Discourse about Discourse: Educasts by Ben Wilkoff

I have been working on a couple new documents that make sense for the development of pedagogy and the future of education. You can find the links to them at the k12online conference: http://k12online.wm.edu/AuthenticLearning.pdf http://k12online.wm.edu/101Resources.pdf

This new possibility (which is now kind of old) is a total reversal of some of the things that I have consistently talked about and advocated for. This only comes about because of a great contact I have made with the principal of our online school (eDCSD). The possibility is this: Starting from a place of amazing technology and bringing in education rather than starting from a traditional school and trying to shove technology into it. What do you think about it

Sometimes we get so caught up in creating the system and the environment for learning that we forget about the most important element of that environment: creation. The singular act of creation is not something to be glazed over; it is the backbone of all that we do, and sometimes we need people to remind us of this.

I am now convinced that the only way to create widespread change within our schools is to articulate a singular vision for the future of education. I don't know if I am the person to articulate that vision yet, but I am working toward it.

This podcast is all about how I am starting my year. I would love to know how you are starting your year and how we can collaborate (share) any of the resources and systems that we have set up. Send me an e-mail at benwilkoff@gmail.com

This is the first podcast in over a month because I needed to upgrade for more storage space. It is not an enhanced podcast, but I'm sure it will be illuminating nonetheless. I was trying to figure out which content management system to use for The Academy of Discovery. I am still not sure if I picked the best one, but I am pretty confident that we are doing some great things. Check it out at http://academyofdiscovery.com.

I don't know when it happened, but I have started using the word "we" in my podcast and blog when I would normally use the word "I." I believe that it is due to my increased awareness and involvement of the community that I have surrounded myself with. I also think that many more of "us" should start using "we" when "we" write and speak. It makes me feel like I am a part of something, that "we" are going in a particular direction. I want "us" to be aware of how amazing "our" community can become, so long as we don't fall into some of the pitfalls that I describe in the podcast. Let me know what you think of this idea at benwilkoff@gmail.com.The image for this podcast is by http://flickr.com/photos/factoids/. I think it is amazing. 00:00:00: Intro to I vs. We Podcast Blog 00:02:00: Shoutout to Geeked! Geeked! Podcast 00:02:59: The Difference between I and We Image Attribution 00:04:51: I have a community! Edubloggerworld, my community? 00:07:28: The Coallition of We Support Blogging 00:08:12: Chris Lehmann's Addition Humility 00:08:47: The Moment of Switch-Over 00:10:54: The 1:1 We connection Ripe Environment: Connection 00:14:02: Conclusion to I vs. We My Blog

Well, this is the official podcast about my interview with Littleton Public Schools. Although I was passionate and had a great experience in the interview, I was not offered the job. That made my decision to leave the classroom much easier. I still think that this podcast is relevant to anyone else who is thinking about leaving the classroom. I also outline the idea that passion and vision are the two elements that will allow you to progress professionally and personally. I think that I will continue to explore these ideas in the classroom next year, and I am extatic that I will have one more year to impliment all of the ideas from this podcast into my practice. Show Notes: 00:00:00: Intro To Interview at LPS The Most Change for The Most Students 00:01:51: The Ripe Environment The First Blog Post 00:03:09: Why do I want to work here? My Google Document 00:06:38: The Post-Interview Reflection My Blog

This podcast is pretty heavy: I was in Osawatomie, KS for the 4th of July. It flooded earlier in the week, and my sister-in-law lost her car and her apartment due to this natural disaster. This event really got me thinking about how we can use the technology that our schools provide (especially in 1:1 programs) in order to create social networks for a community. I hope that we can start putting together ideas like Steve Hargadon's Public Web Stations (link below) in non-crisis times. If you have any ideas about how to do this, please shoot me an e-mail at benwilkoff@gmail.com I am also interested in knowing if you would rather I don't include links and pictures with my podcast, but rather simply upload the mp3 file. If you have an opinion either way, please post a comment on this podcast. Show Notes: 00:00:00: Intro to Osawatomie Flooding Pictures 00:02:12: Supporting the people of Osawatomie News Article and Support Links 00:03:02: The 1:1 Social Network The Osawatomie 1:1 Initiative 00:06:24: The New School Community Center 00:07:51: Steve Hargadon's Public Web Stations Public Web Stations 00:09:53: Bridging Social Networks and Analog Communities 00:12:15: How do we use tech in our schools to benefit the community? My Blog

