Activating educators

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HowTo [ID# 45479]  +/-

Goals

1. Building a community platform for supporting and encouraging teachers who are using XOs. See educators below.

2. Building a community platform for involving volunteers of various abilities and backgrounds (educators, teachers, and others interested in visiting and contributing). See developers below.

For Educators

Audience: teachers currently in the field and those about to receive XOs (along w/ OLPC staff and supporting orgs)

Emphasis: support, self-documentation, journaling/blogging, collaboration and exchange.

Project Ideas

Note: once a project begins to take shape, create a task page for it and link to it from the open projects section of the Educators page.

• Educator wiki (or sub-section of wiki)
  • XO Teachers
  • Educators
• Tutorials for teachers, incl.
  • MediaWiki training (take from WikiEducator site tutorials)
  • How to use and make activities
    • See Activating educators#Synthesizing_Info_from_Pilot_Programs
• Teacher Activity in general?
  • See Educational toolkit
  • Syndicated country/pilot blogs
• User page templates...
  • See Activating educators#Expand_presence_of_educators_on_wiki

For Developers

Audience: teachers who want to volunteer/create lesson plans/activities.

Emphasis: constructionist ethos, transparency of information.

Project Ideas

• Ideas for content repository. Features include:
  • Activity/lesson templates
  • Rating system
  • Discussion/feedback system
  • Search/sort/tag by subject, lesson type,
  • Example activities for Activities incl. in base install
• Develop ties to existing companion repository/"Educational Content Management" sites.
• Think about content repository COMMUNITY: who are its members now vs. later; who do we want as members now vs. later.
• What makes sense at this early stage of deployment?
• Create and assess the usability of models... learn with communities. To that end,
  • Sites that do things well:
    • We The Teachers "Lessons and Files": http://www.wetheteachers.com/plans.php
    • Open Planner "Member Built Curriculum": http://www.openplanner.org/sitemenu
    • WikiEducator wiki templates-- a place to send Educators.
    • MaMaMedia lesson templates
    • Connexions bringing together of authors, instructors, and learners: http://cnx.org/
    • Common Content "catalog" of resources: http://commoncontent.org/
    • Curriki personalization: http://www.curriki.org/xwiki/bin/view/XWiki/lklein
      • add/create/build designations: http://www.curriki.org/xwiki/bin/view/XWiki/lklein
    • OER Commons "Detail View" (w/ rating, tags, review, notes): http://www.oercommons.org/courses/18th-century-public-sphere-early-newspaper-coffee-houses-political-discourse-from-the-course-history-of-information/
    • WikiTeach "Edit Lesson Plan" format
    • WikiJET sorting scheme: http://jet.wikia.com/wiki/Teaching

• Educational activity guidelines.
  • See Activating_educators#Educational_activity_guidelines

• Lesson Plan Jam
  • See Activating_educators#Educator_Jam
  • Bring educators of early childhood who have experiences integrating computers in constructionist ways, in and out of the classroom. Let them work in teams to build learning activities and lessons.
  • Reflection in action, guideless co-construction, platforms evaluation, etc.

Thoughts on Activities

Several kinds of activities:

1. Digital/collaborative Activities, some w/ corresponding physical activity
2. Activities that expand/enhance existing lessons
3. Local activities vs. those that require internet connectivity

Local work with activities - a preliminary set; and on a Wiki/Web in the global application that will arrive later because we first have to figure out how to work locally with teachers and students who are novices and do not have connectivity anywhere anytime...

General Issues

How to inspire teachers to contribute?

• Not all teachers are eager to contribute. Engage those teachers who are interested in contributing. That's an "old art."
• Even among those who contribute, support and establish the right "voice."

Open Projects

Moved to Educators#Open_Projects

Comments and Discussion

From MaMaMedia

Emphasis on local network activities

10 activities w/ versions and themes

Aimed at K-2, computer novices We now design for Both teachers and students who are novices.

Emphasis on 3Xs.

Including initial open playful engagement and exploration , combined with structure and learning values, skills, and objectives that are suitable to curriculum and relevant to culture, location and interest.

IN JUNE : LAUNCHING initial set of 3 prototype activities, each with 3 embedded lesson plans (incl. 1 that involves internet).

We also develop a strategy for a Related developer wiki and educator wiki.

Lesson 1 is how to use activities. - open play exploration

Lessons 2 and 3 are how to make your own. - self expression, both free creative flow as well as based on thematic curricular goals.

Lesson 4-5 - Exchanges via mesh.