tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10878384066894764662024-02-07T13:17:46.649-05:00Musings on Instructional TechnologyUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger77125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1087838406689476466.post-59579419298180740722011-06-24T12:30:00.003-04:002011-06-24T12:38:56.105-04:00Presentations and Raw Teaching At SMU RevisitedTwo years ago I read an article detailing a <a href="http://www.smu.edu/News/2009/jose-bowen-che-24july2009.aspx">movement at SMU to remove technology from their classrooms </a>because professors had become too dependent on showing powerpoints. This move, known as teaching "naked" or "raw teaching" was designed to create a more engaging classroom environment; encouraging interaction and discourse between instructor and students. And Dean Bowen began taking computers out of the classrooms.<br /><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoGepg8eT1rEgR72ajoB-wd3TFX74FF45fuLQa0ms4o1aliK4pBwRj9MT-4cpjqvSIq0W5vpCyfiEPUcrLeVvbG8Mfqfb2r8Xu5aKy8e-NkudZVkjjcrmHpRgqUI3ehARFT5Gn8s67Lrs/s320/2011-05-27_1622.png" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 178px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621822381440013570" /><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>As a technology user and evangelist I was shocked that a university in 2009 would remove technology from classrooms for <i>any</i> reason. Sure, there are important points to be made about the way technology is used in classrooms on any level, but was stripping the classrooms of technology a good way to remove the "crutch" of powerpoints? So students (who use technology in most areas of their lives) are no longer going to use it in the classroom? How about expecting technology to be utilized more appropriately in education? Shouldn't 21st century classrooms and professors model the use of the available technology as an important tool for learning and accessing knowledge? Won't students be better prepared for the future because they were in technology-rich classrooms? If one of my children was attending SMU, I'd have some questions about how stripping technology was preparing my child for a their future...I thought.</div><div><br /><div><div>But now, looking back I think I missed the point. I had a knee-jerk react to removing technology but didn't really think about the reality Dr. Bowen was addressing - many lectures and powerpoints are really bad. </div><div><br /></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihTqBFTmV4TY9791vJIj7Cg3WNtEIXGvoPfnqxSpf4Non9pk_9cwv6O4vEbNsdwzImp5iRGHgyDAb4n0IX5s_Kf0skeqbN12HPn95hANSVkoW8JrFAC66wLO8ePJeO8dNZNsQg6SpHx44/s320/frankenstein.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 120px; height: 160px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621823272153142130" /></div><div>It wasn't and isn't about the technology, but how we change the way we interact and teach when we are in face-to-face spaces. Powerpoint is easy to attack because it has been so overused and sometimes abused. But are bad powerpoint presentations more like Frankenstein's monster returning to haunt our courses and students, where we as the creators are responsible? And after all, creating a presentation in any form you think will be engaging takes time and effort.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div></div></div><div>I've been kicking this around in my own head because recently one of the most popular workshops I've offered has been on<a href="http://prezi.com/"> Prezi</a>. I like Prezi and have used it and have enjoyed leading the workshop. But I always make the point there really is little difference between a bad presentation with powerpoint or prezi. The broader message I'm trying to convey, "It's not about the instrument - it's about the artist" and "You are the presentation."</div><div><br /></div><div>It's about the craft of presenting and how good presenters connect ideas and engage their audiences. Which is not so different than what I think Bowen was trying to express. And while I still don't know about the notion of pulling technology from classrooms to prevent its poor use. I do think I would ask teachers who use technology to lecture or present to be thoughtful about it, to plan and reflect on how best to communicate and facilitate ideas and learning.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Resources:</b></div><div><br /></div><div>A lot of my ideas about proper presenting were shaped by the work of <a href="http://www.presentationzen.com/">Garr Reynolds</a> and his book<i> Presentation Zen</i> , <a href="http://www.guykawasaki.com/">Guy Kawasaki</a> and the "10/20/30 rule" and the "knowledge-able" <a href="http://www.youtube.com/mwesch">Michael Wesch</a>. I also think one of the best places to watch great presenting is <a href="http://www.ted.com/">TED.com</a> or surf a few of the presentations on <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/">slideshare</a> for ideas.</div><div><br />Frankenstein photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rafapanadero/4429882036/in/faves-44551921@N04/">rafapanadero used under CC license</a></div><div><br /></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1087838406689476466.post-75965930709318297052011-04-21T10:42:00.011-04:002011-04-26T12:16:10.846-04:00First Impressions of the iPadRecently I was lucky enough to get my hands on an iPad. As an owner of an (aging) iPod and other Mac products I wasn't completely unfamiliar with the platform, but I've heard a lot about tablets and specifically the iPad so I was pretty excited to try this one out. <div><br /></div><div>The following are admittedly my first impressions, so take all with a grain of salt and feel free to contribute your impressions or set me straight as needed. :)<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/andyi/5546164954/" title="Easel by andyi, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5297/5546164954_47beee6940_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Easel" /></a><br /></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Pros</b></div><div><ul><li>I'd heard the iPad was light, but it really is <b>ultra-light</b>. I was amazed at the difference between carrying a laptop and the iPad, and I'll admit to double-checking a few times to make sure it was in my bag. </li><li>The iPad's display is also really impressive. The picture is crisp and easy on the eyes. This is the way to read any content online. </li><li>The combination of the above coupled with the adequate volume and audio quality make the iPad an excellent device for media as well. </li></ul><b>Cons</b></div><div><ul><li>iTunes - Ugh- In my experience there are few programs that slow down computer performance like iTunes. I know I'm using a PC and the Mac-heads would look disapprovingly and suggest <i>that</i> is my problem. But I'm not the only person running iTunes on a PC, and it be nice if getting an iPad didn't mean subjecting myself to the iTunes ecosystem (more on this in a minute). I looked at some alternatives to iTunes (like <a href="http://getsongbird.com/">Songbird</a>), but for the updates and apps I bit the bullet and installed the bloated iTunes on my laptop. Oh, look another update for quicktime....(shaking my head).</li><li>Flash - Yeah, I know this one has been covered so I won't go on about it. I'm just saying it would still be nice. </li><li>Lastly, and most importantly I'm not sure I like being <i><b>here</b></i> in the iStore with my iApps on my iPad. This is a closed environment. Apple will tell me what is available in this world and will control their environment. This is a little troubling because as a fan of opensource software - somehow this seems like the opposite of that model.<br /><br />With most of my other devices I am allowed to choose (with some limits) what programs I want to install and what OS I'd like. This is a great time for finding free opensource applications or even webapps. I am reminded of a <a href="http://www.lessig.org/">Lawrence Lessig</a> talk called <a href="http://lessig.blip.tv/file/3730123/">"Open" where he speaks to these points about the closed environment of Apple</a> and whether that is a good thing. It's worth watching and considering.<br /><br /></li></ul><b>For Education</b></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://chronicle.com/section/Home/5/">The Chronicle</a> recently ran <a href="http://chronicle.com/article/The-iPad-for-Professors-/126885/">an article on iPads for professors</a> which gave a great deal of insight into how the contributing professors used the iPad. It was a good read but it lacked an "aha" moment. And while it's clear the iPad (and tablets) will make a huge impact on the future of textbooks, again I wonder if this is a more controlled "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_rights_management">DMR</a>ish" environment. If so, how would it impact<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_educational_resources"> OERs</a>?</div><div><br /></div><div>Finally, for the K-12 environment, I've seen a lot of extremely positive postings on classes and schools that have gone with iPads. No disrespect to the postings and successes students and teachers are feeling. However, I wonder if these same classes and teachers wouldn't have experienced similar success with other technologies if they were given the needed time and training. Finally the technology isn't as important was how it can be used to learn. And really is there anything I can do on a $700 iPad that I can't do on a $300 netbook?</div><div><br /></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/andyi/5546164954/</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1087838406689476466.post-52460765358886923192011-04-04T10:19:00.000-04:002011-04-04T10:18:56.452-04:00Delicious, Bookmark Housecleaning and Graveyards<div>Last December I was one of many alarmed to hear <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2010/12/16/is-yahoo-shutting-down-del-icio-us/">Yahoo would be shutting down delicious </a>(or del.icio.us if you're kicking it old school). I've used the tool for many years and enjoyed the web-based bookmarking that freed me up to move between computers and access my saved bookmarks. </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/topgold/3341034725/" title="Logo of Delicious by topgold, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3373/3341034725_419f078ffc_m.jpg" alt="Logo of Delicious" width="100" height="94" /></a><br /></div><div>After using it to bookmark my stuff, I soon found that Delicious was an area I could search before going to google and get better results because others were sharing their bookmarks as well. I quickly added smart people to my network and would search their bookmarks for links that had the benefit of being vetted by a trusted source. The light bulb turned on, and I became aware of the "socialbookmaking" part of delicious. </div><div><br /></div><div>Delicious became a favorite subject of mine for workshops with teachers. I extolled the benefits of using a network of others to help find websites to use in class. And talked about how much time can be saved when teachers are networked and bookmarks are open. And like many who use web2.o apps, I assumed delicious was secure and would be around indefinitely.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>So as I read through many of the "<a href="http://searchengineland.com/10-alternatives-to-delicious-com-bookmarking-59058">alternatives to delicious</a>" links, I felt like an evicted tenant sizing up my options for where to move to and call home for my huge family of bookmarks. </div><div><br /></div><div>But I was determined to find some silver lining. Although this was an inconvenience- some good might come of this still. Like a family who moves houses, I have a great opportunity to size up what I need to take with me. </div><div><br /></div><div>I don't really have a problem with hoarding physical items. My office is pretty barren. I could put all my "work" belongings in one box. But "digital" is another story. My delicious account is bloated, and it's been a long time since I've done any work to pare down the jungle of folders and bookmarks. Delicious is a great system for organizing bookmarks, but one that requires a little attention to organization. </div><div><br /></div><div>I've heard Delicious referred to as "the graveyard for bookmarks," and I'll admit there are more than a few zombies in my bookmarks. Links or tags I haven't revisited since bookmarking them (years ago), and some duplicate tags litter my Delicious page. Pages that I have bookmarked and then never returned.