Newell-Fonda Tech

Todd Whitaker at Spirit Lake

2011-08-17T08:05:00.006-05:00

Notes from the Todd Whitaker's "What Great Teachers Do Differently" speech at the Sami Center at Spirit Lake schools.

"What Great Teachers Do Differently" on Amazon Books.
Follow Todd Whitaker on Twitter.
To know what the great people do differently, we have to study both the effective and ineffective people.
There is no relationship between teacher perception of principal effectiveness and principal self-impression of effectiveness.
Every teacher thinks they're good - and the good ones are correct.
Good lecturers explain better than the instructional materials.
Teachers, students and parents all do the best they know how.
We can either teach and model it, or we can whine about it.
The problem with treating people as if they're bad is that bad people like it and it makes good people uncomfortable.
You can't mandate effectiveness and you can't control a weirdo.
The great ones do it, and the crummy ones don't; there's a difference between intention and action.
"Shift the monkey" - make the good people comfortable and the bad people uncomfortable.
The best teachers have an unlimited ability to ignore.
People are the problem; people are the solution.
It's people, not programs.
When a school hires a new teacher, the goal is for the school to become more like the new teachers, not for the new teacher to become more like the school.
"Sorry I couldn't get your car fixed, but we've got a tough group of cars this year."
Let's put up signs for the 99%, not for the idiots.
Principals need to be in classroom every day; the good teachers love it, and the bad teachers hate it.
Great teachers compare themselves to perfection, that's why they're so insecure. Poor teachers compare everybody else to perfection, that's why they're so confident.
Treat every student with respect and dignity every day, all the time.
You don't have to like the kids, you just have to act like they like the kids.
Three things that should never take place: We should never argue; We should never yell; We should never use sarcasm.
In a great teacher's classroom, the kids don't know that the teachers even HAVE buttons.
Setting consequences in advance takes pressure OFF of bad-behaving students. One of the most powerful tools we have is fear of the unknown.
Poor teachers have rules; great teachers have expectations.
Poor teachers want kids to leave the room mad; great teachers want them leaving different.
Raise the Praise - Minimize the Criticize
Praise should be: Authentic, Specific, Immediate, Clean (no ulterior motive), Private.

Welcome back to 2011-12!

2011-08-15T08:56:00.002-05:00

Welcome back to the 2011-12 school year at Newell-Fonda! Here are some of the exciting things going on in our technology program:

We're entering Year 4 of our 1:1 laptop program, providing a technology-rich learning environment for our students and teachers. Our staff constantly works to improve the use of technology to improve student learning and achievement.
We're expanding our use of handheld devices. We've purchased an additional 34 Apple iPod Touches, an additional 8 Apple iPads, and 36 Mimio tablets. We've also purchased a number of document cameras and handheld video cameras. This should make it easier for students and teachers to get their hands on these useful devices.
We're implementing Google Apps for Education in all grades. This should improve collaboration and communication for our students and staff.
We're improving the ability of our staff in grades 5-12 to monitor student laptop use, by implementing the LANschool program on our 1:1 laptops. This allows teachers to continually monitor the screens of student computers to help ensure that they are on task.
We're in the final stages of redesigning the school's web page. The new one should be more attractive and easier to navigate. We're hoping that this will improve communication between our students, staff and community.
Don't forget to check the Newell-Fonda Daily Tweet. This is an online newspaper that brings together articles mentioned on Twitter by N-F teachers and the people they follow on Twitter. Also, check in on the Newell-Fonda Twitter feed.

YouTube - Progressive Education in the 1940s.

2011-05-02T13:01:00.002-05:00

So.... have things changed much?

VREP Showcase

2011-04-28T09:40:00.011-05:00

Notes from the Virtual Reality Education Pathfinders conference at Prairie Meadows in Altoona.

9:30 am - Curt Carlson of BodyViz software speaking on the potential of virtual reality in education. Demonstrating BodyViz software with 3D visualizations of CT scans. - http://www.bodyviz.com/
The Human-Computer Interaction group at ISU's Engineering department will be looking at VR implementations in schools to assess educational impact and help develop best practices.
Matthew Spegal of Sigourney high school presents on his game development using Blender.
Austin Kingery of Easy Marshall high school talking about how VR development changes his outlook on education, and motivated him to learn new things.
Jacob Meade from Starmont high school demon!strates his use of Blender effects and animations.
Joe Wallace (teacher) from Mount Vernon high school presents on his students' use of Vizard in their VREP program.
Nick Bragg and Holly Baiotto from Van Meter high school presenting on their VR program, bringing SketchUp models into Blender (I wanna know how to do this!).
Boone high school students showing their Blender projects made into videos. Also showing using FPS Creator software to make games.
Dave Harrison of Design Alliance speaks about digital advances in the field of architecture.
David Wehr from Sigourney high school presents on his use of Python and C programming to create games in Blender. Great stuff!

Good Links:

Bullying Prevention Videos

2011-03-21T16:35:00.001-05:00

Does Fun Matter?

2011-01-28T16:18:00.003-06:00

Watch this video, then think about how it might relate to how we run our schools and classrooms. (This came to me via Jo Vetter, one of our high school English teachers.)

