I’ve been sitting at the house since Wednesday.  The polar winds swept down across the region and 3 days of -20 to -30 degree temperatures motivated just about every district … Continue reading →

I was amused by the reaction of several friends who saw yesterday's blogpost about QR codes fly down their Facebook feed. "What happened to you?" teased one of them I've known since high school."You used to be fun." I agree...

This post is part of my continuing series of weekly lesson summaries. My goal is to give parents & caregivers in our school community the resources needed to extend student learning at home, and to share my professional practice with teacher colleagues around the world in the interest of improving my craft. Synopsis: With more "half" days than full ones, this past week was challenging for all of us (due to the compressed daily schedule) but we did the best we could. Kindergarten and First Grade spent some quality time with EasyTech, a longtime Computer Lab favorite, while students in grades 2, 3 & 4 continued working with Google Docs. Everyone got some keyboarding practice, too. But the really big news this week is that we finally got the chairs we ordered way back in June! They are MUCH more comfortable and the proper height. Everyone loves them! Please note: in our current "Day" rotation, Mondays are Day 5, which means my new lessons start on Tuesday (Day 1). These "days" change over the course of the year due to holidays, etc. Week ending 11/30/12 Kindergarten & First Grade What we learned / did / explored together: Students rocked out with ABCYa’s Type Rocket keyboarding activity, which is colorful, fun, challenging and exciting to play. (I have to admit I have a love-hate relationship with keyboarding as a discrete activity, particularly for students this young, but keeping it brief and fun makes all the difference.) We fired up Learning.com’s EasyTech service, or as I put it. "a computer teacher in the computer," to reinforce some basic skills and let the kids work at their own pace. We love EasyTech‘s pleasing graphics, fun animations, calming audio and gentle user interface. It’s ideal for self-directed core skill practice and is accessible from home. More on that in a bit. What I observed / inferred / connected: Fortunately, most students have personal headphones for use in Computer Lab. At this age, "over the ear" models are best; "earbuds" usually don’t fit properly and fall out too often. Occasionally,  headphones break, and we do have limited repair capability (I’m pretty handy with electrical tape) but if your son or daughter says they need new headphones, please get them a set. Five Below has excellent, fairly durable headphones for $5. Click here! I’m amazed at how engaged kids are by the EasyTech activities. The animations, graphics and sound effects are just right; I wish the pacing was adjustable, though, to accommodate those who are ahead of the curve skills-wise. Students are getting better and better at responding to my "lids down" request - which I do as needed to get their attention and at the end of class. Several classes (including Mr. Battistini’s and Mrs. Levy’s) now do so at my first request, which is particularly impressive when you consider they are often wearing headphones and working on an activity! What students can do at home: I will be sending, under separate cover via School Fusion, detailed instructions for how to access Learning.com EasyTech at home. If you still have the instructions I sent home last year, the process / information is the same, but the menus have changed a little. If you have any problems accessing the service, let me know! Check out the Kindergarten and First Grade Symbaloo’s for fun activities and skill builders. Second, Third and Fourth Grades What we learned / did / explored together: Students warmed up with the more challenging version of Type Rocket (more/faster rockets, 60 second time limit) before we dove into our Google Docs from last week. I demonstrated some proofreading techniques and how to use the comments function. Students continue to develop the skills (and memory) needed to log into their Google Apps accounts without assistance or referring to their login cards. What I observed / inferred / connected: The feedback I’ve gotten via these student reflections has been the highlight of my year thus far. Granted, the grammar and spelling isn’t always perfect, and many kids overuse exclamation marks, but, their comments are priceless to me. Some faves: "I realized that the impossible is fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" "I wish i could do it again. It was the funnest engineering i ever did." "I liked the "imagine" phase the most. We got to imagine what we would do. I like imagining stuff. Do you like imagining stuff?" "It was so fun I was "On the edge of my seat!". STEM is one of my favorite subject’s because it is very interesting! I am not just saying that." What students can do at home: We are working on having students remember their Google Docs logins; it’s going to take a while, but, ask your student regularly if they know theirs. (Note: the Google Docs login link [http://docs.google.com/a/ncs-tech.org] is on the NCS Website under "Students and Parents.") We want students to be comfortable using Google Docs anywhere, anytime! Practice keyboarding with Typing Pal. Students should know their usernames and passwords by now (they are simpler than Google Docs.) Check out the grade-level Symblaoo pages for fun learning activities and skill builders: Grade 2 | Grade 3 |Grade 4

reflect on this. I have nothing more to add… Our students need to see themselves as the inventors of the future not just the consumers of products. #education #principalchat — … Continue reading →

