Engineering the Future

Plugged in / robotics

2009-04-30T15:53:00.001-07:00

Plugged in....I am feeling very tethered lately with all of the wifi gadgets that supposedly are making my life more convenient. Our household has 3 laptops and 1 desktop computer, 3 cell phones, 4 ipods, an airport hub, portable phones, tv remotes, etc... and though each of these devices adds convenience to my life I feel enslaved by their need to be re-charged intermittently. With multiple users of each device and no game plan that guarantees that we "plug in" on a regular basis I am still caught off guard at the most inconvenient times with a "dead" device when I want its convenience most. Not sure what this really has to do with the MILI grant program, but my blog seemed like the perfect place to vent :-).

As for robotics...a topic that I haven't discussed in a few weeks. The season is finally over. Team 2549, the Washburn Millerbots participated in the International competition in Atlanta, GA and had another great year socializing with over 300 of the best teams in the nation and around the world. We did not bring home any hardware, but continue to have kids on the team who are passionate about the process and are already envisioning new designs for next year. This 4 month team sport is quickly turning into a 12-month a year endeavor. Thank goodness I enjoy it so much.

Action Research...

2009-04-25T19:12:00.000-07:00

Yikes....I did it. I committed to my first ProPay123 project and hope to collaborate with John R. from South High School. We plan to create an action research related to podcasting and student comprehension. First we both need to attend the district action research class and then we can get started with the nitty gritty of the project. Wish us luck....;-)

Internet safety

2009-04-25T19:09:00.000-07:00

I've been invited to participate in a Perkins Grant to write middle school curriculum re: Internet Safety and Security. This project is being coordinated by the Information Technology department at the Minneapolis Community and Technical College. I met with 8 other metro teachers all whom will bring excellent insights and experiences to the project. If any of my MILI grant companions have recommendations for possible resources that would inspire me, please share.

The Washburn Millerbots are in the news...

2009-04-05T19:22:00.000-07:00

The Washburn Robotics team had a great weekend at the Minnesota Northstar Regional Competition. We're even featured in a news article that will appear in the University of Minnesota's Minnesota Daily newspaper. Enjoy!!

Millerbots in Wisconsin March 12-14, 2009

2009-03-18T16:57:00.000-07:00

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Blogging on a Bus

2009-03-11T16:25:00.001-07:00

Technology is unbelievable when you can be traveling down the highway on a bus that has wifi so that you can stay connected with the world. The connection speed is faster than dial up and isn't costing me a penny. Wow.

As for the reason for the trip the Washburn Millerbots are finally off to the Wisconsin Regional Robotics Competition in Milwaukee, WI. I'm riding on a bus with robotics team members from Edina High School, Patrick Henry High School, and Washburn. Lots of ipods, Nintendo DS, and laptops in use as we travel.

Well, supper break has arrived early.... gotta go.

The Robots are...."twittering."

2009-02-28T04:57:00.000-08:00

Thought you'd all like to know that the US FIRST FRC competitions have added a "twittering" component to the live streaming video of the competitions. Its fun to see the comments scrolling along side the "live" matches. Our team is also excited to see some matches being played, and scout other team strategies prior to our first competition in the middle of March.

If you're interested you can see video links of the Manchester, NH March 26-28th competition.

Enjoy!

2009-02-20T19:12:00.000-08:00

This looks cool...a new feature from Google Labs. Multiple inboxes at gmail AND the ability to send message from gmail that look like they originated from a different email account. this would definitely solve the dilemma for me of logging in and out of 4+ email accounts a day. I think I'll try it and let you know what I think after a few days/weeks.

Almost done...(or not!)

2009-02-13T19:53:00.000-08:00

The "build" season for US FIRST's "First Robotics Challenge" is almost done. The Millerbots of Washburn High School will crate their robot on Tuesday and ship it off to their first competition. It's been a fun-filled, sometimes exasperating, adrenalin-rich, exhausting 6 weeks. There have been many 15 hour days when you consider arriving at school around 6;30am to prep for classes, attend meetings, and then end the day with robotics from 3:15 til 8, sometimes 9:00pm.

