Is the age of the clicker response system coming to an end?
Web applications are cropping up that enable people to use their cell phones to vote online or through text messaging. One such service is provided by Poll Everywhere. It is certainly worth checking out. You can create a free account which allows you to use the service with 30 people. Unfortunately for me, sms is not available in El Salvador yet, and web browsing on cell phones is still quite expensive here.
:-(
Add This
Thursday, 18 December 2008
Purpose
I started this blog just prior to attending NECC for the first time, just last year, the main purpose being to have a place to record ideas, finds and anything else I didn't want to lose in the increasingly large collection of favourite and inspiring items I have placed in delicio.us and various other cyber places. So you'll forgive me for the moan below if you happen to stumble across it per chance.
I have been perplexed recently about how to continue shifting educators into a world of new literacies and learning, when things are moving so very slowly. Is it really enough to change one teacher at a time? Do people really understand the untapped potential that web 2.0 offers(I suspect students might!)? The very lack of curiosity and enthusiasm for embracing new literacies concerns me. Maybe we are going about it the wrong way and need to rethink our strategies for getting the ideas across. Perhaps we need to stop focusing on the teachers so much and begin focusing on the students...students will learn despite their teachers and ours will learn through their own social networks which hopefully will begin to include those teachers (yes there are some who are on-board) who are keen and able to support their learning in that way.
At a time when many are frustrated by the need to move forward while simultaneously being dragged in the opposite direction through the confines of traditional educational systems, I find the follow post most comforting.
Check it out in Will Richardsons Blog
Thursday, 11 December 2008
Florida Virtual Library
Came across this in Will Richardson's post on the Future of Schools tonight-yes I am a few days behind!
Florida Virtual School and more importantly its virtual library have given me a tiny shove further in the right direction. There are people lining up(virtually I might add) to enroll in this school-that's teachers and students both! Those already enrolled are apparently high achievers and have the test results to back this up, if you value such things. Perhaps more importantly is how these same students must be functioning at a highly independent level. Are these kids are exceptional, if so why? Could it be that 2.0 learning is everything we are told it is? I would wager that it is and that our kids have already primed themselves for this type of learning. If only we as educators could buy into it and allow the power over learning that we hold, to shift across the balance.
Florida Virtual School and more importantly its virtual library have given me a tiny shove further in the right direction. There are people lining up(virtually I might add) to enroll in this school-that's teachers and students both! Those already enrolled are apparently high achievers and have the test results to back this up, if you value such things. Perhaps more importantly is how these same students must be functioning at a highly independent level. Are these kids are exceptional, if so why? Could it be that 2.0 learning is everything we are told it is? I would wager that it is and that our kids have already primed themselves for this type of learning. If only we as educators could buy into it and allow the power over learning that we hold, to shift across the balance.
New Toys
It is a bit early for Easter, but look at what dumpr let's you do!
This Easter egg was created with dumpr.net
This Easter egg was created with dumpr.net
Thursday, 4 December 2008
Our Favourite Web Applications
At the beginning of the school year I held a series of small sessions with different departments aimed at introducing them to various web applications. We looked at blogs, wikis, voicethread and at the very end as a bit of a lark, ToonDoo.
A few weeks later I was contacted by the Economics/Business Studies teacher who expressed a great interest in using ToonDoo along with the work he was doing with storyboards. We took it on and ToonDoo took off! Soon after, Spanish and French jumped on the ToonDoo train and even Art is interested in its capacity to display pieces along brief comments. What draws people to ToonDoo is the fun they can have with telling their stories, without having to deal with too much on the technical side of things. We have recently learned how to alter the body stances and facial expressions of characters as well as create ToonBooks. The only thing I think could improve further is the number of frames offered for each Doo, which forces users to create parts 1, 2, 3 etc..
The excitement is far from over, as we have now discovered GoAnimate, a web app that goes a few steps further, allowing users to create short animated films on line. While many of the features are similar to ToonDoo, such as galleries of backgrounds, characters and props, GoAnimate stands apart allowing characters mobility, voices, background music as well as special effects my favourite of which is falling snow. It is also very 2.0ish in that users add their own graphics to the galleries, thereby generating a user created gallery shared by all!
Check out my first try below!
Link
A few weeks later I was contacted by the Economics/Business Studies teacher who expressed a great interest in using ToonDoo along with the work he was doing with storyboards. We took it on and ToonDoo took off! Soon after, Spanish and French jumped on the ToonDoo train and even Art is interested in its capacity to display pieces along brief comments. What draws people to ToonDoo is the fun they can have with telling their stories, without having to deal with too much on the technical side of things. We have recently learned how to alter the body stances and facial expressions of characters as well as create ToonBooks. The only thing I think could improve further is the number of frames offered for each Doo, which forces users to create parts 1, 2, 3 etc..
The excitement is far from over, as we have now discovered GoAnimate, a web app that goes a few steps further, allowing users to create short animated films on line. While many of the features are similar to ToonDoo, such as galleries of backgrounds, characters and props, GoAnimate stands apart allowing characters mobility, voices, background music as well as special effects my favourite of which is falling snow. It is also very 2.0ish in that users add their own graphics to the galleries, thereby generating a user created gallery shared by all!
Check out my first try below!
