Mind Saver

DVolver MovieMaker

2009-06-26T13:03:00.002-04:00

This is another Movie Making free site for kids to create cartoons of their learning. The only caution is that last year when I used this, there were some inappropraite characters and scenes for elementary use. Consequently, I did not have the kids use the site, but directed them there for home use if they wanted. Several kids told me they loved the site. This is called DVolver.

DATA... all kinds of it!

2009-06-26T12:20:00.001-04:00

This is a link, again from Rushton Hurley, to a search engine for numbers and data from all kinds of resources. This would be a great addition to any Data Analysis unit in the math classroom. It is called Numbary (like library with numbers...).

XtraNormal Cartoons

2009-06-26T12:04:00.003-04:00

I just created my first video with Xtranormal. I decided to use it for the purpose of explaining a math topic. It was simple to use. It takes a bit of time to render the video and I came across a couple of errors as it rendered. Other than those 2 things, it is a pretty cool site that has some great potential for the classroom to help students explain the steps of the math problems they are working through. It is a great way to sneak in communication and writing into the math classroom.

Random # Generator

2009-06-26T11:30:00.002-04:00

Thanks to Rushton Hurley from NextVista for sharing the Random Number Generator site. This is a fast, easy way to get numbers for deciding things in a fair way, using for probability, or using to assign a certain number of math problems for the class. Check out the very friendly interface and big bold numbers on this site- great for the Smartboard!!!

Internet is Infected on 60 Minutes

2009-03-29T20:45:00.002-04:00

Good display of how hackers can access our computers. Discusses worms and other types of malware. Aired on CBS 60 minutes on March 29, 2009.
Watch CBS Videos Online

MySpace Safety SNL

2009-03-29T20:34:00.001-04:00

This would be a great video to use to illustrate the questionable nature of some people creating profiles on MySpace: MySpace SNL Video- hulu:

Wordle.net My Teaching Philosophy

2009-02-04T08:43:00.001-05:00

Class Blogmeister

2009-01-31T15:32:00.003-05:00

So I think I am going to try using a blog in my math classroom. I have been thinking about it for awhile. I did some research and found Class Blogmeister, created by David Warlick. It is a site for educational use only and teachers have to approve any student posts or comments before they are published. There is also a feature where teachers can find other classrooms to collaborate with. This is pretty exciting. I have set up our page, but have not registered students yet... I am going to let them choose a pen name to write under. For management purposes, I am going to begin with the sixth grade. I plan to have them answer questions about the Big ideas in our math class to monitor understanding and allow them to communicate about the math, since that is a large piece of understanding. They kids should be able to handle it... most will love having a chance to be a part of something like this. The kids will like the idea of their voices being heard. I will post updates as we move along in the project :) Snow days really allow you to think about some stuff... five.six.thoughts

Math iLearn Booth

2009-01-05T20:30:00.003-05:00

I read a great article about innovative teachers using a webcam and video editing software on a MacBook in an "iLearn Booth" to allow students to demonstrate their understanding in the math classroom. These were used in Eighth Grade classrooms as part of a professional development activity. Students answered written questions in the booth about the day's lesson, then teachers reviewed the videos to identify holes in their teaching. They found this to be a great formative evaluation tool and gave beneficial feedback for the teachers. I think this would be a great thing to write a grant for and decently simple to implement in the classroom... we would just need to find the space for a private booth in the classroom :) Here's the article link from THE Journal: http://www.thejournal.com/articles/23703_3

Using the Flip in Math

2008-12-30T08:36:00.002-05:00

I have been very pleased this year with the level of discussion my students have about the math. They are fearless in their thoughts and are proud they can talk with math lingo. It has been great... I frequently have a huge grin as I walk around and listen to discussion. With this, I have decided to try to capture the moment more and use my Flip camera to observe. I hope to compile the clips into a review video at the end of the year. I will add some narration and pictures of the activities so they can connect to the learning. I think this will provide me with a chance to incorporate more technology into the classroom. It will be difficult for students to get over the thrill of a camera in the classroom, but I am confident they can handle it :) I'll keep you posted...

Ad O Matic- Political Ad Maker

2008-10-13T16:43:00.004-04:00

My friend came across a great site for kids to create their own political ad for the election. It is a lot of fun. Students can upload their own picture so their face appears in the commercial. The site is hosted by the National Constitution Center and can be found at adomatic.us. Here is the ad I created:

Google Docs in the Classroom?

