The New PLANET - Promethean Planet

Friday, 8:30-9:30
Salon 7

Lisa Dubanard
Onboard Learning, formally of Promethean
lisa@onboardlearning.com

Take voting to the next level....
Voting with the ACTIVvotes can go beyond multiple choice. Use them to SCALE a groups opinion... A=Strongly agree - E=Strongly Disagree

Download resource packs to add to your resource library. These are uploaded regularly, so check back often. These are not lessons, but are items that can be used to develop your own lessons on a certain theme. They can include; backgrounds, images, animations, flash files and more. They will load to your resource library in Shared Collections...Resource Packs...Pack name.

NOTE - Please make the school tech team aware that you have downloaded resource pack BEFORE your computer is reimaged each summer! There is a way for these to be saved to the network before reimaging and it will save all of us a BIG headache!

So far this week the BIG thing is RESOURCE PACKS... I will show all the ACTIVboard users how to download and import these when I return :-)

Keynote - Ron Clark

YEAH!  A chance to see Ron speak again.  This is GREAT!

Before he gets started I want to share two things with you about him and the Academy...

 

- He has started a resource website (available by subscription) which will launch in January 2009.  The cost seems low for an annual subscription and the resources look incredible.  CLICK HERE to get to the log-in/sign-up page.

 - If you have not seen the full interview of his students on CNN talking about their Election video, you MUST watch this.  It is on YouTube, so you can not view it from school since it is blocked, but is worth seeing it from home.  Take note of the students and their public speaking ability, this is one of the things Ron stresses at his academy, and it sure does make a difference in how his students handle themselves.  I know I would be nervous in front of a CNN report!  Click Here for the full video interview.

By the Way... His presentation was AMAZING as always! :-)

Tammy's Favorite Tech Tips, Tricks and Tools

Tammy Worcester, ESSDACK, Featured Speaker
Friday - 11:00-12:00
Salon 2


This is the Tammy who's "Tech Tip of the Week" I share with all of you via e-mail. She has great fast, and effective ideas to integrate technology into your everyday lessons.

ALL of Tammy's handout for the conference are at this link.

Tammy's Favorites

Web Tools - some of my favorites from this list;
- ImageCodr - will cite photos you use form the internet, such as flickr or Google Images
- Issuu - for publishing student work online
- Jing - screen capture for PC and Mac
- Skitch - screen capture for Mac
- Magic Pen - great for critical thinking skills. It would work with Simple Machines :-)
-The Newspaper Clipping Generator - Great for period subject teaching... Colonial Days, Civil War and more!
- Picnik - online photo editing program
- Poll Everywhere - text messaging to poll your class or maybe at a faculty meeting
- Random Word Picker - GREAT for choosing students at different times. Can be imbedded into a blog.
- Tiny URL - LOVE this and always have to put this on my favorites lists. It will take a LONG URL and make it shorter. This is GREAT when yoiu have kids doing research to many different sites.
- Wordle - Copy and paste text
- KidsClick! - this site will show you the reading level of the websites you search on a certain subject

Justa reminder - I have a few of Tammy's Lesson Planning books. If you want to borrow one, just let me know. I have different tech subjects... internet, power point and more.

It's Showtime! Movie Making in the Classroom

Friday - 9:45-10:45
Salon 8


This is our presentation!

We are here and getting ready. The room is very cool, it has tables and chairs instead of rows. It makes it feel more inviting. All the rows are sort of dawnting.

I will be asking 4 participants to video tape the presentation using the Flip Video cameras and we are going to put it in a Windows Movie Maker file at the end of the presentation. We will share it when we return.

We will let you know how it goes..... :-)
____________________________________________

It went GREAT today! Gretechen and I were bnoth very happy with the way things went at our session. People seemed engaged and very interested in our project. We received very positive feedback and were very happy when all was said and done.

We also have leftover handouts to share with all of our teachers when we return. Other ITS folks, let me know if you need a few handouts as well. We would be happy to share.

This link will take you to the video of our presentation. I handed out 4 Flip video cameras to participants and was able to edit the four cameras worth of files into almost our entire presentation :-) The video is about 1/2 hour. Please feel free to watch the video and pass it on to others you feel would be interested in out presentation.

ISTE Classroom Observation Tool

ISTE Classroom Observation Tool

Thursday - 3:00-4:00

Salon 6

www.iste.org/ICOT

Free observation tool launched at NECC. Software to be downloaded.  Once observations are uploaded that link tot he ISTE server.

Need to use another framework in conjunction with this tool,  LoTi works very well.

Aligns with NETS-T standards.

Creating Simple and Secure Group Projects/Websites for Free with Google Sites

Patrick Crispen, California State University at Long Beach, Featured Speaker

Thursday - 1:45-2:45

Salon 4

Google Sites - 100MB storage

Only invited users can add content to the sites created.  No anonymous content allowed.

Very easy... Point and click to create websites!

