Even Michael Thinks blogger.com is great!

I got this nifty Web 2.0 app from Selena Ward at the MICCA Conference. Students can use toondoo.com to summarize steps, create stories, etc. Feel free to browse: www.toondoo.com

Go Parkdale! Go Parkdale! Go Parkdale!

Get a Voki now!




I couldn't resist!

HINDSIGHT

As promised, I am reflecting on my STEP experience in hindsight. This has been the most overwhelming year of my teaching career, for various reasons, some of which are clearly unbeknownst to me! I had begun to look at STEP as simply an unwelcomed addition to my TO DO LIST, that I could definitely do without =(

However, just yesterday, I sat with a curriculum writing group, for which I am a contributing curriculum writer, specifically for modifications and accommodations as they relate to "struggling learners." I must admit that my experience in STEP proved to be a valuable tool that helped me in ways I had never anticipated! For example, I suggested several ways of modifying the curriculum through the usage of some of the technology I learned through STEPPING, the familiarity with one of the newest waves in education, the Nimus/CAST technology standards, even the ingenious idea of using a Voicethread to teach "To Kill A Mockingbird" as was mentioned by Ms. Johnson on this very blog!

Although STEP seemed to add to my woes with regard to unneeded extra assignments to complete, I now feel like one of my students who simply could not fully understand how invaluable the lessons I learned would be. The best kind of work is that which enhances your skills and abilities, and serves to fulfill my goal of continuing to be a lifelong learner! I have come to the conclusion that STEP was indeed a great decision, and although I feel that I have a long way to go, I am glad that I am "STEPPING" in the right direction, and grateful for the opportunity to learn, the equipment, and the invaluable additions to my technology innovation! I will also be reciting this blog during our presentation. I hereby give the STEP Program two thumbs up!

A "standing ovation" to my team at Parkdale and the entire STEP Support Team...working with you all has undoubtedly been the BEST thing about this experience.

Google Sites VS Wikispaces

Google Sites do not allow us to upload Photostories. So, I will create a Google site for teachers and I have to create a Wikispaces site for my Photostories and Slide Share presentations. I made Photostories to instruct teachers how to connect their LCDs with their computers.

This is a great disappointment. My move from Blackboard is going to take forever.

Go Maisie and Vernetta!!

Just wanted to post some more words of encouragement!


Get a Voki now!

COMPLETE BLOG ENTRIES (with the exception of the two previous posts)

MICAA Conference

I saw and learned many new exciting things at the technology conference. It was a wonderful experience to see how many teachers are interested in enhancing their technology integration. I was intrigued by things such as the smartboards, clickers, and the new wave of online tutorials available to students, geared at things such as, HSA preparation. I thought it was a wonderful opportunity to not only enhance my scope of technology available, but how to effectively implement it into my daily instruction. Last but certainly not least, I loved the opportunity to further bond with fellow Parkdale Steppers, and interact with my teammates and colleagues!

PODCASTING MICROPHONE and MATERIALS

I have been so incredibly busy that it has taken me FAR longer than expected to pick up my Podcasting materials and give myself a tutorial on how to use them. I am thankful for the materials that have been sent and the word-of-mouth encouragement I have received. However, for some reason, I have simply not yet carved out the time to retrieve the gadgets from the library. Mrs. Johnson I thank you so very much for your patience and understanding with regards to this matter. I also thank Patrick and Linda for supplying the materials which provide a step-by-step guide to the Voicethread. I am looking forward to delving into these sooner than later!

NECC (a reply)

Mrs. Johnson, I am not familiar with NECC, but I do look forward to hearing about your experience should you attend. As far as the funding/refund, good luck with that. I offered to volunteer to attend a conference related to Special Education that people in our department were “encouraged” to attend, however, when I asked about getting funding, a refund, or even partial assistance with the cost…there was no response. When I inquired to the “powers-that-be,” they simply informed me that there is NO MONEY for such activities. I wish you better luck.

MICCA, etc…etc…etc…(replies)

Mrs. Johnson, I wanted to respond to your point about how other teachers keep up with the latest technology, considering how much is out there, and how a Media Specialist like yourself can barely absorb it all! I too often wonder how the teachers who are not as interested or acclimated with technology get by without it. There is such a spark in the students when I allow them to type their assignments, do internet based quizzes or tests, or even research or webquests. I feel like I do everything but turn cartwheels, and even WITH what I consider a fair amount of technology integration, my kids can SO EASILY become bored or disengaged with their assignments. Of course as a special educator, I deal with ADHD and other emotional disorders that cause my students great difficulty with focusing. However, I feel that technology is not just an enhancement, but a necessity. I joined STEP for that very reason, not to let the plethora of technology advancements out there PASS ME BY! When they said you get to use and KEEP a variety of technology, I could not resist. More to come on my decision to join STEP in hindsight…


TECHNOLOGY NEWBY

I would like to CONCUR with Ms. Lynch about feeling like a technology “newbie” after some of my STEP experiences. MICAA was not the first time, but even some of our trainings, the new equipment, and especially some of the things my teammates at Parkdale, and session mates at Northwestern have been able to do with their WIKI. I wish I had the time to sit and learn and create plans to implement all of these wonderful tools and ideas, but this has simply not been a very good year for me. If the more simplistic technology resources, such as SCHOOL MAX, didn’t get in the way, I do believe I could do a lot more with the USEFUL resources available out there.


EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP ARTICLE

Mrs. Johnson, I thought your entry about the “Mastering Multitasking” was interested and included an essential lesson. I plan to check out the article you mentioned, and often find a great deal of useful information in Education Leadership myself…I love that journal!

We certainly cannot confiscate all 2,000 earpieces, Ipods, Cell Phones, etc. I am always interested in making peace with the students and killing them with kindness. Surprisingly this is typically well received. Therefore, I really like your idea about optimizing the electronic gadgets for the purposes of their education. I am all for letting them use any source of information that will enhance their learning and engage them in something positive, versus chit chat with the girlfriend/boyfriend. I often let my students use their phones to look up information when all of the computers are taken. They know how to access dictionaries, and perform other searches on their mobile networks, and so long as it is pertinent to our class discussion, WHY NOT? I plan to come up with creative ways of incorporating all those ILLEGAL gadgets into their instruction more often in the future. I plan to include a way they can text me Homework (to my e-mail of course, no way I would give them access to my cell number!) I am hopeful that this will increase their amount of study time outside of the classroom, (WELL, since it doesn’t EXIST, I guess increase is not the best word)…perhaps CREATE more consciences study/homework habits.

PODCASTING

As I mentioned earlier, I cannot relate to the troubles with PODCASTING/Voicethread because my issues are far more related to the problems that Ms. Berkeley mentioned in her post with regard to having the time for collaboration, and not only planning and preparing the lessons, but performing the functions, implementing it smoothly, adjusting and being flexible when things don’t go as planned…and after all that…troubleshooting just seems far too daunting of a task! Of course, nothing always goes 100% according to plans, however, I would just as soon revert to option B, for lack of time to reap the full benefit of option A. In accordance with our STEP agreement I am going to give it a shot. However, I would much prefer to take the time after the semester ends to familiarize myself with the materials, devise lessons and strategies on ways of utilizing them, and incorporate them into future lessons. I believe it was Mr. Montgomery who mentioned doing it over the summer, which is a much more realistic goal for me as well.

PODCASTING II

I have finally retrieved my microphone from the library. Although I feel largely accomplished for this small milestone, I welcome any and all suggestions on how to effectively implement this into a lesson. Especially since I have now been frightened out of taking the time to play with it myself, as I do not want to allow myself to rise to the frustration levels mentioned by Ms. Swift and Ms. Berkeley unnecessarily. Please feel free to add feedback, ideas, suggestions, etc. that may make my amateur attempt less aggravating! =) I am going over the packet on how to access Voicethread right now, I am sure I will be emailing Patrick or Linda shortly!

STEP HAS BEEN GREAT, BUT I AM NOT SURE IT IS FOR ME!

Do to the nature of my responsibilities as a Special Educator, including but not limited to: IEPs, evaluations, annual goals, countless meetings, case management, monitoring, transition efforts, etcetera...and most recently the NIGHTMARE of testing, I am short on time ALL DAY, every day. I have appreciated the learning opportunities, collaboration, and equipment, however, I am beginning to think I will not be able to sufficiently meet the demand of the STEP project requirements. I do not take my commitments lightly, and am certainly not a quitter. However, what is put into most simplistic terms and modeled so eloquently in the trainings, just has not come to fruition as seamlessly for me once I snap back into reality. The ELMO has been great, and I do see the possibilities of the photostories, and other wonders the digital camera and podcasting can bring. Perhaps in the future I can be more susceptible to the tasks at hand, but currently I am feeling like I have bit off a little more than I am able to chew. I love the lessons I’ve learned and the possibilities for improving my instruction through technology, but time management is a major issue for me right now. I mentioned earlier that maybe if I could have the summer to work on infusing the technology into my lessons, perhaps I would be more effective.

SWIFT SAYS I CAN’T QUIT…(sighs).

I just want to thank her for her encouragement and let he know that while I said it jokingly, I was being sincere, and I really appreciate the motivation. I am NO QUITTER, and I would really like to see this through. However, I have to prioritize and recognize when I am in over my head. I am going to put my best foot forward and see what I come up with by June 2nd. Thanks again for giving me a “push” in the right direction Ms. Swift.

WOW…from the HOSPITAL?

Ms. Lynch, what a soldier you are! Here I am whining about being overwhelmed at work, and you are in your hospital bed working on BLOGS!?!?!? What is your secret? Do tell, because I am simply SHOCKED to see that you are still able to work after just delivering a baby. Clearly I am simply not that strong because I was SO OUT OF IT after having my little ones. KUDOS to you my friend….May blessings be upon you, Baby Anya, and your family.

What happens to STEP DROPOUTS?

