The K12 Geek

This gives new meaning to the word hyperlink:
(much thanks to Vicki Davis at the Cool Cat Teacher Blog)

Asterpix enables users to easily create hypervideos and share them through websites, blogs and email. Analogous to hypertext, hypervideo provides an interactive experience by allowing viewers to select objects of interest to get more information or navigate the video.

Links inside video. Nice. Watch this video and notice the dashed lines around certain cell organelles. Mouse over them for references. Think about the applications for the classroom.

It’s an exciting time to be alive… check it out at Asterpix.com.

I found this gem on the Classrooms for the Future listserve.
Diane is a 30 year teacher veteran — Thanks Diane!

CFF,

At some point in my teaching career I took a class where I learned one piece of knowledge I have used so many times in my classroom.  In a nutshell, play and discovery, as small children do so well, is part of everyone’s learning curve regardless of age.  The touching, feeling, turning, making it into a gun, finding something funny about it, finding an unusual use for it, smelling, tasting, observing… helps all learners become comfortable with a new or uncommon object.

Before taking that class, when I handed out protractors, compasses (ugh), graphing calculators (yeah), rulers, etc, I would start with something similar to… now these are not toys, use them appropriately, stop fooling around… I’m sure you get the idea.  But those students would continue to steal time to “play” and I would have such a hard time getting them on task.

But after that class, when I would hand out the same protractors, compasses (ugh), graphing calculators (yeah), rulers, etc.  I always stood back for a few minutes [and even joined in at times] to allow the “play” to take place and the noise level to escalate.  Usually that only took 2-3 minutes and then the students were ready for the lesson.

So, I am thinking I need to apply that piece of knowledge to CFF as well.  The teachers will need time to “play” with their laptops. Perhaps at that first meeting when I distribute the laptops I will sit back for many, many minutes and let them play and discover a little for themselves.  Some will wait, some will venture a little, some will copy from their neighbor,  and others will find all the new Apps by themselves, but they will all start with a self imposed comfort level.

I think this will be my approach with the wiki, blog and moodle, too.  I’ve learned a little play time can never be a bad thing. 

Diane Kline
CFF Coach
Tussey Mountain SD

I know I’m preaching to the choir, but this eSchoolnews article just makes me feel good…

Maine’s vanguard program to supply seventh and eighth graders with laptops, the Maine Learning Technology Initiative, is working to improve students’ writing scores, according to the first in a series of studies evaluating the program.

That’s wonderful news.  I know for a fact that a computer helped me improve my writing in high school.  Yes, it was back in the 80’s, I’ll give you that. But my first little Atari 800xl with the word processing cartridge and a 5 ¼ inch floppy drive dramatically improved my writing.  And just for this reason:

Laptops make it easier for students to edit their copy and make changes without getting writer’s cramp, he said. As a result, students are writing and revising their work more frequently, which leads to better results. And it’s important, Silvernail said, that those skills translated when the test was taken with pen and paper, too.

Ok, so I was a little lazy back then.  It was a royal pain in the neck to re-type something (remember typewriters?!) so many times I wouldn’t put forth the extra effort — and Mrs. Church would get SO mad at me.  (Sorry Mrs. Church – nothing personal.)

Good for Maine — Good for teachers — Good for kids.  It’s win-win all around.

Study: “Maine’s Laptop Program: Creating Better Writers”