Google Docs Unleashed!

For those of you techie wannabe's here is Claire Pollok's Google doc Slideshare presentation, to help you with Google document sharing:)  Have fun! Thanks Claire:)

Google docs[1] by Claire Pollok

View more presentations from PippaDavies.

Alice- Techie Site of the Week!

Are you interested in encouraging your students to learn computer programming skills?   Alice might be your answer?  Computer programming becomes a game as students make avatars and lead them into action sequences and story lines.    Carnegie Mellon University developed this program to allow students to play in a 3D modeling environment, and create animations.  The tutorials are explanatory,  and can help students move from beginner sessions to more advanced computer programming.  Along with other computer programs like Scratch (which I have blogged about recently), you can motivate your young ones to enjoy the technical artistic creations to be found in computer programming.  If we are hoping to get our students ready for virtual worlds and 21 century learning, this might be a good place to start.

Big thanks to Natasha for sharing:)

Other interesting reviews on Alice:
Alice 3D Programming and How to use. Makeuseof.com

KidslikeInfo.  Teachers share how they use in the classroom.

Blessings
Pippa

Book Trailers as Book Reviews. Techie Site of the Week!

Along with using Collaborize Classroom in my book club,  I am hoping to encourage my book club students to share book reviews as trailers using IMovie or Windows.  Having made my first iMovie trailer a while back to advertise my own book club, I was amazed at what a fantastic learning experience it is being your own movie producer!  Of course I needed a ton of help from my son who knows IMovie backwards!  What a great way to get your students excited about sharing their book review by making a video:)  SOOOO 21 century!

Book Talks and Trailers.

List of Book Trailer links and ideas from Joyce Valenza.

Using Flickr and Creative Commons to find images care of the BFTA.

Examples of Book Trailers in the middle grade from 4shared.com

Book Trailers for  Readers from teacher - librarian Michelle Harclerode.


Check out how some Christian publishers are using Book trailers to reach their audience.

Christian Writing Today has a Thousand Book trailers to share with you.

Here are some links to help you make some book trailers using video:

How to with Mac Computers
Ehow.

How to make with Windows

Nick Draw's Writing Blog

HubPages How to make a Windows Book trailer free.

Video creation resources with Richard Byrne

Blessings to you as you make your first book trailer.  I would love to share so please send me your links or embed codes?
Pippa:)

Take-Aways from iNacol

Being an online teacher often feels isolating.  Put 1800 teachers together in an iNacol conference room, with laptops, netbooks, and cellphones, and you have geek teacher mentality and collaboration = TECHIE SHARING!!  Needless to say I was in my element:)  Thank you God!

Statistics from the U.S, show that 6  million students signed up for at least one online course at high school this year!  Many online courses are now receiving reviews equivalent to face to face classroom experience.

 Canada still leads the way in math, science and literacy in North America, and we are still developing the means for making our online courses multi layered and technologically sound.

These are a few of my favourite take away thoughts/sites I gauged from my amazing week at iNacol.

1. Teachers are not the experts anymore!  We are continuous learners.  As continuous teachers, learners and home schoolers we can only improve with age:)  Hallelujah!

2.  Transformational learning only happens, when God is present in our element or passion for learning.

3.  The virtual relationship between teacher and student is where encouragement, space, and love transforms learning.  Just as we want to do what matters most, so do our students.  Let us encourage student centric learning which meets the needs of the holistic child.  But also let us encourage our students to think of others first!

4.  New technological prototypes around the corner will change the way we view education, and how we  help students in the future.  However we do need to address which technological innovations can help our students today.


COOL TOOLS TO ENGAGE 21 CENTURY LEARNING


Simplebooklet  This web friendly online booklet sharing site is easy to use and useful for students or teachers wanting to share a set of instructions, invitation, make an eportfolio or present a list.  You do not need your own website, but can incorporate this into your blog or website.  Simply place your objects on the given canvas and type, copy and paste, resize and then move to the next page.  Share or print out your booklets.

Popplet is a unique mind mapping presentation tool, which allows you to share and collaborate with others.  Watch the video on the home page and discover how easy it is to use.  For use in the classroom with brainstorming and mind mapping, creating family trees, science hypotheses, timelines, story plots and life cycles.

 ABCYA offers games and applications for students from grade 1-5.  Amazing fun to be had!

Google Historical Events.  For open access to historical voyages and events.

Art.com.  Learn how to be an artist using all the right art tools on a computerized canvas!

Layar.  Get more information out of augmented reality.

Layar Vision can recognize real world objects and display digital AR experiences on top of them.

Now layers can be truly immersive as seemingly ordinary objects come alive with interactivity

Other takeaways included open learning resources like Merlot, Hippocampus for great biology labs, and MIT Open Courseware 

What surprised and blessed me the most?  The realisation that our school can be authentically who we are in Christ!  We are uniquely discipleship based and community driven; to make relationship more important than the technology details.  Yes, we need to have some of the best techie tools to bring our students into the 21 century, but first and foremost we need to bring them closer to Christ.

Blessings to you!

Pippa

Digital Storytelling using Collaborize Classroom

A week ago I shared Collaborize Classroom with you as a possible teaching tool, to get students collaborizing and sharing.  I  have been using this tool successfully with my book club, along with the Book club blog , and Elluminate sessions, where my students share book reviews and presentations.  However, Aneta Coulter sent me this neat webinar on using digital storytelling and Collaborize Classroom as a combo tool, to really encourage her students to start sharing and peer editing.  I LOVED what she was doing, and like Aneta I wanted to share it with you:)  Thanks for sharing Aneta!