Teachers Teaching Teachers #125 - What if you ask the students what they think? 10.15.08

Three amazing young women joined us on this episode of Teachers Teaching Teachers:

• Farisa, 10th Grader at East-West School of International Studies, Flushing, NY, NY
• Hannah, 11th Grader at Science Leadership Academy, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Lindsea, 12th Grader at Punahou School, Honolulu, Hawaii

Paul Allison, Alice Barr, and Gail Desler stayed out of the way as much as possible. We asked the students to help us keep on track with the mission of Youth Voices: to be "a space where teachers nurture student-to-student conversations, collaborations, and civic actions." We seek to sustain student-sponsored work on our new site.

Click Read more, below, to see the chat transcript.

20:09:36 PeggyG: Hi Alice-you are streaming your presentation, right? ETT-A?
20:10:49 alicemercer: on ustream
20:10:59 alicemercer: sorry, easiest to get to
20:11:12 PeggyG: link? ETT ustream?
20:11:24 alicemercer: should be box to right.
20:11:43 alicemercer: in live page
20:12:24 PeggyG: got it-had a blank screen so logged out and back in :-) hearing you now.
20:12:58 PeggyG: we're small but mighty :-)
20:14:23 PeggyG: Mouse Squad? love hearing from the kids :-)
20:15:49 PeggyG: love it! kids troubleshooting teacher technology issues!
20:17:24 PeggyG: I'm interested in what kind of training/support the students receive for their Mouse Squad.
20:18:35 PeggyG: How do students know which teachers need help? Is there a schedule? Do they do it during the school day or after school?
20:19:12 PeggyG: training modules sound like a great way to go!
20:19:46 PeggyG: do they go out in teams or pairs?
20:20:37 PeggyG: how long might a teacher have to wait to get their help?
20:21:09 PeggyG: awesome tech service! a day :-)
20:21:40 PeggyG: do the problems get prioritized or is it first come first served?
20:22:52 PeggyG: do the students help teachers create computer and online projects or just provide technical troubleshooting?
20:23:18 PeggyG: Leadership and confidence are fantastic goals for the students!
20:24:12 PeggyG: I love the student enthusiasm and their ability to explain what they do! Great job!
20:24:20 Kristi Richburg: Excellent!
20:24:56 PeggyG: Is the Mouse Squad modeling after the Gen Yes program or connected with it?
20:25:24 PeggyG: Hi Derrall! Great to see you made it to the conference :-)
20:26:09 PeggyG: Lulu does more than books? what kinds of projects?
20:27:05 PeggyG: I'm enjoying your live blogging, Alice :-)
20:29:06 PeggyG: I have great respect for the work Chris Dede has done over the years! He and I were working on our doctorates together at UMass at the same time.
20:29:21 PeggyG: dee dee :-)
20:29:57 PeggyG: I even had the privilege of typing Chris's doctoral dissertation (on a typewriter, no less!)
20:31:21 PeggyG: very interesting point about the testing!
20:33:46 M. Dodes: Our school does have a mouse squad
20:33:47 PeggyG: that's such a dilemma when the portfolio scores don't match test scores! That's something that really needs to be addressed. Which is more valid?
20:33:59 M. Dodes: we're a tech school so it's great training for them
20:34:24 PeggyG: @M Dodes-that sounds like a great program both for teachers and students!
20:34:51 PeggyG: have any of the keynotes been streamed or archived?
20:35:07 M. Dodes: I advocate the Gen Yes approach to teaching teachers except that our students seem to pick up the hardware stuff easily enough but they have more trouble with even basic software or web apps.
20:35:32 M. Dodes: I haven't been able to discern why that is
20:35:35 PeggyG: There are some great links coming through the Diigo ed tech plan group.
20:36:02 M. Dodes: got a link?  does diigo use tags the same way del.icio.us does?  I've been meaning to delve into it more
20:36:17 PeggyG: @M Dodes-interesting point! they probably help to give the teachers confidence too :-)
20:37:44 PeggyG: http://groups.diigo.com/groups/educational-technology-planning
20:38:13 PeggyG: yes Diigo uses tags but also has lots of great educational groups related to web 2.0
20:39:13 PeggyG: you can import all of your bookmarks from delicious into Diigo and then continue bookmarking to both locations
20:39:15 M. Dodes: I'm drawn to the highlighting feature in addition to bookmarking...will have to look into it more
20:39:38 PeggyG: I heard Chreyl Lemke at NECC in the teacher ed forum and she was fantastic!
20:39:45 PeggyG: Cheryl-sorry
20:40:21 PeggyG: I posted a video of the panel presentation including Cheryl on the NECC Ning. It's well worth watching.
