Create your own virtual classroom: Edu 2.0 and Vyew

October 18, 2010Kelly Tenkely15 Comments14004 views

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What it is: Tomorrow I launch my virtual classroom and honestly, I am a little nervous! It is like the first day of school; everything is carefully planned, all the resources are ready to go, and the students are enrolled and have received their welcome packet. But, there is still that anticipation and sense of dread that all that careful planning won’t be enough…that something unexpected will happen that will force me to think on my feet. Really, isn’t that what teaching (and learning) ends up being every day? 🙂 I am using two tools to host my virtual classroom that I wanted to share here. Even if you teach in a traditional classroom, these tools offer the ability to expand your school day and provide your students more of a hybrid learning model.

Edu 2.0 is the first tool. I first wrote about and started using Edu 2.0 in 2007. The tool has only gotten better with time! Edu 2.0 is an outstanding alternative to Moodle or Blackboard as an online Learning Management System (LMS). It is completely free to use, multilingual (it auto translates messages!), allows you to teach public or private classes, gives each student an online portfolio, includes a full gradebook, allows you to create curricula and track proficiencies, transcripts of all student grades, tracks attendance, includes forums and wikis, online quizzes, create and track to-do lists, completely web-based, mobile with a free iPhone app, tracks analytics, teach multiple sessions of the same class, upload and access over 15,000+ online resources, parent involvement, define and measure proficiencies, integration with popular web widgets, real-time chat, custom RSS feeds for your class, Calendars, private (designed with students in mind), create and share lessons, provide conditional pathways in lessons (you have to pass one assignment or class before moving onto the next), rubrics, groups, debates, messaging, public and private blogs, surveys, multimedia, and pdf integration. That is a long list but it really doesn’t even scratch the surface of what Edu 2.0 can do. This is your one stop shop for a LMS whether you are in need of one for a district, a school, or for your individual classroom. It is relatively easy to learn and has fantastic tutorials, guides, and support. The biggest challenge that I have with Edu 2.0 is navigation, not because it is difficult, but because it is so comprehensive!

Vyew is the second tool I am using for my virtual classroom. Vyew is an online meeting room that is simple to use. The free version is the one I am using, premium versions are well priced and offer increased options and capacity. Vyew allows up to 10 students to participate in a room at a time. Teachers can create and upload course content for real-time and anytime collaborative learning. Vyew is a lot like Elluminate but doesn’t require any downloads, it runs completely inside the web browser. This makes it a really easy virtual meeting option for students as they aren’t required to do a lot of extra prep. The authoring area of Vyew is easy to use, it is a lot like creating a PowerPoint presentation with slides. Vyew allows for external publishing which means that you can embed the finished presentation on your Edu 2.0 site for those who couldn’t attend the live Vyew session. Vyew supports a HUGE amount of files including video, pdf, PowerPoint, swf, and many more. It also allows for real-time desktop sharing which means that all of your students can see what you are doing on your computer as if you were sitting side by side! There is a built-in screen capture tool for making step by step tutorials. Both students and teacher have whiteboard drawing tools for on-screen collaboration. Embedded comments let you include information on the page to be expanded. Vyew lets you communicate with VOIP (voice over IP), webcam (all 10 can use the webcam!), free tele-conferencing with a unique phone number provided, and voice notes (voice recording embedded in on-screen sticky notes). This is such a simple to use virtual meeting room and it’s features are among the best.

I am using both edu 2.0 and Vyew together for my virtual classroom. I felt I needed an online meeting room where I could create meetings on the fly because this class is being held completely online. I am working with students in third through eighth grade and teaching a 5 week digital storytelling class. We will be working together to discover the power of story, and how to use different digital mediums to tell a great story. I am offering this class to everyone but advertised specifically to the students I used to teach for the first virtual classroom. I did this for a few reasons: parent requests, as a way to stay connected to my students, and I knew what technology skills they had already learned.

How to integrate Edu 2.0 and Vyew Virtual Classrooms into your classroom: Creating a hybrid classroom is an incredible gift to your students. It offers them the ability to connect with you outside the hours of the school day, and on their own terms. It gives students time to review content, interact with other students, and learn at their own pace. Virtual options provide a whole new dimension to learning. Use a virtual classroom to: extend your classroom and teaching, tutor students individually, offer courses to home school families, connect your students with other classrooms, record in-class learning for students who are absent or have a long-term illness. There are hundreds of ways that taking your classroom online can benefit your students. Taking your classroom online gives parents an additional way to be involved in their child’s education and goes one step better, allows them to learn along side their child. Have a tough new math curriculum that parents are lamenting? Offer a virtual parent university where parents can learn more about how to help their child with the new learning. Have teachers that need professional development but can’t find the time? Use Edu 2.0 for learning on demand. Edu 2.0 can be utilized as a classroom online learning solution, or as a school or district wide learning management system. Use Vyew for live meetings with your students. Make yourself available in a Vyew room at the same time every day for additional academic help.

