Common Craft: Online Photo Sharing in Plain English

Catch this video from the commoncraftshow and share it with your students.

After watching the video your students will have a much easier time understanding photo sharing. The video spells out in "plain english" how sites such as Flickr and Photobucket work. It even provides a good explanation of 'tags'-something many people have trouble understanding.

From someone who lost all her childhood and family photos in Katrina- share this with your students. Then create a photo-sharing project so your students will 'learn by doing.'

Innovative Thinking :: Low-Cost Multi-touch Whiteboard using the Wiimote

Scanning youtube I came across this great idea from a graduate student at Carnegie Mellon.

Johnny Chun Lee is an example of innovative thinking. In this video he shows how to make an inexpensive interactive whiteboard by using a wii remote and infared LED light pens.

And who said "youtube" isn't educational?

Get your students thinking creatively and see what they can create. Pose questions and see their innovative ideas. The world needs innovative thinkers and it is critical for us to develop innovative and creative thinking skills in our students. It's necessary for their future, and ours too.

Check out Johnny Lee's website to see more of his innovative thinking.

Thanks Johhny- keep thinking.....

The Davos Question

Can Social Media lead to a better world?

This year YouTube is joining with the World Economic Forum to answer the Davos Question in hopes that it can.

Think about: "What one thing do you think that countries, companies or individuals must do to make the world a better place in 2008?"

Each year top leaders meet in Davos, Switzerland to discuss ideas of how to make the world a better place to live. Everyone now has the chance to contribute their ideas through a video uploaded to YouTube and the leaders will listen to these voices!

Check out the videos submitted- people have some great ideas. Submit yours.

Discuss the videos with your students....and rank them.

Then take your students to the Davos coverage in Second Life. This is a chance for your digital native students to participate in a world event that definitely will lead to great class discussions.

Social media is participatory media that benefits from the innovative ideas of the collective community....we hope to make a difference - so do your students!

Related Sites:

• YouTube Video- World Economic Forum -2008
• Davos Conversation Blog

Digital Literacy

Four Instructional Technology graduate students at the University of Mary Washington collaborated to create this video defining and guiding students and teachers through information literacy including the premier of their innovative DISCOVER approach to teaching information literacy.

Focus the Nation: Global Warming Solutions for America

Set aside January 31st. It is a national teach-in day based upon the Focus the Nation website set aside to engage millions of students and citizens with political leaders and decision makers about Global Warming Solutions.

Check out: Focus the Nation: Global Warning Solutions for America

Mount Saint Mary College will participate in the nation-wide event by offering campus-wide activities on January 30th and 31st. The Mount will join in the 2% solution, hold a panel debate, view the Inconvenient Truth in the student theater, and hold various discussions on climate change, evidence, consequences, political and social issues, and what you can do about these issues.

For a quick idea for engaging your class in the discussion about climate change add a project to your curriculum and have your students use digital technologies in their project presentation....

• Students can create a video and upload it to Teachertube or YouTube for everyone to view, not just the students in your class.
• Students can create an audio podcast. Students can write their own play or skit about climate changes and its' effect and upload the podcasts for anyone to hear online.
• Students can put together photo slideshows and upload them to Flickr or a create PowerPoint slideshows and upload the completed presentation to SlideShare or Photobucket.
• Students can create a Wiki listing all the resources available locally and online as a collaborative class project or create an individual Wiki with suggestions about global issues dealing with climate changes.

These are just a few ideas, there are many more Interdisciplinary/Multidisciplinary Resources available on the Focus the Nation website.

By using technology in your course activities students will be engaged actively - they will 'learn by doing' and remember what they learned.

Since climate change is a global issue using new digital technologies that connect the world virtually would allow the world to hear or view these projects and allow student voices to be heard wide-wide.

If you do a project using a new technology be sure to share it with your colleagues and with us. Everyone will benefit by hearing your ideas too.

Related Links:

• Slideshare
• Photobucket
• Youtube
• PW Wiki
• Flickr

New Tools for a New Semester

Rushing around to get your classes set-up for the new semester?

Quickly glance over "Top Ten Excellent Online Apps For the Innovative Teacher", then take a few of these tools for a test ride. You will find new ways to do old things.

I have used:

• Moodle for the last 3+ years. I probably could sell it if it had a price.
• Google Presentation- it does a good job, a little limited in features, but a good enough for students to present and for you to present at any conference.

I am currently using:

• Engrade.com- an online grading program with my distance course I am teaching, no complaints- my students can access their grades online anytime.

Next semester I will have my students try:

• Mindomo- for their mind mapping assignment
• Schoopy – for their classroom newsletter assignment
• Empressr- for their presentations

Which new ones will your students try?