topic3: Edited lesson plan

http://www.wikiteach.org/index.php/wikiteach/action/lessonplan/iVar/258
I looked for other lesson plans that employed Flickr, as that is what I chose to create my lesson plan. Here is the link to the lesson. This is a photo contest to help students learn best photography practices. It used Flickr to show off the photos, and judges would comment and evaluate the winner in each of a set of categories, seemingly informing the individual photographer. I suggested the class create a blog, and all comments from the judges could go here, using the tag 'photo contest'.

topic3: Erica's WikiTeach lesson plan

http://www.wikiteach.org/index.php/wikiteach/wikiteachmgr/action/lessonplan/iVar/280
Here is the link to my lesson using Flickr. I teach web design, and one of the fun ways to teach table design is through photos. As well, one of the pieces of the class is learning to use Photoshop. I combined the two ideas into one lesson (it would probably take at least 2 weeks). Let me know what you think!

topic3 - Wiki link

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proxy_servers
This link is to a wiki on proxy servers. I looked this up because my students seem to trust me enough to tell me when they are attempting to break the rules, which humors me immensely. Since our district has blocked many sites such as FaceBook and MySpace, which the kids want to frequent in their down time after their work is done, the students are attempting to use proxy sites to go around the blocked sites. Interestingly, the proxy servers have not been blocked - a topic I intend to share with our IT director this week when he comes to our building. This wiki gives a decent general overview, and then gets into some "nitty gritty" which is more than I think I understand. You have to be a techie to really want to know all the info on that link; or at least that's what I think. At least I know what a proxy server is now, and I got the info I needed :)

I share this because if you think a student can't get to a site your district/school has blocked, think again. Apparently, proxy servers are widely known amongst students...Honestly, there are days I feel I'm sooooo in the dark with what kids can do with computers.

WikiTeach Social Bookmarking Lesson

Here is my social bookmarking lesson plan incorporating del.icio.us posted on WikiTeach

updated Wikiteach lesson

I have modified my wikiteach lesson

Using a digital microscope

it now includes a connection to flickr.

I'm happy to have students use flickr in the way that I propose, but I'm still looking for a more interactive use of flickr. Something where the students upload and search at the same time. Maybe I could have students search for similar image tags and compare what they have found.

Also, on an aside.

The Economist is hosting an Oxford-style debate on education. It should allow people to participate by voting for their point of choice and give their opinions. As the upcoming debate deals with education, you may want to visit to add your two cents (or whatever amount you care to add). Which reminds me that Radiohead is selling their most recent album online and you only pay what you feel it's worth.

GIS Link

I thought this website was a very helpful Google Earth guide as well as ideas for creating lesson plans. The title says it is specific to earth science lesson plans, but I thought it was beneficial for Google Earth as well as other classes.

Meri

topic 2: Broadcast/Podcast

This is a podcast of students explaining fire safety. You have to scroll down to the link that says "click to listen." This broadcast also highlights students experimenting with how to do a podcast. At the end of the broadcast about fire safety, the students are obviously frustrated and trying to work with the program. I don't believe they realize the recording is still going!

Topic2: comments on broadcast/podcast

This is a quicktime movie that shows how to understand equivalent fractions. The teacher gives great explanations and uses students in this broadcast to give feedback in the demonstration.

Science Podcast-- Topic2

http://www.sciencemag.org/multimedia/podcast/ If you like to learn about science this is the place to go. There are podcasts on just about any topic you can think of learning. It is amazing. This site has a lot of potential to motivate students to learn more about the world around them.
I had a hard time finding the "best" to post. I chose this one because it was about some of the latest research on autism.
http://podcasts.aaas.org/science_podcast/SciencePodcast_070713.mp3 This podcast is about environmental toxins that are entering our bodies through some of the foods we eat. Animals are picking up bio-toxins and as we ingest these foods we magnify the amount of toxins in our body. This podcast also has a segment on AUTISM and the synaptic interaction that is involved. No one really knows the exact cause. Scientist are looking at the synapse and finding certain proteins are missing. Essentially, genes are being looked at that will produce these abnormal protein levels. This could lead to genetic test for early identification and put these children in some sort of educational or treatment program.

Week 3 Assignment

Here is the link to the lesson I created on WikiTeach.org and the link for the lesson I edited.

http://www.wikiteach.org/index.php/wikiteach/action/lessonplan/iVar/276


http://www.wikiteach.org/index.php/wikiteach/wikiteachmgr/action/lessonplan/iVar/233


I visited a couple of social bookmarking sites. The first bookmark was for a site that was about 10 lessons to teach your kids about money. I always tend to look for sites related to math. I also looked at a site that had math related bookmarks. Listed below is a site that I use very often and I also recommend this site to my students who are having difficulty in algebra.

http://www.coolmath.com/algebra/index.html

Wikiteach Lesson Plan

http://www.wikiteach.org/index.php/wikiteach/action/lessonplan/iVar/279

Here is the link for my lesson plan using flickr. In the lesson students are to photograph various tissue types, upload them to flickr, and then tag them appropriately.

http://www.wikiteach.org/index.php/wikiteach/wikiteachmgr/action/lessonplan/iVar/221

I added an alternative procedure to the above lesson plan to make classroom management of the lab a little more effective.

topic3 wikiteach lesson plans

Hi everyone!

I’ve posted my Life Cycle Of The Butterfly lesson plans on wikiteach.org at this link below. Enjoy ;)

http://www.wikiteach.org/index.php/wikiteach/action/lessonplan/iVar/278

Wiki's For Teachers

Written by: Jonathan Orr
As a biology teacher I came across a wiki called wikispecies. Wikispecies is a open source free directory of species. In a true wiki fashion anyone can add articles about a particular species. This would be a great spot for students to contribute information about species that they encounter, and of course an excellent source of information as well.

A second wiki that I could use as an educator is wikiversity. Wikiversity is a place for educators to create and share learning materials. Teachers can place simple things like content, or teachers can post lesson plans.

A third wiki I have contemplated using in my classroom is wikibooks. Students can add and create content on the wiki. There are many books that people can contribute to including wiki textbooks. By creating a wiki textbook the students are really making the content their own.

Topic 2 - blogs

I chose the Alan November blog @ http://nlcommunities.com/communities/alannovember/default.aspx

Since I have been commanded to remain current with new technologies and trends in technology in education, I thought his blog was a great way to see what's out there in the world of technology in education. Many of the entries require you link to iTunes to hear podcasts, and it recommends you subscribe via iTunes and new podcasts will be sent to you this way.

I find him humorous, down to earth, and quite simply "user friendly" - a nice feature in a sometimes robotic tech-laden world. I find the nicest piece that he highlights the work of others as what's cutting edge; he doesn't just champion himself as all knowing.

topic2 - podcasts

In my 11 year stint as an English teacher, before I started teaching computers this fall, my students often thought I was ready to fall off my rocker because of the ideas I would come up with to attempt to actually make teaching more fun.

I was charged each fall to help prep my 12th grade students for the dreaded SAT. I used the thick, cumbersome, and dreadful Princeton Review text, and the kids thought of it much like I did...a chore. A few years back, a good friend and French teacher told me she was doing French podcasts and posting them on her blog. She showed me where she was getting them from - quite simply iTunes in the Podcast section - and I looked around with her on that site. We stumbled across one, The Princeton Review Vocabulary Minute, and as quirky as it is, I loved it! It's basically a barber-shop quartet-like group who takes SAT words and puts them in context into a goofy song with some sort of theme. There is even a more recent one about Hollywood girls getting into trouble and going to jail - Lindsey, Nicole, and Paris (words are incarceration, exile, inebriated, discernment, and a few others).