2008-08-13T21:25:00.003-04:00

So I have been thinking... In our school, students do not have space to save documents on the network and they are not allowed to bring in flash drives because of virus possibilities. So what about Google Docs? I think it is a genius idea! Students can share documents with me, their teacher, so I can make comments and grade it without messing with the printer. They can work on assignments from home and at any computer in the lab or at the library. It just makes sense. The kids would need a google account, so that may be an issue. Some sort of contract would need to be drafted to ensure the content they create is appropriate. I am sure some will think, 'but we can't control what they do!' I am one of those teachers though, that think if you set high expectations and monitor things, problems will be minimal... especially if the expectations are clear and the activity is engaging. I did a little research and found a tip sheet about it and a video about a school successfully using Google Docs with staff and students.

Dan Meyer Likes to Teach

2008-08-05T15:03:00.004-04:00

dy/av : 002 : the next-gen lecturer from Dan Meyer on Vimeo.
A professor sent me a link for a great video by a high school math teacher, Dan Meyer. He's a pretty awesome guy. His latest video, the next-gen lecturer, is about how he incorporates the math in his life into his classroom. He starts out sounding like every other teacher, but soon demonstrates how he has dramatically changed his teaching to truly reach the kids. The presentations he creates take time to do, but I am sure he whips them together pretty quickly now. I hope to see more from him. He won a Leader in Learning Award this year from Cable in the Classroom. I shall try to link his video here.

Middle School Podcasts

2008-07-31T09:19:00.002-04:00

While doing an assignment, I came across several great podcasts. One is Today's Middle Level Educator, hosted by National Middle School Association. It has great interviews with top notch educational professionals. Another one is a great relaxation piece for middle level educators... the Yoga Journal posts 30 minute workout video podcasts to download for free. I am sure I will find several more along the way, but these were two I subscribed to. You can do a search for (topic) podcasts or go to iTunes and browse there. Have fun!

Digital Portfolio

2008-07-30T08:42:00.002-04:00

I have used Google Pages yet again. I love it! This time I created my digital professional portfolio. Having your own professional website seems to be the latest thing. I think it is a great way to quickly send work samples, state professional goals and share parts of my resume. Here it is: kristendursch.googlepages.com Hopefully, it will help me secure an awesome EdTech Job! We can hope!

Interactive Whiteboards

2008-07-30T08:30:00.004-04:00

For one of my classes, we explored the various types of Interactive Whiteboards for the classroom. There are two main types: the kind with a hard surface included, in which you can write on with an imaginary marker or your finger and the kind that uses an existing white surface and a Infra-red receiver that requires special battery-operated styluses to write. Brands for the first type are more expensive and include Smart and Promethean. Brands of the second type that are more portable and less expensive, include mimio and eBeam. I have created a useful brochure giving the details of the four mentioned brands. Interactive Whiteboard Brochure It is important to consider your organizations needs before beginning the search for an Interactive Whiteboard. If you are simply looking for a presentation piece, then go for a projector and a white surface. If you would like to interact and collaborate with group members, then the Interactive Whiteboard could be the solution for you. I look forward to having a SmartBoard in my classroom for this upcoming school year!

New Teacher Tube Post

2008-07-21T14:59:00.002-04:00

I have posted another video to Teacher Tube so I can link to it easily. It is a podcast with graphics to help students with various methods of solving equations. Here's the link:
Solving Equations Video

Geocaching

2008-07-21T14:52:00.002-04:00

Last week I went to a GPS in the Classroom Workshop at SOITA. It was great! We got to keep the GPS unit from the class. I took the course with my teaching team, so we have 4 matching GPS units now. They are Garmins, the kind without roadmaps, but they have a compass. I downloaded Geocache locations in Michigan, since my family was travelling there. We did several while we were there. Our favorites were at Mackinac Island. We rode bicycles around the island and found the treasures. My 13 and 9 year old niece and nephew loved it. They were effectively using the compass after a short explanation. I can tell our students will love it!

