It's Our Last Class :(

For our final meeting we have a few things to tie up, a brief tour of TPS, and then some time to play in the computer lab with the ActivBoard. Below is our agenda:

4:30 - 5:00 Paper Work and Blog Reflection Below
if time, Google Earth Math Tour?
5:00 - 5:20 Visit to a TPS Classroom
5:20 - 5:40 SKRBL and Dabbleboard The Free Online Whiteboards
5:40 - 5:55 Fun Time with a Promethean Board
5:55 - 6:00 Goodbyes!

Want to write some Graffiti, go ahead and do so below...

Selected Reflections

Reading everyone's reflections this week has been an eye opening experience. I'm very impressed at all the creative ways in which you have integrated technology into your instruction, and how effectively you've shared with teammates and students.

Below are a few selected reflections I want to share with everyone. After you're read them, please post any additional thoughts as a comment below.

Selected Reflections from Final Projects

Blogger = The students were eager to share their ideas on the blog. It was more real-life for them to type in their responses rather than writing them in a journal or on a piece of notebook paper.

CPS = I felt that this method held all of the students’ attention and kept them on task. They appeared to enjoy the activity. They also seemed interested in doing something new in speech class.

Pixie = My students absolutely love the program and are very excited to be able to use it. Some of the students have been showing their classroom teacher how to use the program. Other students are choosing to work on Pixie when they have time in the school’s main computer lab.

Tumlbr = We are planning to create a tumblr page for each of the different language arts units that accompany the second grade language arts curriculum. We will inter-link the sites so that they can all be accessed from simply going to the site for that teacher (or maybe a second grade team website!).

Del.icio.us = I do not know if (teammate) will use this resource to support instruction. I have made him one of my contacts to monitor whether or not he is using the site.

Urbana Elementary Student Made Movie

Embedded above is the video we watched briefly in class last week created by students at Urbana Elementary about playground safety. To visit the video directly at "School Tube" go to http://www.schooltube.com/video/16393/Playground-Safety

Final Project for the Course

The class is almost finished, and it's time to "Share What You Know". This final activity is an opportunity for you to pass along some information about using instructional technology to a fellow teacher, or a selection of students.

There are four steps to this process.

Step 1: Choose a website or piece of software that you feel comfortable using to support your instruction.

Step 2: Select a student, class staff member, or group that could benefit from using this same website or software.

Once you've decided who and what you would like to teach, please email that information to me at michael.hakkarinen@fcps.org.

Step 3: Train this audience on both HOW to use the selected material, and WHEN to use it.

Step 4: Complete the online Reflection Sheet.

The link to this online reflection sheet will be sent to you after you have submitted your idea to Mike H, and not until after Wednesday, February 25th, 2009.

Ideas & Example Activities:
1. Training your teammates how to use Delicious to bookmark and tag useful websites.
2. Sharing with another teacher a lesson you used with Pixie2 completing an activity mapping the solar system.
3. Teaching a class of students how to comment on your Blogger site as part of a writing activity.
4. Presenting "tumblr" at a staff meeting so other teachers can make tumblr pages.
5. Making a Quick Guide or "How To" document on using a website, then sharing with staff at your school either online or via printed resource.

There are a lot of things you can do to share what you've learned about using Instructional Technology within your own building, class, or team. The important thing is that you learn to share, and specifically how to make connections between the technology and curriculum.

If you have any questions, please email them to me at michael.hakkarinen@fcps.org

Face to Face Class #4

Sorry everyone, no videos of the Atlanta Grape Lady, or the Zombie Kid that likes Turtles. Instead we'll watch a movie about "Technology Literacy in the 21st Century". Although this film won't be as funny as the Grape Lady, it will still contribute to the overall message of this course - why it is so important to integrate technology into our daily instruction.

