Educational Technology Weblog

As most of you are probably aware, we will host our 11th annual SDPBC Technology Conference in March 2009. We are pleased to be returning to Santaluces High School for the second consecutive year. Here an example of a free online publishing tool that you can employ to spread the word. Feel free to share this countdown with anyone you think might want to have it simply by clicking on share in the lower left corner! Or better yet… go to www.sproutbuilder.com create a free account and build your own! You can build all kinds of widgets and other neat things. If you build something you’d like to share, LET US KNOW!!

Here is another link to a Beta that is currently FREE! www.mathway.com is new, and I am liking this online math help site. Use this as a supplemental resource or as a review for your students. It is a great stand alone math review resource, but this site allow the teacher to find some examples of the topic of your choice, and embed them on a web page or send specific problems and solutions to an email recipient. Simply click on the following math problem for an in depth explanation of how to solve it. How easy is that?

If you wold like to add a little personality to your Edline page, possibly lighten up the presentation of some of your content, or try and inject some creativity into your project based learning. I recommend checking out Go!Animate. You’ll find this web based publishing program at www.goanimate.com and it does require an email to create an account, but the service is free and FUN!! Here’s an example of something I put together in about 15 minutes, and I am still learning the interface. Your students will amaze you!!

Here’s a great way for elementary teachers or parents to help your students practice for those weekly spelling tests that we all know and love!  Also, you can search for a huge number of provided lists that cover a large range of age appropriateness, and content specific subjects.

As a teacher or parent, you can very easily create a “weekly spelling list” that can be accessed at home with a username and password of your choice. You have the choice of making your list public and searchable, or keep it private so only your students will know how to find it.  No email or identification is required of the student, and when they log in, they will be presented with several very interactive ways to learn their words. They can hear their words, take practice tests or play one of several games.
Jump in and give it a try!  I am using it with my children and they really seem to enjoy it.  I am sure you’ll find the same results with your students.  Let us know how it goes, and if you’ve shared any great new lists!

The election season is in full swing and there’s little doubt that teachers all over the country are using the teachable moments that this year brings to add all sorts of engaging content into their lessons. After all, one of the primary tasks of public education is the preparation of good citizens, so we certainly can’t pass up an opportunity like this now can we?

There are all sorts of great lesson plans floating around on the Web, but I thought I’d highlight two of my favorite sources this time around.

First, the good folks at Education World have quite a few great offerings. For a complete listing of all their lesson plans visit The Election: Classroom Activities for lesson plans, webquests, and links to sites where students can find information about the election coming up in little over a month.

Also not to be missed are all the election and government resources compiled by PBS Teacher’s Source at their Access, Analyze, Act site where you’ll find even more lessons, activities, and links. Be sure to visit the Resources page where you’ll find links to great activities like:

National Mock Election

Get My Vote from NPR

American Experience: The Presidents

So let’s get out there, but be careful! There’s a lot at stake this time around and an educated electorate is one of the keys to our democracy. Are you doing your part to help your students understand what the issues are and which candidates really represent them?

As information technologies have advanced rapidly, things like Google, blogs, Blackberry, i-Phones, and social networks have become ever more prevalent, and being “connected” has taken on a whole new meaning for many people. For more and more people the thought of being “offline” for even a few minutes is a real cause for concern. I read recently an entry form the creator of one of my favorite “social bookmarking” pages www.twine.com (which is currently in invite only beta to participate) His thoughts are that this prevalence and that the ubiquitous nature of technologies and sharing of information will only continue to grow.

This brief article is definitely worth a read.

Some unintended results have come from all of these advances. Some people find that keeping afloat in this massive wave of information is a challenge. Here’s a link to listen to some very tech savvy individuals mull this over at a session of the Churchill Club that took place earlier this year. (MAY NOT WORK FROM WITHIN OUR FIREWALL)

I will leave you with one more look at the same general trend towards a possibly “techno-centric” future. This is brought to you by the ever sharp Colbert Report

Review your experiences, and what you know of your students’ experiences, and let us know your thoughts…pro…con… or otherwise.

