Just a Click Away!!!

I have chosen to do a tutorial on the Kid Tough Digital Camera. My center actually purchased a classroom set to use for the preschool classrooms. So I thought I would see what it all has to offer and share it with you! I think it is safe to say that most of you know how to use a digital camera, but the software allows you to do other things to the original photo than to just print it.

Adult Tutorial via manual


Children’s Tutorial- After some pre-teaching on the expectations of handling a camera, I would hand out the cameras and we would explore them using our senses. I would copy pages 4,6,8,9 of the adult tutorial and play a matching game. Can they find the same button that is in the picture on their own camera? Talk with them about what you use a camera for and listen to the experiences that they may have had.

Taking pictures is just half of the fun. Getting into the software and learning how to create photos to print is the other half. Using the software is something that we would have to do together and I would explain how to use it as we were going through it individually.
Children at this age would be learning about a form of technology that they can use. They can also learn about other various concepts through picture taking. Using the software to enhance the photo will also provide options in learning.

Ideas

It is one thing to learn how to use the technology. It is yet another to figure out how you can best utilize that technology. Here are some ideas to use pictures in an educational setting.

• 
  
  Take pictures of things that start with a certain letter of the alphabet. Use the writing tools and write the letter the objects begin with and make an alphabet book.
  
  
  


• We could take pictures of all our friends and put our names on it to make our classroom book. How about taking pictures of shapes (ex. our classroom door is a rectangle) Then, you guessed it- make a book of the shapes in the environment.
  
  


• Take a picture of two trees and then a picture with one tree. Put the printed pictures in the pocket chart. How many trees are there in all?
  


• The software sizes the photos various ways so we can talk about size comparisons.
  
  


• Since we are studying bugs, children can take pictures of bugs. Then classify them and add it to the word wall.
  
  Do you have any ideas of how I could use the digital camera and software to incorporate into my teaching?

To Wiki or Not To Wiki

"A wiki is not a carefully crafted site for casual visitors. Instead, it seeks to involve the visitor in an ongoing process of creation and collaboration that constantly changes the Web site landscape" from http://www.librarysource/index.php?title=What_is_a_Wiki.

A wiki is a place to collaborate ideas. This replaces the old way of emailing information and having to wait for a response from one or more receivers. The wiki becomes a book of reference that can be changed as new information is discovered or as old information changes. It can be as simple as Edit, Link, Save. Check out this video from YouTube.

I will help you get started with your wiki. There are many places on the web where you can start you wiki. Some sites charge as much as $1,000 per year to as little as $50 per year. On some sites wikis are free. I will be working from a free site. Of course it is only free if you are an educator. This is all available to you at http://www.wikispaces.com/.

You will be able to follow the links for the Teacher Tutorial and the Student Tutorial. Here you will find the power points for each.

Other sources I used for information on wikis are as follows:

1. http://blogs.sitepoint.com/what-is-a-wiki/




2. http://webtrends.about.com/od/wiki/a/what_is_a_wiki.htm




3. http://www.ehow.com/how_5112155_set-up-wiki.html




4. http://www.teachersfirst.com/content/wiki

Students Learning Through Collaboration and Communication

The concept is simple. We are living in a digital age in which technology is an intricate part of our everyday lives. Students should learn and be expected to apply higher level problem solving skills in order to compete and contribute in a ever growing global society. The National Educational Technology Standards for Students include 5 main areas of focus:

• Demonstrate creativity and innovation
• Communicate and collaborate
• Conduct research and use information
• Think critically, solve problems, and make decisions
• Use technology effectively and productively

I chose to explore standard #2:

2.	Communication and Collaboration
	Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others. Students:
	a. interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media. b. communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats. c. develop cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with learners of other cultures. d. contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems.

This video is a great example of how easy it is to incorporate collaborative technology projects into the classroom. Students are able to interact together as a team to publish a finished product that not only allows them to learn and explore new technology, but gives them a different outlet for learning new material.



