Changing Connections

PREZI Introduces NUTSHELL

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Stangherlin) — Wed, 11 Feb 2015 18:19:00 +0000

I'm loving this new tool, and it is life in a nutshell. You'll love it too. Sharing in a "nutshell."

Word Press Video for PLAA Website

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Stangherlin) — Fri, 17 Oct 2014 20:23:00 +0000

An Open Infinite Canvas Where To Collect Anything You Want: Murally

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Stangherlin) — Sat, 07 Jul 2012 15:41:00 +0000

Curated by Giuseppe Mauriello on Scoop.it, and if you are not following this social media curation guru, you should, comes a multi-tasking curation tool. Welcome to one of the newest reinventions of Pinterest. From Robin Good: Mural.ly is an infinite visual canvas that can be used to create visual maps, digital posters, collections of information resources, images and video clips. Mural.ly makes it particularly easy to search the web and to import any image, video or content clip you decide to use. It is, however, presently in invitation beta. The good news: I had my invitation within a day and it is a cool tool indeed.

Find out more and see work created with it here: http://beta.mural.ly/

Different by Design

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Stangherlin) — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 16:01:00 +0000

Browsers are a personal item and like the 3 friendship-breaking topics, trying to get a friend to change browsers could be a fourth, so just don't. So why am I writing this post. Because I LOVE Firefox and just downloaded Firefox 11. Something about not being part of mega-giant corporate America, something about grass roots, smart people working in the open. But I'll let them tell you their story.

I'll leave trying the beta versions (Firefox 12, 13) to my more intuitive friends, but am eager for the public release.

Related articles

Mush! + MT Trek = Inspiring Journeys

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Stangherlin) — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 15:49:00 +0000

[caption id="attachment_24362" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Lead photo of 2010 start by Frank Kovalchek under CC License"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_24363" align="alignright" width="150" caption=""Challenge yourself and never give up!" Blynne Froke"][/caption]

Inspiration is like an unexpected gift; it meets and greets you in unsuspecting ways, energizing. So it was that I settled down with 2 romping kittens, a galumphing black Lab, and my laptop in the sun room (glorious with sun today) and morning coffee, off to troll the DEN blogs. The joys of retirement--working on my own clock to an inner bell schedule, or none at all. Lovely. Turning to the PA blog, I found Patti Ruffing's brilliant post, Mush!. Following the connections--the start of the Iditarod (3-3-12), her student who treked to Alaska, blogging her travels, Patti's subsequent blogging about her student and educational resources--Discovery and others--was truly inspiring. The HUGE potential for a great Challenge-Based Learning experience and an invitation to participate (see the end of Patti's post)--all before I even had a start on AM caffeine.

Those circuitous connections, from mushing to trekking--a long introduction--brings me to the heart of this post--PA DEN STAR JAN ABERNETHY's travels from Harrisville PA to Bozeman MT for the DENSI 12, a sweetheart of a trek 1,881 miles on her horse "Sweetie." Her Facebook photo captures her boundless spirit. You can follow Jan's trek on her blog, DEN Summer Institute 2012, because now it's official: Jan received her acceptance email to the Summer Institute. Good thing indeed. From her blog post Acceptance!!!!!, she states:

[caption id="attachment_24367" align="alignleft" width="139" caption="DENSI 12"][/caption]

Woke up this morning, checked my email and read the DEN Weekly Update! Sweetie and I were ecstatic to get the news that we have been accepted into the Discovery Education National Summer Institute. Of course, we would have been there anyway, but I'm glad we don't have to stand outside the gates looking in!

Why I wondered in my first post about Jan where she would corral Sweetie beats me, since she's going to the ranch in the United States. So glad, however, it's official. Acceptance is a wonderful thing. On her Facebook page, Jan asked if we had any special places we would like her to visit, photograph, and blog about on her journey to Bozeman, so If you have a suggestion for her, post it to her FB page. Or comment on this post and we'll forward it to her. Promise.

[caption id="attachment_24376" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Acceptance is a wonderful thing!!!!!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_24374" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="A bad weather week, but moving on!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_24375" align="aligncenter" width="150" caption="Double Rainbow, Twice the Luck?"][/caption]

What has ALWAYS impressed me about the DEN community is its uniqueness; each and every member I've met--and I was in DEN from the ground floor up--has been a very special person indeed. Each carries an indelible gift, a talent, a sense of something in the air, close by, about to open into a very special inspiration!!!!! Thank you, DEN, each and every one of you!

[caption id="attachment_24388" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="On their way to Chicago, IL - Is that Dembo Country?"][/caption]

Image Credits: Lead photo of 2010 start by Frank Kovalchek under CC License; Jan Abernethy's DEN Summer Institute 2012 Blog. Inspiration image (without caption) under CC License.

Mush! (discoveryeducation.com)
We're Following You, Jan Abernethy, from Harrisville PA to Bozeman MT!! (discoveryeducation.com)
Mush! Iditarod Sled Dog Race Underway In Alaska (npr.org)
Join Patti Harju at the 2012 DEN Summer Institute (discoveryeducation.com)
DEN STAR Access to Discovery Education Science Techbook (discoveryeducation.com)

60 in 60 - 60 Web Tools in 60 Minutes with Brandon Lutz

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Stangherlin) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 15:40:00 +0000

[caption id="attachment_23562" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Flying solo, DEN STAR Brandon Lutz #60in6012"][/caption]

Last year's P.A.E.C.T. Advocate of the Year, this year's P.A.E.C.T. Southeast Regional Director, and always a DEN (super) STAR, Brandon Lutz is a legend at PETE&C any year. His name is synonymous with 60 in 60, a presentation that packs an overflowing full house eager to cheer him as he achieves the superman impossible: 60 tools in 60 minutes. Hard to find a faster hour, unless it's his App Attack: 60 Apps in 60 Minutes. Brandon challenges any blogger to keep up with his pace, so his generosity in sharing his work ahead of time makes him one of my favorite perennial presenters. Here's his Prezi. You can find additional 60 in 60 resources here. His Scribd Cheat Sheet appears at the end of this post.

[caption id="attachment_23567" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="The countdown begins..."][/caption]

Brandon began his presentation by noting he has added 50 new since last year because he is always trying to keep his work fresh, timely, and relevant. Billed by Brandon as a wine tasting of web tools, he recognized that there are different times for different tools. Always keeping his audience in mind, he supplied contact information and directed participants to his cheat sheet: the list of 60, linked, open space for note taking. Thoughtful touch. Brandon's goal: 10 sites you want to check out and share with your community. Following a Wiggins and McTighe precept, knowing the end before you begin, Brandon did it again, beating the clock while making learning meaningful. Each tool is linked after the number. The countdown begins.

Prezi: Keynote or PowerPoint is Prezi, a whole new concept in presentation media. Brandon's presentations (past and present) are done in it. Yon don't need software; just a quick download, then create.
[caption id="attachment_23572" align="alignright" width="269" caption="You would appear on the right, replacing the stick figure."][/caption]

PresentMe: allows you to put yourself next to a PowerPoint presentation so you can talk about it in a split frame screen; a good presentation vehicle when you cannot appear in person. Use the webcam and microphone on your computer to record yourself giving a PowerPoint presentation. Very cool tool.
Much Enough: an interesting concept and the way education is moving; create a class for free. Can be a tutoring session or an adjunct to your class; set times and book sessions for free open time or office hours online.
Edmodo: a Facebook type interface within a safe environment, Edmodo requires a code for students to join a class group established by a teacher; can attach almost anything; students submit via Edmoda so a paperless classroom; can send graded work back to students. Excellent for sharing in a closed secure environment.
[caption id="attachment_23575" align="alignright" width="253" caption="Goodbye, Diigo. Hello, Pearltrees."][/caption]

Pearltrees: (mentioned in App Attack) creates a visual environment for bookmarks, resembling pearls on a tree. This tool enables a drill-down scaffolding of items bookmarked. Must try it; a visual delight. Good-bye Diigo.
Flubaroo: script that works with Google Forms; set up a form and the top line is the answer key; Flubaroo scores you for it. Brandon noted it is complicated but has great site explanations.
Gooru Learning: a content grasper; math/science based; click on link and you get interactives based on one topic. This tool gives you a plethora of resources (almost more than you need); you can set up a collection for your students. An overabundant resource.
Study Ladder: portal for grades 3-8; differentiates instruction based on needs; has interactives with an open whiteboard version.
[caption id="attachment_23577" align="alignright" width="300" caption="The Internet for Kids: safe, secure, with parent feedback"][/caption]

Kid Zui: kid-friendly web browser known as "the internet for kids"; allows a free safe filtered environment. Kid Zui makes Facebook "safe" because of its Facebook integration; you can see your children's visits and have them reported via email. Best of all, especially if you're a Firefox user, you can download the add-on, integrated into your browser.
Reading Bear: reading website for K-3; has a wide variety of interactive flashcards; great for lower primary students; teaches reading.
Star Fall: also lower primary; an alphabet learner and an early reading tool with books that you can read to your children/students or they can be read to from Star Fall; K-3 level.
HippoCampus: brings the content to you, based on math and science; click topic and it delivers interactives to you without searching. Very cool tool!
Learn Zillion: math lessons; click topic and connect to common core standards by lesson and practice. Taught by teachers in video format; great for LS reinforcement; a cleaner approach than Khan Academy.
Math Train: students make math videos and podcast to the world; similar to the Khan Academy but with a Common Craft approach--simple but excellent.
Side Vibe: offers turbocharged web questing, placing the student in online discussion and activities in a direct context; 50 students for free with a charge at 51+. Lets the website and discussions view in a split screen, side by side, answering questions while watching videos in a confined environment, keeping students focused.
[caption id="attachment_23586" align="alignright" width="200" caption="2/2 60 in 60 (2nd presentation of 2 on day 2)"][/caption]

