Living and Learning in Central Oregon

This a cool little program that allows users to create a timeline and display it in many different ways – regular timeline view, list view, flipbook or map. Here is a timeline I found for the show LOST.

http://nets-implementation.iste.wikispaces.net/

I came across this wiki awhile ago and thought this was a great idea for teachers to share their ideas, lessons and strategies for the world to see. I have been checking back now and again but have not seen a whole lot of activity. I am hoping that this site will get some advertisement in San Antonio and that teachers will start adding to it. Which brings me to my plea, in order for web 2.0 technologies to work we need to give and receive not just receive. Pay it forward and add to this wiki.

I  am listening to a web 2.0 webinar being hosted by Vicki Davis and she just said something really interesting.  She said that she would not have teachers use web 2.0 tools with their kids just to use web 2.0 tools.  What a great statement.  The same could be true for anything.  Would you use crayons just to make sure you are using crayons?  No.  You would use crayons when crayons are needed and when crayons help achieve a goal or objective.

I was recently asked by a principal to create a scope and sequence of tech lessons for our computer labs.  She asked me to do this because our classified lab assistants are going to be asked to “teach” classes to help cover teacher prep and they need help with this endeavor.

There are several things I see wrong with this.  While I think there needs to be some amount of basic tech training I think this can be done in the context of a lesson and can also be modeled by the teacher during everyday instruction. During the webinar Vicki brought up the thought of using Atomic Learning as a means for students to learn the basics – what a thought.

I am having a hard time putting this into words but Web 2.0 tools and technology in general should be embedded within instruction to help support and extend learning.  I would love to hear what others have to say about this. How is technology being “taught” in your school and district? Is it isolated?  Is it embedded?  A combination?

Yesterday I worked with some high school teachers who are creating on line classes for the Oregon Virtual School District. They are using moodle to build their classes. The temptation was to dive right in and teach moodle but instead I took some time to discuss the revised Bloom’s taxonomy and 21st Century skills and how their online classes should not just become online worksheets.

Then today I came upon H.S.I. – Historical Scene Investigations. What a unique method of capitalizing on a popular TV theme while having students use some of those revised Bloom’s skills. Thanks to Kevin Jarrett for twittering this site.

http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/archives/1394Thanks to David Warlick for this blog post. Some great tips on how to keep us organized and sane.

this is a modification of the video done at by college students in Kansas.  The one think I like about this one is that the camera is not move as fast – the original almost makes me sick with how fast the camera moves.  Both however are thought provoking.  This video that I plan on sharing with my teachers and administrators.

came across this site today and thought it might be a cool tool for the ORVSD. I didn’t look at it too hard but it looks like it has a moodle component.

clipped from www.wiziq.com Use WiZiQ’s virtual classroom equipped with live audio-video communication, chat, content sharing, and session recording capabilities. No download is required since it works with any web browser and on any operating system. Meet other teachers and students interested in same subjects and topics as you are, make connection with them and communicate either via e-mail or through WiZiQ’s virtual classroom. Share PowerPoint presentations with your students, teachers and friends in a Youtube-like format. You can find content created by other members or upload your own to build your content library.

I clipped the part about kids not bringing their laptops to school each day because teachers don’t encourage their use. From my experience the teacher PD needs to happen first before any laptops are given to kids.

clipped from www.dallasnews.com Lighter laptops may also help combat student complaints about the computers being too heavy to carry to school. District surveys have shown that many students don’t bring their laptops to school every day – but that’s also because teachers don’t always encourage their use. The high schools plan to conduct meetings and set goals to improve student use of the laptops. A key goal is to improve training for teachers. Mr. Hill said one challenge is that some teachers continue to resist using laptops in class. Owen DeWitt, a former school board member who pushed for the laptops, said more affordable units should have been looked at from the beginning. “We were spending huge dollars for something that wasn’t well adapted yet for any of the regular high schools,” he said. “You’ve got to weigh functionality vs. cost.”