Free STEM & PBL Resources… eGFI Is Dreaming Up The Future!

Welcome the third in a series of summer posts dedicated to bringing you the biggest collections of national and international resources you will find anywhere. Summer is a  perfect time to examine what you just might want to include in next year’s lesson plans that will engage your students. I plan to share resources that will cover all the curricular areas. Each article will give an in-depth and informative visit to one of these sites. Make sure you bookmark, copy, RSS, subscribe by email and visit my 21centuryedtech Wiki! You will want to share! If it is not summer where you are, then you can jump right in and facilitate learning with some new material  tomorrow. I will announce each post on twitter at (mjgormans) so be sure to follow. – Mike

If you have been trying to dream up some great STEM and PBL related material then eGFI, brought to you by the the American Society For Engineering Education (ASEE), is a great place for you to visit! This first class organization who’s mission is to dream up the future, is committed to promoting and enhancing efforts to improve K-12 STEM and engineering education. At first glance it is apparent that this web site is a dream of student centered and actively engaging resources. It now time to go beyond that first glance. You will be amazed at the number of videos, resources, lessons, and activities that are ready for you to integrate.

Once you are done moving  the different pictures of resources around on the entry site, a great place to start is at What’s New.  In What’s New, you will beintroduced to some of the most amazing cutting edge inventions, or perhaps you will want to visit E-Tube filled with video titles like Engineers Are Cool, Stanford Researchers Make Paper Battery,  The Great Space Elevator, and Robot Football! In fact E-Tube contains over one hundred engaging videos covering the major topics of competitions, cool stuff, TV shows, in the field, and in the classroom. Perhaps you want to connect instruction with careers. Then dream on with Trailblazers, a place to connect studies with people in the field. Here you will find interesting people and the interesting things they do related to STEM careers.  If that doesn’t get you dreaming then be sure to check out the lower right hand corner of the page that will take you to 15 different STEM related industries through a funky, yet fun interface. Dream on with eGFI’s amazing Student Blog! This highly engaging blog assists upper elementary, middle and high school students as they explore the various fields of engineering and STEM related fields, plan their own projects, and get the information they need to decide whether an engineering or STEM related career is right for them.

Engineer Your Path provides a great place for students to dream about a possible STEM related future. Here you can meet a student, discover 10 essential steps toward getting in a STEM field, discover what it is like to be on the job, and just get great advice. Great information for schools interested in exploring career pathways! Be sure to read the magazine, filled with cool topics and linked to great videos. You may wish to join the thousands of teachers receiving fresh lesson plans and activities, news, feature articles and web resources every week by email. Check out this archive of teacher newsletters and then sign up here. Do your students want to learn more about The Making of Avatar, 3D Printing, and the The Kepler telescope. Each week, the eGFI student newsletter presents fun and interesting engineering innovations, STEM related topics, and great discussion topics for class. Sign up for the student newsletter and encourage your students to do so, as well. You can check out past newsletters here.

If I have you are dreaming of future possibilities for your classroom then be sure to check out the for teachers link!  This will turn your dreams into a reality! This hard to spot link in the upper right corner of the What’s New Page is one you do not want to miss. You will find close to 100 amazing lesson plans for K12, another large selection of activities that will put your students at the center of project based learning,  over 300 outreach organizations and events, close to 300 web resources devoted to STEM,  special feature articles that feature STEM related education, and some great K12 education news. eGFI is an amazing teacher resource area that could keep you dreaming all season long! If you or teachers you facilitate have an interest in STEM and PBL, then eGFI is a great place to get both you and your students dreaming up the future!

Thus, my focus, to share with you vast resources such as eGI this summer! Take some time to investigate and possibly implement in the school year,  or tomorrow! I will continue to bring thought, reflection, and amazing web apps along with this summer series. Please share with others, visit the 21centuryedtech Wiki, follow on me twitter (mjgormans), and subscribe to this blog by RSS or email . If you have resources that you feel need to be included please leave a reply!  Enjoy, relax, play, and smile…. also take a moment to transform education toward 21st Century Learning! – Mike

It’s Free… It’s Ipadio… Cell Phones, Phlogs, Speech To Text, Geotagging… Wow!

