Happy New Year all! Technically, it isn't a new year yet in the Central Time Zone, but it is close enough to create this post. For me, 2008 brought relief from back pain, an Alaskan adventure, not one, but TWO visits with my best friend Kirsti, lots of renovations to my home, the beginning of a transition in my job role, the college graduation of my daughter, and new and continued friendships which I value greatly!
I look for more great experiences in 2009. I know that 2008 hasn't quite yet ended, but as a teacher, I tend to plan ahead. Today's sites are devoted to those planners, or at least calendar watchers.
Read*Write*Think Calendar
This is an interactive lesson idea calendar produced by the esteemed Read*Write*Think, a site created by International Reading Association (IRA), the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). Simply view a month and click an event to view an interactive lesson about the topic. Great lessons for grades K-12 related to national standards and completely free.
EDSITEment Calendar
This calendar is brought to you by the National Endowment for the Humanities on their EDSITEment site. This calendar also shows topics by date which are linked to site features or lesson plans for grades K-12. All lessons are standards based and free as well.
TeacherVision Calendar
This calendar has linked topics, similar to those above, but as a subscription site, each day's topic provides multiple links to related web sites, lesson plans for grades K-12 and printables. The site allows for three free previews, then you must sign up for the free 7-day trial. Subscriptions run $39.95 a year. I couldn't find standards information, but maybe it is provided with a subscription. This site is part of the Family Education Network from Pearson Education.
December 31, 2008
December 24, 2008
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas everyone! I can't believe it is here already. This year, I did most of my shopping online so I don't have to get out today, on Christmas Eve, and fight the crowds. I plan to mail some packages...I know they will be late, but I also know I will be forgiven for that...take some Christmas treats over to my friend Marlon, bake a cake for my hubby to take to work tomorrow (firefighters have to work on Christmas-bah!), and then go to my mother-in-law's for our family celebration. What a great day!
May each of you find the joy of the Christmas spirit enter your home this holiday season!
Grammar Grater
Grammar Grater is a weekly podcast produced by Luke Taylor and the Grammatis Personae Players from Minnesota Public Radio. The podcasts are fresh and lively, focusing on interesting topics related to grammar. The coolest thing about the applying them in the classroom is that the script is posted on the website for students to read along while listening. This allows lower ability readers to have that audio-visual connection. Thanks to Twitter friend skipz for the tweet about this great site!
May each of you find the joy of the Christmas spirit enter your home this holiday season!
Grammar Grater
Grammar Grater is a weekly podcast produced by Luke Taylor and the Grammatis Personae Players from Minnesota Public Radio. The podcasts are fresh and lively, focusing on interesting topics related to grammar. The coolest thing about the applying them in the classroom is that the script is posted on the website for students to read along while listening. This allows lower ability readers to have that audio-visual connection. Thanks to Twitter friend skipz for the tweet about this great site!
December 17, 2008
Cooperating Through Twitter
This morning I was reading a few posts on Twitter and saw a couple of opportunities to help Twitter friends. This is not an uncommon occurrence. Often I will read Twitter posts that are requests on how to do a particular task in an application, what the best brand of (dvr, mini pc, wireless router, etc) is, or to shout out a hello to new Twitter users. It is great to have such a diverse community of friends to help with these types of questions.
Twitter can help with another type of request as well. This type allows for collaboration. This is the type of request I responded to this morning, and will always respond to if I have the opportunity, because it is such a valuable contribution.
One of the requests was made by cscribner, a Twitter friend and fellow Maize technology integration consultant. He and several students from his school are working on a VoiceThread about Christmas traditions around the world. His request was to add comments to the VoiceThread about how Christmas is celebrated in the poster's country. What a wonderful way to complete a global project in a short time. In the past, students (or the teacher) would have to write letters or emails. These two methods require efforts that are unnecessary today.
The other request was from mrmayo, another educator I follow on Twitter. His students created podcasts for book reports. He was asking for people to visit his blog, listen to the podcasts and comment. What an easy thing to do! Each podcast was under two minutes long, and picking a few of them I got the gist of the assignment. I listened and posted in under 10 minutes. Back when I was fifth grade teacher, I would have loved having my students receive feedback from people around the world. Unfortunately, back then I could only go down and bribe my coworkers with a day free of recess duty to respond.
So while I joined Twitter to learn new ideas and be a "requester of information" I am pleasantly surprised to see how I can contribute!
Mathway
Mathway is a site that shows step-by-step how to solve a math problem. The problem types range from basic to calculus. Students (and their parents helping with homework) can see the steps of the problem if they forgot how to do it once at home. Teachers can use the site to reinforce the steps of a problem or to show student an alternate way to solve. Graphs can even be created from the equations. Finally a glossary of terms is available for refreshing your memory of math vocabulary.
Twitter can help with another type of request as well. This type allows for collaboration. This is the type of request I responded to this morning, and will always respond to if I have the opportunity, because it is such a valuable contribution.
One of the requests was made by cscribner, a Twitter friend and fellow Maize technology integration consultant. He and several students from his school are working on a VoiceThread about Christmas traditions around the world. His request was to add comments to the VoiceThread about how Christmas is celebrated in the poster's country. What a wonderful way to complete a global project in a short time. In the past, students (or the teacher) would have to write letters or emails. These two methods require efforts that are unnecessary today.
