eMINTS/MLTI Blog

ipad2

2011-05-14T09:05:00.000-07:00

I have a new ipad and love it. The possibilities for classroom use are endless. One of my favorite sites to share with teachers is Interesting Ways, a wonderful collaborative site that list all of the interesting ways that you can use many of the new tools found on the web. Last week Interesting Ways shared a slideshow about 55 interesting ways to use the ipad in the classroom. Many wonderful new apps were mentioned so I just wanted to share that resource with everyone. Also, I got this site from Richard Byrne and his Freetech4teachers site. Be sure to subscribe to his blog as it contains resources galore.

The Human Calendar

2011-01-25T06:53:00.001-08:00

Scientific Calculator Widget

2010-11-24T05:58:00.000-08:00

Now students can have their own calculator free imbedded in their web site or wiki.

Here it is!!!!

Web 2.0 scientific calculator

Voki...a talking Avatar site with Great Educational Uses

2010-03-04T14:53:00.000-08:00

Voki is a really cool web 2.0 tool with many applications to the classroom. Push the play button on Voki to hear my message, and go to the link below it for more ideas. Have fun!!!

Voki in the Classroom

Today in History

2010-02-17T07:43:00.000-08:00

Well, here's another widget that would be very handy in the classrom.

Today In Historygreat free widgetsWidgetboxMore info

Widgets

2010-02-03T05:25:00.001-08:00

I am now learning about and playing with applying Widgets to this blog to bring new resources to teachers that they might not know about. The widget below keeps you up to date on chidren's book reviews. More to come.

The Children's Book Reviewgreat free widgetsWidgetboxMore info

Students and Technology

2009-08-03T16:34:00.000-07:00

We are living in a Digital World. As teachers we are constantly being told that we need to change the way that we prepare students for the 21st Century. The American classroom looks much the same as it did almost 100 years ago...desks in rows, content separated into blocks with bells ruling the day.....Teachers standing at the front of the class delivering much of the content through lectures. We continue to ban all forms of digital devices from the clssroom including cell phones and ipods, even though experts in the field continue to promote their use in schools. Students are immersed in technology before and after school, and we continue to act as though that has nothing to do with their learning experiences. I think that most teachers realize the implications of this continually expanding digital world, but its up to us to convince the decision-makers that change is necessary. Students also can be part of this conversation and should be. Mistakes will be made, but that's how we learn. Until we trust in teachers to be part of the decision-making process, we may remain stuck right where we are teaching our 21st Century students with 20th Century tools and methods.
In my role as an Instructional Specialist, I am always promoting the use of new digital tools in the classroom. The Web 2.0 tools and the Open Educational Resources available are so exciting that it's difficult to find enough time in the day to explore them all. I also think it leads us to a cautionary tale. As much as we enjoy learning and exploring we also need to put everything into perspective. Are we constantly connected, texting, Skyping, Tweeting, e-mailing? If the answer is yes, then we need to take stock in the importance of these digital tools in our lives and the lives of our students. A national report recently stated that young people are now at threat of a Vitamin D deficiency. This has come about because of our fascination with television, video games, music, and all things digital. A simple 15 minutes per day in the sunlight is the cure.Another threat is what author Richard Louv calls Nature Deficiency Disorder. He explains that new condition in his best-selling book...The Last Child in the Woods, a highly recommended read for all educators.
It's all about balance. The world of our students is changing and we as educated people have to be part of that change and do what's best for our greatest resource, our children, the citizens of tomorrow. When you walk into that classroom in September, think about how teaching and learning has changed in the last few years and think about how we can all be part of positive decision-making in our schools and help those young digital natives become responsible decision-makers themselves with strong bones and a healthy appreciation of the natural world.

The Power of Wordle

2009-03-25T08:20:00.001-07:00

Having just completed a day in Bangor with teachers there who are working on Inquiry-based Instruction and Essential Questions, my partner in crime, Jim Burke and I were very impressed with many of the things that are happening there in Grades four through 8. We were part of an all day professional development experience that reached all content areas. Jim and I covered the language arts curriculum and presented resources and ideas for language arts teachers.We were just a small part of a day arranged by Martha Thibodeau through the Title IID grant. One of the resources presented was Wordle. I am sure most are familiar with Wordle, but if not it makes wonderful word clouds. Last night while watching CNN's commentary on President Obama's press conference, the commentators used his words in a Wordle word cloud. It was blown up to a tremendous size, and they were able to pinpoint the words that were used most often and it highlighted the power of words. The Bangor teachers were thrilled with exposure to this new resource, and now its reach to mainstream media has taken it to real world uses and shows another use beyond our imagination.

Will I Succumb to High Tech Reading?

