Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Keyboarding – do you still type with two fingers?

A recent post written on keyboarding by Jacqui Murray got me thinking again about my lack of keyboarding skills. I don’t know about you but I STILL can’t type properly.  After all these years I still type with two fingers at great speed, always looking at my keyboard AND I make dozens of typos! They are not spelling mistakes – it is just that my fingers get in the way of each other. A parent assured me recently that he recently found a keyboarding site on the internet and taught himself to type properly in two weeks by practising daily. So it can be done! In the wave of technology that is descending on us with such rapid speed, shouldn’t we be pointing our students to some kind of typing programme that they can work on at home? I really don’t want my students to end up like me! I want them to develop fast, accurate typing skills.

Qwerty keyboard

To check whether your keyboard is a QWERTY keyboard, just take a look a the first six keys on the top left. If they spell QWERTY then your keyboard is the typical computer keyboard.

 Finger exercises

A post on finger exercises in ehow.com mentions that "typing requires finger dexterity and practice. Incorrect placement of fingers on the keyboard and weak finger muscles can lead to repetitive use injuries. Twenty-nine bones, 29 joints, 123 ligaments and 34 muscles are used every time you type a sentence, according to the website for the Electronic Textbook of Hand Surgery. Finger exercises for typing can strengthen muscles and prevent injuries".

In this blog post I am going to point you to some keyboarding sites, and then I am going to highlight Jacqui Murray’s novel idea. She created a wiki with a three weeks typing programme on it for her students.

Keyboarding sites

First, let’s look at some free typing programmes on the Internet. There are so many of these that there's really no excuse for not learning fast typing skills.

1. BBC Schools' Dance Mat typing. Work your way through 4 levels. I have used this one frequently at school and the students love it.

2. TypingWeb is a free online typing tutor & keyboarding tutorial for typists of all skill levels. TypingWeb also offers officially sanctioned typing and 10 Key certification.

3. Test your typing speed:

4. A whole collection of sites related to keyboarding.

5. Typing exercise:

6. A teacher’s typing manual:


8. Peter’s online typing course:
http://www.typing-lessons.org/

9. Krazy keyboarding for kids:

10. A free online typing course called Goodtyping:http://www.goodtyping.com/

11. A typing test and a free typing tutor called Learn 2 Type:http://www.learn2type.com/

12. Finger jig – This is a 6 minute typing game that tests your typing ability. Words are randomly chosen from a dictionary of over 70,000 words. You must try and type the words as quickly and accurately as you can.
http://www.jonmiles.co.uk/games/fingerjig/

13. A typing tutor called Touch typing study:
http://www.typingstudy.com/

14. A lovely selection of keyboarding games for students:
http://www.learninggamesforkids.com/keyboarding_games.html


I wonder if you can suggest any others that you enjoy using?

Jacqi Murray’s keyboarding wiki

Jacqui has this novel idea of setting up a wiki with a three week programme that her students can use at home.  I like this idea so much. You can view Jacqui's original keyboarding post here at this address: (http://askatechteacher.wordpress.com/2011/08/12/weekend-website-63-teach-keyboarding/ ) To visit her wiki site click on the picture below:



She has a page called ‘What we did today’ that lists the suggested daily routine. 

Well, maybe there’s hope for me after all to become a touch typist. If you look at what is available on the internet there is just no excuse! Do you perhaps have any other sites to suggest?

Sunday, August 28, 2011

More TeachMeet ideas from the Partners in Learning Institute week in July 2011

In a previous post I mentioned about TeachMeets that we were introduced to at the Partners in Learning Institute in July 2011.  At that stage some of us had never even heard of the concept before but we loved the idea and have taken it back to our countries.  We were videoed presenting our teachmeets, but the file is too big to process. However, some of the innovative participators have redone their presentations and have uploaded them to a video site! Here they are to date!

