Two online organizational applications

mynoteIT- http://www.mynoteit.com
upload word, open office docs, images, scanned notes, etc. has to do list, bookmark lists, calendar, create groups

Google Notebook- http://www.google.com/googlenotebook/tour1.html
browse 'clips', and organize information, notes, get access from anywhere, publish your notebook

mynoteIT seems more straightforward than google notebook,wysiwyg, uses 'tags' for notes
I'm a big Google fan but Google notebook seems a little hard to understand. Seems much more complicated than mynoteIT. Does not work on Safari browser.
They are both designed to be online note taking tools/organizational tools.

How I view technology in education

It's becoming ubiquitous. We need to view and use technology as we would a book or a blackboard or a desk.
Technology gives us the tools to create experiences for our students that they would otherwise have missed. They can go to places in the world without ever leaving the classroom.
Another benefit is that technology allows for individualized instruction created to meet specific needs for each student. Technology gives an enormous variety of activities on the same subject but at varying degrees of difficulty and with varying degrees of knowledge needed.
A major strength of embedding technology in the learning process is that it teaches students how to become independent life-long learners. Technology allows students the resources to discover information on their own. Including it in the education process gives them a job skill that might not be there otherwise.

Three Part Podcast on Laptops in the Classroom

Here is my first foray into the wonderful world of podcast production. The subject of laptops in the classroom is enormous. My head is congested.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

"Fair Use Has a Posse"

A great examination of the restrictive Digital Rights Management (DRM) and its relationship to "fair use".

The British Library has issued a 'manifesto' decrying the restrictive nature of the DRM which they feel may in the long run restrictive knowledge only to those who can pay for it.
go to- http://www.pbs.org/teachers/learning.now/2006/09/fair_use_has_a_posse.html

I agree with the article and the manifesto. Andy Carvin argues that fair use is restricted by DRM and even educational uses, scholarly uses are restricted unfairly. His point-they are more restrictive than the law requires them to be. In fact-
"they randomly selected 30 different online database they subscribe to - scholarly databases, news database and the like. Of these 30 databases, 28 of them had contracts “found to be more restrictive than rights that currently exist within copyright law.”"

Is the copyright culture eroding fair use. Andy Carvin thinks so. So does the British Museum.

School Design: Be the Change...

My school is preparing for a major capital campaign to raise money for a major expansion.
I love the looks this presentation gives to different styles and designs of schools.

| View | Upload your own

TEDTalks: Jeff Han

The next wave-- no mice, no keyboards. For a glimpse of this as interpreted by Spielberg watch the movie "Minority Report"- awesome, all hands and voice interactivity. A great film and a believable view of the future.
"In this demo, Jeff Han shows off (for the first time publicly) a high-resolution multi-touch computer screen that may herald the end of the point-and-click mouse. The demo, which drew spontaneous applause and audible gasps from the audience, begins with a simple lava lamp, then turns into a virtual photo-editing tabletop, where Han flicks photos across the screen as if they were paper snapshots."

Obstacles to Opportunities

“Creating a Paradigm Shift in Technology”

October 26, 2007

Shawn Nutting, Trussville, AL, USA

Blog:http://www.trussvillecityschools.com/Teachers/Shawn.Nutting/default.aspx

Shawn, Dir.of Tech. for Trussville City, IT for 20 years. Published in Business Week Online,T.H.E.Journal, AL Best Practice Center’s WorkingToward Excellence, Access Control&Security Systems. Presenter at AETC, T+L, NECC, and SITE. CNS degree from ITT tech. District V rep. to the AETA, state committee child Internet safety, member of SSA, ISTE, and IEEE. In 2007 awarded the Chiquita Marbury award.

Bio Page

https://k12online07presenters.wikispaces.com/Shawn+Nutting

What if you worked for a dream system? With a Superintendent & BOE whose focus is technology and professional development. Would it be a utopian and collaborative environment with teachers and students engaged with Web 2.0 tools? Not necessarily. Having open Internet access and a 1:1 computer initiative is not necessarily the key to engagement. A core cultural change must take place where students, teachers, administration and the community support technology in the curriculum.

Presentation

Original

http://k12online.wm.edu/k12online_2007.mov

Audio only

http://k12online.wm.edu/k1207.mp3

Shawn works for a biggg school district.

Focuses on prof development and technology.

Always focus on what's best for students, and secondarily what tools can we give teachers to achieve the best.

They don't block everything. Have teachable moments!

But don't believe everything you read on the internet.

How do eight people take care of the tech needs of 4000? Not easy. Empower schools to take care of some things themselves. Document work orders, Allows you to measure the schools that are tech savvy and those that are not. Idea- students willing to assist technology. Schools also have a lead technology teachers.

But they do not fix tech problems, but are leaders in integrating tech into the classroom. They teach teachers.

They have a district tech integration specialist, to coordinate district wide tech integration. Visits all schools three times per year.

How do you know wht kind of tech prof dev you need for teachers? They only give to those who will use it. They have an online assessment tool, surveys, etc. and they grade out teachers. From that they give grants. Encourages some healthy competition among teachers.

They put on there own daylong tech conference-district wide.

They also try to "sell" technology to the board, parents, citizens, etc.

"Geeky Weekly"- spotlight on technology, teachers, tech tips, etc.

"Digital Showcase"- anything created digitally is spotlighted. Also an end of year digital showcase.

Gives public a chance to see whats going on.

Marketing, Marketing, Marketing

Teachers need to see leaders and others modeling technology stuff.