Inquiry Learning with Grade One and Two

In January 2012, I started to work with Melissa Poundmaker, a grade one and two teacher at King George Community School in Saskatoon. As a teacher-librarian, I had been asked to develop an inquiry unit with a teacher. We were asked to use technology in some way during our inquiry unit.

This afternoon, Melissa and I met to continue to plan for our on-going learning collaboration with her students. We have had such amazing conversations about our observations of learning throughout this unit. Today I purchased a Tiki Blue microphone. We used Audioboo to record some of our thoughts on our process of collaboration and learning together.

Each AudioBoo is only three minutes long (or shorter).

listen to ‘Ms. Poundmaker's class and King George School’ on Audioboo

Planning document and Technology Baseline

listen to ‘Ms. Poundmaker's PWIM poster and technology baseline’ on Audioboo

Amber the Red Fox by Shirley Woods

listen to ‘Ms. Poundmaker - Amber the Red Fox Part 1’ on Audioboo

Amber the Red Fox as a Touchstone book

listen to ‘Ms. Poundmaker - Amber the Fox Part 2’ on Audioboo

Melissa and I plan to continue our conversations about all the evidence of learning for her students. We are having a Learning Fair on April 9th in the afternoon in the King George LRC. Melissa's students will share their learning with their parents, community members, and other students in our school. Let us know if you would like to come to the Fair.

The Story of The Story of Grey Owl

I would like to invite you to watch a very special video (3 minutes long) which has been created by Grade 7 and 8 students at King George Community School in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. After viewing the video, please read the production notes of one of the teachers who worked with this talented group of students. (YouTube address for video: http://youtu.be/duNXY4i9Q8s)

This video is entered into a Parks Canada contest in which a class may win a trip to Banff. If you like the video, could you please visit MyParksPass.ca to vote for The Story of Grey Owl. (Just as I was crafting this blog post, Parks Canada has changed the voting procedure. You need to register to vote. You may only vote once. Parks Canada deleted all of the votes from Feb 1 to 14. Our students were very discouraged. We have a small school and many parents do not have computers at home. It has been difficult to remain in the top ten since people can now vote only once per email address. As I write this [March 1], we are in seventh position in the voting. Before all votes were removed, we were in second or third position.)

I invited Jim Klenz, Resource teacher at King George Community School in Saskatoon to write about the production of The Story of Grey Owl video. He also provided me with some pictures which were taken during the production of this video. (Judy Butler is the classroom teacher who supported and inspired her class in this creative venture.)

Costumes:

Students did research and then created designs. They used patterns and sewing machines to construct Grey Owl’s jacket and pants as well as Anahareo's dress. (Grey Owl's jacket needed to be made extra large in order to hide his life jacket while he was in the canoe.)

Rather than pin the tissue paper patterns onto the fabric as is sometimes done, the kids came up with the idea of creating Bristol board pattern pieces that could easily be traced onto the fabric. This process worked well for them.

Although they were very eager to use the sewing machines, they took great time and care in cutting out and labeling each pattern piece. As they became more familiar with the machines, their confidence and skill grew.

By the end they were able to show other interested students how to use a sewing machine. Once all the sewing was done they created beadwork to add to Anahareo’s dress.

Camera Work:

A student operated the camera for the scene when Grey Owl is canoeing. This included being in the canoe with the Grey Owl actor. It was very challenging but she managed to keep the camera steady and to keep everything in frame.

The scene in the cabin was filmed by the teacher to allow the students to focus on acting and not be embarrassed to perform serious roles in front of peers. The only non-acting student in the scene was the puppeteer who was very respectful of the actors’ need to concentrate.

Music :

Students in the class had asked at the beginning of the project if they could make music for the video. They then went away and composed music on their own. They performed the music at school. (The student who played the song has been part of The Heart of the City piano program at our school.) The song was recorded and placed into the film. It was surprising to the teachers how well it fit the tone of the film. The students who composed it affirmed that they had tried to create music that would fit. They knew and could describe how it would fit the film’s tone before it was even recorded.

Set Design:

One student was in charge of designing the cabin set. He looked at the interior of Grey Owl’s actual cabin as seen in the 1930’s documentary film. He based the design of the set on this. He had to alter the dimensions in order to save on materials and still have room for the actors. He figured out how high the walls would need to be to go six inches above the actors’ heads. He mapped out where the actors could be in order to not step out of the realm of the set. He measured out a floor plan and calculated how much material would be needed to complete the building.

