Course Authoring with SoftChalk

ED 305 students have been learning how to create lessons using SoftChalk. They put a lot of time and hard work into creating a digital citizenship lesson. While all were good, a few rose to the top - thanks for your hard work!!

J.C. - https://www.softchalkcloud.com/lesson/serve/aRhodVWGxvO1in/html

B.K. - https://www.softchalkcloud.com/lesson/serve/i1tOIERenVsNhw/html 

If an educational act is to be efficacious, it will be only that one which tends to help toward the complete unfolding of life. To be thus helpful it is necessary rigorously to avoid the arrest of spontaneous movements and the imposition of arbitrary tasks.

                                                                                                                         ~ Maria Montessori

I humbly thank my wonderful family for their support in all that I do. Robert Robbie Cowan, Robert Drew Andrew Cowan, and Hunter Cowan Hartselle, Decatur, AL

Horizon Report Reviewed

This past week, ED 407 students reviewed the Higher Ed and K-12 Horizon reports. Information learned was presented digitally. All students did a very good job and learned a lot about what to expect in their future classrooms from this very valuable resource.

Top picks for presentation best practices are (drum roll....):

• Miranda Perry: http://www.screencast.com/t/7orKWjfD
• Diane Trout: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkMtobrVLkw

While these presentations are very similar in content and format to others, what I liked best about these is the auditory appeal of the presenter. In both videos, the presenter "talked" to me about the technologies, as opposed to "reading" the presentation.

All submissions needed more zooms and graphics, for a more visually appealing presentation.

If an educational act is to be efficacious, it will be only that one which tends to help toward the complete unfolding of life. To be thus helpful it is necessary rigorously to avoid the arrest of spontaneous movements and the imposition of arbitrary tasks.

                                                                                                                         ~ Maria Montessori

James 1:2-4 ESV 

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

I humbly thank my wonderful family for their support in all that I do. Robert Robbie Cowan, Robert Drew Andrew Cowan, and Hunter Cowan Hartselle, Decatur, AL

SimCity goes Common Core!

With the move to Common Core, we are seeing an abundance of resources emerge that will help teachers successfully integrate these standards into their existing curriculum AND develop new and more innovative 21st century curriculum. One example of this is SimCityEDU that will be launched this March - this common core enhanced version of the SimCity virtual reality game may be coming to a classroom near you!

Get an early sneak peek by signing up for the SimCityEDU beta!

What an exciting time to be a teacher - and an even more exciting time to be a student!

If an educational act is to be efficacious, it will be only that one which tends to help toward the complete unfolding of life. To be thus helpful it is necessary rigorously to avoid the arrest of spontaneous movements and the imposition of arbitrary tasks.

                                                                                                                         ~ Maria Montessori

James 1:2-4 ESV 

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

I humbly thank my wonderful family for their support in all that I do. Robert Robbie Cowan, Robert Drew Andrew Cowan, and Hunter Cowan Hartselle, Decatur, AL

Digital Learning Day: Resource Roundup | Edutopia

Digital Learning Day: Resource Roundup | Edutopia

If an educational act is to be efficacious, it will be only that one which tends to help toward the complete unfolding of life. To be thus helpful it is necessary rigorously to avoid the arrest of spontaneous movements and the imposition of arbitrary tasks.

                                                                                                                         ~ Maria Montessori

James 1:2-4 ESV 

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

I humbly thank my wonderful family for their support in all that I do. Robert Robbie Cowan, Robert Drew Andrew Cowan, and Hunter Cowan Hartselle, Decatur, AL

3D Printed Clothing Hits the Runway at Paris Fashion Week

I thought it was exciting to think about the impact that 3D printing could have in the classroom - but now I'm blown away by the other possibilities of this new technology - how cool to "print" out your "going out" outfit!

