Tech Trekers Webquests

My GE 555 class just finished a module on WebQuests.

I thought I would share some other WebQuests with you:

http://www.techtrekers.com/webquests/

Any thoughts?

Word Verification Problems?

Is anyone having trouble leaving comments on blogs?

I wanted to share my problem with you. There have been several blogs that I have been unable to comment on. I write my comment and get a "Loading" message while I wait for word verification.

I searched the Help section of bloggger and found more than one other user having the same problem.

Please be patient. It is a blogger issue, and hopefully they will resolve it soon. Do not get frustrated. :)

Thanks!

La La La La

According to Howard Gardner, musical intelligence involves skill in the performance, composition, and appreciation of musical patterns. It encompasses the capacity to recognize and compose musical pitches, tones, and rhythms.

Some of us (not all, but a lot) have this intelligence and may not even know it. Younger children embrace and use this intelligence. Sadly, as we get older (or teach older students), this intelligence gets lost in the shuffle.

Take a look at this site:
http://www.songsforteaching.com/

Here is Dr. Jean's site, too:

http://www.drjean.org/

Any thoughts? Do you know of any other sites for music to teachers?

Another Live Chat: Obama's Plan

I wanted to share another opportunity for you to take part in a live online chat.

Live Online Chat:
Obama's Education Plan
When: Thursday, February 19, 3 p.m. Eastern time
Where: http://www.edweek-chat.org/

With the new administration in Washington comes the prospect of new approaches to education policy and practice that would directly affect schools and districts at the local level. Get an advance look at how decisions on the No Child Left Behind law, Title I, and other key legislation by President Barack Obama and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan may change the education landscape.

Log onto this website on Thursday, Feb. 19, at 3 p.m. Eastern time for a free live chat with federal policy experts.

This chat coincides with the release of the latest book from Education Week Press, The Obama Education Plan: An Education Week Guide.

About the Guests:

• Chester E. Finn Jr., president of the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation
• Thomas Toch, co-founder and co-director of Education Sector
• Gene Wilhoit, executive director of the Council of Chief State School Officers

This chat will be moderated by Education Week Associate Editor Scott J. Cech.

Copyright © 2009 Editorial Projects in Education.

NJ School Report Card

Take a look at NJ School Report Card.

Each year, the NJ Department of Education posts this information for the public to see. The NJ DOE's website claims, "The New Jersey School Report Card has provided the public with information about every school in New Jersey since 1995 when the Legislature mandated the annual accountability report."

Poetry 180

Here is a poetry website that provides a poem a day:

http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/

This site claims, "Poetry can and should be an important part of our daily lives. Poems can inspire and make us think about what it means to be a member of the human race. By just spending a few minutes reading a poem each day, new worlds can be revealed."

Webquests to Web 2.0

Students in my GE555 classes are currently working on WebQuests.

I wanted to share some information and resources with them, but figured we could all benefit from them.

Take a look at this workshop link.

The web site claims, "When you combine quality Internet resources and effective technology tools with the power of Web 2.0 applications, learning comes alive for students. WebQuests are an inquiry-based approach to addressing standards that place emphasis on motivating assignments, authentic assessments, and developing independent readers and writers."

Hope this helps!

Education quote

Instruction begins when you, the teacher, learn from the learner; put yourself in his place so that you may understand… what he learns and the way he understands it.

-- Soren Kierkegaard

Online Chat: Technology and Literacy

I just got a reminder for a live online chat. Thought I would pass it along to you. If you are interested, it would be a great experience.

Here is the info I received:

Tech Literacy Confusion: What Knowledge and Skills Really Matter?

When: Thursday, Feb. 5th at 2pm Eastern time
Where: http://www.edweek-chat.org

Join us for an online discussion to tackle the question: What is technology literacy and how should it be taught and measured?

Teaching literacy—reading and writing—is a core mission for schools, but today’s young people increasingly "read" 3-D computer simulations and "write" via social networks such as Facebook. A growing chorus of experts say schools should add these forms of communication to their literacy mission as "technology literacy."