Tips: You can offer your virtual classes for free or charge depending on their purpose. I wouldn’t charge for a virtual classroom that was an extension to my regular classroom, but you might charge for tutoring or specialized classes. I am charging for my class and treating it as an after school club. Edu 2.0 allows you to charge for a class with checkout support using Paypal or credit cards.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Edu 2.0 and Vyew Virtual Classrooms in your classroom!

K12 Online Conference 2010: Free professional development!

October 12, 2010Kelly Tenkely3 Comments3692 views

What it is: K12 Online Conference is a completely FREE online conference for educators around the world. The conference focuses on innovative ways that web 2.0 tools and technologies can be used to improve learning. The conference is run by volunteers and open to everyone. This year the theme of the conference is “Cultivating the Future”. Yesterday was the kick off to the conference with a pre-conference keynote by Dean Shareski. In the next two weeks (October 18 and October 25), 40 presentations will be posted online for participants to view, download and discuss. Live events happen in the form of “Fireside Chats”, there are three live events this year. The first Fireside Chat is scheduled for October 15 and will be hosted by Dean Shareski. I have attended the k12 Online Conference every year since it started (2006) and each year I am inspired, and fueled with new ideas. I am excited to see so many student voices and presenters this year, there is just nothing like hearing about education from the student perspective! I am also excited to see so many familiar names from my PLN…there just isn’t anyone I would rather learn from!

How to integrate K12 Online Conference 2010 into your classroom: Check out the 2010 Schedule now and choose some sessions that you are most interested in. Commit to viewing 2 or 3 (or if you are OCD like me, all of them!). Take charge of your professional development and be inspired by fellow educators and students. Make it fun and invite a friend to view some sessions with you. Play sessions in the teacher’s lounge during lunch, take over a classroom with a projector and provide snacks, or invite a colleague over for PD and cocktails (for the record, that is the option I would choose!). Don’t keep all of this great learning to yourself! In the past, I have found the student presentations to be inspiring not only for me, but also for my students. Last year there was a presentation about applications called Wizard of Apps or Will they have an app for that or What we are loading (and learning) along the road presented by Joyce Kasman Valenza and students. The presentation was a fun Wizard of Oz type play about different web 2.0 applications that they were using and learning with. My students loved the idea of students putting together a play and teaching teachers. If you are an administrator, be sure to let your staff know about this truly amazing professional development opportunity. The line up of presenters is fantastic! Then, encourage your staff to start building up a PLN (personal learning network) on Twitter. They can start with the k12 Online presenters!

Tips: You can view the archives of past k12 Online Conferences for 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using k12 online conference 2010 in your classroom!

Free FETC Virtual Conference

September 21, 2010Kelly Tenkely3 Comments3733 views

What it is: On October 7, 2010, FETC is offering a FREE virtual conference for educators. The virtual conference will feature new presentations that originated at the FETC live event, with a focus on the latest educational tools, technologies, and services in learning. Educational experts will be passing on inspiration sharing best practices and successes. A virtual exhibit hall will put you in touch with exhibitors and let you learn about the newest in hardware, software and solutions, there will even be some free downloads and content. In the virtual networking lounge you can chat and interact with other educators from around the world. The Keynote presentation for the virtual conference is titled Mobile Learning: The Game Changer for k-12 it will be hosted by Elliott Soloway and Cathleen Norris. I saw these two present a similarly titled session at ISTE 10 and if it is anything similar, it is definitely worth catching (click here to view my notes from their ISTE 10 session)!

How to integrate FETC Virtual Conference into your curriculum: Okay, so maybe you won’t be integrating the conference itself into your curriculum, but this virtual conference is sure to offer plenty of great ideas, inspiration, and a shot of enthusiasm that will carry into your classroom. If you teach older students, you might let them sit and listen to the keynote session. I know my students were always fascinated to find out that educators talk about innovative ideas for learning. They assume that every teacher wants to teach in the current system. Most are pleasantly surprised and encouraged to find out the contrary.

