Do visit this website to see a wonderful story unfold in pictures and video, of a group of young people under the loving care of Marco Torres at the San Fernando High School, California.
Their website provides tutorials, examples of their video and photographic work and links to their shop for the purchase of their new DVD.
Look at their wiki and the amount of support it provides for top class photographic and video production ...
07 August 2009
31 July 2009
BLC09: Julia Leong - Narrative Inquiry
Narrative inquiry is one trying to make sense of life as lived [Clandinin & Connelly, 2000].
Julia Leong's presentation on SlideShare
When you look at a photo or an effect, don't ask 'is it good' but 'what is it good for'!
Think about altering shutter speed and personal movement whilst pointing the camera.
Use light torches in the dark - photograph people dancing with these.
You can do a lot with photographing smoke and using mirroring or blurring effects etc!
And think about photographing things from a different perspective - at least 3 different ways - crouching down, looking up ...
Julia Leong's presentation on SlideShare
When you look at a photo or an effect, don't ask 'is it good' but 'what is it good for'!
Think about altering shutter speed and personal movement whilst pointing the camera.
Use light torches in the dark - photograph people dancing with these.
You can do a lot with photographing smoke and using mirroring or blurring effects etc!
And think about photographing things from a different perspective - at least 3 different ways - crouching down, looking up ...
BLC09: Lainie Rowell - iMovie for digital storytelling
Suggests Apple iLife website for tutorials on all sorts of Apple applications.
The focus of this session is on the digital storytelling.
File >> Import
Top left is the project library. Create a new library - standard [other choices are widescreen and iPhone]. Don't worry too much about themes at the moment ... choosing 'none' is fine! If you're formatting for iDVD, then you might wish to set a theme.
You can put transitions in later if you want them ... so don't worry about the 'automatically add' option.
Move frames from the raw footage bottom right up into the Project Library top left.
Explore the settings by clicking the settings button in the bottom left hand corner of each clip - you can crop, add visual effects etc.
The focus of this session is on the digital storytelling.
File >> Import
Top left is the project library. Create a new library - standard [other choices are widescreen and iPhone]. Don't worry too much about themes at the moment ... choosing 'none' is fine! If you're formatting for iDVD, then you might wish to set a theme.
You can put transitions in later if you want them ... so don't worry about the 'automatically add' option.
Move frames from the raw footage bottom right up into the Project Library top left.
Explore the settings by clicking the settings button in the bottom left hand corner of each clip - you can crop, add visual effects etc.
BLC09: Keynote replays
For all the keynotes at the BLC Conference, please visit this blog!
- Ben Zander - a metaphor for leadership
- Stephen Heppell
- David Weinberger - Knowledge building in the age of the internet
30 July 2009
BLC09: Tom Daccord - Wikis for the classroom
Wikispaces
PBWorks
Mac wiki [coming soon!]
Wiki elements - collaborative. Multi users can edit the wiki at the same time [textured literacy]. Very flexible. Asynchronous. Can incorporate media.
You can make the wiki private by inviting other members - see Manage wiki.
The wiki contains a history so that you can retrieve earlier versions and also see who has been contributing and to assess the value of those contributions.
Students can incoporate video footage into a wiki.
There is a site especially for teachers - https://www.wikispaces.com/site/for/teachers
As I know about the basic use of wikis, I've decided to take up Tom Daccord's challenge to insert video footage ... a polling facility ... and reporting facility [stats!]
To add both, you need to find the 'add widget' tool on the toolbar and then choose the category of widget. For video materials, there are a number of compatible formats offered ... YouTube is one. I embedded the code for the YouTube video 'Wikis in plain English' into the video widget code box.
For polls, you can sign up to Survey Gizmo but this will cost you when the trial runs out in 14 days' time. And so I signed up to Poll Daddy offering a free polling/survey service. After creating my poll [very simplistic], you have access to code which you embed in the polling widget code box. Since writing this, I've also discovered Micropoll which seems to provide some very clear and simple designs.
My experimental wiki, in which I've mastered the art of inserting a video, a survey and a table of contents, can be found here ...
PBWorks
Mac wiki [coming soon!]
Wiki elements - collaborative. Multi users can edit the wiki at the same time [textured literacy]. Very flexible. Asynchronous. Can incorporate media.
You can make the wiki private by inviting other members - see Manage wiki.
The wiki contains a history so that you can retrieve earlier versions and also see who has been contributing and to assess the value of those contributions.
Students can incoporate video footage into a wiki.
There is a site especially for teachers - https://www.wikispaces.com/site/for/teachers
As I know about the basic use of wikis, I've decided to take up Tom Daccord's challenge to insert video footage ... a polling facility ... and reporting facility [stats!]
To add both, you need to find the 'add widget' tool on the toolbar and then choose the category of widget. For video materials, there are a number of compatible formats offered ... YouTube is one. I embedded the code for the YouTube video 'Wikis in plain English' into the video widget code box.
