Why Educational Technology?
Reflection
1. What is educational technology and why is(or isn't) it an important element in the 21st century classroom?
2. One of the challenges of technology is it is always changing. What can you do to stay current and how can you be an element of change in your jobs?
3. It is our hope you have seem many ways technology can be incorporated into education. Do you have any suggestion on elements we can add to this course to familiarize Park University students with strategies and technologies that they can use in the classroom?
Your reflection is worth 20 points and should be emailed to Janice Uptegrove at teach4teach@gmail.com Click here to view the scoring guide for the reflection.
Teacher posts a social media message that went viral. News from today- worth watching.
Thursday, December 5, 2013
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Mobile Technology and Social Media
Social Media has a strong foothold in school districts. Most districts have their own Facebook pages. (Liberty, NKC, Parkhill, GVSD) Since March 201 in Missouri each school district is required to have its own Facebook Policy. Social Media goes far beyond one source. Educators are creating their own PLN (Personal Learning Network) with tangible social networking tools like Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, TeacherSquare, Edutopia, Edcamp KC, Pinterest and other platforms that allow teachers to connect to share resources and expertise.
If you would like a suggestion, Kyle Pace is an awesome KC educator to follow as you begin to build your own network. Educational Twitter Hashtags.
Another resource I would highley suggest is Edudemic. It is “a global community designed to keep educators, administrators, and everyone up to date on what is happening in the world of education and technology. It pulls from more than 100 different online educational resources to inform and connect the world of technology and education” (About Edudemic). The site contains news, ideas for mobile learning, best classroom practices and more. To get started using Edudemic… Go to http://edudemic.com/. You do not need to register or subscribe you can start reading directly from their website. You can follow their posts on Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Pinterest, RSS Feed or you can subscribe to their Daily Digest that is delivered to your email. See their article on the impact of social media in education today.
This info-graphic on Innovative Educator outlines how social media is used by recruiters.
Technology is becoming more and more mobile from laptops to tablets to smartphones. Your students have had to dummy down when the come to school but those times are changing. Many local schools are adopting a One to One policy or expanding the BYOT (Bring Your Own Technology) policies. This Christmas the hottest gift is the tablet. Discussion: How does equity come into play with district policies and procedures?
Info-graphic Ipad Apps- Livebinder
90 Best IOS Apps
Edudemic's 88 best apps
Do smartphones improve student achievement?
44 ways to use smartphones in the classroom.
QR Codes and Mobile Learning (abbreviated from Quick Response Code) A QR code consists of black modules (square dots) arranged in a square grid on a white background, which can be read by an imaging device. I generated the following code in seconds at using the QR Generator Website.
What do you need to read a QR Code? There are free readers (Bar Scanners) in Google Play and in I-Tunes Store. You can even add 100 characters of voice using QR Voice.net.
Ways to Use a QR Code
Self Assessments- with the answers hidden in the QR Code
Flash Cards
Make your bulletin board or wall display interactive
Routing to the exact sites you want to students to use for research
Advertise School Events
Business Cards
Calendar Events
Scavenger Hunts
Kathy Schrock has a comprehensive list for more QR Resources.
Check out how this student used a QR code and received over $20,000.00.
It is my hope this course has given you ideas and insights into ways you can infuse technology into your classroom or other careers.
The assignment this week was to complete your personal educational blogs. Please post the url for each of your blogs in the comment section below this post. Click here to see the scoring guide for the blog.
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
What's All the Google About?
Work smarter with Gmail and Google Apps
This image was created using Google Drawing. Open Google, click on Create, then on Drawing. Students can work collaboratively to create their own mind-maps. Students can also create a poster using Google's Picasa. The beauty of Google is they do not have to work at the same time. They can share their work with other "hours" or to work on at home or even with someone on the other side of the country.
Inside Google Search
Advanced Search in Google: Click on Search Tools on the top right-hand side of the page This will allow you to search by; reading level, copyright free images, safety and language.
