open forum of the wiki or the blog, it gives a student a similar experience within a limited setting that may assuage the fears of publication on a wider scope.  
Google Notebook

A paperless class reinforces the role of teacher as facilitator and moderator of learning as opposed to being the sole purveyor of knowledge.  In such a situation, it would be the job of the teacher to design a format (blog, wiki, etc.), a time frame, and a clear assessment tool before the class begins.  With the framework in place, a learning community would begin as each member of the class, student and teacher alike, contributes ideas and resources toward the learning goals.  Assessment can be traditional in the sense of papers, projects, and tests but with a paperless flavor in which everything can be done online.  In addition, contributions toward building the knowledge base and adding thoughtful discussion and probing questions would be another reflection of learning. 

At first glance, it seems that building a learning community would be easier face-to-face where everyone is in one place at the same time.  On the other hand, online learning gives everyone the opportunity to contribute equally because there is not a time limit during which everyone must try to speak.  Online, everyone has an equal chance to  add their thoughts and resources after reflecting upon the ideas of others .

Will Richardson’s Big Shift #3, “The Social, Collaborative Construction of Meaningful Knowledge” has probably had the most impact on my teaching practice so far.  Through blogs, I have connected with at least one educator who offers collaboration with my students.  When I design my lessons, I now think with the future in mind, imagining how the isolated work in a single classroom can become part of a greater picture.  I believe that my students will help me design the future look of my classes because they will contribute ideas that are meaningful to them.  They are well equipped to critique a project and tell me whether or not it makes sense as a learning tool; and they, no doubt, have ideas that have not occurred to me yet.  I see myself moderating their ideas, defining parameters, keeping them on track and safe.  In some instances, I will probably need to motivate and, in other cases, curb their enthusiasm so that they stay focused on “constructing meaningful knowledge.”

I cannot say that my views on social networking have changed as a result of this class; rather, my views have developed as a result of this class.  I was unaware of how the Read/Write Web could be geared toward learning.  Until recently, I utilized the Internet only to gather information and images or to send emails.  With technology at my fingertips (literally), I now see the opportunity to utilize Web 2.0 tools as a two-way street toward the construction of learning communities.
big shift

My response to Skype Ideas can be found on David’s blog.   http://davidbakki195300.edublogs.org/
skype

Connecting through Skype was fun!  Turning on my laptop to find messages waiting added yet another dimension to networking.  The experience brought to life the opportunities to communicate with others who come from different backgrounds and perspectives.  It is refreshing to learn how people in other states or countries view education and implement curricula.

This tool can be used for both professional development and classroom instruction.  We are planning a school visit next week to a district that is in its second year of the Classrooms for the Future initiative.  The teachers and administrators are both gracious and generous to allow us to visit;  however, the CFF initiative is becoming so widespread that it could be less intrusive if teachers hooked up a webcam and a microphone at their convenience and broadcasted to other schools involved in the same endeavor.  This would be another instance of using the web to work collaboratively and would eliminate groups of observers distracting students.  It would also allow sharing over greater distances where travel becomes expensive.  For example, I attended a conference where a team of presenters from a school in Georgia offered new and exciting ideas.  Since I cannot go to Georgia, Skype could bring Georgia to me!  It would be great to see the kids in action and to hear their assessment of the strategies.

In the classroom, the connections made through blogs could also be enhanced with Skype.  The use of IM would interest the students, and the addition of webcams and microphones should stimulate increased participation.  Students seem to respond to venues that are more closely aligned with their world. 

The following comments by Jay Cross found at http://bcefall07pls.wikispaces.com/PRO+Group seem to be contradictory to George Siemens’s ideals surrounding his connectivism theory. Mr. Cross states that “the bottom line is performance, not learning” and that “the group mind is your friend.” In a blog post made on October 4, 2007, Mr. Siemens expresses concern about the use of Web 2.0 to surround oneself with others who support one’s own thinking.  http://connectivism.ca/blog/2007/09/on_distinctions_between_change.html
Therefore, the “group mind” can be any group that an individual chooses to identify with and not necessarily a group created with a balanced perspective. 

Scientific American publishes “60-Second Science” a daily podcast of an important topic in the scientific world.  (http://www.sciam.com/podcast/index.cfm?e_type=25)

Instead of beginning class with my traditional “Brainwarmer,” I would use the podcast as a kickoff for discussion.  The archives would also allow me to select something pertinent to the unit we are studying.  I particularly like this series because it is created by a credible source and it is short enough to be practical, even for students with attention disorders.  This activity can also be used as the spark to ignite students’ interest in creating their own podcasts. 

My podcast is available at http://www.mypodcast.com/cached/deb_20071025_2300-116768-52073-2-25-49000.mp3

Recently, I took my AP Biology students to the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium for a “Behind the Scenes” tour.  Our favorite moments were spent with a macaroni penguin such as the one in the photo that I obtained from Flickr.  Most of the students took pictures of exotic animals during our tour, but we study many life forms in our own backyard as well.  A Flickr album of pictures of the organisms in our environment could be shared with students from other areas.  This would enable students to learn from each other about the plants and animals that are not native to their own climates.

“Pretty Boy.”  Online image.  (January 31, 2006).  ImNoFish’s Photostream.  Retrieved October 23, 2007, from http://flickr.com/photos/55288051@NOO/93934269.

The development of a wiki this week was an eye-opener.  I learned quickly that it is great to have a partner who knows a lot more than I do about navigating through new tools!  It drove home the power of cooperative learning and the richness of collaboration in the classroom and in the workplace.  My partner’s dedication also pushed me to learn more and to do my part so that I didn’t let her down–another asset of the wiki for those who are trying to learn. 

My husband, watching my struggles, commented that I was learning the best way by doing it myself, having no one to ask.  I realize that the opposite is true of learning this way.  Instead of learning by myself, I had an entire network to rely on for assistance; I just had to ask.  Students using wikis in my classroom will have the same opportunity to connect with many others, and they will have the ability to communicate questions and ideas instead of relying only upon themselves.

One additional thing that happened this week was my allowing my students to use Wikipedia as a resource in their research.  I taught them what I had learned about the reliability of Wikipedia and I reminded them that one source is never sufficient, but that Wikipedia is apparently much more reliable than I thought.