What does the White House, County Music, President Obama, Fine Arts, Steam, Arne Duncan, STEM, and Daniel Pink have to do with 21st Century Education? – Welcome to the Future!

Nasa Historical Photograph

I have lately been  trying to write shorter blogs on a more frequent basis.  Thanks for the positive comments and emails. Your thoughts and ideas are really an inspiration. I am practicing my tweeting skills by tweeting my blog titles  and links under mjgormans. Go ahead and follow if you wish. It has already given me some great ideas for an up coming tweet blog (Do they go together?). I may have a title! This posting is a follow up of a blog I posted at the start of the 2009 school year. I have recently found some extra information on the posting “Welcome To The Future“.  Please take some time, I know if you spend a few moments with the material it will provide you with a message to share with educators and also students. As always, please visit me at the 21centuryedtech Wiki!  for even more information – Mike

I hope I was able to get you wondering about the connection between all the players in the title and 21st Century Learning.  I believe as you read you will see the connection and understand its importance. This posting has been several months in the making and contains some outstanding material for professional development. Please take a moment to  explore and reflect.

 About  three months ago I posted a country music video by singer song writer Brad Paisley. This song and video reminded me that our dreams as educators must be to protect and nuture the dreams of our students.  If you never read the posting or viewed the video I am speaking of, please take a moment from your internet browsing and enjoy. As you view the video Welcome To The Future  keep in mind the important and neccessary mission of 21st century skills and education. I have had the pleasure of sharing this with teachers and students and have always seen people walk away with excitement and  enthusiasm.

Now, the reason for my follow up. I knew the video was powerful but have since found out it made a bigger impact then what I knew at the time of my original posting. I had often wondered what singer songwriter Brad Paisely had thought as he wrote the song. He answered some of my questions in an interview held at the White House. I have included both the blog  posting and video of this White House interview and performance. It was moving to see see the performance in the formal setting  of the White House as President Obama listened, and the camera panned famous pictures such as George Washington and lyrics resonated famous people including Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks.  This amazing performance was part of the White House Performance Series ,a program developed to promote arts education. As part of this initative, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has been in dialogue with Support Music, an organization dedicated to the promotion of music and fine arts in the nation’s schools. Take a moment to read a recent letter, listen to a conference call (mp3), or read the transcript of Secretary Duncan’s support for the Fine Arts.

This leads me to Daniel Pink , author of A Whole New Mind : Why Right Brainers Will Rule The Future. At a recent keynote, Pink eluded to the idea that STEM education must include the fine arts. Take a look at this amazing video as students use visual Thinking Strategies. These students are part of the program,  Visual Thinking Strategies, a non-profit organization that “uses art to foster kids’ capacities to observe, think, listen and communicate.”  With this in mind, listen to the  TASA 2009 Podcast that includes Pink’s thoughts on teaching to the Right Brain in education. While speaking of adding Arts to STEM, why not call it STEAM ,as proposed by the Ohio Alliance For Arts Education . Enjoy this article  filled with great reflections and resources.

I conclude this posting with one last reflection of another past post. The post referred to another musician, Tom Chapin, with a message that cannot be ignored. Chapin is also a proponent of fine arts education and promotes its neccessary place in today’s schools in order to promote 21 st century learning. I know you will want to share his music video Not on the Test with other educators.

I hope you can see that there really is a connection between the White House, STEM, Secretary Duncan, country music, fine arts, Brad Paisley, Daniel Pink, and steam. It really is a convergent of the right and left brain. It is a partnership that will develop creativity, ingenuity, problem solving, and a new way to look at the world. These are 21st century skills, the very skills our students will need to seek their dreams and continue our dreams. It truely is an amazing “Welcome To The Future”!

I invite you to email, comment, and as always visit the 21centuryedtech Wiki. I also invite you to download  my Welcome_to_the_Future  Document. I put together for teachers who may wish to have their students study the video Welcome To The Future. It contains standards that cover writing, film making, and social studies. I look forward to hearing from you . As always thank you joining me as I reflect  upon and dream about a 21st century educational sysytem that will make a difference for the future of our students!

– Mike (mgorman@sacs.k12.in.us)

Empathy, Awareness, Creativity are the Goal…Technology is the Tool – Reflections on NMSA09

Please take a moment to enjoy this thought provoking reflection on the role of technology in education. This article contains my thoughts on the National Middle School Conference 2009 and its potential impact on 21st century learning and technology. It covers some of the featured speakers along with thoughts,  links, and videos to allow you to investigate.  I guarantee you there are priceless links in this posting!

