Teaching in Tallahassee

FETC: Day One Wrap-up

2012-01-24T10:45:00.002-05:00

A day full of workshops. This is my first time coming to FETC for the full four days of action. While the opening keynote isn't until this afternoon (Tuesday), those that just could not wait gathered at the Orange County Convention Center for a day of extended workshops. I was lucky enough to snatch the presider's role in three of them.

Howie DiBlasi

I'll write a series of posts this week providing details of FETC presentations as I see them. For the time being, you can access all of my bookmarked resources on Diigo - username stephenveliz and look for the tag fetc12.

I kicked-off my FETC 2012 conference early Monday morning by spending three hours with Howie DiBlasi @hdiblasi in his workshop on cloud computing in K12 education. Howie surveyed a long list of web-based applications, from cloud storage, to free MS Office alternatives like ZOHO and Google Docs, to content creation tools like Glogster and Kerpoof, and many others.

Robert Miller's Session

After lunch, I presided over Robert Miller's @robrtmiller workshop on classroom video production. Robert is doing some incredible things with his 5th graders, shooting video with a class set of iTouches. I was surprised with the level of quality their getting out of their iPods. Robert took the group though camera operation basic sand editing essentials using iMovie. Big takeaway for me: go buy a Mac! Click here for Miller's presentation resources.

My long first day was rounded out with a three-hour Leslie Fisher @lesliefisher session on effective digital photography. This one was mostly about me. Leslie covered both point-n-shoot and SLR cameras, often at the same time. No easy task, I'm sure. You know all of those menu options on my point-n-shoot Lumix that most of us would never dream of trying? Leslie did a great job of demystifying a lot of it. Big takeaway from this one: I need a new camera! Between Miller and Fisher, this conference could end up costing me a fortune.

Leslie Fisher Talks Digital Photography

Well, I sitting in the OCCC concourse this morning polishing up my two presentations that come up later this week, and rekindling tech connections with folks that I run into once a year. I'll get my learning day started at noon with Ruston Hurley, and his presentation on Google Docs and Forms.

I hope to post again this evening, so check back for latest from Orlando. You follow throughout the day by following on Twitter - hashtag #fetc.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

And so it begins . . .

2012-01-23T09:15:00.001-05:00

Good morning form Orlando, FL, and FETC 2012.

Always one of my favorites, the Florida Educational Technology Conference kicks-off today. As I've done in the past, I'll be blogging and tweeting throughout the week - bringing all of the highlights, lowlights, and latest trends.

I have a full day of workshop presiding lined up today - Howie DiBlasi @hdiblasi on Cloud Computing, Robert Miller on Student Movie Making, and Leslie Fisher @lesliefisher on Digital Photography. I'll be tweeting from each.

Check back here for posts throughout the week.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:International Dr,Orlando,United States

Are our kids ready for college?

2011-10-23T11:24:00.002-04:00

Hat tip to Lee Kolbert. She posted this on her GeekyMomma's Blog.

Click on graphic for a better view.

Keeping Things in Perspective

2011-10-16T18:51:00.000-04:00

Being part of a vast network of technology integration specialists - sharing through Twitter and so forth - can lead one to forget how much work remains in bringing technology into regular use in our classrooms. I was reminded of that this weekend. I attended and presented at the Florida Council for the Social Studies annual conference. My presentation was entitled Transforming the Social Studies Classroom with Web 2.0 Tools.

As I spoke on building a PLN, I was surprised that none of the more than twenty teachers in attendance were users of Twitter. Perhaps it was naive of me to expect at least a few to be users of social media, beyond simply having a Facebook account. In the hustle and bustle of the school year, the fact that most of the teachers on my school campus are not much different than the group to which I was speaking is not something I think about very much. That is a big mistake on my part.

After teaching all day this past Friday, I got in my car and drove four hours to present to a group of teachers that I didn't even know. Yet everyday I pass teachers in the hall that are as technologically needy as those that I met this weekend. What am I doing to address that need? What should I be doing? I drove those four hours intending to share what I could about integrating Web 2.0 tools in the classroom. I didn't expect to learn much. In the end, perhaps I learned the more than anyone else in the room.

Engaging in the PLN with teachers from across the globe is important. Reaching out to those that we see everyday is just as important. Are you trying to meet the need on your own campus?

Daily Diigo Bookmarks 09/19/2011

2011-09-18T20:36:00.001-04:00

My First Attempt at Employing Digital Storytelling in the Classroom « Indiana Jen

tags: digital storytelling history

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Daily Diigo Bookmarks 08/20/2011

2011-08-19T20:36:00.001-04:00

Free Tools Challenge #17: Using DropBox & DropItTo.me : Teacher Challenge

tags: dropbox

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Daily Diigo Bookmarks 08/09/2011

2011-08-08T20:36:00.001-04:00

8 Great TED Talks About The Future Of Education And Teaching | Emerging Education Technology

8 Great TED Talks About The Future Of Education And Teaching http://t.co/SIsZUYP #ted #edtech #education #edchat

tags: ted edtech education edchat twitter_favorite tweets

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Daily Diigo Bookmarks 08/07/2011

2011-08-06T20:37:00.001-04:00

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Daily Diigo Bookmarks 08/06/2011

2011-08-05T20:36:00.001-04:00

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Daily Diigo Bookmarks 08/05/2011

2011-08-04T20:36:00.001-04:00

Getting the bloggers to write

tags: blogging Writing
Could Blogging Be the Key to Raising a Generation of Great Writers? -... - StumbleUpon

tags: blogging Writing
UploaderBOX

tags: dropbox upload filesharing

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Daily Diigo Bookmarks 08/02/2011

2011-08-01T20:36:00.001-04:00

Dan Pink, on 3 ways to increase motivation in schools | SmartBlog on Leadership

tags: Motivation danielpink article

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Daily Diigo Bookmarks 08/01/2011

2011-07-31T20:36:00.001-04:00

How a PLN Empowered My Education Career | James Brauer

tags: PLN

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Daily Diigo Bookmarks 07/31/2011

2011-07-30T20:38:00.001-04:00

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Daily Diigo Bookmarks 07/29/2011

2011-07-28T20:37:00.001-04:00

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Daily Diigo Bookmarks 07/26/2011

2011-07-25T20:40:00.001-04:00

QR Code Bookmarklet

tags: qrcode bookmarklet
QR Treasure Hunt Generator

tags: qrcodes treasurehunt qr codes QrCode QR_codes

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Daily Diigo Bookmarks 07/25/2011

