Blended Edu

Sunday, July 06, 2008

Linkage: NECC, Web Safety & Gen Y Research

Report on Gen Y, Technology & Learning: A new report from Blackboard and Project Tomorrow provides new insight into the sociological impact of online learning on education.

NECC 2008: Social Media & Education: Check out this transcript of a back channel chat from NECC 2008 where teachers talk about the challenges of using social media in the classroom.

Teachers.tv: Check out this video to learn some common sense classroom activities related to student use of social networks, chat and social media.

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Tuesday, June 03, 2008

Acrobat & Buzzword: Move over Google Docs

Earlier this week Adobe launched Acrobat.com a new suite of web-based services that includes, Buzzword, an online word processor that will--especially in the education 2.0 community--go head-to-head with Google Docs.

According to the Acrobat blog the new Acrobat Suite is comprised of three distinctive applications:

  • Adobe Buzzword for creating and reviewing documents together.
  • Adobe ConnectNow for holding full-fledged online web conferences/video conferencing with up to three people.
  • The Acrobat.com organizer for sharing 5GB of files with others online, including the ability to convert 5 documents to PDF and embed your documents in blogs, wikis or other web pages.
Read more about Acrobat and Buzzword by clicking here.

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Sunday, March 23, 2008

Podcasts and Classroom Use

Task pre-service student teachers to research integrating technology into classroom use and they will produce an overwhelming source of ideas!

To share their ideas for using Podcasts in the Classroom:
Teachers can use podcasting to share lecture information with students. Teachers can have students create podcasts to share information that they gathered. This type of assignment would have students use voice recordings, sound effects, and photos. This will definitely engage students if they are taught how to create one. Students and teachers can also use podcasting and add it to a website or blog. I think I'll do that with mine smile. Teachers and students who use podcasting learn content in a creative way. In addition, they are also learning new communication skills.

I like the idea that students can access information from the web and not have to only read. This could help with auditory learners, students who like to listen to music, and those students who love to use computers.
~Elena

A few examples of how podcasts can be a learning tool for learning are that podcasts make most educational needs accessible, such as lectures and speeches, audio-guides, case studies, audio-notes/feedbacks, music, news and course updates, etc..
~Clare

I looked at Brown University’s website—it was cool how they put up podcast about activities that took place and we can view them with a windows media player, itunes or download it into your iPod.
MY IDEA… This gave me that idea that in your class—you may use this to document special days/presentation in class or in the school and this can be a way to have parents view it at home or when internet access in nearby. It is a new way students may learn how to access information and/or have them create a podcast as a culminating project.

Some other ideas for podcast can be “How-to-do” podcasts- for example, grammar, writing a story or letter, read-aloud, storytelling, step by step completing a science project, making a blog or website, etc…
~Diane

When I was looking through some teacher blogs about podcasting I read about one teacher that uses podcasting for students to record their reading. This way progress can be tracked and teachers or specialists can listen to the podcast to see what areas need to be addressed.

I was thinking that it would be neat to have the students create portfolios that could be accessed by their parents at home. It would work just like engrade.com but lots of other things could be included. Students would also be able to access their recordings at home and work on improving their reading if they wanted to. Just like teacher portfolio or the paper portfolios in the classroom.

I was also thinking that a teacher could use podcasts as part of the weekly or daily routine. At the beginning of the year the teacher and students would/could listen to the same podcast together and learn how to take notes or listen for key words. Since Saipan has so many (mostly) ELL students I would start out with video webcasts so that students could see along with hear but quickly move into the listening only realm. The teacher could easily modify the lesson by providing some with worksheets to fill in as they listen while the higher level students would have a worksheet too but have to take better notes and fill in more information. Students would rather listen to a podcast from a specialist or celebrity than their teacher!

When I was looking through the social studies podcasts I got the idea that it would be fun to have the class do a year-long project about their community. It could be bundled together so that people could listen and learn about Saipan from the students’ perspective. I got the idea from listening to students in a social studies classroom question a guest speaker about his trip to Egypt.

