EUSD Instructional Technology

EUSD Teachers Marilyn Bieck and James Staton and their students were honored at a “red carpet” event in San Diego for the 2008 iVie (Innovative Video in Education) Student Awards ceremony.

Both of their class films were nominated in the Grades 3-5 Math/Science category. The student film from James Staton’s class won the People’s Choice Award for most popular movie at the iVie Film Festival held on May 10th. The films were produced as part of their participation in the Digital Media Academy.

Please join me in congratulating Marilyn, James and all the other Digital Media Teachers who submitted films for the iVie competition this year.

You can view a broadcast of the 2008 iVie Awards Ceremony on June 21st at 10:00 a.m. on ITV (Cable 16).

The two videos will be available for viewing at http://www.ivieawards.org/ivie08/3-5math.asp.

Selecting the right tool for the job is an important function in every project. When working on home improvement projects we rarely start with the tool and try to find a job around the house that we need to use it on. We don’t always do the same thing with technology tools. There are times when we start with the tool and then work backwards into the project.

There are many technology tools that can be used for collaboration with other colleagues. Defining your purpose, determining the functions you need to have in a tool for a specific project and determining the short term and long term needs are all very important in choosing the right tool for the job.

Define Your Purpose

What do you want to achieve?
What products are to be created?
What are the dimensions of the collaboration? Singular or multifaceted?

What Functions Do You Need?

Collaborative Editing
Calendar
Resource Sharing
Discussions
Document Sharing

Short Term and Long Term Needs

What do you need the tool to do now?
What will you need it to do as the collaboration grows? Not always easy to anticipate.
Will everyone be able to use the tool right away or is training needed?
Do you need a tool that does many things or one thing?

Tools For Collaboration 

These tools are just a few that might work for a collaboration. Each has their strengths and functions that can be evaluated. Some of the tools do similar things, but there are subtle differences that need to be considered whether it will be a better tool for the job. Google Docs and a wiki might appear to do the same thing, but they have differences that make them unique and could make one or the other better for a collaborative team.

Google Docs

Online word processor, spreadsheet and presentation creator that can easily be accessed access from home and school. Also makes it very easy to share their work with other teachers for collaborative editing. Google Docs is password protected and can only be viewed and edited by selected people.

Wiki

Creates a space for teams to build collective writing and resources that can be edited from any web browser. Wikis can be configured to be viewed and edited by anyone or only people that have been designated.

Wordpress/Blog

Allows groups to easily setup a web page for blogging or sharing news about a project.  Also gives a team a place to have discussions about the project and resources that have been added as blog posts. A blog can be public or private.

Google Sites 

Creates a space that can be used to share Google Docs, calendars, to do lists and resources. Site is setup for easy additions of pieces to the site. Can be public or private.

Here are the sites that we will be accessing in the DMA meeting today

Edutopia Poll

DigiTales

Animoto

Jump Cut 

TeacherTube

We have added a few more themes for our WordPress site. To check them out log in to your account and go to “Presentation” tab. Most of themes allow for custom header images.

In the next few weeks we are going to start adding some new applications onto the computers in the classroom. We will not be doing this to all the computers in the district in the first wave. We want to start seeding them into classrooms where we will see them being used immediately by both teachers and students.

If you would like to have your classroom be part of the first wave of classes that get the programs, please reply to this email. We are planning to get on all Windows XP machines eventually, but do not have the man hours to complete right away. If you are part of the Digital Media Academy or the Tech Cohort you are already scheduled to receive the software.

We will be providing training in using these applications in the coming months and will also have a web site with tutorials and other resources for using them in the classroom. All these programs are available for free for download off the web.

List of New Software

Audacity w/ Lame MP3 Encoder
This an audio recording and editing program that Students can use to mix their voice with music. It is very good for creating podcasts and other audio projects.

Photostory
This program lets you take photos and create movies that include voice over narration, music, text and special effects. There is a wizard that walks you through each step of the program. This is good for both students to create curriculum projects and teachers to share images on their web sites.

Google Earth/Space
This program is an interactive globe that can be used to view satellite imagery mapped onto the earth. Students can see the world up close and also access tours of the different parts of earth. This also includes an interactive view of space that uses telescope photographs that are positioned as they exist in the night sky.

Quicktime Player w/iTunes
This will allow you to access educational podcasts from the iTunes music store and also play Quicktime movies on your computer.

Tux Paint
This program allows students to create digital art using paint brushes and stamps. Tux Paint is similar to the program Kid Pix.

Picasa 2
This program allows you to catalog and edits digital images.

Scratch

This program provides a visual programming experience for students. They can learn the basics of computer programming by creating their own games, science simulations, and interactive programs.

Even before we officially launch this site it is going through public revision. The resources that were on the page are still here they have just been moved or rerouted. We are turning the resource pages into wikis so that anyone who wants to add to them can. If you need help in the process of the site being put together please fee free to contact Mike or Ashley and they can help you find what you need.

Photoshop Express

Brand new online photo editing and organization application.

Picasa

This site has some tutorials, as well as links to sites for images.

Photostory

Take your pictures and create a story with text and audio.

I came across a post on the Infinite Thinking Machine blog that I felt I had to share with as many educators as I could. The author of the post attended the EduCon conference in Philadelphia last month and was encouraged by the conversations that occurred and how they were focused on education and innovation, not the technology that drives it. Technology was a huge part of the conference, but all in the context of learning. What is really amazing is that each session was recorded on video and archived on a website called Ustream. Each session also has notes that were captured by the participants during the session.

All of this can be found on the EduCon 2.0 Wiki. With budget shrinking in schools, we need more opportunities for educators to have opportunities to hear from others in the field about how they are meeting the needs of students in the 21st Century. Hope you can find some time to review some of the sessions.

Infinite Thinking Machine Article

Google’s education group has come with a contest for schools to create a special Google doodle that will appear as the Google logo on May 22nd. The national winner will receive a $10,000 scholarship and the winners school will receive a $25,000 technology grant. The theme of the contest is “What if….”

Google traditionally will use a doodled logo to mark holidays and other special dates. They have some examples on the web site for the competition.

Here are the key dates:

School Registration Deadline

March 28, 2008

Doodle Entry Deadline

April 12, 2008

State Finalists and Regional Winners Notified

May 7, 2008

Online Public Vote

May 12-18, 2008

Awards Ceremony and National Winners Announced

May 21, 2008

Winning Doodle on the Google Homepage

May 22, 2008

For more information: Doodle 4 Google

1. Use your rubric to evaluate the video for your group.

2. Provide feedback about the effectiveness of the rubric in evaluating the video. Write your response as a comment.

Video Group # 1

Video Group # 2

Video Group # 3

Video Group # 4

Video Group # 5