Congratulations, again, to Jessica English, the winner of the 1 gigabyte thumb drive giveaway!

I know we are all so busy that you may not have noticed, but it’s FRIDAY! I’ve decided that while Mondays are for mini-bytes and Wednesdays are for websites, Fridays should only be about feeling good! Last Friday I posted the video, Where in the World is Matt, for your viewing pleasure. Today, here is a video that, while a bit more on the sappy side, sets the same feel good vibe.

Enjoy!

(The story behind this video can be found here)

Download Video: Posted by tekkieteacher at TeacherTube.com.

Have you ever come across a video on Youtube that would be great to use in class, but you can’t because the site is blocked? Or, maybe you’ve downloaded a video from Teachertube, but your computer doesn’t recognize the format of the downloaded file and won’t play it?

Well, take two and call me in the morning — two websites that is.

The first website is called VideoDownloader. This site gives you the ability to download videos from sites like Youtube, MySpace, Google Videos, etc. Once you’ve downloaded the video, you will have to add the correct extension (.flv) to the end of the file name.

After downloading a file, you have to convert it from a .flv file to something your computer will recognize–usually .avi or .wmv. To convert the file, use the website called Media Converter.

Once you have the video in .avi or .wmv format, then you can use it in most MS office applications. If you are planning on using it with Windows MovieMaker, I recommend converting it to .avi–I’ve had more luck with that one when putting together clips from different videos.

We’ll go over this process in the MovieMaker training scheduled for Wednesday, September 26 (which is probably today for most of you reading this.)

What does it mean to be literate in the 21st century? Is it about giving students books and providing them with time for silent, sustained, reading? Sure. Is it about teaching them the parts of speech and having them diagram sentences? Certainly.

But if that’s where we stop, then we’re missing the boat on what being literate in the 21st century truly encompasses.

David Warlick (blog, wiki) made a presentation on this subject at our PWCS Technology Conference in August. He writes, “Being literate in the future will certainly involve the ability to read, write, and do basic math. However, the concept of literacy in the 21st century will be far richer and more comprehensive than the 3 Rs of the one room school house, a legacy that still strongly influences today’s education environment.”

And he asks the following questions:

• What do you need to know, when most of recorded knowledge is a mouse-click away?
• How do you distinguish between good knowledge and bad knowledge?
• What does it do to the value of information, when everyone is a producer?
• How do we address ethics, when we are empowering our students with such prevailing skills?

His slideshow on the subject:

[slideshare id=31186&doc=literacy-learning-in-the-21st-century-14085&w=425]

And on a final note…
Download Video: Posted by mjohnson at TeacherTube.com.

Back during my days as an IT consultant I had the opportunity to teach some federal employees how to use the new windows-based software that my company had designed for them. In a windows world, it’s all about “clicking here” and “clicking there” which I assumed would make their jobs easier. Well, they were quick to enlighten me otherwise. They could work like lightning using keyboard commands–having to reach for the mouse and “click” actually slowed them down. So, I modified my training to incorporate windows keyboard shortcuts and became a convert. Here are some of the shortcuts I find most useful these days:

• [Ctrl] + [x] = Cut
• [Ctrl] + [v] = Paste
• [Ctrl] + [z] = Undo
• [Ctrl] + [b] = Bold
• [Ctrl] + [i] = Italics
• [Ctrl] + [u] = Underline
• [Ctrl] + [n] = New
• [Ctrl] + [o] = Open
• [Ctrl] + [s] = Save
• [Ctrl] + [Prt Scr] = Print Screen
• [F1] = Help!

Today’s featured website is our very own Technology Times. I know from chatting with a lot of you that you are reading this blog and that you seem to be finding it useful, but a blog is a Web 2.0 tool, and Web 2.0 tools are meant to be interactive. Web 2.0 is about collaboration and sharing. 

With that in mind, I want to hear from you! Post a comment to any blog entry between today and next Wednesday, September 26, and your name will be entered into a drawing to win a 1 gigabyte thumb drive. As we tell our students, meaningful responses are preferred, but for this exercise even just a friendly “hello” is fine.

And no, multiple comments do not mean multiple entries of your name into the drawing. Sorry.

So, are you up to the challenge? Can you figure out how to make your voice heard in this Web 2.0 metaverse?

(This contest is only for staff at CD Hylton High School)

I admit it. Math was never my strongest subject. I have an inestimable amount of respect for those of you who have mastered the foreign language that is Math. With that in mind, here is a fun video that both Math experts and the Math challenged should enjoy.

Download Video: Posted by g_morris at TeacherTube.com.

This year in IGPro the order of the spreadsheets has the 4th Marking Period Spreadsheet at the top. This was done so that the current spreadsheet displays at the top when parents and students go online to check grades.

However, it also means that when you created your gradebooks, the 4th Marking Period Spreadsheet was the first one you saw. As a result many of you have entered grades into the wrong spreadsheet.