What are some ways you've encouraged collaboration and communication through technology in your classroom?

Week #4 - Curriculum

Hello from Beijing!  If everything went ok with my 16 hour 6,000+ mile flight I should be in Beijing visiting the sites today. Here is the current time in Beijing as you read this:



I'm really impressed with the tremendous improvement in the blog post assignments - you are all vastly exceeding my expectations and I'm learning so much for all of your blogs!  Thank you for your hard work!

This week we'll explore integrating technology in with curriculum through technology tutorials.  The assignment is posted on blackboard.  CUNE has a great website with many different technology tutorials in a wide range of formats.  Please feel free to model your tutorial on any of the ones provided on that page.

I would really like for you to pick a technology that you could see yourself using in your classroom this upcoming year - feel free to choose one you are not very comfortable with in order to really learn how to use the technology.  Also, feel free to be creative with the tutorial - there are no strict guidelines on the format.

In addition to your technology tutorial you also have a weekly paper that's available on blackboard.  Finally, please add your two comments to other student's technology tutorials as we have been doing with the blog posts.

If I have internet access in Beijing I will also post the technology tutorial instructions and weekly paper topics to the blog on the assignments page but I want to wait until May 29 to avoid confusion between the week 3 and week 4 topics. 

In the event my internet connection will not allow me to access the blog and/or blackboard please look to blackboard for your week 4 and week 5 assignments (I have asked my wife to make the week 5 material available on blackboard in case I have technology problems on June 5).

Thanks so much for all of your hard work and getting through the first week hiccups - I'm very impressed with your work and it seems clear in the comments that everyone is learning a lot from each other. 

再见，祝你好运 

(I believe that's Goodbye and Goodluck in the Chinese language - at least Google Translate says so!)

ISTE Standard #1 Post #3

Inspiring students to learn through creation

ISTE Standard 1 - Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity.

These standards are what will drive teachers use of technology in their classrooms. We all have different standards to teach at all grade levels. I teach several standards for History alone, with a completely different set for my law and juvenile justice class. It makes sense that there are now standards to use to guide us in what is essential for students to learn through the use of technology. This first standard is one that stuck out to me. I am a creative person, regardless of what that multiple intelligences test told me from our last class. I am always thinking of ways to teach the same material, but differently from the last time to enhance its appeal. In history, I have to make our lessons appealing or, students tend to tune me out. Technology allows me to make them more appealing, and my job a little easier too. ISTE standard 1 basically calls for teachers to complete the following steps when using technology in the classroom: model creative thinking and inventiveness, explore real world issues and solve problems, promote student reflection, assess student comprehension of concepts, and model collaborative working environments. This can all be done face to face in class or in virtual working environments; all while students are using these new technologies, digital tools, and resources. Here is a link to all of the standards via PDF format: http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers.aspx
I have tried to do this many times and have been successful many times. I have had students create their own vodcasts in windows movie maker about a subject provided by me. Here is a link to a website that explains what a vodcast is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_podcast
One group completed a vodcast that was about 3 minutes in length complete with very accurate narration and photos that fit perfectly with the concept. Their idea or concept was containment during the cold war. They had the U.S.S.R. flag and U.S. flag, they showed a political cartoon, and discussed U.S. strategy for implementing containment. Here is a quick link to refresh all of you on what containment is in case you were wondering: http://countrystudies.us/united-states/history-110.htm All of this done by freshmen! This particular group had experience with this and really wanted to make something special and needed extra time to complete it; which I of course allowed. Unfortunately I don't have that vodcast anymore as it was completed during my student teaching phase at Benson high school. Here is a link to a video I found helpful though to teachers who could turn powerpoint presentations into vodcasts for their students.

Teacher Standard #4

Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility

In the wake of social media and dawn of the digital age...we truly need to teach our students the importance of "digital etiquette and responsible social interactions" related to the use of all of these websites.  Young people are so accustomed to using these sites but are they trained to use them properly?   