The other request was from mrmayo, another educator I follow on Twitter. His students created podcasts for book reports. He was asking for people to visit his blog, listen to the podcasts and comment. What an easy thing to do! Each podcast was under two minutes long, and picking a few of them I got the gist of the assignment. I listened and posted in under 10 minutes. Back when I was fifth grade teacher, I would have loved having my students receive feedback from people around the world. Unfortunately, back then I could only go down and bribe my coworkers with a day free of recess duty to respond.
So while I joined Twitter to learn new ideas and be a "requester of information" I am pleasantly surprised to see how I can contribute!
Mathway
Mathway is a site that shows step-by-step how to solve a math problem. The problem types range from basic to calculus. Students (and their parents helping with homework) can see the steps of the problem if they forgot how to do it once at home. Teachers can use the site to reinforce the steps of a problem or to show student an alternate way to solve. Graphs can even be created from the equations. Finally a glossary of terms is available for refreshing your memory of math vocabulary.
December 11, 2008
Buying on a Budget
With the economy in the dumps, tightening of the purse strings is uber-important. This holiday season, I have been checking my favorite "deal" sites daily to buy Christmas gifts for just a little less. I have shopped Graveyard Mall, Woot, Shirt Woot, Deep Discount, and Amazon's Gold Box recently to save a few bucks on gifts for some of my favorite people. The best deal I got was from Deep Discount...2 bars of soap, one says "butt" and the other says "face" for $2.98 with free shipping. This for a $5 gift exchange that my 15 year old son will participate in. A $2.00 savings!
What about when schools need to purchase new technology? How can districts, especially small ones, save money? It isn't as simple as shopping at a deal of the day site. First, most sites only allow you to buy three of an item. Also, who is going to get that requisition approved TODAY because the deal ends at midnight? Finally who wants all of those different brands and models floating around because each laptop was purchased from a different discount site. There has to be some way of cutting costs while obtaining quality products.
Today I noticed an add at Deal News for a Dell M109S Ultraportable LED DLP Projector. The price was right: $499. Plug in the coupon code and it brought the price down to $399.20 with free shipping. Sounds great, huh? But what about quality? Can a district afford to cut the price of projectors by 1/2 or more if they will have to replace them twice as often? Should a district compromise picture quality for budget savings? On the other hand, should a district continue to buy projectors that need bulbs replaced often at exorbitant costs?
My request today is responses to the following questions:
-How does your district approach finding quality technology at affordable prices?
-Have you used the Dell M109S projector? If so, what is your opinion?
-Do you have any favorite "deal sites"? Share and I will post them!
What about when schools need to purchase new technology? How can districts, especially small ones, save money? It isn't as simple as shopping at a deal of the day site. First, most sites only allow you to buy three of an item. Also, who is going to get that requisition approved TODAY because the deal ends at midnight? Finally who wants all of those different brands and models floating around because each laptop was purchased from a different discount site. There has to be some way of cutting costs while obtaining quality products.
Today I noticed an add at Deal News for a Dell M109S Ultraportable LED DLP Projector. The price was right: $499. Plug in the coupon code and it brought the price down to $399.20 with free shipping. Sounds great, huh? But what about quality? Can a district afford to cut the price of projectors by 1/2 or more if they will have to replace them twice as often? Should a district compromise picture quality for budget savings? On the other hand, should a district continue to buy projectors that need bulbs replaced often at exorbitant costs?
My request today is responses to the following questions:
-How does your district approach finding quality technology at affordable prices?
-Have you used the Dell M109S projector? If so, what is your opinion?
-Do you have any favorite "deal sites"? Share and I will post them!
Rule of Three
In our district it seems that we often follow a "rule of three". We usually use a three year implementation plan for new programs, it takes three years for a new teacher to become tenured, some of our technology has a three year warranty and a three year rotation. Less apparent is that it usually takes three years to "get it". What I mean by that is that when teachers are introduced to a new technology, it seems to take three years before they are fully integrating that technology.
Example: Three years ago, we transformed from an elementary school to a middle school. With the new middle school curriculum came a class on broadcasting. The brave teacher that took on this new class had really no experience with it. The first year there were many foibles on his part and on the part of the students. The next year, it ran smoother, but there were no extensions of the program. This year, the daily broadcasts are full and rich and enjoyable to watch. Students have incorporated video, audio, mobile reporting, and a variety of other strategies to produce a fun and informative program each day.
This is just one example of technology use that take about three years to integrate or internalize, but there are many others. Today's featured site was emailed to the entire staff by one of the special education teachers. This is the first time she has sent out a site and her third year in our school. Coincidence?
NCES Kids' Zone
The NCES Kids' Zone is hosted by the National Council of Educational Statistics. The Kids' Zone provides information to help you learn about schools; decide on a college; find a public library; engage in several games, quizzes and skill building about math, probability, graphing, and mathematicians; and to learn many interesting facts about education. Resources include a search tool for schools, libraries, and colleges; a graph creation tool; "Dare to Compare", a fun quiz to see how your knowledge of different subject areas compares to students nationally and globally; a grab bag of games, quizzes, data, and videos; and an interactive probability activity. All resources are free.