The next day, I shared one of the podcasts with my senior class. Many of them gave them the raised eyebrow, scorning my choice as yet another stupid trick to actually get them engaged. But, as they listened, they started laughing, asking what this word and that word meant. I suggested we take 2 podcasts a week, and make those words the ones we would study to help prepare for the SAT. They agreed. They found the access easy, and many didn't need to use the dictionary to define the words. Their scores were higher on the quizzes. Imagine...they enjoyed learning SAT vocabulary.

topic3 wiki

One of the wikis that I visited and likes was School Computing, Technology in Kindergarten. This wiki gave a great overview of the use of Technology in Kindergarten. This is a wiki that is great for any kindergarten teacher interested in integrating technology in his or her classroom curriculum. This wiki help familiarize any kindergarten teacher with the use of technology in the classroom. You get the what, how, and why, of kindergarten technology from this wiki. There is an introduction, followed by standards, the rationale for the use of Technology in Kindergarten, barriers to using Technology in Kindergarten, hardware, software, examples of integration, resources, and assessment.

http://schoolcomputing.wikia.com/wiki/Technology_in_Kindergarten

Final Correct Site for WikiTeach lesson plan: Monet Paintings

I am having a time getting this site to post properly.. but you know what they say...third time is a charm! Sorry, I had previously posted the incorrect link. This lesson plan is an art history and painting lesson that intergrates flickr as a means of allowing students to see close ups of waterlilies, which are the primary subject of Monets' "Waterlilies".

topic3 Edited WikiTeach Lesson Plan

http://www.wikiteach.org/index.php/Wikiteach/WikiteachWriteMgr/action/edit/iVar/266
I picked a lesson plan on a subject that I knew a little something about. I was extremely hesitant to "tinker" with someone else's work. I hope/guess that's a feeling that will subside with more experience or exposure.
I added another component to Bobby's excellent Rock Cycle lesson plan. If possible, I thought it would be good to have real rock and mineral samples to observe after the Flickr or del.icio.us observations. Although the pictures may be of excellent quality, it's even better to feel and see the real thing.

Edited Lesson Plan on WikiTeach

I have edited Sheila's lesson plan by adding a introduction that connects the students to the real world and weaving. I also added a Google video that demonstrates a Lima woman weaving. I like how Sheila integrated math into the lesson by having the students measure their own yarn. Too often I hear teachers remark about the lack of measuring skills students have. I think this is because the measuring they are engaging in is isolated to a math problem rather than having a real world, working connection.

topic3 WikiTeach Lesson Plan

http://www.wikiteach.org/index.php/Wikiteach/WikiteachWriteMgr/action/edit/iVar/275
This is the link to my WikiTeach lesson. I chose to create a lesson on Rocks & Minerals because I will start that unit next week. This lesson uses Wikipedia, Flickr, and a projection device. I plan to use the lesson in the near future.

WikiTeach [by GLoveless]

http://www.wikiteach.org/index.php/wikiteach/action/lessonplan/iVar/273 this is the lesson plan that I created. It deals with teaching the Electromagnetic Spectrum. The plan has the students using
http://en.wikipedia.org to gather information on health and federal control issues for electromagnetic radiation. The students are engaged in a mock trial.

http://www.wikiteach.org/index.php/wikiteach/action/lessonplan/iVar/232 this lesson was modified to include use of http://en.wikipedia.org to investigate hurricanes and global warming.

Cell Phone Health Hazards[by GLoveless]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_phone_radiation_and_health THis was so interesting. I can see my students really getting into this because they use their phones all of the time. It also has some interesting discussions from people that think the information is incorrect and that there is not evidence that cell phones can harm you...

Research: Using online resources to gather information-Edit

Precious has a great start to a class project. I just added a few more steps to give them more practice using the bookmarks they created.

Edited Plan: City History, City Streets

I liked this plan a lot. What I did was add a little touch of "art" and site recognition by suggesting that instead of a lot of discussion and trying to recall streets in the city, that the teacher use a camera and take places of the things they plan to talk about during the unit. The direct link to the plan that I edited is below.

http://www.wikiteach.org/index.php/Wikiteach/WikiteachWriteMgr/action/edit/iVar/119

Audacity Wiki

This wiki is for users interested in audacity. It offers tips and tutorials about Audacity. It also lists other programs that are similar to Audacity according to the computer platform.

Wiki Edited Lesson Plan

I found this WikiTeach Lesson Plan very interesting. I do not teach music, but I have a very strong passion for it.

WikiTeach Created Lesson Plan

Here is a lesson plan I created integrating Flickr/Del.icio.us technology for our Earth Science Unit (The Rock Cycle). This lesson is for third grade.

Wiki Site

Here is a Wiki I came across I thought would be useful during our Dinosaurs and Fossils unit. It gives various states where fossils of dinosaurs were found. Children are always intrigued by knowing that at one point, a huge dinosaur roamed in now what is a current state.

Wiki Site Resources

As I was doing my vigorous search to find classroom friendly Wiki sites, I wanted to do it from the prospective of an educator (like me) who has never had ANY experience with Wikis. What usually helps me is if I can have access to a resource page. This link is to Education World, a wonderful resource for teachers that contains many useful topics. I did not expect to come across this on this site, considering I've used it for so many other things. It has some resources specifically for new teachers (and existing teachers) who want to try their hand at integrating Wiki technology into their classroom.

contribution to WikiTeach

http://www.wikiteach.org/index.php/wikiteach/action/lessonplan/iVar/250

This is my Soda Straw Weaving Lesson plan that I contributed to WikiTeach

Wikiteach Lesson Plan and Lesson Plan Edit

I chose to edit a lesson plan that I believe was done by someone from this class or a class just like this one. It was a lesson plan for a DV tool kit. My contribution was a presentation of the chosen bookmarks and rationale for those bookmarks to the class. I also added a portion to the evaluation in which students would be graded on the presentation and participation in regards to feedback and comments.
http://www.wikiteach.org/index.php/wikiteach/action/lessonplan/iVar/212

Here is my lesson plan for incorporating social tagging. I developed my lesson plan around fourth grade science and the curriculum concerning space.
http://www.wikiteach.org/index.php/wikiteach/action/lessonplan/iVar/271

Link to Social Tagging Lesson Plan at WikiTeach

This is the link to my social tagging lesson plan that has been submitted to WikiTeach. It can be integrated with Flickr. I made an account at Flickr and posted a few examples from the project submitted, "Artist-in-a-Bag" lesson plan. As a part of integration, a teacher could use a digital camera and upload the students art to Flickr and share ideas with other kids.

http://www.wikiteach.org/index.php/wikiteach/action/lessonplan/iVar/270

Wiki Site

I am not overly excited about the wikis that I found either. Like some of the other students have stated, several of the sites are hard to navigate through and require crazy passwords. I am also not very thrilled about students or even adults reading information that "anyone" can add and because it is stated on a well advertised site the students and/or adults truly believe it. The wiki site that I found most useful is:
http://teacherlibrarianwiki.pbwiki.com/ I thought it was a useful tool for not just librarians but any teacher. I also liked the fact that before you can add any information you have to email the webmaster and present what you are adding. There are also many helpful tools within this wiki like a syllabus creator and links to "how to blog". This could be very helpful to someone just learning about social computing.

WikiTeach 2 parts

I really wanted to do a lesson with Flikr, but I couldn't decide exactly what to do. Possibly I will use it with students to share images they collect during our upcoming Tunisian Studies trip (example), but I don't know what they would search for. I also thought about a digital microscope fingerprint activity where they capture their fingerprint with the digi scope, upload to flickr and then... I want to use the social networking tagging aspect of the site, but I just haven't grokked exactly how.

So my lesson as it is:
Using a Digital Microscope

Also, I love the song "The Erie Canal" and saw that one of the tags was for "Erie Canal" I thought, cool let's check it out. Unfortunately the link was not correct. I've added a new, hopefully usable link.

Enjoy

James Shin-Gay

WikiTeach Lesson Edit

I chose to edit a lesson that seems to have been created by a student in this class last semester. The lesson requires students to use Flickr as a resource to locate a photo that describes a chosen physics term from a unit just studied. The student produces a one-page product containing the description of the term, the photo chosen, and reasons why the photo supports the term.

