When I hear the term teacher leader, what do I think? I think of someone who sets an example at their school, either by implementing new classroom techniques or keeping up to date. It is important for teachers to take the lead because in a sense they already are leaders, whether they want to be or not. They lead young students in shaping their minds and preparing them for the future. To this end, teachers need to take a stand and advocate for their students. By advocate, I do not mean just go forth and try to get funding, but it is important for teachers to also stay on top of things, whether that means attending conferences or getting recertified. There are many roles for the teacher to play:

• choosing textbooks and instructional materials;
• shaping the curriculum;
• setting standards for student behavior;
• deciding whether students are tracked into special classes;
• designing staff development and in-service programs;
• setting promotion and retention policies;
• deciding school budgets;
• evaluating teacher performance;
• selecting new teachers; and
• selecting new administrators.

We must also realize that just because we went through a teaching program, we are not all automatically teacher leaders. It takes more work than that. This article provides a great explanation of what it means to be a teacher leader and what can be done to achieve this goal. It definitely gave me something to think about. It also talks about teacher leadership in all its aspects.

Teacher Leader Network brings together teacher leaders from across the country. It helps them hold conversations and discuss ideas for improving their leadership. As the website says, it is responsible for:

Engaging in daily discussions around practice and policy,
Collaborating on action research and other projects for improved student learning,
Sharing their content and pedagogical expertise with pre-service and in-service teachers, and
Refining their policy insights and contributing their voices to the decisions that affect the students and communities they serve

all great ways to encourage teacher leadership. Do I plan to be a teacher leader? I would like to. It is important to keep up on the latest techniques if you want to provide students with the best advantages life has to offer. It is important to attend conferences and continuing education classes, whatever it takes.

So, here is my question to you, one more of curiosity . . . what is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of teacher leadership? Why?

Networked Learning

It seems to me that this class has been geared toward preparing us “preservice teachers” for the networked student, not that I’m complaining. I believe the Internet and the wide variety of applications available make for a wonderful and useful learning tool. Not only does the Internet make the world a much smaller place, but it encourages communication on all levels. It becomes a facilitator for the easy exchange of ideas, not just between friends, but also between professionals and students. The two examples that come to mind right now are the TED talks and MIT OpenCourseWare. Two resources that enable students to further enhance their knowledge, which prior to the Internet would have been impossible. I only wish this technology had been readily available to me when I was in high school or even college, as I’m slightly older. My family didn’t have readily available access to the Internet until about 1994 and even then it was only dial-up. Considering how far we’ve come, I might shrivel up and die if I had to go back to dial-up.

To that end, in order for students to be able to utilize this wonderful tool that has been given us they must be digitally literate. It is a sink or swim situation, especially in light of the future job market. If students are not prepared to use this tool to its full potential they could lose out on valuable opportunities. There are so many useful applications that can be utilized by teachers not only to increase the learning potential of students, but also make their lives easier. It does ask that the teacher relinquish a bit of control, but she is still necessary to guide the students’ quest for knowledge. The teacher is still necessary to point the student in the right direction. It is also up to the teacher to teach the student how to authenticate the knowledge found out there on the Internet. As we all know, it is not all legit. I can envision all sorts of ways to use this knowledge and hope to have the opportunity to do so in the classroom. Unfortunately, not everyone has the access necessary to enjoy the benefits. I would hope that maybe I would be at a school that has access to a computer lab where I might be able to schedule time for my students. Nowadays with the advent of cell phone technology, students would still be able to a smaller degree to remain digitally connected. Although with the new smart phones, especially the iPhone, Internet connectivity looks to become stronger, so applications like Twitter would still be useful in the classroom.

Not only that, but there is loads of information out there for teachers on how to utilize this new medium in the classroom. In my perusing, I found Network Learning which goes a long way toward offering ideas and technology toward becoming networked. It won’t just be the student who has to become networked, but the teacher as well. It will be important for the teacher to become digitally literate; they’ll have to be dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century if necessary. It is no longer about what the teacher is comfortable with, but about doing what is best for the student.

