This is a totally mind-blowing post on the Britannia Blog. Unfortunately I doubt I will be allowed to do anything of the sort at UTT anytime soon, but I will definitely be trying to get permission to do so!
Especially in Teacher Education, why not consider co-teaching with my students?
Things to think about.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Online document creation in a Flash
Online document creation in a Flash
Nice announcement about Adobe's online offerings. There is now Buzzword, Photoshop online and of course PDf creation online. All free to some extent.
Nice announcement about Adobe's online offerings. There is now Buzzword, Photoshop online and of course PDf creation online. All free to some extent.
Blogged with the Flock Browser
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Don’t Buy That Textbook, Download It Free - NYTimes.com
Link by Link - Don’t Buy That Textbook, Download It Free - NYTimes.com
Interesting article on the new trend towards free and open content...
Interesting article on the new trend towards free and open content...
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Free 'Quiz School' Resource Adds Analytics, Integrates with Flickr and Google Maps
by Dave Nagel
| |
ProProfs has upgraded Quiz School, a free online resource that allows educators generate custom assessments. The new version, launched this week, adds integration with popular social media services and includes new analytics and reporting features.
Quiz School is designed to let educators create online quizzes and practice tests for their students. In addition to custom quizzes, the service provides a library of pre-designed quizzes, which range from K-12 education to technology certification, SAT and GRE prep, and general trivia.
Students can take tests without logging onto the system and receive instant scores and personalized feedback, including tips for improving performance, according to the company. Users can also assign keywords to specific quizzes for easy retrieval.
Blogged with the Flock Browser
PBwiki Offers $25 Million in Web 2.0 Tools for Educators : August 2008 : THE Journal
Link to full article here
Collaborative technology developer PBwiki has launched two new grant programs for education offering free upgrades to the company's hosted wiki service and other awards.
The first of the programs, called the Back To School Challenge, will allow up to 100,000 teachers and librarians to earn a gold-level PBwiki account for free. (Gold upgrades normally run $250.) They can do this by "by using, blogging about, and referring others to PBwiki." Other prizes in this program include a $1,000 gift certificate for purchasing school supplies; autographed books; Lego educational products; and games. Prizes are awarded based on a point system. A complete list of prizes and point totals can be found here.
The second program, called the Partner Program for Education, allows districts and associations to offer PBwiki gold accounts to members for free.
Blogged with the Flock Browser
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Free and Open Source Educational Software
Free and Open Source Educational Software from Central Queensland University
OSWINS DVD is a collection of Free and Open Source software for educational use that run on Windows. The educational software varies from mathematics to music, from science to graphics, from programming to educational gamesi and includes office tools, business software, network tools and security software. The aim of this website is to make finding the software easier by categorising them by Key Learning Areas used in Education in Australia. In addition, under each category, links to useful websites that provide information or free resources are listed.
OSWINS DVD is a collection of Free and Open Source software for educational use that run on Windows. The educational software varies from mathematics to music, from science to graphics, from programming to educational gamesi and includes office tools, business software, network tools and security software. The aim of this website is to make finding the software easier by categorising them by Key Learning Areas used in Education in Australia. In addition, under each category, links to useful websites that provide information or free resources are listed.
Blogged with the Flock Browser
OS School DVD: Free and Open Source Software for Education
http://os.cqu.edu.au/open/school.html
The open source educational DVD was created as an aid for schools
and universities. The catalogue on the OS-school-DVD is aimed at the
Key Learning Areas used in Queensland schools as well as more learning
areas used at University.
The objectives of the DVD are firstly to provide schools with a catalogue
of useful free and open source educational software for Windows, MacOSX and
Linux. The Windows software can be installed directly from the DVD.
The second objective is to provide a live (bootable) Linux DVD which will
allow the user to run open source educational software before installing it.
The Live Linux DVD component also provides non Linux users exposure to
software which is not available on Windows, such as software written for KDE desktop or
developed on Linux but yet available on Windows such as Rosegarden (music composer).
Blogged with the Flock Browser
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
iTunes U - College and university lectures to download
More and more universities are moving towards open content. Lectures are now available from some of the major US universities on iTunes.
See from Apple's website below.
iTunes U puts the power of the iTunes Store to work for colleges and universities, so users can easily search, download, and play course content just like they do music, movies, and TV shows.*
Always in session.
iTunes U delivers easy, 24/7 access to educational content from hundreds of top colleges, universities, and educationally focused organizations across the country. And it’s accessible to anyone with a Mac or PC.*
Learning to go.
Students can sync iTunes U content with any iPod or iPhone, so they can go right on learning while they grab a meal, walk to class, or work out at the gym.
Keeps them motivated.
Engaging students on their home turf, iTunes U offers audio and video that make subjects more vivid than any printed page ever could.
Open-minded.
iTunes U lets schools open all or part of their content to the public, from parents to alumni to anyone with a love of learning.
