Laying the ePlanks of a Web 2.0 School

Posted onMay 17, 2008 
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This is a cross-post with technoLOTE

eplankssmall Anne Mirtschin and I were lucky enough to this year be granted Teacher Professional Leave to develop a project we have called ‘ePlanks - Laying the Foundations of a Web 2.0 School.’ Our aim with this project is to get as many staff using various Web 2.0 tools (such as blogs, wikis, podcasts, social networks and social bookmarking sites) as possible to extend their teaching in a way that suits them.

We have outlined several stages that we think would be important when encouraging staff to jump into the Web 2.0 world. Our eplanks are:

Plank 1 - Understanding what the Web 2.0 World is / means and why you would use it
Plank 2 - CyberSafety
Plank 3 - Digital Media and Copyright
Plank 4 - Creating Your Own Online Space / Creating Online Student Spaces - Blogs and Wikis
Plank 5 - Adding Your Voice / Adding Student Voices- Podcasting
Plank 6 - Joining Networks and Making Connections
Plank 7 - No Walls on this Classroom - mLearning

Plank 8 - Keeping the Learning Going - Web 2.0 PD for Busy Teachers

You can find more details about these steps on the ePlanks wiki.

As part of this project we went to see Will Richardson speak at the SLAV conference on Monday 12th May. Will is a world-renowned leader in the field of Web 2.0 in schools and it was great to hear him speak. The main message I took away from his session was that Web 2.0 is not about the tools, it is about the powerful connections that can be made with those tools. These connections then lead to really powerful learning experiences for our students. These connections can make it possible for you to bring someone into your classroom who knows more about what you are trying to teach than you do - whoever they are and whatever age they are. Comments left on a blog can lead to further conversation and the discovery of more information about what you are trying to teach for example.

Here are the points Anne noted from what Will Richardson said:

  • Students have so many different ways of connecting and learning outside school
  • The more we block (online websites), the less safe we leave our kids
  • We can be so ’scared’ that we do not allow them to do anything.
  • Schools need to prepare students to be ‘googled’ and ‘googled well’
  • Social networking is not all bad. It can be extremely positive. Meg Cabot is a good role model for a fine example of use of myspace.
  • Clarence Fisher does not moderate but teaches students what to do in particular contexts.
  • Students need to learn on demand - they will not be trained or retrained once out in the workforce but they will need to do it independently
  • It is important that we teach students how to use and create hypertexted environments.
  • Students need to build connections to links and need to be  ‘findable’ in order to collaborate
  • Connection is the real power - it gives an authentic audience. Students need to connect with people in many different ways.
  • Need to change personal learning practise and prepare them for the future.
  • Teachers are more important than ever before -
  • Students need teachers as
  • role models
  • for guidance
  • support
  • wisdom
  • their personal experience

    These are all really important points for us to remember as we progress with our project. I especially like that it has been pointed out that teachers are more important than ever before. Hopefully this will motivate some teachers to take a few more risks and at least get up to their knees in the river/ocean that is the world of Web 2.0.

    Look out for plenty more posts about laying the ePlanks - and the ePlanks podcast!

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    • Bumping Into People

    Posted onMay 17, 2008 
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    Hello world! After a forced break from writing here (too much stuff going on, I will refrain from boring you with it) I am finally feeling as though I have a little bit of not-so-rushed time to sit and contribute. For my first return post I have a face to face meeting to share with you!

    Last Monday I went to the SLAV (School Libraries Association of Victoria) Web 2.0 Conference and had the pleasure of hearing Will Richardson speak. He spoke so very well and was inspiring, and it was just great to see him in person after seeing his name in so many places and reading his blog from time to time. I recorded his session with my iPod voice recorder, but I’m not sure how it will go as a podcast as it’s a bit quiet. I’ll get to that and let you know.

    The highlight of the day, though, was meeting some fellow Aussie educators with whom I have been in contact with in the edublogosphere for a while now! I’ve been reading Jo McLeay’s blog for ages and we’ve had several chats online over Twitter or Skype. It was fabulous meeting Jo. She came up to me and gave me a great big hug - it was like meeting an old friend even though we’ve never met before! Here we are:

    DSC03057

    I was actually saying something to my esteemed colleague Anne at the time. I don’t normally make a habit of smiling like that! :-)

    I also met John Pearce who runs Salty Solutions Consultancy, and blogs over at My Other Blog. He’s also part of the Oz/NZ Educators network. Here is a quick snap of me, John and Anne.

    DSC03058

    John and Gary Bass (who I met at the conference and recognised as a teacher from my school years ago!) have just written a book about Web 2.0 tools called  Technology Toolkit - An Introduction to Web 2.0. Here’s Jo and John checking out Jo’s chapter in it!

    DSC03055

    So the best part of my day by far was meeting these people and a couple of others. It really felt like we (myself and Anne) were meeting up with old friends, as we have been in touch with these people for a while now as part of our personal learning networks, which are made up of our blogs, our wikis, our Twitter conversations, our social bookmarking which all facilitates our passion for learning and sharing!

    Testing Windows Live Writer

    Posted onMay 11, 2008 
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    I’ve just downloaded Windows Live Writer, so I thought I’d test it out here. I really should be heading to bed - it’s very late! I’m heading off to see Will Richardson speak tomorrow, and very much looking forward to it of course. I’m also going to meet a couple of people from my PLN in person.

    Sitting Wherever She Likes

    Posted onMay 3, 2008 
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    This afternoon as I sat playing around on my laptop my cat, Angel, came to let me know that I was not paying enough attention to her. In order to do this she sat on my lap despite the fact it was already taken up with my laptop. She cared not about this and simply settled herself in. She then proceeded to fall asleep with her head resting on my hand. I managed as best as I could for a while, but then had to gently remove her. I then got up and took her outside for a while. We’ve just moved house and so she was getting used to her new backyard. Angel is here with me now as I am snuggled up in bed early on a Saturday night. She’s having a lovely sleep right next to me. Oh, to be a cat.

    Live Blog Test With Year 9/10

    Posted onApril 28, 2008 
    Filed under Uncategorized | 2 Comments

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