Wednesday, August 22, 2007

What is on our agenda for the 2nd weekend?

Here is a rough outline of what we will be covering this weekend.

  • Web Design and Accessibility
  • Basic HTML Primer
  • Web Page Creation with Dreamweaver 8.0
  • Other web page tools-Moodle, Weebly, TeacherWeb
  • FTP-Learning how to upload web pages
  • Class Web Site Presentations
  • Podcasting and Screencasting
  • More on Ethics
  • Design a T-shirt Challenge
  • Final Project Proposals- I will meet with each student to talk about you plan or ideas!

What is missing? What would you like to explore that has not been mentioned? Is there a topic you would like explore more from the first weekend. Leave a comment or e-mail me with any suggestions.

Monday, August 20, 2007

Great posts from around the Classroom

I have collected a variety of posts from your blogs so you can see bits and pieces of what your classmates are discovering and thinking. There is alot of great reading, writing, and commenting going on! Great job!

Many of you chose to read David Warlick's, "A Future Fiction" and had alot to say!
Mary and Jodi compared some of the ideas to the Marauders Map in Harry Potter. Tish holds out hope that there is a future like this sooner than we think while Heather looks a bit more pessimistically at the article. Lastly, Gypsy ventures into the area of web filters in the school as she reflects on this article.

Caroline discusses Will Richardson and a better understanding of RSS. She answers the question of "So what's the big deal with this guy? Ellen also read the article by Will Richardson and points out that you can be on the cutting edge of information with blogs and RSS.

Claudia points us to a nice video on why students should blog while Patricia Germano points us to a great video on wikis! Kelly brings us some humor with a subtitled video about a Help Desk.

Julie discussed the feeling most of us had after learning so much new content-How to Digest it all? Speaking of digestion, take a look at Rebecca's blog and a Lego creation found on Flickr.

As I reread Stacie's first post, I noticed she had six comments. One was from the author of one of the Web sites she linked to. How cool!

Nancy's blog incorporates some really cool videos and surveys into the sidebar. I am going to have to ask her about this!

So much to read, so little time...

In my recent post on What makes good Blogging? I received five comments with a similar theme. The comments were very thoughtful about balancing time with so much information. I do think we have to balance what we read. Many of you noticed that you had too many feeds in your Bloglines account by the end of the first weekend. If you have more than ten feeds try to weed them out and leave only the ones with the best information. Will Richardson's and David Warlick's blogs happen to be the only technology-related feeds that I read on a daily basis and this is why I recommended them to you. Try to treat your Bloglines account like your e-mail. Give it a quick check each day and if there is something you want to look at later, mark it as new or save it to a folder on your hard drive.

1st Weekend Summary

Here is a recap of our first weekend!
  • Discussed uses of E-mail in the Classroom-See our class Wiki for more ideas
  • Netiquette-This article provides a nice overview
  • Search Strategies and Browsing tips-See our class wiki. Many remarked how this article on Google was very informative.
  • Social Bookmarking
http://www.del.icio.us.com
http://www.furl.net/
http://www.portaportal.com
  • RSS-We used Bloglines to aggregate our feeds.
Did I forget anything? Please feel free to let me know and I can add to the post later.

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

What makes good blogging?

Will Richardson talks about good blogging in a recent post. If you have not subscribed to his RSS feed, please do so immediately. He is one of the top people to follow when it comes to new and interesting education discussion on Web 2.0 tools and what our kids need. Good blogging is about connecting to other's ideas and reflecting and responding. Before me meet again, blog about something interesting you have discovered through your RSS feeds. Link to what others say and put your own ideas out there on the topic.

Also check out this post from Will:
Aggregator as Textbook
Will has a cool feature in this post that links to snap shots of the web pages. You can do this with your links using http://www.snap.com.

Monday, August 6, 2007

New sites and software

As I "played" on the web today, I discovered a couple new tools and sites worth mentioning.
JingProject
Here you can download software that allows you capture images of your screen and videos too! This is very much like Snagit that I tried to demo on the first weekend, but the cool part is that you can use it for free and it is available on Macs and PC's. When you capture something it automatically generates a URL where you can direct others to view your video.
Here is a URL of a screen capture I tried using a cool site called Scribd.
http://www.screencast.com/t/bOTjTuRfK

I also came across a collaborative mind-mapping tool called Mindmeister that I am going to play with a little more. Maybe anyone interested could try this together before our next class?? I'll be exploring it more this week.

