The 2009 Cinco de Mayo Web 2.0 Glory Awards: We Have a Winner!

Skype Skype Skype Skype Skype!

That's been the overwhelmingly ubiquitous motif in the submissions to the ridiculously named TP Cinco de Mayo Web 2.0 Glory Awards contest.

Funny. While I've used Skype quite a bit in keeping in touch with friends in Europe, for some reason it's something I really haven't integrated into my classroom.

It's time for that to change.

So, for starters, my Skype name is ringingboots. All of you Ed Techies out there should feel free to Skype-chat me anytime with questions or observations. From now on I'm just leaving it running all the time in the background of my desktop.

I'm also looking for teachers to help create collaborative classrooms using Skype-video. Get in touch if you are interested.

As for the 2009 TeachPaperless Cinco de Mayo Web 2.0 Glory Award, the winner is: Michael Kaechele of the great state of Michigan! (Now, everyone should go check out his blog... lots of cool ideas).

Michael's idea -- WebPals -- demonstrates just how much potential there is in Web 2.0 not only to teach content, but to teach civility.

Students would be signed up [on Skype] with another student from a different culture around the world. They would have 5-10 minute conversations once a week. It would start out structured with certain topics to talk about but allowing free conversation. The goal would be to develop cross-cultural friendship that would decrease students prejudices and stereotypes and increase their tolerance. I used to teach in an alternative school in a rural district that had very little diversity. I had students in class with neo-nazi tattoos and who had gotten in trouble for burning crosses in people's yards. WebPals would give those students a chance to get to know personally someone who is different from themselves and discover the similarities that they have.

Nice thinking, Michael. And thanks to all of the folks who participated via Twitter, blogging, email, and... well... Skype.

Be fearless.

Paperless Students on Digital Nation

Short video mostly of a couple of my students talking about their feelings about being in a paperless classroom: now viewable on PBS's Digital Nation site. Look for the black and gold circle.
My favorite part of the video:

Me: So do you think if someone came into this room they'd think there was teaching and learning going on?

First Student: Um... no...

Second Student: It's more of a conversation.

One End Result: an example of a student translation via a Tweet test and thoughts about the nature of what a blog means in terms of end-of-year review

Here's an example of the final result of one student's translation from the Twitter-enhanced Latin test. Not too shabby for a Latin II student.

This is the first of two paragraphs... my comments back to the student are in brackets; I post my edit as a comment to the student's blog post and then record the grade in my PowerGrade online gradebook.

No paper.

LATIN:
His rebus adducti et auctoritate Orgetorigis permoti constituerunt ea quae ad proficiscendum pertinerent comparare, iumentorum et carrorum quam maximum numerum coemere, sementes quam maximas facere, ut in itinere copia frumenti suppeteret, cum proximis civitatibus pacem et amicitiam confirmare. Ad eas res conficiendas biennium sibi satis esse duxerunt; in tertium annum profectionem lege confirmant. Ad eas res conficiendas Orgetorix deligitur. Is sibi legationem ad civitates suscipit.


ENGLISH:
Persuaded [you got the participles; good job!] by these events and moved deeply by the clout/authority [good -- 'clout' is really the sense of 'auctoritas', though it is often translated as 'authority'] of Orgetorix, they prepared to gather what they needed to be sent out onto the field [they began gathering the things they'd need], to buy the greatest number of mules and carts [in English you can render better by putting -ing on that infinitive: 'buying as many mules and carts as possible'], to do a large amount of planting ['facere' has a broad semantic range: try 'sowing' (think about using an English word that describes better the 'making/doing' being expressed in 'facere')], in order to have enough/sufficient supplies for their journey, and to confirm peace and an alliance with the citizens [in this context, likely 'tribes'] close by. Two years was enough for these things to be led [I'd like you to reconstrue this sentence -- let's go over in class]; in the third year, they confirmed their motion of departure [lege -- 'by law' or 'by decree']. Orgetorix was chosen [nice, you got the passive correct] to prepare these things. He undertook the mission of the citizens upon himself. [Again, bring this up in class; we'll reconstrue together]

In addition, by blogging all of this, the student gets to keep a record of the Tweet-transcript, the final draft, my edits, and the grade on the assessment.

Come preparation for the final exam, the student will be able to go over a record of everything done in class by reviewing the blog. This is beneficial in two ways: first, there is no need for me to reinvent the wheel and handout end-of-the-year review sheets because, in effect, the students have been creating their own reviews throughout the year on their blogs. Second, rather than get a review sheet that reads like a page from a textbook, the students are actually able to review from their own work and work they've collaborated on with fellow students. The result is that student draw not just on prior knowledge, but on prior experience.

The blog itself is essentially a record of experiences interacting with the content of the course.

Transcript of a Twitter-enhanced Latin II Test

Here is the feed from today's Twitter-enhanced Latin II test as live blogged on CiL.

We've been working with Twitter in this class for about a week and a half. This was our first test featuring Twitter as a lifeline.

This feed does not include the finished translations -- they are posted on individual student blogs. This is just the raw feed from the session.

Two notes: 1) Not all students are featured in this transcript; I just chose a handful at random to make accessible via CiL. 2) Twitter IDs have been altered.

It may be a geeky thing, but I think there is something wonderful in this raw feed. But the really wonderful thing is that in the last week I've seen comprehension on pre-assessments rise at a greater rate than I've ever seen after introducing a new technique into my teaching.

