Discourse about Discourse: Educasts by Ben Wilkoff

The two wiki project that my students have started to work on have taught me that an open framework that allows for embedded materials is preferable to any all-in-one solution that tries to do too much at once. I also would like to apply this concept to my classroom in a concrete way. My students should be able to embed their knowledge and experience into the framework of the classroom. They should be allowed to use whatever service/method they can to prove that they have learned something. Show Notes and Links: 00:00:00: Introduction to The Embedded Classroom The Podcast Blog 00:00:29: Wiki Project 1: Utopias/Dystopias The Discovery Utopias 00:03:42: Wiki Project 2: -Isms The Discovery -Isms 00:04:21: A Content Management System TTT Episode 00:07:02: The Framework for Embedding Example Embed 00:09:44: The Metaphor for Embedding 00:12:36: The Drawbacks of All-In-One CMS 00:14:27: Pulling Spaces Together Grazr 00:16:32: Conlcusion My Blog

One of my students came up with an amazing metaphor for how intellectual property should work in the classroom and in greater society. She described the idea that remixing should be like cake making. You buy all of the ingredients and then can prepare any kind of cake you like. Once you have the cake, however, you can't un-remix it and get back to the sugar and flour. You can also borrow sugar from a neighbor, but generally you give them credit when you are serving your delicious cake. I hope that this podcast outlines such a metaphor a little bit better, but I think that this is the metaphor for creating connections that I was looking for a few podcasts back. If you like this podcast, I recommend the Great Remix Debate. You can also digg this podcast at http://digg.com/podcasts/Discourse_about_Discourse_Educasts_by_Ben_Wilkoff 00:00:00: Introduction to Carcast Podcast Blog 00:01:11: The Great Remix Debate Recap The Great Remix Debate Podcast 00:01:55: The Cake Metaphor Rockinwithacdc12's Blog 00:04:32: The Classroom Remix 00:08:06: A Standard for Classroom Creation 00:09:41: Conclusion My Blog

I give all of the credit for this podcast to my amazing students. They were the ones that kept a debate on intellectual property, remixing, and mash-ups going for nearly thirty minutes. They were the ones that came up with the amazing examples to support their points. They were also the ones to inspire many thoughts on creating rules for how we use content in the classroom. I am now convinced that each classroom of students should decide for themselves just what they want to be done with their content. Should teachers be able to use it for next year's class? Should teachers remix their content into more polished work? We need to be asking the students to come up with what their own boundaries for intellectual property are, and we need to be teaching them where the boundaries are drawn already. I have decided to split this podcast up into about 40 chapters because that is how many different ideas were thrown around (mostly by different students). I have attached each student's blog to the chapters in which they spoke. The one request I have is that you comment on this post and tell us which side won the debate. (Although, I'm sure my students wouldn't mind if you commented on some of their blog posts either.) 00:00:00: Introduction of Debate Yongesonne's Blog 00:01:32: Against 1: Giving credit and making money Silver Lining's blog 00:02:50: Pro 1: Remix means new thought Hockey90's blog 00:03:28: Against 2: New content is new thought Moose's blog 00:04:08: Pro 2: Building upon an idea is valuable Nextmj1's blog 00:04:55: Against 3: Permission means remix ability Denalirott53's blog 00:05:43: Pro 3: Art for art's sake Dancingintherain's blog 00:06:31: Against 4: Profit, Author choice, and Talent C4d1ll4c's blog 00:07:20: Pro 4: Artist vs. Producer Ferrari49's blog 00:08:15: Against 5: Who owns the art? Helamanswarrior100's blog 00:09:56: Pro 5: Remix happens no matter what Sanje86's blog 00:10:55: Against 6: Who does a remix benefit? Goldenluckycharm12's blog 00:11:45: Pro 6: Listener's choice and Profit Hellomynameisbill77's blog 00:12:14: Against 7: Remixing as disrespect Sandyanteater's Blog 00:12:46: Pro 7: Remix as improvement Ismellpretzels's blog 00:13:23: Against 8: Long-term effects of remix Snowboardinghockeyplayer3's blog 00:14:03: Pro 8: Remix as personalization Mrengland's blog 00:14:45: Against 9: New content vs. Remixed content Rbsmm743's blog 00:15:32: Pro 9: Remix as publicity Nextmj1's blog 00:16:29: Against 10: Artist ownership Puffinsaresosweet's blog 00:17:08: Pro 10: Remix as originality Bazookabubblegum's blog 00:17:47: Against 11: Losing artist intent in remix C4d1ll4c's blog 00:18:14: Pro 11: Remixing binders Rockinwithacdc12's blog 00:19:14: Against 12: Remix as changing context Denalirott53's blog 00:19:47: Against 13: Happy middle-ground Goldenluckycharm12's blog 00:20:39: Against 14: Artist rights Rubyredslippers' blog 00:21:10: Against 15: Artist responsibility to remix Snowboardinghockeyplayer3's blog 00:21:37: Against 16: Selfish remixes Moose's blog 00:22:01: Against 17: Losing work in remixes Roadrunner19937's blog 00:22:30: Pro 12: Remix as perfection Hellomynameisbill77's blog 00:23:05: Pro 13: Cars are remixes Ferrari49's blog 00:24:09: Pro 14: Remix as entertainment Mrengland's blog 00:24:48: Pro 15: Change is good Dancingintherain's blog 00:25:25: Pro 16: Knowing the originators Ismellpretzels' blog 00:25:49: Pro 17: Remix as connection Acdcrocks10's blog 00:26:29: Against 18: Original thought is perfection Denalirott53' blog 00:26:49: Against 19: Knowing all sources Sandyanteater's blog 00:27:10: Against 20: Remixing context Moose's Blog 00:27:56: Against 21: Personalization should stay personal Snowboardinghockeyplayer3's blog 00:28:08: Conclusion of Debate Podcast Blog

