Testing Poll Anywhere

July 23, 2008

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Bridging ALA and NECC Conferences

July 1, 2008

I wandered into an ALA Videoconference session this morning and it is a cool concept. Glen Warren connected us with some “library types” who are attending the ALA Conference in Anaheim, CA.

We connected with library media specialists to join in a conversation among the two groups. It is interesting in every session when we talk about videoconferencing, Skype always comes up because it is cheap and easy. What do you have to set up in the room to use it with a group of students? I know that you can hook up a digital video camera…how good is the quality?

I still want room-based videoconferencing to be as easy as setting up and using the Wii. It is already as fun as using the Wii, now let’s make it as EASY as using the Wii.

Love what Glenn says that we are constantly faced with the “Tyranny of or. Librarians’ world is filled with and.“

Glen is so engaging and passionate about bringing videoconferencing into the Web 2.0 mix. What videoconferencing (desktop or room-based) brings to Web 2.0 is the synchronous, community-building aspect.

Joan Roehre shared that the “lifeline” to her teacher collaborations are the media specialists in her schools. I also see that with our districts. They have so much to do already, but are passionate about creating amazing experiences for students.

I know that some folks are working on developing the remote NECC concept and I hope that we see more of the spread of distance technologies in conjunction with conferences.

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First-Timer’s First Day

July 1, 2008

I have endured the Monday assault of NECC, including packed sessions, sitting in chairs that are connected to each other, and an exhibit hall that is over “5 football fields” in size. The onslaught of so much marketing hype in a closed space can be overwhelming.

I feel sorta like I did after I was in a car wreck…a bit dazed, a bit sore, and slightly out of sync. (Remember, I work mainly in videoconferencing where we are in our offices with no windows and aren’t around large crowds at a time!)

So my question after looking at all the shiny, new tech is are…where do you start? Do you pick out a technology and then build a student project around it? Do you think about what your student and teacher needs are and then seek to find the right tool to assist with the task?

Now, I am heading out for day 2. We have our session at 2:00 about Curriculum Videoconferencing. My only other agenda today is to find a creative, innovative, original idea. Yesterday, I saw someone claiming that printing PowerPoint slides and making a book with them was innovative…that is not what I had in mind.

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NECC-ish

June 29, 2008

Today, I attended the Constructivist Celebration. We began the day with an overview by Gary Stager and the began working on whatever we chose to work on. Each participant got copies of software from the member companies (Fablevision, GenYes, Inspiration, LCSI, SchoolKiT, and Tech4Learning.

For me this was my learning day. I got to pick something that interested me and then I got to try to figure it out. When I got stuck, I ask others who were experts in working with the software to assist.

My “keeper” from this session is “A prompt is worth a 1000 words.” Then after you make that fabulous, amazing prompt, provide the structure for success.

good problem challenge
supportive environment (including expertise)
appropriate tools
adequate time

Yes, my favorite of the day was Animation-ISH (which we only got a 7-day trial). That means I will have to be playing with it at NECC and then get my full copy when I get home. Here is my sample of what I made today.

I loved listening to Peter Reynolds speak. He was so inspiring and reaffirms why I do what I do.

(Now, I really don’t know how to embed it in my blog, but just click the big, blank box to the left and you can see my work!)

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