tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-213235922024-03-07T01:45:36.831-06:00E^2 = Educating EducatorsPromoting the learning of adults in schools.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger177125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21323592.post-34114985211804032222013-05-04T12:29:00.000-05:002013-05-05T12:31:55.063-05:00Beyond These Times: Reimaging School<br />
This second event in a two-part series, brings together nationally recognized visionaries for cutting-edge conversations about how advances in technology, increased globalization, and other major forces of change will shape the schools of tomorrow.<br />
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Internationally recognized thinker and speaker Tony Wagner, author of the recently released <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Creating-Innovators-Making-People-Change/dp/1451611498" target="_blank">Creating Innovators: The Making of Young People Who Will Change the World,</a></i> explores what schools must offer to develop students’ capacity to innovate. Wagner will be joined by Constance Yowell, Director of Education at the MacArthur Foundation, who is spearheading a unique partnership of thirty-four local organizations to help Chicago youth become tomorrow’s creative innovators and thrive in our digital economy. WBEZ arts and culture journalist Alison Cuddy will moderate.<br />
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Tuesday, May 21, 2013<br />
6:30 – 8:00 p.m.<br />
Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Navy Pier<br />
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Tony Wagner<br />
Constance Yowell<br />
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Admission: free<br />
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"Beyond These Times" represents a working collaboration between three Chicago landmark nonprofit organizations—the Golden Apple Foundation, Chicago Shakespeare Theater and National Louis University—all committed to improving the educational experience of Chicago's students.<br />
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Register online: <a href="http://www.chicagoshakes.com/main.taf?p=7,2,10,4">http://www.chicagoshakes.com/main.taf?p=7,2,10,4</a><br />
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The first event in this series was held March 22 and featured educational futurist James Gee and Illinois Math and Science Academy founder Stephanie Pace Marshall:<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21323592.post-70171760413560583592013-03-04T15:51:00.001-06:002013-03-04T15:51:32.238-06:004 ways to "Build your own PD" with resources from ICE<br />
Last week, the Illinois Computing Educators held their annual "ICE Conference" in St. Charles, IL (<a href="http://iceberg.org/ice_conference">http://iceberg.org/ice_conference</a>). Attending an education conference is great for increasing knowledge, building skills and most importantly, having an opportunity to meet and discuss teaching and learning with fellow educators. However, if you were unable to attend, consider using the ICE online resources to "build your own PD experience!"<br />
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1) Tune into the new ICE Eduvision channel, <a href="https://ice.eduvision.tv/">https://ice.eduvision.tv/</a>, to watch great keynote addresses by <a href="https://twitter.com/wfryer" target="_blank">Wes Fryer</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/pamallyn" target="_blank">Pam Allyn</a>, as well as several breakout sessions hosted by these keynoters and other featured speakers, such as: <a href="https://twitter.com/mcleod" target="_blank">Scott McLeod</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/teach42" target="_blank">Steve Dembo</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/halldavidson" target="_blank">Hall Davidson</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/techsavvyed" target="_blank">Ben Rimes</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/musictechie" target="_blank">Carol Broos</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/joebjr" target="_blank">Joe Brennan</a>.<br />
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2) Watch several sessions on the ICE Conference UStream channel: <a href="http://www.ustream.tv/channel/2009-ice-conference">http://www.ustream.tv/channel/2009-ice-conference</a> (look for videos recorded last week).<br />
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3) Visit the ICE Wiki for links to presenter info, breakout session slides, handouts and resources from Thursday:<br />
<a href="http://www.icewiki.info/Thursday-Workshops-and-Sessions.html">http://www.icewiki.info/Thursday-Workshops-and-Sessions.html</a><br />
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or Friday<br />
<a href="http://www.icewiki.info/Friday-Workshops-and-Sessions.html">http://www.icewiki.info/Friday-Workshops-and-Sessions.html</a><br />
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4) Finally, search through Twitter using the hashtag #ice13 (<a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23ice13&src=typd">https://twitter.com/search?q=%23ice13&src=typd</a>) to check out the "Tweets" posted during the conference (also archived at <a href="http://www.tweetarchivist.com/37df1d10/1">http://www.tweetarchivist.com/37df1d10/1</a>)<br />
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Happy Learning!!<br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21323592.post-25231205764325763622012-09-14T10:52:00.002-05:002012-10-13T14:26:01.599-05:00How are you celebrating International Dot Day?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">In case you haven't yet heard, </span><b>Saturday, Sept. 15</b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> is </span><b>International Dot Day!</b><br />
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Inspired by Peter H. Reynold's book The Dot, International Dot Day was launched by Iowa teacher Terry Shay when he introduced his classroom to the book on September 15, 2009. (Fun Fact: Terry chose September 15 because the original publishing date of The Dot is September 15, 2003!)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipnC_UE_wcsxRWS_pdCn6mp9_lKvi4vfvHYcxzssCChTtcZYV3WIleQuNmDQB5RvCequtE_LWMw_MI3uED1tvr_tlpOlQwQt0VXbajqj0kn2TmlIQI1NDcMLDSxBijt39Sfqu06Q/s1600/dotday.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipnC_UE_wcsxRWS_pdCn6mp9_lKvi4vfvHYcxzssCChTtcZYV3WIleQuNmDQB5RvCequtE_LWMw_MI3uED1tvr_tlpOlQwQt0VXbajqj0kn2TmlIQI1NDcMLDSxBijt39Sfqu06Q/s1600/dotday.png" /></a>The Dot tells the story of a caring teacher who reaches a reluctant student in a remarkably creative way. The teacher dares a doubting student to trust in her own abilities by being brave enough to “make her mark”. What begins with a small dot on a piece of paper becomes a breakthrough in confidence and courage, igniting a journey of self-discovery and sharing, which has gone on to inspire countless children and adults around the globe.<br />
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What started as a story in the pages of a book is transforming classrooms around the world as teachers and students celebrate creativity in the classroom. Even with just a few hours of participation, educators are helping to ensure that every student – whether in pre-school, K-12 or college -- knows that he or she has what it takes to make a mark on the world.<br />
