Take Responsibility

One of the most important lessons we can learn is that we are responsible for certain things, including our own learning. When you take your place in the classroom you will puzzle over how to teach your students to assume responsibility for their learning. And sometimes you will get tired of reminding Johnny that he has not done his work yet and must do so.

I get tired of it also!

Two deadlines stare you in the face. I have copied them from the post Assignments from the Blog

Required and still open until Thursday 4/1/10 at 9:00 pm.
8. Too Much Time? Required and still open until Thursday 4/1/10 at 9:00 pm.
9. Honest Reflection is Required - A New Assignment. Still open. Although comments can continue to be left (and I do want us all to continue the conversation), this assignment will be considered late for all initial comments after 9 pm Thursday April 1, 2010.

How many of you have not yet done these two assignments? By class here are the numbers of those you have NOT yet completed the assignments as of 6:55 am Tuesday 3/30/10:
# 8 Too Much Time? Survey
A - 5
B - 7
C - 4
D - 8
E - 11
F - 1
G - 2
H - 8
#9 Comment on Honest ...
A - 9
B - 8
C - 4
D - 12
E - 12
F - 0
G - 0
H - 8

The deadline is 9 pm on 4/1/10. WHY are you waiting?
If your memory is failing and you can't remember whether you have done either or both of these assignments, I added Due 4/1/2010 to your Google Docs just minutes ago. That is my master list for these two assignments. If I have the incorrect information for you (as of early Tue 3/30), send me an email or call me!

Classes F and G - Thanks! And C thanks.

Summary Results of Too Much Time? Questionnaire

I will add commentary on these results soon. Click Fullscreen in the Scribd menu below to get a version that is large enough to read. You can also get a copy to print by clicking Too Much Time?
TooMuchTimeSpr10

Aviary - Web Based Image Program - Highly Recommended!

And its free!

Aviary is an excellent image program which allows you to do all sorts of things on the web with a free program. There are lots of good tutorials. If you are an artist, a designer, a photographer, or someone who likes to "mess with" images, this is a must. It will be a required tool for EDM310 next semester.

Even if you do not make use of this semester, add it to your toolbox! Everybody. Mac and PC users!

Go to Aviary. Sign up with your Google Account. Enter a screen name. When you return sign in with your Google account.

Be sure you add Talon to Firefox. This also applies to Mac users. Open Firefox. Go to Aviary. On right, in middle, add Talon. Talon is an excellent Screen capture utility. It will be the mandatory tool for Screen capture from now on in EDM310. Mac users will, no doubt, continue to use command-shift-3 or command-shift-4, but PC users (and Mac users going to alter the image) will find Aviary extremely useful.

Thanks to Jamie Lynn Miller for bringing Aviary to my attention.

