ElectroCity

ElectroCity is a new online computer game that lets players manage their own virtual towns and cities. It’s great fun to play and also teaches players all about energy, sustainability and environmental management in New Zealand.

ElectroCity

Virtual Macbeth

Virtual Macbeth is an island in Second Life which is dedicated to the exploration, adaptation and performance of Shakespeare's Macbeth.

virtualmacbeth » home

Think Big - Start Small

This wiki is maintained by a group from the Good Spirit School Division in Yorkton, Sask. It contains a lot of good online resources and websites.

100+ Web 2.0 Tools

Think Big - Start Small / FrontPage

Sugata Mitra: Can kids teach themselves?

YouTube - Sugata Mitra: Can kids teach themselves?

Interesting Things for ESL/EFL Students (Fun English Study)

 Interesting Things for ESL Students

A fun study site for learners of English as a Second Language. There are quizzes, word games, word puzzles, proverbs, slang expressions, anagrams, a random-sentence generator and other computer assisted language learning activities.

Web 2.0 in Education (UK) Home - Web 2.0 in Education (UK)

The Web 2 in Education Wiki is designed to provide teachers with a directory of free web tools along with some suggestions as to how they may be used in the classroom.

Web 2.0 in Education (UK) Home - Web 2.0 in Education (UK)

YouTube - Lost Generation

YouTube - Lost Generation

Exemplar Schools

The multimedia stories in this website describe how six Australian schools have used technology to improve student engagement and learning outcomes, sustain professional learning, promote curriculum change and make connections with their wider community.

Exemplar Schools

Web 2.0 in Africa - Agriculture and New Technologies - Web2forDev | dotSUB

Whenever people are able to connect and collaborate, engage in conversations, share expertise, and access information, the impact on a society (or quality of life to individuals) can be enormous. This is obviously true for developed countries. But can the same be said about developing countries? Does giving Internet access to a poor farmer in South America, Africa, or in poorer regions of Canada, US, or Europe, benefit? Don’t people need the basics of life first?

Yes. And no.

Web 2.0 in Africa (via Elearning Africa blog) suggests web 2.0 tools can assist farmers in regions such as Uganda gain and share important knowledge about farming. Rather than external experts being the main providers of information, farmers share information about banana growing/harvesting with each other. Reminds me of E. M. Forster’s statement “only connect”.

The rest progresses from there…

Web 2.0 in Africa - Agriculture and New Technologies - Web2forDev dotSUB

MusTech.Net! | Music Education Bloggers

Looking for ideas from music educators - check out MusTech.Net! -  A Symphony of Music Education, and Technology!

 

MusTech.Net! | ME Bloggers

Teacher Training Videos created by Russell Stannard

These videos were created for teachers to help them to incorporate technology into their teaching. Just click and a video will open and take you through how to use that technology. He covers a wide range of technology concepts and tools.

Teacher Training Videos created by Russell Stannard

Four Tenets for Rural Economic Development

http://carseyinstitute.unh.edu/publications/PB-Brown-Graham-Measures08.pdf

The Carsey Institute just released a policy brief on rural economic development in the "new economy" (the globalized, volatile one, I assume). The authors, Anita Brown-Graham and William Lambe, propose four tenets for contemporary rural development:

1. Innovation is key to driving growth and prosperity in today’s global economy.
2. Significant capital investments are required to put innovations to use.
3. Development efforts must seek to protect valuable natural assets.
4. Development is a “contact sport,” best pursued through dense networks of personal contacts.

Engaging Science - Online Games

Here are some more primary science games, this time from a BC group of museums and science centres.

Engaging Science - Online Games

Discover Primary Science - teacher training, classroom resources, primary science education, science awards

This Irish site has a number of activities, videos and simulations to help with primary science concepts.

Discover Primary Science - teacher training, classroom resources, primary science education, science awards

National Library of Virtual Manipulatives

The National Library of Virtual Manipulatives (NLVM) is an NSF supported project that began in 1999 to develop a library of uniquely interactive, web-based virtual manipulatives or concept tutorials, mostly in the form of Java applets, for mathematics instruction (K-12 emphasis). The project includes dissemination and extensive internal and external evaluation.

National Library of Virtual Manipulatives

BBC - Entertainment - Hard Spell

Drive yourself crazy - this is an online game that you play against the clock. Spelling is not my strong suit.

BBC - Entertainment - Hard Spell

Rural Schools Blog

Hello folks - here is another blog from one of our colleagues in rural BC. Check it out and leave a comment for the blogger.

Rural Schools Blog

Blogs from Lower Post

Hello folks - we received this email from a colleague in Lower Post, BC

Hi, thanks... I was inspired by the conference and started two blogs based on ideas and info from conference. www.denetiaschool.blogspot.com for students, parents and community. www.denetiastaff.blogspot.com for staff development at our school. Share if you want I am proud of our small rural one room school.

Just for those of you who don't know, Lower Post is in northwestern British Columbia, located on Highway 97, the Alaska Highway, approximately 15 miles South-East of Watson Lake, Yukon. Its historical mile designation is Mile 620. (from Wikipedia)

GELessons.com

GELessons.com - A Free Public Resource - Providing Teachers with the tools needed to enhance their instruction using Google Earth®, the free program that brings the world to the classroom! A Website By and For Teachers.

