They Might Be Giants

They Might Be Giants is an alternative rock group -- I guess that's what you'd call them -- who write very interesting songs. They are probably most well known for their songs "Istanbul" and "Birdhouse In Your Soul" from their album Flood. Some of their songs are strange, some of them are funny, some of them are political, and some of them are actually very educational.

I have used They Might Be Giants songs in my science class over the years. My favorite song to use in teaching is "Why Does the Sun Shine". The lyrics begin with, "The sun is a mass of incandescent gas - a gigantic nuclear furnace - where Hydrogen is built into Helium at a temperature of millions of degrees." My 6th graders learn and perform this song every year. We have also learned "The Guitar", which uses the tune of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" to sing about a rocket ship, just for fun. Other science songs include "Mammal", "Meet the Elements", and "Science Is Real". They have an entire collection of science songs on the album Here Comes Science which is now available on iTunes and was featured in Wired magazine.

These songs and some of the music videos that go with them are great for use in the classroom. As with everything else, be sure to preview any They Might Be Giants songs you plan to use in the classroom since some of their songs, like "Science Is Real" are controversial (it mentions the Big Bang Theory) and not all of their non-science lyrics are appropriate for students, but I highly recommend taking a look at some of their music.

Their website is www.theymightbegiants.com/

First Day of School

Today was the first day of school for students for the Canyons School District. A big day! We have all been working so hard to have things ready for today. I have loved being in the trenches and being part of the effort to ensure a great educational experience for our students. I love the team I work with, our department, and our district leaders. Our superintendent is a great leader - caring, intelligent, energetic - and the IT department directors are too. I feel so happy to be part of such a great team.

Now I am anxious and excited to really get to work with teachers and students. It feels good to work hard, problem solve, and really make a difference. I am working hard to earn the trust of the teachers and principals at my assigned schools. I have loved the teaching and presenting I have done so far.

First day memorable moments:

• Wearing a bright yellow district T-shirt and having everyone stare at me all day
• Sitting in the computer lab working on teacher laptops and looking up in time to see a 2nd grader making funny faces at me as she walked down the hall
• Talking with the superintendent for 20 minutes and having him genuinely enjoying conversing with me
• Being able to say hello to my former principal and coworkers as I traveled from school to school
• Helping a lost 2nd grader find her bus - and her smile when we found it
  
• "Thank you"s from teachers when their laptops were returned and ready for use
• Passionate conversations about how best to help students through good teaching practices and technology use
• Sharing in everyone's first day experiences via Twitter
• Jethro puncturing his Coke can with a plastic knife and causing it to explode
• Liz sharing her ugly stick doll with everyone
• The enthusiasm and nervousness of first-year teachers
• Hard-working, dedicated teachers, students, administrators, and district employees

I feel fortunate and excited to have my new position as an Educational Technology Specialist! I love being a part of the new district! It's going to be a great year!

Classroom 2.0 Conference - Web 2.0 Smackdown!

Firefox Personas

Rock Your Google Calendar in 18 Ways

Creative Commons

MyWebspiration

Classroom 2.0 Conference - Photo & Video in Web 2.0

Cool Tools For Schools

Images:

Flikr

Cooliris

Big Huge Labs

Cameroid
Be careful because with this one they send your images out to their gallery.
But you can also download your photo to your computer.

BeFunky

BlingEasy - may not want to use with the kids

Video Editing:

Animoto

YouTube

Publishing videos on a blog or site:

• You can download, then upload to another site but this can cause problems with file size limitations and copyright.
• You can look for the embed code on whatever site the video is on, but with YouTube this shows related videos after the video has played. You can uncheck the related videos option first, then get the embed code to get rid of this.

ScreenCasting:
Jing

Classroom 2.0 Conference - Google Tools

You have to have a google account to use these tools, but it's free and easy.

Google Forms
Create surveys

Google Maps
look at maps
get directions
street view

Google Earth

Picassa
Free online photo editor

Google SketchUp
Free
Pro Version is free in Utah because the state has purchased a license
3-D Warehouse

Google Talk
online chat

Google Voice
Get a free phone number
Control where all your calls are sent - home, cell, work, etc.

Google for Educators

Google Docs for Educators

Google Presentations

Google Spreadsheets

Classroom 2.0 Conference - Moodle

Alpine District Moodle
course management
quizzes, assignments, surveys, rubrics, peer evaluations
create groups within a course
student profiles, pictures
must have a login
students can contribute, submit assignments, etc.
chat, online discussions, wikis, blogs, all on the same site
protected environment

Educational Technology Moodle

Classroom 2.0 Conference - Educational Social Networking

ning

classroom 2.0

learncentral

Host Your Own Webinar

Classroom 2.0 Conference - Day 2

Your Online Presence
What about teachers sharing thoughts and feelings, struggles even, on blogs, etc. Is it okay for teachers to be transparent online?
They can get help, support, and suggestions from other teachers.
But what if their principal, students, parents see it?
Should that stop you from being a part of a transparent conversation online?
Maybe there is a balance between being aware and concerned about what you put out there and being too concerned to participate.
We need to teach digital citizenship. How do we do that when we don't even know exactly how to be digital citizens ourselves?
So, what about the people who are too afraid or cautious to participate?
How open should we be?

Thoughts?

Classroom 2.0 Conference - Wiki Use

What can I include on my wiki?
Course outline
Calendar of assignments and events
Discussion questions
Links to other information sources
Add widgets

• audio
• video
• slide shows
• bookmarks
• chat
• etc.

Each student could have their own wiki to post assignments and create reports, projects, presentations.
Group projects based on curriculum standards
Group projects can be edited by other groups in other classes that are studying the same content.
Display students work
Notes about what went on at school that day. Could require a student to be in charge of taking notes for a day.

Amazing Wikis!
http://kearnshigh.wikispaces.com/
http://kearnsathletics.wikispaces.com/

Classroom 2.0 Conference - Speed Demos

Classroom 2.0 Salt Lake City 2009 Wiki

Dropbox
virtual storage space

Google Desktop

Google Custom Search Engine

Destiny

Voki
A speaking avatar
Can be attached to a blog or email
See it in action!

Dowload Helper
Saving YouTube videos

Picnik
Online photo editor

Weebly
Quick, free, online website building
Weebly is planning on creating an educational version so you can have each of your students have a website that can have an online portfolio.

ChaCha
text any questions and get answers texted back to you

Twitter Back Channel

USTREAM
Live feed