EdVentures in Technology
teaching, learning and change
March 20, 2007 at 11:40 am · Filed under Teaching & Learning
I can’t believe I had forgotten this “kids conference” when I posted on Vicki Davis’ article the other day. When I worked at Moultonborough Academy, one of our science teachers, Shaw Smith, was the faculty coordinator for the NH Youth Environmental Summit, an environmental leadership conference for middle-school students.
As it turns out, Plymouth State University hosts the one day NHYES conference in our science center, Boyd Hall! This year’s conference was an exceptional success as it sold out and they were in the unique position of having to turn away those who had hoped to register.
One of the unique things about this conference is that the presenters are all high-school students, with a couple of outstanding middle schoolers thrown in for good measure. The students are responsible for developing the conference from soup to nuts including registration, publicity and presentation.
I would love to compile a list of similar endeavors if folks would be willing to throw the URLs my way. If you already have them in your del.icio.us list, just add the tags for:edventures and kids-conference and I’ll create a page for those resources.
Perhaps such a list could serve to inspire others to reach out and engage students at a very visceral level!
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March 8, 2007 at 12:30 pm · Filed under Diigo Links
My wife will be traveling to the Galapagos Islands in June as part of a travel study program through Plymouth State University. Unfortunately for her, the trip leader, Dr. Mary Ann McGarry, has been nice enough to let me help craft the culminating project my wife will develop as the credit bearing portion of the trip. So if you were able to craft a project for someone who will be onsite in an exotic and bio-rich environment, what would be valuable for you? Please feel free to drop your comments below and I’ll see what I can include in the culminating project proposal.
The links below will come in useful as it turns out that the Boston Museum of Science is hosting not only the IMAX movie on the Galapagos, but also the American Natural History Museum’s traveling exhibit, Darwin.
IMAX Educator Resources Annotated
- Link to the educator’s resource guide which accompanies the IMAX presentation of the Galapagos movie.
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Darwin Online Educator’s Guide | American Museum of Natural History Annotated
- The American Museum of Natural History’s educators guide to accompany the Darwin traveling exhibit.
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Darwin - American Museum of Natural History
- Website focusing on the work of Charles Darwin as illustrated in the traveling exhibit.
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Museum of Science, Boston | Exhibits | Darwin
- National and Massachusetts science standards linkages for the traveling Darwin exhibit at the Boston Museum of Science can be found here.
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- National and Massachusetts Standards correlations can found here. - post by edventures
- The Darwin Traveling Exhibit will be at the Boston Museum of Science. The Educators Guide is available here.
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World Wildlife Fund presents The Galápagos Islands
- Information and resources pertaining to the Galapagos as provided by the World Wildlife Fund.
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Galápagos - National Science Teachers Association site Annotated
- The National Science Teachers Association website hosts a wonderful resource on the Galapagos Islands.
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Galapagos Imax Movie - Museum of Science, Boston Annotated
- The Galapagos IMAX movie is playing at the Boston Museum of Science from 7 March - 25 April 2007. Accompanying the movie is the traveling exhibit, Darwin.
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Galapagos - The IMAX Experience Annotated
- Visit the Galapagos, IMAX style!
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January 10, 2007 at 2:00 pm · Filed under TechTalk, Web 2.0
I’ve been testing Office 2007 for compatibility issues on our Plymouth State University campus. For those who haven’t seen the interface, it is SIGNIFICANTLY different from Office 2003 and will likely require some bridging support for those who may not enjoy being beta test guinea pigs like the rest of us! Our Office of Teaching & Learning Technologies anticipates an increase in demand for user training.
Note: All of the images below can be viewed in larger format from my Flickr account by clicking the image.
Microsoft Outlook 2007
I’ve dropped a couple of comparative screenshots of Microsoft Word 2003 and 2007 below.
Image 1: 
Image 2: 
One interesting thing to note is that Outlook is the one app in the suite which doesn’t look radically different. It has the same general interface with the addition of another column on the right which provides a heads-up display of your calendar, events and tasks.
Image 3: 
Microsoft did add RSS support to their app in this version. It integrates with mail and new
posts are treated as unread mail.
Image 4: 
Here is an example of the feed from think:lab
Image 5: 
First the things I like:
- Integration with my mail client is nice although not necessarily new compared to say Thunderbird. The ability to flag items and mark them for follow-up as you would your email is convenient.
- I like the display format as it doesn’t require retraining.
- Integrates nicely with Internet Explorer 7 for finding and adding feeds.
