My blog follows my growth as a Technology Resource Teacher, and my work with Technology Integration in public schools. I concentrate on Web 2.0 apps, while throwing in lots of OMG Links, and integration solutions for the K12 classroom. I share the best of what I learn about integrating technology. I hope you find something useful to share with others.
Sadly, the one and only George Carlin will be awarded the posthumous Mark Twain award by the Kennedy Center in a few days. I'll bet that George would have had a gritty retort for that fact. It's a shame we will never hear it.
At least he lived his life during this age of technology. It will be hard to lose his image, his voice, and his messages (or did you think it was just "comedy") now that we live in a digital world. Not that some would rather his memory just fade away so future generations wouldn't share his comments, and dare I say...beliefs.
John Serba' column, George Carlin: Death of a skeptic, explains my attachment to this comedian. Serba writes that Carlin's "material was inspirational fuel for the disenfranchised, which seem to have increased in number in these times of social upheaval." Serba concludes, in part, by saying "No one questioned authority with such wit or insight; guys like Bill Maher and Bill Hicks carried the torch that Carlin lit."
There was never any tragic irony with Carlin, he knew his character, whether you agreed or not with his words and actions. Scan the 101 Greatest George Carlin Quotes if you aren't familiar with his words. Seems that on this day of mourning, Internet is now teeming with individuals like myself talking about this great entertainer and his passing. There's is nothing morbid in my writing, just outright honesty. And, that's a Carlin thing, a very good thing.
I've never been compelled to write a single sentence about my perceptions of the political and religious landscapes on this big blue marble amongst the stars. I didn't feel I deserved to add my voice to the growing noise that includes the over-fed media conglomerates, the idiosyncratic bloggers, and the rest of this wired-generation. Mainly, it was just easier to sit in the darkness and applaud George.
Throughout the years, and usually the day after a new Carlin skit would enter the mainstream, I'd poll acquaintances to find out who had heard or seen George's newest routine. It wasn't until today when my eyes caught the scrolling message of "Carlin dies at 71" that I realized all my friends, my real friends, had unknowingly passed my "Carlin Test" long ago. I don't know when it happened, nor do I care why it happened. But it did. And I'm ok with that.
Thanks, George.
Tonight, my friends and I will be talking about your life without calling you a crack-pot, an anti-American, or a persecutor of all things religious. Others who hear our voices may not be so kind. I'll throw out one of your quotes, and wait for the reactions. I'll chuckle thinking how you would have needed just two words for the haters, unless you coupled them with Chuck 'Em.
And, in the end, we will probably talk loud enough that a seed is planted in some disenfranchised ear far off in a dark corner. Maybe that will be all that is needed to lead them and others to your memories of this messed up world at http://www.georgecarlin.tv/
Just like I said I would, on Monday after Father's Day, I took some time to learn how to use my new camera. I sat beside one of our raised flower beds and actually read through the entire manual, checking out each and every feature. It paid off.
I should have guessed that this single task would explode into lots of photo editing, reorganizing two years worth of photos files, and loading images on two digital picture frames. . . including one presented to my parents last Christmas and delivered to me for the inputting of the +400 family archive photos. To say all of this was a chore is right. To say that it was time well spent . . . absolutely!
Today, as always, I kissed my wife and daughter goodbye to a chorus of songbirds behind the house. Sherri chauffeured Isabel to daycare, then drove to her office to proudly display her new digital picture frame full of beautiful images of our daughter, relatives, and friends. I bet everyone at her office marvels at the scrolling images of my two loving ladies whenever they are lucky enough to sit and visit for a moment.
If I haven't mentioned, I love my two ladies.
Maybe that's why I take time each day to do something outside in the garden. I know Sherri appreciates all the landscaping I (that is, we) have done.
For her 6-month birthday, we took Isabel on a nature walk through our flower gardens to introduce her to new textures and vibrant colors. We can already see her concentrating on differences of each new flower she sees and feels.
As to the songbirds, we have a pair of house wrens who have chosen to spent the early summer in an ornamental birdhouse hanging from the deck. As I'm sitting on the deck typing, I can always here the pair singing back and forth, and wait for one of them to announce that they have caught another insect.
