Tool #9: RSS Feeds & News Readers

There are a lot of websites out there, and most of us have certain websites that we check regularly. Now that we are all "following" different colleagues' blogs, we have even more websites to check. What if you could check for updates of all your favorite blogs, online newspapers and other regularly-updated sites by visiting one simple page? That's the beauty of RSS, which stands for Really Simple Syndication. You may have noticed that some of your favorite websites have little orange icons that look like the one on the left.


This orange RSS icon lets you know that you can subscribe to the website using a news reader, or aggregator, such as Google Reader or Bloglines. You simply have to create an account with one of these news readers and then start adding websites that have RSS feeds. Watch this Common Craft video to learn more about RSS feeds and Google Reader:



Unfortunately, Google Reader is being taken down on July 1, 2013, so we will begin using Bloglines as the alternative solution. If you already have established a Google Reader account be sure to use Google Takeout to archive your data for import into Bloglines or another reader. You will need to be logged in to the Google account you used to create your Google Reader account in order for Takeout to find your data.

Your job for Tool #9 is to sign up for a Bloglines account, add the blogs of the colleagues you're following, plus at least 3 other blogs, online newspapers, or websites to your reader. Chances are, some of the websites you already visit a lot have RSS feeds available! Post about your experiences with Bloglines, if you think you would use it, and how you could use it professionally.

Here are some education-related sites with RSS feeds to get you started:

• Education Week
• Education News- The New York Times
• U.S. Department of Education
• NPR (They even have an Education-specific feed you can choose)

And here are some award-winning blogs from people in the field:

• Sup Teach?
• Sweeney Math
• f(t)
• Dot Physics
• Teaching in the 408
• think:lab

To search for other blogs that are of special interest to you, go to a blog-specific search engine, such as BlogSearchEngine or Google Blogs.

So, to complete Tool #9:

• Sign up for Bloglines. Use your personal e-mail account.
• Add the blogs of the colleagues you're following to your new reader account
• Add at least 3 other blogs, online newspapers, or websites
• Write a post reflecting on your experience with RSS feeds and news readers

Tool #8: Voicethread

Tool # 8: Voicethread

Voicethread is a way to facilitate a discussion of images and video with a large number of people in a totally online environment. After creating a Voicethread account, you can create individual Voicethreads. For each Voicethread, you can upload images and/or video, comment on each page using text, audio or video, and then share the Voicethread with other users, who can then make their own comments using text, audio or video. It's amazing! Here's a little more about it, if you want more details.
Here is a link to a Voicethread created by the company itself: http://voicethread.com/share/409/ Watch it for an explanation and demo.
Here is a link to a Voicethread created by an educator, to be shared with other educators. Check out how many people commented on it! http://voicethread.com/share/3352/
You should make at least 5 comments on it, one of which should be audio or video. To leave an audio comment if you don't have a microphone you may borrow one from the Media Center or come in to the Media Center to record your comment. To leave a video comment, you'll need a webcam. We have only one available for loan.
FYI, you can request that your account be upgraded for free to an Educator Account, which lets you create an unlimited amount of Voicethreads and gives you a lot more storage space. You can generally get  upgraded within 24 hours of submitting the request.


Note: For $10, you get 60 minutes of “phone commenting” on your account. With this feature, you can click on the telephone icon after you click on "Comment", enter your phone # (cell, home, or school), and the program will call you within SECONDS! Wait for the greeting, record your message, then hang up. You've just left a comment on the Voicethread!


To complete Tool #8:

• Watch the two sample Voicethreads
• Set up a Voicethread account
• Make at least 5 comments on one of the Voicethreads, one of which should be audio or video (you'll need to have a Voicethread account in order to comment)
• Post about your experience on your blog. What do you think of Voicethread? Could it apply to you and your classes? Would you use it?

Tool #7: Photo Sharing

Tool # 7: Photo Sharing

You may already have an account with an online photo sharing site, or perhaps you've had friends or family send you a link to their online albums, like Shutterfly, Picasa, or Flickr. Photo sharing sites have progressed beyond being warehouses for photos, however: many let you edit, crop, organize, share, add comments, tag, create photo groups, and even apply cool effects to individual photos. We're going to be exploring Flickr, which is one of the most innovative photo sites around. You'll be creating a Flickr account, uploading some photos to it, tagging those photos, and then posting a slideshow to your blog. If you don't have access to a digital camera, you can talk to the Media department here and request to borrow one.
Your goal for Tool #7 is to create a Flickr account and upload at least THREE photos, one of which should be a picture of you doing something related to teaching/technology/reading - something specific to this program, basically. The other 2+ photos can be of anything, but ideally would be taken specifically to share with the group. You should then TAG the photos with keywords and tag at least ONE of the photos with the keyword "TTT."  Make these photos PUBLIC (you have to check a box making them public), so that we can search for them on Flickr. You should then write a blog post about your experience with Flickr and make sure to include your Flickr name so we can find your pictures. Your free account allows you to store up to 200 photos.
Here are some resources to get you started:

