Weekly Tech Tip - Data Mining (results of a technology survey given to 7-12 students)

Tech Tip:

This week's tech tip is not so much a tip but rather a report. Earlier this week all students grades 7-12 at Goodhue Schools took a survey about their own personal computer use, what they have access to at home, and their attitudes toward school (click here if you would like to see a copy of the survey questions). The survey produced some interesting results that should help us to make informed decisions regarding technology policy, purchases, and instruction. Please take a moment to look over these results. Did you find any of these results surprising? Does knowing this information change anything about what we expect of students or what we can or should do?

2009 Goodhue 7-12 Student Technology Survey Summary

Link Stew:

• Pranav Mistry: The thrilling potential of SixthSense technology - This amazing new technology apparently is going to be given away as free open source software and building instructions. Allegedly one of these devices could be build for as little as $300.
  

• WatchKnow - Videos for kids to learn from. Organized.

• Nintendo DS Browser - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

• University of the People – This is a free online global university that is in the process of being accredited. Interesting and fantastic implications.

• Dron & Anderson (2009) "How the Crowd Can Teach" - Fantastic paper on open source network learning. Discusses in depth the seemingly contradictory relationship between forms of learning made possible by web 2.0 tools and traditional institutions of learning such as schools, colleges, and universities.
• 20 Mindblowing Concept Laptop Designs

Weekly Tech Tip - Vuvox

Weekly Tech Tip:

Many of us assign students presentation assignments where we have students create slide show presentations with PowerPoint or Google Docs either to enhance an oral presentation or as a stand-alone project. However, when we do this three issues almost always emerge: 1. Many of their presentations are too information heavy (too many bullet points); 2. Students (and teachers too) will be tempted to read their slides instead of using their slides to support what they are saying in their presentation.; and 3. Too often students get caught up in the flashy features of PowerPoint and don't focus enough energy on the content. There are many free web-based multimedia presentation tools that can solve or at lease alleviate some of these problems. In the Digital Backpack I have many of these tools collected under the category "Multi-Media Presentation." For this week's tech tip I walk you through how to use one of these tools called "Vuvox."

• Video Tutorial: Using Vuvox to build engaging and non-linear presentations.

Link Stew:

• GLOBE - This is a free open content search engine for finding free open licensed instructional content online.
• Constructivist Strategies for the Learner Centered Classroom
• Connexions - Sharing Knowledge and Building Communities - Great Source for free classroom resources and lesson plans
• The New York Times: "What Your Phone Might Do for You Two Years From Now"
• iPod Literacy.com - Using the iPod in the Classroom and for Staff Professional Development
• AMC Archive Classic Movies - Watch old movies free online.
• Classic Cinema Online - Watch old movies free online
• Ninite Easy PC Setup and Multiple App Installer - Great For Win7 Upgrades - Choose from dozons of popular open source software programs, then install them on your computer all at once with just one step.
• MakeUseOf's Comprehensive Guide to Twitter
• Free Website Builder & Personal Web Dashboard - ZooLoo
• Fill Any PDF Form
• Free Online PDF Editor - Edit PDF on the Web - PDF Hammer
• Pew Internet: Social Isolation and New Technology - Executive Summary
• CNN.com: Twittering from the tractor: smartphones sprout on the farm - CNN.com
• Muvizu - Create animated videos without fancy equipment or years of training
• Moviestorm - Create 3d characters and environments then make movies with them

Blog Carnival:

• Blue Skunk Blog: "Bud the teacher gets it right"
• The Clever Sheep: "Which Brands of Soda Do You Sell?"
• Dangerously Irrelevant: "10 questions about books, libraries, librarians, and schools"
• Blue Skunk Blog: "What's the place of futurists?" -Doug Johnson's reaction to Scott McLeod's "10 questions" post
  
• Blue Skunk Blog: "Distracting technologies"
• Ideas and Thoughts from an EdTech: "Robbing Students and Teachers of Joy"
• dougbelshaw.com/blog: "12 educational ways of using 12seconds.tv"
• MobileBehavior: "Five Approaches to Mobile Technology in the Classroom"
  

Weekly Tech Tip - Integrating Math with Scratch & What is Moodle

Since last week was a wash in meetings and subbing for people out sick I missed my weekly tech tip. So, I am going to attempt to do two of these this week.


Weekly Tech Tip #1: Scratch

One of our district AYP initiatives is to integrate math into all content areas. One way to do this is by having the students use a program called Scratch instead of PowerPoint for creating presentations. Scratch is a free program by MIT that is a visual programming environment where students can create movies, animations, presentation, simulations, and interactive games by clicking and dragging puzzle piece-like commands into place. In the process, they are both creating a presentation for your class and working with algebra, complex linear algorithms, numeric reasoning, and logic skills. Scratch is appropriate for grades 3 and up though I have heard of some schools using it with students as young as 7 years old. We have it installed on all of the elementary lab computers and students in the HS can install it on their own student accounts.

Click Here to watch a screencast demo of scratch.

Click Here to visit the Scratch website where you can explore Scratch resources and download the free software.

Weekly Tech Tip #2: What is Moodle


I have had a few requests from teachers to explain what Moodle is and why we should care as educators. This screencast attempts to answer those questions. I also have created a self guided Moodle course on how to use Moodle. If you are interested in taking this course or even just getting onto Moodle and playing around let me know and I will ask Aaron at WETC to create an account for you.

Click Here to watch my brief overview/tour of Moodle.

Moodle is boring! - Great Blog Post By Mike Walker at Edina Public Schools about Moodle teaching strategies.

Link Stew:

• Edina Go Wireless CoP - Great resource put together by teaching and technology staff at Edina schools exploring 1:1 laptop use.