There's lots of feeding to be done for the 4-6 fledglings nesting comfortably in their twig-lined, grass and pine-needle bed. I understand their rush. It seems like only yesterday that Isabel was born. Has it really been six months? While she will have months of bottle-time remaining, she has already started on the rice cereal, and Sherri is stocking the cupboard with plenty of Gerber 1st Foods. Mmm, peas!?!
As I start the next in a long list of projects I've planned for my time off from teaching (that is, during the day while the girls are out and about) I smile whenever I think about my beautiful and loving wife, our precious daughter, and the welcoming home they come home to each afternoon. As I close this post, the last of the morning mist has already burned away, setting the stage for another wonderful summer day. I hope you will take a moment to slow down, stop, and simply gaze upon your world with a sharpened focus for a moment. You're bound to find a picture of beauty that will bring a smile. As always, cherish that moment.
It was nice to disconnect for the past 3 days. Incredibly, I didn't suffer any major withdrawals. Guess I'm not addicted to the Web and computers. . . yet. This morning, I received an email from a contact I made through LinkedIn. It made me ponder, "Have you LinkedIn?" This service is a great why to network with others in your profession, or find classmates who have gone by the wayside. You may just wonder who's composing this blog. Well, here I am. Go ahead and get LinkedIn while you're there. You'll be doing yourself and great favor.
I hope that you (moms included) were able to just take some time for yourself and relax yesterday. It was a great day here. Hard to believe in was just a few weeks ago that we got hit by the 'big' snowfall of 2008. Harder, still, to realize that it is almost July and the next two weeks will seeing highs in the mid-80's. That should make for a very comfortable summer. I hope that you find time to get outside and enjoy your corner of the world. I'm sure that I will be sitting on, or under, the deck just swingin' with the baby girl.
Stay tuned, because I'm trying the master my new camera. Once I get time to really check out all the features, I'll be sharing pictures of the gardens, the baby, and all that nature offers in our backyard. I'll still be talking about technology and the things that catch my eye as I scour the Web for tech integration ideas.
KySTE 2008 - Day 3 of 3 Looks like I've written tons about this week's technology conference. I hope you've found useful tidbits for yourself. Anyway, I paid $130 for this stuff and you're getting it all for free. At least drop me a comment to let me know it was worth blogging about all this tech training. thx.
For the final day of the conference, I decided to divide my time between 5 different offerings during this 2-sessions-only day. I'm very glad I did it this way. Spending from 5 to 20 minutes in each of these sessions, I was still able to come away with a wealth of useful information that I otherwise would never have gotten to learn about and share. And, as for me, 4 out of 5 of the sessions I attended will serve me well in the future. So, here goes the free info I gleaned from the final day of the 2008 Kentucky Society for Technology in Education conference!
KET Virtual Physics Labs
KET Virtual Physics Labs If you are a Kentucky teacher, check out some of the virtual physics labs that will be available in Fall2008. Start signing up in mid-July. $50/school. That's not a district license, that's the cost per school. And, that's a bargain.
TIP OF THE DAY: When viewing a Flash-driven object, if you right-click anywhere on the Flash object, you can Zoom up to 8X.
There is a generic Registered Name that has been made available for teachers to play around with these virtual tools prior to their official August opening. I can't post that name, the ID#, or Password here. But, contact me at this site with your official email from the Global Address contacts and I'll reply with the info you will need.
These online resource tools don't have to be used as labs. And, there are cool as heck. The Early Labs are about Force & Motion, while the Later Labs get deeper & more woolly.
eClassroom Journals (Blogs)
Harrison County Schools, whose motto is "Believing! Achieving! Succeeding!", is excited about employing eClassroom Journals (Blogs). Educators who already know about blogging, understand that these online journals can be an invaluable communication tool from school to home. In Harrison County, the Blogs are powered by Wordpress. Therefore, the design allows teachers to quickly post classroom info so that students and parents with Internet connection can readily access information.
I spoke even so briefly with Melissa Shepard, Chief Information Officer for the district. I think she said that thier Blogs go through Wordpress, allowing for PHP or a build on standardized components like Apache, and mySQL.
Google for Educators
Geo Education - Getting Started GuideI won't even talked about it here. Dive in and start swimming through the information. You'll find something that makes you gasp for joy.
