Episode 25: No School Bailout

RIS (Randomly Interesting Stuff)

Memiary (www.memiary.com)
Record five memories a day
GMail Tasks
Gmail now adds tasks to your email interface. (see GMail blog entry)

Show Notes:
There are significant business losses and now those same businesses are asking the government for a bailout; these same businesses blame the economy for their problems. And yet schools have been forced into ineffective business models that have been proven to fail.
Schools, instead, need to return to what they do best: learning and creating and fun.

Listen


Next time: "Reader-Response theories in Moodle"

Episode 24: Lessons from LiveBlogging

Recently our local paper decided to liveblog the last two Presidential debates and the one VP debate. Let's take a look at how to set up a liveblog and consider why liveblogging an event might be a good idea.

The Elkhart Truth has been looking at ways for their paper to interact with their readers and during this election season, decided to facilitate liveblogs for the debates.

DebateWatch VP Debate (2 Oct 08) http://www.etruth.com/Know/News/Story.aspx?id=463348
DebateWatch Presdental Debate (7 Oct 08) http://www.etruth.com/Know/News/Story.aspx?id=463741
DebateWatch Presidental Debate (14 Oct 08): http://www.etruth.com/Know/News/Story.aspx?id=464344

The site that eTruth.com used was www.coveritlive.com


Listen to the episode:


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Moodle: On Chats and Time

Here's an exchange I had with a teacher in our building regarding chats:

Chris,  Another Moodle question:  I have set up a chat for tomorrow at 8:05--how do I limit the duration of it?  I only want it to last for 5-6 minutes.

 

Dawn

*** 

Dawn,

I typically don't have a limit on chats...just in case students don't get in on time, etc. It seems that it takes a few moments to get things rolling and all. Also, I usually set the chat to save the transcript and allow everyone to see the transcript...it makes for an interesting "reflection" as you go back and as a class, see what happened in the chat.

 

The current version of our Moodle doesn't have a time control on chats...not sure if the newer ones do.

 

How are you using the chat in your class (just curious)?

 

Peace,

Chris

********

Today I have 1/3 of my class that need to make up a paycheck stub quiz; the other students will be reading an article I saved in Moodle about college admissions checking Facebook & MySpace during the application process.  We've discussed that issue with job applications.  Then I thought I would have them chat about it :)  That's why the short time. 

 

In the Moodle class this summer one comment was made that we should set a time limit because students will often continue with the chat beyond class time and you don't want it to go on & on.  That's why I thought there was a feature to set a time limit.  However, in my Moodle handouts I couldn't find anything about setting an ending time.

Dawn

******* 

Dawn,

Sounds like in interesting article...I think I read about that "FB/MyS" as app process online. Sometimes it takes a bit to get things "happening" within the chat and if I'm asking for first impressions on a reading from individuals, I have Ss post their response on a social forum topic (say, 3 sentences of reflection). Then, I'll have folks jump into the chat so that they feel like they've got something to bring to the group. A cool wrap-up is to have students then edit their original SForum post and add to their original post reflection on what was "said" in the chat.

 

But, that's a 25-minute chunk of time and it looks like you're wanting the Ss (and you) to try out some of the features of the Moodle site. Either way, it makes for good follow-up conversation afterward when you look at the chat transcript...very cool.

 

Oh, btw, there isn't a timer for the newest version of chat. The good thing is that there's timestamping for all chat entries and you could see who didn't fulfill your directions .

 

Peace,

Chris

Installing Squeak on the eeePC

And I'm not going to gloat, but I still am having so much fun with my little eeePC 4g. I've already "rescued" the hard drive as I felt like I needed a clean slate after dumping so many things onto the 4 gb hard drive (which, by the way, was not a difficult process).

I think I decided that this was not my primary computer and that I didn't need to trick out everything and install a lot of different linux distros...I still run the default Xandros light OS and have added some deb-based packages, but for the most part, I'm using the eeePC to access apps on the web (which, btw, I use Opera over the Firefox--Opera seems much more spunky).

Anyway, tonight I wanted to install Squeak (a FOSS smalltalk environment) and started with my usual Google of how to do it for the eeePC and the procedure is pretty much the same for other flavors of Unix/Linux: add a site to the depository, do a apt-get update and then install the deb. package. And Squeak is no different: I found the directions on the Squeak site and things worked as I wanted them to. In fact, I like this rendering of Squeak on the eeePC more than the one on my eMac (man, I have two computers that like that initial "e").

So there it is: a low-cost, low-impact computer that can still be a very useful laptop.

Episode 19: You can't reform education with technology

This week's podcast begins with a comment by Former Secretary of Labor William Brock in the Sunday Parade Magazine:
I explain my issues with his response to fixing American schools in his quote:

First, we have to agree that we have a problem. In the last 25 years, spending has risen 240% while performance has barely changed. Only 68% of students graduate from high school, and many states require only eighth-grade skills in reading and math to get a diploma.

The statistics are probably from The New Commission on the Skills of the America Workforce (in which he is chairman). The problem is that it is difficult to find the research or the survey that these numbers are based on. I would really like to find out the accuracy of the second sentence, because it is so loaded (but I could not find it on the New Commission site).

Some of the most interesting business models have come from the spirit of the "In Search of Excellence" theme (Peters et al) and I think a recent example of how business can work in an exciting way (instead of the typical "top-down" approach) is from American Airlines and here's the NPR report that describes the new leadership (from two years ago).

Living on the CLI: Setting up email

~/cjudson $ pine
I made a list of things (or reasons) why I use my computer and most of
that list had something to do with communication with others. At the top
was email and since I had already been running mutt (clean text-based mail
reader that is a step above typing "mail" at the prompt but with lots of
improvements) and I thought I might give Pine (or Alpine) another try. I
gave up on Pine because I use GMail as my main source for connections to
the world and for some reason there's lots of steps to setting up Pine to
read and send GMail.

And so, I turned off the cron job for fetchmail and searched out the
answer to the question "How do I set up Pine for GMail?" And after some
tweaking, I got it to work. The better site that gave me most of my
answers was a post from virtualmyles2 tracked on ObjectMix.com
(http://objectmix.com/pine/326840-pine-gmail.html). I'm going to use what
virtualmyles2 wrote and add one change from my setup from this morning.
(Translation: Credit the above url for providing the info, only me for my
two contributions).

1. First enable IMAP on your Google account!!!
-Log into Google and click "settings",
-Click "Forwarding and POP/IMAP"
-Under IMAP Access click "Enable IMAP"

# Chris says "Whenever you see your.username at gmail, Google identifies
your username as username@google.com. So, it's your entire GMail email
address, not just the stuff before @google.com. Just remember:
user=your_username@google.com"

2. Your .pinerc needs to
be "something" like this:

user-id=your.username at gmail.com
user-domain=gmail.com

#Here's my other contribution: you need the "/novalidate-cert" Pine will
tell this when you try to send something the first time...that's how I
found out about it.

