Tech4Teachers

Tech4Teachers Moving to New Site

2010-06-19T16:03:00.000-07:00

My Tech4Teachers blog has been moved to:

dennisgrice.com/blog

Please update your bookmarks, favorites, & blog readers.

Thanks,

-Dennis

What I Learned From Twitter This Week

2010-05-10T12:43:00.000-07:00

A while back, someone posted a message asking about my favorite teacher. I'm wondering if Twitter might be an acceptable answer. Now I've had some amazing teachers in my past and I mean no dishonor or disrespect to them, but when I stop and think about where I'm getting much of what I'm learning right now, I'd have to say that Twitter has been an excellent teacher - or more accurately the group brain of all those I follow on Twitter.

For example, here is just a sample of what I've learned this week...

MONDAY
From @imcguy

Thanks Chad. I too really need to take a look at my privacy settings and share this slideshow with others.

From @jgriffith2

I learned that Glogster is a great way to create and share workshop flyers. This sounds much more fun than a plain old Word document or PDF.

TUESDAY
From a retweet by @jasonschmidt123

Will definately have to forward this list to my teachers. Okay, sometimes I'm guilty of a few of these myself.

WEDNESDAY
Busy with meetings and student projects. Didn't have much time to check Twitter today. It's sad when I think about all the learning I probably missed. :(

THURSDAY
From @kditzler

I spent way too much time this morning squashing flies with this little math game.

Direct Message from @rjacklin

Thanks to Twitter, our 3rd grade was able to video chat with another 3rd grade at Rob's school near St. Louis. We shared information about our schools and communities. It was a first skype for both classes - and it won't be the last.

FRIDAY
From @wfryer

I know Steve Jobs says that iPods and iPads will not support Flash, but that didn't stop a few people from figuring out a way to make it work. Thanks for sharing this. Although until I know for sure that my confidential info was safe, I'd limit use to flash sites that don't require you enter your username and password.

The All Important Question

2010-04-30T16:10:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know me, I am a technology coordinator, tech teacher, technology coach, or for lack of a better title, the guy in charge of making sure our teachers and students are using technology effectively to support curriculum. My workplace is St. John's Lutheran School in Orange, California. We are a K-8 Christian elementary school with approximately 680 students. We are currently finishing year 2 of a 3 year plan to implement 1:1 Tablet PC's in our middle school. Students in K-5 currently share a single computer lab and also have one student computer in each classroom.

Last week my principal asked me these three questions:

How you would like to see instruction change as technology develops?
How does it transform instructional strategies?

AND THE ALL IMPORTANT QUESTION...

How do we intentionally design and train staff to accomplish the desired outcomes?

This was my e-mail response:

Yesterday I had a teacher share with me that they would really love to have some of “those mini laptops” for their classroom. When I asked why, they excitedly shared their vision of students being able to take STAR Reading, Math, and Accelerated Reader tests whenever they wanted. Seriously, if that’s the only argument for putting technology in the K-5 classrooms then my answer would be a definite “No!”. Computer based assessment is not a transformative use of technology. It’s just using a modern (and expensive) tool to do something we’re already doing.

The ISTE National Technology Standards for Students say that we should be preparing students so they can effectively use technology tools and demonstrate…
1. Creativity and Innovation
2. Communication & Collaboration
3. Research and Information Fluency
4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
5. Digital Citizenship
6. Technology Operations & Concepts

In my opinion, we are already working on the first step toward transforming our instructional strategies through the process of curriculum mapping. Changing a mindset of “my textbook is my curriculum” to “my curriculum is my curriculum and a textbook is just a resource” is a monumental task. Once this has been accomplished then we can work on identifying lessons and activities that focus on curriculum goals and also meet these six areas of technology proficiency.

Preparing and training our staff to do this will involve tweaking a couple of other mindsets as well. First is that our students need to learn to be good citizens and demonstrate Christian morals and values in two worlds – the real world AND the online world, because they will be living and working in both. Our teachers need to be able to model and teach good digital citizenship to their students. This will involve training in web safety, appropriate use, and how to integrate our Online Behavior Agreement (PDF) into their Christian Learning curriculum and any lessons that involve using technology.

Second we need to help them understand that all learning and knowledge is not limited to the walls of their own classroom. They need to be connecting and collaborating with other people (subject matter experts) and classes outside our school, state, or even country. To do this, teachers need to develop their own Personal Learning Network (PLN) – an online community of professional educators for sharing ideas & lessons, getting support, and working together on projects. This will require moving beyond email and training them to use and integrate online collaborative tools and social networks into their daily life. It will also require some cooperation with our IT Department, convincing them to open up some of the restrictions currently prohibiting such tools. If our staff understands and demonstrates proper use of the tools and can use them effectively to help our students meet the ISTE Standards, this should not be a hard sell.

After we met on Tuesday to discuss this further, I was assigned the task of planning our professional development days for the 2010-2011 school year.

Be careful what you ask for...

(Be warned, I will be calling on my PLN for help with this.)

Not Worth The Hassle

2010-04-25T12:02:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it seems like getting anything done on our school network is like being forced to make three left turns in order to go right. I understand filters, firewalls, and proxies are pretty much a necessary evil when using a network at school, but they are also key source of frustration for a teacher trying to work with technology in their classroom - right behind the dreaded "I can't print".

At our school we have a "wonderful" (quotes intentional) product called iPrism which serves as our web proxy and Internet filter. Teachers have the ability to override a blocked web site. Students do not. Our IT administration also has the ability to make exceptions for sites that are blocked by the default iPrism filter which updates regularly. This sounds like a fair system and one that should work pretty well. Not always.

The fact is, with many web 2.0 tools, simply allowing or unblocking a site is not always enough. There are issues with firewalls, ports, and other mysterious network authentications and protocols that can take a simple online task and turn it into a complicated process of ridiculous steps and meaningless procedures. Something that should take one click, now takes 3, 4, or 5 clicks and require several proxy authentications just to get it to work. Unfortunately, many teachers give up before they get that far. "It's just not worth the hassle."

This is one of my major stumbling blocks in getting our teachers to embrace and use technology tools with their students. Most genuinely want to, but when they try it doesn't work. I'll come in their room and explain to them, "Well, if you want it do that, you first have to close this, click here, sign-in here, open that, click here and click OK. Then it should work."

"Why do I have to do all that?" They ask, looking at me as if I just told them to turn around three times, pat your head and rub your stomach.

"You just do." I say.

"It's just not worth the hassle."

If I may, let me present just a few of my network frustrations. Maybe you've run into one or more of these problems yourself.

(By the way, If you have any insight into ways to make these work please leave a comment or e-mail me so I can help our IT troubleshoot these issues.)

Automatic Software Updates - Ever get those little messages when you first start up your computer that Flash or Java are ready to be updated? Even if the computer is properly logged into on to our school domain, these updates do not work. To get them to go, you first have to open Internet Explorer (not Firefox) and go to any web page that is outside our network. After that, you close Internet Explorer and the update will work. Even though the computer is properly logged on to our network, there is something that Internet Explorer does (and Firefox does not) that opens up a connection through the iPrism that then allows these updates to connect through the proxy. What does it do? I don't know. Is there a way to open this connection automatically when you log on the network. I haven't found one yet.

Diigo - One morning I discovered that our latest iPrism update had blocked Diigo. I convinced our IT Administrator to make an exception for it so now it works - sort of. I can get to Diigo, look at my library of bookmarked sites, but I cannot create any new bookmarks. When I try, I just get a Diigo Server error.

Discovery Education Streaming - Many of our teachers use Firefox as their default browser, but if they try to watch a streaming clip it won't play. The workaround for this is the same as the one for automatic software updates above. Close Firefox, open Internet Explorer, go to a random site outside our network, and close Internet Explorer. Go back to Firefox, log into Discovery Streaming, and the video will now play just fine. Even though Firefox is configured to work with our iPrism proxy, Internet Explorer must do something else that opens up a connection for streaming media.

Flash Apps that run in a web browser (ed.voicethread, Glogster Edu, etc.) - These Web 2.0 tools are not blocked, but they don't completely work either. You can't always upload images, sounds, video, or other files. It looks like the upload is working but it never finishes. Clearing out the temporary Internet files and cookies will fix this sometimes, but not always. Sometimes uploading only works with Internet Explorer - but not always.

Glogster Edu - has a "Grab" tool that lets you record voice or video directly within the application, but that tool has never worked here at school no matter what browser you're using. You just get an error saying it can't connect.

Are these proxy authentication errors? Is our firewall blocking things that these apps need to connect? Why should I have to use Internet Explorer for some sites and Firefox for others? I don't know. What I do know is if I want our teachers and students to be able to use these tools at school we need to do something to make it easier and more reliable, otherwise I fear using the technology will "not be worth the hassle."

The Smell of Education

2010-04-18T19:25:00.000-07:00

After a little Twitter conversation I had this evening, I felt the need to reflect in a few more than 140 characters.

A smell can be one of the most powerful memory triggers. Do you remember what school smelled like when you were a child? Here are just a few odors that bring back images from my school days. See if any of these bring back memories for you...

Opening a new box of Crayola crayons.
Flipping through the pages of a dusty old World Book Encyclopedia.
Paste. (The kind with the stick in the lid.)
Tempera paint. (Especially if it has gone bad.)
White out.
Chalk dust. (Ever have the job of cleaning the erasers?)

And of course, the best smell of all...

A paper handout fresh out of the ditto machine.

I wonder what smells our students will remember?

KISSS my PD

2010-04-15T09:59:00.000-07:00

If I had my way, I'd never lead another mandatory, all staff, technology in-service at my school ever again. Simply put, they're a waste of time and they don't work. First, there's a problem with focus. More often than not, the focus of all-staff PD is on the tool, not the curriculum. Second, it implies a cookie cutter, one-size-fits-all approach to professional development. Have you ever been in a room full of teachers at an in-service!? If there was ever a more diverse group of learners I have yet to see it. You think your students need differentiated instruction? Teachers need it even more!

That's why I've adopted the KISSS Principle for professional development. Keep it...Small, Short, and Specific.

SMALL - I'm talking small group. Rather than work with a room full, select a single grade level. At my school, that's 3 teachers. Then, before I start talking, I listen. I listen to find out what they are teaching. What are their learning goals? These answers differ greatly between grade levels and departments.

SHORT - Teachers' free time is valuable and they get precious little of it. Try to respect that. Rather than one long session, I've found it's better to do short mini-sessions before and after school. Fellow tech educator Suzanne Wesp has a program at her school called "Lunch & Learn" where teachers come in during their lunch for mini lessons.

SPECIFIC - Keep the training specific and focused on the curriculum standard. For me, the first sessions are more just casual conversations where we talk curriculum and I find out what these teachers are doing. Next I come in and demonstrate a "learning tool" or "project" that will help their students meet a specific learning goal or standard. Finally I work with them to develop a lesson that will help their students meet that standard. The goal of the training is to give the teachers something they will use tomorrow or next week. If I can get this lesson into a teacher's lesson plan book I know I've struck gold because once it's in there, it will likely become a regular part of their classroom curriculum.

Things to remember for successful teacher training:

Focus on the curriculum, not the technology tool. I try not to even use the words "technology" or "Web 2.0" when working with teachers. Instead I use "learning tool" or "web site". Technology is MY passion, not theirs. Don't intimidate with terminology.
Be there when they teach the lesson for the first time. This provides that much needed safety net when trying something new. In some cases I'll even team teach with them, letting the teacher present the curriculum while I show how to use the tool. If I can't be there, sometimes I'll create tutorial videos or screencasts for the teacher to use.
Follow-up. Meet with them after the lesson. Discuss how it went. What worked? What didn't? Discuss and make notes on how it can be improved next time. The important thing here is to make sure there WILL be a "next time".
Share successes. Rushton Hurley (www.nextvista.org) has said, "Great things are going on in our classrooms and nobody knows about it." Take time to share great lessons and student work with other teachers. Others might see it and say, "Hey, I can do that!"

"To Infinity and Beyond!"
As teachers use the technology...er...i mean..."learning tools" they will require less and less help from me. Better yet, they become "experts" on using that tool. If I have another teacher that wants to learn it, I can say, "You should go talk to so-and-so. They use that tool all the time with their class." My long term plan is to develop a network of experts on various tools at my school. Eventually some teachers may even feel comfortable sharing their expertise with others outside our school.

The biggest compliment I think I could ever receive is seeing a teacher that I helped present at a conference. It hasn't happened yet, but we're getting close.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
Education is a Team Sport
Tutorial Videos? Okay, show me an example. Here you go: PhotoStory Animal Riddles

A More Human Way to Travel - Part 2

2010-03-03T15:24:00.000-08:00

Climbing through the mountains near Santa Fe we ran into snow flurries so I didn’t get great view out the window for the prettiest part of the trip, but the falling snow was a treat in itself. One thing I’ve really come to appreciate about train travel is the quiet. In my compartment with the door shut, it’s quite peaceful. Unlike an airline, there’s no engine noise and unless you’re moving between cars you don’t even hear the “clackety-clack” of the tracks. Even though I bring stuff to read and typically make plans to use all that time on the train to get work done, I usually end up just sitting, staring out the window, watching the world go by. Before I realized it, we had crossed over Raton Pass and into Colorado. It was already getting dark again.

After dinner I retired to my roomette, worked a little more on my presentation then found Rene to get the room ready for sleeping again. Knowing I would lose another hour overnight I set the clock on my Blackberry ahead to Central time and turned in.

The tracks were a bit rough through Kansas overnight. As I rocked in my bunk I dreamed I was riding the luge down the Olympic course at Whistler. After breakfast we stopped in Kansas City for about 40 minutes. I had time to walk around and take a few pictures inside the beautiful Kansas City Union Station. If you’ve ever been to Union Station in Washington DC, it’s a bit smaller, but similar. As I stepped out front to get a few exterior pictures I saw Barb. Her trip was over and she was waiting for her ride. I told her it was a pleasure traveling with her, wished her a safe journey home, and made my way back to the platform.

Leaving Kansas City we crossed the Missouri River. The rest of the way to Chicago, I saw a lot of snow. It was everywhere - on the ground, in the trees. It blew past my window as the engine stirred up whatever was lying on the tracks. We passed countless farms and rolled through several small towns as we made our way across Missouri. At one stop in La Plata, MO I noted that you know you’re in rural America when the only vehicle waiting at the railroad crossing is a John Deere.

At Fort Madison, Iowa we crossed the mighty Mississippi into Illinois. My last meal on the train was with a couple from Kansas on their way to Chicago for a little vacation. She was a retired Kindergarten teacher. Funny how I keep running into teachers. We shared school experiences and I talked about ways education has changed over the years (and how it hasn’t). I also explained some of the things I planned to teach in my ICE presentations.

Passing through Princeton & Mendota, I knew my journey on the Southwest Chief would soon be coming to an end. As I gathered my things Rene came by to help. Naperville was the last stop before downtown Chicago. Since my conference was in St. Charles, it made sense to arrange for transportation from there. I found my way downstairs as the train slowed to a stop. Rene opened the door and placed my bags on the platform and I thanked him for making the trip an enjoyable one.

As the train pulled out of the station on it’s way downtown, I meandered toward the front of the station where my friend Anne was waiting for me. My 42 hour Amtrak trip to Chicago was now officially over.

EPILOGUE:
The train arrived in Naperville, Illinois 15 minutes early. My flight back to California the next Saturday was over 2 1/2 hours late due to mechanical problems. As I stood in the security line at O’Hare with my shoes off, laptop out, and carry-on ready for inspection, I noticed ads for Amtrak pasted to the bottom of those plastic bins at the x-ray. The modern day equivalent of “Next time, take the train.” You don’t have to tell me that.

A More Human Way to Travel

2010-03-03T15:08:00.000-08:00

I’ll be taking a departure away from technology issues for the next few posts to submit another online journal of another train trip across the country. This time I used the 2010 ICE Conference in St. Charles, Illinois as an excuse to ride the Southwest Chief.

When you ride the train they know you by name. At least your sleeping car attendant does. Rene was in charge of car 430. “Mr. Dennis”, he called me looking at his passenger list as I boarded the Southwest Chief in Fullerton, California eastbound to Chicago. He lifted my large bag up onto the lower baggage rack and directed me upstairs to my compartment. I was in roomette #5. The roomette is a small compartment with two seats facing each other and a sliding glass door & curtain for privacy. By the time I set my backpack and coat down on one seat and plopped myself down on the other I realized we had already started moving. I barely noticed. “They’re still serving dinner.” Rene advised, “You should go get something to eat.”

It was 7:20pm. If I had known they would be serving dinner that late I wouldn’t have eaten that burger before arriving at the station. Meals are included in when you purchase a sleeping compartment. Entering the dining car, Annie, the dining car steward directed me to my table. Amtrak dining cars are community seating, so you get to know your fellow passengers during meal times. Next to me sat Barb, who got on with me in Fullerton. Her compartment was right across the hall from mine. She was traveling back home to Kansas City after visiting her grandchildren in San Diego. The gentleman who sat across from us was a businessman “training” his way to back to the East Coast. We introduced ourselves and shared about our occupations. The ribs and chicken looked good, but since I had already eaten I opted for just coffee and slice of cheesecake. Over the meal we had a lively discussion over ways deal with the glut of information online, the need for "fact-checking", and how to teach kids to determine bias. We agreed that the loudest opinion is believed and shared more often than the actual truth.

By the time dinner was over we were already past San Bernardino and heading up Cajon Pass. I was about ready to turn in for the night and before I could ask, Rene was there. In less than 2 minutes he had converted my two seats into one bed. When the sleeper is made up it’s about as wide and long as a standard sleeping bag. With the slider to the compartment shut and curtains pulled I had about 12 inches of space between the bed and the door. Not much room to change, but I managed. I suppose I could have used the changing room downstairs. Maybe tomorrow. This was my third overnight train trip, but the motion of the car and the unfamiliar surroundings still took a little getting used to. I woke up several times but eventually found my way to dreamland.

Shortly after 5:00am it was still dark when the train stopped in Flagstaff. I woke to look out my window and see snow - lots of it. I snapped a couple of pictures and debated going back to sleep, but then realized my time was wrong. Blackberry’s don’t update the clock when you change time zones. It was already after 6:00am. Time to get up.

Showering on a moving train can be a challenge. Each sleeping car has a changing room with a shower. It’s like a glorified RV shower. Amtrak provides towels & soap. You set the temperature and press the button for about 45 seconds of water. It took a few presses to get hot water - I never really got the temperature right. The water pressure was pretty weak but after several presses at least I felt clean and somewhat refreshed which is more than I can say for my fellow passengers in coach. One man who got on with me at Fullerton was headed all the way to Rhode Island in coach. All I remember thinking was, “Good luck, pal.”

The dining car opened at 6:30am for breakfast. The sun was just coming up as we rolled East across Arizona. Barb was at my table again for breakfast. She had travelled on the Southwest Chief several times before so I asked her to advise me where the prettiest part of the trip might be. She told me my best photo opportunities would be climbing through the mountains near Santa Fe and into Colorado. While we ate, the train made a quick stop in Winslow. I did a quick check to see if I could see anyone standing on a corner - taking it easy. Nope. The train moved on.

9:00am. Crossing into New Mexico there was snow on the ground once again. After passing through Gallup, I grabbed a cup of coffee from the coffee & juice station at the center of my sleeping car and tried to get some work done on my presentation for the ICE Conference - my excuse for taking this train in the first place. Rene had already changed my room from a bed back into two seats. Each room has a power outlet so I plugged in my computer and was able to get online by tethering it to my Blackberry. I tried pushing my luck to see if I could Skype with Jen Wagner so she could give me some advice on my presentation. We got a few words in, but the connection kept dropping, so I went back to texting.

Lunch time. We pulled into Albuquerque 20 minutes early. That gave me over an hour to explore before the train was scheduled to depart. I walked around for a bit but got hungry. “Back so soon Mr. Dennis?” Rene asked as I climbed back into car 430. “The dining car is empty if you want to eat lunch.” My thoughts exactly.

This time my meal companions were a couple of seasoned train travelers, one a retired college professor, on their way to New York. Teachers always have stuff to talk about and before I realized the hour was up and the train was moving once again.

Go to PART 2

Are They Paying Attention?

2010-02-10T21:40:00.000-08:00

Remember that scene in the movie "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" where the economics teacher, played by Ben Stein, is asking his students questions followed by the line, "Anyone?...Anyone?..." It's the classic image of students that are NOT engaged. Hopefully your students are not as bored as his seem to be. (Side note: Boredom might actually be bad for your health.)

In "standard lecture mode" a teacher asks a question. One student responds while the others wait their turn. Some may be listening, but it's a sure bet that others are not. How do you get 100% of your class engaged and participating in the discussion?

Here's one way - WallWisher.com. With this tool, you can post a question or discussion item on a wall and all students can participate by adding a sticky note to the wall. Comments are limited to 160 characters. If you're in a computer lab or your kids have computers, you can do this in class and students can see their responses right away. You can also assign it to be done outside of class on their home computer. Walls can be shared between classes, schools, cities, states, countries. It's the Internet so this thing could even go global if you want.

How does it work? Watch the video below.

Someday?

2010-01-19T20:14:00.000-08:00

If I were to dream about what students at my school should be able to do with technology someday, it would look something like what this 7^th grade student is doing right now. After watching this video you’ll see that this student is using, almost exclusively, free tools that are available online. Most of the tools she uses require her to have her own e-mail, something we have not trusted our students with yet. Many of the sites and tools she uses are also blocked at my school. It’s seems clear that rather than blocking anything that might possibly be misused, her school has trusted her and granted her freedom to use these tools for learning. It also seems clear that her teachers have modeled and taught her responsible Internet use and encouraged her to take charge of her own learning. She understands what is appropriate for school and what should be used at home and realizes that the freedom she has been given should not be taken for granted. As she works, the idea of citing resources and giving credit for other people’s work seems almost automatic. For her, learning is fun and she seems inspired to follow her curiosity - extending her learning beyond the curriculum.

Thanks Jim Gates for posting this on your blog and @GDhuyvetter for sharing this on Twitter this morning. You got this video stuck in my head - shining a light on where I am and showing me how much farther I still have to go. We'll get there...someday.

Collaborative Maps Update

2009-11-07T09:14:00.000-08:00

In my last post I mentioned that, " I'd still like to see a SHARE button on Google Maps." Today I noticed that when I go to My Maps, I see a "collaborate" link at the top.

Clicking on it will let you invite others to collaborate with you on your map.

