I am featuring polldaddy.com in our Teaching and Learning Workshop today. Here is an example of how you can embed a poll into your blog. Take the poll and you can see the real-time results.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Friday, May 29, 2009
Teaching and Learning NOW
Part of teaching includes learning, doesn't it? I think so. I believe as educators, we constantly need to be learning either through our own students, through a professional network, through RSS feeds, through blogs, through social interaction, the list goes on and on. As a teacher, have you developed a professional learning network? Have you subscribed to an RSS feed, a blog, or some other social network? Some of these questions will be addressed to our area teachers as we take them through the Art and Science of Teaching by Robert Marzano. We will take our local teachers, through a joint effort with ESU 6, through some of the essential questions found in his book. Technology will be shown that highlights how to develop life-long learning. Below is a short clip of what will be provided to those who are in attendance.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Internet Safety and Sexting
April was Internet Safety Month. To kick that off, ESU representatives from across the state met at the Capitol building on March 11th, to witness the signing of the Internet Safety Proclamation by the Governor.
In an effort to teach children about the dangers of the Internet, local schools within each ESU participated in the Internet Safety Contest. The contest guidelines were published, and we had more schools participate this year than last. The projects were then sent to the state contest judges who picked winners from each category. Below are those entries submitted from our ESU and chosen at the state level:
Grades K-4 - Hand-drawn Poster
Title: Never Tell Your Password
Student: Sophie Clark (1st Grade)
School: Johnson-Brock Public School
Teacher: Sandra Behrends
Video PSA – Tie
Title: Credit Card Safety
Students: Hans Christensen &
Joy Beasterfield (12th Grade)
School: Johnson-Brock
Teacher: Tera Stutheit
Due to the fact that April was Internet Safety month, we have asked Syracuse/Dunbar/Avoca Technology Specialist Gary Stearley to share his article on “sexting” - a new and dangerous cell phone craze among teens:
In a world where the only constant in technology is change, parents should be as versed in technology as their children. This has been increasingly true of cell phones and the uses of them. For years a phone was just a device that could make a call from one individual to another, and while this is still true, there are many other features that parents need to be aware of. The first and most dangerous part is the camera that has been conveniently integrated into the phone. While this might seem like a good idea, it has started a new craze that has been coined “sexting.” Sexting could be defined as the transfer of explicit images and/or sexually-based messages to any other phone, or more importantly, individual. There are many reasons this could be potentially harmful to many people. With a simple file transfer from picture messages to online accounts the message or image sent could be cataloged, or worse uploaded to many different Internet sites without the knowledge of the sender. It is also illegal to possess or transfer child pornography even if the picture is of oneself and the image is on your personal phone for this could be considered manufacturing of child pornography with intent to distribute. To restate this point in a little different manner… you could be charged and added to a state’s sex offender registry for having sexually-based pictures of yourself or others that are not of legal age on your phone.
For parents there are limited resources out there as of today, but I will list some sites below that might be able to help:
Helpful tips for parents in talking to their children
http://theteencoachblog.com/parenting-teenagers-what-is-sexting/
Is Your Teen “sexting”
http://www.injuryboard.com/national-news/is-your-teen-sexting.aspx?googleid=253270
ABC News – “Sexting” Teens can go too far
http://theteencoachblog.com/parenting-teenagers-what-is-sexting/
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Recycle....Recycle...Recycle
We just held our electronic recycling event last month. Every year that we do this, we wonder if it is really worth it. Questions abound about whether or not we should offer a recycling event. We open it up to every school within the ESU 4 area. We even shared our successes with ESU 6, and they too joined the effort to keep these "old" devices out of our landfills.
As soon as the project starts, we realize it is worth it, and that it is a service our schools want and need. We keep thinking that we will have less e-waste each year, but then we realize that upgrades are needed and old equipment (and new) can fail unexpectedly. The amount in total freight that was brought to our warehouse was actually much larger than anticipated. We get the chore of stacking and shrink wrapping pallets in order for the waste to be shipped to the recycling company. The semi-truck will hold up to twenty-six pallets. We ended up with twenty-four.
So...why do we do this? For many reasons. We came up with some research that we found printed in the online version of USA today. Here are some statistics we should all be aware of when our old computers (school or personal) no longer function. This article was printed on July 6, 2008:
"E-waste, or electronics trash, is piling up faster than ever, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Americans discarded 47 million computers in 2005, up from 20 million in 1998. Factor in other forms of electronics, and the nation now dumps between 300 million and 400 million electronic items per year, according to estimates from the EPA and the TakeBack Coalition.
E-waste disposal rates are poised to accelerate in the run-up to a nationwide switch to digital television signals in February. Less than 20% of all electronic waste is recycled, according to the EPA. The rest ends up in landfills."
Furthermore, it is not good enough for us to choose just any electronic recycler. We spend a lot of time choosing a responsible recycler. According to the article in USA Today, "U.S. law (unlike Europe's) permits the export of electronic waste to developing nations." These nations include China, Pakistan, and India.
