YouTube Video

I know this isn't totally related to our MILI grant "things", but this was an interesting venture into creating a video for posting on YouTube with my robotics students.  This was filmed, edited, and posted by student team members as a requirement for one of the 2009 First Robotics Challenge awards.  Enjoy!

Thing 4 Online Productivity Tools

I spent a few hours this weekend checking out Thing 4's Online Productivity Tools, and I've implemented a new iGoogle homepage that includes links to gmail, google reader, a to do list, weather, mortgage rates, places to visit pictures, facebook link, and things to ponder.  Like my MILI peers, I too felt like I was swimming in Web 2.0 opportunities.  There is soooooo much available on the web that I often find the hours slipping away before I actually accomplish the top things on my to-do list.  The only thing I have yet to successfully add to my igoogle page are email feeds from other accounts (i.e. I have multiple gmail accts for different purposes).

I also spent time planning my class lessons and documenting the plan on the Assign-a-day calendar tool.  I did like typing out my thoughts with dates, titles, and descriptions.  I found it satisfying to think ahead and get my plan in writing.  The only downside that I have found for this particular tool is that I can't link it "live" to my school web page....or at least I haven't figured out how to do this yet.  It appears that I can share the calendar with a colleague, but not with students???!!!  This limitation seems a bit weird to me.  So if you're reading my blog and know a way around this little hiccup, let me know.

Well, back to work...I want to go to sleep tonight with my planning done through Thanksgiving.

In the news...

Wednesday was busy day.  During the school day I took a group of Washburn girls on a High Tech Girls Society field trip to Lockheed Martin to celebrate Women in Engineering.  We left at 8:30 and returned at 2:30.  They listened to presentations related to all fields of engineering, toured the facility, built electromagnetic motors, and participated in a tower building contest.  Whilst all of this was happening I was chosen to be interviewed by WCCO News.  The video can be viewed at http://www.wcco.com/video/?id=50389@wcco.dayport.com

Upon returning to school I took another group of Washburn students to the University of Minnesota Institute of Technology.  They are participating in a program called, A Taste of Science and Engineering, and will get a chance to work with college students, professors, and organizations to learn about the different math, engineering, and physical science programs at the U.  

Thing 3...Research Projects & MILI

So I finally motivated myself to look over Thing 3: Research Project Calculators & Dribbling.  As I reviewed some of the great organizational tools I thought, "How handy."  As it seems with many of the "Things" we discuss via the MILI grant I first think of how they apply to the scholarly life of my biological children before I think how I'd apply them to my classroom.  How would this tool keep family feuds to a minimum when learning that the research paper they've known about for 3 weeks is due in 3 days (UGH!!).  I like that an inanimate object can guide them through the process of choosing a research topic, creating a thesis statement, and sending them hounding emails re: what they should be doing to complete their literary assigment.

This time, however, my FIRST robotics team was in the forefront of my thoughts as I reviewed all of the support documents for creating a video.  The Millerbots have been tasked with creating a PSA (public service announcement) to promote robotics in high schools across America.  None of us on the team have done anything more than brief video clips that end up on facebook or You tube and we are feeling a bit "novice."  I think that many of the storyboarding worksheets, copyright and fair use info, and the video production step-by-step guide will really help this project move forward.  As is the goal with most of what happens related to high school robotics the adults try to facilitate rather than direct student achievements.  I hope they (the students) are as excited about these tools as I am. 

I also checked out the Google Educators links.  It looks like attending the Google Teacher Academy may be something I need to add to my life's "to do" list.  

As for the challenges related to using all of these great resources......TIME.  I don't have enough minutes in the day to do it all.  It would be great if as a building a committment would be made to introducing these tools consistently to all kids and then when the opportunity arises to use them it is not necessary to spend significant time "teaching" the process.  It would be nice to just create a step in the assignment that reads:  Step 1 - create an RPC for this assignment!  (and everyone would know what you're talking about).

As for dribbling.....hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Who'd a thought.....

Who'd a thought a year ago I would be spending halloween night passing out treats to tricksters AND blogging.  Tonight I've multitasked on various levels via the wonders of wifi.  My grades are done, my facebook is updated, emails are read and/or ignored, comments made, bills paid, and replies sent.  I'm also proud to say I did all of this without eating any of the candy I was passing out...obviously I wasn't passing out chocolate. :-)

Happy Halloween everyone!

Google Docs

I've become a fan of google docs and am promoting it to my kids....in this case I'm referring to my own children, but think that I am doing a dis-service to my classroom students if I don't also share the benefits of this internet-based tool with them.  I have promoted the use of collaborating with my children and peers via google docs recently in two very different scenario.  

