TechnoCoach

Google Search Playlist Launched

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 14:07:00 +0000

Search. Research. Verify. Did you know that Americans consume 34 Gigabytes of data EVERYDAY? As more and more of the world becomes digitized, the ability to sort through information becomes increasingly important. Too many of us (me, included) use the Google start page for searches and then only use 1-2 pages of results. This is not acceptable for teachers and students. To help promote the use of advanced Google search techniques, I am launching a YouTube playlist of Google Search videos. Inspired by this cute Parisian Love video, I asked our staff to give me real topics they asked students to research. I then gave these topics a try using some advanced Google search techniques. I just want to note that I am not an expert on search by any means and suggestions on searching these topics are welcome!

I will be adding videos to this playlist over time. A direct link to this playlist can be found here.

My GTA Experience--Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 03:09:00 +0000

The following is an account of my recent trip to Washington, DC. for the Google Teacher Academy and interactions with technology along the way:

Dec 8, 2009--Air tran flight to Baltimore
In-flight wi-fi was $7.95 so I listened to Mike and Mike (ESPN Radio) on AirTran's XM Radio. Found out that they took an unidentified woman from Tiger Woods' house to the hospital. Guess I will find out who that was later today. Played Traffic Rush and Flight Control on iTouch. Not sure it was a good idea to play Flight Control while in a plane but we landed safely. Finished the flight reading Hot, Flat, and Crowded by Thomas Friedman using Kindle iTouch app.

Shuttle Bus B30 to Greenbelt
Taking $3 very warm shuttle to Green Metro Line to get into DC. Need to take note of commute time for return trip. Using iTouch notes to record trip. Typing is getting faster. Listening to Spoon while writing notes. Used Twitter with Cell phone to update #gtadc followers. Asked for suggestions on how to spend DC time prior to the start of the Academy. Thinking about visiting the Newseum. Traffic is slow... don't miss big city commutes. At least I can write while in traffic. Google announced new apps yesterday including real-time search and translation tools. Wondering if we will get a demo at Google Inc tomorrow. Now listening to U2's Passengers playlist. Nice to have lyrics with all my songs. Why isn't there a bus lane...car accident...teenagers who tailgate. If I had to drive every day I would move closer to public transportation. Stack of cookie cakes in SUV next to us...it's always somebody's birthday. Commute on shuttle bus from BWI to DC is longer than flight from Rochester. The Dairy Research Facility we just passed has a lot of security fencing...to keep cows in or humans out?

Metro to Fort Totten transfer to Red Line to DuPont Circle
I always liked DC's Metro System. Easy, cheap, clean, and fast. Leaving station at 9:32am. Transfering to Red Line listening to my alternative rock iTouch playlist...Modest Mouse, Snow Patrol, Beck, Neko Case, etc. Businessmen on Blackberries, blue-collar hardhats, Oriole cap on dredlocks and earbuds fill the train. People reading "A Complete Guide To Special Teams," free newspapers, and text messages. Next stop ... Doubletree Hotel, Rhode Island Avenue.

Doubletree Hotel
Nice hotel between Dupont Circle and Capitol Hill. Great deal on Priceline.com. Used a new app called Search It and found Ben's Chili Bowl, a DC landmark. It was a great place for lunch with lots of energy, great chili, and milkshakes with R&B playing on the jukebox. Crowded but got a stool at the counter in this old silent movie theater. Spent the afternoon at the Newseum. Toured the Stephanopolous studio and 9/11 exhibit was moving. Fun and interesting museum. Used Google Maps on iTouch to map walk to both locations. An evening spent with Capitol City Brewery with about 30 other Google Teacher Academy teachers awaits.

Day 1 - #GTADC
Google Teacher Academy is a whirlwind event. Day 1 include sessions on the following Google applications: Apps for Education, Maps, Earth, Search, Spreadsheets, Wave, Voice, Apps for Administrators, Sites among other titles on our agenda. So the first decision to be made was for all the teachers to use Twitter for discussion. For those unfamiliar with Twitter, we used what is called a hashtag (#gtadc) in all tweets from teachers commenting on the GTA in Twitter. Twitter and several other tools can be used to search all tweets that include #gtadc. This allowed for a massive list of comments that continues to generated.

The first new tool I saw in use was Google Moderator. Google Moderator allows audiences to participate in polls, voting on decisions, and posting comments. Moderator was used infrequently but it was useful given the right situation. I've tried to set up Moderator for an upcoming meeting but need more practice with set up.

The welcoming address reminded us of the Google Mission: "Organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful." After sharing GTA goals, we were told this was the 8th GTA since 2006 and after GTADC there will be 417 GCT's worldwide. Finally, at the end of the GTA, our evaluation will include answering this question: If money, time, and resources were not an issue, tell us your biggest, hairiest, most audacious idea. It was clear that we were being encouraged to think beyond any self-imposed limitations.

Coming Soon: Part 2-Google Search

The 10 Coolest Things from NYSCATE

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 02:48:00 +0000

Without a doubt, the biggest buzz around a new technology at NYSCATE was when David Jakes demonstrated GE's augmented reality. Watch the YouTube Demo or why not print your own marker and see for yourself.

Google just keeps adding things like Image Swirl, which is like Wonder Whee l, but for images. Fast Flip is pretty cool too. If you need a quote then navigate to In Quotes. And if you need to make comparisons, try Google Squared.

Creating animations becomes easier with Animationish, a product that attempts to maintain simplicity and includes 3 levels to progress through. Here is my first attempt:

I could export the animation into iMovie or Movie Maker and add a sound track or narration as well.

Stupeflix.com provides another tool to take images, video, text, and audio and package them into a video. More customizable than Animoto, this video took me about 5 minutes to create from start to finish (pics were already on Flickr).

If you are looking to write your own iPhone or iTouch app, you might want to check out Swebapps or Appincubator. Swebapps allows you to build your app using their template and Appincubator asks for app ideas and then they will write the app and take a cut if it sells on iTunes.

And finally, this student Balloon Project is very cool.

Honorable Mention: Kiss YouTube, Today's Front Pages, BeFunky (create then import into Animationish), and Quiet Tube (strips all those nasty comments from youtube).

NYSCATE Keynotes-Sir Ken Robinson & David Jakes

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 02:50:00 +0000

Today's NYSCATE keynote addresses were troublesome. I walked out of these keynotes wanting to take my kids out of school. I walked out wanting to encourage policy makers and administrators to blow up the current educational system and start from scratch. I walked out engaged in discussions about new education models. It's difficult having these thoughts and emotions knowing that I work in this system and my kids go to school (with success but not much love) in a broken system. So what was said today to inspire these emotions?

An interesting spectrum of ideas were presented today by Sir Ken Robinson and David Jakes. Robinson's view was systemic and global. In many ways, Jakes was saying the same things but came at us in a much more pragmatic approach that reflected his current work.

Sir Ken Robinson:
You can't let Robinson's humor take away from the seriousness of his message. This is sometimes a difficult task. The best thing to come out of Liverpool since The Beatles, Robinson knows just when to digress into native bashing. Clearly ticked off that we are still celebrating the British going home every July 4th, he still found reason to move his family to California nearly a decade ago.

