EMBED Google Calendar in Blog

INSTRUCTIONS taken from "The blog doctor"
http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=25722957044301115

You can embed your calendar on your website by using your calendar’s address in HTML format with the “configuration tool.” Just follow these steps:

1. Under "Calendars" in the left column, click on the down-arrow next to the appropriate calendar.
2. Select "Calendar settings." (Alternatively, click on "Manage Calendars" under "Calendars" in the left column, then click on the name of the appropriate calendar.)
3. In the “Calendar Address” section, click on the “HTML” icon. A pop-up window with your calendar's private URL will appear.
4. Click on the “configuration tool” link in the popup.
5. Carefully follow the instructions on the configuration tool page.
6. Customize the width and height to fit in your sidebar.
7. After customizing click the Update Url button after previewing the calendar at the bottom.
8. Copy the code and paste it in a Html/Javascript Page Element in the sidebar.
9. Save Template. Refresh Cache and View Blog.

Please note that you can change the amount of information available on your calendar's address by clicking on the "Change sharing settings" link in the "Calendar Address" section.

Any changes you make in your calendar are immediately reflected in the calendar in your blog.

Testing thatquiz link

This is a test to "thatquiz.org" in a group in which I have added myself as a student

9th "A" Online Practice

Testing - linking PDF files saved in Google Docs

So, this link should show a PDF document I uploaded to Google docs... let's see.

CHAT with visitors to your blog/site

Take a look! There's a chat box on the right side of my blog, connected to my Yahoo Messenger. You can use this tool to chat with visitors to your blog without either of you revealing your IM or e-mail information - if you're online, the box will allow people to choose a nickname and chat with you; if not, it will show a message of your choice.

Check it out!

NOTE: at the moment, the chat box only works when you view the blog with INTERNET EXPLORER (does not work with Mozilla Firefox, apparently there are compatibility issues).

CLASSROOM 2.0

This website is dedicated to teachers interested in using the Web 2.0 - the site itself is a great example of what the Web 2.0 can do.

The architecture is similar to Facebook or My Space or any of the social networking sites, but the specific Theme is education and collaborative technologies.

Take a look - it's VERY good.

www.classroom20.com

It's been a while!

Wow - I can't believe it's been so long since I last posted. I have been too busy with "stuff". Anyways, I found a website designed and dedicated to blogging in a classroom environment - what I liked about it is:

• It was designed by a teacher
• It allows the teacher and the students to have blogs
• Seemed pretty easy to use.
• Looks like Internet Safety for students is a major priority.

I haven't had a chance to explore too much, but I liked what I saw. Here's the link if you are interested:

Class Blogmeister

Enjoy!

Other Internet Resources

Some other resources to consider:

- did you know there is a School Tube? www.schooltube.com

- the George Lucas Educational Foundation hosts a website www.edutopia.org and has a podcasting channel in iTunes; lots of information about teachers development, teaching tips and tricks, and other things

- a website with information for Teachers on a variety of topics is www.teachersdomain.com

Podcasts

A podcast is a transmission sent through the internet to be received/played in a computer or portable media player; it got its name because the first systems were developed to broadcast to the iPod. The distinguishing characteristic of a podcast is that you can SUBSCRIBE to it, and then your computer automatically downloads the files as they become available. They can be video or audio.

There are LOTS of podcast feeds out there, and many of them could be used for education: National Geographic, Discovery Channel, Scientific American (to name a few) have podcast transmissions on many different subjects.

As the video posted earlier suggests... why don't we use the iPod to reach our students in a different way?

Posting videos on the blog

Posting a video on the blog can basically be done two different ways:

1) If you find a video that you like on the internet in websites such as YouTube, TeacherTube, etc., you can find a code for embedding into your post in pretty much the same way you can embed a PowerPoint presentation (I discussed that in another post, label "embed").

2) If you have a video in your computer, you can upload directly to blogger by clicking on the "Add Video" icon on the posting window, and then choosing the file you want and click "Upload". The add video box will specify which formats are compatible, but basically they accept AVI, QuickTime and Windows Media formats, max size 100 MB.

A word of caution - a 15MB video I uploaded took a LONG TIME, so don't get discouraged if it seems to take a while.

This video BLEW ME AWAY!!

This is an incredibly THOUGHT PROVOKING video - #1 Most Viewed for 2008 in TeacherTube... about using technology in the classroom.

Blogging for education

Using blogs for education is not such a new thing - lots of teachers are doing it already.

This website is dedicated to blogging for education, and it is appropriately named Edublogs:

http://edublogs.org

Check it out - there are blogs for classrooms all over, for different grades and subjects.