In Just One Minute!

Who is Gary P Hayes? How might you find out? Here is a starter: He describes himself on Twitter as Innovation Lab Director, Emergent Media Maker, Virtual World creator, Blogger, YouTuber, Multi-instruMentalist, Metaversian, Harpist from Sydney, Australia. See what else you can find out about him. He is obviously a very interesting person. At least I think so. You might want to follow him in Twitter!

Remember, the whole point of using Twitter (and learning in general) is to be curious, ask questions, and then see if you can find the answers - usually with a little help from your friends.

I strongly recommend that you visit Mr. Hayes' Social Media Count where you can watch the counts change every second! This is like have a new Did You Know? every second!

Mr. Joe McClung Responds to Your Comments

Week 6

We...
Practiced for videocasts/podcasts
New Material:
Demonstrated how to add pictures and links to a site.
Demonstrated how to complete an alt modifier in the img tag so that a blind person will hear what the image is
Demonstrated how to add a title modifier to an image tag so that we could acknowledge the source of an image with a "floating box" that appears over the image when the cursor moves over it (Sort wait, lasts maybe 10 seconds). Repeats every time cursor moves over image)
Discussed why you must alwas include the source of the images you use, even if you must say "Source unknown."
If you need to review how to do any of these, see the appropriate handouts and videos on this blog.
Googled our own names
Discussed the implications, especially that we are leaving an "intellectual trail"
Introduced Google Alerts
Began a discussion of Search
Demonstrated how we can share bookmarks in delicious
Demonstrated Google UK's page of random internet data. You will find the link in my delicious bookmarks which are accessible by clicking the link above. Note the URL when you get there. That is the pattern to be followed for other links to my delicious bookmarks.
Demonstrated Google Squared (same way to link to as above) and began a discussion of the implications of this search technique for research and learning (and teaching), still under development by Google

Next week: Videocasts/podcasts. Come prepared!

You Are Creating Your Intellectual Trail - and It Can Be Googled!

I rarely make a student's post required reading for the class. But Anthony Capp's (W6) post: "How to: Make Your Own Podcast" is an exception, not so much for the way in which he analyzed the podcasts he listened to (which was excellent in its own right), but because of what he wrote about the consequences of his work in this class, especially his blog: "... I saw another post related to "digital footprinting" which I learned is the result of someone googling your name and what matches are found. I never really thought about this as a potential resume type flag. But now that I am aware, I realize how important it is for me to be actively producing a trail that I can be proud of-- I want to be googled well. This is even more motivation for me to be active in my networks whether they are my residential community, school, work, or online affiliations (which can be any or all of the formentioned)!"

REMEMBER: You are creating your intellectual trail with the work you do in this class. Practically all of it can be googled. Make it an outstanding trail!

Note: I added the bold and red and corrected a typo (potential) in the quotation I used from Anthony's post.

Blog Posts - Are You Falling Behind?

Three important comments.
1. Some students are not doing ALL of the blog assignments every week. Just doing a portion of the assignments is NOT satisfactory.
2. You must have something to say in your post that demonstrates you did what was required. A general post like "It was good" is NOT satisfactory!
3. It is VERY hard to catch up if you fall fare behind in your blog posts. DO NOT FALL BEHIND! This is one of the 12 projects you must complete (fully) in order to get a C or better in this class!

Did Not Do Your Presentation?

Bring your medical excuse to me and we will arrange a mutually satisfactory date for your presentation. Remember, you cannot get a C or better in this course if do do not satisfactorily complete all 12 projects. Your presentation is on e of those projects.

You should contact me as soon as possible.

Week 4 and Week 5

We had presentations from students.
We had a Skype visit from Mr. Joe Dale.
We continued Comments4Kids.
Podcast assignments were made, teams were formed, and initial team meetings were held.

What Do We Know About the Students Taking This Course?

