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....