260 – East Meets West

Join us for a very special WELSTech Podcast as we span the globe with Martin joining from Hong Kong and guest host Jason Schmidt along with Sallie in the U.S. Our edtech chat this week covers the Moodle Learning Management System (LMS) as well as an interview with John Dorn about the Edmodo LMS.

Note: With our WELSTech Audio/Video Engineer (a.k.a., Martin Spriggs) out of the office exploring the opposite side of the world and presenting at a translator’s conference, today’s video podcast is posted in two parts – the primary show and the interview. We look forward to supplying the normal single video format upon Martin’s return.  Thanks for understanding!

• View Martin’s photo set from Hong Kong on Google+

The discussion:

Moodle mania – Jason Schmidt, Technology Coordinator at Bennington ISD in the Omaha, NE area and guest edtech correspondent for WELSTech, talks with Martin and Sallie about the popular open-source, free Learning Management System, Moodle.  Watch as Sallie demonstrates a Softaculous automated install of Moodle in under 3 minutes!

• WELS.net University (Moodle)
• Sallie’s Softaculous “out-of-the-box” Moodle install
• Moodle Tool Guide for Teachers

The interview:

(15:20) Edmodo in action – Science and Technology Teacher John Dorn from Illinois Lutheran Schools in Crete, IL talked with Martin and Sallie recently about  his schools adoption of the Edmodo Learning Management System.  John shares tips and tricks he’s learned through training and experimentation with the system, such as setting up a consistent user naming scheme.

• Voki – Create speaking avatars to deliver audio instructions – Great for preschoolers and early readers
• Quizlet
• Edmodo training resources & webinars
  • Edmodo in Action videos
  • Introduction to Edmodo webinar
  • Help Center

News in tech:

• (33:28) Teachers earning money online selling lesson resources
  • CNN video – Meet self-made millionaire … teacher?
  • Huffington Post article – Teachers Selling Lessons, Materials Online To Make Extra Money
  • Teachers Pay Teachers
• New Samsung Chromebook for $249
• Apple iPad Mini announcement

Picks of the week:

• (40:05) MoodleDocs
• Twitter Chats in Education
• TunnelBear

Community feedback:

• (47:00) Establishing Guidelines for Electronic Communication from Church Mutual
• A Collection of Twitter Hashtags for WELS Teachers from Ted Klug
• Interactive Whiteboards and Web Tools
• URL Expander
• How to Bring the Start Menu Back in Windows 8
• How to Create a Google Map with Addresses in your Google Contacts
• WELS Musician Mike Westendorf’s Kickstarter effort for funding the printing of his new Emmanuel Has Come CD
• TinEye Reverse Image Search
• Social Media Made Easy

Coming up on WELSTech:

(59:19) Episode 261 – Martin and Sallie countdown the 7 Best Video and Webconferencing Tools for connecting with others. Note the special recording date and time (11/07/12 at 2:00 p.m. CST) means the podcast release will be delayed a bit.

The featured artist:

(1:00:55) We close the podcast with the music of The Branches Band (www.branchesband.com|Facebook) – Nothing But the Blood

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