Day Eight

I need to write fast before the cable goes out. I can hear loud thunder nearby. Mother nature can put you back in the 2oth century with one bolt of lighting. I'm hoping the project that Carol, Brian and I come up with looks something like what is the horizonproject page http://horizonproject.wikispaces.com. They include a lot of what we have been talking about in the past week.

Day Six

My experience in and out of the Fish Bowl:

Out First- This was the first time I've used the fish bowl format. I found it hard to be both an active listener and commenter. I felt like I was in a chat room with a lot of experienced pros. I imagine that if I was a high school student this format would be right in my comfort zone.

In- The thought that other people are going to be commenting in writing on your presentation definitely makes you feel more like your in the spot-light. It makes you put more thought into your preparation. It definitely makes the task of reading a book in order to share it with others seem more meaningful (almost as if you arecollaborating) .

I have assigned summer reading books to my A.P. Environmental Science Classes for years and have never felt satisfied with the review sessions that we have. I plan to use this method this fall.

Thanks Pat

Day Five

Highlights from this weeks learning:

Use googlepedia plug in along side of google to get better search results.

Use Yahoo groups to enable a on going conversation between participants

Use Delicious for social book marking that can be accessed from any computer and shared with others

The mysterious rrs icon on my computer actually has a purpose and allows me to subscribe to a variety of media sources

A wiki is a group blog that anyone can add to or edit

pageflakes can be used to bring together many types of rrs feeds that can be shared.

The www can be used as a project tool for presenters, for shared communication, and a proof of truth clarifier.

Googledocs is similar to wiki but feels more like microsoft office

Wikispaces easily allows for links, revisions, extensions to other sites

Podcastalley is a podcast aggregator organized by type. Its possible the just subscribe to one subpart of the NYTimes

Gcast allows for podcasting via a cell phone for free!!

Protopage.com is similar to pageflakes

To get a free wikispace you must first sign up with edublogs

Myspace- social networking

Utube- user created content

Digg - collaborative decision making as to what is important news on the web

Horizonproject.wikispaces.com has great ideas for collaboration

wikimapia.org is a source for thematic maps

Eyespot.com allows you to add narration to videos

bubbl.us is an online concept map maker (inspiration)

Ted.com is a great source for speaker on recent topics ( wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales filmed 7/05, posted 8/06 discusses the strenghts of a collaborative encyclopedia)

Surveymonkey can be used as a rater

Summerizing all this information will greatly increase the chances that I will use these great resources with my students.

Day Three

Today was another eye opening experience. Who knew that ordinary folks like myself have the power to podcast and using a cell phone! Amazing. It was also a relief to see that wikis can be a good source of information when people care enough about topic. The evolution of heavy metal symbols was a good example. Wikis are powerful democratic tools that can give anyone who cares a voice. Our class rubric seems to be holding up when tested.

I listen to pod casts while running. I download audio related to mostly the environment and politics. I've been a political junky for years. This morning I listened to Living on Earth. It is a weekly public radio program not available in our area but easily accessible as a podcast. It's useful for staying in touch with current environmental topics. I'd love to blog more but I'm only on page 25 of a 550 page book that I need to have read by Monday.

Day Two

Progress is being made! Today we started fleshing out a basic outline for the class project. We also had a guest appearance that featured a rant on the DSTP. I feel a little closer to how I want the class to benefit my teaching. All of my ideas center around the communication power of the Internet.

Raw Ideas:

Current and important event reflections: Have students blog specific responses to articles, podcasts, video casts that either I or they have located. (nicenet)

Have groups pant a picture of a specific geographic region based on a theme. For example earthquke zones, volcanism, resource extraction, or population demographics. (pageflakes)


I must learn how to set up a central home page.

edu639sum07 Day One

My first attempt at blogging. This morning was revealing and confusing. I know that teaching from textbooks is obsolete but am not sure of how to replace them. I hoping this class will start a process that leads me in the right direction. The way students learn in todays classroom is to a large degree obsolete. Content is no longer confined to textbooks and libraries.

The goal I've set for myself in this class is to develop learning tools that help me transition from a text focused learning style to the vast amount of information available on the internet. I want to use the internet to allow students to communicate, collaborate and learn. My goal must include management techniques that allow me to be successful with a student load of up to 180 students.