Random Ramblings

Whew!  The first day is over and now it’s time to evaluate where we punt tomorrow.  Actually, things went fairly smoothly.  Sure, traffic was backed up almost a mile, the kids couldn’t log in, the teachers couldn’t log in, lunch was 50 minutes behind, and some laptops crashed, but other than that  ;o)  things went well.  I saw a lot of smiling faces – teachers, and no tears- students.  Actually, you can reverse those, too.  It was good to have kids in the building.

The teachers were very understanding when the technology had hiccups.  The poor techs have been working terrible hours.  God bless ‘em.  I know they are all running near empty.  Hopefully, all the kinks will work themselves out soon.  On a good note, all the teachers are up and running with their SmartBoards, projectors, and Elmos.  It’s really exciting to walk by and see so much technology being used in the classrooms.  Even teachers who claim to be afraid of technology are beginning to test the waters and are finding it’s not as bad as they thought.  The new teachers are loving all the technology.  I’m hoping their excitement will rub off on some of the veteran teachers.  Think how exciting it would be to be  a new teacher and walk into the setting they have entered.  Boy, talk about cloud nine!

On a side note, PetSmart had free shipping for orders over $50 last week.  Chloe was in need of some new toys so she got 8 new ones tonight.  Anyone want to guess how many are still intact after 4 hours of “playing”??  Let’s just say I don’t think I got my money’s worth out of 4 of them since they are now flat (she pulled all the stuffing out) or separated (she chewed through them).  Oh well, maybe I’ll find a sturdy toy someday that is Great Dane puppy-proof.  At least maybe she’ll be tired and let me sleep more than 3 hours tonight.

Until next time ~ Danita

Dog Toy

The teachers return on Monday and then the kids the following Monday. I’m so excited! I can’t believe that another summer has come and gone, but we get kids in a week! I’ve truly missed them. I know if I had some of my own I may not feel the same, but I’ve missed the laughter and the learning.

We had our final technology workshop of the summer on Thursday. Had a wonderful turnout! The teachers at SanLee learned how to use the new equipment that will be in their rooms. We even had a few teachers from other schools within the county. I know the non-educators (if any of them read this other than my mom and dad) don’t understand the big deal, but teachers need the summer to regroup and get rejuvenated. I sure miss my summers off.

I have a new room at SanLee. It’s going to be wonderful! I will have a location to do my workshops. I will have the same technology that the teachers will have so I can show them how to integrate the equipment into their lessons. I will have a SmartBoard, mounted projector, mounted speakers, and a document camera. WOW! It’s going to be great! I have seats for 15 teachers. The teachers can bring their laptops and we can interact as I do the workshops. How great is that?

Until next time ~ Danita

Creating the Integrated Classroom by Cathie Chapman

Great Resource List

• 1 to 3 mobile laptops
• things to think about:
  • equipment
  • teaching basics to the students
  • developing a routine
  • classroom arrangement
  • managing hardware
  • lesson planning
  • creating a support system
• what you need:
  • laptops
  • power strips
  • projectors
  • internet access
  • software
  • headphones & microphones
  • digital and video cameras
  • digital presenter – document camera
• the basics
  • create procedures
  • emphasize proper use
  • get the students’ attention
    • give lesson instruction before turning ON the computer
    • monitor off/lid half-closed
    • hand signals and visuals
  • learn what works for you
• developing a routine
  • unlock the cart: protect the combination
  • emphasize gentle handling
  • assign student supervisors and helpers
  • assign laptops to students
• set up and tear down:
  • set up 5 to 8 minutes
    • student supervisors in charge of smooth transitions
    • student helpers hand out laptops
    • limit number of students at cart
  • tear down 5 to 8 minutes
    • reverse set up procedure
    • each student is in charge of his/her own laptop to student helpers
    • student supervisors calls tables and maintains order
  • consider leaving out overnight
• power source management
  • charge overnight
  • 2 to 3 hours battery time
  • power strip for battery
  • visibility to screen
• classroom arrangement
  • locating near power strips
  • circulating the classroom
  • cooperative grouping
  • independent work
  • what works for hardware
• Zig-zag
  • classroom arrangement is in a zig-zag pattern for easy accessibility
• Circle configuration
  • power cord in middle
  • shoulder partners
  • moderately easy for teacher to circulate
• long rectangular
  • power strips in middle
• rectangular/square
  • power strips at end of table
  • shoulder partners
  • easy for teacher to circulate
• flexible
  • lots of freedom
  • more difficult to manage power strips
  • ideal for cooperative work
• glitches and bugs
  • if something goes wrong
    • plug it in
    • restart it
  • always have a plan b
    • network outages
    • sometimes things just don’t work
• hardware management
  • think about how to deal with hardware failure
  • updates
  • virus protection
  • software installation
  • network controls
• time for kids
• Don’t do what we did:
  • ALWAYS test sites before the lesson
• rules of thumb
  • mostly independent cooperative
    • not teacher led
  • create a support system
    • informal and formal meetings
• Chapman Science wiki
• Brainpop
• Moodle
• Teacher Resources
• Largo Middle School
• Cathie Chapman Chapmanc@pcsb.org

