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Jackie Gerstein on "User-Generated Education"

steve@hargadon.com (Steve Hargadon) — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 18:02:00 +0000

Our "Students 2.0" mini-series continues on Tuesday, April 27th, with a live and interactive interview with Dr. Jackie Gerstein on "User-Generated Education."

Date: Tuesday, 27th April, 2010
Time: 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern / 12am (next day) GMT (international times here)
Duration: 1 hour
Location: In Elluminate. Log in at http://tr.im/futureofed. The Elluminate room will be open up to 30 minutes before the event if you want to come in early. To make sure that your computer is configured for Elluminate, please visit http://www.elluminate.com/support. Recordings of the session will be posted within a day of the event at the event page.
Event Page: http://www.learncentral.org/event/70950

This session will explore the following questions:

"Should a student-centric, user-generated education be the predominant learning model for this era of the 21st Century?"
"Can networked-learning based on communities of practice with multiage learners be a model-platform for education in this century?"

Resources for this presentation can be found at http://jackiegerstein.wikispaces.com/User-Generated+Education.

Dr. Jackie Gerstein's byline is " I don't do teaching for a living, I live teaching as my doing, and technology has AMPLIFIED the passion." More about Jackie's experiences and passions can be viewed at http://jackiegerstein.weebly.com/.

[Cross-posted from http://www.stevehargadon.com]

Anya Kamenetz Live and Interactive on Her Book, DIY U

steve@hargadon.com (Steve Hargadon) — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 16:19:00 +0000

Our "Students 2.0" mini-series continues Wednesday, April 28th, with a live and interactive interview with Anya Kamenetz on her book, DIY U: Edupunks, Edupreneurs and the Coming Transformation of Higher Education.

Date: Wednesday, 28 April, 2010
Time: 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern / 12am (next day) GMT (international times here)
Duration: 1 hour
Location: In Elluminate. Log in at http://tr.im/futureofed. The Elluminate room will be open up to 30 minutes before the event if you want to come in early. To make sure that your computer is configured for Elluminate, please visit http://www.elluminate.com/support. Recordings of the session will be posted within a day of the event at the event page.
Event Page: http://www.learncentral.org/event/70704

DIY U: Edupunks, Edupreneurs and the Coming Transformation of Higher Education is Anya's new book about the future of higher education. "It’s a story about the communities of visionaries who are tackling the enormous challenges of cost, access, and quality in higher ed, using new technologies to bring us a revolution in higher learning that is affordable, accessible, and learner-centered."

“This book is not only a smart and forward-thinking look at new and exciting trends in self-directed higher learning, it’s also a smart resource guide for students and their families anxious to take their education into their own hands” -- Daniel H. Pink, author of Drive and A Whole New Mind

Anya's Bio, from her DIY Y website:

"I grew up in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Louisiana and graduated from Yale University in 2002.

"I cover technology, innovation, sustainability and social entrepreneurship as a staff writer for Fast Company magazine. In 2005, when I was 24, the Village Voice did the huge favor of nominating me for a Pulitzer Prize for the feature series and column Generation Debt, which led to a book published by Riverhead in 2006. Generation Debt drew national media attention and passionate online debate with its argument that young people are facing unique and unprecedented economic challenges.

"As a national figure representing my generation, I’ve been in several documentaries including the “Generation Next” series on PBS and the upcoming Default: The Student Loan Documentary, on media outlets including CNN’s Larry King Live, ABC’s The View and NPR, been featured as a “Yahoo! Finance Expert,” and submitted testimony to Congressional committees and state legislatures about student debt and college affordability.

"I’ve written for the New York Times, the Washington Post, New York magazine, Slate, Salon, the American Prospect, and the Nation. I wrote an essay, “Mutual Aid Revisited,” about my experiences with Hurricane Katrina and the power of community, to the anthology Toward 2012: Perspectives on the Next Age (Tarcher, 2008).

"With a growing awareness that we’re living in a time of profound change, I feel so lucky to be engaged in this work of envisioning the future, connecting with others who are excited about change, and telling stories about the possibilities. I speak across the country, I blog at Fastcompany.com, the Huffington Post, and anyakamenetz.blogspot.com, and–I Tweet, yes I do, at Anya1anya. I live in Brooklyn with my husband & cat."

(Photo by Jayd Gardina)

[Cross-posted from http://www.stevehargadon.com]

Dr. Robert Epstein on Teen 2.0, Live Tonight

steve@hargadon.com (Steve Hargadon) — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 14:55:00 +0000

Our "Students 2.0" mini-series starts tonight with a live and interactive interview with Dr. Robert Epstein on his encyclopedic book, Teen 2.0: Saving Our Children and Families from the Torment of Adolescence.

Date: Monday, 26 April, 2010
Time: 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern / 12am (next day) GMT (international times here)
Duration: 1 hour
Location: In Elluminate. Log in at http://tr.im/futureofed. The Elluminate room will be open up to 30 minutes before the event if you want to come in early. To make sure that your computer is configured for Elluminate, please visit http://www.elluminate.com/support. Recordings of the session will be posted within a day of the event at the event page.

From drrobertepstein.com: Working with colleague Diane Dumas, Dr. Robert Epstein, a longtime researcher and professor and the former editor-in-chief of Psychology Today, has developed a unique and comprehensive test—the Epstein-Dumas Test of Adultness (EDTA)—that measures 14 different competencies that appear to define adult functioning in modern society.

Based on scores obtained from tens of thousands of adults and teens, Dr. Epstein recently concluded that many teens are as competent or more competent than adults—and that adults greatly underestimate the abilities of teens. Epstein and Dumas have also demonstrated a link between "infantilization"—the extent to which teens are treated like children—and behavioral problems in teens.

Praise for first original edition of the book, called The Case Against Adolescence:

ALBERT ELLIS: “...one of the most revolutionary books I have ever read.” (from the Foreword)

NEWT GINGRICH: “If you are concerned about America's young—and about
America's future—this is a must-read.”

M. SCOTT PECK: “...has vast consequence for our society.”

JOYCE BROTHERS: “…a profoundly important book.”

BUZZ ALDRIN: “This book will bring our ideas about teens down to earth.”

DEEPAK CHOPRA: “We need to reexamine our basic assumptions about young people, and Epstein shows us how.”

ROBERT COLES: “Here are America’s youth, regarded keenly, knowingly....”

LEON BOTSTEIN: “...a vital book for parents and policy makers on the state and federal levels”

MARIEL HEMINGWAY: “This book has opened my eyes….”

MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI: “...a very original approach, sure to ignite discussion and controversy.”

ALVIN TOFFLER: “If you care about the future of our young people, The Case Against Adolescence is an essential read.”

DREW PINSKY: “...a landmark book”

SUZANNE SOMERS: “Dr. Epstein makes a good case for adolescents to be treated not as a group with a formula, but as individual unique people.”

JEAN LIEDLOFF: “...a powerful case”

ELLEN LANGER: “His arguments deserve serious consideration and open debate.”

JOHN TAYLOR GATTO: “Whether you’re a parent, a teacher, a policy maker, or a recovering victim of enforced childishness, you need to read this book.”

CURTIS SLIWA: “…an amazing book, long overdue.”

From drrobertepstein.com: ROBERT EPSTEIN is an author, editor, radio talk-show host, and longtime psychology researcher and professor—a distinguished scientist who is passionate about educating the public about advances in mental health and the behavioral sciences. The former editor-in-chief of Psychology Today, Dr. Epstein is currently a contributing editor for Scientific American Mind and a lecturer at the Rady School of Management at the University of California San Diego. He is also the founder and Director Emeritus of the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies in Massachusetts.

Through 2003, he served as University Research Professor at the California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University. He received his Ph.D. in psychology in 1981 from Harvard University.

He has hosted a number of psychology-related radio programs, most recently a show called Psyched!®, which aired throughout the U.S. and Canada on Sirius Satellite Radio between 2005 and 2008. In connection with the magazine or his radio programs, Dr. Epstein has interviewed many notable people, including Laura Bush, Jimmy Carter, Tipper Gore, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher, Christie Brinkley, Sally Field, Jamie Lee Curtis, Sarah Ferguson, and Steve Allen.

His research on creativity and innovation has been featured in Time magazine, the New York Times, and Discover, as well as on national and international radio and television. He has published nearly 200 articles, including scientific articles in Science, Nature, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Although best known for his work on creativity, Dr. Epstein has also conducted research on adolescent and adult competence, self-control, relationship skills, sexual orientation, and other topics, and a seminal article he wrote for The Washington Post helped stimulate a worldwide call for an armistice on January 1, 2000. He has also developed a number of unique online competency tests which are taken by thousands of people every week.

Epstein's 14 books include The Case Against Adolescence: Rediscovering the Adult in Every Teen; Parsing the Turing Test: Philosophical and Methodological Issues in the Quest for the Thinking Computer (with Grace Beber and Gary Roberts); The Big Book of Motivation Games (with Jessica Rogers); The Big Book of Stress-Relief Games; The Big Book of Creativity Games; Creativity Games for Trainers; Stress-Management and Relaxation Activities for Trainers; Cognition, Creativity, and Behavior: Selected Essays; The New Psychology Today Reader; Pure Fitness: Body Meets Mind (with Lori "Ice" Fetrick of the American Gladiators); Self-Help Without the Hype; and Irrelativity. He is also the editor of two books of writings by the eminent psychologist, B. F. Skinner—Skinner for the Classroom and Notebooks—with whom Epstein collaborated at Harvard.

He has taught at Boston University, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, the University of California San Diego, the HAL College of Technology and Design (Japan), and other universities. Dr. Epstein also served as Professor of Psychology and Chair of the Department of Psychology at National University, where he was subsequently appointed Research Professor. From 1990 to 1995, he directed the Loebner Prize Competition in Artificial Intelligence, an annual contest in which human intelligence is pitted against machine intelligence.

Dr. Epstein has been a commentator for NPR's "Marketplace," the Voice of America, and Disney Online, and his popular writings have appeared in Reader's Digest, The Washington Post, Psychology Today, Good Housekeeping, Parenting, and other magazines and newspapers.

His upcoming books include Teen 2.0: Saving Our Children and Families from the Torment of Adolescence, Making Love: How Couples Learn to Love and How You Can Too and Finding the Inner Adult in Your Teen: A Guide for Parents. Dr. Epstein is the father of four children and two stepchildren. An autobiographical essay about his life and work was published recently in Perspectives on Psychological Science and can be downloaded here. Dr. Epstein can be reached at repstein@post.harvard.edu.

[Cross-posted from http://www.stevehargadon.com]

Live Interview with Scott Rosenberg on the Historical Importance of Blogging

steve@hargadon.com (Steve Hargadon) — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 03:38:00 +0000

Join me for a Conversations.net live and interactive interview with Scott Rosenberg, author of Say Everything: How Blogging Began, What It's Becoming, and Why It Matters. This is a downright FASCINATING history of blogging and its historical importance.

Date: Tuesday, April 13th, 2010

Time: 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern / 12am (next day) GMT (international times here)

Duration: 1 hour

Location: In Elluminate. Log in at http://tr.im/futureofed. The Elluminate room will be open up to 30 minutes before the event if you want to come in early. To make sure that your computer is configured for Elluminate, please visit http://www.elluminate.com/support. Recordings of the session will be posted within a day of the event at the event page.

Event and Recording Page: http://www.learncentral.org/event/60495

Book Description from the Say Everything Website:

"Blogs are everywhere. They have exposed truths and spread rumors. Made and lost fortunes. Brought couples together and torn them apart. Toppled cabinet members and sparked grassroots movements. Immediate, intimate, and influential, they have put the power of personal publishing into everyone's hands. Regularly dismissed as trivial and ephemeral, they have proved that they are here to stay.