</div><div><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/16381666@N07/1791928248/" title="GRAVEYARD GUARDIAN by Pete-101, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2148/1791928248_f24da6d836_m.jpg" alt="GRAVEYARD GUARDIAN" width="240" height="180" /></a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Do I really need a "video" and "videos" tag? How many of <a href="http://www.delicious.com/evmaiden/twitter">the 240+ twitter links</a> should I really save for the future? I thought that link was in "internetsafety" or "digitalcitizenship" but it's not; maybe "cybersafety"? I know I bookmarked it, now where is it? Yes, there is a search window in delicious, but what if I can't recall the meaningful keywords I would have tagged it with?...Ehhh, what a mess. </div><div><br /></div><div>Maybe some housecleaning is in order. Time to sort and box up what to take and maybe what to leave behind when I move to the new place. So although I don't welcome the change, maybe it's time to reconsider how I organize my bookmarks. I'll streamline my system and look back at this as an important moment. I won't haul my bloated zombie hoard to <a href="http://www.diigo.com/">Diigo</a> or <a href="https://www.google.com/bookmarks/l">Google</a> . I'll embrace organization and structure. (cheering) U-S-A, U-S-A!</div><div><br /></div><div>Let me at 'em!!!</div><div><br /></div><div>UPDATE: After the outrage over the closing of Delicious circulated for a bit, Yahoo! announced it <a href="http://blog.delicious.com/blog/2010/12/whats-next-for-delicious.html">was <b>not</b> being shut down</a>. Whew, glad that is over....</div><div><br /></div><div>UPDATE II: Then this: "<a href="http://mashable.com/2010/12/19/delicious-yahoo-exec-opinion/">Delicous in Peril</a>" via Mashable. Time to be concerned again?</div><div><br /></div><div>UPDATE III: Like the customer hanging around until the neon OPEN sign is turned off, I'm still in delicious and I still haven't really cleaned up at all. I looked at "Diigo" but it seemed a little too busy, and although I like google bookmarks I haven't seen how I get my "network" in there. I guess truthfully I like my graveyard the way it is, and I'll probably hang out until they close the doors. However, I do like what I am hearing about <a href="http://freelish.us/">freelish.us</a>.</div><div><br /></div>If you too are looking for options and need a little help, <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/rmbyrne">Richard Byrne</a> has a<a href="http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2010/12/how-to-prepare-for-delicious-shut-down.html"> useful post </a>on how to prepare a migration of bookmarks out of Delicious and into another platform. And here is the<a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MYxd_PAR1KXj39Xc2lSfKNZXFq5R2q_5g_9W2Egyibo/edit?hl=en&authkey=CO2NqaAL#"> link to a list of delicious alternatives</a> on googledoc via <a href="http://educationaltechnology.ca/couros/1904"> Alec Couros</a>. <div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">Photo Credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/topgold/3341034725/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/topgold/3341034725/</a></span></div><div><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/16381666@N07/1791928248/"><span class="Apple-style-span">http://www.flickr.com/photos/16381666@N07/1791928248/</span></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1087838406689476466.post-8252919407965876492011-02-23T08:04:00.012-05:002011-02-24T19:28:42.590-05:00Foursquare, Science Fiction and Paranoia?<p>One of the best feelings as a blogger is when someone takes the time to comment on a post. If they agree, it's affirming; if they disagree, but do so respectfully, it's a chance to grow and see ideas in a new light while rethinking your own position. I almost always enjoy the conversation.<br /></p><p>One of the blog posts I wrote last summer that received some comments and feedback was on foursquare and its role in twitter. I posted here on this blog and on my former<a href="http://wsfcsintouch.blogspot.com/2010/07/twitter-foursquare-game-worth-playing.html"> district's blog</a> .</p><p>My point was that I thought foursquare and apps like it dilute the value of twitter and made it harder to explain the networked learning that occurs on twitter to those who are not in it. I suggested <a href="http://foursquare.com/">Foursquare</a> made twitter more easy to dismiss. People who I'd talk to about twitter and learning looked at updates from grocery stores and fast food restaurants and decided this "twittering" was just not for them.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wiredwitch/5295175015/" title=""Mayor" badge (IRL) by Carly & Art, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5130/5295175015_07eac72d42_m.jpg" alt=""Mayor" badge (IRL)" width="240" height="180" /></a></p><p>I was pleased to receive all comments, one by <a href="http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/">Vicki Davis</a> (whose work I've followed for sometime) gave me some food for thought. And while I did not agree with all the comments - one comment closed with "I am not an educator robot," which I thought was ironic because the foursquare updates have a <i>very</i> robotic feel. I can almost here <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HAL9000">HAL900</a>'s voice state, "I just became the mayor of Starbucks on foursquare." I appreciate that folks took the time to post comments, and I did spend some time reflecting and wondering if this foursquare disgust was a little of my "old codger" flaring up and whether I had missed something.</p><p>Well, I'm at it again. And while I stand by my earlier thoughts about the twitter "noise" created by services like foursquare, I've changed my focus to some potential pitfalls to using foursquare or any other geolocation reporting apps. </p><p>Before making my case, there are at least a few items I want to make clear:</p><ul><li>I believe geolocation based apps that might enhance a learning experience have real potential. I'm watching some of the <a href="http://www.openculture.com/2010/10/art_in_augmented_reality_at_the_getty_museum.html">augmented reality projects</a> for education with great interest (<em><a href="http://acwarproject.wordpress.com/">see also The Civil War Augmented Reality Project</a></em> )</li><li>I've advocated teaching students to use technology and social media responsibly at workshops and PTA events. So I am not for the blocking of socialmedia or most websites for our students and schools. I don't believe in scaring people off the Internet (more on this soon).</li><li>I am not a "conspiracy theory kinda guy." I am not blogging in my basement with a tinfoil hat on to prevent the government from spying on me. I <i>do</i> think we landed on the moon. I <i>don't</i> think the US government blew up the Twin Towers...</li><li>Finally, I am not arguing teachers or anyone else doesn't have the right to use services like foursquare or should be treated any differently than any other person.</li></ul><p>While it may be a sign I'm not that social to start with, the idea of self-reporting locations throughout my day seems on some level pointless, a little narcissistic and maybe even foolish to me when it first came out. Now I'm wondering if services like foursquare, gowalla and facebook locations might be . . . dangerous. </p><p>I know, I know I can hear myself saying that and thinking I sound just like some of the fearful internet safety presentations I've sat through and later tried to dispute. I'm not a cyber fear factor kind of guy. What would <a href="http://www.danah.org/">danah boyd</a> say?</p><p>I'll start with a movie. I am a sci-fi movie fan and remember a scene from 2002's<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minority_Report_%28film%29"> Minority Report</a> , where protagonist John Anderton lives in a future where retina scans reveal locations, recent purchases made at the GAP and caters the ads to fit the person. The movie explores some important big themes regarding freedoms, surveillance and freewill. But I remember being a little creeped out by a future where every movement and purchase is potentially recorded and monitored. And I thought I wouldn't want anyone tracking all of my movements and behaviors like that. And we live in America - we'd never let that kind of surveillance happen.</p><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ITjsb22-EwQ?rel=0" allowfullscreen="" width="320" frameborder="0" height="195"></iframe><p>I'll cry fowl when I feel like technology is invading our privacy, but this is another issue - this is incentivized self-reporting of location, habits and probable purchases using technology. I wonder if these are dangerous habits?</p><p>Report your every movement and purchase, and I'll give you a badge or a free latte. What would <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Orwell">Orwell</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_K._Dick">Phillip K Dick</a> think of this? </p><p>So when <a href="http://pleaserobme.com/">Please Rob Me </a>came out, I thought it was a brilliant way to address the issue of "over-sharing." The site no longer reveals updates stating "We are satisfied with the attention we've gotten for an issue that we deeply care about." Apparently <a href="http://icanstalku.com/">ICanStalkU</a> feels it still has a point to make as they've continued to "raise awareness about inadvertent information sharing." But I'm not sure if some of us understand "over sharing" anymore. Or think about the caches of data it can create.</p><p>I'm not afraid of the "social web," and I know that is the direction the 'net is headed. But I'm not sure if this is the same as getting advice on a restaurant or film to see, and I wonder if this kind of self-reported surveillance has any unforeseen consequences for those "checking in."</p><p>Again am I wrong? Paranoid?</p><p><br /></p><p>"And while new media bring with them new possibilities for openness, transparency, engagement, and participation, they also bring new possibilities for surveillance, manipulations, distraction, and control" - M. Wesch</p><p>A Few Related Links:<br /></p><ul><li><a href="http://www.eff.org/wp/locational-privacy">EFF.org "Location Privacy" </a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/jul/23/foursquare">How I became a Foursquare Cyberstalker</a> Guardian (July 2010)</li><li><a href="http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/18/new-facebook-location-feature-sparks-privacy-concerns/">New Facebook Location Feature Sparks Privacy Concerns</a> NYTimes (August 2010)</li><li><a href="http://www.visualnews.com/2011/01/29/foursquare-infographic/">Foursquare Infographic</a> (2011)</li></ul><p></p><p>Photo under CC license<span style="font-size:85%;"> http://www.flickr.com/photos/wiredwitch/5295175015/</span><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1087838406689476466.post-44135539215737825042011-02-03T16:11:00.001-05:002011-04-13T16:13:55.447-04:00The Best of Times in a Digital Age<div>Last fall I watched "The Best of Times" starring Robin Williams and Kurt Russell. It had been years since I'd watched this football classic from the 80's. I remembered the tale of lovable Jack Dundee, haunted by the catch he failed to make- an event he is reminded of and relives often, watching the film projector in his office he dreams of recreating the moment. Jack’s burden of the “man who dropped the ball” is a mostly self-imposed title, but he is also remind by those around him of his transgression from years ago.</div><div><br /></div><div>He feels his moment of failure has become one of the defining moments of his life, as well as the history of the town. Without giving away too much of the film’s plot, Jack formulates a plan to replay the game in an attempt to delete the embarrassing event from the past.