Link
Monday, 17 November 2008
Motzilla Woes!
The last 2 weeks have been a struggle. Something has happened regarding Motzilla Firefox, my Mac and my favourite sites. I am no longer able to use Motzilla to edit the LRC Website, can't view my LRCABC youtube vids with it and cannot use it with mymaths.co.uk either. Luckily in the case of the two later sites Safari has come through for me. Funny enough, I thought for a while I was alone in this and that either pbwiki or my mac had issues. As it turns out misery loves company, and even my students can't use Motzilla for some sites they used to browse and work on with it.
The technicians I've comtacted are stumped. Is there anyone out there who can help us figure this one out?
The technicians I've comtacted are stumped. Is there anyone out there who can help us figure this one out?
Wednesday, 1 October 2008
The Month of September
It has been ages since my last post, only because we have been so busy at the LRC.
This fun jigsaw was created with dumpr.net
Yes dumpr is now one of my favourite new toys as well as clustrmaps(It should be visible on the main page as well).
WIKIS
Our September stars are the Humanities and Spanish departments, who have embarked on an array of blog and wiki journeys in learning. figuring highly in the collaborative work area is the geogon wiki on El Salvador, belonging to thte 7th and 8th grade History and Geography classes. This wiki started off as a 7th grade class project which then blossomed into a huge collaborative piece of work spanning two grades, two subjects and shared by many members of the department.
BLOGS
Blogs have featured a great deal in Humanities as well. One teacher has created 2 different blogs for her classes and is having the students reflect on readings, in Spanish and write about slavery as part of her History class. Also on the blogging front, the Spanish and French Departments have been meeting each week to learn how to work on blogs through hands on sessions. One of the Spanish classes now has a blog set up and will begin using it next week to reflect upon their readings in the subject. I will get the links up once they have begun working on it.
ToonDoo
Backing up to Humanities once again, in the subject of Economics two 9th grade classes, working on storyboards on economic themes, have begun transferring their ideas over to toondoo. I look forward to posting more about these toondoos later on this week.
WEBSITES
We have created a new google site wiki page for the French department and although going is slow (we are still very new to spaces) it looks to be a promising way of sharing the French department with the world. The new LRC website has now been launched using PBWiki and featuring a great Glog as the front page. We hope to work avidily on further updates and modifications throughout the year.
These are our collaborative LRC/subject projects, however there is an amazing amount of additional work being carried out each day at the LRC across the subjects.
The LRC is also playing host to student meetings including student council and project smile. Visiting universities are booked in to speak to students on a weekly basis. Our CIS visitors are due to arrive in the upcoming weeks and some extra- curricular clubs have also begun to run on a regular basis out of the LRC.
El Salvador month has come to an end and with it we hosed a typical handicrafts exhibition and sale on the 29th and 30th, an art display of works by a local Salvadoran artist, as well as 3 drama productions by local groups as part of theatre week.
All in all this month has been aflutter with activity.
The LRC Committee meets for the first time next week to go over the action plan and the Book Week Committee meets this Friday to begin organising this annual whole school event.
It has been an amazing start to the year. Attitudes are positive, the energy level is high and you can feel the sparks flying throughout the day as students and teachers make connections and publish themselves.
This fun jigsaw was created with dumpr.net
Yes dumpr is now one of my favourite new toys as well as clustrmaps(It should be visible on the main page as well).
WIKIS
Our September stars are the Humanities and Spanish departments, who have embarked on an array of blog and wiki journeys in learning. figuring highly in the collaborative work area is the geogon wiki on El Salvador, belonging to thte 7th and 8th grade History and Geography classes. This wiki started off as a 7th grade class project which then blossomed into a huge collaborative piece of work spanning two grades, two subjects and shared by many members of the department.
BLOGS
Blogs have featured a great deal in Humanities as well. One teacher has created 2 different blogs for her classes and is having the students reflect on readings, in Spanish and write about slavery as part of her History class. Also on the blogging front, the Spanish and French Departments have been meeting each week to learn how to work on blogs through hands on sessions. One of the Spanish classes now has a blog set up and will begin using it next week to reflect upon their readings in the subject. I will get the links up once they have begun working on it.
ToonDoo
Backing up to Humanities once again, in the subject of Economics two 9th grade classes, working on storyboards on economic themes, have begun transferring their ideas over to toondoo. I look forward to posting more about these toondoos later on this week.
WEBSITES
We have created a new google site wiki page for the French department and although going is slow (we are still very new to spaces) it looks to be a promising way of sharing the French department with the world. The new LRC website has now been launched using PBWiki and featuring a great Glog as the front page. We hope to work avidily on further updates and modifications throughout the year.
These are our collaborative LRC/subject projects, however there is an amazing amount of additional work being carried out each day at the LRC across the subjects.
The LRC is also playing host to student meetings including student council and project smile. Visiting universities are booked in to speak to students on a weekly basis. Our CIS visitors are due to arrive in the upcoming weeks and some extra- curricular clubs have also begun to run on a regular basis out of the LRC.
El Salvador month has come to an end and with it we hosed a typical handicrafts exhibition and sale on the 29th and 30th, an art display of works by a local Salvadoran artist, as well as 3 drama productions by local groups as part of theatre week.
All in all this month has been aflutter with activity.