KATE Resources
First of all, if you don't know what the acronym K A T E stands for, then you should click this link asap. http://www.murraystate.edu/kate
Now that you have some idea of what KATE can mean to your teaching, check out some of the Professional Development resources. I know that last sentence sounded boring, so how about starting with the following link, then backspacing over the "68/" at the end of that URL to see the entire list of choices. Good Luck. http://coekate.murraystate.edu/kate/pdresources/68/ is the link to Google for Educators. Remember, this is just one of many KATE PD Resources.
Podcasting with EDUcast
Session described as creating podcasts through 323Link's Educast system. I'm sure there's someone out there who will find EDUcast answers I need that they have.
Automated streaming service and iTunes posting
Audio or Video Capturing System
Requires no additional bandwidth
Requires no training
Can be played on any PC, Mac, mp3 Player, or iPod
Automatic file management
Consists of an $2,5000 Audio Appliance & a $5,000 Video Appliance Hosting is based on storage. 100G account is $3,500, or a 25G account for $2,400/yr.
KySTE 2008 - Webcasting and Interactive Video Options for Students and Staff in the KETS Environment This session was described as "webcasting - the interactive video options, at no or low cost, for remote classroom interaction in the KETS / K12 environment. Maybe I'm just ignorant, but the last part sounded redundant. In my mind, KETS & K12 refers to, essentially, the same thing. The only difference may be that one way is public schools wording, while the other is non-public school jargon.
Our presenter, Dan Klaber, ran us through the background and setup needed for webcasting. At this point let me say that, if it was me, I would still just uStream. Before you go, check out VZOchat. From here on, stay or go. It's always up to you.
With that said, this blog is more a list of hardwares and softwares discussed. If you're really not reading a list of tech stuff, back out now.
With that comment out in the open, I'll say that I added the image of what Dan had on hand and placed it below the lengthy list. I snapped the image with my Apple's PhotoBooth. So, it's a mirror-image of the actual setup used in this session. Some components you will see in this reverse image are included in this lengthy list:
Encoding Laptop
Dell Lattitude D820
w/ Windows Media Encoder 9 software loaded
Monitoring Laptop
Dell Lattitude D820
w/ Windows Media Encoder 9 software loaded (backup)
KySTE 2008 had a fantastic session called Google Here, Google There - Google, Google Everywhere! This had to be my favorite session of the summer. First of all, everything is free. Second of all, it's all accessible through Google. And, of course, our schools don't block Google, and again - it's free!!!
A big Thank You goes out to Diana McGhee, Director of Technology and Information for the Ft. Thomas Ind. School District in Kentucky, who presented this fast-paced session. She skillfully covered so many great tools for educators, I got cramped fingers as I typed this post.
Diana's Tip of the day: Did you know that you could add "/microsoft" to the google URL, as in http://www.google.com/microsoft to search JUST about microsoft topics. Go ahead and try add a forward slash and a different word to see if it also works. There's no telling what Google has created but has decided not to advertise.
Google for Educators - Diana made an important note of mentioning that "your eye will most likely travel immediately to the middle of the page. The tools you will use most often on this site are found in the left margin.
The links in the middle of the page are simply links regarding recent projects and news within the Google organization." this was a VERY important point. Most educators would have missed this main idea. We spent our time in that most important left margin, beginning with Tools for your classroom and Classroom Activities.
These activities are divided into K-5 & 6-12 categories.
There are too many other Google Tools to go through in this blog. You realize how long-winded I can get. With that said, be sure to check these out. There are some great Search tools. For instance, Geo Education is where you would find Google Earth.
Under the Communicate, Show & Share heading, you will find Blogger useful for journal writing, among other things.
I'm sure you will eventually find your way to Google Docs and scream with joy when you find Revision History under the Tools. What a great way to check the changes a student makes to the documents they produce. Also, this tool is an important when the idea is all about collaboration. It's really simple to check who made the revisions and compare them to another generation of the document.
I can't tell you how great Picasa, SketchUp, and the rest can be in you classroom. Just make to time to really check these out. I haven't had time to check everything out. I don't know anyone who has taken the time. Some of the new products are just so cool, you don't want to stop using them.
