Why a list of 19? Cuz that’s how we roll

Every time I run across a blog post that touts the top 5 or top 50 or 100 of anything, I am generally intrigued.  As much as I like to have choices, I also like to have some of those choices already made for me – by someone in the know, of course. I like to think that one or two of the items on that list of top treasures is going to change my life.  Anybody else like me? Anybody?

Everyone seems to have a list of top somethings to quack about, surely we do, too.  Actually, Scott and Linda and I get asked quite often ask about where we learn and do research in order to stay ahead of the herd, so to speak. It’s hard to pin-down the who, what, and how of our own professional development, but I thought that by looking at the top blogs/publications we read might be a start.    

So here is our list of 19 top educational blogs and publications that we read and recommend to others:

1. The Eighth Floor Blog:  Where did you think I would start?!?
2. Learning is the Reward:  Linda shared this blog by local educator, Janice Airhart  “I am a former medical technologist, research scientist, writer, and editor.  For the past six years I have taught Freshman Composition at the local community college and for the past five, I have taught pregnant and parenting teens.  Currently, in addition to continuing at the community college, I am teaching all science courses (four!), junior English, Desktop Publishing, and Creative Writing.  This means a lot of preparation time, but my schedule also gives me the opportunity to immerse myself in subjects that I enjoy.”
3. Teaching Like it is 2999: “ Welcome to Ms. Magiera's Technology in Education Blog: Redefining The (digital) classroom” – another from Linda
4. Classroom in the Cloud: Maybe I missed it, but I didn’t find an About Page on this blog – however, if Linda endorses it, so do I.
5. Innovative Educator:  This is a blog all three of us read.  It has variety and relevance – two things I appreciate! Check this one out. It’s worth subscribing to.
6. Teq Blog: “ Welcome to the Teq blog! Here you will find ideas, tips, and commentary on best practices related to interactive technologies and their integration into the curriculum. We hope you enjoy your time here and will become an active part of our learning community. The blog is written for educators, students, administrators, and anyone interested in learning how to infuse technology into their daily lives and practice.”  We can thank Linda for this one, too.
7. The Pursuit of Technology Integration Happiness:  More Linda!  Michael Zimmer is the author.  His goal is to share ed tech resources and discuss general education issues.
8. Miss Lamb’s Website:  one of our part-time instructors, Kerry Wiley from Broken Arrow, recommends this site as a resource for upper level English teachers. This is a nice example of integrating both a website and a blog. This also uses a different kind of tool, called Weebly, instead of the typical Google Blogger or Wordpress site.
9. Life Hacker:  tips, tricks, and technology for living better in the digital age. This one comes from Scott and has a definite Geek flavor to it. 
10. Teaching Generation Text: Also from Scott.   These are stories from educators, parents, students, counselors and anyone using cell phones to enhance learning.
11. Tech Teacher:  This one is from Shawn Beard from Sand Springs (formerly a full-time Eighth For instructor – still part-time) Thanks, Shawn, for being brave enough to share your own blog.  “This site was designed by a teacher, for teachers. My goal is to provide meaningful discussion on topics related to technology and the classroom and reviews of iPad apps, classroom software, and Web 2.0 Tools. ~S. Beard”  I would like to also add this to my list of recommendations.  Shawn always finds the best information.
12. Problogger:  this is where my list starts.  This blog is a blog for the blogger.  You will find a variety of tips and tricks when it comes to writing and managing your own blog.  Lots of guest bloggers and a list of jobs for professional bloggers . . . fancy yourself one?
13. Read. Write. Connect. Learn:  Will Richardson’s blog.  His focus is on teachers and classrooms in a Web 2.0 world.  I have been reading his blog since 2005.  I am intrigued by his perspective and that he takes the time to share his “big thinks.”  
14. Free Technology for Teachers: by Richard Byrne.  The title kind of tells the story. This site is to share information about free resources that teachers can use in their classrooms. Although the primary focus is technology, that’s not all you get here.  After all, technology is not the only resource teachers need!
15. Cool Cat Teacher:  by Vicki Davis.  This is a widely popular EdTech blog. I think I have been reading this blog about as long as I have Will Richardson’s – they started about the same time and were among the earlier adapters.
16. Social Media Examiner:  “Social Media Examiner, the world’s largest online social media magazine, is designed to help businesses discover how to best use social media tools like Facebook, Google+, Twitter and LinkedIn to connect with customers, generate more brand awareness and increase sales.”
17. Edutopia:  The rest of these are not so much blogs as they are publications that help keep most educators up on the hot topics, etc.
18. Journal of Online Learning and Teaching (JOLT): The MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching (JOLT) is a peer-reviewed, open-access, online publication addressing the scholarly use of multimedia resources in online higher education. JOLT is published quarterly in March, June, September, and December
19. Education Week:  a deep and wide resource.  I participate regularly in their webinars.  Very topical.  “Editorial Projects in Education Is the independent, nonprofit publisher of Education Week and other high-quality print and online products on K-12 education. EPE's mission is to raise awareness and understanding of critical issues facing American schools. It is a 501(c)(3) organization”

