Would adult educators and volunteers be interested in a social networking site created specifically for them? A kind of FaceBook for people interested in adult literacy?
As my experience with social networks grows it seems more and more likely that these online communities will expand and proliferate in the years to come. I'm intrigued by the idea of using a social network to create personal learning environments, where educators can connect with other educators, share resources, attend online workshops, and engage in truly constructivist learning. There's a great deal of potential here. Social networks go beyond mere "discussion boards". They allow for the establishment of personal connections and even mentoring relationships, where the "old hands" guide the newcomers (in a true "zone of proximal development" for those readers who're interested in learning theory). I've seen this kind of relationship develop among members of the Classroom 2.0 social network, of which I'm one member among 10,000. A newcomer poses a question or a "cry for help" and is quickly responded to by sometimes dozens of more experienced users.
The question I have is, if I build it, will they come? Or is this just one more thing that my colleagues don't have time to learn or participate in?
Friday, April 17, 2009
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Citizenship Day
Hear ye, hear ye, all Minnesota citizenship teachers and ESL teachers with students who want to apply for citizenship!
On Saturday, April 18th, the Minnesota/Dakotas Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) presents Citizenship Day 2009! Immigration attorneys, paralegals, and trained professionals will be available at sites around the state to help clients prepare citizenship applications for just $20. (Which is much, much less than this kind of assistance would usually cost.)
Locations in St. Paul, Bloomington, Rochester, St. Cloud, and Fargo, ND are open from 10:00-2:00. Get more information at www.citizenshipday.info.
Help spread the word!
On Saturday, April 18th, the Minnesota/Dakotas Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) presents Citizenship Day 2009! Immigration attorneys, paralegals, and trained professionals will be available at sites around the state to help clients prepare citizenship applications for just $20. (Which is much, much less than this kind of assistance would usually cost.)
Locations in St. Paul, Bloomington, Rochester, St. Cloud, and Fargo, ND are open from 10:00-2:00. Get more information at www.citizenshipday.info.
Help spread the word!
Monday, March 9, 2009
Considering "Blog Guilt"
In a meeting this afternoon about my organization's "Technology Vision" I argued that it was important that technology/electronic communications be integrated into work plans and be recognized as "real work". I mentioned that I don't post to my blog very often partly because I feel like it takes me away from what I'm "supposed" to be doing. A colleague responded "Yeah, we don't want to encourage Blog Guilt."
What exactly is "Blog Guilt" and do I have it? Does "Blog Guilt" show up in all those meaningless blog posts that people make about why they aren't blogging? Is it when I don't blog because I don't know if blogging falls under the grant that I work under? Am I misappropriating tax dollars if I'm blogging on work time--and is worrying about that question a sign of Blog Guilt?
I think this is a question for teachers, too--though maybe more broadly as "web guilt". Teachers often aren't given time for work outside the classroom, so spending prep time reading a blog (or accessing other online media, even for work-related purposes) may engender guilt. How do we move to a work culture that embraces the use of web tools as a meaningful work activity? And how do we make sure that what we're doing online is a meaningful work activity?
If you think you've been struck by Blog Guilt, leave me a comment! And I hope you haven't gotten a case of it from reading this blog post!
What exactly is "Blog Guilt" and do I have it? Does "Blog Guilt" show up in all those meaningless blog posts that people make about why they aren't blogging? Is it when I don't blog because I don't know if blogging falls under the grant that I work under? Am I misappropriating tax dollars if I'm blogging on work time--and is worrying about that question a sign of Blog Guilt?
I think this is a question for teachers, too--though maybe more broadly as "web guilt". Teachers often aren't given time for work outside the classroom, so spending prep time reading a blog (or accessing other online media, even for work-related purposes) may engender guilt. How do we move to a work culture that embraces the use of web tools as a meaningful work activity? And how do we make sure that what we're doing online is a meaningful work activity?
If you think you've been struck by Blog Guilt, leave me a comment! And I hope you haven't gotten a case of it from reading this blog post!
Friday, February 6, 2009
In the News... Online Citizenship Study
Earlier this week a colleague and I were interviewed by Katherine Glover of MinnPost.com for an article about our efforts to create free online self-study resources for immigrants preparing for U.S. citizenship.
You can check out her story here: Minnesota Literacy Council piloting software to help immigrants with citizenship test.
The new self-study resources are under development as part of the Learner Web (LW) project, of which the St. Paul Community Literacy Consortium is a regional partner. While the Learner Web materials will not be available except to LW partners for the duration of the original 3-year demonstration project, once that project is complete, the goal is to have LW released as open-source learning management software, something akin to Moodle, but focused on delivering self-access, self-paced learner-directed resources rather than semester-based, instructor-led online courses.
But Moodle and Learner Web shouldn't really be seen as competitors: the two systems in our case work together in partnership. Using our existing Moodle site we were able to create lessons and practice exercises and host our own content. That content can be seen at: http://online.themlc.org/ -- click on "Study for the U.S. Citizenship Test". Those lessons are then linked into Learner Web, which is a system for organizing existing resources (such as online courses, websites, books, community organizations, etc.) around the steps a learner needs to take to achieve a goal.
Anyone is free to browse through the Moodle course, which is open to guest users. While you're there, you might want to check out our other online training courses for adult educators and volunteers.
