Technology Fridge

Who's is the Enemy?

noreply@blogger.com (J Allen) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 19:38:00 +0000

While watching Twitter last night, I saw Sylvia Martinez (and her blog post from today) and Bud Hunt begin the "assault" on the session title "The Enemy Within: Stop Students From Bypassing Your Web Filters." The irony is that the description on the Wikispace page was open for anyone to edit, so the onslaught of educators adding their thoughts began.

Here is the session description from the one hour session description page of the NYSCATE wiki:

How can you detect and block anonymizing proxies to stop students from accessing content which can create security risks to your network? Sophos security expert, Chris Ridgeway, will discuss risks posed by Web 2.0., how anonymizing proxies compound that threat and best practices to thwart anonymizing proxies in your network.

To me, the title represents what can be so wrong with security and the companies that provide them. Granted, they prey on the fear that some parents and administrators have. They aren't as concerned with providing effective instruction as they are creating an impenetrable bubble isolating students from the rest of the world. If you had engaging instruction and a relevant curriculum, you would have less discipline issues. It's as simple as that.

The Fridge's Weekly Bookmarks (weekly)

noreply@blogger.com (J Allen) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 13:30:00 +0000

Home (onlinetoolssite)
This website is set up to assist people in using Google tools for the classroom
tags: google, GoogleApps, resources

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

The Fridge's Weekly Bookmarks (weekly)

noreply@blogger.com (J Allen) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 13:30:00 +0000

EveryStockPhoto
Search engine for free stock photos and clip art for the stock photography community including images of creative commons and public domain and other free licenses
tags: diigo, photography, photos, creativecommons
Tap Into The World Of Comics
Presentation on 20 ways to use comic strips
tags: comics, presentation, languagearts, writing

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

The Fridge's Weekly Bookmarks (weekly)

noreply@blogger.com (J Allen) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 13:30:00 +0000

Online Audio Editor - Aviary.com's Myna
Similar to GarageBand, but an online website for music creation.
tags: garageband, music
» Would You Please Block? Bud the Teacher
Great articulation of why a filter shouldn't run the classroom.
tags: bud_the_teacher, filter, technology
Tools and Technologies for Effective Classrooms
While these tools say for a Laptop/tablet classroom, these would are great tools for any classroom that wants to truly incorporate technology.
tags: technology, 1:1, tablet, laptop

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

The First Omaha Blog Co Installment

noreply@blogger.com (J Allen) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:58:00 +0000

This morning I had the privilege of attending the first meetup of the Omaha Blog Co, organized by Danny of Silicon Prairie News fame. The event, held in the cozy, not-easy-to-find-for-a-suburb-guy Caffeine Dreams in Midtown Omaha, was attended by bloggers with a wide variety of backgrounds: new bloggers, personal bloggers, professional bloggers and even a "Professional Bum." It was great to meet them and start discussions about our purposes for blogging. Some blog for their friends, some for their job. Some blog for an audience, some blog as a creative outlet. And it was really a reaffirming moment for me - blogging is writing. Writer's write for a variety of purposes and audiences. Some write papers for teachers, some journal for themselves. We expose our students to different styles of writing and ask them to write in the those styles...why can't that be done online? Getting back to what we always harp on here in the Fridge - don't blog to blog, blog to write.

I'm very interested to see where this group goes. I'm continually impressed with the "creative class", frequently and proudly having their horn blown by outlets like Silicon Prairie, in and around the metro area. I'm hoping I can bring something positive to the table, albeit being an "outsider" to many of their ventures having an education background. I think there is a lot of talent in the area and think it will be a great thing to be a part of. Thanks again to everyone who was there for sharing great ideas and thoughts and to Danny for organizing! Now to double check my spelling since I let that out as a pet peeve about blog posts.

Speaking of blogging, here is a reminder about a great series posted by Steve Dembo a while back - 30 Days to Being a Better Blogger.

