Happy New (School) Year!

BEGINNING A NEW SCHOOL YEAR
I’ve always enjoyed the beginning of a new school year. It’s an opportunity to start afresh, to set new goals… both for my students and for myself. I can intentionally make changes in process that will help us come closer to those goals.

WHAT ARE YOU READING?
A comment by David Warlick in a recent blog entry (http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/2007/08/16/another-question-for-interviews/) started my thinking about reading. What have I been reading? Many years ago that question would be answered with a simple list of recently read books and periodicals. However, when I started thinking about what I currently read, my list includes books—paper and ebooks, periodicals—paper and online, newspapers—paper and online, blogs, podcasts, and web sites.

What about my students? The state standards for reading (http://www.ode.state.oh.us/GD/Templates/Pages/ODE/ODEDetail.aspx?page=3&TopicRelationID=330&ContentID=489&Content=32574) indicate that students are expected to read “print and electronic text”… and they are to “listen.” The purposes of their reading include “learning about a subject,” “doing a job,” “making decisions,” and “accomplishing a task.” The types of items they are to read include “essays, magazines, newspapers, textbooks, instruction manuals, consumer and workplace documents, reference materials, multimedia and electronic resources.” These standards include the variety of types of reading that shows up on my list. This will be the basis of conversations with my students and of assignments for their classes.

If all of us—my students and myself included—are to learn throughout our lives, then it serves us well to develop the habit of reading well-chosen materials. Thus, one of my goals for this new school year is to develop assignments that encourage (require?) my students to read a variety of types of materials in a variety of ways… and to share with them that I also do that as a part of my own growth.

STUDENT LEARNING
A video on TeacherTube—Digital Students @ Analog Schools (http://www.teachertube.com/search_result.php?search_id=digital+students+%40+analog+schools&x=0&y=0) --has some ideas that I think are important to consider. In this video, students share their thoughts about the teaching and learning processes which they’ve experienced. (Although these are college students, their words could just as easily have come from K-12 students.) Some of the students share that they are visual learners in a lecture environment; some, that they are learning skills for past jobs rather than future jobs. Others state that the learning environment is frustrating and that they do not have opportunities to be creative. Will the students’ future lives and the skills they need be just as they imagine? Probably not, but nonetheless they express some very important ideas. So, my goals this year include the increased use of teaching and learning processes appropriate for students who have grown up in a visual, creative environment.

TECHNOLOGY HELPS US SET AND REACH OUR GOALS
Technology plays a major role both in the setting of my goals and in accomplishing them. As the year progresses, my students and I will both learn more technology to help us meet our goals.

What are your goals for this school year? What do you want to learn to help you reach those goals? What resources will make it easier for you and your students? Write to me through a comment on this blog to share how I can help you with technology this new school year.

WHAT YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT ZIP CODES
Have you ever been curious about how and where different ZIP codes in the USA have been set up? Tim Stahmer’s Assorted Stuff (http://www.assortedstuff.com/?p=2161) blog shares this site (http://acg.media.mit.edu/people/fry/zipdecode/) about ZIP codes. You’ve got to check it out!

TIMELINE OF MAJOR DECISIONS OF 20TH-CENTURY USA PRESIDENTS
(http://www.eschoolnews.com/resources/links/showLink.cfm?linkID=353)
eSchoolNews.com (http://www.eschoolnews.com) highlighted the Presidential Timeline of the 20th Century this summer. The web site provides access to portions of the collections of the presidential libraries of 12 presidents. A multimedia exhibit features key decisions such as Pearl Harbor and the Gulf of Tonkin. Some well-designed activities for classroom use are also available.

KEY IDEAS FROM THE MAJOR ED TECH CONFERENCE OF THE SUMMER
(http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStory.cfm?ArticleID=7232)
If you did not attend the major educational technology conference of the summer, eSchoolNews.com has a site where you can learn what you missed at the NECC conference. Keynote speaker Andrew Zolli recommended we focus on students’ creativity and ISTE updated the National Educational Technology Standards for Students. Unrelated concepts? No… creativity and innovation top the list of traits in the revised standards. Read about these ideas and more at this site.

Ideas for Using Digital Cameras in Your Classroom

Digital cameras are so easy to use nowadays… and they’re a great tool for both teachers and students to use in the classroom. This web page (http://coekate.murraystate.edu/camera/ideas.htm) has some good ideas for using them.

Suggestions are listed for:
• arts and humanities,
• mathematics,
• practical living,
• reading,
• science,
• social studies, and
• writing.