"Say Everything chronicles blogging's unplanned rise and improbable triumph, tracing its impact on politics, business, the media, and our personal lives. The book offers closeups of innovators such as Blogger founder Evan Williams, investigative journalist Josh Marshall, exhibitionist diarist Justin Hall, software visionary Dave Winer, 'mommyblogger' Heather Armstrong, and many others.

"These blogging pioneers were the first to face new dilemmas that have become common in the era of Google and Facebook, and their stories offer vital insights and warnings as we navigate the future. How much of our lives should we reveal on the Web? Is anonymity a boon or a curse? Which voices can we trust? What does authenticity look like on a stage where millions are fighting for attention, yet most only write for a handful? And what happens to our culture now that everyone can say everything?

"Before blogs, it was easy to believe that the Web would grow up to be a clickable TV -- slick, passive, mass-market. Instead, blogging brought the Web's native character into focus -- convivial, expressive, democratic. Far from being pajama-clad loners, bloggers have become the curators of our collective experience, testing out their ideas in front of a crowd and linking people in ways that broadcasts can't match.

"Blogs have created a new kind of public sphere -- one in which we can think out loud together. And now that we have begun, it is impossible to imagine us stopping."

Bio from Scott's Blog:

I’m a writer, editor and Web site builder. I co-founded Salon back in 1995. I served as its first technology editor and all-around Web geek for years, then became managing editor just in time for the dot-com bubble to first over-inflate and then collapse.

In 2003 I began working on a book about software development and its discontents. I took a leave from Salon in 2005 to write it. It’s titled Dreaming in Code and was published by Crown in January, 2007. The full web site for the book is at dreamingincode.com.

I left Salon in July 2007 to begin work on a new book project.... I began blogging in July 2002. Before that most of my writing online was at Salon; there’s a full directory listing of my pieces here.

I started making Web pages in November 1994 as an editor of the short-lived San Francisco Free Press — an early experiment in Web publishing by the striking Newspaper Guild workers in San Francisco. In early 1995 I posted a prototype of a solo Web magazine called Kludge. I quickly discovered that being a one-person publishing operation was more than I could handle at that point in my, and the Web’s, career, given that I still held down a full-time job at the SF Examiner. As the year progressed I began working with David Talbot and the team he was then pulling together to start Salon. I left the Examiner that fall and helped Salon plan and post its first issue in November 1995.

I continued to maintain my own Web site, first at www.dmz.com and later here at Wordyard. Here’s the old Wordyard home page that was supplanted by this blog. Here’s the old dmz.com home page that preceded it, with some older links to my writing, many of which have yet to rot.

[Cross-posted from http://www.stevehargadon.com]

This Coming Week's Live and Interactive Events

steve@hargadon.com (Steve Hargadon) — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 03:16:00 +0000

Below are this coming week's public, free, and interactive webinars through LearnCentral.org, the social learning network for education that I work on for Elluminate.

The time of the events below will show up automatically in your own time zone when you are registered in LearnCentral and when you have chosen your time zone in your profile. Event recordings are posted and available after the events if you aren't able to attend them live. Be on the lookout for Australia-time-friendly events as part of the new Australia Series!

A number of folks have emailed me looking for an easy calendar import / RSS feed for these events, and while the developer at LearnCentral are working on a good long-term solution, you'll find my Google Calendar "hack" at LearnCentral.tv. Hope it helps!

I also hope you'll consider hosting your own public webinars using the LearnCentral public room--instructions are available by joining the "Host Your Own Webinar" group on the main announcement tab (http://www.learncentral.org/group/3432/host-your-own-webinars).

Monday, April 12th

8am PDT (US) / 11am EDT (US) / 3pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
ELLUMINATE LIVE WEBINAR SERIES: “Using Emotional Intelligence To Improve Decision Making" with Lou Russell. Current research shows that when we lose our cool over something, it takes us over four hours to get over it. When we’re stressed, our decision making ability is compromised because the brain is working at survival. In this session, Lou will share some of this research and map it to ways you can help improve how your teams react to circumstances. You can help them build resiliency by helping them identify the triggers that take them out, and showing them ways to avoid or react to them.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/64512 (this event requires pre-registration)
10:45pm PDT (US) / 1:45am (next day) EDT (US) / 5:45am (next day) GMT/UTC (intl times):
THE AUSTRALIA SERIES: “Tech Talk Tuesdays: Going 1:1 Laptop" with Anne Mirtschin and Helen Otway. When thinking about beginning a 1:1 laptop program what do you need to consider? Hardware? Software? Infrastructure? Support? Costs? Yes these are all the practical considerations and are very important. But what scaffolding needs to take place for our learners - teachers and students - to prepare for 1:1 learning? Learning styles? Team work vs Independent work? Confidence? Digital Citizenship? Personal Learning skills and attitudes? These are some of the challenges that started to take shape in our first year of providing our Year 7 Laptop Program. Helen will share the Manor Lakes College (Victoria, Australia) story so far and future directions.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/68067

Tuesday, April 13th

10am PDT (US) / 1pm EDT (US) / 5pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
ELLUMINATE LIVE WEBINAR SERIES: “Puzzling Opportunities: How To Use Puzzles In Your Training Session" with Dr. Sivasailam "Thiagi" Thiagarajan and Tracy Tagliati. Do you know someone who wastes his or her time solving Sudoku puzzles? (Could that be you?) Attend this session to discover how the addictive and motivating aspects of puzzles can be leveraged to reinforce the learning-and-transfer process before, during, and after your training workshop. Learn how to design and use instructional puzzles to train your participants and to assess their competencies. Explore the instructional use of crossword puzzles, word puzzles, cryptograms, chunks, anagrams, triplets, logic puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, wire puzzles, and Sudoku puzzles. Leave the session with a how-to handout, online tools, and a daily dose of instructional puzzles through Twitter.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/62843 (this event requires pre-registration)
11am PDT (US) / 2pm EDT (US) / 6pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
ELLUMINATE LIVE WEBINAR SERIES: “Formalizing Informal Learning: What Are We Talking About" with Lance Dublin. The buzz about informal learning has turned into a clamor. Organizations know they need to jump onto this bandwagon, but they worry about how. Formal learning is well established and is well understood. Yet, informal learning seems obvious but too ill-defined. Now is the time to move into the third dimension of learning, where formal and informal learning intersects with intention. Some experts have called this 'formalizing informal learning' while others term it 'non-formal' learning. Come and join me in this webinar to learn the distinctions between formal, informal and non-formal learning, and the learning theory behind them. We will explore how then these can be applied in your organization to extend, enable and enhance learning in effective ways never possible before. And we will look at a model for learning that moves beyond the linear either/or choice of formal - informal, and takes us into a third dimension drive by the new social media tools.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/62844 (this event requires pre-registration)
1pm PDT (US) / 4pm EDT (US) / 8pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
MSP2 SERIES: “Google Apps for Educators" with Rachel Lacy. Not just a search engine...Google has created numerous free applications just for educators. Google Tools are one of the many emerging Web 2.0 concepts for educators that allow social networking, sharing, collaboration, etc...
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/58400
5pm PDT (US) / 8pm EDT (US) / 12am (next day) GMT/UTC (intl times):
CONVERSATIONS.NET SERIES: “Scott Rosenberg on Say Everything." Join me as I interview Scott on his book Say Everything, his fascinating book on how blogging began, what its's becoming, and why it matters. Seriously, don't miss this one.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/60495

Wednesday, April 14th

1am PDT (US) / 4am EDT (US) / 8am GMT/UTC (intl times):
THE AUSTRALIA SERIES: “eT@lking - Gimp Installation and First Steps” with Marian Heddesheimer. Gimp is a popular Open Source image processing software. It’s features can be compared to commercial programs like Photoshop® or Corel Photopaint®. Gimp is free software so you can download and use it without cost. Using Gimp is a bit different from other programs you may know, but if you get the hang on it, it will be easy to use it. Gimp can be used to edit your photos or create images and graphics from scratch. In this class we will just edit an existing photo (you will get an example photo during the class) and learn how to use the smudge tool from the gimp toolbox.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/67213
10am PDT (US) / 1pm EDT (US) / 4pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
THE AUSTRALIA SERIES: “eT@lking - Gimp Installation and First Steps” with Marian Heddesheimer. Gimp is a popular Open Source image processing software. It’s features can be compared to commercial programs like Photoshop® or Corel Photopaint®. Gimp is free software so you can download and use it without cost. Using Gimp is a bit different from other programs you may know, but if you get the hang on it, it will be easy to use it. Gimp can be used to edit your photos or create images and graphics from scratch. In this class we will just edit an existing photo (you will get an example photo during the class) and learn how to use the smudge tool from the gimp toolbox.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/node/67212
10am PDT (US) / 1pm EDT (US) / 4pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
ELLUMINATE LIVE WEBINAR SERIES: “Trainingmagnetwork.com- The Psychology Of Growing A Large Learning Community” with Ray Jimenez and Gary VanAntwerp. TrainingMagNetwork.com has 13,000. How did we grow to this number? What did we do consistently to increase the network interactions, sharing and groups? What theories failed and what new insights did we gain? These are some and many other topics we will cover in this session. The psychology of growing a large social learning community required we adhere to some core values, philosophies and practices to allow members to keep on coming back. We believe these practices and beliefs built trust and confidence among members to continue the growth.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/62845 (this event requires pre-registration)
12pm PDT (US) / 3pm EDT (US) / 7pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
EDUCATION FOR A DIGITAL WORLD 2.0 SERIES: “Adventures in Virtual Collaborative Authoring” with Sandy Hirtz and Dr. Kevin Kelly. The collaboratively authored book, Education for a Digital World 2.0, and its predecessor Education for a Digital World represent a shift in how educators are sharing their research, experiences and best practices in online teaching and learning. Facilitated completely through virtual interactions, this new model of authoring went beyond writing and editing to become an international effort in community building and professional growth. The success of the first edition has resulted in a second, more inclusive book that offers improvements on the last version and addresses the constant changes in the global eLearning landscape.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/65716 (30 minute session)
12:30pm PDT (US) / 3:30pm EDT (US) / 7:30pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
EDUCATION FOR A DIGITAL WORLD 2.0 SERIES: “Immersive Gameworlds for World-Wide Change” with Natasha Boskic. An overview of the role of video and computer games in the context of contemporary educational practice, looking at designing games for learning through engagement in building narratives and making positive modifications in real life behaviour. The question is whether those can have the ability and power to bring social changes and eventually to solve important world-wide issues..
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/65718 (30 minute session)
3pm PDT (US) / 6pm EDT (US) / 10pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
EDUCATION FOR A DIGITAL WORLD 2.0 SERIES: “Co-Creation of Content to promote Learning, Activism and Advocacy” with June Kaminski. This session will introduce educators to the use of a variety of ICTs to promote activism and advocacy, and in the process – learning, using a co-creation of usable content approach within the online learning environment. A key question that will be addressed is: How can communicative and creative technologies be used to stimulate meaningful activist engagement with ecological, sustainability, environmental and quality of life dialogue and praxis in education and society at large?
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/65719 (30 minute session)
4pm PDT (US) / 7pm EDT (US) / 11pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
MSP2 SERIES: “Why Does E=mc2? Meeting of the MSP2 Book Club" with Kim Lightle. Our next selection for the MSP2 Book Club is Why Does E=mc2? (of course the 2 is squared) and Why We Should Care. This book should appeal to science and math educators alike - what every part of the equation means to modern science as well as where every part came from - even the = and what it means to be "squared." The book is available online at http://www.scribd.com/doc/23760253/Why-Does-E-mc2.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/61117
6pm PDT (US) / 6pm EDT (US) / 1am (next day) GMT/UTC (intl times):
NETGENED/DISCOVERY EDUCATION SERIES: “Hall Davidson on Budgeting / Big Picture."
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/node/67557