The Fridge's Weekly Bookmarks (weekly)

noreply@blogger.com (J Allen) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 13:30:00 +0000

classroombooktalk
A cool wiki that has projects created by students, sometimes across the country, on different types of books. Lots of different project ideas.
tags: wiki, collaboration, voicethread, literature, writing, reading

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

The Fridge's Weekly Bookmarks (weekly)

noreply@blogger.com (J Allen) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 13:30:00 +0000

PLHS Blog
My blog for PLHS.
tags: technology, blog

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Omaha Blog Company Meetup #1

noreply@blogger.com (J Allen) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:28:00 +0000

For those of you in the Omaha metro area, the first meetup of the Omaha Blog Company will be October 8th at 7:15 am at Caffeine Dreams. A representative from the Tech Fridge (like there's more than one) will be on hand to share the same wisdom as you have come to expect from the sporadic posting done here. More so, I'm hoping to score some good ideas from the others who show up!

Please check it out for more information.

I found out about the meetup by reading the hippest blog in Omaha, the Silicon Prairie News.

The New Sidewiki From Google

noreply@blogger.com (J Allen) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 13:17:00 +0000

I can't imagine the surprise that, after two days, you're getting another blog post from me!?! Well, a) I've got another thought to share and b) there has been some motivation to get my Fridge back up and running a little smoother. Nonetheless, I'm glad to also have the time to share some more with you.

Google came out yesterday with Sidewiki, a browser add-on that lets you see other people's comments about a specific website.

The good and the bad is that the content is user driven. That could mean sharing outstanding personal experiences at websites for museums or historically significant places. It could also mean garbage. They do have a plan for how comments show up in Sidewiki, but I don't know if there would be a filter on it for "inappropriate" words (or who deems what's inappropriate...just lookin' out for the kids).

Under the hood, we have even more technology that will take your entry about the current page and show it next to webpages that contain the same snippet of text. For example, an entry on a speech by President Obama will appear on all webpages that include the same quote. We also bring in relevant posts from blogs and other sources that talk about the current page so that you can discover their insights more easily, right next to the page they refer to.

Other drawbacks that either aren't there or I haven't found yet include:

Having to re-open Sidewiki each time you go to a new page. I can see where it would be annoying to always be on, but I would like that option, especially if I was doing research.
The requirement of the Google Toolbar. I realize the new toolbar includes the button, but I'm not a toolbar kind of guy. I'm a huge Diigo fan, but I like a small toolbar.

In the end, I really think that Sidewiki could be a huge boost to students and educators when searching the Internet...as long as there is a way to keep the content clean. I would try it out for yourself and make your own opinion.

More great insight from Free Tech 4 Teachers.

Should GPS Be Introduced in the Outdoor Ed Curriculum?

noreply@blogger.com (J Allen) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 20:10:00 +0000

Geocaching is quickly becoming a hit with families across the nation. It's a purpose for exercising and discovering new areas around where you live or while on vacation. The thrill of geocaching, as I'm coming to understand, isn't about what you find, it's the hunt. But is it purposeful in education?

I wrote a grant to purchase handheld GPS devices for our Outdoor Education curriculum, but the coordinator of the program pulled their support at the 11th hour. My thinking behind the grant was to develop a route to keep kids on the path that they've been using for years by marking waypoints (Geocache glossary) where the current path markers (red string) are located. There would also be a waypoint where teachers would do the instruction...the same instruction that they've done in the past. I was not trying to change the curriculum. I was trying to build enthusiasm on the way to the curriculum. The coordinator didn't believe that students would stay on the path. She thought that students would spend more time looking at the "device" than observing around them in nature. My response was a) that's why I put waypoints on the trail and b) the teacher's need to hold them accountable (and not all students would have a handheld...switching back and forth). I don't feel that introducing handheld GPS devices will hurt current class management issues. I'm not suggesting typical geocaching. It's not a free for all to get to the next spot. She also quoted research that said kids spend more time using technology than in nature. I completely agree, but aren't we introducing this technology so kids will get out in nature more?? So we are on hold for now. We do have two more grant opportunities before next summer, but I would like some feedback as to how you would approach this situation. We talk all the time about making change...this is a big change for this person and this curriculum. The coordinator has agreed to let a teacher (who is big into geocaching) try it out in a couple weeks, so we'll see how it goes. I still would like to have any good feedback or advice that you have!

