From the site:

Digital Nation is a multi-platform project that includes an interactive Web site and a one-hour FRONTLINE documentary to air Winter 2010. The project aims to capture life on the digital frontier and explore how the Web and digital media are changing the way we think, work, learn and interact.

Over the course of ten months, FRONTLINE’s Digital Nation Web site will feature video reports from the production team, regular blog updates from the field, live online forums with a variety of digital mavens, and other interactive tools for users to share and connect around. Topics will rotate regularly and may focus on education and technology, human development, online privacy, virtual worlds and online games, technology in the military, digital media in the workplace and more.

In addition, visitors to the Digital Nation Web site may contribute to a mosaic of user-generated content titled Your Digital Nation.

This is a site to check on regularly!

Cross posted from: A&S Reflections

However, I also rated high on the feeler scale, which made me feel a little better. Some words from this ‘communication character’ were: patience, perceptive, understanding, respectful, accepting, people oriented…

I do see myself with the sensor qualities, but also felt that single description did not factor in my ‘feeling’ qualities. Therefore, I’ll be referring to myself as a sensor/feeler:) The other two styles were intuitor and thinker, and I also had some of those characteristics. Of course, those rated lower for me and that is an important thing to understand about myself.

The reason for completing the communication styles inventory was to determine my communication style for the purpose of later using the information to build teams for coursework activities. As a sensor/feeler, I’ll need to pay attention to the characteristics of the other two styles: intuitor and thinker and be sure I’m incorporating those characteristics into my work. Also it seems I’m looking for some thinkers (avoids emotionalism and speculation, can be overly cautious or conservative, even rigid ) and intuitors (excel in imaginative tasks, see the value of continuous probing and re-examination ) to be in my group. Although I know combining these other communication styles to my style might mean that it will be more challenging and maybe take longer to get things done, I bet they’ll be deeper in content and contain more vision than I could on my own. I guess that equals a collaborative team!

Mark your calendars! The K12 Online Conference will begin the week of November 30, 2009 with a pre-conference keynote. The following two weeks, December 7-11 and December 14-17, forty presentations will be posted online to the conference blog for participants to download and view.

From the site:

As we get prepared for the summer (Northen Hemisphere), we  are ready to announce our conference theme and strands for 2009.  This year our conference theme is “Bridging the Divide”  and our four strands will be  Getting Started, Week in the Classroom, Kicking It Up a Notch, and Leading the Change.  This year we are also looking at including presentations in Spanish and those produced by students– More information will be shared about this soon.  Look for regular updates here on the K-12 Online Conference blog! As conveners we are now meeting weekly to work on plans for the 2009 conference.  We will be releasing the 2009 conference  call for presentations to coincide with NECC 2009.  On behalf of the K12OnlineConference 2009 team, thanks for stopping by!

If you have a few minutes free this summer, check out some of the archived material from 2006, 2007, and/or 2008. I found David Warlick’s keynote from 2006 to be very motivating!

Starting this summer, I’m adding a destination on my flight plan to the future. I am enrolled in the Johns Hopkins/ISTE program for a certificate in School Administration and Supervision. It’s completely online and an accelerated program. For these reasons, combined with the workload, I’m super nervous about managing my time for the next year or so.

Some of my reasons for choosing this program are (not necessarily in this order):

• It’s all online.
• It includes participants from around the country/world.
• It’s technology use/application focus.
• The administrative certification.
• The opportunity to learn more!

For the program, we are asked to maintain a reflective blog which I have set up on Blogger, called A&S Reflections. From time to time, I’ll cross post items from there to this location. If you’re interested in following along, feel free to visit either site!

I’m home for the summer! This is the first year that I managed to keep my first week off from school completely unscheduled. It’s also the earliest that the kids stopped attending day care for the summer. We’ve enjoyed our first week together and as usual, I have a renewed appreciation for all the stay at home moms! What a job they do!

Some of my observations from our week together:

• Stay at home moms do tons of dishes!
• Kids like to eat ALL the time.
• Siblings fight. (I was an only child.)
• It’s good to get out of the house at least once a day.
• Board games are fun again.
• The local library has a lot of great summer programs.

I have a lot of work to do this summer and during the rest of June, we won’t have as much time together because of that. However, come July, we’ll be back together again - every day! For better or worse:) I welcome any and all tips from stay at home moms for making the most of our summer together.

Flickr photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/78428166@N00/3600492937/

Be heard and take part in advancing education across our nation at The Cyber Summit on 21st Century Skills, June 1-12, 2009.

