Latest from Tech & Learning in Silvia-tolisano-langwitches

Trying it out… Investigating… Testing… Researching… Practice what I Preach… Modeling

Silvia Tolisano — Wed, 25 Jul 2018 10:42:23 +0000

I believe in trying things out… investigating… testing… researching… practice what I preach… modeling…

So, when George Couros announced, he was trying out an #instagrambookstudy of his book The Innovator’s Mindset, I had to step up to participate.

I have never participated in a book study on Instagram, but I am curious to find out:

how does my reading change?
how do the contribution of others via the #innovatorsmindset‘s hashtags or comments influence, complement, extend, amplify, change me reading of the book ( disclaimer: this will be my second round of reading the book)
can I try to amplify my skills and fluency of reflection and metacognition via visuals and videos?
how does curating via Instagram contribute to learning, perspective, community reading?
experiment with Instagram’s new TVchannel
how can I envision using an Instagram book study to support the now literacies?
how about new forms? new forms of reading, reflecting, connecting, communicating, learning, documenting?

Innovator’s Mindset Introduction #innovatorsmindsetintro

Writing an introduction forced me to refine my elevator pitch who am I as an educator, author, blogger, coach and consultant. For now, I am happy with:

My passion is to bridge the gap of being considered literate in the 20th century to suddenly finding ourselves illiterate in the 21st century and learning how to learn all over to teach and educate children who will live to see the 22nd century! We have to practice what we preach and try new forms of learning to become literate in online spaces and continue to gain fluency.

Uploading to my Instagram TV channel for the first time

Chapter 1 #innovatorsmindsetch1

This quote connects to the notion of the evolution of what we consider “being literate”. What skills to we need to be able to read and write and express and communicate our ideas effectively? It’s time to make choices in education. What do we keep? What do we throw out? What do we Upgrade? (as @heidihayesjacobs asks as frequently) #innovatorsmindset #innovatorsmindsetch1

Chapter 2 #innovatorsmindsetch2

“Learning to recognize and create new and better opportunities for our students is what matters” By @gcouros – It takes practice to know what to look for and RECOGNIZE new forms of opportunities that amplify learning. Being connected to others who are making their “ new and better” opportunities visible helps with the fluency of recognizing.

[Our Notion of Being Literate or Illiterate Calls for an Update]

Chapter 3 #innovatosmindsetch3

I am a firm believer that we need to experience new forms of learning for ourselves in order to ask our learners to learn in #newforms The same applies to administrators and their faculty … modeling transparently AND openly needs to become the norm as we are all pioneers in uncharted territory! #innovatorsmindset #langwitches #instagrambookstudy

“Administrators often encourage risks while refusing to take chances themselves. Taking risks is also different from “openly taking risks,” where your team can see that you are willing to out of your way to be an innovator as well.”

Chapter 4 #innovatosmindsetch4\

In #innivatorsmindsetch4 I was zoned into the concept of sharing. @gcouros talks about the difference between being a classroom teacher and a school teacher, who is willing and strategically sharing with colleagues their work… I want to add the global teacher to amplify the reach of colleagues and learners who we most likely will never meet… the mindset of a global teacher knows we only will advance and innovate in education when we step up and contribute and share our thoughts, ideas, and work on a larger scale to connect with others. #innovatorsmindest #instagrambookstudy #langwitches #documenting4learning

Chapter 5 #innovatorsmindsetch5

#innovatorsmindsetch5 As I am reading chapter 5 of the #innovatorsmindest , I am reading through the lens of #documenting4learning . When @gcouros says

“My own example of learning helped me connect with my own staff and ensure they saw that I had credibility as a learner myself.”

It reminds me how important open and transparent learning is in order to model for our teachers, colleagues and student learners. And yes(!) it does contribute to the credibility of ourselves as learners.

