Simply Jaw-dropping! YES!!

You simply must watch then go try it yourself. Wow -- the understatement of the year...

PhotoSketch: Internet Image Montage from tao chen on Vimeo.

Expanding a Bit

Image by wytze via Flickr

Because of some changes within our department course offerings, this semester I only get about three weeks to deliver a Web 2.0 unit to my students in our Computer Apps class. So, while I'm not too sure how much I'll be focusing on new webware and apps hitting the scene, I can say I'm trying something new this year. I'm moodling.

I've had a class website for my students for the last 15 years or so. Making sites is nothing new to me as I also teach web design. I was a little reluctant to give up my handmade CSS site to try Moodle, but I have to admit I'm liking it. It's pretty darn powerful and it's surprised me more than once in the last five weeks. Now, I'm not saying it's perfect, but it's one nice piece of open source software!

Moodle is a learning management system (LMS) - a fairly sophisticated piece of e-learning software that allows educators to make some great interactive websites for students. Your Moodle (which means an "enjoyable tinkering") can be a repository of text/audio/video lessons and resources, but it's also capable of monitoring student activity and use of those lessons/resources. But what I'm really grooving on the most right now is how Moodle allows me to informally assess learning as we go so that I can determine if I need to reteach a concept if students aren't getting it. In upcoming posts, I'll share more about what I'm discovering and what seems to be working well. Moodle, as I've also discovered, has a really supportive online user community as well as lot of great free "plugins" that rock! Stay tuned.

Just-in-time Learning Resources for creating 21st Century Classrooms

Presented an hour tech training today at my school with the above title. It was billed as..

This hour long session will focus on accessing and using free, online resources available to teachers wishing to create a more engaging 21st century classroom. We will explore how to use various interactive sites to collaborate with teachers/classrooms around the globe, as well as how to access live and archived webinars for free, just-in-time professional development on various Web 2.0 topics (wikis, blogs, VoiceThread, digital storytelling, social bookmarking, and much more).

*Session is geared towards meeting ISTE Teacher Standard
5. Teachers Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership
Teachers continuously improve their professional practice, model lifelong learning, and exhibit leadership in their school and professional community by promoting and demonstrating the effective use of digital tools and resources.
a.Educators participate in local and global learning communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning

At the start of the session, shared this chart and key features of 21st Century learning.

Also shared the new trend towards “Open Professional Development” and the idea that districts are having/will continue to have a hard time keeping pace with the exponential explosion of information and new teaching tools. Professional teacher development in the area of Web 2.0 will occur, but will, more than likely, "trickle" down all too slowly to the classroom teacher. Thus, knowing about great, free resources can help us start the process ourselves, and help us dive into the topics that are the most applicable for our teaching situation.

Then shared these Open Professional Development sites/resources...

Beginner/General Information on Web 2.0 Tools and Rationale for increasing Instructional Technology in the Classroom

· http://commoncraft.com/videos

· http://ow.ly/jKgl

· http://educationaltechnology.ca/couros/1480

Podcasts to learn more about Web 2.0

· http://ilearntechnology.com/?p=989

Professional Networking Sites to learn more about Web 2.0

· http://www.classroom20.com/

· http://home.learningtimes.net/learningtimes



Online Webinars to learn more about Web 2.0

• http://www.istevision.org/channel.php?c=d3e6b874093399cc3aa3c8bc10cb16132f581660&v=2
  
  
• http://live.classroom20.com/
  
  
• http://www.learncentral.org

Online Lesson Modules to learn more about Web 2.0

• http://ebistro.org/menu/index.php
  
  
  And last, shared...
  

"Create connections with other classrooms from around the world. By joining these networks, you can search for global partners to connect and share lessons and experiences with. Create valuable international learning experiences for your students." From http://ow.ly/jKgl

· ePals

· Taking It Global

· PBS Teachers

· Classroom 2.0

· TWICE

· IECC- Intercultural email

· Global School Net

Other ideas and additions? (sorry about the sloppy formatting above - copied/pasted from Word and let's say that it doesn't necessarily play "nice" with Blogger)

Twitter as Phatic Monologue/Dialogue

Image via CrunchBase

Just recently I was at a learning conference where Twitter came up at our table; we were attempting to generate forms of expressive language activities and microblogging made the list. Not really knowing much about it, the others turned to me and asked what I thought of Twitter. As you know, I'm still a bit undecided on the real usefulness of this web app and have really tried to analyze how this all might be related to personality type.

