Displaying the Smart Board Floating Tools

The other day a co-worker asked me how to bring back the Smart Board floating tools. These are the tools that are displayed vertically on the left or right side of your desktop. Normally you would click the Smart Board icon in the system tray located in the lower right corner of your desktop and choose “show floating tools”. The problem was that there was no Smart Board icon in the system tray. Let me also say that looking for the information in Google was of little help. Perhaps I did not type in the right key words in the search panel, I don’t know. Anyway, here is what you need to do to bring back the Smart Board icon in the system tray. Open “my computer”, c drive, program files, Smart Technologies and the Smart Board Drivers folder. Locate the Smart Board Tools exe and double click it. This will place the Smart Board icon in the system tray and you will be able to click it and choose “show floating tools”. I hope this helps someone.

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Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge

For most kids, summer is a chance to unwind — beach vacations with the family, trips to amusement parks, and hours spent in the pool. But for students, summer can be a season full of learning opportunities…or learning losses. Research confirms that students who don’t read over the summer typically score lower on reading comprehension tests when they return to school in the fall.

That’s why Scholastic has created the Scholastic Summer Challenge, a free reading program dedicated to stopping the “Summer Slide” and inspiring kids to read more books this summer. Now in its fifth year, the Summer Challenge invites kids to log the minutes they spend reading as they Read for the World Record, and the 20 schools with the most minutes logged will receive recognition in the 2012 Scholastic Book of World Records.

The Scholastic Summer Challenge, available now at scholastic.com/summer, offers plenty of features to bridge the school-to-home connection and keep kids reading all summer long!

 
Kids:

• Log minutes and help set a new world record for summer reading
• Participate in weekly challenges
• Earn digital rewards
• Enter sweepstakes to win fabulous prizes

Educators:

• Track students’ reading progress throughout the summer
• Email parents to let them know students are signed up for the Challenge
• Check the interactive map to see how many minutes other schools have read
• Download summer reading book lists
• Use the Classroom Participation Guide to incorporate the Summer Challenge into lesson plans

Parents:

• Discover ways to use the Summer Challenge at home with the Family Participation Guide
• Find expert tips to encourage their child to read more this summer
• Download summer reading book lists
• Print activity sheets, reading certificates, and more
• Receive email alerts on their child’s weekly reading success

There’s still time to join the Scholastic Summer Challenge – teachers can register their students now for a chance to win a classroom library and a $250 gift certificate to the Scholastic Teacher Store.

So head on over there and check it out!

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Put on your thinking cap!

Have you ever been told to put on your thinking cap?

Have you ever said that to someone?

I remember saying that to my 4th grade students, but I am not really sure what that even means. I found this great Storybird Creation which provides a brief explanation of de Bono's six thinking hats. Each color represents a different level and/or kind of thinking.

The Thinking Hats by janeh271 on Storybird

This is another lovely creation from janeh271 (I have written about her creations before ). I found this one after seeing a message about a resource wiki (inquiry, creativity, and thinking) on twitter from @surreallyno. This is an example of a great digital storytelling that can be done using Storybird.

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Creating A CPS Challenge Board

A CPS Challenge Board is very similar looking to the Jeopardy game. In order to create a Challenge Board, you must use questions that you have already created in lessons or questions that you have imported from ExamView. After you have chosen which questions and categories you want to use, the next step is to create the Challenge Board. Click the prepare tab and the team activities sub tab. Now click new. Type a title for your activity and a title for each category. Once you click ok, a Challenge Board window opens that includes your database in the upper left portion of the window, your categories and the point values in the upper right and the questions in the lessons (once selected) in the bottom. Click the plus sign next to the name of your database to see the lessons (we call them tests). Click on a lesson to see the questions displayed in the bottom half of the Challenge Board window. Just drag and drop the questions to the point value buttons in each category. You can have more than one question in one point value. So for example, you can add 5 questions to the 50 point value button for the North Carolina category. The number of questions you drop into a point value is completely up to you of course. Each button under the category contains 2 numbers. The first number is the point value. The second number represents the number of questions you dropped into that point value.

To engage the Challenge Board activity, click on the engage tab and the team activities sub tab. Click on the name of your Challenge Board and click the engage button. Choose your class from the dropdown in the window that appears and click start. Click on a point value in a category of your choice and the question will appear on your screen. Click start and let the competition begin. Once the students or teams have entered their answers click the close button on the question window to return to the Challenge Board. Continue clicking the point values in the categories until the students or teams have finished all the questions in the Challenge Board. Choose “show score” from the settings menu to see the score. It is displayed in the middle of the Challenge Board. If you want to break your class up into teams you will have to create a separate team class and create students called for example, team 1, team 2, etc.

