Search results matching tags 'technology' and 'online'

How to make paper resources digital using a mobile phone

Anonymous — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 09:02:19 GMT

Schools are awash with paper. Booklets, worksheets, assessments, admin documents…the list goes on and on. Often a paper resource needs to be changed, or shared online but the original electronic version can’t be sourced. Here are 3 easy steps to convert a paper-based resource to a digital document ready for editing and uploading. 1. Use [...]

Protect your Kids on the Internet

Anonymous — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 16:00:00 GMT

Today’s kids are exposed to a high-level of questionable content on TV, on magazine covers in the grocery store check out, and, perhaps more obviously, on the Internet. It is important for parents to keep an eye on who your little one is talking to and what pages they’re stumbling across. And just because your [...]

Sand or Cement?

Anonymous — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 03:31:44 GMT

Nowadays, everyone is on the Internet. So, should one stop to reflect their personal online behavior and evaluate their online digital foot prints. Yes, because everything you do, say, act, click on leaves either a foot print that is either cemented permanently or temporarily impressed in virtual sand. What do I mean? Google yourself, and […]

So What Does This Have to Do With My Classroom?

Anonymous — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 18:30:08 GMT

Over the last few weeks I have been investigating Master’s degree programs because I decided it’s time to get started. After quite a bit of researching I found a program I am really excited about – a Master’s in Technology in Schools. So now begins the paperwork process I’m sure we’re all familiar with. My chosen university needs: a (long) application, my GRE score, my resumé, 2 letters of recommendation, a “statement of purpose”, the FASFA, and my undergrad transcripts.

I can fill out the application on the university web site, register for my GRE online, send 2 people the address where they can email a recommendation, upload my resumé and “statement of purpose,” and have my tax information automatically sent to the FASFA online form. Then there’s the transcript.

I went to the web site of my undergraduate university to figure out how to request a transcript and found out that I have two options: print off and mail them a form and a check or go to campus and hand them the form and the check.

For some reason I am incredibly irritated about this. Why can’t I just do it online?? Here are the (admittedly silly) obstacles I now have to getting my transcript:

- I don’t have a printer at home… the only time I print things is for school, and I use the school printer
- I don’t have stamps… I never mail anything
- I don’t have envelopes… again, I never mail anything
- I DO have 2 young children… going places can be and issue

But, the solution with the fewest obstacles is that I have to go campus, which means I have to load up both kids, drive to campus, unload the kids, walk to the office, stand in line, fill out the form, write the check, then reverse.

That may not seem like a huge inconvenience to some people, but in contrast to the fantasy I have of sitting down at my computer at 11 pm, typing in my name and debit card number, and being done, it really seems like a lot to ask.

So what does this have to do with my classroom?

Well, I am way less digital than the 13 year olds in my classroom. If having to complete one simple task with a pencil and paper seems so “old school” and irritating to ME, imagine how my ultra-digital students feel when I ask them to do a task “the old way” when they can envision 5 different ways that they could do it faster, more easily, and have more fun if I would only let them use technology!

I can’t use computers in my classroom every day for every task – we aren’t one-to-one, we only have 42 minutes, and sometimes we have connectivity issues to name a few of the challenges. But if I want my kids to be engaged and feel like what I want them to do is relevant to their lives, then I have to design my lessons for the way they live. (And maybe be more forgiving when they don’t have a pencil – school is the only place they EVER use one).

addthis_url = 'http%3A%2F%2Fcoughlin.edublogs.org%2F2011%2F07%2F07%2Fso-what-does-this-have-to-do-with-my-classroom%2F'; addthis_title = 'So+What+Does+This+Have+to+Do+With+My+Classroom%3F'; addthis_pub = '';

Ready to Get Ready? Use Prezi.

Anonymous — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 19:04:18 GMT

At the end of this week, my summer break if half over. Hard to believe, I know, but I am starting to get myself back into school mode and make some plans.

One of the first things, actually THE first thing I like to have for my new students is some sort of “get to know me” activity. I don’t choose to make this a time to discuss classroom procedures or expectations; we’ll be working on that for the next couple of weeks. This presentation is their first introduction to me a human being, to let them know I am not a robot programmed to bore them to death or an evil alien sent to make them miserable for a year (remember, I’m dealing with 8th graders, their hopes for my coolness are high, but their expectations are LOW… I’m old you know).

I think most teachers give some sort of get-to-know-me introduction, and I’ve seen it done in a lot of great ways: posters, bulletin boards, and PowerPoint presentations to name a few, but I wanted to do something different this year. There is a great (free) presentation web site out there that is way cooler than PowerPoint and super easy to use. It’s called Prezi, and here is a very basic example of what it can do (you may have to click the title, depending on your browser):

.prezi-player { width: 550px; } .prezi-player-links { text-align: center; }

Back to School Introduction on Prezi

My Prezi is basic because I want to use it as a conversation starter, not an information delivery device, but you could use it for that purpose too. Also, in my real, non-blog version, I will have pictures of my family and pets, but that is for my students’ eyes only ☺

Another great thing about Prezi is that you don’t even have to make your own (although it’s fun); many Prezis are saved as public, which means you can use someone else’s presentation, or start where the creator left off and make changes to the original to make it work for yourself.

