Missouri Baptist University Artifacts: Pre-Columbian Civilizations Webquest ([link removed] )
Today’s world is inundated with technology. Students of this generation zip and zoom through the World Wide Web. They have embraced a new era, The Digital Age. Students of this new era have been dubbed the “Digital Kids” and they rule the classroom. ([link removed].
Technology is constantly changing. The W.W.W. has now evolved into “Web 2.0” and is the second wave of the World Wide Web. It is an improved, enhanced, and evolved generation of internet capability. The improvement of design and communication is its foundation. It hosts the inter-twining and connectivity of communities through web base applications: video, blogs, wiki, and various social networking sites. Users do not merely retrieve information, but expound and expand upon given info. Users become active participants through the web. It is rich integration of data and the daily routines of modern life. If technology is an active participant in daily routine, then “why not in the classroom?” This is an issue of utmost concern.
...See MoreHey, I know some of our teachers have asked for a facebook- like application for them to use. I found this one online... It's called Fatclass.com looks promising. It has some pretty good security functions, inclduing: can only upload one image (which is approved by admin) and you can not do searches of members unless you know name or email.
The idea is simple: A teacher creates a FatClass based on their subject area, such as math or US History….they upload files, create assignments, post calendar events, blogs and forums. They then invite their students to join the same class….voila, you have a full fledged FatClass where students and teachers can collaborate like never before.
Presen...See MoreBullying has taken on a new form within the digital age. It is no longer bullying at the school play yard for lunch money. Bullying has morphed into cyber-bullying. A form of harassment via text messaging, IM, blogs, chat rooms and web threads has taken prevalence in recent years. - Guy Weaver in Teachers.Net Gazette, September 2009
All across the world students are nodding off in lecture halls, executives are yawning in boardrooms, military personnel are being anesthetized at briefings, and committees are being put to sleep in government offices by infected carriers that are unaware of their condition.
Most of us have been exposed many times and have woken up afterwards wondering where we were and what happened. Some of us may even be already infected! The PPA (Power Point Anonymous) gives us a list of 12 character symptoms to watch out for:
They say nothing until something comes up on the screen.
They spend all their time talking with their backs to the audience.
They speak in a monotone voice with no breaks and no rhythm.
They have no eye contact with the audience.
They have body language says “I don’t want to be here.”
They fidget with a pointer or clicker while fumbling through slides.
They fill slides with too many bullet points.
They use too many charts and graphs.
They use too many clip-art clichés.
They try to communicate too much too fast causing info-overload.
They have little patience with questions and explanations.
They believe that detailed, visual data will somehow be absorbed into the brains of their audience. -------------------------- Click below to read the rest of Tim Newlin's article, then be sure to pass the link on to your network of colleagues! [link removed]
I came across this site today and WOW!!! This is what I've been looking for... a safe way for my kids to explore the internet without me clicking every link...
If you want a FREE safe internet option for your classroom, computer room, etc. check out [link removed]
Because of the H1N1 virus, I was told to have each class wipe down, with Clorox wipes, their keyboards and mouse before using them. Will the moisture from the wipes rouine the keyboards? If so, what would you recommend? (Skins are too expensive for my small private school.) Leslie
HeatherLeslie, I actually just use regular Clorox disinfecting wipes from Costco to disinfect my computers in my classroom. I have not seen any harm done to them, but has kept them germ free and actually keeps the keyboards looking quite nice.
However, many districts near me no longer have computer teachers at the elementary level. The expectation is that classroom teachers will take their students to the computer lab and integrate technology into their lessons. There are several districts who are cutting computer teachers for the next school year.
We have been working on a website I thought you might like to know about that could prove useful to you and your schools. Basically how it works is a parent/teacher searches for the school where their child or they themselves attend, instantly they will be able to see on the site whether the school has been announced as open or closed.
Doesn't sound like much I know but the good part is that they can register their email address (verification required to stop other people signing you up) and you will then get an instant email notification every time the status of your assigned school changes! You can also register your mobile phone number to receive the same notification through SMS!
Many of you may well be thinking “Why should we bother when we already inform the radio/LEA/update our own school website?” thus duplicating what is already done, but this site does it differently, it gets the information directly to those who want it instead of them actually having to search for it. The idea is that not everyone would bother to listen to the radio or check the school websites that often unless there is a concern that the school MAY be closed, say for example 2mm of snow on the ground. In the cases of say gas leaks, power failures and many other unforeseen events many parents would still turn up to the school and be sent away because it isn't safe for the children to be there, in these cases how are the parents supposed to know? Would it not be handy to have an email sent straight to your inbox or a text message to your phone before you go through the trouble of fighting through rush hour traffic just to be turned away?
No-one checks for school closures on a daily basis, this site is just a quick and easy way for the school to notify all parents and staff members who subscribe to that school to let them know that the school is closed in an instant.
Anyone can change the status of a school through the website, once a status change has been initialized notifications are sent out to those who requested them stating that the schools status has changed but is UNVERIFIED. We will then contact the school to verify this information (we are currently working on a way of automating this), once the school has verified its status a further notification will be sent out stating this.
Some of you may be concerned about the potential for pupils shutting the school down if they ever find out about the website, that is why the notifications are labelled as UNVERIFIED until the school themselves confirm the closure, this site is still a work in progress and is continually been updated and this method may well be restructured in the near future.
This site is currently free for all to use whilst it is getting its footing, however the most likely thing will be that the people receiving text notifications will be charged a very small amount to cover the costs of this service. Schools may well find this preferable to software such as homecontact as the school themselves do not incur any cost.
Please give it a shot and let me know what you think, any and all suggestion welcome.
john doeI feel that a specific website that directly represents that particular school should be set-up and used only for the parents of that school. Having more than one will be confusing. When the students bring home school instructions for the parents, the website should be part of the information package.
I have the perfect solution for this. My name is Bicky Singh; I am on the marketing team with a software service company that revolves around assisting schools in communicating more with their community. The online service we provide is called Schoolyard. By using Schoolyard, schools are able to contact parents via phone calls or text, perform payments, keep students and parents up-do-date on assignments and grades, and more. We are a small business team that works to make our clients happy. Currently we are working with almost half of the diocese in Sacramento, CA. The service we provide is very easy to use and greatly appreciated. Feel free to go to schoolyardapp.com and sign up for a demo or try out our alert system for free.
I have been searching by individual locations (Bronx Zoo, Sea World, etc.) but would love to find a site that has a more comprehensive list of video conferencing opportunities. Any suggestions would be wonderful! Thanks!!!!