Notes & Resources from Midsouth EduTweetUp & Web 2.0 Smackdown (Jan. 2011)

The first Midsouth EduTweetUp of 2011 was held Tuesday evening at the IDT Studio. Approximately 10 educators representing several school districts and area independent schools enjoyed an informative evening of networking and idea-sharing.

The evening’s festivities included opportunities for requesting advice/advice sharing, a tour of the IDT Studio, discussion about upcoming events, and concluded with a Web 2.0 Smackdown, where attendees had the opportunity to demonstrate their favorite Web 2.0 tool and share how it can be integrated with teaching and learning.

Thanks to everyone that participated and made this a fun and informative event.

A special thanks to Philip Cummings for coordinating the barbecue dinner and to Trey Martindale for hosting us in the IDT Studio.

Below are the slides from the meeting followed by a few notes and resources from the evening.

Notes

Educational Technology CertificateUM IDT‘s K-12 certificate in instructional computing applications is a series of four Instructional Design and Technology courses designed to prepare inservice and preservice teachers to meaningfully integrate technology into teaching and learning.

Graduate degrees in Instructional Design and Technology and School Library Information

2011 Martin Institute Spring Conference – Those who come to feast with us can choose from the a la carte menu of learning sessions, attending as few or as many as time allows. Registration in each session will be limited to the first hungry learners to “make their dinner reservations.

The 2011 Martin Institute Summer Conference will focus on PK-6 grade literacy and STEM. The call for presentation proposals will be posted in the coming weeks.

E-Learning Network – Monthly lunch meetings for professionals to learn about and share e-learning technologies and strategies.

Web 2.0 Smackdown

Here are the links from the Web 2.0 Smackdown.

Waze – Real-time maps and traffic information based on the wisdom of the crowd

Twitterfall – Twitterfall is a Twitter client specialising in real-time tweet searches. New tweets fall into the page.

Big Huge Labs and Education

SweetSearch – A search engine for students.

SweetSites – Collections of sites organized by subject and academic level for teachers and students.

Haiku – A lesson-centric learning management system built to bring the advantages of the web to your students and classes.

Digital Wish – Putting technology in the hands of teachers and students.

Wetoku – Easily conduct video interviews.

Skype Education – A free directory for teachers who want to use Skype to bring education to life in their classrooms.

Sqworl – A clean and simple way to visually bookmark multiple URLs.

NextUp and Meetzi – In-meeting management tools that helps make your meetings more focused, actionable, and on time.

Kids’ Vid – An instructional web site that gives teachers and students the tools necessary to implement video production in the classroom.

Review the tweets and links using the event tag: #metu.

Future EduTweetUps are already in the works. Please add your information to the Memphis EduTweetUp database to receive information about future events.

Event Tag: #metu

Midsouth EduTweetUp on Jan. 18, 2011

All PK-12 educators (and future educators) are invited to join us for food and fun as teachers from schools and districts all around the Memphis area connect and share ideas. The evening will conclude with a Web 2.0 Smackdown during which attendees can volunteer to share quick demos (under 3 minutes) of some of their favorite Web 2.0 tools and services. Note that free wi-fi will be available in the studio. We’ll also have a computer projector and screen.

We’ll be meeting at the IDT Studio at the University of Memphis (320 Ball Hall) from 5:30 to 7:30 PM on Tuesday, January 18, 2011. Please help spread the word via Twitter, Facebook, on your blog(s), email, etc., and include the event tag: #metu. Non-Twitter-using teachers are absolutely welcome to join us, too. There is no registration fee, but we will be having the meal catered from Corky’s ($5/person). Please help us order the appropriate amount of food by RSVP-ing using the buttons in this Tweetvite or contacting Philip Cummings.

Event Tag: #metu

Midsouth EduTweetUp (Jan. 11, 2011) – POSTPONED

NOTE: This event has been postponed due to inclement weather throughout the region.

All PK-12 educators are invited to join us for food and fun as teachers from schools and districts all around the Memphis area connect and share ideas. The evening will conclude with a Web 2.0 Smackdown during which attendees can volunteer to share quick demos (under 3 minutes) of some of their favorite Web 2.0 tools and services. Note that free wi-fi will be available in the studio. We’ll also have a computer projector and screen.

We’ll be meeting at the IDT Studio at the University of Memphis (320 Ball Hall) from 5:30 to 7:30 PM on Tuesday, January 11, 2011. Please help spread the word via Twitter, Facebook, on your blog(s), email, etc., and include the event tag: #metu. Non-Twitter-using teachers are absolutely welcome to join us, too. There is no registration fee, but we will be having the meal catered from Corky’s ($5/person). Please help us order the appropriate amount of food by RSVP-ing using the buttons in this Tweetvite.

