Rambling Reflections

Found via my Diigo friends bookmarks

This is an interesting video from Free Technology for Teachers, a new blog I have found.

This fantastic video (which I found via Dr. Scott McLeod) completely captures and summarizes my philosophy about 21st century education and teaching with 21st century technology. My favorite quote from the video in regards to education with 21st century technology is “death of education but it’s the dawn of learning.”

One thing that every teacher and, more importantly, administrator should take away from this video is that the current web 2.0 space is a space where students can collect data, collaborate, verify and challenge information. The Internet makes available to today’s students far more information than was available ten years ago. Yes, students can find misinformation, but they more options to challenge or verify the information they find than students have ever had before in our history. As educators we have to take advantage of the exciting new tools tat are at our disposal, if we don’t we’re putting our students at a disadvantage in the global market.

Thanks to Susie Vesper for this presentation. I think it’s something that all teachers should watch, especially those who have not yet made the connection with the power of Web 2.0 to enhance and enliven their teaching and learning programme!

I have spent the last few days putting together this presentation on ICT in education. Basically there are around 60 slides with two examples of ICT use linked to from each slide so that’s a lot of content! Let me know what you think.

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Thanks to Educational Technology and Life I found this link to Larry Ferlazzo’s blog where I found a wealth of lists detailing Larry’s best websites. He has several of these lists covering a range of topics. Below is a small selection from his Websites of the Year post, and these are not the latest! You can also access some of these lists at his website, Larry Ferlazzo, Teacher. These sites are definitely worth a visit.

The Best Web 2.0 Applications For Education — 2007

The Best Web 2.0 Applications for ESL/EFL Learners — 2007

The Best Online Learning Games — 2007

The Best Internet Sites For English Language Learners — 2007

The Best Social Studies Websites — 2007

The Best Search Engines For ESL/EFL Learners — 2007

The Best Science Websites For Students & Teachers — 2007

The Best Math Websites For English Language Learners — 2007

The Best Blogs For Sharing Resources/Links — 2007

The Best News/Current Events Websites For English Language Learners — 2007

The “Best” Articles About Education — 2007

From sujokat via Twitter I have discovered a great resource for video tutorials on a range of Web2.0 software and tools. This looks to be another welcome addition to any ‘newbies’ toolbox.

Wikivid creates video-courses made up of links to free video tutorials from around the web. During our “alpha” stage, content is limited to software tutorials only, but the vision is to add video uploads and more. Add your own video links, edit existing pages, learn, & enjoy!

Uploaded with plasq’s Skitch!

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From iTeacher (yet another Australian).

I came across this excellent multimedia presentation on TeacherTube called A New Way to Publish: The Rise of Web 2.0. The presentation is perfect for teachers wishing to learn more about the Web 2.0 phenomenon. It defines Web 2.0, and then it goes on to show classroom examples, as well as instructions on how to begin implementing blogs and wikis. This is really good material for technology novices who resolve to begin using some of these exciting, 21st century teaching tools.

Download Video: Posted by suziea at TeacherTube.com.

An explanation of what Web 2.0 is, a look at how it benefits children, a closer look at blogs and wikis and tips on how to get started.

This video was actually produced by Susie Vesper, a New Zealand ICT facilitator based in Wellington. I follow Susie’s blog and wiki but must have missed this – I think this is a gem to use with those teachers who are not yet convinced about the whole concept of the read – write web! My staff will be watching this before they begin their personal journey into the world of wikis / blogs!

To complement this video I will also direct staff to Andrew’s Web 2.0 Tutorial (he’s the ITeacher blogger).

It was the average, everyday teacher that I had in mind when I created a Web 2.0 tutorial on Wikispaces. I wanted to create an atmosphere where technology novices could get to know some of these new technologies without getting bogged down with computer jargon. I wanted to convey how easy it is to use these technologies, and how the Read/Write Web supports the values and goals of 21st century education.

This tutorial discusses blogs, wikis, RSS feeds and social bookmarking. It provides easy definitions, educational benefits, classroom applications, concerns and solutions, real-world examples from teachers and links to other useful sites. I also include links to more detailed “how-to” tutorials and helpful videos I have found along the way. This wiki is by no means finished, but it is finally in a presentable format. In the true spirit of a wiki, I encourage others to contribute. Feel free to add additional resources and insights. I hope you find this wiki useful in your school as part of a wider professional development program.

