Today is the last day of TCEA 2011: No Limits. This session was presented by Susan Anderson. It focused on going beyond viewing locations in Google Earth. The presenter discussed how to integrate curriculum into Google Earth by adding placemarks full of multimedia including images, links, and videos.
This will be a short post because unfortunately we were in a different session earlier that was labeled as technology TEKS field trips but happened to be something a bit different than we were hoping. You tend to get some different sessions than you expect sometimes!
There are many resources available at their website below including tutorials and lessons. Definitely take time to check it out!
Resources: http://digitalgoonies.com/?page_id=411
Friday, February 11, 2011
Connect with the Connected - iPods, Video, and Interactivity in Schools
This session focused on integrating podcasts, video, and interactive whiteboard content to democratize and invigorate the learning process in the classroom. The presenter was Robert Pronovost, a previous middle school teacher who now teaches 2nd grade.
This second grade teacher uses a variety of tools in his classroom throughout the school day. For example, one of the things he does is use iCalendar and the remote app to play sounds for transitions in his room throughout the day. His students know exactly what to do when they hear each song.
ical/itunes/remote
This second grade teacher uses a variety of tools in his classroom throughout the school day. For example, one of the things he does is use iCalendar and the remote app to play sounds for transitions in his room throughout the day. His students know exactly what to do when they hear each song.
ical/itunes/remote
- Set up playlist of transitions in iTunes
- set alarms in iCal to off at transition times
- keep remote handy to stop or start songs at different times
Another app he uses is Teacherpal on the iPad to keep track of grades.
Some teacher tools he uses in whole group instruction are:
eBeam Scrapbook:
eBeam Scrapbook doesn't require an interactive whiteboard. You can use any wall as long as you have a computer. Check out an example of eBeam Scrapbook an action below...
Document Camera: Can be used to show student examples when an interactive whiteboard can't be used.
iChat/Skype
Connect with classes next door, around the world, relatives, and experts.
Rock Our World is an example of a large collaboration project that was put together by another group of teachers who use Skype to connect with classrooms all over the world.
GarageBand/iMovie
Teachers and students can use Garage Band and iMovie to create movies and music about concepts learned in the classroom.
Daily Notes
Use Daily Notes to keep track of notes on students or notes about parent conferences. It is an app on the iPad.
RAZ kids is an online guided reading program. Students can record their reading, take quizzes to check their comprehension, and read for practice.
Puppet Pals (iPad)
Puppet Pals is a way for students to create their own stories on the iPad. It can be a story they want to create into a Reader's Theatre.
iTalk Lite
iTalk Lite is a recording app and allows the teacher to download recordings more easily onto a computer than voice memos. It provides fluency practice, Readers' Theater rehearsal, and presentation practice.
DropBox
DropBox allows students to share stories, music, and other files.
flipVideo
flipVideo cameras are used as tools to create student videos.
Garageband/Animationish
Students create videos with both these programs.
DonorsChoose.org
This teacher posts things he would like for his classroom on DonorsChoose and that is how he gets funded for technology items in his classroom.
One of the things he did in his classroom is that he painted his back reading table with IdeaPaint
http://www.ideapaint.com/
Twitter: teach24_7
robert.pronovost@gmail.com
Slides@ http://tiny.cc/cwtc
Thursday, February 10, 2011
GoogleTreks
This session was taught by Dr. Alice Christie. It covered how K-12 students and teachers can use Google Maps and other Web 2.0 tools to produce interdisciplinary user-created content to engage, empower and motivate 21st century learners.
What is GoogleTreks?
Google LitTrips: Jerome Burg
GoogleEarth is free to download and install. It needs at least 512mb of RAM and a newer processor. It requires DSL/Cable and may not work well with slower wireless points.
GoogleMaps does not require any software and can be used with any current browser. It can run with any amount of RAM and any process. It does not require a fast network connection and works well with any wireless connection.
Dr. Alice Christie chose Google Maps because it requires less bandwidth, no programming skills, and it is much easier to navigate, create, and share. It is a free, web-based 2.0 tool. It provides satellite imagery with geographical content.
Why create/use GoogleTreks?
GoogleTreks is an emerging digital tool with potential to enhance learning. It uses real-world data and is continually updated. Kids will gain
GoogleTreks also provide opportunities for students to exhibit their learning to others, use emerging technologies and digital tools, and communicate their research in a personally meaningful way. It allows them to view their world from a more connected, global perspective. It also enhances their map reading and navigations skills.
You can add placemarks to GoogleMaps similar to GoogleEarth. You can post videos and photographs to each placemark as students trek through the unit. You can learn more about how to create a GoogleTrek using Dr. Christie's tutorial at http://www.googletreks.org/tutorial/index.htm. Their is also a GoogleTrek rubric along with examples of GoogleTreks posted at her website below.
The one thing that disappointed me with this presentation was that teachers are creating GoogleTreks. Instead, students should be creating GoogleTreks to share with their peers and others. I'll be using it as a student created product as part of the research process in my classroom.
Resources:
GoogleTreks: http://www.googletreks.org/
What is GoogleTreks?
- An exciting new approach to teaching and learning
- Tool for creating curricular units
- Totally web-based
- Enabled by Web 2.0 tools
- Easy to share
- A way to synthesize information in one easy-to-se map that may include: text, photographs, charts, diagrams, links to audio and video files
- A repository of GoogleTreks created by teachers and students
- Organized by grade level and content area
- Created and coined by Dr. Alice Christie
Google LitTrips: Jerome Burg
- Use Google Earth
- Literature ONLY
- LImited Number of Authors
- Steep Learning Curve
- Use Google Maps
- All Curricular Areas
- Unlimited areas
- Easier Learning Curve
GoogleEarth is free to download and install. It needs at least 512mb of RAM and a newer processor. It requires DSL/Cable and may not work well with slower wireless points.