I also want to recognize Mr. Alan Summers and his complete conference team from the NMSA for what will be remembered as an outstanding conference. The Indiana contribution from IMLEA was also evident along with the constant enthusiasm at their welcome area!

I also want to thank all of you for visiting this site and helping it grow. The wiki/blog have attracted close to 6000 unique visitors in about three short months of existence. It has now reached all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and 47 foreign countries. Your thoughts, reflections, emails, and invites to the network are so appreciated. Please visit the companion 21centuryedtech wiki for even more resources – Mike

A conference is always what you make of it. Since I am an avid technology conference attender, I decided to check out the technology message at the NMSA09 Conference in Indianapolis. I did not even have to attend a session to get my first taste. After strolling through the vendor area I found the 21 st Century Classroom filled with modern technology along with real teachers and students conducting lessons. Imagine not just lecturing about educational transformation, but creating the real experience for all to see. It is awesome to see that NMSA  takes the time to model what it also advocates.

The NMSA09 Conference had close to 500 sessions with featured keynote speakers of national prominence accounting for many of these. The featured speakers and keynotes I  attended  included Will Daggett, Daniel Pink, and Alan November. As I listened to the three it was evident that the common theme appeared to be empathy, awareness, and creativity was needed for real transformation to happen.

Will Daggett opened with a reminder fto teachers that they really are part of the best educational system in the world. After all, the United States is one of the few countries that attempts to educate all children.  United States schools are involved in a constant battle between excellence and equity. This is a difficult line to walk, but one the United States must continue to engage in.  His constant theme revolved around the idea “Relevance makes Rigor Possible”, a phrase he coined. Daggett then emphasized that U.S. students need to be made aware of the social/economic change happening in the global community. He stressed this need for awareness as he emphasized that today’s students are in a battle for future jobs, and they do not even know it, because no one is teaching them.  The new technology he demonstrated was awesome including both the siftable chip, a new technology manipulative, and SPOT (Smart Personal Object Technology) which allows for even more computing portability due to a virtual keyboard and a virtual monitor that are both beamed using laser technology. In fact, I did some research and found there is already a portable video projector for the iPhone. Be sure to also check out this virtual laser keyboard!   Daggett then listed five concepts in learning which included: knowledge of one discipline, application of one discipline, application across disciplines, application to real world predictable situations, and  application to real world unpredictable situations. He maintained that schools spend a lot of time on the first and second and very little time on the last three. It was the first time  I realized that the very last step really identifies the difference between project based learning and problem based learning. My mind wandered to this year’s Future City problem. Students are to build short term housing that is sustainable and green for displaced people after an emergency sometime in the extended future. Wow, talk about a problem that is so difficult to answer, nothing is correct, and the possibilities are endless. Parts of the question even contradict each other from an engineering standpoint. Sounds like Daggett’s “applications to real world unpredictable situations” is being practiced in some arenas of education. This leads us perfectly into Daniel Pink’s keynote.

Daniel Pink, the author of  A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future, described the increasing  role of right-brain thinking in the new  economies and describes the skills  individuals and organizations must possess in this outsourced, automated age. Using brain research, Pink advocates that left brain (orderly, logical, and linear) thinking, while still important, is no longer adequate to survive in the 21st Century global economy. He attributes this theory to the role Asia now plays in the global economy with automation being software driven, and abundance of material in the market place. In essence, routine work is disappearing! Pink advocates that educators prepare kids for their future (right brain), not our past (left brain).He suggests including skills in our curriculum that cannot be outsourcedor automated. He includes such abilities as design, story telling, symphony (ability to see big picture), empathy, play, and meaning. One example used was Google’s idea to allow its employees 20% percent job time for self direction. From this effort, such big projects as G-Mail, and Google News have evolved. Finally, Pink suggested some ideas he feels educators should reflect and implement. Number one, explore the new metrics. IQ only accounts for 20% of success. We need to make sure we are measuring the right things. The next concept involves “getting real about STEM. Pink stressed that STEM must include the Arts because students must be taught to see. Engineering firms want people who have passion, are willing to be  life-long learners, are systems thinkers,  have multicultural values, and can understand interdisciplinary context. The third suggestion is to rethink motivation and look at intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation. The fourth idea really caught my attention as Pink suggested moving problem solving out of the terrarium and putting it in the forest. He described the terrarium as an environment  that is much too clean, organized, and not real world. Problems should involve clarification, identification, multi-disciplines, several answers, non-perfection, exploration, challenge, and relevancy. Last, Pink suggests that artistic educational programs must be facilitated, encouraged, and practiced across the curriculum. China has an emphasis that states “Creative Arts are not a frivolous luxury“.  I am anxious to bring the arts concept into my next STEM presentation! Have a little fun fooling your left brain by having your right brain look at this Fedex logo in a different and unique way.

