Managing the Digital Classroom

I LOVE this Voicethread conversation posted by Jeff Utecht! The 33 participants are teachers at International School Bangkok completing their fourth COETAIL (Certificate of Educational Technology and Information Literacy) course. These teachers are doing a terrific job of exploring ways to use the technology they have available to offer life-relevant learning experiences for their students and sharing what they have found, whether successful or frustrating, using a free tool collaboration tool that just about any teacher with Internet access can use in his or her classroom.

This is a fantastic example of using a tool you're trying to master to share with others what you know. Did I say that right? What I want to convey is that we need to use the tools we have at hand for every professional development exercise. I am no expert but I believe teaching someone how to use an application or gadget just so they know how to use it will not be as effective as using an application or gadget to teach a life or professional skill.

Anyway, watch, read, listen to this conversation* about how to manage technology gadgets in your classroom. I can assure you. You will come away with more information and understanding than you have now. Thank you, Jeff for sharing!


*If you are using a Windows PC and wish to make the screen bigger, type Ctrl/Shift/+ until the screen is large enough. If you have an Apple computer substitute the Apple Command key for Ctrl.

ActivInspire tutorial videos from Atomic Learning

I am trying something new. Atomic Learning now features direct link sharing to subscribers, so because we have installed 10 new Promethean ActivBoards this year I am embedding links to their ActivInspire videos. (Note: the first three links are active without an Atomic Learning account. You must be logged into AL for the rest of the links to work.) My plan is to direct our teachers to this site as kind of a one stop AL ActivInspire shop. My hope is that readers will find the videos helpful as well as see yet another way blogs can be useful. My fear is that the formatting AL provides in its code make the list look long and intimidating. What do you think?

