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Tony Vincent’s Learning in Hand – iPad
Learning in Hand features project ideas, classroom management strategies, and resources for teaching with mobile technology – including iPod touch, iPad, and iPod.
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Unlike other social bookmarking sites, Pearltrees gives you a visual way to see and share your bookmarks. It also helps to consolidate bookmarks between devices.
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Feedly is a social reader for your RSS feeds. It works across multiple devices and integrates with Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and Gmail.
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Flipboard creates personal magazines from RSS feeds that you can read on your iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch. It will even integrate with your Twitter account and pull in tweets to help keep track.
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If you are looking for a way to read lots of blogs and web sites from your iPad or iPhone, Google Currents could help. It is an RSS reader that saves content for off-line reading.
Resources added to Diigo (weekly)
Filed under Education
Clay Shirky on SOPA & PIPA
Thanks to Richard Byrne of Free Technology for Teachers for posting this video to his blog. Definitely worth a watch.
Filed under Food for Thought
Stop SOPA & PIPA. Start Teaching Creative Commons.
Dear Senator Reed, Senator Whitehouse, and Representative Cicilline,
I would hope that you have been met with an onslaught of communications in the past several days regarding the current SOPA and PIPA bills. As a voting constituent, and maybe more importantly, as an educator, I am writing you to oppose these bills. I’m sure that you have read dozens of letters regarding the need to stop piracy. Yes, it is an important issue. However, this legislation does not appear to be the solution.
For the past decade, the Internet has brought enormous resources to the educational community and revolutionized the ways in which we, as teachers, can prepare our students for the challenges of the 21st Century. However, the core of the values that we have strived to inculcate in our students – to synthesize, analyze, communicate, collaborate, and create – are all threatened by this bill.
On June 23, 2008, Professor Michael Wesch presented An Anthropological Introduction to YouTube at the Library of Congress. In this presentation, he discussed the anthropological impact of Web 2.0 – especially YouTube – and how it is changing the media-scape. This was almost four years ago, and while, as educators, politicians, businesses, and parents, we have embraced the freedoms of this technology, we still have not addressed the fundamental ethical dilemma that it presents: piracy.
Similarly, in November of 2008, Harvard Law Professor Lawrence Lessig is quoted as having said:
“If we had done that [achieve the objectives of copyright] a decade ago, we would have had 10 years of artists getting more money, we’d have fewer competition rules for new businesses to figure out how they can create great new products from these digital technologies but, most important for me, we wouldn’t have a decade of our kids being criminals…. Raising a generation of pirates is “corrosive and corrupting of the rule of law” – Source: Anthony Doesburg: Copyright law seen as stifling creative voice
So, for years, we have been advised that change needs to happen – that the traditional copyright laws are no longer sufficient in a networked, collaborative world. However, despite the warnings, the court proceedings, and the suggestions of organizations such as The Berkman Center for Internet and Society, the only group to have gained significant traction is the media industry looking to protect “the way it’s always been” and their pockets. If the medical, education, or business industries maintained such a position we would have… healthcare reform, education legislation, and Occupy movements.
Rather than impose mass legislation that will cripple the creativity, ingenuity, and economy that have come to characterize the 21st Century, why not educate the public about fair use, creative commons licenses, and copyright law. Why not examine the legislation (the last copyright amendment addressing the “Digital Millennium” was 1998)? Why not require schools, colleges, and universities to teach digital citizenship?
Senator Reed, Senator Whitehouse, and Representative Cicilline, these bills are not the answer. Join the bipartisan group of Senators Wyden, Moran, Cantwell, and Paul in their opposition of PIPA. Work with industry and academia to find a solution, not a set of regulations that could potentially cripple the future.
Sincerely,
Beth Holland
Resources used to research writing this letter:
Filed under Food for Thought
Lessons Learned from a Creative Commons Search
Recently, I’ve done a lot of image searching for the EdTechTeacher blog. While it seemed like a great idea to choose a WordPress theme with an image slide show, it also meant that I had to find some images. In particular, I’ve been looking for pictures to support articles written by Justin on EdTechResearcher.