(all on one line)<= This is very important; it should be on one line.

smtp-server=smtp.gmail.com:587/tls/user=your.username at
gmail.com/novalidate-cert

(all on one line)<= This is very important; it should be on one line.

inbox-path={imap.gmail.com:993/ssl/novalidate-cert/user=your.username
at gmail.com}INBOX

(all on one line)<= This is very important; it should be on one line

incoming-folders=your.username at gmail.com {imap.gmail.com:993/
novalidate-cert/ssl/user=your.username at gmail.com}
(you probably have to check "enable-incoming-folders" in your Pine
Setup, Config as well)

(all on one line)<= This is very important; it should be on one line.

folder-collections="your.username at gmail.com" {imap.gmail.com:993/
ssl/user=your.username at gmail.com}[]

Be sure to save your work (:wq for my vim friends) and you should be good
to go (or at least I was). Pine will ask for your password and then the
option to save that password for your next session and then things are
pretty easy to figure out from there.

Pine (or Alpine, if you're using the very up-to-date version) impressions:
One of the reasons I like the cli is that hands are on the keyboard and
not running over to the mouse. One of the things that I'm not crazy about
is the combination keystrokes to get things done (I started with vim,
okay, and if my first editor was emacs, then maybe things would be
different). Beyond that, it's about getting to know another environment
and using the "O" (other cmds) a lot. Pine is easy, though, and it
<emphasis>seems<emphasis> to fill the gap between the terminal "mail"
command and the web-based version of GMail.

Later on I'll be taking a look at my other way of communicating: Twitter
and perhaps, Plurk. Also, I'll be looking at changing my prompt and a few
reminders about getting around.

~/cjudson $ exit

Living on the CLI: Day 1

For the most part, I can fake my way around the command line. I've been
using an eMac as my main computer at home for, well, as long as the
thing has been in existence (5.5 years?). I think I stumbled upon the
"underpinnings" of the Mac OSX right after I got the machine when I
heard about all the cool Unix programs that are available.

I've played with loading programs via Fink and MacPorts (I like Fink a
bit more because like most programs, the one you use first is the one
you like). I think I learned the most about using Unix after using Dave
Taylor's <i>Unix for Mac OSX Tiger</i> back in 2005. From there I
started playing with shell scripting (another Taylor book: <i>Wicked
Cool Shell Scripts</i>) and more recently I'm working my way through the
wonderful <i>Learning Perl</i>. Aside from a purely curious pursuit, I'd
like to think that there is some practicality to all of this command
line, retro computing stuff. I mean, why bother with a prompt when I've
got one of the coolest interfaces in computing?

I think the answer may be that the GUI tends to be distracting and the
user might lose some power over what she or he really wants to do. I
think this is the answer. I also think that computers, as a whole, tend
to mostly be things to amuse us as humans (and that shouldn't be any new
news, eh?) So, for this week, I've decided to live a little off the grid
(or GUI) and live on the cli: to see what I can (and can not) do in the
ways I currently use my computer.

Now, to see if this post makes it to blogger.com...one of my first
issues: blogger.com doesn't seem to like text-based browsers like lynx.

Peace.

iPod Shuffle won't work after iTunes 7.7 update

Here's what happened to me:

I'm ready to head out for a run and I've just updated to iTunes 7.7 and the iPod shuffle (2nd generation) is loaded up with new and exciting stuff to take my mind away from the run.I'm halfway out the door and the thing doesn't work.

I start with the usual "5 - Step" method of troubleshooting an iPod and nothing is working still (I think I made it to step 3 and just did the run without the iPod).

When I got back, I plugged in the iPod again and noticed something odd: a Podcast playlist now appeared below my iPod shuffle drive. Ah! The answer: delete it and it will work.

Here's simple steps to cure the problem if your iPod shuffle won't play and does that green-yellow-green-yellow-green-yellow blinking thing:

1. Plug in iPod shuffle (2nd generation).
2. You'll notice the "Podcasts" play list under your iPod volume.
3. Delete the "Podcasts" playlist.
4. ITunes will re-sync
5. Unmount the iPod Shuffle and everything should be fine.

For some reason (perhaps related to the recent update to the iPhone and iPod Touch), iTunes 7.7 will add the podcast playlist. Luckily, you really don't have to do the 5 steps to iPod restoration; you just need to delete one thing, and you're back on the road with your iPod shuffle.

Episode 18: Why edutopia might disappoint you

GLEF magazine "edutopia" bills has the tagline now of "What Works in Public Education" but is the publication headed in the right direction? Some contend that the publication is light on content and heavy on advertising; others say it is a nice resource and is offered free to educators.

Show notes: I think some of us were sort of excited to be getting a magazine from the George Lucas Educational Foundation (and in the summer of 1977, I was introduced to the "creative impulse" George Lucas via Star Wars...which saw in San Francisco at the Cornet theatre). In those early issues four years ago, it look like that Edutopia was going to be a magazine that was technologically savvy for the educator. And it was and it had a great website (especially the staff development section regarding of PBL). Then, about two years ago, I got bored and stopped reading the issue even though I was getting the subscription for free. The content got a bit light (even fashion for the teacher) and it seemed to lose its focus. Now, with the most recent issue, James Daily (editorial director) refocuses the publication to be relevant again.

Most of the discussion is centered on the first 10 pages of the most current of the June/July 2008 issue of Edutopia. Specifically, I make mention of James Daily's editor's note: "What Works in Public Education" (10). I also make a parting pot shot at the article about plagarism (in short, teachers need better writing engagements).

Download this episode (28:07) here, listen via the Talkshoe badge on this site, or download/listen/subscribe via iTunes.

Episode 17: Teach me Moodle, okay?

One approach to staff development as we consider how to teach (not so much train) teachers Moodle.

Show notes:
Most of the information for this podcast is from a outline of a proposal I did about a year ago. It needs to be tweaked and all, so feel welcome in using all or part or none of the ideas for training teachers on using Moodle.

Teaching with Moodle

Day 1: Why teacher with technology?
A four[six]-hour discussion of exploring the reasons for using technology (in this case, Moodle) in the classroom. Participants will be experiencing Moodle as the instructor builds the class in Moodle from scratch. The basis of instruction will come from various readings regarding using technology in the classroom and participant-generated text.

Day 2: How do I teach using Moodle?
Participants will bring existing units of learning (a unit, lessons, etc) transitioning that lesson(s) to Moodle. Participants will be using the ACOT Unit of Practice template (Invitation, Standards, Tasks, Interactions, Situation, Assessment, Tools) to aid in this translation to their class site.

Download episode (36:02) from Talkshoe, listen to it via the sidebar, or download/listen on iTunes.
Next episode: Why edutopia might disappoint you.

Taking Moodle for a spin (Part 2)

Sandboxing Moodle is all fine and dandy, but to really get into the heart and potential of Moodle, you really should try your own install on your own server. 