You have heard about a wiki, glog, blog, and tweet; but how about a phlog?  By the time you are done reading, not only will you know what a phlog is, I am sure many of you and your students will soon be phlogging!  Before joining me for this amazing educational adventure, please take a moment and subscribe to this blog by either email or RSS. You can also follow me on twitter (@mjgormans). Last, be sure to visit my 21centuryedtech Wiki that was recently the subject of an  ISTE May 12 Webinar and is visited by thousands of people each month.

Today’s posting reviews an amazing, yet simple piece of technology that involves the use of cell phones, internet, and computers. It’s true, mobile technology is playing an increasingly large role in the classroom. It is becoming a reality that most students have a phone of their own. Perhaps it’s time to harness the power of the phone  in order to engage students in their own education? Introducing Ipadio, a technology that just might be the right tool for enhancing and improving the learning process in a very unique way.

In brief, Ipadio technology links up the telephone networks with the internet, enabling the live broadcast of audio directly to the internet… all from a standard  phone. There’s never been an easier way to record oral assessments, create revision podcasts, or even collect homework. The process involves a simple registration of your phone and the selection of a password. You are then given a toll free number to call, enter the password, and start recording. Your recording is instantly available as a phlog (phone blog) on your own channel at Ipadio. Don’t have the cell phone you registered with Ipadio.  There is an easy solution, just use any phone and complete the additional step of entering your registered phone number.  After the recording you can visit your own channel and listen to the phlog, email it, embed it in a web page, or even download it as an mp3 to be used in your own multimedia application. You even have the opportunity to edit your phlog and make it public. Ipadio even converts the spoken words to text! Imagine the educational uses of that features. There is even an iPhone and Android app.

Take a moment and explore some educational possibilities. The following is a list of ideas from the people at Ipadio in their very own words.

Making Assessments Easier – Need to grade students on their speaking abilities? Why grade them on one viewing of a performance live when you can record and archive them, for later play back, second marking and contextualising feedback to the student – showing them the exact moments where they need to improve.

Let the students collect the data -Need to collect data for research? Whether you’re a teacher of seven year olds wanting them to ask grandparents about life as they grew up, or a university professor looking to collect research data, ipadio can be used for both! Take recorded data an embed it in a multimedia production, website, or podcast.

Enable remote learning – Ipadio makes creating and sharing audio easy – simply call up and speak! Your words can be listened to online, downloaded as a podcast or even read as text thanks to speech-to-text conversion with Spinvox. Your broadcasts can also be pushed through social media channels – with phonecasts posted to Twitter, Facebook, and all of the major blogging platforms as soon as they have been recorded. This makes sharing a lecture to those who missed it, or creating a revision podcast for students a breeze – and the learning materials that you create will be available to students on platforms they are already familar with, such as Facebook and iTunes.

Promote Your Institution – Ipadio can be used to engage with people on the outside too! From promoting events going on to hosting interviews with academics and staff, Ipadio can be used to highlight the work that goes on in your school or university, to prospective students and other interested parties. Lectures, lessons and other learning materials could be offered too, and even offered as podcasts on iTunes and your website, raising the profile of educators in your institution.

Keep Parents In-The-Loop – Call ipadio after each class and explain a bit about what went on – that way parents can follow what their children are learning, and support them more effectively at home, in a way that is convenient to them, as they can follow your updates on your website, via podcast, Twitter, blogs and many other avenues – and all you as teacher have to do is make a single phone call!