Some events are hosted for free, and some recyclers charge a fee to recycle electronic waste. Please take the time to do some research before recycling. And, please don't just throw those old electronics in the trash. After we read articles like the one mentioned above and see the pallets of electronic waste in our warehouse, we realize how important this is for our schools and our environment.
For more information about electronic recycling, please check out these links:
As soon as the project starts, we realize it is worth it, and that it is a service our schools want and need. We keep thinking that we will have less e-waste each year, but then we realize that upgrades are needed and old equipment (and new) can fail unexpectedly. The amount in total freight that was brought to our warehouse was actually much larger than anticipated. We get the chore of stacking and shrink wrapping pallets in order for the waste to be shipped to the recycling company. The semi-truck will hold up to twenty-six pallets. We ended up with twenty-four.
So...why do we do this? For many reasons. We came up with some research that we found printed in the online version of USA today. Here are some statistics we should all be aware of when our old computers (school or personal) no longer function. This article was printed on July 6, 2008:
"E-waste, or electronics trash, is piling up faster than ever, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Americans discarded 47 million computers in 2005, up from 20 million in 1998. Factor in other forms of electronics, and the nation now dumps between 300 million and 400 million electronic items per year, according to estimates from the EPA and the TakeBack Coalition.
E-waste disposal rates are poised to accelerate in the run-up to a nationwide switch to digital television signals in February. Less than 20% of all electronic waste is recycled, according to the EPA. The rest ends up in landfills."
Furthermore, it is not good enough for us to choose just any electronic recycler. We spend a lot of time choosing a responsible recycler. According to the article in USA Today, "U.S. law (unlike Europe's) permits the export of electronic waste to developing nations." These nations include China, Pakistan, and India.
Some events are hosted for free, and some recyclers charge a fee to recycle electronic waste. Please take the time to do some research before recycling. And, please don't just throw those old electronics in the trash. After we read articles like the one mentioned above and see the pallets of electronic waste in our warehouse, we realize how important this is for our schools and our environment.
For more information about electronic recycling, please check out these links:
Friday, February 13, 2009
Is your school ready?
1:1 - What is it? Is your school prepared? Are your community members informed and supportive? The questions go on and on. The 1:1 initiative is all about giving laptops to students. 1:1 literally means one laptop per student. Most of us have heard of schools like Westside in Omaha who have started buying laptops for students as young as fifth grade. Those students carry the laptops with them all year long and check them in at the end of the year. They are then maintained throughout the summer and handed back out in the fall.
There are many items to take into consideration when considering 1:1. When the topic of 1:1 and school preparedness is discussed in our meetings here at the service unit, I ask participants to consider many factors. Are your classrooms equipped with whiteboards and projectors? Is there enough electrical capacity to charge the laptops when the batteries are low? Do you have a network that will support a large amount of wireless clients? Just because you have a wireless network does not mean it will support a surge in wireless activity. Your school may need to upgrade its current network to be able to handle this surge. Your school may also need to increase the number of wireless devices so it can handle more clients.
What about your staff? Does your staff have the adequate skills and knowledge to teach with technology? Getting the technology in the students' hands is only a matter of purchasing laptops. Your staff will need to know what to do with the laptops in the classroom. Teaching in a 1:1 environment looks and feels much different than teaching in a classroom with just one computer. Students will want to use the laptops for everything, so as teachers, we must be able to find ways to transform what we teach into digital content. Does your school currently subscribe to a Learning Management System such as ANGEL? ANGEL allows teachers to post online content that is available 24/7. Teachers can post assignments, assessments, and notes from the classroom on ANGEL. ANGEL has many other classroom uses besides these mentioned, but it is important that schools think about learning outside the classroom when adopting a 1:1 program.
Is your community in support of this project? You have to remember that tax payer dollars are largely funding this initiative. Therefore, it is necessary to have community support to keep this project ongoing. Do you have a plan for getting your community members involved?
What about future funding? Do you have a plan for sustainability? Once a school begins the 1:1 program, it is difficult to stop. A school may have the funding to buy laptops for students now, but what about the future? The life span of a laptop is about three years. What is your replacement plan?
Lastly, why are you considering buying laptops for students? Is it because other schools are doing it? Is there a plan to collect data showing an increase in student learning since the laptops were purchased?
As you can see, this list of considerations is long. I am not opposed to buying laptops for students. I am a big supporter of using technology with students. Students are wired for it. However, without proper planning and support, this program could fail at your school. I have visited schools and talked to professionals who have adopted this program, and they tell me the 1:1 implementation is a two to three year process: get your classrooms ready, get your staff trained, and then start handing laptops out to students.
The Nebraska Department of Education has a great site for schools looking into buying laptops for students. For more information, please check out their Laptop Initiative site at http://www.nde.state.ne.us/techcen/NebraskaLaptopInitiatives.htm.
As always, I'd be interested in hearing your comments. Please feel free to email them to me: grobke at esu4.org or you can post a comment on this blog.
