Tuesday, September 27, 2011

TOOLS for Tuesday: Microsoft Lesson Plans


Have you ever used one of the activities from this website before? You can search by topic, subject, time constraints, program/application, and more! Lots of detail in each to support the process of technology integration.
http://www.microsoft.com/education/en-us/teachers/plans/Pages/index.aspx

TOOLS 4 Tuesday: Early Elementary- Speakaboos

Speakaboos provides stories, songs, games, and worksheets that can be used with our without a SMART Board... Even has Spanish versions! There are many Arthur stories and classics songs, such as...
“Wheels on the bus go round and round”, Alphabet song, and “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad”!
Sign up for the free access, or pay $$$ for more resources.


Friday, September 23, 2011

Take 5! Integration Update - September 23, 2011 (Vol.3/#3)


Issue #3
“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 to focus on finding resources and ideas that will improve student learning and prepare them for their future!

===================================
 This Week... 

  
Students Today: Campaigning 2.0
Oh... kids these days! A story about Kathy B's (JH) daughter's bright idea!

Wonder Wednesday: Take the poll... (top of this blog)
  How
long does it take you to get back in the routine?

Email Time Saver Tips
 5 strategies to save yourself and recipients' time!

 Upcoming Learning Opportunities
(Email me if you know of other opportunities!)
  • 5. In the right margin of this blog, enter your email to receive future postings into your email Inbox (Take 5s and more!) -- expect 1-3 posts per week.
a NEW format for this year... 
Scroll through the blog below or click these links to see what has been posted already in these areas:


Thursday, September 22, 2011

STUDENTS TODAY: Campaigning 2.0

One of our JH social studies teachers shared this story with me recently... It shows great application of technology knowledge and skills and how those (along with knowing about her peers’ propensity for multitasking and connecting with others) can be very practical and efficient when running for political office! 

I just wanted to share with you my daughter's 21st century campaign for student government. She is running for vice-president of her university's student government. On "free wings" night at the local Buffalo Wild Wings, she handed out her campaign flier to students waiting in line for their free wings. On her flier she included her picture, what she was running for, and..... a QR code that takes you directly to her campaign Facebook page! She said many students scanned the code on their smartphones while waiting in line! So much for campaign buttons and making posters!”

Maybe the QR campaign t-shirt is next?!?!?! (see sample image above!) 
UPDATE: By the way... she won!

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Wonder Wednesday: Are you "on a roll" yet?


Participate in the poll above to share how long it takes you to get back in the routine of teaching again once school starts... is it 1 week? 2-3? or much longer? (or never!?!?!?)

Below are the results from the last poll... (click image to see it larger)
Only 12 respondents, but Interactive White Boards seem to have "won" over Web 2.0, but just by a hair. And watch out for iPads...

Monday, September 19, 2011

MANIC Monday: Email Time Saver Tips

  • Ever miss important emails?
  • Do you skim over emails instead of reading them... even though they might have important information you need?
  • Feel like you don’t have enough time for email?

Here are 5 Tips that actually will SAVE you and/or your recipients time.

1) Set aside time for email... Turn OFF the notification (sound, bouncing icon in dock, alert box, etc.) Set aside 10 to 30 minutes 2-4 times per day to focus on emails (Such as: before work, lunch, prep time, after work, or ONCE in evening at home), rather than checking it or reading messages whenever they come in. (If you prefer to read email as it comes in, you’re basically becoming addicted to “technology-enhanced instant gratification” (or TEIG), which is a condition that most of our students also have! Don’t get the “TEIG disease”... Just say no to TEIG! (Obviously, if you’re expecting an important message, that’s different! Just remember that ALL email is not “important email”!)

2) Include a subject — for EVERY email –this helps the recipient quickly scan for messages that need to be handled quickly or to find the email to follow up later. Use a specific subject — for example, “How many students needed?” rather than “Question” or “Fire Alarm today” rather than “Important” or “Just saying HI” instead of “Hey”. Emails with no subjects are more likely to be missed, skipped, or deleted!

3) Organization: Are you a Sorter-Filer, Deleter, or Hoarder-Searcher? Depending on your quantity of email, your personality, and your technology skills, some of these require more time in the long run.
  • Sorter-Filer – must put every email into a folder (including the trash)... Great organization, but this takes time and many seconds adds up to hours in a year!
  • Deleter — deletes anything that doesn’t look important or seems not important, but sometimes goes too far. This person is usually the one who asks, “Can you resend that email about ____” or when you say, “I sent that information in an email last week” and they blatantly say, “I deleted it, can you send it to me again?” (Note: Senders do not like “Deleters” since they often take up more of their time)
  • Hoarder/Searcher — leaves all/most messages in their In Box, deleting few or none, but finds things by sorting by category headings or by using the search or advanced search. This works great if you’re a good searcher and have unlimited or very high email storage on your computer and/or the email server, which most do now due to cheap storage solutions.
4) Remove yourself from lists/emails you don’t need. Every second counts in the email world! If you open, skim, and delete 35 emails in a week (5 per day) that you didn’t really need to see or think about, taking about 2-5 seconds each, that works out to about 1 to 2.5 hours in a year... that you can’t get back! If you think that just leaving them in your In Box is OK, remember that you spend time skimming those every time you look through your In Box, which adds up as well! Look for the unsubscribe link at the bottom of the email and do it – spend time now to save time later!!!  

