vision

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This was a video clip presented last week at the VDOE conference. I found it very interesting! Watch it and then sign in. I would love to know your thoughts on this video.


 * [[image:pc2.jpg width="272" height="200" align="left" link="http://melzwiki.wikispaces.com/space/showimage/pc2.jpg"]]Here is a copy of the email text I sent out:**

Hi everyone,

Last week several of us attended the VDOE Educational Technology Conference. It was very interesting! I have created a link to a video that was shown at the conference on a wiki page. A wiki page is a web page that anyone can edit as long as they have proper permissions. I have created permissions for you all. This is what I would like to see happen:


 * 1) 1. Go to http://melzwiki.wikispaces.com/vision
 * 2) Sign in with these credentials: UN: melzguest PW: melzguest
 * 3) Play the video, A Vision of K-12 Students The play button is very tiny but can be found in the lower left hand corner of the player.
 * 4) After watching the video click on the “edit this page” button located in the top right hand side of the page.
 * 5) You will be taken to a screen that looks like an online version of Microsoft Word. This is the editing part of the page. You will see a small gray box in the top of the editing page, a sentence of directions, and the word Thoughts.
 * 6) Place your cursor under the word Thoughts and space twice. Type what comes to mind after watching the video.
 * 7) When you are finished, click “save” which is located in the top right corner of the editing page.
 * 8) You’re done! Congratulations! You are now entering the digital age.

NOTE: Please be careful of any personal identifiers you post. I am notified immediately of any changes to my page and will delete any info that provides names or numbers.

I want to challenge you to attempt this. I really would like to see a lot of comments on this video.

PS: Please don’t make me feel stupid by having a page that everyone ignores. LOL!!!


 * Thoughts from ACPS teachers in response to the above email:**

The job of the ITRT and media specialist continues to grow in importance, not only for our students but also for our collegues.

Those who are charged with educating our students must first be educated themselves

There is a difference between being information wise and having knowledge. Students will have access to a lot of information but will they know what to do with it? This is even more reason for teachers to be fully connizant of what and how they present facts. The role of an experienced teacher will be even more important!

This was very interesting and a little scary!

I realize that we aren't doing all this video wants for us to do but we have to start somewhere.

What we need is a workshop that would provide time for brainstorming after you show us how to use a wiki

How can we find out more?

School is not all about fun and games. I think the students get enough games at home. Maybe that is why they expect us to run a circus for them instead of a classroom.

We wouldn't want to embarrass you by not posting. The video gave me a lot to think about. It might be a good video to show at a staff meeting. Do principals and the administration get to see this too?

What I want to know is this, if we can't get the students to learn the material now with our pacing guides and SOLs, how will we pass if we don't do anything but computers?

I __love__ computers, technological products, and the capabilities that they offer. I think that most of the information in the video clip is exciting! I'm just afraid that technology may take the place of books, talking to someone in person (as opposed to e-mail), board games, etc

It's interesting and somewhat scary to think about what the future will bring.

Can you set one of these up for us to do in class? Does it work with United Streaming? //Note from Mel: Due to copyright laws, this will not work with United Streaming. There are other video services available. We could look at Teacher Tube which is where this video came from.//

I found it exciting, yet bothersome. I am concerned for our children. When will they have time to just be a child?

Does anyone else find it concerning that children don't pick up books and read anymore?

If they can't read a book, how will they read a web page?

I think they will read anything they are interested in. I just wish we had more time to let students explore and research online. With the pressure to pass the test, I always feel guilty about taking part in long term computer projects.

The video is preaching to the choir. We know change is needed. How do we bring about change and still maintain standards of accountability?

This has been cool, working on a wiki. The video was interesting as well.

How long would a digital story project take? //(Note from Melanie: Whoever posted this, please email me. There are many ways to allow students to tell a story digitally. It all depends on the content and your time frame.)//

Many of the technologies shown are not allowed right now in our schools. Kids are not suppose to bring IPods and cell phones to school. Wonder if this will change in the future.

How long do you think it will take ACPS to catch up? Seems like we are way behind.

Some of the changes will take money. How will we pay for the new computers? We will need to have a computer for every student. My problem is that when I have time in my classroom for using computers, they are always checked out by someone else.

I enjoyed this challenge. I was afraid I would not be able to post on this page but it has been fun! The video was thought provoking. I showed it to my husband and my children. I think you should send this video clip to the top dogs. Principals and administrators need to see this. Teachers will adapt and change if our leaders allow us the flexibility to do so. We also need more time with you if we are going to make any significant differences. One day a week is not enough time to plan and carry out quality instruction if we are going to go out of our comfort zone and try something new.

I am willing to try anything. I will call you. I have your phone number and I know where you live, Mel!