Seriously, I would like to know the implications on the TEAM if a member drops out? I am willing to admit personal defeat and move forward, however, if the rest of the team will be adversely affected, I am less willing. Does anyone know how it would affect us as a team if I gracefully bow out and return all of the useful materials? =( I am dedicated to making the attempt, I am just not certain I can pull it off with so little time left. I know that we could have up to FIVE teachers apply, so I am wondering what the consequences are if all five are not interested in continuing with the program. Just a question…

Problems Blogging!

Mrs. Berkeley so graciously just came and assisted me with what had been a blogger's "block" for some time now. I had been following our blogs and attempting to post to no avail. For some reason, the page was simply not allowing me to log on again, as I am sure you all noticed that I had made a cameo appearance in the past. I assure you I did not DISAPPEAR completely as you might have guessed! Consequently, my next post will be a complete dissertation of the blogs I have been keeping in a WORD document, as I was advised to do based on my log in issues. I look forward to hearing your comments on each and every one of my postings (*Smile). You all have been an awesome team, and as you will see from my blog postings, I have enjoyed reading all of yours.

Hmmmmm....Avatars/Vokis in classroom

Since I was unable to make the MICCA conference and attend the very first STEP training due to a prior obligation, I was at a loss as to what else I could blog about in reference to technology in the classroom. I was doing my typical surfing about interesting ideas for the classroom and came across the use of Vokis and Avatars in the classroom. So I decided to add a Voki to my Wiki on the home page, but then started thinking about how the Vokis and Avatars could be used in the classroom. This would be a great way to personalize discussions and blogs. Interestingly enough, some of the reading I did on the subject is right on this website. With very specific parameters, I believe this would be something to definitely engage our high school students who already have Avatars and Vokis set up for personalized chatting purposes.

Link for article:

http://classroomlearning2.blogspot.com/2007/08/3-week-2-create-your-own-blog-avatar.html

Good Luck in creating your avatar or voki!

Technology usage and learning styles/MI

As I was reading about on line teaching and how it appeals to different learning styles, I couldn't help but think about all of the activities we conducted and how they do in fact appeal to different learning styles. The wiki (from what I read) is a place for collaborative inquiry space and the blogs and forums are good for individual space. This would be good for interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligences. Honey and Mumford have developed a Typology of Learners and conclude that Latinos, White females, Native Americans, and African Americans are activist learners: prefer doing by experiencing. I thought this was interesting because as I surveyed my students many were tactual, hands on, and bodily-kinesthestic. A technology that could possibly assist with this particular style is online scenarios/simulations. I have participated in a simulation previously, but not in an online format. I think students would find this beneficial, but I know that they may not be cost effective.

Reflection on student techology usage

If we continue in to year two with STEP, there are some things in hindsight that I would do differently for year two. The first item on my agenda would be to develop some type of student survey about their technology usage. When conducting the digital story telling, I found that some of my students needed absolutely needed none of my help and others needed to be led my hand and step by step. I demonstrated how to use Microsoft Photostory with the LCD. Most students were able to catch on with this demonstration. Additionally, I found a PDF tutorial for Microsoft Photostory and uploaded and posted it to the documents section in my blackboard course. The survey would help me to differentiate my instructions with the technology. I could divide students in to groups accordingly. The other item of reflection I wanted to mention is access to technology in and out of the school building. My students have a very wide range with respect to technology access at home. Additionally, being able to schedule your classes in the lab becomes a fight for space and time. What this requires is just better preparation way ahead of time to secure locations in the building and provide alternatives for students who may not have technology to use at home.

In the future

As I reflect on my experiences with the new technology I am using through the auspices of STEP, there are some things that I have never done that I would like to learn. We all have been discussing our respective blackboard sites and possibly moving them to google or the wikispace. I would like to build a webpage for my students from scratch. Finding a host site that has all of the necessary tools for us would be worth exploring. It would have to be a host site that allows the embedding of html for such things as podcasts, a place to provide links, upload files, and I personally want the ability to add any aethestic designs to enhance the site. The other idea I had brewing was to create my own unit or lesson webquest. This could be done as a cross-curricular activity or individually. People say use what is out there and try not to reinvent the wheel, but I would definitely find this activity beneficial because I do not know what is all involved in creating one. In any case it is just some food for thought for future planning.

Voice Thread and Wiki Spaces

I tried using Google Sites and I am either missing a lot or it is not as flexible as a Wiki.  I did not see where I could embed html code.  Is that possible?  So  now I think I will try to use a Wiki Space instead of trying Google Sites.

I think Voice Thread does not work well on purpose. I think they want people to pay to use it.  Someone suggested that I go to each student computer and login for them.  This is not a good idea if you want the students to use outside the classroom. I think as a paid customer, everything will work perfectly.  

Here we go again......