GoogleMaps does not require any software and can be used with any current browser. It can run with any amount of RAM and any process. It does not require a fast network connection and works well with any wireless connection.
Dr. Alice Christie chose Google Maps because it requires less bandwidth, no programming skills, and it is much easier to navigate, create, and share. It is a free, web-based 2.0 tool. It provides satellite imagery with geographical content.
Why create/use GoogleTreks?
- To engage and excite learners
- To help learners conceptualize, visualize, share, and communicate information about the world
- To provide cross-curicular learning options
- To add a new dimension to learning environments not previously possible
- To leverage ubiquitous tools for learning
- To create active, exploratory, and empowering learning environments
GoogleTreks is an emerging digital tool with potential to enhance learning. It uses real-world data and is continually updated. Kids will gain
GoogleTreks also provide opportunities for students to exhibit their learning to others, use emerging technologies and digital tools, and communicate their research in a personally meaningful way. It allows them to view their world from a more connected, global perspective. It also enhances their map reading and navigations skills.
You can add placemarks to GoogleMaps similar to GoogleEarth. You can post videos and photographs to each placemark as students trek through the unit. You can learn more about how to create a GoogleTrek using Dr. Christie's tutorial at http://www.googletreks.org/tutorial/index.htm. Their is also a GoogleTrek rubric along with examples of GoogleTreks posted at her website below.
The one thing that disappointed me with this presentation was that teachers are creating GoogleTreks. Instead, students should be creating GoogleTreks to share with their peers and others. I'll be using it as a student created product as part of the research process in my classroom.
Resources:
GoogleTreks: http://www.googletreks.org/
1:1 Implementation
This small session was led by Barbara Ybarro. These ladies shared how Bryan ISD implemented a 1:1 laptop initiative where students took devices home and a 1:1 iPad classroom where the devices stayed at school.
Bryan ISD received a technology grant a couple years ago to start a 1:1 initiative in a middle school. It became very difficult to sustain it as the laptops needed to be replaced. They implemented academies at the middle schools within their districts. Students can apply to these academies and these academies are the only classrooms that have 1:1 classroom environments.
When they first began, teachers received their laptops at the same time as the students did. The teachers didn't have enough time to prepare for how their teaching would change. Now, they give teachers a laptop a year before the students get a laptop. The teachers have a whole year to prepare for how their teaching will change.
In their 1:1 classrooms now, they are wanting their teachers to move to more of a paperless classroom using Google Apps. They want to see their students and teachers collaborating online.
They require their parents to come to the campus for a parent training on laptops at the beginning of the program. Since their students take their laptops home, they wanted their parents to be aware of what their students were doing on laptops at home. They also wanted their parents to know how to check in on their child by logging into their child's accounts to check to see what their child was doing online.
In the Odyssey Academy (Science and Technology), the majority of the teachers are using Moodle with their classrooms. They are posting videos for students to learn from. They are also hosting forums online for students to collaborate in discussions at school and home.
One of the supportive features Bryan ISD has offered is to have a curriculum specialist that would sit in with teachers in 1:1 classrooms during their planning time and give them ideas that they can incorporate with the laptops. They would go back and search for some online tools they can use with their students. They also offered a help desk for teachers in 1:1 classrooms to provide support.
In the 1:1 iPad classrooms, they provided support through mentors. Teachers with 1:1 iPad classrooms were divided among teams and each team had a mentor. This provided each team with support. The mentor would go out to teams and teach the team how to use the iPad and provide them with support when they needed it. Bryan ISD currently has 550 iPads throughout the district.
Apps for iPads:
If you purchase apps for multiple iPads, you have to purchase an app for every iPad that you have in your classroom. However, now Apple provides volume purchasing. For example, if you buy 20 apps, you can buy them for 49 cents instead of 99 cents. The district has teachers buy the apps with a district iTunes account. When the teacher leaves the district, the apps stay with the district and the iPads so they cannot take them with them. Bryan ISD uses form space in Eduphoria for teachers to request apps to purchase for their classroom. The teachers copy and paste the link to the app in the form and the principals approve the app. The principal sends it to the secretary and then they approve it and send the redeem code back to the teacher who can then redeem it and download it onto the iPad(s).
It was great to hear the story of where this district has been and where they are going with 1:1 implementation. As I embark on this journey in the next couple of weeks, I am hoping to take what I've learned and run with it! I'm excited that I've already been using Moodle in my classroom and I've been hearing a lot about Moodle throughout this conference. I've also noticed numerous discussions about Google Apps being used to collaborate in 1:1 classrooms. My goal is to take Google Apps and use it as a collaborative tool within my classroom alongside Moodle as my 1:1 classroom gets started. The adventure is about to begin...
Resources:
http://www.ci.bryanisd.org/1vision
https://sites.google.com/a/bryanisd.org/digital-learning
Some of the teacher resources they use in their 1:1 classrooms are:
Atomic Learning: http://www.atomiclearning.com/
Discovery Education Streaming: http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/
Taskstream: https://www.taskstream.com/pub/
Bryan ISD received a technology grant a couple years ago to start a 1:1 initiative in a middle school. It became very difficult to sustain it as the laptops needed to be replaced. They implemented academies at the middle schools within their districts. Students can apply to these academies and these academies are the only classrooms that have 1:1 classroom environments.
When they first began, teachers received their laptops at the same time as the students did. The teachers didn't have enough time to prepare for how their teaching would change. Now, they give teachers a laptop a year before the students get a laptop. The teachers have a whole year to prepare for how their teaching will change.
