tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54991057059463551882024-03-05T06:25:41.343-05:00Groton Technology Teacher LeadersUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499105705946355188.post-26011423453511607572009-09-17T11:39:00.001-04:002009-09-17T11:39:48.616-04:00How to Propose a Teacher Center Course<img style="visibility:hidden;width:0px;height:0px;" border=0 width=0 height=0 src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bHQ9MTI1MzIwMjAzODg*OSZwdD*xMjUzMjAyMDk3NjMyJnA9MjA2NDIxJmQ9YjYxNjQ4OCZuPWJsb2dnZXImZz*yJm89YjJhZDVhZmZjZmU4NGYyY2JmYWU2YTRhZDdjNDExYjAmb2Y9MA==.gif" /><object width="480" height="360"><param name="movie" value="http://voicethread.com/book.swf?b=616488"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://voicethread.com/book.swf?b=616488" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="480" height="360"></embed></object>Paul Wiechhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11729466975711498686noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499105705946355188.post-14729471242266276902009-08-06T14:27:00.002-04:002009-08-07T07:43:48.019-04:00Registering for Teacher Center CourseThe VoiceThread below gives you step by step instructions on how to register for the many courses being offered at the Lansing-Groton Teacher's Center this year. <img style="visibility:hidden;width:0px;height:0px;" border=0 width=0 height=0 src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bHQ9MTI*OTU4MzI1MzQ2MiZwdD*xMjQ5NTgzMzM*MjIxJnA9MjA2NDIxJmQ9YjU3NjE5NCZuPWJsb2dnZXImZz*yJm89YjJhZDVhZmZjZmU4NGYyY2JmYWU2YTRhZDdjNDExYjAmb2Y9MA==.gif" /><object width="480" height="360"><param name="movie" value="http://voicethread.com/book.swf?b=576194"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://voicethread.com/book.swf?b=576194" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="480" height="360"></embed></object>Paul Wiechhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11729466975711498686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499105705946355188.post-51036078854628531452009-03-25T05:51:00.004-04:002009-03-25T06:16:47.336-04:00What is Twitter?My presentation at the Groton Technology day was on social networking with a section involving <a href="http://twitter.com/">Twitter</a> and another introducing <a href="http://delicious.com/">Delicious</a>. I have included the video to help everyone understand what Twitter is so sign up and follow me (earthscienceroc) and our students while joining in the conversation. Also check out the District's <a href="http://delicious.com/GrotonCentralSchools">Delicious</a> account by emailing me, pwiech@groton.cnyric.org, for the password. Thanks to everyone for a great day! <br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwfBFeCfmjTWqV4sVPX7gwWA-clHhxNBmPE5HR-PvXgJqsss-H6f-53YvD-bZ_pA5cywritKo8_nactt5bo8Q' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Paul Wiechhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11729466975711498686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499105705946355188.post-4025341164267085162009-03-08T19:48:00.001-04:002009-03-08T19:49:24.296-04:00Eye-FiCheck out Eye-Fi....www.eye.fi. It's a card that goes in any digi cam and wirelessly uploads your photos to picasa, webshots, etc. Good times!Mr. Syracusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11635666842500275916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499105705946355188.post-1887892703960260462009-02-05T07:32:00.003-05:002009-02-05T07:38:37.554-05:00Change of Course?We might be headed in a direction other than that in which we want to head (I think that's grammatically correct....no terminal prepositions for me!). The two workshops I've done so far (though my sample size is only five people...) have indicated to me that we need to start off at a more basic level. We see a lot of these cool techie tricks as very exciting and useful. Many teachers, though, could perceive them as threatening to their current methods, too complicated, etc. We need to couch this entire tech day in more gentle, "non-threatening" language just like Chad said. I'm going to admit -- I'm more than a little bit frightened about what the general reaction to this 1/2 day of technology is going to be. We're going to have to be very careful, but at the same time, echo the sentiments of that loverly post by Andy. Arrggg... thoughts?Mr. Syracusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11635666842500275916noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499105705946355188.post-60820095844427284062009-01-23T09:11:00.002-05:002009-01-23T09:14:00.723-05:00Posted by Andy Yale on his Del.ic.ious....<br /><br />Original post <a href="http://21stcenturylearning.typepad.com/blog/2009/01/why-change.html">here</a>.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://21stcenturylearning.