Recently I was traveling to give a presentation and had the chance to visit the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. The overwhelming characteristic of the museum is its spectacular architecture—playful, innovative and designed to look random. It’s a structure that seems to dance rather than stand still. Like many visitors, I paid a few Euros to rent a portable audio player for the self-guided tour to learn about the museum’s architecture and its architect, Frank Gehry. This experience of simultaneously touring and listening at the Guggenheim was one of the most compelling learning experiences I’ve had in a long time. It was an ideal model for integrating a structured yet informal learning paradigm. The audio guide was structured in the sense that the content was organized into segments that created a meaningful presentation. It was informal in that it was a voluntary endeavor with no prerequisites or requirements. Users could take or leave what they wanted. The experience was powerful and I wondered what I could transfer to the world of online learning. I don’t have all the answers, but here’s what I’ve figured out so far. It engaged all of my senses. While touring this architectural wonder, it felt as though my brain couldn’t process all the sensory input I was perceiving. This state of heightened arousal is highly motivating and is one reason people seek new experiences. Possibly the only way to transfer this type of potent sensory experience online is through a virtual environment. It heightened my awareness of physical space. Wandering through the Guggenheim’s atrium, you can see through the large glass windows how the architect tied together the interior and exterior space. It  increased my understanding of how the physical environment affects our consciousness. Again, a 3D immersive environment would be ideal for this type of learning. See Your Brain On 3D Learning for more on this topic. It gave me the controls to stop, start and repeat the flow of information. You may take it for granted that asynchronous online learning allows users to move at their own pace. We shouldn’t underestimate the importance of allowing learners to stop if they want to ponder, to start when they feel ready, and to repeat if they need to hear or see something more than once to comprehend it. This type of control often simulates how we learn naturally. The content was well organized. The meaningful organization of information is what transforms facts and data into usable content. We can achieve this in all types of online learning with good principles of instructional design. Check out Content Organization Cheat Sheet for suggestions. The audio content was rich. The guided audio tour integrated varied content and sound bytes. It included the architect’s dreams and plans for the structure, characteristics of the building materials, interesting anecdotes about the architect’s creative approach, quotes from others, and comments from an interview with the architect himself. The typical online learning program uses straight narration. Perhaps we can enhance the richness of the audio channel by including sound effects, interviews, music and different perspectives. The experience was immediate. It’s hard to replicate the immediacy of walking through a museum that feels like a living sculpture but it’s something to strive for in our online learning. Can we create experiences that have so much impact, the learner is compelled to pay attention? It allowed for discussion as well as solitary thought. As I wandered the building with my touring partner, we would pause the audio to discuss the points that seemed particularly fascinating. Then we would continue on, wandering around a room on our own paths. We now know that discussion and collaboration contribute a great deal to the learning process. Synchronous learning events and social media technologies allow us to integrate this dimension of learning into the programs we design. We have a great opportunity to learn about design from the experiences that surround us, so that we can make online learning as natural as possible. Related Articles: 10 Social Media Tools For Learning Informal Learning: An Interview With Jay Cross Social Media And Learning Post from: The eLearning CoachLessons From The Guggenheim, Spain Tweet This! Share this on Facebook Share this on Linkedin Buzz up! Share this on del.icio.us Stumble upon something good? Share it on StumbleUpon

Electrowetting is a type of screen display technology. Engaget has called electrowetting the Holy Grail of display: flexible, foldable display surfaces offering full color, high refresh rates, visibility in all lighting conditions, and low power consumption. The reason I know...