So, what am I trying to say is that the students of today have to be digital literate. Sometimes I think about the American Education System in comparison to some of the countries in the world and can only think we are seriously lacking. If we want to get an advantage it would be in our best interests to capitalize on these resources in the classroom.

Although I will be honest that during my experience in Japan, computers were not utilized at all in the school where I worked, but on the other hand students spent an unspeakable amount of hours studying. So, is this a mixed message? What do you think? Do you think the advantage might lie in gaining a technological edge?

Who's surprised that I would choose Japan?

It might be a little rough reading it, since it had to fit it within the borders of my blog. Here's the link to the original.

Chance Lyman - www.xtranormal.com

Chance - www.xtranormal.com - Relate content to students and use technology. Active Participation in a Democracy - students will be shown that voting is not the only way to be active in government. Students will create a movie, wiki page, draft a letter, etc in an attempt to have their voice heard according to a rubric they are given at the start. This project is designed to raise awareness of controversial issues.

Zahra - Voting Rights - key people in voting rights, women's suffrage, create a lesson to put on a website which could be utilized to teach to students.

Michael - concentrated on oral history, focusing on senior citizens in nursing homes, record their stories on garageband, making digital history of life 75 years ago. Upload the information to youtube. Projects on youtube.

Adam - voter registration, observing trends over time, motivating people to vote or the issues that are happening. In Florida, you can pre-register to vote at 16 in Florida.  Digital presentation to encourage voting. Securing television time.

Meg - Human trafficking. Reconstruction of amendments and outlawing slavery. Website for highschool students to address this issue. Spreading awareness. Students would get into four groups, what type of people are enslaved today? What is the USA doing to discourage trafficking laws? Etc. Students could do a podcast, brochure, some type of visual presentation. Compile on to a website to have a resource. Culminate in a letter writing campaign to change laws and encourage change. One way in which important is that most people don't know who their senators or representatives are. The blue heart is the symbol of the anti-human trafficking campaign.

Jennifer - Military letter writing. When you send letters across the ocean it takes a long time to get there. Students would create a wiki or blog where students can write to all branches of the military. Men and women in the military can respond on blogs and talk about whatever they want.

Josh - Look into the past - November 11 is just another day that students have off. Students would pick a veteran and do a 30 minute interview to get an essential idea of who the person was during the war. Students would do research online just to get basic background knowledge about the relevant war. After the interview, students would do a podcast of about 2 minutes to record the important aspect of the students veteran's participation in the war. Students would create a blog about their participation with the veterans. Show veterans what was created and compiled. Total of 3 blogs to which each students would have to respond. Better understanding of American history.

Mark - War on drugs and generating awareness. Students would observe all the aspects of the war on drugs. Budgetary issues are resulting in budget cuts in key areas, such as policemen. Students would create wiki that would go over all aspects of the war on drugs. Once they gained awareness to the war on drugs they would write a letter writing campaign on an issue they favor.

Meagan - Aimed toward middle school, supporting a soldier. Working through school and community to garner support from people in the community. People would be paired up to make awareness in the school with a website. Monthly students would write their penpal and update a vlog with progress. Weekly teachers would present questions about what they have learned. Students will learn about the geography, history, etc.

Elizabeth - Operation Christmas Child - different cultures and traditions. Students would discover what other children do around the holidays, especially those less fortunate than them. Students will create a Christmas box. Students would conduct interviews and blog about that. Students would do a technological assessment. It should be more personal to students.

Eric - Using the Internet to improve the life of the elderly. Students would visit retirement home and talk to them. Receive consent to interview and do a presentation on senior citizens. Work with residents to use social networks, messaging, email, etc. Follow up questionnaire regarding communication and life satisfaction. Compile information into an essay.

Elizabeth - Increasing cultural awareness. The conflict abroad is resulting in problems here. Relate to immigration over the past century. Going to poll the school for heritage. Research the culture most represented by the school. Create a wiki. School wide presentation. Organize "increasing cultural awareness" fair for the school and community.

