My classroom in changing… Every day when my students come to class they have a to-do list on the white board. The list used to say things like:

  • Continue your iMovie project
    • Import all images and video clips
    • Add titles to group your images/video
    • Add effects

Now, my list says something like this:

  • Continue your iMovie project
    • Use the checklist of steps to work at your own pace
  • Check the wiki for new discussion items from our collaborative partners in New Zealand
    • Reply to any active discussions and start new discussions as needed.
  • Check the YackPack for messages from our collaborative partners in New Zealand
    • Reply to any messages and leave new messages as needed.
  • Continue posting work for your online portfolio

I want to add things like:

  • Check the Skype “center” to see if anyone from NZ is online.
    • Conduct at least one video chat with someone from our partner class.
  • Check your blog for comments from your partner classes.
    • Respond and comment as appropriate.
  • Check your RSS reader to see if anyone in your partner classes have posted anything new.
    • Leave comments on anything interesting or relevant that you find.
  • Check your social network for any new forum topics, chats, or media that have been posted.
    • Reply and initiate discussions as appropriate.

What kinds of routines do you have in your class? What else can we be doing to communicate, contribute, and learn from our personal learning networks?

4 thoughts on “Our Daily Routine

  1. Hey Kim,

    Great routines, it’s wonderful to see such tech being used in the context of learning. I love that it seems to be based around conversation, not the technology and it looks like the tech just supports that connectedness.

    Just curious, when you tell them to check their social network, what do you mean? Elgg? Ning? Myspace?

    Great work here!

    Chris Craft

  2. Kim, you are so far ahead of me on what you’re doing here I am ashamed. However, I’m hot on your tail. I second Chris Craft’s question–and also what wiki are your kids using?

  3. Chris,

    Thank you! When I wrote that post, I was thinking about tech tools that are helpful for me in my daily routine and how they can be helpful for the kids too.

    So, social networking: what if all of the kids in their personal learning network were part of a social networking site like Ning? Similar to the way the Horizon Project teachers are using Ning. It could be a protected network, so only the kids could access it, and they would all be able to connect more naturally than through blogging. Even if the official project is over, the connections could continue.

    I’m thinking about the things that Clay writes about blogging becoming like homework, and trying to find a way to make the technology more personal, more approachable, more real for the students.

    What do you think? I guess I should write a post about this…

    Alecia,

    It’s all happened in one year! I can’t wait to see what you’re doing at this time next year!

    Our kids are using wikispaces and pbwiki. I usually have them use wikispaces because that’s where I have my account and I like the privacy settings, but we’ve participated with other projects that use pbwiki. Either way, the tech is so similar, they can figure it out. Does that help?

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