I never realized all of the uses for podcasts in the classroom. Laurence mentioned a lot of great ideas that address multiple intelligence, thinking styles, and learning styles. One of the great things I learned from this assignment is that if done properly podcasts can reach students at their level and where they are at with their background knowledge. Wouldn't it be great to have time on Friday's for students to be able to put podcasts on their ipod to listen to over the weekend! They would not even realize they are learning! State of flow all on their own!

Maybe the new yahoo for teachers website will have podcasts bundled by levels and content so that a teacher could just put it on the computer for the students and not have to look at 50 different places before getting just 3 different leveled podcasts addressing the same content.
~Erin

Podcasts can be created from original material by students and teachers or existing audio files can be downloaded for classroom use. Creating a podcast allows students to share learning experiences. It provides them with a worldwide audience that makes learning meaningful and assessment authentic. Teachers can use the technology to provide extra and modified material to students to download and evaluate at a time that suit them. The flexibility that such time-shifting offers makes podcasting a valuable educational tool.

Podcasts are a great way for using student products to share learning, sharing school news with parents, faculty, community members, and other people, and for teachers to provide professional development with others. By providing students with an authentic audience, teachers increase motivation to write. Students improve fluency and listening skills. Podcasts give students a view of journalism in the making, tutorials, and encourages interactive collaboration with others that is creative, fun and FREE.

Here are some educational techniques we could use podcasts and incorporate them into our classroom and lessons/teachings.

* Talk and music shows
* Interviews with pupils and staff
* Story telling and audio books
* Tutorials and instructions
* Commentaries
* Sharing information with parents and the community
* Providing updates on forthcoming school events
* Sportscasts
~Laurence

Some sites they wanted to share with others looking to incorporate podcasts:

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Friday, February 22, 2008

Conference: Blending With Purpose

Join the University of Illinois in downtown Chicago for this year’s workshop "Blending with Purpose" on April 6 through 8, 2008. "Blending with Purpose" examines blended learning as a platform for introducing teaching innovations,resolving resource concerns and facilitating the learning of students in the digital age.

Administrative leaders, faculty members, instructional designers and researchers will gather to network, consider effective practices and discuss assessment strategies. Break out sessions will center on three primary areas – administration, pedagogy and assessment/evaluation.

Register for this exclusive blended learning workshop, where multiple opportunities for learning, sharing and networking take place during the highly interactive workshop sessions.

Institutions are encouraged to register teams of administrative leaders, faculty members, instructional designers and researchers. Each track provides participants with strategies that can be adapted and implemented at their home institution.

Learn More: http://www.blendedworkshop.uic.edu

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Sunday, October 14, 2007

K12 Online Conference Credit

Just a quick reminder that the K12 Online Conference starts tomorrow! Join educators from around the world and explore all the ways social media can be used in the classroom. This is a great way to either dip your toes in the education 2.0 water or build on your existing technology skills.

You can also be able to earn either professional development and graduate credit for your participation in most of the K12 Conference sessions. You can learn more and get the required forms over on the K12 Online Conference wiki.

Additional Resources

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Thursday, August 23, 2007

Blog Buzz: Yahoo! For Teachers

I thought I'd share a couple great blog posts by some folks who got a sneak peak at Yahoo! For Teachers at the Adaptive Path UX Week conference in Washington D.C. a week or so ago.

We appreciate the positive feedback and credit the contributions of the teachers who partnered with us last summer to develop Yahoo! Teachers, as well as the many educators who had the opportunity to use Yahoo! For Teachers at our national summer workshops.

You can learn more about Yahoo! For Teachers, sign-up for an invite, and join your colleagues on the Peer Network map over on our website.

Official Yahoo! For Teachers Groups

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Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Back to School 2007: Get Your Wiki On!

You already know that PBwiki is the easiest and best wiki platform out there. But did you know that Atomic Learning has FREE tutorials on PBwiki?

These tutorials will help you learn step-by-step how to create a PBwiki. Hurry, the tutorials are only available for a short time!