Other ways to refine your Google search:
- word search for chocolate, but NOT cake ex) chocolate -cake
+ word find exact words ex) +chocolate cake
“set of words” -search for exact set of words, quotes, or phrases ex) “chocolate cake”
Google Goggles is an app that lets you search with a picture.
Manage meetings with Calendar
Google Calendar makes scheduling meetings easy with shared calendars. You’ll get invites and reminders and can even join a scheduled video meeting right from your inbox.
Use Google Drive to send large files
Send huge files in Gmail (up to 10GB) using Google Drive. Plus files stored in Drive stay up-to-date automatically so everyone has the most recent version and can access them from anywhere.
Collaborate on documents
Get email alerts when someone comments on your shared document in Docs and Slides. To respond to the comment, just reply to the email. Sample Document
Google Forms;
Slide show on how to create a form for students to drop the url of their assignment.
Our sample form:
Google Presentation
Templates created by Susan Oxnevad ready for classroom use. Research Template- Vocabulary Template
We have spent quite a bit of time on apps for the upper grades, but here is a primary idea. Sydney's Class.
The new Google Maps
Google Voice
Richard Bryne is a Google Certified Instruction and he has assembled a wonderful FREE guide for Google Apps.
Things to Consider - Using Google Docs
Use FOLDERS - this will help you organize. Check out the difference between "Owned by me" and "Shared with me" as eventually you will have a lot of docs and you will need to find them quickly. You can upload pre-existing Office documents and work on them instantly
Don't be afraid to try! Google HELP - is your FRIEND! When students want to share with the entire class - have them share it with YOU and then you can drag and drop that file onto a shared folder with the classroom, refresh the browser, and voile it will be available to all students.
Peter's Geoguessr Make a guess- notice it keeps a running score.
Your assignment this week is to complete an example of Susan's Google Presentation Template.Share the example with Janice at teach4teach@gmail.com. Time may permit us to get the majority of this completed in class. The presentation will have a title slide, video slide, information/research slide, image slide, and a drawing.
This image was created using Google Drawing. Open Google, click on Create, then on Drawing. Students can work collaboratively to create their own mind-maps. Students can also create a poster using Google's Picasa. The beauty of Google is they do not have to work at the same time. They can share their work with other "hours" or to work on at home or even with someone on the other side of the country.
Inside Google Search
Advanced Search in Google: Click on Search Tools on the top right-hand side of the page This will allow you to search by; reading level, copyright free images, safety and language.
Other ways to refine your Google search:
- word search for chocolate, but NOT cake ex) chocolate -cake
+ word find exact words ex) +chocolate cake
“set of words” -search for exact set of words, quotes, or phrases ex) “chocolate cake”
Google Goggles is an app that lets you search with a picture.
Manage meetings with Calendar
Google Calendar makes scheduling meetings easy with shared calendars. You’ll get invites and reminders and can even join a scheduled video meeting right from your inbox.
Use Google Drive to send large files
Send huge files in Gmail (up to 10GB) using Google Drive. Plus files stored in Drive stay up-to-date automatically so everyone has the most recent version and can access them from anywhere.
Collaborate on documents
Get email alerts when someone comments on your shared document in Docs and Slides. To respond to the comment, just reply to the email. Sample Document
Google Forms;
Slide show on how to create a form for students to drop the url of their assignment.
Our sample form:
Google Presentation
Templates created by Susan Oxnevad ready for classroom use. Research Template- Vocabulary Template
We have spent quite a bit of time on apps for the upper grades, but here is a primary idea. Sydney's Class.
The new Google Maps
Google Voice
Richard Bryne is a Google Certified Instruction and he has assembled a wonderful FREE guide for Google Apps.
Things to Consider - Using Google Docs
Use FOLDERS - this will help you organize. Check out the difference between "Owned by me" and "Shared with me" as eventually you will have a lot of docs and you will need to find them quickly. You can upload pre-existing Office documents and work on them instantly
Don't be afraid to try! Google HELP - is your FRIEND! When students want to share with the entire class - have them share it with YOU and then you can drag and drop that file onto a shared folder with the classroom, refresh the browser, and voile it will be available to all students.