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b4dd69e2010536e53451970b-pi"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 415px; height: 289px;" src="http://21stcenturylearning.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b4dd69e2010536e53451970b-pi" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Someone in a community I belong to recently said, "Why should teachers change? We are asking them to work harder, do things in a new way, unlearn the old ways of doing things, and when they do all that we have asked we do what? Tell them thanks? I know we don't give them more money. Maybe if they are really lucky we ask them to help the others who just don't seem to get it. What a reward!<br /><br />I face the same problems, some jump on board and others don't, and I have started asking myself why should they change?"<br /><br />Why change?<br /><br />Here's why-- you change for the same reason you went into teaching in the first place. You change because what you do for a living was never just a job- but more a mission. You change because you are willing to do whatever it takes to make a significant difference in the lives of the students you teach. You change because you care deeply about kids and you know that unless you personally own these new skills and literacies you will not be able to give them to your students.<br /><br />Why change? You change because of all the people in the world- teachers understand the value of being a lifelong learner. You change because you know intuitively relationships matter and you are interested in leaving a legacy to your kids-- through what you do for other's kids. You change because you understand learning is dynamic and that to not change means to quit growing.<br /><br />Why change? Because you made the decision when you first became a teacher to do something that was larger than life and more meaningful than money, recognition, and status. You became a teacher because of change-- the changes in the world you wanted to make one kid at a time. You change because you want to do what is right-- simply because it *is* the right thing to do and you understand the need to model for others so they can do what is right as well. You are use to hard work and long hours. You are use to commitment with little recognition. You know what you do has lasting results.<br /><br />You change because the world has changed and you know that not challenging the status quo is the riskiest thing you can do at this point. You change because you love learning and you love children and you know they need you to lead the way in this fast paced changing world and to do that you have to find your own way first. That is why you and they should change.<br /><br />Photo credit:http://leadinganswers.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/03/15/monarch_stages.jpgChad DeVoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042558747176501531noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499105705946355188.post-29045964081695004902009-01-16T08:24:00.002-05:002009-01-16T08:31:02.129-05:00Two (crazy) Ideas?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR2gIHF-i9S-VGqrIOxm_5Jta_65-cRkWitt3ExTWraaoCO6YX7_wGZytJlg3Ibe-gJAGUhyphenhyphen54dQJ9smOq4zzQvnE18BjK1gRXf5TWuD4OyCbPHluPL5j8wT2ndo-SpjHjRPZvK9RXLPM6/s1600-h/1951HardDriveCrash-main_Full.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 220px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR2gIHF-i9S-VGqrIOxm_5Jta_65-cRkWitt3ExTWraaoCO6YX7_wGZytJlg3Ibe-gJAGUhyphenhyphen54dQJ9smOq4zzQvnE18BjK1gRXf5TWuD4OyCbPHluPL5j8wT2ndo-SpjHjRPZvK9RXLPM6/s320/1951HardDriveCrash-main_Full.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291883504547083938" border="0" /></a><br />So in some of my conversations with fellow teachers, two things have come up:<br /><br />1. Some teachers, through no fault of their own, simply don't have the basic computer skills necessary to go on to higher-level things like geotagging, blogging, wiki-ing, etc. Perhaps we need to offer some sort of "basic" seminar on our March conference day?<br /><br />2. Some teachers are using PowerPoint, but have indicated to me that they don't feel that they're using it well. Maybe a "PowerPoint Techniques" workshop would be in order. Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Cheap Shots? C'mon...you know you have a cheap shot or three for me...Mr. Syracusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11635666842500275916noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499105705946355188.post-73422121279300951902009-01-14T08:14:00.002-05:002009-01-14T08:16:11.737-05:00First TTL Workshop!Today is the first TTL workshop in the Technology Tools Series! It's on Document Cameras and More, and will be presented in the bio lab in the high school, room 222. There's still time to sign up, so let your teacher-buddies know. Look for pictures of our crazy antics here, too.Mr. Syracusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11635666842500275916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499105705946355188.post-74043959103264650292008-12-16T08:08:00.003-05:002008-12-16T08:19:46.515-05:00Final Teacher Center Courses<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX1KtPkV_aa913hd4N_c54abFTS6VbAO-WvYx61URZDBrCVSCuRkiSaAqpLTSaBOEm4fhS7VzjH27M0otzuTzqwDQ3kgX4lqO8SX9H5XOkFFrdT3KotwdYc41baKXLMkGyD9MXTGsHnETe/s1600-h/75-but-why-didnt-you-tell-me.