Many educators and digital learning experts argue, further, that technology literacy should include the processes and conventions of online communities in which young people may use the new forms of communication—for example, "fan fiction" Web sites and "massively multiplayer online games."

Others have much different ideas about what should define technology literacy. The science community and corporate world, for instance, say the need for young people to receive better preparation in STEM subjects—science, technology, engineering, and math—for 21st-century careers justifies adding the fundamentals of those areas to the definition of technology literacy.
Still other groups argue that technology literacy should cover Internet safety, cyberbullying, and the laws on the use of intellectual property.

All these different ideas about what should define technology literacy have created quite a bit of confusion. But the good news is that some new efforts may clarify the definition, including a high-profile push to add a technology-literacy test to the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

About the Guests:
Tess Jolls, President and CEO, The Center for Media Literacy.http://www.medialit.org
Chris Stephenson, President, Computer Science Teachers Association.http://www.csta.acm.org
This chat will be moderated by Kevin Bushweller, Executive Editor of Education Week's Digital Directions.

Super Bowl Fun

Here is a link to some Super Bowl fun for you and your students.

http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/lesson096.shtml

As educators, we need to provide motivational activities to keep our students interested.


See what you can use!

Secretbuilders: New Site for Me!

I came across this site in one of my educational technology sites:

http://www.secretbuilders.com/

The site claims: "SecretBuilders is a site that can be used to supplement the teaching of various topics, including literature, arts, sciences and humanities. The site gives children an opportunity to interact with famous historical and fictional figures from world civilization, making learning more enjoyable and effective. We can provide teachers with examples of how to incorporate SecretBuilders into their school curriculum."

Take a look and see what you think.

Awards

This morning the Caldecott, Newbery, Printz, Coretta Scott King and Pura Belpre Awards were announced.

For a listing of the awards, please click here:
http://educationservicesnews.blogspot.com/2009/01/ala-youth-media-awards.html

Podcasting, Anyone?

As I think I mentioned in class, I have started podcasting. I added a podcast to my undergraduate online course Ed 301. Slowly.... Small steps...

What is a podcast? Why would I want one? Are they free? Do I need to create them?

I found this article on podcasting that may answer some of these questions. http://www.wtvi.com/TEKS/05_06_articles/classroom-audio-podcasting.html The article explains that "Thousands of podcasts are being published for both local and global audiences on a multitude of topics. Two excellent places to find classroom podcasts are the Education Podcast Network (http://epnweb.org) and the podcast directory within the iTunes Music Store. iTunes is free software available for both Windows and Macintosh computers (www.apple.com/itunes)."

Enjoy!

Also: Here's a link to a classroom that is podcasting http://bobsprankle.com/blog/C1697218367/E20050925120007/index.html

Project Gutenberg

Need resources for your classes or lessons?

Project Gutenberg offers free online materials. It is the first and largest single collection of free electronic books, or eBooks.

Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.

Take a look at the site and see what you think!

Blog Privacy

In response to my class discussion in GE-555 last night, I found this article.

Here is an interesting point, "Blogs are getting a lot of attention these days. You can no longer safely assume that people in your offline life won't find out about your blog, if you ever could. New RSS tools and services mean that it's even easier than ever search and aggregate blog entries. As long as you blog anonymously and in a work-safe way, what you say online is far less likely to come back to hurt you."

Take a look and see what you think.

Thanks!

Hello again!

This is another new blog for GE555-02.

Welcome to the Blog!

Hello to this class! I cannot wait to get started.

Blog Video

Semester Start

Today is our first class session (undergraduates). I am anxious to meet you and start this exciting semester.

Hopefully you can get started on creating your blogs and getting used to this format. If you need any assistance, let me know.

To get you started and thinking, here is a link to an article on How to Start your Own Blog:
http://www.techlearning.com/story/showArticle.php?articleID=163100418

Here is a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN2I1pWXjXI

Furthermore, if you have any questions that you think other students may benefit from, you can post them here and I will answer them. Hope you have a wonderful weekend and I look forward to a great term!

Almost time....

...to start blogging again~!

Just a note to say hello and that I have not forgotten about the blog. Spring semester starts soon and i look forward to hearing from you all again!

Take care~