Free Stuff!!

Are you looking for free stuff to help you with technology integration?  Check out Russell Stannard's TTV site.  He has created many videos that explain how to use tools such as Edmodo, Prezi, Audacity . . . too many to list.

Go see for yourself here! --> TTV

Japan--Before and After

This is tragic and sobering, but it's an excellent way to help our students to become globally aware.  Many of us go about our daily lives, forgetting the devastation and hopelessness that others in the world face.  Most teenagers especially have a hard time seeing beyond their own personal issues (and too many of them have some very serious ones).  This is a good opportunity for them to begin to understand (how can any of us ever fully understand?) the tragedy in Japan.


http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/03/13/world/asia/satellite-photos-japan-before-and-after-tsunami.html?hp


This is just one small example of what you'll see in the link above:

The Beach on VoiceThread

I know the VoiceThread is not the latest thing off the market, but it's a great product for presentation and collaboration.  Besides, it's free.

I'm teaching earth science classes how to use it to create their own rock cycles.  They turn in their projects by sharing with their teacher. 

They are also sharing with each other (only people they trust since they have to share email addresses) so that they can collaborate.  I used some of my own pictures and one video to show them how to create a voice thread, and then some of them wanted to be my friend :), so they commented on my pictures.

VoiceThread can be used for many different types of assignments, especially digital storytelling.  Give it a try.

Glogster

Want an example of a great Glog?  Of course, I like this one because I LOVE teaching British literature, but it's a good example for how Glogster can be used in school . . . with one caveat.  Students in our system cannot include youtube videos, of course, because youtube is on the evil site list.

Glogster Guide

I found this very helpful article on using Glogster in the classroom. If you've hesitated to use it because you're afraid you don't know enough, this eHow article will help you.

There are also some links on the right sidebar to other excellent articles.

Always learning--don't stop!

Using Maps to Tell Stories

I found another valuable site through Twitter. 
This site allows students (or anyone) to create a story using maps.  I haven't looked at all the features, but I know that you can click on a place you've been, writing a short story about it, and even include a picture.
We have always been storytellers.  Here is another chance for our students to practicie storytelling while alos learning map skills.
You can sign up for a teacher account and then get an unlimited amount of student accounts.  I hope you find it useful.  I'm going to write a story using it . . . when I find some time.

Using Current Events to Make Instruction Relevant

Twitter has helped me again.

I found a blog post about using current events to create real world learning, and that is one of the highest goals of 21st Century Teaching and Learning, and in our division, Compass to 2015.

The blog also includes links to other resources that help us to go beyond our classroom walls to engage our students.

Please read this blog, and let me know if you want help creating a lesson like this.

Ripped from the Headlines: How to Turn Current Events into Real-World Projects

I leave you with this quote that I found in a friend's email signature:

"Must we always teach our children with books? Let them look
at the stars and the mountains above. Let them look at the waters
and the trees and flowers on Earth. Then they will begin to think,
and to think is the beginning of a real education. "
- David Polis

Wikipedia--not the enemy you may think it is

I have seen this post mentioned several times over the past two days, so I decided it is time to share it.

I'm always a bit annoyed when I hear that teachers ban use of Wikipedia. I realize that anyone can contribute to Wikipedia, but as this post points out, everything must be documented, and if it's not, you'll know it's not.

We are too busy banning our students from useful sites and tools when we could use the opportunity to help them develop critical thinking skills by choosing for themselves what is credible and what isn't, and how a device (such as a cell phone or iPod) should be used in school.

The part of this blog that I like the most is at the end:

We don’t need to teach our kids not to use Wikipedia. We need to teach them to make those extra few clicks and decide for themselves if the Wikipedia entry has merit. It’s a skill that is broadly applicable in an age of information overload and Google’s billions of search results.

I hope you will learn from reading the entire post:

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/education/teachers-please-stop-prohibiting-the-use-of-wikipedia/4319

New York Times

Did you know that The New York Times can be a great resource for educators? The Learning Network: Teaching and Learning with The New YorkTimes provides many resources and lesson plans for teachers.

