The magic of the 'Turn Editing On' button will be revealed...

... at this week's RETA Webinar.

Below are the event details and instructions for participating:

Event: Introduction to Moodle II
Presented by: Holly Rae Bemis-Schurtz

Description: Now that you know what Moodle is, you’ll want to see it in action. In this demonstration, you will see how a basic Moodle course shell can be designed into a learning module. This will give you an overview of the Moodle design process. Participants will discuss ideas for integrating Moodle in the classroom and other learning situations.
When: Tuesday 13 May 2008, 04:30 PM - 05:30 PM MST


TO JOIN THE WEBINAR
Our webinars are one hour and will begin promptly at 4:30pm MT (5:30 CST; 6:30 EST; 3:30 PST).

If you have previously registered for this event or you are having problems registering for the event, please use the following url as it will take you directly to the webinar session: http://nmsu.acrobat.com/r32422589/

Join the webinar 20-30 minutes prior to the start time to configure your computer. To participate speakers are required; a simple computer microphone and/or headset is ideal for complete interaction. A webcam is optional. If you have never used Acrobat Connect Professional, please test your connection at: http://admin.adobe.acrobat.com/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm

TECH ASSISTANCE
If you have questions or need assistance, please contact us at webinars@nmsu.edu or call us at 575.646.6143.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Please visit us at http://webinars.nmsu.edu

Have a cup of coffee, invite a colleague and raise your eQ (eLearning Quotient) with us.

Thank you,
The RETA Webinar Team

Pitfalls of mobile blogging

Phx Airport Terminal D Starbucks
Funny how you forget to mention things. Slide pictures from the Sloodle pres by Jeremy Kemp.. Supercool!

Somehow in the mobile blogging excitement & frenzy, grammer & structure get a little crazy.

Enjoying the symposium

First I must tell you the salad for lunch was like a dream (so great you must see a picture)..as a matter of fact all of the foods has been great.

It has all been great. Carefree has been amazing, ,presentations are fabulous, Sloan C is just a first class organization.

It's nice to talk to people who have used Second Life in their teaching. Certainly, I've never been with so many Moodlers... I've learned so much.

Que Cooliemust.

Marginalia

Open source discussion annotation for Moodle! Beautimus - we're watching a live demo as we speak...

Http://www.geof.net/code/annotation/

Sloan C International Symposium: Emerging Technology Applications for Online Learning

I am so fortunate to be able to be here in Carefree, Arizona as part of the NMSU contingent. It is absolutely beautiful - what a great idea to bring the best of the virtual and real world (hikes in the desert with experts, complete sessions in Second LIfe, and a vast assortment of other hybrid sessions involving Moodle, Elluminate and even more).

Our keynote presenter is the director of eLearning at Adobe ! How cool since we use a lot of Adobe in eLearning (in particular Adobe Connect). Her presentationis Wayfinding in the Learning Metaverse.

Questions posed...
What are learning stakeholders doing with all of this stuff?
Does real learning take place in a mobile environment?
What happens...in the Metaverse?
When the physical world and the virtual world together definethe real world?
We need to pay attention to the mixing of learning, play and recruitment (as in the Army Game).
Staggaring statistic: percent of growth rate for online enrollment (9.7%) exceeds then overall higher education student population growth rate... (1.5%). Can we get an OMG people?
How do we move from fascination to sustainable innovation? Ellen Wagner introduces us to the notion of 'wayfinding'- the way you get around when you have no map, no plan to follow.
How to wayfind:
1) prepare yourself for the quest
2) chart your course so you don't get lost
--research
--reference models
--effective practices
--community
3) keep an eye on where you're going
4) leaven the extra baggage behind
5) 'be excellent to eachother'

Must add great announcment - Flash and Flash Video will be open through the Open Screen Project!!!

Opening @ Opera House

Miss Information

For my own misunderstandings of the concept 'Object Oriented' I must apologize. I have, in attempts to explain Moodle's acronym, misrepresented the concept.

