Horizons Reaport 2011

The 2011 Horizons Report is out. Each year, the Horizon Report introduces six emerging technologies or practices that are likely to enter mainstream use within the next five years.

It is 40 pages. Read and share the report -- or the 6-page summary-- with friends and discuss these technology trends.

• Electronic books, mobiles:  Time-to-Adoption: <1 year
• Augmented reality, game-based learning:  Time-to-Adoption: 2-3 years
• Gesture-based computing, learning analytics:  Time-to-Adoption: 4-5 years

The report is produced by the New Media Consortium and EDUCAUSE.

Slideshare presentation of Horizons Report:

http://www.slideshare.net/dreig/2011-horizonreport

Who to share with?  School leadership, library and technology teams, science teachers and students.  Share the link, but also print a few copies to hand to colleagues, students, board members, book and computer clubs. This report focuses on higher education trends, so consider developing your organization's own set of trends.

QR resources

QR resources compiled by Erik Scherer

QR Code Readers – The following websites represent a number of places online where one can find and download applications that process QR codes.

Beetagg – www.beetagg.com
Kaywa Reader – www.reader.kaywa.com/
Neo Reader – www.neoreader.com
QuickMark – www.quickmark.com.tw
ScanLife – www.scanlife.com/atlantis/


QR Code Generators – The following websites have generators the create QR codes with many types of functions (e.g., sending text messages, providing contact details, linking to websites). NOTE: Many of the sites above that offer readers also provide QR code generators.

Xzing Project – http://zxing.appspot.com/generator/
Maestro – http://www.sparqcode.com/static/maestro
Inigma – http://www.i-nigma.com/CreateBarcodes.html
QR Stuff – www.qrstuff.com
Google’s Chart Wizard - http://code.google.com/apis/chart/docs/chart_wizard.html - The application is not as user-friendly as other sites but it does allow the user to import QR codes easily into websites and email.

Words Around the World

Here are good K12 websites about word (and phrase) origins (especially the * ones):
(compiled by Lesley Farmer)

IPL guide to word and phrase origins http://www.ipl.org/div/pf/entry/48468
LibrarySpot Etymology Dictionaries http://www.libraryspot.com/dictionaries/etymologydictionaries.htm
Language sites http://www.verbivore.com/rllink.htm
Evolution of Human Languages (check out interactive maps) http://ehl.santafe.edu/intro1.htm
* Evolution of languages http://www.exploratorium.edu/exploring/language/
History of English http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~kemmer/Words04/history/
English-Word Info (includes quizzes) http://wordinfo.info/
World Wide Words (International English with a British viewpoint) http://www.worldwidewords.org/
* Visual graphical dictionary http://www.visuwords.com/
* Word Origins (Fun with Words) http://www.fun-with-words.com/etymology.html
Word Origins http://www.worldwidewords.org/
* Etymologic (the toughest word game on the Web) http://www.etymologic.com/
* Origin of Words and Names (by language and topic) http://www.krysstal.com/wordname.html
Indo-European Etymology Dictionary http://www.indo-european.nl/
French website on etymology (includes European languages) http://www.lexilogos.com/etymologie.htm
Phrase Finder http://www.phrases.org.uk/index.html
Etymologically Speaking http://www.westegg.com/etymology/
Phrase Finder http://www.phrases.org.uk/index.html
Expressions and Sayings http://users.tinyonline.co.uk/gswithenbank/sayindex.htm
Double-tongued English (fringe and new words) http://www.doubletongued.org/
Way with Words http://www.waywordradio.org/
Behind the Name http://www.behindthename.com/
Name Meanings http://www.name-meanings.com/index.php
Baby Name Wizard http://www.babynamewizard.com/namevoyager.html/lnv0105.html
Baby Name Worlds (has pregnancy info) http://babynamesworld.parentsconnect.com/
Behind the SurName http://surnames.behindthename.com/
Last Name Meanings http://www.last-names.net/
Internet Surname Database http://www.surnamedb.com/
* Soda vs Pop http://popvssoda.com/
* Etymology’s View if the World http://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/fotostrecke-37310.html
* Native Names map http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/04/departments/native-names-interactive
* Atlas of True Names http://www.kalimedia.com/Atlas_of_True_Names.html
Country Name Etymologies http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_country_name_etymologies
Country name etymologies http://www.fact-index.com/l/li/list_of_country_name_etymologies.html
* Spice Pages http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/engl/
* Periodic Table in different languages http://www.vanderkrogt.net/elements/multidict.php
Spanish etymology http://etimologias.dechile.net/
Spanish idioms http://www.elcastellano.org/palabra.php
Italian etymology http://www.etimo.it/
French etymology http://www.cnrtl.fr/etymologie/
Dutch etymology http://www.etymologie.nl/
Swedish etymology http://runeberg.org/svetym/index.htm
German etymology http://www.koeblergerhard.de/derwbhin.html
German website on etymology http://www.etymologie.info/~e/
Russian etymology http://etymolog.ruslang.ru/
Indo-European Etymological Dictionary http://www.indo-european.nl/%5Cindex2.html
Chinese Character Etymology http://www.yellowbridge.com/chinese/character-etymology.php?searchChinese=1&zi=%E5%9C%8B
Kanji Network http://www.kanjinetworks.com/
* Chinese Etymology: Color http://www.colourlovers.com/blog/2008/03/07/the-colors-of-language-chinese-etymologies/
Several etymological dictionaries (unusual languages) http://www.freeweb.hu/etymological/
* Language Construction Kit http://www.zompist.com/kit.html