• I have attached a great white paper describing some of the biggest 1:1 laptop initiatives in the US in recent years. This article does a great job of weighing the pros and cons of each project and gives a good overview of what worked and did not work in each case.

• eduperience.com | Bloggings for Teachers and Students - another great blogging platform for schools

• Docu-View: Free Online Documentaries

• Online Audio Editor - Aviary.com's Myna

• Clipgenerator - create music videos with your own video clips and pictures online.

• Moomeo - Turn any email into a published webpage

• inudge.net - Nudge - Make your own music, other than that this one is hard to explain.

• Ahead - Playground for creative minds - interesting new type of online presentation tool. Build nonlinear presentations.

Weekly Tech Tip - Distributed Research with Google Forms

Now that school has started, we are over the beginning of the year hurdles, and homecoming is out of the way the time is right to resume our weekly technology tips. Each week I will create a video with an education technology tip and post links (listed under "Link Stew") of interesting and useful websites, literature, videos, or other online content I come across. I am adding a new category this year called the blog carnival where from time to time I will post a series links to interesting and thought provoking education blog posts.

Weekly Tech Tip:

Related links:

• Michael Wesch -How to get students to find and read 94 articles before the next class
• Google Docs

Links Stew:

This week's link stew is really a highlights list of sites I found over the summer.

• World Texting - Send free text messages to cell phones from your computer (I have used this with students in the past to curb problems with cell phone use in the classroom. Text questions to students, send private messages such as "Pay attention!," or give quizzes.
• Poll Everywhere - Create online polls and allow your audience (or students) to submit answers via SMS text messaging, Twitter, or on an online website.
• ZuiTube - Kind of like YouTube for younger kids.
• Lectr - YouTube for school lectures.
• Storybird - Storybird is a site perfect for creative writing assignments. Students are given a bunch of photos that they are prompted to create a story around. The site allows you to arrange the photos and your text however you like in as many pages as you like. When you are done you get an ebook of your story. On the site it says that soon they will be adding the ability to order print copies of the books you create.
• twittearth - This is sort of a mix between Twitter and Google Earth. It displays a globe and shows where people are Tweeting from.
• Librivox - From this site you can dowload free audio books of books in the public domain. You can also volunteer to contribute by sending them recordings of book chapters you read. Could be a service learning project for any class.

Blog Carnival:

• How Teenagers Consume Media: the report that shook the City | Business | guardian.co.uk
• Correlation or causation? Teacher resistance to state technology initiatives
• Shush and Sit Down
• Reaching those that don't care about grades
• Social Reproduction
• "Evaluate that!" - Schools for Children
• Corporations, Democracy, & Schooling

Weekly Tech Tip - March Updates to the Digital Backpack

Weekly Tech Tip:


Link Stew:

School's Out Forever - A series of shocking photos showing urban decay in Detroit. Click on the photo to progress to the next image.

the art teacher’s guide to the internet » Blog Archive » What will the future bring? - A couple weeks ago I showed you a clip I made playing around with augmented reality. Well, the clips presented here go a step beyond that. Imagine a digital phone that had a projector built into it that you carry around your neck that allows you to use any surface (even your hand) as a touch computer interface. This technology exists and is in development as we speak. Definitely worth a look.

Have Fun with Living History - Free streaming history videos & activities

langoLAB Spanish - Welcome -This site is kind of like the YouTube of language learning videos.

GOVERNOR PAWLENTY AND MINNESOTA STATE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES CHAIR ANNOUNCE ONLINE LEARNING INITIATIVE -- November 20, 2008 - Long story short, if this bill passes our 8th graders (and all students younger) will need to take at least one online course in high school in order to graduate. Michigan already does this.

Scenes from the recession - The Big Picture - Boston.com

Teacher Professional Partnerships: An Introduction - This video by Education|Evolving does an excellent job of explaining the rational for TPPs.

An Illustraded Explanation of Disruptive Innovation

Weekly Tech Tip - Augmented Reality

I thought for this week's tech tip we all deserve a little play time. Augmented reality is a new and developing technology the blends the physical with the virtual. Last year Dawn Austin played around with this a bit using webcam games for adaptive physical education. Well, the technology has developed a bit more since then. Watch this short video and imagine the possibilities. Then, try it for yourself using the links below:

Tech Tip:



Try it out yourself:

boffswana.com/news/?p=392
ge.ecomagination.com/smartgrid/#/augmented_reality

Video Credits:
youtube.com/watch?v=oHkUOpYNhoM
youtube.com/watch?v=EL2ByYozGOI

Music:
John Lennon - Imagine

Weekly Tech Tip - Ning!

Weekly Tech Tip:

This week I have been playing with a great tool called Ning. Ning lets you create your own social networking site that you have control over. You can use it to set up a secure place for students, teachers, parents, or community members to interact online. It is free and quite powerful. There are also many Ning networks out there for teachers to join and share ideas and professional development experiences with other teachers.

Ning Screencast

Goodhue Teachers Ning - I create this Ning in the tutorial. If you want to play around as a user just join the site and wait for confirmation. I have it set so I have to approve members so it might be a couple hours or even days if done on the weekend. Use this as a sandbox for now.

I also have spent much of the week working on updating and adding modules to the Online Staff Technology Training. The following are new training modules available for you:

4.5 - Emailing Large Files/Batch Files (3 pts)
8.4 - Building a Custom Search Engine (6pts)
9.6 - Educational/Social Networks (10 pts)
9.7 - Microblogging (5pts)

If you have any suggestions for training modules you would like to see or ideas for how I could improve these modules please let me know.