Jen Wagner Steels (not a typo) the Show!

Today I facilitated a session introducing some faculty members to Web 2.0. This was a new PD topic for our school and the participants had no prior knowledge of Web 2.0. In fact they hadn’t a clue what it might mean. It reminded me of my own reaction a little more than a year ago when I first heard the term Web 2.0. I couldn’t pin down a definition. After much blog-reading, conference-attending and experimentation I finally have a handle on the term. So I ask, how do we typically describe something that is new and improved? I might hear, “This new generation of flat screen TV lets you view in TV in high definition.” New generation, an improvement, that’s what Web 2.0 is. It is a new generation of online internet tools. (see jeff Utecht’s video explanation) Most of these tools have two things in common that enhance internet user experience. Firstly, they are free. Secondly, they embody some collaborative features. In short, Web 2.0 is to the internet of yesterday what Vista is to Windows XP. It is new and improved. (theoretically)

The mystery of Web 2.0 quickly disappeared. It was now time to demonstrate some of the features and benefits. I opened Delicious to the CreekViewElementary page and displayed the contents on the Promethean board. I explained the benefits to using this kind of system for bookmarking over the traditional ‘favorites’ . Delicious links are available any time and anywhere you have internet access. Next I made four simple requests.

1. Each participant had to download and install the Firefox browser.
2. They had to sign up for a Gmail account.
3. They had to set up a Delicious account.
4. Next they imported the Delicious add-on to Firefox.

This took about 15 minutes and they were able to help one another in the process. Next I asked them to enter voicethread.com and then click the handy little delicious TAG button now found in their browser tool bar. I just love this feature. I explained how tags are used to file things by topic. The best part about tagging is being able to file one site under many topic headers. For instance, I put Voicethread under interactive, multimedia, projectbasedlearning, and web2tool. Now when I click on interactive, it appears as one of the options.

I pulled up an example of a 4th grade language arts project in Voicethread. The teachers could easily see how VT could be used within the classroom and even as a collaborative grade level project. Once teachers realize they has the necessary computer skills they get very excited about the prospects of using new tools. The necessary computer skills are very minimal and are virtually the same as the skills required to send an email. This is really another wonderful feature of Web 2.0. It is easy to use. Ahhh, finally and it keeps getting even easier. It really does. At this stage is you can read, type, attach pictures or documents and are willing to follow instructions, then you can enjoy all the web has to offer.

At this point, the participants felt fairly comfortable and were beginning to grasp the intrinsic collaboration component found in Web 2.0 tools. Suddenly they noticed a dialog box open on the Promethean screen from my laptop. It said, ‘ready?’ Oh, that’s my good friend Jen Wagner from California Skyping in to join our session. I will let her know we are ready. I typed back, ‘OK’.  I clicked the green call button and we connected. Jennifer Wagner is so warm and friendly she instantly gained the groups’ attention and started us on a journey exploring Google applications. She started with Google Reader and had everyone subscribing to her blog, jenuinetech.com/blog! She is one smart cookie. She spent 45 minutes with us, covering Google-Calendar and Docs. Jennifer has an amazing way of bringing concepts to life with spot on analogies and concrete examples that teachers can relate to. She was the highlight of the session. Why? Because she is an amazing teacher and because she was speaking to us from California and it felt like she was in the room. Not only did the participants learn about Google apps they also saw the wonder of Skype in action. I was able to walk around and check on progress and offer assistance. It was a wonderful experience for me and I think now, it is the only way to really get teachers interested in the power of edtech.

Jen, I owe you one! You did ‘steel’ the show by strengthening the case for integrating technology. Now if we can just get one or two of them to listen to Women of Web 2 on Tuesday nights from 9-10PM EST … If you are a teacher who thrives on new forms of communication and enjoys participating in lively chats about the latest greatest teaching tools then you really must tune in to Jen’s Show on Tuesday nights. She and 3 other stellar women host a variety of edtech gurus. You listen and chat while they have a conversation. If you do decide to test the water by joining the chat on Tuesday nights please say hello to me (sendkathy) and Jen (jenuinetech).

