Teachers Teaching Teachers #164 - 08.19.09 - Connect, Comment and Create at Youth Voices - An Update on Our Drupal Site

Post-Show description: 

On this episode of Teachers Teaching Teachers, we talk about important changes (improvements, we hope) that we’ve been making to our Drupal site for students, Youth Voices.  We invited teachers who are using Youth Voices this year. Listen to find out what how they are planning to use this social networking site with their students this coming year.

Youth Voices is much more than a web site. It is a community of teachers, working together to concoct a collaborative curriculum that supports our students in peer-to-peer online discussion. Chris Sloan, Paul Allison, and Susan Ettenheim started working together on this project in 2003. As we begin the 2009-2010 school year, we are excited to invite you and many more teachers into this work.

We are in the process of making several important changes to Youth Voices. Here are a couple:

  • Collaborative Curriculum: http://youthvoices.net/curriculum — We’re building it now. Join us!
  • The guides http://youthvoices.net/guides have been updated, organized… and there is more work needed here.
  • There are now three main ways for students to add Discussions to the site - See under Add a Discussion.

There is more! But that’s probably enough for now. Please enjoy this podcast. It's one of our "staff meeting" podcasts where we make public the planning that used to be done in private. If you are interested, we would love to work with you and your students this year. Just join the site, and let us know.

 

Click Read more to see a transcript of a chat that was happening during the webcast.

 

 

 

