Teachers R Learning

Wordle (Web 2.0 PD Menu)

2010-07-12T19:46:00.008-06:00

Wordle

Wordle is a way to generate word clouds using text. Word clouds can be tweaked by changing the color, fonts, and color schemes of the text. Wordles can be used in different curricular areas within elementary and secondary levels.

Wordles can be saved as a PDF. The following are instructions on how to save a Wordle as a PDF using a MAC and a PC. There's a "Print..." button below the Wordle area, on the left-hand side. Press it. You will be prompted to allow the Wordle "Java applet" to access your printer. Please check the check box that says "Always permit", and accept the dialog.

On the Mac, you'll have to press the "Print..." button again. Mac users can simply "Save as PDF" from their built-in printer dialog.

Windows users will need to use third-party software to generate a PDF from the print dialog. Adobe Acrobat is fine, but u can use the free CutePDF Writer. If you do use CutePDF, you'll also need to install Ghostscript, a free PostScript interpreter.
The PDFs you make in this way are fully scalable, and suitable for making posters, T-Shirts, etc.

Wordle Tip:

If you place a ~ between compound words or words in a sentence, the words, phrase, or sentence will stay together. This is a great tip for educators to know when having their students create Wordles. www.world.net

Examples of Class Wordles created in CSD:

KidBlog-Elementary Student Blogging

2010-06-10T14:30:00.004-06:00

One frustration for Elementary teachers is finding a blog service that allows elementary students to blog without using an email. Does such a service exist? Kidblog is simple for elementary students to use, it's free, and it is safe to use in a classroom setting. This is a great tool to use that allows students to focus on their writing instead of focusing on the technology tool. Teachers have the control of the comments that their students leave and the blog can only be seen by the teacher and students. A teacher can set up the account where parents can view the blog, but a password is required. Comments cannot come from outside sources and personal information is not collected in Kidblog. I feel that when students blog, teachers are encouraging collaboration, but it needs to be in a safe environment. This is one solution for elementary teachers to use to encourage blogging. Check it out!

VOIP-Social Software

2010-01-25T12:00:00.004-07:00

VOIP is shortened for the term Voice over Internet Protocol and is a general term used referring to the family of transmission technologies used for the delivery of voice communications over the internet (wikipedia.org). These are a few places found where you can sign up to call your family, friends, and co-workers for free, or for a lower price, over the internet. Check these out. Just sharing!

Lingo Talk

Skype (My personal favorite.)

Voip

Creative Educator

2010-01-08T15:20:00.003-07:00

The Creative Educator is an educational magazine produced by Tech4Learning, inc. that can be subscribed to for free. Creative Educator features articles about educators and how they have used educational technology in their classrooms. This magazine is filled with ideas, tips, etc. and is really worth subscribing to if you are a teacher. If you go to their website, and click on subscribe, there is an information box for you to fill out and submit to the magazine.

Microsoft Updates

2009-12-07T15:53:00.008-07:00

I have been amazed at how many teachers have not done microsoft updates on their computers. Then I started thinking about if I have done mine recently. It is problematic if you do not have your updates set to run automatically for microsoft. So, if you want to make sure that you have updated your microsoft software, this is what you will need to do to make sure it has been done recently. Open up a word document in microsoft word. Click on Help which is located in your Microsoft tool bar. Then click on check for updates.

After you click on check for updates, a box will pop up that asks you How would you like to check for software updates? Make sure you click on Automatically so that the updates will be checked on a more frequent basis.

If updates have not been installed, it will take awhile for updates to be checked and installed so that your software is up to par. Thanks to Bonnie Young who is the tech teacher at Midvale Elementary. She took a minute to show me how to run an update, so I wanted to share what was shared with me.

Technology Teacher Survey

2009-11-18T10:02:00.005-07:00

Here is the link for the CSD technology survey for teachers to take in the district. The survey was created in google documents as a google form. Please make sure you click on the submit button after you fill out the survey. Thanks for taking a few minutes to answer these questions.

https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dEJKOUZhdThFWDFrUjd2cmg5OHc5eFE6MA

AudibleKids

2009-11-13T15:30:00.004-07:00

AudibleKids is an audiobook website where books can be downloaded for adults and kids to listen to and read. It is a great website for parents, kids, and educators. Books can be downloaded for free through the RIF (Reading is Fundamental) program. To access free books, click on the link for audiblekids, scroll to the bottom of the page and look on the bottom left of the link, and click on the RIF logo. Books can be downloaded on your computer or MP3 player. I think that this is a great site for teachers to use in the classroom.