Project 14 - Some Possibilities

There are no rules for this project except to demonstrate your skills in using the tools assigned for this course. Be imaginative. be daring. Must be collaborative.
If you need ideas, I'll offer some.
1. Give the class a lesson on using a SmartBoard using the Smartboard.
2. Want to know how to create a web page? Look back at EDM310 3years ago. Or Google it.
3. Do a funny movie about EDM310. Watch EDM310 for Dummies now accessible in iTunes U (University of South Alabama) and available soon on the EDM 310 Class Podcast Page.
4. Summarize the comments about an Honest Reflection and make a Google Presentation covering the various positions espoused and adding your analysis and commentary.
5. Do the same for the Grades discussion.
6. Several students contend that they learn better in a group (a class). Explore the evidence to support that contention and give a report on it.
7. The iPad will be out April 3. get one and use it. Identify its strengths and weaknesses as an instructional tool.
8. Look at Sir Ken Robinson's TED speeches. (He has more than one in the TED library). Create your own speech and record it.
9. Do a presentation using the technique Wendy Drexler used. (or Mr. Needleman or Dr. Wesch or Dr. Miller or Dan Brown)
10. Do a comedy routine about an important subject. One I thought of is A Flight School. Customer enters (N.E. Time) and wants a pilot's license. Curriculum described. Says only 2 hours a week to devote to it. Any volunteers for test flight?
Or Z. Z. ZZZ wants to do simulation training at home. Reports hours of training. School's monitoring system show very little done. Any volunteers for test flight?
11. Interview some young students on how they use technology - in their personal lives and at school.
12. Teach a current teacher (at South or elsewhere) something you have learned in EDM310 and audio or videotape it.
13. Get your own kids to create a blog. Bring them to class to demonstrate or video tape them.
14. help your kids do a vide about technology (a la Ms. Cassidy's kids)
15. Skype a teacher far away from Mobile and do a one on one interview. Record with an appropriate tool.
16. Jarrod Lamshed would like a few of my students to create a lesson plan (6-8 grade) for his students and to teach that lesson plan. Something about the USA. Contact him via Twitter @jlamshed or through his class blog Mr. Lamshed's Class
17. Something like The iSchool Initiative done by a high school senior in Georgia. (Found by Paula Casallo). If you did not watch this, do it now!
Turn on your brain. The ideas will not come immediately.
18. Capture (audio or video) debate between 2 two students, one advocating that the amount of time for a class should be determined by the student and the opposite some other position.

Be daring! Be imaginative! Be passionate!

I will probably add more as the days go along.

Assignments on the Blog

I have made a number of assignments on the blog. That is the best way I have to communicate with you. At least those o you who read the class blog!

Here is my list of those added assignments. Have you done them all?

1. Vocaroo
2. Another Questionnaire - CLOSED If you did not do it, it is too late.
3. Some More Words of Wisdom (AND AN ASSIGNMENT) From Dr. Scott Mcleod
4. How's My A? - CLOSED If you did not do it, it is too late.
5. Grades You were not REQUIRED to comment, but I would like for you to if you have anything useful to contribute. If you don't no need to leave a comment.
6. Midterm Reflection If you did not complete this you should consult with your lab instructor or me immediately. Open for Class H until 9:00 pm 3/25/10. CLOSED for all others (but if you have not done it and read this post before 9 pm tonight, do it. It will help a little bit.
7. How's Your A? Some of You Won't Make it Through the 3rd Grade! ou were not REQUIRED to comment, but I would like for you to if you have anything useful to contribute. If you don't no need to leave a comment.
8. Too Much Time? Required and still open until Thursday 4/1/10 at 9:00 pm.
9. Honest Reflection is Required - A New Assignment. Still open. Although comments can continue to be left (and I do want us all to continue the conversation), this assignment will be considered late for all initial comments after 9 pm Thursday April 1, 2010.
10. You have to have a working link on your blog to the class blog.
11. You have to have a working link on your blog that automatically opens a message area correctly addressed to your email.
12. You have to be regularly adding pictures and working links (where appropriate) to your blog.
13. The images added must be compliant with accessibility requirements and must reveal the source of the image when you hover the cursor over the image. How do you test to see whether these work? Hold the cursor over the image on this post. After about 15 seconds a little window will pop up and say Source: Google images. Lots of websites. It will disappear in another 15 seconds or so. You cannot directly check the alt tag information but you can indirectly check it. Open your blog in Firefox (or this blog). You should have the WAVE installed. OK, even though this is on the spreadsheet Preparing for Your Intellectual Journey in line 13, here is the link: Wave Accessibility Tool. You can either put in a URL or you can install the Firefox toolbar. Download the Firefox tool. You will have to click Allow (upper right) and restart Firefox. Then the WAVE tool will be in the toolbar of Firefox. Click on Errors, Features and Alerts. If you have done the alt modifier correctly, there will be a green triangle with alt in it by every image of yours. If you have not done it correctly, it will be red. If you scroll down to the post on this blog with a picture of the human brain you will see that I have done neither the alt nor the title (used for Source) modifiers. Full instructions are included in the Syllabus on pp.12, 13, 20, 21. OK, Here's the link you need to Blogger Lesson 2 ALT and TITLE and more. You can listen to it all, or you can wait for it to load and start listening at 5:50. That will save you almost 6 minutes of your 9 hours for EDM310!
14. You must have an RSS feed for the class blog either on your blog or your iGoogle Page.
15. You should be using Delicious. It is a VERY valuable tool.