While Ipadio lists the above ideas; I find there could be many more uses. The speech to text capability has great potential! There could also be homework alerts, field trip possibilities, study guides, remote broadcast for school news and info, explanation of a concepts or topics, and general classroom updates. You can even geotag each phonecast you record with the location of where you recorded it. Imagine geotagging conversations and cell phone pictures on a map for later review. This can be done with the iPhone and Android apps, or online at the Ipadio web site using a computer. This opens the door to some very creative classroom facilitation. Be sure to check out this great set of tutorials and as always refer to your schools AUP before using.

Now you know all about phlogging and the awesome potential is has for transforming your lessons and enhancing 21st century learning. If you have ideas for using Ipadio, or are already using it in a creative way, please leave a comment. As always take a moment and subscribe to this blog by either email or RSS. You can also follow me on twitter (@mjgormans). Last, be sure to visit my 21centuryedtech Wiki . Coming soon; Exploring Some Of Google’s Advanced Search Features.  Hope to hear from you somewhere in the phlogosphere!  Have a great week! – Mike

The Twitter In Google… A Wave Between The Two!

Welcome back to  a week dedicated to the Googal in Google. While Google has developed its own tool called Wave it also continues to develop features that compliment twitter. In this midweek post I share with you how Google helps you search for tweets and even find new people to follow. While Google continues to Wave its own micro blog, it also understands the importance of a Tweet. Speaking of tweet, please feel free to follow me on Twitter (@mjgormans) and I will do the same!  Now lets explore the Twitter in Google! – Mike

OK, why would you want to look at the history of a tweet?  Simple, by looking back at  tweets, users can explore any topic that people have discussed on Twitter. Perhaps you want to know how how the news broke about health care legislation in Congress, what people were saying about Justice Paul Stevens’ retirement, or perhaps the twitters happening with the release of the iPad.  You may want to replay all these tweets to gather information. Perhaps you want to look up information on a new piece of software and find great web links that better explain it. This will be possible with the new replay feature that will be available globally in English within the next couple days. For Google’s  initial release, you will be able to  explore tweets going back to February 11, 2010, and soon after, you will be able to go back as far as the very first tweet on March 21, 2006.  All you will need to do is click on Options (at the top of search results) and Updates (on the left side of search page results). You will get all of the tweets and a history timeline at the top. Move and click the  the history timeline as you wish. For those that want to see it right now , try out this special link and put in your own search term!

Google Labs can always be a lot of fun!  Today, Google announced a new lab tool called Google Follow Finder.  Once you are at the Follow Finder page just enter your  Twitter account name. This new lab tool will publish a  list of people you might be interested in following. Get other suggestions  from Google by entering other Twitter user names. If the Google Follow Finder displays someone you want to follow, just click “Follow on Twitter,” log in, and that person will be added to your following list in Twitter. Google claims that ” this integration is based on Twitter’s new @anywhere frameworks, which make it easy for any site to add Twitter functionality”.  The lists in Google Follow Finder are generated by using public following and follower lists on Twitter. The idea is pretty cool, although being a new Google Lab feature I do think there are some bugs to tweet out.

Thanks for joining me  for another look at the Googal in Google!  As always please take a moment to share with others and I invite you to follow me on Twitter (@mjgormans).  I will do the same and we can tweet each other towards new discoveries in 21st Century Learning! I also invite you to subscribe to this blog by RSS or email and to also visit my 21centuryedtech Wiki,  filled with great information! Have a great week and take a moment to watch your own tweets in Google! – Mike

Tagxedo: Exciting New Word Cloud Generator Rich With Features!

Welcome to another informative mid-week post. Today I  want to introduce you to Tagxedo, a brand new Word Cloud Generator that has just been released in Beta. I first learned of it after receiving an email from its creator, Hardy Leung, several days ago. I was very impressed and feel it needs to be added to a list of Word Cloud Generators I created a few month ago in my Welcome Back Wordle Blog which generated almost one thousand reads.  If you have never read it, be sure to take a look. Take a moment to learn the features and future plans for Tagxedo. As always please feel free to follow me on Twitter (@mjgormans), I will keep you up-to-date and will be sure to follow back! Now let’s learn about a new site ! – Mike

Update from Tagxedo Creator Hardy Leung – I just want to clarify that, since Tagxedo was beta-released a whooping 3 days ago, it has been upgraded many times, and the latest version already supports the “future plans” of using either image or words as shapes. Also, you can now save to both Jpg or Png.

