My daughter and I are participating in Project BudBurst. First, I downloaded the Project BudBurst Activity Guide. We then used the provided map to select a plant that we hoped to find in the lot across the street. We needed to find a specimen that hadn’t budded yet, or at least not bloomed. After printing a field guide and locating our plant, we determined the latitude and longitude of the plant. We recorded our observation with a photo, a description of the weather, and the phenological stage of the plant (first bud burst, first leafing, first flower, and seed or fruit dispersal). We will record our observations each day, studying the timing of the life cycle events. The data that we report online will be compared to historical records to document the effects of climate change.

The site for this online collaborative project includes options for classroom participation including Teacher resources and student games (K-6).

Image Credit: Takshi* CC: by-nc-nd
tag: edtech, k12, Project BudBurst, plants, life cycle, phenological stage, science, collaborative project

Registration is open for the new The Shape of Things online project by Jennifer Wagner.

• Dates: April 14 to May 12, 2008 (final project due May 12th)
• Grades: PreK – 6
• Description: Based on the use of triangles, circles, and squares, students will create one project (see the 3 options below) and then upload their images to a class photo album at one of the suggested online photo storage locations. Worksheets and suggested activities are included.

1. Students will create a collage or piece of art using ONLY triangles, circles, and squares. The shapes may be of any size, and use any type of material (paper, felt, plastic, jello, etc) The artwork/collage may also be 3-D. Pictures will be taken of completed artwork and uploaded to the online photo storage location.
2. Students will use digital camera and search their classroom, school, city/town, home for pictures that include triangles, circles, or squares. Pictures will be transferred to online photo storage location.
3. Students will use an graphics program (kid pix, paint shop pro, photoshop, kerpoof, etc) and create a Triangle, Circle, Square piece of artwork. Teachers/students will then upload the images to online photo storage location.

tag: online project, collaboration, edtech, k12, math, art, shapes, photos, graphic, The Shape of Things, Jennifer Wagner

Registration is now open for the online, collaborative project, the Great Egg Roll.

• Project dates: March 24 – April 18, 2008
• Grades: PreK-6
• “We will be rolling plastic eggs! Each participating classroom can choose whether
  to fill the eggs or roll them empty.”
• Other optional activities include a decorated egg fashion show and some worksheets.
  
• Sponsored by TechnospudProjects.com

Image Credit: Mundoo. Check out the Flickr Egg Group for more amazing eggs

tag: k12 edtech collaborative project Technospud Projects Great Egg Roll

Registration is now open for the St. Patrick’s Day Project.

• PreK-3
• “…we will be trying to prove that there are more GREEN CLOVERS (you might call them hats) than any other shape” in a 14 oz box of Lucky Charms.
• “The teacher will visit the RESULT page to submit the Class results with the total CLASS count of each shape between March 12 and March 19, 2008.”
• “Additional activity ideas and worksheets are provided for teachers to expand this project for the entire week.”
• Sponsored by TechnospudProjects.com

Image Credit: Merlijn Hoek

tag: collaborative project St. Patrick’s Day PreK-3 edtech Technospud Projects

Willard Staff: If you are not able to participate in one of the Google Docs workshops this month, or would rather learn on your own timetable, you are in luck. The Fusion: Google Docs webpage offers a handout and short video tutorials (screencasts) to lead you through using Goggle Docs in your classroom.

And, there’s more! If you want to earn 3 Salary Advancement Workshop hours while you work, you can enroll in the free, online professional development, Moodle course: Google Docs. This course uses the handout and screencasts on the Fusion webpage to lead you through the steps. Work at your own pace, when it fits in your schedule, from any computer with Internet access. Just in time learning, at your convenience!
tag: collaboration communication arts Google docs Moodle presentations productivity professional development publish screencasts spreadsheets tutorials web publishing word processor