Farewell to my PESD Colleagues

This is my last post while working at PESD. On July 1 I'll be retired. While I will miss all of you and working with your students, I'm looking forward to retirement. You'll notice that I have changed the name of my blog to match the change in my life.

One of the things that our team worked to create is the trouble shooting wiki. PESD has decided to move the maintenance of the district web site to an outside public relations consultant and a programmer. We have not been told how that will affect your ability to get to our help pages and the wiki. With that in mind, here's the direct link to the wiki: http://pesdtech.wikispaces.com/Smartboard+FAQs.

You will find SMART Notebook specific information on the SMART Notebook wiki at this address: http://pesdtech.wikispaces.com/Smart+Notebook.

Thank you all for a great six years.

It's Technology Boot Camp Time Again

Twenty teachers have registered for our next camp. We will begin each session promptly at 8:30 so please be on time. Lunch is on your own. Bring your lunch if you like. Kitchen facilities are available. Location: Monterey Park Learning Center (3rd Street & Oak).

Tuesday, March 10, 2009 - 8:30 – 3:30: Podcasting & GIMP

Podcasting with John: Use the audio-editing software Audacity to mix music, narration, and other types of audio clips to create podcasts. Then upload your finished podcast to the Web or an MP3 player. What to bring: the content for teachers who simply want to make a practice podcast will be provided. Here is a sample of a class podcast: http://msrentzsclass.blogspot.com/ (scroll down to the “We Interview Scientists!” podcast.)

GIMP with Noreen: GIMP - The Poor Man's Photoshop: We will do a fun graphic project that will teach you how to use many of the program features. Learn how to resize, crop, and do various photo effects using this great open source (free) software that is on all district computers.

Wednesday, March 11 - 8:30 – 3:30: Video Editing & Second Life

Video Editing with John: Use Windows Movie Maker to create a video with video clips, photos, music, narration, and Hollywood style special effects (it’ll be the low-budget end of Hollywood, but Hollywood nonetheless). What to bring: video clips, digital photos, a music track, and a narration script for creating a "practice video" will be provided -- you'll get hands-on experience editing a video.

Second Life/Onrez Viewer with Noreen: Never visited a virtual world? Never been an avatar? Never collaborated with other teachers online? Prepare yourself for a new experience! Using a pre-made avatar, you will enter the world of Second Life and learn how to interact with others in a virtual environment. Teachers from all over the state, country, and the world are discovering this way of meeting and exchanging ideas. Many are using it to attend conferences they could never go to because of restrictions with distance or expense. You will learn various methods of inworld communication, how to visit educational areas, and how to access resources from educators in various time zones. What should you bring to boot camp? Just one thing...an open mind!

Thursday, March 12, 2009 - 8:30 – 3:30: Web 2.0 Tools and Blogging with Google Blogger

Web 2.0 Tools with John: The term "Web 2.0" describes the use of the World Wide Web to enhance creativity, communication, and collaboration. You'll get hands-on practice with some of the more useful and fun Web 2.0 tools for the classroom.

Blogging with Linda: Blogging is an online diary or chronological log of thoughts or information usually arranged with the most recent entry at the top of a continuous web page.

Blogging is important in today’s classrooms! Blogging can be used to effectively teach:
• Authentic Writing
• Online safety
• Digital citizenship
• Media literacy
• Reading comprehension and critical thinking skills.
Participants in the Mini Tech Boot Camp will create a blog using the Google Blogger tool. The photo editing tools that are a part of the MS Office Suite will also be used to prepare photos for posting. Participants should bring the following materials to camp: content including one or more paragraphs of information about the topic of their blog (classroom information, student writing, homework assignments, vocabulary, spelling words, books to read, notes to parents, websites for kids) and photos (at least 4) on a flash drive or SD card. (Note: Media Centers have been given cameras that can be checked out to take photos.) You can find a list of PESD Blogs at this URL: http://pesdinstructionaltech.blogspot.com/

