Thursday, October 16, 2008

The Unknown Blog-Search - A Question



I have a question. If you have three or four minutes of your life you can spare, please listen to the podcast below and comment.

iSITS Reflection



Today we had yet another great meeting with the In-School Instructional Technology Support (iSITS) group in which the conversations alone are invaluable, nevermind I got to sit with Mavis and James (pic above). We began the day discussing the divisions "Computer Technology Acceptable use" policy.

This was interesting in our attempt to find "our" place in implementing this document. The first thing I discovered is that we need to, as a division, clarify the network administrators role, for those who have them, versus the iSITS member. The two roles cross over so easily and both are responsible for much. In fact, three of the four "goals and expectations" fall into our laps. I do look forward to implementing this document more effectively after the "filtering training".

I also enjoyed sharing our new tools and strategies. I talked with Gary Ball and a number of others on how to solve some of the bandwidth issues. We came up with a few ides but nothing substantial. This problem goes way beyond our local issues, ie. communitynet.

I did a min-presentation on . This relatively new tool is GREAT for teachers. It has a chat, assignment, calendar, alert and grade system. Students create their own accounts under you, the teacher, and all the work on Edmodo is monitored by the teacher. In general, Edmodo will allow you the teacher to teach in a much more open, engaging and semi-timeless style. More on this can be found on my other blog, EdBlogTips.

All in all a good day. The most important part of meetings like this is getting new ideas, conversing with others and building the strength of our network. All of this we can take back to our staffs and SHARE!!!

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

The Unknown Blog-search #1





I have been working on a research project with my ELA 10A class for the last three years. At first I used the traditional paper source research / persuasive essay style. Last year, after listening to and discussing with Konrad Glogowski via the , I developed a new, much more engaging project.

I have created a wiki as my unit guide and, although it is still in the works, I thought I would share it and hopefully recieve some feedback. I have included, my first of three planned podcasts. This wiki is designed for both teachers and students use and therefore some re-organizing will be needed.

Comment ... if you dare!

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

My New Blog - EdBlogTips



I have been busy, as all teachers are at the beginning of the school year. Year plans, technology instruction for new teachers and those looking to incorporate more, football, organizing, raking ... it goes on. However, something I am very proud of in my busy season is a blog my wife @germannjaime and I have been working on.

EdBlogTips is a educational blog designed for those who do not have the time, interest or confidence to experiment with new technologies in their classroom. Educators can follow are blog posts and try them when they are of interest.

Check it out and let us know what you think. If you have more suggestions please email us at:
edblogtips@gmail.com