• Flickr Tour
• Flickr FAQs
• "Classroom" groups on Flickr (school-related photo groups that have been created by teachers)
• The App Garden (these are cool apps that Flickr users have created- there's one called FlickrPoet where you paste in the text of a poem, and Flickr pictures are matched to the text- so your poem becomes a poem in photos)
• BigHugeLabs (lets you do fun things with your photos like make them into movie posters, photo booth pictures, add comic book captions, etc.)

To complete Tool #7:

• Create a Flickr account
• Take and upload at least 3 pictures, one of which should have something to do with the TTT program
• Tag your pictures, and make sure at least one picture is tagged "TTT"
• Make your photos public
• Write a blog post about your experience
• Post your Flickr account name
• Search for and check out other participants' photos on Flickr! My Flickr name is "dhaivyd13", and you can see a number of my Flickr pictures in a recent blog entry on this blog. 

Just for fun (optional): Create something fun using one of the Flickr third party applications or mashups and include the results in your photo stream or post into your Tool #7 blog post.

2012 Tool #1: iPads

Tool #1, 2012-13: iPads

Most of you have had the opportunity to spend the summer with one of the iPads from Park Center's iPad cart. We hope you've enjoyed it and have gotten a lot out of it. Now it is time to share what you have discovered with your peers so that we have the opportunity to learn from the experiences of one another. Towards that end, tool #1 requires you to share at least one use you have found for the iPads in education. To help you in this endeavor and get your juices flowing, please watch the following video and comment on it in the comment box at the bottom of this blog entry. You may want to have your iPad in hand when you view the video.

Tool #1 2012-13 Requirements:

1. Select at least one application that you might use with students and share it on http://d279.us/ipadapps Here is a list of favorite teacher apps, if you want some ideas.
2. After a while, go back and look at the list of recommendations created by the people in this group. It can be found at: http://d279.us/iPadappslist
3. Try out one of the apps recommended by another participant. 
4. Watch the video posted above and make a comment on it, at the bottom of these instructions. You may also want to comment on the apps you have discovered. 
5. For members of the Summer iPad User's Group, turn your iPad in to the Media Center by Friday, September 28. We will wipe it and re-image it for student use. 

Optional Challenge Activities:

1. We expect the iPads to be back in the cart about a week into October. Check the cart out and use an app with your class.There are 20 iPads in the cart plus one for the teacher. Here's a link to the Booking Calendar.
2. Use the Remote View app to project the image shown on the teacher iPad that goes with the cart. This is a 3rd generation iPad, so it has photo & video capability as well as mirroring (the capability to hook it up to your projector), but the student iPads are first generation, without those capabilities. 
3. Create a Google Form for a pre-assessment, assessment, or  survey and have students complete the form on the iPads. Show the results on the projected iPad. 
4. Use the Socratic app to turn the iPads into a student response system. 

Feedback from Participants

Some comments from participants in the 2011-12 program: 

“Great technology resources for the classroom!

Informative

Useful

The program was applicable, depending on the time and effort you wanted to put into it.

Frustrating.

Worthwhile

The program was a wonderful look into possibilities that can broaden any classroom experience.

An easy way to learn how to use new technology tools that you can actually incorporate in your classroom.

Very helpful and useful!

Eye-openingI

Connected with other like-minded teachers [with whom] I never had before...!

Enlightening!

5TTT is a vivid reminder that web applications are becoming the new way to get things done.

It is always good to get an opportunity to explore how to further utilize technology in the classroom.

I like how it was an online

Awesome!”

Congratulations participants!

   Congratulations to those of you who have completed the 5TTT program! And to those who haven’t, thanks for trying. I hope you all got a lot out of it, and may be interested in trying it again next year. Here is the final survey for the program. Although I’m not calling it a requirement for the completion of the program, I really value your input. It’s the only way we will know how to improve our systems for bringing technology staff development to you. Thanks so much for your participation in the program and for taking the survey. I hope all of you get a chance to take a breath this summer and poke around on some of these great, free web 2.0 tools that are available to us.

