Here are the questions which students from Russia asked us.

These are the questions we asked them.

This is a QR code. QR stands for Quick Response. Scan it to see what I enjoy doing. I made this code using Kaywa QR-Code.

This is a collage of pictures taken at the Macarthur Wind Farms. All classes visited the wind farm in Term 1 this year. It was a very muddy day but it was great to actually see how big the turbines are and how everything is constructed. The turbines are imported all the way from the Netherlands, the home of Wind Turbines. Our tour guide told us that everything inside the turbine is held together with magnets and no bolts are used.

While everyone else was outside playing seven students including me were having lunch with author Christopher Herz. Chris was in New York, where he lives, talking to us students on skype. Last year we did lunchtime classes with Chris virtually once a week. He would set up writing tasks and we would post it on evernotes. Once our work was posted Chris would read it and give his feedback. At the end of last year Christopher sent all the students who were involved a copy of his new book ‘Pharmacology’. Our teacher Mrs Murch set up a presentation with Chris. We all got up and accepted our book which had arrived from New York to Hawkesdale. We gave Christopher a virtual handshake or high five. Christopher gave us all comments about our writing and what we do well.

It was a priviledge and a great experience to be a part of and I am truly grateful for the opportunity. I would like to thank my teacher Mrs Murch for organising the link-up each week and making sure the technology was working. I would also like to thank Christopher for giving up his time. Because of the time difference when we connected it was late at night for Chris, so thank-you. I would also like to thank him for his comments and feedback. I’ve taken it all on and hopefully because of it my writing will improve. Thanks.

Created by Alan Levine @cogdog http://cogdogblog.com as the Keynote video for Flat Classroom Project 12-1 and NetGenEd Project 2012.

Alan is widely recognized for expertise in the application of new technologies to education and was a pioneer on the web. An early proponent of blogs and RSS, he shares his ideas and discoveries at CogDogBlog. More recently he has explored new forms of web storytelling (including 50+ Web 2.0 Ways To Tell a Story and the StoryBox), and tools for connecting and open sharing online.

Currently he is an instructional technology specialist at the University of Mary Washington, following leadership positions at the New Media Consortium and the Maricopa Community Colleges. When possible, he enjoys the peace of a little cabin in Strawberry, Arizona. His interests include digital storytelling, digital photography, bending WordPress to his whims, and randomly dipping into the inifinte river of the internet.

• Is there a clear demarcation between who you are online and elsewhere?

I am a different person online compared to who I am elsewhere. Everything I say online I edit and think about whereas I don’t do that in real life. I believe people online are who they want to be not who they are.

• What parts of you are people missing out on if they do not interact with the online you?

People who don’t interact with me online don’t miss out on anything. I believe it’s the people who only interact with me online miss out on the real me.

It’s hard to show your whole personality online. Every time I post something online I edit and thoroughly think about what I say before posting which means that my personality doesn’t always show. When I’m interacting with someone in real life I can’t edit what I say and I say what I’m feeling.

People who I interact with online don’t get to really know the real me. I don’t post my whole life on the internet meaning they won’t know the same information people who know me in real life will.

• Why (or why not) should you manage your own personal cyber infrastructure? What does this mean to you?
• Who are we in this space where the online world is not something distinctly separate?

I am a member of the Flat Classroom Project which is a online project I’m doing in ICT. I’m in group 8A which is about Personal Learning Environments and Soical Networking. Other members in my group include Mike, Alyson, Aaron and Makenzie

Today in ICT we had a link up with students and Mrs Leo from Jackson, Boston USA. In the virtual classroom known as blackboard collaboration, we also had a student teacher from Canada and two people from Japan. Hawkesdale College is a small country town but with the worldwide web we are still able to access and participate in global activities. Today was an example of this.

My ICT class all had to talk about a photo which thy choose. I talked about Hawkesdale, the Hawkesdale Hotel and the Hawkesdale fire truck. At first I was a bit nervous but once I started talking I was alright. It’s a weird feeling knowing that students and teachers in three different countries plus my own peers were listening to what I had to say. As I was talking students would write questions in the chat and I would try to answer them if I could.

I enjoy doing link-ups like this one as it is a easy way to learn about other cultures. They say there is no better way to learn than to learn from your peers. Using a virtual classroom and talking to students in other countries is more interesting and more valuable then any textbook.

The dots and faces on the worldmap picture below shows where students in the virtual classroom were from.

Today in our ICT class we linked-up with a teacher Mrs. Leo and two students Oshika and Olivia. They were from Jackson school in Boston, USA. Using photos and talking to use they gave us a tour of their school. I learnt that at their school they learn Spanish and when your a 5th grader or a 6th grader you learn Latin. They have a smartboard in every room the same as my school, Hawkesdale College. Their school starts at Kindergarten and goes to 6th grade. Using a virtual classroom is a great way to communicate with other students from around the globe and is also great for learning about other countries and their culture. There is no better way to learn then to learn from another student.

This is a screen shot during our link-up. We were asked to draw our favourite item of technology.

For the first semester in ICT I’m going to be part of the flat classroom project. I will be a part of the 8A group- PLEs and Social networking and story(explaing the topic). I’m looking forward to working with other people from around the globe.

Here is a video by Christopher Herz. It was filmed when he was waiting for a train in New York.

What is the difference between waiting for a train in New York and waiting for the school bus?

I travel to and from school on the school bus 5 days a week and it is completely different to catching a train in New York. The bus comes and picks me up from my house and I’m the only one who gets on rather then a crowd of people trying to squeeze onto a train. On the bus everybody has their own seats they sit in and usually talk to the person sitting next to them. The train in New York seems very busy and noisy which is quite the opposite to the school bus I travel on.

Waiting for the school bus is a very boring experience. I stand at my front gate waiting for the school bus to arrive with the only sound coming from the kookaburras in the gum trees or the sheep baaing next door. You would never see a sheep or kookaburra in the train station at New York.

In the video there are some buskers playing music. Unless I take my iPod with me the only music I here when waiting for the bus is me singing which isn’t that great! When I go to Melbourne I usually see some buskers and there is a crowd surrounding them. In the video everybody was walking past as they probably see and hear buskers every day.