Technology for Teachers

This post will discuss three synchronous learning tools. Let us start with a quick definition of synchronous. Entering the following phrase define:synchronous into a Google search produces a page of definitions for synchronous. The following definition is the first from the list:

Synchronous: A type of two-way communication with virtually no time delay, allowing participants to respond in real time.

There you go, in a nutshell that’s what a synchronous communication tool does, it allows you to communicate in a seamless manner. This environment may include text, audio, or video, and in some cases a mixture of more than one.

Tools such as Skype, Horizon-Wimba, and Tapped In have varying amounts of potential based on the users’, and communities’, level of technological literacy. Each of these tools offers conferencing/chat capabilities. Each has their own unique look and feel but there are many similarities. Each of these tools allows users to communicate from around the globe. Let me say that again with a little different touch, users are able to communicate from around the world. Like the word play, world/globe? The point is that these are global communication tools.

Horizon-Wimba is an environment that combines text and audio with a few other advanced conferencing functions. One of the most powerful tools I’ve been able to witness from Wimba is a screen capturing capability. For example, say you were participating in a discussion on a given topic, at any given point the facilitator is able to turn on a screen capture tool to a particular user who can in turn capture a portion of their screen to share with the group. This offers astounding possibilities; one quick thought is having one group member run a presentation for the entire group to watch. The draw back for me is the cost of Horizon-Wimba. It’s not free. Although the following tools Skype and TappeIn don’t offer some of the advanced features they make up for these “deficiencies” in terms of their respective costs, they’re free!

Skype is what most would consider an instant messenging tool. Personally I hate to think of it in that respect as most educators familiar with IM tools include a few choice four letter words when describing what they see students using IM tools for. You could literally keep me going for hours on those types of arguments, let’s leave it with this quick quote, “The arguments of a technology’s potential abuses as an argument against the tool are not sound arguments.”

To me Skype is the perfect tool for online collaboration. Skype allows you to chat with other participants through text, audio, and video. I have a cable modem connection at home so I am on the end of the spectrum where I see no delay in audio/video. Skype also offers file sharing capability. Not that you can’t just e-mail a document to the other person, but Skype has an option to attach and send information during the actual conference. The other day I was able to participate in an audio conference with two other people from Minnesota and a third who was in Mongolia. Did I mention that there was no cost, or hidden costs to this service? Skype leverages the power of existing tools. In my case that’s an internet connection, webcam, and a computer.

My Skype user name is SeanMartinson (no space), feel free to contact me at any time and add me to your list! TappedIn is similar to the other tools listed above.

TappedIn is a community portal to topic specific textual chats. Setting up an account to TappedIn is easy and upon entering the site you are met by a chat section with an assistant to walk you through and show you around. The area that TappedIn excels at is the community and scheduling that it offers. TappedIn is for educators and runs a monthly calendar of topics allowing users to pencil in dates ahead of time where they will be able to chat (text) with other like minded users about a given topic.

Being comfortable with the typing modes available in Wimba, Skype, and Tappedin I’ve found uses for each of them. As I cross the digital divide I am becoming more and more comfortable with the audio and video chatting capabilities. I don’t think it’s the same for our students, but for myself and others, we need to learn a whole new mode of communication. It’s amusing to watch those not comfortable (again, myself included) as we stumble through and navigate the audio/video all while trying not to interrupt each other. It brings me back to the days of CB radios while talking in turns. It’s hard to get used to an environment where we are able to talk in the same face to face atmosphere minus the body language that communicates the intent and directs the flow of the conversation.

Each tool has its obstacles and hurdles to becoming fully integrated into educational settings. The biggest is imagination. Many have asked what you would use these tools for, my answer is “What do you want it to do?”. Each tool can be used to fit the user’s needs. It’s up to their imagination.

So how do and why do you use these tools in education. Although I believe there are many uses for each of these communication tools in education. It again goes back to your goals and objectives for the tools. I give little time to Horizon-Wimba, not because I don’t feel that it’s a powerful tool, but because I can’t and many districts can’t afford to use it. TappedIn is an excellent tool for technologically inclined educators to meet, network, and discuss topics of importance. Skype, in my mind, has huge implications for education. Again, there are a multitude of uses, but the biggest that I see is utilizing Skype as a border crasher.