The easiest way to play with your own installation of Moodle is through an install script that comes with most web hosting sites (some might say to install Moodle on your computer would be easier, but I disagree). I'll mention two that I am familiar with because used both of the services.

1 and 1 Hosting seems to be about the most reasonable price with a lot of features. As of this writing, you can get (through the end of June 2008) most than you'll need for $48 a year. They bill monthly, so you can skip a Starbucks run or two and you should be fine. The documentation is nice and the set up process was painless (you can even get a domain name through the site at no charge). 

I've used Siteground.com for two years and they seem to be a tad more expensive, but in return you'll get an insane amount of storage space (750mb), more databases (if you care) and some of the best and fastest customer service on the internet. They also have free domain names with their package deals. 

After you are signed up and have received confirmation messages via your email, you want to head to the quick install scripts for web applications. For 1and1.com it's the "Click n Build" button and just follow the dialogue boxes to install Moodle on your site. 

Siteground uses the more popular cPanel interface along with the Fantastica installer scripts (which I think gives you access to more FOSS web apps than 1and1.com). You'll scroll down to "Software/Services" and click on the "Fantastico De luxe" and you'll find the Moodle app to install (scroll down to "Other Scripts". Like 1and1.com, you'll just follow the dialogue boxes and you'll have your Moodle site set up and ready to take for a spin.

If you're saying that you don't got no money, but still want to play around with your own version of Moodle, head over to the Download section of the Moodle site, choose your operating system from the top menu and follow the directions (I've install this on my eMac at home, and it worked fine).

Next in this little series, we'll address the question "So, I got Moodle installed...now what?" We'll look at some things you can try out on your own Moodle site.

Take Moodle out for a spin (Part 1)

If you are interested in migrating some or all of your classroom to the internets, you should be looking at Moodle. It's open source, it's free, it's really, really good. In fact, if you haven't seen a site that is driven by community, you should look at Moodle's own site and you'll get the idea.

Things to do: Read and visit the links under the "Welcome to Moodle!" banner in the middle. You'll get an idea about Open Source and the pedagogical bent that Moodle was designed around. Then, get a cup of really good coffee (or any beverage) and have a look around the demonstration sites to get a range of possibilities. You might find that you'll need to register on the site, but that process is painless. (The first module, aptly named: "Moodle Demo Features" will give you a wonderful overview about Moodle within the context of the CMS). Lastly, you may want to glance at the "Moodle Buzz" to find out what's new about Moodle.

As I've mentioned before, it's probably best to try something out for yourself and if you're interested in Moodle, why not give it a try? You might want to play around (or sandbox) with the Moodle CMS and OpenSourceCMS allows you to look at Moodle from the "student" side as well as the "administrator" side (where you as a teacher would do your adding and editing of various elements on your Moodle page or site).

Tomorrow in Part II, I'll suggest a way to get your own Moodle site running.

Episode 16: How much has technology hurt the classroom?

Top of the show recommendations:
This week, I'm sharing stuff I like around the home

• The Week (best digest of all that is happening in one publication)
• Senseo Coffee maker (no mess and a consistent cup of coffee... every time)
• FlipVideo camera (small, convenient and decent output)
• Roomba (it really works and it's sort of fun)

Episode Notes: A look at if we're even in an education crisis and who says we are and the limitations of a techno-centric view of schooling.

Educational crisis

• In the 80s, it was the DOE publication A Nation at Risk that sparked "crisis" in US education.
• "There seems to be a pattern: when the country feels insecure, let's fix our problems with trying to reform education (let the kids fix it)".
• "NCLB which attempts to judge all things evenly (built on a concept that was the Houston [Texas] Miracle...later found to be a fraud...but not many people will talk about that..."
• "...and I still agree with Harry Wong and other who have said that you can't fix a society's problems with education."
• "Here's the problem: you have to dig really deep below the words and scary headlines and stats to see if there is really merit to how a school or a district or a state or a nation is doing in education."

So what about technology?

• "Well, it gets in the way and probably will continue to cloud the resources and energies and we "prepare our students" for the 21st Century..."
• "And I'm thinking: people are really viewing education as a business and how fast a business should be run..."
• "Instead, learning isn't fast; learning is much like the plateau where "better" learning happens over a long period of time...For who ever said that somehow you needed to know a lot more facts than you did 20 years ago...isn't the better ideal that people, our students, their parents, our colleagues and us...all can think and ponder and wonder and reflect and articulate ..."

Yeah, but...some practical upshot:
Download and participate in a FOSS community

• Firefox
• OpenOffice
• Moodle

Read about community

• Opensource Democracy (Douglas Ruskhoff)
• Open Sources: Voices from the Opensource Revolution (O'Reilly)
• Linux Journal, Linux Format

Show length: 32:33

Download this episode here, listen to this episode using the badge on this page

It begins with dropping the rhetoric

We use words to attempt to communicate to others what we mean and sometimes we honestly can't articulate what is in our mind. And, sometimes, we are so excited about what we want to say that we use words that have lost their true meaning. (I remember that I used the word "dork" in a Sunday School class in the early 90's and the leader informed me that "that word is not appropriate and I don't feel that it should be said in mixed company." We were visitors that Sunday).

Those who try and describe what is happening the classroom or those who want to "reform" the classroom are most guilty of using words and phrases that have lost meaning. For example, the word "portfolio" began as a wonderful way of a showing student "growth" with powerful "assessment" possibilities. Each of those words had, in their original "label" deep and powerful meaning, but as those labels were picked up by mainstream educational journals and educational product advertisements, the words were labels that became buzzwords.

Today, let's toss in "accountability" and "reflection" and "standards." In fact, if I see another mention (like I did today as dropped my son off at a science exploration camp) mention of the phrase "Best Practice" I will seriously hurt someone seriously. Why? Because the book the originally presented the phrase (Best Practice: Today's Standards for Teaching and Learning in America's Schools) was an incredible, inspirational call of clear thinking and practice across the grade levels and curriculum; now, it's a buzzword that is tacked on to advertisements and mission statements.

Besides "21st Century Skills" (which I've mentioned a time or two already in this blog), the up and coming buzzword is "...that Works" (borrowed from an educational report and later popularized by Marzano et al [Data-Driven specialists]). Edutopia now has as their tagline a variation: "What Works in Public Education" and you can read the editor's passionate call for change here (more about that publication another time).

Part of bashingED is clear thinking about learning and technology. Whenever you see these overused "educational" words, labels or phrases, you'll probably getting some good old fashioned rhetoric which should be saved for the politicians and advertisers.

Episode 15: I went to a text file to live deliberately

Shelf Stuff
GoodReads.com
I noticed at our school corp year-end celebration that many of the retirees said that they'd now have more time to read and it seems as teachers, we like to read more. Nice layout, easy to use and great connection with other readers you know and perhaps meet. You can start your own reading group...students use it and what a wonderful way of making more connections with those whom we see each day in the classroom outside the classroom.

