ShenTRAC: Educational Technology at Shenendehowa

Instructional videos for your students and Classrooms

John Bullington — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:13:03 +0000

I just wanted to highlight a few websites that you may or may not have already heard of. All of these websites provide direct instruction via video to students on a variety of topics, they can be used to supplement classroom instruction, provide a basis for a flipped classroom, or used as part of in class activities.

Khan Academy – The Khan Academy has very straight forward blackboard videos (think UPS commercial) on a huge selection of topics and lessons(2700 videos and counting). Major categories include Algebra, American Civics, Arithmetic, Art History, Banking and Money, Biology, Brain Teasers, Calculus, Chemistry, Computer Science, Cosmology and Astronomy, Credit Crisis, Currency, Current Economics, Developmental Math, Differential Equations, Finance, Geometry, Healthcare and Medicine, History, Linear Algebra, Microeconomics, New and Noteworthy, Organic Chemistry, Physics, Pre-algebra, Precalculus, Probability, Singapore math, Statistics, Trigonometry, Valuation and Investing, and Venture Capital and Capital Markets. See sample below.

You Tube Education – You Tube has decided to separate out and index videos from trusted sources that would be useful to educators and students. Major content providers include BBCEarth, Biography Channel, NatGeoWild, PBS, The History Channel, Smithsonian Channel and many others.

Cosmo Learning - Some of these are videotaped college professors lectures but it also contains a large number of documentaries. The education tab also has links to images, books and related websites.

Academic Earth – These videos are videotaped lectures by college professors. These are college professors and the videos are not suitable for younger students. The cross several different academic disciplines.

Learners TV - These videos are videotaped lectures by college professors. These are college professors and the videos are not suitable for younger students. The cross several different academic disciplines.

SIS Curriculum Pathways

John Bullington — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 17:02:50 +0000

I thought I’d forward on this article from eschool news about SAS curriculum pathways. They have quite a bit of free interactive lessons for teachers to use with students. The students can complete the activities and email worksheets that they have gathered data on back to themselves after finishing. Secondary Math, Science, ELA, Social Studies and Spanish are all represented and tied to the common core standards.

The following is from eschool news.

A popular online education resource now provides interactive curriculum tools specially tailored to correspond with both state standards and the Common Core standards—and U.S. educators can use the product free of charge.

SAS, a major business analytics company, released a new version of its Curriculum Pathways web-based resource on Aug. 15. The new version of SAS Curriculum Pathwaysincludes expanded content (including content aimed at middle school students), a more user-friendly interface, and enhanced search capabilities that allow teachers to find material for specific state or Common Corestandards.

Forty-four states and the District of Columbia follow the Common Core standards, a college and work preparation framework introduced in 2009 by state officials. The standards currently prescribe benchmarks in English/language arts and mathematics.

In math, for example, the standards outline a detailed progression of student achievement goals, from kindergarten students developing basic understanding of numbers to high school students making mathematical models of everyday scenarios.

Although previous versions of Curriculum Pathways provided curriculum mapping for 13 states for grades 9-12, the new version maps to standards in each of the 50 states for grades 6-12. Teachers can search for resources to match a particular standard, or do the reverse and see which standards a resource can fulfill.

According to SAS, more than 50,000 teachers and 12,000 schools use SAS Curriculum Pathways. At no cost, educators at traditional, virtual, and home schools can access highly interactive content for grades 6-12 in English/language arts, math, science, social studies, and Spanish.

“I think it’s important to remember that just because we put classes online does not make [them] interactive, does not make [them] engaging,” said Bruce Friend, director of SAS Curriculum Pathways. “We can bore kids as quickly online as if we just put them in a traditional classroom with a textbook.”

The curriculum resource includes a wide range of interactive formats, such as “read, research, and respond” guided questions, web lessons, and audio tutorials.

“I really like the new interactive tools because they look like a video game—which gets the students engaged—but they’re geared towards higher-order thinking,” said Katie Higgins, an English teacher and 2011 Mooresville, N.C., High School Teacher of the Year. ”Unlike the drill-and-kill videos that are more rote memorization, these get kids to think critically.”

Higgins praised tools such as Curriculum Pathways’ Writing Reviser and Punctuation Rules for being “incredibly interactive—students can actually click and drag a comma into where it’s supposed to be.”

