Must See Monday - Pay It Forward and Pass It On

I was delighted to open up Tweetdeck this morning and see a Tweet from Vanessa Cassie saying that she had mentioned me in her blog.  I was intrigued to see what she had said about me.  I was unaware that there was a movement to share other Blogs you follow as a form of Paying it Forward to get the word out.  Vanessa had a great post mentioning not only my blog, but others as well.

So, in keeping with the pace of others who are paying it forward, here is a list of ten blogs that I follow (although there are plenty more) and a brief description.  For those who receive this award, there are a few rules that I ask you follow:

1. Copy and Display the picture of the award given to you.
2. Link back to the blog that nominated you.
3. Nominate 10 different blogs..
4. Inform the people you have nominated so they can continue this 'pay it forward' chain of blog appreciation!

The Educational Technology Guy - By David Andrade - A great Educational Technology Blog with useful links and resources as well as reflections on education.

iLearn Technology Blog - By @ktenkely - A great blog that shares resources and ideas.  Helped start a Blog Alliance that introduced me to a ton of new blogs and resources.  She is actually working on a new Alliance.  Are you going to join?

iTeach Blog - By Andrew Marcinek - A blog that discusses education, technology, as well as personal experiences at his own school and how technology is changing there.

This Week's Education Humor is a funny educational humor site.  Cartoons, jokes, lists, etc.  I really like this blog on a daily basis.  Gives me a good laugh when things are down. 

Blogging About the Web 2.0 Connected Classroom by Steven Anderson is considered by many to be a poineer in the social education network.  His blog shares resources and personal insights into the state of education and technology in education.

Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne is another staple among educators and technology personnel when it comes to technology integration.  Shares several resources as well as digital publications that should be a staple for schools to share with staff.

The Innovative Educator by Lisa Nielson is a blog about education. Also included in this blog, are post about technology in education. Either way, you find yourself thinking about the post after you have read them. Very informative and thought provoking.

Education Stormfront is a blog that helps "forecast the coming storm in education."  Some is technology, some is not, but the post are informational and give you a look at the future of education.

Kyle Pace has a great blog about education, technology, and social media.  Great discussions of how education is changing and how people should be paying attention to these changes.  Can also be found on Twitter @KylePace

My Island View by Tom Whitby is a blog that will leave you thinking about education and how education is changing.  Great thoughts about the impact of technology on education and teaching.

I need to give a shout out to the Nerdy Teacher for including me in his list.  Thanks for the comparison to Sinatra, although there truly is no comparison.  Keep up the great work!

Must See Monday - 1000 Web 2.0 Applications

Via Twitter, I came across a list of 1000 Web 2.0 Applications with the ability to search and find one you might be looking for.  Each Web 2.0 Application is organized by category and then listed in alphabetical order.  Each Web 2.0 Application also has a short description of the website that explains what the application can do.  What I also like is that on this list are many sites that I had not heard of yet, but at the same time, I don't see some of the more popular sites either.

It appears that the site does not have education in mind, but it is important to note that MANY of the Web 2.0 applications that have been developed did not have education in mind, many educators just made the sites work for them.  So don't let that keep you from checking this list out.  Besides, you never know when you might find a site you are looking for that can help you outside of education.

So, visit the 1000 Web 2.0 Application list and find one, or two, or three....for you.

Must See Monday #12 - Digital Story Telling

Digital Story Telling is the idea of taking pictures and videos to tell a story.  There are a lot of sites and software out there that allow you to complete such a task.  A lot of educators have favorited Animoto because they have an education account that allows students to get complete use of their website.  Another option is Photo Peach, which is great for teachers because it allows you to instantly create a quiz from your Digital Story.  The newest one on the scene is Flixtime.  Then of course, their is the original Photo Story from Microsoft.  These are not the only options though.  I have discovered three new ones that I think are of interest in sharing here.  One True Media, Masher, and Stupeflix are sites that could be used as Digital Story Telling websites. 