2011-07-24T20:36:00.001-04:00

National History Day 2010-2011Ms. Krawetz, Seventh Grade Social Studies

tags: historyfair nhd

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Daily Diigo Bookmarks 07/23/2011

2011-07-22T20:36:00.001-04:00

‪Dropbox Intro Video‬‏ - YouTube

tags: dropbox

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Daily Diigo Bookmarks 07/21/2011

2011-07-20T20:36:00.001-04:00

Using Dropbox in the Classroom

tags: dropbox livebinder @jswiatek

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Daily Diigo Bookmarks 07/18/2011

2011-07-17T20:36:00.001-04:00

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Daily Diigo Bookmarks 06/28/2011

2011-06-27T20:37:00.001-04:00

Will Richardson's presentation is at bit.ly/wriste

tags: iste11 twitter_favorite tweets

Will Richardson's presentation is at bit.ly/wriste11 #iste11

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Daily Diigo Bookmarks 06/21/2011

2011-06-20T20:37:00.001-04:00

Four Pillars of Technology Integration | nashworld

4 Pillars Of Technology Integration: http://bit.ly/kpzcS7

tags: twitter_favorite tweets

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Daily Diigo Bookmarks 04/04/2011

2011-04-03T20:37:00.001-04:00

Dropbox Forms: Receive files from your web site to your dropbox!

tags: dropbox filesharing storage

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Daily Diigo Bookmarks 02/10/2011

2011-02-09T19:37:00.001-05:00

screencastomatic.com FREE cloud screen casting too

tags: FETC tlchat edtech twitter_favorite tweets

screencastomatic.com FREE cloud screen casting tool -no software to download - record, edit tutorials stored in cloud #FETC #tlchat #edtech

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FETC 2011 Has Come and Gone: Now what?

2011-02-06T21:20:00.003-05:00

Three days (four for some), 7,500 attendees, over 200 concurrent sessions, 75 paid workshops, and an exhibit floor featuring more than 500 companies. The 2011 edition of the Florida Educational Technology Conference (FETC) is now in the books. It always takes a few days to recover from the marathon PD experience, and now it's time to sit down and reflect.

Now what?
Millions of dollars spent by school districts, education-minded organization, and individuals just to get to the annual edtech conference in Orlando, FL, not to mention the millions in sales generated by the massive exhibit hall, and single most important question that comes to mind is: "What will all of this mean for American students?" How much of the professional development that took place will result in real changes by real teachers, for real students, in real schools? How much of that new technology showcased on the exhibit floor will be used to transform classrooms into 21st century learning laboratories?

This was my first year presenting at FETC - a three hour hands-on workshop on transforming the classroom with web 2.0 tools - and my hope is that each of the 15 teachers that attended my workshop would take at least one tool discussed and integrated into their curriculum before the end of this school year. Is that a realistic goal?

The more interesting question is, I think, how many teachers attend conferences (any conference) purely for the professional development or as all expense paid mini-vacations? I hope that the number assigned to the latter is small, but I know that it isn't zero. How are schools or school districts deciding who to send to conferences? How does your school or school district decide? In the lean economic days, the process is probably worth taking a hard look at in many schools/districts.

iDevices Take Center-Stage
The technology that stole the show this year was definitely Apple's iPad. I've already devoted an entire post from this year's conference to the iPad, and it was the one gadget that seemed to be on everyone's mind. The two most lively sessions that I attended this year both featured the iPad and its potential as a learning tool. Look around at any session and ipads were as ubiquitous this year as laptops were in 2010. While I think that most would agree that iDevices are game-changers in education, most probably left with more questions than answers about how to put them into widespread use. This should making the coming months/years an exciting time to be in education.

A Time to Connect
As always, one of the most rewarding things about FETC is that it gives attendees an opportunity to connect face-to-face with members of their PLNs, as well as add to it. Since last year's inaugural TGI Friday's tweet-up, I've looked forward to spending time with colleagues that have become friends. Though I applaud FETC for embracing social media this year (Edmodo served as the official social network), their opening night tweet-up on the exhibit floor ran contrary to the spirit of what these meetings should be about - unscripted, spontaneous, and member-driven affairs. I will give them an A for effort for embracing the idea.

The Big Take-Aways

Mobile devices will drive edtech innovation in the coming years.
Despite the promotion of Edmodo as the official session back-channeling application, Twitter remains the app of choice.
How school districts can safely engage in social media remains a BIG question.
Web 2.0 tools are still a big draw for concurrent session presenters.
If the size of a company's presence on the exhibit floor is indicative of their position in the marketplace, Promethean is putting distance on the rest of the field. I wonder if the numbers bear that out.

Do you agree? Disagree? Have some take-aways of your own?

Once again, I look forward to next year. The call for speakers for FETC 2012 will open on March 1.

In Case You Didn't Know: iPad is a Game-Changer

2011-02-03T11:38:00.005-05:00

iPads are everywhere at FETC this year. I just came out of a session presented by Jenna Linsken (@2sonsup), and I'm getting ready to attend one by Steve Dembo (@teach42). Both featuring the iPad, iTouch, and iPhone. Jenna's session was in such huge demand that they scheduled an encore for later today. Though Dembo will have a much larger room, I expect that he'll pack the house as well.

What's most exciting about all the fervor surrounding the iPad, is the unknown. Most of us agree that it (or iPad-like devices) will change the face of education, but there is no clear picture of exactly how that will play out. Is there enough functionality with an iPad - compared to a laptop - to make it a viable 1-to-1 player? You can bet that Apple is working hard to make sure that it remains the dominant player.

Back to Jenna. Her session offered, what amounted to, an iPad app "shoot-out" - and the people loved it. Beyond hitting on the biggies like Dropbox and Evernote, she also managed to throw out tons of content specific apps that spanned the curriculum. From simple ABC kindergarten-level apps to periodic table apps (no, she didn't cover Angry Birds), everyone left with something they can use.

Now on to Dembo. Hopefully, he will hit on some apps not already covered in the last session. Either way, a Steve Dembo session is always a good time.

Here is the wiki that includes resources from Jenna's session - http://linskenspresentations.wikispaces.com/.

FETC Day 2: Off and Running

2011-02-02T11:44:00.002-05:00

I have to admit that I was unable to focus on much of what was going on at day one of the conference, as I spent much of yesterday thinking about my three hour workshop that was scheduled for 8am this morning. It was my first presentation that extended beyond the standard 50-minute concurrent session. I was both delighted and stressed over the prospect of having three hours to cover what I would normally cram into one hour or less.

With that now behind me, I'm now free to enjoy what others have to offer. Now to the task of plying through the conference schedule to decide which sessions to attend. I'll probably check in on Lee Kolbert (@TeachaKidd) and David Fisher (@davidfisher65) for their presentation - VoiceThread: Turn Up the Volume. The rest of the day is thus far up in the air.

