Another Social Network

BrainPop is a fun site, and I enjoy the videos immensely. So does Joey and Zoe. But often times I'm asked, "aside from showing the video, how do you USE BrainPop?"

BrainPop has decided to answer that question by giving their users a great gift. Welcome to BrainPop Educators. Here you can read their updated blog (I wanted to make sure it was going to be updated regularly before I announced it here), find lessons or submit your own, find videos from other users on how they use BrainPop, and more. Check it out!

It'll be interesting to see how much this community grows over the next few months and if it's going to be viral like Discovery Educator Network, or sort of dry like another one I won't mention. I have a feeling it's going to be very engaging!

Putting It All Together and STACKS

It's no secret that some of my favorite products include netTrekker d.i., Tech4Learning's entire product line, and Scholastic. I've also been enjoying Zoho lately as well. I found a way to make them work together!

Recently I was conducting a training on netTrekker d.i. and was sharing with the media specialists how to save the preferred links and the directions for the project in the My Portfolio. (For more information on this, contact netTrekker d.i. for professional development. They have a fantastic Integration Class. I'm not just saying it because I teach it, it really is good.) I also showed the teachers how to create a rubric using the free tools courtesy of Tech4Learning's Myt4l. We needed somewhere to post the rubric, so we uploaded it into Zoho's Spreadsheet and made the spreadsheet public. I then posted the URL for that spreadsheet into netTrekker d.i.'s My Portfolio, right into the folder for that particular project.

Then I overheard that it would be great if the media specialists could add a list of the preferred books for the unit. One said they could use the Template tool and put all the books on a list. I took that opportunity to showcase the Scholastic Book Wizard. I created a list of books about Abraham Lincoln and added the booklist to the project folder I created in netTrekker d.i.

Here's an example of a completed booklist. Joey has been asking me a lot about Superheroes lately and he only seems to be ale to concentrate or think about Batman, Superman, Spiderman, and the others like them. So we went on the Wizard and found other books about heroes, but necessarily with those that are well known. These are books that he'd like to read or has read at school.

And while I was on the Scholastic website, I found this great new social tool for students. It's called STACKS. It's still in Beta Testing, but there's going to be a lot of neat features to help students connect with other students who share their love of reading certain books. Check it out - there's some great stuff already there. My niece is playing with the links now.

Making it Work

I wanted to create a project folder to showcase in Palm Beach, FL for a recent training. I love project based learning, giving students the rubrics up front, and organizing projects in order to keep everyone on task. Since it was time to celebrate Earth Day (which should be celebrated every day), I decided to have students do a project on recycling.
I used netTrekker d.i. to gather my resources. First I created a folder about recycling. Then, I put images in one folder and websites in another (a folder within a folder structure). Then, using the new Template that is offered in My Portfolio by netTrekker d.i., I added the directions. I love the user-defined template! I added the title, gave the intro to the project in the description spot, and in the body I added the task/directions, the evaluation, and the conclusion. That's right, it's somewhat based on a WebQuest.
Now I ran into a problem when it came to posting the rubric. I wanted to use my favorite rubric builder - MyT4L.com. However, it produces either an HTML document you must host somewhere or an Excel File. I cannot upload documents into netTrekker d.i.'s My Portfolio, so what's a teacher to do? I used Zoho. I uploaded the Excel file into my Zoho account, made it a public URL and then added this external link to My Porfolio. I'm not printing out my rubric only for it to be trashed or lost or made into an airplane and my students still have access to it.
The other thing I wanted to do was have my students watch a video from BrainPop. I have an account from BrainPop, so I added the direct link to the videos I wanted them to watch and in the description I reminded them of the username/password. It was nice that everything is right there for them to view and I'm not sending them off into many directions.
The final project itself was a multimedia "commercial" sharing a simple way to help save the Earth and why you should carry out this simple step. Students could use one of the great multimedia tools from Tech4Learning, PhotoStory, or MovieMaker or other multimedia program of their choice. They used netTrekker d.i. to find images, articles, and other sites of interest to help with the background information needed for the project. Students also wrote a blog entry with their own take on the project.
Now I need to share that information with my students. One way is to bookmark the folder and place it into the school or district folder in netTrekker d.i. But I work with a few schools that are huge and they wanted another way of sharing that folder. We (participants in a meeting) brainstormed a few ideas and one SMART man gave the perfect option.
If you use a Learning Management System (LMS) or Course/Content Management System (CMS) such as eChalk, BlackBoard, Learning Village, Moodle or other program, you can right click on the folder and copy the shortcut and paste it into that location. First, I need to click on EDIT, ADVANCED OPTIONS, and make sure my students have the right to view that folder. Then I right click on the folder, copy shortcut, and paste.