My students are different. Not from yours, but from the ones that came before them. They are desperate to connect everything together: disciplines, ideas, home and school. They need a way of bridging the gaps that many adults artificially create. We must help them to connect. I don't have any five point plans in this podcast, but I do have a good example from a student about tormenting substitute teachers. Have a listen. I am looking for a new image to help explain this phenomenon of connection as a reaction to the increasingly splintered world that they experience. If you have any grand ideas about this, please drop me a line at benjamin.wilkoff@dcsdk12.org. 00:00:00: Today's Students vs. Yesterday's Students The Horizon Report 00:03:28: Connected Learning? Nicholas Negroponte's Necc 2006 Keynote 00:05:13: Seeing a Splintered World Moose's Blog Post about Substitute Teachers 00:08:43: The Metaphor for Connection 00:11:32: Asking for Help and Wrap-Up My Blog

In creating a wiki for my vision of School 2.0 within a school, I have found that there is quite a bit of research out there supporting 1:1 computing, constructivist teaching practice, and engaging technology usage in the classroom. What is even more amazing is that I didn't know that this research existed because it has been so universally ignored by much of the proponents of this kind of reform. We must have this kind of research on the tips of our tongues, and we must be ready to spout off both the anecdotal evidence and the numbers to anyone who wants to know more about where education is going. We must also create our own research from our own classrooms. This podcast describes three different ways of achieving this goal: 1. A malleable research model that can assess new types of technology as it becomes available. 2. Survey and reflection of what is working in our classrooms. 3. Comparisons of certifications of mastery. Show notes: 00:00:00: CSAP and the Academy of Discovery The Academy of Discovery 00:02:25: The Research Rockman Et Al 00:05:53: Is technology realization too new? Google Documents Research... 00:07:44: Informal Research Paul Allison's Gcast 00:10:52: Proficiency and Mastery Geek!Ed! 00:13:59: Wrap-Up My Blog

Support is such an essential part of education, but many of us who are looking ahead to a technologically rich educational experience sometimes forget this. Because we are savvy, we expect others (including our students) to be savvy. I created this podcast in order to flesh out a few of the ways that we can support teachers who want to transition to School 2.0. The basic points that I came up with were: 1. All teachers need an aggregator starter pack. 2. School 2.0 must be framed in terms (and using tools) that most teachers understand. 3. Small groups of teachers must conduct relevant research within the specific school before many teachers will buy in. 4. School 1.0 teachers should engage in assessing School 2.0 products from the small group's classrooms as a way of transitioning into a more collaborative model. I have also decided to start including the chapter information and links as part of the show notes for those of you who do not have access to a podcatcher that recognizes enhanced podcasts. # 00:00:00: Outdated Paper? Dave Cormier's Blog (http://www.davecormier.com/edblog/) # 00:02:04: How does support look in School 2.0? School 2.0 Wiki (http://school20.wikispaces.com) # 00:04:20: An Aggregator Starter Pack Netvibes (http://www.netvibes.com) # 00:06:16: RSS as Support xFruits (http://www.xfruits.com) # 00:08:32: Framing collaboration Ourtenwords.org (http://www.ourtenwords.org) # 00:12:20: Collaboration Take 2 # 00:13:35: Supporting Relevant Research Terry Freedman (http://www.terry-freedman.org.uk/db/web2/) # 00:15:16: Flat Classroom Assessment The Flatclassroom Project Wiki (http://flatclassroomproject.wikispaces.com) # 00:16:50: Summary and Conclusion My blog (http://yongesonne.edublogs.org)