In trying to complete my voice thread today, I ran into the same issues with the failure of the microphone to record my voice. Again, it would only record 1 - 2 seconds of voice and then fade out. All the microphone settings are set to high and I have referenced the help menu of voicethread.com and have even watched their tutorials on microphone set up and still have not found a solution. Patrick has so graciously has offered to visit Parkdale to assist me with the microphone set up and connections. I hope this will solve the problem......

podcasting and such

hello all. i'm writing from the hospital after having baby anya yesterday and getting my laptop today so that i can connect to the outside world without going crazy in here!!! i wanted to send out this link http://ccps.org/teachers/mbrogan/broganblog/MICCA09.html that may help you with voicethread stuff. it's a webpage for one of the talks i went to at the micca conference and i found it helpful. i have mapped out my voicethread, but haven't tried recording voice yet, so i'm not sure what problems i'll encouter. well, i'll be in touch next week once i'm home again. good luck with everything!!!

p.s.

p.s. i would not give out my password to students either. perhaps you can create another identity that all your students could use for their comments?

Podcasting

Yesterday, we held our last session, a work session. In this session, we continued to refine and edit our works in preparation for the Gallery Walk. Patrick was very helpful in addressing my issues with pod casting. One issue for me was the continual re-taping as the microphone failed to record my voice for the thread. Patrick played around with the microphone settings and we discovered that in order to successfully record a voice thread, the microphone settings must all be set on the highest levels. This helped tremendously. I now feel a little motivated to complete my podcast.

At any rate, what happens in those times where you don't have someone like a Patrick or a technology coordinator to come alongside of you to help you with software/hardware? It leaves me feeling stuck at times when I don't have accessibility to that type of help. I am glad that Patrick was there to provide the help we needed. Both he and Tiffany have been of great help to us as we have worked during this year.

Google Docs, Blackboard and Wikis

So I decided to chime in on the ongoing conversation related to the transferring of data and site information from Blackboard to Google Docs and/or a Wiki site.

At this point, I share in your sentiments. I am not looking forward to transferring everything over myself. Is there an easier way to do this? I wish there were. It has taken me approximately 7 years as well to develop and maintain a very robust Blackboard site. However, I will agree with one thing; Blackboard can be difficult to set up. Entering student names and id numbers is very time consuming. It would be great if students could simply access and log on to a page. At this point, I am unsure as to what I will do. I have so many things on Blackboard. This may be a year long process for me.

We shall see.

Google Website

I too will have to move my Blackboard site to Google Websites. I have been on Blackboard for at least seven years. It will take me all summer to relocated all my information. It was a problem when new students were not in the system. One thing about Google is that they save your information forever. I guess I will have to make sure I don't have any typos.!!

Wiki Update

From conversing with my fellow step participants, I have now decided to move my operations for my blackboard to possibly a google website or to work to maintain my wiki space. I will miss the ability to create online assessments and surveys, but some of my students cannot access blackboard and have not had blackboard access all year despite my attempts to get them enrolled. In addition, some students are not able to post in the discussion boards because the box for them to type does not open properly. Others have complained that they cannot open PDF files through blackboard. This is going to be an arduous task to transfer all of the information, learn a new system, and enroll or invite my students to it. In the long run, I believe the work will be work it because all of my students will have access to the same information. Currently, I provide students who do not have access to blackboard the needed materials. Somehow I still feel that I am still leaving them out especially when it comes to the discussion board posts.

Voice Thread

I had a lot of problems working with Voice Thread. I think the problem is that my computers do not have the latest files uploaded, such as Quick Time and Java Script. The computers in the library need to be upgraded. Also, my tech coordinator is unaware of what software is approved for use in the county. So by the time I write the tech coordinator who says the software can not installed, then I have to write the County IT department and then write the principal who then he has to talk to the tech coordinator so in the end, the software will not be able to be uploaded until next year. I like Voice Thread however and the few students who used it liked it to. I hope my computers will be upgraded enough next year to use it.

Podcasting Troubles #2

I thought I would jump on Ms. Swift's bandwagon.

As I mentioned in my earlier post, collaboration is a great tool in helping to address and solve tech problems one may inevitably run into, but after speaking with Ms. Johnson our trusted Library Media Center specialist and Ms. Swift, they too were baffled.

I was quite excited about developing this podcast as I have seen them used by a wide range of specialities and fields. I believed it would simplify my teaching in some ways, but it seems to have complicate things somewhat. Of course, accessing help from the voicethread website could be of help. However, time always becomes the issue. Maybe we need further training on how to upload the voice recordings or maybe we need some high grade microphones :)

Podcasting Troubles

Okay. In addition to my previous attempts, I have been working on my podcasting/voicethread for the past three hours now. I am beginning to become a little frustrated with this. I think my issues are similar to Ms. Swift's issues with the equipment. Each time I attempted to record my voice, it only captures the first 2 - 3 seconds and then stops playing. In this case, this would create an excellent opportunity for collaboration via the blogs, the wiki, etc. However we are all having the same issue, without remedy. As a result, my voice thread appears incomplete. Understandably, it has become even more difficult trying to get my students to record any voice samples as well. In the meantime, I will continue trying.

