If you could dream, what supplies would you provide for your classroom?
There are many different options to get materials, supplies, and even technology for your classroom. Below is a list of some you might like to try:
Pepsi Refresh Project: This site allows you to create a project, list your needs/wants/dreams, and others vote on what project should be funded. Pepsi has $1,300,000 available for donations and finalists will be chosen on October 1st.
DonorsChoose: This is an ongoing site for teachers to list project ideas and the supplies necessary to complete it. You can request technology or school supplies with this site by registering for an account and explaining your project.
Limeades for Learning: Limeades for Learning is a partnership that Sonic has with DonorsChoose. Again, just register for an account, list project ideas and needs, then share your ideas with others so they can vote on it. So far, Sonic has given over $255,000 this month. Voting closes on September 30, so hurry!
Digital Wish: Whereas the above listed sites can fund anything from technology to crayons, Digital Wish is only for technology projects. It's a great way to get a Flip camera, digital camera, or even a wireless slate. Just get an account, list your project ideas, and wait to get funded.
I hope to see lots of our teachers trying this out! Contact me for assistance in the type of technology to request.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Monday, September 13, 2010
Find it Fast!
Ever been searching a long document for a key piece of information? What about when you can't find that keyword on the website you're looking at? Mac has a solution for that. You can use the 'command f' key combination to find whatever you need in virtually any application. For example, by using this key combination on a webpage, I searched 'emints.'
By clicking the "Next" button shown above, the word eMINTS is highlighted individually. If it is preferred, by clicking "Highlight all," I can see how many times the word is used in a single webpage.
This can be a handy feature when looking for information or for students to use as they determine if words are overused in their writing. Remember that all applications might look a little different when using this feature. To close the search, look for a button that is either red or has an "x" near the search field.
By clicking the "Next" button shown above, the word eMINTS is highlighted individually. If it is preferred, by clicking "Highlight all," I can see how many times the word is used in a single webpage.
This can be a handy feature when looking for information or for students to use as they determine if words are overused in their writing. Remember that all applications might look a little different when using this feature. To close the search, look for a button that is either red or has an "x" near the search field.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Making Your Life Easier on a Mac, Part II
Last week, I posted 5 Mac shortcuts designed to help users save a little time and be a little more productive. As mentioned last week, the list of Mac shortcuts is phenomenal. I've chosen a few more shortcuts and tricks this week that might assist you.
1. Take a picture! So many times we find reasons to share pictures of our screen, but there's no "Print Screen" key on a Mac. Use the combo Command, Shift, 3 to take a screen shot or Command, Shift, 4 to select your picture area. The picture will be downloaded to your desktop as Picture 1, Picture 2, and so on.
2. Make your calculator fit your needs. The calculator application on a Mac is opened first as a standard calculator. It can be changed to a scientific or programming calculator by going to View, then choosing your preference.
3. One thing that is heard from many former PC users when they move to Mac is, "I want my right click!" A right click on a mouse usually opens up many shortcuts and additional options. On a Mac, the right click is a control click. Simply hold the control button down and click on the track pad if you're using a laptop. All your options will then become available!
4. Rainbow Wheel, i.e. Spinning wheel of death: How many times have we suffered from this? It can happen for many reasons, but there is a way to get rid of it. Alt, Command, Esc is equivalent to Ctrl Alt Delete on a PC. Try that key combo to Force Quit the application that is not responding.
5. Close a window or quit a program: Sometimes when using multiple applications, many, many windows are open. The windows you are done with can be closed quickly by using the key combo Command W. Quit the entire program by using the key combo Command Q.
Try these tips this week and soon they'll become habit. Hopefully, you won't have any reason to use Tip #4!
1. Take a picture! So many times we find reasons to share pictures of our screen, but there's no "Print Screen" key on a Mac. Use the combo Command, Shift, 3 to take a screen shot or Command, Shift, 4 to select your picture area. The picture will be downloaded to your desktop as Picture 1, Picture 2, and so on.
2. Make your calculator fit your needs. The calculator application on a Mac is opened first as a standard calculator. It can be changed to a scientific or programming calculator by going to View, then choosing your preference.
3. One thing that is heard from many former PC users when they move to Mac is, "I want my right click!" A right click on a mouse usually opens up many shortcuts and additional options. On a Mac, the right click is a control click. Simply hold the control button down and click on the track pad if you're using a laptop. All your options will then become available!
