TechTalk

ISTE 2011 begins: Hello from Philadelphia

2011-06-27T13:03:00.000-05:00

Another year has passed, and it's time once again for the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) conference. I've been to several ISTE conferences (many when it was known as NECC), and each one leaves me feeling overwhelmed, enthusiastic, and frustrated.
Overwhelmed? With hundreds of vendors and sessions and posters and playgrounds, it's impossible to cover it all in a few days. Fortunately, ISTE has an iPhone app that allows me to select a few sessions during each time slot so that if one is full, I have a backup plan. More and more of the sessions are BYOL (bring your own laptop), and those must be reserved in advance. Those are my FAVORITES!

Enthusiastic? Oh, gosh! So many websites, applications, people willing to share what they do--I can't help but be recharged. There's always someone with far more technology than we have in our district (and that's when I get technology-envy), but there are also those with far less who still manage to do remarkable things.

Frustrated? You bet. How can I share this with all of you who can't be here? You'd LOVE this stuff.

So, as I have done before, I'm going to write about the highlights of the conference. Sometimes I might just give you are URL to check out. Other times, I'll share some of the discussion or commentary. If you see something interesting, let me know. Perhaps we can work together on getting this going in your classroom or at your school. It doesn't start with me, you know. It starts with you. :-)

Tech Talk's March Talk Back Question

2011-03-01T15:32:00.002-06:00

A recent article in the Huffington Post (Jan. 24, 2011) caught our attention. Shaun Johnson, an assistant professor of elementary education, asked this question: What if we treated doctors the way we treat teachers? His thought-providing parable prompts us to ask you:

In our data-driven world, what technology tools have actually been most beneficial to you in your efforts to meet the needs of your students?

Instructions for Commenting: To add your response, simply click the word Comment below this box.

•(Review any comments already posted on the left-side of the page.)
•Type your response into the box on the right-side.
•Scroll down and type in the verification word (which tells us that you are not a spamming robot).
•Select Name and identify yourself OR make up a name and remain anonymous.
•Click Publish Your Post once.

Tech Talk's December/January Talk Back Question

2010-12-01T11:43:00.005-06:00

Imagine this: Santa appears at your classroom door with a gift certificate for $100 to purchase a technology-related item for your classroom. First, what would it be, and second, how would you use it?

One lucky commenter will have his or her Christmas wish fulfilled! The winner will be selected from all eligible entries posted by Dec. 17, 2010, at 5:00 PM.

Eligible comments . . .

Must clearly identify poster as certified teacher employed by the St. Mary Parish School Board.
Must answer both questions listed above (one comment per participant, please).
Should be creative, thoughtful, bold, unusual, well-written—make your entry outstanding!

If you need a fast review, the October and November TalkBack posts on this blog (see menu on right) include commenting instructions. Remember, your comments will not appear right away. Be patient, and don’t resubmit!

Tech Talk's November TalkBack Question

2010-11-01T13:39:00.003-05:00

After reading the Top Five Tech Myths, what is your reaction? Are there other barriers to using technology in the classroom that weren't mentioned in the article?

(NOTE: If you are on this page, you have taken the first step toward Web 2.0 fluency--you have visited a blog! Now, take the next step--write a response or AT LEAST take the survey. It's easy and relatively painless once you take that first step.)

Instructions for Commenting: To add your response, simply click the word Comment below this box.

(Review any comments already posted on the left-side of the page.)
Type your response into the box on the right-side.
Scroll down and type in the verification word (which tells us that you are not a spamming robot).
Select Name and identify yourself OR make up a name and remain anonymous.
Click Publish Your Post once.

Your comment WILL NOT appear right away. As a safety measure, we are using the Moderate feature to review your submission before it is released to public viewing. This tool prevents advertisers from trying to post unrelated comments. Your comment should appear within an hour or so.

Survey Results - GlowDay.com

Tech Talk's October TalkBack Question

2010-10-01T11:56:00.020-05:00

What is the best technology-supported lesson you have ever used in the classroom?

Teachers don’t often have the opportunity to visit other classrooms and other schools, so we are sometimes unaware of great things going on across the district. Remember that day when everything worked and your students were so excited about the technology and the lesson? Please share that day with us. We’ll be glad you did!

To add your success story, simply click the word "comment" below this box.

(Review any comments already posted on the left-side of the page.)
Type your story into the box on the right-side.
Scroll down and type in the verification word (which tells us that you are not a spamming robot).
Select Name and identify yourself. (You are free to use only a portion of your name.)
Click Publish Your Post once.

Your comment WILL NOT appear right away. We are using the Moderate feature which requires us to review your submission and release it if it is appropriate, which we are sure it will be. This tool prevents advertisers from trying to post unrelated comments. Your comment should appear within an hour or so.

Thanks in advance for sharing your story about successful classroom technology integration. We look forward to reading your comments!

Quick Poll

2010-09-12T12:07:00.002-05:00

Survey Results - GlowDay.com

ISTE 2010--Tuesday Afternoon

2010-06-29T15:28:00.008-05:00

After a delicious lunch provided by the folks at SchoolCenter, I attended another BYOL (Bring Your Own Laptop) session called "Getting Your Message Across: Exploring New Online Website Editors." Anastasia Treckles and Helen Jancich of Purdue University at Calumet shared several tools for publishing online that they discovered in part through their students in an Instructional Technology masters degree program.

• SquareSpace (http://www.squarespace.com/): Free for a 14 day trial, SquareSpace has an iPhone/iPad app that allows mobile updating; it can also aggregate data from social networks, and the display adjusts for small screens.

• Google Sites (http://sites.google.com/ ): If you have a Gmail account, you can easily start a free Google site. The interface is not really intuitive, but there are lots of training videos to support the site. Recently, blog functionality has been added, as well as the ability to create forms (linked to Google Docs spreadsheet). Many gadgets are available to add to your site.

• Wix.com (http://www.wix.com/ ) This site offers free flash-based website creation; it give your web designs a more modern look. There are no ads, even on the free version, but a Wix bar appears at the bottom of each page. Because it is flash-based, it won't work on Apple devices, and it may require more virtual memory during editing. These sites are not ADA compatible since reading devices are not supported, so you might want to add a print-off if this is an issue.