Chapter 6 #innovatorsmindsetch6

#innovatorsmindsetch6 -I think we need to be more outspoken, visible and transparent in constantly sharing HOW MUCH the world and culture affecting learning is constantly changing ( exponentially) around us. It does not seem to be enough to mention it every once in a while, everybody returns to their classroom and schools to slip back into their tried and true old ways. We need more evidence of learning in #newforms , we need artifacts that capture the change.

“Would schools become a place that is truly developing learners who are flexible and agile in a world that is constantly changing?”

This concludes week 1 of the Instagram Book Study. Check back next week for post 2 to document the study and for my reflection on learning.

cross posted at langwitches.org/blog

Silvia Tolisano is a Curriculum21 faculty member, author of the book Digital Storytelling Tools for Educators and founder of the Around the World with 80 Schools project. Read more at langwitches.org/blog

Digital Portfolios and Content

Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano — Tue, 12 Jun 2018 08:00:00 +0000

Schools, teachers and learners struggle with challenges in many shapes and forms when it comes to digital portfolios.

Digital Portfolio Challenges

When I work with schools, educators, and learners around the world, I discovered that they have many of the same challenges in common. It seems to make no difference if the digital portfolio owner is a student or a professional educator. The challenge is about:

analog vs. digital writing
seeing digital portfolio work as additional work to “curriculum work”
visual communication and ethical use of images
being open and transparent to an authentic global audience
seeing branding as something beyond “look at me”.
recognizing and understanding between display of what happened and evidence of learning through captured artifacts
how to create a habit of consistently contributing to the digital portfolio
finding time to create content and use the digital portfolio FOR learning

This blog post focuses on one of these challenges: creating content for digital portfolios. The content created and chosen to include in a digital portfolio can be free flowing or follow a more rigid structure. To me, it depends on what the learner craves and feels more comfortable with. The worst seems to be, when a portfolio owner feels a lack of ownership, is so paralyzed and constrained from a given structure or to the contrary, a lack thereof, that they don’t create and publish anything.

Don’t be too worried about what type of content you are creating in the beginning. In the worst case scenario, the earliest entries in a portfolio can serve as a starting point to begin seeing growth over time when compared to later entries.

With that being said, don’t create content for content sake. The content of your digital portfolio needs to be seen as an attempt in learning, evidence of learning, the process of learning, and/or growth in learning.

Let’s also think about the option of using a different language when we think about digital portfolios. A new language might inspire a different approach to content creation to fulfill the promise of these words. Let’s think of digital portfolios as a combination of a:

longitudinal learning inventory (Holly Clark)
curated learning journal (John Spencer)
learning stories through curation (Anthony Devine)
global communication hub
visible thinking journal
documentation of/for/as learning journey (Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano)

If you crave structure for your digital portfolios (your own professional one or your students), you can use the following categories to guide the creation of your content.

Experiment and use different types of media when creating content
Look at different areas in the learner’s life to create and choose content from
Be cognizant of the type of portfolio you are aiming for and its characteristics to create related content
Be aware of the logistics of the portfolio (save, archive, categorize, tag, link) to create content that supports the curation, organization and presentation of the learning story
Be strategic in keeping the purpose(s) of the portfolio in mind and match these with the content you are creating. The content should be supportive and give evidence that purpose has been/is being fulfilled.
Use reflection prompts and/or routines as a starting point or support as you create content
Scout the web, look at blogging challenges for ideas that can inspire you to create content, read other public digital portfolios, look for ideas that allow you to connect to previous artifacts, entries and reflections,

[10 Tips for Embedding Digital Portfolios as Part of Your Classroom Habits]

Types of Digital Portfolios

Traditionally, the content for portfolios would fall under the following categories connected to the types of portfolios:

showcase– uploading of final artifacts, best work, best achievement, outcome of a project
process– highlights, as the name says, the process of learning. Upload snapshots of moments in time, the stages of a project, first (second, third, etc.) drafts,
hybrid– a combination of showcase and process portfolio

When looking at learner’s digital portfolios, I want to add the following types to the mix (without excluding the previous three mentioned or the numerous others that can be found online, such as assessment portfolios, reflective portfolios, developmental portfolios, etc.)

