News for today's 2018

Global STEMx Education Conference starts on Thursday 19th – all online

11:19 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeTbgn1v8Pr-Cb8ZbRB0HlvmxuUFQ_Zk_YctcYxO_WMhUKI-h7EXBvcjM-e_JDL1kaC_RV6e99ymNVSnu67uz3HyXNAcIyBFASS122Es7q9ZyIpOw0oAXJSi32PtuDSuZbeJ-6dAuHenk/s1600-h/image%25255B3%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHHYPbcSFJi8-BdOu44yQhzDpOlbER17uxZja6abOzqoYzjB2HaAiFRqX7RQFcTHK0kbpaxjDPHtA-iHHMvx2ldo05M8rUgqu-LlA7bg4qUIFtSjw1SXIb2QNNN0YV3v8X6VaEo08D0SQ/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="240" /></a></div> The Global 2013 STEMx Education Conference is the world’s first massively open online conference for educators focusing on Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths, and more. The conference is being held over the course of three days, September 19-21, 2013, and is free to attend! What can you expect? Steve Harragon (http:/<a href="http://www.stevehargadon.com/">www.stevehargadon.com</a>) writes: ”Our first ever <a href="http://www.stemxcon.com/">Global STEMx E</a>ducation Conference starts this Thursday, and it's going to be AWESOME. We have 178 accepted practitioner sessions on science, technology, engineering, math, and more; as well as sixteen terrific keynotes; all starting 24 hours a day at 11am US Pacific Time Thursday. Don't miss out--all sessions are free, and all are being recorded as well for free viewing indefinitely afterwards. Sign up for information and the schedule at <a href="http://www.stemxcon.com/">http://www.STEMxCon.com</a> (and check out the <a href="http://stemxcon.com/page/attending-schedule">very cool page</a> that lets you see all the conference events in your own time zone!). The Global Education Conference Network website This website gives all thee details. Visit The Global Education Conference Network at: <a href="http://www.globaleducationconference.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network">http://www.globaleducationconference.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network</a> How to follow the Stemx Conference It's amazing how you can follow virtual conferences using technology these days. Linda Lindsay, a librarian from Hawaai has written a great post on her blog entitled ‘ <a href="http://www.mauilibrarian2.com/2013/09/7-ways-to-follow-stemxcon-sept-19-21.html#.UjlA9sb8kVU">7 Ways to Follow STEMxCon Sept. 19-21, 2013’</a> in which she lists the various options for attending virtually.  </div>

conferences Global STEMx Education Conference starts on Thursday 19th – all online

The Global 2013 STEMx Education Conference is the world’s first massively open online conference for educators focusing on Science, Technolo...

Gleanings from ISTE #2: Microsoft at ISTE 2013

10:03 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">It was such a great experience to visit ISTE in San Antonio this June. Microsoft was one of the Level 1 sponsors so I thought I would write a post especially about their generosity to teachers at ISTE 2013</div> <h2 style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"></h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8PRYXhLHJttAtPLVzGBNU1VDA3LZdSHTuK1ihqu-f8tb_zTcG5gWNpktrZlPA6NBwPb_3xlJNthjY3zJBc2QElOKRgo206fgKeYmi_2rHqOouQ5FBi7zl7-gX-j_EspnApPSqD8mr-e0/?imgmax=800" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8PRYXhLHJttAtPLVzGBNU1VDA3LZdSHTuK1ihqu-f8tb_zTcG5gWNpktrZlPA6NBwPb_3xlJNthjY3zJBc2QElOKRgo206fgKeYmi_2rHqOouQ5FBi7zl7-gX-j_EspnApPSqD8mr-e0/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">The BIGGEST thing about Microsoft at ISTE was their extreme generosity in giving out 10,000 Surface tablets (or was it 11,000) to the registered attendees. Can you imagine the excitement about this as the Surface is said to be a tablet AND a laptop – something really new! A great thing about the Surface tablet is that Office 2013 RT is freely available on it. Of course Microsoft wasn't just dishing these out randomly to anyone that asked for one - a lot of thought had been put into it, prearrangements had to be made,  and there were conditions attached. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcbK2HymY9werTfx3_g4feDhbz9JFJlpHpe431wBcjqzqhNWQfB_kaet-srPqF3F3yy2oSvbRz-tYNNztZ5jUweC8rrAeyB7Eq6bF5-MJ1SV24ryqvDZb82SJVX8P0xZZOSLMXjS0ueqM/?imgmax=800" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="115" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcbK2HymY9werTfx3_g4feDhbz9JFJlpHpe431wBcjqzqhNWQfB_kaet-srPqF3F3yy2oSvbRz-tYNNztZ5jUweC8rrAeyB7Eq6bF5-MJ1SV24ryqvDZb82SJVX8P0xZZOSLMXjS0ueqM/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="240" /></a></div><div> </div><div style="text-align: left;">1) The tablets were for the school that the attendee represented and this had to be pre-arranged before ISTE via a letter signed by the principal of the school.</div><div style="text-align: left;"> 2) The recipients had to be prepared to be involved in the Windows in the Classroom Experience Project whereby they discussed and contributed their classroom activities and lesson plans on how to use Windows in the Classroom  on the Partners in Learning Network, and showed the teachers at their schools what was available on the Partners in Learning network. The recipients would also join the Microsoft in Education newsletter and receive additional training resources.</div><div style="text-align: left;"> In my mind I can see the Partners in Learning Network becoming an exceptional resource for teachers around the world with great technology integration activities of every type freely available. It is REALLY worth joining that network. </div><div style="text-align: left;"> During ISTE participants were invited to hands-on demonstrations and training in Microsoft’s Learning Lounge in Exhibit Hall D Room 1A during exhibit hall hours.  Those who were offered Surface tables were also pointed to the support offered. They could visit the <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/surface/en-us/surface-with-windows-rt/home" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">Surface web site</a> to download the <a href="http://download.microsoft.com/download/B/D/4/BD44C612-D08E-4586-9345-ACA8AB978BC8/Surface%20RT%20User%20Guide_Final.pdf" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">Surface RT User Guide</a>, <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/surface/en-us/support/register" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">register your Surface</a>, and find <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/surface/en-us/support/home" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">support</a>.)</div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">I unfortunately didn't get to join one of the hands-on experiences on shows how to use Windows 8, Microsoft Office, and Windows Phone to enhance teaching and learning but I constantly took a walk to see what was happening in the Microsoft Lounge. I could see that it was interactive, experiential, and fun and there was a great, excited buzz. </div><h2> <table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" style="width: 400px;"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top" width="200"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVShhrwWtCXhUDFHza1QO4pCiy5r-UK-Slp0XOZcyM2u0QvH4R-EO1Up53ATxKWVc8UPlX0fI_Tb0xvr3zfR4383H_MqwkBB3j08xkihsOHE5NIsbAsV6xFrxdOU9ebbMlTVKTXucjbwk/s1600-h/20130623_173333%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="20130623_173333" border="0" height="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjofA3tFdMBiIBaM2Yuwf3Qsc3as05cXFFLm-335XhyphenhyphenIm3aCZ5dRi8kc4qGCHdJGUgKeTkrKoO3w92BwjeUa8rgsYcYcT95d4VQPnNyoM_uzPTUvwBG7Cwj_vkNIWv-fCGH0woCj2AR3oI/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="20130623_173333" width="244" /></a></td> <td valign="top" width="200"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHrUDAMJEo3A2iI7Ekchxv9meG0dU1fcQ0wRvoVU5mcS20ty3sr4LztPxw4U1scYJPSj-oeHv5eeDIR74IvUJTaTeT4I-tAIXx-gCGofyX_rxYxBVDcYMc-VBjagv0IL0hEnRYEsng1Gs/s1600-h/20130623_173600%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="20130623_173600" border="0" height="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHMWScY-aMH50ssvjlEUQ8rc5ve7wLbtkbuJACBt31LOaM5wzDUvFgtn6XueBoyQCaEwwsiFaLltymyJ13feXXVBmo9Ik1usHoJ19mBHmpCNZDqlqBHligO-30zp7pEwhvztlzQZ56qcU/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="20130623_173600" width="244" /></a></td></tr><tr> <td valign="top" width="200">Looking around – the new Surface</td> <td valign="top" width="200">Volunteers helping with setup</td></tr><tr> <td valign="top" width="200"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO6KMFh0CMEvxM1Jd_TDMHFYBLsJrLdpdB7jrx-JJN2qjlJjykwedwFyWQYZi3SdpWPNScrnvWPK97YYt_OpHmWyawlzUWLQDjHuC4YC989TKsbXIZqgSbEsAJYdIY8g8Aj7hU-xGCJjA/s1600-h/20130623_172721%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="20130623_172721" border="0" height="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOBjTN2O5xQUMPOWdIwFK0YbFhLrRQqAIqQX1oQfFNc1LwTPH0AzWaEpxkGUvg4RHZyD8NRWpleTlTZmDt5gfY4Jpcqon8fFLOGDz1WMjLSFGr_2YeYGoWmY_4OFrlincakiYzX8PeL2A/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="20130623_172721" width="244" /></a></td> <td valign="top" width="200"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeBZ5HTSLnqZlXeESiIikHT_JPwukQ3oOC6WD2CPkwWXxJ0OBmsqc98kCcZRoCecfK3ajIQJW2hHYooIDSo6xgGiHfCA_2_zV-vsqIdvZNSmHZ8b6zMvb7kzy1e5XSB2_qg3DIR0MNS98/s1600-h/20130623_180730%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="20130623_180730" border="0" height="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRQq_GmWaEJb1Sy1FJ5wpz7Iyz9atQx-xiCGrvfDeX-5Wp5HspVa_Nl89Q3cDKluj_gXH7tH1EWwSOgxUoB6CKL1VTK4nva9TK5SVC81AO0hNxq0k61hDVWcnxv1i7w4ZyZIJn9V072vA/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="20130623_180730" width="244" /></a></td></tr><tr> <td valign="top" width="200">Videos dotted around explaining Windows 8</td> <td valign="top" width="200">People gathered in groups looking at their new Surface machines</td></tr></tbody></table></h2><div style="text-align: left;">Why don't you join the Partners in Learning Network today if you haven't already done so? You'll be amazed at the magnitude of the free resources, the ideas, the discussions, and the great network of educators from around the world that you can collaborate with. </div></div>

