Year: 2010

TechBy Troy Patterson

iPad Happiness

I took the iPad to a conference today. I left the MacBook Pro at home. Total happiness. I picked up a wireless keyboard to go with the iPad. I was able to carry the iPad and keyboard in a portfolio case. The case is not iPad specific. In fact, I received the case before the iPad came out. It was really nice to not have to carry a large, heavy bag. However, the biggest key was that I didn’t have to look for a spot to sit next to a power outlet. So, I got to sit down front between the screen and the presenters. The portfolio was inconspicuous. So far, so good. The conference finally started. It was really convenient to pull out the keyboard and leave the iPad sitting on top of the portfolio. I tried a couple of programs. First I went with PaperDesk. I like PaperDesk as it syncs to a web site and has VGA out. However, I had no Wifi connection (urgg, another conference with no internet) and no need for VGA output. PaperDesk is really limited in terms of formatting. On to Pages for iPad. I did a select all in PaperDesk, copy, and paste into Pages. (At this point, the person next to me said, “I like the lines better”. PaperDesk looks like a sheet of legal paper.) I was happily typing along. There was a lull in the presentation (there were several of those), and I went back to PaperDesk. At some point, I decided to try one of my favorite keyboard shortcuts | Option | 8. I learned this long ago in ClarisWorks (it might have been AppleWorks- the first iteration). This shortcut creates a bullet. Somewhat to my surprise, it worked. Although there are no options to create a bullet in PaperDesk, a quick keyboard shortcut, and there was my bullet point. Even better, the same shortcut works in Pages and actually creates a bullet – ie. hitting return automatically creates a bullet on the next line.

I finished taking my notes in Pages. Note that the normal keyboard shortcuts (Apple | X, Apple | C and Apple | V) all work nicely. One more tip: pressing the Eject key toggles the virtual keyboard. Even better, you can type on both keyboards at the same time.

Anyway, I finished the notes and came home. Once home, I emailed the notes to my boss.

I’m really happy with the iPad and external keyboard experience at the conference. I was able to take notes all day without worrying about the battery dying. (That alone is huge!). I also didn’t feel like I was toting around 50 pounds of gear. No extra battery. No shoulder bag. Just a small portfolio. Happiness.

advisory, MSM, Podcast, TechBy Troy Patterson

MSM-130 Super Sized, Open Textbooks and the iPad!

Jokes:

Business Plans
Two women were comparing notes on the difficulties of running a small business. “I started a new practice last year,” the first one said. “I insist that each of my employees take at least a week off every three months.” “Why in the world would you do that?” the other asked. She responded, “It’s the best way I can learn which ones I can do without.”

Friends
Pete and Larry had not seen each other in many years. They had a long talk trying to fill in the gap of those years by talking about their lives. Finally, Pete invited Larry to visit him in his new apartment. “I got a wife and three kids and I’d love to have you visit us.” “Great. Where do you live?” “Here’s the address. And there’s plenty of parking behind the apartment. Park and come around to the front door, kick it open with your foot, go to the elevator and press the button with your left elbow, then enter! When you reach the sixth floor, go down the hall until you see my name on the door. Then press the doorbell with your right elbow and I’ll let you in.” “Good. But tell me, what is all this business of kicking the front door open, then pressing elevator buttons with my right, then my left elbow?” “Surely, you’re not coming empty-handed.”

Mosquitoes
Two young men were camping out in the forest one night. But the mosquitoes were so fierce that the boys had to hide under their blankets to keep from getting bitten. Then one of the boys saw some lightning bugs. “We may as well give up,” he told his friend. “Now they are coming at us with flashlights.”

On Our Mind:

Gearing up for the school year.
iPads in the classroom.
Eric’s Shirt.

Listeners:

Guys,

I hope you are having a super fantastic summer.  Yes, during my 6 days in the States, I picked up an iPad. I was very skeptical at first, but WOW!  This thing is amazing.

My question is about the practical use of the iPad in the class. I see that Apple just upgraded iBooks to allow videos and audio within the epub format. This means that textbooks could have audio/video boxes that support the main text or apply material in a cross curricular presentation. My question is this – who is creating the open source etexts that we can use in class, and how can I help?

Robert

Sent from my iPad

Related links we sent Robert:
http://open-education.org/
http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/000027.html
http://www.opentextbook.org/about/
http://web.me.com/mcgirr/Summer_PD_Notes__ISTE__MiJEC____MSC_/pages/20.html

From the Twitterverse:

  • courosa OpenScholar looks like a useful (and free) tool for academics. http://is.gd/dZcsi
  • drmmtatom Technology Tools for Learninghttp://tinyurl.com/2wv463s
  • willrich45 Open source textbooks a viable option? Der. http://nyti.ms/97f6GB
  • akipta Copyrights for Educators: Everything you wanted to know, but didn’t ask. http://goo.gl/fb/kiQyo
  • marynabadenhors Very cool Numeracy teaching notes (downloadable) http://billsteachingnotes.wikispaces.com/Numeracy+Teaching+Notes #kedu #elemchat #vicpln
  • NMHS_Principal Vodcasting: Education of the Future #edtech
  • kellyhines RT @kcollazo: Several Google Form templates so I didn’t have to figure out the formulas to auto grade! Yes! http://trunc.it/9zp6w
  • kiwicarol 15 Mind Blowing Thins [sic] about the Internet via Jane Hart
  • samharrelson This is up there with “we didn’t land on the moon” craziness for me. 8th grade is still “hard” folks. No worries 🙂
  • Larryferlazzo  US Dept. of Ed prepares to launch “2010 National Education Technology Plan 1.0”
  • GuyKawasaki  The blurry rules of plagiarism for college students http://idek.net/2uW5
  • kusdiva  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder & it may be necessary from time to time to give a stupid/misinformed beholder a black eye. ~Miss Piggy
  • eduinnovation  Teacher- “Stop networking, searching, creating with your cell phones now. Put them away. I am going to teach U the skills for future!”
  • web20classroom   RT @gcouros: 70 Ways to Keep Students Engaged Some great ideas here!

Advisory:

Is “What you see, What you get?”
Here are 5 optical illusions that you could share with your students (or class). Good lead in to discussion about perception, point of view, etc.
http://mashable.com/2010/08/01/optical-illusions-videos/

Stats on Soft Drinks
http://www.onlineschools.org/blog/softdrinks/  (Link removed at the request of www.onlineschools.org.  Search their site for update link.)