If anyone thinks of anything else, add it in a comment.

A Look Ahead to the Remaining Projects

Since many of you have different projects outstanding, I will cover them all.

1. Personal Class Blog
2. Presentation which should be embedded in your personal blog.
3. comments4kids If you have missed some of these (many of you have) you need to ask me to assign you replacement assignments since it is now impossible to go back and complete the assignments originally provided you. Send me an email asking for (insert the number you need) additional assignments for comments4kids. I may spread them over 2 or 3 weeks and will do so if requested by you.
4. PLN - You should be continuing to work on this project. I have a post which deals with PLNs Working on Your PLN. An even better post is Jackie Gorski's post The Evolution of My PLN - Initial Post . You should also consult the special blog Mathis Gorski EDM310 Projects. You will need to write a final post describing your PLN and how you are developing it. It would be nice if you had something to say about how your PLN has helped you so far (if it has). And ask Morgan Bayda about her PLN. She is a student just like you. If you do not recognize her name, read the blog assignment for this week and read the Class Blog! I also suggest that you read 9and watch) Shelly Terrell's excellent post A PLN is Like ...
5. Google Docs Form. You should have distributed it and sent it to me. I have only received 29 of them. You MUST do this soon to allow for some replies.
6. At some point before the end of the semester you need to post how you have used Skype this semester. Add your Skype name to your contact list on your class blog. When I send a request asking that I be able to see when you are on line, agree to that.
7. Voice Thread (or Vocaroo) add at least one to a comment you leave for a kid, a comment you leave for a teacher, a comment you leave for a fellow student, or a comment you leave on the class blog or any of my blogs. Send me an email telling me where you left it. An alternate approach would be to record a pos, or part of a post, on your blog using VoiceThread or Vocaroo.
8. Use a tool you have used in this class to teach someone something.CHANGE In the Syllabus (p. 6) I suggest three tools but you can use any tool we have discovered or used in this class. Dina Tillman (Class C) used Screenjelly to teach me something. That was an excellent use of the tool. If you want to know more about what she did, watch for her blog post or contact her. Her email address is on her Class Blog. Write up your project in your blog and either embed your lesson or include a WORKING link to it. Consult my comments on the Syllabus p. 6.
9. Comments4teachers If you are behind you may continue to use the assignment as specified. Catch up NOW if you are behind.
10. Timetoast Timeline. The syllabus says present it using the smartboard in Week 16. This is now CHANGED . Describe your timeline in a brief post on your blog. Include a link to it. Check to make sure your link works!
11. Professional Blog or A Group Blog which you agree to continue after EDM310. There are lots of documents and movies explaining the professional Blog in the syllabus. In addition, see my post today about Morgan Bayda. Her personal blog Morgan Bayda is an EXCELLENT example of what I would like for you to do with your Professional Blog. Be sure you also read my post about her on the class blog for more information related to this project. Another excellent role model for a professional blog is Shelly Terrill's Teacher Reboot Camp. Shelly completed her Masters degree in 2009. She now has 3 jobs: Director of Educator Outreach for Parentella, English Language Instructor for the Deutsch-Amerikanisches Zentrum and the English Camp Instructor and Curriculum Writer for Haus de Familie. You can find links to these organizations by visiting her blog, clicking on My Portfolio and then selecting my complete portfolio. Also look at all of the awards her blog has won in the year that she has been writing it. Shelly lives in Stuttgart, Germany.
CHANGE You can also participate in a group blog which you agree to continue participating in (may every month add a post). You will need at least 3 or 4 partners and 5 or 6 would be better. Ten is about as large a group as you would want to get. Jackie Gorski (Class B) is heading up the EDM310 Alumni Blog. Contact her if you are interested in that. Her email is jackie.gorski2@gmail.com . Or start your own group. If you take this route you must watch a movie I am going to create this weekend explaining some more tools that you will need to use in Blogger and each participant will have to write an initial post scheduled for publication on a schedule I have agreed to. Talk to me if you decide to do Project 11 this way. I hope there are several groups that form to take this approach!
12. A Google Earth Project Dina Tillman and tabitha Greenlee did a neat videocast on Google Earth. Dr. Cassidy had many excellent examples. If you do a search for Google Eart projects or Google Earth lit trips you will find LOTS of examples. See Mr. McClung's two posts on Google Earth projects for his class: Creating A Google Earth Tour and Google Earth Practice. Don't forget to leave a comment. I will provide additional information about including your Google Earth project in your blog.
13. Videocasts/Podcast - They should begin to appear in iTunes tomorrow. I am working on them. Two are up at the University of South Alabama iTunes U site.
14. Substantive Presentation CHANGE There are no rules. Be creative. be imaginative. I will have more posted about Project 14 tomorrow.
15. An interview. CHANGE You now do not have to do it with another student. You may do it alone. See the detailed instructions on p. 7 of the Syllabus. Audio or video using any tool or tools that would work. I think video would be better in some cases and audio in others. You make that decision.

