MESPA New Digital Technologies

Blooms Taxonomy and Web 2.0

2008-12-05T13:54:00.001-08:00

In the 1950's Benjamin Bloom developed a pyramid construction to analyze the essence of learning. He stated learning could be compartmentalized into 7 subordinate components the higher of which could not be reached with out the complete mastery the lower. The "new" pyramid reads this way.
Remembering - can the student recall the information?
Understanding - can the student explain the ideas or concepts?
Applying - can the student use the information in a new way?
Analyzing - can the student distinguish between parts?
Evaluating - can the student justify a stand or position?
Creating - can the student create a new product or point of view?

The following illustration connects Web 2.0 and Blooms Taxonomy.

Polling

2008-12-05T11:20:00.000-08:00

Earlier in this course we covered SRS (Student Response Systems) aka "clickers". I also mentioned students had the ability to use cell phones to text. While attending a few conferences this month a few of the presenters used Poll Everywhere http://www.polleverywhere.com it, collects data while interacting with your audience. Poll Everywhere replaces expensive proprietary audience response hardware with standard web technology. It's the easiest way to gather live responses in any venue: conferences, presentations, classrooms, radio, tv, print — anywhere. It can help you to raise money by letting people pledge via text messaging. Its simplicity and flexibility are earning rave reviews.

I added a link to my wiki with more information PD wiki. Notice, in addition to being able to use a cell phone you can also put the polling and results widget in a wiki or blog. Now, if I could only text faster!

VoiceThread - New features

2008-12-04T14:31:00.001-08:00

Voicethread has a number of new features and updates this month. See notes below from VoiceThread...

Put VoiceThread In Your Pocket
Take your VoiceThread and put it into iTunes or your pocket for on-the-go viewing and presenting. Whenever you export, you now have the choice to either download a full sized high resolution archival movie version or one that has been formatted to go directly onto your iPod or iPhone, or both. :)
Clone Your Threads
We've had a lot of requests for the ability to make a copy of an existing VoiceThread so that it can be reused for a fresh new audience or just to make a backup copy. Beginning today, you have that ability right on your MyVoice page (from the gear menu). Clicking 'Make a Copy' opens up a menu for you to title, describe, and choose the comments you'd like to include in the new version. Now you can spend the time and energy creating the highest quality VoiceThreads to be used again and again, and again.
Support For More File Formats
We now fully support Microsoft Office 2007 file formats when uploading into your VoiceThreads. Microsoft Photo Story 3 video support coming soon.
Security Update
Beginning January 1, 2009 we will no longer allow multiple simultaneous logins to the same account. While this may have been a convenient feature it was also a potential security risk. After January 1, 2009 whenever you log in to VoiceThread on a new computer, we will automatically log you out of any computers that you were previously logged into.
We've made quite a few interface tweaks as well, all in an effort to make VoiceThread and its features easier to use and understand. We appreciate all the feedback we've received, it definitely helps direct our development as we look to further improve VoiceThread. So thank you and keep it coming! We've got more on the way (VoiceThread.com).

What are you learning this week?

2008-12-03T17:41:00.000-08:00

2008 Christa McAuliffe Technology Conference
I attended and presented at the Christa McAuliffe Conference this week Moving Beyond the Basics: Using Web 2.0 Tools in Your Blog or Wiki. I was happy to see so many MESPA students in the session! If you missed the conference here is David Warlick's Keynote captured using UStream

Streaming .TV shows by Ustream
A few items I plan on investigating.
- Webcammax http://www.webcammax.com/ with Skype for mac users try CamTwist

Landmarks for Schools: Words of Humankind - organizes historical documents in the public domain, kids can access this for FREEhttp://landmark-project.com/page.php?stamp=&pn=3&psn=&cat=17

If you like Wordle check out TagCloud

I attended a few sessions on electronic portfolio solutions
Richer Picture® - A digital portfolio of student achievement

I am continuing to research netbooks and the 2go PC Netbooks by CTL.
"2go" branding for its next-gen Classmate PC, but it's not hard to spot the difference: it's a convertible tablet. Learn more here

If you attended the conference and have session reviews please post a comment here, along with the tools new tools you have used this week.