Thursday, April 15th

11am PDT (US) / 2pm EDT (US) / 6pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
PBS SERIES: “Dinosaur Train Geocaching Informational” with Maura Thompson. Informational session for PBS stations and any one else who wants to learn about this exciting educational initiative.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/67352
12:30pm PDT (US) / 3:30pm EDT (US) / 7:30pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
THE AUSTRALIA SERIES: “Business Breakfast - Managing Projects with Elluminate and DotProject” with Chris Sutton. In this second of the Business Breakfast Series, Chris will describe the time, people and cost benefits of using internet based tools for the total management of a complex development project. Using Elluminate and DotProject, a web-based project management tool, client and business teams have been able to work together efficiently and effectively across vast distances without the necessity to travel or use expensive tele/video conferencing. The combination of these and other tools for business enable SMEs to keep their costs down, remain competitive and produce high quality results.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/52137
4pm PDT (US) / 7pm EDT (US) / 11pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
THE AUSTRALIA SERIES: “Edublogs Serendipity - unconference session” with Jo Hart. Join us in our fortnightly unconference sessions. Bring along the burning issues and hot topics YOU would like to discuss. Topic is chosen by poll at the start of the session.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/59847

Saturday, April 17th

9am PDT (US) / 12pm EDT (US) / 4pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
CLASSROOM 2.0 LIVE! SERIES: “Parent Engagement using Sharepoint as Communication Portal and Learning Platform” with Mike Herrity, Asst. Headmaster at Twynham School, UK.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/56483

Thanks for your attention, and see you online!

[Cross-posted from http://www.stevehargadon.com]

This Week's Live and Interactive Webinars

steve@hargadon.com (Steve Hargadon) — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 23:17:00 +0000

Below are this week's public, free, and interactive webinars through LearnCentral.org, the social learning network for education that I work on for Elluminate.

The time of the events below will show up automatically in your own time zone when you are registered in LearnCentral and when you have chosen your time zone in your profile. Event recordings are posted and available after the events if you aren't able to attend them live. Be on the lookout for Australia-time-friendly events as part of the new Australia Series!

A number of folks have emailed me looking for an easy calendar import / RSS feed for these events, and while the developer at LearnCentral are working on a good long-term solution, you'll find my Google Calendar "hack" at LearnCentral.tv. Hope it helps!

I also hope you'll consider hosting your own public webinars using the LearnCentral public room--instructions are available by joining the "Host Your Own Webinar" group on the main announcement tab (http://www.learncentral.org/group/3432/host-your-own-webinars).

Monday, April 5th

CLASSROOM 2.0 & PBS WEBINAR SERIES
5pm PDT (US) / 8pm EDT (US) / 12am (next day) GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day." During this event, participants will learn about two new PBS projects: "Earth Days," a film by Robert Stone chronicling the history of the modern environmental movement, and Growing Greener Schools, a film and educational resources aimed at empowering students, teachers and parents to incorporate green ideas into both school buildings and classroom curricula.
Link: http://www.classroom20.com/events/pbs-cr-20celebrating-the-40th
TL VIRTUAL CAFE SERIES
5pm PDT (US) / 8pm EDT (US) / 12am (next day) GMT/UTC (intl times):
"On Being a Change Agent." What it means to be a Change Agent in Educational Technology with special guests Ben Hazzard and Rodd Lucier, and hostess Gwyneth Jones.LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/61749

Tuesday, April 6th

9am PDT (US) / 12pm EDT (US) / 4pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Learning In 3d: Adding A New Dimension To Enterprise Learning And Collaboration" with Tony O'Driscoll and Karl M. Kapp. This session provides attendees with insight into how Virtual Immersive Environments (VIEs) are being used in organizations to encourage learning and collaboration. Attendees will review case studies of effective VIE implementations, learn the right design archetypes for D learning environments and review a list of guiding principles for establishing a successful 3D learning environment.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/62838 (advanced registration required)
3pm PDT (US) / 6pm EDT (US) / 10pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Mind & Cluster Mapping: Can You Digg It? Web Applications for Research" with Rochelle Rodrigo. Good researchers are constantly processing their project, from brainstorming topics and foci to analyzing the connections between resources and their own ideas. Mind and cluster mapping technologies can be used to facilitate the research process as well as present the research product. The goals of the event are to make faculty comfortable with, and knowledgeable about various web-based applications as well as a scaffolded research (assignment) process. LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/52301
FUTURE OF EDUCATION SERIES
5pm PDT (US) / 8pm EDT (US) / 12am (next day) GMT/UTC (intl times):
Join me as I interview Tony Wagner on his book "The Global Achievement Gap." "Despite the best efforts of educators, our nation's schools are dangerously obsolete. Instead of teaching students to be critical thinkers and problem-solvers, we are asking them to memorize facts for multiple choice tests... Education expert Tony Wagner has conducted scores of interviews with business leaders and observed hundreds of classes in some of the nation's most highly regarded public schools... He explains how every American can work to overhaul our education system, and he shows us examples of dramatically different schools that teach all students new skills. In addition, through interviews with college graduates and people who work with them, Wagner discovers how teachers, parents, and employers can motivate the 'net' generation to excellence."
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/60491

Wednesday, April 7th

9:30am PDT (US) / 12:30pm EDT (US) / 4:30pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Shannon's Bright Ideas Center - LearnCentral Showcase." Want to get the most out of LearnCentral? Join us for a showcase of valuable features and a discussion on how to use them. Discover other educators! Manage Resources! Work with Events! Create and Join Groups of Interest! LearnCentral Roadmap! Gailene Nelson, founder and creator of LearnCentral community will be with us. This will be your perfect opportunity to share your visions for LearnCentral with the creator and hopefully see those dreams become realities. Co-Moderator and LearnCentral Guru Tammy Moore will be there in place of Shannon this week to showcase her success using LearnCentral and her Creative Whiteboard Lab.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/63942
EDUCATION FOR A DIGITAL WORLD 2.0 SERIES
11:30am PDT (US) / 2:30pm EDT (US) / 6:30pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Towards implementation of eLearning at a multi-campus university" with Azra Naseem. This session will present the case of Aga Khan University (AKU), to develop a nuanced understanding of the processes of eLearning implementation at a multi-campus university. The authors will describe the step-by-step processes, and identify successes and challenges from the perspective of faculty and staff members charged with initiating and implementing the use of eLearning at the University. The session will conclude with a number of implications, as well as guidelines for other universities opting for campus-wide eLearning. 30 minutes.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/65705
EDUCATION FOR A DIGITAL WORLD 2.0 SERIES
12pm PDT (US) / 3pm EDT (US) / 7pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Internet as a Platform." Shawn Berney will present the upcoming collaborative effort titled "Internet as a Platform". This collaborative work includes contributions from Peter Rawsthorne and Iwona Sokalska. The presentation will highlight: 1) The impact of technology design on learning environments. 2) The impact of technology projects on educators, administrators and developers. 3) The tactics, strategies and processes that can help move technology projects into the fabric of our daily reality. 30 minutes.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/65706
EDUCATION FOR A DIGITAL WORLD 2.0 SERIES
12:30pm PDT (US) / 3:30pm EDT (US) / 7:30pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Creating Online Assessments and Preparing Learners for Authentic Displays of Learning" with Alice Bedard-Vorhees and Lisa Johnson. This session examines how various strategies support the development of lower level knowledge and skills that ultimately allow successful learners to become “curators” of sources into final projects and papers with the wealth of resources available at this time. Furthermore, portfolios are a place where those artifacts of learning can be displayed, either within a course, or as a cornerstone assessment experience for program-level purposes. In exploring instructional assessments that move students along this spectrum from assessment to portfolio, the following categories are presented: self-assessments and feedback loops, various activities that allow for student practice with faculty feedback, scaffolding, reflection, the gamut of learning expectations embedded in research-based projects and papers. 30 minutes.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/65714
4pm PDT (US) / 7pm EDT (US) / 11pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Setting up a Classroom Blog." Kim Caise and Lorna Costantini will demonstrate how to set up a classroom blog. The will cover the benefits of blogging in the classroom. Participants will create a classroom blog using Weebly for Education. Classroom management, user management, parent permission and content ideas will make up the 1 hour session. Participants attending the session will receive a 25% discount on a weebly for education pro account.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/66994
CLASSROOM 2.0 & PBS WEBINAR SERIES
5pm PDT (US) / 8pm EDT (US) / 12am (next day) GMT/UTC (intl times):
"A Fresh Look at Teaching The Diary of Anne Frank." During this event, participants will get a sneak peek at the all-new adaptation airing on MASTERPIECE and review educator materials created for middle school and high school. These materials include a teacher’s guide created in collaboration with the Holocaust education organization, Facing History & Ourselves, and special Resources for Youth, which offer concrete ways to take action against issues of intolerance as well as encourage self-expression through digital journaling options. Speakers include the author of the teacher's guide and an educator from Facing History and Ourselves.
Link: http://www.classroom20.com/events/pbs-cr-20a-fresh-look-at
MATH 2.0 SERIES
6:30pm PDT (US) / 9:30pm EDT (US) / 1:30am (next day) GMT/UTC (intl times):
"TextbookRevolution.org." Joshua Gay of TextbookRevolution.org presents this student-run project dedicated to open and free educational resources.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/63031

Thursday, April 8th

THE AUSTRALIA SERIES
4pm PDT (US) / 7pm EDT (US) / 11pm GMT/UTC ( intl times):
"An Edublogs 'Techie How To!' Session: Feed Learning with a Hot Potato!" with Jo Hart. In this session we will take a look at and have a “play” with Hot Potatoes. Despite a comment from someone on Twitter recently that it is “very tired and outdated” I still use Hot Potatoes to make interactives for my students. It is easy to use; works well for many of the activities needed to develop reading and writing skills and; I can upload the products easily into the Learning Management System.
LearnCentral Link:  http://www.learncentral.org/event/59850

5pm PDT (US) / 8pm EDT (US) / 12am (next day) GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Waking Students Up to Global Change." Robert Principe, the Director of Educational Leadership, Hiatt Center for Social Justice Education, will discuss how Beaver Country Day School (BCDS) building on its long-standing commitment to diversity and social action, has moved to significantly increase the integration of this skill-based global learning into the learning culture of every classroom. This effort is driven by a focus on “providing opportunities for authentic learning experiences beyond the traditional classroom” where students can apply their intelligence, creativity, critical social thinking, and technology to engage real world issues.
LearnCentral Link:  http://www.learncentral.org/event/62384
Friday, April 9th

11:30am PDT (US) / 2:30pm EDT (US) / 6:30pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Mobile Devices for Teaching & Learning." Barbara Lindsey explores if, how, when and where these devices can be used for teaching and learning, in particular, for language, culture and civilization courses. Our guest for this session will be Travis Allen, currently a Kennesaw State University student, who created the iSchool Initiative in order to “advocate, support and implement technological advancement for students and educators in the 21st century”. We look forward to talking with Travis about his initiative and personal mobile learning experiences.
LearnCentral Link:  http://www.learncentral.org/event/67233
Saturday, April 10th

LEARNING GAMES NETWORK SERIES
9am PDT (US) / 12pm EDT (US) / 4pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Choosing and Using Video Games in the Classroom: After-Game Reviews." The learning that takes place during gameplay can be dramatically enhanced by effective after-play synthesis and assimilation. Find ways to connect the dots in order to strengthen long-term learning. Building outward from the game itself is one of the most critical parts of game-based education.
LearnCentral Link:  http://www.learncentral.org/event/58444

CLASSROOM 2.0 LIVE!
9am PDT (US) / 12pm EDT (US) / 4pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Preparing Effective Online Learners." Preparing Effective Online Learners with David McGeary.
LearnCentral Link:  http://www.learncentral.org/event/56481

LEARNING GAMES NETWORK SERIES
10am PDT (US) / 1pm EDT (US) / 5pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Designing eGames: Production Elements." Production elements are the icing on the cake of game design: 2D vs. 3D graphics; sound, music, dialogue. All of those pieces need to be added to the design document once the underlying structure of the game is established.
LearnCentral Link:  http://www.learncentral.org/event/61838

Thanks for your attention, and see you online!