GELessons.com

Blogging Rubric

Are you using blogs with your students? Here is a rubric that helps guide students in their use.

Blogging Rubric

BibMe: Fast & Easy Bibliography Maker - MLA, APA, Chicago, Turabian - Free

• Welcome to BibMe! The fully automatic bibliography maker that auto-fills. It's the easiest way to build a works cited page. And it's free.
• Search for a book, article, website, or film, or enter the information yourself.
• Add it to your bibliography.
• Download your bibliography in either the MLA, APA, Chicago, or Turabian formats and include it in your paper.

It's that easy!

BibMe: Fast & Easy Bibliography Maker - MLA, APA, Chicago, Turabian - Free

How To: Make the Most of Virtual Field Trips | Edutopia

Teachers share their secrets for making virtual excursions worth the journey.

How To: Make the Most of Virtual Field Trips | Edutopia

Eight Interesting Ways to use Google Docs in a Classroom

Hello folks - this is an interesting presentation that overviews eight interesting ways to use Google Docs in a classroom
Enjoy

3rd Annual Rural Schools Conference

Friday, October 24, 2008

3rd Annual Rural Schools Conference

Opening Remarks

Welcome to the 3rd Annual Rural Schools Pre-Conference

Welcome to Vancouver

A while ago I linked in a presentation from ZaidLearn that talked about 25 top bloggers. Now he has a SlideShare about 27 Inspiring Women Bloggers.

27 Inspiring Women Edubloggers

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: education women)

The Aspirnaut Initiative

Here's a story coming out of Arkansas - the Aspirnaut Initiative, launched in April 2007 in the Sheridan School District, equips students with laptop computers and iPods and allows them to take online math and science courses while traveling to and from school.

This pilot program spans three years and seven objectives. These are to establish:

• A Differentiated Program for High-Ability Students
• A One-Room Satellite School in the Community
• The Concept of “School-Begins-on-the-Bus”
• Teaching Awards
• A Professional Development Program for Secondary School Teachers
• College and Secondary School Scholarships
• A Non-Profit Organization to Secure and Administer Funds

The Aspirnaut Initiative

School Begins on the Bus

Arkansas News Bureau article

How could this work in your district?

Here’s a short video from the very clever folks at Common Craft on the topic of web search strategies:

Preventing Digital Plagiarism

Preventing all plagiarism all the time is impossible, but there are steps you can take to eliminate it from your classroom.

The Internet is an endless resource for information, and that means it can also be an endless source for both intentional and inadvertent plagiarism. While preventing all plagiarism all the time is impossible, but there are steps you can take to eliminate it from your classroom.

• Set guidelines. Discuss with your students what defines plagiarism, opinions, assertions, and arguments and clearly define for them what constitutes plagiarism in your classroom.

• Describe intellectual property. The World Intellectual Property Organization defines intellectual property as “creations of the mind: inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, images, and designs used in commerce.” Explore the concept of intellectual ownership with your students.

• Remind your students of the concept of citing resources, and walk them through some of the tools available on the Net, such as David Warlick's Citation Machine.

• Explore the concept of “common knowledge.” A good rule of thumb: If they can find information in a standard encyclopedia or in numerous sources, the information is more likely than not considered common knowledge and needn't be cited.

• Teach students the process of vetting Web content through Googling authors, reading perspectives from trusted sites, and investigating a range of opinions.

• Simplify by instructing them that a best practice to follow, even when taking notes on sources, is to paraphrase materials. Clearly define the difference between quoting someone and paraphrasing.

• Apply the “double check rule.” Have students return to the original material to confirm they used their own words before submitting their work to you.

• Consider designing tests and other evaluation materials to take advantage of technologies, such as the Internet, cell phones, iPods, etc. so that students are employing digital tools to perform higher order tasks, rather than using such tools to circumvent traditional testing boundaries.

• Let your students know up front that you will occasionally be using plagiarism check sites such as TurniItIn.

• Create a "Guidelines for Avoiding Plagiarism" checklist and share it with students and parents at Back to School Night. Emphasize that parental involvement is key to responsible student behaviour in the school setting.

Preventing Digital Plagiarism

25 EduBlogs You Simply Don’t Want to Miss!

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: future blogs)

BC's 3rd Annual Rural Schools Conference

Rural Communities Working Together to Enhance Student Learning

• Registration Link
• Conference Flyer
• Keynote and Plenary Speakers

The Rural Strategy Committee is pleased to invite Rural Educators and Partner Groups to our third annual conference: “Rural Communities Working Together to Enhance Student Learning” to be held at the Sheraton Wall Hotel, Vancouver, BC from October 22-24, 2008.

While the conference continues to examine the significant opportunities and challenges facing rural educators and communities, this year’s keynote speakers Calvin Helin and Russell Bishop will bring special attention to issues and approaches to support success for Aboriginal students. Plenary speakers Leyton Schnellert and Faye Brownlie return to continue their conversations about teaching and learning in diverse classrooms. Of course, almost twenty speakers from across the province have been asked to present their ‘rural strategies’.