It is harder than you think coming up with a list you would recommend to your peers.  The Eighth Floor Consortium is deep and wide – sixty-seven K-20 schools from all over eastern and middle Oklahoma. No worries, though.  There is something for everyone here.

 If you ask us in 3 months, some of these sites will have changed, for sure, but not as fast as technology changes.   

Why a list of 19?  Cuz that’s how we roll.

Just sharin’
Lee Anne

Here's What I Can Tell You About the Flipped Classroom

The last two weeks have been a whirlwind of district requests and roadshows for The Eighth Floor.  I think roadshows are my favorite.  On roadshows, we go out to visit schools during faculty meetings, all school meetings, etc.  We roll into the auditorium (gym, classroom – wherever the meeting is) tell everyone how awesome we are, give them a coveted Eighth Floor notepad, answer a few questions, sign a few autographs, throw the microphone on the floor, and peace out!  We just leave the fog machines on.

Okay, Okay.  It’s not quite like that, but they are fun.  Roadshows are a great way for us to meet ALL the teachers at the school and invite them to take classes.  It is also an opportunity to test the waters, take the temperature, run ideas up the flagpole, you get the idea.

One of our new classes this fall is The Flipped Classroom.  Each time this summer I have asked if folks were familiar with the idea of a flipped classroom, I was a little surprised by the lack of familiarity.  Good thing we are having a class, right!

Here’s what I can tell you about The Flipped Classroom:

• The flipped classroom is not about teaching something new so much as it is about just doing the same thing another way.
• Many teachers take what is traditionally done in the classroom and flip that with what is traditionally assigned as homework. Other approaches are to move classroom discussion online and do more hands-on work face-to-face.
• Everything I have read so far shows improvement in student learning.  (I know – that’s why I said everything I read.)

I thought this blog post was interesting – the survey consists of self-selecting respondents. Take the survey if you are already flipped!

• What do Teachers Who Have Flipped their Classrooms have to Report?
• Teachers with 7+ years are the ones who are using this approach most.
• Science, math, and ELA are the more popular subject areas here
• 95% of flipped classrooms are secondary level.
• If you like infographics, check this one out http://www.knewton.com/flipped-classroom/.

Hopefully, that kind of gives you an idea of what it is.  And probably, you are now asking, so what’s all the hubbub, bub?  Following is not a “fun” resource to read (like infographhics) but it is full of information and resources . . .  and a few pictures. 

User Generation. The Flipped Classroom Model: A full Picture.  Let me share a few of the statements made.  I am curious what thoughts everyone has about this.

• The advantage of the flipped classroom is that the content, often the theoretical/lecture-based component of the lesson, becomes more easily accessed and controlled by the learner.
• Due to Khan Academy’s popularity, the idea of the flipped classroom has gained press and credibility within education circles.
• The problem is that educators, as a group, know how to do and use the lecture.  When educators are asked to replace their in-class lectures with videotaped ones (either their own or others) that learners watch at home, educators may not know what to do with this now void in-class time
• The Flipped Classroom offers a great use of technology - especially if it gets lecture out of the classrooms and into the hands and control of the learners.  As it is being discussed, it is part of a larger picture of teaching and learning.  The Flipped Classroom videos have a place in the models and cycles of learning proposed by educational psychologists and  instructional designers.  Providing educators with a full framework of how the Flipped Classroom can be used in their educational settings will increase its validity for educators and their administrators.