Some recommendations are…
• Take photos of items of a particular color. Insert the photos in a PowerPoint “booklet” for that color. This idea could be used when students are first learning colors or as they learn more about colors in art education.
• Take photos of favorites (food, colors, books, CDs). Use the information in the pictures to create a graph.
• When students make their alphabet books as they learn the alphabet, they can take photos of objects for each letter.
• Take photos of items that have a common characteristic (e.g., mammals, levers, triangles).
• Students can create their own textbooks on the weather with photos they take, illustrations they draw, and explanations that they write.
• Create a brochure about some aspect of your town: history, famous people, architecture, …
• Write a poem or story and illustrate it with photos. Or illustrate a favorite poem or story with photos.
• Write about a recent field trip and illustrate the information with photos your students took while on the field trip.

Although this web page (dated 2003) does not appear to have been updated recently, the ideas for using digital cameras in the classroom are still good.

21st Century Connections Web Site

I’ve discovered a web site that has some very useful links. The site is 21ST CENTURY CONNECTIONS: Innovative technologies to inspire digital creativity in 21st century classrooms (http://21centuryconnections.com/).

This web site is designed to provide resources for digital learning.
Technology & Learning (http://www.techlearning.com/) hosts the site.
Lenovo (http://www.lenovo.com),
Adobe (http://www.adobe.com/),
Intel (http://www.intel.com/), and
Futurekids (http://www.futurekids.com/) provide the information.


Here’s some of what I found:

• Photo Composition 101… instructions from Adobe for composing photos well
I’ve been taking more photos recently. I even entered two of them in a contest recently. However, my husband is the photography “pro” in our household. He recommended last week that I work on composition when I take photos. We had an interesting conversation as he shared some ideas with me. This short tutorial—Photo Composition 101—fits in perfectly with our discussion. It echoes some of my husband’s advice and adds a couple new ideas to keep in mind. One of the suggestions is that the point of interest in a photo be placed at one of the four points of intersection of lines which divide the photo into thirds horizontally and vertically rather than at the center of the photo.



The first photo is more interesting than the second one due to placing the statue at an intersection rather than in the center of the photo.



• Top 10 Tips for Digital Photography… also from Adobe
This article is worth several years of experience. You can learn the same ideas on your own, but it would be so much faster to learn by reading the article. One interesting technique I learned is that the camera may take pictures more quickly if the LCD screen preview is turned off.

• Nine Needs for Web Literacy… from TechLearning.com
Two of the suggested topics to include when teaching web literacy are web site spoofs and email spoofs. It is certainly very important to help both children and adults learn how to recognize these today.

• NECC Insights Offered in Podcasts… hosted on Apple’s Learning Interchange
Did you miss NECC? Or would you like to hear some of the speakers again? You can listen to Ian Jukes, Andrew Zolli, Doug Johnson, and others.

My only complaint about the site is that it’s difficult to discover some of the good information that’s available. Once you do discover it, though, you can use the Search function to find it again, if necessary.

I’ve shared some of the links on this web site that I find useful. I think you will find additional links that fit your interests.

Swapping Books

Having lunch with a librarian recently provided more than just a delicious meal. I learned about sites for swapping books. (Thanks, Nancy, for both!)

After I returned home from visiting, I did some research on the web. The following list is just a bit of what I found.

Some sites charge no fee. You pay to ship your books to someone else and, thus, earn credits that allow you to choose a book to be shipped to you from someone else’s list. Some other sites charge a fee instead. You’ll want to browse what kinds of books are generally available in addition to comparing the costs.

As you check these sites, you will also find sources for free reading and for swapping items other than books (e.g., CDs, DVDs, video games).

This is a great way to limit your expenses without limiting your reading material!


Friedbeef’s Tech
Best Places to Get Free Books - The Ultimate Guide
http://www.friedbeef.com/2007/04/09/best-places-to-get-free-books-the-ultimate-guide/

This blog entry lists more than 30 sites to explore for swapping opportunities and, also, for free books. Some of the sites for trading books include Bookins, FrugalReader, ZunaFish, SwapSimple, and BookMooch. Do check this blog entry. They include much more than I’ve listed!

Digital Inspiration
http://labnol.blogspot.com/2006/02/online-book-swap-websites-for.html

This blog lists several sites including TitleTrader and Campus Book Swap. Be sure to also check the other sites listed on this blog.

Create and View Presentations Online

Using Thumbstacks, you can create a slide show presentation online and then share it with others by providing a link. You need to sign up for an account, but it’s free.

Here’s a quick slide show I made in Thumbstacks: http://thumbstacks.com/p/jo/Creating+JPGs
You should recognize this slide show from the instructions I provided in the last blog entry for how to create a JPG in PowerPoint.

I discovered Thumbstacks and how to create a JPG in PowerPoint at the same time as I examined some TeacherTube videos. In particular, I viewed Intro to Thumbstacks (http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=6dd3cc56283f2313522d).

Creating slide shows in Thumbstacks is easy. Some of the menu choices are available at the top of the screen and some become available by right-click (on a two-button mouse) or control-click. Text-formatting options are available. You can upload images. You can drag-and-drop. Themes and styles are available.