Best Tweets of the Day 1-7-11

2011-01-07T14:43:00.002-06:00

Best Tweets of the Day 1-5-11

2011-01-05T14:25:00.002-06:00

Best Tweets of the Day 12-16-10

2010-12-16T15:36:00.004-06:00

Best Tweets of the Day 12-15-10

2010-12-15T16:19:00.003-06:00

Free iPod music-making apps

2010-12-15T11:44:00.002-06:00

Best Tweets of the Day 12-14-10

2010-12-14T14:23:00.003-06:00

Best Tweets of the Day 12-13-10

2010-12-13T18:29:00.003-06:00

Best Tweets of the Day 12-7-10

2010-12-07T15:36:00.002-06:00

Best Tweets of the Day 12-6-10

2010-12-06T15:12:00.002-06:00

Best Tweets of the Day 12-2-10

2010-12-02T13:30:00.004-06:00

Social Studies - Civil War Tour

2010-12-02T11:31:00.001-06:00

Best Tweets of the Day 12-1-10

2010-12-01T15:19:00.002-06:00

Best Tweets of the Day 11-30-10

2010-11-30T14:26:00.003-06:00

Best Tweets of the Day 11-29-10

2010-11-29T14:30:00.002-06:00

Do You Have a Growth Mindset? - http://bit.ly/hocrGf
Inner Life of a Cell - http://bit.ly/UqDmB
Educational Technology Needs Assessment - http://bit.ly/cB2a3J
Five Ways to Use Todaysmeet.com in the Classroom - http://bit.ly/id8B8A
The 7 Tacit Lessons Which Schools Teach Children - http://bit.ly/i724j8
A sad, sad graphic about professors' use of technology in teaching - http://bit.ly/iaQyZk
DropItToMe: Receive Files to Your Inbox - http://bit.ly/g143PR
Using the Magic Pocket: A DropBox Guide - http://scr.bi/fi1SSZ
Google Earth Tour Tips - http://bit.ly/bQ98qj

Newell-Fonda PD - The Movie

2010-11-10T16:47:00.000-06:00

Free Kindle eBooks on Educational Technology

2010-10-26T10:45:00.006-05:00

Found these free on the Kindle Store. They're more reports than "books," but there's some good stuff in there. And free, which makes it even better. ;-)

The Civic Potential of Video Games - http://amzn.to/dywPkV
Young People, Ethics and the New Digital Media - http://amzn.to/dmlwQB
New Digital Media and Learning as an Emerging Area - http://amzn.to/aY9oT5
Living and Learning with the New Media - http://amzn.to/calxl2
The Future of Learning Institutions in a Digital Age - http://amzn.to/90PRtN
Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture - http://amzn.to/bSSBP9

Alan November in Cherokee

2010-10-06T09:08:00.014-05:00

I'm currently listening to Alan November at Western Iowa Tech in Cherokee, Iowa. Speaking to a group of educational leaders. Here's the play-by-play:

Alan is emphasizing the power of constant connectivity using Twitter tools (Twitter, Twitterfall, hashtags, etc.).
What's the number one skill to teach our kids? - Creativity? Collaboration? Communication? Problem-solving? Alan says the number one answer he gets from military, corporate people = Empathy.
Alan is using Polleverywhere.com to get feedback during his speech.
"American classrooms are typically closed to the world." Our kids desperately need the ability understand the points of view of other people. Without that, they'll always be out-done by those who do have this skill.
Demonstrating how to restrict Google search results to certain countries using county codes - http://www.theodora.com/country_digraphs.html
Know the academic and government domains in different countries, so you can target web searches.
Present bogus facts on the internet (with a straight face), then teach your kids how to validate content.
Google Books preview of Alan's book Web Literacy for Educators - http://bit.ly/cWZtk1
We need to redesign our homework, so that the answers aren't Google-able - Focus more on application.
"Schools need to create the opportunity for kids to explain things to other kids."
"The simplest idea I know to improve learning: Collaborative Note-taking. Have one kid take notes (online?) every day, check those notes, share notes with class (online)."
Make and post tutorial videos, made with Screencast or Jing or QuickTimeX.
Work that goes beyond the classroom causes Real Learning.
Diigo can be a place for students to have their own personal library of everything they've researched on the internet.

US History Tours via Google Earth

2010-10-01T13:51:00.002-05:00

Use the Google Earth application to learn about US History.

http://www.wwnorton.com/college/history/america8/full/historytours.aspx

12 Tech-Integration Essentials

2010-10-01T13:48:00.002-05:00

Open publication - Free publishing - More technology

Self-Grading Quizzes with Google Forms

2010-10-01T09:26:00.001-05:00

Check out this page, for a tutorial on using Google Forms to create online quizzes that grade themselves.

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2010/09/how-to-create-self-graded-quizzes-in.html

Video: Khan Academy Founder Speaks

2010-10-01T09:13:00.002-05:00

Great video of a speech by the creator of the Khan Academy.

Sal Khan at Gel 2010 (founder, the Khan Academy) from Gel Conference on Vimeo.

The Case for Social Media in School

2010-09-30T10:37:00.002-05:00

Should social media be banned in schools? Do the risks outweigh the costs? Should only "safe" sites be allowed? This article makes a pretty good case in favor of social media in the classroom. Thoughts?

http://mashable.com/2010/09/29/social-media-in-school/

Video: How to Use Twitter

2010-09-16T14:38:00.000-05:00

Changes to Apple's App Store Policies Affect Schools

2010-09-13T09:38:00.003-05:00

In the past, schools were allowed to purchase one license of an iPod or iPad app, then sync it to multiple devices. Apple is now changing this. Here's a detailed explanation of the changes:

http://bit.ly/b6Iia9

To Filter or Not To Filter?

2010-09-08T10:24:00.001-05:00

That is the question:

http://bit.ly/cejDrZ

David Warlick - Technology for 21st Century Learning

2010-08-17T09:24:00.001-05:00

http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/?p=2712

Twelve Specialty Linux Distributions

2010-07-02T13:53:00.004-05:00

Need a free operating system? Try Linux.

http://www.linux.org/

Need one customized for a specific need? Check these out.

http://bit.ly/cLwsKj

Earth's Highs and Lows

2010-06-11T11:30:00.003-05:00

Here's an awesome, scaled graphic showing relative elevations and depths of things on the earth from the cruising altitude of an airliner to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. Also shows the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig. Very cool.

Click here for the web page

TED - Jesse Schell: When Games Invade Real Life

2010-05-27T09:39:00.001-05:00

http://www.ted.com/talks/jesse_schell_when_games_invade_real_life.html

Secretary of Ed: Use Video Games to Teach

2010-05-20T12:38:00.001-05:00

http://www.techlearning.com/editorblogs/29892

How to Fail with a 1:1 Program

2010-05-12T08:30:00.003-05:00

http://bit.ly/c5PmQ2

This article illustrates the classic way to fail with a 1:1 laptop program. The infrastructure wasn't up to snuff, teachers were not sufficiently trained to use the technology, curriculum was not modified, students were not properly monitored, .... you name it. It appears to be a case of believing that there's something magical about plopping a laptop down in front of a student; that the mere presence of technology is going to result in better learning. This article clearly shows how untrue that is. One-to-One is not a bandwagon to be jumped on, something to do just so you can say you did. It's a transformational movement in education. If bringing about true instructional change is not an option in your district, then inserting laptops will only make things worse than they already are.