So here's my link to that recycling project: http://middle.nettrekker.com/saver/?id=20275516

Let me guess, you tried to click on that link and it won't let you in? That's right. You can only view folders that belong to the account you are registered to. So if your district has an account, even though you are registered to a school, you'll be able to see folders within your district. Your work is protected! If you are IP Authenticated, it takes you straight to the folder. If you have to log in, once you log in it will take you directly to that folder.

With budget crunches and time savers desperately needed, it's nice to see how products work together. It's always been my firm belief that if products play nicely together, then those are the ones I should invest in. Knowing that netTrekker d.i. works with my LMS/CMS, other web tools, and keeps my students safe- well, I'd be more likely to invest.

Copyright and Education

I love the copyright law, but really appreciate the way Fair Use protects education. I did my final project for my masters degree on the copyright law and education, and while I made an enemy of one teacher - I got my A! I'll also be the first to admit that I believe I have violated the copyright law somehow, one way or another, by accident - but never for a class project and never for a competetion.

Basically under Fair Use, you may use 5 images or 10% of a website, which ever is less. So if a student uses 1 image from a website for a project - then it falls under fair use. HOWEVER, if they are going to make that project available online, they lose the Fair Use Coverage. Double checked on the use of Fair Use for educational purposes, and once that project hits the open web, you lose those rights granted to you under Fair Use for educational purposes. Now if it is on a secure site that is unsearchable except by log-in users, then you are okay. Just make sure it is known WHY the presentation or website cannot go public.

What if they are using a template from a site such as BrainyBetty or an open source document/page layout? I would still document the source. The creator is not getting paid for it, but props is always nice.

What if it is from the Smithsonian or an actual Public Domain site? Check thier rules for use, and again- it only takes a few strokes of the keys to actually document it on a works cited page.

What if you paid for the collection? Then say images/media came from a paid subcription from XYZ and then send them back to that site. One site I use to use would even pay for the referral if people actually clicked on your site to get to theirs. It's all part of CYA.

What if it's a free streaming media site, such as You Tube, and you're going to embed a video from their site to your blog or web page? There are rules that apply. For You Tube, you must not download the video and then upload it to your site. (You should not be able to download the video!) You should embed the video and link back to the original source.

What about a video from a site such as Discovery Streaming that says that you have the right to edit it and is used in a digital storytelling piece? Again, just document the source. Teachers Domain also has some great videos that they don't mind you sharing with others. All they want is credit back to their own website.

Teaching students how to use a tool like the Citation Machine from David Warlick or The Citation Maker from Tech4Learning would be a smart thing to do.

So teachers, when you teach your students multimedia, WebPage Design or anything else that might be posted on the web, teach them how to cite their sources and encourage them to list each source, even if they think it's Public Domain. It's part of CYA - Cover Your Assets so you don't get in trouble later. Especially if it is something that will appear on the web, in an unsecured location and is part of a searchable page.

Oh, and let's all practice what we teach.

For those who need a chart to follow: http://www.copyright.cornell.edu/public_domain/

Abe Lincoln

When I was in 3rd grade I had to write a report about Abraham Lincoln. I remember falling asleep in the library at school while reading a book about him. Not because the book was boring, but because the new couch was really comfortable.

Zoe, my niece, is in second grade. Not only does she have to learn about Abraham Lincoln, but she has create a fact sheet and a puppet. Aunt Dani is making her turn the fact sheet into a PhotoStory, but that's just for fun.

We're using netTrekker to find the web resources and images. But I found another great source for her to get some great information, and she didn't fall asleep watching it.

It's BrainPop, Jr. For those of you haven't seen it lately, go check it out. Not only did Zoe watch the video, but there were other goodies too. One of the things I liked about the video was that it gave tips on how to take notes. On the side of the video was a notebook and Annie used it to write the question that segment was answering.

The other thing I liked was that it gave Zoe suggestions for what other age-appropriate books she should read, a cute little joke, a comic (which was the only thing she went "hmmm" on) and other activities. I liked the activity that was designed to get the class to start talking and the writing activity. Zoe on the other hand liked the craft activity and said it was perfect for the puppet that she has to make.