In my recent explorations of Ruby on Rails and Yahoo Pipes, I actually learned what Object Oriented means. I also learned some other cool things which were new to me like the difference between scripted and compiled programs. Anyway, the true meaning of an object oriented language is reflected here.

Which totally also makes sense, because I did know that this is how Moodle works...I just got confused with the end-user WYSIWYG experience. I learned also, of course, about some of the cool features of these programs and managed to pull together at least one decent pipe with the help of a tutorial.

And so I now attempt to clarify my role of 'Missinformation Provider' to 'Miss Information Provider.' Surely I'm not the first person to blog about their own mass distribution of misinformation.... LOL. This is officially my attempt at transparency and openness regarding my own misstatement in the true marketing 2.0 spirit. I promise to do more homework next time and make sure I keep you in the loop when I do realize my errors.

Introduction to Moodle - On Demand!

Catch the aforementioned RETA Webinar at your convenience here.

Catch the Moodle Fever

You are invited...
Introduction to Moodle - RETA Webinar
Presented by Holly Rae Bemis-Schurtz

Moodle is an open source course management system used by educators around the world. Created by Martin Dougiamas to support social constructivism, Moodle provides flexibility and autonomy for districts and teachers while supporting a wide variety of interactive social learning tools. In this introductory session you will learn more about what Moodle can do and find out how it can be implemented. You will even be able to hear from some teachers who have used it in both distance and blended education and see examples from their courses.

When: TODAY
Tuesday 29 April 2008, 04:30 PM - 05:30 PM MST


TO JOIN THE WEBINAR
Our webinars are one hour and will begin promptly at 4:30pm MT (5:30 CST;
6:30 EST; 3:30 PST).

If you have not registered for this event, please go to the following link
to register at least 24 hours prior to the event:
http://nmsu.acrobat.com/intromoodle1/event/registration.html

If you have previously registered for this event, attend by going to the
following link and enter the email address and password you used to
register: http://nmsu.acrobat.com/intromoodle1/event/login.html

Join the webinar 20-30 minutes prior to the start time to configure your
computer. To participate speakers are required; a simple computer microphone and/or headset is ideal for complete interaction. A webcam is
optional. If you have never used Acrobat Connect Professional, please test
your connection at:

http://admin.adobe.acrobat.com/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm

TECH ASSISTANCE
If you have questions or need assistance, please contact webinars@nmsu.edu or call us at 575.646.6143.


FOR MORE INFORMATION
Please visit us at http://webinars.nmsu.edu

Have a cup of coffee, invite a colleague and raise your eQ (eLearning
Quotient) with us.


Thank you,
The RETA Webinar Team

LunchOMatic

Pack another cool tool in your lunch tomorrow with the RETA Webinar on ScreencastOMatic Tuesday at 12 noon MST.

Worth the risk

The last time I posted a Slideshare to this blog, it broke my template and all of my loverly little widgets went to the bottom of the page.

In my search on learning ecosystems, I came across this presentation. I felt I could give the template issue another shot, because I think the content has lots of implications for myself and the fine folks I work with.

| View | Upload your own

The secret life of wikis in the classroom...

may just be revealed on Tuesday.

Getting to know the basic Moodle Activities: Choices and Journals

Show me the Moodle - Choice and Journal Activities
Sunday, April 6 - 11 am-12 pm MST

Presented by Holly Rae Bemis-Schurtz

Register at: http://moodlebots.pbwiki.com/register+here
Attend at: http://nmsu.acrobat.com/retashowmethemoodle/

Moodle Choice and Journal Activities are some of the easiest Moodle activities to implement. In this hour long webclass we will demonstrate how to implement these activities and discuss how we can use them in our online and blended classrooms.

This session is for Moodlers who have already had an introduction to Moodle Course Design. This session will be recorded for on demand viewing. Details will be shared after the session.

Attending these sessions

A simple computer microphone and/or chat headset is ideal for participation. A web cam is also nice, but not required.

