Web 2.0 Call for Lesson Plans Proposal

Call for Proposals: Web 2.0 Lesson Plans
Deadline for Submission: March 1, 2009

Based on the success of Lesson Plans for Creating Media-Rich Classrooms, a 2007 publication of the National Council of Teachers of English, a proposal is being developed for a second book of lesson plans that would offer a range of practical activities for high school and middle school teachers to integrate Web 2.0 skills into existing English language arts curricula. These lesson plans will be connected by introductory material that defines the concepts of multimodal literacies and the emergence of Web 2.0 skills as essential to developing a fully literate student in a media saturated, technology-rich world. These lessons can, and will, range from basic entry-level activities to ones that require more advanced and mastery-level skills.

Refer to a copy of Lesson Plans for Creating Media-Rich Classrooms, edited by Mary T. Christel and Scott Sullivan, for examples of the lesson plan format.
[See http://www1.ncte.org/library/files/Store/Books/Sample/30483Chap19_x.pdf ]

Click here for lesson plan details and link for downloading a form for submission.

Documenting a historic day....

Just in case you wanted to document this historic day....
From Popular Science comes this amazing photo of today's festivities in D.C.
http://www.popsci.com/content/inauguration-day

And for a closer view (on the ground), at this moment, nearly 3,000 Flickr users have uploaded more than 7,400 photos to the Flickr "Inauguration" group, http://www.flickr.com/groups/inauguration2009/

Hulu will be streaming Inaugural ... have a look..

Some things you might not realize about Google searching

In this 7+ minute video, Google Engineer Matt Cutts shares some of the "little-known" features of Google searching. Did you know that Google can track your delivery items, convert currency, define words, besides restricting your searches to certain file types or websites? Learn when to use quotes, dashes and asterisks to narrow your results.



Thanks to Scott Weidig for sharing this on his blog.

Google Releases Picasa Desktop Version for Mac!

Reprinted from http://www.macworld.com/article/137912/2009/01/picasa_mac.html
by Jonathan Seff, Macworld.com

Google on Monday afternoon released a public beta of its Picasa for Mac desktop software for organizing, editing, and uploading photos. The software, which runs on Intel Macs with OS X 10.4 or later, marks the first time that Picasa has been offered for the Mac (it joins the Windows and Linux versions already available).

The free Picasa software is designed to help you organize your photos, regardless of where they reside on your computer. It imports (without moving or copying) photos from your iPhoto library and other folders on your Mac, including external hard drives if so desired (it's designed not to affect your iPhoto library, duplicating files as needed). It also includes many editing tools, such as those for straightening, text generation, create collages, and removing red eye, as well as Photoshop-like effects and adjustments.

I think the best feature of the Picasa software is the fact that my picture files get to stay where they are (since I have so many photos, and I do not keep all of them in iPhoto... I only add my favorites, or those that I will be using in presentations, slideshows, or movies.) And, Picasa scans and displays the photos in your 'iPhoto Library' as read-only files. If you try to edit or move these photos, Picasa will ask your permission to create a new editable copy. Learn more about how Picasa handles your iPhoto Library.

The editing features include the ability to add text and captions to images, as well as "combine your photos, videos, and music into a movie or use the editing room to trim your existing movies."

The "collage" tool provides slick rotating, zooming, background color and text options that make it easy to create a page for your digital scrapbooks, and Picassa automatically saves the file in a folder named "Collages" which resides in your "House > Pictures > Picasa"folder.

There is also a very "Photo-story-ish" movie maker, that will create slides (including title slides) set to music or just automatically moving through the images, complete with transition effects.

There are "easy-buttons" on the bottom of the editor to send your completed masterpiece(s) to your blog, email client, a folder, or to upload to the free online Picasa web gallery:

Download Picasa for your Mac at: http://picasa.google.com/mac/

Teaching and Guiding Networked Students Requires a Commitment to Learning

Wendy Drexler's video about the "Networked Student" illustrates not only the changing role of the student, but also the changing role of educators in 21st Century classrooms.