Peter's Geoguessr Make a guess- notice it keeps a running score.
Your assignment this week is to complete an example of Susan's Google Presentation Template.Share the example with Janice at teach4teach@gmail.com. Time may permit us to get the majority of this completed in class. The presentation will have a title slide, video slide, information/research slide, image slide, and a drawing.
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Virtual Field Trips
These multimedia-rich sites include video, audio, panoramic views, and live webcams. Take your class on a trip to the White House, a museum, zoo or experience the 7 Wonders of the World. You can even embark on a journey through the galaxy with Google Sky! Missouri locations include our state capitol, the governor’s mansion, the St. Louis Zoo, and the town of Weston. Be sure to check out the last link which will show you how to create your own virtual tour. Use the following list of virtual field trips. Your assignment this week will be to write a reflection on one of the following resources. Some things to think about when writing your reflection: How does the use of this technology help to increase learning-- Will the technology be embedded in the big question(s) for this lesson or is it an add-on to the lesson--What are the critical factors that must be addressed when determining the use of this resource? Be sure to include the URL for the resource you are using.
Plimoth Plantation the Thanksgiving virtual field trip!
Google Lit Trips are free, downloadable files that mark the journeys of characters from famous literature on the surface of Google Earth. At each location along the journey, there are place marks with pop-up windows containing a variety of resources including relevant media, thought-provoking discussion starters, and links to supplementary information about “real world” references made in that particular portion of the story.
10 outstanding digital field trips from Edudemic
Scholastic's categorized list of virtual trips.
Scholastic's virtual field trip to Ellis Island
Scholastic's tour of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History
Inside the White House is an interactive tour.
Seven Wonders of the World from Panoramas.
Last fall Google announced that it had a team setting out to capture "street view"
imagery of trails through the Grand Canyon.The first batch of that imagery has
been released. You can now explore more than 75 miles of trails in the Grand
Canyon in Street View. Click here to watch the youtube video of the Canyon.
What a wonderful way to teach about America's landscape!
I am afraid of heights and have avoided the Grand Canyon for that reason but now I can join with the rest of you by clicking here to start my explorations and experience the panoramic views! Earth Google lets you see a dated view of other areas around the globe. Google for Educators will provide you with helpful resources. Geocaching is very popular right now if you want to create your own geography scavenger hunt.
Google Sky Travel the sky and view the position of planets, explore constellations and distant galaxies.
Take a virtual tour of the Louvre to experience a 360-degree panoramic view of many of the museum’s halls. This link to Google Art Projects lets you view over 1000 works from 17 acclaimed art museums in the world at this link. You can virtually walk the aisle of the museums and see works like Van Gough’s “The Bedroom”.
Augmented Reality makes it possible to see these landmarks, and more, using Google Earth in 3-D. Augmented Reality requires a webcam, browser add-on, and a printout provided by the AR Sights website.
NASA's Quest a multimedia application developed to support student and user exploration of areas on Earth that have been identified as analog sites to regions on Mars. or travel to the Moon in Earth.
BizEd Virtual Field Trips
Edheads is a favorite of teachers and students. These sessions are animated but depict real life.
Willy Wonka would approve of a visit to Hershey's Chocolate Factory.
Each year, The Jason Project, the granddaddy of online exploration, offers a new scientific expedition designed to engage and educate students and provide professional development for teachers.
Smithsonian Museum of Natural History: Follow the blue arrow and tour the museum.
Smithsonian National Zoological Park: Use the links to view animals at the Smithsonian Zoo; includes a flamingo, tiger, and elephant.
Oxford University Museum of Natural History Join this tour to see an extensive collection of zoology, entomology, geology and mineralogy. Be sure to check out their 40 ft Tyrannosaurus Rex!
The Human Body Take a virtual tour of the human body by exploring the different parts. This site includes interactive activities with the tour.
Weston Missouri Click on the panoramic images to explore this town just north of Kansas City, Missouri. If you teach ab out Missouri's history or government, you can travel virtually to our
Governor’s Mansion in Jefferson City.
