July 2009 Blog Posts (175)

Upcoming eLearning Events

The following is a list of free online events that we believe will be of interest to learning professionals. If you have events that you would like to include, please contact: Tony Karrer

Added by Kevin Chilton on July 28, 2009 at 3:00am — No Comments

Are Webinars truly engaging?

I recently attended a webinar on facilitating interactive, engaging online webinars. Ironically, nearly all the good points provided in the webinar were not actually put in place during the session. There was essentially no interaction; the Q&A was only 5 minutes at the end of the session; there was nothing fun or engaging.

I was neither engaged, nor was I interacting with the system!

The live…

Continue

Added by Philip Rocca on July 27, 2009 at 6:32pm — 3 Comments

Engrade and report cards

Can someone please tell me how to make report cards from our engrade records. We will be using engrade schoolwide this year and I have to figure out how to make report cards (6 grades, different teachers). Excel is not my friend, so any step by step help would be most appreciated!

Added by Jan Murray on July 27, 2009 at 6:18pm — No Comments

Remix Rap: Lupe Fiasco

Here’s a great mashup of history and cutting-edge culture: At a recent Voices of a People’s History event, hip-hop artist Lupe Fiasco gave life to two very different but powerful pieces of the American story. First Lupe read an excerpt from an anti-war leaflet written during the Vietnam conflict by two civil rights activists. Then, he stirred up the crowd with the chorus of Public Enemy’s 1989 hit “Fight the Power.” Watch the video below, and read on to learn more about the pieces that Lupe… Continue

Added by Erika Johansson on July 27, 2009 at 4:48pm — No Comments

2nd Grade Open C. reading

Hello all,
We live in Costa Rica, and are planning our return to the U.S. in Dec. I would like any info on teaching reading and math (second grade) using Open C. We have Boy/ Girl 6yr Twins. We will be intering the school sys. in Jan., missing 3.5 months of that yr.
\Any ideas?

Added by Arthur on July 27, 2009 at 3:57pm — No Comments

Comprehension

I'm reading the following for a course I am taking,

schools need to be able to provide high-quality instruction in both word-level and comprehension skills in order to meet the diverse needs of students who continue to struggle with reading in late-elementary, middle, and high school

and it occurs to me that this statement appears perfectly okay. But is it? If literacy is communicating and comprehending using a medium, then isn't… Continue

Added by Durff on July 27, 2009 at 8:30am — No Comments

Just Don't Throw Us Under the Bus

There is most certainly a very interesting tidal wave on the horizon. And in the mighty seas that are swirling these days in education, that's no small feat (to create a potential tsunami that is teacher evaluation, that is. See here for the Obama chides California article which this blog post references).

Now, I have no problem with accountability.… Continue

Added by Alan Sitomer on July 27, 2009 at 6:30am — 2 Comments

Action Research Project direction

Below is the problem statement, I am going with.

The problem is that students enrolled in online courses fail to effectively take ownership of their learning experience because technology tools are not being focused on developing metacognitive skills. If anyone runs across any relevant data- put me on!

Thanks

Added by Don Robinson on July 26, 2009 at 4:00pm — No Comments

What Makes Technology Web 2.0?

Recently I attended a conference where we discussed collaborative tools. Many at the conference had never used a Ning, Twitter, Facebook, Delicious, Diigo, or other… Continue

Added by Glen Westbroek on July 26, 2009 at 6:00am — 3 Comments

How to Crack a Lost Windows Password

(From my blog, Ask a Tech Teacher. Hacking is always a popular post.

For all you out there who have forgotten your password (I see a slew of hands), read this. I know I’m a tech teacher and supposed to be able to rattle off the solution to every problem in the geekosphere, but my buddy,… Continue

Added by Jacqui Murray on July 25, 2009 at 4:40pm — No Comments

Join me today at noon ET- Telling stories through digital threads

Telling Stories through Digital Threads

Story told on Live Classroom 2.0

Join me online Saturday July 25th on Live Classroom 2.0 (TODAY)

Session Location: Elluminate – http://tinyurl.com/cr20live

Day: Saturday July 25, 2009

Time: 9:00am Pacific/ 10:00am Mountain/11:00am Central/ 12:00pm Eastern

To follow on Twitter: #liveclass20

The entire session should be about 60 minutes. This short 20 minute presentation will explore the nature of what I… Continue