• Doodlekit.com (http://www.doodlekit.com/): Doodlekit includes photo album options and blog capabilities, as well as discussion board and shopping cart add-ons for a fee. However, the site appears to have problems on Apple devices, and there are reports of crashes in Firefix and Safari. There are a few ads in the free version.

• Jotform (http://www.jotform.com/ ): Jotform supports the creation of simple forms to collect data; results are emailed to the specified email address. Even the free account allows for the storage of forms you have used.

• Prezi (http://www.prezi.com/ ): This site provides users with the ability to create and store animated presentations by establishing a timeline to focus attentions on images, words, or sentences on each slide. Using the keyword search, users can also view and download shared presentations. There is also a fee-based desktop download that allows offline edition. Selecting the educational use option provides users with free downloading and more storage.

These sites can be used for student portfolios, for storing presentations, for connecting with parents, for organizing events, and even for limited online collaboration. Although some sites offer Web 2.0 features like blogging, these are not social networking sites, and student identities can be protected.

ISTE 2010--Tuesday Morning

2010-06-29T10:47:00.004-05:00

This morning started early with a breakfast hosted by Learning.com with guest speaker Dr. Patricia Agatston, co-author of Cyber Bullying: Bullying in the Digital Age. Her presentation was very impressive and research-based. Dr. Agatston focused on online high-risk behaviors, which she directly correlated to face-to-face high risk behaviors. She also stressed teaching positive online behaviors rather than using scare tactics as a means of reaching most students. As an attendee at this session, I will be receiving a video of her presentation, which I will share with you if you request it. I actually prefer this methodology, which is part of Learning.com's EasyTech Online Safety component to the material offered by iSafe, but I will be checking out the curriculum today when I visit the company's Exhibition Hall booth.

After breakfast, I popped into a Promethean instructional session, one of the many being offered every half hour here. McGraw-Hill has joined with Promethean to provide digital math support for K-6, with 7-12 coming in the fall. CINCH Mathematics provides options for teacher planning, as well as home access for student support. This math program looks like the direction that instruction is taking and is available on a subscription basis.

The CINCH program creates slides for instruction based on a teacher's selections, provides onscreen manipulatives, allows integration of Promethean software options and inclusion of other online resources such as videos or other websites--all in a seamless presentation that does not require a teacher to open a new window or leave the site. The goal is to present a chunk of information and then provide an opportunity for formative assessment (using ActiVotes or ActivExpressions) to allow the teacher to determine if he or she should continue or reteach a section. After a day's lesson, a teacher can customize an online session or homework assignment based on the student responses, individualizing assignments down to each student's needs.

Finally, since CINCH allows teacher to combine elements from different traditional textbook chapters, CINCH provides customizable subtopic quizzes that can be printed or completed online. They will also be adding tests that can be completed using ActiVotes or Expressions in the upcoming months, as well as adding more interactive activities to the CINCH slides.

Tuesday Morning's Site Suggestion: coming soon

ISTE 2010--Monday Afternoon (Late)

2010-06-28T20:22:00.000-05:00

No time for lunch! There's simply too much to see and do!

At ISTE 2010, BYOL (Bring Your Own Laptop) events are free but require advance registration to receive a ticket. My first BYOL session was entitled "Free and Easy Bibliography: Scaffolding Student Research with Zotero."

Zotero is a free Mozilla Firefox extension that I've been toying with for about a year. Developed by the Center for History and New Media through a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, this open source application can be used to simplify the process of collecting data from online and digital courses, of creating bibliography entries, and of inserting citations into documents (via add-ins for Microsoft Word). And, if I'm not mistaken, the presenter Trevor Owens was instrumental in its development.

This session gave me the push I needed to begin offering professional development in Zotero use. Since the library of resources created in Zotero is stored locally, I was particularly intrigued by the idea that students could use the portable version of Firefox on a flash drive if needed. I promise you will see Zotero introduced in our district in the fall. Thanks, Trevor!

The last session I attended today provided me with an unanticipated surprise. I stumbled into "Modern Web Design: A Door to Your Students' World" when my first choice session was unavailable, and I met Peggy Fisher (no relation to Leslie!), an enthusiastic teacher who shared her use of Microsoft's Expression Web to create web pages for a variety of classroom activities. She was supported in her efforts by Patricia Phillips, a teacher support specialist for Microsoft. Surprisingly, Patricia explained how I could get Expression Web and associated curriculum resources FREE for every district school. Since FrontPage has been discontinued, I assure you that St. Mary Parish teachers will have access to Expression Web to use with students just as soon as I can arrange for it. Check it out, and let me know what you think? Thanks so much, Peggy and Patricia!

The day ended with my first visit to the Exhibition Hall. I will post video tomorrow in this spot that shows you how immense this place--where vendors come to show educational technology folks their products--truly is. I know that I will never be able to visit them all, but I will take notes on new interventions and products that could find their way into your classroom.

I'm off now to a few receptions hosted by vendors. Getting to know them often opens doors to introducing new products for classroom use. It will probably be a late night, but Denver has a great transportation system that allows safe travel even at night.

ISTE 2010--Monday Afternoon (Early)

2010-06-28T19:30:00.005-05:00

I know I can see Leslie Fisher at LACUE every December, but I just couldn’t resist seeing her at ISTE 2010. She is a dynamic presenter, and I was fairly certain that she had updated her presentation called “The iPod Touch/iPhone Application Support Group for 2010.”

Sure enough, Leslie has been dutifully analyzing apps as they are released, culling through them to suggest to her audience fun and (sometimes!) educational additions. However, even when the apps are for personal productivity or just for enjoyment, every app we use connects us to the type of technology our students are using, providing us with a bridge toward dialogue and understanding.

You can visit her site for most of them, but here are some she highlighted:
• Evernote: An oldie, this one allows you to create notes (written and audio) and sync them to the web, making them accessible on your PC, too.
• iVideoCamera: If you have an older phone, this app gives you a video capabilities at 10 frames/second.
• UStream: Video capture and broadcasting
• Smugmug: For geocaching!
• Ocarina: Turns your phone into a musical instrument.
• Balloonimals Lite: Use your iPhone microphone to blow balloons and create animals.
• iMagnifier: Use your iPhone to magnify that restaurant menu—good for aging eyes
• Dropbox for iPhone: Links your desktop Dropbox to your iPhone or iPad.

