Weekly Tech Tip: The 21st Century Teacher as Sorcerer

Rather than give you a self-produced tech tip video this week I would like to turn your attention to a keynote address by Clay Burell from this fall's Learning Technologies Conference in Australia. I think this is a must-see for all educators. In his keynote, Clay takes us on a four year journey from self-described technology illiterate to internationally known edublogger. Clay has come to be know in the edublogosphere for both his deeply insightful reflective writing on teaching, policy, learning, and schools as well as his mastery of the social web and it's impact on his students (both in and out of his classroom). Enjoy!

Weekly Tech Tip:

Part 1---------Part 2

(This presentation requires Microsoft Silverlight. Click here to install.)

Link Stew:

• Learning Technologies Conference 2009 - Free Conference Session Recordings, enjoy the openness!
• FRONTLINE digital_nation
• Voicethread4Education - Wiki to find other classrooms to collaborate with on Voicethread projects
• 6 Best Sites to Share Files on Twitter
• Dragon Dictation for iPhone & iPod Touch - Free app that types what you speak
• Storykit - Free iPod app that lets you edit classic children's books and publish your own versions or write and publish your own book from scratch.
• Acrobat.com - Free iPod version of Adobe Acrobat. Create and edit PDF files from your iPod Touch or iPhone.
• SimpleMind Express - Free mind mapping iPod app
  

Weekly Tech Tip: Beginners Guide - Social Networking for Educators

While Myspace & Facebook are still largely taboo in k-12 schools social networking has recently made a huge splash for Educators. There are many social networks that have been created in the past three years designed specifically for teacher professional development and educational research. This week's tech tip introduces you to a few popular networks for teachers.

Weekly Tech Tip:

Related links:

• NEA's list of social networks they recommend for teachers
• ElEdBlog - Space to discuss articles from NEA Today
• ASCD EDge
• Classroom 2.0
• Educator's PLN
• iTeach Mobile
• English Companion Ning - Where English teachers go to help each other
• Early Career Teachers - NCTE Ning
• Art Education 2.0 - Using New Technology in Art Classrooms
• MEMO - Minnesota Educational Media Organization - Serving school ...
• k12Online
• SEMTEC The SE MN preK-12 Technology Coordinators
• The Future of Education
• WebQuest Dialog
• Independent School Educators network

Want to build your own social network, try these platforms:

• Ning!
• Mojofiti - Social network & blogging platform that instantly communicates in 27 languages
• Taskbarn
• Planypus
• Wetpaint - free wiki platform that has social networking features

Link Stew:

• Educon 2.2 is this weekend
• Follow them on Twitter!
• Attend Virtually (links to Elluminate Sessions Steaming unConference Sessions)
• Avatara - Create 3d avatars online
• iTALC - free computer lab management software - gives you big brother control over your fleet of machines
• Try Android 2.1 on Windows

Blog Carnival

• How to Request Ad Removal from an Educational Network
• 50 Cool Search Engines for Serious Readers
• "Will Richardson and the new high school, Clay Shirky and the new college" by Alex Reid on Digital Digs

Weekly Tech Tip - Terms of Service and Age Restrictions

The new online tools are great and can have exponential application for teaching and learning. However, one thing we need to be aware of when using online tools and services with students (especially those under 13 years old) are age restrictions found in the terms of service. Federal COPPA law requires us to gain parental permission to use many of the tools I have in the Digital Backpack with students. Many tools, however, do not have any age restrictions, do not collect any student information, and are completely safe and appropriate for students of any age. I have added a new feature to the Digital Backpack that indicates these age restrictions found in web service TOS agreements. This week's tech tip walks you through this new feature of the Digital Backpack. For a list of tools from the Backpack that don't have any age restrictions click here.

Weekly Tech Tip:

Link Stew:

• 2010 Horizon Report | NMC - annual forecast of new technologies and trends likely to have an impact on education

• Educause General Session: 2010 Horizon Report and Lightning Round
  

• Monster Milktruck! - Drive around Google Earth in a milktruck.

• Education Week: Cellphones in Schools: Flip ’Em Open

• Education Week's Digital Directions: Whiteboards' Impact on Teaching Seen as Uneven

• Educational Networking: The Important Role Web 2.0 Will Play in Education

• Welcome to Discovery Education's Puzzlemaker! Create crossword puzzles, word searches, mazes, and other puzzles for your classroom today!

• Wikitude - Augmented reality world browser for the iPhone and Android

• CiteSimple: Free MLA, APA, Chicago/Turabian Citation Tools

• :: AppMakr - make your own app for the iPhone or iPod Touch

• Wallwisher.com :: Words that stick - make a virtual bulletin board

• 2010 ELI Live Presentation Archive - This is a database free online conference session recordings.