Here’s where the challenge lies. What images best illustrate open education resources, digital equity, and educational transformation? Since none of these concepts are tangible, I tried classroom, computer classroom, and then 21st Century Classroom. I’m not exactly sure what I expected to find, but it certainly wasn’t what I discovered.
I wish that I could even say the issue was the limited results due to the fact that I looked only for Creative Commons licensed images, but I tried searching all of Google as well. Since “a picture’s worth a thousand words”, I decided to create an Animoto video to show what I found. Plus, we’ve been teaching Animoto in our T21 courses at EdTechTeacher, so I thought I should give it a shot. Anyone else notice an issue? Do these spaces really seem to support 21st Century learning?
Special Thanks to We Are Augustines!
Another cool thing to know…. Animoto comes with a great selection of music licensed for the web, but none of it really fit with my video. Lately, I’ve become a huge fan of We Are Augustines and thought it would be really cool to use the first part of Chapel Song. While I know that I could have just brought my version from iTunes into GarageBand and created the 35 second clip that I needed, that would have defeated the purpose of making sure that my video was correctly licensed. If one of my students had come to me with this idea, I would have told them to contact the band and ask for permission, so I did. I emailed both the band as well as manager, Arwen Hunt. Sure enough, I got permission. Thanks again, Arwen!
If you like Chapel Song, you can buy it, and the rest of Rise Ye Sunken Ships, on iTunes.
Filed under Food for Thought
Resources added to Diigo (weekly)
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Recently, I read a post looking for a kids version of Good Reads. This was the suggestion.
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This seems a lot like Shelfari. Could be a good way to increase motivation with older students who don’t always read for fun.
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iPad: eBooks X LibriVox = Free Read Along
EdTechTeacher’s Greg Kulowiec wrote this great post about using LibriVox to find free audio books for iPad/iPhone.
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This app allows you to film the same scene from multiple devices and then combine the footage into a single video from the app itself. ($5.99)
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Creating Custom Digital Content for iPad: Educators Have Options
This article from I Education Apps Review lists out a series of apps to use for creating custom digital content. Not all are free, but the list presents some interesting options.
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SmarTots – We recommend the Best Educational Apps for your Child
This site makes recommendations for young children and helps guide parents towards educational apps.
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The LitCharts Library provides chapter summaries to some of the most frequently read books in high school English curricula. It also features an iPhone App for reading. Teachers should be aware of this site as it bills itself as “the faster, downloadable alternative to SparkNotes.”
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This is an incredible site to use with mobile devices equipped with a QR Code scanning app. You type up to 100 characters and it generates a QR code that then plays an audio clip. You can designate 1 of 40 languages. While it does not translate, it does speak in the target language. Could be a great resource for foreign language teachers.
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Photo Pin : Free Photos for Your Blog or Website via Creative Commons
Since Google created its new image search, I’ve been really frustrated. To do an advanced search, you now have to scroll to the bottom of the page, go back to “basic search”, and then choose advanced search. Typically, I look for this feature because I want Creative Commons licensed images that can be reused on either my blog or the EdTechTeacher blog. While I feel like I heard about Photo Pin before, I’m glad that I rediscovered it today – thanks to Richard Byrne at Free Technology for Teachers. This is a great resource for searching for images licensed for reuse.
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Explania – animated explanations & instructional videos
Ever get stumped by a question? Explania may have the answer. Animations range from the history of football to the inner workings of the human heart. This is definitely a good resource and could be a good model for student technology projects requiring them to demonstrate understanding of complex topics.
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The lite, free, version of this web service lets you create presentations and import them from either PowerPoint or Google Docs. There is also an iPad/iPhone app.
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A great blog from an educator in Maryland who is teaching with iPods and iPads.
Filed under Education
Revisiting the “Comma Zone”
My first foray into using technology in the classroom came in 1999. Desperate for a way to help my 9th grade English students understand the content of the dust-ridden, antiquated text book foisted on me by my predecessor, the Director of Technology suggested that I try using PowerPoint. I had never heard of PowerPoint, and after a few hours of trial and error discovered that it was a fabulous animation tool! Little did I know that I was supposed to have used it for static bullet points rather than flying clip art.