There are many items to take into consideration when considering 1:1. When the topic of 1:1 and school preparedness is discussed in our meetings here at the service unit, I ask participants to consider many factors. Are your classrooms equipped with whiteboards and projectors? Is there enough electrical capacity to charge the laptops when the batteries are low? Do you have a network that will support a large amount of wireless clients? Just because you have a wireless network does not mean it will support a surge in wireless activity. Your school may need to upgrade its current network to be able to handle this surge. Your school may also need to increase the number of wireless devices so it can handle more clients.
What about your staff? Does your staff have the adequate skills and knowledge to teach with technology? Getting the technology in the students' hands is only a matter of purchasing laptops. Your staff will need to know what to do with the laptops in the classroom. Teaching in a 1:1 environment looks and feels much different than teaching in a classroom with just one computer. Students will want to use the laptops for everything, so as teachers, we must be able to find ways to transform what we teach into digital content. Does your school currently subscribe to a Learning Management System such as ANGEL? ANGEL allows teachers to post online content that is available 24/7. Teachers can post assignments, assessments, and notes from the classroom on ANGEL. ANGEL has many other classroom uses besides these mentioned, but it is important that schools think about learning outside the classroom when adopting a 1:1 program.
Is your community in support of this project? You have to remember that tax payer dollars are largely funding this initiative. Therefore, it is necessary to have community support to keep this project ongoing. Do you have a plan for getting your community members involved?
What about future funding? Do you have a plan for sustainability? Once a school begins the 1:1 program, it is difficult to stop. A school may have the funding to buy laptops for students now, but what about the future? The life span of a laptop is about three years. What is your replacement plan?
Lastly, why are you considering buying laptops for students? Is it because other schools are doing it? Is there a plan to collect data showing an increase in student learning since the laptops were purchased?
As you can see, this list of considerations is long. I am not opposed to buying laptops for students. I am a big supporter of using technology with students. Students are wired for it. However, without proper planning and support, this program could fail at your school. I have visited schools and talked to professionals who have adopted this program, and they tell me the 1:1 implementation is a two to three year process: get your classrooms ready, get your staff trained, and then start handing laptops out to students.
The Nebraska Department of Education has a great site for schools looking into buying laptops for students. For more information, please check out their Laptop Initiative site at http://www.nde.state.ne.us/techcen/NebraskaLaptopInitiatives.htm.
As always, I'd be interested in hearing your comments. Please feel free to email them to me: grobke at esu4.org or you can post a comment on this blog.
Friday, February 6, 2009
ESU 4 Midyear Inservice Handouts
If you came to my web 2.o presentation at the ESU 4 midyear Inservice, then you've found the right place. Below is a link to my presentation. Feel free to use it however you like. If you would like the actual keynote file, please send me an email. Thanks!
Saturday, November 8, 2008
January 2009
Two things...well, Actually three!
There are two things I would like to share with you in the space I have available - a myeLearning of NE update and the ESU annual Internet Safety and Digital Citizenship Contest.
myeLearning of NE, the organization that brings you ANGEL, has created a new community group called "The Nebraska Community of Shared Content (NCSC)." This statewide community group will host vendor-based course content that will range from complete, pre-designed courses to individual course objects. Districts will be able to utilize this group to enhance their current online course content to begin an online content program. Curriculum content from this community group may also be used to enhance a district's face-to-face curriculum. The first vendor to be housed inside this community group is the National Repository of Online Content (NROC). For now, the content areas that are inside this community group are Math, Science, and Social Studies. Altogether, there are thirty-four courses available for implementation. If your district is a subscriber to ANGEL, there is no cost to get this "value-added" service and you should have received some documentation outlining the steps to enroll in this community group. If you would like to see how this works, please let us know and we'd be happy to show you around the "Nebraska Community for Shared Content".
Secondly, the annual ESU Internet Safety and Digital Citizenship contest has officially kicked off. Every year, the ESU's, in partnership, with the Nebraska Attorney General's office, sponsor an Internet Safety and Digital Citizenship Poster and Public Service Announcement (PSA) contest for students in K-12 schools across Nebraska. All entries (for ESU 4 schools) must be submitted to ESU 4 by March 16, 2009. A winning entry in each category will be selected and sent on to the Attorney General's office for special recognition.
Web Site of the Month
Having trouble getting Quicktime movie files to play within Windows Movie-Maker or vice versa? Zamzar is a great online resource for converting many types of files including document, image, music, and video files. There is no application to download as this is an online tool, and best of all, it is free for converting up to 100 meg files! Simply go to zamzar.com in your web browser and follow the four simple steps. You can either browse out to your computer to choose the file you want to convert or type in the Internet address of a file online. Next, select the type of file you need your file converted to. Be sure to read the “Conversion types” page on the site to make sure you know what file type your file can be converted to successfully. And, as always when working with a digital camera, camcorder, mp3 player, etc., check your hardware manual for suggested troubleshooting tips.
Any comments, suggestions, or questions can be directed to me (grobke at esu4.org) or to Kim (krobke at esu4.org).
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