Different and unique  is a great way to describe Alan November. I had the honor to introduce this master of storytelling and thought provoking educational reformer. November emphasized that it is not the technology that will make the change happen, even asking participants to cross it off the program title. He stressed that kids need to be able to learn and use tools at school that are  available in their homes. Education must understand that blocking certain websites is actually contributing to a lack of student awareness of proper and valuable web usage. It is important that the skills we teach today outlast technology change. November emphasized student creativity  as he made the audience aware of Jing and Math Train TV. He also demonstrated a math search engine entitled Wolfram|Alpha. Enter your question or calculation and Wolfram|Alpha uses its built-in algorithms and a growing collection of data to compute the answer. While some schools may want to block this because using it could be considered cheating, November suggests allowing students to use it so they instantly know if they are right or wrong in a computation. He then suggested that students create their own multimedia story to explain the process. He also shared an exciting video about sixth sense work using technology. You maybe interested in exploring information on Web Literacy located at November Learning. Located at this site is a great collection of resources to teach students about using the web to retrieve information. Students have a chance to learn there is really no Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus and that Christopher Columbus was not born in Sydney in  Australia in 1951, even though it says so on the web! November also covered the Way Back Machine, and Easy Who Is, to further validate web resources. All of these resources are explained on November Learning. Alan November is truly one of our time’s great thinkers in education and I recommend attending his BLC10 conference in Boston this summer. I have had  the honor to both present and attend. It is a truly an amazing conference that will give you plenty of opportunity to reflect and acquire resources. Perhaps November’s most intruiging statement was that employers are seeking the skill of empathy as they hire. It would be interesting to see who has that concept in their standards beyond definition and  vocabulary!

I did have a chance to attend some other sessions that were truly outstanding. Jim Wenzlof presented a valuable session entitled Read It, Write It, Say It. He introduced innovative ways to use Diigo,  and Skype for teaching literacy. He suggested techniques to allow students to make movie trailers for books using Audacity, PhotoStory, and iMovie.  He also introduced the websites  Lit2Go, Itunes University, and the Story Starter. My favorite was a collaborative site called EtherPad. If you haven’t seen it give it a look! I also had a chance to see the state of Indiana’s new educational service presented by Gary Bates from the DOE called The Learning Connection. It is a service for Indiana educators interested in designing lessons, assessments aligned to standards, or wishing to collaborate and connect with other educators in the state of Indiana. Indiana educators, take the time to register now at The Learning Connection. I also had opportunity to talk with the people at both ePals and NSDL. These are two great organizations that understand 21st Century learning.  I plan to become  more familiar with both in the near future. I appreciated the time and energy both Dr.  Kimberly Lightle from NSDL and Victoria McEachern from ePals spent with me.

As I close I want to thank all those people who attended my session on 21st Century learning. It was my intention to deliver a dynamic presentation to you. I appreciate how nearly 90 people made room for everyone in a room designed for 50. I also hope that the many who could not get in will at least take advantage of the handout sheet left at the door. As promised, the Power Point will be available on the wiki under Presentations. Thank you for all of the kind comments and I hope all of you keep in touch.

Overall it was a truly amazing conference. I was only able to see it from my limited perspective but I can  tell you that it was one of the best I have ever attended. The goal is always to find at least one new idea and I surpassed that with an improved vision for transforming education in the 21st century. I am excited about NMSA10 in Baltimore as I  hope to learn  and contribute even more! Again, thank you to the great staff at both NMSA and IMLEA along with the countless volunteers and presenters. I feel it was a great “Welcome To The Future!” Please feel free to visit the 21st Century Ed Tech Wiki. Your comments, suggestions, and emails are always welcome! Keep up the great work at using technology to facilitate empathy, awareness, and  creativity! They just may be the most important unwritten standards.

