A little background… About a month ago, I started using Twitter. Twitter is a fabulous on-line tool that allows me to communicate and stay connected with like-minded people. I’m still a newbie and am still learning the lingo. Recently, I’ve been seeing links with Prezi in the tweet. Now, not wanted to sound stupid, I did what any inquisitive person would do…

I googled it.

After clicking and reading several links, I discovered Prezi was a new on-line zooming presentation tool. The tool looked intriguing, so I applied for a membership. Several days later, I received confirmation from the company to have access to Prezi.

I decided to take my last blog post, and transform the same information into a Prezi Presentation. (If you haven’t clicked the link on Prezi Presentation, do it now to check it out!)

Prezi was fairly user friendly, with what seemed like gears in the upper-left hand corner to help you navigate. I’m pretty sure the teachers around me enjoyed hearing me laughing at all my mistakes as I learned. I’m a button-pusher–I like to think of it as “constructivist learning”. There were moments when I added so much white background, nothing else could be seen. Then there were a pile of objects I couldn’t figure out how to delete off to the side.

But, in an hour, I was able to create a potentially powerful presentation. iLearn Technology has some excellent suggestions for teachers wanting students to use Prezi.

Try the demo yourself at prezi.com and tell me if you agree.

Sometimes I do something in class…

 Then I think, “that was stupid…”

The Before

I believe in science notebooking. I will always believe in science notebooking. Students need a place to articulate their thoughts. A place to create, to think, to reflect, to change, to grow… In science, notebooking is an excellent way to journal understanding of scientific principles.

In my class, we use a composition notebook.

These notebooks can house a plethora of jewels. You can see the beauty of a well thought out inquiry. Observations can be described, drawn, and labeled. Borders and colors can help form a blueprint to understanding. Ah, the simplicity in thoughts.

Lines of learning can be drawn. As the teacher, I can participate in the journey. I can scribble a comment or two along the way to guide, focus, or reroute thinking.

The science notebook… an intimate dialogue between the student and I or the student and themselves. Unfortunately, it takes time to comment in EVERY notebook.

The Between

In the not too distant past, I wanted students to look at the role of decomposers in an ecosystem. We looked at the top, middle and bottom layers of the pile of leaves. As any good science teacher would do, I had students describe their observations in their notebooks. They were to draw detailed pictures of each layer. To get a better look, we used Proscopes, a hand-held microscope, to magnify the surfaces of the leaves.

So, as I walked around my room, my students were watching, snapping photos (see below), drawing in their notebooks, snapping more pictures… snap… draw… snap… draw…

Click.

“What am I doing???”

Look at this fantabulous photograph? I see leaves in various forms of decomposition. There is a little white something growing in the middle. In the time it would take my students to DRAW one of these layers, they could have captured a MULTITUDE of layers using the digital photographs, and had the time to reflect and learn.

Actually, the students had the photographs. These were stored away on the classroom computers. I had just given them busy work to draw it in their science notebooks.

“…that was stupid…”

The Now

Today, I have initiated the shift. I’ve turned to a more digital form of notebooking. Conversations are stored in a Discussion forum in a private social network. We still have the inquiry, the reflection, and the learning. Now, I can provide feedback whenever I can get to a computer and an internet connection. Links can be included to guide students. Photos can be uploaded.

With the click of a button, students can shift their way of thinking.

Conversations can still be between me and the student. But, there is oh so much more! What about a wider audience?  Now, our reflections can impact others. There are the other students in the classroom, the parents, the community members… And sometimes, the world!

My class is beginning the marriage between digital and manual notebooking. There will be times where the need will exist to physically write and reflect on paper. Other times, a virtual medium will be more appropriate.

Where should we write?

Where it helps us to learn!

Where will your students write?

Artwork Thanks:

Godsey, J. ” .97 comp notebook from walmart.” jgodsey’s photostream. 04 JUNE 2008. Flickr. 26 Nov 2008 <http://www.flickr.com/photos/jgodsey/2551404001/sizes/s/>.

