The role of the Guest Presenter

Today, I am out of my classroom in order to visit a local college just a few communities over. I am scheduled to give a few presentations to prospective teachers on the merits of Digital Storytelling. It’s quite an honor to be asked (and my principal deserves kudos for giving me the quick green light to accept the offer), and there is the added bonus that I am presenting at the same college where I attended my own teaching certificate program that led me to where I am now (after 10 years as a newspaper reporter and then two years staying at home as a dad).

I wish we were in a computer lab today because my presentation, of course, has us building a digital story project, but I guess we will do it as a class collaboration. The theme of the digital story we will build is “Beyond the Curriculum” and the idea is to talk about all the other learning that goes on in schools beyond the set curriculum. Maybe I am thinking of this because our Quidditch Tournament is just a few days away, but as I was looking through my classroom photo files, it became clear that kids are learning in all sorts of ways and not just seated at their desks.

I’ll be showing the prospective teachers Photostory3 and then Voicethread — if time allows.

Peace (in the classroom of teachers),

Kevin

Day in a Sentence at Alex’s Place


(¡noʎ ɥʇıʍ ɯnıɹqılɐnbǝ noʎ ƃuıɹq puɐ) ǝɹǝɥʇ ɹǝʌo ʎʇɹɐd ǝɥʇ uıoɾ oʇ noʎ ǝʇıʌuı ǝʍ ˙sʇsoɥ ‘xǝlɐ ‘puǝıɹɟ ʎɹɐɹǝʇıl ʎɯ sɐ (¡spɹɐʍʞɔɐq puɐ ¡uʍop ǝpısdn puɐ) ǝʌoɯ ǝɥʇ uo sı ǝɔuǝʇuǝs ɐ uı ʎɐp ‘ʞǝǝʍ sıɥʇ

Translation: This week, day in a sentence is on the move (and upside down! and backwards!) as my literary friend, Alex, hosts. We invite you to join the party over there (and bring you equalibrium with you!)

Hold on you say: how did he do that? I used a site called Flip. Not worth much other than a good laugh, but hey, I’ll take it.

Head to Alex’s blog: http://alex-moore.blogspot.com/2009/03/day-in-sentence.html and add your thoughts.

‘(ʇxǝʇ uʍop ǝpısdn uı) ǝɔɐǝd
‘uıʌǝʞ

Not Another Snow Day (comic)

My thoughts this morning as snow came down and school was closed.

I used The Grimace Project (a free flash-based face generator based one the work of Scott McCloud and the concepts of facial expressions in comics) and then ComicLife, in case you are wondering.

Peace (in snowflakes),
Kevin

Library of Congress, Lincoln and Flickr

The Library of Congress continues to turn out some amazing resources on its Flickr site — pulling documents into the digital age. The latest is a small archive of old Abe Lincoln photos and considering all the hype these days about Lincoln (deserved, perhaps, but between Obama and Lincoln on the covers of my news magazines in the last two months, I have had about enough), it is interesting to see the man in actual photographs from the old days.

[Abraham Lincoln, Congressman-elect from Illinois. Three-quarter length portrait, seated, facing front] (LOC) by The Library of Congress.
(Shepherd, Nicholas H., photographer)
Peace (in history),
Kevin

The New Google Earth (and Mars and Oceans)

Google released the new version of Google Earth and it looks like another winner, allowing you to move through time in certain locations, head down under the oceans and up into the stars and planets. Amazing stuff and a wealth of possibilities for the classroom, don’t you think?

Here is the link to download Google Earth 5.0.

And here is a neat teaser video:

Peace (in the worlds above and below us),
Kevin

Meta-Tech-Trends within the Horizon Report

HR09cover.gif

The Horizon Report from the New Media Consortium is always an interesting document and I have not yet read the 2009 edition (but I intend, too, and you can too, with this link to the pdf). The organization does a fine job of thinking of applications that are impacting education now and into the future.

The main topics in this 2009 report:

Time-to-Adoption: One year or Less

Time-to-Adoption: Two to Three Years

Time-to-Adoption: Four to Five Years

I noticed that they created a list of what they are calling MetaTrends, which are based on five years worth of research and the list seems intriguing.

Here is a bit from the Horizon Wiki:

While the currents and eddies of emerging technology are complex, it is clear that the Report has been following at least seven metatrends with some regularity:

It seems to me that these trends represent a greater integration of technology into our daily lives, with more concepts of collaboration and user-generated content into the Cloud world. Plus, the idea of us becoming part of more intricate networks makes a lot of sense. There is a lot here to digest, but it is well worth a look.

Peace (on the horizon),
Kevin

A Great Series of Resources

Tom B. has created a couple of amazing slideshows about using Google Docs, Google Earth, Interactive Whiteboards and Flip Video cameras in the classroom. The ideas are rich and if you are wondering about these programs, Tom’s slideshows should point you in the right direction.

I found this one about the flip/portable video cameras to be very helpful:

Peace (in sharing),

Kevin

Sue Says: Build Your Network

pln3.jpg

Sue Waters (whose Edublogger site is a must-read, I think) has put together a great wiki site around the concept of the Web 2.0-based Personal Learning Community. Using the results of a survey from folks in her PLC, she established a one-stop resource for folks thinking of dipping their toes into the, eh, waters.

Ideally, a supportive PLC will help guide you along in your reflective stance as an educator, writer, explorer and then provide the framework for you to be a mentor to others. Also, a good PLC provides some guiding questions about your journey: where are you going and why are you going there and what are the outcomes.

I like how Sue also included a quick set of pointers that she gathered from her own network and experiences as you begin to consider your own PLC:

  1. Start slowly and find mentor(s) to help you.
  2. Use the same username across tools
  3. Share as much as you take
  4. Ask as much as you answer
  5. Try new TOOLS before you decide they’re not worth the time
  6. Comment on other people’s blogs
  7. Life long learning is the key!

So, get your network connected! Head to Sue’s wiki for more information.

Peace (in sharing),
Kevin