20:40:43 M. Dodes: This is going to be a weird chat for me....going to have to try to watch the debate and chat at the same time
20:41:04 PeggyG: I'm recording the debate-can watch it later :-)
20:42:28 M. Dodes: I prefer it live...kind of like recording a sporting event - you can't avoid the commentary after and it does kind of ruin my ability to form my own opinion
20:43:29 PeggyG: http://www.necc2008.org/group/21stcenturyskills  this is the link for the teacher education forum on assessment where you can hear Cheryl.
20:43:53 M. Dodes: BTW while we're discussing apps (before) - do you know of a comparable open source program for mixing/editing video file like Audacity does for audio?
20:45:56 PeggyG: This is an interesting online video editing/creation site. http://omnisio.com/home/learn_more
20:46:03 mathew: Yeah, you have to give up control to do iwt.
20:46:17 PeggyG: I haven't used that site but saved it because it looked great!
20:47:02 M. Dodes: oooo this sounds like slideshare for video
20:47:07 M. Dodes: I have to check this out
20:47:14 PeggyG: that's a great use for the projector Derrall-scanning student work!
20:47:40 M. Dodes: Hey Paul - good evening
20:48:08 mathew: yes
20:49:07 PeggyG: we've all heard Mathew say he'll come on It's Elementary :-)
20:49:31 mathew: I'm watching dodger game...it's okay
20:49:47 mathew: yes, have me on some other tie
20:49:49 mathew: time
20:49:59 mathew: sounds good
20:50:43 mathew: @M. Dodes re: video editing open source...someone recommended videospin from videospin.com  -- haven't tried it.
20:50:51 PeggyG: I'm so greate to you Alice for allowing us to be a part of the conference! Thanks!
20:50:54 Paul Allison: Hi...
20:51:16 PeggyG: what is greate??? grateful was what I meant to type!
20:51:43 M. Dodes: I'll take a look - thanks mathew
20:52:25 PeggyG: I do my video creation and editing on onetruemedia because I can view the videos on my Tivo :-)
20:53:25 M. Dodes: I don't own a true digital video camera but it's something I want to move into - right now I'm improvising with the record feature on my digital camera
20:53:33 PeggyG: http://www.onetruemedia.com/ you can share the links with anyone once your video is created--also embed them in blogs and wikis
20:53:55 M. Dodes: I like using Nings for hosting media but I'm open to new ideas of how to share
20:54:03 PeggyG: @M Dodes-you're doing some wonderful things with media!
20:54:32 PeggyG: Nings are a great way to share the videos once they are created.
20:54:51 M. Dodes: oh ok I got the impression onetruemedia was a mixing AND hosting service
20:55:16 PeggyG: I also post my videos on blogs and wikis once I get an embeddable version
20:55:31 PeggyG: yes, onetruemedia is a mixing and hosting service
20:56:03 M. Dodes: that's cool, be nice to have access to one that isn't blocked...youtube isn't evil I figured out lol I wish it didn't get so much bad press
20:56:27 PeggyG: you can mix photos and video, add music, voice over, etc. on onetruemedia
20:56:53 PeggyG: it's so frustrating to have so many of these wonderful tools blocked!
20:57:32 PeggyG: Great chatting with you. Time to head over to Teachers Teaching Teachers. Thanks everyone!
20:58:15 M. Dodes: k I'm heading there too
20:58:24 PeggyG: See you there :-)
20:58:28 M. Dodes: wait isn't this it lol
20:58:55 M. Dodes: you were in the right place? :)
20:59:17 PeggyG: yes but I wanted to be sure I got the new stream :-)
20:59:26 Paul Allison: Are we broadcasting yet?
20:59:37 M. Dodes: ah ha
20:59:57 M. Dodes: which stream are you on paul?
20:59:59 PeggyG: yes I'm listening on ETT-A
21:00:19 Paul Allison: Can you hear both Alice and me?
21:00:28 PeggyG: I'm hearing you on ETT-A
21:00:43 PeggyG: Yes I'm hearing two people
21:00:55 M. Dodes: Ok I'm back...hear you now
21:01:12 PeggyG: Good job! Welcome back!
21:01:29 Paul Allison: We'll be back in a second...
21:01:39 Paul Allison: TTT wil start soon.
21:03:14 Paul Allison: We are gathering people... It's student night.
21:03:30 PeggyG: Sounds great!
21:04:17 PeggyG: Did you see that Skype changed Skype Pro? Had to resubscribe but didn't seem to lose anything.
