Many of you know that I have gotten very involved in the area of open educational resources (OER) as a tool for differentiating instruction.

If you aren’t familiar, OER are materials used for teaching and learning that are free from copyright restrictions or are publicly licensed for anyone to use, adapt, and redistribute. One example of an open license is Creative Commons.

I got interested in this area because of the need to be able to modify and “remix” materials in order to differentiate instruction, using tools like netbooks….and also out of a disillusionment with how much money is spent on textbooks that often aren’t even used.

I am working on a new project now to look at the feasibility of producing a core curriculum offering that is open-licensed. It could be distributed in a variety of formats, including print and electronic. Initially, we are looking at middle school math as a content area.

As a part of this, we are gathering ideas from teachers and administrators on what they’d like to see in a product like this. We want to talk with administrators and teachers to get their ideas to make sure that this new OER product meets their needs.

If you are interested, email me at Karen AT k12opened DOT com. Thank you.

A while back, I wrote about a way to convert the MP4s that the new Flip cameras create into WMV files, so that they are able to be imported into Windows Movie Maker.

If you have an HD camera, though, this process reduces the resolution of the movies to 640 x 480. If you are using Windows Movie Maker, this isn’t a problem, since that’s the largest size that program will output. For other purposes, though, you may want a higher resolution.

One solution to this is to use the FlipShare movie editing software (included on your camera) to create a movie. Doing this will preserve the 1280 x 720 HD size, while still producing a WMV file. To do this:

• Plug in your camera and run FlipShare.
• Select the movie(s) you want to convert.
• Click Create -> Movie at the bottom of the screen (or from the menus).
• Click Next.
• Add Titles and Credits if you like.
• Click Next.
• Add music if you like.
• Click Next.
• Give your movie a title and select a location for saving. (Note: The movie will be put in a folder in My Videos -> FlipShare Data -> Videos).
• Click Create Movie.

Make sure to wait until the movie is finished rendering before closing FlipShare. The status is shown in the bottom left corner of the screen.

On Twitter tonight, Dean Shareski reported “Push back from one participant. ‘Social learning is only good [for] some students. Many prefer to learn in isolation’ How would you respond?”

My quick response was “You don’t have to be ’social’ to benefit from social learning.” (And I should know.:)

This spawned several comments from folks and a whole lot of thought on my part.

Much of my thought involved the idea of “learning through lurking.” (I may be dating myself, but for those who aren’t familiar with “lurking,” I think it originated on BBS’s; the idea is just hanging out and watching conversation but not participating.) In my own participation in PLNs, I think I learn more from listening than from talking. However, this listening wouldn’t be possible without social networks and social learning. Watching a discussion among intelligent folks makes you think in a way that doesn’t happen as readily from listening to a lecture (or podcast) or reading a book chapter (or a static Moodle module). There is a unique energy that comes from dialogue.

Learning is enhanced by formulating one’s own thoughts about a topic, and this is done in large part through dialogue, whether it is written or spoken, even sometimes in isolation. This kind of active learning is a part of social learning and isn’t inspired  as readily by static content.

Do all students respond positively to “social learning”? Of course not. “All” students don’t respond universally to any one thing. That’s why good teachers/facilitators have lots of tools in their tool bags. But I would venture that more students respond positively to being a part of  social learning networks than to listening to lectures or reading textbooks.

ISTE 2010 (formerly NECC) is using a collaborative process to choose the keynote topic for next year’s conference.

Imagine my delight at seeing Open Educational Resources (OER) near the top of the list!

For those of you who don’t know much about OER, they are materials used for teaching and learning that are free from copyright restrictions or are publicly licensed for anyone to use, adapt, and redistribute. OERs are distinguished from other digital and/or free materials by the fact that they are open, meaning that they can be modified and redistributed freely by anyone.

Here’s a short backgrounder with more information.

OER is where I’m spending a lot of my time these days, because I believe this is a key component to helping teachers and students to have more control over differentiating their learning experiences with mobile technology and other tools. And it is certainly a nice side benefit that this movement could redirect a lot of funding that currently goes to textbooks (unused in many classrooms) to other more fruitful uses, like professional development, coaching/mentoring, etc.

For users of Wireless Generation’s series of handheld assessment tools (mCLASS^®, DIBELS^®, TPRI^®, et al), the company has announced that it will be selling a new private-label Palm OS device available at some future date, only through Wireless Generation. They will also support Windows-based tablets, the Nokia tablet, and handheld USB tablets.