Joy Elliott, a math teacher at Northern Middle School in North Carolina, said she particularly appreciates that the lessons can be differentiated according to students’ abilities.

Elliott explained how she would teach the math topic of slope: The whole class would begin with an “Audio Inquiry,” a basic activity that shows the definition and applications of slope and is followed by a quiz. By studying the results of the quiz, Elliott would decide how to review with struggling students, and she would know which students to send on to the next activity, a more challenging “Web Inquiry” that might have students measuring the slope of handicap ramps around the school or watching videos online.

Both teachers said Curriculum Pathways is a great way to help students pace themselves, because each student can choose how many times to review an activity and decide when to move on.

This kind of self-guided learning is ideal for preparing students for a digital future in a digital workforce, Higgins said.

“Students can pace themselves when researching, understanding, and learning—I think in the future they may not have a boss telling them exactly what they need to do,” Higgins said. “Inquiries teach students to research and evaluate their own research, rather than just having someone tell them what they need to know.”

Higgins and Elliott both said they have one-to-one laptop programs at their schools. But Higgins said that before she had the “luxury of one-to-one,” she used Curriculum Pathways in a variety of other ways: with a single computer and a projector; in a computer lab; or with a few computers set up as a station as students rotated activities.

Elliott praised SAS Curriculum Pathways as “as good as or better than” tools the school system has paid money to use.

“So what’s the catch?” asked Curriculum Pathways Director Bruce Friend with a laugh, acknowledging that many people ask how such an extensive resource can be free. “To answer that question is to know who SAS is as a company.”

Friend said “the short answer to a long history” is that SAS considers it a “corporate responsibility” to help teachers by “helping make learning fun, making kids interested in learning, and keeping kids in school.”

He noted that many of the educational tools available online are static PDFs, adding: “We need to transition into being more interactive, more engaging—and I think that’s where SAS is really successful.”

We Learn Tube

John Bullington — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 13:58:19 +0000

The NERIC (NorthEast Regional Information Center) has created a video hosting site, similar to youtube and vimeo. Using this site you can upload and share videos (of an educational nature) with students, parents and colleagues. Video can be viewed, searched and played directly from the site or embedded into your own pages. Because this service is provided through NERIC you don’t even have to setup accounts, every Shen teacher can login using their Shen credentials (Bull john and password for example). If you are embedding a video on your web page please copy the code (underneath the video) using a browser other than Internet explorer. To access this service go to http://shen.welearntube.org. Note: You do not have to login to view videos only to upload them.

You may notice that the Lead Teachers are beginning to build a video help library here. It’s a good place to go to see help videos on common issues or to learn something new.

Summer Course Offerings

John Bullington — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 12:51:02 +0000

PicasaWeb Albums

Where: PDCR (Professional Development Computer Room) When: July 12, 2010 from 12:30-3pm

Quickly and easily turn your photos into professional-looking slideshows embedded in your web page. This is a great way to share artwork, classroom events and student projects. Bring your digital camera and/or a collection of digital photos.

GarageBand

Where: PDCR (Professional Development Computer Room) When:July 14, 2011 from 9am to 3pm

GarageBand is a fantastic tool for educators. If you own a Mac, or are thinking of getting one, and you are interested in audio recording, this is the class for you. If possible, please Bring Your Own Mac, Mic, and/or midi device.

Creating Video Resources for Your Students

Where: PDCR (Professional Development Computer Room) When:July 15, 2011 from 9am to 3pm

Use available resources to create training videos for your students. Make your lessons more engaging with the use of multimedia. We will be learning about Movie Maker, Photostory, and Camstudio as well as how to upload your creations to servers (like YouTube and Vimeo) and embed them on your webpage!

Increasing your productivity by using the full potential of your Android Smartphone

Where: PDCR (Professional Development Computer Room) When:July18, 2011 from 9am to 3pm

This class shows you the basics of using your new android smartphone. Included in the class will be how to navigate through the different screens built into your phone, change basic settings, sync email and calendars(to your school account), install and manage apps, add and manage widgets, taking/sharing photos and as time permits we will also review some popular apps(applications). A discussion of smartphone classroom use will be facilitated also. Please bring your android based smartphone and wall charger/sync cable.

Open Lab Time: Create and Innovate

Where: PDCR (Professional Development Computer Room) When:July 19, 2011 from 9am to 3pm

The computer lab will be open for anyone wishing to work on an educational technology project, with guidance available from a Lead Teacher. NOTE: This is not a day for direct instruction; several teachers may be working independently on various projects.

How to use Activinspire Interactive Whiteboard software without a Promethean IWB

Where: PDCR (Professional Development Computer Room) When:July 25, 2011 from 9am to 3pm

You may think you need an interactive whiteboard to interact with your computer but that’s not the case. Prometheans ActivInspire software can be loaded on any district computer. Utilizing this software you can design lessons where students interact with your content. Prometheans classroom support website contains 1000’s of premade lessons you can download and begin using. The only prerequisite is a ceiling mounted LCD Projector, optionally a wireless mouse/keyboard is beneficial ($35 at any store)

Video Conference – Smithsonian American Art Museum

Where: PDCR (Professional Development Computer Room) When:July 26, 2011 from 10am to 11am

Is your school ready to start videoconferencing, but unsure where to start? This one hour live interactive presentation reviews the videoconferencing program at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and discusses the nuts and bolts of how to register for and coordinate a videoconference with the museum. Participants will hear an overview of the videoconferencing options available at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. They will learn how to introduce and discuss artworks in their classroom in preparation for videoconferencing and how to best participate during a videoconference as a classroom facilitator. *Note: the content of the Smithsonian art museum is best suited for art and social studies teachers, but the concepts of good video conferencing work in any subject area and pair well with the video conferencing class offered later this day.

Video Conferencing at Shen

Where: PDCR (Professional Development Computer Room) When: July 26, 2011 from 11am-1:00pm

Take your class across the state or around the world through virtual field trips and collaborative classroom projects. Learn how to find these opportunities and connect your class to content experts or students in distant locations.
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NOTE: A video conference with the Smithsonian American Art Museum is scheduled from 10-11, prior to this workshop. If you wish to attend the video conference, please register for that event separately.

Refresh your website with guided practice using Expression Web

Where: PDCR (Professional Development Computer Room) When:July 27, 2011 from 9am to 3pm

Already have a Shen website but need time and guidance to work on it, then this day is for you. A Lead Teacher is standing by to help you master the Expression web skills you have previously learned ** Note there is not any direct class instruction this day.

Create and Share Promethean Interactive Flipcharts

Where: PDCR (Professional Development Computer Room) When: August 18, 2011 from 9am to 3pm

Join other IWB teachers in exploring ActivInspire features that can be used to create interactive flipcharts. The morning will include instruction on features such as containers, restrictors, hidden text and other object actions used to engage learners. After lunch, teachers will be encouraged to collaborate with one another, share effective flipcharts and best practice tips as well as continue creating lessons with ActivInspire. Participants are welcome to attend the AM only, PM only or the entire day.

SIS Secondary Gradebook

Where: PDCR (Professional Development Computer Room) or HSW Computer room (based on enrollment)

When: August 22, 2011 from 1pm to 3pm
August 23, 2011 from 1pm to 3pm
August 24, 2011 from 1pm to 3pm

Infinite campus has made changes to the way you setup and maintain your online gradebook. Please note that the procedures for setting up a gradebook have been completely revised so it is HIGHLY recommended that you sign up for a gradebook session.

Create a Website with ExpressionWeb

Where: PDCR (Professional Development Computer Room) When: August 25, 2011 from 9am to 3pm

This class focuses on the skills necessary to put up a basic classroom website on the BOCES (Shen) web server. Skills include inserting pictures and text, hyperlinking between pages and basic page formatting techniques.

IMPORTANT: Participants without a BOCES web access account must request an account at least 2 weeks prior to the class. To request an account, print and fill out the form at: http://www2.neric.org/Profile_Request_Form-08.pdf. Send the completed form to Kelly DeFeciani at the DO via interschool mail.)

SIS Elementary Gradebook

Where: PDCR (Professional Development Computer Room)When: August 30, 2011 from 9:30 to 11:30 am OR from 12:30 to 2:30pm

Designed specifically for elementary teachers. Learn to use the SIS gradebook, including enhanced teacher tools that just became available in June 2011.

High School Gale databases now available via phone app!