I find the flipped approach interesting, and I am willing to bet many teachers are already doing some version of this – maybe not all the time, but sometimes. I am – without even knowing it.  Most resources I found seemed to rely heavily on the video to deliver content outside of the classroom. That still seems a little passive to me.  I like that video gives some students control in that they can review concepts at their own speed.  However, I am interested in knowing about different approaches to content delivery – for example, putting students in the teacher role.

Again, I am curious what thoughts are out there.  Anything? Anything?

Shawn Beard will be teaching the Flipped Classroom class this semester. 
Try to make it to one!

• Sept 18          T          4:30 – 7:30 pm
• Oct 13             S         8:30 – 11:30 am
• Nov 13           T          4:30 – 7:30 pm

Here is a schedule of all our classes: http://eighthfloor.org/schedule.html
Just thinkin’
Lee Anne

Thanks for a Great Summer Semester - You Rawk!

It has been a few months since the last blog post.  Sorry . . . .   If I just say, “It is summer on The Eighth Floor” will that explain enough? We had another record summer.  In fact, as I look at the raw numbers, I can hardly believe it. We had roughly 2000 enrollments on The Eighth Floor this summer.  There are small colleges that would like to have numbers like that!  We offered 159 classes in 2 months.  You do the math – we’ve been busy. 

It was a fun summer, without a doubt.  We met tons of new educators and got to hang out with many long time participants.  In fact, one of our newest and one of our most perennial participants hold the records for the most classes this summer. Cheyenne Lierly de Castillo from Keifer attended 30 classes this summer.  She just found out about us and couldn’t believe everything available to her.  Needless to say, she took good advantage.  She made a valuable contribution to every class she was in.  Cheyenne has a great understanding of community and collaboration. I was always pleased to see her name on the list.  J.O. McMahon attended 29 classes this summer.  J.O. has been coming to classes for years and I am sure holds the title for MOST classes ever taken on The Eighth Floor. (I need to check on that!) J.O. is another one of my  favorites. He never fails to make me or the person next to him laugh. 

Our most popular class had to be Technology in the Common Core.  We had enormous waiting lists and just kept adding classes!  Part-time Eighth Floor faculty member, Samantha Reid from TPS taught that class for us and did a wonderful job.  Don’t worry, she’ll be doing more this fall.   

Of our 67 consortium members, Tulsa Public Schools racked up the most enrollments this summer – 364. TTC and BA came in a not so close second and third. Yay TPS!  You made a great showing – spread the word.

So, what’s on the horizon for fall?  I am sending the first draft of the schedule in tomorrow.  You should find our fall schedule on our website by August 24^th and the printed schedule should hit the streets right after Labor Day weekend.

We have five new classes this fall – pretty much all by request, too! We love your ideas.

• ·         The Flipped Classroom
• ·         Taking Your Blog to the Next Level
• ·         Publisher 2010: An Introduction
• ·         Evaluating Web Resources
• ·         Excel 2010: Formulas and Data

And if you missed a class you really wanted to take this summer, you are sure to find it on the fall schedule.

Thanks, everyone, for a fantastic summer! 

Just sayin’
Lee Anne

Plan your Learncation with The Eighth Floor

So, where are you vacationing this summer?  For so many educators, hanging out at The Eighth Floor is a vacation in itself.  We like to think of it as a "Learncation".  We are free, close, and easy. 

Check out our summer schedule online.  (Print schedules will hit the streets on May 1st.)  http://eighthfloor.org/

Remember that summer classes fill up quickly.  If there is something on your "must take" list, enroll early.  

Enrollment is open NOW! 

See you this summer - bring your floaties.
Lee Anne

50 Web 2.0 (iPad) Sites for (iPad) Schools

With all the hubbub and bustle around iPads - or as some folks call them, this year's SmartBoards - we are forgetting about the many, many other tools FREE out there for both teachers and students.  

Here's another buzzword . . . Common Core Standards.  The good news is it's more than just a buzzword.  I have heard so many teachers say how much better this is going to be and that they will be able to get back to really teaching.  I agree.  This seem so much more realistic. As many of you may have noticed, there is a technology component to the CCS at every level. I hope that for some of you, Web 2.0 tools will make your curriculum and student learning a little more efficient and engaging. 

Just Sharin'
Lee Anne

Even Culp from ORU shared this post from David Kapular's blot, so I am sharing it forward. 