- Outlook provides the option to download the post and any embedded files as attachments (although I don’t know that it has a particular methodology for viewing or integrating those items with its other products such as Windows Media Player mimicking iTunes podcast service.)
- There is a nice context sensitive search feature (with an additional plug-in) that makes for quick searches through your feeds.
That said, therre are a few oddities with Outlook 2007 that I find inconvenient and/or frustrating:
- It may just be my install, but it takes forever to run through a Send/Receive process as Outlook processes both your mail and feed at the same time. Not a big deal for those on high speed internet but it has the potential to bog down dial-up users.
- My Inbox feeds don’t automatically refresh, it shows I have new mail but unless I click on another category and then back to Inbox, I can’t see my new messages.
- I’d also like the option to separate my new RSS posts from my actual mail when it comes to Unread items.
- The feed view also does not seem to provide a way to view all new messages as is found in most other feed readers. You have to click on each feed individually to see the feeds. Clicking on the RSS Feeds header simply displays the screenshot seen in Image 4 above which touts the new RSS feature.
- Not all my feeds imported nicely from my OPML file. While the feeds render just fine in other readers, for some reason Outlook 07 has issues with some feed formats. I’ve seen posts around the web which mention that Outlook 2007 really depends upon Internet Explorer 7 so I did upgrade my browser to see if that would remedy the problem. I now do not have as many errors but still see a few feeds which will not render. Hmm… I sincerely hope that Microsoft is not taking a proprietary stance with its RSS reader to ensure that it only works well with IE7 rather than via other browsers and/or the copy/paste or import of feed URLs.
All in all, Outlook 2007 is an interesting development. Now I am no seer, but I do feel that the adoption of RSS in Outlook and its integration with IE7 will lead to a surge in the use of RSS, particularly among those who aren’t familiar with the technology. It may not be my primary offline feed reader as I prefer the simplicity of SharpReader but with a few improvements I might consider using it instead.
technorati tags:microsoft, outlook, 2007, msoutlook2007, rss
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December 4, 2006 at 3:43 pm · Filed under Higher Education, TechTalk, Web 2.0
Woot! Woot! « MaisonBisson.com
I’d like to take a post to congratulate my colleague and fellow re-visioning conspirator Casey Bisson on his Mellon Award for Technology Collaboration. The focus of this award is his work on WPopac, a Wordpress based OPAC, or online public access catalog. The best way to understand WPopac is to read the WPopac post.
Casey’s mantra is “findability” and he often quotes Peter Morville’s Ambient Findability. His attention is directed towards more than simply making library catalogs publicly web accessible but making them more valuable by encouraging interactivity and user feedback. Although the term Web 2.0 has been hacked to death by those who love it and those who revile it, the bottom line still remains that web denizens are no longer content to be consumers when they can become contributors. WPopac looks to bridge the gap between patron and library and reinvigorate libraries in the process.
The details of his award can be found in the following press release.
Congratulations again Casey and Plymouth State University!
UPDATE:
More WPopac goodness:
From NHPR: Library Collections Could Soon Be On The Web
From the Shifted Librarian, Jenny Levine: Libary 2.0 in the Real World
From Information Wants to Be Free, Meredith Farkas: Casey Rocks…
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June 21, 2006 at 12:11 pm · Filed under Random Thoughts
I have to apologize for not being more diligent in my attention to this blog but the past few months have been more than a little chaotic for me both professionally and personally.
On a professional level, my role at Plymouth State University has changed dramatically. My new title is Coordinator of Learning Technologies for the Lamson Learning Commons. While this role will allow me to focus my energies on current and emerging teaching and learning technologies, and on our learning management system, WebCT, it is a departure from my former role as coordinator for our Technology & Learning Center, or TLC, where the bulk of my responsibilites were managing the HelpDesk and Desktop Support teams for our campus. As a result, there has been a bit of a steep learning curve as I transition into my new position and less time for me to devote to my blog - although I hope this will changes as I acclimate to my new position.
On a more personal level, I graduated from Plymouth State University this past May with my Master’s in Education, with a focus on educational technology.
I am currently putting the finishing touches on my practicum which is the development of a graduate level course entitled Teaching, Learning and the 21st Century Classroom. While I have explored many of the topics independently, I have been inspired by the work of Ulises Mejias and Terry Anderson, as well as Will Richardson’s recently published book - Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms.
