Digital Citizenship NBC Style

eSchoolNews reported that NBC News has launched an edutainment-based social network for teenagers.

The network, iCue, stands for Immerse. Connect. Understand. Excel.

The FAQs page contains a ton of information. Much of the content is dedicated to user privacy and security - which is understandable considering the intended audience of this network.

Here are some highlights:

What is iCue?
iCue is a free, online, collaborative learning environment for students and lifelong learners ages 13 and up. It includes discussion forums, fun games and activities, and hundreds of current and historic videos from NBC News. Whether you are joining to improve your grades, connect with friends, or just learn new things, iCue gives you a safe, fun environment for discussion and learning.

What makes iCue different from other educational websites?
iCue is designed to support natural learning in a fun, safe environment based on gaming and peer discussion. iCue gives you access to hundreds of historic video resources that have never been made available to students, along with games, activities, and a network of friends for discussion and support. It is not a "test prep" program full of boring study drills, and it is not an "edutainment" site full of flashy games but little actual learning. In iCue, YOU — the learner — are in control of how you want to learn, how much time you want to spend, and the activities in which you want to participate.

Who is iCue for?
iCue is for students ages 13 and up, and anyone else interested in learning new things in a supportive, collaborative environment.

What makes the iCue Friends Network safer than other websites?
Because a large percentage of our community will include minors ages 13-17, NBC News has made every effort to ensure the safety and privacy of all of our members. iCue is primarily a learning environment, not a social networking website. We encourage interaction between our members on the public discussion boards and through our voluntary Friends Network. However, members do not share personally identifiable information about themselves on the site such as real names, photos and hometowns. We also monitor our Discussion Forums to make sure that we are maintaining a safe, secure environment for all of our members.
Privacy Policy

The What is iCue? page contains a short Flash video that overviews the site. A more extensive guided overview is provided on the Take the Tour page. I am quite impressed with the 3D interactive multimedia Cue Cards. The Cue Cards are less like a flash card than like an interactive video player. Users can customize existing cards, add them to their content by "snagging," and share them with other users in their Friends Network.


iCue has some terrific resources for the 2008 Presidential election as well as for past elections. As a former social studies teacher, I would have LOVED to use this site with my 9th graders. The site offers writing prompts and game challenges. Users can review media and respond through the challenges, polls, and/or forums. It is highly engaging and interactive.

iCue also offers moderated forums that range in topic from the online games to the daily news to other topical issues. The fact that the forums are moderated make it a terrific option for teachers looking for online extensions. The forums pages also publishes an RSS feed. This would be a great feed to use to model subscribing to RSS feeds.

Overall, I have to say that I am thoroughly impressed with iCue. I would be very interested to hear from teachers who have used it with their students.

Technorati Tags: NBC news teenagers social_network learning games election politics edutainment

Expanding Your Learning Network Through Your Bookshelf

The social networking bug appears to have found a place in just about every niche on the Internet. Shelfari is one such network that has been receiving a fair amount of positive press over the past few months. As a former user of GoodReads and an explorer of services such as LibraryThing and Delicious Monster, I am very impressed with Shelfari's capabilities.


PC Magazine featured Shelfari as one of its Sites of the Week in December 2007.

If you're the type who haunts the library, spends all day browsing bookstores, or frequently checks out what other people are reading on the train, plane, or bus (and talks to them about it), then Shelfari is the social-networking site for you. It's like joining one giant book club where you can interact with thousands of other people who share your love of reading—a place you can discuss and dissect every book you've ever read, if you want.

Shelfari is free no matter how many books you add or how much you use the site. Goodreads is also free, but LibraryThing limits you to 200 books for free (although the fee for more than 200 is nominal: just $10 yearly or $25 for a lifetime membership).

Users can add books to their shelf with an easy search feature using author, book title, keyword, and/or ISBN number. Once the book is located (and, I should mention, the search is very fast), users can add it to their shelf with the categories "I've Read," "I Plan to Read," "I'm Reading," "Wish List," "Favorites," and "Own." Those who have lists created on GoodReads or LibraryThing (whose lists have the ISBN numbers embedded) can be imported directly into Shelfari.

When the book appears on the shelf, it was appear with the image of the book jacket. Since their are often multiple publications of a book, users can select from among all the book covers and can even upload their own artwork if desired.



Users can customize their content by adding tags, personal reviews, and comments and can add the book to their reader timeline (i.e. When did you read this book?) Users can also recommend the book to others in their network, access the comments that other users have posted about the book, and see the shelves of users who have also added the book to their shelf.

In the Shelf View, the bookshelf display can be customized. Books can be moved around, viewed as large or small icons, sorted by books you've read, plan to read, are reading, are favorited, own, or are on your wish list. The books can be organized by date added, date read, rating, review author, or title. Books can also be displayed as a list by clicking on List View. The List View allows for quick bulk editing.



Since users can "befriend" other users through invitations and can share resources with their friend network, Shelfar is also social networking application. Members can send private messages to other members and can post comments to the user's profile page. Shelfari offers several customized widgets to add your shelf to a blog, wiki, or social networking site. Shelfari also offers a Facebook application.



