tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-170083312024-03-23T11:27:35.438-07:00Teaching With TechnologyA Wilbraham Middle School teacher resourceboyhowdyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09799915352726835586noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17008331.post-28148362815002325122007-09-28T05:32:00.001-07:002007-10-01T06:11:29.462-07:00Getting Copyright RightAppropriate use and the Web: a primer for teachersFor years, you've recycled that same cartoon on your handouts. You've copied that same poem onto enough pieces of paper to fill a file cabinet. You've distributed that pie chart or bar graph so many times, you could draw it from memory. You've projected that same image of the solar system so many times, you can still see it when you close your eyes. <br /><br />You may not even remember where you got those materials in the first place. <br /><br />But now that we're moving towards putting those materials on the web, it's time to find out. <br /><br />Edline and other publishing opportunities raise the spectre of copyright violation in ways that are new for most teachers. Fair use laws may allow us to use many found materials in our classrooms, but putting stuff up on the web is <i>publishing</i>. And republishing copyrighted materials without the legal right to do so can be a liability issue -- for you and for the district. <br /><br />College campuses this year are full of students being "busted" for downloading music illegally. As these college students are learning the hard way, technology makes many things possible, but possible and right are two entirely different things. <br /><br />What does this all mean for us? <br /><br /><ul><li>That same cartoon you thought you were perfectly safe using on your handouts probably can't be put on your edline page. It MAY not have been yours to stick on your quiz, either. <br /><br /><li>That same image you use so effectively in the classroom to help students understand the surface of the moon may not be available for you to use on the web. <br /><br /><li>That song your students downloaded at home may not legal to play in class, even as part of a project presentation.</ul> <br /><br />Fair use laws are complicated and ever-changing. But the basic parameters of appropriate use for teachers are pretty easy to stick to: <br /><br /><strong>1. </strong><strong>Don't assume</strong>. For all materials, <b>it is your legal responsibility to check for copyright information before you use something</b>. Many websites will have copyright information listed on the home page, or at the bottom of a page, but if you can't find any copyright information, most legal experts will tell you to assume that the material is copyrighted, and to select a different image, poem, chart or other material instead. <br /><br /><br /><strong>2. </strong><b>Photographs are generally copyrighted</b>, though they may not say so on the photo itself. This copyright generally does not allow us to repost those pictures on the web. It almost always does NOT allow you to modify or crop the picture in any way (note that edline "degrades" the quality of some images automatically, which counts as a modification by copyright standards). <br /><br />Some photo websites such as <a href="http://www.flickr.com">Flickr</a> default uploaded pictures to a fair use option so that, as long as you properly attribute where you got the photo, you can use it to do almost anything except sell a product, but it's still YOUR responsibility as the "re-publisher" to make sure. <br /><br /><strong>3. </strong>On the other hand, <b>most (but not all) clip art is available for your own use</b>, even on the web, as long as your use is not a commercial one. But here, too, you need to be careful -- just because it looks like clip art doesn't mean some artist has not made it available under copyright. <br /><br /><strong>4. </strong> <strong>Text generally falls under "fair use" for educational purposes ONLY when you are using a small portion of the overall text, and only for educational purposes.</strong> It's almost never considered appropriate to copy a whole poem, or more than a paragraph or so of an original text, in the classroom or on the web. <br /><br /><strong>5. Your own rights and intellectual property matter, too. </strong> The moment you put your curricular materials "out there", other people can find them, and use them, as if they were their own. We'll go into this more deeply in a later blog post, but in the meantime, if you are not interested in freely sharing your curricular materials with the world, I'd keep the long essays and curriculum write-ups on paper or email. <br /><br /><br /><hr width=75% align="center"><br /><br /><i>Not sure if a particular image, poem, or "block" of text is "safe" for use on edline? Concerned that you've been breaking the law for years without realizing it? Have questions about fair use laws as they apply to your use of teaching materials? Mary Ellen and myself are happy to help you check out the legal status of a particular document or image before you put it "out there" -- feel free to <a href="mailto:jfarber@hwrsd.org">email us</a> at any time! </i>boyhowdyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09799915352726835586noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17008331.post-26481530256228242252007-09-09T20:05:00.000-07:002007-09-10T08:35:52.136-07:00Of Stuff and Spaces: What’s new in the information center!What’s new in the WMS Information Center? More than you think! Since last Spring, in order to provide the best possible support for you and your students, we’ve added new tools and new spaces to the total package of information center resources, and developed what we hope will be a much more effective and easy-to-use management approach to supporting you in your use of instructional technology and information literacy tools and technologies this year. Here’s the breakdown:<br /><br><br /><big><b>1. The tools of the trade</b></big><br /><br />Loanable resources this year have improved, both in quantity and in their flexibility. <br /><br />In the next few weeks, we’ll be purchasing a new <b>data projector</b> with money donated by the PTO for this purpose – one or two more and we’ll be able to redistribute these projectors out to teams. In the meantime, we’ve added some smaller components to our existing projector set-ups which will make a big difference in how you can use them: a 25 foot long projector cable, so you no longer have to rearrange your entire room to project from the computer in the corner; wireless mice and keyboards, so you or your students can present from the best spot for a given presentation, regardless of projector or computer location; a splitter cable, so you can see your computer monitor while you project, instead of having to read off the screen. <br /><br />And remember: projectors are great for video projection, but their ability to bring a computer image to the big screen means that anything one person can do with the computer is something the class can share and participate in. <br /><br /><b>Digital cameras</b> remain a powerful tool for archiving, and for capturing the moments of our classes and our time together. A larger storage stick will now allow you to take the camera on field trips without running out of “film”. Our service in lending out cameras will now include moving your pictures to the network folder of your choice when you return the camera, so you’ll have your images right away. All this, plus a commitment to using and providing you with rechargeable batteries allows you to forget about the technology and focus on the task at hand. <br /><br />Our new <b>digital video camera</b> is a great resource for recording and archiving class projects and team experiences – no longer must we grade in-class presentation on the fly! But video cameras have high potential as instructional tools, too. Teachers of languages and communication have long used video as a means for students to see their own presentation – an easy in-class turn-around, since our camera will plug directly into your classroom TV set. Students who can see themselves from outside are given a powerful opportunity to correct their use of language, their style, and their presentation skills. <br /><br />(Don’t forget our more traditional in-house resources, too! The library remains ready to handle your lamination, large-format printing, and A/V cart needs!)<br /><br><br /><big><b>2. More space, better technology</big></b><br /><br />Our shared resource spaces, too, have grown and stretched: <br /><br />The addition of the new <b>workroom</b> at the end of the Information Center hallway allows us to spread out book-cart and poster projects which typically have utilized the library space into a more intimate environment, where it is that much easier to keep your class on task. In turn, this leaves more opportunity for research projects to be fitted into the library calendar. <br /><br />Thanks to our IT staff, <b>Lab 1</b> computers have been upgraded to Windows XP and a newer version of MS Office, which means your Publisher projects can now be taught in either lab. These machines also received more memory over the summer, which makes them best able to support projects which use several types of software at once. <br /><br /><b>Lab 2</b> remains as powerful as ever. We’ve replaced the old chalkboards with white boards and a pull-down screen for projection, to better support teaching in the lab. And don’t forget our color laser printer – it will even print overhead projection sheets!<br /><br><br /><big><b>3. One-stop shopping</b></big><br /><br />In light of these new possibilities and resources, the WMS Information center staff has worked hard over the past few weeks to centralize our resources, consolidate our calendar and loan systems, and separate out resource lending from the support we offer teachers and students as they use and plan for using these resources, all in an attempt to create as smooth and transparent method of resource management as possible. <br /><br />From now on, <b>all information center resources and spaces will be managed directly through the library</b>. Lorry will be your "go to" person to loan out, maintain, and (at your request) set up projectors and other portable resources; she will also manage booking for all four of our information center spaces (the library, Labs 1 and 2, and the workroom). It is our hope that this new "one stop" management approach will make it easier to maintain and track equipment, while making it that much easier for you to plan for resource use in your classes. <br /><br /><b>Consolidating our resource management in this way also frees up our Information Specialist to better support your needs as a teacher and a confident tool-user.</b> Let us know if you’d like support or co-instruction for you or your students, and we’ll make sure you get what you need, both in the planning stages and in your classroom. If you’re planning a visit to the library or lab computers, we can help you best prepare the space, your network folders, and any special links or other classroom resources you might need. If you’re interested in learning how to use the projector or camera, a lab space, a software package or web-based tool, stop by or <a href="mailto:jfarber@hwrsd.org">email Mr. F</a>, and we can set up a training session. <br /><br />And, as always, whether you’re looking to spice up an upcoming unit or just thinking ahead about projects to come, consider asking for some time during a shared planning period to explore how to best match your style, your curriculum, and the various tools of our ever-growing "teaching with technology" toolbox!boyhowdyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09799915352726835586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17008331.post-91528758689408611312007-05-21T04:42:00.000-07:002007-05-21T08:36:47.270-07:00Managing the Risks of the Web in the ClassroomJulie Amero is a substitute teacher from Connecticut who was arrested in January for the crime of child endangerment. Her crime? Exposing her students to pornographic pop-up ads, because the computer that she was required to use for her lesson was infected by a "mouse trap" (where "the browser is no longer under the control of the user and porn images will simply keep popping up until the computer is turned off").<br /><br />At trial, Amero was found guilty of four felonies, and faces as much as 40 years in prison. Her sentencing has been postponed four times -- a fact which ed-bloggers are taking as a hopeful sign. But unless Julie Amero is pardoned, even if she receives no jail time, she will never again be able to teach, and owes tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees.<br /><br /><blockquote><small>For a detailed but readable summary of the Julia Amero tragedy, I recommend <a href="http://csriu.org/onlinedocs/AmeroTragedy.pdf">this paper from the Center for Safe and Responsible Use of the Internet</a>. There's also more on the ramifications of Amero's story at <a href="http://www.pbs.org/teachers/learning.now/2007/04/does_sentencing_delay_mean_a_p_1.html">Learning Now: at the crossroads of Internet culture & education</a>, part of the generally excellent <a href="http://www.pbs.org/teachers/">teacher's resource section</a> of <a href="http://www.pbs.org">pbs.org</a>. </small></blockquote><br />Due to the excellent work of our district IT staff, <b>the likelihood that something like this might happen to us is pretty darn close to zero</b>. Our computers' virus protection software and constantly updated network firewall keep most pop-ups and other inappropriate materials from coming in.<br /><br />But if we ever needed a reminder that eternal vigilance and firm strategies for worst-case scenarios are necessary, this seems like a good one...<br /><br /><ul><li>If you ever see a website coming up in school that you believe to be inappropriate in any way, let Mr. F or our school technician know, and we'll send in the request to have that website added to the district list of blocked sites.</li><br /><br /><li>For this and many other (and pedagogically beneficial) reasons, if you're planning to send students to a website as part of a lab or classroom activity, always check the website out beforehand, to make sure it hasn't changed since you last saw it. </li><br /><br /><li>Planning on letting your students find their own resources online? School computers are set up <a href="http://www.google.com/help/customize.html">to search Google with "safe search" on </a>, but sometimes content can slip through -- especially on <a href="http://images.google.com">Google Images</a>. IF you choose to let students search the whole web (rather than restricting their web search to a list of pre-approved sites), stationing yourself where you can see most or all students screens helps you ensure that they are on task, and lets you know immediately when something inappropriate comes up. </li> <br /><br /><li>One of the reasons that Amero's case was so interesting is that she had not been taught how to turn off the projector she was asked to use, so she was unable to turn off the offending images quickly when they popped up. If you need a quick lesson on how to turn off a monitor or projector safely and immediately, please ask Mr. F or our school technician for a 2 minute lesson...