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While I was out of town, Julie Lindsay put together the awards show for this year's Horizon Project. ( Listen to the elluminate recording .) | View | Upload your own This year's top video is by Games as a Pedagogical Platform by Assistant Project Manager: Josh D (GHS) - Youtube , Ning Find more videos like this on Horizon Project 2008 Evolution of a Ubiquitous Platform by Project Manager for EUP: Lara K (QA Gr 11) Ning Find more videos like this on Horizon Project 2008 Data Mashups : Data Mashups and Google Earth by Akiko K (KGHS 3Yr) - Ning Find more videos like this on Horizon Project 2008 To view all of the amazing work and wikis, visit our Awards wiki . tag: hz08 , horizon project , awards , education , digital storytelling

Twitter is out AGAIN! So, I hate to do this, but here is another alert that really belongs in my twitter. In 17 minutes we will be hosting the Teacher Summit in Elluminate. Please join us as the teachers reflect.

Every teacher knows that the end of the school year is usually as scary as hiding under the bed with Chucky the wonder doll coming after you! I'm a bit behind over here, however, took some time to talk with my friend Alan Levine (aka CogDog) about some of the projects that we've done recently as well as the pros and cons. (Just proof that cats and dogs can work together ;-) I'd like to share the video with you and plan to be blogging quite a bit AFTER I can get my laundry done! http://media.nmc.org/2008/05 /vicki-davis-flatclassroom.mov http://media.nmc.org/2008/05 /vicki-davis-grassroots-video .mov http://media.nmc.org/2008/05 /vicki-davis-collaboration -webs.mov Hope you're having a great memorial day! I also find very interesting Alan's ruminations about "The Ning" -- he is right on, I think. For those of us who use Ning for class projects, The Ning and The Wiki are really The Thing -- the glue that holds us together and without which we could not f...

Find more photos like this on Horizon Project 2008 These graphics are just some of the "jpeg" files that students will take with them into elluminate today for the Westwood student summits for the 2008 Horizon Project . Each student will present in elluminate and may take with them one graphic file. This is the photo album on the Horizon Ning of these files that I'm compiling for the event. Today we should be presenting from around 10:45 (class starts at 10:29 but it will take a moment to get in the room) until 11:15 and again from around 1:40 until 2:10. Each student will take a moment to discuss what they've learned and we will also take questions from the "audience." This is free and open for participation using our elluminate room . Please feel free to join us and see what the students have to say. How do I join? Click on the elluminate link after 10:15 am EST. Follow the instructions (sometimes your IT dept has to give you permission to install the...

I'm laughing so hard that I am crying. This student for the horizon project seemed not to be doing much filming. That is because she was literally taking over the county with this short 8 minute film. Find more videos like this on Horizon Project 2008 Her point was to demonstrate the emotions of those who are using Youtube and grassroots video and how many times it can give false impressions of grandeur to those who become "youtube" stars. I am just amazed she did this film in 2 weeks! During the course of this film she: Had a police officer "arrest" her friend (it was staged except her aunt didn't know and came driving up as the actress was leaving! It scared her!) Hypnotized her math teacher Included our headmaster (in the orange shirt halfway through) Used greenscreen Got her father to be on the film at the end. She really did a nice job. We did encourage the students to use creativity to get their point across and one not knowing the topic might th...

Besides the fact that I DON'T LIKE how I look in this film (I'm hitting the gym this summer), my student Jamie C. did a nice job with this film for horizon on Social Operating systems. It was just featured on the home page by AFI Screen Nation (to enter the contest you have to be in the US, although any student anywhere may still submit videos. Who knows, a real Hollywood producer or actor may even leave you a message!) He is trying to highlight the evolution from social networks to social operating systems and I think he's done a nice job. (Even if he did have to use me!) This is an example of a film that was made in tools I would never have "prescribed" if I truly was a "prescriptive" computer science teacher. He used Paint (for animations,) PowerPoint (for jpgs), Movie Maker, Audacity (to remix Beethoven), and a webcam (to grab his teacher for a quick interview.) Good job, Jamie! If you want to peruse more videos, drop by the Ning where they are...