Robinson makes bold statements. We are in a revolution. A revolution in infancy. Robinson explains that currently the world's fastest computer has the processing power of a cricket brain (at least that's what someone at Apple said). Computers will soon match the power of a 6-month old and exponential increases in power will match the global population in my lifetime. Imagine where this will take us. Actually, that is almost impossible.

Robinson concludes that the current system is broken. The evidence? An average national dropout rate of over 30%, 50-60% in Detroit and other urban areas . In America. Is that all the evidence we need? Robinson added the heavy use of drugs & alcohol and the ADHD epidemic. He referred to ADHD as this generation's tonsillitis. If kids aren't taking drugs themselves, the parents are drugging them anyway. So what is the answer?

Sir Ken Robinson believes that since parents, teachers, administrators, and politicians all want the same thing for our kids and it's not happening then the problem is systemic. What do you do with a broken system? There are so many obstacles and push-backs. You change one thing and it effects 2o other things and the most passionate, energized movement stalls. Some believe the change will come from the students, they will demand it. Others think change will happen one school at a time, one teacher at a time. Whatever the model, Robinson believes it takes on 3 characteristics: learning is organic, personal, and customizable. Education 1.0 was philosophical, religious, survival of the fittest. Education 2.0 was and still is an industrial model. Education 3.0 is on the verge of reaching those characteristics of being organic, personal, and customizable. I agree learning is best when these qualities are captured. I get excited from learning that grows out of my own motivations and interests and is met by custom instruction that answers my specific inquiries. This type of learning inevitably leads to more questions and more learning. Technology can make this type of learning happen, in ways it couldn't before. Getting there will not be easy.

David Jakes:
It was refreshing to see Jakes put some big ideas into some reasonable context. A context that didn't seem as overwhelming. Change that was clearly difficult and hard but not impossible.

Jakes shared some of the newest ideas like augmented realities, which in the future would be created by users, not programmers (just like web page design used to be only available to programmers). I think the point Jakes was trying to make here is that technology is a moving target. It's not about adopting the newest cool gadget (although that can be fun). It's more about blending the physical space with the digital space.

What does it mean that our elementary students are already social networking in digital spaces like Webkinz and Hot Wheels? It means businesses already understand how the physical can be enhanced by the digital experience. How does this apply to the classroom? The physical space of the classroom (and the school) is very important. Jakes showed us simple ideas like tables on wheels, common areas that students had impromptu coffeehouse jams, and whiteboard walls where students worked out physics problems together. However, a digital world surrounds this physical space. A digital space. A digital learning space. The question is how do we fill this space so that it blends with the physical space into what is perceived by the student as just a learning space. To me, this context seemed more manageable, more possible. A teacher asks themselves how can I blend my physical space with digital space. The answer is deliberately & purposefully, and we need to start tomorrow.

NYS Teacher Center Technology Initiatives

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:42:00 +0000

This past weekend I attended the NYS Teacher Center Fall Focus Conference. One of the standards for the NYS Teacher Centers included technology. Specifically, it reads: "Professional development promotes technological literacy and facilitates the effective use of all appropriate technology." To that end, we were introduced to several technology initiatives that I would like to share.

The EEZ-Educational Enterprise Zone: The NY Institute of Technology (with Verizon and the Hitachi Foundation) created Educational Enterprise Zones. Content for these programs include cultural institutions, museums, research centers and small businesses. There is a focus on video-conferencing with museums and cultural institutions. More can be found in their EEZBook (although this catalog of best practices is dated 2006).

Safari Live: Our district teachers were recently introduced to Safari Montage, an online streaming video service. Another product available from Safari is called Safari Montage Live. Safari Live is an interactive video-conferencing on-demand desktop product. An excellent solution for professional development, distance learning, and virtual field trips. It should be easier than ever (bye, bye Polycom) to set up virtual field trips with Safari Live and similar tools.

Thinkfinity & ThinkfinityNY: There are lots of free lesson plans and resources in this archive. Consortium partners include EconEd Link, ArtsEdge, Science Net Links, and many others. Especially strong for k-8. There are different portals for educators, parents, students, and afterschool programming. For those teachers who are looking for interactive white board activities, users can search for specific interactive activities using Thinkfinity. Examples include a planet size comparison activity or this factor game.

NY Online Academy: This online academy is geared for teacher professional development. In the most recent catalog, available courses included An Overview of Autism, Grant Writing: Effective Proposal Writing for Educators, and Using Digital Resources to Enhance Reading. Comprehension.

Intel Teach Program: This program provides multiple pathways to support professional growth that include interactive forums, and high interest, visually compelling short courses that explore 21st century learning concepts. Training programs are provided by Intel along with free resources such as the visual ranking tool, seeing reason tool, and the showing evidence tool.

SAS Curriculum Pathways: SAS is the largest privately held software company in the world and they provide free curriculum pathways for core subjects (including Spanish). I've compared this product a bit to Plato and my early impressions is that SAS is easier to navigate for both teachers and students but is not as robust in terms of classroom setup and total number of resources. Nonetheless, Plato is quite expensive and SAS is free and growing. SAS is also piloting software that will give it more Plato-like functionality. One of SAS's most impressive tools is their Writing Reviser. This is an impressive tool that enables students and teachers to analyze writing samples on a variety of criteria include wordiness, prepositions, voice, parallelism, and others.

Constructivist Conference

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:22:00 +0000

This is almost 6 months old but worth watching. If you want to challenge your thinking about what you are asking kids to do on a daily basis and the role technology has in that request, spend a few minutes really thinking about Dr. Stager's message. There is so much food for thought here that I have to pause, think, write, and then press play again. I will be participating in Dr. Stager's Constructivist Conference later this month. I will be blogging about what will sure to be a challenging, exciting day.

Gary Stager Excerpts from NECC '09 Keynote Debate from Gary Stager on Vimeo.

Technology Projects

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:13:00 +0000

So much has been happening in my new District role as Instructional Technologist. I'd like to share and comment on some of the varied projects I am working on.

Google Apps for Education-About 750 seniors were recently trained on Google Apps tools including email, calendar, docs, and sites. Our students use Google Sites as a way to maintain an electronic portfolio for their Senior Projects. I encourage our students to use Google Apps as much as possible and point out the collaborative sharing and publishing features that might be useful to them. Some students are quick to figure out Google Talk, even though it is not included in my training session. My hope is for our district to expand Google Apps to more grade levels.

Moodle- I also trained 750 seniors on using Moodle to submit their Senior Project proposal online. Moodle allows us to manage all these proposals by assigning 50 students to 1 teacher using the "groups" feature. As a result of seeing how well Moodle manages assignments, I've added 2 more teachers to our Moodle users group for AP Physics and Business Applications.