I'm not sure how long that feature has been there. (It was probably already there when I wrote my last post.) For now I'll just fool myself into thinking that Google liked my idea and decided to add this feature because of me. :)

It's worth noting that collaborating on a custom Google Map still requires users to register for a Google Account, something that requires an e-mail. If you'd like your students to be able to work together on a map without having to register for a Google Account, Linda Dierks suggests ScribbleMaps.

As an alternate way to have students collaborate on maps, I've been using Scribble Maps (http://scribblemaps.com). It gives many of the same features Google Maps can without having to set up forms. You can save the map you create to a unique URL and password (still no ID needed) and share it with others. They can save changes as long as they have the correct URL and password.

Thanks for the idea Linda.

Collaborative Maps

2009-10-04T18:49:00.000-07:00

Ever sit around playing with a particular web tool and say, "This is great, but there's got to be a way to...(insert your idea here)." This particular question has been rolling around in my head regarding Google Maps. I LOVE Google Maps, but have been frustrated that I haven't found an easy way to create maps collaboratively. I know I can share Google Docs and have multiple people working on the same document, presentation, or spreadsheet, so why can't I do the same with maps? I was ready to write a blog post today pleading with Google to add a SHARE button to Google Maps when I was reminded of a tool that Andy Losik shared with me last spring.

There IS a way for my students contribute placemarks to a Google Map. A way that doesn't require them to use my login, or even have a Google account. Here's what you do:

Create a Google Form - Students will use this form to enter their placemark information. This will put their information into a Google Spreadsheet. No login required. They just need a link to the form.
Use Map A List (www.mapalist.com) to auto-generate a Google Map that's linked to your spreadsheet.

Details
To set up your Google Form, you need to know that Map A List determines location using the following fields:

Address 1
Address 2
City
State
Zip
Country
Latitude*
Longitude*

*Latitude & Longitude information supersedes address information.

You'll then want to add three additional fields for the placemark information.

Title - What appears for the title of the placemark.
Additional Info - What appears as the text in the popup window. This field will also accept HTML code. So any code you can copy & paste into Google Maps will work here too.
Placemark Symbol Identifier (optional) - This could be a multiple choice item in that your students use to select what type of placemark they want.

Here's a sample Google Form I created. Feel free to add your data to it.

Once your form is done and you've started collecting information, go to Map A List and sign-up for an account. After that, you'll need to give Map A List authorization to access your Google Spreadsheet. Once that is done you can start creating your map. It's a simple step by step process.

Select the spreadsheet that contains your map data.

Match the fields in your spreadsheet to the ones that Map A List uses to create your placemarks.

Once that is done, Map A List will check to see how many locations it can find based on the information in your spreadsheet. It does a surprisingly good job of determining locations even with incomplete information.

If you added a field that determines what type of placemark to use, the advanced feature on the next step is where you enter that information.

The last step is where you save your map and set a few final options. If you want to be able to send a link to your map to others or embed it on your web page or blog, you'll need to make it public.

Here's a link to the Google Map I created with my form. If you added data to the form, it may take a while to appear on the map. I set mine to update automatically, but noticed that sometimes I need to go in to Map A List and tell it to update the map manually if I want to see new data added the spreadsheet.

Classroom Applications
Students can participate in this type of collaborative map by...

Mapping Birthplaces. It could be their own, or someone else's. Our 5th grade is working on immigrant reports right now. This would be a fun way to share their information.
Historical Places. Students could work together on a class project locating and posting information about historical places around their state or country.
What's The Weather Today? Classes from several different schools could pick a day and share the weather. They could even embed a picture of what it looks like outside.
Breakfast Around the World. The form could be shared with as many people as possible to find out what people around the world eat for breakfast. Hmmmm. This idea sounds familiar.
I'm sure you can think of other ideas...

This is great, but there's got to be a way to...
Add lines? Highlight regions? Draw shapes? I haven't figured these out yet. If you have any ideas please share them.

By the way Google, this does not let you off the hook. I'd still like to see a SHARE button on Google Maps.

Summer Reflections 2

2009-09-17T21:44:00.000-07:00

Fun With Time-Lapse

In addition to digging into Google Maps, this summer was also an opportunity to explore the world of photography. I haven't owned an SLR camera since my old 35mm Canon T70 died back in the early 90's. Things have changed a lot and my new Nikon D5000 has some pretty impressive features. For those you hardcore photographers this is just an "entry level DSLR", but for me it was a major step up from the point & shoots I've been using up to now.

One feature I'm really enjoying is the Interval Timer feature. This allows me to set the camera to take a certain number of pictures at a specific time interval. This is a great way to capture a series of images that can be combined either inside the camera or using video editing software like iMovie, Movie Maker. For example, I was able to capture time-lapse images of storm clouds moving over Lake Powell this summer. To create the sequences below, I put the camera on a tripod and set it to take one picture every 10 seconds for about 60 frames.

The ability to shoot time-lapse has lots of creative possibilities as well as some science applications too. Things to remember:

Make sure the camera doesn't move while you're capturing images. After seeing the results of my first few attempts, I learned that it was better to set the tripod on the ground because the houseboat moves.
Don't use the maximum resolution of your camera. You don't need a 3000 x 4000 pixel image if you're making a video. Besides, you'll fit a lot more on your memory card if you scale it back a little. The best HD video resolution is only 1920 X 1080.
Make sure you have a full battery charge or, if you have an AC adapter, plug your camera into a power source. A lot of time can be wasted if your camera dies during your interval shoot.
Experiment & have fun. Just like the Hokey Pokey - "That's what it's all about."

Summer Reflections

2009-09-08T07:20:00.000-07:00

Many of you start a new school year today. In just a moment students will be arriving, anxiously waiting for the pearls of wisdom you choose to bestow upon them. Like me, many of you are probably wondering how summer went by so fast. It seems so close, yet as you frantically put those finishing touches on your classroom, it also seems infinitely far away. It wasn't that long ago, I think it was July, that I was in Alaska exploring Denali National Park and cruising the Inside Passage. When I get stressed about everything on my "to-do" list it helps to go back and re-live that adventure. It puts me back in my "happy place".

Because I consider myself a bit of a techie, I used the trip as an opportunity to dig in and really get familiar with Google Maps. Below is my Alaska Adventure.

View Alaska Adventure in a larger map

Creating a Google Map is a wonderful way to combine stories, pictures, and video from your vacation. I was able to arrange events in order, map my travel route, and place pictures and videos in their proper place on the map. It's like an interactive travelogue. And sharing my travel story is as simple as copying and pasting a link into an e-mail (or blogpost).

When editing a "story" events can be rearranged by simply dragging them up and down the list on the right side of your screen. Lines can be added to show travel routes. One feature I really liked was Google Maps ability to make lines follow known roads or highways. (I don't even think you can do this in Google Earth.)

I had no problem adding photos I had posted to my Flickr account. In the "rich text" editor you just click on image button and paste the URL.

Google Maps will also accept some embed code. Using the "Edit HTML" feature, I was able to copy and paste code to embed video clips I posted to YouTube. Since Google owns YouTube it makes sense that this would work. I did not have any luck trying to embed something from Voicethread however. It may take some experimenting to see what it will and will not accept.

As you can imagine there are lots of possibilities for using Google Maps in the classroom. Maps are a great way for students to grasp large amounts of data in a way that isn't overwhelming. Here's one that shows recent earthquakes around the world (earthquakes.tafoni.net). Do you think your students could use this information to locate the boundaries of tectonic plates? If your class is looking at current events, the LA Times has one with updated info about the Station Fire.

You can also get students involved in creating Google Maps. In an earlier post I showed a "Breakfast Around the World" map created with data collected from our 3rd graders. Colette Cassinelli created a project she uses with her students called "Postcard Geography". I can see our 5th grade teachers doing something similar for combining information from students' state reports. (Colette also has some great Google Map links on her wiki.)

One hurdle you need jump when using maps with students is that Google Maps is not part of Google Apps for Education. So in order for students to edit a map or create their own, they need to register with Google and create their own Google account, or use one created by their teacher. Otherwise the teacher will have to take work submitted by students and post it to Google themselves. (That's what I've done.) Hopefully this is something Google will add to Apps for Ed in the future.

Enjoy playing with Google Maps and if the new school year gets a little overwhelming, take a time out, think back to summer and map your summer memories. I think I 'm going back and look at some Alaska pictures right now.

Listening with Their Eyes

2009-06-15T17:11:00.000-07:00

"These kids just don't listen!"

You may not have said it out loud, but you know you've thought it. Sometimes it seems like the words we say just bounce right off. You might as well be talking to a wall.

It's true. There are times when kids don't hear a word we say, but that doesn't mean they're not listening. Maybe they're listening with their eyes.

In a recent Sunday sermon, this quote was shared:

I'd rather see a sermon than hear one any day;
I'd rather one should walk with me than merely tell the way.
The eye's a better pupil and more willing than the ear,
Fine counsel is confusing, but example's always clear;
And the best of all the preachers are the men who live their creeds,
For to see good put in action is what everybody needs.

I soon can learn to do it if you'll let me see it done;
I can watch your hands in action, but your tongue too fast may run.
And the lecture you deliver may be very wise and true,
But I'd rather get my lessons by observing what you do;
For I might misunderstand you and the high advise you give,
But there's no misunderstanding how you act and how you live.

excerpt from 'Sermons We See' by Edgar Guest

When you stand in front of your students what are you telling them? On those rare times they they do listen with their ears, does the message they hear conflict with the one they receive with their eyes?

Like it or not, when they're looking at us they're learning more than just the curriculum. The lessons they learn with their eyes are lessons in character. These lessons are taught continuously and unconsciously - both in and outside the classroom.

Our actions can be a powerful teaching tool when we SHOW our students what to do rather than just telling them. Think about it. When we use our words to say, "This is important." Do our deeds back it up?

Look at the way we teach information literacy and digital citizenship. When we tell kids to go find information on the Internet, do we also model good search techniques in class? Do we demonstrate how to evaluate information for accuracy or bias? We tell them to be sure to respect copyright and to cite ALL their resources for papers & projects, but do we take the time to do the same for our presentations & lectures?

We emphasize good digital citizenship and encourage students to protect themselves online. We warn them that what they post can come back to hurt them later if they are not careful, but do we also exercise those same practices ourselves? Would you want your students to see your Facebook or MySpace page? How would you feel if they started following you on Twitter?

"I'm no role model" - Charles Barkley

Maybe Charles Barkley isn't, but we are. We chose to be when we made the choice to become teachers - I think Teach42 would back me up on this. The students in our room are watching to see if the words they hear from us are more than just hype.

Now I've made a personal choice not to "friend" my students on Facebook and as far as I know none follow me on Twitter, but if by chance one of them happens to see my profile or read my tweets, there's nothing there that should cause me to feel shame or regret. I believe we need to be role models to our students in the way we act in public and online. This doesn't mean we have to be perfect - kids see through that facade right away. It just means we have to be real and make sure that our words and our actions are not sending mixed messages.

And all travelers can witness that the best of guides today
Is not the one who tells them, but the one who shows the way

another excerpt from 'Sermons We See' by Edgar Guest
Read the entire poem here.

The Final Frontier

2009-06-07T11:31:00.000-07:00

Here's another one of those serendipity moments.

A weekend fishing trip up to the Owens Valley yielded an unexpected surprise. If you've ever driven up US 395 you may have noticed those large radio telescopes off to the east between Big Pine & Bishop, CA. For years I've wondered about those and have always wanted to get a closer look and learn more about them. What I never knew, is that 13 miles east of there, tucked up in the hills is another similar array.

Here's the serendipitous part - the day we picked to fish the Owens River just happened to be the same day that CARMA (The Combined Array for Research in Millimeter wave Astronomy) was holding their annual Open House. We followed the signs along the highway, headed east on highway 168 past the big dishes in the valley up into the White Mountains, and found the observatory site and it's 23 "telescopes".

Upon arriving we were greeted by Dr. Mark Hodges from Caltech who started the tour by sharing some information about the array and some of the work being done there. While not as big as the 130 ft dishes in the valley, what these telescopes lack in size, they make up in quantity and precision. The 10 and 3.5 meter dishes here are practically perfect parabolas - the margin of error is about the width of a human hair. By using an array of telescopes they are effectively able to get the same information that could be obtained by a much larger dish. As we toured the facility, Douglas, one of the engineers explained how the racks of computers he designed process terabytes of information received from the array, filter out the noise, and combine it into one "image".

Why take a picture with radio waves?
After munching on free hot dogs provided by the CARMA staff, Eric, one of several astrophysicists on site, explained that while the Hubble Telescope provides stunning visual images, it doesn't give us the whole picture. Radio waves provide much more information about distant stars & galaxies and help scientists determine not just what they look like, but also identify the molecules that make up these distant objects. Also, because radio waves are not affected by visible light, these telescopes can be used 24 hours a day.

What type of research is being done here?
When I asked Eric about his project, he shared that he currently has the 3.5 meter array pointed at a cluster of galaxies and hopes to use the information he gathers to prove the existence of dark matter.

The CARMA array is funded by the National Science Foundation and is a jointly operated by Caltech, UC Berkeley, the University of Illinois, the University of Maryland, and the University of Chicago. Every 6 months, the NSF accepts research proposals and determines which ones get time to use the array. The allocation of time is a valuable thing because a single "picture" taken by the array can take take several hours. Douglas, one of the CARMA engineers, explained that to get one image, an array of telescopes captures lines of information as the Earth rotates. After about 8 hours these lines create a complete circle and the computers get to work to process the image. "It's like the world's slowest digital camera."

That's me standing next to one of the 10 meter telescopes.

For more information about CARMA, visit their site: www.mmarray.org

A Simple Solution?

2009-06-04T09:48:00.000-07:00

Back in November 2007 I posted a "Not So Simple Solution" demonstrating a fairly complicated way to take projects created in Microsoft PhotoStory3 and make them viewable on Macs.

While brainstorming a way to share our 3rd grade Animal Riddles online (thanks Jennifer Gingerich for the project idea) I tried uploading the wmv files created by PhotoStory directly into Voicethread - AND IT WORKED!

Now we can not only share our students' PhotoStory projects, but putting them on Voicethread allows us the option to let others comment back. Nice!

Below is an example. (Until I get an OK from the teacher I've turned off commenting.)

If Oprah Can Do It...

2009-05-04T14:55:00.000-07:00

This might just be my shortest blog post ever, but sometimes a good idea doesn't have to be complicated. At the San Gabriel Valley CUE Technology Fair last Saturday, Jen Wagner passed on this idea she heard from Hall Davidson. Now I'm passing it on to you. (Care to keep the thread going?)

If you're looking for a free way send a message blast out to parents, rather than pay for an expensive phone/text message system, why not do what they do at Forsyth County Schools in Georgia and use Twitter? Just create a Twitter account (FREE) for your school and encourage all parents to follow it. Parents can use a Twitter app on their computer or phone or set up their account to alert them via SMS text message whenever your office sends out a message.

Parents follow the school's Twitter updates, but the school does not follow or reply to anyone. It’s simply used as a way to broadcast events and emergencies.

I’m sure Twitter messages from your school would be much more useful and meaningful than those from Oprah or Ashton Kutcher.

Did I mention it’s free?

It's All About the Network

2009-04-02T06:39:00.000-07:00

Have you seen those Verizon commercials that have hundreds of support people standing behind their wireless phone user? The idea is to let you know that you're not alone, that you've got people behind you to keep you connected. Their slogan - It's all about the network. That's how I felt about MY network this week.

On Tuesday morning I worked with one of our third grade classes. They had just read the book "George Washington's Breakfast" by Jean Fritz. Our idea was to create a little form, asking the world what they ate for breakfast. I opened up a new form in Google Docs and had the kids help write the survey description and questions. Then I posted a link to the form on Twitter and Plurk asking you to show them the power of our network.

The results were practically instantaneous. Within 15 minutes we had a dozen responses. By that evening there were over a hundred. When I checked the next morning there were almost 400! Most were from the US, but we also had responses from Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Scotland, Italy, China, Singapore, Korea, and Brazil!

I thought it would be fun to add the responses to a Google Map, so I started copying and pasting what people ate into placemarks. I had to stop after the first 200. I just couldn't keep up with the responses.

View Larger Map

We're still working on what we're going to do with all the data, but if you'd like to share our project with your students, here is a link to our spreadsheet. (As I write this, we're up to 469 responses.)

I'd like to thank all those who contributed to the survey and passed it on to others. The kids had a blast watching the results come in. We were all amazed by the huge response. Our network ROCKS!

Morsels from NCCE

2009-03-01T12:00:00.000-08:00

Okay, I have to admit I'm a little jealous of people who can attend a conference or workshop and by the time it is over they've already written and posted a clean, coherent, and thoughtful blog recap of what was learned and experienced. For me it takes some time to process all that has been received, and even then it's often difficult to put pen to paper (or text to screen). Maybe that's why I have such great respect for experienced edubloggers like Wes Fryer.
Even so, it has been a week since I returned from Portland, Oregon and the NCCE Conference, and while it may not be as timely as some bloggers, here are a few morsels that fed my brain last week.

Peer Coaching
This idea of training a team of teachers to design and implement technology rich, standards-based lessons, and then sending them out to coach and train others at their school is nothing new. It keeps the focus where it should be - on the students and the teachers, not the computers and the technology. It makes sure that technology is not used for technology's sake, but rather with a real learning goal in mind.
In my practice at school, I've realized that staff in-services once or twice a year are not nearly as effective as working one-on-one or in small groups to provide "just in time" learning. When a teacher learns how to use a specific tech tool that engages students and helps them achieve a specific learning goal with greater understanding and retention, that teacher sees the value of that tool for learning. Better yet, as that teacher becomes proficient using that tool, they can help their colleagues learn it too.
In Washington state they've formalized the process of peer coaching with the help of grants from Microsoft and peer coaching facilitator training through the Puget Sound Center. I think a program like this could really benefit our schools and districts here in Orange County.
In my previous post I shared one example of how this type of mentoring works in the Bend/LaPine School District. I'm really impressed with the work done by these "cadres" of teachers to energize their lessons with technology. Besides I think it just sounds cool to part of a "cadre". I want to be part of a cadre, or maybe I'll join an "EdTech Posse". What do you think?

Mobile Technology in the Classroom
From Karen Fasimpaur I learned about "Using Mobile Technology to Differentiate Instruction" and how podcasts, vodcasts, Palms, cell phones, netbooks, and ebooks can be used to engage students and motivate them to learn. I also got a chance to get my hands on Amazon's Kindle e-book reader. I know I keep saying it's about the learning and not the thing, but I SO want one of these now. (Is that wrong?)

ISTE's Classroom Observation Tool
Want to see if technology rich lessons and projects are really helping your students? Download this free tool from ISTE to use as you observe in the classroom. You can use it offline, but data is uploaded to ISTE's secure server so you can access it from different computers and generate various reports. I asked if ISTE intends to use this data for their own purposes, but was told, "No, they just store it. They don't use it." With that in mind, if you use this tool, you still might want to be careful to keep your observations clear of specific names and keep them limited to "just the facts". I can definitely see benefits to using this tool to record and report the effectiveness of instruction. Now if only ISTE would update it with the 2007 NETS for Students rather than the 1998 version.

Northwest Tech Teacher of the Year
What a pleasure it was to see my friend and fellow DEN STAR, Martha Thornburgh awarded the Northwest Tech Teacher of the Year award. It's always nice to see someone you know and respect honored for the great job they're doing. Way to go Martha! If you get a chance, be sure to check out her "Give Math a Voice" presentation and Voicethread.

Blog author with Northwest Tech Teacher of the Year, Martha Thornburgh, and StormChaser Reed Timmer. Photo courtesy of Martha Thornburgh.

Storm Chaser
The DEN came through for me again, this time giving me and other Discovery Educators an opportunity to meet and talk with Reed Timmer of StormChasers. His passion for science, math, and meteorology is demonstrated in his fascination for getting up close and personal with tornadoes and other violent storms. I was also surprised to learn that in addition to storm chasing, he's also working on his PhD! Is this guy brilliant or totally nuts? Perhaps a little of both. Thanks Reed for inspiring my students, and thanks Discovery for this wonderful opportunity!

Bigger Isn't Always Better

2009-02-18T12:12:00.000-08:00

ITSC is small compared to other state or regional conferences - only about 400 attendees - but I really like how they put it together. The three hour workshops really encourage conversation and allow time for reflection. It's also a great opportunity to hear and interact with some pretty amazing presenters on a more intimate level. Having access to these presenters both during and outside of their sessions is a real treat and facilitates some great conversations.
Speaking with Jennifer Arns, the Program Director, I learned that at ITSC they really want schools and districts to attend in teams and they provide teams with time to meet and discuss what has been learned periodically throughout the conference. This time to process what has been learned and brainstorm how it can be applied is quite valuable and unfortunately pretty unique in educational conferences. The fact that they can actually get this many teachers to take their President's Day weekend to attend speaks to the importance these educators place on using technology tools to improve instruction.

Here are some thoughts from sessions and conversations:

Cell Phone Digital Storytelling - Wes Fryer
I've created podcasts from my cell phone using GCast, but another tool called Gabcast adds the ability to post from not just MY cell phone, but ANY phone.

With this tool, teachers can create multiple channels for different classes, then give students the phone number and access code so they can just call in and record their thoughts & stories, posting them to the class podcast. At our tables we brainstormed how this could transform a class field trip by directing students to use their cell phones to take pictures at certain locations and record and post their thoughts on what they see, what they experience, and what they learn. These images and audio files are captured "on location", and can later be combined into digital stories using any number of media tools.
The best part? There's no need for the school to supply students with expensive camera or recording equipment, most already have what they need to collect their stories.

Historical Documentaries - Jennifer Gingerich
Using familiar tools like PhotoStory3, iMovie, and GarageBand, students take "digital kits" and use them to create documentaries from periods in history. Jennifer worked with our group to create a pretty impressive Ellis Island story in just a matter of minutes. She also shared student created Oregon Trail diaries. These documentaries are written in first person, using images from the kit, or photos taken of students in costume with a sepia tone effect to give an "antique" look.
The digital kits contain music, photos, citations and other components needed to create the stories. For the students, the focus is not on teaching them how to find pictures or make videos, but seeing how well they know the content and can tell a story. The emphasis is on writing and historical accuracy. The advantage of digital stories over a written report? Stories not only capture the facts of the time period, but give kids an opportunity to put themselves in the place of these people and consider what they must have thought and how they must have felt - connecting them to the history on an emotional level rather than just a factual one.

