Virtual School is Going to Take a Jump in Enrollment

I'm sitting here at GaETC 2009 listening to Michael Horn, coauthor of Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns, is projecting online learning will take a jump among high school students.

We are looking at the non-consumption markets in education. Examples would include the following:

• credit recovery
• drop-outs
• AP
• scheduling conflicts
• home-schooled and homebound students
• small, rural and urban schools
• unit recovery
• disaster preparedness
• tutoring
• professional development
• Pre-K
• after school
• incarcerated youth
• in-school suspension
• school bus commute
• summer school

These markets will bring forth the value of technology in education.

Wiki for Mapping

Someone started a wiki on all the various types of organizational maps, visual maps, or graphic organizers---whatever you call it, WikIT has it. When you find the type of map you want, click the Interactive PDF or the Interactive Flash to open and enter info.

Using Video in History

Check out these notes from the National Education Computing Conference on video in history.

Movies in Social Studies Classroom

• “I’m watching TV”
• “Watch this!”
• “Let’s watch this video” – this is passive, mindless, cognitive background is always an indicator for students to go to sleep or put the shade down.

Here’s what we should do before showing video:

1. We want students to contextualize (frame and/or re-cap)
2. · Engage (elicit input, questions
3. · Coordinate; supplement other media (maybe text-based)
4. · Identify learning purposes upfront
5. · Specify student behaviors

During the video:

1. Analyze: Use this video as an example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lf8Ig2M3Zq0
2. Use these questions:

· Where was this?

· When was this? (team of people)

· Summarize what you saw.

Show 2^nd video and ask: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ScexNfYbBQ&feature=related

· What is the same?

· Is anything different? (driver gets off and is waiting and then a little push to get everyone on).

Different years, bigger train? More trains? OHHHHhhhh….the country offered flex time for workers. Small social change impacts HUGE impact on Japanese life.

Teacher can’t just get kids to watch this without questioning, etc.

Different approach to Analyze:

Hollywood movie: Midway shows the shift in Japanese American Life – last of classic WWII movies made. Just showing the trailer showing the sub plot of an American soldier who falls in love with Japanese American woman (in the movie she was arrested for her parents having literature). Charlton Hesston intervenes in the arrest, so his son can be with his girlfriend, because he believes in the relationship. Then show flashback of 20 years to US internment camps for Japanese (45 minute movie shown by the War department). Years later Hollywood’s interpretation and public sentiment for the issue.

Creating Video

Various software:

Primary[DS2] Access (free) – movie lives on the web, put students don’t own the copyright license for the images in the movie, so every time the movie gets played, it assembles it from where those images sit on the web; add voice over the images while they play.

VoiceThread - same thing

Use mainly still images, not video because it just becomes so time consuming.

Technology Stuff

· Age verification on youtube for some videos with controversial videos – you have to sign in again.

· Use Zamzar to download youtube videos at home.

· If you twitter, type in the hashtag for the event. In this case it was iranelection.

· Here is a site with all the hashtags on twitter as they come up: http://hashtags.org/

Sample videos:

-1936 (Depression Era – Episodic messages) Chaplin modern times; socialist message, industrialize, anti-drug message you can’t show this all the way.

-Revolutionary Guard – video footage of protesters in IRAN; ban on foreign media

· Because it was an event that had over 50 tweets per minute, people will use a code RT (retweet) to post something someone said again so more people can see it, getting the message out.

Resource for more information on this topic.

• Use our ning (social community to share info) to add comments about this presentation.
• Title: Teaching Digital History
• Web address: Teachingdigitalhistory.ning.com (http://teachingdigitalhistory.ning.com/)
• Speaker: John hammond@lehigh.edu

Reminder: VoiceThread.com

http://voicethread.com/#home

Put the image on voicethread and set up 10 debates at the same time. The kids can make comments on an image and hear each other's comments all on the internet. Voicethread is now charging to download the final product. You can always link a video created.

Twittering? or Tweet?

Twitter is starting to catch on.  Twitter is like a status update to people you know.  I was first inspired to create a Twitter account when NPR utilized it to have people report their status in the voting lines.  Once you create an account, you go look for your friends or colleagues.  In my case I keep up with the latest and greatest from the various headliner speakers at my educational technology conferences.  They are traveling the country and in some cases--the globe, and there is always new information to report.  Some teachers or professors are twittering their homework assignments.