For polls, you can sign up to Survey Gizmo but this will cost you when the trial runs out in 14 days' time. And so I signed up to Poll Daddy offering a free polling/survey service. After creating my poll [very simplistic], you have access to code which you embed in the polling widget code box. Since writing this, I've also discovered Micropoll which seems to provide some very clear and simple designs.
My experimental wiki, in which I've mastered the art of inserting a video, a survey and a table of contents, can be found here ...
BLC09: Peggy Sheehy - Second Life for Education
Peggy works at Suffern Middle School in New York state.
No amount of computers and other technologies can ever replace a good teacher. What does 'Shift Happens' mean for today's teachers? She is not going to get into the literacy argument because it detracts from moving forward.
Peggy has been influenced by the writing of Daniel Pink and David Warlick in terms of defining what literacy and learning look like.
She gives us the light bulb problem. We have to train our students to think along these lines to solve problems.
To make the shift...
Give education a Second Life! Multi user virtual environment supporting constructivist learning.
Second Life can provide ...
Linden Labs [Second Life creators] have tuned into concerns expressed in the media and by educators. Adult X-rated content has been moved to its own islands! Main grid is for 18s and over >> teen grid for children aged between 13 and 17. The age boundaries cause a problem for educators and Linden Labs are working on this. And there is no provision for under 13s.
Safey and security on Ramapo Islands
Dress codes upheld. Respect between the students. Zero tolerance.
Peggy knew which teachers she was going to trial this with ... mostly those that had shown interest in what she was doing with Second Life! After the first couple of training sessions, they were up and running on their own.
Children with learning issues chosen to trial the software. They had just finished a unit on inventions. So the children recreated things like the telephone, the aeroplane. Then the children set up a weather centre on their island and looked at catastrophic events. They had ecology debates. NASA rocket studies.
Now, there are courses on personal finances and entrepreneurship ... they started up their own business ... business plan >> Board >> Linden currency >> plot of land >> resumes >> interviews for staff >> >>> cooking, jewellery, car business etc.
In Maths, children started to build problems in geometry and then to sell the solutions! Fleamarket Math project - children had to buy 10 items and stay within budget so they had to choose the most economical from a range of items! If they did stay within budget, they were rewarded! If the children went over budget, they developed strategies [like selling and bartering] to overcome the problem.
Social studies - Ellis Island immigration became great opportunity to explore issues and develop empathy.
English - held a mock trial for Of Mice and Men!
Health and wellness - this was a 10-week block for 8th grade students. Body image issues also dealt with. Girls first asked to design media-beautiful women and boys asked to design media-handsome chaps ... then they were asked to switch gender! Then they were asked to finish the unit of work by returning to the avatar they preferred. Lots of useful indepth discussion around beauty, media, issues. Lots of press and media coverage about the success of this.
Multimedia island - music studio
Foreign Language island ...
Digital storytelling project ...
Discussion pods ...
Students are helping to design the curriculum
Adolescents need a place to explore their personality in a non-confrontational environment ... and to explore alternate identities without repercussions. Supports Erikson's theory that teens need to try on different roles with minimum consequences.
No amount of computers and other technologies can ever replace a good teacher. What does 'Shift Happens' mean for today's teachers? She is not going to get into the literacy argument because it detracts from moving forward.
Peggy has been influenced by the writing of Daniel Pink and David Warlick in terms of defining what literacy and learning look like.
She gives us the light bulb problem. We have to train our students to think along these lines to solve problems.
To make the shift...
- What will teachers let go?
- When will administrators start trusting their teachers?
Give education a Second Life! Multi user virtual environment supporting constructivist learning.
- You can customise your avatar and make yourself look as you wish.
- Thriving online economy conducting millions USD in transactions per month.
- You maintain the owner rights in Second Life - you can build something and sell it for Lindens! People in Second Life are making their living buying and selling pixels - they watch the LindeX index for current status!
- Simple building tools to create [even for the non ICT literate]. There can be programming and mathematics involved, but mostly the tools are easy to use.
Second Life can provide ...
- A supplement to traditional classrooms environments
- Extend learning
- Introduce and explore concepts
- Demonstrate mastery and create new meaning
- 16 acres of 'virtual space'
- Secure intranet space
- Or open and public
- $700 + $147.50 monthly - http://seconlife.com/land/privatepricing.php
Linden Labs [Second Life creators] have tuned into concerns expressed in the media and by educators. Adult X-rated content has been moved to its own islands! Main grid is for 18s and over >> teen grid for children aged between 13 and 17. The age boundaries cause a problem for educators and Linden Labs are working on this. And there is no provision for under 13s.
Safey and security on Ramapo Islands
- Private islands
- Adults have rigorous background checks
- No access to TH residents or contents
- Constant adult supervision
Dress codes upheld. Respect between the students. Zero tolerance.
