Vanessa Cassie

Fresh Look Fridays - Panoramas

2010-04-23T06:45:00.000-06:00

Today's Fresh Look Fridays website is one of my all time favourites! I've know about this one for quite awhile now, I've just felt that I couldn't feature it until I could take the time to write a proper review and do this website justice.

Panoramas.dk is a website that does exactly as it sounds -- provides a wide array of 360 degree panoramic images. These panoramas are fantastic -- they're all interactive in some way. When used on a SMART Board, students can spin the image to explore previously unknown areas of the world. Some panoramas also allow for varying degrees of zoom or an audio component.

The links to curriculum are as endless as the amount of panoramas. I've included links to specific panoramas with a brief description of how they could be used in a variety of subject areas and grade levels:

1. This specific panorama was taken during a peace demonstration in Trafalgar Square in 2004, shortly after Britain announced that they were joining the war in Iraq. What an excellent example of using this site to promote discussions surrounding current events -- whether 'current' (see the panorama of Poland after the death of their president) or historical. Use the SMART Board to have students explore, zoom in to see details and hear the message being delivered over the loudspeaker. See if you can find the protester carrying the placard that relates then-Prime Minister Tony Blair to a well-known cartoon fibber.

2. One of the themes in many Science classes is the study of structures (obviously with varying degrees of depth and understanding depending on grade level). Instead of looking at flat, grainy pictures or hand drawn replications in a textbook, why not have students search out panoramic images of structures around the world? The Golden Gate Bridge and the Eiffel Tower are just a small sample of what's available for your kids to explore.

3. Obviously, the most powerful component of this website is its ability to give students the opportunity to actually see, in nearly-3D glory, any area of the world. For example, Grade 2 students in Alberta explore Peru in their Social Studies class. How exciting for little 7-year-olds to be able to experience an area such as Machu Picchu! What better way to get students to visualize a foreign location and make connections between this visual and the concepts they're learning in class?

4. While the panoramas available on this website are taken within the last decade or so, don't discount the impact they can have when exploring historical concepts. Studying WWII? Why not take a virtual fieldtrip to the beaches of Normandy (pulling up a panorama of one of the D-Day landing sites on your SMART Board is cheaper than 28 plane tickets to Europe).

I've really only scratched the surface of the wide variety of ways panoramas.dk could be used in the classroom. I strongly encourage teachers of all grades and subject areas to take time getting familiar with the website. I guarantee that you won't be disappointed!

Have a great weekend everyone! =)

Vanessa

Changes Are Coming!

2010-04-22T13:23:00.002-06:00

A very quick post today to inform all of my loyal blog readers (thanks Mom!) that my blog will be transferred over to Joomla tomorrow.

How will this affect you?

If you currently subscribe via RSS, or use a link to the main page url (http://blog.sharpsav.com), you will not have any issues.

If you have links posted to specific blog posts, you will NEED TO UPDATE YOUR LINKS over the coming weeks. The initial link will be broken until I can transfer that original post to the new site. At that point, you will be able to search for the new expanded url for each post on the new site.

FYI, my plan is to sloooowly transfer older posts to the new site over the course of the next 7 - 10 days.

If you previously commented on an older post, your comments will disappear from the comments section on the new site. I'm planning on at least taking a quick snapshot of comments from the old site so that we don't lose any conversations, ideas or questions that might help newcomers to the blog.

Other changes? The aesthetics will change as well, but aside from that it will still be me updating the blog and hopefully continuing to provide you with ~~useful~~, ~~funny~~, ~~interesting,~~ tolerable information.

I thank everyone in advance for their support, patience and suggestions as I make this transition. (for those who have asked 'why' this is happening, it's simply a case of our company wanted to host all of our relevant pages ourselves rather than using a 3rd party site such as Blogger).

I'm super excited about this move now that I've had a chance to play with Joomla. I think I'll actually be able to do more, with greater efficiency.

If you have any questions, concerns or idea please email me: vanessa.cassie@sharpsav.com.

Please also email me if you find broken links over the coming weeks! :)

Wish me luck!!
Vanessa

Where Do You Find The Time?

2010-04-20T07:55:00.000-06:00

As I publish this blog post, I'm getting ready to start Day 2 of professional development SMART Board workshops with various educators in Lethbridge School District 51. I want to take this time to thank those who attended the 2 sessions yesterday! I love getting to work with energetic teachers who are making a conscious effort to continually integrate new technology into their classrooms. I look forward to a 2nd day of fun and creativity! =)

Having led a number of technology-focused pd workshops with well over 1000 teachers these past few months, I've been thinking more and more about the time crunch that teachers face. Personally, the teachig lifestyle of constantly being in "teacher mode" 24 hours a day, 7 days a week is one of the main reasons that I chose to leave the classroom. I can cite a million different examples of the constant time crunch that I experienced: prepping in my classroom until 8:00 pm (in the semesters where I didn't have a work-day embedded prep), sending email newsletters to parents at 2:00 am, learning to hold my bladder for 8 hours on end because lunch 'hours' don't really exist, entering report card comments at my parents' house during a twice-yearly visit, never watching an SNL/Rick Mercer?Royal Canadian Air Farce skit with wondering "how could I integrate this into our Current Events discussion?", marking essays on the beach in Mexico...the list could go on and on.

I know, I'm preaching to the choir.

So now that I'm on the other side of education, and experiencing what apparently constitutes a 'normal' lifestyle for 95% of the world (who knew how much housework you could get done on a Saturday when you don't have a volleyball tournament?!?!), I continue to marvel at the staying power of teachers. The educactors that I get to hang out with everyday not only manage to 'get through' the nromal items on their inevitable to-do list, but they actually seek out workshops to improve their understanding of technology. And believe me, this is no easy task in itself.

For those with limited knowledge of the classroom teacher lifestyle truly can't appreciate the time it takes to:

write sub plans with extra notes (is my guest teacher going to have a solid understanding of the economic system in Sweden/ideology behind the Marshall Plan/correlation between ultranationalism and genocide?)
plan a fun, engaging lesson that has a Plan B incase:

the sub gets through the material too quickly
my precious angelic students decide to light fires at the back of the room

provide copies of material to hand out to students who may reappear on that exact day after a 10-day absence (murphy's law)
give the sub some clue as to the 'normal' structure of events/expectations/discipline in my class
leave a cheat sheet for use of any technology (computer/projector/SMART Board/DVD player, doc cam,videconference suite) because as a 21st century teacher, I'ver wholeheartedly embraced a wealth of technologies (which as now come back to bite me when I have to write out manuals for each device)
clean my desk so that I won't be potentially judged as a disorganized, cluttered teacher!

No wonder teachers choose to go in to school when they're sick! Sometimes, it's just easier to do things yourself...

The preparation that goes into handing over the reins of your classroom to someone else is astounding and just goes to show how much teachers really value pd to submit themselves to this extra work.

So I pose this question to you (if you're still reading this drawn-out post): Where do YOU find the time to professional development? Leave your ideas in the comments section to help support other members of your PLN solve this age-old problem.

And once again to those from Lethbridge School District 51, thanks for not judging me with my recently invented fashion statement. A shout out to Rik Jesse who demonstrated his handyman skills with duct tape!

Vanessa

Not Education Related, But Still Funny!

2010-04-19T07:19:00.001-06:00

As anyone who follows NHL hockey is aware, the Calgary Flames didn't make playoffs this year. :( There are a number of things that suck about this fact:

1. I don't have an excuse to eat, drink and be merry with friends at a local pub every 2 nights or so

2. My awesome Calgary Flames t-shirts have been demoted to pajama wear for another year

3. We (as Calgarians) don't get to excessively make fun of Edmonton Oilers fans -- who finished dead last, for the record

But as with all less-than-ideal scenarios, there's always a silver lining (or two):

1. My wallet will thank me later for not dropping $40 every 2nd night

2. I might actually be productive in other areas of my life for April - June

and most importantly:

3. The radio station X92.9 gets fresh material to make fun of

Last year, the very funny folks from the morning show on X92.9 in Calgary made a parody song of all the really lame playoff parody songs produced by other radio stations. This year they made a song that parodies their own parody from last year, focusing on the Flames not making playoffs.

Confused? Listen here

At least we can laugh about our tenth place finish!

Vanessa

Fresh Look Fridays - Magnetic Poetry

2010-04-16T22:08:00.000-06:00

Are your students having poetry writing blocks? Today's Fresh Look Fridays post features the fun online Magnetic Poetry site.

Students drag the virtual fridge magnets to form sentences, poems, short stories, etc. Using the website on a SMART Board as a center gets kids up out of their desks and adds a bit of a starting point for those writers who are struggling with putting words to paper.

Bonus tip: use the new transparency layer in SMART Notebook 10.6 (Windows only right now) to add digital ink for words that aren't on magnets, then take an area capture of the overall work and save to a Notebook page.

As a once-in-awhile formal English teacher (I could write an essay as a Social Studies teacher, ergo I could apparently teach Language Arts too), I know that poetry wasn't always the most highly anticipated unit for students. Anything that gets students a bit more engaged with writing is great in my books.

Vanessa

I Couldn't Resist - a RTTT Editorial Cartoon

2010-04-14T20:22:00.000-06:00

I think the following cartoon is politically charged enough for me to keep this blog post to about 4 sentences. The "Race to the Top" initiative going on in the States right now has been the topic of numerous twitter conversations and #edreform chats. I'll leave you to form your own opinions.

Discuss.

Thanks again to Huck/Konopacki Labor Cartoons for letting me use their wonderful work!

www.solidarity.com/hkcartoons

Vanessa

SMART Response VE - Can't Wait!

2010-04-12T06:19:00.001-06:00

Just a quick post today featuring an awesome new product coming down the pipes from SMART Technologies.

SMART Response VE is being released in beta version in the near future. Essentially, it allows teachers to use their Response assessments with any Internet-enabled devices! Could this be the push that some schools need to open up cell-phone use in the class?

As always, having a Response system in your classroom is great for ease-of-use with summative assessments, but its value really comes in purposeful, consistent formative assessment. But that’s a blog post for another day…

If you’re interested in finding out more click here. SMART Technologies is also looking for schools to pilot the beta version of Response VE!

Can’t wait to see how this impacts the use of technology in the classroom :)

Vanessa

Fresh Look Fridays - Virtual Keyboard

2010-04-09T06:45:00.000-06:00

Good morning!

Time for another edition of Fresh Look Fridays. This one contains a review of 2 excellent music websites:

1. Virtual Keyboard

The Virtual Keyboard website is exactly what it sounds like -- an online, virtual keyboard that works really well on a SMART Board. There are a number of things that I like about this website:

- It has a variety of instruments to choose from.

