"But I don't do technology"

I recently read a blog post from Elizabeth Peterson called Face Your Fears of Art Integration. In that post, she listed 4 common fears about art integration that she hears from teachers and her suggestions for overcoming or dealing with those fears. I wrote a blog post previously saying that I felt like many of these same "fears" also applied to technology integration. (Part of me thinks of these "fears" as excuses or reasons for not even trying.)Fear...

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Blogging and Images

 Two Bloggers After Norman RockwellI like putting pictures on my blog. Whether it is a picture of something I have created or from my camera; I think it gives the blog character and adds a bit of interest. I think all of my blogs have a picture of something on it. I have heard of Creative Commons for a while now, but haven't done a lot with it. I am really glad that this challenge is covering Creative Commons and the proper way to add and...

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netTrekker has eBooks?

Have you seen the netTrekker eBook Series on things like web safety, 21st century learning, and using netTrekker? I have seen some of these books before, but now they are all together!While most of these eBooks are related to the use of netTrekker, there are ideas in all of them that are applicable to student learning. People who are new to netTrekker can find information. People who have used netTrekker for years can find information. People...

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Battery for the Mobi

I just wanted to share a few pieces of information about the Mobi. First of all if you need a battery for the Mobi pen, you can buy it at Radio Shack for $5.99. Their catalog number is 55027736. It's a GP (Gold Peak) 1.2 volt battery. To get to the battery, locate the square little button on the back of the pen just above the 2 silver rings. Use a key or something to press the button in a little. Slide the pen apart and you will see the battery....

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Connecting Technology and Multiple Intelligences

I am a firm believer in the ways student learning relates to Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences. In my mind: All students can learn ... that learning takes place in different ways and is expressed in different ways. When in the classroom, I tried to create lessons to go along with the ideas of Multiple Intelligences. I now work each day to help teachers find ways to utilize technology for student instruction and learning. I have recently started thinking about the ways those two things (Multiple Intelligences and Technology in the Classroom)...

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Blooming Resources (even when it is cold)

Having discovered Kelly Tenkely's blog iLearnTechnology was like finding a gold-filled treasure chest. Getting to know Kelly through her blog and on twitter (@ktenkely) has been even better. Steven Anderson and I both attended a webinar she did last week about thinking and teaching creatively at the Knowledge Learning Place. Resources and sites she shared were posted to a LiveBinder called Thinking Creatively with Kelly Tenkely. The recording of...

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Learn A Little About North Carolina

Do you know who is considered the most corrupt Colonial or State Governor? What about where Pepsi was created? You know the dogwood is the state flower but is it also the state tree? Recently I came across an awesome primary source called NCPedia. As the name implies it is an encyclopedia all about North Carolina. And there is something here for every subject area and every grade level, so while you might not teach 4th or 8th grade you can still...

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IRC Resources for Bullying and the Winter Season

The IRC has a wide range of materials that deal with Bullies and Bullying and conflict resolution. These materials include teaching and lesson plan resources, background "theory" resources, websites, nonfiction books at various reading levels, fiction books with Bullying themes, blackline masters, and a few videos.These materials are the center of a special display through the month of February (along with our traditional display of winter seasonal...

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What I've learned to make me a better teacher ...

I was very fortunate to have to the opportunity to attend some of the presentations and discussions at the 2011 Reform Symposium (#rscon11 on twitter). What is even better is that the sessions were recorded, so I will be able to listen to the sessions I did not get to attend as well as listen again to the ones I attended. As a participant in the 2010 Reform Symposium (search for Reform Symposium on my blog to find posts about it), I knew there would be lots of great things shared, but it was information overload ... in a good way.This was/is free...

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Pulling Words, Sentences, Names Out of a Hat

In SMART Notebook in the Lesson Activity Toolkit there are many activities that you can use to make your lesson more interactive with students. Here is one that you can create yourself. I call it the Magic Top Hat. With the Magic Top Hat, I can pull out sentence starters, student names, math problems, or anything else that will fit "in" the hat. To create the Magic Top Hat, first open SMART Notebook. Click on the Gallery tab and type "hat" in the...

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Picnik, An Online Photo Editing Site by Google

It seems like people are always looking for a way to edit their photos. There are a number of places you can use or go to but here is another one for you to check out. It’s online so there is nothing for you to download. It works on a Mac, Windows or Linux. The free version gives you the ability to do a wide variety of things. Some of the options are not available in the free version. They require a fee of $24.95/year. After you create an account...

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Have You Looked at Learning Village Lately?

Have you looked at WSFCS Learning Village lately?Did you know you can now find the Instructional Technology workshop resources linked on the Resources page?Did you know you can find DPI released test items on the Middle School and High School pages?Did you know there are content writing prompts in 7th and 8th grade?Did you know there is Thinkfinity Standards Search link on each page (Thinkfinity will soon have the NC Standards)?Did you know you can...

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How Do I Know I Know?

Assessment is not a new trending topic in education. As teachers, we use various methods of assessment tools to try to figure out what our students know/learned or how well we taught a particular objective. Multiple choice, true/false, and other paper and pencil testing methods are prevalent in schools. However, in schools that believe in Problem-Based Learning or Project-Based Learning, teachers have to be more creative and flexible in how they...

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Becoming the Change

One of my favorite quotes of all time is:"We must become the change we want to see in the world." Mohandas GandhiAt this time of the year, conversations revolve around New Year's resolutions and making change in our lives. And although I have been in education over fifteen years, I don't think I have ever been a part of a school or district that takes this time to refocus/discuss/rewrite their mission for change. It seems sort of natural, a "doh!"...

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Looking Back At 2010. Looking Forward To 2011

Image From CC Search-Flickr (User Kadath)Seems like it's the cool thing this time of year to look back at the previous year, where we have been and to look forward, to where we are going. I want to be hip. So here is my reflections on 2010 and my predictions for 2011.I wrote a post on December 28, 2009 where I talked about tools that I thought would have a break out year. How did I do?Voicethread- I still don't think this wonderful program gets the...

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Interactive Social Studies for PreK-5

One thing that I have heard from Elementary teachers, while I have been training on Interactive Whiteboards, is that there are not a lot of activities out there for Social Studies that will utilize the IWB to its abilities. They are looking for quick activities that they can use to either start or reinforce a lesson with.PBS offers a lot of online interactive activities to aid teachers in getting their students engaged in learning.Here is a sampling for PreK-2 Teachers1. Build a Neighborhood - Allows students to create their own neighborhood2....

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The More You Know... ActivInspire

Did you know that there are a number of combination keys in ActivInspire that offer you easy access to features that you may not be aware of. The one thing that makes ActivInspire more user friendly than before is its ease of use. The software has a lot of multi-use buttons and quick access options built in to make the tools easier to find.Take for instance if you want to see the ActivInspire Dashboard and it is no longer showing on the screen because...

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