During our session, we did take time to look at one of the cool tools that I decided would be great for use in the ESL classroom will be on the main Google page. You can use Google Language Tools to:
translate from one language to another
translate entire web sites from one language to another, or
choose from over 160 different languages in which to display your Google web page.
The site includes a load of Google homepages in a variety of languages:
Scrolling down a little, and you will arrive at an A to Z listing of Maps of these countries and more:
A couple of other useful resources include a selection of greats lessons that you can use. Hey, you may get inspired to create your own. As a former Humanities teacher, I was really impressed by the Postcards from the Past with Google Tools lesson. And, if you're a teacher who stills fears the word 'spreadsheet', fear no more. A super lesson can be had with Charting with Google Spreadsheets. If you are as impressed as I was, see the rest of the Digital Teaching group files at http://groups.google.com/group/digital-teaching/files.
I saved the best for last. I really did.You're so lucky you scanned to the end.
The link below is not a Google page. It is a resource page from Shifted Learning Archives that you can use to train yourself to make the most of the topics discussed above plus oodles of other Google for Educators applications.
Advantages of the HP 2133 Mini Note PC for Education: Designed from the ground up for PK-12 Education. Link to HP 2133 Mini Note KX868AT Specs, Reviews, and News Starting Price: $499 [(XP/Vista models: $599 (w/ discounts)] The HP Rep Tina Justice, who presented the session, made a point of beginning by emphasizing HP's market share. Sorry, but it's hard to sell me on a new product when I'm typing a blog on a MacBook Pro. But, I can afford a Mac. And, besides, this is designed for young persons in the educational setting. Don't believe it? Consider that at the end of the presentation, I asked 3 questions, and the answer seemed to be clear. Q: "How easy is it to pop off the keys?" A: Didn't get a clear answer. (Students will always pop-off keys. We did it to the demo passed around the session, and it was easy to pop-off keys and press the keys back on. Q: "What about ergonomics of the keyboard design: A: Size of keyboard may seem small to an adult, but it was designed for the student in mind. Q: "What about the 'lean-in' factor I've noticed when adults use this 8.9" screen design?" A: Display Size may seem small, but students who have tested it liked it. Besides, they are used to looking at much smaller screen displays using their vid/cell phones, gaming devices Overall, I was impressed with this new educational tool. I know my school is getting it for Fall2008. That's why I attended this session. If you'd like to see some of the points highlighted in this session, read below. Use the link at the top of this blog for the company specs. Ease of Use
Thin and lightweight (about 2.5lbs)
8.9" display
Battery run time
On the battery itself, is a little battery checker. Hmm, kind of like Apple has had on the bottom of their computers since...?
HP Fast Charge enables you to recharge your primary battery up to 90% in 90 Minutes (claim is 100% in 45 min)
Standard 3 cell = < 2 hrs battery run time (battery designed with the bump)
Upgrade to 6 cell = < 4 hrs battery run time (battery designed without the bump)
Large touchpad (92% full size. Surprise!!!)
Webcam (optional)
HP Smart AC adapter
HP Fast Charge
Stereo Speakers & Mics
no optical drive (but they have an optional external USB $42 on the KETS bid list, with an interchangeable pop-in, pop-out design)
Security
Computrace Persistence Module supported in BIOS
Kensington Lock Slot
Case: $69 list
Reliability (i.e. How did HP design it to keep students from destroying it)
95,000 hrs of testing
There are no screws on the bottom that students can take out.
3D Drive Guard senses and protects hard drive against impact, bumps, or drops (temporarily parks it)
Recovery Manager
HP DuraKeys keeps keyboard finish looking newer longer
Metal Alloy Hinges designed for students excessive opening/closing
No latch, instead it uses the Panel Protection System. Sort of like a rubber cushion-bump
Spill Protection
Panel Protection System (see Metal Alloy Hinges above)
KySTE 2008 - Web 2.0 and What it Means for Educators
Did you know?
When MySpace came out, there was no such thing as haveing a 'private' account.
Wikipedia isn't acceptable in schools because it is not filtered. Think about that one.
What other questions are there to ask about Web 2.0 apps?