ScreenCasting

2008-07-08T18:14:00.003-04:00

I haven't done much with screencasting but I feel it has a place in education. This is a digital recording of computer screens accompanied by audio narration and sometimes music. Read this Educause Magazine Article about good screencasting. A great tool to record these screen shots is Jing, a Tech Smith Project. This tool is free and very simple to use. The application runs at all times on your desktop so a capture can take place at anytime. The capture can be a single image or continuous video of actions. The screen casts then can be posted at screencast.com. Another well-known presentation and screen cast site is SlideShare.

During class today I came across a Ning Network called Coming of Age. This is an organization of professionals dedicated to the new world wide web use in education. They have links and discussions about several great topics. There is also a link to Coming Of Age: First Edition book about educational technology and Web 2.0 applications.

LetterPop Newsletter

2008-07-05T11:03:00.003-04:00

I have been exploring many Web 2.0 Applications. I have heard a lot about LetterPop, so I checked it out. I found the templates very appealing. For the most part it was simple to use. For a perfectionist, like myself, I found frustration with the inability to add new text boxes and pictures on my newsletter. The site only allows you to use what comes with the template. Also, when I would delete the text in the box and save for later content, the box was no longer there. I began to use the template, dragging in pictures and modifying text, but then felt like changing templates. It wouldn't let me without starting over, so I started over. If you want to quickly throw together a clean looking newsletter, this is the place for you. If you worry about the format, balance and uniformity, there may be better options out there for us... Here is my finished newsletter for my 5th and 6th Grade Classes: five.six.math policies & practices

Teacher Tube Post

2008-07-05T10:57:00.004-04:00

I posted my first video to Teacher Tube Thursday. It took a long time to upload so I used Zamzar to change the format to .mov, which changed the size from 65 to 12 MB. Much better. I have been obsessed about going back and seeing the amount of views my video has gotten. I am up to 47 now! This is very exhilarating to me, for some reason. Students would most likely work very hard to make a great product before they publish it, because they knew it would be viewed by the public. Here it is, check it out... Tech Transitions It is a 4 minute 40 second video created in my Media Literacy class, EDT 756. It contrasts the changes in technology at home and school over the last several years. It could be used to create discussion among students or teachers about the future of technology.

PB Wiki

2008-07-04T11:19:00.004-04:00

I set up a PB Wiki today. It had a nice tutorial to help out at the beginning. I also signed up for Wikispaces. I found this one to be easier to use. It has more templates and set up options. This one will be easier for the students to edit. I am was able to set both wikis to private, so users had to be invited to check it out and edit. This option will make it more secure for school use. Here is the site, but you won't be able to view it since it's private... five.six.math PB Wiki

Google Pages

2008-07-01T11:19:00.004-04:00

I am using Google Pages to create a portfolio for my EDT 716 course. I love how easy they make it to publish to the web. You have to have a gmail account in order to participate, so I created an account. I think web page portfolios are a great way to document learning.

Daily Rotation

2008-06-30T18:37:00.005-04:00

The Daily Rotation is a link from Shell Extension City with constant news updates. This reader can be setup as a personalized homepage. Favorite tech news sites can be selected from a list of about a hundred plus. I chose a few favorites for personal use: Engadget, CNet, and Gizmodo. Engadget and Gizmodo has the latest trends in tech gadgets. CNet offers video reviews on several new tech products in a variety of categories. There were two favorites for education use: Chipchicklets and Gadget4Boys. Gadget 4 Boys is a site for gadgets for men who still like their toys and boys that want to be caught up with the coolest trends. I suppose women and girls could look at it too, but it's geared toward young men. Chipchicklets is a news site for tech gadgets from the kids' (mostly girls') perspectives. It has the latest tech tools and games.

Weebly Rocks

2008-06-29T21:23:00.003-04:00

Today I spent seven hours putting together a Weebly site for Seeger's Meats and Deli in Lebanon, Ohio. I didn't get menus entered on the site yet. I plan on going in to find out which menus they would like posted and get some shots of their best items. I would also like to post pictures of each employee. For now, I entered photos that fit them well. Here is the site: http://www.seegersdeli.weebly.com/ I plan on speaking with Ann to find out if she is okay with the site and to see if she would like to pay to get her own domain. I think through weebly it is $24 per year... not bad at all.

