PBWorks Camp & cool things to embed in your pages

Some of you may remember that last summer I went to camp — PBWorks Camp that is.  Well, this year, I went back to be a mentor.  This past Tuesday I had the pleasure of presenting to massive number of teachers, library media specialists, university faculty and staff, and others who are part of PBWorks Camp 2010!  It was a super fast and fun webinar.  I tried to focus on some cool and fun stuff you might want to embed into your web pages and blogs. One of the things I wanted to bring home to folks as they begin embedding media and using others’ works more is to be respectful of copyright.  This means to attribute the media where appropriate, following the appropriate linking and referencing such as with Creative Commons.

You can see the whole list of things we discussed here: http://bit.ly/pbworkswebinar

Some of the tools I mentioned were:

• Flick Creative Commons
• Morgue File
• Veezle
• Bubbl.us
• Wordle
• Jing
• iSpring free
• Poll Daddy

I had a blast!  The campers were so gracious in their appreciation, too.  So thank you all for the appreciation!!

HootCourse- twitter for online and face to face courses

As I mentioned about a month ago, along with experimenting with mobile learning in my course this summer, I also decided to test out HootCourse.  HootCourse is a Twitter tool that allows you to create courses, invite students, and automatically adds a hashtag for your course.  Like other Twitter tools, it performs a search based on the hashtag and keeps those tweets inside “your course.” In my testing, I was able to post inside HootCourse successfully, and I was able to post inside Tweetdeck and Twitterific if I added my course’s hashtag. Over at the “Free Technology for Teachers” blog, Thomas, one of the developers for HootCourse, explains in the comments a little more about the public v. private versions of HootCourse.

You can see in the screen shots below, that my course hashtag was #idt7064.  Hootcourse automatically added this.  I had to add this inside Tweetdeck (on my desktop) and Twitterific (on my iPod Touch and iPad).  Because Hootcourse is automatically adding the hashtag, it goes ahead and subtracts the number of characters in your hashtag from your 140-limit for Twitter.

I really liked being able to retweet posts and share these with my students directly from Tweetdeck and Twitterific.  In addition to being able to tweet inside HootCourse, you can also write longer posts — beyond the 140-word-limit — and these will post to a blog.  With only a small amount of difficulty and a quick email out to support, I was able to connect my HootCourse account to my own Wordpress (Viral-Notebook) instead of the suggested Wordpress.com account.  (I also found out from the tech support that this feature had been enabled by one of the developers, but the other didn’t know it. ) So, longer posts can go into my blog and then tweeted.  In Derek Bruff’s blog you can see where he did just this (and explains a number of features too), and this is a test post that I used as well.  I found that I didn’t use this feature very much for my online course that I was teaching.  But, I’m interested to figure out whether I might do this in a standard 15-week course with a little more forethought and planning.

The last feature that I’m interested in trying out connects nicely to Dr. Rankin’s Twitter experiment in her large class.  This is a classroom version of Twitter for face-to-face discussions.  In essence, it’s creating a backchannel for your classroom.  You can see from the screenshot below that HootCourse sort of strips down everything and makes the posts large so you could project these during a lecture of classroom discussion.  I didn’t use this feature in my online course, but I’m interested in trying this with some face-t0-face courses to see how it might work.

There are a number of folks testing out HootCourse right now, but I haven’t seen many reviews or posts of actual implementations.  So, I hope some folks come out with those.  Are you using HootCourse?  How’s it going?  Are you doing it online or face-t0-face or both?

A vision of students today

Consider this video: “A Vision of Students Today.” While this is indicative of college students, what does this mean for learners in your context?

In addition, the Pew Research Center recently reported:

Cell-phone texting has become the preferred channel of basic communication between teens and their friends, with cell calling a close second. Some 75% of 12-17 year-olds now own cell phones, up from 45% in 2004. Those phones have become indispensable tools in teen communication patterns …. Fully two-thirds of teen texters say they are more likely to use their cell phones to text their friends than talk to them to them by cell phone (”The mobile phone has become the favored communication hub for the majority of American teens.” section; para. 1-3)

How do we adapt instruction based on this message?  Should we adapt instruction at all based on this message?