I often get emails from people who wish to have their site reviewed. I always take the time to check out these inquiries and pass on worthy findings to you. I am very excited to share with you this just beta-released word cloud application called Tagxedo. The website proclaims, “Tag Clouds with Style”, a mission I feel was accomplished. You will discover that this cutting edge program is an outstanding free application very similar to our good friend,  Wordle .  The creater of  Tagxedo emphasized to me that Tagxedo has a few extra qualities  not found in all Word Cloud Generators. After visiting and experimenting with the site I agree that Tagxedo does offer some awesome features.

So what  makes Tagxedo stand out? Some of the features that Leung pointed out to me include; highly interactive (no server round-trip), fast cloud generation time, custom shapes and themes, powerful layout engine (very nice shape hugging), and  lots of fonts (including custom user fonts and fonts from Font Squirrel). Most importantly, the interface allows the user to save “word clouds” as PNG image files and it also saves a History View (allowing user to see all “versions” and pick the one they like).

As you explore the site be sure to read the FAQ page which includes directions and future plans for the product. It is school friendly, due to the fact that it does not require a user log-in. Tagxedo is new and powerful, but the interface is still somewhat under construction.  In fact, two features that will arrive soon are the ability to use images as custom shapes and the ability to use specific words as custom shapes. The on-line gallery provides an idea of the capabilities that reside within Tagxedo. Please take the time to check out all the features of Tagxedo. As you do, I am sure that you will want to share Tagxedo others!

Thanks for stopping by for another post. Please be sure to subscribe via email or RSS. I encourage you to share this post with others and please return again. I will always keep you up-to-date on Twitter at (@mjgormans). A reminder that I will also facilitate an ISTE Webinar (21st Century Education and Technology Integration: No Cost and Low Cost Investments with Rich Results for Students) on May 12, 2010.  You are also welcome to visit my 21centuryedtech Wiki filled with great resources to facilitate educational transformation. Now, take a moment and discover Tagxedo and remember to reply!  Thanks – Mike

Lexipedia : A Cool 21st Century Tool… But What’s A Fuzzynym??

Have you ever found a new tool that was really neat, even though you didn’t understand it completely. I came across such a tool in the beta phase called Lexipedia. I think it is one that will especially be appealing to those teachers of Language Arts. Now for the part I did not understand, or better yet, I will include it in the post below.  Read on …  – Mike

There is no doubt that Lexipedia is a very cool tool! In fact it describes itself as a site “where words have meaning”. Upon inspection, I found that most words entered return a multiple list of definitions. Teachers attempting to convey parts of speech to their students are in for a real treat. Foreign language teachers (English, French, Dutch, Spanish, German, Italian) will be amazed to find a tool that can be used in their classrooms. Lexipedia does an amazing job of taking  each word entered and returning not just definitions.  It categorizes the words by parts of speech (noun, verb, adjective, and adverb). It then takes the parts of speech and tries to find relationships including  synonyms, antonyms and fuzzynyms. Hold on… “fuzzynyms”!

Yes, as I was typing the word fuzzynym in my post,  WordPress underlined “fuzzynym” with a big red line as if I had spelled it wrong!  There was no way I could spell a word wrong in my post!  My first thought was, “I am not an English major… so maybe I should look up “fuzzynym”!  I went to Merriam-Webster.com and asked for a definition …  momentarily it returned, “The word you’ve entered isn’t in the dictionary”. I then visited Wikipedia where someone must have an idea. I was amazed as Wikipedia returned “no result”. As I googled the word “fuzzynym” I was amazed to find 9,910 results. I could not find a site that gave a clear definition, but did find quite a few references to Lexipedia. Then it finally occurred to me; why not type the word “fuzzynym”  into Lexipedia? I entered the Lexipedia site with excitement and a sense of relief. I hit the letters on my keyboard f-u-z-z-y-n-y-m… I waited… The response appeared… NOTHING!