TED Talk:  The Art of Choosing:  http://www.ted.com/talks/sheena_iyengar_on_the_art_of_choosing.html

Tech Tools:

Teacher’s First

TeachersFirst is a rich collection of lessons, units, and web resources designed to save teachers time by delivering just what they need in a practical, user-friendly, and ad-free format. We offer our own professional and classroom-ready content along with thousands of reviewed web resources, including practical ideas for classroom use and safe classroom use of Web 2.0. Busy teachers, parents, and students can find resources using our subject/grade level search, keyword search, or extensive menus.
http://teachersfirst.com/index.cfm

Vanilla Forums

Vanilla Forums is an open-source, standards-compliant, customizable, modern, community-building discussion forum.
http://vanillaforums.org/

KnoteBooks

http://knotebooks.com/

Webspotlight:

Firing the Wrong Teachers?

http://hechingered.org/content/firing-the-wrong-teachers_1801/

Teacher inspires students to work through adversity

By Donna Vickroy
Juanita Lopez understands adversity – and the rewards of overcoming it.
“Believe it or not, the kids seem to work harder, to have more respect when they see you as a real person, with real struggles,” she said. “I have fewer discipline problems in the classroom because of it, too.”

http://www.southtownstar.com/lifestyles/vickroy/2551488,080110vickroy.article

Tiering Lessons
http://help4teachers.com/samples2.htm

News:

Minnesota rejects National Standards

The U.S. Education Department is offering about $350 million to help develop tests — but only for states that adopt the national standards by the end of 2011.
http://www.twincities.com/education/ci_15655121?nclick_check=1

5 Developing Themes at ISTE ‘10

By Henry Thiele
I attended EduBloggerCon, the Constructivist Consortium, the opening events, and more at ISTE ’10, and through my interactions there, I have begun to see some themes developing in the conference:
1 It has been a rough year. Between budget cuts, leadership challenges, and the increasing responsibilities associated with technology in schools, everyone was mentally exhausted heading into the conference. Excitement about changing practices and adding resources to schools has been tempered by budget concerns.
2 We have some pretty big decisions looming about how we are going to handle an influx of personal mobile computing devices into our society. With the iPad, the new iPhone, Android devices, and the continued growth of netbooks, there are a lot more discussions of how we are going to respond to this trend as schools. These conversations center on network infrastructure, policy, instructional strategies, and preparing teachers for this change.
3 Digital divide. The changes described in number 2 are starting to show how ugly the digital divide is becoming. The gap between those able to have the world’s information in their hands and those unable to is a growing social problem. When connectivity is factored in along with access to hardware, the difficulty becomes greater and more complex.
4 Assessment: Many educators are struggling more with assessment and its design. It seems that most agree with attaching some form of accountability to assessment. But nobody has quite figured out how to do it. It is becoming apparent, however, that technology will have to be involved in whatever solution does present itself, if for efficiency if nothing else.
5 Personalizing education: More people are talking about making teaching and learning more personal, saying that education has to be tailored to each individual. There is a lot of frustration and confusion about how to make this happen when we are still working in an environment designed to “press out parts” rather than create individual masterpieces.
http://www.techlearning.com/article/31550

ISTE 2010

CEO’s presentation.
Panel discussion begins at 18:08
Three agendas
New global citizenship
Global citizenship first and national citizenship second.
New skills agenda
New learning teaching and education technology agenda.
– Jean Francois Rischard
21st Century Learning in the new global classroom.
This is an activist agenda.
Table
See pic
21st cent skills
Karen C.
We need to change the focus and flip the conversation in the classroom.
Shaun Koh
Standardized testing kills dreams.
Use technology to inspire the dream in each student.
The teacher is more of a shepherd. (paraklete principle).
He wishes he had been taught interdisciplinarily and how subjects interact.
Jennifer is a nut.
Look up Tony Wagner as an author.
Karen Cantor says outright that national assessments are worthless.
But we’re on the train and can’t stop to fix the wheels.
We’re asking schools to make three changes taw once and the curriculum doesn’t give much leeway.
“Dictatorship of the Curriculum”.
Why don’t schools do “FedEx” days?
How do we learn to learn?
Denmark lets seniors use Google on their Senior exams.
How to grow a global citizen?
Stop teaching US History.
Teach problem solving.
Think multiculturally.
“Raised in Singapore, grew up on the Internet”
Get your culture from TV and the Internet.
National technology plan.
Need to download.
Why are educational systems so slow to change?
The Charles TED Talk.
It’s not enough
Side Notes:
The hostess was perky and covering for JFR’s shortcomings.
Jennifer was way to much of an advocate for “one world government” as was the other Canadian and JFR.
The University of Michigan kid has learned his subject, but hasn’t learned how to live.  He’s rudderless and lacks a grounding philosophy.
Tony Wagner Books:
Global Achievement Gap:  Why Even Our Best Schools Don’t Teach The New Survival Skills Our Kids Need.
http://www.amazon.com/Global-Achievement-Gap-Survival-Need/dp/B003P2VC02/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1278627763&sr=8-1

Reinventing Americas Schools

http://www.amazon.com/Making-Grade-Reinventing-Americas-Schools/dp/0415927625/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1278627763&sr=8-4

Events & Happenings:

Calendar of Events:

NMSA News:

Other News:

  • ISTE Eduverse Talks are the recorded sessions held on ISTE Island every week. Join ISTE in their Second Life conference location for their weekly talks on education.
    • The ISTE Special Interest Group:  Virtual Environments is holding meetings on Mondays from 4:00 – 6:00 pm (SLT) on ISTE Island.
  • The Ohio Middle Level Association will hold their annual conference February 17 – 18, 2011.
  • Second Life:
    • Regular Tuesday meetings are scheduled. See the board on the ISTE Island for up to the minute details.  Check frequently this week as the ISTE Annual Convention is this week.
    • Video: Educational Uses of Second Life
advisory, MSM, Podcast, TechBy Troy Patterson

MSM 129- “The Exquisite Corpse . . .”

Jokes:

Danger
One night a husband and his wife were sleeping and suddenly the wife woke up. “Dear, there’s a burglar eating the cake downstairs!” said the wife. “So should I call the police or the ambulance?” asked the husband.

Circles
During basic army training, a sergeant was telling his group how a submachine gun sprayed bullets. He drew a circle on a blackboard and announced that it had a 260 degree angle. “But, sergeant, all circles have 360 degrees,” called out a conscript. “Don’t be stupid,” the sergeant roared. “This is a small circle.”

Tee Time
Two men were talking about golf. One of them said, “I shoot in the 70’s.” The other replied, “That’s great!” The first one said, “Yeah, if it gets any cooler than that, I go to the clubhouse.”

On Our Mind:

PLNs enforced by administration.
http://thetechnorateteacher.wordpress.com/2010/07/25/great-pln-backlash-of-2010/

Listeners:

To Eric:  Thanks for the email!
To reviewer #28 thanks for the stars on iTunes!