Flipped Classroom-I encouraged another Physics teacher to experiment with a "Flipped Classroom." So far the reports have been positive. Mr. Enck posts 15-minute lecture videos on-line for homework. Students come into class ready to apply the information to Physics problems. This model follows with the philosophy that if something in the classroom can be delivered electronically, it can be assigned as homework and classtime can be used for hands-on applications and/or discussions. Mr. Enck plans to use the CPS System (see below) as a check on how well the videos are being understood, in addition to the problems delivered in class.

CPS (Classroom Performance System) Project-I've been working with our Social Studies department to set up a CPS project that includes a shared database of questions that can be pulled into an individual teacher lesson for a variety of SS courses. The goal is not only for one teacher to increase formative assessments but to compare and share instructional strategies between teachers. This project is also beginning a discussion on writing questions that get at all levels of Bloom's Taxonomy.

Plato Software-I was recently trained on Plato Software which our district is considering using for credit recovery situations. It's basically a way to put together an online course in the core subjects. It is customizable in many ways and unique courses can be set up for individual students who are missing a course or sections of a course.

Electronics Use Policy Committee-I am a member of a high school committee on evaluating our current electronic use policy (no devices from 7:30-2:30). Parents, teachers, and students have come together to work on a recommendation.

Voicethread-I've been working with a LOTE (Spanish) teacher on using Voicethread as a fun way for students to practice speaking skills by reciting Spanish poems on a teacher Voicethread.

Technology and Professional Developement-our department has been moving in a different direction as to how technology professional development is delivered. Our goal is to have the PD be ongoing, collaborative, and embedded (in instruction). This is not an easy task as time, money, and scalability are often at odds with these goals. If you do this with success at your school, I would love to hear about your strategies.

On the horizon...the NYSCATE Conference is in a few short weeks and I am looking forward to hearing from Chris Lehman and Sir Ken Robinson. I am in the process of selecting sessions I will attend and a couple of us are using Google Wave to discuss these conference opportunities (and yes, I have a couple of invites remaining). Our Spanish class wants to connect to another Spanish-speaking classroom so that is another project to get up and running. Our district continues to install SmartBoards and we are working to provide embedded instruction around the SB tools.

Latest stuff...this is some of the latest stuff I've run across. I just started using Mobile Air Mouse today, an app for my iTouch that allows me you use my iTouch as a remote mouse. There are so many learning opportunities on iTunes University specifically for Teaching & Education professional development. A sampling of titles include Audacity-Editing Audio, Moodle Support, and Intermediate Spanish just to name a few. I also like the Readability toolbar button to use with projectors, visually-impaired students, and cleaner print options from the web.

So this is how I've spent most of my time in the first 2 months of school. I am looking forward to helping teachers and students using technology for learning. I'd love to hear about other projects out there! Please leave your comments.

Screenr.com

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 15:07:00 +0000

If you need to create short tutorials to train staff or students to navigate the web or software, screenr.com might be the answer for you. Screenr.com is a web-based screen capture tool that allows you to record a 5-minute video then immediately tweet the video to Twitter. However, once you tweet the screencast you have options to share the link, embed the video, or even upload it to YouTube. So you can either view my screencast on how to use Photo505.com (a fun photo effects website) at http://screenr.com/n37 or view it on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKe0Gcc6Eyw. Either way, very cool...if I get a question about how to change the theme of our teacher websites, I can get a tutorial like this on youtube in less than 10 minutes!
Update: I've been asked by School World to take down the tutorial on editing themes on teacher websites because it shows the admin area of their product.

A Poor Man's Guide to NECC 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 18:11:00 +0000

For those of us who are not fortunate enough to attend NECC 2009 (National Educational Computing Conference), this blog is for you. First of all, what is NECC about? NECC is all about educational technology. At this national (or should I say, international) conference, you can find information on virtual educational worlds that exist only in Second Life, the latest classroom gadgets, debates on 1-1 computing and cell phones, the latest on Doodle, Moodle, and Google and much, much more.

1st stop: The Official Website
Official NECC 2009 Website
Program Search allows you to browse over 1000 different sessions by audience, theme, among other filters. By clicking on individual program titles you will be presented with an overview of the event along with links to websites, Nings, handouts, and emails. You can also find research papers here.
ISTE Connects provides for live video streaming of NECC 2009 events using UStream technology that allows you to participate in a back channel conversation while listening/watching the live event. You can also participate in debate forums and follow Twitter feeds.

2nd stop: Social Networking
Blogs. At last check there were well over 100 attendees blogging about what they are finding at the conference. Some bloggers might wait till the conference is over while others might engage in live blogging. Check a variety of bloggers to find those who might be coming from a similar grade level or content area.
Twitter. Follow isteconnects on twitter. Then go a step further and follow some of the 1800 people who are following isteconnects. You can also search #necc09 to see all the tagged tweets related to NECC 2009.
Facebook. Join the ISTE group on Facebook. You might want to check out ISTE's related groups as well, for example, Classroom 2.0 would be a group to join. You won't feel the benefit of this group until you connect with members and participate in the discussion board.
NECC Ning. This online NECC community is a place to share ideas, videos, links, photos, and more. You maintain your own page, add to forums, and join specialized groups. Lots of contacts to be made here. And if you want video, check out ISTEvision to view popular sessions. If you want a year-round community then join the ISTE Community Ning as well.

3rd stop: Social Bookmarking
Delicious. Use the popular social bookmarking site to see all the shared links that have been tagged with "necc." At last count there were 4560 bookmarks here. Use the drill-down feature to find websites that connect to your subject area and/or grade level.

Digital Native/Immigrant is the Wrong Analogy

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Fri, 08 May 2009 16:11:00 +0000

SOCIAL LEARNING
Those in education or Instructional Technology fields have heard the notion that our students are "digital natives" and the over-40 crowd of teachers are "digital immigrants." I have a slightly different take on this idea. When it comes to technology, I've concluded that our students are "social natives" and "learning immigrants" while teachers are "social immigrants" and "learning natives."

Our student's top priorities in the use of technology is 1)being social and 2)being entertained. Our top priority is learning. It is the marriage of these two priorities that lead to powerful social learning experiences. The power behind web 2.0 tools is the ability to communicate and share with large numbers of people. It is the skilled educator that can get students to take the leap toward using these tools to power their own learning experiences.

Facebook and MySpace are used by students to share pictures, meet girls/boys, leave messages but do those same students know how to use a Ning to develop and share ideas around physics or U.S. History? Students use status updates to share where they are heading on a Friday night but do those students know how to use Twitter to share ideas about an upcoming project? Students use YouTube to be entertained by babies farting baby powder clouds but do students know how to use YouTube to learn, instruct, and share ideas and information that will further their learning? Students use Photobucket to share pictures from the concert they attended but can they create, collect, share meaningful photo essays about important concepts or geographical locations. Students use their cell phones as a text generator but can they use their cell phone to stay organized, collect information, conduct interviews among many other things. Students use their iPod Touch to listen to music and play games but do they use their iPod Touch as a reference tool, organizer, recording device, or photo editor.

It's our job to learn how to use these tools and devices and to teach students to become "social learners," a place where information and connectivity collide.

