Free Online Career Development Course Now Available to 16 Million Students Nationwide

Thanks to Larry for this information!

Microsoft, Michigan Department of Education and Michigan Virtual University
offer CareerForward to help students prepare for a 21st-century workplace.

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2008/dec08/12-02CareerForwardPR.mspx

FW: [RETAzens Blog] [NMSUWebinars] Spring Webinar Schedule

The last notice had an error, here it is again:

Dear Educator,

RETA would like to invite you to visit our website, http://webinars.nmsu.edu, to
view our recently updated Spring Webinar schedule under the K-12 Educators section!  

We are very excited to inform you that we NOW have two different Webinar Strands.

RETA Webinar Series: Increasing Interaction with Audio/Video Tools will
take place on Mondays at 6:00pm MST.

RETA Webinar Series: eLearning with Emerging Technologies will take place
on Thursdays at 6:00pm MST.

The RETA team has prepared these two great series of professional
development webinars to help you learn practical and effective technology
skills to engage your 21st century learners. We continue to be committed
to providing you with "free", innovative webinars that fit into your busy
schedule. Let us support you as you begin implementing technology tools
and techniques in your 21st century classroom.

Have a cup of coffee, invite a colleague, and raise your eQ with us.

RETA (Regional Educational Technology Assistance)
College of Extended Learning
New Mexico State University
MSC 3WEC, P.O. Box 30001
Las Cruces, NM  88003-8001
(575) 646-6143, fax:  (575) 646-2004

[NMSUWebinars] Spring Webinar Schedule

Dear Educator,

RETA would like to invite you to visit our website, webinars@nmsu.edu, to
view our recently updated Spring Webinar schedule! We are very excited to
inform you that we NOW have two different Webinar Strands.

RETA Webinar Series: Increasing Interaction with Audio/Video Tools will
take place on Mondays at 6:00pm MST.

RETA Webinar Series: eLearning with Emerging Technologies will take place
on Thursdays at 6:00pm MST.

The RETA team has prepared these two great series of professional
development webinars to help you learn practical and effective technology
skills to engage your 21st century learners. We continue to be committed
to providing you with "free", innovative webinars that fit into your busy
schedule. Let us support you as you begin implementing technology tools
and techniques in your 21st century classroom.

Have a cup of coffee, invite a colleague, and raise your eQ with us.

RETA (Regional Educational Technology Assistance)
College of Extended Learning
New Mexico State University
MSC 3WEC, P.O. Box 30001
Las Cruces, NM 88003-8001
(575) 646-6143, fax: (575) 646-2004

What's a wordle?

From Susie :)

Have some fun!

Wordle is a toy for generating ³word clouds² from text that you provide. The
clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the
source text. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and
color schemes. The images you create with Wordle are yours to use however
you like. You can print them out, or save them to the Wordle gallery to
share with your friends.

http://www.wordle.net/

Copyright for Educators III - Town Hall, 12/1/08, 6:00pm MST

Dear Educator:

RETA would like to remind you about TONIGHT's professional development
Webinar.

RETA Webinar Series: eLearning with Emerging Technologies

Webinar Event: Copyright for Educators III Town Hall

Date: Monday, December 1, 2008

Time: 6:00-7:00 pm MST

Description:
Whether you joined us for Blogging I or not, this session will surely help
any educator take their blogs to a heightened level. Here we will go more
in depth with the other options in managing and adding features to your
blogs (RSS feeds, widgets, polls, images, slideshows, etc.) as well as
discussing ideas on how to keep your curriculum continually evolving
eLearning-style

TO ATTEND:
Please use the following link to attend the webinar:
http://nmsu.na3.acrobat.com/copyed3fa08/

*Plan to join us 15-20 minutes prior to the start time to configure your
computer. To participate, speakers are required. A simple computer
microphone and/or a headset is ideal for interaction. A webcam is
optional.

*If you have never used Adobe Acrobat Connect Professional, please test
your connection at: Adobe Acrobat Pro Support Center
https://admin.acrobat.com/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm

For complete information on this and all of our webinars visit us at:
http://webinars.nmsu.edu <http://webinars.nmsu.edu/> or contact us at
webinars@nmsu.edu or call
575.646.6143.

Have a cup of coffee, invite a colleague and raise your eQ (eLearning
Quotient) with us!

RETA (Regional Educational Technology Assistance)
College of Extended Learning
New Mexico State University
MSC 3WEC, P.O. Box 30001
Las Cruces, NM 88003-8001
(575) 646-6143, fax: (575) 646-2004

------ End of Forwarded Message

New Mexico picks Wimba for its collaborative learning platform

Reported at http://www.techlearning.com/content/ednews/index.php#article3

Wimba®, Inc., the education technology company that helps people teach people, today announced that New Mexico's Innovative Digital Education and Learning program (IDEAL-NM) has selected the Wimba Collaboration Suite™, the education industry's leading multi-modal solution for virtual and blended learning, to pilot as its statewide collaborative learning platform. IDEAL-NM will deploy Wimba's comprehensive solution across its statewide network of higher education and K-12 institutions, which includes 89 districts and 22 college campuses, to enhance student engagement and collaboration and increase learning outcomes.

New Mexico was the first state in the nation to create a statewide eLearning system that, from its inception, encompasses all aspects of learning from traditional public and higher education environments to teacher professional development, continuing education and workforce education. This partnership with Wimba will enable IDEAL-NM to offer Wimba's Collaboration Suite across its network of institutions, facilitating the use of online video, voice, instant messaging, content authoring, application sharing and white boarding throughout the state.

"With a scope as large as ours, communication and collaboration are crucial," said Donna Harrington, eLearning Technology Director for IDEAL-NM. "The Wimba Collaboration Suite will enable us to bring our statewide community of users together online, so that we can collaborate, brainstorm, develop, and implement best practices that will help our students to succeed."

The Wimba Collaboration Suite of products, which includes—the Wimba Classroom(TM) virtual learning environment, the Wimba Pronto(TM) instant messenger, the Wimba Voice(TM) audio solution, and the Wimba Create(TM) content authoring tool—enables institutions to bridge the gap between technology and pedagogy by supplementing course management systems with the proven disciplines of in-person learning environments. Designed to work seamlessly within the existing Blackboard online course management system selected by the State of New Mexico, the Wimba Collaboration Suite enables convenient single sign-on and access to Wimba tools directly from the online course environments with which teachers and students are already familiar.

"This partnership with IDEAL-NM is a testament to Wimba's power to engage students and instructors in lifelong learning," said Tommaso Trionfi, CEO of Wimba. "We are very proud of the comprehensive and collaborative learning environments that the Wimba Collaboration Suite fosters, and we look forward to working closely with IDEAL-NM to bring students and faculty together for learning."

