Two years ago, at NECC 2004, I saw a bunch of people with t-shirts that said something like, “I'm blogging.” I went to a session to see what this blogging thing was all about. I opened at blog at blogger.com and made a commitment to blog – which was my first entry. I've been blogging, on and off, for two years now. I'm still a greenhorn, as there is so much I need to learn. However, I understand the basics of a using a blog, I this year, I had my 10th grade students blog about The Catcher in the Rye. It was a semi-closed blog, only the registered students could comment on the blog, but it is viewable to the public. If you are interested, go to: Porath English 10
I had the privilege of showing several people how to create a blogger blog at NECC 2006. I've been excited about the possibilities that I haven't explored yet. I learned about Technorati this year, and how to tag my entries. I've been using it to search for other people's entries about NECC.
I still need to learn how to use RSS feeds though. It was talked about a lot, but I either need to spend several hours playing with it, or have someone walk me through it. Unfortunately, I don't know anyone who knows how to use it.
NECC06
NECC
Showing posts with label NECC06. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NECC06. Show all posts
Monday, July 10, 2006
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Hits and Misses at NECC06
Hits
The conference center – it was huge, but well-organized and easy to get around. All the sessions were in the same area, rather than traipsing from hotel to hotel. The rooms were big enough. For the first time in 6 years, I was able to attend every session I wanted to see and none were closed because they were too full. I loved the Sails Pavilion, it was a good meeting place, and because the Poster Sessions and Student Showcase was easy to find and get to, I viewed more of them then I usually do.
The city of San Diego – What a great city for a conference. The public transportation is assessable and easy to use. We didn't need to rent a car and were able to get every place we wanted to go – the zoo, Fry's electronic, and the ballpark. Our hotel was just a few blocks from the trolley and getting to the convention center was easy. Overall, the people of San Diego were friendly and helpful. We had several conversations with complete stranger just because they initiated. There was so much to see and do that we wished we had planned to stay a few more days!
Keynote speakers - Dewitt Jones was tremendously inspirational; I would have liked to listen to him more and see a few more photos. The $100 laptop was an intriguing proposition, which, when I first heard about it, I didn't believe would actually happen. But after listening to Nicholas Negroponte, I believe he has the passion and the drive to get it done, and I strongly support his project.
Concurrent sessions – Every one I went to taught me something new. And not just from the speakers, but the audience engaged with questions and suggestions. Overall, I feel that I have learned more this NECC then last year.
Open Source Lab – In the past, there were some Open Source email stations. This year there was an entire teaching lab. Very cool!
Opening 4th of July Reception – This evening was stupendous! The food, fireworks and fellowship truly set the tone for the conference. It was great to see all the families, and everyone was friendly and talkative. It was a nice way to wind down from end-of-the-year school stress and get focused on the conference.
Meeting MiddleTalk(Web) People – I've been talking to these people for 5 years on our listserve, I finally got to meet a few. Technology is a cool thing.
Online content – Most session presentation handouts are online, along with blogs and podcasting that extends the conference past the 3 days. It also cuts down on the amount of paper we need to carry home. Having the session outlines online also helps me choose the sessions I want to see. I think it has also cut down on the people walking out of sessions a little.
Wireless Access - I could blog during sessions and post immediately.
Volunteer Staff – They were friendly, helpful and easy to find.
Roomier vendor show – Although there was a lot of vendors, the area felt less crowded and easier to get around, even with the people with rolling-carry-ons.
Misses
Food – You couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting a Starbucks, with overpriced coffee and sweets, then add Mrs. Field's. With obesity rates skyrocketing, why are these the only kiosk vendors? The Cafe Express in the Exhibit Hall has slightly better fare, yet also very overpriced – an $8 sandwich with only meat and bread? Every NECC has had trouble with providing quick, yet nutritious lunches on-site. I don't want to miss a session, just to find lunch, so bringing snack foods are a necessity. The coffee breaks this year were scheduled at odd times – in the middle of sessions. The continental breakfast tables were hidden in the vendors and hard to find.
Closing Session – Although Kathy Schrock's presentation was interesting, I would have liked to see one with a little more umph and cheer-leading for the work we do as educators. Many of us are going back to schools and districts where we are working in isolation and in an uphill battle. I would've liked to seen a presenter with a lot of energy that would fire-up the audience to make the commitment and changes needed. Generally, I felt let down by the closing session. Even the preview of Atlanta was weak, there was no excitement or energy to the presentation. In the past the committee members made funny and enthusiastic skits, songs and presentations – and freebie tokens never hurt (bottles of water, flip-flops, beads etc).
Best Buy Bags – Best Buy gave away the largest and most useless bags in the world (and irritating). I saw them dumped throughout the conference center. The T-shirts were nice though.
Recommendation
Exhibit Hall – Designate an area for the vendors who are presenting complete free services - like Reading is Fundamental, The Department of Education, Answer.com, Target, Google etc. I wasted a lot of time talking to vendors just to find out that the service or product costs more than what my school could afford. Plus, I probability missed some good resources because I assumed they were fee-based. Also, extend the exhibit hall times. It is hard to justify to a principle the time spent in the vendor hall verses sessions. It would be nice if they didn't always compete.
NECC06
NECC
The conference center – it was huge, but well-organized and easy to get around. All the sessions were in the same area, rather than traipsing from hotel to hotel. The rooms were big enough. For the first time in 6 years, I was able to attend every session I wanted to see and none were closed because they were too full. I loved the Sails Pavilion, it was a good meeting place, and because the Poster Sessions and Student Showcase was easy to find and get to, I viewed more of them then I usually do.
The city of San Diego – What a great city for a conference. The public transportation is assessable and easy to use. We didn't need to rent a car and were able to get every place we wanted to go – the zoo, Fry's electronic, and the ballpark. Our hotel was just a few blocks from the trolley and getting to the convention center was easy. Overall, the people of San Diego were friendly and helpful. We had several conversations with complete stranger just because they initiated. There was so much to see and do that we wished we had planned to stay a few more days!
Keynote speakers - Dewitt Jones was tremendously inspirational; I would have liked to listen to him more and see a few more photos. The $100 laptop was an intriguing proposition, which, when I first heard about it, I didn't believe would actually happen. But after listening to Nicholas Negroponte, I believe he has the passion and the drive to get it done, and I strongly support his project.
Concurrent sessions – Every one I went to taught me something new. And not just from the speakers, but the audience engaged with questions and suggestions. Overall, I feel that I have learned more this NECC then last year.
Open Source Lab – In the past, there were some Open Source email stations. This year there was an entire teaching lab. Very cool!