The slide shows don’t have all the features of a full-fledged presentation tool. Options missing are transitions, sound, video, and drawing tools. A forum (bugs; feature requests and ideas; and comments, criticism and questions) is available.

Thumbstacks includes an option for real-time use during remote meetings. I haven’t tried this yet.

Thumbstacks is an easy-to-use Web 2.0 application for creating and viewing presentations. Both teachers and students would, most likely, find Thumbstacks very useful.

Creating JPGs

I’ve used AppleWorks for years to create files formatted as JPGs. The AppleWorks Draw module is very easy to use… to mix graphics and text… to create title pages, logos, and other JPG files.

The Save As options in Word do not, however, include JPG. So, I thought that Microsoft Office had not provided the option to save a file as a JPG.

I just learned that there is a procedure in Microsoft Office to do this. I was looking in the wrong application. I needed to look at PowerPoint.

Here’s how you create a JPG in PowerPoint…

• Launch PowerPoint
• Create a blank slide (slide layout)
• View > Toolbars > Drawing
• Create a image using choices on the Drawing toolbar
• Save As whatever.jpg

Use the file you create in other applications when you need an image file in a graphics format.

Here's a JPG image I created in PowerPoint using this procedure. BTW, I never said I was an artist! ;)

I’ll share in next week’s blog entry how I discovered this procedure.

TeachersFirst.com Provides High-Quality Resources for Teachers

TeachersFirst.com (http://www.teachersfirst.com/index.cfm) continues to provide useful resources. Some of these are helpful when working in the classroom with students and others help you grow as a teacher. Experienced teachers review the web sites so you know that any site listed is of good quality.

The featured classroom sites for this week include cave writings, how cells divide (mitosis vs. meiosis), and book reviews by students on podcasts. In the professional area, one of the resources I found is a list of very good ideas for working together with parents.

In addition to the many web sites TeachersFirst reviews—with suggestions for classroom use—a new feature is the TeachersFirst Edge. This section is where Web 2.0 tools are recommended. One particularly helpful feature is the page of practical tips for teachers who use these tools. You can tell the tips are written by “real” teachers.

I have listed only a few of the resources available at TeachersFirst. I’m sure you’ll find many useful ideas when you explore the site.

Ohio Treasure Chest of Technology Resources

Eric Curts, technology specialist, and the North Canton City Schools (Ohio, USA) publish a web site rich with resources to use when integrating technology in the curriculum. Their web site--the Ohio Treasure Chest of Technology Resources (http://ohiotreasurechest.org/)--is designed to work with Ohio’s technology standards; however, it can be helpful no matter which set of technology standards you’re using.

At this site you will find thousands of web sites that are aligned to the Ohio Academic Content Standards in the four core areas--mathematics, science, language arts, and social studies. There are three good features about each of these sites: (1) they have been reviewed by teachers, (2) they are interactive, and (3) they are free. If you click on the podcast link on the Ohio Treasure Chest’s home page, you find information about related podcasts and a blog.

The resources are categorized as:
• Language Arts - Reading
• Language Arts - Writing
• Mathematics
• Science
• Social Studies
• Technology
• General

The site includes a process for any user to add a resource (web site) to the treasure chest. And, in case you’re not sure if the web site you’re considering adding is good enough, there’s a link to a site—Gems vs. Junk—to help you decide.

The web sites are sorted into K-12 grade levels plus general. When you go to any category (e.g., English Language Arts – Reading – Grade 1) you find the content indicators for the grade level. You can choose web resources that support an indicator or indicators from other content areas that relate to the indicator. New areas that are being added are lesson plans, comments, and assessments. To give you an idea of the quantity of web sites in this treasure chest, in English Language Arts – Reading there are a total of 628 resources in K-12 and general and in the Mathematics category there are 1,281 resources.

The resources at this web site don’t stop there. There is a page of “Viewers, Helpers, and Plugins” should you need to download a utility such as Adobe Acrobat Reader, Java, or a PowerPoint viewer. There are tools that Eric Curts and the North Canton City Schools used to help implement the Ohio Technology Academic Content Standards in their district. And a page of ideas for how to use the Ohio Treasure Chest resources is also available.

This truly IS a treasure chest!

Picnik... Really Good Online Photo Editing

Wow! I’ve been testing a Web 2.0 application that’s a winner. Picnik (http://www.picnik.com/) is an online photo-editing tool. It does a very good job and it’s incredibly easy.

You can access photos you want to edit from your computer, from any web site, even Flickr, Picasa Web Albums, and Facebook. You can also email your photos from Picnik.

You can:
• fix underexposed photos,
• crop,
• rotate,
• resize,
• remove red-eye,
• sharpen,
• or apply special effects to your photos.