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An International Dot Day celebration can be whatever you want it to be – from a 30-minute moment to week-long series of activities or even a year-long theme for you classroom. For ideas, download this free handbook from Fablevision: <a href="http://www.fablevisionlearning.com/pdfs/fablevision_dot_day_handbook.pdf">http://www.fablevisionlearning.com/pdfs/fablevision_dot_day_handbook.pdf</a><br />
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Also, be sure to check out this blog post from Karen McMillian, a 7th grade teacher in California, <a href="http://www.notesfrommcteach.com/2012/09/release-their-creativity.html">http://www.notesfrommcteach.com/2012/09/release-their-creativity.html</a>. Karen shares great examples of how she is using Dot Day activities to encourage her students creativity and to make a difference in the world!<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21323592.post-62951918393276372042012-08-26T13:40:00.000-05:002012-08-26T13:40:35.431-05:00Start your new year inspired and connectedFor those of you either ready to begin your new school year, or perhaps have just begun, here's an opportunity to start off your year inspired and connected!<br />
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Be sure to tune into the "<a href="http://www.classroom20.com/page/2012-learning-2-0-virtual-conference" target="_blank">Learning 2.0" the World-wide Virtual Conference</a>, held from Aug. 20 to Aug 24, all free and online. There are more than a dozen keynote topics, recorded and ready for your viewing. Learn from notable speakers such as: Julie Evans of Project Tomorrow, <i>"Connecting the Dots with Digital Learning - Speak UP 2011 National Results;" </i>Heidi Hays Jacobs from Curriculum21; Sugatra Mitra of MIT Media Lab; Lee Rainie of Pew Research Center; and Yong Zhao of the University of Oregon,<i> "World Class Learners: Educating Creative and Entrepreneurial Students."</i><br />
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The Learning 2.0 Virtual Conference is presented in conjunction with <a href="http://connectededucators.org/cem/" target="_blank">Connected Educator Month</a>, a "month long celebration of community, with educators at all levels, from all disciplines, moving towards a fully connected and collaborative profession..."<br />
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What are others saying about the conference? <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/search/%23learning20" target="_blank">Browse the comments posted on twitter using the hashtag #learning20</a>. Remember, you don't need to know how to "tweet" or "be a twitterer" to learn from the comments of others.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21323592.post-67184670977944558822012-08-19T23:02:00.002-05:002012-08-19T23:04:40.735-05:00Mobile devices in education. Which % are you in?A recent discussion among members in my PLN regarding the necessity of creating targeted professional development when deploying mobile devices, cited the following observations:<br />
<ol>
<li>5-10% folks play with it for 10 minutes and can rattle off 10 ways they can incorporate immediately into the classroom</li>
<li>20-30% folks play with it for a week and then see a couple of apps that might support or replace specific lessons in the current curriculum</li>
<li>20-25% folks play with it and, over the course of a few weeks, figure out some useful ways for a teacher to streamline processes (attendance, observations, tool for updating classroom website, etc)</li>
<li>10% folks see the device as a crappy computer without a keyboard - if it can't replace current keyboarding time then it is of no use</li>
<li>10% put it into their bag and never touch it</li>
</ol>
Are you part of a mobile device initiative? What PD would be most helpful in moving you out of the bottom 20%?<br />
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If you are in the top 5-10%, please leave a comment to rattle off some of your ideas!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21323592.post-59435476651780595422012-07-02T01:27:00.000-05:002012-07-02T01:27:22.512-05:00Looking to IGNITE some learning this summer?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"></span><br />
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 24px;">
Then look no futher than these IGNITE presentations featured at the <a href="http://www.isteconference.org/2012/" target="_blank">ISTE conference</a> in San Diego, and now viewable online. These sessions were presented on Monday, 6/25/2012 from 8:30 am–9:30 am. IGNITE presenters use 20 slides, rotated automatically and each shown for 15 seconds, giving each speaker a total of 5 minutes to share their passion.</div>
<ul style="font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 13px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<li style="font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif;"><em style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-style: italic;">Fast Five for Infinite Thinkers --</em> Chris Walsh, MC and First Ignite Presenter, New Tech Network</li>
<li style="font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif;"><em style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-style: italic;">Publishing Kids’ Creative Podcast Stories Online Using Haiku -- </em>Mary Ann Domanska</li>
<li style="font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif;"><em style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-style: italic;">In Record Time: Disruptive Innovation To Say the Least -- </em>Traci House, Director of Technology, Joplin Schools</li>
<li style="font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif;"><em style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-style: italic;">How Digital Video Changed One Teacher's Life -- </em>Rushton Hurley, NextVista.org</li>
<li style="font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif;"><em style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-style: italic;">What If?: </em>David Jakes</li>
<li style="font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif;"><em style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-style: italic;">The Evolution of Learning: Past, Present, Future --</em> Vince Leung, Co-founder, MentorMob</li>
<li style="font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif;"><em style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-style: italic;">Jump Off the Testing Train--</em> Lisa Parisi, Herricks School District—Denton Avenue School</li>
<li style="font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif;"><em style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-style: italic;">Will Free Benefit the Rich? Fighting For Technology Equity -- </em>Justin Reich, Co-Founder, EdTechTeacher</li>
<li style="font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif;"><em style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-style: italic;">19 Bold Ideas for Change -- </em>Will Richardson, Powerful Learning Practice</li>
<li style="font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif;"><em style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-style: italic;">What is 1,000,000? --</em> Alfred Solis, Buck Institute for Education</li>