Embedded in our conference event will be the New Rural Teachers (NRT) cohort program. As well, our Technology - Train the Trainer program will again be a pre-conference event but this year, these participants will be encouraged to remain and participate in the main conference.

The Ministry of Education, and the Rural Strategy, is pleased to offer a travel grant to rural districts for up to 8 participants for the 2008-2009 Rural Conference and Programs. Each District will receive funding for:

• 5 Conference participants
• 2 New Rural Teachers (NRT) Cohort participants (Invitation)
• 1 Technology Train the Trainer participant (Invitation)
  

This year the Rural Schools Conference has been scheduled at the same time as the Provincial Non-Instructional Day to encourage districts to register teams even larger than 8. Space is not unlimited, so the Rural Strategy encourages districts to register promptly to avoid any disappointment if we meet our capacity

For additional information,
Contact Janice Rittinger – Secretary, Rural Strategy at:250-453-9151 or jrittinger@gw.sd74.bc.ca

To register please follow this link:
http://registrations.bcssa.org/PER-WebRegister/registration-rural.php

To book your guestroom(s) at the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre Hotel:
Call toll-free at:1-800-663-9255 or Reservations@wallcentre.com

K-12 Online Conference

The K-12 Online Conference invites participation from educators around the world interested in innovative ways Web 2.0 tools and technologies can be used to improve learning. This FREE conference is run by volunteers and open to everyone. The 2008 conference theme is “Amplifying Possibilities”. This year’s conference begins with a pre-conference keynote the week of October 13, 2008. The following two weeks, October 20-24 and October 27-31, forty presentations will be posted online to the conference blog (this website) for participants to download and view. Live Events in the form of three “Fireside Chats” and a culminating “When Night Falls” event will be announced. Everyone is encouraged to participate in both live events during the conference as well as asynchronous conversations.

Here is one of their online offerings - “Free Tools for Universal Design for Learning in Literacy”

Enjoy these online money “games”.

• Change Maker - http://www.funbrain.com/cashreg/
• Counting Money - http://www.hbschool.com/activity/counting_money/
• Lemonade Stand - http://www.coolmath-games.com/lemonade/
• Math At The Mall - http://www.mathplayground.com/mathatthemall1.html
• Money Instructor - http://www.moneyinstructor.com/games.asp
• US Mint For Kids - http://www.usmint.gov/kids/
• Young Investors - http://www.younginvestor.com/

Electronic Journal: The Online Action Researcher

The Ontario Action Researcher is a freely accessible, full-text, peer-reviewed electronic journal intended for elementary, secondary, and university teachers who are concerned with exploring the unity between educational research and practice. While their primary aim is to serve the needs of educators in Ontario, hey welcome readership and submissions from elsewhere in Canada and the world.

Educational Origami Blog

Hello folks - I came across the Educational Origami blog and wiki today, and it is well worth a visit. The wiki has a lot of information on 21st Century Learning, rubrics for use with web 2.0 and instructional technology tools and more. Let me know what you think.
cheers

Home - U Tech Tips

This site is a wiki listing software recommendations for educators by educators.

Home - U Tech Tips

13 Unusual Search Engines You Should Remember

Thanks to http://www.smashingapps.com/ for this:

• Deligio is your search engine for software, shareware and freeware.
• Searchme lets you see what you are searching for.
• Yoozila is a powerful new search engine. It’s primary purpose is to provide you with relevant results and present them in a fresh web 2.0 beautiful manner.
• PDF Search Engine is a book search engine search on sites, forums, message boards for pdf files. You can find and download a tons of e-books.
• Addictomatic searches the best live sites on the web for the latest news, blog posts, videos and images.
• FindSounds.com is a free site for finding sound effects and musical instrument samples on the Web.
• Tag Galaxy has beautiful 3D planet interface. This search engine is dedicated to search Flickr images in some interesting way.
• With Topicle, you can create a new vertical search engine with a few clicks. In Topicle’s world, a vertical search engine is a topic search engine, like Digital Camera Reviews, Parenting or Diabetes.
• At retrevo, you can find reviews of consumer electronics, product manuals, guides and deals.
• Mahalo is a human-powered search engine that creates organized, comprehensive, and spam free search results for the most popular search terms.
• Sputtr.com is a Multi Search Engine that makes searching the Web quick and easy, because it has all the best searches on a single page. Give it a try!
• Scour allows you to search socially and view results as rated by the Scour community.
• Wikio is an information portal with a news search engine that searches press sites and blogs.

Video - the Powers of 10

This video is a great way to illustrate the Powers of 10.

100 Best YouTube Videos for Teachers | Smart Teaching

 100 Best YouTube Videos for Teachers | Smart Teaching

With the increasing use of technology in classrooms, it’s no wonder that teachers have a growing interest in using YouTube and other online media sharing sites to bring information into their classrooms. Here are 100 YouTube videos that can provide supplementary information for the class, give inspiration, help you keep control of class and even provide a few laughs here and there.