   As an added incentive to participate next year, I’m checking out the iPads from our iPad cart to staff over the summer. The first people that sign up as intending to participate in next year’s technology professional development program get priority for checking out iPads. Here’s the form for that.

   Congratulations to the following 21 people who have completed the program!  Each received either a $20 gift card for Best Buy Company or a 4GB video MP3 player. If you got the gift card, you might want to check out Best Buy's Memorial Day Sale this weekend. Program graduates are: Natasha Abu-Saba, Diane Ahlberg, Jennifer Ajsenberg, Carli Andersen, Rob Anderson, Anne Beckman, Jessica Gillespie, Stacey Haas, Dhaivyd Hilgendorf, Justin Jacobs, Colin Kemmis, Jason Olson, Lauren Peralta, Bev Rath, Megan Rohwer, Scott Schugg, Manon Tam, Lori Taylor, Sue Toohey, Laura Williams, and Sally Wojahn. Your 5 technology CEUs have been posted on Keep Certified. Congratulations, also to those who tried, but couldn't find the time to make it work this year. I know that this stuff doesn't come easily to many of you, and I commend you for giving it a go. Please enroll again next year, and get even more out of it, regardless of whether you complete the program. Everyone's a winner with this program!
   Finally, the winner of our Grand Prize drawing, an Amazon Kindle Keyboard 3G, was Laura Williams. I hope that you enjoy some great reading on it this summer, Laura! 

Almost done!

5TTT participants are wrapping it up for the year. Congratulations to those who managed to finish or are about to do so despite all the demands of our jobs. Thanks to those who tried out a few tools but couldn't find the time to complete the program. Please note that the final instruction for posting your Screencast on the Park Center 5TTT channel has been made optional, as I didn't provide adequate instructions. You need to be start your screencast from the channel page for it to be saved on a given channel.

We are planning to provide a similar staff technology training program at Park Center again next year, and hope that you will consider joining us again to apply your new skills to your practice and to learn a few more. Next year, one of the tools will be learning to use iPads. We will be allowing staff to check out iPads this summer to begin to get familiar with their use. Let Dhaivyd know if you are interested in getting on the advanced list for checking one out. I hope to see many of you at 2:15 on May 23 for the awards ceremony at our afternoon staff meeting. You are now qualified as technology leaders for the school. Again, congratulations.

Tool #6: Screencast-O-Matic

Tool #6: Screencasting

Screencasting allows practitioners to create a video out of whatever is done on their computer screen, accompanied by vocal narration. The resulting videos can be posted on YouTube or a website or made into a video file, including MP4, AVI, and FLV movie formats. A microphone must be connected to the computer for the narration to work. I have microphones that can be borrowed for this project, and if you decide you want to make use of this technology regularly, we may be able to check one out to you for a longer term. Teachers primarily use this tool to show students how to access information, such as documents on a Moodle page; how to operate software or online programs; or how to use online resources. Some teachers are beginning to do their content instruction this way and assign the viewing for homework so that class time can be spent helping students practice the new skill. This is known as the “Flipped Classroom.” Anything that is done using the computer can be re-created using Screencasting tools. I have chosen to use Screencast-O-Matic for this tool because it is free (up to 15 minutes per screencast), easy to use, and does not require a software download. Other similar programs, such as Jing, have more features, but often require a download, may not be as intuitive, and may charge for the service. ScreenToaster is another free option that does not require a download. 

Here is a screencast created by math teacher called "Law of Sines," as an example of what you can do.

To complete Tool 6:

• Watch some of the Law of Sines screencast
• Sign up for a Screencast-O-Matic account
• Watch at least the first “how to” video on http://screencast-o-matic.com/channels/cXhI3EVTh
• Create a screencast of something
• Upload the screencast to your Screencast-O-Matic account
• You may also choose to upload it to YouTube (optional)
• Embed or provide the link to your screencast in your blog post

Optional Challenge Activities:

Add your screencast to the Park Center TTT open channel, at http://screencast-o-matic.com/channels/clfq2LVWM To do this, you need to begin recording your screencast from the TTT channel page. 

·         Set up a webcam and include a real time video of yourself in your screencast.

·         Add captions to your screencast

     Second year participant requirements:  

·         Set up your own channel, either on YouTube or Screencast-O-Matic – or both.

     Create an open channel on Screencast-O-Matic for students to place their Screencasts for an assignment

     If you don't have a class, create screencasts to demonstrate to a colleague how to do some function on the computer, such as accessing a U-drive folder, sending an electronic copy request, or submitting a report.

