Using Flickr in the Classroom?

Flickr offers teachers the great opportunity of using visual images to teach students. Visuals allow students to understand information in a different kind of way, and could lead to more engagement and better comprehension. What is so exciting about Flickr is there are so many subsidary sites that offer tools and applications for using images to create things like puzzles, visual books, comic strips, posters, etc. Big Huge Labs is one site that allows users to create magazine covers, maps, movie posters, puzzles, and much more. I used this site to create an "inspirational poster" of an image from a cathedral in Siena, Italy.

                                                                                Photo by: Philipp Klinger

In the classroom, I could have students create posters for many different assignments. Advertising specific cities we learn about, or as "propaganda" about a specific historical event. I think having students write headlines, tag lines, and find visual images to connect helps them understand the information on a different level. I am really excited to put this activity to use in my own classroom!

Do Twits have a place in the classroom?

Twitter is a hugely popular blogging site that has exploded onto the social scene. In my own personal life, I have used Twitter for some months to stalk celebrities and update "friends" on the mundane life of a graduate student. Is Twitter just for Justin Bieber though? Can Twitter be used in an educational context? According to some, the answer is yes. Many argue that social learning is most effective for students of this day and age. According to Social Learning: An Explanation Using Twitter, "social learning is about sharing thoughts, experiences, ideas, and more." Twitter makes this sharing very accessible and easy. One can tweet reactions, ideas, responses, links to media, and do all this while staying connected to friends, colleagues, and others who share the same interests. And the best feature of Twitter, according to some, it DOES NOT require a response from those using it. According to Claire Caine Miller, "The truth is, you don't have to post a message to get the most out of Twitter" (Getting the most out of Twitter, No Posting Necessary). By this, the author means that Twitter offers users a way of engaging with a literacy of their interest and the discussions of the moment from their virtual space. Twitter for some can be a seperate RSS feed to follow and "listen" to those who share the same interests and/or hobbies as you. A user can also create personal lists that represent his or her personal interests, whether personal or professional. Twitter offers a limitless amount of opportunities to get in touch and engage with those around you.

So what does this all mean for teachers? It's increasinly likely that the students who sit in our classrooms daily have a Twitter account. Can these be tools for teaching, alongside their tweets of "I <3 U, RPattz?". This user says yes, but with caveats. To quote a fellow educator and Twitter enthusiast, "Adopting a situated learning perspective, I have come to believe that the true power of Twitter and other social networking tools lies in their potential to extend learning beyond the boundaries of the classroom community" (Twitter, Social Networking, and Communities of Practice). I think the power of Twitter is reflected in it's ability to cut across boundaries and give students opportunities to interact and engage with information and people they might not otherwise have had access to. Another feature I am particularly fond of is this idea of 140 characters or less. Students are forced to summarize and reflect on only the most important points. This is a skill that will prove priceless in years to come.

As for my own teaching, I could see Twitter as a part of my daily routine. Students could post brief summaries of the class discussion or reactions to an article posted for homework. These summaries and reactions could be assessments or checkpoints of learning. Students can also interact with eachother and others in the community. They could create "Historical Twitters" and tweet as if they were George Washington or a student in the midst of 1960's protests. As with many other technological resources, there are security and privacy risks. Teachers must always be aware of this in creating assignments. Explicitly explaining classroom and district wide internet policies is a must, and making sure teachers have access to passwords and accounts is another useful precaution.

I think Twitter definitely has a place in the classroom, if it's meaningful. In my experiences with students thus far, if they are bombarded with technology or are forced to use it without a meaningful connection, the engagement is as low as it would be in a traditional lecture. Students need to have reasons for using such technology, and not just be asked to use it for the sake of using it. If Twitter is used right, I think it could change the way our students think.

Today's learner is like a passenger on a speeding train...

"Knowledge is growing exponentially. In many fields the life of knowledge is now measured in months and years." (Siemens, 2005)

    The field of knowledge and how one acquires said knowledge is a complicated one, especially now with the advent of technology. George Siemens in his article entitled "Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age" explains how knowledge in the past few years has been developed and become obsolete within a very short time frame. He states, "The amount of knowledge in the world has doubled in the past 10 years and is doubling every 18 months according to the American Society of Training and Documentation (ASTD)" (Siemens, 2005). In his article, he compares and contrasts several theories of learning and explains how all of them are inadequate to describe and understand today's learners. To combat this inadequacy, he presents a new theory: connectivism. According to Siemens (2005), "Connectivism is the integration of principles explored by chaos, network, and complexity and self-organization theories. Learning is a process that occurs within nebulous environments of shifting core elements – not entirely under the control of the individual". He further goes on to state that learning is continuously altered as the foundations for learning change, and that networks become the basis for learning. By networks, the author is referring to databases, communities of learning, and the outside world. Learning is no longer an individual state and does not take place intrisically, but within a whole network of learning. As this Video Blogger  states, "In essence, the network becomes the learning; the network that learners create."

   So what does all of this mean for today's learner? In my opinion, today's learner is like a passenger on a speeding train. Imagine yourself on the "bullet" train in Japan, one of the world's fastest land vehicles. Landmarks, geography, and architecture speed by in a blur. For me, this is consistent with what a learner in today's world goes through. Information and knowledge pass by so quickly that we're left with a quick glimpse of the passing platform as we move on to the next.  Connectivism states that what a learner needs next is more important than what a learner currently posesses in regards to knowledge. Just like a speeding train, knowledge moves quickly and without hesitation, one must know the routes and signals to navigate this new world successfully.

We Are Living in Exponential Times

I have seen other versions of Did you Know, but I'd never seen the 2.0 version. I think for me, the biggest reaction I have to this video is how important global connections are becoming. The statistics about how many college graduates are coming from China and India in comparison to the United States is alarming, as many of these countries are more advanced in regards to science, math, and technology. Careers in the United States are becoming much more technology orientated, and if we want our students to remain on the cutting edge, we ourselves need to become technologically advanced. Two of the points from the video that really resonated with me was that there were more than 2.7 billion searches on Google in just one month, and then the video posed the question "To whom were these questions directed B.G. (before Google)?" I think this is an excellent point because there were obviously ways to research and learn before the internet and google, but the scale of learning that the internet has allowed is remarkable. It has allowed people without access to experts to become more informed and make connections around the globe, and I think that is one of the best characteristics of the internet. I think as teachers, we need to understand the power the internet holds for our students and become aware of it's different uses.

In the midst of all of the advancement, however, the video also offered a more disturbing perspective. One in three children in developing countries will never have the chance to finish fifth grade. And while the video did mention that laptops were being sent to many of these students, facts like this still alarm me. I think the internet can do good in so many ways, but it does not replace good, quality teachers. The fact about a computer in 2049 exceeding the capabilities of the entire human race is also shocking!

I do think the video offers critical advice for educators and administrators. To help our students reach their potential, we need to develop them for the changing world.