Basic Blogs

Camille and I have created two presentations to help beginner bloggers. I have previously posted our first presentation, titled Using Blogs to Teach and Learn. (Click here to view it.)
Following is our second presentation, titled Basic Blogs. We hope they are helpful!




A few more things:

• To add more to your blog later, remember to log in at www.blogspot.com using your email address and the password you selected.
• To direct others to view your blog, tell them to go to your url, which would be http://www.(whatever you chose).blogspot.com
• Once you log in on blogger, you are taken to the "Dashboard" page. You can change the email address you use to log in, by selecting "Edit Profile" on the left hand column.
  
• If you would like to edit the email address where comment or post notifications are sent, click on the "Settings" tab. (See the above slide show for more details.)
  

Engaged Classroom Goals for 2009-2010

I definitely plan to increase and improve my technology use in my teaching in 2009-2010. This year was just the beginning - an introduction - of all that I would like to do.
Now that I have my document camera and projections unit and screen, I will never go back to overhead projectors. (Let's face it -- I hardly ever used an overhead anyway.) It is such a great tool for demonstration and instruction.
One of my biggest goals is to become more adept at using the clickers. The students enjoy using the student response system so much, and their being engaged in lessons is the key to them learning. I want to use them on a more regular basis.
I have loved having a class wiki. I typically use My UEN, and I have not yet decided if I prefer that or wikispaces, but one way or another I plan to further advertise my class wiki to parents and students. It is a great resource and an efficient form of communication.
I have been a blogger for a little while now, but have just barely gotten my students into it. They are so excited about writing because of our blog. The potential for improving their communication skills and for teaching the Six Traits if writing via blogging is exciting to me. Next year I plan to be more organized with my class blog and really get my students participating with it.
I have used various forms of digital story-telling for many year in my classroom, and I plan to continue to do so. I hope to have a great student news broadcast running at our school next year. I would like to increase my students' use of digital cameras and PhotoBooth.
I have also been building a collection of technology-based lesson plans and activities to share with others. I plan to expand my website (http://www.30minutelablessons.com) to help teachers incorporate technology tools into their teaching of the core curriculum.

Student Response System (Clickers) Reflection

I have not gotten to use the clickers as much as I wanted to this year. I like to use them, and better yet the students like to use them, so my goal is to become better with incorporating them into my teaching. So far we have used the clickers to poll the students, to review for tests, and to play educational games, like Jeopardy. The students are engaged in the learning process when the clickers are being used.

Document Camera Reflection

My favorite way to use the document camera is quite simple. I use it to help the kids see things they would otherwise have a hard time seeing. Duh, right? But this is actually huge. It is amazing how much it helps my students follow along when doing daily planners or assignments. My instructions make so much more sense to them when they can see on the big screen what I am talking about. I have shown them how to fold paper for geometry projects, helped them view bacteria and mold samples in science class, displayed art work by Leonardo da Vinci in social studies, and graded homework assignments, just to name a few things.
I love the document camera! I am excited to continue to use it, particularly for its more advanced features I have yet to explore more.

EC Sharing Session II

Trainer Observations
Must be scheduled by April 30th
3 Things Turned In:
Summary
Check Sheet
Planning Questions

Time Cards & Assignment Sheets
Due on or before April 30th, 5 pm
NO EXCEPTIONS
Attach Trainee Assignment sheet to the time card.

Lesson Plan
Email to Bonnie by April 30th

Tonight's Agenda
ProScope

Frosted Mini Wheat
Brown Sugar
Chair
Dried Apricot
Ring

iTunes U
Lectures from various universities recorded and posted online ("Universities")
Podcasts by or for kids ("K-12" -> "Utah Electronic High School" -> "Jordan School District")
-UCET Sessions
-Student Podcasts
-TEDTalks by Arthur Benjamin
-University of South Florida -> College of Education -> Lit to Go

Favorite Podcasts:
NPR
-Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me!
National Geographic

Sharing

• boinx.com - mouseposé
• quicksilver
• microscope adapters to attach ProScope
• google docs
• Use a Wiimote as a SmartBoard - Download Wiimote Whiteboard software
• slide show of technology assignments played at parent conferences
• use uTips in conjunction with clickers
• student music videos - songs on GarageBand, then movie
• weekly student reports on GoogleDocs to share with team
• planner on the computer projected for the kids to copy & follow along with
• biographies in ComicLife - kids dress up as the person & take a photo, then add info.
• still photo movies - use cameras, use PhotoBooth, etc.
• still photo movies about heat, light, & sound concepts drawn on whiteboards

Wikis:

• embed a google calendar
• assignment list with links to documents or powerpoints
• embed surveys
• student pages
• photos
• slide shows

Blogs:

• student entries
• parent notes
• class journal
• assignments

EC Sharing Session

Ideas from other teachers about what they are doing with technology:

ComicLife

• Animal Reports - Heredity and Survival - 5th grade
• Animal Reports - Predator/Prey - multiple pages - 9th grade
• Demonstrate patterns created with pattern blocks - work displayed on a ComicLife page - this was used as the consequence for his students fighting at recess - they had to learn to work together to create the patterns
  
• Class Newspaper - produced monthly
  

Movies

• Moon Movies - kids took photos of moon phases, then put them together into a movie - 6th grade
• Claymation Movies - students take still photos and put them together into a movie

Podcasts

• Non Fiction Book Reports - audio & still photos - created on GarageBand - 6th grade
  

Blogs

• Club Blog - for groups and clubs at the school
• Teacher Blog - teacher posts assignments and worksheets on the blog - links to google docs - so if the students lose their copy they have to go online and print themselves a new one - they could even submit online

Office

• Use Excel to create graphs - to avoid problems with different versions of Excel, SaveAs the older version
  

Wikis

• Posting assignments online

My UEN

• Notes to parents about what is going on at school and in the class
• Links
• Calendar

Ideas From Bonnie
Picnik
Jing Project
ScreenCast
Wee World
PhotoFlex
Screen Capture - Shift Apple 4
Lulu
Plasq
Skitch
Digital Teaching Tools
Export entire albums from iPhoto to Picasa
Create a Podcast using the document camera - See Kelly's Podcast to learn how:

• http://t4.jordan.k12.ut.us/t4
• Go to "T4 Tips Podcasts"
• Go to "T4 Tips Podcast #40 - AverVision 300 AF+ Document Camera"

Create a movie using the document camera

• Plug in a USB port from the document camera to your computer
• The AVerVision screen will pop up
• Click the record (the movie reel)

By the way, there is an anti-glare screen for the document camera!

Engaged Classroom

This blog has been created to post items required of me as a "21st Century Engaged Classroom" teacher. I have several other blogs that I have been using to display and discuss technology use in the classroom already, but I decided it would be easier to one central location for this particular assignment. I also decided I didn't want my personal blog on the Engaged Classroom wiki. I may eventually use this blog as my classroom blog, but I haven't decided yet if I prefer to use a blog, a wiki, or just my UEN site. I think having all 3 may get a bit confusing for my students!

So, please take a look around. I am linking my existing graduate school blogs and several websites I have found helpful in teaching with technology. I would like to go back at some point and add some labels to my old blog posts to make them more easily searchable, but for now you can simple search them by key word.

That's all for now!