Event Tag: #metu

Wrap-Up of Mid-South EduTweetUp (Aug. 2010)

(Cross-Posted from Martin Institute Press Releases)

The first Mid-South EduTweetUp of the 2010-11 school year was held last Tuesday evening at Panera Bread Co. in East Memphis. 25 people representing several school districts and area independent schools enjoyed an informative evening of networking and idea-sharing.

The goals of the Martin Institute for Teaching Excellence were shared and the details of the 2010 Fall Conference were announced.

Also included in the evening’s festivities was a Web 2.0 Smackdown, where attendees had the opportunity to demonstrate their favorite Web 2.0 tool and share how it can be integrated with teaching and learning.

Thanks to everyone that participated and made this a fun and informative event. The next EduTweetUp is scheduled in conjunction with the 2010 Martin Institute Fall Conference on Friday evening, October 1. Click here for details.

Event Tag: #metu

Wrap-Up of Memphis EduTweetUp (May 2010)

Memphis’ inaugural EduTweetUp was a great event. Eighteen teachers from many different schools and districts in the greater Memphis area, Tipton County, TN, and Byhalia, MS, enjoyed an evening of food and fun as we networked and shared ideas. The Web 2.0 Smackdown was a fun way for us to share online technologies and services and discuss strategies for integrating them with teaching and learning. A special thanks to Melissa Smith for co-organizing the event.

Below are the slides from the meeting followed by a few resources from the evening.



Review the tweets and links using the event tag: #metu.

EduTweetUps for the Fall are already in the works. Please add your information to the Memphis EduTweetUp database to receive information about future events.

MidSouthEdTech is a Google Group open to anyone in the region interested in educational technology.

Here are the links from the Web 2.0 Smackdown.

  • PhoneVite – Community-based voice broadcasting (Phone tree service)
  • Spanish PowerPoints – Games and resources for learning Spanish
  • Google Voice
  • Super Teacher Tools
  • Big Huge Labs
  • Sweet Search – A search engine for students
  • A Thin Line.org – Developed by MTV to empower students to “identify, respond to, and stop the spread of digital abuse”
  • Sync.in and Primary Pad – Alternatives to EtherPad
  • Historical Reenactments with Twitter
  • EduTecher – Resources for teacher
  • Triptico – eLearning design and professional development
  • Blabberize
  • Google Squared
  • Storybird – Collaborative storytelling
  • TribeCamp Memphis Is This Saturday

    “TribeCamp is an unconference dedicated to tribes in the tech community from social media to development to programming to design, and how we can build relationships to build knowledge, skills and success.” (Source)

    Saturday, April 24, 2010
    8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
    Memphis Academy of Science and Engineering
    Registration

    TribeCamp Memphis

    Highlights from BarCamp Memphis

    [NOTE: This post will be updated throught the event.]

    Here are some of my notes and photos from BarCamp Memphis.

    Google Wave: What It Is and What It’s for
    By: Greg Dunn and Thom Rigsby

    Designer vs. Developer
    By: Steven Trotter, Joseph Yancey and Craig McCoy

    PowerPoint Karaoke
    This is an interesting activity. Here are the rules.

    1. No prior knowledge of slides
    2. Must pretend this is actually your deck
    3. 20 seconds each (4 mins)
    4. Look for the (stop symbol)
    5. Audience encouraged to to heckle
    6. Vote determines winner
    7. Have fun

    Prosper during a Digital Age Recession
    By: Ryan Hinricher

    Show and Tell Tools
    By: Everyone

    Event Tag: bcmem

    Great Opportunity to Learn More: BarCamp Memphis

    BarCamp Memphis isn’t just a Web 2.0 conference. It’s an unconference. What does that mean, exactly? That’s up to you. The first half of the day will feature predetermined, scheduled sessions like any other conference you’d attend, but in the afternoon the topic curating is turned over to you. Throughout the morning, you’ll vote on what you’d like to discuss or learn more about in the afternoon sessions so that BarCamp is hand-crafted to meet the needs of the community. The afternoon sessions might be panels or Q-and-A with specific BarCampers, or they might be roundtable discussions — Core Conversations, as we call them — with groups of Campers looking to bounce ideas and learn from others’ experiences.” (Source)

    I enjoyed SocialCamp Memphis back in March (Here are the resources from one of my presentations at that event.) and I’m looking forward to BarCamp Memphis. Please come join us.

    Event Tag: #bcmem