Google Earth 360 & Ancient Rome Curriculum Competition

Google Earth just keeps getting better and better! Approximately a year or so ago, they introduced streetside maps that allow you to see the view from street level. If you haven't been in recently, check out the 360 feature (a red dot with the number 360 in the middle of it). You can turn it on by opening "Layers>Gallery>360 cities." Typically, you'll see these panoramics in major cities at tourist attractions.

When you click on the 360 button, you'll see a 360 panoramic image, clear as a bell. What amazed me about the 360 pictures is how they capture a full scene from the perspective of an individual. So imagine you are standing on a street in Tulum, Mexico. You'll see the taco stand, individuals riding by on bikes, cars, tourists on the streets, people eating in restaurants. It feels like you are there. These great images are hosted by 360 Cities and imported into Google Earth, see the shot above at http://360cities.net/image/carnitas-merchant

For teaching anything related to history, geography, study of cultures, etc. this tool is wonderful! When the 360 view is open, you can do a "File>save" and create a .jpg of that image. These images can be imported into slideshows or other rich media that students create for reports or projects.

Oh, and have you seen Ancient Rome in 3D in Google Earth?! Check out this first ancient city available in Google Earth, inside the Layers>Gallery menu! Note the ancient Rome curriculum competition, due February 2009.

Idaho Forum on Virtual Education

We had a strong turn-out last night for the first public Idaho Forum on Virtual Education. Many thanks to Diane Demerest, Executive Director for the Idaho Charter School Network, for her commitment to organizing such a powerful venue!

State Superintendent of Instruction, Tom Luna, opened the event with his support for school choice, especially via virtual education. Recently, Idaho was ranked third in the country for policies and practice in K-20 Online Education by the Center for Digital Education. Much of that ranking was due to this man's efforts and vision.

John Watson of Evergreen Associates was the keynote speaker, giving interesting highlights from his annual Keeping Pace report, which tracks growth in K-12 online programs (both state sponsored supplemental programs, and full-time K-12 online programs typically funded through private corporations). Over 42 states in the country currently offer one or both of these types of online learning for their kids.

Next up came a panel of state leaders (I was honored to be included on the panel) discussing where we are going with K12 virtual education. Tom Luna and John Watson rejoined us, along with Senator Russ Fulcher, Charter School Commissioner Alan Reed, and myself.

Here's a recording of the forum. Perhaps the most powerful portion of the evening came when a student panel, consisting of kids and a teacher from several virtual schools, shared their views about why online learning options were important to them. After listening to them present, I would dare anyone to disagree that online learning shouldn't be an option made available for ALL kids.

Cool new graduate elective!

OK this falls in the category of "cool news!" The Dept. of EDTECH at BSU does it again for spring 2009.

NEW ONLINE ELECTIVE! EDTECH 597: Augmented Reality Curricular Design (special hardware required; course hosted in Blackboard)
Dr. Patrick O'Shea, Harvard University, is designing and teaching this cutting-edge special topics course. AR is an effort to merge physical and virtual environments to the benefit of students. This course will include discussion of the theory behind AR and will include the development of individual AR curricula. Students will storyboard a central storyline for their AR curriculum, design characters and objects to include in their curriculum, produce media elements to represent these characters and objects, and produce the interactive AR instructional module. Learn more about Dr. O'Shea's HARP Project at http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=harp
Required Hardware/Software: Handheld Computer running Windows Mobile Operating System, PC running Microsoft OS
Required Prerequisite Skills: No required skills, but familiarity with web design and video editing would be beneficial.

Contact Jerry Foster at jfoster@boisestate.edu for registration information.

Moving forward on the EdD in EDTECH

Great news--we've received permission to move forward with planning of our online EdD program in EDTECH! Our goal is to launch the program by fall 2010. I'm hesitant to announce it here, as we begin to get a lot of interested students wanting to know if they can take courses NOW that will apply THEN. Although I'd love to say yes, in reality, we can't count our chickens before they are hatched.

There are many levels of approval before a doctoral program launches. The program has to be reviewed within a university, and once that's done, it goes out for external review before being submitted to the State Board of Education for approval! The process can get bogged down or suspended at any point along the line, so from a student's perspective, it's not wise to take coursework now anticipating something that may not be there when they need it.

