stephen reck - technology&education

docstoc.

if you ever needed to share a document or presentation with a group of people, check out docstoc. docstoc does not require a log in or invite to view a document & is free. all documents on docstoc can be searched, previewed, & downloaded. similar to other online publishing sites like youtube or flickr, docstoc shares an assortment of files. users can post word, excel, powerpoint, pdfs, & many other file types. docstoc also provides categories for easy navigation including legal, business, business, technology, & others.

test optional.

the new york times reports that there are an increasing number of schools no longer require sat or act scores for admission. although the trend has always been popular with technical or religious schools, now many liberal arts schools are joining. the article looks to investigate the affect of dropping mandatory test scores has on recruitment and enrollment. Mr. Epstein reports that in the increasingly competitive search for talented students, "test-optional policies become alluring." Some cite test-optional policies simply aim to drive more applications, making an institution appear more selective. Other schools rely on standardized test scores to distribute merit aid.

noodle tools.

noodle tools is a great web site to assist research. there are two main features to noodle tools. the site provides a search engine, noodlequest, tailored specifically for academic research. the user simply answers a few questions & noodlequest does the rest. the most popular tool offered through noodle tools is noodlebib. noodlebib creates citations & bibliographic listings automatically. the user simply chooses mla, apa, or chicago, enters relevant information (title, author, etc.) into an online form, & noodlebib will create the citation. 

race to the top.

last friday, presdient obama announced a new program for public schools across the nation. the prize for the winner? part of $4.35 billion in federal grant money. how does a state win? obama states the fund "will reward eligible states for past accomplishments & create incentives for future improvement." the focused areas for improvement include more rigorous academic standards, better recruitment and retention of teachers, tracking the performance of students & teachers, & turning around failing schools. the $4.35 billion is one component of the $787 billion stimulus package, enacted by the federal government in february 2009.

zamzar.

zamzar is an online file conversion application. its name, zamzar, is a reference to kafka's metamorphosis. this is because zamzar morphs files from one type to another. with this tool, users have the option of converting files housed on their computers or they can download videos (from youtube, for example) & save them to their hard drives. 

communist teachers.

in the 1950s, the red scare was tearing through america. senator joseph mccarthy was on a mission to rid the united states of "foreign" ideologies. oppressive police interrogations, red-baiting, & blacklisting led to the job-loss & imprisonment. in a frenzy of fear, accusations, & paranoia not seen since the salem witch trials. with grave disregard to the first amendment in the name of security, thousands of americans were targeted by mccarthy's forces. even major league baseball, concerned it would be targeted as a soviet sympathizer, changed the name of the cincinnati reds to the cincinnati redlegs. the red scare impacted all americans, even teachers.

gapminder.

gapminder calls itself a modern museum. it's a web site that presents global statistical information in a unique & engaging manner. its goal is to increase accessibility & use of global statistics to fight global inequality in health, wealth, technology, infrastructure, & development. through statistics, your students could gain a better idea of how the world truly looks. gapminder recognizes that as the world changes, we must change our outlook on the world.

apple profits.

the new york times reports that apple has recorded its best nonholiday quarter in the company's history. pc shipments declined 3 to 5 percent while apple reported an 18 percent increase over its previous quarter.  the introduction of iphone 3gs & mac price drops have been cited as a major factors in the company's success. it's also important to note that steve jobs was absent from his ceo duty for the quarter (march - june). the record success is further evidence that apple has one of the best management teams in the industry.

nettrekker.

nettrekker bills itself as the #1 educational search tool in schools. essentially, nettrekker filters search results to only websites it deems educational & safe. in my experience, one of the skills students consistently lack is the ability to effectively search the internet for relevant information. a lot of adults have problems sifting through the internet to find answers, most students are even more clueless. a past student, while creating a presentation on the catholic church in the middle ages, simply entered "catholic church," & was confused why the majority of websites listed were for specific churches & lacked any information on the catholic church during the middle ages. this is just one example of a process that replicates itself in every classroom attempting internet research. nettrekker is here to help, by displaying only educational websites that are kid-friendly.

file dropper.

a few weeks ago, i stumbled upon a great web application called file dropper. file dropper allows you to upload & share files with anyone. simply upload your file & file dropper provides a url so you can find your file in the future, or share your file with collaborators. your classroom can now easily collaborate on projects, or you can easily distribute digital worksheets/rubrics/activities/etc online. & it is free.

proof technology works.

