Monthly Archives: October 2011

Oct 17 2011

OTR Links 10/17/2011

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

By dougpete • Posted in Links
0
Oct 16 2011

Cube for K-12 Teachers

The computer using teacher is always looking for high quality resources.  In an ever-changing technology world, there are always new and better resources available for classroom use.  You just have to find them.

Many of us will use bookmarking services like Delicious or Diigo or a Wiki to collect and share resources.  Another alternative is to look for resource repositories where a lot of the resource gathering and cataloguing has been done for you.  At that point, you just have to search until you find what you need and go ahead and use it(them).  Typically, a good repository will allow you to upload your best stuff to share with others.

Cube for K-12 Teachers is a repository for teachers that went live in Beta the first of October.  While the opening screen indicates that the resource will ultimately be available to all Canadian teachers, at present registration is limited to Ontario teachers.

Upon logging in, you’re dropped into your repository dashboard.  If you’re familiar with large online resources, a place like this is invaluable.  There are so many resources that it may be difficult to track back something that you’ve found.  So, having a dashboard which is a lot like leaving cookie crumbs so that subsequent visits are more productive.

You’ll want to bookmark the good resources into your favourites so that they’re not lost.  From the favourites, you can select up to 30 resources to go "on deck" for immediate use.   So, I’m envisioning that you spend some time finding resources and favouriting them.  During lesson preparation, you might select a couple for use the next day and moving them "on deck" makes them readily accessible.

You find the resources that may be helpful from the powerful front end search.  No "I’m Feeling Lucky" here.  You have the ability to really granularize your search as you’ll see below.

Search by grade, subject, course, strand, and even down to the expectation level.  You can even determine what type of resource you want retrieved.

Cube for K-12 Teachers seems off to a good start.  There is no charge for the service and so if you’re an Ontario educator and potentially more, this will prove to be a resource of increasing value as it expands.  Jump on board now!

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Oct 16 2011

OTR Links 10/16/2011

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

By dougpete • Posted in Links
0
Oct 15 2011

Better than the Original

A while back, I had written about my experiences with Pearltrees.  My post was called "A Jewel for Collaboration".  For demonstration and to keep, I had created my own Pearltree for my digital footprint.  I really found the whole process so easy to work with and the resulting tree was something that was nicely navigated.

How could anything be easier to work with?

How about an iPad application?  Yep!  A nice, new addition to the iTunes store is waiting for you to download to your iPad.  It has all of the same functionality of the web-based application for related curations but the ability to tap through the trees makes it so intuitive.

After a download, I decided to check it out.  I logged in and the application now has access to my account.  I open the document that was previously created.

The interface is a faithful reproduction of the web.  I checked out some of the resources that I’d bookmarked before.  Just tapping once on a pearl opens a thumbnail; tapping the thumbnail opens the original site.  Very cool.  The embedded webpage has a back link correctly labelled to take you back to Pearltrees and a forward link to take you to the next pearl in your tree.

I enjoyed that even better than the original!

Next, I decided to check out the serendipity factor.   At the top of the screen, there’s a link to let you explore related interests.  I immediately thought "This could be dangerous"!  The related links offered a number of suggestions including one that immediately caught my interest – "Effective Learning".  It sprang open the following curated by zaphodbeeblebrox.

From here, I leapt on "Born to Learn ~ You are Born to Learn". 

Pearltrees has quick links to let you share the resource with your friends on Twitter, Facebook, via email or to make this a favourite of your own.

As I played around with this application, I really liked how intuitive it was to navigate and share.  One of the complaints of the iPad is that it isn’t necessarily as powerful a creation tool as a conventional computer.  Pearltrees will challenge that and you may find that it’s even better than the original.

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Oct 15 2011

OTR Links 10/15/2011

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

By dougpete • Posted in Links
0
Oct 14 2011

Co-Learning with Ontario Educators

This is a Post from the Past (about a month ago) about the Minds on Media event on the Saturday of the ECOO Conference.  Next week, in fact.  Today, I saw a message from Peter Skillen indicating that registrations are still open and how to get in.
If you’re curious or wondering, here’s some information about Minds on Media.
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  • I don’t get it;
  • I know parts of it but want to know more;
  • I’ve always wanted to do this but my board doesn’t do PD;
  • I want to know if I’m doing it right;
  • I know I’m just missing something.

If you have ever said any of the above, then a Minds on Media event may be exactly what you’re looking for.  It’s not a formal learning place where you click here, here, and here and get to learn what an instructor has laid on for you.  Instead, it’s a place where you can wander the hall looking for the sort of professional dialogue that would help put you over the top.  You are empowered to take control of your own learning.

I’m mindful of Stephen Downes’ thoughts about “Open” so I’m a little hesitant to use that term in this context.  Yes, there is a cost to a Minds on Media event but typically it’s only to cover the cost of the facility, internet access, and food.

I often get comments after a Minds on Media event from folks who wish that they had known so that they could attend.  When’s the next event?  It’s Saturday, October 22.  It’s the culminating event to the 2011 ECOO Conference.  Strategically scheduled for a Saturday, it recognizes that there are many teachers who wish this sort of professional learning activity but funding and availability is difficult to obtain in school districts these days.