4. Rainbow Wheel, i.e. Spinning wheel of death: How many times have we suffered from this? It can happen for many reasons, but there is a way to get rid of it. Alt, Command, Esc is equivalent to Ctrl Alt Delete on a PC. Try that key combo to Force Quit the application that is not responding.
5. Close a window or quit a program: Sometimes when using multiple applications, many, many windows are open. The windows you are done with can be closed quickly by using the key combo Command W. Quit the entire program by using the key combo Command Q.
Try these tips this week and soon they'll become habit. Hopefully, you won't have any reason to use Tip #4!
Friday, August 20, 2010
Making Your Life Easier on a Mac
One of the best things about using a Macintosh computer is the shortcuts! I counted them - there are 191. If you'd like to see the complete list, click here.
There are about five shortcuts that I think are the best for productivity. This can assist you in the classroom and make your life a little easier. They are listed below with examples of how to use them:
1. Command Tab: Hold on the Command key and hit Tab. This will show all the applications you have open. Continue to hit Tab until the white box is around the application you want to use, then let go of both keys. The chosen application will be moved so you can easily access it.
2. Expose: This is different for different computer models, but can be changed. Using either the F9 or F3 key, you can see every document, application, and window that is open and running on your computer. If neither of those keys work, use the Expose and Spaces area in System Preferences to set it up. Choose the key you prefer where it says "All Windows."
3. Show Desktop: Use the function and F11 key at the same time. Again, if your settings do not allow this function, just change it in System Preferences where it says "Show Desktop."
4. Increase screen size: Command +. This will make your screen size larger so you can zoom in on one area. Decrease by using Command -.
5. Quick View: At some time, you'll get to the point where you have so many documents that you're not sure which one is which. Using the Finder menu, you can easily view documents before they're open. Click on the document you'd like to preview, then click the spacebar. A temporary window appears. (See below)
You can preview the document, then click on the spacebar again to close out.
Habits are formed through repetition. Throughout this week, try these shortcuts regularly until that habit is established, then venture to the Apple Mac OS X Keyboard Shortcuts linked above or look for continued posts to this blog for more ideas.
There are about five shortcuts that I think are the best for productivity. This can assist you in the classroom and make your life a little easier. They are listed below with examples of how to use them:
1. Command Tab: Hold on the Command key and hit Tab. This will show all the applications you have open. Continue to hit Tab until the white box is around the application you want to use, then let go of both keys. The chosen application will be moved so you can easily access it.
2. Expose: This is different for different computer models, but can be changed. Using either the F9 or F3 key, you can see every document, application, and window that is open and running on your computer. If neither of those keys work, use the Expose and Spaces area in System Preferences to set it up. Choose the key you prefer where it says "All Windows."
3. Show Desktop: Use the function and F11 key at the same time. Again, if your settings do not allow this function, just change it in System Preferences where it says "Show Desktop."
4. Increase screen size: Command +. This will make your screen size larger so you can zoom in on one area. Decrease by using Command -.
5. Quick View: At some time, you'll get to the point where you have so many documents that you're not sure which one is which. Using the Finder menu, you can easily view documents before they're open. Click on the document you'd like to preview, then click the spacebar. A temporary window appears. (See below)
You can preview the document, then click on the spacebar again to close out.
Habits are formed through repetition. Throughout this week, try these shortcuts regularly until that habit is established, then venture to the Apple Mac OS X Keyboard Shortcuts linked above or look for continued posts to this blog for more ideas.
Friday, June 11, 2010
The Reality of the 21st Century Learner
Disclaimer: This is not a cool tech trick. This is me on my soapbox. If you want a tech trick, please refer to the archives. There's lots of great stuff there!
Day 1: So there I sat, in a conference, learning lots of new stuff. I was constantly texting, tweeting, sending emails, and taking notes in my wiki, which I use for PD. I have to admit, I was out of my element with this conference. The presenters talked about things I had never heard of before. So what did I do? I Googled it. No way I was going to raise my hand in the middle of a conference and ask the presenter what each term meant. There were lots of techie-looking people in that conference room that would laugh at me for being the "stupid one!" Luckily, I didn't have to risk that because Wikipedia answered my question everytime. I did all five of the above listed activities (gasp!) at the same time. I left that day feeling so much more confident in my abilities as a technology specialist. I've always been strong on the curriculum side, but this conference gave me the background from the tech side. I couldn't wait for the next day.