- In piano mode, it actually sounds like a real piano!

- Chord Mode: press the 'chord mode' button, then select a number of keys and hit 'play chord'

- The keys are large with the notes listed on each one

I think this works well with a small group of students interacting with it on an IWB. Depending on the age/musical knowledge of the kids there are numerous ways to use this in the classroom -- for example, have students compose music on it, play a "mimic me" game where students challenge each other to repeat a short tune that they make up or use it as a large surface for a group composition then have the students write down their composition for another group to play.

2. Boomwhackers

Another great music site, but designed for little ones. This website works essentially the same way as the virtual keyboard one above, but is simplified and provides a colourful visual reference for each note.

Curricular Links:

I could, in theory, go through the entire Program of Studies for Music in Alberta to find correlating curricular outcomes, but since these are such open-ended sites, I think I'll let the music teachers decide how these websites fit into their units.

Have an awesome weekend!

Vanessa

SMART Notebook Freebie #1 - Magic Hat

2010-04-07T14:51:00.004-06:00

One of the most important aspects of introducing new technology, such as SMART Boards, into the classroom is the willingness of teachers to share their knowledge and ideas. As such, I thought it was time that I shared a file or two that I often use during workshops with teachers.

Enter my SMART Notebook Freebie #1 - Magic Hat:
(since blogger won't let me upload files, please go to http://drop.io/magic_hat to access and download this SMART Notebook file.)

April 8th *Update* I just added it to the SMART Exchange - click here to redirect to its location

The intent behind this file is to develop pages of review activities (for a small group of students to test each other with), or to investigate the correct answer to knowledge based concepts. Obviously, this idea can be used with any grade level/subject area -- I've included 3 examples from Junior High Math, Kindergarten Language Arts and High School Chemistry to demonstrate this. Please feel free to modify the content on these pages to fit your own content.

Directions on how to modify: (the short version is on the pull tab on the Notebook page)

1. Select the text/picture answers

2. A drop down menu appears

3. Select "grouping" and "ungroup"

4. You will now have 2 text items -- the answer is in black ink, while the identifier of "correct" or "incorrect" is in white ink

5. Once you've changed your answers and identifiers, group the 2 items back together (select "grouping" and "group") from the drop down menu and VOILA!

This is a fun small group activity that kids of all ages enjoy. I hope you do too! :)

Vanessa

P.S. Just added by blog to Technorati, so I'm dutifully adding my claim number 5TW7KKBSBQY8 in order to prove to the powers of be that I have control over this blog :)

Students Are Different, Why Can't Teachers Be Too?

2010-04-06T08:16:00.001-06:00

Before I officially begin writing this post, I need to take a minute:

Poke...poke...

There, I've officially agitated those that will inevitably react with strong opinions when I'm done with this blog post! :)

A little background before I get into this discussion/rant/sharing of my two cents. I have been on twitter with a professional account for approx. 6 months now. In that time, I have developed what I consider to be a valuable PLN. I love that I've connected with colleagues, clients, fellow teachers and fellow SMART Board users -- they've all contributed resources, ideas, opinions and generally just made my online experience wonderful.

One of the most discussed topics amongst those that I follow is that of education reform. This is a hot topic in today's education world, and the focus of countless #edchats, keynote speakers, best selling books and professional development in schools. I've engaged in numerous online discussions, and I really value that I get to see a diverse range of opinions on the subject -- inevitably, this makes me refine and shift my own thinking from time to time.

However, one common thread that I have witnessed throughout all of this online babble -- both the conversations that I've partaken in as well as those that I've simply 'eavesdropped' on -- is that many people seem to have the belief that there is only one 'correct' way to reform teaching.

This concept of "my way is the best way" isn't new, nor exclusive to edreform discussions. But what bothers me about this absolute viewpoint is that there are folks that believe that one approach to teaching is the only way to save education, and that this one way is going to improve learning for every single student.

Enter my opinion:

I believe that a "one size fits all" approach to anything in education is not likely to result in increased understanding by all of our students. Much like those who preach that the current education system isn't meeting the needs of all students because of their various talents, strengths and weaknesses, I believe that teachers shouldn't be forced into a standardized mold. This goes for those who have opinions that span the spectrum from constructivism to the traditional 'stand and deliver' method.

What I want to scream from the rooftops is that I honestly believe that the actual teaching method itself is not the issue. I have read numerous articles praising the benefits of a variety of methods including student centered learning, teachers using storytelling, inquiry based learning and teachers lecturing with visual aids. Why are we still engaged in this battle focusing on what the best teaching method is?

I should probably back up a bit here and state for the record that I do believe that many elements of the education system need to change (starting with the emphasis on standardized tests). I also believe that there are some teachers who probably need some 'pushing' outside their comfort zone. But there are a million more teachers that are doing wonderful things in their classrooms, and instead of pushing those teachers into the 'one right way' we should be helping them refine their skills.

What I really believe could transform the education world is helping teachers discover their talents, subsequently supporting and developing these talents in their classroom, then coaching them in identifying the context when each style should be used. Let's face it -- a teacher who is a strong storyteller may actually be able to get students to 'experience' an event better than trying to fumble to piece together a poorly constructed student inquiry project. Conversely, there are those that are masters at being a facilitator in their classrooms and guiding students' learning through thoughtful questions -- these types might 'lose' their students interest if attempting to provide a 20 minute lecture.

Before I get a zillion comments regarding the fact I might actually be making a case for 'sage on the stage' I want to backtrack and emphasize that a variety of teaching methods should always be used within every classroom. I'm simply arguing that the amount of time spent with each style should not only vary from teacher to teacher depending on the students in each class, but also on each teachers' strengths.

Thanks to @joe_bower @graingered and @xmath2007 for engaging in a recent Twitter conversation on this exact topic recently! Much appreciated :)

Thoughts? Ideas? Opinions? I welcome them in the comments section. I"m especially looking forward to today's #edchat -- as of this posting, the poll shows this topic in the lead!

Oh, and because I'm very much like Chandler in that I usually try to make jokes to ease the tension during a potentially uncomfortable situation, I'm ending with a funny editorial cartoon:

See Cartoons by Cartoon by John Cole - Courtesy of Politicalcartoons.com - Email this Cartoon

Haha - thanks for taking the time to read my opinion!

Vanessa

Math Tools Part IV - Formula Handwriting Recognition

2010-04-05T10:38:00.000-06:00

In today's tutorial on Math Tools for SMART Notebook, I've featured what I believe is the best element of the new toolbar -- formula handwriting recognition. While SMART Notebook has always allowed for handwriting to be converted into actual text, most Math formulas went "wonky" when teachers tried to apply this element.

Luckily, SMART recognized the need and demand for this feature when they released their Math toolbar! Check out my quick 'how-to' video below for a demo of what this new option can do for the Math teachers you know. (Where was this when I was a kid?):

For those keeping track, this is my 4th venture into the world of 'how to' video making. I gotta say, it doesn't get any easier to hear your own voice played back! lol :)

Happy Monday!

Vanessa

Fresh Look Fridays -- Mix and Match Feelings

2010-04-02T08:00:00.000-06:00

As I looked back through recent Fresh Look Fridays posts, I realized that I've spent an awful lot of time reviewing interactive websites for Grades 4 and up. As such, I've purposefully selected a website for use in the primary classroom today:

Mix and Match Feelings is a fun website that helps Kindergarten students understand an abstract concept -- emotions.

Students drag a combination of eyes and a mouth onto the face to discover what emotion this portrays. I think this becomes particularly effective when students pair the same set of eyes with different types of mouths.

For example, this:

is a very different emotion than this:

As always, this could be a great small group exploration activity on a SMART Board. Students could experiment with the various combinations then challenge each other to create an emotion that is stated to them.

Looking for a curriculum link? Here it is:

Alberta Program of Studies: Kindergarten Health: Relationship Choices -- R-K.1

Have a fantastic weekend and a Happy Easter!

Vanessa

If You Ever Needed Proof...

2010-04-01T09:08:00.001-06:00

There's a big debate in education right now regarding how effective SMART Boards (or other interactive whiteboards) are in the classroom. I've seen numerous conversations on Twitter, nings and various blogs hashing out whether or not the cost of purchasing this technology actually translates into "better" teaching and learning. Embedded in these debates is the question: are students authentically engaged with the material, or are iwbs simply a magical novelty that will wear off over time?

My response? Technology is simply a tool and will not magically transform your classroom! It's been said before and I'll say it again, "It's the teAch, not the tech."

My role as an Education Consultant is to lead educators through professional development workshops modeling effective use of their SMART Boards. I purposefully demonstrate how teachers can change the structure of their classroom and have this new technology become a student centered tool instead of a primarily teacher centered tool.

How? One of the easiest ways is to set up the class into 'centers' -- yes, even high school classrooms can function this way. As such, the SMART Board becomes one center where 4-6 students collaborate to work through a problem, explore a new concept, challenge each other to a review, etc. This concept is the main reason for my Fresh Look Fridays posts -- using effective interactive websites can instantly increase the amount of student interaction with your new technology when combined with an adjusted layout of your room.

Recently, I attended Catalyst 2010 in Kelowna, BC. At our booth, we obviously had a SMART Board displayed, and I was playing around with some of my favourite interactive websites, when a group of high school students that were volunteering at the conference came over. Essentially what happened was that they unknowingly modeled what I've been preaching this whole time -- small group collaboration to solve a problem.

Enter Exhibit A:

If you ever needed proof as to whether or not proper use of a SMART Board can be engaging, authentic and improve student collaboration and learning, here it is.

They spent the better part of two days at our booth, determined to solve all 10 geometry problems from the 3D Interactive Geometry site that I reviewed here.

We couldn't keep them away!

Of course, being teenagers, once they realized that I was taking pictures they posed for a few more:

Haha - I miss the antics of teenagers sometimes. It was fun to have them hang around for the two days :)

Next time someone questions you on whether or not SMART Boards can be student-centered and engaging, point them to these pictures.

There, now I'm off my soapbox.

Vanessa

"Gotta Keep Reading"

2010-03-29T07:44:00.000-06:00

I realize I might be a bit behind discussing this video that has gone viral on YouTube, but I feel that what it represents is pertinent none the less:

There are a few things that I really like about this video:

- Kids look like they're having fun (don't we all want our students to show enthusiasm in school?)

- It demonstrates the power of using contemporary, pop culture events to reach students on a level they're familiar with

- The singer has a great voice!

- Organizers took great care to mimic the original Black Eyed Peas flash mob scenario as closely as possible

- The use of technology is key to the success of this activity. Had this event been held without proper audio components or without a numerous camera angles, the video would not have been nearly as effective.