And there are the additional assignments I added via the class blog. I will post a list of them here tomorrow to make it easier for you to check to see that you have done them all.

Morgan Bayda Will Skype Class D - 3/31 2:00pm

... Go to her blog to read the complete text. Just click on the picture or the link in the post below.

Morgan Bayda will Skype Class D next Wednesday at 2pm. She is a student at the University of Regina in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada majoring in Elementary Education. Morgan has posted a commentary on her excitement at receiving all of your comments. Check out her post Connecting with Professor Strange's Class.

In addition, her personal blog Morgan Bayda is an EXCELLENT example of a professional blog (Project 11). You will notice that there are tabs that take you to various "pages" in her blog. She uses Word Press. Blogger now allows you to add pages like this to your blog. I do not cover how to do this in the materials in the syllabus but it is easy to do but hard to find out how to do it. I will make a movie this week. You can start with this Blogger help page What Are Pages?

Notice how Morgan has used her pages. Most are static. Take a close look at what she has included. If you need help, ask. You can ask me or any of the instructional staff. My guess is that Morgan would also be glad to help you. She may not know Blogger, but she could help you with planning your professional blog.

Note her Wordle also. It is her resume put into Wordle. I am surprised that more of you are not using Wordle more. Check it out!

A Tweet from Mr. Joe McClung

I will have the video up early next week. Skype was giving us fits so it will be a bit difficult to follow. It was a great discussion, however!

Honest Reflection is Required - A New Assignment

Go to my post Honest Reflection is Required on my blog Dr. John Strange's Strange Thoughts.

Read it. It took me 4 minutes to read it. It may take you a minute or two longer. Leave a comment. That might take 5 minutes.

Thank you.

I've Changed My Mind - Everyone Please Respond

I've changed my mind. Previously I had asked only a limited number of students, all of whom thought they or their fellow students were being required to spend too much time on EDM310, to complete a questionnaire on time required by EDM310. Now I think it would be better if all students answered the questionnaire.

So please complete the questionnaire Too Much Time?

Midterm Reflections: Too Much Time! and I Am Lost.

I have finished reading and digesting the 107 Midterm reflections I received. There are 139 students still enrolled in EDM310, but a fairly large number are not doing their assignments as the rest of you can tell when you attempt to comment on blogs for which there are no current posts.

Class H only had 8 respondents so I am going to open the questionnaire to Class H members through next Thursday midnight (3/25). We'll see what happens.

