Ed Tech Buzz at Hilton Elementary Schools

Mysteries for Kids

2007-05-08T19:08:00.000-04:00

Finding mysteries to use for instruction always seems to be a struggle. However, the following site may be of some help. Kids.mysterynet.com is a great site. ( I always seem to come back to this site when I'm working on a mystery unit. Lorie Donovan actually found it a few years ago when we were looking for some different mysteries to use with students.) The site has a Solve-It section which has short mystery stories and a Quick Solve section that has mysteries that are only about a paragraph long. After reading the mystery the reader is asked who they think did it. Students can make a selection and see if they are right. The correct answer is given with the clues used to figure it out. This can be a great way to teach the elements of a mystery without having to get into lengthy text. There is also a section entitled Mysteries by Kids. These are stories written by students for students. The stories published were the winners of the MysteryNet's Writing Contest. MysteryNet posted story starters and kids finished the mystery stories. (Students can enter the contest. Requirements are given on the site.) The site also has scary stories in the Chiller section and a Magic Trick section that teaches children how to do simple tricks. All stories and trick directions can be printed. Snoop around the site. See if you might find a mystery for the detectives in your room.

Announcing a New Online Course

2007-04-16T00:24:00.000-04:00

I'm excited to announce a new online course called,

"Issues, Trends, and Tools in Education and Technology in a Web 2.0 World"

We have recently aquired an open source, online course management tool called, Moodle. I've created a sample course and would like to have members of the Technology Study Groups volunteer to enroll and try out this pilot course. Your participation and feedback will help us to learn how to use this tool to provide alternative staff development offerings as well as how to help teachers to use this tool to provide online components to courses they are teaching their students.

Below is the course outline. If you enroll and complete all lessons and assignments, you can earn an inservice credit. If you enroll and complete just some of the lessons and assignments, you can use the time toward your inservice credit for the Tech Study Group. Either way, you will also get a "technology-related gift" from me as my way of saying thank you for participating in our pilot project.

If you would like to enroll in this course, please contact Lori Burch and I will send you instructions for creating an account and enrolling.
Don't wait too long. The course is beginning this week.

Course Outline

The course is divided into 3 strands or themes. Each strand has 3 lessons associated with it as well as a reflection activity.

Strand 1 - Blogging
Blogging has become such an integral part of news, information, politics, and social interactions in our technology rich world. This strand focuses on teaching participants about blogs and blogging, helping them to create a blog which they will use as a communication and collaboration tool throughout the course, and giving them a taste of how blogging can be used in the classroom.

Strand 2 - Web 2.0 Tools for Creating and Sharing Content
The Internet today has made a switch from being primarily a "read only" environment where content creators were a limited group who needed to possess special skills, to a "read/write" environmnent where anyone and everyone can easily create and share content online with no special training or skills. This strand will introduce several of these tools that allow users to create, collaborate, and share content online.

Strand 3 - School 2.0
Given all of the above, and more, educators today must rethink teaching and come to a new understanding of learning if we are to reach, teach, and have an impact on students who are growing up in a technology rich world, where technology is a given in their everyday lives, not an optional, added in tool. Our students need a different set of skills in order to be productive citizens of the world of today and tomorrow than their predecessors did. This strand is a more reflective strand giving participants an opportunity to think about these issues and what they mean to them.

At the end of each strand, there is a reflection activity which gives participants the opportunity to respond to what they have learned and share their insights. Participants will also be required to read and respond to the reflections of their online classmates, giving them experience in collaborating and participating in online conversation. At the end of the course there is also a final reflection activity. This will give participants the opportunity to share feedback on the course itself, the structure, the online experience and suggestions they might have for future online courses.

Lori's "Geek of the Week" Entry

2007-03-06T09:23:00.001-05:00

I know I'm a bit on the geeky side, but I found this article from ABC News really interesting in so many ways. Below is an excerpt. Click on the title to go to ABC News online to read the entire article.

So Much Data, Relatively Little Space
By BRIAN BERGSTEIN AP Technology WriterBOSTON Mar 5, 2007 (AP)

A new study that estimates how much digital information the
world is generating (hint: a lot) finds that for the first time, there's not
enough storage space to hold it all. Good thing we delete some stuff. .
.

