Clif's Notes

Educational Technology Certificate

You can earn a certificate in educational technology with our 4 online courses. Visit http://idt.memphis.edu/certificate for full details and assistance.

• Interesting FREE Online Workshop
• EBC and NECC Preparations Underway
• NECC Buzz Has Begun
• Free Apple Seminar for Educators

Your Feedback Is Requested

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) is in the midst of collecting input on their classroom observation tool for technology integration. You can learn more about ISTE’s Classroom Observation Tool (ICOT) here.

Please share your feedback using the online survey.

Please encourage the participation of others as this feedback is important.

• U.S. Secretary of Education Requests Feedback on Technology in Education
• NECC This Afternoon
• NECC This Morning
• Noteworthy from NECC

Suggested Reading for 11/15/2008

New ISTE Book on Cell Phones for Learning

Innovative Professional Development Portal Enriches Teacher Education

The END to Copyright Confusion~and a New Beginning

iPod Instructional Uses

Quality and Online Learning

Eleven Interesting Ways to Use Google Docs in the Classroom

My Proposal to Use Google Docs for Online Reporting to Parents

Be the Match, Not a Match

Teacher Tenure: A Battle in the Capital

Publishing Articles in Educational Technology Journals

• Cell Phones as Learning Tools
• Suggested Reading for 03/13/2008
• Suggested Reading for 09/22/2008
• An Introduction to Online Word Processing

Deadline for NECC Proposals Approaches

The deadline for submitting proposals to present at the 2009 NECC Conference in Washington, D.C., is this Wednesday (Oct. 8). Note that both “ISTE member and non-member educators and students at all levels, nationally and internationally, are invited to submit.”

This international conference is an excellent opportunity for professional development and allows you to exchange ideas and resources with others that share your professional interests. I encourage you to attend and to consider submitting a presentation proposal. Learn more about submitting proposals here.

NECC 2009 | National Educational Computing Conference via kwout

• The 11th Annual Beyond Access Inclusion Conference in Memphis, TN
• EBC and NECC Preparations Underway
• Not Going to NECC?
• NECC Buzz Has Begun

Suggested Reading for 10/02/2008

Why Do Teachers Not Practice What They Believe Regarding Technology Integration?

Cover the Material – or Teach Students to Think

2008 DonorsChoose.org Challenge

Embedded Education Reporters

Joint Statement of CoSN and ISTE Hailing Passage of Internet Safety Education Legislation

View my Shared Google Reader for more suggested reading.

• Suggested Reading for 03/29/2008
• Suggested Reading for 11/15/2008
• Notes from Clif
• Learning to Change – Changing to Learn

Noteworthy from NECC

I’m still trying to catch up from my recent trips to Kannapolis, EduBloggerCon and NECC. I have notes, pod/vidcasts and photos that I intend to share but more pressing matters (Family, research and writing, preparations for professional development workshops and 2nd summer semester courses) have kept my attention. Here are a few things that I want to make sure I at least go ahead and point out.

Measuring What Really Matters: The 21st Century Skills Assessment Project
“…a collaborative effort designed to create viable methods of assessing of higher order learning outcomes, and the higher-order skills required by independent, lifelong learners.”

• This handout provides a good overview of the project and includes the current iteration of the assessment instrument.
• SIGTE Forum: Assessing 21st Century Skills–Next Steps – NOTE: I’m interested in exploring this further with those sharing an interest in this. Perhaps we could set up an online discussion group or something. Drop me a line if you are interested.

ISTE’s Classroom Observation Tool (ICOT)
"A FREE online tool that provides a set of questions to guide classroom observations of a number of key components of technology integration."

Ed Tech Action Network
"ETAN provides a forum for educators and others to engage in the political process and project a unified voice in support of a common cause – improving teaching and learning through the systemic use of technology. ETAN’s mission is to influence public policy-makers at the federal, state and local levels and to increase public investment in the competitiveness of America’s classrooms and students."

Possible Federal Funding for Educational Technology
There is a possibility that we will see more funding for educational technology and perhaps even a large funding program similar to the PT3 initiative.

