The conference in March was great, and next year’s conference will continue the focus on content-related workshops.  For example, there are a lot of SMART Board courses specific to science, math, language [...]]]> It’s NJECC Friday for April, and it’s a short meeting, so there may not be much to discuss today, but here are some highlights.

The conference in March was great, and next year’s conference will continue the focus on content-related workshops.  For example, there are a lot of SMART Board courses specific to science, math, language arts, etc.  Some classes will be added to highlight the many apps for the iPod Touch and iPad for education, and Flash animation will make a return.

Apple representative Dave Marra gave us a tour of the iPad. Yes, it’s cool, but do you need to carry another device?  Where’s the camera?  How about just adding the phone and a camera to it?

Julie M. Goldberg came to talk about 21st century learning from the librarian’s perspective.  What, really are the 21st century skills?  Partnership for 21st Century Skills is highlighted.  She likes Alfie Kohn who says 21st Century Schooling Just Isn’t Good Enough: A Modest Proposal.  Hey, the 21st century is 10% over!  Let’s start preparing students for the 22nd century!

Drexel University has an amazing collection of math resources for teachers, and the Forum is your place to discuss math topics and find resources such as the Problem of the Week for any level of ability.

Wouldn’t it be cool if you could annotate and diagram images from a video clip right on the [...]]]> Windows Media Player is probably the application you use the most to watch videos, and it’s a good player, but what if you want to make some notes about a video while you watch it with your class?

Wouldn’t it be cool if you could annotate and diagram images from a video clip right on the SMART Board AND keep the still image with your notes?  You CAN if you use the SMART Video Player right on your desktop!

Look in the “system tray,” or “Windows notification area,” or “near the time in the lower-right corner of your screen” to see the SMART Board Tools icon (a white circle in a light blue box).  When you click on it (one time), you’ll see Video Player as the third item from the top.  Click it!

A video player window opens and you can open any video clip or any online video (just copy and paste the URL of the video) in the viewer.  Next, pick up a pen while the video is playing on the SMART Board, and the video freezes!  Write what you want, then use the capture button to save it to a Notebook page!  Fabulous!  Stay tuned for a video demonstration!

Will is talking now (his [...]]]> Today K-6 Tech Talk is coming to you from the 24th Annual NJECC  conference.  There will probably be many tips and tricks to pick up today (and the next two days as the conference continues), but we’re starting off with a keynote address from Will Richardson.  Keep checking today for news from the conference.

Will is talking now (his wiki is http://willrichardson.wikispaces.com) , and he’s all about the need for kids (and adults) to know HOW to learn.  With the capabilities of technology, learning can happen nearly anytime nearly anywhere, but how can kids possibly know what to do with that information?  What is valid and what is not?  Who are their models?

One thing adults can do is learn social networking skills.  This is considered a “tectonic” (or “techtonic”?) shift in how people relate to each other.  Consider the way gamers came to the aid of a blind person who wanted to learn how to play a video game.  This video on YouTube may help.  How are we, as teachers, preparing students to engage in this type of exchange?

The sounds of silence–or not!  So your students have been using Audacity to record news events, interesting science facts, or stories they created, but getting the recording just right is a bit troublesome, and no one wants to try 15 takes.  Can the audio be edited?

Absolutely!  Audacity has some pretty [...]]]>

Click image for full-size view

The sounds of silence–or not!  So your students have been using Audacity to record news events, interesting science facts, or stories they created, but getting the recording just right is a bit troublesome, and no one wants to try 15 takes.  Can the audio be edited?

Absolutely!  Audacity has some pretty advanced features, but removing unwanted bits is extremely easy.  Let’s take the simplest case: A student begins recording but doesn’t start talking for a few seconds.  Those seconds can seem like an eternity to a web-raised fourth grader, so she may think something is wrong when no sound is coming out of the speakers.

Step 1.  A recording has been made, and you can see the “vibrations” of the recording.

Step 2. Looking at the recording “vibrations” you’ll see that the line is quite flat where there is no talking.

Step 3. Simply highlight (just like you were selecting a word to change its font) the flat area where there is no talking in the recording.

Step 4. Hit the Delete key on your keyboard one time.  The silence was eliminated!

Step 5. Play the recording to make sure no part of the good content was eliminated.  If it was, just click Ctrl+Z to undo the deletion and try again.

These steps are particularly useful when a student is far into a recording and stumbles a bit but finally gets the speaking correct.  You (or the student actually) can simply edit the recording by deleting the bad segment!

Tip: If a recording is completely bad, and the student wants to delete it, then he needs to look for the little X in the upper-left of the recording bar.  That takes away that track, and allows the student to start anew.

Students can download, for free, software from SMART called Notebook Viewer which will allow them [...]]]> You’ve reached a new height in creative SMART Notebook lessons, and you’ve posted all your glorious work on your teacher website (or moodle site), but your students are complaining that they cannot open the files at home.  What can they do?

Students can download, for free, software from SMART called Notebook Viewer which will allow them to see and use your Notebook files, but that is a software download, and (shh, here’s a secret: SMART will not be supporting it for long) there is something better.

SMART Notebook Express is the way of the future!  Yes, it is in Beta (test mode) right now, but it’s certainly worth promoting to your students.  This application runs within a web browser, so there is no need to install anything.  Students can easily open and use your Notebook files online.  You can even allow people to edit a Notebook file online if you are working on a lesson activity collaboratively.

We love our Discovery Streaming subscription, and it’s nice that YouTube is not blocked for us, but sometimes you need something a [...]]]> After emerging from the mountains of snow in our yards, it’s back to school and back to the blog!  Media Monday’s tip today is a bit of a blend between media and Website Wednesday.

We love our Discovery Streaming subscription, and it’s nice that YouTube is not blocked for us, but sometimes you need something a little different.  Have you tried Teachers TV?

Teachers TV is a British site devoted to high-quality professional development video production that you can download, but many of the subject area videos are also appropriate to use in the classroom.  One example I love is a university professor demonstrating some amazing sound vibrations.  Common vibrations are slowed down with high-speed photography and the segments give teachers great openers to show on their SMART Boards.

Teachers.TV is also a good starting point for administrators looking for videos to show during a faculty meeting or professional development workshop.

A “bear-y” interesting version of a blog for an elementary classroom is The Adventures of Jefferson Bear.  A third grade teacher [...]]]> Many of you have tried blogging with your students.  It’s a good way for you to pose a question and have the students answer online, but how about creating a blog with a character host?

A “bear-y” interesting version of a blog for an elementary classroom is The Adventures of Jefferson Bear.  A third grade teacher in Oregon uses a teddy bear to relate travel adventures, ask questions about what’s going on in school, and even offer advice.

Admittedly, there is not a lot of regular use of the blog, but that hearkens back to yesterday’s post about being realistic about how often you use technology.  Anyway, while there are not many posts, the concept is one you may find useful!