Creating a Digital Sub

One section of Pheasant Run Resort has conference rooms with “gem” names. I’m not in Ruby attending a session I’ve been anxious to hear since the schedule came out “Creating a Digital Substitute.” The session, presented by Chris Wherley, Williamsville CUSD #15, started off with an adorable video of his children (why you need a digital sub!). Here are my notes:

·         Sub days, let’s face it, are a wasted day. Creating a digital sub would be a great way to utilize time better.

·         Showed several videos of his kids, cute but not necessary to see several of them.

·         PLN: plurk, diigo, classroom20.com, live.classroom20.com, www.edtechtalk.com, google reader

·         Time is short very in a 45m. presentation, first time presenters  are nervous and tend to spend too much time on intros.

·         I would have liked to started off with a video of a classroom utilizing a digital sub.

o   When *I* think of using a digital sub, I think of Skype, podcast, youtube video

·         Video Resources

o   Moviemaker (www.papajohn.org)

o   FlipVideo (I sooo want one of these.)

o   Webcam

o   Digital Camera

o   JingProject.com

o   Youtube.com

o   Ustream.tv (several people doing that here at the conference)

o   Learn 360 or Discovery Education

               

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Plain Language Needed: Understanding PLN

My third breakout session of the day, and finally a bit of breathing room! I’m plugged in and so far the network is backed up (having a bit of tech issues here….) This presentation, Plain Language Needed: Understanding PLN focuses on getting your personal learning network up and running! Here are my notes:

Stephanie Madlinger @cyberteacher- St. Louis, Mo

Cindy Lane @clane

These two women (both google certified teachers) are inspirations to me- I’d love to follow similar career paths.

http://www.oovoo.com/ is an alternative to Skype.

Chris Brogan (blogging guru) states that information much be: dynamic, localized, atomized, relevant, etc.)

PLN is Personal Learning Network (sometimes referred to as Professional Learning Network)

·         Created by user (what about pre-creating or twitter lists?)

·         Virtual community, common interests, open membership or closed (depending), they will help you but you will probably never meet.

·         Interesting visuals about how network will grow.

Twitter                                                         

·         600 tweets per second!

·         Tweetups, Twibes & Twubs

·         You have to reply to people, RT, and engage with people- not just sharing your own stuff.

·         It’s not taken personally if don’t follow, unfollow, or follow people.

·         Stephanie tries to keep her following to 300-400 people.

·         Follow RT ettiquite- it is a way of “siting your sources” and an untold rule of curisy

·         http://twitter4teachers.pbworks.com/

·         http://twitterforteachers.wetpaint.com/

Ning

·         private sites, like your own community FaceBook

·         thousands of Nings, like the ICE conference Ning.

Skype

·         check out the website, http://skypeanauthor.wetpaint.com/

 

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Google Lit Trips

Yes, this is my 3rd time being at ICE, and yes, I still managed to get lost in this building! I'm here (with a bit walking through walls) in Salon II very excited to be listening to Google Lit Trips presented by Jerome Burg, all the way here from CA. I've communicated with Jerome briefly on email before and I'm thrilled to see him present on this project. Here are my notes on this inspired speaker:

• Jerome mentioned that even though he is retired he can't get away from education. That is a true teacher!
• www.googlelittrips.com, mixing the passion of  17th century literature with 21st century skills.
• "Not On The Test" by John Forster & Tom Chapin- hilarious song about not teaching anything that isn't tested.
• We need thinkers, researchers, creators- not regurgitation of information.
• If we want to be better teachers we need to think about makes a better learner.
• Buying a Tiger Woods golf club will not make you Tiger Woods; tech is just a tool- it's the learning involved in the technology that is useful!
• China is only 2 seconds away on a telephone. We need to collaborate with them. It is 1 world, America isn't at the center anymore.
• Lit Trips is geography, literature, cross-curricular.
• Takes a travel story and adds it to google earth.
• Examples: Grapes of Wrath, night, The Odyssey, Big Anthony, Possum Magic
• Each stop has pictures, questions.
• Tip- find a picture of what you want and then set the view to match the picture.
• Use the 3D button as necessary for the story you are trying to tell.
• This is just an incredible way to give students background knowledge of the journey through books and connect literature to real life.
• Remember: It’s not the technology that makes things happen- it’s the teacher’s vision using that technology that makes a difference.
• We want to produce people that can think for themselves.
• We have to move on from what is our comfort zone and what we’ve always taught, we have to get out of traditional mode.
• It makes me think of Mary Poppins where they jump into the pictures and go to the carnival; we can actually have kids virtually jump into the story.
• I want to do this- but can’t help but think, “When do I have time?!”