At our graduation baccalaureate last week, the key note speaker was a former Nebraska football player, Aaron Davis.  He made an outstanding point to our students in regards to using Facebook and Twitter.  He spoke about the sensitivity of one's reputation.  People are creating their own reputation by what they post on these sites and he said "Not everything is a Kodak Moment". 

Last week in a job interview I was asked "What will we find if we Google your name?"

Standard 4 talks about digital citizenship and responsibility.  We need to teach our students that what they do on the internet leaves an imprint.  It also affects others' lives.  We need to teach them to be responsible with their Facebook pages, Youtube videos, Tweets, and any other traces of themselves. 

There are many activities we could do in class to demonstrate this importance.  There are many stories of on-line bullying leading to suicides and legislative changes being made.  A class could research the laws in their state and compare the laws with other states.  These classes could debate on the laws if they feel they should be changed/stronger/weaker/etc. 

Another aspect of digital responsiblity is respecting copyright and documenting sources.   

While it may seem funny to do all you can to get free music, this is not actually good ethical behavior.  I am sure most of us remember the landmark Napster case that protected intellectual property.  The internet is a vast directory of other people's intellectual property.  We need to teach our students that when we use information from the internet we need to correctly document sources or purchase the information if required. 

In class students need to be taught to respect others' intellectual property.  In class students could talk about how important their own property is.  Maybe they could do a research activity about general plagairism compared to internet plagairism, stealing vs. stealing music etc. 

Locate, Analyze, and Evaluate Digital Tools

Research and Information Fluency
			Students will plan strategies to locate, analyze, and evaluate information from a variety of digital tools. Then will process results of the data collected while to inform others.

Have any of you heard of ThinkQuest? (http://thinkquest.org/en/) I came across the website when looking for a lesson to meet the needs of the third standard in technology education. This website is the wave of the future for classroom instruction. Full of ways teachers can enhance the learning experience through technology in a safe internet forum. Teachers collaborate from all over the globe while in the comfort of their classroom.

WOW!!

The teachers are in charge of making a homepage that is easy to design and change as needed. Pages are simple to add with just as pushing a button. Then teachers start by placing a lesson for students at this time only certain ones are assigned to the project. What an easy way to differentiate instruction for all students in your classroom.

Math Lesson using geometric shapes like polygons, triangle, and etc

Lesson to design and create a project demonstrating understanding of geometric shapes:

· Each student will be assigned a shape or have a blind pick

· Research on the internet and the library on ThinkQuest

· Teacher will group students by shape

o Share their information

o Come up with a plan

o Create an I-Movie

o Web page were work will be displayed

The lesson has students working individually then cooperatively creative an end result. Today’s employer is striving for this model.

Digital Citizenship: Responsibility in Today's Society

When I watch the video above I am amazed at how technology in our society has changed and how it has impacted generations of children around the world. The concept of digital citizenship is becoming an essential component of any student's education. Digital citizenship is so important that the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) included it in the National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) for Students. This standard is outlined as follows:

5. Digital Citizenship

Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior:

Students:

a.	advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology.
b.	exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity.
c.	demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning.
d.	exhibit leadership for digital citizenship.

With the growth of media technology and social networking, issues related to the responsible, ethical use of these resources has become of great concern in our society. Digital citizenship means understanding appropriate use of technology. While this may sound like a simple idea, there are in fact many facets to responsibility with technology. Responsibility may mean citing sources when posting information from others, respecting privacy when posting to social networking sites, or even being aware of when you are providing personal information. The website digitalcitizenship.net outlines Nine Elements of digital citizenship that cover many of these issues as well as others. The issues that have brought this standard about are due in part by the risk some technology brings to safety of children. Sexting and cyberbullying are just two examples of words that are now hot topics in our society. As technology changes, the need for teaching children how to be good digital citizens increases for their protection.

