Thursday, September 27, 2007

Monday, September 24, 2007

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Gaming and Learning: Part One





Taxonomy for Gaming and Learning is located at www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/ajet21/lee.html

Gaming and Learning, Part I
9/17/07

The following are highlights from the Gaming and Learning Professional Development Course Part-I. (Participants – if you need the PPT and did not receive it, let me know.)

Basic resources for Gaming:
Http://del.icio.us/dembe01
http://del.icio.us/seanbanks
http://puritansguidetosecondlife.blogspot.com/2007/06/gaming-and-learning.html


New Tool – Can it make our lives more mobile? It does support social networking and gaming on the go:

http://event.asus.com/eeepc/

http://www.eeeuser.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=1255

Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs) to Learning
Second Life
Teen Second Life
Webkizs
Club Penguin
Bang Howdy
Half Life – Excellent physics generator uses real world physics
RuneScape
StarWars Combine
StockMarket Game
Honoloco
Amazon Interactive
Hell in Vietnam
Art of Murder FBI Confidential

Simulations are another type of gaming and have been used for years. Looking at simulations is exciting because we are beginning to see more and more virtual laboratories appear.

A simulation is an imitation of some real thing, state of affairs, or process. The act of simulating something generally entails representing certain key characteristics or behaviours of a selected physical or abstract system.
Two Types
· Downloadable
· Online

Simulation Game Examples:
Molecular Aspects of Thermal Conductivity
Cosmic Quest
Paper Airplane
Shape Surveyor
The Bulling Game
Stop Disasters
Quest Atlantis
Restaurant Game Project
Robot Constructor
Celestia
Making History Game
Wonderville
Nanoquest
Gizmos
Material Worlds Simulator
NASA Science Simulations
Growing Scientist Virtual Labs
Ph Factor
Rice Lab Simulations
Frog Dissection
Interactive Solar System
DumpTown Recycling
Design Your own Satellite
Science Lab and Simulations


Some Basic Resources:
Virtual Worlds News
Shih’s Mobile Learning Model
Simulator Download
MMMORPG
Top MMORPG’s
Free MMOR’s
90+ Social Game Sites
Basic Interactive Activities



Again these are just some of the highlight I am posting as per your request. We will be going much further into these areas when we meet for Part II. Reminder: We will NOT be meeting on 9/26. Our next class will be in October. It is tentatively set for 10/10 and we are waiting for a room confirmation. Upon confirmation, I will send all participants an email.


Friday, September 14, 2007

Fair Use or Fairy Use Tale

Sean shared this with me today and as a Disney fan, I just loved it. It is funny, humorous and gets the point across well about copyright. This definatly took a lot of time to put togather, but it was worth it!

http://voirdire.stanford.edu/program/centers/cis/fairuse/Fair(y)_Use_Tale_Stanford_Cut-stream.mp4

Regards,
Karen

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Let the 2007-2008 Academic Year Begin!

Let the 2007-2008 Academic Year Begin!

It is the start of the 2007-2008 Academic School Year. Are you trying to decide what your professional goals will be this year? Are you trying to incorporate more technology into your classroom, but do not know where to start? Are you just learning about technology and need a place to start, refresh and explore this wonderful instructional tool? Or, do you just have a love for instructional technology and blogs on this subject?

Well, if you answered, "Yes" to any of these questions, then you have come to the right blog!

I decided to explore some school webpages and other educational websites along with topics that promote 21st Century Learning. Please join me in the followingeducational web tour designed to promote the use of techology in your instructional practice this up and comming school year.

Our first stop on this journey is going to be http://t4.jordan.k12.ut.us/t4/content/view/221/35/. This website is FANTASTIC! It is from the T4 Jordan Schoo District, Utah, USA. They have really embraced the "Transforming learning concept through technology." This website is a definate must bookmark. Here is just a sampling of this websites offering:

How Can I Become A Better Teacher?

Teach Me More About...

Okay if the above does not have you hooked yet on this site, then how about this. Darren Draper, author, designer and creator of Pay Attention works for this school district and created many of its pages.

Please check out
http://t4.jordan.k12.ut.us/t4/content/view/221/35/, the district webpage for copyright educational uses of Darren's Materials.

Our Second stop on this educational journey is going to be http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/edres.html Kathy Schrock's Back to School Resource on the Discovery Website.

This is another fantastic website. To get you hooked and to bookmark this website as a reference for this school year, here is just a small sampling of resources from this webpage:


Our Third stop
will look at great educational blogs on the internet. That is in addition to this blog of course. :-)

Some blogs to familiarize yourself with regarding education are as follows:
The above are just a sampling of educational blogs on the internet. They are a great way to stay connect and find out about instructional technology trends and uses in schools around the country and globe.

Our Fourth stop will be the Kings Park Elementary School in Springfield Virginia. Their website is wonderful for the k-3 School http://www.fcps.k12.va.us/KingsParkES/staff/index.htm. This site offers K-3 teacher resources, Lessons and Activities, Interdisciplinary Units and Web Activities and Resources. It is broken down by grade level K-3. This website has taken time and very careful consideration regarding its development. It is a wonderful resourse for the elementary school teacher. Below is a sampling of what you may find at this website:
As a former reading teacher, the Phonemic Awarness Activities is a wonderful classsroom resource for teachers.

Well, I hope I have provided you with a wealth of resources for your first week back to school.

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Tech Tools 4 Teachers

http://techtools4teachers.mypodcast.com/index.html

Sean and I ventured out today and decided to start a Podcast for Educational Technology. Above is the link to our podcast site. You can subscribe by RSS using iTunes, My Yahoo, Google, Podcast. We will be podcasting every Friday afternoon, please check out our podcast and joint blog - Bits n Bytes News .

Our Schudule:

  • Web 1.0 vs. Web 2.0
  • Great Educational Blogs and Wikis: Must Know Teacher Sites
  • Second Life and Education
  • Social Networking
  • M-Learning Trends
  • Gaming and Learning
  • Distance Learning
  • Data Assistance and the Teacher
  • Who is the Millennial Child?
  • Internet Safety
  • Educational Web 2.0 Sites
  • SmartBoard and the Senteo in the Classroom
  • Year 2007 in Review

Educational Twitters Feed

Maukie - the virtual cat

Teacher Book Wizard

FEEDJIT Live Traffic Feed

Puzzle for your Webpage

Click to Mix and Solve

Google Chat

http://www.pqdvd.com/talkingphoto/blogit.html


blogmyspacedvd to ipod video convertertalkingphoto, dvd to psp convertertalkingphoto, dvd to zunetalking photo album

ClickComments

ip2map - New tool for your blog or webpage. Added 8/9/07

Map IP Address
Powered byIP2Location.com

The New Tool Our Kids are Using on their Social Networking Pages