It is with some hesitation that I post this podcast. I am a teacher, and I will always be a teacher. However, I have been given the opportunity to do more. I have been recruited (although not formally given the position) for a Technology Integration Position in a nearby school district. This podcast is all about coming to terms with the idea of leaving the classroom so that I might create change and achieve School 2.0 in a larger way. At this point, I am very much interested in following my passion for finding solutions, and if this job provides solutions for more teachers and more students and also for my family, I don't know that I can do anything other than pursue it. I am, however, still looking for others who have either made this transition or who have rejected it in favor of the classroom. Please e-mail me at benwilkoff@gmail.com if you have any questions or ideas. Show Notes: 00:00:00: Intro to the Great Transition The Podcast Blog 00:00:58: Karl Fisch put me up to it. The Fischbowl 00:01:59: Why is the first wave leaving the classroom? Slow Motion Distributed Car Wreck 00:05:28: The Long Haul Teachers Cool Cat Teacher 00:07:15: What Should School 2.0 Leadership Look Like? Leadership Development for Educational Technology Leaders 00:09:27: What happens to the classroom I leave behind? My classroom Website 00:10:51: Other Factors My Daughter's blog 00:11:55: The most change for the most kids My Blog

Well, there are two main elements to this podcast. 1. This is my first blog post/podcast about being named the 2006 Totally Wired Teacher by Edutopia and Yahoo Teachers. I am honored, but I hope that the one thing that comes out of flying to San Fransisco is that I meet as many would-be advocates for School 2.0 as I can. I really would love to be a larger instrument for change than merely by blogging and podcasting. 2. I am challenging everyone to come up with a description for Teacher/Classroom 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8, 1.9, and 2.0. I would really like to know what it should look like at all of these levels. What should we be striving for in our classrooms? What should a stranger be able to come in and observe? Show Notes: 00:00:00: Intro to Totally Wired Teachers The podcast blog 00:00:28: Totally Wired Teens and Tweens Her Book 00:00:51: The Ypulse Mashup The Mashup page 00:01:06: Edutopia The Edutopia Site 00:01:30: The nominations for Totally Wired Teacher Blog post 00:02:22: Yahoo Teachers The Alpha Site 00:03:04: Noah Goodman New York Teaching Fellows 00:03:53: My Teacher Education Program DU's TEP 00:04:57: Classroom 2.0 in a 1.0 School The Social Network 00:06:13: The Bare Bones 2.0: The LCD Projector 00:08:13: Constructivism and Inquiry Inquiry and Constructivism Theory 00:09:41: The 1.5 Classroom LoTi Levels 00:12:35: The Revised Blooms Taxonomy The Picture Reference 00:13:21: The Challenge for definining 1.0 to 2.0 My Blog

The more that I think about doing something "different" in my classroom, the more that I feel that process should be transparent. Not just for my students and their parents, but also for my administrators. Principals, Assistant Principals, and even Super-Intendants should be aware that there is change happening in the classroom. They should also want that change to occur, meaning that they should actively support it. But the only way that this is going to happen is if we start advocating for it. br> So, this podcast is all about how we should be writing our own job descriptions for the jobs that we dream about doing as teachers and presenting them to our administrators. I think that if we take this proactive approach, many will listen and start to think differently about what should be going on in the classroom. br> Show Notes: br> 00:00:00: Intro to my busy life 00:00:35: Academy of Discovery Search for Funding Academy of Discovery 00:01:01: The Bridge Project The Bridge Project Wiki 00:02:20: My brief brush with the law while recording Littleton Police 00:03:04: Education Transformation's First Podcast Education Transformation Blog 00:04:21: Maintaining My Blog Discourse about Discourse: The Blog 00:05:18: Cresthill's Language Arts Department The LA Cresthill Collaboration Wiki 00:06:37: Collaboration at home or abroad Paul Allison's Blog 00:09:14: Teacher 2.0 Job Description My Blog Post 00:11:56: Teacher Advocates 00:13:31: Creating Change Where I Am 00:15:48: Transparency at the teacher level 00:16:52: School 2.0 Duties 00:18:30: Static vs. Dynamic Teaching Jobs Paul's Metablog 00:20:28: Conclusion to Creating the New Definition Podcast Page