Goosh.org
And this is a bit geeky, but perhaps amusing: interact with most of the Google services through the command line...yeah, that's how I thought you'd respond. Anyway, it is amusing and somewhat useful...I think it continues the tradition of many ways to do one thing and I think that is a positive. So, instead of point and click, you enter commands (think back to the DOS 5.0 days w/o using PowerShell, et al). Hands are on keyboard and with a couple of commands, you are on your way.

Show Notes
What is plain text?
It's a file that doesn't have any other coding...it is only the letters and numbers and punctuation that is readable by humans...or at least normal ones. Basically, it's only the stuff of your keyboard. When you use a programs, to say, type a letter or lesson plan or handout (like MSWord or WP), that programs allows you do format characters and the document itself so that when you open it up again, it'll be consistent. But, you have to basically use that program to read that document and if that program goes through updates (like MS Word) the readable file format may change over the years. Most can import backward, but some formatting may change...no longer looks the same. Even RTF inserts code though many say it's the next best thing to plain text. Plain text will remain the same as long as computers can read plain text files

How can you use it?
Todo.txt (Organizing your life through a text file)

• Some folks like the Getting Things Done (GTD) approach
  
• One way of doing it: (http://todotxt.com)
  

Lesson planning

Arrange the way you plan the according to the way you think.

Some advocate all of your planning stuff, important stuff, in one file.
You could have the entire docs for a class in one file and then copy and paste for formatting. Or, if you are really daring, put everything in one file.
Sites referenced:

• Lifehacker
• 43 Folders

And can you make a convenient little metaphor for something bigger?
Thoreau for some reason went to Waldon pond to figure out life...or as had been quoted: "I went to the woods to live deliberately...to suck out the marrow of life" etc. Take a plain-text look at your classroom, strip away the extra modifiers and requirements and see the magic again.


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Next week: How much has technology hurt the classroom?
A look at if we're even in an education crisis and who says we are...and the limitations of a techno-centric view of schooling. Tuesday, 10 June 2008, 5:05 p.m.

EPISODE14 - Could texting and IMing be good for writing?

We'll be looking at the Pew Research Center's article that explores this issue. Reference: http://pewresearch.org/pubs/808/writing-technology-and-teens

Top of the show:

• A wonderful AIR app for Friendfeed is Alert Thingy Friendfeed is a way to keep all of your self-generated content in one place and a way for you friends to view and comment on that content. Alert Thingy is a clean app to manage Friendfeed from the desktop.
• I also mentioned Facebook as a way to keep connections with former students and reconnecting with former classmates.

The report is called: Writing, Technology and Teens (Teens write a lot, but they do not think of their emails, instant and text messages as writing. This disconnect matters because teens believe good writing is an essential skill for success and that more writing instruction at school would help them).


Use the Talkshoe badge on the side bar to listen to this episode, subscribe via iTunes or download it here.

Next Episode: EPISODE15 - I went to a text file to live deliberately
Time: 06/03/2008 05:05 PM EDT

EPISODE13 - Please don't let teachers blog!

How effective are blogs for the classroom? And, should teachers use blogs for educational reasons?

Download this episode here or subscribe to this podcast on iTunes.

Why not generate content through these services:

• Twitter
• Tumblr
• GoogleReader

Twitter in Plain English (CommonCraft)

Next Episode: EPISODE14 - Could texting and IMing be good for writing?

EPISODE12 - Why Wiki When We Write?

There's be lots of talk about wiki (wiki) and their popularity and that using a wiki would be cool for the classroom. Really? Let's take a look at some of the possibilities.

Top of the show:

• ChaCha (a really useful texting service: ask a question, get an answer).
• Utterz (audioblogging via your cell phone)

The creator of wikis, Ward Cunningham talks about wikis and other things on FLOSS weekly (with Randal Schartz and Leo Laporte)

CommonCraft explanation of how a wiki works. [video]

Popular wiki sites:

• pbwiki
• wikiplaces

Download this episode here.

Next episode: EPISODE13 - Please don't let teachers blog!

EPISODE11 - Web Docs: But I like to upgrade

Is there long-term value to using web apps such as Google Docs and Buzzword? Is there a web app that will tie my shoes? This week we'll look at the growing list of standard desktop activities that are now available on the web (mostly free of charge).

Links from this show:
Google Docs
Buzzword
Writewith

Download this episode here, listen to the Talkshoe badge on this site or subscribe via iTunes.

Next episode: Why Wiki When We Write?

Surveys are not the best way to assess

And it seems that the 21st Century Skills folk would lead us to believe that by quoting percentages (which are based on surveys) that the truth of the matter has been established.

I don't think so.

I stumbled across the 21st Century Skills folk back when I was reading through Indiana's latest technology plan. I came across the group in a Google search, but I don't think the 21st Cent. Skills folk helped write the state's plan; perhaps the writer of the plan was influenced by group. (And, if we're to get picky: I don't think anyone owns the term "21st Century Skills"). Anyway, in my first post, I discussed a bit about the group and some of their founding principles. Now as more states join list of states jumping on the 21st Century Skills movement, I wonder how long it will take for Indiana to jump on board.

In a recent presentation to the National School Board Association, the Partnership (as I'll refer to the group known as Prince, I mean the Partnership for 21st Century Skills) PowerPointed this summary, and in what I've read from the site, hits their common threads. Besides this slide which makes me go "Oh, and where are the educators on this page?" I find that the proof (sometimes called the data in an argument) is merely based on surveys. Yes, surveys.

First "proof" is based on the results of surveys published by the Partnership (with some help of other business organizations) in late 2006 under the title "Are They Really Ready to Work?." These are survey results, people and should be treated as such. I understand the need to get a "feel" for what's out there, but if that is the sole basis of the argument of having these 21st Century Skills, then it is a faulty argument.

Don't get me wrong: I'm not advocating that the Partnership is out to control the world. But I do have to wonder what's in it for the businesses of the Partnership. Doing nice things for education is nice, but really, what's the payoff for industries where the bottom line and the shareholder option means a vacation or a pink-slip.

But schools can't and don't function that way; I can't merely give a survey to parents on how they think their child is doing in my class; I give an appropriate assessment to measure what the student knows. And this seems to be where things get messy, so we won't run down this trail this time. (Hint: Wouldn't it be great if we measured all students the same way so we can get an accurate measurement? NCLB isn't working great, is it?)

Anyway, let me get on to the next proof and that is a survey of "Voter Attitudes Toward 21st Century Skills." I'm hoping you can see where this conversation is going (Hint: Exit polls and their accuracy). But again, these are limited questions that probably most people would agree with...but does the survey result "prove" the need or the existence of the Partnership? Oh, and by the way, here's how the poll was conducted:

the poll of 800 registered voters was conducted Sept. 10 to 12, 2007, by Public opinion Strategies and Peter D. Hart research Associates for the Partnership for 21st Century Skills.