So, in a ballroom at the Sheridan Parkway North Hotel in Richmond Hill, educators from Ontario are invited to a day of incredibly active learning when constructionists meet connectionists in a context designed for the Ontario Educational environment.  The web, Ontario licensed software, and open source software meet pedagogy and inspiration for success in classrooms.

Look at the schedule…

  • Hard Fun with Scratch! – Kat Goodale, creative genius at the Linden School, Toronto: @katgoodale
  • Playing together with Voicethread – Jaclyn Calder, ICT Consultant, Simcoe County District School Board: @jaccalder
  • Publishing in the Primary Grades with Pixie and Clicker Paint – Danuta Woloszynowicz, OSAPAC: @dwtech
  • Working and Playing Together with Google Collaborative Documents – Richard Grignon, Google Certified Teacher & Barbara McLaughlin, ICT Consultant, Ottawa Carleton District School Board: @grignonr @barbaram
  • Putting a Face to Online and eLearning – Danika Barker, English Teacher, Thames Valley District School Board: @danikabarker
  • Creating & Nurturing your Professional Learning Network (PLN) – Doug Peterson, & Kelly Moore, Greater Essex County District School Board: @dougpete @kellmoor
  • The Power of Images – Colin Jagoe & Jeff Brown; consultants with Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board: @colinjagoe @techguy1717
  • Global projects with TakingITGlobal – Katherine Walraven, Education Program Manager, TIG: @katwalraven
  • Constructing media texts with Frames – Kent Manning, Hastings & Prince Edward County District Ed-Tech Teacher & Melinda Kolk, Owner,Tech4Learning: @kentmanning @melindak
  • Mobile Technology – Doug Sadler, Vice Principal Online Learning St. Michael’s Catholic High School Windsor: @sadone
  • Website Versatility and Simplicity with Google Sites – Peter Beens, Tech Director, Beamsville District Secondary School: @pbeens

Where else can you get such a wide array of opportunities?  You just bring your laptop or other computing device and go and sit with the topic(s) that intrigue you.  In addition, there are pedagogistas who are on the prowl to handle overflow and any additional questions or topics that are of interest.  There has been known to be a get together the night before a Minds on Media event so that you can meet with colleagues and begin the learning.

If this interests you, then you’ll definitely want to check out the logistics and see about your availability on October 22.  The event will probably cap at 200 participants so register early to avoid being shut out.

Oct 14 2011

OTR Links 10/14/2011

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

By dougpete • Posted in Links
0
Oct 13 2011

The Great Connector

I would not have known this except that our mutual friend Peter Beens (@pbeens) brought it to my attention and suggested that I blog about it.  I didn’t have to think twice before agreeing.

“The OTF Curriculum Forum provides professional interaction among the subject, division and special interest associations as well as between the associations and OTF. The forum also provides an active and important liaison between the associations and the Ministry of Education.” – http://otffeo.on.ca/english/init_forum.php

I had no idea that the Ontario Teachers’ Federation even had a Curriculum Forum until I was invited to speak to the Forum at one of their gatherings.  It was a two day event and I couldn’t afford the time away from work to go up on the Friday but I agreed to make the trek from Windsor to Barrie after work so that I could address the group on the Saturday.  My original invitation was to join a group of educators that were called the “Geek Squad”.  I agreed to go on two provisions – first the name had to go (it’s used and probably copyrighted by a big chain store) and I didn’t really consider what we were about to do as geeky, but more of contemporary.  I still get the term thrown in my face whenever I meet with Cyndie Jacobs (@cyndiejacobs) who is the OTF coordinator for the Curriculum Forum.

So, I made the trip and got a fabulous opportunity to work with some of the great educational leaders in the province.

That single event kicked off a number of technology related professional learning events hosted by the Ontario Teachers’ Federation and you may have read about them if you’re a frequent reader of this blog.  Throughout the events, that I attended, there were a number of consistencies and certainly one of them was Cyndie.  From “Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century”, “Minds on Media” to the “Google Workshop for Educators” , leading edge opportunities were made available to Ontario Educators through a team at OTF and Cyndie was an integral part of it all.  Throughout, Cyndie’s vision of this “squad” brought a number of us back together to work along side with other Ontario colleagues so that things would go off without a hitch.

Back in the beginning, Cyndie wasn’t a big social media user but I and those in attendance at Barrie at the time like to think that we brought her into the fold.  Through constant prodding by Peter and the odd connection with me and goodness knows who else, Cyndie dove in with two feet.  Now, there are many ways that one can use social media but I once called her “The Great Connector” because she solves so many problems for others – not by any technology solution that she might offer herself but in her uncanny ability to know the best in the province and who to connect with for the solution.  Her use of Twitter, in particular, is exemplary.  She’s constantly leveraging her knowledge and abilities and the abilities of others towards problem solving and solution finding.  It’s unusual to find a day in the life where her presence isn’t noticed and appreciated.