Set Construction:

Several students worked on the set. This included putting up the backing flats, constructing the shelves and interior beaver lodge, and of course attaching the split log boards. The log boards were rough and had to be cut to length by hand. The kids all took turns completing the cutting so they could be efficient and not get too tired. The beaver lodge required some intuitive work as there was no real blueprint. The kids got creative in attaching the sticks and logs to a plywood frame. It was impressive how they persevered until it really looked the way they wanted it to. It was also quite surprising how hard the students worked to neatly, systematically and efficiently take down the set when filming was done. It made us think we would like to hire them to do renovations in our homes.

Editing:

Many teams of students worked on the editing of the film. Each of these students participated in making cuts, placing clips, creating transitions and effects and adjusting sound tracks to fit the scenes.

Writing:

The entire class participated in writing various parts of the script. They were presented with themes and ideas and then guided by questions from the teacher. (The class did research on Grey Owl, Prince Albert National Park, the fur trade, beavers, and Cree people.) They each were required to write their best version of the dialog in the film. They really had to rely on what they learned from their research in order to make the script have the appropriate level of depth. Their best ideas were combined to generate the final script.

Special Effects/Props:

One particularly ingenious student was presented with a practical problem: how to make replica baby beavers that would swim by a canoe. He devised a solution and sketched out a design. As he worked through this process he was guided by ongoing questioning from the teacher. How would that work? What would that look like? What does it need to look like? How would you control that on filming day? With each subsequent question, the design became more refined.

The teacher made the basic parts for the student who then put the pieces together and refined them to make them work properly. Part of the student’s design included an adjustable counterweight that would allow the replicas to sit right in the water. This system was adjustable to account for changing conditions on location.

This student was in charge of operating the replicas on location. He also supervised an assistant in this. He worked very well with others on location, both taking and providing feedback in order to make the scene work. This student also participated in designing and constructing the larger beaver puppet that appeared in the cabin. (Mr. Klenz told me today that the "baby beavers" were carried out into the Pike Lake waters by "Grey Owl" in the canoe. He then set them into the water. As he paddled, students on shore reeled in the baby beavers so it appeared that they were swimming beside the canoe.)

Puppeteer for beaver in cabin:

Our puppeteer was perfect. When filming was going on he was always right on cue and never made a sound or did anything to distract the actors in any way. He made the puppetry come to life with subtle gestures and timing that really added to the emotion of the moment.

Acting:

The Grey Owl actor’s excellent solo canoeing made filming so much easier. Thank goodness he had participated in so much canoeing training with us at school over the last few years. This actor’s mom helped him translate and memorize his line at the lake, in the Cree language. Our research suggested that Grey Owl likely spoke Ojibwe. However, we felt it was more appropriate to have a student speak his own language in a rare opportunity to share it with others. Regardless, this small effort to acknowledge Archie Belaney’s appreciation of First Nations culture felt right to us.

It can be extremely difficult to get young actors to play serious roles. The two actors perfected their parts in rehearsals and performed in front of the camera with excellent focus and discipline, often seen only in adults. The hinting at tension between Grey Owl and Anahareo (when he slammed the book closed) came from research that the students did that suggested that Archie was abusive towards Anahareo at times. This kind of tension, while subtle in our video, is difficult for most young actors to handle without getting a little silly. The kids never missed a beat and barely cracked a smile during the numerous takes that needed to be filmed in order to get this part just right. They even came up with slight adjustments to make it work better.

Both actors were also very professional when posing for the photographs that were incorporated into the film.

A special guest advisor:

While the two baby beavers and the beaver in the cabin were cleverly created puppets, there was a real beaver that appeared in the film, at the beginning and the end. We considered this to be a sign of good luck. This beaver appeared at Pike Lake within the first few minutes of our arrival at the shoreline when we were there to film the canoeing scene. It swam by us several times--allowing us to capture it on film and put it in the film.

We felt almost as if it was there to tell us we were on the right track. Indeed, that beaver may not have been there had Grey Owl not made the efforts towards conservation that he did. That day, we all ended up feeling like we were involved in a very special project.

What's new?

The last blog post I wrote was placed online in April 2010. It is now October 2011. I can't believe that people are still visiting my blog. According to my Lijit data keeper, I had five visitors in the past day or so. According to my ClustrMap, from July 2010 to September 2011, I had 1,492 visits to my Blustery Bandwagon blog site. That is without any new posts placed on this site. I'm astonished that people are still dropping by. (Thank-you to all my visitors, by the way.)

