Middle School Spanish Class Takes a Virtual Field Trip to Mexico

The student's in Ms. Febres's 7'th grade Spanish classes video conferenced with students from a K-12 school located in Mexico City called Nuevo Continente. Ms. Febres coordinated the video conference session with 4 of her classes.  During each video conference session the students exchanged questions. The students from Mexico spoke in English and our students spoke in Spanish.

This was a very engaging and rewarding experience for all of the students involved. It provided an authentic experience for students to apply their knowledge of their target language. It also proved to be enlightening as the students learned about their similarities and differences. Ms. Febres is planning to continue with this connection moving forward. We are discussing plans for small group exchanges using or mobile devices.

 

Google Earth.. Not your typical classroom map!

Google Earth has been available as a free download for computers and mobile devices since 2005. The core feature set is a mapping of the earth using satellite imagery, aerial photography and GIS 3D Globe technology.

Google earth can be downloaded and installed for free. Click here to download.  Once opened you can start navigating the world.  Users can zoom in on a particular continent, country, state, city, landmark or house! You can fly around a location to view pertinent information foryour lesson. If you are discussing Mount Rushmore, why not fly to it on Google Earth and show it to your students. You can also pan the area as well as put the location of it compared to other locations in perspective for students.  

I would like to highlight some of the features available in Google Earth that would be valuable additions to the classroom.

Street Views

When you zoom into a city or landmark Google provides access to street level views. When in street view you can fly through the streets of a city or walk right up to a famous landmark. Do you want to show your students what the streets of Rome are like? Fly there on Google Earth and enter street view? Do you want a close-up of the Eiffel Tower? Street views are easy to use. This tutorial will help you get started. (Youtube access required to view the tutorial)

 

Layers

Once you navigate to a desired location there are numerous layers that can be activated. These include images, video clips, Wikipedia entries, roads, 3d buildings, geographic features, real-time weather and traffic, historical map overlays, roads, borders, water bodies and even U.S. Senators and Congressional Districts. The layers are accessed on the lower left side. Click the boxes to turn them on and off. You can learn more about the layers here.

 

Historical Imagery

Within the Google Earth Gallery and Layers are options to turn on and overlay historical maps onto Google Earth. The Rumsey Historical Maps collection is a great example of historical maps available in the layers that can be over-layed on Google Earth. There are also a number of historical maps available in the Google Earth Gallery. If you click on View—Historical Maps from the top toolbar you will be presented with a slider bar that allows you to view a particular area at a historical point in time. This is useful when viewing damage from a natural disaster or the effects of global warming.

 

Earth, Moon, Mars and Sky

Did you know that you can also view the Moon, Mars and the Solar System in the same way you fly around earth?  Open up Google Earth and click on VIEW—Explore and select the location you would like to visit .

 

Google Earth Tours

Google Earth allows users to place bookmarks at particular locations. When you apply a bookmark you are also provided with a bubble where you can add information about that location. That bubble may contain text, images, videos, hyperlinks or audio narration. A user may create an automated tour that will fly from bookmark to bookmark. When each location is reached the bubble will appear and the content may be viewed.

There are thousands of pre-made tours available in the Google Earth Gallery or online by simply searching for Google Earth Tours. Some sample student projects may include a tour of the battles of the civil war or the a guided tour of a novel. Google Lit Trips has some great literacy based tours available.

There are tours of states, countries, historical events, climbs of Mount Everest and much more. These can be engaging and informative classroom lessons. Students may create tours or teachers may create and share them.

 

Ruler, GPS and Flight Simulator

Under the tools menu in Google Earth you will find a ruler that can be used to measure exact distance between two location in miles or kilometers. There is also a full blown flight simulator!

 

Google Earth offers a variety of resources to make lessons interactive, engaging, informative and relevant. Why not take your students on a guided tour of the locations your are discussing. How about replacing a PowerPoint project with an option to create a Google Earth Tour. You can learn more about creating Google Earth Tours here. Visit my wiki page for more resources here.

 

 

Celebrity Video Conference - It's just good business!

Our high school business department had a special guest visit them today.  We hosted a Skype video conference with Barbara Corcoran. Barbara is an extremely successful entrepreneur in the real estate industry. During her impressive career she took a $1000 loan to start The Corcoran Group. She parlayed the loan into a five-billion-dollar real estate business and sold it in 2001 for $66 million.

Barbara is the real estate contributor for NBC’s TODAY Show where she comments weekly on trends in the real estate market.  She’s also a Star on ABC’s reality hit Shark Tank. As a speaker, Barbara brings her front-line experience and infectious energy to every group she addresses.  Motivational, inspirational, and sometimes outrageous, Barbara Corcoran’s tell-it-like-it-is attitude is a refreshing approach to success.

