Google Wave

Wow. Can I say that again? Wow.

Google Wave

This new Google concept is the future of online communication and I am REALLY excited about it. I see great power in bringing so many different forms of communication and collaboration together in one place and I like the graphic-centered interface.

You can sign up to be notified when it will be released or even to participate in the beta (which I did, of course).

I wrote the following haiku in tribute:

The tide rises up
The wave
Harbinger of spring

Hee, hee.

Web 2.0 the new Socialism?

An interesting article posted on FB by my cousin (yes, we're all geeks). It equates the collaborative nature of Web 2.0 tools (e.g., Google Docs, open source software, etc.) with socialism/communism in that the basic ideology is that everyone should have access to and share in the work.

What do you think?

Technology Integration Matrix

I stumbled on the Technology Integration Matrix today and think that it is an interesting tool for thinking about and evaluating our use of technology in the classroom. There are a lot of technology integration frameworks out there (my dissertation topic being one of them), but I like the usability of this framework and that it reminds me to make sure that I am using technology in a way that is Active, Collaborative, Constructive, Authentic, and Goal-Directed.

Evaluating myself on the matrix, I think my integration methods can be classified as follows:

Active: I would rate myself somewhere between Adaptation and Infusion. I try to encourage my students to select tools that will work best for the task they're trying to accomplish, but I do often require that they use certain tools.

Collaborative: I think I'm about the same here as above. Some of the tools I have my students use are collaborative while others are not. And I tend to require the use of certain tools just to make it easier on myself. I guess I need to be willing to introduce a number of tools and let my students choose which one best suits their needs and learning styles.

Constructive: I like to think that I'm between Infusion and Transformation on this one. I try to encourage my students to use technology tools to reflect, synthesize, make connections, analyze, etc. But I also use certain "push" technologies including PowerPoint, my class website, etc. And I'm not sure that my students always catch the vision of what I'm trying to have them do with the tools.

Authentic: Sadly, I'm at the adoption level on this one. I have my students use technology to create products, analyze scenarios, etc., but for the most part they aren't using the tools to actually solve real-world problems or contribute to the community. I definitely need to work on this one. How can I make my technology integration more authentic and meaningful?

Goal-Directed: Hmm...this one's a tough one to evaluate. I don't often explicitly ask my students to use technology to evaluate their progress, but I do ask them to reflect on an almost weekly basis. So, I guess I'd have to say that I'm at the Adoption level on this one. Another one to work on...

OK. So that's my self-evaluation according to the matrix. Do you agree? How are you doing?

Microsoft Publisher

Wait, a tech teacher is advocating Microsoft Publisher? Heck, yeah! I really like this program because it invites us as educators to think out-of-the-box about the types of products our students can create and encourages problem-based learning. Why have my students write a basic essay, country report, or book report when they could create an advertisement, brochure, newsletter, bookmark, business card, etc.? I also really like the ease-of-use that this program offers. As a teacher, I don't have to worry about a bunch of graphic design issues. I choose a template, choose a design, and that's it! This program caters to diverse learners and allows for differentiation and choice.

Start with a free, 60-day trial of Publisher if you don't already have it.

Here are a few more resources:

Publisher 2007 Tutorial

Projects and Examples

Publisher Lesson Plans

OK. Now it's your turn. How might you/do you use Publisher with your students or to improve your productivity? Let me know in the comments.

Inspiration

Inspiration and Kidspiration are two of my favorite tools for organizing content graphically. In fact, I used Inspiration to create some of the graphics for my dissertation! I like Inspiration for a number of reasons. First, it is very easy to use (which is always good if you're a busy teacher trying to use it with students!). Second, it allows me and my students to work visually or verbally, so it caters to different learning styles and also helps to differentiate instruction for students with special needs. Third, it has a lot of great export options so I can turn my graphic organizers into Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, graphics files, etc., thus making it easy to turn your planning document into a usable product. Fourth, it has numerous built-in templates on all kinds of topics, making it easy for me as a teacher to assign students to create a planning or concept document and ensuring a decent final product. I can also use Inspiration on my Interactive Whiteboard, allowing my class to collaborate on a document in real-time and save it for publication on our class website.

You can get free 30-day trial downloads of Inspiration and Kidspiration. You may even win a free copy!

Additionally, Inspiration has recently introduced an online, collaborative version of the software called Webspiration. This tool enables me and my students to work together to create a concept map. Hmm...I might have to try this out when I teach digital cameras on Thursday!

Here are some additional resources:

50 Uses for Inspiration and Kidspiration

Great compilation of ideas and links

Tutorial (PDF)

How could you use Inspiration with your students? I look forward to seeing your ideas under Comments!

Chastened by a student

OK, so a student emailed me this week and suggested that I start up a blog about all of this tech stuff and I felt a bit chagrined. Here I am requiring them to blog about all of this stuff and I'm not really doing it myself. So here I am, blogging about this stuff.

I guess my first step is to conceptualize what I want to have on this blog. Perhaps y'all could comment back and let me know what you would like to see. I'm thinking the following:

1. Profiles of cool tools and ways we can use them in the classroom
2. Tutorials
3. Articles
4. Surveys
5. Goings on including conferences and my own workshops and presentations

What do you think? Let me know what else I should add to the page...