Always happy to share great resources: Jason Everett is working on a GPS Blog at ESU 10 here in Nebraska. I know he is working on more content for the new blog, so check back soon.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mroach/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

Additional resources that are coming in:

From Greg Robke (as seen in comments): Geocaching
From Dean Mantz via Twitter: Discovery Education - link to search for GPS and Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators (scroll down to "Other Devices in the Classroom")

The Fridge's Weekly Bookmarks (weekly)

noreply@blogger.com (J Allen) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 13:30:00 +0000

iNACOL
International Association for K-12 Online Learning
tags: online course, online_course, resources
Staying the Course - Higher Ed Online courses
Research done on the rise of online courses in higher education.
tags: sloan, sloan consortium, online course
Survey of K-12 Admins - Online Courses
A follow-up survey conducted by the Sloan Consortium in regards to online learning in the K-12 setting. 75% of public schools in the US offer online or blended classes.
tags: online_course, research, resource, sloan consortium, sloan

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

The Fridge's Weekly Bookmarks (weekly)

noreply@blogger.com (J Allen) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 13:30:00 +0000

Smart Board and Interactive Whiteboard Resources
Resources for Internet 4 Classrooms.
tags: smartboard, iwb, resources

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

SMART Board Class - What's the Point?

noreply@blogger.com (J Allen) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 15:29:00 +0000

I'm starting a SMART Board class for our district teachers. I think the class is a great idea, but I'm struggling with what direction to take. Should it be more on how to create? Focus more on where to find information? It's only a one credit hour class, so time is limited. It appears I'll have a wide variety of knowledge levels and backgrounds, so what do you think? What has worked for you in the past?

I don't have all of the pages filled in on the website, but you get a general idea of what each session will discuss. We will meet about every two weeks (3 weeks between one of the sessions). Really would love some feedback. Thanks in advance!

The Fridge's Weekly Bookmarks (weekly)

noreply@blogger.com (J Allen) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 13:30:00 +0000

Stories - Interactive Sites for Smartboard Use – Grades K - 5 - Oak Street Elementary School - Plattsburgh City School District
Collection of animated stories for us on the SMART Board.
tags: smartboard, iwb, doane
Google's YouTube Channel
tags: google, youtube, video
Activity Types
From William & Mary, resource for TPACKS and Activity Types.
tags: TPACK, activitytypes, wiki, Curriculum, resource
Curriculum Meeting Page
Internal website for PLV Curriculum Meetings
tags: curriculum, meeting_agenda

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

The Fridge's Weekly Bookmarks (weekly)

noreply@blogger.com (J Allen) — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 13:30:00 +0000

Digital Stories - OWP Advanced Institute
tags: digitalstorytelling, resource, eylptt
Innovation History - The Great Idea Finder
Fascinating stories behind the world's greatest inventors and great inventions. Celebrating the spirit of innovation.
tags: inventions, resource, history, social studies
Learning in Hand
Great website for handheld computer devices.
tags: ipod touch, handhelds, ipod, education, tony_vincent, pda
“Willing to be Disturbed”
From Weblogg-ed, great post about how teachers need to have their way of teaching "disturbed" so that they question themselves and their instruction.
tags: will_richardson, change, 21st-century-skills

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

The Fridge's Weekly Bookmarks (weekly)

noreply@blogger.com (J Allen) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 13:30:00 +0000

Wordle Blog: How to make Wordle safe for classroom use.
Advice from the Wordle blog.
tags: wordle, blog
10 Youtube URL Tricks You Should Know About - Annotated
10 different ways to improve your YouTube video experience
tags: Youtube, videos, eylptt
Enhancing Your Learning Plan Through Technology (Doane Technology)
Fall 2009 class website
tags: doane, eylptt
Maximizing Classroom Collaboration Using Web 2.0 Technology
Presentation on Slideshare
tags: collaboration, web 2.0, presentation
GIPS iPod resource
iPods in the classroom resources from Grand Island Public Schools.
tags: Grand Island, resource, ipod