School Notes: simplified way to communicate with your classes; a very simplified version of Edmodo.
Yacapaca: creates quizzes and surveys and modifies content and assessments; shared with fellow users, if you choose and has a popularity rating to help you make decisions on others' sharings.
Simple Meet: creates a safe, non-login chat room for students; you get an email of all your students discuss; also good for staff development.
BlockSite: a Firefox addon that lets you filter any website you want to access that exists in a blocked environment.
Class Dojo (mentioned App Attack); assigns + or - behaviors to students in a class. Brandon's favorite app/web tool but, as in the App Attack presentation, he cautions against displaying negative behaviors on a white board.
Gnowledge: test and quiz generation site with images, text; easy to create and share with students.
DropBox: file collector; especially good for dropping large files into it; flashdrive free w/24/7 access. You get 2 MG free, but if you go through the tutorial, your free gift is additional space.
dushare: send large files without a login with ease; up to 100 mgs; an alternative to DropBox.
[caption id="attachment_23591" align="alignright" width="300" caption="An interactive book creator for MACs"][/caption]

iBooks Author: in Apple Lion, a free download lets you create your own virtual interactive textbook with ease of use; better than ePub and had 3D interactive images.
Remind 101: safe way for teachers to text message students and stay in touch with parents; SMS or email students/staff; students have to come to you to request to join.
Oh Life: journal site with sent emails; if you respond, the site collects the information and then in a week sends it back to you; a gentler way to engage in journaling with reminders.
Boom Writer: grades 4 and up; engages students in reading, writing, creating, and competing; stories can be selected as part of the larger theme selected for writing; does not identify students' names.
[caption id="attachment_23593" align="alignright" width="300" caption="A good way to do RA online"][/caption]

Scrible: an easy to share online annotation site with iPad app; highlight text and send link to students; they can continue the highlighting. An interesting way to go digital with reading apprenticeship techniques.
Paper Rater: helps grade papers with a plagerism checker plus other writing tool correctors; a good proofreading tool for students before submitting work for assessment.
NBC Learn: brought their educational content into this site and are charging, but some parts of the site are free (science).
YouTube Teachers: creates a safe channel for your students for asynchronous learning; easier to unblock at schools than the more ubiquitous YouTube.
Capzles: creates a whole new dimension of learning and sharing. Enjoy this explanatory video made by DEN STAR Jennifer Brinson. If you missed her groundbreaking PETE&C session, Moving Our World One Project at a Time, presented by 3 of her senior economics students, you can read about it by clicking this link.
Docs Teach: looks at National Archives and combines interactives with archives; shared by teachers, making a bank of materials available without reinventing the wheel.
UsefulCharts: charge for printed copy but free for whiteboard use; very comprehensive and can be screenshot for other use, but it's a chart without links.
[caption id="attachment_23596" align="alignright" width="300" caption="QR code at work"][/caption]

Desktop QR Code Reader: download and have for your desktop.
QR Notes: lets you select an image, give it a title, image, and note.
QR Voice: scan QR code and it will read it back to your on your phone; a text-audio renderer.
ptable: interactive periodic table.
Screenr: free screencasting program web-based; select what you want to record and record it; Brandon used screenr to record the periodic table shown in his presentation.
1001 Free Fonts: different fonts for graphic style; very cool fonts for posters, handouts, but not typing documents. If you love fonts, this is your new cool tool.
Jeopardy Labs: online jeopardy game with assessments; the easiest way to build a Jeopardy quiz; great for reviewing; can be downloaded and kept for future use.
[caption id="attachment_23601" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Study Blue: free mobile apps, too!"][/caption]

Study Blue: flashcard site (mentioned in App Attack); tests students, web-based.
Cacoo: diagram site for step-by-step organizing; a good graphic organizer.
spaaze: an infinite virtual cork board; accepts videos, images, text, sites; great brainstorming tool; similar to Wall Wisher but with infinitely more flexibility.
Free Sound: all kinds of sounds; over 45,000 and copyright free; great for podcasting; Brandon cautions: there are inappropriate sounds, though, so be careful if you let your students use it.
Vocaroo: simple recording site; it just doesn't get any easier. I love this site because it gives you options for a link and embeddable code. I used to use this site to create lesson plans for students, then posted to Moodle. This is a great EASY tool to use for differentiated instruction. Love it.
[caption id="attachment_23602" align="alignright" width="300" caption="You have to try this one (http://ifttt.com/)!"][/caption]

ifttt (if this then that): saves visiting several social networking sites; check this one out; lets sites talk to one another by following the simple if this...then that. Just visit the site. Very cool tool.
Blabbarize: an oldie but goodie; lets non-talking things talk (remember the talking alpaca).
fotababble: lets you tell your stories with talking photos and slideshows.
Jelly Cam: Mark Perlman at his best, doing a demo; has apps for a smart phone; a download with Adobe Air; good for stop motion using a computer.
VoiceThread: 3 accounts free for teachers and then a paid site; text, audio, video, and drawing responses. An excellent collaborative tool.
Producteev: a task list website; has an app; lets you create a task group with one other person; emails you pre/post task reminders; interfaces with Google.
Paper.li: a newspaper-type aggregator. Jennifer Brinson's students decide what content goes into their paper.li daily, Moving Our World.
Tweet Chat: can create a chat room with a hash tag or can search by hash tag for academic public content; a filter for Twitter for people who do not want to use Twitter directly.
[caption id="attachment_23607" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Super Simple, Fast, and Fun!"][/caption]

pen.io: allows you to create a website without a login; is password protected for editing; has all the usual frills and you get a quick and easy site (not elaborate but can be done in a non-block class frame).
Sumdog: login and play games with other students; builds math skills; a robust site that continues to add content.
Pattern Cooler: graphic design and web design lets you customize patterns and download as a .png file. This site is really worth investigating; like what it lets you do with customization of a stock image.
Pinterest: aggregates urls by image but can add text; you can allow people to add content. My favorite new site; has a mobile app, and has made the Top 10 Social Networking sites.
Mentimeter: quick and easy way to poll students, staff; super simple poll site; can answer with laptop or mobile device; gives you QR code to answer codes.
Google Forms: an oldie but goodie; Brandon added a QR code for his own survey, which takes GF into the present and ends Brandon's presentation.

Another amazing presentation, the second of two 60in60 presentations in one day!

PETEC201260in60CheatSheet

APP ATTACK! 60 Apps in 60 Minutes with Brandon Lutz & Scott Snyder (discoveryeducation.com)
Join Discovery Education at ASTE 2012! (discoveryeducation.com)

APP ATTACK! 60 Apps in 60 Minutes with Brandon Lutz & Scott Snyder

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Stangherlin) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 15:37:00 +0000

[caption id="attachment_23330" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Supermen Scott Snyder & Brandon Lutz: 60 Apps in 60 Minutes"][/caption]

Are you ready for the fastest 60 minutes on the planet? Is there a faster conference session anywhere? Yes, if you count Brandon Lutz's legendary 60 in 60 crowd pleaser, possibly the most popular session at PETE&C any year. Lutz and his co-presenter Scott Snyder, both DEN STARS, have achieved legend status, famous for a full house, so much so these presentations were moved to a larger venue at Hotel Hershey. And they still pack them in. A special thank you, Brandon, for sending the Prezi code in advance, a blogger's heaven. Here's the Prezi. You can find additional App Attack resources here.

[caption id="attachment_23332" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="60 Apps in 60 Minutes: Making the Impossible Possible"][/caption]

Making the impossible possible, Brandon and Scott began their presentation with emails: blutz01@gmail.com and ssnyder963@gmail.com. They welcome comments and feedback from virtual (part of the Virtual PETE&C Conference) and live audiences. Scott welcomed the virtual audience since this session is streamed, archived, and an available reference in the future. Brandon began with a Sock Puppets introduction. A fast-paced session, the only slow part was the intro from PETE&C Red Shirt Ambassadors.

This session has Android and Apple apps and where applicable will be listed and linked as Apple and Android. Unless otherwise noted, apps are free.

