Listening to a splendid presentation by Peter from Softease about Podium Podcasting software. He supports Aston Villa

I was facilitating a Web 2.0 seminar yesterday for Primary School teachers and none had come across the term before. The fog was rolling in it seemed. However, when asked how they currently encouraged collaboration and communication in the classroom, they came up with a host of ideas and techniques. Asked to dream about what they would like to offer their pupils in the future in terms of collaborative and communicative opportunities, they were creative and imaginative. We then started talking about how there were tools freely available that use the internet as a platform that could offer their pupils the ‘future’ experiences now. The mist was definitely lifting.

As a result we are going to set up a small-scale experiment using some of innovative online tools to see how they might impact teaching and learning. This is what Web 2.0 looks like on the ground.

‘Coming of Age: An introduction to the NEW worldwide web’ is a book that will provide the textual equivalent to my experience outlined above. It will help educators see the value of Web 2.0 for what is it – a ever-growing set of online tools that in the hands of teachers, could positively impact the teaching and learning process.

Coming of Age should go some way to de-mystifying the present hype around Web 2.0 for education. It provides practical insights from a range of educators who have been exploring how Web 2.0 technology can be used in schools, particularly as a way of supporting social, collaborative learning. The differing perspectives and contextual viewpoints of the 14 authors mean that readers will receive a practical flavour of many different tools. However, the real beauty is that readers will be able to take the ideas and tools to explore, share and customise their own recipes for creativity.

Proud to be one of the contributors, I would like to thank Terry Freedman, the architect and builder of this project, for the hours and hours of work that he has put in behind the scenes. From the outset, Terry’s view was that this should be a free download to encourage the widest possible audience. You can view the table of contents and list of contributors here.

Feel free to download the book by clicking on the picture below and publicise the link to anyone else who might be interested.

(PDF 2MB)

Just testing the PodPress podcasting plugin for WordPress. I also had a look at the Podsafe Music Network for material to use in podcasts. Just a quick podcast before the Everton – Liverpool derby match at Anfield.

Scottish CILT’s 2006 Communicate.06 Conference was an exciting day of technology and teaching. One hundred foreign languages teachers and advisors came to build on their use of technology – whether to make links with partner schools, to inject new forms of creativity into the classroom, or to learn a new skill such as making a blog.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself, presenting my keynote live from a blog instead of using PowerPoint. I created the posts in draft beforehand and chose which to publish in turn. Perish the thought – I actually had to think during my presentation It was a great way of modelling the versatility of blogging as a tool.

I’ll find it hard to present any other way now. I love the idea of people being able to comment straight on to your presentation slides posts, either at the time or later. It allows a conversation to start and continue after the conference is over.

Actually the most striking thing for me is the fact that the conference is not over. The Saturday session was just the beginning of the support that will see many projects spring to life and be supported by the workshop leaders over the next few months. So often good ideas heard at a conference drain away in the reality of a classroom full of students on the following Monday morning, like water being poured into sand.

However, the MFLE is a platform for folks to receive support and ask questions to ensure that the projects get off the ground and flourish. Furthermore all the proceedings were podcast so people who were not there in person can also take part in this ongoing unconference. Ewan McIntosh, who did a brilliant job organising and presenting, has written about the conference from his perspective.

I also got to meet John Johnston of Sandaig Otters fame. He demonstrated that welcome combination of the down-to-earth and inspiring when chatting to folks about blogging and podcasting. Lynne from Tobermory was cool in the blogging session as well. David Muir whose blog I have enjoyed reading over the last months was also there and won a fiver for a blurry photo

You can view the present state of my presentation blog over here. I have switched the theme into post-presentation mode. Click on the thumbnail to see what it
looked like yesterday.

Just a quick 3 minute podcast in Dutch and English in response to John Johnston’s brilliant podcasting day spent at his school’s partner school in the Netherlands. Great stuff. My Dutch is thoroughly awful though and listening to it may be one of the most soul-destroying things I have done since the last soul-destroying thing I did

DeRank.mp3 – 800 KB – 3 mins