You can find the Web 2.0 tutorial at http://web2tutorial.wikispaces.com.

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I can’t really get myself enthused about Twitter or Second Life.

Twitter – I mean I barely have time to skim RSS feeds, get to the gym, and keep on top of the never ending curriculum requirements (planning and assessment), let alone spend more time typing little messages about what I’m doing.  It seems that everyone who is anyone is twittering  but I really can’t get enthused.

I think the reality for me is that I have already sort of ostracised myself from most others in my school who simply don’t get or want to know about the anything web 2.0.  I can just imagine their response if I get involved in twittering! Hmm maybe I will give it a go before it is obselete and overtaken by a newer toy tool. Now all I need is to find some friends or followers!

Next is Second Life. Yes I have tried it. Not really knowing what I was doing it took me days to get past the introductory stage. Once I had finally completed that I did manage to wander around somewhere ( I have no idea of where I was!), saw some buildings, empty streets and then stumbled into a library where there were some incommunicative types – probably just like me, wondering what they were doing and where to go to find all the interesting stuff thet the many blog posts talk about! Oh and I did manage to fly.

Basically it was a frustrating experience, another great leveller for someone who was beginning to think more like a digital native than immigrant. Yes I will give Second Life another go (when I have plenty of time) but I do wonder if it’s really for the less gregarious types, like me.

Both Twitter and Second Life leave me feeling that this is where I have to admit defeat and religate myself firmly to a digital immigrant status! Does anyone else have similar feelings?

I have to share this great find with everyone. I stumbled upon Susie Vesper’s wiki as I was clicking a a variety of links on this freezing cold afternoon. This New Zealand wiki has lots of useful resources and links, a useful resource for anyone strating on the web 2.0 journey.

Susie also has an educational resources web page and a cluster blog.  All sites are well worth investigating.

Many thanks to Allanahk for this link

You have viewed Sir Ken Robinson’s inspirational TED talk and here is another ‘WOW- look at this‘from TED Talks. The idea is that the collective images from Flickr orwherever are compiled into high resolution images that enable a threedimensional model. I liken it to Google Earth for photos. You can zoomin in high definition. An absolutely awesome idea. You can zoom in on
images, e-magazines etc and see fine detail without pixelation. Watchthe six minute video and see it for yourself.
“Photosynth creates breathtaking multi-dimensional spaces with zoom and navigation
features that outstrip all expectations. Dive into a freefall and watchas the speck becomes a high resolution image. Photosynth might utterlytransform the way we manipulate and experience digital images.”

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Yesterday Jill Hammonds, National ICT Facilitator, filmed some of my students sharing their thoughts on blogs. Here are the results!
Download: Posted by jillhammonds at TeacherTube.com.

Download: Posted by jillhammonds at TeacherTube.com.

This is a great video from Allanahk for those thinking of embarking on a having a web presence for their class.
Download: Posted by AllanahK at TeacherTube.com.

This is my presentation for the Time4OnLine New Zealand Conference that starts on 28 May. Yay- you get a sneak preview! It is six minutes long and here is a pdf of the shownotes! Time4OnLine Conference Shownotes

BTW if you haven’t signed up for the Time4OnLine New Zealand Conference you should head over there now and sign up.

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While cleaning out my saved posts I came across this one from Doug Belshaw, which I thought might be useful for lead teachers in our cluster. It could provide useful fodder for those still walking around with blinkers on, thinking or hoping that this whole web 2.0 / school 2.0 will go away!

Read on to discover 5 ways in which we can engage learners using technology, starting with the easiest…

1. Get a blog

A blog is not a difficult thing to set up – and it’s certainly a very easy thing to use. In fact, it’s top of this list because it’s the single most effective way of communicating with students who live in an increasingly digital world.

Whilst blogs can be set up for one-way communication (by turning off comments, etc.), I would discourage that. Set out boundaries with students and, if necessary, turn on the option to moderate any comments before they go ‘live’.

You can read about all the strategies here.

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