Skype freeware

Skype freeware - http://www.skype.com/ - this freeware enables you to make unlimited free calls from computer to computer, either audio-only or including a live video feed. Skype works smoothly and easily on different platforms, and generally provides high voice quality. Plugging yur computer directly into your network, rather than working wirelessly seems to work best. This is a great way to keep in touch with friends and family that do not live nearby. All you need is a Webcam, and you can buy them relatively cheap. Inexpensive models run around $25.00.

http://www.slide.com/r/uve_4QW06D-Mi1l-0JZX_hRsa6gXs-zH

Web-Based Software

APPS you can access through your Web Browser - Web-based software lets you create spreadsheets, edit photos, and create documents. Applications can be found at www.zoho.com and Google Docs, docs.google.com You must sign up, but it's all free. It has planners, an chat functions so you can share schedules and talk online!

NEW HORIZONS: Internet Safety Classes in School

NEW HORIZONS: Internet Safety Classes in School

http://www.auntlee.com/safety/

Internet Safety Classes in School

Internet Safety classes in school? - Isn't this where it should all start? There is so much that kids have learned on their own, yet there is still so much that they don't know. Kids do need to be warned about the dangers of sharing personal information on the Internet and agreeing to meet Web acquaintances in person. Virginia is the FIRST state to mandate that public schools offer Internet safety classes for all grade levels. Texas and Illinois have Internet safety education, but they don't make their courses mandatory. These such efforts are long overdue as the Internet's technological advances have enabled criminals to reach more victims. We as teachers/guides are sensitive to the needs of the students, however it's difficult to feel comfortable unless we know our students know the dangers they may encounter. There is not a way to protect youngsters from on-line predators unless they themselves are educated. With today's tools, there is permanence in what students are uploading to the web. How will that information effect them when they're looking to apply for college or out job hunting? Do they know how much of this information can be used against them - or exposed? Internet safety classes should be offered into existing coursework for 11-16 year olds as the state of Virginia is doing. Although young people feel pretty safe or "bulletproof", young people are still vulnerable. It's necessary to reinforce the old warning: "Don't talk to strangers". It is my opinion that each state has a Dept. of Education (of Technology), and should work with schools to integrate Internet Safety lessons at no cost to the student, or the district. If they have these classes before they enter High School, then we can do less on-line babysitting and get down to using the Web for all the resources it has, and without fear that "someone" will become a victim.

Reflection

Reflection of the Web 2.0 class - Everyone is surrounded by information in today's world. We are bombarded daily by more information than we could possibly process, yet we still seek information. Continuously, I ask myself; how do I familiarize myself with the 21st century learner? First, we must connect with each other, and that's what this class has helped us do. Myra knew how to engage us in new and exciting ways, just as we have to do for the youth that we serve. The tools that she showed us, help us to organize our information, such as RSS feeds. She also showed us that the new web is participatory, with information flowing in all directions rather than from author to reader. I really enjoyed building a blog of my own. All of a sudden you become part of this community communicating with people with the same or like interests.

• It could allow an administrators to post news events for a school community for upcoming events, announcements, classroom information, school menus (just about anything).
• Someone could use it to announce a short-term problem, or for public relations.
• Blogs could be an excellent tool for community building as regular posts could keep people up to date on a specific topic.
• A blog could even replace a school website that was built a very long time ago.
• The interactive tools we learned about allow students to collaborate on projects, build knowledge together, and publish thier ideas.

After this class, I feel much more comfortable in being a "true guide" as these students approach me. There are opportunities that allow these students to find exactly what they are looking for because of the Web's endless supply of information. Everything anyone could want is someplace on-line and I would not have realized half of it unless I reached out for that professional development and took this class. Because I like to read about the lastest technology, I'll continue to blog about "things" I come across. Myra's blog was a great resource for this class. The idea of building your own professional network where you find the people from whom you can learn and ask questions or make comments is one of the major benefits of blogging. These conversations are so valuable and allows people to collaborate like never before. Through these interactive and public discussions, ideas can be developed and expanded upon. I think we will see more and more podcasts for educational learning opportunities and it will develop rapidly to support and assist educators.

