Creating a Community QR Poster

One of the first community publishing projects we undertook in my 'learning strategies' class, was to produce a large QR code that will eventually hyperlink to our class website.  Our poster will be 29 pixels square to match our master QR image. If your students use one inch pixels, the group will produce an image almost two and a half feet wide. (Our final poster will be a bit larger than that.)

Step 1: Create a QR code that links to a classroom web page.  I used MobileFish QR Code Creator because it allows the user to specify the size of the first printed image.

Step 2: Decide on a way to cut the code into pieces so that each student can take on a part of the project.  With 16 high needs students in my class, I began our project by breaking our code into 16 equally sized unique squares.

Step 3: Enlarge each student's piece of the puzzle so that the individual pixels can easily be seen and organized.  I enlarged each of the pieces to fit on full sheet of letter-sized paper.

Step 4 (Option 1): Provide each student with a piece of the puzzle. You might elect to print a puzzle grid template on which each student might recreate his/her pixels.  Just make sure the grid is filled with enough fairly precise squares.

 

Step 4 (Option 2): As an alternative, you can simply have each student produce a set number of dark squares that can be added to a master grid by a select team of students.  So long as the black pixels are composed of images that appear dark when viewed from a distance, the code should work.

Step 4 (Option 3): Instead of puzzle pieces, cut your QR code into strips, providing each student with a binary strip composed of black and white squares.  This solution would work wonderfully for a class composed of 29 students!

Step 5: I asked each student to complete images that represented their favourite things, their talents, and their goals for this school year.  For some, it took a long time to develop a list of words or icons that could most apty represent each individual's uniqueness. (It took even longer for students to produce clean dark images with black Sharpie pens.)

Step 6: Put it all together.  With our QR puzzle being completed on a part time basis, we hope to have a final poster ready in a week or so.

Community projects like this one call for each student to demonstrate some commitment to the collective.  The resulting symbol demonstrates to others that the unified group is made up of many uniquely talented individuals.  While we used hand-drawn sketches, I'm confident that a similar project that uses coloured squares of paper, photographs or images cut from magazines, can yield a similarly effective symbol of class unity.

The Process is the Product

There were many ‘A-Ha’ moments in the lead up to UnPlug'd, but the tipping point to the event, was the decision to revisit collaborative publishing. The publishing of one’s own words, refined to sit alongside the ideas of passionate peers, would become the pinpoint focus for our time at the Edge.


The resulting product, which is being released one chapter at a time over the next 6 weeks, is a book that encapsulates many of the things that participating Canadian educators think matter most. While you would think that bringing tech-savvy educators together to tell stories, and to think, and to share might lead to discussion about the latest technological tools, there was nary a mention of Google+ or any other emerging tool. The weekend was about connecting and learning.

Our book title: “Why ___________ Matters” gave each participant the opportunity to fill in the blank. This differentiated writing and story-telling task led to the exploration of a wide range of topics that resonated through the passionate participation of delegates. None-the-less, our collaborative book will leave many unconsidered ‘blanks’ including:

Why imperfection matters;
Why commitment matters;
Why stories matter;
Why authenticity matters;
Why healthy choices matter;
Why risk-taking matters;
Why circles matter.


UnPlug’d was intentionally structured to engage participants in increasingly personal conversations, that in the end led participants to share stories and writing that would make possible the end result: a book. By traveling together, dining together, singing together, paddling together, washing dishes together, doing yoga together, watching the night sky together, we became a more tightly knit tribe.

In a following post, I’ll be writing about the flexible but carefully structured ‘lesson plan’ for UnPlug’d, but there is one big, big thing I’d like #unplugd11 participants to consider: How can you bring similar community building experiences to your classroom in the coming school year?

Will you make time to share personal stories?
Will your classroom leverage 'circle-ness'?
Will you embrace opportunities to share healthy food together?
Will you model and support risk-taking?
Will you foster an environment that harnesses individual accountability to the group?
Will you be fully attentive to the needs of colleagues and students?

Will you build community through ordinary actions, in order to create an extraordinary learning environment?