conferences Gleanings from ISTE #2: Microsoft at ISTE 2013

It was such a great experience to visit ISTE in San Antonio this June. Microsoft was one of the Level 1 sponsors so I thought I would write ...

SchoolNet Conference 2013: Resources from the Virtual School

4:24 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Vsyd8NYCRQAwPVeN0cYS1fz-nxhZdxdytW22G9nhBsPYfjCY559bDyCet3rXyLIJjKJp8I68GvPkKyGA3cVymMegRDIFG4ZmgGOkOLF7XYTBDvW_Cmi4YpdKU1lyLRc8J-ToWG1Z1Dg/s1600-h/image%25255B3%25255D.png"><img alt="image" border="0" height="45" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYGM9Ze2wLC2sjEylHjD1Cap3ikszMZbsOln7WHpVhoADlxk05EcwD6L5eBN51KbvYnhfvHBU8UKyDfx30LLoDTifgco23sPMFRqhU3PK6uIHV7mzaya6pn6ag4DjhwpDiYgr7eL_tz1c/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="240" /></a> At the recent SchoolNet Conference our two UK International presenters, Frédéric Kastner from The Virtual School in the UK and Malik Wilson, a media professional, gave a couple of presentations on OER (Open Education Resources) that were very popular, and not everyone could get into their sessions. They have kindly created resources for all the teachers who could not attend their session and have sent us the links to pass on. They have created the video tutorial on how to create your own resources. They have also captured the speech in video form and have created an update video on their time in South Africa. They hope that we find these videos useful in creating our own resources for our learners all over South Africa. Create your own educational videos workshop tutorial:<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87SZjsHvqSo&feature=youtu.be">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87SZjsHvqSo&feature=youtu.be</a> (Look at the description for a step-by-step process with links to where you can download the software.) The Virtual School South Africa Update:<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKgEcJvPWuU">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKgEcJvPWuU</a> Here is the full 25-minute speech:<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKr8DJ0FxE8">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKr8DJ0FxE8</a> Please follow their blog for more information on OER that we'll be updating all of the time.<a href="http://thevirtualschool.wordpress.com/">http://thevirtualschool.wordpress.com/</a> Thank you for forwarding these links to us Frédéric and Malik!</div>

conferences Resources SchoolNet Conference 2013: Resources from the Virtual School

At the recent SchoolNet Conference our two UK International presenters, Frédéric Kastner from The Virtual School in the UK and Malik Wilson...

SchoolNet Conference 2013 - Powerful Professional Development For Sure!