Thanks to the efforts of Mrs. DeGraw we were able to provide our students with a 45 minute question and answer session with Ms. Corcoran.  It turned out to be a huge success. Ms. Corcoran provided a thorough and entertaining perspective into entrepreneurship, business development, and the important factors that contribute to a successful business. Our students questioned Ms. Corcoran regarding branding, success rates, expectations, investment decisions, and the general factors that contribute to a successful start-up. Ms. Corcoran answered each question with specific examples and entertaining stories.

This was a wonderful experience for our students. Video Conferencing allows authentic connections that isn't possible with only a textbook and a teacher. We are able to vet the resources available world wide at no cost and practically on-demand. Instead of reading about what successful entrepreneurs have done  we can ask one live! First hand questioning, conversation, and collaboration will always have the greatest impact on student learning. This makes learning fun, authentic, and engaging.

Connecting Literacy, Technology, Science & Penguins?

We have been successful with implementing various author Skype sessions in all of our schools. These experience are always positive.  The authors that we have connected with have done a fantastic job inspiring our students. Most notably they have  allowed students to make an authentic connection to the writing process. They connect the strategies taught in the classroom with what real authors actually do. Sometimes it is just better when they hear it from someone other than their teacher. Each time we connect we also have a lot of fun.
This particular Skype session was different. The student's in Ms. Reichel's grade 1 class in Ellen T.  Briggs School connected with author Jean Marzollo. Mrs. Marzollo is the author of the well-known I-Spy book series. Ms. Reichel's class chose to focus on her non-fiction story Pierre the Penguin.  The students had been studying about penguins. They recently skyped with a penguin expert.

Here is a excerpt from Ms. Reichel's blog posting regarding the connection:

"We first read this book as part of our unit on penguins and instantly fell in love with the adorable Pierre who wears a tiny wet suit so he will stay warm in the water even though he does not have feathers.  Our interest in Pierre brought us to his home sitehttp://www.calacademy.org/webcams/penguins/.  There we were able to watch live footage of Pierre and his friends and read about how he is doing on the Penguin Blog.    

After that we were hooked!  We wanted to know more and were lucky enough to Skype with Mrs. Marzollo.  Not only did she read us the book but she also took the time to answer questions. "

What really differentiated this experience from other author Skype sessions is what unfolded during the exchange of questions with Mrs. Marzollo. The students shared that they discovered Pierre's birthday was the next week. He was going to be 29 years old. They had learned this and other interesting facts about Pierre while reading a blog published about him. This was new information for Mrs. Marzollo. She was so impressed with the knowledge she had uncovered from our students that she wrote a posting on her personal blog to highlight the experience. You can read it here.

The student's in Ms. Reichel's class are very excited to be mentioned on the blog of an international author. They believe that they are now famous! What is underlying here is what this has accomplished. The student's have seen a true purpose for their research. They were able to curate and communicate what they learned and share it with a global audience. This opportunity opened up a level of engagement that each of us strive for. If we could create opportunities for students to share what they have learned or created with the world, we can expect a level of  engagement and excitement about learning that is difficult to develop using traditional instructional methods.

 

 

 

A Collaborative Project to Build Bullying Awareness

The students in Mrs. Bock's reading class at White Rock Elementary school wanted to work together to apply what they have learned about bullying, character counts, and the writing process to publish a book about bullying. The students and Mrs. Bock had recently been introduced to Storyjumper  through one of my training sessions. Storyjumper is a free web-based application that allows students to create and publish page turning online storybooks. The books are viewable online and can be purchased as a hard cover children's book. 

Mrs. Bock recognized that while writing in isolation on a topic that is of interest to students may be engaging, she knew that connecting with another school to collaborate on a publication would spark student interest.   Mrs. Bock successfully connected with a class from the Califon school in NJ. Together both groups of students co-authored a book that addresses bullying. This wonderful publication identifies the characteristics of a bully, integrates the six pillars of character and offers solutions for addressing the problem.

The overall project was a success. The students enjoyed applying what they have learned about bullying and character counts. They were provided with an opportunity to collaborate with another class, apply problem solving skills, and publish for a public audience. These are key skills for the 21st century. Please follow the link below to read a copy of their book.

Click Here To Read Their Book

Congratulations to Mrs. Bock's Class! Great Job!

Flipping Instruction Using Video Tutorials K-12

How can we provide individualized instruction, independent learning opportunities, targeted review and supports?

