2009 K-12 Online Conference Audio Podcast Channel

Can a worldwide scavenger hunt and a GPSr change the way we teach? ABSOLUTELY! This presentation will introduce geocaching and educaching and provide examples and resources to those interested in getting students out of the classroom!

This presentation highlights the use of Google Maps and Google Earth (and Picasa photo)to create a fictional “Heroic Journey” story. The unit is tied to literature (The Odyssey, The Lightning Thief), writing (creating an original story with episodes of adventure) and technology (integrating online tools into the classroom). The presentation includes some sample student work from sixth graders but I encourage you to follow the links to the website where the student journeys are posted.

En el aula de segundo de primaria utilizamos algunos recursos de la web 2.0 para mejorar nuestra comunicación oral y escrita. El microblogging, mensajes con webcam y grabación de audios son alguno de los ejemplos que presento.

Carol Broos and Carol Vrotny, two music teachers discuss the creative process of composing music in the digital age. All links can be found at http://musictechie.pbworks.com

Rachel Boyd’s keynote presentation for the “Week in the Classroom” strand of the K12 Online conference. A peek for a week inside a kiwi junior classroom of 6 year olds. Come and see what we get up to in our classroom learning during a week using a variety of online and web2 tools. Please note that due to this presentation also being visual it is best viewed with audio AND visuals in movie format.

The world is their audience, literally, when high school students embark on a Flat Classroom Project. As a culmination to the 12-14 week global collaborative project students have the opportunity to present their research and findings in real time through a virtual classroom. Guests internationally are invited to attend and ask questions and interact with the students. This experience goes beyond the usual classroom sharing model and promotes awareness of the scope of a global audience, confidence in public speaking and enhanced cultural exchange. This session shares highlights from recent Flat Classroom Student Summits and provides a pedagogical approach that allows safe collaboration and sharing and pushes the limits of classroom experience into a blended 21st century and Web 2.0 model. This session will showcase best student work from the Flat Classroom project and show how students present their research and learning to an international audience. Using a virtual classroom, students from around the world p

The amazing innovation we are seeing in many classrooms around the world still has a small impact, when compared to the size of our educational systems. How do we bridge the divides to go bigger? This presentation will explore some divides, from a Colombian perspective, and will propose some ideas that could help in bridging them. La fabulosa innovación que vemos en muchos salones de clase alrededor del mundo todavía tiene un impacto pequeño, en comparación con el tamaño de nuestros sistemas educativos. ¿Cómo creamos puentes para cerrar las brechas y crecer más? Esta presentación explorará algunas brechas, desde una perspectiva colombiana, y propondrá algunas ideas que pueden ayudar a crear puentes para cerrarlas.

This presentation provides a snapshot of web 2.0 and games based learning which have been implemented in our school and how we have managed to achieve this across all grades Kindergarten to Year 6. We have been using these technologies for several years but it has only been in this last year that there has been a wholesale uptake of these learning resources. 96% of our students are from non English speaking backgrounds. Many of them arrive at school with impoverished language and life experiences. it is our mission to enrich their vocabulary, turn them on to reading and writing and engage them in the process of becoming critical and creative lifelong learners using technology as the tool.

Web 2.0 is more than a set of technology tools. It reflects the democratization of information, the power of collaboration and the personalization we hope to find in any school. Taking full advantage of Web 2.0 technology requires more than hardware and software, it requires adopting a Web 2.0 culture. In 1996, New Technology High School in Napa, California opened with a vision of reinventing high school for a new age. At the core of their approach was a culture, curriculum and technology foundation that empowered the student to take more control over their learning and the school. New Tech High is now a national model for school transformation with a network of over 40 21st Century schools based on those principals. Learn the specific strategies and technologies used by the New Technology Network to create a culture that is more student (user) centered in the classroom and encourage collaboration between students, teachers and schools.

Having been asked to deliver truly cross-curricular ICT to support the Extra English lessons provided for a small group of students, I decioded to use a range of Web 2.0 tools to asist with this. Inspired by the work of Tom Barrett and ‘We Tell Stories’ I decided to create an immersive experience that would help the students have a better understanding of the book. Amongst the tools I used for this were Stupeflix, Google Maps and Google Streetview. The students were able to produce work that was far more involved and detailed than that which they had produced before. As teachers we can be inspired by each other and this presentation is my tribute to this.

