tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87352189949300764502024-03-14T01:59:02.506-04:00Tech MessagesMike Oberdickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535194629146789224noreply@blogger.comBlogger319125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735218994930076450.post-50851370844107816522013-06-03T13:53:00.002-04:002013-06-03T13:53:04.475-04:00Google Apps for Education<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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These are exciting times in Seymour...we have made a definitive decision to leverage the powerful Google Apps for Education suite here in the Seymour Public Schools. This has been something that I have envisioned for several years now and to see it materializing is pretty cool. Getting started on the other hand, is a bit overwhelming. There are many considerations that must be addressed before you just "turn it on" and it's important to make sure that those decisions are informed and not done in a rush. <br />
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So far we have registered our domain and verified ownership. We also opted to create a sub-domain (students.seymourschools.org) so that we could have our students using Gmail while our staff stays on the legacy Exchange server which we have configured and in place. It seems that Google is moving all of the archiving and security to their servers from the 3rd party applications such as Postini so we will be leveraging those services from the start. This is something that is very new to us here in Seymour because we have never had e-mail accounts for our students. This is going to be a welcome advancement for staff who have been struggling for years with setting up students accounts and sharing through Google.<br />
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The next steps now are to provision our users and setup the groups and policies. This is something that must be considered carefully because you do not want to have to hit the reset button after you realize you made a mistake in organizational structure. I will be conferring with New Canaan Public Schools' Tom Honohan quite a bit moving forward as he has been my go-to contact the past few weeks (and months really).<br />
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I will continue to update our progress through this blog and look forward to sharing our experience with everyone else. If you are reading this and have gone through the process...please drop a comment with any advice. Also, if you are a school district setting up your school right now, let's chat and compare notes. Until the next installment...<br />
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Oh by the way...in addition to setting up GAFE we are also going to be piloting the Acer Chromebook in several different classrooms at the elementary, middle and high school level. Like I said at the beginning of this post...these are exciting times here in Seymour!<div class="blogger-post-footer">Originally posted on Tech Messages</div>Mike Oberdickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535194629146789224noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735218994930076450.post-83886874246867047132013-05-24T22:16:00.003-04:002013-05-24T22:16:47.646-04:00Tech Messengers Podcast - SMART Response Clickers<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">The Tech Messengers series is back this week with Nick Frosolone who discusses with me how he is using the SMART Response clickers to help assess his students in class. Nick has been able to leverage the instantaneous nature of the data from the clickers to inform his instruction and track student progress over the course of the marking period. Learn more about how Nick got started with the clickers and his suggestions for those looking to incorporate them into their classroom...</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">If you are interested in subscribing to these podcasts using iTunes follow the steps below:</span><br />
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<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Enter the feed URL http://feeds.feedburner.com/TechMessengers</li>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Originally posted on Tech Messages</div>Mike Oberdickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535194629146789224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735218994930076450.post-82208707449164895942013-05-22T11:12:00.000-04:002013-05-22T11:12:01.000-04:00Letter to Parents about Instagram<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A teacher here at Seymour Middle School is looking to integrate Instagram into their classroom as a way for students/parents to stay up to date with class happenings and reminders. If you are thinking about something similar and require a template for a letter home, feel free to reuse <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dw7_8BT08nmzcvwKFEAs_4u_dgMcyUTb_tTVT-llJI4/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">this one</a>.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Originally posted on Tech Messages</div>Mike Oberdickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535194629146789224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735218994930076450.post-23782560733218487952013-05-20T10:18:00.001-04:002013-05-20T10:18:06.598-04:00Advanced Google Searching & Website Evaluation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This past week I spent a great deal of time working with some high school students as they completed a very different research project in English. It all started with one of those long talks about students today and the skills they are lacking...most importantly in the area of information literacy. In talking with the teacher, Lisa Cheney, we determined that her students did not possess the ability to search and find what they needed in really any content area...not just English. Then...once the information was found, students didn't really have any idea how to evaluate it for accuracy, reliability , etc. <br />
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So we teamed up to create a research assignment where students would find information about a poet and then facilitate a discussion in class with their peers. During this discussion they would share what they found during their research rather then just read off of a PowerPoint. While explaining the concept, it was obvious that the presentation style was very foreign to them; we got a lot of blank stares and then the questions started coming. Can we make a PowerPoint? No. Can we use notecards? No. I'm pretty sure some students will still be surprised this week when they get up in front of the classroom and go through with the presentation.<br />
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If you would like to try something similar in your classroom or just want to teach some information literacy skills to your students, go for it! Below are several resources that I created and used but you are more than welcome to bring them into your classroom as well.<br />
