June Professional Development: Bb Webinar Experience & iPad Webinar

This month, I participated in two professional development opportunities.

1. Bb Webinar - Models of Blended Learning: What Works for Your District hosted by Blackboard (blackboard.com) & Educational Week (edweeek.org) was a great experience. Although I've presented at online conferences prior, this was the first time I was co-presenting online with Mimi, Johan Canuel (Bb), Pam (Volusia County) on a new on-demand system that I have not experienced before, ON24 Webcasting. Unlike Adobe Connect or Elluminate, presenters were not able to push out links or use arrows, pointers, etc. We mainly used the push to next slide button to progress the slide forward. Questions could be submitted and there was also a chat feature for presenters. Figures for attendance given to me were about 700+ registrations with appx. 200+ in attendance. Overall, it was a neat experience and I enjoyed presenting with Mimi, which allowed for a holistic KS view including campus & outreach programs in one presentation. :) To view the archive or access the PPT presentation, click on the link above.
   
   
2. iPad 1:1 action by Michael Wells, Vallecito Union School District, Apple Education Webinar. I attended this Webinar because I was interested in learning more about how other districts were implementing iPads on a 1:1 basis. Here is a summary and highlights of the Webinar.
   

• I liked how they focused on a consumer-inspired model to service their target learners: 1) students, 2) teachers, 3) parents and 4) global community (being transparent) realizing that implementation by teachers and involvement of parents was essential for success.
• Their main goals that drove this initiative were to increase 21st century skills via 1) differentiation, 2) content enhancement and 3) presentation skills
• They started by giving every teacher an iPad with no expectations but to play around with it and realized that technical support was non-existent because it was very easy to use.
• Apps were one of the best things
• Some favorite apps mentioned included: 1) GoodReader - multi-format display, PD annotation, Dropbox/WebDav, WiFi Transfer to cache Web sites while you're in the area addressing rural students Internet access at home challenge, 2) Air Sketch - 1 to many display allowing for iPad to turn into a whiteboard and see what the teacher is doing, 3) Sonic Pics - allows for digital story telling, class field trips and podcasting, 4) Sadun's Whiteboard - simple "show and tell" for math, quick response system
• If you're like me and wanted to see more frequently used apps for instruction, here is the link that was provided, http://ipad.vusd.wikispaces.net/Apps
  
  

Principals Call for Mobile and Social Technologies in Schools, Article by David Nagel

Here's an interesting article related to a hot topic, social media. As I continue to participate in Web Council and read these types of articles, it's evident to me that we're not the only ones trying to figure out how to provide these tools in an environment that will minimize legal risks because these tools could be quite dangerous if misused. However, on the other hand, blocking these tools may not be a good long term solution. I like how the National Association for Secondary School Principals (NASSP) released a position statement that makes sense. In particular, I like the idea of having school administrators involve students in the creation of policies. Students know how their peers use social networking and would assist administrators with the development of effective social media policies that will allow safe use of social media for educational purposes.

1. The Journal Article: http://thejournal.com/articles/2011/05/23/principals-call-for-mobile-and-social-technologies-in-schools.aspx
2. NASSP position statement: http://www.nassp.org/Content.aspx?topic=Using_Mobile_and_Social_Technologies_in_Schools
   

Florida Educational Technology Conference (FETC) 2011

I always enjoy the Florida Educational Technology (FETC) Virtual Conference every year because there is always something new I learn from the conference. Unfortunately, this year, with the IOC 2011 conference occurring the day prior, I didn't have as much time to dedicate to the live sessions. I sat in the mobile learning session, but missed the others. I hope to be able to view the archives once my schedule permits. I did take some screen shots because the creativity of how they run a virtual conference attracts my attention. This year, similar to last, they had a virtual auditorium set-up. The new addition was live streaming video during the sessions. People pass by the live cameras once in awhile, but other than that, it was pretty cool to see the speakers live. There was also no lag in the connection from my desktop. So no technical challenges. I think virtual conference experiences are getting better and better. :)
















FETC virtual auditorium with live Twitter, Facebook & LinkedIn feed from participants.














Live video streaming feed (right corner) with PPT presentation in the center.

International Online Conference (IOC) 2011 Conference: Going Mobile in Higher Ed Reflections

The IOC 2011 Conference was filled with many take-aways and I enjoyed the specific focus of the conference on mobile learning since this is a hot topic right now and I am very interested in moving in this direction with our learning resources and online courses. I'll be summarizing my highlights for the sessions I participated in. FYI...this will be a long blog post. Enjoy!

