Friday, May 04, 2012

edWeb.net Announces Webinars


I recently joined edWeb.net and am finding that there are great learning opportunities out there.  edWeb.net is a professional social and learning network for the education community.
  • Share information and resources with an extended community of educators
  • Connect and stay in touch with peers and colleagues
  • Create professional learning communities
  • Create communities to collaborate on initiatives and projects
  • Provide professional development
  • Gain experience with Web 2.0 technology


Postings from the latest edWeb.net newsletter:


Register for a very special webinar with Kevin Honeycutt, and get ready to be inspired - and to laugh! 
   
Kevin Honeycutt is technology integration specialist at ESSDACK in Hutchinson, Kansas. Kevin brings his personal life experience and a sense of humor to the mission of helping prepare 21st century learners. Learn more about Kevin Honeycutt


This webinar is part of new series on edWeb.net, "Inspiring Teachers - Changing Lives."  This series is dedicated to the power of one teacher - how just ONE teacher can change a life.

Join us on Wednesday, May 16th, 6PM Eastern Time

edWeb.net goes mobile!

Use the new mobile app to access edWeb anytime, anywhere.
From your mobile device (iOS or Android), use your browser and go to:
edweb.net/mobile
Then save the app to your homescreen for easy access.


MORE NEW WEBINARS coming up on edWeb.net
  • Wednesday, May 9th, 4pm Eastern Time
    "How Immersion in Augmented Realities Helps Students in the Real World"
    Presented by Chris Dede, Wirth Professor in Learning Technologies at Harvard's Graduate School of Education
    Join the community Mobile Learning Explorations 
  • Wednesday, May 9th, 5pm Eastern Time
    "Mobile Learning: There's an App for That!"
    Presented by Michelle Luhtala, Head Librarian, New Canaan High School, CT
    Join the community Emerging Tech  
  • Tuesday, May 15th, 4pm Eastern Time
    "Seeing Structure & Generalizing in the Practices"
    Presented by Sara Delano Moore, Ph. D., Director of Mathematics and Science at ETA hand2mind
    Join the community Implementing Common Core Standards in Math   
  • Tuesday, May 15th, 5pm Eastern Time
    "What You Can Do During the Summer to Prepare for a Great School Year"
    Presented by Shannon Holden, Assistant Principal, Republic Middle School, MO
    Join the community New Teacher Help 
  • Thursday, May 17th, 4pm Eastern Time
    "iPad: Tips, Tricks, and Apps"
    Presented by Gail Palumbo, former Director of Curriculum and Technology, Montgomery Township Schools, NJ
    Join the community Technology in Schools 
  • Thursday, May 18th, 5pm Eastern Time
    "SIS Around the Country: What are Some States Doing?"
    Presented by Gail Palumbo, former Director of Curriculum and Technology, Montgomery Township Schools, NJ
    Join the community Using Your Student Data for Student Achievement  

Thursday, March 15, 2012

"Apple hasn't quite delivered on the promise of the 'post-PC world' yet with the iPad."

A thoughtful examination of the iPad from ReadWrite Web: "Two Years With the iPad:  Was it Worth it?"

Did the early adopters get their money's worth? 


"Consume-Only":  This is the most worrisome thing in terms of adopting this in a 1:1 model for schools.  Why not just get inexpensive laptops?

From:   / March 15, 2012 
"Most of my iPad usage is read-only. That is, I use Reeder extensively to skim RSS/Atom feeds. I browse the Web anywhere in the house. I play games, read eBooks and watch movies. But for creating content? Not so much."
As RWW founder Richard MacManus wrote last year in his conclusion, the iPad "really is about consumption."
Another thing, if I were to buy one, I wouldn't consider getting it without the 3G connectivity.  My Kindle Fire is pretty worthless away from home.  I would expect that the same is true of the iPad without 3G/LTE functionality (which they are apparently overcharging for!).

Cybrary Man's Update Education Twitter hashtags


Popular Education Hashtags

This education hashtag listing is a refined list based on the one available through Cybrary Man. Please visit
his site for more hashtag options. Also, follow leading educators using many of these hashtags by visiting this page of the same site. You can easily reach this listing by visiting http://www.novemberlearning.com/twitterhashtags.
General Education
#Education – General Education
#edchat – General Education
#educhat – General Education
#ntchat – New Teachers
#curriculum – Curriculum
#k12 – K12 Education
#passiondriven – Passion Driven Educators

Subject Areas
#artsed – Art Education
#arted – Art Education
#engchat – English Education
#mathchat – Math Education
#musedchat – Music Education
#sschat – Social Studies Education
#socialstudies – Social Studies Education
#scichat – Science Education
#langchat – Foreign Language Education
#historyteacher – History Education
#physed – Physical Education

Specialty Areas
#edtech – Technology in Education
#edapp – iOS Apps in Education
#ipadchat - iPads in Education
#ellchat – ELL Education
#esl – ESL Education
#gtchat – Gifted and Talented Education
#spedchat – Special Education
#sped – Special Education
#isedchat – Independent Schools
 – Counselors
#elearning – E-Learning
#librarians – Librarians
#tlchat – Librarians
#library – Librarians
#stem – STEM Education
#flipclass – Flipped Classrooms
Administrators
#cpchat – Connected Principals
#edadmin – School Administrators