8:38 Shelly_at_TP
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 9:38 AM
Ok. So yesterday we were having connection issues... I blogged about that here: http://teachpaperless.blogspot.com/2009/05/and-what-about-when-technology-fails.html
But this morning everything seems to be working well. Students have started their test and Tweets are coming in. I'm working on linking them in directly to this feed.
8:41 MrW via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 9:41 AM
Yup. RT @tschaf @ayyybr are you asking if that's the right spelling of it or how to spell it, because i think thats right?
8:44 Dantho via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 9:44 AM
where it is in 240 miles longitude and 180 miles latitude.
8:44 Shelly_at_TP
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 9:44 AM
Have patched into the feed on Twitter. Should be up and running in a few.
8:46 whowantpanca via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 9:46 AM
Among the Helvetii, Orgetorix was by far the most famous and rich. Back when Marcus Messala and Marcus Piso were reiging consuls he was ...
8:46 Dantho via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 9:46 AM
The 140 character limit makes it hard to put the latin in with the english without breaking it up into really small pieces
8:47 whowantpanca via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 9:47 AM
Apud Helvetios longe nobilissimus fuit et ditissimus Orgetorix. Is M. Messala, [et P.] M. Pisone consulibus regni cupiditate inductus co ...
8:49 whowantpanca via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 9:49 AM
perfacile esse? need help
8:50 MrW via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 9:50 AM
Help out, folks: RT @whowantpanca perfacile esse? need help
8:51 kazame via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 9:51 AM
Die constituta causae dictionis Orgetorix ad iudicium omnem suam familiam, ad hominum milia decem, undique coegit,
8:51 barkel via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 9:51 AM
His rebus adducti et auctoritate Orgetorigis permoti constituerunt ea quae ad proficiscendum pertinerent comparare, iumentorum et carror ...
8:51 kazame via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 9:51 AM
THe day that Orgetorix's trial was set to be held, he called to the trial everyone in his family, numbering about two thousand men
8:52 barkel via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 9:52 AM
Persuaded by these events and moved deeply by the clout/authority of Orgetorix,
8:52 barkel via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 9:52 AM
they prepared to gather what they needed to be sent out onto the field, to buy the greatest number of mules and carts,
8:52 kazame via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 9:52 AM
and gathered from every direction
8:53 Dantho via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 9:53 AM
it means "it is very easy"
8:53 barkel via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 9:53 AM
to do a large amount of planting, in order to have enough/sufficient supplies for their journey, and to confirm peace and an alliance with
8:53 whowantpanca via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 9:53 AM
M. does mean Marcus? Right?
8:53 barkel via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 9:53 AM
the citizens close by. Two years was enough for these things to be led; in the third year, they confirmed their motion of departure.
8:53 Dantho via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 9:53 AM
Flumen est Arar, quod per fines Haeduorum et Sequanorum in Rhodanum influit
Arar is a river which flows by the border of the Haedui and ...
8:54 ayyybr via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 9:54 AM
in which merchants often travel to cause minds to weaken,minimeque ad eos mercatores saepe commeant atque ea quae ad effeminandos animos ...
8:54 Dantho via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 9:54 AM
Arar is a river which flows by the border of the Haedui and Sequani into the Rhone,
8:54 barkel via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 9:54 AM
how do you direct message someone?
8:55 Dantho via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 9:55 AM
incredibili lenitate, ita ut oculis in utram partem fluat iudicari non possit
incredibly smooth as the eye can not judge which part of ...
8:55 Dantho via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 9:55 AM
...which part of it flows
8:55 Shelly_at_TP
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 9:55 AM
Now we are cooking with gas. The students are Tweeting their translations as they are working.
8:56 tschaf via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 9:56 AM
frumentum omne, praeter quod secum portaturi erant, comburunt,-> they burned up all the corn, except what they were to carry with them,
8:56 ayyybr via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 9:56 AM
proximique
8:56 ayyybr via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 9:56 AM
?
8:57 kazame via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 9:57 AM
What do u guys think about this part? - per eos ne causam diceret se eripuit. - To speak during his trial and rescue him.
8:58 Dantho via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 9:58 AM
Id Helvetii ratibus ac lintribus iunctis transibant.
They crossed on a Helveti ship and small boat joined together
8:59 barkel via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 9:59 AM
alyssa-- close to or nearby
8:59 whowantpanca via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 9:59 AM
...he told them it would be easy, becasue they are all gifted with valor, so they can totally conquer and command Gaul.
8:59 barkel via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 9:59 AM
Haeduii??-- i know it is a tribe but does it translate to something else in english?
8:59 whowantpanca via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 9:59 AM
perfacile esse, cum virtute omnibus praestarent, totius Galliae imperio potiri.
9:00 ayyybr via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 10:00 AM
thankssss (:
9:01 ayyybr via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 10:01 AM
Matrona?
9:02 MrW via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 10:02 AM
Which river is this, folks? RT @ayyybr Matrona?
9:03 whowantpanca via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 10:03 AM
its quality over quantity on these paragraphs right?
9:06 ayyybr via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 10:06 AM
haha
9:07 barkel via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 10:07 AM
Eodem tempore-- at the same time
9:09 MrW via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 10:09 AM
Keep posting your Latin/translations to the feed, folks.
9:10 barkel via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 10:10 AM
eodem tempore-- ablative
9:10 ayyybr via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 10:10 AM
to produce as much planting, to be sufficient in corn for the journey..sementes quam maximas facere, ut in itinere copia frumenti suppeteret
9:11 whowantpanca via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 10:11 AM
He persuaded them even more easially, because Helvetii's are surounded on every side by the rank of thier nature.
9:11 barkel via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 10:11 AM
Helvetii iam per angustias et fines Sequanorum suas copias traduxerant et in Haeduorum fines pervenerant eorumque agros populabantur.
9:11 whowantpanca via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 10:11 AM
Id hoc facilius iis persuasit, quod undique loci natura Helvetii continentur
9:11 tschaf via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 10:11 AM
trium mensum molita cibaria sibi quemque domo efferre iubent....they commanded everyone himself to take home provisions for three months.
9:12 barkel via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 10:12 AM
Now, the Helvetii led their troops across to the boundaries of the Sequani through a narrow passage, and arrived at the territories of t ...
9:12 Shelly_at_TP
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 10:12 AM
The students are basically using Twitter here a) as a lifeline and b) as a place to post 'first drafts' of translations for me to check before they continue. That way, they are on solid ground to produce a meaningful and coherent translation. Too often students get frustrated with foreign languages precisely because they don't receive any formative assessment -- especially on tests. Twitter allows assessment to be formative and ongoing during the actual process of translating itself.
9:14 kazame via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 10:14 AM
would Tolosatium finibus be the borders of the Tolosati?
9:15 barkel via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 10:15 AM
consanguinei--- of related of the blood?
9:16 barkel via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 10:16 AM
what is that supposed to mean? blood- related??
9:16 whowantpanca via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 10:16 AM
Iura? What does this mean?
9:16 ayyybr via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 10:16 AM
to call to witness..maybe related to judgement
9:18 whowantpanca via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 10:18 AM
altera ex parte monte 'Iura' altissimo That word doesn't seem to fit in the sentance
9:19 Dantho via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 10:19 AM
Ubi per exploratores Caesar certior factus est tres iam partes copiarum Helvetios id flumen traduxisse
Where Caesar's scouts became set ...
9:20 Dantho via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 10:20 AM
Where Caesar's scouts became settled they had already lead three parts of the many Helveti across the river
9:20 MrW via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 10:20 AM
Someone help out: RT @whowantpanca altera ex parte monte 'Iura' altissimo That word doesn't seem to fit in the sentance
9:20 Dantho via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 10:20 AM
quartam vero partem citra flumen Ararim reliquam esse, in truth, the rest of the fourth part is on this side of the Arar
9:22 whowantpanca via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 10:22 AM
lacu Lemanno? What lake????
9:23 Dantho via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 10:23 AM
lura means pale. Maybe it's referring to the light color of the snow topped mountains.
9:24 barkel via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 10:24 AM
brett: out of the highest part of the mountain
9:25 Dantho via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 10:25 AM
from the third watch with the third part of the people the army set out to go walk over our part which the river has not yet reached.
9:25 Dantho via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 10:25 AM
e tertia vigilia cum legionibus tribus e castris profectus ad eam partem pervenit quae nondum flumen transierat.
9:25 whowantpanca via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 10:25 AM
thanks guys
9:26 Dantho via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 10:26 AM
Pyrenees mountains castro
9:27 Shelly_at_TP
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 10:27 AM
So, as the students are working here, they are posting the completed portions of their translations on their individual class blogs.
9:29 Shelly_at_TP
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 10:29 AM
That's where I will give them a summative assessment. The participatory part is all wrapped up in the formative.
9:30 Shelly_at_TP
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 10:30 AM
Ok. We're finishing up here. Quote from student: "That wasn't so bad... usually you take a test and get stuck on one part and spend like twenty minutes on it."
9:33 MrW via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 10:33 AM
Ok folks... That's time. Post to yr blog whereever you are. Looks like most got through last third of 2nd para.
9:33 MrW via twitter
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 10:33 AM
Be sure to check my blog for HW. Thanks!
9:34 Shelly_at_TP
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 10:34 AM
Ok. I'm going to post this transcript later today with some comments and ideas. This was our first test in Latin II taken with Twitter as a lifeline. They are getting the hang of it.