The free online photo management and sharing applications that we learned about were the best. Now I can post my pictures on www.flickr.com and share those photos with family and friends in my hometown 2000 miles away. I no longer have to carry my photo album across the country to share it!

In closing, I do think that students today will need 21st century skills in their job markets. They will be used to communicating with a wide range of people (from all over the world) and they will continue to build personal networks. Schools can help guide them. Educators can help students learn how to process and use the information wisely. Parents of these students are also getting on board using cell phones (text messaging) simply to check in with their kids. They are finding out the benefits of these simple "tools" (cell phones). Two of the Washington area's largest school districts send automatic text message alerts for weather-related school closures and other emergencies. It has us "connected". Technology is changing quickly, and we each seek our own comfort level. Thank you Myra for bringing this PST to the Clerks of Svvsd!

Thing #23

Expand your mind - http://movies.atomiclearning.com/k12/home has been one of my favorite pastimes. It's loaded with tutorials and it's so easy to become familiar with a program in a just a few steps. This is a great tool to have at our fingertips. If a school or district is committed to implementing new technologies, the staff will get the message. This is one tool that is worth your time in "expanding your mind". It's free, it's supported by the school, and it's very easy to understand! It puts you in the "technology expert" seat in a hurry! The ability to be exposed to all the tools (like atomic learning can show you), can help you understand the educational potential of those tools. Keep exploring, it will make a difference!

Thing #22

Cellphones as classroom learning tools - I took Bud Hunt's K12 online class and this was the first conference I tapped into at http://k12onlineconference.org/?p=152 to open the discussion about Cellphones as learning tools. I listened to this podcast and the theory of connecting kids favorite digital toy with classroom learning. But, aren't they distracting? Didn't we live without them for 100 years? Aren't they disruptive and don't they allow kids to cheat on exams by textmailing each other? Apparently not in 25 NH schools where kids can access homework, class assignments and conduct research. But, who is footing the bill? The parents, the school? This conference is also where I linked to http://www.gabcast.com/ and made my own podcast. The benefits of cell phone use: they couple w/Web 2.0 resources, can be data collection tools (and not just social toys), mobile web, calendars, calculators, cameras and audio recording devices. Is the cellphone the "next swiss army knife"? Welcome to the 21st century!

Thing #21

Copyright and Freedom of Information - vagueness; fair use is so hard to understand that it fails to provide effective guidance for the use of others' works today. (yes, I copied and pasted that!) Copyright law is confusing, no doubt. Take the copyright quiz at http://witchyrichy.wikispaces.com/copyright Students need so much guidance in this area, but I have found that those in a leadership role also need help. The website quoted above is Hall Davidson's. He outlines key facts that administrators, educators, and students should know about intellectual property. Many organizations appoint a technology manager to conduct audits and maintain a log of licenses and registration materials, but many do not. The new "system" that can make things easier on students is Creative Commons (www.creativecommons.org). It's a system built within current copyright laws that allow people to mark their creations with a Creative Commons license. This license allows others to use their music, movies, images, and text online for specific purposes, such as for classroom use. The licenses are outlined at http://creativecommons.org/about/licenses/.

Thing #20

Social Networking - I loved the library20.ning http://library20.ning.com/ because it had so many more links connected to just this one site. Once you start exploring...it takes away your time and it's hard to stop. I thot I'd explore the blog post "web toys I'm playing with...". It was great! It took me to www.comigs.com , a place to create and share your comic style stories. I have the perfect 13 year old for this. He loves to write stories, songs, etc. so I'm putting him to the test of this website to see what he can create. I know social networking is a growing concern but there is upside to when someone can reach across vast distances to communicate and share. Students are strong believers in the power of technology to enrich their learning experiences. Are they no longer the people our educational system was designed to teach? I wonder.

