Moving at the Speed of Creativity Podcasts

In early-June 2010, Oklahoma governor Brad Henry signed Senate Bill 2319 into law which radically changes the groundrules for online, virtual learning in Oklahoma. In this podcast, David discusses the model of virtual learning which is now available FREE for ANY K-12 student in the state of Oklahoma through Epic One on One Charter School, and a little background about how the law in Oklahoma changed about two weeks ago to permit statewide online enrollments. David explains each student in Oklahoma receives a "student allocation" from the state, which is calculated based on an "Average Daily Membership" formula. Oklahoma K-12 students can enroll full-time OR part-time in the online program offered by Epic Charter Schools, no matter where they live in our state. The law requires public school districts in which students are residents permit students to still participate in after school, extracurricular activities (including sports) even if the student is enrolled fulltime in an online charter school. Oklahoma law currently restricts charter schools from physically existing anywhere outside the Oklahoma City and Tulsa metro areas, because of population restrictions written into the law. According to the Oklahoma State Department of Education's website, "State law authorizes charter schools in 12 school districts: Broken Arrow, Edmond, Jenks, Midwest City/Del City, Moore, Mustang, Oklahoma City, Owasso, Putnam City, Sand Springs, Tulsa and Union Public Schools." The constitutionality of this charter school restriction was legally challenged for a time by the Tulsa Public Schools, but that challenge was eventually dropped. Based in part on the model of Golden Valley Charter School in California, David and others have created a charter school model which does NOT lock parents and students into the use of curriculum from a single or sharply defined list of curriculum providers. Instead, parents are permitted to direct the expenditure of a portion of their child's "student allocation" from the state (approximately $1000) through Epic Charter School, to select online curriculum as well as other instructional materials appropriate to the student's grade level, skills, and needs. These instructional materials CAN include a laptop computer. In fact, one of the marketing messages of Epic is, "Ask how to get a free computer!" Epic Charter School is sponsored by the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) in Edmond, but is an official charter school in the Oklahoma City Public Schools. To my knowlege, none of our major media outlets in the state (newspapers or television stations) have run an article or a segment on Senate Bill 2319 and its implications for free, publicly funded online learning options in our state. This situation brings to my mind the ideas in Clayton Christenson's book, "Disrupting Class." The learning landscape of the twenty-first century continues to become even more interesting, and online learning is clearly a big part of the disruptive changes which are reshaping public education today. Refer to the podcast shownotes for links and resources referenced in this podcast interview.

Historical interpreters on the site brought history alive for our family and others in attendance, describing a 6 pound gun as well as mortar like those used in the siege of Yorktown which ended the American Revolutionary War. The same interpreter also shared (earlier in the day) a presentation about field hospitals and the the work of surgeons in the Revolutionary War. The final recording tells the story of The Battle of Great Bridge, an important but lesser known battle from early in the war which led to the evacuation of British forces from Virginia for five years of the war. Refer to the podcast shownotes for referenced links and resources related to this podcast. It seems appropriate to share this podcast on Independence Day here in the United States! Happy Birthday to the USA!

This was a 2+ hour presentation, so the recordings have been separated into two parts. See the podcast shownotes for links to referenced videos and resources. (Audio from shared videos has been edited out of this recording.) The session description was: Much of the world has gone digital, so must learning at school. Creativity is vital, and good leadership matters. Stagnant, accomodation-level technology integration makes technology investments in our schools a waste of money. School leaders can and should encourage teachers to use digital learning tools in transformative ways to open new doors of opportunity for students as well as parents. By focusing on creating, communicating / sharing, and collaborating, principals can help develop a shared instructional vocabularly with teachers which is focused on student engagement. Without creation, there can be no creativity. How will you let your students create? How will you give students choices? How will your students teach the curriculum? These are essential questions to ask together with teachers, as we seek to effectively (and legally) "talk with media / pictures" and leverage the constructive power of digital media tools for learning inside and outside the classroom.

