Poll: Who would win in a fight: Google Gmail or Microsoft Outlook?

Poll: Who would win in a fight: Google Gmail or Microsoft Outlook?

Wireless conductivity

While I am far from being an expert on wireless, I am seeing a potential problem with wireless in schools.
While working on a build project in SL I inadvertently returned a part of 2DP to the owner of the building, twice. I think my problem was the wireless lag. I lost control and random objects disappeared, not the ones I had clicked on.

This made me think about wireless conductivity. It is an important issue because as schools are implementing tech plans that include wireless classrooms, there are expectations that all things wired can go wireless! As more and more tools are "in the cloud" how will wireless connection affect performance?

This is shift is important to services like Discovery Education and Brain-pop because multiple teachers are not going to be able to successfully use DE streaming through the same wireless connection simultaneously. I don't know where the tipping point is. Is it 2 teachers, or 4 teachers streaming? Who knows, but there will be lag.

One solution to the streaming problem is keeping the computers wired in classrooms if they are attached to a projector.

thoughts? What is your solution?

Yahoo Releases Top Searches of 2009 (Twitter Nowhere to Be Found)

Yahoo Releases Top Searches of 2009 (Twitter Nowhere to Be Found)

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It's Media Monday! Here's my offering if the students don't bring in anything.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExNadPQaOOg

Index Page - The U.S. Constitution Online - USConstitution.net

Index Page - The U.S. Constitution Online - USConstitution.net

MICCA moved to the top of the list of organizations that support teachers and technology integration this week as they launched a new name, new website and renewed commitment to being the best in education for MD teachers! Congratulations MSET.

Virtual worlds, virtual field trips, machinima, teen grid, Quest Atlantis....

just to name a few of the topics discussed at the SL DEN campfire last night, Nov 4th. We talked about the book by Tony Wagner, The Global Achievement Gap. We agreed that the 7 skills in the book are essential.

The hour flew by as we shared what we are doing to help change the classroom into a place where students are inspired to learn, create and use their imaginations. We also talked about how the support each other in that endeavor.
Homework was given and we will be back next Wed to do some building and creating ourselves in SL.
If you want to join us, the SLURL is http://slurl.com/secondlife/Eduisland%202/98/98/22

Bring a notecard with a landmark to an island that inspires!
and an image about creativity to add to a sculpture!

Hope to see you there! Telos

Try this audience polling system at Poll Everywhere

Personal Learning Environments

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Personal Learning Environments

View more presentations from GrahamAttwell.

The FCC is holding a series of open webinars on broadband. On August 20th they will discuss education. I think there should be teachers in the discussion. sign up now!

http://broadband.gov/ws_education.html

read this

http://educationpolicyblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/daydreaming-is-good-for-thinking-big.html

I am a big fan of daydreaming...

Blair Levin, executive director of the Broadband National Plan, said the biggest obstacle to the work is "patterns of thought." Comments filed for the plan indicate that many still think the way they did a decade ago, he said, and companies are writing things "that could be summarized as 'Aren't we wonderful?'" from an FCC announcement on Aug 7.

Same could be said of education reform. This week I attended a meeting in SL with the Atlantis Rising teachers. brilliant group, not afraid to question the status quo. On Monday evenings they are hosting open discussions about education. BRAVO!

Interesting thing occurred though when they asked the group of about 15 educators, "What do you think teachers in SL should be doing to engage learners because the lecture delivery system has become common place in Second Life classrooms, making it no different from the boring RL classroom? There was no response. After a few moments, theoretical answers were offered, but there were no real answers.

It is a hard question, needing an answer. Where's the conversation?

We keep coming at the problem of education reform convinced that we are awesome educators and hence, we can keep doing what we have always done and things will change. enough. We need to start having the conversation with the learners. Young people are not allowed in SL, so they can't participate in these "meaningful" conversations.

I want to blog a bit about buying text books. I had to buy a text for a class I am taking and gratefully I found it used on amazon. It cost me $1. yep, one dollar. and surprise, when it arrived, it had never been used.

When are we going to stop asking students to buy textbooks?

I would much rather have a digital version of the book, one that I probably would refer to and actually use because it would be with me whenever I had a chance to do some homework.

My guess is that the younger students in my class won't even bother buying the text.

Looking for good ideas for interactive technology in the primary classroom? Here's a great reference http://plattsburgh.neric.org/oak/smartboard/stories.htm

Thanks for sharing Oak Street Elementary!

Constructing Modern Knowledge 09
Back at the constructivist institute for a second go round. It was my favorite learning experience of 2008. Tho I must say, I am less anxious this year. I have a better understanding of the method behind Gary's madness. So I am willing to suspend all desire to "learn a new program" and more willing to engage in the process of making something.
Right now I am focused on making some music! I'll report back!

interesting article

Facebook and The Adolescent Brain - The Emerging Employers' Dilemma

from Tom Krieglstein of Swift Kick http://ow.ly/gtkj

This would be a good back-to-school discussion to record/video with teachers and students and then share the results with administrators.

from the post:

"We have a classic chicken/egg challenge. Will adolescents change their behavior online to suit their current or future employers needs, or will employers change their attitudes about online behavior knowing that the prefrontal doesn't fully develop until 25?

Dr. Giedd jokes that at least the rental car industry has it right because you can't rent a car until you're 25.

I tend to think that as more of our adolescent years are played out and recorded online forever, societal attitudes will shift towards a greater acknowledgment of "oh those were his/her adolescent years" and put less long term judgement on those actions.

It will be interesting to see our first "Facebook President," or watch a parent tell a child not to do something and the child turns around and Googles a video and picture of the parent doing the exact same thing."