Mathcasts 500 Project from Math Playground

Tuesday evening with Women of Web 2, yielded the usual rich chat room conversation and engaging speaker content. Colleen King a math teacher/consultant and the host of Math Playground talked about the Mathcast 500 Project. Her tagline rings true for me, “When students become teachers, learning become inevitable.” The Mathcast concept makes full use of Voicethreads technology. User friendly, this web-based teaching tool can turn students into effective peer teachers. This new project promises to become a repository of student created resources. I did some experimenting today and my students seem to be very receptive to recoding their reflections about math activities. I did run into a technical glitch. In some cases the recording cut off after only several seconds so I wasn’t able to complete the project. Here is an example of what some students created to explain how they use Rocket Math. If Voicethreads can be this effective for math, just imagine the numerous other ways it could be used by students to reinforce and extend learning. Colleen’s Math Playground is deep and wide. I plan to return regularly for the latest math tools.

podcamp NYC already on the calendar for ’08

I recently received an email asking me to hold the dates February 29 and March 1 open for the second annual podcamp NYC. I happened to be visiting a friend in the city last Spring an was able to attend the first conference which I blogged about. NYC is undoubtedly a center of creativity and ingenuity so you can only imagine the dynamics of this mass collaboration. While podcamp NYC is primarily geared toward business interests and monitization, it also has an educational element. Sometimes educators don’t think big enough when it comes to putting together the best possible programs for their schools (me included). Here you will learn about many innovations, new techniques and find great human resources to help you with technical to production related issues. Podcast for Teachers, Techpod was represented and I would imagine they will be back since NYC is in Fordham’s backyard. A crew froom WorldBridges was also there to capture the essence of the unconference. (click the link to view funny informative interviews.)So if you feel like a weekend in the big city make it educational too…save the dates!

One caveat, the last minute venue they chose last year was not ideal. I hope this time they can find a better space; conducive to mingling and hanging out.

tags:
edtech, pdcastforteachers, kathy shields, ripplingpond,poodcamp,podcampnyc,podcampnyc

Visit me at NECC on Monday or Tuesday

I will be attending NECC this week and look forward to meeting any readers who will be in Atlanta for this big event. Here is my schedule:
Creative Podcasting for the Elementary Set
[Birds-of-a-Feather : ] (41503414)

I invite all those who are interested in using podcasting in the classroom. You may be interested in enabling your students to become podcast producers or perhaps you want to incorporate podcasts as part of a critical listening skill builder. I have had queries from High School teachers and I welcome anyone interested in podcast curriculum integration. I know most about the k5 level but chance are, you will meet up with someone else who understands the needs of your grade level and you can collaborate. The important thing is to build a support network and share ideas to take back to the classroom in the Fall.

* Scheduled:
o Monday, 6/25/2007, 4:45pm–6:15pm
GWCC Innovation & Creativity Lounge

Podcasting, Professional Development, and Curricular Content
[Poster : Traditional] (41504857)

* Scheduled:
o Tuesday, 6/26/2007, 1:00pm–3:00pm
GWCC Level 5, Galleria 37

I have posted a podcast version of my Poster Session presentation to my classroom podcast site: small voices

The actual Session will not contain audio, rather my mp3 will be playing a variety of actual professional development adio podcasts. Each session has a different objective. The Birds-of-a-Feather is geared toward podcasters and would-be podcast producers who would like to compare notes or ask questions. The Poster session is intended to help persuade teachers to spend some of their valuable time listening to professional development podcasts in order to enrich their classroom curriculum using edtech.

tags:
edtech, n07s241, kathy shields, ripplingpond,necc2007,necc07,n07s321

Wonderful Resource in the Making

This summer I vowed to get in shape. Walking the halls and pacing the classroom just don’t cut it. I like to walk in the morning before it gets too hot and humid. Today I cued up one of my favorite professional development podcasts, PFT, Podcast for Teachers, Techpod, episode 85. This episode is 50 minutes long so I new I’d get some great exercise for brain and body thanks to Dr. Kathy and Mark who host this program.I was very interested to hear about their friend in Asia, Chris Smith. He is taking all of the great web-based teacher resources and harnessing them in a new way.

