Web 2.0 in the classroom

Simply Jaw-dropping! YES!!

noreply@blogger.com (JBlack) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:43:00 +0000

You simply must watch then go try it yourself. Wow -- the understatement of the year...

PhotoSketch: Internet Image Montage from tao chen on Vimeo.

Expanding a Bit

noreply@blogger.com (JBlack) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 01:42:00 +0000

Image by wytze via Flickr

Because of some changes within our department course offerings, this semester I only get about three weeks to deliver a Web 2.0 unit to my students in our Computer Apps class. So, while I'm not too sure how much I'll be focusing on new webware and apps hitting the scene, I can say I'm trying something new this year. I'm moodling.

I've had a class website for my students for the last 15 years or so. Making sites is nothing new to me as I also teach web design. I was a little reluctant to give up my handmade CSS site to try Moodle, but I have to admit I'm liking it. It's pretty darn powerful and it's surprised me more than once in the last five weeks. Now, I'm not saying it's perfect, but it's one nice piece of open source software!

Moodle is a learning management system (LMS) - a fairly sophisticated piece of e-learning software that allows educators to make some great interactive websites for students. Your Moodle (which means an "enjoyable tinkering") can be a repository of text/audio/video lessons and resources, but it's also capable of monitoring student activity and use of those lessons/resources. But what I'm really grooving on the most right now is how Moodle allows me to informally assess learning as we go so that I can determine if I need to reteach a concept if students aren't getting it. In upcoming posts, I'll share more about what I'm discovering and what seems to be working well. Moodle, as I've also discovered, has a really supportive online user community as well as lot of great free "plugins" that rock! Stay tuned.

Just-in-time Learning Resources for creating 21st Century Classrooms

noreply@blogger.com (JBlack) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 23:51:00 +0000

Presented an hour tech training today at my school with the above title. It was billed as..

This hour long session will focus on accessing and using free, online resources available to teachers wishing to create a more engaging 21st century classroom. We will explore how to use various interactive sites to collaborate with teachers/classrooms around the globe, as well as how to access live and archived webinars for free, just-in-time professional development on various Web 2.0 topics (wikis, blogs, VoiceThread, digital storytelling, social bookmarking, and much more).

*Session is geared towards meeting ISTE Teacher Standard
5. Teachers Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership
Teachers continuously improve their professional practice, model lifelong learning, and exhibit leadership in their school and professional community by promoting and demonstrating the effective use of digital tools and resources.
a.Educators participate in local and global learning communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning

At the start of the session, shared this chart and key features of 21st Century learning .

Also shared the new trend towards “Open Professional Development” and the idea that districts are having/will continue to have a hard time keeping pace with the exponential explosion of information and new teaching tools. Professional teacher development in the area of Web 2.0 will occur, but will, more than likely, "trickle" down all too slowly to the classroom teacher. Thus, knowing about great, free resources can help us start the process ourselves, and help us dive into the topics that are the most applicable for our teaching situation.

Then shared these Open Professional Development sites/resources...

Beginner/General Information on Web 2.0 Tools and Rationale for increasing Instructional Technology in the Classroom

· http://commoncraft.com/videos

· http://ow.ly/jKgl

· http://educationaltechnology.ca/couros/1480

Podcasts to learn more about Web 2.0

· http://ilearntechnology.com/?p=989

Professional Networking Sites to learn more about Web 2.0

· http://www.classroom20.com/

· http://home.learningtimes.net/learningtimes

Online Webinars to learn more about Web 2.0

Online Lesson Modules to learn more about Web 2.0

http://ebistro.org/menu/index.php

And last, shared...

"Create connections with other classrooms from around the world. By joining these networks, you can search for global partners to connect and share lessons and experiences with. Create valuable international learning experiences for your students." From http://ow.ly/jKgl

· ePals

· Taking It Global

· PBS Teachers

· Classroom 2.0

· TWICE

· IECC- Intercultural email

· Global School Net

Other ideas and additions? (sorry about the sloppy formatting above - copied/pasted from Word and let's say that it doesn't necessarily play "nice" with Blogger)

Twitter as Phatic Monologue/Dialogue

noreply@blogger.com (JBlack) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 22:50:00 +0000

Image via CrunchBase

Just recently I was at a learning conference where Twitter came up at our table; we were attempting to generate forms of expressive language activities and microblogging made the list. Not really knowing much about it, the others turned to me and asked what I thought of Twitter. As you know, I'm still a bit undecided on the real usefulness of this web app and have really tried to analyze how this all might be related to personality type.