Day 2: That was when it happened. The battery on my laptop died. I had a new battery and was still calibrating it, so I couldn't charge my laptop in my hotel room when I first noticed. No problem - I could charge it during the conference. Well, I thought it wouldn't be a problem, anyway...
When I arrived at my first session, I looked around the edges of the room. There were no, none, zilch power outlets around the room! Still, I'm a problem solver, so I got out the iPhone.
You know how there are commercials on television depicting two unnamed cell phone companies battling for the best 3G network? I'd never had a problem, and thought the commercials were silly until that day. I was apparently in a 3G dead zone. Sending and receiving texts was one thing, but using Twitter, my browser, and even Facebook was not happening. I tried and tried, unfortunately to the point that I killed that battery, too. I only had one option left. The thought of having to take notes on traditional paper (with no table in front of me) was repulsive. I did it, but sure wasn't happy about it. At least I learned a lesson that day to always charge my laptop the night before.
This story might be something for you to chuckle at, or maybe even roll your eyes at. Regardless, this is the story of our students today. There are two kinds of people in the world today - digital natives and digital immigrants. I've said before I'm definitely a digital immigrant, not necessarily because of my age, but because of the small town that I grew up in. Imagine what it's like for our kids, who are definitely digital natives. Imagine what it must be like for them to sit through a lecture, to sit in a hard chair to read a story, to be so disengaged that they're thinking about anything and everything else. That's the "Power down" effect: when kids participate in critical thinking, problem solving, and engaging activities at home with video games or various computer software, then come to school and experience something that involves none of these skills.
Today's generation needs more. They can handle more. Their attention span only lasts about twenty minutes, and that's dependent upon their age. They are multi-taskers, regardless of whether we think they are or not. They want to create, explore, and figure things out. If we want our kids to learn, we have to meet them there.
Let's look at our options. Sometimes you have to lecture (sometimes). Sometimes you have to ask students to read (more often than lecturing). Why not use technology while students are involved in these activities? Need to lecture? Have the kids tweet the main points as they're listening. Have them keep notes in a collaborative document to share out with the rest of the class. They have to read. Instead of answering the questions at the back of the book, have them blog about their reading and reflect on what it means to them. They can comment each other's work and see how the same reading piece meant something else to another student. Need to teach a math process? After teaching the steps, make it real life. Connect it to buying video games, designing a room, playhouse, etc. I know it's not the way we learned, but did the way we learn prepare us for the 21st Century? Think about it - our primary education was geared toward agrarian societies of students that were going to grow up and work in factories. The really smart ones (or the ones whose parents made them) went to college. Did we ever really learn to think? To value ideas? Or were we just doing what the teacher asked so we didn't get in trouble?
I warned you, that was me on my soapbox. I could go on, but I'd just be repeating myself over and over. I have just one thought to leave with you as we consider the shift with technology and society - when I was a child, an abacus was a toy for preschoolers. Now I know several preschoolers who have iPods. How's that for progression?
Day 1: So there I sat, in a conference, learning lots of new stuff. I was constantly texting, tweeting, sending emails, and taking notes in my wiki, which I use for PD. I have to admit, I was out of my element with this conference. The presenters talked about things I had never heard of before. So what did I do? I Googled it. No way I was going to raise my hand in the middle of a conference and ask the presenter what each term meant. There were lots of techie-looking people in that conference room that would laugh at me for being the "stupid one!" Luckily, I didn't have to risk that because Wikipedia answered my question everytime. I did all five of the above listed activities (gasp!) at the same time. I left that day feeling so much more confident in my abilities as a technology specialist. I've always been strong on the curriculum side, but this conference gave me the background from the tech side. I couldn't wait for the next day.
Day 2: That was when it happened. The battery on my laptop died. I had a new battery and was still calibrating it, so I couldn't charge my laptop in my hotel room when I first noticed. No problem - I could charge it during the conference. Well, I thought it wouldn't be a problem, anyway...
