Created a Zooburst augmented book. Very cool project for younger kids. The free version allows for 10 books, which is enough for a class at my school. It does not allow voice recording, whereas the paid version does.


Click on this link to check it out  -->    My Zooburst

If you choose webcam mode, and print the image as indicated, you can look at the book in augmented mode.  Let me know what you think.

Reflection on Day 6

I appreciate the time we spent starting from scratch to create a project. The decision making as to which tools to use and how to get started was valuable. I also loved the quick easy collaboration using Google Apps. (Somehow  I have to get our admin to see this value and allow student email accounts.) We saw some limitations to this method, as we spent quite a bit of time working on a tool (Present Me) that we were not able to include at the end. Although it is powerful learning to explore independently and  discover something new, students would most likely want to have a good looking project to share in the end. They would not be as satisfied with telling about learning from taking the wrong avenue.

Day Six

We spent much of the day working on presentations, using Google Docs and Dippity, both of which proved to be highly interesting tools. I really enjoyed working on them, especially searching Youtube for applicable material. That was lots of fun. Wish we had more time to work on something a bit more complicated.

I think I may work Dippity in the wiki project my students will work on.

Day Five

The discussion about blocking sites stirred up a lot of passions in people. While I can see the logic to blocking sites for students, I have to come down on the side of giving teachers the power to unblock sites for educational purposes. Teachers are professionals and districts should trust their judgment as to what is appropriate. And if teachers show poor judgment, then there are disciplinary procedures in place just like for any other inappropriate activity.

Jing is another tool I like, particularly when combined with Google Earth or other application. Then there's Edmodo. I wonder which would be better for students to exchange information and comment on media: Blogger or Edmodo?

Day Four

What can I say? I love Google Earth. The ability to view almost anywhere on the planet (or Mars or the Moon) is addicting. I hope someone makes up a Marcellus Shale drilling sites ap for it. My students would eat that up.

Day Three

In day three, we talked about Tweetdeck, which is an interesting way to following Twitter. Twitter itself is useful networking tool. As a learning aid, however, I am kind of skeptical. It requires students to follow the feed and keep up with the instructor's tweets.

Creative Commons is one of those things that seems to be growing in popularity, especially among people who create digital content. I love that it makes content usable for educational purposes.

Wolfram Alpha at first sounds like something from a Joss Whedon TV series, but it is another useful tool for looking up information.

One thing that I think I disagree with is the Pecha Kucha approach to presentations. Maybe it's because I see PowerPoint slides as an aid to presentations and not the presentation themselves.

Day Two

Day Two was all about wikis, Diigo, and Google Docs. Diigo, while an interesting way to mark and leave comments about websites for my students, I wonder how many would go out their way to mark websites if they weren't assigned to them. On the other hand, Google Docs are a fantastic tool for students to collaborate on group projects. Wikis are what I feel the most enthusiastic about. I think having students put together wikis as a class project would be very effective as a learning tool.

Day One

Now that I'm finally able to log on to the blog, I'm going to put my thoughts down on each day.

Bloom's Taxonomy was a new concept for me. I'm sure to the members of the class with elementary and secondary ed degrees this was old news, but for me this was new.

The discussion about the ubiquity of mobile devices was fascinating, as was the use of blogging as a tool to help kids learn. I was really impressed how young kids were enthusiastic about putting their experiences and thoughts into blog form. I have to wonder how college-age students would feel about this, though. My experience is that college students is that they do things mainly for social reasons. I don't know if they would like to write stories about being a balloon.

Thoughts about Thursday 7/28/11

Yesterday's activity was very helpful. Being able to create a product using some of the tools we have talked about was a good way to apply what we learned to an actual project like our students may do. We can debate the effectiveness of projects over traditional learning but I think that may be a futile debate. Most people people agree there is value in most types of learning and the important thing is to do multiple activities and teaching strategies.
I was impressed with Jim's decision to let us know he wasn't happy with the way the course went and that he plans on changing it to a format with more involvement and use of the web 2.0 tools. That taught me something very valuable about teaching; never be afraid to realize you want to do something different and to also let your students know what you're planning on doing. It shows them that this is an ever-changing process and one of the worst things you can do is become stagnant.

