Washington DC, is a big place – the buildings are big, the roads are big, the sidewalks are big, but the Washington Convention Centre is bigger than big!

It takes up 3 blocks and is over 4 storeys tall. It’s spacious, well planned and state of the art! I can’t imagine it full of people, but have been led to believe it will be by Monday when the NECC conference begins for real.

I am here early on Saturday morning to take part in Edubloggercon, described as a fringe event to NECC proper. It’s an “unconference” organized and attended by bloggers and Classroom2.0 participants.

First up is a “Web2.0  Smackdown!” led by the pumped and exuberant CoolCatTeacher herself, Vicki Davis! The smackdown is a bit like a UK TeachMeet on uppers! Its fast, very fast – each presenter has 3 minutes to share a web2.0 tool that they use with their class. Much cheering, clapping and woo-ooing goes on – it’s loud and fun!

Here are the apps that caught my imagination on the day:

QR reader - scan and read mobile barcodes (QR-Codes)

Take pic of bar code – taken to web page, domain or website OR ON YOUR PHONE

Launch the picture – email to yourself

Take photo of the code

Google - Similar searches

Go to – More, even more, labs

“similar searches” – eg similar images search

pick an image that I am looking for – click Similar images – just like the image I picked

Images –Comp fight + Flickr storm

Look for related tags, related photos and can custo

mise even further options to customise, refine searches

flickr search tool

Searches text

Flickr stream of pictures for students to use = keep images on a tray = one URL to  link to all of the photos

Cover It Live - Live Blogging tool that allows you to broadcast live commentary to your readers.

Everything that is typed into the event is kept

Back stream, Chatroom,

Use in classroom for reflective pieces = panel function

Fur.ly

Fur.ly allows you to create one URL from a bunch of links. Just enter your desirable choices, and fur.ly will do the rest (Slideshow navigation look & feel).

A series of web pages like a tour for kids to follow.

Start at one page and move through the linked pages.

Issuu.com

Takes any sort of document and turns it into an online book.

Turns pages like a book

Embed codes – to add to wiki/blog etc

Twoogle

Twoogle provides an easy way to search Twitter and Google simultaneously, from the same site, displaying its results side by side.

Type in something and get google result and twitter result on same page

Tag Galaxy

Visualization tool. Browse through Flickr photos in 3D with this flash application.

Type in tag, brings in photos onto a globe

Generate conversations within the classroom

Tineye.com

Reverse image search engine.

Search engine for images

Tracing images and where they have come from

Egs of photo hopping

Noteflight

An online application that lets you display, edit, print and play back music notation with professional quality, right in your web browser. 

Play the music

Collaborate with others

Use with Jam studio – put in chords – links, backing tracks, instruments, kids can add own voice, raps etc

Opus09.ning.com

Whew!! heaps there to investigate over the next little while!

Have you used any of these applications with your class? Please, let me know what you’ve done  - thanks

 ;-)

PS – Here is the live stream that happened during the event:

Coveritlive – Edubloggercon We2.0 Smackdown

Thanks Kristin Hokanson

And Jim Gates pointed out that I

“… missed one. The wolfram Alpha/Google extension for firefox. When you search Google it automatically searches WolframAlpha to show both ersults. An amazing search engine, that Wolfram Alpha.

Screenshot: http://twitpic.com/8kfna
Extension: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/12006

Thanks Jim and Kristin – now we are up to date!

A fun aspect of the presentation was the backchannel chat that occurred alongside the streamed version of the session. I can’t remember the name of the application Will used, but he videoed the session live and the viewers watching live were able to chat along as they watched the session.

The comments and quips came quick and fast as people asked questions, requested more info, passed comment and shared insights. Very enjoyable, but really fast paced and a little scary for a newbie

“We write to connect – to publish as a mid point – to converse and engage. There is no final copy – we can articulate our ideas to a certain extent – but we put it out there to be read and to be pushed.

We publish because we want to engage in the conversation.

World Map is the child’s classroom. “I ask my readers”

Connective writing – real audience and real purpose to engage with people – to expand efforts and knowledge.”

Will walks the walk – his sessions really encouraged you to push your own ideas, and the chat with others also pushed Will’s ideas along as well.

Image: ‘speech‘ 
www.flickr.com/photos/98624608@N00/75288771

Leveraging the Potential of a Hyperconnected World

Spent Friday listening to, and being inspired by, Will Richardson at Syba Signs Network Literacy Day.

The “most thought-provoking idea” for me was …..

The idea of having a personal connection or personal involvement in learning about /embracing the use of web 2.0 tools before attempting to use them in the classroom rang true from my experience.

Will showed that the map of the world = his personal classroom – that everyone that was there as a “red dot” on the map was there because they want to be there; anyone that joined the conversation joined because they wanted to be part of the conversation, they wanted to share the learning. Will’s classroom is an active and participatory place.

I tried to share some of the joys and excitement that web2.0 applications offered with staff at my school last year. I ran a number of workshop sessions where the group played around with applications, trialled making slideshows and bubbleshare, had time to see applications in actions on blogs and wikis, tried commenting and reading blogs. Unfortunately, there was little “spill-over” effect into classrooms. Participants participated only in what was required in the session, and few even tried to use these tools with their classes.

I realize now that each person has to have a personal reason to try these new tools – they have to do it for themselves first and foremost. Will was able to show what was available, tell anecdotes and stories, and demonstrate why we might find these tools effective and useful. He followed up taking questions and again actually showing how to set up accounts and how to follow ideas, topics and people on-line.

Persuasive, motivating and inspirational I think!  

Or what can it look like in the classroom?