Additionally, my wife has taken a position teaching 7th grade science at the Gilford Middle School in Gilford, NH. As a result, we will be engaged in the process of relocating to Gilford over the coming months. While we will miss life and our friends in Sandwich, this is a career opportunity for Michelle that we couldn’t pass up.
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March 17, 2006 at 1:56 pm · Filed under Higher Education
I was asked by a member of our faculty to speak with a group of graduating studio arts majors who are interested in having an electronic presence on the web to either serve as an online gallery or as an electronic portfolio of their works for future employers. This post is a list of the resources I used in the presentation.
In a pre-session meeting, it was established that all of these students wanted the freedom to configure a professional site that allowed them to employ their artistic talents, so the cookie-cutter web hosting solutions were out. We did have a brief discussion on the merits and challenges of an image hosting site such as Flickr for those folks who seek to make a living from their art and would therefore be protective of their intellectual property rights.
Perhaps the most challenging aspect of this process will be finding a name for their domain! Which brings us to step one…
1. Find and register a domain name
With the popularity of the web booming and cybersquatters snapping up as many obvious domain names as possible, it can be frustrating to find an available name that is easy to remember and conveys your marketing message. So, expect to spend some time exploring and re-exploring naming schemes. As artists, it may be easier for you than most to view your domain name with a creative eye.
I’ve listed a few name registration sites, but it is always good to shop around. The price for a domain name can run from as low as $8 to as high as $35 annually. As with magazine subscriptions, better deals can be had if you register your site for a longer period of time.
Keep in mind that this process may be combined with the next step, find and subscribe to a web host, as some name registrars also offer web hosting services. This may reduce your costs, or at least simplify the process somewhat. Each of the vendors below provides hosting services, but with a great range of pricing schemes.
(Legal caveat: These links are for reference only. I do not make any guarantees or assumptions about their pricing or quality of service!)
2. Find and subscribe to a web host
After registering a domain name, the next step is to find and subscribe to a web hosting service. As mentioned above, many name registrars also providing hosting. But which services/features should you look for?
At a minimum, I recommend the following:
- - Full e-mail service (some hosts just provide incoming mail service and require you to use your Internet Service Provider’s (ISP’s) SMTP server to send e-mail.
- - 1 GB of network storage - This should provide adequate space for most artist’s needs, unless your site is extremely rich in multimedia.
- - 10 GB of bandwidth - This means the amount of traffic that goes to and comes from your site. As you grow in popularity, and based on the size of your multimedia elements, it is best to start with this bandwidth knowing that you can always upgrade should you need to.
- - PHP and mySQL - for hosting blogs and other interactive site features. Most hosts now provide this by default but check to be sure.
- - Multimedia support - Flash, Real Player, streaming audio/video
Another feature often found as part of a hosting service is a neat management tool called CPanel. My host, HasWeb, provides CPanel which allows me to configure the various components of my site. But even better is a tool they integrate with CPanel called Fantastico.
Fantastico allows you to add other web services such as blogs, photo galleries, shopping cart functions, and much more. This is a boon for those who do not have either the time or the inclination to get tech heavy (although it is always good to have a technical awareness!).
Blogs
One alternative to hosting your own site right off the bat is to use blogging technology to present yourself. There are a number of free blog hosting sites out there which can be employed to serve as your electronic portfolio, either by themselves or in conjunction with other resources, such as Flickr.
I’ve listed a few of the more popular blog hosting services below.
Web development Resources
I have developed a tutorial on creating webpages at Plymouth State University using their resources. It is a work in progress, but may prove useful as you begin the process of creating your very own web presence.
Good luck!
February 23, 2006 at 3:06 am · Filed under Web Expressions
In our last class we spoke of the resources available to you as students at Plymouth State University participating in this course. For
the purposes of this class you have two web resources at your disposal, your Oz account and your Turing account. The Oz account has a current quota of 180MB for students and is yours as long as you remain an active student with the University. The Turing account has a larger capacity as it is designed to meet the needs of students majoring in Computer and Information Technologies and is yours for the duration of this class, longer if you apply for special dispensation from the department (meaning you will be actively updating and maintaining your web-based resource).
Access to these accounts varies. Your Oz drive, also known as your M: drive, is mapped automatically on cluster computers. The Turing drive must be mapped separately. If you are on campus (and using a PC) you may map either of these drives yourself using the following directions:
- Right-click on My Computer and click on Map Network Drive
- Select the drive letter you prefer from the drop down menu in the Drive: field
- Type the following into the Folder: field
For Oz: \\logon.plymouth.edu\username replacing username with your own PSU username
For Turing: \\turing.plymouth.edu\username replacing username with your own PSU username
- To ensure that this drive remains mapped, check the box to Reconnect at Logon
- Now click on the Connect using a different user name link and type \\logon\username in the username box (again replacing username with your own PSU username) and type your password in the password field.