Look for my end-of-day post to see where I've been and where I'll go at Day 2 of FETC.

FETC 2011: 1st Impressions

2011-02-01T13:20:00.002-05:00

After a lengthy check-in process at the My hotel - and a shuttle bus that took the scenic route - I've finally arrived at the Orange County Convention Center for FETC 2011. And so - it's on!

Truth be told, the Rosen Hotel was more than accommodating. After a minor mixup with my room, they upgraded me to a hospitality suite. Not bad for a 15 minute wait. I am sorry that I missed the pre-keynote session - A Technology Shoot-Out with Hall Davidson, Leslie Fisher and John Kuglin. I arrived just as it was wrapping up, and the crowd was standing room only. I'll have to catch up with Hall and Leslie at one of their later sessions.

We're just a couple of hours from the opening session, a keynote from Discovery Channel storm chaser Reed Timmer. That will be followed by the "official" FETC Tweet up at 5:30.

Time to head out to mingle amongst the crowds. I'll be posting often, so check back for up-to-date news from the conference.

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The FETC 2011 Preview

2011-01-30T19:02:00.004-05:00

It seems like just the other day that I was heading back to Tallahassee from FETC 2010, and here I sit at Starbucks putting the final touches on preparations for FETC 2011. As I type, some are already arriving in Orlando to catch the pre-conference workshops and meetings that begin tomorrow morning. Others will use tomorrow as their travel day, and I'll leave Tallahassee early Tuesday morning - in time to catch Hall Davidson, Leslie Fisher and John Kuglin for A Technology Shootout at 11am. It should set the tone for the next two days, as it did in 2010.

In 2010, I made my first trip to FETC and was able to enjoy it as an attendee. I had been accepted to present a paid workshop session, but had my session nixed due to a lack of interest in my session. After the initial blow to my ego, I realized that the cancellation was a blessing in disguise. I was able to attend free from the stress that comes with preparation and presentation.

Not one to take rejection lying down, I again submitted a proposal for a half-day workshop and was again accepted. It was only a couple of weeks ago that I found out that this year I did acquire the neccesary number of registrants (not sure what that number is). Whew! I'm not sure if I could have handled a repeat of last year.

While it often seems as if the most difficult about presenting at a conference is waiting to find out if your proposal has been accepted, the real work/stress begins with session preparation. What should I include? Will it be relevant enough? Am I qualified to teach my peers? And so on, and so on. My workshop is a Bring-Your-Own-Laptop (BYOL) hands-on session entitled Transforming the Secondary Classroom with Web 2.0 Tools. So the question about what to include was all too real for me. So many tools and so little time.

My goal is to send teachers away with the tools needed to implement meaningful lessons as soon as they return to their classrooms. I expect that most (if not all) of the teachers that have registered for my workshop are beginning tech integrators. My plan is to focus first on building a web presence and PLN - teacher websites, social networking, etc. Rather than use the web 2.0 "shootout" format (lots of apps in rapid-fire), I'll focus on just a few. I believe that this is the best approach with newbies.

Beyond my own session, I'm looking forward to catching sessions by some of my favorites and hopefully expand my PLN with some new faces. James Gubbins (@JMGubbins) is back this year with Untangling the Web (Wed. at 9:15am).

Lee Kolbert (@TeachaKidd) always does an awesome job. This year she'll be doing VoiceThread (Wed. at 12:30) again with David Fisher (@davidfisher65). David is also doing Let's do the Flip! (Wed. at 3:10). As a classroom Flip user, I'm looking forward to that one.

With nearly 200 concurrent sessions to choose from, it really does take some time to study the schedule. As always, I'll expect a healthy Twitter stream (#fetc) to allow many to virtually attend sessions that they can't get to physically. Edmodo will also be a major part of this year's conference, with groups set up for all sessions and workshops.

Not going to FETC this year? It should be easy enough to keep up with everything FETC by following the #fetc Twitter feed, as well as the many blog posts that I'm sure will emanate from the Orange County Convention Center - including several from right here.

If you do plan on attending in person this year, don't miss the Tweet-up Wednesday evening at 5:30 - TGI Friday's on International Drive.

My next post should come from Orlando. Back in a couple of days!!

Daily Diigo Bookmarks 01/25/2011

2011-01-24T19:39:00.001-05:00

Some schools giving desks the boot - JSOnline

Some schools giving desks the boot - JSOnline http://ow.ly/1s06Zy #dpsk12

tags: dpsk12 twitter_favorite tweets

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Daily Diigo Bookmarks 01/19/2011

2011-01-18T19:38:00.001-05:00

The Witness: From the Balcony of Room 306 on Vimeo

tags: mlk film video history civil_rights

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Daily Diigo Bookmarks 01/13/2011

2011-01-12T19:38:00.001-05:00

The Educational Value of Ugly Fonts - Ideas Market - WSJ

The Educational Value of Ugly Fonts http://on.wsj.com/ihQhmG #edchat

tags: edchat twitter_favorite tweets

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Daily Diigo Bookmarks 01/10/2011

2011-01-09T19:38:00.002-05:00

CUN4M7TSRKGE

ChicagoHistoryFair.org

tags: history historyfair history_fair
Tip of the Week – 10 Web Tools Every History Teacher Should Try « History Tech

Tip of the Week - 10 Web Tools Every History Teacher Should Try: http://t.co/MoQqf93

tags: twitter_favorite tweets

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Daily Diigo Bookmarks 01/06/2011

2011-01-05T19:39:00.001-05:00

Rubrics for Assessment Online Professional Development - UW Stout, Wisconsin's Polytechnic University

Nice Collection Of Web 2.0 Rubrics: http://bit.ly/g59RqQ

tags: twitter_favorite tweets

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Daily Diigo Bookmarks 01/04/2011

2011-01-03T19:39:00.001-05:00

Historypin | Home

Great resource for history teachers #sschat #edtech http://www.historypin.com/

tags: sschat edtech twitter_favorite tweets
13 Interesting Ways to use Web Conferencing in the Classroom

UPDATED>13 Interesting Ways to use Web Conferencing in the Classroom http://bit.ly/3BVr1P thanks to @room162 for adding an idea

tags: twitter_favorite tweets
Historypin - Make DBQs with a Digital Time Machine That Layers Image, Story and Location - Copy / Paste by Peter Pappas