To meet my students’ learning needs, I used the software to create a dynamic set of self-paced tutorials to teach them how to properly punctuate with commas. At the time, the Twilight Zone had made a resurgence, hence the creation of The Comma Zone.
In a place between phrases and clauses lies the comma zone…..
Using a single floppy disk, I loaded the file onto all of the computers in the lab. Then, I took my students during class time and had them work through a series of accompanying worksheets as they interacted with the slideshow. They could ask questions at any time, and had ample time to complete the work. Those who flew through the exercises could then create their own Comma Zone scenarios.
At the time, this was a high tech approach to teaching. I didn’t enter the situation with the thought of using technology, I just desperately needed a way to ensure that my students could meet the desired learning goal of being able to properly punctuate a sentence. Differentiation, multi-modal presentation, and enrichment were not driving forces for this activity – especially since these were all foreign concepts at that time.
I retold that story today while introducing the concept of Backwards Design at an EdTechTeacher workshop. On the way home, I thought about my students’ learning challenge as well as the technology now available. If I redesigned the whole unit, what would it look like….
- No PowerPoint - instead, I would use Google Presentation so that my students could also access the file from home as review.
- No Paper Worksheets – from my Google Presentation, students could take online quizzes and surveys. This would let me gather real-time assessment data. Personally, I like Google Forms over something like Survey Monkey. However, especially if my students are using mobile devices such as iPads or Android tablets, a student response system like Socrative would be even more effective.
- Grammar Blog - the 21st Century Comma Zone would be posted to a blog. After completing the work in class, or maybe even at home, students could post their own examples as comments.
Actually, rather than spend an entire class period with students working through an animated activity, I would probably Flip the class. My students would access my grammar blog and complete the Comma Zone (or any other similar units) online for homework. During class, they would then demonstrate their understanding of what they learned by creating their own grammar tales, presenting their knowledge to the class, or integrating their new skills into their writing.
Maybe it is worth revisiting the Comma Zone. If only I hadn’t saved that file on a floppy disk!
Filed under Education, Food for Thought
Resources added to Diigo (weekly)
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This free app lets you easily annotate and share images, maps, and ideas. It is part of Evernote, so it is designed to easily help you remember and share your information.
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Stuck On Earth – Free World Travel Guide
This free app combines the best of Panoramio and Google Maps into one app. Think of using this to export the settings of novels, the geography or culture of a historical location, or a virtual field trip.
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This is a great, web-based tool for creating comics. It seems to have most of the features of Comic Life and the benefits of being web based.
Filed under Education
My Diigo Bookmarks 01/05/2012
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Stuck On Earth – Free World Travel Guide
This free app combines the best of Panoramio and Google Maps into one app. Think of using this to export the settings of novels, the geography or culture of a historical location, or a virtual field trip.
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This is a great, web-based tool for creating comics. It seems to have most of the features of Comic Life and the benefits of being web based.
Filed under Education
Social Media Revolution 2011
A few weeks ago, Richard Byrne, of Free Tech for Teachers, posted Social Media Revolution 2011, which is actually a post of someone else’s. The point being, through social media – I received Richard’s post via Google Reader as well as @rmbyrne and on FaceBook – I found this video on the revolution created by social media.
Sure, it is – in some ways – a twist on much of what appeared in Did You Know 4.0, which is really an evolution of Shift Happens from Xplane, but isn’t that what makes this interesting?
In the past six years, social media has changed how we communicate, how we share information, and even how we learn. Lately, I’ve been looking at the impact of mobile technology on research, reading, and learning. However, the bigger question may be how does mobile, social technology impact research, reading, and learning? Food for thought…
Filed under Education, Food for Thought
My Diigo Bookmarks 12/18/2011
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Study Hall – Apps for Mobile Social Learning
This site provides both a social network for your class as well as iOS/Android/Facebook apps to support learning outside of school. Unlike other study apps, this one encourages teachers and students to collaborate and engage via their Study Hall social network
Filed under Education