Wii Whiteboard - John Sperry
I've seen Johnny Lee's video on YouTube, but here I got to actually see, feel, and try it out for myself. John Sperry from Springfield, Oregon demonstrated how easy and inexpensive it is to make your own interactive whiteboard using a Wii Remote. Time to dust off my soldering iron and go into project mode. I may have to take John up on his offer and send him a empty Expo marker so he can transform it into an infra-red pen.

Bend/LaPine School District - Amy Lundstrom
Amy Lundstrom is a technology program developer for Bend/LaPine School District. She's also the one that suggested I take an extra day or two to attend this conference. I'm so glad she did.
Speaking with her between conference workshops I learned how she is working with teams of teachers in her district, facilitating development of standards-based lessons that integrate technology. One unusual thing they do is give teachers an opportunity to observe their own class during one of these lessons. Through this "Lesson Study" program, members of these teams take turns teaching and observing each other's classes. The purpose of these observations is to determine 1) Do all students have access to the content being taught? 2) Did technology help students acheive the standard? In addition to observing the whole class, the classroom teacher can identify specific students in their own class to be observed. Observers are directed to be "human video cameras" noting how these students act during class and determining if those actions indicate motivation. After class, these students' work product is also evaluated. This program gives classroom teachers a unique insight into how particular students are affected by these newly developed lessons and technology tools. Ultimately it helps these teachers become more comfortable and confident planning and implementing technology infused lessons with their classes.

The Joy is in the Journey

2009-02-17T09:29:00.000-08:00

It's nice sometimes to take a day or two get away and clear your head. Riding the Coast Starlight last weekend from LA to Portland for ITSC and NCCE was my chance to do a mental shut down and restart, clearing out some brain space for the massive information download I'd be experiencing at these back to back conferences.

The 30 hour rail journey was just that. Even though I brought reading material I spent most of the time just staring out the window. Saturday the train hugged the California coast up to San Luis Obispo then headed inland through lush green hills toward Paso Robles, then north to San Jose, Oakland, and over to Sacramento. Sunday morning I woke up to snow flurries as we crossed into Oregon. Passing Klamath Falls the train chugged up into Cascades toward Cascade Pass (about 5000 ft) and eventually down to Eugene. From there it was a straight shot up the Willamette Valley to Portland.

Some Random Observations from the journey:

A dozen deer leaping through the hills outside Santa Barbara
12 foot surf crashing along the coast near Pt. Conception
several startled cattle scrambling ungracefully away from the train as we climbed out of San Luis Obispo
Rolling hills near Paso Robles turned a velvety green from recent rain storms
Sipping coffee early Sunday morning in the Parlor car, watching the wind & snow swirling outside through the Shasta/Trinity National Forest
peeking through snow covered evergreens at the view of Odell Lake climbing up toward Cascade Pass
Clear blue skies and views of Mt. Hood outside Salem. (Oregonians would say, "The mountains are out today.")

During my rail trip last summer (see Amtrak Adventure blog post from July '08) I lamented the fact that I was unable to get Internet access on the train. This time I was armed with my Blackberry and it's 3G connection to keep me in touch with my twitter & plurk friends. This also allowed me to post pictures, videos, and even do a couple of Skype video chats from my compartment. The laptop tethering worked great when I was able to get a cell phone signal. (See photo slide show and video below.)

Arriving at Portland Union Station late Sunday afternoon I hopped on the MAX light rail to the ITSC Conference at the Portland Airport Sheraton. With work 1000 miles away and my head clear it's time to do some learning. Let the conversations begin.

The Art of Sound

2009-01-19T16:24:00.000-08:00

Remember that guy, Michael Winslow, from the Police Academy movies? The one who made all those strange sounds with his mouth? How many of you have a student like that in your class? As you walk across the room, this is that special child that makes squeaking noises for every step you take, putting his classmates in hysterics. Few things amuse this kid more than the variety of different sounds made by gas escaping from the human body - and he can reproduce any one of them at will. Rather than strangle this child, maybe it would be better to let this unique individual express his talents in a constructive way.

Sound effects are a big part of creating a dramatic audio podcast. They can take your story and give it depth, creating a rich sound picture for your listeners. A good sound effect can create a picture in someone’s mind much easier than it would be to produce that same image on film or video. This is why I like the simple elegance of the audio podcast. You can create a multi-layered soundscape with relatively little effort or resources. No need for expensive equipment, dangerous stunts, or elaborate sets.

Creating sound effects can be fun. Did you know you can mimic the sound of a crackling fire by slowly crinkling a bag of potato chips? Sliding the lid off of a toilet tank sounds just like someone opening an ancient sarcophagus. Rapidly opening and closing an umbrella sounds like a bat flying. And of course any self-respecting Monty Python fan knows that two hollowed out coconut shells are a prefect substitute for a galloping horse.

With all the attention given to student created video I think we should not forget about the power of audio. An audio podcast project can be a great choice if you don’t have a lot of time or resources. Using free software like Audacity you can record your story, add music and sound effects, and export your show as a podcast friendly mp3 file in just a fraction of the time and effort it would take to do the same project as a video production.

To encourage students and teachers at my school to learn to use audio podcasts, I created an online elective course that teaches them about podcasting and how to use Audacity to create their own podcasts and post them on our system. I’ve also taken many elements of that course and posted them online on my wiki so you can share them with your students and faculty too.

Make Your Own Podcast Wiki

Feel free to use these resources and share them with your students and teachers. If you or your students create some great podcasts as a result, please reply with a link so we can all hear what you’ve done.

Have Internet Will Travel

2008-11-25T14:34:00.000-08:00

Maybe I’m getting spoiled, but I find it harder and harder not to gripe and complain when I go to a conference and find out that I can't get online. I can’t say I blame the conference committee for not providing Internet access when the conference center (in this case the Long Beach Convention Center) charges astronomical prices to provide web access in conference rooms. ($600 for a 256K connection, per room!)

This year rather than complaining, I used the lack of connectivity as an opportunity - or should I say excuse - to upgrade my phone to the new Blackberry Storm with it’s Internet tethering capabilities. Since I was presenting I really, really, needed to be able to get online. You understand, right?

So last Friday morning I got up extra early to wait in line at my local Verizon store and was one of the lucky few to get my hands on the new Storm. I’ve had it for a couple days now and still have lots to learn but here are a few first impressions.

It’s Clickable
I know it sounds gimmicky, but I really like the clickable screen. Essentially the whole screen is a big button. You position your finger on the touch screen where you want click and push down. The feedback on a click is really nice, although positioning my fingers on exactly the right place on the screen can be a little tricky.
The onscreen keyboard is really nice too. In landscape mode, you get a full keyboard. In portrait mode you get a half keyboard in which each key has two letters on it. I’m amazed by the interpretive ability of this keyboard to know the words or web sites I’m trying to type.
One annoying feature - when typing numbers you have to click the number key to make the keypad appear. When you type a number it goes back to letters and you have to press the number key again to make the numbers come back up again. This is a pain if you have to type in any number higher than 9.

Tethering
This feature was not an option for me, and Verizon seemed to be the only company that actually didn’t make tethering your laptop to your phone a violation of their terms of service. Although they do charge $15 to turn this feature on for a month. This is one reason I stayed away from the iPhone. I checked online and the only way I could find to tether an iPhone was to jailbreak it and hope that AT&T doesn’t catch you and charge you overages, or cancel your service. I know lots of people do it, but I didn’t want to go that route.
Since I got the phone on Friday and was presenting on Monday, one of the first things I wanted to try when I got home was connecting the phone to my Mac and going online with it. Imagine my dismay when I inserted the CD only to discover that there was NO MAC SOFTWARE!!! The VZAccess Manager Software is Windows only. Thankfully, after about an hour of online searching I found this video by Landon Stuckey that explained how to tether your Blackberry to a Mac using bluetooth. I tried it. It worked flawlessly and I didn’t even have to install any software. (Way to go Mac!)

Web Browser and Other Apps
Compared to the web browser on my iPod touch, the one on the Storm is a not as smooth. I’ve grown used to the iPod's multi-touch zoom and the smooth scrolling. The Blackberry is not as clean. The accelerometer also doesn’t appear to be as sensitive. Switching from portrait to landscape does not have the snappy response my iPod does and sometimes I have to turn it sideways and back again to trigger it.
I did manage to install Google sync to connect the Storm to my Google Calendar, ans was able to connect to my Yahoo mail account with no problems. The Blackberry Facebook app helps me keep track all my FB friends. There’s also a cool little brick game that reminiscent of the one on my old Atari game console. I have yet to play with apps like VZ Navigator, Word to Go, and many others. Guess what I’ll be doing over Thanksgiving break?
The list of available applications isn't nearly as extensive as the iPhone, but I'm sure they'll get more. This thing is still pretty new. Although I'm hoping they add a Pandora music app soon!

Bummer
One feature I was anxious to try was the visual voicemail - until I clicked on the app and it told me I needed to subscribe to the service for another $2.99/month. Bummer! Hey Verizon, doesn’t the iPhone include this for free?

Okay, So Why Not an iPhone?
Beyond the fact that I’d have to jailbreak an iPhone to use it for tethering, the AT&T service at school is really spotty. Teachers who have it complain that there are only certain spots on campus where they can get a signal. The same is true in my neighborhood. If not for that, I’m sure the iPhone would have been my first pick. For now, Verizon is my best choice given the reliability of the service in my area. We’ll see what things are like in two years when it’s time to renew.

Oh, and if you're wondering, the phone worked great for my presentation on Monday. The 3G connection was almost as fast as my home DSL.

Picasa Web Albums & Google Earth

2008-11-19T09:58:00.000-08:00

Here's a quick and easy way to do use your own pictures for a place-based learning project using Picasa Web Albums and Google Earth. It's as easy as uploading your pictures to a Picasa Web Album and entering the location information. Once you do that, creating a Google Earth KML file with all your pictures is just a simple mouse click. Here's how it works...

First, upload your pictures to a new Picasa Web Album. Add captions and then click Edit Location. (Click images to see a larger view.)

Drag the placemark to where the picture was taken and click SAVE.

Repeat this process for each picture in your album. When you're all done, click "View in Google Earth. This will download a Google Earth KML file.

When the KML file opens in Google Earth, your pictures appear as placemarks along with your captions.

Clicking the the placemark opens an information bubble with a larger version of your picture and your caption.

Something like this would be a great way to follow up a class field trip or outdoor education experience. The example above was created with pictures from our 7th grade trip to Catalina Island. You could also share your own personal vacation photos with your class and add historical and geographic information relevant to your curriculum.

Get Web-Inspired

2008-10-09T20:01:00.000-07:00

Inspiration is now a Web 2.0 tool. The past few days I've been playing with Webspiration Beta, which looks a lot like Inspiration but works in a web browser. The best thing about this new tool - it's collaborative. Like wikis and Google Docs, you can share your document and invite friends and colleagues to work on it too.

Above is a picture of a document I shared with some fellow teachers. I was pleased to see Webspiration gives me a couple of different ways to track the changes. You can Show History to see the progression of changes and who made them. Just like a wiki, you can view and rollback to a previous version.

Click on the Show Changes tool in the tool bar and little pop-ups will appear as you move over different parts of the document. These let you know who added that part and when the change was made. This tool can also be modified to show only the new changes since the last edit.

When you Manage Sharing you get to decide if those you invite are collaborators or simply viewers. You can also add tags to your document to help you find and organize your work or work that others have shared with you.

What would I like to see?
I think Inspiration is a great tool and that this web version takes a good tool and makes it even better. To make it work for me in a classroom I'd like to see a way to add student users without having to invite them with an e-mail address. An education version that lets a teacher create and manage student usernames and passwords would be great.

I like that you can import/export documents to Inspiration 8, but I couldn't find a way to export the outlines as a text or Word document. I suppose I could always copy and paste. It would also be nice to be able to have a URL to your document for easy sharing with others.

The great thing about Webspiration right now is that it is FREE. I'm not sure how long it will stay this way but I hope to take advantage of it while it lasts.

Go ahead and check it out and if you'd like to share a document with me, just let me know.

Hey, you guyyyyys!!

2008-10-04T10:52:00.000-07:00

If you were in elementary school in the 70's, you probably recognize that call as the voice of Rita Moreno yelling to let you know it's time for another episode of the Electric Company. If you're like me public television was a big part of your education too - from Sesame Street, Mister Roger's Neighborhood, and The Electric Company to science shows like Nova. I wonder how many of you in the classroom today use PBS programming and resources with your students?

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Okay then, imagine my voice yelling "HEY YOU GUYYYYYS!!" to let you know about some of the great resources available now at www.pbs.org/teachers.

The people at PBS have been busy working to tag, catalog, and make "searchable" their vast online collection of resources. The result is the new PBS Teachers web site.

You can search by keyword, use the advanced search, or start with a subject area and drill down by selecting a grade level and a topic. For example, when I performed a keyword search for "sceintific method" my results included 24 lesson plans, 63 offline activities, 5 interactives, and 115 audio/video clips.

Trying to be more specific, I tried search for the Native American "Lakota" tribe. The results included 4 lesson plans including two from the Lewis and Clark Mini-Series, an interactive web site of Native American Storytellers, and a video clip from Antiques Roadshow telling the history of some Lakota artifacts.

As you start using this site more often, you'll probably want to register with PBS Teachers Connect and become a PBS Teacher. By signing in you can save and add your own tags to the resources you find for easy retrieval later.

You'll also become a part of a community of PBS Teachers where you can ask questions and participate in discussions.

For those of you searching for video resources keep in mind that this site is not a single repository, rather it provides links to the various PBS web sites where these resources reside. Depending on the program, videos formats may vary between Flash, RealPlayer, Quicktime, or Windows Media. Some clips, like those from Nova ScienceNow, can be downloaded and even transferred to an iPod, others can only be streamed from their web site.

Also keep in mind that this site is still in "beta". Look for new features and enhacements as they continue working to improve it.

Oh, and if you're a fan of the original Electric Company you might be interested to know that a new version of the show be premiering this January. Although I'm told that Morgan Freeman will not be appearing in the new show, it might still be worth checking out.

Have fun exploring the vast resources available at PBS Teachers.

Two Cool Tools

2008-09-21T16:44:00.000-07:00

Don't have a lot of time? Here's a short blog post with two cool tools that you can start using right away.

Online Stopwatch (www.online-stopwatch.com)
It is what it says it is. Couldn't get much simpler than this. Choose from several different types of countdowns. My personal favorite is the bomb. (Pictured below)

Create A Graph (nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph)
Teach your students all about graphing. This tool lets them select a type of graph, enter their data on the form, and select colors and text styles. The final graph can be printed or saved as a PDF, JPEG, or various other types of image formats.

Here's a sample bar graph I made in just minutes...

Follow Up - Professional Development Meme

2008-09-08T08:42:00.000-07:00

Back in June I was tagged by Jen Wagner to participate in the Professional Development Meme. The challenge was to set three professional development goals and commit to them this summer. The deadline to complete it was September 1st. Let’s see how I did...

GOAL #1: Learn how to work with SQL Queries.
Did pretty well with this one. Our Angel Learning Management System is built on SQL tables and being able to search them and manipulate data directly has been a tremendous time saver as I had to create new courses and enroll students for the new school year. Ryan Sweany from Angel Tech Support was quite helpful with this (and patient with me) as I learned how to pull data from tables, update fields, and batch import class & user data. I now know enough to get myself into all sorts of trouble.

GOAL #2: Take one new idea from both NECC and the Discovery National Institute and make a plan to implement it sometime this school year.
I think I’ve got this one covered as well. At NECC I learned about using Webkins as virtual class pets and already have our three first grades giving it a try. From Hall Davidson I learned about the power of cell phones and shared some ideas with our teachers. I planned to set up and embed my own GCast podcast on my site - one that I could update from my cell phone, but one of my teachers actually beat me to it. Way to go Yvette!
There were so many good ideas shared at the Discovery National Institute. One that I started using right away - and the reason I haven’t been blogging as much - is Plurk! Plurk is like Twitter on steroids. It displays all messages on timeline and keeps responses to each message together so its much easier to follow a particular thread. Individual message threads can be bookmarked for future reference. I’ve already participated in some great discussions and picked up numerous great ideas and resources.

GOAL #3: Keep a positive attitude and "Do everything without grumbling or complaining." (Philippians 2:14)
This has been difficult. You know how they say “Never pray for patience because if you do, God will put you in situations that force you to be patient”? Well, this goal seems to have opened the door to all sorts of situations that are just ripe for grumbling and complaining. As I write this, we are still waiting for our tablet PC’s to arrive. They are now more than a month late. Our plans for starting the year with 1:1 in 6th grade have been scribbled out and re-written each week as we receive yet another reason for the delay. Currently our tablets are only 36 miles away, but are stuck in some warehouse waiting to clear US Customs.
Originally, our plan was to have students and parents meet in small groups for a tablet orientation where they would go over tablet basics, acceptable use, and care & maintenance. They were also to receive an “About Me” digital story project that would be shared on the first day of school. Seemed like a great plan.
As it turns out, the tablet delay has been a bit of a blessing in disguise. Sixth grade is a big change for these kids and there’s a lot of anxiety at the start of middle school. A new building, new teachers, new procedures, finding where classes are, learning how to open their locker are just a few stresses these kids deal with at the start of the year. Starting the year with new tablets would have added even more anxiety. We’re learning that it may be a better idea to start the year without tablets and get them used to the routine first. So I’ve got nothing to complain about, right?

Like I said, it’s been difficult.

Amtrak Adventure - Part 4

2008-07-20T08:05:00.000-07:00

I’ll be taking a departure away from technology issues for the next few posts to submit a little online journal of my travel across the country with Dad on the Amtrak Coast Starlight and California Zephyr.

July 18th - California Zephyr

Slept much better last night. After waking up and enjoying a nice hot shower we learned that delays and rail work overnight now had us running more than 2 hours behind schedule.

A morning stop in Omaha gave us a chance to stretch our legs for a few minutes and take a look at the beautiful old abandoned Omaha train station. This must have been quite a sight back in the days when rail travel was a primary mode of transportation. According to Bob, its been boarded up for more than 20 years, but the building is still here so there’s hope it might someday be restored to some of it’s former glory.

Here in Omaha, Bob also took the opportunity poll us on what we thought was the most scenic part our trip so far. I’ll let you experience a little bit of Bob for yourself...

After our last breakfast on the train, Dad & I retreated to our compartment for a lazy day of reading and watching the Iowa farms pass by our window. Bob told us that our engineer would try to make up some time along the route, but that we would likely be delayed another 15 minutes as we pass through the flood area in Iowa and Illinois. After we crossed the Mississippi at Burlington, Iowa I was surprised to see how much water was still around even after 3 weeks. Many of these farmers must be devastated.

Once past the flood area we were running about 3 hours behind schedule. Stopping in Galesburg, Illinois we said goodbye to some of our Zephyr friends who’d been traveling with us since Emeryville. For the rest of us, it was on to Chicago.

The Chicago skyline was a bit of a contrast to the farms and small towns we’d been seeing all day. It was also clear that our Chicago-based Zephyr crew, who started here 6 days ago was glad to be coming home. They seemed anxious to see their families and take a few well-deserved days off.

We pulled into Chicago at 6:20 pm, only 2 1/2 hours behind schedule, and in plenty of time for Dad and me to catch the 8:05 Hiawatha train to Milwaukee. It also gave us time to explore the cathedral-like great hall of Chicago’s Union Station.

The Hiawatha was a fast commuter train that zipped us up to Milwaukee airport in only 80 minutes. At the airport we picked up a rental car and headed out to stay with family for a few days. Our Amtrak Adventure was officially over.

Overall, it was a great trip. I’ll definitely have to try this again. Next time I might take the Coast Starlight all the way up to Portland or Seattle. I hear the ride through the Oregon Cascades is really beautiful in the winter. We’ll see.

Surprises and Advice
If you’re thinking about trying a train trip yourself here a few things I learned...

1) Go first class. If you’re taking an overnight trip and can afford it, get a sleeper. Traveling this way is more expensive than air travel, but if you compare the cost of driving, hotels, and meals, you’ll find you might just save a few bucks.

2) Throw out the time schedule. If you find yourself worrying about why the train has stopped, or focusing on your destination you won’t enjoy the beauty that is around you. On the train it’s all about the journey and having a “we’ll get there when we get there” attitude. Besides, arriving 2 1/2 hours late after 4 days is not bad. I’ve had flights that are delayed even more than that.

3) It’s all about the people. One of the biggest surprises for me was all the interesting people I got to meet. Our Amtrak crew was great. I’ve already shared about Bob, but I must also mention Frank, the lounge car attendant/bartender, who looked like Dean Martin and sounded like Al Pacino. His regular intercom announcements always had us smiling. I was also surprised by all the interesting people we met at meals and in the observation car. Some were seasoned rail travelers who shared stories of other rail adventures and others were first-timers just like us. Don’t just sit in your room all day. Take the time to introduce yourself and get to know the people traveling with you. It might just be the best part of your trip.

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Amtrak Adventure - Part 3

2008-07-19T10:11:00.000-07:00

I’ll be taking a departure away from technology issues for the next few posts to submit a little online journal of my travel across the country with Dad on the Amtrak Coast Starlight and California Zephyr.

July 17 - California Zephyr

The upper bunk was a little narrower than I expected. Thankfully there were safety straps from the edge of the bunk clipped to ceiling of the compartment that kept me from rolling out during the night. The rocking of the train took a bit of getting used to, but eventually sleep found me. I think I dreamed I was in that old “I Love Lucy” episode where they slept in the upper berth on the train from Hollywood to New York.

During the night we passed through the Utah salt flats, Salt Lake City, and Provo.
Morning included another first - a shower on the train. Nothing glamorous here. Think of a tiny tent trailer or RV shower. Were not talking about the Hilton suites but there were plenty of clean towels.

Breakfast was an added surprise as Dad discovered that the people sitting across form us were Iowa relatives of one of his best friends. As soon as I can get a WiFi signal Dad plans to e-mail Jules and tell him we had breakfast with Chick & Opal.

The ride through Utah, Glenwood Canyon, and the Colorado Rockies was stunning. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves. We rode through some beautiful canyons and valleys that can only be seen by train passengers and backpackers, following the Colorado River all the way to the town of Granby. You might remember this little town was in the news about 4 years ago when a disgruntled citizen built his own “tank” out of a bulldozer and destroyed a 13 town buildings including the Granby City Hall.

The Moffat Tunnel was our passage under the continental divide. This 6.2 mile long tunnel takes about 12 minutes for the train to go through. During that time, passengers are warned stay in their own cars and not open the doors between cars in order to keep out the diesel fumes and coal dust.