1:12 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWGhQ4uWoQ_Fu8WWW-bD46X2sWwpH59pGeNuFWbHvtM6APl7ta0aYBIvXOJtVFB6AEXj3C-tZhJlkM3xYA_crDAWtMTkSBy3DmDTzuDtWarDnTwGLUTKIr_xUH7gXBZQtKFkuKNYCggLY/s1600-h/image%25255B6%25255D.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"> <img alt="image" border="0" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp00cn5nwVuTmXlDsoeMsSpiuv4jeop3WE5sl5kl0JtlpxNHY3gXz7Hdc_kxqha4w8VhGPGmKgru3ymyj9-pA0JJ2PW_YwqzR78yHYH7ycJPF1s3_ifsP0IpF_5Urt7tbIlJAk5GMpgzs/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /></a>Are you all ‘teched-out’ (a new Conference phrase we heard bandied about) after attending the SchoolNet2013 ICT in the Classroom  Conference held in Bloemfontein from 2nd – 4th July? Have you returned home inspired and motivated to do more in your classroom in the ensuing days? Of course all conferences have their hiccups of one sort or another but  the relationships formed and the learning that takes place in the space of three days definitely outweighs any downsides! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZDnH17dAPt8oT9OtV3Sh8d-AVhw1Vx-y_yLOoHmX1bQ8Qy6qItTXc7qyg7d5usFwxcUSGTkK0gzktZIx3-pficqr5SywkdtqPYdnWr2bQVl28iz2G4k8p1xXJ_2KXRLsxaX_97lShqhE/s1600-h/image2.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLNgHPjJRDlUKM3G1un2FNF3nvUe6oD9wJDkzAogkuvc25SUt3985ODSBUFLvrpEMw7pmpoD5acRqGI3uXVKSr4WkQPdl_R5IJeCeB_G2Qo0ucYkD49cMvVt8ZZRfL6VO9NtWcO-nb2lM/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /></a></div>It was a busy time getting ready for the Conference in Blomefontein but Janet Thomson, SchoolNet’s Executive Director,  skilfully co-ordinated the Schoolnet team and the Bloemfontein ICTize team as they prepared for this biennial event. In this picture you can see the whole team on the stage at the close of the Conference.  Our keynote speakers SchoolNet conferences are known for including International speakers and we were thrilled to have four superb speakers who added their perspectives to those of our wonderful local presenters from around South Africa. We were especially thrilled to have our Deputy Minister of Education, Enver Surty, open the Conference. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCDkIs5vsORCmYRaSNZy1kreHNQbM4vocVTwvFoffESgwWumV8X98h_JLfXzXLQ1jWt0YJNYXQPaTBFJiGvsvvl-qNFS1MDIigqxvVFuVzJLNrYhxKgkZOhs3xaxwP0ZsmITVA_UNeS50/s1600-h/image5.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPmSKl08F0Y8Yau2dB4rhowokTfcuyXuSQrBDjsAVsce6tU2d_cpr-gfWIB5UWkbBK1yiqn61fJGYrqG_c3MpDQpwVcKDLdd-nWeZ51RGXkMSKnAHDkDiLiOQpuultRMIWx5FXQv2Iwts/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="182" /></a>Naomi Harm has been an invited keynote speaker at several of our SchoolNet Conferences over the years and she always gives us so much to think about and take away.  She presented tirelessly throughout the Conference with her various presentations and the closing keynote in which she summed up the Conference with her 'Top 10 Learning Tips'. Naomi’s presentations included: <ul style="text-align: left;"><li>So You Want to Hangout In My Community?|</li><li>What Would You Like to Create Today? iPad Literacy Center “Apptivities"</li><li>Intel Elements: Blended Learning</li><li>Visualize Your Thinking and Learning - Visual Ranking App</li><li>Closing Keynote ‘10 top learning tips’</li></ul> You can read Naomi’s conference reflections on the conference on her great blog <a href="http://goo.gl/jv2ZV">http://goo.gl/jv2ZV</a> She provides links to all her presentations on her blog.  <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI86dwMmgZJorzSEVZbuo812pVKyOIgnXzatCoiUdZ4jybR6T4_90qOeCkdprHyuohtE3USEH-RvB3d8UY60f-XLCUmaMJ5U2VE8pHY150xCd82zQYkEbPl85v_vOIP-9-OGv5vEQ3zDY/?imgmax=800" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI86dwMmgZJorzSEVZbuo812pVKyOIgnXzatCoiUdZ4jybR6T4_90qOeCkdprHyuohtE3USEH-RvB3d8UY60f-XLCUmaMJ5U2VE8pHY150xCd82zQYkEbPl85v_vOIP-9-OGv5vEQ3zDY/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: inline; margin-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /></a>Baldev Singh from <a href="http://www.imagineeducation.net/">Imagine Education</a> in the UK was our opening keynote speaker. Baldev presented his keynote on "Trends in Technology and Implications for Learning, Teaching and Developing the International Dimension in Schools."   One of Baldev’s quotes was constantly tweeted throughout the conference ‘Technology might be the answer but what was the question?’ Baldev’s workshop sessions in the following two days included: <ul><li>21st Century Learning Design Through a Technology Lens </li><li>Create System-wide Change. Build Innovative Schools </li><li>TeachMeet</li></ul> Frédéric Kastner and Malik Wilson are from The Virtual School in the UK. They presented <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdSWznmb8y4dazFtBdN8FQfvuaG6WI2O95HSfC7rYdaQp97GuXxibKwdBIAASkKQGMYiL6zq-3ff-dhkIiOWQrjvYMOBRH1kgJzDf4ufs7CRicKtZxWD-ia2qFL4sVgE2364AOFPgFLEg/s1600-h/clip_image0023.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="clip_image002" border="0" height="197" hspace="12" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2FhGN-k7IOWlPr9LpX8suldhtyOLZEbPe5TQFd6tnZ-gsnIiUZ-7vbTc62ruP3uOfZPf-LABSDyNXfCnInU21lNmGae7bvj78y8SltpzI5xdvmpa47JiU0O8zzgahhF97exqGSe8ufJg/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="clip_image002" width="240" /></a>a keynote entitled ‘Open Educational Resource Movement –Inspiring your Teaching and Sharing with Teachers around the world’. During the conference they provided sessions of hands-on movie-making projects through digital video productions and screen casting opportunities with free online and offline resources. Teachers were very eager to participate in these content creation technology sessions and one couldn’t easily get a seat in their sessions. Their sessions included: <ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Finding and using OER in and around the classroom. </li><li>Enabling teachers to create their own Multimedia Lessons</li></ul>Frédéric has published an article for those who missed his presentation on his <a href="http://thevirtualschool.wordpress.com/2013/07/10/schoolnet-south-africa-ict-in-the-classroom-conference-for-all-those-who-missed-our-talk/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">blog.</a> You can also view their various videos on their Virtual School YouTube playlist: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/virtualschooluk" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://www.youtube.com/user/virtualschooluk</a> Apart from our keynote speakers we had inspiring local presenters of high calibre leading different sessions. We are very grateful for their input. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTbqnQtjXOF8X_Gid37t29CFvVNsIgwt4BKIgVdFYzeksxBASK5XKg6vBLyPNCYyhFsrzjy6cqgCMhZk3ejgG47DGGJuiZpLwor5Co6R04QhSxE67MaTBICCeZ2ScfJ153Lpzk85gLRLE/s1600-h/image%25255B3%25255D.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIVASsTmr6gzQ0b-Yy5yA9uuAXJ_q-Q5w-X6XVrlQvl5pk8XzPadqNEY2I7Nc3SayLhQ3-89btY-TqW2VNHqQJhr__2vUuDZQEUjV8deenqtqLl4wgOEHXscSTzyviqqFzE1MlDcIAoko/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /></a>Social networking It is amazing how social media can bind a conference together. Maggie Verster  did a sterling job of introducing teachers to Twitter and keeping the social media alive and well. We have captured the tweet archIves from the three days of the Conference using Storify: Day1: <a href="http://goo.gl/QPaJY">http://goo.gl/QPaJY</a> Day 2: <a href="http://goo.gl/sWXmG" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://goo.gl/sWXmG</a> Day 3: <a href="http://goo.gl/qN3Wj">http://goo.gl/qN3Wj</a> Our <a href="http://schoolnetsa13.blogspot.com/">Conference blog</a> is being updated with all the presentations that have been received to date. These presentations have also been shared via Dropbox plus they also appear on the SchoolNet website under Conference (<a href="http://schoolnet.org.za/conference_2013/">http://schoolnet.org.za/conference_2013/</a>). Photos can be found on the SchoolNet website <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/114485521154323474375">https://picasaweb.google.com/114485521154323474375</a>. Reflections It was according to all accounts a very successful and exciting conference. Here are some of the reflections via blogs or PDFs. (Please let us know if you have written a reflection on your blog) <ul><li><a href="mailto:PDFs.@MaryFaragher">@MaryFaragher</a> 's reflection on the <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Schoolnetsa&src=hash">#Schoolnetsa</a> conference  "The last three days I have been at a conference for “innovative teachers” in Bloem and it has been amazing! From the breadcrumb navigation to presentations of the latest technology, to the active workshops that formed the bulk of the programme, it has been an eye-opening journey."<a href="http://t.co/1TBoceYZiz">http://bit.ly/13o38uA </a></li><li>@nharm reflection on our #schoolnetsa conference. It also has all her resources!! <a href="http://goo.gl/jv2ZV">http://goo.gl/jv2ZV</a> </li><li><a href="https://docs.google.com/file/d/1v7zeChaYe_6e_RAG84SfHQjIRjy5XasW9g3E611Xn236Sw0mOpHZI2S5v1Md/edit?usp=sharing">Bongani Ncube</a> from Ilanga Secondary School, Emalahleni, has sent in a reflection. </li><li>Frédéric Kastner has a reflection on his Virtual School <a href="http://thevirtualschool.wordpress.com/2013/07/10/schoolnet-south-africa-ict-in-the-classroom-conference-for-all-those-who-missed-our-talk/">blog</a></li><li>Kobus van Wyk also writes about the SchoolNet Conference <a href="http://goo.gl/X50Jx" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; cursor: pointer; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://goo.gl/X50Jx</a></li></ul> Three essential points Once again we realise three essential points that emerge after attending a national technology in education conference: 1) We not alone. Everyone starts as a beginner and everyone can move forward and use technology where it matters most; no-one knows everything and everyone learns from others. 2) We share a worldwide vision for improving our education system and embracing technology to enhance it and do things we couldn't do before including technology. Attending a conference often shows new ways of engaging in and using technology to develop student skills at one’s own school. 3) A personal learning network is important. A conference introduces us to others who we can now add to our PLN. Joining Twitter links us to a means of gathering a powerful learning network around us whenever we need them. We hope that you will include @SchoolNetSA as one of your free professional development organisations in this personal learning network. Recommendations As we all know, not every teacher at our schools feels as enthusiastic as we do about the value of using technology to improve student learning and engagement. So, as you return to your day to day environment we encourage you to chat and share in the corridors, discuss over lunch, and offer ideas for the possibilities for learning that technology can bring.  Use your energy and renewed enthusiasm to build and develop relationships with your various teams, teachers and students to slowly help all to see that connections and learning through and with technology are important in education. If you were at the conference we have sent you a link to an evaluation form. Please fill it in so that we can make our next conference even better. </div>

conferences SchoolNet Conference 2013 - Powerful Professional Development For Sure!

Are you all ‘teched-out’ (a new Conference phrase we heard bandied about) after attending the SchoolNet2013 ICT in the Classroom Conference...

Calling for presenters at the Google Summit in Cape Town – a great incentive involved!

12:30 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYEwT4ptoITS9gQ7m0DZIwnESjVCvHE1t7DmEHIw31NaVrwr_28zDCp51F2ODcZtfSwk5AxB1V9edsfHfREt6nJW0csggMNsbK4uMN9LaN-ka6kxcR9r5Mh2Z9Sfk9VVG6Ol1MUFvkYOs/s1600-h/image%25255B6%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="116" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ5v7et_K1iPbj3K0VnxHEWAvrPqN8KLIwaW5GWCJwXJ3UuOSxWiYYLEzZIg6uGz5jGtyJPXIjVjSRe2sEn_AwXLI55rRlnt9ppXCS1qpAzIMnCiltyWoLr1egWZntHr4eDIfeGfrIORQ/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8WbsHwGrxo-aJ0VPNSKfzwoPjM8563qA9KdGjbmI5DdVgZJNVidaPlvzBmehl35idtJKlV3dbd2HwiPe1qlHMQKdxYX8a8_e9LkN1ARRadRu0XGdfWDMVoP5AGXr3pHTUH4k8o155aYc/s1600-h/image%25255B2%25255D.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia8JHoqUCzrRp_P9yz4-ATwehQKnein72INLaYVc_QmqYRbUqDNUZMCLEAcwx6F8ElMQlHXTspszfjwUGpQyK3yFWo8sICUSV07kZc1ccIGYlQF_yPcEuaJDbisDcA4DvSLauYOgecHJA/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /></a></div> Greetings from the South Africa Google in Education planning committee. Recently, we announced the first annual Google in Education South Africa Summit to be hosted by <a href="http://www.schoolnet.org.za/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">SchoolNet South Africa</a> and <a href="http://www.parklands.co.za/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Parklands College</a>  on Sep. 26th and 27th, 2013.  Registration is now open! We’re especially excited to announce William Florance from Google to keynote our event. Here is a link to the event website with all of the information: <a href="http://za.gafesummit.com/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">za.gafesummit.com</a> Request for presenters We are hoping that you would be interested in presenting at the Google Apps Summit. If you are interested, please take a look at a few of the session titles listed below (differentiated in levels of expertise) and fill out <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1QK_p-pCgX4Zu6BplOmMeA_47TJO-J4G_j0TCVzbn49s/viewform">this form</a> sharing your interest in presenting.  Each of the sessions will be one hour in length and should engage the participants as much as you can. We encourage our participants to bring a device to engage with the topics and presentations. We will provide you with a projector and a screen, however you need to bring your own laptop for your presentation. Participants will also have WiFi to follow along with your presentation. Please fill out this Request with the title and description of your session. It will also ask for some biography information. <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1QK_p-pCgX4Zu6BplOmMeA_47TJO-J4G_j0TCVzbn49s/viewform">Request for Presenters</a> You do not have to stick to a title of ideas from the list below, it is just a list of suggested topics.  If you have another session that you would be interested in sharing that is not on the list, please feel free to add your own presentation and description.  We will have a lot of sessions throughout the two day conference so feel free to fill out the form more than once if you would be willing to share more than one presentation. If you know of anyone else that would be a great presenter at the Summit, please forward this email on to them. Please submit your presentation proposals by August 1st.  We will be in touch with you shortly after to let you know more about the schedule for your presentation(s).   Compensation to presenters For compensation, you will receive a complimentary registration to the two-day conference (a R2000+ value) and be able to work closely with this amazing group of Googlers and presenters.  We sincerely hope that you will accept the invitation to present to make this a successful professional development event for all. If you have any questions, please let us know. Please forward this email on to others you think might be interested in presenting at the Summit. Ideas for presentations As mentioned, these are just ideas. If you have something else relating to Google that you would like to present please submit your idea with your application.    Strands Technical Beginner- Getting Going with Google Intermediate- Gear Up with Google Apps Advanced- Getting Geeky with Google Administrators Higher Ed   Technical Strands Technical Deployment of Google Apps for Education Google Apps for Education Dashboard Security, Archiving and Managing Google Apps for Education The Guide to Going Google- Deploying Google Apps at your School Beginner- Sessions will be labeled “Getting Going” Getting Going with Google Apps for Education Overview Getting Going with Google Earth Getting Going with Google Chrome Getting Going with YouTube for Schools Getting Going with Student use of Google Apps for Education The Guide to Going Google- Deploying Google Apps at your School Intermediate- Sessions will be labeled “Gearing Up” Gearing Up with Google Forms and Scripts Gearing Up: Creating a Personalized Google Map Gearing Up: Building tours with Google Earth Gearing Up: Even More- Picasa, Blogger, Reader and Voice Gearing Up: Chromebook Classroom Gearing Up: Google Voice in the Classroom Gearing Up: Google Apps for Administrators Gearing Up with Advanced Google Search Gearing Up: Change Management with Google Apps for Education Gearing Up: Getting Creative with Picasa and other photo editing apps Advanced- Sessions will be labeled “Getting Geeky: Getting Geeky with Google Lit Trips & Google Earth Getting Geeky: Becoming a Chrome Ninja Getting Geeky with Google Apps Scripts Getting Geeky with Google Forms and Scripts Getting Geeky with Google Spreadsheet Magic Getting Geeky with Fusion Tables See you there! Early bird rates for applications apply till the end of July.</div>