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280376643852327810" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 289px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 187px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX1KtPkV_aa913hd4N_c54abFTS6VbAO-WvYx61URZDBrCVSCuRkiSaAqpLTSaBOEm4fhS7VzjH27M0otzuTzqwDQ3kgX4lqO8SX9H5XOkFFrdT3KotwdYc41baKXLMkGyD9MXTGsHnETe/s320/75-but-why-didnt-you-tell-me.gif" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Hello all! Exciting stuff going on. I hope you're all enjoying your techno-enabled classrooms. Here are the final assignments (and vacancy!) for the TTL courses we are offering through the teacher center:</div><br /><div>Wikispaces: Keith</div><br /><div>Google Docs: Dave</div><br /><div>Google Earth: Paul</div><br /><div>Blogs: Chad</div><br /><div>Document Cameras, etc: VACANT!</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>If you want to present, or have another idea (perhaps a course on laptop carts or moodle?), please let me know so I can set it up with Sharon. I'll post the dates for the current sessions when they're confirmed. Publicity for the sessions is forthcoming, and will take myriad, heretofore unspecified forms. </div>Mr. Syracusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11635666842500275916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499105705946355188.post-60789372623049782912008-12-05T11:30:00.004-05:002008-12-10T20:28:00.228-05:00What Exciting TimesOh, the many wonders of the era in which we live! Chad clued me in to a site called <a href="http://www.ushare.tv/">www.ustream.tv</a>, and I've used it to great acclaim in my classroom. Using it, we've been able to stream videos to other classes as well as make embedable recordings that I've put on my website. Check out the videos I have so far <a href="http://www.mistersyracuse.com/videos.html">here</a>.<br /><br />On another note, I've sent all the information off to Sharon about our TTL sessons, and I'll be confirming with the necessary parties just as soon as I can. Thanks!Mr. Syracusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11635666842500275916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499105705946355188.post-84626435335455526442008-12-01T21:50:00.005-05:002008-12-02T06:17:09.871-05:00Success with Technology<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_cUPyXmKT09U/STUZJ4B2JOI/AAAAAAAAA5A/qSTq2m9dvjY/s1600-h/Map+Project.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_cUPyXmKT09U/STUZJ4B2JOI/AAAAAAAAA5A/qSTq2m9dvjY/s320/Map+Project.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275150195984049378" border="0" /></a><br />So I have had a huge success using technology in my classroom. My students were asked to create a trail map, choosing between a hiking, ATV, or snowshoe trail. They then used PowerPoint to add trail markings, parking lots, outhouses -- and some even added Sasquatch! Once the map was finished and saved as a jpeg, they added it to a brochure template in Publisher. Once this was complete their creativity took over and they created descriptions and added other creative details to their location.<br /><br />New technology that I used consisted of the <a href="https://earthsciencerocks.wikispaces.com/Creating+a+Trail">class wiki</a> to post documents for them to retrieve, PowerPoint for something other than presentations, Publisher, the laptop cart and finally a Google Docs survey to give me feedback on the overall project. It was an awesome project that exceeded my expectations.Paul Wiechhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11729466975711498686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499105705946355188.post-2257124456093140922008-12-01T11:42:00.003-05:002008-12-01T11:44:04.254-05:00Technology Tools SeriesFellow Techno-people,<br /><br /> I need to know who'd be interested in presenting (or co-presenting!) one of our workshops. I envision each workshop being two sessions long, and each session being one hour. So far:<br /><br />Wikis -- Keith<br />Google Earth -- Paul<br /><br />Check out the proposals and see what you'd like to do. Thanks!Mr. Syracusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11635666842500275916noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499105705946355188.post-63345368346110078912008-11-29T23:39:00.004-05:002008-11-29T23:53:20.470-05:00Firefox<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.artunyan.com/firefox/quicknote_files/image006.