Dell Must Hate Us

Ok, so what does the Computer World think of us Ed Techies? Well, here's a clue as to what Dell thinks:

r u kidding? I am freaking out - I totally hav a problem! NYC is my fave!

Maybe that's not representative as to the corporate line... how about this:

either way not as tummy w/o the tequila:)

No, no, that's not it... how about:

showing my hubby how Twitter works, can anyone say hi? TY! :)

I'm sorry, I have to step away for a minute to throw up.

You see, these are not the rambling Tweets of a totally-freaking-out sorority girl wannabe. These are the 'official' public Tweets of the lead representative of Dell Computer's Edu4U program.

Now, I'm all for playful Tweets. There is a time and place for everything. And I'm sure that I've got more than my fair share of comments on the Web that can easily be taken out of context. I'm not a newb. I know how these things work. But, in looking over "Bri's" Tweets today, we're talking about the world's second largest computer-seller portraying Ed Tech teachers and thinkers as the Gossip Girls.

Now, why is this freaky and not just in bad taste?

Because Mark Horan, Vice President and General Manager for Dell’s Public Accounts group in the United States, is on the board of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills.

It is absolutely unlikely that the folks involved in Mr. Horan's work on that board would not be aware of the tenor of Dell's Ed Tech flagship site.

This is unacceptable.

If nothing else, it undermines the professionalism of the thousands of educators and ed tech thinkers who actually rely on Twitter and various Web 2.0 sites on a daily basis both for information and as platforms for creative expression and learning in their classes.

We're catching enough hell for trying to use these resources to teach kids. The last thing we need is a fake Ed Techie obscuring what we're trying to do with Valley Girl talk.