conferences google Google summit Calling for presenters at the Google Summit in Cape Town – a great incentive involved!

Greetings from the South Africa Google in Education planning committee. Recently, we announced the first annual Google in Education South ...

The Google Summit hosted by SchoolNet and Parklands is coming up soon. Have you registered?

2:16 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> SchoolNet is thrilled to be hosting the Google Summit in Cape Town on 26th and 27th of September 2013. These summits are held all over the world very successfully by the Ed Tech Team from the USA, but this is a first for Africa. The summit aims at K-12 teachers and Higher Education. You can read more and find out how to register on the website created especially for the event. <a href="http://za.gafesummit.com/">http://za.gafesummit.com</a>. The team will be bringing out a grand array of speakers as well as some Google engineers – but they are also looking for local presenters. Our next blog post will focus on this. The flier below can be downloaded <a href="https://www.box.com/s/50xzxwrt4d6rm4fhuc0t" target="_blank">here</a> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYAaNI3mVimzC5vF-mLcEO1YoogmIm5E9mJ8dMyUPEYyJw2Gx4sbkPBTziYtabdJb7-gwfgzWGmp4J_OflMHEjbhU3bcHk_bHoi5UkG1C5mPlAGtOd5dy6-Dbs3BgKrd6Ckpw_VXyMoKk/s1600-h/image%25255B3%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="624" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb5_aBGiOgeYSNZJ2hRUOEfY54Q_bEsRQPYysRwMjFeypVnL0djQgSuyhV2-fPjCxVESSHUrl3Lk0eGDdLRY5Z46ZgwOUSntzw5zQj0ZvYPY2Bn7UZKq3SbwthE6d1lSCDa0w1dJBVkIQ/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="475" /></a></div></div>

conferences google The Google Summit hosted by SchoolNet and Parklands is coming up soon. Have you registered?

SchoolNet is thrilled to be hosting the Google Summit in Cape Town on 26th and 27th of September 2013. These summits are held all over the w...

Have you booked for the Inspired Teachers’ Conference in Johannesburg on 31st May?

1:36 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFB3r46Q0YnD9OsFU_3Tl6K6m0aFHaSYHv16l3qiRAi93VeX1Ntzs3sCGtf17a3Ks_Oh-chSn6DhfAj8UsOCVNYj6MP2uM091qHOcdkKYtQaZMZybnh9oS_USFMM_Rho8UtF5nDcPGVZY/s1600-h/image%25255B7%25255D.png"><img alt="image" border="0" height="678" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5EsTLn6pHs6GideyFrbIM9DLJkj4Hv18tzG2vvyW5Imx2Co6q-t97ZhLH-rhYgZtAQ5WhzLxOCXaKs7aYGNqIsU160eiN6cExTaeYNmAn1zagsYQ1fc_gXeDE5ttACveUw6lWs0Uh_Zc/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="546" /></a> Read more and download the brochure <a href="https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B7qOnpaO5hRleG1nbEJtVEswNzg/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">here</a>. </div>

conferences Have you booked for the Inspired Teachers’ Conference in Johannesburg on 31st May?

Read more and download the brochure here .

You don’t want to miss our SchoolNet conference early bird registration fee – three international speakers

