Starting a new cohort

Know of anybody interested in starting a new cohort on Classroom 2.o tools? I'm hoping to get another group started sometime after the SDD on the 10th.

Cleaning Things Up

Those of you who have completed the Classroom 2.0 program please add my other blog to your readers. I am going to keep this one based on the 2.0 program for others who are going through the program, and I will update my other blog found at http://techiesteaching.blogspot.com. Hope you are all enjoying your summer! I take off for Nova Scotia on Friday and I can't wait. Looking forward to seeing you all soon!

On a Roll

We met in groups of 4 and got to pick out an object. Then we had to create a short film that formed a short story. Jennifer, Amy, Stefanie and I ended up with a roll of toilet paper, and the rest is....On the Roll...Keep in Mind we had less than 3 hours to write, shoot, and edit our story.

Sleep Away Camp

I'm currently sitting in my dorm room trying to be quiet now that "Quiet Hours" are in effect at the TTTC - Teach the teacher collaborative workshop in Ojai, CA. There have been highs and lows, but I got really pumped up tonight at the Google Earth workshop. The potential for exploring the world through Google Earth is amazing. We looked at Google Lit Trips and created our our Teacher Tour including links and images to locations throughout the world. Amazing stuff.

My second favorite find of the night was a program called iShowU which is an inexpensive ($20) screen capture program that records your actions on screen as well as any dialog you speak as your presentation evolves.

Week 9 Thing #23

Wow! How is this already over? I have enjoyed this process very much and I have enjoyed working with our "cohort"! - On to the questions -

1. What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey? I appreciated the task element of this program. Having just completed my Master's in Educational Technology I was a little done with discussing theory and ready to apply that theory to new technologies. This program allowed that and I enjoyed every one of my tasks.
2. How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals? This program gave me some great ideas about structuring online courses. I also enjoyed the comments of other teachers and watching others' blogs evolve.
3. Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you? I had used Google docs before, but was pleasantly surprised with the options in Zoho. - Poor Microsoft! ;-)
4. What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept? Offer a 2nd level course.
5. If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you choose to participate? Yes and I'd encourage others from my district to do the same.
6. How would you describe your learning experience in ONE WORD or in ONE SENTENCE, so we could use your words to promote Classroom Learning 2.0 learning activities?Classroom Learning 2.0 is an ideal environment to experiment with online technologies!

Week 9 Thing #22

I hate reading books on my computer, so ebooks have never appealed to me. -Could be from all of those online courses I took. - What I do like about online books is the availability. I've used them before to reference scenes from many of Shakespeare's plays. There are many sites that include his entire plays. I also love to get audiobooks read by their authors - although they are expensive. The Harry Potter series read by Jim Dale is also phenomenal! I have to admit I am a little intrigued by Amazon's Kindle device. Seems like it might be very handy to take on vacation - depending on how well the battery worked.

Week 9 Thing #21

I am a fan of the podcast. On a regular basis I download shows from NPR then I listen to them on my iPod while I'm out walking my dog. People must think I'm a little off as I seem to spend much of my walk laughing out loud. I have also found travel podcasts to be helpful, although people have caught on and now vendors are starting to post their pay-for podcasts through iTunes. There are also a number of great Photoshop Tutorials and I also enjoy Grammar Girl's podcasts.