20:49:49 Paul Allison: Hi MikeH and Demacisaac
20:50:21 Paul Allison: Where do each of you teach?
20:51:02 mikeh: Hi, Paul, Demacisaac. I teach in Texas.
20:51:43 Paul Allison: It feel like Texas in NYC today. HOT and humid.
20:52:07 demacisaac: hi I teach in PEI, grade two
20:52:40 mikeh: Um, Paul, I don't think you'd be saying that were you actually here. This has been one of the hottest, dryest summers I've ever experienced, and I'm a lifelong citizen of He...I mean, Texas.
20:53:06 demacisaac: should I hear you yet ?
20:53:07 Paul Allison: dry? That's different.
20:53:09 Paul Allison: no
20:53:26 Paul Allison: we won't be on for about 10 min. (7 officially)
20:53:33 Paul Allison: Here
20:53:52 mikeh: I was able to use Skype once before. Will that be possible tonight?
20:54:23 mikeh: In fact, I think it was Susan who invited me.
20:55:05 Paul Allison: Here's what we'll be talking about tonight http://paulallison.tumblr.com/post/166508261/changes-on-youth-voices-our...
20:55:30 Paul Allison: Oh, Mike from Texas! Welcome back. Sure, tonight would be a good time to invite you in.
20:55:53 mikeh: Thanks, Paul. "Mike from Texas" sounds so Medieval! :)
20:56:36 SusanEttenheim: mike do I have your skype?
20:56:56 mikeh: Susan, I am myour2 .
20:58:29 SusanEttenheim: mike how does your name look on skype? your last name?
20:58:35 SusanEttenheim: sorry I'm just not sure
20:59:17 mikeh: i am mikeh ... or myour2
21:02:28 carolteach4: Hi - What is on the agenda for this evening?
21:02:44 SusanEttenheim: ok how do we sound...?
21:03:13 carolteach4: can't hear anything -realplayer spinning trying to connect
21:03:31 SusanEttenheim: ok everyone we're on edtech talk A
21:03:55 carolteach4: That's where I clicked. I'll try again.
21:04:04 SusanEttenheim: ok we've just started
21:04:09 SusanEttenheim: you should hear now
21:04:30 carolteach4: OK can hear you now
21:04:47 SusanEttenheim: hi fred! I'm so glad you're here I have a question for you!
21:04:52 SusanEttenheim: can we skype you in?
21:05:01 SusanEttenheim: carol can you hear now?
21:05:12 carolteach4: Yes! Thanks!
21:05:20 fred_haas: Hold on and let me make sure I can get everything working. I am on a new macbook
21:06:37 carolteach4: Random Acts of Kindness - Yeah
21:08:01 SusanEttenheim: sorry everyone - ran inside to kick everyone in house offline!
21:08:09 SusanEttenheim: hope we have no more lag in the sound now
21:08:26 SusanEttenheim: hi demacisaac welcome!
21:08:40 SusanEttenheim: ok everyone please introduce yourself!
21:08:42 mikeh: i'm hearing nothing at the moment
21:08:51 SusanEttenheim: I'm Susan and I'm at Eleanor Roosevelt HS
21:09:01 SusanEttenheim: MIke you should just be hearing on the skype call
21:09:14 SusanEttenheim: oops I see you dropped -just a sec I'll call you right back
21:09:18 mikeh: it seems to have cut off...do you need to call me back?
21:09:20 mikeh: ah, good
21:09:29 mikeh: yes, please
21:09:55 mikeh: i hear you now
21:09:59 SusanEttenheim: ok mike can you hear again? ok good
21:10:14 jbahle: the sound is strange with Chris right now
21:10:36 SusanEttenheim: yes I don't know why it lagged hopefully it won't happen again! I heard it too!
21:10:52 demacisaac: Hi susan and everyone, I'm a teacher from pei..
21:11:15 mikeh: i like chris' idea of questioning your questions
21:11:20 SusanEttenheim: yes
21:11:35 SusanEttenheim: demacisaac where and what do you teach?
21:11:44 Paul Allison: http://youthvoices.net/curriculum
21:11:46 SusanEttenheim: hi froffieflo welcome! where and what do you teach?
21:11:55 demacisaac: grade two from PEI thanks
21:12:13 SusanEttenheim: welcome!
21:12:16 froggieflo: I teach French in NZ
21:12:47 SusanEttenheim: great! welcome! are you interested in looking for other french speakers in YOuth Voices with us?
21:13:12 froggieflo: yes why not :-)
21:13:18 SusanEttenheim: :)
21:13:27 SusanEttenheim: have you visited youth voices yet?
21:13:31 SusanEttenheim: youthvoices.net
21:13:57 froggieflo: no . it is even my first time here at Edtechtalk :-)
21:14:04 SusanEttenheim: mike we need you to mute please when you're not talking
21:14:15 mikeh: okay...i'll try that
21:14:18 SusanEttenheim: welcome froggieflo - glad you joined us!
21:14:26 SusanEttenheim: much better! thanks mike
21:14:33 mikeh: did that do it, susan...ah, ok
21:14:35 SusanEttenheim: we can hear you breathing ;)
21:14:48 mikeh: oooh, i wouldn't want that :)
21:14:50 SusanEttenheim: ooops please mute until you talk mike
21:15:00 SusanEttenheim: that looks good thanks
21:15:08 SusanEttenheim: haha no breathing on ttt
21:15:20 SusanEttenheim: froggieflo do have skype?
21:15:38 froggieflo: yes
21:15:48 froggieflo: florence.lyons on skype
21:15:58 fred_haas: Have srudents take a look at the exchange from YouthVoices last year
21:16:19 fred_haas: on racism that is
21:17:23 demacisaac: picassa3 has great scrap page feature
21:17:43 demacisaac: is he under water?
21:18:16 SusanEttenheim: froggieflo would you like me to call you so you can join in and ask questions?
21:18:52 demacisaac: how do you scaffold photo essay??
21:18:53 Paul Allison: http://youthvoices.net/announce/help-build-our-curriculum/22483
21:18:57 jbahle: so that race discussion remains on the site?