The rest of the class will include:
CPS Practice Assessment

Flip Video Camera & Digital Camera Discussion
Sample Movie: http://www.schooltube.com/video/16393/Playground-Safety

Online Video Resources
YouTube may be blocked, but you could always use...
SchoolTube, TeacherTube, and DiscoveryStreaming

A "Tour" of the Application Menu

Online Surveys & Datacollection Tools
Easy = SurveyMonkey
Medium = GoogleDocs Forms
Difficult = Zoho Forms

Assignment of our "Culminating Activity" for the course

Removing that Darn "Next Blog"

I know, I know - that's confusing!

It sure is confusing to use .html codes, cutting and pasting php or even worse, trying to figure out how to use Java Script.  New Tech Users have no business doing something this complicated!  But, it's a good way to find out how this stuff really works and also see how user friendly Blogger really makes creating content on the web.

So, to answer everyone's question - here's the source of the "code" that was sent to you via email last week.  If you're still having trouble removing the "Next Blog" from your blog, check out this website:  Removing the NavBar from Blogger

This page also has a video screenshot of the process if you scroll down.

MSDE Class Meeting #3 Agenda

Tonight we will continue to pursue our quest for learning new and exciting technology that can compliment our daily instruction. During the evening we will:

1. Warm-up with a YouTube video and discussion about the infamous "Atlanta Grape Lady"

Questions to think about as we watch these clips - Who watches these videos? Who makes them? Why? and most importantly... How! Editing video and sound requires a lot of skill sets. How do you think the kids who make these videos have acquired these skills?

2. Share student made PowerPoints and ideas
This is a time to both ask questions and look for ways to improve your projects.

3. Share Tumblr & Blogger sites, then visit and leave comments

4. Complete a quick "Technology Review" using CPS remotes

5. Preview a selection of programs available on the FCPS Application Menus that we can practice with before our next meeting.

The form to complete before our next meeting can be reached by clicking here.

Uploading Pictures to Tumblr

For all of you out there using Tumblr, and wanting to add pictures, here are a couple ways to do it. You can either post a picture from your computer or the internet, you can change your user icon in the "customize" area, or you can completely change the entire image of your tumblr blog in the "theme" area.

To see a screen cast of how to do this, click here http://www.screencast.com/users/mrh21727/folders/Jing/media/a04eb737-db1b-4099-885f-0fb4ddb7e79b

MSDE Class January 21, 2009

Welcome back for more technology tips and tricks!

Last week we used del.icio.us to bookmark and tag online resources. Today we'll do a very quick review of del.icio.us, share some of our bookmarks, and answer any questions that may have come up in the last two weeks.

The NEW tools we'll learn today are either Tumblr, Blogger, or PowerPoint. You can think of them as Bronze, Silver, or Gold Medal activities depending on your experience and comfort level with technology.

Bronze Medal Activity = PowerPoint
If you're new to using technology and want something you can do with your students to make your lessons engaging with multimedia resources, I'll share some PowerPoints that you can edit to make your own.
As you're working today, check out this online tutorial about PowerPoint http://www.actden.com/PP/

Silver Medal Activity = Tumblr
Want to make a quick and easy one way blog that you can use with students to share information or make a portal to access online activities. Setting up an account only takes about a minute, and the directions for using the Tumblr dashboard will appear as you're working. Posting links, comments, pictures, and even online movies is pretty easy. The only drawback is that tumblr is "one-way", the creator of the blog can post information but there is not an option for viewers to contribute.

Gold Medal Activity = Blogger
Blogger is a little more challenging to use than Tumblr, but not too much. You'll still have the ability to post comments, stories, or share videos, pictures, and links, but... your viewers can contribute as well. Now you have a true blog where students can respond to your questions about literature, math, social studies, or absolutely anything you're teaching in your classroom.

Adding a user to your Delicious Network

How do I add a new user to my del.icio.us network?
Today I made a "screencast", or video of my computer screen, using a free program called Jing. After recording my voice and computer screen Jing lets me upload the movie to a website where you can watch it. To see how to add a user to your network in delicious, click on the link below and enjoy! (Push the Play button in center of screen after it opens to begin the video)
http://www.screencast.com/users/mrh21727/folders/Jing/media/a83f6b4c-ff99-4413-a87c-1c16599a9127

Commoncraft Show on Social Bookmarking

Time To ADD USERS!