My call, again, is for clear thinking on education and technology. The Partnership comes into this conversation because they want to help push educational reform through technology. Surveys can only reflect attitudes and shouldn't be used to make policy; policy should last longer than the current crisis (and this one is reflected in the last slide: "Are our students ready for the new global economy?".

Next time, let's take a look at the Partnerships new model for education (see this nice graphic: it's a rainbow and it's reflection).

Episode 10: How do we know that they know? Moodle and assessment

It's _the_ bottom-line question for a teacher: "How do I know that my student has learned?" Moodle has a wide-variety of ways to assess student learning and we'll take a look at a few of those ways.

Show Notes:
Tools for memory work:

• jMemorize (an opensource, java-based flashcard system based on timed-intervals)
• StudyStack (a free flashcard building site with additional activites; here's some of mine)

Books for developing and conducting classrooms online

• Teaching with Technology (ACOT put together this book in 1997 and it is still an amazingly relevant book...buy this book!)
• Theory and Practice of Online Learning (From Athabasca University, an incredible source from higher education, but still applicable to all online learning environments; offered free through CC license).

In this episode, I touch on ways that we assess in the classroom and how those types of assessments are handled in Moodle.

• Quizzes
• Short Responses
• Polls
• Workshops

I will deal directly with Moodle's current Workshop module in a week or two as many folk have given up on it because of some UI and bug issues.

Download this episode here, listen to the episode from the TalkShoe web badge on the right, or subscribe on iTunes.

Next episode: Web Docs: But I like to upgrade
Time: 04/29/2008 05:05 PM EDT
Episode Notes: Is there long-term value to using web apps such as Google Docs and Buzzword? Is there a web app that will tie my shoes? This week we'll look at the growing list of standard desktop activities that are now available on the web (mostly free of charge).

TS:EPISODE9 -- But can a computer dance?

This week, we talked about the idea of should a computer be merely a tool or can it actually teach our students? I got to talk with "Central Florida" about her experience with educational software with her special needs student. I also relate a conversation that I had with someone who works with a popular educational software company.

Show notes:
Things to share:
*Starbucks to offer free iTunes download of the week cards (again) from TUAW.

*iPhone envy but don't want to pay for the phone nor the data plan?You may take a peek at VirginWireless' Wild Card phone and their reasonable plans so you can text and send pix.

Video of Pearson's newer Math curriculum that I referred to in the show.

You can listen to this episode by using the TalkShoe badge to the right or download this episode here or from iTunes.

Next Week: EPISODE10 -- How do we know that they know? Moodle and assessment

Time: 04/22/2008 05:05 PM EDT Episode Notes: It's _the_ bottom-line question for a teacher: "How do I know that my student has learned?" Moodle has a wide-variety of ways to assess student learning and we'll take a look at a few of those ways.

TS:EPISODE8 -- Toward an Open Source classroom

Perhaps you're just hearing about it and you're using OpenOffice. Or, perhaps, you've heard that you can have good software without paying a dime for it. Better still, what does all this have to do with what happens in the classroom?

Listen to the episode here or on the TalkShoe badge on the right side of the page.

Show notes:
Sorry about the quality of the recording, I'm working on a better sound.

Products/Sites mentioned at the beginning of the podcast:

• Flickr (a photo-sharing site) is now allowing for video to be uploaded (up to 90 sec.)
• Livewires: If you are looking for a good programming language to teach to kids, you may consider Python (OpenSource and very much used all over). A solid teaching series comes from our friends in the U.K. called "livewires."
• Flock -- The "social" browser (it's build on Firefox code) which is getting better and better, is a nice "one-stop" integration with the major social sites on the web (including Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube and even gMail).

Probably the more popular FOSS programs known in the "mainstream":
OpenOffice (a complete office suite | like MS Office without the pricetag; interface is fairly easy to catch on to).
Firefox (a solid web browser that has taken over the browser market).
Gimp (an image editor that is like Adobe Photoshop in that it probably has more features than you really need).
Audacity (sound editor)

[and there's lots of other programs. Here's a few more: Thunderbird (email), Songbird (music library/listening), Miro (video library/listening), and Inkscape (illustration)]

Next week's topic: "But can a computer dance?" (Should a computer be merely a tool or can it actually teach our students?)
Date and time: 04/15/2008 05:05 PM EDT (stop by and join the chat!)

You can always subscribe to the podcast via iTunes.

Teachers don't let other teachers start new blogs

And perhaps we're coming to the end of the blogging cycle, but you will still find at any technology conference for educators presentations on how to use blogs in the classroom. 

If your colleague tells you that she is about to create a blog for her classroom, pull the plug from the computer and run away.

Do not let another teacher start an "educational" blog: it simply is a bad idea.

"But wait!" you exclaim, "there's so many cool ways to use the Web 2.0 in the classroom with your students."

And so the eager teacher points you to a bulleted list much like the one you'll find at ClassPress:

• Chapter discussions!
  
• Links to online resources!
  
• Current Events!
  
• Share Content!
  
• Connect with your Class!
  

(I've included the exclamation point because each explanation ends with that degree of enthusiasm).

The nature of a blog was not meant to be these things per se; the blog's power comes in the voice of the writer of the blog. For a teacher, who has not written online, to have a strong voice in a "class blog" is rare. Instead the expectation of instant "discussion" usually falls flat. And then most teachers are not prepared for the feedback component of a blog and become frustrated with the results. 

To insist that "the classroom" be moved to the internet via a "class blog" is just asking for failure. Instead, teachers should resist the urge to start a blog for the classroom and instead, start a personal blog, or get a Facebook account, or a Twitter account or join and participate in one of many social networks out there. Experience how the interactivity yourself first for the summer, then, start thinking how a blog or an online learning environment (such as Moodle) could extend what happens in the classroom.

Students are much smarter than we think and they are certainly more sophisticated than we give them credit. If a teacher says that she blogs and invites students to her blog (and perhaps to comment on the blog) that speaks volumes. For one thing, it shows that the teacher is not merely jumping on the technological bandwagon after a conference or a staff training. Besides, how many teacher blogs out there haven't moved beyond "Hello, world" posts?

Don't get me started with wikis, btw.

EPISODE7 - 21st Century Skills?

Episode Notes: What is the role of learning with technology in the 21st Century? Is it skill-based as the organization suggest? Will technology finally save our schools? Stop by and chat with us.

Referenced Posts:
Technology on Mission
Close Read of the Indiana Plan (Preface)
Business Educates Schools

21st Century Skills Partnership

Download this podcast on iTunes (search "bashinged") or here.

Next Week: Toward an Open Source classroom

EPISODE6- Moodle Chat: Capturing conversation in a blur

Episode Notes: Is there value in treading on the "kids" territory of IMing? Information overload with so many voices and the same time?