As a teacher who has been actively experimenting with Twitter as a learning tool and who has seen Twitter infuse the engagement of students with a fresh spirit, as well as better assessment scores, I find Dell's foray into social networking to be insulting and completely out-of-touch.

And what about when technology fails you?

Days of foul weather have caused disruption to our line. So...

Had to cancel tests for three classes. Also had to cancel the live blogging we were set to do from one of my Latin classes.

And now I sit here at my desk, slightly despondent.

This is the type of thing that some folks point to and say, "That's exactly why I don't use technology."

But that's like seeing a car with a blown-out tire on the Interstate and saying "That's exactly why I don't drive."

Things go haywire occasionally.

I was asked a while ago by a teacher about what I do when the technology fails to work properly. And my answer was two-fold.

First, it rarely happens. At least it rarely happens in such a way as today where I had to shut down three classes. Generally, I've found that most tech issues are related to students' having forgot to update something or leaving a machine on and wearing out the battery. Sure, these things happen; you can't pretend they don't. But one student being without a computer for a day isn't going to destroy your paperless classroom. Just pair them up with someone else while the computer is fixed.

More pressing is a case like today where we're having issues with our line. As I type this, I'm having to ignore the lag between what I type and what appears on the screen. But these issues are temporary. They'll be fixed.

And the threat of a flat tire won't keep me off the road.

The second part of my answer had to do with what you do when everything does fall apart. Well, you improvise. Right now, my students -- who were able to get onto their online texts -- are working together in pairs and actually completing what translations they would have had on their test today. They'll post these to their blogs and I'll check 'em this evening.

So, all is not lost; they get an extra day to study and I get an extra opportunity to check out the state of their translating before they take the final plunge.

Except that it's not a plunge. It's all part of the process. Even the bit about the technology going haywire: that's part of the process.

Because if I were to just throw my hands up and say "The hell with it," I would be doing a disservice to my students. One of the most important 21st Century Skills we can model for our kids is how to deal rationally with technology when things don't go as planned.

Live Blogging a Twitter-Enhanced Latin Test

At 1PM this afternoon, I'll be live blogging from my classroom as my Latin II students take a test on Caesar's Gallic Wars. I'll be reporting on all aspects of the test taking and will be reposting from our live class Tweet feed.

Tweet feed?

Yes, because they'll be doing the entire test online via their blogs, exclusively using online dictionaries, and using Twitter as a live lifeline and place to help one another through the test.

"SO," the cynic says, "they are just going to copy the work of the smartest kid in class, right?"

Well, no... not exactly. Because each student will be translating a different section of the text.

To get students involved actively in the Tweet feed, there will be a requirement to participate in the Tweets. But, this will not be a 'minimum' requirement -- that just encourages students to post some junk quickly so they can get that out of the way. Rather, this will be an 'equivalent' participation requirement -- meaning that students will be required to pay attention to the feed and reply in proportion to what is incoming.

And the kicker? Students will be receiving two grades: one for their individual work and one for their helping other students and taking an engaged and active role in the Tweets.

We've been working for the past week and a half on setting up this situation and making sure everyone in class is comfortable with it. That's not to say that we spent a week and a half learning to use Twitter: that would be silly. Rather, a week and a half ago, I started projecting a Tweet feed on the wall during class translations and allowed students to take part in the feed while we were having discussion and while we were working on the translations.

It worked like a charm. Over the last week alone, I've seen student confidence in translation work increase and on the last informal assessment I gave, the overall class average was up 5 to 8%.

Check out the live blogging at 1PM EST. Available via RSS, on this site, and via Cover it Live.

Teaching Latin via 21st Century Skills and teaching 21st Century Skills via Latin: that's what we do.

For the Glory

Only in the USA would we co-opt a regional Mexican historical stand against Napoleon III's invaders and turn it into a reason to close the bar at Applebee's.

And so, here at TeachPaperless, we say: Chain restaurants and beer distributors stole Cinco de Mayo from Zaragosa... we're stealing it back.

(Actually I quite like using 'we' to speak of myself in the editorial sense).

So, here's the deal: Send in your ideas for using Web 2.0 in the classroom. At the end of the day, an esteemed panel of judges (me and my cat) will decide who gets the glory and this year's title of Cinco de Mayo Ed Tech Visionary of 2009! And why not Tweet yr idea to @TeachPaperless so that everybody can see it.

I've already received three submissions and it's only 6:25AM EST, which just goes to show that Ed Tech folks are obsessive freaks; this should be fun.

Cinco 2.0

In honor of Cinco de Mayo, (the USA's most important holiday -- if you are in the brewing industry --), blow someone's mind today using Web 2.0.

Then @ me on Twitter (@TeachPaperless) & I'll be giving a virtual prize to the best at the end of the day here on TP.

No Fear

It is time to get over your fear.

Yes, I'm talking to you Mr. 'But MySpace is Full of Stalkers and You Just Can't Trust Kids and I'm Scared to Death of Being Sued and I've Never Actually Used Social Networking and Have No Idea What I'm Talking About'.

I'm also talking to you, Mr. 'I Used Social Networking in College and I'm TOTALLY Not Wanting Students to Find Pics of Me Doing Kegstands'.

And I'm talking to you Mr. 'I Hate Technology SO Much, I'm Just Gonna Have to Blog About It'.

I'm talking to you. Listen up.

The White House -- that is to say, the executive center of the free world (Canadian readers, please disregard my hubris; I'm a fully functional ironist) -- has just begun a Web 2.0 program. You can now keep in touch with Barry on Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter.