</li><br /><br /><li>Safe computing means treating all unknown computers, flash drives, and disks as a potential risk. In the case of disks and flash drives, dragging the content to the network before using it will generally "take care of" any potential problems or malware. <br /><br />If a student MUST bring in her laptop or use his flash drive as a way to present or transport work for a class, make sure that the materials are what the student claims they are before letting them show up on a screen in front of those students. And don't let students go "live" on the web on school computers which still have student flash drives or CDs attached to them.</li></ul><br /><br /><i>Interested in having your students learn more about how to stay safe online? Worried about staying safe online yourself? Have a concern about how best to use technology in YOUR classroom? Stop by the lab, or <a href="mailto:jfarber@hwrsd.org">email Mr. F</a> to arrange an instructional session or planning period!</i>boyhowdyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09799915352726835586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17008331.post-38470935118344993182007-04-04T04:45:00.000-07:002007-04-04T06:07:05.763-07:00On Beyond Google: Searching in Web Sources<small>Part 4 in <a href="http://wmsteach.blogspot.com/2006/03/mastering-googleverse-part-3searching.html">an ongoing series of tips and tricks</a> to help you and your students improve your search techniques. </small><br /><br />It's been a while since many of us did any fact-finding research from a non-fiction book, but I'm sure we all remember the process: find a likely book or three, pull 'em from the library shelves, and turn immediately to the back of the book to see if the subtopic or answer you need is listed in the index. If it is, finding your fact is as painless as flipping to the listed page; if not, you've used very little time, and can move on to the next text quickly. <br /><br />Long texts are often the best texts, especially when you're looking for spot details that are most likely to be presented in the context of a larger overview or discussion. But as the world of information at our fingertips grows exponentially, students learn to skip over any web page that looks too wordy or long, confident that the same information can be found in a more accessible form on another page. <br /><br />Problem is, many types of facts aren't available in shorter forms. And even when information IS available elsewhere, this behavior often results in students spending more time on Google than on the content you want them to cover in a webquest or other lab activity. <br /><br />Today, a quick, five-minutes-or-less lesson on how to search within a single web page...that will save you and your students more time than that, the first time you use it! <br /><br><br /><align=center>-----<i><small>CUT HERE to use the text below as a handout for students!</small></i>-----</align><br /><br><br />Looking for a single fact in a sea of information? Don't let be so fast to dismiss long, wordy webpages! Instead, try the <b>find in page</b> strategy to jump right to the information you need quickly and painlessly.<br /><br />To search within a long web page, <br /><ol><li>Go to the <b>Edit</b> menu at the top of your screen<br /><li>Select <b>Find in This Page</b>. A small search box will pop up. <br /><li>In the box, type the ONE word you think would be both...<br /><ul><li>Unique to the paragraph you’re looking for, and<br /> <li>Most often used <i>by this kind of source</i> to describe/talk about the information you need</ul><br /><li>Hit <b>Enter</b>...and your cursor will jump to the FIRST incidence of that word or phrase in the web page! (Hitting enter again will move on to the next incidence of that word, and so on.)</ol> <br /><blockquote><i>For example: to find info about how giraffes MOVE without having to skim through thirty dense pages, search within that long webpage or online encyclopedia entry about giraffes for the words MOVE or MOVEMENT.</i></blockquote> <br /><align=center><i>-----<small>CUT HERE to use the text above as a handout for students!</small></i>-----</align><br /><br><br />A few tips on introducing and using this strategy in the classroom:<br /><br />1. As with Googling, word selection is crucial to success. Helping students think about which key word or <a href="http://wmsteach.blogspot.com/2005/11/mastering-googleversepart-1-searching.html">key phrase</a> to search FOR is part of what makes this strategy effective. Using likely keywords in your own worksheet questions or research guide, or even offering synonym lists for certain terms, will help -- both here, and in their initial Google searches. <br /><br />2. As with books, of course, context matters; just because a word is there doesn't always mean the page will contain the information you need. Reminding students that they are looking for meaning, not words, seems to be a crucial part of this mini-lesson. It is a matter of moments to make sure your lesson includes a reminder to students that it is their reponsibility to read the entire paragraph they've found, to make sure the information they were looking for is there, before dismissing the page as worthless. <br /><br /><br />Does this strategy work? You betcha! Observation of a seventh graders science class recently taught this skill reveals that students who learn how to use this simple, effective strategy can accomplish as much as 50% more research in the same class period...and are much less likely to waste time on pages that are not informative. It takes less than five minutes to teach this skill, and that time which is returned to the research process fourfold in the first use! As an added bonus, instead of feeling overwhelmed by text, students report feeling more confident about the research process, and empowered by their growing ability to master text. Everybody wins!<br /><br /><br /><i>Interested in in-class support as you do research with your students? Want an individual training session on integrating Google and other strategies into your class research? Want to bring your students to the lab for an activity? Email <a href="mailto:jfarber@hwrsd.org">jfarber@hwrsd.org</a> or just stop by the computer lab to set up an appointment!</i>boyhowdyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09799915352726835586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17008331.post-73441048853034020252007-02-09T09:46:00.000-08:002007-03-07T08:42:54.918-08:00Technology for All LearnersPart 1: Presentation in the Diversified EnvironmentIt's a given in education today that project-based learning is one of the best ways for students to engage with, learn, and ultimately retain concepts and skills. But preparing students to learn in a project-based learning environent still involves modeling, direct instruction, and peer presentations. And in all such cases, there will always be a need for direct presentation. <br /><br />Applying our increasingly familiar diversified instructional strategies isn't always obvious or intuitive when we use presentation media. Videos move along at their own pace; Powerpoint presentations feel so much like performance, it's easy to forget that it's still important to adapt our pacing to the learning needs of our students, even if this means sacrificing some of the theatricality. <br /><br />But front-of-the-room presentation presents difficulties for many types of students, and keeping an eye on such students can be especially difficult in a darkened room. Some students cannot easily watch and listen at the same time. Many students don't learn well from passive listening, even when such presentation is coupled with visual aids. <br /><br />Today, some quick tips and tricks for using PowerPoint, video, and other "front of the room" presentation tools more effectively. <br /><br /><hr width="75%" align="center"><br /><br /><b>1. Set the stage</b><br /><br />It's not news than many students benefit from concept previewing -- that is, from an overview of what they are about to see before they see it. Many of us do this already, but it never hurts to reinforce: students should know what they need to watch for before you turn off the lights. <br /><br /><br /><b>2. Create a focused environment</b><br /><br />The human eye is attracted to light. When designing PowerPoint slides, this means light text on a dark background is more effective. When presenting with a projector, turning out all or most of the lights helps students stay focused on the projected image. <br /><br />Size matters, too. Use big fonts, and less words. If you're projecting something from the web, consider changing the default font size on your browser so that students in the back of the room don't have to strain their eyes to see what's going on. (To do this, just change the <b>text size</b> in the <b>view</b> menu to <b>largest</b>.) <br /><br /><br /><b>3. Break down the information flow</b><br /><br />For decades, media literacy components have advocated showing movies in small "bites", stopping often to answer questions and reinforce classroom and content connections. In a DI environment, such stop-and-start strategies are all the more important, as breaking down the a/v materials both makes the material more manageable...and the frequent pauses provide the extra time needed for students to absorb and consider the material itself before moving on. <br /><br />Don't let the video be the teacher! Stop often to ask and answer questions, add value, help students catch up and catch on, or just take a quick "absorption break". Other possibilities here include talking over/with the video as it plays -- as an added bonus, creating a dialogue between yourself and the video content models better critical thinking skills for a generation which struggles with ownership of an increasingly mediated world. <br /><br />Although it may seem that PowerPoint addresses this breakdown by its very nature, the relentless slide-by-slide march of PowerPoint can actually lead students to think that, if it's not on the screen, it's not important enough to matter. Leaving a slide on the screen while you check in with your students can divide their attention -- even if nothing new has shown up on the screen, the light remains attractive. One strategy to address this is to keep a piece of cardboard or paper handy, and use it periodically to block the slide projector lens, reclaiming student attention away from the presentation while you ask them to think about the content for a minute before moving on. <small>(If you do this, make sure you keep the cardboard from touching the lens -- there's nothing like a fire drill for pulling students out of the moment!)</small><br /><br /><br /><b>4. Prepare and provide "read-along" accommodations</b><br /><br />Studies show that students absorb 25% less material when they see it on a screen. From a distance, student ownership of material is even trickier. As such, although a few of our students are eligible for read-along accommodations, a significant percentage of our students might actually benefit from having an outline or script in front of them when watching a presentation. <br /><br />There are several variants of handouts which we can prepare, from outlines to full page-by-page paper copies of your slides themselves; you might choose to give them out as read-along copies, or provide them to students who might learn better if they highlight as they go along. (Highlighting a script or printed slide is especially useful for students who might benefit from "extra time" with your multimedia presentation) Each way of providing a presentation handout supports a different relationship between the information on the screen and the students ability to own and learn that information. <br /><br />Not all students benefit from or need paper during a presentation, of course, and preparing low-resolution read-along "classroom copies" of your powerpoint presentation does use paper and ink, but having a few copies of both types of handout ready to give to students who might benefit from them is worth doing if you think it will make a difference. <br /><br />Such printed documents also benefit students who are being asked to read off individual workstation screens, of course. In both cases, we're happy to prepare outlines or slideshow handouts for you in the labs before your visit or classroom activity.<br /><br /><br /><b>5. Consider making the video or presentation available outside of class</b><br /><br />Just like any text, your presentation or video is important to your curriculum. But where having a student review that text with you on your afterschool day is intuitive and easy, providing an opportunity for that same student to review video or PowerPoint presentations is not. Similarly, where we often copy texts to send home for students who have been absent, legal issues and our rental contract with Blockbuster can confound any attempt to give that same student access to multimedia texts outside of the classroom. <br /><br />Printing out the materials can help, of course -- when the materials exist in a printable form, that is. But if the print-out were an effective replacement for the multimedia -- that is, if the written word offered the same chance for comprehension and retention -- you'd have used that for all your students in the first place, right? <br /><br />Luckily, many of the texts we use, from United Streaming materials to our own PowerPoint presentations, can be legally re-distributed through our network -- making them available for students to review after school via the homework center or lab. Additionally, in most cases, fair use laws and accommodations standards allow us to show videos a second time to students outside of the classroom, assuming that video has already been shown to the class as part of the same unit. To get assistance in navigating the legal and technical issues involved in "re-covering" such multimedia materials, please see Mr. F in the lab.<br /><br /><hr width=75% align=center><br /><br /><i>Need some help planning your use of multimedia in your next classroom unit? Want to develop some great read-along handouts for your inclusion blocks? Ready to reserve that projector? Got a great teaching with technology strategy to share? Stop by the lab anytime!</i>boyhowdyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09799915352726835586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17008331.post-1162648578617817092007-01-18T05:49:00.000-08:002007-01-19T06:21:40.126-08:00Home...and Back AgainStudent Projects and the Death of the Disk<blockquote><i>Today's knotty issue: how best to help students carry digital work effectively between home and school.