Turning Fiascos into Fiestas:
Building Successful, Technology-Rich Learning Experiences

Fiesta Starter

Over the past several years, the web has become a much more dynamic place. The technology of Web 2.0 has provided new opportunities for collaborating, social networking, and sharing.

As you design learning experiences that incorporate web-based resources, be sure that students understand how these websites are constructed. For example, wiki-based websites are created through a collaborative effort. As such, the resources are only as good as the expertise of the contributors. By getting students involved in the use and creation of wikis, they have a better understanding of when they would or would not be a good source information resource.

Go to Wikipedia. Design an activity that helps a student "fact check" using other resources

Visit Lamb's Inquiry. Explore other examples.

Explore areas within Wikipedia:

• Wikijunior
• Wikimedia
• Wikibooks including Cookbook
• Wiktionary
• WikiIndex
• Wikia

Explore some examples of wikis:

• Bloomingpedia - Bloomington, Indiana
• Bright Green Living (About)
• Digiwik: The Digitization Wiki
• Garden Guide Wiki
• IPL's Teen Poetry Wiki
• More Perfect (About)
• Redwall Wiki
• SciFi/Fantasy Wiki
• Social Justice Movements (About)
• StarBase 118
• Wiki Classical Dictionary
• A Wiki of Unfortunate Events: Lemony Snicket (About)

Be sure to check out library and educational technology wikis:

• Blogging Libraries Wiki (About)
• Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki
• School Computing Home Page
• Teacher Librarian Wiki

Think about wikis because we're going to come back and create one later in the week!

Learn more at High Tech Learning: Collaborative Web & Wikis

Fiesta Projects

Asking Meaningful Questions

• Brainstorming
• Deep Thinking
• Prompts
• Linkages & Evidence (All About Birds, Birdhouse Network)

Organizing and Recording Thoughts

Journals

Go to edublogs.

• Edublogs
  • Eduscapes Edublog
  • Login at http://eduscapes.edublogs.org/wp-login.php
• Other Blog Services
  • Uniblogs
  • Learnerblogs
  • Class Blogmeister (free) - best tool for class-based blogs with super class management tools
  • ePALS SchoolBlog (subscription-based)
  • Gaggle Blogs (subscription-based)

Explore a few examples:

• 50 Popular Science Blogs from Nature

Blogging has become popular in schools and libraries. Examine the following examples of school and library blogs:

• The Dream Factory Student Work
• Grand View Library Blog
• Mexico and Me 3 - produced by young people outside school setting
• Room 208 - notice the student and teacher produced text, graphics, photos, videos, and audio.
• Sandaig Primary Schools - examples of many different types of blogs.

Learn more at High Tech Learning: Blogs

Learn more at Escrapbooking: Blogs and Blogging

Organizers

• Use the ReadWriteThink Interactives to help students organize, record, and share understandings.
  • Create an assignment using an interactive. Write this up on your blog.

Broaden Perspectives

• Expand Resources (enature's zip codes guides)
• Collaborate and Share (Design a Simple Machine)
• Participate in Project-based Learning (Project-based Learning, Blue Zones - Secrets of Longevity, CyberFair Projects, Flat Stanley, Journey North, KidsLearn, ThinkQuest, PBL Web Ring Links
• Online Connections (US Mint 50 Quarters)

Workshop Handouts

Instructional Technology Resource Teachers

1. Turning Fiascos into Fiestas (PDF)
2. Digital Photo Safaris (PDF)
3. Digital Photography Basics (PDF)
4. Photo Story 3 for Windows (PDF)
5. GIMP for Photo Editing (PDF)
6. TuxPaint Basics (PDF)
7. Digital Video Basics (PDF)
8. Digital Editing with MovieMaker (PDF)
9. Powerful Literacies through Powerpoint Learning Spaces (PDF)
10. Directions for Powerpoint Starters (PDF)
11. Multiple Slide Masters in PowerPoint (PDF)
12. Smartboard (PDF)
13. Blogs and Blogging (PDF)
14. Wikis (PDF)

Library Media Specialists

1. Turning Fiascos into Fiestas (PDF)
2. Digital Photo Safaris (PDF)
3. Digital Photography Basics (PDF)
4. Photo Story 3 for Windows (PDF)
5. GIMP for Photo Editing (PDF)
6. Digital Video Basics (PDF)
7. Digital Editing with MovieMaker (PDF)
8. Smartboard (PDF)
9. Blogs and Blogging (PDF)
10. Blogs and Blogging Articles in School Library Media Activities Monthly (okay to copy from journal; I don't have electronic version)