Dinner included a very interesting conversation with a man from the Canadian Coast guard. He shared his first hand experience with the staggering effects of global warming on the Arctic ice pack. “Icebergs used to break off in the summer and reform in the winter, but now they’re not reforming,” he shared noting that estimates predict that by next year the ice may have thinned out enough to create a shipping lane from Greenland to the Bering Strait. We also discussed the drastic effects a minute change in ocean temperature, salinity, and acidity could have on algae growth, fish population, and the formation of coral. Its amazing to think about how all these seemingly separate systems are actually connected and dependent on each other. I just hope we haven’t figured all this out before its too late to do anything about it.

Sunset brought us to Denver’s Union Station and a last chance to get out and stretch our legs before turning in for the night.

CLICK HERE for Part 4

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Still No WiFi?
I tried to locate wireless access point at every station stop today, but I think I’ll just have to accept the fact that I won’t be able to get online until arriving in Chicago or Milwaukee.

Amtrak Adventure - Part 2

2008-07-19T10:01:00.000-07:00

I’ll be taking a departure away from technology issues for the next few posts to submit a little online journal of my travel across the country with Dad on the Amtrak Coast Starlight and California Zephyr.

July 16 - California Zephyr

The horn blast of an early morning freight train was our wake up call this morning. The balcony of our hotel room overlooked the Emeryville station. At 7:55am the California Zephyr, our home for the next 3 days, pulled up to the platform. We found sleeping car 632 and met Bob, our 6 foot 6 1/2 attendant. He had hot coffee already for us in the car and not long after had we settled down in our room, he popped his head in our compartment and invited us to breakfast in the dining car. Our dining companions were a couple of musicians from the Bay Area. We shared stories and had a great discussion about the need to teach our kids how to find truth and validity in the glut of information available online, and promote creativity and innovation in the classroom. We chatted until the attendants politely kicked us out of the dining car, encouraging us to continue to solve the world’s problems, but to work at it in a different car.

After a brief stop to stretch our legs in Sacramento, the Zephyr started chugging uphill into the Sierras following pretty much the same route as the original Transcontinental Railroad. From here to Reno we were joined by two history experts from the Sacramento Railroad Museum who narrated the journey and answered passenger questions in the observation car. They were more than willing to fill me in on the history of the railroad and it’s construction, along with great bits of Sierra history and little know facts. I was even able to pry one of them for some information about a great spot on the Truckee River for catching native brown trout (but was sworn to secrecy).

The view from the observation car was spectacular as we climbed through Emigrant Gap & Donner Pass, then followed the Truckee River down to Reno. Lunch in the dining car was accompanied by a view of Donner Lake and the Eastern Sierras, along with some nice conversation with some Zephyr regulars who served as personal tour guides during the meal.

What About Bob?
I’m learning that train travel is a much about the people as it is the scenery. One of the joys of this trip so far is Bob Heath, our sleeping car attendant. Bob is a 35 year Amtrak veteran and Chicago native. Car 632 is HIS car, and we are HIS people. He’s always ready to serve with a warm and friendly smile and makes an extra effort to get to know his passengers.

In the evening he can convert a 2 seat roomette into upper and lower bunk beds in less than 2 minutes flat - complete with fresh linens and mints on the pillow. Dad and I had a great time getting to know him on this trip and hear about some of his experiences working on the train for the last quarter century. And yes, after 35 years, he still bumps his head occasionally as he maneuvers his 6 foot 6 1/2 inch frame through the train corridors.

Evening brought us into the relatively flatter part of western Nevada and dinner with a couple from New Zealand traveling across country to Connecticut. Their idea was to use cross country train trip to work off the jet lag of a 12 hour flight to San Francisco. Interesting idea.

Tonight is our first night of sleeping on the train. I’ll have to let you know how that goes tomorrow.

CLICK HERE for Part 3

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Amtrak Adventure - Part 1

2008-07-19T09:46:00.000-07:00

I’ll be taking a departure away from technology issues for the next few posts to submit a little online journal of my travel across the country with Dad on the Amtrak Coast Starlight and California Zephyr.

I got this hair-brained idea standing with my shoes off in an airport security line muttering to myself, “There’s got to be a better way!” I knew that I needed to get to Washington DC for the Discovery National Institute by July 21st. I knew that I didn’t want to take a “red eye” flight and arrive in DC at 5:30 in the morning. I also knew that driving from LA to DC with motels, food, and $4.50 per gallon gasoline was also not a desirable option.

Why not take the train? According to those “Great Rail Excursion” shows on PBS, the California Zephyr is one of the most scenic rail journeys in the US. Booking a sleeping compartment would not only gave me a private room to sleep in, but also included all meals in the dining car and first class treatment on board and at train stations. It seemed like a no-brainer.

So rather than take a “red eye” from LA to DC, here’s what I chose instead.

Coast Starlight from LA to Emeryville, CA (near Berkeley).
California Zephyr from Emeryville to Chicago.
Hiawatha commuter train from Chicago to Milwaukee.
Visit with family for a few days then fly from Milwaukee to DC for the National Institute.

We’ll see as these blog posts progress if this was a good idea.

July 15 - Coast Starlight

As we boarded the train we met Howard, our sleeping car attendant, who showed us to our compartment, explained how to work all the gadgets in our “roomette”, and told us where to find the dining, lounge, and observation cars. Leaving Los Angeles the first thing I noticed was the quiet. The superliner compartment was blissfully silent. No loud jet hum, coughing or sneezing passengers, or crying babies. I didn’t have to be told for the 100th time how to put on my seltbelt because there aren’t any. And there was no talk of oxygen masks falling from the ceiling or reminders that my seat cushion also serves as a flotation device in the event of a water landing - which in my mind is still called a “crash”.

Shortly after we were underway, Chris, the dining car steward, popped his head in our room and asked what time we would like to reserve seating for lunch. Meals are included for sleeping car passengers. Then, just before lunch Howard came back to deliver our complimentary champagne. (I think I’m starting to like this.)

For lunch Dad and I shared a table with a husband and wife who were traveling to Oregon to check out colleges for his graduate studies. Wonderful conversation - along with a nice plug for the DEN - was accompanied a fine meal with real silverware! Did I mention to beautiful ocean view right outside the window?

At San Luis Obispo, the train headed inland and the rest of the afternoon was spent reading in the observation car and enjoying the peace & quiet of our “roomette”. I took advantage of the time to make a few phone calls just because I didn’t have to shut off my cellular phone - or any electronic devices for that matter. We even had a standard electric outlet in our room for plugging in the laptop computer. Internet access is another issue. There is no WiFi or ethernet connections on the train and I’m too cheap to buy one of those mobile wireless cards so I’m dependent on whatever free WiFi I can find. No luck today.

At 7:30 Chris announced over the intercom that it was time for us to head up to the dining car for dinner. I had the steak and dad had half of a roasted game hen. Another fine meal.

We pulled into Emeryville at about 10:20pm, just a few minutes behind schedule. Ack! No free wireless at the hotel across from the train station - should have checked that when I made the reservation. Not sure when I’ll get to post this or what kind of access I’ll be able to find for the next few days on the train to Chicago. We’ll see what happens...

CLICK HERE for Part 2

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

The NECC Buffet - Part 3

2008-07-08T10:46:00.000-07:00

Part 3: Dessert!

Remember to save room for dessert? No trip to the buffet would be complete without it. Forget about counting calories - just dive in! My favorite part of a buffet is the dessert and my favorite part of the NECC buffet was the opportunity to spend time and have fun with some amazing people. I'll have to admit that one of my primary reasons for attending was to renew friendships with many of the Discovery Educators I met at the DEN National Institute last year. Just knowing that these people would be in San Antonio made my first NECC experience a lot less intimidating.

In addition to spending time with DEN friends, I was delighted to meet many others I only knew online through Twitter, the Discovery Educator Network, or Second Life. I owe a big thanks to Anne Truger and Tom Turner (both NECC veterans) for helping me make connections and friendships with some wonderful tech educators. My personal learning network continues to grow.

Hats Off To Discovery
If one group has done more than any other to help me connect, grow, and learn it would be the folks at Discovery. I like to think of Scott, Steve, Hall, Lance, Matt, Joe, Brad, Justin, and of course mother-to-be Jannita as good friends and education professionals who just happen to work for an awesome company. The DEN event at Enchanted Springs Ranch was yet another opportunity to learn, connect, and have fun with other teachers. Here I finally got to meet Martha Thornburgh, a teacher I've collaborated with online but never met in person. Thanks DEN.

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Teachers That Play Together...
Not only is NECC an a great opportunity to collaborate and exchange ideas with other teachers on a professional level, its also a great place to play together as well. And play we did! As I mentioned in my previous post, its all about relationships. I feel so fortunate that I had a chance to meet and get to know teachers like Lee "@Teachakidd" Kolbert, Darcy White, Tim Childers, Chad "IMC Guy" Lehman, and the infamous Riptide Furse! It was fun to get pulled out onto the dance floor by Anne Truger & Teryl Magee, to find out what SL's Lori Abrahams is doing in RL, and to catch up with fellow "Academic Excursion" cruisers Jennifer Gingerich, Elaine Plybon, Tanya Gray, Heather Hurley, and of course Howard Martin - the voice of Igneous Rock himself. I really hope that we can keep communication open through Skype, Twitter, and other online tools.

The Jen W Factor
Finally, I need to share another NECC treat on my dessert tray. Even though Jen Wagner was not able to attend NECC, she was busy at home Ustreaming, Skyping, and using any other means possible to connect to the conference. For me, having Jen there virtually was like having a little Jiminy Cricket on my shoulder guiding me through my first national conference. I really appreciated her reminders to, "Make sure you go and see a presentation from someone you don't know", and "Don't just be a sponge, also be a watering can." Jen helped alert me to opportunities I shouldn't miss and people I should try to meet. It was my pleasure to be a small part of the crew that helped keep her connected to the conference. I still have fun telling people she sat on my lap during Jakes & Shareski's "One Hour Power Point" session. Thanks Jen.

PHOTO CREDIT: Dean Shareski on Flickr (Modified by Me)

Lessons Learned
Just writing these last three blog entries have helped me review and organize many of the things I learned at NECC this year, but if I had to pick one major lesson I learned it would be this: "Its not what you use its how you use it." This message is nothing new of course, but it was reinforced while talking to teachers and visiting the poster sessions over my 5 days at NECC. We are blessed with an abundance of technology tools at my school in Orange, CA. It was humbling to see how some teachers are doing more with so much less. Therefore I'm resolved this year to do my best and make the most out of the technology we've been given and use it to help our students become powerful thinkers, creators, and problem solvers.

That's about it. Thanks for taking time to read about my NECC buffet experience. There's so much more I would have liked to try. I'll definately have to make it back for NECC next year in Washington DC. I'm sure my plate will once again be piled high with great presentations and conversations. Then again, maybe I'll skip all that and just go for the dessert.

Can I offer anyone a "wafer thin mint"? :)

The NECC Buffet - Part 2

2008-07-07T15:16:00.000-07:00

Part 2: The Entree

The Entree is the reason you go to the buffet in the first place. It's the main course of the meal. Here's where you pile your plate high with everything you like or have been been dying to try.

For many people the concurrent sessions at NECC were their entree. That was not the case for me. The main reason I attended NECC was for the conversations - the chance to talk and exchange ideas with other technology educators. This is why a arrived (at the buffet) in San Antonio a day early to attend EduBloggerCon 2008 so I could have an extra day to engage in conversations.

PHOTO CREDIT: by elemenous on Flickr (Modified by Me)
Between EduBloggerCon, the Bloggers Cafe, and random meetings throughout the convention center, my NECC experience was filled with great idea exchanges and brainstorming. Here are a few morsels I brought home with me.

Why Didn't I Think of That?
After any professional development, Kevin Honeycutt sets out a "buffet" of laminated key tags - just like those grocery store club tags. Each one lists a tool that was discussed on one side and a web site address for that tool on the other. Under the web site is the name of a school or district contact who has agreed to serve as a mentor to support teachers and help them learn to use that tool.

Think of these like collectors cards for all your professional development topics. Kevin discovered that his teachers like to collect tags and will even trade them with other teachers. It even becomes a little competitive as teachers try to see who can collect the most tags. Besides, "If you laminate it, teachers won't throw it away."

Virtual Class Pets
Real class pets teach kids responsibility. Virtual pets can do the same and also help them learn responsibility and good online habits. Maria Knee uses a Webkin as a virtual class pet. Kids take turns caring for their class webkin, decorating it's house, doing chores, earning Kinzcash to buy new things, and communicating with other Webkins. Along the way they're learning to be good online citizens. Guess I'll have to work making an exception for this site on our school web filter.

We All Scream for Ustream!
Strangely enough, one of the best sessions I attended at NECC, I attended virtually. I caught most of Chris Lehmann's School 2.0 session from the Global Connections lounge and followed along with backchannel chat as well. Chris did a great job demonstrating how to build a collaborative unit plan with audience participation. Participating in the chat and sitting a few feet away from me in the lounge was Jeff Utecht. As an added bonus, after the session I was able to talk with him and learn how he uses Google Apps for Education at his school in Shanghai.

Meaningful Change
How does it happen? Rushton Hurley led this discussion at EduBloggerCon. What an amazing opportunity to meet and share with other Edubloggers! The topic: What needs to be done at the school/classroom level to bring about a meaningful change in day-to-day learning?

PHOTO CREDIT: Teachandlearn on Flickr

If we're right, and technology has the potential to change learning from passive to active, we can't simply bemoan being inundated by complacency, what do we do?
- Rushton

Everyone at NECC seems to have a passion and energy for technology & learning, but that excitement loses something when you try to bring it back home to your school. In my opinion, it's all about having conversations and developing relationships with your teachers. Identify those who have a passion, whether or not it's a technology passion, and partner with them. Help them take that first step. Celebrate their successes. When things go wrong, help them figure out what to do better next time. To ensure that the change is permanent, its important that teachers see added value the technology brings to the project, but its also important that you make it inconvenient for them to go back to doing things the old way. This is where an administration can help by defining policies that take the "old way" option out of the equation. Even if you don't have administrative support you can encourage change by publicizing student success and work products among parents and the community. Once word gets out that this is the type of work being done in their class, it puts a little social pressure on the teacher to keep these technology projects going.

Please Sir, Can I Have Some More?
There were many other conversation morsels at NECC. Unfortunately that's what they were - morsels. My NECC plate was so full that I regret not having time to really sit down and enjoy a full portion of some conversations. "Let's talk more later," was a recurring phrase. Too bad the conference ended before many of these "laters" came about. Thankfully we have online tools so I can go back for seconds.

NEXT POST: Part 3 - Dessert!

OTHER PHOTO CREDITS: Keytags (www.edubloggercon.com/Web+2.0+Smackdown)

The NECC Buffet - Part 1

2008-07-07T08:26:00.000-07:00

I attended NECC for the first time this year. While many attendees have already blogged about their experiences - as I write this Technorati already has over 500 blogs tagged "NECC2008" - it's taken a while for me to process everything and gather my thoughts enough to put text to screen and share my impressions.

To say NECC is big doesn't quite capture it. My thesaurus suggests words like monumental, immense, ginormous, and elephantine, but those don't seem to paint an accurate picture either. For me, NECC was a chance to attend the worlds largest most extravagant buffet for the very first time. I wanted to load my plate with a little of everything. Not knowing if I would ever make it back, I tried to devour as many small morsels as I could but quickly discovered there was no possible way to digest it all without making myself sick. In the end, I had to make choices. I'll leave it up to you to determine the wisdom of my decisions.

Part 1: The Salad Bar

The salad bar contains all that stuff that's healthy for you. It's not the real reason you came to the buffet, but you feel obligated to partake because it helps you balance out the guilt you feel for indulging in the next two courses. The concurrent sessions at NECC were my salad bar - and what an AMAZING salad bar it was!

Chris Dede's session on augmented reality curricula using GPS enabled handheld devices expanded on a lot of what I learned last March at KQED.

David Jakes and Dean Shareski demonstrated strategies for Power Point that prove this oft misused tool can still be used to communicate powerful messages. I could elaborate on it more but I think Ewan McIntosh did a much better job capturing the session on his blog, "Why would you use words on a screen when they do just fine in your mouth?"

Ian Jukes is one of those "sit down, fasten your seatbelts, and hold on" presenters. I love his energetic, in-your-face style and powerful visual images. While his session about Learning in the Digital Landscape did not give me anything I haven't already heard, nobody preaches it and gets you fired up to teach "digital kids" like Ian Jukes.

I've been a big fan of Lego Mindstorms for years and used them at my previous school so I was anxious to hear Mitchel Resnick speak about some of the new technologies they've been developing at the MIT Media Lab. Thanks to Wesley Fryer for taking such copious notes - Grassroots Creativity: Helping Everyone Become a Creative Thinker.

Rushton Hurley has a wonderful presentation style and his now famous "Who Can Make a Video in 10 Minutes?" session gave me many ideas that I hope to incorporate into future staff trainings. His non-profit NextVista for Learning web site promotes student and teacher made instructional videos and seeks to encourage global understanding through digital media. He also gave me the challenge to contribute some video to his site. (If you're reading this blog you can help keep me accountable to do this!)

Finally, what can I say about Hall Davidson that hasn't already been said? From exploding bottles of Dr. Pepper to his "I've never tried this before, but do you want to see if it works?" style, it's clear that Hall is a guy who doesn't play by the rules. His "HTML for Non-Wizards" presentation was just what my inner tech-geek needed, plus it gave me some extra techie tid-bits to feed to my middle schoolers who like to push the limits. (Click here if you'd like to download the 36MB pdf version of his presentation.)

NOTE: Several of these sessions and a few that I missed are now available at the NECC Webcast site. Here you can see presentations from Chris Dede, Mitchel Resnick, Hall Davidson and several other NECC Spotlight speakers. You need to register with an e-mail address to view the webcast but you also get to join the chat with anyone else who happens to be watching it with you.
Hmmm. Want to train your teachers how a back channel works? This might make a good practice playground.

NEXT POST: Part 2 - The Entree

Professional Development Meme

2008-06-18T10:03:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged! Normally the introverted rebel in me tends to ignore these Meme challenges, but I couldn't let this one go unanswered. Why? First, because this challenge comes from well respected colleague and friend Jen Wagner (who I know will check up on me to make sure I do it.) Second, it forces me to practice what I preach. Lately I've been leading a lot of professional development to prepare our middle school teachers for our 1 to 1 program which starts with 6th grade this Fall. I've been having them do a lot of project planning and goal setting. This is a good way to keep me accountable to do the same. So here goes...

Section 1: The Obligatory Posting of the Meme Rules

Pick 3 professional development goals and commit to achieving them this summer.
For the purposes of this activity the end of summer will be Labor Day (09/01/08).
Post the above directions along with your 3 goals on your blog.
Title your post Professional Development Meme and link back/trackback to http://clifmims.com/blog/archives/353.
Use the following tag/ keyword/ category on your post: pdmeme.
Tag 8 others to participate in the meme.
Achieve your goals and “develop professionally.”
Commit to sharing your results on your blog during early or mid-September.

Section 2: My Goals

Learn how to work with SQL Queries. Our Angel VLE is built on SQL tables. Knowing how to find and manipulate data with this powerful tool will make my life significantly easier.
Take one new idea from both NECC and the Discovery National Institute and make a plan to implement it sometime this school year.
2:14 it! Putting a Tablet PC in the hands of every 6th grader poses some significant new challenges this summer. My final goal is to keep a positive attitude and "Do everything without grumbling or complaining." (Philippians 2:14).

Section 3: Tag! You're It!
If you see your name below, you know what to do.

Bridget Belardi
Rob Jacklin
Genny Kahlweiss
Alan Lutz
Jonathon Orr
Martha Thornburgh
Tom Turner
Trevor VanBlarcom (Maybe this will encourage you to start your own blog. You KNOW you want to.)

1000 Words for Father's Day

2008-06-13T10:18:00.000-07:00

They say a picture is worth 1000 words, but sometimes words are not enough to capture the power or summon the emotion present in a photograph. That image becomes even more powerful when you have a connection to the subject of the photo. Those of you who have seen my Digital Storytelling presentation have also heard me mention my ongoing project to scan and archive family photos. So far I've digitized over 1400 of them.

What I've found fascinating about this project is the incredible detail in many of the oldest pictures. While many of these pictures are quite small, some only an inch or two square, most are contact prints and are incredibly detailed. Scanning and enlarging these prints reveal things one might not notice looking at the original photo.

I found this to be true yesterday as I was looking at one particular photo. The picture above is one of the only photographs of my great grandfather.

According to my grandpa, who will be 97 this month, it was taken in 1914. His father was working at a sheep ranch near Yakima, Washington. He recalls early childhood memories of watching the ranchers drive the sheep down the main street of town. Looking at the photo brings back fond memories of his father.

The original photo was not much bigger than a standard print, but because the photo was so detailed it was quite easy to zoom in and crop it to reveal a portrait of grandpa's dad. Yesterday when he was handed the enlarged print I was not totally prepared for his reaction.

Grandpa joined the Navy in 1931 and his father passed away while he was stationed in in the Pacific. It's been many years since he has looked at his father's face and been able to see his eyes. What took just a few minutes to crop and print turned out to be quite a Father's Day gift. Why didn't I do this sooner?

Tide Pool Adventure

2008-06-04T11:12:00.000-07:00

Every May our 5th graders take a field trip to the tide pools at Corona Del Mar to learn about marine life. Part of the follow up for that trip includes some sort of assignment about various tide pool animals that reside in our local marine habitat.

This year as part of my effort to promote creativity and digital storytelling, we decided to shake things up a bit. Each child was to select a creature from the tidepools and make a story about that creature. They would give it a name, talk about it's life in the tidepool, or tell a story about their creature's little adventure. Stories must be factually accurate and cannot include any plot elements that go beyond the creature's natural abilities, real life predators, or physical environment. (i.e. No "Sea Slugs in Space" stories.)

The project began with students sketching out their stories in class on a storyboard template. (Storyboard.pdf courtesy of Hall Davidson) Storyboards included the story's "script" - what the student would say for each image. Next, they began to work on their pictures in the computer lab. Pictures could be drawn in KidPix, created in PowerPoint and exported as a jpeg file, imported from the Internet (properly cited, of course), or any combination of the three.

Finished pictures were imported to PhotoStory3. Students recorded their narration and added music and titles. When the stories were finished, they were exported to a Windows Media file and submitted electronically to their teacher for grading using our school LMS.