Kudos to the educators who organized this wonderful activity!

Vanessa

Fresh Look Fridays -- Viscosity Explorer

2010-03-26T06:27:00.000-06:00

I may be beginning to sound like a broken record, but I really do value the ideas, resources and tips that members of my PLN (both virtual and 'real life') share.

I met a great Science teacher - Julie Pereverzoff - at a recent professional development day at Muriel Clayton Middle School in Airdrie, AB, and the focus of today's Fresh Look Friday's website comes from her.

The Viscosity Explorer is exactly the type of interactive website that I try to coach teachers to find for use on their SMART Board in class.

Students must pick a liquid and then drop a ball into each cylinder to discover the liquid's viscosity. Tamper with the temperature to see what happens when certain liquids heat up or cool off. A fantastic inquiry based activity or for use as a virtual 'lab station'. As always, this site works best when a small group of students get to experiment and record their results while their peers are working on a related activity.

Thanks again to Julie for this website recommendation!

Alberta Curriculum: Grade 8 Science: Unit A, Outcome 3

Why Reinvent the Wheel? My #1 Tip for Using SMART Response

2010-03-24T11:13:00.000-06:00

Time and time again I conduct a professional development day for teachers where someone inevitably says "I would love to use those SMART clicker thingys but I don't have time to re-type all of my quizzes, tests and exams into SMART Notebook."

Never fear -- there's a quick and easy way to combat this concern! I've created a 2-minute 'how to' video demonstrating how to import questions from a file. For those who are regular readers of my blog, I'm furthering my video creation to include an audio component! lol I hope it works...=)

Hope this helps!
Vanessa

P.S. I can't help but at least include some screenshots of important Current Events happening this week -- my inner Social Studies teacher won't allow me to pretend they're not happening:

Images taken from NY Daily News, Wikipedia and National Post, respectively

The Power of a PLN (alternately titled "My Biggest Blonde Moment Ever")

2010-03-23T10:29:00.004-06:00

Friday, March 19th 2010 started out as a great day. It was day 2 of the fantastic Teacher2Teacher Conference in Bow Island, AB (#t2t2010 for all you tweeps). Despite there having been snow the night before, the sun was out, the air was warm and spring was definitely on its way.

Having presented 3 sessions at the conference on Thursday, I had met many great educators and fellow members of my Twitter PLN -- @fiteach and @MacHarvey to name just two. My last session was set to take place at 2:00 pm on Friday, so I planned to spend the morning and early afternoon sitting in on other sessions and meeting other members of my virtual PLN. This included attending @rmbyrne's "Developing PLNs (Personal Learning Networks) Through Social Networks" session Friday afternoon.

As I anticipated, @rmbyrne (a valuable member of my Twitterverse PLN) did a fantastic job demonstrating and explaining how awesome social networking sites can be for educators looking to both give and receive excellent tips, tricks, resources and ideas. I even got the chance to meet another member of my Twitter PLN @langwitches.

During this discussion, I did a quick search of my full name on Twitter "Vanessa Cassie" to see if there were any other twitter accounts under this name that might confuse people looking for me. I found 2 accounts -- my current professional one and an old personal one that I hadn't touched in nearly a year.

I decided that it was best to delete my old, inactive account so as not to confuse anyone whom I may meet through future conferences and pd sessions...so I went up to the "Settings" section of my account and selected "deactivate my account". I was given the following warning:

"No biggie" I thought -- I only had a few close friends following me on my personal account, so I wasn't concerned about letting them know to start following me on my professional one. And so...I hit...delete...

*Wham!*

I had a sudden sinking feeling as it dawned on me that I had never actually signed out of my professional account prior to the deactivation which might mean...

NOOOOOOO!

I hastily hit the 'home' button to take me back to my twitter feed and was greeted with the following message:

Oh. My. God.

There was no way that I could have just accidentally deleted my Twitter account...but sadly, it was true. Despite great support from those in the workshop, and numerous emails to Twitter support, it was determined that nothing could be done to salvage my @VanessaCassie account. To add insult to injury, I kept getting an email response with that original screenshot reminding me that I was warned prior to choosing to deactivate my account. Like I needed to be reminded over and over!

There I was, faced with the daunting challenge of starting over from scratch. How on earth was I ever going to rebuild? What about the great people 700+ people that I had met through various #edchats, #t2t2010 and #followfridays? How was I going to access my favourited tweets that I hadn't yet had a chance to fully explore? How was I going to reconnect with participants from past pd days?

It was at that moment that I realized just how much I had come to rely on the support, information, resources and discussions that my PLN offered. It was a true wake up call and testament to just how valuable these daily tidbits and debates were and how much of an integral part of my life they had become. I suddenly was walking proof that Twitter was not just a constant stream of status updates, but a source for answers to questions I had and a place to share information pertinent to technology in education.

I decided that there was no time to waste in rebuilding my Twitterverse, so I created a new account @VanessaSCassie and started by following a few key contacts that I had conversed with many times. I sent out the following plea:

Within one hour, thanks to the amazing generosity and viral nature of Twitter, my plea had been re-tweeted 33 times and I had slowly begun to rebuild with 50 followers. On a Friday night! The kindness and concern continued, with so many wonderful tweeps sending me words of condolences and vowing to keep spreading the word. I also received many comments that my devastation was not in vain that I was a lesson to others to always be cautious of online actions and to be thankful for their own participation in our online PLN.

The moral of my story is this:

Words cannot begin to describe just how valuable an online Personal Learning Network can be. For those of you reading this who have not yet begun your own journey of building a PLN I strongly encourage you to do so. For those educators who have started the process, let this story be a reminder to you of how many great things can come from the support, kindness and willingness to share of our online friends around the world. At the time of this blog post, a mere 4 days after my virtual world collapsed, I'm nearly halfway to rebuilding the connections that I thought I had lost.

A huge "thank you" to the hundreds of people who have RT-ed, re-followed and reinforced my belief in the power of my PLN.

@VanessaSCassie

(formerly known as @VanessaCassie)

Fresh Look Fridays -- Maps of War

2010-03-19T07:00:00.001-06:00

Don't let the title of this great website trick you into thinking that this is just another stagnant outline map site with large stars depicting places of battle. All Social Studies teachers vehemently deny that their entire class revolves around wall maps and colouring inside the lines of paper maps. While this is true, there is a time and place where maps DO become essential teaching tools to help provide a visual context for events.

Enter the 21st century version of such tools -- "Maps of War". This website is a fantastic place to see 90 second flash file representations of everything from the history of religion to the spread of democracy to the imperial history of the Middle East. These maps can be downloaded (as .swf files) and then embedded directly into SMART Notebook software for easy access in a lesson. The control features stay intact, allowing the user to pause, play and rewind the various stages of the visual.

One of my personal favourites, the history of "Leadership and War" I've embedded in this post:

These 90 second representations can spark TONS of discussion, questions and learning, but the website doesn't stop there. Maps of War also has a library with lots of links to an abundance of other interactive map sites, grouped by region.

Spend some time to get acquainted with this site if you teach anything in a global context. Thanks to @jfborges (from my Twitter PLN) for recommending this site.

Enjoy the weekend!
Vanessa

An Oldie But a Goodie

2010-03-16T07:45:00.001-06:00

I don't have much to say today (shocking, I know), but I felt that in light of the recent debate that's re-brewing regarding standardized tests, I thought I'd post a great cartoon. It's been around for awhile, but it's message is still as powerful and current as ever:

Courtesy of:

Huck/Konopacki Labor Cartoons

www.solidarity.com/hkcartoons

Once again, thanks to the awesome people at Huck/Konopacki Labor Cartoons for giving me permission to use this excellent cartoon on my blog!

Happy Tuesday!
Vanessa

The Power of VideoConferencing in Education

2010-03-15T17:05:00.000-06:00

Many schools have taken steps towards establishing some sort of videoconferencing suite in their schools. In an age where connections to an outside world are just a click away, it's fantastic that decision makers in education are recognizing the value of a VC suite. The possibilities are endless with such devices -- collaboration with students in far away schools, providing a class to students who don't have the numbers to support their own teacher, interviewing an expert, going on a virtual field trip, etc.

From a personal standpoint, I used our videoconferencing suite to expose my high school students to events and conditions around the world that they had trouble visualizing. Specifically, my Grade 10s participated in a VC with kids in Uganda a couple of years ago. The impact was tremendous! My students were able to interact with students in Uganda, who had stayed after school hours to participate in the session. We got to see their tiny four room school house with no electricity, and listen to their horrific pasts where they described unimaginable experiences of losing relatives, limbs and childhood.

One of my students said something that hit home with me shortly after the videoconference was over. She said,

"We now just walk down the hall, put away our books and go out for lunch with our friends, while those teenagers in Uganda are starting a 6 mile journey in the dark back to their village. Kinda puts it all in perspective."

This opportunity wouldn't have been made possible without a fantastic organization known as the Global Nomads Group (GNG). They are a non-government organization (NGO) that focuses on bringing awareness of global issues/events to students world wide. They provide the manpower, power generators when necessary and technology to allow students to connect with those all over the world -- even the most remote locations.

If you're a Social Studies teacher and looking for a way to have a dramatic impact on your students, I would highly suggest checking out their site: http://www.gng.org. They have pre-scheduled sessions based on important global events, as well as impromptu VC discussions after a major occurance. These videoconferences are sometimes free, sometimes cost money, but always provide background resources and a fantastic learning experience.

A great organization that, in my opinion, demonstrates the powerful impact that the thoughtful use of current technology can have on real-world learning in today's classroom.

Vanessa

Fresh Look Fridays -- Word Mosaic

2010-03-12T06:30:00.002-07:00

I am a huge fan of wordles. They're fun, eye-catching and a great visual aid in any project or presentation. There are numerous reasons to use them in the classroom including character sketches, identifying themes in a novel and analyzing political speeches just to name a few.

Word Mosaic from Image Chef takes the traditional wordle to a new level by adding shapes -- everything from a heart to music notes to numerous user created images.

Thanks to Brenda Dyck's posterous for pointing me to the Innovative Educator's blog which contained a link to Image Chef! Whew! Shows how valuable sharing links on your site can be, and the value of building a PLN! :)

Have a great weekend bringing out your artistic side!

Vanessa

My Top 5 Favourite Interactives in the SMART Notebook Gallery

2010-03-09T20:02:00.001-07:00

I just finished Day 1 of 2 of SMART Board professional development workshops with a great group of educators at Holy Family Catholic Regional Division in Peace River, Alberta. We focused on the 3 areas in the classroom that an interactive whiteboard can help enhance including increasing student interactivity.