The question I ask myself is WHY AREN'T YOU SHARING YOUR ON-GOING LEARNING ON YOUR BLOG?!?! (You can see that I'm a little upset with myself.) I think I've been so busy learning that I haven't had time to share what I've been learning with the world.

I started this blog for a class assignment. I did the occasional blog post for my own delight and enjoyment (see my newspaper rant) but mostly my posts were required for class.

Even when I named my blog, I intended to continue it after my days as a student were over. However after grad school, I went back into education in a new role. I became a teacher-librarian, working half-time in two schools. I needed to keep two libraries up and running, collaborate with teachers, interact with students around the delights of reading, and act as an instructional leader in both schools. There was no time to write about my steep learning curve.

In my second year as a teacher-librarian, I still have so much to learn. The role of teacher-librarian is changing in my school division (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada). No longer do we just take care of the books (although this is still a priority). Our school division is asking us to become instructional leaders in the area of technology and inquiry learning. This is a stretch. Sometimes it feels like the blind leading the blind. It is scary and confusing.

It is also exhilarating and energizing.

I am reminded of a blog post by Seth Godin in which he talks about how much he learns when he is struggling to ride his bicycle uphill. When things are going smoothly and all is easy-breezy, how much am I learning? I need to embrace the chaos.

So wish me luck as I go wibble-wobbling up the hill (which is so steep that I am tempted to jump off and just push the bike). I promise that I will try to share my thoughts on my learning journey with you. Feel free to tell me about your bike rides, too.


Images:
1. Surfrdan, Flickr, http://www.flickr.com/photos/surfr/3050116854/
2. Sven Cipido, Flickr, http://www.flickr.com/photos/cipidos/6011912495/

Seamless and Ubiquitous Technology

In July of 2009, I began my love affair with social media tools. At first it was more like a love/hate relationship. I struggled to figure out each of the Web 2.0 tools. I still have not reached a total comfort level with all of the tools. However, with many of the tools, I would feel comfortable with teaching their use to others.

I believe that technology integration in the classroom must begin with the teacher. Shircliff (2009) said, "Teachers need to make the technology seamless in their lives before they can make it ubiquitous for the students." Teachers need to be comfortable with technology integration in their own lives before they can begin to integrate it into their classrooms.

There are teachers out there who are scared of technology. How would this work for them? I would suggest assessing the technology that they are using. Help them to see that they are on the digital continuum. They can challenge themselves with their own learning targets for moving further along the continuum.

Years ago I read a book by Howard Hendricks. He mentions that if you want someone else to bleed, you have to hemorrhage. (1972) Teachers need to find those technology tools and concepts that they have a passion for and then spread the word. Recently one of my classmates obtained a new job helping to integrate technology in her province. When she was asked how she got this job, she said, "I guess I was an advocate for myself. I kept sending 2.0 videos to people at the department. I found a few who were interested and I sent them more. I dreamed aloud around a few people who listened. And then :-D I got a phone call and was offered the job as they saw my vision-rants as a part of their needs!" (MacIsaac, 2010) Her passion for Web 2.0 concepts and tools carried the day.

I would like to propose a recursive model of technology integration for the teacher. (Recursive simply means that it turns back upon itself and repeats endlessly.)

Step 1. Identify my learning need
What is my need? (e.g. Right now I wish I knew how to create a 2-D model of my thinking, one that I could embed in this blog post.)

Step 2. Choose an underlying concept. (Advanced level)
Which of the 21st Century learning concepts underlies this need? (See this wiki, created by students in this class to delve into these eleven concepts by Henry Jenkins. The wiki is not yet in its final form. There is a VoiceThread associated with the wiki which will soon be available for your viewing and listening pleasure as well.)

Eleven concepts for 21st Century Learners (Core Media Literacy Skills) (Henry Jenkins)

• Play: The capacity to experiment with one's surroundings as a form of problem solving.
  

• Performance: The ability to adopt alternative identities for the purpose of improvisation and discovery.
  

• Simulation: The ability to interpret and construct dynamic models of real-world processes.
  

• Appropriation: The ability to meaningfully sample and remix media content.
  

• Multi-tasking:The ability to scan one's environment and shift focus as needed to salient details.
  

• Distributed Cognition: The ability to interact meaningfully with tools that expand mental capacities.
  

• Collective intelligence: The ability to pool knowledge and compare notes with others toward a common goal.
  

• Judgment: The ability to evaluate the reliability and credibility of different information sources
  

• Transmedia Navigation: The ability to follow the flow of stories and information across multiple modalities
  

• Networking: The ability to search for, synthesize, and disseminate information
  

• Negotiation: The ability to travel across diverse communities, discerning and respecting multiple perspectives, and grasping and following alternative norms.