Historypin - Make DBQs with a Digital Time Machine That Layers Image, Story and Location http://bit.ly/h2V5RH via @edteck

tags: twitter_favorite tweets
The Clever Sheep: 2011: The Year of the Cloud

RT @thecleversheep I see 2011 as 'The Year of the Cloud'. Anyone else? http://bit.ly/ej66X4 All of these make so much sense in 2011.

tags: twitter_favorite tweets

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Unnamed (weekly)

2011-01-01T19:40:00.001-05:00

Finding a Use for Tumblr - NYTimes.com

Finding a Use for Tumblr http://nyti.ms/fuoJyX

tags: twitter_favorite tweets
3e Five predictions for 2011 that will rock the education world3 | 3aEducation Futures

Five predictions for 2011 that will rock the education world http://futr.es/k5

tags: twitter_favorite tweets
4fWordle, Prezi, VoiceThread & More – These Educators Know It All! – 3fSimpleK12

Wordle, Prezi, VoiceThread & More – These Educators Know It All! http://bit.ly/eVKJRG

tags: twitter_favorite tweets
Free Technology for Teachers: How to Back-up Your Blog and Why You Should

How to Back-up Your Blog and Why You Should http://t.co/tgLdkUP via @AddThis

tags: twitter_favorite tweets
The 21st Century Principal: 3 Reasons an Administrator Needs an iPad

Reasons to Get an iPad for Administrators http://tinyurl.com/32k8acg

tags: twitter_favorite tweets
8 Free Apps for Creating Special Holiday Gifts | Teacher Reboot Camp

7 Free Apps for Creating Special Holiday Gifts http://bit.ly/hx7sT2 #mlearning #slide2learn #eddapps

tags: mlearning slide2learn eddapps twitter_favorite tweets
22 50 Must-Have Educational Apps | 12 Edudemic

RT @briankotts: 50 Must-Have Educational Apps http://bit.ly/dESUyo /via @Edudemic #edtech #edchat #ukedchat

tags: edtech edchat ukedchat twitter_favorite tweets
Top 10 Education Stories of 2010: Learning in Review | TakePart - Inspiration to Action

RT @socratech: RT @jackiegerstein: Top 10 Education Stories of 2010: Learning in Review http://bit.ly/hAN2B7

tags: twitter_favorite tweets
An example of what GDocs can do... - Ed in the Clouds

RT @oliverquinlan: Reading: An example of what GDocs can do... http://bit.ly/f83GXU [neat]

tags: twitter_favorite tweets
Virginia schools to test social studies on iPads | MacNN

Virginia/Pearson tests social studies curriculum on iPads http://www.macnn.com/articles/10/09/29/could.this.be.the.future.of.textbooks/

tags: twitter_favorite tweets
psdtechPD - Cell Phones

RT @21stprincipal: Cell Phones in classroom wiki http://bit.ly/eQOvYr

tags: twitter_favorite tweets
The Nerdy Teacher: Project PLN #4 - Web Tools

Check out the December Issue of #ProjectPLN - The Web Tool Issue!! http://bit.ly/elExtG

tags: ProjectPLN twitter_favorite tweets
10 Alternatives To Delicious.com Bookmarking

RT @missnoor28: 10 Alternatives To Delicious.com Bookmarking http://selnd.com/f8L1A0 #edchat #edtech

tags: edchat edtech twitter_favorite tweets
Free Technology for Teachers: Five Alternatives to Traditional Book Reports

Five Alternatives to Traditional Book Reports - http://t.co/uzprM4l #school

tags: school twitter_favorite tweets
Technology Tidbits: Thoughts of a Cyber Hero: 5 Free 21st Century Presentations

5 Free 21st Century Presentations http://bit.ly/cFX6dJ by @dkapuler #edtech

tags: edtech twitter_favorite tweets
America: A Narrative History, 8e: W. W. Norton StudySpace

RT @tcea: 10 great US history tours available in Google Earth: http://bit.ly/2m0b6D

tags: twitter_favorite tweets
Pilkerriffic! » Blog Archive » 5 Ways to Encourage Colleagues to Use Technology

5 Ways to Encourage Colleagues to Use Technology http://t.co/FZrEr8W

tags: twitter_favorite tweets
New York Times article today on TED Talks

New York Times article today on TED Talks http://nyti.ms/9Ku07u

tags: twitter_favorite tweets
Documentary on America’s Public School System -

Documentary on America’s Public School System - http://nyti.ms/a63v1C #education

tags: education twitter_favorite tweets
Seth's Blog: Beyond crowdsourcing

Beyond crowdsourcing http://goo.gl/fb/qyqXQ

tags: twitter_favorite tweets
SparkNotes: The Red Pony

tags: red_pony sparknotes john_steinbeck
Welcome! - Jeff Utecht's Presentation Notes

tags: UTecht presentations
50 Free Resources That Will Improve Your Photography Skills - Smashing Magazine

tags: photography photo digitalphotography

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Ring in the New School Year with These Must-See Videos

2010-08-12T12:09:00.004-04:00

Most have been around for a while. You probably have seen most of them before. Perhaps there are some that you haven't yet seen. Whatever the case, each of the following videos is worth watching again. It is important from time to time to refocus, and what better time than now - at the start of a new school year.

Keep in mind, this is just a small sampling of the many excellent videos that are out there on 21st Century education, motivation, etc. So here goes.

This first video is a reminder that we may need to rethink how we do things.

A look at the future - with a British accent.

I know that this is not the most recent version of Did You Know?, but it's still my favorite.

If you haven't heard Taylor Mali, then this is a good time to start. What do you make?

A classic from TED. Sir Ken Robinson on schools and creativity.

Just a bit of motivation from a young Dallas student.

And a little bit more Taylor Mali.

Enjoy and pass them on!

FETC 2010 - Outside the Lines

2010-01-30T21:44:00.005-05:00

One day after receiving an invitation to submit a workshop proposal for FETC 2011, I'm sitting down to tap out what will probably be my final post on the 2010 edition of FETC.

In the months leading up to this year's conference - my first FETC - I waited in eager anticipation for the trip to the magic city. While I was eager to see what the workshops and concurrent sessions would have to offer, what I was really looking forward to were the personal connections that would be made "outside the lines" - in the exhibit hall, the restaurants, and, best of all, at the Thursday night Tweet-up. This came to mind this past week as I talked with colleagues at my school about reporting our FETC experiences for professional development points. Our school district offers points for time spent in workshops, and even time spent in the exhibit hall talking to vendors.