Using the AVervision Document Camera with a Smart Board

2009-10-28T15:32:00.014-06:00

I'm thinking it is time to get on the stick and start posting again in my blog. Hopefully teachers will find this post helpful in JSD and CSD. As part of our Engaged Classroom plan last year in JSD, every EC teacher in elementary received an 300AF+ AverVision document camera from AverMedia. This past month, several teachers at Crescent Elementary had asked if there was a way for their document camera to be used with their Smart Board. After spending a few hours working with cords and looking on the internet, there is a way!!!!!!! There is software that came with the document camera and that will need to be installed on your computer. There are updated versions of the software that will need to be downloaded. Here is the link for the most recent software update depending on the model you own.
http://www.avermedia-usa.com/presentation/download.asp
This is the procedure for connecting to an interactive whiteboard.
1. You will need two VGA cables. One VGA needs to be connected from the projector's video input port to the AverVision's VGA out port, which is the blue colored port. The other VGA needs to be connected from the AverVision's VGA in port to the computer's VGA port.
2. A USB cable needs to be connected between the interactive whiteboard and the computer.
3. A separate USB cable needs to be connected between the AverVision and the computer.
4. Turn the AverVision on and make sure you have selected the "PC mode" on the camera. Once this is on, you need to open the AverVision software located in your applications folder. When this has been opened, you should be able to see the image underneath the document camera.
5. Open your tools for the interactive whiteboard, Smart tools in the applications folder if you are using a Smart board, and you are now ready to use the document camera image on your interactive whiteboard.

I did need to use a USB hub in order to have room to plug in my USB cords.

This is a shot of a USB cord connected between the laptop and the Smartboard.

CSD-EMT Retreat

2009-07-20T08:35:00.001-06:00

I was a little worried that this week was going to be long, since I have been working on the same team with Darren and Kelly in JSD, and was part of the planning for the EC program. I have actually learned a lot and the retreat has given me time to reflect and learn more about social networking and the importance it has in education. These are my thoughts about CSD Retreat (training) week.
I was very glad to have learned more about Twitter. I feel like I have a better handle of how to use Twitter as one of my new PLN's. I finally see the benefits of using Twitter and how it can help me as an educator. Most of the people that were Skyped into our trainings, were also members of the Twitter world. After using it daily with my EMT team, I have been able to send direct messages, leave notes from Skype, and connect with other educators outside of Utah. I look forward to continuing networking this new school year through Twitter.
I came away from this week with the "Big Rocks". The first would be, relationships. It is going to be very helpful for me to build relationships in my schools. In building a relationship, trust should be built, and hopefully teachers will be willing to let me in their room to help integrate technology into their curriculum. Another rock would be students. It is important that I place students first when teaching educators. It is ALL about the students!!!!! Another important rock is the importance of me being a Learner. I should be a learner as I teach others. All teachers should be learners along with their students. I think this is important to get across to teachers because the thought was that we should know everything. With the technology changing so regularly, it is hard to know everything!!!! I am very excited about working with Canyons School District and working with my new team.

NECC 09-Web 2.0 for K-3 Learning

2009-06-30T06:59:00.040-06:00

Top 10 Web 2.0 Tools for K-3 Learning by: Gail Lovely

There really are resources to use in the classroom with grades K-3. :)
10.
Vocaroo A voice recording service.
9.
SimplyBox Recording, capturing, and sharing on the web.
8.
Kerpoof Kerpoof can be used to create original artwork, animated movies, and stories, among other things. It does have a newsletter. This is in interactive creative tool. Action and motion can be added, which is good for kids.
7.
YackPack This is like voicemail that can be left for one student or all students. Students can respond as well with their verbal communication. Texting can also be done using this tool. This is a closed community social network.
6.
Glogster Interactive posters which share information, ideas, and thoughts. This can be used in the public or private world. (One page website.) A teacher can add up to 200 accounts for free. They reside under your teacher account. They are not allowed to go out into the public world and it provides a safe environment for the students.
5.
Animoto
http://education.animoto.com This uses pics and music to create a slideshow. Students have choices in their slideshow including speed of change, order, and music to add, etc.
4.
Skype Communication and connecting with the REAL world. There is a list compiled of authors that are willing to Skype into classrooms for up to 15 minutes for free. I think this would be great for teachers to use in their classrooms.
skypeanauthor.wetpaint.com
3.
VoiceThread Students have the opportunity to respond to an image through voice or their writing. Projects can be done by students as far as experiences, digital storytelling, presentations, etc.
2.
Blogs
classblogmeister.com
The center is the teacher's blog and then the students blog are on the side of the page. Teachers can approve (or not) comments made by students. Authentic audience and authentic purpose.
Other Tools for Blogging:
Blogger, Class Blogmeister, 21Classes, Gaggle.net, and yola.com (new tool for creating a website or blog.)
1.
Wikis A place where many voices can be added. In the younger grades, one sentence or one pic could be added. There is versatility.
Other Resources:
Voki:
Uses: Students reading spelling words as avatars, narrators to blogs and wikis.......
bubbl.us
Brainstorming online. Mind mapping online tools that are free.