These are the questions and the demands of today's classrooms. How can we differentiate, facilitate learning and utilize technology to simplify the process.  The Flipped Classroom Model of instruction is one example.

Student and teacher made tutorials or recorded lectures can be used to provide the supports needed in today's classrooms. The Khan Academy is the model example of how web-based recorded tutorial/lectures can meet the needs of many of our learners.  The Khan Academy provides concise video screencast tutorials for topics in math, science, and humanities. Many of the videos also link to independent practice exercise that students may progress through.

There is a feature called "coach" in which a teacher registers themselves as a coach. The students may then login to Khan academy with their Google Apps user name and password and link themselves to a coach. This allows the teacher to monitor their progress. This provides an opportunity for enrichment were students may progress beyond the current topic to more advanced topics that they are ready for. I have written about the Khan Academy in previous blog posts.  I would like to provide some examples of how this can be used immediately with students.

1. Flip the classroom - Students watch the instructional video for homework on their computer, ipad, ipod touch, or any other web enabled device. When they return to school the students apply what was in the video to class problems and projects. The teacher acts as the facilitator in the room to assist students who need help. Students may work in groups to apply and discuss what was learned.

2. Extra- Help and Support - Teachers may provide links to a tutorial on their class website or Moodle course. Students may access this tutorial at home or during class time from a class computer, personal cell phone or any other web-enabled device. Students may pause, rewind and fast forward depending upon their needs.

3. Test review - Teachers may link to a tutorial on their website to provide a review opportunities for students.

4. Enrichment - Teachers may assign students who have a strong grasp of the content the opportunity to create their own screencast tutorial using free recording services such as Jing.

In our district teachers have been successful utilizing our Moodle course management software. On Moodle, teachers can create topics within a course. In those topics they provide links to tutorials, discussions, work submissions and quizzes.

By utilizing these resources we not only provide the type of individualized learning necessary, we also incorporate technology which results in increased student engagement and college career readiness.

Below is a screencast tutorial the introduces the Khan Academy.

 

 

 

 

 

Celebrity Chef in the Classroom

I recently helped organize a video conference session for one of our grade 4 classes. The students were learning about the restaurant business.

The students in Mr. Rowe and Ms. Hollack's class in White Rock Elementary School had a special visit with Chef Jeffrey Steelman. Chef Steelman is the corporate chef for Todd English. Todd English is a celebrity chef who currently owns 26 restaurantsaround the world. Chef Steelman is in charge of the oversight and opening of all of these restaurants.

This was an interdisciplinary project in which the students learned about the restaurant business. They researched what is involved in the process of starting and opening a restaurant. Students were given the task of developing their own restaurant. They developed a theme, a menu and a slogan.  The next step was to write a descriptive essay about their restaurant. This included details about the foods they serve. The students used Microsoft Publisher to create menus for their restaurants during their time in the computer lab. They were also charged with the task of creating 'pizzas' as advertisements.  The students had to develop equivalent fractions for each slice. They then decorated their pizzas with toppings according to those fractions.

The final activities of the project included a video conference with Chef Steelman. The students prepared and asked the chef a number of questions about the restaurant business, cooking and the life of a chef. Following the video conference the students hosted a tasting in their classroom in which they all provided samples of foods from their restaurants.

A short video clip of the video conference can be found below.

 

 

Inspiring Young Writers With A Skype Author Visit

The students in Mrs. Carline's grade 1 class at Cozy Lake School recently completed an author study of Doreen Cronin. Ms. Cronin wrote the Farmer Brown books Click Clack Moo, Giggle Giggle Quack and Dooby Dooby Moo. She also wrote The Diary of a Spider, The Diary of a Worm and The Diary of a Fly.



During the author study the lass discussed character point of view and personification. After reading many of Ms. Cronins books, they wrote letters to Farmer Brown as well as diaries of their favorite animals. The culminating activity was a SKYPE video conference with Ms. Cronin.  She read the class Click Clack Moo. After reading the story Ms. Cronin answered questions that the students had developed.

The students asked her about how she works with the illustrator,  where she gets her ideas for writing, where she writes her books, what is the process she follows when writing a book, and other questions about her character choices. It was an amazing and educational experience for the students. I have shared to videos of the event in this posting below.

By providing access to authors using video conferencing we can engage students in the writing process. An authentic learning experience like this allows students to make connections between the process an author follows and the writing process they are learning in the classroom.

Below are Part 1 and Part 2 of our Video Conference. Enjoy!

