Transforming Instruction with "i" Mobile Technology

Happy July 5th Everyone!

Still enjoying the wonderful weekend of the 4th, and catching up with new friends I met in DC at NECC '09 and virtually through Twitter. My latest meet-up includes a great MidWesterner named Scott Smeech from Plano, IL. Scott was part of the Birds of Feather Leadership Forum at NECC and has been sharing and showcasing the power of mobile technology and how it is transforming instruction. Scott has developed an interactive web presence through the portal of Ning located at iear.org. IEAR is all about taking a closer look at the educational value of ITouch / IPhone / IPods in the classroom. I highly recommend becoming a member of this PLN!

Through Scott's multiple web presences- you can feel and see his passion for integrating intuitive educational technology tools with administrators, educators and students to support their 21st teaching and learning environments. I especially like Scott's blog www.smeech.net where Scott is always pushing the envelop with educational leaders like ISTE to improve the organizational setup to further promote collaboration and communication in a large venue. I whole heartily agree with him that the Blogger's Cafe needs to be front and center at NECC, because these learning opportunities to finally meet face to face with educational technology leaders in a highly visible area is priceless. The expanded PLN's conversations, sharing of best practices and strategic planning strategies taken away from the Bloggers Cafe' meet-up are the exact key components all educators and leaders thrive for and need. This new knowledge and expertise will only strengthen K-16 teaching and learning environments, and prepare and INSPIRE our educators and students to be productive 21st century digital citizens!

Thanks Scott for sharing your expertise with me and inspiring me to push the envelop as well!


Visit IEAR - I Education Apps Review for the IPhone and ITouch

My Favorite Web 2.0 Repository List

Here is a Web 2.0 Repository list to find some of the best of the best Web 2.0 tools for educational technology.

Open publication - Free publishing - More web 2.0

Issuu Flip Magazine

Just previewed a session from NECC online from Washington D.C. and learned about Issuu. Here is a final product of one of my trainings for teaching Smartboards I would like to share with all of you!

"Aromas From the Edubloggers' Kitchens"

REPOST: "Aromas From The Edubloggers' Kitchens"

Our dynamic cooking trio of Deb White, Ernie Easter(from Maine) and myself - Naomi Harm(from MN) have started an exciting new project and we would like you to participate with us. It’s called "Aromas from the Edubloggers' Kitchens" and its goal is to help our extended Twitter community preserve and enjoy the wonderful food we have all come to enjoy as a family. *If you would like to PARTICIPATE please email or leave a comment for me below with the following info to include: your first name, last name and email address- thank you!

When families gather together, you seem to find most of the people in the kitchen – because that is where the food is! Most of us have favorite foods from our childhood or others that seem to be served only when someone special is visiting or when visiting grandma’s house. Although all too often a family food treasure is lost forever with each passing of a family member.

The "Aromas From The Edubloggers' Kitchens" cookbook project is a Web site that is designed to help us collect and even publish our favorite family recipes so that we can share and preserve the special food that our family enjoys. The Web site is easy to use and will take just a little effort to enter your family’s favorite foods for all of us to enjoy. We can use these recipes online or even publish a cookbook that we can share and treasure. But first, we need your help.

Please collect all of the wonderful recipes that you would like to contribute. We are looking not only for the dishes served on special occasions, but also the every day meals your family enjoys. Log on to the "Aromas From the Edubloggers' Kitchens" cookbook project Web site using the information below and enter your recipe information into the database. We are trying to have all of the recipes entered by August 15, 2009.

The Web site lists all of the Twitter community members who have been asked to contribute. If you know of anyone who should be added, please send me their name and email address and I will have them invited.

Thanks for participating in the "Aromas From The Edubloggers' Kitchens" Cookbook Project!

Deb, Ernie and Naomi

Smartboard Training in the Elementary

I have the wonderful opportunity this week to work with a dynamic group of Holmen school district teachers of integrating Smart Board resources and tools within their k-5 curriculum. I have found that a lot of our elementary teachers struggle to find specific lessons and resources to support their instruction. This introduction of infusing smart technologies into instruction will be focused on the basics of Smartboard in education, utilizing existing resources and thematic units teachers feel comfortable with, "greening up" their lesson with the visual literacy component of the Smartboard, and how to have students be responsible for their own learning by instilling the opportunities of "student Smartboard coaches" to assist with student driven lessons as collaborative teams.