. . . Add it all up and IDC determined that the world generated
161 billion gigabytes (161 exabytes) of digital information last year. Oh, the
equivalents! That's like 12 stacks of books that each reach from the Earth to
the sun. Or you might think of it as 3 million times the information in all the
books ever written, according to IDC. You'd need more than 2 billion of the most
capacious iPods on the market to get 161 exabytes.

So, what do you think? How does this effect us in education? What are the implications for us as a society? Post your thoughts.

Classroom Blogging

2007-03-03T12:12:00.000-05:00

I've just listened to an excellent podcast on the topic of classroom blogging. It's a recording of a presentation done by Bob Sprankle at the ACTEM (Association of Computer Technology Educators of Maine) Annual Conference held last fall. He has wonderful examples of how and why to use blogging with students. He also has links to a myriad of classroom blogging resources. You will find the links below.

He mentions an issue with using Blogger with students which is that of the blue bar at the top that links to other, random blogs. If you would like to begin blogging with your students, but this is a concern you have with using Blogger in the classroom, please email me and I can fill you in on some options for addressing that.

Bit by Bit Episode 32 - Classroom Blogging Podcast
Workshop Links from this Podcast
Blog Tool Options Wiki by Wesley Fryer

New York State Educational Technology Conference 06

2007-02-28T00:40:00.000-05:00

Last fall the New York State Association for Computers and Technologies in Education (NYSCATE) held their annual conference. The links below will take you to podcasts and videos of the keynote addresses and of the presentations in most of the sessions at the conference.

Keynote Vodcasts
eLearning Strand Podcasts
Emerging Technologies Strand Podcasts
How-To and Tech Integration Strand Podcasts
Leadership Strand Podcasts
Technical Strand Podcasts
Special Sessions Podcasts

Please listen to at least one (1) podcast and then return here to the blog and post your thoughts, questions, learnings, etc.

More on Web 2.0 Tools

2007-02-27T23:36:00.001-05:00

As a follow-up to the Andy Carvin podcast post below, I wanted to share these additional Web 2.0 resources with you.

I frequently listen to an ed tech podcast called, Seedlings Podcast@Bit by Bit, which is produced by 3 ed tech specialists in Maine. In December they got together with ed tech teachers from all over Maine and put together a list of interesting and powerful Web 2.0 tools. Here is a link to there website where you will find all the links, Seedlings Podcast@Bit by Bit Show 11. There you will also find a link to the podcast where they discussed these tools.

Additionally, in January my instructional technology specialists group at BOCES had a similar discussion of distance learning and Web 2.0 tools. Here is a link to our podcast of this discussion at our site, ITS Tech Time - Episode 4 Bonus Show. In the show notes you will find links to all of the tools discussed.

Listen to these podcasts, explore the links and come back here to the blog to post or make a comment on something you found interesting. Better yet, use one of these tools personally or with your students and then tell us about it.

Embracing Web 2.0 in an Education 1.0 Universe

2007-02-27T23:02:00.000-05:00

Last July, Andy Carvin of the Digital Divide Network delivered the keynote at the ThinkBright Summer Digital Institute, hosted by WNED public television in Buffalo, New York. The speech, "Embracing Web 2.0 in an Education 1.0 Universe," gave a brief history of the Internet and an overview of how we got to the web of today, the ways in which it differs from the original web we all have been familiar with, and what this means for education. Here's a podcast of the speech, along with the accompanying Powerpoint. Andy has also begun a new site in cooperation with PBS exploring the issues of the Internet, culture and education called, LearningNow.

Listen to this podcast, view the PowerPoint, and explore LearningNow. Then comment here to share your thoughts.

Jimmy Wales of Wikipedia at Wikimania 2006

2007-02-27T22:30:00.000-05:00

As a sort of follow-up or maybe as an overview or background info for Denise's post below about wikis, I thought I'd share this with you. Jimmy Wales is one of the founders of Wikipedia and he gave an extremely interesting talk at the Wikimania Conference last summer. Here's the podcast of Jimmy Wales' talk at the Wikimania conference. It's about 30 megs, so it may take a while to download depending on your connection.

Listen to the podcast and post some thoughts or questions here.

