Hello Franklin Regional!
It has been two weeks since the last Byte, sorry for you avid readers. This week we have a few trainings that FR teachers will be attending. On Tuesday we have a math teacher and a science teacher attending Promethean Board training at the Westmoreland Intermediate Unit. On Wednesday there will be two English teachers taking the same training. Awesome stuff at the WIU! If you ever get the chance or are interested in upcoming training please let me know.
FR has been a popular place lately. We have had visitors from Burrell, Apollo Ridge and East Allegheny the past few weeks. They are coming here to see the great things that our teachers are doing in the classrroom. Special thanks to the Math dept, the Business Technology Dept, and Kristin for their efforts in sharing with these other districts.
Jesse and I attended a workshop at PSU last week. The workshop focused on copyright and fair use. It presented some new facts that many of you are probably not aware of when it comes to using resources in education. More to come on this!
Sites from session:
http://pslacff.wikispaces.com/Fair+Use
http://copyrightconfusion.wikispaces.com/
http://copyrightfriendly.wikispaces.com
Teacher Spotlight
Special kudos to Gaye Burkett and Kristin Giron for giving their students the opportunity to use Evernote as an electronic option to note cards for research. Kristin gave her students the option of using Evernote (online notes) or the traditional handwritten note cards. 84% of students chose the online version! This is a great tool for notes and gives students a viable option to handwritten notes.
Thanks Gaye and Kristin for giving your students this choice!
Site of the Week
Kitzu, this site provides a ton of photos for educators organized by subject.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Friday, April 17, 2009
Weekly Byte 4.17.09
We are 33 days from the end of the year. A couple things to remind you.
1. embedded learning coursework should be completed by July 31st
2. I know that many of you do final projects in your classes. If you would like some new ideas on how to improve the experience for you and your students please let me know and we can set a date that I can help you with freshening up your final projects.
3. I am available to work with anyone on new ideas for next year if you like to plan ahead. I would even be available this summer to meet and share any resources or ideas for the next school year
Site of the Week
www.shmoop.com
This site provides a ton of resources on a variety of Literature, US History, and Poetry. You can search for different topics and the site provides you with summaries, themes, quotes, plot analysis, study questions, characters, and web sites about the topic you choose. There is even a Book Club page that provide opinions and discussions about various books. Great resource! thanks KAG
Story of the Week
I have a teacher, who shall remain nameless, that has recently caught the technology bug! She has been slowly adding Moodle discussions and the use of other online resources to her courses. It is great to see her new found excitement. She told me the other day that she had students ask her if they could use Quizlet to help them study for one of their upcoming exams and her student have been much more engaged in discussions thanks to her Moodle discussion boards.
Personal Site of the Week
I decided to add this new segment to my weekly byte.
www.hulu.com
You may have seen a tv commercial about this site. Hulu provides tons of free movies and television shows that you can view whenever you like. They include networks such as Fox Movie Channel, NBC Universal, National Geographic, the Sundance Channel and more. Check it out!
1. embedded learning coursework should be completed by July 31st
2. I know that many of you do final projects in your classes. If you would like some new ideas on how to improve the experience for you and your students please let me know and we can set a date that I can help you with freshening up your final projects.
3. I am available to work with anyone on new ideas for next year if you like to plan ahead. I would even be available this summer to meet and share any resources or ideas for the next school year
Site of the Week
www.shmoop.com
This site provides a ton of resources on a variety of Literature, US History, and Poetry. You can search for different topics and the site provides you with summaries, themes, quotes, plot analysis, study questions, characters, and web sites about the topic you choose. There is even a Book Club page that provide opinions and discussions about various books. Great resource! thanks KAG
Story of the Week
I have a teacher, who shall remain nameless, that has recently caught the technology bug! She has been slowly adding Moodle discussions and the use of other online resources to her courses. It is great to see her new found excitement. She told me the other day that she had students ask her if they could use Quizlet to help them study for one of their upcoming exams and her student have been much more engaged in discussions thanks to her Moodle discussion boards.