• Suggested Reading for 12/06/2008
• Write Elected Officials about Educational Technology Funding
• Use of Technology in Classrooms for Simple and Complex Functions
• Webinar: Technology Use in Education

NECC This Afternoon

Here are the presentations/discussions that I attended/ participated in during the first half of this afternoon.

A Plan for Wiki Adoption by Ken Pruitt
Ken’s presentation was an adaptation of Stewart Mader’s Wikipatterns. Ken shared suggested strategies for implementing the use of wikis at all levels.

Educational Technology and the Law facilitated by Jon Becker and Scott McLeod
While preparing for the Teaching and Learning with Web 2.0 seminar I’ve realized how important it is that I become more knowledgeable about copyright, intellectual property, plagiarism, and related topics. I especially liked how they were able to pose existing IRL analogies for the virtual situations under discussion.

I’m off to the the much anticipated (at least by me) poster presentation of the ISTE Classroom Observation Tool. I plan to share what I learn soon.

• Your Feedback Is Requested
• NECC This Morning
• Teaching and Learning with Web 2.0
• Teaching and Learning with Web 2.0

NECC This Morning

I’ve spent most of today participating in the following sessions and meeting online friends in the Bloggers’ Cafe. I’m looking forward to the presentation of the ISTE Classroom Observation Instrument (ICOT) later today. I’m curious to see how it stacks up against similar instruments like LoTi. Perhaps I’ll get a chance to post my thoughts about it. For now, here’s what I’ve attended to day.

Diigo: A Swiss Army Knife for Your Browser by Maggie Tsai, Diigo Co-Founder
Maggie gave a crash course in the basic features and use of Diigo. After her presentation she asked to interview me on camera and I reluctantly agreed. I shared some of the most common ways that Diigo is being used by my students, teachers with whom I mentor in professional development, and by me. She also asked me to share ways that I thought their technology could be improved and I reiterated ideas that I’d previously shared on Miguel’s discussions (here and here) related to this topic. I was pleased with her responses to my technical and design suggestions (She even contacted the engineers about one of the issues while we were talking.) and she provided Diigo’s rationale for why the ads, for now, will continue to exist throughout the tool. She assured me that they are indeed considering

Creating a Ning Network from Scratch by Steve Hargadon
If you want to learn about setting up your own Ning you might as well learn from the master. I’m comfortable using this “tool” but Steve provided useful insight regarding design and implementation which I found valuable.

Using Understanding by Design (UbD) to Create Technology Rich, Deep Learning Unit Plans by Chris Lehmann and Marcie Hull
There are oodles of similar models out there but I found this one to be practical but thorough. I’m going to take another look at Understanding by Design when I return home.

• Multiple Representations of Understanding with Technology
• Multiple Representations of Understanding through Digital Media (NCTIES)
• NECC This Afternoon
• Diigo 101 Podcast

When I become a Teacher

What kind of teacher do you want to be?

• Phishing Scams in Plain English
• Wikis in Plain English
• Social Bookmarking (with del.icio.us) in Plain English
• Prison Inmates Re-Enact Thriller Video

This Afternoon at EBC

Diving Deep into Google Earth and Google Maps

• Lucy Gray’s presenter notes
• Adding images in Google Earth
• Geotagging
• Maps, directions, and more
• Google Book Search Library Project

Web 2.0 in Teacher Education (Program Info)

1. My presenter notes
2. Alternative to the term Web 2.0 is the Read, Write Web
3. Teacher education and professional development that effectively helps teachers better integrate technology with teaching and learning
• Allow the teachers to select their own goals and help them reach them
• Online social networks can more easily provide the in-time assistance, coaching, mentoring, etc. that individuals during development/learning, but teachers often don’t think about using the networks
4. How do we prepare teachers to teach in the 1-to-1 environment?
   • The emphasis should change from "teaching" to designing learning that engages the students.
5. Resources for future teachers
   • Social Network
   • Bookmarks

Designing the 21st Century Global Learning Environments (Program Info)

1. Building on some online discussion that has been ocurring for the past year here and here.
2. If there were no barriers what would education look like? Brainstorming notes

• Bookmarks for 07/16/2010
• Suggested Reading for 11/15/2008
• Planning District-Wide Technology Professional Development
• This Morning at EBC