John Bullington — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 19:42:38 +0000

Students and faculty can now search all of the databases provided by Gale (include Opposing Viewpoints, E-books, Academic and General One File, Twayne Authors, Newspapers, etc.) via their iphone or android enabled smartphones.

http://www.gale.cengage.com/apps/

Currently only the High school databases are included in the app interface. Use the link above to get details on how to install these apps. Once installed the app will ask you to pick a state and school district (by city) and enter a password (which can be obtained from the high school librarians on their home access instructions sheet)

Creative Commons Free Music Sources

John Bullington — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 17:41:06 +0000

As lead teaches we get asked all the time by teachers and students where they can go to find royalty free music to use in a Movie Maker video, a Photo Story project or a podcast. Many artists license their works using the creative commons licensing scheme. There are many different types of creative commons licenses, but almost all of them allow for free non-commercial use. To find out more about creative commons licensing go to www.creativecommons.org Creative commons licenses are for video, photographs and music.

Two excellent websites for searching for creative commons music are reviewed below.

www.jamendo.com

This website has approximately 300,000 songs available for download and they are sorted by genre. To see the genre tag cloud, click on the music tab and select tags. You can then click on any of the genre tags to select/hear music from that genre. You can download entire zipped albums or individuals songs in .mp3 format.

freemusicarchive.org

Organized very similarly to Jamendo is the Free Music Archive. By clicking genre at the top of the screen you can pick from 15 different genre, each of which are further divided into sub-genres . Clicking the downward pointing arrow all the way on the right hand side of a track will download the mp3 file.

Both websites allow you to search for specific artists and they don’t seem to overlap very much. Please understand that if you can buy the music in a store or online it probably isn’t available through either of these outlets.

Skype in the Classroom website!

John Bullington — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 15:57:22 +0000

Skype has started a new program to help teachers match up with other like minded educators from around the world (currently 99 countries).

There are 16 videos in the series Skype has made introducing this offering and you can view them @ http://vimeo.com/user6382390/videos

Here is the Skype press release…

“Skype Connects Teachers and Classrooms across the Globe

LUXEMBOURG, March 30th, 2011 – School teachers and students everywhere now have an easy way to find each other for collaborative projects and shared learning through a new online platform provided by Skype. Skype in the classroom is a free global community created in response to, and in consultation with, the growing number of teachers using Skype to help their students learn. Teachers can use the tool to collaborate with other teachers, and find partner classes and guest speakers. Skype in the classroom is designed to help like-minded teachers find each other and relevant projects according to search criteria such as the age groups they teach, location and subjects of interest; and teaching resources can be easily shared and found.

In the past, many teachers have found that the biggest challenge to using Skype in their classrooms has been finding similar classes to pair with. Skype in the classroom presents a solution by bringing like-minded teachers together online and making it easy for them to share skills and ideas.

Today more and more teachers all over the world use Skype to make learning more exciting, interactive and memorable. From language studies and geography lessons to virtual field trips and expert speakers joining classes from afar, Skype video offers an immediate way to help students discover new cultures, languages and ideas, all without leaving the classroom. In addition, teachers are being encouraged to do more to share their expertise and experiences systematically in ways that go beyond the mere exchange of information. It is also reported that teachers who exchange ideas and information and co-ordinate their practices with other teachers report more positive teacher-student relations at their own schools.*

The platform, which has been in beta since the end of December, already has a community of more than 3900 teachers, across 99 countries. Kara Cornejo, who teaches a 5th grade class in Missouri, USA, and is an avid Skype user, found five schools around the world to collaborate with on an international weather project within just one day of joining. “Skype in the classroom is an amazing resource to find teachers to collaborate with and to bring people into your classroom that you would never have been able to.”

The Global Learning Exchange, a program designed to create borderless classrooms and allow students to learn about other cultures seamlessly has been using Skype video for four years. Regular exchanges between Jurong West primary school children in Singapore and Bill Williams Elementary school students in California, USA “has helped all 260 students from both schools build relationships with one another and facilitated learning that is not limited by geographical borders,” said co-founder Manuel Rose Delema. “Skype makes learning fun and engaging as children look forward to meeting their global friends and asking questions.”

In a similar way, Skype is also used to connect 9-10 year old students at Lakanal school in Lille, France with their peers in Prince Edouard Island, Canada. “Before arranging the first video call, our students exchanged letters and emails but we decided to bring the two classes together face-to-face over Skype video to enrich their relationship,” said Christophe Fetat, the teacher at Lakanal school. “The result was amazing. Students were really engaged to discuss different topics. It is really a simple and effective way to exchange ideas, learn and bring other cultures into the class.”