Personal Site of the Week
I decided to add this new segment to my weekly byte.
www.hulu.com
You may have seen a tv commercial about this site. Hulu provides tons of free movies and television shows that you can view whenever you like. They include networks such as Fox Movie Channel, NBC Universal, National Geographic, the Sundance Channel and more. Check it out!
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Weekly Byte 4.7.09
The end of the year is fast approaching!
We have completed our last late start for the year. Many CFF teachers have completed their coursework and to you I say thanks. Keep in mind that this coursework is due to be completed by July 31, 2009. If you are going to have an issue with completing your course by the deadline please let me know so that we can figure out a plan to meet the deadline. Thanks for all your hard work.
It is the time of year for final presentations and projects. If you would like help designing final projects or learning a new tool that your students can use to better demonstrate their knowledge please don't hesitate to ask me for help. We can sit down and work on this together.
Another thing to keep in mind, Jim will be reimaging the teacher laptops in May. I will be working with him on developing a schedule so that your classes are not interrupted by this necessary update to our computers. That being said it would be a good idea to start saving your files to the network H: drive and not your laptop. This will expediate the process and minimize loss of work. More on this to come.
Tidbit of the Week
In a recent email exchange with one of our colleagues I was commenting on how their class has changed this year and this is their response, "It has changed significantly this year. I'm trying to change the way I see education, especially as an English teacher. I used to be the "discuss, discuss, discuss" in class kind of teacher, but I have seen better results when I motivate them to think on their own through online discussions and nings and web tools. For me, that is the best thing about the technology. Compared to my class discussions last year, my online discussions are 10 times better because students can truly share their feelings about an issue. And the classmates are great at responding to each other's comments. I can't tell you how happy students are to learn new things or use the board. They love evernote!"
Site of the Week
www.slideshare.net, this is a great tool that allows you to post PowerPoint presentations onto the web and allows other access. You can just upload an existing PowerPoint and make it available to your students.
As always let me know if you need help with anything, a quick technology session or just some help with a new idea.
Have a great Spring Break!
We have completed our last late start for the year. Many CFF teachers have completed their coursework and to you I say thanks. Keep in mind that this coursework is due to be completed by July 31, 2009. If you are going to have an issue with completing your course by the deadline please let me know so that we can figure out a plan to meet the deadline. Thanks for all your hard work.
It is the time of year for final presentations and projects. If you would like help designing final projects or learning a new tool that your students can use to better demonstrate their knowledge please don't hesitate to ask me for help. We can sit down and work on this together.
Another thing to keep in mind, Jim will be reimaging the teacher laptops in May. I will be working with him on developing a schedule so that your classes are not interrupted by this necessary update to our computers. That being said it would be a good idea to start saving your files to the network H: drive and not your laptop. This will expediate the process and minimize loss of work. More on this to come.
Tidbit of the Week
In a recent email exchange with one of our colleagues I was commenting on how their class has changed this year and this is their response, "It has changed significantly this year. I'm trying to change the way I see education, especially as an English teacher. I used to be the "discuss, discuss, discuss" in class kind of teacher, but I have seen better results when I motivate them to think on their own through online discussions and nings and web tools. For me, that is the best thing about the technology. Compared to my class discussions last year, my online discussions are 10 times better because students can truly share their feelings about an issue. And the classmates are great at responding to each other's comments. I can't tell you how happy students are to learn new things or use the board. They love evernote!"
Site of the Week
www.slideshare.net, this is a great tool that allows you to post PowerPoint presentations onto the web and allows other access. You can just upload an existing PowerPoint and make it available to your students.
As always let me know if you need help with anything, a quick technology session or just some help with a new idea.
Have a great Spring Break!
