Cathy Nelson’s Professional Thoughts

I have been preaching a little about how wonderful podcasts and blogging tools really engage students and increase learning. One of my social studies teachers has decided to create a class blog, and another one has confessed today that he is totally addicted to podcasts. I love the title of his blog, aptly named “The Kneighborhood of Knowledge.” How clever is that?? His blog also has a page called podcasts, which tells me he is interested in exploring the concept of podcasting for his class! WOOT! Before today, I had only managed to convince library colleagues (from various other schools) to jump in, but I can now say I have fellow teaching colleagues joining me in the web 2.0 ocean. Please encourage them by visiting the one blog (I predict the other will be blogging before long) and leaving him a nice compliment or message of encouragement. Both are EXCELLENT teachers who have the greatest of potential. All of the sudden all the kids think these two already cool teachers are even more cool!!

P.S. (I haven’t done that since middle school myself!) Both of these teachers have been listening to and viewing K12Online Conference material.  Since this is about my school, I will call this an SYP!

Today I gave 2 workshops (one on a overview of Web 2.0 and the other on Digital Storytelling.) Both of these were quite well received, and I should persobally thank Lisa Parisi for the wiki from her course of We 2.0 and for her calling in to my session today using Skype. My attendees were flabbergasted first by her Skype call and the ability to interact with someone in New York City, and then by her wiki for the course, which included many video links and websites to help people get started in the exploration of web 2.0.

I also need to thank David Jakes, and Will Richardson, who both allowed me to use their wiki links on the topics too. It was nice to be able to focus on the introduction and/or sharing about my topics rather than focus on a handout for once. I should also give kudos to Chris Craft for allowing me to share his “Life ‘Round Here” videos that are a part of his phenomenal global digital storytelling project. And Chris Betcher (of Sydney Australia) and Ann *** (NJTeacher) surprised me today when I showed my own first attempt at a Voice Thread by leaving txt and voice comments! My audience was so excited. Just imagine how the kids will feel when I share this. You guys ROCK!

During both of my sessions today I also asked my twitter network to warmly greet my session attendees. You did not let me down, and I was able to show how my global network is awesome

Look at my twitter images at all the greeters!

Bummer. I have joined another conference (free of course) by joining Ustreams w/ chatrooms (see my previous post.) One of the presenters, Steve Dembo, actually created his own Ustream for us, and twittered to invite us. Then Lisa Parisi twittered that she was at the same conference, and would be asking permission from presenters to set up a UStream/chat for the sessions she attended, which were graciously allowed. So I got to virtually sit in on sessions given by Alan November and David Jakes. David Jakes even walked up to her Ustreaming laptop and asked the chatroom what they thought! Now how cool is that?? You must visit her saved UStreams here.

As always, I’m watching my bloglines, and many have been blogging from the AASL conference in Reno. When one of the first blog postings came in, I posted a comment first thanking the said blogger for sharing about the conference, and then asked about any backchanneling or possible Ustreaming coming out. The response I got (in a polite little email and not posted to their blog) was that “videos and podcasts will be made available after the conference for a cost,” and then the posed question “and if they did allow that, then what would the conference of the future look like?”

Well, I hope I’m not alone in thinking that Ustreams and Skypechats will NEVER replace the feeling of having a f2f experience. Just like my friend Lisa Parisi, who I am ever so jealous of, ate lunch with the very presenters she attended sessions for that day. All b/c she asked permission to widen the network of the conference experience.

I guess you could call me a twitter ustream groupie, b/c I hop over and check out any ustream happening when it is twittered to me. But I certainly would MUCH rather be there f2f for the fun and networking, than left out here in a virtual sense to experience it. If I could go, I would. But that is not always possible. I really don’t think people will STOP going to conferences, so I am shocked, saddened, and puzzled by the other blogger’s response.

