Posted by lthumann on November 7, 2009
I recently spoke at a conference where the anticipated attendance was 16,000. There were 30 laptops set up with 60 seats and then overflow seating for another 40 people. I gave 5 presentations over 2 days. I didn’t know before I got there how many people I was going to see and now that I’m home, I still don’t know. But I can tell you that at least 10 people asked me if I had a handout I could give them. There were also many attendees that commented about it. I was grateful to see this Tweet from NJ educator Brian McLaughlin.
I think sometimes as educators, we are accustomed to getting everything on paper. But what really happens to it? We stick it in a folder, we throw it away, or it gets lost in a an ever-growing pile of papers collecting on our desk.
Here are some tools that I’ve been using and have seem some other educators use to share information and resources during presentations and professional development sessions:
Google Docs
Click on Share — Publish as Webpage and Google Docs will assign you a unique public URL (link) for your document. You still will be the only one that has rights to edit your Google Doc, unless you invite Collaborators, but you can use this feature to share a digital agenda, list of links, or anything that you would have printed out in the past. Here’s a sample… http://docs.google.com/View?id=ddn2z86w_3dn2hs4fj
http://www.scribd.com/
On Scribd, you can upload a Word or PDF file and they will convert it into a web document. This way your attendees have access to it on their computers. All you have to do is share the URL with them. Here’s a sample…http://www.scribd.com/doc/17245218/Discovery-Education-Whats-New-2009
Wikis
http://www.wikispaces.com/
http://sites.google.com
http://pbworks.com/
Wikis will allow you to embed more than one type of content on them. Like I did for my presentations at the NJEA Convention, I included links to websites, embedded videos and gadgets to PollEverywhere and Slideshare. These are pieces of information you really can’t print out. Here’s a sample… http://njea-tis-09.wikispaces.com/shoestring-did-you-say-that-was-free
Glogster
Glogster advertises itself as “a creative, dynamic, and innovative digital outlet that captures learner’s excitement for online creations, keeps learners engaged in course content, and makes teaching and learning more fun.” This is great, but to summarize, it allows us to provide our attendees (whether they are students or educators) with a digital resource rather than a printed one. Here’s a sample… http://udltechtoolkit.wikispaces.com/
Wallwisher
Wallwisher defines itself as a “web page where people actually post messages.” The great part about this is that you don’t need an account with Wallwisher in order to post a note on a Wall. So you can have the folks in your session contribute ideas or links to the wall and then save the URL to refer back to. There’s no need to print out anything during the workshop and run and go make copies as they’ll always have access to the information. Here’s a sample… http://wallwisher.com/wall/techforum09
Do you have any tools you are using with your students or in professional development to eliminate unnecessary handouts and to increase productivity? Please share them!
Posted in 21st_Century_Learning, CMSCE, Google, PLN, Professional Development | Tagged: Glogster, Google Docs, njea, NJEA09, PD, Professional Development, Scribd, Wallwisher, Wiki, Wikispaces | 8 Comments »
Posted by lthumann on November 2, 2009
I was honored when the folks that ran the NJEA Technology Institutes this past July invited me to run some sessions at the NJEA Convention this fall. I had remembered reading the blog posts and Tweets from fellow NJ educators while they were in the High Tech Hall last November and felt a bit envious that there was such a large gathering of local teachers interested in using technology to improve teaching and learning in the classroom that I couldn’t be a part of. But this year, I’ll be there in Classroom 2.
My good friend and colleague, Kevin Jarrett, has been sharing resources with me and the others involved in the showcase. Here’s a map to the High Tech Hall as well as the two Classrooms that will be in the Convention Center dedicated to the technology integration. I was also able to (finally) find a link to the online program guide on the NJEA website.
I’m presenting five one-hour sessions with the theme: Stretching Your Technology Dollar - Shoestring Innovations
Thursday, November 5
9:00am Thinking Inside the Box
11:30am Did You Say That Was Free?
1:00pm Are We Teaching Standard Students?
Friday, November 6
9:00am This Is Not Your Grandmother’s Google
11:30am Don’t Be Late-That’s So 2008
Each session will be hands-on in Classroom 2 which is loaded with computers. The way I understand it, you can’t sign up for a seat, so you’ll need to come down to the High Tech Hall a little on the early side should you see a session that peaks piques your interest. While you are there, there are tons of mini sessions going on and there are other one-hour workshops in Classroom 2 as well.
I’m looking forward to networking with and learning from many folks I don’t get to see face-to-face too frequently. I hope to see you there too!!
Posted in CMSCE, Professional Development | Tagged: Atlantic City, Convention, edtech, educators, njea, NJEA09, PD, Professional Development, teachers, Teachers Convention, technology | 10 Comments »
Posted by lthumann on October 27, 2009
Every time I turn around they’ve added a new feature to Google Docs. It’s tough to keep up, I know. I subscribe to the Google Docs Blog, which is quite helpful.
Allow me to bring you up to speed on some of the latest additions/improvements:
Friday, October 9, 2009
Have you seen what they’ve added to the Drawing features in Google since it first came out? You need to take a look! There is so much more flexibility and so many more shapes to pick from. You can also now create your own custom filled shapes.
Image Source: http://4.bp.blogspot.com
Thursday, October 12, 2009
You can now share an entire folder. Apparently this was the most requested new feature. Just put all the documents you want to share into the folder and then share it with your Collaborators.
Image Source: http://googledocs.blogspot.com/
Also on this same day, Google announced that you could upload more than one document at a time. I thought this was great. Especially when bringing new teachers into Google Docs. So you want to convert all your science PowerPoints to Google Presentations?? You can now do it all in one batch. Simply click on Upload –> Select files to upload –> Select destination folder –> Start Upload. It’s that simple.
Monday, October 26, 2009
I guess after making it so simple to upload all your documents, Google decided it was time to make it simple to download your documents as well. I was excited when I read about this as I needed to remove some of my older Google Docs, yet wasn’t quite ready to part with them. This option really works for me.
You can now download your Google Docs in MS Office or Open Office Formats or as PDFs (up to 500mb at a time) in a zipped file. Follow these steps:
- Select the files you want to download by checking them
- Click on More Actions (on the right of the Google Docs screen)
- Click on Export
- If you are exporting a lot, you can select the option to have Google e-mail you when the export is done. Otherwise, you can just wait and then either Save or Open the Zipped file.
Some other features you may consider checking out:
- The Equation Editor –> Click on Insert – Equation
- Language Tools –> Tools – Translate document
- Formatting –> Insert – Page break
Posted in Google | Tagged: Google, GoogleCertifiedTeacher, Blog, googledocs, PowerPoint, Microsoft Office, Google Docs Blog | 2 Comments »
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