PROs+List

Marcoux, E., & Loertscher, D. V. (2009). Achieving teaching and learning excellence with technology. //Teacher Librarian,// //37//(2), 14-22.
====Our appreciation goes out to the following individuals who contributed to this document: Joyce Valenza, Carol Koechlin, Sydney Cohen, April Gilbert, Terence Krista, Kathleen Riley, Susan Blair, Dana Stemig, Karen Lee, Jennifer Schwelik, and TL advisory board members Doug Johnson, Michele Farquharson, Erlene Bishop Killeen, Susan Ballard, and Connie Champlin.====

o A class used BookFlix to read children's books in English and Spanish.
==== · Collaborative spaces extend beyond purely social concerns toward, constructing, sharing, and motivating others, and present opportunities to not only raise student interest in learning, but also allow them to grow from each other's insights. ====

Indeed, one of the biggest risks of these digital technologies is not the ways that they allow teens to escape adult control, but rather the permanent traces left behind of their transgressive conduct. Teens used to worry about what teachers and administratorsmight put on their permanent records since this would impact how they were treated in the future. Yet, we are increasingly discovering that everything we do online becomes part of our public and permanent record, easily recoverable by anyone who knows how to Google, and that there is no longer any statute of limitation on our youthful indiscretions. (Jenkins and Boyd 2006) The secure sites enable students to make mistakes and learn what's acceptable online behavior before they venture out into the open internet.
 * Title: ** If You Can't Beat 'Em, Join 'Em ** Author(s): ** O'Hanlon, Charlene

By Michael Barbour and Cory Plough
By getting to better know their teachers, and many more of their fellow classmates, students’ connection to the school and their studies increased, creating an increase in their own motivation.

discussing controversial issues in an open and mature way,

Security measures, such as requiring students to use their school email, having parents sign a permission form, and matching the names of the network applicants to a master student list, prevented access beyond the OCHS community.

The use of both staff and students to monitor the appropriateness of music, language, and pictures was also important. Finally, while there were some instances of students harassing each other, this kind of behavior was minimal and often offered teachable moments to educate students on being good digital citizens.

Through the use of the “Odyssey of the Mind” social network the students at this cyber school are able to receive a social experience that may not be the same as the one they would receive in a traditional school, but appears to be an equivalent experience.

Decrease Isolation:

The social network allowed the students to participate in planning classes. They were given the opportunity to let the teacher know which sports they would like to play in gym class. They were also able to tutor each other in groups they created. These groups operated much like learning communities, where “like-minded groups of people [gather] together in the spirit of shared goals” (Conrad, 2002, p. 4). These students’ shared goal was an understanding of the course material. Barbour (2007) found that online students often sought help from their student colleagues before seeking help from their teachers or other sources in much the same way as occurred in the Odyssey of the Mind. Another teacher had students collaborating on their final project within a Ning group created just for their class. These students reviewed peers’ ideas and offered suggestions on each other’s work. An example of a co-curricular activity that the Ning allowed was for students from different classes to become involved in a global “Save Darfur” student campaign, a joint or cross-course project in which several of classes took part. The social network site was crucial to the success of this project, as course management systems do not allow students registered in different courses to communicate with each other. At the conclusion of the pilot stage, the teacher who was primarily responsible for the Odyssey of the Mind social network created a video in which students discussed the benstudents and approximately a dozen teachers were involved, with student recruitment on-going. Administration of the Ning network continues under the original teacher and assistant principal who began the social network experiment two years earlier. Monitoring content became important and a program was developed to search for inappropriate language and music. The six most active students took part in this process by monitoring blogs and discussion groups. Both teachers and students have continued to use the social network as a curricular tool. For example, in the Principles of Leadership course students designed their own homepage within the social network as an “About Me” project that could act as  information for the network as well as  the course. The OCHS learning management system was limiting because there was no easy way for students to meet each other or work with students outside of their individual course. As an example of this intra-course communication, one algebra class created an area that offered assistance to other students. Karabenick and Knapp (1991) found students are reluctant to seek assistance if they feel it will affect their social standing among their peers. As the social network was a place where students could interact and seek the academic assistance they needed without having to physically face their colleagues, this may have served to increase the frequency of this kind of activity (along with the number of students who participated). The social network also became a place that motivated students by allowing them to become more connected to the school and the school community. As a hybrid program that had only a small percentage of face-to-face time for teachers and students, communication between the school and students was typically very formal. Teachers would send e-mail messages and make telephone calls to students’ homes that primarily focused on a student’s lack of academic progress. As a result of the typical interactions, there was often little opportunity for students to get to know the teachers or each other on multiple levels, much like they would

“The social network has been the public space that has allowed the students a sphere for their social development…similar to the kind of public space they would have experienced in the traditional school environment.”

efits, as they perceived them, to the social network. This video is available at: // http://www.youtube.com/ // watch?v=WnWxUtveG8s. As the video describes, students addressed their appreciation for having a school-supported social network since they had very few other ways to meet kids at OCHS. They also discussed how using Web 2.0 tools and the social network helped engage them and provide opportunities to collaborate on the web.

OCHS’ Odyssey of