WM R1 Tech Blog

A little inspiration

2011-10-06T18:39:00.000-05:00

Sometimes we all need a little push, a nudge if you will. We get stuck and sometimes we know it and sometimes we don't figure it out until the people around us have somehow passed us by. This quote I read on Twitter, where my personal learning network is located, where I go to be inspired. Maybe it will give you a nudge.

“He who learns from one who is learning, drinks from a flowing river.” ~ Native American Proverb

If you've ever drank from a Missouri pond, I sincerely hope you boiled the water for 5 minutes first. This proverb is speaking of a pristine mountain spring that is sparkling as it rushes over rocks on its energetic journey to the sea. The next person you listen to or read, ask yourself is this person a static pond or a flowing river.

Reposted from "Free Technology for Teachers"

2011-09-15T08:25:00.000-05:00

I highly recommend "Free Technology for Teachers." It's a blog that I subscribe to and it has tons of great ideas.

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12 Useful YouTube Accessories for Teachers and Students

If you can access it in your school, YouTube has a ton of useful educational content. Here are ten tools that can make using YouTube in your classroom a better experience for everyone.

Removing Related Content and Banner Advertisements.

A Cleaner YouTube is a browser extension for Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. Once installed A Cleaner YouTube allows you to display YouTube videos without any of the "related videos," comments, or display advertising. There are other tools that do the same thing, but what makes A Cleaner YouTube different is that not only can you display videos without the related materials, but you can also search YouTube without viewing any of the "related videos," comments, suggested videos, or advertisements.

View Pure is a simple little tool that strips way all of the distractions of related videos, comments, and promoted videos. To use View Pure just copy the link of a video into the "purifier," click purify, and your video will be displayed on a blank white background. You can also install the View Pure bookmarklet to accomplish the same goal.

SafeShare.tv makes it possible to view YouTube videos without displaying the related videos and associated comments. To use SafeShare.tv simply copy the url of a YouTube video and paste it into SafeShare.tv . SafeShare also offers browser bookmarklet that eliminates the need to copy and paste links.

Quietube is a handy little browser extension that removes all the clutter from YouTube allowing you to view only your selected video. Quietube removes all advertising, sidebar content, comments, and ratings. Installing Quietube requires nothing more than dragging the Quietube button to your toolbard. Then anytime that you're on YouTube click the Quietube button to remove all of the clutter and just watch your selected video. Quietube works for Viddler and Vimeo videos too.

Tools for Cutting and Remixing YouTube Videos
Disclaimer: Some of these tools might be interpreted as a violation of YouTube's terms of service. I'm not a lawyer so I'll let you interpret the T.O.S. for yourself and determine if you should use these tools in your school .

TubeChop gives you the ability to clip a section from any YouTube video and share it. This could be useful if there is a section of long YouTube video that you want to share with your students. One such instance could be if you want to show students studying public speaking a section of commencement address as a model.

Splicd is a service that lets users select and share a segment of a YouTube video. Splicd is a simple and easy service to use. To use Splicd all you have to do is select a video from YouTube, copy the video's url into Splicd , then enter the start and end times of the video segment you wish to watch. This service will be particularly useful for those times that you want to share only a part of a long video. Click here to see Splicd in action.

If you made mix tapes in the 80's, the concept of Drag On Tape will be familiar to you. Drag On Tape makes it easy to string together a series of YouTube videos and or sections of YouTube videos. Create your mix tape of videos just launch the Drag On Tape editor, enter a search term for videos, then drag videos on to the Drag On Tape timeline. You enter searches and drag videos as many times as you like. To trim video timings and string videos together just match them up on the timeline editor. Drag On Tape allows you to collaborate with others on a mix.

SnipSnip.it is a new service that allows you to easily clip a section from a YouTube video and share that section with others. To use SnipSnip.it just grab the link to a YouTube video, paste it into SnipSnip.it, and then enter the start and end times for the section of video you want to share. After you've completed those steps SnipSnip.it will generate a link and an embed code that will play just the section of video you selected.

If you've ever shown a YouTube video in your classroom and wanted to show just a portion of it for students to discuss, you know the inconvenience of trying to skip to the right starting point. Embed Plus addresses that problem and others. Embed Plus allows you to start a video at any point you specify. You can also use Embed Plus to skip scenes in a video, play it in slow motion, zoom into an area of a video, and annotate a video. The annotation feature of Embed Plus is a nice complement to the real-time reactions feature offered by Embed Plus. Real-time reactions pulls in Twitter and YouTube comments about your chosen video. The annotation feature lets you comment on specific parts of a video. Your annotations can include links that you insert.

Watch2gether is a neat site through which you can watch YouTube videos and host text chats about them at the same time. It is really quite easy to use Watch2gether . To get started enter a nickname for yourself (it could be your real first name) then search for a video or enter the url of a video that you have previously bookmarked. When you have found the video you want a chat column will be present on the right side of your browser. You can invite others to chat with you by sending them the url assigned to your chat. Together you can watch a video and discuss it.