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<a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1y3-sSmgtbueN4O1xij5MPO1B3cZ4nCQQM-VRh3K_kyg/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Power Searching With Google</a> (Advanced Search Techniques)<br />
<a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/19g-SwFK03SKpMkRPWcaQhGQbLiNe7sXSy4t3JaZP0oU/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Power Searching Printable Cheat Sheet</a><br />
<a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ZjDTn8XicSZNvOSFc6gnXtzWV5bEAcmwjXDvTgAo1_8/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Don't Fall Into A T.R.A.P.</a> (Website Evaluation)<br />
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In addition, I have found that EasyBib offers a number of <a href="http://content.easybib.com/students/research-guide/" target="_blank">excellent resources</a> for website evaluation. They even have this <a href="http://research.easybib.com/" target="_blank">really cool tool</a> where you can search other users bibliographies in essence providing you with what they call "social research".<div class="blogger-post-footer">Originally posted on Tech Messages</div>Mike Oberdickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535194629146789224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735218994930076450.post-28326926085902506592013-04-12T12:17:00.003-04:002013-05-02T14:12:11.259-04:00Why Every Kid Should Learn How To Code<i>"Everybody in this country should learn how to program a computer...because it teaches you how to think."</i><br />
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<b><i>Steve Jobs</i></b><br />
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A question that I struggle with a lot is how do we teach students to "think"? In the classroom, I did my best to craft opportunities for students to think...but was frustrated when I found that not everyone had the skill. So how do you fix that? You can't develop a mini-lesson on thinking. Essentially, how do you teach students to be students? It's not really something that is addressed in the curriculum. The answer is coding. Coding forces you to think outside of the box, try something and fix fix it, troubleshoot, persist. It also is great for teaching logic, sequence, cause and effect and foresight. Today a teacher sent me this video and I think it's worth sharing. It's called "Why Our Kids Must Learn To Code".<br />
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Get coding! There are lots of great free resources out there to help get you going. I have used <a href="http://scratch.mit.edu/" target="_blank">Scratch</a> with my students as well as <a href="http://www.codecademy.com/#!/exercises/0" target="_blank">Code Academy</a> and <a href="http://www.codeavengers.com/" target="_blank">Code Avengers</a>. There are also a number of great resources out there that you can search. Have fun!<div class="blogger-post-footer">Originally posted on Tech Messages</div>Mike Oberdickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535194629146789224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735218994930076450.post-13101218361667628082013-04-10T11:19:00.001-04:002013-04-10T11:19:17.931-04:00Zunal Webquest Creator<br />
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<a href="http://zunal.com/" target="_blank">Zunal</a> is a great site for teachers looking to incorporate opportunities for inquiry based, student driven learning. In my opinion that should be every teacher, every day but I digress.<i> </i>What separates <a href="http://zunal.com/" target="_blank">Zunal</a> apart from others is that it is geared entirely toward creating and sharing webquests and walks you through the process from start to finish. When you first start a new webquest on <a href="http://zunal.com/" target="_blank">Zunal</a> all of the pages are already created for you including introduction, task, process, etc. All you have to do is fill them in with your information. This is a breeze if you are adapting a webquest that you already created. It is also really easy to drop in media and links using their editor. Overall, <a href="http://zunal.com/" target="_blank">Zunal</a> is a very easy to use and accessible way to create and share a webquest with your students.<br />
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<span style="color: red;">Now What?</span><br />
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<a href="http://zunal.com/" target="_blank">Zunal</a> is a great site for teachers looking to create a webquest from scratch or reuse one in the public gallery. Looking to create this with another teacher? Now you can have multiple authors on one webquest so you can work together to complete it. There is even a way to link your students so they can access all of your webquests in one convenient location and it's mobile friendly! Click <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/spstechmessages/web-playlists?pli=1" target="_blank">here</a> for more ways to curate the web.<br />
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<a href="http://drive.google.com/keep" target="_blank">Google Keep</a> is a new notebook app that Google has pushed out and I for one am pretty excited. When I first visited the site, I thought that it was having trouble loading because there was hardly anything on the page. Now...that's why I like it so much. It is extremely simple and forthright. You can basically do two things on <a href="http://drive.google.com/keep" target="_blank">Google Keep</a>...create a note and make a "to do" list. That's it. I haven't tested out the app yet but I've read that it supports the same basic functionality with the ability to record a new note using your voice. The feature that really makes it useful is the ability to search all of your notes. Those of you who are using Evernote on an everyday basis will laugh at how simplistic this service is from Google and not think twice about jumping ship. However, for those people who don't use Evernote and simply need a quick place to keep their mental notes, <a href="http://drive.google.com/keep" target="_blank">Google Keep</a> could be a hit.<br />
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<span style="color: red;">Now What?</span><br />
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For those of you who are always forgetting little things throughout the day, keep a tab open on your computer where you can electronically jot down your thoughts using <a href="http://drive.google.com/keep" target="_blank">Google Keep</a>. For those who are ready to step up to the plate and "remember everything" check out <a href="http://spstechnologyintegration.blogspot.com/2012/02/evernote.html" target="_blank">my post on Evernote</a>.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Originally posted on Tech Messages</div>Mike Oberdickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535194629146789224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735218994930076450.post-41409552642342734852013-04-08T09:34:00.003-04:002013-04-08T09:34:57.623-04:00Tech Messengers Podcast - Collaborative Google Docs & Presentations<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Tech Messengers series is back this week with a new episode. This week, Eric DeMarco talks about how he is using Google Documents and Presentations with his class in a more dynamic way. Through the use of the commenting feature, Eric has his students asking questions of the presenters and leaving comments for their review. He is also using comments in Docs to create an online exam review space built by the students. Learn more about how Eric has leveraged Google Docs in his classroom below...<br />