4 Search Engines to Search Wikipedia The Pro Way | MakeUseOf.com

4 Search Engines to Search Wikipedia The Pro Way

Try these search engines designed specifically to find information on Wikipedia:

• Powerset (http://www.powerset.com/)
• Similpedia (http://similpedia.org/)
• Wapedia (http://wapedia.mobi/)
• Wikia (http://re.search.wikia.com/index.html)

eCalc - Online Scientific Calculator

eCalc - Online Scientific Calculator

This is an online scientific calculator and unit converter. I hope its useful. (http://www.ecalc.com/calculator/scientific)

LAMS Foundation

 LAMS Foundation

LAMS provides a visual editor for creating customized learning activity sequences for individual students or groups of students within a class. LAMS is more than just a planning tool; it is the system within which students complete individual or collaborative online learning activities. Teachers can monitor and actively manage student progress.

LAMS is a tool for designing, managing and delivering online collaborative learning activities. It provides teachers with a highly intuitive visual authoring environment for creating sequences of learning activities. These activities can include a range of individual tasks, small group work and whole class activities based on both content and collaboration. Click here for an interactive demonstration of LAMS.

LKL Research :: JISC Design for Learning Programme - Home

 LKL Research :: JISC Design for Learning Programme - Home

The LPP helps teachers define a teaching module in terms of its aims, topics, and outcomes. Then it provides a spreadsheet-like tool for allocating the time students are expected to spend across a range of cognitive activities such as attention, discussion, or practice. The teacher assigns teaching and assessment methods to course topics to support the desired student time allocation.

ZaidLearn: 10 Secrets to Great Teaching

ZaidLearn: 10 Secrets to Great Teaching

Zaid Ali Alsagoff teaches in Malaysia and has posted two videos where he discusses characteristics of great teachers and great teaching.

What do you think - is he on track or what has he missed?

Two Online books from Terry Freedman

These two books were just released and they are a great resource for teachers who want to find out more about some resources that area available on the Internet and how to use them in their classrooms. I hope they help.

The Web 2.0 Projects book contains nearly 60 projects using Web 2.0 tools, organised in age groups.
Coming of Age: An Introduction to the NEW Worldwide Web (1st Ed) is a great introduction to Web 2.0 in education. This first edition was downloaded 60,000 times before I lost count!

NATURE: Alien Empire

This PBS website is primarily aimed at students and it contains so much information about the alien empire that is the world of insects. You will want to explore it for hours!

NATURE: Alien Empire

8 Free Online Resources For Learning A New Language

"Perhaps the most useful skill you can carry is knowledge of the local language."

8 Free Online Resources For Learning A New Language

Free Online Courses from Great Universities | Open Culture

Some good ideas here.

Free Online Courses from Great Universities

Free Online Courses from Great Universities | Open Culture

Youth Plans » Curriculum

This looks like an interesting site that contains a lot of ideas on how to use a wiki to construct a learning experience.

Another way to understand this curriculum is through the media that you will be asked to use in your profile, on your blog posts, and in your comments. You will find assignments each week that ask you to develop your skills with:

• text
• images
• audio
• and other multimedia

Youth Plans » Curriculum

S.O.S. for Information Literacy

 

S.O.S. for Information Literacy is a dynamic web-based multimedia resource that includes lesson plans, handouts, presentations, videos and other resources to enhance the teaching of information literacy. Information literacy skills enable students to effectively locate, organize, evaluate, manage and use information.

S.O.S. for Information Literacy

Science Museum

The British Science Museum's site contains a wealth of information and a large number of online activities. Well worth a visit.

Science Museum

Make Your Coat Of Arms

Make Your Coat of Arms allows you to easily create your own family coat of arms or family crest based on your family ancestry or on the values that are important to you and your family today.

Make Your Coat Of Arms

Main Page - Web 2.0 That Works: Marzano & Web 2.0

 

Readers and contributors will learn and share information about specific Web 2.0 tools that can be used by teachers, and strategies that can be used with those tools that align with and support research-based effective instructional methods. Reference will be made to specific instructional strategies and a variety of examples will be shared covering all content areas from K-12 to college/university levels.

This wiki is an information resource as well as an interactive space where readers can add their own insights and strategies.

Main Page - Web 2.0 That Works: Marzano & Web 2.0

studyingsocieties » home

This classroom blog has a wealth of information on ancient civilizations and cultures. It is created by Clarence Fishers' students.

studyingsocieties » home

ZAC Browser - Zone for Autistic Children

ZAC is a web browser developed specifically for children with autism, and autism spectrum disorders such as Asperger syndrome, pervasive developmental disorders (PDD), and PDD-NOS. We have made this browser for the children - for their enjoyment, enrichment, and freedom. Children touch it, use it, play it, interact with it, and experience independence through ZAC.

Thoughts??

ZAC Browser - Zone for Autistic Children

Go2Web20.net - The complete Web 2.0 directory

I've written about go2web20.net before, but its worthy of mention again. This site describes and links to a expanding directory of Web 2.x tools.