I especially like the information about Infographs--graphics that provide information. That may sound too simple, so it's best if you read the information yourself.

Infographs are an excellent way to reach the visual learners. Students can even create their own.

You'll find many other excellent resources there, too.

Beyond PowerPoint

I have a lot of ideas to post because I have been gathering them in my mind--which has plenty of space for new ideas.

I'm starting with this one because I was in a computer lab last year where students were working on a PowerPoint project. I probably was there to fix a computer since teachers call on me for that more than for technology integration, but I decided to talk to some of the students about their project.
I asked them what they thought of doing projects using PowerPoint, and they said that they were really bored with it because they've been doing it since grade school. One student told me that he had FOUR PowerPoint projects due at that particular time. FOUR. How exciting is that?

Another student shared that he was really bored with teacher use of PowerPoint for instruction. He said he could understand how PowerPoint could be a good tool, but he was bored with teachers who read what's on each slide.

Basically, these kids need to be engaged, and PowerPoint wasn't doing it for them.

One alternative is Glogster. I've mentioned it before, and many teachers use it. This blog post explains it much better than I have (and why rewrite what's already been written, anyway?): Glogster and Glogster.edu as an Alternative to Powerpoint.
While you're there, make sure you also read the author's instructions on using Glogster, just in case you've never done it before.

I've used Glogster with my online student, and not only do the students really like it, but their work is so much more enjoyable to grade than a PowerPoint presentation. PowerPoint is just too "old school."

The same blog--"Trending Education"--offers other alternatives in this post: 6 Traditional and Non-Traditional Alternatives to PowerPoint for student presentations.
I hope that you will consider these alternatives as we seek to engage our students in authentic learning.

What?? No Movie Maker?

So . . . the school system is moving to Windows 7, and guess what? No Movie Maker!

I'm not sure why Microsoft decided to eliminate that program, but I know a lot of people at LHS use it, so I researched and found a cool alternative.

Jaycut is a free online video editing site. I was amazed at the advanced options available. I used it with my online English 12 students this summer, and they created movies with no help from me at all.

Students can share their movies in a variety of ways, although most of them are blocked on the school network, but they can still share from home.

If you're using laptops or desktops with Windows 7, and you need a movie editor, try Jaycut.

Here's a really, really simple video I made just to try it before I introduced it to my students:

Creating Videos Online

Check out this blog post at Free Technology for Teachers. (And add that blog to your RSS reader if you haven't already--lots of great free ideas for teachers.)

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2009/11/six-easy-ways-for-students-to-create.html

This post explains six ways for students to create videos online. I have already told you about a couple of them, but Mr. Byrne has more.

Creating online is so much easier than using a program such as Windows Movie Maker or Photostory because we don't have to be concerned about where the files will be saved, or if the students save all the files in the same folder, and so on and so on.

Especially now that we have the issues with student rights and jump drives, online work is just a lot more sensible.

Weebly Offers Educator Accounts (FREE!!)

Weebly is a place where you can create a website for free. I saw it a long time ago, but didn't consider it much different from many other sites I've suggested.

However, I have now learned from another CRS (http://edtechtipster.blogspot.com/) and probably also from http://www.freetech4teachers.com/ because he has EVERYTHING on his blog, that it now offers an educators' section.

At weebly for education (http://education.weebly.com), you can create your own site and even have students submit assignments there. I know we have Sharepoint, but this is just another option. Since the site is private, it's secure. You can also create a blog--what a great way to communicate with students and parents!

But even better, you can get free accounts for your students (and they don't need email addresses!!), and those accounts are also private. Students can create their own website--something we REALLY need to be teaching them--and they can use it for an electronic portfolio. The good thing about the portfolio is that once they are finished with your class, weebly will convert their account from a student account to a regular weebly account, so they will have access to their work forever. After all, that's what the portfolios are for--so they can take them with them when they leave.

I created a sample one in very little time, in spite of the fact that Internet Explorer kept freezing and crashing, and I had to restart my computer. (Oh what a surprise.) It's very simple, but you are welcome to look at it as a sample of what you and your students can do. http://beachgirl78.weebly.com

Encyclopedia of Life

I learned about this site in an email from Kim Komando. You should click on her name and visit her site. She offers a ton of computer help and information, and she has a Cool Site every day. Sometimes they are educational, which is the case with Encyclopedia of Life.