Session 1: The Mobile Edu Landscape
by Ellen Wagner

• Definition of "mobile" means many things including personal digital devices in your pocket or purse, working away from the office or campus, working in the field collecting data, ubiquitos computing, unified communications, moving from one academic program to another, issues related to accessibility (section 508).
• Examples mentioned were related to collecting data in the field such as photos, notes or other activities that would be sent to a central site.
• Interesting idea: embedding QR codes and use it as tags linking to Web sites, videos, etc. in a mobile activity
• For those not familiar with QR codes, here is what one looks like. There were several readers recommended by conference participants
1. I-nigma, http://i-nigma.com
2. QuickMark, http://www.quickmark.cn/En/basic/download.asp
• To create QR codes, here is the direct link to I-nigma's code creator, http://i-nigma.com/CreateBarcodes.html

Session 2: Communication Strategies
Reaching Through Mobile Devices by Heather Zink

1. Podcasting was mentioned as a great way for students to access content anywhere, anytime
2. Heather's favorite podcasts include TED, Cooking with the Moms, Manic Mommies
3. Twitter - started exploring with sharing Web links a couple of years ago and has evolved since. She now integrates her Twitter feed into her LMS interface using html coding to involve students and increase communication.
4. Facebook - connected Facebook account with Twitter account to connect with students who had accounts in Facebook
5. Google Voice - provided students with phone & texting option without having to give students a real phone number. This one I haven't heard of before, but think it would be a good idea for our Online Instructors to provide this option to learners.
   

Text Messaging in Online Teaching by Jason Rhode
Integration of Google Voice into online teaching instructions:

1. Set up Google voice account and install app onto iPhone (provides privacy to own cell so students have a fake #, but can reach instructor directly via text message or phone call)
2. Give students Google Voice #
3. Invite students to opt into text messages and request student phone # & cell phone provider (to locate text email address)
   
4. Create list with SMG gateway email addresses (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_SMS_gateways)
5. Send welcome message via Google Voice (can be done directly from Bb or any other email program/function)

Classroom Engagement in the Age of Cell Phones & Social Media by Kyle Bowen

• Hot Seat, a customized interactive area where students could share ideas in the background during a lecture (back channel) was created by Purdue University
• Their main goal was to provide mobile access to students via smart phone, iPad & laptops
• They integrated the ability for Facebook, Twitter & SMS to be funneled into the dialogue

Session 3: Mobile Field Work & Classwork
Mobile Field Work & Class Work by Deb Geis

• Nursing program - used mobile devices to provide reference books to students that could be downloaded and was optional for students.
  
• Pros: Students were able to access references directly in the hospitals during work.
• Challenges: Hospital administrators thought patients would think they were texting and social networking vs. work with no policing. Some hospitals ban cell phones entirely.
• General observation that digital natives seem to be more tolerant of mobile devices in comparison to non-digital natives.

Anytime, Anywhere Learning: Mobile Devices in the Instructional Chemistry Laboratory by Gretchen Anderson & Jim Yocom

• Using lab equipments is challenging. Several options include showing videos before hand to students before entering lab, reading the manual or individual tutoring.
  
• Solution: Implemented customized iPod videos in class to serve as a just in time tutorial
• Tips when creating mobile videos
1. Begin with clear objectives & keep it as short as possible
2. Use close-ups because mobile screens may be small
3. Use a tripod
4. Shoot from a demonstrator's point of view
• They also purchased iPod cards and disabled streaming and Internet to prevent personal usage that may cause distraction during class time.
  

Beyond Foursquare: Library Treks with SCVNGR by Amy Vecchione & Margaret Mellinger

• Both librarians developed a location-based scavenger hunt game using SCVNGR (pronounced as "scavenger"), http://www.scvngr.com/.
• Embedded Google Maps, QR code integration & also included an assessment at the end for biblical instruction. If students completed the challenge, they earned points, which in turn could be used to exchange for t-shirts, coffee, etc. on campus.
• SCVNGR is more of a geo location-based app and participants need to be physically at the location to do the challenge. Another option suggested for those involved with online instruction was to use Google Maps, http://maps.google.com/.
  