I just tested out a new widget from Amazon, focusing on netbooks/laptop products in a Carousel widget on the sidebar.

Googlespreadsheet demo using Jing to caputre the lesson

2008-11-17T14:25:00.000-08:00

Here is unique way to use googlespreadsheets and live data
Click here http://screencast.com/t/i3ppLUliQ to view in a larger window outside the blog

Try a jing recording and explore some of the google lookup functions!
Google Presentations, docs and spreadsheets create a url and embedded code that can be dropped into a blog, wiki (or SharePoint) for instruction.

Wordle

2008-11-15T12:30:00.001-08:00

http://www.wordle.net

Using Jing

2008-11-15T12:03:00.000-08:00

Using Jing download

On the way: Nation's first tech-literacy exam

2008-11-15T10:59:00.000-08:00

For the first time ever, technological literacy will become part of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as the Nation's Report Card, the test's governing board has announced.

Beginning in 2012, the test will measure students' proficiency with technology in addition to reading, math, science, history, writing, and other subjects. The new test will mark the first time students' technology literacy has been assessed on a national level.

The National Assessment Governing Board has awarded a $1.86 million contract to WestEd—a nonprofit educational research, development, and service agency based in San Francisco—to develop the 2012 NAEP Technological Literacy Framework.

Under this new contract, awarded through a competitive bidding process, WestEd will recommend the framework and specifications for the 2012 NAEP Technological Literacy Assessment. Ultimately, WestEd's work will lead to ways to define and measure students' knowledge and skills in understanding important technological tools, the Governing Board said. Board members then will decide which grade level—fourth, eighth, or 12th—will be tested in 2012. [more information]

Voicethead for Assessment

2008-11-14T19:28:00.000-08:00

Create your Voicethread account and upload a picture to your profile.
direct link http://voicethread.com/share/257601/

We will use this tool in class. Bring a webcam or microphone.

Conference

2008-11-12T08:43:00.001-08:00

I attended the New England Faculty Development Consortium (NEFDC) Fall Conference today. The Keynote was Dr. Pedro Noguera, he has been called one of America's most important voices for public education. He is a professor in the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development at New York University. It was a very inspiring keynote. There were several great presentation on the agenda. I particularly enjoyed a Web 2.0 session - Engaging Millennial Students with Web 2.0 Tools by Mark Frydenberg, Bentley College here is a link to his presentation. Mark is teaching an computer class focused on Web 2.0.
Other upcoming conferences -
MassCUE
2008 Christa McAuliffe Technology Conference
I will be co-presenting at both conferences this year.

Professional Development with Web 2.0 and other

2008-11-08T07:56:00.000-08:00

Last week I presented Web 2.0 tools to teachers in my district. I posted the presentation in SlideShare and used many of the tools presented in this class. If you have not tried SlideShare, please review for next class.

SharePoint and Web 2.0 Tools in K-12

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: sharepoint; web)

I hope you are all practicing using your blogs and wikis.
Please post a link to the group wiki (in the table) as shown in class so we can review each others sites.
http://mespandt.pbwiki.com/Groups

Assessment - Review SMART Board Session

2008-11-01T12:06:00.001-07:00

Please take the following quiz to review your understanding of the SMART features presented in class today.

SMART Board Review » Create Quizzes

Do you think you know Web 2.0? Check out this quiz tool...

2008-10-30T13:17:00.000-07:00

I found this new tool today http://www.proprofs.com that allows me to make an online quiz and post to a blog/wiki. Let me know what you think of the tool.
Note: Enter your name and the password associated with the PD Center (hint 5 letters)

Web 2.0 and Emerging Technologies for K12 » Make Your Own Quiz

K12Online Conference 2008

2008-10-27T08:59:00.000-07:00

The K-12 Online Conference invites participation from educators around the world interested in innovative ways Web 2.0 tools and technologies can be used to improve learning. This FREE conference is run by volunteers and open to everyone. The 2008 conference theme is “Amplifying Possibilities”. This year’s conference begins with a pre-conference keynote the week of October 13, 2008.

