I wanted to share something that we are piloting at grade 4 in our school: online math logs.

Four nights per week, students are expected to complete a two minute timed math fact practice sheet. These sheets must be returned to school. As the saying goes, practice makes perfect, and the school district is looking to keep students (and parents) accountable for learning basic facts.

However, this is a lot of paper, and how will teachers manage these accumulating piles? How will they collect the data from these sheets? And who has the time to analyze all of this?

The proposed solution: using Forms in Google Docs. Here is a sample of an online math log. Feel free to take it!

Below is a partial screen shot of what results would like from this log. It is housed in an online spreadsheet.

Pros:

• Students seem to be a lot more interested in doing the math sheet online versus the traditional paper method. There is something also very powerful and real world about a submit button!
• Parents like that students are using computer skills, and there is no paper being sent back and forth to school.
• Each student submission is time stamped in a spreadsheet for the classroom teacher documenting accountability.
• A simple sort in the spreadsheet allows a teacher to see the number of submissions and answers for any student over the course of the week. A teacher easily can see the progress a student is making with the number of facts completed.
• Also, the data at a glance can identify with which facts a student needs correction, and the teacher can on Day Two of the log week quickly meet with the student to give him/her a post-it of facts that the student should focus on in study.
• More math logs are created simply by making a copy of the Google Docs and then plugging in new math facts.
• The teacher takes the quiz first, typing in “” for the student’s first name and “Key” for the Last Initial fields. This Answer Key makes it easy for comparison to student results as they are filtered.
• A tool called Flubaroo may be used right in the Google Doc to grade the results to give the teacher more information about how the whole class and individuals are doing.
• Data is secure since only collaborators (teachers) have permission to view the results.
• Data can be downloaded to a teacher’s computer as an Excel spreadsheet for archiving purposes.
• Old data can be cleared from the online Google Doc, so it may be reused year to year.
• Google Docs is free.

Cons:

• There is no built-in timer. The student has to use the same timing method that s/he would have used for the paper sheet.
• Students need to remember not to use the Enter/Return key to go from problem to problem.
• All students may not have computer/Internet access at home, and a paper copy may need to go home instead.

More grade 4 classrooms will be using the online method this month. Every week a new online math log will be available for students from a teacher’s web page and/or a central math curriculum web page.

Your feedback is welcome!

Last winter, I wrote about the excitement of mounted projectors in our school (Classrooms with a View).

This month, more projectors were powered up and ready for business in classrooms. What follows is a little sample of how projectors are being used as well as how they could transform learning in the classroom. Get inspired. Please add your own ideas as well!

Ideas for using a Computer Projector

•    Daily Slideshow for Students – Eye-catching slideshow of regular routines and new information that is displayed each day as students are settling into the classroom.

•    Notes – Type notes using an application like Word or Excel for students to view and copy. Easy to store and print out for absent students.

•    Review Books – At the end of each lesson (science or studies) create a page/slide in PowerPoint that summarizes what has been learned. At the end of the unit, this book/slideshow can be made available for students to review.

•    BrainPOP or online videos – watch current, up-to-date, curriculum related videos as a whole class.

•    Maps – View maps from Google or take virtual tours through Google Earth.

•    Graphic Organizers – Use Inspiration or another application to create and fill out Graphic Organizers with your students. Online organizers also are available.

•    Skype – Connect with another classroom or expert in the field to share and exchange ideas on any topic. Find partners at Skype in the Classroom.

•    Graph – Survey your students in the moment and create a graph using Excel or an online tool.

•    Flashcards – Make your own or use an online tool, such as Flashcard Machine, to study as a class.

•    Photo Slideshows – Take pictures of events, experiments or any topic and then as a class watch as iPhoto slideshows. Students can discuss observations, connections and reflections, even record annotations.

•    Jeopardy – Review topics by playing as a class with a game board created in PowerPoint.

•    Your Own Classroom Computer Lab – Sign out the laptops and use your classroom computer and projector to guide students right from their seats through a technology infused project.

Ideas for using an IPEVO P2V USB Camera with a Computer Projector

•    Sharing – You no longer have to pass artifacts around which can become a management and focus nightmare! Students can see when it’s placed under the camera and the projector is on, letting everyone concentrate on the discussion.