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If you are interested in subscribing to these podcasts using iTunes follow the steps below:</center>
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<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Click on "Advanced"</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Click on "Subscribe to Podcast"</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Enter the feed URL http://feeds.feedburner.com/TechMessengers</li>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Originally posted on Tech Messages</div>Mike Oberdickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535194629146789224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735218994930076450.post-65927248940001951242013-04-03T08:13:00.003-04:002013-04-08T09:18:42.466-04:00Tech Messengers Podcast - GlogsterI have undertaken a new task...I'm very excited about it. I am always looking for opportunities to share with teachers what other people are doing in their classroom. It seems to be an area of interest for all teachers and one of the best ways to learn something new to try in your classroom. In talking with <a href="https://twitter.com/brandtschneider" target="_blank">Brandt Schneider</a>, a colleague at Seymour High School, he suggested creating a podcast series where teachers (and eventually students) share out thoughts and ideas on what they are doing with technology. I tossed out an e-mail and got a surprisingly high number of responses. I thought...hmmm this might actually work. The first installment features Harvey Catlin who is a teacher at Seymour Middle School. In this podcast he talks about how he uses EDU Glogster in his classroom with his students.<br />
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If you are interested in subscribing to these podcasts using iTunes follow the steps below:</center>
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<li>Open iTunes</li>
<li>Click on "Advanced"</li>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Originally posted on Tech Messages</div>Mike Oberdickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535194629146789224noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735218994930076450.post-6241706665390852252013-03-28T14:00:00.000-04:002013-03-28T14:00:09.453-04:00Self Scoring Quiz with Commenting & Automatic E-Mail<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Remember Scantron sheets? I think I have created a form that is the 21st century equivalent. If you are not interested in spending less time scoring assessments...you should stop reading now.</i><br />
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As I was cleaning up my Google Drive account I found a spreadsheet/form that I created back in the beginning of the year for teachers at Seymour High School who were using Google forms for assessment. Using a few simple formulas, I was able to have the spreadsheet automatically score student responses but I also added some functionality to have the student's score and comments e-mailed to them. It's pretty cool.<br />
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To try out this assessment collector, click <a href="https://spreadsheets2.google.com/ccc?key=tLNm1vb8hfeqRjL3lmRhsAw&newcopy" target="_blank">here</a> and make yourself a new copy for your Drive account.<br />
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After you have saved it to your account your are ready to modify the questions to fit your assessment. If you are familiar with creating Google Forms this will be a piece of cake but if not you can check out this <a href="http://support.google.com/drive/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=87809" target="_blank">tutorial</a> to get you through it. <br />
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Once you have included your questions on the form it's time to input the answers in order to have them corrected automatically. Start by taking the actual quiz yourself...hopefully you get a hundred. In the name field you can put something like "Answer Key" and use your e-mail address.<br />
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<i><b><span style="color: red; font-size: x-small;">Note: If you would rather watch a video tutorial (vs reading the text version) on how to modify the form, scroll down.</span></b></i><br />
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In order to get the spreadsheet to auto-correct you have to use a formula further down the line to assign a point value for each correct response. So...in the "Sample Quiz" form for cell L2 you should have =IF(E2="<i>answer</i>",1,0) where <i>answer </i>is the correct answer to the question. You can use multiple choice or it could be short answer but whatever you type inside the parentheses will be the only accepted response. You will need to do this for the rest of your questions. Moving along the next formula would be in cell M2 where you would put =IF(F2="<i>answer</i>",1,0). Essentially the formula is saying to check cell F2 and if the correct answer is there put a one in M2. If the correct answer is not present it puts in a zero. <br />
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To tally up the score you will need to use the formula =sum(L2:P2) in cell J2.<br />
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The next step is to add your comments in to column K. This is where you can offer feedback to the student about how they did and their areas of strength and weakness.<br />
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Once you have put in your comments, you click on a cell in the row you want to send then click on "Teacher Menu" and "Send Scores & Comments". That's it...you're done!<br />
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To watch the video equivalent of these directions see below:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/uLm-6d7IWp8?rel=0" width="560"></iframe></center>
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<span style="color: red;">Now What?</span><br />
