There are a few items of interest that I would like to share with the network managers from our member schools. The key information today will be related to the network upgrade that is planned for the summer 2008. If time permits I hope to share a little information about some  web 2.0 tools, implementing 1:1, and acceptable use policies. The ESU is currently running a variety of web 2.0 applications that are available to teachers in our member schools. The reason for running these locally is to maintain a level of control of student accounts and content. The applications that we are currently running include:

Moodle: course management software similar to Blackboard
Elgg: blogging software and file storage for e-portfolio development
MediaWiki: community developed content, same software used to maintain Wikipedia
Gallery: photo storage, similar to flickr

As schools begin to use these tools it will become necessary for them to revist/revise their acceptable use policy (AUP). There have been a few recent posts that will give people a place to start.

AzTEA AUP for 2.0 Resources
EdTech K-12
InfiniteThinkingMachine

The other topic that I hope to have a little time to discuss is the implementation of 1:1. There is one of our member schools that is beginning a 1:1 program, and a few others that are talking about it. 

Apple Education
Anytime Anywhere Learning Foundation (AALF)
Thinking Stick

All three of these topics should be explored/implemented together. The web 2.0 collaboration/communication tools will allow students and teachers to be involved in active learning communities. The AUP has to be revised to include the use web 2.0 tools, and responsibilities related to the 1:1 implementation. 

In my stumbling around looking at cool things people are doing with web 2.0 tools I came across the EdTechLIVE recordings page. One of the podcasts on the site is an interview with "Arthus", a 14 year old student, talking about his use of web 2.0 tools and how schools are missing an opportunity to use these tools to enhance teaching and learning. This site also has podcasts from Gary Stager, Will Richardson, Martin Dougiamas, David Warlick, David Thornburg, and others. Even though "Arthus" may be considered a "high-tech" student, he does a great job of explaining how a wide variety of web 2.0 tools could be used to extend teaching and learning beyond the walls of the classroom.

This post is actually a spin-off from some comments that were made to an original post by Sarah Richter. The focus of the post was related to school improvement and professional development. The first comment took a different spin, and asked the question..."What if  we have identified the wrong goal?". What skills should today's students master? If the goal is to have students write effectively, they should be able to perform the task with and without technology. If the goal is to solve mathematical problems, they should be able to do this with and without technology. It can no longer be an either/or argument. Students need to master some basic skills, but they must also use current technology tools to extend their learning. It is time to stop focusing on the technology, and really determine what skills will be valuable to them outside the classroom.

I am helping start an online professional development community as part of our Elgg site.  My role will be to encourage and model the professional growth opportunities that are possible with this technology. That being said, I have a surface knowledge of school improvement and assessment, and when I come across information that may be valuable to this group I will share. I was doing a little research to find other bloggers posting on topics that will be valuable to this community and came across this post by Konrad Glogowski.

Here are a few of my thoughts related to the above post. Given my limited knowledge base of assessment, I may tend to over-simplify what I know is an extremely complex issue. Accountablility is important, but if the process is so complicated that teachers are never able to use the data to impact instruction...What's the point??? Another issue related to K-12 assessment that causes me a little/lot of concern, is the transition higher-ed has on K-12 curriculum and assessment models. The ACT/SAT test, courses, and grades a student accumulates during their high school years is all important to their promotion to post-secondary education. In the traditional "industrial age" model of education the transition from K-12 to higher-ed has been pretty smooth.  The changes underway in many K-12 schools is designed to prepare students for future success, but the courses and grades may not be what those at the post-secondary level are used to looking for. The last issue that I would like to address, is the whole student driven content and assessment. How can the education process be more student directed? This includes the assessment process. The use of web 2.0 tools allow students to be actively involved in self-evaluation, peer-evaluation, share with a world-wide audience, and become a participant in collaborative learning communities.

The Responsive Classroom approach focuses on practical ways of meshing social and academic learning. It is interesting to see how web 2.0 tools have the power to support all of the seven key principles of this 20-plus year old program.

I was recently listening to a podcast, sorry I don't remember the actual podcast to give credit. One of the statements that caught my attention was a reference to a video conferencing application called dimdim. The main reason it sparked my interest was that the integration pack required to make this application work within  Moodle had been developed. I have only experimented with a couple of short practice sessions, but the possibilities are exciting. The dimdim integration with Moodle allows an instructor to add an activity to a course, set the start and duration times, and have the ability to have two-way audio and video interaction with remote students. Dimdim also includes the ability to share documents, applications, and an interactive whiteboard. I hope to share more specific information about uses of this application as I have more time to explore its capabilities.