</div><div><br /></div><div>After watching the movie again and considering some of the themes, I’ve wondered if this comedy from the early 80’s has any parallels to the present day and the future when technology has enabled events in our lives to be very public (by choice or not). When our videos, pictures, writings and lives stay on the web, forever sometimes, without context or permission. This is great for sharing life’s positive experiences - maybe not so great in life’s inevitable failures or mistakes.</div><div><br /></div><div>I wonder if we are prepared for how we will react as all of our inner Jacks will be forced to deal with the unflattering information that is sure to surface that might be available to friends, family, love interests, prospective employers, members of our future communities. Because I don’t think humans will stop making mistakes, and I don’t think technology will become less available or mobile, and I can’t imagine publishing content on the Internet will become harder, I wonder how we will all react when our “dropping the ball” moments are public and persistent?</div><div><br /></div><div>I think a common approach in the past was to try to scare people, and I’ve sat through more than one “Internet Safety” session that seemed at its core to be telling people not to get online. But I’m not sure if this message really resonates with many young people who are increasing online and willing to share in digital spaces.</div><div><br /></div><div>And it wouldn’t be hard to pull up numerous examples of when embarrassing moments have gone digital, public and viral and have lead to tragic outcomes. But it doesn’t seem right to cite those examples in this post that started with loveable Jack Dundee. I could cite articles like “Welcome to Facebook, Where ‘Deleted’ Photos Live On For 16 Months” by Carol Scott which outlines the persistence of photos deleted from Facebook, but I don’t want this post to be about Facebook or Youtube or any specific technology or website.</div><div><br /></div><div>Instead this post is about us. And while I think it’s a great idea to continue to talk to our students about their digital identities and how to shape them in positive ways, it will be equally important to see a shift in the way we as a society evaluate content online and the context (or lack of context) for the content we have online. We might need to allow ourselves to “forget” - even if the web doesn’t. Otherwise generations of kids might be dealing with their inner Jack Dundee every time they apply for a job or consider running for public office.</div><div><br /></div><br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/aCdvF5o1tcE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1087838406689476466.post-32450428603083397992011-01-19T20:16:00.000-05:002011-01-19T20:17:06.719-05:00Burning My Videos DVDsSo you want to take some of those video files with the easy Flip camera and turn them into a DVD for your family? Sounds pretty simple, but when I first began to look into options for burning my home videos to DVD, I was disappointed at the lack of relevant information on the web for simple steps to do this. I found a lot of suggestions for different apps, but nothing I found took me step-by-step. And often the information seemed to be about a product to purchase. I wasn't looking for editing software for helping me create a work of art-I simply wanted to take what I had recorded on the Flip and put it on a DVD that I could give to family to play. <div><br />I had two "musts" for this project:<br /><ul><li>All the software used must all be free and relatively easy to use. Bonus points for using software already on my machine.</li><li>The process must yield a DVD that can be played in a standard DVD player.<br /></li></ul>So the following are the steps I've used to burn home video files to a DVD that can be played in DVD players. I've found this to be very useful when sharing family videos that are too large to send in email attachments. <div><ul><li>I recorded my video with an older model <a href="http://www.theflip.com/">Flip video</a> camera. The raw video is in avi format, and I imported those files into Windows Moviemaker which is included on my machine running XP. My version of the Flip uses avi as the video format, but it should be noted newer versions of the Flip camera do not use avi. Windows MovieMaker needs to be in a format like avi that can be imported in the program.<br /></li></ul><div><ul><li>After editing I saved the file in MovieMaker. I learned the key step is to save as "DV-AVI (NTSC)". My first attempts failed because I didn't select this format. <img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg3g7b6AJpyaAosXsAeFz4EaRTpLRrB6F40nhkoEPRRiqgHLdaXN_zq3d2GvUhTwCixizFfK3WEJN_460QI0A51zeAysIEc64UyCa6uJLHAB7GcBGKum2AOdNXX2-S0gPTiVpov9ZN5W6e/s320/moviemaker.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337332302038763970" style="cursor: pointer; width: 317px; height: 317px;" border="0" /></li><li>Next I downloaded and installed <a href="http://www.dvdstyler.de/">DVDstyler</a>(for free). It is simple and may lack frills, but the I found it very easy to use and create a menu with buttons that point to the imported video files. When done select the "Burn" option and check to make sure the file ends in .iso (for example "Save to C:\dvd.iso")<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaj25E9HN91BfgueV4UI7pIoqBExdGmq0xAdnqUQUxIA9LLUxttGWfX_yxOsVtG5DXeiZsx9v0B1X5EMauZ3LzRAY8PF8nAbYWp6bbpqX54rHC4kqsKevD_jr5Yz6BrUwW8mO6KDQLKmE/s1600/dvdstyler.png"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 254px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaj25E9HN91BfgueV4UI7pIoqBExdGmq0xAdnqUQUxIA9LLUxttGWfX_yxOsVtG5DXeiZsx9v0B1X5EMauZ3LzRAY8PF8nAbYWp6bbpqX54rHC4kqsKevD_jr5Yz6BrUwW8mO6KDQLKmE/s320/dvdstyler.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491241867490795618" border="0" /></a></li><li>It will take a few minutes depending on the size of your project to generate a DVD image. When you are done you'll need to be able to locate the iso file. </li><li>Last step is to burn the iso file as an image. It is important to create an image to burn to a DVD which will allow you to play it on most DVD players. I use <a href="http://infrarecorder.org/">Infrarecorder</a> , which is another very useful free app, but any software that allows you to "burn image" ( in infrarecorder it is under actions). Now navigate to the iso file , make sure you have a blank DVD and select burn.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnorUKYPogsC129y1EvYOc6wz1K3p4IbKCKeipvZ-MwTgcg0O2BhjA8ZD_w6wTvEGU1O70BlGdKyAtTRSl5muVxqB0DAT4fmOUM82VSB4nljlHviiveyTuvwhDY385u_YqQz5f0PPodY8/s1600/infrarecorder.png"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 272px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnorUKYPogsC129y1EvYOc6wz1K3p4IbKCKeipvZ-MwTgcg0O2BhjA8ZD_w6wTvEGU1O70BlGdKyAtTRSl5muVxqB0DAT4fmOUM82VSB4nljlHviiveyTuvwhDY385u_YqQz5f0PPodY8/s400/infrarecorder.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496797168764808642" border="0" /></a><br /></li><li>When the burn is complete you should have a finalized DVD capable of being played in any standard DVD player.</li></ul>So far my experience has been a very good one with all these programs and this process. I've been able to share a lot of family videos without the emails or home video viewings.<br /><br /></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1087838406689476466.post-64942556503177902272010-12-02T15:34:00.007-05:002010-12-02T21:47:19.560-05:00Early Impressions of Moodle2<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">It has been a few weeks since I attended a distance learning conference in Durham, and several days since the eagerly awaited <a href="http://moodle.org/news/">release of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Moodle</span>2</a>. In that time I've tried to connect the info in the sparse notes I've taken and resources on the web with what I am seeing in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Moodle</span> 2.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I owe my early impressions to both the "tire-kicking" I've done in a few <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Moodle</span>2 servers and my attendance in an excellent session on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Moodle</span>2 from Michelle at <a href="http://www.remote-learner.net/">Remote-Learner</a> and <a href="http://dougiamas.com/">Martin </a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;font-family:Georgia;" ><a href="http://dougiamas.com/"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Dougiamas</span></a>'s keynote at the<a href="http://www.nc3adl.org/conference/"> </a></span><a href="http://www.nc3adl.org/conference/">NC3<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">ADL</span> conference</a>. I'll limit my post to a few elements I think are "big deals," as well as a few areas I'll be watching before I get too excited. </span><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The Big Deals:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span><div><ul><li><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Files</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> - File Management in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Moodle</span>2 will be a big change. The ability to easily access files over different courses and the adding of repositories from external sites like <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Flickr</span> and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">GoogleDocs</span> will be game changers. The "file picker" is easy to use, but this will be a significant change from the current system and the way files operate. </span></li><li><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Hubs</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">- I love the idea of a <a href="http://hub.moodle.org/"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">moodle</span> hub</a> as a repository sharing courses. I hope this will not only create some opportunities for openness and collaboration but also might encourage more discussions about the elements of a good online course. Sharing quality course materials across institutions, colleges and departments seems like an idea whose time has come. </span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; white-space: pre-wrap;font-family:Georgia;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Conditional Activities & Completion Tracking- </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;font-family:Georgia;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Completion Tracking might be the perfect tool for allowing students and instructors to track their progress in a course. A</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;font-family:Georgia;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">ctivities</span> could be set for automatic marking or allow students to check when complete. Conditional Release is one of the additions <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Moodlers</span> have anticipated most. The ability to allow an activity only when a condition has been met might change the ways many courses are currently setup. I did hear at least a few calls for caution in using this lest your course become a series of conditional releases creating a maze for your students to navigate. </span></span></li></ul><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Cautiously Awaiting Word on....</span></b></span></span></div></div><div><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;font-family:Georgia;" ><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Backups - </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">This is also a big deal. The file extension for <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Moodle</span>2 backups is different and given some of the significant differences between the two versions, I wonder when (don't want to think "if") there will be a way to restore a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Moodle</span> 1.9 course backup into a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Moodle</span> 2 course.