Sites mentioned in the top of the cast:

• LinkedIN (a networking site for business professionals)
• FriendFeed (follow what content your "friends" are generating)
  
• Chess.com (an example of a social networking site done right around the game of chess)
• FLOSS weekly (a TWiT production and I had mention the most recent episode with the inventor of the wiki, Ward Cunningham)

Download the cleaned up version of Episode 6 from Talkshoe.

Note: For some reason, TalkeShoe drops after 10min. intervals during this case. The iTunes Store has the raw recording and you should listen to the edited on from TalkShoe.

Update: iTunes grabbed the cleaned up version; thanks iTunesStoreFolk.

Next Week: EPISODE7 - 21st Century Skills?
Time: 03/30/2008 07:10 PM EDT
Episode Notes: What is the role of learning with technology in the 21st Century? Is it skill-based as the organization suggest? Will technology finally save our schools? Stop by and chat with us.

EPISODE5 - Taking another read of digital literacy

Title: EPISODE5 - Taking another read of digital literacy

Products mentioned at the beginning:

• FlipVideo camera
• Google Reader

Notes: We're still trying to apply older approaches to "digital literacy." Let's explore some more appropriate approaches to reading dynamic content.

Not much conversation from the outside, but we were talking about if there is a need for a different way to approach digital texts. Is there a fundamental difference in how we read print and non-print texts?

In answering that question (which I may or may not have really answered), we can recognize the tension between literacy pedagogy that either encourages reading for fluency (enjoyment) or reading for precision (skill).

One program mentioned in the podcast that addresses digital literacy (and that recognizes the skill-based view of reading) is the Big6. I also mentioned the Big6 Research Paper organizer in the podcast.

Download mp3 of this podcast.

Next Week's TalkShoe:
Episode 6: Moodle Chat: Capturing conversation in a blur.
Episode Notes: Is there value in treading on the "kids" territory of IMing? Information overload with so many voices and the same time?
Start Time (EDT): 03/23/08 07:10 PM EDT

Title: EPISODE4 - The heart of Moodle: the Social Forum

Time: 03/09/2008 07:10 PM EDT
Episode Notes: Using the Social Forum in Moodle is the at the heart of this idea of students constructing texts around other texts to create meaning. If that sounds interesting or confusing, stop by and have a listen.

"Forum" Discussions mentioned in this podcast:

• Journalist becomes the story (SXSW)
• Startups Must Hire The Right People And Watch Every Penny. Or Fail.

Note: I lost connection halfway through and I'll be uploaded an edited version w/o the 5 minute silent gap.

Here's the link to download this week's TalkShoe: EPISODE 4: The heart of Moodle: the SocialForum.

Next week:
Title: EPISODE5 - Taking another read of digital literacyTime: 03/16/2008 07:10 PM EDT
Episode Notes: We're still trying to apply older approaches to "digital literacy." Let's explore some more appropriate approaches to reading dynamic content.

EPISODE3 - Ads or "White Papers": The Selling of techology to schools.

This week's TalkShoe was an elaboration upon the last post. In this episode, the products and their white papers mentioned were:

• Plato Learning Software
  
• Inspiration
  
• CMaps
  

You can listen to this episode via the TalkShoe Badge on the right side of this blog or you can download here or subscribe to the cast on iTunes.

Next Week: The Heart of Moodle: The Social Forum (7:10 pm 9 Mar 08). 

The Marketing of "Educational" Software

Honestly, if I see another software company have the words "standards-based" on their literature, I might just speak in iambic pentameter. 

Besides the obvious question "Is standards-based education the best way to educate students?" (you did think of that, right?), how does one prove that this particular version of standards-based implementation is the best? In fact, my gut feeling is that the "run of the mill" standards-based education that some educational software companies are marketing to is actually an easier route to take than .... well, there are other ways to teacher, aren't there?

In the span of roughly one Presidential Administration, everyone now thinks in terms of "standards-based" education.

Again, name another way to educate...

And I'll make the proposition that to have an exclusive "standards-based" education is detrimental to students. To say, meet these standards or benchmarks, is not pushing all students, it is encouraging the majority of our students to meet the minimum standard. Feel welcome in telling me that the glory of NCLB is that we should be educating all students. Remind me that shouldn't the job of public education be to make sure--at least-- all students should do the bare minimum to be a "productive member of society."

I'll listen, but I am not convinced that I should be asking for the bare minimum. Aren't the better teachers the ones that push you way beyond the minimum requirements? Are we satisfied with graduates that work only up to the point of what is expected, instead of pushing the limits within their own potential? Are you satisfied with a work force (which, btw, I am not convince is the reason why we educate) that is--at best--"standard"?

So, as we look at the marketing of educational software, when you see "standards-based" anywhere in the glossy literature, be cautious; you should try and look beyond the promises and delve deep into the software's "research" white papers. (Another word to watch out for: research or the partnered "research-based" combo). It's in those 40+ pages of justification of a software's existence that we might find something beyond a standard marketing idea.

Next post, I'll give some credence or specifics to this little rant.

EPISODE2 - Don't Blame Wikipedia for bad papers

Some educators blame Wikipedia (and often use it as a curse word) for bad student writing. Maybe we should look at why Wikipedia is good and perhaps we should assign better papers.

Opening quote:

The education world has pursued new technology with an almost evangelical zeal and it is time to take a step back and give proper consideration of how we use it.

Too many students don’t use their own brains enough. We need to bring back the important values of research and analysis.
Lecturer Bans Students From Using Google And Wikipedia (from The Argus)

Some ideas about alternative assignments: I-Search papers, Multigenre papers, Reflective Annotated Bibliography.

Listen to TalkShoe Episode 2

Or Subscribe via iTunes

EPISODE1 - Those Who Can't Moodle

Episode Notes: First podcast about a talk I gave to 6 people in Indianapolis: "Those Who Can't, Moodle." (Here's the post I based the talk on: http://www.bashinged.com/2008/01/those-who-cant-moodle-avoiding-napoleon.html


Listen

Next Week's Podcast info:
Title: EPISODE2 - Don't Blame Wikipedia for bad papers
Time: 02/24/2008 07:20 PM EST
Episode Notes: Some educators blame Wikipedia (and often use it as a curse word) for bad student writing. Maybe we should look at why Wikipedia is good and perhaps we should assign better papers.

Use the TalkShoe badge to the right to listen to past shows or to upcoming shows.

Why bashingED?

bashing education is more metaphor than literal and is a call for clear thinking within education and its use of technology. As a metaphor, bash is a reference to the shell in many *nix systems. Instead of relying on the GUI-eye-candy of the point-and-click way of computing, returning to the command line is way of thinking, a way of returning to complete control and with that control, more power.

As it applies to education--and especially technology--we really need to return to the main focus of any tool: how to use that tool for learning. In short, let's uncover the rhetoric, the slick slideware presentations, the spiffy 4-color mailers that promise and promise, and return to the days of the command line. Enter a command, and things happen. Once we're comfortable with entering in a command, we can string a couple of commands together and then perhaps do some scripting within education.