She has also decided to create her digital story with a similar touch as BrainPop. She's going to draw the pictures either on the computer or by hand and then scan them in. They won't be animated like BrainPop, but at least she'll have the concept available to use.

Joey and I wrote to BrainPop this afternoon and asked what were seizures. He wants to share the video with his classmates. I hope they answer!

Voices

I love digital storytelling and am hoping to teach a class on it soon. I learned of a new tool today, thanks to my Twitter friends, that I am going to have to test out though before I do teach that class. It's a tool that I had heard of before, but hadn't checked it out until tonight's reminder. It's called Voice Thread. Watching the little demo video gave me all sorts of ideas! One is a family idea. We have some pictures that everyone knows a piece of the story, but not the entire story. I think I'll scan a few of those in and then ask my family to leave a comment. The fun comments will be from my older Cousin Alice. I think she's in her early 70's but she still acts like she's 21. She's down here for a bit from Pennsylvania and I think it would be fun to get this type of a conversation going.

Another possible use is to let students collaborate on a story together. String the images together and sort of like choose your own adventure- each person leaves a section of the story. I'll bet that would be confusing and fun! Or collaborate on a project and give comments on what's going on in the picture, thoughts, and then use those comments and thoughts to create the final digital story project.

I can also see it used for a high school yearbook project. Let the class leave comments and vote on a couple of the photos. Those comments could be the captions for the book. Allows participation and ownership. I can see some problems with that, but it's got potential.

Worth looking into!

Book Tools

Scholastic is the name in elementary and middle school books. (Kay pointed out that they don't usually do high school book fairs and that may be why.) In technology, it's probably the same way, but I'm here to tell you different. If you haven't been to the Scholastic website lately, let's take a tour of it together and point out some new greats and some old faves.

• For all of you coaches out there, here's a fun place to get information, lesson plans, read articles, win a pitching machine, and more for each sport. It's the Scholastic Coach and Athletic Director and could become an invaluable tool for each coach out there.
• The Alliance for Young Artists and Writers is sure to be an inspiration to your students out there. The contest looks interesting, but it's the anthology that grabbed my attention. It's not an anthology of world famous artists but some of the best young artists and writers in our world today. I wonder if they are the same authors who peer tutor in the writing section?
  
• Write It! is a great tool for high school writing teachers and students. Great information on the steps to writing, feedback from teen authors who have won national awards, a place to chat about your writing, and even a place where students can publish their work. Students can create their own portfolio for writing right here.
  
• This past week at FETC I was introduced to a new tool called Teacher Book Wizard. Thanks to this little wizard, Joey and I are about to run to the book store and find the books on the list that are similar but a bit harder than his all time favorite book, "No David". Then again, I don't need an excuse to go to the book store. I need to manage one.
  With this tool I can create a booklist for my class on different genres or maybe a wish list of books that I want in my classroom library. The list will generate a unique url so I can post it on my web page, or I can print it out and send it home with my students. There'll be a green check mark next to AR or Reading Counts if there is a test that goes along with the book- which will prompt me as the teacher to see if my school has the test and if not campaign to get the test. You do need to register for the website to create and save lists - but don't worry - it's free. I really see value with this tool!
• Of course Scholastic is carrying on the tradition of following the Presidential candidates. If you believe the statistics, the youngsters are great at predicting the future president! But there's more here than just election news. Check out the Scholastic News that includes KidTech (with a picture of Slash and Bill Gates on stage together), news about the unrest in Pakistan, and more. So for teachers who are a little nervous about using the news in the classroom - check out how these youngsters make the news relevant and entertaining for the students. From International to Political to Entertainment, there's news here for each subject to write across the curriculum.
• Scholastic Connect is a great place for teachers and students. The discussion boards, teachers pay teachers, sweepstakes, and so much more are here to help teachers get connected with each other and with what's going on in today's classrooms.
  

These are all free services, and probably about 1% of all that's available at Scholastic. We need to thank Scholastic for providing these tools with us, and the best way to do that is to just start using them.

Gotta go. My booklist is printed and Joey and I are ready to hit the bookstore.