OK, I could not figure out a real definition for “fuzzynym”.  It does appears that it may be a word that is related, but does not fit the category of antonym or synonym. Regardless, Lexipedia is an fantastic site with great educational potential. It will  definitely help students with definitions and the understanding of parts of speech. It is an awesome tool that will facilitate young writers attempting to make their essays more interesting with a great data base of antonyms and synonyms.  I can even envision effective ways for teachers to incorporate Lexipedia into their lessons. It is time for you to take a moment to look at this powerful tool. Also, please leave a comment if you can help me better define  “fuzzynym”.

Thanks for stopping by and as always please follow me on Twitter (mjgormans), I will follow back and we will learn from each other. Also feel free to visit my 21centuryedtech Wiki filled with some amazing free resources for 21st century learning!  Have a wonderful week – Mike

A Free Paperless Tool That Can Aid Student Research As It Saves Trees

Welcome to another mid week posting where I try to introduce a  free resource that will assist you in the 21st Century classroom. This week I will highlight a tool that I believe will assist students in online research, save money in the paper budget, and contribute to the needed green movement. It is a valuable resource that every school classroom and library should be aware of and take advantage of. Enjoy the post and you are invited to follow me on twitter at (@mjgormans), I will return the favor and we can learn from each other. As always, please feel free to visit my 21centuryedtech Wiki filled with the latest free resources geared toward 21st Century education! Have a great week – Mike

Update from author – Please note that I tested with with Chrome and Firefox. It has been reported by some that this web site is not totally compatible with Internet Explorer. Any feedback would be appreciated.

If you are like me you have visited a printer spewing out countless papers from a student requested internet page filled with pictures, ads, and text that was not needed for the required research topic. The result ends up being an inflated paper budget, unnecessary information that students must later sift through, and a few less trees in all of our futures. Introducing  The Awesome Highlighter, a free web resource that allows students to save only the text needed, keep it in a digital format, archive the resource it came from, and print only the information necessary!

The site is valuable because it allows use by both registered and unregistered users. An unregistered user is able to perform most tasks with the exception of saving in the Awesome Highlighter Archive. Upon entering the site, the user is asked to enter the desired web address to be highlighted. Once entered, the user is able to highlight up to 2000 characters at once. The highlighted text is then saved to a new web link and an option is given to highlight more text, copy unique URL for an online archive, post in a social network or blog, copy to clipboard, or email for later reading. Options also exist to post notes on the highlighted web page, and share the highlighted page and notes with others using its unique URL. Since it also saves the highlighted text  in an area that can be emailed, copied and pasted to a document or web page, shared via a blog or social network site, or accessed later (for registered users), the need for paper is immaterial. Best of all, students have started the process of filtering through necessary information rather than trying to sift through stacks of printed web pages and resources later. The archive also allows users to save web pics, and videos along with the desired texts. All archived items can be searched by date saved, media type, web domain accessed from, and tags that can be attached to media. The short link web pages with all highlights and notes can be revisited and shared at any time along with the original web link. This comes in handy for creating necessary reference citations.

Users of Firefox can add a bookmarklet to their browser. “A bookmarklet is an applet, a small computer application, stored as the URL of a bookmark in a  browser.” It looks like a normal bookmark. In the case  of Highlighter the bookmarklet allows the user to highlight any page on-the-fly without having to copy & paste the page URL to www.awesomehighlighter.com. The user simply clicks on the bookmark  and the highlighter toolbar appears. Whether is is used from the web site or the browser, Awesome Highlighter is a great tool facilitating student research while keeping down paper and printing costs, and even saving a few trees here and there! It is definitely a highlight you do not want to miss!