Photo Credits: Andy Forgrave, Northern Edge Algonquin, Bryan Jackson

Do You Have a Robin?

Batman had Robin; Simon had Garfunkel; Jordan had Pippen; Abbot had Costello. Each of these duos had an impact that was arguably greater than any one might have had without initial collaborative success. Alone, each of these folks might have made a difference, but it was as members of a team, that they had their greatest impact.

In education, that someone who helps you change your little corner of the educational landscape is priceless. The partner who listens to your ideas; the sidekick who gives you encouragement to try something different; the colleague who nudges you when you need to get back on track... these are the people who help you be your best. But the special connections who join you in a collaborative project; who present alongside you at conferences; who join you in drafting that grant proposal... these are the people who truly amplify your impact.

Even though these folks might never have met B.T. (before Twitter), a few examples from my Personal Learning Network serve as exemplary case studies, demonstrating the power of partnerships:

1] Heather Durnin and Clarence Fisher recently led their charges to collaboratively publish a book.
2] Dean Shareski and Alec Couros began presenting as 'Lazy Professors' but are regularly in the same time & space.
3] Zoe Branigan-Pipe and Doug Peterson co-presented at the OSLA Faceoff, and continue to learn from one another.
4] Ben Hazzard and Kelly Power started #edbookclub, but this year, they also teamed up to deliver a keynote presentation.
5] Chris Lehmann and Scott McLeod are about to publish What School Administrators Need to Know About Digital Technologies and Social Media.
6] Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach and Will Richardson co-founded Powerful Learning Practice, and regularly push one another's learning.

While it may be tempting to gauge the success of one's Personal Learning Network by counting Twitter followers or blog subscribers, the true measure of your professional impact, may be the number of dynamic duos with whom you've become professionally engaged. Do you know any folks who would make a terrific team? Why not put them in touch? Who knows, if you reach out yourself, maybe there's a Robin out there waiting to join you for a spin in the Batmobile?

Photo Credit: Bounce; Rodd Lucier

Skype in the Classroom: A Sneak Peak

It's been a few years since I first made the pitch for a long distance guest speaker directory. At the time, I had the thought that such a directory would make it easy for classrooms to connect with experts and co-learners in an increasingly flat world. Now comes the news that Skype and the development team at Made by Many, are about to make that dream come true, with the launch Skype in the Classroom!

Last week I had an opportunity to meet with Jacqueline Botterill of Skype, and Paul Sims of Made by Many. The two representatives provided me with a sneak peak at a service that is sure to inspire networked learners in classrooms that span our wired world.

The first half of the interview provides interesting insights into the design process, and may be of particular interest to computer science and business specialists. The latter segment (beginning at 12:00) provides a tour of the widely anticipated social learning network.



Global collaboration among learners young and old, will soon be scaled up significantly. Pre-registration for Skype in the Classroom is taking place now, with an anticipated launch in January 2011. See you there!

Expanding the PLN Playbook

I couldn't help but smile as I read George Siemens' 'most awesomest' commentary about PLNs. Exactly a year ago I wrote a shorter but similarly themed post, asking teacher-learners to see themselves as 'collaborators'.

As a learner who is passionate about leveraging the passion and expertise among a diverse population of connected educators, it's reassuring to see more and more evidence of collaboration among edu-tweeps.


While folks new to Twitter, often reference their interactions as the "greatest professional learning experience ever", we need to recognize this public sharing environment as a first step into transparent professional development.


Maybe Twitter can be seen as the entry drug to more significant network collaboration? In all likelihood, it will take leaders to create opportunities beyond synchronous Educhat conversations, in order to remind educators that professional learning can be amplified by reaching beyond 140 characters.

To that end, what are you doing to create the next EDUCON, MOOC, or TEDx? Are you modeling risk and reaching beyond your comfort zone? How are you contributing to the evolution of our professional learning playbook?

Me? I'm working with an incredible team to breathe life into an event that promises to model collaboration on a scale that's never before been attempted; but that's story for the new year. ;-)

The Rise of 'Interest-based' Learning

It's been two years since I first wrote about 'Learning Without Teachers', and now Sugata Mitra is sharing compelling stories involving peer instruction, that should lead educators at all levels to re-think what it means to teach.