 

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MP3 Players in the Classroom

Now I'm sitting (literally- on the floor, it's crowded!) in Broadway C with presenters Michael Jones and Zack Gilbert to listen to their presentation on MP3 use in the classroom. It's no surprise that this small piece of technology is the most widely available piece of technology we all have access to. Here are my notes on the presentation:

• Jigsaw media
• Podcast reviews
• Presenter from Bloomington Junior High School- mentioned one of my favorite techies- @mochagirl and how awesome she is.
• Always preview content, labeled “clean” doesn’t mean appropriate.
• They used prezi.com for their presentation.
• Creating content- speeches, podcast, service projects
• Excellent handouts- it’s a book!
• They use audacity or garageband
• Voice digital recorders that plug into USB- monaural- have to record in stereo to hear out of both speakers.
• In their district of almost 55% low income, 95% of his kids have an mp3 player of some kind.
• More kids have access to this over cell phones- it’s the number one piece of technology that we have access to- can create a paperless classroom.
• Wow! They created their own audio tours, uploaded it to itunes and now the community can download it! What a great REAL-learning project!
•  grammargirl- I've listened to her podcasts before, great!
  
• Lit 2 go

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Illinois Computing Educator's Conference 2010- Here we go!

After battling a scary snow storm last night we are here in St. Charles, Illinois at the 2010 Illinois Computing Educator's Conference! A sugary donut and a cup of tea later, I'm sitting here in the keynote presentation listening to Mario Armstrong (Armstrong Media), a media personality and inspiration to educational technology. Here are my notes from his presentation "Classrooms of the Future":

@marioarmstrong
www.marioarmstrong.com

• Seoul, Korea has the fasted internet speed?
• Urban Video Game Acaedmy- he started this, students build video games through the knowledge of science and technology- cool!
• Tech, Tech, Boom! techtechboom.com
• problem solving should be the emphasis of education
• we need to have digitally literate students
• Check out http://scratch.mit.edu
• "We need a national broadband policy." ~Absolutely!
  
• Suggestions for using Skype in the classroom:

  ·         2^nd grade interviewd bat expert

  ·         Develop a well defined objective

  ·         http://skypeintheclassroom.wordpress.com

• Many of his examples for educational tech are with elementary students, we need to stop thinking that little tykes can't handle it!
• mobile is cheap and accessible, why aren't we using it more?!
• we need to work in baby steps; this is hard to do when we we are so excited but feel thwarted when we are told we can't.
• check out Zero G flights Northrop Grumman Foundation- I remember hearing about this, space and Kelly don't mix!
• keep blogs updated :) (I need to do better on that!)
• "The difference between having an audience and having a community is which way you face the chairs" ~@cbragron
• This presentation is being streamed with Ustream- I need to check this out.
• Skype is such an easy way to add tech to the one computer classroom- I'm wondering if our school has web cameras in the tech center we can check out.
• "Be on demand.", students should be "drinking out of the firehouse....make sure your water is in the hose....." nice analogy.
• check out livescribe- pen that's a computer.
• unbelievable classroom: Chesapeake High School in Baltimore- augmented reality and virtual learning environments.
• accelaglove, translating sign language to actual speech- whoa!
• http://one-economy.com
• http://thebeehive.org
• tutor.com
• his final thought- how can school's implement a similar idea like Google's 20% rule? Amazing things have come out of that rule- so how can we have our own google time? good question......
  

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