Peggy knew which teachers she was going to trial this with ... mostly those that had shown interest in what she was doing with Second Life! After the first couple of training sessions, they were up and running on their own.
Children with learning issues chosen to trial the software. They had just finished a unit on inventions. So the children recreated things like the telephone, the aeroplane. Then the children set up a weather centre on their island and looked at catastrophic events. They had ecology debates. NASA rocket studies.
Now, there are courses on personal finances and entrepreneurship ... they started up their own business ... business plan >> Board >> Linden currency >> plot of land >> resumes >> interviews for staff >> >>> cooking, jewellery, car business etc.
In Maths, children started to build problems in geometry and then to sell the solutions! Fleamarket Math project - children had to buy 10 items and stay within budget so they had to choose the most economical from a range of items! If they did stay within budget, they were rewarded! If the children went over budget, they developed strategies [like selling and bartering] to overcome the problem.
Social studies - Ellis Island immigration became great opportunity to explore issues and develop empathy.
English - held a mock trial for Of Mice and Men!
Health and wellness - this was a 10-week block for 8th grade students. Body image issues also dealt with. Girls first asked to design media-beautiful women and boys asked to design media-handsome chaps ... then they were asked to switch gender! Then they were asked to finish the unit of work by returning to the avatar they preferred. Lots of useful indepth discussion around beauty, media, issues. Lots of press and media coverage about the success of this.
Multimedia island - music studio
Foreign Language island ...
Digital storytelling project ...
Discussion pods ...
Students are helping to design the curriculum
Adolescents need a place to explore their personality in a non-confrontational environment ... and to explore alternate identities without repercussions. Supports Erikson's theory that teens need to try on different roles with minimum consequences.
BLC09: John Davitt - Creative Curriculum
This session was recorded live, using Twitcam
We can follow John's tools at www.newtools.org
When John feels down, he visits his eBay account to read his positive feedback! He has 100% good feedback ... and says that in all his life to date, this is the most positive assessment he's ever had! On the other hand, are we more interested in shopping than education? There's a danger that we are using new tools for old learning.
Wordle Try pasting in a 'bunch of text' from a news website - provides an overview and a sense of what is important in that article. Or a suggestion from the floor, you could put the contents of your presentation into Wordle to see if you are getting your point across!
You could print screen the Wordle image and save it, then open PhotoStory and create some motion animation ie fade from small to large.
Barcodes are coming ... QR codes and Microsoft TAG iPods with eyes etc. If your phone has a camera, it will read the code ... this will take you to a website. Codes are a way of labelling environments and can be generated. I generated this one for my Teachnet UK website.
John had codes for a lunar landing mission [Apollo 11] pinned on trees in Boston Gardens!
Mobile mission games can be found at GPS Mission Designer
Learning Event Generator and the Homework Generator ... to generate very different tasks. See this wiki for some ideas on how these are being used!
Scratch from MIT
See this YouTube video about Twitter, in plain English!
We can follow John's tools at www.newtools.org
When John feels down, he visits his eBay account to read his positive feedback! He has 100% good feedback ... and says that in all his life to date, this is the most positive assessment he's ever had! On the other hand, are we more interested in shopping than education? There's a danger that we are using new tools for old learning.
Wordle Try pasting in a 'bunch of text' from a news website - provides an overview and a sense of what is important in that article. Or a suggestion from the floor, you could put the contents of your presentation into Wordle to see if you are getting your point across!
You could print screen the Wordle image and save it, then open PhotoStory and create some motion animation ie fade from small to large.
Barcodes are coming ... QR codes and Microsoft TAG iPods with eyes etc. If your phone has a camera, it will read the code ... this will take you to a website. Codes are a way of labelling environments and can be generated. I generated this one for my Teachnet UK website.
John had codes for a lunar landing mission [Apollo 11] pinned on trees in Boston Gardens!
Mobile mission games can be found at GPS Mission Designer
Learning Event Generator and the Homework Generator ... to generate very different tasks. See this wiki for some ideas on how these are being used!
Scratch from MIT
See this YouTube video about Twitter, in plain English!
- Encourage ebb and flow of things in the virtual and real worlds
- Every school its own NBC? Lid, zone it
- Embrace the age of 'adhocracy' ... look at the professional development on one screen
- Walk many paths .. invent the 10 cent curriculum
29 July 2009
BLC09: Darren Kuropatwa - Time and Space
We are sending photos throughout the session to ...
and35sink@photos.flickr.com
Back channel available at http://todaysmeet.com/timeandspace
History doesn't repeat itself but it does rhyme [Mark Twain]
You don't need to be working in the same space or at the same time ... consider these applications ...
Pedagogy vs content ..
Book: How People Learn, lead to ... How Students Learn
Students come to the classroom with conceptions of numbers ground in their whole-number learning that lead them astray in the world of rational numbers.
