Wow, where has the time gone! It has been years since I posted on this site. Even I had forgotten it was here. I am now working for the Birmingham School District and blogging is an everyday occurrence for the staff I am now working with.
This entry is really a test. Many of my staff are having issues updating and editing their classroom blogs because we are using an antiquated version of Internet Explorer along with our even more antiquated operating system of Windows XP. To try to find a solution I am testing Firefox to see if I can post, edit and view my blog. If this works I can bring the teachers in Birmingham a temporary fix to their blogging woes. Hopefully this will keep us going until we can update to a newer version of Windows.
Funny, I am hearing no complaints from my Mac users. Hmmmmm.......
30 September 2013
07 October 2010
Change is Challenging!
Here we are 4 weeks into another school year already. Many changes in the WSD, buildings 're-purposed', people moved to new positions and new technology introduced every day.
My Smart Board users at Knudsen Elementary have subscribed to an Interactive version of the Weekly Reader. I had a chance to see this program in action and it is really cool. The kids love it as the Smart Board reads the articles to them, and the video is amazing.
Smart Board has made it's way into the high school, the kids are so excited about it but the teachers are a bit shy. They need to take lessons from their elementary counter parts and dive in. I am sure as they have more time to use the technology the high school teachers will realize what a powerful learning tool they have at their disposal and loosen up. Learning is so much fun!!
On a personal level I have upgraded to a Smart Phone. It is awesome! There really are apps for just about anything. I can check my email anywhere, listen to my favorite jams, keep track of my food intake, my bowling scores, and the golf caddy really works! So far the hardest thing to figure out is how to take that phone call when I am so busy exploring everything else!
My Smart Board users at Knudsen Elementary have subscribed to an Interactive version of the Weekly Reader. I had a chance to see this program in action and it is really cool. The kids love it as the Smart Board reads the articles to them, and the video is amazing.
Smart Board has made it's way into the high school, the kids are so excited about it but the teachers are a bit shy. They need to take lessons from their elementary counter parts and dive in. I am sure as they have more time to use the technology the high school teachers will realize what a powerful learning tool they have at their disposal and loosen up. Learning is so much fun!!
On a personal level I have upgraded to a Smart Phone. It is awesome! There really are apps for just about anything. I can check my email anywhere, listen to my favorite jams, keep track of my food intake, my bowling scores, and the golf caddy really works! So far the hardest thing to figure out is how to take that phone call when I am so busy exploring everything else!
06 August 2010
New Beginnings
My 23 Things adventure is over but that doesn't mean that I am done exploring and learning new ways to use the Internet productively. I have put my toes in the water and I like it. I'm ready to dive in and start exploring the entire Internet ocean.
After my 23 Things class I participated in a Moodle workshop for teachers. What an awesome experience, all of you WSD teachers out there should jump at the opportunity if it is offered to you. Moodle is a means of taking your curriculum online and making your classroom available to students at home, in the library, or anywhere they have access to the Internet. You can upload files, video, and photo's, include links to websites, allow conversations about content and even include quizzes! Permissions are controlled by the teacher so no worries about who sees the work. You can see everything the students do in the program but they cannot see each others work.
Cool stuff!!
After my 23 Things class I participated in a Moodle workshop for teachers. What an awesome experience, all of you WSD teachers out there should jump at the opportunity if it is offered to you. Moodle is a means of taking your curriculum online and making your classroom available to students at home, in the library, or anywhere they have access to the Internet. You can upload files, video, and photo's, include links to websites, allow conversations about content and even include quizzes! Permissions are controlled by the teacher so no worries about who sees the work. You can see everything the students do in the program but they cannot see each others work.
Cool stuff!!
14 June 2010
Thing 23
This has been a great adventure. I cannot wait to share the things I have learned on this journey with others. As a building technician I am constantly being asked for ideas by teachers about how they can use the internet to help their students learn. It will be great to show them that they do not have to be afraid to use Web 2.0 applications to enhance the classroom experience. Students can collaborate on assignments from their own home computers and enjoy sharing what they have discovered with their teachers. Teachers can pre-plan web sites for their students to use and have them use Delicious to get to the sites. This will help reduce the cries of, ‘There is nothing about this subject on the Internet!’.
As with everything there is some prior planning involved. Yes, you have to check to see if some sites work from school. You should for any assignment you prepare. Many websites expire after a while and need to be checked for availability before an assignment is put together. For the most part there are ways to work around those that do not. Blocked educational sites can be unblocked if they do not have streaming audio or video or contain content that is not appropriate for school use. (Talk to your tech about this.) The WSD does not have the bandwidth to handle steaming audio and video in the classroom. This seems to be the biggest complaint that I have heard about any of the ‘Things’ we have discovered on this adventure. Taking the time to download a youtube video using http://keepvid.com/ or podcast at home will allow you to not only use the video in class it will also allow teachers to keep it in their curriculum long after it has disappeared from YouTube. (As a building tech I have shared this tidbit with several teachers who have loved learning this.)
On a personal level I have enjoyed learning about things like Delicious, Flickr, Google Apps, and a crazy site called ‘Remember the Milk’. I have already started using these sites; I rarely bookmark a favorite to a computer instead I save it to Delicious so I can find it where ever I am logged on. I am keeping up with new technology via my RSS feeds and because I am a list maker ‘Remember the Milk’ is keeping from forgetting to do things. Like buying milk!
One more thing, I really enjoy blogging and will keep it up, not sure what I will talk about but isn't that what I said in the beginning of Thing 1?