Attribution:

Image: ‘Zooomr Mark III Launch‘

www.flickr.com/photos/94343090@N00/509693303

SCEdtech concluded yesterday at 1:30 with a wonderful awards luncheon.  My friend Chris Craft was a Tehnology Innovative Program (TIP) Award winner, and was presented with a SMART Board and handhelds to go with it.  WOOT.  I suggested Chris apply last spring, telling him he was a shoe-in.  Chris, you are well on your way to amazing things! (I’m predicting an early retirement from teaching and perhaps a job as consultant.  PS-thx for unmuting my Mac Friday morning.)

I went to three sessions yesterday–one on photo storage sites, one on using Lexiles, and one on using digital storytelling to address hot topics at school.  All three were excellent, even if nothing new to me.  That’s okay though, b/c my twitter invited me to join in three sessions going on at a conference in New York City–TechForum.  I was invited in to listen to Alan November, and then simultaneously Steve Dembo and a panel discuss Web 2.0, AND  into a session with David Jakes on Digital Storytelling.  It was tricky but worth it. It was a series of tabs and mutes, and I know the people sitting around me wondered what on earth i could be typing or why i giggled out several times.  The act of doing this really makes you feel giddy, and at times you forget where you really are. (NOTE: You can view some of the videos on Lisa Parisi’s wikispace–here’s her twitter:  techforumNY.wikispaces.com All videos and chats that could be saved.) Steve Dembo maybe addinghis there on Monday.

It feels strange to say that I was absorbing information from ALL OVER the world during my morning but I was.  You see, I was reading emails and my bloglines,  following Twitter, attending sessions at SC Edtech, viewing sessions in NY’s TechForum, AND participating in chatrooms set up for TechForum.  Oh wow. My brain hurts.  If that’s not enough, on my three hour drive home to be with my husband and family, I listened to Dean Shareski and other K12 Online Conference sessions. Dean’s was so good audio-wise, I had to go home and view the video that was also available. It ROCKED!

This is what it’s all about. PD anytime, anywhere.  I do not have to attend a conference to get it. Getting to go is just ICING on the cake.  Thanks to all who attended and presented and made this year’s SC Edtech a blast–even if you were not there, but somewhere else in this WWW..

Thank you SC Edtech for another great conference. It’s not over yet, but I’ve already experienced so much, I have to say thank you. While I very much enjoy my “virtual network from Twitter, Second Life, Blogging, and more, nothing replaces seeing the teachers so eager to learn each year at our state conference, and the willingness of everyone to share and strengthen our foundation in pedagogy. That’s right, I did NOT say integration of tech skills. Our conference is so much about teaching, learning, engaging students, and improving our own skills, and I am proud of the quality and quantity year in and year out. This year is no different. Even though it was the third time had seen Deneen Bowen Frazier, her opening keynote was fresh, shockingly true, and amazing. Thanks to Donna Teuber and Kevin Merrick, I’ve learned that geochaching is a whole new arena and I am interested in using these in a cross curricular project (so I need to find a funding or grant source!) Thanks to Chris Craft, I learned today that there is still much to debate about the relevance of MUVE’s and gaming in the classroom, but it is intriguing and highly relevant to our students. A big thank you to MaryAnn Sansonetti for sharing all the ipod-abilities for student learning (and Cathy learning too.) I can’t wait to get iQuiz and use iQuizmaker. She had a session on StreamlineSC that was exceptional as well. That’s not to say it was perfect day. Murphy’s law was definitely the rule for the day. We went out geocaching in the very damp air, so my hair fell flat. Ugghh. Oh well, its not about me is it? Then in the 1:15 session, that half of the hallway had no air, but it was Chris’s session on gaming, so I went anyway. Well worth it, but HOT. Then I went to set up for mine, which was at 2:30, and suddenly had the realization that this time slot was the only session in the whole three days of workshops that would not have a half hour b/w it and the next session. The presenter in the room went over by ten minutes, leaving me five minutes to set up. The room had no air either, and then my MacBookPro would NOT sync up with the projector provided to all the sessions.. I had to reboot, which I did not want to do. I began just in time, only to realize TOO LATE we had not done a sound check, so I had no real audio for the one video clip I wanted to share, and I could not play the short segments of a few podcasts. First time in years I did not go with a back up plan in place for the “just in case” situations like this. That’s okay b/c I allowed my group to leave a full ten minutes early since we were suffering from the heat/ (The temp outside was near 80 degrees, and very humid/muggy. Inside the rooms w/o air was near 90. GRRRR!) We should get a discount or rebate for the lack of a/c. Oh wait, my registration was waived b/c I was a presenter! Alls well that ends well though, as I’ve already received two emails from participants telling me how much they learned, and Tim VanHuele of Greenville and Kathy Sutusky of Columbia assured me my content was excellent, relevant, and much needed, and that I presented it well. (I did “Feed the Mind with RSS” and my links are here.) There is another day tomorrow, and I’m sure it will be as good as today. Hopefully no Murphy’s Law.