The Human Filter-Moving Students Beyond Google

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Fri, 08 May 2009 13:36:00 +0000

How do people decide what to tag or share? I tag items that have personal meaning but they need to be useful, relevant, thought-provoking or maybe just entertaining. Are my tagged items better than a Google Search? I would hope. Does columnist Jay Mathew's Washington Post article on Senior Project come up in a Google Search? Not in the first two pages. How about a useful mindmap of Twitter tools? Nope. A nice list of analogies used for AP Psych review? Nope. A great video demonstrating how an MRI works? Ok, Google got that one if I search "how does an MRI work?"

In the past month, out of the hundreds of posts, sites, links, tweets, updates, and emails I've decided to tag 16 links. I've become a human filter for anyone who is interested in Psychology, Senior Projects, Technology, and Education.

I've tagged 5 sites that are specific to my course or professional duties (psychology and Senior Project). These include an anatomy review site, an analogies review worksheet, a video on how an MRI machine works and two articles about Senior Project.

I tagged 4 sites about hardware/software which include a mini-projector device, a tool to provide audio to slides using your cell phone, a concept map of Twitter tools and a list of ways to use a flip video camera in the classroom.

I tagged 3 sites about general educational issues that include using Google Apps for Education, leadership needed to push 1-1 computing in our schools, and creating electronic portfolios for students k-12.

Finally, I've tagged 4 random sites that reflect some personal interest that include NPR's coverage of the SXSW Music Festival, a photography portfolio, a crime tracking tool using Google Maps, and an online application to present at an educational technology conference.

Google Reader Shared Items

Instructional Practice in Action

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 13:16:00 +0000

I recently wrote a mini-grant for a Flip Mino HD Camcorder with the intended purpose of visiting classrooms and recording specific instructional practices for other teachers to view. Sometimes, while sitting in a workshop or reading a book it is difficult to imagine the practice in action. The idea behind this project is to see teachers using specific instructional practices in actual classroom settings.
The Flip Mino allows me to sit in a class without a distracting setup and record the class as it normally would progress. Additionally, I then can come back to my computer, insert the Flip USB connection and have the video on YouTube within minutes. I then use Google Sites to archive the videos within the context of a webpage. I call this site Instructional Practices in Action. So far, I have 3 videos that take a look at storytelling, generating discussion, and active listening. My initial thought was to keep this site within our own district but I would entertain the thought of hosting other videos as long as it was specific to an identified instructional practice and the video was recorded in an actual classroom setting. I also like to keep each clip at less than 10 minutes.
So please take a look at Instructional Practices in Action and let me know what you think.

YouTube EDU

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 04:16:00 +0000

YouTube recently launched YouTube EDU. You have options to view the most viewed or most subscribed channels. Channels amount to dedicated pages for colleges and universities. I did a search for "psychology" and found an entire Lecture Series from Cal-Berkeley. Now as an AP Psychology teacher, this presents an interesting dilemma. Am I short-changing my students by not incorporating the lecture series from one of the finest universities in America? Should students view these lectures (and often the accompany slideshow) for homework and we discuss, explain, synthesis, analyze, and apply the principles during classtime? Bill Gates recently said in a TED Talk (about 1/2 into the speech) that the top 20% of our (United States) students are getting a good education that compares favorably to the top 20% worldwide (although fading). Gates is concerned with the remaining 80% of our students. Gates thinks the descrepency is in the quality of the teaching. Those students with the top quartile teachers give their students a 10% increase in their percentile ranking on standardized tests. While one could argue that other variables come into play, it would be hard to outright dismiss the quality of teaching. Now lecturing is not teaching, I know...but having access to these videos sure opens things up for the classroom.

Here is a look at a lecture on Sensation & Perception:

Moodle-Not Just for the Online Course

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 18:04:00 +0000

Recently, I've had the opportunity to participate in a hybrid course titled Extended Learning Practices offered by our local B.O.C.E.S unit. Teachers from 2 local districts are participating in developing strategies to integrate technology as well as developing our own personal learning networks and finally, to commit to a technology integration project. We met face-to-face initially and now are using Moodle for online assignments and we will also be using Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro to hold a virtual meeting.

I decided to use Moodle for my technology integration project. I've set up my elective Psychology class using the free open-source software called Moodle. Moodle is essentially a course management software system. The company Blackboard once sued (unsuccessfully) Moodle because of their similarities.

So why would a teacher want to use course managment software? I once thought Moodle was used strictly for online coursework. In fact, my first 2 experiences with Moodle were of the online variety. However, once I began to take the Extended Learning Practices course, I came to the realization that Moodle could help me organize almost every aspect of my course.
Starting in January 2009, I set up my elective Psychology course in Moodle. I've only been using Moodle for a month but I wanted to share my initial thoughts. Student response has been positive. We've had a couple of issues with students losing work but realized that they were being timed out of their session before they saved/submitted their work. The interface has very intuitive for students thus far. What has been less intuitive have been all the settings and activities that I can set up as a teacher. Some are just downright frustrating. Although I've given a 5 question quiz, I still don't understand the logistics of developing and offering the quiz. I am not sure how all the assignments integrate with Moodle's gradebook either. Overtime, I am confident I will work these out.

Despite these periodic frustrations, I am ecstatic over the possibilities that Moodle offers. My first realization was that I can truly run a paperless course where students can submit all assignments on line and I can easily give feedback online as well. Students can even receive an email notification when their assignment is graded. Students found it very easy to submit their work online. I found it very easy to grade online as I was able to add comments in addition to giving a score or grade. Student work is then archived for the entire course and is accessible any time by the teacher or student.

If you use Moodle, I would love to hear from you. I'd like to know what features you find useful, which features are frustrating to use, and your overall impressions. If you are a student who has used Moodle, I would like to hear about your perspective as well.

Leaving Digital Footprints That Count

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 04:21:00 +0000

I was excited to attend Stephen Ransom's session on a new field some call "Online Identity Management." In business, this is called "Search Engine Optimization." Stephen put together a very coherent, thought-provoking session that rightfully contradicts some of the fear-based presentations that are being given to students and parents about having personal information online. Ransom's term "Digital Footprint" is a play on the concept of a "Carbon Footprint." He asks what kind of digital footprint do we all leave behind. We were asked to think about the outcome of college admissions or an employer finding something about you online or finding nothing about you online. Is finding nothing preferable to the potential of finding a positive digital footprint? In a time when employers expect some online self-marketing, finding nothing might lead to someone else getting hired.

Ransom showed two videos that illustrated the point that we have to ask ourselves who we have in our networks. Even though we may be safe and smart regarding the online content we decide to share, we also have to be aware of how our friends might share information about us. This is more difficult to control. I couldn't help think about situations where a quick cell phone picture that is posted online could damage a reputation or career very quickly. One story I recall hearing is about a college football coach who attended a frat party, got his picture snapped and lost his job as a result. Ransom shared a story of a young college student who was about to earn her education degree and the college withheld the degree because of pictures found online.
Since some Board of Director's now send "friend requests" to prospective employees, it might be time to decide who you want in your friends list.

