Brainstorming with Bubbl.us

So lately my posts have been more along the lines of a true "web log" chronicling what I've been doing and the thoughts I've had. So with this post, I'm back to using the blog to highlight what I think is a cool web-based tool for brainstorming.

Bubbl.us is a site used to create mindmaps. Creating an account is free and allows you access to all the features, and you can even try it out without signing up. It's nice because once you have created a map, you can share your maps or brainstorm with others, and there is no download or software to install. When the brainstorming is done you can export as an image or print it out. It is easy to use and the final product looks pretty sleek. Check out an example I created below:

The Challenge of Sustainable Staff Development

Lately, I've been in discussions with schools throughout the district on how to best support the technology training we've already had this year, rather than adding new workshops. And I've been out to schools to do follow-up sessions on blogs, smart and activboards and schoolcenter teacherpages workshops done earlier this year. The format has been group meetings that are focused more on reviewing and asking questions rather than delivering new information.

There are several schools I serve that understand that many teachers need more than a one hour "sit and get" if they are going to really use the technology in their instruction. Many teachers have follow-up questions and need time to reflect and brainstorm when they acquire a new tool, and I commend those willing to do this because the "carrot" of tech credit is gone for these sessions. These are teachers who are showing up because they want to better understand how to use the technology.

Yesterday at Jefferson Elementary three teachers came in after school to the lab for a help session on their teacher webpages. We answered group questions and reviewed some steps, but much of the time was spent working on their pages with Joan (their tech facilitator) and I assisting them. We started around 2:45 and finished around 4:10, and at the end of the day I thought each of them made real strides with their pages.

Too often I think staff development workshops (technology or otherwise) plant a seed but don't do enough to nurture its growth early on. Follow-up is key if we want teachers to use the skills and resources we are sharing.

NCTIES 2009

I'm starting to get excited about attending the NCTIES (formerly NCAECT) Technology Conference next month in Raleigh. I've been fortunate to attend the conference many times, and last year I got to present there. Every year the sessions offer something new, and the nationally known speakers bring their knowledge and interesting perspectives in instructional technology.

This year I get the benefit of being part of what should be a great preconference session at the N.C. Museum of History. I was in Raleigh Monday for a planning meeting with copresenters Marlo Gaddis and Matt Barfield and really look forward to seeing how the whole day will come together with teachers from around the state. The session, sponsored by CSI, should be a good blend of technology and social studies and will be a subject for future blogging.

Activexpressions Make an Impression

Today I visited Forest Park Elementary to assist in setting up their Activexpressions. Activexpressions are learner response systems for the Promethean Activboards. And although they are similar to the Activotes, which preceded them and Senteos, which is the Smarttech version, expressions are awesome because these devices allow the user to text answers in the same way a cell phone is used.

So along with the kinds of "True or False" and multiple choice quizzes you're used to with activotes, with CPS units or senteos you can set up questions that allow for short answer texting with the expression. Although the expressions currently require an additional software install, I was impressed with how easy it was to set them up and get started. I'm anxious to see how the teachers and students at Forest Park will respond to this technology.

Although these are currently being updated on our district technology price list, the price tag might be a deterrent. However, Promethean is currently running a contest where they are giving sets away to lucky classrooms. Check out the contest.

Additional thanks to April, who is now exploring a "hand modeling" career.

The Technology-Rich Classroom for Free

There are an amazing number of technology tools available for teachers to support their classroom, and even more services purchased by our district for teachers. This tools aren't just websites to visit, but tools for instruction. And workshops in all of these are currently offered by our department. So although we hope all classrooms will eventually have interactive whiteboards, projectors, document cameras, newer computers, etc...these are some tools you can use now. And if your classroom is outfitted with good tech equipment these tools will enhance what you can do in class.

Blogs provide a great way to engage students using technology. Whether posting assignments or showcasing class events, blogs using Blogger are free and relatively easy to set up and get going.Photostory is a great program that can be installed on all computers, but if it preferable to use a service that allows you to communicate with a much broader audience and house digital stories, take a look at Voicethread. Accounts are free, and we have several teachers and schools in our district using this with students. If you need a kid-safe search engine, we have a district license for netTrekker. You can also use DEStreaming for finding digital media that we also have a site license for. If you want a way to organize bookmarks try delicious; for organizing RSS try out Google reader. If you'd like to videoconference but don't have a big budget, see if you have a projector and webcam in your school, and use Skype (part of the Creating Global Connections workshop). If you need to collaborate with a group in a website set up a wiki.

The great thing about using these tools is that most are web-based and don't require installation. So start working on that technology-rich classroom, on a budget, with some of these free and worthwhile options.

Gigapan.org.......wow

There is no shortage of sites with great digital pictures on the web, but gigapan seems to offer something a little different. The images offers a panoramic view composed of many picutures allowing the viewer to move around the picture as well as zoom in to areas. The photo resolution is amazing. The only drawback I found was because the resolution is so impressive and the image is huge, it may take some time for it to load in your browser. But the payoff may well be worth the wait. 

One of the recently featured panoramas is David Bergman's President Obama's Inaugural Address. This panorama was created from over 200 images with a final size of 1,474 megapixels. I was able to zoom in on the President as well as the snipers positioned on rooftops on buildings in the distance. The panoramas can even be downloaded and viewed in GoogleEarth (version 4.2 or higher). Check out the image from the Mount Rushmore panorama in Google Earth below.

This site can allow you bring images into the classroom in stunning detail. 

Free Audio and Podcast Directory

As America waits for the inauguration of our 44th president how about reviewing some other great speeches in history or audio files that might peek your students' interest or supplement your class instruction? The site learnoutloud.com offers a wide array of podcasts and audio files for free download. The podcast directory offers everything from Great Speeches in History to Learning Japanese to Aerobics. The site also links to other providers of media where you could find both the video or audio of Barack Obama's speech from the 2004 Democractic National Convention (complete with the transcript) on americanrhetoric.com. 

Learnoutloud.com boasts "the Internet's largest directory of free audio & video learning resources." And you might be surprised at the variety and selection, which is the one drawback of the site. I found it time consuming to locate some of my files of interest. I didn't find an easy way to find my files, but once I did it was very simple to stream. So take a few minutes check out some of the audio offerings on Learnoutloud. 

photo from http://www.learnoutloud.com/