Opening 4th of July Reception – This evening was stupendous! The food, fireworks and fellowship truly set the tone for the conference. It was great to see all the families, and everyone was friendly and talkative. It was a nice way to wind down from end-of-the-year school stress and get focused on the conference.
Meeting MiddleTalk(Web) People – I've been talking to these people for 5 years on our listserve, I finally got to meet a few. Technology is a cool thing.
Online content – Most session presentation handouts are online, along with blogs and podcasting that extends the conference past the 3 days. It also cuts down on the amount of paper we need to carry home. Having the session outlines online also helps me choose the sessions I want to see. I think it has also cut down on the people walking out of sessions a little.
Wireless Access - I could blog during sessions and post immediately.
Volunteer Staff – They were friendly, helpful and easy to find.
Roomier vendor show – Although there was a lot of vendors, the area felt less crowded and easier to get around, even with the people with rolling-carry-ons.
Misses
Food – You couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting a Starbucks, with overpriced coffee and sweets, then add Mrs. Field's. With obesity rates skyrocketing, why are these the only kiosk vendors? The Cafe Express in the Exhibit Hall has slightly better fare, yet also very overpriced – an $8 sandwich with only meat and bread? Every NECC has had trouble with providing quick, yet nutritious lunches on-site. I don't want to miss a session, just to find lunch, so bringing snack foods are a necessity. The coffee breaks this year were scheduled at odd times – in the middle of sessions. The continental breakfast tables were hidden in the vendors and hard to find.
Closing Session – Although Kathy Schrock's presentation was interesting, I would have liked to see one with a little more umph and cheer-leading for the work we do as educators. Many of us are going back to schools and districts where we are working in isolation and in an uphill battle. I would've liked to seen a presenter with a lot of energy that would fire-up the audience to make the commitment and changes needed. Generally, I felt let down by the closing session. Even the preview of Atlanta was weak, there was no excitement or energy to the presentation. In the past the committee members made funny and enthusiastic skits, songs and presentations – and freebie tokens never hurt (bottles of water, flip-flops, beads etc).
Best Buy Bags – Best Buy gave away the largest and most useless bags in the world (and irritating). I saw them dumped throughout the conference center. The T-shirts were nice though.
Recommendation
Exhibit Hall – Designate an area for the vendors who are presenting complete free services - like Reading is Fundamental, The Department of Education, Answer.com, Target, Google etc. I wasted a lot of time talking to vendors just to find out that the service or product costs more than what my school could afford. Plus, I probability missed some good resources because I assumed they were fee-based. Also, extend the exhibit hall times. It is hard to justify to a principle the time spent in the vendor hall verses sessions. It would be nice if they didn't always compete.
NECC06
NECC
Friday, July 07, 2006
LOL @ NECC06 - Saul Rockman with Michael Jay, Susan McLester, Heidi Rogers and Elliot Soloway, Gary Bitter
Wow, very strange but interesting and funny session. These notes are a little hard to read, and at times, difficult to tell the fiction from the non-fiction. It would be great to extend this conversation further and pick these people's brains. I apologize for any confusion, but that's how I felt through most of the session. I hope, once it sinks in, it'll make more sense.
Values
Life is like high school with money – Kurt Anderson
Hope is not a strategy – Thomas ?
Saul Rockman talked about his company's research on ubiquitous, one on one computing. The research motto was “give me ambiguity or give me something else.” They will be talking about the research finding about laptop projects that never were released. Such as – when laptop program are introduced, the price of housing went up and the SAT scores went up. It makes sense – richer people were wooed to areas and generally, wealthier people have smarter kids. As W.C. Fields says “Give me and unfair advantage.” Another result of laptop programs is the number of inappropriate sites accessed by kids – boys and girls. However, when you look at the likelihood of events – more kids will try and begin smoking then kids who will be abducted by website contact. So,one conclusion – people worry about the wrong things. There was an increase incident of shoulder injuries with laptop programs, because students feel that the wheeled bags are “nerdy” in the high school.
Faith-base Technology (of laptop programs)
There is a belief that it will make a difference. An annual tithing for purchases. Elevation of the tech coordinator. The trinity of hardware, software, and professional development. Finally the Ten NETS Commandments.
Susan McLester – Technology and Learning Magazine - American Innovation
Americans are innovators. Susan highlighted some actual but silly patents issued recently, such as a Barca-sizer (an arm chair that exercises you), a game bird decoy (with two sided bird and optional tail), a hair braider that is also a goldfish sorter., the tripless jump rope (that is cordless), the cow belch capture, a simulated wedding cake (low-calorie). She then humored the audience with ideas and pictures of innovations that haven't quite made it – 360 degree head wearable camera, brass knuckle purse, reintroduction of truly white paper, and the voodoo apple. In addition, the school within a school concept just didn't work like the initial idea promised. Innovation is important and especially crucial for education - for all players -teachers, students, and parents.
Heidi Rodgers and the NETS for Parents
She explained why she is qualified to give this presentation – her son has given her a lot of experience. Parenting has changed a little, but the goal is the same – to survive. Pre-birth technology parents – listening to music, ultrasounds and videos. Technology Parents are aware of the change – virtual field trips and storage devises. Pre-K Tech Parents – secrutiy (pager, cellphone), entertainment (gameboy), education (software).
8-12 Grade Tech Parents
Need to know what is real verse edited and be aware of location. Communication tools – MySpace, www.myspace.com/werogers (go and be her friend). Kids have multiple emails addresses and so should parents. Cell phones – Iming – etc need to be understood by parents
Parenting is not for sissies!
Michael Jay –Educational Systemics - A break through in data driven educaiton
Complex application reuire the educator to have knowledge of complex math etc. 4 year research project to help teachers understand how to use data. Professional development didn't work as there in no funding and the correlation does infer causality. It is not reflective practice but rather refractive practice. The analogy in science, is that data is bent when it goes through more dense material. So we have to turn to an old technology – 3D glasses. He showed an overwhelming page of data that is incomprehensible. Then, with the 3D glasses – t shows “Give more tests”. Another example “leaves these Children Behind.” And another, “Duck and cover.” “Gender bias detected . . . change gender.” “Just between you and me, teach to the test.” Just as the drive-thru changed the way we eat . . . we need and educational break-thru. Key features of the new curriculum: have it your way, made to order etc. The implications – no need for PD as teachers just do as they are told, etc.