That's All Folks

I have always been on board with technology in the classroom. I was lucky enough to take over for a teacher who volunteered for the CFF program and so I inherited her outfitted classroom. As a result, technology has been a part of the way I have approached teaching quite literally from day one. I have always seen that there is a better way. However, after this class, I now see that there is a better way for me as well. I used to duct tape projects together using what I knew and what I knew I had to work around. I have so many new tools at my disposal now that I don’t have to just make do. We can make a legacy. For example, in the past I would have my myth students create a time line of the events of the Trojan War using a PowerPoint Slide. I created a time line template, threw it in Moodle, they slapped in some pictures and turned it in. Well, now I have Digity! A real interactive time line! This year I’ll be going in to lessons that I like or don’t like for that matter with a better way. Consequently, I think that I need to be more vocal with my tech department and coach when things aren’t working out. Now that I have experienced the power of the wiki, how can I not use it in my class? We have to figure out the wikispaces/lightspeed issue this year. Last year, I sent in one request. What they attempted didn’t work, so I moved on. That was one battle I didn’t have it in me to fight. Well, watch out filter! I’m coming for you! All this being said about my better way, it can’t be just me. Students can’t deepen their learning just in 506. Every single teacher in my school, my district, my state needs to be championing this shift. I feel like sometimes we rely on excuses to get by with business as usual. After seeing the power of the these tools, it is not ok anymore.

Innovations in teaching

After watching the videos the last few days yo have to wonder where is education heading and what will the classroom look like in 10-20 years. On the one hand it may not look much different than it does today. Education has a way of moving slowly and changing slowly. I don't think this is a bad thing. Contrary to popular opinion I think our system has done an excellent job educating people in this country. As with most things in a free society we give you the tools and the opportunity and then it's up to you. We've talked about change in education a lot over the years but I think the shift with using technology is real. I can see in as little as 10 years at least half of the students will be in a classroom at least half of the time they are now. This isn't a bad thing, it will simply over more opportunity and different opportunities for teachers to teach. For teachers it will require a different set of skills. This is the difficult part for me. I know how to teach chemistry and I know what kids need to do to learn chemistry but I don't know how to do it using web 2.0 tools. As we watch these examples of what teachers are doing and how they're doing it it's very scary yet exciting. I think we're going through big changes in education and staying ahead of the curve is becoming more and more important.

Working with Jing

Of all the tools we have investigated so far Jing is the one I think I will use the most. Whenever I am trying to learn something new on the computer it is always helpful to see an actual illustration of exactly which keys and which icons to hit. Sometimes it sounds very easy to do but often times with procedures it is easy to miss a step. In class when I show students something new I usually spend a lot of time with just 3 or 4 students going over the exact procedure we just did. This is okay but with Jing a lot of time will be saved and the students will have something to review.

Issuu

A few hours ago I took a PDF document I uploaded onto my ISSUU account and put it in to a new personal/my blog. I then posted a link to the PDF (on my blog) on another site and ... had the following nice response from the moderator of the other site (and a big-wig in the field). I, like most other people, really like seeing this jazzy stuff for the first time! :)

[These built-in scroll bars as sooooooooo slow. Ancient technology!]


Nancy Hayfield Birnes [Moderator] 1 hour ago
Thanks, Lou! I keep meaning to check that out, and now I can. I wonder how it will compare with the reams of stuff I have in boxes from Corso. Might make a good show, too! Excellent work, Lou!

Lousheehan 2 hours ago
This is out of context, but here is a link to Lt. Col. Corso's FBI file (click on the thumbnail). Enlightening stuff! http://lou-sheehan.blogspot.co...

Wed, July 27

One focal point in today's videos that I will remember is that creating learning that is meaningful and significant to students will make students come alive in the learning process. For me this means talking with their regular classroom teachers a little more, but mostly, it means just thinking outside the box of traditional computer lessons. I love the idea of students doing screen casts to teach other students what they have learned; or making podcasts about something they have experienced or are interested in. These are lessons I would never have thought of before this class.

I remember my excitement when I first learned about Jing and its ability to make cropped screen shots. I thought the video capture was great, but could not image the logistics of using it. Now I can see how to save and embed in a Wiki. (Unfortunately, I also found that embeding in Ppt 7 is way too difficult for even the teacher to do.) I never would have thought of students using Jing, but now I think students making how-to's to share would be a "meaningful" addition to a project.

