About this time tomorrow, I’ll be flying up the Garden State Parkway on my way to TEDxNYED, an “all-day conference examining the role of new media and technology in shaping the future of education.” Organized by a group of passionate educational visionaries in New York City, this event is part of the international TEDx series, an offshoot of the inimitable TED conference (see also: TED’s wikipedia entry). The video below, from the TEDx Youtube channel, does a good job of capturing the vibe and essence of what we will experience on Saturday.

… or does it? While the event promises to be a celebration, these are not halcyon days for education in our country (anyone know a good antonym for “halcyon”?) Our educational system is “failing” (insert your favorite dismal statistic here), the collapse of the American family unit has been well documented, half of new teachers leave the profession after 5 years, and retiring baby boomers are expected to create a major teacher shortage by 2015. Oh, and the US economy is in the worst shape since the Great Depression, and a double-dip recession is now likely.

photo credit: lepiaf.geo

And yet, something drives us, those that have dedicated our daily lives to this profession, those committed to this conversation, those seeking social networks of like-minded learners to engage with, enriching, expanding and energizing our minds so we can continue to fight the good fight. For me, it’s the essence of the picture above. Speaks for itself. I’m just happy to be here in public education, able to make a contribution, to my school, my community, and hopefully, in some small way, to this conference.

David Logan, in the TED talk above, says:

The question on the table is this: what kind of an impact are the tribes that you are in making? Will your tribes change the world?

Heady stuff.

Fortunately, the heavy lifting is being done by a slate of educators and those passionate about education who will have 18 minutes each to share their visions and inspire us. The schedule says it all. Andy Carvin leads off. Our very own Chris Lehmann is batting cleanup. Between them, the likes of Michael Wesch, Henry Jenkins, Lawrence Lessig, Jay Rosen, George Siemens, Dan Meyer – those are just the people already on my intellectual radar screen. The others are completely new to me.

I wonder what it’s going to be like to listen to, converse with and walk among these folks? (Just had an amusing mental image of literally interpreting “standing on the shoulders of giants“. If we were meeting in Second Life, it would actually be possible!) But it’s not just about them. It’s about everyone in the room, including so many of my friends & colleagues who were lucky enough to also receive an invitation. Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach, Marianne Malmstrom, Dan Callahan, Kristen Swanson, Scott McLeod, Vinnie Vrotny, Jeff O’Hara, Alex Ragone, Sylvia Martinez, Alice Barr, AJ Kelton, Larry Dugan, Caren Levine, Diana Laufenberg … they’ll be there too.

And I know this much – those folks are already changing the world.

We’ve got more work to do. Let’s get busy!

-kj-

Technorati Tags: TEDx, TEDxNYED

photo credit: yngrich

Good morning all,

I don’t know about you, but, one of the things that really inspires me about teaching is the potential to impact a student’s career choice, perhaps even altering their life trajectory in the process. Talk about a huge responsibility! Games are such a big part of kids’ lives today, and though I’d love to be able to work them directly into my curriculum, it’s not that easy. Fortunately, we have an after-school club, sponsored by our local education foundation, that gives me an opportunity to do just that.

What started out as a middle school newspaper club has morphed into a Grade 4-8 media club (for more about us, click here). After seeing these kids absolutely devour sites like http://sploder.com/, I decided to look for a more powerful development environment. A Google search led me to the free and fabulous Platform Studio:

… and the rest, as they say, is history! At least a third of my kids are now actively exploring this tool, learning how to create levels, link them, taking apart the sample levels provided, incorporating design elements from those into their own creations. It’s incredibly cool to watch, and, thanks to this great, free tool, the kids are having a blast!

To get an idea of Platform Studio’s capabilities, check out this YouTube video, which is all the kids needed to get started:

Interacting with these kids, listening to their thought processes, seeing them engaged and passionate about learning – hard fun, as it’s been called – is enormously gratifying. The only thing better will be hearing someday from a former student who went on to a career in the business thanks to the things we did in Media Club. I can dream, can’t I?

Hope this helps!

