Finding out about edZone

The Spring issue of DataBus, a periodical of the California Educational Technology Professionals Association had an article by Alan Phillips of the Imperial County Office of Education about the California K12 High Speed Network that indicated that this California project would try to "encourage educators to utilize the latest web technology and tools, while simultaneously addressing concerns about appropriate content and providing access with risks minimized." They would accomplish this by providing platforms for blogs, wikis, podcasting and other web 2.0 tools and then only allowing access to those "verified as a member of California's K-12 educational system." Seemed like a great idea but why not adult educators too?

I sent off an email to John Fleischman, Director of Technology Services for the Sacramento County Office of Education and Executive Director of OTAN (Outreach and Technical Assistance Network) figuring he'd know the full story and inquired about adult educator access. He assured me that adult educators ARE already included in the group of eligible educators, and that adult education is one of the categories for all of the different products available. For example, if you want to find images or blogs posted or created by adult educators, you can search "adult education" to find them.

I spent about an hour exploring the various options available at the present time and while I don't yet have a complete handle on all of them, I can say that they are relatively easy to figure out and could function especially well for teachers who work in districts where more mainstream web 2.0 tools are blocked.

You can find more information at http://www.k12hsn.org/edzone/ My new blog there is at http://www.k12hsn.org/edzone/blogs.php/barrybakin/2008/05/19/trying-out-a-new-tool/
If you click on "adult education" in the list of "channels" on the right, you'll see some of my other attempts at using the tools listed. Click on the "My edZone" link to get to the California K12 High Speed Network homepage to log in to an existing account or create a new one.

A blog of note

David Warlick spoke in his blog about a blog and teacher he finds inspirational, so I thought I'd take a look at the blog. Konrad Glogowski is a PhD candidate at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto and writes about his experiences and the development of his ideas about blogging with his students. I was especially struck by how his ideas about his own role as "teacher" have changed as he continues to have his students work with blogs. Konrad's blog is well worth visiting.

Exploring with PictureTrail

Saw an example of this on Hans Feldmeier's page at Classroom 2.0 and felt I had to get one too! Classroom 2.0 is an example of what's called a "social networking" website. One way social networking happens is when groups of like-minded individuals or individuals with a common interest use the new web 2.0 tools to communicate, and share information with each other about their common interest. Older examples of Internet-based social networking are listservs and email discussion lists. Today, newer "tools" allow for sharing information in new ways. The fact that I read about Classroom 2.0 on Marian Thacher's blog, investigated it, and eventually decided to become a member myself, is itself an example of the new social networking in action. Being exposed to some of the things Hans Feldmeier is doing on his webpages and with his students and then trying something out myself is another example. Classroom 2.0 is a social networking site of educators working to integrate technology, and in particular Web 2.0 tools, into their teaching.

spresent and The Principal Blog

Trying out the spresent presentation tool.

I learned about it from a posting by Cheryl Oakes on her Techlearning blog. spresent is a free presentation creation tool that is even supposed to give you the option of embedding a presentation into a wiki or blog. So I've been trying to create one and hopefully, you'll see it below.

By the way, Cheryl also led me to Melinda Miller's
The Principal Blog which shows that blogging is even for administrators!

If I did it right, you should see the first draft of a presentation about comparing Shenandoah,Iowa to Beijing, China by clicking here! (After the new page opens, click on the big "play" arrow in the center of your screen!) There is sound so put on your headset or make sure the volume is set correctly for your speakers.

I'm not sure if this is something that is easier to use than say PowerPoint software, but it is, at least, as easy to use as PowerPoint and it also demonstrates that some free browser-based software does have the potential to replace commercially purchased products. Being able to link to websites, flickr photos, and podcasts could also be useful and I don't know if PowerPoint has that capability or not.

Steve Gwynne's VESLCLASS podcast at podomatic

I'd like to recommend that readers of my Tech4ESL blog check out Steve Gwynne's VESL CLASS podcast at http://veslclass.podomatic.com/ as an example of creative ways to tie in podcasting and classroom practice in ESL instruction. Steve basically uses his blog as a way for students to access original audio materials that he's created, and then ties each podcast to some type of quiz or activity that can be completed or checked online. One really nice feature of Steve's podcast activities is that he has both colleagues and students record parts of the podcast. Besides providing variety in the listening selection, it must be very motivating for the students to hear their own voices as part of the assignments.