May 2009
May 31, 2009
Online Help
Quote of the day
The voices in my head may not be real, but they have some good ideas!
Computer Payment
Flips&DigitalCams
We just purchased a flip cam for the cyber school this resource will be useful.
Teaching and Learning in the Digital Age » Flips&DigitalCams
Implementing Web 2.0
A lot of organizations are struggling with what to do with a host of costly, high-maintenance technologies that they have introduced in the last decade, hoping these technologies would produce (a) improved internal productivity, and (b) better relationships with customers. They have achieved neither objective. So they're stuck with some very large and expensive lemons,
A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO IMPLEMENTING WEB 2.0 (AKA SOCIAL NETWORKING TOOLS) IN YOUR ORGANIZATION
Royalty free stuff
A whole list of royalty free stuff
Teaching and Learning in the Digital Age » Royalty free stuff
The 19 Best Elearning Blogs - Articulate - Word of Mouth Blog
From learning theories to content design, metadata to LMSes, survey data to industry trends, these blogs have it all.
This list represents some of the more active e-learning blogs I've found or already read regularly. Each of these is great in its own way -- be it the in-depth analysis, the industry headlines, the technical prowess -- but all will get you thinking about learning and technology in new ways.
The 19 Best Elearning Blogs - Articulate - Word of Mouth Blog
May 30, 2009
The Excellent Inevitability of Online Courses
As students sign up for online courses in record numbers, faculty members and administrators on campuses across the country are considering what place such courses should have in their curricula. Each institution's answer goes to the heart of its mission, and the examination process involves debate and discussion about how that mission will be carried out using the newest technology.
Opponents of online instruction believe that traditional, face-to-face teaching is always better. A colleague of mine, wary of caving in to students' demands for online courses, remarked recently that "students demand free beer, too; that doesn't mean we should give it to them."
The Excellent Inevitability of Online Courses - Chronicle.com
SCCS Marvin
Quote of the day
God is watching us, the least we can do is be entertaining.
Birds and Mice
The Digital Student
Here's a recent presentation Mike Qaissaunee gave, Thursday May 14th, to kickoff one of their end of year faculty days.He wasn't able to record it live, so he recorded it and posted it.
Frequently Asked Q: Teaching and Learning - The Digital Student
May 29, 2009
Cyber School Marking
Quote of the day
Laugh at your problems, everybody else does.
Check my mail
May 28, 2009
Developing English 10
Quote of the day
Crowded elevators smell different to midgets.
Focus
May 27, 2009
Cyber School Learning Communities
Quote of the day
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
Internet down
May 26, 2009
Introducing Cyber School
Quote of thd day
If 4 out of 5 people SUFFER from diarrhea... does that mean that one enjoys it?
Internet crash
May 25, 2009
Flickr Perversion
I'd love to hear from you. While openness will be a continued theme in my educational life, I continue to rethink these philosophies on the most personal of levels. It is also my belief in openness that guides me in telling this story. I believe that we need to face these issues head on, inform others, raise awareness, and work to solve these problems together.
open thinking » Flickr Perversion
Teen Brains Wired to Make Lousy Decisions
Ever scratch your head and wonder what your teen was thinking when they made a decision that was clearly going to have negative consequences? You saw the right choice; why couldn't they?
Two reasons: teen brains aren't fully grown up, and teens use a different part of the brain to make decisions than you do.
Get used to scratching your head for a few more years. Your teen's "good decision making" part of the brain won't mature until they are in their late twenties. This slow growing part of the brain is called the prefrontal cortex. Think of it as the CEO of the brain. It is responsible for rational, logical decision making, future planning and understanding consequences. Since this part of the brain is still maturing, teen brains' are wired to rely more another area of the brain to make decisions. It's called the limbic system.
Teen Brains Wired to Make Lousy Decisions [Guest Post] | Radical Parenting
High School Learning Communities
Quote of the day
The difference between an oral thermometer and a rectal thermometer is in the taste.
Online too much
May 24, 2009
Cyber School Growth
Lonely Dog
Quote of the day
"The formula for success is quite simple: double your rate of failure." -Thomas J. Watson, Sr. (founder of IBM)
May 23, 2009
Quote of the day
There are two kinds of worries -- those you can do something about and those you can't. Don't spend any time on the latter.-- Duke Ellington
Getting to know your students
Scroll Up
May 22, 2009
How many full time cyber students
Quote of the day
Success is not the result of spontaneous combustion; you must set yourself on fire
Neal Peart
Mouse Driver
Probe into teacher Twitter posts
A Scottish teacher who posted messages discussing her pupils on a social networking website is being investigated by her employers.
BBC NEWS | UK | Scotland | Glasgow, Lanarkshire and West | Probe into teacher Twitter posts
Young People Are All Right
The Dumbest Generation is an assault on people under 30. In chapter after chapter, the author, a professor of English at Emory University, rails at how little they know, how little they read, and how their fascination with screens (television and computer) fails to produce learning. What they write is full of "bad grammar, teen colloquialisms and shallow ironies." Books are losing out. Unlike many, the author worries about the consequences less for the country's economic future than for its intellectual future. "We need a steady stream...of strong military leaders and wise political leaders, dedicated journalists and demanding teachers, judges and muckrakers, scholars and critics and artists." The problem is not so much school as it is what young people do in their private time: their "social and leisure dispositions are killing the culture, and when they turn 40 and realize what they failed to learn it will be too late."
Hoover Institution - Education Next - Young People Are All Right
Baby Boomers, Generation X and Millennials are next!
I came across this very well put together video a little while ago. It is about the generation that is moving into power as you read this: Generation We.