-kj-

Good morning all,

Keyboarding is such drudgery, but keyboard skills are so important … honestly, I struggle with incorporating it into my curriculum … there’s only so much you can cram into a 42 minute, once-a-week lesson … but at the same time, we need to make sure kids skills are progressing with regard to keyboarding ability as they go through school. I was browsing teacher/author Jacqui Murray’s blog (terrific BTW if you teach in a computer lab or love technology) and came across this great resource, Alphabetic Rain:

This little beauty is about as simple as it gets … press the letters before they reach the bottom of the screen. Easy-peasy!  The selectable levels seem just about right for my elementary kids, and they LOVE this site so far. The fact that the “rounds” are short – one minute each – a score is shown at the bottom at the end – makes it ideal for a warmup as they come into my classroom.

There are no ads, it’s completely intuitive, and I’m finding that it brings out the competitive nature in my students – in a good way. Kids can set it to a level that’s comfortable to start with, so they are motivated to get a better score, not discouraged when they don’t do well. Love it!

If you want to help your kids improve their typing speed, you should: a) give them decent keyboarding instruction with a method of your choice so they can learn proper technique, b) make sure they have lots of authentic class projects, and c) use a tool like Alphabetic Rain to keep tabs on their progress. It’s not perfect, but it’s free, fun and gets the job done, if you ask me!

Hope this helps!

-kj-

Good morning all!

It was only a matter of time … while Animoto practically invented the upload-your-pics-and-make-an-amazing-video genre it has DOMINATED for good reason, alternatives are popping up everywhere. I wrote the other day about Stupeflix, and today, I’m here to tell you about Flixtime, a site I heard about on Twitter from Ozge Karaoglu, a teacher/trainer in Istanbul, Turkey.

Flixtime has everything today’s discriminating web 2.0 aficionado demands: crazy simple UI (user interface), great special effects, terrific soundtrack selection, ability to upload your own music, add text & titles, mix pictures and video … the usual. It does all these things with style and grace, and, of course, it does them all for free (for now, I’ll bet.)

Here’s the editing window with some uploads in progress:

And this is what it looks like when you add music – their collection is MASSIVE and EXTREMELY high quality!

Once you’ve added your content, press “render video” and grab a cup of your favorite beverage. The rest happens automagically:

Videos are currently limited to ONE MINUTE and there is no “premium” or “pro” option (though that most likely is in the works.) Further sign of a just-launched venture, the EMBED capability is currently grayed out (or is it ‘greyed’ out?”) but videos can of course be played on the web. You can download, ‘em too, of course.

I like Flixtime a lot. The UI is sweet and intuitive and the one-minute limit handily beats Animoto’s 30-second freebie. I love Animoto’s support for us teachers but delays in processing the educator accounts have caused me (and others) quite a bit of inconvenience of late. (Remember, folks, it’s FREE so let’s be thankful we can get it at all!)

If you’re into making movies from your pics and video clips, Flixtime is worth checking out and keeping an eye on, especially if the service ends up having the staying power of Animoto – clearly an established (soon to be acquired?) Web 2.0 player.

Hope this helps,

-kj-

Good morning all!

The relentless proliferation of personal digital technology is evident these days by the nearly constant presence of cameras of some sort. Personal video and digital still cameras are in our pockets, part of our phones, or even in the bags those of us once used to tote around 35mm film cameras (does anyone still use film?) It seems that everything from a child’s birthday party to dinner with friends is an opportunity to capture digital memories. The question is … what to DO with those memories, especially when they are scattered among so many different devices, owned by so many different people?

Shwup (http://www.shwup.com/) tries to answer that question.  It’s a free service that makes it easy for you to easily and securely gather media from anyone with an email address (no signup required!) and then assemble that content into crazy mad awesome multimedia extravaganzas. Here’s a short YouTube video that is a lot better at explaining the concept than I am!

Once everyone has uploaded content privately into an album you invite them to (again, no signup required), you can begin creating. The interface is elegant and simple. I pulled in some pics from my Flickr account and in a few minutes had this to show for my work:

The music doesn’t really provide the right vibe for a collection of Kindergarten artwork, but, you get the idea. :) http://www.shwup.com/ is free but far too cool to remain that way forever, they’ll soon either find a way to monetize the site (charge for it) or they’ll be acquired. So, sign up today and start playing while it’s still free! I love the concept, the execution, the ease of use, everything. Check it out today and see if you agree!