This presentation will focus on an established successful 6th grade capstone project called “The Biggest Dig.” In the 5th year of this research project, myself and Jon Greenberg, the Humanities teacher, collaborated to modernize the project using web 2.0 technologies such as wikis and online note taking software. This video includes an overview of the project, review the tools used, how we decided to transition certain project components to web 2.0 tools, student feedback, and finally, a review of the final product and our assessments. The goal of this presentation is to demonstrate that teacher collaboration and sharing of ideas is a fundamental component to enhancing already established curriculum. The idea that you do not have to throw out everything you have done in the analog world to adapt to web 2.0 world is our central theme.

After years of lobbying, my high school World Cultures course is now assigned to a computer lab each day during my school year. In this proto-one-to-one environment, I am attempting a largely paperless classroom. Using Moodle, Web 2.0 tools and a mix of liberal computer lab hours and checkout laptops, I have eliminated the paper shuffle from my World Cultures class. I am now three months into my project and ready to report the early results including its impact on my other courses.

This workshop is part of the K12 Online Conference and is designed for the K-12 administrator looking to dip their toe into Web 2.0.

What do you get when you cross Moodle with Google Apps with Drupal? Moogpal! This presentation provides a preview of the development work currently underway by New Tech Network of high schools to integrate these free and open source tools to personalize learning, improve communication, and spur collaboration. The video includes an overview of why we chose these tools, their unique characteristics, and shows early mock-ups of how we plan to use them across our nationwide network of 40 high schools.

To begin, I want you to know I created a wiki that expands upon the notions I discuss in this presentation/video. If you find what I say worthy of further reflection, carry your learning beyond the boundaries of the .mov and visit tr.im/bridginggaps. If you wonder what a “well-educated” student will look like in our constantly shifting, interconnected, globalized society; if you want to know what teachers and administrators need to know about teaching and learning in the 21st Century; if you are ready to learn about newer, more effective ways of teaching that engage, challenge and inspire students; this is the session for you. In this video I will present a vision for teaching and learning in the 21st century that is evolving as I explore the intersection of pedagogy and the digital culture. There are twelve critical bridges that span competing conditions I have experienced that we must all acknowledge, experience and understand if we are to move toward the emerging new story of learning.

This presentation is a joint venture between a classroom teacher, Jean Moore and instructional tech specialist, Robin Beaver. Jean’s 7th grade students study Asia as part of their Social Studies/Literature curriculum. Over the past several years Jean has developed a number of projects involving technology to enrich these units of study. These activities have evolved over time in order to take advantage of the capabilities of new technologies. In this video we share ways in which Web 2.0 tools have helped to transform this unit and the impact this had on student collaboration and learning. Supporting materials include links to resources and activities used by Jean as well as tutorials for two of the tools mentioned.

In this session I outline the movement towards multiple literacies and 21st century literacies. Within this framework I present concrete strategies and methods for pursing the traditional notion of literacy – reading and writing fluency – in an online context. In particular I hope to show how “think alouds” and other literacy modeling strategies can be enhanced by Web 2.0 technologies like Diigo for social bookmarking and Screentoaster for easy screen capture and content delivery. Part of this enhancement comes from the ability to customize instruction to individual student needs and interests. This presentation is a relatively equal mix of teaching theory, literacy pedagogy, and technology integration.

Learn how to empower students through the use of Google SketchUp.

A somewhat provocative viewpoint of what constitutes an ‘ePortfolio’ and a very brief cursory overview of the use of one ePortfolio tool that can be integrated within a VLE. The presentation will suggest that ePortfolios are ubiquitous, its just that they are not seen as such. How can non-traditional ePortfolio formats be formalised, accepted and given authority? In fact what IS an ePortfolio?

21st Century School Leaders are critical to the success of students and the advancement of technology integration in our schools. But would you know a 21st Century Leader if you saw one? My presentation describes how the standards for good leadership match up with the standards for being a 21st Century Leader.