As with everything there is some prior planning involved. Yes, you have to check to see if some sites work from school. You should for any assignment you prepare. Many websites expire after a while and need to be checked for availability before an assignment is put together. For the most part there are ways to work around those that do not. Blocked educational sites can be unblocked if they do not have streaming audio or video or contain content that is not appropriate for school use. (Talk to your tech about this.) The WSD does not have the bandwidth to handle steaming audio and video in the classroom. This seems to be the biggest complaint that I have heard about any of the ‘Things’ we have discovered on this adventure. Taking the time to download a youtube video using http://keepvid.com/ or podcast at home will allow you to not only use the video in class it will also allow teachers to keep it in their curriculum long after it has disappeared from YouTube. (As a building tech I have shared this tidbit with several teachers who have loved learning this.)
On a personal level I have enjoyed learning about things like Delicious, Flickr, Google Apps, and a crazy site called ‘Remember the Milk’. I have already started using these sites; I rarely bookmark a favorite to a computer instead I save it to Delicious so I can find it where ever I am logged on. I am keeping up with new technology via my RSS feeds and because I am a list maker ‘Remember the Milk’ is keeping from forgetting to do things. Like buying milk!
One more thing, I really enjoy blogging and will keep it up, not sure what I will talk about but isn't that what I said in the beginning of Thing 1?
07 June 2010
Wiki's Thing 21 and 22
Wiki's are not exactly what I expected. I know about Wikipedia and that anyone can add content. Students are always told to check their sources especially when using Wikipedia for research. So I just assumed that wikis were all about delivering information. The idea of using a wiki to collaborate with others is really exciting. The ideas are endless.
One of the wiki's I visited was a classroom newsletter. It contained information about the class, dates that projects were due and even birthday announcements for the students. Another wiki was for a school that was facing closing due to budget cuts. Staff and parents used the wiki to brainstorm ideas for convincing the school board to save their school. The discussions and planning were awesome to read, I can see how you could get some great ideas by browsing through the endless number of wiki's out there.
Visit my wiki/ , I have dedicated it to the staff at Crary Middle School who will go in many different directions after this school year. Hopefully this is one way they can keep track of who goes where, and still plan those occasional off site meetings!
One of the wiki's I visited was a classroom newsletter. It contained information about the class, dates that projects were due and even birthday announcements for the students. Another wiki was for a school that was facing closing due to budget cuts. Staff and parents used the wiki to brainstorm ideas for convincing the school board to save their school. The discussions and planning were awesome to read, I can see how you could get some great ideas by browsing through the endless number of wiki's out there.
Visit my wiki/ , I have dedicated it to the staff at Crary Middle School who will go in many different directions after this school year. Hopefully this is one way they can keep track of who goes where, and still plan those occasional off site meetings!
01 June 2010
Podcasts Things 19 and 20
I am very familiar with podcasts and have subscribed to a few over the years. One kept me updated on Tiger baseball and another had relaxation techniques used for yoga. Podcasts are alright but sometimes my mind wonders and I lose track of the topic. Just like kids do when a teacher presents a lesson in lecture format. I think most kids are visual learners as I am and video podcasts would work better for us. Although watching a video of someone giving a lecture would be really boring too!
If the History channel were a podcast ( and there is probably one out there somewhere) I am quite sure my husband could listen for hours. Now that I think about it maybe I should find a History Podcast and subscribe to it for him. He could stay happily plugged into the ipod and I could have the remote to the TV for a change!!
If the History channel were a podcast ( and there is probably one out there somewhere) I am quite sure my husband could listen for hours. Now that I think about it maybe I should find a History Podcast and subscribe to it for him. He could stay happily plugged into the ipod and I could have the remote to the TV for a change!!
21 May 2010
Online Productivity Things 16, 17 and 18
The idea of using 'clouds' to store data and having online tools available for most any project is really exciting to me. Always the one to think of the conspiracy theory behind everything I wonder what would happen if the 'cloud' burst and the data of the world starting raining down on all of us. (Yikes! Maybe someone will write a book or make a movie about that one.)
I love Google Docs, I have used it in the past for storing documents so that I can access them from everywhere. I can see how great it will be for sharing and collaborating on projects. Maybe I can get a group working on the 'Cloud Burst' book and we could write the great American novel online.
My favorite productivity tools were 'Remember the Milk' and Library Thing. I have been thinking of upgrading to a smart phone and Remember the Milk would be a great tool for use with a mobile device. I am a list maker and having all my lists in one place would really make life a bit easier. Library Thing is like going to the library in the comfort of your own home. You can search for books, get an idea of what they are about, find out what folks think about it and then decide if you want to read it or not.
Slideshare is like YouTube but with slide shows instead of movies. You can choose to get lost in time looking at slide shows that are just about anything, or you can search for ideas to help with any project you are working on.
I choose to find a slide show that will help all of you who are new to Office 07. Check out this SlideShare Presentation:
I love Google Docs, I have used it in the past for storing documents so that I can access them from everywhere. I can see how great it will be for sharing and collaborating on projects. Maybe I can get a group working on the 'Cloud Burst' book and we could write the great American novel online.
My favorite productivity tools were 'Remember the Milk' and Library Thing. I have been thinking of upgrading to a smart phone and Remember the Milk would be a great tool for use with a mobile device. I am a list maker and having all my lists in one place would really make life a bit easier. Library Thing is like going to the library in the comfort of your own home. You can search for books, get an idea of what they are about, find out what folks think about it and then decide if you want to read it or not.
Slideshare is like YouTube but with slide shows instead of movies. You can choose to get lost in time looking at slide shows that are just about anything, or you can search for ideas to help with any project you are working on.
I choose to find a slide show that will help all of you who are new to Office 07. Check out this SlideShare Presentation:
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