Hope this helps!

-kj-

h3. Post Uploader

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Good morning all!

Tagged this site a while back, not sure where I found it, but I knew it was worth sharing!

http://www.zhura.com/ seems to be a combination of “fanfiction.net” and Google Docs (though I have not been able to determine if scripts can be edited simultaneously). Basically, http://www.zhura.com/ facilitates the process of scriptwriting, providing a fully-functional online development environment including helpful predefined formats for screenplays, stage, sitcoms, audio and comic books. Here’s a look at the editor in action:

I love the interface, it’s very intuitive and seems to be just the thing to keep the aspiring screenwriter focused on what matters – characters, story, setting, etc. – rather than the technical stuff with formatting a document properly. Pretty neat!

The screenwriting COMMUNITY however is what makes this site special. You can browse existing projects or share your own to get critical feedback from the writers, directors and actors who make up the site’s user base. Imagine being discovered here! It’s not that inconceivable!

Zhura offers a ‘Pro’ version more features including a removal of the ads and offline mode for just $5.99 / month (I wonder if they know that Google Gears is going away?). The software is incredibly easy to use. Just playing around with it for a few minutes made me feel like a pro!

http://www.zhura.com/ looks like it would be a boon to anyone working on productions involving scriptwriting. A valid email is required for each account registered and there doesn’t appear to be any sort of educational discount available, but, it’s still worth checking out!

Hope this helps!

-kj-

Good morning all!

Talk about a blast from the past … free educational websites come and go all the time, some disappearing  without a trace, others languishing with broken links and outdated content … while some continue to survive and thrive. I’m happy to report that gamequarium.org is not only still around, it’s grown substantially since I blogged about it more than three years ago! I revisited the site recently at the recommendation of Mrs. Toni Hedrich, who teaches 1st grade at my school.

Gamequarium.org is truly massive now. My colleague Toni was particularly interested in their video collection:

Wait … but where’s the content? Can you find it in the sea of ads on the site? Oh ok, yes, there it is, let’s click “Berenstain Bears (32).”

Whaaaat? More ads? Yep, stay with me! The colors and fonts unfortunately add to the confusion, making them blend in to appear almost as if they are part of the site. Just one more click…

And finally, we’re at the content! The videos can play full screen but are not embeddable. They’re pretty high quality, well produced, with clear audio and great reading performances. Definitely worth digging through to find videos to share with your students, but you’ll want to isolate the URLs – I don’t advise letting your little ones navigate this site solo – based on my experience, there’s a pretty good chance an they’ll mistakenly click on an advertisement and end up needing help to get back…

…which leads me to my next point – the ads themselves. Sure, there are more here than you’ll see on lots of other educational sites – but I don’t begrudge the site owner one bit for having them there. Why? Providing these free web resources costs serious money – I sure wouldn’t want to pay their hosting bill for a year, a month, or even a day! Teachers should be GRATEFUL for the resources we get like this FOR FREE. Seeing ads like this as part of a free educational website doesn’t make me like the resource any less – they just make me appreciate it even more when I encounter a free educational website with no ads at all!

Spend some time exploring gamequarium.org – there is a LOT more to see there that I haven’t even touched on here!

Hope this helps!

-kj-

{Cross posted on TechLearning Advisor Blog}

photo credit: jaroslavd

Inspiration for this post arrived yesterday morning by way of a message on the bit.listserv.edtech USENET group entitled “Presentations for parents on Internet safety.”

Some background…

The phrase “Eating one’s own dog food” is fairly common in American corporate culture. It refers to a company using its own products to show faith and confidence in those products. (I often frame issues I encounter in my new career as an educator using perspectives I gained in the years I spent “working for the man.”)

