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- absolutely intercultural!
absolutely intercultural 117 +++ Chinese food +++ Belgium habits +++ Hong Kong adventure +++
Let us take you on a culinary audio-trip to China and Belgium. Yes, let us talk about food! In previous shows we’ve talked about going abroad, about culture shocks and the different habits in foreign countries. But apart from the language and the attitudes of the other culture, what about the local cuisine? What happens [...]Sat, 04 Sep 2010 10:00:59 +0000
absolutely intercultural 116 +++ Languages Out There +++ Jason West +++ Verge +++ China +++ Morocco +++ Chantiers Sociaux Marocains +++
absolutely out there Back in March we talked about the Languages Out There approach by Jason West which consists of preparing students in the classroom and then sending them out with mini tasks which involve interacting with the general public outside the classroom. For those classes not based in English speaking countries Jason suggests organising [...]Fri, 20 Aug 2010 10:00:01 +0000
absolutely intercultural 115 +++ academic integration +++ incoming students +++ buddy system +++ cultural diversity +++
What can universities do to integrate foreign students interculturally? The Council of Europe’s White Paper on Intercultural Dialogue demands that “Higher-education institutions play an important role in fostering intercultural dialogue, through their education programmes, as actors in broader society and as sites where intercultural dialogue is put into practice”. So, let us look at how [...]Fri, 06 Aug 2010 10:00:08 +0000
absolutely intercultural 114 +++ China +++ Verge +++ LTS Training +++ Intercultural course design +++ Pilbeam +++ Comfortable Communication +++
In this show we’re going to go to the UK and China to find out about opportunities for learning more about intercultural communication. We’ll be meeting Richard Wood, one of the founders of Verge, a cross-cultural communication company based in Hefei, China. We’ll also be meeting with Adrian Pilbeam who runs two courses to help people [...]Fri, 23 Jul 2010 10:00:09 +0000
absolutely intercultural 113 +++ infected with the travel bug +++ daad go-out! campaign +++ strategic internationalisation +++
Today the whole show is dedicated to the go-out campaign, of BMBF and DAAD, the German Academic Exchange Service, which encourages young people to spend a semester abroad. I spoke to students and organisers and asked them how to plan your stay abroad, which skills are needed and what benefits we can expect to get [...]Fri, 09 Jul 2010 10:00:57 +0000
absolutely intercultural 112 +++ blogs to watch +++ Valentina Dodge +++ Open University +++ heaven +++ World Cup +++ Bulgaria +++
absolutely tagged When we first started this show back in 2006 and wrote here that we were the first podcast to deal with intercultural matters I thought it wouldn’t be long before we had many competitors. But now four years later something has happened to make me look again to see what is available [...]Fri, 25 Jun 2010 09:59:12 +0000
absolutely intercultural 111 +++ Football World Cup +++ Theater der Welt +++ stereotypes +++
Today, Friday 11 June 2010, the world’s eyes are on the start of the Football World Cup in South Africa, in which people from so many different nations will meet each other and confront different cultures. Listeners across the world, please keep your fingers crossed that this World Cup in Africa will become a memorable [...]Fri, 11 Jun 2010 10:00:26 +0000
absolutely intercultural 110 +++ the world at work +++ Debbie Swallow +++ Language Learning & Social Media +++ Pilbeam +++
absolutely worth it Thank you to Valentina Dodge for nominating the podcast and blog as one worth taking a look at. Thanks Valentina and now I just have to compile our own list of blogs worth looking at. I’ll be doing that in time for the next show but in the meantime you’ll hear about [...]Fri, 28 May 2010 10:00:13 +0000
absolutely intercultural 109 +++ go-out campaign +++ DAAD & BMBF +++ be prepared +++
Today I would like to introduce you to the “Go-Out” Campaign of the German Academic Exchange Service and the German Ministry of Education and Research. Both institutions have formed an alliance to increase the percentage of German students who spend time abroad during their studies. The aims include studying abroad, doing an internship abroad, writing [...]Fri, 14 May 2010 10:00:09 +0000
absolutely intercultural 108 +++ Us v. Them +++ University of Florida +++ Cornelis Hulsman +++ Egypt +++ Merlijn Twaalfhoven +++ Anna Lindh Forum +++
Today we’re going to start with a short test. You’re going to need something to write with and a piece of paper. I’m going to say two words and you just need to write down the first two or three words which come into your mind when you hear them. Ready? Right. The first one [...]Fri, 30 Apr 2010 09:15:00 +0000
- Adventures in Educational Blogging
I've Moved My Blog!
I finally moved this blog to my own domain and into Wordpress. I first tried moving it to Wordpress.com. Wordpress did an amazing job of moving over 200+ posts and 400+ comments with the click of a button. If you are thinking of switching platforms, I think it is worth it. However, be warned that while it left my YouTube videos intact, it stripped out my Google Forms, Vimeo videos and a few other things.Sun, 24 Jan 2010 08:31:00 +0000
Today I was talking with Kim Cofino who told me it was easy to set up Wordpress on my own domain. I already knew that on my own install, the media would not be striped out. Since I already have a domain hosted with BlueHost, I gave it a try.It was incredibly easy. All the media came with it. I could have been done, but of course I had to start mucking around with themes, get Akismet blocking the spam, and other things. I haven't made it all pretty yet, but I need to work on other things, so I am stepping away from the dashboard for the time being.I haven't figured out how to redirect an RSS feed yet, so please point your browser to my new blog, or change the feed to feed://www.ssedro.com/blog/?feed=rss2.Thank you for reading my blog. I appreciate your visits and your comments.P.S. If you are in need of a domain, give BlueHost a try. I've been hosting a Moodle and a mailing list there since early 2006 and they have been great to work with, constantly giving me more space, faster servers and easier controls. My Wordpress installed with the click of a button, and updates are just as easy.What Tech Tools are You Using to Support Writers?
I am preparing a three-part workshop for elementary teachers to familiarize them with different tech tools they could use to support their students as writers.Sat, 23 Jan 2010 15:07:00 +0000
I am just getting started planning it. I know I will share some tools currently being used by teachers at my school. For example, one teacher has her students posting their poetry to a discussion board in Blackboard. I am amazed by the depth of the comments the classmates are leaving for the poets.
Another teacher is using Google Docs for working on mechanics and writing skills. The children follow a link from his website and then join in the activity, such as expanding a sentence, writing a better ending.
One class has research and then storyboarded movies on cyberbullying. Another uses Movie Maker to have the children create illustrated movies of their poems.
We have teachers using VoiceThread to create student book reviews. Others using Shelfari for students to recommend books to classmates. (NOTE: Most of these were not my ideas. We have a great staff so I am constantly learning from them.)
This will be a three part workshop that should show increasingly more advanced uses with each new sessions. I would very much like to crowd source it. Please complete the survey below to tell me your ideas for using tech to support, enhance, nurture student writers.
I know the survey doesn't work well with this Blogger template. Yet another reason why I need to move to WordPress. Please hit return any time you are in danger of typing off the page.
The last question is optional. However, if you give me your name I will be able to thank you in the credits of my presentation.
When you are done, please scroll to the end and press the submit button.
Thank you.Using Twitter to Get Real-Time Info on Situation in Haiti
About an hour ago I was trolling the headlines for information on the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti today. The reports were not yet very informative other than that this is a huge disaster which caused much damage and loss of life.Wed, 13 Jan 2010 12:42:00 +0000
Research done, I was about to turn off the computer for the evening when I saw the following tweet from Clarence Fisher:
I clicked on the usernames and began to read. And read. I was especially moved by following the picture that unfolded from @troylivesay's tweets. He is now up to 964 followers. I wonder how many he had prior to today.
