What's up with Wikis?

Find out how you can learn more about wikis in the K12 classroom... http://moodlebots.blogspot.com/2008/03/using-wikis-with-your-students.html

Information from ISTE

Teachers tap Video-sharing in the Classroom On TeacherTube, educators share material, such as instructional math videos, with classrooms around the world. Another site, SchoolTube, mainly hosts videos produced by students in class with the help of their teachers. Both sites say they screen videos to make sure they are appropriate for schools, but they don't vet the clips for accuracy or quality. Despite the popularity of classroom video-sharing among some students and teachers, some experts say sites like these would serve teachers and students better if the videos faced wider scrutiny. http://www.azcentral.com/business/consumer/articles/0326biz-TeacherTube-26.html http://www.teachertube.com/http://www.schooltube.com/ Adobe Puts Free Version Of Photoshop Online The maker of the popular photo-editing software Photoshop on Thursday launched a basic version available for free online. Anyone who wants to store, sort and edit their digital pics can take part in a public beta being launched by the Photoshop team at Adobe today. The San Jose, Calif.-based Adobe Systems Inc. says it hopes to boost its name recognition among a new generation of consumers who edit, store and share photos online. Photoshop Express will be completely Web-based so consumers can use it with any type of computer, operating system and browser. And, once they register, users can get to their accounts from different computers. http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/news/news.phtml/13634/14658/Adobe-launches-Photoshop-Express-beta.phtml https://www.photoshop.com/express/landing.html

~Ten Rules to Teach By~ 10 Rule: Capture their attention.Learners deal with an enormous number of sensory inputs on any given day.Helping them focus attention is a critical first step when engaging students. 9 Rule: Convince them to care.Getting their attention is only the first step.Be sure you have something to keep your learners’ interests piqued; you want them to stay for awhile! 8 Rule: Motivate them to change.Learning can be defined as a sustained change in capacity that persists over time.Consider what it will take to compel students to do things differently. 7 Rule: Give them choices.Learners want to engage with ideas, information, and each other, on terms they define for themselves. 6 Rule: Connect them with community.People learn from watching, showing, and sharing with people who care as much as they do.Social learning is alive and well! 5 Rule: Induce them to participate.Participation gives learners a sense of feeling personally engaged. 4 Rule: Enable opportunities to contribute.Engage learners in the active negotiation of new knowledge.That new learning will be more relevant to each and every contributor. 3 Rule: Make learning an experience to remember.The more memorable a learning experience, the greater likelihood students will remember what they’ve learned. 2 Insight: Consider that maybe it’s not about putting the learner at the center.It’s more about giving learners the skills to decide where to engage.In today’s socially networked world, it’s important to help students feel connected to the community.Relationships that operate in a networked manner may inspire lifelong learning. 1 Insight: Always remember, learning is personal.Despite the many psychological theories and principles proposed to explain what is going on inside our heads, learning continues to be unique to each individual.No one of us can ever really “do” learning to someone else, at least not without the permission or willingness to be persuaded. "Engaging Digital Learners," Campus Technology, 5/1/2007, http://www.campustechnology.com/article.aspx?aid=47761

RETA Webinar: Blogs in the Classroom II

You are invited to a RETA Webinar: The eLearning with Emerging
Technologies Series!

**This week¹s webinar is: Blogs in the Classroom II

Whether you joined us for Blogging I or not, this session will surely
help any educator take their blogs to a heightened level. Here we will
go more in depth with adding features to your blogs (RSS feeds,
widgets, polls, images, slideshows, etc.). Not only will we ³Bling your
Blog,² we will also discuss the ³how-to² of classroom blog management
and assessment.

**When: March 18, 2008 from 4:30-5:30pm

TO JOIN THIS EVENT
Our Webinar sessions are one hour long and will begin promptly at
4:30pm MST (5:30 CST; 6:30 EST; 3:30 PST).

