Jeffco Teachers

Blogging helps encourage teen writing Survey reveals that student bloggers are more prolific and appreciate the value of writing more than their peers

Based on extensive research, Cisco, Microsoft, and Intel concluded that most education systems have not kept pace with the dramatic changes in the economy and the skill sets that are required for students to succeed. These skills include the ability to think critically and creatively, to work cooperatively, and to adapt to the evolving use of information and communications technology (ICT) in business and society.

ZoomIt is screen zoom and annotation tool for technical presentations that include application demonstrations. ZoomIt runs unobtrusively in the tray and activates with customizable hotkeys to zoom in on an area of the screen, move around while zoomed, and draw on the zoomed image. I wrote ZoomIt to fit my specific needs and use it in all my presentations. ZoomIt works on all versions of Windows and you can use pen input for ZoomIt drawing on tablet PCs.

Podstock 2009!\nSubmitted by johnessdack on Tue, 10/14/2008 - 12:51\n\nPodstock is a brand new conference designed to bring podcast creators and those who see the real value of podcasting as creators and consumers together. We'll have breakout sessions on podcasting for beginners, as well as sessions for and by seasoned pros. We'll explore podcasting as well as many other web 2.0 tools that can exhance learning and communication in your world. We invite you to join this site and add your thinking to the initial planning for this event. The conference will be held in Old Town Wichita, located in Wichita, Kansas and host participants from all over the country. It will be 2 days of education, learning & fun, so we hope you won't miss it!

Barack Obama has only four years to save the world. That is the stark assessment of Nasa scientist and leading climate expert Jim Hansen who last week warned only urgent action by the new president could halt the devastating climate change that now threatens Earth. Crucially, that action will have to be taken within Obama's first administration, he added. Soaring carbon emissions are already causing ice-cap melting and threaten to trigger global flooding, widespread species loss and major disruptions of weather patterns in the near future. "We cannot afford to put off change any longer," said Hansen. "We have to get on a new path within this new administration. We have only four years left for Obama to set an example to the rest of the world. America must take the lead.

An incredible collection of personal learning environment diagrams - web 2.0 style listing web 2.0 tools

Anchors Away is a place where educators can add educational games and activies that students with laptops can do when they have finished their regular classroom assignments. Feel free to request membership to the space and add your own resources. Give this page to your students!

a flowgram that defines web 2.0 in an interesting, easy to read way

great source for all things web 2.0 -- an awesome page on podcasting

very nice wiki on how educators can create PLNs with web 2.0 tools

Great article about how some teachers are really using Web 2.0 tools to enhance learning and education

A recent Pew Internet Internet Poll (pdf) conducted via interviews amongst over 900 parent-child pairs in the United States had some interesting findings when it comes to social media usage and content generation. One of them was an extension of previously known data, as in 2004 19% of teens were engaged in blogging, whereas now that number is up to 28%.

When people are unenthusiastic about social media and other Web 2.0 stuff it is tempting to be a bit sneery and say they don't "get it". Who can fail to see the benefits of publishing without publishers, and organising without organisations? The tools may take a little getting used to, but surely they are worth trying in pursuit of a better world? Maybe for you, but not necessarily for them. It could be people do get it and don't like what they see, because your world view isn't theirs. If they say We can't do that - and they mustn't do it either, it may be a reflection of organisational culture - or something deeper about the way thing work.

The calendar below shows live web events from the programs below, including webcast shows from Classroom 2.0. All times are shown in Eastern Time. If you want to add this calendar to your own Google calendar, use the link on the lower right ("+ Google C

Creating these "Personal Learning Networks" (PLN), as they are called, is a skill set for the 21st Century, a literacy grounded in reading and writing and editing and rooted in the best of constructivist learning theory. In essence, when we create our own