TechieTeacher5280

In January, I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Orlando, Florida for FETC 2018 (Future of Education Technology Conference). Believe it or not, it was the first time I had ever attended! What I loved most about it was the number of tracks offered: Administrator, Information Technology, Educator, Special Education, and Early Learning. There truly was something there for everyone, and so many sessions that it literally took hours to choose a single day's worth of sessions. Though my intended focus was Computer Science, I found myself drawn in by some of the other offerings. Below are some of the amazing things I learned about the world of AR, VR, MR, and AI. I can't wait to find some time to dig in and learn more about some of these resources, products, and websites!

Each Friday, I spend time at the media center of a local high school making myself available to teachers who may need tech help. About a month ago, I was speaking with the school’s librarian and learned that their media center only has one set of encyclopedias available to students. She explained that over the last few years, more and more students have been turning to the Internet for their research needs; very few use the library as a resource for this purpose.  As a “techie,” this was no surprise to me, however, I can’t help but wonder how many teachers take the time to help their students learn how to identify a credible Internet source vs. a biased or hoax site.  Coincidentally, several weeks after my conversation with the librarian, my teammate and I were visiting a middle school in the district and were recruited to teach a lesson on website evaluation. We learned that many teachers are not comfortable with this topic and often don’t consciously know what ...

Our school district recently deployed laptops to all freshmen at two different high schools. In order to help support our teachers successfully use the laptops, our team of TechTrainers has been spending lots of time in the buildings helping students and teachers with their new laptops. While visiting a teacher's classroom, I heard her telling students that their work was due electronically by 7:30 the next morning. She told them that she would not accept late work for any reason, so they better not leave things to the last minute, lest their Internet connection crash or some other disaster strike. I asked her later what she would do if she received a corrupted document. In that case, she told me, she would allow the student to fix the issue and resubmit the assignment. Seems fair, right?

Wow, where does the time go? I was just sent a gentle reminder that it's been a while since my last blog post, and lo and behold, it's been over 2 months. Shameful! In my defense, I have been a bit preoccupied--new school year, new University classes, and....a new fiance. :) Who knew wedding planning was so time consuming? One item on my recent to-do list was to find a nice frame for the engagement photos we had taken recently. While exploring one of the local stores, I came across a series of Letter Art posters that inspired me to create a new lesson for my desktop publishing students. Usually, I steal, modify, and combine existing lesson ideas, but I'm proud to say that this one is all mine! It doesn't take very long to complete (3-5 days, depending on your class and how creative you want to be), but the kids love it and learn lots of great skills. They get to use digital cameras and learn about macro mode, edit and enhance their photos in online photo-editing progra...

This past weekend, after months of research and waiting, I bought myself a new cell phone--though "cell phone" is really quite the understatement. This is really a handheld playground that happens to also be a phone. I have been with Verizon since I first owned a cell phone and was debating between their Droid Incredible, or switching to AT&T and getting the iPhone. I have a phenomenal old plan with Verizon and their reception in my area is far superior to AT&Ts, but I couldn't help but drool over the iPhone. However, after much research and talking to people who have owned both phones, I decided to stick with my carrier and get the Droid. Boy, am I happy! So far, this phone is amazing. It's extremely user friendly and there are tons of great free apps online. Two of my favorites that have educational uses are Google Skymaps and Trippo Mondo by Cellictica.

As I was cleaning out my email, I came across a fun resource for teaching Internet safety. It's a Saturday Night Live skit with Andy Samberg and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. In the skit, Andy is teaching a class on how to use MySpace. The students include Julia and several Internet predators, who ask a variety of questions that illustrate that people may not be who they say they are online. It's probably best for middle school or high school students. Definitely worth checking out! (I found the clip below at Hulu . They like to put ads in front of their videos, but the resolution is better than I've found at other sources...)

One of my friends once shared with me a photo slideshow she had created. She had spent hours putting it together through Windows MovieMaker and was thrilled about the final effect-the transitions, the music and the overall look of it. I only wish she had come to me before she started this project!

I've been preparing a series of blog posts inspired by the ISTE conference I recently attended in Denver. However, I just learned of a fantastic site that I just can't wait to share!

Teachers- Have you ever noticed how you’re more busy in the summer than during the school year? Suddenly I have all this time on my hands to catch up on doctor appointments, vet visits for my greyhound (that's Bongo in the photo!), house projects, classes to take, etc., etc., etc. I actually seem to work longer and harder than I do during the year! Crazy! But generally, when you think of summer, you think: summer vacation! And everyone loves vacations!! Kids certainly love vacations, and many of them have not had the opportunity to travel very far from home. As a result, they really get into the following two projects.

This quarter I decided to start my 8th grade Internet class with a new project. Our district recently started using an online learning management system called Edu 2.0 . Using this system, teachers and students can post and retrieve lessons and assignments online. They can communicate with one another via email and chat, hold discussions through forums and discussion assignments, collaborate, and much, much more. And best of all, it's free! I decided to dive right in and have my students complete their new assignment directly through this website.

We are in the last week of our 3rd quarter, which means I have my students for 4 more days before I welcome my next group. This time, I've found myself in that precarious no man's land that elective teachers dread. My desktop publishing class has finished its final project and have no time to complete a new one before grades are due. What do I do with my class this last week that will be productive, but not overly time consuming and not require grading? I decided to have some fun with photos this week.