Language Arts Resources

Recently a teacher in the district asked me to suggest some Language Arts resources for her students. Based upon my research, here's a list of URL's that look promising:

http://www.primarygames.com/reading.htm

http://www.gamequarium.com/languagearts.htm

http://www.teachervision.fen.com/reading-and-language-arts/games/5831.html

http://www.funbrain.com/cgi-bin/getskill_s.cgi?A1=selects&A2=la&A4=0&A7=0

http://classroom.jc-schools.net/basic/la.html

http://www.schooltimegames.com/Language_Arts.html

http://www.softschools.com/language_arts/

http://www.dositey.com/2008/index.php?page=free_activities&sub=k2&subsub=l

http://www.toonuniversity.com/free/elementary-education-4th-6th.asp

http://games.pppst.com/languagearts.html

http://www.netrover.com/~kingskid/hanglist.html

http://www.yourdictionary.com/grammar-rules/Fun-Language-Arts-Games.html

http://mrslinder.com/language%20practice%20tests.htm

http://www.english-online.org.uk/games/gamezone2.htm

http://www.englishpage.com/games/games.html

PESD teachers please let me know if you have a favorite site.

It's a Spelling Kind of Day!

Today six finalists competed to represent the district in the Regional Spelling Bee in February. Just look at those bright, happy faces. The two girls on the left will be the PESD representatives. The little gal in front is only in the 3rd grade! She has a future in spelling! As you can see, the district will be well represented.

Happy New Year!

The second grade students at Emerson Elementary School started the new year with some formal keyboarding lessons using the EasyTech program on the laptop computers. At the end of each lesson there is a reinforcement game for them to play. To quote one of the students, "I like racing the kangaroo. It was fun." The students must complete each lesson with 70% or better before they go on to the next lesson. Check out the video below to see them at work:

SMART Board Lesson Resources

Every now and then I search the web for resources that I think might be helpful for our teachers. The list below has the sites from this morning's search. Check out the last one on the list. It's an on-line generator for Jeopardy style classroom games.

• http://www.ecarter.k12.mo.us/dept/elementary/fourthgrade/ccrites/etipslesson1.html
• http://www1.center.k12.mo.us/edtech/SB/resources.htm
• http://www.gateschili.org/bbs/teachers.cfm?subpage=19898
• http://www.sblceastconn.org/smartboard.htm
• http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/collection.jsp?id=363
• http://www.kenton.k12.ky.us/SmartBoard/smartlarts.htm
• http://www.coderedsupport.com/jeopardy/

More Bloggers at PESD

Every now and then I check out the school web sites to see who the new bloggers are. Each time we do a blogging professional development activity, we hope to have teachers create classroom blogs and send us the URL's for posting. Since June we have done at least four professional development activies that include blogging. As you can see from the list below, the number of bloggers is growing.

PESD Blogs to check out:

http://whatsupmrroper.blogspot.com/
http://msshores.blogspot.com/
http://msalfaro.blogspot.com/
http://basnettsbusybees.blogspot.com/
http://tiffanigambino.blogspot.com/
http://msstewarts1stgrade.blogspot.com/
http://mrsjones20.blogspot.com/
http://guzzettasgems.blogspot.com/
http://www.mrquicksclass.blogspot.com/
http://faithnorthnews.blogspot.com/
http://violetpurplepink.blogspot.com/
http://pesdteacher.blogspot.com/
http://www.wrightmontessori.blogspot.com/
http://mracedosclass.blogspot.com/
http://mrscastro.blogspot.com/
http://mshillsroom.blogspot.com/
http://maestra-cole.blogspot.com/
http://herreradance.blogspot.com/
http://mrsgillamskenclasses.blogspot.com/
http://woodrumsroom.blogspot.com/
http://mrsbernalsclass.blogspot.com/
http://mrsprieto1grade.blogspot.com/
http://pesdalps.blogspot.com/
http://msrentzsclass.blogspot.com/
http://davidromanalps.blogspot.com/
http://pesdalps.blogspot.com/
http://prepcoyotetracks.blogspot.com/
http://coyotetalesfromtheprep.blogspot.com/
http://theroboticcoyote.blogspot.com/
http://msfranksclass.blogspot.com/
http://lacyslearners.blogspot.com/
http://mrsniederhauser.blogspot.com/
http://mrsnunezsclass.blogspot.com/
http://misspettitt.blogspot.com/
http://mrsramirez.weebly.com/
http://thomaswildcats.blogspot.com/
http://whittiermath.blogspot.com/
http://www.pesdsportsdesk.blogspot.com/
http://pesd-librariesalive.blogspot.com/
http://herreralibrary.blogspot.com/
http://lowellmediacenter.blogspot.com/
http://mtmediacenter.blogspot.com/
http://pesdtechnology.blogspot.com/
http://alpskids.blogspot.com/
http://techcamp08.blogspot.com/
http://pesdtechnostuff.blogspot.com/
http://pesdshawmediacenter.blogspot.com/

Olympics Research Project

The 3rd grade ALPS students at Monterey Park School have been using their research skills to learn all about the Olympic Games and Olympians. On Monday, they presented their Power Point Presentations and then participated in their own Olympic events. Enjoy the video of their activities below.

Newly Discovered Resources

Can you believe November is almost here and the first Trimester ends next week. While looking for a Microsoft Excel template recently, I stumbled on a really cool area for teachers on the Microsoft web site: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/school/FX102781641033.aspx. I also want to remind everyone that Microsoft provides many really helpful template downloads at this URL: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/FX100595491033.aspx?pid=CL100632981033.

Noreen found and passed along a web link that I find to be very interesting. The speaker talks about the "real" 21st Century skills that our children need to have. Here's the link: http://www.schoolchange.org/videos/the_global_achievement_gap_video.html. When you open the site, the video will begin. The video is fairly long and extremely interesting.

Final Mini Camp Day

At the request of members of the Mini Technology Camp group, I have compiled a list of blogs that are being maintained by PESD staff. Just click on the links below to see each blog.

http://whatsupmrroper.blogspot.com/
http://msshores.blogspot.com/
http://msstewarts1stgrade.blogspot.com/
http://msfranksclass.blogspot.com/
http://lacyslearners.blogspot.com/
http://mrscastro.blogspot.com/
http://herreradance.blogspot.com/
http://maestra-cole.blogspot.com/
http://mrsbernalsclass.blogspot.com/
http://pesdalps.blogspot.com/
http://coyotetalesfromtheprep.blogspot.com/
http://pesd-librariesalive.blogspot.com/
http://lowellmediacenter.blogspot.com
http://mtmediacenter.blogspot.com/
http://mrsnunezsclass.blogspot.com/
http://misspettitt.blogspot.com/
http://mrsramirez.weebly.com/
http://thomaswildcats.blogspot.com/
http://whittiermath.blogspot.com/
http://www.pesdsportsdesk.blogspot.com/
http://pesdtechnology.blogspot.com/

These blogs are all linked to the PESD web site.

PESD staff who wish to link blogs to the district web site can contact Noreen Strehlow. Those needing help with their blogs or who want to create a blog can contact John, Linda, or Noreen for assistance.

Beginning Blogging Part 2

This is my second post today. The afternoon class is learning to use blogger.

Learning to Blog

This is an example of the photo composite that we created with Power Point this morning.

Our Final Days at Sea

After Stockholm, the ship docked in Helsinki, Finland where we explored the city. We visited Senate Square where we saw the Lutheran Cathedral. We continued on past the Olympic Stadium where the 1952 Olympic Games were held.