This is not a site to bash education for fun; education has been (as some have said) the whipping boy of politics for over a generation. The intent of the site is to round out the conversation of using technology for learning and trying to sift through all the GUI to get back to the CLI of control...because when the interface of Windows or OSX (well, maybe not that) or X-windowing distract us a bit too much, the command line and a shell such as bash can make the computing experience clear.

This was originally published in my first attempt at bashingED:

bashingED site creation and population

Welcome to the site for bashingED and all things surrounding technology for learning (at least in my little world). I've transferred some previous posted material from my other site that has relevance to the goal of this site (really anything written before this post was originally posted at Vergil's Coffee).

I wanted to separate out my conversations about technology and learning to another site and honestly grew tired of having to get a new plug-in to make WordPress do simple things like adding a simple code for embedding something. And that's the reason I decided to come back to Blogger and give it a spin.

This will be a place for giving feedback regarding the weekly TalkShoe casts and other posts as they come up. If anything, I'd like to continue the conversation of using technology for learning, which IMHO is lacking (and had been lacking) in our K-12 schools.

“Those Who Can’t, Moodle: Avoiding the ‘Napoleon Plan’ for Technology in the Classroom”

These are notes from my rough draft idea blog (http://blogs.opml.org/chrisjudson) that I used to present a concurrent session at the 2008 Indiana Computer Educator conference last week. Here's the abstract of my talk:

Most of the successful transitions to moving instruction toward technology suggests a shift in pedagogy. Many times, incorporating technology into the classroom has amounted to the “Napoleon Plan” of decision making. Instead of merely putting up a static .html page with class rules, an assignment schedule, and perhaps some online quizzes, the effective online classroom makes use of the social aspect of the internet and structure and some would suggest moving toward a social constructivist approach to pedagogy.

We got a website! (The Napoleon Plan of Technology Integration)

And we've all done it: either it was coded by hand in some text editor or we used a visual web-editor such as Claris Homepage or Adobe Pagemill, but the school's site was live and we had presence on the world wide web. Now all of our students, community and the world could come to our school website and ... well, see our crafted table-layout or the more elusive frame-based text with stock gifs and scrolling java banners. And not much has changed, has it?

Well, swap out java and frames for Flash and perhaps add a lot more information (especially your school improvement plan and a link to the DOE school snapshot page) and that's about it. The potential of the Internet got duped by the politics of the technology to put a computer into every classroom and wire all the schools so that all of our students could access all of this information. All for what? Besides cost a lot of money for our “shareholders” and a lot of headaches for teachers and IT folk to keep the little kiddies on task rather than any or all game sites, it reinforced that idea that we as educators and tech leaders are most guilty of: a Napoleon Plan [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0707436/] of technology integration: 1. Show up and, 2. See what happens. The new technology is purchased or presented to teachers and then we'll just see what happens.

It's no wonder why David Shenk in his 1997 book Data Smog stated that putting in the internet into every classroom is like putting a power station into every home. There was a fury of internet love last decade and seemingly everyone connected with education and technology was "on board" with the national plan to wire all schools and get Internet access for every child (the lesser No Child Left Unwired plan ). More energies were spent in acquiring Internet access for schools and honestly, it would have been viewed undemocratic not to get the access for "the students." (Insert teacher and staff jab here for all of the eBay purchases and ESPN streaming video highlights that have been done by the adults). The most pedagogical the conversation got was which educational site the staff could visit or the latest online teaching "tool" javascript we could copy and paste on to our stale, static HTML pages.

BTW, we could say the same for each new technology through the decades as Todd Ophenhimer did in his Atlantic Monthly article from 1997: “The Computer Delusion” [http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/97jul/computer.htm] (which he later developed into the 2004 book The Flickering Mind: Saving Education from the False Promise of Technology). There is a pattern of “Showing up” and “Seeing what happens” and then it repeats all over again (almost like our educational reforms but we have chosen the technologies as silver bullets -- but we will always say that they're not...we'll deny it).

We like shiny objects, we like the new new, we like CES and MacWorld announcements, we like computers, Palm Pilots, digital cameras, scanners with OCR, iPod touch, iPhones (or we have iPhone envy but can't seem to justify the data plan to our bosses: that is, our superintendents or spouses). In short, we like the new shining object and we'll talk for days on what it does, but the conversation slips into generic terms when we are asked how and why is it important or useful for learning.

Here's my favorite response to "How" and "Why":

These are the current tools of the trade and we should be using X (or having students use X) so that they will be better prepared for the real world.

What a load of desegregated data. Logically, there's problems with that answer and I think you can figure it out. (Hint: How much does your school spend on making paper copies...I thought we were supposed to use those document scanners).

Herein lies the heart of my talk: We have been guilty of acquiring a lot of gadgets and URLs and just hoping that something magical educationally will happen, and it hasn't. We've sometimes used the software companies own "studies" as justification to purchase Inspiration [www.inspriation.com] or Writer's Workbench [http://www.emo.com/wwb/] because it says here that research says or that--and here it comes-- it connects with most of your state standards. (BTW, probably one of the few pieces of software that has done real and reasonable educational research is CMaps [http://cmap.ihmc.us/]. Their white papers are for review and study and not for marketing alone). Instead, there is some hope out there and it happens to be connected with a product that some in the state of Indiana think is really great. It's a framework for building and managing learning communities.

It's really nice and I stumbled upon it about 3 years ago and now I'd like to give you some advice regarding Moodle: Don't use it. Don't install it. Well, okay, you probably will...but at least listen to the reason why it's good for education and presents a solid case as far as pedagogy.

It's based on an evolving idea of social constructivism and I'd like to talk to you about how doing education this way, in your classroom and schools, makes sense when using a framework such as Moodle [moodle.org].

Getting the "Those who can't" on board (or Those stubborn teachers are like sticks in the mud)

It's not about tools and more about how and why of doing things. And that's the conversation we should be having and it is the conversation of teachers: pedagogy. It's a much longer conversation than a demo of the latest site or shiny object; it's a conversation, not a lecture. These people are a stubborn sort and many folk from different walks of life and points of view are wondering when these teachers will just "get on board." The great thing is that they usually just don't...you got to talk the talk of teachers and that, again, is pedagogy. And if there's something that technology folks have done a lousy job is just this: explain how to use technology for learning. Not as a "learning tool" or how technology help with record keeping...nope, technology for learning. And that pedagogical conversation now turns to an idea--not a new one--but an idea that when individuals create and share information, something really cool happens. This is the general idea of social constructivism.

Here's the bulleted list from Moodle’s site [moodle.org/philosophy]:

• Constructivism--This point of view maintains that people actively construct new knowledge as they interact with their environment.

• Constructionism asserts that learning is particularly effective when constructing something for others to experience. This can be anything from a spoken sentence or an internet posting, to more complex artifacts like a painting, a house or a software package.

