Remember when you were small and your father/mother used to tickle you until it hurt? Well I was so tickled by what Jeff Giddens had to share with his participants in his GaETC workshop that I implored him to continue flooding my brain with new concepts and ideas even though it grew virtually painful to find space to store all of his incredible resources.

Jeff, co-author of the SEGA Tech blog, is an Instructional Technology Consultant with the First District RESA ETTC in Southeast Georgia. Jeff, and his fellow colleagues, helps educators in Southeast Georgia use technology efficiently and effectively to enhance the learning experiences they provide for their students in the classroom.

I attended Jeff’s GaETC workshop entitled, “Seeing is Believing: The Power of Information Visualization“. Jeff has a true passion for science and technology, and therefore it is no surprise that his expertise resides in the integration of technology into middle and high school science classes. Having met and worked with Jeff at previous conferences over the past few years I was confident that he would deliver rich content and offer concrete examples of how technology can enhance student engagement, learning and skills. To say the least, I was not disappointed.

Information Visualization is a powerful means of helping students comprehend complex concepts. Throughout the workshop, Jeff taught us how to make hard-to-grasp ideas more understandable through the use of visual media. He introduced us to a number of free digital resources dedicated to the creation of 3D models, virtual worlds, and other effective instructional graphics. We all walked away with a multitude of new ideas and techniques for making learning more engaging and meaningful.

I could not even begin to catalog the numerous best practices he shared throughout his workshop so I will just pass on one suggestion: Subscribe to his blog SEGA Tech and spend some time reaching into the recent past by reviewing his archival posts. Oh, and one more thing … you may want to have del.icio.us bookmarking tools installed prior to visiting as you will definitely want to save and share the vast number of engaging resources Jeff has highlighted. Be ready to expand your personal set of technology resources exponentially!

*** Original Blog Post ***

I don’t know if anyone else had the opportunity to watch PBS’s FrontLine Special: Growing Up Online that aired on Jan. 22, 2008. If you missed it, I strongly urge you to take the time and watch it. You can view the full video program series online here.

The program is phenomenal. That’s the only word I can think of to describe the way it hit me. It really opens your eyes as to what is happening out there in our students’ daily lives. The stories/chapters within the program truly amplify just how “out of touch” we are as, so called, “digital immigrants.” It blatantly points out the huge generation gap that continues to exist between adults and children growing up in this era.

So I wonder – how do we protect ourselves? our students? our children? But more importantly, how do we prepare them to live in an online world where there are no true “boundaries” or “rules”?

With all the activity happening online there are no immediate consequences to one’s actions. Kids will say things online that they will not say to a person’s face, for instance insults and threatening remarks. People will post pictures somewhere online for everyone to see that they would never show in real life. We ask ourselves why? One answer may be clear; we have inhibitions for a reason. There are certain places and situations where we should not tell dirty jokes, there are things that you do not allow others to see. However, the internet and online social networking permits and even encourages people to engage in what we have been taught not to do. People can talk nasty and dirty without knowing the hurt they caused by seeing the look on the other person’s face, or getting “red-faced” themselves. Knowing when it’s appropriate to cut into a conversation or when to just listen; knowing what you can say to your best friend verses what you can say to someone you hardly know are all social skills that are developed in “real-life” – face to face – society. The internet makes bullying, insulting, threatening, and picking on or making fun of someone easy to do. Yet, these same acts are very hard to do in person. Therefore, kids are turning to cyber space to engage in these hurtful, disruptive acts.

My questions still remain the same. What now? How do we prepare our students, children and each other to live “protected” and “safe” in an online world?

I know we (the “digital immigrants” – both parents and educators) need to embrace the tools that they (the “digital natives”) are using; including social networking sites (myspace.com/Facebook), blogs, wikis, IM, etc… I have never denied that fact. The first step is to embrace these tools and utilize them in the classroom and to our advantage, yes, but what are the next steps?

What about preparing our students/children to deal with the “dark side” of being online and clickable? How do we prepare “the future” to handle negative, but impactful, situations online? How do we teach ourselves and our students to live in a society where these factors are fundamentally a way of life?

