Search results matching tags 'communication' and 'technology'

Tutorial: Making Editable Files with Purchased Graphics

Anonymous — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 17:59:00 GMT

Hola friends!! I just learned how to do something really cool this weekend! I had been wondering how to do this FORVER! I emailed Brooke from Once Upon a First Grade Adventure to share with me how she did it. Thank you Brooke!!

Here is the 5 minute video! At the beginning of the video I think I said how to make an editable PDF, but I actually meant an editable file like Powerpoint or Word!

I hope to be uploading the binder sets today!

There will be two sets of 10 themes each.

I will not offer them as individual sets due to the mass amount of time it would take to create all those TPT and TN descriptions and such, so please don't ask me to. =)

Hope this tutorial was helpful! If you have anything else you would like to see done, just leave me a comment and I would be happy to try!

Teachers, stay in touch with students with SmashText

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 14:35:42 GMT

I don’t review apps and services as much as I used to, but if you’re a teacher, you must absolutely check out SmashText by Despain Computing. SmashText lets you send texts to groups of people in your Gmail contacts. For me, that means my students. If I want to text just a few of them, I [...]

Not in class? You’d better text me.

Anonymous — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 13:48:56 GMT

Maybe my students think I’m crazy. “No, really,” I say. “If you’re ever not in class, you have to tell me. You have to text me.” For some students, this seems like a reasonable request. Mr. Isero expects me to be in class, so if I’m absent or late, I should let him know why. [...]

Not in class? You’d better text me.

Anonymous — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 13:48:56 GMT

When are children proficient at typing?

Anonymous — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 04:41:00 GMT

Ms. Dorothy,
_____, who is 12, has Aspergers. He is very high functioning, but not surprisingly, fine motor skills are not his forte. At what age are kids proficient at typing? How would you define proficient? Is it the sort of skill that like writing, will just improve over time as you are challenged to work at it more and more?
- A Mom

Typing has become necessary for students in Middle and High School as teachers ask for assignments turned in via email, or in manuscript formats. Accordingly, keyboarding is taught younger than it once was.

Some programs exist, like Type to Learn, that make learning keyboarding into a game rather than a rote drill, and can help with gaining mastery. Though even a two finger typist can become efficient with enough practice.

Because the motor movement of shaping the letters supports brain development, handwriting helps to learn spelling and helps to write at the rate that you think. If, however, you struggle with controlling a pen and your writing slows you down, learning keyboarding may be more helpful.

There are some great articles on the Science Daily site about the importance of learning to both write and type.

The key to proficiency, for writing or typing, is the ability to communicate fluently. The skill that you have practiced enough to make words come automatically, will be the method that gets ideas from head to paper most efficiently.

We are all slowed down in the learning stages by thinking through the spelling of words. If your writing is additionally slowed down by the formation of letters and the discomfort of holding a writing implement, communication is inhibited.

For someone who struggles with communication already, removing as many roadblocks as possible has to be our highest priority.

The future of writing may live in touch screens, visual formats, and two thumb texting. Students who struggle with communication in general may be the pioneers in bringing new technologies to the classroom, and help to revolutionize our thinking about how we share ideas.

Orange, 3 Mobile, T Mobile, O2, and Vodafone-Mobile Networks in the UK

Anonymous — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 03:59:03 GMT

The Big Five physical mobile network providers in the UK are O2 UK, Three Mobile, UK Orange UK, T-Mobile UK, and Vodafone UK. Get company info, links, and brief histories.

Listening to my students using Google Voice

Anonymous — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 03:48:38 GMT

How often and for how long do you truly listen to your students?

I don’t mean listening to an answer they give or a comment they make in class. I mean listening more deeply about who they are: their interests, their goals, their problems, their needs as a student.

With more than a hundred students and daily public school chaos, it’s nearly impossible to find the time and peace to sit down and listen to a student without an immediate interruption.

Before this year, I “listened” to my students mostly through letters. When I had the time and energy, I even wrote personal letters back to each of my students, a herculean task. Although this was effective, it was impossible to do more than once a quarter.

That’s why this year I’m trying something new: The Weekly Voicemail Assignment.

On Thursday nights, students call me on my Google Voice number (set to Do Not Disturb!”) and answer some prompts. On my own time, I listen to each message and quickly respond with a quick personal text.

Even though each voicemail averages only one minute (much faster than reading and responding), I’m finding that the weekly assignment is helping me build positive relationships with my students. They know that I’m listening. They get to talk to me without worrying about what others might say. It’s like we’re having a private meeting — except we’re not in the same room.

Here is an example of one of my voicemail assignments.

I’m looking forward to tracking these voicemails (they’re all archived!) and looking at them more closely over the year.

Listening to my students using Google Voice

Anonymous — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 03:48:38 GMT

How often and for how long do you truly listen to your students?

With more than a hundred students and daily public school chaos, it’s nearly impossible to find the time and peace to sit down and listen to a student without an immediate interruption.

That’s why this year I’m trying something new: The Weekly Voicemail Assignment.

I’m looking forward to tracking these voicemails (they’re all archived!) and looking at them more closely over the year.

For students without computers, GroupMe keeps you in touch

Anonymous — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 16:32:46 GMT

As a teacher, I’m always looking for better ways to communicate with my students. We know they don’t check email. Many don’t have access to a computer at home.

Thankfully, most students have cellphones. In my last post, I wrote about Google Voice Mass SMS, which allows you to send texts easily to groups of people.

But what if you want to have a conversation together among students? Sure, Edmodo is the best option, but that takes a computer. Twitter is blocked in schools, and even if it isn’t, my students think Twitter is weird.

Because my students love their phones — and because they love texting — GroupMe is perfect. Instead of sending individual texts, you text to a common phone number so everyone in your group sees everybody’s texts. It’s like a chat room on your phone.

It’s very simple to get started. You don’t have to sign up, you don’t need to maintain a contact list, you barely need to do anything. All you do is type in your phone number then go from there. Every command is done on your phone beginning with the pound sign (#).

The biggest limitation is that students need to have an unlimited text plan in order for GroupMe to make sense. There’s also a worry that students will overtext, but because you get every text, that’s easy to regulate.

I’ll be trying GroupMe with my junior advisees. We’ve been working together since their freshman year, so there’s enough trust. My hope is that a group conversation will spread accountability and encourage my students to help each other instead of to rely just on me.

With students without computers, GroupMe keeps you in touch

Anonymous — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 16:32:46 GMT

As a teacher, I’m always looking for better ways to communicate with my students. We know they don’t check email. Many don’t have access to a computer at home.

Thankfully, most students have cellphones. In my last post, I wrote about Google Voice Mass SMS, which allows you to send texts easily to groups of people.

Update: I just unveiled GroupMe with my junior advisees, and they loved it! We had a little talk about appropriate texting, and now we’ll see how we use GroupMe.