If you Googled yourself right now, would your digital footprint be trivial, damaging, positive or nothing at all? Ransom suggests that all your work should be online (ePortfolio for students?). Since others can help write your digital footprint without your control, you have to be involved in leaving your own footprint. Students are currently writing their own digital footprints without us. In fact, our students are the number one creators of online content. How many of your students would allow you to bring up their MySpace or Facebook accounts during class tomorrow? You might not get many takers which would demonstrate the need for schools to help students create a positive online presence. And if students believe their space is hidden behind privacy settings, then they also need to know online privacy is an illusion. If you want to give your students a great example of young student who is managing her own digital footprint then share the story of Laura Stockman.

Ransom blogs about his overall impressions about NYSCATE and can be found here. I agree with much about what Ransom has to say, and as a classroom teacher I am always coming back to the instruction, but with the technology not far behind. More on this later when I review the Sylvia Martinez session.

NYSCATE 2008-Let's Talk Tech

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 16:13:00 +0000

Session A-Let's Talk Tech
This session wasn't a discussion about technology and professional development (PD) as it was a tour of how the Springville-Griffith Institute uses School World to deliver professional development. While I didn't think the session was quite as advertised, I did manage to take away several useful thought and ideas. S-G Institute used their closed circuit TV system to deliver PD into classrooms in different buildings from a centralized location. The TV was used in conjunction with the internet, mobile labs, computer lab classrooms, etc. to deliver PD to a larger group in remote locations of the district. Boost Program--participants in this program receive some type of PD, usually around technology, but not necessarily, and in return have to give a 10 minute presentation at a faculty meeting + a one-hour workshop. I think this is something our own WPDC should consider as a way to have staff share their expertise with colleagues. Goanimate.com--this is a free animation software site. I played around with this briefly and it is pretty easy to use and would be another fun way for kids to express their ideas. Any assignment that already uses storyboards in the planning process could be adapted to this animation software. And if you want, you can even put heads from your own photographs on the animated bodies, add voiceovers, and soundtracks.
The one topic I wanted to hear more about was the school's hosting of a Pangea Day event. This wasn't mentioned in the presentation. Overall, it seemed more of a plug for School World (although it was said repeatedly it wasn't) and how you can put all your PD online. Not exactly ground-breaking stuff.

SmartBoards Are Old School

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 14:06:00 +0000

As I am anticipating the installation of a SmartBoard in my room in the next month or so, I've come across several articles about smart desks. Touch screens, interactive, with sharing capabilities. I first saw a demonstration of this technology at the TED Conference a couple of years ago. Next, the iPhone took touch screens to a new consumer level and now the screen is the desk. Will students eventually just connect their iPhones into the desk so they can take everything with them or will all their "stuff" just be available in the "cloud?" In any event, the question I want to pose here is how do schools keep up with technology? And how do we get more technology out of the teacher's control and into the hands of the students. I am excited to get a SmartBoard. It will enhance the presentation of my material, allow me to save, share, post, etc. Students will be able to "interact" with the board as well. But does a SmartBoard increase student learning or increase the entertainment value of a lesson. Does it move students toward inquiry? Students need to have this technology in their hands and SmartTechnologies won't even allow students to download the software to create their own SmartBoard compatible presentations. I digress.

Thinking. Learning. Inquiry. Projects. Challenge.

My Personal Learning Network (PL N)

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 14:54:00 +0000

My school is in its 2nd year developing meaningful Personal Learning Communities (PLC's). These groups are primarily organized around content area groups that set Smart goals who then work collaboratively toward achieving these goals. It so happens that I am the single AP Psychology teacher in my building. While I have identified my own goals based on College Board data, I miss out on a broader discussion about learning, technology, and general content knowledge in the course of in-house collaborative work. This doesn't mean I am not having these conversations about learning. I have turned to web 2.0 tools to have these discussions, to share resources, and to reflect on my strategies and practices. So I thought I would share a sampling of the people who are in my own Personal Learning Network. I say a sampling because my network goes beyond my interest in education, technology, and psychology. I could also include names with whom I share an interest in music, politics, design, marketing, sports as well as a personal network of friends and family.

In reflecting on my PLN, I do notice that I want and need to add more individuals with connections directly to Psychology, I want to include a more diverse group, and I want to continue to add those names who represent an expertise in their fields as well as delete names who don't offer anything to the conversation.

Google Reader Subscriptions to Blogs and other RSS Feeds

http://www.21stcenturycollaborative.com aka Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach is a 20-year educator who has been a classroom teacher, technology coach, charter school principal, district administrator, and digital learning consultant. Currently, she is in the dissertation phase of completing her doctorate in Educational Planning, Policy and Leadership at the College of William and Mary.
http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/ aka Vicki Davis, Vicki Davis is a teacher and the IT director at Westwood Schools in Camilla, Georgia. Vicki co-created three award winning international wiki-centric projects, the Flat Classroom project, the Horizon project, and Digiteen with teacher Julie Lindsay, currently at Qatar Academy.
http://drapestakes.blogspot.com/ aka Darren Draper, Technology Specialist, Sandy, Utah. An avid educational technology enthusiast, A Technology Curriculum Specialist for Jordan School District.
http://www.johnconnell.co.uk/blog/ aka John Connell, Scotland. A teacher by profession but has been out of the classroom for many years. Recently joined Cisco Systems as their Education Business Development Manager for the Emerging Markets - covering South America, the Caribbean, Africa, Middle East, Eastern Europe and Russia.
http://www.speedofcreativity.org/aka Wesley Fryer. Wesley Fryer is an educator, author, digital storyteller and change agent. He addresses a range of topics related to education, technology integration, distance learning, and twenty-first century literacy.

Twitter (Microblogging)

cheeky_geeky aka Mark Drapeau (Washington, D.C.), a biological scientist researching social tools for government use and writes for mashable.com.
kjarrett aka Kevin Jarret (New Jersey), a K-4 Technology Facilitator/Computer Lab Teacher, Google Certified (NYC ’07), Grad School (MSEd) Instructor, Second Lifer, and workshop presenter.
dwarlick aka David Warlick (location unknown), a 30+ year educator, technologist, programmer, author, & public speaker.
tammyworcester aka Tammy Worcester (Kansas), Instructional Technology Specialist at ESSDACK, a service center. Present at lots of conferences and writes a few books.
chrislehmann, aka Chris Lehmann(Philadelphia), Principal of the Science Leadership Academy and author of http://practicaltheory.org/serendipity/
MikeGras, aka Mike Gras (East Texas), Chief of Technology in a east Texas school district, White Oak.
ShawnKball, aka Shawn Kimball (Eastern Maine), Child-centered, future-focused teacher versed in instructional technology and authentic, and integrated project-based learning.
kstevens77, aka Kyle Stevens (Dallas, TX), Teaching English and Economics and coaching wresting and cross country at Bishop Dunne Catholic School.
cshirky, aka Clay Shirky (NYC), Mr. Shirky divides his time between consulting, teaching, and writing on the social and economic effects of Internet technologies. Mr. Shirky is an adjunct professor in NYU's graduate Interactive Telecommunications Program.
cwebbtech, aka Chris Webb (Minot, South Dakota), Secondary Schools Tech Facilitator, Masters Degree in Ed Tech (Boise State), Bachelors in Music Ed (UND).
chrischampion aka Chris Champion (Hershey, PA), writes http://sparksofhope.org/ and a computer teacher with tech integrator designs.
jomcleay aka Jo McLeay (Melbourne, Australia), teacher of English in a secondary school who loves social media.