: Top Resources for Parents & Educators :

• NetSmartz Workshop – http://www.netsmartz.org
• CyberSmart! Curriculum – http://www.cybersmart.org
• iKeepSafe.org – http://www.ikeepsafe.org
• iSafe.org – http://www.isafe.org
• Yahoo! Safely – http://safely.yahoo.com
• CommonSense Media – http://www.commonsensemedia.org

: Safe Websites and Search Tools for Kids :

Finding content on the Internet that is educational, entertaining, and appropriate for kids is one of the most important things a parent can do. Bookmark appropriate websites for your kids by searching one of these sites first:

• Ask Kids – http://www.askkids.com/
• Get Net Wise – http://kids.getnetwise.org/kidsites/
• KidsClick! – http://www.kidsclick.org/
• Nettrekker – http://elementary.nettrekker.com/subject/
• ThinkQuest – http://www.thinkquest.org/library/
• Trinity School: Virtual Trinity Website Links – http://www.trinityatl.org/virtual_trinity/links.aspx
• Yahoo Kids! (Yahooligans!) – http://kids.yahoo.com/

: Internet Filtering and Monitoring Software :

• Net Nanny – http://www.netnanny.com/
• CyberPatrol Parental Controls 7.7 – http://www.cyberpatrol.com/
• Spector Pro – http://www.spectorsoft.com/

: Internet Safety Guides :

• Family Online Safety Guide – http://www.symantec.com/norton/familyresources/resources.jsp?title=online_safety_guide
• Keeping your child safe on the Internet – http://www.kidsmart.org.uk/downloads/homeoffice.pdf
• Parenting Online – http://www.wiredsafety.org/resources/pdf/parentingonline.pdf
  

: Internet Safety Online Resources :

• NetSmartz –
  http://www.netsmartz.org/
  NetSmartz® is an interactive, educational safety resource from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children® and Boys & Girls Clubs of America for children (ages 5-17), parents, guardians, educators, and law enforcement that uses age-appropriate, 3-D activities to teach children how to stay safer on the Internet. The NetSmartz Workshop can be accessed at www.NetSmartz.org and www.NetSmartzKids.org. The NetSmartz Workshop was made possible via a public-private partnership with the United States Congress, United States Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, and Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
• NetSmartz Kids –
  http://www.netsmartzkids.org/indexFL.htm
  Through games and activities, this site helps kids understand how to stay safe online, especially when communicating via instant messaging and social networking sites.
• Club UYN –
  http://clubuyn.netsmartzkids.org/
  Club UYN®, the free NetSmartz Kids fan club, offers you one more opportunity to engage your children with activities that will help them learn about being safer both on-and offline. As members of Club UYN your child will have the opportunity to play games, watch animated videos, and download crafts and activities. They can also send in their fan work – poems, pictures, stories, and safety tips to be posted on Club UYN’s website.
• Wired Safety – http://www.wiredsafety.org
  WiredSafety provides help, information and education to Internet and mobile device users of all ages. We help victims of cyberabuse ranging from online fraud, cyberstalking and child safety, to hacking and malicious code attacks. We also help parents with issues, such as MySpace and cyberbullying.
• CTAP4 –
  http://www.ctap4.org/cybersafety/
  The California Technology Assistance Project (CTAP)
  has created an INCREDIBLE resource for students, parents, and educators on the important topic of the awareness of CyberSafety (http://www.ctap4.org/cybersafety/). In addition, CTAP4 has created a downloadable PowerPoint presentation which links to what is perceived as one of the best cyber safety resources and contains video clips that support and teach the issues.
  
• iKeepSafe –
  http://www.ikeepsafe.org/
  The Internet Keep Safe Coalition group teaches basic rules of Internet safety to children and parents, reaching them online and in school. The iKeepSafe.org website teaches children to safely navigate the Internet through a virtual playground, Faux Paw’s adventures in storybooks, an animated video download, and educational games. Educational materials, including worksheets and tests, are also available for parents and educators.
  
