Technology Medley

Gethin loves Flickr, 13 Apr 08 by Castaway in Wales
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Now that we’re two weeks into 2009, and the holidays are well behind us, it’s time to think about setting some professional goals. Why not learn how to do something new in the world of technology? (You knew I was going to say that!)

Here are a few ideas to get your wheels turning:

Learn to use a new piece of software. All of the software currently installed in the lab and on the laptop carts is also installed on your teacher laptop. Select a program and start playing around with it on your own. I have handouts for several of these programs too, so just ask if you need one.

Use your digital camera to take pictures of your students on a field trip or participating in an exciting project. Use the pictures to create a fun PhotoStory and put it on your web page. If you don’t have a class web page yet, why not make that your new goal?

Become more familiar with the SmartBoard software. Search for ideas on the internet, and adapt files that you find to meet your needs. Bring the SmartBoard into your classroom for a week or two and try to use it in a lesson each day.

Create a wiki, a very simple web page that students can edit and add pictures to with your direction. We’ve already had a couple of teachers use wikis with their students, and the kids loved the idea of creating their own media. I’ll be posting more about those projects later on.

Use Google docs to share information and collaborate with others in your grade level. Visit another school or classroom virtually using Skype. Enhance your writing projects by having your students blog.  Go on a virtual field trip with Google Earth. Use Jing to create your own tutorials for students to use.

I have a couple of new goals for myself, too. I’ve had Camtasia for some time, and I need to take advantage of its ability to create tutorials and screencasts for teachers to use. I also want to learn how to create forms in DreamWeaver  to put on the web pages.

So, there you have it. What are your goals? What will you learn this year in the exciting world of technology?

Chances are excellent that if you’re reading this, you don’t need to read this! However, since I sometimes get questions from teachers about now to navigate a blog, I created a document with general instructions that I shared with the folks in my schools. I am well aware of how difficult it is for educators to keep with a multitude of papers and other resources they are given along with their very busy schedules, so I’m going to repost the information here. Hopefully, someone out there in cyberspace will find this helpful.

What is a blog? It started out simply as a log that was posted to the web. So, if you say “web log” quickly, it sounds like “blog.” I’m using my blog to communicate with the teachers in my 2 schools. You no longer need to try to keep up with emails or handouts that contain information you may need later on. You can just return to my blog page (http://blog.pamelgin.net) and search through the posts until you find the one you need

A blog is a very simple web page, but the readers can interact with the author by posting comments after any of the blog entries. Sometimes, whole conversations take place within these comment sections. Don’t hesitate to leave comments on any of my posts. I have this set so I have to approve comments before they actually show up though, so you may not see your comment immediately. You can also click on the comments links to see what other people have said.

To link to a blog, or to save it to your favorites, just choose the main blog address. For example, mine is http://blog.pamelgin.net. When you go to this web address, you will see the most recent post at the top. If you scroll down the page, you will see several other posts as well. But what if you want to see something that was written a few months ago? There are a couple of options in this case. In the right sidebar, you will see a list of categories. If you click on one of these categories, a page will appear that shows all of the posts that have been written about that particular category. So, for example, if you need some information about Accelerated Reader, you would click on the AR link. Underneath the Categories, you will see an Archives section. If you want to see what was posted earlier in the year, you click on one of the months and you’ll be taken to posts that were written in that particular month.

People add all sorts of extra things in the sidebars of their blogs called widgets. The blue box that contains handouts is an example of a widget. It actually links to another website where these handouts are stored

There is usually a Blogroll which is a list of links to other blogs that most likely are similar to the blog you are reading. There is often a Search textbox that allows you to search through all of the posts for a particular subject.

That’s about all there is to it! Blogs are very easy to create and maintain. If you’d like to create your own, let me know and I’ll help you get started!

Another vital part of my personal professional development is the time I spend in the evenings reading blogs written by other people who work in the field of instructional technology. Many of these folks share new resources and reflections from their own experiences. These blogs provide invaluable information for me as I strive to stay one step ahead of the teachers in my schools.

If you’d like to check out some of the blogs I read, they are listed in the sidebar under the title Blogroll. I also read some general motivational and inspirational blogs that are not necessarily education related but are still quite interesting.

I use Google Reader to keep up with new posts in these blogs. There is no way I could visit each of these sites every day to see if there was anything new. With Google Reader, I go to one page on the internet and that page tells me what is new on all of the blogs I subscribe too. That’s the magic of rss….but that’s a post for another day.

Happy New Year! Like most folks, I am thinking about setting new goals for the coming year, or at least for the remainder of this school year. First and foremost, I plan to post articles here more regularly. The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas was filled with exciting things happening in classrooms at both schools, and I just didn’t have any extra time! However, I promise to do better. So, here are a few goals I have set for myself:

1. Post an article here at least once each week, hopefully even more often.
2. Create a database of activities that will assist classroom teachers in planning lessons using the laptops and the computer lab with the software that we have available in both schools.
3. Strive to ensure that every student has the opportunity to use the laptops in their classroom at least once before the end of the school year. (This includes kindergarten!)

So, what are your goals for using technology in 2008? I’ll list a few suggestions to help you get started:

1. Bring the laptop cart into your classroom. Invite me in to assist you and the students the first time or two, until you are comfortable with them. You will be amazed at how quickly the students learn to use the touchpad!
2. Learn to use a piece of software in the computer lab that you haven’t used before, such as TimeLiner, Scholastic Keys, or Kidspiration. I have handouts for most the the programs we own, and I’ll be happy to send one your way.
3. Have your students create something of their very own on the computers and save their projects to the K drive. That way, we can plan a way to combine and share their projects on the school web site.
4. Be adventurous! Begin your own blog, or set up student blogs using ClassBlogmeister.
5. Take lots of digital pictures. Upload them to a photo sharing site, and send the site address to folks with whom you would like to share the pictures. You can also share your pictures through a class website or blog.
6. Have students write their own newscasts and record them to use as podcasts.

I hope you see something here that is of interest to you! Please let me know how I can help you use technology as we work together to prepare the children for their future.

Welcome back to school! I’m going to start posting information on this blog that I think will be helpful to the teachers at my two schools. You will find a link to my blog underneath my signature on my email messages, and I will let you know when I make updates. You may notice an ever expanding list of categories in the column to the right. By clicking on a category item, you will be able to see all blog posts that relate to that particular tag or category. Watch for categories related to digital images, Accelerated Reader, and Kerio webmail coming soon.

By the way, blogs are a terrific way to communicate with parents without the time involved in creating an actual web page. Even if you already have a web page, you might want to consider a blog for posting homework and other information that changes with some frequency. You can always link your blog from your website.

Why not check this simple and new form of communication for yourself? I’ll be happy to help you get started!