For my generation many can remember when Ronald Reagan said, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”. I believe Skype has the same potential. The potential to bring together groups from around the world, opening a direct line of communication where, in this case, students are able to meet those that they see vilified in the nightly news. What’s stopping a classroom from the Midwest from talking and meeting with students from the Middle East? Outside of time zones, languge, and differing periods in the day, there are no more excuse why we as educators can not expose and partner our classes directly with those that our news networks tell us to hate, or remind us that they hate us. The website Epals (www.epals.com) offers an online directory of classes looking for these types of partners.

Another obstacle to utilizing these approaches in the classroom is the actual training of teachers and technology staff development. The portion that was and is missing in many districts is the time portion. Many districts budget money to technology but neglect to factor in the teacher training component. Time and money are rarely budgeted for teachers to participate in training during school hours or at a rate of reimbursement outside of school hours. Staffs are already undertaking initiatives in and outside of school so for many asking them to do more on their own on top of that and what they already take home is just too much.

By integrating this approach into general curriculum we are able to ask teachers to utilize advanced technologies in subject and topic areas in which they are already comfortable. Not only does this show an immediate use which the user can identify with, it can put them more at ease when asked to use this format for a topic out of their comfort zone.

This topic is also being discussed at the EdTechWiki, you can add, edit, or browse comments at: www.edtechwiki.org
Sites Discussed:

• Skype
• http://www.skype.com/
• “Skype is a little program for making free calls over the internet to anyone else who also has Skype. It’s free and easy to download and use, and works with most computers.”
• Horizon Wimb
• http://www.horizonwimba.com/
• “Horizon Wimba develops web-based collaboration software designed for online education, language learning and live interactive communications.”
• TappedIn
• http://tappedin.org/tappedin/
• “Tapped In is a Web-based learning environment created by SRI International to transform teacher professional development (TPD) for professional development providers and educators. Tapped In enables providers to offer high-quality online professional development experiences and support to more teachers cost-effectively. Through Tapped In, educators can extend their professional growth beyond courses or workshops with the online tools, resources, colleagues, and support they need to implement effective, classroom-centered learning activities.”
• EdTechWiki
• http://www.edtechwiki.org
• “The purpose of this wiki is to serve as a sounding board for those that are currently utilizing technology in their classroom as well as those looking to integrate technology into their work.”

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[tags]internet, teaching, learning, technology4teachers, seanmartinson, sean martinson, skype [/tags]

We can thank my short attention span that I have left a few websites in disgust. Knowing that there are literally billions of websites, if I find myself at a site that I am not immediately impressed with, I move on. As your read my top 5 list you might be surprised that “authority” is not among the top five. I started with a list of six, in order to narrow it down to five I chose to remove authority. I’ve found that if a site is offering information that I find useful and it is; objective, accurate, current, all information is relevant, and it is aesthetically pleasing I don’t mind who the author is. In other words I’ll take help from anyone no matter the title they hold.

With that little notice in mind here are my top five reasons that a site is ineffective.

1. Aesthetics- If the site is loaded with graphics and poor background and/or text I won’t even take the time to read the first word.
2. Objectivity- I don’t need someone selling me their point of view. My time is valuable, so I appreciate straight forward information without any fluff.
3. Accuracy- If the information is at all inaccurate it again is not worth my time.
4. Currency- With ever-changing research the information needs to be current.
5. Content Relevancy- I don’t mind spending money for information but it will need to be directly related to the topic and again straight forward.

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[tags]internet, teaching, learning, education, technology, technology4teachers, seanmartinson, sean martinson[/tags]

Six criteria for a highly effective website, information from Cal State Fullerton, “Six Criteria for Evaluating Web Pages“.

Authority – There is a qualified author listed, their qualifications are listed, and their contact information is included.