In their 1:1 classrooms now, they are wanting their teachers to move to more of a paperless classroom using Google Apps. They want to see their students and teachers collaborating online.
They require their parents to come to the campus for a parent training on laptops at the beginning of the program. Since their students take their laptops home, they wanted their parents to be aware of what their students were doing on laptops at home. They also wanted their parents to know how to check in on their child by logging into their child's accounts to check to see what their child was doing online.
In the Odyssey Academy (Science and Technology), the majority of the teachers are using Moodle with their classrooms. They are posting videos for students to learn from. They are also hosting forums online for students to collaborate in discussions at school and home.
One of the supportive features Bryan ISD has offered is to have a curriculum specialist that would sit in with teachers in 1:1 classrooms during their planning time and give them ideas that they can incorporate with the laptops. They would go back and search for some online tools they can use with their students. They also offered a help desk for teachers in 1:1 classrooms to provide support.
In the 1:1 iPad classrooms, they provided support through mentors. Teachers with 1:1 iPad classrooms were divided among teams and each team had a mentor. This provided each team with support. The mentor would go out to teams and teach the team how to use the iPad and provide them with support when they needed it. Bryan ISD currently has 550 iPads throughout the district.
Apps for iPads:
If you purchase apps for multiple iPads, you have to purchase an app for every iPad that you have in your classroom. However, now Apple provides volume purchasing. For example, if you buy 20 apps, you can buy them for 49 cents instead of 99 cents. The district has teachers buy the apps with a district iTunes account. When the teacher leaves the district, the apps stay with the district and the iPads so they cannot take them with them. Bryan ISD uses form space in Eduphoria for teachers to request apps to purchase for their classroom. The teachers copy and paste the link to the app in the form and the principals approve the app. The principal sends it to the secretary and then they approve it and send the redeem code back to the teacher who can then redeem it and download it onto the iPad(s).
It was great to hear the story of where this district has been and where they are going with 1:1 implementation. As I embark on this journey in the next couple of weeks, I am hoping to take what I've learned and run with it! I'm excited that I've already been using Moodle in my classroom and I've been hearing a lot about Moodle throughout this conference. I've also noticed numerous discussions about Google Apps being used to collaborate in 1:1 classrooms. My goal is to take Google Apps and use it as a collaborative tool within my classroom alongside Moodle as my 1:1 classroom gets started. The adventure is about to begin...
Resources:
http://www.ci.bryanisd.org/1vision
https://sites.google.com/a/bryanisd.org/digital-learning
Some of the teacher resources they use in their 1:1 classrooms are:
Atomic Learning: http://www.atomiclearning.com/
Discovery Education Streaming: http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/
Taskstream: https://www.taskstream.com/pub/
Contact Information:
lshipley@bryanisd@org
sharono@bryanisd.org
Moving Beyond Powerpoint!
This session focused on web based applications an elementary school uses beyond Power Point.
At the start of the session, the presenters put this quote up on the screen.
"If we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tomorrow." John Dewey
It really says it all doesn't it?
Teachers need to stop saying "Hand it in." and start saying "Publish it." ~Alan November
One of the first web based applications the speaker discussed was Wix. Wix is a website builder where teachers can build websites easily.
Wix: http://www.wix.com/
Another free program students can use is Voicethread. I've used Voicethread in my classroom for a community project in my classroom as well. Students created a "Hotspot" video on Voicethread. They took five pictures of their favorite spots in their own community. On Voicethread, they talked about why these places were their favorite and why they were important to their community. Other classmates were able to log on and comment about their classmates' videos. Our entire third grade level created "Hotspot" videos and commented on other class video projects. This year we expanded it to another campus in our district as well as other schools across the globe. It's been a great community project to learn about communities around the world and how they are similar and different from our own community.
These teachers have used Voicethread in their classroom to share poetry. Their students were able to read their poetry on Voicethread and hear their classmates' comments on their poetry. Voicethread offers free educator accounts. You can set up accounts easily for your students and have up to three free videos at a time for each student account.
Voicethread: http://voicethread.com/
Another program they talked about using with students is Prezi. They mentioned that the students found this online presentation tool easy to use.
Prezi: http://prezi.com/
Students also use Animoto for their final products. I also use Animoto in my classroom. You can apply for an educator account. It normally takes two weeks for them to validate your educator account. You can then set up student accounts for each of your students very easily. They can then make Animoto videos easily by uploading pictures, adding text and music, and then adding the final touches to make their movie.
Animoto: http://animoto.com/
Kerpoof is a great resource for students to use in the classroom as well. It has 'Make a Movie', 'Make a Picture', 'Spell a Picture', 'Make a Storybook', and more according to various grade levels. Kerpoof also has a teacher scholastic page with lesson plans for teachers.
Kerpoof: http://www.kerpoof.com/
Kerpoof Scholastic: http://www.kerpoof.com/teach
Some of the lesson plans available on the Scholastic site include:
At the start of the session, the presenters put this quote up on the screen.
"If we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tomorrow." John Dewey
It really says it all doesn't it?
Teachers need to stop saying "Hand it in." and start saying "Publish it." ~Alan November
One of the first web based applications the speaker discussed was Wix. Wix is a website builder where teachers can build websites easily.
Wix: http://www.wix.com/
Another free program students can use is Voicethread. I've used Voicethread in my classroom for a community project in my classroom as well. Students created a "Hotspot" video on Voicethread. They took five pictures of their favorite spots in their own community. On Voicethread, they talked about why these places were their favorite and why they were important to their community. Other classmates were able to log on and comment about their classmates' videos. Our entire third grade level created "Hotspot" videos and commented on other class video projects. This year we expanded it to another campus in our district as well as other schools across the globe. It's been a great community project to learn about communities around the world and how they are similar and different from our own community.