Seth Godin - Are You An Elite?

2010-05-11T12:51:00.003-05:00

http://bit.ly/9Kn8Ht

In this case, being an elite is a GOOD thing.

And, here's where you can get a free copy of his eBook, "Unleashing the Ideavirus".

http://bit.ly/141R0

Best Practices for Wikis in Education

2010-05-11T10:43:00.003-05:00

http://bit.ly/ElciQ

A good article from a technology instructor at Boise State University discussing how to make the best use of a wiki in your classroom instruction.

What Makes Finnish Kids so Smart?

2010-05-07T13:25:00.001-05:00

Finnish students score very high on international tests, and yet there doesn't appear to be anything special about them, or their educational system, at least at first glance. Why the high scores, then?

http://online.wsj.com/public/article_print/SB120425355065601997.html

"When are we ever gonna need this?"

2010-05-06T13:31:00.001-05:00

http://stayoutofschool.com/2010/05/when-are-they-ever-gonna-use-this/

This blog post addresses the issue of why we need to teach fundamental skills, even if those skills are not actually in use in the workplace. Great reading.

Web Filtering - Are We Filtering Learning?

2010-05-06T08:22:00.005-05:00

http://www.isteconnects.org/2010/05/05/web-filters-filtering-learning/

A good blog post regarding the instructional roadblocks caused by internet content filtering in schools. It's a good read, with several more links included to other great articles.

There's a fundamental conflict between the way we've been controlling internet access and the goals of 21st Century Learning. Like it or not, responsibility for providing a "safe" online educational environment has to fall primarily on the classroom teacher. It's rapidly becoming unworkable for a central authority to decide what is the appropriate level of filtering (what I call the Least Restrictive Computing Environment) for a given classroom or group of students. Classroom internet access has to be seen as a classroom-management issue, not a technology issue.

NJ Principal - Keep Middle-School Kids off Social Media!

2010-05-03T08:13:00.002-05:00

A New Jersey middle-school principal is on a mission to keep kids away from social networking sites, such as Facebook, and he's trying to convince parents to do the same at home. He makes some strong points. It's an interesting article, and some interesting responses in the discussion comments. Opinions?

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/04/30/principal.facebook.ban/index.html?hpt=Sbin

What makes me skeptical...

2010-04-29T14:12:00.002-05:00

Whenever I attend a conference on some new, exciting movement in educational technology, there are two things I wonder. Is this movement motivated by:

the desire of a vendor to take advantage of a captive audience of students to whom to sell products?
the desire of industry to pass job training duties off on the secondary schools?

Student Video - Compare and Contrast

2010-04-28T10:18:00.004-05:00

Andrew Mueller is at it again. He's made another video for a class assignment. This one is not too heavy on the educational content, but he's getting really good at the production quality and the special effects, especially considering that he's putting these together with nothing more than his school MacBook and iMovie. Here's the video:

And, in case you missed it, that's Andrew on both sides.

Video Game Academy

2010-04-27T08:55:00.001-05:00

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6973739.html

“It's not about just video games, that's some of the myth we're going to have to clear up with parents,” Ware said. “There's medical, gas and oil industry (applications). ... In nursing you're now using simulations rather than using cadavers (and) some of the things (students) will delve into is creating simulations for businesses.”

Confessions of a System Administrator - "I hate computers!"

2010-04-23T17:05:00.001-05:00

http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/04/22/i-hate-computers-confessions-of-a-sysadmin/

College profs banning laptops?

2010-04-22T09:03:00.005-05:00

http://www.thebigmoney.com/articles/diploma-mill/2010/04/20/blackboard-versus-keyboard?page=full

This article makes an argument that we hear a lot at a 1:1 school: that laptops are nothing but an expensive, distracting toy, and that students with laptops don't do as well as they should in class because they're constantly off-task.

Teachers and Students: Please read the entire article, AND the comments, and then add your own comment here. This is a discussion we need to have.

Will Richardson discusses "balance"

2010-04-21T16:20:00.002-05:00

http://link.social.com/c/twitter/1349941/1271883360/b/aSueec/bx3a7W

In this article, Will Richardson discusses the issue of "balance" between our online and offline worlds. His conclusion may not be what you expect.

Lessons OUTSIDE class, homework IN class?

2010-04-20T13:10:00.004-05:00

Here's a really thought-provoking article on homework philosophy and practice, coming from a high school math teacher.

http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2010/04/transparent-algebra-homework.html

He makes the assertion that we're doing it backwards when it comes to lessons and homework. We should be delivering lessons OUTSIDE of the classroom, using streaming video, and web technologies such as wikis and blogs. We should be doing homework INSIDE the classroom, where the face-to-face interaction between student and teacher is most useful and effective.

He takes the time to make his point thoroughly and carefully, and includes a video to demonstrate what he means. Very worthwhile stuff.

Video: Free social media for educators

2010-04-20T08:08:00.002-05:00

This video by Hans Mundahl, Director of Experiental Learning and Technology Coordinator at the New Hampton School in New Hampshire, was made to explain the power of social media to his school leadership team. Great example of how free social media tools can connect and empower people.

Great Godin Quote

2010-04-19T13:03:00.002-05:00

Just had to share the best quote from Seth Godin, from his book "Tribes".

"If your goal is to make change, it's foolish to try to change the worldview of the majority if the majority is focused on maintaining the status quo. The opportunity is to carve out a new tribe, to find the rabble-rousers and change lovers who are seeking new leadership and run with them instead."

Looking back from the future

2010-04-15T11:50:00.001-05:00

An educator from 2030 looks back at the changes in education since 2010.

Should we block social media?

2010-04-15T09:15:00.006-05:00

http://mashable.com/2010/04/13/social-media-ban-backfire/

This article discusses the unintended negative consequences of restrictive internet filtering policies in education, government and business. Here's the main point from the first two paragraphs:

"Humans have a natural proclivity to want what they cannot have. Our insatiable appetite for sharing information, combined with the nearly limitless ways to access the web have thus far frustrated the most sophisticated attempts to block access to social media services.

