ESU 4 Learning Web

Very proud of the ESU 4 Learning Web Team from Johnson-Brock and Nebraska City. Please be sure to visit the page they created about the Missouri River Flood of 2012.

http://esu4learningweb.wikispaces.com/

2012 Statewide Internet Safety Winners

The Internet Safety Contest for 2012 has wrapped up. Below is a link to the state-wide winners from each category. I want to thank all the schools across the state that participated, but especially those from the ESU 4 area. If you want to use content rich resources for Internet Safety, I would recommend you check out Common Sense Media. It is filled with many teacher resources to use with students.

 

http://blog.esu10.org/internetsafety/2012-winners/

Internet Safety Contest Winners Announced

On my last blog post, I mentioned that the ESU Internet Safety Contest was getting underway. ESU 4 had a winner in the K-4 and 5-8 Poster Contest as well as the 9-12 Video Public Service Announcement. Many thanks to the Johnson Brock Public Schools staff and students for their participation in the Internet Safety Contest 2012. Each of these entries were sent on the state contest for final judging. Those entries that win at the state level will be announced on a later date. Please check back on this blog for an update. Below are the winning entries from ESU 4.

K- 4 Poster Contest:

5-8 Poster Contest:

9-12 Video PSA:

2012 Internet Safety Contest

Internet Safety and Digital Citizenship

Poster and PSA Contest Guidelines 

Sponsored by the

Nebraska Attorney General and Educational Service Units

The ESUs of Nebraska in partnership with the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office are sponsoring an Internet Safety and Digital Citizenship Poster and Public Service Announcement (PSA) Contest for students in K-12 Schools in Nebraska. 

1. Eligibility

Any public or private school/district within an ESU may participate.

2. Categories

Each school or district may submit one entry in each category from each grade grouping:  K-4, 5-8, 9-12, i.e. three entries per school for each of the five categories.

3. Entry Formats

Poster              high quality computer generated (pdf, tiff, jpg, or png);

Poster              hand drawn

Audio PSA       submit on labeled CD (mp3, aiff, or wav format).

Video PSA       submit on labeled VHS, DVD, or CD (QT, WMV, or RM format).

Open               a submission which does not fit a poster or PSA category above—could be a brochure, video documentary, etc.

4. Rules

·       No real names used on posters or in audio or video PSAs.

·       Copyright laws must be followed, i.e. images, sound, etc.

·       29 second target time on PSAs (audio and video).

·       Label CDs and DVDs with ESU Internet Safety Entry Form info. (See next page.)

·       Put ESU Contest Entry Form on back of posters

·       Poster Size:  minimum – 8.5” X 11”, maximum – 16” X 22” (recommended delivery in protected mailer, such as tube or flat box. Do not bend.)

5. Deadline

Entries must be submitted to ESU #4 by March 9, 2012.

            Send entries to:

                        Educational Service Unit #4

                        Attn: Gregg Robke

                        919 16^th Street

                        Auburn, NE 68305

6. Award

One entry in each grade grouping from each ESU will be selected and given state ESU recognition. Winning posters and PSAs, audio and video, will then be eligible for awards and/or use by the ESUs and the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office. A winning entry in each category will be selected and sent on to the Attorney General’s office for special recognition.

Click here to download the entry form (on the 2nd page)

Using LiveScribe in Education

When new technology comes out (which seems like everyday), I have to consider how it would be used in education. I go to conferences and ask questions, listen to suggestions, and try to find out how and where it could be used in education.

Recently, I was able to sit in on a LiveScribe training with Engaging Technologies. I was able to follow along and think of ways to use this pen that I've heard about. When LiveScribe first came out, I was cautious thinking that it would be great for special education. After seeing the new features, I now know that it can be used in any educational setting (including college).

So, what's new? As with any technology, if it doesn't get frequent updates, then it gets outdated. LiveScribe has built into it's technology, connectors. Connectors allow you to quickly take pen cast you've created and upload them to various sites such as Google Docs and Google Sites. You can also upload them to MyLiveScribe, which gives you free storage. How cool is that?

If you see below, you have the option of embedding pen cast into webpages created for your classroom. All I did was click one button once I registered my pen, then linked it to my computer, and was given some html code. Oh, and as updates come out, your pen gets automatically updated. You can also install apps on your pen found at the LiveScribe store.

ESU4
brought to you by Livescribe

Happy LiveScribing!

ISTE 2011

First of all, welcome back to the 2011-2012 school year. It is always nice to be able to start fresh with a new class and a bunch of new faces each year. I certainly hope you found some time for rest and relaxation over the summer.

One of the things I enjoy each summer is a trip to the National Ed Tech Conference that ISTE hosts. This year it was in Philadelphia and the theme was "Unlocking Potential." I heard many great speakers and attended many great sessions.

As I sat through one of the sessions, I was caught by one of the statements made by the presenter. Basically, he mentioned that there are lots of web tools out there for teachers to use. All I ask is that you find one this year and try it. If it doesn't work, throw it out, and pick anther one. His site has tons of resources for educators. As I went from session to session, I heard the same statement over and over.

As part of what I do, I encourage teachers to try new things in the classroom. It gets overwhelming sometimes to read and figure how a web tool works. However, if we limit ourselves to trying one at a time, then it doesn't seem too intimidating.

Each year, after attending the conference, I try to share my notes. This year, however, instead of sharing my notes, I thought I would share resources to those notes. In other words, every presenter I went to had a link to his/her presentation. Plus, each of the presenters were searchable in the conference planner online. To get to my links, you can use my diigo page for ISTE 2011. Remember, as you look through the links, pick one thing that interests you and find a way to use it this year in your classroom.

Welcome back to 2011-2012! Have a great year!

Internet Safety Contest Winners Announced

Wow! What a great turnout of entries for this year’s Internet Safety Contest! I am very pleased with the number of entries and also with the quality of work that went into the contest. I’d like to give a quick review the rules before describing the process of selecting ESU 4 entries to be judged at the State level. Each year, the ESU’s across the state host an Internet Safety Contest. There are several categories that students can enter in grades K-4, 5-8, or 9-12.

• hand drawn poster
• computer generated poster
• audio public service announcement
• video public service announcement
• an open category

This year, we had an entry from each grade level, but not each category. Each school can have its own contest for everyone in each grade, and then decide which entry out of that category to send to ESU 4. My colleague and I enjoy looking over the entries and choosing who will represent ESU 4 at the State level.

The following entries were selected to represent ESU 4 at the State level. For their efforts, they will be receiving a certificate and a small prize for their hard work as well as recognition in the newsletter and on this blog.

K-4 hand drawn poster: Cody of Johnson-Brock

K-4 public service announcement video: Mrs. Smith’s class at Johnson County Central

5-8 hand drawn poster: Mrs. Reid’s 2nd hour enrichment class at Auburn Middle School

5-8 computer generated poster: Kolton of Johnson-Brock

5-8 public service announcement video: Mrs. Smith’s class at Johnson County Central

9-12 public service announcement video: Erin, Grahm, and Nathan at Johnson-Brock

Out of the entries above, the following were selected as the State winners. For their efforts, they will be receiving a certificate from the Attorney General’s office.

• K-4 public service announcement video: Mrs. Smith’s class at Johnson County Central
• 9-12 public service announcement video: Erin, Grahm, and Nathan at Johnson-Brock

Again, many thanks to all those that participated. To view all the winning entries from across the state, please visit http://goo.gl/vM1JE.