[Cross-posted from http://www.stevehargadon.com]

A Week of Experiments: Thursday - Aula 2.0

steve@hargadon.com (Steve Hargadon) — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 06:42:00 +0000

We're in day four of our week of social networking experiments. :) Today, Aula 2.0.

Tomás Chaskel from Bogotá, Colombia, has been super-anxious to help start a version of Classroom 2.0 for Latin America. When I announced that Classroom 2.0 was celebrating it's third anniversary last month by hitting 40,000 members, Tomás emailed me again about this idea and it was with some surprise that I found that the domain aula20.com was available. And so, another experiment was born.

Tomás has been starting to populate the site's framework with some of the same features as Classroom 2.0, and it's his hope that some other passionate educators will come and help build up the content and discussions. While I lived in Brazil for a year as an exchange student in high school, and my rusty Portuguese allows me to "compre-stand" most of what he's writing, I pretty much passed the point of my greatest utility once I got the network up and going. What I can do now is to look forward to helping create a framework for a series of Spanish-language open professional development events using the "Host Your Own Webinar" program I work on for Elluminate! (If anyone wants to help with that, email me directly!)

Much of what I love about the Web is the ability to experiment, which comes with a deep lesson: projects often surprise you. Something you think will be a slam dunk ends up fizzling, and something that comes out of left field can create and sustain significant interest you would never have expected. In general, I've found that I really don't know what's going to happen until the wrappers are taken off and others can play with the ideas--especially because early adopters are often more influential than the creators to the success of a Web 2.0 project. The experiments this week might never become big-time projects, but I can tell you that they wouldn't have the chance to be anything at all if they just stayed a set of notes in a Google Doc that didn't ever see the light of day and withstand the scrutiny actual users. Which is why I determined this week, while it's Spring Break and our kids are occupied with their own fun, to take some evening hours and actually push these ideas out into the open. So far: BookDiscussions.com, Library 2.0, Students 2.0 and now Aula 2.0. Tomorrow's the last day: a special double-play with OpenSourceCon and GlobalEdCon.

Stay tuned!

[Cross-posted from http://www.stevehargadon.com]

A Week of Experiments: Wednesday - Students 2.0

steve@hargadon.com (Steve Hargadon) — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 03:13:00 +0000

So, while yesterday's "experiment" wasn't really that new or from scratch, today's certainly qualifies. "Students 2.0" is a brainstorm that has been growing for the last few months, and which started in a small restaurant with Jenny Luca telling me she wanted to teach a class on social media to students who might not otherwise be taught about blogs, wikis, and social networking in the context of building their own learning experiences. We brainstormed that evening and online, and the idea was actively simmering when I visited with Jackie Gerstein in Philadelphia after she'd presented at Educon 2.2 on "User-Generated Education." I realized that, for me, this was more than just about teaching the tools of Web 2.0 to students--it was about a mind-shift in thinking about how involved students can/could/should be in the shaping of their own educations.

Of course, I've been well-prepared for this moment. My original interview series at EdTechLive was with many of the superstars of the Open Source Programming world, all of whom did important work at a young age that was outside of their traditional schooling, but involved apprenticeship, mentoring, and communities of practice. My oldest daughter chose to homeschool herself and became a serious scholar of Shakespeare and other great literature, so I'd seen a student be a self-motivated scholar when provided with the right kind of mentoring and opportunities. I'd interviewed Arthus early on as well as the gang at the original Students 2oh project that Clay Burrell had facilitated, and I'd appreciated the work of Sylvia Martinez at GenYES supporting students being actively involved in tech support and teaching teachers. So the idea of some group of students actually being capable of driving their own learning made a lot of sense to me.

Here's what we've done to start:

I've scheduled a series of "Students 2.0" events at FutureofEducation.com to discuss this topic. We start with Robert Epstein to talk about his tome, Teen 2.0, and the idea that adolescence is a historically unique construct that, it can be argued (and I think he does), severely limits the inherent capabilities of teens. I have to say, I'm desperate to plunge into the book, and can't wait for the interview. Then Jackie Gerstein is going to come on and give us that presentation on "User-Generated Education," followed by Michael Furdyk, a teenage entrepreneur who then became one of the co-founders of the impressive TakingITGlobal. In June Elizabeth Kanna is going to speak on "Real World Student Preparation" and Jennifer Openshaw will speak on "What Every Parent, School, and Student Should Know: Preparing Our Kids for a Global Economy." Hopefully we'll draw in the good folks from Science Leadership Academy and other schools providing students with opportunities to shape their own learning--and send me your suggestions for other speakers!
We're launching Students 2.0 as a social network. Here's our vision: "Students 2.0 is a network for you to connect independently with other students and with mentors to shape your own educational paths and experiences outside of traditional institutions. It's a place to explore passionate interests, build professional competencies, and form your own Personal Learning Network (PLN)." The site is very much still in brainstorm mode, so please encourage students and mentors/educators to join and help us make something significant.
Jenny Luca is scheduling a "Learning Web 2.0 Series" for students that will be held in Students 2.0 and live in Elluminate, and which will start on April 21st and go eight weeks. She'd love some help, and we hope that this is just the start! As you can imagine, we've got lots of big ideas and really want to share them.

This should be interesting! Still to come: tomorrow - Aula 2.0, Friday - EduBloggerCon, OpenSourceCon, and GlobalEdCon.

[Cross-posted from http://www.stevehargadon.com]

A Week of Experiments: Tuesday - Library 2.0

steve@hargadon.com (Steve Hargadon) — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 05:24:00 +0000

This is day two of a week of experimenting with social networking projects, and I'm cheating a bit. But for a good cause.

Library 2.0 was started by Bill Drew in early 2007, a few weeks before I fired up Classroom 2.0. We kept in touch, and every so often we would correspond about our experiences running educationally-oriented social network. Some weeks ago I read that Bill was struggling with a spam problem on his network and had decided to shut it down. I emailed him and mentioned that I'd developed something of a system for dealing with spam on my networks, and asked if he would like me to help him or take the network over. It seemed a shame to think the network would be shutting down--first, because there were over 4,500 members, and second, because of my belief that librarians are a great model for the expanded role teachers will have in a Web 2.0 world.

Bill opted to have me take over the network, so I purchased the Library20.org domain name and set about to find a sponsor to remove the advertisements. Thanks to Elisabeth Abarbanel and Buffy Hamilton and the other librarians at Brentwood School, who generously stepped forward to sponsor the monthly fees from Ning, Library20.ning.com was seamlessly reborn last week as Library20.org. Wahoo!

So, in truth, Library 2.0 is not really an experiment and it didn't really happen today, but in a larger sense it really is part of this week of expanding projects--so we'll claim it anyway. And it is worth highlighting, so I hope you'll come visit or join the site if you are a librarian interested in the use of Web 2.0 and Social Media.

More to come! Tomorrow - Students 2.0. Thursday - Aula 2.0. And Friday - EduBloggerCon, OpenSourceCon, and GlobalEdCon. :)

[Cross-posted from http://www.stevehargadon.com]

This Week's Webinars Begin with Sir Ken Robinson Tonight

steve@hargadon.com (Steve Hargadon) — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 18:14:00 +0000

Below are this week's public, free, and interactive webinars through LearnCentral.org, the social learning network for education that I work on for Elluminate.

The time of the events below will show up automatically in your own time zone when you are registered in LearnCentral and when you have chosen your time zone in your profile. Event recordings are posted and available after the events if you aren't able to attend them live. Be on the lookout for Australia-time-friendly events as part of the new Australia Series!

I also hope you'll consider hosting your own public webinars using the LearnCentral public room--instructions are available by joining the "Host Your Own Webinar" group on the main announcement tab (http://www.learncentral.org/group/3432/host-your-own-webinars).

Tuesday, March 30th

FUTURE OF EDUCATION SERIES
5pm PDT (US) / 8pm EDT (US) / 12am (next day) GMT/UTC (intl times):
Join me for a live and interactive interview with Sir Ken Robinson, author of The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/60493

Wednesday, March 31st

THE AUSTRALIA SERIES
3am Pacific (US) / 6am EDT (US) / 12am (next day) GMT/UTC (intl times):
"E-blends and Regional/Remote Students Overcoming the Challenges" with Jo Hart. This will be an interactive session aimed at exploring some of the challenges (and some possible solutions) of using e-learning blends for flexible delivery to a highly diverse and geographically scattered student group across four AQF levels of literacy, numeracy and study skills.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/65232
EDUCATION FOR A DIGITAL WORLD 2.0 SERIES
12pm Pacific (US) / 3pm EDT (US) / 7pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Cultivating Communities of Practice: Analysis of 3 Case Studies Using the 7 Principles" with Sylvia Currie, Patricia Delich, and Paul Stacey. "In this session we will describe 3 case studies using Wenger, McDermott, & Snyder's (2002) 7 Principles for Cultivating Communities of Practice. This framework provides a close look at how our decisions about community design and technologies to support community activities were made and revised, as well as a consistent and rich view to help those involved in online and hybrid communities learn from our experiences." 30 minutes.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/65701
EDUCATION FOR A DIGITAL WORLD 2.0 SERIES
12:30pm Pacific (US) / 3:30pm EDT (US) / 7:30pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Blended Work – Experiences From International Development Project" with Susan Chrichton and Azra Naseem. "We know about blended learning but what about blended work? When we use learning tools in academic work place applications, what changes and what are the challenges? This seminar shares the authors’ experiences from the last fourteen months as we’ve navigated the virtual terrain connecting colleagues in Pakistan East Africa, the UK and Canada. Trust us, time zones weren’t the biggest challenge!" 30 minutes.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/65704
4pm Pacific (US) / 7pm EDT (US) / 11pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Blogging for Beginners" with Lorna Costantini and Kim Caise. Designed for participants new to blogging. Students will create a blog hosted at Weebly.com. Concepts covered - reading and writing a blog post, adding images, embedding video, what is an rss feed, and using a feed reader to monitor blog posts and comments.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/65209
MERLOT CLASSIC WEBSITE AWARDS SERIES
5pm Pacific (US) / 8pm EDT (US) / 12am (next day) GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Connecting Concepts – Biology Classics Award" with Jan Cheetham. Students play the role of predators on moths on a tree trunk. Then, they play the role of biologist, analyzing the changing gene frequencies of the moth population and determining if the population evolved over three generations. Students will: 1) collect data by “eating” moths; 2) calculate gene frequencies for each phenotype over three generations; 3) interpret graphs of data their data to determine if microevolution occurred; and 4) explain how selection acts on populations.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/60496

Thursday, April 1st

THE AUSTRALIA SERIES
4pm Pacific (US) / 7pm EDT (US) / 11pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Edublogs Serendipity - Unconference Session" with Jo Hart. "Join us in our fortnightly unconference sessions. Bring along the burning issues and hot topics YOU would like to discuss. Topic is chosen by poll at the start of the session."
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/59846

MERLOT CLASSIC WEBSITE AWARDS SERIES
5pm Pacific (US) / 8pm EDT (US) / 12am (next day) GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Texas Language Technology Center – World Languages Classics Award" with Carl Blyth. The Texas Language Technology Center is a model for innovation in technology-enhanced learning materials to teach languages. Many of its projects have won prestigious awards already and several have received five-star peer reviews in MERLOT, such as Tex’s French Grammar, Le Francais interactif, Ta Falado and Spanish Proficiency Exercises.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/60497

Saturday, April 3rd

MATH 2.0 SERIES
11am Pacific (US) / 2pm EDT (US) / 6pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
"MathOverflow." Anton Geraschenko, the founder, will present the research mathematics question and answer community MathOverflow.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/63030

Thanks for your attention, and see you online!