“Create Something Extraordinary” – Oceans of Info Project

This is what we were studying as a class:

•       Sustainability focus, environmental issues nationally and globally.
•        Mapping, locating oceans and seas around Australia and the world.
•       Food chains, adaptation of species

Which led to a negotiated Individual enquiry project.

Rubric – negotiated with students, expectations high and clear.

Oral presentation of information highlighted – talking & listening.

Researching – reading, writing, playing

Planning – writing, reading

Performing – negotiating, practicing, 

Outcomes/ presentations can be seen on AllStars blog.

CODA

Games in the classroom!

DS Lites, wii, Playstation

•       Contexts for learning
•       Springboards to spark and inspire
•       Collaborative knowledge gathering
•       Practising skills, attitudes
•       Authentic purposes and audiences
•       Group responsibility
•       Cultural relevance

Find examples and write ups of using these games here!

Dolphin Island

wii Tennis

Learning Teaching Scotland’s Nintendogs Project

END OF STORY

Well that’s my story, now its time for you to come on board, to take time to explore and play with these tools that offer so much  – especially in the areas of connecting, communicating, collaborating  and creating.

Your task is ……..

To play

To discover

To choose something new

That could fit in your classroom and that you would share with your class or your staff, tomorrow or the next day…….

Go on, try for yourself ………. What’s the worst that could happen?

Here is a friendly slideshow that reassures (and offers practical advice) for …. facing the ICT  elephant

Change

The world has changed.

The students have changed.

Knowledge and learning have changed.

Schools and teaching have changed ???????

Here are two short presentations to promote some discussion:

See Think Wonder

Child Centred

•       Individualised / personalised
•       Information skills for active strategies to research
•       Literacy for authentic and personal purposes and audiences
•       Interests / enquiry focus

Creativity

Sir Ken Robinson – “Do Schools Kill Creativity?” TED Talk

“If human intelligences were limited to the abilties measured in IQ tests, most human activity would stop, or would never have started …..”

Out of Our Minds, Ken Robinson, 2001. Pg 102

Where to go for exciting, web-based tools to spark and interest?

Try ……. Cool Tools for Schools wiki

21^st Century Pedagogy Conference 2009

The “c” Generation

connect, communicate, collaborate, create

Innovations in ICT Practical Workshop: 

Quality Tools and Quality Teaching in a Quality Learning Environment

Here’s the story plan for today:  welcome to my session on using exciting tools with your students to explore, communicate and create together in your classrooms.

ORIENTATION

Using the NSW Quality Teaching Framework, the three dimensions of pedagogy that underpin the teaching and learning that occurs in classrooms are:

Quality Learning Environment:  refers to pedagogy that creates classrooms where students and teachers work productively in an environment clearly focused on learning. Such pedagogy sets high and explicit expectations and develops positive relationships between teachers and students and among students.

Significance:  refers to pedagogy that helps make learning meaningful and important to students. Such pedagogy draws clear connections with student’s prior knowledge and identities, with contexts outside of the classroom, and with multiple ways of knowing or cultural perspectives.

Intellectual Quality:  refers to pedagogy focuses on producing deep understanding of important concepts, skills,and ideas. Such pedagogy treats knowldege as something that requires active construction and requires students to engage in higher-order thinking and to communicate substantively about what they are learning.

From: NSW Department of Education and Traing, Professional  Learning and Leadership Development.

These are the basics that we are starting and finishing with today – it is the teaching that allows our students to connect, to communicate, to collaborate and to create. It is the quality of the teaching, the quality of the relationships, and the quality of the communication that will make the difference. Technology is the tool that can help us to help our students. It’s the “teach” not the tools that make the difference.

Sort It Out

Diamond

Here’s a mind map of the session:

The AllStars have been searching through “Oceans of Info”, following a variety of interests, and have now reported their findings.

Their task last term was to “Create Something Extraordinary” about oceans.

First they puzzled and wondered about things that interested them.

Next they spent time reading, researching and learning about their topic.

Then they negotiated a rubric to support them in “creating something extraordinary” using web2.0 tools to present their learning.

After that they experimented with a web2.0 tool they hadn’t used before.

And…..

Finally they got down to creating.

You can see most of the presentations as they come up over at the 08AllStars site. 

Oceans of Info 1 a voki and a Toondoo

Oceans of Info 2 a pirate voki

Oceans of Info 3  “Mermaid News” video

Oceans of Info 4 Vokis by a marine biologist and a pirate

Oceans of Info 5 a Voki about the sinking of the HMAS Sydney

Oceans of Info 6 a video about whaling 

Vokis, videos, puppets and comics are some of the ways the students chose to share their information creatively.

I am truly proud and amazed at the wonderful ways that the kids told their stories. I think that the AllStars are ALL stars!

 Image: ‘ooooo!‘
www.flickr.com/photos/50502690@N00/431856206

An exciting day spent listening to some of Australia’s premier edubloggers:

• Judy O’Connell
• Westley Field

plus the blog guru himself – Will Richardson!

A great opportunity for our school group to hear and see first hand how the web is transforming learning and teaching, and to consider why we must embrace and work with web2.0 to keep learning in schools relevant – for our students and for ourselves.

Co-create

Share

Empower

Transform

Question

Networks

Deep understandings

Change

Improve

……….. just a few things on our “to do” list when we are back at school…………

Here is a mind-map I jotted out at the event, a way of sorting the information/thoughts/opinions from the esteemed presenters

How cool is this?

Last week we tried out a mind mapping tool called mind42.com to organise our thinking about Natural Disasters.

We had just been introduced to Natural Disasters through some wonderful hands on science activities from the CSIRO and we thought that we would like to investigate further.

This is what we came up with – have a look at the map above – you can move themap, make the text bigger/smaller, open and close the nodes. WOW

AllStars – leave a comment about the area you would like to investigate.