And, yes—of course—Leslie has an iPad, and she included apps that work in her presentation. I imagine that by LACUE 2010, she will have a presentation that focuses on iPad apps alone!

ISTE 2010--Monday Morning

2010-06-28T18:54:00.002-05:00

ISTE 2010 provides bus transportation every 15 minutes or so from area hotels, making the trip each day much faster. Upon arrival today, I first explored the Poster area near the front of this monstrous complex called the Colorado Convention Center.

These particular displays change every day, and today’s posters share projects that have won HP (Hewlett Packard) grants. The “posters” are actually informal presentations with examples of student work, outcomes of the programs instituted, resources created, and data collected as part of the grant Seriously, many of you are doing project like this in your classrooms. The difference is that in most cases, the grants were funded to those that showed collaborative efforts, especially when the idea became a whole school project. I was a relief and excited to see that their work was really something that could be accomplished, even in our district schools.

I then moved on to a SIG (Special Interest Group) meeting for Online Learning (SIGOL). There are so many SIGs that form smaller groups of the ISTE family, and even if you are not an ISTE member, you can access the SIG wikis that provide information specifically designed for that group. The SIG meetings provide an opportunity to network and are similar to birds-of-a-feather sessions. This link contains a list of many ISTE SIGs, and here are a few wiki links you might want to explore:

SIGMS for Media Specialists
SIGOL for Online Learning

And finally, I was reminded in one presentation of Kerpoof. Check it out!

ISTE 2010--Sunday Evening

2010-06-27T19:17:00.009-05:00

After attending a reception in which Learning.com announced its new Sky product (which allows a single sign-in for partner and selected sites), it was time for the true opening of the conference with ISTE's Helen Padgett, who gave a year-in-review report. The ISTE Affiliate Network now includes 81 countries, thanks to the recent additions of India, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Recognizing the limited resources available to the classroom teacher, ISTE has launched the first phase of ISTE Learning, where educator can get what they want how they want when they want: http://istelearning.org. Look for more additions in September!

Ms. Padgett reminded attendees that ISTE's goals are to improve student learning in a world in which all students can achieve their potential. ISTE's goal includes taking the best ideas and making them accessible to others. Maintaining the status quo is no longer an effective strategy. According to Padgett, if we are to make lasting change, educational technology is a non-negotiable.

ISTE’s conference theme is “Exploring Excellence.” Representatives from more than 78 countries are present at ISTE 2010, including the keynote speaker Jean-Francois Rischard.

Caution: Spoiler Alert! Do not proceed unless you are interested in problems of a global nature.

Rischard, former president of the World Bank, offered a presentation entitled Navigating in Turbulent Times, in which he reveals his belief that the world is in fast-forward globalization and that there are 20 problems that must be addressed and that we have little time left to act. These problems are unresolved because our current international system is paralyzed, but Rischard suggests that part of the solution includes improving our global problem solving.

Rischard reports that the change curve, rather than showing slow growth, is now showing dramatic change in areas as diverse as population, trade, finance, economics, and so forth. He demonstrated the change in copper use as an example, comparing the use of copper in the Middle Ages with the change in the past century, which he terms "hyper-change."

Two big forces, says Rischard, are producing this explosion in change and complexity and are testing the limits of our planet: population increases and a new economy. The new economy is based on an economic revolution and a technology revolution. New inexpensive communication technologies have transformed time and distance, and knowledge is the biggest element of production today rather than other raw materials. However, this mindless growth is producing new stresses. Both population and economic forces have combined to produce more change and complexity than we are able to handle. Human mindsets and institutions are not keeping up with these changes, particularly because solutions are being implemented only in what Rischard terms "bureaucratic years," the time required for politics to change.

Rischard lists the following as urgent global problems yet unresolved: dangerous climate change; deforestation, biodiversity loss, fisheries depletion, water shortages, poverty, global financial stability, and biotechnology research.

Rischard is quick to point out that these problems have solutions that aren't really costly. However, he insists that we have fewer than 20 years to act on these problems, especially with these four: the global credit crisis (2007 onward), ageing time bomb (2010 onward), conventional oil depletion (2015 onward), ecological footprint overshoot (2035 onward), and dangerous climate change (2035 onward). Unfortunately, he reports that none of them are being solved at this point:

Treaties and conventions are too slow and inadequate for most problems.
UN summits are too off-and-on and confusing.
G8, G20-type groupings are too reactive and superficial.
The 45 existing international organizations cannot handle global problems alone even though they are doing reasonable good work separately.

Ultimately, Rischard insists that the key to solving these problems is the cultivation of innovative ideas that are able to be implemented quickly and that would inject new forces that coax nations to become more planet- and long-term oriented. He suggests a three-phase approach, in which GIN (global issues network) committee members from governments, civil societies, and businesses converge--perhaps, Rischard jokes, in an isolated castle in Spain for three to five years--to examine problems and determine norms, or solutions, that could be implemented through a system of naming-and-shaming, in which countries are given medals based on their efforts toward solving these problems in their countries. Brown and black medals would be awarded to criminal states, and this embarrassment might promote spontaneous internal pressure from younger voters who have been introduced to the global effects of these problems in school.

Rischard's book High Noon is used as a teaching tool in many schools. The efforts outlined by Rischard are intended to produce spontaneous sanctions and to be influenced by younger voters. For this to occur, students must leave school with a global mindset, with an understanding that they are global citizens first, national citizens second, and local citizens third.

Perhaps Rischard's speech was too much for the end of a busy Sunday evening and for the opening of ISTE 2010. While Rischard is obviously very intelligent and thoughtful, some of the ISTE crowd voted with its feet. I found Rischard's ideas logical but a bit unsettling, and I couldn't shake the feeling that I was somehow listening to a plan that might include some kind of indoctrination of school-age children. However, Rischard's ideas will no doubt promote much conversation at this conference, especially with the conference's global focus. I might have to read his book to help clarify my own thoughts about his ideas. I look forward to your thoughts!

