Memphis EduTweetUp: About the Web 2.0 Smackdown

We’re planning on concluding next week’s Memphis EduTweetUp with a Web 2.0 Smackdown. Here are a few details for those unfamiliar with a smackdown.

Rules and Organization

Volunteers will choose one of their favorite Web 2.0 tools or social technologies and quickly demo it for the group making sure to share ways that it can be integrated with teaching and learning.

Each demo is allowed a maximum of 3 minutes. Finish in under the time limit or face the Smackdown!

Warning: This is fast and frantic (and lots of crazy fun) — Thus the term SMACKDOWN!!!! The goal is to involve as many people as possible and learn about as many new resources as possible.

Please RSVP
Please help us make appropriate restaurant reservations by RSVP-ing regarding your attendance here.

Invite Others
Please help us spread the word via Twitter, Facebook, your blog(s), email, etc., and include the event tag: #metu.

Event Tag: #metu

Ready steady... Go  - Day 86 of Project 365

Memphis EduTweetUp (May 2010)

All K-12 educators are invited to join us for food and fun as teachers from many different schools and districts 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 dining room. We’ll also have a computer projector and screen.

We’ll be meeting at Amerigo Italian Restaurant (1239 Ridgeway Rd.) at 5:00 PM on Tuesday, May 11, 2010. Please help us spread the word via Twitter, Facebook, on your blog(s), email, etc., and include the event tag: #metu. Note that Non-Twitter-using teachers are absolutely welcome to join us, too. There is no registration fee but please help us make appropriate restaurant reservations by RSVP-ing using the buttons in the Tweetvite widget below.

Proposed Agenda

Event Tag: #metu

Web 2.0 Technologies for Elementary and Middle School Classrooms

These are the slides for today’s presentation at the NCTIES Conference. Examples of how both teachers and students have used these tools are included. The full set of notes and resources from this session are available on the wiki. Thanks to everyone that attended, participated, tweeted, shared resources and ideas, etc.

Elementary Teachers, I Need Your Advice

I’m providing professional development at an elementary school this week. I’ve been asked to survey some of the most commonly used Web 2.0 technologies in elementary classrooms. I’m very curious what others are using in their classrooms as I prepare this workshop. Please, please, please share the tools and services that you and your students recommend. I’ll compile and share the results along with related resources and examples on the workshop wiki.

Appreciatively,
Clif

Suggested Reading for 07/26/2009

The 21st Century Learning Imperative – THE Journal

‘The Computer Ate My Homework’: How to Detect Fake Techno-Excuses – The Chronicle

10 Technology Enhanced Alternatives to Book Reports – The Apple

Jott Alternatives

I was a big fan of Jott and used it a lot when it was a free. However, its services are not valuable enough to me to merit being added to my list of monthly communications expenses (phone, Internet, cell, etc.). For a long while I’ve not been using anything, but I recently decided to ask my PLN if there were any free alternatives to Jott. Several asked if I’d share the responses, so here they are.

Jott Alternatives

Here are the replies that I received from my Plurk buddies.

Jott Alternatives - Plurk Replies

These are the responses from my Twitter friends.

Jott Alternatives - Twitter Replies

Thanks to everyone that provided feedback and suggested resources. I’ve not had a chance to look at these, but I hope to share my reviews once I have.

Learn with Us (IDT7078)

As I mentioned in a recent blog post I’m teaching a seminar this summer focusing on Teaching and Learning with Web 2.0 Technologies. I concluded the earlier post by sharing the following:

In keeping with the principles of Web 2.0 I encourage the participation of everyone with an interest or expertise in this topic. You may contribute to the discussion and fun by using the following tag/keyword: idt7078. Be on the lookout for ways (Ustream, Skype, Twitter, Plurk, etc.) to informally participate with us. I would certainly consider making it possible for those wishing to enroll in the course and participate from a distance, too.

Greg R. Fishbone replied to my earlier post and asked the following question regarding my concluding statements.

I’d love to participate informally, but how does one follow a keyword?

I think this is a GREAT a question and I suspect Greg is not the only one wondering about this. I’m sharing this information here in hopes of helping Greg and anyone else that may be interested in being part of our learning community this summer.

Google Keyword Search
You can add the following RSS feed to your aggregator (such as Google Reader or Bloglines). New blog posts, wiki entries, bookmarks, videos, podcasts, etc. tagged with idt7078 will then be “delivered” to you as they show up in Google.

http://blogsearch.google.com/blogsearch_feeds?hl=en&q=idt7078&ie=utf-8&num=10&output=rss

An alternative to this strategy would be to setup a Google Alert for idt7078.

Twitter Search
You can also add a keyword search for idt7078 to TweetDeck or similar Twitter platform if you are using one. If not, then you can add the following RSS feed for the Twitter Search of the course tag to your aggregator.

http://search.twitter.com/search.atom?q=idt7078

Plurk Search
Add idt7078 to your list of Saved Searches in your profile’s dashboard.