What I then shared with the group was a comment (see below) I'd found a few days earlier at a post regarding Twitter in the classroom. Of most interest was the term "phatic", meaning "an expression whose only function is to perform a social task, as opposed to conveying information". Additionally, think of phatic expressions as "words used to convey any kind of social relationship e.g polite mood, rather than meaning; for example, "How are you?"

Twitter makes me paranoid. I've always thought of it as a form of phatic monologue/dialogue - most posts are speech acts which contain little informative substance, and simply prolong the act of communication. Instead of having a specific, utility-based purpose, they reaffirm that the "channel" (in this case, the Internet) works as a medium. Naturally, there's a level of addictiveness that arises as the user continually seeks confirmation that his/her Twittering is "heard" ... comment left by Jess

It is a very interesting thought. I can attest that Twitter can be very "phatic" at times and I thought the resulting addictiveness cycle worthy of some thought. Had never heard anyone put it quite this way.

I'd best not send out a Tweet of this new post. ;)

Fotopedia - Mashing up Flickr, Wikipedia and Google Maps

noreply@blogger.com (JBlack) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 00:08:00 +0000

Turtle on Fotopedia

It's new and hot, and the sneak peak is promising. Introducing Fotopedia! Think of mixing Flickr, Wikipedia and Google Maps and you've got the basic idea of this new Web 2.0 app. While it's not fully functional yet, in just days you'll be able to do the following:

TAKE ANY PHOTO ALBUM AT THE SITE AND TURN IT INTO A WEB PAGE WITH TAGS, ASSOCIATED WIKI INFO, AND IF AVAILABLE, A GOOGLE MAP!

Plus you can comment and vote on the relevance of the picture in regards to the wiki article it is paired with. Once a submitted image receives five positive votes, it becomes a part of the Fotopedia encyclopedia. If it's inappropriate, you can flag it. Sporting high quality images and a clean and simple layout, user-friendliness is evidently a high priority. Those teachers wanting to have students appropriately use web images will be glad to see creative commons licensing pictorially represented on each image (attribution, share-alike, etc.). Additionally, as seen in the above slideshow on turtles, any album can be widgetized and used in blogs, websites or wikis. The widget's sleek interface is, indeed, refreshing. Community features also accompany the site.

Once the door opens to Fotopedia in a few days, users will contribute the bulk of the content; you'll be able to directly upload and then organize images via Picasa, Flickr, and more. Obviously, schools/districts who currently block Flickr will not benefit much from this new app. How will it make money? Fotopedia's mission statement mentions that it aims to allow "photographers to promote and monetize their premium content". Guess this is all yet to fully be revealed.

Web 2.0, Education, and Keeping Up With It All (weekly)

noreply@blogger.com (JBlack) — Sun, 10 May 2009 00:48:00 +0000

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Online Conferences - Awesome, Convenient Professional Development for Educators

noreply@blogger.com (JBlack) — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 15:25:00 +0000

Time and money often prevent educators from attending as many conferences as they want, but Web 2.0 is really changing this. Many conferences today have some aspect of online participation either in real-time or via archived sessions. One really great directory to check out is the 2009 T.H.E. Conference Calendar. Set up your search according to month and geographical location. Clicking on a particular conference will give you details such as when and where, a conference description, who should attend, website location/reference and contact information. While not all of these will have a virtual participation component, it certainly is the trend.

First time trying some of these out? Here's one to try on: just recently I attended the FETC virtual conference. You'll find some great archived sessions here . Free registration is required-a.k.a some minor hoop jumping - but once in, go to the Auditorium and select from choices. Topics you'll find include the following:

Keynote: 21st Century Learning: A Necessity for our Students
Crossing the Threshold to the Future of Learning
Emerging Interactive Media: What to Use, When, and How?
Wireless N: WiFi Finally Delivers
Getting the Most Bang For Your Buck: Key Considerations For a Successful Technology Rollout and ROI
Impact of the Federal Stimulus Package on Districts and Schools
The 21st Century Web: Beyond the 2.0 Tools
The Future is Here: STEM, CTE & Academic Mergers
Students "Speak Up" about 21st Century Learning and Education Games
Digital Survival Kit: Empowering the 21st Century Educational Leader

Also, don't forget the awesome learning opportunities via all the archived sessions for the Live Classroom 2.0 webcasts.

Happy professional development!

Pick Me! Pick Me!

noreply@blogger.com (JBlack) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 02:16:00 +0000

Microsoft is offering up NECC '09 scholarships, I've recently read. But you must do the following, so here I go.

How can Microsoft help you teach better? Please respond with a URL to a blog post or online video.