</span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;font-family:Georgia;" ><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Blogs and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Wikis</span> -</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I have never liked the blogs or <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">wikis</span> in 1.9. Maybe its because there have always been better tools provided outside the walls of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">Moodle</span>. So I am interested to see more of how these will look in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">Moodle</span>2. The new blog in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">Moodle</span>2 allows comments, and they may <span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: normal;font-family:Georgia,serif;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;font-family:Georgia;" >be linked to create a </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;font-family:Georgia;" > “blog about it” scenario. For <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">Bloggers</span> already using an outside/external <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">blogsite</span>, content can be easily </span></span>pulled down into the improved <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">Moodle</span> blog. The new wiki tool has supposedly </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;font-family:Georgia;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">been rebuilt, but I haven't yet explored or seen the differences. </span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;font-family:Georgia;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b>Mobile <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">Moodle</span> - </b>Although it<b> </b>is not a part of the new release of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">Moodle</span>, <a href="http://docs.moodle.org/en/Development:Mobile_app">Mobile <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">Moodle</span> </a>was mentioned by Martin <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">Dougiamas</span> as a part of his conference keynote. I'll continue to be interested in the development of the official Mobile <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">Moodle</span> App and how it might create more anytime environments for learning in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">Moodle</span>.</span></span></li></ul><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;font-size:medium;" >As with any release of a new version of any technology there is level of of uncertainty. I have heard more than once from several sources, "I'll probably wait until 2.1 or even 2.2". But I like what I see so far, and this version doesn't seem to be adding more but possibly making better what is already in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29">Moodle</span>. </span></span></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1087838406689476466.post-87386106907669940482010-10-27T13:51:00.010-04:002010-11-01T20:23:59.518-04:00Openness, Sherpas and ECI831 or Why I Follow So Many Canadians<p>"Open"courseware is not new. There are several institutions, including heavyweights like <a href="http://ocw.mit.edu/index.htm">MIT</a> that are offering up course materials available for anyone to take and use. There are materials on <a href="http://www.apple.com/education/itunes-u/what-is.html">iTunes U</a> and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/education?b=400">YouTube EDU </a>but how many institutions or professors will allow noncredit students to attend class sessions and interact with the class? </p><p>For the second year in a row I'm taking the <a href="http://eci831.wikispaces.com/">ECI831 course</a>, and I didn't fail it the first time. I'm a member of Alec Couros' growing group of <a href="http://educationaltechnology.ca/couros/1877">non-credit students/mentors</a>. I participate in as many of the online sessions as I am able and interact with the students in the course through the blog posts and <a href="http://twitter.com/#search?q=%23eci831">twitter</a>. True there is no credit for the course, but I'll benefit from the resources, ideas and learning in the course even if the topics are familiar to me. </p><p>Not only do I enjoy the course, but I'm a big fan of Alec's efforts and work in open education. He's not the only person advocating for Open(ness) in Education, but he's likely one of few who will invite you to participate in his classes.<br /></p><p>This kind of openness requires a shift from the traditional closed classroom with teacher delivering content model. As part of Alec's recent session he talked about the role of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherpa">the sherpa</a> guiding learners through landscapes filled with social media and networks, knowledge and media literacy. This is the role that must be embraced at least partially for openness in our schools to occur. It's a little scary being open and transparent in our practices. Being open puts us out there for other to judge and maybe criticize. But it also allows for support and connecting, and as uncomfortable as it may be to shift to the sherpa role, I suspect that is more of what's needed now. </p><p>For one, the world is more open, allowing us the potential to make new connections and learn in amazing ways. But it's also needed because both education and teachers have been under fire lately. Openness and transparency might allow schools to connect with communities and parents and show the kinds of learning experiences happening in their classrooms. As a parent with a young child in public school, I like openness in the classroom, not because I want my child in the open and not because I don't trust her teacher, but rather because I want to see the learning that takes place and applaud and support the efforts of her really fine teacher.<br /></p><p>A little more openness in education, whether it's courses in universities or in elementary schools, might give all a chance to be a part of a bigger learning community.</p><p>Additional Links:</p><ul><li>Wikipedia on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_educational_resources">Open Educational Resources</a><br /></li><li><a href="http://eci831.wikispaces.com/Session+List">ECI831 Session List</a></li><li><a href="http://www.curriki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Main/">Curriki</a> is a good site for finding OER in several different subjects and grades<br /></li></ul>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1087838406689476466.post-91536420109892536202010-09-16T16:12:00.010-04:002010-09-29T21:41:50.442-04:00Why I'll Keep BloggingI used to be a lot of "pull" not a lot of "push" on the web. I was a little more "R" not a lot of "R/W." The Internet was a vehicle for finding info., and while I enjoyed the birth of web 2.0 sites, I didn't do a lot of sharing or publishing myself. <div><br /></div><div>I could come up with a lot of reasons I didn't share; not enough time, not enough energy, and concern about privacy/sharing too much. But I'll admit mostly is was because I've never liked committing to the process of writing. I like brainstorming and writing, but don't like editing and revising much. Coming up with blog ideas is fun - writing it out in a way that makes sense - not so much. My wife, who is an editor by trade, can attest to all that I am saying.<br /><br />Finally, there also was something a little unsettling about putting my ideas "out there." <span>The ideas are now available for the learning, but also the critiquing and evaluating . . . globally. Sometimes it sounds a little far-fetched to say so, but I knew it was what the technology allowed- your ideas to be on display for anyone online</span>. So really, for all those reasons, it was easier not to blog.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>But all that changed when I went to work for <a href="http://twitter.com/mrhgaddis">Marlo Gaddis</a>, head of instructional technology in <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxlFBQqjMT83IftuRtqEUyLunyE-4WtEdu_xC0l522RV6BsrATOAh4KR1HUb_tPPHiW0dPybYJOmPxCEsrFo1n9kYtMFA2kQ_RE8sxgUbYj2DQZO30ocoSmc7hXenWprS1sRX5uRCnKyE/s1600/2853445444_98da9659d6_t.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 100px; height: 100px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxlFBQqjMT83IftuRtqEUyLunyE-4WtEdu_xC0l522RV6BsrATOAh4KR1HUb_tPPHiW0dPybYJOmPxCEsrFo1n9kYtMFA2kQ_RE8sxgUbYj2DQZO30ocoSmc7hXenWprS1sRX5uRCnKyE/s320/2853445444_98da9659d6_t.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522515719680610786" border="0" /></a>Winston-Salem. Her <a href="http://wsfcsintouch.blogspot.com/">department had a blog</a> which all members of the team were invited to (expected to) contribute. So in May 2008 I became a blogger.<br /><br />My first several posts were admittedly unspectacular. I posted early on because it was a requirement, but over time I found I enjoyed the process of publishing and sharing ideas. It became an important step for reflecting on my learning.<br /><br />In August of 2008 I was pleased with my post on <a href="http://wsfcsintouch.blogspot.com/2008/08/hole-in-wall-experiment.html">"The Hole in the Wall Project"</a> and the one about my favorite tool at the time<a href="http://wsfcsintouch.blogspot.com/2008/08/zoomit.html"> Zoomit</a>. Then in March 2009 I got a <a href="http://ilikebigbytes.blogspot.com/2009/03/21st-century-tech-literacy.html#comments">comment on my blog</a> from a teacher in Norway. And pretty soon I was jotting down ideas during the week of what might be my next blog post.<br /></div><br />I remember the conversations about the posts with one of my colleagues, April, who was a gifted writer herself, and found I enjoyed our discussions about blogging. She mentioned the idea of creating a blog to cross post to that could serve as a collection of all my posts; a great idea for an online portfolio. After some consideration I took the additional step and created this blog for cross posting.<br /><br />I can't say I've gotten a lot of comments on this blog, as most of the attention went to posts on the bigger district blog, but still it's been a worthwhile project. Still the highlights have been some of the comments and conversations from educators I respect who have taken a moment to comment on the posts. The process of blogging, publishing and connecting has benefited me a great deal.<br /><br />In fact a few months ago, after proofing my latest post my wife casually remarked that my writing had improved (a little) since starting to blog. It was high praise coming from the editor who will often shake her head at my cavalier attitude towards conventions and grammar rules.<br /><br />So now that I've moved into another job, there's no clear expectation in place for continuing to blog. But I think I still will. I've benefited from the reflection and writing process that goes into blogging, and I don't want that to end. I think I'll keep it up with a tip of the hat to my former boss who applied the gentle nudge that started the ball rolling. I think the blogging is less about the publishing and more about the learning and connections that are made.<br /><br />So I'm going to try to keep it going.<br /><a href="http://wsfcsintouch.blogspot.com/2008/05/thoughts-on-21st-century-learning.html"><br /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1087838406689476466.post-27617016085779154132010-09-10T12:50:00.001-04:002010-09-10T16:15:52.177-04:00What You Can Do with Creative Commons<span style="font-style:italic;"><span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifA36-PAe8E2ZfvwMubHHAHFaSGBo0nxZJxdraq_CWRxZ4d45FoMHB6_XEKEF9FFO8CVJorT1CGQz3avSa1UUWeVM9-YDuVtR4F08NNM33XqNyvsAbGYo-AImLiLsClIwgXoCVNj0srHw/s1600/3244332524_203683a98f_o.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 177px; height: 186px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifA36-PAe8E2ZfvwMubHHAHFaSGBo0nxZJxdraq_CWRxZ4d45FoMHB6_XEKEF9FFO8CVJorT1CGQz3avSa1UUWeVM9-YDuVtR4F08NNM33XqNyvsAbGYo-AImLiLsClIwgXoCVNj0srHw/s320/3244332524_203683a98f_o.