10 Ways to Get the Most Out of Technology

In the December 29, 2010, edition of The New York Times, journalist Sam Grobart writes about getting the most out of "your gadgets and computers, your software and sites."

He claims that despite the tech industry's attempts to make adjusting such devices is difficult, it really isn't.

He goes on write about "10 things to do to improve your technological life" which "are easy and (mostly) free."

Holiday websites

http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/holidays.html
http://www.onlineschools.org/resources/online-education-world-holidays/
http://edsitement.neh.gov/gift-holiday-traditions-kwanzaa-hanukkah-and-christmas-0
http://aglobalworld.com/holidays-around-the-world/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_holidays_by_country
http://www.chiff.com/home_life/holiday.htm
http://www.holidays.net/
http://www.educationworld.com/holidays/
http://www.education.com/seasonal/holidays/
http://www.oanda.com/currency/directory/world-holidays/ (do context analysis about number and types of holidays)
http://www.journeymart.com/tools/holidays.htm
http://holidayyear.com/
http://www.qppstudio.net/worldholidays.htm
http://www.kidsclick.org – search holidays
http://kids.yahoo.com/directory/Around-the-World/Holidays
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3211
http://www.calendarlabs.com/holidays/international/world-holiday.php

compiled by Lesley Farmer

THE DIGITAL STORY OF NATIVITY - ( or Christmas 2.0 )

What a great way to show the power of today's web!

"How social media, web and mobile tell the story of the Nativity. Christmas story told through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google, Wikipedia, Google Maps, GMail, Foursquare, Amazon... Times change, the feeling remains the same."

Count the number of different tools used to tell the story of Christmas.

Web 2.0 tools

Web 2.0 tool resources collected by Joy Millam (posted with her permission) (also found at http://booktalksandmore.pbworks.com):

Here’s is the compilation of current Web 2.0 Favorites: (I will post the document on my wiki later http://booktalksandmore.pbworks.com) By far the most popular of those mentioned were Glogster, Animoto, wikis, Voicethread, and xtranormal.
Wordle- word cloud generator http://www.wordle.net/ or tagxedo.com
The following sites show how word clouds are used in teaching/learning.
http://azk12.org/blog/2010/11/critical-thinking-with-word-clouds/
https://docs.google.com/present/view?id=dhn2vcv5_157dpbsg9c5
http://www.web2teachingtools.com/wordle.html

Bookmarking- tracking it all:
diigo.com (keep and organize bookmarks online for access from any connected computer)
Delicious (social bookmarking)
evernote (save webpages)

Digital flashcards
http://memorize.com
http://www.studyblue.com/

Discussion board sites: ProBoards or other discussion board sites

File Storage and Sharing:
Dropbox – use anywhere in the world to access your files.
4Shared: for hosting videos that I’ve captured using Firefox Downloader

Images:
Flickr, Flickr Creative Commons and Flickr Toys like Pim Pam Pum: http://www.pimpampum.net/bubblr/?id=25880
Picture Trail: image tool that brings interest and engagement
Picnic.com (also love imagechef.com)
Bighugelabs.com

Powerpoint Alternatives: prezi.com, Google Docs

Examples of schools/teachers using Web 2.0 tools to learn
http://www.mpsomaha.org/willow/index.html
http://www.thematzats.com/itselementary/index.html
http://www.thematzats.com/itselementary/studenttools.html
http://sunrise651.edu.glogster.com/what-do-they-need/ 21st Century learners glog
This article shows kindergartner’s using web 2.0 tools
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6561014.html?q=web+2.0