Speaking of wiki's, Yahoo! For Teachers has a new group for educators where they can go to get advice, share experiences and best practices from other teachers who are using wiki's in their classroom.

Whether your a wiki veteran, or just getting started, come share what you know about using wiki's in an educational setting.

Related Resources

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Wednesday, June 06, 2007

It's About Relationships: Yahoo! Teachers Groups

Yahoo! Teachers has set up a Yahoo! Group where you can connect with your colleagues, learn more about Yahoo! Teachers, and discover how other educators are using technology in the classroom.

They’ve even started a Yahoo! Teachers group on Flickr where you can meet other teachers who are using Flickr in their classroom. Yahoo! Teachers will also be posting photographs from all our events this summer on Flickr.

So please join the Yahoo! Teachers groups so you can contribute to the building of this new community for teachers.
  • Yahoo Groups + Yahoo! Teachers:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/yteachers_community/

  • Flickr + Yahoo! Teachers:

http://flickr.com/groups/yahoo-teachers/

Related Resources

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Monday, June 04, 2007

Yahoo! Teachers Workshops 2007

Today Yahoo! Teachers announced the dates and locations for their 2007 Yahoo! Teachers workshops! You can learn more about the workshops and get an application by clicking here.

Come join your colleagues and learn how to use Yahoo! Teachers and the Gobbler in your classroom. This is an excellent opportunity to learn how to use social media tools to support student learning as well as connect and meet other passionate educators like you!




We had a great time at our 2006 Yahoo! Teachers workshop and expect this year to be even better! So this summer, come spend a day with Yahoo! Teachers.

Related Resources

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Monday, May 21, 2007

Yahoo! Teachers Documentary: By Teachers, for Teachers


Excerpt from a documentary made during the Yahoo! Teachers, Summer Session 2006 camp held on the Yahoo! campus. Check out http://teachers.yahoo.com to see what educators and Yahoo! created together!

Be sure to check the Yahoo! Teachers site for information about upcoming workshops in a city near you!

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Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Yahoo! Teachers Impresses Singapore PM

On Monday, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong spent some time here on the Yahoo! campus to learn more about our innovation process and to take a look at some of the newest products being developed here at Yahoo!

In addition to the new Yahoo! oneSearch mobile service, the prime minister also got a sneak peak at Yahoo! Teachers. Karon Weber, our principal designer, showed him how teachers can use the Gobbler and Yahoo! Teachers to create, collaborate and connect with each other.

The entire Yahoo! Teachers team is honored to have the opportunity to share Yahoo! Teachers with Prime Minister Lee and look forward to sharing this new service with the rest of the teaching community this summer.

If you haven't seen our Yahoo! Teachers preview site, go check it out. Be sure to sign up for an invite and get connected on our Peer Network Map.

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Monday, May 07, 2007

Look Ma! No Downloads: Yahoo! Messenger for the Web

Last November at our second Yahoo! Teachers Workshop, we had the Yahoo! Messenger team pop over and share some tips, tricks and features of Yahoo! Messenger with our cadre of teachers.

Needless to say, our group of teachers were pretty impressed and quickly saw how Yahoo! Messenger can be used to collaborate with parents, students, and each other.

In fact, they were so happy to learn that Yahoo! Messenger had been mashed into Yahoo! Teachers, they could barley contain their urge to yodel.


Watch this short video to learn more about Yahoo! Messenger for Web

One of the really cool features of the soon-to-be-launched Yahoo! Teachers tool is that we've integrated Yahoo! Messenger to make it even easier for you to collaborate with members of the Yahoo! Teachers community.

Using Yahoo! Messenger, teachers will have real-time access to colleagues and their curriculum so they can ask questions and discuss ideas via Yahoo! Messenger right from Yahoo! Teachers . Think of it as a virtual teachers lounge!

Last week our friends over on the Yahoo! Messenger team released a new web-based version of Yahoo! Messenger that requires no downloads! Yes, you heard that correctly--no downloads. Here's the skinny from the Yahoo! Messenger blog:


"Ever wish you could use Yahoo! Messenger without having to download or install anything? Well, today is your lucky day: please give a big Yahoo! welcome to the all-new Yahoo! Messenger for the Web .

