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I'm in Washington, DC this week for NECC, and already the trip has been extraordinary. I want to share one story with you.
After the edubloggercon gathering on Saturday, the great folks from Wikispaces held a reception. While mingling with the guests we met a young man, Evan Morikawa, who seemed to be soacking this all in with special interest. He appeared to be about 19 (younder, actually) so we were curious of his connection. It turns out that he is one of the co-founders of Alightlearning.com. That, in istself was pretty cool, but his story is even better.
He was happily attending college in Massachusets, somewhere (Sorry, I forget where) when his friend received an invitation to the premier showing of the Google Wave. Everyone who was lucky enough to be there received an API code so that they could begin to develop apps for this amazing product. That changed their lives. They were so blown away by the possibilities of that app that they then began to view college as just being in their way. They dropped out of college to begin work on their app idea.
That alone is pretty amazing and gutsy isn't it? But, we loved his response when asked why he thought they could make it in this economy when other web services have failed. Evan replied, "Because Blackboard sucks and they charge $100,000 per school." :-)
I love their idea for their app, and I love their attitude. Can't wait to see their Google Wave app when it's released later this year. Good luck, guys.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
Twitter reacts to Michael Jackson's death
Another reason why I love twitter. Today @dwarlick posted a link to this video of twitscoop in which we see clearly how the world was chatting about the news of Michael Jackson's death. Watch closely and you'll see his name appear in the list, but not very large. Then you can see it grow as more and more people spread the news. Suddenly the word arrest appears. Then Cardiac. Finally, at the end you can see the key words have told the story.
Very interesting. I encourage you to visit the twitscoop site and watch the live cloud for a while.
- - -
Very interesting. I encourage you to visit the twitscoop site and watch the live cloud for a while.
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Saturday, June 20, 2009
Post weekly (weekly)
TipLine - Gates' Computer Tips: An Amazing Day
The power of the social media today. Watch this video of CNN defending itself against criticism that it didn't match up to twitter, Facebook, etc.
The difference one degree makes - that little extra effort
TipLine - Gates' Computer Tips: A GREAT deal - and more
This is the article I mentioned in class about what I learned in Twitter.
- It's only 10:00 AM, and I've been at my computer for only an hour or so. But, in that hour I've learned a TON of things from my friends on twitter. What a day it's been already.
Kathy Schrock's Kaffeeklatsch: Google Apps for Education overview
Here, Kathy talks about how Google Docs for Education was implemented in her district and the very nice results.
Flickr: The Great quotes about Learning and Change Pool
A nice photo pool of quotes for teachers and Administrators. It appears that most, if not all, of the slides are licensed under the creative commons agreement
Making Movies with Google Earth - Google Earth User Guide
If you use Google Earth then you NEED this users guide
Iran's Disputed Election - The Big Picture - Boston.com
the Boston Globe images of Iran
- Following up from last Friday's entry about Iran's Presidential Election, Tehran and other cities have seen the largest street protests and rioting since the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Supporters of reform candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, upset at their announced loss and suspicions of voter fraud, took to the streets both peacefully and, in some cases, violently to vent their frustrations
Tehran - Realtime image results at PicFog
Social Media covers the Iran elections
Using Diigo for narrative response | ICT in my Classroom
An example of using Diigo with younger students
Dear CNN, Please Check Twitter for News About Iran - NYTimes.com
the power of twitter
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
Monday, June 15, 2009
An Amazing Day
Today was an historic day in the world. The elections in Iran sparked demonstrations by the people there insisting on their freedom. They objected to what they call a fixed election and have, in spite of everything, taken their anger to the streets in incredible numbers. And, they used the social medium of the web to help spread their message.
They posted pictures on Flickr, they tweeted messages and images on Twitpic, posted videos on Youtube and in blogs, created petitions. We were able to follow up to the minute events and see incredible images like these in the Boston Globe. There was so much of a new leak there today that the Government shut down the social media sites. Listen to the end of this video to hear how the government was trying to shut down communication to the outside world. And, when word got out that the government was cracking down on access to social media sites, the world rallied to provide them with the addresses of proxies that they could use to bypass the filters to keep the lines of communication open. Take this tweet, for example, "RT @oliverg: pass it on RT @emsenn:Iran proxies 218.128.112.18:8080 218.206.94.132:808 218.253.65.99:808 219.50.16.70:8080 #iranelection" It was simply amazing to watch. The world was responding to the human story here, without regard to the politics between Iran and their own countries.