Out in cyberspace you find numerous podcatchers like itunes, ippoder etc. You even find directories of podcasts designed to collect educasts as resources. What you haven’t been able to find until now is a way to subscribe to a topic and receive all of the relevant related podcasts, vodcasts and blog posts as they are added. Chris has done just that. This is a fantastic idea. Here’s how you apply the concept to your classroom. Take a topic, such as earthquakes and check Chris’s listing in the Shanbles Forest of ‘Theme BLOGS’. The listing is a table and next to each topic are several links. The orange link will give you the feed information. You can copy and past this into any feed reader you use.

If you are unfamiliar with feed readers and how they are able to collect recent posts from all of the blogs you like to follow, then you must do a search on feedreader or go to www.technorati.com or www.feedburner.com. The other button will take you directly to the blog page containing all of the posts. Remember a post can be in any form, audio, video or text or any combination. The wonderful thing about blog posts is that they are archived by date.

If you are currently a podcaster or perhaps you have produced material that could be posted as a resource then you should consider sharing it here. Personally I think this repository has more promise than teachertube. Of course you can post you content in both places. Check it out and let me know what you think of the possibilities.

clipped from www.shambles.net   The Shambles Forest of ‘Theme BLOGS‘ (a feedback form is in the top left menu) This page offers a list of the “Theme BLOGS” that started growing all around the outside of the Shambles website in March 2007 … in much the same way as a forest might grow around a township. In the first instance these Blogs showcase online (free) videos that support a particular theme but they may well evolve into other content and media. So why use Blogs rather than the regular webpages on Shambles for this particular growth? mainly because of the social aspect of Blogs which allows visitors to leave comments and suggestions on any or all postings also for the ability to subscribe to individual Blog pages using RSS in order to be automatically informed of new additions … and eventually save you time

tags:
edtech, education, kathy shields, ripplingpond, Podcast for Teachers 2007,educast,shambles

Podcasting Homework to Students

Allanah never ceases to amaze me with the creativity and simplicity she uses to come up with ideas for podcasting. Who would think that a bad cold might turn into a podcast? Listen and watch her most recent post and once you’re hooked, here is the player for the rest of them! A visit to Allanah’s page is like a visit to New Zealand. It’s an adventure.
http://allanah.podomatic.com/

tags:
edtech, education, kathy shields, ripplingpond, Allahnah,educast,New Zealand

Friend or better still . . . foe

Future of Education, unconference link

When is foe better than friend? When foe is the tag for the Future of Education unconference held last week. I was on vacation and unable to participate live but the conference attendr.com map clearly illustrates the global-breadth of the unconference attendees. Below is a clip from presenter Jay Cross. Just reading this paragraph should give you the sense that interactivity and conversation are essential elements of this conference. You will not hear or detect any hint of monologue, diatribe, lecture or any other form of lopsided conversations. This isn’t an unloading of acquired knowledge but rather a synthesis and building of something unexpected and new. It’s open and it’s exciting.

The depth of this unconference can fairly be measured by close examination of the international session-leader list, which I invite you to do, and by observing the distinctive leadership style of unconference director, George Siemens of The University of Manitoba in Canada. Thanks to an elearning partnership with Elluminate Live, all of the conference speakers and interactive chat room conversation was captured and is available at the click of your mouse. The best part is that although you may have missed the live sessions, you may participate in real time with followup conversations in the forums.

George Siemens is reaching out to the world. His approach to online learning is the epitome of the connectivist philosophy he espouses. He lives and breathes connectivism and it is contagious.

