Cool Tech Tool: Gizmos

The Mimio is called an interactive whiteboard for a reason... it's meant to be interactive. The ability to capture notes, manipulate objects, and use the whiteboard as a mouse is great; the engaging part for students is using the Mimio to interact with the presented content. Wouldn't it be great if there was a website filled with interactive activities? If you are a 6-12 math or science teacher, you're in luck. The ExploreLearning website has created a variety of interactive "Gizmos" to help students visualize math and science concepts.

Mathematics

• Grade 6-8
  • Number & operations
  • Algebra
  • Geometry
  • Measurement
  • Data analysis & probability
• Grade 9-12
  • Number & operations
  • Algebra
  • Geometry
  • Measurement
  • Data analysis & probability

Science

• Grade 6-8
  • Earth and space science
  • Life science
  • Physical science
• Grade 9-12
  • Earth and space science
  • Biology
  • Chemistry
  • Physics

The Gizmos can be used on individual computers or displayed to an entire class with a LCD projector. Combine these activities with a Mimio and you'll have students interacting with concepts you never thought possible. Take a look at the demonstration activities... like what you see? Click the *Free Trial button in the upper-left corner; this will give you a 30-day free trial to the Gizmos. Contact me if you think this would be a useful tool for you and your students.

Web 2.0 - Part VI: Podcasting

This is the eighth issue of the Teaching with Technology newsletter and yes, I have more to share about web 2.0... podcasting. As mentioned in the previous newsletters, web 2.0 is about the Internet shifting from content that is "read only" to a format that allows users to contribute to the medium. Podcasting is like blogging with audio files. Users create "radio-style" shows that are "broadcast" on the Internet. People podcast about a variety of topics including hobbies, careers, interests, and areas of expertise. For educators, this means people are podcasting about history, poems, science, technology, fitness, world languages... the list is endless... and free! Teachers are using podcasts to learn and share best practices; their students are creating podcasts to demonstrate knowledge of the learning objectives.

Many people are confused by the term, podcast. The list below gives answers to some of the frequently asked questions:

Do I need an iPod to listen to a podcast?
No, you can listen to podcasts directly on your computer, any mp3 player, OR an iPod.

Where do I find podcasts?
I think the easiest way to start is iTunes. With this free program you can search, stream, download, and subscribe to podcasts. There are a number of large podcast directories such as Yahoo! Podcasts, Podcast.com, and Odeo. Education specific directories include EPN (Education Podcast Network), OpenCulture, UC Berkley, NPR Podcasts, and Apple Learning Exchange.

What does it mean to subscribe to a podcast and how do I do it?
Some podcasts are posted weekly or even daily, but most podcasters create episodes when they have time. Services like iTunes allow listeners to easily subscribe to their favorite programs in one location. When new episodes are posted, iTunes automatically imports the selected programs.

How do I create a podcast?
Creating a podcast is easier than you might think. Typically, all you need is a computer, recording software, a microphone, and a hosting service. You can even create a podcast using any telephone. The most popular recording software is Audacity (free download), an entry-level microphone can be purchased for about $10, and hosting services can be found for free. After testing several, my favorite is Gcast.

I've posted my first podcast in the upper-right sidebar. Click the "Gcast" play button and let me know what you think.

PowerPoint Review Games

The March 12th Staff Workshop day was a busy one... Posting second trimester grades, preparing for third trimester, coaches meeting, Gifted and Talented presentation, and technology sessions that included Study Island (Middle School MCA prep), Project-Based Learning with Publisher, and PowerPoint Review Games. A number of teachers have asked me for the information from the review games presentation because they were unable to attend. I've listed some of the review game highlights below and a link to the Tip Sheet:

• Enter 30 questions/answers on one Excel spreadsheet
  
• Select a review game format (Jeopardy or Baseball)
  
• The PowerPoint review game will automatically import your questions/answers
  
• Create a review game today (Tip Sheet)
  

The biggest advantage to these review games is the ability to type the questions/answers one time only... without having to deal with all the different PowerPoint slides. Eventually, I would like to have 6-8 games for teachers and students to choose from. If you have suggestions for a review game idea or how to improve one of the current games, please feel free to contact me.

Cool Tech Tool: Google Notebook

Notebooks and note cards have been used for years to summarize, organize, and track cited references. When using the Internet, it has always seemed a little inefficient to go from electronic references to hand-written notes, only to type content back into electronic text. I have been using Google Notebook for about four weeks and think it has great potential to help students accurately organize and cite Internet resources.

For example, a student locates information on a website relevant to their research topic. They highlight text or images they would like to "clip," right-click, and choose "Note this (Google Notebook) from the pop-up menu.

The highlighted information is automatically transferred to the student's account along with the website address and the date the note was created. The Notebook can be viewed on any computer with Internet access. Do you have students submit their note cards with their report? Google Notebook allows users to make their note pages public or print in an easy-to-read format (sample).

Cool Tech Tool: OpenOffice

OpenOffice.org is a multiplatform and multilingual office suite and an open-source project. Compatible with all other major office suites, the product is free to download, use, and distribute. To help build the community, join us. - OpenOffice.org

What does this mean?