Don’t forget that you can also set the timer to auto start once a question is started. You can do this in the Challenge Board by clicking the options menu and checking “auto start the timer”. For that matter, you can also auto start the question in the same manner.

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Ideas To Inspire Technology Greatness

Teachers ask me all the time for technology ideas on a wide variety of subject areas. Some days I can get 30 questions from 30 different teachers but they all might be asking the same sort of question. One day it might be questions on how to use Google Earth and the next it might be all Smartboard questions. It sure would be helpful to have list of easy ways that these tools can be used in the classroom.

Mark Warner has created a site that does just that. (The idea came from another teacher named Tom Barrett. He collaborated with over 100 teachers to get ideas on all these topics.) Using some Google Presentations teachers can see how various technologies can be used in the classroom. He has included presentations on a wide range of topics including Interactive Whiteboards, Netbooks, Twitter, Google Earth, Google Docs, Webcams, and more. There is also some really good information on curriculum topics like math, science, writing, art and music.

A few examples...

Maybe you have a webcam and need some more ideas on how to use it:




Or maybe Wordle is more your thing:





Or maybe you want to find something fun to do with Google Search:





Each presentation gives teachers several ideas on ways to use the specific technology in their classroom or ways technology can support the specific content area. The presentations are short and offer some really good ideas. I guarantee that you will learn at least one new way to do something in your classroom, if not more.

So head on over to Mark's Ideas To Inspire Website and achieve Technology Greatness!


Mark Warner's Idea's To Inspire

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KWL ... FQR ....

Do you know what all those letters mean? In my mind they are great ways to support and encourage critical thinking.

A KWL chart is a three column chart that can be used to encourage interaction with a text before, during, and after reading. In a KWL chart, you lists things you Know, things you Want to know, and things you Learned.

A slight variation on the KWL chart is the FQR chart (facts, questions, response). My 4th grade students enjoyed working with this kind of chart. While you can have a printed chart (like the ones listed below), in class we often just folded a piece of notebook paper to make three columns. (We turned the notebook paper sideways and then folded the paper so the outside holes lined up with the middle hole.)

I will give you a quick description but the link to the explanation/description not only explains but also shows how the FQR Chart can be used. In the first column of the FQR Chart, children put facts they encounter as they read the text (this works especially in Social Studies and Science). In the second column, children put questions they have about what they are reading and questions they think of as they are reading. In the last column, children respond to the text they have read. This can be done by telling what they found interesting, telling what they did not understand, possibly answering some of the questions in the Q column, or even the things they thought of as they read the text.

Here are some various FQR Charts and information:

• FQR Chart
• FQR Chart Description/Explanation focusing on critical thinking
• FQR Chart with a Focus Question
• Ideas for using FQR with Nonfiction
• Lesson Plan using FQR for Determining Importance of Facts
• Three Charts and the Power of 3s
• Space Template Example
  
• OWL Chart (what you Observe, Wonder, Link to your life) is similar

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You Have a Classroom Solution: Now What?

So now your classroom has been setup with the new district solution. What does all of this stuff do you might be asking or rather what IS all of this new stuff? For now know that your school will have a member of the Instructional Technology Staff come out and do an in depth training on all items within your new Interactive Classroom. Let's take a look at what is involved in your new setup.

We have designated three designs of Interactive Classroom for the schools depending on the grade level you are teaching. If you are in the Middle or High Schools you will have an eInstruction Solution. If you are in an Elementary School you will either have a(n) SMARTClassroom or ActivClassroom Solution.

Each Classroom solution has similar items included, I will give a brief description of what everyone will have and then go into detail on what the differences are afterwards. All classrooms will have a Lightspeed classroom audio system. The system includes the deck unit which controls the volume for the computer as well as the two lapel microphones and the concert mic. Each classroom will also have desktop computer with flat panel monitor and USB hub that will be in the cart. This will allow you to not have to rely on one of your classroom computers to be the used in the cart at the front of the room. On the top of the cart you will have a Lumens Document Camera, which is the rounded Ladibug design and provides you with a myriad of additional integrating opportunities. Within the cart itself you have three areas, the upper area has a flip down panel which has two pull out trays and a storage area. On the bottom right is a smaller storage area where the computer is housed. On the left is the larger storage area with a pull out drawer and shelf where the sound deck is stored. When both lower doors are opened you will have access to a third pull out tray which provides an additional workspace.

Ok, now that we have discussed what is universal to each cart, let's take a look at what is not the same depending on your grade level. If you are in a Middle or High school you will have the eInstruction Classroom Solution which includes a Wall mounted LCD flat panel monitor, Mobi Interactive tablet and Pulse voting system(CPS).