Technological applications and advances are of great benefit. However, when they fail to work as we anticipate, it can lead to great frustration. I can appreciate why some teachers may be reluctant to use, learn or incorporate new technologies into their lessons as it can become time-consuming and unproductive in light of a teacher's already hectic schedule. Any feedback? I just had to vent a little. :)

By the way, I truly believe that the voicethread is a great instructional tool, it is just not the simplest application to use.

Podcasting Reflection #2

I am not sure if the headsets are defective or if the computer is having issues or if the voicethread site was having issues. What I found with some of my fellow STEP particpants is that when recording your voice, what you say seems to get recorded partially. when playing back my directions, I only hear the very beginning of it and the middle and tail end is inaudible. I found this process frustrating because I have spent more time trying to record my voice than anything else related to the podcasting.

Podcasting Reflection #1

I was really excited to conduct the podcasting, but found that I ran in to a few roadblocks after the initial training. I had originally set up the powerpoint to upload to voicethread a while ago, but did not get around to doing it with my students only until recently. I honestly found the voicethread website confusing to navigate because I did not start on the podcasting immediately after the training. The time span between the training and using the voicethread site was muddled with my daughter's 3 week illness. I had to reacquaint myself with how voicethread is set up before I could have my students listen and comment. I do not like the idea of giving my students my login id and password which was suggested during the training. I gave my students a quick tutorial on how to navigate the site, listen to my instructions, and then make comments via microphone or typing. I then logged them in myself, but felt that some students may have been watching me on the keyboard as I typed. After class was over, I immediately requested that my password be changed. I understand that the voicethread must be kept private in order to keep anyone from posting, but there should be some alternative. Students should be able to get to the podcast on their own and make comments. Is there a way to just make your podcast accessible to your students without the entire www knowing about it?

Orchestrating the Media Collage

This is the title of an article that appears in the March 2009 issue of Educational Leadership: Literacy 2.0.  This article talks about how students need to know how to read and write using multiple forms of media.  Writing for the web highlights the importance of written expression by "recasting it in a more compact concise form."  It says blog writing helps people write with clarity, brevity and prioritization. I think students need to have more opportunities to  write.  Then, perhaps they can learn how media techniques influence perception and thinking.  They need to know how to use digital tools like blogs ect, but also when and how to use them.  I have heard some teachers say they would ask students to write more, but don't have time to read their responses.  I had one teacher use my Blackboard site to have students write and she was able to read everything.  Perhaps,  if more teachers had Blackboard sites, they would give students more chances to write. 

Mastering Multitasking

Please read the March 2009 issue of Educational Leadership.  The cover title is Literacy 2.0.

I really like the article titled  " Mastering Multitasking: It's part of every digital native's life. Can we help students do it right?".  We have the policy of telling students to not use electronics in school.  Of course, every other student is walking around with headphones.  I really like this article because it said that "just say no", is not going to work.  I totally agree.  There are over 2000 students here and you can not get to all of them to take their headphones from them.  So, this article suggests way to help them learn how to manage their electronics.   First we have to teach them that using electronics while trying to learn is not helping them, but hurting them. So, the article says to teach them how their brain capacity is lower when listening to electronics.   

"Students who are managing their busy lives may think they are accomplishing more by multitasking, but they are actually need more time to achieve the same level of performance on an academic task." 

So many times, they students say listening to music helps them think.  But, if I ask them if they have all A's they have to say no.  So,  this article suggest lesson plans to help student learn how to put their electronics away so they can learn something.  I am going to refine the lesson plan and give to our Advisory Committee, so hopefully we can implement it school wide next year.

MICCA Conference

Attending the conference actually made me feel like I am a beginner with this whole technology thing. I found the sessions on Day 1 to be great, but was disappointed with the ones I went to on Day 2. I attended Selena Ward's google session on Day 1 which was awesome. I also attended a VoiceThread session since I had missed our original training. That session really helped to clarify how to use the site and I came up with ideas for both my teacher and student projects. Thanks to STEP for letting us take part in the conference!!!

MICCA Conference

I was truly inspired by the information I gathered from this year's MICCA Conference. I attended several sessions, one of which included the Web 2.0 session led by Selena Ward of Benjamin Tasker Middle School. Ms. Ward presented some dynamic ideas from the world of Web 2.0 (which by the way, I was clueless about). I have now come to understand that Web 2.0 simply implies a new way of thinking about the internet, that involves this "second" generation of web development, design and publishing, with a strong focus on collaboration, communication and information sharing.

In addition to Ms. Ward's session, I was also able to attend a session led by Chris O'Neal on how school technology leaders could improve technology-centered professional development opportunities by encouraging teacher "buy in". Professional development sessions with a focus on technology would be more engaging if teachers were presented with samples of work utilizing various technologies, pedagological approaches and content expertise, to get teachers interested and motivated to use the technology.