During today's workshop, we took some time exploring the gallery components in SMART Notebook (nearly 7000 items, and counting). The idea for a blog post was inspired by this discussion and exploration -- I thought it was time that I shared my top 5 favourite interactive components in the gallery.

In no particular order, here they are:

1. Random Word Chooser

The uses for this flash file are endless -- insert students' names and select volunteers for activities, sharing answers or forming groups; insert key vocabulary in your subject area and use for a simple review game; insert themes or genres of writing and have students randomly select their topic for creative writing.

2. Dice -- Keyword

Click on the double arrows on the top left corner and edit it to fit your own subject area's content. Have students click to 'roll' the die at the end of class and tell you something they learned about that term in today's class. Voila! Easy-to-create digital exit questions.

3. Interactive Protractor

This upgraded version actually exists on the toolbar in Notebook version 10.6 (although a similar older version exists in the gallery too!). I love the fact that if you click the bottom right arrow, it 'spits out' the angle complete with degrees.

4. Vortex Sort - Image

An excellent review activity for the end of a lesson or, even better, a great inquiry activity with feedback for students to test their theories. Make each vortex rotate, customize the images and categories and have students drag each image to sort them. If they place the image in the correct vortex, the clipart fades inward; if they get it wrong, the vortex spits it back out.

5. Froguts

An old classic fun interactive. This flash file allows you to virtually 'dissect' a frog -- minus the terrible smell! While educationally valuable in Biology class, this is also a fun way for kids to experiment and see the inside of frog -- even if they're not currently in Bio.

Please comment and share your favourite interactive gallery items. I look forward to sharing in future professional development workshops!

Vanessa

Math Tools Part III - New Shapes & Irregular Polygons

2010-03-08T16:56:00.004-07:00

For my 3rd installment of new Math Tools for SMART Notebook, I chose to go with 2 of the simpler tools -- the addition of shapes and the ability to create your own irregular polygons. While these are quite basic features, they're also some of the more desired features that make planning a Math lesson a bit more efficient for teachers.

Directions for above video:

1. Click on the Shapes tool within the Math toolbar
-- Numerous regular polygons appear, allowing you to choose a polygon with up to 15 equal sides

2. Click on the Irregular Polygons tool

3. Click anywhere on your SMART Notebook page, which will allow you to identify the vertices for your irregular polygon.

4. "Close" your chosen points to form a complete irregular polygon, which can then be manipulated in the same fashion as all other shapes.

Some quick, simple yet effective tools now available from the Math toolbar. As always, try the 30 day free trial at smarttech.com

Vanessa

A Non-Techie Weekend Extra

2010-03-07T18:50:00.000-07:00

I realize that 99% of the content on this blog relates to technology in education in some way, shape or form. However, every now and then something ridiculously funny linked to current events just begs to be posted.

The following video is just that -- a parody made by a Canadian improv team known as the Royal Canadian Air Farce. Although this skit was originally made in 2001, recent events were directly related to the issue discussed: the lyrics of "O Canada". For those either not Canadian or unaware of news broadcasts last week, the main issue was the 'genderdized' line "in all thy sons command." For some reason, the federal government decided to raise the issue during its recent throne speech citing that that line may be sexist and that they were considering altering it to something more 'gender neutral'.

Enjoy the video! For those not familiar with the lines in the Canadian national anthem, I've listed the lyrics below....

O Canada!

Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.

With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!

From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

Luckily, such nonsense is not being pursued, as the government decided to drop the issue as of Friday afternoon. The question remains, why was it even raised in the first place? There are a few opinions on that topic, including one found here.

Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend! Have a great work week =)

Fresh Look Fridays -- Human Body Interactive

2010-03-05T06:30:00.001-07:00

Being a former high school Social Studies teacher, I love when I get a great interactive website outside of my area of expertise that still engages me! The Human Body Interactive, put out by the BBC, does just that.

Learn about organs, muscles, skeleton or the nervous system through an interactive placement game. I envision this being used in the classroom as either a review session or, better yet, as a collaborative small-group inquiry session on an iwb.

Thanks to my former colleague Shannon Cederstrand (an excellent high school Biology teacher at Oilfields High School) for the awesome link!

Vanessa

P.S. As I publish this post to my blog, I'm getting ready to head out to my 5th teachers' convention in as many weeks [for those at the Central East Alberta Teachers' Convention stop by and say hi!]

I Have the Data...Now What?

2010-03-02T10:47:00.001-07:00

We're all familiar with the different forms of assessment:

diagnostic
formative
summative

Many teachers spend a lot of time and effort creating "good" assessments that accurately assess what the students know. I myself have spent copious amounts of time painstakingly creating exam blueprints to ensure that curricular outcomes are assessed -- and I'm not alone. A large amount of professional development days in schools are devoted to improving assessment techniques.

As such, education is becoming more data focused than ever. Everyone I speak with has their own, usually strong, opinion on whether or not this is a path that they want to head down. However, I would argue that there is one thing that most of us can agree on: the results collected do not always translate into a teaching response in the classroom. There are a variety of reasons for this lack of connection -- over-packed curriculum, lack of time, worn out teachers, a misunderstanding of correlation vs. causation, political initiatives with a separate focus -- the list could go on and on.

The following cartoon illustrates this disconnect beautifully -- we spend so much time and energy focusing on how best to collect data that we often forget the most important component is the follow up.

Courtesy of:

Huck/Konopacki Labor Cartoons

www.solidarity.com/hkcartoons

So the question of the decade remains what do you do with the data? Is it even wise to state that a change in teaching technique might have a direct impact on results or are we simply faced with too many other variable factors (maturity of the students, parental support, funding for education, socioeconomic status, values in the community, etc.)?

What is your school/school division doing with the results teachers collect? Is the data really analyzed to pinpoint specific areas of strengths and weaknesses or do you even believe in 'measuring' achievement? This is a hot topic for debate in the education world right now and I'd love to hear your viewpoints!

Vanessa

P.S. Thanks again to the great people at Huck/Konopacki Labor Cartoons for giving me permission to use this excellent cartoon on my blog!

New to Notebook? 5 Tips & Tricks to Get You Started

2010-03-01T12:56:00.000-07:00

I'm always on the lookout for new resources to help support teachers integrate various pieces of technology into their classroom practice. While I love spending time with teachers at workshops, the reality is that sometimes they just need a quick 'demo' of some basic features to get them started.

Enter eduTecher: an excellent site devoted to tons of different resources and tutorials to help get teachers up and running with technology in the classroom. A colleague of mine came across a particularly useful video entitled 5 Tips and Tricks for the SmartBoard:

If you're new to SMART Notebook, I highly recommend taking a look at the above video. Funny enough, despite tons of experience with a SMART Board, I was completely unaware of Tip #5 until my SMART certification this past Fall! Just goes to show that sometimes you don't know what you don't know!

I hope this helps those SMART newbies out there!
Vanessa

Fresh Look Fridays, on a Saturday :)

2010-02-27T10:53:00.000-07:00

Good morning,

Due to a number of circumstances beyond my control yesterday, I was unable to access the internet to publish this post yesterday. So here is the next installment of Fresh Look Fridays...on a Saturday morning:

Modeling how to write an essay is always an essential part of any English class. The Essay Map website is basically an interactive, digital essay organizer.

What I really like about this website is that it allows the teacher to easily model an outline map if displayed on an interactive whiteboard, and there's a print feature at the end that allows students to get a hard copy of their graphic organizer.

Take a minute on your Saturday morning/afternoon/evening and check it out!

Have an awesome weekend :)

Vanessa

Technology and Social Skills

2010-02-24T13:12:00.001-07:00

The past few weeks have been crazy! I've done tons of awesome workshops with teachers, both in person as well as via Bridgit & videoconferencing. It's also teacher convention season, which means that every Thursday and Friday I get to hang out with teachers, admin, tech people and our sales guys at our booth.

Alas, this busy season also means that I sometimes don't get the proper time to write a blog post. Or at least not a blog post that I'm willing to publish on the world wide web!

Since it's mid-week and I know that many teachers are buried in report card season, here's another great tech cartoon that I found. Obviously, this points out the skepticism that some people have regarding whether or not too much reliance on technology can have a negative impact on social skills:

See Cartoons by Cartoon by Steve Greenberg - Courtesy of Politicalcartoons.com - Email this Cartoon

Have a happy Wednesday!
Vanessa

Math Tools Part II -- Interact with Vertices, Angles and Lengths

2010-02-22T06:29:00.000-07:00

First, just a side note from a recent convention (NETCA in Edmonton). Congratulations to Helena Welsh at Athabasca Delta Community School who won a SMART Board 685 i3!!

And now onto today's post...

I've done a lot of 'on-the-fly' demos of the new SMART Math Tools for Notebook at recent professional development workshops and teachers' conventions. The new ability to manipulate a shape's vertices and have the corresponding interior angles and side lengths displayed always gets a great reaction from Math teachers.

Therefore, I thought it was time to share my second installment of 'how-to' videos on the new SMART Math Tools:

Step by Step Instructions for the Above Video:

1. Insert a shape that contains corners

2. Marquee select (highlight) the shape

3. Select "Show/Hide Vertices" from the drop down menu

4. Select "Show/Hide Interior Angles" from the drop down menu

5. Select "Show/Hide Side Lengths" from the drop down menu

6. The vertices (red circles on the corners of the shape) are interactive. Click and drag to change their position. Note that the interior angles and side lengths also change as you manipulate the vertices.

If you want to try this feature (and more) out, download the 30 day free trial from SMART Technologies.

Vanessa

Fresh Look Fridays -- In Honour of the Olympics

2010-02-19T07:05:00.000-07:00

Since the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver are almost officially half over, I thought I'd dedicate this week's Fresh Look Fridays post to interactive Olympics websites. Let's face it, I'm slightly obsessed with watching events, keeping up with real-time results via Twitter, cheering on our Canadian athletes and pretty much consumed with the pride and excitement that the Olympics brings.

Today's post is not going to follow the traditional Fresh Look Fridays format. Instead, I've compiled a list of some great interactive websites that have come highly recommended to me from my "Tweeps". I haven't had a chance to fully explore each and every website, but I trust their judgment! :-)

BBC - Primary History - Ancient Greeks

The first site comes as a recommendation from Emily Starr (@StarrMatica). It's a great interactive site geared towards younger students exploring the history of the Olympics. Check it out here.

NBC Winter Olympics Science Videos

The next website comes via an educator whom I respect very much: @ktenkely has a fantastic blog, and recently posted a description of a Winter Olympics Science-based site found here. (please note: you'll need to find a way to view these videos if your IP address is not from the United States)

Ollie Bray's Blog

Thanks to@lamoureuxr for the next tip! @OllieBray has a fantastic educational blog, which has featured Winter Olympics content recently. Check it out here

Sharing the Dream

This website, put out by the Ministry of Education in British Columbia, has numerous interactive content that's updated daily. Thanks to @danbowen for recommending this site on Twitter!

