Thing 10

Is noticing CC the same as the once you pick a color for your new car you begin to see that color everywhere? I have not noticed CC or even wondered about CC. Maybe I thought "carbon copy"? Many people think that because an image or article is on the internet it is open domain. Granted it took some training from the librarians to show me the the error of my ways. The CC seems to offer a place to locate images, articles, etc. to use in student presentations (both print and digital). English teachers deal with this issue in research papers with documentation and citation. Now it seems a new issue needs to be addressed.
The reason for me taking 23 Things is to be able to use digital images and such in presentations and the development of curriculum. The question of who owns the "teaching materials" is two-sided. I believe teachers do "own" the materials they construct for teaching. On the other side of the question, who "owns" the materials when teachers come in to develop lessons for the district curriculum.
I visited several sites. A wealth of material is available. The random search I made lead to many interesting sites, but now I'm not sure how to go back. My "bread crumb" trail twists and turns on itself. Is there a quick way to mark a site?
At the moment, I do not know enough to point out any potential negatives, but I do believe they are lurking in the shadows.

Thing 9

At this moment in time, Intrack can not describe the steps I went through to add a page to the MISDwiki23Things. It took two days to trek through the instructions (read all instructions first- Mom's voice proclaims in my head). The multiple instructions became a jumble in my brain which meant I had to start again. This time a new strategy (remember to recognize the fact that you have lost the meaning of what you are reading and reread) was necessary. Read the directions in small chunks and apply. This worked. Well, it almost worked without problems. I forgot to use my gmail account and used the district email. This presented me with a "learning" opportunity - how to delete and try again. Success was sweet when I receive the gmail notice that I was accepted to the sandbox. However, there are cyber bullies in the sandbox who withhold and hide things. One unresolved issue is on my table of contents, I have the toc in bold print proudly displayed and no clue as to how to hide that little command. The last step require an outside intervention. Thank you Scott. He guided me through the linking of my page to the home page.
Now this is behind me, I did have fun linking the image, but coming up with a burning question was not.

Thing 8 - Stretch

I have used Wikipedia many times. It is a good place for quick information. Today I scanned the information on the Irish poet Seamus Heaney. The information was clearly written and accurate (as far as I know). What is not here are links to critical responses to his writing. In the secondary ELA calssroom we need links to these critical essays. I would not allow a student to cite Wikipedia in a research paper due to the lack of references on many of the subjects. It is a good place for students to go for background knowledge.

Thing 8

Discovery Utopia and Holocaust Wiki are outstanding. The organization moves students through the project with clear expectations and multiple resources at each stage. The resource tools were extensive and provided more information than needed for the project. Students would need to apply a variety of skills to gather the concrete information and then to create create the project. I would not add anything to either of these projects (well, maybe if given more time to link the TEKS with the project).
1001 Flat World Tales project was not on my list of favorite sites. The resources and the progress checks seemed to be limited. I did not think that placing the grading procedures immediately after the task would encourage students to jump in. Also, the wording "kill off" was a factor. Yes, I know the story, but I think another word would have worked better.
Some ideas that have emerged in the 23 Things study center around the new ELA TEKS. I think a wiki would work in order to produce some clarifying statements about what the new student expectations will become in the way of assignments. As we become more familiar with the process, I hope the collect student examples of products.
Another idea is to begin to move to eportfolios in middle school. Tammy Rushing and I have started this discussion.

Thing #7

Commenting in a community works for me in a professional areas, but not in the personal area. This is probably a generational pattern that I will not be able to break or for that matter want to break. My upbringing did not allow the public sharing of private family issues.

Commenting in a community will work for me at work. I recognize the need and the ease at which a group of teachers can discuss issues of curriculum and content. Since ELA has new TEKS for the 09 - 10 school year, we need to be able to clarify many of the knowledge and skills and student expectations. Multiple voices will be helpful in the process.

Things #6

I keep reading about the "divide" or "gap" in technology. This topic has ranged from economic issues to an issue of intellect (life long learning). My feelings are divided.
I attended the TCEA conference in Austin and came back even more overwhelmed. What I noticed from the vast array of sessions is that elementary classrooms are using technology. One particular session gave a great presentation on using the interactive whiteboards/slate. One topic that was not well represented was secondary English language arts. The main focus of this group of presenters was Web 2.0 and blogging. Where are the interactive whiteboard lessons/activities for secondary ELA?
Now, I can reflect on my experience with Thing #6. The RSS feeds were simple to set up. I found several sites that help with my area of curriculum. But, I need remediation on how to link to another site with the blue link. I have returned to #4 to find some help.

Thing 5

21st century skills and strategies are being defined and redefined as we pass from this opening decade of this new era. Prophets have proclaimed that this century will require connectivity, interactivity, and collaboration (http://www.kwfdn.org/resource_library/resource.aspx?intResourceID=846 Executive Summary) to be productive in both their profession and personal endeavors. These same prophets also proclaim that the "role of the teacher has remained static" and "the core of the education institution hasn't expereinced radical innovation." This is all true, but the concept of teacher has always been one of change and innovation. After reading the seven forces that will reshape education, I believe that teachers will adapt (not just the new "digital natives" but also the "digital immigrants"). The open education (a bottom up and participatory, sociao-techinical platform for creating and sharing) is not new to teachers. Each class period students are encouraged/pushed to enter into academic dialogue to share what they observe, interpretute, create, and share. Schools have never been confined to the four walls of a classroom. Must to the surprise of my former students, I did not live in A3. On more than one occassion I have left students speechless when I have been seen at the mall or even a movie (not of the classical category). Students leave the classrooms and take with them most if not all of what had been experienced. Teachers know this when students return the next day or the next decade to share what they have applied in the real world. The new digital world allows this exchange to move beyond the physical barriers of geography and the limits of time. The article refers to this limitless classroom as an exstitution. When barriers and boundaries are expanded, a new social structure will develop. One hope is that people can begin to hear how similar we all are, thus the move to connectivity where hostility exists. One final issue with these new forces in education is the impact of neuroscience on education. The mysteries of the brain will be revealed. No longer will teachers work to understand learning disabilities, but will have the tools to intervene before gaps in knowledge grow to the point of being labeled a disability.
The future of 21st century education is being defined. Many voices and forces are making predictions, but will these prove to be the final answer. No. Teachers are adaptable. Teachers will adapt and use the digital tools to prepare students - notice that students are not using a rock tablet and chisel in classrooms today. Teachers will adapt pedagocical models to include self-direct learning (http://independentlearning.org/ILA/ila03/ila03_lamb.pdf).