1. Clickable Mummy: http://www.akhet.co.uk/clikmumm.htm Interested in mummies an interactive site they can learn about the process of mummification. Source: http://www.freetech4teachers.com
2. 50 States: http://www.50states.com/ Learning geography can be a little more interactive with this site that lists tons of facts about each of the states. Source: http://www.freetech4teachers.com
3. Maps.com: http://www.maps.com/funfacts.aspx?nav Not only can you find regular old maps here to use in class, students can also engage with map games to make learning a little more fun. Source: http://www.freetech4teachers.com
4. CIA World Factbook: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/ From maps to flags, this site will help kids learn about every country in the world. Source: http://www.freetech4teachers.com
5. EyeWitness to History: http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/ Get a more personal perspective on history through this site that engages kids with first-hand accounts of historical events, photos, audio and more. Source: http://www.freetech4teachers.com
6. Countries of the World: http://www.theodora.com/wfb/abc_world_fact_book.html Use this site to find out information about countries around the world from studies done by the U.S. government. Source: http://www.freetech4teachers.com
7. Visible Earth: http://www.visibleearth.nasa.gov/ Take advantage of these NASA images to show kids what the world looks like from an elevated perspective. They’ll be able to see a wide range of geographic features. Source: http://www.freetech4teachers.com
8. Today in History: http://www.scopesys.com/anyday/ Put in any day in the year and find out what major events happened on it through this helpful tool. Source: http://www.freetech4teachers.com
9. The History Beat: http://history.searchbeat.com/ Need a timeline? This site is chock full of them. Source: http://www.freetech4teachers.com
10. LOC American Memory: http://memory.loc.gov/ This site is loaded with photos, primary documents, audio clips and in-depth information that can be a valuable tool to helping students understand American history. Source: http://www.freetech4teachers.com
11. History Games and Animations: http://www.besthistorysites.net/Multimedia.shtml Check out this list of resources to find tools that will help you teach your students about everything historical from ancient times to the present day. Source: http://www.freetech4teachers.com
12. ABCya http://abcya.com/ this is a site filled with interesting sites and resources for primary students and teachers.
13. the ebook store – http://ebookstore.sony.com/download/ Download sony ebook software available in mac and pc formats.
14. Pew Internet article on the threat of autonomous machines - http://www.pewinternet.org/Media-Mentions/2009/Machines-in-control.aspx
15. Great quotes about learning and change – http://www.flickr.com/groups/858082@N25/pool/ this is a Flickr pool from some great contributors Like Scott McLeod, Will Richardson, Dean Shareski and more

Students are asked to engage in discussion and debate about the social and ethical issues arrising from these technologies and  there impact on society. Here are two great articles for starting this debate.

1. Autonomous tech ‘requires debate’
By Jason Palmer
Science and technology reporter, BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8210477.stm

2. Call for debate on killer robots
By Jason Palmer
Science and technology reporter, BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8182003.stm

The increased development of robotics, autonomous systems and artificial intelligence is continuing and proceeding unchecked. We already have the use of robots in warfare, the home, hospitals, pharmacies, warehouses, industry, space, security and so more. Robotics and Ai have increased well beyond the realms of Azimov’s “I, robot” but his three laws of robotics

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey any orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Laws_of_Robotics

Source: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/photos/steel_2.jpg

Resources:

http://www.govexec.com/pdfs/072309kp1.pdf

The first workshop was in Rotorua and was an introduction to robotics using the Lego NXT robots and mindstorms software.This was a full hands on play session, we had food provided from Toshiba, and they did not even stop – just grabbed a bit to eat on the run and back to playing with their robots.

The more time I spend using robots the more value I see in the potential for project based learning. As the teachers and I worked through the 5 activities (see the starter sheets http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/robotics+resources ).

The discussions about mathematics, science, physics, problem solving were pleasing and insightful. Teachers and students alike enjoy working in a project based environment. For the students, the ability to problem solve their way through problems gives them ownership of the knowledge, and for the teacher the carefully scaffolded exercises allow the teacher facilitate learning, extend and challenge the accelerants and support those who struggle. Using the accellerants, those who quickly grasp the concepts and processses, allow opportunity for them to have a leadership and menotring role within the class.

And its so engaging – it appeals to the kinesthetic, visual and read write learners, and when they discover the music component (I never mention this but they find it quickly and any chance of peace is ruined) – auditory learners to.

An Excellent day – nice one Mildie

The first event was the opening of the new block at school by John Key. My part in this was running a video conference with my Year 13 class. We were lucky enough to have a colleague to conference with who works in Google in San Francisco. The VC was a collaborative presentation on collaboration. 2 of my students collaborated with our colleague to prepare a joint presentation. The medium we used was the google suite of tools including:

• Google documents
• Google scholar
• Google alerts
• Google sites
• Google calendar
• Gmail and gtalk

We all enjoyed the presentation and I was impressed by range of tools available and free. Two tools that did impress me a lot were:

1. Google alerts – this is a cool – its like an RSS feed on steroids. Select your subject area or keywords, select your alert range (what you want want the site to look at – news sites, blogs journal etc) and set you report frequency. Each time an article is published within your reporting criteria google alerts lets you know.
2. gTalk -free video conferencing built into your gmail account

In the also very cool category is google scholar -  a search engine that only looks in academic or scholarly sites.

The kids did very well and considering the whole collaboration period was 48 hours from concept to delivery it was very good indeed.

The second event was the learning styles and learning tools workshop I ran at Tahatai Coast school. Man, those guys were good. Its Saturday morning, a voluntary event and 22 out of a staff of 35 turn up. Great turn out and these guys worked right through. Its great working with motivated people who contribute and want to be involved. There personal contributions, experiences and suggestions made it a great workshop. We covered some favourites of mine – Sensory learning and Multiple Intelligences and then linked these to learning tools.

They also understood that while we were talking about tools, the tools are just the medium the kids work in to achieve the educational/learning outcomes. They are a mechanism of engagement. Good day and lots of fun.

We also made a wiki which the staffa re going to use as a repository for learning activities.

So all in all a busy week.

Next week is also busy as I have sessions to present on robotics, Web 2.0, Open source software and digital kids.  Yehaa

So Here is the complete set of resources:

activity one.pdf – 50cm and no more
Activity two.pdf – there and back again
Activity three.pdf – Brace, Brace, Brace
Activity three solution.pdf Brace, Brace, Brace – programming solution
Activity four edge.pdf – edge finder
Activity four edge solution.pdf – edge finder programming solution
Activity five.pdf – Edges and walls
Activity five solution.pdf – Edges and walls programming solution
Activity six.pdf – Speed racer

I have completed another couple of Lego Starter resources.

The resources are:

• Activity Four – edge finder. Using the light sensor to find the edge of the desk
• Activity four solution – this is a sample program for activity four
• Activity Six – speed racer. This is looking at designing the robot for a specific task, in this case travelling the largest distance possible in a 10 second period.

What happen to activity five – its still in development.

As usual – suggestions and feedback are always welcome.

The first three resources are:

• Activity One – 50cm and No More – Developing precise control over the robots movements.
• Activity Two – There and back again – Moving atleast 50cm and then turning and returning to starting position
• Activity Three – Brace, Brace, Brace – Using the ultrasonic Sensor and loops to avoid collisions

Comments, feedback and suggestions are always appreciated.