 

One True Media requires email and password set up, but there is no email verification required.  Immediately I noticed that it informs you how long it will take to upload files over a certain size and the type of files that it will accept.  Upon uploading you can monitor progress making it easy to know where you are at when uploading mulitple files.  The following are supported file types:

MPEG (.mpeg, .mpg, .mp4)
QuickTime (.mov)
Audio Video Interleave (.avi)
Windows Media Video (.wmv)
3G Mobile Phone Video (.3gp, .3g2)
JPEG (.jpg or .jpeg)

The editing tools allow you to add text slides as well as captions.  There is also the option of editing the photo after it has been uploaded.  The feature so far that I have not seen elsewhere is the ability to add styles, which is basically creating background and inclusive effects for your project.  There is also the feature of adding music to the presentation, with the ability to upload your own.  If students really like their creation there is also the option to purchase a DVD version of a Digital Story.

First and immediate thought about Masher, Email Verification.  Makes it pretty hard to use in the classroom since most schools ban outside email account use by students.  Same as the others though.  It allows for the uploading of photos, videos and the slection of music.  A feature I had not seen on others that Masher has is special effects that happen over the photo.  The sample I watched had "fireworks" appear.  Not sure I like that for educational purposes because it could be a distraction from the purpose of the Digital Story.  What also stinks about Email Verification is in the time it took me to type this post, I have yet to receive my email to be verified so that I can use their website.  Slow turn around will make me go elsewhere.  Makes it hard to tell you about the site when I can't get access to it.  I double checked my email as well.

Stupeflix (Why do I feel like I am saying Stupid Flix) does not require email verification, but does require the usual information to sign up.  First thing I notice that is different is the choice of a theme.  You have four options, which I think all can be adapted to a student project.  You can add the usual photos and videos from your computer or other media sites such as Facebook, Picasa, and Flickr.  You are able to watch the progress as the pictures are uploaded.  What I do like, is adding text gives you the option of as either captions or before the images.  The music option only allows uploading from your computer; they do not have music on the site to choose from.  Organizing of Photos is very simplistic as well.  A very simple user interface.

One thing I noticed with these sites is that my Firewall and Proxy settings inteferred with the uploading of my photos.  Might be best to upload to Picasa or Flickr and then use them.

If looking for music for Digital Stories, I suggest Royalty Free Music as a good place to start.

Must See Monday #10 - TypeWith.Me

At the KySTE conference I attended last week I was introduced to TypeWithMe by Jeremy Renner during his session on his 10 Favorite Web Tools.  During the conference we used TypeWithMe to introduce ourselves to him and each other.  I had not seen this website before.  It reminded me of TodaysMeet, only better options.

What I like about TypeWithMe is that the typing is real time.  As you type in the text, it will appear on the screen...from anyone.  Currently it is limited to 16 participants in the room at the same time, but for AP classes, this would be a useful tool.  If necessary you could have two rooms for larger classes.  Every person in the room can also choose a color (8 choices) that will be the background of their text.  It is really useful in seeing who is typing and when.

Here is a sample page so you can see it in action.

You can easily pre-enter text for people when they come in the room (Questions, Links, Quotes, etc) that will help get the typing started.  There is also a chat window to the bottom right where you could have a whole other conversation.  It allows you to import a Word, PDF, or RTF file as well.  You can also export what you are typing to Word, PDF, HTML, Plain Text, and others.  would be great for posting to the web so students could view the conversation later.  The final option is a Time Slider which will allow you to scan through the conversation at the time it was occurring.  A great way to log your conversation as well, especially if you are looking for something that was said at a certain time.

So how could you use this in your classroom?
1.) Provided to me by Russ Goerend - Have students type one sentence at a time to create a story.
2.) Use as a supplment to lecture for students to ask questions
3.) Have students use during a movie to ask questions or share their thoughts about it
4.) While reading novels/books in class let students type questions or discuss the book live while reading so they don't forget as they read
5.) Use during a guest speaker to remember responses as well as questions and students thoughts.

What ideas do you have?

