The EduBlog Awards

The third annual EduBlog Awards were held this morning via EdTech Talk using a combination of Skypecast, Talkshoe and the Webcast Academy Chat room. Only winners and event hosts were allowed to take the mic to offer acceptance speeches. Participants were able to ask questions on the chat board. Sub-conversations surrounded the central chat. In this kind of forum, no one is bothered when you are talking to your neighbor! So what does this have to do with elementary school and how can it help teachers, parents and ultimately students? It offers a window to the future of education. If you find yourself baffled and left out by what you just heard. Don’t give up. This is just one of the many ways educators are meeting across the globe.

Meet Christopher D. Sessums winner of the top honor for Best Individual Blog. His banner reads,”Thoughts on Learning, Teaching and Computing”. His decision to put ‘learning’ first seems to be intentional. He has already posted his response to the award and gives credit to some of his favorite educational bloggers. They are the voices who taught him. These blogs all offer great insights into 21st Century Education. Although it’s simply not possible to read them all in their entirety. If you begin by reading Sessum’s the edification process will commence. Initially you may feel like one of the blind men trying to describe an elephant from only one vantage point. After several weeks of checking back on your favorite blog writers, their personalities will emerge and you’ll be hooked.  A good blogger leaves you wanting more.

A little help from my friends

Diane is an avid reader but she is selective. She reads hundreds of children’s books a year because she likes to know her readers and her material. Diane is our Media Specialist. When she isn’t reading children’s books she’s keeping up with education trends via on-line newsletters and educational trade magazines. Today she mentioned one of her favorites to me and I’d like to share it with you. Edutopia.org is part of the George Lucas Foundation. Founded in 1991 as a non-profit the foundation strives to encourage innovation in education. Here is a link to an interesting look at global education.  If you have a favorite resource please post it in the comments section.

Putting Global Education Front and Center

By Diane Demee-Benoit

540,000 readers from around the globe!

My friend Jen Wagner a Technospud and conference speaker from California has initiated many global school projects. Yesterday she helped a school in NYC participate in a simultaneous-global choral reading.  Students and teachers rallied to read at noon.  They all began with “Greetings and salutations…” Around the world in 28 different countries over 540,000 students read the same passage from the book Charlotte’s Web. This may become a new world record.  Listen to the audio clip. The 2nd grade voices in the background are precious and will remind you of Charlotte’s babies when they parachuted out into a new world. This heartwarming and student affirming activity took under five minutes but the impact of the event will stay with the children a lifetime.

Listen

If you like Bill Nye . . .you will love Chris Walsh

Educator Chris Walsh has mastered the art of video podcasting.  Timing, content, shot variety and host personality come together for a refreshingly professional look. Check out his recent addition called, Welcome to the Blogosphere.  This show demonstrates why blogs are not just a passing fancy.  He takes you into the classroom to see students in action.  He takes you into the prairie to meet Wes Fryer (speedofcreativity).   Here you go, a window into the blogoshere from a safe distance brought to you by infinitethinking.org

A Whole New Brain

Until the end of the 20th century the left brain was in charge. Logical and sequential thinking characteristics were readily identified as desirable qualities to engender in children. What has changed over the last 20 years and continues to change more rapidly by the day? Communication is the answer. With the unlimited opportunities to communicate a message, creativity, synthesis and the ability to see the whole must be developed in order for students to succeed in the 21st Century. These are right brain skills. Don’t take my word for it. Find a copy of Daniel Pink’s book, A Whole New Brain. It promises to be a make-you-think kind of book full of practical applications for teaching and learning. I will be reading this book over the winter break and plan to share what I think the implications are for teaching students to be successful communicators. If you beat me to it please post your reactions here in the comments section.

If you are asking yourself why I would be writing about a book written from a business perspective consider this: Business drives education by demanding a workers with specific abilities. Education seems to have a slow turn around time when it comes to producing what industry needs and preparing students to think out-of-the-box. We must speed up the process in order for the US to remain competitive in the global market. After all, education is designed to make students productive members of society. Productive infers participation and participation is predicated on the ability to think and communicate effectively.

Parents and teachers play a critical role modeling valuable thinking skills. We have a 21st Century thinker at the helm of our elementary school, Mr. Trussell. He is an excellent problem solver and communicator. Our PTA is incredibly proactive and supportive. What more can we do? The key is to model life long learning to our children by continuing to read everything we can get our hands on . If we don’t understand, dialogue, ask questions, post comments. Become a social learning advocate for your child.

Have you read Time this week?

http://edition.cnn.com/2006/US/12/10/time.cover.tm/index.html

Here CNN summarizes an article sure to peak your interest.  The world is changing so fast that many of us are actually living in the past.  What is the impact of these new modes of communication and how will they impact your child’s education?  How is the way you communicate today different from 5 years ago?  The answers will surprise you.  Post comments about this article.  Do you agree, disagree and why? 

Spiders or Starfish?

Reading is much easier on the eyes when you are actually holding the book. Here is a, Who Moved My Cheese for 2006.

The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations (Hardcover)
by Ori Brafman, Rod Beckstrom

Two Stanford MBAs ponder the effectiveness of a starfish organization in a spider empire. It seems the starfish are headless and able to regenerate their limbs unlike spiders. The internet’s flat landscape if the perfect habitat for starfish organizations. Among the examples cited in the book are Craig’s list, Napster and the troublesome al-Qauda. What can be learned from the decentralized model of community- supported businesses which answer to no one person? According to the authors the profits decline but they can become self sustaining, crippling competition who hold to the spider model of business in the traditional hierarchical sense. Why is this book significant for educators and business people alike? It offers insight into the power of present-day communications. You just might want to become part of the starfish family in the sea of the internet.

Suggestion: If you read words that hold no meaning for you and you can’t seem to make sense of them from the context clues go to wikipedia and enter the word. 9/10 you will become immersed in the topic and find yourself pursuing other related links. Wikipedia is a starfish organization which means you can contribute to the community of knowledge!

Creek View Community – Make a Splash!

Welcome to all members of the greater Creek View Community. This blog is intended to inform and encourage parents and staff to use and explore educational technology. Parents, teachers and administrators serve as important role models for students. What are other schools doing with technology? Is it making a difference in student achievement? How can we become proactive? How can a parent guard against internet dangers? What is the future of education? There are some important education-centered blogs (informative diaries) by educational professionals who attempt to answer these questions. The answers are evolving and you can play an important part of the process. Jump into the dialogue and provide your perspective.