Or at least they will be any day now! Watch them in action live with the live stream below…
Murphy’s Class:
Streaming .TV shows by Ustream
Salmon’s Class:
Yoder’s Class:
OKawa’s Class:
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There are two words in our daily lives today that are as common place as newspapers and phone calls… BLOGS and TWITTER. Some of you are probably pros at one or the other or both. Others of you have probably never read a blog or understand what all the fuss is about “twittering.” So just to keep you up to speed on these latest buzz words, here are two short and simple videos defining each:
Purpose behind sending you these videos:To keep you knowledgeable about the latest ways of communicating in our society today. As teachers we should be up to date on the tools of our students’ futures, even if we don’t want to be using them ourselves.
If you would like to talk about blogging and twittering, come down to the tech lab today during lunch to discuss your thoughts on these two methods of communicating… how you use them, perceive them, or pray for their disappearance!
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I haven’t talked about google in a while, and I feel a little guilty about that since it is such a staple in my day! If you haven’t already, you really should create an igoogle homepage. It is as easy as pie and may just make your life easier!
Reason you should make an igoogle homepage:
As soon as you open your browser you can see if you have any emails, what your weather is, the latest news updates, read any new blog posts that have come into your blog reader, see what movies are playing near you, check your stocks, the latest from espn… the list goes on and on! And those are just the widgets I have chosen! There are thousands more!
Here is a little video to see just how easy it is…
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Well I did not make it to Denver, although it seems like Denver tried to make its way to us with the snow storm that just blew through. Our family got all packed up with a weeks worth of belongings including an activity mat complete with hanging animals, a johnny jumper for the door frame of our Colorado condo, and enough diapers to last a week. Five am rolled around on Sunday morning and in the snowy darkness, tech Dave drove our family to the airport. Upon arrival the check-in clerk dashed all hopes of seeing Rocky Mountain High with, “There is no ticket for Erin and Liam here.” Mind you, we booked these tickets in June of 2008 and called last week to confirm them. No ticket? Can you translate please? Oh so by no ticket you mean we aren’t going unless we want to BUY another ticket for $1125.00? Unfortunately, the next three United employees that we talked to said the same thing. Oh and there is no chance of a refund either. What a brilliant idea! Sell people plane tickets and then tell them they didn’t really book the flight and then don’t give them a refund!
I share this story not to complain about the situation. We are more baffled than frustrated. But I will say that what really resonates with me regarding this situation is that the only thing that really matters in life is RIGHT NOW. I spent a lot of time wondering how the trip was going to work out having never flown with a baby, having never been to CO in the winter, having never planned a big vacation where I needed to be in charge. And it didn’t even happen! I could have used those minutes to enjoy my present instead of worrying about this trip. This trip that is currently happening – without us.
So welcome back from a nice three day weekend! I hope you all enjoy today and simply think only about right now.
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If you are interested in having a refresher on how to make lessons using the clickers, aka CPS, please head up to the tech lab during your lunch tomorrow, Thursday, February 26th.
Why use the CPS?
Because all kids LOVE it.
It adds flare to your lesson.
Because students don’t normally cheer after the answer to every question is given during class!
Come check it out!
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I, more than most people, obsess over the unknown. I hate to admit to it, but I am constantly worried about what lies ahead – whether it be years from now or after school today. Why would someone choose to live this way? To constantly be wondering what the next minute will bring? So much so that it makes them crazy! Why someone would do it will probably never be understood. But what we do have is a good name for people like this. And that is, a control freak. And control freaks want to control what they cannot and will not ever be able to control. For me, it is what my life holds for me.
For many of you, I think it is the fear of the click.
Yes, the click of the mouse. There is something unknown about what might happen to your computer when you click that little gray button on your mouse. Will the computer shut down? Will I lose all of my documents? Will it take me to the wrong website? Will I accidentally download something I don’t want to? You wonder, will this click change everything????? In most cases, it will not. And if you DID click in error, it will most likely not be catastrophic.