Elliot Soloway – Computers in kids' hands
There is different types and level of humor. He related the story of his spoiled 17 year old daughter who gets anything she wants verses his 21 year old son who is a jazz guitarist. “Pico” conversation – quick conversation in seconds rather than minutes. Shows he is getting old. He wanted to go to the movies, look up the times in the paper – daughter thinks it weird, you can do in on the internet. She text messages, and he doesn't – to get a laugh, he texts “whatup.” When he gets texts back, he doesn't understand the language. Screen size – current kids don't complain about the small screen size, adults (digital immigrants) want bigger. So, adults think that every kids needs a computer, so, like Maine, most people go for the laptop. But, were is the researched based data that supports this program. How does research really work in schools? When many schools are just happy to get the kids to attend, and the kids are at poverty level and living in homeless shelters. The current culture of education is to get as many computers out to kids as possible without the support of research. It seems to be the right thing to do.
NECC06
NECC
Values
Life is like high school with money – Kurt Anderson
Hope is not a strategy – Thomas ?
Saul Rockman talked about his company's research on ubiquitous, one on one computing. The research motto was “give me ambiguity or give me something else.” They will be talking about the research finding about laptop projects that never were released. Such as – when laptop program are introduced, the price of housing went up and the SAT scores went up. It makes sense – richer people were wooed to areas and generally, wealthier people have smarter kids. As W.C. Fields says “Give me and unfair advantage.” Another result of laptop programs is the number of inappropriate sites accessed by kids – boys and girls. However, when you look at the likelihood of events – more kids will try and begin smoking then kids who will be abducted by website contact. So,one conclusion – people worry about the wrong things. There was an increase incident of shoulder injuries with laptop programs, because students feel that the wheeled bags are “nerdy” in the high school.
Faith-base Technology (of laptop programs)
There is a belief that it will make a difference. An annual tithing for purchases. Elevation of the tech coordinator. The trinity of hardware, software, and professional development. Finally the Ten NETS Commandments.
Susan McLester – Technology and Learning Magazine - American Innovation
Americans are innovators. Susan highlighted some actual but silly patents issued recently, such as a Barca-sizer (an arm chair that exercises you), a game bird decoy (with two sided bird and optional tail), a hair braider that is also a goldfish sorter., the tripless jump rope (that is cordless), the cow belch capture, a simulated wedding cake (low-calorie). She then humored the audience with ideas and pictures of innovations that haven't quite made it – 360 degree head wearable camera, brass knuckle purse, reintroduction of truly white paper, and the voodoo apple. In addition, the school within a school concept just didn't work like the initial idea promised. Innovation is important and especially crucial for education - for all players -teachers, students, and parents.
Heidi Rodgers and the NETS for Parents
She explained why she is qualified to give this presentation – her son has given her a lot of experience. Parenting has changed a little, but the goal is the same – to survive. Pre-birth technology parents – listening to music, ultrasounds and videos. Technology Parents are aware of the change – virtual field trips and storage devises. Pre-K Tech Parents – secrutiy (pager, cellphone), entertainment (gameboy), education (software).
8-12 Grade Tech Parents
Need to know what is real verse edited and be aware of location. Communication tools – MySpace, www.myspace.com/werogers (go and be her friend). Kids have multiple emails addresses and so should parents. Cell phones – Iming – etc need to be understood by parents
Parenting is not for sissies!
Michael Jay –Educational Systemics - A break through in data driven educaiton
Complex application reuire the educator to have knowledge of complex math etc. 4 year research project to help teachers understand how to use data. Professional development didn't work as there in no funding and the correlation does infer causality. It is not reflective practice but rather refractive practice. The analogy in science, is that data is bent when it goes through more dense material. So we have to turn to an old technology – 3D glasses. He showed an overwhelming page of data that is incomprehensible. Then, with the 3D glasses – t shows “Give more tests”. Another example “leaves these Children Behind.” And another, “Duck and cover.” “Gender bias detected . . . change gender.” “Just between you and me, teach to the test.” Just as the drive-thru changed the way we eat . . . we need and educational break-thru. Key features of the new curriculum: have it your way, made to order etc. The implications – no need for PD as teachers just do as they are told, etc.
Elliot Soloway – Computers in kids' hands
There is different types and level of humor. He related the story of his spoiled 17 year old daughter who gets anything she wants verses his 21 year old son who is a jazz guitarist. “Pico” conversation – quick conversation in seconds rather than minutes. Shows he is getting old. He wanted to go to the movies, look up the times in the paper – daughter thinks it weird, you can do in on the internet. She text messages, and he doesn't – to get a laugh, he texts “whatup.” When he gets texts back, he doesn't understand the language. Screen size – current kids don't complain about the small screen size, adults (digital immigrants) want bigger. So, adults think that every kids needs a computer, so, like Maine, most people go for the laptop. But, were is the researched based data that supports this program. How does research really work in schools? When many schools are just happy to get the kids to attend, and the kids are at poverty level and living in homeless shelters. The current culture of education is to get as many computers out to kids as possible without the support of research. It seems to be the right thing to do.
NECC06
NECC
Thursday, July 06, 2006
NECC06 The Tech Savvy English Classroom Revisited (Or, Where are We Going?) - Sara Kajder
Bringing the Outside In - http://www.bringingtheoutsidein.com/
How is technology transforming the English classroom?
Ms. Kajder wrote the Tech Savvy Classroom http://www.stenhouse.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idProduct=361 four years ago (good book by the way) but she feels that it is now outdated, as the conversations are now past using PowerPoint. So where are we going now? There need to be a re-calibration on how we think about using technology use in the English classroom.
She states that she is not a techie by nature, and has made many mistakes, but has also been able to work in tablet classrooms and handheld programs, so there is a broad range of experience. She quoted Todd Oppenheimer who said that good teachers know when to ignore the new technologies to use the “old fashioned” tools like pens, paper, instruments etc. The technology divide is not just the have and have nots – but rather HOW the technology is being used with students. Quantity does not make for a good program. Students should be doing more then drill and skill programs.
English teacher used to be pretty static – students read books and wrote stories. Over time the definition of literacy and text has changed, and our teaching need to reflect this. Literacy is not just reading – there are so many others – information, visual, numerical etc. Text is no longer just word – a book or anthology. It is the sounds, images, gestures, movements etc situated in contexts, surround by language.
So if a technology is going to be used in the classroom, we need to consider the unique capabilities of the tool and if the tool allows us to do something better than what we are already doing.
Will Richardson – the guru for Web 2.0 – book Blog, Wikis and Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for the Classroom
http://www.sagepub.com/booksProdDesc.nav?prodId=Book228840
Big Ideas of the Session
1)Allows for real writing for authentic audiences and real reasons
2)Mulimodal composition
3)Pushing the definition of literacy
4)Building purposeful and global interpretive communities.
Example – podcasting book talks to record and then edit a book talk for the best 5 minutes of a 45 minute conversation.