Wikipedia

2008-06-26T18:34:00.003-04:00

Today our task was to create or edit a wiki on Wikipedia. I felt editing the page was easy, but I could see editing being difficult for someone not familiar with computers. I added a link to a new article on Warren County's website to a Franklin City Schools page. Since I didn't really know all of the code that was used, I went to Lebanon's site, went to edit, copied and pasted theirs into my new one. Then I changed all of the info accordingly. The information I added was about the various elementaries in our district.

Ning, Ning... Hello

2008-06-25T18:04:00.000-04:00

Today we were introduced to Ning, a social network site. Users can create their own personal social network. Educational social networks, webpages & wikis can be created for a classroom or school. The great thing about this one is administrators can make their network private as an invite only area. Students that join also get their own ning email, a great way to meet the state technology standards with student email use. The private option would also be great for social clubs, church groups, mommy groups, etc. I signed up for one for my classroom!

Cisco Collaboration Ideas

2008-06-24T21:21:00.002-04:00

So I was reading about city preparedness for rising gas prices here: http://blogs.cisco.com/collaboration It made me really think about how businesses operate. With all of the great Web 2.0 tools out there for collaboration, it seems many businesses would be more profitable and efficient if employees collaborated from a home office a few days a week and commuted to the main office a couple days a week. Blogs, wikis and file sharing tools, such as GoogleDocs would be great tools to use for this. I am interested to see how business operations change in the next year or so because of the rising gas prices and new eco-friendly practices. It seems Cisco is on the right track.

Cool Tools... free

2008-06-23T23:43:00.000-04:00

My Favorites from the Center for Learning Performance Technology Tools Directory 6.23.2008
http://c4lpt.co.uk/Directory/
***So I spent 7 - 12 pm looking through all of the tool categories and finding useful sites. Most of these were chosen because they are free and hosted on the website without a download. I think these should have links to all of the sites. I hope you enjoy exploring these!

Blogging tools -blogger
Chat and shoutbox tools -chatmaker
Content management tools -tweak
Course authoring tools -udutu
Course & Learning Management System - edu 2.0
Discussion forum (text and voice) tools -chinswing
Document, spreadsheet & database tools -Google docs
E-Book tools -lulu
Gradebook tools -engrade
Interactivity tools -VoiceThread
Learning games and simulation tools -PowerPoint Games
Media creation and editing tools (for graphics, images, audio, video) -vozme
PDF converters and editors -Cute PDF
Podcasting tools -gCast
Polling and survey tools -Survey Monkey
Presentation tools -SlideRocket
Presentation hosting and sharing tools -SlideShare
Quizzing and testing tools -My Studiyo
RSS Feed tools -feedburner
Screen capture, screencasting and software demo tools -Jing
Social networking tools -eduspaces
Story-telling/Comic strip/Screenwriting tools -comiqs
Virtual world tools -meez
Web authoring tools (and HTML editors) -jimdo
Web conferencing (and screen sharing) tools -yugma
Widgets and accessories for web and blog pages -(too many great ones!) -Spell with flickr
Wiki tools -wikispaces -google sites
Browsers, Extensions, Toolbars and Players - Teacher Toolbar
Calculators -InstaCalc
Calendars, Event & Meeting Scheduling -Google Calendar
Desktops (Online and Shared) & Remote Access Tools -Cloudo
Email, SMS, Voice & Video Messaging tools -gMail
File hosting/sharing tools (for documents, photos, audio) -Scribd
Instant Messaging, Voice and Video Call tools -Thinkature
Mapping tools -Google Maps
Microblogging/Real-time messaging tools -tumblr
Mind mapping and brainstorming tools -bubbl.us
Mobile device tools (for phones, iPods, PDAs. etc) -math4mobile
Note Taking/Sharing and Whiteboard tools -diigo
PDF readers -Adobe Reader
Personal Information Managers / GTD Organizers - Remember the Milk
Personal Productivity tools - Dasher
(Re)search tools - boolify
RSS/Feed readers & Alerts -bloglines
Social Bookmarking tools -Del.icio.us
Social Networks - Classroom 2.0
Start Pages -NetVibes
Team, Group, Collaboration and other Sharing tools -Twiddla
Video tools, hosting and sharing sites -Teacher Tube

Metered Internet

2008-06-23T18:12:00.001-04:00

Overwhelmed today. I created this blog to help me stay focused and track my learning progress. Called it Mind Saver, because without it, I feel I may lose my mind.

