Pay Attention April 17, 2007
Posted by Daniel Rivera in : All Subjects, Blogs, Emerging Tech, Learning, Reform, Teaching & Learning, Technology, Video, Web Authoring, Wikis , comments closedI found this video on Teacher Tube and thought our readers would be interested in it. It really needs no commentary. I’m hosting the file on SEGA Tech’s website because many of our systems are likely to block Teacher Tube, which is ironic.
Web 2.Oh! Why It Matters February 7, 2007
Posted by Jeff Giddens in : Audio, Blogs, Emerging Tech, Learning, Media, Media Literacy, Reference, Reform, Social Studies, Technology, Video, Web Authoring, Wikis , comments closedWhether or not you know what Web 2.0 is, you should watch Michael Wesch’s powerful video, Web 2.0: The Machine is Us/ing Us. This pleasing amalgamation of animation, music, and history provides insight as to why today’s students deserve educators who appreciate and integrate technology in a meaningful manner. Wesch, an assistant professor of Cultural Anthropology at Kansas State University, has created a compelling, visual explanation of the dynamic and transformative nature of information, the world, and humans and how all of these rich ingredients interact with one another. Look and learn.
Media Specialists Consortium January 12, 2007
Posted by Daniel Rivera in : All Subjects, Blogs, Current Events, Media, Open Source, Reference, Software, Video, Web Authoring, Wikis , comments closedOur Media Specialists Consortium is being held today at 1st District RESA, and we have a full roster of 42 folks coming to learn new things about technology integration. We are aware that many folks are on a waiting list, and that many others are unable to attend (this is for Media Specialists in our service area only).
Never fear! You too can be privy to the glorious details of this ultra-secret meeting! Below is the basic agenda, with links to resources that we will be discussing in our sessions. TELL NO ONE!
- World Book presentation from Katherine Jenkins
- Introductions & welcome from our new First District RESA Director, Shelly Smith. Location of resources & agenda.
- Jeff Giddens will be presenting on digital video editing using Adobe Premier and Windows Movie Maker. Tips will include basic editing, mixing audio, and using chromakey technology to add custom backgrounds. Participants will get a trial version of Adobe Premier.
- Daniel Rivera will be presenting on TiddlyWiki, a simple yet powerful software that allows you to create non-linear personal web-based “notebooks.†Participants will get hands-on practice, learn about some uses for TiddlyWiki, and get a copy of the program for free.
- Time permitting, participants will be exposed to Google Docs – a free document and spreadsheet sharing service from Google.
We welcome any suggestions for our next Media Specialist Consortium content. Please leave a comment to this post, below, and let us know what you would like to learn at our next secret meeting. Location is, as yet, undisclosed – although there are rumors of a volcano and several monkeys…
DEN: RIP December 8, 2006
Posted by segatech in : Blogs, Wikis , comments closed
This is Jeff Giddens and Daniel Rivera, from Georgia DEN. Like everyone else, we were stunned, baffled, and dismayed by the recent decision to remove the Field Managers – and in such an abrupt fashion. We have been reading the responses and feel that we need to weigh in as well.
We think that we should start explaining why we endorsed the DEN and why we truly felt that it was an exceptional organization. First and foremost, we valued the DEN because it was personal, warm, and human. There are many educational organizations out there, many membership cards with numbers that you can wear, and many networks that educators can join. Our DEN field manager, however, made us feel valued and respected for our expertise and opinions. She welcomed tech savy gurus and novices alike, and placed them in learning environments and social engagements that encouraged everyone to share and assist each other. Through her tireless efforts and kind actions, we learned first hand why Field Managers were critical.
The Field Managers we observed were necessary people. They personally recruited, welcomed, and guided new participants. They shook hands, eased fears, encouraged us to work harder and put in time outside of already overwhelming schedules. Many of the DEN members we know have said that the Field Managers were the glue that held DEN together. We think they were the hubs of great wheels of learning. We met so many wonderful educators only because Katherine Aiken KNEW us, our talents, our likes, and our concerns, then placed us in contact with those that would help us or could be helped by us.
Let us be crystal clear: The DEN was unique and valuable BECAUSE of the Field Managers. Without the FM’s, the DEN is just another network of folks trying to keep in touch – except that these folks are asked to sell a corporate product.
