MEDIA CENTER NEWS Apalachee High School
Flipping Out over Digital Cameras Volume 1, Issue 1 July 31, 2009
Inside this issue: Flipping Out over Digital Cameras
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Google Earth
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From Blackboards to Interactive Whiteboards
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Professional Develop- 2 ment Techie Tip
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Digital cameras are good for bringing people together. We share important events in our lives by taking pictures or by videotaping them, but we also can use cameras in the classroom. Flip cameras are digital video cameras that can record an event/activity for sixty minutes. After you have finished filming, flip out the USB connection and download the video to your computer and show it to your class. Examples of educational use are as follows: 1.
Special points of interest: • Use Ctrl-T to open a new tab in your browser window. Now you can toggle back and forth between websites. • When inserting a flash drive into a port, use the same port for that flash drive every time. The computer will remember the device and won’t have to think before utilizing it.
Spanish class—a trip to a local Mexican restaurant and order food speaking only in Spanish.
2.
Social Studies class— interview a family member or friend about an event in history which they might have experienced( life during the depression, Vietnam War veteran, Civil Rights Movement, etc.)
3.
Vocational class— interview a professional about his/her job who couldn’t make it to career day activities at the school.
Come to the media center; checkout a camera or two; and create your own ideas for using a Flip camera.
Google Earth Google Earth is a free, downloadable application that combines satellite imagery, maps, 3D terrain and 3D buildings to create a realistic globe. Google Earth also allows students and teachers to gaze upward to explore the night sky. Virtual tours can be created and shared with others.
Google Lit Trips works with Google Earth showing the journeys of characters from great literature, such as “The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck. Foreign language students can explore the dining customs of a variety of countries and create an international cook-
book. While visiting on a virtual tour of various countries they could stop and visit a few points of cultural interest. See: http://web.mac.com/ghsinfo/ CAFS/International_Cuisine. html
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Media Center News
From Blackboards to Interactive Whiteboards “Having a Promethean Board in my classroom has completely changed my teaching! It is wonderful to be able to use the board to ‘walk’ down the streets of Barcelona via Google Earth, as well as to use, the board to play review games! I don’t think I could survive without it!! -Jennifer Carter
Fifty years ago the main tool in helping teachers convey information to their students was the blackboard. Later the overhead projector was placed in the classroom. Now technology has improved and many classrooms today are being fitted with Interactive Whiteboards. The Promethean is one example of an interactive whiteboard. This board uses a stylus that can be used to write on the board or click on icons on the com-
puter screen. The software for the board includes capabilities to change color and width of the lines that are created on the board. Teachers can use the board for review games, internet exploration, and power point presentations created by the students. A Promethean board opens the classroom to a world of endless possibilities. A Promethean Activboard could be coming to a classroom near you.
Promethean ActivBoard +2
AHS Spanish Teacher
Tired of selecting and reselecting in MS Word. If so, try this: To select a word, double click on it. To select a line, click in the left margin. To select multiple lines, drag in the left margin. To select a sentence, press Ctrl and click on it
Technology Professional Development Come join us on Thursdays in the Media Center from 3:30 to 4:00 for technology tips. We will be covering a wide variety of topics. August 6:using Galileo’s many databases such as NoveList; Encyclopedia Britannica; SIRS Researcher; and EBSCO to help students with their research
To select a paragraph, triple click anywhere on it.
August 13: using Wordle to generate “word clouds” for vocabulary words or introducing new concepts. August 20: using Google online calendar
If you have any ideas for other technology topics please submit them to us. We are here to help you with using technology in your classroom.
August 27:using the AJC website: http://edu.ajc.com to use the newspaper as an instruction tool to promote literacy.
Techie Tip When using a LCD projector or other peripheral follow these handy steps:
LCD projector (above) and document camera (below)
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Connect the projector to the computer.
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Turn on the projector first.
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Turn on the projector’s lamp.
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Turn on the computer.
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When finished with the projector, turn the lamp off first.
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Leave the fan running.
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Shut down the computer before you disconnect the projector.
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When the projector has cooled turn it off.
Following this procedure will save the life of the projector’s lamp.