•    Read-Aloud – Place a picture book under the camera, and everyone has a great view to enjoy the pictures as well as follow along with text. Don’t forget to flip the text!

•    Textbooks and Maps – Don’t have a digital copy or no time to make one? No worries- put your document under the camera to enhance your directions or lesson.

•    Math Manipulatives – Much easier to see than on an overhead.

•    More Demonstrations – Show students what buttons or apps to push on an iPod. Or maybe you need to show them how to do some intricate origami folds. No matter what the demonstration, the camera and projector make it easy for everyone to see clearly.

•    Microscope-like – Perform science experiments and analyze results right under the camera. No more crowding around a table! Snap pictures with the camera, too.

•    Need more ideas? Go to IPEVO’s website for Tips, Tricks and Ideas.

Many moons ago when I was a second grade teacher, I was involved in a grant that brought three computer projectors to my elementary school. Our focus was the traditional five paragraph essay and how projecting student work and our own mini-lessons was faster, more efficient and eye-catching to students. The tools, resources and technology have evolved so much in a decade; however, one thing has remained the same: having a clear view to learning opens up your world.

In my current district, stimulus funds allowed us to mount a dozen projectors this school year. Unfortunately, we have more than a dozen classrooms and specialist rooms. Therefore, we had to have a selection process. Over the years, I have seen many pieces of equipment collect dust because it was doled out to a targeted grade level or even building. Either support was not available to foster its integration into the teacher’s classroom curriculum, or there simply was no investment. (I recall many computers appearing in my second grade classroom, and no one ever showed me how to use them. That was a turning point for me. I wanted to learn and went down a new path with a Masters program. This is not the case for everyone.) Therefore, the principal and I decided to have teachers apply for projectors. We were looking for individuals who were going to figure out how to give their students that view on a daily basis.

Today, I met with the projector collaborative group. Installation took longer than the district anticipated, but many have had two months to “play”. Today we supported one another by sharing tips and tricks on screen resolution, brightness and signal loss as well as what unique ways the equipment is seamlessly helping students learn curriculum. I took this opportunity to introduce the teachers to Wallwisher as a way for us to share these fabulous integration ideas (and then in turn use this new tool with their students, hopefully). Please check them out here.

I’m hopeful that our enthusiasm will spread amongst teams and that a new application process will be funded and, most importantly, embraced.

On a side note: At the MassCUE 2010 Conference, Suzy Brooks shared this Wallwisher PDF from Passy World with her participants. Suzy’s presentation was a real inspiration on how to be “Technically Invisible”. This is what we aspire to with our new mounted projectors. Thanks, Suzy!

I would like to share this wonderful resource that was passed along to me via Twitter a few months ago. Martin Jorgensen, a member of my PLN, created Building Community in Your Classroom as an extension of his web site, The Digital Narrative.

This resource is a great idea generator and quick start guide for teachers about what technologies are available. Blogs, podcasts, VoiceThread, Glogster and wikis are a few of the topics highlighted. This resource is written very simply and clearly with great tips and suggestions of how to use the tools effectively in the classroom.

I particularly like the rationale about why this site was created. I agree that these social web sites are tools for creating a global community of sharing of ideas. I don’t believe that this technology isolates us, but rather brings us together in a forum without walls or borders. The tools certainly can enhance your classroom and teach students to be responsible, contributing members. And as Silvia Tolisano says, ‘It’s Not About the Tools. It’s About the Skills.’

Please bookmark Building Community in Your Classroom!

I’m sitting at the Spring 2010 Apple Update listening to the latest news, features and hoping to check out the latest products from Apple- otherwise known as the iPad.

Here are some tidbits… I’m picking and choosing as it’s all so amazing, yet overwhelming at the same time.

Apple now has an Apple Education podcast. ‘The Apple Education Profiles series includes compelling stories about leaders,educators, researchers, and IT professionals using Apple technology to advance teaching and learning in schools, colleges, and universities.’ These free podcasts look pretty good. I did a little bit of surfing around the site and came across some other very helpful podcasts produced by Apple Inc and others:

Find out how- Mac Basics – Great for first time Mac users and just learning more about your Mac!