Baby Boomers, Generation X and Millennials are next! | Daniel Staemmler
May 21, 2009
TADO Survey
Here is what happens when you ask students about a blog...interesting results.
122 students completed the survey.
1.) Have you heard of Teaching and Developing Online Blog
Yes.... 17.1%
No...... 82.1%
2.) Do you think teaching online is different than teaching in a face to face classroom?
Yes.....86.2%
No.......4.1%
Not sure....8.9%
3.) Do you think teaching online is easier than teaching face to face?
Yes.....17.1%
No.......47.2%
Maybe...35%
4.) Teaching and Developing Online Blog can be seen at: Http://blog.scs.sk.ca/tado Click on it. Do you like the color theme?
Yes... 44.7%
No....54.5%
5.) Are you a member of facebook?
Yes... 80.5%
No..... 14.6%
Not Anymore.... 4.1%
6.) If you are a member of facebook would you join the Teaching and Developing Online FAn group to add a picture to the blog
Yes... 9.8%
No ... 54.5%
Maybe....35.0%
7.) Do you have some photos that you think would qualify as a photo of the day?
Yes.... 14.6%
No...... 52.0%
Maybe..... 35.0%
8.) Would you be interested in surfing through your friend's images on facebook. Becoming a TADO curator and you could select the good images and ask the photographer (facebook friends) if they would add it to the group.
Yes...... 18.7%
No......... 49.6%
Maybe..... 30.9%
Dinosaurs for Kids at Kids Dig Dinos
I created this site about dinosaurs for kids because, let's face it, dinosaurs are cool! It's almost like someone invented dinosaurs for kids! There's the flyers like the pteradactyl, meat eaters like T-rex, herbivores (they just eat vegetables like plants and things) like the apotosaurus, and sea creatures like the kronosaurus! I like the predators the best, like the velociraptor and the Troodon. If you don't know what a Troodon is yet, I'll tell you all about them on this site.
Dinosaurs for Kids at Kids Dig Dinos
70+ Videos for Tech. & Media Literacy
Over the past few years, I have been collecting interesting Internet videos that would be appropriate for lessons and presentations, or personal research, related to technological and media literacy. Here are 70+ videos organized into various sub-categories. These videos are of varying quality, cross several genres, and are of varied suitability for classroom use.
open thinking » 70+ Videos for Tech. & Media Literacy
100 Helpful Web Tools for Every Kind of Learner
For those unfamiliar with the term, a learning style is a way in which an individual approaches learning. Many people understand material much better when it is presented in one format, for example a lab experiment, than when it is presented in another, like an audio presentation. Determining how you best learn and using materials that cater to this style can be a great way to make school and the entire process of acquiring new information easier and much more intuitive. Here are some great tools that you can use to cater to your individual learning style, no matter what that is.
100 Helpful Web Tools for Every Kind of Learner | College@Home
The Challenge of Training the PlayStation Generation
The Challenge of Training the PlayStation Generation
We now live in a multiplex world of many voices and ideas, mediated by the internet. At the forefront in using digital technology is the e-learning industry.
I'd forgotten about that.
That is to say, I'd forgotten that I had written those sentences until my quarterly copy of T&D Magazine came through the mail the other day. Included in the magazine was a short article I'd contributed to the publication on workplace training, e-learning, and one of the challenges organizations are about to encounter.
Recession notwithstanding, the PlayStation Generation (Digital Natives, Millennials, Generation Z: pay your money and take your choice) is beginning to enter the workforce, and the trickle of TandDSpring09people will grow to a flood over the next decade. These workers will test the skills and expertise of training professionals in ways never encountered in the past, and quite unlike the demands the current economic unpleasantness is making on L&D people.
Like other generations, the PlayStation Generation is "shaped by the events ...and trends of its time" (McCrindle, M., 2008). In particular, the emergence of internet-based technologies and synchronous communication systems including e-mail, txtng, and IM, as well as new media used through websites like YouTube, and the (ever-growing) range of social networking sites and influence of the Read/Write Web seem to be a characteristic of this generation's reputation for intense peer orientation and their desire for instant gratification.
In their 2008 text, Connecting to the Net.Generation: What Higher Education Professionals Need to Know About Today's Students, Reynol Junco and Jeanna Mastrodicasa found that in a survey of 7,705 college students in the US:
* 97% own a computer
* 97% have downloaded music and other media using peer-to-peer file sharing
* 94% own a cell phone
* 76% use instant messaging and social networking sites
* 75% of college students have a Facebook account[18]
* 60% own some type of portable music and/or video device such as an iPod
* 49% regularly download music and other media using peer-to-peer file sharing
* 34% use websites as their primary source of news
* 28% author a blog and 44% read blogs
* 15% of IM users are logged on 24 hours a day/7 days a week
(I think it's time to use the quote from my article - don't you?)
It's clear that we now live in a multiplex world of many voices and ideas, mediated by the internet. At the forefront in using these digital technology is the e-learning industry.
To meet the challenge of workplace generational diversity, L&D professionals must embrace the knowledge that change is coming, look to the training tools and technologies that already exist, and be prepared to embrace innovation in organizational learning. Understanding the demographics of the 21st Century workforce should influence future training techniques; if you're smart, you'll be developing training strategies and approaches already.
Some approaches to consider:
* Understand the importance of the peer group
* Incorporate viral marketing or word-of mouth/ referral strategies into learning.
* Use an anecdotal style / storytelling to engage learners
* Use scenarios, risks, and consequences to develop skills, build cognitive awareness, and likely outcomes to events. Dealing in theory, raw data, or pure statistics will not motivate this group of workers to learn.
As the 2008 US presidential election demonstrated, everyone from GenX onwards is technologically savvy (if not quite literate) and think nothing of accessing trends and movements online. They are not inclined to hang around for traditional, authoritarian leaders (or trainers) and the government (or company) to tell them what to do; they have decided to "get on with it."
