Summer Technology Institute 2012 University of Maine Hutchinson Center Belfast, Maine
AFTERNOON WORKSHOPS Magazine Publishing Online With Sarah Sutter
The Transparent Classroom With Keith Kelley
Digital Photography Workflows With Kern Kelley
Building Your PLN
With Sarah Sutter …and more
Also Included
SOFTWARE!
Google Tools for Education …and more
Photo Credit: Kevin Brooks
“In order to have success, you must be prepared to be successful.� -The Wandering Guru
Morning Strand Leader Jason Baack
Thank you to Jason Baack for being an excellent morning strand leader. Your sessions were engaging and fun. Thank you for introducing me to programs such as moodle, runrev, and voice thread.
THANK YOU JASON
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M.A.T Students Hard At Work Photo Credit: Kate Wonch
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Monday Afternoon Workshop #1 Digital Photography Work Flow Workshop Leader: Kern Kelley
Above Photo: Kern Kelley Photo Credit: Tony Mourkas
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Need a Photo Publishing Boost Speed Boost?
This little sucker pictured above would work wonders in the classroom. To use the card, a teacher must first set it up on the desired wireless network. Once this is done, the SD card can be set to automatically upload pictures to a desired location. This would make the need for multiple cameras in the classroom obsolete. The device could be set to automatically upload to a web album which all of the students already are granted access to. The students would no longer need the SD card or the camera. The photo would automatically begin to upload to the web album while the next students took the pictures. These Eye-Fi cards would help students to stay on task which is always welcome in any classroom!
Photo Credit: Eye-Fi SD Card: https://encrypted-tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS5Y7p4oEin4lNHX5dVMVnc385AN2FpgVlQtzvgh8MIOPnARAsqXQ
From Photo To Published Work
Getting media captured to finally publishing the content needs to be a quick, seamless process. Kern highlighted this aspect when he spoke about the different photo editing software available. Picasa software is linked to Google Accounts. This means if a student has a Google account, they are already signed up to be using Picasa. If the teacher would like to integrate a different program than one that is already linked to a system students already use, there are a number of factors to consider, such as: Will the program work on both PC's and Macs? Will the program require internet access?
Media Storage Procedures
Kern suggested using the 3-2-1 digital media storage method: 3. It is important to keep THREE copies of the file: one working copy and two backups. 2. Have the files on TWO different media types (ex. the cloud and external hard drive) to help protect them against different types of hazards 1. One copy should be stored off site
Transparent Classroom Tools Google Drive
What credential information needs to be provided to use the program?
Free up to 5GB 25 GB-$2.49/month 100 GB-$4.99 /month 200 GB-$9.99 /month
How long will it take students to become proficient in using the program?
DropBox Free up to 2GB 50 GB-$9.99/month 100 GB-$19.99 /month Referral rewards
Photo Credit Google Drive Logo http://jesusmsanchezl.com/2012/04/26/new-arrival-google-drive/ Dropbox Logo: http://skyafar.com/backing-up-wordpress-with-dropbox/ Photo Credit: 1. http://jesusmsanchezl.com/2012/04/26/new-arrival-google-drive/
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Monday Afternoon Workshop #2 The Transparent Classroom Workshop Leader: Keith Kelley
Above Photo: Keith Kelley Photo Credit: Tony Mourkas
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Transparent Classroom Made Easy
Keith Kelley is a magician in the classroom. No, he doesn’t turn invisible. He publishes everything that goes on in his integrated technology classes at Sebasticook Middle School online through with the Free Google Blogger tool. Pretty magical right? He has multiple classes in all four grade levels. How does he keep track of all of this information? He requires that the students submit their assignment to him in a form that he can post right to the blog. Mr. Kelley really becomes the moderator approving the information to be posted on the blog. This system is so great because the students learn a multitude of skills while creating a product as a team that shows they all did something at school that day.
Photo Credit: Blogger Logo https://encrypted-tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTgr4qdOOcvVcDSTI1dVfVOY0U_btlC0xMDy98KLCvX8LOtYCwl
How Can A Transparent Classroom Be Useful?