Editing Tools Within YouTube

YouTube has a couple of handy editing tools built into it. You do have to have an account to use these tools.

You can also use the annotation features in YouTube to create "choose your own adventure" videos. The directions for doing that can be found here .

New vs Old reposted from TeachPaperless

2011-05-02T14:20:00.000-05:00

Video in the Classroom

2011-02-19T16:24:00.002-06:00

I want to post some of the links that I'm going to be using in my presentation for the eMINTs Winter Conference on Feb. 23rd & 24th. I'm starting with the rationale behind using video in your classroom. One of the best "brain" books I've read is Brain Rules by John Medina. It's such an easy read and there are practical applications for education.

Next we should look at actual classroom examples and a blog at Tech Learning that has some good curriculum ideas. I hesitate to put links to my video examples. If everyone at the workshop starts trying to stream video, we will probably lock up the network.

To help create videos with a solid pedagogy, I'm leaning on the work of Jason Ohler. I attended a workshop of his and his website is packed with wonderful information. I particularly like this quote, "Committing a bad story to digital media is like giving a bad guitar player a bigger amplifier."

For assessment ideas teachers can visit these websites, Jason Ohler's, DigiTales, and Rubistar.

Other sites of interest have "how-to's" and tips, lessons, even where you can do your editing online.

I film my movies using a Flip camera and I edit in MovieMaker.

Bicycles for the Mind

2010-06-05T13:58:00.000-05:00

I think "Bicycles for the Mind" is a much better title for this YouTube video. What do you think?

Create your own Learning Community

2010-01-12T21:33:00.002-06:00

Here are some links where you can connect to other teachers online. Pick one and start building your own learning community. You might want to start with this blog post for inspiration.
World Without Walls

PBS Teachers

Edutopia

Connecting OnlineYou must access from home.

Learner.org

TappedIn

LearnCentral

2009-12-03T13:57:00.000-06:00

Here are some links compiled by David Andrade of Tech & Learning Magazine

http://www.google.com/options/

http://www.evernote.com/

http://www.zoho.com/

http://www.techlearning.com/

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/

http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2009/10/scribblar-online-whiteboard.html

http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2009/10/calculus-lifesaver.html

http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2009/08/resources-for-students.html

http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2009/10/21st-century-skills-and-education.html

http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2009/05/how-to-get-started-with-project-based.html

First Grade Walks Around Town

2009-11-30T11:56:00.000-06:00

I got to accompany the First Graders on their "Walk Around Town." Check out the photos in this short video that I made with Animoto.

Nov 8 Podcast

2009-11-08T17:57:00.004-06:00

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A Few Resources from the MITC Conference

2009-11-01T19:47:00.000-06:00

21 Ways to Reach 21st Century Learners

Jason Ohler's Storytelling Resources

Finck's Links

Resource Materials for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (good stuff!)

School Express

Interactives

What works

2009-08-07T20:39:00.002-05:00

Check out this post by David Andrade on what students think.

Do you want to know what works in education...ask your students. By David Andrade

Permanent link

(cross posted at http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2009/08/do-you-want-to-know-what-works-in.html)

Research studies, professional development, graduate programs, articles, and more all talk about what works in education. Much of this is written by researchers and others that haven't been in a classroom in years, if ever. I find that much of their advice is good, but I often wondered what the students thought.

I am also an EMS-Instructor and CPR instructor. Both systems require that an evaluation form be filled out at the end of the course so that it can be used to improve the programs. I do this with my students also. I give them the evaluations at midterm's and finals and use the results to modify or change my teaching. The evaluation forms ask about the manner of teaching, how effective lectures, homework, projects, and labs were, how did they like the textbook, and what did they like about the class and what did they not like or want to change. I then look at the results and modify my teaching and the learning experiences based on the feedback I receive from the students.

Another way to get feedback is by using student focus groups. In your class, and in your school, get a group of students together and ask them what works for them in the classroom. Ask them to make a list of what teachers should and shouldn't do, and their best classes and teachers, and why, and their worst classes and why. This feedback can be invaluable to us as educators.

This week, I was a guest lecturer at the Alternate Route to Certification (ARC) program for science teachers. Connecticut uses ARC as a way to get people into teaching as a second career. It runs one program throughout the year on weekends and another one full time during the summer. The program is very successful. I am a graduate of CT's ARC program myself.

The Methods Instructor had some of his former students who just graduated from high school come to the session and talk to the soon-to-be-teachers. The students were very open about how they felt about things in school and what works and doesn't work. Here's a little summary of what they said. Much of what they said are things that teaching programs and good teachers already do, but it was nice to hear if from them.

