3 things I learned about Footnote: 
 
1. You can access millions of documents never been seen on the web before.  
2. You can annotate right on the image.  
3. You can create a "Story Page" to share your story, ideas or research with others.  
 
2 questions I have: 
 
1. What is Spotlight? 
2. The trial is free, but what does a membership get you? 
 
1 thing I want to learn more about: 
 
1. Searching using other people's annotations.  
 
To learn more about Footnote, check out the quick tour on YouTube.  
 

Posted by: Lauren Fee

I'm happy to report that Chinswing has made some changes to their service in the new year. You can now record directly from your browser (no installations!) and it works on both Mac and Windows. I have been in touch with the people who run this service (they are great, BTW) and they are working on password protecting channels and the ability to edit or delete posts. 
 
Also, I learn 2 really cool things after trying this service. First, when you play a post, it automatically moves to and plays the next post - modeling a real conversation! Second, there is a RSS feed and an iTunes button on each channel, so you can listen just like any other podcast.  
 
Below are a couple of classroom ideas we brainstormed. If you think of any others, add a channel and tell us about it.  
 
- Create a story starter for students 
- Book review(s) 
- Foreign language practice and conversations 
- Globally connect with other classes and start conversations about culture.  
- A place to connect with parents and others in the community  
 
Finally, we have started a few channels in the Education category - one about blogs and wikis in education and the other about using technology to differentiate instruction. Please take a look and add to our conversations. 

Posted by: Lauren Fee

Chinswing says it makes "every conversation into a multi-user podcast". I'm very intrigued by the concept, but I've been putting off talking about this for a couple of reasons. First, I haven't tried it; second, the crazy green monster icon scares me; and third it needs some improvement (like access for Mac users - argh!). All that being said, I'm intrigued by the overall concept for carrying on an audio conversation online. From what I can tell, it is similar a blog where someone posts a topic of conversation and instead of others commenting with a written response, they create an audio response. This way it feels more like an actual conversation. While I love reading blogs, I have to admit I feel overwhelmed by all of the text and reading at times. Since I'm more of an auditory learner, this 'recreation' of a verbal conversation appeals to me. It is probably while I like listening to podcasts. Once again, we are seeing greater opportunities for differentiation, building connections and making information more accessible to different types of learners. Hopefully, this site will improve so you don’t have to download and install anything to be able to use it, as is the case now (and add Mac support - smile) 
 
I would love to know what you think. (sorry our comment feature is not working now!) 

Posted by: Lauren Fee

Since we are now on the other side of the holiday season, I thought it might be fun to share Our Story with you. It is yet another web site that allows you to upload pictures, video, stories and add a timeline. Digital Storytelling has been on my mind lately, so this is another possibility. I have not created one yet, but I hope to soon on my recent family trip to Arizona. In the meanwhile, take a look at Beth's example.  
 
I'm thinking digital storytelling, portfolios, reading, writing, sharing ...  
 
What are some of your ideas for the classroom? 

Posted by: Lauren Fee

Jott is a new cell phone service that converts cell phone calls to text. All you have to do is, call a specific number and leave a voice message for someone in your contact list. The message is then converted from voice to text. It can be delivered over e-mail or as a text message. This service is similar to Pinger but the conversion from voice to text makes it different. 
 
I know cell phone usage is a debated topic in schools, but try it out and see what you think. For a more detailed review, visit TechCrunch 
 

Posted by: Lauren Fee

Joopz will lets you send and receive text messages from the Web to any mobile phone for free. This is a great way to save your thumbs! 

Posted by: Lauren Fee

Bubbleshare is a web site that allows you to add captions, audio, even video to your pictures. You can also create whole albums, a fun way to do a digital storytelling project with your students. Take a look at my example (a typical day at my house!). 

Posted by: Lauren Fee

A fun and easy way to send a voice e-mail over the phone. After creating a login and adding your contacts, you simply call the pinger number to retrieve your contact list. Next say the person's name and record your message. Your message will be sent as a voice e-mail to that person. To learn more, visit the Pinger web site.  

Posted by: Lauren Fee

Slideshare is a web service that allows you to upload a PowerPoint or Keynote presentation so it can be viewed online. TechCrunch has a good review Slideshare or you can look at our first attempt. Give it a try, it is free and simple to use.  

Posted by: Lauren Fee

I have been doing some research lately on online bookmarking web sites. There are dozens out there and I have tried many, however none have really done everything I wanted. Recently I have been exploring Diigo and Google Notebook. Both do bookmarking, but also provide ways to annotate and highlight information on the web page. I'm not going to do a full review of these, you can find those at Solution Watch Review for Diigo and Google Notebook, but I do want to say I'm excited about the collaborative possibilities of each.  
 
I also really like that you can add notes or annotate your ideas directly on a web page. For me, this is a great feature. Often times I'm doing research on a topic and bookmark many pages in the process. My problem is when I go back to review them, I often can't recall exactly what I was interested in initially. Being able to highlight a part or add some notes to myself has been extremely useful for me. It does take some extra time and effort, but I've found it makes my research more valuable. I'm a new user to both of these sites, so I have a lot to learn, however I'm excited by the new possibility of these services for teaching and learning.  
 
If you are using them, let me know what you think. You can view my evolving Google Notebook on Digital Storytelling.  
 

Posted by: Lauren Fee

Pinger is a new web service, which allows you to send an audio message over your cell phone. The receiver can hear your message as an audio e-mail, over the web or on the phone. It is very easy to use, just sign up for a free account and add your contacts to the address book. Once you are logged in, click on the help link at the top for directions on how to send a message over your cell phone, regular phone or over the web. Have fun1 
 
Go to YouTube to watch a demo on Pinger.  

Posted by: Lauren Fee

I've come across a lot of great resources while researching for my online Media Literacy class. Here is an interesting quiz from PBS about your knowledge of media literacy. 
 

Posted by: Lauren Fee

Peggy just sent us this link on Sage, a lightweight RSS feed reader extension for Firefox. Another way to keep up with your PD! 

Posted by: Lauren Fee

My co-worker and friend Susannah introduced me to Bloglines a while back and I'm hooked. Just this week I officially changed home page to my Bloglines to help me keep up with my reading.  
 
When I first started using Bloglines, I added a ton of links but quickly realized I couldn't keep up (I still have way too many!). I also realized I don't really need to keep up. For me, it is helpful to simply skim the headlines and read only those articles that interest me. One way or another it is a fun and easy way to keep up with current information and relate to others ideas.  
 
One topic that caught my attention this week was the upcoming K12 Online Conference. It is "the first annual convention for teachers, administrators and educators around the world interested in the use of Web 2.0 tools in classrooms and professional practice. This year’s conference is scheduled to be held over two weeks, Oct. 23-27 and Oct. 30- Nov. 3 with the theme “Unleashing the Potential.” There will be four “conference strands”– two each week. Two presentations will be published in each strand each day, Monday - Friday, so four new presentations will be available each day over the course of the two-weeks. Each presentation will be given in podcast or screencast format and released via the conference blog and archived for posterity." It promises to be an interesting event!  

Posted by: Lauren Fee

I'm in the process of developing an online course about Media Literacy. As we integrate media and the Internet more and more into our classes, we should remember that students need to learn how to be critical consumers of information. Below are a couple of great resources on Media Literacy. 
 
Center for Media Literacy 
 
Media Literacy.com 
 
New Mexico Media Literacy Project 

Posted by: Lauren Fee