Showing posts with label Cool Cat Teacher blog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cool Cat Teacher blog. Show all posts

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Support the Digiteens - Different ways

For everyone who has been lurking and watching what the Digiteen Dream Team has been doing with their efforts to "Keep Lively Alive" they have posted some options for readers of their blog. Check the Digiteen Dream Team blog and read their updates. They have connected with a class in Hong Kong and provided links and suggestions that meet the needs of their blog readers.

So what can you do?

Check out the Cool Cat Teacher blog. Vicki Davis has posted a variety of projects created by her students from letters to videos. These posts include her support of the students and the actions they are taking about something they learned in school and connected with the real world, globally.
Sign the Keep Google Lively Active online petition.
Join the Facebook group of Livelyzens.
Share your succes feedback/opinion with Google
Check out the Livelyzens blogs in Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, Portugese, and English
Download Lively and create an account and join the protest room.

This has been a valuable learning experience for all the Digiteen supporters and their blog readers. For all of the bad news spewed about children and the Internet, Vicki's students are learning, practicing, and teaching younger students about Digital Citizenship.

Parents...check out the Cool Cat Teacher's blog post titled, "A Little Digital Citizenship Parent Brainstorming: Share Your Thoughts" on 8/8/08.

There are still too many adults that could use a course in Digital Citizenship in order to set the example for the people they influence. We can all learn something from the Digiteen Dream Team. When is the last time you took a stand for something you believed passionately about that didn't include a majority?

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Continuing to empower students

Wow! I feel honored to be mentioned on Vicki Davis' Cool Cat Teacher Blog.

Empower - To equip or supply with an ability; enable: "Computers ... empower students to become intellectual explorers" (Edward B. Fiske).
empower. (n.d.). The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Retrieved December 09, 2008, from Dictionary.com website:http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/empower

I believe empowering students is what we should all do. In the real world, people learn from us, with us, in spite of us, or just because of what we do, whether you are a parent, an educator by career choice, a Sunday school teacher, a teacher of any topic or subject at a community center or a member of a community. So what do you do with the new knowledge, skill, attribute, or information? Do our students just hoard everything they learn then celebrate their 18th birthday and announce they are legally empowered?

A few years ago, I remember a debate amongst my own classmates (non traditional adult students). We were analyzing information gathered from a variety of stakeholders...and I brought up students. I stood my ground and will continue to support students as stakeholders in a school system because they are the primary mandated users. Teachers, administrators, counselors, and support staff...they will come and go...but without students...there is no need for the teachers, administrators, counselors, support staff and teams.

We have three top rated magnet schools in the Richmond County School district. People rent apartments in the district just to have their students apply to these top rated schools. At Thursday's monthly RCBoEd meeting recognition will be given to the following schools:

A. R. Johnson Magnet School will be presented awards for the following: Improvement in Biology on the End-of-Course Test, Achievement in Algebra I on the End-of-Course Test, Achievement in Biology on the End-of-Course Test, Achievement in Language Arts and Reading on the Georgia High School Graduation Test, Achievement in Mathematics on the Georgia High School Graduation Test, Achievement in Science on the Georgia High School Graduation Test

Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School named in US News & World Report's Best High Schools-Gold Medal List #89 out of 100. A.R. Johnson makes the Silver list of the US News & World Report

Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School is named 2008 School of Excellence

C.T. Walker Traditional Magnet School is awarded the 2008 Single Statewide Accountability System's Highest Performance Silver Award for Outstanding Student Achievement

A.R. Johnson Magnet School is awarded the 2008 Single Statewide Accountability System's Highest Performance Platinum Award for Outstanding Student Achievement

Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School is awarded the 2008 Single Statewide Accountability System's Highest Performance Platinum Award for Outstanding Student Achievement

Lake Forest Hills Elementary School is awarded the 2008 Single Statewide Accountability System's Greatest Gain Platinum Award for Outstanding Student Achievement

These schools deserve the recognition, accolades, and awards and should be recognized publicly...but when a sex scandal breaks out involving a principal, teachers, former public safety officer, graduation coach...no one remembers the awards, the good stuff, the proud moments of our students. Why not teach the students to empower themselves? To be better than those in the bad news of their school system?

