Summer Opportunities

Amy and I have designed a continuum of courses for summer designed to help teachers use Web 2.0 tools to integrate 21st century learning into the classroom regardless of platform or teacher laptop purchases. We hope to have the logistics worked out and registration open shortly after we return from Spring Break.

Each of these classes will offer new tools and ways to use them. Tools already being used will be included as well. I am going to try to offer a higher level learning option and I'm looking into using BlackBoard as a pilot, since our district can no longer support the use of Moodle.

If the board approves laptops for teachers, there will be classes offered to a certain percentage of teachers to get them up and running with their new machines. This is how our group started. There will be opportunities for teaching these classes for digital leaders. The timeline is uncertain, but I don't expect it will be in June.

I do see the benefits of collaboration with Digital Leaders in terms of core content for the Cool Tools courses and in preparation for 2010 regardless. I will check to see if this can be covered under the teaching and learning budget.

I hope we can discuss this the next time we meet. Please remember to pick a day if you want to talk before the board meeting.

Please select a meeting date

ICE-CAP Mini Tech Integration Grant

There is $250 grant available to members of ICE-CAP which is intended to help teachers implement innovative 21st Century Learning experiences for students or groups of teachers. Apparently, there will be more than one award.

If you would like a chance to receive the grant money, please consider designing a project and applying for it. The deadline is April 30th. If you are interested in purchasing something like a FlipVideo camera with the grant money awarded, include video in your project in some way. Remember to think outside of the box. Good luck to those of you who decide to pursue this. 

Learn more

Board Meeting

Thank you to the Digital Leaders who came out to support the tech initiative last night. Hopefully the time spent provided you with valuable information. I was particularly happy to see Kevin Anderson applauded for answering to the challenges of putting together such a comprehensive tech plan which included the information the board needs to make informed decisions. This has been a long journey and Kevin has done an outstanding job!

The Board will reconvene in two weeks to continue the tech discussion. Kevin was asked to "cut the fluff" in the tech plan budget and think outside of the box to find ways to put year one in place. Cabinet has been actively involved in crunching numbers and ideas, and the instructional tech staff put several suggestions on the table during our debriefing with Kevin Anderson this morning as well. Now we move forward.

The next step in our digital leader plans is supposed to be conclusion of the testing of Windows 7 this week. I think, for all intents and purposes, this first round of testing can be wrapped up because of the following factors:

• There is a commitment to including Office on teacher machines purchased during year one.
• The current lab machines will run both operating systems. The majority of teachers will use the Windows side with students, most likely, because this will be similar to their operating system and that may be all they need. The Mac side will be available for anyone needing to use higher level tools. This is music to my ears and it does keep our Mac foot in the door. 
• Except for the iLife tools, most of the commonly used software runs on both sides and the purchases were not platform specific. This includes Pixie 2, Inspiration, Kidspiration and Classroom Suite. 
• FYI... Your digital leader machines are capable of running Bootcamp and flipping into a Windows machine as well. I've worked this way and it is pretty handy. If this is something you would like to do, we can ask for it in our list of Digital Leader Incentives for year 3. (Along with other things you have been thinking about.... We can ask...)  Or, perhaps you would prefer a new PC? 

Our group has tentatively set a meeting for the week of April 5th in order to regroup and put our thoughts together before the next board meeting. A few of you have thought about making a public comment, and I believe the next board meeting would be a good time to let your voices be heard.

Please complete the brief survey below at your earliest possible convenience to indicate your preference for a meeting. You can check the results of the survey yourself at any time, in order to plan your week.  Look for an email about the meeting immediately upon return from Spring Break.

Meeting: Week of April 5th

Board Meeting: March 23rd

The Board Meeting will be held at Central Office on Tuesday, March 23rd beginning at 7:00 pm. The Tech Plan Review is on the agenda, listed under District Activity and scheduled for 7:45.

Come out to show your support or learn more about the Tech Plan.

View the March 23rd Board Meeting Agenda

Questions about Windows 7

Amy and I are both in posession of a Windows 7 machine. We plan to dedicate as much time as possible next week to using them, so please send me your questions and suggestions for testing.

Feel free to suggest specific software to download or online tools to test, keeping in mind that they may behave differently on our network or over time, of course. Those of you on the Reading Adoption Committee might want to send me the links to online sources of accessible text so I can see what it's like to use Text-To-Speech. Sheri will be thoroughly testing this new Windows feature too.