Thanks for joining me in the middle of the week! Be sure to return and even subscribe to the feed via RSS or email. you are invited to follow me on twitter at (@mjgormans), I will return the favor and we can learn from each other. As always, please feel free to visit my 21centuryedtech Wiki filled with the latest free resources geared toward 21st Century education! Have a great week – Mike

Imagine It! Power In Action… Big Ideas For 21st Century Education!

 

I have an inspiring and motivational site to share with you this week. I’m typing as I sit in the  lobby of the Hilton Hotel in Austin, Texas. While I am a far from home Hoosier attending this year’s TCEA conference, I am filled with excitement and a sense of assurance that I will bring to my home state, my PLN, and my blog readers something new. The site I share this week is appropriately called “Imagine It”.  As always follow me on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/mjgormans) and you are always welcome to visit my 21st centuryedtech Wiki! Through out the week I will be sharing thoughts, ideas, and dreams, from Texas, until then, take a moment to “Imagine It” – Mike

The people at Imagine It have the  awesome mission to inspire people to imagine the world a better place and then get involved to solve global challenges. I see it as a wonderful tool for teachers to help develop twenty-first century skills and implement project based learning in the classroom. Imagine It also holds a lot of potentional for inspirational professional development for educators!   Imagine It  makes such opportunities possible by providing production of multi-platform media content, including documentary series,  film shorts and video clips  to help teachers and students Imagine It!  Such titles as  Global Challenges Need to be Solved , The Need for Innovation is Now,  There’s Power in Big Ideas in Action,  and To Remind You that One Person (that would be you) Can Make a Difference are thought provoking and motivational. I was inspired by the numerous video clips in both of the Post It Challenges. Titles such as Creativity, Change Makers, Connectivity, and Collaboration are perfect for opening up conversations that encourage Twenty-First Century learning.  Listen to experts from the current news page  such as Calestous Juma, Professor – Harvard University, speak about the important role of teachers, Sally Ride,  physicist, astronaut (first American woman in space), with remarks on inspiring students with science, and Gary Stager, Educator & Collaborator at MIT Lab Future of Learning, discussing his hopes for schools of the future. These are just three of the nearly twenty expert presentations you will encounter on  the current news page, also including Chris Wink, co-founder of Blue Man Group, with thoughts on creativity in education.

If you don’t believe watching  is enough, there is a way to get students involved interactively.  How about an introduction to the  online collaborative media console?  This  is really a media editor and tool set that gives  the power to create mixed and mashed-up media.  This tool is an open source application based on the Imagine It  project media library. It  includes pre-mixed video modules, online video editor, remix console and media uploader. Students around the world can create their own video using Imagine It  videos, b-roll, music and graphics along with original videos, interview clips, music and graphics. Take the time to facilitate a mix, match and mash-up a video and see if a student produced video gets distributed on top websites, television or included in the next film Imagine It!³,  the story of unleashing human potential to solve global challenges.

As you visit the site take a look at all of those involved including  an extensive list of organizations, educational institutions, people, and countries. While on that page be sure to click on the things people are saying about Imagine It.  There is also a download page that provides  access to many of the freely available open source materials. Also, review the upcoming calendar of events including the Sundance Festival, National Engineers Week, National Science Teachers’ Association, School Library Month, Project Lead The Way, Teacher Appreciation Week, and National Teacher Day. For a short introduction to the Imagine It Project  take a look at these three short video; START: Join The Conversation,  Imagine It… What Is It?,  and a very short video entitled The New Generation. Take the time to visit this amazing site, incorprate it into the classroom,  and integrate it in educational  professional development. It will allow all educators to creatively infuse those 21st Century Skills and give students, teachers, and administrators the opportunity to Imagine It!

