Wiki woman?

Not sure if I qualify as a wiki woman and know I have a long way to go towards true PBL, using student voice...

I was fortunate to be acquainted with Grace Rubenstein from Edutopia through our classrooms for the future coach, Missy Fedigan. She followed my ramblings and observed work in class during her visit. I shared material I used to present wikis at the One-to-One conference in the Spring and for technology training for my district. It was a great day. My students were great as usual and seeing their hard work appreciated was something.

I thank Missy for connecting me with her, my principal for allowing the freedom to use the wiki as a tool, and my school for being a part of Classrooms for the Future, which has been an incredible opportunity. I also thank Vicki Davis for inspiring me (she was mentioned and quoted often in the first Classrooms for the Future class).

What follows is a series of articles about the use of wikis. I know it seems self-promoting but not intended as such. This is intended as a thank you for those who stood back and softly encouraged (thanks, Missy!).

Ten predictions for the future of public education

This has some great articles in it and the links about the wiki in my classroom are in #7.

They can also be found here:

Wiki Wisdom
Wiki Woman
The Way of the Wiki



Tags: wikis, Vicki Davis, Classrooms for the Future, Edutopia

Hats off to...

...Jeff Utecht for bringing the story of Chets Creek Elementary School and their vision not only for this year but in the next decade. The principal of the school offers a great vision for her school in her blog.

Her goals are in the action verbs she uses:

Risk more than others think is safe.

Care more than others think is wise.

Dream more than others think is practical.

Expect more than others think is possible.

What is most inspiring is the comments left by the teachers that show a shared level of commitment to the vision. One such comment:

We have truly become a "school without walls" and are ready for the challenge! Thank you for preparing the way.

Inspiring and a journey worth following!

Scott McLeod at Dangerously Irrelevant just posted the following wrap-up in Video Games and Learning...

Wrap-up

When our students, nearly all of whom have grown up immersed in video game experiences, complain about school not being interesting or engaging, they’re not just looking to be entertained (as many teachers claim). They’re looking for learning experiences like they have at home that are individualized, authentic, and intellectually complex. Figuring out how to make that happen in our K-12 classrooms is the challenge for us as leaders as we consider what forms 21st-century learning environments need to take.

I worked really hard at changing assignments and culture in my class last year but still feel pretty far away from where I need to be...

Focus, focus, focus...

Focus... As we are collaboratively planning one of the classes I will be teaching next year, I need to remind myself of 3 things:

1. Rigor - It is easy to lose sight of all that needs to be done when working on PBL or authentic activities (I still have to cover x amount of material and not all work well to authentic learning)
   
2. Relevance - Everything needs to be relevant to the students life or future. Just mentioning why it is important is not enough. Their work through the material needs to be as personal as possible
   
3. Relationships - Repeat after me: Learning is not accomplished in isolation, learning is not accomplished in isolation

I know these, we all know these, but we need to remind ourselves of the simple things before we delve into all web 2.0.