I predict that one of the consequences of the current economic crisis is that many older employees will choose to leave or be forced out of the workforce. Here in Ireland we've already seen unskilled and semi-skilled people losing their jobs by the tens of thousands, as both they and the firms they work for have problems adapting to the new economic reality.
This story is unfolding all around the Western Hemisphere.
The chances are that the industries that supported these people will go to low cost base economies and will never return. The older, Baby Boomer generation-aged manpower than supplied these businesses will be hard-pressed to find full-time work in the same economic sector again.
If, as an L&D professional, you fail to adapt your training strategies to the needs of the new, diverse workforce, start planning a career change, because you might find your skills as relevant as those of other obsolete professions, such as chimney sweeps, match girls, gurl hurriers, and stagecoach tilters: the workplace of the future won't hang around for if you can't adapt to its requirements.
________
References:
McCrindle, M. (2008) The ABC of XYZ: Generational Diversity at Work. McCrindle Research. [Internet] Available from: http://www.quayappointments.com.au/email/040213/images/generational_diversity_at_work.pdf Accessed 10 May 2009.
Junco, R., & Mastrodicasa, J. (2007) Connecting to the Net.Generation: What Higher Education Professionals Need to Know About Today's Students. NASPA.
Map of Online Communities
Although dated it is a neat idea..
Why cyber school resources are free
Social Networks that matter
Scholars, advertisers and political activists see massive online social networks as a representation of social interactions that can be used to study the propagation of ideas, social bond dynamics and viral marketing, among others. But the linked structures of social networks do not reveal actual interactions among people. Scarcity of attention and the daily rhythms of life and work makes people default to interacting with those few that matter and that reciprocate their attention. A study of social interactions within Twitter reveals that the driver of usage is a sparse and hidden network of connections underlying the "declared" set of friends and followers.
Dance Mat Typing
Start here... Meet the gang and learn to type. Make your way through all 12 stages and you can be a top typist.
BBC - Schools - Dance Mat Typing - Home
Any key
Quote of the day
Old Principals never die, they just lose their faculties.
Bill Austin
May 20, 2009
SCCS Staff Avatars
The staff avatar contest has ended. The winner was our own Sandra Climenhaga upon hearing about her victory she responded with:
Yes VICTORY IS MINE!!!!!
Ah but alas, I cannot take the credit on my own, the guesses were the accumulation of much investigation, brain storming, obsessing, and perhaps a tad bit of manipulation, by myself and my comrades on the main floor of the pod.
When does the new car get here? We decided we would take turns with it on a 3 month rotation schedule. We are SO EXCITED!!!
I guess I should inform her that the first prize was not a car but braggin rights only.
Plug Into The Cloud
Microsoft VP and its former CIO Ron Markezich is participating in a panel discussion on cloud computing today at Massachusetts Institute of Technology's CIO Symposium. Markezich will share five tips on how to get started in the cloud, based on the experiences of Microsoft's early cloud customers.
Microsoft's own cloud services--Windows Azure and the Azure Services Platform--aren't yet available, but CEO Steve Ballmer has said Microsoft will deliver the first of those services later this year. In the meantime, demand for Microsoft's business productivity suite offered as a service--the "Online" versions of Exchange, SharePoint, Office Communications, and Live Meeting--is strong, Markezich says. A few weeks ago, Microsoft expanded availability of those online apps to 20 countries.
Microsoft's Beginner's Guide To Cloud Computing - Plug Into The Cloud - InformationWeek
Save schools money, expand learning time
New research at the University of Florida predicts more public school students in kindergarten through 12th grade will take classes online, have longer school days and more of them in the next decade. Academic performance should improve and schools could save money--an especially appealing pitch when budgets are tight.
While distance education over the Internet is already widespread at colleges and universities, UF education al technology researchers are offering some of the first hard evidence documenting the potential cost-savings of virtual schooling in K-12 schools.
Online classes can save schools money, expand learning time | News & Publications
Perceptions of Distance Learning Among Faculty of a College of Education
Students and employers laud distance education for its usefulness in overcoming obstacles like location and family and work schedules. College and university administrators hail its cost effectiveness and its usefulness in facilitating enrollment increases. However, faculty members do not necessarily share this enthusiasm. Since the role of faculty members is crucial to the successful implementation of any education program, it is important to understand why faculty members may be reluctant to embrace the non-traditional modes of course delivery standard to distance education. In order to better understand this dynamic, a qualitative study was conducted among faculty of a College of Education at a public regional university located in south Texas to ascertain faculty perception of value and viability of distance education in their context. The results of this study indicate that faculty members studied do not uniformly recognize or embrace the use of distance education. These findings are discussed and recommendations for this College of Education are derived from the analysis.
Perceptions of Distance Learning Among Faculty of a College of Education
Prime numbers
Quote of the day
To succeed in life, you need two things: ignorance and confidence.
Mark Twain
Cyber school Fish Bowl
May 19, 2009
Podcast trumps lecture in one college study
The ability to pause and rewind podcast lectures gave the upper hand to college students in a recent study that compared the performance of students who attended a lecture in person and those who viewed it from iTunes University.
The study, "iTunes University and the Classroom: Can Podcasts Replace Professors?," was conducted at the State University of New York Fredonia. It called for some introductory psychology students to watch a recorded lecture available online and others to attend a traditional classroom lecture.
Top News - Podcast trumps lecture in one college study
The Facebook Promise: Cool Or Just Cold
Do you Facebook? Why do you Facebook? How many friends do you have? How many Facebook friends do you have? Is there a difference? Should there be a difference?