Okay so it’s a work in progress…..???

http://voicethread.com/share/13400/

Thanks for your help in allowing me to stay connected despite the blocking software at school. I now can follow my gmail and twitter from school. There is a method to the madness and so far I haven’t made anyone question me. Of course I only have time to twitter at lunch and the email is slow during the day when we are all working. But it is nice to know I am but a few keystrokes away (and sometimes more than a few as I work to get around the blocked sites) to be in touch with my network. Now I don’t feel so angry or deprived as I did before. Great suggestions from many.

I have three presentations in the next ten days. I am scheduled to present at the SC EdTech conference this Thursday, October 25th. My session is titled “Feed the Mind with RSS,” and I plan to talk about
how reading blogs, having a social network, and participating in live streamed events can really help folks streamline their own professional development learning. Then Monday, October 29 I will present two sessions at our district’s Teacher Technology Fair. The first one is titled “From Paper & Pencil to Digital Storytelling.” The other is “Web 2.0: It’s a Whole New World.” I was pushed to submit a title for these district presentations, and now am not really happy with their titles. BUT c’est la vie.

I am happy with the content that will be coming out of all of them, and must thank my network (YOU) for the content, hyperlinks, ideas, titles suggestions (cuz I really like the dgital storytelling idea offered by twitterverse!), and more. Specifically, I can thank David Jakes, who pointed me to his own Delicious account for some of his links related to Digital Storytelling and personal professional development. I can thank Will Richardson, who is going to let me use his wiki for the web 2.0 session–I see no reason to reinvent that wheel. the K12Online Conference also deserves some credit. Fabulous content coming from there. And I will thank the twitterverse in advance b/c on that Oct 29 day, I will ask for shout outs saying hi to my groups. I want them to see first hand the power you as a network give me.

Last week I was so totally unmotivated in working on my presentation material, as I have become increasingly disenchanted with talking heads, be it in the classroom, in a conference session, or on tv (Ustream or network programming.) I myself am less satisfied if I have to sit and listen, so I am trying to tweak my presos to ensure I have some kind of engaging activity, and am trying to model after Will Richardson, and just by-golly tell a story with images, and not bullet points. Aye-aye-aye to think that in these next ten days the number of sessions I’ll sit through all will ask me to do that!

But, that’s okay b/c I have YOU, network, to keep me awake, make me laugh, help me gain deeper understanding of points made in sessions, and enjoy my professional development opportunities that are coming my way. Who knows, maybe I’ll Ustream some presos out to you who may be interested. After all, I am but a learner in a wide field of experts in my network, specifically YOU.

Okay confessions will be forthcoming, including the opening statement: I stole that title from my new friend Jeannette Johnson over on her blog “From the Principal’s Desk.”  If you do not twitter, or are a newbie at twitter, then you MUST go to her blog and read tonights post.  Jeanette YOU ROCK!!  I laughed so hard I nearly had an accident!