Monday, March 30, 2009
Weekly Byte 3.30.09
I had a chance to speak with some teachers about Twitter the other day. I was explaining to them what it was and the fact that I was currently trying to figure out how it could be used for education. One teacher made the statement, "I think that is a problem when people are always trying to figure out how to use new technologies for educational purposes." I didn't make a response because I am not good at quick responses but after thinking about it my response should have been this, every day there is something new in the world of technology. Our students use new technologies all the time for personal uses and some for educational uses. Part of my job as a Technology Coach is to find these resources for teachers and show them how they can make their classrooms more engaging, make their jobs easier and/or make their students educational experience better. So if you ever hear about a new technology and wonder how it can improve your class let me know and I will help you to figure out if it is a good tool and how we can improve you class with it.
Here are some ideas on how Twitter could help you.
http://mrslwalker.com/?p=79620905
Free Tech 4 Teachers
Twitter
Reminders
Wednesday we have our last late start to complete our embedded coursework. Please make sure that you can access your class prior to Wednesday morning so if there are any problems I can get them remedied. thanks
Here are some ideas on how Twitter could help you.
http://mrslwalker.com/?p=79620905
Free Tech 4 Teachers
Reminders
Wednesday we have our last late start to complete our embedded coursework. Please make sure that you can access your class prior to Wednesday morning so if there are any problems I can get them remedied. thanks
Monday, March 23, 2009
Weekly Byte 3.23.09
Hello CFFers!
Top 10 Reasons Why using your Promethean Board is better than using your Overhead Projector
10. Can you connect to the internet through your Overhead Projector?
9. Streaming audio and video is difficult to do through your OP.
8. Aren't you tired of green fingers?
7. Keeping a folder full of plastic sheets is a nightmare.
6. Getting student feedback is alot easier on a Prom Board.
5. You can't save all of your work easily and in an editable format with overheads.
4. Flipcharts are engaging, engaging, engaging
3. You can't record an overhead and post it to your wiki, blog or Moodle page.
2. Tina likes technology!
1. You don't have to talk to Hursky!
Embedded Learning courses
April 1st is our last late start to work on your CFF courses. Please make sure that you can log in and your course is working this week so that I can deal with any problems.
Most of you are progressing nicely and many are finished for this year. The coursework needs to be completed by July 31st!
Thanks for all your hard work.
Tech Update
Activstudio, the software that you now use to create flipcharts has been upgraded! The new version is called Activinpire. We will probably look to upgrade next school year but Kristin has already downloaded it and begun to use it. Many new features and its easier to create interactive flipcharts. If you are interested in checking it out before next year let me know.
Check out www.prometheanplanet.com for all things dealing with your Promethean boards. The site offers training, teacher tips and many teacher created flipcharts that you can download and use in your classes. This site will save you time and effort.
Thanks to everyone who responded to my Teacher Needs Assessment Survey. I will be using your feedback to better serve you.
The first person who emails me the term of the day, Cloud Computing, will receive a prize.
Top 10 Reasons Why using your Promethean Board is better than using your Overhead Projector
10. Can you connect to the internet through your Overhead Projector?
9. Streaming audio and video is difficult to do through your OP.
8. Aren't you tired of green fingers?
7. Keeping a folder full of plastic sheets is a nightmare.
6. Getting student feedback is alot easier on a Prom Board.
5. You can't save all of your work easily and in an editable format with overheads.
4. Flipcharts are engaging, engaging, engaging
3. You can't record an overhead and post it to your wiki, blog or Moodle page.
2. Tina likes technology!
1. You don't have to talk to Hursky!
Embedded Learning courses
April 1st is our last late start to work on your CFF courses. Please make sure that you can log in and your course is working this week so that I can deal with any problems.
Most of you are progressing nicely and many are finished for this year. The coursework needs to be completed by July 31st!
Thanks for all your hard work.