-Mike

I’ve Spent My Life In The Middle And There Is Not A Better Place To Be

I have filled this posting with some great information, including a new site from the people at the census, a contest in the fine arts, and a free online curriculum about the wise use of money. This is the first of a two part blog as I network and learn at the national Middle School Conference in Indianapolis. The content I provide will cover all levels, so read on! – Mike

I have been trying to determine a way to include the National Middle School Conference – Making A World Of Difference  in this week’s 21stcenturyedtech Blog. I have the honor of presenting at this conference and  I am already  contemplating speaking at a conference that is not totally dedicated to educational technology. I know I should feel comfortable because I have had a long lasting relationship with the middle. I am well into my own middle age, I was born in the middle class, as a middle child. I have taught middle grades for over thirty years in Fort Wayne, Indiana which can be considered middle America. I will travel one hundred miles south to Indianapolis, which is in the middle of the state, and join nearly seven thousand other middle level educators as we approach the middle of another school year.

I know the experience will be far from middle. Still, I have many questions as I prepare to network with others in the middle. Will I find out that they don’t tweet? That’s really alright because I have been slow on the twitter. Will I be NINGless? I don’t think so because I have already found a great NMSA Conference Connection Page. I know both sides of my brain will be challenged as I listen to Daniel Pink discuss the half of the brain that will conquer the world. As I dig deeper into the program I discover that Alan November will be part of a spotlight session that highlights the NMSA Technology Day!  In fact, Will Dagget will bring great comfort as he discusses rigour, relevancy, and relationships. Hold on,  Rick Wormeli will be speaking about a journey into the non-linear fourth dimension. Wow, I am really starting to feel comfortable! As I look through the concurrent sessions I am seeing terms such as UDL, differentiation, 21st century skills, and multiple references to the word technology.  A glance at the main conference web page reveals an awesome reference to the National Middle School 21st Century Classroom!  I even noticed my session  entiltled  21st Century Project Based Learning – No Cost and Low Cost Investments with Rich Results for Students. I am really starting to feel comfortable since I note my wife Jane will co-present with me.  But wait,  it is not on Tech Saturday, instead it is on Friday! Presenting on a different day than Tech Day  really is alright with me since it is, after all, on the middle day of the conference. If you happen to be at the conference please stop by Friday at 2:00 PM and meet me in the middle! I am sure that this will be a conference that puts students in the middle of their learning with the facilitation of technology way above the middle.

I will be publishing my next Blog from  the NMSA09 Conference in Indianapolis. It is my intention to share best educational practices highlighted at this year’s conference. I thought I would give a quick preview by sharing some awesome information found on the National Middle School Asociation Main Home  Page. This is information that can be used at any level. To start off, take a look at the new Census In Schools Page. You will find a population counter with links for teachers, elementary kids, and teens! On the teacher page you will find a wealth of activities and lesson plans! I was amazed at the sixty second radio shows highlighting each day of the year! How about a set of 22 maps  highlighting the geographical distributional changes in the US from 1790 until 2000. Perhaps you will enjoy the lessons provided for grades k-12. For elementary kids there is a great Flash Web Site filled with fun activities. The teen site has great state facts, engaging activities, and statistics that relate educational attaintment and income. There is also material for schools and the facts for feature area provides a wealth of data for those wanting to create relevant graphing and charting opportunities.

Do you have any students interested in  the Arts? The National Middle School Association is  calling for the submission of original student artwork in the online publication Expressions from the Middle and on a poster that will be sent to more than 25,000 people worldwide. Students choose their favorite type of media to work with including oils, watercolors, charcoal, colored pencils, sculpture, computer generated graphics, or multimedia. View past years winning entries of this highly engaging contest. You will note as you look through the different years that there is not just art work, but also Podcasts; cool!

Looking for a multi-curricular unit on finances, money, and economical survival with great resources and activities? Talk about timeliness and relevance! Then check out Saving Our Futures: A Financial Responsibility Program for Young People It is an exciting online curriculum teaching young people in middle and high school  financial responsibility. It also advocates for smarter money management in the home, communitiy and government. It was developed by the Academy for Educational Development for the America’s Promise Alliance. This specific curriculum was written to be integrated with the documentary film I.O.U.S.A. Best of all it is free! What I have included is just a small sample of what can be found on the main homepage of the National Middle School Association.