[Cross posted from http://www.stevehargadon.com]

New Education for a Digital World Event Series

steve@hargadon.com (Steve Hargadon) — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 15:24:00 +0000

The "Education for a Digital World 2.0" series kicks off Wednesday, March 30th, with two sessions. This series is a part of the LearnCentral public Webinar program and FutureofEducation.com. The collaboratively authored book, Education for a Digital World 2.0, and its predecessor Education for a Digital World represent a shift in how educators are sharing their research, experiences and best practices in online teaching and learning. Join us as we talk with individual authors about their contributions and the global online collaborative writing journey.

Title: Cultivating Communities of Practice: Analysis of 3 Case Studies Using the 7 Principles
Authors/Presenters: Sylvia Currie, Patricia Delich, and Paul Stacey
Date: Wednesday, March 31st, 2010
Time: 12:00 pm Pacific Time / 3:00 pm Eastern Time / 7:00pm GMT (international times here)
Description: "In this session we will describe 3 case studies using Wenger, McDermott, &; Snyder's (2002) 7 Principles for Cultivating Communities of Practice. This framework provides a close look at how our decisions about community design and technologies to support community activities were made and revised, as well as a consistent and rich view to help those involved in online and hybrid communities learn from our experiences."
Location: In Elluminate. Log in at http://tr.im/edw20. The Elluminate room will be open up to 30 minutes before the event if you want to come in early. If you haven't used Elluminate before, you can make sure your computer is configured correctly to enter the room by going to http://www.elluminate.com/support
Event Page: http://www.learncentral.org/event/65701

Title: Blended Work – Experiences From International Development Projects

Authors/Presenters: Susan Crichton with Azra Naseem

Date: Wednesday, March 31st, 2010

Time: 12:30 pm Pacific Time / 3:30 pm Eastern Time / 7:30pm GMT (international times here)

Description: "We know about blended learning but what about blended work? When we use learning tools in academic work place applications, what changes and what are the challenges? This seminar shares the authors’ experiences from the last fourteen months as we’ve navigated the virtual terrain connecting colleagues in Pakistan East Africa, the UK and Canada. Trust us, time zones weren’t the biggest challenge!"

Location: In Elluminate. Log in at http://tr.im/edw20b. The Elluminate room will be open up to 30 minutes before the event if you want to come in early. If you haven't used Elluminate before, you can make sure your computer is configured correctly to enter the room by going to http://www.elluminate.com/support

Event Page: http://www.learncentral.org/event/65704

[Cross-posted from http://www.stevehargadon.com]

A Week of Experiments: Monday - BookDiscussions.com

steve@hargadon.com (Steve Hargadon) — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 19:57:00 +0000

I've always wished there were an easy way to start discussions around a book using a social networking platform, but without requiring starting a whole new network. If you have a class, team, group, or other set of people wanting to hold an online book group, or to have an online component to a book group you are currently running, BookDiscussions.com is my attempt to provide a solution.

This site is very much a "work in progress," so your feedback and help are most encouraged! By virtue of other pressing projects, BookDiscussions won't get a lot of attention from me right now, but I didn't want to delay in making it available to others who might benefit from it. In the same breath, let me say that if there is someone for whom this is a real passion and you want to help somehow, let me know so I can bring you into the mix here!

Because I'm pretty dedicated to the education space, BookDiscussions will be first and foremost a student/family-friendly site, so please keep the language clean. I've started a group right off the bat for Sir Ken Robinson's The Element for those planning on attending or listening my interview with him tomorrow night.

To set up a book discussion, click on "Book Groups" at the top of the site and then "Add a Group." You'll have some choices about your group--a good starting place is to choose the "Discussion Form" and "Text Box" features to start with, and then decide if you want anyone to be able to join or only those you accept (safest). I do not recommend that you allow the option for members to send messages to the entire group.

Because book discussions groups are often for a particular audience, there can (and should) be more than one group for any book. I'm going to start seeding the network around the book authors I interview at my FutureofEducation.com and Conversations.net series. These are live events held in Elluminate. If you want to hold your own free, live, public events to do the same, more information is at the Host Your Own Webinar Group in LearnCentral.org or contact me directly.

[Cross-posted from http://www.stevehargadon.com]

PBS & CR 2.0--A Fresh Look at Teaching The Diary of Anne Frank

steve@hargadon.com (Steve Hargadon) — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 16:45:00 +0000

Date: Wednesday, April 7th, 2010
Time: 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern / 12am GMT (next day) (international times here)
Location: In Elluminate. http://tinyurl.com/pbscr20 If you haven't used Elluminate before, you can make sure your computer is configured correctly to enter the room by going to http://www.elluminate.com/support.
Event Page: http://www.classroom20.com/events/pbs-cr-20a-fresh-look-at

On Wednesday, April 7 at 8 p.m. EDT, Classroom 2.0 and PBS Teachers will host a webinar entitled, "A Fresh Look at Teaching The Diary of Anne Frank." Webinar participants will get a sneak peek at the all-new adaptation airing on Masterpiece and review educator materials created for middle and high school. These materials include a teacher's guide created in collaboration with the Holocaust education organization Facing History & Ourselves as well as an omnibus Resources Listing, which collects the best existing resources on Anne Frank and her historical context and offers resources for teens interested in journaling with digital media. Speakers include the author of the teacher's guide and an educator from Facing History and Ourselves.

[Cross-posted from http://www.stevehargadon.com]

PBS & CR 2.0--Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day

steve@hargadon.com (Steve Hargadon) — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 16:41:00 +0000

Date: Monday, April 5th, 2010
Time: 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern / 12am GMT (next day) (international times here)
Location: In Elluminate. http://tinyurl.com/pbscr20 If you haven't used Elluminate before, you can make sure your computer is configured correctly to enter the room by going to http://www.elluminate.com/support.
Event Page: http://www.classroom20.com/events/pbs-cr-20celebrating-the-40th

On Monday, April 5 at 8 p.m. EDT, PBS Teachers and Classroom 2.0 will host the next webinar in our PBS Teachers Live! series: "Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day." During this event, participants will learn about two new PBS projects: "Earth Days," a film by Robert Stone chronicling the history of the modern environmental movement, and Growing Greener Schools, a film and educational resources aimed at empowering students, teachers and parents to incorporate green ideas into both school buildings and classroom curricula. Presenters include the filmmakers and educational experts who will provide resources and strategies to help teachers celebrate this important anniversary in innovative and meaningful ways.

[Cross-posted from http://www.stevehargadon.com]

A Unique and Special Event Monday Morning That I Hope You Will Consider Attending

steve@hargadon.com (Steve Hargadon) — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 05:05:00 +0000

Dan Woodhouse is a 21-year-old disabled and home-based learner in the UK who will be presenting early Monday morning in Elluminate on his use of his computer and the Internet to carry out his studies and recreational activities.

Dan is a quadrilegic with Morquio's Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder in which his organs develop but his skeleton stopped growing. A news article about Dan can be read here: Brave quadriplegic Dan Woodhouse turns 21. Dan controls his computer by a cheek-operated switch using EZ Keys interface. John Pallister, a UK educator who has been working with Dan to help him prepare this presentation, gives more information on Dan on his blog:

He spends most of his day in his bed. He is an exceptional and very determined 21year old who is permanently connected up to a ventilator; he should not be able to speak, but he can. He has persevered and can now control the complex, ventilator driven, air flow such that he has a voice. He is a home-based learner who wants to communicate with others; he wants to participate and contribute. He has his own views, aspirations and ideas that he wants to share. He recognises the potential of learning to ‘free’ him from his room and actively seeks out opportunities to learn. He is looking towards the collaborative, participatory Web for a solution. A solution that would, and already has, transformed the way he learns, communicates and participates.

John and Dan have used the free "Host Your Own Webinar" room at LearnCentral.org to set up this event. On Dan's Facebook page for the event he describes what he will be presenting:

I have decided to create a live online presentation and Q&A with regards to my outlook on life, the future and everything. I will be talking about my personal history and circumstances, my hopes and ambitions for the future and how I currently utilise the internet and my pc to carry out my studies and recreational activities.

We hope that you will consider forwarding this ‘invitation’ to anyone in your personal learning network who you think might want to support Dan or contribute to how "Social Software/tools might help a home-based learner."

Date: Monday, March 29th, 2010
Time: 7am Pacific / 10am Eastern / 2pm GMT (international times here)
Duration: 1.5 hours
Location: In Elluminate. Log in at https://sas.elluminate.com/d.jnlp?sid=lcevents&password=Webinar_Guest. The Elluminate room will be open up to 30 minutes before the event if you want to come in early. To make sure that your computer is configured for Elluminate, please visit http://www.elluminate.com/support. Recordings of the session will be posted within a day of the event at the event page.
Event and Recording Page: http://www.learncentral.org/event/63602
Twitter Tag: #HomeBL

[Cross-posted from http://www.stevehargadon.com]

Tony Wagner Live Interview on The Global Achievement Gap

steve@hargadon.com (Steve Hargadon) — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 15:39:00 +0000

Join me for a FutureofEducation.com live and interactive interview with Tony Wagner, author of The Global Achievement Gap: Why Even Our Best Schools Don't Teach The New Survival Skills Our Children Need--and What We Can Do About It.

Date: Tuesday, April 6th, 2010
Time: 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern / 12am (next day) GMT (international times here)
Duration: 1 hour
Location: In Elluminate. Log in at http://tr.im/futureofed. The Elluminate room will be open up to 30 minutes before the event if you want to come in early. To make sure that your computer is configured for Elluminate, please visit http://www.elluminate.com/support. Recordings of the session will be posted within a day of the event at the event page.
Event and Recording Page: http://www.learncentral.org/event/60491

Book Description from Tony's Website:

"Despite the best efforts of educators, our nation's schools are dangerously obsolete. Instead of teaching students to be critical thinkers and problem-solvers, we are asking them to memorize facts for multiple choice tests. This problem isn't limited to low-income school districts: even our top schools aren't teaching or testing the skills that matter most in the global knowledge economy. Our teens leave school equipped to work only in the kinds of jobs that are fast disappearing from the American economy. Meanwhile, young adults in India and China are competing with our students for the most sought-after careers around the world.

"Education expert Tony Wagner has conducted scores of interviews with business leaders and observed hundreds of classes in some of the nation's most highly regarded public schools. He discovered a profound disconnect between what potential employers are looking for in young people today (critical thinking skills, creativity, and effective communication) and what our schools are providing (passive learning environments and uninspired lesson plans that focus on test preparation and reward memorization).

"He explains how every American can work to overhaul our education system, and he shows us examples of dramatically different schools that teach all students new skills. In addition, through interviews with college graduates and people who work with them, Wagner discovers how teachers, parents, and employers can motivate the 'net' generation to excellence."

