28
2008
Our World in Stonington, Connecticut
I’m back in Connecticut after a long afternoon drive down from Bangor, Maine. Today, I work in the historic Borough of Stonington, where circumstances have preserved the colonial, Federal, and outstanding Greek revival architecture, while harboring Connecticut’s last fishing and lobstering fleet.
From the history books, Stonington repelled two British attacks from sea, one during the American Revolution and a more extended on during the War of 1812. Four British vessels, under the command of Sir Thomas Hardy, after having their demand for surrender, rather rudely rejected, bombarded the town for three days, resulting in the death of an already terminally ill and elderly woman. After the British suffered many casualties, they sailed off. The event inspired the writing to the left by Americna poet Philip Freneau.1
Today we will explore the future — which is to say that we will be looking at the present and a learning environment that has changed dramatically in the past decade and a half. We will examine a quality of our time and the future we’re preparing our children for that is singular in human history and that has profound implications to what and how we teach. We will also examine some of the aspects of our children’s information experience as well as qualities of today’s information environment, where information is increasingly networked, digital, and overwhelming.
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The links to the left point to additional resources related to these topics. All of the web sites linked to are wiki pages. So you, the attendees, have the ability to edit the handouts, adding any information that you believe will be of value to other attendees of this presentation, either today or in the future. The password is teacher.
Also, if you decide to blog about this presentation, please use the words flat, classroom, and warlick, somewhere in the blog article. This will cause the blog entry to become part of the online handouts.
- ”Stonington, Connecticut.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 27 Aug 2008, 01:14 UTC. 28 Aug 2008 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stonington,_Connecticut&oldid=234474506>. [↩]
27
2008
Literacy & Learning in New England — Bangor, Maine
Maine has a lot of trees. That’s the impression that got during my five and a half hour drive up from Deep River, Connecticut yesterday evening. Bangor, on the other hand, has a rich heritage in media. Starting in 1815, Bangor enjoyed almost 30 daily, weekly, and monthly newspaper launched before the end of the Civil War. The Bangor Daily News, first hitting the streets in the nineteenth century, is one of the last family-owned newspapers left in the United States — a very sad fact. The city has more than a dozen radio stations, seven television stations — a very large number for the 30+ thousand residents of this very beautiful city. It’s most famous residents is the writer family of Steven King.1
Today’s topic is Literacy in a media landscape that has changed dramatically since the early nineteenth century. It is not merely a place for publishing or even communication. The place where media lives is also a platform for building ideas. It’s a sandbox. It’s a laboratory. ..and it demands different notions of what it means to be literate.
The principal questions address in this keynote for the Maine Department of Education’s Teacher Academy are:
- What does it mean to be a reader in a networked information environment?
- What does it mean to be a processor of information when content is increasingly digital?
- What does it mean to be a communicator when we are all overwhelmed by information?
- What are the ethical implications of this new participatory information landscape?
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The links to the left are all wiki pages. This means that they are more than just a handout from the teacher. They are designed to be a canvas upon which we can all contribute our knowledge, ideas, experience, and perspectives. The handouts are also a blog aggregator. If you decide to blog about this keynote address, and include the words redefine, literacy, and warlick in your blog article, then it would automatically become a part of the online handouts.
Maine is an especially exciting state to be presenting this topic in. No other state has had such vision in providing its students with instructional access to digital, networked, and abundant content. It’s a great place to as one of the most interesting questions out there for educators. What are the pedagogies of information abundant learning environments?
- ”Bangor, Maine.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 26 Aug 2008, 14:31 UTC. 27 Aug 2008 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bangor,_Maine&oldid=234357914>. [↩]
26
2008
Deep Literacy in Deep River
Today, I meet educators in Valley Regional High School in Deep River, Connecticut. They teach and manage schools in the Regional District 4 Public Schools, serving Chester, Deep River, and Essex, Connecticut, all enjoying historic connections with the Saybrook Colony. Deep River is also home to the Deep River Ancient Muster, a fife and drum corps. “The DRAM is the oldest and largest gathering of fife and drum corps in the world. The event is sponsored by the Deep River [Senior] Drum Corps, a unit organized in 1873. Of course, none of the original members are still with the group, but their spirit and enthusiasm for the tradition lives on.”1
Today, we will be explore the culture and traditions of the 21st century, examining the future we are preparing our children for (current 1st graders will graduate from VRHS in 2020), their current culture and traditions, and the dynamic and potent information landscape, in which they find themselves learning.
We will also be exploring the nature of literacy within the context of an emerging content landscape where information is increasingly networked, digital, and overwhelming.