The goal of this site is to create a database of all 1.8 million species on Earth, definitely a lofty goal. Here is the explanation from the site itself:

The Encyclopedia will be an online reference and database on all 1.8 million species currently known to science and will stay current by capturing information on newly discovered and formally described species. The Encyclopedia of Life will help all of us better understand life on our planet.

The coolest part is that the site wants people to contribute. What a cool research project for high school kids!
Check it out.

Math and Science Tools

Whenever I go to a technology conference, I've been trying to concentrate on attending sessions about teaching math and science with Web 2.0 tools and other technologies (beyond a calculator).

At the Computer Resource Specialist Conference this past August, I attended two sessions that gave us more information than the presenters could demonstrate in the time allotted.

The first is Interactive Excel Spreadsheets. When you go to the site, you will find a treasure chest of activities. The coolest aspect of this site is that it connects math and science. The presenters explained that when the science teacher used one of these activities, the students were able to comprehend math better.

The second is a wiki for the Hampton Roads Modeling and Simulation Initiative. On this wiki, you will find math and science lessons that use modeling and simulation to help the students learn. It's more like a real world lesson than just reading or talking about it.

Of course, our students love the web, so they will find these activities engaging. It will be fun to them. Imagine that.

Glogster

I have so many resources that I have learned recently, but the opening of school, from the time I returned at the beginning of August, has been so incredibly busy that I haven't had time to add any posts lately.

However, now that I am stuck at home for two weeks, I have finally found the time to share at least one resource.

I was introduced to this last year, but didn't do much with it.  Then Val in the social studies department reminded me of it this year and shared her Glog with me.  She suggested that Glogster is much better than the old school (my words) white poster board projects.

On Glogster, one can create a virtual poster, or Glog, using graphics, text, audio, video, and photos.  It's basically a mash-up.

The best part is that Glogster has a free education section, and you can register for up to 200 student accounts.  Students will not be able to access the other part of Glogster, so they will not be exposed to anything unsavory.

Not only will students be much more interested in working on this site than on poster board, but it also saves paper and space.  (Where do you put all those poster boards?)

To register, go to http://edu.glogster.com, and click on Register a Class.  Here's one that I created.  I don't feel free to share Val's since it's not mine.

Our Choice

As I sit in my house on a gloomy, rainy Labor Day in Virginia Beach, I think about the more than 2400 students who will begin their first day of the school year at our high school tomorrow.

I wonder--will they face the same old "stuff" they've seen all their lives in classrooms--the "stuff" that caused my nephew to say, "School gets in the way of my life"?

I recently visited with my friends who have twin boys who will be 3 next month. One sat on either side of me, one with my iPod Touch (it's NOT an iTouch), and the other with my iPhone. They often traded, just for variety, I guess.

Here's the amazing thing about that. I have often handed my iPhone to an adult to allow him or her to borrow it for a phone call. Without exception, that adult has looked at me in fear and stated that she or he had no idea what to do with the phone.

But these almost-three-year-olds don't even need help. Okay, so their "Grammy" has an iPhone and showed them how to look at pictures. But the point is, they are as comfortable with the Apple technology as most adults are with a pen and piece of paper. And they didn't need my help exploring the games I have installed, and other apps their Grammy doesn't have. (One of them even made a phone call--thank goodness to my brother.)

So when our high school students arrive tomorrow, do we hand them technology, or do we tell them to take out their pens and paper? Do we reach them where they live, or do we take them back 20 years and "get in the way of their lives"? Do we prepare them for the future, or do we bind them to the past?

It's our choice, and they're trusting us to make the right one.

Inspiration from Another Blogger

I found this post from Cool Cat Teacher to be very inspiring. She calls it "Good Grief." Of course, when I saw the title, I thought of the way most of us use that phrase, the way it's used with Charlie Brown, but that's not what she meant. Her post inspired the following thoughts.