I have been working on a certificate program at JHU in Out-of-School Time Learning. I think I have found my voice. here is my OST Philosophy - Educational Leadership in Out of School Time Learning must insure that young people are provided a caring, well organized time and place to explore their interests, improve their academics, and meet new friends. In today's interconnected world, learning takes place 24/7. Students need to be able to learn anywhere and anytime, not just in school, so after school and summer programs are becoming more important to a child's education. Learning is more likely to occur when students can use their individual strengths, collaborate and then make a product that explains what they have learned and then share it with someone else, often that opportunity is after school. OST programs need to be available for all children. It is so important to provide quality OST opportunities for children in communities that cannot afford to provide the resources that their children need to succeed in the 21st century. I am committed to this philosophy and will strive to achieve excellence as a leader in the field.

My head is still spinning from all of the info and networking at NECC09. Now shifting gears from consumer to producer and heading to the Constructivist workshop in New Hampshire, Constructing Modern Knowledge09.

great day. listened to Gary Stager, always a breath of fresh air and finally got to hear Peggy Sheehy, Maggie Marat. WOW! I remember why I am a teacher when I listen to constructivists.

Also spent 2 hours on the floor with the Smithsonian Latino Virtual Museum's team, headed by Melissa Carrillo, Pennelope Riggles, answering questions and sharing this wonderful resources with teachers. I think we might have a few converts to SL!

I will be sorry when this conference is over.

day 3 of NECC09 and still asking the same question, why are we having a conference on ed tech?

isn't it about time to be fully integrated and stop separating good ideas from the whole?

are we not all teachers? I think the answer is on the exhibit hall floor.

just wondering......

So preparing for NECC is a lot work. I am a newbie and I am a little intimidated by attending an event with so many techies. I am a tech integration specialist ( sorry Dave Warlick) http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/?p=1775

But I am also an art teacher and artist. I also think of myself as a disruptive educator. I do not like teaching about new tech tools, I like thinking about how my students can learn and create. If we stumble upon a problem, we find a good tool, we learn how to use it.

As an example. last year, we (me and the 6th graders) decided to enter a google contest. It was about how we were using Google Earth's new layer to enhance our experience in learning about Ancient Rome.

We decided to use a wiki to record what we did as we explored the terrain, the replicas of old buildings and other information. We found building the wiki easy and fun. We divided the work up into sections and wrote a digital newspaper about life in Ancient Rome. The students picked an editor-in-chief and editors for each section of the paper. They made videos when that was the right way to share the story (ie, a fashion show of the latest togas). They learned how to scan when they wanted to draw comics by hand but put them in the digital paper. They learned how to use audacity to record their voices so that when someone with a disability, or an younger student wanted to know what was going on, they could listen to the article. One student even figured out how to upload a powerpoint to the wiki using docstock.
I think you can see where this process went. As we needed a tool we found it, learned it, used it and moved on. They did not encounter a challenge that they couldn't solve.

One of my favorite teacher ah ha moments was that one day one of students found me in the hallway and told me that he been looking at the wiki at home the night before. He had found a few spelling errors and he wanted to make sure that the editor corrected them before we submitted our project. It doesn't get better than that!

No, we didn't win the contest, but if you think we didn't learn, you are wrong. If you don't think that we gained confidence in the knowledge that any tool we need to express ourselves is out there and waiting for us to discover it, then you are missing the web 2.0 journey. Students are not. they get it. Let 'em go, they will amaze you. And you can be sure, if they can't find the right tool, they won't hesitate to try to make one!

http://whatwelearnedaboutancientrome.wetpaint.com

http://catacombsoftruth.wetpaint.com

can't say this any better than Mike. Why are we asking our students to wait to do great things?

http://mikecaulfield.com/2009/06/22/cult-of-the-amateur/

Preparing for NECC. can't wait to meet the Discovery Ed folks from MD and SL.

I learned a lot about virtual worlds by watching the 3rd graders navigate the PADI coral reef sim. they were so observant! They liked swimming with the shark.

This week 6th and 8th graders are meeting the Creative Director of the Smithsonian Latino Virtual Museum in SL! We will explore the new expedition site and brainstorm ideas for how to make the sandbox an interactive game that teaches about archeology!

I am working on using Second Life in the classroom. I let 3rd graders explore The Learning Experience undersea world exhibit the other day. They controlled my avatar to explore this virtual sub-marina. They were so engaged they didn't want to stop. and I learned how to make my avatar FLY at super high speed!
http://tleinsl.blogspot.com/2009/04/scuba-class-uses-tles-underwater-sea.html

next week we are going to the PADI site - Dive World

Finally, wikipedia has a good definition for "telos" - for those who wonder why I use it in my signature and for my avatar's name.


A telos (from the Greek τέλοϛ for "end", "purpose", or "goal") is an end or purpose, in a fairly constrained sense used by philosophers such as Aristotle. It is the root of the term "teleology," roughly the study of purposiveness, or the study of objects with a view to their aims, purposes, or intentions.

I am participating in the education conference in SL sponsored by vwpbe. I am amazed at the level of professionalism of the presenters. What a great way to exchange ideas in education!

Global kids Network is a 20 year old non-profit that is using Second Life to help kids learn about global issues and become responsible citizens.

it is embarassing that so much time has gone by and I haven't written anything.

I am writing on an XO. the only laptop I own right now. it is amazing. but the key pad is small so I make lot of typing erors.

but I am still excited about web2.0 apps. i had two classes build a wiki on ancient rome! vry cool and engaging project. and the best part was that students were going home and checking for spelling errors and learning how to ebbed script into thier webpage.......who'd ever have thought 6th graders would be so interested in producing aa asessment!