1. Arjana on Vodpad




3. Bart on YouTube



4. Yugoslava used Screenr

 



I am hoping that this idea of Teachmeets will really spread in South Africa. This is a great way to share integration-with-technology ideas. If you hold a TeachMeet in your area PLEASE let us know about it!

When did you last use Skype in your classroom?

Skype is a programme that can connect teachers and pupils all over the globe FOR FREE – yet many schools are unaware of its amazing potential. All you need is a computer connected to the internet in the classroom! Want to know more?

How do you get started?

If you haven’t tried Skype before it is really worth giving it a try. Skype has recently started to make it a lot easier for teachers to find each other by creating a Skype in the classroom website. Now there is no excuse to start using Skype! Why don’t you take a look? http://education.skype.com/ Click on the picture below! It shows the latest educators to join the site.



10 way chat is a great new feature

Version 5 which came out last year brought out some fantastic new features the best of which has to be the 10 way video chat which is brilliant! I am not sure if this facility is free.

How can Skype for Educators help you?

The http://education.skype.com/website has a whole list of projects to get involved in:

How to find a project on Skype in the classroom from Skype in the classroom on Vimeo.

There is step by step instruction on how to get started and find like-minded teachers:

How to create a profile and find a teacher from Skype in the classroom on Vimeo.

There are many resources to explore:


How to find a resource on Skype in the classroom from Skype in the classroom on Vimeo.

Where else can you find classrooms to Skype with?
1. Edublogs gives a whole directory of teachers looking for Skype partners. They have even added the time zone of the teachers which is something that is important to note.

2. The Skype in schools wiki:

3. Around the world in 80 days Skype project: 

4. Want-ads - looking for educators to skype with:

What sort of things can you do with Skype in the classroom?

1. You can debate!

2. Here are 10 great ideas:

3. You can even give students skype jobs in the classroom! http://langwitches.org/blog/2010/04/11/skype-jobs-for-students/

4. What about inviting an author? Here is a post about the author and illustrator Mike Artell

5. This is another post about author and illustrator Jan and Phil Huling-

6. A post by Jack Kenny lists some of the ideas she has noticed:
http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6090279

7. This is a popular post showing 50 things you can do with Skype:

8. More ideas from Shelley Terrell:

Did you know that experts are willing to come into your classroom?

1. A list of experts willing to skype into your classroom:

2. Skype an author network:

Want a few tips before you start?

1. Watch a great video by Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano’s Presentation ‘Around the World with Skype” to get you started



2. Skype tips:

3. How I taught skype to my class by Coolcat Teacher. Vicki has also added a detailed step-by-step video in her post.

4. Dummies guide to Skype:

Livebinders with Skype resources

A Livebinder is a great way to share a variety of resources on a topic. There are several good Skype livebinders to explore.

1. Making connections with Skype

2. Skype in the classroom

Recording your Skype sessions




Wikis with Skype resources

1. Technology 4 Kids Wiki: Skype Resources

2. Skype in School Wiki:



So then, why should you Skype?


Why not give it a go? Please comment and tell us of your Skype experiences. We would really love to know about them!

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Would you like to get involved in an international peace project?

Submitted by Fiona Beal
Last year I participated in a few international projects initiated by Garrett Ferguson, a Grade 4 teacher from Franconia School in the USA, and the class and I made a whole host of new friends around the world. Garrett is now looking for teachers and classes who would like to join in a new project. Here is an excerpt from his email just received.

Dear Classrooms Around the Globe,

This year my fourth grade classroom at Lafayette Regional School in Franconia, NH would like to have a big celebration for International Peace Day on Sept 21, 2011. In honor of this day, I would like my fourth graders to create a multi - cultural vision of peace movie. We would like to collect movies from classrooms around the globe of their MESSAGE OF PEACE. The movies might include poetry, song, dance, or etc. The overall theme of the movie is "A Message of Peace" that answer what peace means to them. The requirement for the video:
Length "21 seconds or less"
Title: "A Message of Peace"
Upload: email your interest to me and I will follow up with instructions for uploading (We will be using Dropbox)
Due Date: Sept 16, 2011
Language: In your own language
Goal: 21 classroom representing all six continents

My students will mash all the videos together to create a international message of peace that will premier on Sept 21, 2011. Please forward on this email message to all your classrooms. Thanks for helping our classroom spread a message of peace.