From Helsinki, we sailed on to St. Petersburg, Russia. In St. Petersburg, we started with a canal boat tour of the city ending at the Cathedral on Spilled Blood. Later the first day we were in St. Petersburg, we enjoyed an evening of opera at the Sheremetyev Palace. The Palace is now a museum of Russian Music. On our second day in St Petersburg, we traveled outside of the city to tour Peterhof, the town of palaces, fountains, and parks that was built by Peter the Great.

Our final stop was Tallinn, Estonia. The network of medieval streets, churches, and dwelling houses has been preserved practically intact. The town has been identified as a World Heritage site by Unesco. Finally, we had a sunny day in Tallinn. It has been cloudy and rainy on our other stops.

Now we are on our way back to Dover, England and then one more day in London before heading home to Phoenix. I’ll see everyone at school on Monday.

The Adventure Continues

It’s 8:30 p.m. on Thursday evening on August 28. Since my last post we’ve spent two days at sea and visited three ports. Our first port was Copenhagen, Denmark. We took a canal cruise and walking tour around the city. Our tour included the site of the famous “Little Mermaid” statue.

Our next stop was Warnemϋnde, Germany. From Warnemϋnde we traveled to Guestrow where we visited a Renaissance castle and had lunch at a country farm house. After lunch we shopped along the pier.

Today we spent the day in Stockholm, Sweden. We toured the medieval “Old Town” and the Vasa Museum. At the Vasa, we saw the restored 17^th century warship that sank in Stockholm’s inner harbor in 1628.

Tomorrow we will be in Helsinki, Finland and after that St. Petersburg, Russia. Check back for more photos.

It’s tomorrow when I’m finally getting this posted at 7:50 a.m. on the 29^th (it’s 5:50 p.m. on the 28^th your time). We could not get on the Internet last night.

Visiting Baltic Capitols

Today’s blog is for the students at Monterey Park School who are checking in to see pictures of England and the Baltic capitols that I am visiting. We left Phoenix at 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, August 21 and traveled to Washington D.C. From Washington we traveled to London, England. We arrived at 6:00 a.m. on Friday morning London time. (Can you figure out how many hours it took for us to get to London?)

On Friday we toured Buckingham Palace and the Queen’s garden that is pictured above along with “Big Ben. On Saturday we traveled by bus through London--where we saw “Big Ben” and other famous sites—on our way to Dover. We sailed from Dover.

Today we were at sea and tomorrow we will visit Copenhagen. Watch the blog for pictures of Copenhagen.

Welcome New PESD Teachers

The new year is about to begin. It's always a treat to welcome the new teachers to the district. Here's the information for new teachers to the district that I promised to post:

Services Available from the Instructional Technology Department
• Blogging, Web Posting Policies
• Professional Development
• Media Services
• Classroom Technology Coaching and Technology Integration Activities
• Classroom Demonstration and Model Lessons
• One-on-One Technology Help
• Internet Resources
• Troubleshooting Problems with Interactive White Boards, Projectors, and Other Hardware and Software

How To Get Service
• E-mail:
• Describe the problem
• Provide us with your name, school, room number and phone number
Or Call:
• John Kain at 2899
• Linda Cooper at 2879
• Noreen Strehlow at 3786

On-line Help and Information
• http://www.phxelem.k12.az.us/technology_and_learning/index.html
• http://www.phxelem.k12.az.us/technology_and_learning/on-line_learning/index.html
• http://pesdtech.wikispaces.com/Smartboard+FAQs
• http://pesdinstructionaltech.blogspot.com/
• http://pesdtechnostuff.blogspot.com/

What is Acceptable Use
• Use district’s computer network & Internet to meet district goals & objectives
• Network and Internet to be used only in support of education and work-related research or projects
• Support teaching and learning
• Explore Internet for sites of educational value
• Use network resources to support curriculum goals, student achievement or work-related projects

What is not Acceptable Use?
• No personal use
• No political campaigning
• No product advertising or sales
• No profanity or obscene material
• No network tampering
• No chain letters

Acceptable Use and E-mail
• District E-mail is not private
• E-mail should be used to further district goals
• Be aware of Student’s rights to privacy when using their names in an e-mail
• Chain letters and jokes should not be forwarded
• Be careful what mail or attachments are forwarded. Ask yourself, “Does it have an educational purpose.”
• Mail from outside the district may be monitored and stopped by the district SPAM filter.
• No flaming
• No spamming
• Use Netiquette guidelines

The E-mail Rule . . .
• “Don’t write anything in e-mail that you don’t want to see on the front page of the Arizona Republic or on the 5 o’clock news.”