Project RED is a national research and advocacy initiative to revolutionize the way the U.S. looks at technology as part of teaching and learning. This non-profit aims to: identify successful ed tech implementations; build a model of costs, cost savings, and revenue enhancements, and apply it to selected states; show the effects of properly-implemented technology on student achievement; and publish research findings to provide data to support the funding and implementation of technology in schools.

As a part of that, they are asking school and district leaders at “technology rich” schools to share their stories.

If you are a leader at a one-to-one or otherwise technology rich school, please take part in this. Sharing information will help all of us.

Here are 10 classroom management tips for schools with one-to-one laptop programs. What other tips do you have? Add your comments!

1. Use your laptops instructionally on a regular basis.If you use the laptops as a part of your regular instruction, students are much less likely to engage in off-task behavior with them.
2. Set up a classroom site (wiki, Moodle, etc.)  that students know to go to every day.Use this as your “home base” and link all other resources there. Include things like sponge or bell ringer activities.
3. Keep laptops on students’ desks during class (but remember that you can ask to have laptops closed when you don’t want students to use them).
4. Use the laptops for differentiating instruction and individual or small group activities.This is one of the most appropriate uses for laptops. It will also make your life easier if you don’t try to have the whole class doing an activity simultaneously on the laptops.
5. Give students a set of classroom rules to follow and include appropriate consequences for not following the rules.Remember to reinforce acceptable and responsible use issues. Make sure to include a rule about bringing the laptop charged and ready to use every day.
6. Use folders to organize students’ work.
7. Set up rules for file naming.Here is a suggestion:

   
   This will let you easily identify the assignment and student without opening the document and sort accordingly to put in folders. I like to make this a part of the grade for each assignment.

8. Have students keep a grid of their user names and passwords for Web 2.0 sites.Keeping track of these is one of the biggest challenges I’ve faced. Anyone have any great strategies for this?
9. Make students responsible for charging their laptops when they need it.
10. Empower your students to help solve each other’s tech problems.This is good for them and will also make your life easier. Designate selected students to be “tech squad” helpers. These students can be given special training and incentives for their participation.

This is exactly what every tech coordinator needs….

I write and implement a lot of grants. Grant funding is the lifeblood of ed tech these days, and with the stimulus round of EETT coming out, grants are much on many of our minds.

Grants aren’t all good, though. One of my own disappointments with many grants is the lack of sustainability. (This is really a concern with education as a whole, not just grant-funded projects.) Too many times, the program fizzles out toward the end of the grant, and the instructional benefits are completely gone by the next year.

Sometimes, though, programs are sustained beyond the grant and continue to benefit teachers and students alike.

So, what is the difference? Here are some readily identifiable characteristics that I’ve observed. As you read through these, think about projects you’ve done in the past and ones you’re contemplating for the future. What can you do to help drive your grant projects toward sustainability and success?

A grant that is not sustainable
(likely to fail)

• The program is planned by tech staff, not curriculum leaders and teachers.
• Instructional goals are not driving the project.
  (This focus is on tech skills and gadgets, rather than how to read, write, do math, etc.)
• Technology equipment is the focus.
  (Discussions begin with “We have 250 [tech gadget of your choice].” PD is focused on how to use [tech gadget of your choice], rather than how to improve reading, writing, math skills, etc.)
• There is little or no leadership buy-in.
  (The principal is not visible at project activities and may not even know about the program.)

A grant that is readily sustainable
(likely to succeed)

• The program is driven by academic goals that are already in place and that reflect goals teachers are already trying to meet.
• There is more discussion of learning goals in language arts, math, science, social studies, etc. than of technology.
  (This is easier if the focus of the program is on specific curriculum areas and grade levels and if PD addressed this. If you are addressing multiple areas, PD should be divided up accordingly.)
• There is strong leadership support.
  (District curriculum and instruction staff and principals know about and visibly support the program.)
• PD is ongoing and in the classroom.
  (In-classroom mentoring is much more effective than whole group traditional workshops.)
• There are mechanisms to develop internal support structures that can continue to provide support after the grant funding ends.
  (These can include encouraging interested teachers to become mentors or starting a program to have students act as tech support aids.)

Podstock Southwest is being held on Aug. 6-7 in El Paso, Texas.

I’m presenting sessions on open content resources, Web 2.0 and mini-laptops, and Web 2.0 applications for personal and school use. If you’re attending, stop by and say hi.

And if you can’t make it, here’s a wiki with all the session materials.