LET.IT Happen!

Tech-Treat: MadLibs Game Time

URL: http://www.madlibs.com/category/funstuff/?g=madlibs

(more…)

Jeff Giddens Super e-Sleuth, Uncovers Hundreds of Information Visualization Tools and Resources

Remember when you were small and your father/mother used to tickle you until it hurt? Well I was so tickled by what Jeff Giddens had to share with his participants in his GaETC workshop that I implored him to continue flooding my brain with new concepts and ideas even though it grew virtually painful to find space to store all of his incredible resources.

Jeff, co-author of the SEGA Tech blog, is an Instructional Technology Consultant with the First District RESA ETTC in Southeast Georgia.  Jeff, and his fellow colleagues, helps educators in Southeast Georgia use technology efficiently and effectively to enhance the learning experiences they provide for their students in the classroom.

I attended Jeff’s GaETC workshop entitled, “Seeing is Believing: The Power of Information Visualization“. Jeff has a true passion for science and technology, and therefore it is no surprise that his expertise resides in the integration of technology into middle and high school science classes. Having met and worked with Jeff at previous conferences over the past few years I was confident that he would deliver rich content and offer concrete examples of how technology can enhance student engagement, learning and skills. To say the least, I was not disappointed.

Information Visualization is a powerful means of helping students comprehend complex concepts. Throughout the workshop, Jeff taught us how to make hard-to-grasp ideas more understandable through the use of visual media. He introduced us to a number of free digital resources dedicated to the creation of 3D models, virtual worlds, and other effective instructional graphics. We all walked away with a multitude of new ideas and techniques for making learning more engaging and meaningful.

I could not even begin to catalog the numerous best practices he shared throughout his workshop so I will just pass on one suggestion: Subscribe to his blog SEGA Tech and spend some time reaching into the recent past by reviewing his archival posts. Oh, and one more thing … you may want to have del.icio.us bookmarking tools installed prior to visiting as you will definitely want to save and share the vast number of engaging resources Jeff has highlighted. Be ready to expand your personal set of technology resources exponentially!

Tech-Treat: TerraClues

URL: http://www.terraclues.com/

(more…)

Being in the forefront of the shift in education to meet the needs of today’s digital learners, I want to share two very inspiring and awakening videos with you. The first video focuses on the student of today and their needs, while the second video shares with you a view of what today’s teacher aught to be in order to meet the educational needs of today’s learners.

(more…)

“Did You Know? 2.0″ is an official updated release to the original “Did You Know?/Shift Happens” presentation first produced by Karl Fisch in August 2006. Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod, in partnership with XPLANE, released “Did You Know 2.0″ in June 2007. The latest version includes new and updated statistics, thought-provoking questions along with a fresh design.

I think back to the impact Karl Fisch’s video had last November, when I first viewed it, to what it has become today. It was incredibly powerful in it’s original format due to the underlying reason and motivation that Karl had for creating this presentation (noted in his blog post) – he wanted professional development to have an impact prior to the school year, to not do the same familiar training that led to nothing changing. Now, the new version of the video is even more powerful! It is no longer enough to view the video and be complacent; one must react in a constructive way.

(more…)

How would you like to win an all-expense paid trip to an incredible educational technology conference?
Well — in this case you are a WINNER!

The K-12 Online Conference 2008 officially starts today. It is two-week conference that hosts four sessions per day. It features remarkable presenters with a wide variety of stimulating topics. And the best part… It is totally FREE!

You can access the sessions according to your own time schedule. Presentations will remain available for at least a year, so if you don’t have time now in the midst of Progress Reports , you can watch them later this year.

K-12 Online Conference 2008

Conference Website: http://k12onlineconference.org/

Full Conference Schedule: http://k12onlineconference.org/docs/k12online2008schedule.html

(more…)

With the upcoming Presidential Election, here you will find some featured websites that can help you and your students get up to speed on the candidates and the election process before the big election day in November.

(more…)