So from one control freak to another, stop worrying! If I start living more freely, will you start clicking? Start exploring new sites, start reading new blogs, start trying new applications on your computer. Believe in your abilities with technology, and know that catastrophe is not lurking around every corner when it comes to that big black box on your desk. It is meant to open new worlds to your classroom and help you explore teaching and learning in new ways.
And as I am learning, it is good to rely on others when fear of the unknown is taking hold of you. So please, let me know if you need help with anything. I will be glad to help you get over your fear of the click:)
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I am happy to say that Enfield will be participating in the doodle for google contest. google is sponsoring a contest for K-12 students to doodle a design for the google logo with the theme “What I Wish for the World.” Our school will vote on the top 6 doodles and submit them to google by March 31, 2009!
Now I know that there will probably be thousands of entries from schools around the world. So the competition is going to be tough. But by entering our school into the competition, we at Enfield are saying that we believe in the creative abilities right here in Springfield. We believe that there is talent among us that can go up against schools around the world. I can’t wait to see what our students wish for…
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I read the post below on Jim Gates blog: http://tipline.blogspot.com/
Here is just another way to connect kids to stories – keeping them interacting with what they are learning and comprehending…
“I heard another story recently of a class that was studying a novel together. They had to come up with some sort of project. I forget the details of the assignment. One boy brought in his clarinet. He had written some original music that he thought fit the characters in the story. He would play the short piece and then ask the class which character it was. The class got EVERY ONE of those characters right. I was told that a couple students would occasionally disagree about which character it was about, but (and this is the cool part) they had great discussions about WHY. “That music sounded …., but the character is ….” Interesting, no?
The moral of the story is this: What if the kids were given the opportunity to show their understanding of your content in ways that were meaningful to them? Hard to know how to grade it, for sure, isn’t it? But, do you think that the connection would be deeper? I do.” – Jim Gates
I love this idea. I know I would have loved it as a student. And I love that teachers are being so creative in their teaching methods today. That students are being encouraged to demonstrate their understanding of content in more ways than one.
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google is attempting the change the world once again. Read below to find out about their most recent project. Could your class submit an idea for how to change the world by helping as many people as possible?
Project 10100 (pronounced “Project 10 to the 100th”) is a call for ideas to change the world by helping as many people as possible. Here’s how to join in.
1. Send us your idea by October 20th.
Simply fill out the submission form giving us the gist of your idea. You can supplement your proposal with a 30-second video.
2. Voting on ideas begins on January 27th.
We’ll post a selection of one hundred ideas and ask you, the public, to choose twenty semi-finalists. Then an advisory board will select up to five final ideas. Send me a reminder to vote.
3. We’ll help bring these ideas to life.
We’re committing $10 million to implement these projects, and our goal is to help as many people as possible. So remember, money may provide a jumpstart, but the idea is the thing.
Good luck, and may those who help the most win.
Check out http://www.project10tothe100.com/how_it_works.html for more info.
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[kml_flashembed movie="http://voicethread.com/book.swf?b=409" width="480" height="360" wmode="transparent" /]
Above you will find an example of a Voicethread. I’ll let the creators of VoiceThread explain what one is… “A VoiceThread is an online media album that can hold essentially any type of media (images, documents and videos) and allows people to make comments in 5 different ways – using voice (with a microphone or telephone), text, audio file, or video (with a webcam) – and share them with anyone they wish. A VoiceThread allows group conversations to be collected and shared in one place, from anywhere in the world.”
How would you use a VoiceThread in your classroom?
Capture comments from a field trip.
Have parents comment on their ethnic backgrounds at the Diversity Extravaganza.
Have students comment on their own artwork.
A picture is worth a thousand words. Capture the different comments of each of your students for one picture.
Maps, science diagrams, math problems – you record the question, have your students record the answer and how they figured it out.
This is as user friendly as it gets. Come to a Learning Lunch to find out more!!
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