Because Picnik is an online tool, there is nothing to download and it works on Mac, Windows, and Linux operating systems. I tested the free version, although there will soon be an additional version for a fee. While the company is in beta testing, you can use all features for free. When the beta is completed, basic photo editing will be available in a free version and a premium (fee-based) version will be available with more tools, storage, and content.

The company provides some tools to make it even easier to use Picnik.
• Bookmarklet makes it possible for you to grab an image from any web site.
• The Firefox extension enables you to grab a screenshot of any web site. This could be very useful for handouts or blog posts.
• The Yahoo Widget allows you to upload a photo directly to Picnik by drag and drop.
• It’s easy to take an image from any web site to Picnik in one click in Firefox, Safari, and Explorer.

The company maintains a blog so you know what’s going on and a forum so you can ask for help.

Minimum system requirements are:
• Microsoft Windows XP or Mac OS X
• 1GHz processor or better
• at least 256 MB of RAM
• Internet Explorer version 5.0 or higher or
• Firefox 1.0 or higher.

Attending NECC… Virtually

I’d love to be at the NECC Conference in Atlanta this week!

The NECC conference has been around for approximately 30 years. It has workshops and other sessions, keynotes, and a very large vendor exhibit. ISTE sponsors the conference with the help of the Georgia Department of Education, Georgia Public Broadcasting and Georgia's Leadership Institute for School Improvement.

Topics at the conference include social networking and virtual worlds; 1-to-1 and mobile computing; 21st-century literacy and standards; and the globalization of education. Themes include school improvement, ethics and equity, technology infrastructure, professional learning, 21st-century teaching and learning, and virtual schooling/e-learning.

When the conference has concluded, we will be able to access selected content as video-on-demand and also as podcasts.

We can download handouts from some of the sessions now. So far I’ve found a list of web tools to use to differentiate instruction and also instructions for creating a virtual museum in PowerPoint (including a good looking building with halls and rooms to explore).

There’s a lot of blogging going on at the conference. I’ve been following David Warlick’s blog. He’s sharing his experiences as the day progresses. I feel like I’m at the conference!

Gliffy--an Online Diagramming Tool

I'm continuing my exploration of Web 2.0 tools. This week I tried several applications and found Gliffy to be the most helpful, friendly, and potentially useful.

http://www.gliffy.com/

Gliffy is an online diagramming tool. No download is necessary. I tried making a simple chart to see how it works. It was pretty easy. I exported it as a JPG. I can keep it as a private diagram or I can allow others to access it and work on it, too. I used flowchart symbols to create my (non-flowchart) diagram. There are, however, symbols for a variety of types of diagrams -- including network diagrams, mindmaps, seating charts, and floor plans -- in addition to flowcharts. The diagrams that you create are stored on Gliffy’s servers, although you can export them to your own computer, too.

You can sign up for a free account which is supported by ads. The free Basic account has limits on the number of private diagrams you may have and the amount of storage space you use. A Premium account (with a fee) has no ads and less limits.

You and/or your students could use this tool from school or home... anywhere you have Internet access. Try this tool for yourself at http://www.gliffy.com/ and read more about it.

Schoolr... a handy reference tool

I’m checking out a variety of Web 2.0 tools this summer. This week I found one that is a useful reference tool. It’s called schoolr (http://www.schoolr.com).

From this one web site you can perform searches in…
Google,
Wikipedia,
Dictionary,
Thesaurus,
Acronym,
Urban Dictionary,
Encyclopedia, and
Book Summary.
It will translate text between a variety of languages.
It can convert a wide variety of units.

The “r” in schoolr stands for research. The site’s blog indicates that schoolr was launched in December 2006 by a university student in Canada and that it is available in both English and French. The author of the site states that he is receptive to adding other useful reference tools to the site.

Schoolr is a handy one-stop reference utility.

Virtual Field Trips

Have you viewed some of the virtual field trips available on the Internet?

From ancient Indian mounds to paintings at the Louvre to a tenement to mummies… your students will enjoy their field trips as they’re learning new information. They can share their new knowledge with their parents as they examine these virtual field trips with them at home afterwards.

I have provided a glimpse into three web sites and just a few of the links available from each. In addition, I have listed some individual sites worth checking. Enjoy!


eSchoolNews
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStory.cfm?ArticleID=7097
An article in eSchoolNews talks about the use of video, animation, and graphics to showcase places and events from the past. View ancient Indian mounds, museum exhibitions, or a Mandan village.

Earthworks: Virtual Explorations of the Ancient Ohio Valley
http://www.earthworks.uc.edu

Learning Sites Inc.
http://www.learningsites.com

On-A-Slant Virtual Village
http://onaslant.ndsu.edu


Edutopia
http://www.edutopia.org/node/4073

Tour Colonial Williamsburg, the solar system, or the Louvre. View the universe through Chandra’s X-ray astronomy. Learn about the lives of the immigrants who lived in a New York tenement in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Check out the electronic field trips from Ball State University. The series for this next school year includes topics in ecosystems, civil rights, migration, and science and mathematics. These field trips include “webisodes,” website, classroom lessons, and two live, 90-minutes TV broadcasts. (There is a fee for schools to participate.)