While at the conference, I was also able to see a demonstration of a StarBoard (a brand of Smartboard). I was truly fascinated with this demo and am trying to get Ms. Johnson to purchase one for me :) Anywho, the Starboard operates as a touch screen. Using this piece of equipment would hook my students even further. In addition to the StarBoard demo, I also participated in an Interwrite demonstration. I currently have an Interwrite board, but have failed to use it as it has been quite difficult to set up and establish the bluetooth connection. I can understand the level of apprehension a teacher may have in approaching technology, as some of it can be very detailed and intimidating.

At any rate, I am appreciative for the experience of attending the MICCA conference. Thanks to Ronlyn, Tia and all the other STEP Team leaders. It was great seeing you all!

NECC

I just registered for the NECC Conference. Is PG county paying for some of this for use like they did MICCA? Can I get a refund for part of my registration? Is anyone else going or volunteering. I have never been to a NECC Conference. What should I expect?

MICCA Conference

I just wanted to say I had an exciting time looking and learning about the new technology that I can implement in my classroom that will benefit my student and help drive my instruction so that I can better serve my students needs. I especially love the paperless classroom where I will try to implement next year with my students. The game design program and the different software that can be used will keep me busy over the summer trying to see what will benefit the students at Parkdale.

MICCA

I attended MICCA and found the sessions I attended well done and information packed. I plan to write to the presenters who presentations I missed. Hopeful, they will give me their websites so I can read about what they covered. I received a four page handout about new Web 2.0 applications. I want to visit each website and try them out. But, that will take hours, days, weeks. I don't know what teachers are going to do who have not been keeping up with the latest technology developments. I am in the STEP program and read professional jounals ect, I feel so far behind. There is so much to learn and I wonder how we decide what information we want and need to share with our colleagues.

Voice Thread

I created a Voice Thread with an English teacher. It was about the book To Kill a Mockingbird. So with Voice Thread, you need to create a Power Point presentation and then you upload it. I spent a lot of time trying to make my Power Point presentation interactive. I wanted it to Hyperlink to websites I found. After uploading my Voice Thread, I noticed that you can not hyperlink in your Power Point presentation. I am so glad that I have a Blackboard Website. I up loaded my Voice Thread there and under it , I listed the websites I wanted the students to visit. I used my discussion board for the students to answer questions. The classroom teacher really liked it and the students had a great interest in using it.

Feeling Inspired

Hello Fellow Steppers,

IEP season has had me and my fellow Special Educators incredibly overwhelmed lately, as most of you probably know. However, I am now feeling quite inspired by all of your blog entries, and I look forward to more technology integration in my English classes upon our return from this much-needed Spring Break.

Meanwhile, technology integration is still very important to me and my students! We are thoroughly enjoying the ELMO, although I have not done very much with the digital camera just yet. I use the ELMO almost everyday. I did use the camera to have them complete a H.S.A. preparation activity on "TONE," with several pictures that I took. This required them to identify the tone in "non-print text," which they definitely seemed to enjoy more than the pictures we typically use in their textbook.

My Wikispace continues to be a work in progress, although I am learning a lot from creating it, and feel more and more technologically savvy everyday! Other than my overwhelming and exhausting workload, and lack of time to really delve into things as I might like, STEPPING has been a wonderful learning opportunity for me so far.

Hi Everyone

I just wanted to say Hello to everyone on the PHS-Step. I look forward to working with everyone on the team.

Slacker City!!!

That's how I'm feeling right now. Somehow, I spaced on the blog and am just reading all the thoughtful posts you guys have up there. I guess it's time to put my two cents (if it's really worth THAT much) in. First of all, I was really impressed with all of the comments Ronlyn had about our portfolios and felt proud for our team. Did you really think I would look up my comments and not read everything about everyone elses? That just wouldn't be me :) But, I was expecting that we were behind based on the mass email she sent out. In reality, it appears we are right on track with some very minor edits to our pages. Go STEPPERS!!!

On another note, I'm hoping that Dawn's techno problems get resolved quickly as I also use ELMO every day and would feel a little lost without him at this point in my teaching.

Lastly, I was unable to attend trainings for podcasting and am trying to navigate my way through the process. What it seems to me thus far is that we are using the site www.voicethread.com to create two voicethreads that we can post onto our wiki. I hope that's right, if someone could let me know that would be great. I've checked around the site and am excited to try it our when I have a little more time. The questions that have come up, but hopefully will resolve once I test it out are 1) how do you do a podcast that doesn't have extra files with it but just has my voice recorded, and 2) if you upload a powerpoint presentation, will it open each slide for you to make comments on? I think if I spend a little time with the program these things will become clearer.

OK, that's all for now. It's 11:23 p.m. and I'm just winding down from night school, ate 1/2 bag of m&m's and am ready for bed. See you all manana!!! Thanks to STEP program for my new microphones/headset thingamaginees!!!

Friendly colleagues

Everyone has been so very helpful to me during this entire STEP process.

Today, I planned to work further on my portfolio, but as I mentioned in an earlier post, my ELMO is not working. I wanted to use the ELMO to capture some images for use in my digital story. So, today I had a nice surprise visit from Ronlyn. She is looking into ways to help me with this problem. Maisie has also given me some help that I needed, as she downloaded all the software I needed to complete the projects and integrate some other technology as well. One piece of equipment that I like to use is the Clickers and although it takes some time to set up, once you get it going, it can be used as a pretty nice evaluating tool.