Recently I've been experimenting with a number of curation sites that are beneficial for creating and sharing lists. While exploring these tools, I've been "fine tuning" my Web 2.0 list for schools. I created a list of 25 Web 2.0 sites for education over a year ago -- but a lot has changed since then. More sites have been developed and more tools are available to students and educators than ever before. This list is in alphabetical order.

50 Web 2.0 Sites for Schools

1. 19 Pencils - 19Pencils is the easiest way for teachers to discover, share and manage web-based educational content with students. A teacher can create quizzes, websites, track students, and more.
2. ACMI Generator - This is a great site for older students for digital storytelling and creating a storyboard scene with a script.
3. Animoto - Create wonderful looking slideshows that includes, video, images, music, and more.
4. Aviary Education - A safe private environment to use Aviary's suite of online tools for: audio, video, and image editing.
5. Boom Writer - BoomWriter is a supremely engaging creative writing website that has students reading, writing and assessing content in ways they’ve never done before!
6. Classtell - A nice site for teachers to create an educational website.
7. Diigo - Social bookmarking for teachers where they can create free student accounts.
8. Dropbox - A great way to share and collaborate on documents on a number of different electronic devices.
9. Edmodo - A wonderful safe/secure learning environment for teachers and students. A nice all-in-one solution for education.
10. Educaplay - A excellent way to create interactive multimedia educational activities.
11. Every1Speaks - A learning platform where students learn through collaborative enquiry-based learning.
12. Gaggle - A excellent suite of online learning tools for filtered: emailing, messaging, forums, and more.
13. Glogster - Creating collaborative and interactive posters in this safe environment. A wonderful and very popular web 2.0 tool.
14. GoAnimate - A terrific way to create custom animations with an educational portal.
15. Google Apps for Education - Does it really get much better than this?
16. Gnowledge - A wonderful site to create collaborative online quizzes, share resources, view others quizzes, and more. Excellent tech support and tutorial videos as well.
17. Grockit Answers - A great teaching tool to create a Q/A session for any YouTube video.
18. Kidblog - A fantastic way to create a safe environment for students to blog in. Everything is controlled by the teacher as a moderator.
19. Kerpoof - Lots of educational activities can be found here such as: make a movie, draw a picture, and more.
20. Kubbu - A free site for teachers to create games, quizzes, or crosswords and then share them with students and view/analyze their results.
21. Little Bird Tales - A wonderful free site for digital storytelling that allows kids to record and narrate their story.
22. Live Binders - Is an excellent site for creating an online binder to collect and share resources with others.
23. MentorMob - One of my favorite new sites for curating the web into learning "playlists." This is an innovative way to teach a lesson, unit, or any given topic.
24. Mixbook - A great site for digital storytelling in a safe environment. Educators get a discount on printed books.
25. Musicshake - Legal, copyright, free music for every student in your school - created by students, right from a browser.
26. Myths & Legends - One of the best free sites around for digital storytelling in a safe environment with lots of characters, themes, and objects to choose from.
27. PhotoPeach - An excellent site for creating slideshows and creating and managing student accounts.
28. PikiFriends - A fun safe environment for online pen pals for middle school and high school students.
29. Pixton - A great way to motivate students by creating digital stories using this comic creator.
30. PresentationTube - A nice windows app for creating presentations out of PowerPoint slides.
31. Prezi - A excellent site for creating zooming slideshows and presentations.
32. Primary Access - A free suite of online tools for students and teachers to create digital movies, storyboards, and other activities.
33. Primary Wall - A real-time collaboration tool that allows students and teachers to create a page of online sticky notes. Great for mind mapping and brainstorming!
34. Skype in the Classroom - A great collaboration tool for classrooms to video or audio chat with other educators and students.
35. SideVibe - Turn bookmarked web content into blended classroom lessons.
36. SlideRocket - All you need is a Google Apps account to use this free tool to creating stunning presentations.
37. SpellingCity - One of the best sites around for teaching and learning Spelling and Vocabulary. A very user-friendly and engaging site to use.
38. Storybird - A fantastic site to inspire students to read & write through the use of digital storytelling.
39. StoryJumper - A great site for digital storytelling where students can incorporate their own art, publish online, share with others, or order a print copy.
40. SymbalooEDU - A wonderful way to organize educational sites into one location for students.
41. Triptico - A great free tool for teachers to help create, share, and edit interactive lessons.
42. ToonDoo Spaces - Create a private and safe environment for digital storytelling through the use of an online comic.
43. VoiceThread - One of the most popular web 2.0 sites around for creating dynamic and interactive slideshows and presentations. Also, another great tool for digital storytelling.
44. Webspiration - From the creators of Inspiration comes this excellent web portal for creating mind maps, brainstorms, outlines, and more.
45. Weebly - Create a free class/student blog or website.
46. Wolfram Alpha - There is now an educational portal for Wolfram's computational search engine. This portal contains dynamic textbooks, lesson plans, widgets, interactives, and more.
47. Yacapaca - A nice free all-in-one solution for schools for creating quizzes, surveys, assessments, and more.
48. YouTube for Schools - Access 1000s of YouTube videos in a controlled environment without having to worry about comments.
49. Zimmer Twins - A great site for digital storytelling with an educational portal.
50. Zoho Wiki - A nice site for educators to create online interactive content.

