The Connected Educator
Chapter 2: Developing a Connected Learning Model
When my daughter was baptized (20+ years ago) a friend sang “Ag Criost an Siol” in Gaelic, written by Sean O Riada. It is beautiful song with a haunting melody. I had spent years trying to find the octavos or Mass, of which this song was a setting. Every few years I would contact local people in the music business. The music was just not in print. About four years ago, I was on line and decided to see how far I could get in researching the music. In the end, I was in contact with a family member who was involved in Sean O Riada’s estate. We had a wonderful digital exchange over a few weeks. A few weeks after initial contact, a package came in the mail from Ireland with an audio tape and a copy of the out of print music. Having the music is incredible, making the contact with Sean’s family and talking about him, his death, the condition of his estate, and the troubles with getting his music into print and out to the public, “IRREPLACEABLE.” This could have never happened without the technology and the communities that facilitated my deep connection to those who love his music.
There seems to be a shift in thinking about sources or information. It is becoming increasingly easier to move from secondary to primary information sources. Today the guidance office announced a student with the last name Macaroni. Amazed at the fact that we could have a student with that last name, I asked a student near by if it is indeed true. He too was amazed at the possibility. I choose to go to the primary source.....still waiting for the answer. What do you think the chances are of the middle name, “Cheesey?”
I have found that there needs to first be the “willingness to participate.” Our school tried mandating blogs through an unclear understanding of what is a “Professional Learning Community.” There were no norms, reflective processes or prior training in appropriate protocols. I am interested in how we can urge, without mandating, individual's participation in such collaborative blogging, external or internal communities develop and support.....building a “Trust Based Community.” (p. 73)
“Technology allows us to create a virtual think tank of professional experts, students, parents, and many others, all learning forward as we determine what’s best for children in this fast-changing world.” (p.70)
As a librarian, I am thrilled with the availability of online primary sources. The American Memory project in the Library of Congress is such a trememdous resource. I have spent some time in the stacks at our state library looking over town reports on brittle paper. However, even NH with it's limited resources has provided a wealth of primary sources online. I believe most are available through the NH History Museum website. UNH also digitized all their HURD atlas maps from circa 1860. This can be a useful teaching resource. It's great to compare then to now, and consider how towns grew and the explanation for the development. These types of lessons would be impossible without digital access to theses primary sources.
ReplyDeleteAlso as I librarian, I am concerned about making sure these materials are offered in formats that will endure over time.
I am an advocate for the technology in our school be used on a daily basis and how I can help them use what we have. I have always wanted to get a blog going within our building to help develop the "Professional Learning Community" within our school. I see that your administration has tried this but maybe not so successful. I too would be interested in how to urge others to participate in a collaborative blogging to develop the "Trust Based Community." We are a district in need of improvement and our focus this year at the middle school is academics and connecting to the Core Standards. I think having a school blog would be a great way to help us stay connected and learn from each other. I guess the question is how to go about doing this so it is successful?
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