The following two weeks, October 20-24 and October 27-31, forty presentations will be posted online to the conference blog (this website) for participants to download and view. Live Events in the form of three “Fireside Chats” and a culminating “When Night Falls” event will be announced.

Everyone is encouraged to participate in both live events during the conference as well as asynchronous conversations. More information about podcast channels and conference web feeds click here.

Please subscribe to the conference in igoogle/google reader and iTunes.

Feel free to make a comment about any of the sessions that you found intriguing.

See you on Saturday!

Presentations and comments from class

2008-01-27T17:21:00.000-08:00

Hi -
I just wanted to comment on the great conversations Saturday morning around your experience with Web 2.0 tools over the last few weeks. The presentations on Saturday afternoon were outstanding! I learned a great deal from all of you!

Feel free to post your comments here.

Also here are few links that were discussed late in the day and I wanted to make sure I posted them.

From Sandy
Sandy’s blog with her Wii demo http://mespaem.blogspot.com/
The porgram used in her video was Tux Painthttp://www.tuxpaint.org/drawing program for children ages 3 to 12. Open source/free download.

Links from Rob
Free-Reading is an “open source” instructional program that helps teachers teach early reading. Because it's open source, it represents the collective wisdom of a wide community of teachers and researchers. It's designed to contain a scope and sequence of activities that can support and supplement a typical “core” or “basal” program http://www.freereading.net

Presidential Commercials
href="http://livingroomcandidate.movingimage.us/">http://livingroomcandidate.movingimage.us/

Julie made screencasts using jing check it out http://screencast.com/t/wNjjUoUD

And one more example of the power of a wiki....
http://www.curriki.org/ - Global Education and Learning Community – Browse by subject http://www.curriki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Main/Browse

Let's keep the converstation going while you are working on your final projects over the next few weeks.

Have a great week!
Mary

Interesting quote ...

2008-01-25T10:15:00.000-08:00

"The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn."
--Alvin Toffler, American futurist

What are you learning this week?

2008-01-23T11:01:00.000-08:00

In class I had everyone look at the K12Online Conference for ideas for midterm projects and to look at new digital tools. This week, I downloaded some of the K12Online Conference 2007 podcast to my ipod and decided to listen to a few on my way to work.

I remember Rob showing podcasting last fall and I hope all of you continue to use this great resource.

Today I listened to K12Online07 Audio Podcasts "Online Professional Development" by Jeff Utecht. Jeff talked about the increase role of online PD for teachers, joining communities and building "your" network. If you do not use iTunes/podcasts, I would like to remind you of all great resources that are available to you. You may want to share these podcasts with your staff. All you have to do is listen and learn.

Does anyone else listen to podcasts? Do you have any recommendations?

FRONTLINE presents GROWING UP ONLINE Jan 22nd 9:00pm

2008-01-20T14:28:00.000-08:00

This is an optional exercise, instead of reading one of the articles, you may want to watch this show on Tuesday evening and share with colleagues/administration at your school.

You can also use this as one of your reading assignments and post a short reflection in the class blog. I was just notified of this show by my principal.

FRONTLINE INVESTIGATES THE RISKS, REALITIES AND MISCONCEPTIONS OF TEEN LIFE ON THE INTERNET
FRONTLINE presents
GROWING UP ONLINE
Tuesday, January 22, 2008, at 9 P.M. ET on PBS

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/kidsonline/

Readings and Blogs

2008-01-16T05:41:00.000-08:00

As we discussed in class there are many good blogs and articles that support new digital tools in the classroom.