Thing #19

Microblogging - Facebook; more popular than porn says Time Magazine. When you can reach all of your friends through social networking (Facebook, MySpace, Twitter www.twitter.com), then porn sites lag behind (for the 18-24 year olds). Social Networks rank first. Web 2.0 is all about empowering individual consumers. It's not enough just to find that old movie; now you can make your own film, distribute it worldwide, and find out what people think almost instantly. Twitter: the exchange of quick frequent answers to one simple question.
Students have a natural affinity for these tools, specifically interconnectedness, immediacy, interactivity, communications, and community. Being so connected, students can dig deeper to find information that stretches their ability to reason. Students can collaborate on projects and consult experts in a matter of minutes and then, share their data with the world. The parents (and teachers) of the 21st century student who plays video games, text messages, conducts internet searches, downloads music, shares files, and uses the Web for homework, have to struggle to keep up! They no longer have to look to a parent or a teacher for an answer, and they no longer have the patience to wait on an answer. It's all right there in this interactive world we call Web 2.0.

Thing #18

Video
I wanted to share something on "Web 2.0", so I searched www.ted.com for a video on Wikipedia. I found a podcast by Jimmy Wales, who developed Wikipedia. As we know, there are no gatekeepers; most content is available without charge, and anyone may add to it's volume of knowledge. I've attached the video for sharing this podcast with you (see bottom of page).As part of the open-source movement, programmers freely provide their source code for the sheer enjoyment of seeing their creation used. Web 2.0 is what makes the term "interconnectedness" come to life. The tools we have today allow multiple users to participate. These tools are effective for business success as well as for personal enjoyment.

Thing # 17

Web 2.0 Awards - I wanted a widget (Widget"= objects on a computer screen the user interacts with (thanks to Wikipedia for that definition)! and here's one to show off at the bottom of this page! I went to www.widgetmate.com/news/. I wanted scrolling news headlines and widgetmate allowed you to customize the way it's presented. The Web 2.0 awards for tools that can be used can be found on http://www.seomoz.org/web2.0 . "

Thing # 16

Learning a language - LiveMocha (livemocha.com), is a free site where members can tackle 160 hours of beginning or intermediate lessons in French, German, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, Hindi or English. There is no charge for tutoring; instead, members tutor one another, drawing on their expertise in their own native language. Learning a new language does require listening, speaking and memory skills. This speaks for itself, when the number of students entering US public schools with a first language other than English continues to grow. Could this not be a site that those students can access with ESL teachers for English language learners? I don't see Italian on this menu by livemocha, but I can tell you that I've already spent some good money toward dictionaries, and Cd's in hopes of learning "limited" Italian, so when I do get there one day I can communicate with them! If they add Italian to this menu, I'll be tuning in.

Thing #15

Audiobooks & ebooks - FREE! I like the audiobooks idea alot! But ebooks online, even for free is not something I'll explore anytime soon. I can see myself lying in bed when the day is done, and resting with my headphones and listening to a story. I never see myself as going to my computer to read an entire book, online, even if it's free. But, if you'd like to explore one, Myra has provided us with that link at http://browseinside.harpercollins.com/index.aspx?isbn13=9780060558123. It's Neil Gaiman's, American Gods. Would I love to read the book? Certainly-but not online! Amazon offers you an out in the upper left corner asking you if you'd like to buy the book. However, if I want to read the book, I'll go to the library to get it, rather than buy it. Again, that's free and I don't have to sit in front of my screen to read it. I may be interested in signing up for a 3 month trial subscription for just $7.49 at http://www.audible.com/ so I can give the audiobook version a try. Afterall, my eyes are tired at night and it would be a good way to unwind from the day. Can this audio version be uploaded to my Ipod? I would hope so!