If you are in the Elementary Schools there are two different models of solution choice. Some schools will have the SMARTClassroom solution which includes an Interactive White Board(IWB), SMART Airliner Interactive Tablet and SMART Response voting system.

The second option for Elementary Schools is the Promethean ActivClassroom. In this setup you will have the Interactive White Board, ActivSlate and Learner Response voting system(LRS).

There are handouts for each Classroom Solution available on the Curriculum Warehouse: Learning Village, located in the Curriculum sections Resource button. Also for our School Technology Facilitators the same information is in the Webportal in the Classroom Solutions folder under the Information for Technology Facilitators Link.

photos provided by: eInstruciton, SMART, Promethean

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A Teacher's Domain ...

... where is it and what is it?

I am not talking about a house, but a website. Teachers' Domain is a place where teachers can register for a free account and find all sorts of digital media for the classroom. Some of the resources that are featured are from: Nova, Nova Science Now, Cyberchase, Read Between the Lions, American Experience, and more. There is a What's New section, Featured Resources section, Special Collections, and you can browse by subject area. Teachers' Domain does offer professional development for a cost and it is through PBS Teacherline.

One of the areas that I looked at was English Language Arts. Two subject areas opened up: Reading and Viewing and Writing and Speaking. I chose to go into Reading and Viewing. There are over 300 resources in the Reading and Viewing section. There are lessons available, videos, interactive games, online books, and many more resources available to teachers. 

I looked at the first lesson that was on the list, Tiktaalik: A Fish Out of Water.  This is a student centered lesson, meaning that you can take the students to the computer lab, use a laptop cart, or computer in your classroom to have students do this self-paced lesson. There is a teacher guide that teachers can print out to see what students should learn in the lesson, vocabulary words, assessment ideas, strategies of the lesson, a summary of the lesson, and more. Teachers can also view the state standards that are met by delivering this lesson.

This is a great resource for teachers to put into their toolbox. All of the resources that I visited are free. I also think these would look great projected to an IWB for whole class instruction. If you haven't visited Teachers' Domain before, why don't you go and check it out. Registration is free.

Image is from: Teachers' Domain, Tiktaalik: A Fish Out of Water, published December 13, 2010, retrieved on April 21, 2011, http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/midlit10.sci.spltransition/

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Explore the Universe With The World Wide Telescope

I wanted to revisit the World Wide Telescope by Microsoft because it is such an amazing resource. I wrote a blog about the WWT when it first came out back on May 23rd of 2008. The high resolution images are captured from the Hubble Space Telescope, Chandra X-Ray Observatory, Spitzer Space Telescope and other image capturing devices using different wavelengths such as the visual spectrum we see, infrared, x-ray and others. The combined images allow you to use your computer as a virtual telescope and in essence a web browser for the universe. Once opened, you can click on any of the collections along the top. The choices available are constellations, our solar system, Hubble, Chandra or Spitzer images and other collections. There is a drop down in the lower left area for viewing images of Earth, the planets, the sky or panoramas. Another drop down to the right of that are choices within your selection. So for example if you choose Earth from the left drop down, you can choose Earth at night, Earth aerial or other options.
Once you’ve made your selection, you can zoom in or out by scrolling the mouse wheel, press and hold the left mouse button to drag your field of view or right click an object to see information about it.
Several menus are along the top. Click on “Guided Tours” to choose from 16 folders. Each folder includes several video tours of nebulas, galaxies, planets, black holes, supernovas, star clusters and other interesting objects in the space around us. These videos are very enjoyable. Click on “Community” to access and join up to three different star gazing and space exploration communities.
Another incredible option is the ability to connect and control your telescope from the WWT program. You can either download the WWT program on your home computer or run the web client http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/help/SupportHelp.aspx. Both are free and well worth the time spent exploring the universe. Microsoft also has a program called WWT Mars.
I would like to continue telling you about this wonderful resource but I feel the need to explore. So sit back, buckle up, warp into space and enjoy the ride as you explore the universe from the comfort of your computer. Star Trek uniforms are optional. Live long and warp speed.

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Do you need to teach Reading? Writing? Thinking?

The ReadWriteThink website is a great place for teachers to find resources and ideas. ReadWriteThink is partners with the International Reading Association (IRA), National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), and Thinkfinity. ReadWriteThink offers Classroom Resources, Professional Development, as well as Parent and Afterschool Resources. There are a number of Student Interactives available to support learning. This morning on twitter, I saw a tweet about one of those Student Interactives called FlipBook.

Here is the overview describing FlipBook:
The Flip Book is designed to allow users to type and illustrate tabbed flip books up to ten pages long. Students and teachers can use the flip book for taking notes while reading, making picture books, collecting facts, or creating question and answer booklets. Students can choose from nine different layouts for the pages of their books (shown left). A blank flip book is available for demonstration and planning.

I think FlipBook is a neat idea and I enjoy looking at the sample book, but I found myself wondering: What are some ways teachers and students could use a resource like FlipBook?
I continued looking at the page where I found the overview and was pleased to find lessons for various grade levels that use this interactive.

Here are a few of the lessons that caught my attention:

• Shared Poetry Reading: Teaching Print Concepts, Rhyme, and Vocabulary (grades k-2)



• Using Children’s Natural Curiosity to Lead to Descriptive Writing (grades k-2)
  


• Question and Answer Books--From Genre Study to Report Writing (grades 3-5)



• Characters in Because of Winn-Dixie: Making Lists of Ten (grades 3-5)
  


• A “Cay”ribbean Island Study (grades 4-7)



• When I Was Young In...A Literature to Language Experience (grades 6-8)



• Swish! Pow! Whack! Teaching Onomatopoeia Through Sports Poetry (grades 6-8)



• Students as Creators: Exploring Multimedia (grades 6-8)



• Blogtopia: Blogging about Your Own Utopia (grades 9-12)
  

image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/35240403@N02/3857853340/

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Web Tools for Brainstorming

Brainstorming can take all shapes while developing an idea. Students used to get excited when you asked for ideas about a topic and they saw those ideas written on a piece of paper or on the board and how they were all connected. Some still brainstorm that way. Computer programs like Kidspiration and Inspiration have made brainstorming on curriculum topics even easier - visually and connecting to ideas on the web. More resources have been made available through the internet and as our District has increased the numbers of SMARTBoards and ActivBoards in the classrooms, more student interactivity accompanies each developing idea.

While preparing to present at conferences and helping teachers find more resources to help develop 21st Century skills, I've found several tools worth checking out. Some of my favorites are:

Bubbl.us

Corkboard.me

Mindmeister

Wallwisher

Most all of the online, brainstorming tools now are free. Some do ask you to register, but it isn't required. I like being able to work with others and see the changes and additions as they happen.

Here are links to a blog post of the Top 5 Web 2.0 Brainstorming Tools and take a look at the Brainstorming page in our Student Online Collaboration livebinder. Have fun brainstorming on one of your favorite topics and let me know which program you liked the best or share one of your own.

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Sign eInstruction's Pledge To Go Paperless On Earth Day

If you sign eInstruction's pledge to go paperless on Earth Day, you will be entered to win a Pulse CPS classroom set http://forms.einstruction.com/forms/earthday?redirect_src=/pledge. If you use the CPS in your classroom, you will never have to use paper to make copies of the tests for your students again. Nor will you have to create answer sheets or use the costly Scantron sheets. You can have the students answer each question together or let them take the test at their own pace. You can also create multiple versions of the same test. One of the best features of CPS is that the test is graded as soon as the last student finishes their test. CPS is not solely used for taking tests. It can be used to review before a test or to review after the test. The Classroom Performance System can be used to get a sense of how the students feel about a topic that is being discussed in the class. The structure of learning is pyramid in nature. In other words, if students don't understand what they learned today, they will be lost in tomorrow's lesson. Asking the students if they have any questions about what they learned today, will most likely not reveal the true nature of what they don’t understand. The CPS can be used very effectively to accurately know if they are ready to move on or not. This can be done by having them answer 10 questions or so. If the questions are not graded, there is no pressure and their answers will be honest. Another way to involve your students in the learning is to create a Challenge Board in CPS. It is similar to a Jeopardy Game. You can break your class into teams and bring out their competitive nature. Save a tree and help reduce the paper budget but more importantly have fun and make your assessments be more effective.


The winner will be notified by email on April 21st.

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The 3D Interactive Solar System

A couple of days ago a colleague posted a link to a website that offered a view of the Solar System. I was skeptical at first needless to say, thinking that it might not be a really educator friendly website. Boy was I surprised.

The site Solar System Scope(SSS) is a 3D interactive website that allows you to explore all there is in our solar system from the planets individually to Saturn's rings to the Constellations.

When you go to the site initially and just let the page load you will notice that the site seems to be moving on its own, changing views and showing different information on its own. The site is set up, so that it will seem to from what I gather, to demo each area of the websites option choices for viewing. Once you click on the site you are then able to interact with the Menus, planets and other objects on the screen.

Along the left side of the webpage there are three tabs that allow you to interact with the site in different ways. In the first tab you will find the Cursor Info Texts which define what each of the cursor identities are. You will also find the Hand icon that allows you to; of course, interact with items on the page. The second tab shows you the different views that you can see while using the page. These affect the broad views of the entire webpage unlike the Hand icon interacting with individual items. The view types are Heliocentric, Geocentric and Panoramatic. The third tab gives you the Setting information and Search features of the site. You can change the Planet and Moon, Stars and Constellations, Earth Observatory, Time and Reset settings from the tab. You can find a Planet or Moon, Star or Constellation or find a Specific Time in the Search features.

On the right side of the page you have a slide ruler that allows you to zoom in and out within the viewing area. Along the bottom of the page is the Time and Date Calendar. If you hover over either of the items you will see a clock or calendar for you to change settings. Then there is a Start, Fast Forward and Fast Rewind time buttons where you can see the solar system in action.

Lastly up in the top right hand corner of the screen you can change the Language, hide the interface button. Then you can use the Arrow button and/or the Space bar to change you out to the full screen mode and back.

The site looks great and the possibilities are limitless on how you can use it in your classroom. It would also be a great tool to use with your Interactive White Board to show the solar system on a larger screen where your students can come up and touch the board and move things around and make things happen. In just a few days that I have known about the site I have shared it with a number of teachers at the Elementary school level and all of them have really been excited to see it and use it.

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The Connected Administrator

Most schools and districts spend lot of time and effort trying to get their teachers up to speed on technology and its use/place in the classroom. And honestly that is where a majority of effort should be spent; working with those on the frontlines of instruction. However, rarely, if ever, is much time spent with administrators, working with them on ways they use technology to enhance what they are doing. What can administrators do?

I have put together what I am calling The Administrators Technology Toolkit. There are some simple, easy to use tools that Administrators can be using right now to, just like teachers, integrate technology into what they do daily.

I have created a presentation and some additional information that either you, as an administrator can use to jump start your digital self or you can pass long to your administrator and help them start or finish their

journey.

Here is the presentation:

And here is the site with loads more information.

So if you are an Administrator, check it out. If you know an Administrator, pass it long, help them out and get them started on their own Digital Journey.

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NCVPS OCS Blended Learning Courses

Here is a wonderful opportunity for your OCS students. NCVPS offers 5 courses: OCS English 1, OCS English 2, OCS Algebra 1, OCS Biology and OCS Applied Science. The NCVPS teacher works very closely with your face 2 face OCS teacher in these courses. The EC teacher drives the instruction, owns the grade and enters it into NC Wise. The NCVPS teacher supplies the course content which follows the essential standards. The course content was created by classroom teachers from across the state, course content experts, and OCS & EC teachers. The courses focus on engagement and interaction for the visual, auditory etc type of student. The NCVPS teacher differentiates and individualizes the curriculum based on the needs of the students. Each course is created just for the EC teacher and their students in that specific school. Before a school registers students, the school and the OCS teacher should be willing to teach the courses in the Blended Learning environment.

Counties from all over the state are involved in these courses. If you decide to enroll students in these courses, you would need to complete a short online survey in which they ask you the course you want, estimated number of students and the face 2 face teacher that will be involved.
All OCS f2f teachers will need to go through an approximate two hour online training prior to the Fall semester start on August 25, 2011. Teachers will be able to decide when they want to complete the training but all f2f teachers will need to complete this training prior to the start of Fall semester. The training will be available by May 15.
The NCVPS OCS Blending Learning courses require a true co-teaching experience where the f2f teacher is driving the instructional decisions while working daily with the NCVPS content teacher. The NCVPS teacher will help the classroom teacher individualize and differentiate the instruction for each student but the NCVPS teacher does not deliver the instruction real time to the students. The f2f teacher does this but they will have planned using the online content, the teachers own resources, and the NCVPS teacher to determine the best way to teach the content to the students.
This partner teaching is the most critical piece for schools to understand. The NCVPS teacher will not be providing daily direct instruction; this responsibility rests with the classroom OCS teacher. The online content provides archived teaching sessions that can be used, but the daily instructional decisions are driven by the classroom teacher who plans daily, through an asynchronous document, with her partner NCVPS teacher
Distance Learning Advisors may enroll students into the OCS Blended Learning courses starting on April 5th. The DLA's will see the five courses listed in the registrations system, beginning with the OCS prefix. DLA’s will then register students into the course. At this time, the school DLA will not see a specific section for his or her school. DLA's will only see OCSBlendedAlgebraI, OCSBlendedEnglishI, etc. Eventually, in the registration system, NCVPS will break out the school by course so that it will be the course will be identified with your school name in the title such as this: OCSBlendedDistrictSchoolOCSCourseName. DLA's will only see these sections once registration closes and closer to the start of the Fall semester. DLA's will be asked to provide the name of the OCS classroom teacher for each course before August 2011. DLA's will be contacted by email in order to provide this information. The five course sections (OCS English I, OCS English II, OCS Algebra I, OCS Biology, and OCS Applied Science) will remain open until all the available seats are taken.
If you have any questions about the NCVPS OCS Blended Learning program, please contact Michelle Lourcey (michelle.lourcey@ncpublicschools.gov) Curriculum and Instruction Division Director.

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Exploring Some STEM Resources

Having a strong Reading and Language Arts background, I don't normally share many resources for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). I have decided that needs to change. I need to explore those resources more myself.

I am going to start my journey by gathering a list of possible STEM resources for me to explore and share. I think Thinkfinity would be a good place for me to start. If you have some good STEM resources, please let me know!

Here are some Resources and Tools I found:

• Invention at Play from the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation (How many different ways can you help the ball reach its goal?). This reminds me of Fantastic Contraption.


• Weekly Science Updates "Quirky, entertaining and informative, these 60-second features cover the latest discoveries in science, technology and medicine."


• Patch Tool from Illuminations (grade PreK-5) Spin, flip, and snap together the shapes to fill in the outline with geometric figures.


• Marble Mania from Science NetLinks (grade 3-5) "The randomness and probability of marbles being pulled out of a "bag" are calculated automatically and for trials up to 500."


• Calculation Nation from Illuminations (grade 3-9) Play math strategy games to challenge yourself or test your skills against other online competitors.


• Coolest Engineering Job Ever! from Xpeditions (Resource): "Tony Baxter is Senior Vice President of Creative Development for Walt Disney Imagineering, A.K.A. Chief Imagineer. Read how he was inspired by the hoodoo geologic formations of Bryce Canyon, Utah, to design the popular Thunder Mountain ride, and how other aspects of Disney parks reflect thematic geography."


• Geography Action!: Mapping Europe from Xpeditions (grade K-12): "Students K-12 learn fundamentals of mapping and data-layering in these pre-GIS activities. The continent of Europe is the context for analyzing cultural and environmental data, from animals and protected areas, to tourism, to acid rain. Learners of all ages will have fun assembling and interacting with giant maps of Europe; educators will love watching students work collaboratively to interpret charts and develop map keys and symbols."

Here are some Lesson Plans I found:

• Powerful Patterns: Playing with Patterns from Illuminations (grade PreK-2) "Create repeating patterns using the interactive Shape Tool, and then recreate them with your voice, your movements, or other objects."


• How Does My Garden Grow? Writing in Science Field Journals from ReadWriteThink (grade K-2) "Students work together to plant a garden and then record their observations in"


• Animal Adaptations from Science NetLinks (grade 3-5) "Students visit a website to learn about how animals adapt and hold classroom discussions about whether or not the animals have adapted well to their natural habitats."


• What Does a Scientist Do? from Science NetLinks (grade 6-8) "Students develop an understanding of the diversity and nature of various science disciplines."


• Don’t Freeze the Engine from Illuminations (grade 9-12) "Do you know enough about percents to find the right mixture of antifreeze to prevent freezing?"

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Let's Talk Shapes ...

...Shapes Tool for ActivInspire

I really like the Shapes tool in ActivInspire. There are so many things you can do with it besides just drawing shapes. You can create over 40 different shapes using the shapes toolbar. Click on the Shape Tool, then click on the double arrow at the bottom of the shape toolbar to see more shapes and lines. To add color to your shape, choose one of the colors in the color box above the shapes (the one highlighted in blue). To change the color of your outside line of the shape, select a color from the color box on the regular toolbar (the one highlighted in red).

When you click on a shape, a toolbar opens up. With this toolbar, you can move and rotate the shape. The 4th button in (looks like a sun), allows you to set the transparency of the shape. The button that looks like 2 pieces of paper lets you duplicate your shape. The next 2 buttons that look like stars increases and decreases the size of your shape. The last button changes the shape. The one below has rounded corners, by clicking on the last button I can change the shape to a round shape or square shape. Once you click on that button, 2 small yellow boxes appear. Click on the yellow boxes to change the shape or change which way the bubble points. If I choose one of the star shapes, the small yellow box that appears allows me to change the star; expand the points, change the type of the shape, etc.

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Did U Know: Doc Cams and Other Software

As you know I have been sharing a few things lately about Document Cameras with you and today is not unlike the others.

I have a new feature tool that you can utilize which you may not have thought about or had even known could really be done.

Did you know that you could take the displayed content directly from the doc cam and place it into any one of a number of different software packages that you may currently have loaded on your computer? Now I have to preface this by saying that I am a PC guy and cannot guarantee that any of the information that follows will work with a Mac. If there is anyone out there that has tried these please share them so what we can all be informed. As well I have verified just the software packages below will allow for this to occur, please share if you have accomplished this with additional software and I will update my posts.

Now it does not matter whether or not you have an Interactive White Board (#IWB) just that you at least have a computer/laptop, a doc cam and a digital projector to perform the following functions.

Within the eInstruction Workspace, ActivInspire, SMARTBoard and Office Products (Word, Excel and Power Point) you are able to insert the doc cam display directly into the product in an image format. The feature for the most part is part of the Insert Menu on all of the products in one way or another. When you choose the Insert Menu item and the Scanner/Camera option you are asked to import from a specific device. Depending on what type of doc cam you have hooked up to the computer/laptop will determine what you choose from the listed items. Here is a sample listing for some of the doc cam models on the market.

Lumens:
DC130, 150, 155, 160, 162 and 210 choose Visual Presenter V1 Twain
DC166, 260 and 265 choose Visual Presenter V2 Twain

AverMedia:
300P and 300AF+ choose Visual Presenter V1 Twain

Dukane:
210 and 335 choose Visual Presenter V1 Twain

Embedded below are the steps per software package on how to Insert the displayed image directly into the listed software packages.

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Need Videos for Your Curriculum?

It seems that most of the time when we think about using a video to go along with our lesson, YouTube pops into our minds. I know it is probably the most popular website for videos, but it really causes concern for teachers and school districts because of the inappropriate content available to anyone and everyone. WS/FCS blocks YouTube in our district like so many other school districts.

WS/FCS has two fantastic, educational paid solutions, Learn360 and netTrekker, for teachers to find video. They are correlated with the NCSCOS and many examples have already been linked inside the lessons in Learning Village. The videos within both applications have been checked out by educators and are approved by our District because they follow CIPA guidelines.  Along with these two wonderful resources, maybe you would like to check out a few additions and/or alternatives that have been approved by our Software Clearinghouse:

 
Great educational site with videos, images, and other Teacher Resources

        Wonderful site where you can browse categories, find Educator Resources, watch and upload videos, and much more.


Kid's video site, filtered and has two rules - be kind, positive, and encouraging with comments and NO profanity



Although there are many choices out on the web, why not try using one of these to compliment your next lesson?

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Video Killed the Radio Star

In a bit of irony Steven (@web20classroom) was talking to me the other day about creating some short video tech tips that we can post and share out with the district. I said that I thought it would be a great idea. Little did I know that I would be the guinea pig in this project. Although I have plenty of years standing in front of small groups of 15 to 30 people with as many as 75 sometimes, this is something that would probably go out to many more people and would increase my digital foot print immensely. Thus causing me more anxiety than I previously thought, but I digress.

So I stressed a little bit about doing it and reluctantly said that I would dive in and be the first person to share a tech tip. So what was the topic going to be? Why not using Document Cameras with Skype. It is something that I have passion for and have learned a lot about, so I said yes lets create the video. Now the stress level kicked in. What if I mess up, or don't talk loud enough, maybe I will butcher the steps to set things up and ruined things for some people to set up their doc cam as a webcam for Skype.

Finally today hit and it was down to the wire and we needed to get going on creating the video. I mulled around for a while and finally got cornered and it was time to start filming. Surprisingly enough things went very well and we got the tech tip in on one take. So how do I feel about it, I feel great about it and will definitely do it again, so look out for more videos from not only me and @web20classroom but from the rest of the crew here at WS/FC DIT Department.

Oh, I almost forgot, here is the link to the video for our first WSFCS DIT tech tip.

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Working With Textblocks In Interwrite Workspace

When working with text blocks in Interwrite Workspace I noticed that the length of the text lines were fixed to a short length. This happens whether or not you type the text or paste it in. I called eInsrtuction to ask if there was something obvious I was missing. The eInstruction representative noted the problem but did not have a solution. By playing around I found how to increase the width of the text block. Double click the text block if you are not in the text edit mode. Place your cursor on the right side of the text block. The arrow will change into a short left/right arrow. Drag the text box to the right to make it the desired width. This alone will not make the text box wider. You have to then click the right edge of the text box to make the text box stretch to that width.

The icons in the textblock window starting from the left are clone text, split sentence into words, change color, font name, font size, bold, italic, underline, left justify, center justify, right justify, bullet list and the onscreen keyboard.

I hope this helps.

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It's All About the Tools ...

... ActivInspire Toolbox that is. 

The main toolbox consists of several different buttons. Below is a picture that describes the different parts of the main toolbox. This image is taken from the Introduction to ActivInspire flipchart.