Posterous's mobile app lets you blog on the go and follow people as well; Apple; Android.
[caption id="attachment_23481" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Scott & Brandon working the App Attack audience "][/caption]

Cardio Trainer tracks on a GPS the distance you travel, the carbs you burn, and your overall progress. Android.
Pearltrees lets you add your links as a pearl or a folder in a visual environment. Apple.
Cloud On lets you open a spreadsheet or a document easily, enabling editing and saving to a dropbox. Apple.
Qik is a streaming tool; stream your classes with a private link and parents have a window into your teaching environment. Qik also archives. Apple, Android.
Grocery Gadget lets you maintain shopping lists jointly. A great app for LifeSmarts classes to teach students organizational and budgeting skills. Apple, Android. Free to $3.99.
[caption id="attachment_23483" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Brandon before the crushing pace begins..."][/caption]

Instapaper lets you save web links and gives you the opening paragraph without ads and distractions. Sync your device and you can read offline. Apple. $4.99.
Byline lets you connect to your RSS feeds, syncs and caches your readers, and provides articles by groups. Apple. Free / $2.99.
DropBox syncs all your devices and aggregates them in one place. Apple, Android.
Box is a web storage spot with teaching relevance as a digital locker. Great storage platform that enables editing, footnotes and the like. Apple, Android.
Sound Hound identifies music you tap and play. Apple, Android.
Falling Stars plays music with visual animations. You can create copyright free music with this app. Apple.
[caption id="attachment_23486" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Waiting for the shuttle...one last systems check"][/caption]

Mobile QR Scanners-Droid or iPad-let you scan virtual information codes into your device. Apple: QR Scanner, QR Droid.
InAWorld Drama and Comedy lets you create fast video trailers. Apple. $1.99.
Puffin plays flash on Apple devices. LOVE IT! Apple, Android. $0.99.
360 Web Browser allows integration with your Dropbox and Firefox sync; incorporates bookmarks and history into your browser. Apple. Free / $0.99.
Diigo Browser brings annotating pages into your browser by tab browsing. Very memory friendly. Apple, Android.
Firefox Home (love this one) maintains your desktop history and bookmarks. Apple, Android.
Opera Mini compresses pages quickly before sending to your device; if a school's system is slow, this app pushes the website through quickly. Apple, Android.
[caption id="attachment_23498" align="alignright" width="300" caption="See and be seen--best business card in the room?"][/caption]

1Password tracks all your passwords and syncs across multiple platforms. It's not free but worth the cost to sync everything at the same time. Gives you a password connected file and is password protected. Pricey but love the layers of protection. Apple, Android. $9.99 / $14.99.
Sock Puppets lets you create a 30-second lip synced video. This is the tool Scott and Brandon used for their introductions. Very cool and very fast way to tell a story. A pay version gives you more than 30 seconds. Apple.
Puppet Pals creates unique animations for digital storytelling. Apple. Free / 2.99.
Strip Design creates mobile comic strips. Apple. $0.99.
Toontastic is Puppet Pals on steroids; you create puppet videos and aggregate them into a digital story. Very flexible with nice editing features. Apple.
[caption id="attachment_23501" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Can you feel Scott's excitement?"][/caption]

AudioBoo records and shares your voice with the world and posts to the web or emails to friends. Can DropBox as well. Apple.
Animoto is content creation at its best; what you knew on the web comes to your mobile device. Free version gives you 30 seconds; the pro is worth the small fee and if you have pro on your computer, it follows you to the mobile app. Must add that this is my favorite app because I have been an Animoto user in and out of the classroom for years, and if you haven't used Animoto yet, what are you waiting for. Apple.
Study Blue is a flashcards app. Apple, Android.
Assist uses bubble sheets that are downloadable for classroom sets. Scott suggests laminating and using them with a scantron for instant grading and accuracy. You can wipe the laminate clean and reuse. Good assessment tool for indexing what students have learned or for an exit ticket. Apple.
Board Cam Lite turns your iPad into an enhanced document camera; works with very small images and expands them. Similar to Hall Davidson's DENPreCon presentation when he demonstrated how you can attach a magnifier to your iPad. This app is grommet free. Apple.
ShowMe is Scott's favorite app, dating back to when it appeared in beta version. A great app for a flipped classroom. Makes short videos similar to Lee LeFever's Explanations in Plain English Common Craft videos. That would be reason enough for me to download this app. Apple.
ScreenChomp is similar to ShowMe; you need to try this app to experience its ease of use. Basically, ScreenChomp is similar to Camtasia or Jing, a tiny app but big on power. Lets you screencast and the nice thing about this app--the developers continue to develop, adding scrolling and other features that feedback indicates are user needs. Take a look at this one; it's a mighty little app that saves to the Chomp library, AND it has a whiteboard app you can download as well. Beginning to see why I really embrace this app...
iReview is a flashcard app similar to Quizlet. Apple.
Algebra Touch teaches the basics of algebra but allows students to interact. Our presenters say it's worth the cost. Apple. $2.99.
[caption id="attachment_23364" align="alignright" width="150" caption="The Akinator Approach"][/caption]

Akinator can read your mind and tell you what character you are thinking about, just by asking a few questions. It's a different way of thinking about people, real or not. Don't let the look/feel of this app fool you into thinking it's a primary/middle school app. Our audience of adults were charmed by this app. Useful at any grade level and works great for a review session; it's also a much better way to do a KWL analysis. Love this app but Apple only. Worth the cost. Apple. $1.99.
Producteev lets you collect your tasks and share them with one other person. It is a task management and a to do list tool. Apple, Android.
Elements is a basic text editor that saves files to and integrates with DropBox. You can sync and go paperless with this app. Not your priciest app but up there, but for the affordances, I think this will be the first app I download after I post. Apple. $4.99.
Office2 & Office2 HD allows more creation and editing. Coordinates with Google Docs, and for that feature alone, worth the investment. Apple. $5.99 / $7.99.
GoodReader reads or looks at almost anything. Now you can annotate text files or magazines and integrates with iCloud. Good if you want to read by yourself. Of all the reader apps, this one is my favorite. Apple. $4.99.
iAnnotate PDF lets you highlight, annotate, edit with 3 saving options: normal, layered, or flattened, all of which enable either sharing or levels of privacy. Apple. $9.99.
CatchNotes captures ideas and experiences and shares them: voice notes, text fragments, longer messages, images and locations are caught, organized and saved for when you're ready to access them. Apple, Android.
On point and on time--amazing!
Evernote is great for taking notes. Take a photo of your notes and insert them into Evernote; this app eliminates notetaking. You can create folders, attach PDFs and documents, checklists, and you can share them out. Apple, Android.

Skitch Mobile lets you annotate images. Just like the computer version, but for a mobile app and easy to use. Send your Skitch to Evernote. Easy integration between these two apps. I've been using Skitch for a long time and liked learning there was a mobile app. Apple, Android.

Side By Side splits a screen horizontally and vertically, but can also split the view into 4 quads. Great for multitasking. Apple.

ScratchWork lets you create notes with an original document on the left. Apple.

AppShopper assembles your apps and wish list favorites, sales, and top apps; emails you when a wish list app goes on sale. Apple.

[caption id="attachment_23502" align="alignright" width="200" caption="Our DEN STARS Brandon AND Scott"][/caption]

Class Dojo is a web app; go to a url and access it to create a home page on your device. You can upload class lists and award behaviors with icons or emoticons. Brandon and Scott caution against displaying negative emoticons for student behavior. Web Link.

Infinote creates work spaces and pins notes to a board; similar to Wall Wisher with much expandable space. Apple. $2.99.

Teacher's Pick randomly calls on students in your class; very cool app because it lets you track responses with icons. Apple. $0.99.

Attendance tracks tardies and movement in/out of classroom. You can customize attendance codes and can group students. Apple. $4.99.

TapForms is a database app to track content using pre-made forms or fields that are list based. A good app for professional use (think instructional coaching). Apple. Free / $6.99 / $8.99.

Splash Top Remote allows you to sync your iPad with your computer screen; costs $4.99 but gives you freedom of movement in your classroom. This app streams video and audio files and allows you to interact with PowerPoints. Apple, Android. $4.99.

Mobile Mouse Lite lets you manipulate your computer or laptop with a digital mouse; works on iPhone. Apple.

Prezi Viewer lets you view Prezis on you iPad by downloading them to your iPad. Now you can edit as well in this app. Apple.

[caption id="attachment_23511" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Pumped, Pleased, and Perfect! 60 in (under) 60!"][/caption]

PhotoSynth gives you a panoramic view of a snapshot. Apple.

PS Express lets you edit photos, add borders and text. Quick and easy photo editor for mobile devices or iPad, with sharing out features. Apple, Android.

TourWrist gives you 360-degree panoramic views of tour sites. You can add your own as well. A great virtual field trip. Apple.

Time-Lapse allows you to take a look at a process that takes a long time to complete. You can set the time for photo settings. Apple.

Time-Lapse-Lite is the version for Android. Android.

Fast Burst Camera takes rapid shots of an image. Android.

Burst Mode is the iPhone version of 59. Apple. $1.99.

This session ended at 58 seconds and counting and it was fantastic. If you missed it, you can find it at the PETE&C Virtual Session archives soon.

Green Screening for Dummies: Kim Adair and Mark Perlman (discoveryeducation.com)
Moving our World One Project at a Time: Jennifer Brinson and Students (discoveryeducation.com)
Steve Dembo: "iThink iNeed iPads in the Classroom" (discoveryeducation.com)

Moving our World One Project at a Time: Jennifer Brinson and Students

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Stangherlin) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 15:32:00 +0000

[caption id="attachment_23286" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="Hope Phones: Moving Our World"][/caption]

DEN STAR and PA DEN Leadership Council Events Chair Jennifer Brinson always adds a great dynamic to her presentations: students. This year her co-presenters are 3 seniors from her Economics class: Jackie, Lauren, and Abigail. According to Jackie:

We were doing a scarcity project in our Economics class and we wanted to select a topic more out of the box, so we chose the scarcity of technology, specifically the scarcity of communication between rural medical centers and patients in need. This lead us to the organization of Hope Phones. We then took the process of gathering old cell phones into our school and continue to collect them to this day.