I added an Extension to the lesson that encourages the teacher and students to create a wiki and display all the pages for a wider audience. Students could also seek other similar student-created sites. I also added obvious web resources.

http://www.wikiteach.org/index.php/wikiteach/action/lessonplan/iVar/230

Social Tagging Lesson as Support for a Research Paper

Using del.icio.us for Social Bookmarking and Tagging as Support in a Research Paper
http://www.wikiteach.org/index.php/wikiteach/action/lessonplan/iVar/269

This lesson is just one part of an overall unit on writing a research paper. Students will learn to use del.icio.us for the bookmarks of their Internet resources. They will write descriptions that identify a unique quality of each site being bookmarked to help them keep track of which link is which. The tagging choices will help them categorize what part of the paper each site supports. A code tag in each bookmark will help the teacher easily locate the students' bookmarks for review.

I am looking forward to using this lesson with all of my classes.

FLICKR

FLICKR

I can use FLICKR at my place of business to help promote enrollment at my place of business. We can use Flickr to post pictures of the different style of dorms. We would take pictures of the different resident halls and post to the site, so perspective students and their parents will have the opportunity to view the dorms to help them answer a few questions before attending. We can also use Flickr to post pictures of key persons that one can contact with questions while in the process of making a decision to attend. The best part about it is that we would not have to make the site public; it can be a private site that only perspective students would have access to view, with a password.

topic3 wikis

I have found myself both amazed and frustrated as I've searched for wikis to explore. So far, I've enjoyed "teaching activities" the most. I had difficulty negotiating the site at first, but it's beginning to make sense now. I've also found it frustrating that many sites have made it so difficult to sign-up and/or log in to access the wiki. I feel that I would need a lot more time to become comfortable with some of these sites. It has been almost impossible to obtain the necessary password to be able to access and contribute to any of the wikis I have explored.

http://teachingactivities.pbwiki.com/

Wiki that I found Wikispace

I saw that there were a ton of Wiki's! I did however find one that I liked, and would really like to explore further once the class is over. With teaching and taking two classes at Lesley, I haven't had the time to "play" with some of these great sites that I've come across.
I did like that Wikispace had an audio podcast format to show you how to set up for your account. At Wikispace, you can make a website where you can create webpages and edit them using their visual editor. Another good thing is that you don't need any technical "know-how" to operate the site.
From what I have read so far about Wikispace, it's like a blog, website and online community rolled into one. There are menus for help, community, about Wikispace. I've mentioned before that I like Wikipedia, but I never even imagined the company was so expansive. I was impressed by all of the "wiki's."
http://www.wikispaces.com/site/tour#introduction

Wiki-Teacher

I had never explored wikis before this assignment. I found several pages that were great, but I fell in love with Wiki-Teacher. This site has so many resources that any teacher should be able to use. I can't wait to share this site with my teachers. I also like the fact that you are able to search for standards lessons as well as a search by topic. After researching and using this site, one can't help but want to share the resources you have for the standards and topics already provided to be a part of this great teacher database.

Blog called: Wikis in Plain English

I found this site to be very informative. I learned a lot about wikis from the bolg and the cute video that I'm going to try to post below.

Business intelligence

This is the Wiki link that I choose:

Business intelligence applications and technologies can help companies analyze the following: changing trends in market share, changes in customer behavior and spending patterns, customers' preferences, company capabilities and market conditions. Business intelligence can be used to help analysts and managers determine which adjustments are most likely to affect trends. This could be very helpful at my place of business.

Lesson Plan Edit

I am not too sure about this site. It took me a while to find something to edit because I really don't want to ruin someone's lesson plan. I know I worked hard on mine and really don't want anyone to edit it because how will it be useable to me then? Anyway, I added links to a lesson plan links page. Here is the link: http://www.wikiteach.org/index.php/wikiteach/wikiteachmgr/action/lessonplan/iVar/93

Business Logo

I have edited this lesson plan.

Editing a WikiTeach Lesson

I selected a lesson on using a wiki for editing.

Social Tagging Lesson Plan

I created a lesson for elementary school students for conflict management.

Social Tagging Lesson Plan

I created a lesson plan that would train teachers on how to use del.icio.us professionally as well as with their students.

ABC of Alliteration Lesson Plan

Here is my lesson plan. I look forward to any comments or suggestions.

Topic3 Edit or add to existing wikipedia article

Assignment 3
Add to or edit a social computing article in wikipedia.
Prepared by: Bryan Tonini


For this assignment I added a link to social bookmarking within the article on social computing.
Note: My wikipedia ID name is belement (wikipedia recommended not to use your own name when creating an ID due to issues of privacy and spamming).
Link to article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Social_computing&action=edit

Link to edit history screen:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Social_computing&action=history

Actual edit as shown in the history edit screen
cur) (last) 02:53, 1 October 2007 Belement (Talk contribs) m (6,771 bytes) (I added a link to social bookmarking to the existing list of social computing links) (undo)

Topic3 Create a use at work for integrating a social networking strategy.

Assignment 3
Create a use at work for integrating a social networking strategy.
Prepared by: Bryan Tonini

Flickr

Flickr is an online photo management service where you can upload, organize and share photos with anyone who has access to the internet. This technology could be used in my office to share images of ongoing construction projects with clients and staff (I currently work in an architectural office that concentrates on residential projects). Since most of our clients are located around the country, I believe that it would be helpful to have a central source where project images can be easily viewed and organized.
I propose to use Flickr in the following manner. Instead of emailing photos to individual clients, my office would set up an account on Flickr. On the construction site, field staff from my office would post current photo documentation of ongoing projects or projects that have been completed. Since Flickr is accessible to anyone on the internet, our clients, consultants and staff would be able to access real time photo documentation without physically going to construction site. If someone such as a client was unable to physically attend a project meeting, they could attend the meeting via a conference call and still see the project photos. Having project photos online would allow people on the project team the ability to view the project without being physically at the job site. This technology could also streamline decision making if the project team could view photos in real time instead of waiting for an email or the project meeting.

In addition to clients, my office could use the site to post images of projects or individual issues that could be discussed between staff in our offices around the country. I would predict that better solutions to project issues could be developed since a diverse group of staff would be able to view the photos and then discuss the issue.

http://flickr.com/

Topic3 Post a link to a wiki

Assignment 3
Post a link to a wiki
Prepared by: Bryan Tonini

Curriki

Curriki is an educator focused wiki. The goal of this wiki is to “make curricula and learning available to everyone”. Curriki provides open source curriculum and other instructional information for grades K-12. The wiki has over 33,000 members and offers over 6,300 articles, web links and lesson plans in ten subjects such as art, social studies, math, science and the language arts. I skimmed a few of the postings and found that there is a lot of worthwhile information on the site. Some of the postings on the site include items such as math games, links to informational sites and ideas on lesson plans. Like all wikis, you are able to post comments on the posted materials. However, only members can post and see comments. In my opinion the site seems pretty robust and would be a worthwhile wiki to join and participate in.

http://www.curriki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Main/WebHome

Flat Classroom Project wiki

After exploring several different wikis, I found the “Flat Classroom Project”. This wiki is used as a collaborative resource and presentation tool for two classrooms, one in Georgia and one in Bangladesh, to work together discussing and reporting on a variety of topics from Thomas Friedman’s book, The World is Flat. The students produced text, audio, and video to present their collaboration on each topic as well as maintained a blog with the teachers for discussion and assignment reminders. Judges from around the world evaluated the students' work. The content in each topic is complete, thorough and a real demonstration of the use of technology to share with students across the globe in the creation of the content, while presenting their results to the global community.

This wiki is a tremendous resource for the students on how to manage all aspects of the project. There are directions on making the audio and video and uploading them. The teachers are careful to address privacy concerns about students sharing information over the Internet. Some of the technology the students used in addition to the wiki and a blog included Google Video, Skype, dropload.com, evoca.com, and Flickr. The teachers presented at NECC this June, and this site won several awards recently. Also, Thomas Friedman has mentioned this project in his newest edition of The World is Flat just released for publication. This project is an amazing demonstration of emerging technology in an education setting.

Only after examining this site closely did I realize that one of the teachers was the person who writes the "Cool Cat Teacher Blog" I reported on last week!

This video is a good introduction to the “Flat Classroom Project”.