Hartz, William. “Email Checkin’.” williamhartz’s photostream. 07NOV2007. Flickr. 25 Nov 2008 <http://www.flickr.com/photos/whartz/1914209727/sizes/s/>.

However, we have others that aren’t quite ready. A few teachers wonder how blogging is relevant to their job. Several teachers wanted to blog, but a lack of knowledge over how to do it is a concern. Many have expressed concerns about time. Where would they find the time to read a blog? (Let alone comment or post.) A few of these people see blogging as a waste of time. Tony Karrar writes about Web 2.0 tools when he says:

Do people have enough time to use these tools? If so, does that mean that they are somehow not the people who are already “too busy” at their jobs? Are the only people who will use the tools exactly those people who the organization views as time wasters, tinkering about, etc.

So, if there are are roadblocks to blogging, should other teachers join the blogosphere? My answer, “Yes!” My reasons, see below.

Top Ten Reasons Why I Blog:

1. A blog is a website that is so easy to manage, even I can publish it.
2. Blogging enables me to learn skills many of my students use informally.
3. Reading and writing blogs improves my communication skills.
4. Being able to blog enhances my classroom instruction.
5. A blog can be used as a tool to showcase other Web 2.0 features we can use to instruct.
6. A blog can help me connect and learn with other educators.
7. I can be sitting in my bed, in my jammies, and still collaborate with someone in Australia.
8. Using a blog can save time by being a place to disseminate information.
9. A blog gives me an opportunity to discuss and reflect on topics important to me.
10. Most importantly, blogging is addictive and fun!

Why do you blog? Or, if you’re not blogging, which of these would make you consider blogging?

Artwork Thanks:

Hawkins, Jessica. ” Week in the Life: Monday Relaxation.” jessica.hawkins11’s photostream . 29 SEP 2008. Flickr. 21 Nov 2008 <http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmhawkins11/2899870367/>.

For several months, I’ve stood on the edge of a giant pool of informational sharing…

Watching… waiting… wondering…

Who writes? Why do they write? How do they come up with what to write? And most important, who would want to listen to me!?!

Now, I’m good at thinking. I think thoughts all the time. What exactly is Web 2.0? How can I get my students to think more thoughts about what they are learning? If our district advocates a constructivist approach to learning, how can I enhance the rigor and authenticity of learning through technology?

Amazingly enough, as I peered into the blogosphere, I saw others with the same questions. There were teachers and students…family and friends…coworkers and neighbors… All thinkin’ the same thoughts. All sharing their nuggets of knowledge. But not me. I was still on the edge, holding on, scared of the leap into the unknown.

I needed a push. Mine came from my friend and collegue, Sean Nash. First came the nudge. The e-mail to all the instructional coaches in our district inviting everyone to visit my blog. This blog. The one that didn’t have a single post.

Next came the shove. An invitation to the same group to become a better blogger in 30 Days. This is based on a blog he reads (Oh, the webs we weave!). Now, in order to be a better blogger, I needed to be blogger in the first place!

So, Get Set…

I have officially hurtled myself off the precipice into an entire new world–swirling tummy and all.

Now, I officially invite all other nascent bloggers to join me. Take the step and write your first post. Join me as we discover what technology can do for us and for our students.

Artwork thanks:

Melancon, Adam. “Might as well jump…2bw” Adam Melancon’s Photostream. 07 August 2008. Flickr. 3 Nov 2008.http://www.flickr.com/photos/melancon/2742142387/

E’ole. “Splash” Eole’s photostream. 29 April 2007. Flickr. 3 Nov 2008.http://www.flickr.com/photos/eole/477332444/

Riverava. “Start1″ Riverava’s photostream. 7 Dec 2008. Flickr. 3 Nov 2008. http://www.flickr.com/photos/tiszaiva/2092349343/