This is a report on all students taking EDM 310 this semester (8 classes)
How old are you? Over half are 19-22 (53%). Teens and 20's make up 82% of the classes. The 30s are 15%, 40s 2% and 50s 1%.
Most of you (71%) do not have children living with you.
Most of you never read a newspaper, or do so only occasionally (59%). Only 10% of you read a newspaper every day.
Most of you (99%) watch videos. 44% of you watch more than 4 hours of video every week.
Half of you own an iPod or an iTouch, 70% of you own some MP3 player. 51% of you listen to music more than 2 hours a day, 27% listening 3 or more hours a day.
98% of you own a cell phone. 25% of you own a smart phone; 11% own an iPhone, 8% a Blackberry.
34% of you send 50 or more text messages a day. Eight of you report sending more than 200 text messages a day!
Most of you are Facebook users: 81%.
Over half of you have a MySpace account: 54%.
44% of you spend an hour or more a day on your social network accounts.
59% of you read less than a book a month (not counting class assignments).
94% of you own a computer. 91% of you own a PC.
5% of you still have a dial-up connection to the internet and another 5% have no access to the internet at all.
64% of you have a digital video camera, 87% of you have a digital camera that takes still pictures.
82% of you claimed to be proficient in word processing at the start of the class.
94% of you had never participated in a podcast before this class.
19% of you are taking an overload (more than 5 classes)
59% of you work half time or more.
91% of you intend to enter the teaching profession and another 5% say they probably will.
54% of you want to teach in an elementary school, 18% kindergarten, 15% middle school and 35% high school. (You could select more than one so % is greater than 100)
The most desired subject areas were Sports (19%), Literature/Reading/Writing (18%), Social Science (13%), Math (10%).
91% of you think that teachers should be "technologically literate" (no definition was given for this term).
Only 19% of you thought you were not technologically literate when you entered this course (again, no definition of this term was given)

And that is YOU!

Mr. Joe Dale Visits EDM 310

On September 15, 2009, Mr. Joe Dale, long time French teacher on the Isle of Wight, internationally known podcaster and blogger, and highly respected ITC consultant throughout Europe, vised three EDM 310 classes via Skype. Here are the recordings of his visits with the three classes. I know that you will find them informative! Thanks, Mr. Dale. Later Mr. Dale edited the Skype visits and posted an edited version on his blog in a post which he called Skype Home Alabama. Thanks again Mr. Dale!

TT 11 Class

Confusion over Comments4Kids

I have put a new list of Comments4Kids Assignments on the spreadsheet. If you have already done a post for this week, that's OK. But if you haven't, do the one I have just added to the spreadsheet. And if already have done one, consider doing another so some student won't be left out! Thanks.

Did You Know 4.0

Did You Know 4.0 is now available! Add a review of this new version to the assignments already given for September 20, 2009.

Jim Fawcett Reflects on EDM310

This morning I met Jim Fawcett in the hall on te main campus. He was excited about the prospect of turning his presentation last night into a video. I demonstrated how I could make a movie from the presentation I captured on my Mac last night in class. In a little while (after my 11 class) his movie will be available here. Since we were practicing with video, I interviewed Jim using my iPhone and immediately transferred the video to You Tube. Here is that video, a brief demonstration of what you will be doing with faculty later in the semester.

The movie is also accessible through a URL Jim Fawcett Reflects on EDM310

Blogs Where We Thought Comments Were Off

Wrong again. But that does not matter as long as we find out! Just click on the title of the article written by the 8th grader and you will be take to the entire article and comments will be available.

If your ran into this problem, please get started catching up with last week's assignment. As you can see from the eighth grade English class (in Virginia) blog English 8, the students are expecting you!

Comments4Kids Assignments Now Posted

1. Assignment is on your spreadsheet in Google Docs
2. See all special instructions
3. Single person assignments so if you don't do yours some kid will be left out. DO NOT let that happen.
4. One blog RBS 4th Grade works a bit differently. There are 43 entries into a Table of Contents on the left of the blog. Each entry in the Table of Contents is a post by a kid. Click on the TC number assigned you.

Then click on the icon shown here (looks like a piece of paper and a cloud, or the speech icon in a comic book) to get to the Comments area. It is to the right once you see the paragraph or more written by the kid.

5. Start as soon as possible. The teachers expect comments tomorrow. If you have not watched the video in link on the previous post, do so! Then you will understand how important this assignment is!

If You Are Not Convinced About the Power of Blogging and Commenting...

...just read this thank you from Ms. Priscilla Lavakula, teacher of Room 10 Pt England School, Auckland, New Zealand and then watch the video.

"Hi Dr Strange,
The children and I have made a movie for you and your class. We will also will be posting it on our blog. It's just to say thank you to you and your students for leaving us lots of lovely comments. The children have also included questions.Thanks again.

Kind regards
Priscilla Lavakula"
Teacher, Room 10
Pt England School
Auckland, New Zealand

In a separate in an email to me, Dorothy Burt, eLearning Team Leader at Pt England School said that the children in this school came from the poorest families in New Zealand, few having technologies in their home. She went on to explain why they blog:
"We actually blog as part of our approach to Schooling Improvement via 21st century literacy, and we have a researcher working along side us to see how our literacy improves as we blog. Our research shows so far that access to technology AND the response from an authentic audience are the two biggest motivators to our students to write. And the classes/students who blog have had some amazing improvements in their test scores.