What's the difference between Then (Web 1.0) and Now (Web 2.0)?
Here's an analogy from Dr. Stephen Smith:
Web 1.0, in short, growing up with black and white TV. I was the channel changer who had to get off his butt and walk to the TV to change the channel. There were only 3 choices of channels, if the rabbit ears where even able to pick them up.
Web 2.0, hi-def, surround sound, a picture so wide and clear that you can see it from space.
This was the idea of this KySTE 2008 session presented by Dr. Stephen Smith. He quotes Getting Real, by 37signals stating that "Web 2.0, the world where we start by assuming that everyone already uses the web, allows smart developers to put this human frailty to work for them. How? By allowing your users to tell you what they tink while there's still time to do something about it."
Web 2.0 - apps that exist on the Internet, usually requiring broadband connection, requires some processing (mostly on the other end, not yours)
Do you know what an API is?
API=Application Programming Interface
Google has a great API. This one, Google API Chart Code , lets you generate empressive charts. Another example Dr. Smith shared to explain 1.0 vs 2.0
Web 1.0 = Kodak upload pics & Kodak prints 4U
Web 2.0 = Flickr you upload, share with others, U&they print what you want.
OMG links Dr. Smith shared in his session included:
Day 1 of KySTE 2008 - KET session. Standing in a v e r y l o n g l i n e for a good old-fashioned high school lunch of chips, soda, white or wheat with ham or turkey, potato salad and fruit. Hmm, hmm, good. (sarcasm, right off the bat) This was how Day 1 of the Kentucky Society for Technology in Education 2008 Conference began for me.
It could only get better, as it couldn't get much worse. It was difficult to hear the Keynote speaker, Dr. Mike Ribble, co-author of Digital Citizenship in Schools. He struggled with the PA feedback, but finally won out when he played a video that asks "Have you been paying attention?
Most people were eating and talking during his fairly dry talk. Maybe he's a better public speaker, but just didn't have it turned on today. Anyway, he was easier to talk to in person after his address was concluded.
There were plenty of good sessions to choose from today.
I attended Advanced Techniques for Integrating KET Encyclomedia Resources, as the presenter Larry Moore guaranteed me that it would be well in-depth than the session I attended last week at TIS'08 outside of Lexington. The session was touted as training participants to create lessons that connect students to the real world through the creative use of EncycloMedia's features in conjunction with other quality resources and integrative software, such as Word, PowerPoint, Inspiration, PhotoStory, MovieMaker, Whiteboard software and Google Earth.
Once there, check out the Atlas tab pictured below.
This should have taken you to http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/hotbox/atlasDownloading streaming video clips from Discovery Education Make sure you go to Tools and check that the Pop-up Blocker is turned off.
Right-click the clip
Choose to "save target as" (if you are going to link it to a PPT or something else, make sure it is in the same folder as the product you are producing)
(don't save too much to your hard drive)
Change the "x" in a ".asx" to an "f", as in ".asf" in all cases discussed today.
Access your stuff by using your My Content tab, as well as the School Content tab. Great training resources under the Professional Development tab. Incorporating KET EncyloMedia Resources into MS Word
Download your video clip to a folder on your computer that also contains your project materials (PowerPoint, Word doc, Inspiration, etc)
Highlight the keyword(s) to act as your a link
Choose the video that becomes hyperlinked.
To play hyperlinked video, CTRL+click hyperlink
Hyperlinking a Movie Clip in PowerPoint Select PowerPoint slide with an image. Highlight the image Insert/Movies from File (under MS 2003; it's a 'ribbon'-look in MS 2007) go back to slideshow and click image = video plays Embed - lack of control (for student to use) Hyperlink - more control (for teacher to use - ability to stop) With Inspiration (you can only Hyperlink, no Embedding)
Using a Web
Choose Link
Insert a graphic
Look for your graphic
Hyperlink
Demonstration of an Encyclomedia NING (NING is a social networking software) The New Internet: Web 2.0 and What it Means for Educators, presented by Stephen Smith, was my other session for the day. The session description stated the Internet has once again proven to be a place of constant change. Web 2.0 is best understood as a "second" generation of web-based technologies that offer enhanced interactivity with content and communications. Examples include social networking sites, wikis, blogs, and much more. This session examines the goals of the Web 2.0 movement and its potential for enhancing instruction.