We could have quite a conversation on these four questions, if only we could actually converse. Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and all the other "social networking" sites might be signs that we aren't talking much anymore, or, worse yet, could be contributing factors to the absence of meaningful communication.
Russell Bishop: The Facebook Promise: Cool Or Just Cold
HELP Team - Home
fter two+ incredible years of working with K-12 schools, districts, educators, education leaders and elected officials, the Hurricane Education Leadership Program has decided as a group to put the HELP Team on the back burner. This success of this group has been documented to support quick revitalization should another disaster strike.
Each of us whom have been involved have worked together to accomplish some tremendous things for students in need and provided much needed and wonderful support for the students of the Gulf Coast.
Indispensibletools ICT Tools for Teachers
The following list of ICT tools was crowd sourced from individual educationalists and not companies when the question 'What Indispensible ICT tools do you use in education' was asked and is not meant to be exhaustive in any way.
indispensibletools / FrontPage
The Benefits of Distraction and Overstimulation
I'm going to pause here, right at the beginning of my riveting article about attention, and ask you to please get all of your precious 21st-century distractions out of your system now.
The Benefits of Distraction and Overstimulation -- New York Magazine
Free Learning - Educational Resources
Welcome to the new BC gateway to Open Educational Resources.
Here you will find FREE TO USE learning resources that you can use to supplement your own course materials or learning. Some of these are from BC-based projects while others are from Open Educational Resource projects from around the world.
Free Learning - Educational Resources » Welcome!
The Hero Factory
Now this is just fun.
The File Cabinet
A great collection of teacher tools
Why we build cyber schools?
Built my first movie on xtra normal...check out this cool tool.
thisissand.com
thisissand.com is a website for play. It changes the pixels on the screen into digital sand that can be used as building material for cosmic landscapes, Clemens-style sand paintings, mandalas and so on.
25 Elearning Tools 2009
This is the 2009 version of this popular resource. The 2009 Toolbox contains 25 categories of learning tool. Within each tool category are the names of the most popular tools from the emerging 2009 Top Tools for Learning, as selected by learning professionals worldwide. The majority of tools in the Toolbox are FREE tools, although a number of commercial tools are included. Some of the tools are desktop tools; others are online services.
Smash Forehead
Quote of the day
If you judge people, you have no time to love them.
Mother Teresa
Using First Year teachers
May 18, 2009
Save paper & ink printing only what you want
Tired of printing web pages only to find your printout is full of ads, empty space and other junk you don't want?
PrintWhatYouLike is a free online editor that lets you format any web page for printing in seconds!
Save paper & ink printing only what you want « PrintWhatYouLike.com
Evaluating Web Pages
Evaluating web pages skillfully requires you to do two things at once:
Train your eye and your fingers to employ a series of techniques that help you quickly find what you need to know about web pages;
Train your mind to think critically, even suspiciously, by asking a series of questions that will help you decide how much a web page is to be trusted.
This page is organized to combine the two techniques into a process that begins with looking at your search results from a search engine or other source, follows through by investigating the content of page, and extends beyond the page to what others may say about the page or its author(s).
Evaluating Web Pages: Techniques to Apply & Questions to Ask
Scholastic Search sites
Search Engine Watch - http://searchenginewatch.com/reports/article.php/2156451
Greg Note's Search Engine Showdown - http://www.searchengineshowdown.com/
Major Search Engines http://www.unl.edu/libr/inet/search.shtml
U.C. Berkeley Library - http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Evaluate.html
Google: Book Search - http://books.google.com/
Google Scholar - http://scholar.google.com
Google Government Search - http://www.google.com/ig/usgov
Ask search engine - http://www.ask.com
Clusty search engine - http://clusty.com
Yahoo! - http://search.yahoo.com
Google Alerts Service - http://www.google.com/alerts
Bates Information Service Tip of the Month - http://www.batesinfo.com/tip.html
Website Informatin - www.alexa.com
United States Department of the Defense - http://www.defenselink.mil/sitemap.html
Loughborough University - http://www.loughborough.ac.uk/computing/access/map.html
Google PageRank system - http://www.google.com/technology/
ResearchBuzz! newsletter - http://www.researchbuzz.com/
About ResearchBuzz! - http://www.researchbuzz.org/wp/admin/about-researchbuzz/
PicFindr - Search the free-stock-photosphere
A very cool search tool for finding free pixs.
PicFindr - Search the free-stock-photosphere (microstock too!)
:)
Quote of the day
Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.
Mother Teresea
Cyber School Discipline
May 17, 2009
Panic
Quote of the day
"I want growth more than I want ensured success"
Patrick Combs
Cyber School Administrator's Role
May 16, 2009
CEL Phone
Quote of the day
Never let someone tell you what you can or cannot do, only you have the authority to determine that.
Kayla from Twitter
Cyber Tracker Teachers View
May 15, 2009
Phones
Welcome to MyDinos!
Go guesting, play games, make buddies, train Dynamals, travel through time and more...
Cyber school issues 2003
Saskatoon Catholic Cyber School September 19, 2003
These are just a few of the things simmering here in the cyber school. I am not sure who I need to contact to assist us in making some of these happen. Some are world-wide issues, some are provincial-wide, some are city-wide, some are system-wide, some are school-wide and some are building issues. So, I sent it to everyone who might be able to help. It none of these issues pertain to your portfolio, I hope it was a good read :)
If you need clarification on any of these, please do not hesitate to come by and visit. You can see the new improved cyber school, the renos are almost done.