We have lots of blogs at our school. They can mostly be accessed form here.
http://www.ptengland.school.nz/index.php?family=1,451

And I blog about the pedagogy behind our student blogging here....
http://manaiakalani.blogspot.com/2009/02/literacy-cycle.html"

If you read this, and aren't blogging and having your students blog, you I recommend you get started immediately!

A Wordle of EDM310 Class Blog

This is a Wordle created by linking the EDM 310 Class Blog to Jonathan Feinberg's wonderful Wordle page.

To see a larger version of the picture, just click on it.

Picture Too Large for Google Presentation?

If Google tells you that it can't upload your picture into Google Docs/Presentation, what do you do? Watch the new movie (second from last in Instructional Movies by John H Strange on right)Reduce Picture Size with Picasa.

This will work for PCs and Macs. But Mac user will probably find it easier to use iPhoto. I'll do a quick movie on that later today.

You can also use Adobe Photoshop Elements which is on all the computers in OUR lab classroom (not other labs). I will do a short movie on that techniques as well later today.

I Need My Teachers To Learn

John Strange says I found this video on At The Teachers Desk posted by Mr. William Chamberlain. I urge all teachers and aspiring teachers to watch it and think about the message in it. Also, my students should think of it as an example of one technique that could be used for their "Substantive Presentations" due near the end of the semester. Listen to the song written by Kevin Honeycutt from ESSDACK Video. Check out other YouTube Videos Directed/Edited by Shawn Gormley (otherwise known as changingworldbyfilm).

Mr. Chamberlain said:
I found this video on Wesley Fryer's blog Moving at the Speed of Creativity. I think this is an excellent example of how to create content that is powerful and meaningful. Watch the video below and listen to the message. Do you think this video might change the way someone you know thinks of using tech in the classroom?

Mr. Needleman's Visit

On Tuesday September 1 Mathew Needleman visited (via Skype) two of my EDM 310 classes. This was very exciting for me and, I think, for my students as well.

On the previous Thursday, when leaving the TT 11 class, one student mentioned that she had a comment on her blog from "some guy named Mathew that I don't know." Immediately behind her, the student said "Yeah, I had a comment from him too. Isn't that the guy who wrote the movie?" I interjected, "What? You got a comment from the author of 'Mr. Winkle Wakes', Mathew Needleman?" "I think so. How did he find us?" I guessed as to how he found us (and was wrong it turns out). The students left. And then, checking my email I had one from Mr. Needleman volunteering to speak to one of my classes the next Tuesday. I could hardly wait. What serendipity! A chance to demonstrate the power of their assignments to comment on kids blogs (see the post immediately below this one).
In my email thanking Mr. Needleman for his visit, I explained why I assigned my students to comment on other kids blogs (as Mr. Needleman had done for several of my students). I include this here because it is important for my students, and other teachers, to understand the power of the new communications technologies. Oh yes, and all of this is FREE! And thanks also to Mr. Chamberlain (@wmchamberlain) who taught me how important it is to leave comments!

I make the assignment to my students to comment of kids blogs around the world because I want to:
a) Encourage comments on blogs they visit
b) Get them to see what kids can do with blogs (kids - not students in a college class!)
c) Get them to see real classes that use technology - and to understand its role in the curriculum
d) Let them identify teachers who could be helpful to them when they start teaching
e) Get them out of a classroom into the world
f) Use the technologies themselves

And now, take a few minutes and listen to Mr. Needleman and the conversations he had (after a brief introduction) with my students! It skips a bit since, even in our labs, there was insufficient broadband to have a perfect transmission of the video and audio. But that did not matter to TT 11 and TT 2. Enjoy. And don't forget to leave a comment!

Your Comments4Kids Are Having An Impact

An Email from Dorthy Burt in New Zealand:

Dear Dr Strange

We were very pleased to have you visit one of our class blogs yesterday and leave our students such warm feedback. They (and of course their young teacher, Priscilla) were thrilled to hear from you.

We are not sure how you came across our blog, but incase you know nothing about us, we are a primary school in Auckland New Zealand. In NZ schools are ranked by the socio-econimic status of their parents (true) so we are 1a which is the poorest you can get. 66% or our students are Pasifika (parents from the Pacific islands and 33% are NZ Maori.
Our students are amazingly clever kids and love learning, but because of lack of funds their homes do not have a lot of technology. So it is not easy for them to get comments from family and friends on their blogs. This makes the possibility of visits from people such as yourself and your students especially important to us.