The exciting part of this day will be meetings that teams of teachers will be conducting where they will be struggling to answer the following questions about the day that their current 5th graders will graduate — in 2015.
- What do we hope those graduates know?
- What do we hope those graduates know how to do with what they know?
- What do we hope those graduates care about?
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The links to the left point to support resources related to the topics of the keynote address. They are all wiki pages that can be edited not only by me, but also by you, the participants in this staff development. It is a key feature of todays information environment that content comes from conversation, not just from academic and experiencial expertise, that the wisdom of the crowd or even the mob can, in a time of rapid change, be of value as we seek to solve our problems and accomplish our goals.
- Sterling, Unan. “General Information.” Deep River Ancient Muster. 13 Apr 2007. Deep River [Senior] Drum Corps. 26 Aug 2008 <http://www.moxiecomp.com/dram/generations_of_tradition.htm>. [↩]
- Skillings , Jonathan . “Report: A Kindle for college kids?.” [Weblog Crave] 23 Aug 2008. CNET Networks, Inc.. 25 Aug 2008 <http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10024164-1.html>. [↩]
25
2008
Contemporary Literacy for Old Saybrook Schools
This is, without a doubt, the oldest town I’ve worked in, this side of the Atlantic. Founded in 1635, Old Saybrook also has a distinguished education heritage as the home of the Collegiate School of Connecticut (1701) which later moved to New Haven to become Yale University.1
I’m sure that I will find a sophisticated school district. One reason that I believe this is that I found only one mention of technology in the district web site, and it was linked with information literacy — the topic of my presentation today.
My message will be that their is no such thing as technology literacy or digital literacy. Neither remains the same long enough to have a literacy attached to it. However, information literacy (contemporary literacy) — the ability to use information to acomplish goals — is a critical area of instruction and should be integrated into all areas of the curriculum. Students should learn and become in the habit of ethically accessing, using (working), and communicating information within the context of today’s prevailing information landscape.
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The handout links to the left are all wiki pages and editable by participants. As our information landscape continues to change and as educators with unique experiences and knowledge use these handouts, the should be come richer and more relevant. This, the collaborative growth of information and knowledge is, in itself, part of literacy. As educators, the best way to teach contemporary literacy is to model it every day and in every lesson. Learn something new every day.
Added Later: I just remembered, I have worked in Lima, Peru, which is much older than Old Saybrook — which is the second oldest community…
- ”Old Saybrook, Connecticut.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 24 Aug 2008, 10:25 UTC. 25 Aug 2008 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Old_Saybrook,_Connecticut&oldid=233908372>. [↩]
- Skillings , Jonathan . “Report: A Kindle for college kids?.” [Weblog Crave] 23 Aug 2008. CNET Networks, Inc.. 25 Aug 2008 <http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10024164-1.html>. [↩]
22
2008
21st Century Skills at The Blake School
The Blake School is an established in 1900 by a community of parents who wanted their children to be prepared for Eastcoast educational opportunities. A blending of three schools, the Northrop Collegiate School for girls, The Blake School for boys, and the Highcroft Country Day School.
My initial work will be with faculty, sharing ideas about the future, our students, and today’s information landscape, one that is dynamic and social in nature. This will be followed by consulting work with tech, media, art, and science faculty and leadership, exploring among other questions:
- Our Students • Our Worlds
- Transcript from Knitter Conversation
- Just Learned: Photosynth is live [Data Mining’s Musings, Photosynth Site, My Musings]
- 21st Century Literacy and the ethical use of information
- What are some ways to get faculty fired up, who are in the last 10 years of teaching?
- How should/could we address our students’ outside-the-classroom information experiences?
- How do we facilitate collaboration with technology and media specialists?
- What does a 21st Century Library looks like? What do our 21st Century librarians look like?
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21
2008
The Future is Here — Kannapolis, North Carolina
I have a singular treat today, working with educators in the Kannapolis City Schools, just east of Charlotte. Home for the North Carolina Research Campus, a massive scientific and economic revitalization project that encompasses the former Cannon Mills plant and entire downtown area1, three schools in the town have received over $1.5 million dollars as part of North Carolinas IMPACT grant program. The model stipulates, among other things, a staff support configuration that includes a school librarian with flexible scheduling, an instructional technology facilitator in each school, and a school-based technician. Technology that is supported is technology that’s used.
I will start the day with a keynote address for the faculty of the school district. This will be a combination of new world conditions that give rise to what’s often called 21st century skills, and a new model of literacy that spring out of the 18th century’s 3Rs, which continue to define much of what we consider the basics of education.