Classroom Portfolios: collaborative portfolio, content created by teachers and students of a classroom. Entries are tagged/categorized with individual authors.
(Individual) Student Portfolios: each student maintains their own portfolio, being the sole author of the site.
Professional Learning Portfolios: Educators seeing themselves as lifelong learners, recognizing the value of documenting for their own learning and the learning of others.

The content for a portfolio can be informed by the purpose of the portfolio.

documentation of the learning journey: we all know that “learning” can’t necessarily be demonstrated with a one time exam. We gain a better perspective of the learner (and also of ourselves as the learner) when the learner has documented evidence of where he/she has been, what connections they have made, what knowledge and understanding were they able to demonstrate in a variety of ways, and by following along their process. The content is a snapshot of the learner’s thinking, ability and competency at a given moment in time.
visible thinking: if the learner wants to make their thinking visible, experiment with different strategies that allow the creation of content to be shared with others.
metacognition: thinking about your thinking is a crucial component in a portfolio to aid in the learner’s thought process and growth. Create content that make that thinking process visible. Show content that make your understanding apparent at different moments in time along the way.
branding is no longer reserved for big companies. There is educational and academic branding. Who are you as a learner? What is your story? What areas of innovation, research, learning do you contribute to? What do others in your learning network know you to be a quality contributor/curator for?
if assessment is the purpose or one of the purposes of the portfolio, what are the learning objectives, standards, benchmarks? How can the content that is being created give evidence that these objectives/ standards/benchmarks are being addressed?
the now literacies & skills are good guidelines for documenting their development and proficiency as the learner is developing content
when the digital portfolio is used as a global communication hub to document, express and communicate the learner’s thinking and ideas to an authentic global audience, then content creation is also guided with that global audience in mind.
communication with parents or colleagues can be a powerful content creator guideline. As the portfolio owner thinks about how to best connect and communicate their learning for the intended audience. While parents want to be informed about their student’s learning and progress, colleagues benefit from content created in a profesional learning portfolio that contributes to their own learning in terms of documentation, reflection, resource curation and ideas.
in-school learning: required school assignments, curriculum content related/ teacher required
out-of-school learning: extra curriculum, webucation
passion: What area is the learner passionate about? Could be curriculum related or out-of-school area… Could be an in-school passion based project or an area the learner is passionate about outside of school.
skills, habit, and literacies: consider creating content that show awareness of, progress in, development of the “now” skills, habits of mind, and literacies
over time: amplify your area of content to include a time variable.

Being strategically aware of different types of media for your content, make sure that you are not always sticking to the same type. If you are pretty text or image heavy in your content creation, let other media types guide your next content for your portfolio. Stretch yourself outside of your comfort zone when it comes to your content and media types.

text
images
video
audio
embedded multi-media content from other tools/platforms

The value of digital portfolios can be amplified when you are creating connections between the content you have, are, and will be creating. These connections should be made visible in your digital portfolio and add another layer of learning and added value to your portfolio.

connect to your own learning, which you have previously documented and shared in your portfolio.
use hyperlinked writing to logistically create a breadcrumb trail of the connections you have and are making
look for connections to other subjects. Learning does not happen from 8:45- 9:36 during Language Arts class alone. It does not represent life outside school campus. How does the learner strategically look for connections to other classes they are taking or have taken? How can the connections the learner makes to other areas/subjects be made visible?
Not every photo, document, or video can or should be considered evidence of learning. Every artifact included as content in the portfolio should have a connection to learning and in some shape or form show evidence (or lack thereof) of learning.
create content that make connections to other learners. Learning is social. It is not meant to be kept in isolation. Who are others that contribute to your own learning? What is the breadcrumb trail that led you to new insights, new knowledge, new ideas or have pushed your learning in new directions? Make sure you create content that make these connections and ties visible and part of the content you are creating (with proper credit of course).
organization: How you are organizing your digital content to be archived, to be able to be found at a later time, to be able to be linked to from and to other content? Being strategic about your organization, can give you a guideline what content to create next or where holes in your content coverage are
curation: curation of content is different than a collection of content(which unfortunately many digital portfolio content is in the category of artifact collection). The act of curation supports the act of content creation, since the added value curation brings to a collection

