Friday, November 16, 2007

Post, Read, Comment, Reward: Printer Ideas

Random Comments to this post will be rewarded.

If you had a printer in your classroom...hooked to your desktop or to use with your laptop...what would you do with it? Would it be a benefit? Even a simple black & white inkjet? Give us some ideas of how this could help you.

How inconvenient is it to NOT have one?

If you do have one, how are you using it?

Friday, November 9, 2007

virtual workshops



Last night I participated in an online workshop using ivocalize. It was an art deal called "5 minute masterpieces" run by Marney Makridakis of Artella ( http://www.artellawordsandart.com/ ) The moderated discussion included the usual text (each person identified as they typed and posted); a whiteboard (we did a collaborative art doodle piece at the end); and easy to follow upload so we could share our paper collage pieces that we cut and pasted in our own locations from one side of the U.S to the other and into Canada. Pretty cool stuff! http://www.ivocalize.com/
I may sign up for another if it fits my schedule.
I've included two of the 5 pieces we did last night in an hour...there was discussion between the 5 minute projects.
Elizabeth
BTW - If you want the "story" I wrote to explain the creature and me portraits, you'll have to contact me to email it : )

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Post, Read, Comment, Reward: Creative Educator





A random selection from the comments will be rewarded.






Creative Educator is a new publication that gives some great lesson ideas as well as integration tools and tips. It is produced by the company Tech4Learning, which was started by a former teacher and creator of HyperStudio. Tech4Learning also created a great site for image searching called Pics4Learning.

I think it is worth researching. Although all the lessons use their software programs...there are Web 2.0 alternatives to do everything they present! They also have links to free programs like a bibliography maker, a rubric maker and a graphic organizer maker! You can subscribe to the magazine - it is free. From what I have seen...it is a GEM!

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Giving Teachers the Reins for Staff Development

I am reading this article out of a new online magazine called Sourcebook (magazine for professional development) and I just have to quote what someone says....

"I believe that true professional development takes a lot of time. The reason I think that this is so important is because oftentimes professional development is seen as: Go to a training one or two days after school and now you are professionally developed. I believe that to truly grow and learn, you have to use your knowledge, find out what works and doesn’t, and determine what gives you the results that you need."

I thought...HELLO!!! Someone has dared to say it out loud. This is the case with TILT, attaining technology skills and understanding how to effectively integrate it into your curriculum takes time. Planning and implementing it takes...more time. That is the reason for the 3-phase approach to TILT. It models staff development that is ongoing...because we don't just get "professionally developed" in an hour or two.

21st Century Skills Article

With the exploration we have had of 21st Century Skills, I thought you might be interested to know that THE Journal (Journal about technology in the K-12 classroom) has an article about that very topic. It is very insightful.

To read it, click here.

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Edheads

Okay here is a very fun site that students can use that is very interactive and fun. This is a great site for extended studies students. The site is called edheads and I have definitely enjoyed what I have explored. (I am thinking that this is a good 4th-5th site) Predicting the weather and the virtual surgery are really neat!

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Link Share 2

Alright, here is another site that is very neat to use, you can actually do some 3-D problem solving.

I really enjoyed the design and test feature.

Post, Read, Comment, Reward

Well, well, well...so you have decided to read a post on the blog. Is it because you have been made to or because you want to collaborate and communicate with your peers? Is it because Desiree is making you do it as part of an activity?

Students are posting, reading and commenting on blogs daily. It is part of their life and we should be making it a part of ours.

So in an effort to generate more interest and traffic for the BPS TILT blog, I have decided to create a contest. The first TILT member to comment (intelligently) on this blog will receive a prize.

Better yet, the TILT member with the most comments by semester end will receive a "BIG" prize.

Need a reason to read and to comment? I understand...just like your students, you are wondering, "How does this impact me in the real world?" So...here is the topic of this post...Do you have a projector in your classroom? If you do, how are you using it. Be specific. What is the last thing you did using your projector? If you don't have one...what would you do with one?

Now I know what you guys feel like, working like a dog just to get your students to interact!
:O)

Articles in Teacher Magazine

Thank you to Barb Fettig, US History teacher at Skyview for sharing links to Teacher Magazine articles. I think you can get some very valuable information for your classroom and your school.

Revealing American Education:
This article is a great resource for the discussion of Indian Education for All. It addresses the gaps between Native American and non-Native American viewpoints.
You can find the article here.

Web Sites To Know:
If you are involved in staff development, SQP, or are just interested in professional learning communities and school reform, you should read this article.
You can find the article here.