-Garret Ferguson
P.S.
Here are additional resources on International Peace Day:
Peace One Day Organization
http://www.peaceoneday.org/en/education/POD-EDUCATION
Pinwheels for Peace: http://www.pinwheelsforpeace.com/pinwheelsforpeace/home.html
TED talk on how international peace day was created: http://www.ted.com/talks/jeremy_gilley_one_day_of_peace.html
-
Mr. Ferguson and The Super Fantastic 15
Lafayette Regional School - Franconia NH
Skype - lafayette41


I see that the Principal of Scottish High International School in India has just replied wishing to get involved. Why not also consider also giving it a try?

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

A little bit of inspiration

Submitted by Fiona Beal
What do you think of the idea of now and again spending a few spare minutes in a lesson showing an inspirational video to your learners, followed by some pertinent questions? This one is just 2:47 minutes - "Born to succeed". If you have any suggestions of inspirational videos for this purpose, please share them with us.

Monday, August 15, 2011

How are South African schools implementing technology integration?

Every now and then we will feature a post about a school that is taking brave steps in that direction.  Today’s post is a guest post written by Arthur Preston, Headmaster at Lanner House, a private co-ed school in Worcester. He is a passionate educator and school leader who is determined to see schools learn to utilise social media and technology in better ways inside and outside the classroom. Arthur writes a blog called Headthoughts. His school uses Twitter and Facebook. He is also a co-founder of EdtechConf which is an organization that assists schools in holding seminars and workshops in the use of educational technology.  

Lanner House (Worcester) - from computer lab to classroom

Back in 2008 our computer lab was filled with 10-year old machines which, quite frankly, had been neglected and were no longer fit for proper ICT instruction. In 2009 our pupils raised money through a project we entitled “A Time For Change” and by collecting R5 coins managed to raise enough funding to set up an entire computer lab complete with flat screen monitors and new CPUs – no small feat for a school of 120 pupils!

We have never had a specialist ICT teacher and we recognised the need for our pupils to learn ICT skills. Classroom teachers did not feel they were properly equipped to teach ICT and so I ended up as the ICT teacher. Our pupils learnt basic HTML, keyboard skills, blogging, wiki building and so on. As the months wore on I became increasingly unsettled about the status quo. On reflection I realised there were two main reasons for this :

1) So much of what I was doing with the pupils had obvious application in various learning areas and was cross-curricular in nature. However I was operating in isolation from the class teachers.

2) By keeping the teaching of ICT to myself I was robbing our teachers of the opportunity to expand their professional skill set by embracing technology in their teaching practice.

The question was how to equip our class teachers with the skills needed to begin to use technology in their lessons. They also needed to be exposed to the myriad tools online, many of which are free and quite easy to use. I mainly used three strategies to do this :

1) I developed a Lanner House staff website through which our teachers could access their school email, online class admin and so on. On the front page of this site I placed a widget showing the latest postings from a Diigo group (social bookmarking) I had set up for our teachers. I encouraged our teachers to join and contribute to this group. This kept new tools and websites visible to the teachers. http://lannerhousestaff.yolasite.com/

2) I offered staff workshops for those who wanted to learn more. These were optional and gave me a good idea who the people were who would be the Early Adopters.
3) I made it my business to speak regularly in casual conversation with the teachers about the use of technology in the classroom. This helped to keep the idea of tech integration active.


By the end of 2010 I was certain that the time was right for us to move the computers from the lab to each classroom. Early this year we took the plunge, arranged for the necessary network cabling to be installed and moved PCs to each classroom. All but three of our classrooms now have at least three internet-connected computers which may be accessed during the day. The remaining classrooms will be equipped during the first month of the 2012 school year. Our small classes, largest class is 15, make it possible for every child to have regular time on the computers.