Creating Historical and Multimedia Resources

The Mumbai tragedy has been horrific. Reminiscent of 9/11 times.

That said, my team has worked over the years on web-based curriculum and multimedia resources for K-12 teachers and learners and the process of such activities was expensive and time-consuming. With the types of tools available today, such inefficient activities and resources can be valuable but are not all that necessary. Creating high-quality, web-based, multimedia-enhanced curriculum resources are getting easier and easier to do or rather to access, because it's often done for us.

As an example of what can be quickly created as an event unfolds, here are just some of the resources developed around the Mumbai events:

The Twitter search tool (formerly known as Summize), kept a running documentary (microblogumentary?) including citizen journalism from individuals such as @dina and @vinu; twitter news updates such as @BreakingNewsOn; and overall global commentary.

The Wikipedia page developed as events occurred - November 2008 Mumbai attacks.

Individual bloggers updated their sites; Shot Through the Heart was updated with important updated information, including emergency contact information, an embedded google doc for casualties, list of rescued hostages etc.; Arun Shanbhag's blog was kept updated with images and commentary.

Organization blogs provided many voices and resources such as Global Voices and Ground Report.

Webcasts ran such as Saja and Mumbai's Talk Radio Show.

And the resource that prompted me to write this post is an aggregated news feed that provides twitter streams/feeds for various terms like mumbai, breakingnewson, taj, etc,; @vinu's flickr pics, a video timeline (dippity), and a google map of the attacks. Update: I just realized that there was an actual tool that we can use that created the aggregated news feed, it's called Monitter. Dudes! How cool is that?! I hope it stays free...

Seriously. This type of news, information, resources, multimedia capability, etc. has the power to change the world of education. Will it?

~julz

Leaving blog, wiki, and podcast footprints?

From ASCD SmartBrief  11/18/2008
(A connection to Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts in the RETA classroom and beyond-LJ)
Teach technology skills, ethics across the curriculum

Social Web technologies are having a huge influence on students, even the youngest ones. Yet adults are failing to help them explore the safety and ethics of the "digital footprint" that they are leaving behind, writes Will Richardson, author of "Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Tools for Classrooms." Not only should students be encouraged to explore topics that interest them, but they must also learn to use technology wisely in the general curriculum, he writes. A short lesson on Internet safety is not enough.  

Educational Leadership  
http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/ndjkzpwzCAAGetWLoi (11/2008)

------------------
From Larry

FW: NASA Offers New Science Teaching Certificate Project

Please forward to teachers you are working with.

NASA OFFERS NEW SCIENCE TEACHING CERTIFICATE PROJECT

WASHINGTON -- NASA has unveiled the Endeavor Science Teaching
Certificate Project, which will award more than 200 fellowships to
educators during a five year period. Educators accepted into the project
will be exposed to current NASA science and engineering and supported in
translating the information for use in classrooms.

The goal of the project is to ensure that teachers across the country
can use the discoveries that NASA makes on a daily basis to inspire the
next generation of explorers, scientists, engineers, and astronauts.

The program will provide workshops, online and on-site graduate courses
and NASA content and materials to teachers and students in
K-12 classrooms. NASA will work in partnership with state departments of
education to ensure program participants can apply credit from project
courses towards state certification requirements.

"Through the program, educators will learn to deliver cutting-edge
science into the classroom, promoting science, technology, engineering
and mathematics education," said Joyce L. Winterton, assistant
administrator for education at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "This
will include proven NASA and NASA-sponsored educational resources to
meet specific learning goals."

Project fellows will earn a certificate of completion in Applied Science
Education from Teachers College Innovations at Teachers College,
Columbia University, N.Y., and graduate credit from other institutional
partners.

Additional project efforts include assisting and training pre-service
science teachers to help improve science instruction in U.S. schools.

The project will be administered by the U.S. Satellite Laboratory Inc.
of Rye, N.Y. Funding for the program is provided through the NASA
Endeavor Teacher Fellowship Trust Fund, in tribute to the dedicated crew
of the space shuttle Challenger.

For additional information about the Endeavor Science Teaching
Certificate Project and other NASA education programs, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/education

Blogs in the Classroom I - NEW LINK

Dear Educators,

Please use the NEW LINK to attend our Blogs in the Classroom I which is
scheduled for 11/17/08 at 6:00pm MST.

NEW LINK!
http://nmsu.na3.acrobat.com/blogsclass1fa08

The link that was sent to you in the reminder email has been changed. We
apologize for any confusion that this may cause. Hope to see you there on
Monday.

RETA Webinars Team

Blogs in the Classroom I, 11/17/08 at 6:00 pm MST

Dear Educator:

RETA would like to remind you about our next professional development
Webinar.

Webinar Event: Blogs in the Classroom I

Date: Monday, November 17, 2008

Time: 6:00-7:00 pm MST

Description:
You hear about blogs everyday from students or co-workers, but have you
thought about using them in your classroom? In this webinar session you
will be introduced to the refreshing world of blogging where you will
begin generating ideas on how you might use blogs within your own
classroom. In this first session we will introduce you to: what a blog is,
what a blog can be used for, help you set up your own blogging account,
and then send you on your way with resources, so that you will make an
informed and enjoyable push into the 'blogging world.'

TO ATTEND:
Please use the following link to attend the webinar:
http://nmsu.na3.acrobat.com/blogs1fa08/

*Plan to join us 15-20 minutes prior to the start time to configure your
computer. To participate, speakers are required. A simple computer
microphone and/or a headset is ideal for interaction. A webcam is
optional.

*If you have never used Adobe Acrobat Connect Professional, please test
your connection at: Adobe Acrobat Pro Support Center
https://admin.acrobat.com/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm

For complete information on this and all of our webinars visit us at:
http://webinars.nmsu.edu or email us via webinars at nmsu.edu or call
575.646.6143.

Have a cup of coffee, invite a colleague and raise your eQ (eLearning
Quotient) with us!

RETA (Regional Educational Technology Assistance)
College of Extended Learning
New Mexico State University
MSC 3WEC, P.O. Box 30001
Las Cruces, NM 88003-8001
(575) 646-6143, fax: (575) 646-2004

Kim Komando

Thanks to Carl for this cool resource!
:)
~julz

------------------------------------------

Confession:
 
I have been using Kim Komando's newsletters as a source of information and cool places to go for a number of years.
 
Two of the newsletters are pretty good, cool site and cool tip of the day. The other one is a favorite video of the day, I look at the videos from time to time.
 
There is also her weekend radio show and there is a newsletter that comes out once a week with lots of info. There are archives of her newsletters and other info accessible without joining her subscription service.
 
