EdTechTalk

On this episode of  Teachers Teaching Teachers,we talk to teachers from the Gulf Coast again. School has started in many places along the Gulf, and there are many different and mixed reactions as the emergency has turned into a long-term clean up effort and part of a chronic crisis in the region.

On this podcast you'll learn what teachers and students on the Gulf were thinking about the BP oil spill in at the beginning of August, about 3 weeks after the cap was put on the Deepwater rig. You'll also learn why they believe that the “Voices on the Gulf” project is more important than ever. If you haven’t signed up yet. We’dlove for anybody who listens to Teachers Teaching Teachers to join the site!

We expect that students’ voices will dominate on the site once more schools start up, but we’d love to hear your plans, your thoughts, your voices on the site right now! Thanks!

On this podcast, Matt Montagne and Paul Allison are joined by:

• David Pulling, National Writing Project of Acadiana, Louisiana
• Stacey Ferguson, Live Oak Writing Project, Mississippi
• Catherine Tibbs, Live Oak Writing Project, Mississippi
• Lynette Herring-Harris, Program Associate, National Writing Project, based in Mississippi

Click Read more to see a copy of the chat that was happening during the webcast.

As you will hear on this episode of Teachers Teaching Teachers, we are very excited about the new website, http://voicesonthegulf.org ! On this podcast we are joined by:

• Andrea Zellner, Stumbling Toward Proficiency
• Chris Sloan, Sloan Space
• Matt Montagne, The Digital Downlow
• Diana Laufenberg, Living the Dream
• Buffy Hamilton, The Unquiet Library
• Lisa Nielsen, The Innovative Educator

We are putting together a team to help us to develop this site — and fast. We've set up the following Community Managers:

David Pulling (Louisiana) - Site Manager
Paul Allison (New York) - Site Manager

Catherine Tibbs (Mississippi) - Art and Humanities
Ellen Steigman (Louisiana) - Art and Humanities
Susan Ettenheim (New York) - Art and Humanities

Paige Baggett (Alabama) - Community and Culture
Suzie Boss (Oregon) - Community and Culture

Jeff Mason (Florida) - Health and Wellness
Andrea Zellner (Michigan) - Health and Wellness

Natasha Whitton (Louisiana) - Money and Careers
Chris Sloan (Utah) - Money and Careers

Alicia Blair (Mississippi) - Nature and the Environment
Matt Montagne (California) - Nature and the Environment

Kyle Meador (Louisiana) - Social Issues and Human Rights
Diana Laufenberg (Pennsylvania) - Social Issues and Human Rights

Stacey Ferguson (Mississippi) - Our Space (K-6)
Margaret Simon (Louisiana) - Our Space (K-6)
Gail Desler (California) -  Our Space (K-6)
Kevin Hodgson (Massachusetts) - Our Space (K-6)

Along with this growing group of National Writing Project teachers, teachers from along the Gulf Coast, teachers in Edutopia’s pblcmp, AND/OR teachers involved with the EdTechTalk/WorldBridges community, we have been organizing (and working with Bill Fitzgerald at FunnyMonkey) to build this site that will do the following:

1. Provide a place where we can collect, amplify, and engage the poems, stories, and essays that students along the Gulf Coast bring to their teachers this month, as schools open.
2. Layer these stories, poems, and essays with online sources, including news releases and poetry (such as the poems on Poets for Living Waters).
3. We don’t know yet! Many of us have been working for some time on building a site like Voices on the Gulf, and we have some idea what directions this will take, AND we want to allow the discussions on the site to help us know how to develop.

The most important item, above is #1 - we are working as fast and hard as possible to get the site out to teachers, and for it to be easy to use. If you would like to add a poem, thought, or anything, please sign up, then once you’ve been made into a member, you’ll see the Add Discussion button. Please go in and write a brief reflection, add  photo, a video, or almost anything — just to see how easy it is to do. AGAIN, THANKS!