Possibly for my desire to create a model of the recursive process, I would use the skill of Appropriation. If I could find a similar model with a Creative Commons license on it, then I could build upon that model in order to create my own model. (In the end, I feel that I used Play and Distributed Cognition in this learning process.)

Step 3: Find the technology that will meet your need.

You could visit this Web 2.0 mind map created by Jesper Isaksson. It has many Web 2.0 tools on it. (E-Learning and Web 2.0 Tools for Schools) I go to the mind map. I think I will try Screencasting to display my model. I may be able to draw my model using Microsoft Word. I click on the "+" beside the word Screencapturing. I decided to use Screenr http://screenr.com/ When I go to their site, they promise it will be easy. Unfortunately I have not created my diagram so I go into Word and create a diagram using their drawing tools to create a cycle drawing. It is only after I have completed my drawing that I notice that Microsoft Word actually has something available called SmartArt (click insert on the Menu bar and it will show up in the Picture tool area). I could have easily used it to create my diagram.

I have a diagram so now I will use Screenr to capture it.

Stop a minute. Screenr isn't the tool I want after all. It is more about capturing video of yourself to put on Twitter or YouTube. Have I been using the wrong idea. I head back to the Web Tool mind map and select a different tool.

Step Four: Use the technology to meet your need.

I have now selected ScreenToaster. I discover that I can use it to upload my screen view but I can also share my thinking by recording while showing my diagram. I decide to select that option. In the end, I can upload my screen capture to YouTube if I like. (However, I don't like how the words "Terms of Use" block out some words on my diagram. It should read Step five: Teach someone else to use that technology.) I will definitely upload a video to YouTube soon. I have never done this but have wanted to.

So here is my ScreenToaster video:

Capture your screen in seconds

Step Five: Teach someone else to use that technology. I will teach the other students in my class.
(I have suddenly realized that maybe I need to revise my cycle. What about reflection on what I have learned? As I have reread my thinking about the process, I can see that I set out to do one thing. I did accomplish that objective but I gathered many other results of my learning along the way. So maybe this needs to be a six step process.)
a. Select a screen that you wish to share. It could even be moving from screen to screen. You could go through a set of Flickr pictures talking about your holiday. Possibly we could even use this tool to share with our professor, Joanne, our process of creating our final group project for this class.

b. Sign up for Screen Toaster. Go to this website: http://www.screentoaster.com/ and sign up for an account. (Yes, I hear the groans. It's another application you need to sign up for.) They will send you an email but you don't need to wait for the email, you can start recording right away. (They are people after my own heart-instant gratification.)

When you record your first screen capture, you have the option of simply using your screen, adding your voice recording, or even adding a webcam image. I only tried the screen capture and my voice. I could not figure out how to maneuver the rectangle to capture only a part of my screen so that is why I used my entire screen. I know that my students (THAT'S YOU) will soon surpass me in understanding how this works, so please tell me the secret.

Once you have finished recording, you can upload directly to YouTube or simply upload to ScreenToaster where you can add a title, tags, and a description to your video. The video is easy to share since they give you the link or the embed text.

Go forth and multiply those ScreenToaster videos, my children. However, after you master it, remember to go and teach someone else how to do it, too. Spread those technology ripples ever onward and outward.

Repeat Step One and so on: It is a recursive process which keeps coming back to itself and repeating again and again. Identify a new need. Ask the person you taught to identify a new need and have that person engage in the process as well. As the cycle spirals around and around, the people involved in technology integration keeps getting larger. The spiral would not be one neat tight line circling outwards. Instead it would be a wildly chaotic number of spirals developing crazily in all directions.

Digital Continuum-- Each person is at some point on the digital continuum. If you unrolled each person's spiral or cycle of technology integration, it would also be carrying them further forward on the digital continuum. Today I already feel that I have moved forward on the continuum because I have now figured out how to easily create and upload a YouTube video onto the internet.

Digital Ripples--When you throw a stone into a pond of water, ripples will emanate from that stone. Each time you learn to use a new bit of technology and then teach someone else, you are spreading the digital ripples of capacity and agency out into the real and virtual world.

I have shared with you my suggested cycle for technology integration. Here is another more complex diagram for assessing and meeting technology integration needs.






http://www.ictinedtoolkit.org/icttool/usere/conceptblueprint.php

Use this ICT in Education toolkit (you need to sign up in order to use it) to assess the technology needs in your school and to develop a systematic plan for meeting those needs.