Her website: http://komando.com/
Carl

 

 

Copyright for Educators II, 11/10/08 at 6pm MST

Dear Educator:

RETA would like to remind you about our next professional development
Webinar.

Webinar Event: Copyright for Educators II

Date: Monday, November 10, 2008

Time: 6:00-7:00 pm MST

Description:
Emerging technologies bring new challenges for today's teachers. This
webinar will help educators understand fair use and copyright in the
digital age.

TO ATTEND:
Please use the following link to attend the webinar:
http://nmsu.na3.acrobat.com/copyed2fa08/

*Plan to join us 15-20 minutes prior to the start time to configure your
computer. To participate, speakers are required. A simple computer
microphone and/or a headset is ideal for interaction. A webcam is
optional.

*If you have never used Adobe Acrobat Connect Professional, please test
your connection at: Adobe Acrobat Pro Support Center
https://admin.acrobat.com/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm

For complete information on this and all of our webinars visit us at:
http://webinars.nmsu.edu <http://webinars.nmsu.edu/> or contact us at
Webinars at nmsu.edu or call
575.646.6143.

Have a cup of coffee, invite a colleague and raise your eQ (eLearning
Quotient) with us!

RETA (Regional Educational Technology Assistance)
College of Extended Learning
New Mexico State University
MSC 3WEC, P.O. Box 30001
Las Cruces, NM 88003-8001
(575) 646-6143, fax: (575) 646-2004

Copyright for Educators I, Mon. 11/3/08 at 6pm MST

Dear Educator:

RETA would like to invite you to our next professional development Webinar.

RETA Webinar Series: eLearning with Emerging Technologies
The RETA team has prepared another great series of
professional development webinars! Join us to learn practical and
effective technology skills to engage your 21st century learners. We are
committed to providing you with "free", innovative webinars that fit into
your busy schedule. Let us support you as you begin implementing
technology tools and techniques in your 21st century classroom. Have a cup
of coffee, invite a colleague, and raise your eQ with us.

Webinar Event: Copyright for Educators I

Date: Monday, November 3, 2008

Time: 6:00-7:00 pm MST

Description:
Emerging technologies bring new challenges for today's teachers. This
webinar will help educators understand fair use and copyright in the
digital age.

TO ATTEND:
Please use the following link to attend the webinar:
http://nmsu.na3.acrobat.com/copyed1fa08/

*Plan to join us 15-20 minutes prior to the start time to configure your
computer. To participate, speakers are required. A simple computer
microphone and/or a headset is ideal for interaction. A webcam is
optional.

*If you have never used Adobe Acrobat Connect Professional, please test
your connection at: Adobe Acrobat Pro Support Center
https://admin.acrobat.com/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm

For complete information on this and all of our webinars visit us at:
http://webinars.nmsu.edu <http://webinars.nmsu.edu/> or contact us at
Webinars at nmsu.edu or call
575.646.6143.

Have a cup of coffee, invite a colleague and raise your eQ (eLearning
Quotient) with us!

RETA (Regional Educational Technology Assistance)
College of Extended Learning
New Mexico State University
MSC 3WEC, P.O. Box 30001
Las Cruces, NM 88003-8001
(575) 646-6143, fax: (575) 646-2004

Socorro Tech Blog

Check out the Socorro Tech Blog!
:)
~julia

Can Technology Make High School Graduation a Reality for Everyone?

In this week's edition of the Socorro Tech Blog, there is a review some of the upcoming changes at Socorro Consolidated Schools. We also talk about the role of technology in helping to reduce the dropout rate and improve the graduation rate in New Mexico.

Please visit http://socorrotech.wordpress.com

The Decline of Men

Just saw a presentation by Guy Garcia about the concepts in his book The Decline of Men. It's about "How the American Male is Tuning Out, Giving Up, and Flipping Off His Future." I started reading on this concept in 2001 when the book Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls was really popular. I bought the book Real Boys' Voices because I have a son and I was concerned about what the consequence of female empowerment would be to males. I recommend reading up on this because, as with everything else, balance is necessary for our children and our society.

Have a GREAT day friends on the InterWebs!
:)
~julia

Yay TeacherTube!

The below is from TeacherTube - http://www.teachertube.com/

TeacherTube At Peak PerformanceIf you have not visited  TeacherTube  in the past two weeks, you need to check us out. We are extremely excited to share with all of our community members that  TeacherTube  is performing at our fastest speeds even though our visits have doubled in the past two months. Our tech team is constantly working to provide the most efficient software and hardware solutions to keep the site performing at a high level. Our community continues to grow by the hundreds everyday. We have over 900,000 visits per month, over 170,000 members and have over 35,000 public videos that you can use in your classroom with students or for professional development with staff. You have made  TeacherTube  one of the most sought after free resources for teachers all over the world. We at  TeacherTube  say thank you. You are making a difference in over 220 countries.

There have been discussions among educators for  TeacherTube  to expand our resources and allow teachers to upload more than just video. I am formally announcing  TeacherTube  is currently working on new features that will allow teachers to upload photos, audio, and docs. Docs will be documents such as PowerPoint presentations, PDF files, word documents, rich text files, etc. We have held off on offering more resources for two reasons. First, we needed to have our software function more efficiently so that you would have a better experience while using  TeacherTube . We have resolved the vast majority of our software inefficiencies. Secondly, we needed to design and implement a database structure that could handle scalable growth. Our tech team has designed a solution and it is scheduled to be implemented before January 1, 2009.

It is an exciting time to be an educator!

Jason Smith
CEO / Co-founder
TeacherTube, LLC

IMG00223.jpg

image/jpeg
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

View from outside Bar Louies

Dr. Demers (Gadget Loon) mentioned in RezEd Update Vol. 14. October 21, 2008

Thanks to Bethany for the following update :)

RezEd http://www.rezed.org/  is a great site for education and Second Life.  Our very own Dr. Mike Demers, aka Gadget Loon, was cited for an AHA Moment of the Week.  Check it out at:
http://www.rezed.org/forum/topic/show?id=2047896%3ATopic%3A17524

Screen Cast-O-Matic, 10/27/087 at 6:00pm MST

Dear Educator:

RETA would like to invite you to our next professional development Webinar.

RETA Webinar Series: eLearning with Emerging Technologies
The RETA team has spent the summer preparing another great series of
professional development webinars! Join us to learn practical and
effective technology skills to engage your 21st century learners. We are
committed to providing you with "free", innovative webinars that fit into
your busy schedule. Let us support you as you begin implementing
technology tools and techniques in your 21st century classroom. Have a cup
of coffee, invite a colleague, and raise your eQ with us.