Dr. Dana Bedden apologized to the students of Spirit Creek and the community. Thanks for the apology Dr. B...but you inherited this district. Parents, educators, students, and community partners have attempted to inform you of the additional issues that you are uncovering and will discover as you work to improve this district. We know that you cannot do it alone but there is a breach of trust and a restrictive filters in the effective communication process.

The former public safety officer in this investigation had been assigned to my daughter's high school prior to being reassigned to Spirit Creek MS. WRDW reports and tweets on Twitter: Inside the Spirit Creek Sex Scandal Investigation Spirit Creek sex investigation closed, 7 implicated From the Augusta Chronicle: School's staff implicated in sex scandal From the Metro Spirit: Spirit Creek Scandal

Butler High School went through sex scandal when the Band teacher was arrested and then in June 2008 when Mr. Shelton was indicted by a grand jury.

As we explain to our students...bad news sells...to people who buy it. We have to teach our students that it is OK to make their own news. With Internet access and smart phones students have the capability to send a news clip to any media outlet, including starting their own blog, website, or piece of cyberspace. If their club or out of school organization is doing something great...people do want to know about it and the media release doubles as an external document of the community efforts.

Whose future is it any way? It is OK for them to be involved, to be the practitioners, to be the decision makers. You can rest easier when your students learn to make decisions in a timely manner, take the responsibility for their actions, learn from their actions or inactions and apply it to their life's folder of lessons learned.

Don't wait until the new year to make a resolution...start today, have your digiteen share something they have done on the web, a new technical skill, or community project...eventually we will all be replaced...it is the circle of life. Do you need a visual reminder? Watch the Lion King.

So to all the Cool Cat Teachers and the digiteens and digitweens...keep up the great work. We know you will incorporate lessons learned from your experiences and continue to improve the world, whether it is in the edublogosphere, connecting globally, and continuing to take the high road and the path less traveled.

Monday, December 8, 2008

Empowering students

Vicki Davis aka Cool Cat Teacher blogged about Empowering students...Is it wrong to let students try? Is empowering kids the WRONG thing to do?

Empowering students is a responsibility that adults have to our students, or anyone in a generational gap. Vicki's students have been working with Lively, blogging about their actions, what they have learned, mentoring elementary students, and now conducting a virtual protest to get Google to keep Lively alive. They are conducting themselves professionally along with providing solutions rather than posting complaints.

Vicki posted a simple request on Twitter requesting some comments to the Digiteen Dream Team blog to incorporate into the classroom discussion. Today she posted some responses from adults who only read one post or just skimmed the surface of the blog.

Check out her blog post where Vicki addresses some comments which I have heard mentioned by high school educators, administrators, and parents. These students also mentored elementary students, "Using Woogi world we taught fourth grade children the importance of safety, balance, and respect on the internet".

Regardless of how parents, teachers, and administrators feel about the Internet, they need to be involved, listening to their students, and learning something new every day.

I hear requests about incorporating teacher training...I am all for it but the educators need to be participative and partake in some independent learning. Even FBI agents have been "schooled" by teens when they were learning about chat room language and behavior (June 28, 2005). The FBI agents claimed they were stumped by the tests given by the teens.

I see too many students, teachers, and parents who are involved, learning independently, learning in virtual groups...while it is not the majority there are programs that work...but that is a topic for another post.

I support what Vicki is doing with her students and the Digiteen project as well as the Flat Classroom project and the many other projects she is involved in. She is an inspiration and many of us wonder how does she do it all....because she cares. When you care about something...when you are passionate about something...you work tirelessly to support our students.