Wiki's

2007-01-30T16:13:00.000-05:00

I have just completed a Wiki course with Lori Burch. I have started one for Village Elementary and would like to see as many grade levels use and edit it for information. What is a Wiki you ask? A wiki is an easy to use web page that muliple people can edit. For example. When doing research on the Arctic or the Rainforest for example, students will be able to "post" their information so that other students might be able to use that information. It's kind of like an encyclopedia. Sometimes it is hard to find information on the internet that is age appropriate. If we could get this started, it might be a place for future students to go to do some of their research or if the information is outdated to edit this information. I'd like to get your thoughts about this and, also, I need your help as far as getting you and your students involved with this. Tell me what you think. VillageWiki check out the Wiki Link. I have actually put some information on for you to see. If you go to the wiki, go to the Arctic Page then to 3rd grade Arctic. From there the pictures are links to the students research. They did an awesome job.

District Tech Standards Review

2007-01-09T22:47:00.000-05:00

Our district technology standards and performance indicators were written about 6 years ago and need to be reviewed for possible revisions. Tech Study Group members either have been, or soon will be, given copies of the current standards and the performance indicators for the elementary level. You can also CLICK HERE for another copy.

Please comment here on what you think might need revising. Things to consider are as follows:

Are there items that need rewording? How would you revise these items?
Are there items that need to be moved to a different grade level? If so, what grade level?
Are there adjustments that should be made in the mastery level for an item for a grade level?
Are there items that should be deleted altogether? Which ones?
Are there things missing that should be added? If so, what should be added?
Other things you can think of?

Book Lists for Elementary Levels

2006-11-27T11:42:00.000-05:00

I've rediscovered a site that lets you get a wide variety of books at all levels. (Actually a teacher at our school, Holly Groff, reminded me of it). You can plug in grade levels, difficulty levels for each grade (easy, on or challenging) and genre. Within the genre you can also select types of books (science fiction, history, mystery, drama, short stories, poetry, etc.). Teachers can then "submit" their request and a list of books is generated. This list can be printed for yourself, the student, or given to parents when they would like some appropriate level book suggestions. There are even some multiple choice "quizzes " that go along with some of the books. I've viewed the sample, but haven't looked into that aspect too deeply. This site is associated with Sylvan Learning. Check it out and let me know what you think.
http://www.bookadventure.org

Topic Ideas for Future Tech Study Group Sessions

2006-10-23T19:46:00.000-04:00

What are some topics you would like covered in future Tech Study Group sessions?

Already Suggested

Podcasting
Instruction on connecting projectors and setting up the multimedia consoles (in buildings that have them).
Scott Foresman Math technology pieces (I'll be doing this as a separate, extra session for those interested. See the posts and comments below).
Creating documents with clickable links for students

Topics from Last Year that Could be Revisited

Google Earth
Elementary uses of spreadsheets
Picasa photo organizing and editing
Library of Congress website
MarcoPolo website

Topics Suggested Last Year that We Never Got To

Wikis
Exploring the "Deep Web"

What do you all think?

Google for Educators

2006-10-23T19:04:00.000-04:00

This post is from the Ed Tech MW & HS Blog and was posted there by Patti Sullivan. Thanks, Patti, for letting me "borrow" this.

On Wednesday, October 17th, Google expanded one of its services and now offers Google for Educators. This site has instructions and some lesson plans on how to use Google in the classroom. You can explore one of these features and write a comment here on how useful this is to you. Anyone who would like to present this feature to this class is welcome! Please leave a comment if you explore a feature and let us know what you think.

**NOTE** - You can sign up for a teacher's newsletter from Google. There is a link on the right-hand side of the main page at Google for Educators.

PowerMediaPlus

2006-10-23T18:57:00.000-04:00

After you have had a chance to explore our new video service, PowerMediaPlus, I'd be curious to know what you think.

What are the good to great features?
What are weaknesses you see?
For those who previously used United Streaming, how does this compare?
Do you need additional support in a feature or area of this product that could be a future Tech Study Group Topic?

Cyber Safety, Security, and Ethics

2006-10-22T22:17:00.000-04:00

Hilton High School was the site for one of five Cyber Safety, Security and Ethics presentations that are taking place during the month of October in Monroe County schools. On Tuesday, Oct. 17, a panel presentation was held with the focus being on the school's role in cyber safety.