Raise your voice and help advance education across our nation. The Cyber Summit on 21st Century Skills is an important, nation-wide online event where educators, administrators, business people, policy makers and parents—anyone who desires to have a voice in the future of education in our country—can learn and be heard as we work together to advance the 21st Century Skills Movement.

• Engage in a nation-wide discussion to formulate recommendations for education practices and policies
• Lend your voice to help forward the 21st Century Skills Movement
• PARTICIPATE FOR FREE in a unique nation-wide, online event

We look forward to your being an integral part of this crucial national conversation.

This online event is being held in conjunction with the National Summit on 21st Century Skills in Washington, D.C. on June 12.

Pre-register here.

This site has a fair amount of useful images for student projects. One issue I’ve stumbled on though is that some keywords don’t turn up many results. As I’ve begun to move students away from choosing concrete, exact images for projects towards locating images that strike an emotion with the audience…

…I realize that I need some help! If you’re anything like me, you have TONS of digital images that students would be able to use.

If you have a minute this week, browse through your photo albums and upload an image or two to Pics4Learning. Be sure to add as many descriptive tags as you can, including any feeling words.

I thank you and the students will too!

APRIL 23, 2009 ~ 11:00am-7:00pm EST

PARTICIPATE WITH YOUR COLLEAGUES FROM THE CONVENIENCE OF YOUR OFFICE!

The award-winning producers of FETC and T.H.E. Journal invite you to participate in a FREE virtual conference for K-12 educators and technology staff exploring the most pressing issues related to 21st Century Skills.

What you can expect:

• The latest developments in 21st century skills
• Engaging speakers sharing their expertise in an interactive and efficient way
• A dynamic exchange of best practices and tips for success
• A virtual networking lounge to expand your network of K-12 educators and technology experts
• Access to other participants through instant messaging
• Free content downloads and presentations to go
• Technology product and service demonstrations.
• Q&As with technology experts

Registration is required, register here.

From the DEN Blog:

Spring Into Action with the DEN and join thousands of educators who are passionate about integrating media into their instruction and collaborating with each other to improve student achievement. During this unique (and free) professional development event you have the flexibility to attend online or in-person at one of many regional events hosted by the DEN Leadership Councils.

The day will feature a special presentation from Chris Lehmann, Principal of the Science Leadership Academy in the School District of Philadelphia.  Entitled Building School 2.0, Lehmann’s presentation will examine ideas of constructivist pedagogy and the use of 21st century tools to create schools that are engaging, caring and relevant places of learning for everyone involved.

In addition, you will have the opportunity to learn alongside the DEN team through presentations from Hardin Daniel, Brad Fountain, Matt Monjan and Lance Rougeux.  The day will also include two special presentations featuring projects, ideas and tips from STAR Discovery Educators.

Register here. Become a Discovery Educator!

The 2008 themes were:

When PA students were asked how satisfied they are with technology use at their school…Not very was the response.

When asked what major obstacles (besides time) PA students face using technology at their school, the top responses were:

• School filters and firewalls block websites I need.
• Teachers limit our technology use
• Too many rules (Can’t use personal devices, cannot access personal communication tools, rules limit use of school’s technology)

How could schools make it easier for PA students to work electronically?

• Top response from students was ‘Let me use my own laptop, cell phone or mobile device.’ (69%)

Is your school doing a good job preparing students for the jobs of the 21st century?

• PA Teachers - 44% yes
• PA Parents - 27% yes
• PA High School Students - 35% yes

What do students say is the #1 tech tool or service that will impact their learning?

• Students in K-12th grade say the same thing every year: ‘Give me a laptop for my personal use at school and at home.’

These courses are interesting to me because they don’t follow the regular format for graduate courses that I’m used to. The seven days are broken up into two 3 day sessions over the summer and then a one day follow up session in the fall. This gives participants a chance to utilize what they learn and apply it in the classroom. The final meetup is a chance to reflect on the implementation of the project and learn that others have done.

From the flier…”These courses provide hands-on exploration of learning technologies, and incorporate best practices for effective teaching and learning as part of technology integration. Because the clinics promote collaboration and information sharing among teams and individuals, the are an excellent way to build your professional network in learning technologies.”

The clinic titles are:

• Implementing Web 2.0 in the Classroom, Jim Gates
• Engaging with Learning Activities, Games and Simulations
• Instructional Design and Development, Cheryl Capozzoli
• Managing Technology Resources

Sign up for information and updates and registration details at EdTechClinics@HarrisburgU.net or call 717.901.5125. Cost for each course is $1660 and tuition reimbursement deferrals are available. Cost includes tuition, all materials, lunch, refreshments and parking!

Check it out!