i-teach.. therefore i am…

Found an excellent app today for the iphone.

AudioBoo - allows you to make an instant podcast (mp3) and publish it online. Even gives you auto RSS/iTunes feeds.

Yet to try it out in the classroom. My daught did the first one. My podcast URL here: http://audioboo.fm/users/30973/boos.atom

Free. Awesome. 3 minute timelimit on casts.

This is a work in progress from my end – but has had great feedback from my staff on using the ICT Essential Learnings.

The aim was to just present alternatives. Doing it one way? Consider another!

Using the ICT Essential Learnings - a practical approach

Our Director-General (Julie Grantham) released updated code of conduct for Education Queensland employees. Specifically of interest is conduct in relation to ICTs and how we use Social Networks with students.

In my official capacity at the school I am in, this is my understanding of these changes and I will be stating as such:

• Don’t use your personal mobile phone to communicate with a student (verbal/sms) unless approved by Principal or Supervisor. I would suggest if this is occurring, please email your HOD outlining which students/class you use this communication for and for what. Try to keep a copy of the message saved somewhere if you have that facility.

• Always use your school email address to communicate with students – and ensure they use their EQ/school one wherever possible to communicate with you. Some students like to use their personal email address as they rarely check their EQ one. Encourage them to check it, or show them how to forward on their EQ email to their private account to alert them that you have emailed them.

• If you are using video in your class, ensure that you document what context you are using for. Talk to your HOD to let them know if you are.

• If you have students on Facebook or MySpace – get rid of them! This isn’t demoting to limited profile, this is deleting them. My personal policy is no one who has been at school within the last 12 months. This is any school in Education Queensland.

• You have a responsibility to make sure your Facebook/Myspace personal profile is appropriately protected from students and others. If you don’t know how to change privacy settings, make sure you ask someone who does (or google it). This is for your own professional safety and good personal practice also.

This impacts on our ability to use Web2.0 applications slightly – however I notice they have omitted the use of Twitter – this is a good thing, as it may mean the department is considering the official use of excellent tools such as Twitter in the classroom.

How do you feel these changes to the code of conduct acknowledges the way educators work in 2009 and beyond?

The updated code of conduct can be found here

–snip from http://education.qld.gov.au/corporate/codeofconduct/pdfs/code_of_conduct.pdf –

2.2.2 (b) Interactions with Students

• You must discourage and reject any advances of a sexual nature initiated by a student with whom you have a professional relationship, or where a prohibition on sexual conduct applies.Your interactions with students must be and be seen to be professional at all times; that is, you must not engage in behaviour that raises a reasonable suspicion that you have engaged in, or will engage in, sexual misconduct; or that the standards applying to the professional employee student relationship have or will be breached.

• You must not communicate with students using a personal mobile phone, either verbally or by text message unless prior approval has been given by your Principal or supervisor. You must discourage students from such communication with staff. Use of a departmental mobile phone must be for official purposes only.

• You must ensure that you do not communicate with students from a private or personal email address. School or institute policies which allow for communication with students via departmental email should be for official purposes only.

• You must not use personal cameras or mobile phones to photograph students unless prior approval has been given by your Principal or supervisor. The use of a personal or school mobile phone or camera to photograph students must be for official purposes only. Parental or custodial approval must be given for the publication of photographs of students.

• You must not use internet social networks such as Face Book, My Space or YouTube to contact or access present students enrolled in any school or institute.

• If you use internet social networks in your personal time you must ensure that the content is appropriate and private, and that you restrict access to specific people who are not students.

–end snip–

Thoughts?

Just when you thought you had enough twittering.

INQ have brought out their response to the social phenomenon – the INQ Mini

I have to constantly straddle the security vs the practicality restrictions with students using school owned devices. Software restrictions, account and filesystem permissions all constantly ensure that ones time is often spent trying to circumvent the security you put in place yourself.

Enter Portable Apps

Portable apps are applications which can run entirely without installation. They range from pirated versions of Office and Adobe CS4, through to open-source ported solutions like OpenOffice. OpenOffice is an excellent ‘thing’ to have around when dealing with students work. It will open almost any file that you need, from the pesky MS Works files, through to the old school WordPerfect.

Very handy!

Edutopia by The George Lucas (yes, of StarWars fame) Educational Foundation has an excellent resource about the Top 10 tips for working/teaching with New Media.

Briefly summarised, these are:

1. Break the Digital Ice
   • Use Web 2.0 solutions like VoiceThread to get better aquainted with your students.
2. Find Your Classroom Experts
   • Take advantage of your student’s technical KnowHow – ask your learners, who is doing what in their spare time with technology?
3. Get Off to a Good Start
   • At the beginning of the year, use Web 2.0 tools to help students better manage their own learning.
4. Think Globally
   • Turn your classroom into a Gateway for learning about the world.
5. Find What You Need
   • Be creative with your supplies and furnishing. There are a load of US-based examples to put you in touch with corporate.
6. Make Meaning from Word Clouds
   • Use word clouds to encourage lively conversations about words with tools that convert text into visual displays
7. Work Better, Together
   • Use Collaborative workspaces in your classroom.
8. Open a Back Channel
   • Take input on how your class works. Ask for feedback
9. Make it Visual
   • Use visuals to inspire, create curiosity, brainstorm and engage your learners.
10. Use the Buddy System
    • Spend time with your peers sharing and collaborating. We have loads of resources available to us in Education Queensland. Consider the use of the ListServs, ICT Community and the fantastic guys at the Learning Innovation Centre.