</i></blockquote><br /><br />Once upon a time it was easy to make homework time an important component of project work. Students carried their notes and posterboard to and from home, borrowed books when they could, and used the public library to supplement school resources. <br /> <br />And it was good. Our ability to create a fluid environment between home and school, homework and classwork, especially as part of an ongoing project, helped students learn the organization, production and development skills which they need in high school and in life. <br /><br />Then the possibilities of presentation began to include a virtual component. Student worked back and forth between paper and computer, posterboard and network; the sources and the spaces for development became more diverse. <br /><br />And supporting fluidity of work between home and school became more challenging. <br /><br />Posters and paper still have an important place in the work of our students, of course. But the broader set of presentation and development tools which digital technology affords, coupled with the rapid pace of change of those technologies over the past few years, can lay a bumpy foundation for what should be a vital aspect of student work and development. <br /><br />Two or three years ago, however, even this was a mostly manageable challenge. With a few important exceptions, every student had a basic computer at home, and was able to use floppy disks to easily port work in development between home and school and back again. Our biggest challenge in those years was access -- how do we use computers in school, and how can we plan for their use? <br /><br />But recent, rapid changes in technology have hit each student differently. Every kid has a kitchen table big enough to lay out poster board, but not every student has software or hardware compatible with our school technology. Most students have home printers, but some do not. Most students have computers with a fast internet connection, but some must compete for those home resources. <br /><br />More generally, technology use has skyrocketed, just as computers themselves are changing under our feet. <br /><br />And the labs recently ran out of recycled floppy disks. Which, it turns out, may be a good thing after all. <br /> <br />There are several reasons why we're long overdue to replace floppy disk data transfer between school and home:<br /><ol><li><strong>Disks are on the way out.</strong> Computers purchased in the past year or two don't usually come with floppy drives; as such, ironically, many of our students who have access to the newest technology are least able to use our current standard for moving data. In our worst cases, students are still using disks, but have no way to access them once they get home!</li><br /><br /><li><strong>Disks are too small.</strong> Projects are beginning to come in too big to fit. Publisher and Powerpoint projects, especially, often transcend the limitations of floppy disk size, due to their heavy use of images. </li> <br /> <br /><li><strong>Disks are too fragile. </strong> Magnets can erase their content; the physical object of the disk itself is too easily broken, and the content lost. While these physical issues have always existed, it was once thought that a new digital generation would be naturally more capable of protecting their disks. Instead, we find that disks are so rare for students outside of school, today's digitally-savvy kids may be even less prepared to take good care of their disks...until it's too late.</li></ol><br /><hr width=75% align=center><br />So what can we do? <br /><br />One solution is to begin moving away from supporting disks to better supporting those media which are becoming common to all newer computers. <br /><br />The recent addition of Windows XP workstations to our classrooms has made supporting flash drives and CDs a thousand times easier than before. <ul><li>In a Windows 98 environment, using flash drives meant installing software (called a <i>driver</i>) for each type of flash drive, which was very time-consuming. Windows XP, on the other hand, is "plug and play" -- it automatically recognizes flash drives as just another storage space. <br /><br /><li>New CD burners allow us to send students home with stronger, larger, less fragile versions of their works-in-progress. (Hint: using rewritable disks allows students to keep re-using the same CDs throughout the year, rather than wasting all that plastic for a single word document.)</li><br /><br /><li>New network configurations, including the ability to "see" the student network under a teacher's network login, allow you to move student content fluidly from computer to computer throughout the building</li></ul><br />These solutions are not ideal, yet. Moving documents around so much leaves us open to confusion. How many of us have lost track of which computer, disk or drive has the most recent version of our work? <br /><br />But happily, using "sneakerware" -- an old tech term for "carrying disks, CDs and flash drives from one computer to another" -- is fast becoming moot. In the next few months, watch this space for a look at our plans to begin supporting student use of Internet storage spaces, which can be accessed from both home and school -- an even more stable, more simple, and more student-centered solution than sending emails back and forth. <br /> <br /><i>Want to learn how best to manage moving documents from here to there? Frustrated by those constant end-of-day emails and attachment requests from your students? Need a network folder for your class projects? Instruction for your students to learn how best to store, move, and organize their digital work? Stop by the lab, or <a href="mailto:jfarber@hwrsd.org">email us</a> -- we're here to help!</i>boyhowdyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09799915352726835586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17008331.post-1164982507323236982006-12-01T05:48:00.000-08:002006-12-05T11:01:36.806-08:00Effective Lab Management StrategiesMaking the most of your time in the lab<i>It takes no more than a minute or two to take a well-prepared class into a well-prepared learning environment. So why does it feel like we lose so much time when we transition from one space to another? Why is it so hard to keep students focused in the computer labs? What’s the most effective way to incorporate lab and library into your project planning? <br /><br />Today, some tricks and tips for effective lab management. </i><br /><br /><hr width=75%><br /><br />Time lost between the classroom and a shared resource space such as a lab or library is a real concern, but don't let it keep you from planning curricular units which incorporate resource spaces! These losses can be minimized, if not totally eradicated, if we remember to apply the same classroom management strategies to our use of shared resource spaces that we use so successfully in our own classrooms. <br /><br />Just like in the classroom, making the most of your class time in the lab or library comes from planning ahead...considering the learning environment, and developing project units and instructional strategies which use this environment to its maximum potential...and taking advantage of all the resources available, from specialists and paraprofessionals to the hardware, software, and network access of the computers themselves. <br /> <br />With careful planning, the time it takes to shift a lesson from classroom to lab and back again can be reduced to the time it takes to walk down the stairs...or less! <br /><br><br /> <br /><strong>Step 1: Prepare your curriculum with the learning environment in mind. </strong><br /><br />When considering a project which would benefit from lab or library use, consider meeting with the library paraprofessional or instructional specialist during the planning phase. <br /><br />When you think of a lab or library as merely a space full of books and computers, “planning” for use may involve little more than reserving those resources and spaces for the time you expect to need them. But just as a classroom is much more than a room for learning in, the potential of a library or lab is a reflection of many factors. <br /><br />For example, as discussed in a previous blog entry, the current layout of each space may make one better than the others for a given phase of your project. You may find that the best way to serve student needs in a multi-phase project is to reserve a different lab space for each phase. <br /><br />More generally, our two computer labs are designed primarily for one-on-one work, not presentation, so you may want to consider using a data projector in your classroom to model lab activities, or to offer technology instruction with or without the assistance of the information specialist, before relocating your students to the lab for their individual research and project development. <br /><br />In addition to helping you consider which particular learning space might best serve each phase of your project, library and lab staff also may have ideas about timing, resource availability, or new resources – from instructional sessions to books and computer tools – to better serve your needs, and the needs of your students, for this particular project. <br /><br />Since we see every class that comes into these spaces, we will also be able to help you think about previous projects or instruction which your students received in another class…which may, in turn, affect your own sense of what they are capable of. <br /><br /><strong><br />Step 2: Prepare the learning environment to best serve your students and your curriculum. </strong><br /><br />Consider the physical space, the available materials, and the virtual resources available for your use…but don’t forget that many of these things can be moved or modified to better serve your needs. <br /> <br />For example, you may be interested in using this particular project to help students learn how to search for relevant articles on a given subject, or to evaluate websites for bias and legitimacy – which may mean asking a resource specialist to offer a few minutes of instruction for students on how to locate such materials. On the other hand, if your goal is to have students be immersed in the resources right off the bat, asking library or lab staff to prepare a collection of books or a network folder of links for your particular class project beforehand means all the resources are ready when you arrive. <br /><br />To speed up the transition from classroom to resource space, bring any needed materials to the library or lab before school, and we can put them out for you and your students before you arrive! <br /><br />For computer-based projects, consider specifying an ideal computer configuration as well. Want the computers logged on but the monitors off when students arrive? Need speakers or scrap paper ready to go? You can even ask us to drop links or documents directly on computer desktops or screens, so that students can get right to work the moment they sit down. <br /><br /><br /><strong><br />Step 3: Prepare your class to make the most of their time in the lab. </strong><br /><br />Teachers who describe their lab use as efficient and successful tend to be those who spend time beforehand in the classroom going over everything from lab and project expectations to the specific tasks which they will be asked to accomplish that day. <br /><br />One of the things that can slow down effective use of a lab or library is waiting until you arrive to give students a sense of purpose. The labs and libraries have distractions that classrooms do not; asking students to look over a computer monitor makes screenplay during instructional time that much more tempting. Waiting until you arrive to speak with them about task breakdowns and suggested work strategies for that day's activity leaves the deck stacked against you. <br /><br />Don’t lecture in the lab! Instead, leave instruction, modeling, and presentation in the classroom wherever possible! Lab spaces are primarily designed to maximize effective one-on-one computer work; the classroom is often a much better (and less distracting) place to model or instruct with projection before taking students down to the lab. We are aware that the lab spaces need stronger multimedia projection capability, and are working with district staff and the PTO Technology Committee to address this need. In the meanwhile, we have several projectors which we'd be happy to set up in your classroom before the day begins. <br /><br />Also, consider asking the resource room staff to meet you and your students in your classroom as you prepare to come to the lab or library for the first day of your project. As we walk down, we can answer questions about use policies; as we walk in together, we can help remind students to sign in as they sit down, which helps remind students about accountability. <br /><br />For subsequent days in a lab or library, why meet in the classroom at all? Leaving a note on the door telling students to meet in the resource space allows students to begin right on time. <br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>Step 4: Sustain an environment of accountability.</strong> <br /><br />At home, students experience computers as playspaces, and tend to multitask; asking them to focus on a single task in a lab or library setting can be challenging. We see this in their lab behavior – for example, in student tendencies to play with screensavers in the middle of research periods – and in the difficulty we experience getting students to stay on task more generally in these settings. <br /><br />Several strategies we are just starting to utilize will have a positive impact here. Asking students to sign in to their computer workstation every time they use a computer will have some impact on accountability. Reminding students about the stakes for the day’s activity before you bring them to the lab can help our most responsible learners stay focused. <br /><br />But student habits are hard to break. Some additional lab management strategies teachers have found useful include:<br /><br />Teach from the back of the classroom, so students know you can see their screens. <br /><br />Consider worksheets, notecards, printouts, link lists, or other tangible product as part of your activity, both as a guide to students throughout the period and as an assessment tool in helping you and your students better track their progress throughout a project. <br /><br />Plan for bite-sized tasks throughout the period, and check in with the whole class about their progress several times throughout the period. In my own classes, I stop all work every twenty minutes or so to answer questions and, more importantly, to ask a few students to share something they’ve learned since they have begun. Students are less likely to goof off with desktop backgrounds if they know they will be held accountable for every minute!<br /><br /><br /><strong>Step 5: Leave when you’re done (but accommodate students who need extra time)</strong><br /><br />It sounds like a no-brainer, but many of us lose valuable time in the research and development phase of long-term projects by keeping students in the lab for an entire period even after many of them have finished their work. Meanwhile, students, who often underestimate how long a computerized task will take, may play throughout the period, get distracted, and leave with their work unfinished. <br /><br />One good way to keep fast workers from distracting others when they have finished their lab work is to have “extra” computer-based activities ready for those who finish early. Consider these activities in your planning stages – if you had extra time for each student, what additional lab or library components would you have included in the project? <br /><br />If you are teaching with a partner, and can cover both spaces effectively, consider allowing students who have finished their task to go back to the classroom. <br /><br />Of course, you can also plan ahead by asking students to bring their ELA or SSR book with them, just in case they finish early!