I often come across a link that I will share with a particular department, or group of teachers. I think this would be an example of one that may be of interest to many elementary, and select secondary teachers.

 http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/ is a site that has many fun and free educational games that cover many different subjects. This site was highlighted by CNN as a “Fun Site of the Week”, and I can see why.

If you take a few minutes to explore this fabulous resource, you will find everything from Astronomy to Zoology, from basic math operations to pre-algebra, from history to health, and even SAT vocabulary builders.

Whether you’d like to use this during your scheduled lab or computer time (although there are a few blocked advertisement banners, yes this site is currently available inside our firewall!) or by providing links to specific games as supplemental resources on your Edline pages, I can’t think of anyone I know who would not see true value in providing these fun and effective options for their students!

We’re fortunate here in Palm Beach County to have some incredibly talented people working for us. One of those folks is Chad Wintzer, the programming genius who works for our Safe Schools Center. Chad has been working on an amazing video hosting service that is now available throughout the District, and we’re rolling things out at a measured pace as we all learn how to use this new service.

One of the really cool things that we’re able to do with our online video hosting service is post professional development videos that are created in the District so they can be seen online. You can see our two new stars of the PalmBreeze Cafe television show–Lee Kolbert and Jamey Akien–in the video embedded below.

But wait! There’s more! In addition to viewing these videos here (and on Channel 19 on Comcast or in your classroom) you can also download them via iTunes and put them right into your video-capable iPod or iPhone. To subscribe all you need to do is click this link to launch iTunes and begin downloading. Or, visit the PalmBreeze Cafe home page and locate the link there to do the same thing.

And what will you find? Really awesome videos like the one you see here where Jamey and Lee discuss Voice Thread, a way cool Web 2.0 application that Lee demonstrates.

So often, we want to attend conferences but due to many reasons, mostly budget restraints, it’s not possible. Unfortunately, the opportunites missed are enormous. When we attend conferences, we are able to step out of our comfortable, closed circle of like-minded peers and network with teachers and administrators from around the state, nation and world. It’s fascinating to discuss how the same tools we have are being used in other schools. It’s inspiring to hear about enormous progress being made in other schools where they have much less. How invigorating to brainstorm with others on how to solve similar frustrations or to have a debate with a popular, well-known national educational speaker who is sitting next to you in the coffee bar.

All of this is possible with the K!2 Online Conference. It’s free and your participation is mostly on your own schedue. By initiating contact with the presenters, who are only happy to network with you, you’ve taken an enormous step towards expanding your professional learning network and achieving all of those I’ve mentioned above without leaving your home.

Anything you need to participate is available for free (except for your computer, speakers and Internet connection). In addition, there’s a HelpDesk for support if you are unable to get something to work correctly on your computer.

The K-12 Online Conference invites participation from educators around the world interested in innovative ways Web 2.0 tools and technologies can be used to improve learning. This FREE conference is run by volunteers and open to everyone.

The 2008 conference theme is “Amplifying Possibilities.” This year’s conference begins with a pre-conference keynote the week of October 13, 2008. The following two weeks, October 20-24 and October 27-31, forty presentations will be posted online to the conference blog (click here) for participants to download and view. Live Events in the form of three “Fireside Chats” and a culminating “When Night Falls” event will be announced. Everyone is encouraged to participate in both live events during the conference as well as asynchronous conversations.

I encourage you to take even one small step and click on the link to just read further.
K-12 Online Conference

~Lee

I know that realizing something important just a little too late can be very frustrating. I think most of us have had a deadline slip our minds or possibly paid a bill a little past the due date. Usually these are small issues of little consequence in the “Big Picture” However, not to be an alarmist, I am afraid to think that America is on the verge of being caught asleep on it’s feet. As we see our global economy shifting, and the face of “business as usual” taking on a whole new look. There is a large number of people who are calling on American educational institutions to begin to shift as well.

Here is just one more example of article that discusses a study (admittedly by a 21st Century Educational Organization) that outlines some of the most glaring reasons that this shift is so crucial in keeping America a leading force in our world today.

http://pages.citebite.com/l8c1c2v1wkyt