iLead:Developing 21st Century Instructional Technology Skills to Enhance Leading and Learn

Agenda

2009-11-03T14:10:00.014-05:00

Welcome
Icebreaker
Review & Questions
Overview Web 2.0
Aggregator/RSS
Customizing iGoogle Space
Google Suite
Create Blog
Evaluation

Training Flow

Introduction to Leading and Learning with 21st Century Tools:

Piano stairs - Rolighetsteorin.se - The fun theory

Overview: Web 2.0 tools
-- What is Web 2.0 and how can it be the engine for a 21st century school?

"Visions of Today's Students"

Aggregators: Create our own RSS homepage to be a portal to news sites, blogs, and other syndicated material

-- Creating an account on a web-based RSS Aggregator: iGoogle

-- Moving content and deleting content

-- Adding content: from the catalogue, through the search, and by URL

-- Finding RSS feeds for blog sites

Break / Individual assistance
Blogs: Create our own weblog to communicate to our learning communities

-- Best Practices: Principal blogs, specialist blogs, teacher blogs

-- Understanding the importance of knowing your audience, posting with consistency, developing blog writing tone, and wrapping the blog in its purpose

-- Creating a blog account for ourselves on Blogger.com

-- Writing our first post: audience, tone, purpose

-- Types of blog entries: article spotlights, interviews, professional thoughts, opinions, investigative

-- Dealing with security: settings, comment moderation, permissions and levels

-- Things you should change: blog description, time zone, who can comment

-- Email assitance: enabling comment notification, enabling posting via email

Evaluation/Ongoing Support

Directions / tutorials for what we learned in this workshop

2009-11-03T14:04:00.000-05:00

Below are links to video tutorials for topics we learned in this workshop. These are narrated video directions that you can pause, rewind, and replay to help you remember how to work with RSS and blogs.

iGoogle

Moving and deleting content
Adding content by catalogue and search
Adding content by URL

Blogger

Access your Blogger account
Making a new post
Dealing with security
Things you should change to make your blog work better
Adding Hyperlinks and Images

Making Great Blogs: Tips and Tools to Keep your Blog Active

2009-11-03T09:42:00.003-05:00

What makes a great blog?

According to the eSchool News, the group who manages the ‘Best of the Education Blog’ competition, the following traits make a great blog.

1. Personality: Is there a clear personality? Do you feel like you know the writer? Is there a feeling of intimacy that might be missing from mainstream media or other forms of communication?
2. Usefulness: Is the information useful or enjoyable to read? Did it make you think, or laugh, or click? Are there handy links to other places?
3. Writing style: Is the writing in the blog snappy, crisp, and engaging to read? Or is it long-winded, dull, convoluted, or sloppy? Worse, is it a sales pitch disguised as a blog? Or just news briefs or bullet-point items without any fresh perspective, analysis, or insight?
4. Usability and design: Is the typeface easy to read? Can you find links to archives? Is the writing concise and easily skimmable? Are graphics limited to what’s useful or fun?
5. Frequency: Is the blog updated regularly, and with sufficient frequency?
6. Relevancy: Does the blog stay on topic, and is it relevant to the category in which it is being judged?
7. Interactivity: Does the blog incorporate video or audio in an engaging, interactive way? Does it offer a forum for readers to respond, or use other features to help develop a sense of community?
8. Fulfillment of purpose: How well does the blog fulfill its intended mission?
9. Appropriateness: Does the blogger use language and etiquette that is appropriate to a professional educational setting?
10. Would you revisit: Is it useful or engaging enough for you to visit it again someday?
Look for these traits in the blogs you use…. or create!
Blogs for Principals

So how does all of this relate to your role as an administrator? It appears that many major organizations and individual administrators are starting to produce blogs. It is worth a few minutes of your time to review a several blogs that might be relevant to your role as a school leader. They may also provide some models that you might consider.

Writers Block?

Your new blogs can revolutionize communication in your school but they have to remain active. If you're stuck and not sure what to write, check out the examples below. Remember you can add authors to your blog to ensure that a regular posting is made: assistant principals, coaches, parent coordinators, etc...

Announcements / Calendar of Events / Reminders:

Informal education / Best Practices:

Article reflections:

Soliciting feedback:

Communicating expectations:

How to:

Public acknowledgment:

Customcraft: RSS in Plain English

2009-11-03T08:49:00.003-05:00

Resources

2009-11-03T05:51:00.005-05:00

Definition: Web 2.0: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2.05

Web 20

View more presentations from Rob Kovi.

Web 2.0 Time Savers for educators: http://techlearning.com/story/showArticle.php?articleID=196604480
Partnership for 21st Century Skills: http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/
Online communities transform teacher development: http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStoryRSS.cfm?ArticleID=7165

Blogger: http://www.blogger.com/
iGoogle: http://www.igoogle.com/
Delicious: http://del.icio.us/

Will Richardson: http://www.weblogg-ed.com/
Learn Me Good: http://learnmegood2.blogspot.com/
Teacher Magazine: Best Blogs: http://thedreamteacher.blogspot.com/2009/11/think-before-you-speak.html

Education Policy:

These are blogs written by activists who are looking to reform our school system or just education in general.

