Last Assignment: Incorporating Classmates’ Strategies

1) I chose to incorporate the strategies of:
a)Pingomatic
b)Blog address on email signature
I chose these two because they were not ones I had tried before and I thought they would be the most effective out of the ones I had not tried. I especially liked the signature option as I send out over a hundred emails a week at work and personally.

2)I definitely found this project to be useful to me as an ITRT. Teachers tell me they enjoy my blogs and are using some of the ideas I have posted. I have greatly expanded my personal learning network. I have really enjoyed looking for things to post on my blog and have learned a lot by scouring the internet for ideas. I have enjoyed reading what others have posted as well. As for my project, I have really enjoyed learning more about ROAR and am looking forward to doing it next week with a class.

I just made a new Voki. See it here:

For example, one of the neat ideas I heard was to embed a Voki in your Quia quiz. Here's how to do it: In Quia, you'll notice a blue + sign. You can paste your voki html code in this box, and your voki will appear in the instructions, questions or answers, wherever you want them. As you make the quia activity, be sure to check the box that says "Activate HTML and LaTeX ".
You can embed a Voki into just about any program where you can embed code.
What a great way to review for SOLs!!
Have fun!

Free Paid Android Apps on Amazon

"Free" and "Paid" in the same sentence? How can that be? It is true that Amazon now has a daily free paid Android app that they feature. It is a great way to try some of those apps that you weren't sure if you should pay for as it may be a dud and you would have wasted your money.
If you have an Android phone, go ahead and put this link http://www.amazon.com/mobile-apps/b?ie=UTF8&node=2350149011 on your desktop and check it daily. You may find something you can actually use!

Should GPS devices be used to help lower truancy rates?

In Anaheim, California that is exactly what they are doing. Students that have issues with truancy are being required to wear tracking devices, much like those that criminals wear. They are being used as a final attempt at changing their behavior before being referred to a juvenile detention center. One thing to note is that the program is voluntary. Parents have to give permission for their student. The students do not have a choice. Proponents say that "truancy can cause many problems, kids who willingly ditch class are more likely to get involved in gangs, and crimes such as vandalism,theft and drug dealing." Others say it is "coming down too hard and it is a criminalization of kids who have trouble getting to class."
What do you think?

YouTube Launches "Copyright School"

Today, YouTube launched a brand new "Copyright School". This service is designed to educate YouTube users about their copyright policies. According to their announcement, users who have a video flagged for copyright violations will be required to attend their "Copyright School" before being able to upload more content. You can watch the video below:
You might want to turn the volume down or plug your ears first :-)

AirPrint - Ever wanted to print something from your iPod Touch, iPad or iPhone? Now you can!

AirPrint lets you print wirelessly from your i-device. There is no software, no drivers or cables. You can just click and the printing takes place in the background, allowing you to keep flipping through your photos. You can print to any AirPrint enabled printer as well as any non-Airprint enabled printer. How to print to a non-AirPrint enabled printer.
All you need is to update your device to the iOS 4.2.1 update!
Here is a demo of how AirPrint works:

Now your students can print their notes, pictures, website research, etc.!
Happy printing!

WEB 2.0 on the Rise for Educators

Need a great free site where you can create online tests, polls, brain games, and flashcards?
"ProProfs, the exceptional multi-tool site that is already on The Best Ways To Create Online Tests and The Best Tools To Make Online Flashcards lists, now may be the number one tool on The Best Sites For Creating Online Polls & Surveys list. Their new poll-making feature has just about everything I’m looking for in a tool to create polls — very accessible, you can easily add images or videos, you can include links, they’re embeddable, there are no limits in the number of responses, you can restrict voting and….it’s free."
This is a tip I found on another great website I recommend you adding to your bookmarks and that is: Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day

Complete Guide to You Tube

Are you using You Tube in your classroom?
Check out this Complete Guide to You Tube by Guiding Tech. You will
find useful tips on downloading, embedding, how to make it safe for kids,
and how to use it on mobile devices.

Bing Maps

Most of you are already familiar with Google Maps and Google Earth. But have you ever tried Bing Maps? It has some awesome views that Google doesn't.

"What stars and planets are over your head right now? Find out using Bing maps.
Bing has added Microsoft's Worldwide Telescope to its map section.
Now you can look up using street view and see what's going on in the sky above you.

In addition to seeing stars, the application pulls data in from the Worldwide Telescope Community including Constellations, Solar System, All-Sky Surveys, Spitzer Studies, Chandra Studies, Hubble Studies, Astrophotography, Radio Studies, NOAO Studies, Gemini Studies, Messier Catalog, Planets/Moons, Earth (Bing!), Panoramas, and Tours.