Awaken Your Curriculum With Skype Interviews

Financial responsibility, goal setting, savings options and of course technology,  are just a few topics covered in a White Rock elementary school  fourth grade classes. Students in Mrs. McLeod and Mrs. Brzostowski’s collaborative classroom enjoyed learning about financial decision making using a program called “Feed the Pig”. Students worked in groups to create financial plans for piglets. They discussed their own goals and how to accomplish them. Students even created digital posters and digital stories for their peers as a campaign for proper financial decision making.



Students used technology almost every day in the White Rock classrooms. This  included digital posters using Glogster, interactive storybooks using Story Jumper and interactive simulations that reinforced what they are learning in class.  These activities not only developed 21st century skills, but students were provided with a authentic learning opportunities. They were provided with multiple avenues for assessment.  The technology options allowed them to display their creativity. It also  provided an opportunity alternative assessments and increased student engagement. This is the recipe for a successful project.

The finale of the project was held Wednesday May 18^th when Mr. Ray DePalma a Certified Public Accountant Skyped with the class and discussed how to save money. Students asked Mr. DePalma what taxes were, how to become a CPA and of course, how to be the most efficient with money. Below is a clip from the event.



By using Skype to connect with subject area experts we are able to make authentic connections to the curriculum. Students can receive information, ideas and opinions from experts in a field. By combining access to individuals as well as the world wide web we move away from a classroom environment where the teacher is the only purveyor of knowledge. This new model has the teacher facilitating the learning in the classroom and providing multiple means of representing content and assessing content.

Authentic Learning With Skype - Sea Turtles

I recently worked with a grade 4 class in one of my elementary schools. Mrs. McLeod and her students were very interested in sea turtles. Her students were conducting research on the various types of turtles. Mrs. McLeod attended a workshop that I presented on video conferencing in the classroom. Upon completion of this workshop she gained access to a webcam and a microphone that can attach directly to her interactive whiteboard. This is where the fun began!

Project Planning

Mrs. McLeod contacted me expressing interest in connecting her students with someone who could teach them more about Sea Turtles. Although i do consider myself resourceful, I did not have a contact that could fulfill this need. However, a simple Google search on "sea turtle experts" returned websites that pointed to Dr. Spotila, a professor with Drexel University. Dr. Spotila is one of the worlds leading experts on sea turtles. A quick email to Dr. Spotila requesting an opportunity to video conference with him via Skype was all it took! Dr. Spotila agreed and on May 5 our students connected with Dr. Spotila to discuss Sea Turtles!

The Result

The experience was one to remember. Our students conducted research on  specific sea turtles in advance. They also created digital posters using Glogster about the sea turtle they were researching. Mrs. McLeod had the students develop questions in advance for Dr. Spotila. We also organized roles for the video conference. We had question groups,  a videographer, photographers and note takers.

The students presented Dr. Spotila with a number of excellent questions. After the last prepared question was asked, what ensued was what every classroom teacher seeks. The students continued to engage Dr. Spotila in conversation by asking additional questions. Each question was well thought out, relative and sparked additional questions. The students remained engaged and enthusiastic for 30 minutes of conversation.

At the end of the session Mrs. McLeod presented the students with a closure activity in which they discussed what they had learned. Later that day the students published reflective essays on what they learned form Dr. Spotila. All of these materials as well as a video of the conference is published on our Google Site.

Reflection

This was a terrific experience for our students. By providing such an authentic learning experience using technology we engaged students in the learning process. The excitement over the activity still continues and the students continue to reflect. The best part of the entire story is that Dr. Spotila did not have access to video that day! For this entire event the students could only hear him, yet their focus was astounding!

Are you ready to FLIP the classroom?

There is a new paradigm shift occurring in classrooms.  Many of the most innovative teachers are turning the traditional K-12 classrooms upside down in an effort to individualize the learning experience for students. They are "Flipping" the classroom in order to make classroom instructional time more valuable to students.

"Flipping" the classroom refers to a new approach to teaching in which the students view videos, podcasts or vodcasts of classroom lectures at home for homework. In the classroom, students apply what is learned by completing what is typically identified as "homework" in the classroom. 

This innovative approach to instruction offers many instructional advantages. By viewing video lectures in Math and Science, students may pause, stop, rewind at their own will. They may also engage in the lesson at a time that is right for them in their own environment.  In the classroom students are provided the opportunity to apply what was learned in the lesson. Students work through the problems during class time. The teacher acts as a facilitator by circulating the room and providing assistance where necessary. Students also work with peers  or in small groups to collaborate on problems. This model allows the teacher to be available when the students need him or her most. It creates a student centered personalized learning environment.

