Qwiki- An Information Experience

Watch this 6 minute video to learn more about a newly developed (and developing...) website for computer-generated "information experiences"... It's still in "alpha" (or early development), but you can sign up to help make it better - go to the Qwiki site

Qwiki at TechCrunch Disrupt from Qwiki on Vimeo.

Animoto Ad for Our Pepsi Grant

Here's a non-classroom use for Animoto... but still a sample of what it can be used for. Perhaps students create a 30-second "ad" for a project or presentation or even a "trailer" to their final project/product. The process of selecting only a handful of images (or brief video) and a soundtrack can take some creativity, problem solving, and even compromise when working with others!

See our's here: http://animoto.com/play/bxBeKOhYwUWWNjGJqPcjZg#
Or just click it below:

Take 5! Integration Update - November 19, 2010 (Vol.2/#11)

Issue #11

“Take 5” is a weekly update containing information related to teaching and learning for today and beyond...

Take just 5 minutes (or less) to look over these resources and see what might be helpful for your and/or your students. Better yet, set aside at least 15-30 minutes a week (yes, that's been increased from last year!) to focus on finding resources and ideas that will improve student learning and prepare them for their future!


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Tips and Tools for Teachers 

• VozMe – a site that converts text to speech (an MP3 file) ... Female or Male voices (which I find the female one more clear). Use it for intervention, foreign language, proofreading (paste in some text from a paper), generating a "robot voice" for a project, and more!
  

• TypeWithMe or MeetingWords – Both do the same thing... allow "live" or "real-time" editing on a web page. It can be used for student (or teacher) brainstorming, editing, first drafts, collaborative projects (done over time or asynchronously), and more! It even allows you to save moments and play back the changes in a slideshow/movie. Some cautions: this is a "live" site with no ability to approve student text before it goes on there... also, it's a public site (for anyone with the address/URL), so private or touchy subjects should be avoided.
  

• PD Tip:"Google knows EVERYTHING!" (sort of) Perhaps they should be called the all-knowing Oz!?!? Now that we have YouTube access, you can find the answers to so many tech-related questions or otherwise... So, like the famous teacher saying, "Ask 3 then ask me," try Google first for your questions, then check with your building tech, then Josh or Sandy. Here are a few examples:
• "How do I combine two columns in Excel into one? (such as first and last names)" - type into Google: combine two columns in Excel youtube - and get THIS VIDEO... as the first site
• "How do I play a YouTube video in SMART Notebook?" - type into Google: how to play a Youtube video in SMART Notebook -- and get a few possibles... but the 5th one had a link to THIS FILE that shows how
• "How do I tie a tie?" (popular during holiday season) - type into Google search: how tie a tie youtube and get THIS VIDEO

Ponderings

• Waiting for Superman - Editorial response from Dennis Pierce at eSchoolNews... Read more about this film and the arguments it brings up, some very misleading or inaccurate or unfair. Take 5-10 minutes to read his response. A few highlights:
  

  ...in a documentary spanning nearly two hours, Guggenheim doesn’t interview a single classroom teacher about what’s wrong with American public education 

  ... If Superman’s contributors thought highly enough of teachers to listen to their concerns, they’d learn that teachers are crying out for more support. In fact, teachers would rather have this support than higher salaries. (cites this survey of teachers)

  ... We learn from the film that average spending per pupil has more than doubled since 1971, from $4,300 (in inflation-adjusted dollars) to $9,000... What’s missing from this indictment is any historical perspective for understanding why. As it turns out, there’s a pretty reasonable explanation—and much of it has to do with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)... despite promises by the federal government to cover up to two-fifths of the cost of providing these services, local school systems generally are left footing more than 80 percent of the bill themselves. 

  ...The challenges facing public education today require responsible, thoughtful, multifaceted solutions that involve all stakeholders working in concert—not shallow responses or agenda-driven reformers with superhero aspirations. We don’t need a Superman; what we need instead is a collective commitment to doing the hard work necessary to bolster public education as the foundation of a strong democracy. Anything less would be a disservice to our nation and our children.

Learning Opportunities

1. In-District Professional Development Opportunities - Calendar
2. Global Education Conference (online) Recordings of sessions can be found HERE ... lots of great sessions dealing with a global perspective in teaching & learning. Click for SESSIONS
3. NWO's STEM Education Inquiry Series (at Rossford High School!) - Thurs., Dec. 16th - a low-cost, local opportunity for elementary teachers and JH/HS science, math, and technology teachers offered 7 times from September 23 - April 14, 2011.
4. In the right margin of this blog, enter your email to receive future postings into your email Inbox (Take 5s and more!) -- plan on 1-3 posts per week.

;-) Just for Fun! (and a little learning, perhaps)

• Thanksgiving Fun - If you're in need of any games, clipart, recipes, and more... check out this site. So, if you're not the football-watching type, give "Turkey Rescue" a try (wait for the ad to finish, then you can save the turkey!)
  