Educators and parents must first and foremost continue to learn about advancements in

technology. The more knowledge that we have about what our students are going to be exposed to, the more prepared we can be to teach them. One of the most popular sites parents and teachers can access for updated information and resources is commonsencemedia.org. This site offers reviews and ratings on current movies, games, and internet applications. There is also an educator specific piece to this site that provides news, curriculum, and interactive games that can be used in the classroom to teach students about digital citizenship. It is organizations like Common Sense Media that push for policies with our government that can help protect the safety of children. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has heard these concerns and works to help parents and educators teach students responsibility with technology. The FTC website offers both parent/teacher and student portals that provide information and activities to support learning digital citizenship.

A lesson that I found to be a great introduction to any class utilizing technology is available from digitalcitizenship.net. ~http://www.digitalcitizenship.net/uploads/FoundAct2.pdf~

In this lesson students will be evaluating a digital compass to help them determine appropriate use of technology. Starting a class with these discussions and setting standards for what digital citizenship should look like in your class can help students understand the importance of the issue and help to prevent any issues.

With the wealth of information available from these and many other resources, we can create opportunities to model and teach how to use technology appropriately. These should be lessons that students can apply daily with technology and continue to remember for life-long applications.

ISTE Student standard #6

Kids constantly amaze adults with their seemingly innate ability to interact with technology. My son can easily get his Xbox to work on the TV, but his dad has a heck of a time getting it transfered back to the cable - and he set up the connections!

The AP chemistry students at Burke this year were an excellent example of students who understand technology systems. They not only used multiple applications as required for class, but they also decided that they would make a music video to describe, if not instruct on, a problem solving method used throughout the course. They ran into some trouble along the way, like how to imbed the sound with the video clips and how to best show the steps of the problem. Of course the whole idea came after one student got bored and inspired all at the same time and wrote a rap :) Check out the finished product on You Tube using this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHPIFczEHoI

As you can see they used Microsoft Word as well as the SmartBoard to create their ICE tables. Their knowledge of Word led the kids to look for ways to create fractions and subscripts within the SmartBoard program. It took them some trying but they figured it out.

I beleive that due to our student's constant exposure to technology and their early exposure to technology this particular standard comes easily to them. They can manage themselves between various programs fairly easily and they are not 'afraid' or hesitant to try things like some adults are when encountering a new technology or program. Kids are aware of multiple programs or applications and can pick which one will best meet their needs at the time. Of all the standards in place for studnets to meet this might be one of the most natural!

Sounds in Technology

Standard 5: Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership

Teachers continuously improve their professional practice, model lifelong learning, and exhibit leadership in their school and professional community by promoting and demonstrating the effective use of digital tools and resources. http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers/nets-for-teachers-2008.aspx

The indicators focus on teachers taking the lead in contributing, collaborating, and evaluating teaching practices so that such advancements in technology can be incorporate in student learning.

One way that I am challenging myself to use technology is through the use of power point. Now that does not mean I lecture these poor little ones since their attention span would be gone after the second word on the slide. It just means that I have to be innovative in finding ways they can still be exposed to technology

I have children throughout the summer. So next week when they get back from their break we will be looking at creepy crawly things such as bugs and frogs, and whatever else they find interest in.

A pre-reading skill is to be able to identify sounds such as those that you hear in the beginning, middle, and end of a word. To scaffold the children so that they are able to do that we can start with flexing those listening muscles and have then identify different sounds in nature.

Now back to my power point. My children will see a slide of the animal and then be asked to click on the icon to hear the sound that it makes. On the last slide it will be an interactive review. They will be asked to use the ballpoint pen option to connect the sound to the correct animal.

