Unplugging Conferences

There are times when technological innovations can fundamentally alter our practices or culture. This is not to say that we aren't sometimes so enamored with technology that we attempt to use it to solve human or social issues in impractical ways, but other times we actually create tools that have the power to re-create us, and I believe that is the case with the effect of the read/write Web.

For the last few years there has been an increased trend in the ed-tech arena to explore the use the collaborative tools of the Internet to change the nature of conferences or workshops. First on my radar were David Warlick's informal and loosely-scheduled gatherings of educational bloggers at conferences where he was speaking, which he called "edublogercons." These gave rise to last year's first all-day and now formally titled "EduBloggerCon" in Atlanta before NECC 2007, Chris Lehman's EduCon 2.0 in Philadelphia, a host of smaller gatherings at local ed tech conferences, my own Classroom 2.0 "LIVE" workshops, the online "OpenPD" sessions of Darren Draper and Robin Ellis, and this June's EduBloggerCon '08 and NECC "Unplugged." Trying to avoid the U.S.-centric model of all-good-things-invented-here, similar events in the UK called TeachMeets have been being held, and there are surely others. Going outside of the boundaries of educational technology, Open Conferences,Unconferences , Bar Camps, Foo Camps, and a host of other collaboratively organized events (see links below) are mirroring the the openness and self-organization opportunities not created by, but significantly strengthened and enhanced by the Internet and the Web.

This should not be surprising, and is eloquently described by Clay Shirky in his profound book, Here Comes Everybody:

A revolution in human affairs is a pretty grandiose thing to attribute to a ragtag bunch of tools like e-mail and mobile phones.... [These technologies] are manifestations of a more fundamental shift. We now have communications that are flexible enough to match our social capabilities, and we are witnessing the rise of new ways of coordinating action that take advantage of that change.... [T]he core idea is [that] we are living in the middle of a remarkable increase in our ability to share, to cooperate with one another, and to take collective action, all outside the framework of traditional institutions and organizations....

By making it easier for groups to self-assemble and for individuals to contribute to group effort without requiring formal management (and its attendant overhead), these tools have radically altered the old limits on the size, sophistication, and scope of unsupervised effort...

For most of modern life, our strong talents and desires for group effort have been filtered through relatively rigid institutional structures because of the complexity of managing groups. We haven't had all the groups we've wanted, we've simply had all the groups we could afford. (pp. 20 - 21)

I would argue that we are not only now capable of organizing, publicizing, and holding group activities without the traditional overhead associated with larger institutions--as Mr.Shirky states--but we also now have a set of Web tools that substantively create new ways of interacting in those group activities which redefine our productive capabilities. Some are listed below, and I'm hopeful that this post will elicit comments from others who have other methods or experiences which can become a part of the larger body of practice we can all draw from when looking at holding these kind of events.

I'm also listing a set of links that I've been keeping up at www.conference20.com, a wiki I set up to document these ideas. I'd like to invite, as well, those who are interested in using NECC Unplugged as a venue for exploring the benefits of a collaboratively-built schedule of sessions during a traditional conference, to join me on in a working web-conference meeting on Thursday, June 5th, 2008, starting at 4pm PDT / 7pm EDT / 11pm GMT. Links to the Elluminate session will be posted at http://www.classroom20wiki.com/live+conversations for the call. NECC Unplugged offers a host of opportunities, as its generous sponsorship and promotion by NECC's organizers will give it unique reach. Preliminary planning includes offering time for speed or "lightening" demos, facilitated discussions, group meet-ups, informal mentoring, ad-hoc panels, daily wrap-ups, and even a chance for attendees to give an abbreviated version of sessions they either wanted to give at NECC but were not formally accepted (the " Salon de Refuses"), or to speak on topics that weren't prominent or current when presentation submissions were due months ago. While my efforts will be focused in the Bloggers Cafe area, there will be six physical "lounge" areas for these activities. NECC Unplugged, it seems to me, holds the potential to become akin to the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, a great addition to an existing and more formal event.

One element to these meetings that intrigues me, and which I'm still trying to quantify, is the ability for an engaged and devoted group to succeed in producing from their own experiences material and learning which not only meet what a single expert might bring, but often exceed traditional expertise. Darren Draper and I have been struggling to find a easy phrase for this, what he calls "Hargadon's Law," but which surely has been expressed somewhere else by someone more eloquent. It's the literal equivalent of 1 + 1 = 3, which does not invalidate the value of an expert, but which demonstrates or draws out the wisdom of a group, showing it to be significantly more powerful than typically manifest in more traditional teaching environments. Again, arguably not founded on the technologies of the Web, but enhanced and focused, perhaps, by using them.

Ideas for enhancing or creating self-organized meetings:

1. Use a wiki to organize the event. Or rather, use a wiki to let others help in organizing an event. You can even transfer the responsibilities for topics and organization to those who are attending! Ask them to sign themselves up on an "I'm attending" page. Make a blank agenda and let them fill it in. Granted, there is a little training or hand-holding that has to take place to teach others how to use a wiki, but return in collaborative effort from your group results in a huge net savings of time.

2. Ask your attendees to volunteer to promote the event, to facilitate sessions, to give speed demos (under 5 minutes) of successful tools or strategies, and to actively participate in whatever session they are in. Let them use the wiki to schedule themselves in to open slots you've created. You can also encourage the use of the "law of two feet:" if you're not giving or getting enough from a session, find or create another one.

3. Encourage independent discussions. Typically frowned upon in a formal conference, encourage participants to seek each other out for one-on-one mentoring, even skipping scheduled sessions to do so if they aren't interested in what's on the agenda. Consider building in as much informal time as formal time. There's nothing more tiring, and unproductive, for me than to have to rush from session to session at a conference, only to collapse at the end, to get home to all my catch-up work, and to not have the time to really go through my notes and drill down on items of significance. There's a temptation to schedule every minute because the organizers don't want to look as though they haven't done a good job! Don't be afraid of longer break times.

4. Be willing to change, reschedule, and reformulate on the fly. With a "living" wiki agenda, getting participants used to checking the wiki for upcoming sessions or activities allows you to make good changes when you need to.

5. Bring in special guests through video-conferencing tools. Skype video-conferencing deserves a post of its own. Some of my favorite times during an event have been during the lunch break when I've "trolled" the edublogosphere for short Skype conversations. Last week at a workshop in Phoenix, I sent out a twitter message and soon had our group talking with David Jakes , Chris Lehman, Dean Shareski, and Leigh Zeitz . We also interviewed a group of students from a high school technology leadership class, and I must say that the student interview panels I have done remotely are almost always a real highlight of a workshop or conference.