This was a 2+ hour presentation, so the recordings have been separated into two parts. See the podcast shownotes for links to referenced videos and resources. (Audio from shared videos has been edited out of this recording.) The session description was: Much of the world has gone digital, so must learning at school. Creativity is vital, and good leadership matters. Stagnant, accomodation-level technology integration makes technology investments in our schools a waste of money. School leaders can and should encourage teachers to use digital learning tools in transformative ways to open new doors of opportunity for students as well as parents. By focusing on creating, communicating / sharing, and collaborating, principals can help develop a shared instructional vocabularly with teachers which is focused on student engagement. Without creation, there can be no creativity. How will you let your students create? How will you give students choices? How will your students teach the curriculum? These are essential questions to ask together with teachers, as we seek to effectively (and legally) "talk with media / pictures" and leverage the constructive power of digital media tools for learning inside and outside the classroom.

The title of Steve's session was, "Crisis in the School: Redesigning the Delivery Model." Steve relates how ESSDACK (The Educational Services and Staff Development Association of Central Kansas) hosted a summit last April for schools to study different alternatives for redesigning educational models focusing on project-based learning. I titled my text notes from Steve's presentation, "Helping kids connect to their passions and become remarkable: SAVING money shifting to Project Based Learning." Educators in Erie, Kansas, (USD 101) have found that by shifting to a project-based learning model students can be more engaged in their learning, while teachers shift their roles to be the "facilitators" rather than just the "deliverers" of the curriculum. This model can prove LESS expensive than the traditional school staffing model. Steve explains how.

...with Dean Mantz in Sterling, Kansas, Dean Shareski in Moosejaw, Saskatchewan, Cyndi Danner-Kuhn in Manhattan, Kansas, and Wesley Fryer in Edmond, Oklahoma.For the past several years, each participant has taught pre-service technology classes for undergraduate college students. In this conversation (which runs long, about an hour and a half) topics ranged from how course activities are selected, structured and assessed, epiphany or "a-ha" moments in teaching, changes which have been made to the course or how the course is taught (mixing face-to-face, online and blended modalities) and how to best leverage face-to-face interaction opportunities with students. LOTS of great ideas here. Check the podcast shownotes for most (if not all) of the referenced websites, curricula and resources from our conversation. This podcast is labeled (part 1) because we plan to continue the discussion in upcoming months!

The title of their presentation was, "Be The Change You Want To See In Schools: Integrating Technology and Making Connections to Create Change." Shannon is the teacher librarian / media specialist / technology coordinator at Van Meter School in Iowa. All the resources referenced by Shannon and her students in this fantastic presentation are available on a Google Site she created, which is linked in the podcast shownotes. This is the first year of the 1:1 laptop program at Van Meter Schools. It is clear to me that Shannon, administrators at Van Meter, as well as students and teachers have embraced a powerful combination of ingredients to not simple "do school" as it has traditionally been delivered in classrooms, but rather intentionally seek to transform the teaching and learning process. As you'll hear Shannon describe in her presentation, educators at Van Meter are helping students connect with their own passions in different domains. Students are not only writing and publishing about these topics, they are also reaching out to other experts in other places with Skype, Twitter, and other technologies. Van Meter schools are on the forefront of the learning revolution, and it was a treat to hear from Shannon as well as her students who are literally on the "front lines of change" at Van Meter. Please refer to the podcast shownotes for additional links and resources related to this presentation.

We used a Google Moderator Topic Series to solicit questions for this open forum. Tablet technologies, 1 to 1 laptop initiatives, digital literacy, and helping students improve their critical thinking skills by making the shift from media consumer to media prosumer. Some of the questions addressed were: Will tablet technologies transform the predominant ways people use technology to work and communicate, or is it a passing fad? Mis-information seems to be at an all time high in our political world. How can we help students become good consumers of information, well informed citizens? How are disciplines affected by digital or new literacies? Do tablet technologies have a significant advantage over smart phone technologies for educators? How do you see literacy changing in the schools your work with? How is 1:1 changing how we define literacy? and for that matter how do you define literacy and the new literacies? How much of a limitation to 1 to 1 in education is the lack of flash on the iPad? I've used Flash based online resources extensively with my students.