Saturday, August 4, 2007

More will be coming!

Thanks to all who have posted to your blogs. I hope you have received some comments from fellow Lesley students in Cummings as well as your class blogging partner. I have been immersed in Harry Potter and sick kids recently so my apologies for the lack of posting especially to summarize our first weekend explorations. I will be adding that soon. I found Angela Roy's blog today that reminded me of your blogs and purpose. Please check it out!! Angela writes:
As I sit here and reflect on what I have learned these past few days, all I can think about is how my brain is on overload - WOW. I am not sure how I learned about all of these technology tools (blogs, wikis, social bookmarking, RSS, aggregators, podcasting, and much more - even a little about second life) in just a few days.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Thanks for a great weekend!


Well, I did get home safely, but the airport was crazy. I checked in around 4 pm and went through security to my gate. I was pretty early so I started working and checking e-mail. Soon I was informed that my flight was cancelled due to bad weather. I had to go all the way back out to ticketing to discover that there were no flights to New Hampshire or Boston. I ended up flying into Portland, ME which is about an hour and a half from home and my dear sweet husband drove to Maine with three kids at midnight to pick me up. We got home at 3 am and I slept until 11 am yesterday.

Don't forget to send me your bloglines and blogger address. If I have received it, I have replied to your e-mail and let you know that I got it. You can also let me know what you did in Flickr via e-mail or posting on your new blogs.

I will be blogging over the next week about what we did in class. I will be trying to provide short summaries of Friday night, Saturday morning, etc. with links to relevant web sites. I hope this blog provides examples of how you might use a class blog with your students.
Here is a cool site I happened upon this morning! It is a podcast that uses music to teach vocabulary at The Princeton Review. You can easily subscribe to these podcasts.

Photo at:http://www.flickr.com/photos/judybaxter/545786161/

Saturday, July 14, 2007

So what is web 2.0?

Although we have discussed many technologies during the last two days, I have not discussed the actual differences between Web 1.0 and 2.0. In basic terms, Web 1.0 refers to the technologies and web sites that we went to for information only and web 2.0 are the technologies that incorporate collaboration and communication of that information.
Web 2.0 technologies we have talked about:
RSS
Blogs
Wikis
Social bookmarking

Which one of these tools do you see yourselves implementing in your classroom and how might you use it?

Sunday, July 8, 2007

Five more days!

Thanks for completing the surveys. They were extremely helpful in planning. I enjoy getting to know each of you a bit through your responses and it is always nice to know what grade levels and subject areas you teach. Most of you are very comfortable with e-mail, general search strategies and bookmarking sites. About half the class has some experience with blogging, WebQuests, and Videostreaming.
When asked what types of things you would like to do with your students, most of you responded with a focus on research strategies. A couple of you also mentioned data gathering and analysis and possible correspondences with "experts." We will be doing some of this on the first weekend.
This class has the most math/science teachers I have ever had in a cohort and I am looking for some special ideas/sites in relation to research and data gathering. The Internet is a prime place for corresponding on scientific projects. Check out this blog from a high school math teacher.

Feel free to respond by adding a comment before we meet this weekend.
You can find my most current version of the syllabus on MyLesley.

Saturday, June 9, 2007

SYLLABUS: ECOMP 7007 TELECOMMUNICATIONS: CURRICULUM IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT

LESLEY UNIVERSITY

DATES: July 13, 14, 15 August 24, 25 ,26
Meeting Times: Fri 5-10, Sat and Sun 8-5
Semester: Summer
Credits: 3 credits of graduate study
Location: Marietta, GA

FACULTY:
Holly Doe M.Ed.
17 Oriole Road
Windham, NH 03087
Home Phone: 603-434-6319
hollydoe@comcast.net
My Personal Web Library: http://www.furl.net/members/mombrarian
Class blog
http://marietta07.blogspot.com

E-mail and Phone Office Hours:
(During duration of course)
Tuesdays 9:30-11 pm EST
Wednesdays 9:30-11:00 pm EST via IM

MISSION:

Participants will develop skills in using the tools of telecommunications to communicate and collaborate with others, access information, plan and distribute information and apply their expertise in schools, classrooms and graduate studies. Participants will learn to use telecommunications responsibly and become articulate spokespersons on issues related to educational telecommunications and the changing role and nature of information.

OBJECTIVES:

1. Communicate and collaborate using various telecommunications tools such as list servers, threaded discussions, weblogs, chat, instant messaging, and other appropriate tools.