GAETC

The Georgia conference (GAETC) has always been one of my favorites.The teachers that present here are outstanding! (This is the first one that is a bit winded and hasn't gotten to the topic yet at hand, but its the first in years that I've encountered.) I did have to work the booth this time, which was great because I met a lot of great netTrekker users and potential users. However, I'm very thankful to Vicki Davis for ustreaming the sessions she went to so I could still enjoy the presentations I missed.
uStreaming is a really neat tool that I've been lurking and checking recorded episodes, but have not actually tried. I think I will though if I can find something useful to try it with. However, I decided NOT to enjoy the ustreamed version of Vicki's presentation this morning and instead went to enjoy it in person.
Her presentation was about the Flat Classroom Project in her classroom: My Seatmate Lives in China. Let me start with a quick thought. As a private school teacher who has an administrator that can empower her, Vicki has a bit more ease than most public school teachers at implementing such a project. She even mentioned study hall at one point. HOWEVER - if you listen closely and if you follow Vicki at all online, then you'll realize that she puts a lot of heart and time into these projects because she believes in them as a way to really educate her students. While she may have the ability to unblock and then reblock a site as needed and a normal teacher does not, she has her obstacles. So if a public school teacher is interested in re-creating, joining in on an e-collaborative project, or designing their own, they need to work with their school system to lower the hurdles where possible.
Vicki also mentioned that the number one problem they have with getting public school teachers involved is actually because of our mandatory assessments that have no real meaning in the real world. Side question: Do we test our administrators, community members, and policy makers/politicians every two weeks to make sure they are making the grade? No, we don't interrupt their work to test them. There are other real world benchmarks they use to know if they are doing a great job, a poor job or continue to live in their fantasy world.
Back on topic. I don't want to get into the whole presentation because you can watch it for yourself on Vicki's uStream Channel, but I do want to share a few tidbits I learned.

• PowerPoint is out. Now try Google Presentations with the back channel so participants, even those that are not sitting in the same room, can participate without interrupting.
  
• Silence is noise to today's students. Let them listen to THEIR music on their iPod. You might see more productivity out of them.
  
• Make sure that your school has a great AUP in place, but protect yourself and your students even more with a special permission slip on your major projects - especially those that involve international collaboration and in-depth use of the web.
• Ning now is offering free services to schools. Create a social network with your students. Not on Facebook or MySpace because they really do want their own space. Ning can be kept private.
  
• Sandbox mode is extremely important, especially when introducing new software or tools. Not just for the students, but for our teachers. (She explains this really well in her presentation.)
• Make sure that you are clickable and verifiable as a source.
• I am probably misspelling this - but teachers need to be "Teacherpreneurs" - who connect, empower and encourage new methods, tools, and ideas for the classroom.
• The first step of any project is to make sure that you are connected! With RSS feeders, bookmarks, teacher networks, etc. So teachers join organizations like the TIE network if you are in Georgia, DEN if you are a Discovery fan, or join a Ning network or just the Twitterverse and check out edtechtalk.
  

I have more to write, but I'll do that this weekend or next week.

Quiz Builders and Subscriptions

Last week I did a blitz of training in Marion County for netTrekker. I am always amazed at what we find in training and the uses the teachers come up with. A small group of us had a discussion about the Saved Search feature verses bookmarking sites with Del.ic.ious or another program. The general thoughts were that the sites from netTrekker were educational and teacher approved and by using the Saved Search Feature they have a secure way of sharing the links with their students, with the ability to edit the descriptions to turn the save search into a "Web Hunt".
One of the features of the Saved Searches is to add a website that may or may not be in netTrekker. Great way to add on a site that you found in another search later or to add a site that is not currently in netTrekker. One example I often use is a quiz on the same topic. Normally we then look at adding a lesson or quiz from Discovery Streaming (formally unitedstreaming), but Marion County does not have this service. So it was time to look at others.
The first one that came to mind was Discovery School's, but it is not available. I'm told that they are revamping it for security purposes. I'm hoping it will still be free, but we'll see. The next one was 4Teachers.org's QuizStar. This use to be free, but I guess federal funding is bare minimum and so they are now charging after a 60 day free trial. The price is not too bad, only $35.88 for an individual teacher. It's pretty affordable (unless you're one of the WAY underpaid Hernando County teachers who make on average $10,000 less than their neighbors). There are other pricing options for groups and districts to make it even more affordable. But if you're going to pay $900 for a Quiz Program, why not look at adding that $900 to another program and get a lot more for your money.
There are other possibilities out there. One is to use a tool like Zoomerang to create a "survey". It won't grade your quiz for you, but it is interesting to use in the classroom. Another that's more of a profile tool that would be great to use for organizing groups is ProfilerPro. Another option is the Quiz Lab from Teacher Vision. The prices start around $40 a year for one user. Teacher Vision use to have a great product, but I'm not sure what they are like now adays. They are from Pearson, which might be a plus or a con for some. No opinion here.
If you're a Moodler, then you have options there as well. However, I wonder how our every day teachers who are not into the tools that you have so much control over like Moodle feel about this option. Of course, it's a free tool, you just have to find a space to host it.
What are some other options that I'm overlooking?