A blogger's delight, Jennifer always accommodates by providing her presentation resources in advance. Enjoy the two PSVs, the commercial, and the presentation Prezi. The PSVs and commercial took 9 days to create, edit, and upload. Work on the Prezi was complete in 2 days.

Moving Our World: One Project at a Time on Prezi

You can also find project resources (a wealth of information worth visiting) at Jennifer's professional wiki, SHS Instructional Tools.

[caption id="attachment_23290" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="Changing the World"][/caption]

Jennifer began the presentation by noting her pride in her students who will do the entire presentation, sans her. Bravo, Jennifer for once again giving students ownership of their learning and presentation process. Also visit Twitter feed: @movingourworld and paper.li daily: moving our world. Jackie began by explaining the process of finding a country with scarcity of technology and discovered Malawi, where nurses and doctors travel over 100 miles to provide medical need. Hope Phones, founded by Josh Nesbit, realized the communication issues affecting some countries, so he created an organization to provide mobile phones. Finding this resource through research was a core part of the project. Jackie noted that instructions and rubrics provided by their teacher guided them in creating this project, as well as her 1:2:1 instruction. The students realized and embraced the quotation from Mohatma Gandhi, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." As part of their challenge-based learning project, they sought to make an enduring change in the world.

Then the students created a PSA about their counry of choice, Malawi, one of the poorest places, who desperately need your help (see first video). Lauren mentioned they contacted Josh Nesbit via email to further their research. Then the students created a commercial (see third video) to market their idea within the school community. Finally, they made a second PSA (see second video) guided by a more scaffolded and academically-challenging rubric. The girls stated that making this video was more intense because they needed to find a viable facilitated sustainable solution.

[caption id="attachment_23295" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Filming for the Future"][/caption]

In the reflection piece of this CBL project, Abigail said they gained an appreciation of how fortunate they are. Asking what the future holds, the team is sending their PSAa and commercial to the middle school, respective churches and their future colleges to continue the challenge of their project: to make an enduring and sustainable change in the world. Taking everything they have learned from this project, the team is confident their futures, including post-college, will be better for what they have learned in one class that changed their world. Now they are changing others' worlds.

Q&A:

Asked about the second PSA challenges, Jackie said they implemented more changes using the high school's media studio. Lauren stated that they learned how to use iMovie in class, but the school has an iManagement class that teaches the "how to."
[caption id="attachment_23297" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Edmodo: Free, Paperless"][/caption]

Length of time to complete the project: a semester because they continued to incorporate the project with the class's learning. Block scheduling was implemented this year, making CBL more feasible this year.
Song artist: the team wrote for permission to use the song because of copyright use issues.
1:1: students have the same laptop for the year; intend to turn in for the summer then pick up at the start of the next year.
Copyright: a comment, not a question, but Jennifer was applauded for enforcing copyright. Asked how that is enforced with faculty: Jennifer said the students are now telling the teachers what is not copyright friendly.
Past experience: PJAS prepped them in some ways, but this project was more extensive.
Fellow classmates: in a class with mixed ages, it was harder for 9th graders than for seniors.
Benefit of laptops now: easier because everything is on 1 laptop, no need to transfer files, nothing gets lost, easier to work; everyone has a laptop; good prep for college where incoming students given laptop/printer; know applications and programs; use of studying, organizing and sharing notes/information.
How did district deter damage of laptops: bulletproof cases--very sturdy--and students must use their cases to carry; have an option to use their own case, but every student must carry w/a case; insurance cost w/laptops
School preparation for selection: surveying and connecting with the community
Do computers increase students doing homework: Jennifer said the faculty would say homework is down, but several reasons could contribute
Do junior high do more homework: Lynn FH, middle school administrator, said the role of homework has changed; not much paper/pencil; Jennifer said her classroom is completely paperless because of Edmodo
% of staff going paperless: approximately 10 %; many teachers use Moodle

Green Screening for Dummies: Kim Adair and Mark Perlman

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Stangherlin) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 15:29:00 +0000

DEN STARS Kim Adair and Mark Perlman fine tooled this presentation specially for PETE&C. Wanting to see it in the past, Mark tells me this version is their best, so I will enjoy bringing two of my favorite STARS to you today. This session by description will engage the audience interactively in video production. Whether a MAC or PC user, these presenters will make your star shine brightly as a green screen producer. Goal for this session from Mark: make experts and get people who haven't tried it to try it this week, realizing how powerful it is. For more information on this presentation, please see Kim and Mark's collaborative wiki; I can tell you it has a WEALTH of information and you will want to request membership. Interactive, both Kim and Mark enjoy your comments.

Mark says he and Kim will make you experts, and since perception is truth, you WILL leave here as experts. Green screening is a trial and error process; MovieMakes isn't working well with chromakey, so they are using Adobe Premier to demo, and find it well worth the expense to purchase. Jcut was dual platform but it was taken away, so Adobe Premier is your go-to choice albeit a purchase.

If you want to got to http://wallwisher.com/wall/PETE2012GreenScreen during the presentation or for blog readers afterwards, you can Q/A and comment. Kim and Mark promise to respond and continue to improve. In their third edition of this presentation, they began with Green Screen Studio $2.99 and Green Screen Movie Effects $1.99 as fun apps for your smart phone. The latter does video, but you need to understand green screen concepts to make it sing. Check their blog for more tips.

So, what do you use to green screen: chromakey green exists, or you can go to tubetape.com to buy an expensive green screen. Mark and Kim recommend Yoostar purchased on eBay or Amazon--I've seen this and highly recommend it. If you are a MAC user, use Photobooth; set your background and record. Not that option available? Use a flip or pocket camera; the source doesn't matter because you will edit. Get as close as you can when you film.

You need enough lighting for green screening or you will get an old-time movie effect. Although lighting is critical, distince from subject to green screen is also critical. Keep close to avoid a shadow effect. Put in a low watt compact flourescent near the subject or use a LED flashlight in a student's hand to illuminate the subject. A soft light is also an option but will depend on the situation. Mark's mantra: it's not about the gear; it's about the CONTENT. If you don't have a lot of height for the from, have your subject site and relocate the subject/s to accommodate lighting to avoid shadow. But most importantly, let your kids be creative.

Last FAQ: how do I get started? Try a day in history. Discovery Education is a great vetted source for digital content.

[caption id="attachment_23265" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="Green Screening in Action"][/caption]

Kim green screens with her second graders; you can use a teleprompter (iPad has an app) but younger students sometimes read from larger posterboards. Make it work for you; as longs as your students have fun, that's all that matters. But nothing is more fun than watching adults, many of them teachers and administrators, green screen for the first time. Our seasoned teachers and presenters came with 8 different scripts for green screen demonstrations. Just like students, some volunteering teachers were reluctant to film or read, so Mark and Kim adjusted roles accordingly.

Kim demonstrated dual platforms, beginning with Adobe Premier Elements, and Mark said you can buy bundled packages for educators at deep discounts ($60 or less, depending). Watching what you will see as you import your film for green screening is critical, and this explanation was thorough. You will want to check the tutorial for PC users on their glogster or watch this video.

[caption id="attachment_23270" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Green Screening on a PC"][/caption]

Depending on your audience and expectations, you can use a variety of microphones, or you can use the sound system in your computer (audience Q&A). Several steps need to be followed, but since you have their video tutorial, I am leaving the details for your perusal later. Personal reflections from having done green screen in the classroom with both PCs and then MACS, the process with a MAC is so much easier. However, follow the steps and you will get a wonderful effect. In the image to the left, after editing, the speaker has a tornado video as her background. Imagine the power of this tool in the classroom. Unlimited.

[caption id="attachment_23272" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Green Screening on a MAC"][/caption]

To work on a MAC, more effortless, fewer steps (hear my bias but remember, have done both ways in the classrom), check Mark and Kim's wiki for the MAC tutorial near the bottom left of the Glogster. Please check their wiki for a green screen link on the left menu bar. One of their very interesting videos is one students are flying.

As a session wrap, I must say this presentation was polished perfection, with two veteran presenters, teachers, and DEN STARS at their very best. So glad I was able to bring this session to you. Thank you, Mark and Kim, for sharing your passion.

Reed Timmer: Technology and Extreme Storm Chasing Go Hand in Hand

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Stangherlin) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 15:26:00 +0000

[caption id="attachment_23247" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Reed Timmer, Storm Chaser Meteorologist"][/caption]

Reed Timmer, Discovery Education's Chief Meteorologist and Discovery Channel's Storm Chasers opens the PETE&C 2012 Conference by reminding us technology and extreme storm chasing go hand in hand. Reed notes everyone uses their storm and tornado footage because it is simply the best. A thoroughly entertaining and exciting presentation, Reed shows us tornado fury and weather at its worst, and seems to love the entire process, one that would make most of us afraid.

April 2011 had 875 tornadoes, a record for an incredibly active season. Interestingly, Reed says he learned to storm chase the wrong way during an F5 merely 100 yards away. Covered in mud, Reed realized how powerful a tornado could be. An EF5 tornado in the south dug a 2' trench. Spanning from Arkansas to Georgia, Tornado Alley is an active area for violent weather.