Change Agency
D-Ed Reckoning
Education in Texas
Education Intelligence Agency
Jenny D.
Practical Theory
Schools Matter

Internet Culture:

Internet applications, such as RSS and blogs, and how they can be applied in a teaching/learning environment are discussed in these blogs.

absolutely intercultural
Adventures in Educational Blogging
BionicTeacher
Digital Writing, Digital Teaching
Full Circle Online Interaction Blog
Ideas and Thoughts from an EdTech
Infinite Thinking Machine
learning.now
Learn Online

Great Feeds to add to your RSS page

2009-11-02T05:15:00.001-05:00

Here is a list of RSS feeds that may be of interest to you as a principal:

Education Week News: http://feeds.feedburner.com/EducationWeekNewsAndInformationAboutEducationIssues
NAESP (Elementary and Middle) Blog: http://naesp.typepad.com/
NASSP (Secondary Schools) Blog: http://www.principalspolicyblog.org/blog/
School Law Blog: http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheSchoolLawBlog?format=xml
eSchool News Top News: http://www.eschoolnews.com/rss/top-news.xml
(eSchool WEBPAGE directory of RSS feeds: http://www.eschoolnews.com/content-exchange-rss/)
ASCD (do a search for gadgets to get this one)
NCTM: http://www.nctm.org/WorkArea/blogs/blogrss.aspx?blog=1380
NSTA: (this is a WEBPAGE: http://blogs.nsta.org/default.aspx)
techLearning: http://www.techlearning.com/rss/all.php

Top Educator Blogs:

Practical Theory (Chris Lehman): http://www.practicaltheory.org/serendipity/index.php?/feeds/index.rss2
Steve Dembo's Teach42: http://www.teach42.com/
Will Richardson's Weblogg-ed: http://weblogg-ed.com/
David Warlick's Two Cents Worth: http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/

A must view for educators (it's a youtube video so you have to view it at home)

2008-08-14T10:52:00.002-04:00

From Will Richardson's blog definitely check this out:: http://weblogg-ed.com/2008/michael-weschs-presentation-to-library-of-congress/

Want to connect your Dell XT to AT&T Broadband Service?

2008-08-10T15:57:00.003-04:00

One of the nicest things you can do with your new Dell XT is install internal broadband access to the internet so you can get online no matter where you are without dealing with private wireless networks. With broadband access, you access the internet via the cellular network so whether you're at your school, at home, or in between, you can get online and access the internet at 3G speeds.

To do this you need to buy an internal AT&T broadband card (link below) and then purchase a service plan. Put the sim card and the internal broadband card in your computer (there will be detailed directions how to do this) and install the broadband card software on your laptop.

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/products/VoIP_and_Telephony_Products/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04&sku=313-5194

New ISTE 100 corporate program member, Turning Technologies, has launched a K-12 grant program, that will provide 15 TurningPoint® Student Response Sy

2008-08-06T14:44:00.001-04:00

New ISTE 100 corporate program member, Turning Technologies, has launched a K-12 grant program, that will provide 15 TurningPoint® Student Response Systems to classrooms across the United States. The program is open to all accredited, public and private K-12 educators within the United States. Awards will be made on a competitive basis. Applications close September 15, 2008. Learn more.

Realizing the Promise of Low Cost Computing Teaching Matters' Annual Forum for Principals

2008-08-04T14:57:00.002-04:00

Tuesday, August 5th

Beginning with refreshments at 2:00 pm

475 Riverside Drive, New York, NY (Directions: http://www.teachingmatters.org/contact.htm)

The Teaching Matters Principal Forum takes place tomorrow and may be of interest to those wanting to explore using low-cost laptops in their schools. If you are interested in exploring options as a 1:1 school, three NYC DOE principals on the vanguard of this movement will share their views on the promise, pitfalls and practicalities of implementing low cost computing:

* Briony Carr, Principal of IS 302M
* Jason Levy, Principal of IS 339X
* Mary Padilla, Principal of PS 5X

Designed exclusively for principals, this forum will enable you to check out some of the low cost computers now coming available in our area and discuss with your peers what this development can mean for you, your teachers, students and their parents.

All principals who attend will be eligible for a raffle prize that can help jump-start a 1:1 computing program. Winners will choose from two options: a set of 20 One Laptop Per Child XO computers or 10 ASUS laptops.

Space is limited, so please RSVP to Lauren Morris at Teaching Matters (email: Lmorris@teachingmatters.org or 212-870-3505 phone).

Best Practices around getting a RESO A grant

2008-07-29T16:16:00.003-04:00

Hi All -- here's a resource to help you in seeking a RESO A grant for your school to support your technology program:

http://computerliaisons.ning.com/forum/topic/show?id=2101915%3ATopic%3A547

Here is a sample RESO request letter that you can use as a template:

http://www.oitlive.com/oitlive/lib/oitlive/ResoA+Sample+Ltr.doc

How to get iGoogle on your web-enabled mobile phone

2007-08-08T08:53:00.000-04:00

If you have a cell phone that can go on the internet then you can probably access your iGoogle page with the same up-to-the-minute information you have on your desktop iGoogle page!

Just point your web browser to the following url:

http://www.google.com/ig/mobile

Sign in with your username and password and check "Remember me".

Which phones work? Most Blackberries, any phone with Windows Mobile, the iPhone, many Nokia phones.... actually -- most phones today have internet access. Make sure you have a data plan (unlimited to be sure) so that you don't incur needless charges.