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5515017149398980514" border="0" /></a>In the past it seems the only time I've been asked to talk about copyright is when there was a danger someone might not be observing it. I've held many workshops where there is just a short time to remind participants <b>not</b> to post copyrighted material to their website, blog, wiki etc. . . And because the workshop wasn't solely about copyright and because copyright can be confusing, I've seldom had the time to fully answer questions or give what I feel are good alternatives. Therefore the quick message was a lot of "don't" and "can't" and not much of "can" or "do." And this is often the same message passed on to students. <div><br /><div>But I think we can empower ourselves and our classrooms with some "can's" and "do's." A good alternative is <a href="http://creativecommons.org/">Creative Commons</a> (CC), which is a movement I've been a fan of for some time. To be clear, I am not a copyright expert or a lawyer, but from my perspective, the appeal of this option is that it seems <a href="http://creativecommons.org/about/licenses/">relatively straight-forward</a>. There there are some great posts and sites on how CC can be used by educators. Perhaps one of the best examples are the posts by <a href="http://thecleversheep.blogspot.com/2010/03/creative-commons-collaboration_08.html">the Clever Sheep</a> who has created several resources for Creative Commons and education.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpGCD47T6ct83S1QfoKsGbF47I4uK0ueF4A46OSD-uIqpg7Z7-zOgno6bbUONcdldgcsTrBQUihpGRuhqpGEZumZR1nHftZnadrhVejS3Z28w1lglPK6iX6uo5EqNW2gNro8trCvIXm1U/s400/361969834_366435e31b_o.png" style="cursor: pointer; width: 88px; height: 31px;" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5515009031957465186" border="0" /></div><div><br /></div><div>So here is my best take on using Creative Commons materials in your classrooms:</div><div>With CC, the creator can license work for reuse or noncommercial use. There are some <a href="http://creativecommons.org/about/licenses/">guidelines</a>, but much of the material is licensed for noncommercial use, so educators and students have the ability to use and reuse great media without the fear of copyright violation. There are a lot of sites with high quality media that are licensed with Creative Commons. I have listed a few of my favorites below. </div><div><br /></div><div>CC Licensed Images:</div><div><ul><li><a href="http://www.flickr.com/creativecommons">Flickr CC Search </a> flickr is full of fantastic CC images </li><li><a href="http://www.compfight.com/">Compfight</a> another way of searching flickr for CC images</li></ul></div><div>CC Audio:<br /><ul><li><a href="http://ccmixter.org/">ccmixter.org</a> community audio site</li><li><a href="http://www.jamendo.com/en/">Jamendo</a> free music downloads</li><li><a href="http://www.freesound.org/">freesound.org</a></li><li><a href="http://soundbible.com/">soundbible</a> sound effects and clips</li></ul>All CC Media:<br /><ul><li><a href="http://search.creativecommons.org/">creativecommons search</a> good starting place in searching for all media</li><li><a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page">wikimedia commons </a> cc and public domain section of Wikipedia</li></ul></div><div><div>One of the best options for students and teachers may still be creating your own media. Basically if you take the picture or create the music, you own the copyright. And this could be a great moment to discuss the licensing options and how it impacts a creative work. Maybe you and your students will license your work with Creative Commons license and add to the content being used and shared by educators. </div><div><br /></div><div>You might find that Creative Commons is a way to have copyright discussions that don't just revolve around what you can't do.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>Additional resources for CC in education:</div><div><ul><li>The Clever Sheep's <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/28035780/Creative-Commons-in-the-Classroom">Creative Commons in the Classroom</a></li><li>Wes Fryer's Copyright Resources <a href="http://teachdigital.pbworks.com/copyright">http://teachdigital.pbworks.com/copyright</a></li><li>Danny Nicholson's <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/7962755/Creative-Commons-Images-and-Sounds">Guide to Creative Commons </a></li></ul><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Images used:</span></div></div></div></div></div><div><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/guervos/361969834/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">http://www.flickr.com/photos/guervos/361969834/</span></a></div><div><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/purpleslog/3244332524/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">http://www.flickr.com/photos/purpleslog/3244332524/</span></a></div><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1087838406689476466.post-1461992501169616642010-08-02T08:43:00.005-04:002010-08-02T10:43:58.178-04:00WSFCS Online Learning<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUy6cOkL9QtQ6iUo6oyVFPQuaXFYo4t_JmpR_7JPM6txXVBUbKFSsGUcb4BDC_Y-R6OHMFVs-4YA6s1Nk57t6-wAaiL_i9bJZF9LaI4-0aJelx171wJtT8AGEDh5Cx2zORS3Ff4X3OBHQ/s1600/WSFCS_Online_Learning_.png"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 392px; height: 142px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUy6cOkL9QtQ6iUo6oyVFPQuaXFYo4t_JmpR_7JPM6txXVBUbKFSsGUcb4BDC_Y-R6OHMFVs-4YA6s1Nk57t6-wAaiL_i9bJZF9LaI4-0aJelx171wJtT8AGEDh5Cx2zORS3Ff4X3OBHQ/s400/WSFCS_Online_Learning_.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500807964384699746" border="0" /></a><br /></div>Sometime in June, WSFCS Online Learning had it's 600th participant receive credit for an online technology course since October of last year. If I'd planned ahead I would have had confetti and balloons falling from the ceiling and a shopping spree for the lucky teacher.<br /><br />Although I think 600 is a huge number, and we'll exceed 700 almost immediately in the new school year when courses again open for enrollment, I think the numbers are only important in that they show the growth and the prospects for the future.<br /><br />The real story is the way our district has changed the ways we offer professional development to better meet the needs of our educators. Teacher's time is at a premium, and while I think it will always be important to offer face-to-face workshop in professional development, teachers appreciate having the option of taking some courses and some coursework online. Courses can be self-paced and participants can choose when to take the courses. This can be a important factor for teachers who need more time in workshops or educator's whose schedules don't always allow them to attend the workshop when scheduled at their schools. There is tremendous value in allowing educators in our district these choices.<br /><br />So what does the future hold for WSFCS Online Learning? The site and course catalog has grown exponentially over the last year, and there will be more and more professional development in many different areas for interested educators. We'll continue working with the great folks in our instructional department to make sure all professional development has a place on our site, and we hope to build programs that help new teachers in our district. So we're growing and hope you'll take the time to experience online learning for yourself. You might find the time and ownership it affords you is exactly the ingredient you need in your professional development in the new school year.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1087838406689476466.post-87299961498761277812010-07-20T08:51:00.014-04:002010-07-22T08:52:41.159-04:00"AwesomeHighlighter" is...well, awesomeWe live in an exciting time for web-based tools. There is no shortage of great free options that can be used in the classroom. The challenge often exists when wading through all of them on the Internet and finding the right ones for your class. My latest recommendation for an addition to your "teacher toolbox" is "the awesome highlighter."<br />The <a href="http://www.awesomehighlighter.com/">awesomehighlighter</a> can be used to highlight text on web pages and <a href="http://awurl.com/ZEXAvyOh5">create a link to the highlighted page</a>.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieKSI-KO6A8JJ_4_TNiN0Cm0EkzqZNhMbaMxwy29jx768MwmiK1jGRJiszrv4BTQByytJgJIRzd_-MZyhXKcs9O_T5rfu_mXKwWSc2RkqjQ50SanMgG_Sbyx2iSsPQ_otmWIaCW3pWDkc/s1600/schoolwireshighlighter.png"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 354px; height: 137px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieKSI-KO6A8JJ_4_TNiN0Cm0EkzqZNhMbaMxwy29jx768MwmiK1jGRJiszrv4BTQByytJgJIRzd_-MZyhXKcs9O_T5rfu_mXKwWSc2RkqjQ50SanMgG_Sbyx2iSsPQ_otmWIaCW3pWDkc/s400/schoolwireshighlighter.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495979141549440594" border="0" /></a><br />It's a great way to provide a little guidance or instructions for using a site (above) or maybe posting discussion questions on a website (below). After you have highlighted the site and posted discussion questions, you will be given a unique url that you can then share via email or on your website. It is easy to use and free without the need to set up an account. Although you may choose to create one in order to save highlighted pages.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlTfTBESlFSYQj5JSZfjEw8Qt20rv4IFKLkc5v_-DTmFDwNbD30yMs0vkjOEIPB1ZB9jOMB0fDJ1tpVuMlttcfT9FIeF8aLBWuRnfsJgPw3d2dg9T0FyzmKh-ypxSaE3HgW0EEmiTdgwU/s1600/che.png"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 382px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlTfTBESlFSYQj5JSZfjEw8Qt20rv4IFKLkc5v_-DTmFDwNbD30yMs0vkjOEIPB1ZB9jOMB0fDJ1tpVuMlttcfT9FIeF8aLBWuRnfsJgPw3d2dg9T0FyzmKh-ypxSaE3HgW0EEmiTdgwU/s400/che.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495981385949646210" border="0" /></a><br />I think the awesomehighlighter can be used in classrooms with interactive whiteboards, projectors or mounted flatscreens, but also by teachers who would like to add the awesomehiglighted link to their websites.<div>Awesomehighlighter, a cool little web tool worth adding to your collection. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1087838406689476466.post-3917285419681628682010-07-01T09:49:00.013-04:002010-07-01T13:16:39.956-04:00Twitter & Foursquare-A Game Worth Playing?My blog posts, for the most part, follow a predictable pattern. I blog about experiences in ed tech or maybe a new tool I've found that I feel deserves attention. I generally avoid topics that I think will create a stir, in part because I cross-post on my department's blog, but also because I don't like to publicly rain on parades. However, sometimes a lot can be learned from a discourse on a subject and maybe a good comment to a blog post will help me learn something.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw4tQ-dyxDxX4EJhOUTpbkHu3waaQeVIlWo_tiatXjasjtiJUp31HC0jB0YC3ElUc1EJt5TCxcYsj4ARt92luvStF0Fg-5V1qkNh3ekekx2JoMXscVXpCQiqIfJk6seJVow0ba4AbV7T0/s1600/3367761841_28c7691219_m.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 124px; height: 219px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw4tQ-dyxDxX4EJhOUTpbkHu3waaQeVIlWo_tiatXjasjtiJUp31HC0jB0YC3ElUc1EJt5TCxcYsj4ARt92luvStF0Fg-5V1qkNh3ekekx2JoMXscVXpCQiqIfJk6seJVow0ba4AbV7T0/s320/3367761841_28c7691219_m.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5488984408699794818" border="0" /></a>So here goes . . . I don't like <a href="http://foursquare.com/">Foursquare</a>, and I think it deters efforts to encourage educators to use <a href="http://twitter.com/">Twitter</a>.<br /><br />I'm not a "foursquare expert," but I'll explain it as best I can. On<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foursquare_%28service%29"> Wikipedia, Foursquare</a> is described as a location-based social networking website that allows users to "check in" at locations and earn points, badges, etc. . . . Foursquare can be integrated with Twitter so when a Foursquare user "checks in" the update is broadcast in <a href="http://twitter.com/">Twitter</a>.