Webinar Event: Screen Cast-O-Matic
Date: Monday, October 27, 2008

Time: 6:00-7:00 pm MST

Description:
Screen capture tools are very helpful for creating how-to videos.
Unfortunately, most of those tools are either a bit difficult to use or
they cost a lot of money. Come join us for this webinar and learn about
this free screen capture tool that requires no software download and is so
easy to use you'll be creating a how-to video in minutes.

TO ATTEND:
Please use the following link to attend the webinar:
http://nmsu.na3.acrobat.com/screencastfa08

*Plan to join us 15-20 minutes prior to the start time to configure your
computer. To participate, speakers are required. A simple computer
microphone and/or a headset is ideal for interaction. A webcam is
optional.

*If you have never used Adobe Acrobat Connect Professional, please test
your connection at: Adobe Acrobat Pro Support Center
https://admin.acrobat.com/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm

For complete information on this and all of our webinars visit us at:
http://webinars.nmsu.edu <http://webinars.nmsu.edu/> or contact us at
Webinars at nmsu.edu or call
575.646.6143.

Have a cup of coffee, invite a colleague and raise your eQ (eLearning
Quotient) with us!

RETA (Regional Educational Technology Assistance)
College of Extended Learning
New Mexico State University
MSC 3WEC, P.O. Box 30001
Las Cruces, NM 88003-8001
(575) 646-6143, fax: (575) 646-2004

K12 Online Conference 2008 in Progress!

The K-12 Online Conference invites participation from educators around the world interested in innovative ways Web 2.0 tools and technologies can be used to improve learning.

This FREE conference is run by volunteers and open to everyone. The 2008 conference theme is “Amplifying Possibilities”. This year’s conference begins with a pre-conference keynote the week of October 13, 2008.

The following two weeks, October 20-24 and October 27-31, forty presentations will be posted online to the conference blog (this website) for participants to download and view. Live Events in the form of three “Fireside Chats” and a culminating “When Night Falls” event will be announced. Everyone is encouraged to participate in both live events during the conference as well as asynchronous conversations. More information about podcast channels and conference web feeds is available!

Go to http://k12onlineconference.org/

FW: [NMSUWebinars] Wikis in the Classroom II, 10/20/08 at 6pm MST

Dear Educators:

RETA would like to remind you of our upcoming Webinar.

Webinar Event: Wikis in the Classroom II

Date: Monday, October 20, 2008

Time: 6:00-7:00 pm MST

Description:
You've selected a wiki and you've even attempted creating a few wiki
pages. Now you want to start thinking about what type of activities work
well using wikis and what strategies will help make the wiki activities
successful. If so, then this is the webinar for you! So, come join us in
this webinar and learn about some of the wonderful activities and
strategies other educators have used to create an effective wiki
experience.

TO ATTEND:
Please use the following link to attend the webinar:
http://nmsu.na3.acrobat.com/wikis2fa08

*Plan to join us 15-20 minutes prior to the start time to configure your
computer. To participate, speakers are required. A simple computer
microphone and/or a headset is ideal for interaction. A webcam is
optional.

*If you have never used Adobe Acrobat Connect Professional, please test
your connection at: Adobe Acrobat Pro Support Center
https://admin.acrobat.com/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm

For complete information on this and all of our webinars visit us at:
http://webinars.nmsu.edu <http://webinars.nmsu.edu/> or contact us at
webinars at nmsu.edu or call
575.646.6143.

Have a cup of coffee, invite a colleague and raise your eQ (eLearning
Quotient) with us!

RETA (Regional Educational Technology Assistance)
College of Extended Learning
New Mexico State University
MSC 3WEC, P.O. Box 30001
Las Cruces, NM 88003-8001
(575) 646-6143, fax: (575) 646-2004

NM TIE

NM TIE presentation

Having a Web Presence with Google Sites & Notebook, 10/13/08 at 6pm MST

Dear Educator:

RETA would like to remind you of our upcoming Webinar.

Webinar Event: Having a Web Presence with Google Sites & Google Notebook

Date: Monday, October 13, 2008

Time: 6:00-7:00 pm MST

Description:
Google Sites is an online tool that makes it easy for anyone to create and
publish useful, attractive web pages in just minutes. As our 21st Century
learners easily navigate the web, educators can capitalize on the ease of
having a web presence. Google Notebook is a collaborative tool used to
help organize, communicate about, and coordinate on-going projects.

TO ATTEND:
Please use the following link to attend the webinar:
http://nmsu.na3.acrobat.com/googledufa08

*Plan to join us 15-20 minutes prior to the start time to configure your
computer. To participate, speakers are required. A simple computer
microphone and/or a headset is ideal for interaction. A webcam is
optional.

*If you have never used Adobe Acrobat Connect Professional, please test
your connection at: Adobe Acrobat Pro Support Center
https://admin.acrobat.com/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm

For complete information on this and all of our webinars visit us at:
http://webinars.nmsu.edu <http://webinars.nmsu.edu/> or contact us at
Webinars at nmsu.edu or call
575.646.6143.

Have a cup of coffee, invite a colleague and raise your eQ (eLearning
Quotient) with us!

RETA (Regional Educational Technology Assistance)
College of Extended Learning
New Mexico State University
MSC 3WEC, P.O. Box 30001
Las Cruces, NM 88003-8001
(575) 646-6143, fax: (575) 646-2004

The Santa Fe New Mexican -- Think New Mexico to push legislation limiting enrollment in new public schools

What? Are they crazy? What a good idea! What do you think? Larry

"Building smaller schools will help lower New Mexico's dropout rate and
raise academic achievement, according to a Santa Fe-based think tank. Think
New Mexico will be championing legislation in the 2009 session of the
Legislature to limit enrollment in all new high schools in the state to no
more than...

Click here for the rest of this interesting story:
http://license.icopyright.net/user/viewFreeUse.act?fuid=MTY1MTUzOQ==

The Tale of a Whale and Why It Can Be Told - Smithsonian Education

In this issue’s lesson, students exercise their observation skills to do some of the actual work of marine biologists who study the endangered North Atlantic right whale. They examine photographs taken in the field to identify an individual whale, and then examine a record of sighting of the whale in order to track its movements.

The whale in question is Phoenix, a 45-foot female that is represented as a life-sized model in the new Sant Ocean Hall at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. The Smithsonian worked with right whale researchers from the New England Aquarium to reproduce details of Phoenix’s individuality, the same details that students look for in the lesson.

The New England Aquarium maintains a database called the North Atlantic Right Whale Catalog, which contains nearly half a million photographs and vital information on some of the remaining members of the species. The online version of the catalog can serve to deepen the lesson. Go to www.neaq.org <http://www.neaq.org> and click on “Animals and Exhibits” and then “North Atlantic Right Whale.”
 
The online version of the Sant Ocean Hall exhibits is at www.ocean.si.edu <http://www.ocean.si.edu> .