Must See Monday #9 - Web 2.0 Websites

YourFonts is a way to upload and create a font from your own handwriting.  What a neat way to create a digital signature (just remember to have a different one for checks and credit cards though).  It would make for a great addition to your email account or just to have fun with students showing your handwriting on the computer.  My students hated my chicken scratch handwriting anyway, so I wrote in all capitals.  Be interesting to type out a paper in Your Font though.  All you do is print the template, write, scan, and then upload.  I guess this does give Scanner's a new purpose...might have to brush the dust off of mine.

Fotobabble is a site that allows you to upload photos and then voice over the photo.  It would be a great way to bring a historical figure to life for a student project.  You could also upload a location and create "Where in the World Am I" game with your students.  You could do the same thing with people.  Tell facts and give students the opportunity to guess who they are.  The software is also available on the iPhone.  Another neat way to use this site is to add it to Wallwisher.  I found a great blog post describing how to do this.

Footnote is your home for primary documents.  More or less this is a great site for Social Studies teachers.  It has a lot of primary documents that students normally are looking for to help with projects.  We are always preaching to our students to use primary documents, and now there is a home for them to find an abundant resource of the.  I want to thank Free Technology for Teachers for providing this useful site.  I have already shared it with social studies teachers in my building.  It allows you to search by era.  There are over 63 million historical documents online.  Very valuable.

Must See Monday #8 - Hodge-Podge

Normally my Must See Monday posts are for a specific website or software.  Today I received an email with a lot of useful links that I thought I would share.

Landmarks Class Blogmeister - This is a Blogging engine that has been developed specifically for classroom use.  It includes both student and teacher blogs.  You can search by country and by state, as well as grade level.  When you search by state you get a list of names, and they are listed by most active.  I wish it would allow you to search alphabetically, but it does not.  When you click on their name, it will take you to their blog.  So if you are looking for someone in particular, this might be a good way to find them.  The major improvement would be to provide what the blog is about (subject, student, class, etc).  It is a great list, but it definitely needs some tweeking.  I guess it would be worth seeing if you could find yourself.

Crocodoc - Share and review documents online.  It would be a great way for students to peer review assignments, or for teachers to post a sample assignment and have students review it from home, or even in class.  You can upload a PDF, Word Document, Power Point, , or even a URL address.  When you visit the site, click on the demo link to see some of the features.  Some of those features include the ability to add Post-it Notes, Highlight, and Strike-through words.  You can also type text within the margins.  You can easily skip from page to page, search, and zoom in and out.  If you want more security features you can pay for a Pro Account and add passwords (probably best options for education) Below is a screen shot of the demo page.

Ipadio - Allows you to boradcast from any phone live to the Internet.  You can audio blog, or use your phone as a voice recorder that saves to the Internet.  Ipadio is available on both the iPhone and the Android.  They refer to blogging with your phone as a "Phlog."  They do have a page dedicated explaining how they feel Ipadio can be used in Education.  I have to say that the list of ideas is pretty interesting.  If you are a school that allows the use of mobile devices, than this website definitely is worth looking at.  There is a case study about using the site to learn Spanish.  I think as mobile technology takes off, the concept of this site will grow.  Check the site out for yourself and see how you might use it.

For something outside education, GrowShow is a great website that allows you to create a time lapse of your child/grandchild as they grow older.  They also have some neat magnetic frames that you can purchase for the pictures that is worth checking out.  I would watch the video on the front page to get a better idea of how it works.  Definitely a site worth checking out if you just had a child/grandchild, or have your photos saved and archived on your computer.  It will automatically organize the photos based on the time stamp if I understood the site correctly.  You can set music up to the show, as well as set a GrowMinder to capture growth so you don't forget.  Account setup is really simple as well.