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Using a form like this will get you fast, informative data that you can use in your classroom to guide your instruction. The fact that you can add anecdotal feedback is what separates this form from the rest of the pack. I hope that you find it useful and please share it with your colleagues.<br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Originally posted on Tech Messages</div>Mike Oberdickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535194629146789224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735218994930076450.post-37612674825275264822013-03-26T11:52:00.000-04:002013-03-26T11:52:48.917-04:00Desmos Graphing Calculator<a href="https://www.desmos.com/" target="_blank">Desmos</a> is a website which offers a really comprehensive graphing calculator solution for absolutely no cost. I remember sitting in class a few years ago and watching my teacher struggle through connecting the calculator to the computer so they could display a 2 inch square screen for the class to struggle to see. Thankfully, those days are over. <a href="https://www.desmos.com/" target="_blank">Desmos</a> is capable of performing all of the basic functions a graphing calculator should serve as well as a few more that you don't find on the expensive TI models. <a href="https://www.desmos.com/" target="_blank">Desmos</a> even supports sharing of your equations and graphs which is a great feature and I really like that you can add a text box to explain a part of an equation. Watch the video below to learn more about the free <a href="https://www.desmos.com/" target="_blank">Desmos</a> graphing calculator.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/HLV6zKQSMX4" width="560"></iframe></center>
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<span style="color: red;">Now What?</span><br />
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It's hard to beat a calculator this full of features for absolutely free and it's web based and accessible from any device. There is even a <a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/graphing-calculator-by-de/bhdheahnajobgndecdbggfmcojekgdko/details?utm_source=chrome-ntp-icon" target="_blank">Chrome browser extension</a> to make it more accessible. They even have a great <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/desmosinc/videos?view=0" target="_blank">YouTube channel</a> with lots of videos to help you get the most out of the calculator.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Originally posted on Tech Messages</div>Mike Oberdickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535194629146789224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735218994930076450.post-74245285485867073032013-03-25T13:53:00.000-04:002013-03-25T13:53:08.458-04:00Skype In The Classroom<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhazh3zYGj_c8P58wxmllrm6CB9uFJFi4r2Rj8mTlbiRE6Mhdj-pPArdMhGCKISmWht02BqmWGHDv5MvIh6sSeA_lL3sliTdfOgy3lUS6h6j5KSuv3XA4Q1n8D866iW9iSHPbbIouRLF9Y/s1600/30134f13-7a34-44ca-a0a2-7714d303af69.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhazh3zYGj_c8P58wxmllrm6CB9uFJFi4r2Rj8mTlbiRE6Mhdj-pPArdMhGCKISmWht02BqmWGHDv5MvIh6sSeA_lL3sliTdfOgy3lUS6h6j5KSuv3XA4Q1n8D866iW9iSHPbbIouRLF9Y/s1600/30134f13-7a34-44ca-a0a2-7714d303af69.jpg" /></a></div>
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It seems like all I can think about lately is developing opportunities for video chat discussions. It is such a simple concept in theory and doesn't require much technology but the "logistics" can be quite difficult. You have to be able to find a class studying the same topic at the same time and they have to be willing to take time from their jam-packed curriculum to have a "discussion" with another group of students if they have the correct equipment and access...it's tough. During a conference call the other day, the inability to Skype with more than one party (for free) became glaring and led to a Google Hangout (good ole Google). Another lost video conference for Skype. However...as I visited Skype's page today I noticed a banner at the top (see below) which offered free group calls for teachers on <a href="https://education.skype.com/" target="_blank">Skype in the classroom</a>. Nice!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDInk_84oLqbyCqx9yc55__l5j351BIbDqKouQU_I_r2Hj6ekHhOLKYBs31dPC1LO4O5Kqqn5-iV2HtZcFT_GY7BElGBdidojVUlW2wLgV1JVfKEnLXAu_nexEQjQoZH4wNIBo45XgzhE/s1600/Clipboard01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDInk_84oLqbyCqx9yc55__l5j351BIbDqKouQU_I_r2Hj6ekHhOLKYBs31dPC1LO4O5Kqqn5-iV2HtZcFT_GY7BElGBdidojVUlW2wLgV1JVfKEnLXAu_nexEQjQoZH4wNIBo45XgzhE/s640/Clipboard01.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Now What?</span><br />
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Signing up for the free year is simple if you are already a teacher on Skype in Education. You simply supply your school name and website and send it off. While you are waiting to get our acceptance why not check out Skype's <a href="https://education.skype.com/projects" target="_blank">library of lesson plans</a> and if you are ever looking for a class to Skype...hit me up!<div class="blogger-post-footer">Originally posted on Tech Messages</div>Mike Oberdickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535194629146789224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735218994930076450.post-36064257336323346472013-03-22T13:51:00.000-04:002013-03-22T13:51:52.828-04:00Chrome Extensions<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.logobird.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/new-google-chrome-logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="197" src="http://www.logobird.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/new-google-chrome-logo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Google Chrome seems to be catching on in my school district now more than ever as Windows has finally stopped supporting IE for Windows XP. This means that a lot of our teachers are reaching out to a new browser for the very first time. This can certainly be a scary premise. The good news is that Chrome couldn't be easier to manage. In addition, you are going to love the extensions that you can load to help assist you in your everyday browsing. Below are the first five extensions you should install to get you using the web more efficiently.<br />
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1. A <a href="http://clea.nr/" target="_blank">Cleaner Internet</a> is an extension for Chrome that allows you to view YouTube videos without seeing the "related" content, advertisements, and comments that appear on the side and below the video.<br />
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2. <a href="http://css-tricks.com/examples/ThePrintliminator/" target="_blank">Printliminator</a> is a bookmarklet for Chrome that allows you to select only the elements which you wish to print from a webpage before printing. This is very useful when you want to print a page without advertisements or only one section of the page.<br />
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3. <a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/select-and-speak/gfjopfpjmkcfgjpogepmdjmcnihfpokn" target="_blank">Select and Speak</a> is an extension for Chrome that allows you to highlight any text on a webpage, click the Select and Speak icon in your browser, and listen to the reading of the text. Great for those days when you have a sore throat.<br />
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4. <a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/webpage-webcam-screenshot/ckibcdccnfeookdmbahgiakhnjcddpki" target="_blank">Webpage Screenshot</a> is a Chrome extension that you can use to capture all or part of webpage. Once you have your screenshot you can even draw and type on them.<br />
