Of heroes and villains

"A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles" (Christopher Reeve)

Heroes are very interesting, aren’t they? At least people in teaching seem to think they are, if the number of hero/villain topics in course books are anything to go by! Here’s a typical ‘everyday hero’ lesson which is actually quite interesting when you add the real-life bit with the YouTube clips and news reports and things. There are also heaps of terrible songs about heroes and even worse videos (Mariah Carey and Enrique Inglesias, you know who you are!) – though if you’re teaching ‘would you...’ second conditionals Enrique is your man. Personally I’m a retro kinda fluffball, and choose Bette Midler every time (how many tenses are in this song? Wow!). But I digress...

People like to call teachers heroes too, and Ken Wilson did a couple of really interesting blog posts about ELT heroes which lots of people commented on and are worth a read. Heaps of people I recognise from Twitter too. Isn’t it funny though, that technology swings loads between being a hero and villain? Steve Jobs and Bill Gates are heroes one day (yay! New iPad!) and villains the next (boo! They’re taking over! And my iPad won’t work...) and it’s often the same with technology activities. When it works, we’re all like ‘yay, how fluffy does my Wordle look!’ and students gasp in wonder at how the clever teacher created an instant poll they could vote for using their mobile phones. When it goes wrong, though, you better run ‘cause the evil technology demons are in trouble! Where did that amazing video I found go when I clicked the link in class? Why did my perfect Pecha Kucha not save properly? I HATE TECHNOLOGY!

It’s times like these when I get all philosophical and like to search quotes websites for inspiration. Here’s one from random 18^th century Swiss chap Johann Kaspar Lavater:

“the prudent see only the difficulties, the bold only the advantages, of a great enterprise; the hero sees both; diminishes the former and makes the latter preponderate, and so conquers”

In my fluffy interpretation, I think this is true of tech too; those who use it best figure out how to minimise difficulties and keep it simple, whilst making the most of its good points – the engaging, the fun, the up-to-date stuff. I leave you with some final words from author Laurence Shames. I have no idea who he is either, but I like the words: 

“ Success and failure. We think of them as opposites, but they’re really not. They’re companions – the hero and the sidekick”

Learning Curves and Swerving Learning

"Hey baby, you really got my tail in a spin...hey baby, I don't even know where to begin..."
I've been thinking a lot lately about the ups and downs of learning to integrate technology into teaching and learning. My fluffy instincts and short life experience tell me there's a huge, exhilarating learning curve when you discover a new tool or website and you find all these new things to do with it. Then your belly drops through the floor when you get to the top and see how far down it is - and how much there is left to learn!

I had a peek recently at Marisa Constantinides' blog and conveniently for me she's just been thinking about something similar when she trains teachers. It sounds like huge 'tech dumps' of information don't really help, and lead to some teachers labelling technology with that 'I'll get to that when I have some spare time' sticker. Spare time? When you find a teacher who has spare time, come see me and I'll eat my fluff.
Anyway, her thought was to get little bits of tech in throughout the course activities and then reflect on what had been used and why, which seemed to work. Kind of like hiding the vegetables in a pasta sauce, then going 'hey kids, you just ate broccoli! How tasty was that?'.

http://blog.jeromeparadis.com/

And for students? Keep it simple, relevant and regular. A diary in English is such as useful thing (I love my blog for reflecting on stuff) and it can be as simple as updating your status in English once a day on Facebook or Twitter. Those who want more can explore audio diaries (Audioboo), video diaries (check privacy settings whatever you recommend) or even a blog like this if they really love writing.
The important thing? Like any skill, a little everyday, as part of your routine, is much easier to maintain than huge one-off tasks, and will keep that learning curve moving gently upwards, without the big drop-off at the end! And when it feels too hard? "Life is a rollercoaster, you just gotta ride it!" (thanks Ronan) - strap yourself in, throw your arms up and enjoy the ride!

The Vacuum: Part 2 (suck it up!)

At the end of my last blog, I said I'd been thrown right back into the craziness - and almost shuffled back into that vacuum cleaner for a bit of peace! Instead I girded my fluff and hitched a ride to the English Australia conference, where I hoped to get excited again about exploring and connecting with other people.

It was a massive fluffy shock for me, I have to say! As well as talking about teaching and learning, there were presentations about business, marketing, visas, government and regulations - who knew there was so much going on in the background whilst teachers and students are working away in the classroom? I decided to ignore a lot of it for fear of getting overwhelmed again, although I might have gone a bit too far the other way when I had a drink that evening...

I also saw a presentation about using technology that compared it to an adventure, looking at '6 impossible things' - something to do with a girl called Alice who explored 'Wonderland'. Sounded like she was copying me, actually, but without the fluff. Anyway, she did have some good ideas, and because I'd just had some delicious Rocky Road I especially liked her one about 'a cake that can make you grow'.
 

It wasn't dieting advice (though I am a little over-fluffed after those treats), but about how technology and social networking can help teachers develop and learn new things.

So, in the spirit of getting out of the vacuum, I'm re-connecting and asking everyone, "what's the technology 'cake' that made you grow this year?". Email navitarconnects@gmail.com,  drop your ideas in the comments below, or tweet using #6thingscake so I can find it!