We actually blog as part of our approach to Schooling Improvement via 21st century literacy, and we have a researcher working along side us to see how our literacy improves as we blog. Our research shows so far that access to technology AND the response from an authentic audience are the two biggest motivators to our students to write. And the classes/students who blog have had some amazing improvements in their test scores.

We have lots of blogs at our school. They can mostly be accessed form here.
http://www.ptengland.school.nz/index.php?family=1,451

And I blog about the pedagogy behind our student blogging here....
http://manaiakalani.blogspot.com/2009/02/literacy-cycle.html

Thanks once again for your interest


Dorothy

A Tweet from Susan Carter Morgan in Virginia (@scmorgan)

Layout Information Incorrect for TT 11

I gave you incorrect information for the links to mail.

The links should not include http://

Remove the 7 characters above, SAVE and all should work OK. Remove from both email links if you did two.

A revised video is available that corrects the mistake.

Sorry! But it won't be my last mistake I assure you.

Project 6 Starts - Comments4Kids

Your assignments are on a spreadsheet. I sent you an invitation to view the spreadsheet to your gMail account. Instructions are now available in the Syllabus and Handouts area of this blog. A video will also be posted regarding this assignment. But get started now.

Transcript of Did You Know? 3.0 Now Available

Courtesy of Anthony Capps (W6). Can be found in Syllabus and Handouts.

Thanks, Anthony!

Check This Blog Daily

You are responsible for checking this blog daily. I am continually posting to it and you are required to keep those posts and changes in mind as you do your work.

One reason for a working RSS feed is to keep up with this blog!

Trouble Leaving Comments with Firefox

For the second straight week I have been unable to leave comments using Firefox on a Mac. I have reported that to Google. If you are using a Mac, use Safari. It works. If you are using a PC, try using Safari. You can download it free from Apple. Or download Chrome from Google. See if it works. Firefox was working OK on a PC the last time I tried, as long as you have signed in first. But you never know. Please report other difficulties to me.

Week 3

Here's what we covered in Week 3:
1. Mr. Mathew Needleman Skyped in to the class. The recording of his visit will be available no later than Friday midnight on the class blog under Important Links.
2. We covered RSS Feeds. and we introduced iGoogle. There are instructional videos on both. You must have an RSS of the class blog feed working on your iGoogle page by next week.
3. We covered Layouts. You must have two new Layout Gadgets working by next week on your blog. They are; a Gadget foe Email Me using your gMail address and another email address if you use another address. The second Gadget you must have by next week is an Important Links gadget with a link to the class blog. There is a video on the class blog under Instructional Video that covers this material.
5. Assignments were made for the first round of Project 8. You were emailed (to your gMail address) a spreadsheet with the assignments. You should do these on THURSDAY every week. There is also a written set of instructions on the class blog under Syllabus and Handouts. You must read that handout before you begin to make your comments. You must also post to your class blog after you have completed your weekly assignment. These assignments will continue throughout the semester.

AND...
We did not get to:
a. You must have an Evernote account. I hope to have a video on Evernote up on the class blog by Friday or Saturday. If you missed class this week, watch for it.
b. We covered three tools for shortening URLs. I hope to have a video on these tools up on the class blog by Friday or Saturday.
c. We started a discussion on Search techniques. More will follow. I hope to have a video on search techniques up on the class blog by the end of next week (9/11).
d. Forms
4. You must create a Delicious account and begin using it. There is a video on the class blog under Instructional Videos. Did only in W 6

AND in TT 11 I provided incorrect instructions for the mailto: code. The correct code should NOT have http:// in it. Please go to Layout and correct by removing the http:// The code should read (after the a tag beginning) href="mailto:...
Sorry about that. First mistake I made yesterday. (Well among the first 100. We learn from mistakes. Do not be afraid of them. Use them to learn!)

We will get to these things in Week 5.

New Videos and a New Handout

I have revised the video on Layouts in Blogger. The new video can be found in the Instructional Videos by John H Strange section to the right under the title Blogger - Layout

I have prepared a handout (available in the Syllabus and Handouts section to the right) explaining how to use Delicious and how to add some important Delicious tools to Firefox. It is called Delicious and Firefox. In addition, I have prepared a video to accompany that handout. The new video can be found in the Instructional Videos by John H Strange section to the right under the title Delicious and Firefox: Using Delicious.