As you (the well-informed educator reading this should) know, the “Broadband Data Improvement Act,” a.k.a. “Protecting Children in the 21st Century” (S. 1492) amended the Children’s Internet Protection Act to require elementary and secondary schools to educate students about appropriate online behavior, including  interacting with others via social networking websites and chat rooms and to also address cyberbullying awareness. Parent and community education is considered part of this effort in most districts. Veteran Internet Safety advocate Nancy Willard started the conversation mentioned above with an honest question as she was preparing  a parent presentation on the topic. Joe Frost, Director of Technology & Operations at Phoenix Christian Unified Schools, pondering “yet another” Powerpoint-based cybersafety presentation (I’m sure he meant no offense, Nancy!) offered this insight:

“If we wouldn’t teach science without the lab or literature without the novel, then why don’t we actually use the internet to teach Internet Safety – safely online!”

Then, WHAM!  It hit me…

Why not use Facebook to teach and explore Internet Safety?

photo credit: Kevin N. Murphy

You probably think I’m crazy. Am I right?

Here’s the thing – I’m not talking about using Facebook IN SCHOOL!

A forward-thinking school could create an officially-sanctioned, district-facilitated Facebook group and engage the entire COMMUNITY – including STUDENTS – in an honest, real, meaningful CONVERSATION on the topic. Outside school walls, outside school hours. Asynchronously. Whenever it’s convenient.

Don’t get me wrong; what I’m envisioning COMPLEMENTS what schools are already doing in the classroom on Internet Safety, including rocking the http://cybersmart.org/ curriculum (my personal fave); or your basic cool computer lab projects on the topic; or having kids spend time exploring great websites like Netmartz Kids or MTV’s newly launched and excellent A Thin Line (best for upper middle and high school). Heck, even good old fashioned classroom discussions on the subject are important. We should definitely keep doing what we’re already doing, especially with the younger kids, like the ones *I* teach (grades K-4). There’s only one problem…

photo credit: ewen and donabel

ITS NOT GOING TO BE ENOUGH. Let’s be honest … if your school is doing the activities I just described, that’s awesome. Chances are, you don’t have tons of free instructional time to cram any MORE INTERNET SAFETY CURRICULUM in. What subject are you going to displace to make room? Math? Science? Social Studies? Art? Physical Education? Music? Technology? (Hey! I’ve got stuff to teach, too!)

No, the final frontier for learning is kids’ time outside of school. And though I’m not a big fan of crushing amounts of homework, the good folks at the Kaiser Foundation are telling us that kids are spending 7.5 hours per day consuming media. So, why not get in on that action? Why not meet them where they live? Why not leverage the tools they’re already using – including Facebook – for the greater good, respecting and honoring their voice in the process?

I’ll get back to the kids in a moment, but I want to turn my attention now to PARENTS.

photo credit: psub

The picture above isn’t a PTO meeting but it still provides the visual context I’m looking for. A few adults, listening to other adults provide information. Imagine this is a community meeting on cybersafety. With the right amount of promotion, such an event might attract 20, 30, or more people … but in my experience … it’ll probably be less. Even so, let’s assume the presentation is excellent – full of great ideas, helpful hints, resources to be referred to later. Great discussion and audience engagement. A success, by all accounts.

What happens after it’s all over? A loud round of applause, people pick up some handouts, maybe sign up for an email list for additional information, or promise to visit the district’s website or e-safety clearinghouse with even more information, downloadable resources, and the like. Heck, maybe they’ll even talk with their kids about what they learned!

photo credit: -mrsraggle-

Yes, but – does anyone think behaviors will change – substantively – as a result of that meeting?

Sorry, but I don’t.

That’s the problem I have with these kinds of sessions. Even if  they are well run, positively received and sincerely appreciated. Even if that’s the case – they typically DON’T include student voice, AREN’T scalable, DON’T reach the people they need to and take HOURS UPON HOURS of time to prepare and execute.

Meh. They pale in comparison to what I have in mind…

photo credit: Gauldo

Everyone knows Facebook is growing rapidly. According to iStrategyLabs, adults age 35-54 are Facebook’s second fastest growing user demographic (only 55+ is growing faster). While some argue that this onslaught of adults is the death knell for participation by teens and young adults, I don’t agree. I think that Facebook’s value proposition is stronger than ever with teens, particularly as they learn how to secure their profiles and keep unwanted people from accessing them. (Hey wait a minute – isn’t that one of the things we’ve been advising kids to do all along? Maybe they ARE listening!)

