Meet "The Dream Team"

Welcome to this post on shameless self-promotion!

Do your students like sports? Have they ever dreamed of owning their own professional sports franchise? If so, then The Dream Team is for your students.

This hands-on simulation takes students in a Computer Applications course covering Microsoft Office or a class in Sports Marketing through the process of creating a professional team in the sport of their choice. The Dream Team simulation leads students through a variety of tasks using Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, and Publisher to create a team, craft its image, market it, and even draft players.

This is the second student simulation that I have written and was published by B.E. Publishing earlier this year. It is the perfect end of the semester/year capstone project that will allow students to use their imagination, showcase the skills they have learned in your class, and most of all, have fun. My 9th grade Intro to Computers class uses The Dream Team at the end of the semester and my students have given it a big thumbs up!

For more information on this simulation and many others, follow the link above to the B.E. Publishing Web site and take a closer look.

Thanks!

Blogs Revisted

Hey, welcome back! I have been slacking on my posts during the football season. Since this is the last week of the season for my team, I am going to sneak in a quick post.

When I last talked to you, the topic was blogs in the classroom and how we could use them in our quest to improve student reading and writing. Since then, a couple of staff members have created their own classroom blogs. Let's hear it for Bob Toole and Lance Roark. Lance has actually created three separate blogs. One for each class he teaches. Students and parents can visit them to get their assignments or updates on what their students are working on.

Remember that blogs are short for "Web logs." They are an online journal of sorts that is updated periodically. Here is an example of my sister's blog. She lives in Denver and uses it to keep in touch with the rest of our family here in Michigan. The beauty of a blog is that you can combine text, links, photos, and video in a blog post.

For staff members interested in creating their own blog, watch the video below to get a review on how to sign up and create a blog, make a post, and add a picture. Blogger makes it easy!


There have been questions in the past few weeks on how to add video or embed You Tube videos into a blog. I have added a great video below that takes you through the process. Check out the mock rock video Bob added to his blog.


Another big question from staff members has been, "Can we blog from our own network without using something like Blogger? The answer is yes! Welcome to Sparta's "Learn Sites." You can visit my classroom wiki and blog from my Learn Site. WARNING: While both of these items can be extremely useful in your classroom, they are not as easy as a blog on Blogger or a wiki on Wikispaces. As my schedule opens up after football, I will be developing some "How To" videos to use each of them. To get set up with a Learn Site, contact David Marker.

Here is my hope for Sparta. Check out the number of staff blogs at Fruitport High School.

That is all for this time, I am off to football practice. Email me with any questions!

Thanks.

Blogging 101

What is blogging and how can you use it! Here is a synopsis of our presentation from the PD day the first week of school.

Blogs are part of what is know as "Web 2.0" tools that are increasingly being used in schools these days. Other tools might include:

• Wikis
• YouTube
• Twitter
• Social Networking
• Social Bookmarking
• RSS
• Many more

Let's start at the beginning though, watch Blogs in Plain English for an excellent primer on what blogs are and why they are so cool.

But what do real, live, breathing blogs actually look like? If you don't know, try visiting my sister's blog that keeps our family updated, my favorite U of M Blog, or a couple of blogs that I write myself such as Paul and Todd’s Excellent Ed Tech Adventure and Mr. Toporski’s Classroom Blog.

Why is blogging in the classroom being talked about so much these days you might ask? Well, several reasons come quickly to mind. Blogs:

• Provides a centralized place for regular writing practice.
• Allows teachers and students to comment and provide feedback.
• Allows for student reflection on assignments or discussion topics.
• Creates a greater sense of community within a classroom.
• Gives a voice to students who may not feel comfortable speaking in in class.

But how can you use blogs in the classroom specifically you say? Well, try blogs as:

• Writing Journals
• E-portfolios
• Reflections on assignments
• Sharing resources or ideas
• Sharing Web links
• Putting course materials on the Web
• Dialogue from group work
• Student feedback

If you are interested in finding out more about blogs, trying some of these resources:

• Video: “How to Start a Blog”
• My Post on Blogs, Wikis, Reading and Writing
• Blogger
• WordPress
• Live Journal

Thanks for visiting. Now try leaving Paul and I comment.

Blogs, Wikis, Reading and Writing

Hi folks!

I hope everyone had a great summer. I did and I am ready for school to start (well almost ready). I am heading to a district "Content Literacy" meeting soon and the focus will be on reading and writing and how blogs and wikis might be used in the process. In preparation for the meeting I gathered some great links that you might enjoy. I tried to explain what blogs and wikis are, along with what the term "Web 2.0" encompasses.

