The Connected Classroom

looking for a better way . . .

noreply@blogger.com (rddietrich) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:35:21 PST

Always searching for free online storage and came across this site that hosts moving images (video), audio and texts! http://www.archive.org/

Here's my contribution -

What I really need is my own space on a server;-)

International Day of Peace

noreply@blogger.com (rddietrich) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 11:51:51 PDT

This is the computer pop-up that we will be using tomorrow on our school's system to educate people about the United Nation's International Day of Peace and to inspire them to action.

For more information and the 24hour Peace Day Global Broadcast: http://www.internationaldayofpeace.org/

Merlot Remote Presentation - August 15, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (rddietrich) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 07:23:21 PDT

Cristina Costa and I presented remotely at 2009 MERLOT International Conference on August 15, 2009 at 9:30pm(GMT).

Regular Session (30 minute Virtual session):
Get E-Creative: Teacher - Watch what kids are doing and be part of the movement
Track: Track 1: Innovations in Online Teaching and Learning
Presenters: Cristina Costa, Ramona Dietrich

In the last decade we have witnessed impressive technological advancements, which have increasingly been impacting on the way people communicate, work, and conduct life in general. Teaching and learning are no exceptions. Education needs to look at alternatives to make the connection with real life experiences if it wants to continue preparing individuals for the near future in a meaningful way. Above all it has to explore new e-fficient teaching strategies and create e-ffective learning situations based on real life contexts. Bridging the connection between the wider world and the local classroom will also help give education a fresh face. Note: Virtua presentation brought to you courtesy of the South Dakota Board of Regents.

If you missed us first time around, you can always catch us in re-runs (lol) here: http://conference.merlot.org/2009/Sat_Program.html#sataft

OR

Consult the wiki we created to scaffold this presentation: http://getecreative.pbworks.com/

September 19

noreply@blogger.com (rddietrich) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 14:44:25 PDT

This was Dr. Pausch's speech to the Carnegie Mellon graduating class of 2008. As graduations are nothing more than new beginnings, I thought it appropriate to include it in my blog at the beginning of a new school year.

Dr. Pausch instructs each of us to "find your passion".

Merlot Conference

noreply@blogger.com (rddietrich) — Tue, 12 May 2009 13:35:39 PDT

Cristina and I submitted a presentation proposal for the Merlot Conference to be held in San Jose, CA this August.

Teaching and Learning in a Networked World
13-16 August 2009

Doubletree Hotel San Jose, California, USA

Our proposal was accepted, but, unfortunately, we are unable to attend. Well as luck would have it we were offered the opportunity to give an online presentation. (This give the word remote a positive spin!)

Stay tuned for more details.

lots of new tools/toys

noreply@blogger.com (rddietrich) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 12:42:30 PST

Flowgram

noreply@blogger.com (rddietrich) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 12:26:53 PST

Tools, tools, and more tools.

This is the week that I'm collecting new tools to play with. Here's another for my toy-box.

Cover it live!

noreply@blogger.com (rddietrich) — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 10:04:37 PST

http://www.coveritlive.com/index.php

another new option for live blogging - what will they think of next?????

OMG -Brightstorm

noreply@blogger.com (rddietrich) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 13:12:30 PST

I just found out about this new amazing online learning network where students can get extra help with classes or prepare for the SAT. It's all online and it's done through a series of video tutorials. It looks way cool! Check them out at: www.brightstorm.com

Blogging Course

noreply@blogger.com (rddietrich) — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 08:20:55 PST

"Using Blogs in Education" (November 9-14) was a big hit!

Our blurb:

Educational Technology is now a must in the classroom. The Internet and the www is a world known to all our students. They have grown up with technology and it is pervasive in their lives. They are the web generation! They associate computers with entertainment and fun. If the classroom can be converted into a forum of “edutainment” - everyone wins.

Although educators are not expected to be ICT experts, we cannot be indifferent to using technology in the classroom. Integrating technology may seem difficult, but it is easier than people think. In this Knowweek you will be introduced to various "freeware" blogging tools and the knowhow that will give you the confidence to use them in your classroom. Together we will explore many possibilities and reflect on their potential in an educational context.

and off we went from there. There were more than 25 participants and the forums were full of interesting and relevant discussions.