You can check out her story here: Minnesota Literacy Council piloting software to help immigrants with citizenship test.
The new self-study resources are under development as part of the Learner Web (LW) project, of which the St. Paul Community Literacy Consortium is a regional partner. While the Learner Web materials will not be available except to LW partners for the duration of the original 3-year demonstration project, once that project is complete, the goal is to have LW released as open-source learning management software, something akin to Moodle, but focused on delivering self-access, self-paced learner-directed resources rather than semester-based, instructor-led online courses.
But Moodle and Learner Web shouldn't really be seen as competitors: the two systems in our case work together in partnership. Using our existing Moodle site we were able to create lessons and practice exercises and host our own content. That content can be seen at: http://online.themlc.org/ -- click on "Study for the U.S. Citizenship Test". Those lessons are then linked into Learner Web, which is a system for organizing existing resources (such as online courses, websites, books, community organizations, etc.) around the steps a learner needs to take to achieve a goal.
Anyone is free to browse through the Moodle course, which is open to guest users. While you're there, you might want to check out our other online training courses for adult educators and volunteers.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
How to Recover from YouTube-Block
Thanks to Marian Thatcher and Larry Ferlazzo for re-posting and discussing this great blog post by Joyce Valenza. All three teacher techies offer tips & tricks for teachers and students who want to use YouTube videos at school. They offer alternatives that allow us to use YouTube videos as learning resources while we wait for our schools' policies to catch up to 21st century realities.
Even with these alternatives out there, I personally feel that the ban on YouTube should be lifted from Adult Education programs--we are working with adults after all. It's patronizing to treat adult learners the same way we treat children, as though we are their guardians who need to "protect" them from the dangers of the Internet. Clearly K12 schools have a duty to protect their young charges from inappropriate and potentially disturbing material. But teaching children and teaching adults are two totally different endeavors, and restrictive policies designed for 8-year olds should not be applied to their parents! Furthermore, as adult educators we have a responsibility to provide our learners with the skills and know-how to be effective parents and role models in the digital age. That responsibility includes helping our learners understand sites like YouTube that their children are probably using at home or with friends. Yes, there is a slew of awful garbage on YouTube, but there's also a wealth of truly valuable material. Which is why our adult learners need guided experiences with it: so they can provide those same experiences for their own kids.
And on that note, I'll share two of the truly valuable resources I've recently discovered on YouTube. Both are resources for immigrants applying for U.S. citizenship and could be of great use to ABE educators and learners. Enjoy!
Even with these alternatives out there, I personally feel that the ban on YouTube should be lifted from Adult Education programs--we are working with adults after all. It's patronizing to treat adult learners the same way we treat children, as though we are their guardians who need to "protect" them from the dangers of the Internet. Clearly K12 schools have a duty to protect their young charges from inappropriate and potentially disturbing material. But teaching children and teaching adults are two totally different endeavors, and restrictive policies designed for 8-year olds should not be applied to their parents! Furthermore, as adult educators we have a responsibility to provide our learners with the skills and know-how to be effective parents and role models in the digital age. That responsibility includes helping our learners understand sites like YouTube that their children are probably using at home or with friends. Yes, there is a slew of awful garbage on YouTube, but there's also a wealth of truly valuable material. Which is why our adult learners need guided experiences with it: so they can provide those same experiences for their own kids.
And on that note, I'll share two of the truly valuable resources I've recently discovered on YouTube. Both are resources for immigrants applying for U.S. citizenship and could be of great use to ABE educators and learners. Enjoy!
Friday, January 9, 2009
Geeking out about Jing
Here is a tool that has great potential for teachers, especially technology teachers. How often do you find yourself demonstrating how to do the same thing on a computer--create an email account, use an online learning resource, or just search on Google? Jing is a tool that can help! Jing allows you to quickly and easily create screen-cast videos, narrated live in real time as you perform and action on your computer. Here's my example (it's too large to embed here, so click the link to view it on www.screencast.com): http://www.screencast.com/t/8wcwxm43S.
I don't have time this morning to write much more, but Wow! Think of the potential for technology instructors! Check it out at http://www.jingproject.com/.
I don't have time this morning to write much more, but Wow! Think of the potential for technology instructors! Check it out at http://www.jingproject.com/.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Winter Magic
It's beginning to look like winter here in the Northland. We had another dusting of snow on the sidewalk this morning, but I'm anxiously waiting for enough to build a snowman!
In honor of the season, I thought I would share my Winter Magic photo slide show from Slide.com. Slide makes it easy to create short digital 'stories' like this one, incorporating music, text, and images. Adult learners and their teachers can use tools like Slide to tell their own stories, using free images from Flickr Creative Commons like I have here. I'm going to be leading a workshop on free online digital storytelling tools on Monday, December 15th from 6:30-8:30 pm at the Minnesota Literacy Council in St. Paul. Come join me if you would like to try this out for yourself!
In honor of the season, I thought I would share my Winter Magic photo slide show from Slide.com. Slide makes it easy to create short digital 'stories' like this one, incorporating music, text, and images. Adult learners and their teachers can use tools like Slide to tell their own stories, using free images from Flickr Creative Commons like I have here. I'm going to be leading a workshop on free online digital storytelling tools on Monday, December 15th from 6:30-8:30 pm at the Minnesota Literacy Council in St. Paul. Come join me if you would like to try this out for yourself!
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