<li style="font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif;"><em style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-style: italic;">Igniting Creativity with Movie Making -- </em>Selena Ward, Technology Integration Teacher</li>
</ul>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: x-small;"><a data-mce-href="http://isteconference.org/2012/program/search_results_details.php?sessionid=70278812&selection_id=77251679&rownumber=3&max=4&gopage=" href="http://isteconference.org/2012/program/search_results_details.php?sessionid=70278812&selection_id=77251679&rownumber=3&max=4&gopage=" style="color: #0066cc; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif;" target="_blank">View the video and download the speaker slides from the ISTE "Video on Demand" site.</a></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21323592.post-80183757928943214342012-05-27T12:32:00.001-05:002012-05-27T12:33:33.382-05:00Indentifying our gaps, planning for the futureThe end of another school year is just around the corner. In looking back at the year, I wonder whether we were successful in providing the technology support, encouragement and knowledge necessary for our faculty and students to be successful in this ever-changing landscape of the digital age. We have provided a well-rounded curriculum in our core subjects, we have enriched students experiences by providing a variety of elective courses and co-curricular activities. I wonder though, will our students who are graduating in a few weeks be knowledgable in the "21st Century" skills that will ensure greater success beyond high school? Did they gain skills in the "4 Cs"-- Communication, Collaboration, Creativity and Critical Thinking? And, where did technology play a part, if at all?<br />
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At the beginning of the year our teachers brainstormed about our use of technology. The question was asked, <i><b>"Can you identify any gaps we may have in developing the technology skills of our faculty and/or our students?"</b></i><br />
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As I read through their answers (posted below*), I see many mentions of <b><i>time</i></b> ... lack of, we need more of... etc. and the need for <b>support</b>, whether it's one-to-one, co-teaching, or just providing the permission to try new things, yet, not be held accountable if things don't work out.<br />
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How can school districts provide the time necessary to develop skills in technology? For our faculty, we have offered professional development in the form of "lunch and learns," which can raise awareness of a variety of teaching strategies, but not provide the time to develop and explore how to best fit these into a classroom. <br />
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How do you do best develop the technology skills of your faculty and students? Do you have tech coaches that work along with teachers? What strategies have proven successful for providing time and support? How do you ensure that all students are provided opportunities to experience learning that is enhanced by technology?<br />
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*Responses to the question: <b><i>Can you identify any gaps we may have in developing the technology skills of our faculty and/or our students? </i></b><br />
<ul>
<li>comfort level for teachers is still an issue . . . . </li>
<li>Multi-media use</li>
<li>We could use more professional development and hands on workshops in this area.</li>
<li>multimedia. We need Bob Pinta in all of our divisions to push us to do new things. </li>
<li>"Device for every student. Supportive training with teachers showing how they use an application and then follow-up with release time. Ex: Tony Reibel with math/science lunch and learn and then we have a follow-up release day on Sept. 15."</li>
<li>Time and adequate support with how the teachers want to use the tech. Please make it work for us instead of US having to conform to technology! This is very frustrating. Thank you!</li>
<li>time is an issue to learn and make mistakes and improve. Class time is limited.</li>
<li>Yes. Many veteran teachers do not use technology as much as the younger teachers. The assumption is that because kids have grown up with technology, they are able to use it. However, students' abilities to use technology academically is not always a given. </li>
<li>Work on increasing authentic learning experiences. </li>
<li>Continue to inform the faculty about legal issues and good citizenship behavior.</li>
<li>Databases and digital evaluation. </li>
<li>We need to identify where this fits into curr. and improve that.</li>
<li>Time.....</li>
<li>None known at this time.</li>
<li>there's not enough time in the day to learn/do it all</li>
<li>We are not given enough time to experiment with technology</li>
<li>We want one-on-one training in the classroom. </li>
<li>We need time to deal with technology and not to be taken away from our classwork. </li>
<li>There seems to be a gap between training and implementation. More teaching in sessions to develop more skills.</li>
<li>We can be using the second day of the week to help learn many of these things.</li>
<li>Great individuality exists on our staff.</li>
<li>"Copyrighting. It's hard getting computers in our classrooms.... make it more accessible."</li>
<li>This is not a one-size fits all; we need to think behind the technology to think about what we want to accomplish then work with the tech that will get this done.</li>
<li>No, we seem to always be moving forward and progressing in terms of technology. As a district, we try to incorporate as much tech. as possible to help meet the needs for our students. </li>
<li>We just wondered if there was a relationship between age and the use of technology.</li>
<li>We need to make our learning of technology more content specific. There are many programs that are offered to us but we are unsure if they apply specifically to us. We could use more time truly being able to use the programs while being guiding to see if they are adequate for our specific classroom needs.</li>
<li>"It's always a challenge to find enough time to create and implement new technology and have a back-up plan in case it doesn't cooperate.”</li>
<li>TIME. It is so difficult to give up prep time and teaching time to attend workshops.</li>
<li>"Online HWK/quizzes. Infinite Campus bells and whistles."</li>
<li>Time... after we get trained on something new, we need time to explore and integrate it appropriately. There is so much out there but when we're pulled in several directions, we have to pick and choose what meets our students' needs the best.</li>
<li>Need to more time to explore and try things. </li>
<li>The technology is not always readily available and unfortunately we often times can try to implement different elements, the technology isn't ready or doesn't work and then it does leave a teacher feeling very defeated when trying to use it in the future.</li>
<li>-Just doing a good job of knowing everyone is in a different place with their technology skills. </li>
<li>Time. It's that simple. Frankly, we don't have it for the most part.</li>
<li>Time for training!</li>
