Notes - Google Workshop for Educators #iste10 #gweiste10

The Google Workshop for Educators at ISTE2010 was a great workshop. I want to thank Mark Wagner and all the google certified teachers that presented. I thought I knew a lot about Google tools, but by the end of the day I realized that I really didn't know that much at all. I was most amazed by Google Search. Yeah, I thought I wasn't even going to pay attention to that part of the workshop. How much could there be that I don't know about Google Search? Well, as it turns out, there was a lot that I didn't know. :)

Here is the link to the workshop resources:
http://bit.ly/gweiste10

Below are some of the highlights that I pulled out of my notes as I reviewed them:

Google Search

• Search Features - Every student should know about this. It is a list of Google search tools that are specific to certain types of content.
• Want to narrow down your search results? Down on the lower left hand side of your there are two options to check out: Wonder Wheel and Timeline. These two options allow you to quickly narrow down your results.
• Google Squared - This is a google labs feature. You can do a google search and it will create a spreadsheet of the results. It is great for comparisons!
• Custom Google Search - You can build your own search engine. Your create the URL, and you select the domains it has access to pull data from. It could help if you are worried about students finding inappropriate results. Or you could have students create them to collaboratively build a set of the best resources for a subject.

Google Docs

• You can now create templates for documents. There is also a whole section of Education templates already built
• Use the map gadget in Spreadsheets to build a custom google map based on the select data.

Google Maps

• Panoramio - You can take a picture of something, geo tag it and upload it to Panoramio. Google reviews the pictures for content and then if approved they will become part of the photos layer in google maps
• Collaborative Maps - You can use your Google account to create your own custom map. You can then share the map with other users and build a collaborative map. Right now this option is not available for Google Apps users. It should be available by the end of the year.
• Google Lit Trips - This website is a great resource for doing webquest type activities with your students.

Google Sites

• Create templates for your teachers to use when starting out.
• Picasa - Use Picasa to create a web album that can be turned into an embedded slide show in your website.
• Use Google Analytics to track your site usage statistics.

Even More

• City Tours - This is a neat labs function.

iPad: Is it a 1:1 device? #ebc10

We made it to the final session of EduBloggerCon2010 yesterday and sat in on a discussion about whether or not the iPad is a good fit for 1:1 initiatives. It was a great discussion with most of the group commenting on reasons why it was not a good fit. Some of the reasons:
No enterprise management
Consumption only (no way to create)
Closed system

I have to agree There are many reasons why it isn't a good fit if it is the only device available to students. However, I don't think this was necessarily the right discussion. In this day and age with all the devices that are available, should we still be looking for one device that can do everything? Is that cost effective? Shouldn't we be looking for ways to give our students experience on as many different devices as possible? Shouldn't we be teaching them to pick the right tool for the job?

I think we must begin to support many devices and many platforms. We need to give our students the opportunity to experience as much as possible and not lock them into one platform, or one device. This will enable them to be better prepared for whatever is thrown at them when they get into their chosen industry.

Google Chrome Beta 5

Google released Chrome Beta 5 on May 10th. They also released a new youtube video to show exactly how fast the new Chrome Beta is:

Kevin Honeycutt at TCEA TECSIG 2010 Spring Meeting

I had the pleasure of hearing Kevin Honeycutt (http://kevinhoneycutt.org/ and @kevinhoneycutt) share his ideas at the TCEA TECSIG Spring meeting this year. I have to say, he was a wonderful presenter. He was the keynote speaker and he also did a break out session.

It was reassuring to hear him talk about working with students, and the lengths he would do to try to help them be successful. He talked a lot about technology and how it has changed the way our students learn. He also played a few wicked guitar solos! :) You can see a uStream of his keynote below.

Keynote - http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/6358905

Here is a great you tube video he made:

Here is a uStream of his breakout session. It is audio only and I think it was recorded from an iPhone in the back of the room so the audio isn't that great.

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/6362715

I thought the breakout session was really good. One of the key points he made was that administrators must protect innovation. He also talked about the importance of project based learning. He cautioned that these projects can't be driven by one personality. In order to achieve long term success they must be driven by the system.

He also gave a demonstration of a very cool tool called AR media. This is an amazing plugin for Google Sketchup that allows users to visualize their 3-D models using augmented reality. You can get more information at their website:

http://www.inglobetechnologies.com/en/products/arplugin_su/info.php

I can see this being used for so many things in the classroom. I can't wait to spend some time testing it. You can see a demo below:

How to add a footer to blogger

ant to add a footer to your blogger.com blog? Here's how to do it:

1. Go to the dashboard
2. Select the layout option for the blog you want to add the footer to
3. Click the edit HTML tab
4. In the HTML editor box, scroll all the way to the bottom
5. Look for this line:
6. Underneath that line add in the text for your footer
7. Click the preview button to verify the text is in the right location
8. Close the preview window
9. Click save template

The code for the footer on this blog looks like this:

How to change the max upload size for Moodle

These instructions will depend on your OS, and moodle version.

Our Moodle installation:

Cent OS 5.4

Apache v2.2.3

MySQL v5.0.77

PHP v5.1

Moodle v1.9.8

In order to change our max upload size we had to change 2 variables in our php.ini file. The php.ini file is located in the /etc directory. I use the nano editor to edit the file.

Here are the steps:

1. cd etc
2. nano php.ini (opens the php.ini file in the nano editor)
3. look for the post_max_size variable and change it as follows
4. post_max_size = 30M (change the 30 to whatever size you want)
5. look for the upload_max_filesize variable and change it as follows
6. upload_max_filesize = 30M (change the 30 to the same size as the post_max_size variable)
7. ctrl-x (to exit the nano editor)
8. Y (to save the file)
9. Restart your box

That should do it. When the server comes back up you will be able to upload and post up-to 30MB files.

A balloon

At the TECSIG 2010 Spring meeting I had the pleasure of listening to Kevin Honeycutt speak. He made many thought provoking comments, but this one stood out:

"If you push on a balloon, when you let go it goes back to the way it was."

This idea and the conversation surrounding it made me start thinking. He was talking about systemic change. The idea being that if only one person is pushing on the balloon (fighting the status quo), you are in big trouble when they leave. How do we get the system to push on the balloon? If not the system there must at least be a core group of people who are responsible for being change agents. Otherwise there will never be any real change.

I thought this was a great piece of imagery, and a wonderful topic for discussion. I hope to use it in future presentations myself!