Tech Update
Activstudio, the software that you now use to create flipcharts has been upgraded! The new version is called Activinpire. We will probably look to upgrade next school year but Kristin has already downloaded it and begun to use it. Many new features and its easier to create interactive flipcharts. If you are interested in checking it out before next year let me know.
Check out www.prometheanplanet.com for all things dealing with your Promethean boards. The site offers training, teacher tips and many teacher created flipcharts that you can download and use in your classes. This site will save you time and effort.
Thanks to everyone who responded to my Teacher Needs Assessment Survey. I will be using your feedback to better serve you.
The first person who emails me the term of the day, Cloud Computing, will receive a prize.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Weekly Byte 3.9.09
The Flip the Switch Event was a rousing success! On Friday February 27th, we had seventeen guests at the Senior High School. Representative Pallone, Representative Markosek, Dr. D'Arcangelo, Frank Muto, several board members, members of the press and technology staff members from the Greater Latrobe School District and the Penn Trafford School District got a chance to witness first hand how our teachers and students are integrating technology. Our teachers and students did a fabulous job demonstrating how we are changing instruction here at the high school. I want to thank everyone for their participation in this event.
Special thanks to Principal Burns, Kristin Giron, Dana Metzgar, Daniel Casebeer, Jeff Traphagen, Barb Koury, Pam Mayo, Mark Wolfgang, Dottie Grego, Lynne Stalnaker, Christa Smith, Beth Hitt, Doug Komandt, Cameron Loutit, Meagan Daldoss, Kaitlyn Green, Jeff Wicklund and his crew for their efforts.
Websites of the Week
www.tinyurl.com, have you ever had a website that you wanted to share with students or colleagues but it was extremely long and difficult to share? Tinyurl will allow you to copy a long url and have a short one created for you. This makes it easier to share.
http://jeopardylabs.com, this site is a great tool for creating Jeopardy games for use in your classrooms. It is much easier to use than any Jeopardy templates that you may currently be using to create games for reviewing course information. Give it a try.
This week I will be continuing to visit English classrooms to see how I can help our English Department improve instruction.
Next Tuesday, March 17th I will be doing a Tuesdays with Roger session on using wikis in the classroom.
Thanks and have a great week!
Special thanks to Principal Burns, Kristin Giron, Dana Metzgar, Daniel Casebeer, Jeff Traphagen, Barb Koury, Pam Mayo, Mark Wolfgang, Dottie Grego, Lynne Stalnaker, Christa Smith, Beth Hitt, Doug Komandt, Cameron Loutit, Meagan Daldoss, Kaitlyn Green, Jeff Wicklund and his crew for their efforts.
Websites of the Week
www.tinyurl.com, have you ever had a website that you wanted to share with students or colleagues but it was extremely long and difficult to share? Tinyurl will allow you to copy a long url and have a short one created for you. This makes it easier to share.
http://jeopardylabs.com, this site is a great tool for creating Jeopardy games for use in your classrooms. It is much easier to use than any Jeopardy templates that you may currently be using to create games for reviewing course information. Give it a try.
This week I will be continuing to visit English classrooms to see how I can help our English Department improve instruction.
Next Tuesday, March 17th I will be doing a Tuesdays with Roger session on using wikis in the classroom.
Thanks and have a great week!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Weekly Byte 2.25.09
Embedded Learning Courses
Tuesday was our third late start for the embedded coursework. Everyone seems to be moving along at an appropriate pace. We will have one more late start date on April 1st. This will be the last day we have time during the school day. Remember that all coursework must be completed by July 31st.
There were very few problems this time. I attribute that to the teachers trying the courses before the late start day. That way I was able to solve all of the problems but one, sorry Missy.
English Technology Day at Valley High School
On Tuesday Kristin, Sam and I attended the English Tech Day with teachers and tech coaches from around Westmoreland County. It was an awesome event where teachers were able to share some great lessons that integrate technology. The teachers then had the opportunity to work with other districts to create lessons that integrate technology based on PA English Standards. There were some great lessons shared.