These teachers have used Voicethread in their classroom to share poetry. Their students were able to read their poetry on Voicethread and hear their classmates' comments on their poetry. Voicethread offers free educator accounts. You can set up accounts easily for your students and have up to three free videos at a time for each student account.
Voicethread: http://voicethread.com/
Another program they talked about using with students is Prezi. They mentioned that the students found this online presentation tool easy to use.
Prezi: http://prezi.com/
Students also use Animoto for their final products. I also use Animoto in my classroom. You can apply for an educator account. It normally takes two weeks for them to validate your educator account. You can then set up student accounts for each of your students very easily. They can then make Animoto videos easily by uploading pictures, adding text and music, and then adding the final touches to make their movie.
Animoto: http://animoto.com/
Kerpoof is a great resource for students to use in the classroom as well. It has 'Make a Movie', 'Make a Picture', 'Spell a Picture', 'Make a Storybook', and more according to various grade levels. Kerpoof also has a teacher scholastic page with lesson plans for teachers.
Kerpoof: http://www.kerpoof.com/
Kerpoof Scholastic: http://www.kerpoof.com/teach
Some of the lesson plans available on the Scholastic site include:
- all Tales: Exploring Fact and Fiction (grades 4-5) (PDF)
- The Planets (grades 3-6) (PDF)
- Poetry Partners (grades 2-4) (PDF)
- The Plot Thickens... (grades 3-6) (PDF)
- Biz Movie Sneak Peek (grades 3-8) (PDF)
This session provided some great resources and was very beneficial!
Web 2.0 That Works
TCEA 2011: No Limits Day 2...
My first session this morning is Web 2.0 That Works. The speaker is Stephanie Sandifer. This session focuses on how teachers can focus on integrating Web 2.0 tools with research-based effective instructional practices that are identified by Marzano's meta-research.
The four C's: Create, Communicate, Collaborate, and Curate. What about pedagogy?
What is classroom instruction that works? Dr. Marzano did meta-research for over 30 years. She created strategies and organized them into 9 categories.
1. Identifying Similarities and Differences
Web 2.0 Tools:
Voicethread: http://voicethread.com/
Exploratree: http://www.exploratree.org.uk/
MediaWiki: http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki
iGoogle: http://www.google.com/ig
Netvibes: http://www.netvibes.com/en
Backpack: http://backpackit.com/
Ning: http://www.ning.com/
Editgrid: http://www.editgrid.com/
Diigo: http://www.diigo.com/
Writeboard: http://writeboard.com/
YackPack: http://www.yackpack.com/education.html
Edublogs: http://edublogs.org/
Blogger: http://www.blogger.com
2. Summarizing and Note Taking
Exploratree
MediaWiki
iGoogle
Netvibes
SuprGlu
Twitter
BackPack
Basecamp
Zoho Wiki
Zoho Writer
Zoho Notebook
Google Docs
WordPress
Blogger
Edublogs
Wikispaces
3. Reinforcing Effort and Providing Recognition
Mediawiki
Schoopy
iGoogle
Netvibes
Twitter
Basecamp
Ning
Writeboard
pbWiki
YackPack
ZohoNotebook
Rubistar
4. Homework and Practice
Exploratree
Notation
Schoopy
MeBeam
Ustream
Skype
iGoogle
Netvibes
Twitter
SuprGlu
iOutliner
Writeboard
Scanr
Zoho Suite
Google Presentations
Technorati
bubbl.us
5. Nonlinguistic Representation
Flickr
Google Earth
Google Maps
Zoho Wiki
Zoho Show
Zoho Notebook
Google Presentations
bubbl.us
Gliffy
Wikispaces
ScanR
Thinkature
Ning
Diigo
TiffanyScreens
SketchUp
MeBeam
Schoopy
VoiceThread
6. Cooperative Learning
Voicethread
Exploratree
Mediatree
Schoopy
Mebeam
Ustream
Skype
iGoogle
Netvibes
Ning
Backpack
Diigo
Outliner
Thinkature
7. Setting Objectives and Providing Feedback
Voicethread
Exploratree
MixedLink
Schoopy
iGoogle
Netvibes
Twitter
Ning
Basecamp
Thinkature
pbWiki
Writeboard
Zoho Suite
Google Spreadsheets
Google Docs
8. Generating And Testing Hypothesis
Mediawiki
Backpack
Basecamp
Ning
pbWiki
Zoho Wiki
Zoho Writer
Google Docs
Technorati
WordPress
Edublogs
Blogger
Wikispaces
9. Questions, Cues, and Advance Organizers
Voicethread
Exploratree
Mediawiki
SchoopyMeBeam
Ustream
Skype
iGoogle
Netvibes
BaseCamp
Backpack
Diigo
Writecamp
Thinkature
ScanR
Google Presentations
Google Spreadsheets
Google Docs
Technorati
Some Web 2.0 tools that are effective include:
Wall Wisher: http://www.wallwisher.com/
Corkboard.me: http://corkboard.me/simple
Type With Me: http://typewith.me/
Today's Meet: http://todaysmeet.com
More resources for this session are available at: http://web2thatworks.wikispaces.com/
My first session this morning is Web 2.0 That Works. The speaker is Stephanie Sandifer. This session focuses on how teachers can focus on integrating Web 2.0 tools with research-based effective instructional practices that are identified by Marzano's meta-research.
The four C's: Create, Communicate, Collaborate, and Curate. What about pedagogy?