The session wrapped up with a good article that was shared titled "What does your iPhone know about you? More than you think...," http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/04/what-does-your-phone-know-about-you-more-than-you-think/237786/

Session 4: Delivery Mobile Content Accessibility
by Janine Warner, David LaFontaine & Brandon Bowersox

• Janine & David are co-authors of "Mobile Web Design for Dummies" and "iPhone & iPad Web Design for Dummies"
  
• This chart that was shared described native apps vs. web apps vs. mobile site, http://www.digitalfamily.com/mobile/app-v-web-Chart.html
• This was mentioned as a good site to go to when designing mobile-optimized sites, http://jqtouch.com
• Lots of good info on how to develop accessible mobile sites in this session, but it was a bit of info overload for me. Since there are plans to integrate Bb Mobile Learn in the future, I think I'll proceed to familiarize with that moving forward.
  

Session 5: Assessment via Mobile
by Kyle Bowen & Ann Bell
Ann Bell shared many samples of using Poll Everywhere, http://www.polleverywhere.com/. I had only experienced using it at a conference, so I found it interesting to see samples of educational use.

An Educator's Introduction to Poll Everywhere You Tube video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZWM2-4Jf4k

1. Free Text Poll – After using geocaching app students answer questions of location
   and cache found.
2. Free Text Poll - during hiring process to anonymously share thoughts, concerns or recommendations
3. Free Text - Surveyed staff regarding Professional Learning Communities
4. Multiple Choice – Class voting
5. Multiple Choice – Check for understanding
6. Have students post questions during a lecture as a backchannel.
7. Have students reflect on their learning or on an activity.
8. Generate student data for use in research.

Session 6: Closing: App Literacy and Top Edu Apps
by Jonathan Finkelstein, Susan Manning, Kevin Johnson

The App party sharing was fun. Here are some favorite apps that were shared.

1. Apple in Education Apps - Web site with categorized apps, http://www.apple.com/education/apps/
2. Buzztouch - allows you to easily create apps with minimal scripting knowledge, http://www.buzztouch.com/
   
3. iPads in Education - blog on use of iPads & eBooks, http://ipadeducators.ning.com/
4. Mind Node - mind mapping app, http://www.mindnode.com/
   
5. LetterTrace - teaches children how to write letters, great for ESL students, http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/lettertrace/id353930588?mt=8
6. Keynote Remote - controls keynote presentation from the iPhone for Mac users, http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/keynote-remote/id300719251?mt=8
   
7. Twitterrific - posts tweets to students easily, http://twitterrific.com/
   
8. Evernote - note taking with geocache software, http://www.evernote.com/
   
9. Voice Memos - internal iPhone app that allows you to do many things from sharing notes about student work to doing foreign language instruction. Can also have students use this function to cover live events and record for class assignments.
10. Word Press - great for blogging, http://wordpress.org/
    
11. MIT site, http://vanished.mit.edu - students are being asked to go to the field and document trees, flowers, etc. for an ongoing learning community

How do we evaluate apps to ensure it's a good investment of our own as well as student time?

1. Locate apps that addresses a problem that needs solving
   
2. Ratings & comments are very helpful from sites that rate apps
   
• iEar.org (I Education Apps Review), http://www.iear.org
  
• App Annie, http://www.appannie.com/top/ipad/united-states/education
  

Summary
What would I do with all this knowledge that I have gained? I'd first share with my team (via this blog) and discuss ideas on how we could integrate mobile learning options for our learners. I also plan to use this blog as a reference when I begin working on mobile learning projects. I'm hoping that we will be able to purchase Bb Mobile in the near future, which will allow access for our team to concretely plan and implement mobile learning options for all DL programs as well as learning resources we disseminate.

Google Web Fonts

Since my husband, Brent, introduced me to the Rapid E-Learning Blog by Tom Kuhlmann 1.5 years ago, I've been hooked. If you haven't signed up for his feed yet, you may seriously want to consider it because he has great tips for those who are in involved with developing online curriculum. His latest post on Google Web fonts was very useful. Now you're even able to integrate nice looking fonts into Web sites by simply inserting an html code you can copy from their Web site. Try it out if you have a chance. To go directly to the Google site, visit http://www.google.com/webfonts.

ConnectYard Adds Social Tools to Blackboard

Sharing an article I saw today from The Journal. I’ve never seen a 3^rd party building block like this before for social media integration with a learning management system (LMS). As educators, we know it's difficult for us to connect with 21st century learners, especially as they are so immersed with social media tools for communications. I think it's a great idea. I wonder if there will be other companies heading in this direction or not. http://thejournal.com/articles/2011/04/12/connectyard-adds-social-tools-to-blackboard-learn.aspx.

I’m sure you’re curious like I was to see what the interface looked like. Here is the link to the demo page. Scroll down and you’ll see a video clip, http://www1.connectyard.com/demo.