NJECC Preso 3.17.2009

I have been gathering resources with Sue Goldberg for the past few months. It's been overwhelming... in a good way. I have learned so much in this process. I think one of the largest lessons is that I will never be "done". Today I emailed Sue around 3pm and said, "I am still adding slides. Presently I have 47 windows open in Safari and 17 open in FireFox. I will whittle down and get more in until my head explodes!" Well, my head hasn't exploded, thankfully, but I am still not ready to put this to bed. But, it's way past my bedtime, so I will export our presentation to .pdf and get ready to share with whomever comes into my session tomorrow. I am sure I will use this preso again, possibly in small bits to the staff at Glenwood, maybe this summer in Millburn or NJECC training. For now it's off to bed and .pdf though. Interested in seeing the presentation email me!

I have to just send out a quick thank you to all the wonderful resources, friends, colleagues and tweeps in my Twitter PLN. I would not know a fraction of what I know if I didn't know you. Thank you, really! (I see a twitter post coming soon!)

Please fill out our survey here after attending or reading our presentation. Thanks!

Wordle

I finally got a chance to drop my thesis (from 2 years ago!)into wordle. Interesting! At least students are the focus! Give Wordle a try. go to www.wordle.net

Free Flash Teacher Tools

Just discovered some easy to use, customizable Flash teacher tools. There are teacher tools like a seating chart maker, a group maker, and a random name generator- like pulling sticks from a hat! These are all easy to use once you create your class list. Also there are some online game makers like Jeopardy, Speed Match and Millionaire. These are great for reviewing with your class or as homework, have the students play the games you made. Check out http://www.superteachertools.com

Web 2.0 tools today for tomorrow!

I've been working on my presentation for NJECC that I am co-presenting with Sue Goldberg (Hartshorn). We are looking for Web 2.0 tools that teachers can use in their classroom... tomorrow. I'll post the link when the preso is done. There are some really great (and many not so great) tools out there. So many that make you think, "awesome, but how would I use that in my classroom?" Thanks to all my twitter friends and followers for their tweets and suggestions over the last few months. Back to the preso. BTW, we are going paperless and PPTless, too! We are using GoogleDocs slideshow. Woo hoo to google for all their great tools!

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Brave New World Wide Web for Teachers!

Worth spending a few minutes to view:
David Truss: Brave New World Wide Web for Teachers!
I found it through Twitter- via scottmerrick in my PLN.

Lesson Planning... Week 1

Lessons in the Lab 9/8

Kindergarten- Intro to the Computer Lab. Set expectations, rules, fire drill, etc. Discussion about parts of the comptuer.
Intro to KidPix 3
The students will learn to login to their teacher's folder. They will be introduced to the T tool for typing their names. They will be shown how to change the font size and color of their text. The Oops (undo) Guy will be modeled. Parts of the Keyboard will be explained (space bar, shift keys) They will go to a computer, login, write their names 2x and change font, size and color of text. When complete they may draw with the pencil tool and explore how it works.

1st Grade- Intro to the Computer Lab. Set expectations, rules, fire drill, etc.
Intro to Pixie 2 They will be introduced to the T tool for text entry- ie. typing their names. They will be shown how to change the font, size and color of their text. Discussion about double-clicking and the text box. Students will be shown how the text box can be moved and resized. Parts of the Keyboard will be reminded (space bar, shift keys) Students will go to a computer, write their names 2x and change font, size and color of text. When complete they may draw with the pencil tool and explore how Pixie is similar and different from KidPix.

2nd Grade-e- Intro to the Computer Lab. Set expectations, rules, fire drill, etc.
Intro to Pixie 2 I am special because______.
Discussion and lesson on carpet. Students will discuss and compare the new Pixie to the old. I will model (review) how to take photos in PhotoBooth and will show how to insert the photo into Pixie via drag and drop. Then I will show resize and explain how to keep it simple. Review T tool and show new tab (file) for cool word sentence. Show copy and paste. Saving will be shown, but not expected to be completed at this point in the year. Navigation to 2008-2009 folder will be emphasized as well as file names.
The students will use the T tool to create a cool word sentence about what makes them special. They will drop a photo from PhotoBooth into the Pixie page to insert a photo. Students will navigate from one file to another to copy and paste their cool word sentence. Students will name files with their names and I will save to the correct folders.

3rd Grade- e- Welcome back to the Computer Lab. Set expectations, rules, fire drill, etc.

Intro to Kidspiration. Students will be shown how to make an all about me web. They will insert pics from clip art and the internet about their 7 ideas. They will insert a photo from PhotoBooth as their main idea. Saving will be reviewed. Navigation to 2008-2009 folder will be emphasized as well as file name.

4th Grade- e- Welcome back to the Computer Lab. Set expectations, rules, fire drill, etc.

Intro to Me Poster in Appleworks Draw page Students will be shown how to make an Me Poster. Review of toolbox in AppleWorks. Show how to create a colored background for the poster. Discussion on color and contrast for text in text boxes. Students will be shown how to change font, size and color of text and text background. Free rotate will be explored. Reminder on how to save in the correct class folders.

5th Grade- e-Welcome back to the Computer Lab. Set expectations, rules, fire drill, etc. What they need to accomplish by MMS.
Intro to ComicLife with a comic of my cat Rocky. Students will be shown how to make an all about me comic. Inserting photos of themselves acting and using speech and thought bubbles to convey what they want us to learn about them. They will create a comic with at least 5 facts about themselves. The comic shoud have voice. Saving in the correct folder will be reviewed.