What is classroom instruction that works? Dr. Marzano did meta-research for over 30 years. She created strategies and organized them into 9 categories.
1. Identifying Similarities and Differences
Web 2.0 Tools:
Voicethread: http://voicethread.com/
Exploratree: http://www.exploratree.org.uk/
MediaWiki: http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki
iGoogle: http://www.google.com/ig
Netvibes: http://www.netvibes.com/en
Backpack: http://backpackit.com/
Ning: http://www.ning.com/
Editgrid: http://www.editgrid.com/
Diigo: http://www.diigo.com/
Writeboard: http://writeboard.com/
YackPack: http://www.yackpack.com/education.html
Edublogs: http://edublogs.org/
Blogger: http://www.blogger.com
2. Summarizing and Note Taking
Exploratree
MediaWiki
iGoogle
Netvibes
SuprGlu
BackPack
Basecamp
Zoho Wiki
Zoho Writer
Zoho Notebook
Google Docs
WordPress
Blogger
Edublogs
Wikispaces
3. Reinforcing Effort and Providing Recognition
Mediawiki
Schoopy
iGoogle
Netvibes
Basecamp
Ning
Writeboard
pbWiki
YackPack
ZohoNotebook
Rubistar
4. Homework and Practice
Exploratree
Notation
Schoopy
MeBeam
Ustream
Skype
iGoogle
Netvibes
SuprGlu
iOutliner
Writeboard
Scanr
Zoho Suite
Google Presentations
Technorati
bubbl.us
5. Nonlinguistic Representation
Flickr
Google Earth
Google Maps
Zoho Wiki
Zoho Show
Zoho Notebook
Google Presentations
bubbl.us
Gliffy
Wikispaces
ScanR
Thinkature
Ning
Diigo
TiffanyScreens
SketchUp
MeBeam
Schoopy
VoiceThread
6. Cooperative Learning
Voicethread
Exploratree
Mediatree
Schoopy
Mebeam
Ustream
Skype
iGoogle
Netvibes
Ning
Backpack
Diigo
Outliner
Thinkature
7. Setting Objectives and Providing Feedback
Voicethread
Exploratree
MixedLink
Schoopy
iGoogle
Netvibes
Ning
Basecamp
Thinkature
pbWiki
Writeboard
Zoho Suite
Google Spreadsheets
Google Docs
8. Generating And Testing Hypothesis
Mediawiki
Backpack
Basecamp
Ning
pbWiki
Zoho Wiki
Zoho Writer
Google Docs
Technorati
WordPress
Edublogs
Blogger
Wikispaces
9. Questions, Cues, and Advance Organizers
Voicethread
Exploratree
Mediawiki
SchoopyMeBeam
Ustream
Skype
iGoogle
Netvibes
BaseCamp
Backpack
Diigo
Writecamp
Thinkature
ScanR
Google Presentations
Google Spreadsheets
Google Docs
Technorati
Some Web 2.0 tools that are effective include:
Wall Wisher: http://www.wallwisher.com/
Corkboard.me: http://corkboard.me/simple
Type With Me: http://typewith.me/
Today's Meet: http://todaysmeet.com
More resources for this session are available at: http://web2thatworks.wikispaces.com/
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
The iTouch Language Lab
This sessions focuses on using iTouches as part of a Language program. This language teacher uses a free app called Audioboo. Audioboo makes a playlist player that you can embed on a blog or website. Students can record audio on the iTouch or on the computer. They can describe their "boo", attach a picture, and add tags. After that, they save and upload it to share.
This session was geared more towards foreign language teachers. However, you could use Audioboo to record podcasts instead of Audacity or Belkin Tunetalk attached to iPods. One of the features I like is that students can use it at home on their iPods without having to have a Belkin Tunetalk or similar attachment added to their iPod. On top of that, it's a free app! It can also be used on a computer without the use of an iPod. A teacher can create one account for the whole class to use without having to create an account for every student. It's a simple solution for podcasting if you're looking for something easy to get started with.
Another great feature of Audioboo is that you can subscribe to "boos" just like you can subscribe to podcasts. The students could subscribe to their class Audioboo podcasts to listen to their classmates' podcasts. The teacher could also subscribe to listen to the podcasts to grade their podcasts easily by listening to them in the car on the way home, for example. Take a look at this quick video to see an example of how easy it is to use the Audioboo app.
I can see some great uses for Audioboo in the third grade classroom. I'm definitely going to be giving it a try!
You can find more information about the iTouch Language Lab at: https://sites.google.com/site/theitouchlanguagelab/other-lote-apps/more-about-audioboo
This session was geared more towards foreign language teachers. However, you could use Audioboo to record podcasts instead of Audacity or Belkin Tunetalk attached to iPods. One of the features I like is that students can use it at home on their iPods without having to have a Belkin Tunetalk or similar attachment added to their iPod. On top of that, it's a free app! It can also be used on a computer without the use of an iPod. A teacher can create one account for the whole class to use without having to create an account for every student. It's a simple solution for podcasting if you're looking for something easy to get started with.
Another great feature of Audioboo is that you can subscribe to "boos" just like you can subscribe to podcasts. The students could subscribe to their class Audioboo podcasts to listen to their classmates' podcasts. The teacher could also subscribe to listen to the podcasts to grade their podcasts easily by listening to them in the car on the way home, for example. Take a look at this quick video to see an example of how easy it is to use the Audioboo app.
I can see some great uses for Audioboo in the third grade classroom. I'm definitely going to be giving it a try!