<br /><br />If some of your students need extra time in the labs to complete (or catch up on) a lab-based project, consider hosting your after school hours in the lab. Mr. F can also be available to help students on your after school day by arrangement. <br /><br /><br /><br /><i>Have a success story to share about your own use of lab spaces? Thinking about a new activity, but not sure how to make the most of your time and resources? Want to meet with an instructional specialist or library paraprofessional to explore ways to “tighten up” your existing lab or library project? Stop by anytime, or email us with your questions and ideas. We’re here to help! </i>boyhowdyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09799915352726835586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17008331.post-1142010488972445482006-11-07T10:51:00.000-08:002006-11-07T10:07:14.926-08:00Saved!<i>Our post this week covers classroom strategies and workhabits to help you and your students minimize the possibility of "lost" work.</i><br /><br />It happens to every one of us. The power goes out, the surge protector switch gets flipped accidentally, the computer freezes up, and suddenly we're faced with having to redo that paper -- or hope that a technician can recover it from the bits and bytes before it gets gone for good. <br /><br />Or: your hard drive crashes, and all the work you've saved to your computer over the last year or more goes kablooey. <br /><br />Or you cut, and cut again...get distracted, and forget to paste...and lose your entire paper to the clipboard. <br /><br />Errors happen, of course -- in the real world as well as the virtual. Just as a coffee spill can destroy a handwritten essay, there's no 100% solution to prevent loss of digital work. <br /><br />But just as protecting the work environment and storing important papers carefully in real life can maximize the possibility of preservation, so can good workhabits and storage habits best preserve our words -- and the words of our students -- online.<br /><br />Some habits to consider, for you and for your students:<br /><br /><ul><li><strong>Save early and often.</strong> Save documents after you create the heading, and before you type more than five lines. Save your work every time you lift their hands from the keyboard, and teach your students to do the same. Hint: once it's saved, holding down the "control" button with your pinkie, and hitting the letter S with your middle finger, is the fastest way to save. </li><br /><br /><li>Use copy-and-paste instead of cut-and-paste. Because you can always go back and remove the duplication afterwards. <br /><br /><li>Good saving habits begin with good naming conventions. <strong>Name documents as specifically as possible</strong>, so you can be sure you've found the right document before you even open it. </li><br /><br /><li><strong>Practice good file management</strong>: make folders for related content, name them appropriately, and save files in the folder you'd be most likely to look for them in later. </li><br /> <br /><li><strong>Don't write pieces of substance in web environments</strong> -- including email. Many online writing spaces, from email to blogs, log you out of the service if you don't refresh the page often enough. If that happens (you won't know until you hit "send") your work may get lost. When it counts, stick to Microsoft Word, edit there, and then cut and paste the content into the web environment before publishing. </li><br /><br /><li><strong>Learn to search effectively.</strong> The computer's advanced search functions are more powerful than most people realize. For example, a search for *.ppt will find ALL PowerPoint presentations (come on, how many can there be?). Or, if you can't find your paper, but remember you wrote it last week, try searching for all word documents created within the last week. </li> <br /><br /><li><strong>Make network back-ups! </strong> Having an archive of floppy disks or CDs on the shelf allows us to feel confident that we can recover most of our ongoing workwithout technical assistance, but disks can break or break down. Network backups don't go obsolete, and they're safer in the long term, as we back up that content on magnetic tape every night. </li><br /><br /><li><strong>Back up everything, and do it twice.</strong> Because the network is only backed up after the day is over, save in-process documents BOTH to your network storage space and to your hard drive. (I recommend backing up work every time you finish a page of text.) In the long term, get in the habit of regularly saving your ENTIRE "My Documents" folder to your network folder. </li> </ul><br /><hr width=75%><br /> <br />Students can lose work, just like we can. They can also "lose" work. (The computer is a convenient scapegoat!) And trying to figure out whether a student genuinely deserves a clean slate in these cases can be tricky. <br /><br />But lost work -- and the temptation to claim computer error when the work hasn't been done in the first place -- can be minimized if we make our expectations clear, and help our students and ourselves save and locate work properly. <br /><br />In addition to helping them learn the above strategies, additional classroom strategies that might help students learn to minimize loss include:<br /><br /><ul> <li><strong>Teach students the above strategies to save and locate their work properly. </strong> </li><br /><br /><li><strong>Remind students that the network is a shared community space</strong>, and as such, it should be treated with respect and care.</li><br /><br /><li><strong>Make your expectations clear. </strong> Do you only accept printed papers? Are your students required to do their rough drafts by hand? Students who have a better sense of where digital work fits into their work overall, and how to submit it, are more likely to do that work effectively.</li> </ul><br /><br /><i>Want some help learning some of the strategies mentioned above? Need a better network solution for a class or project? Interested in having someone come teach your students about how to save work better? The Instructional Specialist is available for this and other support -- and we can fit it into your curriculum organically, as students go through the process of developing work. Just ask Mr. F!</i>boyhowdyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09799915352726835586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17008331.post-1160439377411847692006-10-09T16:52:00.000-07:002006-10-13T05:47:32.333-07:00The Ecology of Learning SpacesChoosing the right lab for the job!<em>Now that both WMS Computer Labs are up and running, and the first wave of lab use is beginning to fade into the scurry of the school year, it's time to start planning for your next technology-rich project! This week, we discuss how to choose the best computer lab or library space for your students, your teaching, and your curriculum. </em> <br /><br />So much has changed in the WMS computer labs since last Fall. The computers in Lab 2 have been replaced with newer workstations, each with a flat screen and the most up-to-date of operating systems. Each lab has been outfitted with a network printer. <br /><br />With new technology has come new opportunity, and I'm proud to say we've been taking advantage of it. In the last four weeks the labs have been full almost every block as, in addition to the scheduled computer classses, 16 teachers brought their classes to the lab for instruction, research, and/or other project work at least once. That's over 70 blocks of lab activities!<br /><br />We've learned a lot from our use of these spaces over the first month of school. As expected, each lab has started to develop it's own flavor as a teaching space -- a complex ecology, we might say, which springs from the unique spatial and technological possibilities of the labs themselves. <br /><br /><strong> Lab 1</strong><br /><br />Given its whiteboard and the additional space along the front of the classroom, lab 1 has turned out to be an especially good space for direct instruction, especially with an overhead or data projector, and for single-day activities which combine instruction and student-directed work. Like the block schedule itself, then, lab one allows for multiple types of instructional methods within a single class period, making it an especially strong support space for DI and other new learning models. <br /><br />As students are asked not to print directly to the color printer, the presence of the black-and-white printer in Lab 1 also makes it an especially good space for lab units which primarily involve word processing, web-based research, or other activities which will include lots of student printing throughout a class period. <br /><br /><strong>Lab 2</strong><br /><br />The smaller physical space of Lab 2 has led to a natural trend towards student-directed "open lab" teaching and learning in that space so far. The new flat screens push back from the edge of the workspace, which in turn more easily allows multiple users at a single computer to truly share ownership of material; on a more practical level, the additional workspace ained by the use of the flatscreens is ample room for student paperwork to spread out as a natural part of a fluid research and project space, in which students might be working with rough drafts on paper and final drafts on a screen. <br /><br />In many ways Lab 2 seems to work especially well for the later stages of a multi-day project: with all instruction completed, a teacher or teachers can roam through the room, answering questions and helping students as they move towards the final product for the project. <br /><br />Lab 2 also contains the color printer, of course, and the XP environment supports student flash drives and some software (Publisher, especially) much better than the other lab. Happily, these tools are also more likely to be needed in the final stages of a project. If your project is likely to require multiple days in a lab, do consider booking Lab 2 once your instructional needs have been completed. <br /><br /><strong>The Library</strong><br /><br />The library computers continue to be heavily utilized this year as last year, both as part of research and reference activities and as a "third lab" for group projects and smaller classes which can be well served by a bank of twelve computers. Group projects which involve web-based research but in which students will produce their final projects on paper or posterboard may be especially suited towards the library, which has plenty of table space available!<br /><br />But books and reference materials can be easily moved on carts to the labs, too! As always, and especially when your project requires computers but does not otherwise take advantage of the other resources of the library (reference materials, books, and table space for projects to spread out!) please let Lorry know what your particular needs are -- in some cases, you might find that a lab is both available and a better space to serve those needs!<br /><br /><hr width=75%><br /><br />In addition to learning that each space has its own unique possibilities for learning and teaching, over the past few weeks of lab use we've also learned that -- at least in the first few weeks of the year -- demand for labs continues to slightly outweigh availability of lab spaces, though we've certainly closed the gap significantly since last year. <br /><br />We have yet to turn anyone away, and do not expect to need to do so. Nevertheless, booking the right lab for your particular class and curriculum remains tricky, in part because computer classes and other regularly scheduled curricula utilize the labs on the specials schedule rotation. But the computer class curriculum is designed to be able to take place in either lab, so that you can have the best shot at finding the most appropriate place for your own classes. With foresight and planning, it should be possible for you to get the time you need, in the right lab, for every block in your schedule. <br /><br />In the meantime, at the request of several teachers, we are looking at online calendaring software options, in the hopes that making it easier to see lab (and library) availability from your own classroom will help you plan your own use of these spaces. <br /><br />Watch this blog for more as we discover it -- and, as always, if you have any suggestions for new lab technologies which would assist you in your pursuit of curricular goals, pass 'em along to Cindy or Joshua, your HWRSD technology committee reps. <br /><br /><em>To make an appointment for lab-based instruction, plan for lab use, or get help developing units which might involve technology, stop by the labs anytime...or email <a href="mailto:jfarber@hwrsd.org">Joshua Farber</a> to schedule a one-on-one meeting during your planning time! </em>boyhowdyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09799915352726835586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17008331.post-1158931835193511972006-09-22T06:24:00.000-07:002006-09-22T09:49:29.410-07:00Picture This!Digital Photography in the Classroom and Beyond<img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41960000/jpg/_41960728_camera_ap_203b.jpg"><br /><small>Say cheese!</small><br /><br /><em>As part of our drive to improve access to digital resources at WMS, we've begun to consolidate our school digital cameras into one loaner pool -- now available through the labs. Today we discuss using these cameras to enrich your teaching units and team activities. </em><br /><br />Taking and using digital images in the classroom is a snap! Whether your goal is to help students liven up their own brochures or posters, or just capture memories of the year for the bulletin board, here's some tips on using digital cameras in your teaching and learning: <br /><br><br /><strong>1. Take 'em! </strong> Digital cameras are generally point-and-shoot -- that is, they have at least one camera setting that allows you to use them with little to no training. (Usually, this camera setting is depicted as a tiny green camera icon on the little wheel next to the power button.) <br /><br />That said, for the best pictures, remember these tips:<br /><ul><li>The default photo settings on most digital cameras work best from between 3 and 15 feet away from your subject. </li><br /><li>To focus an image, push the shutter down halfway, and then release, before taking your shot. </li> <br /><li>In default mode, digital cameras will automatically detect when the flash is necessary. Nevertheless, picture quality is still best in well-lit conditions. And, to avoid photo glare, don't put your subject in front of a reflective surface!</li><br /><li>Use the motion capture setting (depicted as a tiny running stick figure) for clear photos of fast-moving experiments, activities, and kids!</li></ul><br /><br /><strong>2. Take more of 'em!</strong>Worried about getting the most out of your photo shoot session? Film is infinitely reuable, and our cameras hold over 100 pictures each -- so take more pictures, not less, and you'll have the best "shot" at finding the perfect picture in the next step of the process! <br /><br><br /><br /><strong>3. Save 'em! </strong> Windows XP recognizes your camera as just another storage drive, so getting your digital pictures from camera to computer requires no specialized software. All you have to do is plug it in, turn it on, and you're ready to go!