“Skype is committed to removing the barriers to communications and enabling conversations around the world with technology that is easy to use and affordable,” said Tony Bates, Skype Chief Executive Officer. “Skype in the classroom has been developed for a specific community of people who have a shared interest and are passionate about using technology in inventive ways in their classroom. We’ve received positive feedback from teachers and are keen to continue developing the site to meet their needs and help school children around the world work together in wonderful ways never thought possible.”

To join Skype in the classroom, teachers should:

1. Sign up at education.skype.com using their Skype account details
2. Create a profile which includes their interests, location and the age groups they teach
3. Explore the directory to find projects, teachers and resources that match their skills, needs or interests

Skype in the classroom is a members-only community. Once teachers find someone they want to connect with they can add that person as a Skype contact or send them a message through the site.

To find projects, teachers, resources, and inspiration visit education.skype.com

* According to the last Background Report for the International Summit on the Teaching Profession – OCDE 2011″

Plagiarism detection tool… DocCop

John Bullington — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 14:13:07 +0000

Doccop is a free service that allows you to paste an entire piece of writing which will be broken into phrases and then it conducts simultaneous searches in Google for each of them. After conducting the searches it will send you a summary email of your document and where pieces of it may have been plagiarized. Using the links provided you can examine the original sources and compare them to the student work. You can also directly compare two files for collusion and plagiarism. Doccop does not search Google Books or research databases.

Http://www.doccop.com

From their website

“What is DOC Cop?
DOC Cop is a plagiarism, cryptomnesia and collusion detection tool that creates reports displaying the correlation and matches between documents or a document and the Web.
DOC Cop does not take copyright or ownership of your material. It does not retain your material beyond the time it takes to generate your report.
DOC Cop gathers the evidence and provides the information necessary to judge whether plagiarism, cryptomnesia or collusion has occurred.
Features
» Check DOC(X) & PDF Files	» Fast Turnaround
» Comprehensive FAQ	» FREE
» Detailed Reports	» Multiple String Lengths
» Detect Plagiarism and Collusion	» Online Support
» DOC(X) & HTML Reports	» Processing Indicator
» Easy To Use	» Web Based, No Installation Necessary”

Video Conference Collaborations

pietgail — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 02:04:47 +0000

Video conferencing is more than just virtual field trips to zoos and museums (although those are great too!). Collaborative projects between classrooms are free and allow students to connect with others – across the state or around the world. In February (2011), 13 Shen elementary classes (K-3) participated in The Mitten Project based on the book The Mitten by Jan Brett. View the short video below, then check out the following web sites or contact one of the Lead Teachers for Instructional Technology if you are interested in a collaborative video project.

TWICE (Two-Way Interactive Connections in Education) – must create an account to browse
CILC (Center for Interactive Learning & Collaboaration)

Promethean Releases PowerPoint Addon for Student Response Systems

John Bullington — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 14:58:34 +0000

From Promethean Planet…

Promethean ActivOffice provides the award-winning collaborative features of ActivInspire to Microsoft® PowerPoint® presentation graphics program users, all without missing a beat. Designed for use in the classroom, Promethean ActivOffice allows teachers to lead the class in engaging, two-way lessons.

Transform lessons into powerful interactive PowerPoint® presentations with the ability to conduct real-time assessments. Add Learner Response System (LRS) questions both to new and existing slides. Register your LRS devices directly within PowerPoint® and manage/create questions quickly using Question Manager. Use the powerful Import/Export feature to import questions and export audience responses for further analysis. Annotate and save your notes for future use.

Provides the tools you need to build upon what you already have. Fully functional and integrated.

Create new and update existing presentations. Annotate directly on to a slide.

Full Learner Response Integration

Supports Assessment for Learning activities with individual students, groups and whole classrooms. Easily add questions and tests for use with Promethean LRS devices right into your PowerPoint® presentations .

Brand New Question Manager

Everything in one place to quickly create, edit and manage questions, generating question sets in an instant. Drag and drop, cut, copy and paste information and questions across pages and slide shows.

And There’s More …

Slide Show Toolbox includes:
pen, highlighter, math tools, revealer, spotlight; persistent annotations, Express Poll.
Ribbon (easy Check for Updates)
Getting Started Guide

Here is a link to the Intranet document with more details.

You can download it at http://support.prometheanplanet.com/server.php?show=nav.26878