Open Educational Resources (OER) are licensed under terms which permit other educators to both use and (in some cases) remix content to fit the standards, context, and needs of their classrooms. This podcast is a recording of a session on OER shared by Wesley Fryer on April 7, 2010, in Des Moines, Iowa at the Iowa 1:1 Institute sponsored by CASTLE. Audio from shared videos has been edited out of this podcast recording. Original videos are available in the Google Presentation, linked in the podcast shownotes.

This podcast is a recording of a presentation shared by Wesley Fryer at Northeastern State University in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, on 9 April 2010. This presentation addresses the following topics: Tablets, Cloud Computing, Social Media, Laptops / Mobile Devices, Online Publishing, Multimedia Texts, Online Video, Digital Footprints, Open Licensing / OER, and Visual Communication. Audio from shared videos has been edited out of this podcast recording. Original videos are available in the Google Presentation, linked in the podcast shownotes.

Wesley discussed the apparent goals of Race to the Top, which appear to be public funding of for-profit schools (through the expansion of publicly-funded charter schools in the United States) as well as linking "teacher performance" measurements to student test score performance. The opinions expressed in this podcast and webcast are those of Wesley Fryer, and do NOT necessarily represent the views of the Seedlings or EdTechTalk. The Seedlings are Maine educators Bob Sprankle, Cheryl Oakes and Alice Barr. Wesley was the guest on the Seedlings webcast on April 1st. Please refer to the podcast shownotes for links to the full webcast recording, as well as additional links and resources related to this topic.

These include InstaPaper, Pandora's Box, Doodle Jump, F.A.S.T., Civilization Revolution, A Doodle Fly, Angry Birds, Eliminate Pro / COPES, and Balloons TD. Alexander shared a summary of each application, described why he likes it, and also reflected on the design elements for mobile games more generally which stand out from the crowd for him.

... written by other people around the world based on characters from J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter book series. In the past year, Alexander has read approximately eight different books written by authors publishing on FanFiction.net. With almost half a million Harry Potter related stories on FanFiction now, it is important to use advanced search query / filtering techniques to find stories you want to read. Alexander discusses how he uses FanFiction, tips for searching for books, and how he uses the free version of the iPod Touch application InstaPaper to create mobile-optimized, offline versions of FanFiction book chapters he is reading. This enables him to read FanFiction book chapters even when he is offline / not connected to a WiFi hotspot. InstaPaper is also beneficial because it optimizes the text size and reading experience for saved webpages, making the saved webpage function similarly to an eBook on the Kindle for iPhone application.

This podcast features a seven minute interview with Ryan L’Esperance, an audio engineer who works and lives on the tour bus ten months of the year. According to the official website of the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus: The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus is a non-profit 501(c)(3) mobile audio and HD video recording and production facility. Since 1998, the Bus has provided free hands-on programs to hundreds of high schools, colleges, Boys and Girls Clubs, music festivals, concerts, conventions and community organizations. Working together with some of the biggest names in music, the Lennon Bus encourages students to play music, write songs, engineer recording sessions and produce video projects using the latest audio, video, and live sound equipment. The interior is divided into three separate studio environments that can be opened to create one large studio. The front studio is a cutting-edge audio and video production room. The rear studio offers pro-level recording and mixing at the highest possible resolution, as well as an iso booth for acoustic recordings, and a chromate (green screen) booth. Powered by Apple computers, the studios feature traditional musical instruments and the latest Sony HD products and solutions. Also on-board is a Mackie P.A. system enabling performances on the side of the Bus. [end of website quotation] What a fantastic, creative opportunity for students in Yukon Public Schools, Oklahoma!

Our digital communications landscape today includes far more than email. By working in the "cloud" using collaborative environments like Google Docs and Google Reader, we flexibly access as well as share information on a variety of computing platforms. This session is a practical overview of the communications landscape of the early 21st century, as well as tips for library media specialists about ways to constructively and powerfully utilize these capabilities.