Thing #14

Podcasting- Since I posted my thoughts on podcasting in Thing #9, I'll keep this short. Simply put, it's a way to distribute multimedia files such as music or speech over the Internet for playback on mobile devices and personal computers. Anyone with a simple computer, inexpensive microphone, and access to the internet can create a podcast. The simple podcast I created at the top of this page was done on http://www.voki.com/. I simply called an 800 number from my cell phone and that number recorded by voice, and uploaded it to the web! http://www.poducateme.com/guide/ was a great resource in learning all there is to know on podcasting. The first podcast I listened to was http://www.edtechtalk.com/ and just as recent as last week, our Bud Hunt was podcasting on Ed Tech with many other schools around the US about how we and they decide to filter certain sites and who is in charge of that. It was interesting to hear the comments of one school in Alabama that the staff could not even access their own blogs from their own computers. Once the podcast has been recorded and placed on the internet, anyone can listen to it. I think it would be great to have teachers podcasting daily so students can access that class 24/7 and review discussions and notes. Check out my podcast within this page on my voki. How better to experience an event, than by listening.

Thing #13

Google Docs- A great place for "tools", http://www.google.com/educators has compiled a group of it's programs into a collection, particulary those that are appropriate for learning. It's a great guide to all the google products, such as Web Search, Earth, Book Search, Maps, and even Spreadsheets, and Blogger. There are some examples of how educators are using them and their lesson ideas! Google manages much of the details of the tools they offer. Computer based learning activies that are well designed and effective is what Google Docs has to offer. I did some further experimenting on Google Images, since this is where most of our students are directed when it comes to finding images on the web. This is no doubt a unique tool for images.

I also explored Google Glossary and loved it! I like to have definitions right at my finger tips and this is one way to get them, fast! Some of the tools I went to explore did require a Gmail account. As educators become familiar with open-source applications such as these, the future may be that they are just a "common place" for educators to look for and use these applications, creating a huge on-line presence that students will be comfortable with.

Thing #12

Open Source Applications - this is very interesting; saving the purchaser with the need for applications sometimes hundreds of dollars. I can't believe these licenses are not restricted by copyright laws, but apparently they are not. Most PC's do not come with office software, but that shouldn't stop you from creating spreadsheets, documents, even editing photos with apps you can access through the Wed. The cost of software licenses and new computers could be eliminated by schools because of the on-line availability of these applications. It makes sense in a world of freebies on the web today! You can download free source applications to burn cd's, to check for viruses, even to manage a CD collection! Applications from Google and Zoho offer fully functional office suites that run in Safari and other Web browsers. Check out Google Docs on Google. To use them, visit docs.google.com and click on "Get Started". The suite can also import and export Microsoft-compatible files. At Zoho, the applications are free for individuals, but there may be a fee for businesses.

Slow Download?

Try this tip! If you've got a slow connection, did you know you can access sites on the internet without the graphics and animations? You can try using the mobile-phone edition of the site, if it's available. You get the same info without waiting on all the associated "flash". To find a site's mobile edition, try searching for "mobile (name of site), often however, you only need to replace the "www" at the start of its address with "m". Here's an example: instead of http://www.mlb.com/, try m.mlb.com.

Thing #11

Wikis: Well we all know the most important site on the web these days is http://wikipedia.org/. Wikipedia is an encyclopedia that stores the "sum of human knowledge". Every day new entries are added about people, places, things, historical events - even the news as it happens. We get the pedia part of wikipedia, but what is a wiki? When I visited Hawaii, the transit that we boarded was called a "wiki-wiki", which means "quick". So, a wiki is a website where anyone can edit anything, anytime and QUICK. So, the question is; is this a good resource for students' research work? The consensus among educators seems to tell students to use it as a starting point, but not as a sole research. Wikis are a great collaborative tool among teachers or districts to collect and share information, not just for students. Students, or staff can post and edit entries to a wiki, add graphics, or links as well. As students interact, they learn to collaborate, publish, and write. I think when students read something on a wiki, they are already thinking about how to "change it".

Thing #10

Working with Photos -

I do like the resizing feature on snipshot, which is the photo editing site I worked with and explored. I noticed that I could not change it to sepia tho without paying a $9 fee for it. I know there are other sites that we have used that will format it for you for free. This picture is of "Once upon a Mattress". Mead Middle school just did the production, so stay tuned for pictures from our school play, with my Ryan as the "prince". Photos on the web means becoming a part of a community of photographers sharing experiences. It's another dimension to what students and teachers can do with digital images in the classroom. I know our music instructor will love when I doctor up my photos and present him with a plaque and this production! What shall I do? Any image generators or editing you can think of for this project?