Download "Tale of a Whale (and Why It Can Be Told)" <http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/educators/lesson_plans/whale/smithsonian_siyc_fall08.pdf> (PDF).

http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/educators/lesson_plans/whale/index.html

Learning From Mistakes Only Works After Age 12, Study Suggests

ScienceDaily (Sep. 25, 2008) — Eight-year-old children have a radically different learning strategy from twelve-year-olds and adults. Eight-year-olds learn primarily from positive feedback ('Well done!'), whereas negative feedback ('Got it wrong this time') scarcely causes any alarm bells to ring. Twelve-year-olds are better able to process negative feedback, and use it to learn from their mistakes.  Adults do the same, but more efficiently.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080925104309.htm
--
Larry Jeffryes
NMSTE Membership Chair
http://www.nmste.org
Los Alamos, NM

REMINDER: RETA WEBINAR: Show me the Moodle 9/39/08 6:00pm MST

Dear Educator:

RETA would like to remind you of our upcoming Webinar.

Webinar Event: SHOW ME THE MOODLE II

Date: Monday, Sept. 29, 2008

Time: 6:00-7:00 pm MST

TO ATTEND:
•Please use the following link to attend the webinar:
http://nmsu.na3.acrobat.com/moodle2fa08

•Plan to join us 15-20 minutes prior to the start time to configure your
computer. To participate, speakers are required. A simple computer
microphone and/or a headset is ideal for interaction. A webcam is
optional.

•If you have never used Adobe Acrobat Connect Professional, please test
your connection at: Adobe Acrobat Pro Support Center
https://admin.acrobat.com/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm

For complete information on this and all of our webinars visit us at:
http://webinars.nmsu.edu or contact us at webinars at nmsu.edu or call
575.646.6143.

Have a cup of coffee, invite a colleague and raise your eQ (eLearning
Quotient) with us!

RETA (Regional Educational Technology Assistance)
College of Extended Learning
New Mexico State University
MSC 3WEC, P.O. Box 30001
Las Cruces, NM 88003-8001
(575) 646-6143, fax: (575) 646-2004

Alice

All you tech and computer science teachers, remember Alice...

Alice is an innovative 3D programming environment that makes it easy to create an animation for telling a story, playing an interactive game, or a video to share on the web. Alice is a teaching tool for introductory computing. It uses 3D graphics and a drag-and-drop interface to facilitate a more engaging, less frustrating first programming experience.

http://www.alice.org/

WorldWide Telescope

Microsoft Research launches WorldWide Telescope, Scoble cries <http://www.cnet.com/8301-13515_1-9942537-26.html> —  You probably have heard about Microsoft Research's WorldWide Telescope referred to as "the thing that made Robert Scoble cry". Today, the world finally gets to check out what all the buzz is about.

http://www.cnet.com/8301-13515_1-9942537-26.html

The Positive Clasroom and ed tech?

Thanks Larry for the following!

The latest educational tech strategies to enhance learning, fast networks, the latest hardware and software can all for naught without out apositive classroom learning environment . Sometimes, not all the time, but once in a while we can actually inspire/motivate students to learn. Most often, we create structures and opportunities for students to learn and progress. If that is done in apositive learning climate, "miracles" do happen. In a negative environment, however, much damage to learning and a student's relationship to learning can be done in arelatively short period of time.

ASCD Special Report: The Positive Classroom (Part 1)   Even when resources are short and stress is high, a teacher can shape a child's future with a few gentle words, a virtual trip across the globe or a carefully chosen question or compliment. But classroom management rarely comes easy for new teachers and many veteran educators still struggle to keep class running smoothly while meeting the needs of every child.
http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/mubszpwzCyyWcYfCwlehWqiA
--
Larry Jeffryes
NMSTE Membership Chair
http://www.nmste.org
Los Alamos, NM

RETA Webinar: Show Me The Moodle, 9/29/08 at 6-7pm MST

Dear Educator:

RETA would like to invite you to our NEXT professional development
webinar in our eLearning with Emerging Technology Series.>

Webinar Event: Show Me the Moodle

Date & Time: Monday, Sept. 29,2008 6:00-7:00 pm MST

Description:
Find out how teachers use Moodle in their classrooms and see how easy it
is to create an online classroom environment. Participants will discuss
ideas for integrating Moodle in the classroom and other learning
situations.

To attend:
Please use the following link to attend the webinar:
http://nmsu.na3.acrobat.com/moodle2fa08. Plan to join us 15-20 minutes
prior to the start time to configure your computer. To participate
speakers are required. A simple computer microphone and/or headset is
ideal for interaction. A webcam is optional. If you have never used
Adobe Acrobat Connect Professional, please test your connection at:
Adobe Acrobat Pro Support Center
https://admin.acrobat.com/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm

For complete information on this and all of our webinars visit us at:
http://webinars.nmsu.edu. If you have questions or need tech
assistance, please contact Cissy Lujan-Pincomb or Miley Grandjean at
Webinars at nmsu.edu or call 575.646.6143

Have a cup of coffee, invite a colleague and raise your eQ (eLearning
Quotient) with us!

RETA Webinar Team

RETA (Regional Educational Technology Assistance)
College of Extended Learning
New Mexico State University
MSC 3WEC, P.O. Box 30001
Las Cruces, NM 88003-8001
(575) 646-6143, fax: (575) 646-2004

Air Force Memorial

Check out the Air Force Memorial site

Pentagon Memorial

Pentagon Memorial

Pentagon Memorial

Check out the Pentagon Memorial site.

The Metro

Crossing Potomac

Evaluating Distance Education: Focus on Online Course Evaluation

Evaluating Distance Education: Focus on Online Course Evaluation

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: online evaluation)

Evaluating Distance Education: Focus on Online Course Evaluation SlideShare Link

Grant Opportunity for Secondary Science Teachers

K–12 Eligibility http://www.nsta.org/pd/tapestry/

The program is open to middle and high school science teachers residing within the 50 United States and U.S. territories and possessions and it is also open to elementary teachers who teach some science in the classroom or are teaching specialists.. Middle and high school teachers must teach at least two science classes per day. All applicants must have at least 2 years science teaching experience in a K-12 school not including the current school year. Only the Project Director has to meet the above criteria. The project staff may consist of educators of any discipline, administrators, parents, students or anyone who will be directly involved in the project. An individual teacher or a team of up to five people may submit a proposal. The Project Director will be the contact person for the team and will be the sole administrator of the grant money. Applicants may submit only one proposal per year as Project Director.