Find out how – iWork ’09 – A lot of us are heavy Microsoft Office users eventhough we have iWork loaded on our Macs. This podcast looks like it’s what those of us need who are trying to learn how to use Pages, Keynote and Numbers and who often will leave the applications to just do the project in Office because it’s what we are familiar with. And yes, I am guilty of that!

Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac: How-To Videos – And for those who really want to use Office!

Find out how -Web:  iWeb ’09, Find out how – Photos: iPhoto ’09, Find out how – iMovie 09, etc. There seems to be a podcast for everything in the iLife suite, and you can find the links without much surfing at the site.

And now, for what we’ve all been waiting for…

The presenters demonstrated and fielded questions about the iPad:

The number one question that they seem to be getting these days: Is there a way to “lock down” the App/iTunes Store? Sounds like a lot of educators and IT staff are concerned about students getting into it. I have learned that you can remove the Apps Store and iTunes Store from the device. But that takes away all of the “stuff” from iTunesU and other great apps that are educational, doesn’t it? It was suggested to use the iPhone Configuration Utility. I’m not familiar with that, but I’m just passing it along to those who may be. Other thoughts were that you could set up an iTunes account without a credit card. That way you still can get to the FREE apps. It was pointed out to us that you can purchase an app and gift it to someone. As a side note- we were cautioned that an individual has a $100 gifting limit.

It was emphasized that the iPad is not a Mac. It’s an individual device. It is not running an operating system like your computer. There are no directory services, so you can’t log-in.

For those who are thinking about how to deploy these in large numbers in schools there is a cart for iPads from Datamation Systems- two models and plans for others. As of this post, Bretford did not have one.

There is no native printing with an iPad. A lot of people seem to get around printing by emailing to a computer that is set up to a printer. The apps Air Sharing and Print Central were suggested as solutions as well.

Another question people had was can an iPad be connected to a projector or TV? VGA, Composite or Component AV cables can be plugged into it. However, projection only works with certain applications and features, such as videos, podcasts, photo slideshows, Keynote slides, and YouTube. You can not mirror the iPad screen. It was suggested that a little USB camera device from IPEVO could be used. You would plug the camera into a computer/laptop plugged into a projector. You then would turn the camera toward the iPad in order to show what was happening on the device. These devices are about $69 dollars and seem like they could come in quite handy for other projection needs versus buying an expensive document camera. The quality is very clear (and I’m sitting in the back of the room).

Of course the Flash question came up. iPad does not run Flash. Steve Job’s response to why not is that Apple is ‘leaving the past behind.’ He was quoted as saying that the Apps Store has applications for mobile devices that have rich graphics without Flash. He had strong words for Adobe getting up to speed with mobile technology. Hmmmm….

I was glad to see that the iWork suite can be purchased for the iPad for $9.99. Looks like a simplified version of the programs.

Essentially, iPod is an access device… MacBook/iMac is a creation device… iPad is somewhere in between. Looks like it’s time to be pioneers and figure out how they fit into schools.

My brain is on overload, so I’m going to stop here.

More Resources: URLs mentioned at Apple Spring Tech Update 2010

Every once in a while, teachers will ask me if I can open an assignment that an absent student (via a parent’s email account) has sent them. The attached file is in a format that is unreadable on our computers. Therefore, it needs to be converted. Usually, I am successful. And the secret to that success? Zamzar.

Zamzar is a free online file conversion tool. There are 4 easy steps: 1) Upload the file. 2) Choose the file type you want it to be. 3) Supply an email address that the file will be sent to. 4) Click the convert button (and agree to their terms).

Most of the time, I hear the “ding” of my email before I even can get settled into another work task.

My only concern with this free service is privacy. Therefore, I would never send anything with identifying, sensitive or personal information to be converted.

What file conversion services do other people use?

I always want to put the tools into the hands of the students. I want them to be the creators. I believe they will make more meaning and definitely get more out of it if they are able to take the reins.