About this video: "The Networked Student was inspired by CCK08, a Connectivism course offered by George Siemens and Stephen Downes during fall 2008. It depicts an actual project completed by Wendy Drexler's high school students. The Networked Student concept map was inspired by Alec Couros' Networked Teacher. I hope that teachers will use it to help their colleagues, parents, and students understand networked learning in the 21st century."


21st Century educators need to make a commitment to continuous learning, and become networked teachers, so that our students will be prepared to handle the vast amount of information available to them, and be able to share their learning in meaningful ways. How can you be a learning concierge, a modeler, a network sherpa, change agent, or synthesizer of information for your students? Consider joining the conversations in an online community such as Classroom 2.0, a social network for educators, where you will find an abundance of resources, discussion forums and learning opportunities, such as live (and archived) web meetings.

Join fellow educators at the DEN Virtual Conference, online or at Stevenson, Saturday Oct. 25

Join us on Saturday, October 25 for the Discovery Educator Network (DEN) Virtual Conference! Connect with educators from all over the country during this unique professional development experience where you can attend in-person, online or both! Learn powerful ways to integrate digital media and Web 2.0 tools into your instruction as well as discover an abundance of resources to expand your own personal learning network. And it’s free! (You can't beat free!) Educators who cannot attend our in-person regional event still have the opportunity to participate virtually in the full-day conference.

The day will feature presentations from Discovery’s own Hall Davidson, Steve Dembo, Jannita Demian, Scott Kinney, Matt Monjan and Lance Rougeux as well as a special spotlight session from STAR Discovery Educator Jennifer Dorman. These sessions will be broadcast to each of the regional gatherings. In between the virtual presentations, participants will attend breakout sessions presented by local STAR Discovery Educators (TBA). Session details are at: http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/files/2008/10/den-virt-con-session-times-and-descriptions.pdf

This is the second year of hosting for the DEN Virtual Conference at Stevenson. Breakfast and lunch will be provided. Please be sure to register so we have an idea of how much food to order.
Visit: http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/fall-virtual-conference

Come for all or part of the day.
Map to Stevenson: http://www.district125.k12.il.us/documentation/maps/map_to_shs.pdf

DIRECTIONS:
Tri-State, Milwaukee Ave. or Rt. 41 to Rt. 22, West on 22 to school. -OR - Rt. 53 North to Lake Cook Rd. East. to Buffalo Grove Rd. North on Buffalo Grove Rd. to Rt. 22. East on 22 to school.

Gear up for K12 Online!

This is the third year for the K12-Online Conference -- a totally free and perpetual learning experience, delivered exclusively online, by volunteers who have a passion for education!

This year's conference will follow a similar format as in previous years, with a Keynote kickoff on Oct. 13, followed by forty presentations published over two weeks (Oct 20 - Nov. 1), each 20 minutes in length or less. This year's them is "Amplifying Possibilities" and contains presentations in four strands. In the first week, "Getting Started" and "Prove It," followed by "Kicking It Up a Notch" and "Leading the Change" in week two. See the full schedule here: http://k12onlineconference.org/docs/k12online2008schedule.html

I'm happy to report also that this is the second year I am actively involved. Last year I volunteered to facilitate during one hour of "When Night Falls" --a live, 24-hour open forum that culminated the two-week long event. It was there I met Dennis Richards, a superintendent from Falmouth, MA, who had been "newly baptized into all thing Web 2.0." Dennis had uncovered the learning made possible through the participatory, or "read/write" web when he attended Alan November's "Building Learning Communities" conference during the previous summer. Dennis has since become a loud voice in this "education conversation" by making it his personal mission to spread the good news, by starting his own blog, and collaborating on a number of wikis, and much more (as you will see when you read his blog).