David Kapuler is an educational consultant with more than 10 years of experience working in the K-12 environment. For more information about his work, contact him at dkapuler@gmail.com and read his blog at cyber-kap.blogspot.com. 

What Has Changed about Web 2.0 in the last Seven Years?

I taught a Web 2.0 survey class the other night – one of my favorite classes to teach.  Discussing a yummy buffet of Web 2.0 tools with them, it occurred to me that this discussion has really changed since the first blogging class I taught seven years ago.  I was so excited about that first class.  I saw great potential for web tools.  However, within the first 10 minutes of that class, I realized I had come to my own lynching. The folks in the room were not there as educators.  They were there as parents, and they were mad and steeped in fear.  Were they wrong to be fearful?   Had every single pedophile moved from the playgrounds and the malls to the internet? Of course not, but the media sure had us going. Now that parents have their own Facebook accounts, I think all but a reasonable amount of fear has melted away. So, no more fear, or I guess  a reasonable amount of fear – that’s a change I have noticed.  What else? 

I asked Linda what she thought had changed about Web 2.0 and she said sharing and collaboration.  Web 2.0 Tools are focusing more on collaboration, instead of being used as stand-alone tools. Additionally, I see students being much more willing to contribute to the conversation both face-to-face and online. They have found their voice and don’t feel as awkward hearing it. I also see people taking on a greater degree of responsibility along with their confidence. You know the saying: what happens online, stays online.

I asked Scott what he thought had changed about Web 2.0 over the years.  He said nothing has changed.  The technology is still the same, but how we use it has changed.  We are more likely to define how it is used as opposed to the other way around.  Well said.  I agree!  (Yes, I just agreed with Scott.) We are definitely more savvy.

What else do I think has changed? Personally, I am learning to let go of the need to read everything that passes me. It’s okay to click on by – but I still have an extraordinary amount of information I want to see/know. So here’s what has changed.. We are learning to consolidate information in manageable formats by using a variety of web tools to aggregate so, so very much information.  And, because we have so, so very much information constantly at our fingertips, we don’t pay all that much attention to a majority of it. We don’t need to – do we?

Here’s why I ask; I came across a tool the other day called BigThink.com. Check it out http://bigthink.com/ . It’s cool.  This group distills the “big thinks” that are out there down to their essence using a variety of multimedia tools.  According to the website, this process promises to help us “move from the information era to the knowledge era.” 

Hmmmmm . . . .  So, let me get this straight. They are taking a large amount of information and presenting the bits and pieces that they think are most important, most worth knowing, into one size fits all snacks. I like that BigThink.com relies on multiple world views to create one that can be easily understood. This supports the idea that information comes from multiple sources, not just one.  But does it get us any further in really knowing? Is the desire to “read” information gone, or just the need to “read”?  What about the desire to think? 

All things considered, being as busy and uninvolved as we are these days, this should be sufficient knowledge – the nugget kind. Just get to the point – that’s all we want.  Bullet points.  Boil it right down for me and don’t waste my time. But wait. Somehow I feel like I am being cheated out of real knowledge, and I am letting it happen.    So, here’s what I took four paragraphs to say, how we interact with information and what we call knowledge have changed. Yes? No? Yikes?  