Scenario 1: A daughter has to write a science lab report for school.  Using google docs, allows her document to be waiting for her at school if there are a few spare moments to jump on a computer during class, and it doesn't matter if she has the latest version on a flash drive.  We also use google docs so that I can proofread her writings from anywhere...a week ago we collaborated in this way while I was in a Fargo, ND hotel room....we chatted via gmail, collaborated via google docs, and spoke on the cell phone when we needed to discuss something in depth.  It was wonderful.  This afternoon (a Sunday) she just yells up the stairs and tells me things are ready to be reviewed and I open the document between other computer tasks, give my feedback, save & share, and she's back at it.  Very cool!!

Scenario 2: Grant writing.  The Washburn Robotics team is applying for a grant from NASA and I was collaborating on the writing of the grant with the other advisor.  I wrote up my responses in google docs while sitting at a Caribou one Saturday morning and then he could open it at his leisure and add too it.  The only hiccup we had was that google docs did not let him edit our document if he used firefox, but internet explorer and safari seemed fine.  Not sure why that happened....  But, overall I love that we're not constantly wondering who has the latest version or when it was last updated.  Google docs keep track of it for us.

Now, I'm still not comfortable putting ALL of my files on Google docs, but for the times I have, its been great.  Try it, you might like it.  :-)

promethean vs. smart boards

20+ electronic white boards have been installed at Washburn over the past few weeks.  It has been funny to listen to the students talk  about them and compare their features.  Some think the smart board is better because of its tangible eraser and colored pens....others love the promethean board and its stylus.  So far, I like my promethean board.  I like that if my hand drags as I write it doesn't affect the message on the board.  I've played with the handwriting recognition program, and think that it has merit.  I'm still trying to figure out how to use my visualizer/document camera and promethean board simultaneously....I think I have to reconfigure the wiring.  Training next Wednesday should cover this.  

As for my MILI training last Wednesday...(sigh).  By mid-week I was already tired and rushing to make it to Ramsey on time.....I was late (sorry Karen).  It took me a bit to settle into the assignment of checking out advanced google features and de.lic.ious.  I think it will be awhile before I think de.lic.ious is yummy.  :0   

I'm feeling inundated with "new" things to do.  There have been so many meetings (plc, ilt, pbis, mili, site, conferences, robotics, staff development, etc...).  Add to that family commitments, grading for end of quarter, staying late to help kids in my computer lab and the days are a blur.  My year has been great to date....but I could use a little down time.   

Working my way through THING 2

Well, I've read through the blogs of my peers and was discouraged when I saw some are already working on THING 6 & 7.  I spent MEA duty days having a promethean board and software installed in my classroom.  I'm very excited, and can't wait for the formal training on Wednesday afternoon, right before I go to the October MILI meeting.  

As a result of these events I chose to google blog search on promethean boards and found a teacher post that had 11 students raving about the use of this bit of technology in their classroom.  I hope that my students are equally excited as I learn how to incorporate all of the "bells & whistles" into my teaching.  I do admit that I was very excited to see both orthographic and isometric graph paper templates already pre-loaded within its software.  I also like that with a promethean board if your hand drags while you write, it doesn't leave a mark.

I must admit after two long days of grading, grant writing, and working in my classroom I'm a bit tired tonight, but for some reason I find myself typing away on this awesome new Mac laptop, and trying to get caught up on my MILI responsibilities.  :-)

Well, back to the Metronet Wiki to continue my homework for THING 2.

I met Dean Kamen...woo hoo!

Yesterday was a great day!!  I met Dean Kamen founder of F.I.R.S.T. (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) the non-profit organization that is the basis for the Washburn Robotics team, Segway inventor, and innovator of the 21st century.  His energy is contagious when he talks about prepping K-12 students for life in the 21st century and the engineering skill sets they will require to succeed and keep America strong in the marketplace.  My robotics students tell me I'm a nerd.....oh well, it was still a great day!!

Where do the days go?

Where do the days go?  It seems only yesterday it was Monday, and now its Friday night.  I see that I am not alone in choosing this wind down time to post a few comments.  

1. More technology has been added to my classroom.  Today a Promethean board was mounted and should be operational soon.  I'm very excited about this addition to my classroom and the new presentation styles it will open up for me.  I was originally slotted to get a "smart board", but the dimensions would not work and it was thought that the accuracy of the Promethean board would be beneficial to the curriculum I have in engineering classes.  I'm especially excited about the stylus that came with it as it seems a more accurate, pen like tool than those I've seen with the smart boards.

2. Teaching new software to kids...ouch!  Its been a painful two weeks as I work through an Autodesk Revit tutorial with my civil engineering students.  I found myself testing many different strategies to minimize the need for me to work one-on-one with each student when they encountered problems.  I even surveyed them via "survey monkey" to get their feedback on how things were going.  My greatest challenge has been literacy.  The students just don't want to read the step-by-step manual and "do" what it requests.  Some are ELL students, some are below grade level readers, some aren't motivated, some are distracted....I find that most questions can be solved by reading the step aloud to the student, pointing out the details in picture provided, or just asking them to open the book to the page they believe they are on. With the limitation of 55 minute class periods it has been difficult to be available equally to all students.  One strategy that was fairly successful was to engage those students who were completing the tutorial more quickly to become peer mentors for the day.  This allowed us to answer 4 times the number of questions at a time than if I performed this task alone.  I can't wait to get beyond this point in the curriculum so that each of my classes can reflect on the process and determine a better way to do it in the future.    I am happy to report that even with these delays the students seem quite amazed at the houses they are building in the 3-D software.  I think they will really like it when they are building homes of their own design.