And I, for one, think we're all the better for it.

Years ago, social networking was thought of as kids' stuff. Then Obama's organization used Facebook to mobilize millions.

Ain't kids' stuff anymore.

You might wanna mention that to your students.

Web 2.0 is what you make of it. Use it to keep the powers that be transparent and honest. Use it as a force for equality and democracy. Use it to make the world a better place.

Nothing to be afraid of.

Twitter for Teachers

A student in Latin III this morning:

"Over the weekend I tried using Twitter for personal stuff. And it was just awful. I guess it's really just an educational tool."

Ha!

Here's a great new resource that's really developed over the last week: Twitter for Teachers.

It's a wiki designed to help you find other educators using Twitter in the classroom and for professional development. You might be surprised to see just how many folks are Tweeting.

Talking Alumni Blues

Almost missed posting today because I was at an event at school.

We throw an annual Country Fair at John Carroll and this year, one of our teachers put together a music stage full of student and local bands as well as teachers' groups. I did a solo set of electric blues following a great set of Irish and Scottish ballads performed by an ensemble led by one of our art teachers.

One of the great things to see, despite the rain we've had all day, was the number of alumni who showed up to support the current students as well as their former teachers. I think it's really important for both our current students and our alumni to see us as real people and not just in the confines of the classroom.

Been thinking about alumni alot recently because we are entering into the week where we start evaluating Senior Projects. Many alumni have supported our Seniors as mentors and it's really a great way to make connections between students recent and past. Those connections are what allows a school to fit into the larger community.

A lot of people have been discussing community and the larger role of schools recently. There actually still is an idea out there that schools aren't predicated on the concept of test scores, but that schools are foundational as the places that instill a understanding of and sense of power in democracy.

And I think that's where 21st century learning fits in perfectly.

The Internet provides access to information. Any student in just about any public library in this country has immediate access to almost all of the information that humanity has produced over the last 5000 or so years. So it becomes a matter of what to do with it.

And that's where alumni mentoring programs fit in perfectly.

We often approach education from the point-of-view of creating and training new professional teachers. But what about the greatest resource our schools produce: alumni. Our alumni are going to be entering into a wide variety of careers. Careers that operate within the reality of a 21st century digital world.

So why not activate that alumni connection and help former students create authentic bonds with current students.

It is authenticity that we're going for, isn't it?

Passive vs. Active Media

@mjtrigger Tweets:

Thomas Edison said that TVs were going to replace textbooks. Interesting idea, never happened.

The reason that TVs did not replace textbooks is that both are passive forms.

Web 2.0 is a whole other kettle of fish. It is by nature interactive, customizable, and social.

It's actually more like a sandbox in a public park.

Accounting

My son couldn't sleep the night before last.

He was totally freaked out and started complaining about headaches and stomach cramps.

Swine Flu?

No.

Test anxiety.

This week, our kids' public school system is doing the testing ritual. My twin sons are in second grade. And for the last two weeks they've been indoctrinated with test-speak and test-prep. The week before the tests, that's all they did. In fact, the school asked that the kids be sent to school wearing certain types/colors of clothes each day of test-prep to somehow 'help' them to remember the 'importance' of how to approach the tests. (Like wearing pajamas one day to help them 'remember' to get enough sleep the night before the test).

And so, my son approached the tests with the anxiety of someone who really thought that failure on the test would mean a lifetime of pain.

Did I mention he's in second grade?

His twin brother, meanwhile, could care less. He's never been one to really give a damn what anybody thought. At age six, he entered the Peabody Preparatory for music. He's been playing trumpet along with Miles Davis records since age seven. He's also diagnosed dyslexic and like his brother suffered delayed speech acquisition. The tests don't mean much to him; he's got other things on his mind.

I'm thinking about this now because I'm doing my own year-end assessments here at school. Being an independent school, we aren't required to jump through all of the standardized testing hoops. Instead, I spend the end of the year interviewing my students. I get feedback on what they think about what they've learned over the course of the year. They tell me what they think of me as a teacher. Really what they think. I've had students criticize me to my face in front of a class and I am so proud of those sorts of students. They remind me why I do what I do.

A lot of people in and around education talk about being 'accountable'. But that usually just amounts to nailing scores on the type of tests my boys took this week. That just doesn't cut it for me. I think you can give all the bubble tests in the world and you can boast at how well you did on those tests as a school, but if you don't really know your students -- if you don't really take the time to ask them what they think about all of it -- then you aren't being 'accountable'.

You are being complacent.

The closest thing to standardized tests I have to deal with at my school is the AP exams. But I don't judge my worth as a teacher based on the AP scores of my Seniors. And I tell my Seniors never to base their opinion of themselves or each other on those scores. There's nothing a three hour test can tell you better than nine-months of classwork.

An analogy:

A woman finds out she is going to have a baby. She spends nine months learning everything she can about childbirth. She takes birthing classes. She talks with other women who have had babies. All the while her body changes. She experiences things in new ways. Her mind develops new and engaging habits of thought related to birth and motherhood. And then the time comes for her to give birth. She is in great pain; she struggles; she feels like she will never make it through. And suddenly the doctor stops the event and leads a stork into the room. Cuddled in a blanket tied hanging from the stork's beak is a baby. "See," says the doctor,"babies really do come from storks!" And the hospital supervisor puts a check mark next to a box that reads 'Successful Delivery'.