This past year, Dennis and I kept "bumping into one another" online; such as the time we happened to strike up a conversation in the virtual world of Second Life, not realizing who each other was in real life. As we exchanged ideas, our conversation led to the K12-Online conference, and we then realized we had met while co-facilitating the same live "When Night Falls" session. Call it Kismet, or coincidence, we have now teamed up to present a session at this year's conference, in the "Leading the Change" strand. In preparing for our session, we were invited to create a "teaser" for our session. I hope you are enticed, and will tune in for our presentation: "There's Something Going on Here You Need to Know About..." which will be available on Oct. 31.



I posted information about the conference last year, and several of our teachers used the sessions as "independent study" toward advancement on the salary scale. Professional development and University credit is available for both 2007 and this year too.

Continue the learning!!

Apple Launches ACOT2 Project: Challenge-based Curriculum

Building upon the research from 1985-1995 and released as the Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow (ACOT), Apple has launched ACOT2. http://edcommunity.apple.com/acot2

From the website:

ACOT identified effective models for teaching and learning with technology, developing the professional lives of teachers and diffusing innovation.

The goal of ACOT2 is more targeted: to help high schools get closer to creating the kind of learning environment this generation of students needs, wants, and expects so they will stay in school.

The ACOT2 strategy is to offer a simple approach that focuses on the essential design principles for the 21st century high school-rather than a more prescriptive school reform model. While the design principles themselves are not new, what is new is that the complexity that characterizes most education reform models has been cleared away, enabling immediate action and results.

Explore the six design principles and their related project pages on Apple's website:
* Understanding of 21st Century Skills and Outcomes
* Relevant and Applied Curriculum
* Informative Assessment
* Culture of Innovation and Creativity
* Social and Emotional Connections with Students
* Ubiquitous Access to Technology

Google Teacher Academy Application

Well, I've submitted my entry to the Google Teacher Academy:



As I was preparing my required 1-minute video (the topics were to be on either Motivation and Learning, or Classroom Innovation), I came across a sound-byte from the Library of Congress American Memory Project. It was a recording of a quilter, named Lura Stanley, who spoke about her desire to become a teacher. (http://memory.loc.gov/afc/afcqltbr/audio/a013/a0135.mp3). What impressed me the most about Lura's story was the fact that teachers did not need degrees to teach when she first started at the age of 18. She did, however, obtain a degree later in life at the age of 51 (this was in 1957). I wonder whether teacher preparation of "yesterday" has some bearing on the old saying, "Those who can do. Those who can't, teach."

Teaching is certainly not the same profession it was, even 10 years ago. New mandates around NCLB, the advent of new technologies and Internet safety concerns, research on learning and the brain, and the ability to diagnose and document learning disabilities has contributed to the many facets of being an educator. Desire is no longer enough. And, in the end, all the time and resources dedicated to educating our youth must yield a future for them that will provide a decent standard of living, along with the ability to live and work in a now truly global society. Our future also relies on what we sow as educators.

Google Teacher Academy Comes to Chicago!!

This just in....

This notice was posted today in the Google Teacher Center group:

"the Google Teacher Academy (GTA) is coming to Chicago on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2008. The GTA is our free training program for K-12 educators. It's an intensive, one-day event (8:30am-7:30pm) where 50 selected participants get hands-on experience with our free products and other technologies, learn about innovative instructional strategies, collaborate with exceptional educators, and immerse themselves in an innovative corporate environment. Upon completion, GTA participants become Google Certified Teachers who share what they learn with other K-12 educators in their local regions. We're now taking applications and encourage educators from around the U.S. and the world to apply. Applications are due Aug. 24, 2008. Our next GTA will be in New York City in November 2008, so if New York is more local, you may want to hold off till the next application is announced in September. To learn more about how to apply for Chicago's GTA, visit:
http://www.google.com/educators/gta.html"

Good luck to all who apply!!

What will you do to educate your students today?

"The World is Flat" Giveaway from Thomas Friedman

From the website:

The World is Flat Audiobook Giveaway
With the No. 1 bestseller The World Is Flat, Thomas L. Friedman helped millions of readers see and understand globalization in a new way. Now you can have it for free.