All of the resources shared can be found at http://www.westcffenglish.ning.com
Check this site out it is awesome. Lots of lessons and feel free to post to a discussion board.
The other great resource that i thought was quality is http://www.readwritethink.org
This is a great source for students and teachers to learn about all types of writing.
There will be days like this around Westmoreland County for Social Studies, Math and Science. Check back to this blog regularly for future dates.
Tuesdays with Roger
I will be starting the Tuesdays with Roger trainings again beginning in March. March topics will be announced next week.
thanks and have a great day!
Coach Roger
Tuesday was our third late start for the embedded coursework. Everyone seems to be moving along at an appropriate pace. We will have one more late start date on April 1st. This will be the last day we have time during the school day. Remember that all coursework must be completed by July 31st.
There were very few problems this time. I attribute that to the teachers trying the courses before the late start day. That way I was able to solve all of the problems but one, sorry Missy.
English Technology Day at Valley High School
On Tuesday Kristin, Sam and I attended the English Tech Day with teachers and tech coaches from around Westmoreland County. It was an awesome event where teachers were able to share some great lessons that integrate technology. The teachers then had the opportunity to work with other districts to create lessons that integrate technology based on PA English Standards. There were some great lessons shared.
All of the resources shared can be found at http://www.westcffenglish.ning.com
Check this site out it is awesome. Lots of lessons and feel free to post to a discussion board.
The other great resource that i thought was quality is http://www.readwritethink.org
This is a great source for students and teachers to learn about all types of writing.
There will be days like this around Westmoreland County for Social Studies, Math and Science. Check back to this blog regularly for future dates.
Tuesdays with Roger
I will be starting the Tuesdays with Roger trainings again beginning in March. March topics will be announced next week.
thanks and have a great day!
Coach Roger
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Weekly Byte 2.19.09
Here are the websites that I demoed at the last faculty meeting.
www.toondoo.com
www.ed.voicethread.com
www.glogster.com/edu
Reminder
Tuesday Februray 24th we will have a late start. CFF teachers will be working on the embedded learning coursework. We will have one more last start on April 1st. Please log into your embedded learning account to make sure that your course is open and working. Please do this before Tuesday morning so that I can fix any problems before then.
Friday February 27th we will be holding a Flip the Switch event at the high school. Local politicians, school board members and central administration members have been invited to visit classrooms to witness first hand our us of technology. If you would like to have classroom visitors on this day please let me know asap and I will put you on the schedule.
I have been working with several teachers in the classroom with glogster, voicethread and toondoo. If you want help with these or any other tools in your classroom please just contact me to set up a time for me to help you.
New technology resources for your classroom
Google Docs is a powerful collaboration tool for you and your students. Google docs will allow you and your students to collaborate on documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. If you would like to see how you can use Google Docs to collaborate and improve student understanding and teamwork skills please let me know and we will set up a date and time to develop lessons for use in your classes.
www.toondoo.com
www.ed.voicethread.com
www.glogster.com/edu
Reminder
Tuesday Februray 24th we will have a late start. CFF teachers will be working on the embedded learning coursework. We will have one more last start on April 1st. Please log into your embedded learning account to make sure that your course is open and working. Please do this before Tuesday morning so that I can fix any problems before then.
Friday February 27th we will be holding a Flip the Switch event at the high school. Local politicians, school board members and central administration members have been invited to visit classrooms to witness first hand our us of technology. If you would like to have classroom visitors on this day please let me know asap and I will put you on the schedule.
I have been working with several teachers in the classroom with glogster, voicethread and toondoo. If you want help with these or any other tools in your classroom please just contact me to set up a time for me to help you.
New technology resources for your classroom
Google Docs is a powerful collaboration tool for you and your students. Google docs will allow you and your students to collaborate on documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. If you would like to see how you can use Google Docs to collaborate and improve student understanding and teamwork skills please let me know and we will set up a date and time to develop lessons for use in your classes.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Special Edition of the Weekly Byte 2.10.09
Hello again from lovely Hershey, PA!