Knowledge is networked - understanding requires factual knowledge and conceptual frameworks. Networks are social ... you need to converse to learn He says to his students ... "if you are not talking you are not learning - learning is a conversation"
Metacognition
Should Bloom's Taxonomy be rewritten the other way up .. thus, start with 'Create' ??
Now introduce the technology aspect into the pedagogy vs content debate - think of three circles [content, pedagogy and technology] ... where they overlap is TPACK [the total package].
LOTA Design videos - illustrate that things don't have functional fixity.
Darren shows examples of his class blog - a window through the walls of his classroom - an interactive learning ecology for students and parents in his Pre-Cal Math class. They can visit and post comments freely! But students are also asked to write a class blog and every day, one student writes a different page >> Class Scribes. He monitors contributors by means of a 'scribe list' and crosses students off it when they have contributed their daily class blog. This almost amounts to a text book online! [Students feel a responsibility towards this and do it for 'social credit', not just to earn better marks/grades!]
Answertips [at Answers.com] widget on right hand side - speaks a highlighted word and gives a definition. He's also incorporated a facility for creating maths images [equation editor] ... see www.sitmo.com
Students also publishing BOBs [blogs on blogs] to reflect upon their learning - what's of more value are the comments from other students and prompts when amendments/additions need to be made.
Darren never asks students to write notes - all the resources are published on the blog and therefore, class time devoted to conversation or online blogging. Next year, he will encourage students to publish videos and fill the gaps which are not covered by those on YouTube.
He shows us a website called Kick YouTube for downloading videos from YouTube.
All students get Delicious accounts and save their bookmarks with the tag pc40sw09 and then you can pull in the most recent tags with that tag.
What are you going to do with your classes?
Darren shows how our photographs posted above are incorporated into his wiki, along with a musical soundtrack downloaded from www.jamendo.com
Back channel available at http://todaysmeet.com/timeandspace
History doesn't repeat itself but it does rhyme [Mark Twain]
You don't need to be working in the same space or at the same time ... consider these applications ...
- Google Docs
- Second Life
- DimDim
- Eluminate
- Skype
- Geocaching
- Museums
- Blogs
- Wikis
Pedagogy vs content ..
Book: How People Learn, lead to ... How Students Learn
Students come to the classroom with conceptions of numbers ground in their whole-number learning that lead them astray in the world of rational numbers.
Knowledge is networked - understanding requires factual knowledge and conceptual frameworks. Networks are social ... you need to converse to learn He says to his students ... "if you are not talking you are not learning - learning is a conversation"
Metacognition
Should Bloom's Taxonomy be rewritten the other way up .. thus, start with 'Create' ??
Now introduce the technology aspect into the pedagogy vs content debate - think of three circles [content, pedagogy and technology] ... where they overlap is TPACK [the total package].
LOTA Design videos - illustrate that things don't have functional fixity.
Darren shows examples of his class blog - a window through the walls of his classroom - an interactive learning ecology for students and parents in his Pre-Cal Math class. They can visit and post comments freely! But students are also asked to write a class blog and every day, one student writes a different page >> Class Scribes. He monitors contributors by means of a 'scribe list' and crosses students off it when they have contributed their daily class blog. This almost amounts to a text book online! [Students feel a responsibility towards this and do it for 'social credit', not just to earn better marks/grades!]
Answertips [at Answers.com] widget on right hand side - speaks a highlighted word and gives a definition. He's also incorporated a facility for creating maths images [equation editor] ... see www.sitmo.com
Students also publishing BOBs [blogs on blogs] to reflect upon their learning - what's of more value are the comments from other students and prompts when amendments/additions need to be made.
Darren never asks students to write notes - all the resources are published on the blog and therefore, class time devoted to conversation or online blogging. Next year, he will encourage students to publish videos and fill the gaps which are not covered by those on YouTube.
He shows us a website called Kick YouTube for downloading videos from YouTube.
All students get Delicious accounts and save their bookmarks with the tag pc40sw09 and then you can pull in the most recent tags with that tag.
What are you going to do with your classes?
Darren shows how our photographs posted above are incorporated into his wiki, along with a musical soundtrack downloaded from www.jamendo.com
BLC09: Habitudes for 21st C Learning
Angela Maiers - talking about habits and attitude .. hence 'habitude'!
21st Century Learner - what are the skills?
References Sir Ken Robinson's book ''The Element''
Every year, students become exponentially less equipped for the 21st C and divergent thinking ...so, not about teaching 21st C skills ... it's about maintaining them from a very early age.How do we maintain those 'bright shiny eyes' and enthusiasm for learning that early years children have?
Listen to a TED talk regularly
Consider 'labelling' something with a positive statement. Then when students internalise this and feel good, they 'claim it', maybe sustain it!