Words that come to mind with Reed's presentation: powerful, fascinating, great videos. Unlike most tech presentations that I blog, Reed is an easy follow but I was too fascinated with the videos to take notes. Instead, I'll try to provide some links for your perusal. My take-away learning: thrilled not to live in the South where most of tornadoes strike.

Many of Reed's videos were found on Tornado Videos. Reed's Discovery biography shows his early interest in weather at age 13. Debris falling from the sky doesn't seem to phase him as he takes risk to chase storms.

[caption id="attachment_23253" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="The Dominator"][/caption]

Storm reporting gives weather channels and television reporting eyes in the storm, a benefit of storm chasing by supplementing storm warnings. A second benefit is their training as first responders in disasters. The third way storm chasers is the research chasing provides. Note the Dominator as an example of research to create a vehicle that is storm proof. Reed says they tested the Dominator inside a storm, not beforehand, which drew laughter from the audience. Storm chases are producers, engineers, and researchers. During the season, Discovery Channel Storm Chasers produce livestream videos, as the image above shows. Check this Storm Chaser link to bookmark your storm watch in real time. Instruments in the Dominator measures and tracks storms horizontally and vertically. You can find Storm Chaser videos here.

For a window into Reed's world, watch this CNN interview.

Guessing that to be a storm chaser at Reed's level of involvement requires some adrenalin issues. I was fearful just watching videos; can you imagine being Reed.

The EF5 tornado: April 27, 2011 Tornado Outbreak in Mississippi and Alabama that Reed showed during his keynote.

According to Reed, one of the worst tornado chases.

One of Reed's favorite places to storm chase is Canada; in Manitoba it stays light till 11 PM. Here's another shared video from the keynote. You won't believe the size of the hail; the English accents are interesting. Several beeps too.

You know you are engaged in a great keynote when you are totally disappointed when it ends. Thank you, Reed, for a wonderful presentation and a robust and enlightening Q&A session at the conclusion of the keynote. In response to why PA has so much "weather" is the Gulf of Mexico doesn't clean out from warm air and horizontal and vertical vortices combine to create more violent weather recently in our state. Generous and so informing.

Related articles

Discovery Channel Storm Chasers Series Features Live Streaming on iMap Interactive Map (prweb.com)
Discovery Channel Covers Recent Tornado Outbreak in 'Storm Chasers' Programming Exclusive (dishtvblog.com)
Storm chasers display vehicles at Norman high schools (newsok.com)
Discovery Education Theme Pages of Discovery Talent (discoveryeducation.com)
22nd Century Skills: BD2 at DEN PreCon @PETE&C 2012 (discoveryeducation.com)

Bridging Media and Digital Literacy with Brad Fountain

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Stangherlin) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 15:23:00 +0000

Let's begin with Brad's presentation; I just love when a presenter shares ahead of time. Wonderful. Thank you so much, Brad.

Bridging literacy and digital media

View more PowerPoint from bradfountain

[caption id="attachment_23168" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="Brad Fountain: Director of Instructional Implementation"][/caption]

Brad Fountain came on board shortly after Lance Rougeux joined the Discovery team. Head hunted by Hall Davidson, Brad is a seasoned presenter who specializes in brain research and administrative support, helping them learn how to function with media. His wife, a teacher, grounds him because Brad says it's too easy to lose that classroom connection.Brad credits Hall with his being a part of Team Discovery and he is passionate about his work.

Promoting literacy in the classroom is no longer JUST part of the reading lesson. The importance of developing the literate learner falls on all educators and is taught during all lessons. Discovery Education has a plethora of digital resources that educators can utilize to develop literacy skills with reading strategies many educators use daily.

Shifts in literacy today include command of evidence from texts, higher leveIs of accuracy, and authentic texts and vocabulary. f you want to know more about science-related topics, you can follow Brad on his Discovery blog.

: Spoken, written, and oral literacy.

It's not about what the software does; it's what the user does. Just putting a computer in a room isn't the answer; it's what you do with it. In building a framework, Discovery compiles digital texts and offers content with engaging media that addresses a number of states' core standards with cross-curricular multimedia affordances. Interactive, collaborative, and pushing early into the 22nd century.

Scaffolding a reading activity from Discovery Science, Brad pulled out sentences to share. We were tasked to select 5 of the 10 sentences to find main ideas. Highlighting the critical sentences, we realized we were deciphering and summarizing. Anticipation charts, hard copy or digital, are a great way to make predictions about what you can expect. Often overlooked as a reading apprenticeship skill, anticipation can be a good exit ticket for the end of a class, although not a closing unit ender.

[caption id="attachment_23191" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Filter by Important versus Interesting"][/caption]

A GIST (Generating Interaction between Schemata and Text) is a great summarizing tool. I like this activity, because as a former English teacher, I know how hard it is to get students to pare language and concepts into meaningful succinct expression. The idea is to summarize in the large upper box, then move to the left vertical, then to the smaller upper right and ultimately to the lower right box. Each box shrinks text. Cool idea for any grade level, and excellent for collaboration.

A Compare and Contrast Venn diagram is a good tool to use as students watch a short Discoverystreaming video. If you are watching a Civil War history segment, the diagram is ideal as a viewing activity (see Slide 21). I would caution that all of these tools are good gentle insertions into a PBL unit as openers, midway, and exit strategies, good pulse checkers on recognition of comprehension, but not stand alones within a unit.

Brad likes Exit Tickets (see Slides 22-23). I like RAFT. If students cannot identify what they learned that has a real world application, then either you need to revisit your planning to be certain you have a life learning teachable moment, or somewhere identify what the students missed. RAFT is a solid comprehension checker. If a student can answer all the components, you can infer that students have a fine comprehension of content, and since PA still subscribes to state testing, these tools are valuable in working toward meeting annual yearly goals. These strategies, added to Discovery assets, makes teaching, not teaching to the tests, a viable goal.

Think-Pair-Share is a good collaborative effort where students learn the intricacies of teamwork while still maintaining the integrity of their own voice. We have looked at written and auditory texts, but Discoverystreaming has the largest library of digital videos, and using them as the basis for marrying media with digital literacy builds a fine bridge. Using editable clips from Discoverystreaming, inserting it into iMovie (Mac), you can click on the record icon and become interactive with the video. If using a PC, use MovieMaker. Video pulls students into the learning process, given guidelines, a rubric, but some freedom of expression.

Brad's final concept is Scan, which works on a mobile device. Dansl will work on a PC if your computer does not have a camera (Macs do). Other QR code generators include goo.gl, bit.ly, and kaywa. Bit.ly lets you tie multiple QR codes to a link.

A wonderful presentation, and many thanks to Brad for an amazing presentation.

Creating an Integrated STEM Curriculum with Patti Duncan

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Stangherlin) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 15:18:00 +0000

[caption id="attachment_23146" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="The STEM Diva: Patti Duncan"][/caption]

STEM is a mindset, a way of thinking, and Patti Duncan says there are a lot of misconceptions of what STEM really is. STEM requires kids to think, be independent workers who can also collaborate, but skill sets are important and need to be learned in a relevant way. That way to integration within the STEM movement.

It's not walking from one place to another, and because schools are compartmentalized, that's how students see learning: disconnected. Learning is an assembly line within a class, making it difficult to apply their learning to real world situations. If students only engage in repeated problems, they learn no life skills. Memorizing a pattern does not mean that a students understands the content. Rote is not learning.

Because teachers tend to keeps their spaces "theirs," students will relate different rules from different classes but they cannot see the whole big picture, so teachers are often pitted against each other. Concept and reasons for rules need explanation and cannot exist in a vacuum. Content must exist in a different integrated environment. And the best way to integrate learning experiences is through Project-Based Learning.

[caption id="attachment_23152" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Siemens STEM Institute"][/caption]

Real-life classroom experiences teach students respectful working with others while still maintaining your own individual voice. Time management, time on task, and assuming responsibility occurs when teachers explain how to scope out a sequence of skills for PBL and CBL. Often the first learning experience is failure when we do not model learning expectations and teach real-life skills. Teachers can embrace Project-Based Learning is a vehicle for engaging students as creators and collaborators with teachers as facilitators and students owning their learning experiences in a collaborative environment. To explore PBL, watch this short video.

[caption id="attachment_23157" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Jennifer Dorman's PBL Wikis Page"][/caption]

Patti notes that sharing is the most important part of PBL but it is often overlooked. Sharing can take many forms, but if students were tasked with answering an overarching essential question, then their project is the answer, coupled with their sharing. National standards for CORE content for science are not rote, and assessments attached to core concepts are project driven. You can find Patti's Top Ten Tools for STEM here. Jennifer Dormen's PBL pre-and-post webinar resources can be found here. Dorman's additional resources can be found on Grazing for Digital Natives.

The best practice for PBL is taking whatever resources you find and making it your own. A good source is Sedl, because resources for emerging learners of the English language can be accommodated because this site places Spanish side-by-side to English. Edzone is a great site because it integrates multiple disciplines. MSTeacher gears PBL to middle school learners. A list of resources with links make this site great for teachers, especially those who want to connect math to science. Neat site!