Thing #9 - Technology

Podcasting - basically the creation and distribution of amateur radio, plain and simple! Getting alot of people to listen to you has become very easy! Podcasters are normal, everyday people talking about things that interest them. And then, there are others that are more focused in content. You can find interviews, presentations, and interesting news on a particular topic thru podcasts. Podcasting is all the rage, and with some technical expertise you can make it work for you! Creating a podcast has gotten easier. Our library created ours on http://www.gabcast.com/. We did a "book talk". It was simple, but you could get really creative! RSS allows you to subscribe to podcasts. Just like new blog content will show up in your aggregator whenever it's posted, new podcasts can show up in your MP3 player/ or computer whenever they are created. Apple created the IPod so that if it is plugged in to your computer the podcast will download directly to the Ipod, so when you're ready for your morning jog (who has time?), you can tune into all new content! Most major news organizations have jumped on the podcast bandwagon with nightly news summaries, etc. Give it a try at Gabcast ! Itunes also has a podcast directory in it! Find a subject that interests you, and start talking! I'll be happy to listen.

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing. I do like Flickr, but I do have most of my photos as "private", so I"m sorry you can only see a limited number. There are others I'll share with you in the future as I become more familiar with Flickr and my blog being linked together!

Thing #8

Library Thing - For those Librarians that like to do their "thing". Okay, here's where I fail. I don't have alot of time to read, so there isn't much for me to share on this site. I read lots of papers and magazines, and books on web tools for classrooms, but not alot of Fiction. I did like the Zeitgeist and Group Tabs that Library thing has to offer. If I do find the time to read, I like the fact that I could go to library thing and get a review, or look at top 25 authors. This is a great link for librarians that have read lots of books on their shelves and can write reviews about those books. I see how it would benefit a student looking for a good read. They would be able to log on to Library thing and get a member review of a book title they might be interested in reading. There are lots and lots of tags here which would be great to add to our del.icio.us accounts!

Thing # 7

Social Bookmarking - I get it. But I still like "adding to favorites" better. Tagging in http://del.icio.us/ does make your tags "public" however, which is meaningful to those that trust you as a resourceful person. It is hard to keep track of all the information we have needed and found on the internet. This is a great tool in helping keep track of those links, however it does seem a bit time consuming to maintain it. If you were sharing it (making it public), you would want to make sure your tags were accurate, and the url's were in working order. This is a great tool to learn from each other's efforts. RSS lets us connect with what others write, so this allows us to connect to what others read as well. I like the fact that when you bookmark something at Del.icio.us, then you will immediately be linked to everyone else that has also bookmarked that site. The "community" points the way toward more tags that connects you to more resources. So, the power is in our hands to organize our own information and not just in the hands of Yahoo, or Google. You can apply "many" tags to one link because we all interpret information differently! Furl.net is another popular social bookmarking site.

Thing # 6

Image Generators-Wow! So much fun! Kim, thanks for passing along the glassgiant website http://www.glassgiant.com/ ! Here's my "wanted poster" of my 13 year old! He'll love it when I show it to him. I guess the real power in Flicker lies in ways that it connects people from around the world. If you tag the photo, it becomes that much easier to "search" by the public. Under the "organize link", you can create separate albums for different "sets" of pictures. I'm not getting too carried away however as I don't have the time right now, but I'll remember it when my kids go off to college, or I'll be on the golf course. I think students would get pretty excited about posting pictures on the web that they have taken! Image generators make for endless fun!

Thing #5

Flickr- I don't know anybody that doesn't like photography, a technology that is becoming more accessible every day. I loved creating something on http://www.bighugelabs.com/!