As DEN members were and are asked to advocate (and some would say sell) Cosmeo and unitedstreaming. Being asked to promote commercial resources normally leaves a bad taste in our mouths. However, when Field Managers were in our midst demonstrating the worth of Cosmeo and unitedstreaming and sharing anncedotes and examples of how other educators integrated these resources into learning experiences we felt reassured. We felt that perhaps the DEN was different from other strictly profit-driven networks. The DEN was not about free marketing, but about helping educators and being a haven for them. The Field Managers were critical to maintaining that environment.
We’re speaking in past tense because we feel that the DEN that we experienced this past year is gone–utterly and completely torn assunder. What remains is the battered and tattered shell of a once humanly-centered venture that has been replaced by a “more efficient”, less human and humane, corporate presence. We are confused about what has transpired. We feel as though this entire sequence of events is a mistake for the following reasons:
- We have lost confidence in the DEN’s identity. How do we know that we’re not going to face continued abrupt changes without warning?
- What’s going to happen to the support the Field Managers used to provide? If someone else is going to do this how will they rebuild the friendships that were nurture? If they aren’t going to foster existing frienships how will they be able to generate new ones now that the DEN’s personal side is gone?
- DEN members were not consulted or warned about these changes. Numerous events were cancelled and people are in a state of limbo. It feels as though the heart of DEN has been ripped out leaving us feeling empty.
- The change was far too abrupt. Perhaps a phase-out plan would have been better. If nothing else, it would have made more business sense to slowly phase out DEN’s key appeal rather than abrubtly cancel the very element that made the DEN unique. Educational organizations are a dime a dozen.
- For goodness sake, it’s Christmas. Doesn’t anyone at Discovery have a heart? The intial post on the national blog gives the impression that Field Managers have been moved to part-time positions. In reality they are now looking for new jobs less than 3 weeks before Christmas. Even if Discovery needs to change the DEN’s structure, couldn’t the company given their workers notice? This entire epsiode is sordid and smacks of very bad corporate behavior.
- Sure, we can pick up the torch and work together and we can do it without the DEN. The Field Managers, by virtue of their dedication, personalities and connections, created a network that was much more than the sum of its parts. The new DEN, tied together by a simple website, will not compare to what we had.
- We feel cheated and used. Our time and effort has been thoughtlessly squandered.
Like other educators stung by this disappointing descent into despair, we feel that our time is more well-spent engaging in ethically oriented practices–namely, creating, maintaining, and integrating learning networks that are and will be immune to managerial myopia. We want our time and relationships to be built on firm foundations that will not shift when the newest CEO comes to town.
For that reason, we are leaving the DEN.
We are sending back our Discovery lab coats.
We are shutting down our DEN wiki at discoverthis.wetpaint.com .
We are asking DEN not to show our Broken Bulb video .
We are returning any and all materials from DEN-related/STAR Educator promotions.
We are not recommending membership in the DEN or purchase of Cosmeo to the thousands of educators we know, serve, and meet.
Farewell.
100,000 Free Wikis for Educators! November 3, 2006
Posted by Daniel Rivera in : All Subjects, Current Events, Emerging Tech, Software, Technology, Web Authoring, Wikis, webtools , comments closedWikis are fast becoming the tool of choice for website design because they are web-based, require no software download, allow for multiple users and collaborators, and are usually very user-friendly. However, finding wiki sites that specifically cater to educators or provide private wiki spaces is tough. Those that do offer advanced services often cost money, and even if that amount is trivial, it’s often a barrier to an overtaxed teacher.
One wiki hosting site, Wikispaces, has both free and pay accounts, and each offers users an incredible 2 GB of storage space for file uploads. However, their free accounts include tiny Google advertisements and do not allow for private sites.
Well, we at SEGA Tech have good news for all those who have wanted a premier wiki site but have been a bit hesitant to start one: Wikispaces is in the process of giving away 100,000 free Plus wikispaces for K-12 (primary and secondary) education. That includes all the features and benefits that normally cost $50/year – for free.
No fine print.
No usage limits.
No advertising.
No catches.
They are well on their way, having given away over 16,000 already but there are still 84,000 accounts left! If you’re a K-12 teacher, student, administrator, librarian, etc, Go and get your FREE account now!