3D Printed Clothing Hits the Runway at Paris Fashion Week

If an educational act is to be efficacious, it will be only that one which tends to help toward the complete unfolding of life. To be thus helpful it is necessary rigorously to avoid the arrest of spontaneous movements and the imposition of arbitrary tasks.

                                                                                                                         ~ Maria Montessori

James 1:2-4 ESV 

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

I humbly thank my wonderful family for their support in all that I do. Robert Robbie Cowan, Robert Drew Andrew Cowan, and Hunter Cowan Hartselle, Decatur, AL

21st Century Swing

Today, I will be presenting the 21st century swing at the ASAHPERD Conference in Orange Beach, AL. Come by and swing with us!

For the 21st Century Swing you will need:

1. 5-8 simple 8-16 count dance moves (see the ones for today's event below)
2. Device that videos
3. Website to host videos
4. Computers/devices on which students can view dance moves

For today's session here's what I did:

1. I created 5 simple dance moves and videoed myself and Kelly performing the moves and teaching the moves. 
2. I loaded each simple dance move video instruction onto an Apple iBook computer.
3. I created 5 stations, one for each different dance move. At each station, I placed the computer with the video instruction and written dance instructions.
4. The following steps explain using the jigsaw teaching method - each group member is responsible for learning a specific part of the dance. The group members will reconvene and teach their dance moves. All dance moves will be combined into one dance. Each groups dance will be unique because there is no required order for combining the 5 dance moves.
1. Participants will be placed in squads of 5. Each squad member will be assigned a station to which he/she will go and learn the dance move. 
2. Participants go to their assigned station and learn the dance move by viewing and participating in the video dance instruction. 
3. Participants will reconvene with their groups and teach other members the dance move they will learn
4. Groups will combine the 5 dance moves into one dance - each groups final dance will be unique
5. After practicing the complete dance, groups will perform their dance for the entire class.
6. The instructor video tapes the performance of each group
5. Upon completion of videoing the students, the instructor will upload the videos to a website (personal website, youtube, etc.) where the videos can be voted on by friends, family, etc.

5 Simple Dance Moves used for Today's Presentation:

Bend & Snap

1-2 (knees together) Bend, Bend - while snapping R hand up & diagonally on bend

3-4 Repeat to L

5-6 Repeat with both hands performing overhead snap

7-8 Repeat with both hands performing waist down snap

Step & Snap

1 Step forward on R - snapping arm diagonal toward floor

2 Step forward on L - using the same snap

3-4 Repeat 1-2

5-8 Repeat entire sequence above, but stepping backwards

*May choose to begin sequence again, facing a new direction

R & L Hop and Pivot

1 Hop R foot to the R (left stationary) - arms follow feet

2 Hop L to L - R hops back to middle

3 Repeat 1

4 Repeat 2

5-8 Pivot counter clockwise on L 1/2 way around (facing back)

1-4 Repeat 1-4 above, but starting to the L

5-8 Pivot back to the front, L foot stationary

Grapevine Pumps

1-4 Grapevine to R

5-8 Knee bends while pumping R arm to R diagonally upwards

1-4 Grapevine to L

5-8 Repeat 5-8 above

Step & Twist

1 Step R foot to R - with toe pointing out

2 Step L foot to R - twisting so toes are forward

3-4 Repeat 1-2

5-8 Freestyle

1 Repeat step 1 above, but to L

2 Repeat step 2 above, but to L

3-4 Repeat

5-8 Freestyle

If an educational act is to be efficacious, it will be only that one which tends to help toward the complete unfolding of life. To be thus helpful it is necessary rigorously to avoid the arrest of spontaneous movements and the imposition of arbitrary tasks.

                                                                                                                         ~ Maria Montessori

James 1:2-4 ESV 

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

I humbly thank my wonderful family for their support in all that I do. Robert Robbie Cowan, Robert Drew Andrew Cowan, and Hunter Cowan Hartselle, Decatur, AL

Webtools, Webtools & MORE Webtools

Simple K12 just released an update to their (FREE) ebook titled Hidden Webtools: 11 tools for 2011. The update includes 14 new tools. The book includes examples of many of the tools - and best of all, they are all FREE. Be sure to download your copy today!