The LRC Committee meets for the first time next week to go over the action plan and the Book Week Committee meets this Friday to begin organising this annual whole school event.
It has been an amazing start to the year. Attitudes are positive, the energy level is high and you can feel the sparks flying throughout the day as students and teachers make connections and publish themselves.
Friday, 5 September 2008
Tuesday, 2 September 2008
More Cool Web 2.0 Tools
This is short list of some really cool tools I have come across through my feeds. I have already fallen in love with the first three on the list and am about to get to know #4 much better.
Mygazines.com provides free uploaded mags online we can all enjoy. Are there copyright issues here?
Flowgram.com is a great app. that allows you to upload and/ create unique presentations while adding audio, notes and other content to them. It is something similar to Voice thread only BETTER for presentation purposes, not as good however for collaborative work and feedback, which is really the beauty of Voicethread!
Go Animate is a web app. that brings animations to life with themed characters, audio, backgrounds, sound effects. I just recently go very excited about toondoo , using it to generate cartoon strips. Go Animate however, breathes life into your toons as you organise your stories along a time line.
Finally there is PicLIts.
"PicLits.com is a creative writing site that matches beautiful images with carefully selected keywords in order to inspire you. The object is to put the right words in the right place and the right order to capture the essence, story, and meaning of the picture."
Update: For a wonderful collection of web 2.0 tools (one of the best I've come across) go to Cooltools.
Mygazines.com provides free uploaded mags online we can all enjoy. Are there copyright issues here?
Flowgram.com is a great app. that allows you to upload and/ create unique presentations while adding audio, notes and other content to them. It is something similar to Voice thread only BETTER for presentation purposes, not as good however for collaborative work and feedback, which is really the beauty of Voicethread!
Go Animate is a web app. that brings animations to life with themed characters, audio, backgrounds, sound effects. I just recently go very excited about toondoo , using it to generate cartoon strips. Go Animate however, breathes life into your toons as you organise your stories along a time line.
Finally there is PicLIts.
"PicLits.com is a creative writing site that matches beautiful images with carefully selected keywords in order to inspire you. The object is to put the right words in the right place and the right order to capture the essence, story, and meaning of the picture."
Update: For a wonderful collection of web 2.0 tools (one of the best I've come across) go to Cooltools.
Monday, 1 September 2008
PLAYING WITH GLOG
Our Director of Studies put me onto a nifty little web application which allows you to easily create displays from text, photos, videos etc. Glogster.com is very user friendly and allows one to achieve really novel results with very little effort. I have included a link to a glog I created very quickly with the odd picture I had lying around on the Mac.
Monday, 25 August 2008
BANNED BOOKS WEEK
Banned Books Week will take place from September 27th to October 4th. The ALA has compiled a list of the most frequently banned books of 2007. Upon perusal I was surprised that some of the titles being disputed are not new titles at all.
The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression has put together a nice little package for libraries.
The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression has put together a nice little package for libraries.
TOP 100 TOOLS FOR LEARNING 2008
TOP 100 TOOLS
This is certainly worth checking out. Upon execution of a brief scroll down my heart was warmed to see many of our tried and trues on the list, offering confirmation that we are on track and not alone in the digital learning universe.
This is certainly worth checking out. Upon execution of a brief scroll down my heart was warmed to see many of our tried and trues on the list, offering confirmation that we are on track and not alone in the digital learning universe.
Newscred
Newscred is a better way to read the news, offering 3 columns of aggregated feeds, allowing readers access to the news from the world's leading newspapers and established blogs. This service encourages readers to vote on which articles and news sources they think are credible or not. The credibility trends and analysis are easily available with the click of a button.
This may prove to be a powerful tool for teaching web fluency units on evaluating web content as well as those of us whose work focuses on worldwide current events. What perfect timing for those in search of innovative tools for curriculum support during sy08/09.
1) Read all the world's breaking news from quality newspapers and blogs.
2) Personalize your newspaper by selecting your favorite sources for each category.
3) Vote and learn which articles, journalists and news sources are credible and which ones aren't.
Take our 90-second Tour!
This may prove to be a powerful tool for teaching web fluency units on evaluating web content as well as those of us whose work focuses on worldwide current events. What perfect timing for those in search of innovative tools for curriculum support during sy08/09.
Why Use NewsCred?
1) Read all the world's breaking news from quality newspapers and blogs.
2) Personalize your newspaper by selecting your favorite sources for each category.
3) Vote and learn which articles, journalists and news sources are credible and which ones aren't.
Take our 90-second Tour!
Tuesday, 19 August 2008
Ode to MacBook Pro with Web Apps on the Side
Several months ago I forced myself into a very abrupt change in which I abandoned the year old lap running Windows for a 4 year old mac Powerbook G4. I am not saying the transition was without pain and certain frustrations, but it was well worth it. A historically steadfast proponent of Windows platforms, my conversion is now complete and I need not look back!
Christmas has come early this year, and brought with it a new MacBook Pro which arrived today. Yes I must admit it, I feel like a kid in a candy shop. Thanks George and Fernando! And yes, I know everyone else has had one for ages, but it will impact my work on many levels that I intend on savouring every minute of it!