From the Great Firewall of China to the public schools of Britain, IT security experts are finding that restricting Internet access can have the unintended consequences of civic backlash, poor worker productivity, and students unprepared for cyber threats."

And here's his point regarding content filtering in schools:

"My own university bans the Internet in some large lecture halls. Yet, when I wander in back of the room before lecture, I see students hunched over cell phones, the signature blue and white colors of Facebook, and an inordinate number of students camped out near the perimeter of the hall, where a weak wi-fi signal permeates the room.

Meanwhile, some schools in Britain have chosen to “lock down” their systems, allowing access to only verified websites. However, a report from their government’s department of education found that “this approach had disadvantages in the schools visited. As well as taking up time and detracting from learning, it did not encourage the pupils to take responsibility for their actions.”

Additionally, children were less likely to understand proper Internet safety when outside of school. By contrast, in those schools that took a more educative approach to e-safety, teachers could use incidents of phishing, cyber-bullying, and inappropriate material as a way to discuss how such encounters should be dealt with in the future. Indeed, in at least one high school where cell phone use was part of the curriculum, the principal noted that inappropriate use of technology is exceedingly rare."

In other words, blocking access to social media sites may ultimately prove more distracting — and potentially more dangerous — to students."

Two great website resources

2010-04-15T08:17:00.001-05:00

Evan Abbey - Online Learning

2010-04-07T13:47:00.005-05:00

Universities that do not offer online learning are seeing dramatic drops in enrollment.

25% of college students are taking online courses.

50% of all instruction will be online by 2019.

Students are looking for learning opportunities that fit their location, schedule, learning styles and learning pace.

"There are so many needs out there that online learning best fills."

We are going to lose our geographical monopoly on students. Florida Virtual School (an online high school) is nearing the 1 million student mark, and more of those students are informally "open-enrolling" from other states.

Singapore is blending their courses: 2 days at school, 3 days online.

Florida Virtual School is finding that students using the Conspiracy Code online educational game program have better achievement than students in the equivalent traditional courses.

K-12online has a Moodle site with a course in Online Instructional Design for K-12 Schools.

Bytespeed computers - 1:1 products for the PC platform

2010-04-07T11:30:00.003-05:00

Bytespeed Computers is developing a comprehensive package of hardware, software and professional development for PC-based 1:1 environments.

Thinix.com is developing the software packages.

Using STAR-Online for online professional development.

This approach treats the laptop as an "appliance" that highly customizes and controls the interface for the user.

I'm giving ByteSpeed credit for a good start, but it's got a long way to go before it's got the ease and features of Apple's solutions. Seems that a lot depends on Thinix to do imaging and deployment.

Matt Schmitz - Wiimote whiteboard

2010-04-07T10:15:00.003-05:00

Creating a cheap, functional interactive whiteboard using the Wii remote control.

Concept by Johnny Lee - http://johnnylee.net/projects/wii/

Wiimote whiteboard software - http://www.uweschmidt.org/wiimote-whiteboard

IR Pens Online - http://irpensonline.com/

Wii Teachers - http://wiiteachers.com

Iowa 1:1 Institute - Bryan Burkhardt, Electronic Crime Institute

2010-04-07T09:01:00.002-05:00

http://eci.dmacc.edu

The Electronic Crime Institute at DMACC works closely with law enforcement, private industry and academia. They provide two-year degrees and certifications in digital forensics.

They do outreach programs with schools to address issues such as online predation, harassment, inappropriate content, online addiction, device security, etc.

Types of internet safety:

physical
psychological
reputation and legal
identity, property and community

How the internet changes the equation:

persistence and searchability
replicability
scalability
invisible audiences
blurring of public and private
disinhibition

Interesting discussion on disinhibition: how the lack of visual cues can reduce empathy and cause misunderstanding.

Trends and implications:

sexting and cyberbullying are on the rise
traditional bullying declining
child identity theft on the rise
cybercriminals increasingly active on social web

Regarding cybercriminals: "We catch the dumb ones, but even the dumb ones are getting smarter."

Scenarios:

Your students try to "friend" your Facebook profile - do you accept or ignore it? (Bryan says definitely Ignore.)
Should you establish an alternative social networking account to use with students? (Bryan says no. There's no factual way for students to identify truth in that situation. Anybody can set up a Facebook account, for example.)
For those under age 13 or those with limitations, is it ok for you to create a general account for students to use in which you issue a username and password? (Bryan says no: we should not be modeling that it's all right to pretend to be someone else. COPA does not protect the teacher without explicit parental consent.)
After receiving a "sext", a student contacts you as a trusted adult and offers to forward the evidence to you. Do you accept? (No way, says Bryan. You're receiving illegal material and evidence of a crime.)
A parent wants digital photos of class activities for the year-end slideshow. It's too large to email. Do you upload it to Facebook or Shutterfly? (Bryan says no. There are better, more secure ways to do this.)
A "challenging" student confides that he has been cyberbullied and that his parents said to "get 'em back!" Your reaction?

We need to plant the seeds of effective and responsible online behavior at an early age.

Recommendations:

convey expectations/ cultivate positive norms/ develop upstanders
use of whole school approach to bullying and other behavioral issues
Youth Voice Project (Nixon and Davis, March 2010)
consistenty question information validity. model best methods for interpreting fact
teach security by teaching critical thinking
remain vigilant - common websites/previously viewed links (consider a bridge page disclaimer)
teach youth to protect/regularly change their passwords; use good password techniques
emphasize that nothing is really private: posting = billboard
keep personal information private (parental consent for public dissemination of likeness or work; photos in group, general captions)
no rewind, no taking it back
look through the shot, what the background reveals
you are what you wear
respecting others' privacy
everybody's a videographer
be a good citizen - avoid libel and slander (bullying, too)
respect terms of use of websites
respect copyrights
Kids' Web video viewing: age-appropriate, complacent endorsements

Bryan recommends that students be required to sign off on understanding school policies before being allowed to participate in activities.