Tips: Register for this Free Virtual conference today by clicking here. Hope to see you all there!

Please leave a comment and share how you are using the Free FETC Virtual Conference in your classroom!

Branches of Power

July 19, 2010Kelly Tenkely1 Comment2830 views

What it is: Looking for another super awesome learning game for your classroom? Filament Games does it again with Branches of Power. In it, students can play all three branches of government, all working cooperatively toward the goal of building new laws. As President, students will choose issues they think are important and rally people around them. As Legislator, they will create bills around the values of the constituents. As Justice, they will uphold the law or take out legislation that is unconstitutional. The only way to navigate the game successfully is to cooperatively construct laws around the issues of the country. (Our government probably has something to learn about the cooperatively part.) Students will find issues that the citizens care about. By using the three branches of government, they can grow the issues into laws which appear as towers. They win if they build all ten issues into towers before time runs out. Students get the opportunity to play as all three branches, they have to stay on top of it, if they don’t, the branch may start making decisions on its own!

How to integrate Branches of Power into the classroom: Branches of Power is a fantastic interactive game that puts students right in the thick of the government. I love that the game doesn’t ask students to choose a branch of government to play, but expects them to learn, and play, all three roles. There is nothing like experience to teach students about the different roles, struggles, and methodologies of each branch of government. Branches of Power is an excellent game for the computer lab environment where each student has access to a computer and can play individually. After play, discuss what worked well and what didn’t. Were students able to complete all 10 towers? Who got the furthest and what was the strategy that took them to that point? If you don’t have access to a computer lab, the game can be navigated as a class using a projector-connected computer or an interactive whiteboard. Discuss strategy during game play and give each student a chance to take part in the game. This is an outstanding way to learn about the branches of government, what better way to learn than by doing?

Tips: Below the game play screen, check out the Teacher Tools tab. There are some great teacher files including a Powerpoint presentation that reinforces game concepts and a teacher’s guide to using the game in class.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Branches of Power in your classroom.

Venture into Student Blogging Risk Free!

April 29, 2010Kelly Tenkely3 Comments2545 views

My edublogger alliance friend Christopher Rogers at EdTech Swami has made an incredible offer:

“If you have students interested in blogging but for whatever reason have not set one up, or perhaps the prospect of administering a student blog seemed over whelming I have a deal for you. I already have a blog set up and running. I have quit a bit of experience blogging personally and with students. I have hard core spam protection set up. I will administer, moderate and commentate on the posts. If you have students interested in blogging they are welcome to join my students (who are desperate for other writers to interact with). Registration is open. All high school students are welcome. Just direct your browser to this address and click register. http://www.rogersenglish9.com/studentvoice”

If you have high school students who are interested in blogging, but you aren’t ready or can’t go there on you own, take Christopher up on this incredibly generous offer. Give your students access to an incredible teacher and resource for growth in writing and higher-order thinking.

Group Table

November 18, 2008Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment10784 views

What it is: “GroupTable is a web-based software and success network developed specifically to help student groups improve document management, project planning and communication.” Group Table helps students stay organized with all of their group projects and study groups in one place. Students can see all of their groups in one place including any file uploads, posts, tasks, upcoming events and more. Each student and group has their own binder on Group Table that allows them to organize, store and share word documents, presentations, and spreadsheets in one easy-to-use location. Group Table has the ability to create to do lists and assign tasks or remind others about upcoming events. Each group gets a dedicated chat room and discussion board with Group Table making collaboration and communication simple and efficient. This site was created by college students for students. Although the target audience is high school and college age students, Group Table could be effectively used in the secondary elementary classroom and the middle school classroom.

How to integrate Group Table into the classroom: For high school and college students, Group Table is a great site to introduce students to for their own group creation. Secondary elementary and middle school students would benefit from a teacher led group on Group Table. This is a great way to introduce your students to effective collaboration, communication, and 21st century literacy skills. It is essential that students learn how to collaborate on projects using web 2.0 technologies and Group Table provides the perfect space to practice.

Tips: Teachers, create a study group for your classroom that your students can join.

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Group Table in your classroom.

Updated Websites

July 24, 2008Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment2402 views

Over the past week I have been re-vamping my websites. Tenkely.org is a site that I created for my students to use. I have pages for first through fifth grade with links to all of the sites that we use in class throughout the year. I also have a page for parents about how my classroom runs and tips for keeping kids safe online. The teacher site for tenkely.org has also been completely re-done. I added TONS of new goodies for teachers. Obviously, I created these sites with my students and colleagues in mind but I hope that they are a source of inspiration for you too! I am already keeping tally of links that aren’t working right so if you run across any, leave a comment so I can get them fixed up.