• Objectivity
• All information presented is in an objective manner.
• Accuracy
• All information provided by the Web site is accurate.
• Currency
• All of the information on the site is up to date and there are no reference to sites which have moved.
• Content – Relevancy
• The site meets the purpose, the subject is adequately covered, all links complement the theme, other sources quoted are accurately cited, and all the information on the site is free.
• Aesthetics
• There is an appropriate balance between text and images, the site is visually appealing, and the site requires no special software to view the information.

As with any rule there are exceptions. I find each of the above criteria to be extremely helpful in rating websites. However not all areas are pertinent to every website. For instance, if I’m shopping amazon.com I don’t mind advertisements and the purpose is to sell items so you can’t knock the site for having fee based items listed. However I find it hard to bend the rule on accuracy, content, currency, and aesthetics. If a site is not accurate, has unrelated content, is out of date, or is not visually appealing it can not be considered a “highly effective” website.

In summary:

• Criteria applicable to all sites:
• Accuracy
• Content – Relevancy (all content should be related)
• Currency
• Aesthetics

• Criteria that may not be applicable to all sites:
• Objectivity
• Content – Relevancy (not all items need be free)
• Authority

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[tags]internet, teaching, learning, education, technology, technology4teachers, seanmartinson, sean martinson[/tags]

One description that I found about Fantastico was simply to say that it’s fantastic. You can google it for a better look, but here’s what I think of it as: a single page where you shop for applications (open-source) you’d like to install, once you’ve found it you click on the name and walk through a step by step setup (usually 3) to install your program.

There have been other options that I’ve enjoyed through Bluehost, but none as much as Fantastico. Here’s a peek at the Fantastico screen:

“Use Fantastico to automatically install any of the scripts listed on the left. Installing any script will use one of your available MySQL databases. Removing any script will free up one of your used MySQL databases.

Click on any of the items on the left to get more details.”

You’ll see that the left hand column contains the names of categorized applications. Once a program name is clicked a small explanatory paragraph opens in the right hand panel. There is a short description, a link to the actual site that manages the program, a link to the support forum, and the “new installation” button. This is also where you would see previous WordPress installations.

So, here’s what makes Fantastico so fantastic. I’ll post screen shots and time how fast it takes to install a new WordPress blog.

After I’ve clicked new installation from the WordPress description I’ve got a few details to add before the site can be configured. Although each point of information can be changed at a later time, the directory is the only thing that I’d say don’t change as it’s not easy to do. Other than that you can change the title, description, user name, password, etc. from the WordPress admin page.

This is the second screen, it tells you that the database which will run the program has been created and where you are installing the blog.

The third and final screen tells you that the installation was successful and how and where to access the site and administrative login page. I’ve not posted a picture as it shows some of my server details. Stop your watches…... Under two minutes and I’ve got a new blog!

I’ll gladly write posts on how to install these applications through Fantastico. I’ll wait and look for comments to this post. Even if there’s just one I’ll put something together.

Here’s a list of applications that you can automatically install, with any examples that I currently run (they add more as time goes on and update versions as well, updates are as easy as the installation). To find more information about a given application you can google the title.

• Blogs
• b2evolution
• Nucleus
• pMachine Free
• WordPress
• www.technology4teachers.org
• www.seanmartinson.com/lsirvio
• www.seanmartinson.com/mgephart
• www.seanmartinson.com/news
• Content Management
• Drupal
• Geeklog
• Joomla
• www.seanmartinson.org
• Mambo Open Source
• PHP-Nuke
• phpWCMS
• phpWebSite
• Post-Nuke
• TYPO3
• Xoops
• Customer Relationship
• For those involved in Tech Support I highly recommend running one of these programs to identify, track, and produce stats for your districts tech support traffic.
• Crafty Syntax Live Help
• Help Center Live
• osTicket
• PHP Support Tickets
• Support Logic Helpdesk
• Support Services Manager
• Discussion Boards
• phpBB2
• www.seanmartinson.com/forum
• SMF
• E-Commerce
• CubeCart
• OS Commerce
• Zen Cart
• F.A.Q.
• FAQMasterFlex
• Guestbooks
• ViPER Guestbook
• Hosting Billing
• AccountLab Plus
• phpCOIN
• Image Galleries
• 4Images Gallery
• Coppermine Photo Gallery
• www.seanmartinson.com/gallery
• This gallery is of my daughter and I’ve password protected it. If you’d like to take a look at what the gallery is either google “Coppermine Photo Gallery” or I’ll give you the password to mine if you give me your name and where you work.
• Gallery
• Mailing Lists
• PHPlist
• Polls and Surveys
• Advanced Poll
• phpESP
• PHPSurveyor
• Project Management
• PHProjekt
• Site Builders
• Templates Express
• Wiki
• I used previously learned skills through the other installs to utilize another program: Mediawiki
• www.edtechwiki.org
• TikiWiki
• PhpWiki
• Other Scripts
• Dew-NewPHPLinks
• Moodle
• Lost my other version (my mistake) here’s the new start: www.edtechmoodle.org
• Open-Realty
• phpAdsNew
• phpFormGenerator
• WebCalendar
• Extras
• Language
• Side menu appearance
• Email notifications
• Installations overview

