True Confessions and Live Binders

I have a confession to make.

My name is Adele and I tend to become obsessed.

When I want to achieve something and I have it in my mind that that is what I must do I do not know how to let it go. All these people say that I am so “talented” and such a “computer wiz”. The truth is: it’s obsession, not talent.

As a part of my job as a National Counselor for Digital Pedagogy in Israel,  I have been co- running a series of online sessions (we called them “meetings” since they were optional and no one got any official credit for taking them) regarding implementing digital pedagogy in the classroom. The sessions have been for leading counselors of language teachers in Israel. It has been for teachers of all the different languages not only English as I am used to doing. There were teacher-trainers for French and Russian, as well as Hebrew for Hebrew speakers, Hebrew for Arabic speakers, Arabic for Arabic speakers, Arabic for Hebrew speakers...even Chinese!  These meetings are coming to an end and I wanted to culminate them in a way that these dedicated participants would leave with something in their virtual hands. Something that they could share with the language teachers whom they counsel.

I had seen a tool called “LiveBinders” which is a curation tool, and I was interested in setting up a collaborative tool box of sorts which all of the other counselors could add to and would be a huge collection of digital tools that can be used for teaching languages, in general.

For some reason I did not pick it up as quickly as I thought I would. In fact I was on the verge of throwing up my hands and giving up. I even went so far as to try to build a similar curation site using Google Sites.  I guess the problem was that, while I was editing, it did not look like I expected it to look. And I did not understand how to see what it would look like in viewing mode, as opposed to editing mode. I had found some tutorials, but they were with an older version that looked different.

Until…. in came another counselor whom I greatly admire and who is really on top of these things. She replied to my cry for help in our Digital Pedagogy Facebook group. With her encouragement in her comments on the Facebook group I finally managed to crack it.   

That's when I became obsessed. I spent the entire vacation day of Independence Day learning and searching and building and learning and I finally figured it out. I am very pleased with what I have built and I only hope that the other language counselors with whom I work will get excited enough to jump in and join me by adding more tools and categories that will help language teachers from all over Israel.

This is what it looks like today. Hopefully, in a few months it will be even more populated and in use by language teachers all over Israel.

As my brother-in-law so delicately puts it: "Like a dog with a bone". And now… off to my next obsession……

Digitally yours,

@dele

P.S.

In order to help other language counselors understand how to collaborate with this tool, I prepared a tutorial, (however it is in Hebrew).

Here is playlist of tutorials, in English, (I wish I had seen this BEFORE I spent the whole day trying to learn it by myself ;0).

And finally, the LiveBinders Help

Online Projects on Googlesites - Part Three Summing Up (for now)…..

For the third part in my reflection on using Googlesites for doing the NBA Project online I will sum up and reflect a little.

The students are finishing up their projects. I have added a page to our template site (the one which I discussed in the first blog on this topic) where I have collected links to all of the class’ projects. This will enable me quick and easy access to all of the projects. It will also enable the examiner who tests them in two year’s time to have all of the class’ projects at her or his fingertips.   

And what did the students feel about doing an online project?

Here are some excerpts (grammar mistakes and all) with their opinions:

“I think working with Googledocs it's better than working in files because the pages can be lost and in googledocs it will be hard to lose them, the project in googledocs will be filed in design more beautiful than just printed pages and You have in the internet more sources of information.”

“I think that working in googledocs is a bad idea because of a few reasons:

a. playing in the computer instead of working is tempting.

b. making us writing an important work in a program is a bad idea since we have no expirience in that. next time, make us do the work in hand... “

“ I enjoyed working with Google docs tho in was hard to use the Google sites.”

“First of all i think that working on the computer is boring and very difficult but the project helped me to improve my English and to learned on new religion the Rastafari and about Bob Marley.”

“I have a mixed opinion about working with Googledocs and Googlesite. I generally don't like working with computers, and working with Googletools made it even harder for me. However, I think that having all my project online on a Googlesite can be very useful, and I think that my site can help me in my bagrut.” 

“I think that working with "Google Doc" and having the all project on "Google Site" has advantage and disadvantage. The advantage is that the project can be saved long time.

The disadvantage is that the project can disappear or be deleted. But I think doing this project in  "Google Doc" and in "Google Site" is better than doing it by writing and then print.”

“In the one side, I think that the works with googledocs and on an online tab its good, we learn how to use these tools and we express our information about working with computer, but in the other side I think that this work can be exhausting sometimes. When the internet does not work well and the computer stock.”

“I likes to work with the google docs and to build this online tab because it gaves me more skills to the future and I learn how to present things different."

There are some kids who liked it; others who hated it. The spread does not disturb me too much. I would have preferred it if more students had found embarking on a project which has them building an online presence an exciting endeavor (like I do J ) however, I am not disheartened by their remarks – not even the ones who hated it. I’ll tell you why: I feel that, in addition to my being an English teacher (English as a foreign language, please remember) I see myself as an educator, a role which sometimes calls for cruel and inhuman punishment of the type that will boot your students right out of that cushy comfort zone in which we all prefer to cuddle up in most of the time. To consider the option that our students will finish their high school educations without being somewhat experienced in basic Microsoft programs and collaborative Web 2 tools, is a possibility which I find absolutely abhorrent.  

These kids will be going out into environments (the army and then into the workforce) that are becoming ever more digital with every day that passes. We teachers often take it for granted that these kids are what are defined as “Digital Natives”, but they aren’t all. (In fact, MANY of them are not! Note how many negative comments I got in the feedback, as a result of challenging them to learn a tool to build a website?!) We owe them an education that equips them for real life to the greatest extent possible. 

Therefore, it is my sincere belief that in the long run, my students will benefit from learning how to write a research project and post it online, by populating a website with basic tools and writing collaboratively with peers and their teacher. Nobody learned anything while locked inside their comfort zone.

I fervently advocate finding ways to get our students working digitally. Do whatever it takes.

So now that you have read about my excursions into the land of virtual projects, AND read my students’ opinions, what do YOU think? Would YOU consider going digital with your class’ projects? Would you use Googlesites or another platform? Please share your thoughts here!

Digitally yours,
@dele