Internet4Classrooms
http://www.internet4classrooms.com/vft.htm

In addition to many links to virtual field trips, this site provides lots of good ideas for educators who are considering using virtual field trips.

Visit the Smithsonian’s collaboration with the National Zoo for a walk along their Asian Trail.
http://www.si.edu/natzoo

Watch the Franklin Institute Science Museum’s view of the human brain as it follows bicyclists on the Tour de France.
http://sln.fi.edu/


Additional Sites

Virtual Field Trips
http://campus.fortunecity.com/newton/40/field.html

The Teacher’s Guide: Virtual Field Trips
http://www.theteachersguide.com/virtualtours.html

The “OOPS” Virtual Field Trip Page!
http://oops.bizland.com/vtours.htm

VolcanoWorld Virtual Field Trips
http://volcano.und.edu/vwdocs/kids/vrtrips.html

Geology Field Trips
http://www.uh.edu/~jbutler/anon/anontrips.html

Field Trips
http://www.ibiblio.org/cisco/trips.html

Apple Learning Interchange 2007 Virtual Field Trips
http://edcommunity.apple.com/ali/search.php?text=virtual+field+trips

Virtual Field Trips
http://www.oswego.org/staff/cchamber/webdesign/virtual_fieldtrips.htm

Homework Spot Field Trip Archive
http://www.homeworkspot.com/fieldtrip/

Lesson Plans, Interactive Web Sites, and Other Good Ideas

Three sources on the web are highlighting some very good web sites for the classroom. Check out these resources for all grades--both elementary and secondary--and for teachers as well.


TEACHERSFIRST web site (http://www.teachersfirst.com/index.cfm)…

http://www.zerofootprintkids.com/kids_home.aspx
Zero Footprint: Kids Calculator - Grades 3 - 8
What impact does your lifestyle—and that of your students--have on our environment? This interactive online calculator can help your students look at their use of natural resources, land, water, and trees after they answer questions about transportation, what they eat, what they throw away, what they use, and home and school. They can then compare their “carbon footprint” to the averages in other nations.

http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1986/4/86.04.07.x.html
Painless Writing - Grades 3 - 9
This site has both old and new ways for teachers to get students writing painlessly. The procedures, lessons, prompts, and interesting combinations of approaches may be just what you’ve been trying to find.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/specials/2005/hurricane_katrina/default.stm
Hurricanes - Grades 1 - 8
Use an interactive whiteboard with this site’s animated guide to hurricanes to understand this type of weather. There are also quizzes, pictures of Hurricane Katrina’s destruction, reference information, and other helps.

http://www.history.org/media/interactive.cfm
Colonial Williamsburg Interactive - Grades 3 - 12
Your students will enjoy playing games and learning about Williamsburg at this interactive site. You can show coinage and Gilbert’s paintings. Looking at Queen Elizabeth’s visits to Williamsburg in 1957 and again in 2007 opens the door for examining the differences in our world over 50 years. You can even explore the Constitution interactively.


KDP ROUNDUP (http://www.kdp.org/)…

http://www.lessonplanz.com
Lesson Plans for Preservice and Beginning Teachers
Here’s a site which has thousands of free online lesson plans. You can search by grade or subject or both.

http://www.keepschoolssafe.org
Keeping Students Safe
Information about school safety from the playground to gangs is available at this site.

ANNENBERG MEDIA (http://www.learner.org/index.html)…

http://learner.org/redirect/march/view14.html
Annenberg Viewing Options
See an overview of Annenberg’s viewing options, including their free Video on Demand.

http://learner.org/redirect/march/aecl6.html
The Arts in Every Classroom: A Video Library, K-5
Integrate art, mathematics, and science.

http://learner.org/redirect/march/sim7.html
Surprises in Mind
This documentary looks at mathematical creativity and the brain. Art, architecture, music, and a 12-year research study all play a role in looking at instruction designed to help children use their natural mathematical inclinations.

http://learner.org/redirect/march/geom8.html
Learning Math: Geometry
View polygons, dissections, symmetry, and more.

http://learner.org/redirect/march/math12.html
Mathematics: What's the Big Idea?
Examine the use of geometry in art and architecture. Visit classrooms where students are engaging in hands-on activities.

Shakespeare and Web 2.0 in the Classroom

Web 2.0 Applications in the Classroom

I just read an interesting article by Brian Benzinger called Back to School with the Class of Web 2.0: Part 3. He shares stories of teachers and students who are using blogs, photo sharing, podcasts, wikis, videos, and other Web 2.0 applications in their classrooms. Very interesting article.

A couple of quotations from the article illustrate some of the experiences…

… many students became so attached to their blogs that they made it a responsibility to keep consistent.