The MacBook will play a vital role in my new job by providing the flexibility and power needed to run with our intended project work, as well as serve as a portal to my expanding virtual office. I have only just begun to play with this silver wonder, but as the song goes- Love is in the Air. iMovie and Garage Band are first on the agenda which will help us get started on joint video projects this year in Secondary.
Upon reflection, it is interesting how google docs and web.2.0 apps have changed the way I work. As it stands I don't feel at all phazed about not having the Windows or Mac office suites installed at present. I can manage quite well without them, whereas in the past I would have considered any computer without one or the other fairly useless. I have to wonder if this sublime shift has occured for our students in the same way. With our upcoming push towards igoogle and google apps, Google is about to become a very important part of their lives, if it is not already.
Christmas has come early this year, and brought with it a new MacBook Pro which arrived today. Yes I must admit it, I feel like a kid in a candy shop. Thanks George and Fernando! And yes, I know everyone else has had one for ages, but it will impact my work on many levels that I intend on savouring every minute of it!
The MacBook will play a vital role in my new job by providing the flexibility and power needed to run with our intended project work, as well as serve as a portal to my expanding virtual office. I have only just begun to play with this silver wonder, but as the song goes- Love is in the Air. iMovie and Garage Band are first on the agenda which will help us get started on joint video projects this year in Secondary.
Upon reflection, it is interesting how google docs and web.2.0 apps have changed the way I work. As it stands I don't feel at all phazed about not having the Windows or Mac office suites installed at present. I can manage quite well without them, whereas in the past I would have considered any computer without one or the other fairly useless. I have to wonder if this sublime shift has occured for our students in the same way. With our upcoming push towards igoogle and google apps, Google is about to become a very important part of their lives, if it is not already.
Wednesday, 13 August 2008
Freepath
Freepath is a must try for anyone running a Windows platform. Imagine being able to combine anything from the web within a presentation thereby eliminating the need for external links. Those of us who are Mac users will need to wait or borrow a PC.
Freepath Download
Finally, an easy way to tell your story. Just drag and drop your favorite stuff into Freepath's playlist — no need to convert files, upload videos or embed links. Just like that, your digital life became bigger and better! Best of all, it's FREE.
Share ANYTHING in your library with ANYONE in the world. You can even exchange playlists with friends, family, classmates, colleagues and others you connect with at myFreepath.
Freepath Download
Virtual Worlds
I had never realised there were so many virtual worlds out there. I have a Second Life account and have looked at second Life for Teens, my children play Club Penguin, and my students introduced me to several other virtual spaces for kids. I came across this video in the Hey Jude Blog-illuminating!
Bookmarks
I am working on what I hope will be a series of bookmarks for the LRC Library. My hope is that these simple page markers will serve a greater purpose. I am using them to advertise reading and reflect activities across school year. The initial models are 3 in total: one a cartoonish intro to our LRC staff with a reminder to ask questions, two a visual of some of our exciting new fiction books, and three some cute flickr images of reading with a written message. On the backs of each of these sets of bookmarks students and teachers will find a listing of some of the new books coming in to the library. Hopefully in this way not only will their curiosity be triggered through written prompts and book titles, but they will also receive the much needed visual stimulus of pictures today's students love.
Thursday, 7 August 2008
Cyber Safety Fair Use and Free E-Books
Upon searching for further information on copright and fair use I came across WOWIO which is a website offering free e-books. It is searchable by catagories and it publishes a top ten listing in each catagory.
There are many excellent sites out there which attempt to teach people cyber safety. One of the best I have found in my recent trawls through the web is netsmartz.org. This site contains a comprehensive listing of information fluency videos each with supporting resources. If you are looking for ways to engage and keep students focussed on internet safety, this is a good place to start!
There are many excellent sites out there which attempt to teach people cyber safety. One of the best I have found in my recent trawls through the web is netsmartz.org. This site contains a comprehensive listing of information fluency videos each with supporting resources. If you are looking for ways to engage and keep students focussed on internet safety, this is a good place to start!
Tuesday, 5 August 2008
Time Off and New Directions
I have took a great deal of time off from technology after the NECC Conference. It had gotten to the point where I was almost afraid to turn on a computer as I knew I would be locked in for hours upon doing so.
Now however as the new school year approaches I find myself easing back into things as I spend an increasing amount of time considering my plans and new initiatives.
One of these initiatives is Lunch on the Lawn at the LRC which I am very tempted to label as LOL (laugh out loud, Lots of love/luck ). Yes it may be intentionally funny if I get any student comedians and yes it may also provoke a few unsolicited laughs at times, plus we will probably require all the luck we can get to make this work, but the clincher is that LOL is an acronym from a language all students write on a daily basis.
Anyway All Acronyms Aside(this is where the alliteration ends) I am hoping to begin live streaming of the LOL in January, which will serve two very important purposes both related to accessibility. Students can tune in from anywhere around campus and footage can be recorded and accessed at other times, both of which will become crucial as the the rainy season hits again in April and the Lawn becomes a large puddle.
I envision using USTREAM for this very purpose. In July I created a show called Live at the LRC which I have done nothing with since but can anticipate becoming an important part of our weekly broadcast.
Now however as the new school year approaches I find myself easing back into things as I spend an increasing amount of time considering my plans and new initiatives.