Character counts programs - curriculums being written around these. Bulletin boards.
Einstein - how to be a passionate and curious learner - learn how to ask effective questions ... but questions that a genius might ask! For example, Angela shows us a picture of rocks ... and asks us to think up genius questions!
She asks us to think of two words to take back to colleagues, describing 21st C Learning ...
Examples
21st Century Learner - what are the skills?
- Problem solvers
- Collaborator
- Innovative mindset
- Self aware
- Powerfully curious
- Endurance/persistence
- Risk taker
- Comfortable with ambiguity etc etc .. nothing new really
References Sir Ken Robinson's book ''The Element''
Every year, students become exponentially less equipped for the 21st C and divergent thinking ...so, not about teaching 21st C skills ... it's about maintaining them from a very early age.How do we maintain those 'bright shiny eyes' and enthusiasm for learning that early years children have?
Listen to a TED talk regularly
Consider 'labelling' something with a positive statement. Then when students internalise this and feel good, they 'claim it', maybe sustain it!
Character counts programs - curriculums being written around these. Bulletin boards.
Einstein - how to be a passionate and curious learner - learn how to ask effective questions ... but questions that a genius might ask! For example, Angela shows us a picture of rocks ... and asks us to think up genius questions!
She asks us to think of two words to take back to colleagues, describing 21st C Learning ...
Examples
- Bright eyes
- Name it
- Passion, curiosity
BLC09: Tony Parkin's tweets on David Jakes' presentation
#blc09 David Jakes - the power of embed codes for transliteracy - ability to use multiple digital resources. Wiki at http://bit.ly/1aEpZL
#blc09 David Jakes - embedding Google Street View of Deeley Plaza directly into his wiki page using embed code. Retains all functionality.
#blc09 David Jakes adds Walter Cronkite announcement of Kennedy Assassination from YouTube and his Delicious feed into wiki with embed code
#blc09 David Jakes - outline of his immersive session at http://bit.ly/ZQGlS - but you won't get to see the impressive demo!
#blc09 David Jakes - plug for Voki - creating speaking avatars to add richness to resources (http://www.voki.com/) eg added to Google Earth
Glyn's note: David's presentations can be found on his website
#blc09 David Jakes - embedding Google Street View of Deeley Plaza directly into his wiki page using embed code. Retains all functionality.
#blc09 David Jakes adds Walter Cronkite announcement of Kennedy Assassination from YouTube and his Delicious feed into wiki with embed code
#blc09 David Jakes - outline of his immersive session at http://bit.ly/ZQGlS - but you won't get to see the impressive demo!
#blc09 David Jakes - plug for Voki - creating speaking avatars to add richness to resources (http://www.voki.com/) eg added to Google Earth
Glyn's note: David's presentations can be found on his website
BLC09: Kids teaching kids ... math-casting!
Mathtrain.TV is a free educational "kids teaching kids" project from Eric Marcos & his students at Lincoln Middle School in Santa Monica, CA.
http://www.mathtrain.tv
http://www.mathtrain.com
Talked about problems when children try to explain a solution to a maths problem using Word or email etc.
Used a tablet PC - used a physics simulator, fonts, 3D, draw - children's engagement increased.
Then Eric discovered Camtasia Studio. He wrote out a problem, a solution and video-ed it. Then he sent the video file to his student.
If you don't have a tablet PC, you can use a Wacom tablet. Really cheap.
If you don't have Camtasia Studio, then you can use free software like Jing [also by TechSmith, that makes Camtasia Studio]. There is also a pro version which allows you to save files in mp4 format.
Other alternative applications ...
Eric's students, so inspired by using his videos to help them see the solutions to problems, decided they wanted to create videos of their own! They used a cheap microphone, a tablet PC and Camtasia Studio to make their video. The video also encouraged authentic assessment.
Eric demonstrated some video clips ...
These were used in the classroom, shared online via Mathtrain.tv, subscribe to iTunes Podcast, TeacherTube, Google videos, YouTube etc. Students absolutely thrilled that students in other parts of the world found their videos helpful and inspiring etc.
Rounding a decimal -
"Five and above, give it a shove [digit to the left]"
"Four and below, keep it down low"
Students demonstrate making a video ...
A really good idea to think about captioning if you are making videos, for the hard of hearing and for translations. Easy using Camtasia Studio
Finally, a visit to the Education Community pages on the TechSmith website would be worthwhile.
http://www.mathtrain.tv
http://www.mathtrain.com
Talked about problems when children try to explain a solution to a maths problem using Word or email etc.
Used a tablet PC - used a physics simulator, fonts, 3D, draw - children's engagement increased.
Then Eric discovered Camtasia Studio. He wrote out a problem, a solution and video-ed it. Then he sent the video file to his student.
If you don't have a tablet PC, you can use a Wacom tablet. Really cheap.