Go2Web20.net - The complete Web 2.0 directory

jeanmcniff.com

Jean provides lots of information and advice on reflective action research and practice.

jeanmcniff.com

Interactive Periodic Table

Check this out - move your cursor around and learn about the elements.

http://www.touchspin.com/chem/SWFs/pt2k61012.swf

Text 2 Mind Map - An online text to mind map converter

This is a cool site that allows users to build a mind map based on text you insert in a box on the page. Every tab indent creates a new level on the map.

Text 2 Mind Map - An online text to mind map converter

Online Collaboration Tools - New Technologies And Web Services - Sharewood Picnic May27 08 - Robin Good's Latest News

Here's a short selection of 10 online collaboration tools described and evaluated by Robin Good. A quick read.

Online Collaboration Tools - New Technologies And Web Services - Sharewood Picnic May27 08 - Robin Good's Latest News

Research Review: Multimodal Learning Through Media | Edutopia

Here are five rules gleaned from research for varying your teaching methods to help students learn more.

1. Save Interactivity for Complex Subjects
2. Avoid Too Many Inputs
3. Keep Lessons Focused
4. Reinforce Relationships
5. Treat Multimedia as a Means, Not an End

The final report is available here: "Multimodal Learning Through Media: What the Research Says".

Research Review: Multimodal Learning Through Media | Edutopia

The Thinking Stick | Schools: Take control or forfeit your profile

This is an interesting post by Jeff Utecht that asks questions about your school's online profile. He concludes with

If someone at your school isn’t asking these questions…isn’t actively creating and managing your school’s online presence then the school is allowing students past/present/future to create it for them.

If schools are not going to adopt and take these spaces seriously…then they will allow these social places to run the school’s image. Someday I have a feeling that will ruin a school, an administrator, or a teacher. We are only at the beginning of the use of these tools. Take control now or forfeit your online profile to others!

The Thinking Stick | Schools: Take control or forfeit your profile

21CTools » home

 

This site, entitled Integrating 21st Century Tools into Your Teaching has a number of technology tutorials for teachers. Tools discussed include

• Del.icio.us
• Diigo
• Flickr
• Gmail
• Google Documents
• Google Presentations
• Google Spreadsheets
• Ning
• Voice Thread
• Wikispaces

21CTools » home

Scienceray

Scienceray is a user powered website dedicated to providing you with the highest quality science oriented content on the web. They write:

Our community of writers strives to deliver the most coherent and up-to-date articles on a variety of science topics including Biology, Technology, Earth Sciences, Astronomy and more.

Scienceray encourages reader participation and allows comments and ratings on all articles as well as allowing the opportunity to navigate by popular tags, categories or writers.

Scienceray

BreathingEarth

This site displays the carbon dioxide emission levels of every country in the world as well as their birth and death rates - all in real-time. Although considerable effort has been taken to ensure that the presentation uses the most accurate and up-to-date data available, please remember that this is just a simulation.

BreathingEarth

The Futures Channel Movies and Activities Deliver Hands-On, Real World Math and Science Lessons To Your Classroom.

The Futures Channel was founded in 1999 with the goal of using new media technologies to create a channel between the scientists, engineers, explorers and visionaries who are shaping the future, and today’s learners who will one day succeed them.

The Futures Channel Movies and Activities Deliver Hands-On, Real World Math and Science Lessons To Your Classroom.

Truetube - Join the Debate

A site that enables youth to post video/share comments on making a difference:

Truetube is YOUR platform to make yourself heard.

Use the powerful medium of the web, and advances in streaming video technology to help you think, speak out and act on important issues happening in the real world outside your windows. It is an antidote to the passive, voyeuristic Internet world where there is a tendency to look, laugh, play & judge without doing or saying anything of any consequence. Truetube promotes moral and ethical discussion on the issues that matter for your generation, to inspire you to become involved in changing the world for the better.

Don’t just talk about it, be about it…

WE kick-start a debate with a some short films to provide info and inspire you.

YOU tell us your thoughts using the message boards and send us your films on a current debate or other important issues.

WE provide edit tools, real time/text debate, video of the day and competitions.

YOU tell us what you think of Truetube and what should be on there.

WE provide a global platform for YOUR voices to be heard.

Truetube - Join the Debate

Video: Learning to Change

Thoughts??

Thinkuknow - home

This website, by the British Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre, has different areas designed to help teach children about online safety.

They have a section for 5, 6 and 7 year olds, 8 to 10 year olds, 11 to 16 year olds, parents and teachers.

Some very good tools here.

Thinkuknow - home

movingforward » home » diff

This wiki houses a collection of resources to help presenters and change agents as they help move schools and universities forward into the 21st century. If you have a resource to add, please do so !

Navigate this site using the lefthand categories. Feel free to add a new category if you don't see what you want.
This wiki is administered by Dr. Scott McLeod , Director of the UCEA Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education (CASTLE) . Please contact him if you have any questions or suggestions regarding this site.

This week they're gathering a list of the ... Best blogs for special education teachers.

Check it out.

movingforward » home » diff

BBC NEWS | Technology | Luminaries look to the future web

BBC has posted interviews with 10 important thinkers and leaders in the development of the Internet. They talk about the future of the web and emerging technologies.