When I arrived at my first session, I looked around the edges of the room. There were no, none, zilch power outlets around the room! Still, I'm a problem solver, so I got out the iPhone.
You know how there are commercials on television depicting two unnamed cell phone companies battling for the best 3G network? I'd never had a problem, and thought the commercials were silly until that day. I was apparently in a 3G dead zone. Sending and receiving texts was one thing, but using Twitter, my browser, and even Facebook was not happening. I tried and tried, unfortunately to the point that I killed that battery, too. I only had one option left. The thought of having to take notes on traditional paper (with no table in front of me) was repulsive. I did it, but sure wasn't happy about it. At least I learned a lesson that day to always charge my laptop the night before.
This story might be something for you to chuckle at, or maybe even roll your eyes at. Regardless, this is the story of our students today. There are two kinds of people in the world today - digital natives and digital immigrants. I've said before I'm definitely a digital immigrant, not necessarily because of my age, but because of the small town that I grew up in. Imagine what it's like for our kids, who are definitely digital natives. Imagine what it must be like for them to sit through a lecture, to sit in a hard chair to read a story, to be so disengaged that they're thinking about anything and everything else. That's the "Power down" effect: when kids participate in critical thinking, problem solving, and engaging activities at home with video games or various computer software, then come to school and experience something that involves none of these skills.
Today's generation needs more. They can handle more. Their attention span only lasts about twenty minutes, and that's dependent upon their age. They are multi-taskers, regardless of whether we think they are or not. They want to create, explore, and figure things out. If we want our kids to learn, we have to meet them there.
Let's look at our options. Sometimes you have to lecture (sometimes). Sometimes you have to ask students to read (more often than lecturing). Why not use technology while students are involved in these activities? Need to lecture? Have the kids tweet the main points as they're listening. Have them keep notes in a collaborative document to share out with the rest of the class. They have to read. Instead of answering the questions at the back of the book, have them blog about their reading and reflect on what it means to them. They can comment each other's work and see how the same reading piece meant something else to another student. Need to teach a math process? After teaching the steps, make it real life. Connect it to buying video games, designing a room, playhouse, etc. I know it's not the way we learned, but did the way we learn prepare us for the 21st Century? Think about it - our primary education was geared toward agrarian societies of students that were going to grow up and work in factories. The really smart ones (or the ones whose parents made them) went to college. Did we ever really learn to think? To value ideas? Or were we just doing what the teacher asked so we didn't get in trouble?
I warned you, that was me on my soapbox. I could go on, but I'd just be repeating myself over and over. I have just one thought to leave with you as we consider the shift with technology and society - when I was a child, an abacus was a toy for preschoolers. Now I know several preschoolers who have iPods. How's that for progression?
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Wallwishing
Isn't student engagement what we all wish for? Students can get tired of the same old thing, which can lead to disengagement. Wallwisher is an easy online tool that can be used in many different ways. It is so easy, in fact, you don't even have to create an account to use it!
To access a "wall," go to http://wallwisher.com/ and follow these steps:
1. Click "Build a Wall" in the top right hand corner.
3. Give your wall a name that will be listed in the URL. It can be anything! Just type in the field after the given URL. Choose your privacy settings listed below.
4. Choose a picture for your wall and Give it a title.
Wallwisher will then email you a message with the link to your wall. To add to it, just double click anywhere on the wall. Refresh your page as people add to it.
How can you use this in your classroom? Here are a few ideas:
1. Reflection
2. Brainstorming
3. Student created scoring guides
4. Collaborative writing
5. Feedback
6. Questioning
What are some ideas you have? Feel free to add to my wall:
http://wallwisher.com/wall/classideas
To access a "wall," go to http://wallwisher.com/ and follow these steps:
1. Click "Build a Wall" in the top right hand corner.
2. You will be asked to provide your name and email address.
4. Choose a picture for your wall and Give it a title.
Wallwisher will then email you a message with the link to your wall. To add to it, just double click anywhere on the wall. Refresh your page as people add to it.