When you are ready to dip your toes back in to school preparations… maybe not for a few weeks yet… go play on the web site; there are Prezis over EVERY topic. Have fun!

addthis_url = 'http%3A%2F%2Fcoughlin.edublogs.org%2F2011%2F06%2F27%2Fready-to-get-ready-use-prezi%2F'; addthis_title = 'Ready+to+Get+Ready%3F+Use+Prezi.'; addthis_pub = '';

How Do We Get There?

Anonymous — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 17:55:31 GMT

I was scanning videos on Youtube and ran across the one below. Watch now and come back, or read on and watch when you’re done – it doesn’t really matter.

Made in 2007, the creator says it was meant to “inspire teachers to use technology in engaging ways to help students develop higher level thinking skills” and it’s pretty good at its job. Many of its intended points are well made (despite a brief and arguably misguided comparison with China), and I thought it was especially thought provoking in unintended ways:

4 minutes and 8 seconds long! I almost didn’t watch it. What does that say about my attention span? I bet it’s longer than my students’…
Notice the laptop – what a clunker. In 4 years, our devices have streamlined so much.
The video encourages educators to let kids create, and what did I do as soon as I watched it… blogged about it of course!
Made 4 years ago, and this still feels like such a current battle in schools! We have to meet our students where they are (online!)
Check out the Youtube comments… always thought provoking – after weeding out the crackpots, of course.

What do you think? How is this issue playing out where you are? Leave a comment!

addthis_url = 'http%3A%2F%2Fcoughlin.edublogs.org%2F2011%2F06%2F22%2Fhow-do-we-get-there%2F'; addthis_title = 'How+Do+We+Get+There%3F'; addthis_pub = '';

Tech skills are life skills

Anonymous — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 13:17:18 GMT

photo by Ed Yourdon

My children (1 and 5 years old) are often the most thought-provoking people I know. On the way to get ice cream last night I asked my 5-year-old son whether he wanted chocolate or vanilla. His reply? “It’s hard to decide. Let’s do an online poll… it was all even until the last person clicked vanilla. The winner is vanilla.”

Huh??? THAT is where my son’s mind goes instantly when asked to choose between two things? A make-believe online poll? Let me tell you a few things I know about my son:

1) He has never taken an online poll (he’s in preschool… he can’t read)

2) He spends between 1 and 3 hours on the computer each WEEK, total (not much)

3) He is A LOT like all the other kids his age

So where is this coming from? The world he, and almost all American children, lives in! Technology, with all of its good, bad, and as-yet-undetermined qualities, absolutely saturates every aspect of young peoples’ lives. And the very young, like my kids, have never lived any other way.

If you haven’t had these kids in your classroom yet, they’re coming. This generation of kids is not just tech savvy, they are tech dependent. You and I walk up to a faucet and expect to turn it and have water come out. These kids see something with a screen and expect to be able to touch it and access nearly every person and thing in the world in seconds.

A 2011 poll showed that the number of 2-5 year olds who could use a smartphone more than doubled the number that could tie their shoes. My son is one of those. You may have heard about this poll when it was first reported, often with the tag “kids are learning tech skills before life skills”. I’m not so sure that tag is fair… anyone can buy shoes nowadays that don’t need to be tied, but can you find or keep a job without using online tools or a smartphone?

I’m not saying my son doesn’t need to be able to tie his shoes. He’s working on it. But I don’t think we can say that using a smartphone ISN’T a life skill in the world we live in.

Parenting issues aside, I think that as educators we have to accept that our students not only want to be doing interactive online activities, they need to be. It keeps them engaged. It fits into their comfort zone. And it builds the technology expertise that will be some of the most important skills for their lives.

addthis_url = 'http%3A%2F%2Fcoughlin.edublogs.org%2F2011%2F06%2F16%2Ftech-skills-are-life-skills%2F'; addthis_title = 'Tech+skills+are+life+skills'; addthis_pub = '';

H&R Block At Home Deluxe for One Cent-No Catch-Buy Before Jan. 14th

Anonymous — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 19:19:55 GMT

H&R Block at Home Deluxe desktop software for one cent. Get your 2010 tax software now!

Magic the Gathering (MTG) on your Android Mobile Phone or Tablet

Anonymous — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 05:43:48 GMT

Magic the Gathering on your Android mobile phone or on your Android tablet. MTG expands in Android Market.

Best Video Tutorials and Reviews on the LG Rumor Touch

Anonymous — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 01:19:54 GMT

Youtube has hundreds of videos on the LG Rumor Touch. Some of these videos are just reviews for either the Sprint or the Virgin Mobile version, while others are dedicated to revealing the tricks to...