Microsoft - you can help me teach better by continuing your awesome free webcasts for educators! Send me to NECC '09 so that I can bring the most current and effective technological pedagogy back to implement in my classroom. If selected, I promise to do 2 things; blog about all that I learn PLUS I promise to take two other educators from my district to NECC '10! Do I want to go? Heck yes!!! :)

Leadership and Web 2.0: There is no "Arriving", just the Journey

noreply@blogger.com (JBlack) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 16:26:00 +0000

Writing can be intimidating. Writing a blog that the whole world can read, even more. And that's why I applaud all those administrators and teachers who engage in this activity, or any Web 2.0 activity that promotes the sharing of ideas and growth.

In my own attempt to share and grow, I posted the following discussion question on Classroom 2.0, Steve Hargadon's Web 2.0 Ning, back on March 27th.

What types of support/working conditions are a must if progressive, technology-embracing educators are to be productive, creative, innovative and committed to their profession for the long haul? Yes, it's a big question, but I find myself thinking more and more about it. What would our working conditions look like, feel like, sound like? To what degree would teachers themselves be responsible and to what degree administators?

Within moments a quite insightful reply by high school educator Matt T. came back.

Great question! I've been thinking about this a bit, too. A few thoughts that come to mind:

...some sort of sustained professional development/learning - no more "this year's initiative is..." This might be accomplished via professional learning communities, individual personal learning networks, and/or a "knowledge base" of previous PD articles, slides, etc.

...administrators who join in and "do it," too. I went a conference break out a few months ago where the presenters mentioned that their administrators vowed to learn along side everyone else as they rolled out Moodle at the building and eventually district level. The faculty were using it with their students and the administrators used it to get feedback after each PD day as well as to get input from other stakeholders in the district in what would have otherwise been done killing a few trees.

...an emphasis on assessment reform. I personally believe assessment has the potential to spur future change. Once we re-think the "way" and the "why" we "assess" then it's much easier to view how other things such as classroom management might improve, too. It may also help better define technology's role in the big picture.

Looking forward to this discussion. Thanks for starting it up!

What a fantastic response! While all of these points are certainly true, the second one resonated strongly with me. Only a few days later, Will Richardson wrote on this very same issue in his April 6th post Transparency=Leadership.

What two things (and only two) would you tell educational leaders are the most important steps they can take to lead change today? I got that one from a professor at Oakland University last week, and after pausing for what seemed like an excruciatingly long time, I answered “build a learning network online, and make your learning as transparent as possible for those around you.” And while I really think the first part of that answer would make sense to most leaders out there, I think the second would have them running for the hills.

The obvious commonalities? Both Matt T., an in-the-trenches teacher, and Will Richardson, a well-respected educational blogger and consultant, are saying that the two most important endeavors educational leaders (this includes both teachers and admin) can embark upon are as follows:

1. building a DIGITAL ONLINE personal learning network (PLN)

2. learning along side of one another all the while making that learning TRANSPARENT so we can see we're all on this non-stop journey together

Whether administrating or teaching in the classroom, we're to be Learners and Teachers.....and it's a cycle that is non-ending and re-energizes itself. It's contagious and stimulating. Creativity and innovation are the end results because transparent growth is the ultimate admission that we "haven't arrived", heck that "there is no arriving" in this profession, only the journey.

If you want to be motivated, carve out some time and listen to the following Seedlings Bit by Bit podcast if you want to hear an example of a administrator and teacher doing both #1 and #2 above. Susan Phillips is the principal of Chets Creek Elementary in Jacksonville, FL and she is walkin' the talk thanks to the encouragement of Melanie Holtsman, a Chet's Creek teacher who's sharing her knowledge. Both of these ladies are the type of teacher/learner Will Richardson refers to when he says,

A big part of my decision making process in terms of who to believe and who to trust stems from how willing a person is to share her ideas, what level of participation she engages in, how ethical or supportive those interactions are, and how relevant she is to my own learning needs.

Web 2.0, Education, and Keeping Up With It All (weekly)

noreply@blogger.com (JBlack) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 00:32:00 +0000