• CyberSmart! –
  http://www.cybersmart.org/
  The CyberSmart! School Program develops curricula and training programs for professional development designed to help educators empower students to take full advantage of computers and the Internet. The site contains Internet safety information for students, parents, and educators, and includes lesson plans, activity sheets, downloadable posters, and safety tips.
• Family Education Network –
  http://www.familyeducation.com
  Visit this site to learn more about blocking, filtering, monitoring and tracking software. This site also offers games, quizzes, and articles especially for kids and teens.
• Childnet’s Kidsmart –
  http://www.kidsmart.org.uk/
  Kidsmart is an award winning practical internet safety program website for schools, young people, parents, and agencies, produced by the children’s internet charity Childnet International.

“A Vision of K-12 Students Today” was created to inspire teachers to begin using technology in engaging ways in order to promote the development of higher level thinking skills in their students. Equally important, it serves to motivate district level leaders to provide teachers with the technology tools and professional development training to accomplish this goal.

“A Vision of K-12 Students Today” as featured on TeacherTube

Source: http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=d1296214afd7cc367045

“Digital World… Today’s Teachers’ is about how today’s teachers are changing the culture of education in the 21st century through the use of technology and web 2.0 tools and resources. This incredibly inspiring and thought-provoking video is a highlight of the 21st century teacher working in a digital world. I invite you to watch the video and then ask yourself, “Am I a teacher of today?”

“Digital World… Today’s Teachers” as featured on TeacherTube

Source: http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=9fae5dab3de636b8f130

As always, your comments and reactions are welcome.

I think back to the impact Karl Fisch’s video had last November, when I first viewed it, to what it has become today. It was incredibly powerful in it’s original format due to the underlying reason and motivation that Karl had for creating this presentation (noted in his blog post) – he wanted professional development to have an impact prior to the school year, to not do the same familiar training that led to nothing changing. Now, the new version of the video is even more powerful! It is no longer enough to view the video and be complacent; one must react in a constructive way.

“Did You Know? 2.0″ presents fascinating data and thought-provoking questions. It provides inspiration to make you think about globalization and the information age, it is an evolutionary presentation. Indicative of the “shifts” that are occurring, all the facts and statistics lead to one overwhelming conclusion: We’re connected, so we should be taking advantage of that both inside and outside of the classroom environment!

“Did You Know? 2.0″ as featured on TeacherTube

Source: http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=6f2c2eba77f39993d118

You can find more information on the latest presentation, including suggestions for usage, a link to the various versions of the video, and other relevant resources, at http://shifthappens.wikispaces.com.

As always, your comments and reactions are welcome.

The K-12 Online Conference 2008 officially starts today. It is two-week conference that hosts four sessions per day. It features remarkable presenters with a wide variety of stimulating topics. And the best part… It is totally FREE!

You can access the sessions according to your own time schedule. Presentations will remain available for at least a year, so if you don’t have time now in the midst of Progress Reports , you can watch them later this year.

K-12 Online Conference 2008

Conference Website: http://k12onlineconference.org/

Full Conference Schedule: http://k12onlineconference.org/docs/k12online2008schedule.html

I’ve highlighted a few of the sessions being featured throughout the conference below: (All sessions can be accessed after the date/time listed for your viewing & learning pleasure.)

Never Too Young
Presenter: Sharon Betts
Date/Time: Wednesday, October 22 @ 8:00 AM EST (12:00 PM GMT)

We Like Our Blogging Buddies: The Write Stuff with Blogging Mentors
Presenters: Kathy Cassidy and Patrick Lewis
Date/Time: Thursday, October 23 @ 8:00 AM EST (12:00 PM GMT)

Web 2.0 Tools to Amplify Elementary Students’ Creativity and Initiative
Presenter: Jackie Gerstein
Date/Time: Friday, October 24 @ 8:00 AM EST (12:00 PM GMT)

Games in Education
Presenter: Sylvia Martinez
Date/Time: Monday, October 27 @ 8:00 AM EST (12:00 PM GMT)

Pushing the Limits: Web 2.0 and 21st Century Learning
Presenter: Aimee Stoffel
Date/Time: Wednesday, October 29 @ 8:00 AM EST (12:00 PM GMT)