2008-12-21T16:05:00.000-08:00

I tend to be an Oprah follower. I read her magazine, buy some of her recommended products, and read some of, but not all of her book choices. I actually even take some of her advice, and I find myself even more aware of the needs of people less fortunate as a result. Well, about a month ago Oprah came out with the ultimate recommendation...she actually blessed a piece of high tech equipment with her golden touch. That equipment is the Kindle. The Kindle is a wireless reading device unlike any other device on the market. It uses cell phone technology that enables you to buy books and newspapers from anywhere you might be. It has an electronic paper display that provides a sharp, high resolution screen that reads like real paper. It holds up to 200 books and has a long battery life. Everyone who owns one seems to love it and they claim it has changed the way they read. It is so wildly popular that you have to get in line on the Amazon site to purchase one. They sold out before December on Amazon. I am teetering on the brink of Kindle ownership. I am a reader. I love to read and read all kinds of different things. I am reading Twilight at the moment, but I may be reading a biography in the next moment or a thriller after that. I just finished reading The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, an Oprah book, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think I might want a Kindle. The operative words are "think" and "might". I still love the touch and the feel of a real book. I love turning the pages and placing my Harry Potter bookmark in the crease when I put the book down. I love the smell of a book. I love the way it feels in my hands as I escape on whatever journey it takes me on. I might want a Kindle, but I am not sure. Reading is reading isn't it? Or is it? I would love to know if kindle owners regret their decision. Are there a lot of Kindles on eBay? That might tell me something. I love technology and new gadgets, but I am not sure if this new gadget will rob me of that real reading experience that I cherish. Is there anyone out there who has succumbed that might offer some advice?

VoiceThread: A Favorite Tool

2008-09-18T12:26:00.003-07:00

VoiceThread is one of my new favorites. Digital Storytelling in a wonderful, easy to use format.

VoiceThread

eMINTS Winter Conference

2008-03-05T14:54:00.000-08:00

I just came back from Columbia, Missouri, having attended the eMINTS Winter Conference. The keynote address was given by Bernie Dodge,developer of the Webquest model.
What is a WebQuest?
A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented lesson format in which most or all the information that learners work with comes from the web. The model was developed by Bernie Dodge at San Diego State University in February, 1995 with early input from SDSU/Pacific Bell Fellow Tom March, the Educational Technology staff at San Diego Unified School District, and waves of participants each summer at the Teach the Teachers Consortium.
He spoke to participants about the importance of creating a task for students that asks them to perform tasks or solve problems at the higher levels of Bloom's Taxonomy. Students need to learn how to ask good questions and solve real world problems.
For a small conference with limited participants it was, all in all, very well done. Workshops were presented on Project-Based Learning, Podcasting,Google Earth, Webquest Design, and many other topics. David Warlick also was a featured presenter discussing Web 2.0 tools. Martha Thibodeau and Anne Ireland presented a session on math, sharing math ideas from a Maine perspective using online math applets that interact well with a Smartboard. We had time to meet and talk with other Instructional Specialists like ourselves and see firsthand what a great community that has been built in Missouri. Monica Beglau, Executive Director of eMINTS also shared a slideshow of their recent trip to Australia, the newest addition to the eMINTS family.

Enthusiasm Reigns in MSAD 11

2007-11-02T09:20:00.000-07:00

I have been working with a group of 22 elementary teachers in the MSAD 11 School system for about a month now, and am so excited about the things that are going on already in the area of technology integration. We have teachers working on everything from creating their own classroom websites, blogging, creating online pages through Portaportal for their classroom favorite links, to one school, Pittston, creating a school-wide del.icio.us account. del.icio.us is a social bookmarking site that enables users to tag sites based on content. Having one school account is very forward thinking as teachers, once they learn to use it will start to save favorite web sites all in one place so that everyone has access. The teachers in this program are coming to meetings held after school once and twice per month, and are feeling empowered about the projects that are taking on and excited about the new possibilities. Great job MSAD 11!!!

A Wow! Moment in a Classroom

2007-09-16T15:20:00.000-07:00

I was helping out in a high school science class last week. The teacher wanted to have a tool that allowed her to post a question to her students, and get immediate feedback with students' comments showing up quickly without having to get an e-mail approval. We were going to use a blog, but then I remembered that our school had a Think.Com account. The Think site is supported by the Oracle Foundation and has been around for a while. It has built in protection against inappropriate comments being made, and in order to get an account, the administration of your school must request it. It has a somewhat cutesy interface, but the students don't seem to mind that.It also has a lot of tools built into it, many of them like the ones on Moodle or Studywiz. Well, the teacher decided to give it a try, so she posted the following question. "What do you think the most pressing environmental problem is today?" The students immediately posted their ideas, but one among them was having some difficulty. This class contained a Spanish speaking foreign exchange student with limited English. She was having some difficulty with the language. In a few moments, one of her peers who could see that she was struggling, quickly accessed Google Translator and translated comments into Spanish so that she could participate fully. What a moment! The power of the internet

Looking Forward

2007-09-11T08:54:00.001-07:00

Here we are in September of 2007 looking forward to a new school year. The eMINTS Program has really made an impact on many classrooms in Maine with teachers using inquiry-based learning acivities, creating classroom websites, and beginning to fully use and appreciate all of the Web 2.0 tools that are out there and available. It's an exciting time, but where do we go from here? High school teachers in Maine will all soon have new macbooks with some very sophisticated software loaded, and the need for professional development will be in the forefront of our discussions. The Department of Education is working hard at arranging opportunities for this professional development through leadership meetings being scheduled throughout September and October. Hopefully all schools will take advantage of these meetings and new learning communities will be developed. Maine is leading the way as no other state has even begun to do what we have done in the area of technology integration. We are taking small steps, but gaining great strides, and hopefully we can all support each other in this process.