Digital Storytelling
Ms. Kajder showed an example of an older woman who created a wonderful memoir of about 3 minutes in about 4 hours that included video, still photos and text. To create a digital story, Ms. Kajder recommends iMovie, as it is the easiest to use, but there are other resources.
A memoir like this is a “Slice of Life” Story that is a retrospective and reflective story. Student writers mirror themselves and reflect what they are and project what they can be. A personal narrative is a school genre that is chronologically structured in a formal 5-paragraph outline that usually doesn't include a reflective component.
Another example of Connor's story about “Practice Makes Perfect” that was a 9 year old's view of his piano recital and the practice that went into it.
Creating a Digital Story with Students (a bit of a retelling of her NECC 2005 presentation Digital Images in the English Classroom - see Archive June 2005
1.Immerse students in the genre reading and writing
2.Pre-write and collect ideas
3.Select, collect and choose a lens/frame – includes artifact search
4.Draft and revise (must have a storyboard before going to the lab)
5.Construct in the lab (have a time limit to encourage students to work quickly)
6.Edit, publish, screen and publish
Fan Fiction – fanfiction.net
A site devoted to stories written by the average person, celebrating their favorite authors or styles. People can submit their stories and are peer reviewed. A good site to point kids to for them to share their writing and get feedback. There are stories in response to several canonical texts like 1984, Scarlet Letter etc.
Blogs – most teachers tend to use blogger.com.
What types of activities could be done with blogs?
1)Assign a student a day to summarize the content of the class
2)Discuss the reading assigned
3)Post notes from the class
Cool tip! There is Audioblogger http://www.audioblogger.com/ where the person calls an 800 number to record and post their comments. Blogger will also give the option to be private or public with a membership list that only allows the members to post.
Gabbly.com – chat about websites. Very cool tool, I'll need to ponder how to use it with kids. You type in the website and a chat box pops up so the people viewing the site can talk about it.
NECC06
NECC
How is technology transforming the English classroom?
Ms. Kajder wrote the Tech Savvy Classroom http://www.stenhouse.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idProduct=361 four years ago (good book by the way) but she feels that it is now outdated, as the conversations are now past using PowerPoint. So where are we going now? There need to be a re-calibration on how we think about using technology use in the English classroom.
She states that she is not a techie by nature, and has made many mistakes, but has also been able to work in tablet classrooms and handheld programs, so there is a broad range of experience. She quoted Todd Oppenheimer who said that good teachers know when to ignore the new technologies to use the “old fashioned” tools like pens, paper, instruments etc. The technology divide is not just the have and have nots – but rather HOW the technology is being used with students. Quantity does not make for a good program. Students should be doing more then drill and skill programs.
English teacher used to be pretty static – students read books and wrote stories. Over time the definition of literacy and text has changed, and our teaching need to reflect this. Literacy is not just reading – there are so many others – information, visual, numerical etc. Text is no longer just word – a book or anthology. It is the sounds, images, gestures, movements etc situated in contexts, surround by language.
So if a technology is going to be used in the classroom, we need to consider the unique capabilities of the tool and if the tool allows us to do something better than what we are already doing.
Will Richardson – the guru for Web 2.0 – book Blog, Wikis and Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for the Classroom
http://www.sagepub.com/booksProdDesc.nav?prodId=Book228840
Big Ideas of the Session
1)Allows for real writing for authentic audiences and real reasons
2)Mulimodal composition
3)Pushing the definition of literacy
4)Building purposeful and global interpretive communities.
Example – podcasting book talks to record and then edit a book talk for the best 5 minutes of a 45 minute conversation.
Digital Storytelling
Ms. Kajder showed an example of an older woman who created a wonderful memoir of about 3 minutes in about 4 hours that included video, still photos and text. To create a digital story, Ms. Kajder recommends iMovie, as it is the easiest to use, but there are other resources.
A memoir like this is a “Slice of Life” Story that is a retrospective and reflective story. Student writers mirror themselves and reflect what they are and project what they can be. A personal narrative is a school genre that is chronologically structured in a formal 5-paragraph outline that usually doesn't include a reflective component.
Another example of Connor's story about “Practice Makes Perfect” that was a 9 year old's view of his piano recital and the practice that went into it.
Creating a Digital Story with Students (a bit of a retelling of her NECC 2005 presentation Digital Images in the English Classroom - see Archive June 2005
1.Immerse students in the genre reading and writing
2.Pre-write and collect ideas
3.Select, collect and choose a lens/frame – includes artifact search
4.Draft and revise (must have a storyboard before going to the lab)
5.Construct in the lab (have a time limit to encourage students to work quickly)
6.Edit, publish, screen and publish
Fan Fiction – fanfiction.net
A site devoted to stories written by the average person, celebrating their favorite authors or styles. People can submit their stories and are peer reviewed. A good site to point kids to for them to share their writing and get feedback. There are stories in response to several canonical texts like 1984, Scarlet Letter etc.
Blogs – most teachers tend to use blogger.com.
What types of activities could be done with blogs?
1)Assign a student a day to summarize the content of the class
2)Discuss the reading assigned
3)Post notes from the class
Cool tip! There is Audioblogger http://www.audioblogger.com/ where the person calls an 800 number to record and post their comments. Blogger will also give the option to be private or public with a membership list that only allows the members to post.
Gabbly.com – chat about websites. Very cool tool, I'll need to ponder how to use it with kids. You type in the website and a chat box pops up so the people viewing the site can talk about it.
NECC06
NECC
NECC 06 Keynote - One Laptop Per Child - Nicholas Negroponte
One Laptop per Child (OLPC) - http://laptop.media.mit.edu/
Technology is not about teaching – it is about learning. In much of the world, the schools lack well-qualified teachers. In rural areas, some teachers are lucky to have a 6th grade education. In situations like this, we need to get kids to teach themselves. Giving kids computers, rich or poor, and they act the same way – excited about learning. Communication and connection is key. Children don't have the baggage that the adults have and are willing to communicate with anyone. Mr. Negroponte related a story about building 5 schools, with laptop programs, in remote villages in Cambodia. The kids take the laptops home at night and it is the focus of the family. In addition, Maine started an initiative
These two events prompted his idea of a 100 dollar laptop – or a laptop per child. The key of the program is scale – being global is crucial to launch 5-10 million in 2007 and 50-150 million in 2008. This scale allows for large ordering of components that will be cheaper. Then, there were many partners that become involved, such as Google, eBay, AMD, News Corp, Brightstar, Marvell, Nortall, 3M, etc.