I learned a lot and came away with a Term 2 Year 8 (PhotoStory3) project.

Life Round Here http://liferoundhere.pbwiki.com/

Can't wait!

You ought to be in pictures . . .

noreply@blogger.com (rddietrich) — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 13:20:17 PDT

Links for a video project:
http://pblmm.k12.ca.us/index.html
http://fcit.usf.edu/lmm/industry.html

a girl's world . . .

noreply@blogger.com (rddietrich) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 13:45:46 PDT

I love the net - you just never know what gems you are going to come across.

Today I watched a news spot about a couple of teenagers (Sara and Lauren) who started their own web site. And guess what - it's all about girls:-) It was created by girls, all the contributors are girls and the target audience is: GIRLS.

It's interesting to note that girls have a stronger web presence than boys do. More girls are blogging and posting pictures than boys. Experts say that girls out-perform boys in English and writing and blogs offer another venue where girls can communicate.

A Girls's World is looking for contributors so I will be passing their url along to "my girls" beginning next week.

Computers - just another tool

noreply@blogger.com (rddietrich) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 03:28:45 PDT

"....Computers are not rescuing the school from a weak curriculum, any more than putting pianos in every classroom would rescue a flawed music program. Wonderful learning can occur without computers or even paper. But once the teachers and children are enfranchised as explorers, computers, like pianos, can serve as powerful amplifiers, extending the reach and depth of the learners." Alan Kay

Computers are tools that kids must learn how to manipulate to be successful in their work-lives. I see my job as helping students make the most of each of these tools.

Balance is important . . .

noreply@blogger.com (rddietrich) — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 15:58:15 PDT

Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance
you must keep moving.

Albert Einstein (quoted from a 1930 letter to his son)

I saw this on another blog and thought it was important to take a few minutes at the beginning of the semester to remember the importance of maintaining a balanced existence. We are "at our best" when we strike a healthy balance between work and play. There really is time for both!

Here we go again . . .

noreply@blogger.com (rddietrich) — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 15:59:21 PDT

It's time for classes to begin and I've come across some (game) sites that are valuable in more ways than one. First of all they contribute to student learning while being fun at the same time and they help others:

Free Rice - a vocabulary game that donates rice through the UN World Food Program to help end hunger
Aid to Children - another vocab game
Free Poverty - geography game. See how many cups of water you can donate by testing your knowledge about the world. Each correct answer means they will be donating 10 cups on your behalf.
Free Corn - the more you visit, the more you give . . .
Free Kibble - helps to support animal shelters
Free Kibble Kat - helps feed hungry cats

Kelly Tenkely from The Apple offers some suggestions:

How to integrate these websites into the classroom
Each of the above websites offers a wonderful opportunity to teach students to look outside their own needs to the needs of others. Use these websites to teach your students compassion, about other cultures, and about helping those less fortunate. The websites will also be a great way for your students to practice vocabulary or geography. Encourage your students to play these games from home when they are “bored” or just for fun. See how much rice, money, corn, water, or kibble you can raise as a class. Use these figures to teach graphing and charting. You create a “commercial” for the site, a poster advertising the site, etc. (I found a commercial that I made as an example for my students on Free Corn…small world!)

slide.com - another ppt host

noreply@blogger.com (rddietrich) — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 13:37:28 PDT

Ok - this is a test. Just wanted to try out this ppt host and saw that they offer some fun options. My Earth Day photos look pretty cool posing as a drive-in movie (hahahaha)

Blogs for Moms (and Dads too)

noreply@blogger.com (rddietrich) — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 14:05:38 PDT

Well, I finally did it. I was able to offer a blogging class for parents. Since all of the kids had a blog this year (which served as their process journal for their IT classes)I thought it would be fun to get some of the parents involved too. This introduction to blogs would also serve as a tool to help them understand the role of the blog in the classroom. Five moms and the secretary from the Senior School attended the class and we had a lot of fun setting up 1st blogs!

| View | Upload your own

KnowSchools

noreply@blogger.com (rddietrich) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 04:15:32 PST

Another KnowSchools week starts today and runs until Friday (June 1-6). Cristina and I are providing a course entitled: Digital Photo-Stories: Enhancing Creativity. It should be lots of FUN!