[caption id="attachment_23163" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Lodge McCammon YouTube"][/caption]

Collierschools is a great site but Patti said we must be fair to the students and not make them guinea pigs for what we want to try. We need intelligent design that involves students as creators and sharers as they learn and collaborate. Patti concluded that as a teacher she has talked to many science teachers, but she thinks she should shift her audience to math teachers because kids can't make connections to the real world. Do kids see geometry everywhere in the real world? Probably not. This subject area really needs to focus on making math real to students, and it isn't that difficult to do. Science, technology, mathematics, and engineering are interconnected, but math is at the center of all courses. Easy way to get math on board: Dr. Lodge McCammon. For a delightful entry to the world of PSV (Paper Slide Videos) with math and music, check his channel.

To see an exhaustive list of Patti's resources check: tinyurl.com/duncanstemresources (but give this link to the end of the day). Bravo, Patti. Great job!

The Collective Brain (AKA Things I've Learned from 5000 Teachers): Lance Rougeux

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Stangherlin) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 15:15:00 +0000

Lance began with e.ggtimer.com for the classic times for classroom use. Yasiv lets you enter a book and you get a visualization of related books. The visual organizer is animated and a very useful tool, despite grade level. Copyright and Creative Commons, explained by the folks of Common Craft. For simple explanations in Plain English, you want to subscribe to Lee LeFever's channel on YouTube. This site is a great way to introduce any tech concept and Common Craft has a large video library so it bears visiting.

Check this video:

[caption id="attachment_23131" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="Porter Palmer & Lance Rougeux"][/caption]

Agoogleaday is the perfect challenge for informational literacy skills. This site lets you share a geographical location by description, images that lead you to a site, given clues. Cool tool. Screenr is simple, elegant, and free. It lets you show students a quick tutorial by adding information into a box. Textthemob is a quick survey for a phone; its title belies what it is, but texting a response couldn't be easier.

A(ct), E(motion) I(interest),O(H)! Um! Live information explained non-verbally digitally, think Discoverystreaming Plus videos. Lance showed us a segment from the Discovery Science Techbook, which DEN STARS now have for a full year preview. From Rita Mortensen's class, we viewed a movie trailer her students made with Macs using a movie trailer template in iMovie. Simple project after viewing and discussing a Discoverystreaming video. Their How To series invites students to explain a silent video after viewing, since you've muted the sound. Very useful summative reflection and puts the onus on students presenting.

DEN Summer Institute this year is in Bozeman, Montana. Spots exist for new DEN STARS, so if you haven't yet applied, do so soon. Quick commercial complete.

Paper slide videos from Dr. Lodge McCammon is a back-to-basics collaborative effort for storyboarding and creating. There's no editing involved; if you make a mistake in filming, you re-film. For instructions, you can visit this blog post as well. Paper slide videos let students take ownership instantly. Take the video challenge with your students and you could win a visit from Lodge McCammon, along with prizes.

Yet another clever idea is to go to Discovery images and zoom in to show a different view to ask students to identify. It's a good way to review yesterday's lesson, especially if you are working in a block schedule with alternating days on a 6-day schedule.

In the Teacher Center, you can push out content from within Discovery. Go to My Builder and use the Writing Prompt. You can add images, links, videos from within Discovery's content. How very unique to have students write from non-verbal prompts. Lance mentioned that math teachers use this concept very successfully. Superlame is really simple; it lets you upload an image and a short text. Think of this as a story starter, and you could upload it into the Writing Prompt. Toondoo lets you import Discovery images to create a clever comic strip.

PhotoPeach lets you import images but you can embed quiz questions into your creation. Simply intuitive, this is a cool tool for any age level. Lance noted that using Discovery sounds is a great way to enhance visualization. Have students close their eyes to visualize, then use whole-group discussion. Go into Sound Waves and assign with a refined list for your grade level. You can do this by sending information to the Student Center.

Lance's ending: Is our brain full yet?

Matt Strine, Director of Instruictional Technology from Propel Schools in Braddock Hills, PA is sharing links and information here: http://ow.ly/1G7XuY

22nd Century Skills: BD2 at DEN PreCon @PETE&C 2012

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Stangherlin) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 15:09:00 +0000

BD2…That’s (Max) Brooks, (Steve) Dembo and (Hall) Davidson, (Steve) Dembo open the DEN PreCon at PETE&C on 2-12-12 exploring 22nd Century Skills. Special thanks to Max Brooks, organizer of the DEN PreCon 2012 for all his efforts in bringing us the best of PETE&C before it begins. What skills will students need?

Max opened the day by welcoming veteran and new participants, showed a video, told us Reed Timmer would be our PM surprise, and reminded us that Discovery Education and teachers have a student-centric mission to ready our students for the 22nd century. According to Lance, Necessary to implement a 22nd century vision: blow up the old models and introduce a new model. That new model's new interface is not just a copy/paste from a hard copy text to an etext. Porter asserts that what is needed is a re-definition of digital texts. Discovery was the first, and it is still the best instructional resource. Very proud, we are, of the Discovery Science Techbook, and today you will have a chance to see it at the ground level. All DEN STARS/GURUS will have free access to the Science Techbook for a year. Check the DEN Global blog (or the PA DEN blog or the Pennsylvania Den page on Facebook for more information).

Hall's set piece was a humorous but ahead-of-its-time view into what reconnecting students to etexts looks like by showing us STUDENT-CONTRIBUTED work. When students interact with the text, digital books change when Discovery enables student collaboration. WHAT IF all etexts looked like Discovery Education texts? My answer: it would be a much better world for student and teacher learning and teaching together, interactively with texts--and let's add globally.

Hall showed us working models of the power of interactivity, and that is what Discovery is doing really well. The next step: Virtual Eternity. VE lets you, the teacher, enter the text collaboratively, adding your intelligence to the text, interacting with the environment. In Hall's session, he will discuss how to make an iPad a tri-corder by adding a microphone with a grommet, making the iPad highly interactive. (If you have never experienced the wonder of Hall and his mashups, be sure to check the blog post later today or tomorrow about his session). Hall asks: what happens when all the interactives coalesce. The answer is a student-configured etext that continues to reconfigure as learners and teachers add their intellects and creations to the text. I love it (makes me wish I were back in the classroom). Ebooks like Discovery's will be 5 times smarter than other books and texts, and it can only get better as we are free from restraints that held us back (schedules, busses, ... and add your own).

Steve opened with asking us when will cars fly, and he had the answer: 2379. You can find tech information about the future at the NYT Science site, Predicting the Future of Computing. Play in the 22nd century enables you to construct with a purpose interactively in real time; align schema with collaboration for learning with a purpose. Interestingly, purpose keeps changing, enabled with technology. Think cubelets = modular robotics which let young children program before they can even read using deliberately designed schema. Sifteo cubes are similar but sense each other in digital space.

Check out this TED Talk (below) from 2009 to see how play is evolving children's skills.

Porter says that in the future world, children will go beyond simulation to real-world applications. For example: sell the same item in a classroom on eBay to see which student gets the sale. Neat real-world application.

Steve's next site: Kickstart. Clever way to get students involved in real-world creation. Check out The First Ever Pinnacle Middle School Yearbook. These students inside Kickstart fund raised to produced their yearbook, and depending on your level of donation, you received a thank you gift.

Yet another site from Steve: Klout. This site values and promotes your influence based on quality, not quantity. It reverses the 15 minutes of fame to 15 friends of influence. Taking it to a higher lever, Scholar Match matches students with donors based on students' profile, online influence. Donors Choose is a Discovery-based site and asks teachers to write a small grant to fund a classroom project.

Palmer's quote from Arthur Schopenhaur: All truth passes through three stages. First it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.

Back to Steve on health and fitness: for a body scale that applauds your weight loss. Health, like learning, is social. People who share simply do better with collaborative social accountability. "I do this too" makes you feel just a bit better about what you are doing: think grading...

We no longer want to buy a magazine; we want it to come to us via devices like Chumby, FeedAir, and RFID. (Please check links; this session was hard to stay with, but links will explain). Porter says technology xhould be like oxygen: ubiquitous. Steve said technology should be more seamless: Aurasma = QR codes without the code but the object itself. Learning is about making tangible connections and contributions. One hundred years ago, people in 1901 predicted global telephones and connected cameras (think EarthCam).

Final message: be aware and ask what does what is coming down the stream do for our students and classrooms. Great advice. Be the one who invents the classroom of the future.

Checking Your Social Pulse?

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Stangherlin) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:35:00 +0000

A favorite iPad app is now available on the iPhone, and it streamlines checking your social pulse. Flipboard harnesses the power of your social networks and puts them in your pocket. Designed for how you like to use your iPhone, this new app eliminates a plethora of other apps by consolidating them in one easy place. I love the way each page literally flips, creating a pocket-sized social magazine. In addition to a customizable news feed, Flipboard really harnesses the potential of your pocket computer.

Check this short but delightful video.

Then, start adding your favorite social networks and you'll have everything in one place. Really an interesting app, long overdue for iPhones.

Countdown to the DEN PreCon at PETE&C 2011

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Stangherlin) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:33:00 +0000

Can you feel the excitement?

The countdown to the Discovery Educator Network PreConference at PETE&C 2011 begins.

Can you feel it now?

A special thanks to Max Brooks, DEN Account Manager and PETE&C PreCon organizer, for the schedule of events.

You can download the PreCon schedule to your iPhone, Android, or Blackberry by visiting http://petec2012.sched.org. You can also store the PreCon data on your computer for offline reference. Nice job, Max!