You can find more information about the iTouch Language Lab at: https://sites.google.com/site/theitouchlanguagelab/other-lote-apps/more-about-audioboo
Integrating State-Funded Online Resources with ActivInspire
This session was presented by Shannon Baumann from the Region 20 Service Center.
This session focused on integrating resources available on http://web.esc20.net/access with ActivInspire. The resources available on this site are divided into elementary and secondary resources. On the elementary side there are resources like EBSCO and Britannica Online. The secondary side is similar but the resources are geared towards the upper grades.
The presenter suggests starting off by entering an image in ActivInspire on the flipchart and asking students to analyze the photograph to generate research questions. This is a different way to start off a research project instead of telling the students what they will be researching. The students can come up to the board and circle/label items on the photo and explain their observations. You can then ask students questions they have about the photograph.
These resources are free because they are state funded. If you aren't sure about your log-in information, contact your school librarian. My post on this one will be short because I realize I attended this session last year. Unfortunately, TCEA is a bit overcrowded this year. The first three sessions I tried to get into were full even though I arrived fifteen minutes early! Hopefully, we will have some less crowded sessions in the next hour. Here is to hoping...
This session focused on integrating resources available on http://web.esc20.net/access with ActivInspire. The resources available on this site are divided into elementary and secondary resources. On the elementary side there are resources like EBSCO and Britannica Online. The secondary side is similar but the resources are geared towards the upper grades.
The presenter suggests starting off by entering an image in ActivInspire on the flipchart and asking students to analyze the photograph to generate research questions. This is a different way to start off a research project instead of telling the students what they will be researching. The students can come up to the board and circle/label items on the photo and explain their observations. You can then ask students questions they have about the photograph.
These resources are free because they are state funded. If you aren't sure about your log-in information, contact your school librarian. My post on this one will be short because I realize I attended this session last year. Unfortunately, TCEA is a bit overcrowded this year. The first three sessions I tried to get into were full even though I arrived fifteen minutes early! Hopefully, we will have some less crowded sessions in the next hour. Here is to hoping...
Lesons Learned About iPods (and Podcasting) in the Classroom
This session focuses on a school district who has been using iPods in their classrooms for six years. They have been using a variety of iPods including shuffles, nanos, etc. in their classrooms. They shared what they've learned in the past six years and where they plan to go in the future. The presenters were Amy Bramhall (bramhalla@cfbisd.edu) and La Donna Conner (connerla@cfbisd.edu).
In 2005-2006, they started out with four teachers: middle school newcomers, a high school ESL teacher, and a high school french teacher. They used 100 iPods and 100 Griffin iTalks. At that time they used only audio and used Audacity to record and upload audio. One thing they learned, they had to have the buy-in from the curriculum and instruction department and the teachers.
In 2006-2007, the program expanded district-wide to all newcomer and ESL 1 classrooms. They went from 100 to 450 iPods. They had 450 video iPods, 450 Belkin Tune Talks and 150 iPod shuffles. They used Photostory to upload videos on the video iPods. The superintendent also started an iPod program for teachers. 1,800 teachers were selected to attend Podcast training and had to sign a contract where they received a iPod. Part of the contract was that they had to create 4 podcasts. The district learned that teachers didn't really see the value of podcasting for the students. Most teachers just wanted the iPod.
During 2007-2009, campuses continued spending their funds to purchase iPods. Teachers continued writing grants for iPod projects. Teachers and students were creating content using iPods.
Some of the roadblocks Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD came across were copyright issues, network issues, theft/loss, C-FBISD Student Policies, students needing constant assistance, time constraints, technical issues, and maintaining podcasts.
They do have a student contract that students and parents have to sign. Students and parents do have a monetary fine for losing their iPod. They also have a community service time for those who couldn't afford the monetary fine. They had policies for when and where iPods could be out. For example, students couldn't have them out in the hallways between classes at the high school.
From 2009-2010, the district used iTouches to focus on science. They included four elementary campuses and included 200 additional iTouches. The content is pre-loaded by the instructional technology specialist. They load science videos, apps, and songs.
Here are some student quotes about apps they use on iPods:
"In fifth grade, we constantly have projects in progress and sometimes even two or three at a time. Researching can take awhile what with waiting for available computers and going all the way to the computer lab. We use apps on our iPods to research..."
"A week or so before winter break we had a 321 assignment on an article and instead of doing it on paper I wrote it up on my iPod and sent my teacher Mrs. White my work!"
"The Red:Green application is really good when we discuss something. We show the green if we agree and the red if we disagree."
In 2010-2011 so far, the district has added 200 additional iTouches to the classroom that focus on science in the fifth grade classrooms. The content continues to be added by the I.T.S. including videos, apps, and songs. Campuses continue to use their own funds to purchase iPods to meet their students' needs. They now have over 3,800 iPod devices in their district.
What currently works...
In 2005-2006, they started out with four teachers: middle school newcomers, a high school ESL teacher, and a high school french teacher. They used 100 iPods and 100 Griffin iTalks. At that time they used only audio and used Audacity to record and upload audio. One thing they learned, they had to have the buy-in from the curriculum and instruction department and the teachers.
In 2006-2007, the program expanded district-wide to all newcomer and ESL 1 classrooms. They went from 100 to 450 iPods. They had 450 video iPods, 450 Belkin Tune Talks and 150 iPod shuffles. They used Photostory to upload videos on the video iPods. The superintendent also started an iPod program for teachers. 1,800 teachers were selected to attend Podcast training and had to sign a contract where they received a iPod. Part of the contract was that they had to create 4 podcasts. The district learned that teachers didn't really see the value of podcasting for the students. Most teachers just wanted the iPod.