If you need more inspiration for integrating technology in your life and in your classroom, please watch this video. I have noted some key quotes below the video.

Learning to Change--Changing to Learn (video)

Key quotes from this video:

"We've got a classroom system when we could have a community system."

"Start with the teachers. If I want my students to make global connections, I start with my teachers first. Provide the teachers with opportunities to connect with teachers around the world."

"We have to develop a narrative that sustains 21st Century Learning."

"The jobs our students will be having don't call for a right answer, vending machine approach."

Wonderful links if you need a place to start http://www.schoollibrarymonthly.com/articles/Byerly2010.v26n8p32.html

I need my Teacher to Learn (Version 5)


Teachers are key in the job of integrating technology in our schools. Don't be afraid. Start with a need that you have today. Figure out how to meet that need using technology. Teach someone else. (Then ask your students to teach you in turn--whether it's how to text or how to download an i-Tune.) Then talk about your learning and develop that narrative to support Web 2.0 and social media use in our schools.

References:

Hendricks, Howard. (1972). Don't fake it...Say it with love. London: Victor Books.

Jenkins, Henry. (n.d.) Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century. Retrieved from mitpress.mit.edu/books/chapters/Confronting_the_Challenges.pdf

MacIsaac, Dawn Elaine. (2010). Class communication on Blackboard site. EDES 545 class. Edmonton, AB: University of Alberta.

Shircliff, P. (2009, July 24). Comment on Richardson, W. If every student has a computer. In Weblogg-ed. Message posted to http://weblogg-ed.com/2009/if-every-student-had-a-computer/

Just-in-time, Just-for-me Professional Development

I recently watched a video posted to YouTube by Dan Brown (no not the author).

An Open Letter to Educators video


Dan talked about learning and about why he recently dropped out of university. He said, "My schooling was interfering with my education."(pogobat, 2010) I have experienced this strange phenomenon for myself. At the present time, I am a full-time student in the Masters of Education program through the University of Saskatchewan. (I graduate on June 2, 2010--Yahoo!) In the September to December term of 2009, I found that the requirements of my university classes were interfering with the learning that was intriguing and engaging me. I had to pull away from the concepts that were important to me in order to focus on what my professors said was important to them. Often my professors have commented that it is great to see how I have made connections to my own life and current experiences in my assignments BUT where was the evidence (quotes, references) of the learning from the readings I was asked to do for class. If the concepts really resonate with me, if they are going to be sticky (new term for the take-aways from a learning experience), don't those ideas need to connect with me on a personal level?

I'm going to jump off my soapbox for a while to discuss what professional development (PD or pro-D) has looked like in the past for myself as a teacher. Generally it has been a top-down model in which either at the school board level or at the school level, someone has determined what the priorities for teacher learning should be. Then an outsider is brought in to teach us about that subject.

Unfortunately this type of PD did not always resonate with me. At times I was reluctant to leave my classroom for the day and go to learn about what someone else said was important. "The schooling was interfering with the education" (pogobat, 2010).

Recently my school division has encouraged us to set individual learning targets in the areas of most interest to us. This is a step in the right direction but most of our PD time is still devoted to our school board's priorities. It still feels like a "banking model" of education which is Paulo Freire's concept. Paulo talked about the teacher who knows everything and the learner who knows nothing. The teacher must fill up the learner just as coins would fill up the empty piggy bank. Of course, Paulo disliked this idea. He wanted educators to honour the worlds and understandings of their students. (Freire, 1970) (Anti-banking chapter) Paulo said that stopping people from establishing their own lines of inquiry was an act of violence. (Freire)

It is a balancing act. I have a boss who tells me what the priorities of my job are for the year. Possibly next year it will be a focus on problem-solving (which could be applied within each subject while encouraging students to determine their own questions). Teachers are asking for PD related to board priorities. Is there a way to make the PD rise up from the teachers in the classroom rather than being imposed from the board room?

I would propose the model of just-in-time, just-for-me professional development. There may still be large group PD sessions to build foundational understandings. However we need to move away from the "sage on the stage" in order to engage learners in the subject matter. As David Weinberger said at the Building Learning conference: "The smartest person in the room isn't the person at the front of the room. It's the room." (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2609/3867578091_40c0f0ded6_s.jpg) How can we tap into the wisdom of the crowd?