TiddlyWiki – Funny Name, Amazing Application September 26, 2006
Posted by Daniel Rivera in : All Subjects, Open Source, Software, Web Authoring, Wikis, Writing , comments closed
I’ve been tinkering around with a simply mind-blowing little file called a Tiddlywiki. It’s like a website, but consists of only one actual html file, and yet it can contain many, many boxes of information (called tiddlers). These little nuggets of information are like mini-pages, and you can call them up or close them at your lesiure. You can add tags to any tiddlers you make, allowing them to cross-reference each other too. This is one of the most amazing little “applications” because of the potential for students to create their own cross-referenced websites very quickly and easily – without software or even uploading. What’s cool is that it all fits on a single floppy disk!
Explaining this little phenomenon is very difficult – you might just be better off seeing some examples, or tinkering with a sample site.
Go ahead, play around a bit! If you get stuck, use the menus to the left. You cannot harm the site, as any changes you make cannot be saved. To begin editing, just double-click a box and type away. Try using a few tags, clicking on some of the buttons that float on the tiddlers, and just have some fun. Documentation is on the left menu under HowToEdit. If you want to reset the TiddlyWiki, just refresh your browser!
For a FULL description of Tiddlywiki, and to download your own blank copy, head on over to the Introductory Site I have created (using Tiddlywiki, by the way).
Dually Noted: TreeLine And Other Annotation Tools August 7, 2006
Posted by Jeff Giddens in : Technology, Wikis , comments closedAlthough I prefer del.icio.us or Google Notebook for recording information (and have been tinkering with TiddlyWiki and its variations–like Wiki on a Stick, LesserWiki, TiddlySpot, TagglyWiki, and the GTD version, to name a few), I’ve found yet another organizational tool. TreeLine looks pretty useful.
Wet Paint Gets Better and Better July 27, 2006
Posted by Daniel Rivera in : Current Events, Web Authoring, Wikis , comments closed
Wet Paint, a wonderfully user-friendly and free wiki hosting site, has recently made some updates. First, you can now put tables into your Wetpaint site simply by clicking a button on the EasyEdit toolbar. Also, there is now RSS support built into every WetPaint site! Look for the RSS feature located in the Site Reports & RSS navigation box on the left side of your site.
If you don’t already have a WetPaint site, give it a try, or read more in our previous post about this spiffy wiki site.
Encyclopodia: Getting Wikipedia On An iPod July 24, 2006
Posted by Jeff Giddens in : Linux, MacOSX, Open Source, Reference, Technology, Wikis , comments closedEver wanted to carry Wikipedia along with you? According to the crafty folks at the Encyclopodia it’s not a difficult thing to do if you’ve got an iPod.
Wiki on a stick? July 21, 2006
Posted by Daniel Rivera in : All Subjects, Open Source, Software, Web Authoring, Wikis , comments closed
I just stumbled on a pretty cool open-source wiki software. I wish I could say that it’s new (it’s not), but it IS very interesting. It’s called TiddlyWiki, and it allows you to create your own personal wiki for offline work. What is so amazing about this wiki is that the whole wiki is one single html file. That’s right. This one file can be saved on a USB drive to create a “wiki on a stick” and can be uploaded to your website by copying one file.
The best feature is that you don’t need to install anything - just right-click on the Template and save it on your computer or disk, then get to work. The bad side is that you cannot edit it directly online without plugins and it’s not really designed to be a large collaborative work. However, it’s perfect for students to keep notes on, make study guides for, and many other tasks. Also, there is a tutorial online for those who want directions, with some handy Editing Tips.
But Wait, There’s More!
A website named Tiddlyspot.com has enhanced the core TiddlyWiki template and is now hosting Tiddlywikis. That means they keep your tiddlywiki on their servers and you can work online. You also have the freedom to download your wiki for offline work, then upload it again whenever you feel like it. They don’t ask you to sign up for anything (they don’t even ask for an email address), and it’s FREE.
So let’s review:
- Make as many tiddlywikis as you like, online if you wish
- save them on a disk if you wish (as ONE file each)
- work and make changes online if you wish
- and upload your local copy any time
Too Cool!