We sent a delegation to the inaugural EdTechConf conference in May of this year which exposed our teachers to some wonderful and exciting ideas for ICT integration in the curriculum. I have not made it compulsory to integrate technology into the curriculum this year but have encouraged the teachers to experiment with this and with classroom strategies which ensure the best use of this resource. 2012 will see the compulsory integration of ICT into various curriculum modules.

Although it is still early days I have noticed the following consequences of our decision to move the computers into the classrooms :

a) Teachers who had previously avoided ICT are now experimenting with integration of IT into their teaching, resulting in an “If she can do it, so can I!” ethos amongst the staff.

b) There are no longer timetable conflicts which result from having one venue in which computers are situated.

c) Teachers have begun to experiment with different teaching strategies in their classrooms now that  they have immediate and easy access to computers.

d) Three of our teachers have now set up class websites, two have begun e-pal correspondence programs with schools (both local and overseas), one has her pupils using glogster and there is an overwhelming acceptance that we have turned a corner with our use of technology in the curriculum. This is accompanied by a general sense of excitement and wonder as teachers begin to realise that embracing technology in their teaching practice is neither scary nor difficult.

Our computer network is simple, our resources limited and yet we are moving into a reality which was unthinkable even four years ago. Our decision to move computers into classrooms has helped move our school towards becoming a true 21st century learning environment. There is of course much more in becoming a 21st century school than simply moving computers but it has moved us closer to that goal. If we had more financial resources at our disposal we may consider moving into a one-laptop-per-child scenario or beginning a project which equips each classroom with an iPad-bank. However I believe that we have made a necessary and important adjustment to our curriculum and teaching practice by abolishing the formal computer lab.


We have noticed that children who are not exposed to computers at home learn how to type and use the mouse as they participate in ICT-linked class activities. The teacher facilitates the learning and skill development. The use of spreadsheets, databases, word processors and so on becomes an outcome of the task set by the teacher in a particular learning area and those pupils who are not proficient have an incentive for skill development and their teacher assists them in learning that particular skill. With computers in the classroom, pupils needing extra assistance may work on the computers at times other than the official “Computer Lesson” time ensuring maximum exposure to IT skill development.

Is there place for a computer lab in a primary school? I know there will be those who disagree vehemently with me because of the particular circumstances of their school, but I believe that we need to be equipping classrooms with computers, training teachers in their use and making the integration of technology into the curriculum compulsory. The abolition of the computer lab may be a process which takes several years but I believe the computer lab as we know it today, is (and perhaps should be) an endangered species.


Friday, August 12, 2011

Have you read The Super Book of Web Tools?

Submitted by Fiona Beal
Are you a K-12 teacher who would like to start using technology in your classroom but you are not sure where to start? Richard Byrne of Free technology for teachers fame got together ten ed tech bloggers, teachers and school administrators to create this book called the Super Book of Web Tools for teachers. The contributors are George Couros, Patrick Larkin, Kelly Tenkely, Adam Bellow, Silvia Tolisano, Steven Anderson, Cory Plough, Beth Still, Larry Ferlazzo, Lee Kolbert, and Richard Byrne, some of which I know about and some which I have yet to discover.  This is certainly worth a read. It can be read online in full screen or downloaded to your own computer.

The Super Book of Web Tools for Educators


How much do you know about Microsoft's free tools for educators?

Did you know that Microsoft has a number of free tools that can really make your  lessons come alive? Recently, when we attended the Partners in Learning (PIL) Institute week in Redmond, we didn’t spend very much time in the computer labs because the emphasis was on 21st century lesson activities, yet the tools enhanced everything we did.  In this post I would like to show you some of the ways the PIL members used the tools. In future posts I will take each tool and explain it fully showing its potential in lesson activities.