A word about laptops – getting to the 10$ laptop is not difficult. 50% of the cost is marketing. 25% is the display and 25% is the support of MSFT Windows XP. The overwhelming memory and running needs of the operating systems make it to overloaded. More is not necessarily different. Moore's Law indicates that the size will shrink, power increase which keeps the price high and stable. Instead, what about standing still and getting the cost down. To get it down to a 100$ laptop, there are no sales, marketing and distribution. The first purchase order was 5-10 million units. The computers will use Linux and reduce the display cost by using a backlight innovation. In addition, the other features would include a human powered input (crank), must have wifi with a mesh network, be rugged, shared memory, and dual mode display (to be usable indoors and in sunlight with a B&W display). The goal is to have the kids do the maintenance. When Mr. Negroponte sent 50 laptops to Cambodia, only one broke in 3 years. However, when the laptop belongs to the child, there is a sense of ownership and pride. The kids in Cambodia polished it, made little bags for them.
Prototypes
Green machine was introduce with Desmond Tuti – it has a crank for human power
Ebook – like a readers or laptop
Orange machine – with rabbit ears for the mesh network
Red machine – display is a little bigger, still with rabbit ears (for heat release)
$100 server
$10 DVD drive
$10 Hard disc
$30 printer
$50 projector
Launch – a chicken and egg problem
Can't convince the people to purchase until the laptop is made, but the makers won't make until the orders are made. However, by Christmas, there should be the first ones manufactured.
Launch countries – Brazil, Nigeria, Thailand, and Argentina for sure, but other Central American plans along with China, India, Egypt, Mexico, Bangladesh.
Why not the USA?
Don't need a $100 laptop – schools can buy the $400 intel laptop
There are other problems in poorer countries – like no power and health issues
The first trial will be in Nigeria in 2007. The initial price will be about $140, but the target price for 2010 is $50. The important thing is that the price will float, based on the cost of the components. Features will not be added that increases the price. Countries are volunteering to sponsor other countries – or people purchase and donate in another's name.
Side effects of the $100 laptop. Linux will be on the desktop. There's no caps lock key. More consciousness about using human power. No bloated software or unneeded features. Viral telecommunications. Peer to peer learning and
What can you do?
Contribute your ideas to: wiki.laptop.org
If you are personally interested or want a developer board, send e-mail to: iste@laptop.org
Three basic principles:
1)Use technology to learn learning, not to learn something. To many kids are learning Word or Excel, but not learning to use the computer as the tool it is to be used to learn other things.
2)Teaching is one but not the only way to achieve learning.
3)Leverage children's initiative
NECC06
NECC
Technology is not about teaching – it is about learning. In much of the world, the schools lack well-qualified teachers. In rural areas, some teachers are lucky to have a 6th grade education. In situations like this, we need to get kids to teach themselves. Giving kids computers, rich or poor, and they act the same way – excited about learning. Communication and connection is key. Children don't have the baggage that the adults have and are willing to communicate with anyone. Mr. Negroponte related a story about building 5 schools, with laptop programs, in remote villages in Cambodia. The kids take the laptops home at night and it is the focus of the family. In addition, Maine started an initiative
These two events prompted his idea of a 100 dollar laptop – or a laptop per child. The key of the program is scale – being global is crucial to launch 5-10 million in 2007 and 50-150 million in 2008. This scale allows for large ordering of components that will be cheaper. Then, there were many partners that become involved, such as Google, eBay, AMD, News Corp, Brightstar, Marvell, Nortall, 3M, etc.
A word about laptops – getting to the 10$ laptop is not difficult. 50% of the cost is marketing. 25% is the display and 25% is the support of MSFT Windows XP. The overwhelming memory and running needs of the operating systems make it to overloaded. More is not necessarily different. Moore's Law indicates that the size will shrink, power increase which keeps the price high and stable. Instead, what about standing still and getting the cost down. To get it down to a 100$ laptop, there are no sales, marketing and distribution. The first purchase order was 5-10 million units. The computers will use Linux and reduce the display cost by using a backlight innovation. In addition, the other features would include a human powered input (crank), must have wifi with a mesh network, be rugged, shared memory, and dual mode display (to be usable indoors and in sunlight with a B&W display). The goal is to have the kids do the maintenance. When Mr. Negroponte sent 50 laptops to Cambodia, only one broke in 3 years. However, when the laptop belongs to the child, there is a sense of ownership and pride. The kids in Cambodia polished it, made little bags for them.
Prototypes
Green machine was introduce with Desmond Tuti – it has a crank for human power
Ebook – like a readers or laptop
Orange machine – with rabbit ears for the mesh network
Red machine – display is a little bigger, still with rabbit ears (for heat release)
$100 server
$10 DVD drive
$10 Hard disc
$30 printer
$50 projector
Launch – a chicken and egg problem
Can't convince the people to purchase until the laptop is made, but the makers won't make until the orders are made. However, by Christmas, there should be the first ones manufactured.
Launch countries – Brazil, Nigeria, Thailand, and Argentina for sure, but other Central American plans along with China, India, Egypt, Mexico, Bangladesh.
Why not the USA?
Don't need a $100 laptop – schools can buy the $400 intel laptop
There are other problems in poorer countries – like no power and health issues
The first trial will be in Nigeria in 2007. The initial price will be about $140, but the target price for 2010 is $50. The important thing is that the price will float, based on the cost of the components. Features will not be added that increases the price. Countries are volunteering to sponsor other countries – or people purchase and donate in another's name.
Side effects of the $100 laptop. Linux will be on the desktop. There's no caps lock key. More consciousness about using human power. No bloated software or unneeded features. Viral telecommunications. Peer to peer learning and
What can you do?
Contribute your ideas to: wiki.laptop.org
If you are personally interested or want a developer board, send e-mail to: iste@laptop.org
Three basic principles:
1)Use technology to learn learning, not to learn something. To many kids are learning Word or Excel, but not learning to use the computer as the tool it is to be used to learn other things.
2)Teaching is one but not the only way to achieve learning.
3)Leverage children's initiative
NECC06
NECC
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Blogging: Reinventing Teaching and Learning in the Information Age - Susim Munshi and Susan Switzer
According to Helen Keller, “It is a terrible thing to see and have no vision.” If Helen Keller was around today, she would not have struggled as hard to be as successful as she was. To achieve the full potential for technology in education we need to change the lens that will look through – we need to be less critical and use more praise. The new fabric of life that challenges our traditions in education and many teachers feel threatened with it as education has spent the last 100 years “perfecting” the fabric of education. Jon Madonna said, “Nothing stops an organization faster than people who believe that the way you worked yesterday is the best way to work tomorrow.” (Sounds a little like Good to Great.)