Today's keynote speaker was Dan Pink. He is the author of several books most notably for educators would be A Whole New Mind. He gave an update of how society is changing and how we as educators should change how we teach and what we teach.
Notes from Dan Pink Session
I also attended a few sessions on Professional Development. I will be bringing many of the ideas back to FR to share in my Professional Development sessions.
New Tools to check out
Diigo, online bookmarking tool that allows you and your students to organize sites and share them.
Conference Notes and Discussions, this link will take you to the social network created for the conference. It provides tons of resources for all of the sessions this week. You only need to create a new account and you will have access to all the resources shared this week.
National Geographic Resources, this site provides quality videos and podcasts for your classroom.
Please take some time to check these resources out. Let me know if you need any help with any of them.
thanks and have a great day!
Today's keynote speaker was Dan Pink. He is the author of several books most notably for educators would be A Whole New Mind. He gave an update of how society is changing and how we as educators should change how we teach and what we teach.
Notes from Dan Pink Session
I also attended a few sessions on Professional Development. I will be bringing many of the ideas back to FR to share in my Professional Development sessions.
New Tools to check out
Diigo, online bookmarking tool that allows you and your students to organize sites and share them.
Conference Notes and Discussions, this link will take you to the social network created for the conference. It provides tons of resources for all of the sessions this week. You only need to create a new account and you will have access to all the resources shared this week.
National Geographic Resources, this site provides quality videos and podcasts for your classroom.
Please take some time to check these resources out. Let me know if you need any help with any of them.
thanks and have a great day!
Monday, February 9, 2009
Special Edition of the Weekly Byte 2.7.09
Things are rolling right along here at the Pennsylvania Educational Technology Expo and Conference in Hershey, PA.
My first session focused on digital media in the classroom. Jason Ohler shared his method of digital storytelling using voice, video and music. Quite impressive but a little involved for the novice techie. Jason Ohler Website
My second session was taught by the Technology Director and Assistant Super from New Hope-Solebury School District. The title was "Technology Staff Development that Works!" The session spoke to the importance of the relationship between technology and curriculum. This district has a serious tech focus and the Professional Development is planned around teaching with technology. I would like to see this focus brought to FR to improve our curriculums.
Technology Newsletter
My third session, Google Beyond the Search, covered the many tools available for FREE in the Google Suite. You can use Google to share documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. Google Earth can be used to build uber-interactive web quests. Gmail, google maps, google calendar, and google reader are just a few more of the tools covered. Hopefully you will be seeing more of this later.
Google Wiki
Feel free to Skype me (Skype name:coachroger)Tuesday or Wednesday if you would like to ask any questions about the sessions. I will be on all day Tuesday and til noon on Wednesday.
thanks and have a great day!
My first session focused on digital media in the classroom. Jason Ohler shared his method of digital storytelling using voice, video and music. Quite impressive but a little involved for the novice techie. Jason Ohler Website
My second session was taught by the Technology Director and Assistant Super from New Hope-Solebury School District. The title was "Technology Staff Development that Works!" The session spoke to the importance of the relationship between technology and curriculum. This district has a serious tech focus and the Professional Development is planned around teaching with technology. I would like to see this focus brought to FR to improve our curriculums.
Technology Newsletter
My third session, Google Beyond the Search, covered the many tools available for FREE in the Google Suite. You can use Google to share documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. Google Earth can be used to build uber-interactive web quests. Gmail, google maps, google calendar, and google reader are just a few more of the tools covered. Hopefully you will be seeing more of this later.
Google Wiki
Feel free to Skype me (Skype name:coachroger)Tuesday or Wednesday if you would like to ask any questions about the sessions. I will be on all day Tuesday and til noon on Wednesday.
thanks and have a great day!
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