Global Education Conference 2012

Interested in topics surrounding global education?  Join the 2012 Global Education Conference from the comfort of your work place or home.  It runs November 12-17th with access to sessions afterward.

Check out the sessions in this brochure.  Follow the hashtag on Twitter #globaled12.

Happy conferencing!  

2011 Global Ed Conference Post

Ways to Use Thinglink in Education

Visual literacy is an emphasis in ESOL. The visual aspect helps language learners develop vocabulary and much, much more.  It is also beneficial for many learners.  As an online instructor who wishes to bring more meaningful visuals into the classroom, I’ve gained a deeper appreciation for visuals for adult learners as well.  There are many online options available to us.

When Tech:  Thinglink Education is one option with a lot of potential.  The ThingLink Education site describes it as an “Easy-to-use editor, teachers can create immersive and engaging experiences by adding tags to any image in a few minutes: Create authentic, valuable, and rich interactive stories around historical events using media (video, sound, photos, written words, etc.) found online. Annotate graphs and timelines. Record an instructional message to students inside an image. Embed interactive images into student blogs. Enable students to curate content inside an image to demonstrate understanding of a topic."  

At ISTE, I received a free upgrade to the educator’s account of Thinglink Education, which took me from 50 pictures to 500.  

Met Ed: It may be no surprise that Pinterest is a great starting place to see the potential in education.  Explore the pictures at Thinglink Education on Pinterest. It will take you a few clicks to be able to interact with the picture in its intended way.  (Wave your cursor over the Thinglink and click on the circles.) I found this interesting one there by Mr. Loret’s World History class that demonstrates how students are using it!  Here's another Thinglink jumping place to gather ideas and examples.
 

 

Above is my first try with Thinglink. (Wave your cursor over the words, and click on the circles.) It’s very basic, but it shows me the potential firsthand.  I made this in Tagul and uploaded it to Thinglink.  I’ll use it to introduce a few options of online timelines my students can explore for an upcoming course.  It only took a few minutes to make.  I can imagine linking to videos I upload to You Tube or audio instructions I make on SoundCloud.  There are many possibilities.  With an assignment on theories of SLA, students could link to credible articles, videos, etc. that discuss and describe the theories.  Students could even have a “debate” starting place with the words “yes” and reasons on one picture and “no” and reasons on another.  They could then debate away, either by recording their voices and linking to Vacaroo or SoundCloud or simply by writing reasons on the picture and debating in person.  Thinglink has an option to invite others to work on a picture collaboratively.  There are a ton more possibilities, ways librarians, musicians, and others are using it too.  This Wired article gives an overview of a few.

Happy Thinglinking! 

Popcorn Maker

This TED Talk with Ryan Merkley called, Online Video--Annotated, Remixed, and Popped,  caught my attention. And I'm glad it did!  Watch the short five minute talk to see why. Ryan describes Mozilla's Popcorn Maker.

Watch Popcorn Maker in action as it pulls in information from across the web and augments to another TED Talk that brought a smile to my face today-- Science Is For Everyone with Beau Lotto and Amy O'Toole.

Give Mozilla Popcorn Maker a try.   It's in beta, but looking promising and pretty simple to use.  In a few minutes I pulled in a You Tube video I created and augmented to it with a map, link and annotations.

Met Ed:  The potential applications for tools like this are numerous in education.  What can be done by the average bear like myself leaves me amazed.  Just think what the students can do given some guidance and purpose.

K12 Online Conference: Learn, Share, and Remix

The K-12 Online Conferences always have an abundance of information and great presentations.  This year's looks like no exception.  The topic is Learn, Share, and Remix . It runs from October 22 - November 2nd.
Here's the schedule.  View the teasers here.

Enjoy now and the recorded sessions and links later.  See former posts about the K-12 Online Conference and more here.

Meograph: A Digital Storytelling Tool

I was pleased when I came across Meograph during my quest to pull together digital storytelling tools and resources.  It's claim is four dimensional storytelling that "combines maps, timelines, links, and multimedia to tell stories in context of where and when.” As with any online information, it is important to note the date that this post is written.  This is particularly true because as I write, Meograph is in beta.  It seems to have tons of potential, and I love the concept in education!