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 426px; height: 276px;" src="http://www.artunyan.com/firefox/quicknote_files/image006.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Hopefully everyone has realized that Internet Explorer is pretty much defunct. Here is a cool trick I learned at a NYSCATE session: Firefox has a wide variety of cool <a href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/">add-ons</a>. <a href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/46">Quicknote</a> allows you to highlight text within a webpage and send it to a little side bar in a word processor format. Along with the <a href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/791">highlighter</a> add-on, students can sort through text online and save relevant text for constructed-response tasks.Chad DeVoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042558747176501531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499105705946355188.post-25506511920592265292008-11-27T13:59:00.003-05:002008-11-27T13:59:51.156-05:00TTL COURSESLet me know what you think. Changes? Suggestions? Should some courses become more than one course?<br /><br /><a class="tabcontent" id="publishedDocumentUrl" href="http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dc6t2cmv_67ghpnsjc9" target="_blank">http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dc6t2cmv_67ghpnsjc9</a><br /><br />I'll send them off to Shannon early next week.Mr. Syracusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11635666842500275916noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499105705946355188.post-53360324327910135402008-11-25T16:52:00.002-05:002008-11-25T17:11:18.644-05:00NYSCATE ConferenceWOW! Paul, Chad and I just returned from the NYSCATE Conference in Rochester. What a great conference. We had the opportunity to attend a lot of sessions that will help us move along in our technology quest. We got some great information on Google and all that it offers as well as information on other web 2.0 tools that will help us integrate more technology into the classroom. We also had a chance to visit the exhibition area and create a dream list of new technology that would be great to have in Groton. We even got to chat with Andy several times over the course of the 3 days. I can't wait until we get together again, so we can share with all of you.<br /><br /><br />Happy Thanksgiving.Mr. Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14533604267766861670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499105705946355188.post-38418574035383684762008-11-21T07:44:00.003-05:002008-11-21T08:02:10.127-05:00LiveWeb Add-in for PowerPoint<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_cUPyXmKT09U/SSawaLoUq2I/AAAAAAAAA4Q/Cvixug0AwZo/s1600-h/FarSideFriendly.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271094377728748386" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_cUPyXmKT09U/SSawaLoUq2I/AAAAAAAAA4Q/Cvixug0AwZo/s320/FarSideFriendly.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Today I found this great add-in for use with PowerPoint and have include the description of how it works below. I have installed it and found having the ability to skip hyperlinks is a great tool. Here is the quote from the page. </div><div> </div><div>"Use <a href="http://skp.mvps.org/liveweb.htm">LiveWeb</a> to insert web pages into a PowerPoint slide and refresh the pages real-time during slide show. Display web pages without ever leaving the confines of your PowerPoint slide show. No coding required. LiveWeb works with documents off your local drive too. You can specify relative paths. LiveWeb will also look for files in the presentation folder if the files have local drive information and cannot be located at the location specified by the user during slideshow. LiveWeb encapsulates the need to insert a web browser control manually and write code to update the web pages within the control during the slide show."</div>Paul Wiechhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11729466975711498686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499105705946355188.post-11067083485982926992008-11-20T09:08:00.003-05:002008-11-21T07:39:02.461-05:00Langwitches BlogFound this awesome blog called <a href="http://langwitches.org/blog/">Langwitche's</a>, The Magic of Learning through Technology. Silvia Tolisano, the person responsible for the blog, is using much of the technology we are as well as a bunch of new stuff we have not explored yet. She has entries listing the 50 ways to use a projector in the classroom as well as podcasting, Twitter and a ton of other useful information. Check it out. Also I did have great success stitching photos together thanks to David.