6. Use the wiki as a repository for all notes, brainstorms, links, photos, etc. The wiki then becomes a living extension of the meeting, a collective resource that is richer than our individual memories or perceptions, and which can be used as the basis for future events.

7. Encourage blogging, select blog tags, then use Technorati or Google Blog Search to feed into your event wiki the posts written about the event.

8. Take digital photos of the attendees and add them to the wiki or shared document you've created. Better yet, ask them to do so. You'll be amazed at how much more readable and memorable notes are when you can see the pictures of those who were there. You can ask attendees to tag their photos uniformly, so that they can either be viewed at outside storage services like Flickr, or easily embedded through widgets on your wiki.

9. Record sessions by audio or video, then post them for those who were not able to attend. Good audio recorders are now really easy to find at most office-supply stores. With a good webcam and free services like Ustream.tv and Mogulus.com, you can also video-stream meetings live for remote viewers or participants, and record them as well.

10. Start a social network or group for meetings or workshops. Ning.com is really good for this (full disclosure: I do consulting work for Ning). A social network with a good discussion forum allows you to transfer some of the discussions to the online forums instead of needing to take place in the actual meetings, or to keep discussions going well after a physical meeting is done. Lots of important discussions happen better over time when they can be addressed "asynchronously" and without rush that having to be resolved in the allotted time on an agenda can bring. Look at the Cue Community as a good example of this, or check out the brand new NECC 2008 community network.

11. Allow, or even promote, "back-channel chatting." You can use a standard IM or chat-client, including Skype.com, or a web-based service like Chatzy.com. Not only do most programs allow you to save the chat for later review, but they also can promote valuable ideas, thoughts, and questions from the quieter participants who might not normally jump into a discussion.

12. Remember electrical power and network needs. An event which encourages laptops to be open and in use at all times needs to have have lots of extension cords, power strips, and good Internet access. Don't forget to check the filtering that might be in place as well in case it will block you from your critical Internet resources.

13. Have fun!

Resources:

• Steve Hargadon, "Evaluating the Classroom 2.0 Workshop in SF"
• Will Richardson, "The Ultimate Conference Attendee"
• Steve Hargadon, Conference 2.0 (in response to Will Richardson post)
• Sylvia Martinez, Conferences Must Change with the Times
• Sylvia Martinez, Conference 2.0 - Changing How Sessions Are Selected
• Steve Dickie, MACUL's Gorilla Sessions 08
• Fortune Magazine, Welcome to Conference 2.0
• Lucie deLaBruere, Conference 2.0
• Julie Lindsay, Conference 2.0: The Global Stage Awaits
• Paula Thornton, Conference 2.0
• Stephanie Sandifer, Conference 2.0 Resources
• George Siemens, Peter Tittenberger, and Terry Anderson, Conference Connections: Rewiring the Circuit
• Chris Lehman, Conference 2.0 -- NECC, Reflections and Moving Forward
• Wikipedia on BarCamps
• Wikipedia on Open Space Technology
• Wikipedia on Open Conferences
• Wikipedia on Unconferences
• Julius Solaris, 20 resources for a smooth BarCamp
• CNNMoney.com, Why "unconferences" are fun conferences
• Ewan McIntosh's 10 Top Tips for Unplanning the Perfect Unconference

Footnote (from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTV_Unplugged):

"Unplugged refers to rock musicians primarily known for playing electric amplified instruments (usually the electric guitar & electric bass) performing live using primarily acoustic instruments.

"The word became incorporated into the title of a popular MTV series that began in the 1989/1990 US TV season, MTV Unplugged, on which musicians performed acoustic or "unplugged" versions of their familiar repertoire. Many of these performances were subsequently released as albums, often featuring the title Unplugged."

(Cross-posted from www.stevehargadon.com)

Doodle 4 Google: Vote For Your Favorites Until May 18th

Doodle 4 Google

The Doodle 4 Google finalists have been posted and now YOU can vote for the finalists in each grade level category. The deadline is for voting is May 18th, and the winning entry will be posted on Google's home page on May 22nd. The entries are truly creative and thoughtful, so take a peek! 

The Google Teacher Academy @ The Googleplex

This week is national teacher appreciation week and today is national teacher day! If you're a teacher, I hope your students are celebrating with you - and whoever you are, I hope you're celebrating the teachers in your life.

Google, CUE, and WestEd are celebrating by announcing a special Google Teacher Academy (GTA) to be hosted at the Googleplex, Google's headquarters in Mountain View, CA. I'm thrilled to be involved with this project - and to share it with you here on the ITM. As with previous GTA events, tech savvy educators and professional developers in the area can apply to participate in the special full-day workshop. For the first time ever, the application process is also open to anyone, including educators out of the area, out of the state, or even out of the country (with the understanding that Google doesn't cover travel or lodging). In other words, ITM readers who feel they meet the criteria for application are invited to apply!

Below is the official announcement and invitation to apply:

Google Teacher Academy - at the Googleplex
Mountain View, CA
June 25, 2008

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Applications Due: May 28, 2008
http://www.google.com/educators/gta.html
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Since today is National Teacher Day, we thought it appropriate to announce that Google's FREE training program for K-12 educators is back at the Google headquarters! Outstanding educators from across the country (and beyond!) are encouraged to apply for the Google Teacher Academy taking place on Wed, June 25, 2008.

The GTA is an intensive, one-day event (8:30am-7:30pm) where participants get hands-on experience with Google's free products and other technologies, learn about innovative instructional strategies, collaborate with exceptional educators, and immerse themselves in an innovative corporate environment. Upon completion, GTA participants become Google Certified Teachers who share what they learn with other K-12 educators in their local region.

50 outstanding educators from across the country will be selected to attend the GTA based on their passion for teaching, their experience as leaders, and their use of technology in K-12 settings. Each applicant is REQUIRED to produce and submit an original one-minute video, and applications for the event in Mountain View are due on May 28, 2008. Please use Google Video or YouTube to post these original videos. Participants must provide their own travel, and if necessary, their own lodging. Though we will give preference to K-12 educators within a 90-minute local commute of an Academy event, anyone may apply.

Learn more about the program and the application at http://www.google.com/educators/gta.html

The GTAs have been a wonderful experience for everyone involved, with 97% of all attendees rating the GTA as "outstanding."

Here are a few quotes from GTA participants:

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"The academy was everything I hoped for and more! I can't wait to plan out ways to use the tools we learned about, to share my experiences with my colleagues and to re-connect with the other academy participants!"

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"The focus on innovation in education, and not just about the tools, was right on target."