21:05:09 PeggyG: can hear the phone ringing :-) now voices are back-making progress!
21:06:40 PeggyG: I'm hearing your broadcast :-
21:06:48 M. Dodes: Students teaching teachers that are teaching teachers?
21:09:08 PeggyG: I'm really enjoying the Youth Voices posts. Today's posts were very thoughtful.
21:11:07 Paul Allison: http:2oh.org
21:11:16 PeggyG: Is Arthus still involved in Student 2.0? He was a great student voice on many of the ETT webcasts!
21:11:17 Paul Allison: http://2oh.org
21:11:50 PeggyG: that link didn't work for me
21:13:28 PeggyG: Thanks for the clarification on Arthus. I hope he comes back!
21:13:59 M. Dodes: A functioning and relevant community should support itself shouldn't it?
21:14:22 PeggyG: http://students2oh.org/  found it :-)
21:16:31 M. Dodes: As a commentary we had an article awhile back and the author on TTT where we discussed how few comments you get per readers (something like 1 comment for 100 readers) and how to assess and evaluate students and also discussed the effectiveness of comment quotas and things like that.
21:16:45 PeggyG: I've been following the student posts on East-West School of International Studies and think they are doing a great job with reflecting and interacting.
21:16:51 Gail Desler: Teresa, can you give us a link for the poem?
21:18:45 M. Dodes: Teresa - was the poem you wrote written because you chose to or was it part of an assignment?
21:19:28 PeggyG: How important is it for your to receive comments on your poems, Teresa?
21:21:25 M. Dodes: wow that's like a tumblr/blog/twitter mash-up, that's great
21:21:56 PeggyG: I have subscribed to Youth Voices and follow several of the inquiry groups
21:22:47 Gail Desler: Teresa, good point.  No need for every student to use every tool
21:22:57 M. Dodes: That's a great idea - I was thinking the same thing - great job!
21:23:08 PeggyG: would students post poems if it wasn't an assignment?
21:23:55 M. Dodes: Paul - have you heard about the 23 things projects? - http://plcmcl2-things.blogspot.com/
21:24:34 javabeanboy: Getting attention online is more authentic motivation than teacher given "good job"
21:24:57 M. Dodes: It's a self paced project with a deadline where the students need to accomplish all the tasks in a time frame but they work independently on accomplishing and figuring out how to accomplish them - the focus is on the tools and skills but not so much content.
21:25:02 PeggyG: @M Dodes Is 23Things a student project?
21:25:21 M. Dodes: It's been used in public libraries to train staff (that's how it started) but I do believe it has been used with students
21:25:37 Gail Desler: @javabean - yes, "good job" from an audience of one can sound pretty hollow
21:25:56 PeggyG: there have been some very personal, heartfelt stories on YouthVoices.
21:27:01 javabeanboy: The audience, assuming one can be generated, can give more attention than a single voice.
21:27:17 PeggyG: that's a great idea to have the students start their own blogs and link them from YouthVoices
21:28:31 M. Dodes: This is a K-12 23 things adopted in Georgia - I don't see why it couldn't be adopted to youth voices - http://k12learning20.wikispaces.com/
21:28:35 PeggyG: is it hard for students to feel like they're doing authentic writing on a school site?
21:28:55 M. Dodes: oh nevermind that was targeted at their staff..hmmm
21:29:07 M. Dodes: got a little too excited lol
21:30:06 PeggyG: that's a fascinating point about the letters to the president project!
21:31:01 PeggyG: students aren't motivated to express opinions and discuss issues related to the next president? do they really not care? is that because they can't vote?
21:31:20 javabeanboy: Are student blogs linked between students? Or are they anonymous but the teacher is aware of them?
21:32:30 PeggyG: self-directed learning was the #1 trend mentioned on the CoSN webinar today-whether for teachers or students.
21:33:02 alicebarr: javabeanboy all students can see each others' blogs
21:33:32 javabeanboy: I think that would make it hard for me to be "true to myself".
21:34:05 alicebarr: I find that the level of work is much better becasue of the audience
21:34:39 javabeanboy: I guess it would depend on the class culture
21:34:46 M. Dodes: is the audience for a class too small?  I know I run blogs and I can have a hundred fifty friends and only occasionally do I get a response.
21:34:56 PeggyG: the audience is a powerful motivator for sustaining the contributions and interactions
21:35:08 javabeanboy: I appreciate the importanc of the audience
21:35:12 M. Dodes: unless I address it to a small group directly
21:36:17 PeggyG: I found these posts about stress, love and pain very interesting! http://youthvoices.net/node/580
21:36:18 Gail Desler: Lindsey, can you post your blog URL
21:38:25 PeggyG: Lindsey, what an inspiration you are!!