What is more difficult to document is time networking with fellow teachers that, until recently, you had only met online - through their blogs or their Twitter feeds. That's a real shame, because that is some of the most valuable time logged over the three days in Orlando. Though I enjoyed James Gubbins' session on Twitter, and the Teaching with Video session by Steve Katz; the lasting impressions of FETC came from talking edtech with these guys and Jerry Swiatek (@jswiatek) at TGI Fridays over a cold beer. Sitting through sessions with Jenna (@2sonsup) or Elizabeth from SimpleK12 (@SimpleK12) was as rewarding as the sessions themselves.

Even reconnecting with teachers from my district that I seldom see at home - folks like @artykel, @fernandezc4, and @educatore - provided added value to the conference experience.

So now, as I begin working on session proposals for FETC 2011, I am again looking forward to renewing those personal relationships - and making new ones. One thing that I'd like to see added next year is a more formalized "unconference" infrastructure - a blogger's cafe perhaps. What would you like to see changed or added in 2011?

Friday at FETC - A rundown of the good stuff

2010-01-18T15:11:00.009-05:00

OK, on Thursday I woke up a little late, and so missed the Eye Opener keynote and the first concurrent session of the day. As you could see in an earlier post, that didn't prevent me from taking a lot away from the sessions that I did make. That said, I wouldn't repeat the sleeping in mistake again.

Choosing between the two early morning keynotes was tough, but I settled on child prodigy Adora Svitak (@flyingfingers) and A Kid's Eye View of an Innovative Classroom. For those that haven't yet had the opportunity to hear Adora speak, I suggest you rush on over to YouTube and check out some of her work. She is, to say the least, an impressive young lady (12-years old I believe) who offers a valuable message - once you look beyond the cuteness factor. She's able to articulate from a child's perspective what many of us have been trying to convince our colleagues of - that we need to engage our students with technology that will hold their attention, while providing those valuable 21st century skills (how long do I have to keep saying 21st century skills?). For half of the some 350 in attendance, she was probably preaching to the choir. For the other half - and for many teachers back at your schools - it was a message that needed to be heard. I won't try and repeat what she had to say here, but you can go on over to uStream to check out the archived video - http://ustre.am/:gKcz.

Next on my list was the VoiceThread session with Lee Kolbert (@TeachaKidd) and David Fisher (@davidfisher65). Lee and David used several examples of projects from their classes to explain the features offered by VoiceThread. I chose this session because I've been looking forward to introducing VoiceThread to my kids but have not sat down to figure it all out. Lee and David did a great job at clearing up many of my questions. As a bonus, Lee clued us into some new features that will be rolled out soon, like hard copy book versions of your VoiceThreads. The presenters created a helpful wiki to support their presentation - click here to go there now.

James Gubbin s (@JMGubbins) presented on what became the most valuable tool of the conference - Twitter. The back-channeling that took place during FETC allowed attendees - and those following from anywhere in the world -to follow virtually a number of sessions at once. It was proof-positive of the value and importance of micro-blogging. James offered a rapid-fire session of Twitter related applications designed to locate people to follow, conduct interviews via Twitter, conduct polls, and a number of other useful classroom applications. Contrary to what many out there still believe, Twitter is a valuable tool that should become a fixture in classrooms and schools. You can find James' presentation and links to all of the apps that he covered by clicking here.

Tom Turner (@Tom_Turner) led a session entitled Field Trips 2.0. Expecting it to focus solely on virtual field trips, I was pleased that he also spent considerable time talking about the connection between Web 2.0 applications and actual field trips. I am fortunate that I have the opportunity to lead several field trips every year - from local museums to Washington, DC. I'm always looking for ways to integrate technology meaningfully into my time off-campus. Tom gave us much to think about, like using Google Maps, Glogster, VoiceThread, and other apps for pre-trip activities. Tom also talked a bit about using geocaching both on campus and off. For those that haven't given geocaching a try, I encourage you to give it a go. Your kids will love it. If you're in Florida and need help getting equipment and instruction together, contact me and I may be able to help make it happen. Tom's preso can be found here and the uStream archive video can be found here.

The final session of the day was with Hall Davidson of Discovery Education - Faster, Better, Shorter, Deeper: Editing and Capturing Video. I'll save Hall's presentation - and revisit Steve Katz - in a later post.

Well, I know that this is a long post but I wanted to make available many of the resources that the presenters provided. If there is something missing that relates to one of the covered presentations, please leave comments and share.

Adora pic from www.prometheanplanet.com/blog/?paged=2
Field trip pic is mine from SCMS History Club trip to St. Augustine

FETC - Suffering from a bit of information overload

2010-01-15T23:48:00.003-05:00

I had planned to use this post to debrief the final day at FETC. But as I sit here pounding away at the keys, today remains just a blur. Today began at 7:45 am and ended with an overtime session after 4:30 pm. From child prodigy Adora Svitak to Discovery Ed superstar Ha ll Davidson - and tons in between.

So that FETC wrap-up post will have to wait until tomorrow. Right now, I'll just kick back and recover from the last three days.

A day of learning and sharing - Day One of FETC is in the books.

2010-01-15T00:43:00.003-05:00

Well, Thursday was technically Day 2 since the opening session starring actor/environmentalist Ed Begley, Jr. took place Wednesday. Even earlier than Bagley's keynote was the Brown Bag Sandbox Shoot-Out, with Hall Davidson, Leslie Fisher, and John Kuglin offering a barrage of web 2.0 resources. (click on their names to see what they have to offer)

Thursday was, however, the first full day of concurrent sessions. I stayed out a little too late last night and was bummed that I missed the early morning session. My day started with Harvard's Chris Dede and Transforming Education for the 21st Century. Dede made the case for maximizing current and emerging teachnologies to remake the education system to serve the learner's of today. One of the highlights of his talk was his use of cool videos, like this one from Microsoft.

Next, I headed into Steven Katz's Teach with Video: Student-Created Digital Video Projects in Your Class. The session was full of Tweeps that I was meeting in person for the 1st time - people like @stevekatz @SimpleK12 @jswiatek @JMGubbins and more. Many of us have played around with video production, and some have even used it with our students. Steve has made it an integral part of the work he does with his students. His presentation was loaded with practical tips, techniques, and tools. I can't wait to get back to Tallahassee and start putting that Flip to good use. You can find Steve's presentation notes here.

Cindy Lane (@clane) and Lee Kolbert (@TeachaKidd) were next on my agenda with their Biggest User session, which was a rapid-fire stream of web 2.0 applications. I often left wanting in sessions like this because they usually cover the most basic and well-known apps. Cindy and Lee gave us several that I had little or no knowledge of. They also put together a nice wiki for their presentation which can be found here.