In EDT 716 today we discussed 'Metered Internet' in response to a June 2 article, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24936796/. This was something I had not heard of, but reminded me of Net Neutrality debates from awhile back. I think it is another way for the ISP's to make more money and provide better services to those who can pay more. I think it will greatly affect the way we use the Internet.

I received my Flip Ultra Video Camera today! I didn't even open it though, because I knew I wouldn't be able to take the time to experiment with it today. I am looking forward to using it over the weekend.

I plan on exploring online tools @http://c4lpt.co.uk/Directory/ tonight for EDT 716. I will be reporting on my favorites within each category.

Professional Learning Toolbar

2008-06-18T18:31:00.003-04:00

A valuable resource for educators! The Professional Learning Board offers a toolbar for internet browsers. It updates itself regularly with tools for teachers. From the toolbar I found a 'Spell with Flickr' link. The program this guy created goes to Flickr and finds letters to create the words you type in- like cutting out letters in a magazine. If you don't like the font for each letter, you can click on it to change it. It then provides the html for the words you have created so you can put in on your website. Also, I have heard of Wikispaces for educators, but refound their link on the toolbar. They are giving away 100,000 free memberships for k-12 educators. These Wikis have 3 options, public-anyone can read and edit, protected-anyone can view, only members edit, and private- only members can view and edit. The private is what is being offered for free- normally $5 a month.

E-Learning & Jay Cross

2008-06-18T17:45:00.004-04:00

Today we discussed E-learning and the priciples of Jay Cross. We mainly used links within the C4LPT book today. We did visit Jay Cross's website & blog "Internet Time" and view a couple videos of him discussing Informal Learning set ups. My favorite informal learning environment is blended learning. Blended learning is online course work mixed in with face to face meetings. I feel face to face interaction is necessary to education, especially K-12. These help build important social skills. Many students grow by collaborating and helping others. The online course work would be very be versatile for the middle or high school levels. Students could work around their busy schedules to manage their learning. I feel this level and even post secondary would need a coach or facilitator to help them stay on top of their learning, because motivation is low most of the time with this age group.

Template Based Applications

2008-06-17T17:10:00.002-04:00

We reviewed several template based applications today in class. These included Quia, 1 & 1, Microsoft Office Small Business and Google Sites. These we mainly places where web sites can be composed and hosted. Quia is a neat site for educators, because they have several ready made quiz and game templates put together by other educators. A Quia site is $49 for a year subscription. 1 & 1 offers fair pricing for website hosting. The last two are free, but you do not get your own domain.

Also, we looked at Web 2.0 applications on Go2Web2o.net, a HUGE searchable directory. We linked to our favorite on our class wiki for homework. I chose ComfyPage, a web page creation site similar to Weebly. They have professional looking templates. Not as easy to use as Weebly. The templates lock you into certain looks. Weebly allows you to add objects to a layout and modify them. I didn't find this as simple on ComfyPage. Another cool site for education was Dipity. Dipity.com is an online timeline creator. This would be great for kids to use to share significant parts of their lives in Language Arts, Social Studies or Reading.

Last, we were introduced to Common Craft videos in Pain English. I haven't stopped talking about them. Lee LeFever is the creator and narrator for these short technology tutorials (his wife Sachi is the editor and manager). He makes the topic fun and very simple to understand. When viewing them I immediatly thought they belonged in more building inservices. I wish I could make math a simple and fun as Lee makes technology in these videos. He is an awesome educator. His use of icons, fast paced narration and metaphors make these valuable in the education world.

Centre for Learning Performance Technologies (C4LPT)

2008-06-16T16:52:00.001-04:00

The Centre for Learning Performance Technologies (C4LPT) stays current with the latest technology and learning trends to help individuals successfully implement them in the educational and business world. They offer a wealth of knowledge in their Tools Directory (see later post for my favorites). We are using her online Short Course Unit as our text for this course. Most of the resources she offers are free, some she charges for. Jane Hart is the Head of the Centre and provides great Picks of the Day everyday.

A cool site we visited in class today was Alexa. Alexa is a internet use research site where one can compare usage statistics of any sites. I compared Google and Yahoo on Alexa. Google came out on top.