Week 9

This week I explored the virtual world of Second Life as Exstasy Cyberstar, and it was interesting, although I got lost a few times and didn't learn to fly until later in my visits.  I pursued the option of buying land , and of course shopping for new clothes, body parts or skin.  It shouldn't amaze me but it does that there is a fee for  Linden dollars to buy items in Second Life.  

Classroom applications are possible with guidance and provisions for student's online safety.  Most residents were very friendly and  some were extremely so.  I used the video tutorials to view the tools available for teleporting, flying, purchasing Linden dollars  or

personal items. There could be more appropriate  examples for younger students, it would require that  I spend  more time to research  available options.

 

Mindomo

mindomo

Wikis in Education

Week #8                            http://k12learning20.wikispaces.com

Exploring the listed education wikis was fun, and time consuming.  I selected two wikis that would help me become more proficient with technology and instruction.  The first one is K12Learning2.0.  This site had resources for training options which would really help me.  The second one is Clio Tech, this wiki had options for more specific learning and certifications with Google, Diigo to mention the ones that I am familiar.

Classroom use of the wiki has advantages and disadvantages as with any tool.  Students will learn how to work cooperatively with their peers.  The advantage of this peer review process is a healthier  student self esteem as an author and creator.  The wiki would also reinforce the need to check on the validity of data used in their writing.  A wiki can give students time for reflection on what they have read.  Taking time to think is a skill that will help the students through out their life.  

 The challenge of verifying valid content can be a daunting process, so the students will need strategies for checking on content validity.  A second challenge is the possibility of cyber bullying.  Again, this can be addressed with a clear understanding of information literacy and clarifying what is appropriate and what is not. 

A wiki has great potential for students and staff in their quest for knowledge.

Week 5

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.         ~Anne Frank

Week Four

"We are not in a position in which we have nothing to work
with. We already have capacities, talents, direction,
missions, callings."
 
                                    -- Abraham Maslow

The program I reviewed is Mindomo, a mindmapping tool.

  You will need to click on the file for viewing. 

http://www.screencast.com/users/Connie10/folders/Jing/ 

Tools for the Classroom & Administrative Productivity

Week Three

On every journey you take, you are met with options. At every fork in the road, you make a choice. These are the decisions
that shape your life.
~ Mike DeWine

Glasscubes allows users to upload, edit and share documents online in secure workspaces. Combining key document management features, Glasscubes also contains project management features such as task management, online discussions and shared calendars. It's very simple to use which means that if you roll it out to a team, the whole organization or external companies, you will be working better together in moments, without any training. And because it is web based, with no downloads required, it is available from any location and is even usable on smartphones.

http://www.glasscubes.com

Doris - Productivity Tool that helps you Get Things Done

Doris allows you to better focus on the essentials. Offload all the things you need to remember onto your Doris account and free up your mental RAM. Simplify your life, get things done, and never forget that important task again.

http://beta.dorisapp.com/

kSolo - Sing, Record - Send to Friends

kSolo.com is dedicated to providing you with the ultimate online karaoke singing experience. The site is the first Web based sing along application to allow users to sing, record, and playback personalized renditions of their favorite songs.

http://ksolo.com



FitnessJournal - Your Fitness Success Starts Right Now
Fitness Journal offers a complete exercise log for people who wish to improve their fitness level, athletes who are looking to set a new personal record, and people who just want to lose a few pounds. It's accounting software for the body that is designed to help you stay motivated and reach your health and fitness goals.
http://fitnessjournal.com

Slideserve:Taking your PowerPoint Presentations Online-

SlideServe has an easy way to upload and share PowerPoint presentations with the world. Embed the presentations to social networking sites, blogs, and friends.

http://slideserve.com

FFont - Free Fonts Donwload

FFonts is one of the very best font resources with literally thousands of fonts available for download. Mainly high quality fonts that may easily be used in professional designs. The site is simple to use and provides a good overview of the available font.

http://www.1001freefonts.com/



Plan fm - Your Plans Everywhere
Plan.fm is your social utility for collecting the plans you make on other sites and organizing them into a single source that you can access from anywhere.
http://oneforty.com/item/plan-fm

Wetoku - Bring Talkingheads Experience to your Viewers

With Wetoku, bloggers can bring the talking heads experience to their viewers. There is no software to install. Bloggers can use webcams to meet someone interesting, record the interview, and embed the video right away.

http://wetoku.com/

Storybird is a service that uses collaborative storytelling to connect kids and families. Two (or more) people create a Storybird in a round robin fashion by writing their own text and inserting pictures. They then have the option of sharing their Storybird privately or publicly on the network. The final product can be printed (soon), watched on screen, played with like a toy, or shared through a worldwide library.

http://www.storybird.com

Kobo - eReading: Anytime, Anyplace

Free eBooks for iPhone, Blackberry or Palm Pre - Millions of free classic books, news and magazines, new york times best sellers, globe and mail bestsellers, eReading anytime, anyplace, online and on your mobile phone.

http://www.kobobooks.com/


CeeVee - Quick & Painless Resume Management
CeeVee is an online tool that simplified the building and maintaining a CV/Resume online.
http://ceevee.com

TubeRadio.fm is a web application that looks & feels like a music player where users can quickly find, listen to, build, and share playlists of their favorite artists' music. Since TubeRadio based on the music library of Youtbue, it makes it easy to find just about any song.

http://tuberadio.fm



Sprouter - A Microblog for Entrepreneurs
''What are you working on?'' Connect with other innovators to network, share ideas and collaborate. Solicit real-time feedback and benefit from previous discussions. Discover relevant events in your local area and post your own.
http://sprouter.com



Game Classroom is the next generation of homework help!
We scoured the web for the best and most trustworthy educational games with the single goal of providing students, parents and teachers with the best interactive homework help the web has to offer!
http://www.gameclassroom.com/

Week Two

-Sally Koch

            Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us every day.

                                                           -Sally Koch

Trend #8: Social Learning Moves Toward Center Stage.

                              Social learning places an emphasis on the process or the context of learning rather than on what is learned (John Seely Brown, 2008). Process learning would be similar to the graduate seminar for students in an Educational Leadership class; students are given questions for consideration and then researching best practices for responding to that hypothetical situation.

John Seely Brown, in his presentation, Re-Imagining Dewey for the 21st Century ties the social culture of learning to participating in life long teaching (Brown, 2010). This model of learning is comparable to Dewey's basic tenet that students need to become problem solvers (John Dewey and Progressive Education) as they prepare for their own academic program of study.

There is a path that will assist teachers develop meaningful instruction for students and their future.  Elements of an effective presentation on this path  include;  1)Support for creating representations of knowledge, 2) Encourage teachers to review and critique and learn from peers, 3) Provide venues for sharing experiences/evidence to improve practice, and 4) Re-mix-Enable teachers to integrate others' knowledge into their own knowledge,  Brown, J. S. (2010).

References
Brown, J. S. (2010). John Seely Brown. Retrieved February 7, 2010, from John Seely Brown: http://johnseelybrown.com/
John Dewey and Progressive Education. (n.d.). Retrieved February 7, 2010, from http://www.bgsu.edu/department/acs/1
John Seely Brown, a. R. (2008). Minds on Fire Open Education, The long Tail and Learning 2.0. Educause Review , 18 - 32.