Socorro Tech Blog Highlights RETA Webinars

Thanks to Melody for this breaking news! Check out the engaging blog post at the Socorro Tech Blog:
http://socorrotech.wordpress.com/2008/09/18/can-an-hour-of-your-time-on-mondays-help-your-students/

RETA Webinar: Introduction to Moodle I, 9/22/08 at 6pm

Dear Educators:

RETA would like to invite you to our NEXT professional development
webinar in our eLearning with Emerging Technology Series.

Webinar Event: Introduction to Moodle

Date & Time: Monday, Sept. 22,2008 6:00-7:00 pm MST

Description:
Moodle is an open source course management system used by educators
around the world. Created by Martin Dougiamas to support social
constructivism,Moodle provides flexibility and autonomy for districts and
teachers while supporting a wide variety of interactive social learning
tools. In this session you will learn more about what Moodle can do and
find out what infrastructure is needed for districts, schools, and
teachers need to access this powerful toolset.

To attend: Please use the
following link to attend the webinar:
http://nmsu.na3.acrobat.com/moodle1fa08.

Plan to join us 15-20 minutes prior to the start time to configure your
computer. To participate speakers are required. A simple computer
microphone and/or headset is ideal for interaction. A webcam is optional.
If you have never used Adobe Acrobat Connect Professional, please test your
connection at:
Adobe Acrobat Pro Support Center http://www.adobe.com/support/connect.

For complete information on this and all of our webinars visit us at:
http://webinars.nmsu.edu.

If you have questions or need tech
assistance,please contact Cissy Lujan-Pincomb or Miley Grandjean at
Webinars at nmsu.edu or call 575.646.6143

Have a cup of coffee, invite a colleague and raise your eQ (eLearning
Quotient) with us!

RETA Webinar Team

RETA (Regional Educational Technology Assistance)
College of Extended Learning
New Mexico State University
MSC 3WEC, P.O. Box 30001
Las Cruces, NM 88003-8001
(575) 646-6143, fax: (575) 646-2004

RETA Webinars

RETA would like to invite you to our professional development Webinars.

Teaching the 21st Century Learner

RETA Webinar Series: eLearning with Emerging Technologies
The RETA team has spent the summer preparing another great series of
professional development webinars! Join us to learn practical and
effective technology skills to engage your 21st century learners. We are
committed to providing you with "free", innovative webinars that fit into
your busy schedule. Let us support you as you begin implementing
technology tools and techniques in your 21st century classroom. Have a cup
of coffee, invite a colleague, and raise your eQ with us.

Please join us for our first webinar, Sept. 15, 2008, Intro and Whirlwind
Tour of Web 2.0. You may attend by using the following link:
http://nmsu.na3.acrobat.com/whirlwindfa08/

Calendar of Events
Whirlwind Tour of Web 2.0
Sep. 15, 6-7:00pm MST

Intro. to Moodle I
Sep. 22, 6-7:00pm MST

Intro. to Moodle II
Sep. 29, 6-7:00pm MST

Intro. to Wikis I
Oct. 6, 6-7:00pm MST

Google Sites/Google Notebook
Oct. 13, 6-7:00pm MST

Intro. to Wikis II
Oct. 20, 6-7:00pm MST

Screencastomatic
Oct. 27, 6-6:30pm MST

Copyright I
Nov. 3, 6-7:00pm MST

Please visit our website to see the complete listing of webinars, info on
attending, presenter bios, etc. http://webinars.nmsu.edu or email us at
webinars@nmsu.edu

Have a cup of coffee, invite a colleague and raise your eQ with us!
RETA Webinar Team

Mark Your Calendars

Dear RETAites,
The upcoming schedule of RETA webinars is at http://webinars.nmsu.edu. Click on K-12 Educators.
The repeat sessions, which most of them are this fall, are free. The new webinar sessions will cost a minimal fee.
We hope that you will join us on Monday evenings.

--Sincerely,
   Susie B. =;->  

"...be prepared. Luck is truly where preparation meets opportunity."

 

Every public high school gets an IDEAL-NM course at no cost

FYI…
 
As part of an IDEAL-NM kickoff event to celebrate partnerships with schools statewide, it was announced this Monday, August 12th, 2008 that every public high school in New Mexico is eligible for a free IDEAL-NM course for the inaugural term (Fall 2008).  
 
The courses are led by New Mexico eTeachers that are highly qualified in both subject area and online methodologies and will work closely with in-school academic mentors. The courses are newly developed by NM teachers/developers and, will maintain low teacher-student ratios. IDEAL-NM has a commitment from the inaugural term forward to work with REC and school partners to continually improve the process and outcomes of this bold program for New Mexico.
 
For more information about available courses or how school councilors register students for IDEAL-NM courses visit www.ideal-nm.org <http://www.ideal-nm.org> .

Attached is a press release about the grand opening event at one high school.  Also you might be interested a video on youtube… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6D1R4kVPGE
 
Brian Ormand, Ed.D.
Program Director, NM Learning Network

100 Classroom Videos

Thanks to Bethany for the following AWESOME resource!

100 Awesome Classroom Videos to Learn New Teaching Techniques
<http://www.smartteaching.org/blog/2008/08/100-awesome-classroom-videos-to-l
earn-new-teaching-techniques/>
By Alisa Miller

With so many good teachers out there, it's fortunate they can share their
knowledge via video on the Internet. From the funny to the poignant, these
glimpses into the lives of teachers and their students will keep you
entertained while learning a little something as well. Whether you are a new
teacher storing up tips and tricks or an experienced teacher who could just
use a fresh perspective, you are sure to find something helpful among these
videos.
http://www.smartteaching.org/blog/2008/08/100-awesome-classroom-videos-to-le
arn-new-teaching-techniques/

Free NMSU RETA Workshop on Google Educator Tools

FREE NMSU RETA (Regional Education Technology Assistance)  Workshops

Topic: Google For Educators

Tools, activities, posters, a learning community for all content areas

Where: UNM TEC (Technology Education Center)

Room 100

Facilitators:  Drew Dooley, Celia Einhorn

August 23rd: Explore Google Search, Earth and Sky, Google Docs and Notebook

September 13th:  Learn programs like Sketch up, Calendar, Page Creator, Groups

Time: 9 AM

Sign up on RETA http://reta.nmsu.edu/workshopsdb/createaccount/

Got Questions?

dodrew@yahoo.com

celia@pobox.com

New eTeacher Academy!

My friends at Provable Solutions are releasing this press release for fabulous online teacher professional development opportunities.

:)

~julz

Provable Solutions professional development specialists invite you to visit our eTeacher Academy. The eTeacher Academy is an online professional development academy offering educators high quality online courses developed and delivered by certified teachers.

We provide both self paced or facilitated courses and teachers receive certification units per course (where applicable). Our courses include some of the most sought after topics and are grounded in a "learn by doing" philosophy.