5) Recognize and focus on the emails that are IMPORTANT (for your professional practice or reputation, well-being, and/or livelihood) and skim/ignore the others (or see #2). This skill takes a while to develop and is mostly related to focusing your attention on email messages (see #1) rather than quickly “getting through” emails. Respect the time of the message sender as well as your own time! 

For MORE tips, view these resources:

Friday, September 16, 2011

Take 5! Integration Update - September 16, 2011 (Vol.3/#2)


Issue #2
“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 to focus on finding resources and ideas that will improve student learning and prepare them for their future!

===================================
 This Week... 
  
Protect Yourself: Stop H*Commerce!
(tech literacy tips we ALL need to know...
Including how to develop “healthy technological paranoia”!)
 
Tools: Teachers Love SMART Boards
A GREAT resource for K-8 teachers (and HS possibly, too!) 

 Upcoming Learning Opportunities
(email me with other offerings to add!)
  • 5. In the right margin of this blog, enter your email to receive future postings into your email Inbox (Take 5s and more!) -- expect 1-3 posts per week.
a NEW format for this year... 
Scroll through the blog below or click these links to see what has been posted already in these areas:


FRIDAY Fun: Smile, It's Friday!

From:
http://stream.pleated-jeans.com/post/9620622673/why-not-smile


 

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Thinking Thursday: Protect Yourself, Stop H*Commerce


Have you been hacked? Personal or financial information compromised either with or without your knowledge? Would you even know? Sadly, sometimes we don’t!

Although sponsored by McAfee, this 6-part video documentary still provides an effective warning and wake-up call for ALL ages. Check it out at: http://stophcommerce.com

Life is all about risks and benefits... Spend about 45 minutes (or watch one 6-8 minute clip per day for 6 days) to increase your online benefits and minimize your risks! Learn a little more about how to develop a “
healthy technological paranoia” and then consider sharing this site with your loved ones... And your “liked ones,” too!

If we all shared this information with of our children, students, colleagues, friends, parents, grandparents (all relatives), it would make the hackers’ lives a little more difficult. In addition, having the right type and level of security on your computer(s) is the next layer of protection. Contact your computer expert(s) to get some suggestions — anywhere from free to pay-for services/software.


Tuesday, September 13, 2011

TOOLS for Tuesday: Teachers Love SMART Boards



Elementary teachers... a GREAT resource:

Teachers Love SMART Boards
http://www.teacherslovesmartboards.com/

In the right margin of their, sign up for updates (which only come 1-2 times/month). GREAT tips and sites to use with your SMART Boards. Read old posts (see list on left) to learn more in one sitting!




Friday, September 9, 2011

Take 5! Integration Update - September 9, 2011 (Vol.3/#1)


Issue #1
“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 to focus on finding resources and ideas that will improve student learning and prepare them for their future!

===================================
a NEW format has sprouted this year... 
For this week, scroll through the blog below or click these links below to see what has been posted already in these areas:
Special this Week -->  9/11 Lesson Plan Resources


 Upcoming Learning Opportunities
(email me with other offerings to add!)
  • 5. In the right margin of this blog, enter your email to receive future postings into your email Inbox (Take 5s and more!) -- expect 1-3 posts per week.


FRIDAY FUN: The Importance of Punctuation


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

Commas Save Lives!!!

 



Thursday, September 8, 2011

Thinking Thursday: Open Letter to Educators


From Dan Brown:
I dropped out of school (college) because my schooling was interfering with my education!

Watch his ~6 min. video HERE to see what he is talking about! 

Questions to THINK about...
  • Do your students share a similar perspective on their education? 
  • What do you think about his "letter" -- a video version? Can your students do a similar project -- perhaps write a letter FIRST then do a video "letter"?
  • What else do educators (we) need to do to better prepare these students for their future?

9/11 Teaching Resources

Image from: http://staroflifelaw.com/


American Institute for History (from Cicero)
http://americaninstituteforhistory.org/911/ 

Interactive Visuals (from History.com)
http://www.history.com/topics/9-11-attacks/interactives/witness-to-911

9/11 Project Ideas from Edutopia (by Suzie Boss)
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/september-eleventh-teaching-resources-suzie-boss 

Teaching 9-11.org
http://www.teaching9-11.org/

K-5 Lesson Plans
http://www.teaching9-11.org/categories.cfm?16 

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

WONDER Wednesday: Learn to Be (Live Online Tutoring)




Ever wonder how to help students when they are not in school?


Free online tutoring for K-8 students in math, science, and language arts. Try it out and leave a comment below to tell about your experience.