Very plainly put--it is a communication tool.  If you could round robin call 20, 30, 40 people you knew--what would you say?

Must Have Bookmarked Websites

These websites must be in your bookmarks---preferably on your toolbar:

• http://gpb.org/education
• http://georgiastandards.org/
• http://www.thinkfinity.org/

Resource: ETTC National Science Center

Each district in Georgia is assigned to a local college for educational technology needs. The ETC's provide professional learning in the latest technology instruction, as well as, serve as contract employees for research in technology or to ensure the state is implementing the National Education Technology objective as defined by ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education).

One such local ETC with the National Science Center has a wonderful web site packed full of resources, web sites, and information on teaching with the ActivBoards.

Georgia Society of Technology in Education (G-STE)

The Georgia Society of Technology in Education (G-STE) is officially affiliated with ISTE. Jill Hobson, our President, held our annual meeting to share with members the status of our group. The mission of the society is to function as a "voice" in the state. The importance of technology in education is only as effective as the organization and support for it.

Already the ETC's reviewed the school keys for the Georgia GAPS review. Now coming in June, we should see technology integrated with the schools keys so the instructional technologist will be supported with this update. Jill emphasized our group functioning as a voice with the DOE and Ann Ware, the Instructional Technology Director at the DOE is a member.

The goal is to establish a common language with board members and principals so the formative assessment includes instructional technology. This will help all instructional technology specialist to have some advocacy as will move forward as a support group for the differentiation in teaching styles and formative assessment.

We went around the room to see how districts were impacted from the budget cuts. Many said their professional learning was being cut. It seems this is going to be costly cut for district who will have to meet those Georgia GAPS review.

Wendy from Douglas County told me about dimdim.com which is a free video conferencing software online. This will be great for professional learning problems as well.

G-STE needs volunteers. All members are encouraged to contribute with areas of interest. Another goal is to collaborate with each other and share information or knowledge.

Learning with Small Devices

Tony Vincent started working with Palms in the classroom way back at the turn of the century. Now he goes around talking about all small devices and how students and teachers can use them in the classroom. In the GaETC session called I didn't know you could do that with an iPod! concurrent session.

Here are some free web sites that Tony recommends we utilize, so the digital file may be played back on an iPod:

• http://www.spokentext.net/ - With this site the user may upload a .pdf, .doc, or any online text and read it. Then the mp3 may be downloaded to the iPod. Take the text and copy/paste it into the Lyrics under the song info in iTunes and while the song it playing on the iPod, the student can read the text.
• http://zamzar.com/ - Use this free site to convert videos from teacher tube or youtube. It is very simple, copy/paste the URL into the field and then tell it what kind of file you would like. Tony says mp4 is the best for the ipod conversion. The user types in the email for a link to the coverted file and the link will be available to you for 24 hours.
• http://www.ipreppress.com/ - This site offers free downloads of books for the iPod.
• http://learninginhand.com/ - Tony's site has several downloads or templates for the iPod that were PowerPoints he exported to images. Tony suggests students create the PowerPoint for common facts like the state capitals, US Presidents, etc.
• http://www.iquizmaker.com/ - This is a free download for Mac users. It will only work on certain iPods. This program could also run on a computer in your classroom.
• Cool Games online - Brain Challenges is on iTunes store.
  

Videos downloaded from the internet may be dropped into the iTunes movies library, but .mov files will not sync with the iPod, so with the video selected go to Advanced from the iTunes menu bar and select create for iPod.

Tony suggests using the iPod as an external drive. When the iPod is hooked into iTunes, select Enable Disk Mode. Be sure to eject properly, before disconnecting. Carry the $9.95 key chain adaptor for the iPod.

Teachers can save notes in text files for students to put on their iPod. Many text documents are already available for you on ipreppress.com, like the Declaration of Independence.

iWrite is a program, about $30 for students to create stories that you can then download straight to the iPod. Or if you put the assignment on your web site, when users click your file, the iWrite installer will download so the user can see your file.

Some accessories for hiding your iPod: hymnal, Sony Walkman, thong, earbud speakers, and the toilet paper dock station.

Jog the Web

Jog the Web is a web 2.0 tool for pulling together several web sites as a step-by-step presentation of material. Okay, now how do people come up with this stuff! Amazing! If you have several web sites that students need to use the features and then move on, this is the tool for you. The more advanced students or students needing an extension could use Jog the Web to create their research path.