2. Complete on-line research to locate, select, evaluate and acquire information using appropriate tools.

3. Adapt and integrate telecommunications experiences and create inquiry-oriented, standards-based student-centered activities.

4. Design, create, and publish a web site for education.

5. Demonstrate an awareness of web accessibility concerns and requirements.

6. Identify appropriate on-line instructional resources and tools.

7. Articulate an awareness of current and emerging telecommunications technologies and the impact on education.

8. Become conversant concerning telecommunications issues including ethics, security, privacy, copyright, acceptable use, and personal safety.


Recommended Texts:

Richardson, W.. (2006). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Warlick, D. (2004). Redefining Literacy for the 21st Century. Columbus, OH.
Linworth Publishing.

Attendance Policy:

This course is for 3 credits and is equivalent to 45 in-class hours of graduate level study. Attendance for all sessions is required. If a student misses up to the equivalent of one full day over the two weekends, the student is responsible for contacting the professor to discuss the nature of the emergency and “milestone” circumstance, and whether the course attendance expectations will permit make-up work and/or whether there may be an adverse effect on the final grade. If a student misses more than the equivalent of one full day over the two weekends will result in a grade of technical fail (TF) on the student's transcript. The class needs to be retaken and tuition repaid. Serious family emergency and significant “milestone” circumstances may warrant exception to these requirements and will be considered on a case-by-case basis in consultation with the Program Director.

Academic Honesty Policy:

True learning can only exist in an environment of intellectual honesty. As future professionals, you have a particular responsibility to yourselves and society to conduct your academic studies with integrity. The Lesley community must refuse to allow plagiarism and cheating; all of us must work to create an environment where intellectual curiosity and honesty are valued. Please become familiar with the academic integrity policy, which includes information about documenting sources, plagiarism, cheating, fabrication, multiple submissions of work, abuse of academic materials, complicity/unauthorized assistance, and lying/tampering/theft. The complete policy can be found in the student handbook and on the Lesley University Web page. http://www.lesley.edu/policies/catalog/integrity.html

Lesley University Policy Statement on Disabilities
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Lesley University is committed to ensuring that all qualified students with disabilities are afforded equal opportunity to participate in and benefit from its programs and services. To receive accommodations, a student must have a documented disability as defined by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), and provide documentation of the disability. Eligibility for reasonable accommodations will be based on the documentation provided.

If you are a student with a documented disability, or feel that you may have a disability, please contact:

Laura J. Patey, Coordinator of Disability Services for Students, 23 Mellen Street, 3rd Floor, Office 313

1-800-999-1959 ext. 8194
[617] 349-8194 (voicemail); [617] 349-8544 [TTY]; [617] 349-8558 (fax);
lpatey@mail.lesley.edu (email)
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Course Changes:
This syllabus is subject to change at the discretion of the instructor to accommodate instructional and/or student requirements.

ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING:

Assignments Weight Date Due
1. Class projects, Attendance and Participation 15% On-going
2. Web-based bookmarking 10% August 26
3. Required Blogging 15% Throughout course duration
4. Required Readings 5% August 26
5. WWW Presentation 20%
6. Final Project Proposal August 26

7. Final Project 35% September 23rd


EVALUATION CRITERIA: All projects will be graded on their originality, complexity, and practicality for the classroom. Emphasis should be on the effective use of telecommunications in order to enrich and enhance your curriculum. Active class and online participation will be taken into account as a necessary aspect of this course. All assignments must be completed on, or prior to, their due date. Should any assignment be late, half of a letter grade will be deducted for every two days late. All work should be professionally presented and written work should display high standards of spelling and grammar. Assignments may not be resubmitted for grading. Research Papers must adhere to the general rules established for APA style. Refer to The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. (4th Ed.) (1994). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association

*APA FAQ's: http://www.apastyle.org/faqs.html
*Using American Psychological Association (APA) Format: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_apa.html

WRITING SKILLS
If you are enrolled in a degree-granting program at Lesley and you want or need to improve your writing, one-on-one online writing support is available. You can email drafts of your papers to Lesley’s online writing center. Writing advisors will review your work and provide you with feedback to:
1. Make suggestions for improving organization, clarity, and cohesiveness.
2. Identify errors in punctuation, usage, and mechanics (including citation formats) and provide advice on correcting them.
3. Answer any questions relating to research techniques and idea development.
This service, provided by the Center for Academic Achievement, is available for the entire duration of your enrollment at Lesley. Writing advisors will respond to a submission in 48 hours. Guidelines for this service included in this syllabus. For more details on this service, please view the following URL: www.lesley.edu/academic_centers/caa/online_tutoring.html

ADVANCED STUDENTS

It is recognized that there may be a wide range of experience and knowledge among members of the class. Students who feel they fall into the "ADVANCED" category should speak with the instructor during the first weekend so that alternative assignments or alterations to assignments can be discussed.

