2008 PBwiki Program for Educators

"PBwiki knows that budgets are going to be tight, and we don’t want a lack of funds to deter educators from using collaborative technologies like wikis with their students.

To this end, PBwiki is giving each teacher or librarian who signs up as part of the program between August 18 and November 31, a free premium wiki (regular price: $250/year).

For example, if you sign up for a free wiki on November 1, you would receive a premium upgrade that lasts until October 31, 2009. Each fall, PBwiki plans to offer additional programs that will let participants retain their premium status free of charge."

You can learn more and sign up for the program by clicking here.

Related Resources

• PBwiki > Education
• PBwiki > Education Directory
• PBwiki 101 > Video Tutorial
• PBwiki Help

Linkage: How Boomers Use Tech, Expansion of eLearning & Digital Storytelling

Facebook Doesn't Forget: Editorial piece in last weeks LA Times all about lifecasting and Facebook.

HP Launches Mini Laptop Program: HP announces that they are deploying 7,000 of their HP Mini Note laptops in the Fresno Unified School District.

71% of School Districts to Expand eLearning: The results of a joint survey conducted by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) and U.S. Department of Education (DOE) were released earlier this month and provide more insight into the totally wired world of Gen Y students'.

Digital Storytelling Project: Penguin Books UK recently launched, We Tell Stories, an ambitious digital reading project aimed squarely at the reading styles of Gen Y students.

Nintendo DS in Japanese Schools: In a pilot program aimed at increasing English language skills, teachers in Japan are integrating the wildly popular Nintendo DS into the curriculum.

Research from the Digital Futures Project shows that the online behavior of older Americans (50+) is rapidly mirroring, and in some cases exceeding, that of younger Gen Y users.

Netlingo + Plurk

Have you tried Twittering your life's events? Now there's Plurk.

Verb. plurk (plüer-kh) - To chronicle the events of your always on, action-packed, storybook, semi-charmed kinda life.

Whether you Twitter or Plurk the NetLingo Internet Dictionary will help you. With the limited number of characters that Twitter and Plurk allow per post, the NetLingo Online Dictionary will help you say anything in just a few short letters or words to get your point across.

Twittering and Plurking are just 2 new ways to keep connected to your CoP circle and see what your colleagues are thinking and doing.

Free Online Conference on Web 2.0

The Knowledge Bank online conference out of Australia this year is focused on Web 2.0 in education: what it is, how it’s being used today and its potential to radically change education.

Steve Hargadon will be giving the keynote address on why "Web 2.0 Is the Future of Education."

General Conference Information

Topic: Learning in a changing world - Web 2.0 and beyond
When: Six sessions held over July 21 and 23 2008 (depending on time zone!)
Where: Online in Elluminate
Sign Up: The conference is free but you need to Sign Up.

Abstract

Web 2.0 is not new - many of us have used social networking sites like YouTube, TeacherTube and Facebook. We know about Wikipedia, Skype and podcasting. We read, even write, and comment on blogs. But what might happen to education as Web 2.0 becomes mainstream?

* Introducing Web 2.0. Who are you? Where have I met you before?
* How can reading and writing a blog change your way of learning?
* How does a direct connection with an expert shift your relationship to knowledge?
* Who are the content experts?
* What skills should we be teaching to young people, and what can we learn from them?

Who should attend?

Primary and secondary school teachers, education policy officers, researchers, further education professionals and other educators - anybody interested in Web 2.0 and education.

Related Resources

• Social Media, Web 2.0 & Online Course Design
• Mobile Learning: The Next Wave
• MashuEDU: A New Digital Pedagogy

Lessons from NECC 2008 for Media & Marketing Professionals

YPulse is a leading source of daily news, commentary about Gen Y for media and marketing professionals. The site is edited by Anastasia Goodstein, the author of Totally Wired: What Teens and Tweens Are Really Doing Online.

This week I had the pleasure of writing a guest post for YPulse titled "Five Things Marketers Can Learn From NECC 2008." Here's an excerpt:

"One of my former colleagues at Yahoo! used to have a mantra: "We can do good and do well." Gen Y students are totally wired and the "Flat World" isn't an abstract view of the future, it's their reality. Increasingly teachers are looking for ways to interject global, local and other types of social awareness programs and curriculum into their classroom.

Educational programs that provide avenues for teachers and students to connect with other classrooms to "do good" can also provide you with an opportunity to build brand awareness with youth and allow you to "do well" at the same time. Tiger, Oprah, MTV, Target and Microsoft are already doing it, why aren't you?"

You can catch the whole post by clicking here. Thanks to Anastasia and the YPulse team for the opportunity.

Related Resources

• YPulse
  
• YPulse Mashup 2008
  
• Totally Wired Blog
  
• Barking Robot & YPulse

Linkage: NECC, Web Safety & Gen Y Research

Report on Gen Y, Technology & Learning: A new report from Blackboard and Project Tomorrow provides new insight into the sociological impact of online learning on education.

NECC 2008: Social Media & Education: Check out this transcript of a back channel chat from NECC 2008 where teachers talk about the challenges of using social media in the classroom.

Teachers.tv: Check out this video to learn some common sense classroom activities related to student use of social networks, chat and social media.