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

The Fridge's Weekly Bookmarks (weekly)

noreply@blogger.com (J Allen) — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 13:30:00 +0000

Should Students and Teachers Be Online "Friends"?
Article discussion the ethical issues of "friending" students online.
tags: socialnetworking, social_networking, social networking, ethics
Guidelines for Educators Using Social Networking Sites
Set of guidelines developed for teachers in Byron (MN) schools.
tags: socialnetworking, social_networking, aup
50 Fun iPhone Apps to Get Kids Reading and Learning
Great apps for the iPod touch or iPhone
tags: iPod_touch, apps
VisualBlooms
Great visual representation of the revised Bloom's Taxonomy.
tags: bloomstaxonomy, web 2.0, web2.0

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

The Fridge's Weekly Bookmarks (weekly)

noreply@blogger.com (J Allen) — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 13:30:00 +0000

Podcast planning table
A planning table for your podcasts, developed by Jason Everett.
tags: jason_everett, podcast, planning, collaboration
The Knowledge Sharing Place - LiveBinders
Binders are the best way to organize and share websites.
tags: livebinders, sharing, collaboration

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Leadership Day 2009 - A Stiff Condiment from the Fridge

noreply@blogger.com (J Allen) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 16:10:00 +0000

I wanted to make a contribution to Leadership Day 2009 started by Dr. Scott McLeod. According to Dr. McLeod's blog, Dangerously Irrelevant, the reason for the day is "Many of our school leaders need help when it comes to digital technologies ." Bloggers are supposed to share their insights, best practices, etc., to help pass them along to others. For more information, check out his blog post "Calling all bloggers! - Leadership Day 2009."

Dr. McLeod provided a couple of prompts that I'll found ripe for a good tangent/rant. The first one that struck a cord with me was the very first sentence:

What do effective K-12 technology leaders do?

Each district is different, but the districts that have a strong, positive, professional relationship between the curriculum and technology departments generally seem to function most efficiently. Technology leaders, for better or worse, sometimes have to be salespeople when it comes to working with the curriculum department. I still contend that the reason why most districts don't have integrated technology is that technology has been viewed as an extra and, many times, it's the technology leader that hasn't done a good enough job of showing the benefit (ease of use, engagement, etc.) of proper technology integration. There are always a variety of reasons as to why the technology leader hasn't. Too many that I won't get into, not all of which are their fault. Every teacher survey conducted in the last 30 years has concluded that teachers don't have enough time. So why are we continually presenting technology separately? I would love to have our curriculum writers do more of the teacher training in their building on how to use technology to enhance their curriculum area. As a wise person once said, sometimes it helps for someone else to say the exact same thing you said. The curriculum writers would be expected to learn from the technology leader how to use the tool most effectively, but then the curriculum writer trains the rest of the building with the technology leader in the room and available for support.

There is another, sometimes more influential, issue that effects the process: ego. It's also the one people are least likely to admit they need to fix. Technology isn't used in a lot of districts because administrators don't understand it, which means they don't have experience with it, which means they won't encourage or recommend that it gets used in the district. Too many are afraid to look ignorant in front of their staff, so they pass technology off as something "costly" and "extra." It's the exact same reason that teachers don't use it, only they don't want to look ignorant in front of their students. Technology leaders, on the other hand, sometimes feed into the scared feeling and make technology sound just a little more difficult than what it really is. I'm always amazed when I sit down with a teacher to show them how to use something and they say, "That's it? I thought it was much more difficult." More than once they thought it was difficult because another technology leader either said it was or implied that the teacher couldn't do it. The egos need to be put aside. Technology changes so much that leaders shouldn't be worried about job security. To keep their job, they need to continue exploring how technology will make the administrators and the teachers job easier. And demonstrating it as such. Staff members who don't check their egos at the door end up hurting only the students in the end. It's more than imperative that technology staff and curriculum staff work very closely everyday to ensure things work smoothly.

Do administrators have to be technology-savvy themselves in order to be effective technology leaders in their organizations?

