The 21st Century Learner

I've recently become acquainted with this fabulous web resource, Slideshare.net. It's a site where anyone can upload their PowerPoint to share with others. Some are more specialized than others (associated with a specific organization and so on), but there are many that can be used for general research or inspiration for a project or presentation of your own. I found this gorgeous slideshow on the "21st Century Learner" by Kim Cofino, who writes on these issues at her blog "Always Learning: Teaching Technology Abroad".

The 21st Century Learner

View more presentations from Kim Cofino.

Kim writes on the "About Me" section of her blog:

"I am an enthusiastic, passionate teacher, who truly loves working with children. My goal as a technology teacher is to teach students how to learn, and to ensure that every child that leaves my classroom feels comfortable, confident, and excited about the challenges and rewards that technology has to offer."

Explore Kim's wonderful blog, and her blogroll for more ideas about your own potential as an educator, blogger and tech-savvy 21st century learner!

Your GB,
Rachel

Tales from Texas

The Foundation team had an amazing time working with a new group of educators in Austin, TX at the East Austin College Prep Academy. I didn't have the pleasure to be on board when you all were first learning the program, but based on your stories about it, the TX educators were very much in the "what-have-I-gotten-myself-into?" frame of mind you all talked about. It was a great help to have Ingrida Barker from Sandy River Middle School come along with us and train this new group in Flash. It was only a year ago that Ingrida was learning Flash for the first time, and now she's looked to as an expert by a whole new group of Globaloria participants. Peer educating is a big part of the Globaloria philosophy, and that goes for the teachers as much as the students!

We can't wait to see how you've all when we return to West Virginia in August. Thanks to those of you who have been updating your blogs with such insightful stories and useful links. I encourage all of you to keep reading and commenting on each others' posts and stay on top of your blog! It won't be long before you'll be trying to generate a blogosphere in your own classroom and your personal experience maintaining one yourself will count for a lot.

Your GB,
Rachel

Wordle

Denise features a cool resource for teachers on her blog: Wordle.

The blog Clif's Notes from Denise's blogroll shows all kinds of ways Wordle can be useful in the classroom. I had never heard of Wordle before this!

I'd love it if you all could feature something cool you've found from the blogs you follow, so we can learn from each other's adventures in the blogosphere!

Tinkering

Here's a great talk about the pedagogical benefits of "tinkering"-based learning. Have you ever had a valuable learning experience through tinkering? Write about it on your blog!



See links to videos like this and more on the Globaloria Tumblr.

Your GB,
Rachel

Music Men

There were so many memorable moments from the Globaloria Summer Academy worth writing about, but only a precious few are preserved for posterity in video. It's lucky for us that one such moment was the spontaneous concert put on by our rock stars: Jim Allder, Kevin Warfield and Bob Turbanic -- a true highlight of the Academy. I'm happy to announce that thanks to the masterful uploading skills of our intern Trevor, these talented men have been officially launched into the glamorous world of YouTube celebrity!

Jim and Kevin's update of (and improvement upon) Bryan Adams' "Summer of '69" with a Web 2.0-centric "Summer of 2009" got things off to a lively start:



Watch Jim's rendition of "The Cat Came Back", and the group sing-along of "Summer of 2009" here. Also check out Jim's vintage clip from 1986 on his GEHS Band Blog.

The festivities concluded with an impromptu performance by Bob of "The Train Carrying Jimmy Rogers Home." This blew us all away:



For those who don't know the music of Jimmy Rogers, you can find a playlist here.

I'm only grieved that the video quality isn't worthy of its subjects. You guys will have to give us an encore at the August Academy!

For the musically inclined, I've listed below some web 2.0 music websites you may want to experiment with:

www.imeem.com
www.blip.fm
www.pandora.com
www.rhapsody.com

Your GB,
Rachel