The networking aspects of Shelfari are enhanced through groups. Users can add books to the reading list of a group, see which groups have already added the book to their shelf, join groups, and create their own group.




When creating a group, users have privacy options that make it a terrific option for educational use. The group administrator can restrict membership to everyone or only to invitees. The visibility of the group, including the member list, book shelf, and discussions, can be open to all Shelfari members or restrict just to group members. The administrator can also retain control of who receives invitations.










Once the group has been created, the administrator can edit the group settings and manage group members. Users can post books to the group shelf and can engage in conversation through the discussion board.


Shelfari recently launched an Author's Page feature that allows users (including the authors, themselves) to publish information about the authors.


To learn more about Shelfari, check out the extensive resources on their FAQs page.



To get started with Shelfari groups, I invite you to join the Discovery Educator Network Shelfari group.

Technorati Tags: Shelfari Education Technology Books Social_Networking Discovery_Educator_Network

Call for Presenters

I am copying most of the text below from an e-mail from Cheryl Capozzoli, the local organizer working with Steve Hargadon of Classroom 2.0.

I wanted to invite you to apply to be a presenter for the FREE East Coast PA Classroom 2.0 Conference. Classroom 2.0 is an open educational social network comprised of about 8,000 educators worldwide. CR2.0 membership is free so join to get connected. Please apply to present if you wish to share your expertise and/or experiences in Best Educational Technology Practices. As cutting edge educational leaders, you could provide valuable ed. tech. information and direction across the globe. Just think of the impact and connections that you would make as presenter! All of you are already doing so in PA, so why not extend your audience?

My plan in working with Steve Hargadon was to provide an East Coast CR2.0 experience for all educators looking to enhance their instructional skills as well as build global connections. The conference has now come to fruition and will be coming to locations near you!! Currently the CAIU and the CLIU are booked for the live face-to-face, and video conf. events. We are working with other Intermediate Units to provide more open access to the event. Hopefully, we will have approximately 5 IU’s booked for September 19th and 20th. With Magpi’s help, we hope to open up a VC bridge for multiple video conference connections. If this works as planned, we will have FREE global event that continues to support our ongoing Ed. Tech. initiatives
and visions.

Visit the PA CR2.0 for tentative presentation topics and agendas. This page will be updated regularly so check in often. I hope that you can join us as a presenter or attendee. Event page address - http://www.classroom20wiki.com/CR+20+LIVE+Philadelphia+08

Please feel free to forward the conference link on to teachers, administrators, tech and tech. directors in your school districts. They can register online at any time. This event will also be broadcasted live via Ustream.tv. and Elluminate. There is NO COST for participation. I hope that you can join us. Contact me with any further
questions.

Technorati Tags: classroom20 education technology teaching learning school professionaldevelopment

The World Is Just Awesome

I can't get enough of the Discovery Channel's new commercial, "The World Is Just Awesome."




I also get a kick out of this live version featuring the stars of "Dirty Jobs," "The Deadliest Catch," "Man vs. Wild," and "Cash Cab." Thanks to Kim Randall, DEN Western Region, by way of Matt "Mojo" Monjan of the DEN Middle Atlantic Region for sharing this link. I bookmarked both clips on the DEN Diigo group.



If you can't get enough of the song or video, you can download the video, song, and even a ringtone at Discovery Channel.

For those of you in the Mid-Atlantic DEN, check out Matt's request for your ideas about what's awesome in the DEN.

Technorati Tags: "Discovery Channel" "Discovery Educator Network" "The World is Just Awesome"

DEN Diigo Group

I created a Diigo group for the DEN. It will serve as a great place for us to aggregate all the cool applications, research, and other websites we learn about through DEN institutes, events, blogs, and webinars.


http://groups.diigo.com/groups/discovery-educator-network



If you are a Diigo user, please join the group to contribute.

If you are not a Diigo user and want to learn more, click here to access the Diigo step-by-step introduction. You can also review the excellent Diigo tutorial videos and take a tour of the site.

Here is a cliproll of the Diigo group. You can also view the bookmarks as a slideroll.

Technorati Tags: Diigo DiscoveryEducatorNetwork DEN education technology learning socialbookmarking

World Made By Hand

This is a blog post I have meant to write for several weeks.

Although I primarily blog about education and technology, I spent some of my early days in the blogosphere writing about issues such as peak oil, environmental sustainability, and the impending global financial crisis.

In that vein, one of the writers I most frequently read both in print and on my Google Reader is James Howard Kunstler. I have been a fan of his non-fiction for years - enjoying The Geography of Nowhere, Home from Nowhere, The Long Emergency, and The City in Mind. I have also enjoyed the KunstlerCast - Duncan Crary's weekly podcast featuring interviews with James Howard Kunstler.

I recently read one of Kunstler's fiction books, World Made by Hand. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and have already "favorited" it on My Shelfari.



World Made by Hand is the story of a small town in New York and its citizens who are struggling to maintain a sense of normalcy in a decidedly abnormal time.