Mallory - Habitat for Humanity - economics/civics class. Students would work with habitat to determine costs of building houses. Research effective ways and interview volunteers. Students would place reports on wikis. Students will interview families who have received homes. Can choose whatever technological medium to do this. Advocating for habitat and telling the families stories. Will tie it in with what they've learned about homelessness and urban economics. Write a post on wiki and graded.

Louisa - People in nursing homes are very lonely. Students will write questions to address daily aspects of their lives. Will go to a nursing home with the same questions. Things seen and heard on the news. Students will interview local nursing home residents. Will videotape their interview and upload it onto the wiki. Compare/contrast. Viewing party at the nursing home. Students will present all the videos that were made as a result of their work. Will understand that their stories are still important.  Wikis, Internet, Video Podcasts.

Mark - Environment and global warning - students find the politician in their area to help communicate about global warning. Keeps information updated on class wiki. Biographical sketch about the politician interviewed.  Storybird.com

Katy - Impact of historical events on people. Answer question and post to website. Will visit nursing home. Major historical event and interview a person and how it affected them. Students will create videos and audio presentation. Will post to class site along with their reflection.

Jeff - How people affect the environment around them. Teaching students about wildlife and their environment. Post to blog their experiences about cleaning up.

Megan - Research presidential elections - voter turnout, trends, who voted, information dispersed, how government has affected lives, students will visit a retirement home. Students will interview old people and discover why trends occurred. Class will make a podcast of their research and interviews. Mini history oral project. Writing aspect along with a thank you note.

Brittany - Survey voting turnout. Attempting to get young people to vote. Typically they don't vote with as much fervor as old people. Work in groups to compile questions. Make a survey using survey monkey.
Questions must be well crafted. Make posters to get out the vote. Students would present to the class using whatever medium they wanted. Assess whether or not students understand what is being done.

Nicole - voting and campaigning - becoming a responsible citizen. Young people don't vote nor do a lot of demographic groups that are not aware. Students will try to raise awareness by running their own election. Using a google motion chart to monitor trends, make a podcast, create their own polling questions.

Angie - Students learning about their individual rights. Will create a website. Students will select a topic pertaining to individual rights. Small groups dependent on how many students you have participating. Each group would have a section of the wiki. Organize a get it right fair that would take place during a school day. Students will create an interactive display on their topic. Speakers come in to talk or communicate issues and concerns. At the end, visitors would vote on their favorite display.

Ali - Muslim American. Students research media for information on Muslim Americans. Will include reading trade book 14 yr girl living in America during 9/11. Interviewing people for perspectives on the Patriot Act. Gain more knowledge, correlate with Japanese-Americans during WWII. Spreading news about the needs of immigrants. Create wikis about the Patriot Act, using their interviews and information acquired to spread the knowledge.

Carrie - Oral History - choose a family member or landmark that was built as representation of the Cold War. Students would take a digital or video camera and create an article. Articles will be uploaded to a wiki. Bring in history of local community. Invite other classrooms and communities to be involved in the wiki. Expand knowledge of community during the Cold War. A whole wiki of the communities history.

Gigi - Study the geography of Haiti, would network with another student from Haiti. Most likely it would be a private school that has access to Internet. Students would use a wiki and allow them to learn about cultural values and whatnot. Students would have a class website of what they learned, using podcasts and videos. Final project would be to introduce it to the entire school. Students would collect funds/supplies to send to the students.

Service Learning Plan

1. Cultural Perspectives

2. At-Risk Youth

3. Grade Level/Setting: 9-12

4. Subject: World History

5. Unit Description:

Background

This service learning plan will complement student study of Japan before, during, and after World War II. Students will focus on Japanese perspective in the chain of events which lead Japan to imperialism and entry into World War II. Special attention will be paid to the Sino-Japanese conflict, the American-Japanese conflict with special attention paid to Pearl Harbor and Japanese surrender.

Project

How:

Through an Assistant Language Teacher and a Social Science counterpart in Japan an exchange will be created through which at-risk students exchange letters with Japanese students of an appropriate age. It will give students the opportunity to expand their cultural horizons. Students, Japanese and American, will be given the chance to eliminate stereotypes based upon sometimes faulty information. Additionally students will be able to improve their letter writing skills, as their will be an especially strong emphasis on proper grammar and punctuation due to English not being the Japanese students’ native language. The exchange of letters would occur at the beginning of the semester, giving students plenty of time to become familiar with one another and firmly establish a rapport.