• If Your Kids Are Awake, They’re Probably Online - NY Times
  

• Neotake - ebook search engine
  

• CommonCraft's Protecting Reputations Online in Plain English

• Kids Connecting With Adults Online: Teach students how to learn with adults from around the world. by Will Richardson | District Administration

Blog Carnival:

• Cost per student compared to prison inmate - by Scott Mcleod on Mind Dump

• Tool or Toy? The Blurred Line of a Computer By Jeff Utecht on The Thinking Stick

• Engagement v. Empowerment -- Some Early Thoughts... by Chris Lehmann on Practical Theory

• Taking others' assessments: How brave are your educators? - by Scott Mcleod on Dangerously Irrelevant
  

Weekly Tech Tip - Downloading and Converting Online Video

Since we recently (temporarily) blocked YouTube at school it poses a particular problem for teachers who rely on it for content. There are ways to get around this by downloading the videos before and after school or at home. In this week's tech tip I show you two different methods of doing this. I also built a new teacher training module on this topic that includes these tech tips and links to the necessary tools.

Weekly Tech Tip:

How to Download and Convert Online Video Files using Desktop Tools from Carl Anderson on Vimeo.

Download and Convert Online Video using Online Tools from Carl Anderson on Vimeo.

6.6 - Extracting and Converting Online Media Content (3pts)

Link Stew:

• Dear Map - this is a tool that lets you annotate Google Maps with your own landmarks and share them with others. They also let you view your custom map in Google Earth and even create a drivable virtual road trip. (Cool factor - 9.5)
• Slide Finder - Slide show search engine with an academic focus.
• N Building on Vimeo - Augmented reality is the next big thing in tech. This is a video of a building in Japan that has built QR codes right into the architecture (QR codes are kind of like visual bar codes
• Format Factory - Free media file format converter
• Sheet Music Editor - Create new original music or refine and polish hand-written compositions
• app.itize.us - Directory of the "best designed" iPhone and iPod Touch apps
• Cell Phones: The 7th Form of Mass Media - Interesting speech by Tomi Ahonen on Fora.tv
• Primary Pad - web-based word processor that allows students and teachers to simultaneously work on documents at the same time.
• Interesting statistic from MNSCU regarding Online Enrollment:
• MnOnline growth rate this year is 22% - over 19,000 FYE in online courses. Online now makes up 12.8% of total enrollment.
• Transfer songs from iPod to computer http://bit.ly/4wyISJ
• Digital Equity in Education: A Multilevel Examination of Differences in and Relationships between Computer Access, Computer Use and State-level Technology Policies by Jonathan D. Becker, J.D., Ph.D., Hofstra University

Blog Carnival:

• Blind Men, Elephants, and Cognitive Tools from Technology in the Middle Blog by Patrick WoessnerFacebook's Zuckerberg Says Privacy No Longer A 'Social Norm' (VIDEO) From the Huffington Post
• School Teaches Its Students Almost Entirely Through Video Games from NeatORama

Weekly Tech Tip - Twitter for Teachers

Twitter is quickly becoming a valuable and popular tool for teacher professional development. This week's TIES conference was a testament to that. This week's tech tip is a beginner's introduction to Twitter for Teachers.

Tech Tip:



Presentation by Caitlin Cahill (presented at the TIES conference) on Twitter for Professionals:

Twitter-Related Links:

• - Microblogging - for messages 140 characters or less. Curriculum ideas!
• - Twitter Search Engine Curriculum ideas!
• Bing Twitter Search
• - Neat site that is kind of like a mashup between Google Earth and Twitter.
• - map where the people you are following are tweeting from
• - Twitter screencasting mashup tool
• - See Twitter like someone else
• - Leave a private voicemail for anyone on Twitter and they'll be notified via @reply.
• - Allows you to tweet audio.
• - Stream live from your webcam on Twitter
• share images and video on Twitter
• Post pictures and map them on Twitter
• - Lyric Rat is naming that tune in 140 characters or less on Twitter.
• Twapper Keeper lets you archive #tag discussions from Twitter

• Create a Diary-Like PDF Book of your Twitter Tweets

• The Twitter Tim.es - generates a personal newspaper from your Twitter stream
  
• Twitter Clients:
  
• Tweetdeck - For your computer
• Echofon - for your iPod Touch or iPhone
• Twitterific - for your iPod Touch or iPhone
• Twitter Mentionmap - PLN Visualization Tool (#edchat #tristateplp)
• #ties2009 Twitter @TIES Conference

TIES Conference Roundup:

• TIES 2009 - Aimee Bissonette
• #ties2009 Mike Horn Keynote
• #ties2009 Bernie Dodge on Engagement
• #ties2009 Dr. Robert Marzano - TIES Conference Day 2 Keynote