Go ahead and give this use of social networking a try. If you don't already have a Twitter account, go to http://twitter.com/troylivesay and read his tweets there. Let the on-the-ground descriptions combine with what you hear from traditional news sources to give you a more complete picture. Let the tweets put a human face on the news.A Video to Start Your Year
I've seen links to this video zooming around the Twitterverse all weekend so I finally took a look. If you haven't seen it, it is worth your time as well.Mon, 11 Jan 2010 01:39:00 +0000
A Bit of Toast for My Substitute Teacher
Tue, 01 Dec 2009 07:41:00 +0000
One of the challenges of being a technology integrationalist is leaving realistic lesson plans for a substitute. Many of the subs do not feel confident enough in their tech skills to accept a sub job in a tech class. This is true even at the elementary level where I teach.I want both the students and substitute to have a productive, enjoyable day when I am absent from school. I want the students to continue with our planned lessons whether or not I am there to teach them. I have finally found a way to do that.The idea grew out of a past ISTE article that detailed how a team of high school teachers had turned their classroom upside using podcasts. They began to podcast their lectures in advance of the lesson being taught. Students viewed the podcast as homework and then came into class ready to discuss the lecture/demonstration and to complete the lab work. It gave them more 1:1 time with individual students, and student achievement was growing significantly.That project is beyond the scope of what I am able to do in my classroom at this time, but the idea of podcasting my lessons in advanced seemed like the answer to the lesson plans for substitutes problems.Most of the time, I need a way for the substitute to show the students how to do something on their computer. This lends itself nicely to using one of the online screen recording programs that are available online.Chris Betcher makes many instructional screencast tutorials so at his recommendation I decided to try ScreenToaster.Setting up a ScreenToaster account was quick, free and easy. After a few rehearsals, I was ready to click the big record button and create my screencast. My first attempt was done on my Lenovo X200 tablet and it was not able to render the video and the audio fast enough, so the audio lagged behind.For my next attempt, I created a tutorial for my staff. I opted to create the screen recording without audio, and to then go back and record the audio as the recording plays back. ScreenToaster makes it very easy to do this. This method worked better. It kept the audio synced with the video.When the video is finished, you have the choice to download the video or to upload it to various places. I choose to upload it to ScreenToaster's own site. This free option allowed me to save the video in a higher quality format that if I were putting it into You Tube. I felt that was important since a tutorial isn't much use if the screen recording is too blurry or pixelated to read.When the videos is published, it can be viewed on the ScreenToaster website. You are also provided with an embed code so you could embed the video into a blog or other online tool. I run the video's URL through a URL shortening site such as TinyURL so that I have an easy URL to add to my lesson plans.So far, both uses of ScreenToaster seem successful. Today will be a big test as my substitute will be using it two different screencasts with three different classes. I am eager to read her notes and to see the progress the students made.I haven't used any other screen recording applications lately so I cannot say how ScreenToaster compares to the other options available. I do wish ScreenToaster gave an option to do some editing of the video before you post it, even to clip the ragged ends of the video but I have not found any editing tools in ScreenToaster. You can strip out the audio and try again if you don't like how it sounds.Are you using screencasts in your school or classroom? What screen recording software have you tried? Which would you recommend? I'd appreciate hearing of your experiences and recommendations.A Better Model for Tech Professional Development
Last year my principal recognized that our schedule lacked time for tech professional development. There were few built in times, and teachers have so many commitments that they rarely can attend offerings after school.Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:29:00 +0000
We had just moved to a new professional development model that required staff to be in some sort of training every Monday after school. Each month those Mondays were devoted to staff meetings, collaborative project meetings, or departmental meetings. This year, she took one of those monthly meetings and devoted it to optional technology workshops and asked me to develop the model.Right from the start, she and I knew that a one-size-fits-all model didn't work because our staff's skills varied so from one person to the next. We also knew from reading research and from experience, that one-shot workshops tend to lack impact.To provide differentiation and avoid the one-shot problem, we created a number of three-part series workshops. Each series had an introductory workshop labelled 101, a developing-level workshop labelled 201, and more advanced workshop labelled 301.For the most part, 101 workshops gave an introduction to the topic and suggested ways it could be used. 201 workshops were more hands on. 301 workshops were largely work times where the participants could create their own resources or projects with someone their to offer assistance as needed.For the first term of workshops, we wanted to focus more on teacher proficiencies than on technology integration. Thanks to a number of talented teachers stepping up to teach their colleagues we offered the following workshops this semester.- AV - using our Vado cameras and our digital voice recorders, using that media in projects
- Interactive Whiteboard - helping teachers create start using the new ActivInspire software to create their own IWB resources
- OneNote - using Microsoft Office OneNote 2007, a program that is used extensively by our admin team
- Web Presence - helping teachers create an easy to manage web presence to use with their class (e.g. a blog, a wiki)
- Wikis - what they are, how to use them with your students, how to start one
All of the workshops were optional UNLESS someone lacked a skill they needed to do their job. Teachers were free to to attend any workshop as long as they had the pre-requisite skills. If a teacher already had basic skills, they could skip the 101 level and join for the 201 level. Likewise, if a teacher took the 101 level workshop, they were not required to take the 201 and 301 levels.Although the workshops were optional, 31 (out of 55 possible) faculty members attended workshops on the first Monday. By our second Monday, we had people from central administration also attending the workshops. We will hold the third session next Monday.Not all workshops were equally popular. Some had a strong showing for the 101 level but then had fewer people at the 201 level. Ideally we would have pre-surveyed staff to gauge interest, but the start of the year was so busy we didn't want to ask them to do one more thing at that time.On post-workshop surveys staff consistently stated that the workshops were just right in terms of level of difficulty, amount of information and usefulness. A number of teachers indicated that wished they could clone themselves so that they could attend more than one at a time.Equally importantly, many teachers went back to their rooms and put the knowledge to use. We could tell this was happening because they would ask for support during the month, or they arrived at the 201 workshop full of questions that arose from their classroom experiences during the month.In preparation for semester two, we sent out an optional planning survey asking which (if any) of this term's workshops they would take if it were offered again, and which of the possible new workshops they would be interested in attending. It also asked if they had other topics they would like to see offered. Based on that survey, we will repeat a few workshops on one of our late start in-service days during semester two.Equally informative to me was that fact that on the first day the survey was open, 31 staff members completed it. That tells me that despite being very busy people, our staff continue to value these workshops and want a voice in the topics offered.Have you found a technology professional development model that works for your staff?Looking for Blogs Written by Grade 5 or 6 Students
One of my fifth grade classes will start blogging soon. As they learn about blogging, I want them to visit well-written student blogs so they can learn what a blog is and how to comment appropriately.Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:26:00 +0000
If you know of student blogs that would meet these requirements, I would appreciate you leaving me their URLs in the comments.Thank you.My Favorite iPhone Apps
At long last, 32 GB iPhone 3Gs are available in Singapore. I've had mine just shy of two weeks and am loving it. I received an iPod Touch last summer as part of a deal when I purchased a new Mac so I was already familiar with the operating system.Sun, 01 Nov 2009 08:37:00 +0000
Here is a list of apps I am finding especially useful.
Todo. My previous post discussed how I was using this program in conjunction with the web-based Toodledo. Both are still working very well for me. I love having my task list always with me, and still being able to enter tasks via the keyboard when I am at a computer. Toodledoo is free. Todo is not free.
Instapaper - This program started as a web site with a browser plugin. The idea is that when you find something online that you want to read at a later time, you click the plugin button and the page is harvested and saved in your free Instapaper account. The premise is good, but I very rarely find myself online thinking, "Gee, what should I read now." Enter the iPhone app. You can sync the iphone app with your account on the website. That downloads the articles to your iphone for offline reading. I used this a bunch on my Touch since I'd often find myself in a place without wifi with a bit of time on my hands, such as in a taxi or eating lunch. However, I didn't maximize my use of this app until I found the next app...
Twittelator Pro - This is a robust Twitter client. For me, it's best feature is its integration with Instapaper. My PLN on Twitter is constantly posting links to great blog posts. In the past I ended up following the links and then bookmarking them with www.diigo.com but I rarely remembered to go back and read them. Now I find I prefer to access Twitter from my iphone. I am constantly sending Twitter links to Instapaper. I feel like I am finally back in touch. And with my Twitter PLN vetting the sites for me, it is all quality reading. This is a paid app.
Tweetie 2 - Although most iphone Twitter clients can check more than one account, I find it more convenient to keep my personal account in a different client than my tech account. Tweetie 2 is a quick app with a clean and clear interface. I like that DM discussions appear in an iChat-style of window. Tweetie is also a strong desktop client. It might be Mac only. The iphone app is a paid app.
Shopper - As you would guess, this is a program for storing shopping lists. I've made lists for different places such as the shops across the street, the nearby mall, downtown, etc. When I am at those locations, I check the list and often find items I had forgotten I needed. This app does much more than I need it to do, such as allowing you to share lists with others. It has worked well for me because it is quick to use and it is easy to add new items. This is a paid app.
1Password - I had this on my Mac and now I also have it on my iphone. The desktop program plugs into your browsers adding a button. When you visit a site that requires you to login, you can click the button and it will log you in. I also use it to store my passport details, my work permit, and other important numbers. The program can also be used to generate strong passwords.
The desktop and iphone versions can be synced across a wireless network. The iphone version doesn't plugin to Safari. Instead, you access sites using 1Password's own browser. It is handy so you don't have to try to type your logins on the iphone keyboard. Both are paid apps.
Evernote - For a while I kept a Zoho wiki as a catch all for information I needed to access at home and away. However, adding information to it was a bit tedious since I need to login, make a new page, etc. Evernote is a web based notebook for storing any and everything. You can use it at the web site. You can also download the desktop client (Mac, Windows, Linux and probably others) and access your notes from there. I have it on my Mac at home, my Windows XP machine at work, and on my phone. It syncs my notes across all my computers and with the website. Given time, the program even reads your images and can search text in them. The iphone app gives you another way to access your information. Unfortunately, you need to get online for it to do so which meant that on my Touch I often couldn't access my notes when I needed them. Now with an iPhone that is a non-issue. The app, like the website, is free for basic use.
Gym Buddy - This app stores my workouts. It has workouts and exercises already in it. It also allows you to add your own. That process is a bit tedious and has a few quirks, but the program has lots of really useful features such as workout timers, calendar and history. It is easy to edit the reps and the weights. I am finding it very useful.
When I switched from my Touch I was dreading having to enter my own exercises again. Then I poked around the app and found it could backup to your computer using SyncDocs, an Open Source project from SourceForge that lets you sync without any configuring. It was incredibly simple to use and all my exercises, workouts and logs transfered cleanly. This is a paid app.
Of course I am using Fring and Skype. A friend told me he purchased a Skype In account with a number in his home area code. Friends and family back home can dial a local number and reach him. As a result, they call more often. Since my friends and family very rarely call me, I'm thinking of giving it a try. Both Fring and Skype are free iphone apps, but a Skype In online number has a fee.
MPR Radio - I may live in Singapore, but I find I miss listening to the news back home as I get ready for work. Then we found this app which makes it easy to stream our local public radio station. Now if only there were a way to block out the pledge drives. Of course, now that I am listening again, I need to support the station financially. But after I do that, I can switch over to using the Public Radio app until the pledge drive is over. It doesn't really matter if "All Things Considered" is streaming from Minnesota, Boston or Chicago. Both apps are free.
Stanza - This ebook reader is well designed. I love that built into it is access to many free sources for ebooks. It seems each time the app updates there are more sources. It also links you to paid sources. In either case, the books download into the program. It is highly customizable in terms of font size and style. You can lock the screen so the orientation doesn't keep switching if you are leaning or laying down. It has a built in dictionary. You can add bookmarks. It remembers where you left off in each book you are reading. This app is well worth paying for. The only feature I see that it lacks is the ability to mark up the text. I don't need that since I use it for pleasure reading, but the more scholarly readers may need that.
TripIt - I've been using the free TripIt website for the past year. I love that the site can suck in my hotel reservations and airplane tickets, combining them into one neat itinerary. It will even print maps to help me find the hotel. I love being able to send my family a tidy itinerary with all my contact details for the entire trip. Now there is a free iphone app. It makes it easy for me to check my itinerary any time a question arises. On my Touch I needed to let it sync with the website when I had wifi available. After doing that the information was available offline.
Packing - To get ready for those trips, I now use Packing. As you would expect, the program helps you pack for your trip. There are numerous apps with similar features. I choose this one because it allows you to easily add your own items. I was amazed to realize that quite a few of the apps in this genre didn't allow that. I also like that it has the option to only view the items left to pack or the items already packed. It also lists handy tasks that need accomplishing that you might forget, such as storing valuables, shutting off appliances and other handy reminders. This is a paid app.
myBatteryLife - is a paid utility. It tells me the % of battery left and then goes one step further. It lists how that % translates into talk time, internet on 3G, internet on Wi-Fi, video playback, and audio playback. Rechargeable batteries are usually good for X number of recharges before their ability to hold a charge decreases too much. Ideally, you should run your batteries down rather than keeping them always topped up. That keeps the batteries in good shape. I am finding that based on the phone's own icon, I would think I should charge it, but then myBatteryLife shows me that it is really still at 60%.
Mental Case - As a specialist teacher, I work with around 340 students. Unfortunately, I am not especially good at remembering names. Last year I started using Flashcard Exchange and it helped but creating the cards was tedious. This year, I purchased Mental Case for my Mac and for my Touch. Mental Case makes it really easy to create different types of flash cards. I loved that using Mental Case I could screen capture the students' photos out of Powerschool. I made flash cards for an entire grade level in an hour. Then I used Wi-Fi to sync the stack onto my iPhone. Now I can practice when I am in taxis or waiting for a meeting to start. The desktop version can import from the Flashcard Exchange website in csv format, meaning text will transfer but images will not. Mental Case is a paid app on the iphone.
