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It was brought to my attention this evening by a friend from my days in Alice Springs that there is a new video site out on the web - and it's for Australians with our content. TeachersTV has extended its reach from the UK to our shores.
You will need to register to access the site, there are a number of videos however over time I am sure this will grow especially once this site gets out and about. Check it out - thanks Wayne.
I need your help, the podcast I do with Darrel Branson called the EdTechCrew needs your help. We have constructed a survey about software and we need you to help fill it in. It is very short, easy to do and completely confidential - please take the time to check it out:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=l7yJs0sT6kHDRS8NtBBEuw_3d_3d
If you feel the need please send the link to the survey or to this blog to your friends to get them involved as well. We are hoping to get a good sample size of over 1000 people.
Thank You
Tony
Here is another one of those "plain english" video's developed by the guys at CommonCraft Show, the simplicity of the video and use of basic props is fantastic. As teachers and students we can learn a lot from this approach - easy to make and share and provides a wealth of information.
This video is podcasting - after watching it why not check out our podcast "Ed Tech Crew"
For a very long time (actually from my secondary school days when I completed an English project) I have been interested in using video and audio to capture the memories, stories and experiences of our elderly Australians. Simply to try and collect the rich history about what lives were like in our past. Each year we are fast losing these memories with the fading of minds and passing of these Australians.
I have always enjoyed the movie Schindler's List - simply for the story and difference one person made during such a terrible time in our world history. It is from this movie that Steven Spielberg established The Shoah Foundation to videotape and preserve the testimonies of Holocaust survivors and witnesses. And it is an extension of this idea that has always captivated me.
One of my long held dreams is to enable our students (anyone really) to go out into our communities and start to collect these stories, memories and experiences of our elderly and to then use technology to store and make available these stories - with the ability to link related and common elements so that anyone looking for specific ideas and topics can view multiple ideas. I have always envisioned this process taking place with either a video camera or audio recoding device, for me these technologies are now at a price point and access point that this activity could easily be started and undertaken on a large scale and I want to get things happening. I have always been a hoarder and collector of things that I think may become important or valuable in the future - and to me the collection of these memories is so important , not because we think we may do with them now but what future generations may want to do and use in the future.
This has all come into sharp focus for me because I have been starting to develop an interest in my family history, which really kicked off three and half years ago with the passing of my grandmother, someone who I later found out had such a magical and wonderful life - most of which I had never heard nor had ever had the chance to talk with her about. It is this loss for me that has driven this idea further. On the passing of my grandmother I was given some papers and materials that she had collected from other family members about our history and what an interesting story (for me anyway).
One of my responsibilities pass to me is the care of our family medals from relatives that fought in the two world wars. It is my great grandfather who fought on the Western front that has triggered all these memories. Whilst I was in Echuca with friends I was reading the Weekend Australian newspaper and there was an article in the paper entitled "2000 sacrificed on worst day of butchery" which talks about a tragic unnecessary slaughter at a place called Fromelles in France. In that article is a list of all the solders killed on that day, and my great grandfather was one of them. Upon further investigation I have since found that the Australian War Memorial is try to collect the images of all Australian that have fallen in war (Roll of Honour Photographs) and that from the 2000 soldiers that died that day in Fromelles - there are only 17 images. As of today there are 18, I have photo's of my great grandfather that I will send to the war memorial to be copied and placed on public record. And it is this link and effort to collect our history that has again sparked my interest.
My ideas, funding ideas and structure is still being developed, if you are interested in being involved please contact me @ tony@itmadesimple.com
Lest We Forget
I thought I would post this one on my blog simply to try and ensure that all schools and educators are aware that Google Earth Pro can be accessed by educators for free. I picked this news up from my friend and fellow podcaster Darrel the ICTGuy - who spoke about the development on our podcast the EdTechCrew. If you would like to get access to Google Earth Pro to use in your classroom then visit the following blog post to get started - http://www.ncs-tech.org/?p=783.