Personally, we’ve grown to be friends and when there’s an event where we might possible meet up, we check in advance to make some plans.  These meetings have been so personally productive for me.  I think that Cyndie completely “gets it” and understands the impact of her reach.  And, yet, it’s never for ego or for selfish purposes; it’s just her doing the right thing to help colleagues become better in their profession.  There have been a couple of bumps along the way that I know of where she ran into big egos and it hurt her deeply.  But, she continues to seek solutions for others who are just working to be the best they can be in education.  What better tribute could a person ask?

So, why this post?  Thanks to Peter, it has come to my attention that Cyndie will be hosting her last Curriculum Forum this week.  Sooner than she knows, she’ll be leaving this wonderful profession and will be looking for other things.  I know that her deep interest in music and the arts is a first love but it wouldn’t surprise me to find out that she’s decided to run for political office at some level.  She has, at least, promised to start a blog and stay in touch with her friends.

Cyndie, there are lots of us who have appreciated all the work that you’ve done to pull together the sort of technological leadership that is now available in all subject disciplines in this province.

 

cyndie_jacobs_327179620

 

I hope that your last Curriculum Form is special and that this post is but a small part of the recognition of what you had done by making all the connections that you have and continue to make.  You’ve done a masterful job and I’ll bet that Peter is the first commenter on this post.  We both wish you all the best in that beautiful new home on the lake and wherever your future takes you.

Oct 13 2011

OTR Links 10/13/2011

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

By dougpete • Posted in Links
0
Oct 12 2011

Testing Chrome Remote Desktop

I love it when “Dancing with the Stars” comes on.  It means that I can retreat to the Peterson experimental lab for at least an hour of uninterrupted messing about.  Last night, I messed about with Chrome Remote Desktop Beta.  This extension appeared over the weekend and I’ve been chomping at the bit to play around with it.  It needs the ability to have a couple of computers up and connected to a network and the ability to see a couple of screens at once.  So, the lab was hard at it where from the experimental chair I had my netbook running Ubuntu and my Windows 7 machine ready with Chrome loaded and the extension running.  My Macbook Pro wasn’t part of the serious testing or the blogging because it crashed again on me so was in my computer doghouse.

Ontario Educators have the luxury of the Ministry licensed NetSupport School application that can be installed on any school computer network.  It has some terrific features like the ability to power on/ power off entire clusters of computers, monitor computer screens, have a student screen displayed by the teacher on a data projector for the class to see, lock down any websites you don’t want students accessing, and so much more.  It’s terrific as a tool for classroom management but it’s real education value comes from remote access to assist a student or to have a student screen shared with the entire class.

Its limitation is that it will only run under Windows.  That’s not a bad problem to deal with but in a classroom where there’s more than Windows computers, like in a Bring Your Own Technology classroom with students bringing in their own laptop or netbooks, it just isn’t feasible.  What happens should you end up with Chromebooks in the classroom?  If we’re talking about moving so much to the web, could an alternative solution that lives in the browser be viable?

It was with this mindset that I set about looking at the Remote Desktop program.  It’s a 20MB download that plugs into your Google Chrome browser.  So, I installed it Ubuntu, Windows, and OS X.  You fire the application up on the host and press the button to “Share This Computer” (1).

setup

 

This process generates an access code.  After all, you don’t want just anyone connecting to your computer.

setup2

Walk over to the computer that will be accessing that computer, fire up the application and elect to access a shared computer (2).  You’ll have to enter the access code on THAT computer to grant access and you’re good to go.  On the second computer, you’ll see the screen of the first computer.  With that mouse or trackpad, you control the first computer.  Dizzy yet?  I’m here in the lab and I should be watching the one computer but there’s something compelling about being on the second computer at the control. 

Screenshot

Here, you can see the Ubuntu desktop (1024×578) displaying the desktop of my Windows computer.  Just for effect, I’ve used the resize utility and so the Windows desktop (1600×900) is squeezed a bit to fit.  But, it does a nice enough job.  In reality, you’re more likely to leave the resolution as is and just do a bit of scrolling.  Or, ideally, have both screens the same resolution or some other combination that makes sense for you.

Screenshot-1

Here is a uncompressed view of my Seesmic Desktop at the time.  It was quite readable in the original resolution.  (This image is shrunk to fit into the blog constraints).

However, I was able to use my netbook to start this blog post on my Windows computer using LiveWriter.  I was able to access the start menu and run a number of different Windows applications and view them on my Ubuntu netbook screen.  I was able to move and resize windows, use the right mouse button on the netbook to activate that function on the laptop, type text, and do many of the things that I wanted to do.  In a classroom, I could then conceivably access another machine and display content for a class on a data projector.  All of this in the browser on different operating systems.

At times, there was a bit of a lag between the time that I typed on the one computer and it appeared on the other but it was in no way a show stopper.

For an initial beta of the software, I was nicely impressed.  I could see this being a workable solution in a scenario where you have a mixture of computers or operating systems but the constant  for them all being the Chrome browser.  I like it – the promise is that this is the first release.  Who knows what more is on the way?  If Chromebooks are going to be functional in a classroom, the developers can learn by looking at existing products and seeing if those features will work in a browser operating system.