Tool #5: Diigo / Social Bookmarking

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Tool #5: Social Bookmarking with Diigo

Diigo started out as a social bookmarking site, like Delicious.com: a place where you can bookmark your favorite websites so that you can access them from any Internet-connected device. It has grown to include many more functions for the collection and organizing of data of all types. It can also serve as an excellent tool for sharing information with others. To complete this tool, you must:

1.     Start a Diigo account

2.     Watch the Diigo tutorial for version V5 at http://vimeo.com/12687333

3.     Add at least 5 of your existing bookmarks

4.     Tag at least 5 bookmarks
5.  Add Diigo Toolbar to Firefox. You can do this from https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/diigo-web-highlighter-and-stic/ 

6.     Save a note, a picture, highlights from a web page, and (OPTIONAL:) an online pdf document to Diigo

7.     Make a snapshot (or capture a screenshot) of a page or partial page and annotate it with highlights, arrows, etc.This can be done through the Diigo Toolbar.

8.     Share an item with one or more people, including hilgendorfd@district279.org

Additional Diigo videos and tutorials can be found at: http://help.diigo.com/home/get-started

Optional challenge activities:

1.     Install Diigo add-on browser to your most commonly used browser (Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer). Try the features from your toolbar add-on.

2.     Download free Diigo Powernote for Android or the Diigo app for iOS devices for easier access from your mobile devices.

3.     Install Diigo Offline Reader app for iOS devices.

     Second year participant requirements:

•        Search Diigo for other people's folders that contain websites pertinent to your practice. Move any contents of such folders into your own folders and share with colleagues that might find the sites pertinent.
  

•          If you have a class doing a research project - or any project that involves web sources - have them use Diigo to create folders of resources or resources with a specific tag that they share with you. Show them how to take snapshots and annotate sites.

•      If you do not have a class, create a folder of pertinent sites and share it with colleagues.  Share resources with a specific tag.

Tool #4: Google Forms

Google Forms is used to solicit responses from people. The results of surveys, tests/quizzes, questionnaires, meeting evaluations, or votes are automatically transferred to a Google spreadsheet, which has built-in result summary charts and diagrams.

To complete the requirements for tool #4:
1. Create a Google form with at least 3 questions, preferably of different types. Available question types are: text (for short answers), paragraph text (for longer answers), multiple choice, check boxes, choose from a list, scale (eg. on a scale of 1-5…), and grid.
2. Share the form with hilgendorfd@apps.district279.org
3. Mail the form to at least 3 respondents. If the form is not based on an actual need, please ask other TTT participants to respond. In this case, make your forms short and easy so we don’t overburden the TTT participants.
4. Respond to any live forms that you receive.
5. Respond to the Google form posted on the blog. It’s the entry prior to (below) this one. You can also find it in the Quick Links to the right, or at Tool #4 Google Form to Complete
6. View your Google spreadsheet on your Moodle/Osseo Apps account.
7. View the response summaries.
8. If you haven't been making new posts to your blog, write one about this tool, after you try it out. 
Here is a nearly 13-minute-long screencast showing how to do these things. This can also be viewed on You Tube here.

2nd Year Participant Requirements:
(Optional challenge activities for first year participants)
Try any or all of these, if you want to expand your use of this tool.

• Try out 4-6 questions types.
• Prepare a quiz or pre-test for your class. Use something that you would actually be giving the class. If you don’t have a class, send out a different survey that meets a genuine need.
• Embed the form in your blog (or another web page for which you have editing rights) and direct respondents to the page, rather than send this form out as an e-mail. If you use this technique and you want to know who made which response, you will want to include a question that asks for their name. To embed a form, go to the spreadsheet for the form and select “Embed form in a webpage” from the “Form” menu.
• When the results are in, use the Snipping Tool (part of the Windows 7 operating system) to copy a chart onto a Google docs Presentation slide (or more slides). Feel free to give them titles and any other information to make it clear what you are sharing and why.
• Share the Presentation with someone. Feel free to share it with hilgendorfd@district279.org, if there is no genuine need to share the information with someone else.
• If you have text answers, you may want to try copying the answers from one of your questions and pasting them into Wordle.com to create a visual image of the results. This allows you a quick visual synopsis of the words that respondents used to answer a question, with more frequently used words larger. If you do this, I also recommend randomizing the resulting Wordle until you find one that you especially like.To make a file of the Wordle, you will need to take a screenshot of it, either using the Snipping Tool or Command-Shift-4 on a Macintosh computer.