This post is part of my continuing series of weekly lesson summaries. My goal is to give parents & caregivers in our school community the resources needed to extend student learning at home, and to share my professional practice with teacher colleagues around the world in the interest of improving my craft. Synopsis: This was an epic week of with plenty of impossible achievements and wonder as second, third and fourth graders did the "Drops on a Penny" challenge [which I'm using as context for a lesson (coming next week) on Google Spreadsheets.] Kindergarten and First Grade both had fun with art-based projects, the former of which will be turned into a web-based holiday greeting presentation (one for each class) that I’ll be developing in Voicethread. Please note: in our current "Day" rotation, Mondays are Day 5, which means my new lessons start on Tuesday (Day 1). These "days" change over the course of the year due to holidays, etc. Week ending 12/07/12 Kindergarten What we learned / did / explored together: We warmed up with a little Type Rocket (some chose Keyboard Climber [a.k.a. 'The Monkey Game'] instead). Though I find Type Rocket more fun, I’m 50 and they are five so difference in our taste is understandable. I introduced a fun coloring site, http://www.thecolor.com/, a terrific resource for BASIC online coloring. The program is very limited but that means it’s simple and a great choice for early learners. I pointed them to some holiday collections and asked them to choose a picture to complete. (Many did more than one.) I will be incorporating their images and their voices (to record next week) into a Holiday Greetings Voicethread like this over the next week or so. What I observed / inferred / connected: Although this coloring site doesn’t allow a lot of "outside the lines" work, it’s still great fun and excellent for strengthening fine motor skills. Creativity DOES abound with this site when kids choose "wacky" colors for their work. (Wish I had some to share, they are at school.) Kids are getting better and better about putting their "lids down" when I request. Most do so instantly! Apps like these are a "guilty pleasure," to be honest, because while I’d rather the kids rock out with some self-guided inquiry projects, the reality is that the "computer" part of my curriculum still represents the lion’s share of what I must focus on in my lab. What students can do at home: As always, check out the Kindergarten Symbaloo for fun activities and skill builders. If your child plays Type Rocket, be sure they are only pressing the keys needed - you can determine this if, at the end of their game, their score is zero (they lose points for each incorrect key.) It may be fun to explode the fireworks with random wild keystrokes but it doesn’t HELP them learn the location of the keys. I explain this to anyone I see who needs a reminder. First Grade What we learned / did / explored together: We warmed up with Type Rocket (or Keyboard Climber) before heading back to the SMART Board to show them how to play Picture Match, Paw Park Sassy Seals, and Clifford’s Sound Match. (The kids enjoy these applications and I like to help reinforce literacy skills, even if on a limited basis.) We challenged the kids to use ABCYa’s Paint GO! and illustrate an image (assigned randomly using the cards above), making use of multiple brushes, colors, the text tool and more. What I observed / inferred / connected: Though I really, really miss using Tux Paint in the lab, I enjoy familiarizing kids with alternative painting applications like ABCYa’s Paint GO! because they are web based and therefore available anywhere, anytime the student has an Internet connection - which is more and more devices these days. What students can do at home: Make up some cards like the ones I’ve got above and challenge your student to illustrate them using ABCYa’s Paint GO! or another app. Let their