Communication and Mobile Technologies - Sekai Camera App

Sekai Camera App is a social AR (augmented reality) application that enables users to interact in social communication through digital contents attached to the real world.
By holding up your iPhone and looking through the camera view (just as if you were taking a photo), you will see location-based information (just like digital “post-its”) floating in mid air. These are called “Air Tags”.
Air Tags could be either text, pictures, or voice messages, and users can view, post and also comment on other users’ Air Tags.
We've just started using this app in school in science classes.  Teachers/students are able to post questions with pictures in the air for others to respond.  A few ways a teacher might use Sekai is

• Warm-Ups
• Interacting with multiple classes
• Writing prompts
• Posting classroom responses to essential questions
• Alternative ways to provide agendas
• Field Trips

Users must create an account before using.  Comments on tags may be made by all users in the network and students need to understand the significance of this fact.  Tags can be shared to Twitter and Facebook.

Communication

What?

Global communication projects require participants to make connections with each other using synchronous and asynchronous communications. Synchronous communications involve participants connecting with each other live or at one given time.   This type of communication may be accomplished via text and audio/video technologies.  Skype and FaceTime are examples of video chats while Back Channel websites and instant messaging are examples of synchronous communications involving text only.  Asynchronous communications allow participants to communicate with each other without having to be some where at any given time.  In asynchronous communications participants can collaborate and communicate by leaving messages to a group, editing online spaces that multiple participants have access to, or by sending an email and have full confidence that partners will be able to view, listen to, edit, and contribute to the conversation.  Knowing and understanding the technologies that support both of these types of communications increase the chances for a successful project.

So What?

Using both types of communications have been essential in my career as an educator.  This summer we began a 1:1 iPad implementation that required professional development and conversation around the integration of technology.  Employees of our school district our on vacation for nearly 10 weeks during the summer yet professional development had to occur.  Many teachers, including myself, were away on vacation, attending conferences or simply unable to attend physical classes.  Using both synchronous and asynchronous communications, we were able to hold viable professional development on a weekly basis throughout the summer.  

I first created a Facebook Group for our school district around the subject of iPad applications.  This asynchronous means of communication served as a space for teachers to post links to applications and websites that others might find useful as they began a search of applications to include on the student iPads in the fall.  This Facebook group page continues to serve as a space for thoughtful conversations related to iPads and their use in our school district.  Members of the group did not need to friend each other on Facebook in order to be a part of the conversation.  This act respected the privacy of employees who wanted to separate their personal life from their professional life yet continue to use a communication tool they employees were comfortable with.  The downside of the Facebook group was that not all employees were members of Facebook.  These employees needed to rely on email to communicate their findings and others took responsibility for posting these findings on the group page.

I also investigated methods of synchronous communications that were comparable to Eluminate, the online, collaborative software that provides space for an online class among other means of communications.   Enter WizIQ, an online teaching platform that allows a user to create classes and courses at a reasonable rate, sometimes free.  Each week I uploaded content, invited staff members and held an online class.  Sometimes I held the class on campus and several staff members who preferred to have face to face contact attended in person.  Several staff members attended from the comfort of their own home, asking questions in the chat as the class moved along.  I did quite a bit of traveling this summer so many classes were held from lobbies and living rooms of various cities.  All I needed was a fast internet connection.  And though I considered these classes synchronous because people attended virtually at the prescribed time, all classes were recorded and many teachers listened to the recordings if they were unable to attend due to time zone differences.  I taught ten classes in this manner and thoroughly enjoyed the level of communication WizIQ allowed for our teachers this summer.  

The classes on WizIQ were private but the link to my profile is not.  If you are interested in watching some of these let me know.

Now What?
I've participated in three Flat Classroom® Projects.  All of these projects involved both synchronous and asynchronous communications and I became quite adept at using them both inside and outside of the classroom.  What I'd like to do in the future is utilized Eluminate or WizIQ technologies with multiple classes in a project.  I consider the teacher meetings for these projects, and for these classes, incredible opportunities to connect with outstanding educators from all over.  I'd like to take part in connecting students in a similar manner.  When students have increased opportunities to connect, communicate and collaborate with each other the more equipped for a global, digital world they will be.  I hope to educate colleagues about these technologies, provide opportunities for global collaboration and encourage them to participate in such projects.