In a typical classroom students would sit through a lecture in order to learn the content. They would then be assigned homework for that evening. Many students who did not grasp the lecture would struggle with the homework. When this happens they would just quit or not do it.  They would return to class the next day having to learn something new. By flipping the classroom, teachers can see who is struggling and provide immediate help for those students. The application of this new teaching style has presented fantastic results in student achievement and engagement.

Where do you start?

There are a number of free video screencasts available for math and science online. One example is The Khan Academy. This site, created by Salman Khan houses thousands or screencast lectures from basic math to advanced calculus. It also includes interactive practice sessions for students to apply what they have learned.   In the video below, Salman Khan explains how he created Khan Academy and how it is being used by educators.



In our district we have access to MOODLE. MOODLE is an online course management software. Teachers can post links to videos and other online tutorials that students may access from any computer with internet access.  We also use Google Sites or Wordpress Blogs. Each of these allow teachers to embed or link to videos that students may access over the web. There are also a number of free tools that allow  teachers to record screencasts of their lectures. Screencast.com and the Smart Notebook Software all offers these features.

My recommendation is to start small. One or two a month is a great way to get students exposed to the process and to measure its impact.

Why every class must include online collaboration

Have you explored the opportunity to incorporate technology into your classroom that will allow students to collaborate online? Have you thought about how this can be used as a tool to extend your classroom beyond the four walls that currently confine student learning? Would you like to provide an opportunity for students to communicate with classmates using a medium that they are familiar with? Do you see value in the ability to provide students with anytime access to not only the resources you share in class, but additional resources that aide in differentiation? Can an online extension of your classroom support the requirements of Universal Design for Learning? Can it contain a library of materials that students can access when they need it?

By providing an opportunity for students to take part in online discussions and collaborate with their peers we are allowing student learning to develop beyond a 45 minute block of time. We provide students with a medium in which they can take time to formulate a response, participate, and learn from their peers. For what it's worth, we can save a lot of time making copies and catching up students who are absent too!

I ask, do we have choice? Is it our professional responsibility to instruct students on how to participate in an online community? Do our students need to know how to communicate in an online environment? Do they need to know how to collaborate with individuals using digital tools? The answer is Yes.

We can no longer create classroom environments that are not only teacher centered, but confine student interactions to a 45 minute block of time.  This system of education may have worked in the past. The global economy has forced a paradigm shift in education. Global competition has forced us to reconsider how we teach students.  We are no longer competing for jobs within our state and country.  Technology and training have introduced a global workforce.  In order to remain competitive our students must learn to think critically and make connections among content.  We must develop student creativity, communication skills, and high order thinking. It is a reality that our students will be forced to communicate and collaborate with individuals in online environments when they enter the workforce.  The days of the traveling business person have transitioned to web conferencing. Outsourcing agreements have forced individuals to communicate and collaborate using technology on a daily basis.   All of our students who enter college will have courses that maintain an online presence.

What are we doing to prepare our students?

Have you considered using Moodle as an online extension of your classroom? Our district Moodle site has a professional development page. There you will find a short course on how to use Moodle. You can also request a personalized training session with me. I encourage everyone to explore the opportunities available with this tool. The results of this shift in instruction holds many benefits for students and faculty.

50 Excellent Open Courses on Teaching With Technology

The information below is taken from a recent posting on www.onlinecollegesanduniversities.com.
It is a listing of 50 free online courses that are offered on a wide variety of instructional technology topics. The courses are free, self-directed, and accessible over the internet.  Rather then listing a few examples in this posting I decided to paste all of the links below.



Using technology and creating unique learning environments are two big dreams that all types of teachers have, from elementary educators to distance education teachers to college professors. If you're already used to taking classes from an online college but are curious about creating your own open resources, or if you are studying to be a teacher in today's tech-fueled economy, check out these 50 free courses on teaching with technology.

Technology and Learning

Find out why technology is such a draw for educators and how we learn from non-human tools.