One of these initiatives is Lunch on the Lawn at the LRC which I am very tempted to label as LOL (laugh out loud, Lots of love/luck ). Yes it may be intentionally funny if I get any student comedians and yes it may also provoke a few unsolicited laughs at times, plus we will probably require all the luck we can get to make this work, but the clincher is that LOL is an acronym from a language all students write on a daily basis.
Anyway All Acronyms Aside(this is where the alliteration ends) I am hoping to begin live streaming of the LOL in January, which will serve two very important purposes both related to accessibility. Students can tune in from anywhere around campus and footage can be recorded and accessed at other times, both of which will become crucial as the the rainy season hits again in April and the Lawn becomes a large puddle.
I envision using USTREAM for this very purpose. In July I created a show called Live at the LRC which I have done nothing with since but can anticipate becoming an important part of our weekly broadcast.
Thursday, 3 July 2008
P.Nelson's List of Open Source Software and Other Freebies.
We already use some of these but there a quite a few we might want to consider for sy07/08.
| All of these programs are FREE (open source) to use and redistribute. | ||
| Name | Description | Link |
| OpenOffice | Office suite | http://openoffice.org |
| Celestia | Galaxy simulation | http://www.shatters.net/celestia/ |
| ClamWin | Free Anti-Virus with automatic updates | http://www.clamwin.com |
| Firefox | Better, safer browser than IE | http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/ |
| FreeMind | Idea mapping tool | http://freemind.sourceforge.net |
| GIMP | GNU Image Manipulation Program - Like PhotoShop | http://gimp-win.sourceforge.net/stable.html |
| Inkscape | Vector Drawing and SVG Graphics program | http://inkscape.org/ |
| OpenClipArt | SVG graphics, use with Inkscape | http://openclipart.org |
| Audacity | Sound editing | http://audacity.sourceforge.net You should also install the LAME MP3 plugin and others on the downloads page. |
| NVU | WYSIWYG Web Editor | http://www.nvu.com |
| Paint.NET | Paint Program | http://www.getpaint.net Install MS DOT.net framework first. |
| PDFCreator | Print any document as a PDF file | http://sourceforge.net/projects/pdfcreator |
| Scribus You'll also need GNU Ghostscript to use Scribus. | DesktopPublishing program - like Pagemaker | http://www.scribus.net http://www.gnu.org/software/ghostscript/ghostscript.html |
| SpyBot Search & Destroy | SpyWare Blocker Very good program | http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/ |
| Stellarium | Night sky viewing program - very good | http://www.stellarium.org/ |
| TightVNC | Allows virtual viewing and control of laptop | http://www.tightvnc.com/ |
| TuxPaint | Simple paint program for younger children | http://www.tuxpaint.org Download the extra stamps too! |
| TuxType | Simple typing game | http://tuxtype.sourceforge.net |
| These programs are FREE to install and use. Downloads are available through distributor's web sites. | ||
| Google Earth | 3D Earth mapping with satellite imaging. Very cool... | http://earth.google.com |
| Ad-Aware | Anti-spyware | http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/ |
| Adobe Flash, Acrobat, Shockwave | Browser plugins from Adobe. You'll need to download and install these AFTER you install Firefox. | http://www.adobe.com/downloads/ |
| iTunes | Supplies Qucktime and software to subscribe to podcasts | http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/ |
| MS dot net framework | Required for various programs | http://www.microsoft.com/net |
| Real Player | Player for real media audio and video | http://www.realnetworks.com/products/free_trial.html |
| RealProducer Basic | Create your own real media from audio and video clips | http://www.realnetworks.com/products/free_trial.html |
| Burniso | Simple iso cdrom burner | Download link |
| Skype | Free Internet phone software | http://skype.com |
Wednesday, 2 July 2008
HotChalk and NBC News
The Hotchalk Learning Environment offers educational benefits of linking up with NBC: access to a bank of news videos, online resource banks which can be contributed to and updated and the creation of online classes. The content is linked to American standards, that said the wealth raw footage and primary documents within documentaries, news reports, pictures, political cartoons both current and going back as far as 1920's, is broad. Transcripts are available for all videos. The point was made that delving into the primary sources and listening to historical figures speak work students are better able to form their own ideas and opinions. It would be worth our while to register individually and try it out in August(it is free right now, 30 days then we have to pay).
Sign up
Wrongly or rightly, I have included some screen shots of various resources below, from the website to pique people's interest in it.
From historic footage to the latest events, NBC News and HotChalk will help you bring the real world into your classroom in a safe, secure online environment built with you and your students in mind.
Sign up
Wrongly or rightly, I have included some screen shots of various resources below, from the website to pique people's interest in it.
From historic footage to the latest events, NBC News and HotChalk will help you bring the real world into your classroom in a safe, secure online environment built with you and your students in mind.
| • | A searchable archive with thousands of historic video resources, mini-documentaries, primary sources, text resources, and images aligned to classroom instruction |   | |
| • | Access to current event topics tied to core curriculum in a safe, student-friendly environment | ||
| • | Special bonus video collections including Decision 08', Black History Month, Women's Studies, Global Studies, Forensic Science and so much more! | ||
| • | Daily topics added so your video resources are always current and up-to-date - FREE lesson plans, classroom ideas from NBC News Producers, instructional advice, and more! |
Tuesday, 1 July 2008
Copyright and Fair Use
Copyright law in regards to education is not as clear cut as many of us would like. This can be frustrating for teachers and students when trying to put together dynamic projects and the 10 second rule while a good guideline, may not always be the best alternative.