<br /><br />In the past year I've spent some time talking about the ways I think Twitter can be a great tool for educators to build a PLN that will share ideas and resources related to learning and education. I've tried to dispel the notion that Twitter is for movie stars and narcissists who think the rest of the world cares what they are doing. Because I believe Twitter is a great tool for making connections and sharing ideas with other skilled, passionate educators from around the globe. Then along comes Foursquare which allows users to turn in location-based reporting into a game. Collecting badges and ousting others from their "foursquare Mayor" duties.<br /><br />Now I'm not arguing there couldn't be educational value attached to Foursquare (on field trips, for example), and I know there is a need to learn technology ourselves so we can help guide students to make wise decisions using mobile technology. I won't even scratch the surface on some of the privacy issues that need to be considered with any location-based programs. And I don't have issues with geolocation games (who doesn't like games?).<br /><br />I'm focused on Foursquare's impact on Twitter because my twitterstream will now occasionally include:<br /><br />"John Doe just became Mayor of Best Buy"<br />"Jane Doe just unlocked her newbie badge"<br />"I'm at Chick-fil-a at Northgate Mall"<br /><br />(Sigh) Now I know I could "unfollow" users of Foursquare and these updates would disappear. But a lot of these people often bring real value to my network. I respect and learn with many of these educators, and I don't want to lose that value. And I am not against some of the social aspects of Twitter. I really enjoy some of the support and water cooler banter that is on Twitter every day. So I'll tolerate the updates on where you ate lunch because I value you, your ideas and your commitment to education.<br /><br />But for the new user, the skeptic, the teacher short on time who is <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_xspLZJ73l62ByzzYSuqQ48lUv0NUju2BlsoIdOWImoP1buf2hRg8K8Xo-uS5eSEgca7dsJ_4K2Myhcg3c2KFtFXMiJrFvbjUnVgeAjGUKy3iKjtzNxMmpAq9kb3yswbzG_ly0GOtGec/s1600/3264740932_4472faa1e2_m.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 187px; height: 175px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_xspLZJ73l62ByzzYSuqQ48lUv0NUju2BlsoIdOWImoP1buf2hRg8K8Xo-uS5eSEgca7dsJ_4K2Myhcg3c2KFtFXMiJrFvbjUnVgeAjGUKy3iKjtzNxMmpAq9kb3yswbzG_ly0GOtGec/s320/3264740932_4472faa1e2_m.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5488986380114166530" border="0" /></a>still evaluating Twitter or the tech dept making decisions about whether Twitter is a website worth unblocking for teachers, I think Foursquare is a negative force. I think it adds to the notion that Twitter is just a social tool meant to report "What's happening?" I think while Foursquare helps Twitter become a more "social" tool, it harms the credibility of Twitter as a "learning" tool.<br /><br />So Foursquare users am I uniformed? Not giving Foursquare a fair chance? Missing out?<br /><br />Additional Reading:<br /><ul><li>Vicki Davis recently posted a <a href="http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2010/06/foursquare-beginners-guide-at-iste10.html">Foursquare Beginner's Guide from ISTE</a> (including Steven W. Anderson) that is well worth reading and maybe has a different view of Foursquare.</li></ul>Image Credits:<br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Both images used were licensed under CreativeCommons</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">http://www.flickr.com/photos/dpstyles/3367761841/</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">http://www.flickr.com/photos/marco40134/3264740932/</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1087838406689476466.post-82703503179048256552010-06-16T10:41:00.016-04:002010-06-16T13:56:32.306-04:00New Promethean Planet for StorageWhen Promethean Planet recently upgraded their site and released the news they would be giving users 1 GB (yup, 1 GB!!) of storage space, I immediately thought of all the teachers I've known who've dealt with issues regarding how best to store their Activboard flipcharts.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirV0r5tavzca9N4q4sXdFs9gZz9R0zq99CBqlESHMJVe9F9pQ5VYvjDRVL88K4DpnaUdYCdOmioP89xRFfghoKjQkngCTBUH-Bk4tEbj14V6saQ9eE9zgyz-bTKG8L3oQbQ7BoHfJ1JY4/s1600/planet3.png"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 64px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirV0r5tavzca9N4q4sXdFs9gZz9R0zq99CBqlESHMJVe9F9pQ5VYvjDRVL88K4DpnaUdYCdOmioP89xRFfghoKjQkngCTBUH-Bk4tEbj14V6saQ9eE9zgyz-bTKG8L3oQbQ7BoHfJ1JY4/s320/planet3.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483389566342256162" border="0" /></a><br />Our district offers each teacher space on district servers, but teachers who are heavy users and develop and save flipcharts all year long often eventually max out that space.<br />I've seen teachers who have carried around several color-coded flashdrives each filled with flipcharts or purchased external hard drives to hold all their flipcharts. Of course issues arise when you don't have the equipment on hand or the hardware is misplaced or fails.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhShb7bax96NK-FyTC7JgzqZF6PyquZ75FjX5abP_qvhck7PwTZbdb3jIw1kr8SG3IM44il0QktSchZ-d50Zwqz4gyBtUWl-idY6SY65li_CT5Xg4bn40kQWizCj4l48EuDYHpplNmDH1U/s1600/planet2.png"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 186px; height: 263px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhShb7bax96NK-FyTC7JgzqZF6PyquZ75FjX5abP_qvhck7PwTZbdb3jIw1kr8SG3IM44il0QktSchZ-d50Zwqz4gyBtUWl-idY6SY65li_CT5Xg4bn40kQWizCj4l48EuDYHpplNmDH1U/s320/planet2.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483390254579808290" border="0" /></a>The best solution now may be to keep Activboard files on the Promethean Planet. I've expressed my love for cloud computing in the past, and I'm pleased to see Promethean is providing this service for Promethean Planet members. With 1 GB of space for flipcharts teachers can purge those "My Documents" and flashdrives and use Planet not just as a place to search for resources, but also a place to store files as well. Kind of a one-stop shop for Promethean-related files.<br /><br />Teachers always need to be aware of the information they put online, but the vast majority of the flipcharts I own don't contain any specific user information, so I'll enjoy having my flipcharts in one spot.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvCyEPbOSeq07HhI1HFFIyCQV3hLhnqGELDl2b9TC6ygS6Y1RwwEOViSntYiWhyp5RSRISZnfatPO1o_3uWclB7mUahI3Mm6PfpXTOcRZMXHcjPb4bZMi47XA_A69oPzHw14ZT9XZbQUU/s1600/planet.png"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 120px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvCyEPbOSeq07HhI1HFFIyCQV3hLhnqGELDl2b9TC6ygS6Y1RwwEOViSntYiWhyp5RSRISZnfatPO1o_3uWclB7mUahI3Mm6PfpXTOcRZMXHcjPb4bZMi47XA_A69oPzHw14ZT9XZbQUU/s320/planet.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483390684394370690" border="0" /></a><br />The one drawback I can see in my plan is that I am at the mercy of my Internet connection and Promethean Planet's site, but the lure of 1 GB of storage is enough to get my attention. And as teachers who use Promethean Planet plan and prepare for the next school year, I'll encourage them to look into this free storage option.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1087838406689476466.post-8120377656086968772010-06-08T15:45:00.010-04:002010-06-09T15:33:29.001-04:00Summertime BlogsThe summer can be a great time for reflection and planning for implementing new ideas for the upcoming school year. Teachers often use the summer months as the time to try out some new things and plan for how to integrate technology into their lessons. So as the school year begins to wind down for 2009-10, I'd like to suggest my Teacher's Top 3 Blogs for Summer Reading. <div><br /></div><div>These are all blogs I've been following that I feel provide easy ways to incorporate technology into your classroom, whatever grade you teach. </div><div><ul><li>I've mentioned Richard Byrne's <a href="http://www.freetech4teachers.com/">www.freetech4teachers.com</a> before as a <a href="http://ilikebigbytes.blogspot.com/2009/06/blogs-to-follow.html">great blog to follow</a> for reviews of tech tools and ways they can be used in the classroom. His blog posts are concise and often don't just discuss the tool but also ways it can be used for educators. </li><li>Kelly Tenkely's <a href="http://ilearntechnology.com/">http://ilearntechnology.com/</a> blog is another blog worth following. I think Kelly's <a href="http://ilearntechnology.com/?page_id=1353">Promethean Quick Tips</a> should be required reading for teachers in our district who have activboards. But her audience is not just teachers with activboards. Her blog often highlights a site or tool that any classroom could use. </li><li>Vanessa Cassie's blog moved this year to <a href="http://sharpsav.com/blog/">http://sharpsav.com/blog/</a> . She offers several posts for the SMARTboard users, but like Kelly offers a lot of tips for people using any interactive whiteboard or even none at all. </li></ul>Again all these blogs are short reads that yield a lot of valuable content and would be great sites for those who are just starting to following blogs. There are several others I feel could be added to the list, but it's the summer after all, so I'll keep the reading list brief. Just a little extra education for that much-deserved vacation. :)</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1087838406689476466.post-21252545951993160052010-05-17T13:52:00.012-04:002010-05-17T15:45:21.280-04:00If You Build It....Our district is currently changing website providers from Schoolcenter to Schoolwires. No small feat for a district our size. So much of my time lately has been spent in these efforts at schools and online providing help for teachers to move content and create with the new Schoolwires site. <div><br /></div><div>In some of these work sessions, I've heard teachers voice what is a common concern at some of our schools. </div><div><br /></div><div>"Why do I need to create a webpage? My students don't have Internet at home, and parents don't check it."</div><div><br /></div><div>I've heard this response before when talking about blogs, wikis, voicethread, animoto, or almost any web2.0 tool. And when answering I try to channel my best voice from <i>Field of Dreams</i>.</div><div><br /></div><div>"If you build it they will come." </div><div><br /></div><div>It is true some of our communities do not have widespread Internet access, but I suspect if they feel the teachers are providing important information and showcasing their child's classroom many in fact will come and find a way to check the site. I've found students also find ways to get online and check classroom sites if they have a reason, especially if they think they'll see some of their own work. Indeed some of the best blogs and websites in our district belong to teachers whose students and class parents may or may not be able to get to it at home. But those teachers' sites look great, and I suspect people find ways to get to the sites. </div><div><br />And although it wasn't in <i>Field of Dreams</i>, I can almost guarantee that if <span style="font-style:italic;">you don't build it they will not come</span>. </div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLrB0xNEjldj1pOHfFfJmv7_EKNZ46YEMC5hFUhv3VIpOiwIW8rBzft0PW4aHq5B-IS7BJgeKhqhjNxjVKrxy06BWjKzFDLSwK8yfwFo4pz8kup4ua7xH2Rvzr54UmyZyU8McCXCUNFLM/s1600/cornfield.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLrB0xNEjldj1pOHfFfJmv7_EKNZ46YEMC5hFUhv3VIpOiwIW8rBzft0PW4aHq5B-IS7BJgeKhqhjNxjVKrxy06BWjKzFDLSwK8yfwFo4pz8kup4ua7xH2Rvzr54UmyZyU8McCXCUNFLM/s320/cornfield.