I don't know her students personally, but out of the four states my daughter has attended school in...I can tell you she has not had the opportunity to be a digiteen with a school group. She has a mother who was technical in the Army (Telecommunications and Spectrum Management) and now back working with Network Managers. Rather than sitting on the sideline griping and complaining about the lack of opportunities I decided to do something about it. There has always been a computer in the home to today when gadgets are much a part of life that it is painful to revert to paper and pencil. Granted there is always room for paper and pencil...even during hurricane season. If I don't teach my daughter and her friends about empowerment....when do they learn?

When the students graduate...if they do graduate...they don't inherently become "real world" smart. We are all humans...we only know what we know...so why not challenge yourself and learn something new today...and for the rest of your life. Use the brain like you do your heart...the more you use it...the less likely you are to lose it. If you have a special skill to share and the school networks are filtered and blocked...check your nearest library.

For all of the critics of Vicki Davis' Digiteen Dream Team project, I have to defer to Abraham Lincoln's quote, "He has a right to criticize, who has a heart to help.”

Just because you didn't grow up with the Internet in your school is not an acceptable excuse on restricting information to your children or students on becoming digital citizens.

You might want to start with reviewing your ISP's Terms of Service (TOS) and Acceptable Use Policy (AUP). How ready for the real world are they when they are using networks that restrict and block everything in the real world. Error management should be incorporated for all users, so computer users maintain a coolness under stress and realize everything can be overcome in the world of data.

For those of you who question what Vicki is doing, she is a passionate, caring teacher who states, "Yes - we talk about terms of service and have discussed it. I stand behind what we're doing and to them, this is important. I will certainly take any blame for problems that happen, however, putting kids in super sanitary environments teaches kids that things always go right and computers always work, and that certainly, isn't the real world of struggles and problems that I'm preparing them for.

Vicki...keep doing what you are doing and don't sweat the small stuff. Your students are incorporating ISTE standards where some students do not even know or have ever heard of ISTE and why they have standards. They understand the components of being a responsible digital citizen and will end up being the leaders in their fields, whatever field that maybe.

Continue to empower your students and encouraging them to try, they are the future leaders.

Monday, December 1, 2008

The DD in Augusta

The Augusta Chronicle like many online news sources conducts daily polls on subjects ranging from A to Z. I use an RSS reader to subscribe to blogs, news, and tailored Google alerts.

As a military retiree who has moved in and out of Augusta, which coexists with the home of the Signal Corps, Fort Gordon, GA I am perplexed that this is the only city where I see growth in the population as well as the expansion in the digital divide...digital disconnect...digital separation.

I have blogged about living in a digital divide with a daughter who is one among many of the gadget girls growing up digital and a mother who is learning something new every week from listening to podcasts, texting, subscribing to blogs and news, working out with the Wii Fit, and many other learning objectives achieved while learning a new gadget, a new technique, or understanding a technical perspective.

Working with my daughter's high school and reviving BHS PTSA I saw an opportunity to connect teachers, students, parents, and community partners with no budget and created a newsgroup, a blog, website, and a MySpace. Like many parents of high school students I wanted to be involved without being labeled a helicopter parent and improve the negative press and statistics. I also understand that our young people will grow up and into the leaders of our communities, states, and global corporations.

I understand that this image below does not represent all computer users in Augusta. The informal poll demonstrates the participants use of social networking or as Vicki Davis, The Cool Cat Teacher, challenges us to rename it to educational networking. The Augusta Chronicle puts their spin on their media as any media organization does, but on any given day, you can see comments to articles referencing taxes, racial issues and there will be thousands of comments to an article. One positive article and maybe a parent or teacher will post a comment.

I understand that negative press sells but I also believe that inside everyone is the ability to resolve an issue by doing something. So as we reflect on our accomplishments of 2008, what have you done to improve your community? Practiced a random act of kindness? Said a kind word? As Ghandi is quoted, "Be the change you want to see in the world" and Aesop, "No act of kindess, no matter how small is ever wasted". As we all want, "Everything to be fine in 2009", what will you do to be one part of the solution to making things fine in 2009?