ISTE 2010--Sunday Afternoon

2010-06-27T14:04:00.010-05:00

The ISTE 2010 Conference kickoff address was delivered by Mario Armstrong, Digital Lifestyle Expert who reports for NPR's Morning Edition and for CNN. His presentation began as he assumed the role of a new teacher seeking to overcome hurdles associated with innovative classroom technology implementation--lack of funding, understanding, administrative support, equipment and the general fear of school districts to implement new technologies. In a dream sequence, Mario connects with great innovators of the past through Skype in a The Christmas Carol-esque parody to battle four monsters blocking his progress:

Marconi introduced the The Locked Net Monster, the result of being shut out of Internet sites. An ISTE VIP (who, please?) arrived to assist Mario by providing him with an assortment of ISTE tools, including the announcement that ISTE books would be available for the Kindle--and then Mario promptly gave away a new Kindle as a session doorprize.
Marie Curie introduced the Dollar and Cent-aur, the result of dwindling funds for instructional technology. Helen Pagett, ISTE President, arrived to provide Mario with the new FREE-to-members ISTE iPhone and iPad app, which includes NETS On the Go, to help him defeat the monster--and then Mario gave away an iPod touch.
Amelia Earhart, concerned about apathy and mediocrity, introduced the horror of the Mediogre. Leslie Connery, Deputy CEO of ISTE, invited viewers to network and interact with people and technologies that could enhance learning using ISTE's online resources--and Mario then gave away a Netbook.
Jacques Cousteau, with his focus on creativity, introduced his arch-nemesis The Abominable Noman. ISTE members who use the online community tools (Facebook, Ning, Second Life, Twitter) appeared with an iPad, representing a way to stay connected and defeat The Abominable Noman. Of course, Mario gave away the iPad--and of course, I didn't win any of those prizes.

However, I met some wonderful people from New Hampshire and Saudi Arabia in the keynote networking session, as well as Mark, the founder of Dulcinea Media, Inc., who shared with me some very neat sites that I'd love for you to comment on:

SweetSearch, a search engine for students upon which all links have been evaluated by research experts--how nice!
Finding Dulcinea, subtitled "the Librarian of the Internet," and the Spanish version
Finding Education, a free tool for finding the best resources for your students

Let me know what you think about these resources . . . I think perhaps these were MY prizes from the first session! Thanks, Mark!

ISTE 2010 Begins!

2010-06-26T08:27:00.001-05:00

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) hosts an annual conference that is anticipated to draw 20,000 technology enthusiasts this year. Formerly known as NECC (National Educational Computing Conference), the name change reflects a move toward a more global focus for both the organization and the conference. This conference is widely attended by technology coordinators, administrators, and library-media specialist--and especially teachers.

GoAnimate.com: Blue Bear in Space - ISTE10 Conference by null

Like it? Create your own at GoAnimate.com. It's free and fun!

Thanks to gwyneth and to the ISTE Connects site for introducing me to the first new tool I will share with you: GoAnimate.com.

ISTE is my must-attend conference each year. I am always delighted by the absolute enthusiasm of attendees about the use of the technology to enhance learning and engage learners--including me! At this conference, I can see where educational technology in our district will be headed in a few years, and I am able to meet with and learn from so many who have already tread the paths that we will be traveling.

During the next week, I will be highlighted people, products, and plans that I think are directly relevant to our district's technology growth or are so interesting and exciting that I just have to share them. You can follow me . . . and you can attend ISTE yourself through the many virtual offerings that you can access from home. You can even use ISTEVision for video-on-demand of key sessions.

Blackboard Basics for LVS Instructors

2010-06-02T10:08:00.007-05:00

This posting provides support for a workshop delivered for Louisiana Virtual School teachers at the LVS Faculty Summit in June 2010.

Clicking the title of this blog post will provide access to my handout on a few very basic skills that are necessary for successful use of Blackboard. While this handout is labeled "for Blended Instruction," the handout information about several key features that all instructors can use.

Links to other sites used in the workshop:

For beginner-level course banners: http://www.cooltext.com/
For an introduction to using avatars for course Announcements: http://www.voki.com/
For adding images to Announcements: See blog post below
For incorporating Calendars from Google: See blog post below
Web. 2.0 tools for adding excitement to assignments:
Create animated videos using your own images or those online: http://www.animoto.com/
Create content-related comic strips: http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/
Use free diagramming software for a wide variety of projects: http://www.gliffy.com/
Create online web pages: http://poster.4teachers.org/ (An oldie-but-goodie)

Other topics:
Creating surveys in Blackboard
Using Groups for individualizing instruction; linking to Groups in Internet Explorer
Controlling Discussion Board (including Post Rating)
Using Gaggle to your advantage

Adding a Google Calendar to your LVS Course

2010-06-01T10:46:00.002-05:00

Google Calendars represent a great improvement over the practically useless Blackboard calendars.

To begin, I created an LVS Calendar and a Course calendar for my class. Then, I clicked the "Setting" link that appears on the left beneath the list of calendars.
From the list of calendars, I chose my LVS Calendar and clicked "Share this calendar."
First, I clicked "Make this calendar public."
Then, I clicked Calendar Details from the tab menu. I scrolled down to the "Embed this Calendar" item and clicked "Customize color, size, and other options."
I then scrolled down, looking on the left-hand menu until I found my list of calendars. I added a check mark for my Course Calendar, and then returned to the top of the page and clicked "Update HTML." These actions combined the two calendars, changing the HTML code that appears at the top of the web page. Copy the HTML code that appears in the box.
I returned to Blackboard's Control Panel. I made sure that I deleted any existing Calendar menu items in Manage Course Menu. Then I created a new Content item ("Assignments" is fine) and named it "Calendar." (highlighted directions modified 09-01-2010)
The word "Calendar" will now appear in your Control Panel's Content Area. Click that link, and select Item. Insert a name for your calendar, and then find the < > icon (Toggle HTML source coding). Clicking that icon allows you to insert the HTML code you copied from your Google site.
Click Submit, and your Calendar will magically appear.

BIG NOTE: If you change your mind, you will find it very difficult to delete your calendar (because it's a mashup). The best way I've found is to go back to Step Six and delete the Calendar menu item. Then, you can start over at that step.

If you find an easier way to do this, or want to add suggestions, please add your comments below. If this work, add a comment!

File Type Blues . . . or Why Can't I Open this Document?

2010-01-14T11:36:00.008-06:00

Now that many of our students are using Blackboard to deliver documents and presentations to teachers, it's probably time for a primer on working with different file types so that we can avoid some stress in the future.