Getting to Cold Springs, KY was not a joy this morning. Maybe it was the road construction near the I71/I75 split. But, I'm here now listening to Dr. Mike Ribble, co-author of Digital Citizenship.
For the past 72 hours, I've been exploring and creating accounts for a variety of Web 2.0 apps. Here are a handful of cool apps I've been looking at over the weekend. Some are for work. Some are for play while working.
Google Docs (I used this to quickly upload all of the TIS '08 Conference posts)
Google Apps for use with my school district. (5,700 employees and I'm only the 12 user) Google Apps promotes itself as giving everyone at your organization a custom email address, tools for word processing, spreadsheets and presentations, a shared calendaring system and access to a flexible intranet system.
Maybe that's what you should call it when you turn around and find your first blogs from 367 days ago. If you what to see how my life has changed in 367 days, go back to http://lifelonglearner-learningtechnology.blogspot.com/ and take a quick look. Quick is right. What was it, about 5 postings.
I must say, I'm shocked at how much life I've lived in the past year. Thanks, Sherriann. I love you. Happy 6m Bday, Isabel. I love you to the moon...and back.
Core Content Internet Resources and Beyond Presenter: Tracy Hayes Description: Explore TICK for core content resources along with TrackStar and Thinkfinity.
Teacher Center at Discovery Education Streaming - for teacher login and access Assignment Summary gives you a code number. Students log in from the student side. Student Center at Discovery Education Streaming - for student login and access I think that this was a cool link once the teacher account was created, but can't remember - www.streaming/discoveryeducation.com/Tools/assignmen
KATE – Kentucky Academy of Technology Integration Check out the 3 hyperlinks in the thin blue banner at very top of the KATE page. If you are Guided by your own questions about relation to a Core Content area – go here.
Presentation stuff From Tracy Tracy’s page If that link doesn’t work, go www.winburn.fcps.net , then >Hover over staff >Hover over teams >Click exploratory >scroll down, then click the link below the Computer icon
Making your own Voki (a speaking Avatar) Go to www.voki.com to create your own speaking Avatar for FREE - - - but read Note below first.
Complete the register process via email When you click Create, you can create a Voki SCENE Click the head and choose a character, from animals, politics, holiday, etc. Choose the clothing Choose the bling. Choose background. Give it a Voice (she used 2nd icon - Text to Speech – icon like a “T” key) Change the rhythm of speech, the pauses and tempo, by placing commas in the text. Experiment with other tricks. Important Message: - Always click Done at the bottom of a Scene (you can always edit later) - ALWAYS TITLE or NAME YOUR SCENE so as not to get confused (You many have many someday).
Take your finished “My Voki” and embed it in Standard Web Page (or YouTube, or other blogs and web pages)
Note: After the TIS08 Conference, I found that SitePal has a great Intro Movie explaining everything you'd want to know about Avatars and Avatar customization. Nice demonstration. This pay-site even includes photo-converted Avatars. Cool. SitePal, with price levels of $10, $20, and $40/month , announces itself as an Internet service that allows you to create and add a fully customizable speaking Avatar to your websites, Flash applications and emails. Great for online businesses to engage visitors.
3.a. On the Education page, clicking the bright yellow KET Encyclomedia icon (yellow rectangle to right of center, just below blue apple banner) links you to http://www.ket.org/education/encyclomedia.htm
NOTE: 3.b. (Could read) Clicking the Log On link, located below the bright yellow KET Encyclomedia icon in the vertical dull yellow band (whew!!!) links you to Streaming Video at Discovery Education
4. Click Professional Development tab on the Top Right
When I get a chance, I'll have to check out the songs, the 40 speeches, and the interactive Atlas. Brian mentioned that you always have to go back to the Atlas to view the videos that stream from it.
Kentucky teachers may have questions about the Pass Code. Creation of a teacher's PassCode acts as a generator for student passcodes. Check with your Media Specialist. If they don't have it, contact your education consultant from KET.
