SAMR is a very popular model for transforming technology use within education. We are starting to use it at school, but struggled to find a good, free version of the diagram that explains it. So, we made our own, which is shared below for use under a Creative Commons BY-SA-NC license.
I love open source software, not just for technological reasons, but also for philosophical reasons. Isn’t it lovely to be able to share things freely and build a better world together? Over the past few years I have tried to convey this love to students, but generally have failed miserably. This year I will try once again, and to help me I have put together a visualisation in order to try and make the situation clear. In designing this I have tried to be as impartial as a fanatic can be, showing that open source is not the right choice for everything, but that it has its place and does some things incredibly well.
Printable Version (PDF) | Graphic File (PNG, medium size)
These games are fantastic, not only for geography, but for any subject where teachers wish to promote teamwork, encourage students to solve problems, remember patterns, learn more about the world or just get engaged. In the past I have used these games with EAL students as a way to get them talking and interested.
Over the past few months I have been working to create a new open source project: Gibbon. At the risk of neglecting this blog and other projects, I have been putting in many, many hours to create a system which allows schools to better manage their data. Whilst there are plenty of commercial systems that do this, I wanted to create something that I could alter, and that other people might help me build. The aim of the system is to bring students, staff and parents together in understanding through the use of shared data. This takes the form of student demographic data, attendance, marks, units of work and lesson plans, which is mostly complete for students and staff. In the coming weeks I hope to add in more functionality, such as timetabling and the parent interface.
Project Gutenberg is an online repository of books that are out of copyright, and thus freely available for anyone to use. With over 30,000 books currently available, this site provides a great source for gratis reading material. However, more important than this, it provides a massive amount of text that can be mashed and remixed in any way you or your students can dream up. Free from the constraints of copyright, and available in unfettered digital form, why not try some of the following ideas:
I am sure there are at least a hundred other uses for Project Gutenberg’s texts. Let me know if you can think of any, and I will include them in this list.
Jamendo is a fantastic source for music that students can legally use in their own creative works. Shared under Creative Commons licenses, the site offers a whole range of sounds, much of which is very professional in its composition, performance and production.
http://www.bibme.org/
Whilst citing references is certainly a vital part of academic research, it is also very tedious. By helping to create and format references according to a given system (e.g. Harvard, APA, etc), BibMe makes this task a lot easier. Simply search for the item you need to cite and select it for addition to your reference list. If the system cannot find the item, just enter the details by hand, letting the system format it for you. Select your desired style and simply copy and paste into your document.
Whilst there are other systems that do more (such as integrating into your word processor), BibMe cannot be beaten in terms of balancing functionality with ease of use.
http://freedocumentaries.org/
Great collection of free documentaries on a wide range of topics. This site represents a goldmine of material for encouraging students to question the status quo, and look at the world outside of their own experience.
http://www.lovelycharts.com/
Lovely Charts makes it easy to produce high quality charts and diagrams online. Useful for prototyping websites through wire framing and site maps.
http://colorschemedesigner.com/
It is often difficult for inexperience designers to find colour combinations that work well. Color Scheme Designer helps designers out, by using a variety of methods to suggest suitable palettes. It is extremely easy to use, free and requires no installation. Interestingly, it provides a way to simulate different types of colour blindness, and so can be used to create accessible websites, as well as it education students in some of the principles of inclusion.
http://www.gutenberg.org/