If you enjoy thinking out of the box and long to be connected to a global educational network, then you really owe it to yourself to listen and learn. I will warn you, however, that the adrenalin rush of experiencing this unconventional open access to knowledge is as whimsical as watching new cloud formations take shape, it may become habit forming! Whether or not you agree with or take issue with some of the revolutionary ideas discussed in The Future of Education unconference, please blog about your thoughts and add to the formation of knowledge.

clipped from ltc.umanitoba.ca Presenter: Jay Cross Education is empowered as never before. Web 2.0 connects people the world over and encourages active participation. Incoming students have no fear of technology and are self-reliant “entrepeneurial learners.” Let’s blend these elements and brainstorm the possibilities. What will globally interconnected education look like? David Snowden’s remarks on brain plasticity in children made me want to get every six-year old a phone pal with whom to speak another language. Each one teach one. Reflect on this, and come prepared to share your ideas. Conference resources (for those unable to attend the session, or those wanting to share with colleagues):Attendr: http://attendr.com/foe Moodle: http://ltc.umanitoba.ca/moodle/course/view.php?id=12 Pageflakes link: http://www.pageflakes.com/ltc/10987119 Twitter site: http://twitter.com/foe2007 Conference Podcast feed: http://ltc.umanitoba.ca/foe-2007/podcast/index.xml

tags:
edtech, education, kathy shields, ripplingpond, foe 2007,educast,elluminate

Please post your favorites:

I am trying to put together a comprehensive list of favorite podcasts with your help. I often wonder if there are resources that I could be using in my classroom that are elluding me because they are hiding on a hidden server or perhaps they simply aren’t tagged for searching. Help stock this database of favorite professional development and student enrichment educasts (podcasts or vodcasts with educational roots). I have already posted a few as examples. If you think of any fields that would make this a better resource, let me know. I reserve the right to limit the entries to child appropriate material. educast database

tags:
edtech, education, kathy shields, ripplingpond, k12,educast,podcast

Are you a listener or a producer?

Join my ning and tell me about your favorite Professional Development podcast and or any podcasts you have used in your classroom to enrich the curriculum.

I have been creating podasts for a little over a year now. I started with audio only and my most recent posts have been all video. You might even call them vodcasts. In truth, I prefer the term “educast” for any audio or visual media created by a non profit for the purpose of informing teachers or students, or for the purpose of creating an opportunity for refelction of an authentic student-centered project.

One thing I have discovered is that there are those who produce “educasts” and then there are those who simply listen or watch. As in blogging, the writer and reader are equally important. After all if a person blogs in the forest, if there is no one to read it, did thery actual say anything? Well, you know what I mean! Audience and Performer have a symbiotic relationship. It is this relationship I’d like to explore.

At NECC this summer I will host a Poster Session. The purpose is to introduce people to the possibility of using educasts for professional development and for curricular enrichment in the classroom. It occurred to me that not all people want to become podcasters, just as all people have no desire to climb Kilimanjaro, but there are people would like to read about those who have made the climb and learn from their experiences.

Educasters produce content with an audience in mind. Take EdTech Talk . They have over 70 episodes and numerous examples of what schools are doing with technology to benefit students. This kind of professional development is cutting edge. You can respond to it, interact with the producers and add to it from your own experiences. The trouble is, you may not be familiar with this great resource.

How do people find out about educasts available for professional development or curricular engagement? Come to NECC and visit my Poster Session. I will show you how to find your way around podcatchers, itunes and more. You will leave with a list of some great resources and links to each one of them.

So if you haven’t explored the world of educasting stay tuned, and if you are a veteran listener or podcaster please share your insights via http://educasts.ning.com

tags:
edtech, education, kathy shields, ripplingpond, k12,EdTech Talk

How to become a Google Educator

Weekly webcasts by WOW 2.0 reached a new high when Google Guru Cristen Frodella joined the discussion. A chat archive complete with links accompanies the podcast for this fast paced webcast. If you are an educator you owe it to yourself to drop in on these cutting edge conversations about edtech every Tuesday from 9-10 EST on the Education Bridges site.

clipped from www.edtechtalk.com Join Jen, Vicki, Sharon and Cheryl as we chat with Cristin Frodella from Google. Learn about the new and exciting things happening with Google Educators. Also, you will be amazed at Dr. Cheri Toledo’s class of doctoral students who had their final in the chat room. Over 43 participated in the chat room and 20 of them belonged to Cheri’s class. It was a blast. The Women of Web 2.0 gave out A’s for class participation.

tags:
edtech, education, kathy shields, ripplingpond, k12,ripplingpond,Google