The Vancouver Olympics in Google Earth

The Google Earth blog, found here, has a wide variety of interactive tools. Thank you to @krs917 for the link!

2010 Olympics Weebly

Thanks once again to @ktenkley for the final list of Olympic websites! Take some time to peruse all the great stuff found here.

Thanks once again to all those on Twitter who graciously answered my question a few days ago. This blog post is just another excellent example of the power of an online PLN!!

Have a fantastic weekend -- enjoy marathon couch potato hours of watching the 2010 Olympics! Go Canada!

Vanessa

Ignorance Is Definitely Not Bliss

2010-02-17T10:22:00.004-07:00

Digital natives, 21st century learning, technology integration, inquiry based learning -- the education world is abuzz with these contemporary catchphrases. Many teachers and administrators are taking the underlying meaning of these words to heart and increasing the use of technology in the classroom. This is an exciting time for education, but I would argue that we still have a long way to go to truly establish a technology enriched education system.

One of the biggest obstacles I see to achieving this goal is the clamp down on access to information. (Enter beginning of heated debate here!) We've all been there, either as a teacher or a visitor to a school, experiencing the frustrations that an internet filter brings to schools. A filter has been added, designed to protect our students' innocent young minds from the big bad berth of "disgustingness" that floats around in the world wide web, but in doing so, valuable educational sites have also been blocked.

Image from: http://bit.ly/cl1Moj

The examples of this frustration that I've personally experienced in my short 5-year career as a teacher are abundant:

- The students can't properly research World War I because the site contains a "bad" word such as "death" (duh!) somewhere on the site.

- A teacher can no longer access non-school based email, which was used to send a large file from home to school

- A link to an educational video happens to be hosted on YouTube, and the class can't watch it

The scenarios are endless, and increasingly frustrating.

A moment of clarification before I continue on my rant: I am NOT advocating for full and open access to every website within schools, nor am I suggesting that the age of the students need be ignored when establishing the level of filter. I am simply questioning why we continue to put up roadblocks to valuable information, and shy away from these teachable moments regarding appropriate use of technology.

The reality is that we're fooling ourselves if we believe that we're truly protecting students by putting in place more rules. After all, weren't rules made to be broken? Junior high and high school students simply see internet filters as a challenge. As new filters are put in place, so are new proxy breakers available on the web, and accessing Facebook or YouTube is simply an extra click away. The problem is, many teachers (young and 'experienced') are not as knowledgeable when it comes to Internet savyness, and hence, don't want to deal with issues that may arise with increased access to sites. I don't blame them, but I think we need to reevaluate why we're limiting students because of our own apprehensions.

Rabindranath Tagore said it best: "Don't limit a child to your own learning, for he was born in another time."

I can hear you now, "So what do you suggest we do, then?" My answer is simply this: as teachers of 21st century learners/digital natives/the Y generation we have a responsibility to model and teach students appropriate use of technology, rather than simply blocking it.

There are many valuable educational uses of traditionally blocked sites such as YouTube and Facebook. (shocking!) If worried about content, there are some ways around that on YouTube: http://youtube.com/edu identifies the videos that are tagged as educational, and further subdivided by subject area. Safe Share TV (http://www.safeshare.tv/) is another site that helps filter out inappropriate content on videos.

Mostly, we need to respect that students (especially those in high school), are logical human beings, who respond best to rules that make sense, instead of just being there for the sake of rules. In my personal experience, prior to opening access to YouTube for my Grade 10 classes, we had a frank discussion about what the rationale behind me doing so was [for the record, it was for a media project in Social Studies]. This valuable discussion allowed me to explain that obviously, certain behaviours were not acceptable on YouTube at school, and those behaviours would not be tolerated. This teaching moment led to nearly zero issues as the project progressed --the novelty wore off in about 2 weeks, and I rarely found a student on YouTube unless they were a.) done their work and filling 2 minutes of free time watching funny kitten videos or b.) using it for a school project.

Still not convinced? Check out this magazine article: "Fifth Period is Facebook"

There are numerous other examples of great things that happen when the adults take a deep breath and encourage more access to websites. Take some time to conduct your own internet search on the use of sites such as YouTube, Twitter and Facebook in the classroom.

That is, provided that Google isn't blocked at your school. :-)

Vanessa

As always, comments are welcome!

And The Winner Is...

2010-02-16T15:48:00.001-07:00

We often have draws at our Sharp's Audio Visual booth at various teachers' conventions. Last week, at the Calgary City Teachers' Convention, we had a draw for a new SMART Slate:

Basically, it allows you to interact with your SMART Board via bluetooth. Pretty cool if a teacher wants to navigate the board from various positions in the room, or pass the slate to one of the students to allow them control over the information or the sharing of their ideas.

Check out a full description here.

First thing Tuesday morning Jeff Faber, our President and CEO of Sharp's Audio Visual, made the official draw (while I held the box filled with ballots!)

And the winner is...

Steve Watson -- a teacher at Louis Riel School in Calgary!! Congratulations Steve! Thanks to all those who stopped by the booth over the 2 days to say hi and put their name in the draw!

Vanessa

Fresh Look Fridays -- Taj Mahal Interactive

2010-02-12T09:53:00.002-07:00

As I type this Fresh Look Fridays post, I'm sitting in our Sharp's Audio Booth at the Calgary City Teachers' Convention, waiting for the day to begin. It seems like this booth is becoming my second home during the busy convention season --this is week 2 of 8! Stop by our booth and say hi if you're at any of the Alberta Teachers' Association's conventions this season!

(thanks to my co-worker Val Fernandez for posing for this photo opp!)

And now on to today's "Fresh Look Friday" review. Today's website is the Taj Mahal virtual tour -- a great place for kids to explore interior and exterior components of the Taj Mahal. Simply go to www.taj-mahal.net, and click on "online virtual tour".This is another great interactive website that encourages both the use of a classroom's interactive whiteboard as well as inquiry-based learning.

Be sure to check out the panoramic view (located in the top right hand corner)!

This website specifically helps address the following curriculum in Alberta:

Grade 3 Social Studies -- General Outcome 3.2

Happy Friday!
Vanessa

SMART Notebook Math Tools - Part I

2010-02-10T11:28:00.006-07:00

SMART Technologies released its full version of Math Tools for Windows last month (download a 30-day free trial version here). This new Math toolbar appears bolted under the original tool bar in SMART Notebook and looks like this:

I gotta say, despite the fact that I taught Social Studies for the majority of my teaching career, I'm very impressed with the amount of calculations, demos and visuals this new Math toolbar can do! While I'm no expert on teaching Math, I am very much aware of how these new features can improve student understanding of abstract concepts, and open the door for some inquiry-based learning in the field of Mathematics (but that's a post for another day!)

Therefore, I will be devoting a number of future blog posts to helping teachers uncover the various features of this amazing tool -- starting today. It's also an excuse to begin experimenting with creating SMART Notebook instructional videos -- so please bear with me as I not only relive my Calculus and Algebra days, but also venture into amateur movie making :)

** Note: For this particular post, I've been faced with the problem of my MAC recognizing my microphone drivers on the Windows side...sigh...therefore, rather than narrate this one, I'll record the steps in written text below the video!

Lesson #1: Shape Division

Steps:

1. Select the "perfect circle" option under the shapes tool

2. Press where you want the middle of the circle to be and drag to increase the size

3. Select the circle either by clicking on its border or marquee selecting

4. Select the drop-down menu that appears and choose "shape division"

5. Designate the number of segments you'd like to divide the shape into (up to 12)

Voila!

For the square, choose the 'perfect square' option under the shapes tool and repeat steps 2 - 5.

For an even better visual, you can choose to fill one or more of the segments with different colours -- use your properties tab and choose 'fill effects'

Watch for more Math Toolbar tips in the future!

Vanessa

A Funny For Your Monday -- But Seriously....

2010-02-08T08:43:00.004-07:00

The iPad may have made it's debut a couple of weeks ago (see my 'review' here), but the cartoon below is still relevant:

See Cartoons by Cartoon by Nate Beeler - Courtesy of Politicalcartoons.com - Email this Cartoon

While designed to make you chuckle, the editorial cartoon raises an obvious point regarding technology in the classroom -- where will the money come from to support new technological initiatives? In an era where Alberta teachers are waiting with bated breath to see what cuts to Education the provincial government will reveal in its budget tomorrow, concerns are rampant that the cut backs will have huge implications for the classroom. Teacher lay offs, stalled plans for new schools and funds for resources are all potential imminent possibilities for education in Alberta.

Our counterparts in the south of the border are experiencing similar frustrations. It's the age-old formula for times of heavy government debt: a recession leads to public outcry for the gov't to roll back spending, which leads to the political leaders issuing cuts to public services which inevitably equals huge cut-backs in the Education world.

If we, as educators, admin, tech coordinators and various stakeholders want to continue to support excellent initiatives such as incorporating newer technology into the classroom, we're going to have to get creative regarding how to fund it.

What ideas have you seen to provide money from the ground-up rather than waiting for handouts from the top-down?

Something to think about as you enter the new work week.

Vanessa

Update: 11:17 am According to my sources, Education Minister Dave Hancock dropped 'large hints' this morning that AISI funding would not be affected by the budget tomorrow. This is a relief, as it's one of the main areas that schools pull from to purchase technology for their classrooms. Stay tuned...

Fresh Look Fridays -- iNudge

2010-02-05T07:27:00.001-07:00

When I was teaching, I found that many all-staff professional development sessions focused on core curriculum only. As a Social Studies teacher, this was great for me since I taught a 'mainstream' course, but I always felt bad for my friends and colleagues that were grouped into the category of "options teacher". As such, I try to make a conscious effort to address specific curricular outcomes in complimentary curriculums during pd sessions that I lead.

Today's Fresh Look Friday's review is therefore a website to appease my music-teacher friends. iNudge
was recommended to me by Mike Yuzwenko -- music teacher at Riverbend Jr High in Edmonton, AB.