Peter Jaszi out of American University has been working to put together new guidelines for this gray area that will hopefully help educators sort it all out. Until then there are some good websites out there that try to aid us when wrestling with this situation.
fair use
cyberbee
copyright kids
Tony Jongejan of Western Washington University gave an interesting presentation on the topic at NECC.
Some of his resources are below.
Supporting Research
Website: http://www.cyberbee.com/copyrt.html
'Access Denied: The Limits of Fair Use' by Elliot Zaret
Website: http://www.copyrightkids.org
Copyright Website: http://www.benedict.com
Copyright Website: Multimedia Copyright Guidelines for Students
Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators: Ready Reference & Copyright
The UT System Crash Course in Copyright
Copyright in the Electronic Environment
'Right to Copy?' by Stephanie Gold
Peter Jaszi out of American University has been working to put together new guidelines for this gray area that will hopefully help educators sort it all out. Until then there are some good websites out there that try to aid us when wrestling with this situation.
fair use
cyberbee
copyright kids
Tony Jongejan of Western Washington University gave an interesting presentation on the topic at NECC.
Some of his resources are below.
Supporting Research
Website: http://www.cyberbee.com/copyrt.html
'Access Denied: The Limits of Fair Use' by Elliot Zaret
Website: http://www.copyrightkids.org
Copyright Website: http://www.benedict.com
Copyright Website: Multimedia Copyright Guidelines for Students
Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators: Ready Reference & Copyright
The UT System Crash Course in Copyright
Copyright in the Electronic Environment
'Right to Copy?' by Stephanie Gold
Producing a School News Show
A group of teachers and administrators from Vestavia Hills Elementary School gave this presentation. Interestingly enough they started producing their news shows in a closet. While the recording room at our school is no studio, it is larger than a closet and will be big enough for our initial purposes. Some of the reasons they cited for producing a weekly or class news show were that it:
Some things it was suggested we consider over the course of this next year, as we build our broadcasting program are: lights ?
Eventually if this takes off as I hope it will the next question I hope we will be asking is: Will our recording room suffice as we move along or could a larger room be made available?
- enhances instructional programs
- increases writing and communication skills
- allows kids to practice decision making
- exposes students to various professions related to broadcast journalism
- helps students to better understand ethical cultural and societal issues
- Provides experience with operating technology tools
- Increases productivity
- improves research skills
- improves problem-solving and decision making.
- meets NETs Standards on all levels.
Some things it was suggested we consider over the course of this next year, as we build our broadcasting program are: lights ?
- a modulator for close circuit? What about Ustreaming and parking it on the web?
- rolling tripods?
- shower curtain props!!
- video and audio mixers?
Eventually if this takes off as I hope it will the next question I hope we will be asking is: Will our recording room suffice as we move along or could a larger room be made available?
Monday, 30 June 2008
Live Streaming
I am becoming more and more interested in Streaming Applications like Ustream.tv and Mogulus Studio. I can see an infinite number of ways to use them with students. Some of the ideas that I am considering are: live streaming school events such as the opening of the LRC and sporting or cultural events. Another idea is to open up debates and interviews within and without school(involving global links and members of the school community such as new staff) using the co-host feature. One of my goals for this coming school year is to initiate a weekly student run news show and Ustream seems to fit the bill as you can stream live and record as well. It is also a good parking place for our video, the value of which our technical team will certainly appreciate. I have prepped a channel for this purpose at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/live-at-the-lrc. I can't wait to get started in August!
21st Century Information Fluency
21st Century Information Fluency (NECC Podcast)(NECC Powerpoint)
"Digital Information Fluency (DIF) is the ability to find, evaluate and use digital information effectively, efficiently and ethically. DIF involves Internet search skills that start with understanding how digital information is different from print information, knowing how to use specialized tools for finding digital information and strengthening the dispositions needed in the digital information environment. As teachers and librarians develop these skills and teach them to students, students will become better equipped to achieve their information needs." http://21cif.imsa.edu/
This site offers the following and more, most of it for free.
Tutorials, Micro-models, challenges, resources, lessons, wizard tools and so much more to check out
Citation Wizards
Web Fluency Moodle Course
"Digital Information Fluency (DIF) is the ability to find, evaluate and use digital information effectively, efficiently and ethically. DIF involves Internet search skills that start with understanding how digital information is different from print information, knowing how to use specialized tools for finding digital information and strengthening the dispositions needed in the digital information environment. As teachers and librarians develop these skills and teach them to students, students will become better equipped to achieve their information needs." http://21cif.imsa.edu/
This site offers the following and more, most of it for free.
Tutorials, Micro-models, challenges, resources, lessons, wizard tools and so much more to check out
Citation Wizards
Web Fluency Moodle Course
Sunday, 29 June 2008
Global Connections
Global connections have been very much at the forefront of my mind during this past school year. It all started off when I came across globalgateway while searching for ideas for my Literacy class. Over the course of the year the project has grown slightly larger than I had initially expected it to, and now encompasses students and teachers from 3rd to 5th grade. Our partner school is St. Peters in Uganda.