• Social Constructivism--This extends the above ideas into a social group constructing things for one another, collaboratively creating a small culture of shared artifacts with shared meanings. When one is immersed within a culture like this, one is learning all the time about how to be a part of that culture, on many levels.

• Connected and Separate--This idea looks deeper into the motivations of individuals within a discussion. Separate behaviour is when someone tries to remain 'objective' and 'factual', and tends to defend their own ideas using logic to find holes in their opponent's ideas. Connected behaviour is a more empathic approach that accepts subjectivity, trying to listen and ask questions in an effort to understand the other point of view. Constructed behaviour is when a person is sensitive to both of these approaches and is able to choose either of them as appropriate to the current situation.

• Conclusion--Once you are thinking about all these issues, it helps you to focus on the experiences that would be best for learning from the learner's point of view, rather than just publishing and assessing the information you think they need to know. It can also help you realise how each participant in a course can be a teacher as well as a learner. Your job as a 'teacher' can change from being 'the source of knowledge' to being an influencer and role model of class culture, connecting with students in a personal way that addresses their own learning needs, and moderating discussions and activities in a way that collectively leads students towards the learning goals of the class.

Again, these are not entirely news ideas (I’m thinking of Project-Based Learning [mindmap: http://www.vergil66.com/pbl/]) and there's been other software that have attempted to bring collaboration into a teaching moment (Daedalus Integrated Writing Environment [http://www.daedalus.com/] comes to mind). What is interesting is that there is so much talk of social networks and the maturation of Web 2.0, once again we might just be missing the boat with our stubborn colleagues by telling them about all the cool stuff they could be doing with X.

You should notice that this is going to be a shift in how folk approach teaching. BTW, please don't think that this is small groupings or merely student-centered classrooms; both of those ideas were and are good but their implementation was and still is pretty lousy. It's the mindset we sometimes live in: Education is broke, let's fix it by the end of the next NCA cycle or before the next ISTEP scores are released.

It's about time to pause for a moment and find a way to use technology for learning and the social constructivism model is well-supported with in a little CMS called Moodle.

The good, the bad and the ugly of managing a Moodle site

Don't get me wrong: I love technology and gadgets and all things shiny. I've been trying to talk my principal and technology folk into purchasing things since I've been teaching. I advise student publications, so I've been able to get my hands on hardware (had a lab of the original bondi blue iMacs after they came out...that was cool). But as I started making class webpages in the late 90s and then as I noticed that not everyone came a clicking to my static html page, I started to look at my practice as an educator and how in the world could this fun stuff be useful beyond a "yeah, my teacher has a web page."

Probably like many folk, I started to add opportunities for students to leave comments and make social comments on my page (I think I was using iBlog at this time). I wanted my students to read and comment on each other's papers, so I made a link to some discussion doc site (I think it was QuickTopic.com). I had a shout box on the site and invited students to leave messages for me or anyone who went to the page. But the whole thing was so duck-taped together, I continued to look around for something to manage all of the social activity along with integrating assessment.

Three years ago, I installed Moodle on a hosting site that I paid for out of my own pocket. Students in my classes we already used to the blogging way of me organizing our class info, so the jump to Moodle was a bit more polished. So since using Moodle for 3 years, I’d like to leave you with some advise on the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of using Moodle.

The Good.

• It's Open Source (or, free...for the most part). This is the buzzing that's sweeping through IT department across the state and nation. Stress budgets are now looking manageable as folk are seeing the possibility (and strength) of FOSS. Moodle is like Blackboard without the money concerns and there's no financial obligation to a company who needs to make money off of their product.


• No coding! Yeah! I love to dabble...I like to mess around with putting things together, but Moodle (like many other Web20 apps) allows you to focus on creating and managing content rather than figuring out how it works. For most of your non-tech colleagues, training should be harmless and there's wonderful documentation and online, in-context help system on each page. It's easy to use...really.


• Full integration of all your classroom activities. That's online stuff and offline stuff. Assessment presents some newer ideas and I especially like the Workshop module.


• Tons of opportunities for student interaction through bulletin boards and messaging to even blogs (if you so desire). More reasons to visit a site means more investment in its cause. Students can interact (along with the teacher) outside of the classroom day.

The Bad.

• Frankly, it takes more of my time outside of class and that's because if I want something to be interactive, I just can't build it and wait until they come. Tons of opportunities for interaction. I usually spend time each night responding to student's messages and questions (though, for questions, I remind them to make a post and seek the help of the other students).


• Not every student has Internet access and so yes, those students miss out...a bit.


• You got to step down from the pedestal and allow stuff to happen. You have to let students argue things out for time to time and not always be the morality police. Sometimes you just have to not comment and allow other students to be consciousness of the classroom.


• There's hiccups in the program and I think I've learned many workarounds in the gradebook module (which is going through a revision). Look, this is Open Source and many people are working to make it great...and it is. The wonderful thing is that if you have a question, there's a great support community out there on the Moodle.org site.

The Ugly (only two things here...more cautionary things).

• It would be ugly to force every teacher in a school, district, region or state to use Moodle. That would be ugly because Moodle, like every other new idea or shiny object in education, is not for everyone. It supports a wonderful and dynamic way of approaching learning, but that's not the only way of doing education. Sometimes I wonder how long some of the great teachers of the ages would last in the classroom ("Oh, just who just quite after one day?" "Oh, that was Socrates...he just asked 'What am I doing here?' and left.")


• Another ugly thing, and this is all editorial comment, is that as schools discover great FOSS such as OpenOffice, Firefox, Audicity and Moodle, that the educational community wouldn't feel an ethical and I would say moral obligation to give back to the OpenSource community. Sure the stuff is free, but with the freedom is an obligation to help pay for or help develop which ever project that we're using. All of these FOSS projects list how you can get involved and I would encourage all of us to give back.

During lunch today, I did what many folk do when we go to conferences: made small talk. And I’m eating my cheeseburger and fries and I say “Hey” to the suited man at the next table. Dave Dobos was here at the conference as an exhibitor for a company that sells supplies for math and science classrooms and so I wasn’t really his target audience. He did thank me (as the representatives of high school English teachers) for teaching him how to write clearly and concisely (not that I’ve spoken that way today). We talked about how long it takes to learn to do just that: to communicate clearly and concisely and I think that is precisely what I’ve attempted to say in today’s talk: that education and learning take time and that something new and shiny may or may not have an impact on the stuff of learning. Let’s pause and think about broader and deeper issues such as pedagogy and it’s impact on using a content management system such as Moodle. Why are we using technology and to what real purpose are we aiming for? Let’s go beyond an endless cycle of Napoleon Plans for technology integration and try to speak clearly and concisely on why we do what we do.

Thank you.

Questions and some demonstration of actual classroom site using Moodle.
(Originally posted on Vergil's Coffee)