To attend this event, please go to the following url:
http://nmsu.acrobat.com/r21506815/

To participate speakers are encouraged. A simple computer microphone
and/or headset are ideal for complete interaction. A webcam is
optional. If you have never used Acrobat Connect Professional, please
test your connection at:
http://admin.adobe.acrobat.com/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm

TECH ASSISTANCE
If you have questions or need assistance, please contact Cissy
Lujan-Pincomb or Miley Grandjean at webinars at nmsu.edu or call us at
575-649-0768 or 575.646.6143.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Please visit us at http://webinars.nmsu.edu

Have a cup of coffee, invite a colleague and raise your eQ (eLearning
Quotient) with us!

Thank you,
The RETA Webinar Team

Tag, you're it, pass it on...

Thank to Holly, I’ve been tagged with this information. Read, reflect, ponder and please pass it on.

Quote from Karl Fisch:
“If a teacher today is not technologically literate - and is unwilling to make the effort to learn more - it's equivalent to a teacher 30 years ago who didn't know how to read and write.

Extreme? Maybe. Your thoughts?”

Read his blog post on this:
http://snipurl.com/21552  

Read the Article - Are Teachers Ready for 21st Century Learning? You may need to register to read, but it’s free.
http://snipurl.com/21554

Reminder: Show me the Moodle Blocks!

Want to spice up your Moodle course?

Show me the Moodle - Blocks by Holly Rae Bemis-Schurtz
Thursday, March 6, 2008 - 5 – 6 pm Mountain Standard Time
Register at: http://moodlebots.pbwiki.com/register+here
Attend at: http://nmsu.acrobat.com/retashowmethemoodle/

How do you add RSS feeds to the sidebar of your course? What if you want an interactive calendar for students? These are only a couple of the Blocks available in Moodle. In this one hour session, we will demonstrate implementation of these popular blocks and show you how you can add Widgets to incorporate other dynamic content into your course.

This session is for Moodlers who have already had an introduction to Moodle Course Design.

This session will be recorded for on demand viewing. Details will be shared after the session.

Attending these sessions

A simple computer microphone and/or chat headset is ideal for participation. A web cam is also nice, but not required. Please plan to join the session at least 20 minutes prior to the start time to configure your computer.
 
If you have never used Acrobat Connect Professional, please test your connection at:

http://admin.adobe.acrobat.com/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm

Tech Assistance

Support will be available 30 minutes prior to the start of session for tech assistance.

More great eLearning webinars and webclass sessions coming up every week! For more information, see
http://moodlebots.pbwiki.com/Synchronous+Learning+Events

For more information on Moodle

Our ancillary resource for this session is the Moodle 1.8 Handbook at our site at http://reta.nmsu.edu/moodle. After attending, you should be able to practice the ‘hands on’ component in your own Moodle classroom (contact me if you would like a course environment for your use at RETAMoodle - http://reta.nmsu.edu/moodle).

Can’t make it?

Sessions will be recorded. A link for a session recording will be available
=========================
Holly Rae Bemis-Schurtz
hollyrae at nmsu.edu

Student Success is everybody's business!

Ph. 505.646.4699  Fx. 505.646.2044
New Mexico State University
MSC 3WEC/PO Box 30001; Las Cruces, NM 88003-8001

~Division of Student Success & College of Extended Learning~
http://extended.nmsu.edu

~Regional Educational Technology Assistance Program~
http://reta.nmsu.edu
1.800.821.1574
=========================

Another Blocked Site!

Another day in paradise using technology at high school!

Once again, my students are logged in, anxious and excited to get to blog in the classroom.

They click on the link to watch a video before they begin and there it is-WEBWASHED. We are blocked from watching video at our school. I really hate being Webwashed. I want the technology to work for me-everytime. I am tired of having to work for technology finding sites and activities that are allowed. I have been doing some research about security and being blocked from Yahoo, video, blog sites, images, and the list goes on. I am trying to arm myself with information before I go and talk with our tech department. Anyone have any helpful advice to help me when I talk with technology? Help! Sandy