5th Grade Weather Lesson Plan

Here is the lesson plan I created. I apologize for it saying that a guest created it. I truly created it and then realized I hadn't logged in so it only shows me editing it. I have the notes to prove it if you want me to scan them and e-mail to you. I apologize again as this is the first time I have ever created anything using a wiki. You can click on the title or the link to access it:
http://www.wikiteach.org/index.php/Wikiteach/WikiteachWriteMgr/action/edit/iVar/261

Photography Lesson Plan

I created this lesson plan utilizing Flickr as a means to display and critique photographs for the Yearbook Class. This would be best for grades 10-12.

topic2 podcast Grammar Girl

I have been a subscriber to Mignon Fogarty's Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing since her guest appearance on one of the morning talk shows about two years ago. This site is great to use with students, but also a great tool for the teacher. Each of her podcasts is a short 5 minutes that zeros in on a specific topic. The brevity and topic choice makes these podcasts and excellent choice for a teacher refresher course, as well as for student instruction or support.

http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/default.aspx

Editing Lesson Plan on Wiki Teach

I found an lesson plan on Brothers Grimm fairy tales. It basically was a direct link to Discovery web site. I encountered difficulty editing this site, so I my contribution was to create a new lesson plan as an addendum. I added to the Frog Prince lesson plan with the introduction of The Paper Bag Princess story by Robert Munsch. This story is a new fairy tale version where the roles are reversed. The prince is not a bit charming!

Link: http://www.wikiteach.org/index.php/wikiteach/action/lessonplan/iVar/260

French Lesson Plan- topic3

http://www.wikiteach.org/index.php/wikiteach/action/lessonplan/iVar/253

Above is the link to the lesson plan I created for French class. It involves the use of technology and is good for fourth and fifth grade levels.

topic3- WikiTech Lesson Plan Websites

I edited the Wikitech Lesson Plan Website by adding two science websites that have lessons for K-12. I could use some of the ideas in my foreign language class.
Maria

Arbor Heights Elementary School

I searched everywhere for an elementary school level wiki. Quite frankly there wasn't much out there. Most of the educational wiki's were for high school level students and technology classes in middle and high school. I was hoping to find a wiki that relates to the subjects that I teach which are math and science. I did find some algebra wikis but they were a little too high level for my fifth graders. One wiki that I did find was from an elementary school in Seattle Washington.
It wasn't really used for students yet although students do participate in classroom blogs. It appears that this wiki replaces a school web page. I was drawn to it by the comments from one of the staff members at the school who is hoping they don't adopt Everyday Math or Investigations in their school. What a great way to debate that topic! Here is the link to his comments: http://arborheights.wikispaces.com/message/view/home/285387 . A wiki would be a great way to have students collaborate on a project. The only problem is if one of the students edits another when it is excellent work and makes it not so excellent anymore.

Week 3 Social Computing

I am so glad to have visited www.wikiteach.org ! It was like a lesson plan heaven, and they are all free. In our district, we are just getting Microsoft Sharepointe up and running. In this technological day and age, it would be nice to have a data bank of lesson plans instead of looking through the "old" filing cabinet. Some of my colleagues see it as one more thing to do, but I think that it is an excellent idea. We have to turn our "paper copy" lesson plans in at our library in a binder. It is so aggravating to do that. I am hoping that they will create a school folder on Sharepointe where we can submit our weekly lesson plans, and the administrators can look at them online as opposed to stopping what they are doing and head down to the library.

Wikiteach seems like it could be a big hit with educators. I already like Wikipedia(smile), even though I know that you should double check anything that you get from the site. It's just so quick, fast and "in the know!"
At first I uploaded my plan but had left the PC for a few minutes. My page was still there with the lesson on it. I hit "submit" and it said that I was successful in submitting it as a "guest user."
I didn't know how to delete it, so I edited my own post to apologize. I then re-submitted my plan, "Soda Straw Weaving", which my kids absolutely love to death!!
This is a fun, and inexpensive way to teach "modern and portable weaving." All you really have to purchase are the straws, or if you have a business partner you can get them from, do that. The yarns can be purchased from one of everyone's most favorite Mart in the world...know what I mean?
Once you get the kids into this, I can guarantee you that you will hear talking, communication and maybe even a loud voice or two, but all of them are communicating about their soda straw weaving experience. They are all on task, they readily help others, and are actively involved in the process and are proud of their results.

Edited Lesson Plan

This is my WikiTeach edited lesson plan. This lesson has students creating a webpage using a word document. I added several steps that would enhance the attractiveness of the page.

The teacher-librarian wiki

I found this neat teacher-librarian wiki for schools. Ideas being discussed include: ideas for using wikis with students and faculty, social bookmarking, links to blogs, open source resources for education, copyright friendly image sources, and booklists. The copyright friendly image sources makes it a great resource alone.

Wikis are fun

Last year we had a "trailing spouse" who was keen to experiment with anything and everything regarding technology, pretty neat guy, but sometimes difficult to keep up with. He had retired from IBM and spent his days probably similarly to how he worked for the 30 years he was with big blue. Anyway, he had tried to interest me in Wikis before, but I was hesitant, something new, something comlicated blah blah blah.

Now, I'm realizing his perception in understanding that Wikis are not just Wikipedia.

I searched for "Wiki middle school technology"
and found Middle School Information Technology which has some nice activities which I'm sure I would have loved if I had found them 8 years ago. As it is, I still like the design element in their course work, but our school has taken a bit different approach to technology in the middle school, so I can't directly use the ideas.

However, I was intrigued and checked out what the creator of the wiki had done, and found that she has been quite a prolific wikier (what do you call someone who uses wikis?)

Anyway, one that caught my eye was Tech in The Middle which as I read the purpose of the wiki, I found myself again wishing that this was around 15 years ago when I got my first tech job. MSCOFINO states that as she(?) has moved from one international school to the next she(?) has found little or no curriculum with which to do her job, and then needs to create a program from scratch. This is my fourth international school and at one of them, there was some work left from a previous tenent.

I believe that the wiki is one example of a shared network that will make shared learning and shared experience a reality. We don't need to reinvent the wheel. It's almost mind boggling the scope that wiki and web 2.0 activities could lead to. Imagine only half the world (3 billion people) working on one problem. O.K. maybe that's a bit extreme, I've been on comittees that were too big to be useful, but the idea is sound.

Another neat site I found while searching around is: Teacher Tube
Has "educational" videos.

James Shin-Gay

Social Tagging Lesson Plan

Link:
http://www.wikiteach.org/index.php/wikiteach/action/lessonplan/iVar/248

topic3 Wiki Group

I believe that the first step in finding a wiki is to assess your purpose. We don’t randomly dial a number and talk to whomever is on the other phone line. The same holds true for finding a valid, resourceful group of individuals in which useful dialogue can occur. I wanted an ICT group with roots in the Ontario educational system. Not an easy feat when ICT isn’t even mentioned in any of curriculum documents.

WELL WHAT A WIKI….

I found a group of ICT staff in central and northern Ontario who has an amazing wiki and just what I was looking for…Only one problem- it’s now hard to get away from the site. I want to read everything they have to say! I think it’s important that time is taken to review the philosophy and discussions, articles etc. before joining a wiki. To me it’s like joining a sports team; you have to make the commitment. I know that this is a good one for my professional growth….

http://www.commun-it.org/

NOTE- It you select WIKI from the right hand menu bar you will need to scroll down to fine the topics on the wiki page.

Take a look at this link on Web2.0 from an educational perspective… Tim did an amazing job that will provide us strength to challenge the “I can’t do mentality” or the “flilter, block” approach to internet safety in our schools.

http://www.commun-it.org/community/leadandlearn/files/31/113/socialnetworking.ppt#256,1,Social

Networking isn’t just for kids!

I’m so glad I took the time to investigate this resource. Feedback welcomed.

Edited WikiTeach Lesson Plan

Here is my edited lesson plan on WikiTeach. This lesson has students create a logo for an internet business.

I noticed after my post of editing this lesson plan, someone else in the class edited it as well. So when you clicked on my original link, you see their edits now. So I re-did my link from the history page of the lesson plan.