The district is slowly rolling out Office 2007, but most teachers are still using are using Office 2003 in the classroom and at home. The most frequently-used application in that suite of productivity products is Word 2003, which saves files in the *.doc format. Unfortunately, not all of our students have access to the same applications. How can we all speak the same file type language?

First, Office 2003 users should download the Microsoft Compatibility Patch for Office 2007, which is linked from the title of this posting and from the "Helpful Links" bar on the right of this blog. It's quick and painless, and it allows Word 2003 users to open Word 2007 documents that are saved in the *.docx format. (Note: Office 2007 is backward compatible, meaning that it has not problem opening documents from an earlier version of Office.)

However, students can also be taught to save their documents in the format specified by the teachers. Here are some examples:

Students using Office 2007 products can be taught to “save down” to the Office 97-2003 format. It is accomplished by clicking the Microsoft icon and selecting Save As / Word 97-2003 document.
Student using Microsoft Works (the documents end with .wps) can be taught to select File /Save As / Word 97-2000 & 6.0/95 – RTF(*.doc) or Word 97-2003 (*doc), depending on the Works version.
Students using Word Perfect also have the option of saving as Word 97-2003 (*.doc) in the Save As / File Type drop-down menu box.

Finally, what about students who don't have office/productivity applications at home? I recommend Open Office, a free suite of products that are quite similar to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Students who use these applications at school will quickly adapt to the Open Office format, and they can save their work in the Office 2003 format.

I look forward to your experiences in sharing this information with other teachers and with students. Feel free to add Comments to this posting using the options below.

My Christmas Present to YOU

2009-12-21T11:07:00.005-06:00

I have located two of the Flash-based Christmas sites that allow you to upload your child's name and photograph to create a special Santa video.

Portable North Pole: http://portablenorthpole.tv/home (This site includes options for toddlers and children, as well as for teens/adult who aree either "naughty" or "nice.")
Santa's Personalized Video Message: http://family.go.com/santas-list/ (Requires registration to Disney's Family.com, which is really a good site!)

If you find others, please let me know, and we'll add them! Both of these sites are safe and are not blocked by our district-level content filters.

I wish you all a very happy holiday. I know I'll be working on Technology Share Fair!

LACUE 2009: Blackboard Tips and Tricks

2009-12-02T14:28:00.015-06:00

How do I add an image to my Announcements?

Since the "Insert Image" icon does not appear in the Announcments, you cannot simply upload an image into the Announcement window. However, you can find an online image and link to it. Remember to choose an image source that will not be blocked by your district's content filter.

You can use Google's Image search to locate an image. Click the image to go to the source, then click "See Full Size Image."

Copy the URL (which appears in the Address box) for the location of the image to your clipboard by highlighting it and using the CTRL + C key combination. (You can also copy it to a Word document if you'd like.)

In Blackboard, begin a new Announcement. Click the <> icon ("Toggle HTML Source Mode") to allow you to insert HTML code. Type the following code, replacing my words with your URL between the first set of quotation marks. Replace the word description with a word that describes your image for individuals using screen readers (an ALTernative to the image).

Now, click the <> icon again, and your image should appear. If it is huge, use the corner sizing handles to drag the image down to the correct size. Voila!

If your image did not appear, toggle the <> button to check your code carefully.

If you would like to have your image appear on the left or right side of text:

Type your text.

Toggle the <> icon and locate the IMG SRC code you added. Insert ALIGN="LEFT" or ALIGN="RIGHT" before the ALT command.

Remember, too, to give credit in your Announcement to the source of the image. You can do this by inserting a line in size 1 font at the bottom of the Announcement with the URL.

LACUE 2009: Creating Dynamic Online Courses

2009-12-02T10:49:00.016-06:00

When Samuel Lewis and I were asked to present at the Blackboard's Preconference Session at LACUE (Louisiana Computer Using Educators) conference, I really questioned what information I could provide that could help other educators of varying experience levels. After all, I still feel like a learner, and I'm constantly changing my online courses.

However, after speaking with Samuel, we agreed on a few elements and ideas that we felt were either vital concerns or interesting additions to our online courses.

ARCS Motivational Model

Students in online classes are just like students in face-to-face (F2F) classes, and many of the same techniques that work in a face-to-face class will work with modifications in an online class. And just as with F2F students, some online students who have the ability to succeed lack the focus or determination to complete work. This problem is amplified in the online environment where the responsibility for completing work rests squarely on their shoulders.
What do we do?

John Keller created a theoretical model for motivating online that I used as a way guide my actions as a teacher in my courses. His model is called ARCS:

Attention: What could I do to gain this student's attention?
Relevance: How can I make this content relevent to his or her life or experiences?
Confidence: How can I help this student gain the confidence to complete this task?
Satisfaction: What will help this student feel satisfied about some portion of his or her performance?

This model makes it easy, and these four words guide my daily activities in my course.

Ideas for incorporating ARCS:

Mashups can be defined as the combination of diverse Web-based applications used in a new way. The use of Web-based applications can enhance your current Blackboard class:

Change your course banner to reflect what you are studying. You can consider http://www.cooltext.com/ images that are easy to create and import into Blackboard.
Download RealPlayer SP (free) to get the Download option that will allow you to upload videos into your course shell in Windows Media format. (Videos are great for attention and relevance, and most school districts block sites like YouTube, so embedding links won't work.)
Consider using Announcements to provide students with recommended activities for the day. This provides students who are absent or absent-minded with a game plan for catching up with the class when they are ready. You can also link to online images (see previous post) in your Announcements to add flavor to your text.
Gather photos from Flickr or Google Images that illustrate a concept you are covering in a different way. If you use Picasa's Web albums, you can use the "Toggle HTML Source Code" option to embed the photos in a slideshow.
Use Voice Messages from Wimba or create an talking avatar at http://www.voki.com/ to allow students to HEAR you occasionally. Remember, your avatar doesn't have to look like you!
Use a Google calendar, which provides more options than the current Bb Calendar tool, and link to it by using HTML code. You can also share the link with school facilitators and parents.