… “hot-spot learning objects.” … he created a volcano ... If you are to hover over one of the volcano’s [sic], a Flickr note will appear containing more information about it.

Shakespeare Podcasts

Teachers and students who are studying Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing can download—for free--a podcast of the play from a UK government web site. The play was performed at the Globe Theatre in London for younger teenagers. Interviews with the director and the actors are also available for download.

Read the BBC News article about this podcast and other related podcasts. Links for downloading the podcasts are available in the sidebar to the right of the article.

Copyright and Digital Media

Whenever we or our students are working with digital media (e.g., clip art, photos, music, text, movies, scanned information, web sites), we need to be aware of copyright and fair use laws. Bernajean Porter’s DigiTales web site--a great tool to use when combining the arts of storytelling and digital creativity--provides some very helpful resources, including copyright information.

Learn about...

• Creative Commons licenses,
• access a variety of permission forms,
• read a summary of fair use guidelines for education,
• learn how to cite web sites you’ve used, and
• learn about the various types of copyright by following the links on this web page...

http://www.digitales.us/resources/copyright_savvy.php

Podcasts: Resources, Tutorials, and Classroom Uses

In January, I listed some podcast directories in this blog. Each one of the directories listed interesting podcasts in a variety of areas. This month I am sharing podcasts or information about them with respect to three categories: resources, tutorials, and podcasts that were either created in the classroom or for the classroom. Both students and teachers are producing some awesome podcasts which can be accessed on YouTube, TeacherTube, iTunes, and other directories. Some innovative, interesting, and exciting ideas are showing up in podcasting. Read on!


Podcasting Resources

Odiogo
http://www.odiogo.com/
This product automatically converts text to audio files which can be played on MP3 players, including iPods.

Skypecasting
http://www.cscout.com/blog/2006/10/02/trend-skypecasting.html
Millions of registered users make free phone calls over the Internet using Skype software. Users can now have conversations with up to 100 people using Skypecasting. The conversation can then be recorded and shared like a podcast. Some interesting uses for Skypecasting include mystery writer Michael Connelly talking about his newest book, networking calls for business, and a live concert by the Dutch band Johan. Moodle even has Skypecast as a new feature.

How to YouTube Podcast
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNQLDgkUXvk&mode=related&search=
This video shows how to watch YouTube video subscriptions on an iPod.


Podcasting Tutorials…

Learning Podcasting
http://www.wise-women.org/tutorials/podcast/
This tutorial provides an overview of podcasting with sufficient detail that you develop an understanding of what is involved with creating and publishing your own podcasts. The information is not geared toward educators. However, it is certainly well worth reading and following the provided links.

The Podcast Recipe: Producing a Successful Show
http://seminars.apple.com/seminarsonline/podcast/apple/index.html
Apple, Inc. has produced a three-part video tutorial for creating, producing, and promoting podcasts. You can learn about different types of microphones and how to use them, how to decide what content goes where in your podcast program, and how to use GarageBand, iWeb, and iTunes to help with the whole process. This series focuses on using Macintosh products; however, information and recommendations appropriate to podcasts created on any computer are included. Although not directed to educators specifically, all three sessions have good ideas that the classroom teacher can use.

How to Podcast
http://www.voxmedia.org/wiki/How_to_Podcast
This section of the VoxMedia wiki is not finished yet, but the links are enough to recommend it for individuals who are looking for introductory instructions.

Audio Podcasting
http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=c02f9902576ec55ebbe7
This video provides very detailed instructions for creating an audio podcast using mypodcast.com and mypodcast recorder.

Podcast Tutorial: How to Post a Podcast
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBH9l_6iPEM
This video tells how to use PodOmatic to post a podcast to the iTunes Store. You can record your podcast directly to the web using this free service. It works with both Windows and Mac computers.

Creating Video Podcasts on Mac OS X
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/tutorials/videopodcasts.html
This tutorial provides instructions for creating a video podcast on a Macintosh and posting it to iTunes.

Podcasting for iTunes & iTS podcast directory
http://www.mvldesign.com/itunespodcast.html
This podcasting tutorial guides you through creating a podcast of your own (on either Macs or Windows computers) and posting it on the iTunes Store podcast directory.


iLife Tutorials for Macs

iLife GarageBand: Recording a Podcast (Part 1)
http://www.zoom-in.com/tutorials/Apple/garageband/recording_a_podcast/index.php?part=1

iLife GarageBand: Recording a Podcast (Part 2)
http://www.zoom-in.com/tutorials/Apple/garageband/recording_a_podcast/index.php?part=2

Creating a Podcast Page
http://www.zoom-in.com/tutorials/Apple/iweb/podcast/index.php


Podcasting in the Classroom

Frog Dissection and Technology
http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=3b337800875b5d382a07
Watch grade 8 students document their frog dissections.