This podcast was brought about because of the classroom discussion that my eighth graders had about what a terrible affect Myspace can have on their lives. I wanted to start brainstorming a school-sponsored space that we could substitute for Myspace that would be an extension of the classroom. This space would have the ability to connect students over academic interests as well as personal interests. It would allow for photo sharing and digital storytelling within these photos. Primarily, however, this space would allow students to comment on everything. Each element of the space (a module) would have a feedback form, so students would get comments about their school notes, their podcasts, their blog posts, their beliefs, and their photos. I can't think of anything that would engage students more than being able to get specific feedback on all of the important aspects of their lives, and to do it all in an environment that wouldn't allow the inflammatory remarks that are a systematic part of Myspace. Let me know what you think of this idea and its feasibility at benjamin.wilkoff@dcsdk12.org or http://yongesonne.edublogs.org

This was a discussion I had with my 8th graders about how the Internet could be used as a vehicle for creating a utopia in their everyday lives. I was truly surprised and intrigued by some of their responses. Many of the students believe that the internet is a "0." Meaning that there are just as many bad things on the internet as there are good. One student also identified the three most influential groups for his (and other young people's) life: The Governement, Celebrities, and The Internet. Another student proposed splitting the internet into different sections, so that no one who was looking for educational materials would be able to stumble upon to pornography and misinformation. I am encouraged by my kids' ability to think so abstractly on this subject, but I am disheartened to find out that so many of my students hold such a bleak look of the most amazing resource of our time. I wonder if each of them were immersed in a School 2.0 experience they would feel the same way.

Convincing parents that the skills of School 2.0 are important is going to be one of the biggest jobs facing all teaching in the very near future. I have outlined in this podcast three possible ways of accomplishing this goal: 1. Student exemplars of continual advancement. 2. Constant communication and reflection on learning between parents and teachers, students and teachers, and parents and students. 3. Parent and Student testimonials of engagement and achievement. My hope is that by identifying the things that are the most convincing to parents, we can create a compelling argument for technological school reform.

I've been trying to figure out for a while just how assessment is going to look in School 2.0. I have developed (or at least half-baked) 3 types of assessments that I would consider in this new type of environment: 1. Conversation 2. Reflection 3. Aggregation

I have been thinking a lot about how we have the same graduation requirements that we have always had. We may have upped the number of Math and English classes, but each student has to do the same things in high school, jump through the same hoops. Why is it that none of the new literacies and skills are included in the graduation requirements? Why should each student accomplish the same things in four years, when they will all be doing different things with their lives? Shouldn't we be preparing our students to compete, to stand out in a crowded field of applicants? Well, this podcast tries to answer a few of these questions.

I created this podcast because I was frustrated with the way our vision of education seems to conflict with the reality of education. I know that the administration at my school wants only what is best for kids. I do not have any doubts in their abilities as leaders. Yet, I do wonder if every "education movement" we fall prey to is good for our school. This podcast takes a critical look at current educational practices, and is therefore both different from and similar to my other podcasts.

This podcast is of a discussion that I had with my 7th and 8th grade students about what they think the perfect learning environment would be like. I asked them a few guiding questions, but their ideas were purely their own. I think there is a lot of insight here. If you would like to follow the online discussion, you can go to our conversate page at http://conversate.org/conversation/3JTD3.

I have been thinking a lot about this question. Should all teachers be using the Read/Write Web in their classrooms, or am I merely a part of the latest educational technology trend. I try to answer it in a fairly in-depth, before-school podcast.

This is a podcast about how I see the world of literacy shaping up in the next few years. This idea was brought about by discussion ideal learning environments with my 7th and 8th grade students.