mrosenbaum2.0

After looking over the list of 71/2 habits, it is hard to know where to begin. Each has a unique set of criteria to consider and aim in different directions.
Begin with  the end in mind: this is one of the hardest for me – I am not sure where this 2.0 journey will take me. I am basically a content person. I teach History and Bible and to me the most important thing to learn about is the content area of my subjects.  When I start my own learning, I decide what I want to focus on and each year or summer I focus on another period of time or sub-topic. In 2.o, it is all about the technology – not my strong suit, so I am not entirely sure where I am going, or where I will end up. For now, that is enough.
Teach/mentor others – sharing knowledge: this one will be the easiest, I like to collaborate, share ideas and techniques. All the curriculum development I have done at Epstein has been through collaborative efforts. I have mentored many teachers and shared my knowledge in History and Bible willingly with others. I do know that in the case of 2.0 I will need to seek others to be my mentors.
Have confidence in yourself as a competent effective learner: This will be the most important thing for me to accomplish. When it comes to other methodologies and techniques, devises and basic technologies, I am fine in the confidence department. But when it comes to feeing confident in using all the tools I will be learning this summer, that is another thing. It is also one thing for me to learn how to use a web site or a tool like Glogster, it is another thing entirely to teach it to and be supportive of the tool with my 7th and 8th graders. They are far more tech savvy then I, but they are not always correct in their analysis of how to use (technologically)a site.

Thing 3 – Web2.0 in My World

I have to admit that after watching the three videos last week, I was a  little freaked out. Such apathy among students – particularly about their employment future and feeling that nothing they were learning in college was worthwhile. I’m beginning to thinj that perhaps it would be a good idea for high school graduates to have to commit to some community service for a year or two before heading for college. Most of them are not ready. My own recently graduated high schooler included.
The two articles were much more interesting and gave me a sense that perhaps, I really can learn about and use, alot of what I will learn in this class. Web2.0 is the Future of Education had a number of intriguing ideas; The pro-summer section gave me a lot of pause, it is a brilliant idea for companies – to take advantage of the input from people who are most likely to use the product! The innovation factor is amazing, I did not immediately think of a use in my classroom, but as a study medium for groups of students, I think it might involve students more in review and analysis of material. I would love to see a group of teachers develop on line “courses” for middle school and high school students. Using these courses as a means of differentiated teaching could solve a lot of problems in heterogeneous classrooms, where there is one teacher and five different levels of learners.  IF ANYONE WANTS TO TAKE ME UP ON THAT ONE – IN HISTORY, GIVE ME A BUZZ, RING, WHATEVER IT IS ONE DOES IN A BLOG.
The idea of collaborative learning is not anything new for students of Jewish texts. Since the first century of the Common Era, Jewish students have listened to lectures and explanations of text and then moved outside the classroom with a study partner to repeat, review and analyze the lesson.
However, as I read I became more disturbed by the idea of having students receive information for so many places without any filters of what is correct and what is not; what is biased and what is even handed?  Of course, teachers can create a list of sites which students may go to for research, but when do we take off the restraints and let them start seeking for themselves? It is a bit daunting to think of the material teachers may have to un-teach once stud nets start zooming around the web to find supports for their opinions and material on which to base those opinions. I am not happy with the thought that Technology is the “answer”. I think our biggest challenge as teachers will be to teach our students that technology is a tool on the path to the “answer”.
The last article, A Day in the Life was intriguing! The more I read the more my jaw dropped. What an amazing vision. I could almost see myself (a self confessed technophobe) using podcasts and getting the material available to parents so that there is more to discuss around the dinner table then, “What did you do in school today.” However, when I finished, all I could think about was the monstrous amount of time needed to train teachers in all the technologies necessary to make the vision a reality and the incredible integration that is needed. We have almost no time for integration now, and this system would certainly be amazing to employ.  But this is a vision for the future and it is a damn good one!

Thing 4: Blogsites

I visited 7 different blogs in the listing under Thing 4. Each was interesting, but some were a bit more relevant for me.  I agreed with most of the content and comments, but I had trouble with a few of the ideas presented; as with all new things, we often tend to throw out the baby with the bathwater.
25 Days to Make a Difference was lovely – kids inspiring kids to do good.  We have a program at our school called Nediv Lev, for 7th graders. Students choose various charitable organizations and research them. Bar and Bat Mitzvah money is pooled and then students present their information/findings. When all is done, students vote on what percentage of their total contributions will go to each charity. It is a great process for the kids to go through and I think that using a blog of some kind would be inspirational and create more enthusiasm. I will certainly use this blog as an example, when I make my pitch.
I was very glad to see that another teacher understands that not all kids are techno-savvy.
The blog that discussed reaching bias was interesting and something very near to my heart as a history teacher. The comments about assessing the project were too extreme to my taste. For middle schoolers this is a very complex thinking level and I don’t think we can assess their ability to find bias on the web of they are simply sent into the “wild”. but doing a controlled assessment, giving students specific sites to visit and specific questions to answer could be fruitful.
In (21) I love the response of the student – I’d give her an A for effort and creativity alone! I think it is the teacher’s problem – that she gave almost identical assignments two days in a row. If we are talking about creativity, teachers need to also be creative in their assignments.
Perhaps because I am a history teacher and think Leonardo daVinci is one of the most important people in history, I was most drawn to .  I am also very big on visual arts and pushing students to be creative in many ways. I agree with many of the tings that Kris Bradburn wrote, but I was surprised about a few things:
Perhaps it is again the differences between public and private schools but our middle school pushes – nudges, shoves, cajoles, etc all our students to think and write critically; to ask a lot questions – clarify information and ask about tangential matters.  We give students assessments which not only judge what they have learned, but allow them to be visually or orally/aurally creative in their presentations. I do get a little aggravated with people who make sweeping judgments about others – teachers in particular. I think a lot of teachers try very hard to be creative and promote creativity in their classrooms. Most teachers just need a lot of encouragement from their peers and from their administrators.