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5. <a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/easybib-tools/hmffdimoneaieldiddcmajhbjijmnggi/details" target="_blank">EasyBib</a> Chrome extension that evaluates the credibility of webpages which is a useful tool to show students.<br />
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<span style="color: red;">Now What?</span><br />
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Extensions are a great way to get the most out of your browsing experience. After playing around you will find which ones best suit your needs and then wonder how you ever lived without them. For those of you who would like more information about Chrome before you start downloading extensions and using some of the advanced features, check <a href="https://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/browser/" target="_blank">here </a>to visit their website.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Originally posted on Tech Messages</div>Mike Oberdickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535194629146789224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735218994930076450.post-44988161726358229422013-03-22T09:24:00.001-04:002013-03-22T09:24:55.815-04:00Common Craft Project<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.commoncraft.com/sites/all/themes/orange/images/new_logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.commoncraft.com/sites/all/themes/orange/images/new_logo.png" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.commoncraft.com/" target="_blank">Common Craft</a> is a website that I've <a href="http://spstechnologyintegration.blogspot.com/2012/03/common-craft.html" target="_blank">written about before</a> and used more times that I can remember to help students understand a difficult academic topic. Yesterday, I received an e-mail from them with information about a new video they posted on their site as well as a bunch of new resources they have posted to the <a href="http://www.commoncraft.com/" target="_blank">Common Craft</a> site. These new resources are aimed at assisting in the creation of your own explanation videos. <br />
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This got me thinking about our computer teachers in Seymour and teachers in general. Wouldn't it be cool to create our own explanation videos like the ones created by Lee and his wife? To get started, this <a href="http://www.commoncraft.com/know-how-screencast-options-creating-common-craft-style-videos" target="_blank">short video</a> explaining the tools and tips should point you in the right direction. Also on the site are some <a href="http://www.commoncraft.com/know-how" target="_blank">"know how" resources</a> (some paid/some free) which offer ideas on how you can create really great videos of your own.<br />
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<span style="color: red;">Now What?</span><br />
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Explanation videos like the ones found on <a href="http://www.commoncraft.com/" target="_blank">Common Craft</a> are effective and to the point. Students and teachers can create and use these videos to explain anything from math theories to ecosystems. If you are interested in the videos but don't have the time to create them...check out their <a href="http://www.commoncraft.com/videolist" target="_blank">library of videos</a> and find one to fit you classroom.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Originally posted on Tech Messages</div>Mike Oberdickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535194629146789224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735218994930076450.post-67030858777255827542013-03-20T08:11:00.001-04:002013-03-20T08:11:26.638-04:00Screen Hero<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://screenhero.com/img/screenhero-logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://screenhero.com/img/screenhero-logo.png" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.screenhero.com/" target="_blank">Screen Hero</a> is a new form of screen sharing which takes collaboration to a new level by allowing two viewers to simultaneously work within one app at the same time. Essentially <a href="http://www.screenhero.com/" target="_blank">Screen Hero</a> lets you work with someone else, like on a Google Doc, but with any application that is shared. Pretty neat. So if you want to work with a friend on Excel you can do that. If you want to pair up with another student and work within iMovie on your Mac...you can do that. You get the idea. For more information, check out the YouTube demonstration of <a href="http://www.screenhero.com/" target="_blank">Screen Hero</a> below.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/5BOAArc7vfM?rel=0" width="560"></iframe></center>
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<span style="color: red;">Now What?</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.screenhero.com/" target="_blank">Screen Hero</a> is a great tool for students to use when collaborating with classmates on a project but also for teachers who want to help students after school. The only downside (which really isn't a big deal) is that there is a download required in order to use the app.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Originally posted on Tech Messages</div>Mike Oberdickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535194629146789224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735218994930076450.post-29048015781435666742013-03-18T13:37:00.000-04:002013-03-18T13:37:03.014-04:00Markup - Draw on Webpages <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw0txd_rSnMc3NAjh-CShg6MMwcDACbkQC-Jvqsd9H6PXXVusGDjeJzei2YHZryw8NKT3N8GemJEqmSugrsZHJED4OQe6KcNYf3AszfjXb-xIklHivtauAqkHBlxyLi-4mxfbxcgwp4dk/s1600/Clipboard01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="75" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw0txd_rSnMc3NAjh-CShg6MMwcDACbkQC-Jvqsd9H6PXXVusGDjeJzei2YHZryw8NKT3N8GemJEqmSugrsZHJED4OQe6KcNYf3AszfjXb-xIklHivtauAqkHBlxyLi-4mxfbxcgwp4dk/s320/Clipboard01.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="http://markup.io/">Markup.io</a> is a free service that gives you the ability to quickly draw and annotate on any webpage with no download or installation necessary. <a href="http://markup.io/">Markup.io</a> runs simply as a bookmarklet within your web browser. After installing <a href="http://markup.io/">Markup.io</a> you simply click it from within any webpage and start drawing or writing. When you are finished marking up the page, you click on publish. By publishing your drawing and annotating you essentially create a screen capture of the page. You can then share that image with others by distributing the URL.<br />
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<span style="color: red;">Now What?</span><br />
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<a href="http://markup.io/">Markup.io</a> is a very simple tool that can really help out in the classroom. One great way to get using today would be to demonstrate a note taking technique on a web based article. You could even create a homework assignment with questions using any webpage on the WWW. Students can use this tool to annotate over a site or circle words they don't know.<br />