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Just a few of the reasons why I recommend Bluehost.

[tags]bluehost, fantastico, hosting, education, seanmartinson, sean martinson, technology4teachers, technology, school[/tags]

A quick list of the constraints to using the internet for teaching and learning.

1. Requires access to the internet, proper software and hardware.
2. “Requires changes in curriculum content, instructional practices, and assessment to take advantage of the communication and information storage and retrieval strengths of the Internet, and to appropriately assess the types of learning these strengths engender.”
3. “The Internet is an open system with relatively little control on content or usage.”
4. Teachers need basic computer knowledge.
5. Teachers need knowledge of Internet.
6. A multitude of internet standards
7. Internet usage requires vigilant teachers and filters to restrict inappropriate access.
8. Families with lack of Internet knowledge (increased fear).
9. Time needed to instruct on proper uses of Internet.
10. Curriculum and schedules already full.
11. “The Digital Divide”, have and have nots.
12. Computer access outside of the school.
13. $

The main research article that I used for this post came from ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education). Any “cut and paste” information has been put in “”.

ISTE. ISTE | Research on Internet Use in Education. . 2000. 05 JUNE 2005.

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[tags]internet, teaching, learning, technology4teachers, seanmartinson, sean martinson, iste[/tags]

A quick list of the benefits to using the internet for teaching and learning.

1. Up to date information.
2. “The Internet can be thought of as a natural extension of 5,000 years of progress that began with the development of reading and writing, and has included inventions such as the movable type printing press, telegraph, telephone, radio, television, VCR, and communications satellites (Logan, 1995).”
3. Learn to retrieve information from multiple sources.
4. Students learn to teach themselves needed skills and information.
5. Used as an aid to communicate and collaborating (all over the world).
6. Increase cooperative learning.
7. Access to an extensive worldwide library.
8. Computer-assisted learning.
9. “Research indicates that students benefit from learning to author Web documents (Smith, 1993).”
10. Students are highly “motivated by the opportunity to create Web sites”.
11. Internet projects require use of research skills and helps students to “improve their research skills.”
12. Internet projects require higher order thinking skills.
13. Increase of knowledge and skill when creating web projects.
14. Increase community of learning, not just teacher centered and directed.

The main research article that I used for this post came from ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education). Any “cut and paste” information has been put in “”.

ISTE. ISTE | Research on Internet Use in Education. 2000. 05 JUNE 2005.

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[tags]internet, teaching, learning, technology4teachers, seanmartinson, sean martinson, iste[/tags]

Sites Discussed:

· Atomic Learning, “Atomic Learning provides software training using a unique, just-in-time approach. Our library of thousands of short tutorials on dozens of applications are focused on answering the common questions teachers, students and anyone else may have when learning software. We like to call them “atoms of learning” and they are easy to access whenever and where ever you need them. A subscription to Atomic Learning provides you access to all of the tutorials and other valuable educational resources.”

· Wimba, “Horizon Wimba develops web-based collaboration software designed for online education, language learning and live interactive communications.”