Grading Scale:

A 95-100
A- 90-94
B+ 86-89
B 83-85
B- 80-82
C+ 76-79

ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTIONS

1. Class projects, Attendance and Participation---15% Ongoing

Directions for class projects distributed in class. Attendance at all class meetings. Active and constructive class participation both on and off-line. Participation includes utilizing e-mail and blogging as an integral part of the course as well as participation in any scheduled on-line discussions.

2.) Web-based Bookmarking 10% Due Sunday of Second Weekend

Create an account with one of the following sites (or another web-based bookmarking site to bookmark your favorite sites you find throughout this class or sites for your students.

http://www.del.icio.us
http://www.furl.net/ Highly Recommended!
http://www.jots.com
http://www.portaportal.com

By Sunday of the last weekend, please add a blog entry indicating the web address for accessing your bookmarks.

3. Blogging 15% On-going-Final Review will by on due date of final

Using a Blogging tool like Blogger or Wordpress create your own blog to archive your projects, reflections, and insights, about this course.
Examples of Blog Entries may include:
In-class project reflections
Log of daily activities
Sharing of ideas and thoughts for your classroom
Teaching tips
Aha moments
Reactions to other bloggers posts

Required Blog Entries:
-Web Presentation-What site are you using? Who will you be working with?
-Reflections on Required readings (At least two)
-Final Project Proposal-What is your web page about? What web tools or software will you be using?
-Web-based bookmarking-Where can I find your site?
-Your final project-URL (If a web page), paper and other relevant materials

As part of this project you will also have blogging partners who will post comments and feedback to your posts. We will talk more about this in class.


4.Required Readings ---5% Due Friday of Second Weekend: (Discussion)

Read two of the articles from the Required Reading List and be prepared to discuss and share your thoughts during our second weekend. As you read, think about how the content might be applied to your assignment or educational area. Take time to follow some of the hyper-links in the articles. Please post at least two blog entries on your reading reflections.

5. WWW Presentation 15% Due Sunday of Second Weekend

With a partner, select one site on the Web to investigate in depth. You will have 20-25 minutes to give an in-class presentation on the second weekend. For your presentation, you may prepare a hands-on activity (this can be on-line using the site or an educational activity gleaned from the site) for your short presentation. Be sure to focus on the educational benefits of this site and the validity and strengths. You should bring copies of directions or worksheets (if applicable) for your classmates to follow for the hands-on activity. Be sure to add a blog entry detailing what site you shared, what you learned about the site and any other applicable material.


7. FINAL PROJECT ---35%
Webquest-Due Date September 23rd

-Write and Publish a WebQuest
Develop a step-by-step WebQuest using the Essential Components and Guidelines as discussed in class (Introduction, Task, Process, Resources, Evaluation, and Conclusion) and be sure to follow the Five Rules for Writing a Great WebQuest http://www.webquest.futuro.usp.br/artigos/textos_outros-bernie1.html) as presented in Bernie Dodge's article. You should also include a teacher section that details any materials or knowledge that other teachers should have before using the WebQuest as well as connection to state standards. The Webquest should be specific and relevant to your classroom curriculum. Your WebQuest should be written so that other teachers could pick up this WebQuest and use it in his or her classroom. You can work with a partner to develop your WebQuest. The quality and depth of treatment of the project should reflect that more than one person worked on the project. As part of this assignment you should publish your WebQuest to the Internet. E-mail the instructor the URL and any other necessary materials to complete the lesson in your classroom. Write a 1-2 page paper detailing the process you went through to create and complete the activity. Include any details you think are necessary to describe how you would implement this project. (This paper can be a blog entry.)

-Develop a plan for implementing the Internet into your research including evaluating the appropriateness of sites and implementing new technologies such as bookmarking and RSS.
-Develop a series of lessons that use a blog designed for teaching a group of your students.
-Propose and develop a 3-4 hour staff development training session that would teach colleagues to establish and use blogs and wikis. Use a blog, wiki, or course management site to support this session.
-Develop a proposal and presentation to “sell” your local district administration on the use of Read/Write tools and activities to support your students. Be sure to have sample Acceptable Use Policy additions where needed to your district’s policy guidelines.
-Build a series of three web-based lessons that support State and local standards and benchmarks. Use a variety of tools such as Flickr, Furl, podcasting, etc.
-Develop or enhance an existing course for your students using an online site like Moodle.