If an educational act is to be efficacious, it will be only that one which tends to help toward the complete unfolding of life. To be thus helpful it is necessary rigorously to avoid the arrest of spontaneous movements and the imposition of arbitrary tasks.

                                                                                                                         ~ Maria Montessori

James 1:2-4 ESV 

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

I humbly thank my wonderful family for their support in all that I do. Robert Robbie Cowan, Robert Drew Andrew Cowan, and Hunter Cowan Hartselle, Decatur, AL

Using images legally

Need an image/graphic for a presentation? For your website? Or to add to a student handout? Before deciding on an image be sure it's one you can "legally borrow". Basically there are three types of images you will find on the Internet -

1. Public domain & open source images - these images are free to use, but may require citation or permission to modify or edit in any way. 
2. Copyrighted images - Depending on the license, some images are not open for public use. One example of this is an image of Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse. To use copyrighted, restricted images, you must have written permission from the copyright holder.
3. Royalty-free & stock images - you may purchase royalty-free & stock images to use without restriction both commercially and privately, but you cannot sell or lease these images.

Need help locating images that you can use legally? Check out the resources below!

Flickr - Flickr is almost certainly the best online photo management and sharing application in the world. Show off your favorite photos and videos to the world, securely
Freedigitalphotos.net - Download free and premium stock photos and illustrations for websites, advertising materials, newspapers, magazines, ebooks, book covers and pages, music artwork, software applications and much more. All our free images are of high quality, produced by our community of professional stock photographers and digital illustrators.
Google Images - 1. Go to google search and enter the image search term; 2. Once the results have been rendered, scroll to bottom of page and select "basic version"; 3. Click on advanced search options (top of page); 4. Under need more tools, select images available for reuse; 5. Click on search; 6. Select and open the image as a large file view; 7. Determine if there are any restrictions (should be listed with the image); 8. If credit is required then be sure to copy the URL and image source
Open Clip Art Library - The Open Clipart Library is the largest collaboration community that creates, shares and remixes clipart. All clipart is released to the public domain and may be used in any project for free and with no restrictions.
OpenStockPhotography - All images listed at Open Stock Photography come from Wikimedia Commons and as such "can be used by anyone, for any purpose
Wikipedia Commons - a database of freely usable media files to which anyone can contribute. MP images.png If an educational act is to be efficacious, it will be only that one which tends to help toward the complete unfolding of life. To be thus helpful it is necessary rigorously to avoid the arrest of spontaneous movements and the imposition of arbitrary tasks.                                                                                                                          ~ Maria Montessori James 1:2-4 ESV  Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. I humbly thank my wonderful family for their support in all that I do. Robert Robbie Cowan, Robert Drew Andrew Cowan, and Hunter Cowan Hartselle, Decatur, AL

QR Codes - bringing life to art

Have you ever looked at a piece of art and wondered what the artist was trying to convey, what their message was? Wouldn't it be neat if the artist could talk to you while you were viewing the artwork? With QR does - the artist can!


QR Codes, also known as "quick response codes", have become very popular. They are used to link physical objects (magazine article, picture, art, projects, etc.) to virtual information (YouTube video, recorded message, digital presentation, etc.).

• How do you use them? Generate the code and paste it to the physical object. 
• How do you read them? With a QR scanner app installed on your cell phone.

See how one teacher used collaboration, integration and QR codes to bring new meaning student projects -  Transliteracy - QR Codes and Art.