From now until August 4th, you can download the audiobook version of The World Is Flat and receive an exclusive audio preview excerpt of Hot, Flat, and Crowded.

Visit http://www.thomaslfriedman.com/giveaway
to sign up for yours!

Enjoy!

What, Where, How -- You Can Learn from NECC

The 29th Annual National Education Computing Conference (NECC), held June 29-July 2, in San Antonio, provides educators everywhere with many learning opportunities! This annual conference is presented by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). "For more than two decades, NECC has been the premier forum in which to learn, exchange, and survey the field of educational technology."

Here are a six resources you won't want to miss!

1. Start by visiting ISTE's NECC website at http://center.uoregon.edu/ISTE/NECC2008/ -- be sure to peruse the list of speakers and the sessions and follow the links to blogs, photos, or other resources listed by the speakers' names.

2. Check out (and join) the NECC Ning -- http://www.necc2008.org/ -- an online community supporting the conference. You will find specific session details, speaker handouts, photos, videos and more!

3. Visit the "EdStream Live" wiki for links to many sessions that were streamed live, and are now available online as recorded broadcasts: http://necclive.wikispaces.com/

4. More than 30 sessions will soon be provided on the "NECC 2008 Conference Connections" podcast channel, produced by Apple Distinguished Educators. Sixteen episodes are available now!!

5. Once again, KZOWebcasting will be providing streaming video for about 20 sessions, including the keynote presentations and sessions such as "Podcasting and Podcatching for the Absolute Beginner" -- view the complete list at http://www.kzowebcasting.com/necc/

6. Finally, visit eSchool News at http://www.eschoolnews.com/conference-info/necc/ for "Live from NECC' reports, session reviews, video reports, such as this report on "Online Safety: Dispelling Common Myths."

It's amazing how quickly these resources have been made available online. Take some time to learn how technology is supporting the learning of adults and students!! Enjoy the ideas presented from both local and international speakers. How can you and your students become part of the conversation? Start here!!

I'm a Member of NECC 2008

View my page on NECC 2008

NECC, the National Education Computing Conference gets underway this weekend in San Antonio. This will be the 4th consecutive year I've been able to attend. I am also "presenting" for the first time. Although I have led a variety of sessions for educators at our state ICE conference (Illinois Computing Educators), and have facilitated a number of local workshops, I am excited to be able to share with like-minded educators on a national level.

My presentation is a "BYOL" (bring your own laptop) session titled "Off Task: Websites and Webtools You Didn't Know You Needed." It will be a fast-paced sharing and discovery session where we will explore a variety of free resources to help educators increase their productivity, and/or develop themselves professionally. I'm looking forward to learning from the attendees as well.

Everything is being provided in a wiki, which I hope will continue to be developed and expanded upon as time goes on. I will also try to live broadcast my session via uStream, or perhaps Mogulus. In any case, I will record the audio and post that to the wiki.

Yee haw!

The Power of the Imaginative Mind: Sir Ken Robinson

From Edutopia comes this 15 minute presentation recorded at the Apple Education Leadership Summit on April 10, 2008 in San Francisco. Sir Ken Robinson talks about how we need to think differently about education. The issue is not to reform education, it's to transform it into something else.

Sharing by Shareski

Enjoy this slideshow from the ultimate sharer Dean Shareski:

| View | Upload your own

How many of us learned everything we needed to know in Kindergarten too?
Thanks Dean!!

Pangea Day today!! May 10 LIVE!

If you happen to be online this afternoon, click on over to the Pangea Day broadcast that began at 1 pm (CST) and will continue until 5 pm.

Pangea Day is a 4-hour program of short films, live music and visionary speakers. Coordinated live from 6 locations worldwide, the program is being broadcast in 7 languages to millions of people via the Internet, television and mobile phones.

From the website:

Pangea Day is a celebration of the power of film to unite us all. Today, you'll experience films that are funny – sad – gorgeous – stark – powerful. Voices that have never been heard before. Things you've never seen. Scenes from worlds you've never been to. What you'll see here today is a cross-section of our amazing, complicated, noisy, beautiful world.

