Langwitches Blog http://langwitches.org/blog The Magic of Learning through Technology. Sat, 20 Mar 2010 15:42:08 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Amazing Web 2.0 Projects Book http://langwitches.org/blog/2010/03/20/amazing-web-2-0-projects-book/ http://langwitches.org/blog/2010/03/20/amazing-web-2-0-projects-book/#comments Sat, 20 Mar 2010 15:42:08 +0000 Langwitches http://langwitches.org/blog/?p=6003

Terry Freedman published his new “Amazing Web 2.0 Projects Book”.

It is free for anyone to download as a pdf file. I loaded it on my Kindle and have been enjoying the wonderful project ideas.

Thank you, Terry for all the hard work and thank you to the contributors for their project ideas!

  • 87 projects.
  • 10 further resources.
  • 52 applications.
  • 94 contributors.
  • The benefits of using Web 2.0 applications.
  • The challenges of using Web 2.0 applications.
  • How the folk who ran these projects handled the issues…
  • … And what they recommend you do if you run them.
  • What were the learning outcomes?
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  • Digital Storytelling with Prezi « Trails Optional
    I’ve been working with my grade 6 class on using Prezi. They love it! The first class we played with features, inserting pictures, and just getting used to the controls.
    Then I had them plan out stories making webs of characters, settings, and plot details
    (tags: prezi digital_storytelling)
  • Minnesota Transitions Schools » Banaadir Skype Project
    Earlier this month, MTS Somali Middle School students had the opportunity to have a virtual discussion with a group of students from across the country. Jewish students from Marin J. Gottlieb Day School in Jacksonville, Florida and Muslim students from MTS Banaadir Academy exchanged information about their religions, their practices, and their lives – all over a video chat via Skype. Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano, a representative from Gotlieb sent out a call for a school with Muslim students on an educator network on Twitter. MTS High School teacher Trey Wodele connected with her, handed the tip off to Banaadir Language Arts teacher Danielle Dittrich, and the project became a reality. Tolisano is in the middle of a 6 month long project with the goal of reaching out to 80 different classrooms across the globe.
    (tags: AroundTheWorldWith80Schools)
  • Web 2.0 Tools and Applications – Go2web20
    (tags: web2.0 tools)
  • Skype Connects Classrooms Around the World
    A fictional Englishman's quest to circle the globe in 80 days inspired technology integration facilitator Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano to take her students on a similar adventure, without physically traveling to different countries.
    (tags: AroundTheWorldWith80Schools)
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  • Free Stuff – Educational Technology – ICT in Education
    # 87 projects.
    # 10 further resources.
    # 52 applications.
    # 94 contributors.
    # The benefits of using Web 2.0 applications.
    # The challenges of using Web 2.0 applications.
    # How the folk who ran these projects handled the issues…
    # … And what they recommend you do if you run them.
    # What were the learning outcomes?
    # And did I mention that this is free?!
    (tags: web2.0 resources pdf)
  • MoreThanWordles
    Ideas, links, resources on how to use Wordle in the classroom.
    (tags: wordle)
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I am ready to head out this week to present at the Teacher 2 Teacher conference in Bow Island, Alberta. I am especially excited since it will be my first time visiting Canada.

Some of the other presenters at the conference include:

I have been tweaking my presentations for the last few weeks and am very happy with the results. I can’t wait to share them with educators in Canada on Thursday (March 18) & Friday (March 19):

70 Tools in 70 Minutes

Digital Storytelling for Educators

Blogging in the Classroom

Around the World with Skype

Geography is All Around Us

]]> http://langwitches.org/blog/2010/03/14/teacher2teacher-conference/feed/ 3 Empower Student to Be Lifelong Learners NOT Dependent Learners http://langwitches.org/blog/2010/03/12/empower-students/ http://langwitches.org/blog/2010/03/12/empower-students/#comments Sat, 13 Mar 2010 01:24:02 +0000 Langwitches http://langwitches.org/blog/?p=5967

Through a  Tweet from @HeidiHayesJacob, I found the Ning of the Curriculum 21 book, I recently recommended.

One video uploaded by Heidi of Alan November, a contributor to the book, immediately caught my eye.

He says:

We have to stop spoon feeding kids curriculum tests and homework. They need to be self directed. They need to be life long learners., which means they need to be empowered to manage more and more and more of their own learning.  [...]

It is not about adding technology… because we add a lot of technology that improves teaching, but it does not improve learning.[...]

The biggest barrier is not technology, the tools or money. The biggest barrier is a culture of the shift of control from the teacher managing learning (creating dependent learners by the way) to a culture of students being inter-dependent while they are globally connected and contributing content, tutorials, to the whole classroom.

From reading the  Curriculum21 book , listening  in on streamed conference presentations to video clips like the one from Alan November below, I am witnessing the shift towards  globally connected students at my school right in front of my eyes. IT IS a shift of culture. IT IS a shift of what a “classroom” means. IT IS about empowering students AND teachers by exposing them to all the possibilities that are within reach through available tools.

I especially am in agreement with Alan about the role tutorials can play. Our Middle School students are continuing to work on on their Math Wiki, which is filled with tutorials, 5th graders are about to create SmartBoard Notebook files for first graders with tutorials and practice lessons about contractions (I + am= I’m/ will +not= won’t, etc). I can’t wait to continue observing the shift taking place in our school as a result of it.


Find more videos like this on Curriculum21

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