FCP Teacher Project Introduction and Global Project Design

I'm embarking on a 15 week course titled Flat Classroom CertifiedTeacher Course taught by Vicki Davis and Julie Lindsey. This course aims to train educators to be able to manage a global collaborative project build upon best practices of student collaboration and co-creation as modeled in the Flat Classroom ®  Projects.  I've participated and written about several of these projects in this blog of date.  hisNow I'm looking forward to 15 weeks of learning along side of incredible educators.

Module 1 is cross posted.  I've been asked to to talk about global project design.  Global Project Design depends on being able to easily connect, interact, and collaboratively work toward a common goal. Pull technologies enable individuals to easily stay abreast of relevant subject matter. The ability to tailor information on the internet and have that information delivered to a user saves time and creates focus.
My PLN has allowed me to learn from others and form ideas and goals relevant to educational technology. My PLN has given me the courage to reach out to educators far and near and join them in projects that meet my goal of globally connecting students. I use Twitter, Diigo, Facebook, iGoogle, NetVibes, Zite, Flipboard, and ShowYou. I try to spend a little time in all of these every day, checking in with my morning coffee and then some throughout the day. And I love teaching others how to create PLN's. It is, without a doubt, the most important professional development I have. And, it is my PLN that has brought me here today, writing my first journal entry for the Flat Classroom Certified Teacher Project.

IPad summer Trainings

IPad summer trainings for teachers are in the third week and we've had a consistent level of interest. I've been using the website WizIQ to host the online classroom since face to face meetings aren't always possible due to travel and prior commitments.

I began the trainings by introducing various tips and tricks that would aid in navigating and personalizing the iPad. We spent some time becoming familiar with the settings, making changes to many of these areas so the iPads were working for us instead of relying on the Apple default settings. Editing mail settings is an area I'd suggest spending some time so that you have access to all of your folders,trash, and sent mail.

The second class was titled "It's Not Just About the Apps - It's all about quality, flexible, individualized learning and access to content. We explored some great websites like Finding Dulcinia, NASA, Discovery Learning, The Kahn Academy, iTunesU, Wolfram-Alpha, Diigo, Flickr, and eBook collections from iBooks, Stanza, etc... Each attendant checked out a website and then used an app called Sonic Pics to relay the content of the website. They shared their movie via email with members of the class. Sonic Pics is a great app to construct a presentation using image, video, and voice.

The third class was focused on developing skills to move toward iPad fluency. I got this idea from having recently read Langwitches, a terrific blog about learning by Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano. In her blog post she writes about learning a foreign language and the need for a learner to first develop skills that lead to being literate. Continuing in study a learner gains competency and becomes fluent in that particular language.  Using the iPad is somewhat similar.

With this in mind we spent some time developing bookmarking skills in Safari and understanding the toolbar capabilities in Safari. Another developing skill is the ability to write, type, cut, copy and paste on the iPad. We practiced these skills in the context of Safari, email, and Notes. Unfortunately, just about this time the WizIQ site went down and the class came to an abrupt end. Such is life with free technology.

The next few weeks will focus on moving toward fluency. Feedback has been positive including requests for activities similar to the Sonic Pics activity used in week 2. Teachers have access to a Facebook group, online recordings and a slew of resources on our iPads Wikipage.

Since I'm typing this post using the Blogsy app I'll need to develop a few skills relating to adding hyperlinks. You see, I'm still working toward developing fluency as well.

dotEPUB for the iPad

DotEPUB is a cloud-based software that can help you convert any webpage, web article, or blog post into an eBook. The software is extremely easy to use and almost to be true for teachers looking to create sharable eBook material by using content from the Internet.

Simply go to dotEPUB and follow the instructions based on your web browser or device. The installation on the iPad is a bit clumsy, but you'll be glad you stuck with it when you see how cool it is to save webpages as ebooks for reading at any time.   New eBooks are created and saved directly in the iBooks app.

Once you have added the dotEPUB bookmarklet to your browser, find some good content on the Internet and click the dotEPUB bookmark to convert to an iBook.