Quote: "There can be infinite uses of the computer and of new age technology, but if the teachers themselves are not able to bring it into theclassroom and make it work, then it fails."
Nancy Kassebaum, U.S. Senator

Day #3-Reflection of Keynote Speaker

2009-06-29T08:00:00.000-06:00

Keynote Speaker for NECC 2009

Last night was the big kickoff of the NECC 2009 conference. The Opening Keynote was given by Malcolm Gladwell, whom is the author of several books that have landed in the best-seller list of the New York Times. He compared teaching to the rock band Fleetwood Mac, which was an interesting comparison, but really had no relevance to being an educator using technology. However, his point was that because of the band's perseverance, they built on their failures, not their successes. ******He does practice his notes well, because he spoke about the same comparison at a recent charity held this month. Charity Presentation by Malcolm

Some insightful things he said were the following:

"Success doesn't happen overnight! Sometimes it takes years."

"Effort: what you get is simply the function of what you put into it."

"Compensation strategies are better than capitalization strategies. Hunger and effort compensation strategies are better and more effective than talent."

"Failure isn't failure. It's learning."

"The struggle to learn something is where the learning lies."

"Meaningful learning is approaching a task with joy and excitement. It doesn't matter where the learning takes place, but how the learning takes place. We need to make a meaningful, learning environment."

Note: I think the presentation would have been better if he had started out with this last statement first and built upon that concept. I could have done without the Fleetwood Mac and NFL draft comparisons, especially since it had no relevance to educators and technology. Just sayin!!!!!

A tidbit of information. It was announced tonight by the ISTE president Helen Padgett that after this conference, future conferences will be referred to as the ISTE conference, not NECC conference. There is change going on everywhere these days. What does ISTE mean? International Society for Technology in Education. Did you learn something new today?

"The illiterate of the 21st century won't be those who can't read & write,
but those who can't learn, unlearn & relearn" - Alvin Toffler

NECC 09-Day #2

2009-06-28T21:57:00.013-06:00

Workshop #2: Googlepalooza: Great Google Applications

I was a little disappointed in this workshop because I was hoping to learn about "new" applications, and it was a pretty basic class. In fact, I have taught the applications to other specialists and teachers in my school district. The apps included google docs, forms, presentation, google maps, and google earth.
Tiny URL: The instructor did share the site tinyurl.com. This is where you go when you want to shorten the length of a "long" URL address that you would like to post online.
Twoogle: Bonnie, a friend who was in the same workshop, did share with me a site called twoogle. This app allows you to search twitter and google simultaneously when you type a topic in the search box. This is very cool.
Twofind: When I was visiting the twoogle site, Browsys, maker of twoogle, suggested to look also at Twofind. This app allows you to search Google and Bing simultaneously when doing an internet search. Bing is a new search engine that has been developed by Microsoft. Amazingly, the really cool thing about Twofind is you can choose between two search engines to run simultaneously. (Google/Bing), (Google/Yahoo), (Google/Twitter), (Bing/Yahoo), (Bing/Twitter), and for videos (Google/Bing) in a drop down box.

I did learn a few new tricks to add to my teaching bag today.
NECC is a great place to network and share!!!!!!!

“The technology itself is not transformative.
It’s the school, the pedagogy, that is transformative.” - Tanya Byron

NECC 09-Day #1

2009-06-27T08:15:00.035-06:00

Now is a time for me to learn as an educator, so I can go out and teach other teachers about 21st century skills and how to apply those skills within the classroom. NECC is a great opportunity to learn from others and to social network. The whole experience is very motivating, exciting, and it gives me a charge that I need to continue to move forward with "new" ideas to learn, share, and teach to others!!!!!