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270749775592608514" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 256px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_cUPyXmKT09U/SSV2_soq0wI/AAAAAAAAA4I/zktHBQgy_dc/s320/cartoon.jpg" border="0" />Paul Wiechhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11729466975711498686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499105705946355188.post-87122268521073281302008-11-19T11:43:00.002-05:002008-11-19T11:46:05.256-05:00Technology Tool SeriesHello all. I've been a little swamped lately with grad school, but I'm almost done formulating the course proposals for our Teacher Center Series. We'll call it the Technology Tool Series. Logo is forthcoming. Anywho, I'll share the document with you when its finsihed, so you can change/comment/critique it before I send it to Shannon. We'll have to decide who'd be interested in teaching which course, as well.Mr. Syracusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11635666842500275916noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499105705946355188.post-55809117675043356512008-11-02T19:39:00.003-05:002008-11-17T08:47:39.438-05:00Photo Stiching<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN9Tnbj1BW-2b2fJnYwlYpR68bpL2JdF4wU6RdCkX_iC_keNnXBiNCFy7mfmpT3rE7nwY5JMEEG0q-nY1Xlh3bqEQy0GJUXb6Yj-uppXtP2ukQ8FJBRx0hePc5FvEz3DM4GKrxxZB5Utkt/s1600-h/Merged+Classroom.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 18px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN9Tnbj1BW-2b2fJnYwlYpR68bpL2JdF4wU6RdCkX_iC_keNnXBiNCFy7mfmpT3rE7nwY5JMEEG0q-nY1Xlh3bqEQy0GJUXb6Yj-uppXtP2ukQ8FJBRx0hePc5FvEz3DM4GKrxxZB5Utkt/s320/Merged+Classroom.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269622737338293730" border="0" /></a><br />It escapes me at the moment, but someone on our last TTL day (who may or may not have been actually talking to me) mentioned photo stitching. I tried out that option on the software that came with our cameras, and it was actually very easy and worked pretty well. Just open the software, go to the "tools" menu, then select "stitch photos." I'll put one up here as soon as I can.Mr. Syracusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11635666842500275916noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499105705946355188.post-9853134500930575352008-10-30T14:43:00.003-04:002008-10-31T07:38:08.827-04:00March 20th Technology Day<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_cUPyXmKT09U/SQrtuJiBkRI/AAAAAAAAA3Q/fZGPMOE3jXA/s1600-h/IMG_0086.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263280491624239378" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 179px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_cUPyXmKT09U/SQrtuJiBkRI/AAAAAAAAA3Q/fZGPMOE3jXA/s320/IMG_0086.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Here are the questions and discussion we had during our <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">TTL</span> Day!<br /><br />Differentiated Instruction based on <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Expertise</span> Level for the March Professional Development Day:<br /><ul><li>Beginner/ Intermediate</li><br /><li>Awareness of tools available/ hands-on Activities</li></ul><br /><p>Offerings of courses:</p><ul><li>wireless labs</li><br /><li>projectors</li><br /><li>document cameras</li><br /><li>laptops</li><br /><li>Google Docs</li><br /><li><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Wikispaces</span></li><br /><li>Blogger</li><br /><li>Basic Skills</li></ul><p>We should allow people into our classrooms to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">see</span> it in action, before March!!</p><p>We need to create a survey for the staff to complete to find areas of interest.</p><p>We discussed getting the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">TTL</span> names out so that everyone knows who we are as well as David starting the Teacher Center Technology Series!!!!</p></div>Paul Wiechhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11729466975711498686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499105705946355188.post-17678995814916131722008-10-27T09:36:00.002-04:002008-10-27T09:50:53.286-04:00Some stuff...Here are a few books that I have recently read, or am currently reading that I highly recommend. <br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Free Lunch</span> (Johnston) – a book which chronicles the waste of hundreds of billions of taxpayers dollars (...depressing). <br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Energy Victory</span> (Zubrin) – a comprehensive plan for breaking the “oil monopoly’s” power while bringing jobs and dignity to the masses (...encouraging). <br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Lee-The last Years</span> (Flood) – A narrative of Robert E Lee’s life after Appomattox. Lee became the President of a college: Washington College became Washington and Lee. He did amazing things to heal the wounds of war from this position (brilliant and well written).