From the Twitterverse:

  • WESatD2L  The six levels of Benjamin Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives as found in Pirates of the Caribbean
  • russeltarr  e-Textbooks: Feasible or Futile? http://tinyurl.com/njpxaf
  • web20classroom  RT @gcouros: 70 Ways to Keep Students Engaged Some great ideas here!
  • mcleod  Coach Brown: “Bad prof devt is a monumental waste; can’t remember good use of prof devt within my own district.” http://goo.gl/M2wS
  • Curriki  Popular this month: Teaching Understanding By Design http://ow.ly/2fJhV
  • markbarnes19  How do you Teach Creativity? | ISTE Connects – Educational Technology http://ow.ly/2fQ8U
  • erinmisegadis  User guide for Edmodo – http://www.edmodo.com/guide
  • rmbyrne  Screenjelly – Quick and Easy Screencasting via Free Technology for Teachers – Screenjelly is a free … http://tinyurl.com/33evthh
  • web20classroom  Educational Grants For The 2010-2011 School Year:

Advisory:

Library of Congress:  The Exquisite Corpse . . .
http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-library-congress-the-exquisite/id374009707

Tech Tools:

Gradebook:

LearnBoost’s product allows teachers to manage their classroom by offering an amazing gradebook and software for managing and creating lesson plans, tracking attendance, maintaining schedules, integrating calendars including Google calendars, seamless tagging of Common Core State Standards, and so much more.
Manage your gradebook, lesson plans, calendars, scheduling, and more from one place: LearnBoost.
Once you switch, you’ll wonder what life was like before LearnBoost.
Sign up for your free account!
Standards Supported
The majority of states have announced support for the Common Core Standards. We’re the first to fully support and integrate these leading standards across our gradebook and lesson plan software.
You’ll love how we let you “tag” standards to your lesson plans, gradebook, and more.
http://www.learnboost.com/

LearnPort

A National Online Library of Professional Development Resources Compiled to Help Bridge Research, Policy and Practice.
Across states, national organizations and technical assistance investments, an extensive amount of professional development material is available. This library provides local educators with easy access to an array of resources that can be used or customized to meet their needs.
http://www.learningport.us/

Survey Tools:

Free Tech 4 Teachers:
A wonderful write up of 9 tools that you can use to create surveys. Interesting. The list does NOT include Google Forms, which is most commonly used survey tool.
http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2010/07/nine-survey-tools-for-teachers-and.html

Webspotlight:

Schoolwide
Videos useful for Professional Development.
The Schoolwide Network was created in response to the lack of quality video (and print) resources available on the Internet today. With all of the rich media now available via the Internet and mobile technologies, it is easy to be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information being pushed toward us and our children every day.

Schoolwide believes, however, that it is quality—not quantity—that defines any successful educational practice or professional development enterprise. Since our inception, quality has always been at the core of our educational efforts, from the very first Student-Run Bookstore that got us started to the thousands of Fundamentals Units of Study we have sold to school districts across the country.

Schoolwide also believes that with so much information just a keystroke away, never before has the need for practical and useful professional development resources been more paramount. To this end, our primary objective is to provide educators with the tools and resources to help them be better teachers for their students—not only with the quality content we provide but also in the way we present, organize, and provide educators access to this information.
http://www.schoolwidenetwork.com/?search_type=grade_9

Tiering Lessons
http://help4teachers.com/samples2.htm

Shout out:

To Eric. It’s on the way.

ISTE 2010

ISTE 2010:  Virtual Schools

Virtual School Initiative:  21st Century Learning and Teaching
Dr. Kathy Hayden:  Assistant Professor of Educational Technology, California State University, San Marcos khayden@csusm.edu
Stacey Campo via Skype (teacher):  Poway Unified School District

  • Stacey is an Apple Professor at Cal. State.
  • Path to Growth
  • This developed out of a book they read.
    • Does your district offer online courses?
  • Articulating the Vision
    • “Our district goal that every student is using technology to engage in learning customized to their needs, master rigorous content which develops 21st century literacy skills and culminates in college readiness.”
  • Articulating the vision:  Support learning activities delivered from a shared knowledge of principles of effective learning with multiple opportunities …
  • Summit feedback:  The online learning summit participants recognized that a successful launch of a PUSD Virtual High School will require:
    • On-going staff development in online pedagogy.
    • Teacher Union/Administrative Counseling suport.
    • Curriculum alignment with PUSD and CA standards.
    • Technical Support
    • Sufficient, sustainable technical resources.
    • Competition was a driving force.
  • Modeling and embedding principles of effective learning and teaching.
    • Tier 1:  Basic integration
    • Tier 2:  Integrated practices.
    • Tier 3:  Thought Leaders
  • Professional Development
    • 1.  Directly engage staff
    • 2.  Leverage technology
    • 3.  Create alternative evaluations
    • All of this comes with a pay raise.
  • TLC:  Teaching and Learning Cooperatives
  • Partnership:  Poway USD and California State University
    • Distinguished Professor in Residence Grant
    • 360 Hours of support
    • Professional expertise and experience
  • Polling question:  Should teachers be certified to teach online?
    • Audience answer:  25% yes.
  • Health is one of the first things that high schools take online.
  • “Learning Point Portal” on the screen now.
  • Teacher Pay
    • $2500 to develop the course.
    • If they teach the course, they get a fractional pay for it.
    • Additional pay if they are teaching outside their content area.
    • Site to check out:  http://floridaitunesu.org
  • Find interesting ways to have conversations in an on-line settng.
    • INACOL: Standards (not a perfect match)
    • Essential Elements:  Concord Consortium
    • PUSD Virtual School
    • Discussion Forums
      • It is important that these kids talk.
      • It led to kids reconnecting with kids they had been friends with at other schools.
    • Scaffolding for success
      • Constant communication in multiple mediums.
      • If they fell below the 70% line, parents were called by the grading software.
        • ConnectEd messages.
      • Real-world thinking
      • Decision-Making
      • Authentic Learning
      • Engaged the teachers and students in project based learning.

ISTE 2010:  10 Essential Technology Leadership Components (http://leaders.wikispaces.com/iste2010)
This session is filled with folks.  Standing room only.  10 mins. to go to presentation too!
“Very quick and inappropriate video”. Old lady sets off airbag. Very funny.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bBVJAFrN0U

Sponsor info:
www.skoodat.com
Chris O’Neal, University of Virginia Professor.

