ANY SCHOOL GREENSBORO, GA
Media Matters July 21, 2009 Volume 1, Issue 1
Clickin’ Classrooms Inside this issue: 2Clickin’ Class-
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rooms Animoto
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Effective passwords
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You’ll flip for this flip!
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Galileo
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Making job aids in Iranview
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Tips for making effective passwords • Make passwords at least 8-9 characters • Use numbers, upper and lower case letters, and symbols • Make unique passwords for email, bank accounts or other applications • Use a schema or interest to build a password • Hide securely; write down relevant bits to help you remember
With questions in one hand and an object resembling a television remote in the other, 5th grade student Katelyn Taylor records her answers to a series of questions on the Civil War. In the back of the room, her teacher prints out a performance report to assess Katelyn’s understanding instantly. New in this classroom are the Classroom Performance System response pads (“clickers”) that enable teachers to assess and evaluate student learning instantaneously. These mobile response pads allow teachers to plan effective instruction by assessing understanding and identifying areas for remediation, practice or enrichment for each individual student.
response pads, software for installation on the teacher workstation, and a receiver that plugs into the USB port that accepts signals from the response pads. The teacher assigns each student her own response pad, types the questions in the system (or provides the questions on a hard copy for the students) and denotes the amount of time for a response from each student. Students select their answer, point their clicker toward the receiver, and press the corresponding
button to answer the multiple choice question. The information is stored in the teacher’s workstation and can be retrieved instantly following the end of the session. Sets of these CPS response pads and accompanying software are available in our media center for checkout. Useful for all subject areas, these systems require minimum work for the teacher, and offer invaluable information for assessment, evaluation and planning for future instruction. Using the performance report from this system, Katelyn’s teacher was able to plan appropriate remediation for her to ensure her success in social studies.
The Classroom Performance System is Students use response pads, “clickers”, to record packaged with thirty their answers for immediate assessment.
Come check out this unique technology to get your students clickin’ today!
Professional movie maker? No, it’s Animoto! Want to make professional-looking movie clips but don’t have the time or know-how? Try making a video using a free tool called Animoto http://animoto.com/ to make beautiful videos using your own photos
and text. Animoto allows you to insert a music soundtrack and text to narrate your story. It’s free to sign up and only takes minutes to complete. Videos can be downloaded or emailed or uploaded directly to
social networking sites like Facebook, YouTube, blogs and Myspace. Try this free tool with your students to make professionallooking videos for use with any number of projects or reports.
You’ll flip for this Flip! A riddle: What’s two inches wide, four inches long, can have up to 8 Gigs of memory and makes great movies? Answer: the Flip Mino Video recorder and camera!
Did you know? Internet sites can be
New from Pure Digital Technologies, the Flip Mino and Flip Mino HD video recorders are some of the coolest, hippest technology around. With a USB that ‘flips’ from the side of the device, the camera plugs directly into the user’s computer for easy downloading.
Because of its small size and ease of use, it is perfect for students to use for projects of all kinds. Don’t let its small size fool you, however: it can record up to 120 minutes of video, make still shots, and record sound with its wide range microphone.
ers will flip over the learning that will take place with its use! Check it out today!
Useful in a myriad of educational settings, the Flip Mino can help students tap into their creative side while mastering the Georgia Performance Standards! Students will flip over how easy it is to master the use of this camera, and teach-
bookmarked and shared with others in Diigo http:// www.diigo.com/ Sites can be shared with others and accessed from any PC or iPhone. The site includes capabilities for virtual
Galileo is more than an explorer To many kids, Galileo is just some guy who lived a long time ago. However, for those seeking information from a variety of sources, Galileo http:// www.galileo.usg.edu/kids/ links/ offers an exceptional opportunity for students to find just about anything they need.
As part of Galileo, SIRS Discoverer and the Search categories offer students the latest magazine and newspaper articles, biographies, images and encyclopedia articles. Britannica Elementary provides students with an elementary encyclopedia for age-appropriate searches.
The Digital Library of Georgia gives kids all the information they could ever want on the history of Georgia. FirstGov for Kids gives students the opportunity to find links to any number of resources on U.S. government. See your media specialist for the current password.
highlighting and sticky notes, too!
Professional Development: Everything you ever wanted to know about Irfanview and making a job aid Making a job aid—or a step -by-step “how to” - can be a teacher’s best friend when showing students how to use a website. Instead of repeating instructions over and over, make a job aid for students to follow, one step at a time, to use the website. Using a free, web-based tool called Irfanview 4.20, http:// www.irfanview.com/ you
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can copy any image, crop it to size, resize and then paste into a Word document. Adding your own step-by-step directions with the images allows students to be able to follow your instructions one step at a time to complete
the task. Using Irfanview to make a job aid is easy and eliminates the need to repeat directions over and over. It also allows students to work at their own pace and to practice reading and comprehension skills. Sign up today to learn to use Irfanview 4.20 to make your life much easier! Job aids rock! Media Matters