<li>Didn't have time.</li>
<li>Time!</li>
<li>SHS does a wonderful job educating and supporting teachers with the use of technology.</li>
<li>hard to keep out with what is out there, different technology for different classrooms. </li>
<li>Sometimes the technology frustrates teachers more than it helps them.</li>
<li>We have to build teacher comfort with specific technology skills so that they don't feel overwhelmed and can then successfully guide our student.</li>
<li>Perhaps the training that is offered is to too many people, and there may be a lack of time. Sometimes, faculty needs more time to explore what is out there and try new things. Is there a "fear" that trying new programs, locks them in and makes people feel like they are committed!</li>
<li>Continued support/workshops/ideas with the new iPad technology.</li>
<li>Any gaps seem to be due to the increased and constantly increasing demands on our time.</li>
<li>We would just like to see the knowledge of new programs/websites to continue to come out (and examples of how other teachers are incorporating the technology into their classes). </li>
<li>It's hard to have PD at the same pace that technology evolves.</li>
<li>Resources online students/faculty not aware of. </li>
<li>It seems like we have to start talking about what exactly those student needs are before we can break down the technology and the teacher actions. </li>
<li>incorporating technology into disciplines that are not tech friendly platforms for implementation.</li>
<li>There still needs to be more focus on responsibility in the use of technology.</li>
<li>web 2.0 elements</li>
<li>Perhaps more training/information about technology programs to implement in the classroom. </li>
<li>Probably, but I really do believe we're working on closing those gaps. It's just a matter of continuing to determine how to best incorporate technology into the classroom, both at the level of learning and teaching. </li>
<li>-More in service needs to be devoted to technology</li>
<li>Hard to find time in schedule.</li>
<li>Students are learning new technology faster than the teachers. There are so many more educational technology tools that the teachers don't have access to. And there is a divide between the divisions.</li>
<li>Lack of creativity & time to experiment. Teams can be an obstacle.</li>
<li>Not enough time</li>
<li>No</li>
<li>Giving more time for teachers to learn new technology.</li>
<li>Although we appreciate all of the technology available, it is important to know that it is like juggling lots of balls at the same time. It is really hard to do everything well.</li>
<li>Workshops on new technology implements. </li>
<li>No. Each division will utilize technology in different ways and different amount of times. We cannot expect PE to utilize technology as much as Science, but when appropriate it is being included by all divisions.</li>
<li>We could use more evidence of the effectiveness of technology to enhance learning to better help teachers select what to focus on learning to do.</li>
<li>Yes, it depends on the subject and course, as well as student population.</li>
<li>How do we even become aware of new technologies? We are interested once we know them, but they are sometimes hard to find.</li>
<li>I think students need more access to computer labs and ipads -- it shouldn't be a struggle to get computers to kids like it is in this school.</li>
<li>"time and the shared learning opportunities during school time. use of technology to differentiate instruction, provide formative assessments on a daily or weekly basis and personalize the learning experience for all students! "</li>
<li>We have lots of opportunity to grow. We probably just need more time.</li>
<li>Proficiency relies upon need of the resource, as well as our use of it (time dedicated to figuring it out, trial & error, etc...)</li>
<li>We to have "tech" people to be in the classroom with teachers as they learn technology. This would boost their confidence and willingness to take some technological chances.</li>
<li>Encourage novice learners one way in which they can work with technology during the year to improve teaching and learning. Too much can be overwhelming.</li>
<li>More recent developments in technology (wikis, blogs, etc.)....teachers seem to need to more initiative to develop skills using these more recently developed technology tools</li>
<li>We need more time!!!!!</li>
<li>Not at this time.</li>
<li>Ipad applications </li>
</ul>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21323592.post-88230307238578404142012-04-29T10:56:00.000-05:002012-04-29T10:56:40.643-05:00TED-Ed: Lessons Worth SharingI've often posted about my admiration for <a href="http://www.ted.com/" target="_blank">TED</a> <i>(Riveting talks by remarkable people, free to the world)</i> and have used a number of TED Talks in professional development workshops. I am very excited to learn about <a href="http://ed.ted.com/" target="_blank">TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing</a> which, although is currently in beta, already boasts 62 videos and 1,078 flips. Kudos to the TED-Ed team: Logan Smalley, Jordan Reeves, Stephanie Lo and Bedirhan Cinar. I'll let them explain this exciting tool that provides free resources to promote learning:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21323592.post-38628647985094333192012-03-07T19:51:00.002-06:002012-03-07T19:51:34.437-06:00iPad in the News (no it's not about the new iPad 3)This is not about iPad 3... but rather some apps that we might consider taking a look at.<br />
<br />
The first is "<a href="http://reflectionapp.com/" target="_blank">Reflection</a>" ... for $14.99 a single license, or $49.99 for 5 licenses, it allows you to mirror your iPad (and multiple iPads at once TO your computer, which if connected to a projector can be used to share student work, or teach from the iPad. You can download a free trial that will run for only 10 min. This is a hot topic and may be a better solution than the Apple TV.<br />
<br />
See Tony Vincent's review at:<br />
<a href="http://learninginhand.com/blog/ive-been-waiting-for-this-airplay-mirroring-to-a-mac-no-appl.html">http://learninginhand.com/blog/ive-been-waiting-for-this-airplay-mirroring-to-a-mac-no-appl.html</a><br />
<br />
Also of interest is Configurator, announced by Apple today.<br />
<a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/apple-configurator/id434433123?mt=12&ls=1#">http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/apple-configurator/id434433123?mt=12&ls=1#</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">Apple has released Configurator, a free app for OS X that makes it easy to administer several iOS devices at a time. Nice for schools, businesses or even a big family.<br />
<br />
Three simple workflows let you prepare new iOS devices for immediate distribution, supervise devices that need to maintain a standard configuration, and assign devices to users. Quickly update 30 devices at a time to the latest version of iOS, configure settings, and install apps and data for your students, employees, or patrons.<br />
<br />
