Brave the Deep

FREE educator accounts for web 2.0 resources

2010-01-25T13:23:00.000-05:00

I mentioned in an earlier post on 6 word memoirs that Animoto has educator accounts available. What other great web 2.0 resources have accounts specifically for educators? This is my first attempt to compile a list and any help you wish to throw my way would be greatly appreciated. Know of any educator friendly sites? Let me know!

Animoto is for making videos, Kerpoof for creating stories/cartoons/etc., PBWorks is for making wikis, Weebly for making websites, and Prezi if for making presentations. A FANTASTIC start to building an educator toolbox for your classroom!

Animoto for Education
TIPS:

Leave time to acquire your account - I applied and waited a couple of weeks before receiving mine. Upon contacting support I was told that they take the applications in the order received.
Use the gmail trick to set up an account for each student. Have student accounts funnel into a teacher gmail account - you will see any projects they complete this way.

From the Animoto online brochure:

Your classroom will never be the same.

Your students are using the Internet to learn already, so engage them on their own turf with Web 2.0 tools like Animoto. Animoto is a web application that turns pictures and text into beautiful video clips with the click of a button.

Use it to create content for your lesson plans, assignments, or course materials - or even have your students create their own educational pieces.

Free All-Access Passes

Teachers and students get free All-Access Passes, giving them unlimited full-length video creations. Post your videos to YouTube, put them on your class's blog, download them for
in-class presentations, email them out to parents, use them to recap a semester or year, and so much more!

Welcome to the cutting edge of online educational tools.

Kerpoof
Teacher accounts
TIPS:

Take a look at the lesson plans - I really like the fairy tale one!

From the Kerpoof FAQs:

Kerpoof's free teacher accounts give you access to a range of classroom administration tools.

You'll be able to register all your students, manage their accounts according to class, and control access to collaboration features (group galleries, message boards, chat and Buddy Draw). The collaboration features are generally members-only, but your students will enjoy free access if you register them with your teacher account.

Teacher accounts come with several practical benefits, such as the ability to reset forgotten passwords, monitor activity and delete inappropriate messages. Once your account has been created, you can access these tools at the following url: http://www.kerpoof.com/teacher_tools.

To apply for a teacher account, please fill out the form below (you'll need a Kerpoof nickname). If possible, include an email address that is clearly associated with your school district. We will contact you via e-mail to further verify your identity.

Kerpoof respects your privacy. The information you enter on this form will not be shared, sold, or used for any purpose other than creating and servicing your Teacher Account.

Thank you for your interest in Kerpoof!

PBWorks for Education

From the PBWorks for Education page:

PBworks lets you create a secure online workspace in about 60 seconds. Encourage classroom participation with interactive wiki pages that students can view and edit from any computer.
Share class resources and completed student work with parents. You can even collaborate with fellow educators on courses and curriculum, and manage the work of running your school or district.

Weebly for Education
drag & drop editing
no ads

From the online information at Weebly:

Weebly for Education is Perfect for You and Your Students
Weebly is perfect for creating classroom websites, student e-portfolios, and websites for assigned projects. Our drag & drop website editor is stunningly simple to use, and appropriate for use with students of all ages. Weebly enables your students to express themselves creatively using a variety of multimedia features, all within a protected environment that you control. Weebly was named one of TIME's 50 Best Websites of the year

Prezi

TIPS:
Click on GET under the EduEnjoy license - enter in your teaching email & school website.
From the Prezi blog:

Educational License
In response to a growing demand, (read the open letter to the Prezi CEO, demanding a school license) we developed an educational license pack. Students and teachers can now create private prezis for free. They can have Prezi Desktop at a special price. Upon verification of student/teacher identity, Prezi EDUEnjoy is free and Prezi EDUPro comes with a special educational discount.

Snippets can be deep too you know...

2010-01-25T13:14:00.000-05:00

I have given myself permission to ease into blogging. Started off strong with a couple of interesting posts, but then just couldn't find the time, energy, whatever, to keep going. This may be because I try to put together large ideas and elaborate thoughts out each time. For me, that isn't sustainable right now. However, I do not wish to give up blogging. Plus, I really wish to have a spot to put ideas and thoughts. I'm going for snippets instead.

This way there is still a record of my ideas and thoughts that I can refer back to. Hopefully there will be time and motivation to expand on some of them.

Hey, at least I've been keeping up with my 365 project!

Tackling 2010 - One Pixel at a Time

2010-01-01T21:10:00.004-05:00

Photography has always been of interest to me, although I am very much a novice. Along with my 2010 resolution to begin a blog, I decided to start a 365 project. From the 365 Project website:

What is the 365 Project?
The 365 project aims to collect photos documenting 1 year of your life. We want to build a picture of the little day to day things that make your life so special and unique. Everyone can take part and join in! All you need is a camera.

I have a camera. Am I ready to take on the challenge of one photo a day for the next year? I think so. I am willing to take some pictures with my cell phone camera when nothing else is available. I am willing to submit pictures that are just that... pictures, not every day will produce a masterpiece. I am ready to look at the world through the lens of a camera each and every day for the next year.

Let's begin with some research first. Photojojo has a nice article, Project 365: How to Take a Photo a Day and See Your Life in a Whole New Way. My favorite piece of advice here is "Don't Stop, No Matter What". Wonder how many days into this project I will need to revisit THAT sage wisdom? Day 72? 134? This is a big commitment. But it's time to push past the comfort zone (brave the deep, right?) and try the project even though I could possibly fail at it. It's OK to make the jump.

Before I jump, I usually start researching and one of the best methods I have to do this is to take my questions to my Twitter PLN. One great find (from PLN friend @hadleyjf) is the article The Top 10 Tips for Surviving the 365 Project Thread! I also found several other Tweeters beginning the project for the first time. We have now begun to connect through Flickr groups. I am trying:
     Project 365,
     2010/365photos
   Twitter PLN 365/2010 Group

One more group, EduImages, also has a corresponding wiki (Thinking About Words Through Images) that I will try to contribute to on a monthly basis. This is a group started by @paulawhite, she writes:

Many of us join a 365 project only to feel bad when we cannot keep it going for every day of the year. Some of us DO keep it going and find new ways to look at our lives as we look through the lens of a camera. Thinking of taking a picture every day often makes us look at our world differently.

Many of us, as educators, rarely go for long without thinking of our kids, our classroom, a lesson, a plan, or something to do with school. SInce we do that, and since everyone seems to enjoy looking for pictures for a 'photo a day' project, it might be fun to combine the two. What if we took a conceptual look at our world, through our eyes as parents, grandparents, teachers, friends, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles and colleagues, yet keeping in mind our calling--our profession--our jobs as educators?

The idea is for each of us to take pictures throughout the month where all the photos share visual representations of our understanding of the word we have chosen or the word we choose for that month. At the end of the month, we write a synopsis of our process on the wiki page, include a link to our set of pictures and perhaps post the one we like best on the wiki as well. Thus, each page of the wiki becomes a compilation of our collective understanding of the word of the month. (You can take a picture a day, one a week, or just when the mood strikes or you see something that resonates with you.) The options are open, so you can fit this into YOUR schedule.

There are many groups to choose from and I may have overdone it by choosing more than just one, but this is also an opportunity for me to expand my PLN and learn more about Flickr as well. Thanks to @DoremiGirl and @lhiltbr for introducing me to these great groups!

So, I began taking pictures on Dec 28, 2009 (my anniversary). I find it interesting that so many people feel the need to start on Jan 1. If you missed that date, jump in on the 3rd! Try starting in March! It doesn't have to be the first day of the calendar year - make this work for YOU.

At the top of my blog I added a slideshow from my Flickr 365 set to show off my pictures. Taking this further, @McTeach has a fantastic new blog to showcase the daily pictures. I may try that next year!