<br /><br />From here, to save your images for easy viewing and use, open "My Computer", find your camera, select all, and drag the whole set of pictures into the appropriate folder. Viewing the pictures while they're still on the camera runs out the batteries pretty quick, so we recommend you do this first, before looking at your pictures! <br /><br />To make storing, finding, and sharing school images even easier, we've created a folder for all school images on the network (it's the one called "Camera" in the TeacherShare folder under My Computer). Saving pictures there allows easier access for all throughout the school year -- and you can share pictures with everyone in the building within minutes of taking them! <br /><blockquote><i>Hint: Your friendly technology specialist is also the yearbook advisor, so he's especially happy to unload your pictures into the network folder for you -- just ask! </i></blockquote> <br><br /><strong>4. See 'em!</strong> With Windows XP in our classrooms, browsing through a folder full of digital images is a snap! <br /><br />To view all pictures in a folder as thumbnails, browse to that folder, then go to the "view" menu and select "Thumbnails". <br /><br />From here, clicking on any picture will automatically open the Microsoft Picture Viewer software. The arrows at the bottom of this screen will allow you to browse through your pictures one by one. <br /><br />Other options available from Microsoft Picture Viewer include printing (a tiny icon of a printer will open up a "Wizard", which walks you through the print process), and editing (clicking on another tiny icon below will open up the photo for editing, where you can crop, fix red-eye, and edit to your heart's content).<br /><br />Want to show your startime or team all the pictures of their recent field trip? Microsoft Picture Viwer even has a function which allows you to show all the pictures in a folder as a slideshow! Just open one image, and then click on the tiny icon of a projection screen that appears below it, to run through all your images automatically while you stand back and watch. For easy group viewing, just borrow a data projector beforehand!<br /><br><br /><strong>5. Use 'em!</strong> The new color printer adds real value to our use of digital imagery in projects and other school activities. Printing out pictures is as easy as sending them along to the color printer in Lab 2; from there, you can have students add them to posters reflecting an in-class lab or activity, or just hang them up on the board to decorate your space. (But help us conserve ink -- please be selective about what you print!)<br /><br />Of course, keeping your pictures digital for a while has its uses, too. Moving selected pictures to the student network folder for your class allows students to incorporate images from their lab activities into the project to follow. Imagine, for example, eggs-periment lab photos featured on the covers of the student publisher brochures that follow, or high-quality images of students in victorian garb decorating their powerpoints and posters after Dickens Day, and you get the idea. <br /><br><br /><i>Interested in reserving a digital camera or two for an upcoming project, field trip, or special class day? How about a short tutorial on how to use 'em? A brainstorming session on how to integrate digital photography into your class or curriculum? Email <a href="mailto:jfarber@hwrsd.org">Joshua</a>, or stop by the lab, to make arrangements!</i>boyhowdyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09799915352726835586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17008331.post-1158331465121867582006-09-15T07:33:00.000-07:002006-09-15T07:45:23.183-07:00From Screen to PageWMS Printer Protocols 2006-2007Pretty soon, we will each have the following network printers installed on our computer: <br /><ol><li>the copier in the faculty room<br /><li>the color laser printer (WMS_Lab2_CLJ3800)<br /><li>the black and white lab printer (WMS_Lab1_4250)</ol><br />The <b>faculty room copier</b> should be set as your default printer. PLEASE do not change this setting! This copier is the cheapest to maintain, especially for multiple copies. <br /><br />The <b>black and white lab printer (Lab 1)</b> is in the back of Lab 1. It can be used as a back-up if the faculty copier is down, and may also be useful if you are bringing a class down to a lab for project work. <br /> <br />The <b>color laser printer (Lab 2)</b> was a teacher appreciation gift from the PTO. As discussed at our recent faculty meeting, we have placed the color laser printer in Lab 2 (just inside of the door) because we believe such placement is the best way to ensure the best support and guidance for all your printer needs. <br /> <br /><br />The color laser printer prints beautiful, almost photo-quality 8.5 x 11 documents, and can print an entire class worth of Microsoft Publisher brochures in about a minute! <br /><br />HOWEVER, ink for the color laser printer is VERY expensive -- it requires four different ink cartridges, and each costs well over $100. <br /><br />In order to ensure that these resources remain available for all of us all year, we are asking all teachers to use the following protocols when printing.<br /><br><br /><h3>WMS Printer Protocols, 2006-2007</h3><br />1. <strong>Please make good choices about when and whether to print in color!</strong> <br /><br />2. <strong>Please print all rough drafts in black and white</strong> wherever possible. <br /><br />3. <strong>DO NOT have students print directly to the color printer. </strong> Instead, to collect and print multimedia and student projects:<br /><br /><ul><li>Create a TURN-IN Folder for your project in the appropriate place on the student network. (For example, Mrs. Phelps might make a turn-in folder for her first writing assignment at <br />H:/Firebolts/Mrs. Phelps/A Block/Project1_TurnIn.)</li><br /><li>Show your students where to save their final work. (I usually write the network path on the board.)</li><br /><li>When the turn-in date arrives, for easy, "one-step" printing:<br /><br /><ol><li>LOG IN to the network as YOU.<br /><li>OPEN “My Computer”, open the network folder marked “student on WMS,” and navigate to the appropriate turn-in folder. <br /><li>CHECK the folder to make sure all student work is there.<br /><li>SELECT ALL<br /><li>PRINT!</ol></li></ul><br />4. Feel free to send students down to the lab to pick up your printed documents, or come get ‘em yourself -- but please <strong>don’t leave your printouts overnight! </strong><br /><br />5. Unless you make previous arrangements, please <strong>do not print sensitive documents to the lab printers</strong> – students may be watching! <br /><br />6. If you wish <strong>to print to a special kind of paper </strong>(transparencies, card stock, photo paper, labels), please <strong>check in advance to make sure the printer will take it!</strong> You’re welcome to leave your paper with Joshua or Lorry beforehand, and then call (or send a student down) when you're ready to print so they can load the paper into the printer for you!<br /><br />7. Got printer woes? Can’t connect? Now that <strong>you can print and access your documents from any computer in the building</strong>, your short-term solution may be as close as the room next door! Don’t forget to fill out that tech support request forms...boyhowdyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09799915352726835586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17008331.post-1157731317828324972006-09-08T08:34:00.001-07:002006-09-08T10:51:22.983-07:00Teaching With The Electronic WordPart 1: The Cut and Paste MentalityIn the 1995 book <b>The Future Does Not Compute</b>, author Stephen Talbott identifies what he called the "keyboard paradigm" -- that is, the way in which writing with computers affects the quality of both writing and thinking:<br /><br /><small><blockquote>For example, the ease and rapidity with which I can cut and paste enables my hands to keep up much more closely with my mind, but also encourages me to reduce my thinking to the relatively mechanical manipulation of the words I see in front of me. To edit a text, then, is merely to rearrange symbols. Existing symbols and their "self evident" relations, [and] not the thinking that makes symbols, becomes almost everything. (<a href="http://english.ttu.edu/kairos/2.1/reviews/farber/quote4.html">Talbott 186-187</a>)</small></blockquote><br />It's not just you. A decade later, as the first true digital generation hits our classrooms, we are seeing the results of that paradigm, and it's not always pretty. <br /><br />Our students cut and paste without thinking more often than we'd like to admit, rearrange where they should rewrite, and -- as a result -- have increasing difficulty telling the difference between their own words and those of others. <br /><br />The "cut and paste mentality" is part of why we've seen more plagiarism this year than last year. It makes it difficult for students to understand when, how, and why to cite and acknowledge the work of others. And the paradigm may underscore what some of us see as a gradual downslide in overall writing quality at our grade level. <br /><br />Luckily, we're here to help. <br /><br />Today, some classroom strategies for addressing plagiarism, proper citation, and just plain helping a digital generation develop better writing and research habits.<br /><br /><ul><li><strong>Make your expectations clear. </strong> Will you accept printed pages when you send students home to find a definition, or must they put those definitions into their own words? It may seem obvious to us that a printout isn't okay, but our students genuinely think differently after years growing up with computers. Making these expectations clear early and often avoids confusion. <br /><br />Also, of course, clarifying boundary lines makes everyone's life easier. In your class, what counts as plagiarism? Academic dishonesty? District expectations are laid out in the agenda, but our library and information specialists are always available to help work with your students on these issues in the classroom, and/or as part of their library or lab activity. </li><br /><br /><li><strong>Help students understand <i>why</i>.</strong> Clarifying your expectations for appropriate use in the context of larger issues (such as the difference between knowledge and wisdom, and the ideas of intellectual property and authorship) helps students research with more confidence, gives them a clearer sense of what is required of them, and reminds them that understanding an idea or concept is at <i>least</i> as important as phrasing and presentation. More, it helps them make connections between their academic life and their social use of technology, such as music downloading and online communication, which empowers them to better create and share ideas in all areas of their lives.</li><br /><br /><li><strong>Keep prewriting.</strong> Type 1 and Type 2 Collins writing generally don't include high-formal language. Seeing formal language in type 2 writing assignments, for me, is a hint that students may be copying right from a source. </li> <br /><br /><li><strong>Consider requiring handwritten early drafts, homework, and other informal assignments. </strong> It may seem counterintuitive to require handwritten work in a digital age, but the keyboard paradigm as Talbott presents it includes a scary thought: students may not edit their work as much when it LOOKS formal on the page as they type. Since computer fonts look more formal by their very nature, students may not even think as much when they type as they do when they write by hand! <br /><br />There are many benefits to requiring more handwritten work. For example, if students must actually pass their thoughts from page to screen as they rework and rewrite, they are more likely to think through the material...and thus more likely to produce better writing in the end. <br /><br />Handwriting has added benefits to student development, too. Students who have more practice handwriting for your class are more comfortable handwriting in testing situations. Students are also less likely to be multitasking (such as IM-ing their friends) when doing their homework for your class if they are doing so away from the computer! </li><br /><br /><li><strong>Learn how to identify "cheating sources", and let your students know you can!</strong> For example, I always show my students how I can type an exact phrase from a paper into Google to find almost any plagiarized source...catching cheaters in seconds never fails to impress! (See previous blog entry <a href="http://wmsteach.blogspot.com/2005/11/mastering-googleversepart-1-searching.html">Mastering The Googleverse: Searching by Key Phrase</a> for more on how to do this!)</li></ul><br /><br /><i>Got more ideas to share? A relevant anecdote from years gone by? Questions? Comments? A wonderful lab activity, or a request for classroom instruction on today's topic? Leave a comment below, <a href="mailto:jfarber@hwrsd.org">email Joshua</a>, or stop by a library or lab to plan your activity today! </i>boyhowdyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09799915352726835586noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17008331.post-1155361451283728812006-08-11T22:13:00.000-07:002006-08-11T22:44:11.333-07:00Dos and Don'ts for 06-07:Ten tech ideas to start the year off right!DO stop by the new computer lab for an individualized tour of our new facilities and workstations -- and to plan and develop classroom- and lab-based activities and units for your students!<br /><br />DON'T be afraid to plan or develop new activities or projects which require one or more days of one-to-one student computer access. The addition of the new lab more than doubles our ability to provide lab access for student projects and instruction. This is the year to try it!<br /><br />DO take advantage of the new color laser printer in the computer lab for curricular materials and student projects. We've placed the color printer right by the door for your convenience in picking up your documents. <br /><br />DO save yourself time and stress in grading (especially that end-of-term crunch) by creating test columns in gradequick as soon as you assign a test or assignment. <br /><br />DO have your students create their own network folders and directories for this year's assignments wherever possible -- online portfolios make it easier for you and your students to track their progress, and support team and co-curricular projects by allowing student work to be available anywhere in the building!<br /><br />DO remember to continue to save all teaching materials to your network folder, just to be safe. Additionally, consider sharing them with your peers through the appropriate subfolder in our shared teacher folders.<br /><br />DO fill out tech request forms if you have a computer problem, even if you can work around it in the short term. <br /><br />DO pass along any suggestions for new classroom, team or schoolwide technology solutions to Cindy or Joshua, your PTO Technology Committee representatives.