21:19:06 froggieflo: yes of course. can't stay long as it i slunch time and i am very hungry :-)
21:19:54 jbahle: I don't get to the race stuff until second semester
21:20:58 carolteach4: I think that is a great idea - maybe have the images mounted at first unidentified, and have students select an image that appeals to them and then learn the identity of the photography.
21:21:11 SusanEttenheim: hi dbragg and peggy welcome!
21:21:20 SusanEttenheim: please introduce yourself!
21:21:23 PeggyG: Hi all-sorry I'm late!
21:22:08 PeggyG: I'm an enthusiastic supporter of this show--retired elementary principal and university teacher education instructor in Phoenix AZ
21:22:44 carolteach4: Are middle school students welcome? or are they too young?
21:23:26 carolteach4: It was such a rush to meet Eden and find that she was part of Youth Voices -talk about serendipity!
21:24:12 demacisaac: Kids love multimedia to express themselves...or create it
21:24:53 SusanEttenheim: yes carol middle school is ok!
21:24:58 SusanEttenheim: hi matt! welcome!
21:25:06 matt montagne: hey there susan
21:25:11 matt montagne: and everyone else!
21:25:20 PeggyG: great to see you Matt!! home now?
21:25:25 carolteach4: Hi, Matt. Has your wife started teaching yet - her return to the classroom?
21:26:17 matt montagne: Hi Carol...yes, she has...good memory...actually our classes don't begin for another week, but she is preparing
21:26:24 SusanEttenheim: brb
21:26:33 jbahle: I haven't really gotten into the digital media realm yet...
21:26:46 matt montagne: Hi Peggy...yep, we are back home in the Bay Area now after a nice visit to Michigan
21:26:47 carolteach4: Our first day for kids is Sept.1 -Teacher orientation on August 31.
21:26:59 SusanEttenheim: back :)
21:28:08 fred_haas: Great point, Chris
21:28:31 fred_haas: May even prompt responses with additional images
21:28:56 carolteach4: @jbahle - you don't really have to be into the digital media -take pictures of the kid's traditional projects, let them open them in PhotoShop or other programs and mess around. They are ready!
21:30:29 PeggyG: can anyone access the YouthVoices flickr photos or are they private?
21:30:59 demacisaac: picassa3? Very easy to use and edit and share
21:33:25 demacisaac: online photo sharing in plain english http://www.commoncraft.com/photosharing:D
21:33:53 froggieflo: sorry have to go as I have to eat :-)
21:34:28 SusanEttenheim: thanks for joining us froggieflo
21:34:35 SusanEttenheim: thanks demacisaac
21:34:41 SusanEttenheim: I will use that!
21:34:47 froggieflo: hope to join you another time
21:34:58 SusanEttenheim: peggy - why do you ask? where are you heading with that? ;)
21:35:26 carolteach4: Oops! missed a little - had to say goodnight to my son and his girlfriend. On the topic of the flicker galleries,that opens up a whole new aspect to this project. If kids can find a photographer (not necessarily a well-know one) that speaks to them and cites their images - well- I think that would be a win, win for the student and the photographer. How cool to be recognized.
21:36:36 SusanEttenheim: isn't that an interesting idea carol to do both!
21:36:48 PeggyG: I was curious about being able to add photos to the YouthVoices group pool if I'm not a student but a member of YouthVoices. I can see the photos in the pool on the site.
21:36:59 SusanEttenheim: my students said they wanted to find work they admired and be able to ask questions about how it was made?
21:37:20 demacisaac: nice collaborative project
21:37:23 matt montagne: what an awesome sounding learning activity!
21:37:24 SusanEttenheim: interesting idea.. why would someone want to add photos?
21:37:51 PeggyG: to encourage conversation about the photo/image???
21:38:09 SusanEttenheim: interesting...
21:38:51 carolteach4: @mike - that sounds like an awesome project; do you have this project outlined anywhere so other teachers could adapt the project -
21:39:06 mikeh: i'm soundless again :(
21:39:16 PeggyG: it might expand the pool of photos to include photos from other parts of the world
21:39:27 mikeh: thanks, carol...yes, it's as close to replicating actual historical research as we can gert
21:39:51 SusanEttenheim: hi rurik! welcome
21:39:55 SusanEttenheim: where and what do you teach?
21:40:47 fred_haas: Could incorporate the Main Street project. Didn't you ref that recently, Paul?
21:40:47 carolteach4: @mikeh-can you give us a link to the parameters of this project that we can look over at our leisure?
21:40:47 Rurik: I Interpret in S. Oregon and am attending grad school.
21:41:10 demacisaac: not just paper though,,artifacts too?
21:41:19 SusanEttenheim: welcome rurik!
21:41:27 mikeh: yes, carol, i can get that to you...i'll put it on my blog : http://myouredublog.blogspot.com
21:41:47 carolteach4: WoW! What a really authentic way of learning about primary sources! I would never have thought of that. Show and tell becomes a lesson in primary sources.
21:41:59 carolteach4: Thanks, Mike
21:42:33 SusanEttenheim: I request it too Mike!
21:42:58 jbahle: That might work well for what I want to do with Our Town!
21:43:19 PeggyG: I love the Google map with images from the community/neighborhood!!