Another thing I will try is to load my pictures to my Shuttercal account. It's a nice way to organize my pictures visually. I am hoping that Shuttercal boosts their embed capabilities as I would love to see my entire calendar embedded but don't see that as an option yet. Monthly, I will post the pictures from that month as a mosaic. This can be made through Big Huge Labs Mosaic Maker.

When I first tried to make a mosaic for my December pics, I was frustrated because no matter what I entered (email address, screen name, etc.) the pictures that returned were not mine. Under FAQs, information to link to Flickr account. I clicked on the relink your account choice for the screen to authorize access to my Flickr account. Once linked, I could make a mosaic with my pictures. Nice to see that there is an "opt-out" option too. I'm still finding this to be a little dicey, but will keep at it. I did download my mosaic jpg earlier today fortunately.

Mosaic for December 2009 pictures

Finally, I may make a photo book for myself at the end of the project. One suggestion is to use Blurb. I'll keep this in mind towards the end of the year.

So, who's with me? Any takers to tackle 2010 one pixel at a time? Let's go!

6 Word Memoir

2009-12-29T21:18:00.001-05:00

My 7th and 8th graders are working on a 6 Word Memoir project. We are a part of a collaboration that was put together by Kelly Gallagher. In Kelly's words:

"The basic idea of this project is to tell the world who you are in SIX words. It's actually much more difficult than you think. This project was inspired by Smith Magazine but I think that it's a great way to get students thinking about who they are.

Once you accept this mission, students could create interesting individual ways or a class way of showing who they are (illustrations, podcasts, video, text, etc.) that best shows who they are. This will be displayed on a wiki that has already been created."

To introduce the project, I showed the students a slideshow of 6 Word Memoirs by NPR. Each student received a worksheet to jot down words that they felt described themselves (adjectives, nouns, goals, favorites, verbs). Once they had a batch of words ready, they headed to the computers to create "fridge magnets". These were manipulated until they had a 6 word phrase for themselves which they wrote on the back of the worksheet.

Imagine, if you will, these middle school students searching for 6 words and ONLY 6 words that come together to describe the very essence of self. This was fascinating to watch as the activity progressed. To bring their creativity out even further, I wanted them to express their memoirs visually. What better way to do this than with lots of motion, pictures, and loud music?

Now the fun part. I have an Educator Account with Animoto in which the students and I get free unlimited full-length video creation accounts with an all-access pass (the sign up process is not immediate, so leave yourself some lead time of a week or two before utilizing the service with students). Using the old gmail trick to make student accounts (teacher account + student name), each of my students has a login for Animoto. Better yet, everything they make gets emailed to me. This keeps everybody on their toes!

My 6 word memoir is: Technology geek Mom striving for balance

To keep everything uniform, I assigned the students to find 2 images per word (we are using copyright correct pictures & sources). Along with their 6 words, they have a total of 18 objects each in their Animoto projects. They were to choose music from the Animoto gallery and create a video. Students are still working on them, but a few have been posted on the 6 Word Memoir wiki under the Hampstead Academy page. The project process is also outlined on the wiki.

We would love to hear what you think about their work thus far - and keep checking back for more submissions once we are back from winter break. I am thinking about adding one more activity in which we look at all the 6 word memoirs with something like Wordle. Stay tuned!

Sign up for YOUR Educator Account Today!

48 Hours of Blogging Wisdom

2009-12-28T13:40:00.013-05:00

What an evolution! All I wanted was to start a blog, how hard could that be? HA! My gift to you, the blogger wanna-be’s, the novice bloggers… is my 48 hours worth of blogging wisdom (I don’t think this lifts me out of the novice category yet, there must be more dues to pay or something).

Wordpress.com was my original choice. I need free and this option looks professional. Edublogs (the free version) highlights random words and makes it look as though I am emphasizing them. I don’t like that. Blogger has a limited range of themes to choose from and I wanted more “oomph”. Off to WP I went and made my blog.

All was going well and I began to write my first post. Wait, I can’t seem to embed the Twtpoll I need. No problem, I’ll just screenshot it and make it an image. Hold on, I can’t embed the Animoto video for a school project I want to tell you about. Umm, why won’t this Eco-Safe widget load, it’s a cool one that lets users save the page as a PDF or email it to save printing. The journey between point A and point B just took a detour and I’m off researching and talking to my Twitter PLN. Guess what? Wordpress won’t let me use JavaScript.