Blogged with the Flock Browser
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Diigo - Web Highlighter and Sticky Notes, Social Bookmarking and Annotation, Social Information Network!
Diigo is del.icio.us taken to the nth level. It's a personal research tool, a collaborative research platform, a social content site and a knowledge sharing community!
"It’s not a solution to a problem; it’s a group of many solutions to many problems. If you ever need to share stuff you’ve found online, or if you need to keep all your clippings in one place, this is for you."
Diigo has a toolbar that allows you to bookmark sites. Your bookmark is saved to diigo, and can be sent as a post to twitter, sent to your friends, tagged, etc. Very cool.
You can see people who bookmarked the same stuff as you have, you can see what they've said about the site, and you can find new content that matches your interests.
"It’s not a solution to a problem; it’s a group of many solutions to many problems. If you ever need to share stuff you’ve found online, or if you need to keep all your clippings in one place, this is for you."
Diigo has a toolbar that allows you to bookmark sites. Your bookmark is saved to diigo, and can be sent as a post to twitter, sent to your friends, tagged, etc. Very cool.
You can see people who bookmarked the same stuff as you have, you can see what they've said about the site, and you can find new content that matches your interests.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Technorati Blog Post
Just a post to claim the blog on Technorati - need to update as I changed the URL!
Technorati Profile
Technorati Profile
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Technology Review: Web Mashups Made Easy
Technology Review: Web Mashups Made Easy
Interesting review of mashup tools for the non-programmer.
Interesting review of mashup tools for the non-programmer.
Friday, August 17, 2007
The Sky's the Limit
DDN Articles - The Sky's the Limit
A comprehensive article about the possibilities for technology use in the classroom. Most children and teens in school today have grown up with technology. School is almost a prehistoric place for them now, with the lag in tech adoptation in most educational institutions.
Here are some ways to start using everyday technology in the classroom.
A comprehensive article about the possibilities for technology use in the classroom. Most children and teens in school today have grown up with technology. School is almost a prehistoric place for them now, with the lag in tech adoptation in most educational institutions.
Here are some ways to start using everyday technology in the classroom.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
New NSBA Report on Social Networking
New NSBA Report on Social Networking
Andy Carvin's blog at PBS on the new NSBA (US National School Boards Association) study on Social Networking and student use. Some interesting notes are the improvement in the children's sense of safety online (m0re private sites, not as much personal info, less interaction with shady characters)
But also - a not so good item is that teachers are less comfortable than parents.
Andy did a really nice article on it. Well worth a read.
Andy Carvin's blog at PBS on the new NSBA (US National School Boards Association) study on Social Networking and student use. Some interesting notes are the improvement in the children's sense of safety online (m0re private sites, not as much personal info, less interaction with shady characters)
But also - a not so good item is that teachers are less comfortable than parents.
Andy did a really nice article on it. Well worth a read.
Free Web Hosting
Free Web Hosting at freespaces.com
Banner-less hosting. You will have a small tag on your site that says "hosted by freespaces.com", but it's less intrusive and of course, FREE
Banner-less hosting. You will have a small tag on your site that says "hosted by freespaces.com", but it's less intrusive and of course, FREE
Friday, October 20, 2006
Connect the Dots: Students, Blogs and the Nobel Peace Prize | PBS
Andy Carvin talks about blogging and the Grameen bank Nobel Prize. What's the connection, you might ask, but read it and see. Then comments from students about the value of blogging are eye-opening.
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Hitchhiker’s Guide to Course Development
Hitchhiker’s Guide to Course Development is a really cool Moodle-based site that assists in content development.
From the site - "
From the site - "
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Course Development is designed as a resource for individuals with varying levels of course design experience.
Individuals new to higher education can use this site to help design their first classroom based course integrating technology where appropriate.
Experienced instructors, being encouraged to place materials within a learning management system, can use this site to decipher the differences between Web-Presence, Web-Enhanced, Web-Centric and Online courses and how to plan courses for online delivery.
Instructors of online courses, looking for new ideas and ways to improve their course, can use the site to improve content development by finding sources for pre-developed content and ideas to improve student centered learning.
Instructional Designers and Instructional Support Staff can use this site as a reference for themselves or as a resource for the faculty they support."
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Gmail - [TTLUG] CMS Matrix
I got this via email on the Trinidad and Tobago Linux USers Group mailing list.
This is for anyone who needs to choose a Content Management System (CMS) for a particular project.
They compare many of them, both open source and non-open source.
http://www.cmsmatrix.org/matrix/cms-matrix
This is for anyone who needs to choose a Content Management System (CMS) for a particular project.