I'm a Kid at Heart

I use to get into trouble at my old school district for saying things like "Today we played with PowerPoint" or "Today we're going to play around on the web", even though the PowerPoints were their science projects and the Internet was research based. I'm one of those that believe in the power of play - whether it's structured or free-flowing. (At times though, structured play works best. Classroom time is one of those times.)
So I love that right now I have the opportunity to play with new tools. I especially love the free tools. Woo hoo! I'm learning more and more from Twitter each day.

Uploaded with Skitch!

One of the greatest things about the Mac is the screen capturing capabilities. It's so much easier. But then you have to still take it into a program to add any text boxes or anything else you need to add. I mentioned earlier that I got one of those wonderful copies of Skitch, and I finally tried it out today. Didn't take me long to create this today. Just take a snapshot - or use your camera - and add details where needed. Not too bad. And it was quick. I really spent less than 5 minutes learning the program and doing this. WOO HOO!

But wait, this is only for my Mac. What about when I have to work on my PC? (I'm one of those who absolutely refused to do the Windows side with Boot Camp. Why deface a thing of beauty? But I have to use a PC for work purposes.) What do I do then? Well then, I would use Jing. So cool! And it's actually for PC or Macs. You can create a simple video cast or image, with all sorts of draw tools. Then you can get a link for your screencast! (http://www.screencast.com/t/oGpmoKqan) . The video by the way even records AUDIO! The first time, I did this, I didn't realize it and had Sponge Bob in the back. You can still slightly hear him, but I re-did it and added the audio. You can check it out here: http://www.screencast.com/t/N_y1LBcL

And I learned all this on Twitter.

Oh this is tough. Which tool do I want to use?

Daily Lit

Anyone who really knows me, knows I love to read. I also don't usually travel without at least one or two books with me. I'm not talking about ASCD, ISTE, or other educational books, but rather paperback novels that let me escape my ho-hum life and be a voyeur in someone else's. Harry Potter Series, Sandra Brown, Nora Roberts, etc. But besides being bad at reading the books of the trade, I'm also pretty sad at not reading the classics. For instance, I've never read Pride and Prejudice. I know -that's horrible of me. I always found a way around it, and I'm one who truly believes that if you don't want to read the book- don't. Try reading a couple of pages, but if it does not intrigue you, then it's a waste of your time. Books - the written word - should be appreciated for the images, passion, thoughts, and more that they deliver.
And I'm not one who can listen to a book. Those actually drive me crazy. My mind wanders if my eyes are not engaged. Not good. I tried listening to a Dan Brown book and I think I missed something like 4 chapters before realizing I wasn't paying attention. Not good. Audio books are not for me.
Anyway, I've heard of sites where you can download books that are classics from various authors for free. Sometimes even finding the audio to go along with the novel of choice. However, they were usually bulky and did not really grab my interest. Until today. I finally found a service that I think I'll be addicted to.
DailyLit is a site that delivers installments to your email. Everyone - unless they are twittering - has time to read emails. Easy to read whenever you have a few minutes to read the items in your inbox. You might be even able to hide it from your boss - but I wouldn't tempt fate. Anyway, you can search by category, title, and by author and select which book you want to start with from there. I started with Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, and I have to admit - I'm captivated. I am looking forward to five o'clock when I can go to the end of the email and click on "Next Installment" and read what happens next.
Already read all the books by Alexander Dumas the old fashioned way. Maybe I'll finally get around to reading "Wuthering Heights."
I'd pay for this service with some of those professional books. Nice little chunks. Manageable. Perfect.