My vision for my blog is largely based on showcasing various educational technology ideas, projects, etc. I need to embed JavaScript and preventing me from doing so is a dealbreaker. Sorry Wordpress, I’m outta here. Now what?

After taking a look around at other Blogger blogs from my PLN (education & technology, Not Enough Coffee) I knew that there was more to this than I originally believed. More research and I found some great free themes and free headers to upload along with the directions on how to proceed. I needed to focus and chose to look at 3-column designs that have an affinity to water. Some are cute (I can only take cute in small doses) and I ultimately choose BizFresh. Keeping in mind that I always tell my students, “impress me with content over your graphics”, I stay away from cute and head for function. I do add some fun stuff - a ReTweet button for posts and some fun widgets (the aquarium clock is a favorite). Soon I will try changing my favicon too.

Happily, the theme I chose has built in code for tabs to create “static pages”. Blogger does not do separate pages like WP does and you need to hack your way around it. That is why my About Me post appears at the bottom with a date from last year. It actually links up to the tab to create its own “page”. This is one of the unprofessional items about Blogger that I do not like. My template of choice also automatically got rid of the nav bar at the top, but there are online directions on how to do it yourself too.

Thankfully, one of my summer graduate courses was on HTML and I am comfortable enough (or is it dangerous enough?) to poke around and mess up some of the code on my own (yes, I backed it up often!). I changed the header size, some of the font colors, and I am in business. This will always be a work in progress and I like to change things up now and again so don’t be surprised to see something new the next time you visit. I'm still finding little glitches (like why does the blog name disappear when I am on a separate post page?), but will work through them as time progresses. Always learning.

Whew! Maybe my detour will help shorten your own blog journey as you begin! Good luck.

An Overthinker Chooses a Blog Name

2009-12-27T19:30:00.004-05:00

Finally, I get to the point where there are pockets of time to use for writing blog posts. I can start that blog that has been in my mind for such a long time! Wait, what will I call it? I tend to overthink things and this stalls me for more time than I care to admit.

In this era of self-branding, something as simple as a login name or a blog name become eminently important choices. After all, this is how you identify yourself in the digital world. It is how others will view and judge you. What if I choose a name that is too nebulous, that doesn’t effectively encompass the vision I strive to project? What if it is the same name as some creep on MySpace that I would never wish to be affiliated with? How do I choose a name that is not too playful, too serious, too bizarre, too cliché, too random? This is serious stuff.

OK, a little dramatic (I have a 6 year old daughter drama queen). However, these are valid concerns. If I wish to be taken seriously (and I do), then I need to adhere to some facts of life in the digital world for choosing a blog name:

Your blog name should be indicative of your vision without being incomprehensible
Do your homework to ensure someone hasn’t already chosen the name
Further your homework to ensure that the name isn’t associated with alternative lifestyle choices you are not comfortable with – what will a Google search of your blog name turn up?
Choose a name for the long term – plan for a future associated with your choice
Ask for help from your PLN (you have a strong PLN, right?)

Eventually, there were 3 contenders for my new blog name (Bold Think, Digital Daring, and Brave the Deep) and I made my first ever poll for Twitter. This was exciting stuff, I was on the move and things were finally happening! I put out the URL for my poll on my Twitter feed and got 11 votes! OK, 1 vote was mine, but 10 votes on my poll made me ecstatic. Getting feedback, even anonymously, from the global community validates oneself. It sends the message that people are listening, or at least watching. I tuck away these feelings to reexamine when I design lessons for my students.

The final choice is, obviously, Brave the Deep. My vision is to write about my wayward path through the waters of educational technology. This includes efforts to push teachers, staff, admin beyond their comfort zones to engage and excite ourselves as well as our students in the learning we do every day.

