Weekly Tech Tip - Text-to-Speech Digital Storytelling in k-2

Weekly Tech Tip:



Related Links:

• - If you can type, you can make movies. Text-to-Movie
• - convert text to speech
• - convert text to speech (spoken by a cartoon avatar)
• vozMe - convert text to speech
• - convert text to speech
• Voki
• Watch some of Ms. Brigham's student research projects on her teacher webpage.

Video Festival:

Link Stew:

• Great example of the use of VoiceThread for primary math instruction/assessment:

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• Want to connect with teachers and scientists Live in Antarctica by webconference? Sign up here.
• Limits to self-organising systems of learning—the Kalikuppam experiment by Sugata Mitra and Ritu Dangwal in the British Journal of Educational Technology
• Glossary of Instructional Strategies
• Social Media Infographic
  

Blog Carnival:

• Voice Threads for Math Journals: An alternative to written communication by Jennifer Brokofskyon A Work in Progress
• The Role of the Educator by Stephen Downes on Huffington Post
• Death of an Awards Ceremony by Chris Wejr on The Wejr Board
• 1 to 1 programs are so 2007 by Dean Shareski on Ideas and Thoughts
• Kids are natural explorers by Scott McLeod on Mind Dump
• Teachers are inauthentic audiences by Scott McLeod on Mind Dump
• From banning to embracing – my thoughts on allowing student owned devices in our schools By Jen Hegna on Grin and Bear "IT"
  

Retweetable Tweets:

@joerogan█████ ██ █ ████everything███ █████is█████ ████ ████ fine ████ ███ █ ██████ love.█████ ███████ ███your █████ ███government#wikileaksless than a minute ago via webMurray Barker
murbark

Shorter Dr. Mitra: "The kids are alright." Give motivated learners a problem, tools to solve it & they'll invent their own pedagogy #bif2010less than a minute ago via Twitter for iPadChristopher S. Rice
ricetopher

Weekly Tech Tips - Digital Backpack & Xtranormal

For those of you who are receiving these tech tips because you subscribe to my blog, most of this week's tech tip will probably be information you already know. This is my first "Weekly Tech Tip" as technology integration specialist for East Metro Integration District 6067 (EMID). For EMID teachers, what I like to do, and have done for the past three years, is produce a short 5-10 minute video each week where I introduce you to a new technology tool or technology-enhanced teaching strategy. I also always include in my tech tips an area called "Link Stew" where I publish a run-down of interesting websites and resources I came across this week and usually have a section called "Blog Carnival" where I post links to interesting or thought provoking blog posts from the Edubloggosphere.

I prefer to make tech tips that include footage from actual classroom application but since I have only been observing this week I don't have any classroom footage to draw upon this week this tip is more an introduction. In this tip I will walk you through the "Digital Backpack," a tool I maintain to help organize free online resources that have potential for education and I show how I made the animated character Walter from the introductory video EMID staff were sent.

Weekly Tech Tip:

• Crosswinds Tech Tips (UPDATE: This will be integrated into http://xw-integratedtech.wikispaces.com/)
• Harambee Tech Tips
• The Digital Backpack
• Xtranormal

Link Stew:

• Skype in Schools
• School officials say distance learning classes have helped reduce dropout rate, keep children interested in school. http://bit.ly/c9zK3C
• Student overcomes adversity with Virtual School
• Online High Schools Test Students' Social Skills
• iPhone and iPod Touch Trick: Sharing Your Apps
• 5 Ways We're Diminishing Learning by Assuming Face-to-Face Instruction Is Best]
• New Technology Supporting Informal Learning
• TEDxNYED: Independently organized TED event
• Street View Gallery
• CUE Unplugged - home
• Make a thank you movie!
• Kenyan Birth Certificate Generator - Make your own! Invalidating legitimate presidencies since 2009!

Blog Carnival:

• Microsoft Makes Some Real Mischief in the Classroom by Derek Bruff on Teaching with Classroom Response Systems
• “Great” Teachers?" by Larry Cuban on Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice
• Social Networking in High School by Lisa Thumann on Thumann Resources
• Transactional Disability and the Classroom by Ira Socol on SpeEdChange
  

For EMID staff new to my Tech Tips, here are a few from the archives if you are interested:

• Weekly Tech Tip: Technology-Enhanced Active Learning Strategy - Backchanneling
• Weekly Tech Tip: Integrating Clustr Maps in the Classroom
• Weekly Tech Tip: Using Social Networks in the Classroom
• Weekly Tech Tip: Beginners Guide - Social Networking for Educators
• Weekly Tech Tip - Terms of Service and Age Restrictions
• Weekly Tech Tip - Downloading and Converting Online Video
• Weekly Tech Tip - Twitter for Teachers
• Weekly Tech Tip - Technology Enhanced Active Learning Strategy - KWL
• Weekly Tech Tip - Distributed Research with Google Forms

Cloud Computing: Survey of Online Applications for Education

I am presenting a session at the Minnesota Online Education Association (MNOLA) Conference on Friday called, Cloud Computing: Survey of Online Applications for Education. This is the presentation I put together. I am enlisting the help of a virtual co-presenter called Seymore (named after Seymore Papert) who will goat me through the presentation. Of course, if you are only viewing this on my blog you will miss most of the content but you can get the gist of it here. I will try to find someone to record my session so I can share both sides of the story. Enjoy: