MCCE Summer Tech Conference: Power point files

For attendees of the PowerPoint sessions, please use the link below to explore template files and some other Power Point options.


Power Point

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Embedded Video

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Another Successful Year for TILT

TILT showcase fun

For some quick snapshots of the event, see the collection on Picasa Web Albums. If anyone is worried about their posterior or tongue sticking out...it is private. You may share the link or download the photos as you wish.

p.s. the giraffes love their new sib and are belted in ready for tomorrow's commute.

Jazzed about Jooce

Holy All-In-One Tools, Batman!

If you have not had the opportunity to explore this AWESOME website, you are in for a real treat. Jooce is a one-stop everything website. With a free account you can email, chat, save files, share pictures...instantly share all your videos, pictures, and songs with friends as well.
The really cool thing is Jooce actually turns your browser into what looks like a computer desktop. You have a control panel to make the environment personalized, you can even set the wallpaper!
I think the thing I like best about it is the interaction it has with the user...it is just fun to play with even if you don't use it as your sole technology tool.

This is currently in my top 5 technology tools now...

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Preparing for the Showcase

Everyone:
I will be in the Board Room all afternoon to set up the tables and such. You are welcome to come at anytime. The event will start promptly at 5:00.

5:00-5:45
Dinner: Taco bar provided by The Soup Place (Thank you Nancy Smith)
Awards: This year there are some special awards
Prizes: You will receive a ticket when you walk in the door and we will draw for prizes.
Video: Just something in the background for you to watch.
Note: You will be given a packet of items. There will be a colored card in your packet. Please sit at the table that has the same color table-tent as your card.

5:45-6:00
Setup your section of the showcase - look for your nameplate and place your items there.

6:00
Start Your Presentations! I just mean be ready to explain your showcase and explore other TILT member's work. Please make a concerted effort to visit all the other TILT teacher exhibits.

1st Year Teachers:
Because you are the student, please focus on the technology that you have explored and found valuable. You will write up a 1 page paper describing the technology and how you have used it. If you used it with your students (or your students used it), even better.
Showcase at least one project that you have created using the technology mentioned in the paper. Your showcase can be in any form you choose. Some examples are: multimedia presentation, video, binder of paper, plackard (three-fold style), brochure, pictures....there is no limit. Remember to make a copy of your 1 page paper for Desiree.

2nd Year Teachers:
Because you wore your teacher hat more this year, please focus on your curriculum and how you introduced technology into an activity to enhance your students' learning. In your 1 page paper, explain the classroom activity, the technology used and whether your integration was teacher-directed or student-centered. Your showcase can be in any form you choose. Some examples are: multimedia presentation, video, binder of paper, plackard (three-fold style), brochure, pictures....there is no limit. Remember to make a copy of your 1 page paper for Desiree.

Note: There are always exceptions to any directives, right! If you have actually started entering the "phase 3" and want to showcase a "Mentor" project...you are welcome to do that.

7:00
We are done! If anyone wants to stick around and help clean up, that would be greatly appreciated. :O)

Thanks for another successful year.

My Favorite Technology Tools

Recently, I was sitting in the back of a room during a technology workshop. The speaker was asking, “How many of you use ____?” Each time I raised my hand. Finally, the lady next to me shoved a notebook and pen at me and said, “What are your 10 favorite tools?” It made me think…this is what we should be sharing in MCCE (along with the support and purchasing questions). So here are my favorite tech tools (available for both mac and pc) in no particular order:

Flock: new social browser - I think I like it better than Firefox!

VoiceThread: web 2.0 story-telling tool (kind of)

Inspiration: concept mapping software

Google….Everything!! …Docs, News Reader, iGoogle, Earth, Timeline, Gmail and more

Blogger: blogging software (Word Press is new to me)

Del.icio.us: social bookmarking - this is flocking amazing! Sorry, inside joke. My username is caskeyd…add me to your network!

iTunes If you think this program is just to play music...think again. You can get audio books, rent movies, watch TV shows....and that is just the entertainment part. Podcasts are free, contain all kinds of educational information, and...you can create your own! That is so cool.

TeacherTube, SchoolTube & YouTube: these video sharing sites will let you expand your bag of tricks and resources. You can find information on pretty much any subject and it is a social site, so you can upload your own videos and share them!

Other Tools (Fun & Function):

MooURL: Have a long URL, use this tool to shorten it when you are sharing with friends.

VLC: media player…opens multiple types of video including flash (.flv) and exports to multiple file types. Very handy!

UnPlug: an extension for Firefox that lets you extract media from websites.

VoiceThread: an online story creation tool that is super easy to use

Jooce: a cool website that turns your browser into a desktop environment - use this to share media files.

Skype: Chat software with video capabilities

SlideShare: a website where you can post and share your powerpoint shows.

Blog Sighting!!

Check out this neat blog. It adds a nice dimension to using technology in the classroom. you can even sign up and send your kids to the moon. :)

Growing Up Online

This is a very interesting look into the digital world put on by PBS and Frontline. It is definitely worth watching.

Visual Statistics: Using GapMinder.com

If you have not heard of GapMinder, you need to check it out!! And then, you need to share this site with your co-workers. This site has some great visuals that can be used in math, social studies, science, health, business...almost any classroom.

Learn about trends in the world (climate, population, technology, health and more). To get started, go to this site and click on the GapMinder World Link. You will be impressed with all off the information you can uncover.

Bloom's Taxonomy Narrative

I got this from my MT Cadre workshop. I think it explains the environment we have been working to create for the last two years in TILT.

Compare the old Bloom's to the new Bloom's.


A dynamic learning environment

Bloom’s Taxonomy and the World Wide Web are two pieces of a puzzle that forms a dynamic learning environment. With them in place, the remaining two pieces, the teacher and the student, will be changed. If the teacher creates a constructivist or inquiry-based classroom environment, then both teacher and student must behave differently to take advantage of the learning opportunity it affords.
The student

In an inquiry-based classroom, students are not relegated to the traditional desks in straight rows. Students are not empty vessels waiting to be filled. They assume an active role in which they must locate, evaluate, organize, synthesize, and present information, transforming it into knowledge in the process. (Note the distinction here from Bloom’s definition of knowledge — see below.) Students work collaboratively with classmates to explore a problem. This makes it possible for each student to come to his or her own understanding of a particular topic as he or she constructs knowledge. This environment is focused on the learning and is more student-centered than the traditional classroom.
The teacher

If the classroom has become more student-centered, then what does this mean for the teacher? Is he or she no longer necessary? Of course not. In fact, the teacher’s role is just as important as it has always been — if not more so. With a knowledge of learning styles and of Bloom’s Taxonomy coupled with access to the wealth of resources provided by the World Wide Web, the teacher works alongside the students. Teachers scaffold learning so that students can assume a more active role in their own learning. This means that lessons are in fact more carefully constructed to guide students through the exploration of content. Teachers’ instructional arsenal contains a greater variety of instructional techniques and knowledge of instructional design. Their role has evolved from the limited didactic form of lecturing once held as the standard view of an effective teacher.

Attention to Bloom’s Taxonomy does not mean that every class period must be optimally designed to place students in inquiry-based roles. Teaching requires that we constantly assess where students are and how best to address their needs. This may mean that on certain occasions it is necessary to lecture. In the long run, it means that the teacher balances methods of instruction by providing opportunities for the students to take some ownership of their learning. It means that it is more likely that various learning styles will be addressed. And it means that we may not hear the dreaded question Why do I need to know this? so often
Final thoughts: A Bloom by any other name

Benjamin Bloom did his work long before the advent of the "Information Age," and some of his terms conflict with the way we often talk about the Internet. It has become common to say that what students find on the Web is only information, and that they have to construct knowledge from that information on their own. If Bloom were devising his taxonomy today, he might call the first level Information instead of Knowledge.

Perhaps the point to remember is that it doesn’t much matter what you call it, as long as you teach it. Bloom’s Taxonomy is a convenient means of talking about higher-level thinking, but other taxonomies could be (and have been) designed with different names for more or fewer levels. If your students are analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating, they’ll be able to decide for themselves what to call their ideas!

(excerpts from http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/bloom0405-1#4-0-0)

Thanks Daren for sharing!

Community Walk: Explore Billings!

CommunityWalk Map - Welcome to Billings

School Ideas

Classroom 2.0 in VoiceThread

Digital Storytelling at Burlington

This is a digital story that I have also posted to the Burlington Elementary website. It was a lot of fun to create and if you haven't tried digital storytelling - well - you should!!

Castle Rock art expressions

TED Talks: Is Creativity Killing Education?

Sir Ken Robinson talks about the future of our educational system and how we are educating our students to not be creative. This is a very compelling argument for supporting creativity in students. Why am I sharing this?

The Revised Bloom's Taxonomy lists Creativity as the highest level for knowledge acquisition and learning.

21st Century Skills includes Creativity and Innovation.

Montana State Standards for Technology Integration includes Creativity and Innovation.

We know that technology has a vast collection of tools for students to create and be innovative. When we change our approach from teacher-directed to student-centered - which is true technology integration - not only are we allowing students to construct their own knowledge, but we are also supporting the use of tools for creativity and innovation. Although this video is a bit long...I thought it was worth watching and worth sharing.
To watch this video, visit TED Talks (an excellent resource).

The Dog is Always Blamed for the Eaten Homework

Are We Keeping Up? A Quick Look at Emerging Technology

Recently posted on the Internet was a top 100 list of E-Learning Tools. I quickly scrolled down the list and was amazed at how many we have explored in TILT. In TILT, we have a great advantage - time to explore or at least be exposed to new technology.

I hope that as you look through this list, you are encouraged by the level of awareness you are at for emerging technology in education. Of course there are going to be tools on this list that you and I have not had the opportunity to explore yet, but how cool is it to have a place where we can see what is considered emerging in the area of E-Learning.

Tell me, how many on this list have you explored? How many on the list are you at least familiar with? (I use or have explored 50, I am familiar with 96)

FUN!

Using Excel to Create Posters: Video Tutorial

If you have not had a chance to check out some of the great videos available through TeacherTube, here is one that I think you can use for yourself, your students or clubs and activities.