I have written emails to many of you who raised issues that needed to be addressed. After thinking about it I have decided to post the two emails here. One contains a link to a survey that addresses the amount of time that EDM 310 requires. If you did not get this email but would like to answer the questionnaire, do so. I would value your input.
Too Much Time!
Some comments:

The workload is a bit overwhelming.
Dr. Strange please stop getting so assignment happy.
Take it easy Dr. Strange.... lay back on the amount of work your assigning.
I think it would be better if this class did not have so much work to do...
I feel like I am required to do TOO much for this class

My response:

You and 8 other students indicated that you felt the time demands of EDM310 were excessive either for you or your classmates. This is an experimental semester. I think that the assignments (including learning how to use the tools to do the assignments) can be completed by an average student in LESS than 9 hours per week. But I only THINK this. I have no evidence to support or undermine my beliefs. And I might be wrong!

You can help by answering the questionnaire I have emailed you titled Too Much Time?

Thank you very much for helping me appropriately address this issue.

And by the way, most of the questions can be answered with just a Yes or No so the questionnaire should take no more than 10 minutes or so to do. Let me know how long it actually takes.

Thanks again!

I Am Lost
I am sending this email to thirteen EDM310 students. In your midterm reflection you raised similar but not identical points so there are comments here that apply to some of you and not others. Pick and choose from the comments below as they apply to you. I would suggest you read them all.

You need more structure
Here's a start:
1. Get an organizer.
2. Mark out 9 hours a week for EDM310 (including lab time if you attend the labs)
3. Print out the projects list (or see Wrap Week 7)
4. Figure out what you need to learn how to do to complete the projects you have not done. If you have difficulty with this, ASK your instructor. The sooner the better.
5. Go to the syllabus and find the instructional material that applies to what you need to learn. If you have difficulty with this, ASK your instructor. The sooner the better.
6. At the appointed time (in your organizer), report for work.
7. Start doing your work. Start with the regular, continuing assignments:
Read the class blog (every day). Do anything that has been added or required since your last visit to the blog.
comments4kids
comments4classmates
comments4teachers
blog assignment
blog post
8. Continue with the projects you have underway (or need to get started on). Prioritize them. Move forward on them as appropriate.
9. When you have completed your 9 hours for the week, take a break (allow time for reading the class blog EVERY DAY) if you are near your 9 hour limit.

You are confused
ASK FOR HELP! Do not wait! I have said this OVER and OVER again but many students who should do not ask for help. It is free. We have promised 24 hour turn around and we are doing very well at that. We seek to respond in 6 hours or less. As far as I can tell we usually meet that goal (not a promise). ASK FOR HELP IMMEDIATELY if you need it!

You don't like blended or online courses
Why not? Be totally honest in your answer. This may give you some clues about what to do about the fact that EDM310 is, and will continue to be, a blended course. And you have to complete it successfully to gain candidacy status. In addition, more and more classes at South will become online, blended, or web enhanced in the future. If it were not for the baby sitting functions that K-12 schools provide, I would expect it to happen there as well.

The Syllabus needs improvement
I agree wholeheartedly. I am beginning to revise it. Any suggestions you have would be VERY welcome!

How's Your A? Some of You Won't Make it Through the 3rd Grade!

How's Your A? Some of You Won't Make it Through the 3rd Grade!

Here is a portion of an email (emphasis added) I received from Mrs. Yollis, one of the third grade teachers of students assigned for comment4kids:

I would like to thank the students in your EDM 310 class for visiting our class blog and especially for leaving a comment.

I don't know how to say what I'm about to say without feeling extremely awkward. However, I'm going to say it.

Please remind your students to proofread their comments before publishing. Many of them are not capitalizing the pronoun I. That is an automatic rejection for third graders. In addition, other grammar errors have been made. For example, use of "a" where "an" is called for and excessive use of exclamation marks.

My students evaluate the comments daily. I did not show two that I received because they did not model quality writing for my students. That is the purpose of our classroom blog.