21:39:24 PeggyG: the addition of Skype chats to the projects would be great!
21:41:07 alicebarr: Lindsey: http://lindseak.wordpress.com
21:41:08 PeggyG: there are lots of online sites for desktop video conferencing if schools don't have Adobe Connect
21:41:49 M. Dodes: How can we strike a balance between what students have to learn in school, giving them the independence to work on topics that interest them, but also persuade them to venture outside their comfort zone to try something new.
21:42:00 PeggyG: no wonder I couldn't find Lindsea's blog-spelling it wrong :-(
21:42:47 M. Dodes: Would it help to add a project based learning aspect on this where there's distance collaboration on a project and blogs are used to document and coordinate progress?
21:43:00 Gail Desler: True, Peggy, but I'd be happy to make the Connect connection for districts that tend to block some of the free desktop videoconferencing progrm
21:43:59 PeggyG: The CoSN webinar today was all related to this topic. "Growing disconnect between educators and students around technology" - data from the student voices on Speak Up 2007 survey. Very interesting.
21:44:18 alicebarr: Wow Intereseting Peggy
21:44:22 Gail Desler: I need to head off. The conference center is closing
21:44:57 M. Dodes: the voice and/or video divorced it from the text based approach
21:45:04 javabeanboy: what is CoSN
21:45:08 alicebarr: Bye Gail
21:45:13 alicebarr: Thanks for joining us
21:45:18 Gail Desler: Night Alice and everyone
21:46:07 PeggyG: CoSN is an organization for advancing K-12 technology leadership
21:46:26 PeggyG: Consortium for School Networking
21:46:37 javabeanboy: Thanks
21:47:28 PeggyG: there's a lot of information about the data collected from students, teachers, administrators, parents on Speak Up 2007 on this site- www.tomorrow.org
21:48:52 alicebarr: @PeggyG Thanks, good link
21:49:16 javabeanboy: Going back, I'm interested in whether the school based audience recreates school social dynamics
21:50:09 PeggyG: Click on the link for Speak Up 2007 National Findings to download a PDF of the report. fascinating statistics especially related to student mobile phone access--almost 40% of K-2 students have cell phone access! we need to get ready for them!
21:52:13 PeggyG: I see the Screamo/Emo group is for expressing feelings about music and lyrics. Very interesting.
21:53:00 PeggyG: there have already been 152 reads on Screamo/Emo. That seems like a pretty big group although not everyone posts
21:53:38 M. Dodes: Interesting use of tags - it would make assignments manageable for teachers
21:54:09 PeggyG: The presenter for CoSN today is presenting tomorrow at FETC-CUE on her results on mobile devices (Julie Evans)
21:55:26 PeggyG: is it hard to maintain interest in topics like knitting? what if the person who starts the thread wants to move on to other topics?
21:56:33 M. Dodes: Well - I maintain contacts with lots of different groups that reflect my interests - I don't see why they can't diversify.
21:58:06 PeggyG: Yes, I think they might want to diversify, but who sustains the original topic?
21:59:19 M. Dodes: Well, in "real" communities when that happens they just die.  No one or not enough want to do it.
21:59:24 PeggyG: I'm impressed that she is so aware of the population in her school. :-)
21:59:37 M. Dodes: So you find other places to connect or those still interested take up promoting it
21:59:40 javabeanboy: In the spirit of being a "partial practitioner" there are tons of knitting net communities
22:00:34 PeggyG: This is a fascinating conversation!
22:01:04 M. Dodes: I think it's a little myopic if we try to focus students on one thing...when you have a variety and allow people to explore different ones they will develop interests too
22:01:18 PeggyG: What tremendous initiative she has!
22:01:38 PeggyG: Culturefusion?
22:02:14 PeggyG: You give boring assignments? :-)
22:02:45 PeggyG: I want to be in her class :-) She has amazing vision!
22:03:46 PeggyG: I totally agree Paul. The more authentic the posts become the more interested people are in responding. I'm starting to look forward to the new posts now because they are getting much more interesting. :-)
22:04:42 M. Dodes: I don't think it's a paradox at all - it's different ways of connecting to yourself and communities!
22:05:07 M. Dodes: self exploration and connecting to others is really at the heart of the learning we do for ourselves
22:05:21 PeggyG: I'll look for the inquiry group on knitting :-)
22:06:09 javabeanboy: been fun. bye!
22:06:37 PeggyG: very stimulating conversation with the students! Thanks!
22:07:02 PeggyG: Good night!