Google Sites support information 

These sites can link to google documents and other sites such as Picassa.

I created THIS during the presentation, actually it only took me a few minutes.

Required for students to have e-mail accounts to sign-up for Google Sites.  You can do this FREE through Gaggle if your school does not allow student e-mail accounts.

This might be the easiest way we have to create teacher websites for FREE!

Full handout available at www.netsquirrel.com

ACTIVating your Elementary Math Class

Thursday - 12:30-1:30

Salon 7

There are many math resource packs on Promethean Planet to add to your math flipcharts.

When you search for resources type in; 

"Math Collections"

"Counting and Sorting"

The packs have math symbols and other objects such as coin flippers, dice and more.

Maths Mansion - Discovery Online

Videos available on different math areas.  Very much like United Streaming

Study Jams by Scholastic

This is a paid subscription, but looks like it will be worth the money. There are games, songs and more dealing with all subject areas.  They have a free trial available.  Worth checking out!

ikeepbookmarks.com/temske - for more links and other ideas

Harnessing the Digital Landscape for Teaching and Learning

Thursday - 9:30-10:30

Salon 1

Presentation Wiki

What fun this session was! David shared LOTS of great resources for mutimedia use.  This was a great presentation, I think everyone can find something they can use personally or in their classroom.  You will find one common theme in this information... it is FREE!

Flickr is a wonderful online source for organizing your digital photos.  And the wonderful thing about this, it is backed up on a regular basis!  You can also search their database for other photos.  When you use other photos you will need to be sure you are following copy-write law.  CLICK HERE for more information on this when using Flickr.

Pixlr is an online program which allows you to edit digital photos.  Best of all it is FREE!  It seems as though it will be very easy to use.  Can't wait to use this with the kids!

Royalty free music and sounds that can be used in Mutimedia presentations.  Partners in Rhyme is a great website for this.  The files can easily be downloaded and saved for FREE!

Audacity free audio recording software is available for download on PC and Mac.  It is very easy to use and the files are easily used in multimedia programs such as Power Point, Windows Movie Maker, Photo Story and more.

Here is one for all us MAC users out there :-)

There is a program called iSquint, that is a free download.  It will take flash files and convert them to to files for your iPod!  So, all those YouTube videos can now be converted and played on the run.  VERY COOL!

Citation Machine

This wonderful online site will help create a citation for online sources.  AMAZING!

ACTIVstudio Bag o' Tricks

Thursday - 8:15-9:15

Salon 7

Containers - 

The use of shapes and objects to show an answer as right or wrong.

We need to do more with these.  I will try to get this into one of our Thursday ACTIVtraining sessions.

Game-boards - 

Available in the resource library and on Promethean Planet. They can be customized for all subjects areas.  Tic-tac-toe can be used for math... place problems on the game-board and when a child get the problem correct they claim the box for an "X" or an "O".

Resource packs - 

On Promethean Planet you can download specific resource packs for subject areas and activities.  These packs can be added to your resource library very easily by using your dashboard.

Interactive Website - 

Use websites you are already using.

New site to check out - www.sheppardsoftware.com 

Tutorial CD - 

They have given us a tutorial CD with tips and tricks (including directions) I will download this to our network when I return to school

This session was full of useful information!

Google 201: Advanced Googology

Patrick Crispen, California State University, Featured Speaker

Wednesday - 4:15-5:15

Salon 4

You can download the full Power Point presentation at www.netsquirrel.com 

OR

Click Here for the online Flash Player version of the presentation

Google Rule Book

Google Rule #1

BE SPECIFIC.... the more detail you give the more relative sites you will find.  It works best when you enter a PHRASE.  Use at least 4-6 words and you WILL find what you are looking for!

Google Rule #2

You do not need to use quotes as we have been told in the past.

Google Rule #3

Plus signs are not needed anymore.  We were once taught that this was used to include words.  Google does this by default since it is a phrase search engine.

Google Rule #4

Use minus signs to EXCLUDE words.  This really does work!  Just be sure to leave a space after the word and before the minus sign (ex. "patrick crispen" -tour bus)

Google Rule #5

Capitalization does NOT matter

Google Rule #6

Stick to 10 words or less, but remember use between 4-6 for the best results

Google Rule #7

The order of your search words matters.

Tips and Tricks When Using Google

Searching for file types - 

The search pirates filetype:pdf will find all pdf files that contain the word pirates

The search dinosaurs filetype:ppt will find all Power Point files that contain the word dinosaurs

Searching for a phrase in a title only, not in the body of the webpage - 

The search intitle:hightower will find all hits with hightower in the title

You can use Google as a phone book - 

Enter the word phonebook before the persons name and address.  This information comes from the whitepages.

You can use Google as a dictionary - 

Enter the word define before the word in the search box

You can use Google as a calculator - 

Just enter the equation in the search bar and go!