3.Blogging.  Unfortunately it seems that Thing 2 is about Thing 50 on my to do list.  I will be traveling to Fargo, ND for a conference on Sunday/Monday/Tuesday and hope to use the wifi connection in my hotel room to catch up on my MILI obligations.

4. Wondering if anyone in the MILI group has gotten one of the clicker  "poll your students" classroom technology devices yet.  I don't know the name of it, but I thought I heard that teachers could get one if they promised to go to the training and use it regularly as a part of their curriculum.  Please let me know if you have any knowledge of this MPS technology offering.  Thanks.

Going Wireless

Tonight I am sitting in the middle of my classroom, looking at a 6 foot wide rendition of my laptop screen projected at the front of my room and am playing with my new wireless mouse and keyboard. It's an interesting perspective to work on such a grand scale while sitting where my students typically reside. The desks aren't too uncomfortable, and I've learned that the screen is better viewed with half the lights on in my room. Soon my room will house a new smart board and I my entire presentation style will be altered.

The downside of all this great technology is that I don't seem to have enough outlets. And what about going green??? As I acquire more toys for the classroom how much larger does my CO2 footprint become. Well, I guess I'll contemplate that another day. For now, I need to prep for tomorrow.

What is Information Literacy?

Question of the day: Is the following definition of information literacy is adequate? Why or why not?

Information literacy: the ability to assess the need for information and to then be able to locate, retrieve, evaluate, analyze, and apply information at home, at work, and in the community.

At first glance I felt that this definition did not adequately state the "types" of information that would be processed. For example, if I can process information in a text message that ds nt spl out wrds, yes I am processing information - does that make me literate on the grand scale? But again, I think there is value in literacy of all forms. My passion is technological literacy...which ultimately is understanding the man-made (technological) world that we live in and that includes all sorts of "information" as it relates to the field of communication technology. Information is a man-made tool and it is important that we consume, process, and regurgitate it in a responsible manner. Good definition? Sure for the time being. BUT.....I'm sure that my brain will continue to evaluate my stance on this subject, analyze it a bit deeper (in keeping with my ENTJ Myers-Briggs), and then share my thoughts with peers in my home, work, and community.

Wow new applications....

So I've had this new Macbook for about 24 hours and I'm wandering the contents of the applications folder. There are a few interesting applications within and I'm not sure what they all do (i.e. AEGEE, Comic Life, and ExamView Pro). I can only guess that we will be learning about each of these as the year goes on as a part of the MILI Grant. ExamView Pro looks very interesting and I imagine that a weekend or two worth of entering test questions would make life much easier when creating quizzes and test review worksheets for my engineering classes.

The other thing I thought was interesting was that Microsoft Office products have not been pre-loaded onto these machines. You know what that means????? GoogleDocs will become the document management system for this machine. :-)

I am still interested in learning how the Intel (PC) side of this machine works and I am hopeful that I can run some of my Project Lead the Way curriculum software...but nonetheless this Mac lover is a happy camper!!

Google Docs & PBWiki

Wow....last night our MILI grant cohort met at Ramsey. After a quick bite to eat we discussed google docs and pbwiki. A few of our members are already dabbling in the wiki world and it sounds like much trial and error as you incorporate into the classroom. We also had lab time to dabble and play on our new macbooks....yea!! :-) My experimentation with google docs made me realize that this is a tool that my students could benefit from for various reasons:
1. It bypasses the "blocked download" experiences when they try to download homework assignments from their personal email accounts.
2. Multiple users in a group can edit the same document.
3. It is accessible anywhere the Internet is available and it doesn't require any purchased software.
From a personal/professional perspective it could easily be used to:
1. Manage notes and agenda items related to committee work.
2. Allow the storage of documents without having to carry a flash drive everywhere you go.
3. Has cool templates for powerpoint-like presentations and every conceivable document from business cards to lesson plans.

My goal this week is to get back into blogging mode. The start of school and switching blog sites definitely slowed me down. Sorry Ann.......:-(

Just moved

A new school year and a new blogging address....

What started out as washburncte.edublogs.org can now be found at washburncte.blogspot.com.

The new 2008-2009 school year at Washburn High School in Minneapolis, MN has begun.  The climate in the building is great -- the students and staff are buzzing with energy as we learn names, re-adjust schedules, and adjust to life in a post-summer world.  

I will use this blog site to share my experiences as I integrate various educational technologies into my engineering curriculum (i.e. smart boards, blogging, electronic portfolios, computer lab monitoring software, etc..).  

Stay tuned....