The Teacher Researcher

Promethean's Planet

2008-12-01T15:40:00.000-08:00

I am an avid user of the ActivBoard made by Promethean. Well, I truly have been putting the technology on my wish list for years. I originally promoted other similar technologies, but when my school system decided to go all out with an ActivBoard that included a permanent projector attachment and a wireless slate, I was gladly in for the long haul.

I cannot think of a better way to teach. ActivBoards are interactive white boards that work with an interactive pen. I am able to put worksheets that my students are working on in my 6th grade math classroom on the Activboard and can ask students to show their work right there on the screen. If I am promoting measurement, then I can have a student pull out an interactive ruler on the screen and allow a lesson to be born. The toolstore, which is a part of the software only adds to the excitement that my students and I have felt since I have been using the board for nearly a month now. The toolstore has everything from backgrounds to pictures and manipulatives.

There is more. The Activboard comes with optional items called Activotes, which allow students to vote on a concept that they are learning about in the form of a quiz. For example, if I want to create an "ad hoc" or on the spot quiz, then I can have students in the class vote on a multiple choice quiz that I write up on the screen. I can also prepare quizzes in advance.

The students vote by clicking a button (A, B, C, D) on the Activote. After all students click a response, I have several options, including showing a class graph, which allows me and the students to get immediate feedback. I cannot speak enough about the Promethean technology and what it is doing for the education of my students.

Blogger for life (personal story)

2008-07-16T11:08:00.000-07:00

I am sure that I found blogging rather than blogging finding me. I was born a blogger. Many of us who enjoyed Language Arts as children, or who wrote short stories for fun, had pen pals, owned a diary, wrote poetry, or who generally liked writing about something of interest, have a natural line of selection for blogging.

I was so encouraged when my university contacted me about the entire concept of blogging as a networking tool. I was already thinking of ways in which I could include blogging in teaching my math class in the upcoming school year. Yes, I wanted to add blogging as a concept of learning in math.

I thought, there has to be some updates on blogging in the First Class e-mail and networking system that my school system uses. Sure enough, there is a new feature in First Class 9.0 that allows a blog to be added to a First Class website. Now, I can blog when I am not teaching my students math.

After blogging for a couple of years, I continue to find more places to express my ideas openly because blogging continues to catch on everywhere. I look forward to sharing ideas with my university colleagues and with my teammates in my school system.

2008 Tie Network Summer Institute

2008-07-08T17:29:00.001-07:00

The TIE Network is an organization of teachers who use technology and encourage its use with their students. This summer we met in the Georgia region and discussed the latest technology. I have been a member for a little over a year now. I am a deemed Mimio and Camtasia expert.

As a doctoral candidate, I am constantly looking for ideas that not only help my students but also motivate and bridge the gaps in learning that occur when I teach. I am a firm believer that organizations like the TIE Network are the front runners in giving teachers an avenue of change. Teachers can join for free and all of the resources are free.

Check out some pictures from my recent Summer Institute with the TIE Network and if you are a teacher consider joining today. Also check out some of my blogs on the Georgia Public Broadcasting website. Join so you can get green on the brain like I did.

Slideshow

2007-11-25T08:32:00.000-08:00

There is nothing wrong with a good slideshow to help students learn more about any subject. In math, I am always glad to see how creative students can be making a simple Power point to review math concepts. Some of the student experts really get into the animation and display of their creativity which is a great plan.

Using lap tops is a new phenomenon in the school that I teach in (at least for the past two years). This year they are in high demand. If you are in a school that has lap tops, find a way to sign up for them monthly. It is a great way to help students review concepts in any subject when a plan for a technology related assignment is enforced.

Mimio

2007-10-13T10:18:00.000-07:00

During the month of September 2007, I used a wonderful item called the Mimio. It is an interactive device that allows you to make any white board into an interactive white board. What does that mean? Well if you are familiar with an ActivBoard which is made by Promethean, then you will see the connection. I love all of these companies; however, Mimio has won with ease of use and and mobility. It does the same as the others but with less worry. The biggest advantage with a Mimio is that it can work without wires (with the exception of its plug in the wall). I love what Mimio is doing for my classroom.

Are you going to the 2008 NECC? Look for me there!
Techie Teacher

eSchoolNews making an educational impact

2007-07-25T18:50:00.001-07:00

e School News
There are a variety of websites that exist that are designed to help teachers. However, one that stands out as a leader in making news come to life on a regional, national, and local level is eSchoolNews. This wonderful website discusses news that affects administrators, parents, students, teachers and superintendents.

The layout on the opening page is indicative of the informative nature of the website. The website setup is much like a newspaper and the information is up-to-date and readily accessible. For example, one of the featured topics that has yet to leave the memory of many educators is the National Education Computing Conference (NECC) 2007 that occurred in Atlanta at the Georgia World Congress Center. Educators were featured on the opening page who were interested in sharing their ideas. Go here to see one of my articles that I had the opportunity to write. Check out the main page of eSchoolNews.

Check out my other blog
Techie Teacher
CTS
All rights reserved.

The Research Process

2007-07-21T16:18:00.001-07:00

Research strategies are good for everyone. Students and teachers alike can benefit from getting a good set of research procedures managed to complete a project. One of my goals is to finally complete my dissertation at Capella. Thus, I have always been on the search for good places to learn about how to finish the project. I am always looking for practical and honest advice.

Recently, I came across a website called Finish Your Dissertation in a Year or Less. At first I was skeptical, but saw that there were actual comments and quotes taken from other scholarly professionals. It was awesome to see that this was not just the opinion of one person. Good doctoral students and PhDs truly realize that their best work is likely a compilation of good information they have learned in the academic realm and are willing to share with others. There are some advertisements for books on the website, but a wealth of free advice and a sign-up for a free newsletter. Moreover, the website itself is full of pages of interesting anecdotes for doctoral students.

Check out the website for yourself. Although I learned about the website through scholarly web searching, you can leave comments about Finish Your Dissertation in a Year or Less
here on this blog.

Techie Teacher
All rights reserved 2007.

Camtasia an evolution over 3 years

2007-07-17T17:35:00.002-07:00

A year ago, I thought that the Gateway write-on tablet PC was the next best thing for education. Over the course of a year or two, I have seen Promethean boards and SmartBoards take their place in many schools and classrooms. However, I have heard little about software growth for teachers, with the exception of the wonderful technology that accompanies ActivBoards and Smartboards.

For a couple of months in 2007, I begin hearing about a wonderful software program called Camtasia. However, it had been around for at least three years. When I saw the finished product, I had to get myself involved in the process of making one. Today, I am definitely a true advocate of Camtasia for many reasons after my first post-production.

You just might be wondering what Camtasia is. Camtasia is a screen capture program. However, it is much more. With a set up that is similar to Windows Movie Maker, Camtasia allows on-the-spot editing of voice overs, callouts (which look similar to the cartoon bubbles that you see drawn in comic strips), zoom features, and the creation of transitions. The entire appeal of Camtasia is that it allows teachers the flexibility to start truly sharing internet resources in a "how to" format without having a big meeting. Camtasia has the capacity to improve staff development time and the teaching of lessons to students in the blink of an eye. True technologically enthusiastic teachers will love spending the time that it takes to make a Camtasia production because it can benefits teachers and students. Find out the latest updated information about Camtasia.

All rights reserved.
Techie Teacher 2007

The world of MP3 for educators and students

2007-07-08T18:19:00.000-07:00

Some people may find the topic of MP3 players as old news, but in the world of education, the topic continues to emerge. As an educator, you may wonder what value an MP3 player can have to your classroom. When I enter teacher workshops on technology, such as the NECC 2007, I was once again reminded of the MP3 player and its value to learning.

What is an MP3 player? Basically, it is a popular audio encoding format. One of the extensions that many people save music with or small video clips with is called MPEG. The other name for MP3 is MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3. However, regardless of the technical name, MP3 players can be very useful in the classroom.

Ipods are really great for creating a podcast. A podcast is basically an internet broadcast with an Apple MP3 player called an Ipod. These podcasts are valuable to students who can share their opinions in teacher-led educational webcasts or for students who want to create their own.

In the end, the use of MP3 players will likely increase as educators continue to realize that their importance has grown from simple storage places for music and videos. Educators and students have the power to take these technological tools to another level. We all have the power to make changes with technology in an value-laden manner.

7.7.07 The Number Seven

2007-07-07T14:59:00.001-07:00

Today I wanted to follow this theme of using the number seven today on this once in a century event of it being the seventh month, the seventh day, and the year 2007. First of all, one of my passions is working with children, but I also like to work with adults regarding technology and learning. So, today I want to share 7 things that can add technology to the average classroom. This is a precursor to things to come regarding this topic for me. So here they are for the next school year:

1. Use Cool websites: Add a new educational website to your students' knowledge base at least once a month. Here are some websites for grades 3-6.
2. Get a digital camera: You can buy them cheap and design lessons around them. Students and teachers can create everything from storybooks documenting school events or in-classroom assignments in all subjects.
3. Create a blog. Students have been ready for a teacher blog for years or a teacher-led student blog. The time in now and a few educational blog sites give a few blogs for free for a certain number of students.
4. Show a movie: Digital streaming is taking over the web. There are a number of websites that help students and teachers learn more about particular topics. Here is the Discovery Channel's United Streaming website.
5. Personal Website. Many school systems allow websites to be created by teachers at no cost. Utilize this as an advantage to work with your students and your parents.
6. Slideshows. Many teachers have been using slideshows for years. However, with newer versions of Microsoft Powerpoint being added as basic software items in schools across the nation, they are becoming even more exciting as learning tool.
7. Wikis. If you have not heard of a wiki yet, then you must take a look at one in action. Wikis are web applications that allow several users to add to the original topic created by the first author. One of the biggest efforts for a wiki with kid related content is called WikiJunior.

Thank you for taking the time to read and I hope this was helpful.

Created by Techie Teacher
CTS
All rights reserved. 2007

Teachers as researchers

2007-07-06T16:00:00.000-07:00

It is a new day in education. The new millennium is bringing out more teacher researchers. The idea of this concept is growing as more people like myself are making efforts to do this type of research as a part of a higher education program.

Some may ask, just what is teacher research? According to Johnson (1993), teacher research begins with action research. This includes “trying out ideas in practice as a means of increasing knowledge about and/or improving curriculum, teaching, and learning” (Johnson, 1993). Teachers may try new ideas that can be evaluated in the school setting that the educator teaches in, across schools within an entire school system, or across an entire region of schools.

The point of this entire opening post is to acknowledge and spark discussion regarding teachers who are finally using ways to establish education as a true professional field. Serious teacher-researchers can come up with ideas that will influence changes in a school or a school system for a number of years. As more teachers try action research as a part of improving education, it will receive more credibility.

Source: Johnson, B. (1993). Teacher as researcher. Retrieved July 1, 2007 from http://www.ericdigests.org/1993/researcher.htm

CTS

Techie Teacher

My other blog: http://carlosandthenecc.blogspot.com/

2007