Please join me for my next posting from NMSA09 in Indianapolis. If you happen to be at the conference feel free to attend my session on Friday at 2:00 PM entitled  21st Century Project Based Learning – No Cost and Low Cost Investments with Rich Results for Students. If you can’t make it to Indianapolis please join me at the 21centuryedtech Wiki filled with even more information regarding 21st Century Learning!

-Mike

The Googal in Google : I Didn’t Know Google Could Do That!

Picture Credit : http://www.flickr.com/photos/carlosluna/ / CC BY 2.0

It was many years ago that I was introduced to the internet search engine. It amazed me that a website could search through the entire web and pull up web pages from my keywords. While I got my start with Altavista, I soon found myself excited by both the simplicity and complexity provided by Google. Wikipedia defines Googal as “the large number 10¹⁰⁰, that is, the digit 1 followed by one hundred zeros in decimal representation. The term was coined in 1938 by Milton Sirotta (1929–1980), nephew of American mathematician Edward Kasner, when he was nine years old”. The people at Google understood the meaning Googal would bring. In fact new words have appeared in the English language such as googled, googling, googler, and possibly even googlist.

In this Blog Posting I would like to investigate a small portion of the new  Googal that is found in Google. Most people are aware of Google Docs, Google Earth, Google Maps, Google Flickr, Google You Tube and the Google Search Engine. It is amazing to explore some of the lesser known areas, beta projects, experiments in the making, and those too new for the (googal) of people to have found yet. Let’s explore!

Google Options – Wonder Wheel and Timeline

First, let’s look at the Google Search Engine itself. Have you ever clicked on that Show Options Button?  If you have not done it lately, now is the time.  Click on the Show Options Button under the search and you will see a bunch of options. One of the neatest options introduced in May of 2009  is the Wonder Wheel. When it is clicked, users get a graphical display of their search. A great way for students to expand search terms!  Directly to the right on the results page  are websites related to the wheel. Click on a spoke of the wheel and you get a new wheel and new links related to that spoke.

While in the options menu check out the  Timeline Option. This can can be a neat educational tool. Type in iPod and you will get a timeline of significant events in the iPod’s history. Feel free to explore the option window and also notice you can  Hide Options at anytime.

Google Squared

Another new tool released in the Spring of 2009 is Google Squared (just type in http://www.google.com/squared in your browser). Google describes this tool as a way to collect multiple  facts on a subject from the web. Google Squared then  presents them in an organized collection, similar to a spreadsheet. You can even customize and export results to Excel. Best of all, for students,  it  even includes pictures. Read more about it at  Google’s Blog.

Google News Timeline

Are your students following a news event? How about looking at an event in history? Then a new service from Google called Google News Timeline is a great resource. Google describes this service as  a web application that easily organizes search results by date. Google puts the news events in a  graphical timeline filled with links and pictures.  Data sources include recent and historical news, scanned newspapers and magazines, blog posts, sports scores, and even information relating to current  media, such as music, albums, and movies. Check out the capabilities as described in the Google Information Site.  Take a moment to view the example below that displays  how students can even find primary sources in news history using Google News Timeline.

Google Images – More Options with Similar Images and Creative Commons

While students have access to images under “fair use guidelines ” there are still limits to usage. This is especially true  if projects are to be shared online.  Also, educators may have the need to share an image on the web via school web page, blog, or wiki. This is where the ability to use pictures created under “creative commons” comes in handy. Check out this Google July 2009 Blog that explains new features in the advanced settings for image filters. It is a great way to use images others have created, and still stay within copyright. Google has also introduced Similar Images  Search. First, search for a picture , next use Similar Images  Search to find more pictures  that compliment the original search. Also be  sure to note that there is a safe search option in Google.  It  should be set on the strict filtering option when using Google Images and even for a regular Google Web Search in the classroom.

Google Listen

Want to get more use out of your portable devices ? In August of 2009 Google released Google Listen. Google describes it as ” getting more power from your Android-powered device”.  Google Listen allows you to search, subscribe, download and stream. The user can determine what to listen to by  subscribing to programs and  using search words.  Google Listen will take this user information and create a personalized audio-magazine.  At this time, Google Listen is indexing thousands of popular English-only audio sources. Check out the fact sheet and try a download.