Although my students have made Google Earth tours, I find that there is always something new to learn about the tool. Today I learned that with a little bit of HTML, you can add a picture to the info bubble. I am officially getting at the point of Web 2.0 overload. Perfect timing. Time to start planning some web 2.0 lessons. Lots of choices, but some are jumping out and saying "pick me".

Day 5

Today was a great day for trying things out and becoming more comfortable with some of the technologies that may be new. I loved the ideas and discussion from other classmates...always great to hear how others are using the tools in their classrooms.

Good conversation too about the flipped classroom, presentation styles, and traditional instruction v. collaborative learning in the real world.

I'm excited to brainstorm project ideas and hear what others will be working on.

And the coolest part of the day? Google+ hangout! Loved it!

What will your legacy be?

Of course I’m going to Jing it up this year, but what really stuck with me today was Alan November’s idea of a legacy. The other 9th grade English teacher who also happens to be a friend of mine has a sign hanging in her room asking her students what will their legacy be. I never really gave it much thought. Their legacy is not to make me mad today. (I kid!) As I plan for this coming school year, I would like to create learning objectives that really create a 9th grade legacy. I want what they create in my class to really last and not just be taken down off the walls in June to make room for next year’s work. I love the idea of a digital textbook produced by students. Don’t just write the paragraph for me; put it out there to share with everyone. I think it is important for students to start crafting their global voices early. I know that we should be practicing what we preach, but I don’t know how ready I am to starting working on my own global voice. I might not have this hesitation to just put it out there if I came through an educational environment that taught me how to have one. This is clearly not the fault of any of my teachers. I didn’t know about the internet until 6th grade. However, we just shouldn’t be waiting now.

7/27 Reflections

Today was a great example for several of us in class on experiencing the frustration when the technology doesn't work the way it is demonstrated. On the positive side of the situation, during the class today we had time to sit and try and work through the problem without the added stress of a time limit or having 25 students stare at us as we try to solve the problem or move to plan B. As many of us have probably experienced, when this happens in a classroom situation, the frustration becomes even greater mainly because we are trying to move on with the lesson without losing control of the students as they wait for the technology to work. As we have mentioned before, this is also where professional development is so critical. If there is a technology meltdown for someone who is somewhat comfortable with using technology, there may still be frustration, but they are probably better equipped to handle the situation. For someone who is starting out and experiences problems, it is easy to understand why they throw their hands in the air and decide that technology isn't worth the aggravation. That is one of the reasons I like taking classes on this topic because it allows me the time and space to learn and practice using the tools with a knowledgeable person available to help with problems before using them in the classroom. In order to provide other staff members with a higher level of comfort in using these tools, I want to make a greater effort in demonstrating some of the technologies we have learned about in class to staff in my building and help them learn to use the technology with their classes.

I learn something new every day in LTMS 600 class. Sometimes, it can be frustrating when you are learning new tools because they don’t work they way you want it to work at first. Like they say “The more you practice working at something the better you get.” I really enjoyed learning about Jing and Edmondo. I believe that I can use these tools in my classroom and introduce them teachers to integrate in their lesson plans.

I really enjoy what we learn today about using Google earth. I believe that it has a real place in the classroom. In addition, I know that a lot of social studies teachers are using the technology. Yet, if they are not using it, they really should be using Google Earth. I can truly see teacher giving their students virtual of cities, and famous landmarks.

PLE

I'm starting to understand the importance of a personal learning network and see the relevance of tools like Twitter and RSS Aggregators. I've always wondered where people find information and not it's coming to me! This class has hooked me up with a good number of resourceful people on twitter and google reader and I'm excited to explore more.

The skype with Will Richardson was good today. Was interesting talking to the man who wrote the book if nothing else! Proof that people are out there and willing to connect.