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"I appreciate the opportunity to be connected to a group of educators that are passionate about preparing students for the 21st century. I feel inspired and able to meet the challenges that lie ahead!"

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"Until now, I had never attended a conference where I was so engaged and loving every minute of it."

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"This was easily the most important professional development experience I have ever had as an educator. World-class tools demonstrated by world-class people at a world-class facility. THANK YOU!"

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"I love [the Google Certified Teacher community] for the ideas and inspiration that comes flowing to and from it...folks share professional development strategies (technology or otherwise) that have worked. It's nice to have a variety of ways to assist others and having that variety also provides spice for those of us responsible for doing the providing."

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Feel free to send any questions to "gteachers@gmail.com", and please spread the word to anyone who may be interested in joining us.

We're looking forward to another great event!

- The GTA Team

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Google Teacher Academy
June 25, 2008
Mountain View, CA

Applications Due: May 28, 2008
http://www.google.com/educators/gta.html
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The application deadline is just three weeks away, so don't wait to start putting together your video and your application. I hope to see some of you in Mountain View!

UPDATE: This announcement made the Official Google Blog, where Google also announced a new Geo Education site and a new getting started document for teachers using Google Docs. Check it out!

Your Digital Dozen?

• The Daring Dozen 2008: Our Heroes
  

  tags: globaleducation, educators, innovators

Just a quick post today (I'm using the bookmarking service Diigo to bookmark and annotate this link simultaneously) to point out Edutopia's 2008 edition of its annual Daring Dozen list. It reminds me of a friend, currently reading Rafe Esquith's Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire, who recently announced to me that this particular book makes her want to be a better person. This list sparks the same inspiration in me; it makes me want to be an innovative thinker and activist. I particularly like the interviews at the bottom of each profile in which the dozen discuss their own sources of inspiration, uses of technology and advice for others.

If you could make your own Daring Dozen list, who would make your cut? Who are others out there leading the way?

Cross-posted at High Techpectations

Global Education Collaborative Advisory Board Meeting

Global Education Collaborative Meeting Details

I spent my Saturday night chatting with friends, new and old, from around the US and the world. It's so easy to to develop the ties to make these conversations possible now, and I wonder how many people realize this. We can't continue to live in our own little bubbles, and I think that's why I'm so interested in the promotion of global awareness. As I wrote earlier this week in a response on the Global Education ning, it's not about "competing in a global economy" for me... it's about experiencing all that the world has to offer. I want kids and other adults to realize that there is so much out there to discover and explore.

Inspired by the success of Steve Hargadon's Classroom 2.0 group, I've organized the aforementioned ning and the project is about a year old. We're up to about 520 members, and activity is growing steadily. I convened members last night,first using Timebridge to schedule the meeting, and then using Flashmeeting as our communication tool. You can replay the meeting using the above link. There's also a transcript of the accompanying chat. Aside from a few people having flash issues and not being able to show their video feed, the meeting went really well. 25 people from the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Singapore participated!

I set a tentative agenda ahead of time which helped us stay on track. The first item discussed was how to develop a wider audience, specifically reaching out to teachers in Africa and South America, continents which are woefully underrepresented in the Global Education Collaborative. Alternative partnerships and publicity seeking measures probably will be pursued by members of our advisory group. We also discussed a survey, which I finished after the meeting, and you are welcome to take it here (Google Docs and Spreadsheets now supports survey creation). Our third agenda item focused on building community within our ning, and we mostly likely will be offering some monthly activities for adults so that we can get to know each other better. Collaborations seem to grow out of building relationships, so we want to give our members more opportunities to do so.

The ning design was also discussed and we decided that simplifying the design might help people find content. We decided also that a project template would be helpful, and that members need to post which country they are from as project partners are often seeking schools in specific areas of the world. Other design add-ons discussed included possibly adding Web 2.0 features such as a Meebo chat room and a Twitter feed for the GEC. I also think we need to build in some sort of mechanism for long range planning. For instance, U.S teachers can start promoting and planning now for next school year's projects. Last minute projects don't seem to work for teachers who already have pretty specific plans for meeting standards and the like.

Finally, many GEC members are interested in building a model global awareness curriculum. I'm not sure what that will look like, but as Emily Kornblut of TakingITGlobal pointed out, there are lots of exisiting curricular pieces out there that could be brought into play for this part of our project. She specifically pointed to Oxfam's resources. Personally, I'd like to develop something simple for teachers to refer to, possibly a global awareness version of this technology integration matrix. I'd love to see a continuum of example global education projects, ranging from the simple to the more complex, so that teachers could select projects to replicate depending on their level of confidence with content and technology. This curriculum model is in its earliest stages, so we shall see what direction it takes, but GEC members agreed that a wiki might be a great planning tool for this. We will establish one in the near future.

Stay tuned for more news from us...We're planning on informally getting together at the National Educational Computing Conference in San Antonio, Texas, this June. If you have any questions about our work, or about the tools involved in planning a global meeting such as this, please let me know. Also, we'd love for readers to join the ning and help us out as we continue to grow and thrive in this brave new world!

The meeting replay and note can be found here. This entry is cross-posted at the Infinite Thinking Machine, High Techpectations, and the Global Education Collaborative.

Shopping for A Wiki Tool?

When educators ask me what tool I would recommend as an entry point to using Web 2.0 in education, I usually suggest “wikis” as a quick way to get started. WikiWiki is the Hawaiian term for “quick” and you can’t get much quicker than a wiki when trying to publish content to the world wide web.

For the web publishing consumer who desires “flexible design elements” with the ability to create a stunning and unique “look and feel” for their web content, a wiki is NOT the right tool. But if you are looking for easy and quick when publishing content to the web, you can’t get much more “wikiwiki” or “quick” than a wiki.
(Photo Credit)

In his book, Raw Materials for the Mind: A Teacher's Guide to Digital Literacy, David Warlick, suggest that we "Avoid training teachers to use sophisticated web editing software. Teachers are not web masters... they are communicators. Help them to communicate" (p. 280). Wikis not only help teachers and students to communicate, but to collaborate.

ITM blogger, Mark Wagner’s post about wikis and CUE article, "Why Wiki?" provide a great introduction to the world of wikis, as does his K-12 online conference session “Wiki While You Work”. Commoncraft’s reputation for short-easy to understand videos, offers another ‘quick’ introduction to help beginners understand wiki’s.

