tommarch.com November Updates

2008-11-03T21:08:47Z

November 2008

G'Day Faithful Friends,

This month I'd like to share a couple things: one that's useful and one to inspire.

Back in 1996, a few of us took the bait and learned a little Javascript, hearing that this was the next big thing that would make HTML pages interactive and bring the whole Web alive. As it turns out this was partly true, but it's taken over a decade and a little help from things like css (cascading style sheets) and XML (eXtensible Markup Language). Let's leave that distraction aside and focus on a funny thing about this 1996 endeavor.

As it turns out, one of the most popular pages -- of all the thousands I've posted on the Web -- is this 1996 experiment. My former life as an English teacher combined with an EdTech bent to create the ElectraGuide ThesisBuilder, a one-page interactive form that spits out a persuasive thesis statement and related outline if students can think their way through some key elements of what they want to argue.
The ThesisBuilder's popularity made me feel a little sheepish about never updating its appearance from the very rudimentary HTML you see in the image above. So it was time for a facelight and a question: Do you want more of these? I've got a few more interactive forms for writing different essays up my sleeve so email me (tom@ozline.com) with a little encouragement ;-)

Mankind is no island- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrDxe9gK8Gk

Although it's big news here in Australia, you may not have heard about this compelling little film. Jason van Genderen and colleag ues used two mobile phones to snap pictures of over 1000 signs and a few short videos to create Mankind Is No Island – a 3 ½ minute film that recently won both the Critic's and People's prizes at Tropfest New York. Poignant imagery, a universal message and evocative original music expertly synced to the images makes for a touching and effective video. What I find equally profound is that creating this kind of personal expression is within the capability of just about every teenager and even heaps of adults. With this in mind, here are a few extra resources and a friendly challenge:

Online conversation with Jason van Genderen on local radio station

Mankind is no Island on YouTube

More extensive interview on The Media Report - ABC Radio (for mp3 download)

Friendly Challenge:

How about we have a go ourselves and/or invite
students to create their own PhoneFilm?
When I do, I will post it to TomMarch.com / ozline.com. If you do, how about sending the link and we can share what's created?

Friendly Pitch

Remember that I consult internationally with educational organizations, software companies, departments of education and even local schools. It seems like there's something for everyone! Contact me on skype at tommarch or on email at tom@ozline.com.

Please send me an email about any of the above.
It's always great to hear from you.

tommarch.com October Updates

2008-10-01T21:46:46Z

G'Day Faithful Friends,

Well, it's hard to imagine, but it's been a few years since I've sent out a monthly newsletter. Does time fly or what?! It's not as though things haven't been busy in our little corner of the world, but I've buffed up the Web site, focused my aim and enlisted a few handy Web 2 tools, so.. We're coming back at ya! Here are a few "Bright Ideas for Education" current to the month of October, 2008

Because it's "welcome back" time, let's take a look at some "big picture" things and then in coming months, we can focus on specifics.

Immutable Trends - http://tommarch.com/ozblog/themes/

Why should schools bother with technology? It's such a hassle when things stuff up. The kids often get up to mischief. Isn't there enough to do already?! I've become convinced that it's not only engaging and exciting to integrate technology into learning, but not doing so will soon be seen as professional malpractice. A series of what I call "Immutable Trends" act as the foundation of my perspective. Things like "tech's appeal," "ubiquitous consumption," "assembly lyin'" and "crumbware" are silly names that connote huge societal trends that are altering our children's lives and necessitate new approaches to "schooling." The Web address above links to a page that briefly describes a collection of Immutable Trends and related Educational Challenges.

Clipmarks - http://clipmarks.com/

Do you ever (always?) find yourself with a dozen browser windows or tabs open - great sites that you really should bookmark or blog about? Are you secretly relieved when the browser crashes under this weight and you lose these gems forever? Although I've played with it for over a year, it wasn't until I decided to use Clipmarks to track the Trends just mentioned. Sure, I'd love to blog about each instance, but some days so much is happening, I could never h ope to. Now I use Clipmarks to gather sections of Web pages, add a brief (thank you!) comment and tag the clip for easy sorting and reference. Then, instead of making a blog post for each, I've embedded a Clipmarks window at TomMarch.com that invites you to look if you like while I have a well-classified set of references for later articles or presentations. Do yourself a favor and become a "clipper."

Diigo / Educator - http://diigo.com/education

Along the similar lines to Clipmarks is Diigo. Pronounced "Dee'go," it's an acronym for "Digest of Internet Information, Groups and Other stuff." I've had the pleasure of skyping with a couple of Diigo's founders and am impressed with their commitment to education. In fact, of all the social networking / bookmarking sites, Diigo is the only one to really target classroom use of such Web 2 facilities. Diigo just launched its education version. It's still early days, but the tool is fantastic and the interest in education sincere. What's especially good about Diigo compared to Clipmarks is that it allows users to highlight and comment on passages within online documents all within the contex t of a social networking sturucture so we can enter into a virtual close reading with other Diigo users. By example, register for Diigo, then go to Nicholas Carr's Atlantic Monthly article, "Is Google Making Us Stoopid?"

Pageflakes - http://pageflakes.com

Finally, the last Bright Idea for this month is a Pageflakes. If you've used iGoogle, you'll have a pretty good idea what Pageflakes is. Sometimes referred to as "start Pages" or "Jump Pages," these Web 2 apps allow you to draw together heaps of RSS feeds onto one page. In the old days we used things like Bloglines as RSS aggregators, but as amazing as these were, you'd still have to click on each feed to see its posts. Mostly, I didn't click. But that's okay, because now all you have to do is "hover." Most blogs will list a row of links to other sites they like. You can see my list here. But if you look closely, the very first link on the list goes to a Pageflakes version that shows all these same blogs and first five post all on one page. But it's not just about keeping up on your ed blogs. You can make multiple pages, each one focused on a different topic ("climate change," "tessellations," "current events," "best recipes," etc.). Every blog, podcast, newspaper, magazine, radio station, etc. that provides an RSS/XML feed can appear in you Pageflakes collection. What's best is that these pages can then be shared with colleagues or students. To get yourself and friends started on this (quality of) life saving approach, you can use a step-by-step screen-clip friendly tutorial I made for a workshop.

Speaking of "workshop"... Get In-Person Support

Did I tell you that Tom March is a Web-based educator who lives in New South Wales, Australia, but regularly consults with schools and educational organizations throughout Australia and the U.S.? He's also interested in working in many other corners of the globe. Contact Tom on skype at tommarch or on email at tom@ozline.com.

Please send me an email about any of the above. It would be great to hear from you again.