Don’t panic! Here are the steps to copy those grades over to the correct spreadsheet:

1. Open the class and the spreadsheet the tasks are to be COPIED TO
2. From the Tasks menu, click Copy Tasks
3. Select the class the tasks are to be COPIED FROM
4. Select the spreadsheet the tasks are to be COPIED FROM
5. Click Next
6. Select the tasks to copy
7. Clear the checkbox for Delete original tasks after copying
8. Click Next
9. Select Raw Score
10. Click Next
11. Click OK

I love this video. It just makes me happy. If you want to tie it into instruction, it’s a really nice example of digital storytelling and would make a great introduction for a Geography class. But, more importantly, it just leaves the viewer feeling good.

Enjoy!

(The story behind this video can be found here)

Download Video: Posted by cabentley at TeacherTube.com.

It may sound like ”portapotty”, but it actually stands for portable web portal. This week’s featured website is PortaPortal.com, a web-based bookmarking utility. When you find a website you like, you “bookmark” it on your computer, right? But, what do you do when you are at a different computer? With a PortaPortal, you take your bookmarks with you! Then, anywhere you can access the Internet, you have easy access to your favorite websites.

PortaPortals can be either private or public, and public ones can be used in combination with your instruction. For example, if you are teaching a unit on the Renaissance you can create a category in your public PortaPortal called “The Renaissance” and fill it with pre-screened links that will help bring Renaissance history alive for your students! They will be able to access those links anywhere they can access the Internet–you just give them the one link to the portal itself.

Check out our school’s Technology PortaPortal that is filled with links to resources for parents, students, and teachers!

Another equally good web-based bookmarking utility is del.icio.us.  Try them both out and pick the one that fits best with your needs and personality!

If you like the idea of a web portal but do not want to maintain another website, the links section of your SchoolFusion webpages can also be set up as a web portal. Quite a few teachers have already done this–setting up unit folders in the links section and then adding links to those folders that enrich their instruction.

When referring to web portals, “showing them to the door” is a very good thing. Web portals take instruction beyond the four walls of your classroom and expand it to…..well….to anywhere and anyplace you and your students can imagine it to be.

In spite of our best attempts, some of us are still receiving the IGPro server error when trying to open our gradebooks. 

To correct:

1. Launch IGPro.
2. Cancel out of all the windows referring to the IGPro server until you are staring at a blank screen with just the IGPro toolbar across the top.
3. Go to Edit/Preferences.
4. Uncheck Use an Integrade Pro Server.
5. Close IGPro.

The next time you launch IGPro, all should be right with the world.

Here is a video explaining how students can log in to our school webpage (aka SchoolFusion). If you find your students need a refresher, this tutorial might help. Our freshmen will be receiving training during the library orientation they have through their English 9 classes.

Download Video: Posted by lowrytp at TeacherTube.com.

The other day when I was driving my two year old home from daycare he started chanting “blog, blog, blog, blog, blog” over, and over, and over, again. So, what is this “blog” stuff, besides a word used to annoy a normally loving mother after a long day at work?

The word “blog” comes from “web log” and blogs started out as online journals for folks to record the sometimes mundane, sometimes kooky, happenings in their lives. The  word “blog” is used as both a noun, as in “I can’t believe what you posted in your blog!”, and a verb, as in “I blog, therefore I am”. Today, there are blogs on virtually every topic under the sun and the Blog Herald estimates that as of May, 2007, there were approximately 60 million blogs online.

Blogs are pretty easy to set up and maintain (this one is hosted by Edublogs, which is not blocked by the county), and you might be interested in trying out blogging for your classes. Here are some ideas on how they might be used: 

1. Host Online Discussions — All blogs come with the ability to comment on the content of the blog. Because of this, they make nice discussion forums. The comments can usually be moderated and/or restricted to only those you want to participate. (You can do this type of activity with SchoolFusion’s Message Board feature, too)

2. Share Professional Resources — We are all members of one Professional Learning Community or another. Blogs are a place where we can come together and share ideas and resources.

3. Create a Class Publication — Our Journalism class is already looking into this, but what a cool idea for a class or group project. Blogs can be set up as “stand-alone” webpages on any topic of your choosing.

Here’s a nice video on the subject:

Download Video: Posted by rachelboyd at TeacherTube.com.

These are just a few ideas. If you are interested in trying blogging out, contact your friendly ITRT!

During my previous summer breaks, I spent time catching up on the reading I hadn’t had time for during the school year and watching the movies I hadn’t seen for the same reason. That was before I discovered Teachertube. This past summer, while I was able to squeeze in some of my planned reading (read: trashy beach reading), I spent a lot of time watching teacher- and student-produced videos on Teachertube.

Teachertube is Youtube for educators where you can view, link to, post, or even download educational videos. It is so awesome to see what educators are doing all over the world! The videos are almost all done by teachers or their students, and while some are a bit “out-there” (check out the rapping math teacher), there’s a lot of very good material that you can use in your own classes! A day doesn’t go by now where I don’t take some time to check out the most recent postings. I admit it, I’m addicted.

And, since Teachertube is educational, it is not blocked by the county!

We’ll be talking more about Teachertube at the MovieMaker training Wednesday, September 26. In the meantime, if you would like to play around with posting your own videos, here’s a video from Teachertube on how to do it!

Download Video: Posted by jasonohler at TeacherTube.com.