MasteryMaze Blog

We have our eye on Vicki Davis as she blogs live from NECC.  Who are you watching?

Here's her link!  http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2008/06/live-blogging-edubloggercon-at-necc.html

This weekend begins this year's premier educational computing conference and convention in San Antonio-- NECC!  If you were unable to attend, don't despair!  You may follow along via the web as many presentations will be streamed.  Bloggers from all over the world will be covering the activities as well.  Follow along at the NING which has been established for the sole purpose of sharing information on this great conference.

Get more info at http://www.necc2008.org/ !

Have you created yours?  They are fun as well as a cool way to communicate.  Both teachers and students can use these alter ego's to communicate and express themselves.  We like www.voki.com, and have used it to create ours.  Check it out and try it for yourself! 

Can you think of ways to use avatars for teaching and learning?  We have seen them used in language classes as well as a fun way to study vocabulary.  Share your ideas by commenting below!

Our first school year in the Maze is coming to a close, and we wanted to take a few minutes to reflect on how it has changed the way we learn.  We have seen our students really benefit from the use of podcasts as an additional review tool.  What have they told us?  First, they like the ability to listen at times convenient to their schedule, and as frequently as they need to understand or remember the information.  They also have found the podcasts to be extremely helpful at the end of the semester or year as a review of the material for the entire course.  Students who are absent also benefit as they have something to listen to in addition to getting missing notes and assignments.  Lastly, our students with reading difficulty and auditory learners have told us how helpful the podcasts have been.  They have confidence and feel that they CAN do it for the first time EVER for some!

We would love to get your feedback on the use of the site and podcasts in general this year.  Please share your thoughts and comments!

Did you know that you can watch the activities at NASA LIVE?  You can tag along on the daily schedule of many important activities in the space program, including the landing of PHOENIX on Mars!  Check out the link and the calendar of events!   

Links are here!  

http://www.spacevidcast.com/2008/05/24/7-minutes-of-terror-live-coverage-of-the-phoenix-lander/

http://www.spacevidcast.com/calendar/

Videos are a great way to learn, but you can also enhance your videos with text, and other explanations.  Check out the interactive tool called ASTERPIX and explore the many options available to enhance your videos for your students and classes! Click on the video here as it runs to see the specific information included in each video.  We see many options available for this tech!

 Here's the link!  http://www.asterpix.com/help/learnmore/

We love Animoto!  Now we have reason to love them even more as they are introducing a new offer for educators.

Teachers are able to get a "full access" pass for thier students for classroom use.  Animoto is also asking for teachers to share their ideas for use of Animoto in the classroom. 

We encourage all teachers and students to give it a try.  it is a very easy tool and creates a cool result in a fairly short period of time!

Here's the link to the educators promo!  http://biz.animoto.com/education/overview.html

Yep...We love Animoto! 

We all know that Flickr is one of the greatest photo sharing sites!  Did you know about the comment feature on the site?  If you are logged in to the site, you can add a comment to a part of the photo.  What a great way to discuss the image?

This is a great example of what can be done with this feature!  Here's the link!

http://flickr.com/photos/ha112/234233755/  

The PBS series, FRONTLINE has offered a great series- "Growing up Online" which explores many basic differences and challenges facing growing up in an online world.  It offers short discussions on topics including the need for change in education.  It is an interesting view into the new world.  Like it or not-- it is here to stay!

We believe it is best to understand the issues and facts.  Check out this interesting program!  Here's the link!

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/kidsonline/view/main.html

Share your comments!

Read this interesting article from eSchool News discussing student interest for gaming to be used for teaching.  Do you agree?  As students, would you see this as an effective teaching tool?  As teachers, are you ready for this in your classroom?  How can it be used?

Share your comments!  Here's the link! 

http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/index.cfm?i=53443;_hbguid=305cfa7c-e0a0-474c-8bc3-d65915d4ebce