The basic premise is that students can explore with creating rhythms and music with 8 layers of sound (one for each of the buttons on the right hand side). No formal music training is necessary, but how pleasant your creation comes out depends on what instruments you select to play, at what pitch and at what time. Simply press a square on the matrix, and it will register a sound there as it cycles through. Play around with tempo and share your creation with friends! A great music "centre" if set up on an interactive whiteboard in your classroom. Thanks, Mike for a fun, yet educational, website! :)

As always, ties to curriculum are important, so here are a few areas within the Alberta curriculum that this website helps meet:

Grade 4-6 Music: Creating Strand, Outcomes 5, 9, 12
Grade 7-9 General Music: Level III Module, Performance and Structures Outcomes

Have a fantastic weekend, everyone!
Vanessa

#EdChat Drained Me Of Astute Comments -- Here's a Funny Cartoon Instead

2010-02-02T13:22:00.004-07:00

A quick funny for your Tuesday. I could spend hours discussing my viewpoints on this concept in the classroom and what the possible solution(s) could be, but I feel that our #edchat discussions every Tuesday pretty much cover all of these potential topics. And besides, today's first #edchat basically drained me of my intellectual quota for today :)

Thanks to fellow tweeter @jdornberg for the link to this cartoon!

I'd also like to take a moment to thank the staff of Riverbend Jr High in Edmonton, AB for being a great audience last Friday! I enjoyed getting to share some SMART Board tips and tricks as part of your pd day, and the Greek food for lunch was fantastic too! :)

Have a great week, everyone!
Vanessa

Fresh Look Fridays - Astrotour

2010-01-29T07:41:00.000-07:00

I figured by week 4 of Fresh Look Fridays it was time to bring my Science colleagues into the fold. As such, my website for this week's review is the Astro Tour

An awesome look at the solar system, it works incredibly well with small groups of students at the SMART Board. The goal here is for students to spend some time experimenting with the tools on the side (you can slow down the speed of orbits, zoom in, change the central object to follow, etc.) as well as work through the tutorial.

Yet another great example of inquiry based learning amplified by an interactive whiteboard.

Looking for curriculum ties?
Grade 6 Science - Topic C
Grade 9 Science - Unit E

Have a great weekend, everyone!
Vanessa

IE, MF and GC - The Alphabet of Internet Browsers in Education

2010-01-28T20:38:00.001-07:00

I've been spending a fair bit of time discussing internet browsers over the past few weeks. I've been pitching Mozilla Firefox to many teachers at workshops, mainly because I like some of the add-ons that it has to offer.

But all this talking about browsers got me wondering -- what do most people use? Why? A quick Google search came up with a list of top internet browsers, but the three that I run into most in education (minus our Mac users) are Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer and Google Chrome.

My psychic powers tell me that Internet Explorer going to meet the same fate as Netscape Navigator. Which means that I must convince schools to soon pledge allegiance to either Firefox or Chrome...

What does your school division use primarily? Any particular reason(s) why?

iPad - All The Cool Kids Are Talking About It

2010-01-27T21:28:00.003-07:00

Due to the fact that I claim to run a technology-based blog, I decided that there was no way to maintain that credibility without at least mentioning the much-hyped release of Apple's iPad. I'm not going to lie - I really haven't had much time to day to sit down and do some proper research on what the 'experts' are saying, but I figured I'd throw my own 2 cents into the ring, nonetheless.

From everything I've read thus far, it looks like the new iPad is essentially a giant iPod touch on steroids, and the reviews are mixed. Some are impressed with the price and rave about its compatibility with apps, others bemoan the lack of a camera and flash capabilities. Check out a couple reviews that I have found thus far:
Here
And here

Either way, I think that the marketing directors at Apple have created enough hype around its release that it is sure to become an instant competitor for existing netbooks and ereaders.

I personally am a glass half-full type of person, so pretty much anything that's new, exciting and shiny impresses me initially. I think any of the disappointments that people have come from extremely high expectations and loads of rumours pre-release. For those naysayers out there, one of my fellow Twitter-ers (@cnanson) said it best when he said "If ppl expected Apple to announce they could change sand into gold they would be disappointed if they could only make silver"

On that note, I'm off to add iPad to my Christmas list...

Vanessa :)

P.S. I couldn't possibly let a relatively large political event pass by without a brief comment on it. Here is what I was watching on TV while writing this post:

I Can Take a Picture of What?

2010-01-26T21:10:00.007-07:00

I'd like to start this post by taking a minute to thank the staff of Hunting Hills High School in Red Deer, Alberta. I just spent the past 2 days leading workshops with the Math/Science department and the Humanities department and had a lot of fun with the participants on each day. They were a great group of fantastic educators with lots of ideas, great energy and varying levels of background knowledge with SMART products.

Now onto my post...with so many tools in SMART Notebook, the floating toolbar and the control panel, it's easy to overlook some of the features that are available to you. Unless you have time to sit down and thoroughly experiment with all the the icons, buttons and links, I find that most users initially find a level of comfort with using "main" tools in their classroom and don't dive into the rest.

One of my favourite tools that I believe gets overlooked far too often is the area capture tool. When it is selected, it's own mini toolbar follows you into any program or website, and allows you to take a picture of an rectangular area, a window, your desktop or an area drawn by freehand.

Why do I like it so much?

It's super easy to use (even the most introductory users can grasp the concept and implement it immediately)
The picture is instantly embedded into a SMART Notebook file, so that you can manipulate it like any other object on a page
The applications for use are endless -- screen shots to demonstrate a new skill, area captures of a website that your students explored to use as a visual reference, introducing layering in art (by taking freehand captures of vegetation, animals, people, etc. and building a new scene), the list could go on and on

But my favourite reason that I like this tool? Because of the wonderful reaction I get from "1st-time viewers" of its use, "I can take a a picture of WHAT?"

Vanessa :)

Fresh Look Fridays - Interactive Geometry: 3D

2010-01-22T13:30:00.000-07:00

Before I get into this week's review of an interactive website, I just want to take a few minutes to thank everyone for their hospitality this past week. I spent the last 4 days in Ontario, conducting SMART Board workshops for teachers and division office staff with both the District School Board of Niagara and the Durham Catholic District School Board. The participants in each session were enthusiastic, fun and obviously very knowledgeable, which always makes for fantastic workshops! Thank you!

My Fresh Look Friday website today comes at the suggestion of one of this past week's participants -- Lynn Jeffs with DCDSB. MathsNet Interactive Geometry: 3D is a fantastic interactive website for junior high - high school math students.

This website provides challenges where students have to replicate specific 2D images on a 3D platform. For the spatially challenged, such as myself, this is not as simple of a task as it first seems! I particularly love this site because it easily lends itself to small-group collaboration, trial and error discussions and problem solving -- all skills for our 21st century learners. Put it on the SMART Board, and work through together as a class, or make the SMART Board a 'center' with this one Geometry activity for one group of 3-5 students to tackle, while other small groups work on additional geometry challenges around the room (traditional pen and paper Math problems, building 3D models, etc.)

Thanks, Lynn for sharing a fantastic website that works extremely well in classrooms with IWBs!

As always, here are the curricular outcomes for Alberta that this site helps meet:

Grade 9 Math, Shape & Space Strand -- S.O. 4
Math 10-3, Geometry Strand -- S.O. 1
Math 20-2, Number & Logic Strand -- S.O. 2

And what the heck, since this site came from a colleague in Ontario, here are the Ontario Education outcomes:

Grade 9 Math, Advanced -- Measurement and Geometry
Grade 10 Math, Advanced -- Analytical Geometry

Have a fantastic weekend everyone :)
Vanessa

Learning to Share -- Not Just for Kindergarteners

2010-01-19T18:56:00.002-07:00

What a great day -- a full workshop with amazing teachers from the District School Board of Niagara! We spent the time exploring numerous ways to use their SMART Board from K-12, all subject areas.

As always, the experts from the classroom generated wonderful new lessons as we went through some sample files. A common question I get at such an energetic workshop is how do teachers efficiently share the lessons with colleagues -- both the ones created today, as well as those in the future?

This is a common obstacle to implementing new technology in education, and one that can be overwhelming. Let's face it - many teachers are already spending countless hours worrying about their own lessons. As such, sharing ideas and lessons with others is a great idea in theory, but without structure and organization can result in frustration for all involved.

Here are a few of the most popular ways to combat this common issue:

1. Make the most of SMART Exchange (http://exchange.smarttech.com)
- search by curriculum standards
- browse by subject area, grade level, topic
- tag your own files with identifiable key words (such as your school district's name) to make sharing with local colleagues more efficient
- 'recommend' good files, then search by 'most recommended'

2. Host a file-sharing area on your network - either using webspace or a shared drive
- teachers may feel more secure not sharing some of their 'rough drafts' of lessons with more local colleagues, rather than publishing them for all the world to see
- easy for many teachers within a division to access, update and re-post with little to no need for technology "know-how"

3. Use a file-sharing site online (such as drop.io)
- the free version allows for 100 megabytes of space; a fairly low-cost upgrade allows for an expansion of this space, with plans beginning at 10 gigabytes
- the name of your drop.io is easily customizable, making sharing within a district easy and effective

Whatever method you and your colleagues decide to use, the main point is that sharing lessons, tips and tricks amongst the experts in your division (and larger PLN) is crucial. Open and shared collaboration is one of the key components to the continued success of using new technology (including SMART Boards) in the classroom.

Maybe it's time we took a look back at one of the key lessons we learned in Kindergarten...

Vanessa

Fresh Look Fridays -- Who's Who in the House of Commons

2010-01-15T08:21:00.002-07:00

YAY politics! Ok, while most people (including students) don't tend to share my love of all things political, I've found that it's usually due to

a.) a resistant mindblock that has been socialized into them
b.) the fact that they've never been shown a great SNL political skit
or
c.) a lack of understanding of the political system.

The latter reason is why I love the interactive feature focusing on Canada's House of Commons on www.cbc.ca, and why it's the focus of this week's Fresh Look Friday. Using your SMART Board in conjunction with this site allows for the quick and easy manipulation of the data and can be used with small groups of students or an entire class.

"Who's Who in the House of Commons"

Students can interact with this chart to see great visuals of the representation within the House of Commons, broken down by party, gender and/or province, as well as specific names of MPs and their ridings. What a great platform for a class discussion on the reasons for some glaring trends (such as why Alberta only has one NDP seat?) or a visual to show Canada's election structure of representation by population! (It becomes glaringly obvious that Ontario has way more MPs than, say, Saskatchewan)

CBC.ca also has numerous other interactive activities on current events/trends to manipulate and explore, that would make for a great opening or extension activity for your Social Studies classes.

For Alberta educators reading this post, this website helps you meet the following curriculum standards:

Grade 9 Social Studies -- Specific Outcomes 9.1.4 and 9.2.6

Social Studies 30 -1/30-2 -- Specific Outcomes 3.3 and 3.5

Have a great weekend!
Vanessa

The Students We Face

2010-01-13T10:26:00.002-07:00

More and more I hear discussions and debates surrounding the use of technology in the classroom. Is it worth the expense? Isn't technology just a more costly way of doing what we've always done as teachers? What professional development is going to support implementation? Is technology still valuable if used by non-techie teachers? Should we purchase a tablet or an IWB? The list of concerns, questions and debate topics can go on and on.