Lesson Plan storage and sharing: LiveBinder

Suggestions for using various tools:
Use Voki to record students describing something they’ve learned, using just 60 seconds of recording time. These can be presented to class fulfilling technology standards and presentations.
Use a blog or wiki to post a student avatar or picture creation and have students post comments about the avatar or picture. (Voki)
Some of the teachers at my school used voicethread with K classes. Really cute although the teacher could be heard prompting them. I think younger kids could use it for info on famous people. In small groups they could find the important info and then record it one at a time on voicethread: one tells where and where born, another tells about education, another tells about family and another tells about what they did and why we remember them.
http://www.teacherled.com/resources/bingo/bingoload.html
http://exchange.smarttech.com/forum.html
http://www.allmyfaves.com/
Go to readability.com- to remove all visual distractions/ads from websites
Teachers at my school really like ReadThinkWrite.org. We’ve used their comic creator and acrostic poem maker
http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/student-interactives/acrostic-poems-30045.html
xtranormal.com (students create cartoons to tell a story, teach a skill, discuss a topic, and more!)
Big Huge Labs- great for a variety of uses. Motivational posters, trading cards, magazine covers, etc.
This has a great list of applications-
http://langwitches.org/blog/2007/12/22/best-web-20-applications-for-elementary-school/
Recommended for staff-- Jog the Web, Jing, and Youblisher

Making Video or audio projects/digital storytelling:
Glogster.com- multi-dimensional learning! So fun and and easy tool to use. (interactive posters)
Animoto- Good for all ages.
Voicethread, GarageBand, or Audacity – use for story re-tellings, podcasts, book reports
Blabberize.com – so cool! Example using Blabberize.com to show learning
http://5daled2010.wikispaces.com/Photosynthesis+Raps
Xtranormal
Zooburst is my new fave for digital storytelling: http://www.zooburst.com/book/zb0_4ce4230ec59e4

Using Wikis or Blogs:
Wikispaces- The students use wikis mainly to publish their work and peer review.
wordpress.com-for blogging (good for monitored peer review)
Blogger.com- good blog site.
Ning.com – good for building community within a classroom.
Gaggle.net – safe (filtered), online learning tools.
Examples of blogs and wikis in practice-
http://ktoponce.wikispaces.com/ - this one is a great example of a class wiki/blog.
http://fuhsag.wikispaces.com/ - another great example of a wiki in use.
Deb Stanley’s blogsite address is- http://newresearchprocess.blogspot.com
And the main site for her middle schoolers is: http://centralmslibrary.blogspot.com
Example of using a wiki to communicate and engage students
http://5daled2010.wikispaces.com/message/view/Photosynthesis+Raps/21616825

Social networks for teachers using 2.0 tools
http://www.classroom20.com/
http://teacherlibrarian.ning.com/group/web20inthelibraryworld/forum/topics/web-20-in-k2-environment
http://www.classroom20.com/forum/topics/any-k2-teachers-out-there
http://blogs.preknow.org/insideprek/2008/02/web-2what.html

Web 2.0 and Related Bloom’s Taxonomy sites:
http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/#Bloom's http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/Bloom%27s+Digital+Taxonomy http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/file/view/bloom%27s+Digital+taxonomy+v3.01.p
http://www.usi.edu/distance/bdt.htm

Some Technology Session Highlights from CSLA 2010: Navigating the New

Here are some sessions to share:

Dr. Lesley Farmer’s New Technologies Presentation (Look for it on the bottom right of the page.)

http://www.csulb.edu/~lfarmer/

Dr. Doug Achterman’s Web 2.0 for Student Achievement Presentation

http://www.slideshare.net/dachterman/achterman-csla-web20

Miranda Doyle’s 10 Resources for Visual Learners and Get Mobile! Presentations (a little ways down the page—after the Embracing the 5 Roles of the Teacher Librarian by Michelle Powers and Miranda Doyle

http://csla2010.weebly.com/

Jane Lofton and Sheryl Grabow-Weiss’s Teen Learning 2.0 Presentation

https://docs.google.com/present/view?id=dhg5zkr4_239c3rfp6h3

or http://snurl.com/cslateenlearning

What's New in Technology?