Discovery Sites: U.S. Networks

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Stangherlin) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 04:02:00 +0000

Discovery sites encompass a series of programs within them. Animal Planet, for example, is home to nearly 30 established series, while OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network) houses fewer programs because the site is building capacity. The expansiveness of the U.S. sites explains why Discovery is a leader in the communications industry. For more information, check Discovery Sites: U.S. Networks (http://bit.ly/xSjIuc). Enjoy!

Discovery Channel TV Shows: Very Pinteresting

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Stangherlin) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 22:38:00 +0000

Channel surfing? Ever wonder who owns those shows you watch? The answer is Discovery. You will be amazed at how much of the television market is owned by Discovery Communications. If you find any I missed, feel free to add to the board: Discovery Channel: TV Shows. Very Pinteresting indeed!

Are You Pinteresting?

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Stangherlin) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:22:00 +0000

Top 10 among Social Networks

Call it an idea exchange, a virtual pinboard, or a scrapbook, Pinterest has reached the Top 10 in Social Networking sites in about a month. I received a beta invite and in under an hour had an amazing number of followers. What I like about it: ease of use. It's fast, fun, and utterly intuitive and highly social. If you are not pinteresting or using the Pin It bookmarklet, you are missing out on, well, frankly--a lot.

Pinterest "goodies" abound. The app is on Facebook and available for iPhones. Drag the bookmarklet to your browser's toolbar and you are a click away from adding to your boards. I like the functionality of the follow buttons for websites. The site also enables direct posts to blogs, so the tool, in my book, has everything I am looking for.

Best of all, Pinterest gives you the best of both worlds. You see images that when clicked lead to a website, but you can add descriptive text. In full url view of a board, you see both. Very cool tool.

Not that I think you'll need it, but just in case, here's a good tutorial from the folks at Pinterest. Enjoy!

Steve Dembo: "iThink iNeed iPads in the Classroom"

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Stangherlin) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 01:04:00 +0000

Teach 42

According to Steve Dembo:

Sure they're bright and shiny, but are they really learning devices? We'll take a close look at how exactly these technologies are being leveraged in the classroom and what the best Apps are for educational purposes. We'll also explore some creative ways that you can fund your own i-initiative!

Siemens STEM Academy: Register to join

Presented in partnership between Discovery Education and Siemens STEM Academy, this session has drawn a very global audience. Not at all surprised by the representation, or the numbers.

Before beginning, Steve reminded us that all STEM webinars are archived on the Siemens Stem website, as well as forthcoming webinars listed. Noting that iPads can become an addiction, Steve brought the question home, pondering his son's use of the iPad. But Steve said the iPod doesn't replace social time or play time, but rather zoning time. iPads let children control their environment via apps (a good 50 just for starters). There's always something new and it almost always educational and brain stimulating.

If you want iPads for the classroom, you can always write a grant for Donors Choose. iPads are also cost effective: 60 iPads can replace 20 laptops. You need to leverage your iPad use by writing about it and promote the grants that funded you as well. Most of the grant action repeats itself, so each year you have an opportunity to resubmit. Network with other schools/teachers who share what they are doing and ask them where they went. Learn from others.

Classrooms also share resources. Learn from these people; don't reinvent the wheel. The iPad is the perfect device for early childhood. It's easy and intuitive and children gravitate to it. And then it's just the right size--just right to frame your own face. And it's inherently social, more than tablets and laptops. Ease of use is phenomenal, but battery life--10 hours--makes it the best device for school use. No need to find a laptop cart or a charger for a 1:1 initiative. 10 hours makes it through a school day, even if you begin early. Students and teachers put iPads to good use; both love to show and tell educational apps.

Discovery made a huge investment in the iPad and created a mobile app for the entire site, and they made it iPad friendly by retooling the website. If you log on, you will notice that the site is touch friendly, clicks easily, and mimics the way an iPad is used in its interface. A recent change is the addition of Flash but H264 is the most recent way of streaming. A multitude of formats let you choose the way you want to stream, and it's perfect on the iPad. You can make quizzes and streamline them to your iPad. Apple doesn't let you download from video from the internet to the iPad, but you an do it in apps.

You can use the camera connection kit for $29.99 and you can plug in your devices. (I have it and love it). Or you can email your videos from Discovery to your iPad. You can use different apps to view videos. Save your video to your camera roll. If you email your video, click on Reply and one of your options is to view the video. Then you can go to iMovie to edit the movie, if that's what you want to do.

If you just want to watch the video, use the Road Show app. Road Show will check to see if there are any videos. When it finds the video, you can save it and view it. You can save multiple videos, but they are only available in Road Show; you can't do anything else with them.

Drawastickman.com is a great site that you can use to draw. To add creating to consuming, this website enables production. Now the Purple Crayon story comes to life. Pirate Scribble Beard and Kids Doodle are great apps that also enable interactive ownership of digital storytelling. Thousands of apps exist and at reasonable prices if not free. Comic Lite has a Keynote/Pages format, but the accessibility of control is astonishing. You can add images to your photo roll and then import the images to the app.

One of Steve's favorite apps is ePub, which lets students download books but also create ePubs. Many other programs do the same thing, but this site lets students add multimedia to their iBooks. Very compelling. Hyperlinks, audio files, videos can be embedded in the ePub, and that really gives ultimate control to book building. Creative Book Builder lets you build a book on the fly with sights, sounds, videos...to your book. But you have to get your videos into your camera roll so you can pull them into your books. As for copyright, share with people who have the rights to access Streaming, cite your sources. Same rules apply as always.

Posterous.com allows you to share via emails. The emails an post as a blog entry, creating a digital portfolio as you go along. You don't have to worry about Dropbox or file formats; just send it as an email and create your own digital portfolio.

iFontMaker teaches the alphabet but lets you take your alphabet tracings and create a font that uploads to a website where you can choose to create in your own font. How awesome to add that to your digital book--your personal project in your won font.

Steve said that without a doubt, the iPad is the best book reader of all, and I have to agree. Also interesting is that certain things exist that could not exist without a touch format, both for audio and visual effects. The iPad adds a new dimension to the notion of art with value-added music. Things that did not exist before are kids' creations today. Think Singing Fingers. iEar app is awesome. Appolicious and http://www.apple.com/education/apps are sites Steve recommends.

From Banned to Planned ~ Hall Davidson's Teaching Them Spectacularly with Mobile Phones @ DEN Pre-ISTE 2011

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Stangherlin) — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 20:36:00 +0000

Cutting edge mobile tech: it's in your pockets

Director of Global Learning Initiatives for Discovery Education, Hall Davidson saw the future ahead of the paradigm shift, and he continues to define Discovery's cutting edge by teaching students with what's in their pockets. From banned to planned, this session builds challenging student projects that tap into mobile tools using texting, image, and camera options on smart phones and even plain old ones. Let's take a peek ahead at magical free QR tools and some dazzling apps--all Davidson and DEN trademarks.

Hall graciously shared his resources at the Discovery Education Resource Bureau. Click here for all of Hall's resources, including today's presentation.Click here for a list of resources for the day, aggregated on Symbaloo by Cynthia Brown. Hall's PowerPoint presentation:

Hall Davidson: DEN ISTE PreCon 2011 "It's in Their Pockets: Teaching Them Spectacularly with Mobile Phones"

View more presentations from changingconnections

Hall prepping presentation devices

I arrived early to see Hall taping a 45 power microscope ($4 at Amazon--11 new and waiting for you) that turns your cell phone into a microscope. Hands on mobile: something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue--a DEN birthday party and this session is all about phones out and on. Hall predicts that in the next 3 years, high schools across America will be using cell phones in the classroom. Beginning with PollEverywhere, Hall selected a free text poll seamlessly in 3 seconds. We responded by texting our 3 favorite words to describe the DEN. Phones out and armed, we responded. You can use the internet, but cell phones make it faster, more fun in real time. You can choose a multiple choice question that displays a bar graph that moves in real time. And you don't have to be in the same room to use PollEverywhere.

Small but mighty speakers ($10)

If you take it to the next level, on a PC, use CamStudio to video capture (use QuickTime on a MAC) your poll. You could chromakey your students in front of their responses. Uses: unlimited. Think of creating a series of short polls for review; make a video, send it to your Moodle or Symbaloo account, or your website as a review device for a summative assessment. Next step: look at the response history. The text can be copied, put into Word, edited for the date, time and end up with just words. Make a Wordle. Yet another review device. Then chromakey and put someone in front of the Wordle. Fascinating engagement. Use in a health class: text healthy eating and see student responses and create your learning lesson building on the poll.

Word lens apps for iPhones and Droids abound because that's where the market has landed.

if you want to translate text on a mobile phone, download the Word Lens app, hold the app up to the text and it translates the text automatically. "Screamingly cool." App is free but the language patch is $9. Just forewarning. The text must be clear and steady and big to work, but think travel uses. Real time translation voice. The Android app is Android Translation; you speak in English and it is translated into _____ (language of choice). Think travel and bartering in the markets or world language classes. This app is not free but mind blowing, according to Hall.

Why do we want to start using mobile apps with our students at all levels. The explosion of bigger, better, stronger doubles monthly, so we need to try to use them in the classroom (or honestly, we won't be prepared). LeafSnap, your electronic field guide, is a great app; switch from your computer to your iPad (newest computer/camera?) and connect it to your projector. Using LeafSnap, you take a picture of a leaf and the app displays the identification of the tree/plant...and it works (but light is a factor in the process).