· Tapped In, “The online workplace of an international community of education professionals. K-12 teachers, librarians, administrators, and professional development staff, as well as university faculty, students, and researchers gather here to learn, collaborate, share, and support one another.”

Sites such as Atomic Learning, Wimba, and Tapped In have limited potential at this time in some districts. Some staff are not at a level of proficiency where they would find these tools as time well spent. I can see these, especially AtomicLearning, as springboards into online staff development. Although Atomic Learning is loaded with application helpers, there needs to be more discussion and video tutorial examples of integration strategies. More time on what it actually looks like and how teachers are using technology in their classrooms.

Wimba reminded me much of Tegrity (Found in Desire 2 Learn D2L), I should have preceded that with the fact that I’ve only been a viewer of each and not had the opportunity to create programs with them. These have very strong implications for staff development in general curriculum areas. By integrating this approach into general curriculum we are able to ask teachers to utilize advanced technologies in subject and topic areas in which they are already comfortable. Not only does this show an immediate use which the user can identify with, it can put them more at ease when asked to use this format for a topic out of their comfort zone.

I like how Atomic Learning, and Wimba’s desktop series, allow you to advance to particular sections without having to view the entire file. Being comfortable with typing I like the chat format available in Wimba and Tappedin. Tappedin has readily available tech support if you do get stuck. Once I was signed up and logged in it took me a minute to figure out where everything was (a different look) but with chat enabled I was able to ask instead of having to hunt.

Another obstacle to utilizing these approaches in terms of staff development is technology staff development. The portion that was and is missing in many districts is the time portion. Many districts budget money to technology but neglect to factor in the teacher training component. Time and money are rarely budgeted for teachers to participate in training during school hours or at a rate of reimbursement outside of school hours. Staff are already undertaking initiatives in and outside of school so for many asking them to do more on their own on top of that and what they already take home is just too much.

Having just left the classroom I have nothing but empathy for classroom teachers. One of the largest things that I have encountered as a hurdle to technology integration is the teacher portion. Money and time are not allotted to train staff. It is said that 30% of a technology budget should be used for hardware and software while 70% should be put towards teacher training.

Speaking in broad sweeping terms, many districts do not have tech-savvy teaching staffs. So to get back to the question of barriers to implementing these technologies into staff development: teacher time. Many districts have the hardware and infrastructure to more than support these options but there is and will continue to be little use until leadership places this as a priority with more than words and allows staff time to access this.

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[tags]seanmartinson, sean martinson, atomic learning, atomiclearning, tappedin, wimba, tapped in, staff development, education[/tags]

There are common, and numerous, limitations to utilizing clip art from the web. First of all it is extremely difficult to utilize clipart from the web that does not have an intricate web of strings attached. Most, if not all, clipart collections do not allow for modifications, resizing, or editing of any kind of the artwork. Most do not allow sharing in a community environment such as Napster, or redistributing into new web collections. Although many clipart sites do not have sponsors, users are inundated by banner ads and popups utilized to generate revenue for this “free” service.

A huge issue to clipart usage is the red tape associated with its use. Can you use it, do you have to give credit, does this credit take the form of a link or logo? Other common examples of issues that you may encounter when gaining permission to use clipart from the web are link back issues, and posting advertisements for the site. Utilizing large clipart “warehouse” sites isn’t any easier. Even when you think you have permission to use the graphic it may not in fact belong to the website you have gained it from. Disclaimers and copyright notices are not very helpful either. Clipart galleries and websites have a variety of usage requirements and stipulations in regards to using their information.

To say that clipart is often misused is an understatement. Of all the presentations I’ve witnessed, the teachers that I’ve worked with, I’ve yet to meet a single person who has gone through contacting and requesting permission to utilize clipart they have found online (in that respect many do not use online images or clipart anymore). Copyright and fair use issues are so misunderstood by the general public and educators alike that it is of little surprise that so many fail to adhere to the copyright requirements and/or disclaimers listed on websites.

I have posted a collection of links related to copyright, fair use, and copy right clipart on my bookmark website. Here are two to get you started:

• Copyright & Fair Use Bookmarks
• The Copyright Crash Course
  

Thanks for reading the Technology4Teachers Blog!