There are other social tools I use as well. Flickr, youtube, and del.icio.us (social bookmarking) all have social components that allow me to subscribe to different users or add users to my personal learning network. So, please add my blog and twitter feed to your personal network and let me know how I can add yourself to my network.

Update: Since this post, BrianLockwood (twitter name), an educator, administrator, geek and traveler, and teacher at Yokohama International School, Japan and jasonaedwards (twitter), Director of Educational Technology at the Khartoum International Community School in Sudan started following me on Twitter. Brian tweeted about a collaborative 4th grade Physical Education project that I shared with the PE Dept. at Klem South. I don't know if Klem South will participate but this is just one example of how quickly and how far ideas can be shared and how connected we've become. I now have ideas about setting up a collaborative project for my AP Psychology class as well.

Blogging in the Classroom--A Reflection

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 18:33:00 +0000

In Campus Technology, I recently came across "Avoiding the 5 Most Common Mistakes in Using Blogs with Students" by Ruth Reynard. I will summarize the main points of the article and then reflect on how my student's blogging assignments fit Reynard's advice. I highly recommend the entire article if you are planning on having students blog in your course.

I am going to re-frame Reynard's list to read as 5 Suggestions for Effective Blogging:

Communicate a clear context for use of blogging tools--this includes thinking about where the tool will be used in the course, how often it will be used, and how necessary is it in the learning process.
Identify how blogging will contribute to learning outcomes--blogging allows for analysis, synthesis, and application of content will develop higher order thinking skills. Blogs can also be a place for the development of new ideas.
Be sure a blog is the right tool for your goals--educators often use blogs when a wiki or discussion forum might be a better tool. Student blogs can provide teachers insight into their thought process and give them a place to articulate their thoughts.
Clear grading practices--students should have a clear understanding of your blog grading practices. Reynard suggests that a rubric can be developed based on reflection, commentary, and application of new ideas.
Adequate time--because students vary in how they process, adequate time should be given to students to blog in response to the learning context.

Ok....so my number one goal for students in my Psychology classes is literacy around my course-specific glossary. Students need to think, speak, and write like a psychologist using psychological terms and definitions. How am I doing in regard to Reynard's 5 suggestions? Let's take a look...

Clear Context--my favorite way to engage students in their blogging is to ask them to relate a story from their own lives that includes an analysis using the specific terms from a unit of study. I have students highlight the vocabulary and I also ask students to tag their blog posts as well. In other ways, I sometimes make uses up as I go along. Sometimes I ask students to reflect on outside readings and video clips. Other times I ask them to participate in on-line experiments and blog about the study that might include a critical review of the methods and/or a prediction of the outcome. I think I will be able to refine the purpose of the student blogging over the course of the year.
Learning Outcomes--As mentioned before, psychology literacy is my number one learning outcome. But I also want students to learn from each other. By reading a classmate's blog, they have insight to how others think and apply terms, concepts, and theories of human behavior. Students are able to benefit from the experience of others and not just be dependent on their own, sometimes limited experience. Finally, I also believe it is important that my students are exposed to technological tools that will help them in their own learning. Blogs, readers, rss feeds, embedding video, hyperlinks, voicethreads, and wikis are just a few tools my students have been exposed to in the first 5 weeks of school.
Right Tool--Sometimes, I might use the blog as a place for students to drop another type of homework assignment which I know isn't the way I should use the blog. I will try to be more specific as to what I ask students to write and Reynard's article has given me a lot of food for thought. I am having more difficulty in coming up with collaborative tasks that might use wiki tools. But that's another post for another day.
Clear Grading Practices--This is the weakest part of my approach. Students don't know how they are being graded (beyond a completion grade) because I am still not sure how to grade all these blog posts. I could say that for the first month of school I just want my students to get comfortable with blogging and now I will incorporate specific grading practices based on Reynards suggested areas of reflection, commentary, and application of psychological principles. In fact, I think this is exactly the direction I will go. Thanks, Ruth.
Adequate Time--I understand that students are on their own individual schedules regarding the processing of new information, however, the school environment is built around course calendars, grading periods, and exam schedules. While I hope I give students enough time to process information for their blogging assignments, students need to understand that they need to think and process in a timely manner. I will, as Reynard suggest, keep the blogging tool open all year long. What I am seeing develop is an archive of student learning for the year. It would be cool to give each student a hard copy of all their blog posts after I close the blogging for the year. Hmmm, how might I do that?

My overall grade using Reynard's analysis of effective blogging? I give myself a B- but seeing we are only in October, I hope to raise my grade before the quarter ends!

U2-A Diary: Interview with the author!

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 20:01:00 +0000

Ok....why am I going to promote a diary about the rock band, U2 on an educational technology-related site? Is it because I am a huge fan of the band? No. Is it because I want the author to make a lot of money? No, even though I am a huge fan and I do hope Matt makes money. It's because I see how the author is using social media to write and market his work.
Matt McGee, webmaster of atu2.com, is the author of the upcoming book titled U2-A Diary. Matt runs one of the earliest (first?) fan-based websites and has won numerous awards for its content. Since Matt was archiving a vast amount of information about the band, he had the foundation for the book already at his disposal. As Matt researched the book, he used his book blog to research unanswered questions, collect photographs, and get feedback on the cover and format of the book. While Matt and his publishers made the final decisions, some decisions were made as a result of social networking and social media. One example of a social decision was for the cover of the book. Originally, the cover only included Bono and The Edge. Many blog readers felt strongly that a book about U2 should have all members on the cover thus the change was made.
Now comes time to market the book. There is a Facebook group, twitter updates, promotional links and a well thought-out viral marketing scheme....called a contest. Which is what this post is all about. Matt blogged and twittered about the contest to win a free copy of his book. All you have to do is send Matt 5 questions, he answers, post the Q&A to your own blog, send him a link to the blog and sit back and hope to win.
So how do I correlate this story to education? Well, I think it's important to archive information. One way to do this is blog about what you are learning. My students continue to blog this year and it is becoming an archive of learning. Secondly, communicating ideas and questions to others allows for better decisions and sharing of information and general discussion. Conversations are at the heart of learning. And finally, self-promotion & marketing equates with student work, student portfolios, and other achievements being shared online for peer and professional review.
It has been very interesting to watch Matt's book hit the shelves (Oct.) since readers of his website knew about it from the moment he had a deal. In some small way, I feel part of the process too and I guess now I am. Here is the interview (my questions in bold, Matt's answers in italic):

1. Describe the moment when you came up with this diary idea for the book?

I'd love to take credit for the idea, but it wasn't mine. In 2005, I was pitching (with help from the @U2 staff) an idea for a different book -- it was U2-related, but it wasn't a history of the band in diary-style format. I pitched the idea to a few different publishers, one of which was Omnibus Press in the UK. They were high on my list because of their experience with U2 books; they've published U2 Live - A Concert Documentary, The Complete Guide to the Music of U2, and a couple others over the years. Well, turns out that Omnibus wasn't too interested in my book idea, but they had been thinking about doing a U2 diary-style book. They asked me if I would be interested in writing that book, instead, and who was I to say no? :-)

It really was a case of being in the right place at the right time. If you want me to describe the moment they pitched me on the U2 Diary idea ... just picture my jaw on the ground and you'll have the right image in mind.