The Vacuum: Part 1

After my amazing time at the Big Day In I was on a massive fluffy high after meeting so many people and learning so much. Pretty soon, though, I came crashing down to my dusty computer again. How could I possible use all the ideas I'd heard? Which ones were best? Where could I start? And why couldn't I get my computer to even turn on?

I went for a stroll to calm down and get my fluff straight, but then disaster struck! It was evening, the cleaners were around, I got too curious and too close to that evil vacuum cleaner and - schlooop! - I was in the vacuum before you could say 'dustballs'! I wasn't sure if I'd been sucked up by mistake or not, but after a while, once the dust had settled, I actually started to relax and enjoy myself. So peaceful in there without phones, computers or people! Even if it was a bit dusty *cough*. I even found time to read this book about going on a 'Digital Diet' and managing technology better.

I had some dark thoughts in there, for sure, and for a while I considered stopping my explorations in technology altogether. In the meantime, though, someone got the message out that I was trapped, and there was a vote about whether I should be saved! Amazing! I was so sparkly and fluffed up when I heard people wanted me to come out.

It reminded me that it's the people, the ideas and the connections I make through technology that count - not the technology itself. Sounds simple, but I needed that time alone to figure it out and find my fluffy mojo again. Since I got out, I've been thrown straight back into the craziness...but more of that in Part 2!

Fluff or snuff?

Big Day In: Best Day Ever!

Last Friday I was at the Navitas English Big Day In, and it was fluffin’ amazing! I met hundreds of teachers and people who work in different places, saw heaps of presentations on teaching and technology and even appeared on the big screen myself! How embarrassing!

Prashant Hari

There were so many different presentations and activities I can’t possibly mention them all. There was some great stuff on ‘Digital Literacies’ and mobile learning (mlearning) from my friend Gavin Dudeney, and lots more detail on Personal Learning Networks (PLNs) that Mark Pegrum and I didn’t manage to discuss when we did our interview. There was some fluff-raising research on social media from Prashant Hari too, and heaps of examples from teachers who are using Facebook, wikis, video, social media and all kinds of websites to help their students learn English!

I tried to get involved myself during the day, and tweeted when I could. People also wrote ‘real’ tweets on my tail and some took me home too. I hope their children don’t eat me – eek! I even got a new hairstyle or two once people figured out my fluff isn’t as solid as it looks. Not sure the koala-style is for me!

I listened to a lot of conversations during the day and as well as lots of excitement, there were a few worrying things I heard. Some people think that technology is only for your learners or certain types of students, which seems weird to me – isn’t it part of everyone’s lives now, from job-hunting to finding love online?? I also heard some people complain that there was too much information, which I understand but I think the world moves pretty quick now and we have to find ways of filtering and analysing what’s out there. Imagine what it’s like for me –I’ve only been exploring since March!

On the plus side, I found out that when you dig deep into the fluff, everyone knows something about technology and nobody knows everything. I think what I’ll remember from Friday is that everybody is still learning and anyone can have a go. The most important thing is to keep your ears, eyes and mind open, talk to other people and be part of the conversation, whether it’s online or face-to-face. If I'm not trying it, how can I know if it’s useful or not?

I’d better go as I can hear the cleaner coming with the vacuum and if there’s one thing us dusty types hate, it’s those pesky sweeping things and vacuum cleaners! Oh…wait…*cough*…he’s coming in here? *cough* No one comes in here! Wait! *cough* No…I haven’t finished…turn that thing off! *cough* Help!



Frustrations, Facebook and friends in the fluff...



Gavin Dudeney

 Things are so up and down these days! One day I'm all sparkly and I think I've finally got the hang of things, and then I try something new, get confused and I go all grey and negative again.
After watching too many videos a while ago, I decided I needed some face-to-fluff interaction, so I got in touch with Mr Dudeney from The Consultants-E. We had a lovely chat over a coffee about how to get started with technology and I felt much better. The video I made of the conversation is here.

My Facebook Page

Then I set up a Facebook page because I noticed lots of students use it all the time in the computer room, and I wanted to see what they meant when they said 'Facebook me'! It sounded quite painful. I couldn't have my own profile becuase apparently I don't appear to be a real person *cough* but I could have a 'page' which people can 'like' if they want to see what I'm up to now and then.

Mark Pegrum

I was still a bit befluffled by the whole Facebook thing, so I went to another nice chap called Mr Pegrum, a clever man who works very far away at the University of Western Australia. He told me about PLNs (Personal Learning Networks) which can include Twitter and Facebook, but also real people and resources. He also told me about some pages I can 'like' from my own page, so I can see updates and ideas from other people using technology for learning. You can watch the video of our chat here.

I still find everything quite overwhelming, despite all the help I'm getting from everyone. One problem I have is remembering all the useful sites people have recommended to me. I started writing them down but mis-spelled all the long URLs, so then I copied and pasted them into a Word document but forgot where I saved it. Now I've set up an account on Diigo, where I can save links to websites, and add notes and highlight bits I think are interesting. I hope it helps! I'm off there now to watch my favourite Dusty Springfield video..."I don't know what to do with myself....don't know just what to do with myself..."