1. Blogs, Wikis, New Media for Learning: This course will show you how blogs and other new media are optimal teaching tools. [Utah State]


2. Computer Games and Simulations for Investigation and Education: This class will teach you how we learn from computer games and interactive technologies. [MIT]


3. Instructional Gaming: Learn how to use instructional gaming to reach out to students. [Utah State]


4. Creativity, community and ICT: Discover how online learning and technology fuel creativity and collaboration. [The Open University]


5. Intro to Instructional Design: If you're curious about how humans interact with and learn from non-human tools, take this course. [Utah State]


6. Videogame Theory and Analysis: Find out how videogames are legitimate teaching tools. [MIT]


7. The Impact of Open Source Software on Education: Learn how different countries are using open source for college education and beyond. [Connexions]


8. The review of the development of eLearning: Get a 10-year history of eLearning here. [Connexions]


9. Principles and Practices of Technology: Designed for teachers, this course will teach you about the application of technology for learning and principles of instructional technology. [Utah State]


10. Cultural History of Technology: Consider how technology has shaped our culture and is now a tool for learning, communication and more. [MIT]


11. Artificial Intelligence: Discover how tools can actively teach us, even non-human ones. [MIT]


12. Technological Tools for School Reform: Consider how innovation and modern technology contribute to the school reform debate. [MIT]

Online Education and Distance Learning

If you want to create online learning environments and manage a distance ed course, look here.

1. Creating Open Educational Resource: Learn how to write learning units that enhance self-directed learning. [The Open University]


2. Producing Distance Education Resources: You'll use Dreamweaver and FTP in this course as you learn how to develop open and online learning spaces and resources. [Utah State]


3. Collaborative Learning and the Open Educational Resource Movement: Get an overview of the popularity of open education resources. [Connexions]


4. Introduction to Open Education: Here you will review some of the main topics in open education like sustainability, licensing, creativity and more. [Utah State]


5. Accessibility of eLearning: Learn more about eLearning solutions for disabled students. [The Open University]


6. Facilitating online: This course will walk you through all the course models and lesson planning strategies you'll need as an online teacher. [Centre for Educational Technology]


7. Master Online Teacher Certification: Teachers interested in creating their own online courses get a lesson in interactivity and other key issues here. [Weber State University]


8. Online Instructor Training: This course features 10 areas of study to help you become an effective online teacher. [UC Irvine]


9. An Overview of Open Educational Resources: Find out how open educational resources can be beneficial to all class levels. [Connexions]


10. Understanding Online Interaction: Design better learning tools and environments after taking this class on online interaction. [Utah State]


11. Best practices in online teaching: Learn how to prepare for and manage an online course. [Connexions]


12. Managing your Distance Course: Discover ways to manage students learning from home. [Connexions]


13. Managing and Maintaining the Discussion Board for Distance Courses: Facilitate online discussions through discussion boards. [Connexions]


14. The "How Tos" of OER Commons: Practice creating open educational materials to add to the OER commons here. [Connexions]


15. Connecting People with Online Resources: This course will train you to become a better researcher and collector of quality online resources you can share with students. [Utah State]


16. Establishing Tone in the Distance Course: Get your point across so that your students really understand what you're teaching when you take this course. [Connexions]


17. Promising Practices in Online Teaching and Learning: This class can help distance ed teachers become capable designers of online courses. [Connexions]


18. Introduction to Copyright Law: Make sure you're correctly sourcing and citing any materials you reference when creating online courses. [MIT]


19. eCommunities: Study how we interact with each other via online communities, which can help you design better courses or get the most out of networking with other students and classrooms. [University of Michigan]

Younger Students

These open courses will help you work with technology in elementary classrooms.

1. Technologies for Creative Learning: Study games like the LEGO Programmable Brick and Computer Clubhouse center to get a lesson in innovation design and how children learn. [MIT]


2. Play, learning and the brain: This course explains how playtime and experimentation is important in young childhood education, and that sensory deprivation can really hurt brain development. Consider this when planning interactive lessons with computers and other technology. [The Open University]

Tech Tutorials

These courses will introduce you to the technology systems you will need to create blogs, websites and other media that can bring learning to a new level to your students, as well as safety and legal tips.

1. Living with the Internet: keeping it safe: Find out how to avoid viruses and hackers. [The Open University]


2. Information on the web: Become a master at using search engines so that you can quickly direct your students to quality materials. [The Open University]


3. Ethics and Law on the Electronic Frontier: Learn about privacy laws, the U.S. PATRIOT ACT, and more. [MIT]


4. Interactive Multimedia Production: Practice using Macromedia Flash so that you can create animations and graphics. [Utah State]


5. Computer Applications for Instruction and Training: If you use a Mac, then take this course to review some of the best apps like PowerPoint, iMovie and Photoshop that aid in lesson planning. [Utah State]


6. Video in Distance Education: This mini-course will teach you how to use video for an online course. [Connexions]


7. Designing the user interface: text, colour, images, moving images and sound: Here you'll learn how to design a user-friendly learning environment that includes great design and interactive media. [The Open University]


8. Open Web Mapping: Create maps for history or science lessons after taking this class. [Penn State]


9. Creating Interactive Multimedia: If you want to design interactive learning environments for your students, take this course. [USQ]


10. Learn and Apply HTML: Learn the basics of HTML to create websites. [Utah State]


11. User Interface Design and Implementation: Continue your education of creating good user-friendly websites and educational platforms. [MIT]


12. HTML Basics: This is another course designed to teach you about HTML tags and coding.

Secondary and Higher Education

College and high school teachers can take these courses to design innovative learning systems and resources for their savvy students.