Wiredkids.org

Video: Snow Leopard vs Windows 7

2010-04-01T16:19:00.001-05:00

I like this video. He makes some excellent points, and I agree with him in almost every respect.

Video - James Gee on gaming in education

2010-03-24T10:28:00.000-05:00

Serious Games

2010-03-24T10:23:00.004-05:00

Scott McLeod recommends people try these out:

Video - Henry Jenkins

2010-03-24T09:42:00.000-05:00

Video - Mimi Ito

2010-03-24T09:22:00.001-05:00

What's a 21st Century Teacher?

2010-03-05T10:37:00.000-06:00

Article: Should schools give out computers?

2010-03-03T12:51:00.002-06:00

Here's an interesting article, and resulting discussion, that hits on many important points that are relevant to our 1:1 vision at Newell-Fonda. I'll hold off on responding for now. Discussion?

http://link.social.com/c/twitter/1349941/1267641611/b/cl5WNw/9rhOB3

iPod Touch in Kindergarten

2010-01-29T10:12:00.005-06:00

Marlise Witham (@marlise6 on Twitter) is experimenting with the use of the iPod Touch in primary grade instruction. I took a quick video of her directing an activity the other day. The camera work and sound are poor, but you get the idea. I think there's some real potential with this device, and I'm amazed at how effortlessly the Kindergarteners mastered it.

The activity here was to identify letters by their sounds, and to accurately trace the letters with their fingers on the touchscreen. The kids were engaged and focused, and the teacher feels the activity did a good job of meeting the learning goals.

Slate computers

2010-01-27T12:53:00.001-06:00

Well, Apple revealed its iPad slate computer today, after much anticipation and hype.

Here’s Engadget’s coverage of the unveiling:

http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/27/live-from-the-apple-tablet-latest-creation-event/

And here, for the sake of comparison, is coverage of Microsoft’s presentation of an HP slate running Windows 7:

http://gizmodo.com/5442200/hps-windows-7-slate-device-revealed-by-steve-ballmer

Thoughts?

My workspace

2010-01-22T16:58:00.004-06:00

For those chosen few geeky enough to care, here's a shot of where I do most of my work during the day. On the left: an HP nc6000 running Debian 5 Linux. In the middle: an HP dv6609 running Windows 7. On the right, an iMac running Mac OS X 10.5, and holding a day's supply of sticky notes.

Video - A New Curriculum for a New Century

2010-01-14T13:53:00.001-06:00

From Whole Child Blog.

Scott McLeod - Evaluating the Effectiveness of Technology

2010-01-14T09:09:00.004-06:00

At Iowa State today, attending a conference on Educational Technology. John Nash will show us a framework for technology planning, to make sure that we can measure the effectiveness of educational technology.

Here are some notes:

---

One should think in terms of "change" and not in terms of "do".

identifying change
implenenting for change
confirming change

The notion of "balance" in planning programs.

Planning withing a "strand" is important.

9-step strategy:

The change we will make
The reason why the change is needed
Things we will do to create the change
Things you need to create the change
We should not look for change until...
Indicators the change has occurred
The way we will collect the indicators
When we'll collect them
Who'll be collecting them

Step 1: The change we will make

change statements indicating a movement from A to B.
may indicate a change or improvement, or an increase or decrease
express the exact change you intend to make
Be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-based)

Step 2: The reason why the change is needed

you have to know at all times why you are engaging in the work you're doing
create support, internally and externally, for the projects in the organization
to ensure the work is consistent with your mission

Step 3: The things you will do to create the change

most people start here
indicating what you will do is important, but it should not be the first step in a plan
make sure you have "balance" in your activities

Step 4: The things you need to create the change

make fair estimates of staff and supplies needed for the activities described in Step 3
the concept of balance applies here as well
all of these must be in service to "the change"

Step 5: Will not look for change until...

what data is needed at what level to know you're ready to say "let's see if this worked"

Step 6: Indicators that the change has occurred

what do I need to see or hear to know the change has occurred?
documented evidence

Step 7: The way we will collect the indicators

survey
focus group
counts
rates
existence of something new
what method will you use?
what sources will you draw from?

Step 8: When we'll collect our indicators

how soon do you need information?
to what extent are your outcomes "phased"?
do you have a "ladder" of outcomes?
what can you collect on your own, and what will you need help with?

Step 9: Who will collect the indicators?

chief worrier?

Iowa Core Curriculum in a nutshell

2009-12-18T13:55:00.002-06:00

From Evan Abbey, Professional Learning Consultant at Heartland AEA.

http://eabbey.blogspot.com/2009/12/iowa-core-in-nutshell.html

How Teens Use Media

2009-12-18T13:02:00.002-06:00

"A Nielsen report on the myths and realities of teen media trends."

http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/reports/nielsen_howteensusemedia_june09.pdf

Couldn't have said it better.

2009-12-17T08:43:00.006-06:00

Here's what a teacher at my school had to say about an article I'd recently posted:

"The Teach Paperless article reminded me of earlier discussions we had regarding what school environments will look like. As "enlightened" as I thought I was, the kids are helping me rewire our physical space and classroom management. As cool as I thought I was, they simply had better ideas and could articulate them. Get ready for a wild ride!"

I think that captures perfectly the atmosphere of change happening in our schools now, and the feeling of "getting it" as a teacher.

Best websites of the day

2009-12-16T15:56:00.002-06:00

Two awesome websites on 21st century learning, both passed to me through Twitter:

100 Best YouTube videos for education

2009-12-15T09:01:00.002-06:00

Passed on to me from John Costilla via Twitter:

http://www.classroom20.com/profiles/blogs/649749:BlogPost:177332

Mid-Year Laptop Reminders

2009-12-14T10:22:00.004-06:00

At this point in the year, I like to touch base with teachers and students regarding the 1:1 laptops. I've seen a lot of different issues, most small, some bigger. I've also gotten a good picture of how the laptops are getting used. Here are a few things that we can all keep in mind to help things run as smoothly as possible.

Our managed 1:1 system is complicated, involving lots of different pieces of hardware and software that all have to work together 24/7. Glitches and problems are inevitable. No system this complex works perfectly all the time. The key is to handle problems constructively.