Wix

July 9, 2008Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment9561 views

What it is: Okay, if you have shied away from creating your own classroom website in the past, today is the day to take a deep breath and plunge in. Wix is the most amazing online website builder I have ever seen. Why is it so amazing? 1) It is simple to use and learn, you truly don’t have to know anything about website development. 2) It produces amazing results with a small amount of effort, I am really blown away by the possibilities here. 3) The sign up process is completely painless. 4) You have an unbelievable amount of control when you are feeling creative (still extremely easy!). 5) It is free, and what could be better than free for a teacher?! 6) It is web-based which means that you can update your website from anywhere. I could go on and on about Wix. I put it in my list of sites to visit this week when I ran across it and I am so glad I came back to it today while I was waiting for computers to clone…it made my day (maybe even my week!) 🙂

How to integrate Wix into the classroom: Well, if you haven’t already guessed by the description above, Wix is the perfect tool to use to create a classroom website for your students. Post classroom rules, homework assignments, links for your students, units you are working on, school information, parent newsletters, etc. Wix is also a great place for your students to create a website. They will go nuts with this (trust me!), Wix is one of those assignments they will continue to work on at home without being asked! Instead of having students display knowledge of a subject in traditional ways, invite them to create a website about it where they can be the classroom “expert” on the subject. Be sure to ask your students what non-school websites they are creating too (I know from experience they will take off with this!) you will get to know your students more personally by viewing websites that they create both in and out of class. You could also create Wix websites as a class if you have limited computer use. Have your students prepare a website to teach other classes about a subject that they have been studying.

Tips: I created a website using Wix today from sign up to publish it took me a total of 5 min. Seriously! I have never used this program before, that is how easy it is to use. Take a look at my site and see what you think: www.wix.com/ktenkely/ilearntechnology.

Leave a comment and share how amazed you are with Wix.

Knowtes

July 2, 2008July 2, 2008Kelly Tenkely2 Comments5095 views

What it is: Knowtes is a flashcard based learning community (still in beta) that allows kids to build flashcard decks and study online. When students add a card to a Knowtes deck, it becomes due at optimized interval. The Knowtes Adaptive Learning Engine adjusts how frequently cards should be studied based on how well students know them. They can even watch their cards move from short to long term memory as they study. Knowtes decks can be shared between teachers, students, etc. Each student gets their own study room where they can organize their decks and study their cards. The study rooms have great tips on studying and tutorials on using Knowtes. Cards can be made plain, rich, or with images right now but will have audio and video capabilities coming. This is such a cool idea! Studying has never been this much fun 🙂

How to integrate Knowtes into the classroom: Knowtes is a great tool to introduce your students to. Even if you don’t have time to use it on a regular basis in the classroom, spending some time teaching your students to use the program would be worth while. Students can create Knowtes flashcards to study any subject. For younger students, you can create decks for your students to study from. Students can also create decks to share with you or other classmates. If you have an interactive whiteboard (or even just a projector) students can study cards as a whole class. You could easily use Knowtes for a whole class study session/game. Be sure to let parents know about Knowtes too, many times studying is a struggle for families and this can make life easier for everyone.

Tips: Since Knowtes is still in its beta version, click on the signup button and send a request to be a beta tester. The Knowtes team is willing to take suggestions on improving Knowtes so you should send a suggestion for any feature you would like to see available. Happy studying!

Leave a comment and share how you are using Knowtes in your classroom.

Digital Directors Guild

February 6, 2008Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment3166 views

What it is: “The Digital Directors Guild (http://www.ddguild.org) has been developed to provide a space in which K-16 educators can explore digital movie making, its place in the curriculum, and its impact on student learning.” This is a great place for teachers to learn about digital movie making in the classroom and see how other teachers have used it in their class. Learn the what, when, who, how, why, and where of digital movie making in the classroom. This is a really well laid out and through site about digital movie making.

How to integrate Digital Directors Guild into the classroom: The Digital Directors Guild is actually the “how to” of integrating digital movie making into the classroom. Check it out for great ideas and examples of how other classrooms are using it. Tomorrow I will be posting about a service called Viddler and suggesting ways to make digital movie making a reality in your classroom.

Tips: Digital movie making touches on a variety of learning styles, check out the “why?” page for more information!

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Digital Directors Guild in your classroom.