Want to get started with QR Codes -

QR Code Generators

1. Google URL Shortener - Generate URL Codes for your proojects
1. Insert URL, 
2. Click "shorten"
3. Click "details"
4. Locate the QR code and save as an image file

QR CodeScanners

1. iPhones, iPad & iPod - QR Scanner from the App Store
2. Android - QR Barcode Scanner
3. Blackberry - QR Code Scanner Pro
   

If an educational act is to be efficacious, it will be only that one which tends to help toward the complete unfolding of life. To be thus helpful it is necessary rigorously to avoid the arrest of spontaneous movements and the imposition of arbitrary tasks.

                                                                                                                         ~ Maria Montessori

James 1:2-4 ESV 

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

I humbly thank my wonderful family for their support in all that I do. Robert Robbie Cowan, Robert Drew Andrew Cowan, and Hunter Cowan Hartselle, Decatur, AL

Mind Mapping Tools

Here's a couple of great tools that students can use to help organize their thoughts:

1. Bubblus -  Brainstorm online with bubbl.us. Easily create colorful mindmaps to print or share with others. Almost no learning curve. FREE$$$
2. Mindmeister - Collaborative web-based tool supporting unlimited simultaneous users. Users can create, edit and share maps on the Web. FREE$$$

If an educational act is to be efficacious, it will be only that one which tends to help toward the complete unfolding of life. To be thus helpful it is necessary rigorously to avoid the arrest of spontaneous movements and the imposition of arbitrary tasks.

                                                                                                                         ~ Maria Montessori

James 1:2-4 ESV 

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

I humbly thank my wonderful family for their support in all that I do. Robert Robbie Cowan, Robert Drew Andrew Cowan, and Hunter Cowan Hartselle, Decatur, AL

WatchKnowLearn!

If you're looking for a great video resource, check out Watchknowlearn. They have a wide selection of educational videos arranged by content/subject - and best of all, they are FREE to use, embed, share, etc.

Do you SYMBALOO?

Do you have a Symbaloo account? If not, you are totally missing out on a really cool bookmarking program, so be sure and check it out! And once again, its FREE!!!

One of the great features of Symbaloo is that you can make it your home page - and once you add all of your frequently visited sites and RSS feeds, that's just what you're going to want to do! Symbaloo places everything in one location and its visually appealing - much more aesthetic than the drop down list of "favorites" or "bookmarks" that you have in your regular browser.

Some cool things you can do with your Symbaloo account:

1. Make it your home page (already mentioned, nuff said)
2. View the gallery for shared web mixes 
3. Create your own web mixes, by content type

For how to info, watch this video:

SCRATCH

Check out this totally cool FREE tech tool - SCRATCH - that can be used to create and share your own interactive stories, games, music and art. As young people create and share Scratch projects, they learn important mathematical and computational ideas, while also learning to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively.


SCRATCH was designed with educators in mind and includes "educator specific" information. As young people create and share projects in Scratch, they develop important design and problem-solving skills, learning how to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively.




ScratchEd from Karen Brennan on Vimeo.

Are you preparing today's children?

Mindshift recently reran some of their most popular articles from the previous year - included in this rerun is an article titled How do we prepare our children for what's next. This article discusses the ever-changing face of education and addresses the fact that education has not caught up with these changes, thus students are being failed. In the article 3 suggestions for parents to help prepare their children are given:

1. Experiment with SCRATCH - which is a really cool and easy to use, and it provides great technology experience for children.
2. Embark on a meaningful project - if you've heard it once, you've heard it a hundred times "Project-based learning" helps prepare today's children for tomorrow's world. When 65% of today's grade school kids may end up doing jobs that haven't been invented today, teaching methodologies such as project based learning teach children skills that be carried into any/all careers that they may one day hold. 
3. Learn how to be a responsible digital citizen - The digital world is here to stay - instead of sticking our hands in the sand and pretending that it doesn't exist, it's time that we embraced it and all that it has to offer... with the good comes the bad. Teach digital citizenship and all of the responsibilities needed by today's digital youth.

This article also addresses the culture of fear, 21st century classrooms and more! Read, learn and DO!