Worth Remembering...

After updating my professional website I realized there was plenty of great posts from my old site I didn't want to loose. Some posts are better than others but I am posting them here so I don't forget.

Research Projects 2/4/2016

Throughout the school year each grade is assigned projects that require research. Here are a few examples. 1-7th Research Projects

Surviving the Semester 3/23/2015

I have to say, "I Love My Job!!!" This 1st semester has been a blast. I have found so many great activities that have helped the students learn the basics of technology and enjoy themselves along the way.  It is amazing to see the Kindergarten students using the tools and creating! The Middle School students are getting creative with multimedia presentations, all while working on word processing. I am hopeful the students will take what they learned this year and see the endless possibilities technology has to offer.

There have been a few challenges so far, but the biggest one is TIME!  I know we all complain about it, but as a specialist, I now see what the fuss is about when a class is canceled or needs to be rescheduled. I work with really flexible teachers and they are always finding time to help me out and I hope they feel the same with me. But if a class is missed, it definitely messes with me. Some activities we do take a month to finish because I only see students once a week. There are definite times I think a lesson may only take one period, but the students needed two (not a bad thing, they just get into it and want to perfect it). Or, a web quest takes longer due to the students research skills. Which is something I am determine to improve upon next year. The students tend to think the first website they go to will have all the answers :) or, if they can't find something right away it will NEVER be found :). Researching is definitely a skill that needs to be practiced and the students are finding they must be very critical of what they are reading and where they are getting their information. So of course, this takes TIME! 

With all this technology new to the school, the principal asked me to put a presentation together that shows the parents all the great things we have accomplished.  Here is just a snippet of the presentation.

There are so many great websites I have found to create these activities. Here are the sites I used to create many of them:

• Lab Instructors

• K5 Computer Lab

• Mrs. Holderbaum's Website

Let the Keyboarding Begin....10/29/2014

I surveyed the students and the one thing they all wanted to learn to do was.....Learn to Type FASTER!!! Well good for me this is part of my curriculum.  With my Edmodo account, I was able to poll some tech teachers and found that Dance Mat Typing and Typing Club would best suit our needs.

I created a tracking sheet for Dance Mat Typing, so the students from 1st-3rd grade could track their progress. I place a small sticker next to each stage as they finish.

 Typing Club is great for the 4th-8th Grader. It is easy to track and monitor and the students like the simplicity of it. They told me the don't need all the dancing animals and songs.   

Fundamentals & Management 10/28/2014

I was so excited to get the younger kids on the computers, but knew that it would come with some challenges.  As a classroom teacher I know how important routines and procedures are and knew that if I didn't establish this with the students I would want to pull my hair out by October.  I came up with a list of rules and with the help of Pinterest (yet again) made them look cute for the students to follow.  I also have Expectations that students must follow for their grade.

I also numbered each computer and assigned each student in each class a workstation.  This is definitely helping with learning names of students and allows the computer to run faster when it is used to a certain student logging in. The students in the upper grades were assigned a user name but were granted permission to create their own password. (I have a copy of each students password for security reasons) However, we watched Netsmartz Password Rap and discussed how and where to keep passwords safe.  4th-8th grade students are assigned a workstation that they are able to personalize. To get them hooked (I did have a few student very nervous using MAC's for the first time) I allowed/showed them how to personalize their display, screensaver, etc.  They were given an opportunity to try out the photo booth app. If you know anything about this application, it allows you to use the webcam, take pictures, and distort them as you see fit.  They love it!! Of course the next class we got right to work.  We discussed the Acceptable Use Policy and how that is essential for working in a computer lab. 

Management I can't live without: Remote Desktop!!!

I am able to control each work station from my desk, Genius!! Especially for the little ones. When they walk in the door, I have the activity up and ready for them with limited distractions.  I don't know how anyone could run a Computer Lab without it.  I am also able to house documents and websites on the server for students to access from a folder on their desktop.  Students have learned how to open documents and save them to an assigned folder. This is new for so many of my students.  Click here Saving a Document for details.  I tell the students is like putting something in their desk (student workstation)  or turning a project into a basket on my desk (shared drive).  Only, we don't have to print it.  

Teaching in a Catholic School is also new for me this year and praying before everything class was definitely something I needed to get use to.  I found a prayer to the Patron Saint of Technology and thought it truly defined my expectations for both the elementary and middle school students.  The prayer itself it pretty long, so I shortened it some for the students. 

Getting Started 10/23/2014

As soon as I got this job, I went straight to Pinterest (no big shock right!) and started my technology education board.  The first thing I found was this poster: 

It really got me to think what this year should all be about.  Now I know when it comes to the younger grades, fundamental processing skills are necessary to get from the "Wrong answers" to the "Right Answers". For example, PreK-3rd at least, needs be familiar with all the parts of a computer, keyboarding skills, and word processing.  But its the middle school age group I want to be thinking about "Changing Minds", "Raising Awareness", and "Starting Conversations". More importantly making sure the teachers were on board with Technology as a TOOL, not an OUTCOME.  My hope now is to spend the beginning of the year teaching the basic processing skills, but leading the students second semester to collaborating to make a difference. Technology has so much to offer students and I hope to SHARE AND INSPIRE students and educators to embrace it as their Technology Teacher.