Click Here to go to the information page on this presentation. Here you will find podcasts (audio recordings) of the presentations as well as videos of each panelist's presentation. Podcasts can be downloaded and listened to on any computer. Video streaming is best done on a computer with a high-speed Internet connection. If you are on a dial-up connection at home, you might want to view these at school instead.

You can listen and/or view these presentations and count it toward your between meetings time for credit.

Scott Foresman tech resources

2006-10-22T00:18:00.000-04:00

I too am overwhelmed with the amount of resources received from Scott Foresman. I have not had time to read/learn what's available to us. I would like to also spend some time at our tech meetings learning/exploring the tech support provided by Scott Foresman.

It was not effective to throw these new math resources at us just after school started. The resources have trickled in slowly which makes it hard to initiate a new program without all necessary resources. Just figuring out what we are supposed to have was a chore!

What If . . .

2006-09-28T16:45:00.000-04:00

We would like to explore the possibility of the idea of giving teachers laptop computers to replace their desktop computers. As I explained in our study group meetings this week, we are just beginning to gather input on the pros, cons, consequences of what this might mean should we ever have the resources to actually do this (which we don't presently have).

We are gathering input from the technicians on what the technical implications might be. We would like to gather input from teachers about the following:

What implications might there be for instruction in classrooms if teachers had laptop computers?
What would the implications/needs be in terms of staff development?
How might management of data and information, organization, etc. in the classroom be affected?

Click on the "Comments" link below and let us know what you think - good, bad, or indifferent.

21st Century Skills

2006-04-24T17:53:00.000-04:00

Alan November, an internationally known "ed tech" consultant, was the keynote speaker at a regional educational technology conference held in Binghampton, NY last March. His presentation talks about what skills kids need in order to be able to be successfully productive and independent in today's world. Mr. November is an entertaining speaker. I've heard him speak several times and he always pushes me to think about classroom practice and the role technology can play in that.

His presentation was "vodcast" (video podcast) on the NYSCATE (New York State Association for Computers and Technology in Education) website. You can view and listen to it at this link, (scroll down to find the video version and then click, "listen") or see a slightly edited version of it at the link I sent to you all in my email.

Please listen and make a comment here. Also, at our next meeting, I'm going to ask you to choose a topic(s) mentioned by Mr. November, for me to go into further detail about at our final meeting on May 31st.

And, if you listen and post, that counts as 1 hour of time for those of you trying to meet the inservice requirement for the study group.

There Are No Shortcuts

2006-04-17T14:50:00.000-04:00

I highly recommend you listen to this podcast, There Are No Shortcuts. This is a very inspiring look at education by a 5th grade teacher in Los Angelos, Rafe Esquith. The podcast is a recording of a presentation he and some of his students did at the Texas Computer Education Assocation’s annual conference on February 10, 2006. The podcast was recorded and posted by Wesley Fryer on his site, Moving at the Speed of Creativity (I highly recommend his site as well.) In this presentation Mr. Esquith talks about technology in the classroom, but in very different ways. He uses technology very much integrated into real life experience and skills to reach students in an LA elementary school with over 2,000 students, K-5, where more than 90% of them are below the poverty level and speak English as a second language. However, he doesn't focus soley on technology use either. What he has done with his students is incredible. And he doesn't use technology in the ways we are used to hearing about. It's listening to teachers like this that makes me long for a class of my own again.

Please take a listen and comment below. Since the podcast is about 50 min. long, listening and then commenting can count as your whole April online time and half of your May online time.

WikiVille

2006-04-06T19:47:00.000-04:00

Here's a cool idea I came across. This wiki for kids was recently started in the UK but the idea is for kids from all over the world to add information about their schools and their towns. So far, there are no schools in New York who have added information. Maybe we could get the ball rolling!

Welcome to WikiVille 21st Century students building a world-story of life in their home towns.

Has your town been WikiVilled yet?

For every place in WikiVille there'll be stories & stuff about

school life from the day-to-day to hopes & dreams

home life from jobs & chores to happy places & things that could be better

about the past as well as the future

PLUS WikiVille:Community Portal projects help needed

Picasa and Flickr

2006-04-03T22:36:00.000-04:00

Our next in-person meeting will focus on 2 online photo tools, Picasa and Flickr. The photo gallery to the left was created with Flickr. Just thought you might like to see one of the cool things it can do.