Google Sets

Although Google Sets has been around a few years it is a little known product that can be fun to use. Google Sets was  one of the very first applications produced by Google Labs. This awesome little search tool allows the user  to automatically create sets of items from just a few examples. These  user made sets identify  related items on the web.  Predict relationships between words and construct either large  sets or small sets. It is a great tool for brainstorming, seeing relationships, or just figuring out what is missing. It is a surprisingly  intuitive interface, one that will have you attempting to see if it knows what you are thinking. On a recent exploration I entered lions, panthers, bears and was given a set of mammals. However, when I entered Detroit Lions, Chicago Bears,  Carolina Panthers  I was shown a set of NFL Teams. It even knows the Seven Dwarfs from motion picture,  Snow White!

While I did not supply a googal of information, I do hope you are now more familiar with  a little bit more of the googal of resources found in Google. As you explore the website I am sure you will continue to find even more ways to connect Google with today’s digital learner.  Please visit me on my wiki as I continue to  promote the use of free and inexpensive resources at http://21centuryedtech.wikispaces.com/, and enjoy googling!

– Mike

I Can Back Off My Blogging, Turn Down My Tweeting, And Even Wrap Up My Wiki, But I Can’t Wane My Wordling

I have long heard of Word Webbing, Words Diagrams, Word Art, but how about a Word Cloud? By now you may be either familiar with a Word Cloud, have googled the Weather Channel to get a better idea, or maybe have taken a look out your window to see if there really is such a thing. The concept of a Word Cloud maintains that  “If a picture paints a thousand words, then what can a thousand words paint?”  The answer of course is a Wordle. Yes, Wordles are amazing Word Clouds that can be created by all.  On a recent  internet surf I found that this Word Cloud holds the sky as the limit while providing an abundance of  sunshine for the educational setting.

So, Wordle is an application that creates Word Clouds (pictures made of words) based on the frequency of the words that are entered in the Wordle Site. A great explanation can be found at Wikipedia and Many Eyes. The University of Oxford even defines a word cloud as “Graphical representation or word frequency that presents a picture of the most common words used with those used more often displayed larger”. As I reflected on Wordle Word Clouds it occurred to me that they were a reflection in themselves. They display our very words and in a sense give an analytical look at who we are, and what we write. This is where my Wordle Addiction first began. I immediately needed to find my biography on a website and “Wordle It”. Wow, what an awesome idea, kids write a biography and Wordle their biography! My addiction did not end there. How about writing a paragraph about my favorite college football team and another on  one I despise the most. Wordle them both separately and compare, then contrast! Michigan and Ohio State provided a great lesson and it is hard to walk away without understanding the standard of compare and contrast. Imagine the possible contrasts between the Red Sox and the Yankees! My need to Wordle grew as I discovered summaries of author’s books, main ideas of textbook paragraphs, collaborative thinking of groups of people, menus from restaurants,  favorite lyrics from songs, an entire poem or ballad, descriptions of characters from books, movie summaries, and  weather reports from across the nation. I found that editorials that I agreed with made great Wordles!

While I never ran out of my own ideas I had the need to surf the internet to find how others were creating their own Wordles. I found a collection of famous and current presidential speeches . In fact, the Boston Globe published an analysis of McCain’s and Obama’s  presidential speeches.  How about a website that  provides a Wordle Quiz to guess song titles.  Take a look at these famous speeches through history as viewed through a Wordle.  You can even Wordle your Twitter as displayed at this site.  A country’s constitution may be an insightful Wordle, perhaps even two contrasting constitutions as displayed in the USA/India Wordle.  I looked hard and could not find Wordles to match ingredients found in food. Being a past science teacher I desired a Wordle  displaying the make up of a compound using the chemical equation and element word frequency. Unfortunately no such Wordle!

Which leads to using Wordle in the classroom, if you hadn’t already noticed I had started this topic. Your  imagination and creativity is the best approach, but if you need a jump start some of these websites may help. You may want to check out 20 ideas at the Clever Sheep. How about this slide presentation created by Todd Barret that discusses Thirty-eight Ways To Use Wordle.  The Wordle Users Group also has a wealth of ideas and information if you are willing to dig through the forum. These Ten Insights come from the U.K give an abundance of ideas to build on. I am excited about extending my new addiction with other past addictions. By multitasking these addictions I could super impose a Wordle over an existing graphic or picture. Think of the implications in animating your Wordle. Both of these are ideas that I will be exploring in the future on my 21centuryedtech wiki that is hosted separate from this blog. Check it out!