Google Book: 20 Things I've Learned about Browsers & the Internet

Check out this online book to learn more about browsers and the Internet... from Google's perspective:
http://www.20thingsilearned.com/

Take 5! Integration Update - November 12, 2010 (Vol.2/#10)

Issue #10

“Take 5” is a weekly update containing information related to teaching and learning for today and beyond...

Take just 5 minutes (or less) to look over these resources and see what might be helpful for your and/or your students. Better yet, set aside at least 15-30 minutes a week (yes, that's been increased from last year!) to focus on finding resources and ideas that will improve student learning and prepare them for their future!


===================================

Tips and Tools for Teachers 

• NaNoWriMo – National Novel Writing Month (November) - So... If you’re not too busy with Pepsi votes, conferences, holiday preparations, (oh!), AND teaching, how about writing a 50,000 word novel this month? Although you only have 18 days or so left, I’m sure some novels have been written in less time! Good luck!
  
  NaNoWriMo Info
   
  NaNoWriMo Young Writers Program
  
  Podcast and tips for writing
  

• DocsTeach  – search more than 3,000 primary-source documents from the National Archives and find lessons/activities... Sample documents to use/examine: U.S. Constitution, Kennedy family tree, map of Gettysburg battlefield, photographs of presidential inaugurations, and much more!

• SMART Board Viewer – Parents can download this Viewer (see links below) to open any SMART Notebook file you would like to share with them... they don't need the full program! Perhaps there's a lesson you'd like your students to review over break, or you had an Open House Notebook file you'd like to share with those who couldn't attend. Upload the Notebook file to your teacher web page (or email them, if not too big), then send them this link or put it on your teacher page... and Viola! It's like they're in your classroom! (sort of!)
  

WINDOWS USERS - Download

MAC USERS - Download

Ponderings

• TED Videos: A Love Affair (Awwwwww...) - How and why use TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) "Ideas Worth Spreading" website for teaching. In addition to TED topics, they also have short video speeches on Business, Science, and Global Issues... and Education. Highlights from the article...
  

  ...this revolution in accessible high-level concepts, should be tapped into as a teacher. The students may understand the tools, but it is up to us to introduce our students to the diversity and rigor of content that is out there so that they aren't always seeking out burgers when they could be digesting lobster.

  Cheryle Lemke, President and CEO of the Metiri Group said the following: "we are no longer at the center of the learning for our students." Our task now, she says, is to leverage the learning possibilities from outside our school walls and from the online possibilities that are out there, and harness them into ways to teach our students how to find their own lessons and how to love the act of learning.

  TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is a conference of the brightest minds on the planet speaking on the topics in their expertise. Want a brain massage? Just jump online and pull up a 20-minute lecture on the topic of your choice and recharge your batteries or reinvigorate your knowledge base with one of their videos.

   See specific subject selections... in the article!

Learning Opportunities

1. In-District Professional Development Opportunities - Calendar
2. NWO's STEM Education Inquiry Series (at Rossford High School!) - Thurs., Dec. 16th - a low-cost, local opportunity for elementary teachers and JH/HS science, math, and technology teachers offered 7 times from September 23 - April 14, 2011.
3. In the right margin of this blog, enter your email to receive future postings into your email Inbox (Take 5s and more!) -- plan on 1-3 posts per week.

;-) Just for Fun! (and a little learning, perhaps)

• For Equal Time: Coca-Cola's Happy Factory - Coke drinkers... sick of all the Pepsi stuff? This one's for you! (so to speak) - Flash player games of skill! NOTE: takes a little while to get the games ready, so try on a "fast" computer! I'm sure there's some educational value in here somewhere!!!
  
  

 

Take 5! Integration Update - November 4, 2010 (Vol.2/#9)

This week’s Take 5:
Take 5 minutes, or less, and just vote for the Pepsi Grants, please! ;-)
(see info below or go to the blog for links & info... http://rossfordrefresh.blogspot.com )

Online Voting - for these 5: (QUICK way to vote - once you've voted for all 5 - watch this short video - http://screencast.com/t/9tuPEwyqeY87

• Rossford:  http://www.refresheverything.com/click4rossfordschools  
• Anthony Wayne: http://www.refresheverything.com/generals   
• Anthony Wayne: http://www.refresheverything.com/anthonywayne   
• Maumee: http://www.refresheverything.com/waynetrail 
• Perrysburg: http://www.refresheverything.com/perrysburg

Text a Vote - for these 5: (one text per vote - only 1 per day)

• Rossford - Text 103023 to Pepsi (at 73774)
• Perrysburg - Text 103023 to Pepsi (at 73774)
• Maumee (Wayne Trail Elem) - Text 102269 to Pepsi (at 73774)
• Anthony Wayne (#1) - Text 103975 to Pepsi (at 73774)
• Anthony Wayne (#2) - Text 102978 to Pepsi (at 73774)