The completely unauthentic ending to that story mirrors what I see as the problem with the way in which we use year-end standardized testing -- whether you are talking about state tests or the AP. And in the same way that the stork undermines the very idea of what the process of pregnancy and childbirth is all about in the real world, likewise year-end high-stakes standardized tests undermine the very idea of what the process of authentic ongoing learning is all about in the classroom.

Furthermore, the idea that the best way to evaluate the intellectual development of a student is to give that student a series of questions designed by someone who has never known and who will never know that student is just plain bogus.

Would anyone in their right mind define a distinguished effective teacher as someone who has never even spoken to their students yet who assumes to 'assess' them?

And so my boys spend their days filling in bubbles and I spend mine talking to students. And it's a frustrating place to be as a parent.

I've just cobbled together some of my conversations with students about what they think about being in a paperless classroom and I will be sharing that soon online in iMovie form. In the meantime, I encourage all of you teachers out there stuck giving bubble tests to take the opportunity to talk to your kids; I know that the best of you do. But right now it's really important that you let them know that their lives are not defined by their school's ability to 'account' to anyone.

I Was a Paper Junkie

I was a paper junkie.

My first year teaching, I was so scared of speeding through a lesson and not having something for the students to do that I used to run off several copies of "fun" assignments each day (crosswords, games, whatever I could scrounge up each morning from the old file cabinet in the closet I'd inherited as an office). This inevitably added up to two or three sheets of paper per student per day. And this would be stuff I'd never even see again once I'd handed it out. I'm not even counting the handouts I'd work up for the day's lesson.

But, I was a paper junkie.

That first year teaching, we had a copy limit of somewhere between 10 and 15 thousand copies per teacher. I think I maxed out in January.

Like I said: I was a paper junkie.

I used to pride myself on the physical weight of my mid-term and final exams. Students in my Latin classes used to complain about their hands cramping up and I'd boast about the 22 page final exam I'd written in Greek History class back in college.

I was unrepentant.

When I came to my present school, I found three copy machines whereas my previous school only had two for almost twice as large a faculty. I was in heaven.

I once made a copy of a seventeen page annotated version of T.S. Eliot's 'The Wasteland' for each student in all five sections of the American Lit class I was teaching at the time. (I hope the statute of limitations is over for that one...).

But I think the most egregious use of paper came when I used to run off fresh copies of everyone's poems in Poetry Club so that we could all mark 'em up during workshops. I easily made a half-dozen copies of each poem per each one student in that club. In other words, each student would wind up with six copies of the exact same poem. And we used to read lots of poems.

But I was a paper junkie.

I used to print out copies of ebooks. (I remember that at that first school, I'd been given a curriculum guide on CD and I actually decided to print the whole thing).

I used to print out my grades in triplicate.

I used to forget to fill the toner cartridge in my desktop printer and have to go back and reprint dozens of copies of a twelve-page test.

I even got a special card from the office supply store to make copies in bulk.

And then I woke up.

I think it was the year our school moved to 1:1 computing. No one in administration suggested not using paper (in fact, I don't think any of them had even heard the term 'blog' at that point). None one on the facilities staff said anything (and they were the guys who hauled in those ton-sized pallets stacked with reams). I think it was really just a matter of me sitting down and playing around with this new laptop and before long realizing that I'd written hundreds of pages worth of notes and ideas and meeting minutes and lesson plans and hadn't printed a single piece of paper.

And why hadn't I printed anything from my new laptop?

Because I couldn't figure out how to.

That's how this whole foray into paperlessness began. It wasn't that I was some tech wizard. I certainly wasn't all that environmentally conscious. I barely used the Internet with the exception of reading bulletin boards and getting my morning news.

Rather, the reason I got into paperlessness was because I was too dumb to figure out how to hook a printer up to my new laptop and too stubborn to ask the IT department to do it for me.

I totally slacked my way into paperlessness.

It was only once I was there that I realized what had happened. And then the epiphany came: "Hey buddy," my mind said to me, "you don't really need paper to teach a class".

And so, I didn't go back. And over the last three years, I've been on a crazy journey where I've easily saved over 40,000 sheets of paper. And that doesn't even count the paper my kids have saved in my class. Whereas I used to like to brag that kids would burn through two notebooks over the course of my AP Latin class, now not a single notebook ever needs be opened.

Just for fun today, I cut-and-pasted the contents of a single student blog into Word. This was a blog that a student in my Latin II class has kept this year. So we're talking from September to April. When that blog popped up in 12pt font as a Word document, it turned out to be 107 pages long.

107 pages.

Written by a 15 year old.

In one class.

If nothing else, my experience with a paperless classroom has proven to me demonstrably that there is just so much waste that we take for granted in education. And it's an ongoing eyeopening experience for me to see just how much a change a little change can make.

The old me never understood that. But he was a paper junkie.

Social Media and Cheating

Reader MagistraM writes:

I love how you have placed the responsibility for learning so clearly on your students. A common concern about using digital tools for classwork and assessments is that the students will be "cheating". This lesson demonstrates how the social tools facilitate every student's learning - and demands each student to contribute.

I would say that social media actually may present us with a new post-cheating paradigm. I liken it to students in an oil painting class: barring having someone else do it for you, you just "can't" cheat on an oil painting.

Because of the transparency of Web 2.0, cheating in the traditional forms -- plagiarism, copying, cribnotes -- is severely limited in a practical sense. Because of the individuality and personalization of assessment and creation via Web 2.0, cheating itself becomes a rather uninteresting option.