Maps - is a built-in app but I find it so useful that I wanted to mention it here. Last summer I used it often on my Touch. When I had Wi-Fi it could figure out where I was, and then route me to where I wanted to go. If I had to go somewhere new, I would do the searching when I was home and then the directions were saved on my Touch. Once when I was out, I was able to sip from an unsecured network to grab directions. When we were driving from Chicago down to Bloomington (and back) it gave better directions than the GPS we were using. It directed us right into the driveway of the rental car station. I have only used the driving directions but it also gives walking and bus directions. Now that I have an iphone, it can save the day even when we don't have Wi-Fi available.I have many other apps on my iphone, but these are some of the ones I use most often, or that I thought might be of use to educators. I'd appreciate hearing about the apps you are finding most useful on your Touch or iPhone.Managing My Tasks
Wed, 05 Aug 2009 08:49:00 +0000
For years, I've used Life Balance to manage my tasks at home and at work. It is made by Llamagraphics, a company with a good philosophy towards life and work. I started using it back in the mid-1990s when I bought my first PDA, a Palm Pilot.It has served me well so as I transitioned from my aging Palm Zire 31 to the ipod Touch, I purchased the iphone version of the program. It syncs beautifully with my MacBook Pro via wifi and has many other features I like. However, I couldn't get it syncing with my Windows XP computer at work. Further investigation reveals that the problem lies in a blocked port.I could throw myself on the mercy of my tech director and beg to have that port opened for me, but since I am a tech coordinator, I know that is not a great solution. In a school our size, that model is not compatible with a stable and secure network. Therefore, despite my investment in money and time, I began looking for another solution.A good starting place was this article at Lifehacker. It showed me a few of the available options and brought to my attention a syncing solution - find an iphone app that syncs via the web with an online app. That would get me around my port problem. It would also allow me to enter new tasks from the Touch or from a computer whether I was at home or at work.Two features I really liked in LifeBalance were the subtasks and the places. Subtasking made it easy to plan and track a project. Places helped me work smarter by reminding me to pick up the dry cleaning when I was at the grocery store next door.Applying this filter to my search, only a few programs had subtasks, places and a web app. I settled on Todo by Appigo. It is powerful and customizable. It uses color and icons well to convey a great deal of info without cluttering the screen. It allows subtasks in the form of projects. It also allows checklists so you can whip out a shopping list without having "bananas' end up on your list at the same level as "file taxes."
Todo has a number of sync options. In addition to syncing via iCal (and Outlook with a third party add-on) it syncs with Remember the Milk and Toodledo. Both are web-based task management applications.I chose Toodledo because I liked the interface better and it is highly customizable. It also allowed me to sync with their free account. However with Toodledo, I can only sync subtasks if I have their $14.95 per year pro account. Fortunately, they let you try the pro account for free for a week to see if it works for you. (Remember the Milk requires a paid pro account to do any syncing at all.)So far it is working well. Despite my best attempts to trip it up, it is syncing cleanly. I did find I had to switch views in Toodledo to see the subtasks in the way I was expecting. Fortunately that was easily done.Already I am appreciating being able to use the web app at home and at school. When I am out running errands at work, it is great to have my list with me and to be able to add items on the fly as people grab me in the halls with a request.Do you use technology to tame your to-do list? What technology do you use? How is it working for you?Can This iPod Mini Be Saved? Yes!
Thu, 02 Jul 2009 02:17:00 +0000
I'm having a happy moment - I just replaced the battery in my ipod mini.
This is the ipod that I swim with, but one day this spring, I neglected to close the waterproof case before entering the pool. Took me half a length to figure out what was wrong. By then, the ipod had drowned. At first the display would show but the click wheel didn't work so it wouldn't play. It wasn't very interested in charging, either. Eventually the display disappeared as well, but I was hoping that was due to dead battery, not forever dead ipod.Kent went right to the internet to research what to do. I also sent out a few tweets requesting advice. Based on what we read, I put it directly beneath the air conditioner so the condenser do its thing. We also gently blow dried it, but it didn't look good. However, people online said to give it lots of time.I don't remember how long we waited, but I think it was after a few weeks that the ipod showed signs of convalescing. One of our attempts to charge it made the Apple logo appear on the screen. However, both the charger and the ipod became hot which I figured was a Bad Thing. We let it rest some more.A week or two later, Kent was able to plug it into a computer and add music it it. However, the click wheel didn't spin so you could only play what it wanted to play and you couldn't adjust the volume.At long last, (I think it was approximately two months after the accident) the click wheel began working again. The battery also quit heating up. However, the battery life was very short. Kent did some research and found that replacement batteries were easy to come by, so I brought the ipod back to the US with me when I made my summer visit.I've been home in the USA for two and a half weeks. I listen to the mini on my Logitech speakers and in my car using the FM digital transmitter I've had for years. Both devices charge it while I listen to it. I can also use it for approximately 30 minutes on its own before the battery is completely dead and the ipod loses its memory. The ipod had made such an amazing recovery that I decided it was worth investing in a new battery.I did some research online. Originally I was going to get a more powerful battery that would last longer. However, those are thicker than the old battery and a few people wrote that cracked the display or crushed the circuitry when they reassembled the ipod.Based on that information, I opted for a replacement battery the same size as the original. After reading more reviews, I went with the Sonnet Technologies' Battery for iPod. I ordered it from Amazon.com for around $21.00. It came with a Phillips screw driver, a flat head screw driver and a prying tool. Reviewers had warned that the prying tool wasn't up to the task of getting the end cap off, but since Kent had already opened the ipod numerous times, that part of the process wasn't so hard.Although the battery came with an instructional CD-ROM, reviewers hadn't found it terribly helpful, stating that better were to be found on You Tube. I Googled "How to replace an ipod mini battery" and found a great tutorial in the Modmyi.com forums that was created by ifixipodsfast.com. It was clear, showed each step, and was full of helpful tips.After watching it through, I grabbed my ipod and watched again, stopping the video as needed. I didn't notice the time when I started, but I suspect it took only ten or fifteen minutes from start to finish. It was a great feeling when I turned it on and the Apple logo appeared on the screen. It is charging right now. I hope this gives me more time with this trusty device.So, despite my lack of experience doing this sort of thing, I recommend it to anyone with an aging ipod mini. Of course, you do this replacement at your own risk. I hope it goes as well for you. Let me know how it goes.
- Digital Writing, Digital Teaching
Tech and Learning 100@30
As I scanned my Google Alerts this morning, I was truly surprised, then deeply honored, to find a link to The Tech and Learning 100@30. AS PART OF OUR 30TH-ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION, Tech & Learning has compiled the first two of three lists of the 100 most important people: those leaders from the PAST who have [...]Sat, 04 Sep 2010 19:19:05 +0000
Please Join in the Conversation on the ECNing
Over the next few weeks, I will be hosting a book club discussion on my book, The Digital Writing Workshop, on the English Companion Ning. As the discussion moves forward, I am imagining the ways in which we can employ other spaces and tools for discussion, as outlined in this post that I made to [...]Sat, 04 Sep 2010 19:11:22 +0000
Updates on Thinkfinity
For many years, I have been a fan of Thinkfinity, especially ReadWriteThink. And, while I have generally stopped posting messages about new web-based products and services from the many, many emails that I get each month, this one caught my attention: The Verizon Foundation have partnered with nationally recognized leaders in educational disciplines including literacy, [...]Wed, 18 Aug 2010 01:07:45 +0000
Mid-Summer Thoughts: Technology Use in Class
Recently, a conversation on our department’s listserve sparked me to offer a rare response. Most of what you need to know about the conversation on the list is embedded in my comments below, and I would welcome ideas for how you help students use technology during class in productive, ethical, and responsible ways. — Colleagues, [...]Mon, 02 Aug 2010 13:54:19 +0000
Notes from Harvey Daniels’ “Best Practice Across the Curriculum”
This morning, I am pleased to be a part of Littleton Public Schools’ Adolescent Literacy Institute, and I am able to participate in Harvey “Smokey” Daniels’ keynote, “Best Practice Across the Curriculum.” Here are some notes from his session: Goals for today Define “Best Practice” Consider the missing link: student collaboration Watch video of kids [...]Wed, 26 May 2010 16:04:49 +0000
End of Semester Thoughts: Digital Storytelling, Wikis, and the Changing Conversation
Another semester has zoomed past and, before these thoughts escape me, and I begin a series of summer workshops and our CRWP summer institute, I am going to try to capture a few of the lessons learned in relation to digital writing and digital teaching. Good lessons seem to come in threes, so here goes: [...]Wed, 26 May 2010 04:08:35 +0000
Notes from Thursday Afternoon Sessions at SITE 2010
A smorgasbord of sessions from SITE 2010 with the notes I was able to catch from each (some more than others)… enjoy! Technology Enhanced Collaboration – Schools and Teachers Engaged in Professional Development Tim Frey, Kansas State University Context Two districts that are 65 miles apart and both rural 20 teachers, K-12 (web cam and stipend) Online [...]Fri, 02 Apr 2010 00:08:08 +0000
Notes from Two TPACK Sessions at SITE 2010
Testing a TPACK-Based Technology Integration Assessment Rubric Judi Harris, Neal Grandgenett, and Mark Hofer Looking at the work of TPACK over the past five years Much exploration of the construct — what does it look like? About two years ago, more work about how to help teachers develop TPACK Now we are interested in finding [...]Wed, 31 Mar 2010 23:52:56 +0000
Notes from Lisa Dawley’s “The Evolution of Teacher Education in a Digital Learning Era” at SITe 2010″
The Evolution of Teacher Education in a Digital Learning Era: Transforming Knowledge in the Global Network Lisa Dawley, Boise State University The Unavoidable Evolution in Teacher Education Travels around the world, others saying that American students are creative; yet, still calls for reform, especially in teacher education, keep happening here in US New US EdTech [...]Wed, 31 Mar 2010 21:33:21 +0000
Notes from Erin Reilly’s “Remix Culture for Learning” at SITE 2010