- Challenges arising from Cyber School -The Next Generation Document
- Grade 4/5 computer content (elementary school policy and procedures. Boklaschuk, Kelli wondering how to proceed has 15 elementary school classes interested ) Recommendation 1.0 Cyber school Next Generation
- Build parish communities through Cyber School. (Interest has been shown) Recommendation 3.0 Cyber school Next Generation
- Building Christian Ethics Hub (Youth minister is interested) Recommendation 3.0 Cyber School Next Generation
- Advertise for the out of school students ( need to design a game plan, could be money maker) Recommendation 4.0 Cyber school Next Generation
- Adult education (many requests, can we get permission to teach them or partner with Siast) Recommendation 5.0 Cyber school Next Generation
- International Student Overlap (can we work better with this program) Recommendation 6.0 Cyber school Next Generation
- Native Course for the north ( had a person come down and visit would like to know how to proceed) Recommendation 7.0 Cyber school Next Generation
- Blog (syndicated e-newsletter) approval (online community and conference) Recommendation 9.0 Cyber school Next Generation
- Build F2F school communities through Cyber School. (Holy Cross has approached us to develop this) Recommendation 9.0 Cyber school Next Generation
- Saskatoon Business College Contracts (needs to get it signed, proposal sent in on June 17, 2003 . Other businesses waiting to see how this works) Recommendation 10.0 Cyber school Next Generation
Challenges around day to day functioning of the cyber school.
First Secretary (get one hired)
Second Secretary (see if we can keep the above)
Own school (is this in the plan, principal, assistant principal etc.)
Staff President (does being our own school, free up grant money for this, department head)
Photocopy Machine (need to see if we can hook this up to the internet. Contract issues, missed on original order)
Air Conditioner Noise and downstairs machine (health issue)
Printer for Downstairs (not needed if the photocopy issue can be resolved)
Mailing address (would make the administration of snail mail easier)
Advertise the Christian Ethics courses ( need to let people know)
Policy for Hybrid courses (high school F2F courses using cyber school material)
Christian Ethics in our high schools (Can our students take this subject?)
Developers Contracts (do we need one)
8 Ways to Build Websites (Not Blogs) for Free
I am frequently asked by colleagues and readers, "can you help me set up a blog, a wiki, or whatever?" I am not paraphrasing that question, I'm really asked to help set up a "whatever." The reason the "whatever" gets thrown in there is because teachers and people in general have heard the terms blog, wiki, website but they're not sure of the differences between them.
Free Technology for Teachers: 8 Ways to Build Websites (Not Blogs) for Free
WHY WOULD TEACHERS WANT TO USE TWITTER?
Alec Couros has a great Saskatchewan sense of humour
Learning with 'e's: Here's to the crazy ones
Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently.
They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo.
You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. But the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward.
And while some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.
Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.
Learning with 'e's: Here's to the crazy ones
Cloud Computing
Cloud computing -- the creation of large data centers that can be dynamically provisioned, configured, and reconfigured to deliver services in a scalable manner -- places enormous capacity and power in the hands of users. As an emerging new technology, however, cloud computing also raises significant questions about resources, economics, the environment, and the law. Many of these questions relate to geographical considerations related to the data centers that underlie the clouds: physical location, available resources, and jurisdiction. While the metaphor of the cloud evokes images of dispersion, cloud computing actually represents centralization of information and computing resources in data centers, raising the specter of the potential for corporate or government control over information if there is insufficient consideration of these geographical issues, especially jurisdiction. This paper explores the interrelationships between the geography of cloud computing, its users, its providers, and governments.
Cyber School Cybertracker
May 14, 2009
Solitaire
CNIE 2009 Concludes
CNIE 2009 Concludes « Virtual High School Meanderings
The conference was held a one heck of a nice hotel in Ottawa. After all the Fairmont Chateau Laurier Hotel was good enough for Mulroney (who we saw in the lobby) while he was testifing at the Oliphant Commission.
The conference had a good program filled with good speakers but did not have WIFI which did not add to a real good backend with twitter chatter and bloggin etc.
The second day had no lunch and only one hour break which did not allow us to get back in time for the 1:00 session.
Did some great networking and did get some great flip video content which I will post in the next couple of day. Overall the trip to the capital was a worthwhile venture.
CNIE 2009 Concludes
Just a quick note, the 2009 annual conference of the Canadian Network for Innovation in Education wrapped up yesterday in Ottawa, Ontario. I few weeks ago I posted an entry that outlined the K-12 Online Learning Presentations at CNIE 2009.
CNIE 2009 Concludes « Virtual High School Meanderings
Quote of the day
Just because you're not paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you...
Cyber Planets Introduced
May 13, 2009
Microwave
Quote of the day
There's no idea that's so good that you can't ruin it with a few well-placed idiots -Scott Adams
Cyber School Counseling
ZaidLearn: ZaidLearn's Master List
To avoid such scenarios happening again (at least to me!), I have created a 'Master List' below containing all the juiciest resource lists compiled on ZaidLearn. Trust me; some of these resource lists are really yummy. Interestingly, some of these resource lists have been referenced by several University/College/School courses around the world including United States, Canada, England, Australia, and South-Africa. Actually, a couple of the resource lists below have been embedded or referred (linked) to from more than a hundred sites or blogs out there (try to guess which one, or Google them to figure it out). It is really amusing and motivating (to the ego).
ZaidLearn: ZaidLearn's Master List
Ten Commandments of eLearning Design
Cath Ellis has a great post outlining her Ten Commandments of eLearning. These basic principles, if adhered to, can make a huge difference in whether or not a project will be successful. These principles apply whether you are designing an eLearning course or introducing a new tool for your learners (ex. a blog, wiki, discussion board, etc.).
