Facebook as an LMS and communication platform - step 1

HootSuite is back with a vengeance!

After being offline for many hours, my favorite Twitter app HootSuite came back with a vengeance. Now supporting Twitter lists, Facebook, LinkedIN and Ping.fm. Love it.
 

How to get started using Edmodo

Not all schools are lucky to have some kind of learning platform to use for communication with students. This is where tools like Edmodo can be helpful. Edmodo is an extremely easy to use web service with education in mind. For teachers and students to communicate and keep track on assignments and files. Here's a little quick-guide on how you get started with Edmodo.

Educrafting in World of Warcraft

Okay, I am admitting that I have tried World of Warcraft (WoW). I tried it for about two years. Perhaps even more. The goal was to see "what the kids were doing because I believe it is important for a teacher to have an understanding in youth cultures such as the gaming ditto." Two years later I was more or less hooked. 

First I was considering whether I should tell my students or not. At the time I had five boys who were all slowly sinking deep down into something adults like to describe as gaming addiction. When the second expansion The Burning Crusade was released these five lads were missing from school for a week. It didn't take a rocket scientist to see what was going on. So I logged on and by all means, I understand what WoW is all about now. And I see all the great things about it but also all the bad things. I don't blame the kids anymore, but the lack of parenting. This is a total different discussion that I will talk about another time, though. 

It may sound cheesy but I actually did it. If I can't make the lads go to school I had to bring the schools to them. For starters I simply created a character on the same server as them and started to secretly infiltrate them. I felt bad about, that's for sure and it was almost as if I was violating their private life. But I saw them running around with their avatars, communicating with people around them in English and socializing in a way that would never happen in "the real world". This was when I realized that socializing has more than one definition nowadays - not only face to face with friends a Friday evening in the pub, but also when selling items, helping mates out killing evil monsters or role-playing by a pretty pond in the virtual forest. I decided to tell them that I was there and I was watching.

I understood by telling them about my secret mission I could jeopardize a lot, but what happened is a bit of a mystery. The lads were thrilled and excited about their teacher finally made it to where they spend most of the time. I guess the reaction would have been the same if I would turn up at other students' football practice wanting to join their team and it kind of shows that kids indeed enjoy the company of (certain?) teachers. But they were thrilled about it, thrilled about that we could spend lunch breaks discussing the best tactics to kill that evil boss or which dungeon is the best. And so we did. They taught me how WoW works and I tell you, they were the best teachers ever.

The reputation spread fast and soon every kid at school knew that teacher Jesper was playing World of Warcraft. More kids approached me asking questions about my playing and showed genuine interest in me and I was then known as "the coolest teacher at school". Little did they know that my mission slightly changed the longer I played and what was ment to be for an "educational cause" changed into an actual hobby. I liked the game and so I played it when I had the time.

Now, there are things in WoW and virtual worlds like this that school probably never can offer our students. We like to see our 13-14 year olds as children and we like to underestimate their social and mental skills. To us they are children. What happens in WoW and other MMOs (massive multiplayer online games) is that these young boys and girls take on a role as adults. Since you are more or less an anonymous person when you are playing there is little that will give you away (if you act mature) being young. Here 12 year olds socialize with, work together with and often act as adults. Here age doesn't matter. And it is a truly amazing experience to raid a dungeon together with a 14 year old being the raid leader organizing the 40 man big group of players and giving out orders to each and everyone. This he hasn't learned in school and this school will never take advantage of and build on. That is a shame.

After some time in World of Warcraft I wanted to try to actually bring school to my students. I told them about my little project and they were all up for it. One evening we took off our heavy armor and dressed casually, rode away on our horses out in the green forest, sat down by the little lake in Goldshire and talked about how we use and communicate in English. We talked grammar and vocabulary. We talked about how they feel much more confident expressing themselves in English when playing. We talked about how they actually have improved their English skills. Our little 30 minute class by the lake ended with me saying:

- Okay lads, let's talk about this tomorrow again in school. 

And we rode off to whatever adventure that awaited us. Next day in school we continued our discussion. In school. 

Using forms in Google Docs to create online tests

Google Docs is great in every way and the cool feature Forms makes it even cooler. By using forms you can create tests in various formats and themes and then email them to you students. If your students are using Gmail they can simply fill out the test within Gmail or they can just follow a link to the actual test. Very convenient. But the best part is probably the way you can mark and correct the tests afterwards. Watch the screencast below and I show you how to do it! I do apologize for my talking. I recorded this late in the evening after a hellish working week....(don't laugh at me, please!)

Google leading the way towards better E-learning

I wrote earlier about the importance of Google in the development of E-learning. Almost every week something new is added to already existing application that definitely speaks to educators using technology in their work. From the genius mobile platform Android and its symbiosis with Google's web applications to Google Docs and the recently implemented shared folders. 