Apple Configurator can be used by larger organizations and businesses to set up new devices, install enterprise apps, and enroll each device with a Mobile Device Management solution for remote management by an IT administrator. It is perfect for the classroom or student lab where devices need to be quickly refreshed and kept up to date with the correct settings, approved policies, apps and data. Apple Configurator can also be used to personalize devices with data and documents for specific users, and an administrator can apply custom text, wallpaper, or the user's picture to a device's Lock screen.<br />
<br />
The app is a 15.8 MB download from the Mac app store and requires os X 10.7.2 or later.<br />
</blockquote>Source: <a href="http://www.tuaw.com/2012/03/07/apple-releases-configurator-app-for-mac/">http://www.tuaw.com/2012/03/07/apple-releases-configurator-app-for-mac/</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21323592.post-83587777426893864102012-01-07T09:55:00.000-06:002012-01-07T09:55:41.082-06:00Learning Ideas with iBooks and iPadDid you know...<br />
If you have the most current version of iBooks and iOS, you can now highlight text in iBooks using several different colors. Think about highlighting a main idea in one color, and then highlighting supporting evidence to that idea in another. Or, consider doing this for character development. Then, when you tap on the "Table of Contents" .. you have a great set of study notes!!<br />
<br />
Did you also know that it is now possible to select a passage of text and have the iPad read to you? This works on web pages, in iBooks, and anywhere you can select text!! To activate the Speak Text feature on your iPad, tap on Settings > General > ... scroll down to Accessibility, and turn on "Speak Selection." (If you don't have this option, be sure you have updated your iPad ... you will be prompted to update when you sync in iTunes).<br />
<div><br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21323592.post-64134469129300927212012-01-06T00:16:00.004-06:002012-01-06T00:22:46.810-06:00What's "new" for you in the New Year?The start of each new year provides us with an opportunity to begin anew: to start or to stop doing things that are good or bad for us or our families, our jobs, etc. This is the season for fresh starts, or perhaps resolving to change. And, as good as our intentions may be, it's not always easy to sustain that change, or "new" thing we have chosen to commit to.<br />
<br />
This <a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/matt_cutts_try_something_new_for_30_days.html" target="_blank">TED Talk video from Matt Cutts</a> might help those of us who struggle with change, whether its major or minor. I believe that taking baby steps is a good way to embark on the journey. I also think that it's sometimes hard to take that first step, however small. So, if long-term lifestyle changes or resolutions don't seem achieveable in your immediate future, perhaps just taking a 30-day challenge would provide the kick-start you need. As Matt says, "30 days is just about the right amount of time to add a new habit or subtract a habit -- like watching the news -- from your life."<br />
<br />
I think I can.... I think I can .... do you?<br />
<br />
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<i>I would like to give each of my students oral comments rather than written ones for a paper they are working on. How can I create and then deliver these comments?</i><br />
<br />
Here are 2 ideas that use iOS devices:<br />
<br />
1. For audio only...<br />
Using an iPad, iPod Touch or iPhone, and the free app <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/app/audioboo/id305204540?mt=8" target="_blank">AudioBoo</a>, record your commentary and publish your audiboo using a indentifying "tag" that is unique to the student... such as their student ID and class period: 12345p6. Students would then locate their commentary files online at http://AudioBoo.fm/tag/12345p6 <-- using their unique tag word at the end of the address. This would also provide an aggregated list of all of their feedback you post using "their tag," which can be listened to on the web, or subscribed to in iTunes.<br />
<br />
2. If you have an iPad2 consider the free app called <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/screenchomp/id442415881?mt=8" target="_blank">ScreenChomp</a>. You can load the the student's paper as a background image (it will need to be converted to an image file), or by using the built-in camera to snap a picture of the paper.<br />
<br />
You can then provide some commentary, and use the tools to annotate items on the page. ScreenChomp saves your commentary as a movie. When finished, publish the movie to ScreenChomp and use the share button to "copy the link" which can then be emailed to the student.<br />
<br />
Here's a sample of how it might look:<br />
<a href="http://www.screenchomp.com/t/4pwB1BVPDp">http://www.screenchomp.com/t/4pwB1BVPDp</a><br />
<br />
For a nice comparison of iPad screencasting apps, read <a href="http://appsineducation.blogspot.com/2011/12/screencasting-apps-for-ipad.html">http://appsineducation.blogspot.com/2011/12/screencasting-apps-for-ipad.html</a><br />
<br />
Or, if using a computer...<br />
Some of our World Languages teachers are using Screencasting software (such as <a href="http://screenr.com/">http://screenr.com</a>) to provide assessments on digital products, which they view on their computers, and then speak about what is being viewed.<br />
<br />
Here's a sample of how that might look when viewing and commenting on a word document:<br />
<a href="http://screenr.com/JmLs">http://screenr.com/JmLs</a>.<br />
<br />
Note that with this method, all of the screencasts uploaded to a Screenr account are visible online, so teachers might not wish to identify specific students. This would also allow students to view the work of their peers, and gain futher insight based on the teacher comments.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21323592.post-9862238647054442062011-12-04T18:25:00.000-06:002011-12-04T18:25:30.967-06:00K-12 Online Conference 2011! Tune in to learn!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://k12onlineconference.org/wp-content/themes/Permanent/images/k12online2011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://k12onlineconference.org/wp-content/themes/Permanent/images/k12online2011.jpg" /></a></div>The free K-12 Online Conference, now in it's 6th year, is entering its 2nd week!<br />
K-12 Online Conference for 2011 – Purposeful Play, runs from Nov 28 – Dec 8, 2011.<br />
<br />
The K-12 Online Conference invites participation from educators around the world interested in innovative ways Web 2.0 tools and technologies can be used to improve learning. This year, educators can also earn professional development (CPE) credit for participation in the conference (providing this meets with the expections of your work place). More info at: <a href="http://k12onlineconference.org/?page_id=821">http://k12onlineconference.org/?page_id=821</a><br />
<br />
These sessions provide great opportunities to learn new things or improve on what we already do.<br />
Screencasting 101 may be one that will inspire you to create lesson assistance for your students who learn in a different way – <a href="http://k12onlineconference.org/?p=870">http://k12onlineconference.org/?p=870</a><br />
<br />
Here is the schedule:<br />
<b>Week of November 28, 2011:</b><br />
Strand 1 and 2 (Storytime and Team Captains)<br />
20 presentations already posted.<br />
<br />