Students tend to cheat out of a mix of boredom and procrastination; cheating is a manifestation of a lack of motivation to be authentic -- whether we're talking about the total slacker who cut-and-pastes from Encarta, or the 'sophisticated' cheater who tries to juke the SAT.

Unauthentic assessment will produce cheaters.

And what is unauthentic assessment? I'd define it as assessment that fails in its structural makeup to address the realities of society -- both at a local and global level.

Now, I'm no spring chicken. I know there are kids who will try to cheat their way around anything. I've caught a few in my own classes. But, if the teacher is using the tools available to engage the students rather than just to talk 'at' them, the teacher has got a much better shot of fostering the type of community in the classroom where cheating will not be tolerated among the students themselves. Web 2.0, by its very nature is a medium that requires you to give of yourself to get anything in return. And that's the sort of thing that a good teacher can tap into both to encourage authentic engagement as well as to foster a spirit of classroom-wide local goodwill. Combined, cheating becomes a much less cool option.

Latin Test via Twitter

As I'm writing this, my Latin II students are taking a pre-test translating sections of Book I of the Gallic Wars. I allow them to open the text on Latin Library, a tab of one or both of two solid online Latin dictionaries, and a tab of the hyperlinked-grammar version of the text in Perseus. For the test, they won't be able to use Perseus.

I also let them use Twitter to ask each other questions and give each other help. I follow the Tweets and can easily swing into action to help with a tricky verb form or a misconstrued phrase; in addition, during the pre-test sessions, the students themselves will often cite websites in their Tweets to be included in our ongoing hyperlinked bibliographies.

Last week, I gave my first Latin test using Twitter. My Latin III students had to translate the 'In Taberna' section of Carmina Burana. I allowed them to do it as a collaborative assessment and I gave a single score to the entire class so long as everyone contributed equally in the Tweet feed. Students had the text open in a Latin Library tab, had their online dictionaries open, had their blogs open in which to post their sections and organize their translations, and followed each other on Twitter. The trick was that although this was a collaborative assignment, the students -- under penalty of forfeiting the grade for the whole class -- were not allowed to talk.

All discussion had to take place on Twitter.

The results were extraordinary. I watched as they used Twitter to chunk the seven stanzas of the text and organize who would be available to help in different ways. Some students focused on looking up vocab and figuring out morphology while others construed the sections into a unified whole. A particularly interesting exchange occurred when three students realized that their chunks contained shared words that individually each had broad semantic ranges -- so they had to make compromise decisions on what definition to use for each.

I would not want anyone to think that this is the only way I assess the students. In fact, I'm a big supporter of using as many different sorts of assessments as possible -- after all, the students have to be ready for anything in the 'real world'. But, in terms of using Latin to teach 21st century networking and using 21st century networking to teach Latin, this experiment produced excellent results.

Here are portions of our feed with names changed (for chronology, read from bottom to top... it's a Twitter feed). BTW, for those of you who do not use Twitter (yet), this is going to look very strange to you. It may even look quite useless. But strange as this all may look, imagine: a class of Latin III students knocking out a strong translation of the entire 'In Taberna' from the original Medieval Latin by sight with the aid of only a dictionary in just over a half-hour's time. In addition, as opposed to traditional small group projects where one student might do the majority of the work and the others might slack, on Twitter you can see in real time the contributions of each student in the class. You can see precisely the types of mistakes they are making AS THEY ARE MAKING THEM. And a record is kept of that.

This is just a random sample; for those keeping score at home, we produced about 125 Tweets in less than 35 minutes.

Here is an example where I am watching the editing of several translation drafts at once and setting up student teams to organize sections into unified wholes. Students are directing each other to full versions of the sections I have looked over located on their own class blogs. Remember to read from the bottom of the selection.

54. MrW @gol You and Alesia need to compare because you have many of the same words. Decide which translations you want. 15 minutes ago from web in reply to gol
55. koko 2nd half of stanza 1: When in the tavern he is led by it, where coin is the barmaid, that is work, so he may grumble, but let me speak s ... 15 minutes ago from web
56. TAstu Stanza 6: http://musilatin.blo... 15 minutes ago from web
57. brandi http://romansp.blogspot... STANZA 4 is on my blog. first link 15 minutes ago from web
58. TAstu Stanza 6: Lines 1-3 The poor man drinks, the sick drink the outcasts drink, the strange drink the boys drink, the old drink 16 minutes ago from web
59. gol @MrW what do you mean? 16 minutes ago from web
60. MrW @TAstu Check with Austin. 16 minutes ago from web in reply to TAstu
61. gol posted on my blog, http://latin.blog... 24 minutes ago from web

Here is a section where I am directing students to definitions live as they are sight reading. You will notice that our discussion evolves from my making a student explain herself in the use of a translated word; in a few Tweets, I manage to catch three different students who otherwise would have made translation errors and would have been thrown off later in their sections. Also, I pick up a mixed construction in the process. By nailing down these problems AS THE STUDENTS ARE TRANSLATING rather than waiting for them to finish and turn something in, we all wind up with a less frustrating and more accurate finished product. Read from the bottom.