3:04 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">SchoolNet is very excited about their upcoming Conference in Bloemfontein 2-4 July 2013. We invite you to register and also submit a proposal for a presentation  on our SchoolNet website Conference page <a href="http://schoolnet.org.za/conference_2013/">http://schoolnet.org.za/conference_2013/</a> Our early bird reduced registration fee ends at the end of April (tomorrow at midnight) so there’s a need to hurry and register! (Thank you very much to those who have already registered and submitted a presentation proposal).  We are delighted to introduce to you our three invited international speakers: Baldev Singh <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXt9Zz4KRhk-N7Ke0j64C3WP0eXnAXHxxtttK3kWR8-TXBhn2e4dF8Sql-Y9QIyiy2P3OaF9CmT3DxmuiUgX8WEYgrSYG2xga5ixjCmuXE1xYRok-H-fQR4ahQRU0fQQf-UNct2D94y5o/s1600-h/image%25255B2%25255D.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6ANSaFo1c86kRAZ9nKZudlNlUmzNFpYe12JuV7BpIWB6N2S2OajwhCkqes9WVUl5WwN7s0lvPEhh87uPFkTjTGWLo_pUr24JZFU_kKTwlecuFuu1hYwad0TCiU6Mvbpo36CVPyhL6mBw/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="197" /></a><a href="http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/baldev-singh/3/a17/756" target="_blank">Baldev Singh</a> is from Bristol in the UK. He is the Director for Imagine Education and he will be speaking about trends in technology and their impact in the classroom, connecting classrooms and also 21st Century Learning Design through a Technology Lens. (<a href="http://www.imagineeducation.net/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://www.imagineeducation.net/</a>)  Baldev along with Adrian Blight has started a Hot topic on the Partners in Learning Network on <a href="http://www.pil-network.com/HotTopics/buildingteachercapacity" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Building Teacher Capacity</a> if you would like to contribute to the conversation.The Imagine Education ‘Connected Learning’ blog can be viewed at <a href="http://www.imagineeducation.net/whatshappening/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://www.imagineeducation.net/whatshappening/</a>.  Naomi Harm <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvgGkc_bJfXeK_dYTuC3L-Lzo7_h4Yvp3m3ES9a6E91OKmqlhp1IQQYfL0O7C-qV6PfDLkPktfcTjdXatqarHo6TfKVpR4sw39ZpJoFLsfbCgr9zSVeGJqFbe5cG6kVDD7_V451VNsBiI/s1600-h/image%25255B5%25255D.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdWr1nYiCS033c9LqLzytqmn76T-jv9skDJ0kyqkO4vgMh06Vi3INZIZULCqUabkrVQ1m0ma6-alAoWHaZ-jqjgXUN3bUyC0cQzzbEO0P4d6LmVwq8znVEA02qNG44vPD-FClfSY_w2M8/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="200" /></a><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/naomiharm" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Naomi Harm</a> is from Minnesota, USA. She is a well-known education consultant who will be speaking about Global Classroom Collaboration, Learning with Tablets and Designing blended learning for the classroom. Her blog can be viewed at <a href="http://blog.innovativeeducator.us/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://blog.innovativeeducator.us/</a> Naomi is very active in social networking and has presented a number of very interesting <a href="http://community.simplek12.com/scripts/student/webinars/browse.asp?member=Naomi%20Harm" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">webinars</a> for Simple K (see the on-demand section). She also runs the new weekly online Intel Teachers Engage radio talk show titled <a href="http://engage.intel.com/thread/11669" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Digital Buzz Radio Talk Show. </a> Naomi says about this talk show "I will be broadcasting live and offering prerecorded shows from our recording studio out of Brownsville, MN. A very special thank you to our show’s sponsor of Intel Teachers Engage, an online community for educators dedicated to transforming the K-12 classroom teaching and learning environment!  You can find Intel Teachers Engage online at <a class="" href="http://engage.intel.com//////" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #0570b8; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">http://engage.intel.com</a>."  Frederick Kastner <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBcenUGszuX06YoXawBC39dORQY60JZWZkwcpklvsL_WK2s5f7u162T9pv5Z9r3nmNtxDf82fjL2K0VeF2oJRIAKUTAdW5t22J2-nxyspH_b5rV-AnEyVf8Omii8d3RsEDD4VpR57-2Ao/?imgmax=800" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBcenUGszuX06YoXawBC39dORQY60JZWZkwcpklvsL_WK2s5f7u162T9pv5Z9r3nmNtxDf82fjL2K0VeF2oJRIAKUTAdW5t22J2-nxyspH_b5rV-AnEyVf8Omii8d3RsEDD4VpR57-2Ao/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="200" /></a><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/frederickastner">Frédéric Kastner</a> is from from London, UK. He is the programme manager at The Virtual School and will be speaking on how teachers can make their own educational videos;  he'll also give a global view of what is happening in the world of digital subject content. The Virtual School aims to provide access to comprehensive world-class education, free of charge, around the world. The <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/virtualschooluk" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Virtual School videos</a> can be accessed on YouTube. Their blog can be viewed at <a href="http://thevirtualschool.wordpress.com/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://thevirtualschool.wordpress.com</a>.   <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9ETw_nn2We-jde1TeDqzTSOy8cKGBPWYMutLqf38fnaoQ8jaATVbz6gN9PQSJUtuTbZpOeExFY4GpnvbKYJkIa3dct-W0Ei9gFrto-v4uIC_FPazaA5evY5F1tyKlI0eJI09gQVqLQmo/s1600-h/image%25255B8%25255D.png"></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSukHsu4s4kAA_qNJJz-CHkrUF9Na1gfVeoWkjHBxfM0iLT42zke8xl5Qx3-S9aZ57Dxff6WoaQ4-7jUL1vA4Eq_m4lfCfahcgrxhkmUSHXSlibII99JWaJ5g25HZXB7cAUNaSJBJ5dcM/s1600-h/image%25255B11%25255D.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEqa9JmYUkIOAigZJGuKYWItOT8n7nvzxk96EPtnutW4QNrnjfmtNUjCSOJi5lw_Z64Xar6gUsUhxGLAOHnTZYD4TTxvmKsYXrSIoXAACu1UrkwdaDcdiNFpFgAPHxuC3DkTQAorlpSJ8/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="148" /></a> The Opening Address This will be given by the Deputy Minister of Education, Mr Enver Surty who is very well-known to South African educators. <div style="display: inline !important;">Themes Local educators can also submit a presentation on one of the following Themes</div>  <ul><li>Connecting classrooms - learning activities that use technology to connect classrooms beyond the school's boundaries. </li><li>Learning with tablets - learning activities that are unique to the use of tablets in and beyond the classroom. </li><li>Learning with mobile phones - learning activities that are unique to the use of mobile phones in and beyond the classroom. </li><li>Innovative teaching - any teaching with technology that you feel is innovative, especially if you have entered the Microsoft Innovative Education Forum now and in the past, but not reserved for that group of teachers. </li><li>ICT leadership in the school - ways in which you have shown successful leadership of ICT integration activities in your school generally. </li><li>Curriculum delivery through digital content - how the inclusion of digital content in the curriculum has enhanced your teaching and student learning.</li><li>Technologies for the Foundation Phase - ways in which technology is used successfully in the Foundation Phase. </li></ul><div>Partners in Learning Forum recognising Innovative teachers in South Africa  The finals of this fantastic competition recognising Microsoft Expert Educators in South Africa will be held at the Conference - you will get to view them presenting winning learning activities. Why not considering entering the Forum? More information is available<a href="http://e-blogschool.blogspot.com/2013/04/entries-for-microsofts-partners-in.html" target="_blank"> here</a>. </div> Register today and get our early bird registration fee - closes tomorrow As you can see this has the potential of an amazing conference! So please get your early bird registration completed before the end of April (reminder - Tuesday midnight!). The URL again: <a href="http://schoolnet.org.za/conference_2013/">http://schoolnet.org.za/conference_2013/</a></div>

conferences You don’t want to miss our SchoolNet conference early bird registration fee – three international speakers

SchoolNet is very excited about their upcoming Conference in Bloemfontein 2-4 July 2013. We invite you to register and also submit a proposa...

Our SchoolNet 'ICT in the Classroom' three-day conference is happening in July. Register now!

12:49 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-nV9LsCW2rinUGgaLJDgEGedvWx9iptWRGuyg8_WpglT6MMM353M2h_qBRod1n1B-1oQ8vJO5Ozz36uyS5ZGdKnVInn9IbWtWZ1SYzJ3m4-8TTYR9Lf00Pc3rSZz_vFOWMIRMQMhHCIA/s1600-h/image%25255B6%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6IU13U9qoqEOcW1H9GCRUs0Ew8NUj2FXnkDNmBOi_Y9Et7H9r4DgTVlTOzdoCKXSYY0UtX6AXaFettc__qYy2SFFG8BBEysSwko_rLLF_pnltH-qwz-B1Fh9kUX1lkM0RghBvYrhokUo/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="400" /></a></div> If you are excited about using technology to enhance teaching and learning - register for this conference or offer to share your knowledge as a speaker. This conference is aimed at teachers, school leaders and ICT coordinators who want to learn more about using technology in engaging ways in and beyond the classroom. When: Tuesday 2 July - Thursday 4 July 2013 Where: University of the Free State - Bloemfontein, South Africa Conference Themes: <ul><li>Curriculum delivery through digital content </li><li>Learning with tablets </li><li>Learning with mobile phones </li><li>Connecting classrooms </li><li>Innovative teaching </li><li>ICT leadership in the school</li></ul>Fees: <ul><li>R750 if you register on or before 30 April 2013 </li><li>R850 if you register after 30 April 2013  </li><li>R375 if you are selected to speak for a half hour session </li><li> Free (for you or one person in your group) if you are selected to speak for a one or two hour session </li></ul> Share your knowledge: If you would like to share your knowledge with other teachers, please submit a speaker proposal by clicking on the link below. If you are submitting a presenter proposal, please don't register for the conference yet. We will let you know a month before the conference if your presentation has been accepted and you can register then. Speakers and those who submitted proposals before 30 April are guaranteed a place at the conference and will be eligible for the discounted conference fee. <div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001rAYLbTxAakBrQ_EVNGpVZgbvOFG5YvMbBdXmKv20WpNZxf-fecuPffLysoRqFyOYx_f5B_H6KlBeCl5J0_L7qdIgm-a_zvv7lMdigCQOsL6eCN5FY9q7wAJEOwBFuiji73c0ofkL-KM=">Get more information</a> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001rAYLbTxAakBolkT_2c8T-z5wQjvBUdKkPUrD8Dttj9wq-kQw1a0EHaQO9_YEsch692ZAnS8L79sx4sZecWN87gT7MYdAvxDtUN7osWJj315fb03Gkd5vOlMA1L62rbKyRIxXX-cpQZu9aQdmMrwMyttXf_izlXPm3Q2U4QpPaPVlmlmyF1RG84k9kiO5YiRKdeo58T8PGD9GNcYergdLmr3ufqKSL_uv">Register Now!</a> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001rAYLbTxAakAsad52M7wBatuGpkoegqOP8zKRLxI2JO_dyrNX4kxTUPOrND973Z1I9ZgRNAObx8GmzctV1JCa8dAGIzBJERNNZ0SRxjdmBiByDZEYxW-Z6uUPynWjb3e2giAGYlOQlrvdsoAgY3okY0OcepeJnmDOpR-bQmtCn8ZKRVVKYfpWHphOw0g3q9njeTTVCa28yKU=">Submit a speaker proposal to share your knowledge</a> </div> We hope to see you in Bloemfontein from 2 - 4 July 2013 - ready to learn about exciting new ways to integrate technology into your classroom and perhaps to share some of your own ways of enhancing teaching and learning using ICT. Please also see our SchoolNet website for these details <a href="http://www.schoolnet.org.za/">http://www.schoolnet.org.za/</a> </div>

conferences Our SchoolNet 'ICT in the Classroom' three-day conference is happening in July. Register now!

If you are excited about using technology to enhance teaching and learning - register for this conference or offer to share your knowledge a...