BBC NEWS | Technology | Luminaries look to the future web

Egyptian Hieroglyphs

Looking for a web site that deals with Egyptian hieroglyphics? Check this one out.

Egyptian Hieroglyphs

26 Learning Games to Change the World

Here is a list of 26 games and simulations that can be used to address a number of learning objectives. Most are either browser or downloadable free games.

Let us know how you use these with your students.

26 Learning Games to Change the World Mission to Learn

www » help teachers

Here's a great new post on Wikispaces that describes how teachers can use wikis in their classrooms. Many tutorials and examples are provided as well as presentations you can use to help describe to others the value of such tools.

www » help teachers

Peruvian leaders hope OLPC machines will transform rural schools

http://www.technologyreview.com/Biztech/20572/

Some 486,500 laptops loaded with children's literature, educational software and digital cameras are headed to parts of Peru where impoverished students seldom even have their own text books.

In rural Peru, "things are pretty primitive," said political scientist Henry Dietz, a University of Texas at Austin expert on Peru. "Electricity is a sometimes thing, and ... the school is four walls and a roof and some benches, and that is about it."

The laptops are headed to 9,000 tiny schools in remote regions such as ­Huancavelica, in the Andes, an arduous 12-hour bus ride over rocky roads southeast of Lima, and villages such as Tutumberos, in the Amazon region, days away.

Searchpickr

Searchpickr allows you to access hundreds of web search services and content providers directly from the home page, making it possible for you to discover more digital information and files than using any single search engine.

More than 200 search services are currently available at Searchpickr, categorized by a wide range of popular and niche topics covering diverse types of media and data structures. We regularly add new search tools to our list and remove others according to their current value, performance and relevancy.

worldometers

worldometers is a site dedicated to displaying world statistics updated in real time. Worldometers is managed by an international team of developers, researchers, and volunteers with the goal of making world statistics available in a thought-provoking and time relevant format to a wide audience around the world.

Student Centred Learning: Tools and Strategies

Student Centred Learning

From: dgregg, 40 minutes ago

| View | Upload your own

Student Centred Learning: Tools and Strategies


SlideShare Link

The Best Tools for Visualization

Visualization is a technique to graphically represent sets of data. When data is large or abstract, visualization can help make the data easier to read or understand. There are visualization tools for search, music, networks, online communities, and almost anything else you can think of. Whether you want a desktop application or a web-based tool, there are many specific tools are available on the web that let you visualize all kinds of data. Sarah Perez of the ReadWriteWeb blog has listed some of the best.

iPods in Education

iPods are more than just music players. iPods have functionality that can be used in many different ways for teaching and learning.

iPods in Education is a site that has tips, ideas and lesson plans for using iPods as an educational tool.

Progressive Education - are we there yet?

I stumbled upon this little vintage gem today. It is amazing how relevant the message of this film is to the state of our schools today. How many classrooms in our "normal" schools today still look and feel like the classroom in the beginning of this film? How has modern technology reframed this debate?

Can you name Elements of the Periodic Table?

 

Can you name Elements of the Periodic Table?

See how many elements you can remember in 15 minutes.

Questionaut

Players must help the Questionaut journey through strange worlds, answering questions on English, Maths and Science on a magical journey to recover his friend’s hat.

This intriguing game from the BBC's school learning resources site challenges students to solve visual problems and answer a variety of questions to navigate through 8 levels.

Letterboxing

LETTERBOXING is an intriguing pastime combining navigational skills (something like Geocaching) and rubber stamp artistry in a charming "treasure hunt" style outdoor quest. A wide variety of adventures can be found to suit all ages and experience levels.

Letterboxing combines hand-carved stamps, treasure hunting and usually a scenic, outdoor place and a hike or walk. Each letterboxer has their own logbook and signature stamp. Each hidden letterbox also has a logbook and a stamp. Clues to the locations of the boxes are posted on the internet, and once you find the box, you stamp its logbook with your stamp and then stamp your logbook the stamp from the box. So you got to see a special location or go on a fun hike, and get a little art at the end of it!

A number of BC Letterboxes have been set up - some may be in your region.

More Video Sources

Digital video sources can be a powerful instructional tool in your classroom. Many teachers use YouTube, Google Video and TeacherTube, and here are a few more that may help.

• Teacher’s Domain focuses primarily on science related topics. The site also offers free online professional development opportunities.
• NASA Video Gallery offers space and astronomy video clips as well as podcasts on a variety of astronomy topics.
• National Geographic Video offers a variety of topics spanning nature, the environment and the people and places of the world.
• Ease History specializes in video and photographs to support the learning and teaching of U.S. history.
• CBC Digital Archive contains nearly 12 000 historical archives from CBC radio and television broadcasts covering topics ranging from Arts & Entertainment to War and Conflict. It also features historical interviews from interesting people of Canadian and International acclaim. It has a special “For Teachers” section with educational materials for activities from grades 6 – 12.

Photoshop Express - online graphic editing tool

There are a number of free online graphic editing tools (Pixenate, FotoFlexer, FlauntR, SnipShot, Picnik to name a few) and Adobe has launched Photoshop Express as their contribution to this collection. The public beta release of Photoshop Express is available for users to test for free as of today.