The Gap Between Life and Art: Remix Culture for Learning Erin Reilly, University of Southern California Project New Media Literacies Context of remix culture One in four online teens remix content that they find online (like songs, text, and images) and remix them into their own artistic creations Remixing media is a part of participatory [...]Wed, 31 Mar 2010 18:14:12 +0000
- Nancy White's Full Circle Blog
Questions: a thread through current work
Life has been a whirlwind of work. Keynote and workshops for the Girl Scouts of America Leadership and Development Conference, iterative design work on a bunch of client projects, from planning to post-event evaluation, a large global e-consultation followed by a large face to face decision making meeting, and coming up this week a lovely [...]Sat, 07 Aug 2010 15:05:49 +0000
Chris Corrigan; Learning from Failure
(Yes, I’m popping my head up after a month of heavy work and little inclination to stay at my computer as summer finally arrived in Seattle.) I have long been a fan of learning from failures. In college, a friend of mine told me the day before I graduated, “I never met anyone who could [...]Sun, 25 Jul 2010 12:56:14 +0000
iPad Lust and Clash with Ideology
I have been wanting an iPad for my graphic recording work but I just haven’t given in. (I’m also debating various ebook readers to cut down on paper. I have a book habit.) But I keep getting uncomfortable. George Siemens sums it up for me. However, for those committed to openness, the iPad forces a [...]Sat, 26 Jun 2010 00:23:25 +0000
InkWell.Vue Digital Habitat Conversations
(Reposted from the Technology for Communities blog) Starting June 23rd for a couple of weeks, John Smith, Etienne Wenger and I will be part of a discussion about Digital Habitats on The Well’s Inkwell.Vue conference. Inkwell is a cool, public facing bit of the well (the rest is paid membership) that gives folks a chance [...]Sat, 19 Jun 2010 21:55:37 +0000
Reviving Community Indicators – Learning
For long time readers of this blog, you know I’ve been obsessed with “signs of life” from communities which I call “community indicators.” I haven’t posted any recently, but something spurred me yesterday… This past week I was very grateful to be a supporter of Dreamfish’s online retreat for their inaugural group of Dreamfish Fellows. [...]Mon, 07 Jun 2010 17:31:17 +0000
Graphic Notetaking at IST Africa
Last week I was in Durban, South Africa, for the IST-Africa conference where Tony Carr, Maike Schansker and I ran a workshop on professional development in the networked/Web 2.0 era on behalf of UN University. One of the things Maike and I did during the second day was take graphic notes of the presentations. The [...]Thu, 27 May 2010 16:57:40 +0000
Technology Stewardship in Action
Joyce Seitzinger (aka @catspyjamasnz) created an amazing piece of reified technolgy stewardship knowledge with her Moodle Tool Guide for Teachers – Cat’s Pyjamas . Joyce has matched activities a teacher might want to support with the various tools and features of Moodle. Pretty darn impressive. What I love is the emphasis on the ACTIVITIES, rather [...]Thu, 27 May 2010 04:44:03 +0000
Connected, Distracted, and Waving
It is 6am in Cape Town, South Africa, where I am typing in the dark, with the glow of my little laptop, preparing for two workshops today at the University of Cape Town. My amazing host, Tony Carr, invited over a few friends and colleagues for dinner last night. They inspired me to rethink today’s [...]Mon, 17 May 2010 04:10:30 +0000
Monday Video – Cognitive Bias VideoSong
YouTube – Cognitive Bias VideoSong. Brilliant! Thanks to Irene Guijt for pointing it out! This video by Mr. Wray, hits the winner bell on two fronts. First, it is a great overview on cognitive bias and second, it is in the form of a song. This brings me back to university days where the only [...]Mon, 03 May 2010 12:59:53 +0000
Acceptance in the Flow of Facilitation
Via a tweet today from @HHG I came across a blog post from author Susan Piver on Buddhism and Relationships: 3 Stages to Heal a Broken Heart. I was taken by the post not because I am currently experiencing a broken heart, but because her three bits of advice seemed incredibly relevant to the practice [...]Thu, 29 Apr 2010 16:31:59 +0000
- Ideas and Thoughts from an EdTech
Writing: Are we Teaching it Wrong?
Tue, 07 Sep 2010 21:09:42 +0000
For this school year, I've been asked to support teachers in the writing portion of the English Language Arts Curriculum. I'm not a writing teacher by speciality but I'm a writer and a teacher so that's start.
As I scan the list of concepts and issues I've been asked to support, I continue to wonder about the [...]
Do you have something to share(ski)?
Tue, 31 Aug 2010 04:10:38 +0000
I'm honored to be providing the pre-conference keynote for the 2010 K12 Online Conference. I've been involved in this conference since its inception in 2006 in various capacities and believe it to be not only a wonderful resource but a great model of sharing and generosity that epitomizes what networked learning can be.
While I'm sorting through [...]
The cost of Professional Learning
Thu, 26 Aug 2010 03:24:33 +0000
We are all aware of the economic challenges that schools face. The truth is, schools have always had limited budgets and been scrutinized for spending decisions. In the wonderful age of accountability, those decisions seem to be under a much bigger microscope and lots of questions get asked. That's not necessarily a bad thing but it [...]
The World Gets Bigger and Smaller Everyday
Sat, 21 Aug 2010 19:00:24 +0000
This video has been around for a while and I've used it in various presentations as a powerful illustration of using the web to change lives.
It represents for me a few very valuable lessons.1. The Web Can Change Lives. The way in which ideas are exchanged and built on top of each other happens every [...]
More than Words
Wed, 18 Aug 2010 14:00:50 +0000
There's an interesting phenomenon that I've been observing as late and that is the visualization of text. By that I mean using words as graphics.
I remember back in the 1990's learning to create webpages using Dreamweaver, when we wanted to insure that a particular font was consistent across browsers and individual machines, we had to convert [...]
The Photo a Day and Video Work Flow
Wed, 11 Aug 2010 18:22:18 +0000
Yesterday I posted about the video project that ties in with my photo a day. I thought I'd provide a bit of an insight into my work flow mostly to document it for myself but also to see if others might see any way to improve it or simply add their own approach.
Photos
I use iphoto to [...]
March’s photos of the day set to music
Tue, 10 Aug 2010 21:48:56 +0000
Since I decided to attach a song title to all my photos of the day this year, I've added a fair bit more of work to the project. While the project isn't intended to be work, this is mostly a personal challenge for me. I've enjoyed it for the most part and have usually had no [...]
EdTech Posse 6.3
Wed, 14 Jul 2010 13:21:26 +0000
Rob and I have an ISTE proconference chat. We also discussed Dean’s iPad, packet shaping and what makes the perfect storm for educational technology leadership.
What’s your 3rd Favourite Colour?
Tue, 06 Jul 2010 03:14:17 +0000
"Dad, what's your 3rd favourite colour?"
My youngest daughter is known for asking these types of questions. She has actually asked that one but usually the questions are more about a favourite part of a movie, what's your favourite vacation spot, etc. That's pretty typical for kids and even adults. We love to order and rank things. [...]
What Stupid Will Get You
Sat, 03 Jul 2010 14:15:58 +0000
Cross posted at TechLearning
I recently watched Clay Shirky's newest TED talk based on his book, Cognitive Surplus. The concept of cognitive surplus simply means that in the last century the amount of free we've had has increased and that in the last decade, we've been able to use that surplus not only to consume media but to create it.
- Infinite Thinking Machine
Jackie Gerstein on "User-Generated Education"
Our "Students 2.0" mini-series continues on Tuesday, April 27th, with a live and interactive interview with Dr. Jackie Gerstein on "User-Generated Education."Mon, 26 Apr 2010 11:02:20 PDT
Date: Tuesday, 27th April, 2010
Time: 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern / 12am (next day) GMT (international times here)
Duration: 1 hour
Location: In Elluminate. Log in at http://tr.im/futureofed. The Elluminate room will be open up to 30 minutes before the event if you want to come in early. To make sure that your computer is configured for Elluminate, please visit http://www.elluminate.com/support. Recordings of the session will be posted within a day of the event at the event page.
Event Page: http://www.learncentral.org/event/70950
This session will explore the following questions:- "Should a student-centric, user-generated education be the predominant learning model for this era of the 21st Century?"
- "Can networked-learning based on communities of practice with multiage learners be a model-platform for education in this century?"
Dr. Jackie Gerstein's byline is " I don't do teaching for a living, I live teaching as my doing, and technology has AMPLIFIED the passion." More about Jackie's experiences and passions can be viewed at http://jackiegerstein.weebly.com/.
[Cross-posted from http://www.stevehargadon.com]Anya Kamenetz Live and Interactive on Her Book, DIY U
Our "Students 2.0" mini-series continues Wednesday, April 28th, with a live and interactive interview with Anya Kamenetz on her book, DIY U: Edupunks, Edupreneurs and the Coming Transformation of Higher EducationMon, 26 Apr 2010 09:19:14 PDT
.
Date: Wednesday, 28 April, 2010
Time: 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern / 12am (next day) GMT (international times here)
Duration: 1 hour
Location: In Elluminate. Log in at http://tr.im/futureofed. The Elluminate room will be open up to 30 minutes before the event if you want to come in early. To make sure that your computer is configured for Elluminate, please visit http://www.elluminate.com/support. Recordings of the session will be posted within a day of the event at the event page.
Event Page: http://www.learncentral.org/event/70704DIY U: Edupunks, Edupreneurs and the Coming Transformation of Higher Education
“This book is not only a smart and forward-thinking look at new and exciting trends in self-directed higher learning, it’s also a smart resource guide for students and their families anxious to take their education into their own hands” -- Daniel H. Pink, author of Drive and A Whole New MindAnya's Bio, from her DIY Y website:
"I grew up in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Louisiana and graduated from Yale University in 2002.
"I cover technology, innovation, sustainability and social entrepreneurship as a staff writer for Fast Company magazine. In 2005, when I was 24, the Village Voice did the huge favor of nominating me for a Pulitzer Prize for the feature series and column Generation Debt, which led to a book published by Riverhead in 2006. Generation Debtdrew national media attention and passionate online debate with its argument that young people are facing unique and unprecedented economic challenges.
"As a national figure representing my generation, I’ve been in several documentaries including the “Generation Next” series on PBS and the upcoming Default: The Student Loan Documentary, on media outlets including CNN’s Larry King Live, ABC’s The View and NPR, been featured as a “Yahoo! Finance Expert,” and submitted testimony to Congressional committees and state legislatures about student debt and college affordability.
"I’ve written for the New York Times, the Washington Post, New York magazine, Slate, Salon, the American Prospect, and the Nation. I wrote an essay, “Mutual Aid Revisited,” about my experiences with Hurricane Katrina and the power of community, to the anthology Toward 2012: Perspectives on the Next Age (Tarcher, 2008).