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Originally posted on Tech Messages</div>Mike Oberdickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535194629146789224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735218994930076450.post-62856679919873131462013-03-04T12:30:00.002-05:002013-03-04T12:30:37.163-05:00Pinwords<a href="http://www.pinwords.com/" target="_blank">Pinwords</a> is a pretty cool site that I learned about from <a href="http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/" target="_blank">Larry Ferlazzo's blog</a> where you upload a picture or grab one from a URL and then add some fancy print using their preset font layouts. Simple enough right? You can then save the picture or share it socially using Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, etc. Check out the picture below that I created using <a href="http://www.pinwords.com/" target="_blank">Pinwords</a>.<br />
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<a href="http://pwfiles.s3.amazonaws.com/pw/921002431373708_a-3389b5d2_Fto0UQ_pm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://pwfiles.s3.amazonaws.com/pw/921002431373708_a-3389b5d2_Fto0UQ_pm.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Now What?</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.pinwords.com/" target="_blank">Pinwords</a> is a great site for creating image slides for use in a digital story. The captions are laid out cleanly on the page and are easily read. It's kind of like <a href="http://spstechnologyintegration.blogspot.com/2013/02/haiku-deck.html" target="_blank">Haiku Deck</a> one slide at a time.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Originally posted on Tech Messages</div>Mike Oberdickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535194629146789224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735218994930076450.post-29432294368885769022013-03-01T13:23:00.002-05:002013-03-01T13:23:29.847-05:00HTML 5 Speech to Text<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://bestinuc.com/wp-content/uploads/Best-In-UC_VoiceText.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://bestinuc.com/wp-content/uploads/Best-In-UC_VoiceText.png" width="212" /></a></div>
It's been a bit difficult to type the past couple of days because of a sprained finger so when I was asked by a student in a business class at the HS to answer a few questions about my web design company, <a href="http://designs4theweb.com/" target="_blank">Designs 4 The Web</a> (shameless plug), I was dreading the typing. So off to Google I went to find a solution. At first it seemed that there were no free solutions out there but then I found <a href="http://howto.cnet.com/8301-11310_39-20058475-285/how-to-use-chromes-speech-to-text/" target="_blank">this article</a> about HTML 5 Speech to Text on CNET. Currently, HTML 5 speech to text is only supported by Google Chrome browsers but it will begin to take off as more developers take advantage of this technology. One of the sites using HTML 5 Speech to Text is <a href="http://translate.google.com/" target="_blank">Google Translate</a> (click English as language being spoken) and on that site I was able to answer each question by simply speaking and then using copy/paste. I was impressed by the accuracy of the site and how easy it was to use. Another example of this technology in action can be found <a href="http://slides.html5rocks.com/#speech-input" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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<span style="color: red;">Now What?</span><br />
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Once HTML 5 Speech to Text really takes off it is going to be amazing to see it used in the classroom. There are so many applications in the foreign language classroom and beyond. I'm thinking about all of the amazing interactive activities online that would be even better if speech was the input device for the content.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Originally posted on Tech Messages</div>Mike Oberdickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535194629146789224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735218994930076450.post-28929785178682826862013-02-27T08:08:00.001-05:002013-02-27T08:08:49.381-05:00Haiku Deck<br />
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<a href="http://a46.phobos.apple.com/us/r1000/073/Purple/v4/c0/f5/95/c0f59578-ada4-4bdd-8dc7-2ab3934d21d4/mzl.blqbdbgn.480x480-75.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://a46.phobos.apple.com/us/r1000/073/Purple/v4/c0/f5/95/c0f59578-ada4-4bdd-8dc7-2ab3934d21d4/mzl.blqbdbgn.480x480-75.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Do you have a presentation coming up? Of course you do...everyday you present information to your class in a variety of ways. For your next presentation, why not try <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/haiku-deck/id536328724?mt=8" target="_blank">Haiku Deck</a>? <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/haiku-deck/id536328724?mt=8" target="_blank">Haiku Deck</a> is an app that is available for the iPad and essentially it is a presentation application but not from the same mold as it's predecessors. <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/haiku-deck/id536328724?mt=8" target="_blank">Haiku Deck</a> is a quick and easy way to create beautiful and effective slidedecks (presentations) with very little text...which is why I love it for students. Another great selling point for <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/haiku-deck/id536328724?mt=8" target="_blank">Haiku Deck</a> (don't worry...the app is free) is that you can find crisp, clean Creative Commons licensed images for your slides right in the app and it happens on each slide as you type your words. Each image then fills up the entire slide with your words displayed over it and you can choose a layout for the text. If you can't find an image that you like in <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/haiku-deck/id536328724?mt=8" target="_blank">Haiku Deck</a> you can always import your own images from your gallery or Facebook/Instagram.<br />
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<span style="color: red;">Now What?</span><br />
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If you have the luxury of iPads in your classroom definitely check out the <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/haiku-deck/id536328724?mt=8" target="_blank">Haiku Deck app</a> and get started by transforming one of your old PowerPoints or whiteboard lessons. Once you've modeled it for your students set them free to explore and create their own presentations for class.<br />
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Originally posted on Tech Messages</div>Mike Oberdickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535194629146789224noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735218994930076450.post-32910620631305005452013-02-26T14:32:00.000-05:002013-02-26T14:32:44.910-05:00Skype in the Classroom<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<img height="88" src="https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQNAOdXNnE3UUJBgNuDMEh_6mghKZLwgAvpmIr4i4FkIUNxxxmu" width="200" /></div>
