Qwiki: a new way to search

Qwiki.com is a new way to search for information.  It is like the computer envisioned in the "future" that you ask a question, and it reads the essential information to you accompanied by pictures. It is currently in an "alpha" test state which allows you to try it for free by signing up.  As people try it out and give feedback, it will continue to make improvements.  Soon it will be easily accessible to anyone, like Google or Bing.  I encourage you to sign up and try it out.  It is a fun way to get quick answers, and it is fun to see how topics connect to one another.

The Super Book of Web Tools for Educators

A group of outstanding technology educators teamed up to put together this free guide that lists many great ideas for incorporating free web 2.0 tools into the K-12 classroom.  It is broken down by grade levels, and also includes ideas for ELL and ESL students.  I would highly recommend taking a look and trying to implement some of these ideas into your classroom. Don't hesitate to ask for any follow-up on these tools.


The Super Book of Web Tools for Educators -

Why teachers should blog

I encourage you to read the post that is linked below because it has excellent insight into a question that I hear quite a bit: Why should I blog?  Being a good teacher means being open to new ideas, concepts, strategies, and criticism.  Being able to truly understand yourself as a teacher - you need to be able to hear yourself and your opinions.  Just as we encourage our students to journal in order to find their writing voice - we too need to find our teaching voice.  By blogging about our experiences or strategies that were or were not effective, it helps us to better understand ourselves, while being able to share those ideas with others.  Like it is stated in the post below, don't prevent yourself from blogging because you don't feel as if you don't have anything worthwhile to share.  If your student responded with that answer, you wouldn't accept that excuse.  Don't accept it from yourself either.  Give it a try.  At least start by following other educator's blogs and understanding the value they have.  What do you have to lose?  Nothing.

http://teachpaperless.blogspot.com/2009/09/why-teachers-should-blog.html

Producing better problem solvers

All that I can say about the following clip is watch it (even if you don't teach math).  It is about approaching math in a way that deals with rational problem solving instead of merely plugging in equations.  What struck me the most when watching this talk, was the idea of stripping away everything about the problem so that only intuition and opinions are the root of conversation - taking away the instant turn-off that many students would initially have when approaching a word problem.  It is powerful when thinking about every student being able to have a stake in solving a problem, no matter what their ability.  Seeing the motivation within them to try and reason because they want to solve the problem is what every teacher would dream about.  Using multimedia to bring real life into a classroom is outstanding.  I wish that my high-school math teachers would've presented material like this.  Math would've looked completely different to me than merely plugging in numbers.  It really makes you think about the possibilities.  Under the video, I have also created a link to Dan Meyer's blog which is a great resource for ideas and conversation about math instruction.  Enjoy!



Dan Meyer's Blog

Drinking the Google Kool-Aid

Don't be afraid.  I promise - it will be worth it.  If you don't already have one, sign up for a free Google account.  This will give you access to Gmail, Google Docs, Google Reader, and the list goes on and on.  I hear teachers not want to sign up for a new email address because they already have an established email address, and they don't want to have to switch over.  Don't worry about it.  Keep your current email for everything that you already use it for.  Keep your Gmail account for professional purposes only.  It will not hurt to have another email address.  The email address is just one small part of a Google account, anyway.  Acquiring your free account is like getting a key to the Google empire.  Maybe I'm getting a little carried away, but seriously - it is free and it is the premier developer of web applications - why wouldn't you join?  I will continue to add guides and trainings with Google applications throughout the year.  In the meantime, sign up and take a look around.  A great place to look for Google advice is through Richard Byrne's Google Tutorials Page. I have just scratched the surface on today's tech tip.  Believe me, there is plenty more to come.

Teaching in the cloud

As a 1:1 computing school, we have opportunities that most schools do not.  Sometimes it is easy to look at all of the issues and become frustrated with technical issues and how they interrupt the flow of daily plans.  I know I am guilty of it, and whenever I am feeling defeated in this way, I think about what it would be like if had to go back to having 3-4 computers in each room.  I realize that is not the reality I want to imagine.  I hope that nobody else would either.

We have to embrace our opportunity in new ways to keep the laptops exciting, relevant, and engaging for our students.  We also have a responsibility to be the leaders of our district when it comes to educational technology.  "How do we do this?  Isn't it overwhelming? I didn't sign up for this!" (maybe some of the reactions I expect to hear).....But seriously, we need to have fun with our laptops just like the kids.  There are so many possibilities that may seem overwhelming at first, but lets set those goals and work toward them.  We don't expect our students to be able to understand and master a concept after one attempt.  The only thing that gets them there is practice and experience.  Same with technology in the classroom.  If you think that it sounds fun or exciting - give it a shot.  What is the worst thing that could happen? What is the best thing that could happen?

Moving forward from using a website for research, or an online textbook - we need to move towards having an online classroom.  That might mean different things to different teachers, but let's think about the possibilities.  It is very easy now to set up a free website for your class as a place to post information, documents, links, and more.  In the past, building and maintaining a website was a daunting task for many teachers that also usually cost money for a website server.  Now, that is very different, as websites like Weebly are free, and very easy to set up.  I would highly recommend signing up for a free Weebly education account and trying it out.  It is a fun and graphic way to organize your class that reaches not only students but parents that want to be informed about classroom activities and updates.  It is also an easy way to keep all your classroom files in one managed place.  The idea of  "teaching in the cloud" is very practical when you have one online place to pull your files from no matter where you are or what computer you are using.  It is also something that you do not need to rebuild every year.  You will need to make adjustments and updates, but the frame will only need to be built once, and every year it will get easier as it becomes something you continually use on a daily basis.