If you don't have Camtasia Studio, then you can use free software like Jing [also by TechSmith, that makes Camtasia Studio]. There is also a pro version which allows you to save files in mp4 format.
Other alternative applications ...
Eric's students, so inspired by using his videos to help them see the solutions to problems, decided they wanted to create videos of their own! They used a cheap microphone, a tablet PC and Camtasia Studio to make their video. The video also encouraged authentic assessment.
Eric demonstrated some video clips ...
These were used in the classroom, shared online via Mathtrain.tv, subscribe to iTunes Podcast, TeacherTube, Google videos, YouTube etc. Students absolutely thrilled that students in other parts of the world found their videos helpful and inspiring etc.
Rounding a decimal -
"Five and above, give it a shove [digit to the left]"
"Four and below, keep it down low"
Students demonstrate making a video ...
- Opened Windows Journal - software used to write on
- Opened Camtasia Studio to record voices and the writing
- Press 'make a recording' button
- Select the area to record over Windows Journal and shrink it - Camtasia only records what in the shrunken window
- Create a title for it
- Write the problem ...
- Start the narrative using mic on the tablet
- Camtasia similar to iMovie on a Mac ??
- You can edit the recording
A really good idea to think about captioning if you are making videos, for the hard of hearing and for translations. Easy using Camtasia Studio
Finally, a visit to the Education Community pages on the TechSmith website would be worthwhile.
28 July 2009
BLC09: ePals Conference
Notes from the ePals conference held in Boston at BLC09 ...
CyberSmart – Jim Teicher
Shows video of laptop usage in Senegal – can we scale this up to increase opportunity for many more children? Money issues. No electricity ... therefore laptop usage relies on batteries and downloaded programs because no internet connectivity. Need to appreciate that there are other priorities in these countries besides computer usage ... day to day living and getting to school even [walking miles].
http://cybersmart.org/africa
http://cybersmart.org/africa/storytelling/
http://cybersmart.org/africa/storytelling/gallery
Working with ePals to turn into a collaborative learning experience. Lots of reasons why we should want to bring western learning to muslim Senegal, NW Africa. Partnership with Millennium villages – their mandate is to build economic models for sustainability and scale etc and so CyberSmart adding focus on ICT projects, using strategies and technologies which don’t leak money. Professional development will be key – will use Moodle for grassroots lesson creation and improvement [so not all resources will come from the capital of Dakar].
MS Multipoint – an extension to Powerpoint which enables a mouse to provide a voting/answering capability. Multi-choice, fill in the blanks etc used in combination with MS Mischief - – scalable sustainable whole class pedagogies.
Howie DiBlasi – 21st C Classroom Projects Howie's web site ..
Teacher’s experience of ePals – a week after seeing a presentation on ePals, Beth Stills contacted ePals and set up profile – she heard from schools all over the world and she set up international connections for her students, which saw best results on a one on one basis, particularly for female students. Not used ePals in last year but thinking about new projects. For example, she might set up projects on a wiki and have international students comment on those projects.
Over the last year, she has taken the time to build a PLN [personal learning network] and made connections all over the world – helped her to appreciate the value of international collaboration for her students. See her blog - for her success in a ‘Send a Newbie to NECC Project’.
Vidyo - copes with internet packet loss during large scale interactive video conferencing.
Zach’s journey – see Washington Post article
Kiva – micro loan programme Howies projects use the following technologies ...
Some ideas ...
I Believe – take students through writing a belief statement. Engages people in writing, sharing, discussing core values etc. Based on the This I Believe initiative.
My hero – use a computer to access the internet and find and read stories on the My Hero website. See Gabe O’Neill’s website - www.kidsareheroes.com.
My Town – Our Town [James Taylor] – Small Town – students obtain lyrics from these songs and do research on their own town and its history. Students make contact with the songwriter to ask for permission to use lyrics to the song. http://www.lyricsfreak.com and then compose a photographic sequence about their home town, using Photostory or Memories on the Web to put their story together.
The Best Part of Me – students identify a positive physical feature of themselves and write a descriptive poem about it .. students work in pairs to take part in an online writer’s workshop.
Video project – 5 [really 6] frames –
Good story has characters in action with beginning, middle and end.
1- Title – words or photo with words
2- Establish characters and location
3- Create situation with possibility of what might happen
4- Involve characters in situation
5- Build to probable outcomes
6- Have a logical and surprising end
Could bring music or narrative into it also.
Six words
Authors to sum up their lives – single words or put in the context of a short sentence. Use VoiceThreads or Google Docs for collaboration.
Nancy Charron – Chelmsford Schools- Internet Pen Pal programs
Research study on impact of pen pal approach to writing. Teachers used project to make required writing tasks authentic.
US children fascinated by differences in date format, time zoning [ie it being Wednesday and Thursday at the same time!]
Effective for problem solving.
Keyboard skills improved as Internet Pen Pal program progressed.