During 2007-2009, campuses continued spending their funds to purchase iPods. Teachers continued writing grants for iPod projects. Teachers and students were creating content using iPods.
Some of the roadblocks Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD came across were copyright issues, network issues, theft/loss, C-FBISD Student Policies, students needing constant assistance, time constraints, technical issues, and maintaining podcasts.
They do have a student contract that students and parents have to sign. Students and parents do have a monetary fine for losing their iPod. They also have a community service time for those who couldn't afford the monetary fine. They had policies for when and where iPods could be out. For example, students couldn't have them out in the hallways between classes at the high school.
From 2009-2010, the district used iTouches to focus on science. They included four elementary campuses and included 200 additional iTouches. The content is pre-loaded by the instructional technology specialist. They load science videos, apps, and songs.
Here are some student quotes about apps they use on iPods:
"In fifth grade, we constantly have projects in progress and sometimes even two or three at a time. Researching can take awhile what with waiting for available computers and going all the way to the computer lab. We use apps on our iPods to research..."
"A week or so before winter break we had a 321 assignment on an article and instead of doing it on paper I wrote it up on my iPod and sent my teacher Mrs. White my work!"
"The Red:Green application is really good when we discuss something. We show the green if we agree and the red if we disagree."
In 2010-2011 so far, the district has added 200 additional iTouches to the classroom that focus on science in the fifth grade classrooms. The content continues to be added by the I.T.S. including videos, apps, and songs. Campuses continue to use their own funds to purchase iPods to meet their students' needs. They now have over 3,800 iPod devices in their district.
What currently works...
- content already loaded
- "mainstream" use of iPods
- wireless internet access
- frees up class time
- buy-in by ALL stakeholders
I am currently using iPods in my classroom and this was a good session to sit in to hear what this district has done in the last six years. However, I would have liked to hear some of the apps and programs they use with their iPods. This was geared more towards administrators looking at how to start an Ipod program in their district.
Digital Project Menus
This session focuses on digital project menus and was geared more toward middle school students. However, we are moving to a 1:1 environment in our third grade classrooms in two weeks and I feel that our students can use some tools available to middle school students since we already use tools like Moodle already. This session was hosted by Dodie Maddox.
Digital project menus are a new twist on a differentiation strategy. They are also known as choice boards and product menus (non-digital forms). Choice boards allow student choice when learning skills, concepts, and objectives. Moving choices into a digital format provides a variety of benefits. Digital project menus can be easily reused year after year and the format is familiar for digital natives. They are easily edit and are in a central location for directions, resources, and rubrics. They can also provide incorporation of digital products and extend the classroom walls.
She shared a power point project a sixth grade class completed with us. It focuses on a simple project menu for Civil Rights.
http://mca.swisd.net/teachers/tabor/project
Another example can include a tic-tac-toe menu. They would complete three activities from the tic-tac-toe menu similar to playing tic-tac-toe. You could also leave the center square free as a choice where students could create their own project. An example of of a tic-tac-toe menu is below.
https://sites.google.com/site/digitalprojectmenus/home/tic-tac-toe-menu
The four square menu involves four squares. There is a project in each square. Students choose a project in each square and must complete each square. There are some options for choice like leaving a square blank where students can fill in their own choice for a project. An example of a four square menu of the American Revolution is shown at the link below.
https://sites.google.com/site/digitalprojectmenus/home/four-square-menu
A restaurant menu is another example of a digital project menu. Students are given a minimum amount of money to spend. They then place an order for the projects they will complete. At the link below, you find an example for a Body Systems Restaurant Menu.
https://sites.google.com/site/digitalprojectmenus/home/resturant-menu
The final type of menu she discussed was a baseball menu. The baseball menu is a type of choice menu where students would need to understand the basics of scoring a "run" in baseball. It is best for older students. An example for a "Biomes" Baseball menu is found at the link below.
https://sites.google.com/site/digitalprojectmenus/home/baseball-menu
There are a few sites she shared for digital products. These are also linked in the above websites. Most of these sites are free. Some teachers mentioned sites like XtraNormal may charge after you have a few videos. However, if you email them and let them know you are an educator, they will give you free credits. Museum Box requires that you prove you are an educator.
Magazine Covers: http://bighugelabs.com/magazine.php
LiveBinders: http://livebinders.com/
CreateaGraph: http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph/default.aspx
VisuWords:http://www.visuwords.com/?word=dna
Wordle: http://www.wordle.net/
Make Beliefs Comix: http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/
Animoto: http://animoto.com/
Prezi: http://prezi.com/
XtraNormal: http://www.xtranormal.com/
Museum Box: http://museumbox.e2bn.org/
Kizoa: http://www.kizoa.com/
GoAnimate!: http://goanimate.com/
ToonDoo for Education: http://www.toondoo.com/View.toon?param=4
I think the idea of Digital Project Menus is a wonderful idea! Even though this was geared towards middle school teachers I learned so many things! I will definitely be using digital project menus in the classroom with my third grade students. This is a great way to incorporate choice, digital projects, and rubrics in the classroom easily. I'm on my way to the next session!
Digital project menus are a new twist on a differentiation strategy. They are also known as choice boards and product menus (non-digital forms). Choice boards allow student choice when learning skills, concepts, and objectives. Moving choices into a digital format provides a variety of benefits. Digital project menus can be easily reused year after year and the format is familiar for digital natives. They are easily edit and are in a central location for directions, resources, and rubrics. They can also provide incorporation of digital products and extend the classroom walls.