To add the Worldwide Telescope application to Bing maps, click on map apps and choose Microsoft Telescope. After you've added it you'll see some choices on the left panel, starting with "Do you want to see some stars?" and a list of the collections you can add such as Hubble studies, solar system, astrophotography, and other collections.

The Worldwide Telescope application requires Microsoft Silverlight to run - if you don't have it, you'll be prompted to install it. There are 25 Bing map apps in all ranging from Streetside Photos to Roadside Sculptures, as well as travel webcams, restaurant finders, local events and more."
Credits to Gizmos Freeware

Best Free Mac Downloads

For those of you who are using Macs, this is a good list of downloads you may want to consider putting on your Mac.
Pac for Mac

TOOBLE - Download Videos to Watch Later on Your Computer, iPhone, iPad, or iPod

What is Tooble? Tooble is like a DVR for the internet. Tooble is the best and easiest way to take all of your favorite videos from YouTube and other sites and download them straight to iTunes so you are able to watch any video on your iPhone, iPod, iPad or smartphone. And it's free!!
With Tooble Free you can:
—Download any video from YouTube
—Automatically import into iTunes
—Sync to your iPhone iPad or iPod
—And more, all in as few as three clicks
Download Educational Videos with Tooble
Teachers can incorporate great videos like this into their daily lessons.

Tooble is like a DVR for the internet, allowing you to download videos from YouTube, TeacherTube and other educational video websites straight to iTunes.
Visit: http://tooble.tv/

Creating Presentations On iPod Touches

Yes, that’s right. Students can create effective and sometimes stunning presentations directly on the iPods now. There is a new app named Keypoint that will create Keynote/Powerpoint presentations, and apps such as Animoto and Sideshow Builder create auto-run presentations that the student can then present. Just one more awesome use for iPod Touches in the classroom!

iThink iNeed iPods, iPads and iPhones in the Classroom

Don't you love the title? I actually cannot take credit for it. It is the title of one of several sessions at a free online conference taking place on April 28. For those of you who have the privilege of having handhelds in your classrom you may want to check out this conference to get inspired with some new and fresh ideas for using them in the classroom!
http://fetc.org/Events/Virtual-Conference/Home.aspx

Google Has an Educational Apps Marketplace

The apps can be integrated with existing apps such as Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Docs. Using free apps from Google's new selection - which include spelling and grammar and bibliographical management tools - could help ed-tech officials avoid installing and updating software on hundreds of computers in school. Some of the more useful apps for teachers are online gradebook apps, Brain Pop, and the Grockit Learning Platform.
Grockit,is a social networking and gaming platform that lets students learn from and compete with their peers on a range of subjects using the site's live chat service.
Google Ed Apps, is something to keep an eye on as it develops and grows in 2011!

ROAR at Radford!

I met with Dr. Matt Dunleavy recently to discuss how I was going to use ROAR - Radford's Outdoor Augmented Reality, in my schools. I learned that it is cutting edge and is still in the development stage. We discussed some uses that they are still working out, such as using it as an assessment tool. If a student gets the answer to the question correct, they can move on to the next station, if they get it wrong, they get remediated. This can be very powerful for the classroom teacher. I am excited to be able to work on making ROAR more useful for the classroom teacher! I am going to be using it for the first time with a class in the next week or two. I will update everyone on how it goes.

Podcasting - Under Used, Under Appreciated

A new study (Lecture Podcast Listeners Outperform Class Attendees) found that students who listen to lectures on podcasts test better than those who listen in class. Podcasting is a powerful educational medium, second only to books, in my opinion. But unlike reading books, you can listen to podcasts while doing the dishes.
Yet another reason to use iPod Touches and iPods in the classroom.
The lecture doesn't always have to be just a recording of a teacher. What if the students had to summarize what the teacher was lecturing on, in their own words and they recorded that instead? There would be some issues where the student didn't get all the necessary info or twisted the message. This can be controlled by working in teacher supervised groups to prepare the summation. The act of reiterating the teacher's words and putting them into their own words, reinforces the learning and teaches them an invaluable skill that they will be able to use throughout their educational career. Podcasting is nothing new, but how it can positively affect testing may be news to you.

Utilizing Technology in the Classroom Can be Frustrating!!