Accomplish your professional development goals in the comfort of you own classroom or home and at a reasonable price. Keep your teaching certificate current as you learn the topics that interest you the most. Multiple course discounts are provided and our educational consultants will work with individuals, schools and districts to create a professional development plan.

Available Courses

• Moodle Course Development
• Adobe Digital School Collection
• Integrating Adobe Acrobat
• Google Apps for Educators
• Turning Point Student Response System
• Interwrite Workspace and PRS
• Qomo Board, Pad and Document Camera
• Using and Integrating Easiteach
• Wii and Edugaming in the Classroom
• Podcasting for Educators
• Digital Storytelling
• Grant Writing for Technology
• Response to Intervention
• School Safety

Course Details: Each course includes tutorials, video and audio tutorials, integration and best practice ideas, and project based assignments.

Durations: 4 Weeks

Professional Learning Units: 1-2 units

Requirements for Units: 80% & 10 Cumulative Hours

Course format & Pricing: Self paced $99.00 Facilitated $149.00

Contact Information

Provable Solutions Technology Integration Specialists http://www.provablesolutions.com phone: 321-604-5308

Al Gore's Speech (video)

It's a Beautiful Day!

Al Gore: A Generational Challenge to Repower America

July 17, 2008
D.A.R. Constitution Hall
Washington, D.C.

Ladies and gentlemen:

There are times in the history of our nation when our very way of life
depends upon dispelling illusions and awakening to the challenge of a
present danger. In such moments, we are called upon to move quickly
and boldly to shake off complacency, throw aside old habits and rise,
clear-eyed and alert, to the necessity of big changes. Those who, for
whatever reason, refuse to do their part must either be persuaded to
join the effort or asked to step aside. This is such a moment. The
survival of the United States of America as we know it is at risk. And
even more - if more should be required - the future of human
civilization is at stake.

Read the rest of this important speech and join one of the most
important causes of our time at:
http://www.wecansolveit.org/content/pages/304/

Because we won't need education if we destroy our world!

If/when video of this speech becomes available, I'll post it.

Hugs everyone! It's a Beautiful Day!
~julz

Join me in solving the climate crisis

Dear Friend,          Global warming is an urgent, but solvable problem. That's why I've joined the We Campaign, a powerful nonpartisan movement of concerned citizens that was founded by Nobel Prize Laureate and former Vice President Al Gore. We're already a million strong -- and growing each day.          Will you join, too? Visit this site to learn more and add your voice: http://www.wecansolveit.org/          The We Campaign is working to ensure that elected leaders make the climate crisis a priority. Visit: http://www.wecansolveit.org/. Here, you can learn about solutions to global warming, take action steps and even find events happening in your community. Although it's not too late, global warming is very serious and there is no time to lose. So please don't wait any longer to get involved – sign up today: http://www.wecansolveit.org/          Together, we can solve the climate crisis.

Go to PBwiki Summer Camp!

PBwiki Summer Camp

Build the ultimate classroom wiki and have it ready for the start of
the fall semester.

The PBwiki team is providing a six-week program that will teach you
how to create the best wiki for your classroom -- including how to
integrate wikis in your lesson plans, what features work best to
engage students and how to use the new PBwiki 2.0.

All educators who complete the program will receive a free platinum
wiki that lasts the entire school year!

Sign up here:
http://blog.pbwiki.com/2008/07/14/join-pbwiki-summer-camp-and-earn-a-free-classroom-wiki/

Fun way to teach some English!

Check this out for a few laughs and for you English teachers, what a fun way to teach some of the complex topics in this article:
http://deanhunt.com/bloggers-are-terrible-writers/
:)
~julz

Flowgram - gather material, do voiceover, present, nifty

Teaching with the Web

Ten free ideas from Mitchell Weisburgh to leverage the Web:

1. Set up a class page with headlines from Google news on the topic via an RSS feed
2. Offer a page (Wiki or portal) where students can comment and share videos and articles they find on class topics
3. Have students responsible for posting and editing the lecture notes online from classes
4. Devise an online list of topics that will be on the test and have the students write, and provide links for, the study notes
5. Use a widget that enlarges a student's picture on the class portal as he/she contributes to the class notes
6. Assign topics to students or groups, and have them responsible for the content on the class website, portal, or wiki
7. Maintain online discussions around relevant, interesting topics
8. Develop online groups or sandboxes for research topics
9. Have students prepare lectures (video or audio with slides) that can be posted online
10. Create a Twitter stream that students can access, follow, and contribute to for the class.

Read the rest of the article at:
http://academicbiz.typepad.com/piloted/2008/07/weschs-thoughts.html

Identi.ca joins the Microblogging Wars

 A new microblogging solution (think Twitter, Jaiku, Plurk) entered the fray today. According to an article at ReadWriteWeb, "Identi.ca is a new microblogging service that launched today - but it's not just another also-ran. The service is an Open Source, CreativeCommons framework for a distributed network of federated microblogging services."

I wonder if there will be a ning-like solution for microblogging now...

Check out identi.ca at http://identi.ca
Check out the ReadWriteWeb article at http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/indentica_federated_twitter.php

:)
~julz
http://identi.ca/desertjul

Text Message Haikus

Thanks to JBB for posting this video of our Text Message Haiku project:

Zander, Vision, One buttock playing, Chopin, FANTASTIC!

Srsly?

more cat pictures

Get the download for Patricia Miller/Ft. Sumner on Lou Dobbs

It will be available this evening, Friday, June 27, 2008. It will be in hour 2.
http://www.loudobbsradio.com/showdownload.asp

:)
~julz

10 Democratic Design Principles

From Reboot10 as summarized on We-Magazine,

Traci Fenton's 10 Democratic Design Principles:

1. Purpose + Vision
2. Transparency (open book management)
3. Dialogue + Listening
4. Fairness + Dignity
5. Accountability
6. Individual + Collective
7. Choice
8. Integrity
9. Decentralization
10. Reflection + Evaluation

I like these. Great principles for designing online learning environments as well.

:)
~julia

Ft. Sumner Zunies on Lou Dobbs Radio Show!

Thanks Jana for the below news!
:)
~julz

Just wanted to share some excitement…..!!!

I just found out that one of our own (from New Mexico)—Patricia
Miller…will be interviewed tomorrow by Lou Dobbs (from CNN).
Patricia Miller and the Ft. Sumner school's podcasting project will be
highlighted on the Lou Dobbs Radio Show.

You can listen live at 2pm Friday, June 27, by going to the website
www.loudobbsradio.com . You need to first download the player by
clicking on the "Listen Live" link located toward the top right side of
the webpage. Then, find the download link near the center of the page.

OR…you can listen later by going to the same website and downloading the
archived show for June 27th.