7/26 Reflections

As most of my interaction with students is in helping them with research and creating in them a love of reading, I am always looking for new ways to help reach those goals. I am anxious to see how I can best use Shelfari with my students to provide reading lists for them as well as providing a place for them to share what they read in the book discussion area. I want to share this with my English teachers as well, as many of them have different activities throughout the year that ask students to participate in small group/literature circle discussions. I think Shelfari is something they will find useful. From the research perspective, I have used Glogster with a few classes this past year, and hope to use it with more this coming year. This is a great way to get students away from the typical pen/paper research report. It allows them to move into the higher order thinking skills by making them identify the most important information from their research and then to locate other resources to present their research facts. It also makes them think about how they logically need to present their information so that it makes sense. I am also hoping to use more video creation software to allow them to present their research through video as well

Goolge Earth: The next excuse not to leave the house?

It was amazing being able to visit Shakespeare’s Globe Theater today! I see great use for Google Earth in my class in helping to provide context for the setting of the literature we read. I visited The Globe in 2006 and being there was a much richer experience. Well, duh. That seems obvious. It also seems obvious that I can’t take 2 classes of 9th graders to London for a tour twice a year. This is a real and enriching alternative. I actually tried to use Google Earth last year in creating a project where my myth students were going to create a tour of Odysseus’ journey throughout Homer’s Odyssey. Of course I had technical difficulties and had to abandon the project in its beginning stages. I didn’t have the time to waste tinkering. I think that’s a shame. With everything that a teacher has to think about in a given day, something has to give. In this case, it was that project.

Diigo

I'm getting a kick out of seeing the Diigo post-its left on some of my favorite teacher sites like Glogster and Wordle. It makes me feel more connected to my profession.

I Like Worlde Also

Participate in my practiced Poll

 Please click the link below to participate in my first Poll Everywhere Poll. Sorry for the very trendy topic, but I had several 19 year olds helping me plan this poll. They were very impressed with the fact that you text to respond. One boy said, "Texting...that's illegal in school."


"Who is your favorite friend of Harry Potter?":

http://www.polleverywhere.com/multiple_choice_polls/LTk0NzQ5MDUwOA

I couldn't resist.

"A man is rich in proportion to the number of things which he can afford to let alone." - Walden, Henry David Thoreau

What if

It’s everywhere! The more aware I become, the more I see. Last week there was a QR code on a coupon I got in the mail. Today there was one on my raspberry Haagen-Dazs sorbet. Two years ago I walked around the art gallery in The Bellagio in Las Vegas with a tour guide in a little white speaker held up to my ear. What if there had been codes next to each painting? What if there were QR codes in text books? What if cell phones weren’t contraband in public schools? What if…. I had ignored the little black and white square for a while, but now that I have downloaded the scanlife app to my phone, I get excited when I see one!

Last try ... for now

working on trying to make this voicethread public

http://voicethread.com/share/2155680/

experiment again

More experimentation -- Ignore

experiment -- ignore

http://voicethread.com/share/2159236/

Phone Numbers/e-mail address(es)

If any or all people want to exchange phone numbers/e-mail addresses, let's do so. I realize for others there might be privacy concerns so we could do it in class or -- as I believe the class wiki is private -- on the wiki.

My regular e-mail address is: Lousheehan@mac.com
(H) 717-732-4110
(c) 717-503-8335

The order in which someone is most likely to reach me is: (1) e-mail, (2) home phone and in a distant third (3) cell phone.

-- Lou

Mind42 II

Mind42 (it isn't clear which -- if any -- links works)

http://mind42.com/pub/mindmap?mid=fd4d063e-bc74-4d1f-ace1-f63e78388086


Dying Words

I couldn't resist ... more required reading for students:

Walden; Or, Life in the Woods (Dover Thrift Editions) [Paperback]
Henry David Thoreau (Author)

Harrisburg Capitol in Google Earth 3D

Before this morning, I had not warmed up to Twitter. That just changed when I saw a Tweet from Google Earth that the Harrisburg Capitol Complex has been created in 3D by a resident of Harrisburg. Went to the site, and there was a picture and short article about the creation. I wanted to share it with #ltms600 on Twitter, but realized that the url would take up most of the tweet message. Used TinyURL.com to shrink it. This was all so easy!

Question for Mr. Gates

Sometimes I encounter things like the below (like on the Animoto site). When I click on the icon to, for example, post on Facebook, they say they want lots of info about me ... like my password, etc. Is it dangerous? safe?