A WEB-EMPOWERED REVOLUTION IN TEACHING - TEDChris: The untweetable
tags: education, teaching, exposure
Building the 21st-Century Mind: Scientific American - Annotated
Excerpt - "Gardner is probably best known in educational circles for his theory of multiple intelligences, which is a critique of the notion that there exists but a single human intelligence that can be assessed by standard psychometric instruments. His most recent book, Five Minds for the Future, offers some advice for policy-makers on how to do a better job of preparing students for the 21st century. Mind Matters editor Jonah Lehrer chats with Gardner about his new book, the possibility of teaching ethics and how his concept of multiple intelligences has changed over time."
tags: education, gardner, brain, 21stcentury, learning, intelligences, 21st-century
MicroModule Tutorials
tags: technology, information, interactive, literacy, education
shortsighted.pdf (application/pdf Object)
Excerpt - "To future generations, Americans‘ current educational myopia is likely to appear, at best, a negligent failure to anticipate and meet the needs of the nation and its citizens. And for the sake of those future generations, the short-sighted practices and parochial policies that have delayed significant improve-ment in the nation‘s educational advancement must change. To provide students with a world-class education, the United States, beginning with strong leadership from the U.S. Department of Education (ED), must adopt a more global outlook. The tools and opportunities already exist; indeed, the United States has even subsidized their creation. Now the nation needs to participate in, learn from, and act on the results of internationally benchmarked assessments."
tags: education, 21centuryskills, assessment, change, comparison
Thinkature - About Thinkature
Excerpt - "With Thinkature, you can create a collaborative workspace and invite coworkers, friends, and colleagues to join you in just seconds. Once inside your workspace, you can communicate by chatting, drawing, creating cards, and adding content from around the Internet. It's all synchronous, too - no need to hit reload or get an editing lock."
tags: collaboration, web2.0, visualization, notetaking, education

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Web 2.0, Education, and Keeping Up With It All (a sharing of bookmarks with excerpts)

noreply@blogger.com (JBlack) — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 00:32:00 +0000

Universities with the Best Free Online Courses -- Education-Portal.com

Excerpt - "No tuition money? No problem! There are many top universities that offer free courses online. This list ranks several of the best free university courses available for people who want to enhance their personal knowledge or advance in their current field."
tags: education, e-learning, university, courses
Stanford on iTunes U
Download courses, faculty lectures, interviews, music and sports.

Play on your iPod, Mac or PC, or burn a CD.

Stay Connected anytime anywhere.

Experience a wealth of learning from Stanford.
tags: education, podcast, itunes, stanford, lectures
Free Foreign Language Lessons (Download to MP3 Player, iPod or Computer) | Open Culture
A great way to learn 37 languages for free. Spanish, French, English, Mandarin, Russian and much more. Why pay for Rosetta Stone when you can learn a new language for free.
tags: language, learning, podcast, languages, education
More Tuition-Free Education Courses for Teachers
Excerpt - "In a recent post about Tuition-Free Education Courses for Teachers, I pointed out a number of online education courses that are free to self-learners around the world. Most of these courses are provided through well-known colleges and universities. While these courses are an excellent way to broaden your knowledge of specific topics, they aren’t the only sources of free teacher education on the web. There are many other organizations that provide tuition-free education courses to teachers. "
tags: professionaldevelopment, professional_development, education, educator, free_online_courses
Teaching Gen Yers
Excerpt - "Are you a professional developer, a high school teacher, or university faculty? Are you finding that some of your adult students born between 1976 and 1995 maybe even up to 2001 have specific needs that are difficult to meet in a traditional classroom situation? This generation is what we call the "Generation Y" high school and college students. You may be a Gen Yer or "Millennial". Think about what type of learning environment works best for you. If many of your students are the Generation Y, here are some ideas that might help you when you design your learning activities."
tags: teaching, Gen_Yers, education, technology, stategies, techniques
The Three-E Strategy for Overcoming Resistance to Technological Change (EDUCAUSE Quarterly) | EDUCAUSE
Excerpt - "First, a technology must be evident to the user as potentially useful in making his or her life easier (or more enjoyable). Second, a technology must be easy to use to avoid rousing feelings of inadequacy. Third, the technology must become essential to the user in going about his or her business. This "Three-E Strategy," if applied properly, has been at the core of every successful technology adoption throughout history."
tags: technology, adotion, education, web2.0
Digitally Speaking / FrontPage
Excerpt - "Our kids’ futures will require them to be:

* Networked–They’ll need an “outboard brain.”
* More collaborative–They are going to need to work closely with people to co-create information.
* More globally aware–Those collaborators may be anywhere in the world.
* Less dependent on paper–Right now, we are still paper training our kids.
* More active–In just about every sense of the word. Physically. Socially. Politically.
* Fluent in creating and consuming hypertext–Basic reading and writing skills will not suffice.
* More connected–To their communities, to their environments, to the world.
* Editors of information–Something we should have been teaching them all along but is even more important now."
tags: wiki, web2.0, education
TeachersFirst's Tech Tips
A very nice list of lab techniques when utililzing technology/computers in a lesson.
tags: technology, education, tips, lab_techniques

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Democracy, Authority and Technology Embracing Educators

noreply@blogger.com (JBlack) — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 21:20:00 +0000

Just recently I've had the opportunity to watch the above thought-provoking video from MIT World called "The Future of Work" by Thomas W. Malone (2004). At its conclusion, I found myself thinking about the popular post Wake Up and Smell the New Epistemology by T. Clydedale. Two of Clydesdale's statements below have really sent me thinking about my own knowledge acquisition as a professional educator and my view of authority/management because of it. The first quote is from a student referring to today's generation of digital learners, and the second is Clydesdale's suggestion as to how we should respond to this new shift in authority and knowledge.