today marks the end of the third week of summer school. as i shared earlier, i am back in the classroom this summer to teach world cultures & us history 2.  summer school is something i enjoy doing every year because it reconnects me to students & validates my position as technology integration coach. as a teacher, i know how frustrating it is when someone that doesn't spend time in the classroom (administrators years removed, consultants with no teaching experience, etc.), then begins to provide advice on how best to teach. i try my best to spend as much time as possible in the classroom, so i don't lose touch of what it means to be a teacher in my school at this moment. spending time in the classroom also lets me try out, first-hand, new resources or strategies. this summer we are using our macbooks everyday. we are making movies, podcasts, & presenting information to one another on a regular basis. the kids are enjoying their time. the kids are performing well.

cover-it-live.

cover-it-live is a live blogging platform that allows users to collaborate in real-time through a format that is similar to instant messaging or a chat room. often i see cover-it-live as a tool to administer back channel conversations (conversations going on, silently, during a presentation). many conferences use cover-it-live for participants to comment, question, or clarify information presented during keynotes or other sessions. global events, like the british open & the tour de france, use this tool. it can be a really useful tool for your classroom, too.

we choose the moon.

prepare to ride with neil, michael, & buzz as they become the first to visit the moon. 

 wechoosethemoon.org is run by the john f kennedy presidential library & is constructed in honor of the 40th anniversary of the apollo 11 space mission. the website will go live on july 16, 2009 at 8:02am, just in time for the 9:32am launch time, exactly 40 years after the historic maiden voyage to the moon. the website offers archival photos, videos, & audio all presented in real-time (you can even follow the mission on twitter). this is a great opportunity for many americans to witness the apollo 11 mission for the first time.

 

field notes.

i know that the title of this blog is technology&education, but allow me to digress for this instant. call me old-fashioned, but i enjoy pushing pen on paper as much as the next guy, but with my quick-paced & mobile lifestyle, it is difficult to lug a notebook & pen with me wherever i go. i have carried a moleskine notebook around in the past, but i find it too cumbersome to become a part of my everyday wardrobe. my friend, ricky, introduced me to a great compact notebook that is perfect for my need. it is with this pay it forward mentality that i'd like to extoll the praises of field notes.

Bitstrips.

bitstrips is an online tool that allows you to quickly create your own comic. comics can be used in a variety of classroom situations. you could have your students create a skit in a foreign language class, visually express vocabulary terms in english class, or create a timeline for history class. with bitstrips, you can quickly & easily make learning visual.

prezi.

prezi is, in my opinion, the greatest thing to come out of hungary since zsa zsa gabor. a colleague introduced me to this fun & aesthetically appealing web 2.0 tool back in february. we've been in love ever since. initially, i thought i was cutting edge. the only person in the states that knows the secret. i regularly used it in presentations & got many complements. it was when i attended the one to one computing conference at penn state that a keynote speaker used prezi for his presentation, that showed me it was no secret. the word got out. prezi is a great tool.

blogs are essential.

blogger.com says "a blog is a website where you can write stuff on an ongoing basis." that is accurate. a blog can take many forms depending on its author & its topic. blogs are often used by professionals to network or share ideas with colleagues. blogs can also be used as an online journal, a place to review restaurants, or an online travel diary. technorati.com reports that an average of 120,000 blogs are created every day. more and more of my friends are starting their own blogs. it is a great idea. blogs serve as a place for creative expression, conversation, & can be a great item to add to your résumé. blogs can take many forms.

wikispaces.

although not the only tool for creating your own wiki, in my experience it is the most popular (& alexa statistics back my opinion). wikispaces is a simple application for publishing information & collaborating with others. currently wikispaces hosts over 2,500,000 members on over 1,000,000 individual wikis. private, ad-free wikis with unlimited users & edits are $50 a year for most consumers, but wikispaces sees itself as an important education tool & provides teachers with a free private wiki for classroom use. in my opinion, wikispaces is the best choice for wiki development.

podcast with garageband.

currently in summer school, students are making their own podcasts. a lot of teachers i know use podcasts as a way to replicate lectures or they present professionally created podcasts to students. in my opinion, this is poor use of a powerful tool. the purpose of technology in the classroom is not as an additional toy for the teacher, but as a learning tool to be operated by the student. there is much talk about the importance of building 21st century skills & technological literacy. these goals cannot be achieved if the student is not an active user of technology. i understand that access to a class set of computers is frequently not a possibility, but it is important for us to encourage student use of technology whenever possible. podcast creation is one tool i find to be extraordinarily engaging & meaningful.

discovery streaming.

discovery education streaming is one of my favorite resources. the service is a paid subscription, although every school i encounter has access either paid for by the district or intermediate unit. if you are unsure if your school has an account, you can email discovery education directly to inquire. upon initial log in, you will be required to enter a school passcode & create a user account. you will use your user account name & personal password to log in every subsequent visit.