-- Lou

Post to another site

For a completely unbranded sharing experience, go Pro.

Post to Facebook Facebook
Post to MySpace MySpace
Post to Twitter Twitter
Post to Blogger Blogger
Post to Posterous Posterous
Post to WordPress WordPress
Post to Tumblr Tumblr
More Services...

Letterpop

It looks like there are no free options on Letterpop?

Tagul seems to be a little more problemmatic in terms of saving the work

Wordle II -- YOU HAVE TO CLICK ON THE LINK

title="Wordle: LTMS600-001 Class Blog III"> src="http://www.wordle.net/thumb/wrdl/3863626/LTMS600-001_Class_Blog_III"
alt="Wordle: LTMS600-001 Class Blog III"
style="padding:4px;border:1px solid #ddd">

Wordle

title="Wordle: LTMS600-01 Class Blog II"> src="http://www.wordle.net/thumb/wrdl/3863615/LTMS600-01_Class_Blog_II"
alt="Wordle: LTMS600-01 Class Blog II"
style="padding:4px;border:1px solid #ddd">

Where to find the time?

I have just finished another class that I was taking this week on integrating technology into the classroom. Although we talked about some of the tools that have been discussed in LTMS 600, I was introduced to a whole different set of technology software and hardware which is available. As I reflect on everything that I have seen or used these last three weeks it is becoming clearer to me that I need to look objectively at all the different tools and decide on a select group of tools to master and integrate into my teaching/assignments. Otherwise, I find myself getting very overwhelmed with everything out there. I want to keep a running list of things I have been exposed to so that I can share them with other staff so that they may wish to use the tools in their classroom.

Temple of Artemis

On around this date in 356 BC, Herostratus set fire to the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World. He committed the act in a quest for fame. A rain of ants fell on Nancy, France on July 21, 1887. The world's lowest temperature, -129°F, was recorded at Vostok Station, Antarctica on today's date in 1983.

Anderson - Positron (antimatter) at Slideshare

Anderson and the Positron

View more documents from LouSheehan

SlideShare II Eisenhower Briefing

Eisenhower briefing

View more documents from LouSheehan.

Slideshare Embed I

Summer of Tech - resume bootcamp and workshop 2011

View more presentations from John Clegg

Prezi -- Pivotal Moments in the American Civil War

The American Civil War on Prezi

Hopefully this will be a glogster embed

?????????

I used that title because as I work through the course material I seem to have more and more questions. I also keep misplacing my pencils and pens for not taking which is getting quite irritating!

I appreciate the break this week to work through the book, explore, and reflect on what we've learned and how and what to put into practice for this upcoming school year. I have to familiarize myself with some of the technology before using it (twitter), but other ideas will be easier to implement. My "list of things to explore" is growing exponentially and I'm not crossing things off at nearly the same pace!

Voicethread II

Voicethread

Poll Everywhere

Create interactive meetings at Poll Everywhere

This SHOULD be an embed code from animoto

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

PDF --> Word converter

It simply isn't clear where we are to post many things ... so I'll do it here for fun. I tried the PDF --> Word converter last night and I have yet -- say at least 16 hours -- to hear back from them. Then again, maybe the PDF I sent to them was too difficult?


I tried to put a link to the PDF into this blog, but was not able to do so.

“Is Google Making Us Stupid?” By Nicholas Carr.

“Is Google Making Us Stupid?” By Nicholas Carr.

I wasn’t certain as to where we were to post our responses to this article.

1. “The Web has been a godsend to me as a writer.” Undoubtedly as to the availability of information, but economically?

2. My approach would be more along the lines that the ever more competitive economy -- the competitive World Economy -- is pressuring us to read spend less time reading on any specific topic. If one were to desire to do so, one could avoid the short articles and largely or exclusively read novels and journals (on paper or on-line). [I see the interesting discussion of the development of the clock and its interaction with human behavior in the same light.]

Even the author writes: “The Internet … [is] … becoming our map and our clock, our printing press and our typewriter, our calculator and our telephone, and our radio and TV.” Exactly, i.e., it is replacing existing technology. I believe it is competition that is driving most of us to shorter amounts of time spent reading about any given topic, not the internet per se.