Staff Responsibilities
• Sign Acceptable Use Policy
• Acquire skills to use computer resources & Internet appropriately
• Supervise & educate students when using computers
• Work-related projects
• Read and follow the Internet Policy

Keeping Children Safe—Blogging and Web Posting Policies
• When posting photos of children, use their first name only.
• When posting student work, use their first name only.
• Blogs and web pages that are attached to the district web site must be error free and must use accepted formats including using capital letters and appropriate punctuation.

What to do when . . .
• Inappropriate material is found:
• Turn OFF computer monitor or close the laptop
• Remove students from area
• Turn monitor/laptop ON & write down the URL
• Notify Supervisor who will contact MIS to block inappropriate site

Have a great year!!

PESD Blogs & Wikis

June was a busy month at Emerson Court. Forty staff members participated in our summer Technology Boot Camp. We have been promoting blogging for our teachers and students. Boot Camp participants had a chance to create blogs. Some are finished and linked to the district web site and some are just getting started. Check out some of our teacher's blogs and wikis at the links listed below.

http://bethunemediacenter.blogspot.com/
http://mtmediacenter.blogspot.com/
http://prepcoyotetracks.blogspot.com/
http://whatsupmrroper.blogspot.com/
http://msshores.blogspot.com/
http://msrentzsclass.blogspot.com/
http://osinskij.blogspot.com/
http://msalfaro.blogspot.com/
http://basnettsbusybees.blogspot.com/
http://www.mrquicksclass.blogspot.com/
http://mracedosclass.blogspot.com/
http://mrscastro.blogspot.com/
http://floresclass.blogspot.com/
http://msfranksclass.blogspot.com/
http://lacyslearners.blogspot.com/
http://misspettitt.blogspot.com/
http://www.schoolrack.com/mrsramirez/
http://mrsprieto1grade.blogspot.com/
http://mrsbernalsclass.blogspot.com/
http://pharris205.blogspot.com/


http://pesdtechnology.blogspot.com/
http://pesdtech.wikispaces.com/Smartboard+FAQs
http://pesdinstructionaltech.blogspot.com/
http://pesd-librariesalive.blogspot.com/
http://pesdtechnostuff.blogspot.com/
http://techcamp08.blogspot.com/

School's Out--School's In

Today is just the second day of "summer vacation" for our PESD students. For teachers it is a different story. There are several professional development activities going on in the district--some of them have already begun. Our office is providing a "Technology Boot Camp" for teachers. It's always interesting to work with adult learners.

To provide our teachers with information about the Camp, a Boot Camp blog has been created at this url: http://techcamp08.blogspot.com.

Have you heard a tall tale lately?

I know a good place to read some really great tall tales. Ms. Dhaliwal's students at Emerson Elementary School wrote tall tales. Now they are using SMART Notebook to illustrate their stories. I'm looking forward to printing and reading all of their stories. The little bits and pieces that I have seen so far show that they have good writing skills and very vivid imaginations. SMART Notebook is a great tool for this type of lesson. The graphic resources and tools give kids lots of options to be creative with their stories.

Catastrophic Events

What does a scientist do with all of their research data??? The sixth grade scientists in Andrea Shores class at Dunbar Elementary are presenting their information to the class using the SMART Board and SMART Notebook. After completing their research, each team is reporting on a specific event. Their reports include photos and video clips.