We wrapped up the day with a tweet-up at TGI Friday's. Jerry Swiatek (@jswiatek) and the girls from SimpleK12 (@SimpleK12) teamed up to pull it together. I enjoyed fianlly being able to put a real face on those tiny Twitter avatars. I looking forward to another great day on Friday.

I'll be posting with highlights of final day at FETC.

Getting ready for my first FETC

2010-01-11T00:58:00.005-05:00

In just over 48 hours, I'll be leaving frigid Tallahassee for the somewhat less frigid Orlando. Since missing it last year, I have been looking forward to my first FETC. Funny thing is I not sure what I'm really looking forward to. Looking over the list of concurrent sessions is enough to give anyone a headache. Picking up freebies and checking out the latest tech gadgets in the exhibit hall should be interesting. But I think what I'm looking forward to most is meeting and making personal connections with people that I know only through words on their blogs. People that I've communicated with just 140 characters at a time.

The road to FETC 2010 has been bittersweet. Last year, when I decided that I would not miss this year's conference, I submitted a presentation proposal. I was excited when that proposal was accepted, and surprised when I found out that I had been given a 3-hour ticketed workshop. There's something about people paying an extra $100 to listen to what I have to say that added to the pressure of the whole thing. The bitter part came when I found out just a couple of weeks ago that the ticketed workshops were not attracting as many people as expected, and that mine was one of several that was being scrapped.

After a few days of being bummed over getting the ax, I decided that the role of attendee instead of presenter may be better for my first go around. So tomorrow I'll start packing for an early morning trip to Orlando on Wednesday. And when I get back on Saturday, I'll start putting together my presentation proposals for next year.

See you in Orlando.

Speaking English - The new mania?

2009-05-31T18:34:00.003-04:00

Has the quest to learn English in places like China reached the "mania" level? Watch this and then tell me what you think.

NGS's Danny Edelson: Knowing Geography Facts is Not Enough

2009-03-30T22:16:00.002-04:00

When I pulled the latest issue of ArcNews out of my mailbox this afternoon, I was happy to see the first in what will be a regular column by National Geographic's vice president for Education, Danny Edelson. The column - Geo Learning - is the latest front in NGS's all-out war on geographic illiteracy. As you may have read here in the past, I am personally involved in that campaign through my work with the Florida Geographic Alliance and My Wonderful World.

As I prepare to head out to Jacksonville, Florida this Friday for the Florida Geographic Bee (sponsored by NGS) - and event that celebrates geography trivia - I was happy that Mr. Edelson rightly pointed out that "People don't need to know geography, they need to know how to do geography." Amen. I am certainly not knocking the geography bee format. I coordinate the bee at my school and I've been involved in the state bee for the past three years. I love trivia as much as anyone. The problem is that too many in education confuse the regurgitation of facts with actual geographic literacy. As a historian and history teacher, I see the same in much of history education. Kids today have access to more facts than ever before. Most kids at my middle school carry around that access in their pockets (i.e. their cellphones); but being able to use that information to draw conclusions and formulate opinions about current global issues is where we see deep deficiencies.

Unfortunately, the problem we see in geographic literacy and education is the same problem that pops up across the curriculum. I am not fundamentally opposed to standardized tests. I believe they do serve a purpose. The problem is that we have designed our education system to create good test takers. We pump our students full of disconnected and random facts and figures so that they can fill-in the correct bubble on an answer sheet. But what about analyzing, synthesizing, and problem-solving using those facts and figures? Those are the skills that we should be teaching. My students have no problem accessing more information than they can ever use, but they struggle when trying to formulate a coherent argument using that information.

I'm not suggesting here that we should abandon the teaching of important facts, but I am saying that the teaching of facts should serve what our real objective should be - teaching kids to think.

I applaud Mr. Edelson for distinguishing knowing and doing in his inaugural column. I think that arguments that focus on doing might gain more traction as we fight for the cause of geography education in our legislatures.

Did You Know? - Updated

2009-03-30T22:11:00.003-04:00

If you been to any of my presentations, you know that I often include the Karl Fisch classic "Did you know?" Well here's a nice updated version.

Change the Presentation, Not the Content

2009-03-24T21:23:00.003-04:00

How can we engage today's students with our content - the same content that we've delivered for years? Perhaps it's as easy as changing the way we present it. I can't remember the last time that I paid attention to the pre-flight presentation on any airline, but this guy would have captured my attention:

What a lesson this provides for teachers that keep doing the same thing year in, and year out.

Hat tip to Richard Byrne.

Sir Ken Robinson on "The Element"

2009-02-15T23:53:00.003-05:00

Back in November, I posted Sir Ken Robinson's TED talk entitled "Do Schools Kill Creativity?"

Here's his talk at RSA this month discussing his new book "The Element."

Enjoy!!

Bill Gates Unplugged at TED

2009-02-15T22:17:00.004-05:00

Love him or hate him, when Bill Gates talks people listen. You should too. Gates addresses just two of the issues that his foundation has been working on - malaria eradication and education (How do we make teachers great?). I think every school administrator should watch this - and then reward good teaching.

For video of the Q&A following his talk, click here.

If only we all taught like this

2008-12-30T14:41:00.002-05:00

Benjamin Zander, conductor of the Boston Philharmonic, provides inspiration for the new year.

@ Yahoo! Video

Enjoy!!

Annual Geography from Space contest ready for take-off

2008-11-15T07:30:00.001-05:00

The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum is getting ready to kick-off its annual Geography from Space Quiz contest. The contest dates coincide with Geography Awareness Week - November 16-22 - and offers a fun way to engage your students during this important week.

Want to practice or give your students more to explore, the quiz website has the past quizzes since 2000.

K-8 Virtual School Comes to Florida - Are we ready?

2008-11-11T10:09:00.000-05:00

If you would have asked me a year ago how I felt about the idea of a virtual school for k-12, I would have been excited about the idea. That's when it would have seemed impossible. Now that it is becoming a reality statewide in Florida, I'm so sure how I feel anymore.

The Orlando Sentinel reports:

A new law that takes effect next fall requires every district in the state to set up an online school for kindergarten through eighth-grade students. They won't have to get on the bus -- or even get out of their PJs -- to head to school at the family computer.

I can definitely see the potential here for those already involved in homeschooling. But do we really want a significant number of our kindergarten and early elementary students missing out on what the classroom has to offer? Will their parents take advantage of other avenues for social interaction? I am a bit uneasy about this. The techno-evangelist side of me wants to be excited.

I'd really like to know what you think.