Get past the demo if you are a K-12 educator.  It has some interesting examples, but may not be appropriate for K-12.  Sign up and give it a try. Watch this how-to video to get an overview.   

I created this Meograph in more than a few minutes, but that is often the case the first time around.  If I were to attempt this again, I’d assume it would be much quicker with better results.  Here are some things I learned along the way that may save you time if you make one yourself.  

View Meograph on Google Earth mode in Chrome for more fun. Click on the orange "see more" tabs to view the links that are available.  In order to get the slides to stay in the intended order, you need to be specific with the date/time.  The narration lasts 10 seconds.  I couldn’t get Salar de Uyuni correctly placed on the map, but I thought it was kind of funny how Google Earth placed it because it really is an off the map type of place. Shortly after I published this post, the Meograph team kindly informed me that there is an option to put the exact latitude and longitude in, which could make a good geography lesson. 

Right now, there are two options available for privacy, publishing or not publishing. YouTube is the only way to embed videos, and at this point in history this could be an unfortunate deterant for K-12 (an entirely different important topic).  It's in beta; what can I say, it is one worth trying and following.  It sounds like their team has some ideas for expanding it for educational use.

Met Ed

Again, there is amazing potential in this site and its basic concept.  Maps meet multimedia, digital storytelling and basically any content area + creativity = seize the tech integration moment.  About any concept that includes two or more locations could be used.  This particularly seems relevant for ESOL, English, Social Studies, and any project that involves mapping a person, event, or process.  I can imagine adult ESOL classes mapping their stories.  A science class could write a biography or trace the origins of a discovery. Etc.  As with any project like this planning such as storyboarding and researching, practice, editing, and adequate time are a few important elements.

Happy Meographing!

Does the Spine Matter? Book Spine Poetry Part 2

Book Spine Poetry is simple-fun! See my previous post for evidence.  I stumbled upon it, but it was inevitable that I would do so.  Read on for my related lazy summer library days story that prompted me to take the next step and create.

My Lazy Summer Library Days Story

As a kid I recall sultry summer afternoons that lingered on forever.  Solitude and freedom awaited me in the old train depot that had been “renovated” to accommodate a meager number of books available to the public in the rural town I called home.  I found refuge wiping away cobwebs from book spines and gently blowing off the dust as I randomly selected one with a sense of awe.  Seemingly minutes passed before the librarian softly told her only patron that she needed to close to make it to her evening job. 

Considering the amount of time I had spent gazing at the books, I wandered slowly home carrying only a light knapsack with room to spare.  Much of my time had been spent browsing the spines, daydreaming about what story, adventure, or truth of human nature might be encompassed in those brief titles.  I knew exactly where the larger than life dictionary was located and frequently used it to look up the meanings of words in the titles.  Being that I was only in third grade, most of the books were beyond my reading comprehension level, but the titles allowed me to create my own stories.

Now, skip forward a few decades… “Does the title matter?” one of my students asked me.  This question is like asking a chef if an ingredient is of importance.  Rather than tell, I show. Print is both purposely and haphazardly displayed about both my work and home environments.  Book spines give a quick glimpse of topics of importance to members of my home. 

What’s Your Poem or Story?

Book Spine Poetry has a way of bringing out our stories and creativity.  What’s your story?  What new story comes alive when you combine the books that surround you on a daily basis in a Book Spine Poem?  How can this be used in education?  What could you learn about your students or coworkers by creating and/or participating in a school-wide Book Spine Poetry challenge?  Imagine the possibilities in the bilingual or multilingual classroom! 

Where’s the tech here? 

Well… this one’s got two sides.  There’s the platform needed to share the pictures and the photography involved.  It could be made into a multimedia project, combined with audio or an online presentation tool, etc.  But there is also a downside.  As I searched about my home to create my own poems, most of the recent books I have consumed were located on my tablet… 

Happy Book Spine Poetry creating!