OLPC Project- Wiki Site

As I was searching the wiki sites, this one regarding technology jumped out at me. I figured that I wouldn't be the only student interested in the "One Laptop Per Child"(OLPC) non-profit organization. Before posting, I quickly scanned the entries and saw a duplicate. But, believing in the true spirit of "wikis" providing an outlet to encourage many viewpoints from various contributors, I'm going to share my response to this site. I haven't read the other entry, so I apologize in advance for any redundancy! I was totally intrigued by this humanitarian project. We had read about the Maine laptop project, but this one is global and on the cutting edge. Nicholas Negroponte, an MIT professor has devised a project to provide a laptop for every child on the planet, including developing and impoverished countries. Now, that's a pretty big undertaking. However, in the last two years he is closer to his dream. With the cooperation of Google and countless contributors, engineers, and volunteers, working in every capacity possible, they have developed a one hundred dollar laptop that is rugged, has WiFi with 2-3 times improved range, and a battery lasting 10-12 hours. According to the OLPC Project,their five core principles are child ownership, low ages, saturation, connection, and a free and open source. This is a definite step in closing digital divides! This web site consists of 4,178 collaborative notes, two thousand files, and two thousand or more registered contributors.The advantage of having the site in wiki is that it allows constant up to the minute updates. It encourages world-wide participation in terms of feedback, donations, and involvement. The open response areas allow concerns, questions, deliberation, and information, to be shared that may otherwise not be expressed, or have a forum available. The project is only in the testing phase at this time,but the global involvement and positive energy contributed, will launch this program into possibly becoming a reality. Who would have ever envisioned a dream of such magnitude?


Link: http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Home

How to Develop Self Esteem--wikiHow

I searched for a wiki on self-esteem. I found this "How To" manual that you can edit during my search. After reading the article, which provided an interesting example for developing self-esteem (buying a pair of jeans), I was relieved to see the comments included on the discussion link. I was happy to read that others were slightly confused, too. Additionally, it was nice to be able to read the authors' comments to the readers. They defended or added clarification for what they included. Their example was odd to me, but they did include positive self-talk and taking care of yourself before you can help others, which would be two for the most meaningful tips for someone looking to improve their self-esteem.

WikiTeach edited lesson

Here is the lesson I edited:

http://www.wikiteach.org/index.php/Wikiteach/WikiteachWriteMgr/action/edit/iVar/204

It's a basic reading comprehension lesson that would be on an appropriate grade level for my MoID students. I spent quite a bit of time looking for something that would also benefit them. Most of the lessons I looked at were beyond the academic abilities of my class.

John

(JoHoNew on WikiTeach)

Edmark Sight Word Unit (Using flickr)

Here is my unit for teaching some functional academics to my students with Moderate Intellectual Disabilities (MoID):

http://www.wikiteach.org/index.php/Wikiteach/WikiteachWriteMgr/action/edit/iVar/245

Any suggestions or edits will be appreciated!

John

(I am 'JoHoNew' on WikiTeach.)

Topic3

My lesson plan link…
http://www.wikiteach.org/index.php/wikiteach/action/lessonplan/iVar/242

I wanted to explore an area where I could create a private wiki. Out school District has blocked all wiki’s due to the social nature of these sites. J Although, everything is wonderful and worthy of educational merits, school boards in Ontario are potentially liable for allowing the freedom of speech on their networks. Currently, we are investigating private social networking products offered by epals.

If my lesson plan I wanted to find an appropriate wiki space and have it ready as part of the lesson; hence, I discovered wiki spaces that allows for private posting abilities, students could be added by a teacher through their current epals email addresses.
http://www.wikispaces.com

Template
http://autobiographylesson.wikispaces.com

Finally I thought you might want to look at a discussion board I found on assessing Web2.0 wikis from a university in Scotland…
http://ewds.strath.ac.uk/ConferenceSessions/Discussionfora/tabid/90/view/topics/forumid/25/Default.aspx

It was interesting to follow their discussions on the difficulty of marking collaborative work on wikis and their solutions.

Edit Wiki on Wikiteach – After visiting the link above I added the idea of a reflective journal as a great way to evaluate student learning and experiences of wiki’s.

http://www.wikiteach.org/index.php/Wikiteach/WikiteachWriteMgr/action/edit/iVar/228

OLPC~~One Laptop Per Child!

During my research on wikis, I ran across the The OLPC Wiki (One Laptop Per Child), which is dedicated to the idea of cheap laptops for children in primarily developing countries. Originally, the idea was to develop and sell laptops for $100, and while the current target price is about $200 per laptop, the hope is that the cost will indeed drop to the $100 level by sometime in 2008. The five core principles that are espoused by OLPC are 1) child ownership; (2) low ages; (3) saturation; (4) connection; and (5) free and open source.

The basic concept is to market the laptops directly to governments. The OLPC was created by faculty members of the MIT Media Lab, and is now led by Nicholas Negroponte. The idea is to engage these students more directly by the use of a machine that has an operating system stripped down to a bare minimum and little mass storage. I was extremely excited to see that the project is still alive and well. The concept is outstanding and I hope to see it come to fruition soon.

http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Home

In addition to the OLPC wiki, I ran across a great, short (less than four minutes!) video describing what wikis are and how they can work. Check it out…it really clarified wikis for me!




John

Wikibooks

While exploring for wikis related directly to the high school curriculum, I came across wikibooks. This wiki is a free collection of open-content textbooks that any person can edit. If you browse wikibooks by subject you will find a list of just about any subject that can be taught in any school. For example, if you click on mathematics, you get an entire list of textbooks that cover math in one form or another. It may not be a book devoted only to math; it could be a science book that covers some type of math in the area of science. Wikis, like wikibooks, could be an excellent additional resource to all teachers in supplementing their current curriculum.

Educational Technology Wiki

As I was exploring the different wikis available, I came across this wiki dedicated to educational technology or instructional technology. While exploring this wiki, I typed in several topics to search. For example I searched “podcasting”. It gave me a wealth of information on what it is, its history, how it could be used in education, and provided a list of other useful links related to podcasting in education. A wiki like this would be beneficial to me as an instructional technology coordinator in locating information when learning about new educational technology. This wiki could also be used by my teachers to explore ways of using educational technology in their classrooms.

Descriptive Writing

Here is the lesson I added information to. I do a lot of descriptive writing and felt a certain amount of depth had to be added. I was unfamiliar with some of the software being used, but felt by adding elements which are more familiar to educators might enable them to use the lesson regardless of the software being proposed.

Wiki Wiki Where is the Wiki?

If the purpose of a Wiki is to develop and build a breadth of knowledge from various members of the Internet International Jet Set in regards to a given topic, why is it that much of what I visited seemed to have no rhyme or reason in regards to adding facts that develop the body of knowledge? In addition, many of them asserted opinions and a list of ideas or better yet running logs on given topics. No wonder I haven't spent much time on looking at this technological avenue. I will give credit to the person who developed the Wiki for which I am posting a link. It is a nice resource, but there is no body of knowledge that supports the reliability for the suggestions and ideas shared as actually developing the knowledge of a child in regards to the terms and ideas often found or discussed in children's poetry. There is no structure for the development and implementation of how to teach poetry to children although some of the links provide ideas for doing just that.

Calssroom Blog

This site has a variety of Blogs with different topics.....very creative.....and individualized....

Wild Classroom

I thought this was a very intresting Podcast site....It is for the Science Geeks.....it appear to be very intresting, especially for the generation that we are dealing with now....

Math Blogs

Again, because I am a math teacher I decided to search for math related blogs. It is amazing how many blogs are out there. If there is something you want to talk about, there is blog for it. I found a site that I have used often that had blogs on a variety of subjects. At www.artofproblemsolving.com there are all blogs on all kinds of topics. There even some blog where you can talk about nothing at all.

Podcasts

I am a math teacher, so I chose to look up podcasts related to math. I found this site called mathgrad.com. It has lots of podcasts that are about mathematical topics. I listened to a couple of the podcasts that were about solving certain problems. One of the ones I listened to was called the Famous Monty Hall Problem which discussed the probability of chosing the one of three doors which had the sports car behind it. There were several podcasts that had very intersting topics.

Even if you are not a math nerd, check it out.