visible thinking routines: Use the already established routines by Project Zero or create your own to guide your content creation according to the routine or a protocol.
use any of the reflection prompts or routines to inspire and guide your content creation
create content that make connections to other relevant content or the learner’s personal life visible,
memes (ex. My life as a reader)
book reviews, book snaps & recommendations

cross posted at langwitches.org/blog

Evaluating Apps with Transformative Use of the iPad in Mind

Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano — Mon, 28 May 2012 07:51:00 +0000

The app development market is exploding. More and more companies are creating “educational apps”. In some cases, they are simply digital versions of a book or a web based tool. Some seem to have “no educational value” to it at all, but are still sold under the label of “education”. Although, I usually don’t resort to borderline cuss words, I really liked the expression of “crapware”, Sarah Perez over at TechCrunch used when she was reviewing a new app for the Pre-School/Kindergarten crowd.

That being said, TinyTap is still a lot better than much of the kids’ apps crapware out there in the iTunes App Store. And it’s hard not to fall in love with the concept at the very least. Instead of burning up brain cells with the mind-numbing games out there, TinyTap enables kids to become game creators, not just players.

I have teachers ask me frequently about app recommendations for different subject areas.

“What app could I use to teach subtraction?”
“What app would you recommend for my students to practice writing?”
“I want to use iPads in my Science class. What app is good for that?”

I usually sigh to myself, when I receive questions like that. While I am not against in suggesting apps ( which I love doing), I am not comfortable with the level of disconnect between the teacher (who knows her/his students best) and the curriculum related skills and objectives and pedagogical relationship that needs to be in place for an app to be a match to use in a classroom or with an individual learner.

I want teachers to be able to, not only ask for and use an app, because someone else recommended it, but I want teachers equipped with the curiosity and the knowledge of:

the value an app can bring to a learner (and being able to articulate the value)
the connection from the app to curriculum content (and being able to demonstrate the depth of that connection)
the possibilities the app can bring in order to amplify (take a look at a previous post: The Next Step: Amplification )
the difference of using an app to automate and substitute a task versus informate and transform (previous post: Enhancement-Automating-Transforming-Informating )
how to evaluate apps for their transformative potential?

Without a doubt, educators using iPads in the classroom, are in new territory. The iPad made its first debut in April 2010 ( at the time of this writing, just a little over 2 years ago). There is no extended period of tried and tested roadmap….new apps are appearing daily… If you are using iPads in education, YOU are a pioneer.

We are in need to chart a new course, not merely following in the footsteps of the ones who came before us and not simply adapt the tools at our disposal to the “old way of doing things”.

More importantly, we are in dire need of educators who are willing to use their imagination, experiment, revise a course of action, innovate and share their best practice in regards to using iPads in education.

I came upon the following rubrics (1) developed by Harry Walker and (2) based on Kathy Schrock and updated by Greg Alchin.

With the above rubrics as an inspiration, I created the following iPad App Evaluation for the Classroom info-flyer to be used by teachers to critically look at each app they are contemplating using with their students.

I am addressing the following areas, which are not meant to be exclusive for evaluating an app, but could be considered a starting point and a platform to build upon.

Please share in the comment section other areas, you consider important when evaluating apps for the classroom and, if applicable, please share a link to your own rubric or reflective post.

You can download the PDF file of the iPad App Evaluation for the Classroom.