You can search for the weather using Google - 

Enter the word weather in the search bar before the zip code or city name

Looking for a movie? - 

Enter movie: before the name of a city/town

WOW - that was FUN :-) 

Packing your lessons with ACTIVproducts

Wednesday - 3:00-4:00

Salon 7

Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technnology (9-12)

New Charter School that opened this year.

All rooms have Promethean Technology.  The teachers found this somewhat overwhelming at first, so they put some things in place to help;

 - All students are helping to create lessons in ACTIVstudio.  They work in groups with a specific topic assigned to them.  This would be no different than them doing a Power Point presentation.

- Students share flipcharts with teachers and students

- Teachers share flipcharts with students for notes when they are absent

- There are one or two Tech Helpers in each class to help with troubleshooting the board and accessories when needed.

Business partners and community advisory board helped them to implement a 1:1 laptop initiative. These business stay connected with the school throughout the year in many ways. This allows students to interact with CEOs of the companies involved.

What a great learning environment they have created! 

Check it out when you have a  moment...

GSMST School Website

The Cognitive Art of Educational Technology

Wednesday, 1:45-2:45

Salon 4

Patrick is always very entertaining and this was no different!  He brought me back to my Education classes in this one.

How do we create effective educational technology in the classrooms and WHY! Here is the why, no different from teaching without technology...

 - New information is connected to prior knowledge

 - New information is organized in or refers to some kind of mental structure or schema

 - Students are actively involved in the learning process

 - People are selective about what is learned

How can technology help...

 - Attention is the KEY - technology grabs their attention because they are comfortable with it

 - Eliminate Distractions - the brain can't multitask, it can only pay attention to one input at a time!

 - Emotion effects learning - technology is motivation for learning for many of our kids

 - Give the big picture first - many of you do this using BrainPop or United Streaming at the start of a lesson.

- People automatically group elements - chunk you lessons!  The rule of 4 works well.  Groups of four are easy for the brain to remember.

- Structure and organization is key - hierarchical structure is the easiest for our brain to remember.

- Watch one, do one, teach one.

- Physical activity increases cognitive performance - Years ago we chose the ACTIVboard (as opposed to other whiteboard technology) for elementary schools in Rockdale County BECAUSE students could move around the room and go to the board.  Do not let this be forgotten, and allow this INTERACTIVE technology become a place for teacher presentation.

Tips to keep in mind when putting a lesson together...

- Fonts - avoid ALL UPPERCASE, all italics or all bold

- Don't underline - cuts off the letter Pp and the letter Qq.  This is very difficult for students that are learning to read.

- Don't use pictures just to decorate, they should add something to the lesson

- Don't use different colors - they distract from the lesson content

- Use fonts that are easy to read

- Be sure there is alot of contrast between the background color and the font color.  Especially when projecting onto an ACTIVboard, screen or through a presenter box.

- Don't use animations, sounds or transitions that will take away from your content.  They should add something to your lesson, or they are not needed.

He is great about getting his presentations uploaded to his website and making them available. This presentation however, is not available yet.  You can find many other of his presentations on his website www.netsquirrel.com.  I will make this presentation link available to you as soon as it is posted.  

"ACTIV"ate Your Teaching

Wednesday - 12:30-1:30

Salon 7

WOW - did you know that when you copy and paste an entire paragraph from the internet or another document into ACTIVstudio you can DECONSTRUCT the paragraph to pull out individual words???  I didn't know this and it is so easy!

Here are the few steps you will need to know...

1. Copy text from the original source/document

2. Paste the text onto the blank ACTIVstudio flipchart page (right click, paste, text)

3. Double click the text using the arrow tool

4. From the toolbar that pops-up, choose the small paper with the check mark on it (this is your page properties)

5. Choose "Actions" from the list on the left side of the window

6. From the drop-down menu that defaults to "Do Nothing" choose "Deconstruct Text"

7. Close the window and return to your flipchart page

8. Now when you double click on a word in the paragraph it will make a NEW TEXT BOX containing the word.

9. You can now use your arrow tool to move that small text box with the one word!

This sure does help to make this text, that has been copied and pasted, more interactive!  This has always bee a problem in the past.

The uses are endless... 

 - move the nouns, verbs and adjectives out of the paragraph and into the proper container

 - can you find the descriptive words?

 - and so much more....

I will be sure to show this to you at our next ACTIVboard users meeting/training.  Hopefully in just a couple weeks.

Great classroom management tips...

 - Place directions (words and even pictures) of the materials you need the students to have for the ACTIVboard lesson on the 1st page of your flipchart!  Ex - if they need their SS text book, scan the cover of the textbook and place that picture on the first page.  That way the students know to look for what they need to take out of their desk instead of you having to repeat yourself multiple times. 

- There is a Classroom Management Resource pack that can be downloaded from Promethean Planet.  I will be sure to do this when I return to school.  It has neat classroom management tools and tricks that can easily be added to your resource library.