Learning French online

A parent wants to give his son on-line lessons in French (their school switched to Spanish this year) and he has asked me for recommendations. I thought that this site http://frenchecole.libsyn.com/ would be appropriate for him. It has a variety of lessons for beginning learners of French language. Vocabulary sheets are also available. The disadvantage of this site is that it does not offer video clips which can be an effective learning tool in learning a foreign language.

French Lessons

The "Rocket French" site, while the courses seem to be mainly centered around a working "traveling/vacation" use of the languages, does have a couple of grammar/pronunciation/translation/common phrases (etc.) sections under the German and Spanish language course pages that your students might find useful. Look under "Free Lessons" and "Other Stuff" from the left menu once you have selected a language from their main page The French course page is VERY lengthy but fairly complete in its description and filled with testimonials. It's interesting if you have 30 min. to kill. Here is a direct link to their main page:
http://www.rocketlanguages.com/

topic 2 "Podcast For Educators" weblog

The blog that I chose is “ Podcasts for Educators” Weblog. It contains news and updates from the podcast directory for educators, schools, and colleges. This blog includes several great podcast channels for teachers and students to explore, website links, previous posts, as well as archives are also available for exploration. The one slight negative comment that I have about this particular blog is its aesthetic appeal. This blog wasn’t very visually inviting. Other than that this is an excellent blog packed with tons of very useful information concerning blogs. Check it out.

http://recap.ltd.uk/podcasting/weblog/blog.html

topic 2 Hurricane Katrina Podcast

The topic of the podcast that I chose was Hurricane Katrina. This podcast was a very educational, informative, and heartfelt memoriam for all the lives lost in the devastating hurricane. The podcast was created by year 4 and 5 students in Appleby Primary School located in Nelson, New Zealand. The students are learning new was to communicate using podcast. I chose this particular podcast for several reasons. New Zealand has some of if not the best school systems in the world. I wanted to see what the best were doing with technology in their classrooms. This podcast was not you average podcast created by elementary students. It was polished, creative, professional, entertaining, and well executed. Another great thing about this podcast is that Bloom’s Taxonomy of higer order thinking skills were incorporated throughout the production. This podcast is an excellent example of how podcast should be done in schools. Way to go students and faculty of Appleby Primary School!!!!!!

http://allanah.podomatic.com/

French Language

From blogs, I can select programs of commentaries, songs, news, and films to enrich students’ vocabulary, to improve their listening and comprehension skills, and to enhance their oral and writing communicative skills. Karaoke songs are fun to learn in French. They tend to be a little simpler and slower, therefore easier to comprehend. This Lion King video for example has both French lyrics with English translation. http://www.thefrenchcorner.net/

topic2 blog Kathy Schrock's Kaffeeklatsch

Kathy Schrock is a well known and trusted voice in the field of educational technology. I wasn't surprised that she would have her own blog where she's discussing the most current and topical issues in the world of technology. She calls her blog a "kaffeeklatsc" which is described as an informal gathering to drink coffee and chat. This chatting takes place across the Internet rather than in a coffee shop, but it's just as relaxed and effective. Congratulations to Ms. Schrock! On September 17, 2007, Ms. Schrock posted that Edutopia just named this blog one of the"10 Edublogs They Love."

Web 2.0

When I watched the podcast of Web 2.0, I surely didn't expect to see Scotland in tiny print, nor hear the voice of a native. Did the idea of Web 2.0 originate in Scotland? Some parts of the podcast were hard to understand; probably due to the difference in culture and accents.
I did get that it is a great communication bridge, and that if we want the kids to "behave," then the use of technology, computers, IPods, pod casts, etc. would be the way to do it.
I tend to believe that statement! We have Smart Technology's interactive touch technology in our school. It's like a huge screen television. When there are images, sounds, or any other kinds of movements going on, I have their undivided attention. It's like they get entranced and they will do anything that I say.
The trick is, though to keep the content active, fresh and alive, or they grow tired of it and lose interest...and they can do that quickly. It is a good thing, I know, but then we wonder where all of the ADHD comes from!!

Blog Search

I began my search on the Internet for the ultimate, most inspiring, and relevant, blog web site for this assignment. Being a "digital immigrant" first generation, I found myself aimlessly "surfing" the net. Most of the well designed sites required subscriptions, and free sites often proved to be unsubstantial. After many hours of searching, I finally came upon a site from a NECC 2004 Conference. It provided numerous examples of student blogging. I am a very visual learner, and this site enabled me to view a variety of various forms of blogging, done in the classroom. As a result, I gained more of an understanding regarding blogs. It also has another section, which is an initial tutorial for educators in beginning a weblog. The one disadvantage of this site was the 2004 publication date. However, this was an insight into the fact that the NECC was encouraging and promoting blogging three years ago for educators. However, in many instances, it is still an emerging technology in school systems.

Link: http://itc.blogs.com/necc2004/2004/09/elementary_stud.html

Podcasts in the Elementary School

This site brings us to Long Elementary School in Dearborn, Michigan. The school is extremely active in publishing student podcasts which incorporate multi curriculum areas. This web site demonstrates the students integration of technology with literature and writing composition. The three interactive podcast stories are composed by students across the grade levels, demonstrating collaborative learning in the project. The students are involved creatively in all the aspects of producing the podcasts through illustrating and narrating the stories. The final products represent vodcasts with the inclusion of audio and video components.

Link: http://long.dearbornschools.org/podcast/Long%20Elementary/HOME.html

smARThistoryGeneral Musings about using Technology to Teach with Images

This site was a great way to explore the possibilities of technologies place in art history classes. The authors seem to be very informed about various programs that can be use to make examining art interactive. For example, they reference a site called voice thread that allows you to make voice comments about a particular image. This would be a great way o have students examine a work of art at their leisure, then share their thoughts about it.

Welcome to Art Room 161

This site is done by an AP high school class. I think the teacher has the same idea that I had already thought about; technology can be used to allow art students to reflect on what they have created, as well as a way of explain their process of creating. The teacher has the students post an image of their artwork as well as a "tag" or comment about the work. The comment can be a reflection about the work or an explanation about the work. The teacher also allows students to make comments about other students work. This way, students become the teacher, helping each other to improve their work. Students also are afforded multiple feedback, rather than being dependent on the teachers' viewpoint.
As art teachers we often times neglect the area of assessment or reflection in exchange for sheer lack of time and the ever pressing need to have our students produce artwork so that we can illustrate to others that we are teaching our students. However, in falling into the trap of expectations from other teachers and administrators, we do a dis-service to our students. We don't give them time to internalize what they have done or express to others the what or the why they have created a particular work of art. The teacher that has created this blog has afforded his students the opportunity to share their thought process. This sharing of ideas allows the view of the artwork to understand that art goes far beyond a visual image. It illustrates thought!


The author of the site might want to consider making the site a bit more eye appealing consider it is a site that artists will navigate to.

Kathy Cassidy's Blogmeister

I explored several blogs, but I like Kathy Cassidy’s the most. I like the way she has it layed out and the maintenance of it as well. She has several ideas represented in the blog in which the students are able to express their comments about. I also like the fact that because of so many different labels, it attracts many different types of viewers. She has volunteers to come and help with learning the Smartboard. I also noticed another teacher in another country asking her class to view their page and make comments as well. I get the feeling this is the way a blog should be used to achieve its greatest usefulness.

http://classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger_id=1337

Division Podcast

Understanding continuous division podcast

http://www.mathgrad.com/podcasts/mgp2-20-06-sharing.mp3

This is a math podcast to be used in the classroom. I liked this podcast because it is one that can be used to help explain division. He seemed to give clear concise explanations of how to share (divide) equally and exactly what that meant. The students should be able to listen to this podcast in a class setting or at home with extra help needed for homework.

The Digital Divide

This is an interesting blog about bridging the digital divide. It is the world's largest blog for those interested in bringing technology to the forefront of education. You have to join in order to participate but it is free. Lesley University is not on the list of organizations that participate... I joined under my CGHS.. the high school were I teach.. It eye-opening to read what others are saying all over the world.