A transparent classroom is useful for a multitude of reasons: Anyone granted access by you knows what is going on in your classroom continuously Easy for students to integrate their electronically submitted work into an electronic portfolio Creating an environment where student participation is necessary for class function Documentation of class allows material to be viewed by absent students or students who need more reinforcement of material at any time Teacher manages incoming information to be posted to the blog instead of constantly chasing down assignments Teacher can assign students to have parents interact with their material through the blog by commenting anonymously
Letting Students Make Mistakes
Transparent teaching lends itself to reverse teaching. Since the students are doing most of the work (projects, documenting processes, compiling and editing media), the teacher just becomes a manager of class activities. Keith believes be allowing the students to be more independent, it increases their chances of taking a risk with a new idea which may fail. Learning takes place when students are allowed to make mistakes and improve upon them. This an environment he fosters.
Transparent Classroom Tools Picasa Free download for PC Picasa Web Album works well with Google Blogger Google Docs Constant saving of all student work means nothing is lost unless it is intentional 6
Tuesday Afternoon Workshop #1 Online Photo Editing, Storing, and Sharing Workshop Leader: Sarah Sutter
How To Explore A new Photo Editing Software
1. Explore tools and features through drop-down menus or toolbars 2. Will you be able to save the photo to your computer? 3. Where can it be shared directly to other social networking sites? How easily? 5. Can you edit the canvas size (you would do this if you wanted to make a collage) 6. What type of selection tools are available? (e.g. lasso, magic wand, inverse) Above Photo: Sarah Sutter Photo Credit: Tony Mourkas
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7. What are the advanced editing tools? 8. What are the functions of the
Photo Credit: Magnifying Glass: https://encrypted-tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRjJZ4y0VqCP-MPy7b1II7uyFiP9aU1K9r6HstRcjpA6dcOTDWumQ
Steps For Editing A Photograph
1. Rotate, straighten, and flip (as necessary) 2. Crop 3. Resize 4. Exposure and Contrast, use the histogram to place highlights, shadows and mid-tones. 5. Color balance
Publishing Skills In The Classroom
Teaching students photo editing and publishing techniques is great for any teacher doing project based learning. The editing and publishing skills will allow each student’s project to be massively individualized. Teaching these types of skills needed to use these kinds of software will help each student to better express their creativity with each and every project they do in school!
6. Sharpen – do this as little as possible 7. Red-eye (person) or green-eye (pet) 8. Retouching (blemish, teeth, eyes, wrinkles, etc)
Online Photo Editing & Publishing Software
9. Editing out objects (clone stamp) or color changes in an area (ie: sky)
Sumo FM 10. Effects: Sepia, black and white 11. Effects: Distortion 12. Add other things like “stickers” or text or a frame 13. Animated Gif options
http://www.sumo.fm/#home/
Can save to computer in JPEG or PNG format
ISSUU http://issuu.com/
14. Saving : file type : jpg, png, bmp, tif, gif, etc
Photo Credit: Issuu logo http://issuu.com Sumo Logo www.sumo.fm
Can publish PDF files converting them into an interactive magazine
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Tuesday Afternoon Workshop #2 Digital Portfolios Workshop Leader: Kern Kelley
Above Photo: Kern Kelley Photo Credit: Tony Mourkas
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How Students Doing the Work Helps Teachers
Digital portfolios can add value to the information teachers receive about students. In the old days, teachers would have the letter grade students received from their previous courses. Teachers would often have little to no previous work from the students sitting in their classroom. Now, with digital portfolios, a teacher can access information about a student's academic progress from when their work started to become digitally recorded. Mr Kelley used an example of a middle school physical education student. This student was taking his archery exam. To complete the assignment, the student had to fire the bow while filming himself, assess himself on the process based on the video, and then compile the necessary media to submit to his teacher. Compiling the work for a digital portfolio allows the students to reflect on how they could do it better next time. Having access to these reflections gives teachers an in depth look at each student's academic history. This will certainly help the teacher to be able to meet each student's needs in their classroom!