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472325843311839874" /></a><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLrB0xNEjldj1pOHfFfJmv7_EKNZ46YEMC5hFUhv3VIpOiwIW8rBzft0PW4aHq5B-IS7BJgeKhqhjNxjVKrxy06BWjKzFDLSwK8yfwFo4pz8kup4ua7xH2Rvzr54UmyZyU8McCXCUNFLM/s1600/cornfield.jpg"></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/docsearls/3677676815/sizes/m/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">http://www.flickr.com/photos/docsearls/3677676815/sizes/m/</span></a><br /><div><br /></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1087838406689476466.post-17485469253906491992010-04-29T15:03:00.013-04:002010-05-06T21:32:49.805-04:00Making Connections<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgctfor859Bp-AJZG4IbPggAa4OuIJGmHYTd0rW3Oew6l5gGzxNnFCy0Kez2UHUr2x6Dro02UOwJpsO5DrtlmPs9pv0Z8k-pY12GVsoLizPhQ2KWbInUuDLpaMbA2oLVYGYr9v5xd2Je6c/s1600/DSCN0061.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgctfor859Bp-AJZG4IbPggAa4OuIJGmHYTd0rW3Oew6l5gGzxNnFCy0Kez2UHUr2x6Dro02UOwJpsO5DrtlmPs9pv0Z8k-pY12GVsoLizPhQ2KWbInUuDLpaMbA2oLVYGYr9v5xd2Je6c/s320/DSCN0061.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465637376501686786" border="0" /></a>I was invited to Ms. Alexander's Science class last week. Her fifth grade class was being taught a science lesson involving energy and simple machines by a guest instructor at Carolina Biological in Burlington. All week her classes had the opportunity to watch and interact with this scientist via videoconference.<br /><br /><div>And as I watched the students ask and answer questions of Mike, as he performed experiments, created simple machines and quizzed the kids on the results, I thought of a memorable quote by Will Richardson.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>"<b>We as educators need to reconsider our roles in students' lives, to think of ourselves as connectors first and content experts second</b><span class="Apple-style-span">."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">The quote appeared in</span><a href="http://www.edutopia.org/collaboration-age-technology-will-richardson"> Edutopia</a><span class="Apple-style-span"> as well as on a picture on flickr by Dean Shareski (see below). I've used this quote for some time in presentations during technology integration sessions. The picture from flickr provides that visual for "teachers as connectors" I like to use. And I like that "technology" is not mentioned. Technology is a great vehicle for the connections, but it's still about the teachers and students. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">Technology has the most potential in classrooms where teachers, like Ms. Alexander, embrace the idea of becoming a connector. And for technology to make the biggest impact, it needs to be used as a tool for transforming instruction not an "add-on" to the current instruction in the classroom. Ms. Alexander wasn't showing videoconferencing to her students, but instead allowing videoconferencing to show her class a guest instructor. </span><span class="Apple-style-span">And I think the important distinction to make is </span><span class="Apple-style-span">that she was utilizing technology to create an educational experience rather than just using technology.<br /></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhc0Ia7NqsTNpU6RHaiszBjrGBgIfEQK9YHBujEzdKCpLB_-mOr_ATJ3cZJ9WviChH4sF1MxoHdcJDszC-poOKin3OIqj1hyphenhyphenxx1htsOOK61rVggydZf6Rj__Dv9Gqhlr3U61tcGzJm-Vw/s1600/3589627137_ed86f066b8.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhc0Ia7NqsTNpU6RHaiszBjrGBgIfEQK9YHBujEzdKCpLB_-mOr_ATJ3cZJ9WviChH4sF1MxoHdcJDszC-poOKin3OIqj1hyphenhyphenxx1htsOOK61rVggydZf6Rj__Dv9Gqhlr3U61tcGzJm-Vw/s320/3589627137_ed86f066b8.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465643137136164402" border="0" /></a><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size:78%;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/shareski/3589627137/sizes/m/"><span class="Apple-style-span">http://www.flickr.com/photos/shareski/3589627137/sizes/m/</span></a></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1087838406689476466.post-68315753896468601872010-04-22T13:58:00.008-04:002010-04-26T08:44:40.195-04:00The Write On WSFCS Wiki Year 2<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgddG7K2suvNB6gAdW9XyUTyasDleaUvbcbeINjK0HcDx2BOKAGtYsDQBu-00VOZTgkJWqQD1949Le-_5OJQMsc_7pG_O2nnhzsbweehuAH6DUVLSFdHVITbLxm_5lgv31g4wvOI53zllQ/s1600/writeonwsfcs.png"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 173px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgddG7K2suvNB6gAdW9XyUTyasDleaUvbcbeINjK0HcDx2BOKAGtYsDQBu-00VOZTgkJWqQD1949Le-_5OJQMsc_7pG_O2nnhzsbweehuAH6DUVLSFdHVITbLxm_5lgv31g4wvOI53zllQ/s320/writeonwsfcs.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464424639330004402" /></a>This month wrapped up the second installment of the <a href="http://writeonwsfcs.pbworks.com/">Write On WSFCS wiki</a>, a wiki webpage used to create a district writing project for elementary schools. I was pleased many of the teachers and classrooms involved last year were willing to take it on again this year, and despite the snow days elementary schools across the district did an awesome job taking turns writing and illustrating this year's story. <div><br /></div><div>This has become one of my favorite projects over the last two years, and I hope the students and teachers enjoyed the project as much as I did. <div>My thanks to all the classes and teachers that participated. Please check out our story at <a href="http://writeonwsfcs.pbworks.com/">http://writeonwsfcs.pbworks.com/</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div><ul><li>The 2009-10 write on wiki <a href="http://writeonwsfcs.pbworks.com/2009-10">schedule </a></li><li>Last year's story <a href="http://writeonwsfcs.pbworks.com/The-Story">"What Did You Say?"</a></li></ul></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1087838406689476466.post-17316170348384770122010-04-19T09:17:00.012-04:002010-04-19T13:06:44.191-04:00Need Some Earth Day 2010 Resources?With Earth Day 2010 only a few days away, it's a great time to integrate a few Earth friendly activities into the day's lessons. Whether your school has planned a day of events or whether you'll be observing a little Earth Day in your classroom, it's nice to have some ideas and resources to pull for use in the class.<div><div><br /></div><div>In years past I'd spend some time googling "Earth Day" to see what came up, but now I've found several educators and websites who have put together lists of great Earth Day resources. </div><div><br /></div><div>Here is a list of a few sites that can connect you to some great ideas for Earth Day:</div><div><ul><li>Larry Ferlazzo covers a lot of well-done Earth Day sites in <a href="http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2009/04/02/the-best-earth-day-sites/">a recent entry on his "Websites of the Day blog</a>. </li><li>Education World also has a worthwhile list of links to sites on <a href="http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/sites/sites029.shtml">Earth Day and the enviroment</a></li><li><a href="http://www.thinkgreen.com/earthdayideas">ThinkGreen.com</a> - Discovery Ed and Waste Management's site has a lot of activities and lessons for all grade levels. </li><li>If you still need more ideas, check out the directory of sites on Earth Day, recycling and the environment on <a href="http://cybraryman.com/environment.html">Cybrary Man's Environment page</a>. </li></ul><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/44551921@N04/4534789566/" title="earthday by evmaiden, on Flickr"><img style="width: 354px; height: 266px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4065/4534789566_40ac066200.jpg" alt="earthday " /></a></div></div><br />Happy Earth Day!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1087838406689476466.post-67092967646068422982010-03-11T19:26:00.010-05:002010-03-11T20:56:23.974-05:00NCTIES 2010: Why Tweet?This is the first blog of what I'm sure will be several posts inspired by my time at the 2010 NCTIES conference in Raleigh. As I've reflected and read some of the recent blog posts from the great educators and presenters who attended the conference, I echo many of their thoughts. The conference is a whirlwind of new ideas and a brief chance to meet some of the really important figures in Edtech. <div>And I was pleased to have the opportunity to present a session at this year's conference. My session "Why Tweet?" was designed to make the case for why educators should use Twitter as a tool for creating a personal learning network (a phrase I heard repeated several times at many different sessions). My session grew from my realization that the Twitter workshop I've led in the past didn't always result in teachers who continued to use Twitter after the workshop. I always got good feedback and people enjoyed seeing the tool and hearing me talk about it, but they stopped short of using it for very long themselves. Why? I think maybe too much of the workshop was about "the tool" and not enough about "why use the tool."<br /></div><div>So I traveled to Raleigh with a new approach. Show the tool, share how I've used it, and explain the ways I've seen it utilized to share great ideas, resources and make connections. Thinking that if the presentation made sense, participants might spend the time to set up the account and get started. </div><div>Early Friday morning I presented "Why Tweet?" and was pleased and honored to see some folks roll out of bed to hear me talk about Twitter for an hour. I also appreciated the support of some who already use Twitter, are already a part of my PLN and really didn't need a rationale of why they should useTwitter but still were there; it's always nice to see a few familiar faces in the crowd. </div><div>So while I was satisfied with the session, I was even more pleased to connect with some from the session on Twitter. I'm a believer in the power of the personal learning network, and it's changed the way I learn and access information. So much good results when learners network. </div><div>I've included the presentation below if you'd like to check it out. </div><div><br /></div><iframe src="http://app.sliderocket.com/app/fullplayer.aspx?id=ffa8da2e-08f9-4e2e-8a62-0ff7ecbbe56c" width="400" height="326" scrolling="no" frameborder="1" style="border:1px solid #333333;border-bottom-style:none"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1087838406689476466.post-37165935437548678512010-03-01T21:17:00.007-05:002010-03-01T21:59:29.373-05:00LivebindersOne of my goals is to provide teachers with quality, usable technology tools for their classrooms. Most teachers want their tech resources to be easy to learn and use (no detailed handouts or pages of notes needed), they want the new tools to have a place in their own classrooms and subject areas, and they want the new tools to save them time.