I think that this activity will be fun and stimulating to them as they get practice using a computer mouse and work on their pre- reading skill. To view what my children will be up to next week click on the PowerPoint below.

https://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0AbP12wtffcI1ZGRqcjZ2M25fMGd6c2Q0d2Nr&hl=en_US&authkey=CJeNl6kJ

Become One with the Digital Age

I can remember when I was a teenager and my family got our first VCR. I was the VCR master in our house. I could tune in any cable channel and tape anything from daily television to movies on cable. My parents had no clue how to use it, and neither did many teachers at school. As time has passed the technology has become much greater; VCRs are all but obsolete. We have computers with projectors, elmos, Interactive Smart Whiteboards, BlueRay Disc and of course smartphones.
Do you know how to use all of these items? Me neither, that is why ISTE has given us the NETS for teachers. I will be exploring Standard 3, Modeling Digital-Age Work and Learning.

The Digital-Age is now, with all of the current technology and Web 2.0. We, the teachers, need to keep up with this technology and apply it too our classrooms. Our students are digital learners; can we connect them and keep them interested?

The first part of standard 3 refers to fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations. Meaning, have a good understanding of what you are doing with the technology when you use it in class. Problems will occur, mistakes will happen; just be sure to model how to problem solve and handle those situations without panicking.

The rest of the standard deals with communication and collaboration. Using the telephone is always a good way to communicate with others, but with email, webpages, wikis and podcasts the ability to communicate has become simple (if you know how to use the technology). Communication has been put at our fingertips. Everything is now easily accessible and available on your time at your convenience. Our job is to use these tools of technology to communicate and collaborate with students, parents and community to further education. Get information to people in as many ways as possible.

Finally, model model proper use of technology as you facilitate the use of it. Allow the students to explore the technology you chose. Guide them through the process, allow them to make mistakes, and keep them focused on the ultimate end goal. Together the students and you may just figure out some new things.

I hope to incorporate the communication part of this standard. At the very least I plan to create a web page with links to learning goals, rubrics, a pacing guide, assignments past and present and notes. In the future I hope to explore a blog where students can journal and express their successes and failures in math.

Technology Standards for Administrators

Administrators have technology standards just as students and teachers do. The National Educational Technology Standards for Administrators, NETS-A, lists five strands that administrators are encouraged to follow: Visionary Leadership, Digital Age Learning Culture, Excellence in Professional Practice, Systemic Improvement, and Digital Citizenship.

The second strand, Digital Age Learning Culture, asks that administrators institute, promote, and foster a digital environment that contributes to an engaging and effective classroom education for every student. Administrators make sure that the technology driven rigorous learning is in a continuous format within their school and classrooms. Administrators provide learner-centered environments that include resources and technology infused throughout the curriculum. Administrators also participate and help to promote a technological learning community on the local and global levels that allow for digital-age collaboration and change.

My principal meets many of these standards in our school. All classrooms have or will be equipped with SmartBoards by the 2011-2012 school year. Professional development will center around rigorous instruction, and implementation of SmartBoard lessons. In addition to SmartBoards, there is a 4 to 1, student to laptop, ratio where students utilize programs that support academic growth in math, reading, and science. My principal is always thinking and planning new ways to include technology and resources into the content standards. Recently she asked me to create a blog about our Fresh Fruits and Vegetables program starting in August. It is a good thing I am taking this technology class.

There is a lot of encouragement and an open mind when it comes to involving technology in our school and classrooms. Many grants have been written and approved to secure various forms of technology and resources in our school. Western Hills is fortunate to have a principal that continually looks to the future.

Check out this link to read the exact National Educational Technology Standards for Administrators:
http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-administrators/nets-for-administrators-sandards.aspx

ISTE-NET*T Teacher Standard #5

ISTE-NET*T Teacher Standard #5: Productivity and Professional Practices

Teachers use technology to enhance their productivity and professional practices. Teachers:

A. Use technology resources to engage in ongoing professional development and lifelong learning.

B. Continually evaluate and reflect on professional practices to make informed decisions regarding the use of technology in support to student learning.

C. Apply technology to increase productivity.

D. Use technology to communicate and collaborate with peers, parents, and the larger community in order to nurture student learning.

