Saturday in Jeddah

Here I am!  On the Red Sea!  Definitely not a place I would have thought to ever visit. The planning part to get here was probably more difficult, especially since I had to pull 2 all-nighters to finish my presentation and workshop, but from the minute I walked up to the Saudi Arabian Air check-in at  Dulles to the time I got to my beautiful room in the Jeddah Intercontinental Hotel, it has been a breeze.  And literally too.  While it is 80 degrees or 26 C, it is very comfortable, truly a treat from our local weather on Thursday.

While this is an educational blog, I have not had time to turn my attention to academics.  However, I have learned some things.  I read a lot about Saudi Arabia in preparation for my trip. I visited blogs, e-bulletin boards, and many websites.  I was actually very anxious to leave because what I was reading on the Internet was related to 'warnings' and 'cautions for women.'  I respectfully donned my abaya before landing in Jeddah--I was the only American female in my section. I chose to cover my head, although my Saudi students told me it was unnecessary for Americans to do so in Jeddah.  The wind was so strong and I had that 'bed head' kind of look, it was a welcome accessories. Fingerprinting and photography session in customs was only held up because of the technology--I must have broken two cameras because of my overnight flight beauty.  The people here couldn't be nicer.  My driver was there (he also was at the airport yesterday waiting for me, causing me quite a scare as to whether or not I was supposed to skip Thursday ITS to get on an earlier flight). 

I heard stories of my technology being confiscated (a Saudi student told me that is a myth). I heard that I would be stared at.  I heard that males would not speak to me.  None are true, so far.  There was a woman in the airport who was not in her abaya, there were many Saudi women not covered or only partially covered.  To tell you the truth, with the blasting air conditioning in the buildings, I am quite happy to wear my dress---besides, there is no worry as to having ironed clothes underneath or even if I wear something that matches.  (Oh! A big thank you to my Coldwater Creek saleslady!  The orchid color she chose and that I wore into town seems to be the favorite of many ladies.)

Tonight is dinner with the vice dean and faulty in the College of Education at King Adulaziz University.  My Mason colleague, Dr. Behrmann, received word there are separate arrangements for men and women but I am free to forego the invite for separate dining and I may join the group...so far Jeddah lives up to its reputation for being more progressive.

More tomorrow from the 1st International Forum: A Professional Teacher in the 3rd Millennium...

Early Days of Wikipedia

In 2006 when we began to design blogs, wikis, and podcasts into the ITS program and started to research and write about these tools, we observed some very interesting situations---
1. a leader of our College gave a presentation to the faculty citing Wikipedia as the primary information source;
2. leaders from a small school division participating in one of our workshops could not access Wikipedia, one of the resource links we asked them to use, because it was filtered out;
3. an ITSer implemented her podcast lesson plan with her 1st graders and shared the final products by uploading them to a wiki. Her school webmaster refused to do it so she found another way: Wikis.  However, part of her lesson involved 1st graders recording the reading books from their library---a big no-no (any ideas why?) This situation put the use of podcasts, blogs, and wikis on hold for the whole  school division until policy was developed.
4. A High School student performs an experiment.
We know a lot more about these tools now as they have been introduced and adopted by many educators.  Take one of these situations and analyze the issue or use of Wikis.  What can you learn from the situation to inform your own use of wikis in your practice? What do we need to know about Wikis to make them a valuable educational tool?

Professional Practice, Professional Development and Wikis

For the past several years I have had the most amazing experiences working with zoo and aquarium professionals as they completed their Master's Master's of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in Zoo and Aquarium Leadership (ZAL) at George Mason. Our program's courses in the Integration of Technology in Schools Online Certificate program were offered to these professionals as electives because many of them were responsible for education efforts at their institution. My goal was to help them understand how technology could be used either to support their education goals, use technology to facilitate community events, design technology-rich activities for school visits or education programs at the institution, to connect with colleagues across institutions, and/or to initiate professional development opportunities.

When EDIT 564: Teaching with Web 2.0 tools became available as an elective around 2007/2008, the  ZAL students were very excited.  As part of their Master's experience, each ZAL student was required to do a project or write a thesis.  Many chose project work as this fit into their practice (parallels the ITS experience, huh?).  I had the honor to chair several of these projects and was even more honored that many chose to incorporate what they learned in the Web 2.0 course to frame their project. 

While all of these projects were implemented with great success and continue to have impact on the zoo and aquarium community, one in particular had success in an area that meant the most to me: changing attitudes about the use of collaborative wikis at the organizational level....that organization being the Association for Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).
My student wanted to use a Wiki as a collaborative tool for all program animal managers to share information about program animals (see PARIS). In other words, it would be a great environment for the sharing of knowledge among professionals and for the development of these professionals. I thought it was a brilliant idea.  However, to be successful it needed to be approved by AZA.  And that's where the battle began. Apparently there is an internal battle related to program animals and exhibit animals (the program animals being those used in education efforts and not just for exhibits).  There seemed to be controversy about what information could be shared about program animals and the fear that a Wiki was too public.  

What arguments would you use or how would you go about convincing a large organization such as AZA that this was a really beneficial tool to support the project? 
Does this example have any relevance to a school division's use of Wikis?  For educating students? For Professional Development? 
Remember in the summer you graciously participated in a survey we administered about the value of online learning for Professional Development.  Would wikis be a good tool for this?  Why or why not? Would you feel confident to design online professional development using a wiki?  What sort of professional development could be done and what benefits could be gainded by the use of Wikis as an online tool for educating teachers? 

Snow Day, Virtual Class, and Wikis

The biggest snow storm of the 2013-2014 winter season is upon us! Since my husband is a 'prepper,' I have been prepared for days...actually months...for this storm.  No need for a grocery run  or a stop at Home Depot for de-icers or generators (we have four).  Rather, I spent my Tuesday wondering what to do about face to face ITS class on Wednesday.  Reports indicated snow would most likely start around 7 or 8pm in our area so it was possible to still have class for a few hours. I knew that a decision for Mason to cancel classes was probably not likely or would happen after ITSers had left to come to Mason in Loudoun.  And I had been down this road before (or actually NOT down the road, but stuck in my car) in 2011 Carmaggedon.  Forecasting weather is difficult in this area as is any predication about the traffic. Is it worth the worry about storms and traffic when this entire 5th semester is dedicated to the study of Web 2.0 tools?  Why not put these tools to the test?  

In Week 4, we focus on Wikis: Can wikis support robust collaborations and project work with virtual groups?  We know it works over the week between classes.  But what happens when a 5 hour f2f is moved online and students are expected to be available to work on a group project and expected to turn in a number of deliverables by the end of class?  How does an instructor judge participation? What can a student do to ensure they are seen? What issues or concerns are associated with using a wiki in a virtual class?
Share your 'snow day with Wikis' experience by commenting.