Storm the stage. Alternate title.
Chris.wikispace.com
Ten Considerations for Technology Leadership
Equity of access. (http://leaders.wikispaces.com/equity)
This should include access at home.
We should have this between 8 & 3:30
We should not use tech as a reward but as a tool.
Our problem is not enough tech to use in the classroom.
Understanding and Using Data.   (http://pewinternet.org/)
Rigor and relevance.
Effective Professional Development.  (http://www.nsdc.org/)
Think individual schools and individual grades.
Walk the walk, talk the talk.  (http://www.edutopia.org/)
We have to model the tech we want people to use.
Vision: collaborative and authentic:  http://tinyurl.com/istelead
Using a google survey/form in a faculty meeting.
Establish a Common Vision  (http://profilerpro.com/)
Does everyone speak the same language and work toward the same ultimate goals?  Does everyone see where technology can take us?
Reward and encourage innovation.  (http://www.iste.org/)
Do we encourage, praise, reward those who move forward, innovate, show growth?  Are some of your non-techies at this conference?
Look for the ASCD survey on rewards
Genuine Reflection  (http://docs.google.com/)
NSD says that reflection is critical to integrating PD.
Student-driven technology  (http://genyes.com/)
Get student managers.  They are less likely to disengage if they’re able to offer expertise on issues.
PLN. (http://www.twitter.com/ #edchat)
Do you rely on only yourself or journals?
Your topic is …?
Why is that important?

Chris.wikispaces.com
Web 2.0 for Leaders
onealchris on Twitter.  onealchris@gmail.com  http://chris.wikispaces.com
Technology Leadership by Modeling
NETS-A Based
Google Apps for Education http://www.google.com/a/help/intl/en/edu/index.html
Audacity http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
Wordle  http://www.wordle.net/
Delicious  http://delicious.com/
Wikis  http://www.wikispaces.com/
Creative Commons  http://creativecommons.org/
Skype  http://www.skype.com/
Challenge to Leaders for Summer 2010:  Play around over the summer.  Build a few “back to school” faculty meetings:
Model a new, relevant technology (His suggestion:  Animoto)
Lead higher-order conversations about technology.  (http://tpck.org/)
Ensure classroom-level digital equity.  (http://leaders.wikispaces.com/equity)
Ten Web 2 Apps for Leaders
Google Apps:  Google Docs Education Version  (http://www.google.com/a/help/intl/en/edu/)
Blogging:  21 Classes or Edublogs  (http://21classes.com/)
Wikis:  Wikispaces for Education  (http://www.wikispaces.com/site/for/teachers)
Social Bookmarking:  Delicious  (http://delicious.com/edleadersonline)
Copyright:  Creative Commons  (http://creativecommons.org/)
Social Presentations:  http://www.slideshare.net/)
Free audio & video chat:  Skype  (http://www.skype.com/)
Audio recording and Podcasting:  Audacity  (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/)
Social Video – the Education Version:  SchoolTube  (http://www.schooltube.com/)
Microblogging:  Twitter  (http://www.twitter.com/onealchris)
Web 2.0 questions/issues to consider
Student engagement
Student safety
Curricular worthiness
Reliability of tool
Cost
Technical issues (storage, bandwidth)
Professional Development and/or Support needs.  (http://prodev.wikispaces.com/)
Other Web 2 Sites to Explore:
School 2.0: http://school2.wikispaces.com
Educator’s Social Network: http://classroom20.ning.com
Wikicommons: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
Librivox: http://www.librivox.org
Learn Out Loud: http://www.learnoutloud.com/Free-Audio-Video
Library Thing: http://www.librarything.com
Glogster: http://www.glogster.com/edu
Animoto: http://animoto.com/education
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/
Netvibes: http://www.netvibes.com
Gliffy: http://www.gliffy.com/
Government/Policy:
ISTE’s Advocacy and Policy:  https://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Advocacy
United States Department of Education:  http://www.ed.gov/index.jhtml
State Departments of Education:  http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/ccseas.asp
21st Century Skills
Edutopia:  http://www.edutopia.org
Partnership for 21st Century Skills:  http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/
Organizations
ISTE:  http://www.iste.org
CoSN:  http://www.cosn.org
ASCD:  http://www.ascd.org
VASCD:  http://www.vaascd.org
VSTE:  http://www.vste.org
Multimedia Archives:
Internet Archive:  http://www.archive.org/
Teacher Tube:  http://www.teachertube.com/
Google Video:  http://video.google.com/
Zamzar:  http://www.zamzar.com/
Blogs/Podcasts:
Assorted Stuff:  http://www.assortedstuff.com/
21st Century Collaborative: http://21stcenturylearning.typepad.com/blog/
Technology Times Live Podcast: http://www.glnd.k12.va.us/podcasts/TechnologyTimesLive.xml
The List at elearnspace.com: http://www.elearnspace.org/edutechblogs.htm
Principals/Administrative Blog: http://www.leadertalk.org/
Dangerously Irrelevant: http://www.dangerouslyirrelevant.org/
Sharing/Utility:
Box.net: http://www.box.net
SendSpace: http://www.sendspace.com/
Backpackit: http://www.backpackit.com/
TinyURL: http://tinyurl.com/
ThinkFree Online Office Suite: http://www.thinkfree.com
Furl: http://www.furl.net
Open Source Software:
Open Source Assistive Technology: http://www.oatsoft.org/
SourceForge: http://sourceforge.net/
SchoolForge: http://www.schoolforge.net/
Online Professional Development:
Edutopia George Lucas Videos on iTunesU (link will launch iTunes): http://tinyurl.com/3wwkus
Virginia’s iTunes University (link will launch iTunes): http://deimos.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/Browsev2/vdoe.brpbs.org
Get a Free Education Online: http://tinyurl.com/lkgsq
Microsoft’s Education Competencies: http://www.microsoft.com/education/competencies/allcompetencies.mspx
PT3 Now!: http://www.pt3now.org/
Netfiles: http://www.netfiles.org
Annenberg Media: http://www.learner.org/
Internet Safety:
NetSmartz: http://www.netsmartz.org/
SafeKids: http://www.safekids.com/
Buying Stuff:
ZDNet: http://review.zdnet.com
CNET: http://reviews.cnet.com
Educational Leadership Readings:
UbD and Technology
Change and Leadership
Marzano’s Classroom Instruction that Works
Presenters:
Chris O’Neal:  http://www.edleadersonline.org
Karen (?):  http://www.ivyrun.com
ISTE 2010 Site for this presentation:  http://leaders.wikispaces.com/iste2010

Events & Happenings:

Calendar of Events:

NMSA News:

Other News:

  • ISTE Eduverse Talks are the recorded sessions held on ISTE Island every week. Join ISTE in their Second Life conference location for their weekly talks on education.
    • The ISTE Special Interest Group:  Virtual Environments is holding meetings on Mondays from 4:00 – 6:00 pm (SLT) on ISTE Island.
  • The Ohio Middle Level Association will hold their annual conference February 17 – 18, 2011.
  • Second Life:
    • Regular Tuesday meetings are scheduled. See the board on the ISTE Island for up to the minute details.  Check frequently this week as the ISTE Annual Convention is this week.
    • Video: Educational Uses of Second Life
advisory, MSM, Podcast, TechBy Troy Patterson

MSM-128 Pirate T-Shirts for all the listeners! (Well, as many as Promotion’s budget will allow…)

Jokes:

Counting
A man rushed into a doctor’s office, jumped on his back, and started screaming, “One! Two! Three! Four!” “Wait a minute!” yelled the doctor, trying to get free. “What do you think you’re doing?” The man said, “Well doctor, they did say I could count on you!”