The institutional visions tend to be tunnel (my space – community, school), silo (my silo – not anyone else's) or vertical (hierarchy. This type of vision limits the possibilities with technology. There is a lot of talk about the Internet 2.0 – if this is the future of the internet, we need to create Schools 2.0 that have teachers who guide the students to use the technology that is evident in every day life and prepare them for an unknown future.
According to Alan November, “Blogging is the single most transformative tool.” The control of learning is shifting to more student control, there is more noise, movement, new assessments, and available constantly. The current decision making tools that students are currently using include myspace, AOL messenger and other chat programs. We must be teaching students to teach themselves, as the jobs they will fulfill may not even exist in our current world.
Ms. Switzer then highlighted some examples of weblogs that are available through their own website:
http://learn2blog.21publish.com/
Mr. Munshi encouraged the audience to go to the website to share and use any of the resources available. He also highlighted the Goochland Public schools that require the teachers to blog. He references Alan November's presentation to administrator that asked if the administrators wanted their teachers to use technology (especially wikis and blogs) the administrators MUST also use these technologies.
The handouts for the session was unique – to required the audience to input information and reflect on the information. See Bob Pike from The Bob Pike Group on giving better presentations:
http://www.bobpikegroup.com/
NECC06
NECC
The institutional visions tend to be tunnel (my space – community, school), silo (my silo – not anyone else's) or vertical (hierarchy. This type of vision limits the possibilities with technology. There is a lot of talk about the Internet 2.0 – if this is the future of the internet, we need to create Schools 2.0 that have teachers who guide the students to use the technology that is evident in every day life and prepare them for an unknown future.
According to Alan November, “Blogging is the single most transformative tool.” The control of learning is shifting to more student control, there is more noise, movement, new assessments, and available constantly. The current decision making tools that students are currently using include myspace, AOL messenger and other chat programs. We must be teaching students to teach themselves, as the jobs they will fulfill may not even exist in our current world.
Ms. Switzer then highlighted some examples of weblogs that are available through their own website:
http://learn2blog.21publish.com/
Mr. Munshi encouraged the audience to go to the website to share and use any of the resources available. He also highlighted the Goochland Public schools that require the teachers to blog. He references Alan November's presentation to administrator that asked if the administrators wanted their teachers to use technology (especially wikis and blogs) the administrators MUST also use these technologies.
The handouts for the session was unique – to required the audience to input information and reflect on the information. See Bob Pike from The Bob Pike Group on giving better presentations:
http://www.bobpikegroup.com/
NECC06
NECC
Introducing the Read/Write Web – Tim Wilson
Opportunities for the WebThe internet is the future for technology for education. It is up there with the ancient library in Alexandra and the TV. Web 2.0 is an emerging platform where the web is the platform. There will be a move from a classroom webpage to a weblog. The weblog is instantly updated and interactive – this is what makes it a read/write page. In addition, with RSS (really simple syndication) allows the subscriber to be updated when new content is posted on the weblogs you are interested in.
Compare New York Times and ohmynews. New York Times is written by professional journalists for stories that sell papers. Ohmynews is a Korean online paper with both professional and non-professional writers that brings the daily news to the public.
Encyclopedias vs Wikipedia. Most online encyclopedias are fee based and fairly static. Wikipedia is dynamic – with people who are passionate about the topic posting information. The incorrect information is quickly erased and rewritten. A recent study showed that Wikipedia is as accurate as any published encyclopedias. This would allow students to contribute to the world of knowledge. It is also available in other languages. There is also opportunities for discussion within the article.
Technorati
Tagging is a way of adding keywords for for arrogation. It allows links between blogs and on going conversation.
Audience
When students have a broader audience, they write differently and with more enthusiasm and significance.
How do we keep kids safe while working online?
Keep students on your own network and servers.
Monitor what the students are reading and writing.
Teach appropriate online behavior.
Recognize that young people will encounter unsavory things online, just like in real life.
What professional development is needed?
Avoid the “just in case” PD and look for “just in time.”
Build on the trail blazers so they can show the way for others.
Leaders have to lead – the admin must show what they want in technology.
How to assess student work?
Develop or adopt curriculum standards for information literacy.
Create uniform rubrics for use across curriculum.
De-emphasize individual assessments. (Wikis and blog are interconnected, assessing an individual would be difficult)
Equitable access is important – all students should have the opportunities to work with technology. Consider extending the hours of the school's media center and computer labs to better serve the community. Teachers can give classes on internet behavior or software lessons. Converse about the equity within your own school.
The implications of not getting technology use correctly in school. Change is happening so fast that we can't keep up. We are in a relevance race with our students. The social sites feeds the students' passion – we need to understand what this passion is and how to harness it for education. We should not divide students' “real life” outside of school and what happens within in the classroom. Our “digital immigrant” accent is clear to many students. We need to consider what the job market will look like in the next 10-20-50 years. Students need to communicate across cultures, without time lag for jobs that don't exist yet. There is the potential that students may move on to private tutors rather then public schools.
Tim Wilson's site - http://technosavvy.org/
NECC06
NECC
Compare New York Times and ohmynews. New York Times is written by professional journalists for stories that sell papers. Ohmynews is a Korean online paper with both professional and non-professional writers that brings the daily news to the public.
Encyclopedias vs Wikipedia. Most online encyclopedias are fee based and fairly static. Wikipedia is dynamic – with people who are passionate about the topic posting information. The incorrect information is quickly erased and rewritten. A recent study showed that Wikipedia is as accurate as any published encyclopedias. This would allow students to contribute to the world of knowledge. It is also available in other languages. There is also opportunities for discussion within the article.
Technorati
Tagging is a way of adding keywords for for arrogation. It allows links between blogs and on going conversation.
Audience
When students have a broader audience, they write differently and with more enthusiasm and significance.
How do we keep kids safe while working online?
Keep students on your own network and servers.
Monitor what the students are reading and writing.
Teach appropriate online behavior.
Recognize that young people will encounter unsavory things online, just like in real life.
What professional development is needed?
Avoid the “just in case” PD and look for “just in time.”
Build on the trail blazers so they can show the way for others.
Leaders have to lead – the admin must show what they want in technology.
How to assess student work?
Develop or adopt curriculum standards for information literacy.
Create uniform rubrics for use across curriculum.
De-emphasize individual assessments. (Wikis and blog are interconnected, assessing an individual would be difficult)
Equitable access is important – all students should have the opportunities to work with technology. Consider extending the hours of the school's media center and computer labs to better serve the community. Teachers can give classes on internet behavior or software lessons. Converse about the equity within your own school.
