"Video: The Amazing Youtube Choir
Social media continues to amaze me. I believe a new online collaborative art form has emerged in which several people contribute to create a masterpiece. This virtual choir conducted by Eric Whitacre and produced by Scott Haines will show you what I mean by a collaborative masterpiece. Read the rest of the story of how this was created here. You may also want to see the collaborative video masterpiece my PLN has helped me create. This video was tweeted by @larryferlazzo."
"Learning new vocabulary can be quite daunting for most students. We just have to look at the literacy rates to see how much children struggle with vocabulary. Rote learning of vocabulary does not really work. Experience has taught me students remember what they use and explore. Students need to have fun, engage with the material, and explore how their new knowledge works. Vocabulary lists are boring, but word clouds can be quite engaging. Therefore, I am sharing my favorite ways to help your students begin to explore new vocabulary through various word cloud tools, tips, and resources."
One of my favorite TV moments is when Norm of the series Cheers walks into a bar and everyone shouts, "Norm" as if they were welcoming him home. Part of the Cheer's theme song, Where Everybody Knows Your Name by Gary Portnoy, goes:
Making your way in the world today
Takes everything you've got
Taking a break from all your worries
Sure would help a lot
Wouldn't you like to get away
Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name
And they're always glad you came
You want to be where you can see
Our troubles are all the same
And this is what Twitter is for me, a place where my Personal/Passionate Learning Network (PLN) knows my name, they're glad I came and we find out all our educational problems are pretty much the same."
On Tuesday, May 18th, Google announced that Google Wave is now available for everyone! Now you may have tried Google Wave in the beginning and felt it was not your cup of tea. Initially, Google Wave did have some annoying problems. However, like most technology, it has improved with time. Google Wave uploads faster, notifies you of updates through your e-mail, has many collaborative features, and now lets anyone join. Some of the collaborative features on the wave include video chat, embedding all sorts of documents within the page (PowerPoints, videos, and text documents), collaborative mindmapping, collaborative drawing, and much more! The video below will show you how to get started and wave.