Dispersed Teams

I have been working from home since January of 2006. I have to laugh when people think that this means I have all the time in the world and so forth. Let me tell you, it's not easy - especially in the summer with an active child at home. Luckily Scott Kinney gave us all a great book about working on dispersed teams, building trust within the team, getting to know the team, and how to effectively work together. That's probably the toughest, learning how to work with people you don't know and probably will only see face-to-face 4 times a year.
So now I'm working for another company -yes, it's official - I'm with netTrekker as the Georgia and Florida Customer Service Rep. Again, I am lucky to be working with a great team of experienced people who I am sure I will learn something from.
Today I attended the Teaching and Learning Institute with the Florida Digital Educators in Gainesville, FL where my focus was netTrekker and the 21st Century. (Email me for the presentation!) On the side I was talking about collaboration and how we use blogs and wikis to really share our ideas. I even shared how my community is using a Wiki to sign up for events and share news. An interesting thought started running through my head - another plug for really collaborating in and out of the classroom.
More than likely many of our students are going to work on virtual/dispersed teams of some sort. They might be dispersed by time shifts or locations, but there will be a dispersement going on. How will they communicate and stay on track with one another? My dad, when he worked in a plant in South Carolina, depended on email. The workers all checked the data, read the memos and knew what was going based on the emails sent to them at work. With today's teams we can use wikis, but the trick is getting them used.
If our elementary students are using Wikis to collaborate in the classroom on group projects, when they get to middle school the students will be ready to collaborate with another class on a project. Then when they get to high school a teacher can actually take the next step and partner with a class in another school - whether it's in their district or outside of their district. How cool would it be for a teacher to plan a lesson with another teacher in lets say Australia? Oh! I know, they could plan a lesson teaching conservation and endangerment and the central figure could be the Sea Cow. Australia also has these beautiful creatures, so it's perfect project for a Florida teacher and Australia to team up for. The students would all have to plan a project, collaborate via email and or their wiki and then create a project. Using PhotoBucket, SlideShare, any of the Google Apps, this should be easy enough to work out. The rubric could be created (I personally love Tech4Learning's rubric maker) and the teachers could grade the students on collaboration and the outcome. It may not be perfect, especially the first time, but it really will get the students introduced to working on a dispersed team.
And then when they want to work for a company that has a huge presence in their area, but not an office, they can honestly say they know how to work on a "virtual team" and are the perfect candidate for the job.

Passionate Careers

When I taught Career Choices, I always told my students to start with things they love to do and then investigate what type of careers are available from there. We always looked at odd jobs, entry level positions that lead to great positions, how much of an education you would need, salary expectations, cost of living, and how fast to expect to move up and start earning what they dreamed about.

Most of my students, like many of yours I'm sure, said they were going to be a great basketball player or football player. Why not? Ray Allen came from our town, why couldn't they be the next hot shot? But we looked up biographies of the players and showed them how they all had a back up plan. They went to college for more than playing sports. Buffalo Bills' Jim Kelly became a very profitable business man. I met another football player who won at least one Super Bowl Ring (but I forget his name and with which team) and when he retired he opened his own catering business in Columbia, SC. So always have a back up plan.

Well according to an article in eSchool News, sports are now taking a new edge. Science is taking ahold of students love of sports and turning it into a real career possibility. When I taught fifth grade, we did look at Sports Science, especially the science of hockey, with Exploratorium. But now, it's a real possible career field with more than $400 billion waiting for people to put to use in testing and designing the best. What a great way to really get the students to pay attention to science class. And usually the students who are really into the sport understand the sciences of how and why things happen and what is needed to get improved results. If we as educators embrace their passions and find a way to teach them the standards, well we have a winning combination.

The possibilities are endless. Especially with technology. Someone who's not very smart about sports have the power of technology at hand. (I still don't get baseball. I thought it was all about enjoying time with Joey and my family, socializing with friends, enjoying cracker jacks and hot dogs, but someone said that there really men who hit baseballs and run the bases. Someone recently told me I was wrong.)

And admit it, it is important to love what you do, or else - your career is really just a job.