2. Bono seems to be everywhere at once sometimes....was there a particular stretch of time that you thought was truly impressive regarding Bono's adventures?

There are a couple that stand out: early July, 2005, is one. Live 8 was on July 2nd. U2 is in the midst of its regular run of concert dates in Europe. And Bono is jetting back and forth from shows to Scotland for the G8 Summit, and while he's in Scotland, his schedule is just utterly crammed with meetings and appearances, and you end up wondering how and when he ever sleeps. And there's another one that I find amazing: October 16-17, 2005. On the 16th, U2 plays in Philly. On the 17th, U2 plays in New York. According to a magazine writer who was following the band over those few days, Bono flew from Philly to Arizona after the gig on the 16th for one of his anti-poverty meetings, then flew back to NYC for the concert on the 17th. I have to trust the magazine writer got his facts straight since he was following the band around that week.

3. Are you maintaining a U2 diary for dates post publication in order to sell new editions?

Yes. There's no guarantee we'll do a new edition, but in case we do, I have a diary for 2008 that's in progress. And I'll keep doing it until someone tells me to stop.

4. Are there any plans for an electronic version of this timeline/ calendar? It seems like it could also be a very cool iPhone application!

There are no plans, but you're right -- that does sound pretty cool! I think Omnibus' interest (and mine) in selling copies of the print publication precludes putting all the content online, at least for now.

5. Would you consider writing about another band in the same style?

I'd consider it, but the odds would be stacked pretty high against a project like that. For one, it would have to be a band that I love enough to give a couple years of my life to during research and writing. Years ago, R.E.M. would've fit that description, but they lost me a few albums ago. I like Coldplay enough, I think, but the second issue is that they've been around for about 10 years now and I haven't been collecting any archives about them. Surely there are more dedicated Coldplay followers that would be better suited for such a book. I'd buy it.

Social Media in the Classroom

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 14:25:00 +0000

I know it's been awhile since my last post. Forgive me, while I focused on starting the school year and trying to overhaul how I organize my classroom. Now that we are a couple of weeks into the year, I would like to share how I am trying to use blogs in my classroom. The biggest change I've made this year is to get all my students blogging about psychology. I am using Blogger and getting students to sign up for their own accounts was fairly easy. Their first assignment was to respond to a series of articles and blog posts about memory. Where did I get the list of articles and blog posts? Well, I went through my Google Reader and Delicious tags for memory and easily came up with a list of recent research and applications of memory research. The second post was to respond to online video clips about memory. These happen to be from The Brain and The Mind series. This saves class time and with a blog response I know that everyone is interacting with the video, not just passively gazing at the screen in class. I am also asking my students to label or tag all of their entries. I learned from Chris Dede (Harvard) how tags develop a shared language among a community of learners. It forces my students to create a mental model of relationships that should match the content in the course . Here is one example of what one of my students have been writing about so far. My next step will be to have students differentiate their posts so it will become more meaningful for students to comment on other blogs. I might venture into video blogging as well...stay tuned!

Web 2.0? Web 3.0?

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 00:32:00 +0000

For those of you who are just trying to figure out what Web 2.0 might be or how what it's impact might be, then this anthropological look at YouTube might be of interest to you.

And, if you are interested in the next 5000 days (Web 3.0...4.0??) of the web then check out Kevin Kelly, Executive Editor of Wired Magazine among many other roles.

Trying to figure out how our students fit into all of this is hard enough, trying to predict the future is all but impossible. What happens to education? If high school doesn't become more participatory, creative, collaborative, constructive, and user-generated then I think we are in trouble. So that's my prediction --> User-generated Education.

Alan November @ NECC

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:17:00 +0000

Alan November gave a thought-provoking talk at a NECC2008 special session on Tuesday July 1, 2008. The session titled, "Designing Rigorous & Globally Connected Assignments" (among other NECC sessions) can be accessed in full at http://www.kzowebcasting.com/necc/

While entertaining and thought-provoking, attendees didn't come away with specific assignments or a step-by-step how-to procedure. I left the session with a somewhat random list of ideas and tools to consider when designing a globally connected assignment. These ideas and tools were woven into stories and opinions about the current state of education. November's opening story was about how his son received detention because he went to China for a week because going to China wasn't on the list approved absences for seniors. What was more disturbing for November was that not one teacher took advantage of creating an assignment that would enable his son to bring something back from the experience.

Here are other thoughts gathered from my notes...
1. Surveying your audience is very effective tool to bring them into your conversation, lecture, or lesson. November used a clicker-type device that allowed him to survey the audience, giving him a jumping-off point for his talk. I've also used these devices in this manner in the classroom and it is a beautiful hook for most students.
2. Knowing your audience is very important and students should understand audience when communicating. November shared a story about American students being hired by foreign companies that use Instant Messenger tools to communicate in the business world. November claimed that American employees were being fired because they used IM in non-professional ways because they lost site of their audience. I immediately thought of emails I received from some of my students that illustrates they have lost site of the fact that they are emailing an adult who is an authority figure. Our students definitely need to learn to match proper communication to audience.
3. Gathering a global perspective using Google search strategies was very insightful. This media literacy lesson demonstrated the western bias of a Google news search and demonstrated ways to avoid this bias. November cited an assignment where students needed to gather news about Pope Benedict's speech in September 2006 that linked Islam with violence. The caveat was to gather the perspective of Turkey, where the Pope was to speak after giving the speech. The first search attempt using key words in the Google news search brought up sources that indicated mostly a Western point of view. Using "site:tr" prior to key words (no quotes, tr=Turkey) brought up articles from the Turkish Daily News. These articles were not anywhere near the top of the previous search.
4. The most recent information on a topic is very important, especially in the area of medicine or technology. Using Google's "view:timeline" (again, not quotes) in the search box will provide information (web search or news) in a timeline format. This will allow you to see the most recent advances. For example typing "view:timeline cml treatment" in Google will yield this.
5. Create a custom search engine can be a very useful for teachers. I wasn't aware that Google allows users to build a custom search that will limit the search to specific websites. Whether it is one site or a collection of sites, Google allows you to host a search box on your own website that will allow students to do specific searches. Better yet, have students build their own custom search engine for your specific course. As you can see, I have added a custom search for this blog in the upper left corner.
6. Learner job descriptions can be one way to organize classroom tasks. November suggested the following roles: a) Classroom Web Research-builds classroom search engine, b) Videographer to teach course content, and c) Curriculum tutorial design team. One suggested tool to for developing tutorial tasks is Jing. Once Jing is installed screen captures (photos & videos) are made and shared easily.
7. Student created content was emphasized by November. November believes that learners need to contribute to the learning community either by producing or organizing content. Suggested ideas included collaborative note-taking, powerpoints, and contributions to a wikipedia entry (ex. Pitot House, view the history tab). Read more on students as contributors in this article on The Digital Farm.
8. Global connections are easier than ever and kiva.org allows students (or anyone) donate to entrepreneurs in developing countries and get money back on their loan. November suggested some students should make up a "Global Communications Team" that works to set up contacts around the world.