<b>Week of December 5, 2011:</b><br />
Strand 3 and 4 (Sandbox Play and Level Up)<br />
Presentations posted (4 per day, 20 during the week Monday – Friday)<br />
<br />
<b>Monday, December 12th at 8 pm Central</b><br />
Afterglow Live Event In BlackBoard Collaborate / Elluminate Live<br />
<br />
Presenters, session titles and links for 2011: <a href="http://k12onlineconference.org/?page_id=824">http://k12onlineconference.org/?page_id=824</a><br />
<br />
<b>Why not take your PD to go!?</b><br />
Subscribe to the presentations as video or audio from the iTunesU Channel – here is the iTunes video link: <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/itunes-u/k12-online-conference-video/id439104665">http://itunes.apple.com/itunes-u/k12-online-conference-video/id439104665</a><br />
<br />
More information, and archives of presentations back to 2006, can be found on the website:<br />
<a href="http://k12onlineconference.org/">http://k12onlineconference.org/</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21323592.post-79837315227835051002011-10-22T16:31:00.002-05:002011-10-22T16:31:38.836-05:00K-12 Online Conference Keynoters Announced!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"></span><br />
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 24px;">Mark your calendars for this year's K-12 Online conference which begins the week of Nov. 28. The Pre-Conference keynote will be on Nov. 21.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 24px;">The organizer team of the 2011 K-12 Online conference has announced an outstanding lineup of keynote speakers for this year -- including Illinois' own, Carol Broos! Check out their <a data-mce-href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/69893787/K12OnlineConference2011" href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/69893787/K12OnlineConference2011" style="color: #0066cc; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif;">2011 marketing flyer</a> (PDF) which provides information about the dates of this year’s conference, it's theme, and keynoters. Selected presenters will be announced next week. Please share this marketing flyer with other educators you know! More info at: <a data-mce-href="http://k12onlineconference.org/?p=816 " href="http://k12onlineconference.org/?p=816" style="color: #0066cc; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif;">http://k12onlineconference.org/?p=816</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21323592.post-19494361940354633582011-09-22T12:58:00.000-05:002011-09-22T12:58:47.736-05:00Testmoz = free and easy online test generatorAt yesterday's <a href="http://iceberg.org/nice/">NICE</a> meeting I learned about several great websites and tools for using technology in teaching and learning. These will be summarized and posted to the NICE Blog (<a href="http://ice.typepad.com/nice/">http://ice.typepad.com/nice/</a>) and the NICE website Resource page (<a href="http://www.iceberg.org/nice/resources">http://www.iceberg.org/nice/resources</a>) shortly.<br />
<br />
But, until then, you may be interested looking at this... <a href="http://testmoz.com/">http://testmoz.com</a><br />
<br />
<ul><li>Testmoz is a test generator that sports 4 question types (True/false, multiple choice, multiple response, and fill in the blank questions), automatic grading, a really simple interface and detailed reports (download as csv file).</li>
<li>Students get instant feedback on their score, and you can choose whether or not to display the correct answers.</li>
<li>Answers can be automatically randomized</li>
<li>Testmoz is free, and does not require you (or your students) to register.</li>
<li>You can build a fully functional test in about a minute.</li>
<li>Testmoz is a simple test generating application created by Matt Johnson, an undergraduate student at Washington State University, Vancouver.</li>
</ul>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21323592.post-69337315880126812982011-09-15T18:19:00.000-05:002011-09-15T18:19:48.145-05:00Secrets to Success in Learning and Life?Paul Tough's article in the 9/14/11<i> NYTimes, </i>“<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/18/magazine/what-if-the-secret-to-success-is-failure.html">What if the Secret to Success Is Failure?</a>” speaks about the development of character for successful learning, as well as success in life. Can character be taught? We have an SEL initiative ongoing at our school, and there are many discussions, and learning targets designed to reinforce students social awareness and interpersonal skills.<br />
<br />
Educators at two venerable New York City schools, KIPP and Riverdale Country School, are forging a new frontier in character education.<br />
<br />
Tough's article mentions Angela Duckworth’s research:<br />
<blockquote><i>People who accomplished great things, she noticed, often combined a passion for a single mission with an unswerving dedication to achieve that mission, whatever the obstacles and however long it might take. She decided she needed to name this quality, and she chose the word “grit.”</i></blockquote>"Grit” is one of 24 character strengths that are now <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/schoolbook/2011/09/14/q-and-a-can-you-teach-character/">evaluated on student report cards</a>. What would it look like if we also reported our observations on the strengths of students' character?<br />
<div><br />
</div>Riverdale’s headmaster, Dominic Randolph, explained that, “The idea of building grit and building self-control is that you get that through failure. And in most highly academic environments in the United States, no one fails anything.”Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21323592.post-42260642309755423862011-09-03T18:54:00.000-05:002011-09-03T18:54:11.896-05:00Education: 10 years ago vs. 10 years from nowThe NY Times article "<a href="http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/03/what-will-school-look-like-in-10-years/">What Will School Look Like in 10 Years?</a>" states that "Computers, electronic whiteboards and other interactive technologies are fundamentally changing American education. That’s the view of the experts whom The Times spoke with about what the classroom will look like ten years from now. Listen to excerpts from their predictions below, and share your own thoughts in the comments section." (Visit the link to hear audio interviews).<br />
<br />
As I read this, I think back to 2001 -- the 3rd year of our <a href="http://www6.district125.k12.il.us/staffdev/pranger.html">PowerRanger Professional Develoment program</a>, and the year we added 102 teachers (the pilot began in 1999). Laptops were 12" white iBooks, with the slide-out CD drawer and no floppy disk drive, and we were learning <a href="http://www6.district125.k12.il.us/staffdev/tutorial/imovie.html">iMovie 2</a>. There was no Google, no Facebook, and wikipedia was just beginning. Apple introduced the iPod and the first version of OSX. Stevenson teachers connected their computers to the TVs in the classroom to project ClarisWorks slideshows. Classroom webpages were created with Pagemill and Grades were posted online using an export feature in the Making the Grade program. (Setting up electronic gradebooks involved downloading student names from ClassXP and importing the names into the gradebook.)<br />
<br />