Guerrilla Season Book Blog Project
http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=c4d7336496819a46a1b6
A junior high school history teacher decided to teach the Civil War through a historical novel and a blog. In the book, the Civil War is seen through the eyes of two teenage boys. This video is an overview of the project.

Human Survival on Mars
http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=923770b2c360eefa2674
The host interviews astrophysicist Dr. Devon Hamilton about how human beings will be able to live on Mars.

Poetry and Multimedia
http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=f7736089c757404650e4
Junior high school students present poetry using multimedia tools.

Public Service Announcements in Health Class
http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=2cea2f369918c5e1e12b
Grade 8 students produce public service announcements in health class.

Real Life Applications of Parabolas
http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=1daabe3de1d76a6739cc
Students explore parabolas in real life.

Student Animations
http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=e7c3f6f3f1f37029303c
Students create Flash© animations.

Venus: A Hollister View T7
http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=9ab842e05382dc235f69
Students share information about Venus in an effort to interest other students.

Variety of Ideas for Using Moodle

In a previous blog entry, I talked about Moodle… what it is, its capabilities, learning how to use it, and a small bit about actually using Moodle in the classroom. Today I’m sharing web sites which include information useful to both users and administrators of Moodle and which give some ideas about how to use Moodle.

If you currently use Moodle or if you’re thinking about using it, I think you’ll find some interesting ideas here.


Moodlebug: Josie Fraser’s Moodle blog: Moodle and Learning Communities
http://fraser.typepad.com/moodle/
Josie Frazer, a consultant based in the United Kingdom, operates a blog dedicated to Moodle and learning communities. Periodic posts discuss Moodle, including its various versions, and customizing it to serve an individual or a school or district’s needs.

Moodle Journal
http://moodletraining.blogspot.com/
Bromley College uses Moodle. Their web site discusses using Moodle and training to use it. Topics may include

"using podcasts, streaming, downloads, training, metadata, scorm, lessons, quizzes, forums, chat, journals and assignments."

Some of their experiments are quite interesting (e.g., combining Second Life with Moodle).

The site polled readers as to which Moodle features they found most useful. The results for 54 persons—when I reviewed them recently—were:

• Forums 38.9%
• Assignments 20.4%
• Quizzes 16.7%
• Lessons 14.8%
• Journals 3.7%
• Workshops 3.7%
• Chat rooms 1.9%
• Choice polls 0%

Shambles
http://www.shambles.net/pages/learning/ict/moodle/
This Moodle section is one part of a web site which supports schools in 17 countries in South East Asia. Several interviews discussing Moodle are quite interesting. Check these:

• Gareth Davies / Moodlestick
• Drew Buddie / Moodle user
• Ray Lawrence / Moodle training, and
• Michelle Moore / introduction to Moodle.

Gareth Davies: Moodlestick
http://www.blip.tv/file/135552/
Gareth Davies discusses the Moodlestick in a video interview. His company produces a USB jump drive on which Moodle has been installed. With this you can learn about Moodle at home or practice using it where and when best suits you. A web site (http://www.moodlestick.co.uk) for teachers provides support.

Drew Buddie: Long-time Moodle User
http://www.blip.tv/file/135687/
Another video interview—this one with Drew Buddie—allows you to hear someone who has been using Moodle for several years talk about it. You can visit his school site (http://www.merapolis.co.uk/moodle/).

Ray Lawrence: Moodle Training
http://www.blip.tv/file/135605/
Ray Lawrence is an official Moodle partner. His business, HowToMoodle, helps schools as they install and implement Moodle. In this video interview, he explains how Moodle is developed.

Michelle Moore: An Introduction to Moodle
http://educationbridges.net/k12opensource/?p=9
Michelle Moore describes, in an audio interview, Moodle, how it is used, and how this affects education. The interview is long, but contains information useful to both users and administrators of Moodle.

Moodle E-Learning Course Development: A complete guide to successful learning using Moodle
http://www.packtpub.com/moodle/book
This web site describes a book (also available as a PDF) which covers:

• installing Moodle
• using Moodle
• designing Moodle courses and
• best educational practices for using Moodle.

The emphasis goes beyond using the technology and focuses on

“better teaching, more motivated students, and more successful courses.”

You can learn how to create courses

“where the group works through the classes with a shared schedule, or where individual students work through at their own pace, or courses where students are free to explore the different topics in their own time.”

e-subjects.co.uk
http://e-subjects.co.uk/
This site has a variety of courses that you can download to use in your Moodle… free of charge. The courses are designed for the UK; however, many could be used anywhere.

Moodle Statistics
http://moodle.org/stats/
If statistics sound boring, check out this site about Moodle and its users anyway! You'll be glad you did.