Until next time ~ Danita

A couple of summer ago, hubby and I visited his parents in Atlanta and we took our friends from South Africa. While we were there, we visited CNN. Great tour! One of the best parts was when I was able to try my luck at being a news anchor. Okay, so it was a green screen and only for the people in our tour group, but nonetheless, I still had the opportunity to read from a teleprompter and be projected onto a screen. What fun!

Now, thanks to my Twitter friends, I have been introduced to a home news production program. This is from Mogulus website:

A Revolution in Live Television

• Mix Videos In Real-Time To Create Your Own Live Broadcast

  th Mogulus, you can blend your webcam, video clips from YouTube, and your own original content into your own unique TV program – and you call all the shots. When you’re not broadcasting live, turn on the auto-pilot and let it drive your playlist.

• Animated Television Graphics

  Make your channel look like a major network broadcast using our graphics library. Mogulus gives you a wealth of broadcast graphics including ticker, bumper, lower third name, and logo bug. Additionally, you can customize these graphics using your own logos and colours. Best of all, you don’t need to be a designer to style your channel – you’ll be amazed how simply Mogulus operates.

• Multiple Producers, Multiple Locations, One Channel

  The Mogulus studio is a true multiuser application. Invite your associate producers from anywhere in the world to login, and you can mix with them in real-time. You can even broadcast their camera on your show, or they can broadcast yours. Let your imagination flow – brainstorm new ideas, invent a new television format, or just fine tune your broadcasts. You’ll be in complete control.

The ideas I have are flying. Is this something our kids could do for a school broadcast? What about ballgames – can’t the kids do reports on ballgames like they did the podcasts last year? I’m definitely going to have to look into this – the possibilities are endless!  Does anyone have experience with student broadcasts?  I’d love to hear your advice.  When I taught in Kentucky, I did work with 8th graders for a semester on producing a newscast. Hopefully, this could be something we could begin in our schools.  What a great way to keep parents (and relatives that live outside of our town) informed.

Until next time ~ Danita

Flickr

Geocaching … An Educational Adventure

Crystal Turney and Beth Hamilton

http://www.geocaching.com

also on United Streaming

great staff building activity

Geocaching as a learning tool

1.       Stimulates creative teaching

2.       Motivates students

3.       Fosters cooperative learning and teamwork

4.       Promotes higher order thinking skills

5.       Integrates various curriculum areas

6.       Instills a respect and consideration for others

7.       Creates awareness for environment

From National Geographic:

                Crack the Code – http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/activities/01/crackcode.html

Can buy a gps for about $120 – Garmin

http://www.GPSonsale.com

Catawba County Schools, North Carolina has lessons – http://www.catawba.k12.nc.us

DPI will loan GPS out to schools – try local colleges

Yep, that was me skipping down the hallway on Friday.  I had spent a couple of days in Susan Oriet’s 6th grade Language Arts class working on Voicethread.  The kids made collages of books they had read and then we recorded their reports onto Voicethread.  WOW!  What a great experience!  I had so much fun! This was one of my first experiences presenting student’s work online.  I think it’s addicting!

If you get a free minute, cruise on over and take a look & listen to the projects.  We’d LOVE for you to add your comments, too.

Mrs. Oriet’s class’ voicethread project 

Until next time ~ Danita

  Flickr

Some people are lucky and some people are LUCKY. My mom has always been in the LUCKY column. Me, I’ve never even managed to be in any category other than, “thanks for coming”. If there’s a way to win something, mom will win. If there’s a way not to win, that’s me. But, (you knew that was coming didn’t you?) my luck has seemed to have taken a turn for the better.

