Introductions

Please introduce yourself, let us know a little bit about you, and where you are from.

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Laurie Korte on December 29, 2007 at 6:54am

Thanks Anne. Moodle is a Content Management System (CMS) or Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). It is similar to BlackBoard or WebCT but free open source. Teachers use it to enhance learning beyond the classroom walls and I use it to offer professional development at the convenience of the teachers 24/7. Check out http://moodlemeet.ning.com to see what a bunch of us discuss and do with it.
Laurie Korte

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Permalink Reply by Sue Palmer on December 29, 2007 at 10:47am

Hi Laurie-

Our tech director is looking into switching from the BOCES provided Schoolwires system to a Moodle site. This past summer I created a content management site in Drupal at www.masterymaze.com. I would be curious to know how it compares to Moodle. Drupal is also open source and I was told it is better for media than Moodle, and as a result I chose it as my platform. I am creating video podcasts. The site evolved into a learning community site to be used by the world. We are only up a couple of months and are focusing on getting the word out this new year. Please let me know what you think. Thanks for the info.

Sue P aka The Maze

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Permalink Reply by Laurie Korte on December 29, 2007 at 8:20pm

Hi Sue,
I don't have any information about Drupal's content management site. Moodle has so much support and so many people developing ideas I haven't found an end. Please feel free to visit a Ning with a bunch of "moodlers" discussing what they do with it at http://moodlemeet.ning.com
Laurie

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Permalink Reply by Anne Pemberton on December 29, 2007 at 6:21pm

Laurie,

When you said it is a newer application of Blackboard, I know what you are about.

I suspect, that many teachers will put their courses online "as is", but many more will revise their courses, especially adding new resources. Tell your teachers, especially elementary and special ed teachers, to check out the resources on http://www.educationalsynthesis.org ... Of special interest are the reading books (My Own Books) which are individualized, then read online or printed into a booklet. The Famous Americans is another popular resource. You may want to tell your special ed teachers that My Own Books came from an experiment to involve an autistic nephew into reading and history. Andrew loved the books about HIS adventures in history and other areas.

Anne

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Permalink Reply by Mathew Needleman on December 29, 2007 at 10:52am

Welcome Nick!

Thank you for setting up the media literacy group!

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Permalink Reply by Sue Palmer on December 29, 2007 at 11:02am

Hi Nick and welcome.

I teach secondary social studies and this is a very important topic that I try to cover as much as I can in my class. I am glad you are focusing on it. Students today do not understand the differences between many types of media and information in general which they receive. This is something which we need to cover as teachers. Great stuff on your ning. I will join as soon as I get a minute later.

Feel free to see our site as well. Thanks!

Sue P aka the Maze

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Permalink Reply by Jeremy Brown on December 29, 2007 at 10:16pm

Hi, everyone! I'm Jeremy Brown. I am a special education teacher in Rockville, Maryland, USA. I teach young children (grades K-5) with autism. I also do some co-teaching in science with the general education teachers in my building. Instructional and assistive technologies are professional interests of mine. I try to incorporate technology, especially Web 2.0 tools, whenever it would be beneficial for my students.

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Permalink Reply by Sue Palmer on December 30, 2007 at 11:02pm

HI Jeremy and welcome.

I am a gen ed social studies teacher who co teaches as well. I have all inclusion classes and I am in the last throws of my special ed cert. Because of the difficulties my students have faced in passing the standardized tests in NY, I started podcasting and using web 2.0 tools. It has transformed my classroom and results! There are many things we can do to address learning styles and reach all the kids we have. I recently launched a learning community site to share my work and facilitate collaboration! Feel free to explore and use it if helpful! I am also looking for collaborators to add and share content. Good luck!

Sue P aka the Maze

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Permalink Reply by Beth Poss on March 29, 2008 at 11:08am

Hi Jeremy! I am new to Classroom 2.0 also! Nice to see a familiar face here:)
Beth

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Permalink Reply by Anne Mirtschin on March 29, 2008 at 3:46pm

Hi Beth, Hope you are enjoying your time so far with classroom2.0. When I joined there was 1 familiar face, too. Now I have lots of them from the new friends I have made. I have been a member for 8 months now and have learnt so much from it. I teach grades 4-10 information technology and have been able to introduce many web2.0 tools and collaborative projects to my classroom. Have a look around at the members, and make friends with people who have similar interests and we look forward to hearing more from you.

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Permalink Reply by Linda Rice on December 30, 2007 at 12:36pm

Hi all,
I'm Linda a middle school principal from Colorado. After seeing Warlick's presentation I thought I'd better start entering this new era of technology collaboration. So I'm just beginning to explore and learn.