Mitra's most recent research seems to validate an approach that forgoes 1:1 computing, in favour of a strategy that limits access to learning tools. In a wide range of settings, with diverse populations of learners, Mitra has married the use of communications technology to 'interest-based' learning, and the early results have been stunning, even if counterintuitive.



Do you believe that this 'peer to peer' approach affirms recent developments in professional learning? Does it validate project-based approaches to learning? Might it support equipping a classroom with an On Demand Ecosystem?

Sugata Mitra speculates that "Education is a self organising system, where learning is an emergent phenomenon..." and he is committed to researching this contention. Whether or not we agree, Mitra's work provides an unspoken challenge: How do you assess the effectiveness of the tools and learning strategies that you employ?

Educon: Field Guide for Change Agents

A few months ago, I had a discussion with Ben Hazzard about how we might engage educators in producing an e-book to assist and encourage change agents. The result of our efforts was a workshop that took place this afternoon at Educon 2.2.

Instead of providing a 'presentation-style' workshop, our goal was to leverage easy-to-use collaborative web tools and to lead interested co-learners in the creation of practical, shareable content. Teaching by doing, we did our best to model:

1] how to build relationships among project participants;
2] how to contribute to shared documents simultaneously;
3] how to attribute Creative Commons licensed content;
4] how to offer 'choice' to participants;
5] how to take shared responsibility in creating a product;
6] how to engage remote participants in a meaningful way;
7] how to create and distribute a product for a real world audience.

Field Guide For Change Agents

View more presentations from Rodd Lucier.

"This Field Guide for Change Agents was developed during a workshop at Educon 2.2 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in January 30, 2009. As workshop leaders, we were honoured to have participation by educators from around the world, including remote participants who joined us via Elluminate."

The creators have agreed to license their work with an Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Creative Commons license. You are free to share or adapt the work, on the condition that the author page and photo attributions are included.

Late addition: One of our online participants, Lorna Costantini, has written a blog post about the experience that really affirms the value of the processes we adopted.

Collaborative Learning Networks

While each of us has an individualized way of interacting with co-learning colleagues, Dave Cormier's recent post and intermittent tweets have led me to regard the term Personal Learning Network as slightly 'oxymoronic'. My contributions to a group experience might be qualified as 'personal', but I would never use the word as an adjective to describe a team, a committee, or a class to which I belong. Maybe it's time to reconsider the use of the term PLN?

Personalized Learning & Participation
Each person's learning network is certainly unique. The tools we use to interact with our networks are chosen to suit our personal tastes, and the types of information we share among our colleagues varies widely; but the name we've come to accept for this inter-connected learning: Personal Learning Network, implies individual ownership and control.

Whether or not you subscribe to the theory of Connectivism, you likely realize that our networks are chaotic and self-organizing all at the same time.

A Collaborative Learning Network
The value in any learning network comes from the contributions of many individuals. No one member has ownership of the group, or of the work that's been collaboratively developed. Additionally, it's clear that if any one person fails to add value, then the net results are less striking.

Do you have a Personal Learning Network?
Do you have a Collaborative Learning Network? or
Do you have something different?



Photo Credit: Elisabeth Audrey

The Most Important Thing

I'm in the midst of preparing a workshop for staff based on an earlier presentation: 'Collaboration: Top Ten Trends'. In polishing an interactive session, I'm offering educators from around the world, the opportunity to help me teach a valuable lesson.

Step #1: Engage Google forms to create a simple survey;

Step #2: Elicit the cooperation of Twitter colleagues, in sharing the message;

Step #3: Embed the form in my blog to gather more suggestions from the edu-blogosphere.

Step #4: Publish the survey results. I'm thinking at present of engaging Wordle, but also hope to consolidate the data into a Top Ten list.

On Leaving the Flock

Over the past two years, I've had the opportunity to build relationships with e-learning colleagues that span my home province of Ontario. While I've greatly enjoyed working with online teachers and their support teams, it is in collaborating with provincial colleagues who share my role, that I've experienced the most insightful personal and professional growth.