In the mean time start Wordling! Be sure to learn more about Wordle and how to use it at at  Many Eyes. Take a look at the video at the bottom of this posting from Teacher Tube. It is truly amazing and rewarding to come up with ideas for your own personal Wordles while you explore the many classroom applications. I have yet to see a Wordle of curriculum standards but I am sure it exists! Of course, I couldn’t resist doing a Wordle of this Blog which I shared at the top of this post. I hope you enjoyed it, and yes I will be sure to report my newly made  Wordle of this blog post to my wiki and even send out a short tweet! But first I have a new Wordle to make.

Happy Wordling!

Michael Gorman

Wordle Tutorial

Jukebox or the Ipod – Reflection on Educational Transformation

I recently presented at Alan November’s BLC 09 Conference in Boston. What an awesome conference and an opportunity to meet and network not just across the states but internationally! The question posed in my presentation involved the idea of whether education is closer to the Jukebox or the iPod. I bring this up because as educators we must remember to transform practices that have been valuable instead of always coming up with something new. How can you as an educator transform ideas, practices, and lessons with the technology you may already have?
The jukebox was one of the first devices that allowed for the instant play of music, on demand, from various artists, from a large collection of databases. The jukebox was invented in 1889. It was referred to as the Nickel-in-the-Slot Machine and was invented by Louis Glass and William S. Arnold who placed a coin-operated Edison cylinder phonograph in the Palais Royale Saloon in San Francisco. It was an Edison Class M Electric Phonograph in an oak cabinet that was refitted with a coin mechanism patented (U.S. 428,750) by Glass and Arnold. There was no amplification (wow, similar to the iPod) and patrons had to listen to the music using one of four listening tubes. In its first six months of service, the Nickel-in-the-Slot earned over $1000. Over one hundred years later Apple Computer transformed this same idea with the technology of the 21st century. Launched on October 23, 2001 the original iPod had a 5 GB hard drive that put “1,000 songs in your pocket.” As of September 2008, more than 173,000,000 iPods had been sold worldwide. The 2008 120 GB allowed for instant retrieval of over 24,000 songs. Apple did not invent the idea, they transformed an excellent and proven idea that already existed!
As educators we must enlist our collective database of lessons and practices as we adapt technology that is already in our schools. This concept allows us to make transformation happen on the cheap! I would like to share an example. Many of us have been part of a NASA lesson that had us work in a group to decide what we would need to survive on the moon. We were given a list and as a group we worked collaboratively to prioritize it. It is now possible to transform the lesson using technology that is available today. The lesson could be put in a Moodle. Students could collaborate online through chats and Google Docs. I recently found a tool available for free from Intel called Thinking Tools. Feel free to check out my 21centuryedtech wiki for more information. It allows students to work in collaborative groups and rank items. They can then compare their rankings with others and the class average through teacher made accounts. In this process they also share information and reasoning with the teacher. The results could be shared through a Power Point presentation and a visual ranking of the data could be displayed using Excel. How about a video conference or online chat to compare with experts in the community? Most schools have the technology, connection, and software to make this Old Lesson transform to a 21st Century experience. Remember that Open Office can even serve as a no cost alternative to Microsoft Office.
It is time for educators to explore new possibilities by transforming what has always worked. Do not wait for a new purchase in order to engage students in 21st Century Learning. You already have what it takes to transform the educational jukebox into an iPod. The result will be educational experiences that are more productive, efficient, connected, authentic, and engaging to the digital generation. It will facilitate important 21st century skills that are essential to our students’ future.

A Blog Devoted To 21st Century Ed Technology On The Cheap!

Hello, my name is Michael Gorman. I have been teaching over 31 years while spending the last 15 years integrating technology with the core standards. I have also presented at various national conferences including NECC, NMSA, BLC 09, and CELL. Welcome to a Blog devoted to free and inexpensive educational activities. I even plan to throw in my two bits, play on words, as I find resources and ideas that can be used as tools to transform the educational experience while promoting 21st century skills, project based learning, and NETS standards. I maintain a wiki devoted to 21st century education (21centuryedtech). Please feel free to visit. This blog will be a companion site and serve as avenue to informally share as I come across transformational ideas in a timely manner. Remember the emphasis is on the cheap, although I guarantee the ideas, reflections, and results will be rich! Thanks for joining me on a journey devoted to student engagement and learning!

Link – Visit my Wiki at 21centuryteched for in depth ideas, handouts, documents, and links