Considerations
Content & Components
Logistics
Fluency
Substitution vs Transformation Model (based on SAMR model of Ruben Puentedura and Alan November‘s work)
Evidence of Learning (based on conversation with Stephen Wilmarth)

iPad App Evaluation for the Classroom

Further Resources:

Evaluating Apps with Transformative Use of the iPad in Mind

Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano — Mon, 28 May 2012 07:40:00 +0000

cross posted to the Langwitches Blog

I have teachers ask me frequently about app recommendations for different subject areas.

“What app could I use to teach subtraction?”
“What app would you recommend for my students to practice writing?”
“I want to use iPads in my Science class. What app is good for that?”

I want teachers to be able to, not only ask for and use an app, because someone else recommended it, but I want teachers equipped with the curiosity and the knowledge of:

the value an app can bring to a learner (and being able to articulate the value)
the connection from the app to curriculum content (and being able to demonstrate the depth of that connection)
the possibilities the app can bring in order to amplify (take a look at a previous post: The Next Step: Amplification )
the difference of using an app to automate and substitute a task versus informate and transform (previous post: Enhancement-Automating-Transforming-Informating )
how to evaluate apps for their transformative potential?

We are in need to chart a new course, not merely following in the footsteps of the ones who came before us and not simply adapt the tools at our disposal to the “old way of doing things”.

I came upon the following rubrics (1) developed by Harry Walker and (2) based on Kathy Schrock and updated by Greg Alchin.

I am addressing the following areas, which are not meant to be exclusive for evaluating an app, but could be considered a starting point and a platform to build upon.

Please share in the comment section other areas, you consider important when evaluating apps for the classroom and, if applicable, please share a link to your own rubric or reflective post.

You can download the PDF file of the iPad App Evaluation for the Classroom.

Considerations
Content & Components
Logistics
Fluency
Substitution vs Transformation Model (based on SAMR model of Ruben Puentedura and Alan November‘s work)
Evidence of Learning (based on conversation with Stephen Wilmarth)

Scribd Link:iPad App Evaluation for the Classroom

My Ten Most Used Apps to Become Fluent on the iPad

Tech & Learning — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 14:59:00 +0000

It is no secret, that I enjoy my iPad tremendously. I even proclaimed, now and then, that I love it! From the beginning, I approached the iPad with one goal in mind: I wanted to become fluent in using it. There is a distinct difference, in my opinion, between being skilled, literate and fluent in the use of an iPad.

Fluency on the iPad, like language fluency, does not necessarily come natural to most people. Unless you grow up in a language, as your mother tongue, and you acquire speaking this language unconsciously as a baby and child, it will require an effort (to various degrees) on your part to learn to become fluent in that language. Becoming fluent on the iPad requires a conscious effort and time as well.

I see too many educators (administrators and teachers), who with an iPad at their disposal, are using the iPad:

as a paper weight on their desk, leaving them in their car or forgeting the device at home
for playing games only
to hand it over to their kids at home to play with
as an after-thought
as a “translation” tool (figuring out how to do something the same way they are used to doing on their desktops or laptops)
and are frustrated that is does not come easy and natural to them
and are not putting in the time (consistently) to become skilled to gain iPad literacy and fluency

I view the iPad, not as a replacement for my laptop, but as a:

Highly mobile device
It fits in my purse, it goes with me everywhere I go.
Personalized device
The iPad gives me a user experience that fits MY learning, reading, writing, visualization and organizational style.
Customizable device
I am in charge of finding, adding and deleting apps on my iPad. I create a device with the perfect functionality that fits my needs and objectives for my usage. I am able to modify apps, connect to other social media platforms I use or specify what content (through apps) I want displayed.
Consolidation device
It is invaluable to me to have my most important information in ONE place. Handwritten or typed notes, PDF file, images, or presentations files are not scattered on different devices, in analog or digital form. I have one device to read, write, consume, create, archive, retrieve, etc.
Productivity device
The iPad allows me to, not only consume, but to create. I am particularly fond of apps that help me curate and organize information, remix and combine different media, write, record, visualize, share and disseminate my “creation” with my network via a variety of venues.
Reading device
The iPad has completely changed the way and how much I read (My World of Reading Part I and Part II). All the “traditional” books I am currently reading are in one place. New forms of reading platforms, such as RSS readers, Tweets, blogs, etc. make up the bulk of my reading these days. My iPad let’s me easily return to, refer to, quote from, connect with, favorite, share and disseminate my readings.
Annotating device
“An annotation is a note that is made while reading any form of text”. From highlighting to screenshooting, to collaborating with others, the iPad allows me to interact with text like I was not able to before.
Consider reading about the possibilities from Mike Fisher’s and Jeanne Tribuzzi’s guest post of Annotexting.