Were we crazy to start a project like this with only 8 1/2 days left in the school year? Maybe, but nearly all the kids were able to complete and submit their projects by this morning's deadline. (School ends this Friday!) They will be sharing them in class this afternoon.

Here is one about Brittle Stars.

This is a story about two crabs that sneak out to do some "TP-ing" with seaweed.

NOTE: Because of the limited time available to complete the assignment, students were limited to three pictures for their stories. But even with that restriction, they were still able to come up with some pretty good projects. Hopefully next year we'll be able to give them a little more time.

PHOTO CREDIT: Judykay (flickr.com/photos/judykay/290095974)

Energy Crisis

2008-05-08T08:52:00.000-07:00

The energy crisis has hit here at school. You can feel it just about anywhere you go on campus, but I'm not talking about the price of gas or power, I'm talking about that complete lack of energy on the part of the students and many of our staff - including me.

May has got to be one of the toughest months of the year. The end of the school year is so close you can almost touch it. (Our year ends on June 6th.) The terms "home stretch" and "spring fever" are heard more often in staff conversations and everyone seems to be complaining about the total lack of motivation in our students. Missed assignments, sloppy and careless work, and the oft repeated question, "Can I be done?" are a daily reality.

There must be something in the Spring air that interrupts the thinking process. This is exemplified by the number of raised hands in the room all waiting to ask the same thing - "I don't get it." Never mind that "I don't get it" is not a question, and that the directions you just gave not more than a minute ago are still hanging in the air. What's not to get?! It's hard to keep your head from exploding.

Yes, the demand for energy this May greatly outweighs the supply. This is the time of year when we need to tap into as many resources and creative ideas as we can to keep students' engaged, but how can we be expected to motivate students when we feel so unmotivated ourselves? From a technology coordinator's point of view, May is a tough time to get teachers to try new, creative projects. It's not that they don't want to learn, they just don't want to learn right now. Not when their focus is to "just make it through the next few weeks."

Funny that this little inspirational story should make its way to my inbox this morning. I wish I knew who to attribute it to, but its just one of those things that's been making it's way around through forwarded attachments.

In ancient times, a king had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and complained about the boulder and then simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way.

Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been.

The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the king indicating that the gold was for the person who had removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many of us never understand. Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.

It's easy to sit here and complain to the world through though this blog. Complaining takes much less energy, but it doesn't make the situation any better. It doesn't motivate our students - in fact I think makes the situation worse because it gives us a poor attitude that rubs off on the kids. If they perceive that we're not giving our best, why should they be any different? We (I) need to push, strain, and apply that extra effort to come up with creative and innovative ideas. I need to work on always answering students' questions with more questions to guide their thinking rather than just handing them an easy answer. Finally, I need to let them know in no uncertain terms that I'm not going to coast through to the end of the year, and that any coasting from them will not be accepted.

Okay, enough writing. Now back to work.

Note to the reader: Normally I use this blog space for tech tips and ideas, rather than personal journalling, but today I just felt the need to write and put my thoughts out there to help get my head back in the right place. Writing today's post has helped me refocus. Hopefully it will help others too.

Place-Based Learning at MoMA

2008-04-30T09:16:00.000-07:00

The Museum of Modern Art in New York has set up a new place-based learning system for their exhibits. Anyone with an iPhone or iPod Touch can access audio programs for selected art works and various places around the museum. There's even a section for kids! Visitors to the museum use the free wireless Internet to access the site and the audio. I was able to connect to the site using my wireless at home and pretend I was touring the museum. Although I'm sure the experience would be richer if I were standing in front of the actual exhibit as I listened, I found the audio clips - especially the ones recorded for kids - to be interesting and engaging even without the visuals.
If you want to check it out for yourself, visit www.moma.org/wifi/audio/. Since the site was designed for iPhones it may look a little weird but you'll get the idea.

Can't Buy Me Love

2008-04-29T18:49:00.000-07:00

Today’s Limerick Challenge
(Inspired by NPR’s “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me”)

Our kids’ spending habits aren’t funny,
And their financial future ain’t sunny.
If they spend more than they get,
They’ll be buried in debt.
We must teach them to manage their _______.

Record numbers of home foreclosures. Over $4.00 for a gallon of gas. Food prices skyrocketing. Listen to the news and you wonder how much worse it’ll get before it starts to get better. When your money doesn’t go as far as it used to, you really need to learn to use it wisely. Think about the decisions you make when you spend money. Not just for big ticket items like a car and a house, either. Stop and think how much you spend every month at Starbucks too. Now stop and think what kind of example we are setting for our kids.

One of the problems we have when it comes to spending is that technology has made it so much easier to separate us from our cash. In fact, cash seems to be less and less visible in favor of electronic and plastic currency. Why fumble with cash when you can just swipe a card? You’ve seen those Visa Check Card commercials where everything comes to a stop when some poor unenlightened soul tries to pay with cash? But do we really pay as much attention to our spending habits when our real money is reduced to plastic cards and numbers on a computer screen? According to author Dan Ariely (Predictably Irrational), this degree of separation from actual money can actually have an effect on our behavior - and our honesty. Listen to his comments on the recent Bear Stearns debacle.

At school we use manipulatives and computer software to teach kids how to recognize and count coins and bills, and how to make change. But I wonder if we are preparing them deal with a real world of debit/credit cards, online banking, and one-click shopping. Do they truly understand that those numbers on the screen are a real and just as important as cash in their pocket? How do we get them to think about good money management and sound financial decision making.

One great media resource I like to use is BizKid$. This PBS series, made by the same team that produced Bill Nye-The Science Guy, is packed full of great lessons and positive examples of kids who understand proper money management. It’s fast paced and funny - I particularly like the Star Trek parodies - but it also teaches some simple and not-so-simple money management concepts in a way that connects with kids. The series is aimed at grades 4-7 and covers a variety of topics from “What is Money?” (Episode 2) to the “Global Economy” (Episode 20).

Their web site has video clips and a synopsis of each episode. Complete a free registration process and you’ll have access to teacher guides and classroom lessons developed by Junior Achievement. Check with your local PBS station to see about recording rights for your classroom.

Other sites/resources for money education:

Hands On Banking - an interactive web site sponsored by Wells Fargo.
Elementary Video Adventures: Money: Kids & Cash - Available to those of you with Discovery Streaming. (Log in and search for “Kids and Cash”.) It is a collection of 23 video segments for kids in grades 3-5.

If you have any great tools that you use for money education please leave a comment and link. Thanks.

Oh, and if the Dan Ariely clip caught your attention, check out his web site and his book, Predictably Irrational. I was fascinated by his thoughts on how we make decisions and the tricks our mind plays on us. Some of this will definitely come in handy dealing with kids in the classroom.

Adventures in Google Apps

2008-04-12T09:55:00.000-07:00

Over the past several weeks we've been exploring Google Apps for Education here at St. John's. I really like the way Google Docs allows for collaborating on projects, but the biggest hurdle that prevented us from using it in our middle school was a registration process that requires users to sign-up with an e-mail address. We can't require our students to have internet e-mail accounts. This is why we decided to try Google Apps for Education.

The process began with signing up our school, registering our domain, and setting up our site. Our reward came this week we when we actually started using it with 6th Grade.

Signing Up/Registering Our Domain
Signing up for Google Apps for Education begins at their site. This is where the process got a little confusing for me. Thankfully our school network administrator was there to help me through the process. The first thing they ask for is your domain name. We had a couple of domain names registered to our school that we were not using so we chose one of those.
Next we had to prove to Google that we actually owned our domain. This involved either uploading a unique HTML file they supplied to our site, or by changing something called the CNAME to redirect our site to Google. Since the name we selected to use was registered to us but not an active web site, we could not upload anything to it, so we had to change the CNAME. If this part sounds confusing to you, rest assured it was confusing to me too. Thankfully our network guy knew what to do. He had to go to the site where we registered our domain and make these changes.

It took almost a week for Google to verify that we had ownership of the domain, but once it was done we could go to our site and a custom Google start page (think - iGoogle) would appear. The page included links to Google Docs, GMail, GoogleTalk, Google Calendar, and any other modules I chose to add.

NOTE: Going to www.yourdomain.com would take you to your custom start page. You can go straight to Google Docs by typing docs.yourdomain.com.

Set-Up & Adding Users
The default settings in Google Apps for Education automatically creates GMail accounts for each of your users (Think: username@yourdomain.com). Since we did not want our students to have GMail accounts, we chose to disable the GMail feature, along with GoogleTalk (Chat is blocked by our firewall anyway) and Calendar (our school site already has a calendar). This basically left Google Docs.

To get our students into the system I was able to export their usernames from our learning system into an Excel CSV file, tweak the spreadsheet a little so it looks like the one below, and upload them to our Google site. For student passwords I just assigned them a generic password and checked a box that requires them to change it the first time they login.

Our First Project
Our 6th grade history teacher wanted his students to collaborate on their class notes for his lesson on the Age of Pericles. He created a Google Presentation with a single question on each slide. We decided it would be easier for a first project to have students each working on their own slide as opposed to editing over each other on the same text document. That presentation was copied multiple times - one for each group of 4 or 5 students. Students were were then invited to collaborate on their copy of the presentation.

For the introductory lesson we just showed students how to login and access the presentation. Even though their usernames had already been imported to our Google system, for their first login they still had to do two levels of "type the squiggly word" and click on the "agree to terms" button to verify their account. We showed them the Common Craft Google Docs video to give the kids an idea how Google Docs work. Then we showed them how to open & edit their copy of the presentation. Student groups had to decide who was going to work on which slide. Their assignment was to go home and work on their questions so their answers could be shared in class the next day.

What was the first thing they all started doing? Changing the themes and watching the screen change on each of the PC's in their group. I've to to admit, that is kind of empowering - and fun. The next day, out of three class periods, all but 2 or 3 students had completed their assignment.

NOTE: The ones that didn't finish had copied the web site incorrectly in their assignment book.

Every Place Has a Story

2008-03-17T15:56:00.000-07:00

Imagine this...

You're on visiting a historic Civil War battlefield. You're carrying a GPS enabled PDA with you. As you walk into a particular area your PDA starts playing a recorded story of what happened on that spot. Old photos appear on the screen showing what you might have seen had you been standing there 145 years ago. As you leave that area, the audio fades out. You continue exploring and as you do different voices, sounds, and images appear specific to those locations. It's as if those places are reaching through history to tell you their story.
You're walking through a park near your home with that same PDA. Suddenly a voice prompts you to stop and look around. It points out specific geological or natural features visible from where you are standing.
You're strolling through the neighborhood near your school. As you walk through certain areas you hear poetry, music, or stories written by your students who were inspired by those locations.

You've just experienced place-based learning. This weekend I had a chance to attend a workshop at KQED in San Francisco. Leslie Rule of KQED led the discussion as we shared ideas and brainstormed ways that place and space can be used to add an extra dimension to learning.

Many of us have seen how tools like Google Maps and Google Earth can connect us virtually with just about any place on the planet. Google Lit Trips takes events from books and links them to places. Imagine following the journey of the Joad family from Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath, or the story of gold seekers traveling from Boston to California in Sid Fleishman's The Great Horn Spoon.

Google Maps is valuable tool for organizing data and information by location. During the California wildfires last fall KPBS used Google Maps to share place-specific information with the public and alert communities of evacuation areas and road closures.

Using Google Street-View you can virtually stand in Dealy Plaza and survey the scene where JFK was shot, look up at the 6th story window where Oswald was perched waiting for the motorcade to pass by, and click down the street to the spot where the fatal shot struck the President.

While these types of place-based learning can all be done from the comfort of your own computer screen, the real power of place-based learning happens when you step outside the classroom and into the real world. You experience the content while standing in the actual spot - seeing, hearing, smelling, and feeling it for yourself. This is where things really start to get fun.

Using GPS enabled PDA's and Mediascape software Leslie showed us how to actually create a simple version of the imagined projects described above. We pulled in a picture from Google Earth of the area just outside KQED and programmed in the longitude and latitude coordinates. Then we created zones on certain areas of the map and imported pre-recorded audio that would play when the device entered those zones. Once the "mediascape" was created it was downloaded to the PDA and we ran outside to test it out.

We turned on the PDA's, waited for the GPS to acquire our position, and opened our downloaded file. The map and zones appeared on the screen we started walking. Upon entering a zone an audio clip started to play. As we stepped out of that zone the clip stopped. Errors in the GPS positioning meant that different PDA's were triggered in different spots, but for the most part, the experiment worked!

Admittedly, the technology we used was a little glitchy and it may be a while before this type of project becomes practical. The software we used only works with Windows and Windows Mobile enabled devices. Since not many PDA's are equipped with GPS capability, we had to use a separate bluetooth GPS unit to feed our position to the PDA's. It worked for some and not for others, but everyone did get a vision of how powerful this type of learning could be.

Even if you don't have all the equipment you need right now, you can still start thinking about and creating place-based content with technology you already possess. For example, you or your students could record content and upload it to your web site. That information could be downloaded to an iPod or mp3 player. Your students could use handheld GPS units or even paper maps to indicate where to play certain tracks. Then, in the future if you do get PDA's , that recorded information would be ready-made and easily moved to a GPS enabled hand-held device.

If you have no equipment at all, you can still create an educational "treasure hunt" called an EdTrek. KQED's Quest web site has an example and instructions for creating your own.

However you choose to implement it, the important thing to remember about place-based learning is that every place has a story. It could be geological, historical, personal, or inspirational. For your students it could be a specific place that works like a trigger to get them writing.

Tell about something that happened here.
How does this place make you feel?
Use your words to describe the sights, sounds, textures, and smells.

For those making the learning journey through those places it will give them a new perspective as they experience that place through the words of another.

Place-Based Learning Resources:
Create-A-Scape - Software to create a mediascape.
KQED Sample Quest
Lesson Plan for Creating an Ed-Trek Activity
"No Student Left Indoors" by Jane Kirkland
Google Lit Trips

NOTE: I would not have been able to attend this workshop without a generous invitation from Janet English of KOCE. Thanks Janet for the invite and for all you do to support teachers and technology in Orange County.

Will Web 2.0 Be There When I Need It?

2008-03-13T13:52:00.000-07:00

Warning: Normally I don't use this blog post as a forum for venting frustration, but I'm writing this today to ask, "Has this ever happened to you?"

My position here at St. John's has me spending a great deal of time working with teachers and helping them integrate technology into their lessons. While some of our teachers L-O-V-E technology and all the possibilities it offers them, many still approach these new tools with trepidation. It's a big step out of their comfort zone. While I applaud them for their willingness to take a leap forward and try something new, I'm frustrated when things just won't work as planned.

This happened last week while I was away at CUE Conference. I convinced our second grades to use Voicethread instead of Power Point for their Important Book Project. Classes worked for weeks making their pictures and recording video comments. When the teachers tried to present their final projects on Grandparents Day last Friday, Voicethread locked up and would not play. (NOTE: This Monday Voicethread added the ability to download and save projects locally. Timing is everything!)

Earlier this year 8th grade was all set to use MyBrochureMaker.com for a literature project. The site worked perfectly the day before, but when the time came for the students to start working on their projects, all that came up on their screen was the "Page Cannot be Displayed" message.

Today in the lab I had a class come in to work on a project using Kerpoof.com. I've used this site before and never had any problems but today it just wouldn't open. I posted my dilemma on Twitter and a few other colleagues shared that they were having the same problem. As a result I had to switch gears quickly and do another activity. While I can roll with these little annoyances, many of my new technology adopters see it as a reason NOT to use these new web tools and stick with "more reliable" crayon, pencil & paper projects. I can understand their feelings.

I've done enough trainings and presentations to know that the nature of all things online means that the one web tool you need might not work when you need it most. If that's true, how do I convince a timid teacher to replace their "always reliable" paper project and integrate these new web tools when they just don't trust them?

How do YOU handle this? I'd love to hear your thoughts. If nothing else, let me know I'm not alone here.

CUE Thoughts

2008-03-10T09:23:00.000-07:00

It's Monday morning. I'm back at school, and while I'm mentally exhausted from last week's CUE Conference (and still adjusting to the time change), I need to post some of my thoughts and reflections while they are still fresh in my mind. This year's event was probably one of the best CUE experiences I've had, not just because of the sessions and presenters, but also because it provided an opportunity to connect and converse with some brilliant and talented educators, many of whom I had never met.

Most of these conversations would not have occurred had it not been for the connections I started making last summer at the Discovery National Institute. That experience really helped me jump in and start networking with people across the country and the world using online tools like Twitter, Skype, and Google Reader. It's amazing how my learning network has grown in the last 9 months. As a result, I was able to have some great conversations with people that I would never have known, and would not have approached had I not been following them online.

Wednesday - EduBloggerCon West
Thanks to Steve Hargadon (Classroom 2.0)for organizing this and to Mike Lawrence & CUE for providing rooms and wireless Internet. Those of us fortunate enough to participate in this "un-conference" got to share some great ideas and participate in some wonderful discussions. In addition to Steve, I was also able to meet several people I've been following online, but had never met in person including Jen Wagner and Sylvia Martinez. I also added a few new names to my network:

Rushton Hurley is creator of Next Vista for Learning, a free site for viewing and downloading videos created by teachers & students. Videos focus on Learning, Global Understanding, and Community Service. Rushton is also a dynamic presenter and one of the CUE spotlight speakers. I'll be blaming his Google Tools presentation for all my hours that will be eaten up playing with Google Sketch-Up.

My "serendipty" moment of the conference came during our round table discussion on Project Based Learning. Sylvia Martinez was leading the discussion. I reached in my bag and pulled out the ISTE book we've been using for our middle school teacher training, Reinventing Project Based Learning. When I praised it as a great resource a voice from across the table replied, "Hey, I wrote that book!" It was Jane Krauss, one of the authors. Of course, I had her sign my copy.

Thursday - DEN Pre-Conference
A room full of Discovery Educators was a great way to kick-off the CUE Conference. Scott Kinney gave a terrific presentation on the role that media plays in our student's lives. This event also ended up being a mini-reunion of National Institute friends. We had 8 "Academic Excursion" attendees together in the same room. Good times. Most of us got together for dinner at Las Casuelas that night.

Friday - Conference Sessions & Party Time
I've been following David Jakes on Twitter and on his blog for some time, but never had a chance to meet him until today. His presentation on Digital Storytelling opened my eyes to some new possibilities for using these with my students.

David Jakes presenting del.icio.us at one of the "CUE-Tip" mini sessions.

Jeremy Davis shared advanced Google searching and revealed some hidden Google tools - like calculator, dictionary, and custom searches.
Frank Guttler & Mitch Aiken from the American Film Institute shared their screen-education curriculum for students and gave us a sneak peak at their new AFI ScreenNation site - a place for students to post and share their videos.

After the sessions, it was party time. Since I volunteered at the registration booth this year I was invited to the Volunteer Reception at the Wyndham Hotel. That was followed by a reception for our Orange County CUE affiliate where we were introduced to our new affiliate president Lainie McGann. The night was capped off by a Discovery Education Celebration. Kudos to the Discovery folks for throwing a great party. They rented out Boomers in Cathedral City so we had the whole place to ourselves and we had a terrific time. I was one of about 200 Discovery Educators who reconnected with their inner-child as we played in the arcade, pounded down pizza & soda, and raced each other around the go-cart track. Thanks DEN!

Saturday - Wrapping it All Up
In addition to Rushton's enthusiastic Google Earth and Sketch-up session, I got to sit back and listen to David Jakes one more time before he had to fly back to icy Chicago. His 21st Century Cartography session had our heads spinning as he showed the magic that you can add to your blogs and wikis using embeded code. With a "simple" copy & paste you can bring your pages to life with podcasts, maps, street-views, and virtual tours.
In my last session of the conference I got to give back a little as I presented some of my own cool tips and tricks with other Discovery STAR Educators in their "Stealing from the STARs" session. I shared how to make PhotoStory-like movies using iMovie08 and Voicethread.

Cool Web 2.0 Tools

PicLens - Use this browser plug-in to turn your picture searches into an infinite photo-wall. Works with most image searches and Flickr.
MeBeam - Probably the easiest way yet to video conference. Reminds me a lot of the Brady Bunch.
Next Vista for Learning - Rushton Hurley's online library of free videos for learners.
AFI ScreenNation - The final piece of AFI's Screen Education curriculum. Coming soon!
GabCast - Record & post your podcast with your cell-phone. Evoca is another tool that does the same thing.
Google Sketch-Up - Design 3-D buildings and objects and drop them into Google Earth. (This is just too much fun!)

PHOTO CREDITS: Thanks to Mark Pennington & Jen Wagner.

iMovie08: Follow-Up

2008-03-08T19:05:00.000-08:00

Here's a video clip that explains the process for creating a PhotoStory3-like digital story using iMovie08.

iMovie 08: PhotoStory for Mac?

2008-02-18T19:41:00.000-08:00

For a PDF (printable) version of this blog click here.

Microsoft PhotoStory 3 is a great, simple way for students and teachers to create their own digital stories. I’ve demonstrated PhotoStory at several workshops and conferences and every time I do someone always asks, “Isn’t this available for Mac?” I understand the shock that Mac users experience when I tell them, “No, it’s only for Windows.” We Mac users are used to having the best, and easiest to use software. We feel slighted when something comes along that’s simple, easy, free, and we can’t have it. This is especially painful when that product comes from Microsoft.

“No. No. That’s not true! That’s impossible!”
Luke Skywalker, reacting to Darth Vader’s revelation that he is Luke’s father

For those of you who have been wanting a Mac solution to the PhotoStory dilemma, here’s something that might just work. It’s iMovie ‘08. This latest version of iMovie has drawn numerous bad reviews, mostly due to the fact that it is radically different from it’s previous version. While I’m not going to argue which is better, please allow me to present iMovie 08 as an alternative to PhotoStory. Here is an example of how to create a simple digital riddle using iMovie 08. I’ve written the steps in much the same way that similar project would be created using Photostory.

Since today is Presidents’ Day, I’m choosing to create a digital riddle about one of our Presidents, Millard Fillmore. Before starting this project I collected two pictures and placed them in a folder. One is a blank slide that I will use a background for my titles. The other is a photo of Millard Fillmore that I plan to use several times. The idea is to zoom in on certain parts of the picture and only reveal the entire photograph at the end.

Start a New Story
Go to FILE and select NEW PROJECT.
If you want your project to be a standard video format, I suggest you select a Standard (4:3) aspect ratio.

