GPS Scavenger Hunt Photos

Technology Use in the Classroom

Understanding Symbols

There are a lot of symbols for technology that are universal. This means they serve the same function no matter what technology you are using: computer, VCR, video camera...but, for some reason, adults don't realize this. So...to help you out, here is a list of common symbols and what they mean.


PLAY: When you click this button, your music, video, or audio will play


PAUSE: When you click this button, your music, video, or audio will pause. Clicking it again, will resume play.


RECORD: When you click this button, you will record audio or video. The color of this button is almost always red.



STOP: When you click this button, your music, video, or audio will stop.



REWIND: When you click on this button, your music, video or audio will rewind. Depending upon the media, it may rewind to a previous file or will continue to rewind until you click Stop.


FAST-FORWARD: When you click on this button, your music, video or audio will be fast-forwarded. Depending upon the media, it may move to the next file or will continue to fast-forward until you click Stop.

Are You Jing With It?

Some of you might be reading the title of this post and saying...?HUH? So, if you are interested in capturing and sharing any part of your computer screen, then read on...

For those of you that need to or just like to explain how something is done on the computer, Jing just may be your answer. Jing is a program that instantly captures and shares images and video…from your computer to anywhere...your local hard drive, an ftp server or, the company (TechSmith) will host your files for you on Screencast.com. TechSmith, by the way is the same company that created Camtasia and SnagIt - two high-end, high-priced screen capture programs. Yep, I paid for and use these programs because they were what was available at the time and they are relatively easy to use.

One positive thing - Jing works on both PC and Mac, which is good news for those of us that are bi-platform.

Secondly, it is easy to use and has more functions available than just your computer's built-in print screen. Jing lets you do a live crop of the area you are trying to capture - after invoking the capture command, your cursor turns to cross-hairs and you select the area of the screen you are interested in capturing. After that you choose whether to capture an image or a video.

When you are done, you can click the stop button and you have the option of sharing the file on Screencast.com, uploading it to an ftp site, or saving it as a file. By default, it uses the date and time as a file name, but this is easily changed. TechSmith is really encouraging users to upload to Screencast.com so that they can see how people are using it.

Another positive - which for some of us that do a lot of video tutorials is HUGE - Jing captures the menus unlike a lot of other capture programs.

The final positive element of Jing is its price - currently it is free. For educators, that is a must.

I did a little research on Jing and found that there are a few limitations. Currently it only captures at 10 frames per second which is not a good rate for capturing streaming video, for example grabbing a YouTube video. It does work well however for illustrating the steps in completing a task in an application or walking through an interactive website.

Another limitation is the capture time is limited to 5 minutes and the file sizes are a bit large. The video is captured into a .swf file (Flash). This is nice because .swf is a format that is widely used.

So, it is easy to see how someone such as myself (Technology Integration Specialist) could use this program and be a better person for that...but how can we use this in the classroom?

One idea - I would love to take quick screen shots of websites I use with my students as visual reinforcement of a concept we are covering. There are a lot of animations on the web that I would like to have saved to my computer...for example the water cycle or plate techtonics. Once you find a really good animation, you want to keep it.

Another idea - When I introduce a lesson that integrates technology, I can capture my actions on the computer for creating a project to help the students learn that skill. For example, I can teach the students how to create a character analysis document in Inspiration or teach them how to download an image off the Internet, insert it into a PowerPoint...and copy and paste the web address for citing my source.

I will be using Jing to create some video tutorials. If you are interested in what a finished product looks like, visit the Technology Tutorials section of our website and click on Tutorials in Flash.

Easter Activities for your classroom

Teacher's Guide for Easter Activities
Mrs Busy Bee Classroom

St. Patrick's Day Classroom Resources

Here are a couple of websites you might find useful for incorporating St. Patrick's Day into your classroom activities

http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/spring/patricks/
http://www.teachersfirst.com/holiday/saint_pat.cfm
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/stpatrick/

Share the Technology

I thought that this site on sharing technology was very interesting. I also noticed that Montana was not on the list of being a donor recipient. I think this may be a good thing to look into if you are in need of a computer etc. Let me know what you think.

Creating Podcasts: Preparing for your Podcast

This video explains how to use an ipod and italk to create an audio file for your podcast.

Using Podcaster to create a podcast

This video tutorial walks you through taking an audio file from iTunes and placing it as an episode in Podcaster. You can use this tutorial if you are using Audacity to record your episodes. Just remember to export your recording as an .mp3 file.

The video also explains publishing the necessary files to complete the process.

Have Fun!

Video Tutorial: Blogging

This video is a reminder of how you can create posts on a blog when someone invites you to be an author to their blog. A good example of this is the TILT Link Share blog...

