Google Doc Forms

Google Docs recently announced the addition of Forms. You can use forms to automatically gather data for a spreadsheet. You can either email the form to people or give them a url to go to. I have tried this and it is exciting. I was planning to use it for online assessments. To create form, open a new spreadsheet, type the questions in the top line, and click the share button. You will now see an option to create a form. If you choose not to type the questions in the top line, you can add them after you have clicked share. See this page for more info. Once people have completed your form, the information will appear in your spreadsheet.

Video Chat With Multiple People At Once

I wanted to make everyone aware of ooVoo. ooVoo is program similar to Skype but you can video chat with up to six people at once. You can also use ooVoo to send video messages via email. If you use online chat clients or video conference software, ooVoo is a free download and definitely worth a look. Please visit http://www.oovoo.com

Promethean Planet

For those of you who have a Promethean Board, be sure to check out Promethean Planet. Promethean Planet is Promethean's free online resource center. There are many great things you can find on this website, but the most exciting are the resources. Teachers from across the world have uploaded their flipcharts for you to use. There are also resource packs that provide you with more images and graphics. The nice thing is that you can open the resource packs from the website and they will install into the appropriate location in ActivStudio. Just make sure you have ActivStudio closed before you open the resource pack. There are tons of resource packs. One I would recommend is the Action Objects Resource Pack. Oh yeah, if you have a flipchart you are especially proud of you can upload it to the Planet. If yours is determined to be the best of the month, you could get chosen to be the monthly “Teacher Feature”. The winner of this title can receive a FREE IPOD.

Aside from the resources, the site also provides news, professional development, user guides, and a forum. The forum is set up like a discussion board where you can post comments or questions and others can respond. If you have any questions, chances are that someone has already asked it. So, take a look at the forum. Some other sites you may want to check out are prometheanworld.com and prometheanlearning.com.

Promethean Board Training - FREE and online

For those of you receiving Promethean boards, there is a free online course provided by Promethean. The course is title “Level 1 – Foundation Skills Course”. The purpose of the course is to show you the capabilities of Activstudeo. I have not completed the course for myself, but I plan to do so as soon as I get some extra time. I realize that those of you involved with the Classrooms for the Future grant may be reluctant to begin a new class because of your experience with the Embedded Learning course. Unlike the Embedded Learning course, this is not required. And, they are some other benefits.

· Its Free

· There is not time limit

· You work at your own pace

· There is a manual available online

· You receive a certificate at the end

In addition, there are fully interactive tutorials and there is a forum available if you need assistance. According to Promethean’s website, the only things you need to know how to do prior to the training is email and work a web browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, etc.).

The course is divided into ten topics.

1. Getting Started
2. Organizing Your Flipchart
3. Working With Text
4. Working With the Shared Resource Library
5. Working With Drawing Tools
6. Working With Images
7. Working With Numbers
8. Working With Other Applications
9. Finishing Your Flipchart
10. Working With Special Interactive Tools

There are only two assessments that are 20 questions each. They are after Topic 5 and Topic 10. You are required to answer all of the questions correctly to pass the assessment.

Once you successfully complete the course, you will receive an Activstudio Foundation Skills certificate. The certificate will be in the form of a PDF (portable document format). Also, you will be permitted to upload a flipchart to Promethean Planet.

There are also two other classes available, but they are not free and they have a time limit

Level 1 - Advanced Skills Course - $50 - 90 day time limit

Level 2 - Curriculum Developer Course - $299 - 6 weeks (4-5 hours per week)

Level 3 – Training and Coaching Course – Currently being developed

The Ipod of Books?

Amazon.com recently announced its new Kindle, an e-book reader with free wireless access. It only weighs 10.3 ounces and can hold about 200 books, magazines, and newspapers. In addition to reading, the user can take notes on what they have read and store them on a server provided by Amazon. The device allows the user to connect and download books virtually anywhere. It does this through an EV-DO network provided by Sprint. There is no charge for this network but you will pay about $10 for a new release. Also, the device itself has a price tag of $399.

Sony already has a similar device available, but Amazon created their own so they can build a wireless service around it. It sounds like a good idea. However, it is sometimes hard to embrace change when it is in relation to something you are very passionate about, which I why think many hardcore readers will probably stick with regular printed books for a while. I am a tech geek and I love new innovations, so this concept does excite me. But, I will admit that sometimes you just can't replace a good ol' printed book. I, along with many others, have made the shift from newspapers and news shows to blogs and podcasts.

What do you think about this new technology? Heck, what do you think about e-books in general. I would love to read your comments. I know there are people out there reading this so if you have a comment or argument, please post it. Even if you don't agree with me; I won't take it personally.

Google Search Features: Awesome

I am here at Pattan for Classrooms for the Future training and I couldn't wait to share this with you. Mike Baker showed us a new tool available with Google. There is a way to search and have your results organized in a timeline. You can also search for results that have maps. To view your results in a time line, type in your search term followed by view:timeline. For example, if you are searching for information on California Wildfires you would type california wildfires view:timeline. If you want to search for google maps related to your topic you would type your search term followed by view:map. So, in this case, I would type california wildfires view:map. Check it out. I it is really cool.

TRETC - Digital Storytelling

I just attended the Digital Storytelling session at TRETC. Peter Scott from HarCourt Connected Learning was the presenter. The presentation focused on application in the classroom. According to Peter, there are four phases of digital storytelling. 1. Preparation, 2. Development, 3. Customization, and 4. Culmination. During the preparation phase, the students should be designing the story and creating a storyboard. The storyboard will make the whole project a lot easier. During the development stage, the students should be edit photos/videos and importing them into the program they are using. During the Customization phase, they can add effects and transitions if necessary. This is also when they will be adding narrations and text. Finally, during the Culmination phase, they are going to publish the project. This will enable them to share it with others. Most programs meld all of the components of the story together so they are all encapsulated in one file.

There were some uses of digital storytelling that Peter recommended to us. I have listed some below.

• Response to literature

• Account of historical events

• Character Study

• Lab reports

• Class trips

• Presentations for parents' night

In addition to digital storytelling, he also discussed some resources that may be useful to you.

Answers.com

Filamentality– create and share hotlists

Pics4Learning– copyright free images.

Clusty– search engine that clusters results together

Airset– setup on-line study groups that are accessible by invitation only

Also, he showed us some example of digital stories. The best one was created by Ken Burns.