Connecting Classrooms Across Continents: Planning and Implementing Globally Collaborative ProjectsPresenters: Kim Cofino and Jen Wagner
Date/Time: Wednesday, October 29 @ 8:00 AM EST (12:00 PM GMT)

Parental Engagement in the 21st Century – Leveraging web 2.0 tools to engage parents in non-traditional ways
Presenters: Lorna Costantini and Matt Montagne
Date/Time: Friday, October 31 @ 8:00 AM EST (12:00 PM GMT)

With the upcoming Presidential Election, below you will find some featured websites that can help you and your students get up to speed on the candidates and the election process before the big election day in November.

BrainPOP Spotlight: Election ‘08

URL: http://www.brainpop.com/election/

Description:

BrainPOP! instructional video with links to the following related resources: a quiz, experiment, printable activities, graphic organizer, timeline, and FYI area.

BrainPOP Election Topics:

* Presidential Election – How does America choose its leader?

http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/usgovernmentandlaw/presidentialelection

* Voting – Stand And Be Counted!

http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/usgovernmentandlaw/voting/

* Primaries & Caucuses – Choosing a Presidential Nominee

http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/usgovernmentandlaw/primariesandcaucuses/

* Presidential Power – What does the U.S. President do?

http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/usgovernmentandlaw/presidentialpower/

* Political Beliefs – Where do you stand on the issues?

http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/usgovernmentandlaw/politicalbeliefs/

* Political Parties – Learn the differences between democrats and republicans!

http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/usgovernmentandlaw/politicalparties/

BrainPOP jr.: Election ’08 – K-3 Election Resources

URL: http://www.brainpopjr.com/socialstudies/government/
Description:

BrainPOP jr. instructional video with links to the following related resources: game, printable activity, Belly Up comic, Pop-a-Joke, word wall, hard quiz, easy quiz, draw about it, write about it, read about it, talk about it, and ideas for grown-ups – teacher resources.

BrainPOP jr. Election Topics:

* President

http://www.brainpopjr.com/socialstudies/government/president/

* Rights and Responsibilities

http://www.brainpopjr.com/socialstudies/government/rightsandresponsibilities/

* U.S. Symbols

http://www.brainpopjr.com/socialstudies/government/ussymbols/

* Local and State Governments

http://www.brainpopjr.com/socialstudies/government/localandstategovernments/

Nickelodeon: Kids Pick the President

URL: http://www.nick.com/kpp/

Description:

Interactive website for kids to explore the 2008 US Presidential Elections. This site is hosted by the journalist, Linda Elerbee. It includes: polls, meet the candidates, how we eect a President, a message board and much more!

Related Information:

* For full details on the Kids Pick the President campaign and to view Nick News with Linda Ellerbee: Election Issues 08 visit www.nick.com/kpp! Click here for the Election Issues 08 lesson plan!

* Go to TurboNick.com to view Nick News with Linda Ellerbee: The Kids’ Primary. Click here for the Kids’ Primary lesson plan!

* Cable in the Classroom’s eLECTIONS game: Inspired by the classic board game The Game of Life, players will role-play their own virtual candidates running for President. The one or two-player game is both genuinely entertaining and genuinely educational-with emphasis on delivering a fun learning experience. Play here à Cable in the Classrooms eLECTIONS game!

Scholastic News Countdown to Election 2008

URL: http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/indepth/election2008.htm

Description:

Loads of information and activities, including: lesson plans, web hunts, meet the candidates, news boards, blogs by Scholastic Kid Reporters, podcasts, games and quizzes.

Games & Quizzes:

* Create a Campaign Poster – How would you get your message to the voters? Design (and then print) your ideas here.

* You’re the Candidate – You’re running for President. Do you have what it takes to win? Find out!

* You’re the President – You make the decisions and talk to the press. Print out the resulting news story to see how you fared as President of the United States.

* Guess Where the Candidates Stand – Can you guess who the candidate is based on where they stand on important issues?

Time Magazine for Kids: Election Connection 2008

Kid’s Site URL: http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/election08/

Teacher’s Site URL: http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/teachers

Description:

Kids Site Activities:

* Path to the Presidency – This short activities shows the 8 steps to the presidency in a nice graphical timeline.