Articles from the class wiki/readings
Read 2-3 articles that pertain to your classroom and post a brief reflection about one of the articles listed below or from the wiki/reading page. Feel free to recommend articles to your colleagues. Your response should be posted as a comment in the blog.
1. A Day in the Life of Web 2.0 By David Warlick
2. Blogs: Webs of Connected Learning
3. Think Outside the Blog
Looking for more choices? Go to the class wiki reading tab.Listed below are a few blogs that you may want to checkout, remember you can also subscribe to them in your google reader.
4. TV this week FRONTLINE presents GROWING UP ONLINE - Tuesday, January 22, 2008, at 9 P.M. ET on PBS www.pbs.org/frontline/kidsonline
Blogs - Pick a few blogs to review and subscribe using GoogleReader or igoolge
1. The Fischbowl:Karl Fisch
2. Learning.Now:Andy Carvin
3. Moving at the Speed of Creativity:Wes Fryer
4. 2 Cents Worth:David Warlick
5. Teach42.com:Steve Dembo
6. The Tech Savvy Educator
7. Weblogg-ed:Will Richardson
8. A Difference:Darren Kuropatwa
9. TheThinkingStick:Jeff Utecht
10. Marc Prensky's Blog

Get inspired - Watch and listen to K12Online Conference Teasers and podcasts. Many of the "teasers" will actually give you a good idea for a midterm project.

Comparing Blog Tools

2008-01-14T17:11:00.000-08:00

As I menitoned in class, you may want to evaluate a few blog tools before deciding on one.

1. Blogger http://www.blogger.com/
- integration with google is a good feature
2. WordPress to sign-up.
Here is a link to my wordpress site I like the tab feature.
WordPress and tutorials http://www.wordpresstutorials.com/newtowordpress.shtml
3. Edublogs http://edublogs.org/
- great for classroom setup *I noticed this site seems to be down this week, I was finally able to create a site today. Here is the link.

SlideShare

2008-01-14T10:10:00.001-08:00

I decided to take the same PowerPoint presentation that I created in Voicethread and upload to Shareslide and RockYou. This is another way to take something I would normally save on my tablet or network and allow me to publish. I hope you try to publish using slideshare and voicethread.

| View | Upload your own

Other Options to post slideshows -
RockYou - Link
BubbleShare on the sidebar

Voicethread - Post your feedback (voice or comments)

2008-01-14T09:28:00.001-08:00

I thought it would be a good idea to use Voicethread as a way to get feedback about the class. You can comment on each page, or a general comment on the first page. I also posted the voicethread in the class wiki and now I am copying the same code to the blog. Post a test/audio on the site. This is a great way to expand my network! What a great way to get feedback from students and share with administration.

Enjoy!

Snow Day

2008-01-14T08:18:00.001-08:00

I hope everyone is enjoying their day off! I will be working online today doing the following.
1. Adding tools to the class blog/sidebar (Links, Youtube playlist on web 2.0, polling features and the RSS feed). Please add the class RSS feed to you google page/reader.

2. Add my voicethread that is in the class wiki to this site and will also experiment with uploading to Slideshare.

I hope you get a chance explore the Web 2.0 tools discussed in class. Once you have created your blog, please post in the class wiki, on the "groups" page. If there is a password put it in the table next to the site. That way we can look at each others blog and wiki. Remember, the goal of the class is to review new digital tools and collaboarte in a web 2.0 setting.

I will be making a few posts on the blog today. Feel free to post comments.

Mary

Welcome to the New Digital Technologies Class Blog

2008-01-10T09:19:00.001-08:00

Hello Everyone -

I am looking forward to seeing all of you on Saturday! I know many of you have used Moodle as a vehicle for class communication. I would like to model the use of a blog and wiki to deliver this class.

You will need to create a google/blogger account; you will then receive an email with a link that will validate your account in order to post a comment. Modify your blogger profile to include a picture and any other information you would like to share.

Please post a comment for this entry and let me know if you have used a blog or wiki with students to facilitate a class. Additionally, please create an account with pbwiki http://pbwiki.com/ for class this weekend.

Feel to post any other information that you would like to share.

Regards,
Mary Marotta