TONY WAGNER has served as Co-Director of the Change Leadership Group (CLG) at the Harvard Graduate School of Education since its inception in 2000. An initiative of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, CLG is a "R & D" center that helps teams to be effective change leaders in schools and districts. He also was on the faculty of the Executive Leadership Program for Educators, a joint initiative of Harvard's Graduate School of Education, Business School, and Kennedy School of Government. Tony consults widely to public and independent schools, districts, and foundations around the country and internationally and served as Senior Advisor to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for eight years.

Tony has worked for more than thirty-five years in the field of school improvement, and he is a frequent keynote speaker and widely published author on education and society. Prior to assuming his current position at Harvard, Tony was a high school teacher for twelve years; a school principal; a university professor in teacher education; co-founder and first executive director of Educators for Social Responsibility; project director for the Public Agenda Foundation in New York; and President and CEO of the Institute for Responsive Education. He earned his a Masters of Arts in Teaching and Doctorate in Education at Harvard University.

Tony's publications include numerous articles and four books. Tony's latest book, The Global Achievement Gap: Why Even Our Best Schools Don't Teach the New Survival Skills Our Children Need-And What We Can do About It was recently published by Basic Books and will soon be translated into Chinese. His other titles include: Change Leadership: A Practical Guide to Transforming Our Schools; Making the Grade: Reinventing America's Schools; and How Schools Change: Lessons from Three Communities Revisited.

[Cross-posted from www.stevehargadon.com]

Live and Interactive with Sir Ken Robinson

steve@hargadon.com (Steve Hargadon) — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 14:56:00 +0000

Join me for a live and interactive interview with Sir Ken Robinson, author of The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything.

Date: Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

Time: 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern / 12am (next day) GMT (international times here)

Duration: 1 hour

Event and Recording Page: coming soon

(Part of the http://www.FutureofEducation.com interview series.)

Sir Ken Robinson, PhD is an internationally recognized leader in the development of creativity, innovation and human resources. He has worked with governments in Europe, Asia and the USA, with international agencies, Fortune 500 companies, and some of the world’s leading cultural organizations. In 1998, he led a national commission on creativity, education and the economy for the UK Government. ‘All Our Futures: Creativity, Culture and Education’ (The Robinson Report) was published to wide acclaim in 1999. He was the central figure in developing a strategy for creative and economic development as part of the Peace Process in Northern Ireland, working with the ministers for training, education enterprise and culture. He was one of four international advisors to the Singapore Government for its strategy to become the creative hub of South East Asia.

For twelve years, he was Professor of Education at the University of Warwick in the UK and is now Professor Emeritus. He has received honorary degrees from the Open University and the Central School of Speech and Drama; Birmingham City University, Rhode Island School of Design, Ringling College of Art and Design and the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts. He has been honored with the Athena Award of the Rhode Island School of Design for services to the arts and education; the Peabody Medal for contributions to the arts and culture in the United States, and the Benjamin Franklin Medal of the Royal Society of Arts for outstanding contributions to cultural relations between the United Kingdom and the United States. In 2005 he was named as one of Time/Fortune/CNN’s Principal Voices. In 2003, he received a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II for his services to the arts. He speaks to audiences throughout the world on the creative challenges facing business and education in the new global economies.

His new book, a New York Times Best Seller, ‘The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything’ (Penguin/Viking 2009) is being translated into sixteen languages.

Sir Ken was born in Liverpool, England as one of seven children. He is married to Therese (Lady) Robinson. They have two children, James and Kate, and live in Los Angeles, California.

[Cross-posted from http://www.stevehargadon.com]

David Hill and Lila Roberts on Classroom Demos for Learning Mathematics

steve@hargadon.com (Steve Hargadon) — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 22:14:00 +0000

MERLOT and Elluminate are coordinating a MERLOT Series on my Future of Education site: http://www.FutureofEducation.com. The series will feature MERLOT Classic Award winners from the 2008 and 2009 MERLOT International Conferences. The authors of these exemplary materials will describe their sites and the rationale for developing the site. The event will be co-hosted by Cathy Swift (MERLOT Director of Academic Partner Services) and me. The webinars are live and interactive, and typically are one hour long--allowing for a live Q&A after the presentation. All of these will be at 8 PM Eastern/ 7 PM Central/ 6 PM Mountain/ 5 PM Pacific.

Location: In Elluminate. Log in at http://tr.im/futureofed. The Elluminate room will be open up to 30 minutes before the event if you want to come in early. To make sure that your computer is configured for Elluminate, please visit http://www.elluminate.com/support. Recordings of the session will be posted within a day of the event at the event page.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Demos with Positive Impact - Mathematics Classics Award

This site is a collection of quick classroom demos that enhance the learning of mathematics content through animations, experiments etc. Each demo comes with stated objective, prerequisites, instructor notes and platform info, plus the level of the demo and credits. This setup appears conducive to quick inclusion into a class.

David R. Hill is a Professor of Mathematics in Temple University’s College of Science and Technology. He came to the Temple University in 1973 after earning a B.S. Ed, Mathematics from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, a M.A. in Mathematics from SUNY Buffalo, and a Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of Pittsburgh where his thesis was in numerical analysis. Between the M.A. and the PhD. he worked for a diversified manufacturing company as a computer analyst. He has also been a Visiting Professor at the University of the Virgin Islands.

Dr. Hill has taught a wide variety of graduate and undergraduate mathematics courses including numerical analysis, linear algebra, differential equations, calculus, and general education mathematics. He started developing and using instructional technology on an Apple II and has subsequently used a variety of technologies including MathCAD, Excel, Flash, and in particular MATLAB for instruction. He has co-authored books on linear algebra which incorporated technology in several different formats and has emphasized the use of MATLAB in upper divisional courses. He has also given a number of invited talks and contributed to conference proceedings on topics involving the integration of technology in teaching mathematics.

Lila F. Roberts is Dean of the College of Information and Mathematical Sciences and Professor of Mathematics at Clayton State University. Although most of her time these days is spent with academic administration, she enjoys investigating the use of various technologies for teaching and mathematics, including handheld devices such as iPods and iPhones. While she was a faculty member at Georgia Southern, she received an Award for Excellence in Contributions to Instruction.

The Demos with Positive Impact project has received recognition from the Eisenhower National Clearinghouse’s Digital Dozen, the MAA MathDL Digital Classroom Resources, the UK-based EEVL Internet Guide to Engineering, as a partner in the MAA’s Math Gateway NSDL project, and from MERLOT as the 2008 Classics Award as an Exemplary on-line Model for Mathematics.

[Cross-posted from http://ww.stevehargadon.com]

This Week's Super-Charged Live and Interactive Events

steve@hargadon.com (Steve Hargadon) — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 18:36:00 +0000

Below are this week's public, free, and interactive webinars through LearnCentral.org, the social learning network for education that I work on for Elluminate. Looking at the quantity of great events this week, all I can say is "Wow!"

The time of the events below will show up automatically in your own time zone when you are registered in LearnCentral and when you have chosen your time zone in your profile. Event recordings are posted and available after the events if you aren't able to attend them live. Be on the lookout for Australia-time-friendly events as part of the new Australia Series!

I also hope you'll consider hosting your own public webinars using the LearnCentral public room--instructions are available by joining the "Host Your Own Webinar" group on the main announcement tab (http://www.learncentral.org/group/3432/host-your-own-webinars).

Monday, March 22nd

6:00pm Pacific Time (US) / 1:00am (next day) GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Next Vista: The Dream Team Does A Video For You!" Next Vista Dream Team teacher Jeff Schmidt wants his students to make a video for you! Join us for what surely will be a life-changing experience. Or at least an opportunity to get a video made!
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/60321

THE AUSTRALIA SERIES: 9:45pm Pacific Time (US) / 4:45am (next day) GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Tech Talk Tuesday - Meeting your Network - Stories from Educon 2.2" Jenny Luca, recipient of the John Ward Award from the School Library Association of Victoria (SLAV), shares with us her recent experiences and findings from attending the recent conference, Educon, USA. Educon is an innovative education conference re School2.0 and as much about conversations as technology around the future of education.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/63493

Tuesday, March 23rd

6:30am Pacific Time (US) / 1:30pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
"E- Books And Libraries: Read Something New. Read An E- Book" Join us for a morning of sharing and discussion on e-books, their benefits, features, and future in libraries from the perspective of LYRASIS and five e-book publishers including IGI Global, Sage, Gale, Books 24x7 and Springer. LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/node/62829
1:30pm Pacific Time (US) / 8:30pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Digital Tools and Math" hosted by MSP2. Are you wondering how Glogster, Google Docs, or Scratch can be of service in your math classes? Have you seen a great way to build students' math vocabulary via podcasting? Are you looking for digital tools that can give your students more hands-on experience with algebra concepts? Get together with other math teachers to share ideas and resources to strengthen student learning in math through the use of digital tools. This will truly be a discussion and sharing session among peers. Eric Biederbeck and Tom Jenkins will moderate what, we hope, is a lively conversation!
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/node/58417
3:00pm Pacific Time (US) / 10:00pm GMT/UTC (int times):
"Document Sharing: Can You Digg It? Web Applications for Research" with Rochelle Rodrigo. Although the popular image of the lone writer in the garret still persists, we know that good research is done in collaboration with others. Document sharing technologies can help researchers through all stages of the research process, from initial ideas to project presentations.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/52299
5:00pm Pacific Time (US) / 1:00am (next day) GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Classical Conversations" with Tammy Moore. An overview of Classical Conversations' K-5 thru 12th grade classical studies within a Biblical Worldview. It teaches parents the classical model: the tools for learning any subject and connects families with others who homeschool using the classical method.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/62645

Wednesday, March 24th

THE AUSTRALIA SERIES: 1:00am Pacific Time (US) / 8:00am GMT/UTC (intl times):
"eT@lking - Developing Personal Networks." Sue Waters shares how to develop a learning network that will ensure you are able to learn, share, discuss and stay at the edge of cutting technology.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/node/61274
6:00am Pacific Time (US) / 1:00pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Using Elluminate In International School Partnerships." Val Brooks showcases using Elluminate Live within an international context, sharing examples of how Elluminate has been used collaboratively and giving you the opportunity to experience some of the collaborative tools available.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/node/62830
11:00am Pacific Time (US) / 6:00pm GMT/UTC (int times):
"Jane Bozarth's The Nuts And Bolts Of Social Media." This session will cover basics of creating and sustaining community via social media tools. Rather than theory, participants will walk away with an understanding of how to implement and utilize these applications. Briefly, we will look at several popular social media tools, such as blogs, wikis, Facebook and Twitter, then basics of using these tools for 1) Creating Community & Community Management; 2) Fostering Communities of Practice; 3) Knowledge Transfer and Management.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/62831
4:00pm Pacific Time (US) / 11:00am (next day) GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Twitter for Beginners" Join Lorna Costantini and Kim Caise to learn how to use the microblogging tool, Twitter. If you have never used Twitter or signed up for an account but forgot you had the account then this webinar is for you! If you are an experienced Twitterer, please feel free to refer colleagues who have never used Twitter or a microblogging tool before.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/63524
5:00pm Pacific Time (US) / 12:00am (next day) GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Learning Civics through Gaming: Our Courts." As the vision of Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, OUR COURTS is a free website offering several online games, with accompanying teacher materials, designed to teach students civics and inspire them to be active participants in our democracy.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/56830
5:00pm Pacific Time (US) / 12:00am (next day) GMT/UTC (intl times):
"William Kist on The Socially Networked Classroom." Join Steve Hargadon for a live and interactive interview with Bill Kist, author of The Socially Networked Classroom: Teaching in the New Media Age. Web sites like Facebook and Twitter have transformed the way young people interact and communicate. With appropriate guidelines, students’ social networking skills can be harnessed to develop new literacies and deepen teaching and learning in the 21st century.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/60490
6:30pm Pacific Time (US) / 1:00am (next day) GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Math 2.0: Art of Problem Solving." Richard Ruskzyk, the founder, will present The Art of Problem Solving community of avid math students.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/63028