How can you use this in your classroom? Here are a few ideas:
1. Reflection
2. Brainstorming
3. Student created scoring guides
4. Collaborative writing
5. Feedback
6. Questioning
What are some ideas you have? Feel free to add to my wall:
http://wallwisher.com/wall/classideas
Wordle-A Teacher's Tool
In high school, I applied for many scholarships. It was very competitive between my classmates. Many of these scholarships asked for a 500 word essay on various topics, sometimes just on the idea of "why I deserve this scholarship more than someone else." My mother typically proofread these essays for me. I remember the unfailing feedback I grew to expect: "You used (insert word here) too frequently. Go find some synonyms for it."
Those words have haunted me for over fifteen years. When writing papers for my undergrad degree, I would even count how many times I used the big idea in a paper so I could find synonyms as I went instead of rewriting afterward. By the time I finished my graduate degree, it was no longer an issue. I had spent over fifteen years developing the habit of not using the same word too many times. Now, how was I supposed to pass that gift on to my students without giving them haunting memories of their teacher standing over them, arms crossed, wearing a scowl? In addition to sparing them that nightmare, I'd also like them to identify with good word choice at an earlier age than I did. And so my search for a way to teach this skill continued until a teacher friend introduced me to Wordle.
Wordle is a "word cloud" generator. In simpler terms, it gathers all the words you've used in a piece of writing and randomly arranges them in something that looks like a cloud. Words that have been used more frequently than others are larger than the remaining words. Here's an example of what this blog's word cloud looks like thus far:
It seems as if I might need to look for a synonym for "word" judging by the size of this display.
Wordle is simple to use. Simply access the website at http://www.wordle.net. From the home page, you can browse saved word clouds from other users or create your own by clicking on the "Create" link. There are three options here - copy and paste in the text, enter the URL of any site that uses an RSS feed, or add in a Del.icio.us user's name to see his or her most common tags. For most classroom uses, choose the copy and paste option. After pasting in the text, click "Go." You will be redirected to a page with your word cloud. From here, you can change fonts, layouts, and colors. If necessary, this page can be printed or the cloud can be saved so that it can be accessed later.
Another use of word clouds includes comparing two articles. Want to find the most common theme in a meeting or even a speech? Take notes directly in Wordle and then generate a cloud. Here is an example of two Wikipedia articles. One is about FDR's New Deal and the other is about the government bank bailout of 2008.
By showing these two word clouds to students, you could generate a discussion about how these two events are connected, or, not connected.
Wordle is so diverse that it could be used in many different disciplines, as an engagement tool, and for a variety of activities to elicit higher order thinking. Options are endless!
Those words have haunted me for over fifteen years. When writing papers for my undergrad degree, I would even count how many times I used the big idea in a paper so I could find synonyms as I went instead of rewriting afterward. By the time I finished my graduate degree, it was no longer an issue. I had spent over fifteen years developing the habit of not using the same word too many times. Now, how was I supposed to pass that gift on to my students without giving them haunting memories of their teacher standing over them, arms crossed, wearing a scowl? In addition to sparing them that nightmare, I'd also like them to identify with good word choice at an earlier age than I did. And so my search for a way to teach this skill continued until a teacher friend introduced me to Wordle.
Wordle is a "word cloud" generator. In simpler terms, it gathers all the words you've used in a piece of writing and randomly arranges them in something that looks like a cloud. Words that have been used more frequently than others are larger than the remaining words. Here's an example of what this blog's word cloud looks like thus far:
It seems as if I might need to look for a synonym for "word" judging by the size of this display.
Wordle is simple to use. Simply access the website at http://www.wordle.net. From the home page, you can browse saved word clouds from other users or create your own by clicking on the "Create" link. There are three options here - copy and paste in the text, enter the URL of any site that uses an RSS feed, or add in a Del.icio.us user's name to see his or her most common tags. For most classroom uses, choose the copy and paste option. After pasting in the text, click "Go." You will be redirected to a page with your word cloud. From here, you can change fonts, layouts, and colors. If necessary, this page can be printed or the cloud can be saved so that it can be accessed later.
Another use of word clouds includes comparing two articles. Want to find the most common theme in a meeting or even a speech? Take notes directly in Wordle and then generate a cloud. Here is an example of two Wikipedia articles. One is about FDR's New Deal and the other is about the government bank bailout of 2008.
By showing these two word clouds to students, you could generate a discussion about how these two events are connected, or, not connected.
Wordle is so diverse that it could be used in many different disciplines, as an engagement tool, and for a variety of activities to elicit higher order thinking. Options are endless!
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