Your 1:1 laptop is not configured the way it would be if you had bought it yourself from a store. If there's something the laptop doesn't allow you to do, there's probably a reason for that. Talk to me about it. Our setup is constantly evolving to give people the capabilities they need.

Laptops get hard use even in normal situations, and a 1:1 school situation is harder than normal. We have to use extra care to keep the laptops in good shape, both in how they look and in how they run.

Keep the laptop zipped into its case whenever you're moving it from one place to another. This will prevent a lot of wear and tear and eliminate most of the risk of drop damage.

Keep liquids FAR away from the laptop. Liquid spilled into the laptop is one of the most damaging things you can do, because the liquid will run into every part of the laptop, and there's no way to undo the damage. If liquid does get spilled on the laptop, IMMEDIATELY unplug the laptop, remove the battery, and turn the laptop upside down on a table with the screen open. The key is to get keep the liquid from seeping into the electronics, and to make sure there's no power to the machine until the liquid is cleaned out. Inform me right away.

Shut the lid gently. This prevents damage to the case edges, the screen bezel, and the hinge.

Restart the computer daily. I recommend restarting every morning. The longer any computer runs without being restarted, the more its software is going to misbehave. Whenever the computer is giving you problems, restarting is the first thing you should try.

The battery is always the most problematic part of any laptop. The more you can keep it charged, the longer it will last and the better it will perform. Be sure to charge your computer overnight every night, and take any opportunity throughout the day to plug it in.

Avoid temperature extremes. Don't leave the laptop in a car in hot or cold weather. If the laptop gets extremely cold, let it warm up for a while before using it. No machine operates well when its parts are extremely cold.
Avoid using dirty or scratched CDs and DVDs. This can cause problems with the optical drives in the laptops that are difficult to repair.

Keep the laptop clean, and avoid dirty environments. To clean the laptop, use electronic cleaning wipes, like the "Nice 'n Clean" brand I buy at Wal-Mart.

Most problems involving slowness, freezes or crashes are caused by a software application misbehaving. Try to quit applications you're not using (remember that just closing the window doesn't necessarily quit the application). If an application refuses to quit, you can do a Force Quit. Hold down Command-Option-Escape to bring up the Force Quit menu.

Firefox has a problem with our remote content (8e6) filter (this applies to students, not teachers). Try to use Safari whenever possible. Also, Safari can become crashy when run too long without quitting. If Safari is giving you the Spinning Beach Ball of Death (SBBoD), Force-Quit Safari, and restart the computer (remember, restarting will fix all sorts of problems).

Contact me whenever you're having a problem you don't know how to solve. Use the Message To Administrator function under the binoculars in the toolbar, if you can. I can fix a lot of stuff remotely. If that's not an option, bring the laptop to my office, or have the office radio me to come to you. That's my job, don't hesitate to call me.

And finally, remember the whole point of a 1:1 laptop program. We do this to expand and enhance the educational opportunities for our students. The laptops allow teachers to teach at a higher level. They allow students and teachers to explore, collaborate and create. They help us give students skills they'll need in a 21st century work environment. But it's up to each of us individually to take advantage of these opportunities. If the laptop is just a word-processor or a game console, then you're missing out on a world of engaging educational opportunities, and you're risking being left behind in a rapidly changing, high-tech world.

Thanks for reading, and happy computing!

Mr. Limbert

R2D2 - A model for using technology in education

2009-12-11T17:29:00.003-06:00

Story from eSchoolNews about a model for technology integration: Read, Reflect, Display, Do:

http://ow.ly/L6kF

Will Richardson with Scott McLeod at ISU

2009-12-11T09:13:00.010-06:00

http://willrichardson.wikispaces.com

http://iowaleadership.wikispaces.com/

WR: "If you're not feeling uncomfortable in education today, you're probably not paying attention."

WR: "About 80% of adolescents are participating in social networking, but the vast majority of them have no adult teaching them how to use them."

This video was done by a 12-year-old, who shows remarkable lack of ego, and a remarkable awareness of the fact that this video would be watched and responded to on YouTube. Did he believe that the best way to get the answers he was looking for was to post on YouTube? He got a number of very constructive and informative comments from people all over.

WR: We're moving toward a Passion-Based Learning model. We need to hook into the interests and passions of kids, and give them the tools and skills to explore, collaborate and produce.

WR: "If you are a newspaper right now, you're being killed by CraigsList."

Companies are employing people to monitor Twitter for references to their company or products. Want help from Best Buy? Twitter Twelpforce.

WR: "Politics is changing, business is changing, media are changing. What's not changing? Education?

Required Reading:

http://www.macfound.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=lkLXJ8MQKrH&b=2024163&ct=6355221

Is the online predator threat overblown? Frontline video:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/digitalnation/relationships/predators-bullies/predator-panic.html?play

If an employer Googles an applicant, and nothing comes up, they're going to ask, "What have you been doing with your life? Where's your evidence of collaboration, creativity, productivity?"

Wall Street Journal - Ebooks will change the way we read and write:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123980920727621353.html

WR: After teaching a unit, ask the kids "What do you want to tell the world about what you just learned?" Then, publish online.

WR: The way we've done professional development for the last 40 years doesn't work. Stop basing PD on tools. We need to create a culture of learning among our teachers.

Diversity of ideas fosters critical thinking. How do we create intellectually diverse communities for our students?

Scott McLeod: We're living in an increasingly niche-fied environment. Brings us together in communities of interest, not of geography.

WR: It's not information overload, it's information overchoice.

WR: If you can't figure out who owns a website, and what their agenda is, you're not literate.

McLeod: Are the vast majority of educators information illiterate (in today's, not yesterday's, information environment)?

Technology and 21st Century Skills Rubric for Administrators

http://bit.ly/ialead

ISTE/NETS for Administrators 2009

http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForAdministrators/2009Standards/NETS_for_Administrators_2009.htm

"Lost Generation" - YouTube

2009-12-10T13:47:00.000-06:00

Will Richardson - Footprints in the Digital Age

2009-12-10T13:15:00.006-06:00

Will Richardson has written a great article, which was passed on to me by our Superintendent, Jeff Dicks (http://newell-fondacsd.blogspot.com/):

http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational_leadership/nov08/vol66/num03/Footprints_in_the_Digital_Age.aspx

It raises a number of points important to anyone interested in 21st Century education, and particularly relevant to a school with 1:1 technology.