<br /><br />DO share your tech triumphs and trials with your team, that we can all better support our students and each other. <br /><br />DON'T hesitate to call or <a href="mailto:jfarber@hwrsd.org">email</a> Joshua throughout the day if you have an idea, problem, or question about teaching with technology.boyhowdyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09799915352726835586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17008331.post-1141222123867713572006-03-01T05:57:00.000-08:002006-03-03T11:18:35.970-08:00Mastering The Googleverse, part 3:Searching From The Sky<i>Part 3 in an ongoing series of tips and tricks to help you and your students improve your search techniques. (Previously: <a href="http://wmsteach.blogspot.com/2005/11/mastering-googleversepart-1-searching.html">Part 1: Searching by Key Phrase</a>, <a href="http://wmsteach.blogspot.com/2005/12/mastering-googleverse-part-2searching.html">Part 2: Searching for Images</a>)</i><br /><br><br /><a href="http://local.google.com"><img src="http://www.google.com/intl/en_us/images/local_res_logo3.gif" align=left vspace=8 border=0></a>Most folks think of Google as a tool for exploration of the virtual world of the web. But the recent addition of <a href="http://local.google.com/">Google Local </a>to Google's bag of searchtricks adds the real to the virtual, combining high-resolution satellite images, maps, and the Google knowledge-base to bring you a view of the real world enriched by detailed information. <br /> <br />Combining these previously separate parts of the real and virtual worlds can lead to surprising possibilities. Want to find <a href="http://local.google.com/local?f=q&hl=en&q=museums+near+466+Stony+Hill+Rd,+Wilbraham,+MA+01095&t=h">every museum within driving distance</a>? Interested in helping students see just how much of the area around their home is woodland? And just what color <i>is</i> <a href="http://local.google.com/local?f=q&hl=en&q=466+Stony+Hill+Rd,+Wilbraham,+MA+01095&ll=42.133399,-72.458053&spn=0.015403,0.026822&t=h">the WMS roof</a>? Creative use of <a href="http://local.google.com">Google Local </a>allows you to combine previously disparate information, and create -- with a simple keyword -- a map or image of the world populated with information tailored to your specifications. <br /><br />What's more, though you can certainly use <a href="http://local.google.com">Google Local </a>to simply access and display maps and satellite images, the world Google Local presents is much more fluid and reactive to student and teacher needs. Maps and satellite images in your search results can be viewed separately, or superimposed to show realworld images with roads highlighted. These maps or satellite images can also be centered on (and flagged with) specific addresses, or show all results from a specific Yellow Pages category. And, once you get your results, an easy interface in the upper left corner of every screen allows you to zoom in, and scroll around, with surprising detail and accuracy. <br /><br />I've heard Google Local described as "a huge world to scroll around in." I've also heard it described as an interactive map that can instantly create its own virtual pushpins to mark objects by type. Both are true, but neither description really makes clear the joy of being able to instantly locate, see, and get directions to <a href="http://www.google.com/local?f=l&hl=en&q=category:+Coffee+Houses+%26+Cafes&near=466+Stony+Hill+Rd.,+Wilbraham,+MA+01095">the 92 nearest coffee houses</a>. Why not try it for yourself?<br /><br /><small>To learn more about <a href="http://local.google.com">Google Local</a>, <a href="http://www.google.com/help/maps/tour/">take the Google Local tour</a>. </small> <br /><br /><hr width=75%><br /><br /><b>What does all this mean for us as teachers? </b> <br /><br />Although <a href="http://local.google.com">Google Local</a>'s use of maps and birds-eye view images certainly lends itself powerfully to Social Studies class use, it can also can be a powerful tool across the curriculum. Some possible uses, roughly organized by curriculum area:<br /><br /><ul><li>In <strong>Math</strong>, map layouts are a great tool for real-world exploration of area and distance measurement (how much square footage does our school cover? How many miles). And "zoom" functions on maps and satellite pictures can be used as a part of discussions of scale.</li> <br /><br /><li>In addition to the obvious benefit a global mapping technology brings to the study of geography, satellite images allow a real-world "eye in the sky" exploration of real places worldwide to compliment exploration of any culture or community, in our outside of the <strong>Social Studies</strong> classroom. </li><br /><br /><li>Similarly, crisp and colorful satellite images show geological phenomena and even ecosystem flora clearly, encouraging exploration of environment and ecology in <strong>Science</strong> class.</li><br /><br /><li>In <strong>Language Arts</strong>, why not use google maps to provide a real world picture of places where readings take place? Novels set in real places may even show actual buildings and streets for help visualizing character journeys and environments!</li><br /><br /><li>In <strong>language classes</strong>, use Google in other languages (For example, Google in spanish) to learn place and street name conventions for that language. Or use satellite images of real places to compliment country and culture study, as above.</li></ul> <br /><br /><i>Interested in in-class support as you use Google with your students? Want an individual training session on integrating Google into your class research? Want to bring your students to the lab for an activity? Email <a href="mailto:jfarber@hwrsd.org">jfarber@hwrsd.org </a>or just stop by the computer lab to set up an appointment!</i>boyhowdyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09799915352726835586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17008331.post-1139589166683896302006-02-10T08:05:00.000-08:002006-02-10T15:36:56.820-08:00Information Literacy In The NewsA State of the School AddressA CNN article (<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/02/03/tech.savvy.students.ap/index.html">Exam measures students' 'information literacy'</a>) posted earlier this week discusses the issue of teaching with technology by reminding us that, while skills are often picked up virally from student to student as they use computers in and out of the classroom, their ability to apply those skills deliberately and selectively is best taught, learned and measured in the context of the curriculum at large: <br /><br /><i><blockquote>When it comes to downloading music and instant messaging, today's students are plenty tech-savvy. But that doesn't mean they know how to make good use of the endless stream of information that computers put at their fingertips.<br /><br />Educators and employers call those skills "technology literacy," and while everyone agrees it's important to have, it also is difficult to measure.<br /><br />Now a test that some high school students will begin taking this year could help.<br /><br />The ICT Literacy Assessment touches on traditional skills, such as analytical reading and math, but with a technological twist. Test-takers, for instance, may be asked to query a database, compose an e-mail based on their research, or seek information on the Internet and decide how reliable it is...</i></blockquote><br />Though few schools tend to use ETS-created standardized tests in their first year, if the ICT test seems useful -- whether it is used for in-house evaluation or becomes one of the many possible tests students take for college admissions -- today's middle school students will be among the first to face the exam at the high school level.<br /><br />What does this mean for us? Happily, the very existence of this blog underscores our district's growing preparedness in this very area. In a million small ways, through our use of everything from Gradequick to the network to the newly-integrated teacher's lounge copier, our ability to think of and present technology as more than just a discrete subject has developed immensely here at WMS since September. <br /><br />The blog is not enough, of course. As the ICT test reminds us, students develop true technology literacy only if they have experience using technology in context of their other learning. In the long run, it will not be enough to suggest that enough students take computer classes for us to assume that every class in this school will contain, at least via a single student, the skills we need to get through that class day. <br /><br />Modeling technology use in appropriate, deliberate ways rests on all our shoulders. <br /><br />But there's no need to feel pressured by the coming test, or what it represents. There are a billion small, easy-to-implement ways to integrate technology literacy into your classroom teaching. <br /><br />Integrating thoughtful discussion about how and why a technology is used <i>when</i> we use it takes minutes, but the shift in thinking from skill-based tech use to true information literacy adds immense value to our existing units. As in all subjects, reinforcement of relevance, application, attitude and knowledge in context helps students retain those skills for the next go-round. Taking those few extra seconds to focus our use of technology has an insidiously wonderful effect on student habit development. <br /><br />For assistance in planning your next use of technology -- or for thoughtful and personalized discussion of painless and easy-to-implement ways to add information literacy components to what you already do with technology -- as always, just email <a href="mailto:jfarber@hwrsd.org">Joshua Farber</a>, or stop in the Computer Lab to make an appointment. We're here to help you!boyhowdyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09799915352726835586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17008331.post-1138629607852593062006-01-30T04:52:00.000-08:002006-02-03T11:29:47.266-08:00Teaching Without A NetManaging web materialsAt its best, the World Wide Web is a wonderful resource for students in and out of the classroom. It's familiar, it's free (mostly), it's vast enough to contain some real gems, and anyone with a computer and a working internet connection can get access to it at home or in a community space such as a school or library. <br /><br />But the web is so much a part of our culture in and out of the classroom, it's easy to forget that just because you got it from the web doesn't mean that's the best way to expose your students to that particular material.<br /><br />Like many of us, my own teaching was stymied somewhat by our recent loss of internet connectivity here at WMS. In response, now that the 'net is up, I had originally intended to write this week about how to archive and store internet material -- everything from how to use easy tools and built-in components of your own computer to save web pages on our local network or on a disk so that they can be used <i>as if</i> you were on the Internet even when it goes down, to how to take "pictures" (called <i>screen captures</i>) of web pages so I could use web pages in the classroom as if they were live without having to worry about whether the Internet was on, or fast enough, on a given day. <br /><br />It's an important lesson, and one which I'd be happy to teach anyone who might be interested. <br /><br />But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that the biggest mistake I make when teaching with the Internet is allowing the way in which the web is packaged to drive the way I present those materials to my students. And, pedagogically speaking, that may not always be the best approach to using web-based materials. <br /><br />The best material on the web is packaged for the web -- a resource which is generally thought of as designed for a single user, in front of a single machine. Great curricular content put together by an especially astute designer may look good on the web, and work for a general audience, but as we all know, classrooms are unique spaces, and the web is no classroom. <br /><br />Although there are some limitations, in most cases fair use laws allow us to strip down content for the web and rebuild it in and for our classrooms to suit the needs of our particular students. Your ability to use material to teach is strengthened by your ownership of that material. <br /><br />In the last few weeks, both Jen Jyringi and Tammy Desreuisseau have had great success in repackaging web materials into stellar PowerPoint presentations, for example. Each used a combination of techniques, including screen captures (so students could see how the website organized its information), restatement of information, and pictures from the original web pages. Each borrowed a projector and computer in order to maximize the potential for students to see and understand the material. And each followed up their activity by encouraging (or requiring) students to go to the original websites to review and explore further on their own time. <br /><br />Turning a web page into a PowerPoint presentation for your own classroom instruction (or a word document for handout, or a newsletter for easier information-handling, or even a new and more class-specific webpage for use on the school network) generally takes a couple of hours or less, and, once you've made it, you can use it year after year, adapting it over time as needed. <br /><br />If you're interested in some support in making web materials your own -- or if you'd just like to know how to archive and store webpages so they can be used or accesed regardless of whether the Internet is working -- as always, email <a href="mailto:jfarber@hwrsd.org">jfarber@hwrsd.org</a> or just stop by the computer lab to set up an appointment!boyhowdyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09799915352726835586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17008331.post-1137014958742350852006-01-11T13:27:00.000-08:002006-01-11T14:21:00.396-08:00Random Resources, Part 1: Music as Mnemonic<small>Part one in a series of blog posts bringing you the newest and best in cross-curricular resources available from the world of the web!</small><br /><br /><a href="http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,69697-0.html?tw=wn_tophead_1">Wired magazine reports</a> on the growing phenomenon of teachers not just using songs to help their students learn and remember basic class concepts, from <a href="http://www.science-groove.org/Now/Glucose.mp3">glycolosis</a> to the law of averages...but recording and sharing these songs online so that all teachers can use them. <br /><br />The article, which cites <a href="http://www.science-groove.org/SSA/">Science Songwriters Association</a> president Lynda Jones' assertion that "song is a very effective way to teach," also reminds us that humor has long been a staple of our daily attempts to help students become engaged with material. (Having learned the quadratic equation to the tune of "We All Live In A Yellow Submarine", I can attest personally to the efficacy of song as a method for material retention.) <br /><br />Although the article focuses on science and technology songs, such as the more than 2000 songs posted at <a href="http://www.science-groove.org/MASSIVE">MASSIVE</a>, a developing database of science-themed songs, a quick browse of <a href="http://www.google.com">Google</a> reveals both free and pay-per-song online resources for every curricular subject imaginable. <br /><br />For example, <a href="http://www.songsforteaching.com">Songs For Teaching</a> references and organizes songs in every curricular category, from grammar to geography...and, for US History teachers, <a href="http://www.50states.com/">50states.com </a>has free sheet music and lyrics for state songs from all 50 states! <br /><br />If you'd like assistance finding free or fee-based music or lyrics for your particular curricular area, email <a href="mailto:jfarber@hwrsd.org">Joshua Farber </a>for a targeted tour of Google's advanced search functions -- if it's out there, we'll find it!