Students have been coming back the past couple of weeks in many Gulf Coast schools. A lot of our connections with teachers on the Gulf have happened this summer on a live webcast that we do every Wednesday evening. You may have already been on the show. We would love it if you would come back. We’ve been able to make a lot of invaluable connections. You can see what we mean here: http://edtechtalk.com/teachersteachingteachers

We would love to invite you to join us on Teachers Teaching Teachers every Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. Pacific / 8:00 p.m. Central / 9:00 p.m. Eastern. If you use Skype, please email Paul Allison or Susan Ettenheim and let us know your Skype name (again)— just helps us to know who to look for! We hope that you will be able to join us soon on a Wednesday evening.

Click Read more to see a copy of the chat that was happening during the webcast.

Susan Ko, Executive Director of the Center of Teaching Excellence at University of Maryland University College, published the first edition of Teaching Online: A Practical Guide 10 years ago. The third edition, published this year, reflects a number of changes that have happened in the field over that last several years such as the: Web 2.0 revolution, growing acceptance of online education, need for special training and continuing support for faculty and students, team course development, growth of open educational resources, and increasing use of mobile devices.

With unassuming clarity, Susan addresses a number of key issues facing designers and faculty in higher (and K-12) education today.

Available on the Web

Aug 20, 2010 10:01:49 AM - IDL 27: SUSAN KO--PRACTICAL ONLINE TEACHING
02:31 - Robert: http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415997263/
03:31 - Jennifer: oooh! A kindle edition, too! http://www.amazon.com/Teaching-Online-Practical-Guide-ebook/dp/B003AU7E8...
05:38 - Jennifer: What about synchronous teaching options? Is this changing the face of online learning in your experience?
16:31 - Jennifer: how have "perceptions" of oline learning changed (or not) over the years? perceptions of quality, satisfaction, faculty buy-in, etc?
24:05 - Jason: Neiffer: Sure
24:19 - Robert: yes
25:41 - Jennifer: @jason ... I think k-12 is going to be a HUGE driver in online learning ... esp. taking online learning from being for "alternative" adult learners to far more maintream
29:13 - Jennifer: @jason ... good point re: importance of taking an online course (or program) to "get it"
30:30 - Marlene: Yes, continuous improvement is an important aspect of online teaching.
30:42 - Jason Neiffer: Good question, Robert...
31:53 - Jennifer: Great! Thank you, Susan ... another fun virtual "brown bag" lunch for me :)
32:38 - Marlene: Thanks, Susan!
32:38 - Jason Neiffer: Thanks everyone! :)

This summer, we could feel the energy growing around teachers building curriculum about the BP oil spill. This episode of Teachers Teaching Teachers one example. This conversation is part of our ongoing series of podcasts focused on collecting stories, ideas, curriculum, connections, and resources that will help us teach about the Gulf oil spill this fall. Our guests include:

• Teachers who worked together on project plans, It Affects Us All, in Suzie Boss’s Problem-based Learning camp at Edutopia join us.
• We are also joined by Andy Rosenbloom, Program Director for the Virtual Team Challenge: Spill! Andy writes:

Even though you’re busy this summer with countless poolside BBQs, it’s never too early to plan ahead for Fall semester curriculum.The Virtual Team Challenge is an entirely FREE online, multiplayer business simulation that takes place in the animated 3D world of New City. The team objective in the simulation is to help the mayor stage the most efficient oil spill recovery effort. Top-performing teams are eligible for prizes for themselves, their teachers, and local charities! Virtual Team Challenge will run this Fall from October 12 – November 24. See our article in The New York Times to read about one NJ teacher’s success with the program. Virtual Team Challenge comes complete with lesson plans and in-class exercises which form a curriculum that highlights general business acumen, business ethics, negotiation skills, decision-making processes and accounting while placing a special emphasis on important life/career skills such as teamwork, communication, professionalism and research methods. Register now at www.virtualteamchallenge.com.

• Teachers from the Gulf join us as well. Even though on this show we feature teachers and resources from "elsewhere," it is always a welcomed moment when we can hear from our new friends from along the Gulf Coast.
• Oh, if you listen to the end, you'll catch Bill Fitzgerald who had just put up Voices on the Gulf hours before this webcast.

If you haven't joined us at Voices on the Gulf and at Youth Voices, please consider joining now. These are the best ways for keeping up with the work of this community of teachers represented on this podcast this fall.

Click Read more to see a copy of the chat that was happening during the webcast.