Today I am at a 1:1 Laptop Summit hosted by Holton Public Schools in northeast Kansas. Our district is looking implement a 1:1 program and are still in the research phase. In the library at Holton High School about 50 people are gathered from across the state. Some are from districts that already have a 1:1 program like Holton; others are like my school district, here to gather information.
I was very interested in coming to listen in because I was concerned that we might not be thinking of EVERYTHING we need to as we plan. So far, it looks as if we are doing OK. I am also relieved to know that the issues we are facing are being faced by those already involved, or planning an implementation of their own.
Some solutions have been offered. On our drive back home, I am sure we will discuss these in detail. One such solution is to create a "white list" of acceptable sites for use at school, as opposed to a "black list" of unacceptable sites. I am curious about how this works. Anyone out there using a "white list"? If so, I would love your feedback about how it works in your district.
Even with the ideas shared here, I know our district can not afford to rush into a program as big as this without thinking it through thoroughly.
Gcast
Gcast is a website that allows you to create a podcast by dialing a toll-free number from any phone anywhere. Alan Beam, principal of Holton High and presider of the 1:1 laptop summit, explained how he uses it for school announcements. Check out more information about how to use Gcast at November Learning. I am excited to use this free service and share it with my teachers!
November 24, 2008
November 20, 2008
Bringing Them Along
Part of my job is to review websites and web applications for their potential use in the classroom. Historically, I have done this and then shared relevant content with my teachers via an email link with some explanatory notes. Often, I don't have a clue as to whether the teachers use the sites I send them, don't use them for whatever reason, or have a filter set up in Outlook to automatically delete any and all emails that come from me.
This year, I decided to promote the use of Web 2.0 tools by delivering resources through this blog. Now, the funny thing is, I notified the teachers of the existence of this blog by emailing them. However, I still have the same problem...not knowing if anyone is really reading it, or at least looking at the resources I blog about. I added a stat counter and a cluster map, but both of those record every visit that I make to the blog as well. Which means that if you look at my stat counter, divide that number in half and then again by 7, that is probably the actual number of visits by other people besides myself!
I decided to try a new tack. Recently, when I blog about a resource, I send the blog link to the teachers I think might be interested in the resource. Yes, I know I am being redundant, but sometimes you have to to bring people along. The payoff is wonderful when you have someone stop you in the hall and tell you they tried out the site with their students or when you receive emails like this:
That from Lindsey, a 6th grade teacher, whom I had sent the blog post What You End Up With to through email. She was referring to TypeRacer, a keyboarding game that allows for private competition through the generation of a unique url. Thanks to Lindsey, I will continue to blog about websites and resources and hopefully next time I will hear back from at least two teachers!
All My Faves
This cool site is touted as a "top sites" search engine and is arranged in categories by icon. Ideal for visual people who remember a logo but maybe not a site name. You can sort alphabetically or by most popular. There is a tab for Weekly Faves to stay on top of what is "in" at the moment!
This year, I decided to promote the use of Web 2.0 tools by delivering resources through this blog. Now, the funny thing is, I notified the teachers of the existence of this blog by emailing them. However, I still have the same problem...not knowing if anyone is really reading it, or at least looking at the resources I blog about. I added a stat counter and a cluster map, but both of those record every visit that I make to the blog as well. Which means that if you look at my stat counter, divide that number in half and then again by 7, that is probably the actual number of visits by other people besides myself!
I decided to try a new tack. Recently, when I blog about a resource, I send the blog link to the teachers I think might be interested in the resource. Yes, I know I am being redundant, but sometimes you have to to bring people along. The payoff is wonderful when you have someone stop you in the hall and tell you they tried out the site with their students or when you receive emails like this:
Did this yesterday with the kids after we did Typing Pals for a
bit....THEY LOVED IT!! Some were more interested in the chatting, but at
least they were typing!
That from Lindsey, a 6th grade teacher, whom I had sent the blog post What You End Up With to through email. She was referring to TypeRacer, a keyboarding game that allows for private competition through the generation of a unique url. Thanks to Lindsey, I will continue to blog about websites and resources and hopefully next time I will hear back from at least two teachers!