Here's a summary of the Ten Commandments, but be sure to read Cath's post for detailed information on each of the items:
Ten Commandments of eLearning Design « eLearning Weekly
Google Apps For Education
Google Apps is free for schools and has no ads. It allows students and teachers to create documents(Word, Excel, PowerPoint), share calendars, email, chat, create web pages and more. It is secure as everything stays within the registered domain and cannot be accessed by people who do not have a school login. It is an excellent tool to provide elearning. It works on any computer including Macs.
Inside Microsoft's 'Future Home'
I want this now....please....please
BBC NEWS | Technology | Inside Microsoft's 'Future Home'
May 12, 2009
Children
More Search Options
Our first announcement today is a new set of features that we call Search Options, which are a collection of tools that let you slice and dice your results and generate different views to find what you need faster and easier. Search Options helps solve a problem that can be vexing: what query should I ask?
Official Google Blog: More Search Options and other updates from our Searchology event
Why Kids Cheat and How to Stop It
These days, it seems like cheating is everywhere, from the baseball diamond to the classroom. With stories of professional dishonesty and performance-enhancing drugs permeating the adult world, it's no wonder that studies show academic cheating among children and teens on the rise. But while cheating on a test or plagiarizing an essay may seem a quick way to get a leg up, students are actually holding themselves back from the type of meaningful learning that will serve them best in life.
Why Kids Cheat and How to Stop It
Following the plans
Some of these pictures made me laugh.
Underforty: Contractor awards, for doing what was in the plans even if it didn't make any sense.
Edu4U - DELL COMMUNITY
This is an interesting blog with lots of good ideas, and tools...check it out.
TubeChop - Chop YouTube Videos
TubeChop allows you to easily chop a funny or interesting section from any YouTube video and share it.
TubeChop - Chop YouTube Videos
Nine great reasons why teachers should use Twitter
What's the point of Twitter? Why should educators get involved? What difference does using Twitter make?
Here are some answers that you might like to share.
Nine great reasons why teachers should use Twitter | Laura Walker
Prepare for Swine Flu Pandemic
Many traditional schools are considering online learning alternatives as a backup in case Swine Flu outbreaks necessitate campus closures.
Schools Consider Distance Learning Alternatives to Prepare for Swine Flu Pandemic
Quote of the day
"We are not here merely to make a living. We are here to enrich the world." - Woodrow Wilson
Prezi - The zooming presentation editor
Georgen Siemens used this for his keynote at CNIE 2009. Create a map of your ideas, images, videos, then show overview, zoom to details, amaze, convince, take the day. And it is very simple to use.
Prezi - The zooming presentation editor
I'm Not Changing My Mind About Cell Phones...
Please, do not ban cell phones from schools! Instead, use these examples of poor behavior to teach children to use their phones (and other technologies) responsibly and appropriately. Teach children the positive uses of technology so that they respect the power they hold in their hands. Instead of eliminating cell phone use in school, use cell phones more in school. Teach children how they can take and send pictures that relate to the curriculum, that have merit, and that show creativity. Give children the freedom to explore the uses of technology with the proper guidance and instruction. I believe that once kids respect the technology, the examples of irresponsibility, cyberbullying, and "sexting" will diminish.
I'm Not Changing My Mind About Cell Phones... « The Principal and Interest
Digital Research Tools
This wiki collects information about tools and resources that can help scholars (particularly in the humanities and social sciences) conduct research more efficiently or creatively. Whether you need software to help you manage citations, author a multimedia work, or analyze texts, Digital Research Tools will help you find what you're looking for. We provide a directory of tools organized by research activity, as well as reviews of select tools in which we not only describe the tool's features, but also explore how it might be employed most effectively by researchers.
Keewaytinook Internet High School
KiHS is a program which allows students to remain in their home community while taking a rich variety of ministry inspected courses toward their high school diploma. This year we have partnered with Mishkeegogamang and will have set up 2 sites in that community by the middle of September. We also have reopened our classroom in Fort Severn. We have also accespted students enrolling from satellite sites from different parts of the province. Our staff are excited about starting this new year and are keeping very busy keeping up with all the demands of new registrations and all else that goes with the beginnings of a new school year.
Keewaytinook Internet High School
Facebook user poked - by the courts
Chatting with "friends" on social networking sites could have legal implications and turn Facebook users into their own worst enemies.
Facebook user poked - by the courts
A Firm Foundation
George Siemens keynote at the CNIE Conference 2009. Makes you think check it out.
Cyber School Resource Collecting
May 11, 2009
Wife
Quote of the day
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it. --George Bernard Shaw
Cyber School Collaboration
May 10, 2009
Cyber School Chapel and Priest
Husband
Quote of the day
"Sharing is the nature of creation, it doesn't happen in isolation. No one creates in a vacuum. Everything comes from something else."G.Gill
May 9, 2009
Cyber School Challenges
Spam
Is Real-time the Future of the Web?
It's clear that the Web has altered how we as a society consume information. Not only has Internet communication made information more accessible, but social media has made it easier to organize, filter, and most of all, create. Yet with innovations like Twitter and microblogging, we're reaching a point where the flow of information has become so heavy that the only way to really keep track of it is via real-time web tools.
Is Real-time the Future of the Web?
Quote of the day
"Those who dance are thought insane by those who can't hear the music." George Carlin Why am I surrounded by those who can't hear the music?
May 8, 2009
Quote of the day
No matter how relaxed your manner, or how casual your tone, you can't just come out and ask someone what gender they are.
Busy Registration Times
Called for Dinner
Teaching Generation Tech
Today I had to tell one my male students that it was a bit awkward that his hands repeatedly fidget with something in his pocket below the desk. If you're now horrified (because I am, in fact, a high school teacher), don't worry, it's just a cell phone.