But even within the “quick and easy” world of wikis, more and more new features are being offered to cater to the needs of various type of consumers – including the educator. The features are so many that sites such as

http://www.wikimatrix.org/ have emerged to help you compare the features of over 100 wiki tools. Although such a matrix, can certainly help you understand the scope of features available with different tools, I believe that James Suroweiki and Malcolm Gladwell would agree that the best way to find out the ‘best wiki tool” for educators, is to ask other educators. I invite Infinite Thinking Readers to share their wiki experience in two areas. (1) What wiki features best meet the needs of educators and which wiki tools contain those features and (2) What are some examples of “wikis” used in exemplary ways in education.

I’ll start the conversation by highlighting two features that I feel are key to helping teachers get started with using wikis in their classrooms: 1) the cost of ‘free’ 2) simplicity.

If advertisements in exchange for “free” are keeping you away, check out sites like Wikispaces PBwiki, and WetPaint which offer educators “ad-free” wikis. Since 2006, the folks at wikispaces have been offering their Plus Plan (which usually sells for $50 a year) free to K-12 educators. This plan removes usage limits and advertisements for your educational wikis. It even allows you to set the wiki to private mode (where only “space members” can view and edit pages). To enroll in this program you must certify that your wiki space will be used for k12 education by signing up at http://www.wikispaces.com/site/for/teachers

I usually recommend Wikispaces for teachers just starting out using wiki’s because it is one of the simplest sites to manage. It may have less ‘features’ than other wiki tools, but sometimes LESS is MORE, when you are looking for a simple easy way to get started. Beginning teachers don’t miss “extra” seldom used features and welcome the simplicity. The one feature that I did miss is the ability to change font color – until last week. Thank you, to Adam Frey, and the folks at Wikispaces for adding this feature.
http://blog.wikispaces.com/2008/03/bringing-color-to-your-wiki.html.

Despite its simple, easy to use, interface, Wikispaces has included extra features that many educators will might find very useful as their use of wikis increases. Check out the “discussion” , “history”, and the “notify” me tab. The discussion tab allows users to communicate about a page without having to actually edit the page For example, a student can post new poetry on their page, and others can offer “comments” in the discussion area. The history tab allows you to ‘revert’ back to previous version of your wiki page, which is comforting in case of “accidentally” or “intentional” undesired changes. It also has a “compare” feature which makes for a great formative assessment tool for teachers looking to measure change over time in a student product. Finally the “notify me” tab is a great way for an educator to keep track of when someone makes changes to your wiki. This can be done with email notification or through an RSS feed. This will save an educator time, by giving him/her updates when their students or colleagues update their pages.

Even though the simplicity of wiki’s make them a very accessible tool to use in the classroom, the real key to using this collaboration tool lies in how these tools are used. Check out collections such as http://educationalwikis.wikispaces.com/ or educators.pbwiki.com/Best%20practices%20and%20examples to learn more ways to use wikis in education and to see hundreds of examples of education related wikis.

Other wiki tools I plan to cover in upcoming post because of their responsiveness to the needs of education are PBwiki, WetPaint and SeedWiki. Won't you help me, by sharing your favorite features of these wiki tools: What features you look for in a wiki tool and how has thus feature increases your effectiveness as a educator?

A Call To Action!

Cross-posted in High Techpectations

I normally am very into TED (Technology Entertainment and Design), an annual invite-only conference that takes places in Monterey, California. I was so busy a few weeks ago when the conference took place that I vaguely noticed that Dave Eggers was one recipient of the TED prize this year. Previous winners include Bono and Bill Clinton, and basically they are honored by having a world-improving wish granted. It's idealism at its highest. Check out Dave's TEDTalk below; besides the prize winners, various presenters do 20 minute presos on their life's work throughout the conference. I would love to be a fly on the wall there!

Via Twitter last night, a friend pointed out one outcome of Eggers' wish: Once Upon A School. This web site is a repository for people's ideas for getting involved in public schools. I love this idea and think the structure of the initiative itself and the examples lend themselves to a brilliant simplicity. It makes me think that all will be well in this world when I see people leading efforts to make real change happen. It's not easy to pull off something like this on a large scale, so kudos to Eggers and company doing so. I'm very excited to see what comes out of this, and around midnight last night I immediately emailed info to friends and colleagues! I was so jazzed I couldn't sleep!

If you haven't read Eggers' first book, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, you must. He has a great style to his writing, and what struck me about the book was his descriptions of the town where we both grew up. Although we went to the same high school (he may have entered after I graduated), I did not know him, although his sister was in my Latin class. I thought I was the only person that felt a certain way about our conservative town, and it was a relief to read his articulate words that echoed my thoughts. I must re-read that book! Anyway, I'm very happy for Eggers and glad that he's enjoying so much success in such a meaningful way.

Here are a few other things to check out related to his TED Prize work:

TED Prize >> Dave Eggers
Dave Eggers' Wish Blog
Dave Eggers' Wish Discussion
826 Valencia National Seminar - learn more about the writing tutoring center started by Eggers

So what are YOU going to do to change the world? Pass this info on at least!

Promoting Digital Equity with Web 2.0 and Open Source

Open Source and Web 2.0 - a two prong approach to digital equity!

Last January, I made a resolution to continue my focus on digital equity. As a person who sees opportunity everywhere I turn, I also try to pay attention to those who don't have access to the the same opportunity.

Although providing access to cool digital tools “at school” is one step to bridging the digital divide; teaching students how to access digital tools when they are OUTSIDE of school is yet another digital equity strategy. One way to do this is to teach them to use Web 2.0 tools that they will be able to access on a public computers and let them know which libraries, community centers, or other organizations provide high speed Internet access to them outside of school. To learn more about using Web 2.0 tools, check out past Infinite Thinking post, or Web 2.0 directories. Consider joining Wendy Drexler and Anna Baralt's TechWeb2 project and contribute to Web 2.0 evaluations by teachers for classroom use.


Web 2.0 not only brings us access to a wealth of learning materials including audio, images, video and other interactive media (often for free) through services like I-Tunes, Flicker, YouTube, and Voice Thread, it also brings us access to tools for increasing productivity, encouraging collaboration, and expressing creativity by offering Software as Service over the Web. Instead of having to choose which piece of software they can afford to purchase with their limited financial resources--

• productivity software for word processing, spreadsheets, or presentations OR
  
• an image manipulation program OR
  
• visual organizer,
  
  students and teachers can now access a variety of tools over the Web (often for free) . Using Google Docs or Zoho as a productivity suite, Flauntr or Picnik as an image editor, Mindomo or Gliffy as a graphic organizer increases access to a rich variety of free digital tools. Using these tools in schools contributes to digital equity by introducing students to tools that they can also access from home or from a public computer. Photo Credit

But let's face it --some of our students live in areas where high speed Internet is not available; others live in households where it is cost prohibitive.