At the elementary level that often can be challenging with a project. To make a project more manageable, I often find I have to be a bit of a micro-manager, controlling many aspects. I find that my job is to come up with the best approaches on how to integrate technology. It should be doable, logical and, hopefully, seamless. I also find from my work with adults and children that presenting mini-lessons or concepts in small, digestible chunks make people feel more successful. And success breeds success, right? However, realistically, when I work with a teacher, one of the main concerns that we discuss is how long the class can spend on the topic. Unfortunately, the curriculum is packed, and students can’t linger on one subject/topic… I’m sure we could digress here and have a month’s worth of blog posts and comments around the curriculum coverage issue… Let’s just say- time is a factor.

So when the opportunity arises to give the students a little more wiggle room and independence for the output of their work, I’m excited.

Recently, I was brainstorming with a teacher about enhancing her students social studies knowledge about the American Revolution and Constitution. She wanted her students to research information from a web site that we have on our curriculum links and design their own questions that could be typed up as quizzes that they could print out and administer to each other. This email conversation coincided with me reading Suzanne’s Blog (a member of my PLN and blogging alliance). I can’t seem to find the exact post, but it mentioned using Classltools.net. This site created by Russel Tarr has templates that allow you to make interactive organizers and games that can be embedded or linked to a blog or wiki. Perusing this site gave me the idea of having the students go paperless and make their quizzes with this online tool.

We started the project last week, and the hook of creating arcade-like games certainly has motivated the students to research and create questions. Classtools.net is very simple to use. It doesn’t require a username or password to access the templates. When you create something, you are given a link and embed code. According to the site, it stores your work indefinitely. I have set up a private Wiki/Blog where I am going to have the students post their quizzes, so they can take them.

Classtools.net also can be used by teachers to design interactives for their students. There are tons of templates and samples. The dustbin template looks great for categorizing/sorting. There’s also a traditional memory game. All great for reviewing concepts. Not to mention- there are interactive graphic organizers and even management tools such as a timer or class picker that could facilitate a whole class activity.

Explore it and see the possibilities for teachers and students alike! It may be the perfect fit for a project that you envision students researching, designing and sharing their knowledge all on their own.

When I want to make a photo slideshow, I use three criteria in choosing an application or service:

1. What’s the output need to be? In other words, how do I need to display it?

2. How much pizazz does it need to have to meet the intended goal?

3. How much time do I have to put it together?

I have made photo slideshows using various applications. Everyone seems to have a favorite, and I like to try out different ones. Depending on my answers to the above questions, many of these services and programs are acceptable.

I have used RockYou to make photo slideshows to embed on blogs and web pages. (Here’s an example of one that runs on our third graders’ Flat Stanley Blog. It’s on the right hand side.) RockYou is very simple to use and does the trick on such occasions when we want to spice up our online work.

I also have built slideshows using iMovie. This endeavor is a bit more time consuming because it allows a perfectionist like myself to tailor each picture with special effects, sounds and music into a movie that can be shared to iDVD. Like the name implies, one then creates a DVD menu, and presto, the slideshow movie can be saved as a disc image and burned to a DVD to play in any computer or DVD player hooked up to a T.V.

Last week,  I needed to build a photo slideshow that was important to me in my personal life. I needed a tool that easily could be exported as a movie and burned to a DVD to play on a large, flat screen T.V. I had over 200 images that I wanted to include. The majority of my time had to be spent scanning old photographs; therefore, I couldn’t get hung up in a program with too many options. Yet, I wanted something that looked professional and had style. I needed help with organization as well.

iPhoto was my answer. Creating an album of my digital pictures and newly scanned images was for the most part simple. (Side note: I did have one issue with my scanned images, and I’m not sure if it were my scanner or iPhoto. I found that iPhoto did not accept images that I scanned and saved as JPEGs. If I scanned the pictures as TIFs, then it had no issues. Of course, my digital camera photos were JPEGs, and iPhoto was fine with them.) Dragging in the images into the program and album took under a minute.

