Isn’t it fun when you can tell someone else to do something for you? Or in this case, telling a computer to do your work for you. For example, instead of manually visiting 10 web sites to see if content has been updated, you can set up a Real Simple Syndication (RSS) feeder that will automatically detect if content has been updated and notify you of the changes.  Meaning… you visit just one web site.

 Google Reader is one of the best RSS aggregators. Here are some instructions on how to set up a free Google Reader account and how to use it.

How To Set Up Google Reader

Looks can be deceiving. Frankly, it is common to glance at a web page and because of its attractiveness and the initial appearance of relevant links, it appears to be an ideal site for students to use. And it may be. However, it can also be a “wolf in sheep’s clothing”.

So how do you determine if a web site is legitimate? Check out this Web Page Evaluation Form compiled by Kathy Schrock.  While the form is three pages long, it does not need to be completed in its entirely. If it provides guidance with some questions to ask as you preview a site, it is helpful.

It is not everyday that I intend to post back-to-back “food for thought” type of messages. However, this whole idea of reaching our digital students weighs heavily on my heart. I know there are several teachers who are creating new, meaningful technological means to engage students, and I only wish there were more. So, if you will let me stand on my soapbox for one more day, please consider viewing this seven-minute video clip from Teacher Tube. This clip was originally posted by the technology specialists at Jordan (Utah) School District. Here it is – Pay Attention!

Lane White, the technology director at Mona Shores, shared several video clips with me today related to the future of technology in the classroom. This video clip – A Vision of K12 Students Today - is featured on Teacher Tube. It approaches the whole idea of using technology in the classroom from the students’ point of view. The four-minute video will make you think.

Glendale Community College (Glendale, Arizona) has published several video demonstration tutorials, including File Management. Click on the preceding link to learn how to: create new folders, rename folders, rename files, copy files, cut files and delete files.

It is only natural to want our classroom newsletter to be appealing. Not only is it a reflection on our creativity as a teacher, but research shows that something attractive is more likely to be read (and isn’t that the goal of class newsletters).

Check out the Cool Text web site. This site provides 30 logo designs, over 100 font choices, a host of colors, and more to create that perfect graphic. The site is very easy to use, and depending on how fast the site server is working, your graphic can be ready in less than a minute. You can download your graphic and keep forever.

It’s value is not limited to newsletters. Imagine creating name tags, cool labels for student assignments, take-home folders, signs around the classroom, nameplates for desks, and more.

You pick a logo design to begin, then enter your text, the preferred size of your text, a color and other optional choices. When done, click on Render Image. In this example, it took four seconds to create the graphic.  Click on Download Image, then select Save after identifying where you want to save the graphic.

If you have a computer with internet access in your classroom, here’s an online timer for you. It can count up or down and you can use it with sound or without. If you have a projector connected to your computer, you can let the students watch time slip away…or accumulate. You could have more than one window open to keep track of several students and keep track easily by naming the timers.

http://edtech.kennesaw.edu/intech/javatimer/javatimer.html

I tend to be a neat freak and don’t keep a lot of magazines. However, one article published four years ago that remains in my collection asks some penetrating questions. The article, titled The New Literacy: The 3 Rs Evolve into the 4 Es, was published in Technology and Learning magazine. The authors basically ask “what do students need to be learning today in order to be ready for an unpredictable future?”  Michael Cox, a chief economist for the Federal Reserve Bank, was quoted by the authors as saying that most students will have at least five jobs following graduation, and four of those haven’t even been invented yet. The burning question becomes, do we need to change the way we deliver instruction?

The authors do not suggest that we eliminate the three Rs of education – reading, ‘riting, and ‘rithmetic. Instead, they imply that we need to go a step beyond what has traditionally been taught.

Take, for example, the first ‘r (reading). Instead of just teaching students how to read, they need to learn how to “expose knowledge” (the first “e”). Our goal is to challenge students to find information, decode the information, evaluate the information and finally, organize the information into personal digital libraries. Instead of just teaching students the basic mathematical skills, we face the daunting task of helping them process numbers using various forms of technology, and then utilizing multimedia to explain the interpretation of what the process revealed. Instead of simply writing, the challenge will be teaching students how to write ideas compellingly. This means writing effectively, and communicating with multimedia resources.

The authors suggest the fourth E of ethics. Students need to learn how to discern if information is reliable, how to respect information as the property of others, and the proper use of Internet resources.

The tough question is “How?” How do we find the time to teach these concepts? How do we structure our lessons to deliver the basic components, and at the same time, teach students how to think about these evolving literacies? How do we deliver instruction that is authentic to real-world experiences. These are not an easy questions to answer.

 How do we prepare students for a future that cannot be predicted? What do you think?

Sometimes, in the process of updating a blog, you may encounter “writer’s block”. I believe this frustration is most likely to happen in the early stages of establishing your blog (”where do I start”) or after several months when burnout may set in.

Sometimes, having a plan will help overcome “writer’s block”. One idea is to designate various types of posts for a given day of the week, i.e. on Monday, I will post an article or web site review. On Tuesday, I will post something students can do for extra credit.

Another idea is to take advantage of those creative moments and write some messages that are not time-sensitive. Keep the file on your computer for quick retrieval. When that writer’s block strikes (or you’ve had an extremely busy day), pull out the file and insert one of the pre-written posts. Some examples may be pictures, fast facts (did you know…), taking a poll and asking for responses, compliments or praise of student work, reviewing a cool web site, and so forth.

Finally, to take some pressure off yourself, remember that a post does not have to be an essay. A short paragraph or a few sentences can effectively communicate .

Check out several PowerPoint presentations related to topics commonly taught in the classroom at www.pppst.com. Pete’s PowerPoint Station has presentations in broad categories such as math, language arts, science and social studies along with more specific categories such as Native Americans, holidays and religions, bullying and elections. In all, presentations within 740 categories are available. The site also includes free games, templates, clip art and tutorials.

Now, it is certainly possible that the presentation includes (or excludes) elements that you could consider ideal for a presentation. The good news is, you can edit the presentation to fit your needs. Some of the presentations can be downloaded as zip files. If that option is not available,  right click on the first slide, then select “Edit Slides”. From the menu at the top, select File, then Save As. Indicate the folder into which you want to save the presentation, and then Save.

If you use one of the presentations (even if you modified it), be sure to give credit to the original author on the title slide (or last slide).