Book Spine Poetry Part I

Do a search for “Book Spine Poetry” and a plethora of examples and sites will be at your fingertips.  Try your own version.  It’s simple-fun!  Nina Katchadourian is a reappearing name you will discover in your search.  Her Sorted Books Project is well worth exploring!  Libraries and bloggers run their own Book Spine Poetry challenges that are fun to browse as well.

Here is my first amateur attempt.  My kiddo and I dusted off a few books in our library, discussed possible poems while sharing a few laughs, and then took some quick shots on the iPhone.  I then spent entirely too long playing with my new Mac version of SnagIt, all-the-while admiring the abilities of professional photographers and imaging the possibilities if only I were willing to invest more time.  Life is in the details is a phrase that comes to mind when Book Spine Poetry is attempted.

I know this much is true…
The world is open,
The sun also rises.
Where the sidewalk ends,
Let the great world spin.
 

The Outsiders:

Little women,
The girl who fell from the sky,
Children of the river,
Invisible man.
Utopia?

The Call of the Wild
Two old women
Walkabout
The chocolate war.
Hatchet.

You can’t go home again
Alive!

Can you guess what genre each of these poems relates to?  Stay tuned for an upcoming post that inspired this creation frenzy and discusses application in educational technology.  Happy Book Spine Poetry creating! 

When Tech Met Ed Changes

Kacey and I have blogged together on When Tech Met Ed for close to two years now.  It’s been a lot of fun as the blogging often extended beyond what is posted to interesting conversations. It’s fun to see the changes in educational technology in this short time by reviewing some of these links as well.

Check out these posts that highlight some of Kacey’s contributions.

Our Co-Presentations and Workshop

• Bringing Writing Alive With Web 2.0 Tools EERC Presentation 
• Blogging as a Springboard: OSU INTO Presentation
• Try Blogging with 180 High School Students.  It Works!

Posts and Collaboration

• Listening and Watching: The Future of Media
• A Web of Reflections and App Picks
• The Versatile Blogger at Year One
• Seedlings Wraps Up Another Great Season
• Digital Curriculum Discussion
• Musings from the Oregon Reading Conference: iPod Touch Session
• Khan Academy Conversation
• 5 Ways to Know You’ve Geeked Out for Tech and Ed
• Explore 21st Century and RSA Animate
• Reflections from Class: Engaging Students with Storyline Online
• Two Ways of Organizing: Evernote and Dropbox
• Collaborative Reflection from Around the World
• A Shout Out a Long Time in Coming
• Dropbox Saves the Day

Links of the “Month” series 2011

• Summer, May, April, March, February

Thanks to Kacey for her contributions. She can be found on Twitter and Google Plus. I’m not sure what the future of When Tech Met Ed holds, but I will continue to explore education and technology here as time allows.  The site will take on a different format and change within the next few months, so thanks for sticking around!  

Summer Camp Experiences Recorded with Weebly, Animoto, and Educreations

Five iPads. Thirteen laptops. Five college staff.  200 high school students at summer camp.  Four days per session with students rotating between laptops and iPads in groups at 25 minutes intervals for two hours. What a way to spend a summer month!  

I held my breath in anticipation as this project unfolded before my eyes.  Weebly was the chosen website platform, and Educreations and Animoto were the primary apps.   PBWorks Wiki was integrated as a storage space to make easy access and viewing of the iPad creations in one place. Dropbox was used to manage pictures. I had used all of these before, but never on this scale or in such a tight time frame, so it was exciting to see this come together.

Purpose and background

The Oregon Migrant Leadership Institute brings high school students (9^th-12^th) for a week camp where they learn leadership skills.  Read about it and view the site they pulled together here.  The writing and technology component served the purpose of allowing participants to document their experiences, practice writing skills, and get some exposure to emerging technologies and resources.