Teaching Math and Remediation

This is a great resource for those who teach students with math deficiencies. It offers several FREE math programs and ideas from other teachers in the same situation. It’s great to share and learn how others are addressing some of the math deficiencies that I have noticed in students.

topic2 science

Do you like reading about strange happenings in the world of science? Like a spider web that covers over 200 yards, 600 people fell ill after a meteor struck outside a small village, or why are the honey bees vanishing. These are just a few of the interesting things you can learn on this blog.

Puzzling Problems-Problem Solving

This is an excellent way for students to utilize problem solving skills as well as communication skills. Students can solve and post mathematical problems (there are various levels from novice to expert). If there are mathematical terms or concepts you do not understand, a link to an online math dictionary is available for use. There is also an emphasis on showing how to solve the problems. Problems that are not solved correctly are posted the next week.

One thing I don't really like is that although I have navigated extensively on the site, since there are new problems posted each week, it would be nice to have the solutions. But, then again, sometimes it is best for students to continue trying methods to solve problems instead of just giving them the answer. Overall, I would definitely use this with my students.

Here's everything! Podcast,Vodcast,Blog,Weblog, etc

Art Pod cast:
Sheila Samuel ECOMP 7010

Art Node Podcast
http://www.artnode.org/projects/artpod/
This was really neat. I had never seen this concept before. They had their page with a white background, and a black I Pod in the middle with interactiveness on the menu buttons. You could select several podcasts to watch. It wasn’t elementary school, or school “high worthiness” but to get an idea of what can be done with something that has such a high appeal to kids already. I could see how the use of the IPod icon being used, and podcasts more appropriate for younger kids uploaded to them. The paint over, one of the pod casts was similar to a video game. It took place in a paint can filler assembly factory and it showed how the paint was made, put in the cans, lids sealed, put on the conveyer belt and shipped out in trucks.
The second one I watched, and without sound once I heard them “howling” was the Man who strayed. Dumb!!! I guess they will let anyone who has the capabilities set up and upload podcasts to the server!! You have to look at that one just so you can get aggravated!

Incredible Art Blogs
http://drawn.ca/
http://sketchcast.com/ (The Actual Site)

Above: Drawn! The Illustration and Cartooning Blog
I was guessing that this “Drawn!” would be a “blog” like the one we have to set up. I tried to choose one in my general “arts” related area. I read the “about” the site info, and it is a site to offer daily “inspiration” to artists who just want to draw. I may bookmark this blog and visit it when I have some leisure time.
It is awesome. Go to sketchcast.com.You log in, get a new “page” and draw on the screen…right then and there. Save your image and simply upload it to the blog, send to friends, communicate with people. They are calling it a “sketchcasting” pod!! They may be onto something. I have to read further details, but I’m wondering how I could make or use something like this with kids.


http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/links/blogs.html#pods



Vodcast:
Sesame Street Video Podcast (Word on the Street)
http://video.podcast.com/
I also teach kindergarten, and at our school, we try to keep them up on using the technology that we have available as well. They are no strangers to technology, even as young as they are. Ask any kindergartener how to operate a dvd, mp3 player, video game, IPod, computer, and they can tell you better than you would have ever hoped for. It’s the time they are living in. The world is high-tech, and they are “born” right into the throws of the technology revolution.
I was a little thrown with the differences of the kinds of vblogs, blogs,vodcasts, etc. So a vodcast is a video and sound broadcast? Am I right?
As always, Sesame is delightful and entertaining. The format is just like on tv. It has changed over the years, the images are crystal clear, they went out on the streets, and interviewed kids teaching vocabulary then showing word then image so that kids can link the two together. It uses Brian Williams as an anchor reinforcing the word of the day on Sesame Street. Great for student to world connections.

Weblog:
Tony Peters Art Weblog
http://www.tonypetersart.com/blogs/index.html
First of all, I have to say what an amazing artist. His artwork was moving. I love scenes like that. It reminded me of Edward Hopper’s style…realistic and having that lonesome feeling, but at the same time the work stands strong. Tony Peters, and many other artists are using weblogs to get in touch with the public and spread the word of their art, relate to others, share their visions and creations in the art world. Kids would be too young to do this, but I could see some serious high school students designing a blog of their work and getting the word out about their talents. Even though the design of the weblog was simple, I was hoping there would be a comment box or something, more interactive buttons. There were a couple of his links that did not work. But overall, it too is worth the look.









Color Magic: video podcast

I just made this in the spring of 07 for one of my classes. It is short, simple and to the point. I used my Skype headphone set, my digital camera, some props and Windows Movie Maker and made this color mixing video for my “little ones.” It is posted on You Tube. Below is the URL.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZRXJuoa-s0








Mixing Colors
Grade 1
Ms Samuel

Intro: Did you know that all colors are made from three main colors? They are called the primary colors, and they are: Red, yellow, Blue


Task: We will learn how to mix the primary colors to make three new colors. These colors are called secondary colors, and they are orange, green and purple.



The final project will be to use the primary colors to make secondary colors through teacher lead demonstration and hands-on color mixing sessions.

Process:
1. The teacher will put children into groups of four.
2. The children will then work together while watching my video podcast I have uploaded to You Tube. Here is the URL:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZRXJuoa-s0




4. When the demonstration is over, students should have three primary colors and three secondary colors.
5. Students should also be able to describe what primary colors had to be mixed together to get the secondary colors orange, green, purple.

Elementary Mathematics Instructional Vodcast

I really and truly LOVED this vodcast. Prior to this assignment, I was not that familiar with them, especially to use them in my classroom, but I will definitely be using this one as a start. I love the colorful illustrations and bright colors that are used in conjunction with teaching the different mathematical concepts. The various topics would be most useful in beginning a lesson or using them as lesson grabbers. The animations that go along with the explanations are most beneficial to all learners, especially visual learners.

Topic 2 - More Blogs

Topic 2

Blogging in Education- View the two examples below

1. Classroom Example of an excellent blog…

http://classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger_id=1337

Wow what a beautiful way to showcase your students work on the web! Take a look at a teacher who takes time to share and promote her students through the web. I’m sure the parents visit the site and have a real appreciation of what the students are doing. It provides a visual to the old question “What did you do at school today?”

2. Excellent Resources on technology for all teachers. “Learning.now”. It opens a great discussion board on all aspects of computer technology. Our focus on school safety includes the issue of cyber bullying and I was quiet interested on the post “An Open Letter on Cyber Bullying”. I think this is an excellent example of open communication professional adult can have using a blog.

http://www.pbs.org/teachers/learning.now/

Topic2

Topic2-
Podcast
http://chatt.hdsb.ca/~magps/boylit/MP3/boy%20lit%20curriculum.mp3

The topic of Web2.0 I selected was podcasting. I found a wonderful website based on the Ontario curriculum which provides insights on how teachers could engage boys in literacy. Podcasting was listed as one of these methods.

Podcasting was described as a tool which could be used in the delivery of curriculum and a perfect fit for the reading, writing and communication expectations. It addresses the concept of how students will relate, retell or reflect on a particular concept or topic.

The following strategies were provided to get the teacher started…
1. Have students plan, and memorize (or closely memorize) their scripts, this will help students have fun and sound great.
2. Organize visuals and begin with a timeline on a data projector-give natural breaks during the recording.
3. Set up small groups with a variety of responsibilities.

Final Comments
I will share this resource with our Language coordinator. We just replaced half of our Windows 95 machines with XP in our elementary schools and installed Audacity on those machines. This is the first year we have the capability to do podcasting with our students. Its excellent resources like these that help move the project further!
Webpage
Podcasting in Education
http://chatt.hdsb.ca/~magps/boylit/Podcasting%20in%20Education

Looking for blog links. Look no further!!

http://supportblogging.com/Links+to+School+Bloggers

That is all I have to say. Check it out!!! HUGE!!!

Jonathan Orr

Topic2 Blog Assignment

Blogs
Written by: Bryan Tonini

The Fischbowl
http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2006/08/did-you-know.html

This blog was developed by Karl Fisch as staff development blog for the teachers of Arapahoe High School. The blog seems a great way for teachers to interact and give ideas back and forth. The main blog has links to other blogs within the school such as class bolgs. One of the topics I felt was particularly interesting was the best of the Fishbowl (blog) 2006. This topic was where Mr. Fisch chose the most interesting blogs of 2006. He mentions that he chose the blogs not only due to the topics but also due to responses.
This blog shows that not only can blogging be used to promote student to student communication but also teacher to teacher communication.