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After that, I will meet with key educators from the grant recipient schools debriefing on the extensive staff development they have received over the summer, and explore additional avenue of opportunity to use their new information and communication technologies to enhance and make more relevant, the instructional program of the schools.
One of the techniques we will be using during this debriefing time will be back channeling, where participants will be able to converse, via a Twitter-type communication tool, called Knitter — of my fabrication. The transcript of that conversation will be made available here for later reference and enhancing.
- ”Kannapolis, North Carolina.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 4 Aug 2008, 14:05 UTC. 21 Aug 2008 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kannapolis,_North_Carolina&oldid=229777776>. [↩]
20
2008
Learning 2.0 in Chapel Hill/Carrboro
Chapel Hill - Carrboro City Schools are embarking on a challenging and timely strategic plan over the next 5 years. It’s better than trying for the next 10 years. If you want a perspective about rapid change, watch a recent Keven Kelly TEDTalks presentation, the first 5000 days of the Web, and Predicting the Next 5000 Days…
What’s encouraging is that learning is so prominently stipulated in the strategies — not only student learning, but teacher professional learning. My job, in helping to kick off the next 900 days of CHCCS is to excite, in the professional staff, some buzz about teaching and learning in the 21st century — and to give some reasons why a new style of learning is required by this time of rapid change — a learning lifestyle. [Image1]
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In the blue box to the left are links to a variety of resources related to the topics of this presentation. All of these resources are social in nature — meaning that you, the participants of this event (former known as the audience), can edit the pages (wiki) adding in resources and ideas that you believe might be of value to others among the participants.
- Robert, Paul. “Library.” The Virtual Typewriter Museum. 24 May 2003. 19 Aug 2008 <http://www.typewritermuseum.org/lib/library_photo_arc.html>. [↩]
18
2008
Learning 2.0 - Piedmont Community College
I use to live in Roxboro, working for the local school system as director of technology, and doing some teaching with PCC. So, in no small way, I’m coming home. I was asked to speak for the convocation of the college, as a result of on of the instructors having seen me present at another conference and recommending me as a speaker. That puts a lot of pressure on me. Expectations are high. Fortunately for me, so too are the expections of being a teaching in a time of rapid change.
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There are converging conditions that are forcing us to rethink teaching and learning. Advances in technology have dramatically altered how we communicate with each other. These new communication avenues have sparked new advances in technology, which have altered our cultural, society, and economic environments. Teach and learning in a time of rapid changes is different from the education that many of us received in the 1950s and ’60s.
This presentation will focus on three conditions that come from rapid change. You will find links in the box to the left to resources related to the morning’s convocation and the afternoon session with faculty, which will further explore the changing nature of information.
15
2008
Literacy & Learning in Currituck County
Today, it’s the beautiful and mysterious Currituck County in the eastern plain of North Carolina. Situated in the Northeast corner of the state, the county consists of the vast pine forests and the northern islands of the Outer Banks, wrapped around the Currituck Sound.
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I’m presenting to the faculty and staff of the school district at the Currituck Middle School in Barco, exploring some of the ideas around literacy today. Demonstrating how information has become increasingly networked, digital, and overwhelming, we will explore what it means to be literate, how the 3Rs morph into 3Es and eventually into a 4th E.
After that large event, I will explore with the high school faculty how information in the past five years, has continued to evolve, becoming increasingly participatory, connected (connecting and connectable), and most especially how information can now be trained to behave in predictable and surprising ways. We will also explore how this new information landscape can be tamed and mined to provide new and powerful learning experiences for our students and for ourselves — becoming and modeling lifelong learning lifestyles.
14
2008
The Start of a New Year In Winston Salem
I’m working, this morning, in one of my favorite school systems in North Carolina. One of the pearls strung across this state by I-40, (Wilmington, Raleigh, Durham (loosely), Greensboro, Winston Salem, Statesville, Hickory, and Asheville) when I hear of something interesting happening with education in one of NC’s urban districts, it’s usually Winston-Salem. It’s a unique city, and I’m not exactly sure why, except that it seems to share the larger urban flair of Charlotte with the style and culture of Asheville, in the Mountains.
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I’m working with technology folks at the Benton Center, one of the major convention spots in NC, and we’re looking at a number of emerging elements in ICT. Marlo Gadis, Project Manager for Instructional Technology and Distance Learning Advisor for the district has selected from a buffet of topics, to be knitted into a single two-hour presentation. So I’m providing here a list of links to online handouts for three different presentation topics, converging conditions for 21st century learning, video games, and personal learning networks.