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This morning I participated in a Facetime meeting between a business marketing class at Seymour High School and the VP of the committee that plans the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Seymour-Pumpkin-Festival/215517081809770" target="_blank">Seymour Pumpkin Festival</a>. For those who aren't from around here...it's kind of a big deal. The purpose of the meeting was to ask questions of the organizer as well as offer thoughts and suggestions for this year's upcoming festival. It was a great opportunity for the students in class to apply what they had learned in class in a meaningful way. After leaving the class I went onto Skype's website to see what they were offering in the way of educational content and was surprised to see that they have an entire section dedicated to classes interested in connecting with other classes. On the <a href="https://education.skype.com/" target="_blank">Skype in the Classroom</a> page you can create an account and then upload a lesson plan that you would like to use as the basis for collaboration. If you aren't interested in putting up a lesson plan but would rather search through what is available you can do that to by using the categories (see below). Overall, it's a relatively simple way to reach out and get started with video conferencing with other parts of the country and even the world.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj21AUeI20agosvmndTmSYSNpIasUrpSUby0Rwk0sV164PrKlJgpemjstvjps3tLOGf4XjOEsYBurUca_D11sGZIRDwIUfASqZ0quobMna5Xe3CfapLreYXRXjkBcYl1czZixARtvb3j1E/s1600/Clipboard02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj21AUeI20agosvmndTmSYSNpIasUrpSUby0Rwk0sV164PrKlJgpemjstvjps3tLOGf4XjOEsYBurUca_D11sGZIRDwIUfASqZ0quobMna5Xe3CfapLreYXRXjkBcYl1czZixARtvb3j1E/s640/Clipboard02.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Now What?</span><br />
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If you are even remotely interested in setting up a virtual meeting for your class and you have the logistics to make it happen...you should definitely check out the <a href="https://education.skype.com/" target="_blank">Skype in the Classroom</a> website. If you are looking for more classes who are willing to Skype you can also check out <a href="http://elementarytechassist.blogspot.com/2013/01/epals.html" target="_blank">e-Pals</a> which is a great website that I learned about from Allison Imperio on her blog <a href="http://elementarytechassist.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Elementary Tech Assist</a>.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Originally posted on Tech Messages</div>Mike Oberdickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535194629146789224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735218994930076450.post-88349224421990759382013-02-25T13:36:00.001-05:002013-02-25T13:36:19.712-05:00Lumosity<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.lumosity.com/compiled/trainer/lumosity-3a6c91f3532c134c1ccb12fca3038416.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://www.lumosity.com/compiled/trainer/lumosity-3a6c91f3532c134c1ccb12fca3038416.png" /></a></div>
So the other day I was listening to Pandora and an advertisement came on about a website called <a href="https://www.lumosity.com/" target="_blank">Lumosity</a>. It was advertised as a website to get your brain operating at full capacity. I thought...hmmm that sounds nice. I made a mental note to check it out and then forgot. I heard it again on a different day and then promptly forgot again. This led me to believe that my brain could really use the practice if I could just remember to head to their site. Today I remembered and what I found was pretty cool. On <a href="https://www.lumosity.com/" target="_blank">Lumosity</a> you select areas of brain function that you would like to improve and then a training regimen is developed for you based on your priorities. The exercises on <a href="https://www.lumosity.com/" target="_blank">Lumosity</a> were very engaging and intense but also very fun. I especially liked that you could setup a training schedule and then have reminders sent to you on those days. Check out the video below to see a quick overview of <a href="https://www.lumosity.com/" target="_blank">Lumosity</a>.<br />
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<span style="color: red;">Now What?</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.lumosity.com/" target="_blank">Lumosity</a> is a great site to share with your students so they can stay sharp and develop their neuron connections as well. I even saw that there was a training program geared toward students.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Originally posted on Tech Messages</div>Mike Oberdickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535194629146789224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735218994930076450.post-49804516619656583752013-02-21T08:20:00.000-05:002013-02-21T08:20:04.933-05:00Image Quiz<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk-ENfc3PhhWMznevrhPODHo1FVCMFnYjTkMgz6RNL_HcAoyRkinImWuRarjpmg9pmiiNScUGK9sntgXJY2WMk0XRqKfKsofnWCO8humnze1MPzV-zj_oxgIy-zv2aoO3RyANRocVqQtU/s1600/Clipboard01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk-ENfc3PhhWMznevrhPODHo1FVCMFnYjTkMgz6RNL_HcAoyRkinImWuRarjpmg9pmiiNScUGK9sntgXJY2WMk0XRqKfKsofnWCO8humnze1MPzV-zj_oxgIy-zv2aoO3RyANRocVqQtU/s320/Clipboard01.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.imagequiz.co.uk/" target="_blank">ImageQuiz</a> is a new site in beta which allows users to create quizzes using images . In order to answer each question you must click on the correct spot in the image. Images can be uploaded or linked by URL. If you have access to image editing software the possibilities are endless.<br />
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<b>Some ideas for using this site:</b><br />
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<ul>
<li>identify objects in a pictures (foreign language)</li>
<li>places on a map (geography)</li>
<li>parts of the body (health)</li>
</ul>
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To see it in action try this <a href="http://www.imagequiz.co.uk/quizzes/13001" target="_blank">quiz about New York</a>.<br />
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<span style="color: red;">Now What?</span><br />
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I really like that this site is fast and easy to use. The interface leaves a little to be desired as it doesn't have much in the way of aesthetics but it gets the job done. Have your students record their scores and times and see who can answer the most questions in the smallest amount of time.<br />