I think it's wonderful what teachers and students can create in the classroom now. Photos just bring that project to life! Flickr was purchased by Yahoo and I didn't know that. A teacher could post field trips, speakers, visitors, and special projects on flickr, and it would be a great way to share the teaching and learning experience of his/her classroom. The majority, but not all the photos on flickr are appropriate for everyone to see, so we do need to be careful about this site. You can not publish more than 20MB of images a month (100? images). If you do, it will not remain free. I thot that adding images to flickr was easy, but I did learn that you need to edit your photos before uploading. This is a great site for current events - like Katrina. Students can actually "search" for pictures and SEE what happened. I also enjoyed clicking on the "most popular" photos to look at in Flickr. Up until December of 07, I've been filing hard copies in photo albums. Will FLICKR change my mind about how I manage my photos?

The Journal-Blogs in the Classroom

I was just in the back room waiting out a lockdown drill. I was picking through some older magazines. I came across "The Journal" dated Febrary 2004. On the front cover was this; "Blogs in the Classroom". Huh? 2004?? And I thot WE were going to be ahead of this new trend! The article said that weblogs were the "unedited, published voice of the people". "Blogosphere", a term coined by William Quick (2001), is the "intellectual cyberspace" that bloggers occupy. They list 4 benefits of student blogging:

• The use of blogs helps students become subject-matter experts.
• The use of blogs increases student interest and ownership in learning. Students are blogging about topics that are important to them.
• The use of blogs gives students legitimate chances to participate. Blogging opens up assignments beyond the teacher-student relationship, allowing the world to grade students and provide encouragement and feedback.
• The use of blogs provides opportunities for diverse perspectives, both within and outside the classroom. Blogs allow all students to participate in a discussion.

Thing #4

Technorati - I read something interesting about Technorati this week. Because it's getting easier and easier for the average joe to post on the internet without any regard to truth or accuracy, you must be on your toes for reliable information! You must find out as much as you can about the author of the weblog. What is their profession, their title, where does their authority on the topic come from, and what's their background? You can find out at technorati.com what kind of reputation the blogger has among his peers. Enter the URL at technorati into the search form. The results will show you how many other bloggers have linked to that particular blogger (weblog). The article says that any site that has more than 100 links to it has earned a reputation as a good source of information by its community. That is quite good to know since the reliability of web content and getting a handle on it takes so much time!! It is these discussions that I worry about in Middle School w/students (about reliable sources) when they are researching their topics. Most of them will be comfortable using the first source they find that supports their thesis. If they are going to start using bloggers for their research efforts, this would be a good tool to show them!

Edutopia: Feb/Mar 08

I just read the article in this month's Edutopia "Programming: the New Literacy". It talks about how power will soon belong to those who can master a variety of powerful and expressive human-machine interactions, and how today's kids already see their parents and their teachers as the illiterate ones! Yikes. It's got me thinking "digitally". Good article!

Thing #3

RSS Feeds- the ability of the average person to create and publish content to the Internet certainly creates an avalanche of information out there that feels overwhelming. Thank goodness for RSS to help us consume all that information in more effecient and relevant ways. The content comes to you instead of you going out to get it. "Real Simple". Now we don't have to click thru all the sites that offer information on a certain subject. We can have those sites directed to us all in one place! We can use the information now, or store it for later use. Better yet, no spams as in email! No junk to filter through to get what you are looking for. If you have a classroom weblog, students can get information about research topics immediately, and updated information can be delivered in a timely fashion. If this doesn't make them more effective consumers of information, nothing will! Great stuff!

Thing #2

Blogging - Posting MY opinion and having someone respond to it! That's powerful! It's a great day when you can share something easily and have an audience that is willing to share back what they think about your ideas. Huge potential in the educational setting I would think. It all takes as much skill as sending an email and I think that is fantastic! Students need to know that we can speak their language, and then in turn we will have their attention. Blogging; a place to converse and reflect and even update daily! We can click on links that will take us miles from where we sit! I'm ready to share other's experiences with Web 2.0!

Thing #1

Web 2.0 - immense and rapid growth since 1989 when the web was in the development phases. The Read/Write Web holds transformational changes that are in store for teachers and students! The ability to easily publish something is transformational in itself. It's here, happening right now in front of our eyes. The evolution of it will certainly bring about changes. What's in store? I'm ready to explore. I never dreamed I'd be publishing something to the Internet one day, and here I am!