I believe that part of accessing the wisdom of the crowd is participating in online learning through your Personal Learning Network (PLN). (Collection of many PLE/PLN diagrams http://edtechpost.wikispaces.com/PLE+Diagrams)

I like this PLN diagram from D"Arcy Norman (link)



























As Mickaleh said in response to pagobot's video (2010), "One of the greatest transformations that's happening because of the internet isn't access to knowledge; it's access to people." So how does one develop this PLN? I will share my story with you of how I developed my PLN.

In the summer of 2009, I took an online University of Alberta class in the use of Web 2.0 tools . My professor shared about a live-streamed Elluminate session that was taking place with George Siemens and Dave Cormier. I decided to attend the session as a virtual attendee. Everything happened so fast in the session. The conversation zoomed from topic to topic and the chat room was full of articulate guests who typed their thoughts while asking and answering questions. I timidly entered the conversation. One of my questions was answered by another virtual attendee while one of my questions was not answered until months later. (See my blog post and read the comments where Dave Cormier answers my question several months later.) That night I learned about the Open Education Conference that taking place in Vancouver the following week. I attended this conference as a virtual attendee (my blog post about this experience). Since that time I have found many live-streaming conferences to attend. At each conference, I have met some new virtual friends (like Alastair Creelman [@alacre] in Sweden and Joyce Seitzinger [@catspyjamasnz] in New Zealand). I joined an open education class taught by Alec Couros (@courosa) at the University of Regina. This class had 20 for-credit graduate level students and 200 not-for-credit students. Through each online learning setting, I added more people to my Personal Learning Network. I added many more people via Twitter which has become an easy tool to augment my learning and to share my learning.

In the future, I will continue to access my PLN in order to discover new options for learning. I will pursue my passions and interests by following the virtual rabbit trails (or "link flow") through blog posts, YouTube videos, and TEDTalks. I will check out live-streamed conferences such as TEDxOntarioEd (taking place on Friday, April 9) and use this wonderful list to find other learning opportunities.

So this takes care of my own technology professional development. What about other teachers who also want to learn about the use of technology in education? In my own school system, I believe that we have enough computers however "technology infusion without professional development wrapped around it just doesn't work, and can backfire" (Ketterer, 2008). If you had a digital projector and a classroom pod of computers but didn't know how to integrate technology into your teaching, how would you feel after watching this video?

You Can't Be My Teacher video (made by teacher in Saskatoon)

After watching this video, I would feel guilty if I did not know how to integrate technology in my classroom. So how can those of us with this expertise help those who want to learn to use technology in the classroom? We need to be willing to take on leadership roles in this area. McLeod (2007) talks about the need for technology experts to learn more about being leaders. So how should or could we share with others? We need to discover the "felt needs" of those teachers and support the use of technology tools that will help them meet that need. It may be teaching the use of social bookmarking so that the addresses of their favourite websites travel with them from computer to computer. It may be teaching the use of an RSS feed like Google Reader so that the content comes to them rather than them needing to search for the content. It may be teaching the use of Google Docs so that they can access their document without the use of USB keys or emailing documents from one computer terminal to another.

Manitoba Education created a worksheet for technology experts who are visiting classrooms to help with technology integration. (Needs Assessment for ICT for Teachers http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/tech/lict/resources/needs_assess.html) This article (Hargadon, 2010) has more suggestions for technology PD. We could direct people to our blog posts on various educational technology applications to give people some foundational information about the Web 2.0 tools. Jesper Isaksson has created a mind map with many Web 2.0 tools on it. (E-Learning and Web 2.0 Tools for Schools) I have shared this mind map with teachers who wanted to learn to use some of the tools.

My new ideal for professional development is just-in-time, just-for-me learning when I need it. I am willing to be a leader in scaffolding this kind of technology PD for my teacher colleagues. Only with this type of "where the rubber meets my road" type of learning will digital immigrants become comfortable in working with the digital natives in all of our classrooms.

References:

Freire, Paulo. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Seabury Press.

Hargadon, S. (2010, March/April). Educational Networking. MultiMedia & Internet@Schools. 17, 2, 10-15. ProQuest Journals.

Ketterer, Kimberley. (2008, June/July). A professional development menu. Learning & Leading with Technology, p. 11. ProQuest Journals.

McLeod, Scott. (2007, November). An absence of leadership. Learning & Leading with Technology, p. 17. ProQuest Journals.

mickeleh. (2010, March 2). Re: Re: Re: Dan Brown's open letter to educators. You Tube video. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFeiiPdTibE
pogobat (Brown, Dan). (2010, February 22). An open letter to educators. You Tube video. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-P2PGGeTOA4