<br /><br />Other-than-that... Time flys! Our jobs become more important/demanding every day, and I continue to be impressed with the talent of our staff in their efforts to prepare our studednts.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499105705946355188.post-11652732067548301502008-10-08T08:06:00.004-04:002008-10-08T08:11:26.071-04:00Only semi-related to anything...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmoTPkJczeJwh2GMJHJsn3tzsrXVbtAL4qbHwxzzJ4C4pdjvUOSqQ5YyOqOZqsY1HQtEoLDlHqOdA8CpsApzZm_RcLgGPJkniIHtaPajtWbWTMDqvrddxxe41AZ5VYLsExsrSdv6N3yzOU/s1600-h/metric+week+logo.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmoTPkJczeJwh2GMJHJsn3tzsrXVbtAL4qbHwxzzJ4C4pdjvUOSqQ5YyOqOZqsY1HQtEoLDlHqOdA8CpsApzZm_RcLgGPJkniIHtaPajtWbWTMDqvrddxxe41AZ5VYLsExsrSdv6N3yzOU/s320/metric+week+logo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5254753917780127666" border="0" /></a><br />It's National Metric Week! This is the week that contains the tenth day of the tenth month -- 10/10 -- to honor the simplicity and whimsy of the metric system. The way I see it, we're supposed to be mavericks (can I even use that word with dignity anymore?) of technology and heralds of the future of education, right? Seems to me, then, that the metric system is the wave of the future, so get on your surfboard. Need ideas on how to metric-ify any class? Check out the links below!<br /><br /><a href="http://lamar.colostate.edu/%7Ehillger/metric-week.html">Metric Week Activities</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.metric.org">www.metric.org</a> -- the United States Metric Association. Are you a member? Not to judge...but if you're not, you're just not cool. You get a newsletter and all sorts of dork....er...cool things.Mr. Syracusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11635666842500275916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499105705946355188.post-12839247389473528892008-10-07T06:31:00.003-04:002008-10-07T06:33:46.085-04:00New Screen Capture SoftwareHey folks I recently came across a new image and video capture program that allows you to copy everything you do on your screen. It is called <a href="http://www.jingproject.com/">Jing</a>!! I have not been able to load it on my computer a school but it is working well at home. I will let you know when it becomes available for the TTL laptops. YEE Haaaaa!!!!Paul Wiechhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11729466975711498686noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499105705946355188.post-83492727893761494122008-09-29T15:11:00.002-04:002008-09-29T15:21:45.922-04:00"Word Cloud" Generator<a title="Wordle: TTL" href="http://wordle.net/gallery/wrdl/217346/TTL"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: #ddd 1px solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; BORDER-TOP: #ddd 1px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; BORDER-LEFT: #ddd 1px solid; WIDTH: 177px; PADDING-TOP: 4px; BORDER-BOTTOM: #ddd 1px solid; HEIGHT: 136px" height="142" src="http://wordle.net/thumb/wrdl/217346/TTL" width="185" /></a>Here is a new program called <a href="http://wordle.net/">Wordle </a>which generates “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes. The images you create with Wordle are yours to use however you like. You can print them out, or save them to the Wordle gallery to share with your friends. I created the one above by entering the URL of this blog and tweaking the color, font and layout. I am thinking of ways to use it in class and would love to here what others have to say.Paul Wiechhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11729466975711498686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5499105705946355188.post-57537333862622999482008-09-23T23:43:00.005-04:002008-09-23T23:50:25.615-04:00Useful Web Application<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://clustrmaps.com/stats/maps-clusters/johndasfundas.blogspot.com-world.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://clustrmaps.com/stats/maps-clusters/johndasfundas.blogspot.com-world.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>The <a href="http://www.clustermaps.com/">Clustermap application</a> is great for blogs and wikis. It gives students (and you) an idea of who out there is viewing your website. I refer to it when I warn the kids to use only first names on the blog so "Samir from Islamabad" can't hack into their personal information. I'm sure that there are others out there but this is the one I and a few others use.Chad DeVoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01042558747176501531noreply@blogger.com0