Thanks Steve! Webinars for Free Published 2009-07-13 under collaboration, professional+development, tools, webinar

Steve Hargadon has lead me to another wonderful tool for educators.

Steve Hargadon - of EduBloggerCon and Classroom 2.0 fame - has been busy. Perhaps you saw him at NECC this year - NECC UnPlugged - or maybe you attened one the many PBS Teachers free webinars ("PBS Teachers LIVE!") or you just know him as the "Open Source Guy". He certainly gets around.

In addition to being a really nice guy, Steve has (and continues to be) a great source for new technologies and innovative uses of technology within education. Some of the "gems" that I discovered through Steve include Ning, UStream, and CoMapping. His most recent "gem" is a program that allows teachers to host webinars in Elluminate - for FREE. Steve has worked out a deal that gives you the opportunity host your own "public meetings" or online seminars in LearnCentral's Elluminate Room. There are few "rules" and restrictions including that the topic focus on education, it be available to everyone (for free), and that your are OK with it being recorded. This service usually costs lots of $$$'s and thanks to Steve and Ellumniate, you can get it for free. You can read more about it on the LearnCentral site and in Steve's blog.

But what if you are looking to use something like Elluminate to meet online with a just one or two folks - in a more private setting? Again, Steve (and LearnCentral) has a solution. If you join LearnCentral (free), you can use their vRoom feature to host a private Elluminate meeting with one or two others. Think collaborative teaching, online tutoring or virtual parent conferences. (some vRoom stories).

We have been using GotoMeeting's online meeting service for a number of years now - and paying around $50 a month for the privallege. While GotoMeeting lies somewhere between the "open to all - free" model and the "private - one or two participant" vRoom model, it is good to know that there are other options out there.

Thanks Steve and keep up the good work!

The 2010 Imperative Published 2007-01-11 under civics, webinar

The 2010 Imperative is a "teach-in" event produced by Architecture 2030 addressing global warming and climate change. This 3 1/2 hour web-cast offers design students around the world to participate in a discussion in the role the design community has in the global warming crisis.

I think this is a fantastic example of using online technology to discuss a global issue with folks around the world. While the target audience are design schools, professional design firms and governmental entities, there certainly is a place for high school students. Global warming is a great example of a multi-discipline issue giving students a chance to apply their knowledge is math, science, economics, history, etc. to a single problem. This is a wonderful opportunity for students to participate in a real-world issue.

I would propose forward thinking schools the following:

Begin discussing the issue of global warming and climate change having students research the subject. After a cursory bit of research to get a handle on the gist of the subject, students should be encouraged to find a particular aspect of the discussion on which they would like to focus through further research. They could then post their findings and opinions online a blog so that other students can learn from their research and join the discussion.

Then have the students listen and participate in the web-cast as a group, discussing issues as they are presented and emailing questions / comments to the panel members.

Finally, students could post to the blog their reflections on the event describing what they have learned from the web-cast specifically and the project in general.

Global warming is an important issue, but this web-cast offers more than just a discussion on the topic. It give us an an opportunity to engage students in a real-world issue where they can become informed, offer their opinions and debate with people around the world.

To register for this free event check out The 2001 Imperative website.

Tags: 2010Imperative, webinar

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