Sherriann and I went to a company party last night that ServiceNet hosted at Caesars Indiana. I had a great time putting faces to all the names she has talked about over the past few months. And, Isabel? Well, she had fun staying with our neighbor. for a few hours. Thx Jill!!! Matter of fact, this was the first time Sherri and I had gone out as a couple since Isabel was born. Remember, Isabel will be six months old of Monday.
We got home before the 11 o'clock news and went to bed exhausted. Alas, I didn't wake up in time to take Isabel to the baby contest at Down Home Days. I was really hoping to get there to see some of the people who've emailed me about the Down Home videos I made last year. Well, maybe tomorrow.
Sherri's out today getting her hair and nails done while I take care of Isabel for the day. Isabel just finished off another 6-ounces and has crashed for a few minutes. Holly is overseeing the baby while I make this post. Well, maybe Holly's more interested in giving herself a bath. Regardless, she's in charge for the moment. Thx, Holly.
I had a great time meeting Sherri's colleagues. But it seemed like every time the conversation with me turned to the question, "How old is Isabel?", the answer led the parents in the conversation to ask this "Hello - my name is ROOKIE DAD" name tag wearer , "So, have you baby-proofed your house?" Over and over this question came up. I got to the point of saying, "We'll get to it by the time she's four-years-old."
I guess this is why I sat down to do some web searches on the topic. One of the first hits that I found useful was from the National Safety Council. Anyone else have some 'serious' baby-proofing suggestions for this Rookie Dad? I'd hate for anything bad to happen to this precious girl.
It took me awhile to figure out how to upload it to Blogger, then I realized just how easy it was to embed it. Just check out the list of possibilities!
I attended four intense sessions and drove home exhausted. But as soon as I got home and started to lie down on the couch, a burst of energy hit me and I couldn't wait to share. So, here are links and pages of notes I took.
The morning began with a nice breakfast of doughnuts and fruit. Then the 1 1/2 hour sessions took off.
Three sessions gave me plenty of tools to share when school resumes in the Fall. If the links below don't work for you, it's because I stored all my notes on Google Docs. Do you have an account?
I'm such the dunce sometimes. It took me two days to realize how to make my Google Docs publicly accessible. If you have a Google Docs account and want others (who aren't already collaborators) to simply view a Doc, just go to the share button and select "Publish as a Web Page." It's that easy. In case you miss my notes from TIS '08, here are links.
My fourth session was on Digital Citizenship in Schools, a text by Dr. Mike Ribble and Dr. Gerald Bailey of Kansas State University. You can purchase it on the ISTE site. I learned about our Federal Law called CIPA (the Children Internet Protection Act), the Kentucky Senate Bill 230 and 701 KAR 5:120. The latter being the reason students sign an AUP (Acceptable Use Policy) in schools today. This law provides the law answers the question why we have to filter (that is to say, "keep logs"), but not monitor, computer use in schools. Our presenter was Marty Park from the Office of Education Technology in the KY Dept. of Education.
It's 8PM the night before the 2008 IFL Conference begins at Bellarmine. I just contacted one of my mentors to see if everything was ready to roll for Day 1 of the IFL 2008 two-day gathering. In short, I offered to fill in as clinician for a Libray Media Specialist Institute taking place at a local high school tomorrow. The topic is Blogging & Wikis, so I am creating this posting as an introduction for the participants. Little did I know that one phone call would result in my sitting up at midnight to begin this page about Blogs, Wikis, and my "bear"ly manageable Rookie Dad schedule. Oh, my. (I have revised this post, reordering the material to allow for smoother delivery if used by others in the future. Enjoy.)
blog (from Web log) "A Web site that contains dated text entries in reverse chronological order (most recent first) about a particular topic. Blogs serve many purposes from online newsletters to personal journals to 'ranting and raving.' They can be written by one person or a group of contributors. Entries contain commentary and links to other Web sites, and images as well as a search facility may be included. Blogs may also contain video (vlog)." (copyright TechWeb Dictionary, 2007)
Here's an example of my blog as a personal journal.
First, a short note about the months of lag time between my recent blogs. It seems everything has been a rush since my last blog. Just look at my archive on the right side of this window and take notice of the posting dates. My last blog was months ago! I have to give credit to my niece, Liz, who commented about this on one of my earlier postings.