Please plan to join the session at least 20 minutes prior to the start time to configure your computer.

Tech Assistance

Support will be available 30 minutes prior to the start of session for tech assistance.

Photoshop Express Opens Up

'Free' Photoshop...

https://www.photoshop.com/express/landing.html

Thanks to ASCD Smart Brief for this valuable information.

Wikis in the K12 Classroom - Just how do you do this?

Wikis are all the rage - with very good reason. Exactly how, however, do you do this, especially in the K12 classroom? What about guidelines, permissions, safety...?

Check out this post I made to Moodlebots Blog to find out how you can learn about wikis in the classroom today, tomorrow, and beyond.

http://moodlebots.blogspot.com/2008/03/using-wikis-with-your-students.html

Bon (Wiki) appetit!

PBWiki 2.0 yummies up New Mexico Moodles

I have tried a beta test of PBWiki 2.0 while putting together the New Mexico Moodle Administrator's Wiki at http://minimoot.pbwiki.com/

The more developed permissions system allows me to invite users to create their own account rather than having to use a community password. There were five levels of user access, I believe.

Simple and delicious.

Blocks are the new Black

Shopped around for the basics of Moodle course design? Ready for something new?

Accessorize your basic course with Moodle Blocks ~ http://moodlebots.blogspot.com/2008/03/show-me-moodle-blocks-5-pm-mst-today.html

Spring is a great time to spice up your (course) look! Join us today.

I think, therefore I Moodle...

For the Moodlebots, OTLO, EDUC8, and Dexter E2T2 groups I work with...

This week’s RETA Webinar!

Blogs in the Classroom I by Cissy Lujan-Pincomb and Miley Grandjean
Tuesday, March 4, 2008 – 4:30 pm-5:30 pm
Register at: http://webinars.nmsu.edu/

You hear about blogs everyday from students or co-workers, but have you thought about using them in your classroom? In this webinar session you will be introduced to the refreshing world of blogging where you will begin generating ideas on how you might use blogs within your own classroom. In this first session we will introduce you to: what a blog is, what a blog can be used for, help you set up your own blogging account, and then send you on your way with resources, so that you will make an informed and enjoyable push into the “blogging world.”

This week’s Show me the Moodle Webclass!

Show me the Moodle Blocks by Holly Rae Bemis-Schurtz
Thursday, March 6, 2008 - 5 – 6 pm
Register at: http://moodlebots.pbwiki.com/register+here

How do you add RSS feeds to the sidebar of your course? What if you want an interactive calendar for students? These are only a couple of the Blocks available in Moodle. In this one hour session, we will demonstrate implementation of these popular blocks and show you how you can add Widgets to incorporate other dynamic content into your course.

This session is for Moodlers who have already had an introduction to Moodle Course Design.

This session will be recorded for on demand viewing. Details will be shared after the session.

Attending these sessions

A simple computer microphone and/or chat headset is ideal for participation. A web cam is also nice, but not required. Please plan to join the session at least 20 minutes prior to the start time to configure your computer.


Tech Assistance

Support will be available 30 minutes prior to the start of session for tech assistance.

More great eLearning webinars and webclass sessions coming up every week! For more information, see
http://moodlebots.pbwiki.com/Synchronous+Learning+Events

For more information on Moodle

Our ancillary resource for this session is the Moodle 1.8 Handbook at our site at http://reta.nmsu.edu/moodle. After attending, you should be able to practice the ‘hands on’ component in your own Moodle classroom (contact me if you would like a course environment for your use at RETAMoodle - http://reta.nmsu.edu/moodle).

Can’t make it?

Sessions will be recorded. A link for a session recording will be available. Contact me for more information.

My Mobile Home...Page

So I read about Mofuse on Mashable and had to try it out. A bit of a bug in the Mowser plugin but the support crew fixed it almost immediately after receiving the email I sent. My goal was to make a marvelous Mobile Home Page for Moi. Tre cutiemust!

http://hollyrae.mofuse.mobi