1. Introduction to Open Educational Resources: Take this course if you're a college teacher wanting alternatives to textbooks. [Connexions]


2. Teaching using digital video in secondary schools: Take this course to discover new ways to use digital media and video in the classroom. [The Open University]


3. An Open Source Vision for Caribbean Higher Education: Find out how the higher education system in the Caribbean is opening up to open source. [Connexions]


4. Teaching College-Level Science: This course includes a lesson in using educational technology in your curriculum. [MIT]


5. OpeningScholarship: Here you'll learn about different ways technology can be used in higher education. [UCT]

Grade 2 Goes Global - A collaborative project between the US, Austraila and S. Korea

The student's in Ms. Cullinan's grade 2 class took part in a very exciting project this school year. They made a connection with a class from Australia and another from South Korea. Ms. Cullinan organized the initial connection with a school in Australia through the EPALS network.



Here is a blurb about Epals taken directly from their site:

??"Since 1996, ePals, the leading provider of school-safe collaborative learning products for K-12 students, teachers and parents, has been dedicated to helping learners from around the world connect and interact with each other online in a safe, educational environment. ePals connects teachers, students, parents and educators from around the world, enabling them to communicate and collaborate on academic and cultural projects and establish international friendships.

Our global community reaches more than 600.000 educators and millions of students in over 200 countries and territories. ePals technology enables these learners, who speak over 136 different languages, to connect, share, collaborate and learn."
One of the features of Epals allows for a teacher to create email accounts for each of his or her students. The email accounts are managed and moderated by the teacher. Through a very easy to use interface, the teacher can read, modify and approve or deny all incoming and outgoing emails to each student account. This allows for a very safe and secure email session for each student.

Students are paired with a student in another country or school. Through the use of email exchanges students can discuss cultural and school differences, take part in a discussion regarding a global issue, discuss curriculum topics or book reviews. In some instances students take part in a multi-part collaborative project.

Ms. Cullinan and Mr. Walker worked together to create a web portal to coordinate the exchange between these two schools. A Wikispace wiki was created to serve this purpose. On the wiki each school created a page of general information, images and maps to identify their school. The wiki was also used to post digital stories that were created by each school to showcase where they live and their schools. Around the time of the creation of the wiki a third school from South Korea joined the project.



The project was a success. Students in each school were able to gain knowledge about the cultural differences of each country through personal contact with other students. The school year has ended before we could move the project forward.  Future plans include video conferencing and group discussions on topics of interest.

Global collaboration between students is a key 21st century skill. It is requirement in the workforce today that employees are trained in collaborating with individuals of various cultures. We are living and working in a global society or as Thomas Friedman has  written "The World is Flat". By exposing our students to opportunities such as these we are broadening their knowledge of cultures and developing their ability to collaborate with others to share knowledge. The experience for our students and faculty is invaluable!

If you are interested in setting up a similar project for the next school year please contact me directly. I will be happy to help!

Take a Virtual Tour of the Louvre

The Louvre is offering virtual tours through the following website link

http://www.louvre.fr/llv/musee/visite_virtuelle.jsp?bmLocale=e.

Click the image to enlarge

Virtual tours are available for the following departments:

	Virtual Tours
		Near Eastern Antiquities
		Egyptian Antiquities
		Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities
		Islamic Art
		Sculptures
		Decorative Arts
		Paintings
		Prints and Drawings
		Architectural Views
		Medieval Louvre

Students can navigate their way through the hallways. By right clicking you can zoom in on a display. This is an amazing opportunity to visit one of the most well-known museums in the world.

Enjoy!

Skype With An Author or Subject Expert

In my latest edition of the Instructional Technology Newsletter I spoke about how SKYPE can be used as a free video conferencing solution for the classroom. Currently there are thousands of teachers around the world looking to connect and collaborate with other classes in the same or different country.

While the benefits and opportunities with this type of global collaboration are astounding, there are other ways that Skype can be used in the classroom. Skype can be used to connect with a subject area expert, author, professional, artist, or anyone that has an experience to share.  Access to Skype and a web-cam is no longer a limitation for many individuals. Most laptops come equipped with a built in web-cam. Since Skype is free the barriers to entry are minimal!