Tech Funding, Support and Future

I'm doing a lot of reading right now, and thoughts keep running through my head. Some I want to share, some I'm just trying to shove right back out.
There's an article on eSchool News Online about how nine states who have received Federal Ed Tech Funds are reporting gains. Awhile ago there was another article about how technology is not really making gains. I have my own thoughts on this, as I'm sure many technology coaches do too.
First, I know there's an age old saying about throwing money at problems doesn't solve the problem. That's true. However, without the proper funding, schools cannot purchase the up to date hardware and software they need. When I left my school district last year, they still hand Windows 95 in the elementary schools. Can you imagine the problems they had encountered with Internet security issues and the software we picked out for them? They needed new computers, but we didn't have funding at the time for elementary schools to get new computers. I'm happy to report that they now have new computers.
Second, it's not the money and it's not the technology. It's the training that goes along with the computers. A lot of teachers will say they are over-trained, and they are correct. What they need is a good technology coach. Let's put it in perspective of football. Would you train a football team and then send them onto the field to play major games without coaches and with only a manager sitting up in the box watching the game? The manager has a lot of responsibilities - but coaching the team is not really one of them. Same thing with educators. The principal needs to lead by example, but he or she also depends on coaches to be on the field and keep the players heads in the game. They have paperwork and other headaches to deal with.
There was another report (Diplomas Count) that talked about preparing our students for college or a progressive workforce. A lot of schools will tell you that in all honesty their students are not ready for college or are not college material, so they prepare them for the workforce. Some focus on getting the kids ready for more of a technical education than a four year liberal arts degree. Each area has their own ideas and reasons. But the future does hold technology. We have to integrate it into our classrooms, or our students won't be ready for the future. I have to laugh because yesterday a new person at StarBucks didn't know how to operate their touch screen register and a customer at the hair salon didn't get her appointment because the new employee wrote the appointment on a piece of paper and not in the computer because she wasn't familiar with the computer. Within an hour I witnessed two service-centered places of business deal with issues because of computer problems.
So where am I going with all this rambling? Technology is very important in today's classroom. We need to fund it correctly, provide ongoing training and support, and we need to think about the future when preparing our students for the variety of opportunities.

TV=ADHD & LD?

As a mother of a child who struggles to learn and is ADHD, I am always interested in articles that might offer support and ways to help him. This week there was a featured article on Yahoo! that claims more TV time means worse school performance. One quote I found interesting was "The amount of TV kids watched when they were 14 was positively linked with having attention problems later, not doing homework, being bored at school, not finishing high school, and "hating school," the researchers found."

But we also have studies that show that using video in the classroom helps improve student performance. Could it be that the TV is only a problem unless teachers know how to use it for their purposes? You have a classroom of students who are TV addicts? You're teaching your students the purpose of scientific studies and how to conduct a science experiment. Do you A.) Lecture B.) Do a hands on experiment or C.) Introduce your students to the Video Segment of the Myth Busters and the coke experiment and then have your students conduct a non-life threatening, safe experiment of their own to either prove or disprove a popular myth? Choice B is great, they will understand the process - but there will be little connection. Letter C is PERFECT because they can relate to this unorthodox crew, see how they test things out several times before claiming it truth or myth busted, and then they experiment on their own. Make it even better? Add choice D: Introduce lesson with Mythbuster video, have students conduct their own experiments to test out pre-selected myths and film their experiments, and then edit the film into a short "Students of Mythbusters" film to share their results with other students. During the share time, other students could make recommendations to make the experiment work even better.

At home, I'll do my part. Joey's limited to the amount of TV he can watch and is encouraged to play outside and use his imagination. But in the classroom, you need to find ways to make those connections with students in THEIR world, not yours.

If you are looking for something else, maybe something to encourage students to read, check out Flashight Readers from Scholastic. This time around the book is A Dog's Life by Ann M. Martin. Lot's of inter-actives, discussions, and encouragements to read some great books. Some pretty cool choices here! They can also check out the Section. My personal favorite there is none other than Harry Potter. Test your knowledge, discuss the evils (or goodness) of Snape, send an e-Card, download fun stuff for your computer, and more.

Then again, as easily as I'm distracted and tend to go off on a tangent, maybe his ADHD is not from TV but from his mother. Hmmmm.

My Proposal for the NEW 3 R's

The 3 R's always bothered me. Could it be that Arithmetic and Writing may have started with an "r" sound but not the letter "r"? Or could it be mainly that one of the "r's" was arithmetic and I am so horrible at math?

I propose a 21st Century set of 3-R's. It's 1:30 in the morning, I can't sleep because they are going through my head, so I have to share them with you. At a decent hour, you can tell me if I am totally off my rocker.