Thursday, March 25th

10:00am Pacific Time (US) / 5:00pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Positioning Yourself For Job Opportunities In Social Networking And Collaborative Learning." It took organizations ten years to realize that value of e-Learning. It will only take 2-3 years for organizations to start looking for analysts, content producers, leaders, coaches, and anthropologists in the new fields. This will be a huge opportunity for e-Learning professionals to position themselves, acquire new skills and advance their careers and incomes. The session will presents early indicators on where the new careers are in demand and what skill sets, backgrounds, and specialization they require.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/node/62832
10:00am Pacific Time (US) / 5:00pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Riches In Niches: How To Make It Big In A Small Market: Part One" with Susan Friedmann. Learn the secrets to master your niche and maximize the reward. This session will provide you and your team with instant and actionable tools and methods to maximize your profits from a successful, unified niche marketing strategy for your business – no matter what the size.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/node/62833
11:00am Pacific Time (US) / 6:00pm GMT/UTC (int times):
"Elluminati Connecting Classrooms." Explore how Elluminati members are experiencing tremendous success using Elluminate to connect classrooms across the hall and around the world. Coupling Elluminate with interactive whiteboards such as Promethean and SmartBoards allows students in the physical classroom to observe while their classmates near and far learn together.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/61677
12:00pm Pacific Time (US) / 7:00pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
"How to be your Gifted Child’s Best Advocate – Supporting Your Child at Home and at School." Parenting a gifted child can be challenging. Margaret Keane and Anna Giblin of Giftedkids.ie examine ways in which parents can help their exceptionally able children at home and at school.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/53372
THE AUSTRALIA SERIES: 4:00pm Pacific Time (US) / 11:00pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Edublogs Tools and Strategies - Teaching with Moodle." Join us and guest presenter Tomaz Lasic (teacher, coach & mentor). Currently at Moodle HQ where he is an interface between educators and Moodle developers, Tomaz has many Moodle stories to tell - today he will give us an overview and then throw the session open to questions (not-tech) about using Moodle "on the ground"
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/59852
4:30pm Pacific Time (US) / 12:30am (next day) GMT/UTC (intl times):
"VSTE Webinar: Innovators as Advocates: John Hendron and G21." Using technology to support innovative instructional practice is a great way to demonstrate the power of educational technology. Join us in our first series of webinars as VSTE begins talking about advocacy and innovation—a partnership for positive change. VSTE board members Heather Blanton (Wise County) and John Hendron (Goochland County) join forces to discuss how to jump-start grassroots advocacy through innovative classroom practices. Discussed will be the Goochland County model for inspiring change in pedagogy with a focus on twenty-first century skills: the G21 framework.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/53607
5:00pm Pacific Time (US) / 12:00am (next day) GMT/UTC (intl times):
"PBS & Classroom 2.0--The Buddha: Teaching Mindfulness." Filmmaker David Grubin will show clips from his new film, The Buddha, and talk about making the film and what he hopes audiences, particularly teachers and students, will take away from it.
Link: http://www.classroom20.com/events/pbs-cr-20the-buddha-teaching
5:00pm Pacific Time (US) / 12:00am (next day) GMT/UTC (intl times):
"David Hill on Demos with Positive Impact (MERLOT Series)."
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/60490

Saturday, March 27th

7:00am Pacific Time (US) / 2:00pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Opening up Professional Development: Online Training for EFL/ESL Educators" with Benjamin Stewart. Merging professional development and e-learning provides educators not only opportunities to interact with each other but also with other educators outside the institution. This talk with present a current online workshop dedicated to EFL/ESL educators interested in discussing and practicing ways in integrating technology that promotes English as a foreign and second language learning. Participants are encouraged to share their experiences with similar courses they have had either as a teacher, facilitator, and/or learner.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/node/61431
9:00am Pacific Time (US) / 3:00pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Choosing and Using Video Games in the Classroom: Coaching During Play " Now that you're ready to bring the games to the classroom, how do you maximize their effectiveness as a learning tool? How can we support students during labs, yet still give them time to explore? Effective coaching and management can affect results. This is the fourth installment of the Learning Games Network's "Choosing and Using Learning Games in the Classroom" series.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/node/58441
9:00am Pacific Time (US) / 3:00pm GMT/UTC (intl times): Kim Caise, Peggy George, and Lorna Costantini host the weekly Classroom 2.0 LIVE! show. This week: "Earthcast 2010" with special guests Matt Montagne, Sheila Adams and Jose Rodriguez.
Link: http://live.classroom20.com

10:00am Pacific Time (US) / 5:00pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Designing eGames: Play Testing." Play testing may sound easy, but it is frequently one of the most difficult (and beneficial!) parts of game development. Play testing involves changing the game and rewriting rules on the fly as players react, ask questions, and provide feedback. It is important to be flexible and really listen to players’ responses to make the game more fun and effective. Then revise, edit, and revise the design plan again. This is the next session in the Learning Games' Network's Designing eGames series.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/61836
7:00pm Pacific Time (US) / 2:00am GMT/UTC (intl times):
LeRoy Hill hosts the regular CEN (Caribbean Educators Network) meeting.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/58880

Thanks for your attention, and see you online!

[Cross-posted from http://www.stevehargadon.com]

Live Interview with William Kist on the Socially Networked Classroom

steve@hargadon.com (Steve Hargadon) — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 16:16:00 +0000

Join me for a live and interactive interview with Bill Kist, author of The Socially Networked Classroom.

Date:Wednesday , March 24th, 2010

Time: 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern / 12am (next day) GMT (international times here)

Duration: 1 hour

Event and Recording Page: http://www.learncentral.org/event/60490

(Part of the http://www.FutureofEducation.com interview series.)

Web sites like Facebook and Twitter have transformed the way young people interact and communicate. With appropriate guidelines, students’ social networking skills can be harnessed to develop new literacies and deepen teaching and learning in the 21st century.

The Socially Networked Classroom demonstrates how pioneering teachers have successfully integrated screen-based literacies into their instruction. This book includes:

Real-world activities and lesson examples with assignment sheets, assessments, and rubrics
Ideas on fostering collaborative learning using blogs, wikis, nings, and other interactive media.
Tips on Internet safety, blogging etiquette, protected blogging sites, and more
Blog entries from classroom teachers

With this accessible guide for Grades 5–12, teachers of all levels of technological expertise can help students develop the new literacies necessary to succeed in a digital world.

William Kist is an associate professor at Kent State University, where he teaches literacy methods courses for pre-service teachers in the area of English Education in the Adolescence to Young Adult Education Program. He also teaches graduate students in the Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.) program and in Curriculum & Instruction.

He has been a middle school and high school language arts teacher for the Akron Public Schools (teaching at, among other schools, his alma mater, Firestone High School); a language arts and social studies curriculum coordinator for the Medina County Schools’ Educational Service Center and the Hudson City Schools; and a consultant and trainer for school districts across the United States, both independently and as a consultant for the National Council of Teachers of English.

Dr. Kist has been active on the state and national levels as a literacy educator, founding and facilitating the Ohio Language Arts Supervisors' Network and currently serving as Director for the Commission on Media for the National Council of Teachers of English.

Focusing on new literacies--broadening our conceptions of "literacy" to include alternative media such as video, blogging, and text messaging—Dr. Kist’s new book,The Socially Networked Classroom, explores classroom uses of social networking in classrooms. He has presented nationally and internationally, with over 40 articles or book chapters to his credit; his profiles of teachers were the essence of his book New Literacies in Action (2005) which was chosen as a National Council of Teachers of English Select Book Dr. Kist has been sought out for interviews in the popular press regarding new literacies including such publications as Racine Journal-Times, theHartford Courant, and Education Week’s Digital Directions.

Remaining active in video production work, Dr. Kist is the recipient of an Ohio Educational Broadcasting Network Commission (OEBIE) Honorable Mention for the documentary The Learning Age and a regional Emmy Award nomination for outstanding achievement in music composition for the documentary series Our Family. He has worked as a producer for the streaming video Project AdLit for the Ohio Resource Center for Mathematics, Science and Reading and is the writer/director of an independent feature Summer’s Journey, the result of a film collaboration that spans 17 years.

Also, a musician, Bill's musical training began at the age of six with piano lessons from well-known local bandleader Ange Lombardi and continued through graduate school at Kent State where his teacher was Margaret Baxtresser. He currently is studying with Jackie Warren, known as “the first lady of Cleveland jazz” Throughout his career as an educator, Bill has remained active as a professional musician performing at such local establishments as Lannings Restaurant, the former Cascade Club, and the Akron City Club. Bill lives in Akron, Ohio with his wife, Stephanie.

[Cross-posted from http://www.stevehargadon.com]

Live and Interactive with Cathy Davidson on "The Future of Thinking: Learning Institutions in a Digital Age"

steve@hargadon.com (Steve Hargadon) — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 00:46:00 +0000

Join me for a live and interactive interview with Cathy Davidson, co-author of "The Future of Learning Institutions in a Digital Age."

Date: Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010

Time: 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern / 12am (next day) GMT (international times here)

Duration: 1 hour

Event and Recording Page: http://www.learncentral.org/event/60489

(Part of the http://www.FutureofEducation.com interview series.)

From the MIT Press site:

"Over the past two decades, the way we learn has changed dramatically. We have new sources of information and new ways to exchange and to interact with information. But our schools and the way we teach have remained largely the same for years, even centuries. What happens to traditional educational institutions when learning also takes place on a vast range of Internet sites, from Pokemon Web pages to Wikipedia? This report investigates how traditional learning institutions can become as innovative, flexible, robust, and collaborative as the best social networking sites. The authors propose an alternative definition of "institution" as a "mobilizing network"—emphasizing its flexibility, the permeability of its boundaries, its interactive productivity, and its potential as a catalyst for change—and explore the implications for higher education.

"The Future of Thinking reports on innovative, virtual institutions. It also uses the idea of a virtual institution both as part of its subject matter and as part of its process: the first draft was hosted on a Web site for collaborative feedback and writing. The authors use this experiment in participatory writing as a test case for virtual institutions, learning institutions, and a new form of collaborative authorship. The finished version is still posted and open for comment. This book is the full-length report of the project, which was summarized in an earlier MacArthur volume, The Future of Learning Institutions in a Digital Age."

From Wikipedia: "Cathy N. Davidson is an American scholar and university professor. She has served as the Ruth F. DeVarney Professor of English at Duke University since 1996 and has held a second distinguished chair as the John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies since 2006. She has served in leadership roles at Duke and a variety of organizations and has authored or edited eighteen books. Her work for the last decade has focused on technology, collaboration, cognition, learning, and the digital age."

Over the past two decades, the way we learn has changed dramatically. We have new sources of information and new ways to exchange and to interact with information. But our schools and the way we teach have remained largely the same for years, even centuries. What happens to traditional educational institutions when learning also takes place on a vast range of Internet sites, from Pokemon Web pages to Wikipedia? This report investigates how traditional learning institutions can become as innovative, flexible, robust, and collaborative as the best social networking sites. The authors propose an alternative definition of "institution" as a "mobilizing network"—emphasizing its flexibility, the permeability of its boundaries, its interactive productivity, and its potential as a catalyst for change—and explore the implications for higher education.

