Today is the third annual Blog Day. A day to foster more connections between bloggers. A way to get to know other bloggers with other interests from other countries. Here are 4 blogs I recommend, four of which are from a different country, 2 of which are not educators

1. Ewan McIntosh’s edu.blogs.com: consultant, educator, and conference presenter from Edinburgh UK, good source for social media and web2.0 in education
2. My Journey into ITC and Blogging: by Rachel Boyd, educator in New Zealand. Web 2.0 tools and how they are used in a primary classroom.
3. Beth’s Blog: by nonprofit technology activist Beth Kanter; great resources for new, free of Web 2.0 tools. “A place to capture and share ideas, experiment with and publish links about nptech, educational technology, information design, visual thinking, creativity, ICT in the developing world, and much more.”
4. Life is not a race to be finished first: by Allanah King, educator in New Zealand. Another great source for Web2.0 and integrating technology.
5. Lifehack.org: Leon Ho, founder/editor, from Hong Kong; tips on productivity and general life stuff; “This site dedicated to lifehacks. The phrase describes any hacks, tips and tricks that get things done quickly by automating, increase productivity and organizing.”

Technorati Tags: BlogDay2007 Ewan+McIntosh Rachel+Boyd Beth+Kanter Allanah+King Lifehack.org Beth’s+Blog Life+is+not+a+race+to+be+finished+first My+Journey+into+ITC

Download Fusion Finds Podcast #3: Google Custom Search Engine Tool

Show Notes

• Visuwords
• Google Custom Search Engine
• Infinite Thinking Machine: Share and Tell #2 Custom Search Engine
• Educational Bloggers Google Custom Search on SupportBlogging.com
• Free Image Search
• The Ohio Treasure Chest Podcast
• The Ohio Treasure Chest Podcast iTunes Store URL
• The Ohio Treasure Chest Website
• Amaztype

Technorati Tags: podcast edtech k12 visuwords google_custom_search_engine Infinite_Thinking_Machine Support_Blogging Ohio_Treasure_Chest Amaztype

Google Earth now include the Milky Way.

Willard Staff: The YouTube video below will be blocked at school. It is worth the time to watch it elsewhere.

Google Earth is a bandwidth hog and must be used conservatively. It should not be run on multiple lab stations at one time. One suggestion from Google is to access the pages prior to the lesson and your computer will store some of the information in its cache. Then when you use Google Earth in your lesson, some of the data comes from your hard drive, as opposed to the Internet.

Technorati Tags: Google_Earth science edtech geography space

Brian Grenier, who publishes Bump on the Blog posed a wonderful question to the teachers of his district and readers of his blog:

What will your students be creating with technology this year?

I agree with Brian that this is a question that shoots straight to the target. Typically teachers progress through various stages of technology. One of my goals, is to assist teachers in moving along this continuum of technology integration:

1. Fundamental: check email, print files, students don’t use technology in class
2. Productivity: teacher uses technology for classroom management and productivity, creating worksheets, publishing newsletters, creating a class website; students don’t use technology in class
3. Instructional Use: teacher uses powerpoints, video, audio, and images; students don’t use technology in class
4. Student Use: teacher has students using technology in class to assess their skills, and for drill and practice
5. Fusion: teacher has students using technology in class for authentic tasks: to research, create, collaborate, communicate, and teach

Our students should not be just consumers and observers of content. They must be producers of content.

So…what is your response? What will your student be creating with technology this year?

Are you ready to try something new? Check out the Technology Workshops I’m offering this school year. They are listed on the Workshops page of this blog. For your convenience there is an online registration form. Throughout the year I’ll update the dates and times for the workshops. If your schedule prohibits you from attending a workshop you are interested in, all the materials (handouts, videos, slideshows, websites) are available on the web page for that workshop for your convenience. I will be adding short screencasts (videos of step by step directions) that you can also access on-line for more just-in-time learning opportunities.

Technorati Tags: Bump_on_the_Blog professional_development edtech

The third annual Blog Day is August 31, 2007. BlogDay is an event to foster more connections between bloggers. A way to get to know other bloggers with other interests from other countries. On Friday the 31st, write a post describing 5 blogs you recommend. Preferrably blogs that are different from yours in culture, point of view, and attitude. Notify these bloggers and tag your post with BlogDay2007. This is a great way to connect with other bloggers and pass along some link love.

Technorati Tags: BlogDay2007 blogging