What I then shared with the group was a comment (see below) I'd found a few days earlier at a post regarding Twitter in the classroom. Of most interest was the term "phatic", meaning "an expression whose only function is to perform a social task, as opposed to conveying information". Additionally, think of phatic expressions as "words used to convey any kind of social relationship e.g polite mood, rather than meaning; for example, "How are you?"

Twitter makes me paranoid. I've always thought of it as a form of phatic monologue/dialogue - most posts are speech acts which contain little informative substance, and simply prolong the act of communication. Instead of having a specific, utility-based purpose, they reaffirm that the "channel" (in this case, the Internet) works as a medium. Naturally, there's a level of addictiveness that arises as the user continually seeks confirmation that his/her Twittering is "heard" ... comment left by Jess

It is a very interesting thought. I can attest that Twitter can be very "phatic" at times and I thought the resulting addictiveness cycle worthy of some thought. Had never heard anyone put it quite this way.

I'd best not send out a Tweet of this new post. ;)

Fotopedia - Mashing up Flickr, Wikipedia and Google Maps

Turtle on Fotopedia

It's new and hot, and the sneak peak is promising. Introducing Fotopedia! Think of mixing Flickr, Wikipedia and Google Maps and you've got the basic idea of this new Web 2.0 app. While it's not fully functional yet, in just days you'll be able to do the following:

TAKE ANY PHOTO ALBUM AT THE SITE AND TURN IT INTO A WEB PAGE WITH TAGS, ASSOCIATED WIKI INFO, AND IF AVAILABLE, A GOOGLE MAP!

Plus you can comment and vote on the relevance of the picture in regards to the wiki article it is paired with. Once a submitted image receives five positive votes, it becomes a part of the Fotopedia encyclopedia. If it's inappropriate, you can flag it. Sporting high quality images and a clean and simple layout, user-friendliness is evidently a high priority. Those teachers wanting to have students appropriately use web images will be glad to see creative commons licensing pictorially represented on each image (attribution, share-alike, etc.). Additionally, as seen in the above slideshow on turtles, any album can be widgetized and used in blogs, websites or wikis. The widget's sleek interface is, indeed, refreshing. Community features also accompany the site.

Once the door opens to Fotopedia in a few days, users will contribute the bulk of the content; you'll be able to directly upload and then organize images via Picasa, Flickr, and more. Obviously, schools/districts who currently block Flickr will not benefit much from this new app. How will it make money? Fotopedia's mission statement mentions that it aims to allow "photographers to promote and monetize their premium content". Guess this is all yet to fully be revealed.

Web 2.0, Education, and Keeping Up With It All (weekly)

• Online University Reviews : 100 Most Inspiring and Innovative Blogs for Educators

  tags: Education, blog, Learning

• Nineteen Interesting Ways to use Google Docs in the Classroom - Google Docs

  tags: education, googledocs, Google, collaboration

• Increasing Student Engagement and Motivation: From Time-on-task to homework: By Request... | October 2000

  tags: motivation, teaching, engagement, education

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Online Conferences - Awesome, Convenient Professional Development for Educators

Time and money often prevent educators from attending as many conferences as they want, but Web 2.0 is really changing this. Many conferences today have some aspect of online participation either in real-time or via archived sessions. One really great directory to check out is the 2009 T.H.E. Conference Calendar. Set up your search according to month and geographical location. Clicking on a particular conference will give you details such as when and where, a conference description, who should attend, website location/reference and contact information. While not all of these will have a virtual participation component, it certainly is the trend.

First time trying some of these out? Here's one to try on: just recently I attended the FETC virtual conference. You'll find some great archived sessions here . Free registration is required-a.k.a some minor hoop jumping - but once in, go to the Auditorium and select from choices. Topics you'll find include the following:

Keynote: 21st Century Learning: A Necessity for our Students

Crossing the Threshold to the Future of Learning

Emerging Interactive Media: What to Use, When, and How?

Wireless N: WiFi Finally Delivers

Getting the Most Bang For Your Buck: Key Considerations For a Successful Technology Rollout and ROI

Impact of the Federal Stimulus Package on Districts and Schools

The 21st Century Web: Beyond the 2.0 Tools

The Future is Here: STEM, CTE & Academic Mergers

Students "Speak Up" about 21st Century Learning and Education Games

Digital Survival Kit: Empowering the 21st Century Educational Leader

Also, don't forget the awesome learning opportunities via all the archived sessions for the Live Classroom 2.0 webcasts.

Happy professional development!