All the students agreed that they want to be treated with respect and as adults. They all felt bad when a teacher would talk down to them. Along with this, the students stated that the teachers they like the most, and learned the most from, were the ones who got to know the students personally. By knowing the students' interests, home life, and activities outside the classroom, the teachers were able to connect their class to the students' live. The student's all agreed that this makes learning subjects easier and more interesting. They also stated that teachers who make this connection with their students have less discipline issues in their class and the students feel comfortable coming to the teacher for help with school work or other problems.

A point that came up multiple times was that the teacher should know the subject matter and be enthusiastic about it. If the teacher is reading from slides or a textbook, the students feel that the teacher doesn't know the material that well and loses credibility with the students. They also said that when a teacher is enthusiastic and excited about a subject, the students get excited too.

An interesting comment made by one student, and agreed on by the rest of the students, was not to start the first day of class with a list of rules and work to do. The students know the rules, even if they don't always follow them, and giving them a big list of rules the first day overwhelms the students and they tend not to pay attention to them. Their suggestion was to go over the syllabus, a couple of major points on class policies or procedures, and then spend time getting to know the students. I think that this is a great idea and I am changing my first day plan to reflect this idea. I'm thinking of using some kind of ice-breaker with the students so we can get to know each other.

The students all agreed that lecturing for a full class period does not work for them. Break it up a little with other activities. When it comes to PowerPoint, they all agreed that it is a good tool, but needs to be used carefully. They love having pictures, figures, and videos in the presentation, but said that too much text is distracting. No matter what a teacher says, the students will try to copy every word off the presentation. They suggested having the slides available to the students and keeping text to a minimum as good things to do.

Homework was a big issue for them. They all agreed that homework is necessary, but that some teachers really don't think about the homework that they give. The students mentioned that if a teacher gives too much homework, the students won't do it or won't be able to do it because of time constraints. They suggested that homework be given that is meaningful and helps the students learn, but they should have more than one night to work on it. Most high school students have sports, clubs, part time jobs, and 5 or 6 other classes to deal with, so time is tight. They will do the homework if the amount is more reasonable. They also stated that the teacher should go over the material before assigning homework, and then go over some problems when the homework is due. Having students do problems on the board, or help other students with the work is also a positive thing.

Some other topics discussed as positive things: teachers need to be available for extra help before or after school; use games for review - it makes it much more fun; for projects one big a marking period is perfect and let them pick their own partners to make it easier to work on outside of school; use the Internet as a resource - they all agreed that every teacher should have a web site with resources, class handouts, and a schedule on it.

They also want teachers to remember what it's like to be in school and be flexible with students. Allow students enough time to do their work, remember that they have other things outside of class, and that they have other classes.

I found this time with these students to be a great experience. I immediately started to think about my teaching and how their advice can help me be a better teacher and provide my students with a better experience.

Collaboration with Web 2.0

2009-08-02T17:31:00.012-05:00

our Doc
Opener
Magic Carpet Ride
After the activity, open the chat room and discuss the following:
1. Who had the ideas to overcome the challenge?
2. Who was the leader of the group?
3. How many different solutions might there be?

Collaboration Room

Why

Bloom's digital taxonomy map (http://techlearning.com/article/8670) Andrew Churches

Copy/Paste by Peter Pappas
"With practice, teachers find that students are eager to engage and participate. We know they want to contribute, because outside the classroom, students are flocking to social networks to share their thinking with one another. It's unfortunate that our students can't be part of the (offline) social network sitting beside them in class."

How

Outbreak a collaborative lessonplan by Cheryl Davis

Google Docs
Google Sites
Google News Timeline
Google Reader

http://chatzy.com
http://evernote.com
http://10minutemail.com

Collaboration Survey go to page 5

Online Collaborative Projects

2009-04-27T10:13:00.005-05:00

http://iearn.org/

http://teachersconnecting.com/

http://liferoundhere.pbwiki.com/

h ttp://www.globalschoolnet.org/

http://www.ozprojects.edu.au/

http://monsterproject.wikispaces.com/Welcome

http://mscofino.edublogs.org/2007/09/18/20-project-ideas-inspired-by-learning-20/

ePALs

http://www.globalschoolnet.org/expeditions/index.html

http://www.kidlink.org/KIDPROJ/MCC/

http://www.jenuinetech.com/Projects/pwwg/index.htm

Teaching Backwards

2009-04-02T21:09:00.004-05:00

I've been advocating teachers using their Smartboards to record examples and lessons and then posting them to their websites. Check out this newscast about a school in Colorado that is doing this and one step more. I read this on http://nogoodreason.typepad.co.uk/no_good_reason/

Other Tools

2009-03-27T09:15:00.001-05:00

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Creativity - Web 2.0 Tools

2009-03-26T14:24:00.001-05:00

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Curriculum Resources—Classroom Resources

2009-03-26T14:11:00.009-05:00

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.