STEP 1: Import Pictures
You can bring your pictures into iMovie two ways. If they’re already in your iPhoto library, click the camera button (at the right of the screen below the preview window). Locate your pictures and drag them to the project window.
For my project, I'm saving two pictures - a blank background created in keynote and the picture of Millard Fillmore - in a folder. I can drag the pictures from the folder into the project window.
Since I want to use each picture more than once, I can drag the same picture multiple times to create copies.

STEP 2: Add Titles
Click the title button (located next to the camera button).
Select the style of title you want and drag it on top of a picture. For my President riddle I’m selecting a centered title for my questions and a lower third for my answer.

Type your titles in the preview window. You will notice that each picture with titles has a blue bar over it.

STEP 3: Add Narration
Unlike PhotoStory, there is no window to type your notes for narrating. You and your students will have to write them ahead of time and print them out or open them in a small window on your screen.

To record narration, click on the microphone button. Use your mouse to position the “red line” where you want to begin recording. When you click, you will get a 3 second countdown to begin recording. To stop recording, click the mouse button.

NOTE: In PhotoStory you only record one slide at a time. In iMovie if you don’t stop after each slide, your recording can flow into other slides. If this happens, you can adjust the length of each slide to fit the recording. In the picture below, notice that the voiceover (purple bar) for my third Millard Fillmore picture is 6.4 seconds long and the picture is only 4 seconds long.

Crop Images, Adjust Motion
Once you have adjusted the duration of your slides to match the voiceover, you can crop your images or adjust the pan and zoom. Click the crop button to make these adjustments.

You have three options.

FIT - Make the entire picture fit in the window. You may see black bars on the sides or top & bottom.
CROP - Crop the image so part of it fills the entire window.
KEN BURNS - Make your image pan or zoom by setting a starting and ending point.

STEP 4: Add Music
Unlike PhotoStory, iMovie does not have a music creator. To add music you must select it from your iTunes library or from the pre-made jingles found in the iLife sound effects folder.

For my President Riddle, I selected "Medal Ceremony", because it just sounds Presidential. The song will appear as a green field behind your pictures. If the song you choose is longer than your video, it will fade out at the end.

STEP 5: Save Your Video
This creates an Quicktime or m4v version of your video which will play in Quicktime Player or iTunes. Go to SHARE and select EXPORT MOVIE.

You can select different qualities and sizes. Because I want a smaller file size, I’ll pick “mobile” for my project.

Once the file has been exported, you can post it online or upload it to a video sharing site like YouTube or TeacherTube. Here’s what my finished project looks like.

iMovie 08 does much more than what is explained in this tutorial. If you want to learn more about iMovie 08, check out the video tutorials on Apple’s web site: http://www.apple.com/ilife/tutorials/#imovie

Virtual Conferences

2008-01-24T08:46:00.000-08:00

It may sound weird, but I love going to technology conferences. Each year I get to go to CUE (Computer Using Educators) in Palm Springs and this year I plan to pay my own way to go to NECC 2008 in San Antonio - just because I feel it’s important to be there.

When I first started attending these events, it was all about the stuff. What were the coolest new tech toys? What new software titles did I want to add to my wish list for next year? I also did my best to religiously attend any and all sessions I could. Tell me more. Tell me more! I was a sponge.

Lately, my focus has seemed to shift away from the toys and all the information and focus more on the people. Networking! That’s what it’s all about now. I’ll gladly pass on a session to spend time talking and sharing ideas with a fellow educator. Sometimes I get to be the teacher, other times the learner. And sometimes, if I’m really lucky, both of us build upon each other’s thoughts and ideas and together we come up with something totally new. We'll also share Twitter and Skype names, blog and wiki addresses, and promise to stay in touch online.

The problem is, as my network grows and I start following more and more awesome educators, I hear about all these other great conferences that I would love to attend and speakers I would love to hear. For example, even though I’m here in California, I’m jealous of all you teachers enjoying FETC right now. I’m bummed I missed hearing Jeff Corwin speak - sounds like it was great! Unfortunately time, distance, and $$$ all prevent me attending.

Good news. Thanks to some cool online tools I can now attend some of these conferences virtually! Last night I was chatting with Diana Laufenburg, who will be presenting at EduCon 2008 this Saturday. Even though I can’t be there in person, I can watch her presentation live on UStream. In fact, EduCon has set up 8 Ustream channels and plans to webcast every presentation!

Earlier this year I was able to participate in the K12 Online Conference. This conference was completely virtual. All the sessions were webcast live or posted as pre-recorded podcasts with live chat discussions.

Discovery Education will also be presenting their own virtual conference on Saturday, February 2nd. For this one you can choose to attend in person with other educators at some of the satellite sites around the country, or participate from the comfort of your own home. Be sure to let Hall Davidson know if you're listening to his keynote address in your pajamas!

Is this the future of professional development? I'm not sure, but its nice to know that if I can't be there in person that don't have miss out completely.

Virtual Conference Links

EduCon 2008
Philadelphia, PA
Friday, Jan. 25 - Sunday, Jan. 27th, 2008
Conference Agenda and Ustream channels

Discovery Educator Network Virtual Conference
Saturday, February 2nd, 2008
Registration Page

K12 Online Conference
October 2007
(This event is over, but you can still access the archives)

WebCam Surprise

2008-01-10T15:19:00.000-08:00

My online Merriam Webster Dictionary defines serendipity as

the phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for;

That's what happened here at school today. Our first grade class is studying marine mammals and their teacher asked if I could help her find some live web cams of marine life. After a quick Google search I found a live beluga whale camera from the Vancouver Marine Aquarium and the Shamu Cam from Sea World, but the surprise came when I found the live sea otter camera from the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Shortly after the video started streaming I could see the otters swimming around in their pool, but then I started to hear someone talking. My timing must have been just right because that happened to be the time that the trainers came out to do a short 15 minute education program about the otters.
I ran over to the first grade room and quickly got the live video up on their screen. The kids sat there and watched as the trainers fed and weighed the otters. They explained what they ate and discussed otter behavior. The talk was just perfect for 1st grade.
Sometimes you get lucky. I had no idea that their live cam also had sound. After checking the web site I found out more about the Monterey Bay Aquarium live cams and interpretive programs. Maybe you'll find this information useful in your classroom.

Monterey Bay Aquarium Web Cams

Sea Otter Feeding and Training Session - Live Cam
Daily at 10:30AM, 1:30PM, and 3:30PM (Pacific Time)

Kelp Forest Fish Feeding - Live Cam
Daily at 11:30am and 4:00PM (Pacific Time)

Outer Bay Fish Feeding - Live Cam
Tues, Thurs, Sat, Sun at 11:00AM (Pacific Time)

If the times for the live presentations don't work for you, they also have many links to pre-recorded videos as well.

IMAGE CITATION:
Baird, Mike. "Adult Sea Otter in Morro Bay, CA." mikebaird's photostream. 14 Dec 2007. 10 Jan 2008 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikebaird/2112205672/)

Lessons from Mary Poppins

2008-01-08T16:52:00.000-08:00

Do you remember the Disney classic Mary Poppins? I just happened find it on the ABC Family Channel over Christmas break and took the opportunity to watch it again for the first time in many years. I was surprised to find myself humming along with the music - many of the songs I remembered from my childhood. I was also impressed by the visual effects which were pretty cutting edge for 1964. But what stood out for me, perhaps for the first time, were all the little words of advice and mini-lessons presented by the title character. I know I may be stretching things a bit, but I think Mary Poppins has a lot to teach us about how we should be using technology in our classrooms - if we take a little time to listen to what she has to say.

My niece sharing a photo op with Mary Poppins at Disney World.

A Spoonful of Sugar

“In every job that must be done there is an element of fun. You find the fun and - SNAP - the job’s a game.”

If learning is medicine, why not make learning fun? Use the technology tools available to you and design engaging assignments that your students can get excited about. If you’re the kind of teacher that insists on a silent classroom, you may have to make some adjustments. Kids that are excited and having fun are rarely quiet. Better to worry about keeping them on task, rather than keeping them silent. Remember, adding fun to your lessons means more than just providing a fun reward at the end of a dull assignment. The learning process itself should be the reward.

And don’t forget to save a spoonful of sugar for yourself too. If you’re bored with the lesson you are teaching, imagine what your students must be feeling! Make your lessons fun and interesting for yourself as well. Your enthusiasm is contagious and will infect the kids your teach.

At a loss for ideas? Here’s a few to get your brain going...

Kindergarten Voicethread Projects from Bridget Belardi (Sorry about your Steelers Bridget. There’s always next year.)
Digital Riddles from Jennifer Gingerich
iPods in Education - Have a little fun yourself! Use your iPod in your classroom, or try your hand at Podcasting.

Jump into a Chalk Drawing

Be creative. Let your imagination go wild! By third grade we manage to stifle much of the creativity kids had when they started Kindergarten and replace it with repetition and routine. If you haven’t seen the video from Sir Ken Robinson yet, now would be a good time. ("Do Schools Kill Creativity?") Provide your students with opportunities to imagine, invent, and create. Not only are these skills important for your students personally, according to Daniel Pink (“A Whole New Mind”) they are a vital part of the new economy.

Currently our 5th grade students are using their online class discussion forum to imagine and write endings to some of the Harris Burdick mysteries and comment on what their classmates have done. Since the forum is protected, I can’t share their work publicly, but here is a link to the book to give you an idea of what it is all about. (The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg) This is a great book for getting students’ imaginations going. It’s fun to watch them mentally “jump” into the pictures as they create their stories here in the computer lab.

There are also many web tools out there that let students imagine, create, and invent. Here are just a few:

Scrapblog
Scratch
Kerpoof

Chim Chim Cher-ee

Chimney sweeps are people too. Take time to learn about, and empathize with those who come from a place or culture different from your own. You may find you have more in common than you think. Consider a collaborative project with a class in another state or country. By sharing comments or contributing to a group project blog or wiki they may learn more than just the subject they are studying.

Using communication tools like Skype or iChat, your students can connect easily with other classes in different states or countries. During the recent Southern California wildfires some of our teachers had a chance to video conference with Martha Thornburgh’s students in Washington. They were able to ask questions and learn about what we were going through. No, Disneyland did not burn down. It was just fine. (Martha, if your class would like to Skype again sometime let me know.)

Voicethread is another great tool for collaborative projects. Recently they’ve added some extra capabilities. You are no longer limited to voice comments. Now, if you have a webcam, you can leave video comments too.

Feed the Birds

Your students can make a difference in the world - if they’re given a chance. In the movie, Michael causes a scene at the bank when he decides he’d rather give his tuppence to the lady who feeds the birds rather than deposit it in the bank for himself. Give your students an opportunity to make a difference in their community with projects that extend beyond the classroom.

I Love To Laugh

And you should too! How serious is your classroom? How serious are you? Laughter helps keep you healthy and should be a regular part of your day. (Laughter Therapy from NPR News) So when technology doesn’t work in your classroom, don’t freak out. Laugh about it. You’ll relieve the tension in your room and you may clear your head enough to come up with a fun alternative solution. In fact take a little time right now to laugh. I bet you can’t watch the following video with out at least cracking a smile.

Festive, Fun, and Free

2007-12-18T19:21:00.001-08:00

Yes, it's true! Christmas Break is just hours away,
And when that last school bell rings you will jump up and say,
"No more lesson planning, or staying up late
grading papers! (At least until 2008.)"
Instead of watching the kids deck the classroom and halls,
You'll be fighting adults as you dash through the malls.
Grabbing last minute gifts to put under the tree.
Hoping maybe you might get that last Christmas Wii.
But in the midst of this spending spell you've been put under
You suddenly stop, shake your head, then you wonder...
Perhaps the best gifts have no paper or bow.
Maybe these gifts come from Web 2.0
They're posted online, so at the press of a key.
You've got holiday fun that's both festive and free.
So when you escape from the malls and the stores,
And finish all your 200 pre-Christmas chores,
Take a minute to check out these holiday sites.
I hope they give you and yours some joys and delights.

Make Your Own SnowFlake

Remember back in school when you folded paper and cut out snowflakes? Here and online version without the mess. Thanks to fellow Twitterer mrmartinsclass. Note: I also spent way too much time playing that TimezAttack game he mentioned this morning.

Gingerbread House

Remember those Highlights magazines you used to read as a kid while waiting at the dentist's office? Here is a holiday activity from their web site. You get to decorate your own gingerbread house. If the music gets annoying, you can always turn it off. (Thanks to jgingerich for mentioning this one on your blog.)

ScrapBlog

Use this great free site to create your own custom "e-cards". They've got some great Christmas templates to get you started. Just add your own photos, videos, or sounds. When you're done, you can e-mail your family and friends a link to your scrapbook, embed it in your blog or wiki, or share it on MySpace or Facebook.

Do you have any other fun Holiday sites to share? Please post a comment and let me know.

A Not So Simple Solution

2007-11-11T20:16:00.000-08:00

Sorry if this post gets a little more technical than usual. Sometimes there just doesn't seem to be a simple solution.

I really like Microsoft PhotoStory. It's a simple, easy tool that lets teachers and students create digital stories. What's not simple is trying to play these stories on a Mac. This has become a problem because some of our teachers like to post their PhotoStory files on their class web site. Parents with Macs at home can't view them.

Flip4Mac is a free Quicktime plugin that allows the Mac Quicktime player to play Windows Media files (wmv's) but for some reason it will not seem to play files created by PhotoStory. Real Player for Mac won't play them either.

After a some research I discovered something about the PhotoStory Video Codec. Apparently Microsoft PhotoStory 3 does NOT use the standard Windows Media Video (WMV) codec but a special codec developed for compressing still images: Windows Media Video 9 Image v2.

One solution for playing these files on a Mac is to convert them to .mov files. I've used Zamzar and that seems to work but the file size increases. My 6.5MB Photostory file converted to a 16.2MB .mov file. Even though the file size more than doubles, the picture quality of the converted file doesn't seem to be as good.

Another solution is to use use Windows Media Encoder (another free download from Microsoft) to convert your PhotoStory file to a file that will play on Quicktime with the Flip4Mac plug-in.

When you convert your file using Windows Media Encoder, use the following settings:

For "Content Distribution" select - File Download (Computer Playback)
For "Encoding Options" select...

Video - VHS Quality (250 Kbps VBR)
Audio - CD Quality (VBR)

My 6.5MB photostory file converted to a 11.3MB wmv file that plays on my Mac.

Using media encoder seems to give me a better quality conversion and lower file size than using Zamzar and converting to a .mov file.

Now I just have to train our teachers to convert their completed video file before they post it online AND tell our Mac using parents that they need to download and install the Flip4Mac plug-in to view their class videos.

As I said, sometimes the solution is not that simple.

Fight Plagiarism with Creativity

2007-11-01T10:43:00.000-07:00

Right now my school is on the verge of a new technology adventure. Next fall we hope to be starting a one-to-one program in our sixth grade, expanding that program to our whole middle school over the next three years. Currently we’re hip deep in implementation meetings and discussions over how we’re going to present the program to parents and how we plan to train our teachers. One of the big concerns is how this new technology is (or isn’t) going to change the way we teach.

If every student has a notebook computer and access to all the information and communication tools that it offers, then our teachers need to be able to design lessons and projects that engage the students and force them not only to find information, but to evaluate it, check it for accuracy and bias, and use it in a meaningful and creative way. We don’t want our teacher training to focus primarily on specific software packages or hardware tools without addressing ways in which they can be used to encourage students’ critical thinking and creativity in core curriculum areas. Otherwise these new notebooks become just a high-tech version of what we’ve always done. The machines just become nothing more than an electronic textbook. Instead of paper worksheets and tests, students will have electronic worksheets and tests and instead of writing their reports on paper they’ll be typing them in a word processor. If students aren’t given opportunities to be creative, the truly creative kids will quickly get over the novelty of the technology and start looking for the quickest, easiest ways possible to give the teacher what they want so they can “be done”. Cheating and plagiarizing begin to look really attractive.

Thinking about all this brought me back to an article I wrote in 2004. (I knew some of this stuff sounded familiar.) I don’t know if the publication is available online so here it is again for your reading pleasure. (Am I plagiarizing from myself now?)

Fight Plagiarism with Creativity (from May 2004)

It’s confession time. We all have our dirty little secrets and this one has been weighing on my conscience for far too many years -- since 5th grade, in fact. I want admit now and confess publicly that most, if not all, of my state report on Oregon was copied from the encyclopedia. It’s not something I’m proud of, but those words scribbled on my paper were not my own. They belonged to the writers and editors of the World Book Encyclopedia. Yes, it’s true. I am a plagiarist.

For 27 years now I have had to live with the guilt that I was given a grade I did not deserve. Although I suspect my teacher probably knew that I had copied my work, I was never confronted about it. It would have been easy for her to prove that I had plagiarized. The encyclopedias were right there in the back of the room. All she would have had to do is look up Oregon and it would be plain that I was passing someone else’s work off as my own. She didn’t, and I have been suffering ever since. (Perhaps that was her intention all along.)

What brought me to this miserable state? Why did I decide to come clean now? Recently a teacher at my school brought me a paper that was allegedly written by one of his students -- two pages, double-spaced, with the student’s name at the top and no cited references whatsoever. “I’m pretty sure this paper was not written by the student.” He explained. “You’re the computer teacher. Do you think you can prove this was copied from the Internet?”

After scanning the paper and noticing several words that even I would need a dictionary to define, I agreed to give it a try. I went to www.google.com, took the first six words from the student’s second paragraph, and typed them in the keyword search box, putting them in quotes to search for an exact phrase. I could have chosen the first paragraph, but I figured the student might have been smart enough to change the wording of the first sentence. When I clicked “Search”, the first web site on the list caught my eye. I clicked the link and viola! There it was, word for word.

“We got him!” I whispered to myself, with the same exuberance of the Marines who captured Saddam Hussein. I hit the print button to get a hard copy of the evidence, but while I listened to the whir of the inkjet my mind went back to my fifth grade state report. It was so easy to prove that he had plagiarized. My excitement quickly evaporated and was replaced by guilt and remorse.

In my defense, when I copied my report 27 years ago I had to actually read all the material and then write the information word for word. So I was learning about my state as I was copying, right? Using the Internet, this student didn’t even have to read the article. All he had to do was copy, paste, and print. I seriously doubt that any learning about the subject matter occurred at all. It probably took me over an hour to plagiarize my report. This student did it in a matter of minutes. Isn’t technology wonderful?

If the whole point of letting our students use the Internet for educational research is that they actually learn about the subject, then maybe the traditional assignment to “write a report” is not the right approach. It makes plagiarism very tempting. If I can complete my assignment in a matter of minutes, why spend hours writing the same thing in my own words? Recently, I attended a Computer Using Educators conference where Ted McCain, a teacher and speaker for the Thornburg Center for Education offered a different, more creative alternative to report writing. Here is his example.

What if, instead of having your students write a report on Japan, they take on the role of travel agents, with you as their client? You tell them you want to visit several places with historic significance, try eating various local delicacies, and learn about the major industries so your company can do business with them. Your students would then be assigned to write up a travel proposal with the information you requested, along with travel time and weather (so you know what clothes to pack). You could even ask them to suggest several hotels near some of the places you wish to visit and maybe list several different airlines that fly to your destination.

Let’s see your students try to plagiarize an assignment like that. Not only will they learn about Japan, but they will gain “real world” research skills as well. Their task is specific, and their objectives are clear. It may take a little work on your part to create the assignment and develop a scoring rubric for their work, but I’m sure the results will be well worth the effort.

Of course your assignment does not always have to be in the form of a written report. This spring our seventh graders were studying human anatomy. Rather than writing a report, they created Power Point presentations describing how to take care their pet liver, spleen, stomach, etc. In their presentations they explained what “tricks” their pet organ could do, why it is important, and what needs to be done in order to keep it healthy. At the end of the presentation they were also required to have a slide that listed the web pages they used for all their information and pictures. If they did not list the web site it came from, they could not use it. It’s amazing what the kids were able to accomplish because they were motivated and allowed to be creative. Best of all, the work they produced was their own, not something copied from a web page. If you are interested in learning more about this project, you can download a copy of the assignment sheet and scoring rubric at www.geocities.com/dennis_grice/pet_organ.pdf. (Thanks to Yvette Stuewe for allowing me to post her assignment sheet.)

It’s been said one of the best ways to keep from sinning is to avoid putting yourself in a situation where you might be tempted. By adding an aspect of creativity to your assignments, not only do you make it difficult for your students to plagiarize, you also provide them with an opportunity to exercise their own creativity. All the while, they are actually learning about the subject, not just copying information.

VoiceThread Update

2007-10-13T17:53:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm really becoming a fan of VoiceThread. In fact I'll even be including it in a Digital Storytelling workshop I'm presenting later this month. Last week VoiceThread updated it's site and added a few new features. One big difference is that there are now two versions of VoiceThread - the free version and the Pro version. Those of us who signed up for the free version are now limited to creating only 3 voicethreads with a maximum of 50 slides each. The pro version, which costs $29.95/year, gives you unlimited VoiceThreads and storage and also give you the ability to upload mp3 files for your comments. So pro users can, for example, record, mix, and edit their audio comments using something like Audacity to create more professional sounding presentations.

Here's the good news. K-12 educators can sign up for a special pro account for free. First you need to register for a free account and login. Next you find and click where it says "Go Pro". At the bottom of the page will be a link that says "K-12 Educators Click Here". That will take you to the educator application form.

How is the new VoiceThread site different from the old one? Here's a look at some of the changes.

When you view a VoiceThread the screen looks a little different.

If you have trouble reading my comments, click the image to make it larger.

When uploading and rearranging pictures they've made things a little easier and given you a few more options.

Click image to make it larger.

When you click SHARE to add friends to your VoiceThread account or invite friends to view or edit your presentations, you can now see each friend and their edit rights all on one screen. Note: The button to add new friends is now located at the very bottom of your friends list. It took me a little while to find this.

Click the image to make it larger.

When setting my sharing options, I like to set my VoiceThreads to "Public, no comments". This allows anyone to see my presentations, but only those people I invite can comment or edit it. Since I generally trust those who I invite, I turn comment moderation off so when my friends comment, their comment is posted immediately. If you are working with students and concerned about privacy issues, you may want to keep your VoiceThread private and turn the moderation on so you can check what your students say before the rest of the class can hear it.

Want to participate in a VoiceThread. I've created one for an elementary project called Seasons. I'm looking for students or teachers to post pictures and share what the seasons are like where they live. Please comment or e-mail me if you would like to participate. Click on my profile for my e-mail link. Here is how the project looks so far:

If you can't view the embedded presentation, here is a link to it at the VoiceThread site: http://voicethread.com/#b10538

Happy storytelling.