Added by Chris Bigenho on July 25, 2009 at 6:30am — No Comments

DIY Videos for Class Projects & Events

Reposted from Meg's Notebook

A number of educators are starting to use video technology to capture everything from class drama projects, to school activities and outings, or to make available supplementary notes or how-to instructions for assignments and projects. These video-taped items are typically made available to students via classroom computer(s) or the library's computers, however, many teachers are now taking advantage of… Continue

Added by Meg H on July 25, 2009 at 12:33am — No Comments

"Students as Digital Citizens in Classroom 2.0"

I found this article to be very interesting, in that students can really learn how to be responsible and thoughtful citizens in and out of the classroom. I love the topic in the article on “Communicating with Peers”; the students seem to be learning the value of, and how to act responsibly and respectful to all cultures. The e-pals project is a wonderful platform for students and teachers to immerse themselves into the lives/cultures of other people around the world, in order that they may be… Continue

Added by Ginger Annette Coburn on July 24, 2009 at 8:10am — No Comments

Good ol' fashioned "I Give a Damn-ness"

I just ate a hotel restaurant -- not a fancy hotel by any stretch, very much a burger and sandwich type of place -- and was stricken by what seems to be a far receding quality in our country today.

Good ol' fashioned "I Give a Damn-ness".

Our waiter had it. He was friendly, nice, attentive, jocular and genuinely affable. But not intrusive. Not heavy-handed. He was just a notably good waiter, which is not rare if you are eating at a 5 star restaurant, but… Continue

Added by Alan Sitomer on July 24, 2009 at 6:30am — No Comments

Blogging for Education

I have a chance to win $500 for the cause of my choice (you could, too. Just click my blog for the link). I have so many, I want your input. What do you think I should talk about? Here are the details. Read them and then post a comment. Thanks, friends!

tnk_educationSummer Fun: What Happens When You Mix an Intern, $500, and a Non-Profit for Education?

The story: One of our… Continue

Added by Jacqui Murray on July 23, 2009 at 11:24am — No Comments

New online learning consultancy in Adelaide is a product of the GFC

I am very pleased to let the community members here know that I have started my new business called We-Learn providing mentoring, project management and instructional design services to businesses and Registered Training Organisations in and around Adelaide, South Australia or further abroad where needed.

We-Learn became a product of the GFC after I was retrenched… Continue

Added by Rhys Moult on July 23, 2009 at 9:22am — No Comments

I Am Not an Idiot

I teach a Multimedia class where small group brainstorming sessions are a regular event. One day, a few year ago, two or three students sat in the back of my room trying to come up with an idea for a future project, As is the norm, the noise level was starting to rise as the ideas began to flow. All was well. I had no sooner turned my attention to another student when I heard the words, "You're an idiot" explode out of the mouth of one of the… Continue

Added by Joe Fatheree on July 23, 2009 at 9:02am — No Comments

" What Do You Want To Become?" :A Reflective Classroom Teacher 29

Thank you for reading my thoughts. I hope in some small part I have provided information that will make you a more effective teacher.

What are the goals you have set for your personal well being? The most frequent answers we receive from future teachers to that question are peace, joy, happiness and success in my personal and professional life. These are admirable goals that are worth pursuing. However, when we speak of what you want to become, we speak of a much deeper connotation. How is… Continue

Added by Ronald Bovill on July 23, 2009 at 6:42am — No Comments

" Summers Off" :A Reflective Classroom Teacher 28

We envy those of you who are just starting this venture. We truly wish that we were just starting our journey. Mr. Bovill would like to state the very worst day he ever had as a teacher; was still pretty good. It is the only job in the world where your heart can be broken and fixed in an instant.

We have worked with things and we have worked with people; we much prefer working with people. We both needed the relationships that were created in the classroom.

Without sounding too… Continue

Added by Ronald Bovill on July 23, 2009 at 6:39am — No Comments

" Teachers Ethics" :A Reflective Classroom Teacher 27

As educators we are in a position of great responsibility and power. We are the adults and in the teacher/student relationship. Students look to us to model correct behavior in our professional and personal lives. Like it or not, we are placed on a pedestal in the communities that we teach and we are held to a higher standard than most. That is how it should be. Because of the uniqueness of our positions, we are never expected to be ordinary in any facet of our lives. If that is frightening to… Continue

Added by Ronald Bovill on July 23, 2009 at 6:37am — No Comments