• ActivInspire Studio - Professional
  
• A. ActivInspire Intro
  
• Introducing ActivInspire and the Dashboard


• Using the ActivInspire Studio window


• B. ActivInspire Studio Basics
  
• Creating a flipchart


• Using the Main Toolbox


• Opening and viewing a flipchart


• Importing a flipchart from PowerPoint^®


• Importing a flipchart from other types of files


• Changing the page view & using page zoom


• C. ActivInspire Studio Browsers
  
• Introducing browsers


• Using the Page Browser


• Using the Resource Browser


• Using the Object Browser


• Using the Notes Browser


• Using the Property Browser


• Using the Action Browser


• Using the Voting Browser


• D. Flipcharts
  
• Writing on a flipchart


• Adding and formatting text


• Inserting and deleting pages


• Inserting a snapshot of your desktop


• Inserting resources


• Adding a resource to the Resource Library


• Using grids


• Showing and hiding grids


• Using the Grid Designer


• Creating page notes


• Saving and printing a flipchart


• Publishing flipcharts


• Adding an image to a flipchart


• Adding a link to a file or Web site


• Editing and removing links


• Adding sound to your flipchart


• Inserting a movie


• E. Objects
  
• Adding shapes


• Changing the size of a shape


• Changing an object's shape


• Grouping and ungrouping objects


• Copying, pasting and duplicating objects


• Cutting and pasting


• Deleting text and objects


• Introducing layers


• Stacking objects


• Adding labels


• F. Action & Interaction
  
• Creating Containers


• Creating Restrictors


• Adding a Command action


• Adding a Page action


• Adding an Object action


• Adding a Voting Action


• Applying an action using drag & drop


• Using Express Poll


• Using the Insert Question Wizard for prepared questions


• G. Resources
  
• Inserting templates


• Inserting a resource into the Resource Library


• Importing Resource packs


• Exporting Resource packs


• H. Tools
  
• Annotating over the desktop


• Using Desktop tools


• Using the Camera


• Using the Clock


• Using Handwriting Recognition


• Using Shape Recognition


• Using Magic Ink


• Using Tickertape


• Using the Revealer


• Using the On-screen Keyboard


• Using the Spotlight


• Using Teacher Lock


• Using the Dice Roller


• Using the Calculator


• Using the Ruler


• Using the Protractor


• Using the Compass


• Setting the XY Origin


• Using the Connector tool


• Using the Screen Recorder


• Using the Sound Recorder


• Accessing the Web browser


• Spell-checking your flipchart


• I. Profiles
  
• Changing your profile


• Customizing the layout


• Customizing the Main Toolbox


• Defining your own buttons

A Teacher's Guide To Web 2.0 at School

I know...I have been away for a LONG time. While I know I need not offer excuses I do want to explain that the month before school begins again is a crazy time for techs, so when I haven't been working I have been attending to the rest of my life (including that entertainment piece of it referenced in my last post.) But now that it is the first day of school, I am easing my way back into my professional connections and thinking about how to move myself and my collegues to our next steps. Check out this SlideShare Presentation from Sacha Chua:

A Teacher's Guide To Web 2.0 at School

View more documents from Sacha Chua.

I'm an Ambivalent Networker

This is what the Pew Internet & American Life Project has determined about me:

"If you are an Ambivalent Networker, you have folded mobile devices into how you run your social life, whether through texting or online social networking tools. You also rely on ICTs for entertainment. At the same time – perhaps because of the volume of digital pings from others – you may sometimes find all your connectivity to be intrusive. You are confident in your ability to troubleshoot your various information devices and services."

Not sure what I think about that...I don't think I RELY on ICTs for entertainment, but maybe I do. It depends on how entertainment is defined. I love to garden, walk and play with my dog, spend time with friends, knit, curl up with a good book. None of that is reflected in the above analysis. When I am not doing any of those things, then yes, I would say I enjoy sitting in front of a ballgame on TV, dog snugged up against my hip, computer on my lap with Twitter, Facebook, Tetris all going at once. Could I do without most technologies in my personal life? Probably, but I have to say have them makes it easier to connect with my far away family and colleagues and I would miss these connections if they were no longer available.

What Kind of Tech User Are You?


Posted using ShareThis

25 Tools: A Toolbox for Learning Professionals 2009

Check out this SlideShare Presentation from Jane Hart. I am affirmed when I see I already use a number of these tools and challenged to try a few more.

25 Tools: A Toolbox for Learning Professionals 2009

View more OpenOffice presentations from Jane Hart.

Dear Oprah, Is plastic my true purpose?

Ever since my Environmental Science class in highschool (1974) I have tried to use less plastic. These days I attempt to purchase items that don't include plastic packaging and reuse and recycle the plastic containers I do buy. However, my feeble attempts don't hold a candle to the dedication of Beth Terry. I am once again inspired to redouble my efforts to live mindfully and consume less of everything, especially plastic.

According to the calculator at Global Footprint Network it would take 3.2 Earths to sustain all of our planet's inhabitants at my personal standard of living. Ouch! I have some serious work to do.

BADD--Blogging Against Disablism Day 2009

Although I thought I knew what "disablism" is I it looked up anyway. Most references pointed me to "ableism," a term I knew I knew. It, like its cousins racism, sexism, classism, ageism, etc., is a label for a discriminatory practice we humans use to set people who are different from us apart from us. In this case, ableism and disablism practices discriminate against people whose abilities don't fit the standard we have as a whole set for "abled." Our societal conventions and institutions are structured to favor those who can walk on two legs, see with two eyes (glasses allowed if they correct to 20/20,) hear with two ears, work with two hands, and use our voices to speak smoothly and distinctly. Oh, and let me not forget, we must demonstrate mental health and acuity on a level with our peers at every age. Operate outside of these parameters and one is certain to be the object of discrimination and quite possibly distain.

Many of us considered abled have the privilege of not having to think much about how we get around, what we'll need to get through new and existing experiences and environments or that we might be turned down for a position for any other reason other than our qualifications. We need to change that. We must adopt the mindset individually and collectively where everyone has earned our consideration and respect on no other merit but they exist as individuals. Our humaness dictates we will all use tools to complete the tasks we need to do to survive. We will have varying abilities and skills and use different tools to move through life and as a society we must not set up barriers to success for those needing more or different tools than others.

Disablism or ableism, whichever the name, is wrong. Don't do it. Don't allow it. Seek it out and destroy it. Our world will be a better place when it is no more.