Classes from both G.W. Carver and East Salem have put together a few questions in a Voice Thread for our friend, Mrs. Swecker, as she travels to Mexico to scuba dive.
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I KNOW we have some scuba divers out there! Even if you are not, here’s a chance to participate in a really fun “underwater” project from area ITRT, Meg Swecker. Meg is an ITRT for Roanoke County, and an avid scuba diver. She is embarking on a trip to Mexico next Thursday (Nov. 15) to go scuba diving, and is taking students with her “virtually” using Voice Thread! (If you haven’t seen Voice Thread yet, it’s the same website used to create the Galapagos Islands Show I posted about earlier.) Right now her Voice Thread is private, but if you let me know you want to participate (or at least take a look), I will add you to the list to receive an invite to the project. Then you and your students can ask questions about the underwater habitat, and she will do her best to answer through digital pictures and her voice. If this sounds like fun to you, let me know! It is very easy to do…and great for any grade level…even Kindergarten ;) !!
It’s been a crazy week in my personal life, so not much “free time” to really surf the net…and not much time to keep up with K-12 Online Conference. But I’m not worried…that’s the great part…most of the conference (all the presentations, at least) will be there waiting for me when things are more manageable on the home front.
That said, I have had the chance to check in on a couple presentations. This one really caught my attention:
Obstacles to Opportunities Keynote: The Why’s and Wherefore’s
Brian Crosby is a 5th grade teacher in Nevada and a blogger on Learning is Messy. He shows actual projects that he has done with his at risk 5th graders…that’s why I was really drawn to this presentation (click here to see). It is really worth the watch!!
For a list of other great presentations available through the K12 Online Conference, click here. Pay no attention to dates….once the link is posted, most of these presentations will be available whenever you have the time to watch/listen. There are a few live events…but these too will be archived so you can watch later.
Technorati Tags: k12online07oo01 k12online07
Anyone interested in participating together?
I think Pam Elgin first bookmarked this awesome easy-to-use site, Animoto, that creates very cool looking videos from a group of pictures. I tried it out today with a some pictures I scanned (but digital pictures would be even easier) and was very impressed at Animoto’s easy of use! Try it out for yourself!
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About the pictures in this video: One of the big projects I’ve been working on this summer (and probably for the rest of the year) is organizing family pictures and memorabilia from my childhood. My dad remarried this past November, and he recently moved to a home with his new wife. He’s cleaning out his attic, so I’m got the chance to take all my childhood papers, pictures, and other things to my own house. It’s been huge for me…looking back over my life through drawings, writings, report cards, and pictures. I’m so grateful that my parents saved all those things. This video is just a small, small sample of some of the pictures from my childhood.
Thought I’d throw out an invite to my home in Second Life! It is located on Eduisland 3. Pam Elgin and I have set up a spot for educators, especially ITRTs, to meet, chat and explore Second Life…and we’d love to have you join us! But you don’t have to be an ITRT…anyone is welcome!
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Eduisland%203/57/96/23/
We have enjoyed meeting a few ITRTs from surrounding areas so far! I’m sure there are more of you all out there…please come by and visit. Pam has made some great free T-shirts to advertise our calling…and we have started an ITRT group. Second Life would be a great place to explore together…and meet virtually!
Also, if you have a chance to attend NECC (National Educational Computer Conference) this year, either virtually or in real life, you will notice a Second Life presence. While ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) has maintained headquarters on Eduisland for awhile now, their new island has just been finished in time for this event, and I hope it will be packed! I am so bummed that I will not be attending in Atlanta this year, but I will definitely be participating in Second Life…hope to see you there!
If you want to read more about Second Life, check out Tyna Catteneo’s blog!
As the end of the school year draws near, here are some fun technology resources that you might want to use…
(Make sure you try out the websites out on your computer first…and that you sign up ahead of time for an account!)
Post projects on your web page (or I will put them on the school page), post links on schoolnotes, or save them to show next years’ kids as an introduction to your class.
Want to learn a little about Web 2.0 things or ideas for using technology in your classroom? You might want to check out the social networking group on Ning for educators interested in using Web 2.0. It’s called Classroom 2.0. There’s some great discussions, pictures, videos, and blog posts and it’s also a great place to try out social networking for the first time.
This is interesting….a remake of Karl Fisch’s famous slide show by Jeff Brenman. He won SlideShare’s World’s Best Presentation Contest.
[slideshare id=33834&doc=shift-happens-23665&w=425]
Karl Fisch gave Jeff permission to remake the slide show for the contest…the final product is awesome. That just shows what collaboration and sharing can produce…what a great example to set, Karl, and way to go Jeff!
You might have heard of You Tube or Google Video. If you have been reading this blog, you’ve seen some examples of videos from those sites. There is another video source for teachers out there: TeacherTube. The good news is that Teacher Tube is directed at teachers, which means that most of the content there should be appropriate for teachers. The one drawback is that Teacher Tube has yet to find a way to interface neatly with edublogs (like You Tube and Google Video) but some other sites will allow you to embed the video directly in your page. Click here to see a list of some of my favorites.