Nej, lärare är inget statusyrke

Jag undrar hur länge vi kan fortsätta tro och kräva att vi som lärare ska bli ansedda som verkande inom ett statusyrke. Hur länge orkar man gå omkring och lida över att vi inte har den plats i samhället som vi en gång i tiden  hade (för en si så där 100 år sedan)? Jag lider inte. Jag inser läget och det är att jag helt enkelt valt ett lågstatusyrke. Och? Det gör inte att jag trivs mindre med det jag håller på med för den sakens skull. Snarare irriterar det mig att diverse fackförbund fortsätter att sprida missnöje genom diverse kampanjer som förhoppningsvis ska höja lärarens status.

Pengar, är det det det handlar om? Om vi tjänade 80 000 i månaden, skulle vi ha högre status då? Enligt Metro hamnar yrken som militär, PR-konusult och reklamare långt ned på skalan och de tjänar förmodigen mer än vad jag gör och kommer någonsin att göra. Inget hållbart argument. Lärarens låga status beror på någonting helt annat nämligen det faktum att, tja, vi inte tillför speciellt mycket som folket anser är av vikt.

Dagens lärare är inte som läraren en gång var, en samhällets vetare som satt inne med kunskapen. Vi är mentorer, handledare, guider och assistenter - utbildningen sköter inte vi längre utan det ansvaret har lagts mer på eleven. Vi säger stolt till våra elever "Jag kan bara visa dig vägen till kunskapen, men du själv måste gå den." Japp, där är vi. Vägvisare. Med det i åtanke vette fanken om jag är värd någon hörde status. Vidare har vi utbildninsargumentet och att vi lärare minsann har gått 5-6 år på högskola och det är minsann lika länge som läkare skarubaraveta. Shit vilken lång utbildning för att sedan fungera som en vägvisare och stöttepelare i kunskapandet! Och när våra obehöriga kolleger går in och gör ett långt mycket bättre jobb än de andra med examensbevis, så måste man ju också undra, eller hur? Klart som smör att vi inte kan begära att vi ska vara ett högstatusyrke när man faktiskt kan fixa jobbet utan att ha satt sin fot på högskolan.

Jag är mycket väl medveten om att jag berör en känslig ådra bland lärarkollegiet nu. Och jag står för det. Jag kan själv tycka att läraryrket är som det ser ut idag inte mycket att hänga i granen, men jag älskar att vara lärare och jag är stolt över den lärare jag är. Allt gnäll om status, respekt och lärarlöner leder egentligen bara till en sak: vi fortsätter att anses vara den yrkeskår som gnäller mest av alla och tro mig, det vinner man inte speciellt mycket status eller respekt på.

Hur det än är så är jag glad och nöjd med mitt jobb och det spelar faktiskt ingen roll vad andra tycker. Det räcker långt. Och förresten tror jag att jag ska starta ett fackförbund för obehöriga lärare...

Google and Android are the future of education

Before I was unfortunate enough to drop my one month old HTC Hero mobile phone in a puddle of mud, I started thinking about how Google and Android could change the way we learn, or teach if you wish, today. Before the Android phone I had a Samsung Omnia with Microsoft's Windows Mobile 6.1 operating and I wasn't impressed at all. The biggest difference between Android and WM is that Google is so much better at using its mobile OS fully and make it use and work with the rest of the product line. The first thing I had to to when starting up the HTC Hero (Android 1.5) was to type my Google credentials and connect to my Google account for importing contacts. It also has a built in Gmail widget which displays your emails on one of the home-screens if you wish. By browsing through the app store I could easily install a number of apps that brought Google Docs and Google Calendar more or less on to my handset. 

Fråga: Google och lärarplaneringar

Hej!
Jag har följt dina inlägg på twitter ett tag nu och jag är mycket tacksam över att få ta det av dina tips och tankar. Även jag jobbar som lärare i svenska och engelska och nu undrar jag om du har något bra tips på hur man kan lägga upp sin planering på datorn.
Jag har ju sex undervisningsgrupper. Jag vill kunna se en översikt över planeringen för alla grupper men jag vill också kunna visa en i taget och kanske lägga upp en enskild grupp på wikisidan eller bloggen så att elever och föräldrar kan se vad som är på gång. Än har jag inte hittat något.
Ett alternativ är kanske att använda sig av Google kalender (jag har förstått att du gärna använder googles verktyg) men då fastnade jag i varför just Google? Det finns ju Windows och Outlook också. Vilket är bäst och varför?
/C

Conquering teacher's technophobia

I love the word technophobia. I love the words "teacher's technophobia", simply because it true. Most teachers do have technophobia for sure. Here is an excellent guide from Discovery Education that tries to solve the problem. Or at least help those teachers who at least feel they want to be cured...

Print it, put it up on the board in your staff room and send it to your boss. 

Conquering Technophobia - Guide for teachers