Thanks for taking the time to look over this post based on reflection and inspiration. As always follow me on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/mjgormans) and you are always welcome to visit my 21st centuryedtech Wiki!  Through out the week I will be sharing thoughts, ideas, and dreams, from Texas, until then, take a moment to “Imagine It” – Mike

Free Software To Make That Flip Video Experience Even Better!

Ever had trouble getting those flip video files into Windows Movie Maker or your preferred video editor? This midweek post of 21centuryedtech focuses on a free piece of software that really does make integrating the Flip Video camera with Windows Movie Maker easy. Outside of that, it is truly a great video and audio transfer program that has a multitude of uses in student and teacher productions of movies and podcasts! Try this and other great ideas and resources found at the 21centuryedtech Wiki! As always follow me at www.twitter.com/mjgormans – Mike (mgorman@sacs.k12.in.us)

It really is time to do a double flip for your Flip video camera as you find ways to integrate with free Windows Movie Maker. I recently purchased 30 Flip Video Camera for student use!  They have been a hit as have the movies that students have produced. While others may not, I did experience problems with the Flip Software (too simplistic) and using the video files on various computers and networks. I did a triple flip when I found the free product Any Video Converter.  This powerful yet free video converter application makes video and audio conversion quick and easy. The application can clip any segments and optionally merge and sort them to make a creative movie. Even more, Any Video Converter Freeware can crop frame size to remove any unwanted area in the frame ,just like a pair of smart scissors. It can convert almost any video format:  including DivX, XviD, MOV, rm, rmvb, MPEG, VOB, DVD, WMV, AVI, MPEG-I, DVD NTSC , DVD PAL, Flash for Video (FLV), AVI Video and Customized WMV movie formats. It also supports any user defined video file format as the output including avi, mp4, wmv, swf, flv, mkv, MPEG-1 and MPEG-2, mpg (PAL or NTSC), mp3, wma, ogg, aac, wave, m4a. This means that youtube, iPod, Zune, PSP, iPhone, 3GP Phone, and MP4 player are all covered. And if that’s not enough, it is also lightning  fast, even over a network.

Now about that Flip camera integration! It really is as simple as using the Flip Video Camera as a portable drive!  Just plug the Flip Camera into the computer’s USB port. Then open up Any Video Converter. Next select Add Video. It is then simple to use the easy interface to find the drive of the Flip Video Camera . Now , open the drive and select the desired videos.

 

Once the videos are selected a selection must be made from a pulldown on the right regarding the correct output format. For Windows Movie Maker the choice is customized WMV movie. Note that there are many other formats to pick from including ones that will work on the Mac, Mobile phones (including the iPhone), Flash, and portable video players.

There is even an Output folder on the bottom of the menu with various choices. The built in default is to have the program build an Any Video Folder in the user’s My Documents Folder. This can be great for network use that automatically sends user files to the user  network folder. Since Any Video Converter  can convert multiple files quickly and easily, you and your students will be editing using Windows Movie Maker or your preferred video editing software in no time. Take a moment to explore and learn about  and the download this free and useful program. While I have described its integration with Flip Video, you will find its power something you will find other reasons to do summersalts over!

Have fun and keep coming back ,and as always visit my 21centuryedtech Wiki! – Mike  (http://www.twitter.com/mjgormans)

I’ve Spent My Life In The Middle And There Is Not A Better Place To Be

I have filled this posting with some great information, including a new site from the people at the census, a contest in the fine arts, and a free online curriculum about the wise use of money. This is the first of a two part blog as I network and learn at the national Middle School Conference in Indianapolis. The content I provide will cover all levels, so read on! – Mike

I have been trying to determine a way to include the National Middle School Conference – Making A World Of Difference  in this week’s 21stcenturyedtech Blog. I have the honor of presenting at this conference and  I am already  contemplating speaking at a conference that is not totally dedicated to educational technology. I know I should feel comfortable because I have had a long lasting relationship with the middle. I am well into my own middle age, I was born in the middle class, as a middle child. I have taught middle grades for over thirty years in Fort Wayne, Indiana which can be considered middle America. I will travel one hundred miles south to Indianapolis, which is in the middle of the state, and join nearly seven thousand other middle level educators as we approach the middle of another school year.