They compare many of them, both open source and non-open source.
http://www.cmsmatrix.org/matrix/cms-matrix
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Education website with interactive games for children
CHILDREN: ACTIVITIES RECREATION AND ENTERTAINMENT : EDUCATION: K-12: EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES: New Student Interactives
This website, provided by the US state of UTAH, provides online games for Language Arts, Math, Health, Social Studies and more. These are fun and interesting ways for students to learn and test themselves on concepts. They include Puzzling Puzzles, Brain Benders, Strategy Games, Memory Games, Word Games, Math Activities, Social Studies, Science, Health, Media, Money Games and more for students from K-12.
Try it out and explore, and comment on how they work.
This website, provided by the US state of UTAH, provides online games for Language Arts, Math, Health, Social Studies and more. These are fun and interesting ways for students to learn and test themselves on concepts. They include Puzzling Puzzles, Brain Benders, Strategy Games, Memory Games, Word Games, Math Activities, Social Studies, Science, Health, Media, Money Games and more for students from K-12.
Try it out and explore, and comment on how they work.
How to Design and Publish Your Website with Open Source tools
How to Design and Publish Your Website with Nvu:
For people in the developing world and especially in Education, where funds are perenially low, open source tools can solve a lot of needs. In the web development space, here are a few tools that can replace the expensive proprietary tools, such as dreamweaver, photoshop and illustrator.
Web development: NVU is a free alternative to Dreamweaver ( http://www.nvu.com )
Graphics:
InkScape ( http://www.inkscape.org/ ) is a free vector art application similar in many ways to Illustrator or Fireworks
Paint .NET ( http://www.eecs.wsu.edu/paint.net/features.html ) for Windows, or The Gimp ( http://www.gimp.org/ ) are bitmap editors (similar to Photoshop)
Animation:
GIMP-GAP is a set of plug-ins for the GIMP-2.0 that extends GIMP for creation of animations based on a series of frame images. GIMP-GAP is the next development step of the Video Menu that once was part of gimp-1.2." http://www.gimp.org/
Unfortunately, Flash has no open source alternative as yet... but there is some work going on here
I'll update as I get more tools.
For people in the developing world and especially in Education, where funds are perenially low, open source tools can solve a lot of needs. In the web development space, here are a few tools that can replace the expensive proprietary tools, such as dreamweaver, photoshop and illustrator.
Web development: NVU is a free alternative to Dreamweaver ( http://www.nvu.com )
Graphics:
InkScape ( http://www.inkscape.org/ ) is a free vector art application similar in many ways to Illustrator or Fireworks
Paint .NET ( http://www.eecs.wsu.edu/paint.net/features.html ) for Windows, or The Gimp ( http://www.gimp.org/ ) are bitmap editors (similar to Photoshop)
Animation:
GIMP-GAP is a set of plug-ins for the GIMP-2.0 that extends GIMP for creation of animations based on a series of frame images. GIMP-GAP is the next development step of the Video Menu that once was part of gimp-1.2." http://www.gimp.org/
Unfortunately, Flash has no open source alternative as yet... but there is some work going on here
I'll update as I get more tools.
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Relationship Of Gender To.Faculty Use Of Online Educational Tools
Relationship Of Gender To Faculty Use Of Online Educational Tools
This is a really interesting research paper that questions whether gendered use of the Internet and hte Web extends to higher education faculty, and discusses possible implications.
"Online courses have become a vital part of the curriculum for most post-secondary institutions in the United States. Whether used for distance learning or as an enhancement to classroom teaching, the integration of online courses marks a distinct change in the system of higher education. According to this attitude of innovation, especially in the online environment, the traditional method of lecturing is no longer appropriate. New methods of instruction must be introduced into the online teaching world. How will these methods be defined and implemented? Who will define and implement them? One aspect to be considered here is the role of gender. The role that gender plays in online teaching has not yet been investigated to the extent this topic warrants, and specific pedagogic questions with respect to gender have neither been asked nor answered. The purpose of the study was to pose and report on some gender-related questions. Do male and female faculty make different teaching choices in online instruction methods based on their gender? Do these choices reflect societal gendered tendencies regarding technology? What are some of the implications for teaching and learning in higher education?"
This is a really interesting research paper that questions whether gendered use of the Internet and hte Web extends to higher education faculty, and discusses possible implications.
"Online courses have become a vital part of the curriculum for most post-secondary institutions in the United States. Whether used for distance learning or as an enhancement to classroom teaching, the integration of online courses marks a distinct change in the system of higher education. According to this attitude of innovation, especially in the online environment, the traditional method of lecturing is no longer appropriate. New methods of instruction must be introduced into the online teaching world. How will these methods be defined and implemented? Who will define and implement them? One aspect to be considered here is the role of gender. The role that gender plays in online teaching has not yet been investigated to the extent this topic warrants, and specific pedagogic questions with respect to gender have neither been asked nor answered. The purpose of the study was to pose and report on some gender-related questions. Do male and female faculty make different teaching choices in online instruction methods based on their gender? Do these choices reflect societal gendered tendencies regarding technology? What are some of the implications for teaching and learning in higher education?"
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