All My Faves
This cool site is touted as a "top sites" search engine and is arranged in categories by icon. Ideal for visual people who remember a logo but maybe not a site name. You can sort alphabetically or by most popular. There is a tab for Weekly Faves to stay on top of what is "in" at the moment!
November 13, 2008
Boy Do I Feel Sheepish
I am not usually a sucker. I pride myself on that. However, yesterday I had a giant red "S" on my forehead when I decided to find out my Twitterank. Dumb, dumb, dumb. Turns out all of Twitterland is abuzz about how anyone who made the same decision I did are now exposed to phishing scams, stolen identities, going home to find their house had been stolen, etc. OK, maybe not THAT bad, but still.
Last night I spent over an hour changing my password for all the sites that shared the same password as Twitter. Maybe I didn't actually need to change all the passwords, but still.
Luckily, the particular password that I used for Twitter wasn't one that was tied to any site that has really personal or financial information. In this day and age, who knows what a person can find out about you from a simple password connected to a seemingly innocuous web application? Who knows if there is anything they can't find out?
In the end, it is a good lesson for us all to change our passwords often. I had been using that particular password for several years. It might be an inconvenience for awhile to force my fingers to move to different characters on my keyboard until I get used to typing the new password, but each time I have to do it, I will remember the near-miss of Twitterank.
If you looked in the mirror yesterday or today to find a big red "S" staring back at you, read more on Adam Ostrow's blog post, or the post by Oliver Mark.
Strong Passwords & Password Security
After my near-miss yesterday, it got me to thinking about password storage and security. I did some searching on the web and found this article from Microsoft on creating strong passwords. About halfway down the article is a link to click to see if your password is considered "strong". There are good tips here for keeping your passwords secure as well.
Last night I spent over an hour changing my password for all the sites that shared the same password as Twitter. Maybe I didn't actually need to change all the passwords, but still.
Luckily, the particular password that I used for Twitter wasn't one that was tied to any site that has really personal or financial information. In this day and age, who knows what a person can find out about you from a simple password connected to a seemingly innocuous web application? Who knows if there is anything they can't find out?
In the end, it is a good lesson for us all to change our passwords often. I had been using that particular password for several years. It might be an inconvenience for awhile to force my fingers to move to different characters on my keyboard until I get used to typing the new password, but each time I have to do it, I will remember the near-miss of Twitterank.
If you looked in the mirror yesterday or today to find a big red "S" staring back at you, read more on Adam Ostrow's blog post, or the post by Oliver Mark.
Strong Passwords & Password Security
After my near-miss yesterday, it got me to thinking about password storage and security. I did some searching on the web and found this article from Microsoft on creating strong passwords. About halfway down the article is a link to click to see if your password is considered "strong". There are good tips here for keeping your passwords secure as well.
November 10, 2008
What You End Up With
I ran across a cool keyboarding game the other day while was searching the Internet. The game is a multiplayer game in which you can invite your friends by creating a unique url and compete against them in a private setting. I liked the privacy of it, so I began my quest to find other multiplayer games that were educational in nature, yet had a closed-environment. I came across one such other site that had math games. Both are highlighted below. I was disappointed that I could find no other sites that allow students to play without registering or to play against classmates in a closed-environment.
What I did find was a cool site that provides customizable flash templates for teachers and students that can be embedded into wikis, blogs, class websites, etc. Funny what you end up with when embarking on a web search!
If anyone knows of any educational games like those mentioned above, please send them my way and I will share them on this blog.
Arcademic Skill Builders
Arcademic Skill Builders is an educational game site that has a variety of math and language arts skills games (as well as one game on state capitals) in a flash format. Four math games are multiplayer games in which students can invite select individuals by providing them with a unique url. The games seem appropriate for students in grades 3-5, but older kids might have fun with them as well.http://www.arcademicskillbuilders.com/
Type Racer
This keyboarding game is in beta, but seems to run very smooth. You can register or play as a guest and invite friends by providing them with a code or a private url. The text comes from books or movies. I played my daughter yesterday and we had to type text from the movie Juno. She beat me every time! Players can chat with one another while playing, but most will be concentrating on typing to beat their opponents!
Classtools
Classtools.net is an awesome site that allows you to create FREE interactive Flash diagrams for learning and revising material. Templates are easy to customize and include Venn, fishbone, and jigsaw diagrams, post-its, lights out, a count-down timer, and more. The templates can be embedded into wikis, blogs, and websites for easy access by teachers and students.
