Last year flex:ed supported the Children’s Services area of CIT in developing a video to be used as a tool in a child observation assessment for future Childcare workers.

This activity is generally used to demonstrate competency in recognising certain behaviours in children and is conducted in the workplace. We produced a video of a range of children interacting in a childcare environment, with a timestamp at the bottom of the screen. The advantage of developing a video is that the teachers are able to know what it is that the learners are observing, learners can all observe the same thing in a class and are able to discuss what they are seeing and it is possible to view actions more than once.

If you would like to know more, I produced a case study of this project, which you can access here (http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dc9hcz63_6hj643zpt ) at Google Docs

Today’s forum sessions were fun! There was Wink and wiki and audio, not to mention weird echoes!

Diana’s session on using Wink to capture your lectures and audio was a hit, as was Aaron’s discussion on using wiki in your classroom. Participants began to compile a list of ideas on how to engage learners in discussion on a wiki – a great collaborative activity in itself! I think a very useful guide will develop from this.

Moir’s session on adding audio lecturers to your online course was simple, effective and downright practical!

Image: http://www.tomrafteryit.net/

Sue and Kerry went to town on using ARED(v2) and this is now available for CIT teachers via a quick download to your log-in profile. ARED is a quick way to get your content looking great and is easy to use – no special web design knowledge is required!

Day 2 of the forum looks set to engage as well, beginning with your virtual presence at the CIT strategic planning meeting – jump into VET Virtual and have your say about CIT’s future. Colin will be facilitating the online aspects of this discussion.

Marg Robson presents some tips on getting interactive with VET Virtual, while Anne and Moir tell us about their e-learning innovations project. Following that, David bravely jumps into the world of quizzes, and then we finish up the forum with a look at the national LORN, with Kerry and Sue.

What a great way to see in the semester break, don’t you think!

See you online tomorrow…!

Animoto have opened their service to Education for FREE! One main proviso (and pretty painless it is too) is:

The only thing we ask is that you keep us posted with the creative ways you find to use Animoto in the classroom. Our goal is to put together a collection that becomes a hub of sorts for teachers who use web 2.0 technology in a clever, innovative & fun way.

- Animoto: Education -

[image: from Animoto: Education]

Here’s your chance to develop video/multimedia “on the fly” and encourage your students to do the same, collaboratively or individually, without needing to spend hours/weeks even learning about the technology itself, not to mention the editing!

Animoto videos can be embedded into your webpages, or downloaded and used with your students directly in the classroom or workplace learning settings. You can even promote you programs and courses to prospective students and employers using Animoto! Here’s a couple of examples.

If you get hooked, we’d LOVE to hear how you’re using Animoto in your teaching and learning!

Tags: Animoto, multimedia, online_video, video, shareable, free_for_education

Update: There was a slight change of focus in this conversation. Check out Steven’s revised slides. More reflections on the session itself will follow shortly. Thanks to all who attended… and apologies to those who attempted to connect via Skypecast – it seemed the server was playing up!

Steven Parker, Leigh Blackall and the THED network are back with a bang in the New Year with this first conversation for 2008:

The future of learning in a networked world, hive mind or free mind?

Let’s talk about ecological, economic and social/political forecasts, with some educational models in response, then ground it all in real practical educational development for Travel and Tourism Sector and Education. See link to slides for references to key global economists, environmentalists and political scientist and to innovative educational models.

Starts January 22, 15:00 AEST [4am UTC (check your time)]

Check out Steven’s provocative slides: http://tinyurl.com/26ph9o

THED have regular conversations across the state and across the Tasman so if you’re keen to hear what other teachers are doing online and elsewhere, AND want to share your own experiences, then this is your big chance! Jump into the conversations via the THED wiki, or get in touch with FLS (if you’re at CIT) for more info.

Lingro is one of the coolest web services I’ve come across – it enables you to open a website or document in the Lingro window and then get a translation or dictionary definition of every word on the page just by clicking on them.

You can also create a wordlist of every new term that you have learnt and play a simple flashcards game to test your knowledge of the translations or definitions. The possibilities of this site are enormous.

Using Lingro with Wikipedia

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Using Lingro with a word document

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Using the Lingro wordlist

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Playing the Lingro flashcard game

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