"With a growing awareness that we’re living in a time of profound change, I feel so lucky to be engaged in this work of envisioning the future, connecting with others who are excited about change, and telling stories about the possibilities. I speak across the country, I blog at Fastcompany.com, the Huffington Post, and anyakamenetz.blogspot.com, and–I Tweet, yes I do, at Anya1anya. I live in Brooklyn with my husband & cat."
(Photo by Jayd Gardina)
[Cross-posted from http://www.stevehargadon.com]Dr. Robert Epstein on Teen 2.0, Live Tonight
Our "Students 2.0" mini-series starts tonight with a live and interactive interview with Dr. Robert Epstein on his encyclopedic book, Teen 2.0: Saving Our Children and Families from the Torment of Adolescence.Mon, 26 Apr 2010 07:55:12 PDT
Date: Monday, 26 April, 2010
Time: 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern / 12am (next day) GMT (international times here)
Duration: 1 hour
Location: In Elluminate. Log in at http://tr.im/futureofed. The Elluminate room will be open up to 30 minutes before the event if you want to come in early. To make sure that your computer is configured for Elluminate, please visit http://www.elluminate.com/support. Recordings of the session will be posted within a day of the event at the event page.From drrobertepstein.com: Working with colleague Diane Dumas, Dr. Robert Epstein, a longtime researcher and professor and the former editor-in-chief of Psychology Today, has developed a unique and comprehensive test—the Epstein-Dumas Test of Adultness (EDTA)—that measures 14 different competencies that appear to define adult functioning in modern society.
Based on scores obtained from tens of thousands of adults and teens, Dr. Epstein recently concluded that many teens are as competent or more competent than adults—and that adults greatly underestimate the abilities of teens. Epstein and Dumas have also demonstrated a link between "infantilization"—the extent to which teens are treated like children—and behavioral problems in teens.
Praise for first original edition of the book, called The Case Against Adolescence:
ALBERT ELLIS: “...one of the most revolutionary books I have ever read.” (from the Foreword)
NEWT GINGRICH: “If you are concerned about America's young—and about
America's future—this is a must-read.”
M. SCOTT PECK: “...has vast consequence for our society.”
JOYCE BROTHERS: “…a profoundly important book.”
BUZZ ALDRIN: “This book will bring our ideas about teens down to earth.”
DEEPAK CHOPRA: “We need to reexamine our basic assumptions about young people, and Epstein shows us how.”
ROBERT COLES: “Here are America’s youth, regarded keenly, knowingly....”
LEON BOTSTEIN: “...a vital book for parents and policy makers on the state and federal levels”
MARIEL HEMINGWAY: “This book has opened my eyes….”
MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI: “...a very original approach, sure to ignite discussion and controversy.”
ALVIN TOFFLER: “If you care about the future of our young people, The Case Against Adolescence is an essential read.”
DREW PINSKY: “...a landmark book”
SUZANNE SOMERS: “Dr. Epstein makes a good case for adolescents to be treated not as a group with a formula, but as individual unique people.”
JEAN LIEDLOFF: “...a powerful case”
ELLEN LANGER: “His arguments deserve serious consideration and open debate.”
JOHN TAYLOR GATTO: “Whether you’re a parent, a teacher, a policy maker, or a recovering victim of enforced childishness, you need to read this book.”
CURTIS SLIWA: “…an amazing book, long overdue.”From drrobertepstein.com: ROBERT EPSTEIN is an author, editor, radio talk-show host, and longtime psychology researcher and professor—a distinguished scientist who is passionate about educating the public about advances in mental health and the behavioral sciences. The former editor-in-chief of Psychology Today, Dr. Epstein is currently a contributing editor for Scientific American Mind and a lecturer at the Rady School of Management at the University of California San Diego. He is also the founder and Director Emeritus of the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies in Massachusetts.
Through 2003, he served as University Research Professor at the California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University. He received his Ph.D. in psychology in 1981 from Harvard University.
He has hosted a number of psychology-related radio programs, most recently a show called Psyched!®, which aired throughout the U.S. and Canada on Sirius Satellite Radio between 2005 and 2008. In connection with the magazine or his radio programs, Dr. Epstein has interviewed many notable people, including Laura Bush, Jimmy Carter, Tipper Gore, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher, Christie Brinkley, Sally Field, Jamie Lee Curtis, Sarah Ferguson, and Steve Allen.
His research on creativity and innovation has been featured in Time magazine, the New York Times, and Discover, as well as on national and international radio and television. He has published nearly 200 articles, including scientific articles in Science, Nature, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Although best known for his work on creativity, Dr. Epstein has also conducted research on adolescent and adult competence, self-control, relationship skills, sexual orientation, and other topics, and a seminal article he wrote for The Washington Post helped stimulate a worldwide call for an armistice on January 1, 2000. He has also developed a number of unique online competency tests which are taken by thousands of people every week.
Epstein's 14 books include The Case Against Adolescence: Rediscovering the Adult in Every Teen; Parsing the Turing Test: Philosophical and Methodological Issues in the Quest for the Thinking Computer
(with Grace Beber and Gary Roberts); The Big Book of Motivation Games
(with Jessica Rogers); The Big Book of Stress-Relief Games
; The Big Book of Creativity Games
; Creativity Games for Trainers
; Stress-Management and Relaxation Activities for Trainers
; Cognition, Creativity, and Behavior: Selected Essays
; The New Psychology Today Reader; Pure Fitness: Body Meets Mind
(with Lori "Ice" Fetrick of the American Gladiators); Self-Help Without the Hype
; and Irrelativity
. He is also the editor of two books of writings by the eminent psychologist, B. F. Skinner—Skinner for the Classroom
and Notebooks
—with whom Epstein collaborated at Harvard.
He has taught at Boston University, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, the University of California San Diego, the HAL College of Technology and Design (Japan), and other universities. Dr. Epstein also served as Professor of Psychology and Chair of the Department of Psychology at National University, where he was subsequently appointed Research Professor. From 1990 to 1995, he directed the Loebner Prize Competition in Artificial Intelligence, an annual contest in which human intelligence is pitted against machine intelligence.
Dr. Epstein has been a commentator for NPR's "Marketplace," the Voice of America, and Disney Online, and his popular writings have appeared in Reader's Digest, The Washington Post, Psychology Today, Good Housekeeping, Parenting, and other magazines and newspapers.
His upcoming books include Teen 2.0: Saving Our Children and Families from the Torment of Adolescence, Making Love: How Couples Learn to Love and How You Can Too and Finding the Inner Adult in Your Teen: A Guide for Parents. Dr. Epstein is the father of four children and two stepchildren. An autobiographical essay about his life and work was published recently in Perspectives on Psychological Science and can be downloaded here. Dr. Epstein can be reached at repstein@post.harvard.edu.
[Cross-posted from http://www.stevehargadon.com]Live Interview with Scott Rosenberg on the Historical Importance of Blogging
Join me for a Conversations.net live and interactive interview with Scott Rosenberg, author of Say Everything: How Blogging Began, What It's Becoming, and Why It MattersSat, 10 Apr 2010 20:38:13 PDT
. This is a downright FASCINATING history of blogging and its historical importance.
Date: Tuesday, April 13th, 2010
Duration: 1 hourTime: 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern / 12am (next day) GMT (international times here)Location: In Elluminate. Log in at http://tr.im/futureofed. The Elluminate room will be open up to 30 minutes before the event if you want to come in early. To make sure that your computer is configured for Elluminate, please visit http://www.elluminate.com/support. Recordings of the session will be posted within a day of the event at the event page.Event and Recording Page: http://www.learncentral.org/event/60495Book Description from the Say Everything Website:"Blogs are everywhere. They have exposed truths and spread rumors. Made and lost fortunes. Brought couples together and torn them apart. Toppled cabinet members and sparked grassroots movements. Immediate, intimate, and influential, they have put the power of personal publishing into everyone's hands. Regularly dismissed as trivial and ephemeral, they have proved that they are here to stay.
"Say Everything chronicles blogging's unplanned rise and improbable triumph, tracing its impact on politics, business, the media, and our personal lives. The book offers closeups of innovators such as Blogger founder Evan Williams, investigative journalist Josh Marshall, exhibitionist diarist Justin Hall, software visionary Dave Winer, 'mommyblogger' Heather Armstrong, and many others.
"These blogging pioneers were the first to face new dilemmas that have become common in the era of Google and Facebook, and their stories offer vital insights and warnings as we navigate the future. How much of our lives should we reveal on the Web? Is anonymity a boon or a curse? Which voices can we trust? What does authenticity look like on a stage where millions are fighting for attention, yet most only write for a handful? And what happens to our culture now that everyone can say everything?
"Before blogs, it was easy to believe that the Web would grow up to be a clickable TV -- slick, passive, mass-market. Instead, blogging brought the Web's native character into focus -- convivial, expressive, democratic. Far from being pajama-clad loners, bloggers have become the curators of our collective experience, testing out their ideas in front of a crowd and linking people in ways that broadcasts can't match.
"Blogs have created a new kind of public sphere -- one in which we can think out loud together. And now that we have begun, it is impossible to imagine us stopping."
Bio from Scott's Blog:I’m a writer, editor and Web site builder. I co-founded Salon back in 1995. I served as its first technology editor and all-around Web geek for years, then became managing editor just in time for the dot-com bubble to first over-inflate and then collapse.
In 2003 I began working on a book about software development and its discontents. I took a leave from Salon in 2005 to write it. It’s titled Dreaming in Code and was published by Crown in January, 2007. The full web site for the book is at dreamingincode.com.
I left Salon in July 2007 to begin work on a new book project.... I began blogging in July 2002. Before that most of my writing online was at Salon; there’s a full directory listing of my pieces here.
I started making Web pages in November 1994 as an editor of the short-lived San Francisco Free Press — an early experiment in Web publishing by the striking Newspaper Guild workers in San Francisco. In early 1995 I posted a prototype of a solo Web magazine called Kludge. I quickly discovered that being a one-person publishing operation was more than I could handle at that point in my, and the Web’s, career, given that I still held down a full-time job at the SF Examiner. As the year progressed I began working with David Talbot and the team he was then pulling together to start Salon. I left the Examiner that fall and helped Salon plan and post its first issue in November 1995.
I continued to maintain my own Web site, first at www.dmz.com and later here at Wordyard. Here’s the old Wordyard home page that was supplanted by this blog. Here’s the old dmz.com home page that preceded it, with some older links to my writing, many of which have yet to rot.
[Cross-posted from http://www.stevehargadon.com]This Coming Week's Live and Interactive Events
Below are this coming week's public, free, and interactive webinars through LearnCentral.org, the social learning network for education that I work on for Elluminate.Sat, 10 Apr 2010 20:16:04 PDT
The time of the events below will show up automatically in your own time zone when you are registered in LearnCentral and when you have chosen your time zone in your profile. Event recordings are posted and available after the events if you aren't able to attend them live. Be on the lookout for Australia-time-friendly events as part of the new Australia Series!