Just some thoughts....

Sliderocket

Hey all, I found this hot website to make interactive presentations. Try www.sliderocket.com. It allows you to a free 30-day trial. See what you think and let me know.

- Dawn :)

Trouble in Tech Land

Hey Steppers:

I have experienced so many issues with the equipment and the assigned projects. Today, my ELMO shuts DOWN on me! The A/C adapter cord for some reason either has a short, or simply does not want to work anymore. This is a huge problem, as I use ELMO daily. At this point, I will contact our lovely T3 team so that I can get some help!

On another note, I lost my power point presentation documenting how we use ELMO in our classes. I have been trying to work on the Wiki and thankfully, it has been cooperating. I have been attempting to pull this PhotoStory together. As mentioned before, I am developing a commercial. Doing something like this is a major undertaking. My students have been angels. They have taken photos, sent the photos to me, the whole nine, I am just lost on what to do for my other PhotoStory sample. Who knows? How is everyone else feeling? Maybe it's just me....... We'll see : )

Photo Story

I think the students can learn a lot using PhotoStory. I have been holding my two Photostories on a zip drive. How do you upload our Photo Stories to the Internet?

Creating Wiki

After reading Bianca's post, I wanted to comment and elaborate on her post about Wikis. I do find the Wiki that I established is beneficial to me because the information is all saved electronically. Through this method, I do have a convenient way to keep track of all portfolio items in one place. The problem with a Wiki as well is Blackboard is the initial stages of establishing all of the areas. With this use of technology it is easier to maintain rather than establish it. I would find this beneficial to my students because each prep that I teach could have its own page with information on it. I see the wiki as more or less a place to disseminate information, but it is not interactive like Blackboard. On Blackboard, I have had my students answer selected response questions about text and complete homework assignments by posting to the discussion board. In addition, I have administered surveys to students about what they thought about my teaching style. Both the wiki and blackboard allow the uploading of files. With the Wiki I could foresee giving access to my students, but I would like to see them establish Wiki's themselves as part of one of our thematic units for 9th grade English.

Creating Wiki

Using the Wiki reminds me of using Blackboard. Once I remembered  how to do it, I enjoyed using it. I heard that Blackboard was going to be retired next year.  So, if this is true, I will probably move all for information to the Wiki.  I prefer Blackboard because I can created quizzes and it has a grade book.  I am looking forward to learning more about Wikis and to see if they have features similar to Blackboard.

Teacher lead Digital Camera

I taught students who visit the library how to create their own accounts using Turnitin.com in response to an IB  student's  request.  Some on the IB students wanted to check their work to make sure they could not be accused of plagiarism. I create an account where students could upload their work and see the report highlighting any sections of their paper with questionable text.  I created 10 assignments for them.  Over 20 students have uploaded their papers to Turnitin.com.  They edited their papers as a result and added quotations marks if needed.  Once I figure out how to upload my Photo Story to the Internet, I can see many benefits from using this software. 

Digital Camera

I used my advisory students to create a Photo Story using the digital camera.  Advisory meets once a month.  It used to meet everyday.  A lesson plan was distributed on how to manage your time.  It consisted of two handouts.  One required students to list their activities for a 24 hour period.  Students were supposed to read an article about how to manage their time. I gave the camera to students and they were able to find plenty of pictures of how to not spend your time.  Since the advisory will not appear on their report cards, students are resistant to doing anything that requires any work.  I had to write the script including the 5 steps to manage their time.  The voice over was performed by a student.  All my advisory students are seniors.  I like to pictures the student took and they also used included their own words in the voice over.  The student who recorded her voice really enjoyed the experience.  She said she will never forget how to manage her time.  I was pleased with the end product. 

Digital Storytelling

To date, my experience with the digital camera has been great. I am quite excited about the features the digital camera and Photostory 3 offers. Although developing the Photostory will take much time and effort, I have made some progress towards the completion of this Digital Story. I plan on using Photostory 3, along with the digital camera to create an Infomercial.

During this time in the school year, rising seniors go about the task of selecting their senior classes. One of the courses offered is the Advanced Placement Biology class. The objective of the Informercial developed by my students and I will be to familiarize the Parkdale High School student body with the Advanced Placement Biology course. Current AP Biology students will capture digital images, select appropriate assignment samples and music, not to mention providing the narration for this project. In the story/infomercial, students will discuss the objectives of such a course, highlight the benefits of taking AP courses, in particular AP Biology, chronicle their own experience in the class and highlight some of the fascinating activities we have completed and places we have visited as a class.

Again, this project will require some time and thought on my end. Yet, not only am I excited, but also confident that this project will become a part of my professional portfolio and a resource for students in the years to come.

