Teachers Teaching Teachers

The model of Teachers Teaching Teachers has been around for a long time.  The idea is that you focus your efforts on a small group of teachers in your building for a particular program or set of skills, then you have them go out and share with their peers.  Thus the learning is passed along to everyone.  So why isn’t this as successful as it should be?

In talking with teachers, there are several factors that indicate that this T3 approach can work.  Here’s what they say can foster such staff development and growth:

·         Providing time for small group learning sessions

·         Providing time for the group to practice the new knowledge

·         Helping to set up Professional Learning Networks (PLNs)

·         Giving opportunities for others to observe model lessons

·         Allowing teachers to “showcase” lessons for the entire staff

·         Providing curriculum support

·         Providing technology support in the classrooms

 

In choosing to focus on Communication and Collaboration in 2012-13, we had in mind the goal of moving from Providing Instruction to Providing Opportunities for students to work collaboratively to Designing challenges that promote collaboration within and beyond the classroom toward an authentic task to formatively assessing authentic tasks where students are engaged in purposeful collaboration…and therefore moving them along a continuum to having students take responsibility for their own learning...using technology and web tools just puts icing on the cake.

Need to Review Terms for EOC: Try Flashcard Stash

 Flashcard Stash - I like this site a lot for its searchable vocabulary lists, types of activities, and the lists can be embedded into a website.  Teachers create an account and the fun begins with searching for lists.  Teachers can create their own lists but again, it is that time of year, and time (see #3 above) is lacking.  Once a teacher finds a list she likes, the students can do several activities:

1. Learning Mode - Students click on word and get definition.
2. Practice Mode - There are two parts to practice mode.  In one part of the practice, you are given the definition, and you must type the vocabulary word.  As you type the vocabulary word, blue means you are getting it correct and red means it is wrong.  The second part of the practice you are given the word and must choose from a list of definitions before time runs out.
3. Match Game - You drag words to match definitions.
4. Waterfall - Reminds me of Tetris, but you don't have to move blocks to fit into a section.  Anyway, definitions scroll down from the top.  Before the definition gets to the bottom of the screen, you need have to type the vocabulary word up top.

Once you choose the list you want, you can embed the list and all the activities above into your website.  See below.

View List |Play Match Game |Play Waterfall Game

Little Bird Tales: Not Just for the "Little" Birds

Little Bird Tales is a free web-based story building tool.  It is extremely user-friendly and ridiculously easy to use.  After registering for their free account, teachers can add students and/or multiple classes.  Little Bird Tales allows teachers to create assignments for students, share their assignments with other teachers, while also providing students a creative platform to build their own projects.  The website hosts all of the tales eliminating the need to save the projects on a flash drive. Users can edit at any time, as long as they remember their username and password.
Little Bird Tales even has a Common Core Standards Template where teachers can preview lessons that address the Common Core Standards.  In our district, students in grades K-5 have created projects and completed assignments with this tool.  Don't let the name fool you, by no means necessary is this just for elementary students.

See how to create, assign, and share in using Little Bird Tales. 



Embed your Little Bird Tales into your webpage.


Student View of Little Bird Tales.

You Need Vector File? Use Online Convert to Make a JPEG into a Vector File

On May 24th, my school district has our technology fair to showcase the technology our students and teachers are using to improve learning.  We give some type of gift to the participants to show our appreciation, and this year we will be giving ear buds with our technology fair logo on it.

As we were speaking to our vendor, she asked if we had a logo and yes we do.  She said that was great and to send to her it as a vector file.  A what?  As good technology coaches, we did not ask any questions and said sure we could.  Two seconds later we googled it and learned what it was.  From what I can best tell, a vector file is a graphic design image that can be placed onto pens, cups, ear buds, flash drives, etc, and one of the file extensions is eps.

So how do you create a vector (eps) file from jpeg?  Using Online Convert, you upload your image and the website will convert it for you, no sign in required.  You can simply download the converted file.  However, how do you view your new file without a vector or eps program to run it?

Voila, you can Microsoft Word to view it; I am using the 2010 and not sure if it works on older versions of Word.

1. Go to Insert
2. Insert a Picture
3. Where it states "All Pictures" choose "Encapsulated PostScript" - Long for eps.
4. Choose Insert and your new image will appear.

How do I Embed a Scientific Calculator (or Something Else) Into My Website?

Richard Byrne who writes the blog "Free Technology for Teachers", recently posted "Put a Scientific Calculator on Your Classroom Blog."  I love the idea that you can embed widgets from Web2.0calc of the calculator into your website or blog for the students who may not be able to shell out the money for one at home.

My district's curriculum math coach and I passed this along to our teachers, but I forgot one thing.  Many teachers do not know how to embed widgets, videos, or other web 2.0 tools into their websites.  The tutorial below will go through the steps on how to embed a scientific calculator (or something else) into your website.

By the way, if you are not already reading Richard's blog or following him on Twitter, I suggest you do.

Website Not Loading Properly: Try Compatibility View in IE

Learned something quite easy today and new.  We have an IT work order system in our district.  However, it does not work using Internet Explorer (IE) so up to now we have opened Firefox to make it work.  Now, you are probably asking, "Why don't you use Forefox or Chrome all of the time?"  Well, IE works for most of our websites and the others do not.  I guess it has something to do with our Firewall, but I'm not a IT person.

So back to the original problem, we have to open Firefox to use our work order system.  One of our techs saw this and said, "Why don't you click on the 'compatibility view' in IE?"  What is the compatibility view you say?  When you are in IE, if the website you are at does not work fully in the current version of IE you are running, you will be what looks like a page break in the address bar.  You left-click on this once and Bam!, the website will become fully functional.

I'm sure those of us at GCSD will be happy to hear less to solve websites problems, "Try another browser."

Embed Voki into a PowerPoint

This short video gives you step by step instructions on how to embed a Voki into your PowerPoint presentation.  It's as easy as creating a Voki...sharing the Voki by "publishing" your avatar, copying the embed code, and inserting it into your PowerPoint.  Although it will look as though it didn't work when you first insert it, it will load and show as soon as yoou begin the Slide Show.

Watch the webcast below to see how easy it is to enhance your presentations.  If you want to download the step-by-step instructions, I have it in a PowerPoint, just go to my website and download the instructions.  Click HERE to get to my Tech tool of the Month.  The Tech tool of the Month will change in April, but the PowerPoint Instructions for this Blog will remain on the page.