Calling SA teachers – join SchoolNet at the Intel Teach One Day Conference 13 April in Pietermaritzburg

11:35 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> SchoolNet proudly presents a One Day Intel Teach Conference on Saturday April 13th at Maritzburg College,  Pietermaritzburg. If you would like to download and print this brochure, please click on the following attachment link.  <a href="https://www.box.com/s/6q2z2w6aogm2gtqerve7" target="_blank">Intel Teach One Day Conference in Pietermaritzburg 13 April 2013</a> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9IzUH4SZp2epZRCWPbSkI8Ek5d_Dn5QVrZzI2WK09PQCKR1gbJdb_C5qoyjPpxQ9fIGtuSVEfO4LGWrVf_WOSM0ddcBuGG34EVBK_x9FkxThrS3rMg8NLyqC1COoL8sFwkY_6kvOc-CQ/s1600-h/image%25255B5%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="537" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTSUL1dkHsLXJppALLTHH3QHBuan161GtimmipUTmVJizrROJlqu_hyphenhyphenZP2jo_OAVVJsNbiGoqFuSZeEz2rA_2KIO-w216CqwQGw6v44Zt8a_ouL-iLfv23Er8dM3DZaztSrj_Sc4LZSh0/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="373" /></a></div> Note: You might be asking if this is the main SchoolNet Conference this year? No, we will be informing you about our 3-day conference in the first week of July in Bloemfontein in due course as indicated at the bottom of the brochure. </div>

conferences Intel Calling SA teachers – join SchoolNet at the Intel Teach One Day Conference 13 April in Pietermaritzburg

SchoolNet proudly presents a One Day Intel Teach Conference on Saturday April 13th at Maritzburg College, Pietermaritzburg. If you would li...

The Global Education Online Conference is well underway

12:17 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxlkHzfRXG5ZwZMPoxAwvNGANeajm2ugKlEV-nsaAubjFEuAQco6zrK0n0ePwTRODyYdTB4zOa6osmaA-vUj3Dj44MRtbysY3iRSbopAyGyAq8YMsyX3YsLwCbDVO6PuKeu4UBZJdEh3g/s1600-h/image%25255B2%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="80" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivBiW9tAwTXLA7cKG3WKMlMjqaDX-ZNqLVGAA5G0OVaLuhNqsIu0znl45AklIJre32BEQKX6EbXjp1E4x6CT4uzKHmWGaqVP2aFn98E3VYZxFL4YBg1Kj9hbdQ1KFo9bfn98TgY7I6RvQ/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="400" /></a></div> This is just an update from Lucy Gray on the amazing, online global conference that is currently taking place. “My co-chair, Steve Hargadon, and I would like to extend a warm welcome to new members of our online global education community. Nearly 1000 people have joined in the last day, and we're astounded by the response to our online and free conference. I predicted that we'd reach 15,000 members by the end of this year; I think we're going to be over that number by the end of the week! I'm most impressed, however, by the sheer professionalism and generosity of spirit shared by participants, presenters, and volunteers so far It's lovely to watch the conversations that are going on in our community. At any rate. this is a mid-conference update that may help everyone get oriented to live events going on this week. Please read this memo carefully! UPCOMING KEYNOTES We've been privileged to hear from a slew of global thought leaders thus far, and more experts will be joining us in the second half of the conference. Please check out their biographies and schedules here: <a href="http://www.globaleducationconference.com/page/2012-keynotes">http://www.globaleducationconference.com/page/2012-keynotes</a>. RECORDINGS Don't worry if you missed a session. All are recorded and will be available shortly after their conclusions: <a href="http://www.globaleducationconference.com/page/2012-global-education-conference-recording-links-and-information">http://www.globaleducationconference.com/page/2012-global-education-conference-recording-links-and-information</a> PRESENTERS INFORMATION We asked all presenters to join our 2012 Presenters Group (<a href="http://www.globaleducationconference.com/group/2012-presenters-group">http://www.globaleducationconference.com/group/2012-presenters-group</a> upon proposal acceptance. This is essential because we communicate conference updates to presenters in this community subgroup. You will find tips for promoting your session, a speaker's checklist, and your presenter (moderator) links to your Blackboard Collaborate rooms. Remember, there are public links for participants found in sessions and schedule page, and private links with moderator privileges for presenters only. Please make sure you've viewed training videos ahead of your time and practiced a bit. If you want more information on this, visit our training page: <a href="http://www.globaleducationconference.com/page/training">http://www.globaleducationconference.com/page/training</a>. We have people staffing our conference lounge, too, in case you need assistance: <a href="http://goo.gl/1AnnL">http://goo.gl/1AnnL</a>. JOINING CONFERENCE SESSIONS Our free, online conference started Monday, November 12 and runs around the clock for five days. All sessions take place in Blackboard Collaborate webinar rooms linked from our web site. No registration is required but we do encourage you to join this network for email updates and to connect with presenters and participants. To participate in live webinar sessions: STEP 1: Go to the <a href="http://www.globaleducationconference.com/page/2012-sessions-and-schedule">SESSIONS AND SCHEDULE PAGE</a>. STEP 2:Select your time zone and click on its corresponding blue link to the left of the locations listed. STEP 3:The conference schedule should load on this page and you should be able to see all sessions in YOUR time zone. To quickly locate a session, search the page by using Control+F (Command+F on a Mac). TIP: The schedule is in a Google Calendar. You can add events to your calendar or subscribe to the entire calendar by clicking on the button in the lower righthand corner. STEP 4: Open up a session calendar entry and click on a blue SESSION link. STEP 5: You should arrive at a purple Blackboard Collaborate page. Enter your name and login. Blackboard Collaborate will take a bit of time to launch. You will see the Blackboard Collaborate environment shortly. Note that you may have to download a small java applet to run Blackboard Collaborate. We can provide some help in our conference lounge: <a href="http://goo.gl/1AnnL">http://goo.gl/1AnnL</a>. More technical support is available here: <a href="http://www.blackboard.com/Platforms/Collaborate/Support/Support-for-Blackboard-Collaborate.aspx">http://www.blackboard.com/Platforms/Collaborate/Support/Support-for-Blackboard-Collaborate.aspx</a> If you want more basic information and links to suggested sessions, please download our conference guide: <a href="http://api.ning.com/files/2cERrRylB3Iit4vYB1L-0CPdr9l1v6VOuUwj3pepVyamh7ZX6A0mrayqAbqsWCZ6fyUGl9kzzRd8mHmgtqw4Lw__/2012GECGuide.pdf">2012GECGuide.pdf</a> Thanks again for your support, and hopefully we'll see you online soon.” Lucy Gray </div>

conferences The Global Education Online Conference is well underway

This is just an update from Lucy Gray on the amazing, online global conference that is currently taking place. “My co-chair, Steve Hargadon,...

A South African educator heads off to the Google Teacher Academy in New York next month

6:53 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUf6-5UTAu1-dftWN3TsQpIcl9EtNecVlYp6RZu39JOjcjE71F78Kni1fk5YVIY3Dw5B-qi6MQJYp7WbWA0tClBybIKjMUc9ZTSrNURvxdfyCjpZpQV-_eQixqz47aQF1f75q7JsyCZBE/s1600/google.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUf6-5UTAu1-dftWN3TsQpIcl9EtNecVlYp6RZu39JOjcjE71F78Kni1fk5YVIY3Dw5B-qi6MQJYp7WbWA0tClBybIKjMUc9ZTSrNURvxdfyCjpZpQV-_eQixqz47aQF1f75q7JsyCZBE/s320/google.png" width="320" /></a></div>Submitted by Fiona Beal The Google Teacher Academy is not really all that well known in South Africa yet, but in countries like the USA, Britain and Australia, teachers who are interested in integrating the curriculum with technology clamour to attend. Just as Microsoft has its popular products and free tools, Google provides very useful programs such as Blogger blogs, Google Forms, Google Chrome with its huge selection of extensions designed to make browsing a dream, and Google Reader as a place to read all the blogs you follow - to name but a few. So recently, when Google announced their next Teacher Academy in New York I decided to apply so as to find out more about Google. To my delight my application was one of the 50 that were successful!  Since then I have started learning more about Google! For example I hadn’t really got to grips with Google +, but as soon as we were accepted we were joined to a Google + circle to communicate privately with one another (as well as on the Twitter hashtag #GTANY which is more public).  The next exciting thing is that we were put into groups of 6 with a leader.  Our group leader is Lisa Thumann. The leaders also present sessions at the Academy. Lisa is from Kean University and judging by this photo in Google + she is quite entertaining. She told us that there had been 567 applications for this upcoming Academy. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtLDrUIlHy6QpSx2Q3HbGtxNMgMf-4bchjSOYBQBlcofQGjz-vt7xNOSw-0kqjSvkc_2_D8w57aGxHkjGJg9pKEtIQi6IPsVIxznXeYqATGUQEyCxXWjMnxsHW-o_bEED8ozCuM5yMEl4/s1600-h/image%25255B17%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl6ASqQ9zn4PwX41qxleaB4ipgHyMKJQlH9IJ7kXvvz6zQ9rbUQ8ycr7pVdPwxaNaXC8ZWZRtRj-NZwvVhPioODFyLU8NeGwa7o6LH5bsZEGEyFnzD3AZmY5OfH7B6q0r4UuhEo7B7jxA/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-color: -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="318" /></a></div> Another Google application I have recently been introduced to is a Google hangout! The seven of us had a hangout last week to get to know one other before the event and I can see that this is an amazing free future tool to use. 10 people at a time can participate in a video hangout.  <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQBh5RCH1MZvU7vmISn_EZUPxVzXW6nmhqhJ4bLxtwNsLegpLyf5xsLWwbbAYVGlzBLTGyhqC7HP3DExXKBe5l38DqPRhyphenhyphenUlvd3Bg03XH47t4-QAwY2UXeWB40Gbbeeoq8PEQiQYH-QXk/s1600-h/image%25255B21%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="97" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx1KkQoN1-MgksB921ltlikBMb5jZaROD2wlAXtLkvbNrbX0cMl-fGxZb6QsgZAax8XP26i3waHLU1y1_CGltpUMdWq_QmTTaPdNuUeYTEbw4zdf_21QttHOdaeD2K6rGi4AxTh_IvYJo/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-color: -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="320" /></a></div> At the hangout Lisa took a snapshot whilst one of the group was sharing information so here it is (thank goodness I wasn’t speaking at the time…) <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1h-aq06Ov3Wmx-vRiaJLXGm4dHnvrstrrgK1NT4VXO0OYWzCd1IX3dE-rNNbVDM7Pl_GBNHMJ661x3iDB6_OPg4lTc5BvOAE7r84takujz63GqaL38Qrbi67s3pdkVpr9zr0yXPG_HbU/s1600-h/image%25255B26%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNcdhxM0bqpmppoxRFWysE8YIaO4ArjEuFUAO4s0oHmVVTl_Av0OJTP4SfvKeXVqoIMa0wcCPHGLtpRtExhyphenhypheneXbf4vKJX43Jf_4OPuK5sVE5H_rygxSI4RO9fiPASVvyliQknnfRbNrjc/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-color: -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="320" /></a></div> So once I am back on October 8th I’ll keep you posted in case you would also like to apply for a Google Teacher Academy and experience the rich community and inspiration that accompanies an event like this. Our SchoolNet webmaster has posted a Google press release on our website in case you would like to view it and find out more. <a href="http://www.schoolnet.org.za/">http://www.schoolnet.org.za/</a>. </div></div>