Some key sites I will share for this afternoon inservice include:
-BBC Schools
-Educational World
-Elementary Interactive Whiteboard Websites
-Elementary Smarboard Lessons
-Engaging Learners the Smarboard Way
-Get Net Wise
-Interactive Whiteboard Resources
-Internet4Classroom Teachers
-Johnny's Math Page
-K-5 Technology Activities
-Learning Planet
-Lee Summit's Smartboard Resources
-Smartboards in Elementary Classrooms
-Smartboard Delicious Bookmarks
-Smartboard Delicious Elementary Bookmarks
-Smartboard Educator Resources
-Smartboard Revolution Ning
-Smart Notebook Lesson Activities
-Smart Online Classroom Resources
-Smart Printable Training Tutorials
-Smartboard Resources PB Wiki
-Smart Two Minute Video Tutorials
-StarFall
-Teachers Love Smartboards
-Topmarks
-Utah Education Network
-Voki
-Whiteboard Rosources

Summer Fun Online Self-Directed Courses Offered

Are you interested in taking a summer online educational technology graduate course? If you are- this is the opportunity for you! Marian University has added five brand new- cutting edge online graduate courses for Summer 2009. Naomi Harm, National Intel Senior Trainer and Marian University adjunct instructor, is the designer of these new courses and will be the online facilitator for each two credit graduate course. Tuition is set for $420 for two graduate credits. (Scroll to bottom of this post for online registration and tuition payment information.)

EDT604 June 5 - June 26

How to Become a Transformed Twitter Teacher (T3) in a Flash

Twitter is becoming an integral part of many digital lives and personal and professional learning networks. This introductory course of "How to Become a Transformed Twitter Teacher (T3) in a Flash" explains how to use Twitter; an online microblogging service that offers a way to share short bites of information instantly with others. This course will explain what Twitter is and how its service is used by individuals, by businesses, and within k-16 education and the classroom environment. Demonstration of how to sign up, send and read Twitter updates (also called "tweets"), and build your own PLN (Personal/Professional Learning Network) of friends. The training will also explore and describe how to get the most out of Twitter by customizing an individual profile, setting options, and tapping into third-party resources that make it easier to follow and send updates. Upon completion of this online course- each participant will receive a cool new "flash" drive.

EDT604 June 5 - July 3

Digital Storytelling in the K-12 Classroom

Change your students' 21st century learning experiences by tapping into the wonderful world of Media Literacy. This graduate course is designed for teachers who are interested in using digital storytelling both in their teaching and to meet curriculum and technology literacy expectations from various subject areas through student presentations. You will investigate Web 2.0 storytelling tools such as Bubble Share, Flickr, Jump Cut, One True Media, Primary Access, and YouTube. You will interact with these sites and share how they can be used in conjunction with Microsoft Photo Story 3 or iPhoto to add visual enhancements to lessons and to add engagement and creativity to your teacher and student presentations.

EDT604 June 12-July 10

Teaching and Learning in the "Flat Classroom"

What does a flat classroom mean? How do you recognize one and how can you create your own embedded with 21st Century Skills? We invite educators who want to transform their learning spaces to include global collaboration in their curriculum to join us for this unique graduate course. We emphasize a hands-on approach with examples highlighting inquiry-based and research oriented technology applications. Featured projects include the Flat Classroom Project, Global School House Network, ePals, Eduscapes, CIESE, TechnoSpud, and Global Education Collaborative. This two credit graduate course showcases innovative ideas for building community and collaboration with wikis, blogs, online social networks, back channel chats, online video collaborations, and other web 2.0 tools.

EDT604 June 19 – July 17

Building and Growing Your Personal/Professional Learning Network (PLN)

Collaborative social networks allow educators to create online communities that support their personal and professional learning. Whether your personal learning network is overflowing or just starting to grow, this graduate course will help you to refine your PLN to best suit your learning needs. We'll lead you to interesting people who advocate for the effective use of technology to improve teaching and learning. We will discuss tips and tricks to leverage the potential of these networks and provide resources to help participants set up their own networks. Participants will gain hands-on experience using social media tools such as Twitter, Facebook, Ning, and Delicious to build professional learning networks.

EDT604 July 10 -August 7th

Web 2.0 Literacy Tools to Transform Teaching and Learning
According
 to
 Wikipedia,
 “Web
 2.0
 is
 a
 term
 describing
 changing
 trends
 in
 the
 use
 of
 World
 Wide
 Web
 technology
 and 
web 
design
 that 
aim to
 enhance
 creativity,
 information
 sharing,
 and
 collaboration
 among
 users.
“

 This
 graduate course
 will
 not
 only
 teach
 you
 how
 to
 use
 some
 of the
 new
 web
 technologies
 that
 are
 beginning
 to
 transform
 education,
 it
 will
 also
 put
 you
 well
 on
 the
 way
 to
 implementing
 them
 in
 your
 practice. The
 tools 
will
 be
 investigating

 include
 image/video editing and production, collaboration, writing and research, converters and widgets, presentations and virtual environments. These
 tools
 will
 allow
 teachers
 and
 students
 to
 express
 their
 creativity
 in
 any
 curricular
 area, and you will learn
 how each of
 these
 tools
 are
 being
 used
 in
 classrooms
 around
 the
 world to meet Information, Communication,Technology (ICT) skills and Notational Education Technology Standards (NETS).