Weekly Tech Tip: Digital Media, Social Tools, and Ethics

Weekly Tech Tip:

• Digital Youth Research: Kids' Informal Learning with Digital Media
• Student Free Speech: When Teachers are the Targets by Aimée M. Bissonette, J.D.
• New Report Says Adults Need to Get Involved in Teens’ Online Activities - Harvard University
• Technology Educators Decry New Digital Divide By Andrew Trotter
• The Digital Production Gap: The Digital Divide and Web 2.0 Collide by Jennifer A Schradic, University of California Berkley
  

Blog Carnival:

• Technology Transformation: The Death Valley Bloomby Pete Reilly on Ed Tech Journeys
• You Are What you Search Part 1 by Rodd Lucier on The Clever Sheep blog
• Should I be Thinking About Moving to a One to One Model? by Pete Reilly on Ed Tech Journeys
• Two Road Blocks to Transformation We Have Yet to Address by Pete Reilly on Ed Tech Journeys
• Does your school organization reflect our new digital information landscape? by Scott McLeod on Dangerously Irrelevant
• 1:1 A Wise Choice? by Julie Lachance on The eJulez Perspective
• Researchers Say the Social Web Improves Kids' Literacy (Geeks Say 'Duh') from ReadWriteWeb
• I Don’t Need Your Network (or Your Computer, or Your Tech Plan, or Your…) by Will Richardson from Weblogg-ed
  

Link Stew

• Study: Children Who Blog Or Use Facebook Have Higher Literacy Levels
• Willingham: Six practical reasons arts education is more than a luxury on The Washington Post
  
• Official Google Mobile Blog: Mobile Search for a New Era: Voice, Location and Sight
• Trillions from MAYAnMAYA on Vimeo.
• Mentionmap - A Twitter Visualization - See how Twitter users are connected
• .: Sumo Paint 2.0 :. - Another browser-based image editor that looks and feels like Photoshop
• Memoov - Animation Studio online
• New Choice Health - compare prices on medical procedures at different hospitals
• REDFLY - by Celio Corp - Device you plug a Blackberry into to turn it into a laptop. Gives your phone a full-size screen and keyboard.
• Doing What Works - Research-Based online teaching strategies
• Edudcation Week - Four Flawed Assumptions of School Reform
• Good Video Games and Good Learning by James Paul Gee
• Scott Kim takes apart the art of puzzles - TED Talk
• Shuffle Brain | Smart games for a connected world
• ProProfs - Create your own Puzzle Games

Weekly Tech Tip - Research, Collaborate, Create, Publish and Repeat

Weekly Tech Tip:

Last week I sent everyone the results of our student technology survey. Today I came across a fascinating article that can help inform our analysis of this data. UCLA recently did a study on the effect internet use has on our brains that seems to support some of our findings. A lot of this data proves things we already knew, namely that engaging students in projects that require higher-order thinking results in greater student achievement and more cognitive growth. However, this also means we need to keep this in mind when we are designing learning activities and assessments for our students. One general area that this study finds very positive benefits with is student blogging and website building which is a rather low-impact activity we can integrate into many of our classes. In this screencast I talk through the findings from UCLA, contrast them with our school's survey results, and show where you can go to get students involved with blogging or building websites. If you are interested in integrating this into your classroom don't hesitate to ask for assistance.

• How Using The Internet Is Changing Our Brains

• What the web is teaching our brains

• Digital Backpack

Blog Carnival:

• The Colonialism of Michelle Rhee or TFA v BoA by Ira Socol at Sped Change

• Crossing America: An Education by Ira Socol at Sped Change

• These horses are out of the barn by Doug Johnson at Blue Skunk Blog

• Readin', Writin', and Creatin' by Barry Bachenheimer at A Plethora of Technology

Link Stew:

• Devdutt Pattanaik: East vs west -- the myths that mystify - TED Talk

• Designing Education 3.0 - fascinating projection of the future of education

• Videos, Games Help Preschool Literacy, Study Says

• Teachers begin using cell phones for class lessons

• Willingham: Six practical reasons arts education is more than a luxury

• k-12 Online Conference Schedule - This is a free online conference

• Memoov - Animation Studio online - Free online tool for making animations

• Homepage - Creaza - Collection of powerful online tools. Includes movie editor, audio editor, concept-mapping, and cartoon building applications.

• iLearn Technology » Blog Archive » 20 iTunes Feeds for the 2.0 Teacher

• The Differentiator - interesting teacher tool for generating higher-order student projects.

• National Gallery of Art NGAkids STILL LIFE interactive

• gazelle.com - Site that will give you money for your old electronics and computer equipment or recycle it for free.