She shared a power point project a sixth grade class completed with us. It focuses on a simple project menu for Civil Rights.
http://mca.swisd.net/teachers/tabor/project
Another example can include a tic-tac-toe menu. They would complete three activities from the tic-tac-toe menu similar to playing tic-tac-toe. You could also leave the center square free as a choice where students could create their own project. An example of of a tic-tac-toe menu is below.
https://sites.google.com/site/digitalprojectmenus/home/tic-tac-toe-menu
The four square menu involves four squares. There is a project in each square. Students choose a project in each square and must complete each square. There are some options for choice like leaving a square blank where students can fill in their own choice for a project. An example of a four square menu of the American Revolution is shown at the link below.
https://sites.google.com/site/digitalprojectmenus/home/four-square-menu
A restaurant menu is another example of a digital project menu. Students are given a minimum amount of money to spend. They then place an order for the projects they will complete. At the link below, you find an example for a Body Systems Restaurant Menu.
https://sites.google.com/site/digitalprojectmenus/home/resturant-menu
The final type of menu she discussed was a baseball menu. The baseball menu is a type of choice menu where students would need to understand the basics of scoring a "run" in baseball. It is best for older students. An example for a "Biomes" Baseball menu is found at the link below.
https://sites.google.com/site/digitalprojectmenus/home/baseball-menu
There are a few sites she shared for digital products. These are also linked in the above websites. Most of these sites are free. Some teachers mentioned sites like XtraNormal may charge after you have a few videos. However, if you email them and let them know you are an educator, they will give you free credits. Museum Box requires that you prove you are an educator.
Magazine Covers: http://bighugelabs.com/magazine.php
LiveBinders: http://livebinders.com/
CreateaGraph: http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph/default.aspx
VisuWords:http://www.visuwords.com/?word=dna
Wordle: http://www.wordle.net/
Make Beliefs Comix: http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/
Animoto: http://animoto.com/
Prezi: http://prezi.com/
XtraNormal: http://www.xtranormal.com/
Museum Box: http://museumbox.e2bn.org/
Kizoa: http://www.kizoa.com/
GoAnimate!: http://goanimate.com/
ToonDoo for Education: http://www.toondoo.com/View.toon?param=4
I think the idea of Digital Project Menus is a wonderful idea! Even though this was geared towards middle school teachers I learned so many things! I will definitely be using digital project menus in the classroom with my third grade students. This is a great way to incorporate choice, digital projects, and rubrics in the classroom easily. I'm on my way to the next session!
Playing the Future: Education for the 22nd Century
We just arrived at the TCEA 2011: No Limits Convention in Austin, Texas. This is our very first session of the day. David Thornburg from the Thornburg Center discusses the future of technology in education as we move from the 21st century into the 22nd century.
He started out by talking about medical equipment and how everything has moved into minimally invasive surgery with very small digital equipment. He moved into talking about digital equipment in the classroom. He predicts that many school districts that are currently buying projectors and Promethean/Smart boards are now buying their last boards and projectors. The reason is because the filters and bulbs cost a large amount of money and they don't last a long time. There are new, large display screens that are starting to emerge that are expensive but will go down in price that don't require projectors.
Then he moved into talking about 3D. He talked about how the glasses are way too expensive, and how some of the population cannot even see 3D in the shutter glasses(depth perception). However, he discussed how the concept is a fabulous concept. He believes 3D without glasses is in the near future.
Another presentation tool of the future is holographics. Musion Eyeliner is a 3D Holographic Projection system that is available for rental only because it is so expensive. It could be a future tool in classrooms in the future. We were shown a video of the holographic system in action and it was pretty amazing! Check it out at http://www.musion.co.uk/.
Another wave of future technology is here already, Kinect for XBox 360 by Microsoft. This software can be used in the classroom as interactive tools in education in the future. Kinect is only the beginning.
Touchable holography is another emerging technology that is in the near future and a possibility in education. You've seen it on Star Trek but it could also be in classrooms in the future. Check out this YouTube video to see what Japanese Scientists are doing to create touchable holograms..
Atoms are the new bits. Imagine teaching geometry and students get confused about a tetrahedron and a rectangular prism. You can use a 3D printer to build the solids. Students could now build a tetrahedron and a rectangular prism. It is a lot cheaper than having legos and other building blocks around in the classroom. One example of a 3D printer is a MakerBot. http://www.makerbot.com/
He started out by talking about medical equipment and how everything has moved into minimally invasive surgery with very small digital equipment. He moved into talking about digital equipment in the classroom. He predicts that many school districts that are currently buying projectors and Promethean/Smart boards are now buying their last boards and projectors. The reason is because the filters and bulbs cost a large amount of money and they don't last a long time. There are new, large display screens that are starting to emerge that are expensive but will go down in price that don't require projectors.
Then he moved into talking about 3D. He talked about how the glasses are way too expensive, and how some of the population cannot even see 3D in the shutter glasses(depth perception). However, he discussed how the concept is a fabulous concept. He believes 3D without glasses is in the near future.
Another presentation tool of the future is holographics. Musion Eyeliner is a 3D Holographic Projection system that is available for rental only because it is so expensive. It could be a future tool in classrooms in the future. We were shown a video of the holographic system in action and it was pretty amazing! Check it out at http://www.musion.co.uk/.
Another wave of future technology is here already, Kinect for XBox 360 by Microsoft. This software can be used in the classroom as interactive tools in education in the future. Kinect is only the beginning.
Touchable holography is another emerging technology that is in the near future and a possibility in education. You've seen it on Star Trek but it could also be in classrooms in the future. Check out this YouTube video to see what Japanese Scientists are doing to create touchable holograms..
It's pretty interesting to hear where technology is going in the 22nd century. Things are changing every day rapidly. It just reminds me we have to keep learning and stay up to date with everything that it is happening! Stay tuned for more...
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