There was so much coverage on those sites that some folks began to criticize CNN for not being up to speed with the twitterers and bloggers, etc. And that criticism boiled over until CNN just HAD to respond. This is a perfect video to tell the story of the nature of news today. PERFECT.
When Clay Shirky writes the next edition of his book, "Here Comes Everybody" he's SURE to include many of the stories that have arisen from the events of today. And, stay tuned. This is far from over. Neither the story of the election nor the story of the coverage of the election.
This was a GREAT day to be working with teachers and trying to show them the power of social media, Twitter, specifically. In Tweetdeck I created a Search column for the word Tehran and that's how I followed the events. There was a hashtag of #iranelections too that I could have chosen to follow. But, the bottom line is that I was following up to the minute reports from the people who were living the event.
It was also interesting how some folks commented that they wondered how the Tienanmen Square incident would have been different had the technology been as it is today. Hmmm... I wonder.
P.S.
This is another example just tweeted (9:31PM) by @whynot88: http://iran.twazzup.com/ - real-time tweets from Iran. And this one posted by ??? (I can't find the post again!) that shows pics from today and the number of times the image was retweeted: http://picfog.com/search/Tehran
P.P.S. (Tuesday)
This article on BoingBoing talks about how NOT to use the social media to help your cause. Check it out, too. It falls under the heading of "Best Intentions." For example, posting the proxies wasn't the best idea, although it had the best intentions. My point for my post, however, is the same. It was AMAZING to watch this issue being covered on Flickr, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter, etc. This changes everything!
They posted pictures on Flickr, they tweeted messages and images on Twitpic, posted videos on Youtube and in blogs, created petitions. We were able to follow up to the minute events and see incredible images like these in the Boston Globe. There was so much of a new leak there today that the Government shut down the social media sites. Listen to the end of this video to hear how the government was trying to shut down communication to the outside world. And, when word got out that the government was cracking down on access to social media sites, the world rallied to provide them with the addresses of proxies that they could use to bypass the filters to keep the lines of communication open. Take this tweet, for example, "RT @oliverg: pass it on RT @emsenn:Iran proxies 218.128.112.18:8080 218.206.94.132:808 218.253.65.99:808 219.50.16.70:8080 #iranelection" It was simply amazing to watch. The world was responding to the human story here, without regard to the politics between Iran and their own countries.
There was so much coverage on those sites that some folks began to criticize CNN for not being up to speed with the twitterers and bloggers, etc. And that criticism boiled over until CNN just HAD to respond. This is a perfect video to tell the story of the nature of news today. PERFECT.
When Clay Shirky writes the next edition of his book, "Here Comes Everybody" he's SURE to include many of the stories that have arisen from the events of today. And, stay tuned. This is far from over. Neither the story of the election nor the story of the coverage of the election.
This was a GREAT day to be working with teachers and trying to show them the power of social media, Twitter, specifically. In Tweetdeck I created a Search column for the word Tehran and that's how I followed the events. There was a hashtag of #iranelections too that I could have chosen to follow. But, the bottom line is that I was following up to the minute reports from the people who were living the event.
It was also interesting how some folks commented that they wondered how the Tienanmen Square incident would have been different had the technology been as it is today. Hmmm... I wonder.
P.S.
This is another example just tweeted (9:31PM) by @whynot88: http://iran.twazzup.com/ - real-time tweets from Iran. And this one posted by ??? (I can't find the post again!) that shows pics from today and the number of times the image was retweeted: http://picfog.com/search/Tehran
P.P.S. (Tuesday)
This article on BoingBoing talks about how NOT to use the social media to help your cause. Check it out, too. It falls under the heading of "Best Intentions." For example, posting the proxies wasn't the best idea, although it had the best intentions. My point for my post, however, is the same. It was AMAZING to watch this issue being covered on Flickr, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter, etc. This changes everything!