What worked

Staff pulled together:  Plain and simple I had an amazing staff of college students!  Within a few hours of training (the first hour with them looking at me with uncertainty and their eyes glazed over), they arose to the occasion in a huge way.  The photographer set forth to figure out syncing pictures on the laptops in Dropbox and on the iPads.  The iPad experts who had never held iPads before became experts, creating examples and planning lessons.  After the first day, it became apparent we needed more help, so two Weebly/Wiki experts jumped in coordinating the uploading of the iPad creations to a wiki the participants could access and in helping students with writing and design.  Here’s a link to the staff page.

Technologies:  I was pleased with the resulting integration of Weebly, Educreations, Animoto, and PB Works Wiki.  They met the needs of our purpose.  They each have free accounts for educators.  I upgraded to the paid version of the Weebly account, but everything else used was free.  (Animoto is worth applying for the educators’ account.  It only took a few minutes to get it.  There are a lot of added benefits, including longer videos.)  I also love the idea that students can continue to use these tools on their own.  It was exciting to see how these technologies supported our intended purpose and learning.  Weebly has an easy drag and drop website design interface, but it allows for more.  We limited our use of it due to time.  Educreations is a great way to use voice over, practice speaking skills, etc.  Animoto is a quick way to make videos with text, pictures, and videos.  View all of the technologies and resources introduced to the participants here.

Focused participants:  I’ve done this for three years before using blogs and was pleased with the past experiences.  However, integrating all of these technologies stepped it up a notch.  The students had less time (25 minutes compared to 50 in previous years).  Despite having a shorter time, they wrote as much or more!  They used their time wisely when they were on the laptops and seemed excited to create on the iPads. View the Shout Outs here and all of the participant pages here.

Tweeking here and there

Ongoing changes occurred, particularly after week one.  During week one, I realized that Weebly was capable of supporting more students than I had initially expected on one student site.  This led to simplifying and changes in the other sessions.  After day one and repeating the directions four times every 20 minutes, I found myself near exhaustion.  Screencasting with Snagit saved my voice.  I recorded the directions, played them, and stopped and discussed as needed.  It felt a bit odd, but did the trick.  It also freed me up to walk around the room responding to technical questions as the videos were playing.

The staff also brainstormed other ideas with the use of the Voicethread app, but we were limited in time and decided it was best to stick to two main apps.  Voicethread seems to have a lot of potential in having students think more critically though.

Working with high school students in a summer camp experience is rewarding.  It also really, really, really makes me appreciate the work high school and middle school teachers do!  Wow, those kids have energy!

The Teachers Should See This: iMotion HD

I am eleven years old and a guest blogger here.  I often find interesting sites and apps and sometimes want to share them.  I will occasionally post things I think teachers should see. Here is my post that I made about an app called iMotion HD. 

In the summer, it gets too hot outside to take my dog and leave her in the car while we go to the store or wherever we need to go. In the winter it gets too cold. We don’t like putting her in her kennel when we are gone, so we put her in the laundry room. We extended her area into the hallway and bathroom so that she has more room. When we are gone, my mom and I always wonder what she does when she is alone at the house. One day, I decided that we should use iMotion HD on my mom’s iPad to video tape what she was doing. Why not use the camera app? Well the camera app will turn off after a few minutes. iMotion HD is different than the camera app. I will tell you why.

iMotion HD is a stop motion app. It is an app where you program the video to take a picture every second, minute, day, etc. You can also make it take a picture every time you want it to if you are there on the iPad. After you have all the pictures you need, it will put them all together in a video. You can change the speed to be really fast or super slow.

Now I will show you what I did with iMotion HD. I made two different videos. I programmed the app to take a picture every two minutes. In the first video, I left the bathroom door open and only gave my dog one toy. We were gone for about 40 minutes. In the second video, I left the bathroom door open and gave her some more toys. We were gone for about an hour. Then, I compared how active my puppy was in each video. Here is the second video. She wasn’t very active in either of the videos.

There are a lot of things you can  do once you make an iMotion HD video.  My mom has edited them before in a video editor program.  I added music to this one on You Tube.

I hope you liked the post. Try to see what you can make with iMotion HD.