Backwards Design for Scaffolding Learning

All of the elements in the ARCS model can also be addressed by looking at your course curriculum with an eye to backwards design. If you are considering creating or modifing your course, look at what you want students to be able to do at the end of the course. Now, plan out the steps students will need to take to reach that point--in other words, provide scaffolding for your students.

This is particularly important with ICT skills, which are vital to success in an online course. Please remember that we need to build technology skills instruction into our course shells rather than assuming that students possess those skills. For example, if you plan to have your students complete a Web page using the Web Poster Wizard from 4Teachers.org, you will need to ensure that students know how to borrow images and how to copy URLs before you even begin asking them to select reliable websites as secondary sources or using the Web Poster Wizard interface. Scaffolding is the key, and all of these skills will be helpful to students on other projects and in their futures.

Even if you have inherited a course shell that you can't really change, scaffolding can be done through Announcements, through email, through links to outside sources, and through responses in the Discussion Board. Slowly, gently, with many opportunities for success, you can help students to acquire the basic technology skills they need to gain confidence in your course.

NECC Continues: Tuesday's Events and Workshops

2009-06-30T18:29:00.000-05:00

Events on Tuesday at NECC included an advocacy march to Capitol Hill in support of continued funding for educational technology. However, my primary focus on Tuesday was Second Life, a multi-user virtual environment (MUVE) that I believe offers a glimpse at the future of professional development and perhaps online learning in general.

Second Life (SL), created and managed by Linden Labs, offers a free basic subscription. To begin, a user must register and create an avatar, a 3D character that will represent that user while "inworld," or inside Second Life. In this way, Second Life is similar to other MUVEs used for gaming. One example would be the popular World of Warcraft, in which players assume a role in order to participate in the game.

Creation of an avatar is a serious event . . . okay, well, maybe not. Users are allowed to select a first name and then choose from a list of last names provided by the application. Then, users go through the process of creating the visual representation that will meet other avatars in Second Life. Many, like me, choose an avatar that closely resembles their real-life (RL) appearance, but others (with, perhaps, more creativity?) take on fabulous shapes and characteristics. This means that my avatar (Sue Delvalle) might sit down to a serious discussion about technology literacy with a dragon or a cat!

Once the avatar is created, users begin the somewhat complicated process of learning to navigate inside Second Life. The world is organized into islands, real estate that must actually be purchased with RL dollars (translated into Linden dollars, the currency in Second Life). ISTE, the sponsor of this conference, has created ISTE Island, a safe haven that can be a first stop for newbies (new users). ISTE provides docents to assist in mastering basic commands, including how to find professional development opportunities inworld.

Of course, just as in RL, there are places that an avatar probably shouldn't venture. SL is an adult world, and there is a strictly-controlled Teen World for younger participants. However, many universities are utilizing SL for the delivery of classes. In fact, the University of Alabama has commissioned a SL architect to recreate its campus on its island. Student avatars enter mock-ups of the same buildings they would enter on campus, and they can participate in activities, lectures, and discussions from any physical location.

So, are you wondering why I'm interested? Here's the hook: Traditional online professional development is largely text-based. Yes, we can have asynchronous conversations in Blackboard's Discussion Boards in text, and we can have synchronous conversations in text or voice in Blackboard's Virtual Classrooms, but it's still limited. We can't SEE each other.

Second Life feels like a real classroom, providing the human element (for lack of a better term!) that is missing in other learning management systems. I can offer or attend a presentation, have a discussion about it, talk privately with some group members. I can take a virtual field trip to NASA or "feel" what it's like to be buffeted by a hurricane. I can fly.

NECC Continues--Slam Dunk Lesson Model

2009-06-29T12:59:00.008-05:00

Slam Dunk Lessons are based on a framework designed by Dr. Jamie McKenzie (see previous posting). Meghan Jothan and Meshia Sutton from Baltimore County Public Schools presented the Slam Dunk Lesson model, a single- to multi-day research lesson using Microsoft PowerPoint. The benefit for students is that it might keep them engaged and challenged; the purpose for teachers is that learning can be scaffolded to make teachers comfortable with creating and facilitating these activities.

Using McKenzie's PowerPoint template, teachers are led through the steps for creating a research lesson. Here are the steps used in the model:

1. Create a Question (must be relevent and higher-order--analysis, synthesis, evaluation)
2. Provide Information Source (s) (picture, text, video--anything that is relevant)
3. Describe What Students Will Do (step-by-step, providing organizational charts or graphic organizers if needed)
4. Provide an Activity Assessment (What should students give you to prove mastery?)
5. Suggest Enrichment (What can be done to extend this lesson? What will students do if they finish the project early?)

Slam Dunk Lessons can be used as a presentation for early adopters of classroom technology, but the template can also be used by students creating their own investigations. The wiki (linked from this post's title) provides many additional examples.

The Playground: Twitter and Go2Web2.0

There are hundreds of Web 2.0 tools out there waiting to be explored. I really wanted to Twitter with you during this workshop, but after speaking with many of you, I discovered that we didn't quite have the knowledge base to use Twitter yet. Therefore, I'm posting some very basic information about Twittering so that we can experiment with this form of social networking, too.

First, let's start with this video from YouTube (which you will have to watch at home since this is currently blocked due to student protection issues).

After reviewing Twitter and the other Web 2.o tools, how might these be used in classroom lessons?

NECC Continues--Jamie McKenzie

2009-06-29T12:46:00.006-05:00

Today is Monday, June 29, and my first workshop today was with Dr. Jamie McKenzie, well-known author and rabble-rouser who focuses on rethinking professional development for teachers. He maintains an educational journal called FromNowOn, which may validate some of your opinions about problems with PD and with classroom technology integration. In fact, in one of his early books, Dr. McKenzie objects to the use of the word "training" for use with teacher. "Training," he said in his 1998 book Professional Development That Works, "is what we do to dogs and pigeons."

Dr. McKenzie today warned about jumping too quickly into social networking with students (see handout at http://fno.org/sum08/synergy.html). While blogs and wikis can be very useful classroom tools, he reminded the audience that we will continue to get mediocre results if insufficient additional attention isn't paid to teaching students how to question, invent, collaborate and write. He recommends the work of Edward De Bono (Six Thinking Hats) as a framework for encouraging divergent thinking and Michalk0's ThinkerToys for supporting creative thought.