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Post weekly (weekly)
Top News - School of the Future: Lessons in failure
Interesting read about assumptions, a well-meaning program, and the lessons learned
Great little App for Mac users with Google Docs account. Search through Google Docs from Spotlight
Education Spending Chart in AR 1996-2006 - Federal State Local
Choose the state and the range of years to show the amount of money spent on education
Education Week: Graduation Rate Trends 1996-2006
interactive map showing graduation rates by state. SHOCKING!
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
Monday, June 08, 2009
The purpose of school
At today's workshop about an hour North of here, I asked the teachers (in a polleverywhere poll) to tell me what they thought was the purpose of school. Not original, certainly. But, the idea was to ask again at the end to see if their thoughts had changed. The session ran long so I didn't get to ask the seond time. Here, though, is the list of thoughts that they submitted during the first round:
To prepare students for the future.
help children learn- keep their minds busy
To create an educated population that is capable of supporting the needs of the nation such that all people have access to resources that are essential to life.
It depends on whose point of view we are using. The government's point of view is to create "good" citizens. The business world's point of view is to create good workers and problem solvers. The academic world's point of view is to create good thinkers.
The purpose of school is to promote life-long learning.
To educate students and make them self-reliant is the purpose of school.
the purpose of school is to help each child reach their potential
To prepare students for career and social needs.
The purpose of school is to create independent, adult learners.
to facilitate student learning and to prepare them for success in the real world
How to acquire and learn new informaton
the purpose is to input the brain as much as possible
To help students to use critical thinking, to help them to be able to gather information and to use it in our global community.
The purpose of school is the provide opportunities for every student to develop their potential so that they may be productive members of society.
To prepare students for be productive members of society.
provide core information and prepare students for the future
To educate young individuals preparing them for tomorrow.
to learn
to impart knowledge: about academics and everyday living
To educate students and prepare them for life whether it be academia or job-force.
To be competent citizen in a democracy.
The purpose of school is to educate our students so that they can have the tools necessary to enhance their knowledge and skills to contribute or acquire a 21st century career.
for a job
To facilitate and provide experiences that encourage curiosity and learnintg in a safe and caring atmosphere.
The purpose of school is to educate children so they may become a productive member of society as it is today and also as it will be in the future.
To provide educational opportunities for all students with a variety of learning styles.
To educate students in all subject areas. To build confidence in students and to build life skills.
Interesting, no?
To prepare students for the future.
help children learn- keep their minds busy
To create an educated population that is capable of supporting the needs of the nation such that all people have access to resources that are essential to life.
It depends on whose point of view we are using. The government's point of view is to create "good" citizens. The business world's point of view is to create good workers and problem solvers. The academic world's point of view is to create good thinkers.
The purpose of school is to promote life-long learning.
To educate students and make them self-reliant is the purpose of school.
the purpose of school is to help each child reach their potential
To prepare students for career and social needs.
The purpose of school is to create independent, adult learners.
to facilitate student learning and to prepare them for success in the real world
How to acquire and learn new informaton
the purpose is to input the brain as much as possible
To help students to use critical thinking, to help them to be able to gather information and to use it in our global community.
The purpose of school is the provide opportunities for every student to develop their potential so that they may be productive members of society.
To prepare students for be productive members of society.
provide core information and prepare students for the future
To educate young individuals preparing them for tomorrow.
to learn
to impart knowledge: about academics and everyday living
To educate students and prepare them for life whether it be academia or job-force.
To be competent citizen in a democracy.
The purpose of school is to educate our students so that they can have the tools necessary to enhance their knowledge and skills to contribute or acquire a 21st century career.
for a job
To facilitate and provide experiences that encourage curiosity and learnintg in a safe and caring atmosphere.
The purpose of school is to educate children so they may become a productive member of society as it is today and also as it will be in the future.
To provide educational opportunities for all students with a variety of learning styles.
To educate students in all subject areas. To build confidence in students and to build life skills.
Interesting, no?
Saturday, June 06, 2009
Post weekly (weekly)
30 Must-Have Tweaks For Your Mac | How-To | Smashing Magazine
Great list of Mac tweets
PicFindr - Search the free-stock-photosphere (microstock too!)
