The networked student – what parents & administrators should know

Being a networked educator on the fringe of classroom, I share the frustration held by many teachers and students. Talking about technology, talking about the way of the future, talking about preparing our students for the 21st Century only to see the conversations go no where.

When I talk about podcasting and blogging I see the excitement in the eyes of students, I watch teachers sit up ready to learn, ready to forge ahead only to see momentum stall, stop completely because administrators say not now.

The classroom of the 21st Century supported or not is forming and forming at the speed of light. We absolutely must embrace web 2.0 tools, learn how to maximize their potential and run with them.

The personal learning network that I maintain via Twitter continues to provide me with access to numerous resources. I am a student – a life long learner – a baby boomer – who lives in the 21st Century classroom – ask – “what’s wrong with this picture?

Common Craft produces excellent easy to understand videos about web 2.0 tools. I came across this video about the Networked Student because Heidi Gable and Cindy Seibel shared it with me on Twitter.

For all those parents and teachers and Directors of Education sitting on the edge, I ask and challenge – what are we doing to prepare our students for this evolving classroom.

Have a free online conference call using Skype

We have all gone through the experience of trying to match different schedules and locations when trying to organize parent meetings. We have found a way to meet these challenges.
This is a free method of connecting individuals or groups online using Voice over the Interent Protocol (VOIP) with Skype.

Recipe:
1. Computer with audio and usb headsets; internet access and a free Skype account.
2. Create a Skype account register at Skype
The user id you create will be used to connect the other members of your group. WIth this setup you will be able to communicate from one computer to anothercomputer to any where in the world for free.

3. Setup a conference call.
Open your contacts list.

From the menu bar at the top of the screen, select call. From the drop down menu select conference call.

In the conference call widow, Select the contact from the list and move the contact to the second window. Continue to add contacts until you have all the contacts you wish to join the meeting.
When you have finished select start. The conference call will begin and you can start your meeting.

Send your meeting agenda to all the participants by email. You are all set. You can forget about the babysitter.