• Multiplatform: The program can be used on a PC or Mac.
• Multilingual: Can be downloaded in a variety of languages.
• Office Suite: Common productivity programs similar to Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.
• Open-Source: Programs that are created by a community of programmers and distributed freely to the public.
• Compatible: Start a PowerPoint presentation at school... save it to your flash drive... finish the presentation at home with OpenOffice... save the finished presentation to your flash drive... present your multi-media lesson with PowerPoint at school.

If you can't justify spending $150 - 250 for the Microsoft Office Suite, you may want to consider this set of free programs. Go to OpenOffice.org and give it a test run. If you are like me, you'll be amazed at the professional look/feel and similarity to MS Office. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Cool Tech Tool: Primo PDF

TeacherWeb has made it easy for teachers to post documents on their class websites. In most cases, it works great. Occasionally though, a student may not have PowerPoint, Excel, Word, etc. at home and are unable to open the posted file. Some teachers have converted their files to PDF (Portable Document Format) before posting to their website. Why? PDF files offer a number of advantages:

• Smaller file size (often takes less time to download)
• Cross-platform (can be viewed on PCs or Macs)
• Opens with the free Adobe Reader program

How do I convert my files to PDF? One way is to scan your printed documents... but that can take a lot of time. For me, Primo PDF has been the best answer. It is free and easy to use. The program runs through the print option, simply click File... Print... and choose PrimoPDF. The program will ask you where you would like to save the file - viola! You have a PDF file. The file can be uploaded and posted on TeacherWeb, just like any other file.

Cool Tech Tool: Firefox 2 -or- ieSpell

TeacherWeb is quick and easy to use, but many of the templates do not have a spell checker. Sure, you can type your information in Word, spell check, copy the text, and paste into the TeacherWeb form… but there has to be a more efficient way, right? Of course! The Firefox 2 upgrade includes a spell checker directly in the browser.

One problem… not all TeacherWeb templates work in the Firefox browser. Is there a free solution? Of course! Download ieSpell for Internet Explorer. This adds a small spell checker button on the browser’s toolbar. Click it once to highlight possible misspelled words.

Mimio Interactive Whiteboard

You might be more familiar with the term SMARTboard… it is the “Kleenex” of interactive whiteboards. There are several technology products on the market now that fall into the category of interactive whiteboards. These tools all have a few things in common… they use a LCD projector to project a computer screen onto the whiteboard; they have a “stylus” that allows the user to control the projected image like a mouse; and can be used as a writing surface to make notes on the projected image. Most importantly, students can interact with the content on a whole new level.

How is a Mimio different than just using a projector and writing notes with a dry-erase marker? Let’s use PowerPoint as an example. You have your slides created and information organized. You’ve included bulleted notes, images, a webpage, and even a short video clip; but instead of standing at the computer to present the information, you can present where the information is being displayed. A student has a question? You can reinforce the concept with notes directly on the slide (or image, website, video, etc.). If you are teaching this lesson again, those notes can be saved and displayed again for the next class. A few simple review questions could be displayed at the end of the presentation. Have students interact with the Mimio by answering the questions and moving objects (such as a rectangle) to reveal the correct answer.

Being the lesson is presented electronically; it can be saved in a variety of formats. Print the notes for study guides or to meet IEP requirements. If a lot of students are absent for the lesson, it can be posted to your TeacherWeb site to be viewed or printed online. The saved lesson can be retrieved next trimester or next year and easily modified.

The middle school and high school currently have a number of Mimios in use with a few available on a checkout basis. If you are interested in learning more, please join Steve Mefford, a Mimio sales representative, for a product demonstration on Wednesday, December 6 at 7:00 am at the Middle School (Kim Borwege’s computer lab).

Cool Tech Tool: NewsMap

This cool tech tool visually organizes the most current articles posted by GoogleNews. NewsMap is for teachers or students who need information about current events. Topic categories are separated by color (the brighter the color, the more recent the posting). Headlines are listed in different sized text (the larger the text, the more coverage it is receiving).

Cool Tech Tool: BubbleShare.com

Looking for an easy way to post class pictures online? Look no further than BubbleShare.com. Easily upload individual pictures or a whole folder of pictures. BubbleShare automatically provides the HTML code to post a variety of photo album styles onto your TeacherWeb page.

Why do they call it BubbleShare? It has this cool little feature that lets you add “caption bubbles” to your pictures. You can even record audio clips to the pictures. Give it a try; you’ll see why it is this month’s Cool Tech Tool!

Cool Tech Tool: Class Timers

Class Timers Keeping students on task and helping them manage time can be a challenge. A classroom timer is a great tool to keep your planned activities on schedule. Display the timer with a LCD projector and the whole class will know how much time remains to complete the activity.

The two timers listed below are free and easy to use. ScreenTimer fills the entire screen for a quick and easy countdown. [screenshot] The drawback? If, for example, you have directions for an activity displayed on a PowerPoint slide, ScreenTimer will cover the entire slide. In this case, a better timer might be Cool Timer. It gives you the option to choose a large or small timer that will "float" over the slide. [screenshot]

To try this Cool Tech Tool, follow the steps below:

1. Download ScreenTimer or CoolTimer
2. Save to the desktop
3. Double-click "setup" or "ctimer"
4. Follow the install steps

The timer should now be loaded on your computer. In the lower-left corner, click...

1. Start
2. Select "Programs"
3. Click "Screen Timer" or "Cool Timer"