Check this document out for yourself. Its excellent!

We use Audacity extensively at school. Unfortunately because of restrictions on the students login, it is difficult to use the LAME library to export the files to Mp3s when created a pod-cast.

What I have found works a treat then is to use something called FlicFlac - this is a single executable that allows you to drag/drop your completed WAV file onto the program, and it simply exports it to Mp3. Super simple!

Further info:
Audacity – http://audacity.sourceforge.net
FlicFlac – http://sector-seven.net/software/flicflac

Not Flexible Learning Spaces.

So what’s the difference?

Stephen Heppell says the main difference is that Flexible Learning Spaces sometimes requires the input of an ‘expert’ to reconfigure the learning space. You might need the janitor to unlock some walls, or a simple cherry picker to adjust a layout.

Agile learning means that the learning space can be modified and adapted on the fly.

Stairwells take on new meaning, (assuming you are not focussing on the WHS aspect) – they can be readily used for a brief amphitheatre reconstruction.

The thing that stood out from the webinar I participated in, was that Stephen said we should even be reconsidering the use of data projectors in the room, because of the technical nature of them at times, as well as their light requirements. Adding lighting control such as curtains or blinds simply blocks a room out and we need students to engage with their environment.

This doesn’t always have practical application, but its certainly some interesting food for thought. He is recommending the use of LCD flat panels – even multiples in a classroom, instead of just the one big screen at the front.

He also talks about the use of mirrors to allow students to engage with the teacher, as well as other learners.

Playfulness, Scale, Collaboration & Mutuality

“Usness”

Other Links:

http://principalville.blogspot.com/2009/08/agile-learning-spaces.html

http://heppelltv.blogspot.com/

Brand new iPod Nano - 5G

Today I got myself an iPod Nano 5th Generation.

I had an ipod classic 5G (the U2 model) a few years ago, and I loved it while it worked – but gravitated towards alternative solutions in the portable mp3/mp4 player space.

I have of late been encouraging myself to give Mac a go. I am a dyed in the wool user of MS/PC based products, but think this narrow mindedness may need to change.

What really got me going with this device, is the new inclusion of a video camera. Now while I don’t have one, the Flip has always been something I can see has filled a real void in this market. Cheap, reliable and simple technology to use to record both voice and video.

Its pretty hard to beat for $188 bucks.

This importance of ‘good-enough‘ I think is an important one. Especially in the classroom.

Now for under $200, a student can have a voice recorder and a video camera. Instant pod/vod-casting at the tips of your fingers.

Small, damn small

Lets look further at this device. Its tiny. Really simple to use. To kick the video camera over, you just need to select that option from the menu. Simply point and click. The main pain I can see with it, to hold it without your fingers going over the lens you need to either hold the razor thick edges, or whack your thumb over part of the screen.

The tech specs state that it will absorbs your surroundings at 640×480 at 30 frames per second. This higher than average frames per second (average being 25 fps) means that its a very smooth video experience.

Using the nano for video inside is a downside. If the room is well-lit I couldn’t imagine it being a problem, but I haven’t had a chance to examine/test this further in a classroom environment, or even in the shadows of a building with bright sunlight nearby. I noticed some shadowing when just filming inside near my laptop’s screen.

Your eye on the world

The lens is small, I guess it doesn’t need to be any bigger, and right next to it is the microphone. This microphone is quite sensitive, but also quite directional. It picks up audio quite nicely from the talent, but if you are speaking while filming it deadens your voice a little.

I haven’t tested it fully for length of time in recording, but from my estimates I think I could get at least 1 hour of record time, which is more than enough for the most avid learner creating content.

The files are easy to access from windows explorer. I was quite surprised that these didn’t show up as video files from within iTunes (even version 9), but you need to enable disk access mode and then browse to it as if it were a flash drive.

Downloading Video from the Nano

It also saves them as MP4, which isn’t a problem in itself, but you can see the user beginning to be locked into Apple’s world. These can be readily converted using a freeware media conversion utility such as Super©

I’ve included below finally a short clip of the video it creates. This is taken in a shopping centre, middle of the day. I think the light levels would be brighter than the average classroom.

Enjoy!

See some more reviews:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohOysT0SCTs

http://www.multimedia-pcs.com/video-comparison-ipod-nano-vs-flip-video-sd/

At times I loath to admit it, but I’m a Microsoft fanboy. I’ve done my dabbling in Linux – it has a very real purpose, I’ve always drifted back to PC’s.

Until now. I fear I may have succumbed to the marketing as I may have fallen in love with Mac. I don’t know how, and at what point I fell, but I can no longer retain my composure over what it appears that they can do.

The 1:1 program I am involved in at school, I’m heavily considering going Mac. I have the Mac people coming to see me this week, and I’m looking forward to it.

One of the main reasons that I think its time to migrate (at least in part), is that it appears the apple juggernaut is unbeatable when it comes to educational technology. I’m going into this with open eyes, but one of the main reasons that I think I will move is I will be forced to examine my pedagogy. As I know PCs so intimately with my pedagogy and delivery, I feel that it might be a good opportunity to re-evaluate my teach practice… Stay tuned!