Related articles

• Trend Watch: Pew Study Finds 75% of Teens Own Mobile Phones, Teen Texting Takes Off (debaird.net)
• Teen Texting Now Tops Teen Cell Calling (cbsnews.com)

New book chapter: Supporting technology integration in higher education

I’m pleased to say that another book chapter in completed and onto the presses to be published.  This one was with awesome collaborators, Dr. Drew Polly at University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Joanne Gikas (a doc student of mine), the Director of Online Programs at UofM.  This chapter is on supporting technology integration in higher education.  Together, the three of us offer two different cases of how technology integration has been handled at our respective institutions.  We also offer some good lessons learned from both our experiences as well.

Official title?
Supporting Technology Integration in Higher Education: The Role of Professional Development.

Here’s the abstract:

As institutions of higher education increase access and support the use of educational technologies, there is a need to examine how to best support faculty’s integration of technology into their courses. In this chapter we discuss findings and issues related to supporting faculty’s integration of technology in university-level courses. We share data from two cases: a university-wide faculty professional development project and a professional development center designed to focus on supporting faculty’s integration of technology. Lastly, we provide implications related to faculty professional development.

Need a citation?
Polly, D., Grant, M.M., & Gikas, J. (in revision). Supporting technology integration in higher education: The role of professional development. In D. Surry, T. Stefurak, & R. Gray (eds.), Technology integration in higher education: Social and organizational aspects.  Hershey, PA: IGI Global.

How about the file?
Technology Integration in Higher Education

Visiting Union and Doin’ Some Googlin’

Today, I get to spend the day at Union University with Dr. Anna Clifford’s classes. Anna is always so generous and invites me to come visit with her students and share a little of my knowledge with them. For the past few times, we’ve been concentrating on Google Docs. But I think I’m going to throw in a little Wordle this time, too.

Below are the links and resources we’ll be using from my Resource Wiki hosted at PBWorks.

1. Using Google Docs word processor
2. Using Google Docs presentations
3. Using Google Docs spreadsheet
4. Creating forms and quizzes with Google Docs forms

And hopefully, we’ll have time to do a little Wordle, too, to see how we might use Wordle during class.

Trusting your school with the technology may become the issue

Big Brother is watching … only it’s your vice principal.  If you thought that getting technology into schools was the primary issue or even getting teachers to integrate was bigger.  This might change your mind.  By way of Mashable, I heard about this story:

BoingBoing reports that a recent case filing in Robbins vs. Lower Merion School District, a Pennsylvania school, is a class action suit on behalf of students with school-issued laptops whose webcams have been used to watch the students and their families at home.

It was discovered that the laptops issued by the high school contained software allowing administrators to covertly activate the on-board webcam. The plaintiff, Blake J. Robbins, was disciplined by the school for “improper behavior in his home.” The evidence of said impropriety was brought forth by the school vice principal, who displayed a photo of Robbins taken by the laptop’s webcam.

This was also reported on HLN this morning as well.  The level of weird and creepy in this is enough to require a shower.  This is oddly reminiscent of an episode of Criminal Minds minus the serial killer, FBI, and quirky characters.  Who knows?  Maybe we’ll see the quirky characters unfold in this story?  But I don’t believe we’ll like them as much as Garcia, Hotch, and Reid.

3 predictions I agree with and 3 I don’t … and why

A new year is upon us and thus we should take time to examine some of the potential changes that the year 2010 will bring. Examining potential changes is important because technology is in a constant state of change and so are the lives of those involved with instructional technology. Although this blog post will not attempt to take on all the predicted changes in instructional technology for the year 2010, this post will examine three 2010 predictions I agree with and three that I do not.

I Agree With….

At the beginning of this year, staff members and contributors to eLearn Magazine each described some of their predictions for the year 2010. The first prediction that I agreed with was from Stephen Downes who predicts that the demand for online learning will increase from both the private sector and traditional institutions. I agree with this prediction because the current economic crisis and job situation will compel citizens to take on new positions and roles, requiring them to learn new knowledge and skills. I also agree with Mark Notess’ assessment that higher education institutions will make greater movements towards open source solutions. I agree with Mr. Notess because the economy is forcing many higher education institutions to cut costs wherever they can and because open source options are becoming more accepted and understood by the technological community. Finally, I agree with Jim Hendler’s prediction that the technology gap between students and teachers will continue to expand and widen. I agree with Mr. Hendler because student’s technological exposure and experience continues to grow while many teachers technology learning remains stagnant or does not increase at the rate in which new technologies are developed.