That winter storm resulted in 14 inches...the largest single snow event our area had seen in several years. Since then, time has simply flown. Note: Serious bloggers make the time to blog frequently. It keeps their readers coming back for more.
In my defense, here's a brief summary of recent events. From December through March, we were sleep deprived. (Comes with having a baby.) By April, Isabel had started sleeping through the night.
Isabel was baptized in April.
Just before the baptism, and during my Spring Break, we drove to Morrilton, Arkansas. There, we visited with Isabel's Great-grandmother. May Hope would have turned 100 this November.
How lucky we were to have those moments captured in photos and video, as May Hope passed away in mid-May. We are cherishing the memories of our annual visits through the years, and especially this last visit that included four generations of the Moose family.
An exceptionally talented women, May Hope's funeral was referred to as a celebration of life. Sherriann and I feel truly blessed that we were able to introduce her to her 26th great-grandchild, Isabel.
At this moment, Isabel has been put to bed, peacefully sleeping after a dinner that included rice cereal. She's started on the rice cereal three nights ago. And, even though her gums aren't showing it, she gives every indication that she will start to teethe in the days to come.
Some blogs may be short, but quite informative, entertaining, educational, etc. Here's an example of a brief blog made up of nothing more than a few links and ending with a silly quote.
The OMG Site of the Day All My Faves You'll understand why it's an "Oh My God!" site once you see it. Go ahead and see the list of Blogs and Wikis, as that's the topic at hand.
Educator Site of the Day http://wizard.4teachers.org/ The Web Worksheet Wizard and Project Poster have combined to make Web Poster Wizard. This FREE tool allows educators to create a lesson, worksheet, or class page and immediately publish it online. Teachers can also set up classes and assign projects to students. Students complete the assignments by creating their own online projects or reports. Teachers and students can even add images and links to their pages.
Cheesy Web Site of the Day Instant Rimshot (to punctuate the silly quote below)
And finally, the Quote du Jour "If a tree falls in the forest, and nobody's there to hear it, I hope it lands on a philosophy professor." -Stephen Colbert
Now, let's get serious about Wikis and Blogs. The following resources should give you a basic grounding in both. I hope you enjoy the multimedia resources both creative and information, whether you are a novice or advanced computer user. I like embedding educational videos to blogs when introducing new topics to learners.
A classic video discussing the birth and growth of a Wiki is called Heavy Metal Umlaut NOTE: Some profane text, an example of wiki vandalism, begins at 4:25 and is discussed in detail from 4:55-5:40. While this section is informative, I would never use this in a classroom with students. I mention it here only to make educators aware of the content in this one section.
Tour Google Docs and think about the possibilities for collaborative projects. The Share button allows you to input one or more email addresses of those you wish to invite as collaborators on any project. The Tools drop-down menu contains a Revision History tool that you should remember from the discussion in the Heavy Metal Umlaut video above. This tool allows you to see when and by whom all revisions where made.
Additional CommonCraft videos can be found on The Common Craft Show. The Common Craft Show is a series of short explanatory videos by Lee and Sachi LeFever. Their goal is to fight complexity with simple tools and plain language. They call their format "paperworks" and publish a new video about once a month. Check them out.
To conclude this brief introduction to Wikis and Blogs, I was asked to pass along the JCPS MEDIA SERVER link to JCPS teachers. In addition, there is a JCPS History - Wiki and Blog link under construction.
CODA: I found these last two videos interesting. You will too, if you have questions about the impact of Web 2.0 applications on learning and education.
Here are all the links used in this blog: (Do you really need to see these links? They are all either in AllMyFaves, or presented as active links throughout this posting)
Happily married, I take pride that my parents valued the ethics of hard work and a solid education. I've worn many hats: farmer, athlete , singer, educator. With Masters Degrees in Music Education and Instructional Computer Technology, I have 20 years in secondary education as music educator, eInstructor, Music and A&H online curricula developer; I'm currently the go-to-guy for all technology integration in an expanding K-12 environment. Each day brings a new adventure, and I find enjoyment in life-long learning.
A Baby Story - Round 2
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As I enjoy my time at home today, it is still hard to believe that our
little ten-day-old baby girl wasn't even supposed to arrive until today.
It's so fu...