The Playground: Google Squared

According to the site, Google Squared is a search tool that creates a grid, allowing you to collect facts about any topic you select. You can modify or remove the squares (attributes), and do further research on the sites that provides the information. For a test, do a search for "countries." I think that application will require teachers to be MUCH more creative in their assignments!

Please add your thoughts about this post or about Google Squared?

NECC Continues--School 2.0

2009-06-28T22:56:00.001-05:00

Today, I was able to attend a workshop with Chris O'Neal, a Louisiana boy who is currently teaching at the University of Virginia, and Adam Garry. The workshop was entitled "Strategic Planning Using School 2.0," but the session was actually an introduction to the School 2.0 website.

The site contains resources for planning for a change from the present school structure (School 1.0) to a new structure that, perhaps, takes advantages of the best of both worlds--the traditional and the digital.

The Playground: WolframAlpha

And now, for something totally different . . .Although it looks like a search engine, Wolfram Alpha seeks to answer computational questions using all means possible for locating answers--to be a "knowledge engine" that provides clear answers. To become acquainted with what it does, try clicking the "Examples by Topic" link in the right frame menu.

I'm impressed. Let me know what searches you do that impressed you?

Also, while we are on the topic, what should School 2.0 look like? We are planning for it now, whether or not we admit it. What elements from School 1.0 should be retained (if any)? How will new technologies shape the face of our schools? I'd love to hear your thoughts . . .

National Educational Computing Conference (NECC)

2009-06-27T16:15:00.005-05:00

Saturday, June 27: My first day at NECC in Washington, D.C. It is a pre-conference day when most activities consist of fee-based workshop. However, there is so much to do to take advantage of the thousands of offerings at this giant conference! After I registered and collected my packet of conference materials, found a quiet corner, and began using the NECC Planner to organize myself. It's a little more difficult this year because the Bring Your Own Laptop events (my favorites because they are all hands-on!) now require pre-registration, intended to thwart over-attendance by enthusiastic participants. Once I decide which BYOL events fit into my schedule, I must visit the nice lady in the booth and request a ticket for that session. Then, I'll send my conference planner to my iPhone calendar and voila! I'll know where I need to be for the next four days.

Also, you can join us through live videofeed if you have time.

The Playground: Etherpad

As promised, I will be sharing with you ideas and applications as I see them, and here is the first: Etherpad. This is a free Web 2.0 application that allows users to participate in real-time collaborative editing--seriously! A chat window can be opened, allowing editors to "talk" about the editing process, and the changes made by each participant appear in colored text. This is the functionality that Google is attempting in Google Wave (which is not yet ready for release)--Etherpad has it NOW!

Please play with this application with a friend or two, and let me know what you think. Can we use this application to help our students learn important curriculum concepts? How? Let’s share some ideas here to begin building our plans for the new school year.

Just click the Comments button below. Your response will not appear right away since I have chosen the option of monitoring responses for this forum. However, check back in a few minutes to view what you have written and what others write to you.

LA Distance Learning Conference

2009-05-18T08:41:00.002-05:00

I've just returned from the first conference sponsored by a new organization, the Louisiana Distance Learning Association (linked from posting title). This conference helped to verify that we did make the right decision in waiting for the technology to catch up with the ideas, and I'm now convinced that it's time to invest in video conferencing equipment.

Districts generally first turn to video-conferencing to connect a teacher to a class for distance learning. It is also used for district-level meetings, which would be helpful in our parish because of the distances we must travel. However, the application I'm most interested in using is one that connects classrooms in St. Mary Parish to professionals around the world for Virtual Field Trips.

Connecting with the Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration, for example, provides teachers with access to hundreds of free or low-cost field trip opportunities. In these activities, arrangements are made to connect at a certain time/date. Once the teacher log-ins for the class, a professional in London or Paris or Chicago or even at the Tunica Museum in Marksville takes over as instructor. CILC screens all of these activities, rating them to assist in our selection. Professionals are trained to deliver only a certain amount of "teacher talk," deferring quickly to hands-on activities for students plus Q&A as needed. In some cases, the teacher receives a packet of support materials in advance of the field trip.

If you are interested, join (it's free!) to begin receiving newsletters and to fully access the extensive library of field trips. For my part, I'll begin investigating the purchase of video-conferencing equipment using ARRA stimulus funds from EETT (Title 2, Section D), which we should be receiving shortly. This project seems to meet all of the ARRA requirements!

Let me know what you think?

Interactive White Boards

2009-05-15T06:09:00.006-05:00

An interesting article in this month's Learning & Leading from ISTE (linked for you from this post's title) outlined a recent study about the value on interactive white boards--like those from Smart and Promethean--in classrooms. The study revealed that even when teachers experienced problems using the boards, they LIKED them. Imagine that!

More importantly, the study found that students were more engaged when the boards were being used--rarely were "backrow nappers" observed.

Finally--and this is a key finding--the study revealed that the more often teachers used the interactive white board (IWB), the more likely they were to turn over control of learning to students. Less teacher talk and more student inquiry are the touchstones for constructivist pedagogy. It's where we want to be in our classrooms.

When I see leading educational researchers like Robert Marzano embracing Promethean's ActivBoard, I pay attention. Recently, in a keynote address at a computer-using educators conference, Marzano warned that while there were no "no silver bullets" for instruction, there are "silver bbs." He pointed out that a teacher must select the combination of bbs that is best for his or her classroom, and he made specific mention of what he feels are two true breakthroughs in education: interactive white boards and voting technology.

His findings are impressive:

In classrooms using Promethean interactive white boards and voting technology, there was an immediate 17-percentile gain in scores.
If a teacher uses the board for 20-30 months, an average of 20 percentile gain was evidenced.
Students with an experienced teacher who uses the board 75% of the time, who has had training, and who has had 2 years of experience with the board showed a 29 percentile gain in scores.

However, Marzano warns that the district can't just give a board to a teacher. The professional development needed to successfully use the board must be included in the formula. He also noted that weaker teachers must receive training in how to use the board as well as in effective teaching practices. In other words, an interactive white board will not automatically make a weak teacher strong!

The focus, he concluded, must remain on content, not on the bells-and-whistles of technology. However, it is the Promethean voting technology that he praises most as the educational breakthrough because a teacher can keep track of which students are understanding the content.