Another update from the crowd at Spore, a new video has been released that goes into creature creation and talks about the creativity players will have in the game. The interesting this about the video is the creature and transport development applications, there is lots here to get people excited about the game. For me as a teacher the excitement comes with the fact students will be able to develop and test creature hypothesis, investigating the growth, communication, socialisation and colonisation aspects and all the decisions that go along with these areas.
Just a quick post for the start of the week, this one came out a few days ago. Google has updated their Google Earth Software to version 4.3. The clip below gives a quick overview of the new features, it is US centric but you get the idea.
In the classroom, for presentations and for business intelligence and planning; Google Earth and Google Maps offer a great resource that allows us to see our planet in a vastly different way. If you have the time check out the site Wayfaring.com, this site takes the Google maps plotting idea and makes it a lot simpler for children and adults to plot locations, create routes and mark points of interest.
For this weeks funny I had to add this little clip from YouTube. It shows that anyone can record a smart, witty and educational video and share it with the world and with over a million visits that some serious mathematical rap viewing.
And our educational authorities block these sites.... (Apologies to those who are blocked from seeing this at their school)
One of the things I have always disliked about interactive white boards was the cost - and for most schools that means only installing them in one or two rooms to start with and then slowly growing the numbers, which limits access by other teachers and students. And then typically IWB's are installed at the teachers height not the height of the students and so students need to either step up or miss out on full access for the board. And for me the whole point is to engage students and teachers - not just teachers, but most times I see IWB's it is with a teacher using old teaching strategies with new technologies.
I think IWB's are another tool that can be used in the classroom, however when I work with schools I try to show them other ways to create the IWB experience without the full cost (currently around $5000 each in Aust). One school I have worked with has put a large screen LCD in each class and uses blue tooth mice, keyboards and graphics tablets to enable students and teachers to all participate. For the school it means at all students and staff are exploring and sharing conversations around discovery, strategies and applications with these technologies as a whole group - which is something that helps in the change and growth process.
Well it looks like the IWB's might start to become a little cheaper or alternatively open source software and other low cost tools might change the playing field.
This video of using a Wii remote to make an interactive white board is something all teachers, school leaders and parents much watch. It will not be long before lower cost cheaper alternative IWB's start to make there way onto the market - something to think about.
The following sites are a must to follow up to get access to the software to create this experience yourself, and if you do not want to buy a Wii for your school (another story) then a Wii remote in Australia will set you back about $70 at the most.
Wii Whiteboard and other projects: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~johnny/projects/wii/
Connecting your Wii to your Mac: http://www.wiiliketopodcast.com/wiiteachyou/connecting_your_wii_remote_to_a_mac
Connecting your Wii to your PC: http://www.wiili.org/index.php/How_To:_BlueSoleil
Please let me know how you go if you give it a try.
Last night on the Australian 60 Minutes there was a story on Cyber Bullying. While this is an important issue and needs more public discussion and eduction last nights show was a very poor attempt to discuss and raise this issue, it was something more akin to the typical TodayTonight and A Current Affair offerings.
One of the things that I am starting to change my mind on relates to a statement made at the start of the show that said " student know way more than we do" meaning adults/parents. While this off hand remark would have everyone nodding, my recent experiences in schools (secondary) is that the majority of student certainly know a lot more than their parents about the online world, and they certainly do not have the fear or trepidation when trying new things or communicating with others online. But student do lack the skills and knowledge to successfully communicate with people - they are missing the knowledge and information to ensure that they know how to be a successful and responsible cyber citizens. Last nights show really missed a good opportunity, but was expected given the shock/horror approach taken by these shows today.
If I were to guess, it will not be too long before we see a panel session on 60 Minutes with so called experts talking about Cyber Bullying and the growing epidemic. Lets just make sure we make the most of the opportunity.
As an parent and teacher we need to be talking to our children/students and ensuring that they have the knowledge of how to act online - and that means parents taking the time to spend time with your children. Nothing new, nothing magical but something very special.