Analog vs. Digital Portfolios
The development of digital portfolios has increased the everyday value of the work students do. In R.S.U. #19, students must read 25 books outside of their reading assigned for classes each year. The students would fill out a sheet of paper that would be signed off on by the teacher. Once returned, the book reading sheet had little to no value to the students who couldn't figure out how to store this information. With digital portfolios, the students use Google Books. When a student completes a book, they can place it on their Google bookshelf, where they will be able to store the memory of completing that book until Google just does't exist anymore. Digital portfolios make it easier to record events that actually happened. This allows the student as well as their family and peers to randomly access the student's history to track their progress. When the student gets older, they can organize this information and publicize it on a global platform.
A Life Tool For Students
The students in R.S.U. #19 start recording their work at a young age. Before fifth grade, the students receive help from older students to help gain the necessary skills to complete these tasks on their own. When the students transition to middle school, they start to take more responsibility digitizing their work. They are required for classes to submit work digitally through some form of Google tool. With the free Google Sites tool, students begin to create their own personal web page where they can showcase their talents. This becomes their digital footprint, or as Mr. Kelley put it, "Their 21st century business card". The school has set up a senior gift program where each graduating student gets their own domain name for their webpage. This will allow the students to keep updating their site after they move on from high school.
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Wednesday Afternoon Workshop #1 Open Learning
Introduction
Workshop Leader: Peter Tryzelaar
Open CourseWare in School - students could use a study hall session to sign up for an online course - students could work through online coursework to collect Mozilla open badges - students could have assigned study time using openstudy.com -students could work through various topics on Kahn academy and each student could choose a different set of topics
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How did workshop leader Pieter Tryzelaar explore open learning aka information? He remembers going to classes on the first day and getting the school book and being told to take it home and cover it with a paper bag. He could never quite wrap his brain around why this book was the only resource he was given. Weren't there other things out there? His curiosity lead him to become an explorer of information. During college, he wanted to take classes of so many varying subjects his advisors would often become frustrated. They couldn't understand why he didn't just take a set of classes for a degree. Pieter did not let this sway him. He shared this Malcolm Gladwell quote from the book Outliers, "The emerging picture from such studies is that ten thousand hours of practice is required to achieve the level of mastery associated with being a world-class expert—in anything,� writes the neurologist Daniel Levitin". Pieter knew if he was going to become a master in something he should really love what he was doing. 10,000 hours is quite a long time.
Why Open CourseWare?
The internet is good at distributing content widely and cheaply. Most people think of the internet distributing Facebook status updates and Twitter tweets, but there are free educational classes out there too! The advantage of online classes are flexible and usually allow you to work at your own pace. The disadvantage of online classes is they take away from the interaction you get from physically going to school. Above all, free online classes get the information out to the masses so they are given the opportunity to learn. Around 10 years ago, The Massachusetts Institute of Technology started open courseware by posting the materials they had from a slew of classes online. This was a philanthropic endeavor, so at the beginning the material was largely unorganized. Now, material is becoming more content dense and organized. There are now over 250 universities and organizations that participate in open courseware. As a teacher, you shouldn't reinvent the wheel. Use these free resources to help your students comprehend the content.
Free Learning Resources
Open Study www.openstudy.com Students participate in study groups on any subject
Open CourseWare Consortium www.ocwconosortium.org A collection of organizations offering free courses
edX www.edxonline.org
MIT and Harvard partnership
Coursera www.coursera.org
Penn, Michigan, Princeton, and Stanford partnership
P2PU www.p2pu.org
Crowd sourced, free online classes
All Photos on this page were taken from sites given in description box to their right
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Wednesday Afternoon Workshop #2 Publications Online Workshop Leader: Sarah Sutter
Magazines In The Classroom
Magazines are one of the ultimate forms of media. Using them as a tool in the classroom will be a valuable way for the students to present the material they have learned to the teacher and other audiences of their choosing. The magazines the students make will be a valuable resource for a teacher for future classes. The teacher can distribute the magazines which are full of content to get the students thinking. Magazines foster creativity. Students must come up with an effective layout to present the material while applying the four principles of design. Imposing a page limit for the magazine will force students to choose the most important topics and the words they choose to describe them carefully.
