Educational Technology Weblog

It seems only appropriate to wish the fabulous Lee Kolbert a Happy Birthday using a Web 2.0 tool such as VoiceThread, so here we go. You can scroll down a bit and join Dean Shareski and others from around the world in wishing Lee the best of days.

Many teachers here in our own school district know Lee from our TV show and all the great training she’s done over the years in how to use technology to enliven their lessons. What people might not know locally is that Lee has a reputation that reaches all over the world. That’s right, Lee is one of those pioneers in the field of educational technology that sees the really big picture, and has collaborated with folks all over the world. Teach Locally, Share Globally pretty well sums up Lee’s attitude.

So, without further ado, here’s our little tribute to Lee. You can join right in by adding your own voice here and wish Lee a happy birthday. By the way, if you add a comment to this Voice Thread please be sure to tell us where you’re from.

If you are looking for an EASY and very cool way to promote community amongst your interest groups, I have found TabUp to be an outstanding resource. If your school district or community group does not provide you with your own web presence FREE TO YOU, and you would like to create a private, semiprivate, or open destination for communication, TabUp can provide just what you are looking for.

With features like a shared calendar, forums for discussion, links to various web resources, and the ability to make this modrated or invite only ALL FOR FREE, I can’t think of a school group, sports team, or common interest group that would not find some use for this service. Please take a look, and add your thoughts to this page. The page is not intended to be a primary source of new information, but rather a living example of another great FREE tool available to educators and community groups.  I will be automatically notified of any changes or additions, and will be sure to act on valid suggestions.

This sideshow and many other useful “Best Of” lists can be found at the web site of the Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies. Click on any that you might not be familiar with to see what they have to offer. I always recommend listening to what other educators find useful, and this is a great way to add new tools to your proverbial toolbox. Please keep in mind that these resources are gathered and reviewed by educators from around the globe, so as you explore, please understand that certain links will be blocked by various educationally based firewalls and security measures

As most of you are probably aware, we will host our 11th annual SDPBC Technology Conference in March 2009. We are pleased to be returning to Santaluces High School for the second consecutive year. Here an example of a free online publishing tool that you can employ to spread the word. Feel free to share this countdown with anyone you think might want to have it simply by clicking on share in the lower left corner! Or better yet… go to www.sproutbuilder.com create a free account and build your own! You can build all kinds of widgets and other neat things. If you build something you’d like to share, LET US KNOW!!

Here is another link to a Beta that is currently FREE! www.mathway.com is new, and I am liking this online math help site. Use this as a supplemental resource or as a review for your students. It is a great stand alone math review resource, but this site allow the teacher to find some examples of the topic of your choice, and embed them on a web page or send specific problems and solutions to an email recipient. Simply click on the following math problem for an in depth explanation of how to solve it. How easy is that?

If you wold like to add a little personality to your Edline page, possibly lighten up the presentation of some of your content, or try and inject some creativity into your project based learning. I recommend checking out Go!Animate. You’ll find this web based publishing program at www.goanimate.com and it does require an email to create an account, but the service is free and FUN!! Here’s an example of something I put together in about 15 minutes, and I am still learning the interface. Your students will amaze you!!

As information technologies have advanced rapidly, things like Google, blogs, Blackberry, i-Phones, and social networks have become ever more prevalent, and being “connected” has taken on a whole new meaning for many people. For more and more people the thought of being “offline” for even a few minutes is a real cause for concern. I read recently an entry form the creator of one of my favorite “social bookmarking” pages www.twine.com (which is currently in invite only beta to participate) His thoughts are that this prevalence and that the ubiquitous nature of technologies and sharing of information will only continue to grow.

This brief article is definitely worth a read.

Some unintended results have come from all of these advances. Some people find that keeping afloat in this massive wave of information is a challenge. Here’s a link to listen to some very tech savvy individuals mull this over at a session of the Churchill Club that took place earlier this year. (MAY NOT WORK FROM WITHIN OUR FIREWALL)

I will leave you with one more look at the same general trend towards a possibly “techno-centric” future. This is brought to you by the ever sharp Colbert Report

Review your experiences, and what you know of your students’ experiences, and let us know your thoughts…pro…con… or otherwise.

So often, we want to attend conferences but due to many reasons, mostly budget restraints, it’s not possible. Unfortunately, the opportunites missed are enormous. When we attend conferences, we are able to step out of our comfortable, closed circle of like-minded peers and network with teachers and administrators from around the state, nation and world. It’s fascinating to discuss how the same tools we have are being used in other schools. It’s inspiring to hear about enormous progress being made in other schools where they have much less. How invigorating to brainstorm with others on how to solve similar frustrations or to have a debate with a popular, well-known national educational speaker who is sitting next to you in the coffee bar.

All of this is possible with the K!2 Online Conference. It’s free and your participation is mostly on your own schedue. By initiating contact with the presenters, who are only happy to network with you, you’ve taken an enormous step towards expanding your professional learning network and achieving all of those I’ve mentioned above without leaving your home.

Anything you need to participate is available for free (except for your computer, speakers and Internet connection). In addition, there’s a HelpDesk for support if you are unable to get something to work correctly on your computer.

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 FREE conference is run by volunteers and open to everyone.

The 2008 conference theme is “Amplifying Possibilities.” This year’s conference begins with a pre-conference keynote the week of October 13, 2008. The following two weeks, October 20-24 and October 27-31, forty presentations will be posted online to the conference blog (click here) for participants to download and view. Live Events in the form of three “Fireside Chats” and a culminating “When Night Falls” event will be announced. Everyone is encouraged to participate in both live events during the conference as well as asynchronous conversations.

I encourage you to take even one small step and click on the link to just read further.
K-12 Online Conference

~Lee

I know that realizing something important just a little too late can be very frustrating. I think most of us have had a deadline slip our minds or possibly paid a bill a little past the due date. Usually these are small issues of little consequence in the “Big Picture” However, not to be an alarmist, I am afraid to think that America is on the verge of being caught asleep on it’s feet. As we see our global economy shifting, and the face of “business as usual” taking on a whole new look. There is a large number of people who are calling on American educational institutions to begin to shift as well.

Here is just one more example of article that discusses a study (admittedly by a 21st Century Educational Organization) that outlines some of the most glaring reasons that this shift is so crucial in keeping America a leading force in our world today.

http://pages.citebite.com/l8c1c2v1wkyt

Are you enjoying this blog but do you forget to check it? What about other blogs or websites? Did you know there’s an easy, free way to be notified everytime this blog adds a new post? You can try using a free RSS reader such as Google Reader. Watch this brief tutorial from CommonCraft: