E-Learning Journeys

Finding new global paths, sharing ideas and resources

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Across My Desk (weekly)

• 21st_century_skills_english_map.pdf (application/pdf Object)
21st Century Skllls Map for English
tags: 21stcenturyskills, education, acrossmydesk
• 280 Slides - Create & Share Presentations Online
Create beautiful presentations, access them from anywhere, and share them with the world. With 280 Slides, there's no software to download and nothing to pay for – and when you're done building your presentation you can share it any way you like.
tags: web2.0, online, acrossmydesk, presentation, slideshow, powerpoint
• Measuring 21st-century skills
To remain competitive in an increasingly global, knowledge-based economy, today’s employers need graduates who are adept at so-called “21st-century skills” such as using information and communications technology (ICT) to gather and assess information, collaborate, innovate, think critically, and solve problems. Yet, in meeting this need, educators face a few key challenges: How can they teach these skills to students in the context of the core curriculum? And, how can they measure students’ attainment of these skills?
With the generous support of Learning.com, the editors of eSchool News have compiled this collection of stories from our archives, along with other relevant resources from around the web, to help you and your staff best answer these questions in your own schools.
tags: 21stcenturyskills, acrossmydesk, education
• GIS and Geographic Inquiry
"Geospatial" technologies--which include geographic information system (GIS), global positioning system (GPS), and remote sensing (RS) tools--are becoming increasingly important in our everyday lives. These technologies use "smart" maps that can display, query, and analyze geographic databases; receivers that provide location and navigation; and global-to-local imagery and tools that provide context and analysis.
tags: gis, geo, geography, mapping, research, acrossmydesk, education
•"Geospatial" technologies--which include geographic information system (GIS), global positioning system (GPS), and remote sensing (RS) tools--are becoming increasingly important in our everyday lives. These technologies use "smart" maps that can display, query, and analyze geographic databases; receivers that provide location and navigation; and global-to-local imagery and tools that provide context and analysis.
• Past Sites of Week - Google Earth brings ancient Rome online
tags: google, googleearth, education, acrossmydesk
• Offline - Google Docs Help Center
tags: google, offline, googledocs, acrossmydesk
• Official Google Docs Blog: Bringing the cloud with you
tags: google, GoogleDocs, OFFLINE, education, acrossmydesk
• Gears API - Google Code
Gears is an open source project that enables more powerful web applications, by adding new features to web browsers.
tags: google, opensource, web2.0, education, acrossmydesk
• Converting and Editing DVD Footage with MPEG Streamclip » Moving at the Speed of Creativity
tags: acrossmydesk, conversion, video
• educon21 » Conversations
Sessions for the Edcon 2.1 event in January 2009. Some great ideas and impending conversations! Includes a description of the link-up we intend to do between Educon and Flat Classroom Conference from Qatar.
tags: acrossmydesk, conference, educon, web2.0, educon21, technology
• Widgetbox › Countdown Clock Widget
Useful widget!
tags: acrossmydesk, widget
• What are you learning whilst your teachers aren't looking?
Terry Freedman asks students to take this survey in preparation for a BETT presentation Jan. 2009
tags: acrossmydesk, digitalcitizenship
• KeepVid: Download and save any video from Youtube, Dailymotion, Metacafe, iFilm and more!
tags: acrossmydesk, video, download
• Stumbling Blocks: Playing It Too Safe Online Will Make You Sorry | Edutopia - Annotated
How teachers are working around overprotective content filters to use Web 2.0 tools in the classroom.
tags: web2.0, digitalcitizenship, acrossmydesk, internet_safety, filter, education
• In Qatar, an I. M. Pei Museum of Imposing Simplicity - NYTimes.com
Doha Islamic Art Museum opening. Good pics.
tags: acrossmydesk, qatar
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
Posted by Julie Lindsay at Sunday, November 30, 20082 comments[image: icon18_email.gif][image: icon18_edit_allbkg.gif]

Friday, November 28, 2008

My Edublog Nominations for 2008

[image: edublogs2008.jpg]The 2008 Edublog Awards nominations close in 2 days! This is an interesting opportunity to recognise best-practice out there in the blogosphere with the use of blogs, wiki's, educational networking and other Web 2.0 and multimedia tools. I also believe this is a chance to focus on the people and personalities behind the tools and to explore what it is that really makes the proliferation of communication via the Internet so effective, powerful and a catalyst for change in educational pedagogy.So, here are my modest nominations.
Best Educational Wiki:
•Educational Origami created by Andrew Churches in New Zealand - a wealth of excellent resources, ideas and objectives with regular updates. Best Individual Blog:
•Always Learning by Kim Cofino - I really admire Kim's thoughtful, timely and provocative posts about her learning and development as an international educator, teacher and literacy specialist. Best Educational use of a Social Networking Service:
•The Flat Classroom Project Ning - OK, I do not want to be accused of nominating myself here just because my name is there as the creator of this Ning! This educational network supports the connection and collaboration of 100s of educators and students associated with the various Flat Classroom projects internationally. It provides a space for each individual to post their own resources, including blog posts, shared and completed multimedia, forum discussions, and shared bookmarks etc. It is the hub for communication between student to student, student to teacher and teacher to teacher. It facilitates cultural understanding as well as flat classroom pedagogy. Lifetime Achievement:
•2 Cents Worth - David Warlick's blog truly deserves this recognition in the hall of fame for lifetime achievement. Always a joy to read, always current, aware and informative. Watch the Edublog Awards 2008 website for final lists of nominees. Voting starts in December. Good luck everyone, and thank you for contributing to my PLN!
Technorati Tags: edublogawards2008andrewchurcheskimcofinoflatclassroomprojectdavidwarlick
Posted by Julie Lindsay at Friday, November 28, 20081 comments[image: icon18_email.gif][image: icon18_edit_allbkg.gif]
Labels: edublogawards2008 kimcofino davidwarlick andrewchurches flatclassroomproject

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Determined Teachers - Flat World - Can You Help?

According to the Flat Classroom Conference Ning we have 64 days to go until the Flat Classroom Conference really begins here in Doha. Excitement is building amongst teachers and students who are trying to get here and take part in this inaugural event. Based on the Flat Classroom Project, and on the concepts found in Tom Friedman's book, The World is Flat, our aim is to flatten the learning experience and provide an opportunity for participants to not only connect virtually but to cement this relationship via a face-to-face gathering where creativity and action are encouraged.
[image: screen1.jpg] The conference itself is in two strands: Leadership Workshop and Student Summit. These strands will merge and intertwine throughout the 3 days and provide a unique opportunity for teachers, administrators and students to work together and determine what education should or will look like in the future (and the future is now!).We have participants coming from literally all over the globe, including the international presenters. Thanks to the generous sponsorship of HSBC Bank Middle East we have been able to give out scholarships to qualifying classrooms to help pay for expenses while in Doha to attend the event. However, our funds do not provide the money for actually getting to Doha (the airfare!). Therefore across the world participating teachers and students are madly trying to raise funds, promote the event within their communities and foster support so they can afford to travel to Doha. Not only have these dedicated and entrepreneurial educators had to submit requests to higher authorities, convincing them that Doha, Qatar is a safe place and that this is an amazing opportunity for cultural interaction leading to enhanced understanding, but they have also been responsible for helping to raise extra money.
To date we have classes confirmed from Ethiopia, Oman, Pakistan, Australia, USA (Houston, New York, Georgia) and Spain. Each class has their own story to tell about why and how they will make it to Qatar...and they will tell their story before, during and after the conference as part of the ongoing conversations. This is a compelling story, and it will be told.
For now however, I wish to encourage support for the class in Houston from Spring Woods High School. Led by a dynamic teacher, Estie Cuellar, this group of 9 students come from a typical government school that essentially has no money to support international travel and experiences. Estie is working hard to bring the world to her classroom and a part of her classroom to the world via this trip. I encourage you to read the new Qatar Conference blog, created by Estie and the students to record the journey, and also to read more details on the 'sponsorship brochure' created to promote Springwood's participation and desire to foster more funds to make this possible. Maybe you are in a position to help out? Imagine the possibilities of promoting peace and understanding from opposite sides of the globe and interaction that can only help participants from all countries to appreciate diversity in an increasingly complex world.
Technorati Tags: flatclassroomflatclassroomconference
Posted by Julie Lindsay at Sunday, November 23, 20081 comments[image: icon18_email.gif][image: icon18_edit_allbkg.gif]
Labels: flatclassroom, flatclassroomconference

