Summer Plans

What do you plan to do this summer?

❒ Attend a seminar?
❒ Bike or hike?
❒ Create… or expand… your personal learning community?
❒ Explore Second Life?
❒ Find… and then read regularly… a blog that inspires you?
❒ Learn a new application?
❒ Listen to podcasts?
❒ Plan a digital storytelling project for your classes?
❒ Read a book?
❒ Research ways to use blogs, podcasts, or wikis with your students?
❒ Spend more time with family and/or friends?
❒ Take a class or workshop?
❒ Travel someplace new to you?
❒ Try a new recipe?
❒ Use a wiki to share valuable information with others?
❒ Use an aggregator to organize your reading?
❒ Use Skype?
❒ Visit a museum?
❒ Write a blog?

You’ll find tips to help with many of these ideas in previous entries in this blog. Use the search box at the top of the page or the labels on the right side of the page to help you search through the blog to find entries on specific topics.


CUSTOM GUIDESIf part of your summer plans are to learn a new application or two, you may be interested in what I learned from Constance Brown. She told me about the Custom Guides web site. You can download and print--for free!--useful reference guides from this site. You can use these printable quick references or distribute or share them.

Some of the applications these custom guides are available for include…

• Acrobat
• Apple Mac OS
• Dreamweaver
• Fireworks
• Flash
• Internet Explorer
• Microsoft Access
• Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft Office
• Microsoft Outlook
• Microsoft PowerPoint
• Microsoft Publisher
• Microsoft Windows
• Microsoft Word
• Mozilla FireFox
• Photoshop
• Photoshop Elements

CLIP ART
I’m always on the outlook for quality, free clip art which is appropriate for school use. I am delighted with what I found at http://www.pppst.com/clipart.html. An artist created the clip art for use by teachers and students. It can be used in the classroom, for homework assignments, and for projects. You can see some of the clip art in the poster in this blog entry. Categories include language arts, science, social studies, mathematics, holidays, and other subjects.


BOOK TO READ
One of my plans for this summer is to read Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything by Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams.

I’ve read a lot about wikinomics. It’s time to read the book! Wikinomics describes

how to prosper in a world where new communications technologies are democratizing the creation of value. Anyone who wants to understand the major forces revolutionizing business today should consider Wikinomics their survival kit.

WEB 2.0 TOOLS
This wiki describes web-based tools and how they can be used in school. Much of the information is based on a survey of more than 600 school media specialists about the use of web-based tools. If you plan to learn a new application this summer, you might want to check out this site.


GLOGSTER
Did you like the poster at the top of this blog entry? You can use Glogster.com to mix graphics, photos, videos, music and text into posters to illustrate an idea or topic. This site is fun and easy to use. However, you’ll definitely want to check out the tools and the users’ samples which are displayed before using this tool with students.