On Our Mind:

ISTE 2010 Swag!

Listeners:

Letter 1:
“Hi guys,
I listened to the June 26 podcast today while driving to my summer job, (a teacher with a summer job?!).  Thanks for the moderation of the the theme music.  I enjoyed the discussion and your thoughts.  I teach at a fairly small rural school and our cell phone policy is pretty simple.  You can have it.  You can use it with permission in class, it sits on the desktop, off, no ringer, no vibrate. I find that you are using it, without permission,  you have lost it for 24 hours, or until the next time class meets, (don’t get caught on a Friday!) you can use it at passing times and at lunch.
The high school was pretty good with this policy, it was a group of HS students that convinced our principal to adopt this policy.  The MS kids had a harder time with it, there were a small number  that just could not follow these simple rules.  I am not sure where we will be with this policy next year.  We are going to 1 to 1 computers (MacBook) in 6-12 next year so there will be a lot of changes in the next school year.
Keep up the good work, summer is about over, argh!!! ;)”

Craig

Letter 2:
Shawn and Troy~~

I wanted to share how much I enjoy your podcasts.  They actually make me look forward to my daily exercise when I have to opportunity to listen.  I have just started listening and I am catching up on old ones.

Your topics and enthusiasm give me a refreshed outlook for the school year.  I have been spending the last 2 hours reviewing your webpage and found so many interesting links.  In a time that can be very negative toward education, you have given me a reason to continue my positive outlook and remind me each time I listen why I got into teaching.

Thanks so much~~

Kerry

Letter 3:
From AK Jenny:  http://www.conquercollegewithld.com/

Letter 4:
Dear Shawn & Troy,

On behalf of the stakeholder and partner organizations of the Michigan Joint Education Conference (MIJEC), I want to express my appreciation to you for sharing your expertise with the attendees of last month’s conference at Thurston High School in South Redford.

By sharing your best practices with other educators, you enhanced our conference and helped to further the professional development of our attendees.

I hope that you will consider presenting next year’s Michigan Joint Education Conference, which will be held on Wednesday, June 22.  Watch the MIJEC website for announcements concerning our call for presenters.

Thanks again for your participation in the 2010 Michigan Joint Education Conference.

Sincerely,
Ric Wiltse, MACUL

From the Twitterverse:

  • WhiteheadsClass  RT @JamiePortman: 15 ways to foster a love of learning. Great stuff!!
  • thart74  Video: STUDENTS use tools to assess the effectiveness of instructional strategies and teaching techniques.
  • thart74  Catching Readers Before They Fall – instructional strategies,PD guide, group activities. Preview entire book online!
  • brasst  Apps for interacting with US govt resources – APPS via www.diigo.com/~brasst
  • elemenous  If you’re interested in finding more apps, try Appolicious http://tinyurl.com/mof69f #psls
  • getschooled  Even with rising #collegecost, 4 year degree is still important to earn more than your parents http://ow.ly/29msV
  • posterous  I’ve started using http://NutshellMail.com to manage my Facebook and Twitter accounts through one simple email.
  • johnrwoodman  Nobody who bought a drill actually wanted a drill. They wanted a hole. – Perry Marshall
  • hrheingold  Participative Pedagogy for a Literacy of Literacies http://tinyurl.com/5rct2w about 9 hours ago via Seesmic
  • SMART_Tech  New! SMART Certified Interactive Teacher program available. Be the first to be Certified in your school!
  • getschooled  Men may earn less today than in 1979 if they don’t have a college degree. http://ow.ly/29fJe
  • ngcbrown  #clcs10 try gamesalad for Mac. Bit like scratch but glossier. Can make itouch/phone games with it
  • russeltarr  The 15 most inspiring teachers in films (would be an interesting vote during a staff training day!): http://tinyurl.com/muco5f
  • drmmtatom  ISTE Unplugged Recordings Now Available http://tinyurl.com/289a3xs
  • russeltarr  Collection of Free Mathematics Classroom Posters: http://tinyurl.com/2vucuqp
  • moodlenews  interested in the #Blackboard acquisition? Read this now: #moodle @cytochromec
  • lesliefisher  I learned that the staff at the Apple Store can only sit down when you do, so, when you like the person, sit down! If not, run in circles!
  • russeltarr  AutoMotivator is for making printable motivational posters or parody demotivational posters.: http://tinyurl.com/ksfqum
  • cmtoy  ‘You’re racing toward our old model!” Chinese educator to American educator. Who the heck is leading us and why are they taking us there?
  • solennial  Teachers in Pender Co. can’t be Facebook friends with students WECT.com – Wilmington, NC news and weather –
  • WhiteheadsClass  More than a million creative writing prompts at
  • .FakeAPStylebook  hacker – Anyone who knows anything at all about computers beyond e-mail/web browsing, and therefore is a troublemaker.

Advisory:

8 Ways to get to know a new class:
http://docs.google.com/present/view?id=dhn2vcv5_650dvtj3dgk

Tech Tools:

SnagIt for Mac (beta)

http://www.techsmith.com/snagitmac/

Book Suggestion engine
Uses Amazon and LibraryThing
http://bookseer.com/

SlideSix
Allows voiceover of uploaded powerpoint, keynote, OpenOffice presentations.
http://slidesix.com/

ISock
www.guppiesinthedark.com
http://itunes.apple.com/nl/app/isock-de-pratende-sok/id346782860?mt=8

Webspotlight:

Big Thinkers:  T. Barry Brazelton on Parents as Partners in Education

Scientists answer the question of which came first, the Chicken or the Egg?
http://jeffreyhill.typepad.com/english/2010/07/newsy-video-chicken-or-the-egg-question-finally-solved.html

Should we require educators to use RSS?
http://dangerouslyirrelevant.org/2010/07/should-we-require-school-employees-to-have-rss-readers-part-2-more-questions.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dangerouslyirrelevant+%28Dangerously+Irrelevant%29

Schoolwide
http://www.schoolwidenetwork.com/?search_type=grade_9

Shout out:

Kerry, Craig and Jenny thanks for the feedback!

