Thursday, June 4, 2009

SUMMER! Some Tech Tools to Try Out Over the Summer

Happy Vacation!
Some things you need to know for the Summer -
  1. Hide your remotes - in your deskdrawer or a filing cabinet.
  2. If you have a problem with your mac over the Summer - you can email me - I will check my school email at least 2 times a week. Or, go to http://www.apple.com/support/
  3. To access your email from anywhere- go to http://www.fairview.k12.k.oh.us/webmail login with your network login and password - it is in a little bit different format since it is running in Outlook.

New Classroom Management System - Progress Book

Our love hate relationship with SOIN has come to an end. We are going to be using Progress Book for this coming school year. The district evaluated ESIS, Pinnacle, Progress Book, Infinite Campus and SOIN. Progress Book proved to be the best choice for our district. It has a dashboard style main page that is very user friendly. The gradebook has a variety of options including the ability to track traditional points based assignments and progress on mastering state indicators ( yep - that would be standards based grading) Teachers can easily share gradebook pages with each other. Assignments can be entered for credit - or can be entered as a record that is not included in the actual grade. In addition to the gradebook, the program also offers a Lesson Plan Bank- which can also be shared with other users and a "shareable" Assignment Bank. Teachers and Administrators will have the ability to make customized reports that can be used at parent meetings or to track athletic elegibility or the need for tutoring. An added bonus is that LEECA is providing the first tier trouble shooting support. Because the program is supported by LEECA, all of our student data is available - including attendance and contact information. That means that attendance will show up in your teacher view - in real time. You can also create seating charts using the pictures that are tied to the student data base and use the seating chart to take attendance. If you would like to check out Progress Book before our beginning of the school year training in August, you can find the PDF Getting Started for Teachers manual and the quick reference sheet at https://www.progressbook.com/Support/SupportMenuUser.aspx?M=2

Podcast Server
Ever wish you could record a lecture to share with students who were absent - or need an easy way for students to record a presentation to share with the class? We now have the ability to do podcast captures from our mac laptops- and immediately post it on the web using the Fairview Server - so it is not truly public. This is a good option if you only want your students to be accessing it. Once it has a URL, it can be linked to blog sites or class webpages - and made available on the broader web. The Podcast Capture tool can be used to record a video, record audio - including music, upload existing files and do narrated screen captures.

To see a sample video - CLICK HERE

To see a sample screencast (narrated screen capture - using a laptop & an airliner) CLICK HERE

How to get started
First, you need to set up a local page on our server.
  1. Go to http://learning.fairview.k12.oh.us/
  2. Click on USERS in the upper right hand corner
  3. Select "Create Your Weblog"
  4. Use your network user name and password
  5. Now you have a Fairview Blog- which is where the podcast will post (upload to)
  6. Each blog post will have its own url - for example my blog is http://learning.fairview.k12.oh.us/users/cshryock/ But the URL of the recorded music is http://learning.fairview.k12.oh.us/users/cshryock/weblog/ca9f9/Allison_Shryock%27s_Minor_Melody_on_Recorder_Performed_May_26__2009.html
  7. This URL can be pasted onto another blog or put on a Google Site class page.
Next, you are ready to create your podcast
1. Click on the hard drive icon - then click APPLICATIONS - then click UTITLITIES - if you don't have the hard drive on your desktop, use the magnifying glass at the top of the desktop screen and search for UTILITIES - then go down to FOLDERS - click on UTILITIES -MAC HARDDRIVE
2. Scroll down to PODCAST CAPTURE
3. DRAG the icon for this application onto your dock - remember- don't drop it onto the dock until you find a spot where two of the dock icons move aside to make room for it.
4. Click on the PODCAST CAPTURE icon
5. Login using the server learning.fairview.k12.oh.us
6. Your login and password are your network login and password
7. Now you will see 4 options - video, audio, screen capture or file upload
8. Click on one - the video and audio use the built in camera/mic in the laptop.
9. Once you have recorded or uploaded your podcast, click on SUBMIT
10. You will get a message that your podcast is being uploaded and that it is finished - the longer the podcast - the longer the upload.

To view your podcast - or copy its URL for another location
1. Log out of your computer - then log back on to see a newly uploaded podcast
2. Go to http://learning.fairview.k12.oh.us
3. Click on USERS
4. Find your name - this is the blog you created for this application
5. Your podcasts will be in chronological order - to get the URL for the a specific podcast -click on the title of that podcast - then copy the url (the address).
6. ANYONE can view this podcast if they have the URL


Mind Mapping - A new way for you and your students to organize ideas
Try this SourceForge application download - it is shareware.

1.Go to http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Download
2. Choose the PC or Mac OS download
3. Fill in the survey
4. Download the application - it will show up in your APPLICATIONS folder of your harddrive on your Mac - you can then drag the icon onto your dock

Why mind mapping? This is really a graphic organizer web program. It allows you to create Parent nodes, child nodes and sibling nodes. It is pretty user friendly. The same website you used for the download also has examples and a help section. I used this application along with my projector to generate class notes. It is also good for organizing student brainstorming or prior and learned knowledge.

To find out more about Google Apps like Google Docs and Google sites and Google Calendar
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