Photosynth

Photosynth (http://photosynth.net/) is a web-based software application from Microsoft Live that analyzes digital photographs and generates a three-dimensional model of the photos and gives a 360 degree view of a scene. With this application you can shoot wrap-around panoramas and easily share them with others. This has ENORMOUS potential for school outings.  I must confsss that I knew about photosynth before leaving for the USA but I hadn’t explored it. Now I can see that it is a simple yet effective programme that can make any outing memorable.  On most of our learning excursions PIL members took many different photosynths to share with others. This meant that everyone could benefit from all the excursions.

Neung made 10 different photosynths of the Seattle underground.  Here is one of them:





One group took a photosynth of the Spaceneedle, one the highest points in Seattle. It is marvelous to still be able to still experience that  breathtaking panoramic view via the photosynth.




Bart used photosynth to teach us 7 Dutch words in his kitchen when he got back home.




Bing Maps

You know how it is when an application is introduced and it is good – well you tend to use that application even after others have been developed! So, I have been a Google maps fan and that is what I generally use in my lesson activities. I didn’t realize the potential of Bing Maps! There are so many interesting apps that go with Bing Maps that our learners will love using.


In this overview I will show two interesting ways that PIL Institute attendees used Bing Maps.

Dan from the UK was first. Before we got there he asked everybody to think about joining http://about.me.com/ and write a brief introduction about ourselves. He then joined these to a Bing Map. This is a great way to get to know who is going to be at an event before you meet them personally. Here is the map: http://binged.it/rry3gM. If you click on the image below you will be taken to the original in Bing Maps. 



Once you click on the person’s number on the map you can click on ‘more info‘ and you’ll be taken to their about.me page. Dan is still adding details of everyone, but as he says, it is a great way to visually connect and possibly even collaborate in the future. 

Bram from Belgium made a Bing Map of all the places the various teams visited in Seattle. if you click on the map below you will be taken to the original in Bing Maps.


Another interesting feature, I think, is that when you have created a photosynth about a place, you can submit it to Bing maps and if they like it they will add it to their map.

One Note
One Note is an incredible programme for keeping yourself organised. One of our presenters Sonja Delafosse used One Note instead of PowerPoint for presenting her sessions. One Note also has a great web app where you can share your notes. 
Here is Sonja's YouTube video called 'What One Note can do':



Movie Maker

Of course, Windows Movie Maker is the hit of all time. We all made movies about everything and uploaded them to YouTube in a flash. Nothing went unnoticed. I don't think we'll ever forget the PIL Institute week because so many lovely movies were made about it by the attendees. Here is one I haven't used before:


Songsmith

This a great hit in schools. It is so easy to use and it does most of the work for you allowing you to end up with a very professional sounding version at the end.  W
hen our group was having a practice session on Song Smith, by the end of the session there was already a movie on YouTube!



In the TeachMeet session there was a video about Songsmith within minutes.




Well, that ends my introductory post to some of the Microsoft tools and how they were used to make the week at the PIL Institute live on as an unforgettable memory forever. These tools are well worth exploring as you prepare your integrated lessons. 


Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Webinars - a great tool for professional development

webinarsSubmitted by Fiona Beal
SchoolNet is planning to introduce regular webinars for educators in the areas of technology integration and good classroom practice. I am in the process of contacting South African educators that I know of who have expertise in certain fields to see if they would be willing to share their expertise and host a webinar somewhere along the line. But what about you? To start off we will confine this to SchoolNet Premium members. If you are a SchoolNet Premium member and you have something you would like to share that could benefit us all, please let me know. Initially the time span will be 45 minutes with another 10-15 minutes for interaction...and we'll take it from there!

30 tools in 50 minutes

But now. let me talk about a webinar I listened to last night. It was wonderful. It was given by Steven Anderson  Web20 classroom fame. I was keen to hear what he had to say about 30 tools in 50 minutes. Educators LOVE knowing about resources so the session was packed with people from all over the globe. (By the way the webinar was presented by Simple K12).