2nd confession: my twitter network has almost convinced me to ditch plans for FETC and consider EduCon 2.0 as my next face to face PD.  I will be attending SC’s EdTech, but will be devoted to working with the Board and planning committee, and so probably will not get to enjoy much of the offerings (other than face to face gabbing with other SC Educators!)  It is frightening to me to consider that I would allow my twitterverse to influence me in this way.  That just shows the power of my network.

3rd Confession: I am still such a newbie at all this–it amazes me when folks ask me to explain things like twitter, blogging, rss, streaming video, and more.  It is why I need some more professional development.

If you have a favorite conference that promotes learning, please help me decide.

I tried another “broadcast yourself” social network after the twitterverse were all inviting the network to come and check it out.  It does allow the “director” to pass off to other speakers or even others with webcams, so it has more potential. But they stream one “show” on their home page it seems all the times, and the few times I popped over, well, let’s just say it was no where near rated G or even PG.  I cannot even imagine opening this can of worms at school right now, even if I can log into a portal that allows me as a teacher to get to blocked sites.  But I will say it does have more potential than U-Stream.

Thanks Chris Lehmann for allowing me to have my 2 minutes of O-11 fame tonight.  More and more the conversations we are having using these tools asks where is the safe K12 portal?  Which of us knows a programmer who could help with this??  What exactly do we want from the site?

OY–my brain is on overload.

Today I met some fellow colleagues after work to talk and have some fancy coffee drinks (which i don’t do…) Being new in the district, I don’t know everyone as well, so Barbara S. and Cathy H. invited me to come gab. We shared about the normal school stuff, and I told about my initiation into the district. If found out that Barbara and I have some common interests–Macs and video editing. And Cathy H and I are connected b/c years ago we both worked in a neighboring district, and she even worked in the same school as my husband.

They were very interested in my knowledge of web 2.0 stuff, and I had to admit to them I don’t know as much as they think. But in our conversations, I talked a whole different language at times, talking about twitter, Ustream, the online conference, webcasts, and name dropping–Will Richardson, David Warlick, and Joyce Valenza. They were familiar with Joyce–what school librarian wouldn’t be? But they did not know of Richardson or Warlick. Oh break my heart!

In visiting the various live shows popping up tonight in Ustream–you folks in my Twitter are awesome–I can remember reflecting that exact sentiment I beleive to Vickie Davis. We practically speak an alien language.

So I have to ask myself–am I an overachiever? I used to think of myself as not as good as most of my colleagues. I aspired to be as good at librarianship as them, and worked hard to hone my skills. Now I am questioned about my knowledge–how do I know about this stuff and where do I have the time? I don’t feel any smarter than my colleagues, that’s for sure. We are just not necessarily speaking the same language. And I still have so much to learn compared to others in my network.

I promise folks, I do have a homelife, and family, and time is made for them. But also I must confess that my entire household is digitally connected–to each other and our networks. So we know and understand that these tools and this language we speak is understood, accepted, and a welcome part of our lives. I read an incredible amount. I feel connected to my network. I miss it when I can’t get it–which is why I am rushing in to read up on twitter since it is blocked at school. My network is educating me better than any professional development I participate in at school, conferences, workshops, or any journal I read. My network IS my professional development. And I am proud of it. But I don’t think I would enjoy it if it made my family unhappy. We all four have laptops, and yes, there are times when we are all together in the living room with a laptop in our lap or at our side. It has just become a way of life for us. It is so nice to know i can chat w/ my son in Chicago anytime I want–i’m 900 miles away, yet only a few keystrokes from connecting to him. So I don’t ask forgiveness for being in tune with my 2.0 tools. I just feel blessed that they are understood in my home.

Last– I celebrate once again this evening as Chris Lehman called me Cathy in a Ustream chat tonight. I am identified only as CNelson there. So I am in his radar in the blogosphere too. WOOT!