However, to many educators, the cell phone is the bane of our professional existence. My school has a no cell phone policy that is completely ignored by students and heavily debated by faculty. These devices are everywhere, either hanging out of the pockets of their low-slung jeans or glued between their ear and their shoulder.
Teaching Generation Tech: Is this ringing in my pants bothering you?
The Net Gen and Web 2.0
"Baby boomers... are embracing popular consumer technology applications nearly 20 times faster than younger generations. Compared to a year ago, Gen Y consumers between the ages of 18 and 24, are decelerating their use of consumer electronics and related services including social networking, blogging, listening to podcasts and posting video on the Internet. Yet, there was a 67 percent increase among baby boomers reading blogs or listening to podcasts."
Net Gen Skeptic: The Net Gen and Web 2.0
Project based Learning
Project Based Learning (PBL) is a great way to teach students content, 21st century skills, and engage them in something fun and educational
How to get Started with Project Based Learning by David Andrade
SMART Board Templates
Several templates on this page are developed only for SMART Notebook Software 10. If you are still running SMART Notebook Software older than 9.5, I would recommend upgrading to the newer version of SMART Notebook 10. You'll be amazed with the updates!
Interactive Whiteboard Resources
This section gives you access to a range of resources that have been developed to use on the interactive whiteboard. Many of these files have been adapted from paper-based materials that have been sent into school by the Literacy and Numeracy Strategies.
Free Resources Y3, Y4 and Y5 Maths
Learning Clip is an online resource to support teachers, teaching assistants and parents implementing the renewed primary mathematics framework.
Learning Clip - Free IWB Resources Renewed Framework Y3, Y4 and Y5 Maths
befuddlr!
Picture puzzles. This site is great but addictive. Take an image "befuddle" it and then re-arrange it to re-create the original image.befuddlr!.
Balancing the Good and Bad of Social-Networking Sites
Principal Conn McCartan of Minnesota's Eden Prairie High School had no plans to police the Internet and its social spheres. But in January, he was mailed a computer disk containing photos of students drinking alcohol, and the photos had been posted on the social-networking Web site Facebook. McCartan couldn't ignore the rule-breaking.
McCartan and his staff interviewed 43 students; 13 of them were subsequently disciplined. Most were members of athletic teams and clubs that have specific prohibitions and penalties for underage drinking.
"Facebook is a public site, but we didn't go out there looking for it," McCartan says of the misbehavior that came to light. "Somebody sends us something, and we're obligated to respond."
May 7, 2009
Tech-savvy teens 'adopt' teachers
Students help instructors navigate computer techniques, blogging, multimedia
The Strength of Weak Ties
How innovative are you?
Like the concept of best practice, defining what constitutes innovation is probably a relative term and a moving target at best. What is innovative for one teacher might not necessarily be considered so innovative for another. I'm not so sure that there is a clear line in the sand where something, some practice, some technique, or someone, becomes labeled as innovative. I think you know innovation when you see it.
The Strength of Weak Ties » Side Pocket
Debating the future of e-learning
There was a general agreement that e-learning usage would continue to rise, that blended learning would ultimately replace isolated face to face delivery, not least for capturing the event itself and providing simple pre-session preparation and post session reinforcement.
Lars is Learning: Debating the future of e-learning (video)
The Future of eLearning is Social Learning « eLearning Weekly
These presentations are valuable for several reasons. First, they explain the significance and importance of social learning in simple, people terms without getting overly technical. I would feel very comfortable using these presentations to help educate upper management on the benefits of social learning without hesitation. Second, the presentations describe a solid approach (using Elgg) for getting started with social learning. It's easy to get overwhelmed with all of the social learning tools out there, and even though I've never used Elgg, it seems like it would be a great starting point. Finally, the presentations are extremely portable on SlideShare; you can embed and share them very easily with others. Take a look...
The Future of eLearning is Social Learning « eLearning Weekly
Cyber School Blogs
Address
Dealing with stupid people on the interent.
These are not my steps...it was on the web.
Its a simple 3 step process:
1. Ignore at first, hoping they go away and figure it out for themselves.
2. Engage, show them the who what when where why, enough to let them make intelligent choices.
3. Insult, be gentle but firm (proportional to their stupidity), showing them the error of their ways and why you are insulting. Hopefully they will take the hint and not bother you again.
...but there is a fourth protocol here if all else fails:
4. Take off and nuke em from orbit, its the only way to be sure!
Neat math stat...
Happy Odd Day! Todays Date, 5/7/09 , is one of only six days this century that will feature three consecutive odd numbers .
Thanks Andrew Carpenter
100 Useful Tips and Tools to Research the Deep Web
xperts say that typical search engines like Yahoo! and Google only pick up about 1% of the information available on the Internet. The rest of that information is considered to be hidden in the deep web, also referred to as the invisible web. So how can you find all the rest of this information? This list offers 100 tips and tools to help you get the most out of your Internet searches.
100 Useful Tips and Tools to Research the Deep Web | Online College Blog and School Reviews
Internet Sixties and the Ostrich effect
Currently people are concerned about the information that they put online. In 10-20 years it will be very important that our students have an good online presence. If we don't meet the students where they are, we as teachers lack internet cred. A lack of online presence in the future will be viewed with disbelief and a lack of with-it-ness. Many of the bad things that are happening online now will be forgiven in the future very similar to those of us who were raised in the sixties. That Facebook picture where you are drinking a beer will be seen similar to a picture of us at Woodstock. You young readers may not understand that last statement but a lot of stuff happened in the sixties that is not acceptable today but is forgiven. Your online presence today for some of you will be viewed as the internet sixties. But this fear cannot stop one from becoming engaged in the internet, social networking and using this new digital era.