No Child Left Behind – are we teaching children properly for the 21st C? Rather rote? IPPP – children are so more motivated.
Surely learning on the job – ie corresponding with students in other international classrooms – has to be better than following worksheets and prompts etc.
Bryan Scanlon – ePals
Demonstrated ePals School Center
Repository for documents and media ... all the tools you need in one place to allow collaboration etc. Can form groups etc.
Useful links - http://school.discoveryeducation.com
CyberSmart – Jim Teicher
Shows video of laptop usage in Senegal – can we scale this up to increase opportunity for many more children? Money issues. No electricity ... therefore laptop usage relies on batteries and downloaded programs because no internet connectivity. Need to appreciate that there are other priorities in these countries besides computer usage ... day to day living and getting to school even [walking miles].
http://cybersmart.org/africa
http://cybersmart.org/africa/storytelling/
http://cybersmart.org/africa/storytelling/gallery
Working with ePals to turn into a collaborative learning experience. Lots of reasons why we should want to bring western learning to muslim Senegal, NW Africa. Partnership with Millennium villages – their mandate is to build economic models for sustainability and scale etc and so CyberSmart adding focus on ICT projects, using strategies and technologies which don’t leak money. Professional development will be key – will use Moodle for grassroots lesson creation and improvement [so not all resources will come from the capital of Dakar].
MS Multipoint – an extension to Powerpoint which enables a mouse to provide a voting/answering capability. Multi-choice, fill in the blanks etc used in combination with MS Mischief - – scalable sustainable whole class pedagogies.
- Astra projector. Very portable, plug and play etc.
- Livescribe
- Text messaging – no charge to receive texts or calls in Senegal
- Reading pens
Howie DiBlasi – 21st C Classroom Projects Howie's web site ..
Teacher’s experience of ePals – a week after seeing a presentation on ePals, Beth Stills contacted ePals and set up profile – she heard from schools all over the world and she set up international connections for her students, which saw best results on a one on one basis, particularly for female students. Not used ePals in last year but thinking about new projects. For example, she might set up projects on a wiki and have international students comment on those projects.
Over the last year, she has taken the time to build a PLN [personal learning network] and made connections all over the world – helped her to appreciate the value of international collaboration for her students. See her blog - for her success in a ‘Send a Newbie to NECC Project’.
Vidyo - copes with internet packet loss during large scale interactive video conferencing.
Zach’s journey – see Washington Post article
Kiva – micro loan programme Howies projects use the following technologies ...
- VoiceThreads
- Google Docs - can invite 250 people to collaborate but only 12 can work on a document at any one time.
- Podcasting, visual literacy
- Photostory
- Blogs, Wikis
- MemoriesOnWeb
- Ning – see this one about tools for the classroom
- Voki - a free service allowing you to create personalised speaking avatars! But watch the terms of use – not for under 13’s!
- This is My Country - projects about my country
- Journey North
- FlipCAM, publishing a project on the internet.
Some ideas ...
I Believe – take students through writing a belief statement. Engages people in writing, sharing, discussing core values etc. Based on the This I Believe initiative.
My hero – use a computer to access the internet and find and read stories on the My Hero website. See Gabe O’Neill’s website - www.kidsareheroes.com.
My Town – Our Town [James Taylor] – Small Town – students obtain lyrics from these songs and do research on their own town and its history. Students make contact with the songwriter to ask for permission to use lyrics to the song. http://www.lyricsfreak.com and then compose a photographic sequence about their home town, using Photostory or Memories on the Web to put their story together.
The Best Part of Me – students identify a positive physical feature of themselves and write a descriptive poem about it .. students work in pairs to take part in an online writer’s workshop.
Video project – 5 [really 6] frames –
Good story has characters in action with beginning, middle and end.
1- Title – words or photo with words
2- Establish characters and location
3- Create situation with possibility of what might happen
4- Involve characters in situation
5- Build to probable outcomes
6- Have a logical and surprising end
Could bring music or narrative into it also.
Six words
Authors to sum up their lives – single words or put in the context of a short sentence. Use VoiceThreads or Google Docs for collaboration.
Nancy Charron – Chelmsford Schools- Internet Pen Pal programs
Research study on impact of pen pal approach to writing. Teachers used project to make required writing tasks authentic.
US children fascinated by differences in date format, time zoning [ie it being Wednesday and Thursday at the same time!]
Effective for problem solving.
Keyboard skills improved as Internet Pen Pal program progressed.
No Child Left Behind – are we teaching children properly for the 21st C? Rather rote? IPPP – children are so more motivated.
Surely learning on the job – ie corresponding with students in other international classrooms – has to be better than following worksheets and prompts etc.
Bryan Scanlon – ePals
Demonstrated ePals School Center
Repository for documents and media ... all the tools you need in one place to allow collaboration etc. Can form groups etc.