How has instruction and/or student learning changed in the past 10 years? If you were teaching in 2001, are your student "products" much different today? What about the process?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21323592.post-43049807804907275512011-08-24T23:51:00.000-05:002011-08-24T23:51:58.339-05:00Steve Jobs Made a Difference, How will you?Unless you are living under a rock, by now you have heard the news that Steve Jobs is stepping down as CEO of Apple.<br />
<div><br />
</div><div>This quote is from the "Think Different" ad campaigns when Steve returned to Apple's helm in 1997:</div><blockquote><i>"Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do."</i></blockquote><div>How will you make a difference today in the learning of your students or your colleagues? Are you crazy enough to think you can change the world? If the world is too big to tackle right now, think about the work you do each day that pushes the world further. What are you doing to inspire the people around you? </div><div><br />
</div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/4oAB83Z1ydE?rel=0" width="420"></iframe></div></div><div><br />
You ... can make a difference... "To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world." -- (author unknown).</div><div><br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21323592.post-59175116874797904102011-08-24T23:30:00.004-05:002011-08-25T17:35:19.402-05:00A new school year begins.... time to think about applying that summer learning!What did you learn this summer? How will what you learned help your students in the coming year? Did you discover any new tools or ways to motivate your students to learn?<br />
<br />
This summer I attended the <a href="http://isteconference.org/ISTE/2011/">ISTE Conference in Philadelphia</a>. This conference draws more than 13,000 attendees each year. There are break-out sessions, poster sessions, spotlight sessions, workshops, keynote speeches and a huge vendor floor. Fortunately, there are many archived sessions available online so I can revisit and relearn and rethink how this new knowledge will help me teach others in the coming year.<br />
<br />
The ISTE opening keynote address was delivered by Dr. John Medina, author of <i>Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home and School:</i> (fast forward to 29m40s to skip the ISTE opening comments).<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/tRJPWeqJ2U8" width="420"></iframe></div><br />
Be sure to check out the ISTE Video on Demand page at <a href="http://isteconference.org/ISTE/2011/glance/video_on_demand.php">http://isteconference.org/ISTE/2011/glance/video_on_demand.php</a> for access to more than 50 recorded sessions!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21323592.post-81779652521097013962011-07-01T10:33:00.005-05:002011-08-01T21:50:52.746-05:00When learning technology, don't be afraid to play and discover!!<div style="font: 10.0px Geneva; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"></div><div style="font: 10.0px Geneva; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The main difference I see when students and adults are learning to use technology, is that students are not afraid to push buttons to "discover" what happens -- they do not care about ramifications at all. Adults, being the responsible beings that we are, seem to have a bit more "consideration" ... we often go for the "safe route" and try to avert "disaster" by taking less risks. </span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Here is my advice for teachers when it comes to learning new technology:</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Please DO "throw caution to the wind" and PLAY and DISCOVER! -- there is nothing you can do that can't be fixed. Learning by "discovery" can be both frustrating and satisfying... and what a great journey it is!!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21323592.post-26209842815960465202011-05-18T16:35:00.000-05:002011-05-18T16:35:33.011-05:00The hidden power of smiling! :-)I love <a href="http://www.ted.com/">TED Talks</a>. Check out Ron Gutman's talk on the hidden power of smiling. Did you know we are born smiling? Or that, "one smile can generate the same level of brain stimulation as up to 2,000 bars of chocolate." The description states: "Did you know your smile can be a predictor of how long you'll live -- and that a simple smile has a measurable effect on your overall well-being? Prepare to flex a few facial muscles as you learn more about this evolutionarily contagious behavior."<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><object height="326" width="446"><param name="movie" value="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"/><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><param name="bgColor" value="#ffffff"></param><param name="flashvars" value="vu=http://video.ted.com/talk/stream/2011U/Blank/RonGutman_2011U-320k.mp4&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/RonGutman-2011U.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=432&vh=240&ap=0&ti=1143&lang=&introDuration=15330&adDuration=4000&postAdDuration=830&adKeys=talk=ron_gutman_the_hidden_power_of_smiling;year=2011;theme=what_makes_us_happy;theme=new_on_ted_com;theme=a_taste_of_ted2011;theme=how_the_mind_works;event=TED2011;tag=Culture;tag=Science;tag=happiness;tag=society;&preAdTag=tconf.ted/embed;tile=1;sz=512x288;" /><embed src="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf" pluginspace="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" bgColor="#ffffff" width="446" height="326" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" flashvars="vu=http://video.ted.com/talk/stream/2011U/Blank/RonGutman_2011U-320k.mp4&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/RonGutman-2011U.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=432&vh=240&ap=0&ti=1143&lang=&introDuration=15330&adDuration=4000&postAdDuration=830&adKeys=talk=ron_gutman_the_hidden_power_of_smiling;year=2011;theme=what_makes_us_happy;theme=new_on_ted_com;theme=a_taste_of_ted2011;theme=how_the_mind_works;event=TED2011;tag=Culture;tag=Science;tag=happiness;tag=society;"></embed></object></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">:-)</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21323592.post-68324213487652618762011-05-09T18:18:00.001-05:002011-05-09T18:18:59.450-05:00Reports of "Scareware" targeted at Mac usersThis article from <a href="http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9216335/Fake_security_software_takes_aim_at_Mac_users">Computer World magazine</a> last week shares information about "nuisance" or "scareware" software named MacDefender that may download to your computer when you visit certain websites. (A similar program called "MacProtector" downloaded on my computer over the weekend when I visited a site about textbooks.)<br />
<br />
Here are several things you need to be aware of:<br />
1) As "real" as the popup window seems, your computer is most likely not infected (especially if you have current anti-virus software).<br />
