The Complete Guide to Google Wave is a comprehensive user manual by Gina Trapani with Adam Pash.

As a follow up to the Google Wave post, here’s the complete guide to Google Wave. Through the kindness (and generosity) of a great friend, I have 9 invites to offer. If you are interested, leave a comment with your email and I’ll forward your request to our Director of Data and Technology at STSD, Randy Ziegenfuss, and he will send it your way. Enjoy the Wave!

Google Wave is a new web-based collaboration tool that’s notoriously difficult to understand. This guide will help. Here you’ll learn how to use Google Wave to get things done with your group. Because Wave is such a new product that’s evolving quickly, this guidebook is a work in progress that will update in concert with Wave as it grows and changes. Read more about The Complete Guide to Google Wave.

Table of Contents

This book’s contents are freely available to view online. Click on a chapter to read it.

If you just can’t get enough of Wave, see also our growing compilation of Wave-related links and video clips from across the web.

From the Learning Interchange blog:

Webcasts from the Tundra - Churchill, Canada
Near the Hudson Bay in Manitoba, Canada - not far from the town of Churchill, the “Polar Bear Capital of the World” - members of Polar Bears International, scientists, zoologists, educators, and students gather at different times each winter to observe and study polar bears in the wild.

During October and November 2009, a panels of experts will be conducting six webcasts focused on polar bears and climate change, live from the tundra. We invite you to join these webcasts which are correlated to the educational resources and lessons shared in this exhibit. For more details, a list of panelists, FAQ’s about the webcasts and scheduled videoconferences, and other related information, view the “Tundra Connections Information” page which is listed on the sidebar.

This year’s webcasts will include live shots and video clips of bears on the tundra!

November 2009 Webcasts - all at 11:00 a.m. CST
- Target Audience is Grade 9-12 and Higher Education, but applicable to younger grades and adults.

* Monday, November 9th - “Global Impacts, Warning Signs, and Inherent Issues”
* Tuesday, November 10th - “Conversations: Polar Bears, the Arctic, and Climate Change”
* Wednesday, November 11th - Taking Action, Making a Difference”

To view any of these webcasts, simply return to this site on the day of the webcast and look for the link to participate!

IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS RELATED TO POLAR BEARS OR THE UPCOMING “TUNDRA CONNECTIONS,” PLEASE E-MAIL THEM TO THE ADDRESS BELOW. QUESTIONS FOR THE PANELISTS DURING THE LIVE WEBCASTS CAN BE SUBMITTED TO THIS E-MAIL ADDRESS:

rollingonthetundra@me.com

November Panelists include:

• Dr. Don Moore (Smithsonian Institution’s National Zoo, Washington, D.C., PBI Advisory Council)
• Julene Reed (St. George’s Independent School, Memphis, TN, PBI Advisory Council, Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots Advisory Council, Apple Distinguished Educators Advisory Board)
• Dr. Tom Smith (Brigham Young University, PBI Advisory Council)
• Geoff York (WWF-Arctic Program, PBI Advisory Counil

Becoming a Storm Ready School Webinar
Monday, November 16 at 4 PM ET

Learn how your school or district can easily become certified as StormReady. Guest speaker Angelia Enyedi from NOAA’s National Weather Service will walk educators and district administrators through the simple process as well as the benefits of becoming Storm Ready. We’ll also hear from guest speaker Sharyl Wood of Nassau County, Florida’s school board on her district’s Storm Ready certification process and the improvements they’ve made to their overall plan for severe weather. Register today.

Elmer’s Glue Crew Recycling Program Webinar
Tuesday, November 17 at 7 PM ET

Save the bottles. Save the sticks. Save the planet! The Elmer’s Glue Crew Recycling Program is back with more fun and interactive ways to engage your students in recycling Elmer’s glue sticks from their classroom or even throughout their school. Join this webinar to learn how to easily get your own classroom involved, and hear from guest speaker Shannon Dominick, whose classroom won last year’s grand prize in the Glue Crew Recycling Program.  Register today!