Although we gathered in person only 10 times over the past 24 months, the Region e-Learning Contacts (ReLCs) took great advantage of modern communications technologies to build relationships and to collaborate in support of provincial school boards and school authorities.

As a testament to how close we've become, the ReLCs will be with me FORE a long time, thanks to a perfectly appropriate 'going away' gift!

In preparing for the challenges of my next professional role, I am very much looking forward to reconnecting with local colleagues. Only time will tell if we will be able to leverage professional networks as effectively as my ReLC colleagues and I have proven possible.

WE are the Keys to Collaboration

Collaboration: Top Ten Trends

View more presentations from Rodd Lucier.

Stories of Co-Design

Students and teachers alike, can learn plenty from the way today's technology leaders work collaboratively in designing solutions to our communications problems.

If you're like me, you've likely discovered that initiatives undertaken with peer support, that are developed with the cooperation of supervisory staff, tend to be the most successful. Similar ideas, pursued by lone individuals, struggle in contention for attention and funding.

In The Story of Co-Design, the potential of collaborative problem solving is engaged in order to meet the needs of the inhabitants of Panda Island. The metaphor can work for identifying the needs of a school community, a provincial ministry of education, or a network of users on the World Wide Web.


The Story of Co-Design from thinkpublic on Vimeo.

If you think you have a great idea, take heed of today's technology leaders, and engage others in collaborative planning & development:

1] Facebook Connect is allowing bloggers on various platforms, to build community by leveraging existing community of Facebook.

2] G-Mail now has a Twitter widget that allows users to access tweets alongside their inboxes.

3] TweetDeck, my choice for accessing Twitter feeds, is now working with Facebook, to refine an interface that allows cross-posting to both sites.

4] Twitter encourages developers to mash-up feeds in the deployment of a wide range of tools.

5] Beyond embedding Google's search technology in the address bar, Firefox engages developers on many levels to add value to their web browser through plugins.

With TechCrunch reporting that Google is in Talks to Acquire Twitter, I'm just happy to know that they're on good speaking terms. Besides the fact that our future communications habits may well depend on how nicely they play together, we can learn a lot by the way today's technology leaders work in co-designing our future.

Photo Credit: Jason Nicholls

Twitter for Teachers: The e-Book

How would you like to co-author an e-book?

Yesterday afternoon, after purchasing the domain www.twitterforteachers.com, I began framing a wiki to host the development of a resource for teachers new to Twitter. Now that the site has begun to take shape, you are hereby invited to share your ideas as a member of the collaborative that will draft this e-learning resource.

12 Changes

They're already here...
and every Teacher needs to know about them!

Technology has resulted in a number of significant changes in the ways people communicate, learn and create. This slideshow highlights a number of trends that should lead to significant changes in classrooms around the world.

12 Changes

View more presentations from Rodd Lucier. (tags: change classroom)

Just in case anyone would like an audio explanation of the slides, here is the companion podcast:



Do you see any other significant changes that should lead to changes in the ways we teach & learn?

As the Pendulum Swings

Questions for Consideration:

What are the similarities and differences among elementary education; secondary education; and post-secondary education?

Are lectures still valid ways to teach students?

If change is to come to classrooms, which way should the pendulum swing?



Related Websites:
Hands-on Learning in Physics at M.I.T.
Studio Learning with Engineering Students at N.J.I.T.
Integrated Biomedical Engineering Education Using Studio-based Learning

Lego Robotics Links for Elementary Students
Engineering leads to the Best Robots of 2008
Archived Teacher 2.0 Podcasts are available on iTunes

Photo Credit: MIT Campus by Tjeerd

Art 2.0: Digital Pixelation

Mashable shared this artistic use of Google Docs that may be worth considering if you teach technology, mathematics, or visual arts:



The theme of this piece certainly fits with all the snow we've had in southwestern Ontario in recent days, but with these instructions and free access to the spreadsheet template, a comparable project could be undertaken, with just about any subject matter. And while I love the collaborative nature of the project above, similar work could also be carried out by an individual student, perhaps using non-digital tools like paint and paper.