Many teachers have also gotten excited (not to mention students) about using Edmodo.  This is basically a facebook page for your classroom.  Don't be scared of it.  It was designed by an educator for educational purposes only.  The fear that comes with using facebook is eliminated by the excellent design that was put into this website.  Students do not have the ability to talk to one another, which is where many of the issues would come from.  They can only communicate to the teacher or the entire class group, which is great.  Edmodo also allows you to set up a class calendar with assignments and events that students can check to stay organized and up-to-date with their work.  You can also send documents and links to students and class groups so that they have digital copies of handouts to refer to.

Creating an online presence for your classroom accomplishes a number of things.  First of all, kids love it.  It is a way for them to see their classroom content organized visually.  This engages them, and allows them to take ownership of what takes place in the classroom.  It is truly empowering for students to have this capability.  Second, it not only allows you to have a central location for your resources, but it also allows other teachers to collaborate with you by sharing your online material with them.  It will also be motivating to you, because - as much as the kids love it - you will love it too.  It is addicting in the sense that it is a new medium that you be able to show off the pride you take as a teacher to build an outstanding resource and channel of communication between you and your students, parents, and fellow teachers.

Excited yet? I hope so.  Don't hesitate to ask for help.  I can't wait to see what your online classroom looks like.  Neither can your students.

Getting a little graphic

Comics are awesome.  I might be speaking from my point of view, but it is true that studies have proven the validity of incorporating comics into lessons involving writing traits, reading strategies, and creativity within other content areas.  So let's go a step further and let our students become the authors.  It is a great way to engage them in retelling, sequencing, summarizing, and creating!  Think of the difference in a student's reaction when they are asked instead of summarizing a passage in a few sentences to create a comic strip that allows them to summarize the information in a creative way.    Especially when they are using a program that allows them to have a digital copy of their work along with a print copy.  It could even encourage them to continue being creative when not given an assignment, but for their own enjoyment.  Since playing with some of the comic strip creators listed below, I know that I have found myself going back and creating comics for myself because it is fun and easy.  They are very easy to use, and they are a great way for students to use creativity to communicate through a new medium.  Have them create an instruction manual, explain a process, or re-create a historic moment.  There are plenty of ways to use them - a few of them have been described here in a short presentation.  Give it a shot.  For a quick sheet on comic creators, click here.  The following are three easy-to-use sites that have been designed to create comic strips (there are more out there, but these are three of my favorites):

http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/
http://superherosquad.marvel.com/create_your_own_comic
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/comic/

And now for something very similar...yet very important

As I get started with trying to be as informative as possible, I feel like a broken record with some of the things I am spreading the good news about.  The point of this blog, though, is so that I have a record to refer to, instead of merely repeating myself for the 100th time.  So here I go.  Teachers, the difference that joining a PLN (Professional Learning Network) like diigo or delicious can make is astounding.  Join one and explore - take that first baby-step into a world of sharing that will inspire and motivate you.  Social bookmarking is contagious.  Social bookmarking is professional.  Social bookmarking is working smarter, not harder.  I can't tell you the amount of great ideas I get from others in my diigo groups.  I continue to get the looks of disinterest from teachers when talking about it, and it makes me feel bad that I have a vault of great ideas (occasionally one of them is mine) that no one wants to use.  Help me help you!  Ask me about it, sign up for free on your own, just do it!  Okay, that is enough exclamation points for now, but it is just how passionately I feel about the power of online collaboration between teachers.  If you are interested, click here for more information, including a quick sheet in how to use diigo.

Along with using social bookmarking as a way to keep yourself up-to-date with the current trends and ideas, subscribing to RSS feeds is also very beneficial.  An RSS feed is simply getting whatever new information has been added to some of your favorite websites sent to you, instead of having to constantly check on it.  It is delivered to you like an email for you to read at your convenience.  Click here for a download link to a quick guide on RSS feeds.  It is true that reading other professionals' thoughts on education will better help you define yours.  There are so many educational blogs now that are specifically written with the concept of sharing strategies, lesson ideas, resources, etc.  The teachers that are soaking up this knowledge and using it to their advantage are the leaders in education today.  We teach our kids that knowledge is power.  Teachers that are taking advantage of the amount of knowledge being shared online are truly empowered in their classrooms to teach in ways that they had not imagined before.  It all starts with that first step.  Below are some of my favorite blogs that I encourage you to check out (don't be afraid to subcribe).

Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne
dy/dan by Dan Meyer
Teachers as Technology Trailblazers by Kristen Swanson
The Nerdy Teacher

It's about time

I am constantly reading online blogs from fellow professionals involved with educational technology and getting great ideas from them.  It is about time that I have joined the movement and started to share with others some of the great ideas that I have read about, along with my perspective of how they specifically can effect the classrooms that I work with.  It is also an outstanding way for teachers to get my perspective on things, without having to give up time at school (which I understand is non-existent).  I am constantly getting energized about the fun and creative ways that we can use our computers to teach, and I hope to spread some of the excitement with you - as I will continue to update this blog with ideas that are meaningful and relevant to what we do here in District 86.