* Electionary – A great dictionary of election and political terms that they can reference and learn.

* Campaign Games – This section of Time for Kids offers to games for students to explore the presidential election. The first game is called

* “Be the Nominee” – Students answer presidential trivia questions on their way to the White House.

* “Electoral College Craze” – Students can use the interactive whiteboard and roll over the map of the US to see which states have how many electoral college votes. Then if they select that state, they must answer a question correctly to win that state.

* Meet the Candidates – See who’s who in the race for President!

* Inside the Issues – Where do the candidates stand on the issues? Find out here!

* Kid Reporters – What did our Kid Reporters observe at the conventions? Read about it here.

* Congress Connection – Find and contact your representative in Washington, D.C.!

The Teacher’s Site provides worksheets, mini-lessons and graphic organizers for Kindergarten through sixth grades.

Ben’s Guide to the US Government: Election Process

URL: http://bensguide.gpo.gov/3-5/election/index.html

Description:

These pages explain the election process for Federal officials. Information about specific candidates and their campaigns, party or party platforms, or political races will not be found here.

PBS Kids: The Democracy Project

URL: http://pbskids.org/democracy/

Description:

The online activities are designed for students in grades three to six, with accompanying lesson plans for language arts (LA), social studies (SS), and math (M) teachers.

Online Activities:

* How Does Government Affect Me?: A virtual tour of a town’s buildings, roads, and parks teaches kids how federal, state, and local government decisions directly impact their community. This activity also provides a basic understanding of the branches of the federal government and balance of power.

* President For A Day: This activity provides a job description for the presidency, so students understand what kinds of skills and competencies are necessary in that office. Students have the opportunity to role play the president for a day, making decisions about different events that a president might actually experience (meetings with Cabinet members, speeches to the public, bowling in the White House).

* Inside The Voting Booth: This activity introduces students to the history of suffrage in America, through the “Voting Time Machine,” which presents case studies from different decades. Students also anticipate the time when they will be able to vote, through a customized, printable voter registration card, which also asks them to identify the issues they think are most important today.

Find more information about the educational goals for each online activity; lesson plans for each activity; curriculum standards related to this content; and the teachers who wrote the lesson plans at: http://pbskids.org/democracy/educators/index.html

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Nothing like finishing at the last possible second! Shelley has without a doubt created an exceptional and powerful course for educators. My goal is to encourage every single faculty, staff and administrative member of our school community to complete this course at some point. I would try to have them all complete it at one time, but that would be suicide – Death by Mentoring Overload! LOL… just teasing… sort of. I am looking forward to just focusing on mentoring during the Summer 2008 course though, rather than mentoring as well as participating simultaneously. I often fell behind on my own course work because I was focusing on helping my fellow Trinity teachers (participants) to succeed, develop and learn throughout the course. It became an psychological strain on me to know how far behind I was while all of my “mentees” were succeeding and keeping up so well! I am however extremely proud of each and every one of them. They all worked incredibly hard and were genuinely excited about everything they were learning throughout the past twelve weeks. It’s amazing to see the excitement spread and watch them as they try to engage other teachers around them in to taking in the new knowledge they now have to offer one another. Participating in this course online has helped to develop new bonds and professional relationships among our school participants.  Whenever, participants pass each other in the hallway they will often excitedly ask “What thing are you on?” or shout “Thing 17, baby!” as they slap each other high-fives. It’s so much fun! I hope that excitement continues as more and more teachers participate in this incredible program.

Two of my favorite new tools that I am excited to be taking from this course are ed.VoiceThread and PageFlakes. I have already convinced the Instructional Technology team to purchase a subscription for an ed.VoiceThread community. I introduced it during a faculty meeting a couple months ago and it has taken off! The teachers are totally psyched about the tool and have been creating projects with their students left and right. It’s incredible! PageFlakes is going to be an incredible tool for me to be able to develop technology integration resources that I can share amongst the teachers. I can only hope that it takes off as well as Trinity’s ed.voicethread community.