Education Technology

Tech Forum is Doing It Live! (free online) Again!




Join us tomorrow, Friday, May 4 to Tech Forum Live Online, Tech & Learning's live broadcast stream direct from Tech Forum Chicago. Join this preeminent group of education leaders as they tackle some of the most pressing, and promising, issues for today's schools. Watch both sessions as they happen and even participate with a live chat session.

The schedule includes:


• The Flipped Classroom in Action: What is it, How do you Manage it, and Should you Support it? - 9:45-11:00 am
Presenters: Jon Bergmann with Justyna Kalinowska, Allison Drew, Elisabeth Lebris and Robert Bialk
The Flipped Classroom has become a buzzword in recent education news. Is it a viable and effective option for delivering instruction? Is it too burdensome for school technology staff? Join the staff of the Joseph Sears School as they provide a background on the flipped class; then hear from teachers and technology staff who have been involved in implementing this new model of teaching and learning.

• Understanding the Challenges and Opportunities of Emerging Learning Environments - 2:15-3:30 pm
Presenters: David Jakes (moderator), Jon Bergmann, Dean Shareski and Jennie Magiera
Join us for a lively discussion on topics ranging from the pros and cons of digital textbooks to the disruptive impact of mobile computing, online learning, social networking, and the flipped classroom. David Jakes will challenge panelists to share their thoughts about the issues and opportunities that arise as we evolve from the traditional classroom to anytime, anyplace, any path learning spaces. Then it's your turn -- to weigh in, ask questions, and engage with virtual audience members who'll be tapping into this session.

Simply visit this link during those times, tune in and participate. You can submit questions to the presenters using the Livestream chat feature or by tweeting:#TLTF12. It's the next best thing to being there!



Tech and Learning Magazine is an excellent, free resource, for educators.

• Using completely new tools, called Explore and Discover, you can find artworks by period, artist or type of artwork, displaying works from different museums around the world.
• Google+ and Hangouts are integrated on the site, enabling you to create even more engaging personal galleries.
• Street View images are now displayed in finer quality. A specially designed Street View “trolley” took 360-degree images of the interior of selected galleries which were then stitched together, enabling smooth navigation of more than 385 rooms within the museums. You can also explore the gallery interiors directly from withinStreet View in Google Maps.
• We now have 46 artworks available with our “gigapixel” photo capturing technology, photographed in extraordinary detail using super high resolution so you can study details of the brushwork and patina that would be impossible to see with the naked eye.
• An enhanced My Gallery feature lets you select any of the 30,000 artworks—along with your favorite details—to build your own personalized gallery. You can add comments to each painting and share the whole collection with friends and family. (It’s an ideal tool for students.) 

  

The conference theme is the use of social media and Web 2.0 in teaching and learning, and we are calling for proposals immediately at http://www.SocialLearningSummit.com. To be kept informed of the latest conference news and updates, please join the Classroom 2.0 network. This will also allow you to correspond with the presenters and other members, and to comment on sessions and discussions. 

Sessions will be 30 minutes in length, and can focus on practical classroom application or pedagogical frameworks or both. Please do not submit a session if your are a vendor or a vendor representative. Whilepresentation proposals will be accepted through April 7th, session acceptances will start to be issued on March 26th, at which time presenters will be given a chance to use a scheduling calendar to pick an available time to present. All sessions will be held in Blackboard Collaborate (previously Elluminate), and training sessions will be available both "live" and in recorded form.

 

This is a Guest Post by Samantha Peters, an avid blogger and manager of theeducationupdate.com, who enjoys writing about innovative educational resources that help teachers improve learning in the classroom. 

Give Students Tour of the Capitol Without Leaving the Classroom

The United States is a big country. This is great for the sake of diversity and fruitfulness, but not so good for folks wanting to get from one place to another. Indeed, millions of American teachers face this fact every year when they create their lesson plans on the United States' Capitol, Washington, DC. Teachers on the Eastern seaboard or a few hundred miles Westward are able to conceivably take students on an extended trip to the Capitol, while educators everywhere else face high expense and other challenges that make such a journey impractical. Instead, they must settle on books and videos to teach students about the engine of American democracy.

That is, if they don’t take advantage of the variety of virtual tours available online courtesy of the federal government. While Uncle Sam’s Internet presence helps you get your student loan online, interpret tax information, and determine mortgage rates, it’s also an effective tool used in helping to keep the public more informed about the government and its history. If you aren’t able to take your class to the Capitol, then use the free virtual tours available on the following sites to get them as close as possible:



 

WHITEHOUSE.GOV

It’s almost impossible to secure a student tour of the interior of the White House these days, so you really have nothing to lose by using the virtual tour made available on the White House website. For security reasons, it isn’t as detailed as others on the list, but it does offer a glimpse into every non-private room in the home of our Commander-in-Chief.




CAPITOL.GOV

Nominated for a Webby last year, the Architect’s Virtual Capitol is a highly interactive and deeply informative jumping off point for educators explaining the structure of the U.S. Capitol Building. Through videos as well as a three-dimensional reconstruction of Capitol Campus, students can come as close as possible to actually being on the grounds of Congress.




SENATE.GOV

What this alternative tour of the Capitol lacks in interactivity it makes up for in its catalog of historically significant events. Whenever you select a room to pan around, a list covering every major incident that took place in that space is provided. It’s an excellent way for students to visualize these events occurring.




MYLOC.GOV

The awe-inspiring architecture of the Library of Congress as well as the portraits and murals found therein are impossible to explain with words alone. The LOC website features virtual tours of the Main Reading Room and The Great Hall as well as the seven galleries and pavilions that litter the library campus.

In addition, use Google Maps, specifically the street view function, to give your students a more coherent look at their nation’s capital. In fact, Google is already adding the interiors of public spaces to their Maps catalog, so soon many of DC’s sights should be available through this one free online tool.

You may never be able to find the means to take your students to visit Washington, DC, but that doesn’t mean you can’t acquaint them with their nation’s capital on an intimate level. By taking advantage of free virtual tours online, you can bring faraway students as close to the engine of American democracy as possible.

Related:

50 Amazing Museum Exhibits You Can Enjoy Online

NASA JPL Virtual Field Trip

Virtual Field Trips