And what you'll see here – besides four hours of pure entertainment – is a view into other lives. Once you've lived inside so many other heads, we hope you'll be moved to act. To become involved in a pressing issue – to share your own video or photos – to join a discussion that might move the world just a little bit further toward understanding.

The 20 or so films in this program were chosen by Pangea Day's panel from more than 2,000 submissions and a long roster of curated suggestions. Together, they will move you, scare you, make you laugh and make you smile, and help you feel closer to the world.

View the line up at: http://www.pangeaday.org/eventGuide.php

View Pangea Day films at: http://www.pangeaday.org/pangeadayFilms.php

Enjoy!!

SHS Teachers Helping Students Study for AP Exams

Stevenson’s “2 Regular Guys,” Advanced Placement Government and Politics teachers Andy Conneen and Dan Larsen, will appear on CBS2’s “Eye on Chicago” at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, April 27. They will be offering their takes on the latest political news, including Tuesday's Pennsylvania primary between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

The pair also will host their annual AP Government “Cram for the Exam” radio review session at 9 p.m. Sunday, May 4. This year’s live show will be broadcast on Chicago’s WIND-AM (560), and streamed nationally at the station’s website, http://www.560wind.com. Although geared toward AP students as they prepare for their May 5 exam, anyone looking to tune-up his civics literacy is encouraged to listen. The show will have a call-in format. If you can’t wait to see the 2 Regular Guys on TV or hear them on radio, you can check out their blog at: http://cbs2chicago.com/school.

Last year, Andy and Dan's students created a study wiki for AP Comparative review at: http://apcomparative.wikispaces.com.

Social Studies teacher Dave Elbaum, uStreamed his 4/16/08 AP Government review. Tune into the recorded session at: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/354287

And for students studying for the AP Psychology exam, Social Studies teacher Laura Brandt recorded a review last week, which is posted as an audio file at: http://www6.district125.k12.il.us/~lbrandt/podcasts/reviewsession.mp3

Kudos to these 21st Century educators for enhancing their students' learning via the power of technology!!

StoryCorps from NPR, collecting America's stories

Those of you who are avid listeners of National Public Radio (NPR), are most likely aware of NPR's StoryCorps Oral History Project, which began in 2003, and is still going strong! This post is for the everyone else....

From the StoryCorps website:

Since 2003, almost 30,000 everyday people have shared life stories with family and friends in our StoryBooths. Each conversation is recorded on a free CD to share, and is preserved at the Library of Congress. Millions listen to our broadcasts on public radio and the web. StoryCorps is one of the largest oral history projects of its kind.

Everybody’s story matters. Every life counts. Help us reach out to record our history, hopes, and common humanity—and illuminate the true character of this nation.

As an example, Martha Conant, one of only 13 unscathed survivors in the 1998 crash landing of a United Airlines flight in Sioux City, Iowa, reminds us of the importance of expressing gratitude and having no regrets as we meet each day:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18007783

With free and easy Web 2.0 tools such as GCast, which provides a toll-free "800" number for recording by phone, or Evoca, which provides a web-based voice recorder (see the Evoca "comments" link on the left side of this blog), this would be an easy project for any level social studies, English, or world languages classroom! Tips and sample questions to use for a story interview can be found on their Great Questions page with an extensive list at: http://www.storycorps.net/record-your-story/question-generator/list

If a classroom project is not in your immediate future, your story can be among the voices of America being recorded at the StoryCorps Mobile Recording Booths located in New York City and Nashville. There are also two trailers traveling across the country that might be worthy of incorporating into your summer vacation planning. See the 2008 schedule at: http://www.storycorps.net/record-your-story/locations

"By listening closely to one another, we can help illuminate the true character of this nation—reminding us all just how precious each day can be and how truly great it is to be alive.” -Dave Isay, Founder, StoryCorps