<br /><br /><hr width=75% align=center><br /><br />You're welcome to sing to your students, of course -- many of the freely-downloadable songs on the abovementioned sites have been released into the public domain, so performing them on your own can be perfectly legitimate according to fair use and copyright restrictions. (This is not always true, however, and different restrictions apply to songs available for purchase; see Joshua Farber or Mary Ellen Bergeron if you have questions about performance rights for a given song or site.)<br /><br />In addition, why not consider taking advantage of the growing phenomenon of student iPods by making pre-recorded materials available as they dovetail with classroom curriculum? <br /><br />To send freely downloadable songs along to students, merely surf to the relevant site, right click on a link to a song, select "copy shortcut", and then paste that link in any public webspace, such as <a href="http://www.schoolnotes.com/">SchoolNotes</a>. From there, just direct students to that site, and they'll be able to listen at home, for homework...or even load the songs onto their personal music devices for the long busride into school each morning!boyhowdyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09799915352726835586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17008331.post-1135084004274365092005-12-20T04:34:00.000-08:002005-12-20T09:05:48.263-08:00Make Mail Matter!<i>This week, a few words on emailing with ease, efficacy, and proper etiquette.</i><br /><br />Email: By many accounts, the single most popular use of the Internet. But, as with many applications, mastering just a few quick strategies can make your emails more effective, powerful, and well-received...<br /><ul><li><b>Use effective email subjects!</b> Perhaps the most important way to ensure that your mail is read and prioritized by your reader. A good subject, according to Harvard leadership guru <a href="http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item.jhtml?id=4438&t=srobbins">Stever Robbins</a>, summarizes the important information of a message. "Homework Center closed Thursday" is a much more effective subject than "Homework Center" -- readers will be more likely to open your message promptly <i>and</i> remember the most important content!</li><br /><li><b>Use context cues.</b> Answering a question via reply email? Robbins suggests repeating the question before giving your answer; wherever possible, I find cutting and pasting a single line of the original message to be an equally effective reminder. Help keep your reader from having to read their own original message to figure out what you are responding to! </li><br /><li><b>Send actual links wherever possible!</b> Sending a web address via email is a great way to share online teaching tools and resources. Sending a link which readers need only click on to open it makes it much more likely that people will go right to the webpage you're sharing. Like most web-based email, our HWRSD webmail allows links to be click-able if you include the full web address, including that <i>http://</i> stuff. </li><br /><li><b>Use CC sparingly but powerfully.</b> Cc is more effective if the cc'd recipient can see, quickly, why they got the email. Robbins recommends including notes directly addressed to each cc'd party in the email itself -- for example, if I cc'd our principal on a message to a peer about a teaching collaboration, I might include the line "Barbara: please join us, if you can, to observe this experiment in co-teaching!" in my main message. <br /><br /><small>(Students, by the way, have no experience with carbon paper, and thus tend not to understand the difference between a cc'd message and a message addressed to them. If you must add a cc or bcc, think of your audience, and act accordingly.) </small> </li><br /><li><b>Consider your reader's habits...and their environment...when deciding if email is the best way to communicate.</b> Many teachers read their email during their planning period; some wait until after school; not all of us do so from home. It might seem obvious, but notes in mailboxes, phone calls, and just plain walking down the hallway are often overlooked in our zeal to get everything done from the comfort of our own desk!</li><br /><li><b>Similarly, consider using email if your message would benefit from its unique communicative qualities.</b> The virtues of email lend themselves especially well to some kinds of communication. Personally, I find email an ideal tool if my intention is to pass along a reminder of future date or time (email is more easily archivable), to send along digital materials (always include a line about why you think the reader will find this useful!), when I need to leave a paper trail, or if my desire is to bring several people into the loop while making sure <i>they</i> know who is in that loop!</li> <br /></ul><br />Also, while we're on the subject of email: if you haven't made the switch to this year's new <a href="http://webmail.hwrsd.org">HWRSD webmail</a>, do so! Benefits include less possibility of "lost" messages, since all mail is stored on the district servers, and automatic archiving, which makes your email searchable. You'll never lose a message again!boyhowdyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09799915352726835586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17008331.post-1133544884219850492005-12-02T09:20:00.000-08:002005-12-02T09:34:44.266-08:00Mastering The Googleverse, Part 2Searching For Images<img src="http://www.google.com/intl/en/logos/natl_teachers.gif"><br /><i><small>Part 2 in an an ongoing series of tips and tricks designed to help you and your students improve the way you search. </i>(Previously: <a href="http://wmsteach.blogspot.com/2005/11/mastering-googleversepart-1-searching.html">Part 1: Searching by Key Phrase</a>)</small><br /><br />Looking for a <a href="http://www.google.com/images?q=%22toni+morrison%22&svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&c2coff=1&imgsz=small|medium|large|xlarge">high-quality image of Toni Morrison</a> for a PowerPoint presentation? A <a href="http://images.google.es/images?q=ciudad%20mexico%20mapa&hl=es&lr=&sa=N&tab=wi">detailed Spanish-language map of Mexico City</a> for Spanish class? A <a href="http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&lr=&c2coff=1&q=map+%22equal+pay%22">map</a> or <a href="http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&c2coff=1&q=%22equal+pay%22+filetype%3Agif">graph</a> comparing average U.S. wages for men and women? <br /><br />There are millions of images out there on the web, and sifting through them can take forever without a solid search-and-collect strategy. Here are some tips to get you started on <a href="http://images.google.com/">Google Image Search</a>:<br /><br /><ol><li>How you plan to <em>use</em> your image should be a key factor in determining your search strategy. If you will be projecting your image on a big screen, for example, you might want to <a href="http://www.google.com/advanced_image_search?hl=en">restrict your search by <strong>size</strong></a> to large or medium images only. </li><br /><br /><li>Do not take your image from your search engine's search result screen! To speed up your search, <a href="http://images.google.com/">Google</a> (or any search engine) only displays a tiny version of the real image in <a href="http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&c2coff=1&q=site%3Awww.mos.org+lightning">your results</a>. When you click on the image, most search engines then show that same tiny version of the <a href="http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.mos.org/sln/toe/touch4.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.mos.org/sln/toe/cage.html&h=240&w=320&sz=49&tbnid=d60zAkcCcyUJ:&tbnh=84&tbnw=112&start=1&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsite:www.mos.org%2Blightning%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26c2coff%3D1">image in a frame atop the page</a> where the image was found. Make sure you take your image from <a href="http://www.mos.org/sln/toe/cage.html">the actual web page</a>, and not the search engine! </li><br /><br /><li>Similarly, many photo sites, like this <a href="http://www.rce.rutgers.edu/weeds/index-thumbnail.asp">index of weeds found in New Jersey</a>, only show a smaller version of their best image -- called a thumbnail -- on the page itself. Click on small images before saving, just in case a better quality image opens up! </li><br /><br /><li>Search engines use several criteria, including image name and the surrounding text on a page, to determine the results of your search. To get the best results, do several searches using synonyms before you decide on the perfect image. For example, I get useful but vastly different results for image searches of the terms <a href="http://images.google.com/images?q=kitten&hl=en">kitten</a>, <a href="http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&lr=&c2coff=1&q=kitty">kitty</a>, and <a href="http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&lr=&c2coff=1&q=cat">cat</a>. </li><br /><br /><li>As with any search, using only english terms will only get you images from pages in english. Searching in another language may turn up better results if you're looking for images of and from other countries and cultures. Note, for example, that our map of Mexico City above comes from <a href="http://www.google.es/">Google España</a>. </li><br /><br /><li>If you can't find the image you want, don't despair! <a href="http://images.google.com/">Google Image Search</a> can only find an image by keyword if the keyword is used <i>with</i> that image in its original page, and not every web page presents their images with your searching needs in mind. Most pages on the web include images; a careful <a href="http://www.google.com">Google</a> search for web pages on the right subject may bring you exactly the right picture. And, of course, if scanning is available in your school, searching for images in the library reference collection is often the best way to get the highest quality pictures for your project or cover page! </li></ol>boyhowdyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09799915352726835586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17008331.post-1133281497936471222005-11-29T07:48:00.000-08:002005-11-29T11:35:55.870-08:00Gradequick: Creating Term 2 Progress Reports<i>A quick how-to...so we can all reach the semi-standardization agreed upon yesterday! </i><br /><br />Once you've finished entering grades in Gradequick, select your preferred Report format from the <i>Reports</i> menu. <br /> <br />The EASY way to do this is to select <i>Student</i> and then <i>Single Term Only</i> as follows:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/687/124/1600/easyway.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/687/124/320/easyway.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />And then, select "View Term 2" from the pull-down menu in the top center of the screen (highlighted in blue below). This will result in a report that includes NO term 1 information, but WILL include all assignments from term two, a subtotal, and a term 2 average and term 2 grade in the upper left hand corner, like this:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/687/124/1600/easy2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/687/124/320/easy2.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />From here...<br /><br /><b>To remove cumulative grade information:</b> In the <i>Students</i> menu, select <i>Student Info</i>. The following window will pop up:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/687/124/1600/studinfo.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/687/124/320/studinfo.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />UNSELECT the fields for <i>Final Average</i> and <i>Final Grade</i>, select or unselect other relevant information as you see fit, and select "OK". <br /><br /><br /><b>To manually select grade information:</b> In the <i>Tests</i> menu, select <i>Select tests and subtotals...</i>. In the resultant pop-up window, select the information you want to include from the left menu, and select OK.boyhowdyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09799915352726835586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17008331.post-1132326407678970262005-11-18T09:33:00.000-08:002005-11-18T07:19:30.246-08:00Mastering the GoogleversePart 1: Searching by Key Phrase<img src="http://www.google.com/intl/en/logos/natl_teachers.gif"> <br><br /><small><a href="http://www.google.com">Google</a>. Used effectively, with precision, skill and deliberation, it's the most comprehensive way to sift through the 8.5 billion websites currently online. But size isn't everything. Statistically, most users use Google so ineffectively that they might as well be dipping their hands randomly into the universe to find their information. And it's a pretty big universe. <br /><br />Today we begin an ongoing series of tips and tricks designed to help you and your students improve the way you search. </small><br /><br /><hr width=75% align=center><br /><br /><b>Googletip #1: Searching by Key Phrase</b><br /><br /><i>Did you know that <a href="http://www.google.com">google</a> and other search engines allow you to treat multiple-word phrases as single keywords? Today's strategy ensures that a search engine only looks for your words in order, and without other words between them.</i><br /><br />Using entire phrases as if they were a single search term or keyword is a valuable way to get the best search results quickly...and to weed out <a href="http://www.tyrannus.com/infoglut.html">infoglut</a>. <br /><br />To search by phrase, all you need to do is put quotes around the words you want to find, like this:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=%22i+like+new+york+in+june%22">"i like new york in june"</a><br /><br />Without quotes, Google ignores the words <em>i</em> and <em>in</em>, so the first results you'd get from Google would be those pages which use the remaining words (<em>like</em>, <em>new</em>, <em>york</em>, and <em>june</em>) most often out of the billions of websites "out there". <br /><br />In this case, for example, the first result for the UNquoted keywords <a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=i+like+new+york+in+june">I like New York in June</a> is a restaurant review in which the phrase <em>New York</em> is separated from the words <em>June</em> and <em>like</em> by a bunch of other words we neither need nor want. On the other hand, the first result for the properly quoted phrase <a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=%22i+like+new+york+in+june%22">"I Like New York in June"</a> calls up multiple references to the song "How About You" from the 1941 musical Babes on Broadway -- which is what I was looking for! <br /><br />Note, as well, that there were only 977 total results for the quoted phrase, while there are over <em>25 million</em> results when I don't use today's tip. Talk about information overload! <br /><br />Searching by phrase can be especially useful when...<br /><br /><ul><li>You are researching a person <span style="font-size: 0.8em;">( <a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=%22John+Henry%22">"John Henry"</a> )</span></li><br /><br /><li>You know the exact title of the document you're looking for <span style="font-size: 0.8em;">( </span><a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=%22does+the+future+compute%3F%22"><span style="font-size: 0.8em;">"Does the Future Compute?"