Apple launched its k-12 iTunes U last night and all I got was a t-shirt! Turns out that Apple partnered with the State Educational Technology Directors Association so it is not available to Independent Schools yet. In Pennsylvania, the program is administered by the Intermediate units- I'm sure Pete will work on this since we have such great content to provide.
Since I was preparing for my presentation, I didn't go to as many workshops as Jenn but there are a few that stand out. The first was given by two Chemistry teachers from Colorado called "Never Lecture in Class Again with Video Podcasting." These teachers recorded their lectures using SnapKast and a USB microphone. They assigned watching the lectures as homework and then had students do their homework during class. They found that students scored better on all assessments and they had fewer visits from students outside of class. This worked wonderfully when teachers had half the class leave for sports. The teachers felt that they got to know each student in a more comprehensive way and that it freed up the class for more hands on activites. They are going to go to a self paced model next year and feel that their advanced students can cover Chem and AP Chem in one year. They emphasized that this approach would work best for sequential learning. Their instructional vodcasts are available by Googling "wphs chemistry."
Today, I was invited to a "Birds of a Feather" gathering for Arts Educators after my presentation. This was organized by Mara Linaberger, Curriculum Specialist with one of the Intermediate Units in PA and we were joined via Skype by Jamie Kasper who is the Arts and Humanities Advisor for the State of Pennsylvania. They have created a Wikispace at
http://artseducator20.wikispaces.com/ to discuss ideas of art and technology in education. In the meeting we brainstormed issues that we would talk about on the wiki. The issued ranged from curriculum integration to creating an advocacy group for Arts educators to make sure our voices are heard when discussing topics such as creativity and technology (OK this has become a new obsession for me). I was also invited to join a new ning at
http://arted20.ning.com/ It is a social network for people interested in technology and the arts.
In all, it has been a great conference. The presentation went well and Jenn and I had a great time trying a new guacamole every night.
Hi Ellen,
I was surfing podcasts last night on Itunes and stumbled on Itunes U. I subscribed to a number of podcasts, most of which were created by colleges and universities. Is this what you were referring to in your first paragraph?
E
Peter DiDonato
Jul 2, 2008 3:04 PM
Hey E,
I had a tickler in my calendar to call the MCIU next week...we have a contact there and they have traditionally done great stuff for ADVIS schools for programs that are only available to public schools.
iTunesK-12 is big news...maybe not now but in a year or two. Thinking about our distance learning meetings, iTunes seems like a much better way to roll out content than something like Blackboard. Using iTunes, Google, YoutTube, etc...why would we want to compete with that?
I am so excited for both of you and glad you were there. Can wait to "unpack" later in the summer. Congratulations on your presentation.
But Seriously, which guacamole was your fav??
Jennifer Vermillion
Jul 3, 2008 9:08 AM
Hi Everyone,
An interesting article from T.H.E. on the new K-12 iTunes:
http://www.thejournal.com/articles/22871