Making Your First Post on a Blog

After you have been invited to be an author on a blog, it is just a matter of knowing a few steps to create your first post. Watch the video below to learn how.

Network vs Internet

Several teachers have asked me about finding the TILT folder on the Internet and every once in awhile, I see a teacher launch a web browser when asked to go to the TILT folder. AND...I have been asked why we can't see our server folders at home.

I thought it was time I explained the difference between a network and the Internet.

A network is a group of computers that are connected through cables or through a wireless connection. Typically these computers are in the same building or related buildings. Billings Public Schools is an example of a network. McKinley Elementary has its own network. When you use a network, you access files through your computer's operating system. You do not need to launch an application to locate files or folders that are saved on the network (saved to a server).

The Internet(a.k.a. The World Wide Web) is an information system of servers and clients that users can access data on other computers on a global scale (throughout the world). The information on the Internet is accessed by launching an application called a web browser. Examples of web browsers are Internet Explorer, Safari, and Firefox. The Internet is navigated through graphic pages that contain hypertext (Text with links to other text).

These concepts are explained on a pretty basic level, but hopefully it clears up some confusion about the two words: Network & Internet.

Kudos for Innovation

Kudos for innovation is shared by two elementary teachers: Julie Betts from Bitterroot and Dan Erikson from Poly Drive. Both teachers have recently had training in using the ipod mp3 player & iTalk microphone to record audio. They also had training on creating classroom podcasts. Both of these teachers used these new skills and new digital tools to create classroom podcasts. Betts had her students read the biography reports they wrote. Erikson had students read poems from a variety of authors. Both teachers then published the individual student readings into podcast forms.

To listen to Mrs. Bett's biography podcasts, you can subscribe to her podcast in iTunes:
Copy the following link: http://www.billings.k12.mt.us/podcasts/thirdgradepodacast.xml
Open iTunes and from the Advanced menu paste the above link into the box for "Subscribe To a Podcast" option.

To listen to Mr. Erikson's poetry podcasts, you can subscribe to his podcast in iTunes:
Copy the following link: http://www.billings.k12.mt.us/podcasts/podcast2.xml
Open iTunes and from the Advanced menu paste the above link into the box for "Subscribe To a Podcast" option.

Watch future blog posts to learn how to subscribe to other TILT podcasts, and how to make your own podcast.

TILT days energize

This is an experiment as much as anything. My students created collages using the National Gallery of Art website. They made screen shots and imported their artwork into a word doc. I uploaded their images into PhotoStory3 and created this little showpiece for their collages. To see more about their Romare Bearden experience visit the Castle Rock Art website.

What's up with that?

Television has been talking about the digital changeover in 2009...does that affect us with older tv's in our classrooms? Or does it even affect us? Wondering...

podcasts

If you have not had a chance to explore podcasts I highly recommend you do it. There are many great sources that are free via a podcast. If you go to itunes and click on the itunes store there will be a button to push for podcasts. You then can begin searching for different podcasts. There are some neat podcasts done by the national parks, even Glacier National Park has one. One of my favorite podcasts is through National Geographic called Wild Chronicles. The episodes are short little videos that you can use for free to introduce a concept or to explore the world of science. There are many that are based on animals. My students love these short little video podcasts. Be sure that you watch the video first to make sure that is what you want to use. I think you will really like this option for your class.

Underground Railroad

This site, The Underground Railroad, is recommended for grades 4 and up. The content presents an accurate and personal view of the brutal practice of slavery, a concept that may be difficult for young students. If you teach grade 3 or younger, please review each section carefully and thoroughly before you decide to use it with your class.

Declaration of Independence Message

This was a commercial before the Super Bowl this past Sunday. It is a recitation of the Declaration of Independence by a few famous Americans. It is a great video you can use in your classrooms...but be aware, it might make you cry!

Email Is Down! Is the Sky Falling?

It is amazing how we rely on our email as a form of communication. How convenient is it to communicate with multiple people at the push (or click) of a button. Now, we find ourselves without this service...and feel cut off from the rest of the world...at least the BPS world. So, is there a solution?
How can we survive if our email server dares to crash on us again...we are educators, we ALWAYS have a plan B. Even if we don't know it.

The answer is to use an alternate email address. I would bet that most of us have a hotmail, yahoo, Google or some other service email. So, if you are trying to get a hold of me via email...you can still do it through email. Just use a different account. Here are two alternative email addresses for me.

caskeyd@gmail.com
caskeys@imt.net

Hey! How about a Plan C?? Using Chat software, we can still stay in touch and the communication is immediate. Hmmm...guess what activity each TILT meeting will start with this next month!

Let's keep the communication open and flowing!

E-mail?

Hey, what's up with the email? Inquiring minds want to know.