When the project began I had grand notions of collaborating online with the school something which I realised very quickly was rather naive, I had wrongly assumed that our partner school had access to the latest technology, so work on wikis and blogs were out of the question. Instead we collaborated the old fashioned way, email between teachers and snail mail between students. I am glad we did this as it gave my students insight into a communication method they were quite unfamiliar with. Most of the children I teach have had limited experience with mail systems and it was great for them to go through the process of sending and receiving photos, letters and stories in that way.
Our school has received several requests to partner up with other schools in the UK and USA, and I am hoping to broaden our collaborative work in the near future hopefully to include shared wikis and blogs. community.
iEARN is a similar network to global gateway and describes itself as"is the world's largest non-profit global network that enables teachers and youth to use the Internet and other technologies to collaborate on projects that enhance learning and make a difference in the world."
When the project began I had grand notions of collaborating online with the school something which I realised very quickly was rather naive, I had wrongly assumed that our partner school had access to the latest technology, so work on wikis and blogs were out of the question. Instead we collaborated the old fashioned way, email between teachers and snail mail between students. I am glad we did this as it gave my students insight into a communication method they were quite unfamiliar with. Most of the children I teach have had limited experience with mail systems and it was great for them to go through the process of sending and receiving photos, letters and stories in that way.
Our school has received several requests to partner up with other schools in the UK and USA, and I am hoping to broaden our collaborative work in the near future hopefully to include shared wikis and blogs. community.
iEARN is a similar network to global gateway and describes itself as"is the world's largest non-profit global network that enables teachers and youth to use the Internet and other technologies to collaborate on projects that enhance learning and make a difference in the world."
Voicethread
Joyce Valenza and I were just discussing the joint project our schools worked on using voicethread. This project started off as part of a Spanish class for high school students at Joyce's school. These students planned and composed myths in Spanish which they then produced using voicethread. A great deal of planning and work went into the myths, but I wasn't there throughout the entire project so I will focus on what we did at the El Salvador end of things.
Once the myths had been published the 4th grade students at the Academia Britanica Cuscatleca then had the chance to listen to the presentations, discuss them in small groups and plan paired responses to them. They were asked to prepare positive comments that were focussed on the storyline, the pictures chosen to depict the different events in the stories and also to include a short comment on how the presentation might have been improved upon. This took place after a great deal of work in Literacy lessons on media and stories so the students had a fairly good idea of what to focus on. It is also important to remember that these are 9-10 year olds commenting on the work of high school students. How often does that happen. The students were particularly thrilled with being encouraged to do this in their native language-Spanish which was a real rarity for an activity in Literacy lessons, normally conducted exclusively in English. The 4th graders, soon to be 5th graders are hooked and we are hoping to run a follow up to this project at one point in the upcoming school year possibly with the same group of students. During sy07/08 the ABC secondary school will begin its initial work on voicethread projects.
Once the myths had been published the 4th grade students at the Academia Britanica Cuscatleca then had the chance to listen to the presentations, discuss them in small groups and plan paired responses to them. They were asked to prepare positive comments that were focussed on the storyline, the pictures chosen to depict the different events in the stories and also to include a short comment on how the presentation might have been improved upon. This took place after a great deal of work in Literacy lessons on media and stories so the students had a fairly good idea of what to focus on. It is also important to remember that these are 9-10 year olds commenting on the work of high school students. How often does that happen. The students were particularly thrilled with being encouraged to do this in their native language-Spanish which was a real rarity for an activity in Literacy lessons, normally conducted exclusively in English. The 4th graders, soon to be 5th graders are hooked and we are hoping to run a follow up to this project at one point in the upcoming school year possibly with the same group of students. During sy07/08 the ABC secondary school will begin its initial work on voicethread projects.
NECC Sunday Morning
Things are pretty quiet around here at present. My first attempt to link up with the Mac was foiled by an insidious little dead zone. Don't sit by the escalators on the main floor if you want to link up! Anyway after a rather embarrassing trip to the network doctor the link worked first try, did I say embarrassing? It was reminiscent of what happens at school, when the lap won't work for the teachers and the techs get things up and going on the first try. Did they doing anything differently than the teacher? Not usually!
I have decided to get on board with Twitter after fighting it for so long. So I now have a home page with a picture and have sorted out some more people to follow. My first event doesn't begin until 2:00 this afternoon so I won't be able to really see it in action until then, even with my measly 6 contacts. I hope to add more to the list later on today.
San Antonio is hot and humid, very much like El Salvador so I am feeling quite at home temperature-wise. I have tried both public transport and the conference shuttle service and they are both very easy to use and run like clockwork. The river walk is beautiful although it was packed yesterday when I was down there. I found the Alamo after a bit of wandering around and took a stroll through the compound just before closing, learning a bit more about Texas history as I did. It is funny I used to drive through San Antonio several times a year, so I can say I've been here many times, but I never stopped to visit on those trips and I am quickly coming to appreciate what a great place it really is.
Did I mention, I have learned how to fix my wordle code problems? Thanks George and Fernando!