A number of folks have emailed me looking for an easy calendar import / RSS feed for these events, and while the developer at LearnCentral are working on a good long-term solution, you'll find my Google Calendar "hack" at LearnCentral.tv. Hope it helps!
I also hope you'll consider hosting your own public webinars using the LearnCentral public room--instructions are available by joining the "Host Your Own Webinar" group on the main announcement tab (http://www.learncentral.org/group/3432/host-your-own-webinars).
Monday, April 12th- 8am PDT (US) / 11am EDT (US) / 3pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
ELLUMINATE LIVE WEBINAR SERIES: “Using Emotional Intelligence To Improve Decision Making" with Lou Russell. Current research shows that when we lose our cool over something, it takes us over four hours to get over it. When we’re stressed, our decision making ability is compromised because the brain is working at survival. In this session, Lou will share some of this research and map it to ways you can help improve how your teams react to circumstances. You can help them build resiliency by helping them identify the triggers that take them out, and showing them ways to avoid or react to them.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/64512 (this event requires pre-registration) - 10:45pm PDT (US) / 1:45am (next day) EDT (US) / 5:45am (next day) GMT/UTC (intl times):
THE AUSTRALIA SERIES: “Tech Talk Tuesdays: Going 1:1 Laptop" with Anne Mirtschin and Helen Otway. When thinking about beginning a 1:1 laptop program what do you need to consider? Hardware? Software? Infrastructure? Support? Costs? Yes these are all the practical considerations and are very important. But what scaffolding needs to take place for our learners - teachers and students - to prepare for 1:1 learning? Learning styles? Team work vs Independent work? Confidence? Digital Citizenship? Personal Learning skills and attitudes? These are some of the challenges that started to take shape in our first year of providing our Year 7 Laptop Program. Helen will share the Manor Lakes College (Victoria, Australia) story so far and future directions.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/68067
- 10am PDT (US) / 1pm EDT (US) / 5pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
ELLUMINATE LIVE WEBINAR SERIES: “Puzzling Opportunities: How To Use Puzzles In Your Training Session" with Dr. Sivasailam "Thiagi" Thiagarajan and Tracy Tagliati. Do you know someone who wastes his or her time solving Sudoku puzzles? (Could that be you?) Attend this session to discover how the addictive and motivating aspects of puzzles can be leveraged to reinforce the learning-and-transfer process before, during, and after your training workshop. Learn how to design and use instructional puzzles to train your participants and to assess their competencies. Explore the instructional use of crossword puzzles, word puzzles, cryptograms, chunks, anagrams, triplets, logic puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, wire puzzles, and Sudoku puzzles. Leave the session with a how-to handout, online tools, and a daily dose of instructional puzzles through Twitter.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/62843 (this event requires pre-registration) - 11am PDT (US) / 2pm EDT (US) / 6pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
ELLUMINATE LIVE WEBINAR SERIES: “Formalizing Informal Learning: What Are We Talking About" with Lance Dublin. The buzz about informal learning has turned into a clamor. Organizations know they need to jump onto this bandwagon, but they worry about how. Formal learning is well established and is well understood. Yet, informal learning seems obvious but too ill-defined. Now is the time to move into the third dimension of learning, where formal and informal learning intersects with intention. Some experts have called this 'formalizing informal learning' while others term it 'non-formal' learning. Come and join me in this webinar to learn the distinctions between formal, informal and non-formal learning, and the learning theory behind them. We will explore how then these can be applied in your organization to extend, enable and enhance learning in effective ways never possible before. And we will look at a model for learning that moves beyond the linear either/or choice of formal - informal, and takes us into a third dimension drive by the new social media tools.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/62844 (this event requires pre-registration) - 1pm PDT (US) / 4pm EDT (US) / 8pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
MSP2 SERIES: “Google Apps for Educators" with Rachel Lacy. Not just a search engine...Google has created numerous free applications just for educators. Google Tools are one of the many emerging Web 2.0 concepts for educators that allow social networking, sharing, collaboration, etc...
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/58400
- 5pm PDT (US) / 8pm EDT (US) / 12am (next day) GMT/UTC (intl times):
CONVERSATIONS.NET SERIES: “Scott Rosenberg on Say Everything." Join me as I interview Scott on his book Say Everything, his fascinating book on how blogging began, what its's becoming, and why it matters. Seriously, don't miss this one.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/60495
- 1am PDT (US) / 4am EDT (US) / 8am GMT/UTC (intl times):
THE AUSTRALIA SERIES: “eT@lking - Gimp Installation and First Steps” with Marian Heddesheimer. Gimp is a popular Open Source image processing software. It’s features can be compared to commercial programs like Photoshop® or Corel Photopaint®. Gimp is free software so you can download and use it without cost. Using Gimp is a bit different from other programs you may know, but if you get the hang on it, it will be easy to use it. Gimp can be used to edit your photos or create images and graphics from scratch. In this class we will just edit an existing photo (you will get an example photo during the class) and learn how to use the smudge tool from the gimp toolbox.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/67213
- 10am PDT (US) / 1pm EDT (US) / 4pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
THE AUSTRALIA SERIES: “eT@lking - Gimp Installation and First Steps” with Marian Heddesheimer. Gimp is a popular Open Source image processing software. It’s features can be compared to commercial programs like Photoshop® or Corel Photopaint®. Gimp is free software so you can download and use it without cost. Using Gimp is a bit different from other programs you may know, but if you get the hang on it, it will be easy to use it. Gimp can be used to edit your photos or create images and graphics from scratch. In this class we will just edit an existing photo (you will get an example photo during the class) and learn how to use the smudge tool from the gimp toolbox.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/node/67212
- 10am PDT (US) / 1pm EDT (US) / 4pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
ELLUMINATE LIVE WEBINAR SERIES: “Trainingmagnetwork.com- The Psychology Of Growing A Large Learning Community” with Ray Jimenez and Gary VanAntwerp. TrainingMagNetwork.com has 13,000. How did we grow to this number? What did we do consistently to increase the network interactions, sharing and groups? What theories failed and what new insights did we gain? These are some and many other topics we will cover in this session. The psychology of growing a large social learning community required we adhere to some core values, philosophies and practices to allow members to keep on coming back. We believe these practices and beliefs built trust and confidence among members to continue the growth.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/62845 (this event requires pre-registration) - 12pm PDT (US) / 3pm EDT (US) / 7pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
EDUCATION FOR A DIGITAL WORLD 2.0 SERIES: “Adventures in Virtual Collaborative Authoring” with Sandy Hirtz and Dr. Kevin Kelly. The collaboratively authored book, Education for a Digital World 2.0, and its predecessor Education for a Digital World represent a shift in how educators are sharing their research, experiences and best practices in online teaching and learning. Facilitated completely through virtual interactions, this new model of authoring went beyond writing and editing to become an international effort in community building and professional growth. The success of the first edition has resulted in a second, more inclusive book that offers improvements on the last version and addresses the constant changes in the global eLearning landscape.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/65716 (30 minute session) - 12:30pm PDT (US) / 3:30pm EDT (US) / 7:30pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
EDUCATION FOR A DIGITAL WORLD 2.0 SERIES: “Immersive Gameworlds for World-Wide Change” with Natasha Boskic. An overview of the role of video and computer games in the context of contemporary educational practice, looking at designing games for learning through engagement in building narratives and making positive modifications in real life behaviour. The question is whether those can have the ability and power to bring social changes and eventually to solve important world-wide issues..
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/65718 (30 minute session) - 3pm PDT (US) / 6pm EDT (US) / 10pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
EDUCATION FOR A DIGITAL WORLD 2.0 SERIES: “Co-Creation of Content to promote Learning, Activism and Advocacy” with June Kaminski. This session will introduce educators to the use of a variety of ICTs to promote activism and advocacy, and in the process – learning, using a co-creation of usable content approach within the online learning environment. A key question that will be addressed is: How can communicative and creative technologies be used to stimulate meaningful activist engagement with ecological, sustainability, environmental and quality of life dialogue and praxis in education and society at large?
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/65719 (30 minute session) - 4pm PDT (US) / 7pm EDT (US) / 11pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
MSP2 SERIES: “Why Does E=mc2? Meeting of the MSP2 Book Club" with Kim Lightle. Our next selection for the MSP2 Book Club is Why Does E=mc2? (of course the 2 is squared) and Why We Should Care. This book should appeal to science and math educators alike - what every part of the equation means to modern science as well as where every part came from - even the = and what it means to be "squared." The book is available online at http://www.scribd.com/doc/23760253/Why-Does-E-mc2.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/61117
- 6pm PDT (US) / 6pm EDT (US) / 1am (next day) GMT/UTC (intl times):
NETGENED/DISCOVERY EDUCATION SERIES: “Hall Davidson on Budgeting / Big Picture."
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/node/67557
- 11am PDT (US) / 2pm EDT (US) / 6pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
PBS SERIES: “Dinosaur Train Geocaching Informational” with Maura Thompson. Informational session for PBS stations and any one else who wants to learn about this exciting educational initiative.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/67352
- 12:30pm PDT (US) / 3:30pm EDT (US) / 7:30pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
THE AUSTRALIA SERIES: “Business Breakfast - Managing Projects with Elluminate and DotProject” with Chris Sutton. In this second of the Business Breakfast Series, Chris will describe the time, people and cost benefits of using internet based tools for the total management of a complex development project. Using Elluminate and DotProject, a web-based project management tool, client and business teams have been able to work together efficiently and effectively across vast distances without the necessity to travel or use expensive tele/video conferencing. The combination of these and other tools for business enable SMEs to keep their costs down, remain competitive and produce high quality results.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/52137
- 4pm PDT (US) / 7pm EDT (US) / 11pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
THE AUSTRALIA SERIES: “Edublogs Serendipity - unconference session” with Jo Hart. Join us in our fortnightly unconference sessions. Bring along the burning issues and hot topics YOU would like to discuss. Topic is chosen by poll at the start of the session.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/59847
- 9am PDT (US) / 12pm EDT (US) / 4pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
CLASSROOM 2.0 LIVE! SERIES: “Parent Engagement using Sharepoint as Communication Portal and Learning Platform” with Mike Herrity, Asst. Headmaster at Twynham School, UK.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/56483
Thanks for your attention, and see you online!
