It's summer, but I can't get away from school or technology. My school district is hosting staff development sessions this summer. We don't have to pay anything to attend, but after arranging for a neighbor to walk the dog, paying for camp for two kids and asking a friend to drive the kids to camp it's not exactly free either.
But after all that, I am here with iPod, laptop and flash drive in hand. I have attended short sessions on podcasting before, but I was always dipping my toes in the podcasting water. Today I dove in head first.
I recorded a podcast, added it to a web page with a podcasting plug-in (podpress), set my iTunes settings and Voila'!
I am a podcaster!
Showing posts with label elementary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label elementary. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Monday, June 16, 2008
A Measure of Success
It's the first day of summer vacation! Ahhh! It feels good to have a bit more time on my hands. I still have work on my online courses, but no big deadlines around the corner and no 1st graders to meet at 10:45 each day.
With a great deal of cooperation from my fellow teachers I was able to complete a small piece of both my 1st grade and 3rd grade projects.
3rd Grade Wiki
Ms. W's class, the chatty bunch struck silent by the introduction of the Wiki, were the farthest ahead and were able to publish some answers to their key questions in the Wiki. Next time I will have them compose in Word and then copy and paste into the Wiki. We lost a lot of time waiting for the Wiki to be available to edit. There was one student who was so excited about the Wiki that she came to talk to me outside class about how I set it up. Made my day!
1st Grade Publishing
Ms. J is a very tech savvy teacher and very accommodating. So I asked her if I could work with her students outside of their regular computer time. I learned from a second grader how to make recordings directly in KidPix. So we made a KidPix slideshow out of it. It didn't turn out as polished as I would have liked, but the kids were thrilled to see their work! Ms. J brought them to the lab to see it on the last day of school and she is planning to create a slideshow next year.
With a great deal of cooperation from my fellow teachers I was able to complete a small piece of both my 1st grade and 3rd grade projects.
3rd Grade Wiki
Ms. W's class, the chatty bunch struck silent by the introduction of the Wiki, were the farthest ahead and were able to publish some answers to their key questions in the Wiki. Next time I will have them compose in Word and then copy and paste into the Wiki. We lost a lot of time waiting for the Wiki to be available to edit. There was one student who was so excited about the Wiki that she came to talk to me outside class about how I set it up. Made my day!
1st Grade Publishing
Ms. J is a very tech savvy teacher and very accommodating. So I asked her if I could work with her students outside of their regular computer time. I learned from a second grader how to make recordings directly in KidPix. So we made a KidPix slideshow out of it. It didn't turn out as polished as I would have liked, but the kids were thrilled to see their work! Ms. J brought them to the lab to see it on the last day of school and she is planning to create a slideshow next year.
Saturday, September 08, 2007
Aching Feet
I have 30 computers in my lab. On average there are 24 students in the classes that come for a weekly computer elective. That means that I turn on 30 computers and login about 50 times each day. Last week when I was copying files to the machines I sat down (or leaned and typed on the keyboard from standing)at each one at least 5 times.
Before, in between and after my classes I go to other classrooms (usually munching on part of my lunch as I walk) to work on their computer problems then hurry back to my room make notes about what I did or did not fix and move on to the next item on the agenda.
It is no wonder that I have been going to bed at 9:30 this week!
I am trying to work smarter. On Thursday I found a shared hard drive where I could copy files instead of carrying them from computer to computer. That probably saved me a half mile of walking each day. I also learned about a program called Synchroneyes, that will allow me to control all the computers in the lab from one central location. With an $800 price tag I decided that I need to work on my marketing spiel before I bring it up to the principal.
He does owe me though. After 8 days of teaching AND fighting more technical fires than you can imagine he brought me news that I will also be teaching second grade. That was not part of our original deal and means there is virtually no time to work with other teachers. Bummer!
But WOW do I love being a teacher again!
Before, in between and after my classes I go to other classrooms (usually munching on part of my lunch as I walk) to work on their computer problems then hurry back to my room make notes about what I did or did not fix and move on to the next item on the agenda.
It is no wonder that I have been going to bed at 9:30 this week!
I am trying to work smarter. On Thursday I found a shared hard drive where I could copy files instead of carrying them from computer to computer. That probably saved me a half mile of walking each day. I also learned about a program called Synchroneyes, that will allow me to control all the computers in the lab from one central location. With an $800 price tag I decided that I need to work on my marketing spiel before I bring it up to the principal.
He does owe me though. After 8 days of teaching AND fighting more technical fires than you can imagine he brought me news that I will also be teaching second grade. That was not part of our original deal and means there is virtually no time to work with other teachers. Bummer!
But WOW do I love being a teacher again!
Monday, August 20, 2007
Back to School Jitters
I couldn't sleep last night. I went through three potential outfits this morning. I felt sick to my stomach as I headed out the door to my NEW SCHOOL! I have a classroom key and an official badge for the first time in over 6 years.
The staff are very nice and made me feel welcome with friendly greetings and lots of requests for help. I am having to relearn the layout of a school network - Macs and PCs. And a new school building. When I took my daughters to see my computer lab last week I couldn't even find the room right away. My oldest spotted my name on a sign that pointed the way.
Today I was a kindergartener leaving the safety of (working at)home and venturing out into a new place. I have just 6 days left to make the transition to teacher ready to greet students at the door of MY room.
If I can get the digital camera working, I will post a picture.
The staff are very nice and made me feel welcome with friendly greetings and lots of requests for help. I am having to relearn the layout of a school network - Macs and PCs. And a new school building. When I took my daughters to see my computer lab last week I couldn't even find the room right away. My oldest spotted my name on a sign that pointed the way.
Today I was a kindergartener leaving the safety of (working at)home and venturing out into a new place. I have just 6 days left to make the transition to teacher ready to greet students at the door of MY room.
If I can get the digital camera working, I will post a picture.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Visit me at NECC on Tuesday afternoon
Tomorrow afternoon I will be sharing ways to use images captured with digital cameras in the classroom. Most schools have more than one digital camera. In this session I will show ways to use pictures captured by teachers or students to enhance teaching.
Several templates for creating the examples I will be sharing are on my wiki page, http://lbfogle.wikispaces.com/
Creating Unique, Inexpensive Classroom Materials from Digital Images
Poster : Traditional
Laura Fogle, Tech4Teaching
Scheduled Tuesday, 6/26/2007, 1:00pm–3:00pm; GWCC Level 5, Galleria
Use your digital camera to make your own books, posters, signs, and more. Get students involved and see their motivation soar!
Blog Tag(s): necc, n07s356
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