Technology Newsletter November 2011

Open publication - Free publishing - More blogging

Tomorrow's Tech in Today's Schools: BYOD

Tomorrow's Tech in Today's Schools: BYOD

I Switched to Axe!

Last week I had the pleasure of presenting to a room of Learning Coaches for our School District. I began with a story about Axe.

I was shopping with my wife and headed down the deodorant isle. Here I saw a man, shopping with his wife, sniffing all brands of deodorant. At first I giggled to myself, because I am a Speed Stick guy, but then gave in to sniffing brands of deodorant. So I began smelling different brands, and stuck a few in my wife's nose for approval.Finally I settled on Axe Twist. It reminded me of the commercial where the guy was getting licked everywhere he went.

Here is the catch. I told this story to the Learning Coaches. I tied it in to changing what I am normally use to and taking a risk to try something else. In education, many teachers are not willing to take the risk for many reasons: fear of failure, too much on their plates, and tradition to name a few. One of the roles of Learning Coaches in our district is to help teachers find ways to meet the individual needs of the students. Differentiate. This means looking at new things and trying different ideas. Risk can mean reward, or failure, but trying new things leads to learning.

I believe my message went over well with the Learning Coaches. They were disappointed they did not get the Old Spice guy from the commercial, but they got the story behind Axe. And I didn't get licked once.

Shh! No More Video Noise!

I still enjoy all the visuals that YouTube has to offer. Well sort of? I find myself clicking x's all the time now to get rid of ads that I don't even read, but take up so much video space. And some ads on the side can be risky, especially in front of young eyes.
















Solution: Quietube! It is a java install right on your browser toolbar that allows you to go to a YouTube Video, click the Quietube extension and the video will begin playing with empty surroundings. That's right! No ads, comments (which many begin with the "f" word) and no pop ups.




















To access videos with no advertising go to Quietube and follow directions to install the extension. Next find the YouTube video you want to show. Finally click on the Quietube extension in your toolbar and you will be redirected to the video with no ads. Very refreshing!


Two other websites to mention that eliminate advertising and other distractions are ViewPure and SafeShare . Both are great ways to show a YouTube video without distraction.

#ISTE11 Here I Come!

It has been a great lead up on Twitter with my PLN chatting and posting all the excitement as we head to Philidelphia. I am looking forward to meeting new colleagues. It amazes me how global we have come in a short time in sharing and learning from each other as we plan and deliver new ideas in the best interests of the students.

Cheers to all of my PLN friends! @tibon007 is looking forward to connecting at #iste11.

Only Peanut Butter, No Jam

Yesterday morning I threw in the toast, got out the PB and searched high and low for the jam. None. So I sat, complained to my wife and ate bland peanut butter and toast.

How does this story fit into education? Well, sometimes students are faced with Peanut Butter day in and day out. No jam, no variety. Sometimes teacher's can become unaware that they are only serving Peanut Butter. My advice: reflect, add some jam/variety to your lessons and your students will enjoy their menu.

The "F" Word

"FOIP! I'm FOIPed! What the FOIP?!" Yes, sometimes Alberta's Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act can seem like a swear word to educators and students. FOIP can get in the way of creativity. Myself, I enjoy dabbling in the creative and collaborative world that is offered by the WWW, and take the risks associated with putting myself out there. Sites such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Animoto, etc. offer everyone the chance to create, communicate, collaborate and express themselves. These sites provide an avenue for teachers to reach Bloom's higher levels of taxonomy. I enjoy many great student and teacher produced videos and other products on the web and wonder about how many more could be produced if it were not for FOIP.

However, as educators in Alberta, how closely are we reading the terms and agreements on the sites we use in our classrooms? Are we abiding by the FOIP agreements set by our districts, governed by our province, when we ask our students and parents to fill out the technology use forms at the beginning of the year?

With the increasing discussions of allowing Personal Owned Devices in Alberta schools, we need to strengthen our communications between all stakeholders in educating our students. At our Alberta Education Jurisdictional Technology Contacts meeting, FOIP and Acceptable Use policies created a wealth of discussion, some of it through a web 2.0 tool called titanpad.
At the top of the list is making sure Digital Citizenship is embedded in daily teaching pedagogy. Awareness in using online tools is important before we allow our students to access many new sites that are being introduced and used in the classrooms. This should not, however, deter teachers from using these fantastic learning tools.

Years ago, I had no concern with FOIP. Realizing today how easy it is to access, post and download pictures, video and information, I still take the risks myself, but as an educational technologist, I make sure that teachers are aware FOIP issues.

One easy step to continue the creativity in the classroom using technology, is to get a FOIP form signed each time you are unsure of a web activity you are doing such as YouTube or Animoto. It may be a pain, but you will feel more at ease.

What are your thoughts regarding the right to privacy regarding technology and education?