Example: Three years ago, we transformed from an elementary school to a middle school. With the new middle school curriculum came a class on broadcasting. The brave teacher that took on this new class had really no experience with it. The first year there were many foibles on his part and on the part of the students. The next year, it ran smoother, but there were no extensions of the program. This year, the daily broadcasts are full and rich and enjoyable to watch. Students have incorporated video, audio, mobile reporting, and a variety of other strategies to produce a fun and informative program each day.
This is just one example of technology use that take about three years to integrate or internalize, but there are many others. Today's featured site was emailed to the entire staff by one of the special education teachers. This is the first time she has sent out a site and her third year in our school. Coincidence?
NCES Kids' Zone
The NCES Kids' Zone is hosted by the National Council of Educational Statistics. The Kids' Zone provides information to help you learn about schools; decide on a college; find a public library; engage in several games, quizzes and skill building about math, probability, graphing, and mathematicians; and to learn many interesting facts about education. Resources include a search tool for schools, libraries, and colleges; a graph creation tool; "Dare to Compare", a fun quiz to see how your knowledge of different subject areas compares to students nationally and globally; a grab bag of games, quizzes, data, and videos; and an interactive probability activity. All resources are free.
December 05, 2008
Training for Blogging
Today the other Technology Integration Consultants and I from our district are meeting to discuss implementing blogging in our district. Our idea is to have administrators model Web 2.0 for the staff by utilizing Web 2.0 tools for district communication. We think that if administrators begin simply by blogging their newsletters, we can grow the usage over time. We have to begin by growing ourselves.
Only three of the TICs currently have a blog. This morning, we are showing the others how to set up their own blog. The discussion has been lively and it is fun to watch comprehension and "ahas" wash over their faces. Once each TIC has set up their own blog, we will practice with them before we devise a plan for administrators. Any ideas for administrative or teacher blogs out there? I really would appreciate hearing how other districts have approached blogging by administration and teachers. What guidelines did you use? What blog host? Any information will be helpful!
Cutest Blog on the Block
This site was shared this morning by a TIC in one of our elementary buildings. The Cutest Blog on the Block is a site that offers backgrounds, animated .gifs, and blog tips to jazz up your Blogger blog. You can also get a face lift for your blog or create photo cards for a fee.
Only three of the TICs currently have a blog. This morning, we are showing the others how to set up their own blog. The discussion has been lively and it is fun to watch comprehension and "ahas" wash over their faces. Once each TIC has set up their own blog, we will practice with them before we devise a plan for administrators. Any ideas for administrative or teacher blogs out there? I really would appreciate hearing how other districts have approached blogging by administration and teachers. What guidelines did you use? What blog host? Any information will be helpful!
Cutest Blog on the Block
This site was shared this morning by a TIC in one of our elementary buildings. The Cutest Blog on the Block is a site that offers backgrounds, animated .gifs, and blog tips to jazz up your Blogger blog. You can also get a face lift for your blog or create photo cards for a fee.
December 04, 2008
I Feel Loved!
Yesterday Johanna, a colleague, emailed me to ask me why I hadn't written a new post in a week. The fact is, I have just been too busy. At least that is what I tell myself. However, it takes only one little email to spur me into action. Funny how knowing that just ONE person might be interested in what I have to say makes me feel loved!
It's really human nature, isn't it? As teachers, friends, family members, and human beings, we need to remember that all people want to feel appreciated. Taking time to remind a student of one of their good points, telling a relative you love them, complimenting a friend on their outfit - hairdo - cooking, etc, or even stepping outside your door when the mailman is filling the mailboxes and offering him a smile and a thanks, isn't really hard to do. And the gestures mean so much to the recipient. Just like a little message in my inbox. Thanks, Johanna. I feel loved!
Learning to Give
Learning to Give is the curriculum division of The LEAGUE, an organization to promote community service by students in the school setting. To quote from the site:
It's really human nature, isn't it? As teachers, friends, family members, and human beings, we need to remember that all people want to feel appreciated. Taking time to remind a student of one of their good points, telling a relative you love them, complimenting a friend on their outfit - hairdo - cooking, etc, or even stepping outside your door when the mailman is filling the mailboxes and offering him a smile and a thanks, isn't really hard to do. And the gestures mean so much to the recipient. Just like a little message in my inbox. Thanks, Johanna. I feel loved!
Learning to Give
Learning to Give is the curriculum division of The LEAGUE, an organization to promote community service by students in the school setting. To quote from the site:
Students are often recognized for their achievements on the field and in theThe Learning to Give site has resources for teachers, students, parents, youth workers, faith groups and independent schools. Lesson plans are tied to state standards and designed for grades K-12 to teach students about philanthropy and the value of donating time to a worthy cause. There are games to play to increase understanding of community service, as well as many other resources.
classroom, but how often are they recognized for giving back? The LEAGUE is a
school-based system that combines state standards-based lesson plans with
community service events that teach students the value of giving and recognizes
them for their efforts.
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