62. MrW@gol 'wanderer's' 25 minutes ago from web in reply to gol
63. TAstu How about the 'wanderers' or 'outcasts' mr w? 25 minutes ago from web
64. koko 1st half of stanza 1 .... When we are in the tavern, do not care where the ground may be, but they do hurry to gamble, who always sweat. 25 minutes ago from web
65. MrW Everyone, please provide a link to your section. 25 minutes ago from web
66. Chel26 @MrW thank you 25 minutes ago from web in reply to MrW
70. MrW @Chel26 "who drink first is captured" Mixed COnstruction 26 minutes ago from web in reply to Chel26
77. MrW @Chel26 No. Libertine does not mean 'free men', it means basically 'partiers' 27 minutes ago from web in reply to Chel26
78. gol the master drinks, the mistress drinks, the soldier drinks, the clergy drinks, he drinks, she drinks, the maid serving drinks, some ... 27 minutes ago from web
79. brandi times for the learners, twelve times for those who repent, and thirteen times for those who journey. For the pope and king are al ... 27 minutes ago from web
80. Chel26 freed men. not libertines... 28 minutes ago from web
81. MrW @TAstu 'exiled' drink? 28 minutes ago from web in reply to TAstu
82. Chel26 http://latinmove.blo... this is my blog link and carmina burana stanza 3 is the top post 29 minutes ago from web
83. MrW @Chel26 What are 'libertines'? 29 minutes ago from web in reply to Chel26
84. MrW @brandi Not 'scattered'; look up that word. 30 minutes ago from web in reply to brandi
85. Chel26 heres stanza three completed i have to post it piece by piece! "First of all the wine maker is giving drinks to the libertines.. 30 minutes ago from web

This sample is from the end of the test. You can see that I am still helping individual students with grammar issues while other students are preparing the final copy for submittal. The final version -- comprised of the work of all of the students -- was then posted on a single blog that all of them subscribe to.

1. MrW Ok. That's time. Rachel agreed to post the final to her blog. I'll check it there at 12:45PM for group grade. Thank you! Great work. less than 10 seconds ago from web
2. Sbt @MrW will do 3 minutes ago from web
3. MrW @Sbt ...attention to who is teasing... rephrase / object problem 3 minutes ago from web in reply to Sbt
4. brandi. Alesia's 3 minutes ago from web
5. koko have it all on my blog 3 minutes ago from web
6. Sbt But according to Bacchi, they dismiss their fate. (end) 3 minutes ago from web
7. TAstu I'll do it 3 minutes ago from web
8. Sbt because they are able to dress oneself with someone's wallet. There no one fears death... 4 minutes ago from web
9. MrW Let's choose one person's blog to be the place where the final version gets published for the class grade. Ok, decide. 4 minutes ago from web

Now, as I'm following this Tweet feed, I'm also following each student individually on their own blogs where they are live-blogging their edits. Might sound complicated, but really just a matter of tabbed browsing. The end result of all of this is me -- the teacher -- having a much better feel for the formative aspects of the students' skills in translating and the students having an immediate feedback session where they are collaborating both with their teacher and with their peers.

Last year, when I started experimenting with this type of assessment, I did it live through a collaborative Google Doc. Twitter, however, now makes everything far more efficient -- and each student is left with their own copy/transcript of the entire event.

I would like to know how other teachers are using Twitter. I see it as one of the most powerful tools for education available in Web 2.0. One of the things I really like is the use of @Tweets. Students are able to directly address one another or directly address me and I am able to directly address that particular student in return; but because we do it via @Tweets, the exchange shows up in the transcript of each of the students' feeds. So, even if a student was not working on a particular part during the assignment, they now have a record of another student's questions and my responses to those other sections. In a way, the @Tweets make the Twitter feed a document far more complex than anything we could have created merely via a back-and-forth; for students, this is great because now in addition to having taken part in a collaborative assessment, they also have a complete transcript which can be used as a study guide for the final exam. In fact, I am thinking that I'm going to have the students go over the transcript and create hyperlinked annotations back to Perseus for all matters of vocab and grammar. Those documents will then be combined and shared via a Google Doc as a practice guide for the year end summative assessments.

From Pong to WoW to Math Scores?

The State of Virginia tries out video games to improve math scores:

"The traditional view of video games has been that they are distractions from the task of learning, said Ntiedo Etuk, CEO and co-founder of Tabula Digita. "But this research clearly shows the opposite is true."

Just heard of the Quest school in NYC going game-ed. Interesting to see a state do it.

Wonder how many admins down there are gamers...

You Mean I Don't Have a Fan Base in Antarctica?

One of the most beautiful things about the Internet is its ability to produce chaos.

At least from a theoretical point-of-view. And you should know that. Because in a paperless classroom, you will have students whose intent is to produce chaos. And that's something to tap into.

I'm talking about something simple here: the ability to be anonymous. Using Web 2.0, students can easily create multiple accounts or claim to be 75 years old or claim to live in Antarctica.

One of my Freshman recently pulled the latter on his Pixton profile. And so now I have a fan who 'lives' at the South Pole. Things could be worse.

Some folks are scared to death of this type of ironic anonymity. But as a child of post-Modernism, I have no such problems. In fact, I have a great fondness for this sort of thing.

The trick is to turn this feature of the Internet into something that can produce educational value. So, why not have Shakespeare start a Facebook page? Dickens and Poe can debate the finer parts of what makes a good short story in an IM chat. Ansel Adams can photograph the landscape of your middle school ballfields and post the pics up on Picasa along with an accompanying essay by Rachel Carson.

The anonymous aspects of the Web can lend themselves to theatrics that can produce some wicked results. So, don't fear the chaos. Tap into it. Use it to draw learning out of all of those multiple intelligences.

Looking for Exemplary 21st Century Schools

CASTLE is looking for schools with strong 21C programs and initiatives.

Check out the Moving Forward wiki on Exemplary 21st Century Schools and please add information about your own programs.

For more info on the wiki, see this recent post over at Dangerously Irrelevant.