conferences google news A South African educator heads off to the Google Teacher Academy in New York next month

Submitted by Fiona Beal The Google Teacher Academy is not really all that well known in South Africa yet , but in countries like the USA, Br...

Connected Educator Month - Tuesday August 14th schedule

3:41 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Here is today's schedule for Connected Educator's month. The full official and regularly-updated calendar can be found at <a href="http://connectededucators.org/cem.">http://connectededucators.org/cem.</a> Please consider participating in some of these superb wenbinars. Please note that the times are Eastern Daylight Time, so you will need to refer to the Time Zone Converter to work out the times in your region. Don't forget that the times are Eastern Daylight Time, so you will need to refer to the <a href="http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html">Time Zone Converter</a> to work out the times in your region. <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-2O0lV7YnSW7s19xqpUt5Dq-OCd5XZHTB0KUp3fqQumg__ZuE8i-vnd3OAITCJz8up1DLtw-e3Ei1ooQ5jBkZmIT4AQ5YoBpEqM4OuyFSNwVpR7cHhT4oc-om_FOpT5kPAEKZxsIzzVA/s1600/connected+educators.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-2O0lV7YnSW7s19xqpUt5Dq-OCd5XZHTB0KUp3fqQumg__ZuE8i-vnd3OAITCJz8up1DLtw-e3Ei1ooQ5jBkZmIT4AQ5YoBpEqM4OuyFSNwVpR7cHhT4oc-om_FOpT5kPAEKZxsIzzVA/s320/connected+educators.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> <h3> 9:00am</h3><div class="sched-container"><div class="sched-container-inner"><a class="name" href="http://connectededucatorsmonth2012.sched.org/event/ff5916860b8775bc4d0c3d40ea5c54d4?iframe=yes&w=680&sidebar=yes&bg=no" id="ff5916860b8775bc4d0c3d40ea5c54d4">Innov8: Twitter + History = TwHistory </a></div></div><h3>12:00pm</h3><div class="sched-container"><div class="sched-container-inner"><a class="name" href="http://connectededucatorsmonth2012.sched.org/event/e5cb52441e7fe1f1e50085d509ce570a?iframe=yes&w=680&sidebar=yes&bg=no" id="e5cb52441e7fe1f1e50085d509ce570a">Webinar: Peek inside the life of a connected learner </a></div></div><h3> 1:00pm</h3><div class="sched-container"><div class="sched-container-inner"><a class="name" href="http://connectededucatorsmonth2012.sched.org/event/94370a298d80975f170bc3306ef8edc7?iframe=yes&w=680&sidebar=yes&bg=no" id="94370a298d80975f170bc3306ef8edc7">Welcome to the iCollaboratory </a><a class="name" href="http://connectededucatorsmonth2012.sched.org/event/47906a8541d2d17e5010da8706e682f2?iframe=yes&w=680&sidebar=yes&bg=no" id="47906a8541d2d17e5010da8706e682f2">Connected Learning Webinar: Elyse Eidman-Aadahl </a></div></div><h3> 1:30pm</h3><div class="sched-container"><div class="sched-container-inner"><a class="name" href="http://connectededucatorsmonth2012.sched.org/event/dbbd84544733225cd92a9478a833f4e0?iframe=yes&w=680&sidebar=yes&bg=no" id="dbbd84544733225cd92a9478a833f4e0">Taking Classrooms Global </a></div></div><h3> 2:00pm</h3><div class="sched-container"><div class="sched-container-inner"><a class="name" href="http://connectededucatorsmonth2012.sched.org/event/247b0eabd617e3512e257e261e4db4e7?iframe=yes&w=680&sidebar=yes&bg=no" id="247b0eabd617e3512e257e261e4db4e7">#globallit chat with Primary Source </a><a class="name" href="http://connectededucatorsmonth2012.sched.org/event/e9a1a500d91bd519237aed78470f58e6?iframe=yes&w=680&sidebar=yes&bg=no" id="e9a1a500d91bd519237aed78470f58e6">Research-based Technology Implementation: Project RED Webinar </a></div></div><h3> 3:00pm</h3><div class="sched-container"><div class="sched-container-inner"><a class="name" href="http://connectededucatorsmonth2012.sched.org/event/b0cdc1f29b0c5b9dc99fa949ec315cd7?iframe=yes&w=680&sidebar=yes&bg=no" id="b0cdc1f29b0c5b9dc99fa949ec315cd7">ASCD Webinar: Ask Dr Judy -- How can resisting immediate gratification and long-term goal development be developed in students? </a><a class="name" href="http://connectededucatorsmonth2012.sched.org/event/5744911771ec22c5fde4f0cde5c836d8?iframe=yes&w=680&sidebar=yes&bg=no" id="5744911771ec22c5fde4f0cde5c836d8">Blended Learning: What Is It and How Is It Changing Our Schools? </a></div></div><h3> 7:00pm</h3><div class="sched-container"><div class="sched-container-inner"><a class="name" href="http://connectededucatorsmonth2012.sched.org/event/00e580fb790a14e04458f6c258130f4c?iframe=yes&w=680&sidebar=yes&bg=no" id="00e580fb790a14e04458f6c258130f4c">Energizing Math: ideas, resources, and collaboration for K-8 math teachers </a></div></div><h3> 8:00pm</h3><div class="sched-container"><div class="sched-container-inner"><a class="name" href="http://connectededucatorsmonth2012.sched.org/event/ac271a6d38dd02b9e092b8691d7c5429?iframe=yes&w=680&sidebar=yes&bg=no" id="ac271a6d38dd02b9e092b8691d7c5429">Intel® Teach Elements: A Series of 21st Century Short Courses </a></div></div><h3> 9:00pm</h3><div class="sched-container"><div class="sched-container-inner"><a class="name" href="http://connectededucatorsmonth2012.sched.org/event/c64a57192a85a6a4c872a801d529bdca?iframe=yes&w=680&sidebar=yes&bg=no" id="c64a57192a85a6a4c872a801d529bdca">#PBLChat </a> </div></div><h3>12:00am</h3><div class="sched-container"><div class="sched-container-inner"><a class="name" href="http://connectededucatorsmonth2012.sched.org/event/19521a7620b5d922081523c7ccce26cf?iframe=yes&w=680&sidebar=yes&bg=no" id="19521a7620b5d922081523c7ccce26cf">#BBugs (Start) </a><a class="name" href="http://connectededucatorsmonth2012.sched.org/event/23dda77bb44639cc73e0cf4c42d90924?iframe=yes&w=680&sidebar=yes&bg=no" id="23dda77bb44639cc73e0cf4c42d90924">Academic Partnerships Faculty Commons (End) </a></div></div><div class="sched-container-bottom"></div><div class="sched-container-header" id="2012-08-15"><div class="sched-container-dates"> </div></div></div></div>

conferences Connected Educator Month - Tuesday August 14th schedule

Here is today's schedule for Connected Educator's month. The full official and regularly-updated calendar can be found at http://con...