Administrators don't need to be tech-savvy. They need to only understand the benefit of technology and hire quality staff to facilitate the integration for them. A great administrator is a great facilitator and delegator. They guide others to become strong leaders in their area. They have their strengths and they use those to help the facilitation, but many times administrators have to be a jack of multiple trades, making it difficult to be a master of the latest and greatest (again, more job security if you show proper integration techniques!). It's unrealistic for me, someone who does technology professional development, but reports to the Director of Curriculum, to be the curriculum expert. My expertise is how technology enhances the curriculum and make a teacher's life easier. I rely on many others to help me help them and our staff. So should administrators.

If I had only one thing to say to district administrators - "Try something new this year." You don't have to master it. And to your tech leader - "Make it easy and effective." Don't tip the boat over on your first trip, but make sure that the waves are noticeable (If that doesn't work, then follow Dean's advice).

Technology leaders can't show administrators every single piece of technology. It doesn't make sense. They need to be the filter and strategically suggest new tools. But administrators need to not lock their doors and/or ears when the technology leader walks in the room. If you can't work as a team, and check the egos at the door, the students suffer.

The Fridge's Weekly Bookmarks (weekly)

noreply@blogger.com (J Allen) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 13:30:00 +0000

Is this asking too much of ISTE? - (SM)eech - SMeech.net
Technology in Education isn't the Future... It is the Present!
tags: necc, iste, netaboard

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

The Fridge's Weekly Bookmarks (weekly)

noreply@blogger.com (J Allen) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 13:27:00 +0000

News 2.0: The Future of News in an Age of Social Media
How social media has opened up news reporting to everyone and changed the way news is gathered.
tags: news, research, eylptt
SnagFilms
Get free documentaries and the ability to snag the pieces that you want.
tags: documentaries, education, Videos, free_tech_4_teachers

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

The Fridge's Weekly Bookmarks (weekly)

noreply@blogger.com (J Allen) — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 13:27:00 +0000

Tequipment's Educator Resource Center: News
Tequipment Educator Resource Center
tags: iwb, smartboard, smart_board, resources
Yudu Library
Use it to publish pdf files as online magazines. Would be great for tech manuals.
tags: publishing, pdf, magazine, web2.0
Action! Get the Cameras Rolling with Digital Storytelling | digitalstorytelling digital_storytelling video_production | Making Teachers Nerdy
Lots of great resources to get started with digital storytelling.
tags: digitalstorytelling, digital_storytelling, writing, video, photos, video_production, language

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

The Fridge's Weekly Bookmarks (weekly)

noreply@blogger.com (J Allen) — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 13:28:00 +0000

Staff Development 2.0
8 ingredients to a high quality staff development program
tags: pd, research, training, hp

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

The Fridge's Weekly Bookmarks (weekly)

noreply@blogger.com (J Allen) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 13:28:00 +0000

Triptico | Word Magnets
A very cool website that converts the words you type into magnets that can be moved around.
tags: no_tag
YouTube - SMARTClassrooms's Channel
SMART Technology's YouTube channel
tags: youtube, video, smartboard, resources, resource
Raylit
This may be more of an at home activity, but it's designed for 3-7 year olds. Different games and videos to help them with all content areas.
tags: teaching, education, primary
Toy Theater - Home
Lots of game-type activities. An interesting one may be the Road Signs under reading...could see some abstract uses for that.
tags: games, creative

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

NETS & P21 - Brothers From Different Mothers?

noreply@blogger.com (J Allen) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 17:24:00 +0000

As I'm getting ready to "attend" the Cyber Summit on 21st Century Skill s, I got to thinking about the other project I'm working on, which is aligning some new curriculum activities to the ISTE standards. So this begs the question: Which one should your curriculum be aligned to? Or does it matter? Is this a Ford vs. Chevy (pre-bankruptcy) debate?

As I'm reading through both of them (P21 -- ISTE), they basically stress the same things. Are they two separate ideas and both should be taken into consideration as we move forward with curriculum writing? I don't have a good answer. I think it's important that one of them be placed in the back of your mind as curriculum is being developed, but which one does your district try to align to? Would love your feedback.