Tapped In Newsletter: June 2010
...On the Tapis
June 2010
Issue 151
In This Issue
[1] Member Perspective: Veronica Criado
[2] Tapped In Resource Rooms
[3] Tapped In Technology Tip
[4] News Nuggets
[5] Tips and Comments from the Experts
[6] About ...On the Tapis
Quote of the Month: "If we did all the things that we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves." - Thomas Edison
[1] Member Perspective: Veronica Criado
Meet Veronica
Let me introduce myself. My name is Veronica Criado and I teach English to 4th grade EFL (English as a Foreign Language) students at a Catholic school in Uruguay, South America. My students (ages 9-10) have lab sessions once a week and have to share one computer for every 3 kids. They were introduced to Tapped In last April, 2010 and have been active members since then. Collaboration and patience are key elements in their lab-time learning!
Veronica's Perspective
I do not exactly recall how or where I discovered Tapped In but, being a novice at technology - who has learned most things by trial and error and by checking out sites and clicking on links - and a forward thinking educator who seeks to incorporate tech into the language classroom, I can say that I have found just the right place to share experiences and achievements, to explore and analyze, to have fun and learn with others with my same interests.
Tapped In gives me the chance to:
Have my own place - office - where:
* I can upload and share notes/files/links,
* I have a discussion board to exchange thoughts/reflections about different topics,
* the whiteboard allows visitors to leave me comments/messages.
Have my own virtual classroom
* where my students can collaborate with other classes in a safe place,
* post to discussion,
* use synchronous chat,
* share and use notes, files and links.
Not only this but also the fact that you can count on cool help-desk volunteers that provide real-time help like Jeff and BJB. In this way I was able to set my virtual classroom and learned how the interface works. I could participate in a K-12 classroom showcase where I met other educators having the chance to communicate with them in a synchronous way.
Read all of Veronica's Perspective.
[2] Tapped In Resource Rooms
Sometimes you want to look at resources for a specific discipline, but don't want to wade through search engine matches. In Tapped In the solution is for a TI member to create a resource room on a topic about which they are an expert. There are several examples of these rooms in the K-12 Student Campus and many more examples in the main campus. The group rooms often serve as a place in which members of the group can store links and files (resources). The groups that wish to be available to all TI members have opened their group rooms to all users. Visitors are not able to add to the resources, but can freely access what is stored in the group room.
In the Student Campus, the situation is similar. Although ONLY TI members are able to enter the student campus, any TI member is able to enter the resource rooms. An additional feature of those resource rooms is that the teacher can collaborate with the owner of the resource room so that the K-12 students are also able to enter the resource room. The students are then able to do research, evaluate sites, and use the resources to complete an assignment. To visit the K-12 Student Resource rooms, go to the K-12 Student Campus Reception room and look at the featured passageways.
During a recent discussion with Dave Keidel, a TI member who actively uses his student classroom to interact with vocational students and provide school to work skills, Dave was asked to create a student resource room so that other students of TI members could benefit from Dave's expertise. Dave not only created a K-12 Student resource room (School-to-Work), he has also created a mirror site for educators in the main TI campus (Work Based Learning). Dave warns that both rooms are 'under construction,' but please take a few minutes to visit and give him some feedback. Dave has agreed to do a Learning Hub Showcase in July or August to share how he uses his classroom with his students. Keep an eye on the TI calendar for this wonderful opportunity!
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Do you have a K-12 Classroom that you want to showcase? Did you participate in a Learning Hub Series tour and get inspired to work with your students online? Let us know what you're doing, what worked best for you and what needed some tweaking. e-mail your comments to bjb@tappedin.org or tell us here.
[3] Tapped In Technology Tip
TI Learning Hub Builds Capacity of Educators
Tapped In brings educators together both locally and worldwide to cultivate a community that supports each teacher as a professional. We build the capacity of teachers to support one another through peer networks supported by the Tapped In community. Educators:
* Plan and conduct learning projects with colleagues and students.
* Participate in or lead topical discussion and groups.
* Manage and attend online courses offered by TPD providers.
* Mentor other educators.
* Try out new ideas in a safe, supportive environment.
* Use TI as a learning hub from which to experience and infuse new technologies into your curriculum.
Resources, experts, mentors, and new colleagues are available to all. Collectively, these elements of Tapped In form a uniquely supportive, capacity building professional development environment for novice and experienced educators.
[4] News Nuggets
From Twitter - RT @bnleez: Presentation by [TI member] Dr. Ludmilla Smirnova, Ph.D - Web 2.0 tools
http://tinyurl.com/2wp3wvr
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Do you have a News Nugget about yourself or another member of the Tapped In Community? Send your News Nugget to BJ Berquist at bjb@tappedin.org
[5] Tips and Comments from the Experts
The following was posted to the discussion board in the MusicShake group room: "I've been experimenting with Musicshake since our last (first for me) meeting. I love it and it's a great resource for my classes."
Kihong Bae responded to this post (great example of using the asynch discussion board): "We are thoroughly happy to hear about your pleasant experiences with Musicshake so far. We are constantly trying to make improvements and adjustments to our product and any feedback would be tremendously welcome. We do have a very interesting/cool stuff going on to commemorate the 4th of July so please stay tuned!"
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TI member Cynthia Becker sent the following message: "The Tapped In forum is an amazing tool. I want very much to incorporate technology into my classroom when I get back to teaching (hopefully this year). I know this 'organization' will be a great guide."
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April Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears
MeganPol: This was a great session. Thank you for all of the information
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April Math Resources K-20
JeffC: so... look at the sites... post to Discussion (any time!)... this group meets the first Tuesday of every month at 4pm Pacific.
JeffC: is there anyone who hasn't had any fun yet today?
BrittanyMS: I have had a GREAT time!
JeffC: cool!
ValerieHu: I am having fun
JeffC: excellent!
BrittanyMS: Thank you so much!
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If you have a comment or experience to share with the Tapped In community, please submit the information to BJ Berquist at bjb@tappedin.org or post your comment here.
[6] About ...On the Tapis
Past issues of ...On the Tapis newsletters are available online.
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