I know the experience will be far from middle. Still, I have many questions as I prepare to network with others in the middle. Will I find out that they don’t tweet? That’s really alright because I have been slow on the twitter. Will I be NINGless? I don’t think so because I have already found a great NMSA Conference Connection Page. I know both sides of my brain will be challenged as I listen to Daniel Pink discuss the half of the brain that will conquer the world. As I dig deeper into the program I discover that Alan November will be part of a spotlight session that highlights the NMSA Technology Day!  In fact, Will Dagget will bring great comfort as he discusses rigour, relevancy, and relationships. Hold on,  Rick Wormeli will be speaking about a journey into the non-linear fourth dimension. Wow, I am really starting to feel comfortable! As I look through the concurrent sessions I am seeing terms such as UDL, differentiation, 21st century skills, and multiple references to the word technology.  A glance at the main conference web page reveals an awesome reference to the National Middle School 21st Century Classroom!  I even noticed my session  entiltled  21st Century Project Based Learning – No Cost and Low Cost Investments with Rich Results for Students. I am really starting to feel comfortable since I note my wife Jane will co-present with me.  But wait,  it is not on Tech Saturday, instead it is on Friday! Presenting on a different day than Tech Day  really is alright with me since it is, after all, on the middle day of the conference. If you happen to be at the conference please stop by Friday at 2:00 PM and meet me in the middle! I am sure that this will be a conference that puts students in the middle of their learning with the facilitation of technology way above the middle.

I will be publishing my next Blog from  the NMSA09 Conference in Indianapolis. It is my intention to share best educational practices highlighted at this year’s conference. I thought I would give a quick preview by sharing some awesome information found on the National Middle School Asociation Main Home  Page. This is information that can be used at any level. To start off, take a look at the new Census In Schools Page. You will find a population counter with links for teachers, elementary kids, and teens! On the teacher page you will find a wealth of activities and lesson plans! I was amazed at the sixty second radio shows highlighting each day of the year! How about a set of 22 maps  highlighting the geographical distributional changes in the US from 1790 until 2000. Perhaps you will enjoy the lessons provided for grades k-12. For elementary kids there is a great Flash Web Site filled with fun activities. The teen site has great state facts, engaging activities, and statistics that relate educational attaintment and income. There is also material for schools and the facts for feature area provides a wealth of data for those wanting to create relevant graphing and charting opportunities.

Do you have any students interested in  the Arts? The National Middle School Association is  calling for the submission of original student artwork in the online publication Expressions from the Middle and on a poster that will be sent to more than 25,000 people worldwide. Students choose their favorite type of media to work with including oils, watercolors, charcoal, colored pencils, sculpture, computer generated graphics, or multimedia. View past years winning entries of this highly engaging contest. You will note as you look through the different years that there is not just art work, but also Podcasts; cool!

Looking for a multi-curricular unit on finances, money, and economical survival with great resources and activities? Talk about timeliness and relevance! Then check out Saving Our Futures: A Financial Responsibility Program for Young People It is an exciting online curriculum teaching young people in middle and high school  financial responsibility. It also advocates for smarter money management in the home, communitiy and government. It was developed by the Academy for Educational Development for the America’s Promise Alliance. This specific curriculum was written to be integrated with the documentary film I.O.U.S.A. Best of all it is free! What I have included is just a small sample of what can be found on the main homepage of the National Middle School Association.

Please join me for my next posting from NMSA09 in Indianapolis. If you happen to be at the conference feel free to attend my session on Friday at 2:00 PM entitled  21st Century Project Based Learning – No Cost and Low Cost Investments with Rich Results for Students. If you can’t make it to Indianapolis please join me at the 21centuryedtech Wiki filled with even more information regarding 21st Century Learning!

-Mike