K12 Online Conference 2009

The K12 Online Conference 2009 begins on Monday, November 30 and continues for the next three weeks. The entire conference is presented online. Check out the schedule and plan to stop by the site to catch up over 50 presentations that will be posted to the K12 Online Conference blog and K12 Online Conference Ning.

Learning 2.0

Learning 2.0 is a blog site where users can go to explore new technologies. The blog was set up as part of the Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County's project to encourage staff to explore new technologies as part of 23Things. Helene Blowers, Technology Director of the Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County directs the project. While the project began in August 2006 and has since ended, the resources available here can assist individuals who are seeking to explore Web 2.0 technologies in a structured format. Time and curiosity are all you need to explore this resource.

Other sites directed or projects by Helene Blowers:
Library Bytes
StoryPlace: The Children's Digital Library
BookHive - a guide to Children's Literature and Books
Reader's Club - a guide to enjoyable books

Read an interesting interview with Helene Blowers on the Future of Libraries to understand her insight as she has directed these projects.

LibraryThing

I was reintroduced to LibraryThing while reading articles for a class recently. LibraryThing might be described as a way to socialize around books. How many people do you know who are reading the same book that you are - right now? Maybe not too many people that you know in your workplace, but how about accessing an online community of readers where others with similar interests are reading and discussing books that are of interest to you? This is the online experience that LibraryThing can provide.

At LibraryThing you can:
• Search for new books to read
• Browse statistical information about the most popular book, writer, etc.
• Visit the Talk area to discuss any topic
• Browse the Groups to find people with similar tastes in books
• Read reviews for new books
• Create a catalog of the books you read

To get started with LibraryThing, visit the site and
1. Take the tour
2. Sign up for your account. It is free to enter up to 200 books.
3. Start making connections with other readers who share your interests

Check out LibraryThing.com and open a free account. Another reference that may be of interest is the official blog for LibraryThing news.

WatchKnow - Videos for Kids to Learn From

WatchKnow is described as a collection of the best educational videos on the Internet all found in one spot. The site provides easy access to educational videos for teachers to use in the classroom. Students can access the videos from any Internet connection, providing 24/7 access to these educational materials. All videos accessed at the site are hosted by other websites including TeacherTube, YouTube, Google Videos, National Geographic, eHow and SchoolTube to name a few.

The site operates as an educational video online search engine in wiki format. A directory allows users to browse videos by categories, subcategories and topics. Age filters are provided to filter results that are rated for specific ages. As of November 2009, not many videos have been rated for age categories. Users can also rate the videos and provide comments. Best rated videos display at the top of the results. Another way to search is to type a term in the search box to search the entire collection. The results list displays categories containing videos related to the term and individual videos.

The site provides tutorial videos on topics including an overview of the site, how to use the site and how to edit the site. Check it out to find resources for your classroom!

Internet Safety Education

eSchools news provides a nice summary article about the new federal mandate that requires schools to teach Internet safety in order to obtain e-rate funding. This law won't take effect for another year, but companies and schools are gearing up to research and plan their programs before the law goes into effect.

Read more here.

MacSpeech's Dictate Software

MacSpeech Dictate is a speech recognition program for the Mac. A review from MacWorld suggests that this software offers recognition as good as similar Windows software, such as Dragon NaturallySpeaking. (Version 1.5 of MacSpeech Dictate is powered by Dragon from Nuance.) The package includes software and a noise-canceling microphone headset. There is an option to upgrade to a professional-level microphone if you purchase from MacSpeech directly. The Mac internal microphone cannot be used with this software.

The software requires about a 10-minute training to configure for the speaker. MacSpeech provides a number of video tutorials to install the software, create a profile, train, edit, and create voice commands for macros as links on their home page.

Reviews are mixed with most reviewers concerned about the software's editing capabilities. Many of the reviews from 2008 are mixed with pros/cons listed by users. Hopefully the upgrade to version 1.5 has improved the software's performance.

As of November 1, 2009, the price on the MacSpeech site is $249.00. The Amazon price is $159.49 with free shipping. Medical and Legal versions of the software are also available.