Another way to promote digital equity is to introduce students to free or open source software they can install on their home computer (even if they don't have high speed Internet). While it may be possible for a students to gain access to a donated or low cost computer for their home; the cost of commercial software or high speed Internet is often still out of reach. By including free and open source software in your school's digital toolbox, you promote digital equity in two ways. Not only can you burn a copy of the software on a CD for students to take home, but you also provide them with the skills to use that software when they get home. One day last year, I occurred to me that offering a student "free software" to take home, while we only used commercial products at school, sent a message that the software I gave them was substandard and might contribute to their own feeling of worth. When I started modeling use of opensource software by building assignments around it, I added value to the 'free disk" I sent home. The students felt it was worthy to be used and they KNEW how to use it.

Download the Free Software for Schools catalog at National Center for Open Source in Education or check out sites like http://www.opensourcewindows.org/ for Windows specific versions of open source software.

	Commercial Product	Web based	Open Source or Free
Benefits to Promoting Digital Equity	Lots of other folks have it, so more support is available from other users and company Compatible file types to more people.	Uually Free . Students can access the tool anywhere they can access a computer (libraries, teen centers, home) No software to install	Usually FREE You can download a free copy or someone can give you a free copy of the software if you don't have Internet
Challenges to Digital Equity	Might be cost prohibitive. File type might not be compatible and require others to purchase same software.	Might not have high speed Intenet Access Might require a logon or have age restrictions. Might be filtered in public spaces; Might have advertisements. Sometimes free version does not contain all features.	You have to “install it” on your computer and this might feel intimidating. Some files might not be compatible or might require advanced learning to understand file compatibility.

I'm not advocating that we stop using commercial products such as Microsoft Office, Inspiration, or Photoshop when they are the right tool for the job. But I'm advocating that we include a diverse set of tools in our student's digital toolbox (both the tools and the know how to use these tools). Not only does this approach expand their toolset and access to digital tools outside of school, but it also takes away the stigma of feeling that a free tool is less worthy (therefore they are less worthy). It also has the added benefit of providing the much needed 21st century skill of “transferring” the understanding of a concept from one medium to another! Knowing which icon to click to double space is not as valuable a skill as knowing how to use HELP to accomplish a tasks.

Lately, I have found myself noticing situations where we stand behind a word phrase like “equity and excellence for all” as long as we don't have to give up anything. I was guilty of it, too; even after I had installed Open Office on my compuer, I found myself using Microsoft Office because it's always been on my computer; I knew it better; and it came with clipart and templates. It wasn't until I made a vow to click on Open Office first that I discovered solutions like the 20,000 image “WPCLIPART Library available for Open Office or became proficient at changing my SAVE as Preference to always save in compatible file format.

How do we start an awareness of these tools or a commitment to promoting digital equity in our schools? St. Albans City School has given this job to its junior high students. “Student Ambassadors for Free Software” work towards promoting digital equity by coming up with strategies to promote free software solution to the community; to their peers; and to their teachers. Activities range from training sessions; demonstrations at community events, testing and reviewing free software, creating and distributing free software CD's, and even helping teachers modify their lessons to use free software. The student team has also turned donated computers from industry into learning stations by adding free software or changing the operating system to Edubuntu where appropriate. They have started to create a Digital ToolBox Charts that can promote digital equity. Perhaps you can add your own recommendations.

Application	Commercial Product	Web based	Open Source or Free
Productivity suite	Microsoft Office	Google Docs Zoho	Open Office plus free Clip Art
Learn to Keyboard	Type to Learn	Learn2type.com and more	Type Faster
Editing Digital Images	Photoshop Elements	Flauntr or Picnik	Gimp, Picassa, Paint.Net
Graphic Organizer	Inspiration	Mindomo or Gliffy	Free Mind CMAP

What would it take to create a culture that promotes digital equity at your school? Perhaps providing a diverse toolbox for learning with technology that includes commercial products, web based tools and open source software where everyone has access to digital tools (whether be at school, home or a public computer).

As we move forward in the digital age, let's not lose sight of those that might be getting left behind. The memory of what “lack of access” to a resource feels like fades quickly once you join the ranks of those with full access.

Ready, Set, Doodle for Google!

Google announced today an exciting competition for U.S students in grades K-12. Kids from across the country have the opportunity to use their noodles by pondering a significant question, "What if...?, and turning their bright ideas into a graphic, commonly known to Google aficionados as a Google Doodle. These doodles are part of a whimsical company tradition of commemorating significant dates and holidays, and are created by Google employee Dennis Hwang. Google Doodles appear on Google's home page every now and then; when you click on an active Google Doodle, you are sent to a search page containing related information. Sometimes Google Doodles appear over several days, telling a serial story, as in this Holiday 2007 example.

Google is all about innovation and creative thinking. They are inviting kids to dream big by using the question, "What if....? " as the basis for their designs. Students are strongly encouraged to interpret this question as widely as possible in order to produce clever and creative doodles. For inspiration, teachers can find templates and examine sample lesson plans aligned to national standards here, and are urged to adapt this guiding question to suit their curricular needs. Guidance for this project can also be found within the Google for Educators discussion group .

The general public will vote on the final set of Google doodles. The winning design will appear on Google's home page on May 22, 2008, for the entire day. Trips to the Googleplex, laptops, and t-shirts are among the prizes to be offered to the cleveriest of the clever, with a $10,000 college scholarship to the national winner and a $25,000 tech grant going to the national winner's school.

Take a look at these videos for further inspiration and join the fun. The deadline for submissions is April 12, 2008, so there's not a moment to lose!

EduCon Conversations were NOT about Technology

Friday morning I found myself standing in a starkly naked room filled with empty desk and chairs that replicated those that the Founding Fathers of the United States Government sat in as they deliberated the future of their new nation. Two centuries ago, a brilliant group of passionate men came together to craft a document that would lay the foundation for a vision that would shape the future of their country. These men were so committed to crafting a document that reflected the best of their deep thinking and strong convictions that they gave up on the tasks of ‘tweaking’ the Articles of Confederations and created a brand new document – The U.S. Constitution .

As I listened to the Independence Hall guide, I thought back to the recent conversation responding to Will Richardson’s Some New Year's Dreaming post, debating whether whether a change in education could come about by evolution, or whether revolution was the only hope for transforming our schools.

These thoughts were the perfect launching point for what was to be 2 and ½ days of conversation amongst some of the most passionate, caring, and thoughtful educators I’ve had the privilege of meeting. Two days of conversations about the possibilities for education when the right combination of passion and pedagogy are supported by transformative tools left participants of EduCon 2.0 emotional and inspired as they returned home to continue the work of transforming our 21st century schools.

