Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
GTADC '09 - Final Reflection
Wow! What a whirlwind of six months. . . . . . It seems as if the Google Teacher Academy was just here. I guess this notion of the past six months of being a whirlwind is a good thing. I am chalking that up to the excellence of the GTA. I went into the application process with an open mind. I came across the Google Teacher Academy after seeing the the GCT logo on a blog of a fellow educators in my PLN. Ironically enough, I proceeded to "google" the Google Teachers Academy to see what this was all about.
I came to see that Google hosts teacher academy's all over the world (Application now open for GTA London on Thursday, July 29th, 2010:)) and brings in 50 of the most innovative educators to participate in a highly intense day and a half professional development experience. Applicants had to answer multiple essays and create a one minute video on "Motivation and Learning" or "Classroom Innovation." This was very challenging to say the least. I kept asking myself, "How in world am I going to be able to sell myself as an innovative educator in the 21 century while at the same time keeping with the themes the GTA has put in place? (by the way - there were no other directions whatsoever to follow, just keep within the theme) - and oh yeah all within 60 seconds." Well, I found myself making two separate videos. The first video I spent entirely too much time on as I ended up not to use it anyways. I finally felt content after creating the following video (40 hours later) and my submission to the academy was complete. Whew!
I checked my Blackberry continuously as I anxiously awaited the response from Google. Then . . . I received the emailed stating that I got in.
I arrived in Washington, DC ready to roll and excited as could be. The next day and a half was full of amazing presentations, powerful speakers, and most importantly time to meet and share with some of the brightest educators in the world. This was the true experience. My PLN has grown so strong and I feel that
I have evolved professional in the past six months more than I have in the past six years. The GTA has afforded me the confidence and resources to attack any question head on surrounding technology. I am happy to say that if I cannot come up with the answer that my fellow GCT's are available to help out immediately.
I feel truly blessed to have had the experience of becoming Google Certified and I thank Google for that. It has opened many doors already and has given me the confidence to move forward without ever looking back. The weight that my word now carries in my school district becomes stronger and stronger with each opportunity I am given . . . . and for all of the things I have stated in this reflection, I am forever thankful. Thank you for this life experience, Google. Thank you.
(12/17/10 - Link to article posted in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette detailing this experience)
Thursday, May 13, 2010
YouTube now has the option for "Unlisted Videos" - shared privately with a link
YouTube Blog: More Choice for Users: Unlisted Videos
WEDNESDAY, MAY 12, 2010
More Choice for Users: Unlisted Videos
Melinda teaches high school in the Bay Area and recently reached out to us with a problem. Her students just finished a video history project that she wanted to share with their parents and classmates. But she was concerned about posting the videos publicly because she didn’t want the whole world to find them (frankly, neither did her students). Melinda told us YouTube’s private sharing options -- a 25-person cap that’s limited to other YouTube users -- didn’t work for her. She needed a better option to privately share her students’ talent.With this feature, you can mark your videos as "unlisted." This means only people who have the link to the video will be able to watch it. It won’t appear in any of YouTube’s public pages, in search results, on your personal channel or on the browse page. It’s a private video, except you don’t need a YouTube account to watch it and there is no limit to the number of people who can view it. You’ll get a link when you upload the video and then it’s up to you to decide who to share it with. Unlisted is the perfect option for that class project, video from last summer’s family reunion or your secret Broadway audition tape.
More Choice for Users: Unlisted Videos
Melinda teaches high school in the Bay Area and recently reached out to us with a problem. Her students just finished a video history project that she wanted to share with their parents and classmates. But she was concerned about posting the videos publicly because she didn’t want the whole world to find them (frankly, neither did her students). Melinda told us YouTube’s private sharing options -- a 25-person cap that’s limited to other YouTube users -- didn’t work for her. She needed a better option to privately share her students’ talent.With this feature, you can mark your videos as "unlisted." This means only people who have the link to the video will be able to watch it. It won’t appear in any of YouTube’s public pages, in search results, on your personal channel or on the browse page. It’s a private video, except you don’t need a YouTube account to watch it and there is no limit to the number of people who can view it. You’ll get a link when you upload the video and then it’s up to you to decide who to share it with. Unlisted is the perfect option for that class project, video from last summer’s family reunion or your secret Broadway audition tape.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Welcome to Shelfari! Read, Share, Explore! - Shelfari
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Welcome to Shelfari! Read, Share, Explore! - Shelfari
"Shelfari is the premier social network for people who love books. Create a virtual shelf to show off your books, see what your friends are reading and discover new books - all for free!"
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
Infinite Thinking Machine
Ten years ago, the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act was created to protect children’s privacy. One of its goal is to prevent websites from collecting personal information from children under 13 without parental consent. Could it be that ten year old regulations aimed at protecting our children's privacy need to be updated? Wouldn’t the first year of a new decade be the perfect time to remove one of the barriers to using 21st century tools in today’s schools?
tags: machine, infinite, thinking, coppa
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
YouTube - Social Media Revolution
You think “Shift Happens” made you think? Wait till you see this one. It’s an exceptional argument to support the changing face of education and our need to be at the forefront of technology and social networking. It also dovetails perfectly with A Whole New Mind, by Daniel Pink. I think you’ll love it. It’s already given me a ton of new ideas about career paths and educational ideas.
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
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