WorldWide Telescope

I recently watched a TED Talk about a new Microsoft project called the WorldWide Telescope. Just as Google Earth opened up the world to explorers, the WorldWide Telescope will bring other galaxies to our computer monitors. This free download is scheduled to be launched later this spring.
This will be worth following.

Three Free Online Telescopes

Bradford Robotic Telescope: www.Telescope.org
Telescope: 14-inch-diameter Schmidt-Cassegrain
Location: Tenerife, Canary Islands
Field of view: From the north celestial pole to 52 degrees south
Pictures back in: Days, sometimes weeks
Results: 1,056 x 1,027-pixel color or black-and-white JPEGs
Cost: Free

Micro-Observatory: mo-www.cfa.harvard.edu/MicroObservatory
Telescope: 6-inch-diameter Maksutov
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Amado, Arizona
Field of view: Northern celestial hemisphere to 48 degrees south
Pictures back in; Days, often overnight
Results; 650 x 500-pixel black-and-white GIFs
Cost; Free

Seeing in the Dark: www.pbs.org/seeinginthedark/explore-the-sky
Telescope: 14-inch-diameter Schmidt-Cassegrain
Location: Mayhill, New Mexico
Field of view: Northern celestial hemisphere to about 45 degrees south
Pictures back in: Days to weeks
Results: 512 x 512-pixel black-and-white JPEGs
Cost: Free

from http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/magazine/16-03/st_telescopes

MIT Physics Faculty: Walter H. G. Lewin

Walter Lewin is a physics professor at MIT and has a reputation of entertaining and delighting his students with displays and explanations of physics. Check out his free video lectures at http://web.mit.edu/physics/facultyandstaff/faculty/walter_lewin.html

MIT Physics Faculty: Walter H. G. Lewin

WebExhibits

Founded in 1999, WebExhibits is an interactive, web-based museum that challenges visitors to think and explore scientific and cultural phenomena in new ways. Using innovative and intuitive data interface designs and multimedia content, WebExhibits helps visitors formulate questions and examine issues from several points of view. The success of WebExhibits has led to collaborations with museums around the globe.

PHYSICS RESOURCES

Physics to Go
A collection of more than 600 websites that you can search or browse to explore physics on your own. It's also a biweekly online magazine, with archives containing more than 55 selected physics images.

Physics Education Technology
Fun, interactive, research-based simulations of physical phenomena from the Physics Education Technology project at the University of Colorado.

My Physics Lab
Physics simulations using Java that are animated in real time. You are able to interact with them by dragging objects or changing parameters like gravity

THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF LIFE

http://www.eol.org/
This site is a:

Comprehensive, collaborative, ever-growing, and personalized, the Encyclopedia of Life is an ecosystem of websites that makes all key information about all life on Earth accessible to anyone, anywhere in the world.

...In this first version of the portal, you will find:

• About 25 exemplar species pages. These pages show the kind of rich environment, with extensive information, to which all the species pages will eventually grow. These pages have been authenticated (endorsed) scientists.
• Tens of thousands of additional species pages. These pages are authenticated, but do not contain the rich array of information found on the exemplar pages.
• About 1 million minimal species pages contain the scientific and common names for a species and often have a distribution map, but lack other authenticated information.

FREE VIDEOS FROM TONY BUZAN

Huh? TONY BUZAN?
Buzan is the Inventor of Mind Maps®, a thinking tool described as 'the Swiss army knife of the brain'.
This site features him presenting and discussing both his proprietary software and the process and power of Mind Mapping.

10 FREE ONLINE SURVEY/POLLING TOOLS

Here are 10 free online survey/polling tools (Selected using my sixth sense!), which you might want to explore further:

1. SurveyMonkey.com - Powerful tool for creating and running web surveys (including visual reporting). The free version provides several limitations (e.g. limited number of questions and respondents), but if you are creative you can do your stuff. Anyway, the commercial version is quite affordable (if needed)!
2. Polldaddy - Create free online surveys (e.g. market research) and polls. Excellent for polls!
3. FreeOnlineSurveys.com - Create online surveys, polls and questionnaires for any number of uses.
4. fo.reca.st - Allows you to design free online surveys, collect responses from the visitors of your blog or website, analyze them and finally present the survey results.
5. SurveyGizmo - Web surveys, Polls, Forms, Quizzes, Landing Pages. Free and commercial version.
6. Quibblo - A free tool that enables you easily to create your own quizzes, fun surveys & tests online.
7. LimeSurvey.org - A good open source survey tool. You need to download and install on a server. It includes +20 different question types, and basic statistical and graphical analysis with an export facility.
8. VTSurvey - Is a web-based tool which enables end users to autonomously create and run online surveys, feedback or registration forms (4 question types). You need to download and Install on a server. Although, it has limited tools, question types and reporting features, it is extremely easy-to-use.
9. BuzzDash - Create and share polls. Built upon individual polling modules called buzzbites™, BuzzDash provides a real-time forum where people can solicit, measure and share opinions on nearly any issue.
10. Zoho Polls - Can create and share polls.
    

