Macromedia Education Technology Grant

"Macromedia Inc. is recruiting classroom teachers, district administrators, technology coordinators, in-service specialists, School of Education faculty, or education consultants to become Macromedia Education Leaders. This program recognizes educational technology innovators who have demonstrated exemplary uses of Macromedia technology to enhance student achievement, effective teaching, and infrastructure for K-12 education. Macromedia Education Leaders will receive free access to a variety of Macromedia software, curriculum, and other resources. They also will serve as presenters and experts at conferences and will be considered first for pilot programs." (via)

We Moved to a New Bloghood

In July 2004, we moved to a new home in the blogosphere. But don't worry--we have (finally) unpacked our posts and archived them here in our new home at Blogger.

You can access our earlier posts by clicking "July 2004" located in the BlendedEDU Archives section on the sidebar. You can also use the navibar search at the top of the page to search our blog for more specific information.

Moving forward, we will be posting resources, conference notices, e-learning news, and additional e-learning related information in the traditional blog format.

::Other News::

The "Essential Readings" category has two blended learning themed books. Blogging: Genius Strategies for Instant Web Content by Biz Stone, and Designing Courses and Teaching on the Web: A "How To" Guide to Proven, Innovative Strategies by Dr. Mercedes Fisher.

Maryanne has accepted a position at Northern Mariana College /Saipan as an instructional designer. She will be teaching the faculty how to weave social media into their curriculum and how to use technology to support the development of a community of practice at NMC. Congratulations Maryanne!

Derek has been invited by the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles to create an interactive environment for the museum's Tools for Tolerance program. As a product manager/instructional designer, he will design and implement face-to-face and online social justice training for law enforcement, educators, and the National Institute Against Hate Crimes.

Thanks!

Derek E. Baird & Maryanne Campo

Welcome to BlendedEdu!

BlendedEdu.com was founded in 2002 by MaryAnne Campo and Derek E. Baird while attending the Graduate School of Education and Psychology at Pepperdine University.

During the process of completing research for our M.A. in Education Technology, we discovered countless numbers of resources for teachers, students, researchers, and others interested in the convergence of social software, online community, and learning.

As our lists of resources grew and grew, we quickly realized that we needed a place to journal all our sources so others could benefit from our research. We chose the blog format for two main reasons:

• First, the web-based nature of the blog allows us to rapidly update and maintain the list of resources, websites, books and articles on a website.

• Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, the blog format allows you—the user—an opportunity to contribute to the dialogue by posting comments, additional resources, and queries for help via the “comments section” located on the bottom of each page.

One of the key elements of “blended learning” which appeals to us is the high priority placed on social interaction and community. Contrary to popular belief, the blended learning model views technology as a tool which can foster and support human relationships. It was important to us that BlendedEdu remain true to this tenet.

Not only do we hope you will continue to visit BlendedEdu to see what new resources we have added, but we also hope that you will join us and contribute to the ongoing conversation about this exciting and burgeoning field in education.

MaryAnne Campo
Derek E. Baird

.:.March 2006 Update.:.

We are so thrilled with the response to BlendedEdu. Thanks to everyone for the email, links to resources, and suggestions. Again, thank you! It's been an amazing four years!

From the get go, we wanted BlendedEdu to have an international perspective. There are so many wonderful, talented, and innovative educators out there and we wanted to make sure we created an inclusive environment for the exchange of ideas, resources, and knowledge.

So when we recently signed up for a ClustrMap, we were very excited to see that we have readers from every corner of the world.

The ClustrMap results not only feed our passion and commitment to BlendedEdu, it also deepens our belief that social media isn't about technology, it's about relationships!

And feel free to drop us a line. We love hearing from you!

Using Blogs in the Classroom

In the Classroom, Web Logs Are the New Bulletin Boards: A New York Times reporter visits a classroom and interviews teachers who are integrating blogs into their curriculum. "Sometimes, the long reach of the Web has turned bloggers into modern-day pen pals, allowing students to collaborate easily with their peers in other classes or even other countries.

Some social studies classes at Hunterdon Central Regional High School in Flemington, for instance, are using a blog to study the Holocaust with high school students in Krakow, Poland."



Technorati Tags: education blogging social+software learning student+blogs educational+weblogs

Cyberbullies

New York Times: "The episode reflects one of many ways that the technology lubricating the social lives of teenagers is amplifying standard adolescent cruelty. No longer confined to school grounds or daytime hours, "cyberbullies" are pursuing their quarries into their own bedrooms.

Tools like e-mail messages and Web logs enable the harassment to be both less obvious to adults and more publicly humiliating, as gossip, put-downs and embarrassing pictures are circulated among a wide audience of peers with a few clicks."



Technorati Tags: education+technology education educational+weblogs student+blogs IM cyberbullies

Teenagers reach out via weblogs

BBC: "Teenage boys and girls are using blogs, easily publishable online diaries, in many more similar ways than has been predicted, according to a study." (via)



education blogging social+software learning student+blogs educational+weblogs

Digital Curriculum

Building the Digital Curriculum: "You've got your computers, your link to the Web, your class full of students. Now what? For years, teachers had little reason to give this question much thought. Most didn't have any computers in their classrooms, not to mention access to the Internet. "Technology" was something their students did once a week in a lab." (via)

Blogs as Course Mangement Tool

Blogging as a Course Management Tool: "In recent months, Penn State University's DEOS mailing list has been humming with observations about blogging's educational impact, and a new variant of the blog—known as a "wiki" (Godwin-Jones, 2003)—has emerged and been embraced by many online students, including my own. Something is certainly afoot."



education blogging social+software learning student+blogs educational+weblogs

Technology with Social Skills

Business Week: "Simple or sophisticated, it's being used to fight poverty and diseases and improve the lives of the world's neediest." (via)

Eduwonk Blog

EduWonk : "Eduwonk is a product of the 21st Century Schools Project at the Progressive Policy Institute. Eduwonk is the Project's daily presence on the web."



education blogging social+software learning student+blogs