[Cross-posted from http://www.stevehargadon.com]- 8am PDT (US) / 11am EDT (US) / 3pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
This Week's Live and Interactive Webinars
Below are this week's public, free, and interactive webinars through LearnCentral.org, the social learning network for education that I work on for Elluminate.Tue, 06 Apr 2010 10:23:44 PDT
The time of the events below will show up automatically in your own time zone when you are registered in LearnCentral and when you have chosen your time zone in your profile. Event recordings are posted and available after the events if you aren't able to attend them live. Be on the lookout for Australia-time-friendly events as part of the new Australia Series!
A number of folks have emailed me looking for an easy calendar import / RSS feed for these events, and while the developer at LearnCentral are working on a good long-term solution, you'll find my Google Calendar "hack" at LearnCentral.tv. Hope it helps!
I also hope you'll consider hosting your own public webinars using the LearnCentral public room--instructions are available by joining the "Host Your Own Webinar" group on the main announcement tab (http://www.learncentral.org/group/3432/host-your-own-webinars).
Monday, April 5th- CLASSROOM 2.0 & PBS WEBINAR SERIES
5pm PDT (US) / 8pm EDT (US) / 12am (next day) GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day." During this event, participants will learn about two new PBS projects: "Earth Days," a film by Robert Stone chronicling the history of the modern environmental movement, and Growing Greener Schools, a film and educational resources aimed at empowering students, teachers and parents to incorporate green ideas into both school buildings and classroom curricula.
Link: http://www.classroom20.com/events/pbs-cr-20celebrating-the-40th - TL VIRTUAL CAFE SERIES
5pm PDT (US) / 8pm EDT (US) / 12am (next day) GMT/UTC (intl times):
"On Being a Change Agent." What it means to be a Change Agent in Educational Technology with special guests Ben Hazzard and Rodd Lucier, and hostess Gwyneth Jones.LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/61749
Tuesday, April 6th- 9am PDT (US) / 12pm EDT (US) / 4pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Learning In 3d: Adding A New Dimension To Enterprise Learning And Collaboration" with Tony O'Driscoll and Karl M. Kapp. This session provides attendees with insight into how Virtual Immersive Environments (VIEs) are being used in organizations to encourage learning and collaboration. Attendees will review case studies of effective VIE implementations, learn the right design archetypes for D learning environments and review a list of guiding principles for establishing a successful 3D learning environment.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/62838 (advanced registration required) - 3pm PDT (US) / 6pm EDT (US) / 10pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Mind & Cluster Mapping: Can You Digg It? Web Applications for Research" with Rochelle Rodrigo. Good researchers are constantly processing their project, from brainstorming topics and foci to analyzing the connections between resources and their own ideas. Mind and cluster mapping technologies can be used to facilitate the research process as well as present the research product. The goals of the event are to make faculty comfortable with, and knowledgeable about various web-based applications as well as a scaffolded research (assignment) process. LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/52301 - FUTURE OF EDUCATION SERIES
5pm PDT (US) / 8pm EDT (US) / 12am (next day) GMT/UTC (intl times):
Join me as I interview Tony Wagner on his book "The Global Achievement Gap." "Despite the best efforts of educators, our nation's schools are dangerously obsolete. Instead of teaching students to be critical thinkers and problem-solvers, we are asking them to memorize facts for multiple choice tests... Education expert Tony Wagner has conducted scores of interviews with business leaders and observed hundreds of classes in some of the nation's most highly regarded public schools... He explains how every American can work to overhaul our education system, and he shows us examples of dramatically different schools that teach all students new skills. In addition, through interviews with college graduates and people who work with them, Wagner discovers how teachers, parents, and employers can motivate the 'net' generation to excellence."
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/60491
Wednesday, April 7th- 9:30am PDT (US) / 12:30pm EDT (US) / 4:30pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Shannon's Bright Ideas Center - LearnCentral Showcase." Want to get the most out of LearnCentral? Join us for a showcase of valuable features and a discussion on how to use them. Discover other educators! Manage Resources! Work with Events! Create and Join Groups of Interest! LearnCentral Roadmap! Gailene Nelson, founder and creator of LearnCentral community will be with us. This will be your perfect opportunity to share your visions for LearnCentral with the creator and hopefully see those dreams become realities. Co-Moderator and LearnCentral Guru Tammy Moore will be there in place of Shannon this week to showcase her success using LearnCentral and her Creative Whiteboard Lab.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/63942 - EDUCATION FOR A DIGITAL WORLD 2.0 SERIES
11:30am PDT (US) / 2:30pm EDT (US) / 6:30pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Towards implementation of eLearning at a multi-campus university" with Azra Naseem. This session will present the case of Aga Khan University (AKU), to develop a nuanced understanding of the processes of eLearning implementation at a multi-campus university. The authors will describe the step-by-step processes, and identify successes and challenges from the perspective of faculty and staff members charged with initiating and implementing the use of eLearning at the University. The session will conclude with a number of implications, as well as guidelines for other universities opting for campus-wide eLearning. 30 minutes.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/65705
- EDUCATION FOR A DIGITAL WORLD 2.0 SERIES
12pm PDT (US) / 3pm EDT (US) / 7pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Internet as a Platform." Shawn Berney will present the upcoming collaborative effort titled "Internet as a Platform". This collaborative work includes contributions from Peter Rawsthorne and Iwona Sokalska. The presentation will highlight: 1) The impact of technology design on learning environments. 2) The impact of technology projects on educators, administrators and developers. 3) The tactics, strategies and processes that can help move technology projects into the fabric of our daily reality. 30 minutes.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/65706 - EDUCATION FOR A DIGITAL WORLD 2.0 SERIES
12:30pm PDT (US) / 3:30pm EDT (US) / 7:30pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Creating Online Assessments and Preparing Learners for Authentic Displays of Learning" with Alice Bedard-Vorhees and Lisa Johnson. This session examines how various strategies support the development of lower level knowledge and skills that ultimately allow successful learners to become “curators” of sources into final projects and papers with the wealth of resources available at this time. Furthermore, portfolios are a place where those artifacts of learning can be displayed, either within a course, or as a cornerstone assessment experience for program-level purposes. In exploring instructional assessments that move students along this spectrum from assessment to portfolio, the following categories are presented: self-assessments and feedback loops, various activities that allow for student practice with faculty feedback, scaffolding, reflection, the gamut of learning expectations embedded in research-based projects and papers. 30 minutes.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/65714 - 4pm PDT (US) / 7pm EDT (US) / 11pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Setting up a Classroom Blog." Kim Caise and Lorna Costantini will demonstrate how to set up a classroom blog. The will cover the benefits of blogging in the classroom. Participants will create a classroom blog using Weebly for Education. Classroom management, user management, parent permission and content ideas will make up the 1 hour session. Participants attending the session will receive a 25% discount on a weebly for education pro account.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/66994 - CLASSROOM 2.0 & PBS WEBINAR SERIES
5pm PDT (US) / 8pm EDT (US) / 12am (next day) GMT/UTC (intl times):
"A Fresh Look at Teaching The Diary of Anne Frank." During this event, participants will get a sneak peek at the all-new adaptation airing on MASTERPIECE and review educator materials created for middle school and high school. These materials include a teacher’s guide created in collaboration with the Holocaust education organization, Facing History & Ourselves, and special Resources for Youth, which offer concrete ways to take action against issues of intolerance as well as encourage self-expression through digital journaling options. Speakers include the author of the teacher's guide and an educator from Facing History and Ourselves.
Link: http://www.classroom20.com/events/pbs-cr-20a-fresh-look-at - MATH 2.0 SERIES
6:30pm PDT (US) / 9:30pm EDT (US) / 1:30am (next day) GMT/UTC (intl times):
"TextbookRevolution.org." Joshua Gay of TextbookRevolution.org presents this student-run project dedicated to open and free educational resources.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/63031
- THE AUSTRALIA SERIES
4pm PDT (US) / 7pm EDT (US) / 11pm GMT/UTC ( intl times):
"An Edublogs 'Techie How To!' Session: Feed Learning with a Hot Potato!" with Jo Hart. In this session we will take a look at and have a “play” with Hot Potatoes. Despite a comment from someone on Twitter recently that it is “very tired and outdated” I still use Hot Potatoes to make interactives for my students. It is easy to use; works well for many of the activities needed to develop reading and writing skills and; I can upload the products easily into the Learning Management System.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/59850 - 5pm PDT (US) / 8pm EDT (US) / 12am (next day) GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Waking Students Up to Global Change." Robert Principe, the Director of Educational Leadership, Hiatt Center for Social Justice Education, will discuss how Beaver Country Day School (BCDS) building on its long-standing commitment to diversity and social action, has moved to significantly increase the integration of this skill-based global learning into the learning culture of every classroom. This effort is driven by a focus on “providing opportunities for authentic learning experiences beyond the traditional classroom” where students can apply their intelligence, creativity, critical social thinking, and technology to engage real world issues.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/62384
Friday, April 9th- 11:30am PDT (US) / 2:30pm EDT (US) / 6:30pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Mobile Devices for Teaching & Learning." Barbara Lindsey explores if, how, when and where these devices can be used for teaching and learning, in particular, for language, culture and civilization courses. Our guest for this session will be Travis Allen, currently a Kennesaw State University student, who created the iSchool Initiative in order to “advocate, support and implement technological advancement for students and educators in the 21st century”. We look forward to talking with Travis about his initiative and personal mobile learning experiences.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/67233
Saturday, April 10th- LEARNING GAMES NETWORK SERIES
9am PDT (US) / 12pm EDT (US) / 4pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Choosing and Using Video Games in the Classroom: After-Game Reviews." The learning that takes place during gameplay can be dramatically enhanced by effective after-play synthesis and assimilation. Find ways to connect the dots in order to strengthen long-term learning. Building outward from the game itself is one of the most critical parts of game-based education.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/58444 - CLASSROOM 2.0 LIVE!
9am PDT (US) / 12pm EDT (US) / 4pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Preparing Effective Online Learners." Preparing Effective Online Learners with David McGeary.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/56481 - LEARNING GAMES NETWORK SERIES
10am PDT (US) / 1pm EDT (US) / 5pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Designing eGames: Production Elements." Production elements are the icing on the cake of game design: 2D vs. 3D graphics; sound, music, dialogue. All of those pieces need to be added to the design document once the underlying structure of the game is established.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/61838
- CLASSROOM 2.0 & PBS WEBINAR SERIES
A Week of Experiments: Thursday - Aula 2.0
Thu, 01 Apr 2010 23:50:53 PDT
We're in day four of our week of social networking experiments. :) Today, Aula 2.0.
Tomás Chaskel from Bogotá, Colombia, has been super-anxious to help start a version of Classroom 2.0 for Latin America. When I announced that Classroom 2.0 was celebrating it's third anniversary last month by hitting 40,000 members, Tomás emailed me again about this idea and it was with some surprise that I found that the domain aula20.com was available. And so, another experiment was born.