If you want a more comprehensive list of survey/polling tools, mashing-up both commercial and free ones, I strongly recommend that you visit Jane Knight's amazing directory of learning tools (including 49 survey/polling tools! Trust me, this list will grow!).

keybr.com

Keybr.com
Very cool keyboarding drill keybr.com - Typing at the speed of thought!...

TOWARD A DEFINITION OF 21st-CENTURY LITERACIES

Adopted by the NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) Executive Committee
February 15, 2008

Literacy has always been a collection of cultural and communicative practices shared among members of particular groups. As society and technology change, so does literacy. Because technology has increased the intensity and complexity of literate environments, the twenty-first century demands that a literate person possess a wide range of abilities and competencies, many literacies. These literacies—from reading online newspapers to participating in virtual classrooms—are multiple, dynamic, and malleable. As in the past, they are inextricably linked with particular histories, life possibilities and social trajectories of individuals and groups. Twenty-first century readers and writers need to

• Develop proficiency with the tools of technology
• Build relationships with others to pose and solve problems collaboratively and cross-culturally
• Design and share information for global communities to meet a variety of purposes
• Manage, analyze and synthesize multiple streams of simultaneous information
• Create, critique, analyze, and evaluate multi-media texts
• Attend to the ethical responsibilities required by these complex environments.

Free Image Editors

For a long time I've had a love affair with Adobe Photoshop and for that matter most Adobe products
Today I found two other free programs that look and feel like Adobe Photoshop, offer the basic features that I use Photoshop for, and are more user friendly than most. First is Paint.net. According to their website this program was originally developed by an undergraduate student with the help of Microsoft. It was at one time slated to replace Paint as the free image editing software to come with the Windows OS. Why they did not go with it I am not sure. Now it is in open source. This program looks and feels like Paint but has the functionality of an early version of Adobe Photoshop.

The only real problem I see with this program is it is only currently available on Windows.
The other program I found is Splashup. Splashup is a flash based image editing program that looks almost exactly like Adobe Photoshop in your browser. It does all the basic things you need a good photo editor to do. Since it is web based you don't have to download anything. If you have an internet connection you can edit your photos. You also do not need to sign up for an account with Splashup the way you do with other online image editing tools. Since it is flash based it is then also cross platform. The only downside to this application is that it cannot be downloaded.

One cool feature that I like in Splashup is the webcam capture feature. The only big problem I found with Splashup is the inability to copy and paste between programs. I tried pasting this screen capture of Splashup in Splashup but it would not let me. I had to use Paint.net to save this final screen cap.

100 Ways to Use Your iPod to Learn and Study Better

http://oedb.org/library/beginning-online-learning/100-ways-to-use-your-ipod-to-learn-and-study-better

If you think that iPods are used just for listening to music, you obviously haven't been keeping up with the latest technology. The Apple-developed music player now features all kinds of accessories to help you study better, and now other companies are in a rush to get their designs in sync with the iPod. Pre-teens, college kids and even adults are taking advantage of the educational benefits an iPod affords them. From downloadable podcasts to just-for-iPod study guides and applications, learning on the go has never been easier.

The EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative's (ELI's) 7 Things You Should Know About... series provides concise information on emerging learning technologies and related practices. Each brief focuses on a single technology or practice and describes:

• What it is
• How it works
• Where it is going
• Why it matters to teaching and learning
  

Use ELI's 7 Things You Should Know About... briefs to:

• Enhance professional development activities
• Open a dialogue with your colleagues about emerging technologies and their implications for your school
• Stay up-to-date on emerging technologies
  

7 Things You Should Know About...pieces provide quick, no-jargon overviews of emerging technologies and related practices that have demonstrated or may demonstrate positive learning impacts. Any time you need to explain a new learning technology or practice quickly and clearly, look for a 7 Things You Should Know About... brief from ELI.

7 Things You Should Know About Series

1. Lulu (January 2008)
2. Skype (December 2007)
3. Citizen Journalism (November 2007)
4. Data Visualization (October 2007)
5. Haptics (September 2007)
6. Cyberinfrastructure (August 2007)
7. Twitter (July 2007)
8. Wikipedia (June 2007)
9. Facebook II (May 2007)
10. RSS (April 2007)
11. Creative Commons (March 2007)
12. Open Journaling (February 2007)
13. Digital Storytelling (January 2007)
14. E-Books (November 2006)
15. Google Earth (October 2006)
16. YouTube (September 2006)
17. Facebook I (August 2006)
18. Mapping Mashups (July 2006)
19. Virtual Worlds (June 2006)
20. Google Jockeying (May 2006)
21. Remote Instrumentation (April 2006)
22. Screencasting (March 2006)
23. Virtual Meetings (February 2006)
24. Grid Computing (January 2006)
25. Collaborative Editing (December 2005)
26. Instant Messaging (November 2005)
27. Augmented Reality (September 2005)
28. Blogs (August 2005)
29. Video Blogging (August 2005)
30. Wikis (July 2005)
31. Podcasting (June 2005)
32. Clickers (May 2005)
33. Social Bookmarking (May 2005)