Oops!  And here I am writing whole paragraphs.  Big Mistake! Ask Scott what he thinks about people who write whole paragraphs. He will say they are wasting his time.  No one wants to read anything longer than a bullet point.

In the spirit of bullet points,  Scott, here's what  . . . naw.  He quit reading this a long time ago.

There are more changes.  Tons.  Some are great, and some are a little scary.  But I feel for the most part, these changes are good, and all in just seven fast years, too.

Just thinkin’
Lee Anne

Welcome to a New Semester on The Eighth Floor!!

I have lived my entire life by the semester. Not by the year, not by the month, and not by the yard, but by the semester.  I get to start anew three times a year. AWESOME!!  Well maybe.  I think what that really means is that instead of experiencing the “circle of life” – you know each year has a beginning and an end and the usual landmarks in between – I am experiencing the “roller coaster of life.” There is a lot of energy that goes into starting anew three times a year!  Luckily, I like roller coasters.

We have certainly had our challenges the last 6/7 months.  We spent August – November as refugees after storm damage closed our floor and stopped normal operations.  Even though we couldn't have classes in our classrooms, we found ways to have them anyway – TCC and TTC really helped out sharing space.  We can’t thank them enough.  During the month of October we offered a “Scratch ‘n Dent” sale.  We had NO idea how popular that would be.  Although it was challenging taking our show on the road every day, we learned a lot about our consortium members, and we hope they know us a little better.

Here we are again at the start of a new semester on The Eighth Floor.  We are back in our offices and no longer sitting on top of each other in one room.  The good news is we can now go back to our quirky work habits and personal tastes in music.  The bad news is Scott doesn’t read us our horoscopes in the mornings anymore.

We are really looking forward to our regular classes starting next week.  We are ready for a familiar routine.  I am excited to check our enrollment numbers every morning to see what classes are filling and which are NOT.  If you are not enrolled, do it.  http://eighthfloor.org/schedule.html Come ride the rollercoaster with us!!

Just ready,
Lee Anne

Digital Tattoos

As you read the title “Digital Tattoos,” what do you image? Are you thinking of a tattoo that is easily removable from your body because it embodies the mythical and ethereal traits of all things digital? Something you can change on a whim?  OR . . . do you think of something you have put on the internet (or has been put on about you) that you can never remove, no matter how hard you work, there will always be a telltale scar? Where did your mind go?

Now, imagine you are a teenager who is still developing a sense of permanency and thinks tattoos are super cool – the more the better – especially the one on the side of your neck.

I have so many things I think about the whole idea of a digital tattoo, that I’m not sure where to start. Making comparison and contrast to an ink, body tattoo brings some tangibility to it – and may also open up some unusual perspectives.

INK TATTOO	DIGITAL TATTOO
It’s art, and beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Tattoo artists do some amazing work – it’s crazy. What better way to celebrate art than to put it on your body.	What one person thinks is a disaster, another may see as a success. Perhaps you want to be remembered as the girl with too much teenage angst.  People have made millions by it. There are some things we put out there that we WANT to stick to us.
The Hollywood myth is that tattoos usually result from a drunken whim. I suppose that happens, but most people I know with body tattoos have thought long and hard about it.	“Tattooing” yourself on the internet is so easy that most people don’t even think about the possibility. Posting a picture or making a blog post takes very little forethought. In fact, there is basically no ceremony at all.
Something you chose to do to yourself. Few people are tattooed without their permission.	A by-product of a hasty or thoughtless action – either by you or someone else.
Most people realize the weightiness of a body tattoo and put much consideration into their message.  You don’t see a lot of tattoos of people puking on themselves at a party.	Although it seems hilarious at the time, you don’t see a lot of people think about how NOT funny a puking picture looks to a potential employer.
A body tattoo may seem like a good idea at the time, but people change. Neck tattoo guy may want to be a judge or spiritual leader later in life – will our society change that much?	Most people are willing to forgive/overlook adolescent or just plain stupid mistakes. We are all human, after all. But the reality is, the impression is already made.

I don’t want to beat a good comparison to death, but I may have.  I’ve run across the phrase “Digital Tattoo” several times, and it has made an impression on me. But, I am an adult.  Do you think the idea of a Digital Tattoo would make an impression on someone who is not yet an adult?

Just thinkin’
Lee Anne