21st Century Literacy. Alan Tofler

I love this quote of the famous futurist, Allan Tofler, who said:

TWW: Life Beyond the Lecture Blog and a New Professional Connection

As always during the school breaks I sign up for different webinars to learn new things about teaching with technology. This winter break I signed up for a seminar about Voicethread, a wonderful program that allows you creating interactive learning teaching events and staying connected with the learners. I have been using Voicethread for a long time for my online and F2F classes and for my global projects at IT4ALL, International Writing Exchange or Moodle for Teachers. I enjoy using it because it combines the innovative pedagogy and the tools of the 21st century learners through audio, video, and written responses.

I signed up for a webinar Integrating VoiceThread into Your Campus-Wide Teaching ToolKit on January 12th at 3:00PM EST. My computer crashed right at the moment I was about to join the webinar. I missed it. When I got back in, I immediately contacted the website in regards of the recordings. That's how I met Michelle Pacansky-Brock. We were e-mailing each other back and forth. Michelle recommended to visit the VT website and view the previous webinars and also share the link to her Blog, Teaching Without Walls: Life Beyond the Lecture (Resources, tips, best practices and more for innovations in college teaching and learning.). I viewed a couple of webinars and was amazed at how similar our views are about pedagogy and the use of technology in teaching. Michelle was s a full-time art history professor at Sierra College (she taught a Art Appreciation course!) from 2002 to 2009 and now she is a doctorate student specializing in teaching instructors how to build community online with social media; and she is a learning consultant for VoiceThread.

Here is one of my VT lessons. I created it for my Methods class on Collaborative Learning.

I also used VoiceThread for running a global CT Netcity Project with Israel, China and Russia in 2009. I am excited to learn more about the tips and tricks of using VT in teaching and may be inspire my colleagues at MSMC to add it to our Teaching ToolKits college-wide.

A New Moodle Book: Moodle 2.0 Course Conversion

I am in the process of reading and reviewing a new book about Moodle titled "Moodle 2.0 Course Conversion: Beginner's Guide. A Complete Guide to Successful Learning using Moodle 2.0." It is written by Ian Wild, and will be published by PacktPub.

I am interested what the author has to say to what hhad been already written by William Rice in his book "Moodle 1.9 Teaching Techniques." it sounds intriguing, and promising. The author promises to enlighten the educators how to convert their courses to the new upgraded Learning Management platform. To be continued!