The good news is that we have accomplished the 3 main objectives of this year's build season. Design and build a 120 lb., 5 foot tall robot that drives, has an uptake conveyor system, and includes a hopper delivery system for scoring points. We plan to ship our robot on Tuesday without its "brain" so that we can continue to tweek our programming.

Social Networking Wordle Creation

2009-01-30T20:17:00.000-08:00

After thought....As I read through blogs of my MILI peers I was reminded of the Wordle Word Clouds and decided to create a Wordle of the words in our IT Department social networking recommendation letter. See results below. What surprised me is that when I look at their message this way I feel more positive and it almost appears as though they are endorsing the use Facebook and MySpace by students and staff as a way to collaborate, post activities, network, and communicate. Enjoy.

Click here to view my creation.

Teachers and Social Networking

2009-01-30T19:45:00.000-08:00

Okay...so an email came out today with recommendations from our IT department and protocols that should be followed re: teachers/students/parents on social networking sites (i.e. facebook, my space, etc.). Needless to say I was glad that the verb "recommend" rather than "mandate" was used in the phrasing of should and should nots.

The message went something like this:

Staff should refrain from using social networks sites such as Facebook or MySpace to communicate, collaborate, or contact students and parents.
Staff should use their district email accounts to correspond with students and parents regarding school assignments and activities.
Staff should use school owned web sites for posting assignments instead of Facebook or MySpace.
Staff should carefully consider what personal information they display in their public social network profile and what comments they make in online public forums.

I guess what I found humorous about this email was the fact that I am engaged in a grant program supported by the school district that actually has me considering the creation of Nings, wikis, blogs, twitters, etc... that I feel would benefit my classroom and my professional relationship with the information age students I teach. I did actually begin creating a Ning for the robotics team at home earlier in the year only to find out once I got to school that the district filters blocked access. UGH!

I feel that this message assumes that I am guilty of wrong-doing rather than that I am capable of professional conduct in the many forms of online interactions I choose to have with the Internet saavy students/parents/colleagues in my life. Hmmmmmmm. I'm really going to have to ponder how I truly feel about all of this. I'd love to hear the thoughts of my colleagues who teach in my district or other districts around the state.

Obamaconme

2009-01-23T04:21:00.000-08:00

Another graphic toy on the web.....obamaconme. Ann shared this with our table as we meandered through her blog postings "ann comments". Here are the results of my creative energies at 6:00 in the morning.

I doubt I will order the t-shirt option, but always fun to distract myself with new online tools.

Looking forward to grading/meeting day at MPS. Always good to have time in my classroom during daylight hours to prep for classes.

Clickrs in the Classroom

2009-01-21T18:24:00.000-08:00

Last week I went to "Clickr" training to become learned in how to turn quizzes, trivia, and lecture questions into "game show" type fun in my classroom. Last week I used 2 of my civil engineering classes as guinea pigs to try out the "verbal" response technique using an old ppt trivia game I had from the previous term. The kids seemed to like the immediate feedback of the system. I did not grade their responses, but used it as review.

Today, I upped the stakes and created a vocabulary quiz using CPS for Powerpoint and administered a graded quiz via the Clickr system. There were 25 questions and I did not proceed to the next question until all students had responded (the timer option was turned off). I implemented a "no talking or else" policy during the quiz. As we proceeded the CPS system automatically graded their responses and created a report I could print at the end of the hour. Students immediately saw their grades and after 4 minutes of data entry my quiz was done and in the grade book. Very slick!!

We have 2 more training sessions with the Clickrs....I'll be anxious to see what additional tricks they will share with us. The videos at www.einstruction.com have been great.

Wednesday Night

2009-01-21T18:16:00.001-08:00

Our MILI cohort met tonight and as always it was great to meet with this group of educators who are committed to making their classrooms the best they can be and are willing to try new things to make connections with their students. Do we struggle on some days to connect...U Betcha! But technology and the wonders of the web can make the mundane come alive and hook a kid that might otherwise choose to wander the halls during class time.