At the top of the toolbox is a button that allows you to "Switch Profile". The default profile is Authoring. That is the toolbox you see above. The first one is At The Board profile. This makes your screen go full screen for teaching purposes. It allows you more real estate in which to write or show your lesson. Another profile is Languages. This changes to toolbox to add spell check, go to web browser, on-screen keyboard, and other items to the toolbox. The Mathematics profile adds a ruler, protractor, compass, dice, xy origin, and calculator to the toolbox. The Media profile adds a camera, sound recorder, and insert media from file icon. I love how you can add different items to your toolbox simply by changing your profile.

The Languages profile allows you to create a tickertape that you can put important messages to scroll across your board. You can change font, color, speed, size, etc. This would be great when you are showing a morning message or something that students need to see during your lesson.  Above is an image of the tickertape. When it is live, it scrolls across the screen until you stop it.

To add tools to your toolbox: Click on the Main Menu button (see above), click on File, Settings, Commands. Scroll down until you find the tool you want to add to your toolbox, click on it and click Add.

To move the toolbox: Click on Main Menu, File, Settings, Layout, dock the toolbox where you want it. For example, dock top, dock bottom, dock left, dock right, or leave it floating. If you have younger students, you may want to dock the toolbox on the bottom in order for them to reach it.

Another way to choose where you want the toolbox to be is to click on the first button (see image below):  


Stay tuned for more information on what some of the tools can do in the toolbox. One of my favorites is the shapes tool. But then, that is a whole different post.

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All about Poetry ....

Inaugurated by the Academy of American Poets in 1996, National Poetry Month is now held every April, when publishers, booksellers, literary organizations, libraries, schools and poets around the country band together to celebrate poetry and its vital place in American culture. Thousands of businesses and non-profit organizations participate through readings, festivals, book displays, workshops, and other events.

(From Poets.org)

In case you were not aware ... April is National Poetry Month. Since we are celebrating the poetry genre this month, I thought I would share some poetry resources that I have used in the past or recently discovered to share with other educators.

• Thinkfinity Resources for National Poetry Month


• Classic Poetry Pages share poems and analysis of them. For example, on the page that goes along with Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken" you can find the poem and information about the meaning of the poem, the poetic devices, and how personification is used in that poem.


• Famous Poets and Poems is a free poetry site dedicated to people who write and read poetry.


• Scholastic's Writing with Writers: Poetry page allows you to study the genre of poetry by taking part in step-by-step workshops with favorite authors like Jack Prelutsky, Karla Kuskin, and Jean Marzallo.


• Poetry Pathfinders is a LiveBinder sharing resources for elementary school classroom divided by grade levels.


• "Let's Celebrate Poetry!" on the BigUniverse Blog shares some links to poetry books you can find on BigUniverse


• Poetry Resources can also be found in this LiveBinder


• ReadWriteThink Resources for Poetry Month (check out WordMover along with the other great resources listed)


• Favorite Poem Project


• Playful Poetry Books to Share Podcast


• Poetry Across the Sciences from Science NetLinks


• National Poetry Month from Poets.org (What is national poetry month? 30 ways to celebrate, Celebration Highlights, A Poem in your Pocket Day, 30 poems 30 days, Poetry and the Creative Mind, Poem-A-Day, Spring Booklist ...)

image from Poets.com

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Skype In The Classroom

Skype is a valuable tool that many teachers are discovering can break down the walls of their classroom. In our department we have been doing several workshops to get teachers started with Skype and how they can connect their classroom to the outside world. Haven't been able to attend a workshop or do you need more information? Here are several resources to get started using Skype in your classroom:

First, what is Skype?

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The Skype In Schools Livebinder: This is a great resource that has tons of information on getting started with Skype, various projects you can take part in and ideas on how to get connected.

Skype in Schools

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Did you know you can use your document camera as a webcam for Skype calls? Amazing I know! Here is a great post that lays it all out for you and gives some pointers to make it really work well.

Looking for a reason to get started? This post explains why using Skype can transform teaching and learning in your classroom.

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Official Skype In Education- Recently the folks over at Skype launched the Skype In Education Project. What they are trying to do is make it easier for educators to connect their classrooms. It is simply a directory. You sign up using your classroom Skype account. Once there you fill out some information like where you are, grades, subjects, etc. You can also add any special projects you are working on. Then Skype matches you up with other classrooms you might be interested in talking to. You can also find neat projects to take part in like a virtual yoga class, debates, reading clubs and more.

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I have more Skype resources here that you can explore.

How are you using Skype? What do you see as the benefits? Drawbacks? How has it changed the way you teach. Leave us some comments below.

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