Ideas Learned at NECC 09 Saturday Workshop:
17 Free Software Tools for the 21st Century Classroom

Here are a few things I have learned about in my workshop. Dr. DiBlasi shared a site called polleverywhere.com. It is a free application that can be used to create questions for a poll. Students use their cell phone to text in their answers to the poll and you can see the results on the web. A teacher could also collect data while interacting with students in the classroom. It is very cool and a great way to have students use their cell phones. Students actually using their cell phones? Now there is a novel idea!

Web 2.0-100 Tools for Teachers:
http://snurl.com/web2tools
You will find links and explanations of over 100 Web 2.0 tools that teachers can use in their classroom. A great resource for teachers to access online.

Twitter:
Twitter is a mini-blogging platform with messages (tweets) that can be sent up to 140 characters.

Dr. Howie gave the example of how a teacher uses twitter with her students' parents in the classroom. I really like this idea of teachers using this web 2.0 tool as a way of communication with parents. Twitter is used to post assignments due, projects, events happening, etc. in the classroom for parents. Could an elementary teacher use Twitter with her students' parents? Absolutely!!!!

Twitter for Beginners - 5 Things to Do as a New Twitter User
http://www.problogger.net/archives/2008/07/26/twitter-for-beginners-5-thing s-to-do-as-a-new-twitter-user/
I thought this article was very helpful about how to become a "twitterer."

TweetDeck is an application that will allow you to set up your friends, acknowledgments and direct messages for your twitter connections. I really like this application because it helped me organize my tweets in a way where I wasn't overwhelmed. Another bonus, I can also add the app to my iPhone. Love Tweetdeck!!!!! It can be downloaded for free at http://tweetdeck.com/beta/. Dr. Howie DiBlasi personally showed me how to set up tweetdeck and it actually made sense to me. I'm going to download the program and actually use it!!!! He also showed me tweetpics and how you can share pics on Twitter.

Here is Dr. Howie's web page, which is full of information. What I liked about him is that he was all about sharing. This is exactly what all educators should be doing. Networking! Sharing!

"'It is today we must create the world of the future.'"

-Eleanor Roosevelt

Free Vocabulary Resources

2009-06-02T12:30:00.003-06:00

At various conferences I have attended, I have ran across a resource that offers free content for all teachers in Elementary, Secondary, and higher level education. There is no subscription fee. There are themed activities, vocabulary lists, interactive word puzzles, etc. that are available for educators to use. The site is called Vocabulary and it is found at vocabulary.com. Check it out! I think the resources are relevant for what teachers need in their classroom.

Book Talks

2009-03-20T10:51:00.002-06:00

As I have been observing our EC Trainers, I wanted to share an idea that I watched at Columbia Elementary. Andrea, who is a Trainee and a 6th rade teacher, shared with her class some Book Talks that you can find on scholastic.com. After her class saw a couple, she discussed with them the specifics of a book talk and this is how her class is going to do their "book reports". Isn't that a fun idea in creating a book report? Basically, the students will be discussing their books, without giving away the ending. They have to be creative with how they introduce their books, so that the watcher will want to read the book! Doesn't Jordan School District have awesome teachers?
Bravo Andrea!!!!!!!

Podcasting in GarageBand

2009-02-23T12:41:00.023-07:00

I thought it was awesome how these 6th graders from Columbia Elementary created a podcast using Garageband. Melissa and Erica created a podcast about historical people. They blended music with their voices and created a page to look at while viewers listened to their audio podcast. I did edit this podcast by taking out the "likes" and the "ums" but the main work was accomplished by these two 6th grade students. I think the podcast would have been polished if they did just a little more research with their facts. However, I thought this was a great start and that their teacher did a groovy job in letting the students actually create podcasts in her classroom. Bravo Melissa and Erica!

Quote: I hear, and I forget. I see, and I remember. I do, and I understand.

-- Chinese Proverb

Geometry Unit - Using the Internet

2009-02-04T14:14:00.018-07:00

Jen, an EC (engaged classroom) teacher trainer from Columbia Elem., developed four Geometry Mini Lessons to help her students in 6th grade, learn about Geometry and to prepare them for end of year testing. The students were given web assignments that included directions, a web link, and computer skills that the student used for each assignment. I really liked how she organized the web assignments into 4 mini lessons, where each student had to complete their assignments in consecutive order. After the assignments were completed, the students have to take a UTIPS test on geometry, which is used as their assessment. I did obtain permission from her to post her assignments and also give you the web link to her UTIPS test, to help you see how she set up the questions that are used for the assessment. If you decide to use these assignments, please give credit where it is due! :) Kudos to Jen!!!!! This is an excellent way to use technology in the classroom.