Your Pictures Tell A Story

2007-09-30T19:03:00.000-07:00

It's Sunday night and I'm sitting at home watching the new Ken Burns series "The War" on my local PBS station. If you've seen Ken Burns work before- like the Civil War series - you know that he is a master of telling a story using still pictures. His combination of pictures and voices, often from the very people in the pictures themselves, not only tell a compelling story but they often reach down and grab you emotionally as well. There's something about adding a human voice that brings the photos to life.

One great tool for doing this yourself is Microsoft's Photo Story3, but you're limited to working on your own project and your own computer. One person, one idea. If you really want your stories to take on a life of their own look at VoiceThread. It adds a unique collaborative element to photos and voices by allowing others to add their own voice comments to your photos or upload their own photos and comments. Imagine the collaborative possibilities!

Here's how it works. First you go to VoiceThread and register. Your ID is your e-mail address. Next you create a new VoiceThread, give it a title and a description, and even add some tags for searching.

Now you're ready to start uploading pictures. Pictures can be from your computer or brought in from your Flickr account.

Then it's time to start adding your voice comments to your pictures. All you need to do is go to "View and Comment" and click the record button to start adding your voice.

Now that you've got your thread started, it's time to share it with others. Click on Share VoiceThread and you can invite others to view and comment on your pictures. Once you invite someone you can grant them edit rights, giving them the ability to upload their own pictures. By default, your VoiceThread is private - only those you invite can see it or comment. You can make it public two different ways. 1) Allowing anyone to view and comment. 2) Anyone can view but only those you invite can comment.
NOTE: If you want to be able to embed your VoiceThread on a blog or web page, it needs to be public.

To try out some of the collaborative capabilities of VoiceThread, I created a test project about the Discovery National Institute I attended this summer. I invited several of my fellow shipmates to participate, asking them to add a picture and share a story from our "Academic Excursion". Here's a what the project looks like so far... (If you click on the photo you can zoom in and out.)

If you can't see the embedded VoiceThread, follow this link:
http://fresh.voicethread.com/#b7495

After some experimenting we discovered that pictures brought in from Flickr seem to work more reliably than those that were uploaded directly. I also noticed that the audio quality varied depending on the microphone and audio settings on different machines, but overall I was quite pleased with how easy it was to create a collaborative project.

If you want to use VoiceThread with your students and don't want them to have to register with an e-mail address, you can go to Yahoo or HotMail and create a generic class e-mail address that you can use as your VoiceThread ID. Then you can add additional identities for your students to use when commenting on photos. Since VoiceThreads can be private, only those who know the e-mail address and the password will be able to see the students pictures or hear their voices. VoiceThread has posted directions for teachers that explain how to do this.

Would you like to participate in a VoiceThread project? Amy Lundstrom has started one called Landforms Where We Live. Take a look at it and if you'd like to participate, leave me a comment.

Or go ahead a start your own VoiceThread. Here are just a few ideas to get you started:

If you teach 5th Grade, perhaps you could try to get students from different states to post a picture and information about their state.
Have students scan an old picture of their grandparents and asj them share what happened in that picture - a living history.
Younger children may be interested to see what the seasons look like in different parts of the country. Have students upload a picture of what Fall is like in their area and describe the scenery and the weather.

What ideas do you have? Any thoughts or questions, please let me know.

BWAIN (Blog Without an Interesting Name)

2007-09-12T20:48:00.000-07:00

Normally I try to come up with some sort of catchy title for my blog posts. For some reason I just blanked on this one. Sorry 'bout that.

To make up for it though, I thought I'd share a few interesting lesson ideas and web resources that I've sent out to our teachers during the first two weeks of school. Here goes...

Futures Channel (www.futureschannel.com)
Ever have kids in your science and math classes ask you, "Why do I need to know this stuff?" Here's your answer. This site has videos of real people using real math and real science in real life! The videos also have printable (PDF) classroom activities.

Math Playground (www.mathplayground.com)
Need an activity for your students in the computer lab? Or would you like to recommend something they could use to practice their math skills at home? This is it. I actually met creator Colleen King, or rather her Second Life alter ego Kristy Flanagan, while chatting at the Bloggers Cafe. (NOTE: Second Lifers should also check out the Math Playground Virtual Math Center on EduIsland II)

HM Technology Resources (hmtech.wikispaces.com)
For those of you using Houghton Mifflin's Reading series, here's a site with links to supporting web resources compiled by Eva Wagner.

ReadWrite Think: Student Materials (www.readwritethink.org/student_mat)
This site contains a whole collection of online activities for your students to work on at school or at home. Browse through this rather extensive list and try out a few that look interesting. When you click on the tool, you'll get a list of grade specific lessons that could be used with it. See how these tools might fit into your Language Arts or Literature curriculum.

Back to School PhotoStory3 Project (web.mac.com/jennifergingerich)
Jennifer Gingerich comes up with yet another one of those "its so simple why didn't I think of it" ideas. This great project for primary grades can be created using a digital camera and Microsoft's PhotoStory3 or Apple's iMovie. I love hearing the kids' voices on the video.

Now the race is on! Who will be the first to use one of these ideas or resources in their classroom this year? Will it be one of our teachers? Or will it be you? If it's you, please post a comment and let me know how it went.

The "Secret Society" of Bloggers

2007-09-08T10:58:00.000-07:00

For the last few weeks, I've been struggling with this question. "How do I get teachers excited about blogging?" Well, I could write a blog that explains how valuable blogs can be as a teaching and learning tool. But then I realized that would be about as effective as handing someone a DVD called "How to play a DVD". If they could play it, they wouldn't need to watch it. And if you're reading a blog about blogging you're probably already aware of the value. Okay, so blogging about blogging is out. What else can I try?

Can we reach those non-bloggers by blogging? Obviously, no. - Webloge-Ed, January 2007

Essentially there are two kinds of people, those who blog and those who don't. Happily I'm a member of those who blog, but I'm in the minority. Those who don't blog, seem to look at those of us who do like we're members of some secret society. We have this mysterious network and communicate in strange and cryptic ways. Want to see an example of the gap between the do's and don'ts? Walk into a teacher meeting and tell your colleagues, "I'm sorry I was late. I was tweeting with one of my Second Life friends about a Webinar we had last week and was trying to set up time when we could Skype about it." I'm guessing you'll lose most of them after, "Sorry I was late."

It's obvious that training is needed. But watch out! While the corporate world can force technology change on it's employees, trying to do that with experienced, tenured, educators invites disaster. A different approach is needed.

Why do we treat teachers so delicately? Why do we forgive them year after year for not adopting contemporary information and communication tools? Why are we satisfied with small steps? Well, the answer is simple. Teachers are special. They are smart, resourceful, incredibly accomplished, and they work miracles — they make a difference. They influence so many lives and they are revered. It’s clear. How can we treat them with anything but awe and respect... David Warlick, September 3rd, 2007

It looks like a step backward is necessary. How much sense does it make to tell a teacher they should be making a blog when they're not even reading blogs? Look how I got started. Someone told me about a great blog (Weblogg-ed) and at first I treated it like a web page. Then I began bookmarking interesting blogs and checking them periodically. Later I discovered that I could add live bookmarks to my Firefox toolbar using the RSS link. Now I'm using an aggregator, Google Reader, to keep track of the dozen or so blogs I follow. I was reading blogs for months before I even considered making my own, but it was a process.

So the first step is to get teachers reading blogs. I like to pick pick out a few teachers and start by sending them links to some blogs that might be appeal to their discipline or grade level. The goal is to get them excited and let their enthusiasm generate interest among their colleagues. Here's a good place to start. (Thanks to Amy Lundstrom for the link.)

If they like one or more of the blogs, I show them how to subscribe to it using RSS. Here's a great little video clip that explains RSS in plain English.

Click To Play

Once teachers have started taking control of their information using RSS, they've reached the first step - they've become consumers. They have also taken their first peek into our secret society of bloggers. To get them in the rest of the way, you want to encourage them to start commenting on other people's blogs and eventually try creating one of their own.

I really like how this graphic explains the 4 C's of online communities.
Source: Participation Online - The Four C's

Blogs are just one of many tools available to teachers on the read/write web. To learn more about others, I suggest you check out Jennifer Dorman's course wiki called Online Connections, a recent Cool Cat Teacher Award winner. Even if you're not enrolled in the class, the site is a great resource for learning more about for wikis, podcasting, social networking, social bookmarking, and online collaboration.

Pecha Kucha

2007-08-25T17:18:00.000-07:00

I've seen a lot of bad Power Point. I've been through the agony of bulleted lists in which the presenter read exactly what they wrote, or droned on and on and stretched 5 slides to 60 minutes pointless examples and enough tangents to give a calculus teacher a headache.

What I read in David Warlick's blog today intrigued me. Pecha Kucha is a structured presentation format developed in Japan back in 2003.

Each presenter is allowed 20 images, each shown for 20 seconds each - giving 6 minutes 40 seconds of fame before the next presenter is up. This keeps presentations concise, the interest level up, and gives more people the chance to show. http://www.pecha-kucha.org/

It was originally designed for use by those in the creative fields - art, photography, design, architecture - (see Wikipedia Article) but I believe this type of format could have some useful education applications as well.

What struck me first was the structure. It's like visual poetry. Remember back in high school when you had to write poems? Some types, like haiku, had a very specific structure that you were forced to follow. I remember struggling to be creative while at the same time, sticking to the rules. I hated it, but it really made me focus. How can I say what I want to say effectively within the parameters I've been given?

Pecha Kucha takes that kind of structure and applies it to visual presentations. It forces you to edit what you say so that you are concise and to the point. You also need to make sure you select meaningful visuals - visuals that give impact and emphasis to your words.

Imagine using this format for in-class presentations. Tell your students that their history reports need to be presented in Pecha Kucha format - 20 slides, shown for 20 seconds each. Make a Pecha Kucha describing he fall of the Roman Empire. Make one that shows why we need to recycle, or explains the importance of preserving a local wetland. If 20 slides is too much for the assignment you can, as David Warlick suggests, assign Half Kuchas (10 slides) or Quarter Kuchas (5 slides).

I'd love to hear any Pecha Kucha assignment or project ideas you have.

Free to YouTube

2007-08-18T09:52:00.000-07:00

Maybe this has happened to you. You're online at home and you run across a great video on YouTube. "This would be a great video to show my students!" You exclaim, ignoring for a moment that fact that you are talking to yourself again.

Problem is, you get to school the next morning and discover that your Internet filter blocks YouTube. You sink into depression. That great lesson you were planning is now ruined. "It's not fair!" You cry.

Stop right there! Before you give up and decide to drown your sorrows in a pint of Ben & Jerry's, consider this possible solution...

Zamzar to the rescue!

Zamzar is a handy little Web 2.0 tool that converts files and e-mails them to you. You can upload files to Zamzar, select the file format you want it to be, and Zamzar will e-mail you the converted file. But Zamzar also converts online videos!

Every YouTube video has a URL. Copy this URL and go to Zamzar.

Then...

You'll see a progress bar as the video is uploaded to Zamzar. Then you'll get a message telling you that once the video is converted it will be sent to your e-mail. A few minutes later, check your e-mail. The message will link you back to Zamzar where you can download a copy of the video to your computer.

Once you have the video downloaded, you can show that file to your class or put it in your Power Point presentations. (Be sure to give proper credit.) Since it is now a file on your computer, you don't even need to have an Internet connection to view it.

A Digital Story

2007-07-31T13:11:00.000-07:00

Digital Storytelling is a powerful way for your students to express their creativity. It's more than just a product, it's also about the process. Let me explain...

My grandfather, Roy Grice (I call him "Grampa"), is 96 years old. Last week I had a unique opportunity to travel with him down to San Diego to see the USS Midway, a retired aircraft carrier, now turned into a floating museum at the Navy Pier in San Diego, CA.

While we explored the ship, it brought back memories of his days in the Navy. Thankfully I was able to record some of his recollections and put them together into the podcast embedded below. While the recording probably has more value to me and my family, it also offers a glimpse into one man's view of history - as he experienced it.

It's important to me, that his stories live on after he is gone. With the digital tools available today, recording and sharing those stories is now easier than ever.

While editing this podcast together I must have listened to it more than a dozen times. By going through this process I know I'll retain much more of what Grampa told me - more than I ever would have just listening to him tell it to me once. Plus, I'll be able to go back to it as often as I want.

What digital stories could your students share?

Listen to Grandpa's Story...

The USS Midway Museum

"Grampa" next to a milling machine in the USS Midway machine shop.

Technical Info:

Audio edited using iMovie and exported as a .aif file. (I didn't have a voice recorder, so I used a camcorder to capture the audio.)
Converted to .mp3 using Audacity.
Mp3 file uploaded to GCast.

Tech Tips from the Bahamas

2007-07-23T13:28:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in the previous post, I was honored to be a part the Discovery National Institute last week. Fifty talented educators from 17 states spent a week together on the Carnival Sensation cruising to Nassau and Freeport in the Bahamas. But don't let the words "cruise" and "Bahamas" mislead you - we worked! There were training sessions, group projects, and lots of networking and idea sharing.

What follows is my attempt to list of some of the ideas and resources shared by these amazing teachers, tech trainers, and media specialists.

Note: If anyone from the cruise is reading this, please add a comment to include any great ideas or resources I may have missed.

Science

Stellarium (www.stellarium.org)
From Amy L., Bend, OR
Think of it as Google Earth for the sky. Put in any location and see the night sky and constellations visible from that spot at that day and time. You can also project forward or look backward in time. Requires you to download and install their free application. Versions available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

The Rock Dating Game (see previous post)
From Howard M - TX, Marty G - MI, Chris P - FL, Dave K - CA, and ME!
Good for 6th Grade Earth Science. Compare and contrast Metamorphic, Igneous, and Sedimentary rocks. Includes an Inspiration graphic organizer and a Unitedstreaming writing prompt.

Language Arts & Writing

Knight Cite (www.calvin.edu/library/knightcite)
From Rachel H., WI
An online tool for creating proper MLA, APA, and Chicago style citations.

Math/Social Studies

Dollar Around The World
From Rachel H - WI, Diana L - AZ, Kim R - CA, Jennifer D - PA, Tanya G - KS
Learn about other countries and currency conversion as your students investigate the value of a dollar around the world.
Assignment directions and web resources (Word File)
International Currency Factsheet (PDF)
Student Notebook (PDF)
Unitedstreaming Assignment

Social Studies/Geography

Where in the World? (web.mac.com/jennifergingerich)
From Jennifer G - OR, Carole G - FL, Beverly P - NJ, Dedra S - OK, Donna T - SC
Remember Carmen Sandiego? This project has students taking video clips from Unitedstreaming and breaking them into little "clues" that their classmates have to solve in order to guess where they are hiding. The project includes a writing prompt and quiz on Unitedstreaming and an Inspiration template with project guidelines.

CommunityWalk (www.communitywalk.com)
From Amy L., Bend, OR
This site lets you or your students create a "tour" by adding placemarks to a map. Each placemark can contain information, links, and/or pictures about that location. Possible uses include mapping out specific landmarks along the Oregon Trail, or creating a virtual tour of local historical sites in your hometown.

Library, Media, and Teacher Tools

Good Reads (www.goodreads.com)
From Bridget B., PA
Read any good books lately? Write a review and post it here. This site is great for connecting you with others who have read the same book and have similar tastes. Use it to create literature circles among your staff or with your students.
Bridget was also involved in the creation of this great video promoting their school library - a must see! (http://multimedia.mtlsd.org/Play.asp?FILEID=12429) Requires Windows Media Player.

Teacher Tube (www.teachertube.com)
From Jennifer G., OR
This is basically YouTube for teachers. It contains online video tutorials, student and teacher created projects, professional development, and more. Teachers can create a free account and use it to host their own videos. Make sure your school doesn't block this one! (You might even win a laptop computer.)

Inspired Learning Community (www.inspiredlearningcommunity.com)
From Jennifer G., OR
Have you created a great Inspiration or Kidspiration lesson? Post it here. Looking for a good one? Search for it here. This is a huge library of teacher created Inspiration and Kidspiration templates searchable by grade level and topic.

Flickr Toys (www.bighugelabs.com/flickr)
From Jeanine B., WI
So you've posted your pictures to Flickr - now what? This site of full of toys to enhance your Flickr experience and have fun with your photos. Make motivational posters, trading cards, movie posters, mosaics, calendars, and much more.

Flip Video (www.theflip.com)
From Katie K., VA
This $85 video camera holds 30 minutes of 640x480 video on its 512MB of internal memory. Video is saved in AVI format and can be transferred to your computer using the flip-out USB connector. You can also watch video on your TV using the supplied video cable.

FMO: For MAC Only

3-2-1 Countdown Widget (www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/calculate_convert/321.html)
From Amy L., OR
A great little classroom management tool. Add this to your OSX widgets and use it in your classroom to countdown to recess, free time, or to time a test.

Bluetooth File Sharing
From Howard M., Austin, TX
Howard showed me this impressive little trick to wirelessly transfer files to and from Mac via bluetooth. No WiFi connection necessary.
1) Make sure Bluetooth is turned on and both machines are discoverable.
2) Go to the Utilities and open Bluetooth File Exchange.
3) Select the file you want to send to your friends Mac. Click SEND.
4) Select the name of your friend's computer from the list of available devices. Click SEND.
A windows will pop-up on your friend's computer telling them that you are sending them a file. All they need to do is click ACCEPT. The file will be saved on their machine. Is that cool or what?!

Don’t Take Him for Granite

2007-07-22T17:13:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the best way to discourage plagiarism among your students is to come up with an assignment that forces them to take information and present it in a whole new way.

In this project, developed by a team of top educators at the Discovery National Institute, students compare and contrast three similar, but different people, places or things. The three things appear as bachelors on a dating show. The bachelorette asks questions of the bachelors and they must answer in character using the information they compiled while researching their person, place or thing.

It will work with just about anything. Imagine a lovely young lady asking questions of Columbus, Magellan, and Cortez. Or what about Caesar, Alexander the Great, and Napoleon? With a little creativity you could even give personality to inanimate objects - like rocks.

Here’s a fun example of what such a project might look like for a science class. In it we compare the properties of metamorphic, igneous, and sedimentary rocks.

At the end of the project students need to fill in a graphic organizer. This one is just a basic Inspiration template that has been modified slightly.

Graphic Organizer Link (Requires Inspiration Software)

Finally, students are asked to synthesize what they have learned using the writing prompt. Their task is to write a letter to the lovely bachelorette encouraging her to choose one of three rocks, using their research to support their choice.

Writing Prompt Link

Who are these ‘top educators’ you speak of?
What did you do on your summer vacation? Well, if anyone asks I'll say I got to go on a cruise with 50 of the most amazing and talented educators this country has to offer. This National Institute was sponsored by the Discovery Channel. I can honestly say I’ve never worked so hard and had so much fun at the same time. For more info about the DNI Bahamas Cruise, check out Joe Brennan’s blog.

This Dating Game project was a collaborative effort that combined the creative talents of five teachers from four different states. (We’re all listed in the end credits of the video.)

Let's Go Back to Kindergarten

2007-06-14T18:55:00.000-07:00

There are days when I want to go back to Kindergarten. I want to paint. I want to build things with blocks and Legos. I want to make inventions. I want to learn about about butterflies and then make one out of construction paper and see if I can make it fly just like a real butterfly. I want to use my imagination. I want to learn just because its fun to learn. I miss those days.

If you get a chance to observe a Kindergarten class sometime, it won't take long for you to sense the energy in the air. There's an excitement in the room because learning is not about working to get a good grade, learning is fun. Somewhere between kindergarten and high school our students seem to lose this enthusiasm. The model of learning changes from one of creativity and exploration to one of listen, memorize, and regurgitate.

Dr. Mitchel Resnick, the inventor of Lego Mindstorms, would like to bring back the Kindergarten model of education. He emphasizes the need for creativity in a world where our students seem to lack the skills needed to solve problems. In a society where creative ideas and solutions are sought after and rewarded, our school systems seemed focused on teaching to the test.

Last month, Alan November interviewed Dr. Resnick and posted it on his blog. (Go to Alan November's blog to hear the interview.) Dr. Resnick discussed the work being done with his Lifelong Kindergarten Group at MIT where students learn by being creative. They solve problems by inventing robots using Mindstorms and Crickets. They also create and share their own video games online using an ingenious programming "language" called Scratch.

If you have a little extra time, I strongly encourage you to watch Dr. Resnick's lecture given on May 22, 2006 at the MIT Museum.

"Sowing the Seeds for a More Creative Society"
There are two ways to view the video...
1) Download the lecture from iTunes. (FREE 146MB)
2) Stream it from the MIT Museum site. (Requires Real Player)

The video is a little over one hour. The first half is the lecture, followed by a question and answer session.

FREE Inspiration

2007-06-01T10:16:00.000-07:00

Writers use them for brainstorming. Scientists use them for solving problems and organizing information. Whether you call it a word web, a concept map, or just a bunch of little boxes connected with arrows, the process writing down concepts, figuring out how they are related, and connecting them together can be a valuable teaching tool.

Two of the most well-known software tools for doing this are Inspiration and its primary grade companion, Kidspiration. These programs are great, but they are not cheap. In fact school licensing for these can be almost as expensive as licensing Microsoft Office.

Now, finally, there is a FREE alternative to Inspiration. It’s called Cmap Tools. You can download it from their web site. (http://cmap.ihmc.us/download) Mac, Windows, and Linux versions are available.

When you install it and run it for the first time, you will be asked to create a username and password. This is required so later on you can share your concept maps with others or even set up a collaborative concept map that can be edited by multiple users. Even if you don’t want to do this, you still need to create a username and password in order to use the product.

If you’re used to using Inspiration, you may find the Cmap Tools does things a little differently, but those differences are not major. You can’t do “rapid fire” concept maps and there is no clip art included in the software. You can add images, links, and annotations. You can also link to Word documents, videos, and other Cmap files.

To get a good idea of what the process of creating a concept map is like, take a look at this tutorial video they have created. Creating Concepts and Propositions (requires Quicktime)

They also have other tutorial videos that explain how to use the software:
Adding Resources
Introduction to the Views Window
How to Create a Folder

The one thing that Cmap Tools seems to be lacking is the ability to export your concept map as an outline that can be opened in Microsoft Word. There is an “outline view” that can be exported as text (.txt) but the text does not have the traditional outline formatting (I, II, III, A, B, C, etc.)

