Tapped In Newsletter: December 2009

...On the Tapis
December 2009
Issue 145

In This Issue

[1] Warm Wishes for the Holiday Season from the TI Team
[2] Member Perspective: Candy Carter
[3] Coming Attractions in TI for 2010!
[4] Tapped In Technology Tip
[5] Tips and Comments from the Experts
[6] About ...On the Tapis

Quote of the Month - "If we value independence, if we are disturbed by the growing conformity of knowledge, then we may wish to set up conditions of learning which make for uniqueness." - Carl Rogers

[1] Warm Wishes for the Holiday Season from the TI Team

As we bring 2010 to a close the TI team of staff, discussion leaders and helpdesk volunteers wants to thank each of you for being part of the Tapped In community. There were 624 events scheduled on the Tapped In calendar during 2009! This averages out to 52 events per month, all led by Tapped In community members. By logging in for one or more of these calendar events each month, joining and participating in one of the 680+ special interest groups, or just receiving and reading this Tapis newsletter, every member in Tapped In brings something of value to our community -- a new perspective, knowledge to share, a question, or enthusiasm for teaching and learning. As a community, we see how much each of you cares and wants to help others reach their full potential as an educator. This caring is one of the things that sets Tapped In apart from other places. We hope that you find value in being able to share and learn with other educators online in the community.

[2] Member Perspective: Candy Carter

Meet Candy Carter
I'm an AP Language and Comp teacher at McQueen HS in Reno, NV. My students lead very busy lives: they're in sports, band, choir, journalism, debate...and on and on. They also do not necessarily live close to one another. In past years, I had had nonfiction book groups in which students chose books from a list and completed projects and presentations on their reading. Over the years, it seems to have become increasingly difficult to find time for them to confer, and the presentations in class took too long. I needed to come up with a way for them to share their ideas in a different way, and I needed to have a way to hold them accountable for their work. I also was aware of the increasing importance of social networking sites in my students' lives.

Candy's Perspective
I had been introduced to Tapped In at a teacher workshop two or three years ago but had never made the time to really explore it. I was also a bit concerned that some their parents would object to them being online so I wanted to come up with an anonymous way for them to participate so that parents would not worry that their children's names were "out there" online. I hit on the idea of using Class ID numbers (which my students already use for peer reviews to ensure writers' anonymity). I was able to get all three of my classes into the system. I set up a calendar so groups could discuss online without bumping into other groups.

Overall, this turned out to be a successful way for kids to share ideas about books. They enjoyed the novelty and talked about their reading in kid-speak, not just so they could impress their English teacher. Except for some technical snags (some kids are not as computer-savvy as others; they also needed to have Java on their computers, which turned out to be a problem for a few of them), this was relatively easy to monitor and manage. I loved reading what they said online--very authentic.

Read Candy's Perspective and the rest of our Member Perspectives online.

[3] Coming Attractions in TI for 2010!

Three new opportunities are going to be offered in Tapped In early in the New Year. This is just a sneak peek at what to look for! One opportunity will be a survey that will be conducted by Bibi M. Alajmi and her colleagues to introduce their research topic as well as distributing an online survey.
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Juli Weiss is the Science Leader & Editor at CK-12 Foundation. The goal of the foundation is to reduce the cost of textbooks and flatten the way users can access information/knowledge. All of the content and system is available to users for free. We are creating K-12 STEM curricula written to state and national standards - the only cost to the user is the cost to print what they choose. Content can be customized and individualized - users create "FlexBooks" for their students.

Juli and her colleagues are in the process of building a community so that faculty can create their own content. Development of the www.ck12.org system has been ongoing for two years and they are finally at the intersection of marrying content with application. Users are needed to provide feedback. A group room in TI is planned for the near future to provide an online opportunity for resources, information and support for new users.
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The newly created Pre-school Teachers' Corner is meant to bring educators together for the benefit of collaboration, sharing and just having a little fun! Lori Worline started this special interest group to establish a community of great preschool ideas and best practices. So whether you're a teacher, director, mentor, early childhood specialist, consultant or children's counselor... join this group! We're looking forward to learning the many ways in which this TI group can support its members on this wonderful journey.
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[4] Tapped In Technology Tip

Tapped In as a Learning Hub
The TI: Learning Hub group room was created in July 2009. Now almost 6 months old, here's a reminder of this group's purpose. The membership of this group is approximately .7% of the Tapped In community. The goal of the group creators is to help ALL TI members to use Tapped In as a central location for professional development - not as the perfect online environment that provides all the bells and whistles and Web 2.0 tools, but as an easily accessible "hub" where educators can collaborate, explore online opportunities, and participate in professional development. By sharing member successes and difficulties in using the vast amount of resources available, Tapped In and the Learning Hub hope to enhance life-long learning and reflection of practice, and offer ways in which to engage our students as active learners.

The TI Learning Hub encourages members to not only participate, but also lead their own discussions. As new educators enter the field they are supported by experienced members. So, whether you are a pre-service teacher or a retired teacher, you have much to contribute to our Learning Hub. Join this group and plug into the collaborative energy it's generating!

[5] Tips and Comments from the Experts

One of the natures of a community of practice is that members move on to other obligations and then return 'home.' Ken Decroo, a long-time member of the Tapped In community recently returned with new enthusiasm and direction. Ken stated that, "It's good to be back. I'm consulting for several school districts in SoCal and think TI will be a good addition to the prof. development I do. BTW my Keynote at Cal State went well and I plugged TI." Welcome back, Ken!
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If you have a comment or experience to share with the Tapped In community, please submit the information to BJ Berquist at bjb@tappedin.org or share how you use TI here.

[6] About ...On the Tapis

Past issues of ...On the Tapis newsletters are available online.

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