Mr Reid’s Edublogs sandpit

In classrooms where the collection of data can be the basis of authentic learning experiences, Google Spreadsheets offers a variety of useful survey and live data collection tools.

This Google Map collates the favourite suburbs of the anyone in Australia - please add your data to the form below and then click refresh. This sort of real world data could be used by a town planner to gather evidence of preference amongst a demographic. This document is published on the web. The document is viewable here. Please add your data to the form below then click refresh to see you data mashed into the spreadsheet above.

This is an example of surveying participants using a Google Docs Spreadsheet to generate a form that gathers and displays GeoData in a spreadsheet live.

The free Earth clock provided by Poodwaddle.com. Again another embeddable flash object.

Great for generating class discussion, analysis and collating all students responses.  Most useful is that this constructivist meaning generation in accessible in one easily managed archive with it’s own URL that can be transferred into a students own PLE.

Oh oh! We’re embedding the web again! Teachers can use SlideShare to upload their PowerPoint, Keynote or PDF slideshows. You can do so with ease using the kml insert shown in the tutorial that will soon appear here……. SlideShare is the world’s largest community for sharing slideshows on the web and allows for greater collaboration around these works-of-art <sic> after they have been presented. Sound recordings in mp3 can be attached to the presentations for greater immersion. When I get a moment I would like to do that for this one here too.

This was presented at ECAWA 2007. The blurb:

Empowering Inquiry Based Learning with Web2.0 Mash-Ups
‘Web 2.0′ and the new models of communication and research that it enables means teachers and students can embed and automate the inquiry based learning process. Instant messaging, blogging, podcasting, Skype, wikis, RSS are but some tools available in the ‘participatory social web’ that allow students to become knowledge creators and teachers to become facilitators. And the impact that this has on education could be enormous.

TokBox is a flash and browser based video chat tool that can be embedded in your website for free. To get started, the teacher needs to register, although users you want to video chat with don’t have to be registered. No other downloading is necessary. As more notebooks come with inbuilt webcams these flash based video chat engines will be come more commonly used. I highly recommend these amazing notebooks that have had in-built webcams for a couple of years

Wouldn’t this be great for students in different schools talking to each other about an open-ended learning task posted in the blog? Or for inviting an ‘expert’ to talk about the textual content of a post. I like how this tool promises to facilitate live communication but in the context of the content of a blog post. If you see me online, want to discuss this tool’s possibilities - feel free to initiate a video chat.

Using Meebo I’m experimenting with the possibility of deploying a chat room within a blog post. I’ve set one up on a separate page here as an anywhere/anytime access tool. The permalink is at the top of the banner menu.

The pedagogical uses of this tool is immediately apparent. I’ve used them in workshops for teachers to brainstorm and share ideas quickly. These work well when used together with a strategic open-ended question and added to a mindmap via Inspiration rapid-fire for example.

I’ve used them in workshops for teachers to brainstorm and share ideas quickly. These work well when used together with a strategic open-ended question and added to a mindmap via Inspiration rapid-fire for example.

Just tested out JibJab - 5 minutes to create a fun clip. Good for a quick laugh.