Find CC licensed images
a visually fun way to organize thoughts for a debate
Instructables - Make, How To, and DIY
Fun science experiments. Instructions and pictures. Great for elem or middle school science
twitter/google maps mashup showing the locations of our friend's tweets - copmlete with their icon
Educational Leadership:How Teachers Learn:Learning with Blogs and Wikis - Annotated
How teachers learn - nicely annotated by diigo readers
Totlol - Video for Kids. Babies, Toddlers, Pre and School Kids, Tweens and Parents
Kid-safe videos hand picked by parents.
plagium (beta)::: plagiarism tracker & checker ::: home
nice site for checking for plagiarism
very interesting visualization of the context of numbers.
A long-running news visualization site. Very nice.
Shows a variety of world maps and internet traffic data
50 Great Examples of Data Visualization | Webdesigner Depot
A great list of visualizations, from search engines to music and more. Very cool stuff
Twelve Essentials for Technology Integration
Visually interesting guide to tech integration. Check it out - if only to see the technology they used
The Top 6 Game-Changing Features of Google Wave - Annotated
A nice article about the Google WAVE and the 6 features that will change everything about how we communicate.
www.weareteachers.com - P21 Cyber Summit - In the Classroom
LOVE this collection of videos of great classroom lessons
Recent Updates | 12seconds.tv (beta)
Make a 12 second video and post it directly to Twitter. VERY cool!
Top 7 Twitter Tutorials on YouTube
A nice set of videos when you're showing Twitter to others
46 States and D.C. to Pursue Common Education Standards - washingtonpost.com
Wondering - is this a good thing or VERY bad thing?
Now THIS is just flat out amazing! Follow along till you get to the game part. Amazing!
nice program for teaching copyright,
Feed43 : Convert any web page to news feed on the fly
create feeds on the fly, if your favorites pages doesn't have a feed.
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
A GREAT deal - and more
It's only 10:00 AM, and I've been at my computer for only an hour or so. But, in that hour I've learned a TON of things from my friends on twitter. What a day it's been already.
First, let me apologize to those folks who tweeted some of these and I can't seem to find them now to give you credit.
Some of what I learned:
Yikes! It's now almost 11:00 AM. No, the article didn't take this long to write. I just got distracted by other tweets.
First, let me apologize to those folks who tweeted some of these and I can't seem to find them now to give you credit.
Some of what I learned:
- From @weareteachers, this link to some GREAT videos showing some VERY powerful lesson ideas. http://www.weareteachers.com/web/cybersummit/classroom
- Then, someone (sorry!) pointed to a publication on this site: http://www.yudu.com that looks like a fun way to publish flyers and other documents. You'll need a flashy template, but still, it looks interesting.
- @webgalpat retweeted a post by @teachtec that pointed to THIS super deal for students on the Microsoft Office suite for under $60. http://www.microsoft.com/student/discounts/theultimatesteal-us/default.aspx
- @gearth (you KNOW that I point to that blog often) tweeted about an article that talks about how the web reacted to the crash of the French airliner, and in there I found that a wikipedia page had been created about it and was updated hourly. This will surely be mentioned in the next "Here Comes Everybody" edition, eh?
- Someone else pointed to a mashable article that had a list of some excellent Twitter tutorial videos where I learned about a feature in tweetdeck that connects you to 12seconds.tv. There you can use the site to record a twelve second video and have it posted directly to twitter of Facebook. I turned on Camtwist and recorded a short video showing my desktop. http://tiny12.tv/CD6SC
- Another Mashable article was mentioned that talked about the top 6 features of the Google Wave that will change EVERYTHING. An excellent article.
- @AngelaMaiers retweeted @mrstg who pointed us to funnelbrain.com where you can created editable flashcards.
- @ShiftParadigm pointed us to this SEDTA article about strategies and tactics that states are using to try to get better results in student achievement.
- @rww pointed us to an article that talks about how NASA is using the Semantic web to help power its Constellation Program
- And @weareteachers again had a link with a catchy phrase for librarians: "A Library provides not just a place, but an opportunity!" I LOVE that one!
- Then, @Hertzog pointed the gamers among us to a trailer that really DOES look AWESOME. Incredible graphics sure to raise the bar.
Yikes! It's now almost 11:00 AM. No, the article didn't take this long to write. I just got distracted by other tweets.
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