I’m new at this and ask that you bear with me as I am a mediocre writer at best with hideous grammar and punctuation skills. But I have some interesting ideas, insights that may get you thinking, and a desire to pull us all out into the deep where some of the best learning happens. Comments, criticisms, interactions are always welcome - now that I have 3 kids, my ego has taken a back seat in life so feel free to speak your mind!

About Me

2008-12-28T12:24:00.002-05:00

Christina DiMicelli

Technology Integration Specialist/Upper School Technology Education Teacher

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From my bio at Hampstead Academy

(please remember that the ideas and opinions expressed through this blog are mine alone and have nothing to do with my employer):

Technology Integration in education is all about supporting curricular goals, enhancing instruction, and focuses on improving student learning. This goes beyond the simple use of a computer and brings students and staff into a blended, coordinated environment in which technology is infused into the learning process. Paramount to the success of this process is letting the curriculum drive the use of technology. My own philosophy on tech integration is based on the premise that technology should be woven into the curriculum and supports the teacher without overshadowing the content.

My role in this process is to be a team member and resource for staff as we identify the best ways to bring technology into the curriculum, continue tech professional development for staff, implement a new set of computer classes for the Upper School that follows our revised technology standards, and directly support the Newsreel program as an assistant.

This is my dream job that combines my love of technology and enthusiasm for education. Previously, I worked in large corporate environments (on both coasts) as a PC/IT Specialist and Network Technician. This will be my second year on the staff at Hampstead Academy although I have served on the Advisory Board and have children at the school as students. I am looking forward to a fun year in computer classes with some great student activities in digital citizenship, information fluency, collaboration, and more!

I have a BS in Communication Disorders (minor in Psychology) from UNH, ECE credits from Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, CA, and am currently working on a Master’s degree in Technology in Education at Lesley University.

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Other tidbits that may be of interest – or not…

I grew up in New Hampshire and graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a BS in Communication Disorders (speech & hearing) with a Psychology minor. After graduation, I moved to Boston to study Audiology at Northeastern University. Being young and full of _______ (fill in the blank with any adjective you like), I decided to leave the program and seek my fortune out West. A college roommate and I jumped in our cars and drove to California.

I worked as a PC/IT Specialist in Orange County for 3-1/2 years and although I didn’t make the fortune, I did meet my husband while he was stationed at Camp Pendleton. There was no fortune as I have a tendency to spend my extra pennies on plane tickets and film! So the passport is full as are the photo albums – the bank balance, not so much.

While in CA, I earned 6 ECE (Early Childhood Education) credits at Saddleback College as I thought to eventually make my way into the education system. After we made our way back to New Hampshire, I began work in Boston as a Network Technician until our son was born. Since then I have been a professional Mom – we have 2 sons and our surprise little girl. John is 14, Tom is 11 and Tia is 6.

Tia was our best surprise, but she threw off my timetable for going back to work by a few years – kids have a way of throwing a wrench in the works! Fortunately, I had the opportunity recently to take on my dream job and I am thrilled! I work directly with students and staff regarding educational technology in an environment that is supportive and enthusiastic about it. The 2009-10 school year is only my 2nd year at HA (Hampstead Academy), but things are progressing well and I look forward to more innovative initiatives as time moves along.

Currently I am a graduate student at Lesley University and should be graduating in the Spring of 2010 with my Masters degree for Technology in Education. I have been a guest blogger on the Lesley University Online Students blog. I am also mid-stream in a Certificate program through the University of New Hampshire for Coaching Children and Teens.

You will find me on Twitter as MrsDi (that’s Mrs. “Dee”) and I am always open and ready to interact, chat, collaborate, etc.!

These past 2 years have been something of a re-awakening for me as I come out of the fog of being a stay-at-home mom for many years – more social interaction, a new career (possibly qualifying as my 3rd career?), and the joy of returning to school. I definitely took the leap into the deep end of the pool and am fascinated by it all. I truly enjoy being in the classrooms and working with students and technology. Weaving the tech into the curriculum is challenging and rewarding. There is something new every day. C’mon, brave the deep with me!

last updated: Dec. 27, 2009