Geography Awareness Week Website is Up and Running

2008-11-10T12:50:00.000-05:00

National Geographic has launched its Geography Awareness Week website, and it is loaded with ready-to-use lessons and activities. It's organized with a different theme for each day - Human Geography/Cultures on Monday, Physical Geography/Environments on Tuesday, Geotechnologies on Wednesday (this is the day to break out the GPS units), Global Hotspots on Thursday, and Careers in Geography to wrap-up the week on Friday.

The activities are designed with the non-geography teacher in mind. If you read my earlier post on the topic, you know that geographic illiteracy is a problem that is at the all-hands-on-deck point. As anyone who has taught about geology in an earth science class or the Europe of Shakespeare in a language arts class knows, geography reaches throughout the curriculum.

When you visit the GAW website, you'll find that NG has included a number of virtual field trips using Goggle Earth. Take this opportunity to introduce this technology to your students. When you get there, don't forget to lend your voice to the My Wonderful World campaign by filling out the info in the blue box. This is an easy way to show the world how important geographic literacy is.

Are we killing creativity?

2008-11-02T23:04:00.000-05:00

When I first saw Sir Ken Robinson's talk at TED, I seriously considered blogging about it. Unfortunately, I never quite got around to it. I really need to be a better blogger!!

Now is a great time to resurrect that idea. Jennifer Dorman did just that today on her Cliotech blog - by the way, one that I follow and recommend. In addition to posting and sharing the TED talk - which I'll also embed here - she tipped us off to a more recent Ken Robinson talk delivered this past April at the Apple Education Leadership Summit. Here are the links to the 2-part Apple talk, posted on Edutopia:

Part I

Part II

Here is the TED talk by Sir Ken Robinson:

I echo Dorman's dual-emotional reaction to these presentations - inspired and frustrated. Robinson should be speaking at every school district in America, because as he points out, this is not the problem of an individual teacher or school but a systemic problem that will only be solved through serious education reform. In fact, Robinson calls for a "transformation" rather then "reformation." Obviously, that will not happen - the nationwide speaking tour that is, but probably ed reform as well. I urge all readers to share this post with every educator (or person) that you know.

Boosting Your Brain with Every Click of the Mouse

2008-10-19T00:30:00.000-04:00

(Hat tip to Steve Hargadon)

The New York Times is reporting the good news - Surfing the Internet Boosts Aging Brains.

Like Steve Hargadon, I have assumed for some time now that my cognitive skills have improved as my time online has increased. The study focused on adults 55-70. It would be interesting to see how middle and high school students would fair in a similar study. What effect is the promotion and use of Web 2.0 technologies in my teaching having on the cognitive abilities of my students. I assume researchers would find similar results.

I'll be waiting patiently for the next study!! In the meantime - Surf's Up.

Geography Awareness Week - Never Needed More Than Now

2008-10-18T23:07:00.000-04:00

Geography Awareness Week is coming up from November 16-22, and it has never been needed more than now.

Florida, like most of the country, has aggressively embraced civics education. Now let me assure you, I am an advocate of enhanced civics education. Watch any of the late-night man on the street clips and it becomes painfully clear that Americans are woefully our of touch with the workings and institutions of their country. So I am excited about the opportunity to help correct this tragedy of American education.

But there is another tragedy that is getting less attention - that of the geographic illiteracy that has swept across our nation over the past several decades. Consider the 2006 Roper study on geographic literacy:

Young Americans answer about half (54 percent) of all the survey questions correctly. But by and large, majorities of young adults fail at a range of questions testing their basic geographic literacy.

Only 37% of young Americans can find Iraq on a map—though U.S. troops have been there since 2003.
6 in 10 young Americans don't speak a foreign language fluently.
20% of young Americans think Sudan is in Asia. (It's the largest country in Africa.)
48% of young Americans believe the majority population in India is Muslim. (It's Hindu—by a landslide.)
Half of young Americans can't find New York on a map.

from National Geographic

Unfortunately, geographic education has fallen victim to civics education overkill in many states. In Florida, big money has been thrown behind the civics education initiative. Former U.S. Senator Bob Graham (Dem) and former U.S. Representative Lou Frey have both established university-based institutes to promote the civics cause. With state social studies standards currently under revision, it appears that this high-powered lobby has won over standards writers. In Leon County, the move towards civics has pushed geography out of our middle school curriculum. In an age when knowledge of the world has become increasingly important, education leaders in Florida have turned their heads on the subject that delivers that knowledge.

National Geographic is seeking to fill the void - at least partially - left by the current wave of civics zealotry. Their campaign is called My Wonderful World (MWW) and seeks to engage today's kids by targeting not only teachers, but parents as well. Though I am currently teaching U.S history - and really enjoying it - I have been alarmed enough by current trends to take on the role of MWW Public Engagement Coordinator for my state. I encourage all readers of this post to visit the MWW website, sign-up for the campaign, and use the site to contact your legislators about this crisis.

If you have any questions about the My Wonderful World campaign or are looking for teaching materials (maps, posters, etc.), feel free to contact me at stephenveliz@gmail.com.

Here is the campaign PSA:

Image from George Mason University Gazette.

Stanford Business School Reports on Two Million Minutes

2008-08-23T15:09:00.000-04:00

From Bob Compton's Two Million Minutes Blog:

August 23, 2008

Published by the Stanford Graduate School of Business

The United States Can Learn from High School Students in India, China

May 2008

STANFORD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS —Most Americans have heard that the United States lags China and India in math and science education, but they often dismiss that reality, assuming that the leaders emphasize rote learning at the expense of teaching well-rounded original thinking.

Entrepreneur and venture capitalist Robert Compton says he carried those same assumptions until he traveled to India. There he found high school students as proficient in English literature and geography as they were in calculus. They had clear career plans and approached their goals with a focus he never saw in the United States, even in his own two daughters who were straight A students at an exclusive private school.

Realizing that no statistic could do justice to what he had seen on the ground, Compton launched a new career as filmmaker, documenting students’ high school curriculums and study habits in India, China and the United States.

The result was 2 Million Minutes, the film Compton screened on May 14 at the Graduate School of Business. He talked with MBA students about his concerns that the weaknesses in the U.S. school system today could handicap the entire American economy for generations to come, and how students could help bridge the disparity.

“When Finland was ranked number one in math and science education, I wasn’t so worried,” said Compton, president of medical device maker Sofamor Danek. “But when it’s the two largest countries in the world that have fast growing economies and people who are coming out of poverty and driven to achieve, I am worried.”

Compton cited a calculation from Stanford economist Eric Hanushek (the Paul and Jean Hanna Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution) that a nation’s gross national product growth correlates directly to the level of math and science scores achieved by its students.

Despite his own concern, Compton said the best response to this educational disparity is to forge better bonds with India and China. He criticized the United States for severely limiting the number of foreign engineers who could immigrate on H1B work visas, and he urged GSB students—some of whom take part in cooperative programs with the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore or China’s Tsinghua School of Economics and Management —to collaborate with overseas talents on new businesses. “We can not keep the brains at a distance,” he said.

The title, 2 Million Minutes, represents the approximate number of minutes in a four-year period, to show how different students spend their time. As the film goes back and forth between typical days in the three countries it shows American students attending football games in their high school’s brand new $30 million stadium, while Chinese students display medals won in math competitions. Indian students meet for teacher-led study sessions at 7 a.m. on Saturday mornings while their American counterparts gather at a friend’s house to casually study for a test with the television on and Grey’s Anatomy competing for their attention.

While the Americans attend sports, socialize, work in part-time jobs and study, their Chinese and Indian counterparts pretty much study nonstop. And while even the best American students say they don’t feel challenged in schools, the most brilliant in China and India are constantly challenged to learn more.

The average U.S. student, his film states, spends 900 hours in a classroom and 1,500 hours in front of the television. And, by the end of high school, Chinese students have spent twice as much time studying as Americans.

The experience led Compton to radically change his own daughters’ education incorporating more tutoring and to develop his own math testing system based on what he saw in India to better parse comprehension and identify areas of weakness.

But he said that nationwide, this was not a challenge that could be fixed quickly, since it would require a dramatic shift in culture and values. “The fault lies not in our schools but in ourselves,” he said. “We are a sports, recreation and leisure country. We need to lift academic and intellectual achievements at least on par with athletic achievements.”

As a first step, Compton has already started working with some communities to help them more publicly recognize and reward the best students. He said the United States needs to appreciate how valuable engineers will be in the future, not just to create better software but to rebuild a host of ordinary consumer products like washing machines to make them use water, space or some other resource more efficiently.

“To me, this is one of the most exciting times in history to be an engineer,” he said. “Everything will have to be reinvented.”
The speech and film screening were sponsored by the Business School’s Global Management Program.

—Andrea Orr

Famous Failures

2008-08-05T22:58:00.000-04:00

Looking for something to inspire the kids during the first week back in school:

Claiming blog on Technorati

2008-07-05T07:38:00.000-04:00

Technorati Profile

What is my role? Learner, teacher, or both?

2008-06-30T14:54:00.000-04:00

That is a question I often ask myself when considering where I fit in this movement toward providing today's kids with a 21st century education. Having only started teaching and thinking with this focus for about a year now, am I qualified to join the ranks of those that are teaching the teachers? So limited is knowledge of even the most basic web 2.0 tools on my campus that my year of experimentation positions me as a kind of expert at my school. That is great for building one's confidence, but then I engage with my growing PLN and the confidence begins to slip away.

Perhaps that's it. Engaging when no one else on campus is brings with it the responsibility to take on the role of leader and teacher. Are you facing any of the same questions? Do you have similar concerns and/or apprehensions? Or have you had to ask these questions? How did you handle your role? What role did you adopt? I love to hear your experiences.

Could it be? Veliz for Prez!!

2008-06-28T17:56:00.000-04:00

I'd love your support!!

FL is dropping support for National Board Certified Teachers - Who's to blame?

2008-06-27T10:22:00.000-04:00

The Tallahassee Democrat is reporting today that the State of Florida is dropping its financial support (app fees, mentor pay, etc) for our National Board Certified teachers, which will obviously mean less Certified teachers for Leon County. The reaction from local teachers, and our union leadership, will be predictable - state government leaders (meaning GOP leaders) are again attacking education. But is it the Republican Party's obvious disdain for public education (read in sarcasm here) that's at the heart of this situation? Perhaps, but it likely goes much deeper. Indulge me please.

Government leaders - and yes that means the big bad Republicans too - are naturally inclined to do what voters want. When the public wants to pay less in taxes, the legislature responds by cutting taxes. When voters support off-shore oil exploration, government leaders follow suit. Likewise, the views of many of our political leaders follow the attitudes of the country as a whole when it comes to education. Sure, voters always find it easy to talk about their support for education. For the uninformed citizen, it is easy to support any hair-brained idea that makes it onto the ballot (remember FL's class-size amendment - see here and here).

So rather than jump to shortsighted conclusions when it comes to this current issue involving Board Certification, as citizens we should first look in the mirror. If your mirror is fogged by partisan ideas, perhaps you should take a look at Bob Compton's film Two Million Minutes. The film clearly portrays a society that has become complacent with its position in the world economy. By comparing how students in the US, China, and India use their time in high school, Two Million Minutes puts the responsibility for our nations attitude toward education squarely in the lap of our citizens (i.e. parents).

Whether you agree with the overall message of Compton's film or not, it should at least force us to look deeper than the usual knee-jerk partisan reactions.

Here's the trailer for Two Million Minutes:

Tell me what you think.

Speading the Web 2.0 Message in NYC w/ Free to Choose Media

2008-06-26T11:54:00.000-04:00

This past weekend I was given the opportunity to spend a few days in the Big Apple with the Free to Choose Network at their Winning Ideas Weekend. Having been selected as the Izzit.org Teachers of the Year, Free to Choose picked up the tab for me, my wife, and one of my students for the trip.
I was given 3-5 minutes to speak about how I use the Izzit films with my classes (this was the basis of my award). I was glad to take the opportunity to explain how we moved beyond the standard classroom discussion of the topics, and into the realm of blogs and wikis. I was immediately approached by a few of the other winners about using these tools with their own classes. One teacher at a time is sometimes what it takes.

Click image below for complete Picasa album:

Izzit Teacher of the Year Awards Banquet - NYC

What does smart mean today?

2008-06-26T10:36:00.000-04:00

Thanks to Cathy Nelson for designing this great - and important - poster.

My Delicious Tag Cloud in Wordle

2008-06-25T09:55:00.000-04:00

Get yours at www.wordle.net

Web 2.0 Mosiac - Pretty Cool

2008-06-24T19:59:00.000-04:00

Web 2.0 Mosiac - Made up from Web 2.0 Logos. Check it out!!

New Blogging Home

2008-06-24T14:24:00.000-04:00

Well, I've finally completed a move to this new location. I will no longer post at Stephen's Teaching World. I will leave that site up, so old posts can be accessed at http://stephensteachingworld.blogspot.com/.

It is my intent to maintain a regular blogging schedule - beginning now and moving though the school year. We'll see how I do!!

Test Blog

2008-06-15T22:57:00.001-04:00

Test Blog this is a test. This is a test post. This is really a test post. The really is a test post. I mean it - really.