Think science class. Your 9th grade leaf collection just got so much easier. Can you imaging how this takes 9th grade science class leaf collections to a totally different (digital) place using your mobile phones. And this leads to something else. Tour Wrist lets you view where you are; the location at which you are. Before you entered SLA, you could have viewed the school and surrounding environs in Tour Wrist. The way you do this is with a panoramic camera, so if you have one, you can create your own tour. Applause!!!

WikiOffline is a pricy app but it is one of Hall's favorite. It works quickly and the links work. Hall loves it because when you are on planes, you can use it. He warns you that you do get updates, but the process takes a long time. The app ranges around $20, but lifetime updates.

Mobile QR Codes (Quick Response) is like a marker that sends your phone to a text, video or information site. You make, test, and use the code--in minutes. On your mobile device, search QR Reader and use Genius Scan. Use your camera on your iPad and place it over an online site and it creates the QR code. Or you can create your own code. Go to mobile.discovery education.com, intended to be used by a mobile device. Select your item of choice. Copy the url. KAYWA is the code generator of choice; add the link to create the code. Use Scan to go back to code to get to url you created the QR code for. Project Tomorrow (Speak Up) creates the demographic for shy students want to continue learning in college the way they learned in high school (with technology). What if the same QR code could go to a different video every day? Go to The Dynamic Davidson QR code and it will give you a dynamic link. Go to googol and shorten the url. If you go to details, it gives you QR code immediately.

Too real world? Hall showed us a video of a person who had a QR code on his arm. QR code can be linked to Twitter and tell a story (200 pages, each coded) and can only be viewed on a phone with renewable weekly QR story code. The "book" takes tweets with love in them and begins the story.

A cell phone is learning 24/7 anywhere. It's a cell phone adventure. You can create a message for your students that they can pause as they work through the learning adventure. A different form of geocaching without the expensive equipment? I really like this one. You can record it ahead of time and create sound effects.

For under $5, you can turn your cell phone into a microscope. If you have a YouTube account, if you go to account, you can get your mobile upload. Mobile setup gives you an address. Make a mobile video and send it to your mobile address. In under 2 minutes, you have a video with a challenge for your students. Prompt: the world will end in 2 minutes; what will you grab to save and why? Make the movie and mobile upload. Classroom uses: magically unlimited. You can also directly upload to your flickr account.

Merging Literature, Discovery Education STREAMING: Howard Gunther & Robin Medtaj @ DEN Pre-ISTE 2011

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Stangherlin) — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 23:55:00 +0000

Join Gunther on a DEN Pre-ISTE adventure

Howard Gunther, CT DEN Leadership Council Events Coordinator, delivered a multi-layered and exciting approach to an often overlooked area at conferences: language arts and humanities, aka English and Literature. This session is exactly what I have been looking for as we move as a district into block scheduling next year. This session's adventure promised to teach you

how to integrate Discovery Education Streaming media, Google Earth (to building a Google Lit Trip, embed images, video and fly overs), VoiceThread, podcasting, and Edmodo to promote meaningful communication about literature between students and teachers...by examining the tools and sharing implementation strategies while focusing on curriculum integration.

Howard Gunther, CT Professional Development

And it did. I have sat in many Google Lit tours over the years, but they just flew too fast for me. Howard's presentation was slow enough to absorb. A veteran presenter, Howard surveyed his audience and knew many of his viewers were new to the process he was describing. We all benefited from the kinder pacing of this presentation. Thank you so much, Howard.

New tools for interacting with students about literature are both welcome and necessary in the classroom. Howard Gunther is a technology integrator and professional development planner serving 26 school districts in CT. He has been a DEN STAR for the last 5 years and he states he "loves the DEN." October 23, 2011 is a Discovery weekend of instruction Saturday, golfing and/or wine tour Sunday, and their National Conference Monday. Stay tuned to the Connecticut LC Blog.

Howard began with The Lightning Thief, a perfect text, as he began merging literature with web 2.0.

Image from techcrunch

He merges it by beginning with a Google Earth Field Trip to Newport to study architecture, integrating social studies and art history disciplines with on-site hands-on field experience to study Greek architecture and gather multimedia data collection. Returning to the classroom, Howard's teachers segue to Discovery Education selected videos. Then they used Edmodo for sharing project design and integrated aspects of the Web 2.0 process of building a robust GE Lit Trip.

Image from http://doane21st.wikispaces.com/Web+2.0+Tools

This project also embeds podcasts, VoiceThreads and a number of other web 2.0 tools. I am a huge fan of VoiceThread and have used it with great success with PBL; we asked our students to record in 3 languages and engage their parents in comments as well. Brings the entire community easily into the learning and teaching process. Howard says that this collaborative interdisciplinary project was a paradigm shift to teaching to any standards/content with a rational, pedagogical justification for student engagement. Initially, this project experienced some difficulty with the IT, since the educational version of many of these tools did not exist. Still, without the .edu versions, they were able to participate (after making a case for it during several conversations) with wonderful success. Sites were unblocked because the uses were legitimate and promoted authentic learning.

The project continued with Discoverystreaming, using vetted videos saved to Discovery Builders and then uploaded (final projects) to media share. From DEN STAR Lee Kolbert's Palm Beach Cafe on using DiscoveryStreaming comes this wonderful instructional video.

Students had individual access, and project leaders incorporated writing prompts and podcasting. Instead of creating student podcasts, students recorded celebrity podcasts of their chapters. As they proceeded with the program, the celebrity podcasts were used to identify the speaker/reader. Music, art, and social studies married to literature produced an amazing result, as we heard in a snipped of one celebrity caster, aka a teacher.

Edmodo was incorporated into the learning design; Howard said they liked it because it has the look and feel of Facebook. Edmodo has an iPhone, iTouch, iPad, and Droid app, so it is ubiquitous and easily used in any device. Next year, students will experience an open campus with students enabled to bring their favorite device to school to learn. For students who cannot afford a device, the districts will provide eBooks, opening up a 1:1 initiative networked throghout the system. Grades can be exported to Excel and then uploaded to their grading system. In spite of, or perhaps because of budget cuts to education, districts throughout many states are embracing an advancement of use of student devices to offset district expenditures.

kti2009.wikispaces.com

Glogster, an electronic poster board (use .edu version--free) Anything, pdf, Word, graphic, text, video, images--anything--can be added to the board. For some schools in CT, Glogster becomes a student's portfolio, carrying a student's work throughout his/her academic years.

A favorite tool of teachers and students, VoiceThread enables collaboration using a varied menu of comment options: type, record,video,telephone (like gCast when it was free), maps, cartoons--you get the idea--lots of versatility here. When I used VT in 11th grade, our students responded in 3 languages, engaged their parents as well as other classes. This tool has marvelous flexibility and unlimited possibilities for all grade levels and subjects.

http://mwedwardstechnology.blogspot.com/2011/03/from-lit-trips-to-wordle.html

Word clouds--Wordle, Tagxedo, and other cloud devices to aggregate content. Word clouds are excellent ways for students to find main ideas in a text. Think about: copy/pasting students' writing assignments to Wordle to provide a visual on redundancy. Wordle each revision to track improvement. Use for vocabulary improvement as well on your projects. Tagxedo presents a greater learning curve because you create an image filled with text. You can google an image and use that as well; lighter images with less fill and more outline work better in Tagxedo.

In the educational use of Animoto, you can extend your 30 second free version by googling Animoto in Education for a code which will extend videos past 30 seconds. The code is free, but you must apply. You can add your own images, short video snippets, and your own music. Or you can work from their image/sound bank. Like the tools mentioned in this presentation, this tool gives you embeddable code. If there is a go-to tool that my students LOVE, it's Animoto. Here's a quick tutorial, although this tool is so intuitive, your students will likely just jump on and do it.

Google Lit Trips are the jewel in the crown of web 2.0 tools. Google lit trips to see an aggregate of existing trips you might use in an educational setting, based on grade and subject level. You can also add your own. If you are working on a text that takes the reader through a variety of locations, Google Earth is an excellent vehicle for creating a lit trip (not to be confused with a field trip which is less robust endeavor). From flyovers to embedding Discoverystreaming, Discovery Builders, or Discovery Writing Prompts, a Google Lit Trip is an expansive and robust tool for your students.

When asked at the end of the session, Howard said that each tech integration piece had a separate rubric, and students were given a project design at the beginning so they would have a scope and sequence for this larger project. The endgame is the Google Lit Trip, where all the web 2.0 components are housed and live as a resource for this humanities project. You can find Howard's resources on his wiki at http://my-tech-wiki.wikispaces.com/. You can contact Howard at hgunther@aces.org.

DEN ISTE Resources

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Stangherlin) — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 12:18:00 +0000

DEN ISTE Resources from Cynthia Brown linked in Patti Ruffing's post, Create Your PLE With SymbalooEDU.

Resources from DEN's Birthday Bash: Great Tool but no embeddable code yet.

Be sure to check Dean Mantz's Cover It Live for more resources from the DEN.

<p>&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=304cb7d924" &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Discovery Education PreCon ISTE 2011&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;</p>

Happy Sixth Birthday, DEN!

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Stangherlin) — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 04:28:00 +0000

The Many Faces of the DEN Community: June 25, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (RJ Stangherlin) — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 03:47:00 +0000