Location: ES Learning Hub

9:00 - 9:10: Get settled, start computers, connect to internet

9:10 - 9:20: Warm-up Activity (Visible Thinking Routine)



9:20 - 9:30:Set-up RSS Reader (Google Reader)

9:30 - 10:30:Discuss the power of RSS

10:30 - 10:45: Break

10:45 - 11:30:Begin reflective blog post, Set-up RSS Reader, Catch up


11:30 - 12:00:

12:00 - 12:45: Lunch (thanks to Ann for organizing!)

12:45 - 1:00:

1:00 - 1:20:

1:20 - 1:30: Introduce Chris Betcher

1:30 - 2:30: Chris Betcher Presentation, Q&A

• Google search syntax
• Truth and Bias online

2:30 - 3:30 Open reflection on Chris' presentation

Google Search Tips -courtesy of Google
Verifying Information Worksheet -courtesy of Clarence Fisher
Search Skills Worksheet -courtesy of Clarence Fisher

Morning: Developing a Personal Learning Network

Afternoon: Using Google Effectively in the Classroom

Guest Presenter:

Chris Betcher is a technology coordinator in Sydney, Australia. He will be joining us at 1:30 via Skype to talk about how he uses Google (and search engines in general) effectively in the classroom, and how he deals with truth and bias online. Chris is currently writing a book on using Interactive White Boards (Smart Boards) in the classroom. His blog Betchablog is a top educational blog as he talks about the impacts technology can have on the classroom environment.

Google for Educators - some great resources
http://www.google.com/educators/index.html
http://www.google.com/educators/tools.html
http://www.google.com/educators/posters.html

Learn some basic search syntax, or use Google Advanced Search


Slide presentation courtesy of @sirchriss

Want some practice? Try finding the answers to a few simple questions...

Oh, the things you can do when you really know how to hack the Google search engine!

Would you believe...

...that spaghetti grows on trees?

Many people did!

What about octopuses that live in trees? http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/
Or tinfoil hats to stop people reading your mind? http://zapatopi.net/afdb/
Or perhaps you'd like to know The truth about Hell? http://www.av1611.org/hell.html
Or an oil rig team accidentally drilling all the way to Hell? http://amightywind.com/hell/aboutsounds.htm
Or making cats into Bonsai ornaments? http://www.shorty.com/bonsaikitten/index.html
House Hippo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBfi8OEz0rA
web site for the Dihydrogen Monoxide Research http://www.dhmo.org/

Take a look at these pages. Are they real? How do you know? How can you find out?

More importantly, how can you teach your students to be able to tell the difference?

You could start by teaching them to think about the 5 Factors for Evaluating a Website

Authority - Currency - Content/Purpose - Audience - Structure/Workability