I often hear conversations that include something like, "kids today are so different..." The truth of the matter is why wouldn't they be, the world is different and ever changing. With all the technological advances, the children of today are far more advance and comfortable with mass media, telecommunications, digital media, and any other source of technology including the remote control. Remember when we had to "get up" to turn the channel on the television? If you think about it, when we were kids, the first toys our parents gave us were manual dolls and cars, xylophones, ball and bat, and bikes with no motors. Today's baby and toddlers have V-Tech toys, interactive toys, and yes the computer with Internet. Since my son was four-years-old, he has been playing with his WebKinz on-line. Now eight-years-old, he knows how to navigate the world wide web better than I do, with the exception that he doesn't spell well. My point is if the teachers of today want to stay on an equal playing field with their students or go so far as stay ahead, they must engage in using technology.

The ISTE teacher standards were developed to not only encourage, but require teachers to use technology to enhance student learning. Because of world-wide competition in the job market, it is important that our students learn how to use current and upcoming technological advances. The idea is not to hurt teaching instruction, but rather enhance. There are many ways to integrate technology into any classroom. But it must actually enhance instruction and learning. Don't included it just to fulfill your district guidelines. The following video is an example of a teacher incorporating technology in the classroom that is useless.

As you can see from the video, using technology that does not enhance instruction defeats the purpose. You will lose student attention and support. You will not support the curriculum and it will lose meaning through instruction. The follow video give suggestions for what type of technology works well in instruction and for students.

There are many ways to use technology in your class. I must admit, I too have used the smart board as a glorified overhead, but there is so many more activities it can do or media its use can enhance. For example, one way that I have integrated technology into my curriculum and instructional delivery is through the google notebook. Part of the English 11 curriculum includes research. By using the google notebook, accessibility is easy for all and the students find this forum fun. Google notebook is FREE, accessible and saved on public Internet so you wont hear "it's saved on my computer at home" or "it didn't transfer to word." It is flexible and saves citation so students can't have excuses for no sources and best of all, it is streamlined (www.goggle.com/notebook).

Teachers can also use the internet to develop website for their class, on-line assessments (test on-line), and much, much more.

I'm sure many of you like me are grateful for this course even at first if it did or still does seem intimidating. But like you, I have learned to blog, upload videos, format stories, download pictures and other aspects of blogging. As I sit her typing, I am explaining blogging to student. So in the in, technology has helped me make connections with my students.

NETS-S STANDARD # 1

Our students are crying out for a change in how and what we teach them.

ITSE National Educational Technology standard number one (NETS-S) deals with creativity and innovation. Creativity and innovation are huge buzzwords these days in the working world. Just Google “creativity and innovation” and you will find numerous services, books and classes to increase both. Creativity and innovation are not necessarily innate, both can be learned. I found an interesting site that really opened my eyes to how important both creativity and innovation are in the workplace today. I was especially fascinated by Hewlett Packard’s philosophy for fostering an environment of creativity and innovation. How interesting would it be to tweak that for a classroom environment?

According to this NET-S standard, students should be able to:

-apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products or processes

-create original works as a means of personal or group expression]

-use models and simulations to explore complex systems and issues

-identify trends and forecast possibilities

Basically, this standard deals with using problem solving and critical thinking skills to solve real world problems. This is a recurring theme in education. These are also addressed in the 21^st Century Framework for Learning.

Obviously we live in a world very different than the world that many of us grew up in. Our students must be prepared to do much more than just regurgitate information and have knowledge. (This is the kind of education I received) Our students must be able to use information and transform their world.

HOW CAN I HELP MY STUDENTS ACHIEVE THIS STANDARD?

Next year I will be teaching a unit on weather. I am planning on trying the “Monster Storms” curriculum from the Jason Project. My students will have the opportunity to use real world data from a hurricane and make predictions on when and where the storm will hit. They will then use this information to determine what precautions/evacuations should take place and the implications and repercussions that this type of storm would have on a community. It is just a start, but it is a start. I will let you all know how it goes.