Inevitably you will feel frustrated when using technology in the classroom. Someone's login doesn't work, a file won't save, you can't find your file, the printer jams, the bulb goes out on your projector, and on and on. Knowing the inevitability of it, a teacher can turn it into a positive experience. The more problems we have with technology the more we end up learning from it. You can set an example of perseverance, problem solving, adaptation, adjusting, trial and error, teamwork, and exhibiting a positive attitude. These are all skills students will need in life beyond their school experience. As with any life lesson, it is a rare occasion when we get something right on the first try. We must realize that not trying technology is doing our students a major dis-service. Again, using technology will be frustrating at first, but give yourself some time to get used to it and set up some time with your Instructional Technology Resource Teacher. Technology is not something you have to use everyday, but sprinkle it in when you feel it is applicable and it will enhance your teaching and students' learning. Here's to all you teachers who brave the unknown and try technology, knowing it can fail from time to time, but are willing to persevere and teach your students life skills in the process!

eSchool News

If you don't already subscribe to eSchool News, you should! It is free and they will send you a monthly newspaper with lots of good articles about technology in education. www.eSchoolnews.com
In the February issue there is an article about What U.S. Schools Can Learn From Abroad. I found it interesting. It says that, "the U.S. ranked near the middle of the pack in the latest international comparisons in reading, math and science." It goes on to say that the reasons for other nations performing better is that they respect their teachers and provide them with adequate trainings, pay them well and empower their teachers more. It also says that there is more of an emphasis on pre-school education and that they pair struggling schools with successful ones. Finally, it says that the learning is more personalized for the students.
Technology is a great way to provide more personalized instruction and practice for students. The problem I notice in our county is that we have the technology but not the training that is needed. I am an ITRT and that is my job to train the teachers, so you may think it is inappropriate that I say that. My job is difficult because there is no good time during the day to train and the county does not provide training days for technology. This all goes back to respecting the teachers and empowering them. If we provide teachers the time they need to learn how to effectively learn the technology they have been given, I think we would see an upsurge in the effective use of that technology. Effective, being the key word here. Just playing a video on your Smartboard or using your doc cam as an overhead projector is not effective use of technology. I say we join the nations that are making a positive difference and put more emphasis on properly training our teachers on effective use of technology and less time on meetings and paperwork. Then we may join the ranks of those near the top.

Hoppala - You can now create your own Augmented Reality!

I discovered Hoppala, an application that allows you to create your own augmented reality on your phone, with just a few clicks!
Check out this video:


The Berlin wall is back! - in augmented reality.

This is just a fun example of the things you could do
with your class. Can you think of interesting and
 fun ways you could use this as a teacher?
Could you see ways that students could use it?

My AR Project

Since I am an ITRT, I do not have a class of my own. I have to find a willing teacher to allow me to come in and do the AR experience with their class. For my first experience, I have asked the gifted teacher to allow me to do an AR experience with her class. She agreed and suggested we do it on the Ididarod, which is the next LA lesson she is working on with her 4th graders.  I think it will work out great! We can have the students do the Ididarod trail and at each checkpoint they can learn something about a language arts SOL. We are still building our list of skills we want to include. We should have that ready by the end of next week.
Any ideas on how to make this a great experience?

The Horizon Report 2011

I read the Horizon Report with great interest. It was the first time I even heard of it. I find it interesting as it directly relates to my job as an ITRT and it applies directly to my project for EDET 650, Augmented Reality. The Roar project was my first introduction to AR, but after reading the Horizon Report, I realized that there is so much more to AR.  I discovered that various forms been around for more than 30 years! I learned that the Roar project is based on "gravimetrics", which means that it is position based and it uses GPS on a mobile device.  There is another type of AR that is image based and they can detect and interpret gestures and postures as commands. This is an excited new development! I believe we are witnessing the beginning of a huge development in the world of technology. It will not only have many uses in industry but I am especially excited about its use in education. AR is an active technology. Most technologies in the classrooms now are more passive. The program prompts the student to make a selection on a computer screen while the student sits strapped to their seat, because the computer is too heavy to carry around. But AR will require students to be up and out of their seats moving around in space. AR can bring images to life in 3D, which is becoming so popular these days. Students will no longer be satisfied with flat, 2 demensional images. Books will no longer be flat when the students place them under a document camera that brings the characters to life in 3D! I can't wait to see where the field of Augmented Reality leads!

Twitter in the Classroom - Should we have students tweeting at school?

I think there is a place for tweeting at school. The students love to use technology and I think it would peak their interest in any subject it is being used in. Of course the students need to be able to write, but I think it could be used in grades as low as third grade. I equate it to the use of the classroom response clickers. It has an advantage over them in that you can send free form answers as opposed to multiple choice responses. It can also be a great way to get kids talking about what is being taught. As with any form of technology, there are risks and they would need to be thought out and addressed prior to use.

Augmented Reality - Is it "realistic" to use it in the classroom?

Is using Augmented Reality in the classroom an achieveable, affordable thing to do?
Did you know it is currently being used in classrooms around the world? Check out this video and you can begin to see the possibilities:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pGyFjgvBbE
How might a teacher use augmented reality in the classroom? You could use it to teach science, math, literature. I have an idea to use it to teach students about Explorers, where they went and what they disovered, as well as what they encountered. What ideas come to your mind?