- Click OK, then click Finish
A window should open at this point displaying the contents of your mapped drive.
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February 9, 2006 at 8:48 pm · Filed under Web Expressions
I am teaching a course for the Computer Science and Technology department at Plymouth State University called Web Expressions. This class is part of the effort to redesign our general education requirements for undergraduate students. This semester I am conducting the course entirely via blog (whereas last semester I used WebCT as the primary delivery tool). The blog engine that my students use is called Serendipity and while it is a rather robust system, it is no integration into many of the other e-tools I find myself using. As such, I am going to try cross-posting my course work to this blog in an effort to archive my work for the future.
The only caveat is that I have a couple of missing posts that I need to recreate for the sake of continuity so the flow may seem a bit awkward at first.
This initiative is also in keeping with my attempts to use my blog as a Personal Knowledge Management system. My blogroll includes four links to sites that have a KM focus. They are:
January 13, 2006 at 9:34 pm · Filed under ED506
By way of introduction, I am currently matriculated in a Master’s degree program at Plymouth State University. While the official title for the specific track is Computer Technology Educator, my focus is primarily on the use and integration of educational technologies into the curriculum. One of the core courses for this M.Ed. track is ED506 - Theories of Learning & Cognitive Development. As an overview of the process of cognitive development over the course of a learner’s lifespan, this class includes the biological/physiological perspectives of brain theory as well as the more commonly accepted theories of learning. Ultimately, this course leads to the development of personal philosophies and strategies which will facilitate the incorporatation of these strategies into’s ones curriculum design, development, delivery and assessment.
This blog category (ED506) represents my culminating project which begins to touch upon the philosophies and strategies I have cultivated as they apply to the incorporation of the newest educational technologies commonly referred to as Web 2.0. To find just those posts in my blog related to this thread, please enter this tag into the search column found in the right-hand column. For those new to blogs, you will find that many of the terms or resources are actually hyperlinks to the original online resource. These links are used not only to cite references, but also to provide the reader with additional valuable background information. As you follow this project thread, please take the time to visit these links as they contain information that serves to illuminate and/or define this project.
This link was published using the Performancing plug-in built for Firefox (although it was used in my Flock browser).
January 5, 2006 at 10:03 pm · Filed under Random Thoughts
So the New Year is typically the time for the setting of resolutions one hopes to maintain for the upcoming year. Well, I’ve not had much luck with these in the past but hey, New Year, new possibilities. So with this in mind here are my resolutions, which I will cross-post to my 43 things account in the hopes that I will have some external support in my endeavors.
1. Give this blog the attention it deserves
There are a lot of exciting things on the EdTech horizon. That should make this one easy, right?
2. Finish my M.Ed. in Educational Technology
With just the completion of my current course and my graduate practicum to go, I should be able to do this by my intended grad date of May.
3. Start my Ed.D.
Am I too much of a glutton for punishment? Probably, but I am motivated by the successful dissertation defense by my friend and mentor, Royce Robertson. Congratulations Doctor Robertson!
4. Present at an industry conference
I cut my teeth as a co-presenter at the 2005 ResNet Conference in Atlanta, GA last year. My goal is to be lead presenter at an EdTech conference this year, such as NERCOMP, EDUCAUSE, SIGUCCS, etc.
5. Map out my career path
As a relatively young IT professional who has had a number of challenging jobs that have each provided me with invaluable experiences, I feel that it is about time I look toward my future and set goals for where I want to be and when. Particularly since the opportunity is now afforded me with the recent and upcoming organizational changes in my place of employ.
6. Give back to the EdTech field
I hope to develop stronger ties to EdTech resources in my home state of New Hampshire. Plymouth State University is centrally and ideally located to serve the needs of our central and northern tier schools. As it’s motto is Et Prosim or “To Serve”, I would like to either develop a formal support program or provide support to an existing one.
7. Develop and teach a graduate level course
For my grad practicum, I have proposed to develop a course that addresses recent developments in educational technology. Upon completion, I plan to submit it for consideration to our graduate studies department. I’ve come across a couple of blog posts that show me I’m not alone in this (see Ulises Mejias and Terry Anderson).
I like round numbers, so resolutions 8, 9 and 10 will be forthcoming.
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