He divided his favourite tools into 6 categories. I liked his emphasis to start with. It is not about tools. The focus in any lesson should be on the content and good curriculum delivery.  The tools certainly spice things up and catch the learners' attention. It's a case of 'Right tool, right time, right job, right people'.

Images

1) Compufight.com searches Flickr for images with the Creative Commons License.
2) Flickr.com for storing, looking for and sharing pictures.
3) Aviary.com is a free Google very-easy-to-use photo editing site
4) Piknik.com is another great photo editing site
5) Big Huge Labs.com to create varied fun photo items

OK, so I have tried Big Huge Labs and have created a mosaic and here it is!


What I love about using these free tools in the classroom is that the learners can go home and try them out there.

Audio and video

Vocaroo.com is a very simple audio recording site. Great for sending a simple message to your students.
Screenr.com is a simple, free easy 5 minute screencasting site - you can recap a way to do a Maths problem for example.
Jing.com Also for screencasting but can do a bit more than screenr
Skype.com for free computer ro computer calling. You can do screen sharing as well. What about getting authors to come in on Skype and say something about their book?
Voki.com sends a message. Use for introductions, instructions etc.


Collaboration

1) Linoit is a corkboard brainstorming tool
2) PBWorks and Wikispaces for wiki collaboration
3) Ning a great collaboration site but no longer free
4) Googledocs amazing for sharing - 100 can work on the same document
5) Google Forms are very useful


Chat and backchannel

1) TodaysMeet is a really useful classroom tool. Very popular at conferences.
2) Tiny chat.com for video chatting


Presentation tools

1) Creative commons.org has a great search feature on site
2) Sliderocket.com has amazing, professional presentation templates and tools. You can also set up collaborators.
3) Prezi.com for different kinds of presentations
4) Livebinders.com is a three ring binder on the web.


Mindmapping
1) Mindmeister.com a free web-based mindmapping tool, very simple to use and exportable.
2) Bubble.us.com is also a web-based mindmapping tool with less options than Mindmeister. Easy to use.
3) Lovely charts.com a bit more difficult with lots of icons
4) Popplet.com is also a great mindmapping tool


Essential tools
1) Embedit.in can embed s nearly everything into a blog or website
2) Zamzar.com converts one file type into another one
3) Twitter.com is a must for every educator. 140 character microblogging tool. 
4) Readit later.com keeps track of information - anything you don't have time to read right now you just click.
5) Diigo.com allows you to keep bookmarks and also share your bookmarks. You can also automtically save them to delicious another bookmarking service.
6) Google calendar keeps you updated amd you can share shedules.


That's just a quick overview of a few useful tools. I wonder what you would add to this list? Please feel free to add some suggestions in the comment box. It would also be great to hear how these can be used in lessons.
  It would also be useful to hear what the problems are in using Web 2.0 tools in your classroom.

Monday, August 8, 2011

EdTechConf eXtended @ Elkanah!

This guest post is submitted by Karen Stadler, a Senior Primary technology integration co-ordinator at Elkanah House, a private school in Cape Town. Elkanah House has been consistently introducing many new technology initiatives in their endeavour to integrate technology with classroom teaching. You can read Karen’s post about how technology happens at their school at http://bit.ly/nXBeck . (This was actually a competition entry for which she won a trip to the BETT conference in the UK in 2010). One of the Elkanah House initiatives is to hold a technology conference at the school at the end of this term. Read on....
The day has arrived!  We are happy to announce that our school will be hosting the very first EdTechConf eXtended event at the end of September!
All the details are below – simply click on the picture to register. We hope to see many new faces at our conference!
[PLEASE NOTE: If you attended the inaugural EdTechConf in May this year, we kindly suggest that you pass this invitation on to your colleagues. This will aid the EdTechConf team in their efforts to reach out to as many teachers and administrators as possible, and avoid disappointment due to possible content overlap. Thank you!]