21:43:56 carolteach4: I just bookmarked your blog - anxious to investigate it-
21:44:32 demacisaac: charlottetown is doing that too
21:44:32 mikeh: Right, Carol. For a few years I simply had the students bring the sources--and I'd bring some about myself, as well--and we'd sit around in circle and show and tell. Then one year it dawned on me that we could actually use them for authentic research.
21:44:50 PeggyG: http://mappingmainstreet.org/
21:44:58 SusanEttenheim: demacisaac could we call you in?
21:45:02 SusanEttenheim: do you have skype?
21:45:12 carolteach4: http://www.mappingmainstreet.org/wp/about/
21:45:17 SusanEttenheim: thanks carol
21:45:44 demacisaac: on Aug 26th
21:46:18 SusanEttenheim: do you have skype?
21:46:19 demacisaac: here is link http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Charlottetown/Experimental_Farm_Mappi...
21:46:22 mikeh: I love that idea, Jenny! Our Town is a perfect launching point for that.
21:46:30 carolteach4: Really great idea generation here. I hope I can bring even one to fruition with students this fall.
21:47:02 SusanEttenheim: carol I'm sure there's some place to connect and it takes time too
21:47:11 demacisaac: Have you seen panoramas of street?
21:47:32 SusanEttenheim: demacisaac do you have skype?
21:47:45 demacisaac: no sorry
21:47:54 mikeh: carol, the primary sources/history of a classmate project is very easy to do...and i limit it to about one week...they only have the primary source documents at school for one day because parents are sometimes reluctant to have the sources away from home for very long
21:48:04 SusanEttenheim: could you download skype so we can call you into the call please?
21:48:24 demacisaac: i can try  brb
21:49:29 mikeh: i'll brb...i'll see if i can find some of the history of a classmate instructions on the class blog i use. . .brb
21:50:03 SusanEttenheim: hi sr welcome!
21:50:08 SusanEttenheim: where and what do you teach?
21:50:52 sr: I teach in Ontario, Canada K to 8 sub and former tech integrator
21:51:34 SusanEttenheim: welcome sr! glad you could join us!
21:52:35 sr: sorry late
21:52:48 SusanEttenheim: no problem!
21:52:59 SusanEttenheim: we're talking about youth voices - have you seen it?
21:53:10 SusanEttenheim: youthvoices.net
21:53:16 sr: thanks
21:54:24 PeggyG: you can continue to post to delicious via diigo so you don't have to give up delicious
21:54:41 mikeh: Here are some of the History of a Classmate links: http://texids.blogspot.com/2007/09/comments-on-schlegel-quotation-histor... , http://texids.blogspot.com/2007/09/computer-lab-monday-924.html - This isn't the full Monty but rather a couple of computer lab activities associated with the project.
21:55:19 fred_haas: Is it just youthvoices on Diigo?
21:55:29 demacisaac: peggy good to know I use delicious too
21:55:41 mikeh: In Diigo, you can import your Delicious bookmarks and as you add bookmarks, it will update them at Delicious.
21:55:48 PeggyG: it's very easy to post to diigo and have it cross-post to delicious
21:56:02 mikeh: As PeggyG says! :)))
21:56:23 demacisaac: susan I am demacisaac on skype( i think)
21:56:55 carolteach4: @mikeh - thanks
21:57:11 mikeh: welcome, carol!
21:58:02 PeggyG: thanks demacisaac--you have a new follower :-) me!
21:58:24 mikeh: carol, i've taken down most of the posts from last year and simply reactivated those couple.
22:01:25 carolteach4: In YouthVoices one must register. Do you have to register each individual student using Youth Voices?
22:02:25 carolteach4: repeat the website please
22:02:37 carolteach4: for photostitching
22:02:39 SusanEttenheim: which one carol?
22:02:42 SusanEttenheim: ahh
22:02:55 carolteach4: the one the speaker just mentioned - didn't hear it clearly
22:03:04 SusanEttenheim: hugin.com
22:03:11 SusanEttenheim: does that look right?
22:03:18 demacisaac: http://myouredublog.blogspot.com
22:03:33 carolteach4: Thanks
22:03:40 jbahle: I need to step out of the call, I need to get ready for bed!  Thanks for the great ideas, I will stay in touch!
22:04:09 mikeh: bye, jenny...thanks for sharing! keep up the great work!
22:04:31 PeggyG: http://hugin.sourceforge.net/
22:04:45 SusanEttenheim: thanks peggy! have you seen it?
22:04:58 PeggyG: just seeing it for the first time :-)
22:05:49 Paul Allison: http://www.sanantoniowritingproject.org/crosstocollege/default.html
22:06:57 PeggyG: that looks like an excellent resource Paul!
22:07:15 mikeh: Agreed, PeggyG...very useful
22:07:29 SusanEttenheim: rurik we'll get you in next time please!
22:07:58 PeggyG: wonderful conversation and some great new resources! I like the changes on the YV site!
22:08:03 carolteach4: Yes, Paul. Thank you.
22:08:14 mikeh: you're welcome...and thank you very much...i want to get some students involved in Youth Voices...my colleague is excellent at teaching writing and i think would like to get involved with this once i tell him about it
22:08:28 fred_haas: Thanks all
22:08:36 demacisaac: thanks
22:08:44 SusanEttenheim: night all!
22:08:47 PeggyG: thanks everyone!
22:08:49 carolteach4: I've been advertising TTT to all my colleagues. Hope some take the bait.
22:09:08 sr: sorry I didn't join in earlier
22:09:11 sr: thanks