I wasn't going to say anything, but I feel compelled because these people are passionate about becoming educators and I want to help them succeed.

And you are practicing being teachers. Shape up those of you who are not writing as college students! Mrs. Yollis says she felt awkward in writing me. She should not feel awkward. If you are one of the students who did not use correct grammar, you are the one who should feel awkward! Actually the appropriate word is "ashamed."

Wrap Week 8

You can listen to this podcast on the University's iTunes site or here is the direct link to the podcast: Wrap Week 8

If you would rather read than listen, here is the text of what I said in the podcast:
Week 8 was podcast week, the week in which we made podcasts. The podcasts will begin to be available on the internet immediately after Spring Break.

This week is Midterm Reflection Week. There is a Questionnaire to guide you in the reflection process. It must be completed no later than midnight Thursday March 11.

Complete your comments4... assignments. Complete as many of the quick projects that have not yet been done. Think about what you have to learn and do to complete the other projects. Have a great Spring Break!

Midterm Reflection

REQUIRED Midterm Reflection

This questionnaire must be completed no later than MIDNIGHT THURSDAY March 11, 2010.

Click to Answer the Questionnaire.

Wrap Week 8 , Blog Assignments Part 2 and Comments4Kids Assignment for Week 9

Wrap Week 8, Blog Assignments Part 2 and Comments4Kids Assignment for Week 9 are now available.

Ms. Kelly Hines Skype Conversation with EDM310

Ms. Kelly Hines, a 4th Grade teacher in Washington, North Carolina, USA conversed with EDM 310 in the second of two consecutive delightful, informative and fun Skype Sessions on February 17, 2010 which can also be accessed by clicking the picture. The first Skype session was with Kathy Cassidy and can be accessed in the post just below. Ms. Hines addressed many topics of interest including the use of smartboards, using technology with fourth graders, blogging, the acceptance of technology as a teaching tool, the reactions of students and parents, the use of technology in sports classes, the value of her PLN and the importance of Twitter. EDM310 students: If you were not present when this was recorded, watch this movie (34:42). Leave a comment here.

Ms. Kathy Cassidy Skype Conversation 2/17/10

Ms. Kathy Cassidy, a 1st Grade teacher in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada conversed with EDM 310 in the first of two consecutive delightful, informative and fun Skype Sessions on February 17, 2010 which can also be accessed by clicking the picture. . The second Skype session was with Ms. Kelly Hines and can be accessed in the post just above. Ms. Cassidy addressed many topics of interest including the use of technology with first graders, the acceptance of technology as a teaching tool at her school, how she got started in using technology, the reactions of students and parents, how important her PLN has been to her, and how valuable Twitter has been in her recent career. She also showed the EDM310 students the snow in her back yard. There were lots of oohs and aahs. EDM310 students: If you were not present when this was recorded, watch this movie (32:14). Leave a comment here.

Room 7 Says Thank You EDM310

Room 7 in Pt. England School, Auckland, New Zealand says thank you EDM310.
Here is a Tweet from Ms. Jenny She, Room 7's teacher:







Click on the picture of Class 7 and you will be taken to the movie they created for EDM310. Or Click Here. Then play the movie and leave a comment on the Class 7 blog. You can also leave a comment here if you are so inclined!

Another Exciting Example From the EDM310 Learning Community!

Two of your classmates, David (Tyler) Mathis (Class B) and Jackie Gorski (Class B), have created a new blog for their EDM310 projects. They have started with their podcast since they had more to say than was contained in the podcast itself.
I HIGHLY recommend that you visit their blog, Mathis Gorski EDM310 Projects, and read their post about their podcast, how they created it, and how they developed and used their PLNs in the process.

If you still are unsure about PLNs, this is an excellent demonstration of PLNs in action. You should also listen to their podcast interview with Eric Langhorst who teaches history in Liberty, Missouri. Note their use of links throughout the blog post. Think about how useful their PLNs have been so far in EDM310.