Our reality as educators is that we are increasingly facing a generation of students who have grown up with our fast-paced, ever-changing technology world, and are coming to EXPECT the latest gadgets in all facets of their lives -- including the classroom. Call them digital natives, call them Generation Y, call them 'that group of students that can't sit still for more than 5 minutes unless a flashy image is shown' -- the label is not important. What IS important is that they are leading the demand for increased technology in the classroom.

An article found here discusses a challenge that a professor in Florida gave her students -- go without TV, cell phones, iPods, DVDs, email and computers for 5 days. The result? Only 2 out of the 26 students succeeded in the challenge.

Not convinced? Take a look at the following video, entitled Teens Give Up Technology (launch the video from the link on the right of that page)

Watch as a group of teens are challenged to give up some of their personal tech items for 5 days.

Some of my favourite quotes? "I used to send over 17,500 texts per month" and "the regular newspaper is really messy"

Obviously this video also shows that there are some benefits to unplugging for awhile, as this demonstrates some of the over-reliance that some teens have. We could even discuss whether the mother in the video should have set ground rules so her son wouldn't have begun texting at the dinner table in the first place.

My point is, the students we face are increasingly plugged in, connected 24-hours per day and immersed in personal technology. It's time that we, as the education system, stop resisting this reality and start hashing out the details of how to properly embrace this change within the classroom.

Food for thought on your Wednesday.
Vanessa

Non-Techie? Your Cheat Sheet for 5 Key Tech Terms

2010-01-11T16:46:00.007-07:00

We're all guilty of it -- tossing out technology terms around our non-techie friends and family, then proceeding to talk over their heads while they scramble to Google the definition.

As such, I've put together a cheat sheet of sorts for those who need it (whether they admit it or not)!

#1. RSS

Stands for "Really Simple Syndication" [thanks Wikipedia!]
Used to 'follow' new information as it's updated -- can be in the form of news, comments on a website or new posts to a blog. (shameless self-plug here: click on the icon on the top-left corner of my page to follow the RSS feed for my blog!)
Simplifies the content so you can get a basic overview, or click on the link to see the full original text
Look for the orange logo on nearly every website these days and choose what email service you use -- future content will show up in the RSS folder on your email

#2. Ning

This apparently is the Chinese word for "peace" (just a little FYI)
Essentially is an online community (also known as a 'social network') for those with shared interests.
You can join as many Nings as you'd like, which often have smaller groups within the larger community, member blogs, forums and links to websites that members may find useful. I personally am a member of many Nings including "The Educator's PLN" and "The Interactive Whiteboard Revolution"

#3. GoogleWave

While the layout is quite simplistic, this is actually a fairly complicated application -- it combines email, instant messaging, social networking, meetings and file sharing.
I particularly like the fact that users can reply to any parts within the conversation and embed some tools that MSN or Facebook Chat lack (such as polls, visuals and interactive activities).
All you need to get started is an email address, and you can request an invitation to join the Wave!

#4. Jing

Yes, it rhymes with "Ning" but it's nothing alike. Jing is actually an image and video capturing tool.
Similar to "area capture" or "screen capture" in numerous pieces of software, it allows you to take pics of your desktop and upload them to a designated URL. You can also upload videos to YouTube.

#5. Wiki

I personally thought this one was pretty self-explanatory, what with the explosion of Wikipedia over the last decade, but I stand corrected after I casually threw out the term amongst friends recently.
Ultimately, it's a website that anyone can edit and post content to. Usually, these are hosted on servers (many companies have them) and thus the responsibility of sharing information no longer needs to fall on the shoulders of one person.
According to Wikipedia, "Wiki" has been backronymed (made into an acronym after it's introduction) for "What I Know Is". Huh? Translation: the info on a wiki is only limited by the knowledge of the people contributing to it.

Images taken from Wikipedia with links here:RSS Logo and Google Wave Logo

Vanessa

Fresh Look Fridays -- Paint Splat

2010-01-08T15:13:00.007-07:00

I've decided to create a new component of this blog entitled "Fresh Look Fridays". My goal is to offer a link and a review of a valuable educational website that works well with an IWB.

My motivation for this is two-fold:

1. I consistently get questions from teachers about how to effectively use their SMART Board with resources outside of SMART Notebook software.

2. Let's face it -- by the end of a work week, our brains are metaphorically fried, our attention spans shorter and our ability to sort through information diminished. Aside from pre-coffee Monday mornings, this is the time of the week when I'm least likely to dive into the depths of my intellectual side, so it's probably best for me to avoid exhaustive philosophical discussions of current educational pedagogy!

Paint Splat is one of the best interactive elementary games on Peep and the Big Wide World. (It is the 3rd game from the top left)

Students need to select which tubes of paint they need to make Peep jump on in order to match the colour splat shown. Press on the hose to wash down the wall!

I've seen teachers use this as an inquiry project (students guess which colours might work), as a whole class review (the class votes on which colours should be selected) and as a small group learning center (groups of 3 - 4 students manipulate the board while others are working on other colour-related activities).

It's amusing, it's cute and best of all it's educational. And for those of you keeping track, it links to the following curriculum standard in Alberta: Grade 1 Science, Topic A - G.L.E. 5.

Happy Friday!
Vanessa

Rule #1: Be Aware of Your Audience

2010-01-06T12:58:00.007-07:00

Numerous educators use various pieces of technology (laptops, iPods, cell phones, social media sites and blogs to name a few) for a wide range of tasks that often blur the lines between 'personal' and 'professional'.

We teach kids to adapt to this 21st century lifestyle by asking them to consider their audience, purpose and context.

That's why it's imperative to always proofread before you hit "Send":

See Cartoons by Cartoon by Cameron Cardow - Courtesy of Politicalcartoons.com - Email this Cartoon

Vanessa :)

10 Ways to Use Your SMART Board to Improve Teacher-led Lessons

2010-01-05T08:53:00.014-07:00

SMART Boards (and other IWBs) are often celebrated for their ability to increase student interactivity in a lesson. This is absolutely true, but in their quest for increasing the amount of time that students interact with the content on their interactive whiteboard, educators often miss one valuable asset that IWBs offer -- enhancing teacher delivery.

Teacher-led lessons still exist, either for prompting discussion, introducing a new concept or those moments that require the teacher to share concepts with their class.

Below are 10 ways that SMART Boards can enhance the teacher-led lesson:

1. Capture on-the-fly notes

Gone are the days of accidentally erasing whiteboard content or trying to remember what ideas were created in a specific class. Previously, the teacher had to either spend time at the end of class typing the notes created on the whiteboard, or borrow a copy of a student's notes. Not so anymore -- use Ink Aware (Windows SMART Board users) to copy handwritten notes into Word documents, use the screen capture tool, or simply open a blank Notebook file to record your students' ideas.

2. Show a video

Why not? True, best practice would state that this shouldn't be the only use of your IWB, but why get rid of it completely? You've essentially got a large flat screen TV with surround sound that beats the heck out of the old 20 inch tube TVs that squawked obnoxiously when you turned the volume up too loud.

3. Use it to model a skill

As a Social Studies (and, by default, part-time English teacher), I dreaded the inevitable dry erase marker stains on the side of my hand when it came time to model essay writing. With your iwb, you can accomplish the same task without the mess, and save your work for later (see #1).

4. Model an experiment

Hook up a document camera to your SMART Board and capture live video, pictures and blown-up images that you can further manipulate on the board. Everyone can easily see it without crowding around, and there are no safety issues with students handling the material prior to proper instruction.

5. Add a component of "magic"

Again, not to be the MAIN focus of your teacher-led lessons, but one that shouldn't be brushed aside either. We all like to be entertained from time to time, and that includes our students. For those who think magic shows are only for elementary, I have 22 recent Grade 12 grads who'd argue that point. Humour and surprise elements make for memorable moments that often helped these students remember class content.

6. Conduct the lesson from one location

Having touch screen capabilities decreases the lag-time that was previously needed to switch computer programs. Quickly jump from Notebook to Word to the Internet to a video without having to leave the front of the class. Particularly useful for classes where a 30 second delay might throw off the entire flow of the lesson and lead to fires that need to be put out at the back of the room.

7. Provide memorable visuals

You'd be surprised what impact a quick visual or picture can have on students' memories. Discussing a historical figure? Show a picture of that person in the background. Reading short stories? Throw up a plot diagram image. These visuals help students when referring to the content in later lessons. And yes, this could have been accomplished with a projector, but organizing these images is easier with an IWB. Which leads me to #8...

8. Organize all elements of your lesson

SMART Notebook has an attachments tab at the side of the page where you can store actual copies of all the files you'll be using in your lesson (see diagram on the left). Gone are the days of trying to recall which folder you stored that really cool video in ("Social 10"? "great videos"? "files to use later"?) Create a lesson or an entire unit with ALL the pieces embedded into your main file.

9. Page record steps in a lesson

The page record feature in SMART Notebook can let you, as the teacher, record the content that you create on the board. It can then be saved for students to access either for review, help with homework or for those who missed a week of school for a hot-weather vacation.

10. Operate in the same medium as your students

Nowadays, textbook and workbook publishers often provide a pdf version of the pages. Showing these on the SMART Board while your students are following along helps decrease the "where are we"? questions, and allows for you to easily point out key points. Write questions or comments that students have on this content and use the screen capture tool to save these important points for later. (again, see #1).

SMART Boards and IWBs are a great tool, but they're just that -- a tool. Their value in a class is dependent on how YOU, the expert, chooses to use them to enhance all components of your lesson. With a bit of creativity and well-thought out planning, you can easily use your IWB to provide a meaningful learning experience for your students.

If you have anything to add to this list, please feel free to add them in the comments section!

Happy whiteboarding!
Vanessa

Am I a Twewbie, a Twurzel or Just a Twit?

2010-01-04T08:32:00.001-07:00

Ah Twitter. The new-ish networking site that has evolved from constant annoying Facebook-like status updates ("I'm toasting my bread", "I'm buttering my toast", "I'm eating my toast") to a useful microblogging tool. I must admit, when I first joined with a personal account 614 days ago (thanks whendidyoujointwitter.com!) my sole interest was in following a few of my techie friends and legally stalking celebrities (yay @EmersonDrive!) It was fun, it was a novelty and I quickly ran out of things to tweet since everyone who bothered to follow me back (aside from those pesky adult entertainment spammers) were already my friends on Facebook. I saw no need to duplicate descriptions of my whereabouts or thoughts on life. And let's face it I'm not exactly @aplusk with four million+ followers.