Thank you everyone for a great class tonight.

It was a pleasure getting to know you and introducing everyone to Del.icio.us. In response to everyone's email, I've posted the user names below so we can all add each other to our own del.icio.us networks.

Perhaps the best way to do this is to keep this blog entry open in one window, open your Del.icio.us in another, and then cut and paste each username from here into the "Add A User to Network" window (you'll see this in the upper right hand corner of your Del.icio.us window after clicking the "People" tab).

Here's what I have so far:

BookLady2002

dc25

beachbook

dhhoffman

3Kidz

Maine317

lakefun

pomeagle

cynjay

et21702

lamesser

telenson

nikki21773

mlfogle.tues

rju12920

LL18

sgrove

Cheryl2009

MiketheMan1

coddingtonw

If you do not see your username listed, please email that to me and I will post another blog entry later in the week.

MSDE 01-10-19R Class #1

Welcome to "Integration of Technologies into Instruction"

This is our first class and we have a lot to do!

First, we'll talk about how we're already using technology in our schools and classrooms by responding to this blog post. To do so, click on the "comments " button at the bottom of this page and then answer the following questions in your response:

1. What is your favorite piece of technology hardware in your classroom?

2. What do you like most about using technology with students?

3. What do you like least about using technology with students?

4. Name one thing you would like to gain from this class.

The comments button looks like -

If you'd like, try to cut and paste the questions above from this blog into your comment. You may also want to use a nickname in your reply for anonymity on the world wide web.

Second, I'll show you how to use an amazing tool called "Del.icio.us" to start bookmarking websites and online resources with.

When you leave you'll have your own Del.icio.us account so you can share your resources with all of your classmates here, and even tap into a few "experts" through the Del.icio.us network.

Finally, we'll all create a blog like this one using either "Blogger" from Google, or "Tumblr".

To get started with Blogger, visit: http://www.blogger.com/

To get started with Tumblr, visit: http://www.tumblr.com/

See Mike's tumblr page at http://usingtech2teach.tumblr.com/

This activity will lead into our end of the class objective and assignment for our next meeting - a blog of your own to use with students that you can share with us in two weeks.

Schedule for the MSDE 07-10-19R Course

Session One (Face to face) January 7, 2009 @ Thurmont Primary 4:30-6 PM
· Introduction and overview of the course topic and requirements.
· Review of Delicios for Social Bookmarking.
· Setting up Blogger or Tumblr Accounts.

Session Two (Online) Work due by January 14, 2009
· Participants will create their own blog to share activities with students.
· Participants will begin bookmarking with the Delicious Accounts.

Session Three (Face to face) January 21, 2009 @ Thurmont Primary 4:30-6 PM
· Participants will create a PowerPoint presentation to use with students.

Session Four (Online) Work due by January 28, 2009
· Participants will implement their lesson, reflect on the experience, and post all resources to their blog in order to share and discuss with others.

Session Five (Face to face) February 4, 2009 @ Thurmont Primary 4:30-6 PM
· Participants will create either a Word Document or Excel Spreadsheet to use with students in the classroom and/or computer lab.

Session Six (Online) Work due by February 11, 2009
· Participants will implement their lesson, reflect on the experience, and post all resources to their blog for further online discussion.

Session Seven (Face to face) February 18, 2009 @ Thurmont Primary 4:30-6 PM
· Participants will create an online assessment or CPS activity to use with students.

Session Eight (Online) Work due by February 25, 2009
· Participants will implement their paperless assessment, reflect on the experience, and post all resources to their blog.

Session Nine (Online) Work due by March 4, 2009
· Participants will prepare and share with the staff in their school a presentation on one of the resources they learned to use in the class.

Session Ten (Face to Face) March 11, 2008 @ Thurmont Primary 4:30-6 PM
· Conclusion and assessment