It is imperative that someone studying this generation realize that we have the world at our fingertips — and the world has been at our fingertips for our entire lives. I think this access to information seriously undermines this generation's view of authority, especially traditional scholastic authority.

The onus is on us to better convey the value that a robust intellectual life adds to the public good. And we need to begin by respecting our students (and the wider public) not just as persons but as the arbiters of knowledge that they have become.

Now widen this idea, and replace the word "students" in the last quote with "technology-embracing educators". This new access to information has made me see authority and management differently within my own profession, teaching. Because of this new access to information I question, research, and examine issues and answers much, much more. With this powerful access to information, I can see that not all districts have the proclivity to "block 'em all" when it comes to Internet filtering (which by the way, Wes Fryer has just started a very intriguing effort at Unmasking the Digital Truth in hopes of sorting some of this all out). Not all districts out there shudder at the thought of students using blogs, or wikis or social networks or Skype. With this powerful access to information via my digital PLN, I've come to realize that there are some pretty remarkable, progressive Web 2.0 projects being successfully developed and that they are actually embraced and desired by admin, parents and educators.

Malone shares in "The Future of Work" that the decreasing cost of communication via new Internet/technologies makes the idea of democracy more tangible and more sought after for the masses - and not just society in general, but also in the workplace. Are we seeing this to be true in our own profession, as well? Will the democratizing effect of Web 2.0 radically change education just as it now is changing so many aspects of our culture? Will the top-down authority we so often see in our profession give way to a more democratic, participatory culture of educators, parents, students, admin and community at large?

New Technologies of Literacy

noreply@blogger.com (JBlack) — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 20:51:00 +0000

Web 2.0 refers to a perceived or proposed generation of Internet-based services - such as social networking sites, wikis, communication tools, and folksonomies - that emphasize Internet-based sharing among users. Wikipedia

The continuously changing technologies of literacy mean that we must help children learn how to learn new technologies of literacy. In fact, the ability to learn continuously changing technologies for literacy may be a more critical target than learning any particular technology of literacy itself.
Donald J. Leu, Jr., The New Literacies

A picture is worth...

noreply@blogger.com (JBlack) — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 20:13:00 +0000

It's very difficult to get others to realize this. A picture is worth...but maybe a picture and text are worth more. If you are just starting on this journey, be warned that it is a bumpy one. It takes others a while to see the "whole picture" and I have to remind myself they'll piece it together at their own pace.

Web 2.0, Education, and Keeping Up With It All (weekly)

noreply@blogger.com (JBlack) — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 00:32:00 +0000

Unmasking the Digital Truth / FrontPage
tags: education, filtering, internet_safety
YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.
YouTube EDU - videos and channels from our college and university partners.
tags: educational_videos
Pupils to study Twitter and blogs in primary shake-up | Education | The Guardian
tags: education, curriculum, UK
Forget iTunes U: Students Now Getting College Credit via YouTube - ReadWriteWeb
tags: youtube, readwriteweb, college, education

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Two Great Finds That We're Lovin'

noreply@blogger.com (JBlack) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 22:00:00 +0000

Image via CrunchBase

Finding images for blog posts is sometimes a challenge, especially if we want to make sure they are legal and okay for digital dissemination. Just recently I came across another Firefox add-on that really helps my students and myself with this task. It's called Zemanta. Watch the screencast below to see how it works. Very slick, indeed. My second great find is called Screentoaster.com and you guessed it, I made the Zemanta screencast using Screentoaster.com. I predict, like Jane Hart, that this will be one of the premiere Web 2.0 tools for 2009. While many sang the praises of Jing in 2008, this web app will rival its predecessor because no download/install is required, and because resulting videos can be embedded in blogs and wikis in a snap. Is it faultless? No; when bandwidth is being sucked up in the building, audio hiccups are bound to result. Additionally, audio quality might not be as silky as Jing, but it's not terrible either. Both Zemanta and Screentoaster, are, in my opinion, keepers, so try them out. Non progredi est regredi!