Tomás has been starting to populate the site's framework with some of the same features as Classroom 2.0, and it's his hope that some other passionate educators will come and help build up the content and discussions. While I lived in Brazil for a year as an exchange student in high school, and my rusty Portuguese allows me to "compre-stand" most of what he's writing, I pretty much passed the point of my greatest utility once I got the network up and going. What I can do now is to look forward to helping create a framework for a series of Spanish-language open professional development events using the "Host Your Own Webinar" program I work on for Elluminate! (If anyone wants to help with that, email me directly!)
Much of what I love about the Web is the ability to experiment, which comes with a deep lesson: projects often surprise you. Something you think will be a slam dunk ends up fizzling, and something that comes out of left field can create and sustain significant interest you would never have expected. In general, I've found that I really don't know what's going to happen until the wrappers are taken off and others can play with the ideas--especially because early adopters are often more influential than the creators to the success of a Web 2.0 project. The experiments this week might never become big-time projects, but I can tell you that they wouldn't have the chance to be anything at all if they just stayed a set of notes in a Google Doc that didn't ever see the light of day and withstand the scrutiny actual users. Which is why I determined this week, while it's Spring Break and our kids are occupied with their own fun, to take some evening hours and actually push these ideas out into the open. So far: BookDiscussions.com, Library 2.0, Students 2.0 and now Aula 2.0. Tomorrow's the last day: a special double-play with OpenSourceCon and GlobalEdCon.
Stay tuned!
[Cross-posted from http://www.stevehargadon.com]A Week of Experiments: Wednesday - Students 2.0
Wed, 31 Mar 2010 20:13:47 PDT
So, while yesterday's "experiment" wasn't really that new or from scratch, today's certainly qualifies. "Students 2.0" is a brainstorm that has been growing for the last few months, and which started in a small restaurant with Jenny Luca telling me she wanted to teach a class on social media to students who might not otherwise be taught about blogs, wikis, and social networking in the context of building their own learning experiences. We brainstormed that evening and online, and the idea was actively simmering when I visited with Jackie Gerstein in Philadelphia after she'd presented at Educon 2.2 on "User-Generated Education." I realized that, for me, this was more than just about teaching the tools of Web 2.0 to students--it was about a mind-shift in thinking about how involved students can/could/should be in the shaping of their own educations.
Of course, I've been well-prepared for this moment. My original interview series at EdTechLive was with many of the superstars of the Open Source Programming world, all of whom did important work at a young age that was outside of their traditional schooling, but involved apprenticeship, mentoring, and communities of practice. My oldest daughter chose to homeschool herself and became a serious scholar of Shakespeare and other great literature, so I'd seen a student be a self-motivated scholar when provided with the right kind of mentoring and opportunities. I'd interviewed Arthus early on as well as the gang at the original Students 2oh project that Clay Burrell had facilitated, and I'd appreciated the work of Sylvia Martinez at GenYES supporting students being actively involved in tech support and teaching teachers. So the idea of some group of students actually being capable of driving their own learning made a lot of sense to me.
Here's what we've done to start:- I've scheduled a series of "Students 2.0" events at FutureofEducation.com to discuss this topic. We start with Robert Epstein to talk about his tome, Teen 2.0
- We're launching Students 2.0 as a social network. Here's our vision: "Students 2.0 is a network for you to connect independently with other students and with mentors to shape your own educational paths and experiences outside of traditional institutions. It's a place to explore passionate interests, build professional competencies, and form your own Personal Learning Network (PLN)." The site is very much still in brainstorm mode, so please encourage students and mentors/educators to join and help us make something significant.
- Jenny Luca is scheduling a "Learning Web 2.0 Series" for students that will be held in Students 2.0 and live in Elluminate, and which will start on April 21st and go eight weeks. She'd love some help, and we hope that this is just the start! As you can imagine, we've got lots of big ideas and really want to share them.
This should be interesting! Still to come: tomorrow - Aula 2.0, Friday - EduBloggerCon, OpenSourceCon, and GlobalEdCon.
[Cross-posted from http://www.stevehargadon.com]- I've scheduled a series of "Students 2.0" events at FutureofEducation.com to discuss this topic. We start with Robert Epstein to talk about his tome, Teen 2.0
A Week of Experiments: Tuesday - Library 2.0
Tue, 30 Mar 2010 22:24:26 PDT
This is day two of a week of experimenting with social networking projects, and I'm cheating a bit. But for a good cause.
Library 2.0 was started by Bill Drew in early 2007, a few weeks before I fired up Classroom 2.0. We kept in touch, and every so often we would correspond about our experiences running educationally-oriented social network. Some weeks ago I read that Bill was struggling with a spam problem on his network and had decided to shut it down. I emailed him and mentioned that I'd developed something of a system for dealing with spam on my networks, and asked if he would like me to help him or take the network over. It seemed a shame to think the network would be shutting down--first, because there were over 4,500 members, and second, because of my belief that librarians are a great model for the expanded role teachers will have in a Web 2.0 world.
Bill opted to have me take over the network, so I purchased the Library20.org domain name and set about to find a sponsor to remove the advertisements. Thanks to Elisabeth Abarbanel and Buffy Hamilton and the other librarians at Brentwood School, who generously stepped forward to sponsor the monthly fees from Ning, Library20.ning.com was seamlessly reborn last week as Library20.org. Wahoo!
So, in truth, Library 2.0 is not really an experiment and it didn't really happen today, but in a larger sense it really is part of this week of expanding projects--so we'll claim it anyway. And it is worth highlighting, so I hope you'll come visit or join the site if you are a librarian interested in the use of Web 2.0 and Social Media.
More to come! Tomorrow - Students 2.0. Thursday - Aula 2.0. And Friday - EduBloggerCon, OpenSourceCon, and GlobalEdCon. :)
[Cross-posted from http://www.stevehargadon.com]This Week's Webinars Begin with Sir Ken Robinson Tonight
Below are this week's public, free, and interactive webinars through LearnCentral.org, the social learning network for education that I work on for Elluminate.Tue, 30 Mar 2010 11:14:16 PDT
The time of the events below will show up automatically in your own time zone when you are registered in LearnCentral and when you have chosen your time zone in your profile. Event recordings are posted and available after the events if you aren't able to attend them live. Be on the lookout for Australia-time-friendly events as part of the new Australia Series!
I also hope you'll consider hosting your own public webinars using the LearnCentral public room--instructions are available by joining the "Host Your Own Webinar" group on the main announcement tab (http://www.learncentral.org/group/3432/host-your-own-webinars).
Tuesday, March 30th- FUTURE OF EDUCATION SERIES
5pm PDT (US) / 8pm EDT (US) / 12am (next day) GMT/UTC (intl times):
Join me for a live and interactive interview with Sir Ken Robinson, author of The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/60493
Wednesday, March 31st- THE AUSTRALIA SERIES
3am Pacific (US) / 6am EDT (US) / 12am (next day) GMT/UTC (intl times):
"E-blends and Regional/Remote Students Overcoming the Challenges" with Jo Hart. This will be an interactive session aimed at exploring some of the challenges (and some possible solutions) of using e-learning blends for flexible delivery to a highly diverse and geographically scattered student group across four AQF levels of literacy, numeracy and study skills.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/65232 - EDUCATION FOR A DIGITAL WORLD 2.0 SERIES
12pm Pacific (US) / 3pm EDT (US) / 7pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Cultivating Communities of Practice: Analysis of 3 Case Studies Using the 7 Principles" with Sylvia Currie, Patricia Delich, and Paul Stacey. "In this session we will describe 3 case studies using Wenger, McDermott, & Snyder's (2002) 7 Principles for Cultivating Communities of Practice. This framework provides a close look at how our decisions about community design and technologies to support community activities were made and revised, as well as a consistent and rich view to help those involved in online and hybrid communities learn from our experiences." 30 minutes.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/65701 - EDUCATION FOR A DIGITAL WORLD 2.0 SERIES
12:30pm Pacific (US) / 3:30pm EDT (US) / 7:30pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Blended Work – Experiences From International Development Project" with Susan Chrichton and Azra Naseem. "We know about blended learning but what about blended work? When we use learning tools in academic work place applications, what changes and what are the challenges? This seminar shares the authors’ experiences from the last fourteen months as we’ve navigated the virtual terrain connecting colleagues in Pakistan East Africa, the UK and Canada. Trust us, time zones weren’t the biggest challenge!" 30 minutes.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/65704 - 4pm Pacific (US) / 7pm EDT (US) / 11pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Blogging for Beginners" with Lorna Costantini and Kim Caise. Designed for participants new to blogging. Students will create a blog hosted at Weebly.com. Concepts covered - reading and writing a blog post, adding images, embedding video, what is an rss feed, and using a feed reader to monitor blog posts and comments.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/65209 - MERLOT CLASSIC WEBSITE AWARDS SERIES
5pm Pacific (US) / 8pm EDT (US) / 12am (next day) GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Connecting Concepts – Biology Classics Award" with Jan Cheetham. Students play the role of predators on moths on a tree trunk. Then, they play the role of biologist, analyzing the changing gene frequencies of the moth population and determining if the population evolved over three generations. Students will: 1) collect data by “eating” moths; 2) calculate gene frequencies for each phenotype over three generations; 3) interpret graphs of data their data to determine if microevolution occurred; and 4) explain how selection acts on populations.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/60496
Thursday, April 1st- THE AUSTRALIA SERIES
4pm Pacific (US) / 7pm EDT (US) / 11pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Edublogs Serendipity - Unconference Session" with Jo Hart. "Join us in our fortnightly unconference sessions. Bring along the burning issues and hot topics YOU would like to discuss. Topic is chosen by poll at the start of the session."
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/59846 - MERLOT CLASSIC WEBSITE AWARDS SERIES
5pm Pacific (US) / 8pm EDT (US) / 12am (next day) GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Texas Language Technology Center – World Languages Classics Award" with Carl Blyth. The Texas Language Technology Center is a model for innovation in technology-enhanced learning materials to teach languages. Many of its projects have won prestigious awards already and several have received five-star peer reviews in MERLOT, such as Tex’s French Grammar, Le Francais interactif, Ta Falado and Spanish Proficiency Exercises.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/60497
Saturday, April 3rd- MATH 2.0 SERIES
11am Pacific (US) / 2pm EDT (US) / 6pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
"MathOverflow." Anton Geraschenko, the founder, will present the research mathematics question and answer community MathOverflow.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/63030
- FUTURE OF EDUCATION SERIES
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