Recently I read about a high school class in Colorado who recently read the book, "A Whole New Mind", by Daniel Pink. The teacher sent an email to Mr. Pink requesting a short video conference with him. To the teachers surprise, Mr. Pink agreed. The students were able to speak with Mr. Pink live in their classroom. They were able to connect their thoughts regarding the book with feedback from the author.



This type of opportunity has never been so easy to make happen. By connecting with experts and authors around the world we are extending our classroom beyond the 4 four walls. Technology is allowing our students to be educated by individuals that they could only read about before.

Are you ready to globalize your classroom? Have you sent an email to an author or subject area expert? Because of the convenience of this technology you will be surprised how many people are willing to connect with you.

Here is a great place to start. Skype with an Author Network, is a wiki page that was created to provide access to Authors that are willing to Skype with classrooms for free. "The mission of the Skype an Author Network is to provide K-12 teachers and librarians with a way to connect authors, books, and young readers through virtual visits."

If you are interested in using skype in your classroom for one of the above mentioned connections please do not hesitate to contact me. I will be happy to put it all together for you!

Enjoy!

Global Collaboration Resource- Around the World with 80 Schools

Have you considered connecting your classroom with another classroom around the world? Are you studying communities, temperature, time, weather or holidays?  Can you think of some questions that your students could ask students in other locations to gather data on these topics?

What about literature. Would you be interested in discussing a book your class read with another class in the world? Wouldn't it be interesting to get the perspective of the American Revolution from a school in England? Are you collecting data for a project? Could you ask questions of someone in a specific location to retrieve that data?Have you used Google Earth? Would it be engaging for your students to take a virtual field trip on Google Earth and then video conference with a school in that location?

There are endless possibilities with regards to video conferencing in the classroom. It has never been so easy either. Most schools around the world use a simple service called SKYPE. www.skype.com. Skype is a free video conferencing software that anyone can download. Once you create a username and download the software you are ready to connect to the world.



There is an online project called AROUND THE WORLD WITH 80 SCHOOLS that started this year. The goal of the project is that classes that chose to participate will attempt to connect their class with 80 other schools around the world. The project is very well organized.  There is a wiki that provides all of the information necessary to get started. There is a spreadsheet available online that provides all of the contact information for schools that have decided to take part in this.

What i like about this project is the simplicity of this. Although connecting with 80 schools  may seem overwhelming, they are recommending no more then 5 minute conversations. The wiki has a nice outline of ideas broken up by time. I copied some of it below.

Here is a suggested timeline:

• Hello (15 sec)


• Intro of School 1 (school/geographic location) (30 sec.)


• Intro of School 2 (school/geographic location) (30 sec.)


• School 1 shares (1 min)


• School 2 shares (1 min)


• Data collection Question (30 sec.)


• Goodbye (15 sec)

Take some time and read through the WIKI. There is some great information on there. If you are interested in starting to video conference in your classroom please let me know. I will be happy to assist the entire way through.
Enjoy!

Around the World with 80 Schools  wiki ------aroundtheworldwith80schools - home.

Connecting With Subject Area Experts

>Are you looking for a way to connect your content with real life experiences for students? Are your students struggling to see the relevance in reading a particular story or learning a particular critical thinking skill? Would you like to have a Nobel Laureate show your students how he or she uses the skills your are instructing?

The open source teaching project is an excellent tool to make real-world connections between your curriculum and the work done everyday by industry leading professionals.



A recent article in the THE JOURNAL stated this about the site:

"The open source teaching project is a Tennessee based program that helps students make real-life connections to academic content. It is a free digital resource that brings students up close with leading professionals across a variety of fields to help them see the real-world relevance of their studies."

This program send interviewers to speak face to face with experts in a range of fields. The interviews are posted online and are free for anyone to access. They also include teacher resources, lesson plans and blogs.

One section of the site contains interviews with college admissions officers. Districts who have utilized these interviews in instruction have witnessed a distinct transition in the way students organize and prepare college admissions materials after taking part in these lessons.

A majority of the interviews are audio only. However, they are in the process of adding video components as well. Included on the site are the questions that are asked for each area of expertise. I found this to be a valuable resource. With the technology we have available in Jefferson we could easily conduct some of our own interviews. We are also setup to host video conferencing sessions. These questions would be useful for those projects.

I encourage you to take a look at this resource. If you are interested in putting together a lesson using these tools I would be happy to assist. If you would like to organize your own video conference or interview with a subject area expert please let me know. I am always here to assist.

Enjoy this new resource!