In the fall, our technology department attended a conference in Greensboro, and I won a printer. Not a $1000 one, but a nice laser printer. Unfortunately, hubby and I had bought a really nice super-duper do all that and more about a month previously. Dad ended up with the winning printer.

This summer I attended my first NECC conference. Yes, I still need to finish blogging my notes, but that’s another day. I am a seasoned conference goer. I’m the geeky smart one that brings the collapsible cart and address labels; takes time from having to write your name a hundred times. Well, those labels came in handy at the Pearson School booth.

What I hate to admit is that after I registered, I didn’t stay for the entire presentation. I can’t remember what it was about, but I do remember thinking, “my county would never go for that.” So, being the good conference goer that I am, I continued on to the rest of the venders.

Last Wednesday our secretary handed me a message and said, “some man called and said you won a prize from that conference you went to.” Okay, she’s only 16 so what can you expect? Did I mention that I don’t handle “congratulations! you’ve won” messages very well? It ranks right up there with “congratulations! you’ve been chosen to serve on _____ committee.” know what I mean? So, I didn’t think anymore about it until I saw the note on Thursday afternoon.

With trepidation, I called expecting to try to be roped in to buy this or that newfangled gadget. Much to my surprise, I was completely wrong. It’s not hard to say you’re wrong when you win something The representative (Scott, I think) at Pearson was extremely nice even though I was very skeptical. You see, he told me I had won a new iPhone. Yep, me. The one who never wins anything. I kept asking what the catch was and what I had to buy. But, bless his heart he was patient and said nothing. What he did say was that I would have my phone on Friday. Now, keep in mind this is Thursday afternoon.

Still dazed I thanked him and went about my business. You see, I didn’t know anything about the iPhone other than I wasn’t going to pay $600 for a cell phone. Much to my surprise, the next day our bookkeeper called me and said I had a package. Since I was expecting a book I had ordered at NECC, I didn’t rush over. But, when I did get there, sure enough there was the package. Talk about surprise! The representative had said it would be there on Friday and he was right. They had overnight shipped it to me! Wow! This company might be worth looking into to see what they do sell.

So, I have been playing and I can attest that it is awesome! Not only is it a cell phone, but a camera, internet, iPod, and so much more. Too cool! So, if you need me, I’ll be playing working with my new toy.

Plus, I think I’ll go buy a lottery ticket. Luck does strike in 3′s doesn’t it?

Until next time ~ Danita

Flickr: iPhone

Recently, my boss asked the county ITF’s what we would want in our “dream school”. WOW! Not, that we would get everything that we wanted, but what did we have in mind and how much would it cost.

My friend Kim and I were foaming at the mouth. What a question! Can you imagine? Our fingers were flying on the keyboards. These are some of our wishes on our list:

Laptops for every student and teacher

SmartBoard

Quizdom in every classroom

Graphing calculators for each student

Elmo’s or document camera in each classroom

Video cameras and microphones

5th generation iPods

Camcorder for each classroom

Science probeware

Digital microscopes

Color printers

Scanner and copier per classroom

GPS unit for each student or at least a class set

Digital camera for each classroom

Wireless Accessiblility

What would you put on your wish list?

Until next time ~ Danita

Flickr: My Wish

Yes, you read that correctly. I have already found my one and only item I want to put on my Christmas list. Vicki Davis blogged about it (between loads of laundry) today and I immediately told hubby that is what I want. It’s called a FlipStart.

According to Vicki:

This little device has a 5 hour battery life and wifi access built in along with a regular keyboard (albeit a little smaller than regular). You can really do just about anything on this little gizmo, write, research, surf.

The drawbacks according to the podcast: the Windows interface design isn’t great for anything smaller than a 12″ display — this one has a 5 1/2 inch display however using the zoom feature with web pages seems to be quite nice.

In terms of category, this device sits somewhere in between the Smart Phone and the Laptop Computer.

I think the future will rest in the hand of our students!

The price is a bit steep at $2000 without battery. But, wow – under 2 pounds and look how portable. This is definitely one I will have my eye on between now and December 25th. I’m going to have to be really good this year!

Until next time ~
Danita

Flickr: 2006 Christmas tree