Education Levels
#earlyed – Early Age Education
#preschool – Preschool
#kedu – Kindergarten Education
#kinderchat – Kindergarten Education
#elemchat – Elementary Grade Educators
#midleved – Middle Grades Education
#highered – Higher Education

Issues
#edreform – Education Reform
#ptchat – Parent Teacher Issues
#parenting – Parenting
#bullying – Bullying
#cybersafety – Cyber Safety
#dyslexia – Dyslexia
#adhd – Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
#infolit – Information Literacy
#literacy – Literacy
#profdev - Professional Development

November Learning
#nlearning
#blc11

Saturday, March 10, 2012

I am lurking at the SXSWedu Tweets

South by Southwest in Austin is a conference I have always been wanting to attend.  It is now one of the world's largest tech conferences.
So I decided to follow #sxswedu and check out what's happening.  My twitter people are there and I can only participate virtually, so I decided to embed some tweets I'm reading to show you how this conference connects to the world of education.








Notetaking sounds like the winner here. Kleon even has a notepad in his shower! Cause we all know the best ideas take shape in the shower. It's called Aquanotes, for those of you interested:


















Awesome Poetry Project: Newspaper Blackout
Grab a marker; make some poetry

Much to learn; I will tune in again tomorrow!

Wednesday, March 07, 2012

Apple's iPad Event 2012

Comparison from Cool Cat Teacher's Tweet: iPad2 and the New iPad: Engadget

The new iPad vs. iPad 2: what's changed?


iPad 2

New iPad
Display9.7-inch
LED-backlit IPS LCD
9.7-inch
LED-backlit IPS LCD
Resolution1024 x 7682048 x 1536 "Retina Display"
CPU1GHz dual-core Apple A5dual-core Apple A5X
GraphicsPowerVR SGX 543MP2TBA (but "Quad-Core," our first guess a PowerVR SGX MP4+)
Memory512MB RAMTBA
Storage16GB / 32GB / 64GB16GB / 32GB / 64GB
Front CameraVGA (640 x 480)VGA (640 x 480)
Rear Camera0.7-megapixel5-megapixel
CellularEDGE plus Quadband HSPA or CDMA EV-Do Rev.A (Verizon)"World-Ready" 3G, HSPA+, DC-HSPA, 4G LTE (AT&T, Verizon)
WiFi802.11 a/b/g/n802.11 a/b/g/n
Bluetooth2.1 + EDR4.0
Accelerometer3-axis3-axis
Gyroscope3-axis3-axis
Thickness0.34-inch (8.8mm)0.37-inch (9.4mm)
Weight (WiFi)1.33 pounds (601 grams)1.44 pounds (652 grams)
Weight (3G / LTE)AT&T 1.35 pounds (613 grams)
Verizon 1.34 pounds (607 grams)
1.46 pounds (662 grams)
Battery Life25-watt-hour lithium polymer (rated 10 Hours)42.5-watt-hour lithium polymer
(rated 10 hours / 9 on 4G)
Ports30-pin dock, 3.5mm headphone30-pin dock, 3.5mm headphone
Location (WiFi)WiFi, Digital CompassWiFi, Digital Compass
Location (3G / LTE)aGPS, 3G, Digital Compass, WiFiaGPS, 3G, 4G, Digital Compass, WiFi

Saturday, February 25, 2012

As we consider the New Trier ipad roll out for some classes in Fall 2012...

Is it worth considering how "green" the ipads really are?  Will we be constantly upgrading our technology and dumping the old stuff into landfills?


Is the possibility of a paperless classroom ecologically sound? According to a UK Guardian Environmental blog, no one is really certain.


Tom Dowdall (Greenpeace International) describes how difficult this is to assess:
"Replacing laptop/desktop use with iPad use will use less energy, but most users will buy this in addition to a laptop, smart phone and other gadgets…
It's also very hard to answer whether digital media is more green/sustainable than traditional media. There are many studies but again it depends on the weight you give to different factors" (CO2 only, emissions, resources use, toxics etc.)

In a New York Times piece "How Green is My iPad?", writers  Daniel Goleman and Gregory Norris delve into more detail on materials, manufacture, transportation, reading, and disposal in comparing print books and ereaders.

Some shocking facts:


  • One e-reader requires the extraction of 33 pounds of minerals.
  • One e-reader also requires 79 gallons of water to produce its batteries and printed wiring boards.
  • The manufacture of one e-reader requires  100 kilowatt hours of fossil fuels, resulting in 66 lbs. CO2
Transportation ,  disposal and health considerations make the ereader even less ecologically friendly.  I like what Goleman and Norris suggest:

"All in all, the most ecologically virtuous way to read a book starts by walking to your local library."

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Everything is a Remix: Parts 1 -2 -3 -4

Everything is a Remix is produced by Kirby Ferguson, a New York-based filmmaker. This site is a companion piece to the four-part video series.

Watch Part I


Watch Part II

Everything is a Remix Part 2 from Kirby Ferguson on Vimeo.


Watch Part III: Creativity

Everything is a Remix Part 3 from Kirby Ferguson on Vimeo.


Watch Part IV: Copy, Transform, Combine

Everything is a Remix Part 4 from Kirby Ferguson on Vimeo.