From the HASTAC site:

Key Findings

Young people today are learning in new ways that are both collective and egalitarian.
They are contributing to Wikipedia, commenting on blogs, teaching themselves programming and figuring out work-arounds to online video games. They follow links embedded in articles to build a deeper understanding. They comment on papers and ideas in an interactive and immediate exchange ofideas. All these acts are collaborative and democratic, and all occur amid a worldwide community of voices.

Universities must recognize this new way of learning and adapt or risk becoming obsolete.
The university model of teaching and learning relies on a hierarchy of expertise, disciplinary divides, restricted admission to those considered worthy, and a focused, solitary area of expertise. However, with participatory learning and digital media, these conventional modes of authority break down.

Today's learning is interactive and without walls.
Individuals learn anywhere, anytime, and with greater ease than ever before. Learning today blurs lines of expertise and tears down barriers to admission. While it has never been confined solely to the academy, today's opportunities for independent learning have never been easier nor more diverse.

Ten Principles for Redesigning Learning Institutions

The authors offer ten principles that can guide universities and other institutions of learning in adapting to learning in a digital age. They focus on college-aged students, although the recommendations also apply generally for all age groups.

Self-learning: Today's learners are self-learners. They browse, scan, follow links in mid-paragraph to related material. They look up information and follow new threads. They create their own paths to understanding.

Horizontal structures: Rather than top-down teaching and standardized curriculum, today's learning is collaborative; learners multitask and work out solutions together on projects. Learning strategy shifts from a focus on information as such to learning to judge reliable information. It shifts from memorizing information to finding reliable sources. In short, it shifts from learning that to learning how.

From presumed authority to collective credibility: Reliance on the knowledge authorities or certified experts is no longer tenable amid the growing complexities of collaborative and interdisciplinary learning. A key challenge in collaborative environments will be fostering and managing levels of trust.

A de-centered pedagogy: To ban or limit collective knowledge sources such as Wikipedia in classrooms is to miss the importance of collaborative knowledge-making. Learning institutions should instead adopt a more inductive, collective pedagogy based on collective checking, inquisitive skepticism, and group assessment.

Networked learning: Learning has traditionally often assumed a winner-take-all competitive form rather than a cooperative form. One cooperates in a classroom only if it maximizes narrow self-interest. Networked learning, in contrast, is committed to a vision of the social that stresses cooperation, interactivity, mutual benefit, and social engagement. The power of ten working interactively will invariably outstrip the power of one looking to beat out the other nine.

Open source education: Traditional learning environments convey knowledge via overwhelmingly copyright-protected publications. Networked learning, contrastingly, is an 'open source' culture that seeks to share openly and freely in both creating and distributing knowledge and products.

Learning as connectivity and interactivity: Challenges in a networked learning environment are not an individual's alone. Digital tools and software make working in isolation on a project unnecessary. Networking through file-sharing, data sharing, and seamless, instant communication is now possible.

Lifelong learning: The speed of change in this digital world requires individuals to learn anew, face novel conditions, and adapt at a record pace. Learning never ends. How we know has changed radically.

Learning institutions as mobilizing networks: Rather than thinking of learning institutions as a bundle of rules, regulations, and norms governing the actions within its structure, new institutions must begin to think of themselves as mobilizing networks. These institutions mobilize flexibility, interactivity, and outcomes. Issues of consideration in these institutions are ones of reliability and predictability alongside flexibility and innovation.

Flexible scalability and simulation: Learning institutions must be open to changing scale. Students may work in small groups on a specific topic or together in an open-ended and open-sourced contribution.

These ten principles, the authors argue, are the first steps in redesigning learning institutions to fit the new digital world. By assessing some of the institutional barriers to change, the authors hope to mobilize institutions to envision formal, higher education as part of a continuum of the networked world that students engage in online today.

To view the report online, visit: http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/chapters/Future_of_Learning.pdf

[Cross-posted from http://www.stevehargadon.com]

This Week's Live and Interactive Webinars

steve@hargadon.com (Steve Hargadon) — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 02:01:00 +0000

Below are this week's public, free, and interactive webinars through LearnCentral.org, the social learning network for education that I work on for Elluminate.

The time of the events below will show up automatically in your own time zone when you are registered in LearnCentral and when you have chosen your time zone in your profile. Event recordings are posted and available after the events if you aren't able to attend them live. Be on the lookout for Australia-time-friendly events as part of the new Australia Series!

I also hope you'll consider hosting your own public webinars using the LearnCentral public room--instructions are available by joining the "Host Your Own Webinar" group on the main announcement tab (http://www.learncentral.org/group/3432/host-your-own-webinars).

Wednesday, March 17th

AUSTRALIA SERIES: 1:00am Pacific Time (US) / 8:00Am GMT/UTC (intl times):
"eT@lking: Developing Learning Resources." Presented by Rowan Peter, Elias Madi and special guests. Rowan and Elias are part of the resource development team in the Learning Innovation and Development Unit at Holmesglen. In this presentation they will discuss: the production cycle of a ‘typical’ online learning resource; development tools and techniques; roles and responsibilities of project team members; and examples of work.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/61409

4:00pm Pacific Time (US) / 11:00pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Twitter for Beginners." Join Lorna Costantini and Kim Caise to learn how to use the microblogging tool, Twitter. Please feel free to refer colleagues who have never used Twitter or a microblogging tool before.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/63193

5:00pm Pacific Time (US) / 12:00am (next day) GMT/UTC (intl times):
"21st Century Skills." Join me for a live and interactive interview with Bernie Trilling and Charles Fadel. In 21st Century Skills, Trilling and Fadel tell why and how the global landscape for learning is reshaping itself, and what this global transformation, often called the “21st century skills movement,” may bring to a school near you.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/60487

Thursday, March 18th

AUSTRALIA SERIES: 12:30pm Pacific Time (US) / 7:30pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
"Business Breakfast - Open for Business in a Virtual Office." The first of a series of Breakfast Seminars for managers and business owners. eLearn Australia uses Elluminate as a Virtual Office, offering clients and employees flexible working environments, true collaboration and effective communication. Presented by the CEO of eLearn Australia. Managers and Supervisors, Principals of Colleges and Schools and small business proprietors looking to reach a wider market place will find this seminar of value. LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/node/52133
AUSTRALIA SERIES: 4:00pm Pacific Time (US) / 11:00pm GMT/UTC (int times):
"Edublogs Serendipity - Unconference Session." Join Jo Hart in the fortnightly unconference session. Bring along the burning issues and hot topics YOU would like to discuss. Topic is chosen by poll at the start of the session
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/59845
5:00pm Pacific Time (US) / 1:00am GMT/UTC (intl times):
I interview Michael Moe and Deborah Quazzo on "Ed Tech: A View from the Commercial Side." Join me live and interactive as we explore with these education-sector investors the relationship of commercial companies to education and educational change. Where is education going and why or how do commercial companies need to be involved?
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/60488

Saturday, March 20th

9:00am Pacific Time (US) / 5:00pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
Kim Caise, Peggy George, and Lorna Costantini host the weekly Classroom 2.0 LIVE! show. This week: "Innovations for Mobile Learning for Young Children" with special guest, Carly Shuler from the Joan Ganz Cooney Center.
Link: http://live.classroom20.com

11:00am Pacific Time (US) / 6:00pm GMT/UTC (intl times):
Maria Droujkova hosts "Math 2.0 Weekly." This week, Ethnomathematics! with Dr. Lawrence Shirley, the organizer of the Fourth International Conference of Ethnomathematics, will give an overview of the field and the International Study Group.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/61835
7:00pm Pacific Time (US) / 2:00am GMT/UTC (intl times):
LeRoy Hill hosts the regular CEN (Caribbean Educators Network) meeting.
LearnCentral Link: http://www.learncentral.org/event/58879

Thanks for your attention, and see you online!

[Cross-posted from http://www.stevehargadon.com]

Live and Interactive: A View from the Commercial Side of Ed Tech

steve@hargadon.com (Steve Hargadon) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 23:53:00 +0000

Join me for a live and interactive interview in Elluminate with Deborah Quazzo and Michael Moe from NeXtAdvisors. We'll explore with these education-sector investors the relationship of commercial companies to education and educational change. Where is education going and why or how do commercial companies need to be involved? This look at the commercial side of education is guaranteed to stir some controversy.

DETAILS:

Date: Thursday, March 18th, 2010

Time: 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern / 12am (next day) GMT (international times here)

Duration: 1 hour

Event and Recording Page: http://www.learncentral.org/event/60488

OUR GUESTS:

Deborah Quazzo – Co-Founder, NeXtAdvisors, LLC
Deborah is a 20 year veteran of investment banking. In 2001 Deborah co-founded ThinkEquity Partners with Michael Moe; she was President and Head of Investment Banking. ThinkEquity was acquired in March 2007 by London-based Panmure Gordon (AIM: PMR) where Deborah was a Board member until her resignation in October 2008. She has been a longtime banker to the education sector where her clients have included Franklin Covey, The Princeton Review, Plato Learning, Thompson Corporation, Reed-Elsevier, American Public Education (APEI), and K12, Inc. (LRN).

Prior to ThinkEquity, Deborah was a Managing Director in Investment Banking at Merrill Lynch & Co., where she worked from 1987-2001. While at Merrill she founded and headed the Global Growth Banking Group, focused on education, business and marketing services and human capital sectors. She previously worked at J.P. Morgan. Deborah serves on the Illinois Board of The Nature Conservancy; Steppenwolf Theater Company; Teach for America Chicago; the Executive Committee of the Princeton Aspire Campaign; Marwen, a rigorous visual arts education provider for underserved youth; and America’s Promise – The Alliance for Youth, a collaborative founded by General Colin Powell and dedicated to the well being of children and youth. Deborah graduated cum laude with a BA in history from Princeton University in 1982 and an MBA from Harvard University in 1987.

Michael Moe – Co-Founder, NeXtAdvisors, LLC
Michael has over 20 years of experience and previously co-founded and was CEO of ThinkEquity Partners, a growth-focused investment bank. From Think’s inception in July 2001, the firm grew at a 50% CAGR to $70 million in revenue in 2007, reaching 180 employees. ThinkEquity was sold in March 2007 to London-based Panmure Gordon. Prior to that, Mr. Moe was Head of Global Growth Research at Merrill Lynch and before that he was Head of Growth Research and Strategy at Montgomery Securities. Mr. Moe has been named to Institutional Investor’s All American research team and has been awarded Best on the Street by The Wall Street Journal. Additionally, he has been called one of the best stock pickers in the country by BusinessWeek magazine. He has testified in front of the U.S. Congress on the subjects of education technology, the new economy and initial public offerings, and he has also appeared before the President’s Information Technology Advisory Committee. He is frequently cited in publications such as The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times for his opinions on growth companies and appears regularly on financial programs on CNBC and Fox Business News.

Mr. Moe is a contributor to the AlwaysOn Network – a blog site about new media technology and venture capital news. He is a member of the New York Society of Security Analysts, the San Francisco Analyst Society and is a past advisor for the Center for Innovation. He is on the Advisory Board of Institutional Venture Partners (IVP). Mr. Moe is also on the Board of Directors of Sharespost, an alternative stock market for private, emerging companies and on the Board of Advisors for the Venture Capital~Private Equity Roundtable. He was on the National Finance Committee for John McCain’s Presidential Campaign, and was a policy advisor. Mr. Moe is on the board of directors for the National Football Foundation/College Football Hall of Fame. In 2007, he published his first book, Finding the Next Starbucks: How to Identify and Invest in the Hot Stocks of Tomorrow(Penguin/Portfolio Books, 2006), which has gone through three printings and has been published in five different languages. He earned his BA in Political Science and Economics at the University of Minnesota.

[Cross-posted from http://www.stevehargadon.com]