Tramline: This site has MANY different virtual field trips provided by Tramline; including one about dinosaurs, baking bread, geographical regions, and more.
If these tours are not exactly what you are looking for to support your curriculum, then you can create your own virtual field trip. This resource is a tutorial to guide you through the process.
WebCams and be another wonderful way to bring to world to your classroom.
30 Cool Educational Webcams
KC Zoo Cam
Eagle Cam- We took the network down during End of Course testing with so many classrooms viewing this live camera.
Bring the experts into your classroom with video conferencing.
Plimoth Plantation the Thanksgiving virtual field trip!
Google Lit Trips are free, downloadable files that mark the journeys of characters from famous literature on the surface of Google Earth. At each location along the journey, there are place marks with pop-up windows containing a variety of resources including relevant media, thought-provoking discussion starters, and links to supplementary information about “real world” references made in that particular portion of the story.
10 outstanding digital field trips from Edudemic
Scholastic's categorized list of virtual trips.
Scholastic's virtual field trip to Ellis Island
Scholastic's tour of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History
Inside the White House is an interactive tour.
Seven Wonders of the World from Panoramas.
Last fall Google announced that it had a team setting out to capture "street view"
imagery of trails through the Grand Canyon.The first batch of that imagery has
been released. You can now explore more than 75 miles of trails in the Grand
Canyon in Street View. Click here to watch the youtube video of the Canyon.
What a wonderful way to teach about America's landscape!
I am afraid of heights and have avoided the Grand Canyon for that reason but now I can join with the rest of you by clicking here to start my explorations and experience the panoramic views! Earth Google lets you see a dated view of other areas around the globe. Google for Educators will provide you with helpful resources. Geocaching is very popular right now if you want to create your own geography scavenger hunt.
Google Sky Travel the sky and view the position of planets, explore constellations and distant galaxies.
Take a virtual tour of the Louvre to experience a 360-degree panoramic view of many of the museum’s halls. This link to Google Art Projects lets you view over 1000 works from 17 acclaimed art museums in the world at this link. You can virtually walk the aisle of the museums and see works like Van Gough’s “The Bedroom”.
Augmented Reality makes it possible to see these landmarks, and more, using Google Earth in 3-D. Augmented Reality requires a webcam, browser add-on, and a printout provided by the AR Sights website.
NASA's Quest a multimedia application developed to support student and user exploration of areas on Earth that have been identified as analog sites to regions on Mars. or travel to the Moon in Earth.
BizEd Virtual Field Trips
Edheads is a favorite of teachers and students. These sessions are animated but depict real life.
Willy Wonka would approve of a visit to Hershey's Chocolate Factory.
Each year, The Jason Project, the granddaddy of online exploration, offers a new scientific expedition designed to engage and educate students and provide professional development for teachers.
Smithsonian Museum of Natural History: Follow the blue arrow and tour the museum.
Smithsonian National Zoological Park: Use the links to view animals at the Smithsonian Zoo; includes a flamingo, tiger, and elephant.
Oxford University Museum of Natural History Join this tour to see an extensive collection of zoology, entomology, geology and mineralogy. Be sure to check out their 40 ft Tyrannosaurus Rex!
The Human Body Take a virtual tour of the human body by exploring the different parts. This site includes interactive activities with the tour.
Weston Missouri Click on the panoramic images to explore this town just north of Kansas City, Missouri. If you teach ab out Missouri's history or government, you can travel virtually to our
Governor’s Mansion in Jefferson City.
Tramline: This site has MANY different virtual field trips provided by Tramline; including one about dinosaurs, baking bread, geographical regions, and more.
If these tours are not exactly what you are looking for to support your curriculum, then you can create your own virtual field trip. This resource is a tutorial to guide you through the process.
WebCams and be another wonderful way to bring to world to your classroom.
30 Cool Educational Webcams
KC Zoo Cam
Eagle Cam- We took the network down during End of Course testing with so many classrooms viewing this live camera.
Bring the experts into your classroom with video conferencing.