Digital Camera-Future Usage 2nd Photo Story

As we sat in our work session today, I was contemplating how I would use the digital camera for student use. I would like to break students into groups and have them use photo story to complete an activity on themselves. We are currently in the non-fiction unit and something autobiographical in nature might work. I asked students if they had any suggestions as to how we could accomplish such a task in groups and some suggested breaking in to groups based on common experiences. I would then need photo story installed on the classroom computers because they would need full autonomy in working on the project. I see this option as too time-consuming so I may have to think of an alternate activity.

Digital Camera-Teacher Usage

The digital camera (as Maisie said) has been a pickle to plan. I have almost completed one photo story to demonstrate the process my students used to complete an artistic activity on two speeches. Students read "I Have a Dream" (MLK) and "Glory and Hope" (Mandela). We compared the two for rhetorical devices and found they had similarities. In addition, students found overlapping themes. Before getting students to write about the common themes, I designed an activity where students used puzzle pieces in pairs. Students were asked to artistically represent one or more of the themes, but some how their needed to be continuity in the matching puzzle pieces. The continuity could be in the colors used or the themes used. I took pictures of them as they worked from the inception of their ideas to the outcomes of the puzzle pieces. We now had a wonderful body of work produced to replace the character sketches in the classroom.

Document Camera-Student Usage

My students did enjoy the use of the document camera after a few times of pulling teeth with them. Initally, students were somewhat reticent about bringing in personal items to use with the document camera. They did not understand why we were using these items. After demonstrating my own character sketch with the graphic organizer and demonstration of making a watermark in the background of the document, they seemed more interested in bringing in the personal items. I let them set up how the item would be positioned and take the image themselves. We then uploaded their images to our class blackboard account. The images sat in their digital dropboxes until they were ready for use. I bent a few arms to print them in color. The result was great! I hung them all in the classroom, students awed at their own work, and I reveled in their success secretly as they complimented each other. What I also learned is that students somehow get too wrapped up in the aethestic aspect and sometimes neglect producing a quality work. I had to continually remind them that this is technology infusion for enhancements not substitutions.

Blog Post -- Digital Camera and ELMO Document Camera

I have used the ELMO document camera every day in class in a variety of ways. I have used ELMO to post student responses to warm ups, lead guided discussions, construct graphic organizers for in-class debates, etc.

More specifically, I recently used ELMO to help my AP Biology students prepare for the AP Biology exam by providing them with a daily question. I use a variety of resources to pool these questions. One resource in particular is the Princeton Review. As I am sure EVERYONE could relate, I do not have the time nor resources to photocopy these questions every day for my students. Instead, I simply post their daily question using ELMO and the Princeton Review guide. The students have even used this to practice their essay writing.

Another way that I have used ELMO was to have the students assemble a puzzle using the processes of protein translation. Students are provided with "puzzle pieces" that reflect the various steps of translation. Each student is then responsible for assembling the completed puzzle on their desk. They are then called upon to assemble these pieces on the ELMO stage to be viewed by the entire class. Makes a great reviewing tool!

Over the past month, I have also been able to use the digital camera. With the camera, I was able to capture images of my students working on a simulation of transcription and translation using color coded pieces, resembling the 4 nucleotide bases found in DNA and RNA. Upon reviewing the images, I was so encouraged and excited to see how engaged and invested my students became during this activity. Quite naturally, they were excited to see themselves as well.

March 4, 2009 8:21 PM

ELMO Usage

I found the teacher usage of the document camera a valuable tool. I have been able to model various activities that I ask my students to complete in real time. Instead of reviewing a sample, students are able to see me "think through" and 'talk through" the process. This piece of technology provides students with a lens into my metacognitive processes to better foster theirs.

Digitial Camera

Students liked using the digital camera. However, when I told them to take a sequence of pictures to tell the story, they could not think of what to do. I was not able to use a class that I see regularly to do this activity. We used to have an Advisory daily and now we have them only once a month for 30 minutes. So, I try to get other students to fill in the gaps. I am still working with Photo Story and it is taking more time than I thought.

March 4, 2009

After posting my wiki site to the google document for STEP, I'm curious about all the google email features I'm not using because I don't know how to use them. Where can I find more information about the new features of google mail?

On another note, I love ELMO and can't get enough of it. I use it almost every day in class and the two of us are connected at the hip :) I'm actually surprised I got along so well without him in my life. We are a match made in heaven and I would be lost without him. I am able to do so many more things in my classroom and communicate so much better with my students through ELMO. Thank you STEP!!!

As for the digital camera, I'm so excited to have it but at a bit of a loss for how to use it right now. There were several things in the beginning of the year that would have been great to use it for, but now right now. As I'm typing, I'm thinking about how we're about to get into our genetics unit. Perhaps I can have the students take pictures of different traits that they each have, then somehow predict which traits are recessive or dominate based on their frequency in the class. That could work.

Time for bed.

Let's Blog

Hello All, Please take time to blog about the experiences or questions that you and your students have had when using the Elmo Document Camera, Canon Digital Camera, or when creating your wiki and project artifacts. Thanks! ~Patrick & Tiffanie