2) You can prevent the installer from automatically launching by changing your Safari preferences to NOT open "safe" files after downloading.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjt9OvzzNaTsrDnwwamJPzp6uhQKVXb_nv0HOp45ck81Fia3jO679LhWCzfWqfZzw5cKaqXxVayjQ3gGzylhPhaKSkFbQ375D67eZHo5zn9OLkI5ZiiBgUrCs2um9CWNlZ_2ZrXQ/s1600/Safari.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjt9OvzzNaTsrDnwwamJPzp6uhQKVXb_nv0HOp45ck81Fia3jO679LhWCzfWqfZzw5cKaqXxVayjQ3gGzylhPhaKSkFbQ375D67eZHo5zn9OLkI5ZiiBgUrCs2um9CWNlZ_2ZrXQ/s320/Safari.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
and,<br />
3) Remember that programs will NOT install unless you enter in your computer's password. (However, if you HAD allowed the installation, the program will not quit until you either pay for the software, or<a href="http://www.macoscompatible.com/news/story/how_to_remove_mac_defender_malware.html"> go through several steps to remove it</a>).<br />
<br />
Here's a link to a similar article at: <a href="http://techplz.com/2011/05/04/fake-rogue-anti-malware-programs-also-hit-mac-best-mac-antivirus-and-mac-defender/">http://techplz.com/2011/05/04/fake-rogue-anti-malware-programs-also-hit-mac-best-mac-antivirus-and-mac-defender/</a><br />
<br />
Remember to keep your anti-virus software up to date, back up your files regularly, and practice safe computing by only visiting "trusted" websites!<br />
<div><br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21323592.post-2963231678426037782011-04-30T20:22:00.001-05:002011-04-30T20:24:43.421-05:00What's trending? Check out Google's Realtime.April 29, 2011 was a historic day. It was "The Royal Wedding" day of Prince William and Miss Catherine Middleton. A Google search today reveals "about 61 million" possible results:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaMw_rDbpQbIkWCWvDQgh6FdLOfEEzN5r9Xa0nPqvGHeTmf678_x2mBgF9bZjK929X9pkZPF2q3jYTlnuFzKHZ-388aS9zQtsdX51OnOhSPzAhry4S9xEO_KqoSdTQ3O9j4nkqKg/s1600/royalwedding.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaMw_rDbpQbIkWCWvDQgh6FdLOfEEzN5r9Xa0nPqvGHeTmf678_x2mBgF9bZjK929X9pkZPF2q3jYTlnuFzKHZ-388aS9zQtsdX51OnOhSPzAhry4S9xEO_KqoSdTQ3O9j4nkqKg/s400/royalwedding.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Talk about information overload!! If you were to click one weblink every second, it would take over 700 days (non-stop) to get to every site (61 000 000 seconds = 706.018519 days).<br />
<br />
There has been lots of media coverage of the event, and just about everyone is talking about it, both online and in person. If you want to pay attention to the online comments, just click the "Realtime" link on the left of the search results page to view a continuous "live" stream of Twitter comments (Google has recently added Facebook comments to the feed). You can "Pause" the stream, or use the Timeline to roll back and view older comments.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBRXEzIlOq61dTQreWt6qrHkZXIvo36kOsVcvtSUZUGkl4kGEtHmxZrjjVi-qWoulOOKxd1cB-_lqIk3tbVL0KV6I06wm2Yx1gTezUPreg_HkLmLg8e41sr_fvLNaJOof7lnKCPw/s1600/realtime.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBRXEzIlOq61dTQreWt6qrHkZXIvo36kOsVcvtSUZUGkl4kGEtHmxZrjjVi-qWoulOOKxd1cB-_lqIk3tbVL0KV6I06wm2Yx1gTezUPreg_HkLmLg8e41sr_fvLNaJOof7lnKCPw/s400/realtime.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<br />
Here's more information about how Google's <i>Realtime</i> works:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="212" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/iSRlXUyJjEQ" width="320"></iframe></div><br />
Think about projecting a Realtime live feed of current events as students arrive to class each day.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21323592.post-75360743566863965842011-03-14T23:43:00.000-05:002011-03-14T23:43:48.321-05:00Japan's Tragedy: How Technology Can HelpReports from Japan continue to show the unbelievable devastation from Friday's earthquake and tsunami. Rescue efforts are underway, and it will be some time before this country can pick up the pieces and move on.<br />
<br />
There are ways that technology can help. It's easy to send money online to the Red Cross, either<a href="http://american.redcross.org/"> by visiting their website</a>, or through various vendors, such as <a href="https://buy.itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZFinance.woa/wa/buyCharityGiftWizard">Apple's iTunes</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/">Amazon.com</a>, and <a href="https://american.redcross.org/site/SPageServer?pagename=ntld_corpmicrosite&s_company=americanairlines-pub">American Airlines</a> (where AAdvantage members can earn miles for donating $50 or more), and <a href="http://www.unicefusa.org/news/releases/unicef-humanitarian-aid-japan-earthquake-tsunami.html?gclid=CI_xkqPdz6cCFYTr7QodLFHDsQ">Unicef</a>, just to name a few.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.google.com/crisisresponse/japanquake2011.html">Google's Crisis Response page</a> provides a "person finder" tool to help locate lost loved ones:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="300" src="http://japan.person-finder.appspot.com/?small=yes&lang=en" style="border: dashed 2px #77c;" width="400"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21323592.post-80887238397180088752011-03-08T00:20:00.000-06:002011-03-08T00:20:28.895-06:00ICE Conference Wrap UpThe 25th Annual <a href="http://iceberg.org/">ICE Conference</a> (Feb. 22-25, 2011) may be history, but the learning continues. Wednesday's keynote speaker, Rushton Hurley provided a <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/rushtonatice2011/">great resource to attendees</a>, and I am now a subscriber to his <a href="http://www.nextvista.org/">Next Vista for Learning</a> newsletter. (<a href="http://www.nextvista.org/newsletter">Sign up here</a>.)<br />
<br />
The following is reprinted from the March issue:<br />
<blockquote><b>Google Goodies </b></blockquote><blockquote>Did you know there is a tool for recipes in Google search, allowing you to filter dishes by how many calories, how long they take to make, and which ingredients commonly go with whatever you searched on? Neither did I! Do a search on "lentils," look on the left, and click "recipes" to make your way to as calorie- and time-sensitive culinary delights as you choose. Or <a href="http://www.google.com/landing/recipes/">just click here</a>. Culinary arts teachers, you are loved.</blockquote><blockquote>For the home economics teachers, give the <a href="http://www.google.com/weddings/">Google wedding planner</a> a look (I'm serious). Someone is apparently going to win a dream wedding on that page. Who'd have guessed?</blockquote><blockquote>You whose teaching includes coverage of current events, there's a YouTube tool you'll want to start following: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/citizentube">CitizenTube</a>. At the moment this includes loads of videos from countries across the Middle East - a rather amazing lesson on democracy may only be a click away.</blockquote><blockquote>Finally, if you're wanting really creative takes on how to use Google tools, turn off the TV and take in the <a href="http://demoslam.com/">Google Demo Slam</a>. Be warned, though; this is one of those things that's hard to stop watching. It's been going on for a while, and Monday (today, probably, as you read this), you can find out who the "Slampion" is. I voted for the Japanese freefall skydiving-ish folks.</blockquote>I echo Ruston's recommendation for the slam videos. They are great entertainment!<br />
Spring, here we come!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0