A report back on African Education Week 2012

6:32 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Submitted by Janet Thomson, Executive Director of SchoolNetSA</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">On 2-4 July 2012 I attended Education Week which is one of the the largest education conferences and exhibitions in Africa. It was held at the Sandton Centre in Johannesburg. This post serves to highlight some of the presentations given during Education Week 2012.  <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC1MlK7oCcDJ07mzkqrDWmdtbklDmHGdy1DQSvlC2U62sPo9vXYEpBHjogrs03cD9HuNTeRvbiy77ifVepMtad8UUSqLWTTK9ymwm9R-xIoYZbx9yOOi6VHyL7nARHe_cDVS4cz83qIxw/s1600/edweek.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="108" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC1MlK7oCcDJ07mzkqrDWmdtbklDmHGdy1DQSvlC2U62sPo9vXYEpBHjogrs03cD9HuNTeRvbiy77ifVepMtad8UUSqLWTTK9ymwm9R-xIoYZbx9yOOi6VHyL7nARHe_cDVS4cz83qIxw/s400/edweek.JPG" width="400" /></a></div> <div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1) How to use and build online communities  </div>by Janet Thomson, Executive Director of SchoolnetSA </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> The organisers of the African Education Week conference requested SchoolNet to make a presentation at the conference on building and using online communities. Currently SchoolNet is building its SchoolNet Membership community using the <a href="http://e-blogschool.blogspot.com/">SchoolNetsa members’ blog</a>, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/SchoolNetSA">Facebook page</a>, Twitter <a href="mailto:*@schoolnetsa">@schoolnetsa</a> and a host of other online digital media. Furthermore for the past 12 years SchoolNet has been sustaining communities of teachers while they study online courses in ICT integration across the curriculum both in South Africa and in other countries. I presented on this topic at the conference. Here is a link to the presentation. My presentation is embedded below – the notes under each slide provide the narrative (but this will only be viewable if you download the presentation from Slideshare as a PowerPoint). </div><div id="__ss_13660838" style="width: 425px;"><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/Schoolnetsa11/how-to-use-and-build-online-communities-by-janet-thomson" title="How to use and build online communities by Janet Thomson">How to use and build online communities by Janet Thomson</a><object height="355" id="__sse13660838" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=jthomson4julyschoolnetsa-120716170950-phpapp01&stripped_title=how-to-use-and-build-online-communities-by-janet-thomson&userName=Schoolnetsa11" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><embed name="__sse13660838" src="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=jthomson4julyschoolnetsa-120716170950-phpapp01&stripped_title=how-to-use-and-build-online-communities-by-janet-thomson&userName=Schoolnetsa11" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object> <div style="padding-bottom: 12px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;">View more <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/">presentations</a> from <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/Schoolnetsa11">Schoolnet SA </a>.</div></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Other highlights of the ICT thread of the conference included the following: </div> 2) Enhancing creativity and nurturing innovative thinking skills by the use of interactive mobile technology and Cloud Computing by Gisle Johnsen, CEO, Grieg Music Education & Assistant Professor, University of Bergen, Norway  <div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Gisle had been concerned that teachers tend to educate for yesterday instead of creating a society for tomorrow. He felt that creativity was the key to ensuring that civil society remains productive and that we should not just encourage learners to view art in museums or listen to music but to rather be the creators of their own music. Using a library of music for learners to select from that spanned all music genres and through the ages was mind-blowingly creative. The format of the programme is via an animation of a child wandering along a time line of history selecting what she would like to remix from each era or genre to make her own music. Gisle explained that children do not care about chopping up a piece of Beethoven or pasting the drums of Charlie Potts of the Rolling Stones into their highly diverse creations which could include a whole symphony orchestra. We hope to be given access to this online tool at no cost and will endeavour to share this with our SchoolNet member schools. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </div>3) Do you know the top 10 tools that are free to use? by Sarietjie Musgrave, Head, ICT Innovation in School of Education, Bloemfontein   <div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Sarietjie selected a few really valuable tools rather than wading through a top 10 list. She explored their use in being supportive to effective teaching, e.g. One Note, Qwiki, and a polling tool.The audience was transfixed by Sarietjie. It was as though they had never thought of using technology at all, let alone these whizz bang fantastic tools. Sarietjie took extra time at the end of the session and spilled over into lunchtime but nobody left – and after her talk she was inundated with questions about the use of the tools and where they could be accessed. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </div>4) Practical hands on training session, bring your gadgets & gismos along…Revolutionising classroom practices with Facebook, Twitter and all the other Goobleedees    by Maggie Verster, Senior Consultant, The Commonwealth of Learning, South Africa   <div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Maggie presented as usual with great gusto and enthusiasm but for some reason the majority of the audience did not get out their phones and join in. There were some tweets up on the back chat but the delegates to this conference did not seem to be nearly as adventurous as Maggie would have hoped. Nevertheless her presentation was excellent as usual. She used a poll <a href="http://twtpoll.com/2dwqo7">http://twtpoll.com/2dwqo7</a> to ask the question who is going to save our education system – the teachers, the parents, or the Education Department – the audience had to vote and the results refreshed automatically. Maggie extolled the virtues of powerful polling among students or even adult groups of learners. She also extolled the virtues of using the SchoolNet website and blog and webinars – in fact she did this so well during the conference that a few people told me they thought she worked for SchoolNet. </div> 5) Practical mobile learning session: Using tools your learners have by Adele Botha, Scientist, Next Generation Networks and Mobile research group, CSIR Meraka Institute, South Africa <div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">  </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Adele provided an up to date overview of how and why learners are connected to the world of information through the device in their pockets. She sketched out the scenarios in South Africa and the need to embrace and harness the mobile revolution currently happening in the world of learners. She warned that reactive policies such as banning cell phones were not going to work and in fact only serve to further alienate learners from learning. Adele’s presentation contained some hilarious cartoons about evolution and about the use of technology in this day and age and she highlighted some interesting facts e.g. Today’s grade 12 learners had never not had the internet. She was concerned about technology being viewed only as disruptive and authorities taking the view that with cell phone use there is nobody on playground duty. She gave a super example of a teacher with a low end phone with no sim card and how she divided the class into groups who each made video one after the other critiquing and improving it each time – the topic was ‘A dictator’ – so a whole project was created around dictatorship using the video feature of a low end phone with no connectivity and 60 students! They were certainly learning 21st century skills. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div>6) CoZa Cares Foundation and the sustainable ICT school environment  by Fiona Wallace, Director, CoZa Cares Foundation, South Africa   <div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Maggie Verster kept a back chat going throughout this presentation. Fiona spoke about current research into the educational ICT field being conducted by Bridge and funded by Uniforum. She promised that the findings would be shared and would probably be available by the end of Augus.Fiona also mentioned that Coza Cares is working on a portal for teachers to share resources. She also made reference to the Bread bin open source information service. Fiona suggested that connectivity was not necessarily the most important issue in education but that the benefits can be huge – e.g. it can bring the world library into a school. She was excited about the latest developments concerning broadband Internet over satellite – using a company called LiquidTelecom who are currently researching connectivity options for schools. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">7) Teaching and learning to reflect the digital lifestyle of our youth</div>by Michelle Lissoos, Managing Director, Think Ahead Solutions, iSchools Africa, South Africa <div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Michelle started her presentation with a reference to the fact that the first date that Michael J Fox travels to in the first Back to the Future film was last week – June 2012. The message here was - so the future is now. What was even more interesting for me was that when I mentioned the film to my daughter she already knew about the date being last week but she reminded me that the film maker’s image of the future involved having a fax machine in every room. I am old enough to remember how exciting the invention of the fax machine was so this brought it home to me that no matter what technology we might be wowed with at the moment there is no telling whether it will be around in another 20, 10 or even 5 years. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Michelle referred to the 2013 Horizon Report which documents trends in technology use for school education. It identifies and describes the emerging technologies which are likely to have a large impact on teaching, learning, research, or creative expression within education around the globe and makes predictions about their lifespan. It was interesting that SchoolNet SA’s Microsoft Xbox initiative was mentioned in this 2012 report as being significant in its impact on literacy for second language learners in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Back to Michelle - she explained how the iPad had revolutionised access to educational content and had already launched 47 000 educational apps. She pointed out the even greater advantages of an IPad if connected to a projector - and even greater with connectivity. A video of learners using Garage Band was shown which resonated well with Gisle’s presentation from Norway. There was also evidence that the iPad was reaching non-verbal children and motivating them to speak. Sarietjie also gave this example that she had witnessed with her own tablet when visiting a school with an autistic child who had not spoken before touching that screen. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Those are just a few of the presentations that I enjoyed listening to in the ICT thread of the Conference. Education week 2012 proved, once again, to be a valuable and enjoyable experience. </div></div>

conferences A report back on African Education Week 2012

Submitted by Janet Thomson, Executive Director of SchoolNetSA On 2-4 July 2012 I attended Education Week which is one of the the largest edu...