Innovative teacher uses Skype and Wikis to involve parents

Matt Montagne Grade 8 classroom teacher at University School of Milwaukee invited me to his virtual classroom to collaborate with Parents at his school. PBS was playing a program Growing up online and he asked his parents to view the program as it was being broadcasted live on TV. Matt organized an online meeting using Skype. Parents watched the telecast in their own homes and while watching the program chatted with Matt and I about their reactions to the program. To make it even more exciting, PBS was not broadcasting in my area so Matt set up his web camera in front of his own TV and broadcast the program via Ustream Kids don’t have a monopoly on online communications.

After you review the program which is now available online, I am sure that you will relate to these issues discussed by the parents.

The Internet cannot be blamed for the dysfunctional relationships between family members. In reference to the suicide death of Ryan Halligan described in the video.
Jacquie:

Bullying is not new. Seems the fact that it is all going on under the radar screen is a real problem.;

and

My son stays in touch with his best friend in Malaysia over the internet. Yet when his friend was in the US over xmas, he wouldn’t pick up a phone and call him. He said it is is difficult to talk on the phone because of awkward pauses, etc. He is more comfortable conducting the relationship on-line.

This program is a must see for all parents no matter the age.
Matt talks about his experience hosting the session.

Teachers need resources

Quentin D’Souza in his blog teachinghacks.com has some good posts on professional development resources.
This post about Video on Demand for Professional Development leads the way to a media rich website packed with curriculum based information organized by discipline and grade. The program created for Ontario Teachers does not require registration so any teacher can benefit.

Every member of Ontario Teachers Federation is invited to access in-depth professional development workshops from leading educational producers. There are hundreds of hours of Professional Development streaming video content available here. The programs will be available from early November 2007 to November 30th,2008.

There is no registration to access the materials at this time, although the registration process will be simple enough for any educator to access the content.

http://www.iriseducation.org/b2b/otffeo/

One can only speculate why this information is not more widely known to educators in Ontario, or promoted by other organizations under its umbrella. So spread the word!

People are blogging all over the world and in Ontario too!

The amount of information about blogging in the classroom is endless. The experts are varied and located in all parts of the world. The expertise is phenomenal. For the past 2 years I have watched from a distance how the technology is unfolding and in particularly in Canada. For some time the number of teachers and educators in Canada seemed to be meager. It is my neck of the woods and so I am thrilled to find committed individuals like Diane Hammond promoting the use of blogging as a way to enhance student learning at Ontario Blogs. I have watched with admiration as David Warlick, Wesley Fryer, Victoria Davis set the stage for the 21st century classroom. As a former trustee I am skeptical about any immediate adoption of blogging in main stream schools. In my previous post “I need permission” I discussed the biggest barriers to incorporating new learning strategies that include blogging, administrative support and funding. I don’t blame administrators for hesitating when it comes to technology and innovation. All too often administrative decisions are predicated on funding. But the buck needs to stop some where and in Ontario that is Queen’s Park. When students have 2 computers in the classroom and 40 minutes a week in a computer lab it is unrealistic that teachers and students become bloggers without a committed energetic teacher who embraces technology. Ontario Blogs is a strong indication of how funded projects can generate change and professional development but it takes more than one or two time funding to see every student with a computer. I have found excellent examples of blogging teachers Darren Kuropatwa, Quentin D’Souza for example and Diane Hammond and the iss07.yesican-science project So often the pioneers set the stage but they can’t do it alone. If that is to change, perhaps the following video should be required reading for all politicians.
Thanks to Matt Montagne at Middle School Ed Tech Blog for featuring this youtube video.

Podcasting in the 5th Grade Classroom

I searched for teachers using podcasts in their classroom and found this example. Grade 5 classroom planning unit and a review of the steps taken to use podcasts in the classroom. The presentation is a slide show hosted free at Slide Share.

This is the website/blog
room33bedtimestories.blogspot.com used to publish the Grade 5 classroom podcasts

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