Web 2.0 Projects

 Terry Freedman is an ICT educational consultant who has worked in education since 1975.  He has a great newsletter, Computers in Education, that you can subscribe to.  In addition, Terry's website has archives for you to explore.  

His latest resource that has been a work in progress is available for download.  Terry's outlines it's contents for  you in this bulleted list:

• 87 projects.
• 10 further resources.
• 52 applications.
• 94 contributors.
• The benefits of using Web 2.0 applications.
• The challenges of using Web 2.0 applications.
• How the folk who ran these projects handled the issues...
• ... And what they recommend you do if you run them.
• What were the learning outcomes?
• And did I mention that this is free?!

Click on the banner to go to Terry's site      

                                                           Teaching that Makes Sense Website

Steve Peha, an educational consultant with the website, Teaching that Makes Sense, writes on a wide variety of issues and offers teachers great resources in PDF  to download for free.

Some Examples

• The Writing Teacher's Strategy Guide
• Prompted Writing
• Student Writing Samples Grades K-12
• An Introduction to the Writing Process
• Welcome to the Writer's Workshop
• Writing Across the Curriculum
• All's Well that Spells Well
• Writing Assessment
• The Five Facts of Fiction
• Read Like a Reader; Read like a Writer
• What Can you Say About a Book?
• What is Good Writing?
• The Organizers
• The Posters

Personalizing the Web with Protopage

Protopage is downloadable software that lets you personalize your browser page. It gives you quicker access to sites you like by creating categories that pick up feeds you've chosen. Prototype says, "creating your page is easy and fun" and it is true to its word.

What is useful about Prototype is it's ability to page share. This adds that collaborative feel which could be useful when working with students or other teachers locally or globally. You can restrict your categories to private, public or restricted. Guests would have to know your password to access the information.

Another way to transform curriculum...or at the very least, share great resources.

Something Different in Video

Asterpix is an innovative way of viewing videos online. The technology has evolved so that a bot (Asterbot) inserts interactive hotspots into the web videos. What does that really mean?

It means that after choosing a video to watch, you now have relevant text and other links that become available simply by moving your mouse on different hotspots within the video. Need more info about what you're watching? The video is a pathway into the web for more contextual information on the subject.

For educators, Asterpix is another tool in the 2.0 toolbox! Students can create video clips, embed notes and links and connect to students' blogs, websites and hopefully Moodle. (We haven't tried that yet). Imagine a newer version of "What I did last summer". It puts the Hyper into Hypertext or should I say Hypervideo?

Visit http://www.asterpix.com/

Blender Open Source 3D Animation Tools

"What is Blender?

Blender is an integrated suite of tools enabling the creation of a broad range of 3D content with the singular benefits of cross-platform interoperability and an incredibly small download file size. It is the most popular Open Source 3D graphics application in the world, and is one of the most downloaded.

Aimed world-wide at media professionals and artists, Blender can be used to create 3D visualizations, stills as well as broadcast and cinema quality video, while the incorporation of a real-time 3D engine allows for the creation of 3D interactive content for stand-alone playback."

Blender may not be for everyone but if you're looking at new ways of creating video and stills, this could push that envelope.

Thanks W.M. for sending me the site!

Quick Links regarding Alberta Education Assessment

Click on Alberta Ed's link to find achievement testing for not only this year but up to 2010.

http://education.alberta.ca/media/768842/03-ach-gib-2007-08_schedules%20%20significant%20dates.pdf

In addition, Alberta Education has posted some narrative writing as exemplars relative to the standards in their scoring guides.

• Grade 3 English Language Arts Story-Writing Guide and Student Samples
• Grade 6 English Language Arts Writing Samples 2003
• Grade 6 English Language Arts Functional Writing Samples 2005
• Grade 9 English Language Arts - Narrative/Essay Writing
• Grade 9 English Language Arts - Functional Writing

Previous Achievement Tests and Answer Keys
The 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2001 achievement tests and answer keys that were posted on the Alberta Education website have been removed and are no longer available. Beginning in 2007, a complete achievement test in print form only and the key for each achievement test subject in grades 3, 6, and 9 (with the exception of grades 3, 6, and 9 French Language Arts; grades 3, 6, and 9 Français; and grade 9 Knowledge and Employability courses) will be mailed in the fall to school administrators every second year as an attachment to the assessment highlights report for that year. This will provide teachers every two years with complete forms of achievement tests.

Learner Assessment Online (LA Online) is Alberta Education's new online testing solution. This application currently houses released tests from 2006 for Mathematics 9, Science 9, and Science 6. LA Online can be downloaded from http://www.education.gov.ab.ca/laonline/.

Data Booklets contain numerical and scientific data required for diploma examinations.

• Chemistry 30 , New 2008 Data Booklet
• Science 30 to June 2007, Science 30 – Implement Sept '07
• Biology 30
• Physics 30 , Physics 30 - DRAFT

• Previous Diploma Examinations and Answer Keys

Projects for the Pure and Applied Mathematics 30
Alberta Education will produce four projects per year: two for Pure Mathematics 30 and two for Applied Mathematics 30 each year. Teachers may use these projects as part of the assessment of their students.

Projects for Science 30
Alberta Education will produce one project per year. Teachers may use these projects as part of the assessment of their students.

As we move into the Achievement Test period, this little video and website may remind you not to get too wound up.

Thanks Shannon for finding this.

Tom Chapin - Not on the Test

Digital Storytelling Resources from Jeff Stockton

Jeff Stockton has teamed up with the Galileo Education people to create a site with rich resources to help you get started with digital storytelling. Click on the word Galileo to get there.

Oral Language and Storytelling Artistry

It's easy to forget sometimes the power of oral traditions and connections to meaning making and higher thought. These two sites have games and resources to get your classroom started down that important literacy path.

The Story Connection has 17 games you can try with your students. Dianne has written stories as well and you can find them under Resources on the left hand side of the website.

Story Arts has reasons for storytelling in the classroom, lesson plans and activities, a story library, articles, links and curriculum ideas exchange. In addition, you can sign up for Musings, their monthly newsletter.

Sign us up!

Creating a Difference Webquest

Our colleagues in Australia have thought about using Webquests to create collaboratively designed games which provide a solution to a local problem. What a great way to help students structure their thoughts and information!

Visit http://www.learningplace.com.au/deliver/content.asp?pid=31465 for more information and great ideas. Check out the side information for a wealth of ideas on learning objects, game innovation and case studies.