3. He mentions Taylor’s “one best method” which reminds me of the almost political mantra -- and vacuity -- of the slogan “best practices.” What a load of hooey.

Reflections after 1 week

One week has gone by and I'm working through the day 3 homework. The videos have been very interesting. The sixth sense video was very intriguing and a little disturbing. After watching that video it isn't a stretch to imagine a chip implanted in your head that allows you do all those things without having any device. All this information could simply show up on the cornea of the eye. All those science fiction movies like Blade Runner don't seem at all silly knowing what's on the horizon in technology. It's very interesting, exciting, intimidating, overwhelming, and intriguing. I'm not really sure what to think of that technology shown in the video. I'm not sure I would want all that information. I believe it would take a lot of the uncertainty out of life and it's the uncertainty that makes it interesting.

Tom Hanninen

Dear Lightspeed,

One of the questions we were asked to think about in one of the discussion posts was the message either promoted or discouraged by our district’s content filter. My district uses Lightspeed and the blocked content message and I know each other well, especially when it comes to using wikispaces. The filter is not a consistent problem. It strikes random students on different days anytime. I’ve even been the victim of this prohibition. It is beyond frustrating. I gave up on having each one of my 9^th graders having a wiki very early in the school year last year. I couldn’t link to my wiki in Moodle for students to use because some but not all would be blocked. I would have to log in to individual laptops and then log in to wikispaces and set up stations for students to move through and about 40% of the time I would even be blocked. This process would take upwards of a half an hour. If I don’t have a prep period before a class where I need to do this, I’m in trouble. I’ve brought this up to the tech department and they worked some magic unblocking individual sites in the filter, but there was no change. One of my goals for this course was to use my wiki better, but I guess I forgot about the Baker vs. Blocker battle. It is a shame. I know that a common misery teachers share is lack of time in the day. If it doesn’t work, we have to give up quickly and move on because there is more to do, something to grade and a different class waiting behind that next bell. So Lightspeed, all I really ask it that you make a decision. Block my wiki so I can move on to the next plan or don’t. My job is pretty difficult already, stop making it more tricky.

Sixth sense

WOW I just watched the video on the Sixth Sense project. Talk about the world of Star Trek. This is an amazing project and to think that the necessary equipment I believe the speaker said cost less than $400 and can be used and projected anywhere. And it is available now. Can you image the impact this will have on education?

Learning Lots

Big day for new experiences in Web 2.0...uploaded a PowerPoint to Slideshare , used Audacity to make a voice recording and combined them into a slidecast. This took some time because uploading was interrupted several times, probably from my slow internet connection. Also made new pages and links to organize my Wiki and inserted a show from Slideshare. Took time to find all the features and figure out how to use them, but not it seems easy and a great way to share presentations with students and parents. The only glitch I see is that it is not private to my knowledge. This might work for student work, but probably not photos.

Some day 3 reflections...

Still thinking about day 3 from Friday and some of the neat opportunities. I have been fiddling around with Tweetdeck today and watching some of the info come across. Is there an easy way to recognize spam?

I also like learning how to use slideshare to narrate presentations and would like to pursue conversations about the flipped classroom idea.

I embedded a slideshare presentation onto my wiki page and was able to try a poll on twitter which took awhile to figure out.

Lots to consider for fall lesson planning.

