Why Schools Can't Be Run Like a Business

For those of you that are in states that are looking towards "pay on performance" or those that have repercussions for poor test scores, I highly recommend reading this article: http://ayearinthelifeofateacher.com/2010/03/31/why-schools-cant-be-run-like-a-business/

Ning is no longer free

As I've been checking out resources to use in the classroom, Walden University makes reference to Ning. As you may have found out, Ning is no longer free. However, you can apply for sponsorship to get it for free for three years. I've applied twice now and have not heard back. Frankly, I'm tired of waiting and have started looking for alternatives. I came across this site: http://www.jonbishop.com/2010/04/9-free-ning-alternatives-and-some-open-source-solutions/ that lists 9 free alternatives to Ning. I have poked around a few of them so far and found a couple I'd like to try. There is one that even supports Wordpress blogging integration. Hopefully you all find something useful there.

A Great Site for 3d Learning

Hey Everyone,

As many of you have probably read in previous posts, I am easily sidetracked when I am working on my Walden homework. Thankfully, my findings are often quite useful. I figured I'd share tonight's since it directly relates to 21st century learning.

This blog: http://www.karlkapp.blogspot.com/ is an excellent source of information for using 3d eLearning. Programs can range from Second Life (yes, I was even surprised to see the educational benefits of Second Life) as well as 3d Virtual Scavenger Hunts.

Let me know what you all think!

Brett

Will the iPad be a game changer?

With Apple's release of the iPad today, I have a feeling this could really revolutionize not only the tech gadget world, but also our classrooms. For the cost of a decent iPod touch, you can now surf the web, read a book, download apps, all on a device the size of a laptop screen, and not much thicker either.

How could this benefit our schools? First of all, these things hardly take up any space at all. With our movement into Web 3.0, or "Sky Computing" everything can be done online without software as it is. Even files are stored safely online now with Google Docs.

With the option to purchase a dock and keyboard, I can certainly foresee these devices replacing the laptop carts or mobile labs.

What's your opinion?

Making Online Magazines

Do any of you have a use for making online magazines? I know I do with my Desktop Publishing class. Maybe you'd just like to take a PDF and turn it into magazine format just for the sake of being cool. Well, if that's the case, you'd like this site I just came across: http://www.youblisher.com/ You simply upload your PDF and they turn it into a magazine style web page, in which they host. Best of all, it's free.

Educational Viral Video of the Week

My wife showed me a very well done video by the HOPE Christian Schools in Milwaukee, WI. Living not too far from Milwaukee, I like to promote anything good going on in their schools due to the fact that MPS is getting such bad press right now; they are also going through a mayoral take-over. Even though this is a private school in Milwaukee, it's worth showing some of the good that is going on over there.

A full writeup of the story can be found by WISN news here.

Unexpected Find

Have you ever had one of those moments when you are looking for one thing and find something else that you can really use? This happens to me all the time, whether it be while I am out shopping, looking for something in the basement, etc. But just recently I had a good find on the Internet. We all know the Internet is loaded with information, so much so that it is impossible to know everything that is out there. It seems the best way to really get to the good stuff, is from word of mouth (or fingers) from other people.

Just yesterday I was checking out the site ShareTabs. I really liked the layout of the site and how the students could visually go to your bookmarks. What I didn't like about it was that you cannot go back and edit your links once you've created them. Don't get me wrong, this is a great site, I just wanted something more. So in my quest to find the site that had a similar setup, but allowed users to create accounts so they could modify their links, I came across a site called Simply Box. This site is completely different from what I was looking for, but seems to have awesome classroom potential. Students would be able to easily do online collaborative projects using this program. But instead of my trying to explain it to you, you should just check out their excellent video tutorial on the site.

I never did end up finding a replacement for ShareTabs, but in the end I ended up with another great teaching resource.

Welcome

Welcome to my educational technology blog. Hopefully you will find information here to be interesting and useful.