I want to share my favorite apps that help me be a fluent (-ish) user of the iPad. As always, the recommendations come from personal experience and just intended as a starting point to be tweaked by interested readers. But I challenge YOU (yes, YOU), who has their iPad collecting dust or being merely used as a digital reading device to step it up, and make the effort to become fluent. The learning process alone is worth it.

1. iThoughts HD- Productivity, Personalized

I use this mindmapping app constantly to take notes, summarize books or articles, prepare a structure for workshops or upcoming blog posts.

2. Noteshelf- Productivity, Personalized, Annotating, Consolidation

Noteshelf allows me to throw out any notepads, individual pieces of paper, scribbled notes during a phone call, to-do-lists and consolidate them ALL in one place, that is searchable, printable, email-able

3. GoodReader- Productivity, Personalized, Annotating, Consolidation, Reading

GoodReader is my hub for all things PDF. I can upload, download, organize and store PDfs from the web, PDFs I created. Invaluable when on the road, in the hallway or in the classroom planning with a teacher and quickly wanting to share a how-to-guide, research article or other document

4. iPhoto- Productivity, Consolidation, Personalized

I have an increasingly large collection of work related photos, info-graphics and visuals. Again, the ability to house them in one place, edit , organize them into content related journals and albums for quick retrieval and dissemination is invaluable

5. Twittelator- Productivity, Reading, Annotating

Twittelator is one of many iPad Twitter apps. What I like about Twitterlator is that it allows me to easily switch between my different Twitter accounts (I tweet as well for Curriculum21, The Martin J. Gottlieb Day School and edJEWcon). I also like their clean graphic interface and the easy way to check out my new followers in order to add them to my PLN.

6. Mobile RSS- Productivity, Reading, Annotating

Mobile RSS is my preferred RSS reader. I imported my Google Reader feeds and use the app exclusively to stay up to date on the 1000+ subscriptions from sources, such as blogs, news, discussions, etc. I like the clean interface as well as the ability to tweet, email, send to Evernote or Delicious and annotate any of the items directly in the app.

7. Zite- Productivity, Reading, Annotating, Customization, Personalization

Zite is a magazine that you can customize with news sections. You can link your personalized magazine sections to Twitter, Google Reader, Delicious or Read It Later. I use Zite a lot to disseminate relevant links and resources to my PLN via Twitter.

8. FlipBoard- Productivity, Reading, Annotating

FlipBoard is another magazine style RSS reader. The reason, I especially like FlipBoard is its visual element. I added a few specific Twitter feed hashtags, search keywords and usernames to highlight them outside of my main Twitter feed. I can directly tweet or retweet from within the app, as well as share a link via a variety of formats.

9. Keynote- Productivity, Consolidation

With Keynote, I am able to create presentations, but also import keynote files created on my laptop. It serves as a backup when I travel to present, but also as a quick and easy way to work on presentations, re-arrange slides and practice timing.

10. Explain Everything- Productivity, Annotation

Explain Everything is a Screencasting app. It comes in very handy, if I need to create a quick video, explaining a process, a screenshot with explanation, annotate web pages and record my voice in addition.

Again, these are the ten most apps, I use on my iPad. They help me personalize my learning and productivity. What are some of the apps that you are learning with, apps that help you be fluent on the iPad?