ISTE Press Release

ISTE Announces winners of 2011 SIGOL Online Learning Award

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE®) has named the winners of the SIGOL Online Learning Award. This award recognizes creative teachers for their pioneering use of telecommunication networks to provide innovative learning opportunities for K-16 students.
Award winners were selected from a field of exceptional submissions. Judges sought three educators who created online learning curriculum that extended beyond the classroom to engage students. Among the award winners several initiatives were recognized for excellence, in areas such as digital citizenship, independent study, and global collaboration. Award winners will be honored at ISTE 2011 in Philadelphia this coming June 26-29.

• First Place: Hatboro-Horsham School District, Horsham, Pennsylvania, Valerie Frey, Diane Heitzenrater, Stacy Rotchford, and Andrew Osborne for "Internet Safety 101"
• Second Place: Manitou Springs School District , Manitou Springs, Colorado. Lisette Casey and Toni Olivieri-Barton for "We’ve got Sole"
• Third Place: Two Way Interactive Connections, Janine Lim, Berrien Springs, Maryland, Sue Porter, Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Elaine Shuck, Sturgis, South Dakota for "Read Around the Planet"

In addition to the top winners, the judges also gave Honorable Mentions to the following projects:

• Cordill-Mason Elementary, Blue Springs, Missouri, Gail Bush and Civacon-Kanppco Engineering, Riverside, Missouri, and Chris Boucher, Honeywell FM&T, Kansas City, MO for "Engineering e-Mentors"
• Saskatoon Catholic Cyber School, Reg Nakoneshny, Saskatoon, SK, Canada for "Animation 10"
• Denton Avenue School, Lisa Parisi and Lauryn Tiedemann New Hyde, New York and Brian Crosby, Agnes Risley School, Sparks, Nevada for "Energizing Energy"
• Short Pump Elementary School, Michael Price, Richmond, VA for "Online Social Science Network"
• Geelong High School, Geelong, Victoria, Australia, Gail Casey, Darren Hobbs, Kyla Jacques, Felicity Cowey, and Kelly Roberts, for "Changing Classroom Practices and Attitudes through Online Social Media"

About ISTE
The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE ®) is the premier membership association for educators and education leaders engaged in advancing excellence in learning and teaching through the innovative and effective use of technology in PK-12 and teacher education. Home to ISTE’s annual conference and exposition and the widely-adopted NETS, ISTE represents more than 100,000 professionals worldwide. http://www.iste.org.

iPads and SMARTE Design Coming to Manitou

I'm so excited!  Manitou Springs School District 14 is introducing 1:1 technology next year.  That 1:1 technology will be the iPad.

TO SUPPORT EFFECTIVE DELIVERY OF 21ST CENTURY INSTRUCTION AND CURRICULUM, Manitou Springs School District will provide an iPad to every student in the 5th through 8th grades for next school year. Teachers have already been using the devices to deliver instruction this year, and with one in the hands of each student, the district will move to the next level of technology integration in education.

The district plans to have select classes at the high school use the devices in 2011- 12 to help prepare for the following school year, when every student in grades 5 through 12 will have their own device.

Students will be able to take the iPads home with them to work collaboratively on projects, do web-based research on their own, OR COMPLETE HOMEWORK.  Learning is no longer confined to the hours of the school day; with today’s technology, it can happen at any hour of the day from anywhere.

How will the iPad change learning at MSMS?  Well, for starters it will increase student participation and engagement.  There are so many interesting  apps available on the iPad that excite and engage learners because of the current information they access and their interactive nature.  Learners are no longer solely consumers of information but producers of content.  Everyone can create on the iPad.  The connectivity and portability of the the iPad allow students to connect with experts and learners anywhere in the world throughout the school day.  They allow for flexible and tailored learning.  Students who struggle to get their thoughts written down on paper have many apps to choose from to make this process less laborious and arrive at the same end result.  We're truly moving to a student centered model of learning.

Additionally, the district will be launching the S.M.A.R.T.E. Design (science, mathematics, art, research, technology, and engineering) program for students in 6th through 12th grades in 2011-12. Students will be receiving rigorous instruction and will be applying skills via team-based projects. The 21st Century student must have extraordinary skills in reading, writing, math and science, along with the ability to
create, design, solve and apply. This program has been created to address the needs of the “whole new child.”

Manitou Springs School District – still growing strong!