Special Education Blogs

The following are some of the blogs I have found in my search over the past few days. I have attempted to provide blogs from the teacher, parent and legal perspectives. Teacher blogs are important for professionals to be able to connect and discuss the wide range of special education topics available. The parent blogs are essential reading for parents as they learn to be proactive for their children and be able to obtain the best and most appropriate services for their children. The final category is necessary because unfortunately, our litigious society often pits the school system against the parents or vice versa.

1.) Special Education Law Blog
"A special education legal resource discussing case law, news, practical advocacy advice, and developments in state and federal laws, statutes and regulations. Postings include insight and sometimes humor from Charles P. Fox, a Chicago, Illinois attorney who is also a parent of child with special needs, and other guest authors." ~from the blog site

http://specialedlaw.blogs.com/

2.) Special Education Law Blog

http://specialeducationlawblog.blogspot.com/

3.) Special Needs Education

http://specialneedseducation.suite101.com/blogs.cfm

4.) families.com
Education Blog | Special Education

http://education.families.com/blog/category/134

5.) Best of the Web Blogs: Special Education

http://blogs.botw.org/Reference/Education/Special_Education/

6.) Teacher Lingo

http://teacherlingo.com/blogs/default.aspx?GroupID=24


John Newman

Educational Podcasts

Some of the podcasts I found sounded as if they would appropriate for my students who are juniors and seniors in high school and functioning about two standard deviations below 'average' (Moderately Intellectually Disabled~~MoID). The title for the podcast section was 'independent living' and is a topic that is very germane to my students and their families, as one of the goals for many of them is to indeed, live independently. However, upon closer inspection, these podcasts were not appropriate for my students, as they were quite a bit above their intellectual level.

Here is the link:
http://dafc1885.audioblog.com/rss/independent_living_podcasts.xml

It definitely appears that my area of interest is wide-open after perusing the Educational Podcast Network, as there were few podcasts that would be easy for me to work into my students' programs. I hope to continue to see if anyone else has begun development of a library of podcasts for students requiring continuing work on living, social and vocational skills or functional academics for MoID students.

John Newman

Blogs for Teachers

Written by Jonathan Orr

Blogs for teachers. Again a shameless self promotion, but you can check out my Anatomy and Physiology Blog portal. What makes a blog portal different than a blog. A blog portal is a website that allows me to host individual blogs for all of my students, instead of all of us sharing one blog. The company I used to create my portal is 21publish. It is here that my students reflect about what they have been learning and reading in anatomy and physiology. It has become a very productive learning environment with multiple comments occurring. In my opinion if you want to get students to read, make them publish their thoughts on a blog. Then they must link to the sites where they are getting their ideas, and they cannot write intelligently about the sites until they have read them.

Now I am looking down my RSS feeds in Google Reader, what do I share??? Here is a list of blogs I read about technology in education.

• 2 cents worth - David Warlick
• edu.blogs.com - Ewan McIntosh (I had pizza with him and Marco Torres on the last day of BLC07)
• Ideas and Thoughts from and EdTech - Dean Shareski
• Think:lab - Christian Long
• Webblog-ed - Will Richardson (I was tech support for one of his sessions at BLC07)
• Practical Practice - Dr. Tim Tyson
• Educaiton, Science, and Technology - Jonathan Orr (ME :)

I recommend any of these sites to teachers and administrators.

Just for fun:

Hello

I don't think that I correctly "labeled" my post the last time, professor, so I will enter it again heere. I just saw at the bottom of the text area the "labels for this post' section. I kept wondering why others had the little bright green "topic2" and I had nothing. Here goes!
Sheila

Our City Podcast

Our City Podcast was created by children for children (with the help and support of parents and teachers). The students submitted recordings about the city they live in (along with pictures and wikipedia information). Readers are encouraged to send email feedback to the students who created the podcast. I enjoyed the conversational tone of the the broadcasts. It was apparent that the students worked very hard on producing a clear, concise broadcast. This is a great alternative to encyclopedias for learning about other places, especially from a child's perspective.

Audiobook Podcast & Blog

This site includes audiobook podcasts and blogs for 18 1st grade students. The students shared their stories along with information about themselves ("About the Author"). The site included a teacher description of the activity which was a part of a library project. I thought this was a great way to allow the students to improve fluency and receive feedback from others about their stories. I am sure the families, along with other family members and friends, enjoyed listening to their child's creativity (and voice).

Blogs

How exactly, are you supposed to limit to one particular blog? I don't know.

Beyond the NYTimes I haven't found an author who I am willing to read over and over again. But I've tried to complete the assignment, and I find it pretty exciting to see the possibilities and extensive work people are doing. When do they get the time?

Brian's Education Blog
At first I thought I might have found something worth a check with this blog from Brian Micklethwait, but it kind of follows my initial thoughts of "when do they get the time" His most recent post was August 27, and before that was January 2005. Not to say that things he has (or had) to say are not relavant anymore, but I'm sure some of the issues will change, and I believe the currentness of the blog, and comments are what make it more powerful.

For much more up to date blogs, I think I will be subscribing to:
Cool Cat Teacher Blog
and
Education/Technology - Tim Lauer
I can't really comment much more than to say they both have current, September, posts and look to be very readable.

Educational Vod/Podcasts and Bl/Vlogs

The topics of pod/vodcasts, bl/vlogs are not new to me but as a special education teacher, I guess I have spent much more time concentrating on topics such as data collection and functional behavioral analysis that I have kind of put this type of technology aside. I know typically in the past year and a half when I have been assigned tasks such as this one, I do the work necessary and then later try (if it applies at all) to apply the tasks to whatever I can in my classroom. I thought I would be doing the same with this activity. However, after researching a few blogs and pod/vodcasts I found a site that has inspired me to try some new ideas within my classroom.

For both requirements for this activity I found a website sponsored by an Australian Public School called Orange Grove Primary in Western Australia. This is a K-7 school which uses the web to display virtually all aspects of school life. The two areas that I found most appealing were the blogs and pod/vodcasts sections. I was especially fascinated by the grade 4/5 areas since those are the grade levels that apply to my classroom.

The pod/vodcast section for the month of August is centered around National Reading Day. The year 4/5 students took a book and created a website for this book. The students interviewed the author of the book they chose. Those students turned their interview into a vodcast for students all over the world who are reading this book as well. This was very inspirational to me because it gave me so many ideas for ways I could apply this to my own language arts and literature classes. The students were engaged and genuinely interested in what the author, Elaine Forrestal, had to say about the book.

For the blogs portion of this assignment I also chose to use the year 4/5 Orange Grove Primary students' websites. These students took the book that was chosen for National Reading Day and developed a website that gave chapter summaries, displayed their artwork surrounding the book, and blogged their own reflections for each summary. This was a great way for students to share their thoughts and make inferences and comparisons about the rest of the novel. Many of the goals and objectives in my students' IEPs are geared toward these very same standards. This would be a fun and exciting way to fulfill those goals and objectives.

I team teach science with a general education teacher who is rather technologically savvy so I would like to try this with him first. I think it would be very helpful to have another person to bounce ideas with and troubleshoot with. We could use this technology in our constellations unit as well as our upcoming food chain units. This can seem overwhelming and stressful but I think if you were sharing the responsibilities it might not seem so overwhelming.

Here are all of the links in case one of the hyperlinks do not work:
http://www.ogps.wa.edu.au/room_3/
http://web.mac.com/nationalreadingday/Site/Welcome.html
http://web.mac.com/nationalreadingday/Site/Interview_with_Elaine_Forrestal.html
http://web.mac.com/nationalreadingday/Site/Chapter_Summaries/Chapter_Summaries.html
http://web.mac.com/nationalreadingday/Site/Chapter_Summaries/Entries/2007/7/25_Chapter_1____.html
http://www.podkids.com.au/index.php?post_id=251469