imaginations run wild - and have them EXPLAIN what is in their pictures. Apps like these are a "guilty pleasure," to be honest, because while I’d rather the kids rock out with some self-guided inquiry projects, the reality is that the "computer" part of my curriculum still represents the lion’s share of what I must focus on in my lab. Second, Third and Fourth Grade (WARNING: EPIC EPICNESS AHEAD) What we learned / did / explored together: We started the lesson by telling students they would (once again) do the IMPOSSIBLE … and by asking them how many drops of water could fit on a penny. Most responses were in the single digits. I got the usual incredulous looks when I said they would put MANY TIMES THAT AMOUNT on their pennies in our investigation of surface tension! We talked about surface tension via an example everyone can relate to - doing a belly flop into a pool. We talked about the properties of water, the principle of cohesion, and how pennies (old and new) might hold more or less water (and why.) We watched the video above and counted 37 drops of water! The challenge was ON! Each student was provided with a shiny, NEW penny and one older, worn penny; eye droppers; a magnifying glass; paper towels and water. They used the worksheet above (blank available here) to record their predictions and repeated observations. Our trusty Dell D600 laptops (one per group/table) were used to collect data via a Google Docs Spreadsheet. [I will be using that data for a spreadsheet lesson next week.] What I observed / inferred / connected: This lesson was great fun, mostly because the students were in charge of their own learning. They conducted the tests and recorded the results on their own. All were successful; everyone was able to get their pennies to hold a large amount of water. Excited shouts could be heard around the room as the tiny water bubbles eventually burst. "I got 50!" "Watch it wiggle!" "It looks like a Snow Globe!" It’s such a simple activity but one that captures the imagination and is therefore PRECISELY the kind of lesson experience we seek. What worked well: every student had what they needed to be successful and they were. All were amazed by what they observed. Many went home and told their parents and re-did the challenge at home. I am willing to bet many of them will remember this lesson and the concept of "surface tension" for years to come. Our laptops were perfect, used for three continuous periods (almost three hours) with power to spare. Recording data in the spreadsheet was amazingly simple, even though we haven’t worked very much with spreadsheets (that is changing this year.) Transitions between classes were hectic but well managed. There were no major catastrophes involving spills. What could have been better: most students struggled with the worksheet, particularly the writing portions. I could have done a better job explaining what they needed to do. Some "old" pennies were shinier than "new" ones, causing some confusion. My explanation of surface tension could have had more of a scientific basis. Nonetheless, it was an amazing project! What students can do at home: Do the challenge! Get a penny and an eyedropper and see how many drops will fit. Use different coins, but first, have the students PREDICT what will happen and explain WHY. (A magnifying glass is helpful to investigate coins up close.) We are working on having students remember their Google Docs logins; it’s going to take a while, but, ask your student regularly if they know theirs. (Note: the Google Docs login link is on the NCS Website under "Students and Parents.") We want students to be comfortable using Google Docs anywhere, anytime! Practice keyboarding with Typing Pal. Students should know their usernames and passwords by now (they are simpler than Google Docs.) Check out the grade-level Symblaoo pages for fun learning activities: Grade 2 | Grade 3 |Grade 4