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Interactive Whiteboards
This week we will be discussing the use of an interactive whiteboard, IWB, in the classroom. You will have hands-on practice with a SMARTboard. Interactive whiteboards have been proven to promote student engagement and foster content area learning in a constructivist, learner-centered classroom. Positive correlations have also been shown with special needs students and IWBs. As we discussed in class, there are multiple vendors who distribute interactive whiteboards, as well as, new short throw projectors that turns any whiteboard into an interactive board. However, the use of an IWB does not in itself ensure success and should not be the only tool in a teacher's digital arsenal. The majority of DESE's standards and the Common Core require our students to assimilate what the teacher introduces on the whiteboard into their real life experiences, collaboration, research and presentations.
Your assignment this week is to select a lesson, either from SMART Exchange or from the following resources. In the comment section of this post, supply the URL for the lesson, give a brief overview of the notebook/lesson, and how you will use it to enhance instruction.
Youtube channel for SMART
SMARTboard video tutorials
Livebinder with a plethora of SMART resources.
Center School District's SMART Notebooks
I4C, Internet 4 The Classroom, whiteboard resources I love this site for all their digital resources. They are categorized with an easy to navigate format.
Whiteboard Tools for Math
PBS Whiteboard Resources
Your assignment this week is to select a lesson, either from SMART Exchange or from the following resources. In the comment section of this post, supply the URL for the lesson, give a brief overview of the notebook/lesson, and how you will use it to enhance instruction.
Youtube channel for SMART
SMARTboard video tutorials
Livebinder with a plethora of SMART resources.
Center School District's SMART Notebooks
I4C, Internet 4 The Classroom, whiteboard resources I love this site for all their digital resources. They are categorized with an easy to navigate format.
Whiteboard Tools for Math
PBS Whiteboard Resources
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Graphic Organizers
Graphic organizers help learners categorize and organize their thoughts.Most graphic organizers form a powerful visual picture of information and allow the mind 'to see patterns and relationships. They can be as simple as a KWL, a T-chart, the storyboards you used for your movies or as complex as a mathematically relationship. We will look at a few of my favorite resources.
The Learning Curve has over 3 dozen graphic organizers. In their collection you will find PDFs for things like "Think, Pair, Share" and "Who, What, When, Where, Why" activities. You'll also find templates for designing stories and interviews.
Free printable graphic organizers from Eduplace.
10 Terrific Mind Mapping Tools- Assembled by Richard Byrne
Padlet, formerly know as wallwishers, is a user friendly, interactive mind-mapping
Read Write Think has a nice assortment of graphic organizers embedded within their lesson plans.
Popplet is an interactive organizer for younger kids.
High school teachers like Creately, but it is not free.
You may also like Bubbl.us. It has been around for years as a proven resource.
Your SMART software also has notebooks and interactive flash templates that will create personalized resources such as; cause and effect, timelines, Venn Diagrams, etc.
Finally we should not leave out the graphic organizer Coggle. The name says it all-you can use your Google account to Coggle.
Rubric for Graphic Organizer
This week, create a graphic organizer using one of our resources. Use the snipping tool or a print screen to capture the image and send it to Janice Uptegrove. You should also be working on your blogs. Here is a copy of the blog rubric. I will be happy to review what you have completed and give you any suggestions or help. Blogs are due Dec. 3rd and will be shared in class that day!
SMART Exchange Link.
Animoto Link.
Pixabay - great resource for copyright free images.
DHMO Hoax
The Learning Curve has over 3 dozen graphic organizers. In their collection you will find PDFs for things like "Think, Pair, Share" and "Who, What, When, Where, Why" activities. You'll also find templates for designing stories and interviews.
Free printable graphic organizers from Eduplace.
10 Terrific Mind Mapping Tools- Assembled by Richard Byrne
Padlet, formerly know as wallwishers, is a user friendly, interactive mind-mapping
Read Write Think has a nice assortment of graphic organizers embedded within their lesson plans.
Popplet is an interactive organizer for younger kids.
High school teachers like Creately, but it is not free.
You may also like Bubbl.us. It has been around for years as a proven resource.
Your SMART software also has notebooks and interactive flash templates that will create personalized resources such as; cause and effect, timelines, Venn Diagrams, etc.