I have decided to get on board with Twitter after fighting it for so long. So I now have a home page with a picture and have sorted out some more people to follow. My first event doesn't begin until 2:00 this afternoon so I won't be able to really see it in action until then, even with my measly 6 contacts. I hope to add more to the list later on today.
San Antonio is hot and humid, very much like El Salvador so I am feeling quite at home temperature-wise. I have tried both public transport and the conference shuttle service and they are both very easy to use and run like clockwork. The river walk is beautiful although it was packed yesterday when I was down there. I found the Alamo after a bit of wandering around and took a stroll through the compound just before closing, learning a bit more about Texas history as I did. It is funny I used to drive through San Antonio several times a year, so I can say I've been here many times, but I never stopped to visit on those trips and I am quickly coming to appreciate what a great place it really is.
Did I mention, I have learned how to fix my wordle code problems? Thanks George and Fernando!
Tuesday, 24 June 2008
Embeded Code
The availability of web applications that allow you to use embeded code has increased dramatically over the last year. This in itself has had a major impact on how I publish to the web. As a once strong proponent of frontpage and html and part time website administrator I have been pleasantly relieved of many of my prior trials involving our school website. Over this past school year I have had to tinker very little with the Upper Primary School website once it had been restructured for sy 07/08. Much of this is due to our school's new blogging system which has allowed me to convert the teachers in Upper Primary into blog masters instead of the traditional webmasters that were previously required. This in itself has been a great step forward and empowered more people with not only the tools but the enthusiasm to go forth and publish
All of this is wonderful, but perhaps the greatest intitial hook for many staff members and students is that not only can they publish written work with ease, but they can embed a great range of presentations into their blog posts. The cool factor is what snags them immediately! This year we have experimented with mind maps using bubble.us, slide shows with picture trail, slide, picassa, We have begun to experiment with Time Line Creator, as well as other apps. While this list appears short there are a huge number of other web applications out there and we have a long trial list ahead of us. I have to keep reminding myself that as exciting as this is there is a need to take it slowly in order to determine which are the best tools for our school to adopt for our students. This in itself can be challenging.
I must admit that while I am a huge proponent of web applications with embeddable code, the versatility of which has spoiled me in many ways. Being spoiled can sometimes lead to disappointment when things don't go as expected. I came across wordle over a week ago and fell in love with it immediately. As soon as I had my playtime I took the next logical step, trying to paste my word cloud into a blog. Initially I thought my frustration might have been the result of a goof-up on my part, but no, it appears that while you can link from this application you cannot embed your work. On further investigation, I found out that I wasn't alone in that particular boat, others, many others had bemoaned the same tragedy. I can't figure out why someone would go to the trouble to create such a great application and then allow it to fall short by not supplying embeddable code. That said I am an optimist and expect that there is a good reason for it. Maybe it is in the works still. I certainly hope so as I can see such educational potential in wordle.
This is my cloud. I print screened it then cropped it and saved as a pic. The long way around but here it is-my del.icio.us tag cloud. Not very original, in the sense that I am probably the millionth person to wordle their tag cloud, but very informative...just look at the large words and you can tell immediately where my interests lie.
.
All of this is wonderful, but perhaps the greatest intitial hook for many staff members and students is that not only can they publish written work with ease, but they can embed a great range of presentations into their blog posts. The cool factor is what snags them immediately! This year we have experimented with mind maps using bubble.us, slide shows with picture trail, slide, picassa, We have begun to experiment with Time Line Creator, as well as other apps. While this list appears short there are a huge number of other web applications out there and we have a long trial list ahead of us. I have to keep reminding myself that as exciting as this is there is a need to take it slowly in order to determine which are the best tools for our school to adopt for our students. This in itself can be challenging.
I must admit that while I am a huge proponent of web applications with embeddable code, the versatility of which has spoiled me in many ways. Being spoiled can sometimes lead to disappointment when things don't go as expected. I came across wordle over a week ago and fell in love with it immediately. As soon as I had my playtime I took the next logical step, trying to paste my word cloud into a blog. Initially I thought my frustration might have been the result of a goof-up on my part, but no, it appears that while you can link from this application you cannot embed your work. On further investigation, I found out that I wasn't alone in that particular boat, others, many others had bemoaned the same tragedy. I can't figure out why someone would go to the trouble to create such a great application and then allow it to fall short by not supplying embeddable code. That said I am an optimist and expect that there is a good reason for it. Maybe it is in the works still. I certainly hope so as I can see such educational potential in wordle.
This is my cloud. I print screened it then cropped it and saved as a pic. The long way around but here it is-my del.icio.us tag cloud. Not very original, in the sense that I am probably the millionth person to wordle their tag cloud, but very informative...just look at the large words and you can tell immediately where my interests lie.
.
Monday, 23 June 2008
The LRC
The ABC LRC is a brand new learning centre constructed on the campus of the Academia Britanica Cuscatleca in El Salvador. The resource centre will be cutting edge when it officially opens in August of 2008. The main floor houses not only the Secondary School library, but 6 conference rooms and 2 recording rooms as well as adminstration offices and the school shop, with the second floor being dedicated to Humanities and Art. The centre boasts top of the line technology on all levels which when combined with dynamic teaching, research and project work will serve to greatly enhance the educational experiences of all members of the ABC learning community.
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