Saturday, October 23, 2010

Fall family fun: Geocaching and podcasting together

My family and I enjoy the "Geek" sport of Geocaching.  Ok, it's not that geeky when you consider that it is great excuse to go outside and explore.  Plus there are a number of great classroom applications.   Of course there are a lot of math applications (calculating distances and geometry) or using the answers to math problems to complete missing coordinates.  And geocaching is well suited to teaching geography concepts and local history.  But you can also use caches for team building, campus orientations, or tie into the geocaching online community to build communication skill.  Regardless, it is a lot of fun.

My two children Bella and Tennyson helped me to make a quick podcast while we were out geocaching today at the Pine River Nature Center.  I had a little difficulty with our recordings and ended up using a couple different iPod touch apps (Voice and ipadio) to get the job done, but it was fun to record on the go.  Take a listen to get a better sense of what geocaching is all about.

Can't see the podcast player? Click here

Saturday, October 16, 2010

A month's worth of Twitter Favorites

Here a are a few of my favorite tweets from the past month. Too often, I favorite a tweet, bookmark a website, or star a blog post in my Google Reader but never go back to reflect and review these saved items.  I'm including an audio podcast of my reflection for those who would like to hear a little bit more about why I chose to save these tweets and my impression of the links they include.  Enjoy.
Can't see the audio player? Click Here

p.s. People occasionally ask how I get my favorites list into the blog posts, so here's my big secret.  Go to http://twitter.com, open your favorites, highlight, copy and paste into your blog. 

My Favorites


 Vicki Davis 


LiveWeb - insert and update web pages real-time in PowerPoint via @
 Alec Couros 


This is ! "The World Is Full of Interesting Things" - a fantastic example of a Google Prez. 
 Dolores Gende 


@ new blogger at Huffington Post writes "My Kids are Illiterate. Most Likely, Yours Are Too" 
 JackieGerstein Ed.D. 


Comic and Animation Technologies in the Classroom
 Dan Meyer 


"I never set out to become anything in particular, only to live creatively." Best video you'll see today. 
 Tony Vincent 


Allowing texting in the hallway between class, study hall, and at lunch has decreased sneak texting in class:
 Chris Atkinson 


Domain Gadget Directory Manager (DGDM) - Keeping your Google Sites Clean 
 Michael Kaechele 


I truly believe if we are giving students a quality education in a caring environment that parents will ignore Stan. Test scores good or bad
»
 Danny Maas 


This looks great!--> - Instant Web-Based Screen Sharing