Marzano's comments are true about all educational technology. Technology, in itself, will not improve learning. Any benefits from technology is completely dependent upon how well it is used.

Bottom line: We need to be looking for funding sources for Promethean ActivBoards and ActivVotes.

NSBA's Calcasieu Parish Site Visit

2009-05-04T07:27:00.001-05:00

I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to attend a site visit to Calcasieu Parish this week. Wow. According to Dr. Cheryl Abshire, Chief Technology Officer, Calcasieu does not have bond funding or a big technology budget! She clearly stated how it happened: the district decided that technology integration would be the focus of all stakeholders, and grant funding for the past few years has been targeted at making this happen.

Here are a few of the most interesting elements I saw:

Calcasieu has twice as much of everything we have: schools, students, and computers. However, because of their understanding and INSISTENCE that professional development must accompany any technology placed in classrooms, they have 12 full-time professionals in their Instructional Technology division. St. Mary Parish has one. Guess who?
In every classroom we visited, students were divided into groups and rotating through stations to complete hands-on projects. My favorite: a group of first-graders using headset/microphone combos to read "The Ant and the Grasshopper" into Audacity. When they finished, each saved his or her own file to a Blackboard content area for replay later. At the end of the year, the teacher burned CDs of each student's work: a portfolio of the year. (Audacity is a free application.)
A tool we could use: a device that connected six sets of headsets so that a group of students could listen to a video without disturbing the other groups.
In many rooms, students were preparing projects with MovieMaker (free) or creating content for sharing on classroom ActivBoards (Promethean interactive white boards; software is free). Students were also using the boards as one of the group stations.

Interesting, too, was the fact that Calcasieu's technical support division functions with fewer personnel than I expected. I spoke with the leader of their technology team, who explained that he chose a different direction when he asked for additional funds and was denied. Using Footprints software, he established a Helpdesk which takes advantage of VPN to diagnose and repair as many problems as possible without having technicians leave their offices. Equipment with bigger problems is shipped to the office for repairs. Standardization of equipment purchases is key. Their technique saves travel costs and time for technicians, as well as improving the quality of their work experience.

In our visit, we saw evidence that all Calcasieu stakeholders--not just teachers and students--were addressing and utilizing the "killer apps" of the 21st century: collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking. Well done!

As the world becomes flatter . . .Google Reader

2009-01-02T09:26:00.005-06:00

Today's Tool Tip:
I've taken this morning to add to my Google Reader, which is the RSS aggregator that I use to note blogs and blog posts that I want to track for future reading. For those of you who are new to this idea, an aggregator will automatically visit the sites you mark and collect the most recent (or ALL) of the posts located there. It's a great way to keep your finger on the pulse of what's happening in certain fields or on particular topics of interest.

Rather than having to bookmark and visit every site you use for news or information, I use Google Reader to quickly scan what sites or categories have new postings. This morning, for example, Carla Beard's "Web English Teacher" newsletter, which was delivered via email, prompted a visitation trail to three new sites, two of which I decided were good enough to add to my Reader list.

For me, this is just another example of the world getting flatter. Without email and the Internet, I probably would not have picked up two of the books that I will be sharing with you in the future--and these were the direct result of my employing the basic themes in Thomas Friedman's book The World is Flat. He suggests that in order to keep up in a world where distance is no longer an insurmountable obstacle, we must relearn HOW TO LEARN. It is our generation that must make the break between how we were taught and how we teach. The old phase "becoming a lifelong learner" is no longer just the words we place in a mission statement to make it sound good. In fact, it appears that lifelong learning through personal curiosity will become the key that marks the successful individual.

Accepting that the world is flat challenges ideas of a teacher as the fountain of knowledge. I have come to understand--and it hasn't been an easy path, I assure you--that I am doing my students a disservice if I fail to teach them

how to work with others to discover knowledge,
how to decide if that knowledge is credible, and
how to share it with others in an engaging manner.

According to most thinkers in the field today, this type of classroom instruction represents the four most important skills for the future: critical thinking, communication, creativity, and collaboration.

Bottom line: Spend a hour or so reading some blogs . . . Do a blog search at Technorati.com (try sorting by "authority" which is the word they use for rankings) or Google Blog Search or Best of the Web blog directory. Or ask me which blogs I subscribe to, and I'll be happy to share through Google Reader!

Personalized Video Clips

2008-12-29T13:15:00.000-06:00

I'm sharing this video with you as an example of the personalized video clip technology that Disney is currently using. To create your own, visit http://www.sun7news.com/spread.php or click the link at the end of this one. You only need to insert the first and last name of your special person, and voila! I then copied the code into the blog to share it with you, but you can also email it to others. There was also a great one for Christmas that allowed me to upload a photo and included Santa deciding that she was on the NICE list.

I would love to learn how to do this little bit of Disney magic! If you see other appropriate sites that utilize the same technology and would be fun for us and for our students, please share.

San Antonio is HOT—and it’s all about educational technology!

2008-06-28T23:40:00.000-05:00

I’m in San Antonio, Texas, for the annual National Educational Computing Conference (NECC), sponsored by the International Society for Technology in Education. ISTE is the organization responsible for the standards that we use to measure technology proficiency, like the NETS-S and NETS-T. This conference is the one to attend if you are looking for play with new software, examine new hardware, and connect with people who do what we do and who use technology to do it.

I arrived a day early for a pre-conference workshop on Saturday that was, unfortunately, cancelled. However, that cancellation did provide me with the opportunity to see a bit of the city and to catch up on email and paperwork. I remember when traveling meant that work stopped. Now, I can work from anywhere, which I suppose is a mixed blessing?

A few notes about San Antonio—The Riverwalk is definitely a success story. Through a series of bridges, tunnels, and walkways, the city planners have found a way to move visitors in the downtown area from the hot street-level sidewalks to a shaded, lower-level arena for eating, shopping, and people-watching, all surrounding a body of water that’s more like a small ditch than a river. Nevertheless, the combination of misting fans, lush tropical foliage, and water taxis, along with low-cost trolleys to bring in travelers from nearby hotels, provides for a much more pleasant visit in the blistering temperatures of July.

Inside the Convention Center, however, things are heating up. Vendors are moving materials into booths, convention planners and volunteers are adding final touches, and pre-conference meetings have begun. More on that later!