Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Web 2.0 Backpack: Web Apps for Students

Web 2.0 Backpack: Web Apps for Students

As you can probably tell, I'm wading through a lot of postings at Read/Write Web and it looks like I've been missing a ton of great stuff. Here's another.

This is a great list of online applications that can greatly benefit both you and your class.

Dan



The Fischbowl: Blogging: In Their Own Words

The Fischbowl: Blogging: In Their Own Words

Really a must see video for those of you thinking about using blogs with your students or even if you have hesitated. The video features teachers and students talking about blog usage in their school with great insights into the benefits of using this technology. The the video also provides some good ideas for using blogs in your classrooms.



Dan



Finding the Perfect Shot: 5 Stock Photo Search Engines Reviewed

Finding the Perfect Shot: 5 Stock Photo Search Engines Reviewed

Here's a very timely post. If you're looking for images to use on your sites, check out these photo search engines.

Most return free to use images, though, remember that free to use doesn't mean that there aren't any restrictions or requirements. Many require that you link back to the image or the site at a minimum. Read the terms of use on each image site (not just on these search engines) to make sure that you are using the images correctly.

By the way, note that I am posting a link to the Read/Write Web blog again. This is a great blog with many contributors posting on great topics mostly concerned with Web 2.0 (otherwise known as Read/Write Web).

Dan



Video Editing 2.0: 8 Ways to Remix Online Videos

Video Editing 2.0: 8 Ways to Remix Online Videos

Don't have video editing software? No problem! Here are some online versions that will take you a long way. Not only do the software exist online, but so do your videos. So, your students can easily work on their videos at school and home and not worry about software or transportation of large video files.

Dan



No more school as council opens 'learning centres' - Independent Online Edition > News

No more school as council opens 'learning centres'

I think that you will here a lot about this over the next few years. Both success and failure will benefit our understanding of this movement, which I think is gathering steam in academic circles and even political circles.

I personally think that this is an important direction to be researched in education with my gut reaction being that it is the right direction to move in. Of course, I'll check my gut until I see some results :)

Dan



Using YouTube for Vocabulary Development

An ELT Notebook: Using YouTube for Vocabulary Development

Nice lesson plan and a good way to get feedback on your lesson plans. Put them up on your blog and ask people their opinions of the lesson plan. You'll notice that someone commented on this the next day saying that they already used it.

Dan



Friday, July 13, 2007

Election.tv: Election 2008, candidate videos and profiles, Your Voice, Your Vote

Election.tv: Election 2008, candidate videos and profiles, Your Voice, Your Vote

Want to do something with American politics? Check this out. This is a collection of videos of 2008 candidates speaking on campaign issues.

Of course they don't say much, but, hey, they're politicians ;-)

If you can't find a topic to discuss in here and some sort of research project, you're just not thinking.

Have fun.

Dan



CMU_Podcasting_Jun07.pdf (application/pdf Object)

CMU_Podcasting_Jun07.pdf

Wow! Super article (white paper) on the use of podcasts in education. I think that this is really well balanced and brings together some current research (what there is of it) to support it's arguments. This is a must-read for anyone interested in implementing podcasts in their courses or across the curriculum.

Dan



Virtual Games Hone Real Business Skills

NPR : Study: Virtual Games Hone Real Business Skills

This is somewhat old news in the gaming community, but it's always nice to hear it on NPR. This piece relates findings on an IBM study that online gaming (they are mostly referring to games that have social aspects to them, namely Massively Multiplayer Online Games--MMOGs) sharpens skills of collaboration, self-organization, and risk-taking.

Dan



Wednesday, July 04, 2007

Pedagogical affordances of syndication, aggregation, and mash-up of content on the Web

TESL-EJ June 2007 -- Pedagogical affordances of syndication, aggregation, and mash-up of content on the Web

Barbara Dieu and Vance Stevens are two VERY active and very smart players in the field of CALL. This is a great article that gives an overview of popular technologies. Some we are using and talking about and some others that we are now (we only have so much time).

If you have time (I know, probably not now), I suggest taking a look at this. It will give you a lot of food for thought.

Dan