I even used the Faces feature of iPhoto to help me sort through pictures that were in iPhoto already. Faces is so cool. It is facial recognition. Essentially, you name people in your photos, and then iPhoto’s Faces will start to look for these people. You train it by confirming or declining its attempts. This is very handy when you’re trying to put together an album (and eventual slideshow) of an individual or group of individuals. It saves time for you since you don’t have to flip through your photos in your archives and drag each one by one into the album. If you have a lot of photos that have never been organized by events, this can be a nightmare to pull something together quickly. If you have been “on top of things” as you have been loading photos into iPhoto, such as titling events and naming Faces, then making that album is a piece of cake. (Yes, an ideal world!)

Once the photos are in the album, you can choose to make a slideshow with transitions and music. In the iPhoto 09 version, you actually have some choices beyond the traditional dissolve and mosiac transitions. You can choose a theme, such as classic, Ken Burns, scrapbook, shatter, sliding panels and snapshot. Music still can be set to the album’s show with your choice of timing. I found this new theme feature to be extremely user friendly, and it gave me the professional output I wanted very quickly. Most importantly, it did not bock at my 216 photos with six songs that ran for over 18 minutes. It played beautifully every time. And I watched it a lot as I needed to keep rearranging the photos to an order that pleased me. (I’m a perfectionist, remember.)

The only snafu I ran into was using the Share menu to send the album/slideshow to iDVD. When I used this menu, the photos arrived in iDVD quickly, but they lost the theme, and I could only pick a traditional transition. The key was that one needs to Export (from the File menu). You can choose to export in all kinds of formats, too. I chose a custom export and choose after some trial and error movie to Apple TV. My end goal was for the slideshow to play on a widescreen TV. (Later, I did go back and export it for an iPod as well, so I could enjoy it on my Touch.) I then had to open iDVD myself and drag and drop the exported movie file to my iDVD project. Not totally seamless, but not so bad.

In the end, the finished DVD movie played wonderfully, showcasing the life of a loved one to a hundred guests.

iPhoto came through for me. It’s my new favorite way to manage photos. I would love to know how people integrate it into the curriculum with students.

Being producers of our own podcasts, I often forget that there are so many free podcasts already available to us in iTunes. There are video as well as audio podcasts. Some are great for students, and some are great for your own professional development. We’ve started to gather some here of various subjects. All can be subscribed to in iTunes.

One area that I want to explore more is iTunes U. This is a great introduction video to check out. If you have a desire to learn about a topic, this is the place to go! And no tuition is required even from some of the most prestigious universities on the planet. iTunes U would be a great match for high school. It also is a wonderful professional development opportunity for specific content teachers.

And you don’t need an iPod to access any of these resources. iTunes is a free download to a computer. Therefore, a classroom computer could become a listening station for a student. Add an inexpensive headphone splitter, and two students can listen together.

Splitters also work great with iPods, doubling iPod accessibility. And if you only have one iPod, you could invest in a RockStar. Ask students to bring in his/her own earbuds (cost effective for you and healthier for them!), and you have a center for a small group of students (up to five). (Management tip for elementary: we have students keep their earbuds in a labeled baggie in their desks.)

Of course, it’s extremely motivating when students create their own podcasts, and they can be loaded in a computer’s iTunes library and even synced to an iPod. You can’t beat the sense of pride and accomplishment that students feel when their work is being shared. Students love checking out each other’s work as well. However, this should not be a passive activity. Students should have a purpose to listen (and watch) whether it’s a classmate’s creation or a podcast from another resource. If the podcast is being accessed on a site, usually the site is equipped to accept comments for the author. However, if the podcast is in a computer’s iTunes or on an iPod, feedback or reflections need to happen in a different way. Many teachers create a simple worksheet for students to fill out as they listen. Often there are three “generic” questions. 1) Which podcast did you listen to? 2) What is one thing that you learned from this podcast?  3) What is one thing that the podcast creator did well? If you want to be green or collect this feedback for easy analysis in a spreadsheet, a Google Form could be utilized. (Check out a previous post about Google Forms.) Another idea if you have iPod Touches is to have students give feedback using Notes and email it to the teacher right from the Touch.

Looking for more tips on podcasts and iPods? Tony Vincent’s site (and podcast) Learning In Hand has been very helpful to me.

All in all, if you haven’t been window shopping in the iTunes store recently or ever, it’s worth a look. Go on a free podcast spree.

Do you have any tips, tricks or management ideas? Or favorite podcasts?