Record your screencast online

Web 2.0 Is the Future of Education

noreply@blogger.com (JBlack) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 18:22:00 +0000

I have HUGE respect for Steve Hargadon. He is very much a pioneer for all things Web 2.0 and has an incredible grasp on what all this means for education and the future. In this Slideshare, he presents 10 Web 2.0 trends that will have a profound impact on education. He is also the founder of Classroom 2.0, a Ning for educators wishing to learn more and use Web 2.0 tools in the classroom. Also suggested is his well articulated article found here and his Oct. 2008 article for Encyclopedia Britannica Blog titled "Moving Toward Web 2.0 in K-12 Education".

Web 2.0 Is the Future of Education

View more presentations from SteveHargadon. (tags: web 2.0 internet)

What is Web 2.0 Anyway?

noreply@blogger.com (JBlack) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:15:00 +0000

Special thanks to David Brear for this nice intro to Web 2.0.

Intro to Web2.0 Winter Tonic

View more presentations from dbrear. (tags: web 2.0)

Web 2.0, Education, and Keeping Up With It All (weekly)

noreply@blogger.com (JBlack) — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 00:34:00 +0000

Self-Education Resource List
The internet is an invaluable resource to self-educated learners. Below is a list of some of the most helpful sites out there including opencourseware materials, free libraries, learning communities, educational tools, and more.
tags: education, selfeducation, tools
Quick Start Tips For New Skype Users | The Edublogger
tags: skype, tutorial, education
Teaching with Google Earth
tags: googleearth, google_earth, web2.0, teaching, education
Ed.VoiceThread - About
tags: voicethread, web2.0, education
Thinking in Mind: Using Voicethread for Peer Assessment
tags: voicethread, education, assessment

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

A Firefox Add-on That Rocks!

noreply@blogger.com (JBlack) — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 22:00:00 +0000

My students love Picnik.com to make images for their blogs - more so than Fotoflexer.com, more so than Flauntr.com, and more so than Pixlr.com. To my surprise, yesterday I stumbled upon the slickest Firefox add-on which integrates seamlessly with Picnik! Simply put, it makes taking screenshots a breeze, and greatly speeds up importing images into the Picnik online photo editor.

For starters, you must be using Mozilla Firefox (I am quickly becoming an ardent fan of this browser). At the top of the browser menu click on Tools, and then Add-ons.

Next, select "Browse all Add-ons".

In the search box type in "picnik" (note the funny spelling) and enter.

Click "Add to Firefox".

When prompted, click "Install Now".

Restart your browser (don't worry - Firefox will restore your tabs - another reasons to love this browser).

Okay! You're ready to rock 'n roll with this add-on. I'll demo by traveling to Lovelycharts.com, a website that's caught my eye these last few days.

Let's say I'd like to take a screenshot of this new piece of webware to put in an upcoming blog post. I'll right click and choose the option "Send Page to Picnik". I can send just the visible portion of the page, or the entire page (even portions of the image below the fold).

Next, Picnik.com opens itself in a new Firefox tab and the screenshot appears. You are now ready to edit it and then save it as a .jpg! And look, no extraneous parts to crop off -- yes, very nice!

Now let's look at the other option. Say you want to edit (manipulate, add to, delete from - create a derivative) of an existing Creative Commons image. Navigate to the image and right click on it. Choose "Edit Image in Picnik".

The add-on starts up a new Firefox tab and throws the image into Picnik so you can go to town editing it and then saving it! You've just eliminated the need to download the image, navigate to the image, then upload the image. A great timesaver!

Downsides? A few. I'd love it if attribution information could be captured somehow when this is used on a single image. Of course, I can always bookmark where I found the picture using Diigo or a similar service. Additionally, I've noticed that if you use the Picnik add-on on a .jpg that has IPTC metadata embedded in it , upon saving it in Picnik.com, this file info is stripped out. Retaining this info is sometimes required for attribution purposes. Would love to see Picnik.com find a work around that preserves this metadata.

Overall, two thumbs up! A wonderful little script! Nice job, Justin Huff!

**Creative Commons Image titled Ladybug Close-Up 2 by Reini68

More thoughts on Twitter, Personality Types and Efficiency

noreply@blogger.com (JBlack) — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 18:25:00 +0000

Recently received a comment regarding my personal inclination towards Twitter use. Mrs. Smith wrote,

But I am saddened for you to delete your Twitter account. As a technology specialist and teacher this is an awesome tool to ask for help, get others attention to student Web 2.0 creations, share great URL's, blog posts, and more. I think you missed the concept of following LOTS - build your network, build your profile, share and post frequently, but also to update who you are following and remove those you don't like.