What I did find was a cool site that provides customizable flash templates for teachers and students that can be embedded into wikis, blogs, class websites, etc. Funny what you end up with when embarking on a web search!
If anyone knows of any educational games like those mentioned above, please send them my way and I will share them on this blog.
Arcademic Skill Builders
Arcademic Skill Builders is an educational game site that has a variety of math and language arts skills games (as well as one game on state capitals) in a flash format. Four math games are multiplayer games in which students can invite select individuals by providing them with a unique url. The games seem appropriate for students in grades 3-5, but older kids might have fun with them as well.http://www.arcademicskillbuilders.com/
Type Racer
This keyboarding game is in beta, but seems to run very smooth. You can register or play as a guest and invite friends by providing them with a code or a private url. The text comes from books or movies. I played my daughter yesterday and we had to type text from the movie Juno. She beat me every time! Players can chat with one another while playing, but most will be concentrating on typing to beat their opponents!
Classtools
Classtools.net is an awesome site that allows you to create FREE interactive Flash diagrams for learning and revising material. Templates are easy to customize and include Venn, fishbone, and jigsaw diagrams, post-its, lights out, a count-down timer, and more. The templates can be embedded into wikis, blogs, and websites for easy access by teachers and students.
Click here for full screen version
image used in this tool originated from http://www.indiana.edu/~oso/animations/An12.html
November 09, 2008
Cool Google Tools
Today I attended a college class on Google Tools. Google is my encyclopedia, dictionary, thesaurus, phone book, atlas, cookbook, calculator, photo album, travel agent and more all rolled into one. I have Google set as my home page and have it customized with iGoogle (see video below). I frequently use Google as a verb rather than a noun....oh probably 25 times a day!
As I tweeted this morning before going to class, "there is always more to learn". So, I signed up for the class to see what I cool things I could learn. And learn, I did! Many thanks to my instructor, Cammy, for being a part of my PLN and helping me learn about some great Google features! Below are some highlights:
Google Searching
Google can be used as a calculator. Simply type in the equation and click search. The equation and answer will be displayed. This works for many types of equations. For a list of types, click here.
Google can be searched for a certain file type so that the results only display those matching a particular file extension. To do this, type in your search terms then type filetype: (file ext. here)
ex. water cycle filetype: .ppt will return results of PowerPoint presentations about or relating to the water cycle.
Google can search for synonyms of search terms that you enter. I am often searching for tutorials or guides for software that teachers use. Sometimes I spend lots of time just changing the search term to include words like "guide, tutorial, or directions". Using the synonym search, I can tell google to look for all of the above by only doing one search. To do this, in the search field, type: keyword ~tutorial (or whichever word you want it to search synonyms for).
Picasa
I downloaded Picasa a couple years ago and found it completely annoying, so I uninstalled it. It is much improved since I last looked at it. One of the features that I looked at and seems pretty cool is the picture collage. It is very easy to create one of four different styles of collages. Here are a bunch of tutorials (guides? directions?) from Learning Electric. I have decided that the improvements in Picasa make it worth another try.
Google Earth
Google Earth is another program I once had installed, but got rid of because of slowness of my network. Since then, my network has improved, and so has Google Earth! The feature I like most is the layers feature. This allows you to find information about a place as provided by many partners with Google. Layers can show tourist attractions, video clips, GPS tracks, National Geographic images, articles and movies, and more.
As I tweeted this morning before going to class, "there is always more to learn". So, I signed up for the class to see what I cool things I could learn. And learn, I did! Many thanks to my instructor, Cammy, for being a part of my PLN and helping me learn about some great Google features! Below are some highlights:
Google Searching
Google can be used as a calculator. Simply type in the equation and click search. The equation and answer will be displayed. This works for many types of equations. For a list of types, click here.
Google can be searched for a certain file type so that the results only display those matching a particular file extension. To do this, type in your search terms then type filetype: (file ext. here)
ex. water cycle filetype: .ppt will return results of PowerPoint presentations about or relating to the water cycle.
