Technology Medley

We can probably all relate to these on some level. Turn your speakers on and enjoy!

Thanks for all you do every day, even on the days when you feel like this!

Chances are excellent that if you’re reading this, you don’t need to read this! However, since I sometimes get questions from teachers about now to navigate a blog, I created a document with general instructions that I shared with the folks in my schools. I am well aware of how difficult it is for educators to keep with a multitude of papers and other resources they are given along with their very busy schedules, so I’m going to repost the information here. Hopefully, someone out there in cyberspace will find this helpful.

What is a blog? It started out simply as a log that was posted to the web. So, if you say “web log” quickly, it sounds like “blog.” I’m using my blog to communicate with the teachers in my 2 schools. You no longer need to try to keep up with emails or handouts that contain information you may need later on. You can just return to my blog page (http://pelgin.edublogs.org) and search through the posts until you find the one you need

A blog is a very simple web page, but the readers can interact with the author by posting comments after any of the blog entries. Sometimes, whole conversations take place within these comment sections. Don’t hesitate to leave comments on any of my posts. I have this set so I have to approve comments before they actually show up though, so you may not see your comment immediately. You can also click on the comments links to see what other people have said.

To link to a blog, or to save it to your favorites, just choose the main blog address. For example, mine is http://pelgin.edublogs.org. When you go to this web address, you will see the most recent post at the top. If you scroll down the page, you will see several other posts as well. But what if you want to see something that was written a few months ago? There are a couple of options in this case. In the right sidebar, you will see a list of categories. If you click on one of these categories, a page will appear that shows all of the posts that have been written about that particular category. So, for example, if you need some information about Accelerated Reader, you would click on the AR link. Underneath the Categories, you will see an Archives section. If you want to see what was posted earlier in the year, you click on one of the months and you’ll be taken to posts that were written in that particular month.

People add all sorts of extra things in the sidebars of their blogs called widgets. The blue box that contains handouts is an example of a widget. It actually links to another website where these handouts are stored

There is usually a Blogroll which is a list of links to other blogs that most likely are similar to the blog you are reading. There is often a Search textbox that allows you to search through all of the posts for a particular subject.

That’s about all there is to it! Blogs are very easy to create and maintain. If you’d like to create your own, let me know and I’ll help you get started!

Another vital part of my personal professional development is the time I spend in the evenings reading blogs written by other people who work in the field of instructional technology. Many of these folks share new resources and reflections from their own experiences. These blogs provide invaluable information for me as I strive to stay one step ahead of the teachers in my schools.

If you’d like to check out some of the blogs I read, they are listed in the sidebar under the title Blogroll. I also read some general motivational and inspirational blogs that are not necessarily education related but are still quite interesting.

I use Google Reader to keep up with new posts in these blogs. There is no way I could visit each of these sites every day to see if there was anything new. With Google Reader, I go to one page on the internet and that page tells me what is new on all of the blogs I subscribe too. That’s the magic of rss….but that’s a post for another day.

Earlier this week, I attended the annual VSTE (Virginia Society for Technology in Education) conference at Hotel Roanoke. Some of you occasionally ask me how I stay up-to-date on emerging technologies for classroom use.  Conferences such as this provide staff development for me and other ITRTs throughout the state.I attended 5 sessions presented by Tammy Worcester, an education technologist from Kansas who specializes in activities that are simple to use in the classroom while teaching vital computer skills to young children. I will be sharing her numerous ideas with you as time allows, but if you’d like to go ahead and check out her website, you’ll find a wealth of resources already posted and ready to adapt into your curriculum.

Another favorite of mine was a presentation showing how to incorporate Marzano’s strategies from Classroom Instruction That Works using Kidspiration, PowerPoint, and other readily available software in our schools. Here is a link to lots of templates that are ready for you to use. Many thanks to Sherri Miller with Gloucester County Schools!

We’ve talked quite a bit recently about internet safety, and I would like to remind you to discuss with your students the importance of not sharing personal information online. In one of the sessions I attended, the ITRTs from Hanover County generously shared several activities that they had created for elementary students. Check them out!

There were numerous other wonderful sessions. You can click here if you’re interested in exploring more of what folks are saying about the VSTE conference this year.

Did you know that you can edit your digital photos online? Here are brief descriptions of 3 sites which allow you to upload photos, make changes as you wish, and then save the revised photos wherever you choose. Each of these sites provide sample pictures to allow you to explore their features before uploading your own image. The pictures below were created using these samples.

Picnik

The first and probably the most well known site is Picnik. Most of the features on this site are completely free. After you upload an image, you can crop, edit, adjust colors, resize, etc. Then click on the create tab and add snow, frames, text, and shapes.

Once you are happy with your picture, click Save and Share. You may either save the picture back onto your computer, or you can send it to one of many photo sharing sites on the internet.

FlauntR

FlauntR is a fairly new entity on the web, and it is just amazing! Click on one of the styleR or editR buttons, log in as a guest, and start playing! The editR features are fairly typical, including cropping, resizing, redeye removal, etc. Also in the editR window, there is an effects tab with numerous effects such as colorizing, neon embossing, and a pencil sketch.

Then, as if that is not enough, click on the styleR button at the top of the main window. The choices that you have at this point can be overwhelming. You will need to make friends with the history button, because at this point, that is the only way you can undo previous selections. Be sure to check out the compositions and frames!

The textR button allows you to add text along with numerous shapes and clipart. You can save your images to your computer or to an album that is stored on the site. You can also upload them to several photo sharing sites.

FotoFlexer

Another new online editor that offers numerous creative options and is very user friendly is FotoFlexer. Along with the typical editing features such as resizing and cropping, FotoFlexer offers several special effects such as colorizing and popart choices. There is also a distort option that is fun to experiment with if you would like to create a more artistic version of your photograph.

Like the other sites, you can save your edited images to online storage sites, save them to your computer, or email them to a friend.

All three of these sites provide holiday specific options. For example, right now they are all featuring hearts for Valentine’s Day. So, go explore these cool photo editors, and have fun!

Yesterday, I introduced laptops to the fourth kindergarten class at West Salem, and as always, I was absolutely amazed at how well these little friends adapted to the features of a laptop computer. Once I showed them how to use the touchpad and how to click and drag, they were off and running. Each time I’ve worked with kindergarten or first grade students, my thoughts have been the same. They are fearless! Even though they have spent time in the lab on desktops, using the mouse on a laptop is new to them. However, they are not at all intimidated by it. In fact, it seems as if the touchpad is intuitive for them.

We were using Starfall, one of our very favorite reading sites. Mrs. Gauck had printed the URL on sentence strips and had each student type in the web address themselves. She had previously talked about using the keyboard and showed them where the “dot” was, and of course we had a help a few, but the majority of the children typed in the address correctly. Honestly, I really don’t give these young children credit for doing as much as they are capable of doing for themselves! Hmm, we showed them how to press Ctrl-Alt-Delete, so maybe we’ll have them type in the passwords for themselves next time!

It is always fun to watch the kids once they actually start watching the videos and playing the games in Starfall. Their faces light up, they giggle, they help each other find games, and they stay completely engaged.

As the children were leaving yesterday, several indicated that they didn’t want to go home yet! They were so excited and felt like “the big kids.” Hopefully, all of our young children will have more opportunities to use the laptops as the year continues, and I will be more than happy to come in and teach or to lend an extra set of hands.

Children are just amazing!