An artist might start by borrowing a rich creative commons licensed image from the Multicolr Search Lab then using photo-editing software like the free and very powerful Picnik, to manipulate the image. The 'pixelate' tool can be used in concert with other effects tools to help students create transferable images with specific numbers of pixels.



For those looking for innovative large scale pixelation, it might be worth revisiting the Jason Eppink's Pixelator project.

What do you think? Is there a place for using digital image manipulation in your classroom?

Seeds of a Revolution

I'm worried greatly for my 5 year old. As junior kindergarten winds down, he has but a scant 14 months of relative educational freedom before he becomes an 'educational prisoner', bound to a desk, in a four-walled room, with other grade 1 students.

Since long before his birth, I've been working as a change agent, leading educators to consider creative alternatives to traditional paper, pencil, and chalkboard education. Like-minded members of the edu-blogosphere who are similarly calling for change, are articulate, innovative, and professional, though widely scattered. How can this group of charismatic change agents come to act in a collectively?

Seed #1: A Vision for Coming Together
Clarence Fisher has posted an idea for creating an international organization of educators with a common purpose...

"If we begin to think of ourselves like this, as an organization, an international network of educators who are all pursuing the same basic goals (educational change to meet the demands of the twenty first century, the infusion of technology into teaching, openness and transparency, etc) we are a group that is at least several thousand people who just happen to be spread out across the globe."

In order to support 'the cause', Clarence proposes that this community could hire a writer- researcher- public relations person with responsibility for coordinating the group's communications, while supporting individuals in their efforts to innovate and educate. In support of this idea, he has created a 'tipping point' fund-raising project called "Reinventing Education"

Seed #2 Clarity of Purpose
Whether the revolution is about engaging modern tools for education, or about employing strategies for networked learning, or about 'learning to change', Sir Kenneth Robinson's presentation to educational leaders at the Apple Education Leadership Summit 2008, reminds us that 'creativity' is a critical component of any person's education. With the guarantee of an unpredictable future, any educational revolution must recognize the need to engage our creative minds. Video courtesy of Edutopia.org

Seed #3: Radicals as Visionaries
The most creative in the education community will always be seen as 'radicals', maybe even as 'rock stars', but I share discomfort with the evolving Edupunk meme as expressed by both Doug Belshaw and David Warlick. As highlighted by Stephen Downes, and others, these non-traditional, creative educators are working independently in their own personal struggles for change. These educators could play catalytic roles in the revolution, especially if they can be brought together under a common banner.

Seed #4: It Starts Small... but Universally
I'm not sure, but I suspect that conversations are the primary way that a revolution gains a foothold. Already, conversations about what the change should look like, are underway throughout the blogosphere, but to truly gain leverage in schools around the world, the discussions need to move offline... into staff rooms and classrooms.

Are there other 'seeds' we need to sow? How will you participate in the discussion? How can we engage other change agents? When and Where will we meet?

A few more ideas on this topic are shared on the Edupunk Episode of the Teacher 2.0 Podcast.

Photo Credit: "I'm Here for the Learning Revolution" was created by Bill Moseley, based on a button competition launched by Scott McLeod and Wesley Fryer. The design will be highlighted at NECC in San Antonio.

Sharing Freely

Is there an economy in online collaboration and the free sharing of ideas?



Maybe not, but there is plenty of rich learning going on! If you saw the credits on this short film, you will have noticed that it was also a model of collaboration... from audio, to visuals, to text.

A Tipping Point?

I've been following a conversation that started innocently enough, but that may herald the genesis of a major shift in the way teachers and students learn. Will Richardson in Toronto queried:

"So yesterday here in balmy Toronto, I got asked the question directly: even though we can’t be certain about what the future looks like in terms of preparing our kids for it, what, generally speaking, do we know? What general characteristics can we assume in terms of rethinking our curriculum and our practice?"

The discussion that's been percolating in the edu-blogosphere the past many months is in need of a catalyst to focus the ideas the network. In order to facilitate this group thinking and following on David Warlick's suggestion, I've opened my wiki site "Let's Ban Chalk: We've Got New Tools To Explore", to host new skills pages for teachers and students.