What Does This Stuff Mean?

Using Web 2.0 Technologies in Working with Today’s Learners
http://www.vanderbilt.edu/cft/resources/teaching_resources/technology/blogs_and_wikis.htm

Blogs in Plain English
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN2I1pWXjXI&feature=PlayList&p=ECA43544B9FE1CDA&index=0&playnext=1

Wikis in Plain English
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dnL00TdmLY&feature=PlayList&p=6E341970269B3364&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=1


How Can I Use This Stuff?

Weblogs in Education
http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/articles/blogsined/start.htm

Blogging Techniques for the K12 Classroom
http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/articles/bloggingtech/index.htm

Using Blogs as Writing Portfolios
http://www.writingportfolioblogs.blogspot.com/

Blogs as Writing Practice
http://www.bgsu.edu/cconline/barrios/blogs/write/index.html

Teaching Digital Writing (table of contents is on the right side of the wiki page)
http://digitalwriting.pbworks.com/

Professors Using Blogs, Podcasts as Teaching Tools
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/41737.php

Wiki as a Teaching Tool
http://ijklo.org/Volume3/IJKLOv3p057-072Parker284.pdf

Defining Purposes for Using Web 2.0 Tools (On-line slide show)
http://www.slideshare.net/rwbeach/defining-purposes-for-using-web-20-tools

Blogs, Wikis, & Web 2.0 in the Classroom
http://www.mshogue.com/wsra_08.htm

Wikis in Education
http://wikisineducation.wetpaint.com/

Until next time,

Todd

Summertime Hiatus

Hey folks. Sorry you haven't heard from us in a few weeks. But, it is summertime now and Paul and Todd are on official hiatus until the fall. We hope everyone has a most excellent summer vacation and we will see you in the fall.

A Most Excellent Product Endorsement--The Flip Video Camcorder

Here is a product the your will literally "flip" over. It is the Flip Video Camcorder. The cameras come in several versions and price ranges. A trip to their Web site is recommended. There is the more expensive Mino with all the bells and whistles or the less expensive and more basic Ultra model to choose from. There also are upgrades for such things as HD quality and more memory. I was lucky enough to be awarded a grant and purchased seven of these cameras for my classroom. It was a $500 grant and I chose to buy seven Ultra cameras with 30 minutes of memory on each. (This model was not show on their Web site, but I found them on Amazon. Bonus!) For my Freshman Computer classes, this was a perfect choice. We normally shoot short videos and then the students transfer the video right to their computers. They are easy to use, durable, and the students love to use them.

This is where the beauty of the Flip Video Camcorder really jumps out. With the flip of a switch, there is a Built-in flip-out USB arm to transfer the video. That is right, no fire wire and no fire wire card. Here is a quick video of some nice lady putting the Flip to work.



I have found only two small problems with this camera. It runs on AA batteries. If you have rechargeable batteries (which I do), no problem. The second problem was the software that came with the camera. Probably great for home use, but not so much in a school setting. The camera wanted to install it's own software on each computer it was plugged into. No way. I like to hook up the camera, and quickly get my videos off it.After a little searching, I quickly found out this was a common complaint and found a link to the MPEG 4 encoder needed to do this. You can find it here. Once this is installed, it treats the Flip like a USB memory stick. Plug it in and cut or copy your video to your desktop.

My students and I have really enjoyed capturing ourselves on video this semester and using it in various projects. Try one out yourself!

Wiki, wiki, wiki--Part 3

A quick shout out to Ms. Joslyn Hemingway at Kent City Middle School. She is using a wiki with her Science classes to explore endangered species. (She used Wikispaces by the way.) Students in different hour classes are grouped together and have to gather data on a specific endangered species. Students use the wiki space to collaborate with each other and post information for the project. I happened to find out about it because my daughter is in Ms. Hemingway's class. Check it out here. Nicely done!

Now that you know what a wiki is, how a wiki works, and how a wiki can be used in class, it is time to experiment a little. Go ahead and try setting up your own wiki. Come on, you know you want to. You will be the envy of all the other teachers, right? There are a lot of wiki sites out there such as PBwiki (now PBworks) , Wikispaces (designed for educators), Wet Paint, and others.

Below is a movie on how Wetpaint Wikis work.



Pretty good, huh? Free too! Give it a try. Good luck!