Finally we should not leave out the graphic organizer Coggle. The name says it all-you can use your Google account to Coggle.
Rubric for Graphic Organizer
This week, create a graphic organizer using one of our resources. Use the snipping tool or a print screen to capture the image and send it to Janice Uptegrove. You should also be working on your blogs. Here is a copy of the blog rubric. I will be happy to review what you have completed and give you any suggestions or help. Blogs are due Dec. 3rd and will be shared in class that day!
SMART Exchange Link.
Animoto Link.
Pixabay - great resource for copyright free images.
DHMO Hoax
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
How To Create Your Own Youtube Channel
Creating and Making a Private Youtube Channel
HD video is difficult to share and transport. File sizes can be in excess of 4-8 gigabytes, making transfers extremely difficult without having paid dropbox accounts, or access to blu-ray/flash that you want to snail mail.
One way around this is to use youtube's streaming service. This allows you to...
1) Uploading a video to a public/private viewing audience.
2) Share the video with any prospective clients/colleagues without complicated systems
3) Embed the video in a website or blog, to share with a wide audience.
4) Gain instant internet fame and popularity, soarring to endless riches.*
To get started with this process, you will need to create a youtube account. Since Google own youtube and all of you have a gmail account- you have already completed the first step.
Create a Youtube Account
http://support.google.com/youtube/bin/static.py?hl=en&page=guide.cs&guide=1646810
If you plan on sharing this account with other individuals in your lab, It is recommended you create a unique gmail account, and linking the youtube account to that unique file. That way you don't expose your personal passwords or information to others.
Create a Channel
Google's How To Guide
Once you have a channel created, you can begin uploading videos to it. You can do this either directly, using youtubes built in uploader, or use a program such as imovie (OS X), or windows movie maker (Windows 7) to convert and upload your AVCHD videos.
After uploading the video, make sure it's set to private (unless you want everyone in the world to be able to see it). Then you can share it with up to 50 individuals by emailing them a direct link.
Sharing a Private Video
http://support.google.com/youtube/bin/answer.py?hl=en-GB&answer=157177
At any later time you can make the video public, if you want others to have access to it as well.
The process may seem overwhelming at first, but once you go through all the steps once, it's very efficient and easy to move more and more videos online. It's literally just a few clicks in Windows movie maker!
Common Youtube Help Questions
HD video is difficult to share and transport. File sizes can be in excess of 4-8 gigabytes, making transfers extremely difficult without having paid dropbox accounts, or access to blu-ray/flash that you want to snail mail.
One way around this is to use youtube's streaming service. This allows you to...
1) Uploading a video to a public/private viewing audience.
2) Share the video with any prospective clients/colleagues without complicated systems
3) Embed the video in a website or blog, to share with a wide audience.
4) Gain instant internet fame and popularity, soarring to endless riches.*
To get started with this process, you will need to create a youtube account. Since Google own youtube and all of you have a gmail account- you have already completed the first step.
Create a Youtube Account
http://support.google.com/youtube/bin/static.py?hl=en&page=guide.cs&guide=1646810
If you plan on sharing this account with other individuals in your lab, It is recommended you create a unique gmail account, and linking the youtube account to that unique file. That way you don't expose your personal passwords or information to others.
Create a Channel
Google's How To Guide
Once you have a channel created, you can begin uploading videos to it. You can do this either directly, using youtubes built in uploader, or use a program such as imovie (OS X), or windows movie maker (Windows 7) to convert and upload your AVCHD videos.
After uploading the video, make sure it's set to private (unless you want everyone in the world to be able to see it). Then you can share it with up to 50 individuals by emailing them a direct link.
Sharing a Private Video
http://support.google.com/youtube/bin/answer.py?hl=en-GB&answer=157177
At any later time you can make the video public, if you want others to have access to it as well.
The process may seem overwhelming at first, but once you go through all the steps once, it's very efficient and easy to move more and more videos online. It's literally just a few clicks in Windows movie maker!
Common Youtube Help Questions
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)