On Wednesday, November 18th at 7pm EST, we’re thrilled to feature Gary Stager as our EdTechConnect speaker! There are few speakers that are more passionate, dedicated and devoted to bringing about change in education. If you’ve never had a chance to see him present before, you won’t want to miss this opportunity. If you HAVE seen him, perhaps on the Keynote panel from this year’s NECC conference, then I’m sure I don’t even need to say anything more to convince you to register. As David Thornburg has stated, “Some people think ‘outside of the box.’ Gary is unaware of the box’s existence!”

Creative Computing and the Case for Project-based Learning

Veteran computer-using educator, speaker and journalist Dr. Gary Stager will explore how project-based learning fuels creativity and amplifies the power of computing. This webinar will explore questions of “What is a project?” and “What are the essential elements of a good project?” The theory underlying such practice will be discussed and imaginative applications challenging each learner to maximize their potential will be shared.
Click here to register!

Consider joining us for as many of these webinars that your busy (upcoming holidays) schedule can accommodate. And here’s a sneak peek of things to come:

Save the Date! DEN’s Science Fest: January 10, 2010
More information to come about our first ever Science Fest, but we promise that it will be a great start to the new year.

Without a doubt, the DEN Tech or Trear Fall Virtual Conference was an astounding success. We held the same numbers of attendees as we had last year. But–and here’s the good news–we grew our Live Event sites and numbers.

In addition, we were global in our outreach and welcomed a world of participants from abroad. Speaking for our PA Live Event at IU 21 in Schnecksville, I would like to echo Meg Griffin, our LC President’s sentiments in thanking all the people who made this event possible–Michael Cichocki, Patti Duncan, Tracey McGrath, Jennifer Brinson, and of course, Meg herself. Thanks to everyone behind the scenes who logged on and supported PA. Great job!!

Want to be a DEN GURU? That would step you up to Level 4 in DEN. You ask, what are the “levels.” And the answer is:

1. DEN
2. DEN STAR
3. DEN LC
4. DEN GURU.

There are advantages at any level, but if you step up to GURU (up to 5 people will be chosen this first year), you will have noticeable benefits that set you apart. Perhaps the largest benefit is that Discovery will take you, free of charge, to a national convention. Application deadline: November 15, 2009

This brings me to the big event I really want to push because completing this one is easy and a lot of fun. You can make a podcast or a video telling how you use Discovery Education resources in your classroom. Doesn’t have to be a big deal project–keep it short and simple (the KISS philosophy) and then upload it. Fun, fast, and a FREE Discovery hoodie, limited edition is in the mail to you. And just in case the idea of uploading to Media Share daunts you, this upload is to a simple spot where Discovery will mine your golden uses. Do it today, because the deadline is November 15.

Some of my best friends are actively engaged in pursuing the MS in Instructional Media offered by Discovery Education and Wilkes University. I remember the kick-off two years ago at the National Institute. We were even offered 3 credits for a minimal fee to begin the degree work with our week’s intense completion of learning. Although I am not one to regret decisions, I often wish I had made the choice to study for this degree. Keeping in touch with my friends who were the first class to begin this program, I can tell you that the subject matter is extremely engaging, timely and worthwhile.

This summer I had the good fortune to follow the China Adventure. What an amazing trip this was, packed with singular experiences that only could be found in a Discovery Education adventure. Nothing beats repeating a good thing, so the China and Australia trips are encores. New to the venue are the Arctic, Anarctica, Costa Rica, and Ecudor/Galapagos Islands. You will definitely need to have your prospective students fund raise, but if you get 5 students to sign on, you as their teacher travels free.

Not exactly Fast Five, but there you have it, a synopsis of some of the best and time-sensitive offers from Discovery.

The voting was fierce, as the ranks shifted several times over the last few days.  But when the dust settled, three winners emerged!  Congrats to all the winners, a brand new HD Flip Cam is going to be in the mail to you.  And many thanks to everybody who participated, it truly put the ‘treat’ in Tech or Treat!

Best Discovery themed costume:

Christie Berrier, as the MythBusters!

Bekka Stasny as The Deadliest Catch!

Vasantha Rayman as the DEN STAR!

Want to be a DEN GURU?

Want a DEN Hoodie?