Another video

noreply@blogger.com (rddietrich) — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 08:03:01 PDT

Future of Education - The top video clips of the week are here

Take One

noreply@blogger.com (rddietrich) — Wed, 07 May 2008 16:12:44 PDT

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Publisher For Teachers - a mini-lesson

noreply@blogger.com (rddietrich) — Mon, 05 May 2008 15:32:24 PDT

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Knowschools - Everything Google

noreply@blogger.com (rddietrich) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 04:15:32 PST

Wow! What a week! Cristina and I were once again involved in providing an online course at Knowschools. This time the title was "Everything Google" (April 27 - May 02). Google is much more than a serarch engine! We covered an array of Google apps: (Google Docs, Blogger, Google Calendar, Google Video, Google Doodle, Google Sketch up, You Tube, Google Desktop, Google Gadgets, Google Pages, Google Reader, Google Earth, Google Maps, Google Groups, Picassa, Gmail and Gtalk)!

The course was held at Knowschools which offers classes in a virtual environment. It is intended for educators and one of their aims is to promote excellence in online education. We met a lot of really great teachers and we are now all Google experts (hahaha)!

Earth Day 2008

noreply@blogger.com (rddietrich) — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 13:49:03 PDT

Another day, another Voicethread!

Earth Day 2008 (April 22) is just upon us. To participate in creating a better world my I have set-up a Voicethread so students at SDIS can offer suggestions.

Are these great kids or what???

Voicethread

noreply@blogger.com (rddietrich) — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 14:27:34 PDT

Today my students got what they asked for! I have been wanting to incorporate the use of voicethread.com into my teaching practice and wasn't exactly sure how I was going to fit it in. Then out of the blue an opportunity presented itself;-D Yesterday one of my students was complaining about the research that they were doing about our upcoming project - creating a newsletter. I told him that I needed to know that each of the students actually knew what a newsletter was before we began to create one. He then replied that it would be a lot easier if they just took an oral quiz. It was another aha! moment. All the lights went on at one time! I knew that I now had a real purpose for my voicethread and would immediately introduce it into the curriculum.

Here it is:

Even MORE links

noreply@blogger.com (rddietrich) — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 07:04:27 PDT

http://www.storycenter.org/index1.html

Resources
The Center has been active in publishing a number of articles about Digital Storytelling, in print and on the web, as well as a workbook and textbook about our process. We have also contributed to other publications and websites and numerous articles have been written about our work.
On Our Website
Digital Storytelling: Capturing Lives, Creating CommunityTextbook by Joe Lambert. Available for purchase on-line.Digital Storytelling CookbookThe manual used for our workshops.
A Digital Story: MomnotmomThe digital story used in our workshop tutorials and Cookbook. Created by our former Community Programs Director Thenmozhi Soundarajan about her mother.The Digital DinerA series of interviews with practioners in the field.These Images from These PicturesA guide to writing into images prepared for the Canadian Film Centre's Great Canadian Storytelling Engine.Relationship MediaNotes and examples from a lecture at Stanford University, 2000.
Articles on Digital Storytelling
Is Digital Storytelling a Movement?By Joe Lambert. Reflections on the Digital Storytelling Community.
Storytelling for the New MillenniumBy Corey Hitchcock, SF Gate
Tell Me a (Digital) StoryBy Marcia Stepanek, Business Week
Digital Storytelling Finds Its Place in the Classroomby Tom Banaszewski, Infoday
What's Your StoryBy Daniel Pink, Fast Company
Digital Tools Easier to GraspBy J.D. Lasica, OJR Senior Editor
Resource Sites
Hilary McLellan's Story LinkHillary has posted one of the most extensive and up-to-date collections of links on Digital Storytelling available online.Digital Storytelling AssociationAn international association of Digital Storytellers, which CDS launched in November 2002.