Emotions, reflection, call to action, manifesto’s, and yes… more conversation continue far beyond the weekend, and extend way beyond the walls of the Science Leadership Academy, where Chris Lehman (visionary Principal and leader extradonaire) and his learning network hosted this fabulous Un-Conference. If every participant finds themselves able to channel the emotion, energy, and inspiration from Educon 2.0 to "just win more than three" colleagues as Kevin Jarret's Educon reflection suggest … than the weekend was truly an agent of change.

But the change agents, were not just those who attended, it was also each of you who participated in the conversation remotely through U-Stream modeling the power of transformative tools in learning. As many of us stated over and over again this weekend – it was not about the technology. The transformative part was not that we were using U-Streams to record or wikis to post our notes. The transformative part was that the sessions were set up as CONVERSATIONS not presentations. And these conversations would not have been the same without the hundreds of remote participants contributing through the backchannel chat; nor would they have been the same without the collaborative features of wikis to dynamically share knowledge throughout the weekend and beyond; nor would they have been the same had they not been extension of many prior conversations happening throughout the edublogosphere.

For those of you who missed the event – it’s not too late to participate. The hundreds of pictures already on Flickr will provide visual cues to the energy level that was present. My favorite was the photos of the MAC Lab noticeably void of computers adjacent to the photos displaying the white Apple branded laptops visible throughout the school, in the hands the students whose job it was to care for and use the tools in the service of learning. But more symbolic to me than the laptops in those photos were the white lab coats worn by the students at SLA – the uniform of inquiry.

While some of these bright and inquiring minds brought the voices of students in the conversations, others offered a wonderful service to the community unable to attend by operating video cameras that made the conversations available through U-Stream. Each of the wiki pages that accompanied the 6 strands of “conversations”, not only contain notes, digital handouts, and links, but also contain an archived U-Stream video when possible. And for those who prefer their conversatoins in a 3-D space, check out the space Konrad Glogowski created for Virtual EduCon in Second Life. The richness doesn’t stop there; hundreds of blog posts tagged EduCon provide insights, reflections, and opportunities for the conversations to continue. So whether you were in Philadelphia this weekend, or elsewhere, transformative technologies coupled with thoughtful, pedagogically sound format for a “conference “ -- or “unconference” has provided you with an entry point into the conversation. May you join the conversation! Thank you to all who contributed to Educon and the learning that is extending from it.

Photo Credits: http://www.flickr.com/photos/teachandlearn/

Fostering the Spirit of Innovation

I’ve been “green” with envy as some of my colleagues who ordered an XO laptop unpack their little GREEN machines. Mine has not arrived yet. But as I listen to their first impression comments , I’m reminded of the VISION of the OLPC (one laptop per child) project and that the nature of children to explore, express, and learn were key in the design of this tool that would find itself in the hands of children all over the world. I hear questions like:

"Why doesn’t it come with a spreadsheet?”
“Where’s the productivity suite?”
“Would this be a tool I could use in my classroom with my students?”

Suddenly I realize that we are thinking like teachers. This tool was not designed for us. According to the OLPC website, the XO laptop was intended to give children

“…tools for writing, composing, simulating, expressing, constructing, designing, modeling, imagining, creating, critiquing, debugging, and collaborating."

“The laptop takes learners beyond instruction. They are actively engaged in a process of learning through doing. …. “

“The laptop helps children build upon their active interest in the world around them to engage with powerful ideas”

The XO laptop was even designed to be taken apart and repaired by kids. No, This Does No Void the Warranty! ;-)

I’m not going to predict the impact of the OLPC, nor argue its merit. But this event certainly has me revisiting thoughts about the impact on society of not providing children with enough opportunity to “explore, express, and learn” . A re we continuing towards the “perfect storm” that Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson warns of if we ignore the “quiet crisis” of not growing the next generation of scientist and engineers?

While educators have become tuned into the fact that more and more kids are coming to school without book sense and are developing researched based programs to address this, a kindergarten teacher in Tennessee worries “about the number of kids coming into my classroom who don’t know how scissors work.” Educational consultant, Jim Moulton, ponders the impact of this and asserts that

“the mastery of scissors is even one of the early steps on the road to Advanced Placement physics or chemistry. I believe that the kinesthetic experience they provide around equilibrium, experience gained in struggling to master this simple tool so as to be able to cut construction paper smoothly, lays a foundation for future complex conceptual understandings.”

It was exactly this type of need that lead Gever Tuller to create the Tinkering School. Despite the provocative title of his Ted Talk “Five Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Kids Do”, the message is really about allowing kids the freedom to explore to make them stronger, smarter, and safer.

Children receiving the XO laptops have not lacked the opportunity to explore the principles of physics in their natural environments, but now have access to a new tool equipped to support their desire to learn, express, and explore. But what about places, where children currently have access to such tools? Do they have access to the opportunity to use these tools the way the XO laptops will be able to be used? Or will the access to these tools continue to be stifled by “teacher think” and “school restrictions” or “lawsuit fears” ?

Having spent many of my teaching years reconciling the need to report on a ‘checklist’ of foundational skills that every student must know about a subject area with my project based learning approach, I understand the struggle. Accountability that is based on reporting what we can measure, doesn’t leave much time for the type exploring, expressing and learning that grows innovators and scientists.

But as I watch the excitement in my “grown up” friends as they explore their little green machines, I have a renewed interest in finding ways to bring back learning by exploration to today’s students. And I’m not talking about waiting for the availability of the XO laptops in your country; I’m talking about reaching for tools that are currently available that will promote this type of learning.

• Let’s dig out our old version of Incredible Machine or look for new games like Crayon Physics that stimulate innovative thinking in our students.
  



• Let’s get rid of the obstacles that prevent tools like the many WEB 2.0 applications from being fully deployed in schools. Ning, Wikispaces, and Voice Threads are leading the way by adding features that make it possible to safely deploy these excting tools thus supporting this type of learning in schools.
  



• Let’s share the resouces we find with our fellow educators and support a network of educators who are committed to give this generation of “incredible thinking machines” -- our students—the resources, the permission, the encouragement, the guidance they need to use technology in the spirit of innovation.

I invite readers to share some of the games, tools, web 2.0 apps, etc. that they feel have this type of potential. I’d love to do a followup post filled with these resources.

Social Networking in Education

There's an interesting change afoot, and it relates to the use of social networking in education.