Now, having all the disclaimers out of the way, let me say I'm VERY excited to begin re-visioning our program. I say re-vision, because we actually outlined a doctoral program two years ago. A lot has changed in two years--we are a larger department, with more faculty, more courses, and a little more experience and understanding about where we want to head as a program. We've been encouraged to align our work to the Carnegie Foundation's Initiative on the Doctorate. Excellent! I'm looking forward to working with our team of faculty and staff to reflect on notions of excellence in doctoral education, especially as they apply to a program that likes to focus on emergent technologies for teaching and learning.

I'm baaaack....with EDTECH Island!

Well, it's been 2 years, and I rediscovered my blog! Wow, a lot can happen in two years. No doubt, the most interesting thing I've been doing is building EDTECH Island in Second Life. What started as an experiment to run an online graduate course in Educational Games & Simulations has turned into a virtual world community with over 1,000 members, guest speaker events, and hosting numerous courses on the island. Ooops, I didn't even mention the great residents who've taken up living in our condos! Seriously, if you have yet to venture into virtual worlds, check out http://secondlife.com. And for those of you who have participated in our work there, thanks for everything you've done to contribute to who we are!

video blogging or vblog

OK, check it out!  A video blog entry
using Sightspeed.

video conferencing & programmatic needs

As some of you know, I've been fascinated with pedagogical uses of video conferencing technology for the last year. This year, as I begin serving our department as the Chair, I'm starting to understand that there are uses for video conferencing technology at the programmatic level, as well.

At the beginning of the semester, we piloted a "New Student Orientation" in Breeze for our online graduate students. The purpose was two-fold. First, we wanted to introduce our new graduate students to using Breeze, an initial training in how the tool operates and functions. Second, it was a chance to provide program information and resources. Finally, it was a chance for students to see our faces, hear our voices, understand we are real people behind those screens, and ask questions.

Later this semester, we will try a live "open house." This is a chance for instructors and students to visit "classrooms," see work in progress, meet upcoming instructors in future classes.

training online teachers

It's been awhile since I've posted, but wow, was the ride worth it! I just completed a four week online training with about 30 9th grade virtual teachers based around the country. Their talents and knowledge is extraordinary, and the pioneer spirit is still strong.

Everytime I teach, I learn something new or something old all over again. Key memories from this experience include:

No one knows everything. Even the most expert and experienced teacher in one area can be missing information in another area. The key is learning to learn from each other's strengths.

Even expert teachers can feel like novices when placed in new teaching and learning environments. I've experienced this phenomenon myself each time I've switched teaching environments such as a live class, a class in a computer lab, a hybrid course, or a fully online course. The key is to remember that expert teachers understand good pedagogy, and these principles apply in ALL environments. We just have to learn the tools of the trade and the context in order to apply those principles.

Online teaching isn't a cure all. Many of these teachers reported working with at-risk or special needs kids. And the need for additional assistance can actually be created by the online environment itself, thus resulting in the need for assistive technologies, and training in the use of assistive technologies.

It was a great experience to be part of their learning process. I'm imagining myself supervising online students teachers in the near future....via video conferencing, of course.

video chat library for online teachers

I'm so proud of the graduate students with whom I have the privilege to work. This semester, they first learned to use Breeze video conferencing software. Then, working in pairs, they designed and created video tutorials to help other online teachers. I hope you'll check out the work of Paul, Julie, Dallas, Bou, Pam, Caryn, Blaine & Kate.
Kelly also did a great tutorial on using Kidspiration with ESL Learners.
Thanks guys!

SimSchool

I am so pleased to see the release of SimSchool, a role play simulation that allows teachers, or preservice teachers, to practice their classroom management and teaching skills. Using a 3D role play environment, similar to the ever popular Sims series, this tool is a boon to teacher education programs! The program takes into account different learner profiles, attitudes, and learning styles. Imagine standing in front of the class, trying to teach, when you are confronted with students who are bored, falling asleep, or have learning difficulties...what do you do? Registration is currently free. Take a tour.