Daily Grind... To a halt! Teacher's Blog blocked

Mr. McNamar over at the Daily Grind has reported that his Blogger blog has been banned at school. Well, we knew this was coming. The read/write web has it's risks and many schools aren't willing to take the risk.

Some options have pointed him to edublogs.org or learnerblogs.org or classblogmeister. Great sites, price is right, too.

I've been experimenting with an option that is "the road less travelled." I wanted to experiment with several different blogging tools. I'm not the most tech savvy either, but I was willing to try.

I found some very inexpensive web hosting at bluehost (and there are a dozen more!) You jump through some hoops, register, fax on letterhead and you're on your way to a professional web site complete with blog, cms, and more.

Once you have your web space, WordPress is only a few clicks away.
Their tech support is very helpful in getting the blog software set up.

Then you'll have your own domain name and a very nice sandbox. I've been able to play with a Moodle install, Wordpress, now Mambo. It's fun and inexpensive. I highly recommend it.

In addition, you can use the blogger back end to post via FTP to your web hosting service.
That's what I do with this blog. I use Blogger and FTP publish to http://weblog.techruminations.org.

Cheers,
KP

Tags: blogging, filtering, k12, blocked, web2.0

Open Source Concept Mapping Software

Schools pay a hefty sum for concept mapping software. I'm a fan of Inspiration and Kidspiration. I just don't think it's sustainable for many districts. While $20-$30 per workstation doesn't seem like a lot, the cost for a 1-to-1 project would be substantial.

Cmap Tools is a wonderful alternative (althought I prefer web-based tools.) It is a free download from http://cmap.ihmc.us/
It does require a local install and a server version is nice if you really want to share and collaborate.

See an EXTENSIVE example here:
Mars Exploration Concept Map Contents

I'm leaning toward the web-based concept mapping tool called Gliffy. (http://www.gliffy.com)

Thanks to Scott Garrigan for brining the Cmap Tools example to my attention.

Tags: concept map, Inspiration, Open Source, Open_source, k12, web2.0

One-to-One initiative. Mac or Windows?

This is something that I've struggled with for several years now. I'm a Macintosh user at heart. If you've ever read Wesley Fryer then you could very well be reading my thoughts on user platform. I do consider myself tri-lingual in computer use. I use a Macintosh, Windows, and Linux computers daily.

Depending upon the task, each has their strength. The Mac is a fine user experience all around. From digital pictures to digital video I ALWAYS reach for my Mac. On the web, however, the Macintosh is a second class citizen. It's hard for me to admit that. But it's true.

When using web applications that depend heavily on Java and Javascripts I reach for the Windows computer. My Macs have always struggled wiht Java for one reason or another.

For geekdom and for web application hosting you can't beat a Linux box. A LAMP server is a wonder thing. Free and open source stuff are aplenty.

My district is about to launch an initiative that I HOPE will be the beginning of a one-to-one laptop initiative in our high school. We've received a nice grant to get us started. We are a 90%-10% Windows district. Our Macs are strictly in the graphics arts area. We have a heavy investment in Windows training. MOST of our applications have migrated to the web by now.

When it comes to chosing the correct laptop for education, I just can't seem to find a SUCCESSFUL laptop initiative that is Windows based. Heck, even the Chris Lehmann and the all new SLA is outfitting students with Macs!!

I've read about Maine and about Henrico County. All of the notable laptop initiatives are Macintosh computers. Dell, where are you? HP??

Tags: one-to-one, laptop, laptops, k12, blogging, Macintosh, Windows, Linux, open_source, paccio

St. Louis Rams' Marc Bulger Sleep Walking

Being a St. Louis Ram fan can give a guy heart failure. When a team beats you, they beat you. I can handle that. The Rams seem to GIVE games away! Sheesh!

The official site of the St. Louis Rams - Article: "St. Louis got the ball back on the kickoff at its 20 needing a pair of first downs to end the game. Holt came up with a big catch on third-and-2 to get one first down. But Bulger dropped the ball as he attempted to hand the ball or fake to fullback Madison Hedgecock and Arizona recovered at the Rams’ 30.

Just when it appeared Arizona was going to get a miracle victory, Kurt Warner and the Cardinals returned the favor by fumbling it back."

Sometimes I think Marc Bulger is sleepwalking!
In December this will look every bit as good as a blowout victory. I'll take it.

K-12 Online 2006 Conference announcement

The edublogosphere is introducing a new conference for educators to learn and share about the use of Web 2.0 technologies. From Will Richardson’s blog:

Announcing the first annual “K12 Online 2006″ convention for teachers, administrators and educators around the world interested in the use of Web 2.0 tools in classrooms and professional practice. This year’s conference is scheduled to be held over two weeks, Oct. 23-27 and Oct. 30- Nov. 3 with the theme “Unleashing the Potential.” A call for proposals is below.

There will be four “conference strands”– two each week. Two presentations will be published in each strand each day, Monday - Friday, so four new presentations will be available each day over the course of the two-weeks. Each presentation will be given in podcast or screencast format and released via the conference blog (URL: TBA) and archived for posterity.

Being the first annual I’m sure there will be logistical issues to iron out. I think this is a step in the right direction for educational conferences. Travel and hotel costs are always an issue. That all goes away with podcasts and webcasts. I’m in!!

Ok, I’m new at this. Where do I enter the silly tags in WordPress??
Cheers!

KP

Tags: k12online06, k12online2006

Inserting Video into a blog

I've tried YouTube and that seems nice. I prefer the interface at vimeo.com and I like their policies concerning the ownership of the video content. I have read some reviews and the most popular site is YouTube by far. Here's my vimeo first try.




2006 Kyle's 5th Birthday Present opening on Vimeo

Linux Terminal Server project

I have some students who are really interested in building a Linux Terminal Server for the District. They have developed a prototype in their basement!

I'd like to facilitate this to add some workstations in the Library. What should I be watching for with this project? I've been burned in the past where students have misled me on a project. Once bitten twice shy.

Has anyone implemented the K12LTSP project or the Edubuntu LTSP?

Brutally Honest