You can do this too! Try something different! Exciting things are happening in EDM310 as our learning community comes alive!

Working on Your PLN

You should be working on your PLN. Take a look at Twitter as a PLN from the blog What's New In the World

You should be using Twitter. There are 3 important resources available in the Syllabus.

TweetDeck makes Twitter much more useful.
TweetDeck Tutorial from The Broad Brush by Todd Jordan is an excellent tutorial on TweetDeck.

And it looks like WE (that is you and me) should explore ScreenJelly for screen captures. Report what you find.

Wordle by Jonathan Feinberg www.wordle.net

Wrap Week 7

You can listen to this podcast on the University's iTunes site or here is the direct link to the podcast: Wrap Week 7

If you would rather read than listen, here is the text of what I said in the podcast:

Our primary focus this week was on preparing for podcasts which started today and assessing our progress in establishing a Personal Learning Network. We also began Comments4Teachers. I will soon post the two Skype interviews we had with Ms. Kelly Hines and Ms. Kathy Cassidy last week. I just finished listening to both interviews for the third time. They are filled with excellent advice and wonderful insights about PLNs, Twitter, technology, and teaching in general. If you were not present when these interviews were recorded you have another assignment: Listen to them or watch them. They will be on the class podcast in iTunes, the class blog and the USA iTunes for EDM310. Each is between 30 and 35 minutes long.

Finally, and I emphasize finally, 81% of you (114 out of 140) have completed the questionnaire I posted on the class blog two weeks ago. Next week is midterm week. The Midterm Reflection is a REQUIRED examination as specified in the Syllabus (p. 7). By the way, you have seen the search box in the Syllabus, haven't you? That search box is now present in all .pdf documents! Back to the Midterm Reflection. It will be similar to the questionnaire I posted on February 15. HOWEVER, it must be completed by 12 midnight Thursday March 11. If you do not complete it by then you will face SERIOUS penalties!

Failing to do things on time in EDM310 is not acceptable as I have stated over and over and over again! You cannot afford to be late with your assignments and get behind in your work in this class.

If you were on time with the first reflective questionnaire, thank you very much!

So let's take a look at the projects you have to do for this class:
1. Class Blog Well underway
2. Presentation - Completed
3. Comments4Kids - Ongoing. Some kids are being disappointed when they get no comments but for the most part this is going well. We have gotten a large number of thank you messages from teachers and students in the form of emails and blog comments.
4. PLNs - Started
5. Google Docs Form - It is time you learned how to do your Doc and get it underway. The sooner the better. Links to a variety of instructional materials are in the Syllabus. And there is also Google and Google help. Can be done rather quickly after some thought and planning.
6. Skype - using it yet? Very useful!
7. VoiceThread (or Vocaroo) - Time to learn how to use one or both of these tools and to put them to use.
8. Google presentation, VoiceThread or movie for YouTube - Time to get started.
9. Comment4Teachers - underway
10. Timetoast Timeline - an easy assignment. You can get this completed quickly so go ahead and do it.
11. Professional Blog or Collective Blog - I will have more information after the Spring Break. You should be thinking about this as you do the Comments4Teachers assignment.
12. Google Earth project - takes a good bit of time. You should be learning about Google Earth NOW
13. Videocast/Podcast - doing this week
14. Substantive Presentation - will take up much of the time after Spring Break
15. Interview - Short, but takes a bit of time to set up.

Six projects are started or underway. I would suggest that you aim for getting Numbers 5 (Form); 6 (Skype); 7 (VoiceThread or Vocaroo) and 10 (Toast Timeline) done before Spring Break. Or at least mostly done. These four are relatively quick and easy. That will leave five for the second half of the semester.

Again I can't emphasize enough that you should call, email Skype, or SMS with questions. Also ask questions during lab time.

Don't forget the midterm Reflection (Questionnaire ) next week. It will be posted by noon next Monday March 8.