Personal Learning
One of the easiest ways for teachers to incorporate technology into their teaching would be to re-work existing assignments so that the only difference is that you ask for the end product to be a digital presentation. I am ashamed to admit that only three years ago, as a Spanish teacher I regularly assigned huge paper-based projects such as country posters, menus, and family trees. Not only were they environmentally wasteful, it was also an incredible hassle to carry huge poster boards home, tote them around to various coffee shops, and then worry about keeping them dry from the rain or away from my water bottle. For example, I found a digital version of the Spanish country project using Scrapblog.
As stated by Knobel and Wilber, Web 2.0 is a "whole new way of thinking." Although I thought I was being a good teacher by doing "project-based" learning, Web 2.0 has raised the bar by allowing paperless, cross-curricular (information literacy and technology), permanent and portable e-portfolios, that accommodate different learning styles whilst being available to a global audience. There are many web-presentation tools available to students, most of them being free.
In addition to eliminating poster projects, web presentation tools allow students to demonstrate their critical thinking by forcing them consider multiple sources of information while giving them a platform to record their research and write their analysis. The most impressive example of using web presentation tools was Buffy Hamilton's Media 21 Veteran's Issues Project. Using Netvibes as a dashboard, students were assigned to create a multimedia portfolio that included electronic resources , personal response journals, as well as their own visual and written presentations.
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| The project template was a Netvibes Dasboard : http://www.netvibes.com/alex7586#Home |
Beyond PowerPoint
I consider myself a mediocre PowerPoint presenter and audience. Besides the challenges of making an interesting PowerPoint presentation, it has always been stressful to experience or witness a struggle with PowerPoint when files are incompatible or when I'm having problems with my USB. Fortunately those problems are easily solved by using web-based presentation tools.
Mobile PowerPoint presentations.
Having a slide presentation available on the Web increases access to the information and makes it more portable. In addition, the file in available on the internet and you can set it open to feedback. This a great option for staff meeting PowerPoints so that teachers can extend the discussion beyond the staff meeting.
I converted one of my PowerPoint presentation to a web-based presentation using Zoho (there's also Slideshare or Scribd) . I just uploaded the file, and chose "import." Very easy !
Since I don't find my PowerPoint presentations particularly impressive, I have enjoyed using Prezi, a zooming presentation application. Many people find Prezis more dynamic and engaging than PowerPoint. Instead of my usual (linear) PowerPoint, I plan to use this Prezi for my Library Orientations next year.
Professional Learning
" You consider your role as info-technology scout. You look to make "learning sense" of the authentic new information and communication tools used in business and academics. You figure out how to use them thoughtfully and you help classroom teachers use them with their classes. " (Valenza's Manifesto for 21st Century School Librarians)
Having recently returned to UBC after about a 10 year break, I realized that many of my classmates in pre-service methodology classes where extremely comfortable using technology in their lessons. I did most of my teacher-training pre-technology and so most of what I have learned about Web 2.0 I have accessed through courses or by surfing the Web. The interesting thing about 2.0 is that the medium demands that I take responsibility for my own learning As stated in LIBE 477's course introduction, we have to do a lot of "playing around" to learn. This is the pedagogy of 2.0, where the learning is informal, digressive, and facilitated, not instructed, by a teacher.
My Library Website
The first thing I did when I became a librarian two years ago was to create a library website. I started the website with the intention to increase access to the library catalog, raised the profile of the library, as well as given more convenience to the students, for example, by giving access to online databases. However, two years later,I am starting to realize the vast potential of 2.0 with library websites as exemplified by librarians such as Buffy Hamilton , or the competencies outlined by Joyce Valenza. I have realized that my website is a one-way informational tool instead of a location where dialogue about books, teaching, learning, and politics occurs. In the way the Unquiet Library and others arranged their web presence it was clear that their presence was about books but also about pushing the envelope on new ways of teaching and learning. In particular, what was most meaningful were the examples of lessons using technology created by school librarians. They have really inspired me to rethink my role as a teacher librarian and work harder towards becoming an educational leader.
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| My library website - teacher-driven informational tool. |
Here is a voicethread of teachers recommending novels for students (some of the teachers used video) :
Another fantastic way of using web-presentation tools (a website) to promote the library : Castilleja School Library:
Conclusion
Web-based presentation tools can enhance teaching by motivating students to show their learning in various ways. In addition, all these tools transform the way we think about assignments since conceivably, they could "live" on the Internet indefinitely , open to feedback, and also available as a record of past learning. Tools such as Glogster, Netvibes, and even webpages signal new ways of writing and organizing information when compared to traditional pen and paper assignments. Students can express their preferred modes of learning while teachers acknowledge multiple intelligences. For example, Animoto is perfect for visual learners while Voicethread might be the preferred medium of those students gifted with oral presentation skills. As a librarian, I have been inspired and motivated by other school librarians that are fully using 2.0 tools to enhance their profession and their library. Valenza, Hamilton and others are leaders I need to follow as they take the initiative in using technology to manage the complexity of information while thinking creatively and critically about how to use those tools to improve learning.
References
Naylor, Charlie. 21st Century Learning - Widening the frame of focus and debate: A BCTF Research Discussion Paper.