Teachers who spend their whole day trying to relate to their students will need to join today internet students to have internet cred. The ostrich effect that most schools and teachers have been applying to the education will not be accepted for too much longer. Hoping the walls of the school and the practice of banning will hold back the internet, cel phones, Twitter, Facebook and all the other activities that we have deemed too dangerous to use in schools. Banning does not prepare our student when they leave the wall of the schools. We as educator need to pull our head out of the sand and prepare our students for the dangers so they can safely navigate the digital world. We need to stop hoping that it will just go away, that if we do not allow it into the walls of our schools then it does not exist. This as an educator scares me a lot more than many of the issues that we consider to challenges of todays education. The internet is not a fad, I am confident in predicting that it will not go away anytime soon.
D. Cannell
Read this image carefully.
Teach and Learn go hand in hand.
Want to build your own ambigram...
Free Digital Textbooks for High School Students
Now this is a good idea...
Interesting riddle
My answer is they all have a letter repeated..but I was wrong.
What do these words have in common...
Banana
Dresser
Grammar
Potato
Revive
Uneven
Assess
Actual answer
Take the first letter and add it to the end, then read it backwards and it is the same word...
Cool eh.
Quote of the day
"Catch a man a fish and you can sell it to him. Teach a man to fish and your ruin a wonderful business opportunity."- Karl Marx
May 6, 2009
Quote of the day
"Stressed is Desserts spelled backwards...more chocolate anyone."
Blended learning
I think that these findings are a fitting frame for thinking about blended learning, the focus of this special issue. Also known as "hybrid" or "mixed" learning, blended learning integrates face-to-face and online learning in a pedagogically sound manner. The NSSE findings suggest that blended learning not only solves problems of space and access, it is also more likely to engage students in learning.
May 5, 2009
Quote of the day
'Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain!'
The Best of the Best
Upgrade Brain
May 4, 2009
Quote of the day
YOU might be a school employee if you know how many days, minutes, and seconds are left in the school year!
Top Tech skills a student needs to know
It's no longer enough for students to get an education if they want a great job; they also need the technology know-how that employers have come to expect. It is never too early to assist students in developing their communication skills in the use of technology. Here are 10 things a students needs to know once they leave school; to survive in higher education, to get a job and to communicate and contribute in the global world.
Top Tech skills a student needs to know | My Tech Reflection
Should Your Company Have a Social Media Policy?
Social media is quickly moving from an emerging form of communication to the mainstream. So, just like in the old days when companies had to figure out how to deal with email, now they have to figure out how to deal with Facebook and all other new media venues. Let's talk about the Five Ws to adopting a social media policy.
Should Your Company Have a Social Media Policy?
Blogging About Generational Differences
A great collection of entries about generational differences.
Blogging About Generational Differences « Virtual High School Meanderings
Perfect
Assignments and Notifications
May 3, 2009
Quote of the day
YOU might be a school employee if you think someone should invent antibacterial pencils and crayons.. ..and desks and chairs for that matter!
150 day schedule
Perception
May 2, 2009
Quote of the day
YOU might be a school employee if meeting a child's parent instantly answers this question, 'Why is this kid like this?'
Working from a Distance
Sick Days
May 1, 2009
Quote of the day
YOU might be a school employee if you can't imagine how the ACLU could think that covering your students chair with Velcro and then requiring uniforms made out of the corresponding Velcro could ever be misunderstood by the public.
Education for a Digital World Advice, Guidelines, and Effective Practice from Around the Globe
Co-published by BCcampus and Commonwealth of Learning, 2008
"Our time is a time for crossing barriers, for erasing old categories - for probing around."
- Marshall McLuhan
Digital information technologies are transforming the way we work, learn, and communicate. Within this digital revolution are new learning approaches that transform hierarchical, industrial-based models of teaching and learning.
The creation of this book employed the very principles it espouses. It embodied a forming relationships model, and the sharing of ideas to produce new thinking model. A unique interactive, collaborative research model based on the formation of online relationships among 50 contributors from around the world representing research, administration and business communities. The development of the book demonstrates the powerful opportunity afforded by online technologies in this digital revolution era.
Education for a Digital World contains a comprehensive collection of proven strategies and tools for effective online teaching, based on the principles of learning as a social process. It offers practical, contemporary guidance to support e-learning decision-making, instructional choices, as well as program and course planning, and development.
Practical advice, real-life examples, case studies, and useful resources supply in-depth perspectives about structuring and fostering socially engaging learning in an online environment. A plethora of e-learning topics provide insights, ideas, and usable tools. Tips and evidence-based theory guide administrators, program and course developers, project teams, and teachers through the development of online learning opportunities.
Education for a Digital World is an indispensable guide, resource, textbook and manual for policymakers and practitioners in developing and developed countries.
___________________
* Part 1: The Impact of Instructional Technologies
* Part 2: Preparing Online Courses
* Part 3: Implementing Technology
* Part 4: E-learning in Action
* Part 5: Engagement and Communication
http://www.col.org/resources/crsMaterials/Pages/edDigitalWorld.aspx
"Where Do You Learn?"
Learning environment development has been a key part of the Academic Innovation Team's remit for a number of years at Sheffield Hallam University (see About Us). Beginning with our research into the impact of e-learning on the student experience in 2002 -- and recognizing the way e-learning influenced students' views of physical spaces -- we started to look more closely at the ways in which our students and faculty use on-campus spaces, and at ways in which our environments needed to evolve. A recurring theme that emerged was the importance of serendipitous meetings and the ad hoc use of those "in between" times: in between taught sessions, in between focused study, in between study and home.
"Where Do You Learn?": Tweeting to Inform Learning Space Development (EDUCAUSE Quarterly) | EDUCAUSE
Teacher's Job
May Resources
Well it is May the 1st so here is...