On the plus side, your concept maps can be exported as jpegs and as web pages (html). You can also upload your map to one of their public Cmap servers (I have yet to try this) and make it viewable to anyone with a web browser. Once it is online, your map is given a unique web address (URL). Anyone with a web browser can access it, and anyone with Cmap Tools can be invited to contribute and edit it.

I’m already brainstorming on ways this software could be used with students. Here are a couple of ideas:

“What’s the Connection?”
Use Cmap Tools to create a collection of terms. Save the file. Have students open the file, look at the terms, and figure out how they are related. It’s up to them to move the terms around and link them together with arrows using the correct propositions.

“Family Tree”
Have students start by typing their name as the first concept. Then they add their relatives around them as different concepts. Finally they need to add links stating each person’s relationship to the student (brother, sister, cousin, uncle) as well as their relationships to each other.

I still think Kidspiration is a valuable tool for primary grades and would not want to replace it, but I could definitely use Cmap Tools with older students – grades 5 and up.

Check it out and let me know what you think.

Image Credit: http://cmap.ihmc.us/Support/Help/

Let Them Be Heard - ONLINE!

2007-05-03T13:52:00.000-07:00

Any primary teacher can tell you that students' reading improves if they can hear themselves read. Remember using that old Califone cassette recorder in the back of your classroom? Here's a new twist to that activity - Student Audiobooks.

Many of you have students write their own stories. First Grade teachers at Grandview Elementary School have taken things a step further. Their first grade student write stories. Then they read those stories into a digital recorder. Their teacher then adds a little music to the beginning and posts them on their class blog.

"The stories were recorded using an iRiver mp3 recorder, the music was added and the stories were edited using Audacity, the music clips come from FreePlay Music, the stories are being stored at the archive.org website and this blog is hosted by Edublogs in Australia."

Visitors to their class blog can click on the links to hear the students' "Audiobooks". What's pretty cool is the audio files are in MP3 format so they can be imported to iTunes and copied on to an iPod.

Even if you don't have a fancy digital voice recorder, you can still hook up a microphone to your classroom computer and record with Audacity or Garageband.

NOTE FOR GARAGEBAND USERS: If students illustrated their own stories, you can scan or take digital pictures of their pages. Then using Garageband, you can insert those pictures above the audio track to create an "enhanced" podcast. Listeners would not only hear the students read, they could also see their artwork.

Now students can go online and listen to their stories and those from other kids in their class. Parents can go online and listen to their children read, or download it to their iPods to share with family and friends.

Change is...

2007-04-30T18:30:00.000-07:00

Complete the following sentence:

Change is _______.

a) good
b) bad
c) inevitable
d) all of the above

Our world is changing and the web is changing along with it. Below are a couple of video clips from You Tube. The first one from Colorado educator Karl Fisch helps us get a handle on how the world is changing. The second offers a glimpse into how the web is changing to keep up.

NOTE: If your school blocks YouTube, watch these when you get home.

A Simple Solution

2007-04-26T10:40:00.000-07:00

This Internet tip is an oldie, but a goodie. I've known about it for a long time but never really made use of it until this week. It really saved me a lot of trouble.

There are some great web sites out there for primary kids. One of the best ones out there Starfall, but there are other good ones as well. I know I can trust first graders to double click on Internet Explorer, but I don't want to deal with having them type in a web address. Even asking them go to Favorites and select the correct one, can be a chore. To solve this, I've taken some of the web sites most often used by our primary grades and put them in the Links toolbar. This way the kids just have to open Internet Explorer, click on the correct link in the toolbar, and Viola! they are at the correct web site in no time.

Here's how...

1. Open Internet Explorer.
2. Go to the VIEW menu, select TOOLBARS, and make sure the LINKS toolbar is checked.

If it is, and you still don't see the links toolbar, it may be hiding down at the end of your Address Bar.

If so, just go to drag it down below the Address Bar. If it won't move, you may need to unlock the toolbar - Go to VIEW, TOOLBARS, and uncheck LOCK THE TOOLBARS.

3. Go to a website you want to add to your toolbar.
4. Drag the address from the Address Bar down to the Links Bar...

...and a new link is added.
5. To make room in the Links Bar for more links, you may want to shorten the name of the link. To do this, right-click on the link and select properties. Click on the General tab and change the name to something shorter.

6. To delete a link from your toolbar, just right-click on the link and select DELETE.

Here are some primary grade web sites I have on my Links Bar: Starfall, Mr. PicassoHead, Ben's Guide to US Government, White House Kids Page, US States Games, I'm sure you can think of some other great ones too.

FIREFOX and SAFARI users, this works for you too. It's called the Bookmarks toolbar.

FIREFOX: Go to VIEW and select BOOKMARKS TOOLBAR. Drag web sites to the toolbar.
SAFARI: Go to VIEW and select SHOW BOOKMARKS BAR. Drag web sites to the toolbar.

Potpourri

2007-04-11T12:09:00.000-07:00

For those of you looking for a coherent, single topic, instructional blog entry you might as well click the little red “x” and close this window right now. What you’ll be getting today is a hodgepodge of random thoughts and ideas. A Web 2.0 stream of consciousness as it were…

Sounds Good to Me

I’ve devoted several posts to some great video podcasts for use in the classroom, but let’s not forget that there are some pretty good audio podcasts out there too. Getting kids (and teachers) familiar with downloading and subscribing to audio podcasts helps them get an idea of what a podcast is. It also gets them one step closer to producing their own podcasts. Here are a few “baby steps” to get you started:

Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing – a weekly program that focuses on writing and good grammar. These 3 – 6 minute podcasts would be good for grades 5 on up. NOTE: You might have to listen to a little ad from their sponsor before they get to the topic.

Radio WillowWeb – Wow! These kids have really taken student made podcasts to the next level. Great educational content from multiple subject areas, written and presented by elementary students. This would be a great model to follow when introducing your kids to making their own podcasts.

Reading Rockets Presents: Meet the Author – Okay all you librarians, pay attention. This has interviews with various authors including Jack Preletusky, Avi, Marc Brown, Patricia Polacco, Katherine Paterson and many others. A great resource!

Wondering if your kids will be able to listen to these? Try this. Ask how many of your students have iPods. I'm guessing the number will be between 90-100%. Even if they don't have iPods they can still listen to podcasts on their computer. Then imagine giving your kids this assignment, "I want you all to go home and listen to your iPod..." You could be the coolest teacher at your school!

Google Earth Tours

Recently a friend and fellow teacher, Janet English*, had a chance to visit South Africa. One of the many things she did there is visit and take a mini safari in Pilanesburg National Park. What’s cool is she created a virtual tour of the park using Google Earth. The tour lets you follow along on her adventure with written descriptions and pictures. I clicked through this tour with my 5 year old niece over Easter Break and had her try to see how many animals she could name. She got almost all of them.

Wouldn’t something like this be a great way to create digital stories of some of the interesting places you've visited and share them with your class? I’ve definitely got to learn how to do this! When I do, I’ll be sure to post directions for you. I’ll also see if I can get permission to post Janet's virtual tour file in a future blog.

*Janet is currently Senior Director of Education and New Media at KOCE-TV (Orange County's PBS Station)

Speaking of Blogs

As long as I’m talking about South Africa, I encourage everyone to check out Janet’s South African World Summit Blog. It contains some great photos, podcasts, and interviews with children from South Africa and around the world. This is a great way to let your students hear voices and thoughts from kids their own age and see how they are alike and different.

For students studying the American Civil Rights movement, this blog also provides some insight into the current struggle for equality in South Africa. Read and listen to what is going on right now and compare it to our own history. Ask your students if they see any similarities or differences. What have we learned from our experience here in the US that might help them deal with their present situation? (What do you think? An interesting class project?)

Planet Earth

Have you been watching Planet Earth on the Discovery Channel? Not only does this amazing program make me want to spend $2000 for a High Definition TV, it's also got some great educational resources as well. Check out the Discovery Channel Planet Earth site for

The Planet Earth Animal Guide
Animal Matching Game
Planet Earth Game - You're the producer
Google Earth Tour- Download and open this in Google Earth and see where different segments were filmed and link to streaming video clips.

Kids Become the Teacher with Wikispaces

2007-03-09T16:40:00.000-08:00

Several weeks ago, 8th grade started a project using Wikispaces. Every year our 8th graders go to Washington D.C. In the past they have had to write a report about DC that included information about various monuments, the White House, and other places on the tour.

This year our history teacher, Mr. Harrison, decided to try something different. Roles were reversed and the students took on the job of teacher They were divided into groups of four and asked to design a webquest. Together they were to create several worksheets or tests about different places they would visit in DC. Then they worked as a team to design their own page on Mr. Harrison’s Wikispace. Pages would include links to the worksheet document (they were also required to post an answer key), links to web sites that Mr. Harrison would use to answer the questions, and pictures. The groups were evaluated based on how well they completed their task and how well they worked together as a group.

The Setup

To begin this project, we first had to create a space for Mr. Harrison at Wikispaces. Wikispaces offers free public spaces, but charges for private spaces - unless your a teacher. To sign up for a free, private space (only registered space users can see or edit pages) we went to www.wikispaces.com/site/for/teachers100K and registered.

Once we had a space set up, I worked with Mr. Harrison to create his page that included the project guidelines and instructions for his students. Next I created a blank page for each group of students to edit.

The final step was to create user accounts for each student in the class. Normally, a new user needs to register a unique username and password with Wikispaces and supply their own e-mail address. Then they need to be invited to join the Wikispace by creator or owner of that space. This would not work for us because we did not want to students to give out their e-mail address and we wanted control over the usernames assigned to each student. Fortunately, Wikispaces makes this process easier for teachers. All we had to do is follow the procedure they list on their help page for teachers. We sent an e-mail to help@wikispaces.com gave them the usernames and passwords for each student along with the name of the space we wanted them to join. (Our students already have unique user ID’s on our online learning system and I was able to use the same names for Wikispaces.) After a few days, all the students showed up as members in Mr. Harrison’s space.

Student Instruction

Once everything was finally setup, it was time to get the students working. I took one class period and presented a lesson explaining the nuts and bolts of editing a wikispaces page. I also posted screen captures of certain procedures online for students to review later. Here are links to the screen captures:

Add an image - Part 1 (Windows Media Player Required)
Add an image - Part 2 (Windows Media Player Required)
Make a link (Windows Media Player Required)

I’ve found that when working with students, it’s best to keep the instructions brief. I give them just enough info to get started and let them know what is expected for the final product. It’s up to them figure out the rest on their own and solve technical problems within their group.

One of the advantages of using a wiki is that it keeps track of any changes made to a page. At any time, you can click on the history button and see what the page looked like as changes were made. You can also see which user made those changes. In addition to tracking changes, the history button provides students a safety net. If something gets “totally messed up” you can simply revert back to a previous version of the page and begin working from there. This ability to go back in time makes wikis a powerful tool. Checking page history is also a great way for a teacher to see that everyone in the group is participating.

In addition to the page history, each page also has it’s own discussion board. I was surprised to see how many students used it to communicate with their group as they worked on their pages from home. It was fun to read the posts and observe as students helped each other and answered each other’s questions. One or two kids even got reprimanded by by their group for not participating. Mr. Harrison and I were able to monitor all group communication to make sure nothing inappropriate or malicious was being posted. I was even able to answer a few questions myself - from the comfort of my own living room.

Wrapping Up

At the project deadline Mr. Harrison locked all the student’s pages. This prevented them from making any fixes or updates after the the assignment was supposed to be finished. Most student pages met or exceeded our expectations.

As part of the project, each group was required to write an evaluation, explaining what was learned as they worked on their webquests. Here are some of the comments:

“I thought that this process was very new and different, and at times, very frustrating. But we were able to either leave comments for each other or call each other.” ... “I really liked the idea of the team responsibilities, because that way no one person gets all the load dumped on them.”

“We had to work together to finish this project and it was a little hectic. The hardest part was having to split up the duties evenly so that we all got a grade on it.”

“In the end this was a very good project. It was way better than doing a report. One problem was it was difficult when you could not edit at them same time. This caused some problems but in the end we fixed them. Also at some points it would get very annoying with the page. You would do something and save but it would not keep it. But it was fixed and we finished our project. This was a very good project and we would much rather do this than a whole report by ourselves.”

“This project was very fun for all of us and was a wonderful learning experience, but somewhat difficult. We like the format of the website, but the toolbar was a bit hard. If we could change something about this site it would have to be the pictures, because they were somewhat hard to download. We definitely thought this was 100 times better than a 20 page report!”

Many groups experienced frustration with the Wikispaces page editor as things that looked great in the editor did not always look the same once they were saved. We let students know up front that the editor could be a little quirky at times, and that they would need to work together to solve problems. For the most part, members of the group stepped up and were able to solve their own technical problems.

All in all, I think our first venture into the use of wikis in the classroom went quite well. We’re already looking at other ways to use this tool. If you’re curious about how you can use wikis with your students, Teachers First has some great ideas.

Curious what some our final projects look like? Since this is a private space I can’t include a link, but here is a brief video tour.

Mr. Harrison’s Wikispace Tour (Windows Media Player Required)

Fabulous Fotos on Flickr

2007-02-14T14:31:00.001-08:00

Here's another FREE Web 2.0 tool for you to try. It's called Flickr. Use it to post photos online to share with just your friends (private) or the whole world (public)! You decide. Signing up is a simple process. Since I already had a Yahoo! Mail account, I was able to use the same username and password.

Once on Flickr, your pictures can posted directly to your blog. (I'm typing this in Flickr right now.) You can add comments and tags to your pictures to make them searchable. I've got numerous pics from my fishing trips in the Eastern Sierras. To find them, just search for all the pictures with the tag "Sierras". Want to see all my Flickr photos? Just click on photo on this blog. Once there, click on "dgrice's photostream" to see my other photos. If you want, feel free to add comments to the photos and even subscribe to my photostream (using RSS).

What can teachers do with this? If you have photos from your vacation that you want to share with your class you can post them on Flickr and give students a link to access them online. They can use your photos in their multimedia projects or use them as writing prompts.

You can also use your vacation photos as a geography lesson. The map feature in Flickr lets you plot your photo locations. To see where my picture was taken, click on it and look under "Additional Information" to see where it was taken. Click the (map) link. For fun, have your student try to guess where a picture was taken, or create a Flickr for your class and have them bring in their own vacation pictures, upload them (with parent permission, of course) and then plot on the map where their pictures were taken.

A word of warning: I suggest you give students a direct link to your photos rather then having them go to Flickr and search everything. Since anyone can post photos to Flickr, some of the images may not be appropriate for use in the classroom.

A New Way to Process Words

2007-02-05T19:08:00.000-08:00

If you haven't figured it out by now, I love stuff that's FREE. Imagine my joy when I discovered Google Docs. It's a free basic word processor. There's no software to install - it runs right inside your web browser. You can import a variety of word processing documents from Word (.doc), Star Office, Open Office (.odt), and Rich Text files (.rtf). While you can't import pictures or add clip art, you do have the advantage of being able to access, edit, and print from any computer with Internet access. Just log in with your Google username and password. (I was able to use the same one I use for Blogger.)
But wait there's more!

What makes Google Docs so powerful is the fact that you can Add Collaborators to your documents. By "inviting" others to edit your documents, you can have several people working together on the same document at the same time. You see changes as they happen. What a powerful tool for learning! When a document is finished it can be posted directly from Google Docs to your blog. If you make a document "public" users can subscribe to an RSS feed so they can be updated when any changes are made.

While a great tool like this doesn't convince me to put good old Microsoft Word in mothballs just yet, it sure does make me look at word processing in a whole new way. Google Docs is a great Web 2.0 tool.

Oh, wait! Did I forget to mention you can also do spreadsheets too? It imports Excel (.xls), Open Office (.ods), and Comma Separated (.csv) files.

For more info about Google Docs, take the tour.

Even More Podcasts

2007-02-05T18:19:00.000-08:00

At our district technology meeting today, Rene Drevlow from Zion Lutheran School in Anaheim shared these FREE video podcasts she discovered on iTunes. If you have iTunes installed on your computer, clicking on the link will open iTunes and take you directly to that podcast.

Titles for Primary Grades:
Nickjr: Blue's Clues - 3 minute segments from the Nick Jr. kids show.
DragonflyTV Podcast - Ordinary kids doing extraordinary science investigations. (from PBS Kids)
Share the Earth...This is Our Earth - Songs about the Earth (from PBS Kids)
Miss Lori and Hooper - Themed activities, music, and movement. (from PBS Kids)

Want to Learn about Mac OSX?
Mac OS X for Your Classroom - Created by a school district in DesPlains, Ill.
Learn Mac OS X Tiger - a 16-minute video explaining how to set your personal preferences.
Learn Mac OS X - An Apple a Day Keeps the Viruses Away - More system preferences, using AIM with iChat, and more OS X help

If you find any other great iTunes video podcasts for education, please comment and let me know.

Thanks for your contribution Rene.

For more info on how to use Video Podcasts and iTunes, see my previous post (Dec. 6, 2006)

Diigo & del.icio.us

2007-01-31T12:06:00.000-08:00

If you’re like me, you’ve probably got tons of bookmarks saved in your browser. When I click to look at mine, the list just scrolls down the screen. I never bother to organize them or put them in folders – does anybody? Also, if you’re like me, when you look down the list at some of those pages you’ve bookmarked, you can’t remember why you even saved them in the first place. I have enough trouble remembering where I left my TV remote. Don’t ask me to remember what I was thinking 6 years ago when I bookmarked “The Happiest Potties on Earth”
Even when I can remember why I bookmarked a site, those sites are only available to me if I’m using my own computer. There are times when I’m working in a classroom with a student or teacher and have to spend time searching for a site that I could easily find if I had my bookmarks available to me. If only there was a way to put all my bookmarks online so I could access them from anywhere. Wouldn’t that be great? (Here comes the product plug…)

del.icio.us
You might as well call it “Bookmarks to go” (or “Favorites to go” if you’re still using Internet Explorer). The word is the web site. No www’s or .com’s. It’s just del.icio.us and it’s FREE! You just need to register and create a user name. Then you will have your own del.icio.us site where you can add your bookmarks. You can access them from any computer just by going to your site. To help you remember why you bookmarked a site, you can add your own comments (think: reminders) to each of your bookmarks.
In addition to your comments, when you add a bookmark to del.icio.us, you can see how many other people have also bookmarked that site along with the comments they wrote. If you click on another user’s name, you can see their bookmarks as well. This is called “social bookmarking”.
Imagine you’re interested in vintage Volkwagons. You find a great web page and add it to your del.icio.us site. Then you see that 20 other people have also bookmarked and commented on that same web page. If you click on the user name of one of those people you can check their bookmarks and possibly find other great vintage VW web pages - pages that they’ve found that might also match your own interests.
For a more detailed description of del.icio.us, visit Steve Dembo’s Digital Passports blog.

Diigo
Diigo does what del.icio.us does, but takes it one step further. In addition to online bookmarks and comments, you can also highlight sections of your favorite web site right in your browser. Later, when you visit sites that you’ve previously highlighted, those highlights are still there so you can quickly find the info that interested you – without having to re-read the whole page again.
When you highlight something on a web page, you can add a “sticky note” and comment on that specific section. If other people have highlighted and added sticky notes to a sections on that page you can see those too.
Note: When you add comments about a web page, or sticky notes to a section of highlighted text, you have the option to make those “public” or “private”. Private comments and notes can only be seen by you. Public ones can be viewed by the entire Diigo community.
How does all this work? (Here’s the catch.) To see the highlights and sticky notes you need to install a Diigo toolbar to your browser. Without the toolbar installed, you can still see the comments and highlighted text when you look at your bookmark page, but they will not be visible when you view the actual web page. I can still access my bookmarks from any computer, I just need to be using my own computer, or any computer with the Diigo toolbar installed, to see my highlights and sticky notes.
I know it sounds complicated, but Diigo has some great tutorials that demonstrate all these features (and a few more).
Click here to see my Diigo bookmarks.

Upgrade to "Web 2.0"

2007-01-17T10:07:00.000-08:00

Have you heard people talking about "Web 2.0"? The term is getting tossed about quite a bit lately and specific definitions vary. Even Wikipedia is hard-pressed to nail down a single definitive answer as to what it actually means. While I'll leave it up to the experts like David Warlick and others to define it specifically, generally lets just think of Web 2.0 as a 'kicked-up" Internet with a new level of interactivity and collaboration.

In the past, there were two kinds of web users: those who published the information and those who read it. Pretty much anyone could search for and read information on Web pages, but it took a little extra technical skill and know-how to actually produce and post information yourself.

New tools like blogs and wikis have changed that. No longer is the average web user relegated to the role of spectator, but now he/she can also be a contributor. Thanks to these tools, anyone who knows how to browse the web also has the ability to interact with content publishers, add comments and generate their own content as well.

Even the process of searching for news and information has been transformed. Using RSS (Really Simple Syndication) web users no longer have to search for news and information of interest to them. They can select certain news sources or web authors and receive new articles and updates as soon as they are posted simply by "subscribing" to it.

Web 2.0 has taken the Internet beyond e-mail and web pages. It uses the the Internet as a platform to run all sorts of interactive and dynamic applications. As a result we now have things like Google Earth, iTunes (podcasting), Flickr, del.icio.us and many others.

In the hands of a skilled teacher, these tools can become a powerful platform for learning. I hope to post info, lesson ideas, and help sheets (or videos) on some of these tools in future posts. Right now I'm exploring classroom applications for wikis using Wikispaces. More to come...

Video Podcast Update

2007-01-06T20:11:00.000-08:00

Here's an update to my earlier list of video podcasts. Remember you don't need an iPod to view a podcast. All you need iTunes software (available FREE at www.apple.com/itunes/download). To find these podcasts go to the iTunes Store and search for the following...

(If you have iTunes already installed, clicking on the links below will start iTunes and take you directly to that podcast.)

NOVA Vodcast - Short video stories from the PBS series
Ask an Astronomer - Real NASA astronomers answer questions like: "Can you feel solar wind?", "What is redshift?", and "How can we see a black hole?"
NASAcast Video - an RSS newsfeed with the latest NASA videos
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory Podcast - Contains both video and audio clips
Sun-Earth Education - NASA - the sun and its effect on the Earth
Nature PBS - collection of 2-5 minute clips from various episodes from the PBS series.
CNN Student News - The same program that's broadcast for teachers to record in the wee hours of the morning. Don't forget to go to www.cnn.com/EDUCATION to download the daily transcripts and news quiz.

To learn more about using iTunes and video podcasts click here to go to my earlier post: FREE Video Podcasts for Teachers