I hear what you're saying, but after one year of really giving it a whirl, I just don't think that it added as much to my PLN as some other forms of Web 2.0 interaction do. I guess that's the beauty of a PLN -- we can personalize our learning on an individual level and pursue those tools and interactions that

Image via CrunchBase

best bolster our professional development. Let's just say I never found my "tweet spot" with Twitter. And yes -- I've used Tweets for everything mentioned and got varied results. I'd tweet recent finds, I'd tweet recent posts I'd put up, I'd tweet and ask how others were doing, I'd tweet and make suggestions or comments on ideas posted, I'd tweet and ask for help, etc. And yes, all my tweet buddies were awesome, BUT I'm looking for something more. I want deeper professional communication than an occasional 140 character tweet. In addition to this, some of my PLN has transitioned over to Plurk; I've got an account over there and popped in a few times, but I've got to admit that I'm just not groovin' the cost-benefit anaylsis that I see when I engage in it, either (results for time spent). Perhaps this all has to do with my pers

Image via Wikipedia

onality. Though an extrovertive teacher by day/profession, I'm an introvert by personality type (Myers Briggs INFJ). I prefer deeper communication (even if that means with fewer people) than, say, a large group of friends that I know only on a superficial level. I think that Twitter friendships can be either of these, but that the medium itself makes the first harder. That brings up an interesting idea, however....I wonder if there have been any studies of Twitter's acceptance and compatibility according to personality types. Hum...this would be very intriguing.

But, I don't think

Image via Wikipedia

I missed the point of Twitter at all. It's quite the opposite. I'm constantly trying new Web 2.0 tools. Many do what they are supposed to do -- just like ordinary tools in your toolbox. But time and efficiency matter. Where I'm at right now in my professional life, I need a power washer not a putty knife/paint scraper. Both do what they are intended to do, but one gets results much more efficiently. Blog commenting, Nings, webinar participation, and back channel commenting are, to me, PLN power washers.

By the way Mrs. Smith, thank you for leaving a comment. I feel I know you much better on this issue -- and I hope you can say the same of me -- than had it all occurred via Twitter. :)

This Semester's Web 2.0 Class

noreply@blogger.com (JBlack) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 17:49:00 +0000

Yes, sir, we're clippin' right along in the Web 2.0 class. We're about five weeks into our first hexter and we've covered quite a bit so far. I'm proud of how far they've come in such a short time.

Started the semester by surveying their current web 2.0 skills
After setting up a Google account, did an introduction to webware using Google Docs and Wordle (also served as a get-to-know-you activity at the start of the semester)
Learned how to set up an organized iGoogle Account with tabs; also put quick links here so students could access our website, their blog, their grades and their email rapidly.
Learned how to use Fotoflexer to create images for use in our blogs.
Used Google Docs to create first blog post - learned how to compare software and webware, create hyperlinks and comparison tables for top webware. (series of movie tutorials).
Learned how to create mindmaps using Bubbl.us. Compared Web 1.0 to Web 2.0 in a visual fashion. (later to be used a another blog post)
Set up Wordpress 2.7 blogs; embedded their mindmaps and a video into some of their first posts, as well as set up a sidebar with widgets and clustrmap - Movie Series here and got these turned in last week.
And we are currently learning about Diigo - how to use it to research/highlight info on cellphone use while driving (topic is being argued in Colorado legislature right now). Tomorrow we will be creating an online interactive poll or quiz to insert at the top of their post on this issue.
Oh, yea, took a quiz over terms learned to date - of course, using online webware to help prepare for the real deal.

Whew!! :)

Monthly calendar here.

Been There, Twittered That

noreply@blogger.com (JBlack) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 01:55:00 +0000

Just deleted my Twitter account.

To me, interactions via Twitter have always seemed a lot like what you see when young children are engaged in parallel play. And, honestly, like Cangeloso, I'm not really sure the signal-to-noise ratio really justifies the time required to keep up on one's twitterverse.

I know, I know. Twitter's supposed to be all the rage. To be honest, I never really got a lot out of it. I had about 100 followers or so and hung in there for a year and a half or so, but felt like there was only a smattering of substantive communication going on even after more than 700 tweets on my part. For me Nings (such as Classroom 2.0), participating in online webinars, or blog commenting go deeper and have bigger, long-term relational dividends.

Guess it's just not my Web 2.0 cup of tea, though I know many others truly enjoy it. To each his/her own. Truth revealed even further, I don't really get Second Life, either. ;) Time will tell if I shall do an about face on either of these.