Terry Lai's Powerpoint Presentation. The PPT doc is in the LIBRARY LOCKER on the left side of the page. If the links on the individual slides do not work, a list of URLs are on the last three slides. The tools I did not have time to show are: animoto, prezi, and wordle.  Also look at Larry Ferlazzo who posts about websites everyday; sometimes several posts in one day.

New Technologies

At the CSLA/CLA conference, the tech committee is sharing new technologies.
Here is a link to Lesley Farmer's PowerPoint presentation: http://www.csulb.edu/~lfarmer

Six technologies soon to affect schools

eSchool News reports that "cloud computing and collaborative learning environments are set to take hold in K-12 schools in the very near future, with mobile devices, game-based learning, and other education technologies to follow suit in the next few years, according to the 2010 Horizon Report’s K-12 Edition, released by the New Media Consortium (NMC)."

iCyte

From Jen Maney, this article in School Library Journal explains a new add-on to IE and Firefox which allows resource saving and sharing.

"iCyte is visually appealing (a major plus) and very easy to use. Highlight some text on a Web site, click the button on your toolbar, and fill out the fields in the pop-up window to capture the Web site you want. You can create projects to group “cytes” (clever, aren’t they?) together in any fashion that suits you."

Readability - clutter cutter

Readability is a powerful new cool tool by arc90 that eliminates website clutter when you want to just focus on the content and not the surrounding "stuff". It is meant for newspaper articles, not home pages. According to its website, it is a 2-step process select your settings; add your bookmarklet. It works like a charm! Try it on an article from the SF Chronicle on SFGate.
See the video:

Readability - Installation Video for Firefox, Safari & Chrome from Arc90 on Vimeo.

Deeper Web

"Deeper Web", a beta test of a new service to help search Google. It's also available as a Firefox add-on. Very nice. It puts search results in tag or phrase clouds. Very useful.

TutCity

The TutCity site is a directory to free tutorials on topics such as 2D graphics, 3D graphics, office applications, databases, desktop programing, web development, and operating systems.

The End of Publishing?

This video (2:26) was prepared by the UK branch of Dorling Kindersley Books. Originally meant solely for a DK sales conference, the video was such a hit internally that it is now being shared externally. Make sure you watch it up to at least the halfway point, because there is a surprise....
(Via AL Direct)

Video game study

Video Games Can Hurt Schoolwork

Young boys with new video game systems don't progress as quickly as boys who don't own such devices, a study found. The new gamers had lower reading and writing scores after four months, and their teachers reported more learning problems, the study found. The biggest gap was in writing. One message from the study is that parents should limit the amount of time their children play video games.
Robert Weis and Brittany C. Cerankosky (2010, March). Effects of Video Game Ownership on Young Boys’ Academic and Behavioral Functioning. Psychological Science.

American education reports

The review of National Assessment of Educational Progress trends is among several analyses included in the latest annual report on American education produced by the Brookings Institution. A second study, looking at 20 years of state testing data on more than 1000 California schools, finds that very few of them ever “turn around” to become a whole lot better in terms of students’ academic performance, nor did they get a whole lot worse. A third report, also drawing on data from California, concludes that public schools that convert to charter status tend to look more like regular schools in their demographics and teaching staffs than do charter schools started from scratch.
Brown Center on Education (2010). Brown Center Report on American Education. Wsahington, DC: Brookings Institution.
http://www.brookings.edu/reports/2010/0317_education_loveless.aspx

Gender gap in reading and math study

Boys Trail Girls in Reading Across States

In reading proficiency, boys lag by at least 10 percentage points in some states, while girls have caught up in math, a study finds.

Center on Education Policy (2010). State Test Score Trends Through 2007-08, Part 5: Are There Differences in Achievement Between Boys and Girls?

http://www.cep-dc.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=document_ext.showDocumentByID&nodeID=1&DocumentID=304

Ed Tech statistics

Technology Counts 2010 (by Education Week) provides district-level statistics about tech use in K12 schools. This year the statistics include mobile device use.
* Online access to the library catalog: 72% elementary and 82% secondary provide it for all students (6% elem. and 2% secondary for some)
* Online access to databases: 60% elementary and 68% secondary provide it for all students (10% elem. and 6% secondary for some)
* 89.5% libraries have automated circ systems, and 87.2% have these systems for student and faculty use
* The average # of computers is 12.2 in elementary and 26.4 in secondary libraries, and almost all have Internet connectivity
Other school data deals with instructional and administrative tech use.

Education Week (2010). Technology Counts 2010.
http://www.edweek.org/media/edtechstats.pdf