Edublog Awards 2009 - My nominations

The Edublog Awards 2009 are open for nominations.

These are my nominations:

Best individual blog - http://teachpaperless.blogspot.com/
Best individual tweeter - @web20classroom
Best resource sharing blog - http://www.freetech4teachers.com/

Digital Literacy Resource

Digital Literacy is an animated, interactive web site that teaches students about digital literacy, safe use of the internet and more. The site is hosted by the Northwest Learning Grid.

The site is beautifully designed with swirling graphics and minimal menus. It starts by asking the student to select one thing that they do on the internet. It then brings the student to a quiz about using the internet for that task.

The quiz asks some really good questions about the internet and it's usage for the task it selected. The site then "grades" the quiz with some feedback and brings the student to a menu of tutorials about internet use. Some of the tutorials go over analyzing web sites and blogs for relevancy, accuracy, and objectiveness.

I found the site to be fun and easy to use with some great information for students.

GetBodySmart - Human A&P

GetBodySmart is an interactive web site that helps students learn about human anatomy and physiology. It has interactive flash animations, tutorials, and quizzes. It is very easy to use and navigate and is well designed with very good graphics.

The content is explained well and would be appropriate for high school or beyond.

I would recommend this to any human biology, anatomy and physiology, EMS or medical class students.

AP Physics Review Site

Learn AP Physics is a great web site for AP Physics students. The site has example problems, topic reviews, problem solving tips, and much more. Students can also sign up to receive a practice problem emailed to them every day and solutions are provided. There are separate sections for AP Physics B (algebra based) and AP Physics C (calculus based).

This site is a "must-use" for AP Physics students.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Discovery Box

Discovery Box is a tool to collect items in a virtual box. The purpose is to provide you the "tools to build up an argument or description of an event, person, or historical period". It is literally a virtual box with different compartments that you can use to sort items that you need for your argument, description, or project. You can display text, videos, audio, links, and more in your box and use different compartments of the box to organize things by different topics.

There are teacher resources, case studies of it in use, and a gallery of Discovery boxes that you can view.

I see it as a tool for students to use when working on a project to collect different resources and information in one place so that they can sort and organize it.

The boxes can be displayed as a project, or the materials gathered can be used in a different presentation format.

(Discovery box is not part of Discovery Education or Discovery Communications)

Creating a Personal Learning Network (PLN)

Graphic from http://blog.misterhamada.com/category/k12-learning-2-0/

What is a PLN? A PLN is a way for you to make connections and share ideas and resources. You have one with colleagues that you work with. You can also have one online where you can reach and connect with educators from around the state, country, and world. Talk about a great resource!

Quotes about PLN's:

@kylepace:Because of this PLN,not only do I grow professionally, but I have made professional connections and friendships around the world

@wmchamberlain: #edchat a PLN lets us access the best of the best, not just someone close by. "Dont I deserve the best?" Gaston

@djainslie: My PLN opened the world to me 'the world is open'

@JasonFlom: PLN's flatten the world, removing barriers to collaboration, corroboration, and general camaraderie.

@wmchamberlain: #edchat a pln gives me hundreds of intelligent people to solve my problem. Whats not to love?

@cybraryman1: A PLN is a collection of interconnected minds that share ideas and information.

Functions of a PLN: Connect - Collaborate - Contribute

Benefits of a PLN: Teachers become: Aware, Connected, Empowered, Confident, LEARNERS!

(oh, and everything listed here is FREE!)

How to get started with a PLN:

• Sign up for an account with one of the resources. Start looking around and find people and groups with the same interests as you.
• Ning-Classroom 2.0, Discovery Educator Network, PBS Teacher Connect and Google Educators Forum are great places to start.
• With Twitter - follow someone you know, like me (@daveandcori) and see who they follow.

Some other educators to follow on Twitter: @rmbyrne, @web20classroom.

• Search for blogs and web sites that cover topics you are interested in and subscribe to them via email or RSS feed. See who they follow and blogs they subscribe to also.

Resources for PLN:

• Ning - http://www.ning.com/ - host collaborative communities.

Classroom 2.0 - http://www.classroom20.com/ - Great site for 21st Century Learning

• Twitter - http://twitter.com/ - interact - 140 character messages.
• Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/ - create your own page - connect with others.
• Myspace - http://www.myspace.com/ - create your own page - connect with others.
• Blogger - http://www.blogger.com/ - create and search for blogs to read.
• Edublogs - http://edublogs.org/ - create and search for blogs to read.
• Slideshare - http://www.slideshare.net/ - find, read, and post presentations.
• Discovery Educator Network - http://community.discoveryeducation.com/ - over 100,000 participants, STAR educators, professional development sessions, blogs and more.
• Delicious - http://delicious.com/ - share web bookmarks with others (and find some).
• Google Educators Forum - http://www.google.com/educators/community.html - discussions about using Goolge's Applications in the classroom.
• PBS Teachers Connect - http://www.pbs.org/teachers/ - discussions, resources, and more.
• Professional Organizations - ex. National Science Teachers Association - http://www.nsta.org/ - most have resources, discussion groups, and more.
• YouTube - http://www.youtube.com - lots of great videos for educational use.
• TeacherTube - http://www.teachertube.com/ - educational videos, documents, audio, and more. Also has a community discussion group.
• Google Docs - http://docs.google.com/- share documents, presentations, and more with others. Create surveys.
• Google Sites - http://sites.google.com/ - create web sites and wikis to share with others.
• Wiki's - Wiki's are interactive web pages that multiple people can edit. It's a great way to have resources and ideas and let people add and comment on them.
• WikiSpaces - http://www.wikispaces.com/ - free wiki hosting
• PBWorks - http://pbworks.com/ - free wiki hosting
• (Google Sites can also be sued to create wikis)

• iGoogle - http://www.google.com/ig - custom, personalized start page
• Google Reader - - read RSS feeds - embed in iGoogle
• Twitter - via Twitter Gadget (works in school) - embed in iGoogle