Geometry Mini Assignments
Lesson #1
Lesson #2
Lesson #3
Lesson #4

Assessment
Geometry UTIP Questions

Science Podcasting at JPJ Middle School

2009-01-16T15:47:00.027-07:00

I have had the opportunity to work with 9th graders in Mrs. Monson's science class at Joel P. Jensen Middle School. It has been so fun to work with her students. Mrs. Monson is an amazing science teacher. One of the projects we worked on with her 9th grade students was in GarageBand. She wrote a list with her students of the different labs they had done in class since the beginning of the year. She paired the students and they had to choose a lab that they enjoyed and write a script about their favorite lab experience. The students then created a script and recorded it in garageband. Their recordings actually outlined the Scientific Method. Here are a couple of 9th grade student audio podcasts that were created about their lab experiences.

Everlasting Gobstopper (6th period)
Time: One minute 20 seconds

Rockets (6th period)
Time: 51 seconds

Rocket Time (6th period)
Time: One minute 2 seconds

Osmosis (7th period)
Time: 1 minute 45 seconds

Diffusion Lab (7th Period)
Time 1 minute

Quote: Self-control is knowing you can, but deciding you won't.

Comic Life

2008-12-11T14:16:00.024-07:00

As I have worked with teachers in the Elementary and Secondary schools these past couple of months, students are creating awesome projects using the program called Comic Life. Comic Life is relatively easy to use and students who are even in the 3rd grade, can use this fun program. The following are examples of what students have completed in Jordan School District. The projects range from All About Me to a students assignment in Jr. High about predators and hosts. Kudos to these teachers who are doing such great work in their classrooms.

Examples of Completed Projects
These two projects were based on a reading unit called Esperanza Rising. I had gone into this 6th grade class and already had pictures for them in a file that they could use for this particular unit. The students created a cause and effect chart of the different situations that arose in the book. Thanks to Mrs. Reich's class for their great work!

These are some examples of students All About Me projects that were done in 3-6 grades. Students were directed to safe sites where pictures and clipart were collected.
I also came into the labs with two files of pictures, one for favorite books and one for favorite movie, for the students to work from while they were in comic life.

These were comic life projects completed for science.

Comic life can be used for an array of projects. Here is one that I typed as a reminder for a meeting that is coming up in February.

Quote: "Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world."
-- Albert Einstein

GarageBand in the Classroom

2008-11-13T19:53:00.019-07:00

I worked with a 6th grade class at Columbia in Garage Band. It has been so much fun! After giving the students background information about how recording music has changed in the music industry, why tracks are used in this software program, and allowing the students to explore in GarageBand, the students did a fun project using a Thanksgiving Poem. I gave each of the students a Five Little Turkeys. They read the poem and added a different vocal for the narrator and each of the turkeys that spoke, as they recorded their voices in GarageBand. Some of the students had time to add music to their poem. Here is a recording of one of the poems today.

Five Little Turkeys: (There is no way to upload an MP3 larger than 100 MB on my blog, so if you would like to hear an example, please email me and I will share it with you.)

Mrs. Buttars, the teacher, is having them draw a picture in KidPix, and then the individual pictures will be attached to their recordings. I also gave her a reader's theatre play called the Ugly Turkey. This is another great way for students to work in groups and record a play using sound effects, different vocals, and adding music. Any questions, please feel free to email me.

Quote: "Those who believe they can and those who believe they can't are both right."
-Henry Ford

Skype in Elementary

2008-11-04T14:34:00.008-07:00

I had the opportunity to work with a G/T Specialist, Deanna Taylor, in our district. She is over the program Monster Math and agreed to teach about it to a 6th grade class via Skype. We did worry about technical difficulties, so she taught her lesson in the school, but from the computer lab. She skyped into the class through the teacher computer and taught about problem solving processes, showed a powerpoint in Skype, and then had the students work in groups on a Monster Math problem. The following are comments students made about using Skype as a Web 2.0 tool in the classroom.
(These students wrote comments with the understanding that they were the first class we taught using Skype.)
*I loved it. I am so glad you picked us to do it.
*I had fun doing math.
*I think using Skype is very cool!
*I thought it was kinda weird, but cool because it was just like she was in the room with us.
* I liked using Skype because it gives us an opportunity to connect with teachers in different places.
Thanks to Mrs. Buttars and her 6th grade in Columbia that let us work with them and thanks to Deanna for her wonderful job of teaching Monster Math and being willing to implement a Web 2.0 tool into her 21st Century Learning Classroom.