Tonight we discussed copyright and fair use amongst other things and it left me wondering if I broke any rules (unknowingly of course) when I show a snippet of The Matrix to my engineering students to emphasize the point that technology and engineering wonders of the world are mandatory to sustain our world as we know it. Two concerns come to mind, but I think I'm okay on both fronts. First, the video snap shot is very short and has very real application to my engineering class - so it meets the requirement of having educational merit. Second, even though the movie is officially R, the video link I show is of Neo and the Counselor talking as they overlook the inner-workings of the engineering level (no nudity, fighting, or swearing -- just a bunch of machines doing their job). Please post a comment if you think I'm wrong to use this in my classroom. Thanks.

Millerbots in full swing!

2009-01-14T18:34:00.000-08:00

Moonrocks, trailers, coefficient of friction, chassis design, drive trains, delivery systems, hoppers, alliances, strategy, chief delphi, team work, brainstorming, scale models, travel plans, emails, blog feeds, etc...... no wonder I can't sleep. Robotics....ya gotta love it!

Though easily distracted by the adrenalin of the season I can honestly say that without the MILI group I would not have known how to follow the US FIRST blog and have it automatically feed me new posts via our gmail account. It's so nice to have the info find me, rather than having to go to the www.usfirst.org website everyday. Thanks MILI. :-)

Robotics Season has Arrived!!!

2009-01-10T05:05:00.000-08:00

The craziest, most adrenaline-filled time of the school year has arrived! On Saturday, January 3rd the Washburn Millerbots (Team 2549) attended the 2009 FIRST Robotics kick-off at the University of Minnesota, and thus started the 6-week build season that will dominate my thinking through the middle of February.

The challenge this year is called LUNACY.

In this year's game, robots will be designed to pick up 9" game balls and score them in trailers hitched to their opponents' robots for points during a 2 minute and 15 second match. Additional points are awarded for scoring a special game ball, the Super Cell, in the opponents' trailers during the last 20 seconds of the match. LUNACY is played on a low-friction floor, which means teams must contend with the laws of physics. (press release www.usfirst.org)

Our team is busy brainstorming, sketching, and determining what strategy to use when competing in a game that is mimicking the 1/6th gravity environment of the moon. Strategies from the past just won't do.

Where does the time go?

2009-01-10T04:52:00.001-08:00

My blogging skills feel a little rusty after a month long hiatus. No good excuses except that "life happens." The MILI Grant group did not meet in December and I think blogging inertia set in while I enjoyed the holiday month and a two-week break from school.

I'm happy to report that I had a successful presentation of "Internet searching skills" with my civil engineering classes this year. What I found most amazing is that this one a presentation of information that my students say has NOT been presented in any of their classes to date.

Day 1: In 47+ minutes I was able to: Show 2 Common Craft (Lee Lefever) video shorts; one on Internet searching and the other on google docs; Next I walked them through basic and advanced search strategies on Google while they took notes on a worksheet; I also shared what some google docs looked like that I have so they could see how similar the features are to Microsoft products.

Day 2: Tied in Internet searching to a civil engineering assignment that will culminate in a portfolio-based project that lasts 'til the end of the year. I began this day with review of the search expressions that would be useful and then we broke into groups, chose topics, created lists of appropriate search terms, and started our research.

Day 3: Will be more research time

Day 4: Share your search results with the class via group presentations.

On a personal note, I can't get used to the fact that Google search doesn't require me to use the "+" symbol when creating my initial string of search terms....the good news is that it also doesn't penalize me for using it. I have yet to try using the synonym search feature using a tilde.

Sample search string that was helpful for my students: "city of minneapolis" + property + info

YouTube Video

2008-11-30T14:44:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-16T17:08:00.000-08:00

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...

2008-11-13T15:15:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-11T18:16:00.001-08:00

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.....

2008-10-31T19:01:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-26T17:26:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-25T12:01:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-17T18:08:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-10-14T18:50:00.000-07:00

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?

2008-10-10T18:18:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-24T15:48:00.000-07:00

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?

2008-09-21T19:35:00.001-07:00

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....

2008-09-18T20:18:00.001-07:00

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

2008-09-18T20:18:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-07T09:00:00.000-07:00

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....