Feedback continues to be something that requires a lot of thought to do right. I want to provide my students with as much timely feedback as possible, but I don't want to have to resort to the methods of printing out blog posts and putting paper sticky notes on them. In this podcast I explore the possibility of giving student feedback using web annotation tools. If anyone has any good ideas for tools like this (other than diigo) please e-mail them to benjamin.wilkoff@dcsdk12.org 00:00:00: Intro to Feedback The Podcast Blog 00:01:33: Feedback Methods 00:02:56: Revision-based Writing 00:06:03: Collaborative Tools for the Individual 00:07:21: Virtual Stick Notes 00:08:55: The Outsourcing of Grading Steve Hargadon's Blog 00:11:51: Looking for the Tool and Conclusion My Blog

This is the first podcast that I have done on my new MacBook and I was used GarageBand rather than ChapterToolMe in order to create the chapters. I have, as of yet, not been able to find a way of exporting the chapters and links into html using GarageBand, so you will have to download the show in order to get the links. If anyone has a way of doing this, I would love to hear about it. As for the episode itself, I have been hoping for a very long time that my students are learning everything that I want them to. I want them to come back to me after years of amazing creation and show me just how much influence they have derived from my class. I do not expect to change each of my students, but I do believe that many of my students see value in the School 2.0 environment that we are trying to create. The three things that I want them to be known for and to come back and tell me all about are Authenticity, Analysis, and Passion. If they have those three things down, there is no telling what they can do. http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2006/08/did-you-know.html http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/httpwww.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/persuaders/ http://discovery0607.wikispaces.com/The+Weekly+Authentic http://discovery0607.wikispaces.com/message/list/reflections http://headrush.typepad.com/ http://yongesonne.edublogs.org

Well, I may be going out on a limb with this one, but I have described in the podcast a level of discomfort with technology that goes beyond the simple immigrant/native debate. The fear and panic that is associated with technology in the classroom comes from Digital Ex-Patriots. These people (parents, teachers, administrators, etc.) are so sure of their anti-technology stance that they are actively pursuing a life (of education) away from technology integration. These are the people that we must win over if we are going to continue our collaborative efforts and truly create change. Please let me know what you think about this concept in the comments or in an e-mail (benjamin.wilkoff@dcsdk12.org) Show Notes: 00:00:00: Intro to Online and Offline Life Internation Community of Minds 00:03:17: Safety Vs. Panic The Most Discussed Post I've Ever Written 00:05:07: Creating Discussion Bud Hunt's Blog 00:06:07: Twitter as Tool My Twitter 00:07:28: Formula for Transparency Discovery Online Code 00:08:16: Twitter as Classroom Communication Remote Access Twitter 00:09:40: Digital Ex-Patriots 00:11:37: Google Paper: Good or Bad Idea? Google Paper 00:13:14: Mass Phone Call Newsletter Pheeder 00:13:53: Paths to Transparency 00:18:03: The Role of Students in Classroom 2.0 00:19:20: Transparency as Conversation 00:21:35: Conclusion with Challenge Podcast Blog

I am very worried about what is going to happen to my students when they leave me at the end of this school year. Not because I think that they won't be able to handle to rigors of high school life, but rather because I think that they won't be able to handle going back to a traditional classroom. I wonder what the transition will be like when they know that collaborative tools exist, but they aren't allowed to use them for school. Will they revolt? Will they create change? Or, will they just take it as another in a long string of disappointments from their learning institutions. 00:00:00: Introduction to My Father's Question Heart Rhythm Society 00:01:24: Next Year? Highlands Ranch High School 00:02:39: How my students learn best. 00:05:13: Students as Better Teachers November Learning 00:07:11: Transition as Change 00:08:27: Backwards in Teaching or Learning 00:10:14: Conclusion to Next Year... The Podcast Digg Page