Recommended Action:

• On a semi-related note, I recommend that you forward your apps emails to your regular address. This way you don’t have to check both accounts. To do this, 
• Open your e-mail from Osseo Apps. That’s your @apps.district279.org account. 
• Click on the little gear icon to the right of your user name at the top right corner of the e-mail page and open “Mail Settings.” 
• Click on the blue “Forwarding and POP/IMAP” menu. 
• Under “forwarding,” forward a copy of incoming email to [your regular address] and “mark Osseo Area Schools Mail’s copy as read.”

TTT Google Form: Please complete as part of Tool #4

Best educational wikis of 2011

Interested in further exploring wikis? Wikispaces is probably the most popular wiki host used by teachers. They just announced their top educational wikis for last year. You can find them here.

Tool #3: Wikis. Google Docs / Osseo Apps

Shared documents are called wikis. Like Wikipedia, there are multiple authors with various degrees of access to the documents. This access is controlled by the document owner.  Osseo Apps is our district's version of Google Docs/Drive.

In general, we will be using our personal e-mail address for accessing the tools in the TTT program. However, for this tool and the next, we will be using our Osseo Apps addresses. Your Osseo Apps e-mail address is identical to your district e-mail address except that immediately after @, “apps” is added. For example, my Osseo Apps address is hilgendorfd@apps.district279.org.

To complete tool 2, you will need to:

1.   Create two different types of documents using Google docs. Try to make the documents meaningful to your technology learning goals and useful  in your work environment. For example, create a 3-slide presentation that illustrates how you might use a new technology in your work. Or make a document that encourages collaborators to add their thoughts about a question you have or project you’re starting. You could also create a proposed agenda for a meeting, such as your next data team meeting, to which others could add. This can be something very simple. The idea is that you learn how it works, not requiring you to spend a bunch of time creating something beautiful.

• Document types include: Document; Presentation; Spreadsheet; and Drawing

2.       Put your new documents into a folder
3.       Share one or more of your new documents with at least 3 other TTT participants (check the right side panel of the TTT blog for a list of participants),
4.       Answer the question posed in one of the documents entitled “TTT Tool 3 Question” that I've shared with you. Type or draw right into the document to do so. Here are links to those documents:
a.       Spreadsheet
b.      Drawing
5. Once you've completed the requirements for tool 1 and/or tool 2, put an "X" in the self-tracking spreadsheet so that I know to check your work and add your completion to the official tracking spreadsheet. Here is a link to the one that you can edit.
6. Comment on a document.
7.       Share your experience in a post on your blog.

If you need further instruction, view this 11-1/2 minute screencast to see how these tasks are done using Osseo Apps, our district version of Google Docs: 

Here are general instructions from Google about how to use Google apps: http://edutraining.googleapps.com/Training-Home/module-1

Google Docs works better with the Firefox or Google Chrome browsers than in Internet Explorer. If you have a personal Google account that you are using, you are likely to run into some issues with your login. You can set up your Google profile so that it allows for multiple logins, but if you're working in two profiles simultaneously (eg. Osseo Apps and your Blog), it can be confusing and frustrating. One way around this is to use Firefox for GoogleDocs/Osseo Apps and use Chrome to access your Blog and other tools associated with your personal account. To easily access Firefox, click on the Start menu at the bottom left corner of your screen and type "Firefox" into the search bar. When it appears, above, right click on it and select "pin to taskbar." This will make it accessible from the bottom of your screen any time you use that computer. I hope this helps.

Tool #3 optional challenge activity and 2nd year participant requirements:

1. If you teach classes*, have your students use Google Docs for their next presentation, paper, drawing, or spreadsheet. This is especially handy if they are working in groups, so they can share a single document, and access it from any Internet-connected device. 
2. Have students share their documents with you, so that you can keep track of what they are doing , add comments, and have the final product at your fingertips, watching it develop formatively, as well. Add comments to at least one document created by someone else. 
3. While you have a shared document open, go to the file menu and select “See revision history.” You’ll see who has contributed what, and when. Then share your results on your blog! 
4. If you haven't already done so, set up your apps e-mail to automatically forward to your regular district e-mail. This way, you don't have to check both of them all the time. You do this within the mail settings once you've logged into your OsseoApps Gmail account.

*If you don’t teach classes, you can create a shared agenda for a meeting or a slide or two to share with a co-worker or students. You can also share folders so that anything you put in that folder will be shared with those with whom you've shared it. Drawing documents can be shared, too. 

Have fun!