PDF registration form at:
https://campus.marianuniversity.edu/iqweb/forms/CourseRegistrationForm.pdf
OR
You can register online with or without IQ web access at:
https://campus.marianuniversity.edu/iqweb/Visitor/CrsCatal.asp
OR
https://www.marianuniversity.edu/interior.aspx?id=0&ekfrm=7182

Once you have registered through Marian University, you will be given the web address and access code to proceed with the online course work Naomi Harm has created.

Marian University
45 S. National Ave.
Fond du Lac, WI 54935-4699

(920) -923 - 7618

Questions? Call: 1 -800-262- 7426 ext. 7618

registraroffice@marianuniversity.edu

___________

Naomi Harm

NY Intel Training

This week takes me on a journey to Long Island, New York. I am working with a collaborative team to team teach and participate in a National Senior training for the Intel Teach Program course. We are covering three course within three days- yes- brain overload but all is good! The courses that we are introducing to adjunct faculty and university officials include: Thinking with Technology, Essentials, and Faculty Pre-Service Review. Lastly, I am excited to share Intel's new Elements Project-Based Approaches program which will be released this Fall.

Memorial Day Weekend

Ahhh time to relax, reflect and enjoy life's moments over the Memorial Day Weekend. I am writing this blog post as I enjoy a fresh cup of coffee this morning from our family room and am peering out onto the calm and inviting Mississippi River. We have quite a collection of birds that have sought out our bird feeders for an early morning breakfast. A mixture of yellow canaries, a beautiful red cardinal and the delightful collection of ruby throated hummingbirds are actively entertaining our cat Peaches from the deck door.

The outdoor activities are starting to pick up outside. Some of our neighbors have ventured out for an early morning fishing adventure, where others are preparing their speed boats for a mid-day boat excursion. Ahhh it is so relaxing just watching the time go by and to know when one has truly found the most perfect place to live, and to be truly happy with what life has to offer.

I will continue to enjoy the rest of the day with planting flowers in our planter boxes to line our back patio with purple and fuchsia petunia flowers once again. The rich vibrant colors of the flowers adds to the beauty of the whole outdoor setting of our home, making it so welcoming for friends and family members to gather.

Ahhh I love my life, my family and the great outdoors! Take quality time for yourself over this holiday weekend to "smell the roses" and enjoy ever minute of what life has to offer. Naomi

May Madness

Does it ever seem that May can be the busiest month for educators? Well it sure seems like it this time around! Here is just a little insight of my May madness:
*I am in the process of putting the final touches on writing and submitting an EETT grant for seven rural school districts in western, WI.
*Preparing to attend the National Intel Senior training in NY at the end of May.
*Taking two online courses to earn graduate credits for my teaching license renewal.*
Earning a Thinkfinity certification to become an online Thinkfinity field trainer
*We have three graduates in our immediate family by the end of May- son graduating from college as a Network Administrator, son's (very close- and we love her to death) girlfriend graduating as a Veterinarian Tech/Specialist, and our youngest son is graduating from 8th grade- whoo and trying to find balance between family gatherings for all the celebrations.

Can't wait for June to roll around so there can be a little more time to relax and spend time with friends and family, and do a little more fishing off of our dock. Remember take time for yourself to enjoy the moment and the scenery around you, laugh often, and surround yourself and celebrate with the ones you love! Happy May Everyone!

Naomi

Future Technology Conference ~ Madison, WI

This week I will be traveling to Madison, WI to present at the Future Technology Conference (FTC). My presentation "Web 2.0 Literacy Tools to Transform Teaching and Learning" will not only focus on how to use some of the new Web technologies that are beginning to transform education, it will also put you well on your way to implementing these learning strategies within your classroom practice. The tools we will be looking at include image/video editing and production, communication and collaboration, writing and research, converters and widgets, presentations and virtual environments. These tools will allow teachers and students to express their creativity in any curricular area, and you will learn how each of these tools are being used in classrooms around the world to meet content and technology literacy standards.

This Web 2.0 presentation will also be streamed live with a back channel chat for all of you to participate in globally and for a professional development opportunity. The URL will be provided shortly.