Visualizing information makes it tangible so that people are more likely to comprehend it. Here are four compelling examples.Post from: The eLearning CoachLearning From Visual Data

Dr. Darcy Hardy has been appointed to the Office of Assistant Secretary Jane Oats, Employment and Training Administration (ETA), United States Department of Labor. She will be supporting the recently announced Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (CCCT)...

This is the first in a series of posts about Google Chromebooks and their use / applicability in home settings. Though I own two Chromebooks, I also own an iPad, multiple PCs (and have owned Macs). Obviously, no computer is "right" for every user and situation. Hopefully what I share here will help those interested decide what direction to go. My reaction when people ask about Chromebooks for their child is "what computer is your son or daughter using now and what are they doing with it?" For most people, the answer is the child is using a family computer (often the only one in the house or the parent’s) to do lots of online gaming, general internet surfing, light word processing and occasional school projects (older kids, typically upper elementary & middle schoolers.) Understanding the mix of these activities is critical, as is understanding how that mix will change over time as the child grows up. Elementary School For the these learners, a Chromebook is ideal as a primary computing device for a variety of reasons. We need look no further than the popularity of iPads for kids in this age range to understand why. No child using an iPad complains about lack of access to Microsoft Word or high-powered 3D games. They live online; their applications are online. They use websites for everything, but gaming tops the list. Since so much web content is Flash based (for now, until HTML5 takes over) a Chromebook is a very good choice for elementary users. Chromebooks play web-based games quickly and easily. Also, the presence of a keyboard (vs. a tablet) is an added plus, both from ease-of-use and skill acquisition (keyboarding) perspectives. The machine is light, very portable, and the battery life is substantially better (6+ hours with the standard battery depending on the model) than you can get with a traditional PC or Mac laptop (especially for the price.) But what about homework? At this age, in my experience, most homework is either paper based or involves a website for research or skill practice (e.g., Spelling City). As students get older, they get more "computer based" projects (word processing, mostly). To complete these assignments, students typically use Microsoft Office or some other word processing application available on computers they have at home. The real power of personal computing technology is igniting a fire within each student with regards to learning and exploration. You want a computer that will help them develop their interests into passions. Can they use a computer to learn to build things? To create art? To write, and write more beautifully? To learn how to write programming code? To connect with friends near and far? What computer will let them do those things? Most, fortunately, will. Back here at NCS, we are moving ahead with Google Apps for Education, and eventually, all teachers and students in grades 2-8 will be using it. This means Google Apps (a.k.a. Google Docs) can be used for homework projects requiring word processing, presentations, spreadsheets and more. In this case, a Chromebook is an optimal choice as it was designed with this use in mind. Even if your child’s school is not using Google Apps, documents created with it can be downloaded/saved in Microsoft Office formats. (Sometimes advanced formatting doesn’t convert correctly but those problems can usually be easily fixed.) Downsides: Chromebooks don’t run Java, which some (but not many) gaming websites use. Again, understanding what your child does currently - what websites they visit and activities they enjoy - is critical. Chromebooks also cannot have any software installed onto them, like games or video editing software suites. This is becoming less of an issue as more and more applications move online but it’s important to keep in mind, particularly if your child is already using these tools. Basically, if anything needs to be downloaded, it won’t work on a Chromebook. Middle School Use of the Internet explodes for students in Middle School as they discover more and more resources for self-expression, connecting with peers, gaming, digital art, content creation and more. Middle Schoolers also have more frequent and more comprehensive "projects" to complete at home that require computers of some kind. They also tend to be more mobile with their computers, bringing them along to friend’s houses and other social gatherings. If there is a wireless signal (which there likely will be), they will be accessing it. Understanding these usage patterns is critical. Talk to your child about where they use their computer and how. As students get older and their projects / work become more sophisticated, they may find themselves limited by the feature set in online tools like Google Docs. I have seen students use Google Docs for "first draft" work, downloading and completing the finishing touches in a Microsoft Office (or similar) program. These dedicated office suites have features and functionality that Google Docs simply doesn’t. Then again, Google Docs allows student to collaborate online, which Microsoft Office currently doesn’t. That said, Google is constantly adding new features to Docs and it’s only a matter of time before that gap is narrowed. For this reason, a Chromebook is a great secondary computing device for middle schoolers. As long as they have access to a PC or Mac with more powerful Office suite or video creation tools (as an example), they will get a LOT of value out of a Chromebook. It simply won’t be able to be used for everything. (They will be fine with that.) High School & beyond At the high school level, students become even more sophisticated users of technology, and their schoolwork changes accordingly. You need to understand what products they will be expected to generate and how sophisticated they need to be. For example, most would say Chromebooks are not a good choice for video production, but that situation is changing as more and more powerful web-based applications like WeVideo come into existence. (You can expect this trend to continue.) Battery life becomes critical for users as they get older; "all day" usage in multiple classes becomes very attractive. Most standard laptops can’t come close to a Chromebook in terms of battery life. The new "ultrabook" laptops do but they are much more expensive. I’ll close with a few general thoughts… Benefits of Chromebooks Low cost Light and very portable Excellent battery life Good performance overall for most routine tasks Bright screen, even usable outdoors Won’t get a virus or slow down over time Updates itself, stays current all the time (zero maintenance) Though an increasing number of applications and games CAN be used offline, most can’t be used without Internet access. Drawbacks of Chromebooks Processors are less powerful (generally) No optical drive Doesn’t run popular Office programs or other advanced content creation tools Doesn’t run anything that requires a download & installation Doesn’t run Java Battery isn’t user-replaceable (depends on the model) Can’t be used without Internet access (though an increasing number of applications and games CAN be used offline). I tried my best to get everything written down here that I have shared in multiple conversations with people over the last few months on this topic. If you have questions, leave a comment below and I promise to get right back to you. In the final analysis, the "right" computer for anyone is the one that does what needs to be done at the lowest possible cost. The only way to know is to document your requirements (what needs to be done) and compare systems that meet those requirements based on price. For many people, Chromebooks are that computer. Hope this helps, -kj-