TLA TAL Collaboration Tools Assignment

What are my experiences using Google Docs?

I first used Google Docs last summer as part of the common core curriculum projects.

I was the facilitator of a very small team. We used Google Docs to work on the standards before they were moved to Curriculum Crafter.

At school this year, a couple of us demonstrated Google Docs at a staff meeting, having several groups of teachers contribute to one, common document. We then used a Google Doc to track pot luck contributions for our Christmas party. When I scheduled grade level meetings this year, I would first check my boss's Google Calendar to choose a date that would be convenient for her. This summer I am part of a common core curriculum camp at Saranac Schools. Again, we are using Google Docs so that our work can be more easily and efficiently accessed by all. Finally, I am currently hosting a book study for a group of Saranac teachers. Because it was so difficult to find a common time to meet over the summer, we are all posting our thoughts on a Google Doc. It is working really well!

Do I think Google Docs could be a good replacement to other things for the work that students do in learning?

Oh, yeah! I think it is huge that a student could work on a document at school, at home, or elsewhere without needing to carry the document back and forth on a flash drive. This could put an end to forgetting homework. I think it could be great that multiple students could work on a shared document in multiple places. That is so much more efficient than everyone doing their part and assembling it at the end. It could lead to much more cohesive work. Using a Google Calendar could really make things nice, too. Project due dates and meeting times could be on a student's calendar. Currently, our school provides assignment books to all students K-8. I think using Google Calendar would fit better with the kids' current world.

What big pictures uses do I see for using Google Docs in my teaching and learning practice?

One use for Google Docs that I envision is as a storage area for ideas from people across the country. I am preparing a presentation about parent involvement that includes descriptions of multiple parent and family nights I've held. My vision is that if the document were stored online so that others could add their ideas and experiences, it would really expand everyone's toolbox of ideas. Additionally, it opens the possibilities of collaborators to include students from all over the state, country, or even world.

Another idea I've heard about is a teacher that puts her outline for lessons on a Google Doc. The students each save their own copy and take their notes on the already started page. It saves them some work, saves trees, and makes it so that students can always access their notes.

TLA TAL Vision Statement Assignment

Wow! If I had a magic wand and could turn schools into what I think they should be, what would I do? I'm not sure I know enough about the possibilities with technology to answer this question the best way.

Who would be teaching? This is an area that could use improvement in our current school system. The only people teaching in an ideal system would be teachers who are capable of adapting quickly to the myriad needs of students. When I first started teaching, a retired teacher told me the first year is hard but every year after that, I would be able to just follow the same lesson plans and use the same dittos. She wouldn't be teaching in my school! I would want teachers that could inspire and truly respect students. Teachers would embrace the movement to be the “guide on the side” rather than the “sage on the stage.” They would facilitate students in their quest for knowledge without stifling the purposeful birdwalks those quests may take. Teachers wouldn't all need to be in the same physical space as their students, either. A chemist in Nevada could host a virtual class for students from Georgia, Mississippi, and Ohio. This would open a whole new world of possibilities for students. Kids, with common interests, from schools all over the world, could work together solving problems without needing to be in a room together.

What would the students be learning? Students would be learning to research, filter the information, collaborate, and create. They would not spend year after year memorizing the states and capitals! Rather than learning things that “have real-world applications,” school would be part of the real world. Assessments would be based on performance. Pairs or groups of students would collaborate to research, design, create, etc. Each child would be assessed on his/her performance and understanding. Assessment would reflect a child's ability to access and use knowledge rather than just memorize isolated facts.

Where are the kids? When are they there? What are they doing? Hmmm. This is tricky. I have trouble conceiving of a different arrangement than the one I know. I think there would need to be a lot of flexibility. Some students would be at the school longer, receiving intensive support as needed. Others would be at school less time because the extra support would not be needed. The school itself would be designed differently to allow many gathering places for students to work, alone and in groups. Some students would attend some classes from home. Some students would work from home part of the time. There would be wireless technology access at school without ridiculous filtering. I know enough about technology to realize that I don't even know what is available to incorporate. If students were given more power in their learning, I suspect new technologies would be produced rapidly as they determined how to meet their own needs and developed the technologies themselves and in partnership with businesses.

Certainly there would be enough computers, tablets, smart phones, etc. to allow all students to access available information resources.

My own son absolutely hates school. His real life happens at home. This child who struggles continually at school, started receiving calls from other students in 5^th grade asking for his help with online things. This child, unable to pass a traditional algebra class, has a Paypal account so that people can pay him to use his server. I don't even know what that means. I do know that school lacks relevance for him. He is certainly capable of learning. He would be much more comfortable and successful in a school which honors his technology abilities. This is his world. This is the world school for which school should be preparing him.

TLA TAL Getting Started

What do I hope to learn through the Teacher as Learner course?
I hope to get more skilled at using or even understanding the possibilities for using technology beyond my limited scope of understanding.  I hope to learn how to  connect with other educators and learn from/with them.  I hope to learn how to avoid things like the mysteriously disappearing blog.  I thought I created this blog a couple of days ago.  However, today, I was told the blog didn't exist and the name was still available.