Must See Monday #7 - Technology Integration...One School at a Time

Let me tell you about what is going on at my school.  I feel that the changes related to technology that we are implementing are a Must See...well, a Must Read.  I am currently working as a Technology Integration Specialist in the first year of a two year grant program to help increase and integrate the use of technology by both teachers and students.  My school is in currently in a Trimester schedule.  Each trimester I will be working with a different subject (English, Math, Social Studies, Science, and the final two trimesters are still in the works) to assist teachers with the development of lesson plans integrating technology and using technology equipment in their classroom.  Until this year, technology was rather limited in our school.  We have plenty of computer labs, but outside of teacher computer stations, teachers had very little of anything else.

The equipment includes:

1.) FLIP Camera

2.) AverMedia Document Camera

3.) SMART Airliner/ Slate

4.) Digital Camera

5.) Digital Video Camera

6.) Projector

7.) Laptop

8.) Turning Point Clicker System.

We are also using a multitude of Web 2.0 software that I have showcased through this blog.  Teachers have thoroughly enjoyed using Wordle, The Hero Factory, Glogster, Wallwisher, and some have used Prezi.  I have also worked at introducing teachers to RSS and Blogging, as well as encouraging creating a PLN on Twitter.  We have had several teachers who have really enjoyed and completely integrated Turning Point into their classroom as well.  Several have replaced paper quizzes with the software.  

Students have also been active in using Glogster as part of technology projects.  Another major project completed by students has been the creation of Webpages.  Students in English classrooms completed Book Reviews, and students in Math classrooms have completed websites explaining math concepts and math in the real world.  Students have also created cartoons and comics in their classrooms.  Comics were really successful in the math classrooms as well.  When I work with Social Studies I am hoping to implement Timeline websites.

As part of the grant, each department receives money to purchase technology equipment as long as they met the guidelines for the Grant.  Recently the English and Math teachers were able to choose some equipment they would like to have in their classroom.  The English teachers requested and have received 5 FLIP Cameras, 2 Projectors, and 5 Document Cameras.  In the math department we were able to get every teacher a projector.  We also were able to provide 3 Document Cameras and an Airliner to math teachers as well.  I have spent much of the past two weeks during the school day installing and setting up the technology equipment as well as training teachers on how to use the equipment.  It is important to note that we have more than tripled the amount of technology in our school this year alone.  

I was provided a cart with the same equipment, and I realized that trying to get teachers to schedule its use was not nearly as successful as just placing the cart in their classroom and giving them the opportunity to see how they would use it.  I realized it was difficult for teachers to plan a lesson including the technology.  They were much more successful when I provided the equipment, and they just took the lessons they had already developed for those days and integrated the technology into what they were already doing.  I had one teacher who realized she would use a Document Camera in every class!  Now I just need to get them to see the extra features of the camera that would make their teaching so much easier.

In several instances we were able to use the SMART Airliner to take an individual assignment a student would work on and make it into a classroom assignment.  In English, we placed a worksheet under the Document Camera and then passed around the Airliner for students to digitally write the answers to the questions.  It was thoroughly enjoyed by students.  It completely changed the impact of the lesson and the teachers were really pleased with the reactions of the students to using the technology.

I have been thoroughly impressed with what many teachers in my school have done with technology in their classrooms, considering it was really an afterthought to their lessons prior to this year.  Several teachers have completely bought into the program.  Several are still working to integrate technology on a regular basis, and are improving as they get adjusted to the idea.

I am sure there are other schools out there who are implementing similar programs.  What are your schools doing?  I know many teachers use technology, but what about your school, outside your classroom?  Be interesting to see what else is going on out there.

Must See Monday #6 - Ahead - Playground for Creative Minds

As most of my readers know, I am a big fan of Prezi.  I recently wrote a post about other ways to complete lecture other than Power Point.  Upon completing that post, I discovered another option; Ahead presentation software.  It was also suggested in a comment on my Blog.  So I thought it was only appropriate to discuss it today.

Ahead is very similar to Prezi.  It has a 3D canvas for creating your presentation.  It allows you to zoom in and out on aspects of your presentation.  What I like about it compared to Prezi is that you get more options for creating your presentation, especially when it comes to fonts and text.  It bodes itself as "No Coding, No Boundaries."

