Google Maps – Maricopa Unified School District

Zoom in using the navigational tools, click on a site for MUSD District details – Not to scale
Teachers, you too can create your own lesson-based Google Maps, ask me how!

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Desperately Seeking ‘catch all’ buzz name to replace ‘EdTech’

I have not liked the term EdTech for quite some time, but have not encountered nor devised a suitable alternative that is still fairly intuitive, so playing with this one: DigiTech, sounds a bit too much like DigiMon, hmm!

I think we still need to lose that ‘Tech’ term, helps administrators and educators to keep on thinking of technology as ‘other’ as ’separate’, not integrated, it seems limiting. For me digital means, the electronic world, but also the global community that is now accessible digitally – this ease of access is changing EVERYTHING!!!!

DigiTech – not there yet – but I shall keep trying. If you encounter a great term to replace edTech, that captures the bullet points below: add it to the wiki! (think I will throw this onto my blog)

• Anytime, Anywhere Computing
• Ubiquitous Computing
• 21st Century Skills, 21st Century Literacies, Digital Literacy

Wiki: Learning @ the Speed of Light
If you have never encountered this video, have a look see.
Shift Happens – Here as a clear reminder of what the above bullet points represent!

• Video
  • You Tube (Streaming)
• Wiki

Wi-Fi in Maricopa!

Did You Know? WiFi Hotspots are turning up in Maricopa? All you need is the Orbitelcom.com email address from your Orbitelcom.com account, to have free access. At this time – City Hall and Pacana Park are Hot! Take your laptop (with wireless connectivity) during meetings or when you just want some fresh air in the park, but also want (or need) to be connected … and – voila – you have access!

Imagine this – teachers take their own, or borrow/check out one of your campus laptops, conduct LOCAL field trips to Pacana Park or City Hall (students studying environment, recreation & health, civics perhaps, or engaging in citizenship) and immediately engage with the internet to research flora, fauna, pitching speeds, running stats, air quality issues, ecology, law making and city government … or other ‘field trip’ relevant topics of discussion.  – Maybe someday the students will take ‘their’ own

What a fabulous service finally coming to Maricopa. Thanks Orbitel!

Contact Orbitel to let them know we appreciate this service and that we hope they keep adding more Hot Spots!!!

Ubiquitous, Anytime, Anywhere computing is absolutely a critical marker of a 21st Century Community, devoted to 21st Century Literacies and Skills for students & residents!

See you in the Hot Spots! A

http://www.orbitelcom.com/internet/wifi.asp

CR20AZ08 Day Two – morning pics

Someone twittered or thwirled about a pic above that is clearly NOT from the afternoon event, that is my early Second Life Avatar, at the AzTEA Storytelling Cove on ISTE Island, back in March. I am chatting with Gandhi (aka: Joseph DeLappe).  The pic was a snapshot taken within SL and was in the photo folder when I uploaded to Slide)

However, if you look at the slideshows of the 2 day event, you will see that we connected to distant participants, using SKPYE.  We spoke with students from a Paradise Valley HS who are leaders in the GenYes program, and from leading thinkers in the areas of 21st century literacies, technology and education.

Joseph DeLappe: Reenactment of Gandhi’s Salt March in Second Life

“What’s wrong with this article?”

Quote from Twitter post.. Upside down priorities? How do we become the positive change and influence to right this thinking as we embrace 21st century literacy and engage others to also share this embrace?

Article

CR20AZ08 – Advance wiki – “choose your own adventure”

Shout out to Yahoo & wikispaces as a corporate sponsors of this un-conference!!!

What’s with the post title: CR20AZ08? = Classroom 2.0 Arizona 08
And if we twitter that, it will be found and listed in a tweet? Thweet? OY! More to HOPE to master =)
WELL, not master, hope to understand well enough to have a vision for application

More from the Un-Conference – More advanced use of wiki’s:

Alice Christy – modeled how her students (teachers) could use it and they drove the development – ‘ownership’ alicechristy.org, classes, 547, scroll on right to pbwki, on left web2 tips

http://www.alicechristie.org/classes/547_548/w20.html

More great ideas:

• Conversation starter before staff training
• clearinghouse for projects for PD classes, teachers can upload and house their class related projects (paid for private space)
• place to share new web 2.0 tools, ideas, articles….
• NECC wiki space to pre-plan collaborations before the summer conference in San Antonio, Tx
• Moodle hybrid courses – wiki energizes the on-line
• showcase for training program
• Develops sense of community
• Family wiki – personal use
• teachertechbits.wikispaces.com
• imported student PPT’s into wiki from web-based application
• warner@warnered4thgrade@pbwiki.com

Skype – now we are connecting to Dan McDowell

• publishing with students
• Study Guides
• on-line community between students – across district ** apworld.wikispaces.com
• choose your own adventure

Un-Conference Wiki: http://www.classroom20wiki.com/Arizona+2008

Classroom 2.0, Web 2.0 Un-Conference

Steve Hargadon, creator of educator’s social networking site ‘Classroom 2.0′ has come to Paradise Valley Arizona to lead us in this vision of an un-conference. Does an un-conference defy definition? Only in the way that it is a fully participatory, flexible and collaborative meeting of minds for a common purpose and scope of interest.

This un-conference has pulled together several dozen educators to discuss and share about web 2.0 and social networking. It is lunch and we are sitting in the Board Room at the Paradise Valley and connecting with Skype and nice portable Polycom camera (like I have at my desk at work). We have just spoken with Leigh Zeicks in Northern Iowa and are currently speaking with David Jakes, from his office at his school district. (Typing on mac, not proficent at it – will sweeten this up with links later, and did not bring my card sleeve so will post pics later.)

This is a free workshop, supported by FABULOUS and VISIONARY sponsors who recognize that web 2.0 and digital and 21st century literacies must be embraced and WILL rock the future of our stduents as they become tomorrows leaders.

We agree that we need a lexicon to manage and define the terms that are flying, but the un-conference is amazing. We all have experience in our fields and areas of expertise, we all have something to share and contribute. Presenters are not really, they are people who threw their name on the agenda wiki and everything is open to change ot follow the interest and need of the collective body that is the audience. Now we are skyped to Dean Shareski in Canada. He advises that his teachers started at ‘let’ do this because it is cool’, to ‘let’s do this because it will get our students to deeper learning’. Oh! Here is Chris Lehmann, who says web 2.0 has opened up ‘good constructivist learning’ and connectivity in meaningful ways (MEANINGFUL WAYS). Ask why before what!!! How will this learning be better than how you did it in the old way – if you cannot answer this question clearly, keep wrestling with the idea… the last speaker, Chris, shared an example of a group of students creating a screenplay collaboratively across Google Docs.

Here’s the wiki from/for this amazing event, which is also running a live chat stream in chatzy.

Classroom 2.0 Live Un-Conference Wiki