*image titled "parallel play" by semaphoria (Creative Commons License)

TextFlow - Collaboration Made Easy Smeasy!

noreply@blogger.com (JBlack) — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 23:01:00 +0000

I had my doubts. I thought we'd peaked when it came to collaborative word processing tools.

But then I watched the 1 minute video demo for TextFlow by Nordic River (would have embedded it in this blog post, but they don't offer it as one yet - hint, hint Nordic River marketing guys). My mouth dropped upon its finish. Okay, so I'm adding "parallel word processing" into my Web 2.0 lexicon. I think that, yes, we can collaborate in a similar way with Google Docs, but the fact that there is no learning curve for those you invite to collaborate, makes this a winner. You can play with a sandbox version at their site, or try out their beta which is built upon Adobe AIR. If you've taken it for a spin, what are your thoughts? A keeper in the competitive arena of webware and all things Web 2.0?

Better Student Blog Posts using Google Docs

noreply@blogger.com (JBlack) — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 14:43:00 +0000

One of my aspirations this semester is to have students use Google Docs more so that they become comfortable with its many features. Because a large portion of my Web 2.0 class revolves around blogging, having them use GDocs to blog would seem like the most logical thing to do --if it were only capable. Gloriously, it is IF you know about a certain feature under the "Share" tab!

By choosing "Publish as web page" a person can send newly created GDoc content, pictures, hyperlinks, tables and more directly up to his/her blog. For the longest time I dismissed using this feature because my students don't use Blogger; for some reason I felt this option would only work with Google's affiliated platform. But just recently I did some testing and found that I could use this feature equally well with WordPress blogs (hosted by WordPress.com or "self-rolled, self-hosted" versions).

First, you must set up your WordPress blog so that it can engage in "remote publishing". In WordPress, go to "settings", then "Writing". Under the section titled "Remote Publishing" make sure you have turned on the check mark next to "XML-RPC". That's all you have to do to enable the blog to receive updates from a remote client, like Google Docs. Save your setting changes if need be. (Please click on each screenshot below to view in full size)

Next, Go to GDocs and create your blog post. To a user's benefit, auto save is always at work. Even the best of us are sometimes negligent in executing the famous axiom of save early, save often. Additionally, GDoc's "Check Spelling" option is pretty powerful and easy to use. Also worth mentioning are the other options under "Tools". Students can highlight a word, look for its definition or a more appropriate synonym, as well as search for images and other web articles related to the highlighted word (I've highlighted the word "updates" in the screenshots below). Perhaps you want students to substantially revise before posting. Have them print proof of their revision history to show that they've gone this extra mile and really worked hard to make their writing clearer.

As a teacher, want to have more say as to whether the post is really ready to go up to the blog? Is it really web-worthy? Consider using GDocs collaboration feature under "Share" so students can send drafts to you or peers to get feedback/leave comments on. This is nearly impossible inside of other blogging environments. Co-authoring posts also becomes a cinch using this method, as well.

When the post is really ready to make its Internet debut, click on the "Share" tab, then "Publish as web page".

Next, at the bottom of this window you'll find an option to publish your GDoc to your blog. BUT FIRST, you'll need to establish your blog settings before pushing the "post to blog" button. Click on "change your blog site settings" near the bottom.

You will now see a dialogue box called "Blog Site Settings", Select your appropriate blogging service. If you're using your own server/host with WordPress, the Blogger API works nicely. Next, you'll need to tell GDocs where the blog's xmlrpc.php file is. A helpful example can be found under the URL box (Like http://YOURSITE/PATH/TO/xmlrpc.php). Insert your User Name and Password, then test. You'll get a notification if it's connected properly or not. Click OK if successful - troubleshoot if not.

With the blog settings established, you will be back at the "Publish this document" dialogue box. Go to the bottom and now click the "Post to blog" button. You should then see a message that the document has been posted successfully to your blog (pictures, tables and all)!

And that's it. Worth it? I think so when you consider the collaborative leverage this web app can promote in the blogging process. Perfect? Probably not ... hey, is anything Web 2.0? You might be asking, "why not just teach the students to use the post tools inside of WordPress?" Yes, I want to show students how to use these post features as well, but after working with blogging students now for three semesters, I've learned that whenever you can circumvent Murphy's Law, please, by all means, do. In specific, students sometimes click out of their blogs and mysteriously "lose" their posts. Groans of "Do I have to start ALL OVER again?" quickly follow. By using GDocs, posts can be automatically saved. Additionally, I love the idea of getting students really proficient in this online production suite; when ready, they can learn how to create spreadsheets, charts, forms, and surveys within GDocs with hopes of embedding these in their blogs as well! :)