I Googled " Ft. Sumner and Zune" and you cannot believe how many times
they are listed! Apparently, the Associated Press came to Ft. Sumner
in May and wrote a story on their project. This story is being
reprinted globally.

Thanks to Patricia and Ft. Sumner Schools for creating positive
educational news from New Mexico!!!

Business Card 2.0

Retaggr is cool but a bit big for my widgets. So I'm adding it as a post instead. I suppose I can try resizing it...

Low-Cost Laptop: A Redesigned Computer for the World's Children

Thanks to Bonnie Bracey for this update:

Low-Cost Laptop: A Redesigned Computer for the World's Children
<http://www.edutopia.org/one-laptop-per-child-redesign>

By Jim Moulton from Edutopia
5/20/08

If you're not aware of the One Laptop per Child <http://www.laptop.org>
effort, you should be, if only because the rest of the world clearly is. And
don't stop at reading what the One Laptop per Child Foundation has to say
about it; read this article <http://www.edutopia.org/computers-peace> about
it, and search "olpc," and you'll soon be an expert.

I attended a meeting today, May 20, 2008, at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, where Nicholas Negroponte and his OLPC team discussed their
current efforts and the next-generation device. (On one side of me sat a
colleague from Maine; on the other was a fellow from the Islamic Republic of
Afghanistan's Education Ministry.) Here is some of what was announced:

- The next iteration of the OLPC XO computer will be released in 2010.
- It will work both in Sugar, the open source operating system on the
first-generation XO, and on Windows XP. (Microsoft has reduced the price of
XP to $3 per license to make it possible for OLPC to keep costs low.)
- The screen will be much improved.
- The overall format will be like an e-book -- folding, with two touch
screens (each screen will behave somewhat like the iPhone) -- and a virtual
keyboard will be available.
- The target cost is $75.
- The discontinued Give One Get One program, in which buyers donate a laptop
to a child in a developing nation when they purchase their own, will resume.

In 2000, the European Union designated global distribution of XO laptops as
a Millennium Development Goal to help reduce world poverty. How will the
world change when every student ages 6-12 in, say, Uruguay, as well as every
teacher, has a laptop? Will that make a difference to your school? What are
your thoughts about the porting of Sugar into Windows XP? Does the apparent
move from open source concern you?

When I spoke to Negroponte before the session began today, he described
responses to the OLPC as resembling an "anti-bell curve" -- no one is in the
middle. They either love it, or they hate it. Go take a look and share your
thoughts. It is the future.

Did you grow up online? Our students have!

If you have not seen PBS' Front Line's Growing Up Online, I highly recommend
it. (I just watched it - online of course). I suspect the documentary is
well known to many of you.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/kidsonline/

The issues, concerns, & insights raised are interesting and troubling at the
same time. One message I took away; kids are experiencing a totally
different online world than their parents and teachers. I should rephrase,
We ARE aware of their online world. But, not being part of the their online
world, NOT REALLY AWARE.

What implications do their online experiences have for using technology in
the classroom and using technology for the classroom? Their relationship
with/to technology is much different than ours. Despite our best efforts to
understand, what are the unintended learning results affected by this
relationship?

I wonder if we will ever know the unintended lessons learned in the
classroom as a result of the now ubiquitous technology available in most
kids lives? (If we looked into it, are those kids who we worry are without
online access at home just as active in today's student online world as
connected classmates?)

Larry Jeffryes
Los Alamos, NM

S.O.S -- Help for Busy Teachers (Site 39) : Diigo Social Bookmarking

Thanks to my friend Pam for this resource!
:)
~julz

Check this list out from Kathy Shrock, pages and pages of cool Web 2.0 apps!
Diigo: Web 2.0 Sites Collection, link below.

Diigo: Web 2.0 Sites Collection
http://www.diigo.com/list/Kathyschrock/web20tools

Visit this and previous Sites of the School Days by going to
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/sos.html

The XOXO! XO v2.0

“Now, with XOXO (2.0), we are challenging what a truly collaborative and creative computing experience could be ... a true departure from the traditional keyboard and screen layout, a new way to interface and play with data, information and communication”

Check out the pics and more of the story at:
http://blog.ted.com/2008/05/xo_laptop_redes.php

IDEAL-NM eTeachers

CIDER session on Assessing K12 Online Content

Dear CIDER member:

We would like to invite you to the next presentation in our series of free
CIDER sessions. Our next session features a presentation and discussion with
Lara Jongedijk, University of Calgary.

Title: Assessing the quality of K-12 online content: A sample assessment
rubric

What factors create an effective online course from a "content" point of
view? This session will highlight the assessment criteria and the review
process that was used to review the content of K-12 online learning tools in
BC in 2007. Content reviewed included online courses and learning objects.
To complete the reviews, the BC Provincial Content Review team researched
and built a comprehensive assessment rubric for online content based on the
BC K-12 DL Standards Document and on current research which highlights
effective practice in online learning. This session will highlight the
assessment rubric that was created and the criteria that contribute to
effective content in an online environment.

The session is intended as a collegial discussion on the topic of assessing
online content. For maximum benefit, please review the assessment documents
available from the CIDER Session website -
http://cider.athabascau.ca/CIDERSessions/ - prior to the session so that the
discussion can focus on practical implications and applications for your
educational community.

When: Friday, May 23, 2008, 11am-12pm Mountain Daylight Time

Where: Online via Elluminate at:
https://sas.elluminate.com/m.jnlp?password=M.8B71B60F2931D029AC3837DC06B70D

Pre-Configuration:
Please make sure your Mac or PC is equipped with a microphone and speakers,
so that we can use the Voice over IP functionality built into the web
conferencing software. Please note that it is extremely important that you
get your system set up prior to the start of the event. Please don't wait
until the day of the session to do this. Information on installing the
necessary software and configuring your PC is available at
http://www.elluminate.com/support/ in the "First Time Users" section.

________________

CIDER is a Community Partner of Elluminate - http://www.elluminate.com/ -
who proudly sponsors our web conferencing needs. To sign up for a free, no
obligation three-user version of Elluminate, please visit
http://www.getvroom.com

________________

This message is intended for registered members of the Canadian Institute
for Distance Education Research portal. To learn more about CIDER, visit
http://cider.athabascau.ca/

To request no further CIDER Notices, please
contact the CIDER site manager at cider-webmaster@athabascau.ca

Have a Green Tech Day with these sites

Thanks to Bethany for sharing these sites that can help us be green tech
users...
http://www.secondrotation.com/ buys your old gadgets
http://earth911.org is for battery recycle
http://buymytronics.com is for even broken electronics
http://greensight.com is a trade in for credit place
http://collectivegood.com/ purchases pda, cell phone, pager and will donate
them to a place of your choosing