The new 3'rs as proposed by me:

Reading. Okay, so this one was already established. However, I would add "Reading a variety of texts." There is a huge difference in reading for pleasure and reading an academic journal. Skills change and we're not teaching our students how to read the variety of texts out there. Not just the academic vs. pleasure reading, but even the type of texts where students have to decide the credibility of the writing. I mean, if a student comes in tomorrow and swears the new 3 R's of school are what you read posted here -I'd question them. I am not the authority, just another brainstormer.

Researching. This is one of my favorites. There are two different science teachers in the world. One requires the students to remember the Periodic Table and all of the atoms, neutrons and electrons in any given element. The second one teaches the students what the numbers mean and how to find the element in question using the table. Students need to be able to research their answers for almost any given topic. They don't understand the algebraic equation you've given them with steps a million times? It's time for them to RESEARCH the answer on their own. Can they use the Internet? Do they know how to even use their text book they lug around for something more than a weight?

and the last R: Responding. This is very similar to writing, but responding means they are able to pull all of their reading and researching together and respond in various ways. This could mean in an Excel format, a blogline, an actual written text, a letter to some committee, a response in the form of a critical analysis of a novel, or even a PowerPoint response sharing their findings of the said research and reading. It could even be a response in the form of art or music. (Go watch Music and Lyrics and you'll see that music can be a great response to any given topic!) Teach them when they need to be brief in their language (PowerPoint) or when they can elaborate (written paper) or when they can even add their own personal views in a friendly conversation tone (blog). Or teach them to be creative (art).

Notice, they all actually start with the letter R!

And the new 3 R's address the 21st Century Learning Skills that were mentioned in the podcast from David Warlick that I never got back to listening to. Plus, with the tools that are available thanks to the Web 2.0 movement, it'll be easier than ever. Students have access to all sorts of resources through old favorites like netTrekker and pics4Learning, and now new favorites like Wikipedia, Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and more. Our students can even learn to be "prosumers" instead of just consumers in the classrooms, and eventually the world. (Read that in Wikinomics!)

If only I was using Inspiration right now, I could outline this for you even better with graphic maps and more. Instead, I think I'll run spell check and then try going to bed. I'll let you tell me how far off my rocker I am with my new proposed 3 R's: Reading a variety of texts, Researching a variety of resources, and Responding in different formats.

WOW! MORE TOOLS!

I have no idea where to begin. Last year at FETC I did not have time to walk the floor, and I really didn't have that much time this year. But in my time at the great hall of the Florida conference, I learned a lot about some new tools and even some old favorites with improvements. There are so many to mention, it's hard to choose where to start. I should start with Scholastic since they were a gem and let me work with their ".com" kiosk this week. However, they have SO MANY great things to share, I have to save them for near last. Let's do a short run down right now.


BrainPOP Jr: BrainPOP has always a great place to get that short little video that has tons of information that can grab the attention of most students. The new BrainPop Jr. has even more, and for right now it's free for anyone to try (probably until May). I LOVE the jokes, the word wall, the comic strips, okay, I am loving it all. I'm watching a video right now to help Joey with his math. I am ready for the phonic videos to be introduced. If BrainPOP some how finds this blog, I'm willing to beta test anything on this site with my learning challenged 7 year old and my niece who is 6 and loves school. Oh, and teachers, guess what? They have lesson ideas for you and a complete section for Grown Ups. Another feature I really like is that their videos can go full screen, and the one I watched earlier also has closed captioning available. Since Joey struggles with reading, I find close-captioning a great way to reinforce what he's trying to read on his own. He hears it being said and sees the words in print!

Boy I want to tell you about Scholastic. Can you patiently wait? Tomorrow I want to share a techy item and then I have some other great things to share. I could spend 2 weeks on the various Scholastic items alone - and still have a need for more time and space to blog about all the neat features and tools.

I will leave you with this little morsel. For those of you who know me, you know that I was once working with the "DEN" and my counterpart was Karen Seddon. She's the most down to Earth dreamer I know and she has such a big heart and growing passion for educators. When the DEN had to dissolve our positions, Karen pulled out her rose colored glasses and looked at this in a positive way to branch out on her own to try something inspiring. She introduced at FETC to some of her friends and colleagues her new business "e-Cubed.....to encourage, equip, and empower teachers". It is going to be more than what the blog site shows now. She is creating a complete site that will benefit teachers and will be offering a lot of great services to the education world. Keep an eye on her as she grows into "THE" evanglist for creative technology.