Why:

Students will exchange letters with in an effort to expand their knowledge about Japanese Imperialism and World War II from a modern Japanese perspective. Students will be able to learn about how bias affects perspective. The questions the students should address are:

1. What do Japanese students learn about Japanese Imperialism and World War II in school?

2. How does what Japanese students learn differ from what American students learn in school?

3. Why does it differ?

Japanese students would be fully prepared for the material through instructions from the ALT. In addition, students might be able to get first-hand accounts from Japanese survivors. Due to the sensitive nature, students will be urged to exercise discretion. Students will need to learn about cultural taboos in order to navigate such a deeply affecting subject.


6. NETS:

Creativity and Innovation
Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology.

Communication and Collaboration
Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others. Students:

7. Sunshine State Standards:

SS.912.W.1.3: Interpret primary and secondary sources.
SS.912.W.1.5: Compare conflicting interpretations or schools of thought about world events and individual contributions to history (historiography).
SS.912.W.6.6: Analyze the causes and effects of imperialism.
SS.912.W.7.11: Describe the effects of World War II.

8. Technologies:

Webpage showcasing cooperation with Japanese school

Wiki pooling information gained from Japanese students about Japanese Imperialism and World War II.

Potentially email if students decide to exchange addresses with Japanese students in order to facilitate the transfer of information.

9. Assessment:

Inquiry Search Paper(40%)

Students will use the information gained in class and through their communication with Japanese students to write a paper addressing the following questions.

1. What do Japanese students learn about Japanese Imperialism in the early part of the century and World War II in school?

2. How does what Japanese students learn differ from what American students learn in school?

3. Why does it differ? Talk about the bias present.

4. What stereotypes did students have about Japan?

5. Were they changed?

6. What did they learn about Japanese culture and life that they did not know previously?

b. Participation (60%)

Willingness to exchange letters.

Contributions to Wiki.

Contributions to webpage.

Land of the Rising Sun

Clay Shirky’s talk was enlightening in the ways media is being used today. Through the Internet the world is becoming much smaller. It is allowing people to connect and become global Samaritans, as evidenced by the devastation and subsequent assistance provided in the wake of the earthquake in China. Although, not mentioned in Shirky’s talk it was further evidenced by the use of Twitter to publicize the results of the Iranian election and the move to squash the election. In this age of online communication, censorship is much harder to achieve. Living in close proximity as I did, I was fairly aware of the “Great Firewall of China” although I didn’t know it was referred to as such. It is still surprising to me that they can successfully repress the public in such a widespread manner.

We have to make the case that if this technology was available in the past, then wouldn’t it stand to reason that the government would also have the technology to suppress? You have to give tit for tat. If the public has the tech to communicate atrocities, then it should stand to reason that the government has the tech to suppress the communication. Although, it is probably likely that something would get through no matter what the government tries to do.



What if when Columbus came to America and began what would essentially be an age of conquest and subjugation for the Native Americans, what if they had access to the Internet or Twitter? First off, those initial tribes would probably start tweeting about this strange new sickness that seemed to arrive with the white man. It might make subsequent tribes a little less likely to approach Columbus and his crew with open arms. Heck, the Native Americans could almost use the smallpox as an early warning system for the arrival of the white man. It would quickly become apparent that death and destruction followed in the wake of the white man. It might have still resulted in the Incan civil war, but it might have made Atahualpa much less likely to greet Pizarro with open arms. In fact, it might result in a shoot first; ask questions later kind of policy by the Native Americans.

What could the conquistadors have done in counter? I’m not sure there is anything they could have done, by the time they figured out that the word was out there that they came to conquer it would probably be too late. What would be the ramifications? Well, to start I think the conquest of America might have taken much longer than it did. If all the Native Americans knew that some bad people were on their way, they would probably attempt to take appropriate measures. It’d probably make American history slightly different.

Do you think if Native Americans had access to online resources that the conquest of North & South America would have been quite so successful?