Sincerely,

Sean Martinson

sean@seanmartinson.org

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[tags]copyright, fair use, podcast, clipart, internet, teaching, learning, education, technology, technology4teachers, seanmartinson, sean martinson[/tags]

I’ve been working with web design and creation since 1996, and the Wiki is the one tool that has cemented the thought of getting out of web design. I was laughing with another teacher today about the four inch thick HTML coding books we used to by in order to write the sites by hand. The Wiki has done what many have been asking for, for quite a while. The creation of simple content heavy websites is now within reach for those without the tech knowledge to create sites on their own.

The article that I am writing in relation to was published by EDUCAUSE and is titled, Wide Open Spaces: Wikis, Ready or Not Wide Open Spaces: Wikis, Ready or Not by Brian Lamb. The article takes a look at what Wikis are and how they can be used in education. The article begins by discussing what makes a Wiki so powerful. A few points on that topic are that anyone can change anything on a Wiki page, they are simple to edit with simplified HTML, and their content is never finished and always open for update. Although I haven’t found that Wikis are completely WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get), I’d say that they come very close compared to anything else out there. (see www.edtechwiki.org)

So why Wiki? I think, and the author talks to, the wide open ethics of Wikis is in such contrast to traditional writing and education that it’s a breath of fresh air. Another strong aspect of Wikis is that the user define for themselves how the tool will work for them. The possibilities of Wikis are quite literally unlimited from shared brainstorming and sketchpads and informal bulletin boards, to meeting notes and planning.

The loudest objection to Wikis may be the very open nature of the Wiki community. Before I go too much further, much like other web-based applications there are varying levels of security now available for Wikis, the objection no longer applies. For those that do choose an open Wiki community, the community is the greatest safe guard. Although anyone can edit (and ruin for the paranoid) any writing, a community finds that deleting flames is often easier than creating them and that the proportion of fixers is greater than breakers in Wiki communities. Other objections to Wikis are the lack of structure and simplistic designs that sometimes look like beginning websites. These arguments are much like that of the open nature, as the demand and uses for Wikis grow, so do add-ons that fix these perceived deficiencies.

In academics there is a strong support in Wikis for writing. Wikis promote the close reading, revision, and tracking of drafts, while focusing on the process of writing and not the product. The use of Wikis in education falls to the creativity of the users but does meet challenge when trying to move students and teachers into rethinking what education is. For teachers, tacking work and assessing work in a Wiki can become a nightmare. Even with that in mind Wikis are starting to show up in popular course management systems. As teachers relinquish some of the control and authority over classroom activities the use of Wikis is growing in education. Wikis are about ease of web authoring and their uses in education are ultimately up to the user.

I’d be interested to hear if anyone has had a chance to read the book Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms by Will Richardson which talks about wikis in education. I’ve just ordered my copy from Amazon, I’ll post more later if there’s an interest.

One last note, although I’m not big on banners and advertising, you may have noticed the Blue Host and Amazon links on the side bar. They are mainly there for my use but if you choose to use them, great. I’m not trying to hide anything, they do generate revenue. I use the amazon search every time I order books so I earn a little back on my own purchases. The same on the Blue Host link when I work on new sites that need a host. It’s not much but it’s been worth adding them even for my own shopping.

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[tags]sean martinson, technology4teachers, wikis, educational technology, instructional technology[/tags]

Thank you to all of those what have been patient as I put this site back together. This episode was run a couple of months back and discusses Google. I am re-posting the episode for two reasons. One, it’s good information, and two, I’m testing out different RSS feeds.

Watch and/or listen to the show:
Audio Podcast / Video Podcast

Links mentioned in the show:

Searching with Google

• Google Search Features (including advanced features)
• Search Results Explanation Page
• Search Engine Ranking
• Learning How To Use Google

• Google Support Website
• Google Guide
• Atomic Learning

Google Extras

• Google Services
• Google Downloads

How Google Works Not mentioned but good reading…

[tags]video podcasts, google, internet, teaching, learning, education, technology, technology4teachers, seanmartinson, sean martinson[/tags]