MySpace and Facebook are just two examples of social networking sites, but unfortunately, their early prominence has created a stigma around social networking that the technology itself doesn't deserve. The understandable concerns created by these early and popular networks have overshadowed some amazing changes that are taking place in educational environments when the tools of social networking are being used with students and teachers.

“Social Networks” are really just collections of Web 2.0 technologies combined in a way that help to build online communities. In December, Classroom 2.0, the social network I started for educators interested in Web 2.0 and collaborative technologies, won the 2007 EduBlog Award for “best use of a social network for educational purposes” and now has nearly 5,000 members. The twist here, of course, is that Classroom 2.0 is a network for teachers (yes, adults, those sometimes called "digital immigrants!) who are interested in the use of Web 2.0 in the classroom and who are using the site for personal professional development. The ability to have productive, engaging dialog with others in a community is a natural fit for all ages in education.

Because I do consulting work for the social networking company Ning (as part of which I run their http://education.ning.com site), I thought it would be interesting to try to find out the different ways in social networks are being used in education. So I started a single-purpose wiki for educators to link to and describe their social networking sites. I'm including a snapshot of the list as it is today, but it keeps growing and as it does so provides an interesting insight into the variety of ways that social networks are being put to productive educational uses. You'll have to forgive the length, but it helps to make the point. Personally, I think as the tools of online social networking and course management inevitably merge, we'll find more and more compelling educational uses for them.

Today's snapshot of "Social Networking in Education:"

Ning-based:

General:

• 12SCR - the greatest tutor group in GCUS, UK - A social networking area especially for 12SCR Tutor Group at GCUS, UK.
• Alabama Educator's Network- For teachers living in Alabama (Please join if you live in AL.)
• AsiaTeach.ning.com - Teaching and Education in Asia: Communities of Hope - Asian Educators discover and discuss common and unique challenges and experiences in Asian teaching contexts.
• Classroom 2.0 - Web 2.0 in the Classroom
• College 2.0 - Higher Education, Online Education and Web 2.0
• Comenius Programme Network A network for teachers accross Europe to seek support, share ideas and experiences to help ensure successful Projects
• Coming of Age - The Book on Web 2.0 in the Classroom
• eLatin eGreek eLearn - Helping Classics teachers (Latin and Greek) understand and incorporate technology into the classroom.
• EduBloggerWorld - International Edubloggers
• Fielfindr A portal to connect classrooms to the world: Global citizens can share talents and skills with students.
• Fireside Learning (ning) - "Conversations about learning. Sit by the fireside and share your thoughts."
• Gifted Education Ning space for parents and teachers started by Ginger Lewman to discuss gifted issues
• The Global Education Collaborative - Promoting Global Awareness
• International Collaboration - High school and university students worldwide collaborate and learn about each others' cultures and life styles
• International Classroom - Social network created for classes around the world. Space where pupils can share, talk about themselves ,show pictures and videos etc,and get to know each other's culture.
• ILTCE - Illinois Technology Conference for Educators - Learning Without Boundaries 2008
• ISEnet - Independent School Educators Network for k-12 educators & students
• Laptop Learning Community - Preparing Students with 21st Century Skills
• Learning 2.0 - Creating Collaborative Learning
• LITE - Leading Innovative Technology use in Education - Glenview School District 34
• MACUL Space - Michigan Association of Computer Users in Learning. Educators Pre-K to 20.
• Michigan Classroom 2.0 Michigan Classroom 2.0 is for Educators interested in integrating technology into the classroom. A collaborative site where"beginners" and pro's can find a comfortable place to start being part of the digital dialog.
• Nanopaprika.eu - Network of NanoScience
• New Teacher Resources (A Supportive Community for New Middle School Teachers)
• Next Generation Teachers - Improving Teaching and Learning with New Technologies
• Online Projects 4 Teachers - Linking Teachers Together
• PBS Teachers - Using a private Ning network to Connect with our Teacher Advisory Group
• ProjectsByJen - PreK - 6th Grade Teacher Collaboration
• PSUCast PowerSchool users network.
• RBG Worldwide 1 Nation (ning) Afrikan Centered Cultural Development and Education
• School 2.0 - The Changing of Education
• Schoolwork Together - Space for teens from Israel and Dutch school to meet and discuss ideas for a common project
• SIGTE 2008 Book Discussion; Steering committee currently discussing book choices. Using NING as communication tool.
• Smallsteps - a class based network set up to support 14yr old design students with a design and make project centred around the topic of waste reduction.
• SPLICE - this is part of a JISC funded project run by CETIS at Bolton University to explore social networking for creative industries students, teachers and practitioners. SPLICE = social practices, learning and interoperability in connected environments.
• teachustech.ning.com - A network of teachers using technology
• We Are Teachers IMAGINE Network- Online Knowledge Marketplace
• WorkForce Educators - Distance Learning and Teaching
• World Englishes Project- Blended Learning Course about World Englishes in collaboration with Waseda University, Japan.
• WEBTAS (Web Teaching and Academic Support Learning Community)
• Web2learning (For Teachers interested in using Web 2.0 technology’ to enhance online teaching and learning activities)

Art:

• Art Snacks- Teaching Art
• Arteda.net Art Education in the Digital Age - lots of videos of Exhibits/Lectures/Artist from Boston and a Web 2.0 Hybrid Drawing class.
• Comic Art School Open community with resources for drawing and making comics.
• Drawing Faces - Course for drawing faces, portraits, cartoon heads and caricatures.
• Museums and Students - A network for museums and students to interact and learnAg
• UTA Film and Video Network - for art (film) students and faculty of the University of Texas, Arlington
• UTA Animation Network - for animation students and faculty of the University of Texas, Arlington

Classroom Networks:

• Across Generations Homework help, resources, projects from students, resources for students and parents.
• Big Dog Science - eighth grade science class network for student collaboration on chemistry projects
• CCM Music - a network to connect students and staff across music courses at City College Manchester, an FE and HE college in the UK. This is a closed network but a video tour is here.
• The Connected Classroom - Private network connecting 7 grade 4 classes in international and public schools around the world (looking for members in Japan, Australia and China).
• Creative Media Classroom - Private network for 11th-12th grade students taking Creative Media (an evolution from Creative Writing) as an elective at a college preparatory school.
• Dio Digital Learning Lab Classroom based interactive network at Diocesan School for Girls in New Zealand (Private)
• Flat Classroom Project - Planning, communication and collaboration Ning for the Flat Classroom Project
• The French Connection - Private network connecting 2 grade 6-7 classes in the US and France for communication, language practice.
• GCHS Theater Arts Online reflection space for GCHS theater arts students (closed)
• The Global Cooling Collective - Planning World Concerts, Creating World Change, Empowering Global Youths
• historycentral.net A networks for 7th grade history students in a small K-8
• Hurricane Maine - Network for my students but hope to open it up for collaboration
• IntroTV/Video - 9-12th grade TV/Video students use this as a place to upload their work (closed - due to copyright issues)
• Kerr Honors - 9th grade English Network for Reading Reflection (closed - could open up)
• Kingswear Network - a private UK primary (ages 5-11) classroom network but main page is public
• McCorrmick31 - 11th grade English Network for reflection on independent reading projects. (closed - could open up)
• Mr. Edge's English I Space at edgespace.ning.com
• newentenglishsixth - private Ning for 6th Form students of English Literature at Newent Community School, UK (closed)
• Odyssey of the Mind - A closed network for students at Odyssey Charter HS in Nevada. There are three teachers participating with about 30 students currently in the network.
• Readin' Writin' Techin' - Closed network run by four teachers in Southern NJ as part of a study group looking at ways Web 2.0 technologies can be used to generate interest in reading and enhance writing skills. Network has 14 members (four adults and ten students).
• Reading Revolution - This network is to promote student interest in reading books. The network is between a class in an inner city school in California and a class in rural Iowa. Students are encouraged to be social and talk about the books they are reading or want to read. Students make and post videos and podcast about their favorite books, authors and their communities.
• Second Grade - Private network for a 2nd grade class students and parents to share multimedia, to communicate and practice writing in an informal environment.
• TLGplace - Taking Learning Global, a place for students 15+ and their teachers to share inter-cultural experiences while learning.
• Truss2YPI - one of several private Gr. 10 class networks, "Learning about grassroots organizations in our community." see YPI
• WellesleyHigh - High School Faculty/Staff Network (closed)
• World Village - Private network connecting 3 grade 2 classes in Thailand and the US to learn about different cultures.
• Xtreme Learning - Private network connecting highly able students in 9 grade 5 classes in international and public schools around the world - focus on reading and literature.
• Learning Options Social Network - A private social network of students in a very small high school in northwestern Wisconsin, who are taking online classes through a variety of vendors for enrichment or credit recovery.

Conferences:

• CUE Community - Conference website for CUE.org and 2008 CUE Conference (with individual forum threads for every session and speaker pages).
• The Illinois Technology Conference for Educators- A social networking site for conference attendees, vendors and speakers. Educators following the conference from afar as also encouraged to join this ning. Stay tuned for handouts, pictures, and video of our 2008 event!
• Learning 2.008 Shanghai - Educational Technology Conference held in Shanghai in September for international teachers in the Asia region.
• MACUL Space - The Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning

Course Material:

• openlearn - Open University Course Material

English as a Foreign Language:

• EFL Classroom 2.0
• Inglês Verde e Amarelo - IVA is an established network of Brazilians learning English and English-speakers learning Portuguese of interested in Brazil.
• ListeningPlus A network for students who felt they wanted to keep in touch and practicing English after their online session at Casa Thomas Jefferson (Brasilia, Brazil) was over.
• Mexico English Teachers' Alliance :: META Web 2.0 - META is a social and educational network for English teachers that promotes learner-centered teaching methods and Web technologies in and out of EFL classrooms.

English as a Second Language:

• CSWE 3 Werribee - An adult ESL network for my class of new refugees and immigrants to Melbourne, Australia (closed - may open up)

English Education (Pre- and In-Service):

• FSC-KU M.Ed. (TESL) - (private) a network for those taking the Framingham State College Masters in Ed. program (IEP - International Education Program)
• Montclair State English Education - Support Network for Montclair State University (New Jersey) English teacher certification students—including pre- and in-service students and novice teachers during their induction period.

French

• fauxamis.ning.com - False friends alias words that look the same but have a different meaning in French and in an other language.
• frenchteacher.ning.com French teacher (closed network)
• frenchteachers.ning.com French teachers (open network)
• grammaire.ning.com - French grammar.
• vocabulaire.ning.com - French vocabulary.

Language Learning:

• Talkabout Primary MFL- for those teaching (or considering teaching) foreign languages in Primary schools (ages 3-11)

Leadership:

• Education Leadership - A community for educators to discuss effective leadership, to share best practices, and work toward - lead - a culture of positive change in education.
• SMS 5 Year Program Collaboration - A collaboration network for all preservice teachers at Suncrest Middle School in Morgantown, WV. Members are in the 5 year teacher education program, host teachers and associated administrators.

Libraries:

• Library 2.0
• TeacherLibrarianNing - A community for teacher-librarians and other educators

Professional Development:

• Digital Citizenship resources for educators.
• DuBois and Beyond: Private local Network for PD
• E2T2 Tech Mentor Grant
• Literacy Coach Network - best practices in literacy coaching
• OnlineProjects4Teachers - Linking Teachers Together
• PassionateTeachers A group of those teachers/educators who are passionate about teaching-learning new strategies to make learning a joyful experience.
• Pixels, Please collaborate and share resources, ideas, lesson plans, etc. amongst educators about how to use Digital Images in the classroom.
• Professional Development 2.0 - Educators Learn the 2.0 Way
• Readin' Writin' Techin' - Closed network run by four teachers in Southern NJ as part of a study group looking at ways Web 2.0 technologies can be used to generate interest in reading and enhance writing skills. Network has 14 members (four adults and ten students).
• Teachers 2.0 - Teaching in the digital age.
• The Teacher Collaborative - A social network of teachers and educators attempting to integrate technology into current curriculum practices by developing global project ideas and classroom partnerships.
• teacher/tearner: minds of our own - A private network of independent interdependent teachers learning. The goal for this network in 2008 is to become an even more valuable professional learning network. We are also accepting membership by educators who are interested in using and sharing the use of Web 2.0.
• Teachers as Writers - This is a place where teachers who are writers or wannabe writers can share their enthusiasm for whatever it is they have put on paper or want to put on paper. It's about encouraging people to write and "carve their niches in the edifice of time."
• Tech Camp for Educators-With literacy as a focus, technology will be infused across the curriculum as a tool for teaching and learning. This is a hands-on, practical class. This is a face to ce week long tech camp taught by Meg Ormiston.
• University of Chicago Charter Schools
• Virginia Independent School Teachers
• Web 2.0 4 Teachers - This network is for teachers and administrators who have attended my workshops and conference presentations that highlight the use of Web 2.0 tools. It provides a place for them to engage during and after the sessions.
• Western New York Powerful Learning Practices: A social network where teachers and administrators from various school districts explore and learn Web 2.0 tools.
• Vidsnacks: Video training for teachers wishing to incorporate video into their lessons.