Independent Activity
If none of the above options fits your need, you may suggest an alternative activity you believe fits your classroom AND the overall objectives of this course. Be sure to get approval from the instructor before leaving on the second weekend.


Note: You may work on a final project with other classmates. The quality and depth of treatment of the project should reflect that more than one person worked on the project.


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Required Readings: Pick 2


Richardson, W. (2004) Blogging and RSS: The "What's It?" and "How To" of Powerful New Web Tools for Educators. Multimedia and Internet@Schools, 11(1). Retrieved March 12, 2006 from http://www.infotoday.com/MMSchools/jan04/richardson.shtml

Schrock, K. (2002) The ABC’s of Web Site Evaluation: Teaching Media Literacy in the Age of the Internet. Classroom Connect. Retrieved February 22, 2004 from http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/pdf/weval_02.pdf

Vesey, K. (2002) The Internet-only Research Approach: Does the Web Really Have All There Is to Say? From Now On The Educational Technology Journal. Retrieved May 31, 2005 from http://www.fno.org/sept02/internetonly.html

Warlick, D. (2004) A Future Fiction. Library Media Connection. Retrieved May 26, 2005 from http://davidwarlick.com/ff_article/.

Yoder, M. (1999) The Student WebQuest: A productive and thought-provoking use of the Internet. Learning & Leading with Technology, 26(7), 6-9.52-53. Retrieved January 8, 2004 from http://www.lesley.edu/faculty/myoder/webquest.pdf


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RECOMMENDED READING:

Burgstahler, S. (2002) Distance Learning: Universal Design, Universal Access. Educational Technology Review v10 v1. Retrieved January 28, 2004 from HYPERLINK "http://www.aace.org/pubs/etr/issue2/burgstahler.cfm" http://www.aace.org/pubs/etr/issue2/burgstahler.cfm

Cavanaugh, T. (2002) The Need for Assistive Technology in Educational Technology. Educational Technology Review v10 v1. Retrieved January 28, 2004 from HYPERLINK "http://www.aace.org/pubs/etr/issue2/cavanaugh.cfm" http://www.aace.org/pubs/etr/issue2/cavanaugh.cfm

Foley, A. and Regan, B. (2003) Web Design for Accessibility Policies and Practice. Educational Technology Review v10 v1. Retrieved January 27, 2004 from HYPERLINK "http://www.aace.org/pubs/etr/issue2/foley.cfm" http://www.aace.org/pubs/etr/issue2/foley.cfm

French, D. and Valdes, L. (2002) Electronic Accessibility: United States and International Perspectives Educational Technology Review v10 v1. Retrieved January 27, 2004 from HYPERLINK "http://www.aace.org/pubs/etr/issue2/french-a.cfm" http://www.aace.org/pubs/etr/issue2/french-a.cfm

March, T. (2000) Link Like You Mean It! Selecting Web Sites to Support Intentional Learning Outcomes. Multimedia Schools. 7(1) Retrieved January 27, 2004 from HYPERLINK "http://www.infotoday.com/MMSchools/mar00/march.htm" http://www.infotoday.com/MMSchools/mar00/march.htm

Opitz, C. (2002) Online Course Accessibility: A Call for Responsibility and Necessity. Educational Technology Review v10 v1. Retrieved January 8, 2004 from HYPERLINK "http://www.aace.org/pubs/etr/issue2/optiz-x1.cfm" http://www.aace.org/pubs/etr/issue2/optiz-x1.cfm

Shea, V. (1998) The Core Rules of Netiquette (excerpts from her book, Netiquette) Retrieved January 27, 2004 from HYPERLINK "http://www.albion.com/netiquette/corerules.html" http://www.albion.com/netiquette/corerules.html

Survey!

Welcome to ECOMP 7007. I realize that you are still completing work for your first course and finals! If you could take 10 minutes to complete my course survey it really helps to plan according to your strengths, weaknesses, and areas you would most like to spend time on.
Thanks so much. I'm looking forward to meeting you all next month.
ECOMP 7007 Survey

If you have any questions, please click my e-mail link on the right.