Google can search for synonyms of search terms that you enter. I am often searching for tutorials or guides for software that teachers use. Sometimes I spend lots of time just changing the search term to include words like "guide, tutorial, or directions". Using the synonym search, I can tell google to look for all of the above by only doing one search. To do this, in the search field, type: keyword ~tutorial (or whichever word you want it to search synonyms for).
Picasa
I downloaded Picasa a couple years ago and found it completely annoying, so I uninstalled it. It is much improved since I last looked at it. One of the features that I looked at and seems pretty cool is the picture collage. It is very easy to create one of four different styles of collages. Here are a bunch of tutorials (guides? directions?) from Learning Electric. I have decided that the improvements in Picasa make it worth another try.
Google Earth
Google Earth is another program I once had installed, but got rid of because of slowness of my network. Since then, my network has improved, and so has Google Earth! The feature I like most is the layers feature. This allows you to find information about a place as provided by many partners with Google. Layers can show tourist attractions, video clips, GPS tracks, National Geographic images, articles and movies, and more.
November 07, 2008
Is That "i before e?"
When I was teaching in the classroom, I would have been thrilled to have access to a site that would allow me to plug in spelling words and then have the kids do practice activities online. Back then, I could never seem to find a site that would let me upload my own spelling words.
My principal ran across such a site and sent it to me. I think it is great and am definitely sharing with the language arts teachers in the building.
Spelling City
Spelling City is a wonderful website for children to practice spelling. The site is designed for school or home practice. Teachers, parents, or students can upload unique spelling lists, or use one of the many lists on the site. There are fun ways to practice spelling skills, including hearing the word pronounced in a real human voice, playing many different games, or even taking a spelling test online. Teachers can store spelling lists by completing a free registration. Check out the short tutorial by Tammy Worcester here, or just go straight to the site to get started.
My principal ran across such a site and sent it to me. I think it is great and am definitely sharing with the language arts teachers in the building.
Spelling City
Spelling City is a wonderful website for children to practice spelling. The site is designed for school or home practice. Teachers, parents, or students can upload unique spelling lists, or use one of the many lists on the site. There are fun ways to practice spelling skills, including hearing the word pronounced in a real human voice, playing many different games, or even taking a spelling test online. Teachers can store spelling lists by completing a free registration. Check out the short tutorial by Tammy Worcester here, or just go straight to the site to get started.
November 05, 2008
Physics from a Mom's Perspective
First Law of Physics: A ball that is thrown in my living room will continue through the air until it hits my favorite (insert your favorite photo, vase, television screen, etc. here) and smashes it into 347 tiny pieces.
Second Law of Physics: When one child in the living room tackles another child in front of (insert your favorite photo, vase, television screen, etc. here) the second child will be propelled into the object and smash it into 347 tiny pieces.
Third Law of Physics: For every time a sister pushes her brother in the living room, he will push back knocking his sister into (insert your favorite photo, vase, television screen, etc. here) and therefore smashing it into 347 tiny pieces.
This website has several games related to physics. A fun and educational way for students to gain a better understanding of the concepts of physics.
Crayon Physics
Crayon Physics is a fun little game that helps students employ their knowledge about physics to win. This is a free download that can be quite addictive!
November 04, 2008
Yo, Banana Boy!
Happy birthday to me! Today I am 44 years old. Like the title of this post, this year I am a palindrome. For 365 days, I get to experience the special feeling that I can share with 11, 22, 33, 44, 55, 66, 77, 88, 99, and 101-year olds! Don't be a "party boobytrap", have fun with the palindrome sites below, they are "too hot to hoot!
Check out the palindrome riddles and lists of palindromes at this site.
Once Upon a Palindrome
This site has a cute story divided into chapters. Readers are to fill in the blanks with a palindrome.
Palindrome Puzzle
The Palindrome Puzzle is a grid puzzle in which the player needs to move pieces to the grid to complete the palindromes.
Radar Bills
Check out this Figure This! challenge from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
Bob - by Weird Al Yankovic
Check out the palindrome riddles and lists of palindromes at this site.
Once Upon a Palindrome
This site has a cute story divided into chapters. Readers are to fill in the blanks with a palindrome.
Palindrome Puzzle
The Palindrome Puzzle is a grid puzzle in which the player needs to move pieces to the grid to complete the palindromes.
Radar Bills
Check out this Figure This! challenge from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
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