The Edu Techno Revolution: A Classroom Without Walls
http://edutechnologyrevolution.blogspot.com/2007/04/rss-and-moodle-or-your-website-blog-etc.html
Moodle is one of several topics discussed in this blog. The blog entries which cover Moodle topics could be called “tech tips for Moodle”… a variety of useful ideas and techniques are explained. One interesting idea involves posting an RSS feed in Moodle.

Techlearning blog: Wiki, Blog or Moodle?
http://www.techlearning.com/blog/2006/10/wiki_blog_or_moodle.php
Moodle is similar to Blackboard. Courses can be organized by topic or by date. Students can use wikis, blogs, and threaded discussions in addition to many other resources. Moodle is easy to use. You can start with just one or two resources and add others as need and/or time suggests.

eduspaces: e-learning 2.0
http://eduspaces.net/moodlenews/weblog/
This blog includes postings from http://moodletraining.blogspot.com, interesting comments from an individual at Bromley College as he experiments with Moodle, experiments include Second Life and a vlog from an avatar. Interesting reading!

opensource classroom: I know what the title says, but don’t box me in man!
http://opensource.christophercraft.com/?p=58
The author shares how he succeeded in getting Slideshare to work with Moodle.

Blog Juice for Educational Technology: A Moodle Keynote Conversation
http://www.schwoebel.net/wpjoe/index.php/2007/04/23/a-moodle-keynote-conversation/
Teachers list their favorite Moodle features… with comments.

From where I hover… Information and Community for Educators using M.U.V.E.’s
http://www.simteach.com/blog/?cat=11
Another educator experiments with Moodle and Second Life.

Mr. Fjelstrom’s Geometry Blog
http://mrfsgeometry.wordpress.com/2007/02/26/moodle/
Whether you’re into geometry or not, check out this site and follow some of the links. You’ll find lots of good ideas for any course.

anne marie’s ls590 blog: some firm ground in the metaflow…
http://blogs.slis.ua.edu/slis/courses/ls590/spring2007/maccall/01/03/wordpress/?cat=18
This educator examines growth in Moodle course content over a two-year period. She shares some very good ideas.

Classroom Meets Technology: Kraemer’s Tech Blog
http://www.wayzata.k12.mn.us/sunsethill/kraemer/?p=41
I think I found a really good Moodle training blog! The links at this site should help to provide a sound foundation for an educator who cares about pedagogy and who wants to learn how to use Moodle well.

moodlicio.us: Support site for K-12 educators who use Moodle
http://moodlicio.us/
This is two sites in one… a blog about using Moodle and a link to a web site where you can find tips for using Moodle in the classroom.

MACUL Conference Blog: WebQuest and Moodle: The Perfect Pair!
http://macul.edublogs.org/archives/100
This educator talks about using webquests with Moodle. Excellent idea!

Sites to Check for SMART Board Ideas

SMART Boards--and other interactive white boards--continue to increase in popularity as classroom technology tools. Ideas for using SMART Boards in all grades and subjects can be found (http://www.waukesha.k12.wi.us/WIT/SmartBoard/specificapps.htm).

• Save lessons for students who have been absent.
• Record short tutorials for using various software packages and then burn these tutorials to CDs.
• Prepare lectures and training sessions and then burn them to CDs to use as lesson plans for substitute teachers.

At least one school district suggests having students use the SMART Board to present their research projects. If these presentations are recorded, they then can be played for parents during parent-teacher conferences. And, in fact, if the students are involved in the conference, the students could go to draft presentation to make modifications so parents could see the teaching/learning process in action.

YouTube has some interesting videos showing SMART Boards. At http://youtube.com/watch?v=6owh452aJCI you don't have to understand the speaker's native language to appreciate his demonstration of Google Earth. And the simulation at http://youtube.com/watch?v=1l2tDiyRWvw&mode=related&search= is very interesting to watch.

Some of the videos do a very nice job of illustrating the possibilities for using SMART Boards to enhance teaching. I recommend watching these three...

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAiEOGMqGjQ
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjdNPMZJbLs
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26_KTWzVX8E&mode=related&search=

And, finally, I cannot close without listing some additional web sites to visit for lesson plans, activities, and templates. Enjoy!

• http://its.leesummit.k12.mo.us/smartboard.htm
• http://www.edwardsly.com/character.htm
• http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00001794.shtml
• http://www.ict.oxon-lea.gov.uk/whiteboards.html
• http://www.internet4classrooms.com/smart_board.htm
• http://www.kenton.k12.ky.us/SmartBoard/smartboardindex.htm
• http://www.theteachersguide.com/SmartBoard%20Templates.htm
• http://www.theteachersguide.com/SmartBoards.htm

Lots of Labels

This week I attached labels to each of the entries in this blog. If you (or I!) want to view a previous post to check something, we can search for the appropriate label. Just scroll down the list of labels and click on one. The blog(s) containing that label will be displayed. All new entries added to the blog will have labels. This should be helpful! :)