Completed Project by a 6th Grade Team!

Wordle - Beautiful Word Clouds

2008-10-02T09:46:00.008-06:00

I had the opportunity to train the Computer Lab Assistants on Friday, September 26th, and the topic of wordles came into discussion. This is the link: wordle.net Here is a wordle I made for our EC teachers.

There were a couple of tricks that came up during our discussion and I thought it would be a good idea to share on my blog. I did learn a couple of new things myself. First of all, if you need to go back to add words for the word cloud and you do not want to retype all of your words again in the word box, hit the refresh button and you will be taken to your word box to add words to it.
Second, you can print your wordle from the internet site or save it as a PDF. You can also do a screen shot and save your wordle as a jpeg. There was a word of caution to be careful when you have the kids on the homepage of the wordle. Different types of word clouds are posted on the main page, so it may be a good idea to already have the create a word cloud up so that students can begin typing as soon as they sit at their computer.

Quote:
The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn. Alvin Toffler

Spanning Sync

2008-09-20T22:59:00.006-06:00

I love utilizing iCal because it is so easy to schedule appointments using my iPhone. However, my team likes to use google calendar. This was a problem for me because I really didn't have a way to sync my iCal with Google calendar and I did not want to have to keep up with two separate calendars. One of my team members told me about Spanning Sync. It is a program that automatically syncs my iCal to my Google calendar. It is sweet to use. I tried out the trial version first, loved it, and decided to pay my $25.00 fee for a year subscription. Check out the link.
spanningsync.com
For Windows base users who use Outlook, Google has a program that will do the same thing that Spanning Sync does for the Mac. This helps my husband and I keep up with each other's schedules as we look at our Google calendars. This makes life very easy when planning the week around daycare and who will be where when. Google applications rock!

Quote: "There can be infinite uses of the computer and of new age technology, but if the teachers themselves are not able to bring it into the classroom and make it work, then it fails."
Nancy Kassebaum, U.S. Senator

What Does It Mean to be Engaged?

2008-09-15T00:56:00.011-06:00

iMovie Video Responses by 6th Graders

I had the opportunity to work with a 6th grade class on Friday, Sept. 12th. Prior to Friday, the teacher had showed the students the video on our wiki page theengagedclassroom.wikispaces.com called A Vision of K-12 Students Today. The teacher thought it would be fun for the students to make a video response to this video by answering the question What does it mean to be engaged? The six one minute videos will be compiled into a one six minute video response.

Before I came to work with the class, the students had been divided into 6 groups. They had then written down what they were going to do for their responses. (Like what they needed for props, signs, pictures, and technology equipment needed for their groups.)
On Friday, I met with each of the groups. I was really impressed with the students and their creativity using Web 2.0 tools. These are some of the tools that were used and integrated into their video responses.

Pics4learning.com
USB drive to transfer their pictures to another laptop.
Soundzabound from Pioneer library
iTunes
Ipod
Microphone attached to the iPod.

The students thought it was really cool that they could actually use an iPod as a recorder. I also had the chance to talk to the class about what it means to work as a team and how everyone can have a role in the project.
My favorite comments came from two of the “harder” kids in the bunch on how much fun they had working on their iMovie projects. They didn't have a clue that while they were having fun, they were also learning. Because everyone was engaged on their projects, there weren’t really any discipline problems to contend with as I worked with them in the classroom. The students were also excited to share their projects with the class and what they had learned that day.

Quote: Do not train children to learning by force and harshness, but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.

-- Plato

Engaged Classroom Trainers- Blogging

2008-09-08T12:37:00.013-06:00

I have been contemplating about what kind of blog I wanted to do that would be considered "educational". I think blogging is a cool idea, but where do you go with it and will people really be interested enough to read it? I have decided that this blog will be dedicated to the engaged classroom teacher trainers that I work with in Jordan School District. I have been very surprised and tickled with the work and the Web 2.0 tools that these teachers are using in the classroom. I love the blogs that these teachers have created and the communication that they are promoting with the students and the parents.
Way to go teachers!!!!!

Check out these blogs that our teachers have created for classroom use! They update their blogs weekly and they are currently being used for the current school year.
6th Grade Blog At Columbia Elementary
6th Grade Blog at Terra Linda Elementary
5th Grade Blog at Oquirrh Elementary
5th Grade Blog at Riverside Elementary

Quote: 'It is not the biggest, the brightest or the best that will survive, but those who adapt the quickest.' Charles Darwin