To go paperless or not…

…that is the question. I have flirted with this idea in the past but never really made the commitment. The thought is brought up in Richardson in chapter 5 or maybe that’s where I had the thought again. My first real experience with the labor pains of switching over to a paperless system came outside of education actually. I was working at an accounting firm and made the switch from summer receptionist fill-in to assistant office manager in charge of billing no district in suburban Philadelphia wanted to hire. That is a tough job market. Anyway, part of my responsibilities was to scan in years of back paper trail in terms of accounts receivable and payable. They had just purchased two new copiers with scanning capabilities that sent document straight to the company’s shared folder. Neat. Snooze. It’s a necessary evil when converting. What to do with all the old paper? Have the kid we don’t pay much stand at the copier all day. It made sense to head in that direction. The younger partners there were already completing their billing on their own in the system while the more seasoned accountants still required reams of paper to be print out for all their clients, handwriting the bills, and providing me with a daily exercise in interpreting chicken scratch. Paperless then popped up again in the first CFF course I took and again last spring when I took a class with a Family and Consumer Science teacher who turned her classroom paperless. It is somewhere I want to go. With everything I’ve learned in the past three days it seems much more possible, but is it really? I have to get over myself. I find it so much easier and actually quicker to grade writing by hand. Well, maybe I should write less on their writing. It would cut down on the time I take printing student work from Moodle. It’s so wasteful, but grading writing and I are pretty much frenemies. I act like we get along to everyone else, but behind her back, I’m spreading some pretty bad rumors. Going paperless would cut down on the time I spend in line at the copier, the copier that is out of order every other day. That would be a nice change. But what about the one or two students that do not have computers or internet access at home. High school is a delicate balance. I would hate to be the reason they hate it even more. Although, I do honestly find this frustrating and I know this is almost an unfair feeling for me of all people to have. How must those kids feel? But, I really do find this limiting. I can’t assign things to be done paperless if not everyone has the technology to make it work. Well, I guess I could. Will the one kid turning it in on paper being doing so with resentment?  We’re moving into the newly built school after this coming school year. Maybe new school, new attitude?

About Today (or yesterday since it is 12:30)

I knew I was behind (having been out of tech teaching for 10 years), but am starting to see the light. I love the tools but find they take a different skill set or system to use... passwords, bookmarking, etc. The practice of using the skills all day while learning about new tools is helping me adjust. This is better than taking a half day class and not using the technology for some time.

So many great tools for student use. Hope to narrow down to those that will work best in my class.

Productive Practice This Evening

As a review of class today, I placed two YouTube videos on my web page. They are introductory training videos for Sketchup, which I use with Middle School. Also added a link to a Sketchup training site to Diigo.

You may want to check out these videos if you use Sketchup.

Part of Sullivan Ballou's Letter to His Wife Sarah

Sarah, my love for you is deathless, it seems to bind me to you with mighty cables that nothing but Omnipotence could break; and yet my love of Country comes over me like a strong wind and bears me irresistibly on with all these chains to the battlefield.

The memories of the blissful moments I have spent with you come creeping over me, and I feel most gratified to God and to you that I have enjoyed them so long. And hard it is for me to give them up and burn to ashes the hopes of future years, when God willing, we might still have lived and loved together and seen our sons grow up to honorable manhood around us. I have, I know, but few and small claims upon Divine Providence, but something whispers to me - perhaps it is the wafted prayer of my little Edgar -- that I shall return to my loved ones unharmed. If I do not, my dear Sarah, never forget how much I love you, and when my last breath escapes me on the battlefield, it will whisper your name.

Forgive my many faults, and the many pains I have caused you. How thoughtless and foolish I have oftentimes been! How gladly would I wash out with my tears every little spot upon your happiness, and struggle with all the misfortune of this world, to shield you and my children from harm. But I cannot. I must watch you from the spirit land and hover near you, while you buffet the storms with your precious little freight, and wait with sad patience till we meet to part no more.

But, O Sarah! If the dead can come back to this earth and flit unseen around those they loved, I shall always be near you; in the garish day and in the darkest night -- amidst your happiest scenes and gloomiest hours - always, always; and if there be a soft breeze upon your cheek, it shall be my breath; or the cool air fans your throbbing temple, it shall be my spirit passing by.

Sarah, do not mourn me dead; think I am gone and wait for thee, for we shall meet again.

Interesting Stuff Today!

First, I appreciated the opportunity to see backchanneling in action and the discussion that ensued about different kinds of presentations and opportunities for backchanneling in the classroom. I really liked the website that didn't require students to create an account, but still listed them by name. I understand the benefits of it being anonymous, but it's easier for me to assess where the students are at if I can see who is asking what question.

I also enjoyed playing around with google forms today and some of the gadgest that go along with it. The script that grades the form was very easy to use and I can see a lot of application for that in the classroom. The only problem is the grading requires one correct answer and many times we use google forms to share data, all of which is different.

It was also helpful to see how diigo groups worked. I had a diigo account which is very convenient, but the toolbar is great (I won't uninstall it) and it was useful. I was on some other documents that had notes (is that what they're called?) from others which was helpful to see.

All in all, a highly productive day!