The implications of not getting technology use correctly in school. Change is happening so fast that we can't keep up. We are in a relevance race with our students. The social sites feeds the students' passion – we need to understand what this passion is and how to harness it for education. We should not divide students' “real life” outside of school and what happens within in the classroom. Our “digital immigrant” accent is clear to many students. We need to consider what the job market will look like in the next 10-20-50 years. Students need to communicate across cultures, without time lag for jobs that don't exist yet. There is the potential that students may move on to private tutors rather then public schools.
Tim Wilson's site - http://technosavvy.org/
NECC06
NECC
Extraordinary Visions - Dewitt Jones
Vision, passion, purpose and creativity – the four words that sum up how great things happen, whether it is art, business, or education.
His father told him a story – two guys breaking stone. One feels he is just chipping stone, the other feels he is building a cathedral. Our vision of a task, project, idea etc is influenced by our attitude toward it. Dreaming and imagining is an important part of creating passion for the task.
Mr. Jones related the story of how he became a film maker. He was suppose to go to Harvard Business school, but a night of dreaming and talking led him to withdraw his application and go to California to learn how to make films. He, and his friends, envisioned a kayak trip up the coast of Japan. He wrote a proposal to National Geographic, went for an interview with a quickly made demo film. They offered to follow him on the trip and make the film thermselves. He refused this offer. Rewriting his proposal, the president saw Mr. Jones's vision and hired him. When vision and passion combine, anything is possible.
Mr. Jones then shared his photos of the wonderful people and places he saw throughout the world. His narration was a celebration of the very best that this world has to offer.
He started to question the slogans and philosophies that people try to live their lives with. Nature is beauty and passion, not competition, win/lose. There are so many possibilities. There is more than one right answer, which is the key to creativity. There are several right answers, you just have to look at the different perspective. Don't stop at the first right answer. Look for the next right answer. Do so not in terror, but with comfort.
Problems are truly opportunities.
The average National Geographic article uses over 400 rolls of film to get the 30 pictures that are used.
The professional question is “did you get the shot” – not how many good ones do you get in a roll of 36.
Train your technique.
Place yourself where there in the place of most potential
Open yourself to possibilities – things wyou wold never even dream off
Focus the vision by celebrating what is right in the situation
By celebrating the right, we have the energy to fix the wrong.
I saw an angel in the stone and just carved to set it free – Michelangelo
Life is about continually finding the next right answer – keeping the vision.
When we believe it – we see it.
In our lives, there is an edge between success and significance. Not just the best in the world, but the best for the world. It takes us past being good professionally into our personal lives.
You take it all in and then give it all back. Take the very best that you are and publish it in your daily life.
Can we find the balance between what we do and who we are? Be able to take it all in and give it all back with grace and humility.
“My object in living is to unite
My avocation and my vocation
As my two eyes make one in sight” (Robert Frost)
NECC06
NECC
His father told him a story – two guys breaking stone. One feels he is just chipping stone, the other feels he is building a cathedral. Our vision of a task, project, idea etc is influenced by our attitude toward it. Dreaming and imagining is an important part of creating passion for the task.
Mr. Jones related the story of how he became a film maker. He was suppose to go to Harvard Business school, but a night of dreaming and talking led him to withdraw his application and go to California to learn how to make films. He, and his friends, envisioned a kayak trip up the coast of Japan. He wrote a proposal to National Geographic, went for an interview with a quickly made demo film. They offered to follow him on the trip and make the film thermselves. He refused this offer. Rewriting his proposal, the president saw Mr. Jones's vision and hired him. When vision and passion combine, anything is possible.
Mr. Jones then shared his photos of the wonderful people and places he saw throughout the world. His narration was a celebration of the very best that this world has to offer.
He started to question the slogans and philosophies that people try to live their lives with. Nature is beauty and passion, not competition, win/lose. There are so many possibilities. There is more than one right answer, which is the key to creativity. There are several right answers, you just have to look at the different perspective. Don't stop at the first right answer. Look for the next right answer. Do so not in terror, but with comfort.
Problems are truly opportunities.
The average National Geographic article uses over 400 rolls of film to get the 30 pictures that are used.
The professional question is “did you get the shot” – not how many good ones do you get in a roll of 36.
Train your technique.
Place yourself where there in the place of most potential
Open yourself to possibilities – things wyou wold never even dream off
Focus the vision by celebrating what is right in the situation
By celebrating the right, we have the energy to fix the wrong.
I saw an angel in the stone and just carved to set it free – Michelangelo
Life is about continually finding the next right answer – keeping the vision.
When we believe it – we see it.
In our lives, there is an edge between success and significance. Not just the best in the world, but the best for the world. It takes us past being good professionally into our personal lives.
You take it all in and then give it all back. Take the very best that you are and publish it in your daily life.
Can we find the balance between what we do and who we are? Be able to take it all in and give it all back with grace and humility.
“My object in living is to unite
My avocation and my vocation
As my two eyes make one in sight” (Robert Frost)
NECC06
NECC
Podcasting & Podcatching for the Absolute Beginner – Larry S. Anderson
A Panel of PodcastingTed Lai – from Los Angeles County Office of Education
David Warlick – Landmark Project
Lucy Gray – University of Chicago University Schools
Tim Wilson – Savvy Technologist
National Center for Technology Planning
http://www.nctp.com/
How-to section:
A podcast allows people to subscribe to podasts through RSS that give the person the auto-download of the subscription. It can then be played on iPods, computers and MP3 players.
Podcasting – a term that describes, in a fresh way, the teechnology used to puch (share) audio content from websites down to consumers )clients) of that content, who usually listen to it whenever and wherever they want.
You don't need an iPod, it is narrowcasting (specific), not platform specific, and available from and to everyone. It allows internet users to be more of producers, not just consumers.
The Lucy Gray walked through the process of downloading and subscribing to a podcast. Ted Lai spoke about how podcasting can be used in education. Podcasts can :
Gather content to enhance learning
Provide school and classroom updates
Find or produce “Soundseeing” tours
Dramatize or re-enact key moments in the topic
Produce radio shows
Podcasts can be used for both learning from and sharing knowledge.
Provide school and classroom updates
Find or produce “Soundseeing” tours
Dramatize or re-enact key moments in the topic
Produce radio shows
Podcasts can be used for both learning from and sharing knowledge.
Equipment
need a recording devise – either a microphone on the MP3 player/computer or a digital recorder
a mixer would be handy to help edit the recording
need a recording devise – either a microphone on the MP3 player/computer or a digital recorder
a mixer would be handy to help edit the recording
Tim suggests starting simply, then you can purchase more advanced equipment on Ebay.
Software
Most of the good podcasting software is through Mac. So, it may be worth looking at getting a Mac for podcasts, if your school is really interested in podcasting
GarbageBand – easy to use
Podcast Maker
If people have questions, please use the wiki currently being produced, or email Larry, who will pass them on to the panel.