So if Facebook is the platform, what is the specific application? Simple: the ever-present, omnipotent Facebook group. Here’s one I mocked up (because I’ve never built one before):

Let’s take a look at the components of a group. There’s a member listing (and member/privacy controls). The wall is great for for quick posts and information sharing. A discussion forum can house threaded conversations. There’s even the ability to add photos, videos. Finally, an ‘events’ tab allows you to schedule and inform the group about gatherings – either face to face, or, perhaps, using tools like Elluminate, Skype or Oovoo. It’s perfect!

The best part about a Facebook group for this purpose – INSTANT USER BASE that can grow VIRALLY with only a couple of mouse clicks. I’ve written before about the challenges we face when creating online communities. One of the biggest is making the space compelling enough for people to remember to visit. Here’s the thing – MOST OF OUR TARGET AUDIENCE IS ALREADY ON FACEBOOK – creating a community there makes it EASY for people to participate – it’s not another website they have to remember to visit – it’s right there!

photo credit: notsogoodphotography

Ok … so what could go wrong? Where are the holes in this idea? Help me sort ‘em out…

• “The district can’t control the conversation.” True, but why would you WANT to? Isn’t the point of  having a dialogue to be honest with each other? Granted, moderating heated conversations could get tricky, then there’s always the risk that someone could say or do something inappropriate, but isn’t that a risk in any online community?
• “We don’t want kids and adults, particularly teachers, friending each other.”  I personally do not have anyone under 18 in any of my networks, and I know the NJEA discourages this as well – but the group itself makes conversation possible without friending. That’s the point!
• “Kids might not participate.” The Creepy Treehouse effect is real. But if the group were to start with adults FIRST, and grow into something substantial, I know for a fact there are teens who would embrace the group, engage the adults, offer their expertise and advice – and, with enough time and encouragement, other teens could be enticed to join and participate. After all, they’re already on Facebook, remember? This is just joining a group, something most kids do effortlessly every day.

Now, what could go RIGHT?

• A group like this could become a powerful, living, breathing clearinghouse of information and opinion, driven by the community, built for the community. We’re in a new era, one of communication and contribution, where we are not only consumers but also producers of information. What better way to leverage these new capabilities than to educate each other about this important topic?
• Adults could lead the way, and kids could follow. Initially, this group would likely be best oriented towards adults in the community. Some kids would find their way in right away, and that would be great, but would not necessarily be the focus initially. By educating the adults, and starting meaningful conversations first, we give the kids a chance to see what we’re thinking – and to know when it’s time for them to step in and set the record straight.
• Once kids find the group and embrace it, the REAL POWER of the medium will become evident. Kids generally don’t want to talk to their own parents – especially online or in public – but they’ll talk to their friends’ parents. And they’ll be honest. A group like this would give them the ability to interact in a positive way with these adults – contributing to the conversation – and finding their own voice.

photo credit: Tetsumo

Where do we go from here? Who wants to give this a try? Maybe it should be done outside of the auspices of school – maybe a community organization (PTO/PTA, sports league, or other) might take on the responsibility of starting a group like this? Or maybe just a group of concerned local parents? The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step, so … who wants to step up?

-kj-

Good morning everyone!

A while back, I blogged about a site called Only2Clicks.com – a neat way to organize and present websites for use in class, in presentations or whatever.

Bouncing around Twitter, I came across Weblist.me, a new service, in “Alpha” (meaning it’s not even in “Beta,” yet) that is still worth putting on your Web 2.0 radar.

I really love the look and feel of this tool. The finished weblists are 3D, very Apple-looking, pleasing and modern. This site appears to lack the ability to organize via tabs that Only2Clicks.com does – that’s a drawback. However, some ‘dimmed out’ features worth noting … you will soon have the ability to attach files, videos, slide shows and text to each link. This will dramatically improve the environment as an educational tool. It could be a very powerful webquesting environment!

Whether or not it remains free … is something we’ll just have to wait to find out.

Anyway, head over to Weblist.me and sign up for an account, it’s free – and start exploring!

Hope this helps!

-kj-