</span></a><span style="font-size: 0.8em;"> )</span></li><br /><br /><li>You are looking for sources which discuss a specific poem, paper or book <span style="font-size: 0.8em;">( </span><a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=%22Much+Ado+About+Nothing%22"><span style="font-size: 0.8em;">"Much Ado About Nothing"</span></a><span style="font-size: 0.8em;"> )</span></li><br /><br /><li>You are searching for a multiple-word subject <span style="font-size: 0.8em;">( </span><a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=%22Jeffersonian+Democracy%22"><span style="font-size: 0.8em;">"Jeffersonian Democracy"</span></a><span style="font-size: 0.8em;">, </span><a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=%22Connecticut+River%22"><span style="font-size: 0.8em;">"Connecticut River"</span></a><span style="font-size: 0.8em;"> )</span></li><br /><br /><li>It is important that your search engine include words like <em>the</em>, <em>in</em>, or <em>I</em> in your search <span style="font-size: 0.8em;">( </span><a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=%22The+World+Of+Rome%22"><span style="font-size: 0.8em;">"The World of Rome"</span></a> <span style="font-size: 0.8em;">)</span></li><br /><br /><li>You are sure that a specific phrase would appear in most or all of the best sources you are looking for<span style="font-size: 0.8em;"> ( <a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=%22renewable+energy+sources+for+heat%22">"renewable energy sources for heat"</a> )</span></li><br /><br /><li>You are looking for the lyrics to a song, or text of a poem, but you can only remember one line<span style="font-size: 0.8em;"> (<a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=%22and+curse+my+fate%22">"and curse my fate"</a>)</span></li></ul>boyhowdyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09799915352726835586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17008331.post-1131550310282990842005-11-09T07:40:00.000-08:002005-11-09T07:36:32.270-08:00Streamlining<i>A series of short entries to cap off a short week! Today we discuss timesaving (and stress-saving) ways to streamline your use of <a href="http://www.unitedstreaming.com">United Streaming</a> (and other video technologies) in and out of the classroom.</i><br /><ul><li>Downloading videos can take a while, especially if the Internet is being used heavily district-wide. Downloading during the school day also slows the Internet down for all district users. So don't waste your planning time downloading media! Instead, <b>begin downloads before you leave in the evening</b> -- and it will be there, ready to use, when you return the next morning!</li><br /><br /><li>Burning videos to CD after downloading them is certainly a great option for <b>saving videos</b>. There are a few burners in the school (Mr. Farber has one), and saving videos to disk allows us to discuss future possibilities for a hard-copy teacher archive, perhaps in the library. But you might also consider saving videos to the network -- you can then play them anywhere in the building!</li><br /><br /><li>There's no need for each of us to download (or record to CD) every video we need for our own classroom use, by the way. Save your CDs and trade them around. Or, even more useful: <b>if you download a video from United Streaming, and find it useful, save it in the WMS_Teacher_Share folder on the network</b> -- and then let others know, so they can use it without having to wait for download!</li><br /><br /><li>If a student misses a class in which you use a computer-based video, <b>saving the video to the Student network so he or she can view the video from the homework center</b> is a great way to help students catch up! </li><br /><br /><li>Planning on using a website or live stream in your instruction? <b>Drag the icon for the web address to your desktop or a network folder</b> before class begins, and it creates a shortcut. Then, when you need it, you -- or your students -- can go directly to that site by clicking on that link!</li><br /><br /><li>When thinking about how to use videos in your instruction, consider: research on student learning suggests that <b>more students benefit from instructional video if it is <i>not</i> played straight through</b>. Instead, media literacy advocates recommend that teachers pause videos frequently to ask questions, check for student engagement, and discuss the concepts that come up in the video. This mode of use models good critical use of mass media for students. And, as an added bonus, students tend to see the stakes of a given video as much higher -- and attend accordingly -- if we present ourselves as invested in the content of the video as it plays. </li></ul><br /><i>Thinking about a classroom activity which would benefit from large-screen projection or one-to-one lab use? Now that we have reworked the "old" computer lab, turning it into a one-computer one-projector presentation space for projection and instruction, computer specials can be more easily moved around </i>your<i> needs. <b>Contact <a href="mailto:jfarber@hwrsd.org">jfarber@hwrsd.org</a> or stop by during your planning period</b> to reserve spaces, or just to find out what's available when </i>you<i> want it!</i>boyhowdyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09799915352726835586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17008331.post-1131034426607538112005-11-03T05:50:00.000-08:002005-11-04T08:35:56.113-08:00The World Of Online Reference From World Book to Wikipedia<i>On one level, research is all about the sources: how we find them, how we use them, and, ultimately, whether their information is accurate and usefully presented. <br /><br />Today we discuss World Book Online and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.com">Wikipedia</a> -- two vastly different types of online encyclopedias which might change the way you think about student research... and how you use it in your classes!</i><br /><br /><hr width=75%><br /><br />For several years, the WMS library has purchased a subscription to the <b>World Book Online</b> for use in our school. <br /><br />Like other online sources, World Book Online allows us to put the "same" copy of World Book into multiple hands at once -- where only one student at one time can use a given volume of the print World Book, the same entry in World Book online can be used on multiple computers simultaneously. <br /><br />In addition, World Book Online is updated monthly by the same cadre of trustworthy researchers who select and update the print edition. From Social Studies to Science, students studying the modern world can find the most recent and relevant information in World Book Online. <br /><br />World Book Online is up for renewal this week. Before you decide whether you wish to continue to have it available to our students, please consider the following discussion of a very different kind of online encyclopedia!<br /><br /><hr width=75%><br /><br />Left to their own devices in the library, many students who <i>would</i> benefit best from the World Book (online or in book form) go to <a href="http://www.google.com">Google</a> instead, and from there find <b>Wikipedia</b> quickly. For example, a simple search for <a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=charles+dickens+biography">Charles Dickens Biography</a> reveals the Wikipedia entry on that subject as Google's most popular result.<br /><br />99% of the time, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.com">Wikipedia</a> is an especially wonderful resource. Organized like an encyclopedia, but cross-referenced by in-entry links to allow students to pursue their own needs as they research, each entry is presented in clear language, and organized by easy-to-access subsection. In just a few years, Wikipedia has gone from a loose assemblage of tiny articles to over 3/4 of a million articles on the usual complement of encyclopedic subjects. <br /><br />But Wikipedia is a <i>wiki</i> -- a new type of online resource that is created, and editable, by any and all of its users. And thus -- since not all users of the internet have the best interests of other users in mind -- every once in a while, a Wikipedia source which was perfect for your students yesterday has been corrupted since you last saw it. <br /><br />Wikipedia's core author-and-editor group is a self-selected crowd of intellectuals who quite successfully manage to "revert" any corrupted or mis-written page to its previous stellar accuracy in an average of 8 minutes. And the resource is generally stellar, especially for the most modern and ongoing of issues. But you never know when your visit to a given page will be inside that 8 minute window between page corruption and reversion. As such, Wikipedia information can never be fully trusted as wholly accurate for a given moment in time. <br /><br />Personally, I recommend Wikipedia to students (highly) with the same caveat I offer for any research: it's a great place to start, but the unique nature of this encyclopedia-like tool mandates that all facts presented be confirmed elsewhere. <br /><br /><hr width=75%><br /><br />An afterthought: Students who are "let loose" in the library for research often run right to the computer. There's a comfort level issue involved here -- students of a digital generation naturally gravitate towards tools of a digital nature. But although we are often suspicious of too much reliance on the world of the Internet for student research, neither print nor digital resources are necessarily "better." <br /><br />It is true, indeed, that the wider spectrum of possible sources online makes the internet overall a less trustworthy resource than, say, a carefully selected and vetted stack of books in a school library. <br /><br />But the instantly public and adaptable nature of web pages means that online sources can be much more up-to-date than print resources. <br /><br />Some online resources are part of a library collection, which means they are selected by district- and school-level profesionals who believe them to best complement the existing resources available on library shelves. <br /><br />Too, issues of access and collection size come into play when trying to determine whether your class should be doing their research in the virtual world, the real world, or in both for a given research project. What we use should be determined best not by what is there and how, but what we are doing, and why.<br /><br />There is, then, a whole host of reasons to support the use of online encyclopedic resources for student research. <br /><br />Even though not all online sources are created alike. <br /><br /><i>Got a comment? A concern? An idea to share? Leave a comment below, or contact blogmaster <a href="mailto:jfarber@hwrsd.org">Joshua</a>!</i>boyhowdyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09799915352726835586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17008331.post-1130262625753840892005-10-25T08:19:00.000-07:002005-10-25T10:59:41.340-07:00GradeQuick at End-of-Term<b>1. Effort and Conduct Grades</b><br /><ul><li>Open a class file in Gradequick. </li><br /><li>In the <i>View</i> menu, select <i>Student Info</i>.</li><br /><li>In the pop-up box, select C1 and C2, and then click <i>OK</i>. <br /><br><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/687/124/1600/GQ_Student_Info.gif"><img style="align:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/687/124/320/GQ_Student_Info.gif" border="0" alt="" /></a> </li><br /><li>Enter effort (C1) and conduct (C2) grades.</li><br /><li>Repeat for each class file.</li></ul><br /><i>Reminder: The next time you open the program, columns C1 and C2 will not be visible, but your effort and conduct grades will still be there! (To prove it, follow the above steps a second time!)</i> <br /><br><br /><b>2. Submitting Grades</b> <br /><br /><ul><li>Open a class file in GradeQuick. </li><br /><li>In the File menu, select <i>Export</i>, and then <i>Admin Plus</i>. </li><br /><li>If the file name that pops up is <i>G:\RS4\GQtoAPRC\03603802.rc</i>, click <i>OK</i>. </li><br /><li>Repeat for each class file. </li></ul><br /><i>Reminder: you should only submit each class ONCE! If you have any questions, or believe you have submitted a class erroneously, call Kay!</i>boyhowdyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09799915352726835586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17008331.post-1129913633824369942005-10-21T09:32:00.000-07:002005-10-21T12:03:11.283-07:00Quick As A LinkHours of observation in WMS libraries and labs over the past few weeks have demonstrated an interesting truth about using the web for student research: It takes, on average, ten minutes for an entire class of middle school students to correctly type a web address into Netscape. <br /><br />If the point here is to practice accurate page-to-screen transcription, then I suppose the time is worth it. But if the point of the exercise is to utilize the information <i>on</i> that web page, that's ten minutes of valuable research time lost.<br /><br />The same happens with adults, of course. The often cryptic nature of web addresses leads to an especially high potential for typos or mispellings, which can confound what should be a painless process of "passing along" links to students and teaching peers alike. <br /><br />Luckily, there are plenty of better ways...<br /><br /><hr width=75% align=center><br /><br />For passing links to students, putting your links in a <a href="http://wmsteach.blogspot.com/2005/10/notes-on-networks.html">student network folder</a> for easy click-and-go use is especially effective. To use this method: <ol><li>Log into the network with the username <i>student</i> and the password <i>student</i>.</li><br /><li>Set up a folder for your activity or lab. <small>(Optional, but recommended.)</small></li><br /><li><i>Without closing the folder</i>, open Netscape, and go to the page you want to send your students to.</li> <br /><li>Finally, drag each link <i>from</i> the address bar <i>to</i> your new project folder.</li></ol> <br />Alternately, if you want students to associate links with a particular part of an activity, you can also add links directly to a word document stored on the student server. With this method, students can merely click the link at the correct time in the activity, and the page they need to reference will open right up!<br /><br /><i><small>Bonus hint: in both cases, when sending students to network folders, writing the sequence they'll need to follow to get there -- a series of heirarchical navigation cues also known as the <i>network path</i> -- on the board before class begins seems to be the fastest way to get all students to the right place effectively.</small> </i><br /><br /><hr width=75% align=center><br /><br />As always, of course, what works for students works for us. As we discussed last week, our new shared teacher network folders allow us to pass links to each other using either or both of the methods above. <br /><br />In addition, you can also send links via <a href="http://webmail.hwrsd.org">our district webmail</a>, or indeed any email system. To make emailed links clickable, make sure you include the entire web address, <b>including the http:// at the beginning</b>. <br /><br /><i><small>Got an idea for next week's tech tip? <a href="mailto:jfarber@hwrsd.org">Let us know!</a></small> </i>boyhowdyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09799915352726835586noreply@blogger.com0