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Originally posted on Tech Messages</div>Mike Oberdickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535194629146789224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735218994930076450.post-17064456014205070902013-02-20T21:38:00.001-05:002013-02-20T21:38:19.048-05:00Student Book Review Project<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/andresr/andresr0908/andresr090800249/5316327-beautiful-student-smiling-and-reading-a-book--isolated-over-white.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/andresr/andresr0908/andresr090800249/5316327-beautiful-student-smiling-and-reading-a-book--isolated-over-white.jpg" width="226" /></a></div>
This post is going to be about a project that I'm working on at one of the schools where I work, Seymour Middle School. If you are not interested in podcasting or book reviews you may want to skip this post. If you are into that sort of thing then keep reading! Last year, I had an idea. I wanted students to create audio podcasts reviewing a book they read and then take those podcasts and organize them into a website where other students could listen to them before selecting a book from the library. It seemed like such a simple idea but there were many different pieces to consider (e.g. logistics of pc/tablet/iPad, where to store the reviews, sorting of genre/author/title, where to consistently get book information). To this point, over a year later, I have gotten the idea off the ground but it is still only slightly hovering above the earth. The site is <a href="http://smslibraryreviews.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">live on the web</a> (only seven reviews) and I think I have worked out the kinks to the point where I can really start to focus on my main intent which was to get kids talking about books.<br />
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<span style="color: red;">Now What?</span><br />
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The reason I decided to post about this project is to offer ideas/suggestions to anyone looking to implement something similar in their school. Being that I have gone through the process and managed the pitfalls, I can help you to avoid some of the mistakes that I made initially. So...if you are up for starting a project for the second half of the year <a href="mailto:moberdick@seymourschools.org" target="_blank">send me an e-mail</a> or a <a href="http://www.twitter.com/mikeoberdick" target="_blank">message on Twitter</a>. <div class="blogger-post-footer">Originally posted on Tech Messages</div>Mike Oberdickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535194629146789224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735218994930076450.post-23215602230090441422013-02-19T13:23:00.002-05:002013-02-19T13:23:25.961-05:00Google Life Archive<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-0v38HVzym9bmYrmIuSayH1_F_wchTLCvddkqlAEHd0TCiCUrhCUmME7dykPCfcrZQyRZNYKgPh3Il0iQRKSNZb6Fxgh8DZ6X8HoMa-bxIohpRNVib2muwTvfGYxRwp9zgYP7-hJ169k/s1600/Clipboard01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-0v38HVzym9bmYrmIuSayH1_F_wchTLCvddkqlAEHd0TCiCUrhCUmME7dykPCfcrZQyRZNYKgPh3Il0iQRKSNZb6Fxgh8DZ6X8HoMa-bxIohpRNVib2muwTvfGYxRwp9zgYP7-hJ169k/s320/Clipboard01.jpg" width="254" /></a></div>
Every day students are asked to include images in their projects and presentations without much advice on where they should search for those images or how they should use them once they are found. Generally, students will head to Google or Yahoo and grab the first one that pops up in their search. With that being said, "copyright" (and plagiarism for that matter) seems to be a word that most students don't fully understand. One way to encourage digital citizenship and appropriate use is to provide sites for students to use when searching for images. Recently, I happened upon an excellent resource for historical images from Life magazine. Using a custom Google search you can now look through the decades worth of images from Life magazine right on the web in the <a href="http://images.google.com/hosted/life" target="_blank">Google Life Archive</a>. The <a href="http://images.google.com/hosted/life" target="_blank">Google Life Archive</a> has great pictures broken out by decade as well as event and all images are <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain" target="_blank">public domain</a> so they can be used without copyright issue.<br />
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<span style="color: red;">Now What?</span><br />
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Images are powerful and students love to include them in their work but without a little guidance it can be a messy situation. Another great place for students to look for images is using the <a href="http://search.creativecommons.org/" target="_blank">creative commons</a> search site which links to multiple search engines for images and more.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Originally posted on Tech Messages</div>Mike Oberdickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535194629146789224noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735218994930076450.post-74969410245385394172013-02-18T06:00:00.000-05:002013-02-18T06:00:15.021-05:00Brainy Box<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwJFDE_eyCICXft96M8pR1xKiYmTbQJGOrwFKeT-61dZp7zZN5rzq443DPeXwAuPNavgsuIcXbY2eKQ2Oa8cGlDsyiEDpJd9qJCWPFV60oSiQ701bDvyytvWC0rpSgko5Nf5q9wGm72sY/s1600/Clipboard01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwJFDE_eyCICXft96M8pR1xKiYmTbQJGOrwFKeT-61dZp7zZN5rzq443DPeXwAuPNavgsuIcXbY2eKQ2Oa8cGlDsyiEDpJd9qJCWPFV60oSiQ701bDvyytvWC0rpSgko5Nf5q9wGm72sY/s200/Clipboard01.jpg" width="197" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.classtools.net/brainybox/" target="_blank">BrainyBox</a> is a neat new offering from the folks at <a href="http://www.classtools.net/" target="_blank">Class Tools</a> which reminded me a lot of Museum Box without the kinks. Using the <a href="http://www.classtools.net/brainybox/" target="_blank">BrainyBox</a> tool you can build a six sided cube made up of text, videos, images, and hyperlinks. You can even embed other multimedia such audio files from SoundCloud or Google objects. A nice feature of <a href="http://www.classtools.net/brainybox/" target="_blank">BrainyBox</a> is that students do not have to create an account to access and work with their box. They simply create a password for their work and they can access it anytime using the URL and password (same for <a href="http://www.classtools.net/fb/home/page" target="_blank">Fakebook</a>). <br />
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<span style="color: red;">Now What?</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.classtools.net/brainybox/" target="_blank">BrainyBox</a> is a great sites for students to use because it forces them to think about the content they are going to use on their six sides. There is a limited number of space on each side as well so they have to be selective in what they include. This is another reason why I like the Twitter model so much...it encourages students to think about their writing. This is an excellent tool for students to use for presentations.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Originally posted on Tech Messages</div>Mike Oberdickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535194629146789224noreply@blogger.com0