So we just finished our first week with students. It was an interesting week. The school is still in the midst of what I would consider major renovations and construction. We opened a new wing – that still needs LOTS of work. Teachers finally received internet/network access on Friday of last week. We still don’t have our SMART boards.

This week I spent much of my week asking/saying, “Did you plug in the cables from the wall to your computer?” or “Oh, here it is… you need to plug in this cord.”

I haven’t spent one moment helping anyone with our new technology initiatives. It makes me sad but I know I have to get people up and running to be able to use technology. Or at least that is what I keep telling myself. The frustration comes from with the construction going on at the school there are SO many cables and things missing. I don’t have the cords to replace what is missing.

With all of my frustrations I can say there is awesomeness going on in the district.
1. Google Apps for everyone! I am SO excited about the use of Google Apps with faculty/staff and students.
2. We are planning the 1:1 mobile learning rollout. Within the next two years every child in the district will have a mobile device. The device has not been decided but we have a couple pilots going on in the district to figure out what is best.
3. Cell Phone Usage! This is a major shift in learning. Out School Board is looking in to changing the policy to allow cell phones for educational use in schools.

There is a lot going on… I just want to get there. I want to get passed the cords and non-working or missing equipment and move on to the integration. I know I will get there but its just in the meantime.

We are starting a cellphone/electronic communication device pilot in my school next week. This is part of a district wide pilot that will last for a semester. Electronic Communication Devices are defined as any personal mobile device that can be used for communication, i.e. cell phone, smart phone, iPod Touch, personal laptop, netbook, etc. Goals for the project are very broad but will help us develop a better understanding of the usage in a school.

Goals:
1. To determine if allowing students to use their own ECDs increases student engagement and satisfaction with their learning environment without increased incidents of abuse or negative consequences for teaching and learning.
2. To learn more about what types of devices students prefer and for what kinds of work they prefer to use them.

I am in the process of creating a survey to ask the students involved about the types of devices they have and the services with those devices. This survey will help us determine the types of activities we can do with the students. Could you look over the questions below and let me know if you have any additional suggestions on what to ask the students?

We all know students love graphic novels. I decided it was time to create a PD session to show teacher how students can use an online photo editor to help create graphic novels for any content area. I had so much fun working with my teachers today to show them how to use befunky.com. Befunky offers a free and fee based service. Things I like about the free account: 1. There is not registration unless you want to have  log in. 2. There are numerous FREE options for photo effects and “Goodies” (clipart) to add to the images.

After showing the teachers the basic steps on how to use the site, I went through this suggested list of steps to have students create graphic novels. Graphic novels can be used in any content area to create a higher level Bloom’s Project. Below are some steps you can follow for students to create graphic novels.

1. Students create a story.
2. Students storyboard the story and decide what photos are needed to create the graphic novel.
3. Students use a digital camera to create the photos needed for the story. This will allow the students to become personally involved in creating the story. You can also use http://creativecommons.org for students to find copyright friendly images to use.
4. Students upload the photos one at a time to edit it for the graphic novel.
5. When the edited photo is downloaded save it to create a sequence of photos, (For example; graphicnovel_01, graphicnovel_02, etc.) Note: File and Folder Management will be very important for students at this point.
6. Students then use any software such as MS Word, MS Publisher, etc. to put the photos in a graphic novel sequence.
7. Students save file.
8. Teachers can decide to have students print the books or showcase them in a round robin viewing session in a lab setting.

One thing I want  you to notice about the list… Students are doing the work, not the teacher. As teachers take their first steps in to technology integration there is a little anticipation on the teacher’s part because he or she may not be an expert. The best part about integrating the technology is the teacher doesn’t have to be the expert. Students will figure it out… SO GO TRY IT!

Here is a link to all of the handouts and an example of how the graphic novel can be set up using something we all use and know – MS Word.

Handouts

Here are the presentations from SC EdTech in Myrtle Beach, SC

SMARTer Ways to Use your SMART board

What are your SMART Ideas? Focuses on SMART Ideas Concept Mapping Software

Sorry for the delay!

I ask that if you use the above presentations in anyway (including the title), you please give credit to me as the creator of the presentation.

Today I was inspired by a young man, Deonte Bridges. He is the 2010 Valedictorian of Booker T. Washington High School in Atlanta, GA. He was interviewed on CNN by Don Lemon. He was the first African American Valedictorian at Booker T. Washington in over a decade. Through his hard work he has received over $1 million in scholarship funding. He is a true inspiration to young and old.

I don’t know him but I wish him success throughout the rest of his life.

I have been in need of what I would like to call “Social Network Inspiration.” I have been on Twitter for 2 1/2 years now and have built a strong Personal Learning Group but I found I have been doing a poor job of spreading information as well as seeking information. My latest TweetCloud prove this.

tweetcloud

Twitter has transformed a  lot over the last 2 1/2 years I have been involved. I have formed relationships with many of the people I follow. Those relationships vary from online banter to meeting at tweet-ups to friendships. In the last few months I have been using Twitter a more of a virtual coffee break than learning tool. So I have decided to shake things up a bit. I started thinking about a blog post I read from John Pederson. In the post, his #1 Twitter rule was…

1.  I’m random about who I follow and why.  I frequently delete around half the people I follow and start over.  This strategy helps me discover new people, reconsider why I’m following the ones I do, and keeps my ADD in check.

No, I don’t have ADD but I like how randomly following people helps him discover new people. So this past week I started following a group of new people. I wasn’t quite as random as John Pederson but I am working a lot in North Carolina so I asked @kellyhines (her blog) for a few North Carolina educators to follow. Kelly came through in a flash with about 10 great people to follow. There is an excitement with NC educators that is intoxicating. Since adding the educators to my list, I feel renewed and excited to learn. So thank you Kelly and thank you NC educators.

Happy Halloween. Here is the Legend of Sleepy Hollow Wordle style!

If you can’t tell I am very excited about getting my MacBook. On Friday, I made a trip to the Apple Store in Charlotte. Here are some photos from our first meeting.

I have to say I am in love…. The MacBook is so sleek, clean, and easy to use. About 10 years ago I had a MacInstosh desktop and loved it but changed to a PC because at that time it was a little harder to be in a PC education system. Now the integration with Mac to PC is virtually seamless and I am happy to be back with Apple.

Anyway, if you have any words of advice, hints, shortcuts, or things you love about your Mac share them in the comments below!

While surfing youtube tonight… I found this video that I can TOTALLY relate to. I love my I.T. guys and when they help me out I take them cupcakes. ijustine does just that for Twitter. Isn’t that the best way to someone’s heart? LOL Enjoy!