Good News: I was told by the Tech Department today that Microsoft Works was listed on the comparison chart we used because it is what comes with Windows machines, but we plan to keep Microsoft Office. Does that mean teachers will get Publisher?

I believe there is a camera on this machine too.

The Benefits of Using a Laptop at a Meeting

I know many of you are feeling pressed for time in terms of Digital Leaders because you have taken on other district responsibilities for which you paid. This makes sense and it's something I've put some thought into.  A good suggestion is for you to contribute your Digital Leader expertise to the things you are doing to lighten your load. It doesn't apply to everything, but certainly to committee meetings, staff meetings and grade level meetings. Keep it away from Run Girls, Run and the Julian JayHawks please.

Be the note-taker. Grab the most current information and share it with the group. Investigate resources on the spot. A meeting with a laptop is much more fun than one without it.

One of the reasons I support the initiative to provide all teachers with a laptop is because it will be expected to be used at meetings, and I believe this is a good thing because it is an efficient tool.

Glogging & Podcasting

Did you know that a simple audio podcast can be embedded into a glog along with a photo? This has a lot of possibilities, it's easy, and it is certainly fun!

View samples:

Butterfly Girl, by Elyse Smith

FlyFish, by Emma O.

Podcasting Replay

Go to Langwitches blog

Video Tutorial: Create a podcast

Meeting: March 15th

Meeting Details:

• 4:00
• Julian
• Kannan's Room 
• 4th Floor B Wing, Team Area

Ride needed after the meeting: Anyone going in the direction of Lake Street in downtown Oak Park by 5:30?

Next Meeting: March 15th

My calendar tells me we have a Digital Leaders meeting scheduled on March 15th. I'm hoping we can have a good turnout for a discussion about technology initiatives. That is a big topic, so it will be the only thing on the agenda. The meeting will be held at CO, starting at 4:00. Please let me know if you are unable to attend.

Gloggers: Help

Last week for the first time, a few gloggers reported an error described as follows...

When saving a glog at school, saving was very slow. Upon login again, a black screen appeared, and the background and elements previously inserted into the glog are not visible. All you see is black.

To the best of my knowledge, this was experienced by Debbie at Longfellow and Amy/Blanca at Julian or Brooks. The problem has been reported to our tech department and also to the folks at Glogster.

Glogging This Week:

1. If you are glogging with students, it's possible the blackout and lost work could happen to you or your students.
2. Please help us find the source of the problem by taking a few moments to play with Glogster and build a new glog that you wouldn't mind losing. Students who have never glogged before can do this, or you can try it yourself.
3. Take note of your testing situation, in case you should experience a problem. Did the problem occur when you were working
1.  on an eMac?
2. in the lab on an iMac?
3. on your DL laptop?
4. at home?
4. Please report specific problems to the Helpdesk.

Thanks, we should be able to figure out the source of the problem with some good information.

Gloggers

Many Digital Leaders are experienced gloggers, and quite a few of you are starting to glog. What can we learn from each other? Everything!  Perhaps a very simple Wall will do the trick for exchange of ideas and expertise. 

• Create a note with a question about Glogster.
• Experienced gloggers, please check the questions on the wall and create a note with the answer to a question.
• Link to a Google Document for a longer discussion.

If you are thinking about glogging, please contribute to the
Glogging Wall

Pixie 2 Samples Needed

Please help. The Longfellow Digital Leaders will be doing a staff training during the bulk of their staff meeting on March 10th and we are in need of some Pixie 2 samples. If you have some student samples to share, please drop them into the Faculty Shared Folder > Longfellow, where you will find a folder named Oxnevad.  (*Screencast video tutorial below can help you complete the task.)

The goal of the training will be for teachers to accomplish the following tasks:

• Create a Pixie 2 graphic
• Store it in the Students Shared Folder
• Insert a Pixie 2 graphic into a Google Presentation, then publish it

*Don't know how to use the Faculty Shared Folder?

Here is a link to a JING tutorial created by Debbie designed to teach staff how to
Use Faculty Shared Folder. 


Thanks for sharing!

Staff Meeting: March 10th?

Hello,

I'm doing a quick survey to see which schools are having staff meetings on March 10th. To save time, I did not create a form. Instead, can you please put this information into the comments below?

Happy ISAT week!