Here is the synopsis from Barnes & Noble:

"In the best-seller The Long Emergency, James Howard Kunstler explored how the terminal decline of oil production had the potential to put industrial civilization out of business. With World Made By Hand Kunstler makes an imaginative leap into the future, a few decades hence, and shows us what life may be like after these coming catastrophes—the end of oil, climate change, global pandemics, and resource wars—converge. For the townspeople of Union Grove, New York, the future is not what they thought it would be. Transportation is slow and dangerous, so food is grown locally at great expense of time and energy. And the outside world is largely unknown. There may be a president and he may be in Minneapolis now, but people aren’t sure. As the heat of summer intensifies, the residents struggle with the new way of life in a world of abandoned highways and empty houses, horses working the fields and rivers replenished with fish. A captivating, utterly realistic novel, World Made by Hand takes speculative fiction beyond the apocalypse and shows what happens when life gets extremely local."

I think that many who read this book with little or no background into peak oil may initially think that this is a depressing story. I was certainly not one of those readers. I have been following the writing of bloggers and authors such as Matt Savinar, Kenneth Deffeyes, Richard Heinberg, and Matthew Simmons and have frequently recommended DVDs such as A Crude Awakening, Crude Impact, and The End of Suburbia.

So, my frame of reference was certainly skewed to a fairly negative vision of the future 20-30 years from now. What is interesting is that another author I really enjoy is Neal Stephenson, whose vision of the same time period in The Diamond Age: Or, A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer is as far as possible on the spectrum from Kunstler's.

The vision of a simpler and more locally-oriented lifestyle is not entirely unattractive to me. That may be somewhat surprising for my regular readers who tend to see me blogging about the coolest and newest technology tools and applications.

Kunstler's vision of the future is actually very positive and shows a tremendous faith in humanity, especially in American perseverance. Although the survivors of the national political and economic collapse that is frequently alluded to though never explored in much detail in the book have certainly suffered, their day-to-day existence is somewhat pleasant and the sense of community that pervades their daily life is admirable. The prose is engaging and the characters are well-developed.

Take a look at this short trailer for some insight into this lifestyle.




Click here to read a sample chapter or click here to watch additional scenes from the book.

I absolutely recommend this book, though I would suggest that readers use this book as a way to generate conversation about the larger political, economic, and environmental issues the book raises. If you are interested in learning more about those issues, you can join in the discussion at the Peak Oil Shelfari Group.

Technorati Tags: Peak_Oil Kunstler Future Books

Animoto in Education

I have been playing around with Animoto since it launched in Beta. Although I used it for personal projects, I tended to avoid it when working with my students because of the user fees and the problems that arose with multiple users signing in on the same account from the same computer lab.

So, I heartily welcomed the news that Animoto is following the path of many Web 2.0 applications in creating a better way for educators and students to take advantage of its services.

Check out the Animoto Education Program. Here is what Joyce Valenza had to say about it:

"I like this tool for any projects for which we'd formerly create a collage--the gathering of multiple pieces to create new context. Imagine a collage showcasing student work or art, gathering historical images and relevant music or soundtrack to introduce a time period, paintings and sound to introduce an artist or artistic movement. You could easily use it to promote school programs or activities."

Thanks, Animoto, for recognizing the educational potential of your application! Here is their overview:

Since launching our site in August, we've heard countless stories about how useful Animoto has been as a tool for educators to use with students. While we never originally thought Animoto would be something that could be used in the classroom, we've been both surprised and inspired by hearing how effective Animoto has been. We've decided we feel like this is one area we can do our duty to "give back" a little.

If you are interested, we can give you a "Classroom Code," that'll give your students free All-Access (unlimited full-length videos) for free upon signing up with this code. And you can use Animoto with your students however you wish. Keep in mind that videos cannot only be viewed full-screen, but they can also now be downloaded.

We've heard this is often more conducive for class presentations because you can view videos without being dependent on an internet connection and without the "Distractions" of the website.

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, innovate & fun way.

I've already sent the e-mail to request my class code.

Technorati Tags: Animoto education teaching Web2.0 learning video mashups

SuperSTARs Coming to PA

The DEN is invading PA this week.

Tomorrow, April 8th, Scott Kinney, Matt Monjan, and Steve Dembo will hosting a Discovery Day at the Bucks County Intermediate Unit in Doylestown, PA.

Discovery Day - Bucks County IU

I know what you are thinking . . . why didn't Jen advertise this earlier? Well, the Discovery Day was first advertised through Bucks County regional leadership, administrative, and technology councils. District superintendents, administrators, staff developers, technology directors, and curriculum coordinators were invited to register before the session was opened to the general public. 100+ registrants later and the session was filled before it could be advertised to the wider community.

I can hear the collective sighs of disappointment . . .

But, wait! I have another event to share with you. Tomorrow night, Steve Dembo will be the featured speaker at a Community Night presentation. Steve will be speaking about the positive and negative elements of the new permanent record (online persona). Steve will be speaking at Central Bucks High School West at 7:00 PM. This event is open to the public with general seating. You can use the map below for directions.

Steve Dembo Community Night


View Larger Map

Technorati Tags: Education Learning Discovery_Educator_Network technology