The pictures are KidPix slides that Suzanne Monagan's and Sarah Carlson's first graders created to illustrate what "respect" means to them. I then exported them as image files and uploaded them to Flickr to create the gallery. You can click on any image to see the full size image.

You might also want to take a look at the Respect Week Blog. That software wouldn't let me post this same type of gallery so I created a different type of photo gallery there. Respect Image Gallery.

The "new" Ask Jeeves

2006-03-15T13:36:00.000-05:00

Hello all,
While watching TV the other night, I saw a commercial about the Ask Jeeves Search Engine. It's now called just Ask.com. Well, I was intrigued, so I checked it out today. WOW, I love it! I absolutely love the way that searches can be narrowed down. You can also do the same for images. It also has a great tool called Binoculars Site Preview. This allows you to get a "sneak preview" of a web page when you mouse over a Binoculars icon next to a search result. You can save time by quickly previewing a search result before clicking on it. I think this will be a great asset for the students doing research. They can really zero in on specific information, like inuit clothing for example. They can also widen their search. I suggest you check it out when you get a chance, it's not the same old Ask Jeeves...It is much improved...http://www.ask.com

Technology Integration Discussion Podcast

2006-03-02T20:28:00.000-05:00

I've taken the recording of our recent discussion on technology integration and have published it as a podcast. Click on the title above to go to my podcast page. Scroll down to find "Episode 2 - Integrating Technology" podcast to listen to it.

For those of you who missed the meeting, this would be one way to catch up on the discussion that you missed.

Be patient when you get to the podcast. It's a fairly large file (about 40 minutes worth) so it takes a minute or two to download. You can listen to it right on the computer. You don't need an iPod or other device to download it into.

And, while you are in a listening mood, you might want to listen on the podcast we made at our first Village Elementary Podcasting Project meeting. It's a super quick one ~ about 3 minutes, I think. When you get to the podcasting page, just scroll down to the bottom to find "The Journey Begins."

After listening, feel free to come back here to comment on either podcast or on the subjects of the podcasts.

Picasa

2006-02-28T20:55:00.000-05:00

This post is really from Ed. As soon as we get his blog access fixed, he will be able to post on his own, but for now I'm acting as his "distribution center." :-)

From Ed . . .

I’d like to know if anyone has had any experience with Picasa photo software that’s free from Google ( http://picasa.google.com/index.html ). Maybe this something to explore, blog about, and add to a future meeting agenda.

I was excited to discover over vacation that Picasa does many of the common adjustments that I’ve used in Photoshop, only easier. It seems to also organize photos visually in windows that are easier to sort/move individual photos or folders. This may be just the ticket for our students to integrate technology, photojournalism and art.

Instructional Technology - Input Needed

2006-02-22T10:56:00.000-05:00

I really need your input. As I think I've mentioned, Connie Duff has reconvened a district wide technology committee to examine and revise the district technology plan. I am the facilitator of a subcommittee charged with looking at instructional practices.

This subcommittee has concluded that, although we do have a fairly well equipped capacity for technology integrated instruction to occur, K-12, it doesn't seem to be happening on a consistent level district-wide. Some teachers integrate technology into instruction quite a lot and their students have a technology-rich learning experience. Some teachers use technology in limited ways, focusing primarily on having students word process reports, use the Internet to conduct research, and create PowerPoints to demonstrate learning. Some use the drill and practice type games online to practice skills as well. Still others use technology with students rarely, and if they do, it's mostly just for word processing or free time games.

What we are trying to identify, and what I'd really like your input on, is as follows:

What are the barriers that prevent teachers from using technology more during instruction?
What are the technology related skills and experiences we think our students should have when they leave elementary school?
When they leave the middle school?
When they leave the high school?
What should we be doing to help teachers move toward a more consistent level of technology use during instruction at the elementary level?
At the secondary level?

We do have District Technology Standards and Performance Indicators. (Click here to view them.)

Are these still appropriate?
Do they need revision?
A new emphasis?
In what ways?

I would like your input posted here but I would also like you to share this input in a discussion at our next in-person meeting on March 1st as well. I am thinking of recording this discussion to use in a podcast. This is a dilema faced not just in Hilton, but in schools across the country.

Thanks!