Return from Texas

I've been visiting my sister in Texas and her DSL was on the blink so I didn't get much chance to continue my Web2.0 explorations. Got back yesterday and have been trying to get caught up with my home-based email and a few of my RSS feeds. Here's a cute video, Librarian's Blues, that was posted on American Libraries Direct, October 24, 2007.



Well, enough fun for now, back to work. There are so many great learning opportunities available right now! SO much to learn and so little time.

• I have to finish exploring the Collaborative Web Pageflake. I think there are still 3 applications to learn about; Thinkature, VoiceThread, and JayCut.
• And then of course there are all the different presentations from K-12 Online Conference 2007. Let's see...there were 4 different strands with 9 presentations each and a keynote for each strand = 40 presentations, of which I have listened to 10 and viewed 1 of those. I've got a ways to go before I complete this conference.
• Then there's the AASL 13th National Conference which took place in Reno, Nevada. I can peruse the handouts, only about 100 of them (I'm not kidding), to help me decide if I want to purchase the conference DVD and/or CDs.
• In addition to the conference recordings, the AASL online learning e-Academy (if you have trouble with this link, keep trying. I got errors many times before getting the proper page. I'm not sure if the ALA website is still being revised, like WEMTA's) offers online courses and the Digital Institute 2007.
• And last but not least are the new AASL Learning Standards (pdf) to peruse and digest.

See what I mean???

MoreThanCoolTools

Today is the first day of the K12OnlineConference. I received the first four presentations via audio podcast right after I got up this morning (they were due to be published at 7 am my time). Later in the evening after watching Dancing with the Stars I began a download of the video for the keynote in the New Tools strand. While waiting on the download, I was able to listen to its audio. It was only about 2 minutes long, but I didn't think anything was amiss. I proceeded to listen to the two presentations in the Classroom 2.0 strand while waiting for the video to download. I went into the conference blog and went to some of the links provided for each of the presentations. Probably spent about 90 minutes. Finally I began to read comments about MoreThanCoolTools. Should have read them sooner!!! probably before I even tried to download. There was trouble publishing the complete mp3.

One of the presentors, D'arcy Norman, had given another url for a lower quality video at google videos, which I tried. It loaded right away and I proceeded to view the New Tools keynote (53 min.)

The manner in which each presenter discussed Web 2.0 tools and the "trends" in development and use are very enlightening. I have used or was familiar with most of the tools used as examples in the presentation, but I hadn't really thought about the broader perspective or the "big picture". These are the trends discussed and explored in the presentation:

• embedding
• connecting people
• socializing
• collaborating
• sharing
• remixing
• liberating
• filtering
• disrupting

Two of the last three trends, liberating and disrupting, are things I had not realized at all. I still need to digest and reflect to fully understand them.

I also wanted to mention that the comments and discussion (scroll down)that take place in the blog will also be a great source of learning!

K12 Online Conference: Playing with Boundaries

I have been reading and exploring at the First Timers wiki. The Connected Planet Guide is very helpful. The conference takes place over two weeks, however, sessions will be available 24/7 after they have been published to the conference blog.

The first week is Oct 15 - 19 with a live Elluminate Fireside Chat taking place on Oct 20. Classroom 2.0 and New Tools will be the focus this week. “Classroom 2.0″ presentations will focus on instructional uses and examples of web 2.0 tools and the “New Tools” presentations will be "nuts and bolt" instructions for using web 2.0 tools with beginner's and advanced sessions.

The second week is Oct 22 - 26 with a live Elluminate Fireside Chat taking place on Oct 27. The focus this week will be Professional Learning Networks and Obstacles to Opportunities.

"Professional Learning Networks" presentations will include:

• tips, ideas and resources on how to orchestrate your own professional development online;
• concrete examples of how the tools that support Professional Learning Environments (PLEs) are being used;
• how to create a supportive, reflective virtual learning community around school-based goals,
• and trends toward teacher directed personal learning environments.
  

Unearthing "opportunities from the obstacles" rooted in these boundaries:

• copyright,
• digital discipline and ethics (e.g. cyberbullying),
• collaborating globally (e.g. cultural differences, synchronous communication),
• resistance to change (e.g. administration, teachers, students),
• school culture (e.g. high stakes testing),
• time (e.g. in curriculum, teacher day),
• lack of access to tools/computers,
• filtering,
• parental/district concerns for online safety,
• control (e.g. teacher control of student behavior/learning),
• solutions for IT collaboration and more

will be the focus of presentations in this strand.

Presentation teasers are short videos that introduce the presentor and an intro to what you could expect to learn by viewing/listening to the entire presentation.

Online Conference

I will be attending this conference which has already begun with a preconference session with David Warlick. I signed up for audio podcasts which I thought would help me decide which video sessions to attend. I've listened to David Warlick who demonstrates the lack of boundaries to communication that now exist, yet also the need to create new boundaries in the Web 2.0 world. Now I have discovered a wiki for First Timers which provides helpful info, guides, and links to everything. Check it out.