I have been trying feverishly to keep up with all of the wonderful presentations going on during the k12 Online conference. It’s nice that I was able to listen and watch at my leisure. I have been getting so many new ideas - the fire is burning.

 One segment of the conference that I had the opportunity to actively particpate in was “Wiki with Vicki” hosted by CoolCat Teacher, Vicki Davis. WOW! This was a fantastic opportunity to get some practice in using a wiki and for a great purpose. All participants were grouped together and each was given a timely topic concerning Web 2.0 and how it interacts with the educational system today. My group’s topic was Disruptive Technology.

I loved the thought of collaborating with people, although I didn’t know them personally, but I was able to get a glimpse at them professionally. WOW! There are some very informed people out there teaching our young children today. I have two thoughts on this. First, I am proud to be an educator in this day and time, and surrounded by people who have the same burning desire to press forward with all the new technolgy amazes me. Second, it makes me wish I was a young student again!

I have been working with a group of sixth graders in producing their own school broadcast. This broadcast will include announcements of school activities, sports that the students are involved in, and other fun things that are happening in school. Today was the premiere of our first broadcast! The kids were so excited. They worked hard to write the scripts and film, edit, and produce this 3 1/2 minute episode. I was impressed at how fast these kids learned some techniques in filming and how to create their show using Windows Movie Maker.(Within one week.) After the streaming of this broadcast into the classrooms, the group began discussing and critiquing the different parts. They began making plans on how to make next week’s episode better. I do believe there was some learning taking place!

The other project that another group of sixth graders is working on is running a vending business using dance mats and Dance Revolution games (Playstation 2). First, the group thinks it’s cool to play a video game at school but the conversation has gone much deeper than that. The group started discussing the fact that kids don’t exercise or play outside very much. What better exercise than 15 minutes on a dance mat. (It definitely wears me out but maybe that’s because I’m old!)  The kids are setting up this business during school hours and plan on using the proceeds towards two service-learning projects at our school.

This has been a fantastic start to the school year with these two projects. The kids are excited about school and about learning. They are learning how to critique themselves and are having true discussions on how to make projects better. It’s times like this I love being a teacher!

The K12 Online Conference officially begins next week, but you can check out David Warlick’s pre-conference presentation entitled “Derailing Education: Taking Sidetrips for Learning” at http://k12onlineconference.org/?p=26

You can download the presentation video (85 MB) in mp4 format. Some listeners reported problems with loading this file. Although it took a few minutes it loaded fine for me. Vicki Davis, Cool Cat Teacher, wrote on her blog instructions on how to load the file if you have problems. Thanks Vicki for the help!

On Wednesday, October 11 there was a Skypecast, When Night Falls, for K12 Online Conference to kick it off, (although it doesn’t officially start until next week).  Check out the wiki for more info. Unfortunately, I was not able to listen in and participate as I had planned. My daughter went into labor earlier that day and delivered my first grandchild, Dallas Christopher! He’s definitely a cutie.

During the time that I took a break from blogging, I didn’t take a break entirely. I faithfully read my list of favorite blogs from my bloglines account. A day didn’t go by that I didn’t have some intense thinking going on after reading someone else’s blog. My problem was taking the time to put my thinking into words and into my own blog. Afterall, that’s the beauty of blogging. Someone posts, someone else reads, starts thinking, and then comments. Then the circle continues.

During my reading I’ve come across two wonderful opportunities to connect with others. First is the much talked about k12 online conference that takes place at the end of October.

                  Announcing the first annual “K12 Online 2006″ 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.”

I am excited about this because some of my favorite bloggers will be presenting, such as David Warlick, Will Richardson, and Wesley Fryer as well as many more. There is also another link on Hitchhikr worth checking out. This looks like it will be an engerizing time full of great tech ideas.

The second great opportunity for connection is Women of Web 2.0.

Women of Web 2.0 is for all women who are using the tools of the internet whether it be in a classroom setting, leading seminars, authoring books, maintaining blogs or wikis, or just enjoying the tools of the internet in an educational and exciting way.

Women of Web 2.0 is brought to you by Vicki Davis, Cheryl Oakes, Sharon Peters, & Jennifer Wagner - four women who not only love using the tools of the Internet but also love sharing the tools with others.

This looks like it will be a great place to share and connect with other women who’s passion is moving forward in the fascinating world of technology. I am glad to have the opportunity to be a part of this connection.

I know I have taken a break from blogging during the summer and summer flew by so quickly that I don’t remember if it actually started. The new school year has brought rejuvenated projects and a couple of new ones as well. We started podcasting almost immediately upon returning to school. This week I feel the kids are producing one of the best shows yet - with second graders! They are doing a wonderful job writing and recording and the show should be posted by the weekend. Mt sixth graders will soon be blogging, producing digital stories, and wikis. The two new projects this year will be a student-run vending business with dance mats and a student-produced weekly news broadcast.

Tonight as I was reading through my bloglines account, I came across an interesting post by one of my favorite bloggers, Will Richardson. Will wrote about a high-school student from Minnesota who was able to cross the digital divide and take his message all the way to Shanghai, China.  As Will says, welcome to the read/write web. As we’ve talked about before, it’s no longer “turn it in” - instead, it’s “publish it.” You have your own publishing house in your classroom - let’s use it.  The original article came from U Tech Tips. The student, known as Buckle Boy, produced several videos for YouTube that had an important message.

We began with a problem at the middle school: how can we raise awareness of seatbelt safety? First, we looked for a resource with the “sticky factor” - something that sticks in your mind, and makes you think of that idea when the right stimulus is present (eg. a seatbelt). So, we went hunting high and low on the web, and discovered a YouTube video by a high school senior, Aaron Bingea, in Delano, Minnesota. In Aaron’s videos, he personifies the seat belt, and reminds viewers that, “You have a superhero in your car.”

Aaron took a message that needed to be heard and released it in a creative way for the world to see. Wow! Kids never cease to amaze me with how creative they become when you give them the room! Check out all of Buckle Boy’s videos at YouTube. He has even connected to students in Shanghai and plans to visit are in the works. You go Buckle Boy!