Reference the "What to We Know About Kids Futures?"discussion at Weblogg-ed.com, and then contribute your ideas.

The 'tipping point' that many have been speaking about can only arrive with many people choosing to learn more. To facilitate this, I've also begun a list of Recommended Edu-Blogs. If you add to this list, please provide some suggestion as to the nature of the topics being discussed on each blog.

As a network we can compile lists of e-Learning resources to scaffold the continuing education of teachers. An Electronic Portfolio page is currently under construction; please add a comment to this post if you have ideas for new pages. Your contribution to the existing wiki resource lists can be a model of professional collaboration.

We can harness the power of the Read/Write web in modeling the type of 21st century learning that can engage all types of learners...

Participate in the discussion, won't you?!
A late edit: I've recently posted a related Podcast:
3 Wishes and a Wiki Workshop

Netpodwikiblogmarking

It's a verb! You won't find the word 'Netpodwikiblogmarking' in any curriculum documents, but Teacher 2.0 will be harnessing a full range of Web 2.0 applications including networking, podcasting, collaborative wiki development, blogging, and social bookmarking. These tools are so very closely connected, that we may one day need such a multipurpose moniker.

Networked learning has never been more simple or more complex. Simple, in that those familiar with the tools, quickly come to realize that they are very user-friendly; Complex, in that there are so many choices to make in how/when/why to use any particular tool. With evolving Web 2.0 tools, educators can only truly understand their power by making productive use of them in their own personal learning.

Realizing that that these tools are tightly interconnected, and that educators have varying levels of expertise, the differentiated guide below invites you to start anyplace you like discovering the world of 'Netpodwikiblogmarking':

Option 1: It's about producing creative products. Try creating lessons in new media, then invite students to do the same. Create a podcast for your class, teaching them something by means of a self-produced audio recording. It doesn't have to be long; it doesn't have to be great. Be ready to accept criticism from your audience and invite your students to demonstrate their learning by producing their own pieces. Then make a bold step and consider posting student work online for a global audience. The same model can work for creating a webpage, a digital poster, a newsletter, an electronic portfolio... Just be sure to do it yourself first, so you can anticipate the challenges that your students will face. A great Blog to follow if you'd like to pursue novel products with e-tools is Wesley Fryer's 'Moving at the Speed of Creativity'.

Option 2: It's about collaboration. If you'd like to make meaningful connections with other teacher-learners, begin learning about tools that allow you to collaborate with others. Post to existing Wikis. (Yes, you can edit Wikipedia if you like!) Edit documents collaboratively with peers via Google Documents. Start your own Wiki page to support your own learning. A voice that seeks to provide avenues for sharing the voices of students and teachers alike is David Warlick's '2 Cents Worth'.

Option 3: It's about learning. Read Blogs. Comment on Blogs. Write Blogs. The topic doesn't matter (except that it has to be something you care about). What matters is that you become engaged in some kind of passionate discourse on the web. This public thinking will lead you to new resources be they people, websites or ideas. Explore your passions in the blogosphere. For a sample voice that challenges as much as it affirms, check out Gary Stager's 'Stager-to-Go'.


Option 4: It's about sharing the good stuff! You need to get yourself a social bookmarking space and to subscribe to some good 'gatherers' of resource links. The Clever Sheep maintains bookmarks at Del.icio.us. For more details, you can revisit my post about how you can use Social Bookmarking in the Classroom. In no time you'll be exposed to a plethora of rich resources. In differentiating for the advanced tool-user, I recommend you keep ahead on the learning curve by following Robin Good's Latest News.

Option 5: It's about networking. Through the activities above, you're bound to build relationships with others. Take time to follow like-minded folks via Twitter or Facebook and subscribe to a manageable collection of blogs. Take time to participate in the discussion by posting replies to posts that move you. To harness the power of your personal network, you can't do much better than tapping into Will Richardson's 'Weblogg-ed'.

Carve your niche! While I really believe that changing the chalkboard is the quickest way to impact education, there are many voices out there to be read/heard. Don't be shy about joining in the discussion; after all, it's what we ask of our students every day. What are you waiting for?

"Let's get Netpodwikiblokmarking!"