News:

ISTE 2010:  Virtual Schools

Virtual School Initiative:  21st Century Learning and Teaching
Dr. Kathy Hayden:  Assistant Professor of Educational Technology, California State University, San Marcos khayden@csusm.edu
Stacey Campo via Skype (teacher):  Poway Unified School District

  • Stacey is an Apple Professor at Cal. State.
  • Path to Growth
  • This developed out of a book they read.
    • Does your district offer online courses?
  • Articulating the Vision
    • “Our district goal that every student is using technology to engage in learning customized to their needs, master rigorous content which develops 21st century literacy skills and culminates in college readiness.”
  • Articulating the vision:  Support learning activities delivered from a shared knowledge of principles of effective learning with multiple opportunities …
  • Summit feedback:  The online learning summit participants recognized that a successful launch of a PUSD Virtual High School will require:
    • On-going staff development in online pedagogy.
    • Teacher Union/Administrative Counseling suport.
    • Curriculum alignment with PUSD and CA standards.
    • Technical Support
    • Sufficient, sustainable technical resources.
    • Competition was a driving force.
  • Modeling and embedding principles of effective learning and teaching.
    • Tier 1:  Basic integration
    • Tier 2:  Integrated practices.
    • Tier 3:  Thought Leaders
  • Professional Development
    • 1.  Directly engage staff
    • 2.  Leverage technology
    • 3.  Create alternative evaluations
    • All of this comes with a pay raise.
  • TLC:  Teaching and Learning Cooperatives
  • Partnership:  Poway USD and California State University
    • Distinguished Professor in Residence Grant
    • 360 Hours of support
    • Professional expertise and experience
  • Polling question:  Should teachers be certified to teach online?
    • Audience answer:  25% yes.
  • Health is one of the first things that high schools take online.
  • “Learning Point Portal” on the screen now.
  • Teacher Pay
    • $2500 to develop the course.
    • If they teach the course, they get a fractional pay for it.
    • Additional pay if they are teaching outside their content area.
    • Site to check out:  http://floridaitunesu.org
  • Find interesting ways to have conversations in an on-line settng.
    • INACOL: Standards (not a perfect match)
    • Essential Elements:  Concord Consortium
    • PUSD Virtual School
    • Discussion Forums
      • It is important that these kids talk.
      • It led to kids reconnecting with kids they had been friends with at other schools.
    • Scaffolding for success
      • Constant communication in multiple mediums.
      • If they fell below the 70% line, parents were called by the grading software.
        • ConnectEd messages.
      • Real-world thinking
      • Decision-Making
      • Authentic Learning
      • Engaged the teachers and students in project based learning.

Events & Happenings:

Calendar of Events:

NMSA News:

Other News:

  • ISTE Eduverse Talks are the recorded sessions held on ISTE Island every week. Join ISTE in their Second Life conference location for their weekly talks on education.
    • The ISTE Special Interest Group:  Virtual Environments is holding meetings on Mondays from 4:00 – 6:00 pm (SLT) on ISTE Island.
  • The Ohio Middle Level Association will hold their annual conference February 17 – 18, 2011.
  • Second Life:
    • Regular Tuesday meetings are scheduled. See the board on the ISTE Island for up to the minute details.  Check frequently this week as the ISTE Annual Convention is this week.
    • Video: Educational Uses of Second Life
TechBy Shawn McGirr

EduBloggerCon East 2010

Did ya miss it?  EduBloggerCon East 2010 is done.  It was great cranking the ‘puter up to full volume, listening to the presenters and running back to chime in on something in the chat room.  You can get the chats by looking up #ebce10 on Twitter or catch the Smackdown! video at http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/8236239 and checking out the links at http://www.edubloggercon.com/EBC+East+2010+Smackdown.  Well worth the bandwidth and I recommend you put it on your calendar for next year!

TechBy Shawn McGirr

Edubloggercon East Starts Monday

Say your school board wants to cut your pay, your state legislature wants to tax your health benefits by 3%, and your principal doesn’t want to spend money for you to attend a conference.  What do you do?  Attend an UnConference!  Edubloggercon is an unconference you can attend on the web.  Unlike Classroom 2.0 that has a preset agenda, UnConferences are an ad hoc gathering centered around the topics the attendees brainstorm in the opening session.  Best part?  You don’t have to be physically present to attend some of the sessions.  Some UnConferences will stream sessions out onto the web for remote viewers’ benefit.  Edubloggercon East is one such event coming up this Monday.  They’ve posted a Ustream link for Monday’s event and asked folks to watch for the #ebce10 hashtag on Twitter.  Or click here . . .

Tech, UncategorizedBy Shawn McGirr, , , , , ,

Conference Notes: International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), Model Schools Conference (MSC), and the Michigan Joint Education Conference (MiJEC)

For those interested (and some do ask!) here’s a link to my notes from some of the sessions I attended this summer. Topics include: 10 Essential Tech Leadership Components, Virtual Schools, Interactive Digital Curricula, Remix: Blending Creative Content to Demonstrate Mastery of Classroom Content, Shakespeare Set Free – Digital Technology and the Teaching of the Bard, Information Literacy, Classroom 2.0 “Birds of a Feather Session, Distance Learning, Crap Detection, Using Google Apps in Education, Using Social Networking in World History, and Developing a World Class Assessment Piece.

Cover page with following table of contents can be found here: http://web.me.com/mcgirr/Summer_PD_Notes__ISTE__MiJEC____MSC_/index.html

MSM, Podcast, TechBy Troy Patterson

MSM-127 Back Channel and Boy Crisis

Jokes:

Serious Questions
A police recruit was asked during the exam, “What would you do if you had to arrest your own mother?” He said: “Call for backup.”

Great News
While eating in an expensive restaurant, a patron overheard the gentleman at the next table ask the waitress to pack the leftovers for their dog. It was then that his young son exclaimed loudly, “Whoopee! We’re going to get a dog.”

Lord Send Me A Hundred
A little boy wanted $100 badly and prayed for two weeks but nothing happened. Then he decided to write a letter to the Lord requesting the $100. When the postal authorities received the letter addressed to the Lord, USA, they decided to send it to the President. The President was so impressed, touched, and amused that he instructed his secretary to send the little boy a $5.00 bill, as this would appear to be a lot of money to a little boy. The little boy was delighted with the $5.00, and sat down to write a thank-you note to the Lord. It said: Dear Lord, Thank you very much for sending me the money. However, I noticed that for some reason you had to send it through Washington, DC and as usual, those jerks deducted $95.