This panel was eye-opening for me. I finally learned how to get a podcast. I definitely need to spend more time exploring the possibilities with what's available.
NECC06
NECC
One Year of QuestGardening: A Crop Report – Bernie Dodge, PhD
PowerPoint Available - http://webquest.sdsu.edu/necc06/questgarden/
QuestGarden is a website that Bernie Dodge has worked on for the last 1 ½ and was debuted at NECC 2005. He created the site because Mr. Dodge noticed that creating WebQuests took a lot of time, too many technical skills, and resources that most teachers and school do not have access to. In addition, a good WebQuest should include strong pedagogical skills including constructivism, using higher level thinking, and coherence within a lesson. Most teacher also teach, and create Webquests, in isolation and peer feedback helps the Quest be better. Finally, teachers need to store the pages.
Some symptoms of these problems include: Webquests that are uploaded and not updates, many teachers found that the first one was too difficult and won't make a second one, and that fact that excellent teachers may feel that WebQuesting is too difficult and won't ever make one, which is a loss for all teachers.
What is QuestGarden? The metaphor comes from a community garden, where master gardeners work with novice gardeners to create an overflowing garden. Mr. Dodge debuted this website in Feb. 2005 and tested it throughout the spring and summer. He announced it at NECC 2005. There are now over 30,000 users from all over the world. Over 14,000 new WebQuests are available.
Mr. Dodge built into QuestGarden what he would talk about in a workshop, including prompted guidance with each step. It is browser based, so no software is needed. The advantage to this site is that fact that there is an emphasis on sharing resources and aadvice – feedback is easy even when using it as a workshop. It is WYSIWYG and able to upload pics. The basic patterns of WebQuests are available to help ease the design factor.
QuestGarden is available at: www.webquest.org
After a quick demo of the site, Mr. Dodge highlighted some of the best WebQuests accessible on the site. He is especially interested in the new developments within the WebQuest structure – using wikis and podcasts. He also looked at the kid-created WebQuests. At first is thought it was a bad idea, then, thinking about the structure of QuestGarden, it might be viable, however, after examining the kid-created ones Mr. Dodge has found that overall, the deep thinking needed is not happening. He is pondering how to deal with this situation, maybe including a student section with a different set of resources.
However, despite some of the problems, Mr. Dodge feels that QuestGarden is fulfilling its purpose – make it easy to create WebQuests, that are truly WebQuests. An activity that helps students to use the internet to get kids to think deeply, evaluate and analyze and apply information.
The future of QuestGarden is promising. It will continue to be free until September 1, 2006. There will be a charge in the future because the amount of information flowing requires server space and bandwith. He is considering 20USD for a 2 year subscription – to encourage people to use and revise their webquests. For teacher prep classes, there will be a 30 day free trial.
There will also be new features. He hopes to allow the WebQuests to be exported into other sites. Many people would like to translate the site into other languages. There will also be more options for peer ratings and feedback, including a mentoring type program. Scaffolding extras (such as art viewing worksheets) and integrated quizzes will be built in too. Finally, there will be the ability to download other's WebQuests to your own space to update and change it to fit your situation.
In addition, the current SDSU.edu WebQuest site will be merged with QuestGarden. RSS feeds will be available. There are new design patterns that are and will emerge as technology changes.
Inspiration-like concept map open source site - http://www.gliffy.com/
Timeliner-like open source site Simile by MIT - http://simile.mit.edu/timeline/
NECC06
NECC
QuestGarden is a website that Bernie Dodge has worked on for the last 1 ½ and was debuted at NECC 2005. He created the site because Mr. Dodge noticed that creating WebQuests took a lot of time, too many technical skills, and resources that most teachers and school do not have access to. In addition, a good WebQuest should include strong pedagogical skills including constructivism, using higher level thinking, and coherence within a lesson. Most teacher also teach, and create Webquests, in isolation and peer feedback helps the Quest be better. Finally, teachers need to store the pages.
Some symptoms of these problems include: Webquests that are uploaded and not updates, many teachers found that the first one was too difficult and won't make a second one, and that fact that excellent teachers may feel that WebQuesting is too difficult and won't ever make one, which is a loss for all teachers.
What is QuestGarden? The metaphor comes from a community garden, where master gardeners work with novice gardeners to create an overflowing garden. Mr. Dodge debuted this website in Feb. 2005 and tested it throughout the spring and summer. He announced it at NECC 2005. There are now over 30,000 users from all over the world. Over 14,000 new WebQuests are available.
Mr. Dodge built into QuestGarden what he would talk about in a workshop, including prompted guidance with each step. It is browser based, so no software is needed. The advantage to this site is that fact that there is an emphasis on sharing resources and aadvice – feedback is easy even when using it as a workshop. It is WYSIWYG and able to upload pics. The basic patterns of WebQuests are available to help ease the design factor.
QuestGarden is available at: www.webquest.org
After a quick demo of the site, Mr. Dodge highlighted some of the best WebQuests accessible on the site. He is especially interested in the new developments within the WebQuest structure – using wikis and podcasts. He also looked at the kid-created WebQuests. At first is thought it was a bad idea, then, thinking about the structure of QuestGarden, it might be viable, however, after examining the kid-created ones Mr. Dodge has found that overall, the deep thinking needed is not happening. He is pondering how to deal with this situation, maybe including a student section with a different set of resources.
However, despite some of the problems, Mr. Dodge feels that QuestGarden is fulfilling its purpose – make it easy to create WebQuests, that are truly WebQuests. An activity that helps students to use the internet to get kids to think deeply, evaluate and analyze and apply information.
The future of QuestGarden is promising. It will continue to be free until September 1, 2006. There will be a charge in the future because the amount of information flowing requires server space and bandwith. He is considering 20USD for a 2 year subscription – to encourage people to use and revise their webquests. For teacher prep classes, there will be a 30 day free trial.
There will also be new features. He hopes to allow the WebQuests to be exported into other sites. Many people would like to translate the site into other languages. There will also be more options for peer ratings and feedback, including a mentoring type program. Scaffolding extras (such as art viewing worksheets) and integrated quizzes will be built in too. Finally, there will be the ability to download other's WebQuests to your own space to update and change it to fit your situation.
In addition, the current SDSU.edu WebQuest site will be merged with QuestGarden. RSS feeds will be available. There are new design patterns that are and will emerge as technology changes.
Inspiration-like concept map open source site - http://www.gliffy.com/
Timeliner-like open source site Simile by MIT - http://simile.mit.edu/timeline/
NECC06
NECC
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