Ahead is for people with more tech savvy backgrounds, but for those that are not, I highly suggest that you visit the tutorial for help creating your presentation.  Another benefit is that it gives you the option of 25 prearranged slides if you have a fear of an infinite open space to work on...might be useful for those wanting less freedom.

When creating your presentation, you create scenes, which can be put in order within your presentation.  That is how the software knows where to go in your presentation.  You can upload any file to the presentation, video, audio, picture, PDF, etc, however, it does take some time to upload the file, so you might want to upload any files to the presentation to start with, so they are ready when you need them.

It definitely takes some getting used too, but it is definitely worth looking at to help change up your normal lectures.  You could easily copy and paste from your old Power Point Presentations as well.  My suggestion, is just visit the site and play around for a while and see how you might use it....that is what i did.  When you visit the homepage, click on the arrows in the bottom of the right of your screen and go through to learn about Ahead.  Here is a screen shot of the homepage.

You can follow the company on Twitter.  I am, so that I can make recommendations for education use and licensing.  You should follow them too and make the same suggestions!

Must See Monday #4 - Cybrary Man

If it was not for my Twitter account, this is one of the websites that I probably never would have came across.  Cybraryman Internet Catalog for Educational Websites should be one of your homepages for educational related content.  Home to over 20,000+ links to resources related to education and winner of multiple online awards, Cybraryman is definitely a site worth investigating and spending some time on.

Cybraryman Internet Catalog is the work of Jerry Blumengarten.  An eductional professional with over 30 years of experience in education.  The website helps to catalog much of what educators find and look for on the Internet...all in one location.

There is a section dedicated entirely to parents which has information on bullying, safety, poverty, family, parenting, marriage planning, toys etc.  There is then a section for students with links related to every subject area as well as general information like test preparation, hobbies, college selection (which would also be good for parents these days), homework help, etc.  There then is of course the section for educators which is then broken down into areas for Staff Teacher Tools, Grade Level Classroom Organization, and Subject Areas.  There is also links here to Web 2.0 Tools, and teachable moment stuff like the Census, Black History Month, and the Winter Olympics.  Of course each page from here leads to so much more information.  There is a final section of General Interest which is general enough that I suggest you check it out for yourself.  The links here will definitely be helpful in enhancing lessons you are teaching as well as makeing you look smarter.

Anytime you need something in Education, try visiting the Cybraryman Internet Database first and see if you can find what you are looking for.

If you have a Blog, Ning, Wiki, let him know and he will add it to his collection for visitors to his website.  You can even find mine on there as well.

Must See Monday #3 - Teacher Reboot Camp

Teacher Reboot Camp is a blog and the work of Shelly Terrell.  What I like most about the blog is the interaction that takes place within her post.  You can definitely tell that she spends a lot of time thinking of what she wants to use her blog for.  Shelly Terrell is one of the co-founders of the #edchat on Twitter.  Every Sunday a poll is provided for educators on Twitter to vote on a topic they would like to talk about via Twitter.  Then on Tuesday, the winning topic from the poll is discussed via Twitter two times during the day.  12pm and 7pm EST.  The 12pm time is for our friends overseas in Europe.  The 7pm time is for people in the United States.  I rarely get a chance to participate because of my schedule, but reading the tweets later is still very valuable.  If interested just search for the #edchat hashtag on Sunday and Tuesday.

One aspect of Ms. Terrell's blog is her 30 Goals; A grand idea.  Everyday or so a new goal for visitors to her blog to complete.  It is a great way for those new to the blogging landscape to participate and start the journey to blogging.  It also is a great tool for self evaluation.  Instead of trying to think of a New Years Resolution, she has provided 30 for you!  30 Goals is not just for those that are new to blogging either. It is a great way for experienced bloggers to share their experiences and expertise.

I highly recommend visiting her site and attempting as many of the 30 goals as possible as well as searching through her blog and seeing what useful information is available for you to use.  The blog is organized in a manner that is easy to follow as well as read.