Since re-joining the Twitter community with a professionally focused account exactly 27 days ago (again thanks to whendidyoujointwitter.com for that information!), I re-discovered the value in Twitter. Primarily, over my past 137 tweets (as of this post), I've networked with other educators, posted links to interesting content, shared thoughts on 21st century learning and learned TONS from others in my PLN (professional learning network). Thanks to Tweet3d I've created a Tweet Cloud that identifies what my most tweeted about topics have been.

I've also had a chance to see how some educators have chosen to integrate Twitter into their lessons -- a concept that I, unfortunately, did not think of introducing to my students during my teaching career. However, I see it as an extremely valuable tool, and cannot wait to share the idea with some of my former colleagues.

Despite my official status of 614 days on Twitter, I'm still considered a fairly green Twitter newbie -- apparently also known as a Twewbie, a Twurzel or, as my husband sees it, a Twit. Confused yet? I know I have been throughout this re-introduction to the microblogging world. (It took me forever to discover the twitter meaning of a "hashtag" -- my experience of teaching high school students led me down a different thought process on that one!)

For all those out there who have yet to join the Twitter world, I strongly encourage you to do so. For those fearful of being an obvious newbie, I recommend Twitter 101 as a starting point.

Happy Tweeting! (Just watch out for that blue whale -- he usually means trouble!)
Vanessa

Don't Cry Because It's Over; Smile Because It Happened

2009-12-30T08:55:00.000-07:00

Well, the New Year is almost upon us which means time for a reflection of 2009 as the year gone by. Often people reminisce with warm, fuzzy feelings of the days of yore as we look ahead to the coming year.

Not JibJab however. One of my favourite sites for a laugh, they always put on a spectacular year-end review in classic JibJab style -- funny, sarcastic and pushing the limits.

Enjoy!

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Happy New Year everyone!
Vanessa

Wii Wish You a Merry Christmas

2009-12-29T08:26:00.009-07:00

In the spirit of giving this holiday season, I thought I'd share a cute story about how students at a school made a difference in the lives of some of those in their community. I know, I know, Christmas is over (is it just me or does time go faster every year?!?), but I just couldn't resist. Being a former Social Studies teacher I love hearing the different ways that "responsible citizenship" (a cornerstone of the Alberta Social Studies curriculum) is promoted within schools.

This story begins with the boom of the Nintendo Wii Console that revolutionized home gaming systems in the fall of 2006. Children and adults in touch with their inner-child clamoured to get their hands on this new technology. A video game that promoted, no, required physical activity? What a shift in thinking in a society that had previously witnessed an entire generation grow up preferring to watch Mario, Yoshi, Donkey Kong and Wonderboy jump, spin and run rather than jumping, spinning and running outside. Despite critics' reviews that this was "fun for all ages", the Wii was still initially viewed as a video game system for children, teens and young-ish adults.

Enter the thoughtful minds at a charter school in Calgary. Many students had delighted in teaching their parents the user-friendly Wii games and it sparked an idea -- if their "out of touch" parents could easily operate this system, why not their grandparents? Better yet, what if students could bring the fun and enjoyment to senior citizens by playing basic Wii games with them?

And so began the feel good project of Fall 2007 -- fundraise enough money to purchase a Wii console, extra remotes and various games for a local seniors' home. The school succeeded in their efforts, and were actually able to donate 2 complete systems to a partnered seniors' home. In December 2007, students proudly delivered these consoles as Christmas presents to the residents living there. Even better, they spent the afternoon helping teach the seniors how to use the systems, how to make their "Mii" and challenging them to endless games of virtual bowling, tennis and baseball. The students, teachers and seniors had a blast playing, learning and getting a bit of exercise together, and it was so successful that many students now volunteer on a regular basis to come play Wii with their older counterparts.

What a great example of how technology, education and responsible citizenship can come together to bring joy and happiness to those young and old!

No One's Safe from Technology -- Not Even Christmas.

2009-12-23T10:37:00.010-07:00

There's no disputing that technology has revolutionized nearly every aspect of our lives in the past twenty years, and Christmas is no exception. Being a former Social Studies teacher, I thought I'd use editorial cartoons to comment on this topic for me:

See Cartoons by Cartoon by Patrick Corrigan - Courtesy of Politicalcartoons.com - Email this Cartoon

Here are some links to funny cartoons that didn't let me embed them directly onto this website!

GPS

Posted using ShareThis

(Scroll down for this one:)
iPhone

Posted using ShareThis

Facebook

Posted using ShareThis

Happy Holidays everyone!
Vanessa

These Are a Few of my Favourite (Tech) Things

2009-12-22T09:43:00.001-07:00

With Christmas fast approaching, I feel like I need to do something to get this blog (and myself) in the holiday spirit. What better way to accomplish this than to compose my own version of the classic "Sound of Music" song -- These Are a Few of my Favourite Things.

Since you're already singing the song in your head, just sing the following lines to that tune. Feel free to add your own verse or two in the comments section!

Tweeting on Twitter and New Waves on Google
SMART Notebook files made for students to oogle
Connecting with teachers on various Nings
These are a few of my favorite things

Document cameras and the new Magic Planet --
it's a cool thing to look at, click here if you haven't
Wikis and Moodle and learning 'bout blogging[s]
These are a few of my favourite things

SMART's newest Math Tools and making fun Flash files
Delicious and YouTube and fun Facebook profiles
Songs on your iPhone that you just want to sing
These are a few of my favourite things

When Firefox is slow
When my Gmail quits
When my MAC makes me mad
I simply remember my favorite tech-bits
And then I don't feel so bad

Happy Holidays everyone!
Vanessa

Why is Interactivity Limited with Interactive Whiteboards?

2009-12-21T10:14:00.002-07:00

Since I present professional development workshops to a wide variety of participants -- administrators, tech leads, teachers -- I always send out a pre-workshop survey. My goal with this survey is to ultimately figure out where my participants' knowledge falls along the technology continuum...are they aware of basics such as 'save' vs. 'save as', do they understand audio/visual components of their computers, how SMART Notebook savvy are they, etc. The feedback is extremely valuable to help inform me what examples, websites and lessons is most appropriate to show during the instruction portion of these sessions.

What I didn't expect to discover is that amidst the hundreds of filled out surveys that I've received thus far, one glaring commonality is hidden within the results: the vast majority of teachers aren't using their SMART interactive whiteboards for much student interactivity. Why is that? Since I don't currently have a comments section in this portion of the survey, I can only speculate from my own past experience as well as informal dialogue with my colleagues. Perhaps it's the fear of not knowing how to manipulate the software to produce interactive components. Maybe teachers with SMART Boards never really asked for them in their classrooms in the first place. It could be the lack of professional development workshops that address adding student interaction -- it's sometimes hard to visualize how to get students using the SMART Board outside of the standard 'one student at a time while the rest of the class watches from their desks' scenario. Maybe, just maybe, it's the lack of prep time that teachers have, and the thought of adding just one more thing to their plate of marking, prepping, student discipline, maintaining contact with parents, coaching and meeting PLC requirements makes most teachers' stomachs turn.

I suspect that while it may be a combination of the issues presented above, it is the final description that most teachers identify with. It is a shame that adding interactivity is viewed as an enormous task that only the most tech-savvy teachers with an abundance of time on their hands can accomplish. What most don't realize is that pre-loaded templates in the SMART Notebook Gallery can quickly be edited to fit their own curricular content, or that there are an infinite amount of websites dedicated to adding interactivity to a lesson. This interactivity also doesn't need to be some massive 90 minute activity with all students manipulating content throughout the duration of the lesson; sometimes all it takes is a brief excuse for students to get out of their desks and have a bit of control over a portion of the content explored as a class. I can't tell you how many teachers have commented on how quickly their mindset changed after they were shown a simple demonstration of some quick and easy interactive elements that they hadn't previously been aware of.

What hurdles do you feel are the largest for teachers to overcome to increase student interactivity in their classroom?

How do you incorporate student interaction with your interactive whiteboard?

The First One!

2009-12-18T13:40:00.000-07:00

Here it is...my first official venture into the world of blogging. Welcome to all those who have taken the time to read this post! I hope you will find this a place to come back to for tips and tricks on integrating technology into the classroom. I'm an Education Consultant with Sharp's AV in Calgary, AB. and my primary role is to help assist teachers, administrators and school divisions with getting the most out of the technology that they've purchased for use in education [unabashed self-plug: check us out at www.sharpsav.com]

I'm a huge fan of SMART Boards and am constantly learning, demonstrating and facilitating the link between interactivity and pedagogy (a word that garners a look of bewilderment from all of my non-education colleagues!) All constructive comments and open dialogue on best-teaching practices is thus encouraged on this site. Learning from one another in the education community is the best way to grow!

Once again, welcome and happy reading!
Vanessa

Vanessa Cassie

Fresh Look Fridays - Panoramas

Changes Are Coming!

Where Do You Find The Time?

Not Education Related, But Still Funny!

Fresh Look Fridays - Magnetic Poetry

I Couldn't Resist - a RTTT Editorial Cartoon

SMART Response VE - Can't Wait!

Fresh Look Fridays - Virtual Keyboard

SMART Notebook Freebie #1 - Magic Hat

Students Are Different, Why Can't Teachers Be Too?

Math Tools Part IV - Formula Handwriting Recognition

Fresh Look Fridays -- Mix and Match Feelings

If You Ever Needed Proof...

"Gotta Keep Reading"

Fresh Look Fridays -- Viscosity Explorer

Why Reinvent the Wheel? My #1 Tip for Using SMART Response

The Power of a PLN (alternately titled "My Biggest Blonde Moment Ever")

Fresh Look Fridays -- Maps of War

An Oldie But a Goodie

The Power of VideoConferencing in Education

Fresh Look Fridays -- Word Mosaic

My Top 5 Favourite Interactives in the SMART Notebook Gallery

Math Tools Part III - New Shapes & Irregular Polygons

A Non-Techie Weekend Extra

Fresh Look Fridays -- Human Body Interactive

I Have the Data...Now What?

New to Notebook? 5 Tips & Tricks to Get You Started

Fresh Look Fridays, on a Saturday :)

Technology and Social Skills

Math Tools Part II -- Interact with Vertices, Angles and Lengths

Fresh Look Fridays -- In Honour of the Olympics

Ignorance Is Definitely Not Bliss

And The Winner Is...

Fresh Look Fridays -- Taj Mahal Interactive

SMART Notebook Math Tools - Part I

A Funny For Your Monday -- But Seriously....

Fresh Look Fridays -- iNudge

Top 5 Uses for SMART Document Camera in the Elementary Classroom

#EdChat Drained Me Of Astute Comments -- Here's a Funny Cartoon Instead

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The First One!