Transformational Blogging

The crucial part of education outside of 21st century literacies…is that students learn to teach themselves…Their task is to become an expert in [a topic meaningful to them] and to share their growing knowledge with others. They should research the topic, decode what they find, evaluate it to select the resources that are most valuable, analyze, manipulate and assemble what they learn in a way that makes personal sense, and then create an information product that expresses their knowledge of the area in a way that compels other people. David Warlick, Redefining Literacy for the 21st Century

Classroom blogs are a place to be complex together. David Weinberger, Everything is Miscellaneous


I blogged a couple days ago about the profound effect this independent study has had on me this summer, and how I want to re-create that experience for my students this fall. In between writing papers contrasting the Semantic Web with Folksonomies and creating video tours of Botswana (it’s a long story!), I’ve been thinking about how to go about constructing such an assignment. My main worries focused on walking that fine line between allowing the students the freedom to engage in the process and create their own meaning, while still providing enough structure to guide them, give motivation to the initially less-than-motivated, and satisfy institutional requirements for grading.

I'm also trying to decide if I want these to be individual projects or if they should link up with an overseas partner. I'm leaning towards the latter, but need to check with a couple friends still teaching overseas to see if they want to work with us on this.

I’m not sure I’ve hit that line. I need to work out details—whether the blogs are personal or a group space (depends on age, I think. I’m not sure what grade I’ll be teaching yet), intermediate deadlines along the way, peer evaluation, plan of study form, final project, assessment rubric. But here is a rough outline of the project.

I'd love any feedback or comments you may have!


The TASK:

This semester, you’re going to become an expert. (You didn’t know it was that easy, did you? ) Well, it is. Moreover, not only will you be an expert, you’ll share your expertise with the rest of the class (and the world), basking in the ooh’s and aah’s as everyone marvels at your brilliance. How cool is that???!

So just how will this happen? Slowly, but surely.

First, pick a meaningful topic you’re interested in. No Britney Spears. No Paris Hilton. And no dubious moral explorations (you KNOW what I mean!); otherwise, the world is your oyster! You wanna write about extreme skate-boarding? Go for it! Are anime or graphic novels more your style? Fantastic! The function of mitosis in the morphology of cancer cells? Brilliant! My only caveat is that you choose a topic you are REALLY interested in, because you’re going to be spending a LOT of time on it.

You will also be exploring the topic from all angles. Thus, if you choose to write about extreme skateboarding, you won’t just study different tricks. You’ll also look at the physics of it, compare/contrast board designs, and…other stuff. (Hey, you’re the expert! You tell me what your study should include.)

The PROJECT:

First, complete the Plan of Study form and turn it in to me for approval/comments. This will act as your guideline through the semester, but it’s not written in stone. As you research, you may find areas you need to add or areas that fizzle into nothing. That’s just part of the process!

In the Plan, you’ll need to include:

1) Research Plan

• What do you already know?
• What do you need to find out?
• Possible sub-topics, specialized vocabulary, etc.

2) Possible information resources, including

a) three books/articles
b) two blogs by experts
c) news feeds
d) websites
(I’ll teach you how to set up an RSS feed so you can monitor all of these quickly and easily.)

3) Final Project—How will you share the information?

• Blog (required, see below)
• Other possibilities include
• video tutorial
• wiki
• podcast
• Whatever best suits your topic/information

The BLOG:

As you research, you will also keep a blog about your findings. THIS IS NOT A JOURNAL!! We’ll talk about it more, later, but basically this is a reflective analysis of your process and findings. In it you can:

1) Discuss your findings
2) Raise questions about topic, resources, findings
3) Link to important material and discuss it
4) Think about your process—is it working? Does it need to change?
5) Vent your frustrations
6) Celebrate your successes
7) Respond to feedback

My requirement is that you :

1) Post a MINIMUM of twice a week (on your blog)
2) Comment twice a week on your classmates’ blogs.

We will do a midterm assessment to:

• evaluate your progress
• make any necessary changes
• start planning final project

We’ll also set up Furl accounts for you to store/share your bookmarks.

Engaging Students in Real Learning

As the semester winds down, I've been thinking a lot about how much I've learned doing this independent study. I recognize the difference in how I think about this "class," vs. the other three "have-to's" I'm taking. They've been interesting, but haven't generated the same kind of passion and intensity and excitement. I willingly spend HOURS reading and researching Web 2.0, and only grudgingly skim the readings for, as an example, my organizing information class. My only guidance has been the initial planner I set up for myself and the plethora of blogs and books I found. Gurus like David Warlick, Will Richardson, Doug Johnson, Joyce Valenza and Vicki Davis act as signposts on the journey, wisely suggesting directions I might like to explore; immersing myself in the ed tech network until I all but live, eat and breathe the stuff has profoundly affected my understanding of technology and its use . I don't know if I would be so melodramatic as to say it changed my life, but it certainly changed how I think about my teaching and, more importantly, my own learning.

As I start making plans for using this information next year, I realize this is what student-centered learning is all about: guiding students to discover and explore their bliss, as Joseph Campbell would put it. While I do have an obligation to teach some content (!), I also want to recreate this experience for my students, to help them find the passion to become motivated self-teachers and learners. Obviously, giving assignments on the use of symbolism in The Joy Luck Club isn't going to do that.

So I'm thinking that, in addition to the usual kinds of assignments--which will now be A LOT more collaborative and student led, I want to give them the chance to research, explore and blog about one topic per semester that's of interest to them. They'll still need to incorporate the writing, technical and analytical skills needed for class, but that should be inherent in the topic, especially as, (Inshallah!) they work deeper into the topic and become more engaged.

I have a paper to write for Friday, then I'm going to sit down and plan out the general overview of how such a project will look. I'll blog it when I'm finished.

Paradigm Shift

From David Warlick's "Redefining Literacy for the 21st Century." (Really, this should be required reading for every single student teacher/librarian.)

We educators have lost control over the information. Children control it now. They need to learn to control their information in positive, productive, and personally meaningful ways--and this is the what we need to be teaching them.

Too many educators don't get this. They complain about plagiariasm, cut-and-paste internet use, poor work ethics. They fail to recognize the problem isn't the student: the problem is the spit-it-back assignment that allows this to happen. Instead, teachers need to create real research questions that put students in control of content and process and product--with guidance, of course.