This week a student from the Horizon Project had a very heartfelt blog post. Every time we do these projects we have one or two teams who don't "engage" and a few students who just "goof off" and wander aimlessly. (This is where a good teacher comes in.) The student says : "If you are reading this right now, I thank you, because no one seems to understand the concept of communication. We have all these problems regarding completion, because people are wondering what they are supposed to be doing. Well, if you don't check the discussion on the wiki pages, or if you don't check your group, well, then it is awfully hard to know much of anything, now isn't it? Because people are not taking the time to look into what they are supposed to be doing, or they are not taking time to contact their project managers, there is a little bit of a problem, in terms of horizon project completion. Project Managers and Assistant Project Managers can only do so muc...

We're putting out a call for help on the Horizon Project . We have deadlines fast approaching and would appreciate your help. Each video has a portion called an "outsourced video." This outsourced piece comes from another place in the world. Ideally, this comes from the other students, but sometimes students struggle with getting these up and have technical problems. This is how you can help and learn something too. Fulfilling an outsourced Video Request 1) Take a look at our outsourced video requests on the Wiki. 2) When you find a video you wish to sign up for, follow the instructions on this video to sign up: Find more videos like this on Horizon Project 2008 3) Join our Ning (just let me know why you're joining and fill in the profile) 4) Film your video. (Please give the licensing and attribution information on the description. They must know who to cite and that you give them permission to use the film.) 5) Upload the video to the Ning. Find more videos...

Just got home late from a track meet and came in to check the Digiteen and Horizon Project nings. I found this amusing blog entry from Nyomi L at the Baccalaureate School for Global Education (NYC - USA) entitled " Sick Day ." "Alright well, today I missed school to go to the doctor to deal with some breathing problems that I've been troubled with and after that, I happened to see a copy of Wikinomics staring at me from behind a Barnes and Nobles window. It wasn't actually on display but someone had left a copy near the window. Anyway, I took it as a sign that I should take it upon myself to buy and read the book. After all, if I really didn't like it, I could always return it after I finished. Well, I started where I had left off in ITGS and found myself surprising interested. I read it all the way home and for the next couple of hours and found myself interested, inspired and far more excited about the Horizon Project than I've ever been. It's qu...

Following are some comments from students on the Horizon Project They are making great points. Again, when we involve students in discussions, we get some fascinating answers and points. (They sound a little bit like us!" Unprecedented Force for Change"-Dan Tapscott's Keynote - Horizon Project 2008 - Annotated Student #1 wrote on her blog Dan Tapscott , Horizon Project 2008’s keynote speaker , gave me insight and inspiration for the project. His knowledgeable comments on the baby boom generation were incredible and it amazed me that he decided to make his entire living on the study of the digital generation, the generation that I am a part of. I am a part of the generation that is an “unprecedented force for change,” and we are actively inducing and creating change that will be beneficial and relevant to the world today and tomorrow. I agree that technology must be at the center of this change in...

Now that Julie and I are back from conferences, we are furiously working on the Horizon Project 2008 -- setting the framework, etc. We've set up a form for those interested in this project using Google Forms (it automatically enters it in a spreadsheet.) We are particularly keen on finding additional classrooms in the far east, south America, and Africa -- so if you have friends there, please pass it along. ( http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=pqJ4dDANW0OwSWZq3GAMCPg ) What will we be studying? Also, expect to see a major flavor of Wikinomics throughout the project! What are the timelines? Please share on your blogs and bookmarks -- we would appreciate it. We will also need sounding boards/ peer review classrooms, expert advisors, and judges. More on that later. tag: hz08 , flatclassroom , project based learning , pbl , wikinomics , education , learning