EDTAGS.ORG (NECC-Day 2 Continued)

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 15:35:00 +0000

If you are not already familiar with del.icio.us, the social bookmarking site, you should be. I've totally abandoned using my internet browser's favorites or bookmarks tab for social bookmarking. There are many advantages to using a social bookmarking tool. One, I can access my favorite bookmarks from any internet connection. Two, I can share my bookmarks with friends and other people with similar interests. Three, I can "save" a website under multiple tags or key words. I am not restricted in putting a bookmark in a single folder. And four, I can see the bookmarks of other people who saved the same webpage and can see all the other websites that user saved with the same tag. What this means is that I can do a targeted search for information through my del.icio.us network. And if I find value in what another person is saving, I can add them to my network and everytime they add a new site I can see it my network. Finally, I can "subscribe" using RSS feeds to a specific tag which is a great way to do research.
Once you understand how social bookmarking works, then you will understand the concept of edtags.org. A site like del.icio.us is comprehensive, meaning that any and all types of websites are tagged. Edtags.org is a social bookmarking site for educational related websites. The founders of edtags.org, Adam Seldow and Chris Dede of the Harvard Graduate School of Education describe the site as "academic social tagging to aid learning and assessment."
Seldow and Dede described several enhancements to edtags.org that differentiates it from del.icio.us.
They described how students save and share information reflects a level of learning around the course-specific vocabulary. It is their opinion that Web 2.o tools are creating shifts in knowledge skills, new methods of teaching, and changing the characteristics of learners. One distinction they pointed out in doing research is "What is worth knowing" vs. "What you can find." Doing a general google search on an educational topic will bear different results (what you can find) than the same search term on edtags.org (what's worth knowing).
Information falls into three categories, 1) accurate; 2) biased; and 3) inaccurate. It is important for students to be able to categorize information they consume into one of these categories and when knowledge is generated by a diverse group of people as it is in social bookmarking or wikipedia then information becomes more accurate. Dede explained that "knowledge is when a wikipedia entry discussion settles down."
Edtags.org has social networking features that allow a community of users to gather around a specific tag. This network is becoming a sociosemantic community around language. With tagging, vocabulary has meaning specific to a community of users. For example, "green monster" might not be readily know to the general population but a network of Boston Red Sox fans would know exactly what this tag meant. There are many socio-semantic platforms including edtags.org and del.icio.us and flickr(for photographers), connectbeam(business), connotea(scientist), scuttle(socal bookmarking for a specific group of users), and librarything(book enthusiasts).
Edtags.org has a couple of features that makes it more valuable than searching for educational information on broader platforms like del.icio.us. Their are detailed userfiles to make credibility easier to judge. Dynamic visualizations are available (must be a registered user) to see how certain semantics relationships occur.
Finally, Chris Dede explained that his students tag material for the course. In doing so, students learn the terminology for the course and a shared languaged is developed. Then when students create their tag clouds for information saved, the subject specific vocab should dominate the tag cloud. As a result a mental model of the relationships of terms should equal a formal model of the relationships of the course. Increasing literacy through tagging new information was not a concept I had previously thought about but something I will try to incorporate with my class this year as my students share websites and write blogs entries.

Cell Phones As Learning Tools (More NECC Day 1 sessions)

noreply@blogger.com (Dave) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 13:51:00 +0000

Liz Kolb's blog titled From Toy to Tool is an ongoing conversation about using cell phones as learning tools. I caught part of this conversation at my final Monday NECC session. You can find more information about this session from the Cell Phones in Learning wiki that Liz set up for this session. Liz opened with a video clip from NPR's segment Three Generations' View of Cell Phones. This reminds me of my own evolution regarding cell phones. I once had no concept why text messaging was so appealing to our teenagers. Now, I probably use the text feature more than the voice features.
Next came a mention of Wiffiti, which is a tool to have your text messages sent to public places. One way that Liz demonstrated Wiffiti was to pose a question to the class and have all participants text an answer to the screen. This would be useful for brainstorming tasks as everyone's responses would be seen simultaneously.
Liz outlined 4 reasons why we should use cell phones as learning tools.
1. The number of students who have cell phones. I believe over 60% of students 6-12 have their own cell phones. This number is dramatically higher among the 9-12 population. I talked to several teachers in low-income school districts who remarked that their students all had cell phones.
2. The students view of their cell phone. Just try taking away a teenager's cell phone. You will learn pretty quickly how much they value their cell phone.
3. The cell phone is an anytime, anyplace, any pace collaborative learning tool. This also happens to describe how students like to learn.
4. Preparation for 21st century skills. Only 23% of K-12 students believe they are being properly trained in schools for the 21st Century digital job force (from The Speak Up Reports and PEW).
Ok, now it's time to do the Cell Phone Cha Cha! Got a question that needs answered? Can't access the internet? Try the mobile phone Cha Cha service. You can either call 1-800 2 Cha Cha or text 242 242 and then ask any question. In a couple of minutes you will receive a text message response with the answer to your question. I just called Cha Cha for my daughter Zoe. She asked Cha Cha for Ashley Tisdale's phone number. In a few minutes we received her number via a text message. Zoe is very excited!! Give it a try now!
If any of you are familiar with CNN.com's new iReport feature then you might see the power of mobile blogging. Mobile blogging is simply the ability to post text, audio, photos, and video to the an internet blog from a remote location instantanously using your cell phone as the primary tool. There are many tools that allow for this type of reporting...Jott and Gabcast being two of them. Jott allows you to call a number, speak, and have the voice to text translation to occur so the text can be sent to a variety of places that you select. I will be definetly using Jott to send a voice message to my Google Calendar.
Finally, Liz discussed Textmarks. Textmarks is a tool that will allow my students to sign up for text message alerts. I plan to have all my students subscribe to my alerts so I can send them reminders about projects, exams, news, changes in schedules, etc. You can see what this looks like at my classroom website.
Since I plan for all of my students to have blogs this year, I see mobile blogging having lots of potential in the area of psychology. Using remote videos, photographs, and voice to record human behavior can be a very powerful tool. I am excited to see where this can go. Other uses might include the creation of tutorials, brainstorming, and pre-writing exercises. If you have ideas, please comment here!