Now you can sign in from any web browser (PC or Mac!) and immediately start IM’ing with friends. This is great for when you’re on someone else’s computer or traveling and need to stop in an internet café.

Plus, time at work just got a lot more fun. If you or a friend is prevented from IM’ing at the office due to firewalls or other IT restrictions, you’ll love this new version. Because Yahoo! Messenger for the Web runs in a regular web browser window, it sidesteps these obstacles and lets you connect easily with your friends."

Pretty cool eh? So why not give Yahoo! Messenger for the Web a whirl? And if you haven't signed up for a Yahoo! Teachers invite, do that too!

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Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Add Voice to your Wiki: YackPack & PBWiki



To use this video on your site, just visit http://blip.tv/file/196824.

It's true! YackPack and PBWiki have partnered up and made adding audio to your wiki even easier than making a PB&J!

It's easy! Your students will love it! And oh yeah, it's free!

Related Resources


In the 'sphere: YackPack + PBWiki

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Sunday, March 25, 2007

Mind Mapping with Web 2.0 Tools

With the recent explosion of so many Web 2.0 tools on the web available free, there's no reason not to try out the web-based Mind Mapping tools that can help you organize your blog posts or organize your work to be more productive.

These tools are great collaborative tools you can access anytime, anywhere. Start by brainstorming and let the mind map do the rest for you. Now your brainstorming can be done on the web and shared with others too and there's nothing to download either.

Be sure to share these mind mapping tools with your students so they can learn the benefits of brainstorming & organization.
And if you're not sure which one is the best for you, The Mind Mapping Software Weblog has done a side-by-side comparison for you.

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Monday, March 12, 2007

Innovation: Yahoo! Research Berkeley



What do you get when you combine the brain power at Yahoo! and UC Berkeley? Big time innovation! Watch this video to get a tour inside Yahoo! Research Berkeley--a world-class research organization that focuses on creating the next big thing on the web.


But if you think it's all work and no play---you'd be wrong! Take a peek at this video and discover how "hard fun" is an integral part of the Yahoo! culture.

Related Links

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Saturday, February 03, 2007

More Searching....

On the topic of Search Engines – check out these two articles, “The Top 100 Alternative Search Engines” and “A Look at the Next Generation of Search.”

These articles provide exciting insight into how the collaborative works of many produce results for others to share without leaving their home or office!

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Tuesday, January 30, 2007

More Browser Based Software Tools

We've highlighted many Web 2.0 tools this past year such as YackPack, Flickr, Google Spreadsheets & Docs, and del.ici.ous for class resources, but here are some more worth checking out.

These tools can be used with very young students as well as college students. And since they’re browser based and free they’re available from any computer, any time.

So, if students begin their work in class or in the campus computer lab, they can access it from any computer later- whether at home or at the local java joes. With this generation- Think Mobile

Desktop Publishing & Spreadsheets
->
gOffice

Spreadsheets, Word Processing, Presenting, Sketching and more…
->Ajax13

Photo Manager
->PXN8

Instant Messengers
->Campfire
->Gabbly

Music Players
->Jinzora

Video Tools
->Jumpcut
->Vimeo

You just might find some new tools to add to your teaching toolkit and some you want to share with your students.

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Tuesday, January 09, 2007

Web 2.0: A New Wave of Innovation for Teaching and Learning

This past year we have blogged about Web 2.0 and curriculum ideas to jump start your thinking about how to use tools like del.icio.us, YouTube, and flickr with your students.

This article from Educause “Web 2.0: A New Wave of Innovation for Teaching and Learning?” reflects the fast, growing developments of the Web 2.0 and provides ideas for using the software components in Higher Education. These ideas are also well suited for senior high school students.

The article mentions so many Web 2.0 tools your head will spin. If you haven’t read this article yet, it’s a must read to catch you up to date. Considering it seems like new social tools are emerging each week, you have a lot of catch up on.

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