Here are some excerpts that struck a chord with me:

It's a consequence of the new Web 2.0 world that these digital footprints—the online portfolios of who we are, what we do, and by association, what we know—are becoming increasingly woven into the fabric of almost every aspect of our lives. In all likelihood, you, your school, your teachers, or your students are already being Googled on a regular basis, with information surfacing from news articles, blog posts, YouTube videos, Flickr photos, and Facebook groups. Some of it may be good, some may be bad, and most is beyond your control. Your personal footprint—and to some extent your school's—is most likely being written without you, thanks to the billions of us worldwide who now have our own printing presses and can publish what we want when we want to.

Whether we like it or not, social Web technologies are having a huge influence on students who are lucky enough to be connected, even the youngest ones. Many 7- and 8-year-olds are busy exploring Club Penguin or Webkinz with other 7- and 8-year-olds half a world away, middle schoolers are connecting with global warriors in World of Warcraft, and adolescents preen themselves in front of their "friends" on MySpace and Facebook. A recent National School Boards Association survey (2007) announced that upward of 80 percent of young people who are online are networking and that 70 percent of them are regularly discussing education-related topics. They're creating all sorts of content—some, as we all know, doing so very badly—and they're doing all sorts of things with online tools that, for the most part, we're not teaching them anything about. In the process, they're becoming Googleable without us. By and large, they do all this creating, publishing, and learning on their own, outside school, because when they enter the classroom, they typically "turn off the lights" (Prensky, 2008).

We're failing to empower kids to use one of the most important technologies for learning that we've ever had. One of the biggest challenges educators face right now is figuring out how to help students create, navigate, and grow the powerful, individualized networks of learning that bloom on the Web and helping them do this effectively, ethically, and safely.

Our students must be nomadic, flexible, mobile learners who depend not so much on what they can recall as on their ability to connect with people and resources and edit content on their desktops, or, even more likely, on pocket-size devices they carry around with them. Our teachers have to be colearners in this process, modeling their own use of connections and networks and understanding the practical pedagogical implications of these technologies and online social learning spaces.

Sharing is the fundamental building block for building connections and networks; it may take the form of ruminations on life in a blog, photos of the latest family picnic on Flickr, or discussion notes students post to a classroom wiki for others to read and contribute to.

Although many students are used to sharing content online, they need to learn how to share within the context of network building. They need to know that publishing has a nobler goal than just readership—and that's engagement.

These new realities demand that we prepare students to be educated, sophisticated owners of online spaces.

More than ever before, students have the potential to own their own learning—and we have to help them seize that potential. We must help them learn how to identify their passions; build connections to others who share those passions; and communicate, collaborate, and work collectively with these networks. And we must do this not simply as a unit built around "Information and Web Literacy." Instead, we must make these new ways of collaborating and connecting a transparent part of the way we deliver curriculum from kindergarten to graduation.

Younger students need to see their teachers engaging experts in synchronous or asynchronous online conversations about content, and they need to begin to practice intelligently and appropriately sharing work with global audiences. Middle school students should be engaged in the process of cooperating and collaborating with others outside the classroom around their shared passions, just as they have seen their teachers do. And older students should be engaging in the hard work of what Shirky (2008) calls "collective action," sharing responsibility and outcomes in doing real work for real purposes for real audiences online.

And here's what Richardson suggests to build your own personal learning network:

Read blogs related to your passion. Search out topics of interest at http://blogsearch.google.com and see who shares those interests.
Participate. If you find bloggers out there who are writing interesting and relevant posts, share your reflections and experiences by commenting on their posts.
Use your real name. It's a requisite step to be Googled well. Be prudent, of course, about divulging any personal information that puts you at risk, and guide students in how they can do the same.
Start a Facebook page. Educators need to understand the potential of social networking for themselves.
Explore Twitter (http://twitter.com), a free social networking and micro-blogging service that enables users to exchange short updates of 140 characters or fewer. It may not look like much at first glance, but with Twitter, the network can be at your fingertips.

Google-proof your questions

2009-12-02T10:39:00.001-06:00

Here's a good blog post on how to create questions that aren't easily answered with a Google search:

http://electriceducator.blogspot.com/2009/11/google-proof-questioning-new-use-for.html?showComment=1258055626433

Doug Johnson - Is your horse out of the barn?

2009-12-02T09:31:00.002-06:00

A reality check for technology-using (or technology-resisting) educators:

http://doug-johnson.squarespace.com/blue-skunk-blog/2009/11/23/these-horses-are-out-of-the-barn.html

Network restrictions in schools: IT vs Users

2009-11-17T10:52:00.002-06:00

The link below contains a great discussion of the issue of restricting access to certain network technologies in schools. It focuses on the conflict between IT departments (the school's "tech guy") on one side, and teachers and students on the other side.

I'd very much appreciate people reading this article, and the comments below it, and posting some thoughts in the comments here.

http://www.speedofcreativity.org/2009/11/16/debating-the-propriety-of-blanket-censorship-by-school-it-departments/

Education Report Card

2009-11-17T08:21:00.001-06:00

Iowa gets a B-:

http://www.uschamber.com/icw/reportcard/default#top

Talking about the Touch on a K-12 blog

2009-11-13T10:54:00.001-06:00

http://blogs.glnd.k12.va.us/teachers/jhendron/2009/02/17/ipod-touch-in-education/#

Apple - iPods and iTunes in the Classroom

2009-11-13T09:27:00.000-06:00

http://edcommunity.apple.com/ali/collection.php?collection=714

CNN - Cloud Computing Explained

2009-11-04T17:41:00.001-06:00

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/11/04/cloud.computing.hunt/index.html

Khan Academy

2009-10-28T08:41:00.005-05:00

Salman Khan is the kind of guy that makes the rest of us look bad. Check out this guy's bio:

"Sal received his MBA from Harvard Business School. He also holds a Masters in electrical engineering and computer science, a BS in electrical engineering and computer science, and a BS in mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology."