Useful links - http://school.discoveryeducation.com
10 July 2009
Saltaire ... fresh air!
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of spending the day in Saltaire and buying a Hockney .. OK, it was a poster! ;-) Until now, I hadn't had the opportunity of spending any time in this beautiful place and had only rushed through the little train station en route to Leeds or Keighley! But this is an amazing village, built up by Sir Titus Salt in the nineteenth century to provide housing for workers in his woollen mills.I bought my Hockney [!] in Salt's Mill, converted to an art gallery and shops [with a focus on the renowned Bradford-born artist] in the 1980s, by Jonathan Silver.
But my recent for visiting Saltaire was even more exciting perhaps .. and that was to see the wonderful learning environment that the new Titus Salt School provides for its students, the staff and the local community. I was given a tour of the school which must sit somewhere at the forefront of design for learning and teaching and one which reflects exciting new beginnings in the village and one which continues its focus on community need. Take a look here ...
Three teachers from Titus Salt last year braved school moves and curriculum changes and some wonderful resources for the Teachnet UK programme. Take a look ...
Kevin Simpson, Statistics Modules 1 and 2
Hayley Thompson, Electricity
Martha Featherstone, The Art of Rhetoric
Thank you to the staff and students of Titus Salt for making me feel so welcome and for providing me with an opportunity to visit beautiful Saltaire.
23 June 2009
Why blog?
Last Friday, I attended a most enjoyable afternoon organised by Mirandanet entitled 'Teachers as Bloggers' ... it was a pleasure to meet people from the world of education ... teachers, advisers and educational correspondents ... and to share positive aspects of blogging.
I could be said to be a bit of a fraud when it comes to blogging! I'm not a great blogger myself as I've no expectation that others will be remotely interested in what I have to say! Although having said that, I like the idea of running a blog like that of The Angry Technician but on train journeys into and across London ... I reckon there's a rant or two to be had there! ;-)
I tend to be more of a 'blog detective', trying to find inspiration blogs for other teachers to model their own blogs upon. But that does mean that I should at least know what a good blog looks like and the technicalities of setting one up! Hence I've a number dotted around in cyberspace! Here's another ....
I'm also running a number of closed Ning environments for an international programme of professional development for headteachers. The environments are not just for social networking although some form of social activity is offered in the early stages to build mutual confidence and trust etc, but also to foster shared learning and collaboration amongst members of the group. Blogs [within the Ning and therefore closed] are used to support the discussions around designated online activities and research in themed areas ... places where headteachers can describe themselves and their schools ... and also where they can reflect upon their own learning and the impact of the programme on their school.
I could be said to be a bit of a fraud when it comes to blogging! I'm not a great blogger myself as I've no expectation that others will be remotely interested in what I have to say! Although having said that, I like the idea of running a blog like that of The Angry Technician but on train journeys into and across London ... I reckon there's a rant or two to be had there! ;-)
I tend to be more of a 'blog detective', trying to find inspiration blogs for other teachers to model their own blogs upon. But that does mean that I should at least know what a good blog looks like and the technicalities of setting one up! Hence I've a number dotted around in cyberspace! Here's another ....
I'm also running a number of closed Ning environments for an international programme of professional development for headteachers. The environments are not just for social networking although some form of social activity is offered in the early stages to build mutual confidence and trust etc, but also to foster shared learning and collaboration amongst members of the group. Blogs [within the Ning and therefore closed] are used to support the discussions around designated online activities and research in themed areas ... places where headteachers can describe themselves and their schools ... and also where they can reflect upon their own learning and the impact of the programme on their school.
18 March 2009
A little about me
I have worked for the SSAT for the past ten years, mostly on programmes that focus on professional development activities, latterly on designing and maintaining support for complementary online activities. I manage the ICT Register and would encourage you all to take a look at what our schools offer in terms of advice and guidance with ICT, and to join us if your school is also at the cutting edge of technology!
I also manage Teachnet UK which offers classroom teachers around the world, freely downloadable resources covering hours of classroom activity. Finally, you might want to take a look at an international website-building competition for students - Thinkquest - which encourages students between 9 and 19 to work in teams, locally, nationally and internationally to create websites for other students and their teachers around the world ... take a peep at the largely undiscovered gem that the ThinkQuest Library provides!
I also work for the National College of School Leadership as facilitator on its OFAT [Online Facilitation and Tutoring] programme!
I also manage Teachnet UK which offers classroom teachers around the world, freely downloadable resources covering hours of classroom activity. Finally, you might want to take a look at an international website-building competition for students - Thinkquest - which encourages students between 9 and 19 to work in teams, locally, nationally and internationally to create websites for other students and their teachers around the world ... take a peep at the largely undiscovered gem that the ThinkQuest Library provides!
I also work for the National College of School Leadership as facilitator on its OFAT [Online Facilitation and Tutoring] programme!
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