<div><br /><div> <div>Livebinders meets all those criteria and by organizing websites and webcontent. The setup is very clear. And if you have an idea of how you'd like to organize select websites around a subject, theme, class schedule, etc... you'll be binding websites together in no time. </div><div><br /></div><div>Using it in the classroom:</div><div><ul><li>If you have a projector, interactive whiteboard or flatscreen TV, Livebinders is a great way to present websites to your classes. In presentation mode the Livebinder is visually appealing and allows you to quickly jump from webpage to webpage without opening new browsers or tabs. </li><li>Your Livebinders can be used in centers on the classroom computers, allowing students to explore a topic or theme while staying on the websites chosen by the teacher. </li><li>Your binders can be linked to your webpage or embedded in a blog or wiki. This permits students to access the Livebinder from any connected computer. Livebinders are a great way to collect sites to support or enrich classroom instruction. </li><li>Finally, while a Livebinder can be set to "private," many of the livebinders are public and teachers can benefit from the broader community of educators using Livebinders - seeing and using websites other teachers have found. </li></ul>Livebinders is a functional, easy-to-use addition to any teacher's tech toolbox. Check it out at <a href="http://livebinders.com/">http://livebinders.com/</a> and if you're interested in see a few examples first, check out my Livebinders on the SMART and Promethean resources below:<br /><br /></div><div><div style="width:75px; height:78px; background-image:url(http://www.livebinders.com/images/binder_straightened.gif); border:0px none; margin-top:4px; background-repeat: no-repeat"><a href="http://livebinders.com/play/play?id=7376"><img src="http://open.thumbshots.org/image.pxf?url=http://www.getsmartwithsmartboards.com/" style="width:60px; height:60px; border:0px none; margin:14px 0px 6px 11px;" /></a></div><div><a href="http://livebinders.com/play/play?id=7376">SMART resources</a><br /></div><br /><div style="width:75px; height:78px; background-image:url(http://www.livebinders.com/images/binder_straightened.gif); border:0px none; margin-top:4px; background-repeat: no-repeat"><a href="http://livebinders.com/play/play?id=7952"><img src="http://open.thumbshots.org/image.pxf?url=http://www.starfall.com/" style="width:60px; height:60px; border:0px none; margin:14px 0px 6px 11px;" /></a></div><div><a href="http://livebinders.com/play/play?id=7952">Promethean/ Activ Resources</a><br /></div><br /></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1087838406689476466.post-37084289603120523232010-02-09T10:43:00.011-05:002010-02-18T12:21:42.284-05:00"Best of" Edition: Great Examples of AnimotoAnimoto is not new. It's been available for educators to use for years, and Evan <a href="http://wsfcsintouch.blogspot.com/2008/05/animoto-in-education_09.html">wrote a blog post on Animoto</a> back in 2008. So although I'll mention <a href="http://animoto.com/">Animoto</a> and how fantastic it is, and how it has so many uses in your classroom, I want this blog post to be about showcasing some fabulous teachers and how they've used Animoto. In this post I'm giving a little pat on the back to some folks who deserve it, and perhaps provide a little inspiration to anyone out there considering using Animoto. <div><br /></div><div>I've been working with several elementary schools this year, and at many of the schools we've covered Animoto as one of our professional development sessions. These are just a few of the really impressive Animoto videos created by teachers at some of the schools I work with. </div><div><ul><li><a href="http://animoto.com/play/yhtKGA6Xc1ANxk11QXU3lQ">Observing Ocean Life</a> by Ms. Johnson - what a great way to showcase student work.</li><li><a href="http://mrplane.blogspot.com/2009/12/fifth-grade-field-trip.html">Fifth Grade Field Trip</a> by Mr. Plane - field trip video embedded in his blog is a unique way for students to reflect on the trip they just took or to prep the next group of students (check out the student comments on the blog).</li><li><a href="http://animoto.com/play/md7xipiw0PNALmGyL1TlsA">Super Snowpeople</a> by Ms. Larson - what better way to excite a kindergarten class studying snowmen than to show a quick video.</li><li><a href="http://animoto.com/play/R0NicJLtz8QAV0KRRx408w">Winter Party 2009</a> by Ms. Edwards - this video is a great way to share and preserve the experience with parents and community.</li><li><a href="http://animoto.com/play/akTAc1vgIR34GG2M0lDIjw">2009-2010 Speas Artwork</a> by Ms. Laney- another great way to showcase student artwork for all to see. </li><li><a href="http://animoto.com/play/ZkL6Y1GArGGTF1X3eRfynw">Eshlemania at Sciworks</a> by Ms. Eshleman - What student wouldn't be excited about going to Sciworks after seeing this video clip?</li></ul>It's great to see some of the fantastic ways teachers use technology to support learning and the ways Animoto can be used in the classroom. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1087838406689476466.post-2414133222852418692010-01-25T19:59:00.004-05:002010-01-25T22:01:04.135-05:00PhotoPeachMany teachers I encounter in workshops have one desire for professional development,<div> "I want it to be easy to use, and I want to be able to remember how to use it after you're gone."</div><div><br /></div><div>It's a tall order to fill sometimes. Effective use of some technology tools can take time and practice. However, it's nice when I can give them a resource that is both useful and easy to use. Photopeach is one of those resources. </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://photopeach.com/home">PhotoPeach</a> is a tool for creating online slideshows and basic quizzes without a lot of hassle; think web-based Photostory with a quiz feature. </div><div><br /></div><div>There are really only two steps:</div><div><ul><li>Upload and arrange your pictures.</li><li>Select background music from their catalog. </li></ul><div>After the slideshow has been created you may choose to add multiple choice questions for each slide. That's it. I've heard some positive feedback from several teachers who work with a variety of subjects and ages groups. </div><div><br /></div><div>Check out my basic Photopeach slideshow quiz below:</div></div><br /><b>Where are we? on PhotoPeach</b><br /><br /><div><object width="445" height="296"><param name="movie" value="http://photopeach.com/public/swf/story.swf"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="flashvars" value="photos=http://photopeach.com%2Fapi%2Fgetphotos%3Falbum_id%3D61ncly&autoplay=0&embed=1"><embed src="http://photopeach.com/public/swf/story.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="296" flashvars="photos=http://photopeach.com%2Fapi%2Fgetphotos%3Falbum_id%3D61ncly&autoplay=0&embed=1"></embed></object></div><br /><div>Photopeach could be a great addition to your tech resources, without investing a lot of time learning the program. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1087838406689476466.post-52778766989876975322010-01-11T08:06:00.007-05:002010-01-11T13:17:36.558-05:00Call for Administrators at NCTIESIt's less than two months until the <a href="http://www.ncties.com/conference/">NCTIES 2010 conference in Raleigh</a>, and I'm already looking forward to the event. I've been fortunate to attend and present at this statewide technology conference <a href="http://wsfcsintouch.blogspot.com/2009/03/preconference-at-ncties.html">in past years</a>. And there are several educators from around the state and speakers from around the country that I look forward to seeing. I've always left the conference with excitement and ideas about how technology can help educators and students. It's always a great experience.<br />That's why I'd love to see administrators from our district attend this conference. I think they would also be energized by the ideas they'll hear and the kinds of technology they will see. Administrators play such a key role as the head of their schools. The schools I've seen that seem to have the best technology integration have great teachers and tech facilitators, but they also have leadership that has a vision for technology and how it will be used in their school.<br />So I'm calling on the administrators (many of whom were in the <a href="http://wsfcsintouch.blogspot.com/2009/08/nothing-but-nets.html">Nothing But NETs Conference</a> last summer) to look at attending at least some of the NCTIES conference this March in Raleigh and seeing some of the ways technology can impact our classrooms, teachers and students.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNPILiit01JS9pSBid8uQf3LN0chyXkaeMP1GhltW_WtPhpnmmvvj_v9gHi6GsHahwDdkb1sIguz9uETWl_bB_0H3le3FakKawXjQ5h8tqzslLkNJGKIcTd5sQvnCJaC4TzWNkoSYS6BM/s1600-h/NCTIESBanner.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 229px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNPILiit01JS9pSBid8uQf3LN0chyXkaeMP1GhltW_WtPhpnmmvvj_v9gHi6GsHahwDdkb1sIguz9uETWl_bB_0H3le3FakKawXjQ5h8tqzslLkNJGKIcTd5sQvnCJaC4TzWNkoSYS6BM/s320/NCTIESBanner.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425548001880690610" border="0" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1087838406689476466.post-76742248205629460052009-12-03T09:43:00.009-05:002010-02-27T08:21:26.187-05:00First Impressions of Google WaveSo in one of the first "waves" ever sent to me, Angie (who I'd sent an invite to Google Wave) asked, "So can you describe Google Wave in five words?" Like many of us she wanted to know why she would begin using this new platform without watching the<i> <a href="http://wave.google.com/help/wave/about.html">looooong </a></i><a href="http://wave.google.com/help/wave/about.html">video on the "About Google Wave" site</a> and why she wouldn't just use email or skype. <div><div><br /></div><div>Well, I've been using it a bit and reading some good posts on what others thought of the wave. And while I think the possibilities down the road are great, here are some of my early impressions.<br /><br /></div><div><b>Things I like:</b></div><div><ul><li>Like many Google products it's very intuitive and has a friendly, clean interface. You don't feel like you need a manual to get started. And if you have a Google account already this is just another piece to add. </li><li>Possibility to be a great tool for collaboration. Sure you can use it for email communication, but it might be at its best with groups, where you need to track the thread of the conversation. Google Wave might really be a great way to share information, links and documents all in one "wave," in real-time. </li><li>Less email (the bane of my existence on some days...I can't even talk about it) or at least the possibility to create one wave that would allow participants to respond without several "replies to all" ending up in inboxes. </li></ul></div><div><b>Things I don't like (right now):</b></div><div><ul><li>Seems slow. In a few practice waves with multiple contributors the "real-time" communication was a little slow. I imagine this will get better as Google continues to work out the kinks.</li><li>Not enough people on wave. As invites to wave continue to go out this will also get better, but Google Wave is not very exciting if you don't have anyone to wave to. </li></ul></div><div>To be fair Google Wave is still in "preview mode," so it will improve and there are all sorts of cool things I've heard will eventually be a part of wave. So for now I enjoy what it is and look forward to the future of the wave.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>In the meantime I have three more invites to Google Wave. I'll send them to the first three educators who contact me with the email or gmail account they'd like to use.</div><div><br /></div><div>Oh, and my answer in five words was <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">skypeIM + email + Wiki = google wave</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Not bad for a five word limit. :)</span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2s7049ACqULkSlqZi6R8-98ta2VPYh2DH86njj5YkfcaXAnvQqNaMC724UV4VHC0P22FOZZt7lPDWtfTBMFpZaf9r6skK-vIVlqVlWhA8b9NNhrPOI2djIsdetNrvWKjnZQMz-QQXISA/s1600-h/4109012700_08fb9c0378_m.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2s7049ACqULkSlqZi6R8-98ta2VPYh2DH86njj5YkfcaXAnvQqNaMC724UV4VHC0P22FOZZt7lPDWtfTBMFpZaf9r6skK-vIVlqVlWhA8b9NNhrPOI2djIsdetNrvWKjnZQMz-QQXISA/s320/4109012700_08fb9c0378_m.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442912415074138546" style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 240px; " /></a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rafagarces/4109012700/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">http://www.flickr.com/photos/rafagarces/4109012700/</span></a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b>Additional Links & Readings:</b></span><br /><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Jane Hart has a great </span><a href="http://www.c4lpt.co.uk/ReadingLists/googlewave.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Google Wave Reading List</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Lee Stacey's short and sweet</span><a href="http://leestacey.com/confused-by-google-wave-googlewave"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Confused by Google Wave? post</span></a></li><li><a href="http://wave.google.com/help/wave/using-wave.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Google Wave Overview</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> from the official site</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">ESchool News </span><a href="http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/?i=59086"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Google Wave has Great Potential for Education</span></a></li></ul></span></span></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0