His site is full of educational videos on a wide variety of subjects in mathematics, science, business and economics. I haven't reviewed many of them, so I can't vouch for quality and accuracy, but it looks worth checking out.

http://www.khanacademy.org/

Digital Learning resources

2009-10-27T09:34:00.003-05:00

Good article on digital learning from DistrictAdministration:

http://districtadministration.com/viewarticle.aspx?articleid=2161&p=3#0

List of resources from the article:

Windows 7 Reviews (the Good and the Bad)

2009-10-24T16:03:00.004-05:00

A thumbs-up review - http://www.slate.com/id/2233294/pagenum/all/

And, the other side - http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2354446,00.asp

I've been running the Windows 7 Release Candidate on my office iMac (under VirtualBox emulation) for several months, and comparing it to Windows Vista running on my cheap HP Pavilion laptop. I've been impressed with how 7 runs faster under software emulation on a Mac than Vista does natively on my HP. I've also been happy to see that 7 does not seem to be loaded down with the useless crap that Microsoft always feels compelled to push on us.

So, I bought the Upgrade version of Windows 7, backed up my data, and installed the new OS on my HP. I can't quite say I'm impressed, since it's really just what Microsoft should have given us with Vista, but I can say I'm pleased. It does run much faster than Vista, it seems totally stable, it's very light on built-in applications (expecting the user to install what he/she wants), and it's got some nice user interface improvements that make it much more pleasant to use.

Two other things Microsoft has gotten right:

Windows 7 appears to have dramatically improved CPU, memory and power management, which all results in much better performance than Vista when installed on the same hardware. My Windows Experience Index score (a rough performance benchmark) improved 24% just by upgrading from Vista to 7.
Microsoft has released a free, good-quality, easy to use antivirus and antispyware package, Microsoft Security Essentials.

Windows 7 is still a Chevy to Apple's BMW, but for the first time in history, a new version of Windows improves the performance of existing hardware. I give that a reasonably enthusiastic thumbs-up.

Daniel Pink - A Whole New Mind

2009-10-21T11:04:00.000-05:00

Use PowerPoint for Note-Taking

2009-10-20T12:41:00.001-05:00

Project Information Literacy

2009-10-20T11:31:00.002-05:00

A large-scale study about early adults and their research habits.

Website - http://projectinfolit.org/
Videos - http://www.youtube.com/user/ProjInfoLit

Video - Modeling the Brain in a Computer

2009-10-19T10:57:00.004-05:00

Henry Markram plans to model the entire human brain in a supercomputer to understand how it works. This video gives an overview of human perception, and his attempts to model this in silicon.

ITEC Links

2009-10-15T10:55:00.004-05:00

I've gathered up all the web links from my ITEC Conference posts together in one place. Check these out.

http://www.ning.com/
http://www.linkedin.com/
http://twitter.com/ (my number one collaboration tool)
http://www.myspace.com/
http://www.facebook.com/
http://mfeldstein.com/sis-to-facebook-direct-introducing-schools-on-facebook/
http://www.educause.edu/
http://elgg.org/
http://www.mindmeister.com/
http://www.micdl.org/
http://davidwarlick.com/wordpress/
http://tagcrowd.com/
http://activeweb20.wikispaces.com/PersonalLearningNetworks
http://www.go2web20.net/
http://web20guru.wikispaces.com/
http://www.classroom20.com/
http://www.diigo.com/
http://prezi.com/ (really awesome, highly recommended!)
http://www.voki.com/ (kids would love this)
http://blabberize.com/
http://www.schooltools.com/
http://www.wordle.net/
http://www.wordsift.com/
http://www.gamequarium.com/ (for the younger set)
http://www.glogster.com/
http://www.polleverywhere.com/ (classroom response system via laptop or cell phone)
http://www.amazon.com/Whole-New-Mind-Right-Brainers-Future/dp/1594481717/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255357520&sr=1-1 (
http://www.amazon.com/Drive-Surprising-Truth-About-Motivates/dp/1594488843/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255357520&sr=1-4
http://www.chrisjordan.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Functional_fixedness
http://commoncraft.com/ (awesome instructional videos on tech)
http://commoncraft.com/podcasting
http://edcommunity.apple.com/ali/

YouTube - Why Educators Should Use Twitter

2009-10-15T08:46:00.001-05:00

Thanks to Mrs. Witham for passing this on!

ITEC - Saichaie and Benson - Social Networking in Education

2009-10-13T14:10:00.006-05:00

Ning.com - Create your own social networking site

LinkedIn.com - Create a business network

Twitter.com - Microblogging

MySpace.com - Mostly popular with the under-18 group

Facebook.com - Mostly popular with older users

One of every eleven minutes online is spent with social networking.

The fastest-growing demographic in Facebook is 35-49 year olds.

Why is social networking important to educators?

Popularity
Technological Advancement
Social and Cultural Change
Implications
Privacy

It's important for educators to understand social media in order to understand the way their students work and communicate.

What are our responibilities/legal obligations to protect our students when they are using online social networking? The law is a grey area.

What are our responsibilities to educate parents about online social networking?

Three consideratons for the use of social media in education

Model
Support
Encourage

How can the tech coordinator encourage best practices in staff and student use of online social networking?

Effective Practice

Schools on Facebook
Determine your needs, goals, responsibilities
Start small - allow your students time to adjust to the environment
Educause.edu - promoting the intelligent use of educational technology
Promote appropriate use

Create your own secure, educational social-networking site - Elgg.org

ITEC - David Warlick - Second Life: An Educator's Primer

2009-10-13T13:01:00.003-05:00

http://www.mindmeister.com/ - Online mind-mapping software.

ISTE has a space in Second Life, where educators can meet, talk, watch videos.

Not yet talking a lot about the educational power of Second Life, or the large issue of the 18-year-old age limit. Is using Teen Grid in secondary schools feasible?

ITEC - Apple - 1:1 Success Factors

2009-10-13T10:38:00.004-05:00

Key Success Factors

Leadership
Vision
Assessment and Evaluation
Curriculum and Pedagogy
Infrastructure
Finances

http://www.micdl.org - Maine International Center for Digital Learning