The podcast episode is based upon the idea that teachers will listen to someone who has a lot of experience teaching without technology and then stumbled upon the effectiveness and authenticity of technology and became an advocate for change. They will not listen to someone who grew up with technology, and for who it naturally comes to. They need "one of their own kind" to bring them on board with the School 2.0 movement. I also decide that we need a School 2.0 plank in the 2008 presidential election. No matter who wins, I want our commander and chief constantly thinking about how technology can influence learning in public schools across the nation. Show Notes: 00:00:00: Introdcution to Anticipation The Academy of Discovery 00:01:02: Someone that looks like you. 00:02:05: West Wing Example West Wing Presidential Race 00:05:06: Classroom 2.0 Steve Hargadon's Classroom 2.0 00:05:43: The Would-Be Advocates 00:07:04: Kevin Honeycutt's Ideas Kevin Honeycutt's Webpage 00:10:15: Everyone is Doing School 2.0 00:12:56: Teacher Grazing 00:15:16: Education in '08 Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation 00:18:39: Conclusion to Podcast Podcast Blog

Well, I guess it was bound to happen sometime, but I really didn't expect it to happen this soon. We have received funding for our School 2.0 within a school idea, The Academy of Discovery. So, what do we do now? How do we continue to articulate the vision in the face of overwhelming support. Adversity I can handle, but what do we do now that everyone is behind us, just waiting to see how we can pull this off. It leaves me very excited to have the freedom of collaboration and experimentation within my community, but it also leaves me scared for blank page that we have been given to write on. I just hope all of our posturing and framing doesn't signify nothing. Show Notes: 00:00:00: Introduction to Successful Proposal The Academy of Discovery 00:02:00: What happens if you get what you want? 00:03:05: Framing School 2.0 for Success Inquiring Minds Want To Know 00:04:03: Starting a new School The Science Leadership Academy 00:07:24: Overwhelming Support 00:09:13: Gcast Example Gcast 00:12:10: A Voice of Vision, A Voice of Change 00:15:12: Remote Access Challenge Remote Access 00:16:57: Conclusion to the Vision Podcast Blog

I have become dissatisfied with talking about School 2.0 only among educators. It seems to be this feedback loop that creates a lot of noise, but in the end, really doesn't create any massive change. So, I am proposing a change in tactics. We need to begin talking to anyone who has the time to listen about School 2.0. We need to show them artifacts of authentic learning so that they know just how effective it can be. We need to get outside of the blogosphere and podcast communities, and talk to the parents that don't get it yet. Although "consciousness raising" is important amongst teachers, it really should be our only tactic in bring about a transformation in education. Most of this is why I will be starting up another podcast over at The Podcast Network. I am looking for educators and non-educators alike to interview, anyone who is willing to think critically about the shared vision of student-centered education. Please contact me for details. 00:00:00: Introduction to Busy Week Academy of Discovery Model 00:01:14: Blogging Class Blogging in the Classroom Presentation 00:02:16: The Podcast Network My Interview with Cameron Riley 00:04:47: The School 2.0 Movement The Discovery -Ism Project 00:06:48: Learning without Gatekeeping 00:09:04: Home vs. School 2.0 00:11:05: Plea for Interviews My e-mail address 00:12:49: Conclusion with info. The podcast blog

This podcast was created because of a discussion I had with my students about the merits of rubrics in a School 2.0 classroom. The data was mixed. Some students felt very comfortable with rubrics because it let them know how to get an A. Others believed that rubrics would hinder their creativity and ability to be authentic. Although I had asked students to help me create a rubric for an assignment, I had never asked them if they thought a rubric was a good idea at all. This podcast is a summary and a discussion of what I decided to do: Student-Centered Youbrics. Show Notes: 00:00:00: Intro to Rubrics 2.0 The Podcast Blog 00:01:46: The Great Rubric Debate The Value of Amateurs 00:03:15: Rubrics in Authentic Learning In the Students own Words 00:04:45: The Youbric The Decision 00:06:11: The Downside of Rubrics 00:07:16: A Geek!Ed! Moment Episode 67 00:08:35: Youbric Vs. Messy Assessment Messy Assessment according to Wes Fryer 00:12:14: The Teacher and Student Assessment Connection 00:12:57: Conclusion The Discovery Utopias