On Our Mind:

ISTE 2010 and Back Channels . . .
What do you get when you mash up a former VP of the World Bank, a PowerPoint, and a bunch of tech savvy educators?

Conference Survival Gear
Maxpedition Mongo Bag
Soundpaper

Listeners:

Teachers in Illinois use iPod Touch to customize lessons
One Illinois school district will have teachers and students using iPod Touch devices in classrooms this fall. District staff received 15 hours of training on using the devices for individualizing lessons and helping students improve reading fluency by listening to their recorded voices reading aloud. “This is the way students are wired to learn, and we are looking at every method to make learning more engaging and stimulating for our students and teaching more exciting for our staff,” the district’s superintendent said.
David Bydlowski
Science Consultant

Hey Guys — I still need to respond to your response to my response to the UDL article!  I came a cross this link today – and thought you might be interested —http://atcubed.blogspot.com/2010/06/thinking-about-relationships.html — it does go with the UDL topic.

later – jen

From the Twitterverse:

  • gardenglen WOW! RT @wbasinger: RT @ChrisLAtkinson: Web.AppStorm – 10 [More] Killer Dropbox Tips and Tricks
  • drmmtatom RT @gcouros: 10 ways to encourage students to take responsibility for their learning… « What Ed Said via @phsprincipal
  • drmmtatom RT @GMcKBlogs: School Uses Video Games To Teach Thinking Skills http://n.pr/dtaQO3 #fhuedu642
  • K4sons  iApps Users Group meets on VSTE ISland at 1:30 Second Life time Monday, July 5th. Come ready to share one cool app for iPad iPod or Droid.
  • ssandifer  @jonbecker For me, my PLN (for lack of a better term) are more like a Critical Friends Group…
  • deangroom Blogged. Working and sharing docs on the ipad. An better alternative to Pages #ipad for the mobile edtecher
  • teach42  ISTE 2010 Resources from my presentations up at Teach42:
  • lhoog “Speak with your students not at them.” Rushton Hurley #iste10 #TIE2010
  • pgoerner RT @web20classroom : Check out the #ISTE10 Diigo Group for great resources shared at the conference:
  • BethRitterGuth RT @jenisecook: RT @edteck: Thinking about #ISTE10 ? Try the Taxonomy of Reflection #edtech
  • cybraryman1  I have gone to & presented at many conferences. Very important for morale, support, collaboration & learning #ntchat
  • lthumann  How to: WiFi Tether a Motorola Droid to an iPad #ipad #iste10 – will try this later today

Advisory:

Xtranormal:  Go Play!  Report back here what you learned.  We’ll talk about it on the show.

Tech Tools:

WordPress Now Lets You Phone in Your Blog Posts

You can already write and publish WordPress blog posts from your iPhone, iPad, Android, e-mail and desktop, but now you can also post audio via your phone.

http://mashable.com/2010/07/01/wordpress-phone/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Mashable+%28Mashable%29

Aviary in Education:
A safe, private environment to use Aviary tools with your students

  • Create private student accounts
  • Manage assignments and projects
  • Use the image editor, vector editor, audio editor & music creator
  • All content and images are 100% school safe

http://www.aviaryeducation.com/

Webspotlight:

Putting the “Boy Crisis” in Context

Finding solutions to boys’ reading problems may require looking beyond gender
By MICHAEL SADOWSKI
“The Boys Have Fallen Behind.” “Girls Lead the Nation in Reading Scores.” “Are Teachers Failing Our Sons?”

http://www.hepg.org/hel/article/473

Word Games

http://www.wordgames.com/

Google Apps Education Training Center

Welcome to the Google Apps Education Training Center. This is an online learning environment dedicated for educators and students to learn how to effectively use Google Apps in an educational context.
Access to a Google Apps Education account is strongly recommended so that you can experiment and apply what you learn.
http://edutraining.googleapps.com/Training-Home

Shout out:

Thanks to InFocus for the shout out on Twitter and for the USB drive at the conference!  ()

News:

International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE 2010)

10 Leadership Components of Effective Technology Leadership
Observation:  This session is filled with folks.  Standing room only.  10 mins. to go to presentation too!
“Very quick and inappropriate” video. Old lady sets off airbag.  Patience is not only a virtue, it’s a money saver.  Here’s the link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I11k-OUXaAw

Sponsor info:  Skoodat.com
Presenter:  Chris O’Neal

“Storm the stage” – Alternate title.
His website:  Chris.wikispace.com and this presentation’s site:  http://leaders.wikispaces.com/
T to (?)
Equity of access.
This should include access at home.
We should have this between 8 & 3:30
We should not use tech as a reward but as a tool.
Our problem is not enough tech to use in the classroom.
Understanding and Using Data.
Rigor and relevance.
Effective Professional Development.
Think individual schools and individual grades.
Walk the walk, talk the talk.
We have to model the tech we want people to use.
Vision: collaborative and authentic:  http://tiny url.com/istelead
Using a google survey/form in a faculty meeting.
Vision.
Write down what your technology vision is for your school/district/students.
Have the staff write down what their technology vision for your school/district/students.
Throw it into wordle and see what commonalities pop up and what differences you need to address.
Reward growth.
Look for the ASCD survey on rewards.
Reward those who push themselves outside of their comfort zones.
Genuine Reflection
NSD says that reflection is critical to integrating PD.
Student-driven technology
Get student managers
PLN.  You need one.  Your teachers need one.

NETS-A:  National Educational Technology Standards for Administrators
1. Visionary Leadership
2. Digital Age Learning Culture
3. Excellence in Professional Practice
4. Systemic Improvement
5. Digital Citizenship

Presenter’s website and local for presentation notes:  Chris.wikispaces.com
Fellow attendee’s blog about the session:  http://edtechworkshop.blogspot.com/

By the way, if he goes up to you and gives you a smiley-face sticker . . .

Events & Happenings:

Calendar of Events:

NMSA News:

Other News:

  • ISTE Eduverse Talks are the recorded sessions held on ISTE Island every week. Join ISTE in their Second Life conference location for their weekly talks on education.
    • ISTE 2010 June 27-30, 2010 (Formerly NECC) in Denver, Colorado.
        • Experience a virtual learning experience sim as the ISTE folks take you on an authentic silver mine tour.  Meet at the Denver Convention Lobby.
  • The Ohio Middle Level Association will hold their annual conference February 16 – 18, 2011.
  • Second Life:
    • Regular Tuesday meetings are scheduled. See the board on the ISTE Island for up to the minute details.  Check frequently this week as the ISTE Annual Convention is this week.
    • Video: Educational Uses of Second Life
UncategorizedBy Troy Patterson

On Common Core Standards

There seems to be a bit of push back regarding the Common Core Standards. Many seem to be disappointed at President Obama’s continuation and extension of President Bush’s No Child Left Behind. Make no mistake, we are headed toward a national test. Interesting when other nations are realizing the strength of the American system.Read Yong Zhao’s “Catching Up…Or Leading the Way” for a different perspective on national testing. Anyway, a letter by Cindy Lutenbacher, Professor at Morehouse is currently making the rounds. If you haven’t read it yet, you can find it here:

http://www.ajc.com/opinion/core-standards-more-drill-553702.html

She makes  a variety of good points. Among those points:

  • Look at who benefits.
  • Look at who developed the test (follow the money).
  • What do the people who are developing these tests know about educating children?
  • Which research is being followed and why?
  • Which research is being ignored and why?