Above Photo: Sarah Sutter Photo Credit: Tony Mourkas
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The Four Main Principles of Design
Magazines At School
The four main principles of design are: 1. Proximity 2. Alignment 3. Repetition 4. Contrast
Magazines could be used in a variety of ways in a school setting:
What do these principles mean? 1. Proximity - how close objects are.Proximity helps you organize your ideas 2. Alignment - placement of text and graphics. Alignment helps you make your content more readable. Examples of alignment include: left, center, right, or justified.
Collection of classroom assignments School groups publishing group activities School monthly magazine for school events or student work Weekly parent magazine published by student body
Some Publishing Tools
3. Repetition - repeating a design throughout your content. Repitition helps your content connect throughout the entire piece of work
Lorem Ipsum www.lipsum.com
Big blocks of dummy text for test layouts
4. Contrast - placing two different or opposite elements together. Contrast can be created by using font style, size, or color. PARC it!
Microsoft Word Save Word files to PDF format to publish online
Photo Credit: Lorem Ipsum http://stephboreldesign.com/2012/03/lorem-ipsum-say-what/ Microsoft Word: www.withinwindows.com
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Tuesday Afternoon Double Workshop Building a Personal Learning Network
What Is The Point?
Workshop Leader: Sarah Sutter
Diigo
You can use social bookmarking site such as Diigo as a way to store relevant information in a searchable sharable way. You can personally bookmark sites and then annotate them to share or not share with specific networks On top of that, the annotations that you have made on the website can be directly seen from the Diigo site (NO EXTRA CLICKS). Since you are a member of Diigo, you can search the community of everything people have bookmarked about. This library is constantly being updated by the rest of the community so this is like a specialized Google search. If it is on the Diigo website, you know that other users thought was relevant enough. There are also groups on Diigo that you can join to enhance the amount of content you have access to and you can also follow other people who use Diigo. Students would be able to use Diigo in the classroom to collaboratively gather information about the topic being covered in class.
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You will connect to an incoming stream of information that will help you gain and keep track of the knowledge you find relevant. By doing this, you will have a library of information from resources you trust to search through when you need information fast. You will not be left to search everything on Google. You will also be able to connect with those who share a passion similar to yours. Twitter will give you interaction with these people, while the social bookmarking site Diigo will have the people like you helping you find valuable resources on the internet. Plus, these days, there are two ways to get information: The OLD and SLOW way --> you go out to all of your favorite sites to explore for new content The NEW and FAST way --> the new things from news sites and blogs come to your site so you can read them right when they get posted Having the information about the topics you teach in class come to you? This sounds too good to be true. When it comes time for projects, you can unleash your students on your library of social bookmarks and your relevant RSS feeds on Google reader.
Steps to Join 1. Choose an available username 2. Choose an avatar you are comfortable with 3. Explain to others in the about me section why you should be followed 4. Explain to others what topics you would like to connect about 5. Have already tweeted more than 5 things 6. Start to follow people/groups/organizations Organization and A Challenge When you get so much content on Twitter it will become important to make lists (sticking with the organized person theme) so that you can organize and filter the content barraging your feed. You will then be able to view content based on subject and your feed will once again be manageable.Sarah gave out one last challenge. After you follow five people, follow 50 people! this may seem like a big task at first, but it will really start to get you the volume you need to have to apply filters. If you used this as an assignment in the classroom you could really get students thinking about the niches they fit into with certain topics. If you asked students each to follow fifty twitter people related to food, all the students would come back with different results! All Photos on this page were taken from sites given in description box to their right
Personal Learning Network Resources
Google Reader www.google.com/reader
Continuously archive information from selected websites
Twitter www.twitter.com
Connect with people who have similar interests to you
Diigo www.diigo.com
Socially collect annotated bookmarks
Google Sites www.google.com/sites
Create your own personal webpage
Classroom 2.0 www.classroom20.com
Teachers interested in technology in the classroom
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Summer Technology Institute Director Gail Garthwait
Thank you Gail for a wonderful education experience. Without your hard work and dedication, this magazine would not have been possible.
THANK YOU GAIL!
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