Must See Monday #2 - Free Technology 4 Teachers

Let me start off by saying that Free Technology 4 Teachers shares some of the best resources for teachers, no matter what subject matter you teach.  Free Technology for Teachers is the project of Mr. Richard Byrne; which you can follow on Twitter, and I highly recommend that you do so.  Mr. Byrne is a Google Certified Teacher and has been posting Technology for teachers since November of 2007.  Is it a coincidence that I started this blog in November as well? Hmm...probably not since my started 2 years later, and that is beside the point, since Mr. Byrne was an inspiration for my blog.

Now, why is this site a Must See...well, it is really more than a Must See, it is a Must Follow.  So far 15,000 other people do.  Daily post about Web 2.0 and other technology resources that teachers can use; and every single post I have read has always been free...hence the title of the blog.  Over 2600 post to date with technology related resources.  Do the math...that is over 100 a month!  Man, and he does all this on top of teaching...Kudos!

Free Technology 4 Teachers was nominated and won The Best Resource Sharing Blog and The Best Individual Blog in the 2009 Edublog Awards.  That makes him a Repeat Champ since he won The Best Resource Sharing Blog in 2008 as well.  You can Become a Fan on Facebook as well...and let me give Mr. Byrne credit for giving me the idea to create a Fan Page as well for this blog.  Any links he adds go to a Favorite List that he has created based on the resource in each post.  So find your subject matter and see what can help you in your classroom.

Two documents on Free Technology 4 Teachers that I suggest you view are digital magazines created on Yudu.  I have posted about the Twelve Essentials for Technology Integration before and they are a great tool for beginners trying to integrate technology.  He also has another publication, Beyond Google, which discusses "15+ tools and strategies for better Web Search Results."  It appears he has a thing for Green Laptops though because both front pages have Green Laptops.  I personally prefer red (Go Louisville Cardinals!)

While typing this post, Mr. Byrne typed another post about technology.  Keep up the great work for all the educators out there!

Must See Monday #1 - Larry Ferlazzo Links

Larry Ferlazzo is an English and Social Studies teacher from California.  Mr. Ferlazzo has had over 140,000 visitors to his webpage and has been nominated and received numerous awards for his work with educational technology.  His main focus is ELL, ESL, and EFL, but he has by no means limited himself to just those subject matters.

His main website linked above is so full of information that trying to describe all that is available in this blog post would be virtually impossible...but I will try my best.  First and foremost, he links to articles that he has written and that have been published in numerous publications covering a multitude of topics.  He also has a Teacher's Page which is filled with links to various resources that are broken down by topic and subject.  On this page you can also sign up for a newsletter which comes from resources he shares on his blog (more on his blog later).  On the main page are more links based on subject matter (Social Studies, English, Math Science, and ARW) and those links are broken down based on the curriculum being covered.  When you get some time, browse through the website and see what you find of interest, something tells me you won't leave not gaining something you liked...I didn't.

Mr. Ferlazzo also has a Blog that has been nominated for multiple Edublog awards, finishing in the top 3.  Over 5000 people subscribe to his Blog.  His blog has over 8000 links...yes, thats right, 8000!!!  What I like about the Blog is he has TONS of categories which makes looking through the links easy.  He also has broken them down into a "Best of Series," which include Month, Year, and Subject Specific.  The Subject Specific are then broken down into categories under each Subject making it even easier to search through the links.  He also has a "My Favorite Posts" and a "Most Popular Posts" sections which are some of the best.  They are also not all resources; they are interviews and articles as well.  As I said above, something tells me you won't leave this blog without finding something you like.

Mr. Ferlazzo has another blog about Engaging Parents in School.  I have not had a thorough opportunity to browse through it very much, but with a future in administration it will definately be one that I maintain interest and keep an eye on.  Along with that Blog, Mr. Ferlazzo has also written a book titled "Building Parent Engagement in Schools," which you can purchase from Amazon.com, but you can get more information about the book and a discount on the book here.

Are you a member of Twitter?  If so you can follow Mr. Ferlazzo on Twitter.  If you don't use Twitter, I suggest you read my previous post about why you should.