I have created a Ning to connect parents, teachers, students, community members as a collaborative web space. So if you would like to join, participate in discussion boards, share knowledge and experience, provide positive information, ask questions just request access to the RCSS Backchannel.


Friday, August 22, 2008

Meet the Cool Cat Teacher in Second Life on 8/28


From Vicki Davis' blog, The Cool Cat Teacher...

From my friend Cris Crissman, the announcement about a presentation next week I'm giving in Second Life. This will be my first official presentation in Second Life and I'm so excited about it! Announcing the USDLC Star Teacher Series . . .

"New School Year -- Cool Tools Here: Cool Cat Teacher Vicki Davis Shares the Tools She’ll Bring to Her Classroom" as a Flat Classroom Teacher, Vicki Davis, made wiki a classroom word.

Now as the Cool Cat Teacher, she shares new tools, ideas, and resources with the enthusiastic readers of her blog. Join her in Second Life (or Internet Radio with chatfor non-Second Life Residents) as she shares the cool tools and tips she’ll use to make the 2008-2009 school year the best yet.

Event will take place Thursday, August 28, 8 p.m. EDT, on USDLC Star Island in Second Life. Non-Second Life Residents can listen via Internet Radio and join the chat. Get all the details at http://www.literacy2learn.org/ Learn more about Vicki at http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/

To prepare for the event, be sure and read Vicki’s August 4th blog post: “Tips on Starting the School Year Right”. For more information check out the Cool Cat Teacher Blog

New to Second Life? Join the 3D virtual world and check out the variety of educational events. Join now http://secondlife.com/

Monday, June 23, 2008

Another favorite blog...

Another favorite blog I keep up to date with is the Cool Cat Teacher Blog. While I do not know Vicki Davis personally, I mentioned her blog during a job interview with the GA Department of Education. We were discussing the variety of technology and I mentioned that I wish every school could have a Cool Cat Teacher blogger, my preference would be to have one in every grade in every school. She is a committed blogger and self described "teacher, entrepreneur, edublogger, conference presenter, freelance writer, an avid reader, and a technology "geek".

From Vicki's post (http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/) on 6/23/08 of sites that caught her eye: The 23 things is a fascinating way to teach teachers about these tools. Great resource for professional developers to look at. Check out http://k12learning20.wikispaces.com/23Things

From the K12 Learning 2.0: Tools for 21st Century Teaching & Learning "23 Things" wiki, "This self-guided online learning adventure is designed to provide classroom teachers and other school personnel with an introductory "What's out there?" exploration of some common tools and concepts related to Web 2.0"

I conducted some computer workshops at the local library using some of the "23 Things" in this self-guided online learning adventure. Check out 23 Things: http://k12learning20.wikispaces.com/

If you have never visited Vicki Davis' Cool Cat Teacher blog, check out her blog and the links to the many supplemental projects she has created or participates in: http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/

A little more research into the beginnings of "the 23 Things" took me to The Learning 2.0 (http://plcmcl2-about.blogspot.com/) program which was designed by Helene Blowers, PLCMC (Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County)Technology Director, with the support and assistance of several staff and is loosely based upon Stephen Abram's article, 43 Things I (or You) might want to do this year (Information Outlook - Feb 2006) and the website 43Things.

The design of this online program was completely built on Web 2.0 technologies that are freely available on the Internet. These sites include: Blogger, Flickr, Odeo, YouTube, PBWiki & Bloglines.


From Learning 2.0 comes Learning 2.1 with more "Things" as the adventure continues in a Master List of items number 24 - 60 with Wikis, Facebook, Ning, Plaxo, Google Groups and many others: http://explorediscoverplay.blogspot.com/2007/02/adventure-continues.html

Great sites whether you are new to online tools or an old school computer geek that needs to verify a skill set. Have fun and enjoy the online learning process.