I Don’t Agree With…

From the same eLearn Magazine article, I do not agree with Roger Schank’s prediction that mobile e-learning will go away. I believe that as mobile technologies increase, so will opportunities to learn from mobile devices. I believe that just-in-time learning will become a major form of e-learning on mobile devices. I also do not agree with Hend S. Al-Khalifa’s prediction that portable devices like Smart phones and Nintendo DS systems will make their way into traditional classrooms. I do believe that learning opportunities will increase on devices like these; however, to be implemented into the classroom there would need to be more teachers willing to teach using these devices. I do not think that many teachers are ready to make this leap yet. The final prediction I do not agree with comes from Ignatia Webs. I do not agree with the prediction that pedagogy will overtake technologies role as front and center of innovative learning. I believe that pedagogy should become the primary focus of innovative learning, however technology still offers so much motivation and interest that technology will remain in its central role.

Guest blogger: Jeremy Larson is a 7^th and 8^th grade American History teacher at Grace- St. Luke’s Episcopal School in Memphis, TN. He received his Bachelors degree in Elementary Education (K-8) at St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud, MN. While at SCSU, Jeremy also received specialties in Instructional Technology and Social Studies Education. Jeremy is currently working towards his Masters degree in Instructional Design and Technology at the University of Memphis. He is interested in K-12 technology integration and helping school districts bring technology into the classroom.

Image courtesy of iLounge at http://www.flickr.com/photos/ipodlounger/4310067280/

TETC 2009: Wednesday sessions

Wow! I’m so excited to be in Nashville at the Tennessee Educational Technology Conference.  It’s been a few years since I’ve been back to TETC, but I’m ready to meet and share with some great teachers, administrators, and technology coordinators/coaches from across Tennessee.

I’ll presenting two sessions today: one on managing communications in online courses and one on project-based learning.  All of my resources and links are linked up below to make them easy to get to.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

W63-Tips for Managing Communications in Online Courses (1:30 – 2:30pm, Ballroom C)

Here are the links to the web pages with details for all of the topics we’ll discuss:

1. Tips for Online Course Management
2. Tips for Asynchronous Communications
3. Tips for Synchronous Communications

W84-The Secrets to Project-based Learning (2:45 – 3:45pm, Ballroom C)

Here is the link to web page with the details about PBL all in one place.  I plan to be adding some more pieces here, too, so let me know if you think something is missing.

1. Secrets to Project-based Learning

More Googling at Union

I’m so excited to go back to Union University today.  Dr. Anna Clifford and her students invite me from time to time to come and spend some time with them talking about Google and Web 2.0.  We always have so much fun.  (Anna always remembers that M&Ms are my favorite treats, too.)  Today, I have the pleasure of Joanne G. coming with me to share her expertise as well.  She’s a former middle school teacher with Memphis City Schools and has a wealth of real-world knowledge that can be sure with Anna’s preservice teachers.  I don’t know if we’ll get everything that we want to talk about in or not, though.

Today, we’re going to tooling around with Google Docs/Apps.  In particular, we’re going to take a look at Google Reader, Google Docs word processor, Google Docs presentations, Google Docs spreadsheets and Google Docs forms.

Here’s the links to the wiki pages I’ve created to go along with the workshop.  Anything we don’t get to will be accessible through these links, and please use them liberally.

1. Using Google Reader
2. Using Google Docs word processor
3. Using Google Docs presentations
4. Using Google Docs spreadsheet
5. Creating forms and quizzes with Google Docs forms

And a Google Form for us to try if we have time.

Google Groovin’ at Union

It’s going to be a great Saturday morning! I get to spend the morning with some awesome teachers at Union University in Jackson, TN. So, “Good morning, Union!” or maybe it should be, “Google morning, Union!”  They are taking a weekend class with my dear friend Dr. Anna Clifford, and she asks me from time to time to come spend some time playing with them. I’m so honored that I get to come.  I love sharing and I get to learn something, too.

Today, we’re going to tooling around with Google Docs/Apps.  In particular, we’re going to take a look at Google Reader, Google Docs word processor, Google Docs presentations, Google Docs spreadsheets and Google Docs forms.  I hope we can get through it all.

If we don’t happen to make it through everything (and that’s okay, I always plan too much), here’s the links to the wiki pages I’ve created to go along with the workshop.  Anything we don’t get to will be accessible through these links, and please use them liberally.

1. Using Google Reader
2. Using Google Docs word processor
3. Using Google Docs presentations
4. Using Google Docs spreadsheet
5. Creating forms and quizzes with Google Docs forms

And a Google Form for us to try.