Projects

This blog is fairly new.  Please be patient and check back often as I continue to move content from Google Docs to this blog. 

If you are looking for projects in the classroom or homeschooling, see the Student Projects tab (coming soon). This page lists past, present, and future projects relating to the following topics:

• Lifelong Learning
• Professional Development
  
• Curriculum Design
• Organization
• Social Networking
• Collaboration
  

If one of my past projects interests you, contact me and I’m happy to share.  If you are intested in collaborating or just sharing ideas for a current or future project; I’d love to hear from you.  Leave me a comment or check out my contact info. on the About Me page.

Social Networking

Recently, I launched a social network for my school, using Ning.  I love Ning.  It is easily customizable, conveniently simple to moderate and offers many wonderful features.  Ning provides a platform with:

• Discussion Forums
• Blogs for Everyone
• Events
• Groups
• Chat
• File Sharing
• Photo and Video Sharing
• Privacy Options for Moderation
• An Attractive Design with Many Themes to Choose From

While Ning is available for students in grades 7 and up, I have chosen to create our Ning site for teachers, staff, administration and parents.  I work at an Independent Study and Homeschool Charter School, where parent educators have a large role in the education of their child, along with the accountability and support of a credentialed teacher. 

My goals for the site are as follows:

1.  To help families feel connected to something bigger and to let them know they are a valued part of our school.

2.  To provide a way for parent educators and teachers become familiar with social networking and web2.0 tools, which will help them prepare students for the 21st century.

3. To help families make connections with other families at our school.

4.  To give families a voice, allowing them to be heard “instantly” through forum discussions, surveys and in-network polls.

5.  To encourage families to want to stay with us, and help with student retention.

Moodle

Earlier this year, another teacher and I began brainstorming for a new way to manage content, house curriculum, and encourage collaboration for our academy.  We brainstormed ideas for Online Unit Studies that could be written for our students.  We wanted to find a Learning Management System that would be best to hold these units.  She developed a plan for using Angel, and I created a model using EduBlogs (Edublogs Campus Edition).  We presented and surveyed teachers and the response was supportive.  But, we couldn’t decide what would work best.   After bringing others into the discussion, it was decided that  Moodle would be the best solution for all of the components we were looking for.

In an effort to do this right, and not spring something new on teachers without careful thought, our team agreed to take a full year to develop Moodle, create curriculum units, redesign our curriculum pacing guides, and gather feedback along the way.  We look forward to launch in the 2010-11 school year.  As a means to pilot and become familar with Moodle, our teachers will be completing personal professional development training using Moodle, beginning in Fall of 2009.  Some of the training content will be provided by Atomic Learning, while the remaining courses will be written by us.  If you’ve done something similar at your school, I’d love to hear what worked well for you.

Virtual Open House

I had this great idea one day to have my students each choose two or three things they did this year that they were proud of, and send it to me electronically.  I would upload it somewhere for a “Virtual” Open House.  They could share the link with long-distance relatives and friends, who could view and comment on their projects.  I emailed the idea to all of my students and families just minutes of brainstorming.

Then I realized, that I didn’t know where to put the content.  I should have thought of this first.  Logistics!

Thanks to the collaborating power of social networking, I posted this forum topic to my community of colleagues: “What is the Best Way to Showcase Student Work?” I continue to receive responses.  Check out the discussion on Classroom 2.0 by clicking here.  I’ll post the finished project link here soon.

Project 2.0

This is a self-directed learning program that I am putting together for teachers, 7th-12th graders or parent educators who want to learn more about Web2.0. I hope to have it completed for the fall semester.  I’m really excited about this one!!  (I’ll post a link to the blog and wiki to share as soon as it’s ready.)

Technology Instruction

I’m not sure how this will take shape yet. This is in addition to regular tech instruction my students receive.  I hope to create a “Tech Club” for interested students to meet bimonthly. Let me know if you have done this and are willing to share One Thing you think works great, and One Thing you would change.

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