All in all, it is a thoughtful article that should be debated.

MSM, Podcast, TechBy Troy Patterson

MSM-126 Title: China Test and Creativity KIPP Shoots, KIPP Scores, KIPP Kicks Kids Off of the Island!

Jokes:

Waiters
A man walks into a restaurant and is shown to his seat by the hostess. The waiter approaches and asks, “Would you like to try our house special? The man replies, “No, just bring me a steak, and make it lean”. The waiter, somewhat puzzled, looks at him and replies, “which way?”

Important Tasks
A doctor got a phone call from one of his colleagues. “We need a fourth for poker,” the voice on the phone said. “I’ll be right over,” replied the doctor. As he was putting on his overcoat, his wife asked, “Is it serious?” “Oh yes, quite serious,” he said gravely. “They’ve had to call in three other doctors as well.”

On Our Mind:

Catching Up or Leading the Way
Yong Zhao

Listeners:

Comment:
Thank you for keeping us updated. I incredibly enjoy it and discover all the information really useful.
Krav Maga

Hi guys,
I am at the Technology Integration and Instruction for the 21st Century Learner conference in Storm Lake, Iowa at Buena Vista University.  I listen to your podcasts (and have given you the 4 stars on i-Tunes).  Love the links, discussion and your thoughts.  It gives me time to reflect, something we do not do enough of.  I do have a suggestion, and this is on the technical side of the the podcast production.  Please moderate the theme music, it is so loud that it drowns out the voice and is much louder than the volume of the spoken word.  I have to quick reach for the volume on my i-pod, or computer so it does not wake my daughter or wife in the next rooms as I listen to you late at night when everyone is in bed.  I know through using garage band that the volumes can be adjusted.  It is way worse than the increase in volume of commercials on TV.
Thanks again for your great work,

Craig Cadman
Middle School Science

From ASCD:
Middle-school students create podcasts as part of place-based learning
Middle-school students at an Oregon charter school created podcasts as part of their study of a local streetcar line that used to operate near their school. Educators say the streetcar project and the podcasts are a form of place-based learning, which includes studying the history of neighborhoods, communities and buildings under the umbrella of environmental education. The student recordings are posted on the website of the regional transportation planning agency, which is considering reviving the original line.

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2010/06/southwest_charter_school_stude.html

David Bydlowski

From the Twitterverse:

Advisory:

Remember that origami stuff we talked about before?  Here’s a website that illustrates it:  http://www.en.origami-club.com/others/index.html

Tech Tools:

Doodle – Collaborative Scheduling

http://doodle.com/

DabbleBoard –

Dabbleboard is an online collaboration application that’s centered around the whiteboard. With a new type of drawing interface that’s actually easy and fun to use, Dabbleboard gets out of your way and just lets you draw. Finally the whiteboard enters the digital age!
http://dabbleboard.com/

Free Web Pages
http://pageeasy.com/

Webspotlight:

Interesting world view:
http://timemaps.com/history/

Top 100 technology blogs for teachers

Posted on Jun. 17th 2010 6:23 PM by alexis

(This article is a continuation and combination of two previous lists: “The Top 25 eLearning Blogs,” and “The Top 20 Teacher Blogs“)


http://www.onlinedegrees.org/top-100-technology-blogs-for-teachers/

News:

Report finds KIPP students outscore public school peers

The study, which KIPP commissioned, comes as the Obama administration is promoting the spread of strong charter schools as a strategy to improve urban education. 
Skeptics say that the program benefits from highly motivated parents seeking alternatives to ineffective public schools and that KIPP often winnows out students who don’t fit its program. 
Read more… 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/22/AR2010062200009.html

Prince George’s bans student cellphone use during school day

There is an epidemic of under-the-desk text messages during class, a virtual economy of exam pictures posted to Facebook, a trade in school fight videos on YouTube, they say. To combat it, the county school board voted Thursday to ban cellphones and other electronics during the school day, even as many school systems across the country are loosening their rules.

Nor will students be allowed to post photos and videos shot on school property on the Web, which would include such sites as Facebook and YouTube.

“We know for a fact that the use of cellphones on school property around this country has led to a number of problems around safety,” said Board of Education Chairman Verjeana M. Jacobs (At Large), citing issues of explicit text messages and videos of fights posted online — one case of which happened just last week at Bowie High School.

Read more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/18/AR2010061804420.html?wprss=rss_education


Carpe Data: In Defense of Common Standards

By H. Ogden Morse III

For me, the epiphany came on a Tuesday in September two years ago. I was sitting around a small conference table with our assistant superintendent, principal, and English chair, as we tried to determine whether we should be concerned about the reading and writing capabilities of some of the students in our senior class. Before us, across paper and laptop screen, were various pieces of data—an SAT score here, some classroom grades there—intended to aid us in making this determination.

Only they weren’t. Instead, I grew increasingly perplexed as I realized that the four experienced educators sitting around that table were engaged in a comparison of apples and oranges that was proving, well, fruitless.

Read more…
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/06/25/36morse.h29.html?tkn=RVSFiEEZ47gbiUHMUSM5DK9Da1ygfd6HtbYj&cmp=clp-edweek

Events & Happenings:

Calendar of Events:


NMSA News:

Other News:

  • ISTE Eduverse Talks are the recorded sessions held on ISTE Island every week. Join ISTE in their Second Life conference location for their weekly talks on education.
    • ISTE 2010 June 27-30, 2010 (Formerly NECC) in Denver, Colorado. 
      • June 19:  ISTE Denver Metaverse Meeting 4:00 – 5:00 in Second Life ISTE Island
        • Experience a virtual learning experience sim as the ISTE folks take you on an authentic silver mine tour.  Meet at the Denver Convention Lobby. 
  • The Ohio Middle Level Association will hold their annual conference February 16 – 18, 2011.
  • Second Life:
    • Regular Tuesday meetings are scheduled. See the board on the ISTE Island for up to the minute details.  Check frequently this week as the ISTE Annual Convention is this week. 
    • Video: Educational Uses of Second Life