Those who know me, know that I don't like to talk about personal issues very much. It takes A LOT for me to trust someone, and just A LITTLE for me to stop trusting. For that, I have been labeled as conceited, dour, unfriendly, intimidating, mean, and some other words I won't post here.

But here I go about to talk about how I feel:

This school year has been a particularly discouraging one for me. I can't quite figure out why because I really like my job. I like the school where I work; I like the teachers with whom I work; and I really enjoy the students, although I don't have as much contact with them as I would like. (I don't like the long drive at such early hours, but I'm not leaving the beach to be closer.)

I know one thing that has discouraged me is that the integration of technology isn't important to far too many people. I almost want to cry (or punch someone, depending on what has happened that day) when I hear a teacher or administrator say that he or she doesn't know much about using computers and has no need to learn.

I don't ever try to force my beliefs or passions on other people. You can think what you want and do what you want.

People criticize me for being a baseball fan. They say it's a boring game and can't imagine how I can watch it so much. And then when they find out I've been a Pirates' fan all my life . . . well, those of you who know what they haven't done in the past 16 seasons can imagine the reaction. But I don't care. I love baseball. I will always love baseball. It has helped me in ways that many people would ridicule, but that's okay. I will never try to convince someone else to be a baseball fan. If I'm the last person on Earth to sit in a baseball park, I'm cool with that.

But when I deal with technology integration, I'm not just dealing with something I love. I'm not trying to encourage people to develop their technology skills just because I'm passionate about technology.

My job is to help teachers use technology to engage our students and prepare them for what's after high school. Therefore, when I work so hard and so long to convince teachers that this technology stuff really is not only worthwhile, but ESSENTIAL, for our students, I become discouraged when so few believe me and really apply it.
My job requires me to travel around the school a lot (and it's a big one), and to go into classrooms. I can't stand seeing students copying notes from overhead transparencies, or listening to a play or poem or novel on CDs, or watching a movie that has nothing to do with the curriculum, or being forced to listen to the teacher talk with no interaction. Most of the kids I see in those rooms have their heads down or are texting under their desks without looking (I wish I could do that), or something else that could result in disciplinary action against them. We are fortunate to have many methods at our disposal to engage our students, and technology is one of them, but there's no engagement in those rooms.

Beyond that, and even more discouraging, I don't get the support I need to convince teachers of the absolute necessity of technology integration. (And I guess that's a huge part of the discouragement I feel, that I feel under appreciated, and that I can no longer trust some I thought I could trust.) I don't advocate technology for the sake of technology, but for how it can inspire and engage our students.

I feel like I'm on an island. (Actually, I'd love to be on an island right now--a tropical one.) I feel like I'm fighting alone, and very few are giving credibility to my message.

That's why networking is so important to me. I can see that others are fighting the same fight and feeling the same way.

That's why Cool Cat Teacher's blog post is so helpful to me.

That's why I'll keep fighting . . . for the students, for our future.

And if I'm the last person fighting, I'm cool with that.

Double Play!

An exceptionally talented colleague (Mark in social studies) introduced me to these two sites. The first is called Xtranormal. Just the title is intriguing. It's in Beta form right now, so things will change and some free stuff won't be free later, but it is a fun site that can be used as part of a lesson, or as a project for your students. I've made a brief practice movie just to show a little of what you can do, but some of you will no doubt make much better movies and spend more time. I know one thing--many of our students will make much better movies and spend LESS time. It's their thing, which is why it's a good tool for us.

The second is an incredible site created by a teacher in California. (See--this is what social networking, a personal learning network, is all about--collaboration across the country, around the globe.) Go to Mr. Roughton's Classroom 2.0 and look around at the incredible stuff he has done. I want to be like him when I grow up. What a great site! Can you imagine how engaging his site is for his students?

Technology Integration for Math!

Who says math teachers can't use web 2.0 tools in their lessons? I found this really cool lesson on a blog that I know kids would love. Yes, it involves YouTube, which is blocked for students, but they could upload at home, or you could use TeacherTube instead, if it works. (They have a super slow server.)

Anyway, it's a great idea, and teachers in any discipline can find a way to use the lesson: And Calculus for All