Tech or Treat (new page link):

As part of our Tech or Treat theme, many STARs dressed up as their favorite Discovery personalities.  After a week’s worth of voting, we are pleased to announce this year’s winners (each will receive a HD Flip camera).

Christie Berrier, as the MythBusters

Bekka Stasny as The Deadliest Catch

Vasantha Rayman as the DEN STAR

Five minutes came first, so that’s all, folks.

I posted about Google Wave a while ago, but now happily am using it and must say I really love it. The Wave promise was that it would redefine email and web communication. You might want to try it yourself to see if it lived up to the hype and the promise . I’ll let you decide.

Here are some related videos that can help you get started with The Basics.

Starting A New Wave
A Wave can be both a document and a conversation.

Replying To A Wave
You can reply anywhere in a wave.

Editing Waves
All participants on a wave can edit any part of the wave, at the same time.

Reading Through Waves
To quickly read through unread blips in a wave, hit the spacebar.


Updating Your Profile
Help your contacts recognize you on a wave. In the Contacts area, just click your name. Learn more.

Working With Waves
The playback feature lets you move through the history of a wave.

Installing Extensions

Extensions let you add rich content and interactions to waves, or integrate with other systems.

Visit the Google Wave featured extensions

Attaching Photos And Files

To attach a file to a wave, start in edit mode. Then either:

• Click the paperclip and select the file from your desktop or
• To drag and drop right from the desktop into a wave, install Gears in your browser.

Learn more

Spelling Correction

Arranging Panels
You can make more room on your screen by moving and minimizing panels.

Scrolling
The scrollbars in Google Wave are a little different.

Organizing Your Waves
Clearing your inbox

You can remove waves from your inbox in two main ways:

* Archive: takes a wave out of your inbox until someone updates it
* Mute: takes a wave out of your inbox unless someone adds a private reply to you

You can always find these waves again by searching for them.

Learn more

Searching For Waves
Use the search box to find waves by typing keywords and advanced search terms.

Creating A Saved Search
Find a set of waves quickly with a saved search.

Adding Tags To A Wave

Making Folders
Create folders to organize your waves.

For more tips and trouble-shooting, visit Google Wave Help Center
(will open in a separate window)

Saturday, October 24, 2009
9 AM to 4 PM ET

About the DEN’s Fall Virtual Conference

Thousands of educators online and in-person congregated together, as the DEN team went house to ‘house to house’ to explore the many digital treats available to educators today.  During this unique professional development event, attendees had the flexibility to attend online or in-person at one of many regional events hosted by the DEN Leadership Councils.

9 AM
Can I Help You With That?  The Student as Collaborator, Creator and Director
with Justin Karkow

Virtual Conference Archive links and embedded code can be found in Media Share.

Here’s an excerpt from the email from Al Gore:

The Wall is a place where literally thousands and thousands of people committed to a revolutionary new energy future for our nation and the world are coming together — to express our hopes, share our resolve, and step up to a leadership role in building a grassroots movement for change like nothing America has ever seen. It’s an opportunity for you to be part of the climate movement in a new way, in a way that takes us beyond ourselves.

By asking people from all over the country to share their thoughts and images on the Wall, we are fueling a campaign that brings together the power of national media with the strength and connection of on-the-ground organizing in a way that no one has ever done before. Your voice, and the voices of your friends, neighbors and colleagues, will become the language of our campaign on TV, in print, on billboards, online, and in brand new ways that you will help us invent as we create the Wall.

We know that the political will to transition America to a clean energy economy already exists. You are part of it. But now we must make sure our leaders know it too. The Wall will become our collective voice and thus transform the debate into action.

It’s an ambitious strategy — and it has to be.

Nothing short of every one of us joined together is needed to overcome the resistance of the powerful special interests blocking our path to a clean energy future, settling for the dangerous status quo.

But the time for politics is over. We have the power to force change in America.

Chair - Joe Fromme

Blog Coordinator - Jane Cook
Events Coordinator - Pam Skelly

Blog and Events Team
Ann Barney
Barbara Haeffner
Lynn Reedy
Howard Gunther
Steve Sokoloski
Gary Webster

Don’t forget: Stop by the CT LC blog and say hello!