Across My Desk (weekly)

• Qatar Academy Handout - Gary Stager, Ph.D.
tags: garystager, 1:1, laptop, qatar, acrossmydesk
• 7 Things You Should Know About Ustream | EDUCAUSE CONNECT
tags: acrossmydesk, ustream, 7things, educause
• Ian Jukes downloadable handouts
Ian Jukes...the Committed Sardine Relevant, engaging, downloadable handouts from Ian Jukes.
tags: acrossmydesk, 21stcenturylearning, 21stcenturyclassroom, ianjukes, web2.0
• Giving students ownership of learning pt.1
Too many students treat learning passively, educators say, working only for good grades or to get by. But passive learning often engenders boredom and rote memorization that does not prepare students well for the 21st-century. ASCD special report
tags: ascd, research, 21stcenturylearning, acrossmydesk
• Giving students ownership of learning pt.2
Simply handing students more control over their education may not be immediately effective. Many are unaccustomed to such opportunities, but giving them a purpose with a real project or audience may better equip them to handle such responsibility and better prepare them for college or work. ASCD special report
tags: ascd, research, acrossmydesk, 21stcenturylearning
• Victorian Information Technology Teachers Association Inc. - Training Events
The 2008 conference theme is "Shift Happens: Technology alone will not save us" and focuses on the frequent shifts that happen in the educational and technological landscape and the need for us all to adapt.
tags: acrossmydesk, conference
• Atomic Learning's Tech Skills Assessment - Movies
Purchase Atomic Learning’s Technology Skills Collection by February 15, 2009 and receive the new Tech Skills Assessment free for the life of a school license - a $500 per building annual savings.
tags: iste, atomiclearnign, acrossmydesk
• The Constructivist Consortium - Bookstore
tags: acrossmydesk, books
• K12 Online Conference 2008 | Kicking it up a Notch Games in Education
Games in Education by Sylvia
tags: games, acrossmydesk, virtual_communication, web2.0
• Education Sector: Research and Reports: Measuring Skills for the 21st Century - Annotated
New assessments like the CWRA, however, illustrate that the skills that really matter for the 21st century—the ability to think creatively and to evaluate and analyze information—can be measured accurately and in a common and comparable way. These emergent models also demonstrate the potential to measure these complex thinking skills at the same time that we measure a student's mastery of core content or basic skills and knowledge. There is, then, no need for more tests to measure advanced skills. Rather, there is a need for better tests that measure more of the skills students' need to succeed today. …
tags: acrossmydesk, 21stcenturyskills
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
Posted by Julie Lindsay at Sunday, November 23, 20080 comments[image: icon18_email.gif][image: icon18_edit_allbkg.gif]

Friday, November 21, 2008

"Work with the Living" - A week with Gary Stager

Qatar Academy are preparing for their 1:1 learning with laptops. The school Board approved recently that all Grade 7 and 8 students in 2009-10 will have a new laptop (bought by Qatar Foundation). What this will finally and ultimately look like is under discussion. To promote the use of laptops and online learning in a constructivist mode we invited Gary Stager to visit for a week.
Numerous words and phrases come to mind when I review the past week here at Qatar Academy with Gary as our consultant in residence to help move us closer to a 1:1 and constructivist learning environment. These include some often-used sayings from Gary himself, adjectives about the week as well as practical and philosophical objectives that have emerged or re-surfaced and discussed, sometimes ad-infinitum. Gary has a great passion for learning and a straightforward approach to using technology, specifically laptops, in the classroom. His phrase "Don't be a jerk", offered as advice to those who asked certain "What if...." questions inspired many of us to think again the systems for learning with mobile technology and how responsibility for the device needs to be with the user at all times, with a focus on common sense. In terms of moving the school and the teachers forward Gary uses the term "Work with the living, and do no harm", stating that in the early stages of a laptop program (or any new methods relying on technology use) it is best to work with those who are willing and able to take on board new modes.
Resources from the week with Gary can be found on our E-Learning wiki, and also on Gary's website for Qatar.
[image: Gary Stager at Qatar Academy] Can you believe it...the only photo I have with Gary and me......
Here are further essential ideas from the week:
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