The Instructional Technology Journal of

Greenwood School District 50

 

http://www.gwd50.org

 

Volume 03, Number 22

July 1, 2008

 

Summertime Selections

7/1/08   What are you reading this summer?

sThe New York Public Library’s “25 Books to Remember from 2007”
sNPR’s Summer Books

§   Seeking a healthier lifestyle?
Lance Armstrong’s: Livestrong.com
From the seven-time Tour de France winner and his foundation, a new web site with health tips, physical fitness advice, and cancer prevention information.

§   What’s cooking?
Teacher’s Pet: The Frozen Pie Crust
Sixth grade ELA teacher, Joy Rotondi, introduces us to her “best friend,” the frozen pie crust!

§   Still hungry?
Visit “Foodies” for great American food!

Important Teacher Notes

§  Inserting PowerPoint Images
There are several ways to import graphics into Microsoft PowerPoint.  You can use the icon menus where you simply click on the required icon to add an item to your presentation.  Or you can go to 'insert' on the top menu and then select the item required from the drop down menu.  Follow this link for common items to import into a PowerPoint presentation: http://www.freepowerpointpages.com/powerpoint_tutorials/importing_images.htm

§  Student Engagement Conference
On July 30 & 31, our district is sponsoring a conference featuring many of our own engaging teachers as presenters as well as visiting presenters.  Concurrent sessions will run both days, during which time there will be eight technology integration sessions!

 

Blogs

§   BlogNetNews

http://blognetnews.com/education/
“This site is a gateway for educators to blogs that are relevant: It gathers dozens of education blogs in one place so that readers can view numerous online posts from multiple bloggers simultaneously.  The blogs are divided into three categories—technology, K-12 education, and higher education—to make it easier for readers to find what they’re looking for.”

§   Web Watch
http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/webwatch/
Teacher Magazine looks at education news from around the Web and invites its readers to respond.

§   Unwrapping the Gifted
http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/unwrapping_the_gifted/
Tamara Fisher is a K-12 gifted education specialist for a school district located on an Indian reservation in northwestern Montana and president-elect of the Montana Association of Gifted and Talented Education.  She discusses news and developments in the gifted education community and offers advice for teachers on working with gifted students.”

§   In the Middle
http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/in_the_middle/
“A career changer and former high school teacher, Hanne Denney is starting a new position this fall as a special education teacher—and department chairperson—at Southern Middle School in Anne Arundel County, Md.  In this blog, she'll share her thoughts on middle school pedagogy, career change, and the teaching life.”

 

Site Survey:

Websites that Educate, Enlighten, Entertain, and Engage

·   C-Span Classroom: Free Resources for Teaching Civics and US Government
http://www.c-spanclassroom.org/ 
C-SC allows teachers to provide students with up-to-the-minute data and resources via searchable video clips (some available for download.)  The site also provides standards-based resources such as discussion questions, activities, and quizzes to use with the Web materials.  Videos are grouped into six categories: principles of government, U.S. Constitution, legislative, executive, and judicial branches, and political participation.  Each category includes a featured video clip of a current event and a backlog of previous video clips from that category.  Watching and downloading all videos requires registration, which is free for educators.

·   Education World’s Interactive Websites
http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/topics/internet.shtml#InteractiveWebsites
Interactive websites - from A-Z - across all subjects and grade levels.

·   Peter’s Online Typing Course
http://www.typing-lessons.org/
Students, teachers or anyone interested in increasing their typing skills will find this site helpful. The site is self described as a place for "beginning typists and frustrated hunt-and-peckers who want to move from four-finger typing to full-blown touch typing."

The Laptop-and-Projector Project Website

Tech Project:  http://www.gwd50.org/TechPlans/TechPlan2006.htm

Instr. Resources:  http://www.gwd50.org/TechPlans/StaffDevResources.htm

Previous TWTW Issues: http://www.gwd50.org/techplans/TWTW-Index.htm

Instructional Technology Specialist: http://www.gwd50.org/hughesc/hughes1.htm

 

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Have a safe and happy July 4th!  Don’t forget to take the time to stop and remember those who earned our freedom and those who have helped and who continue to help us keep it.

                                                Cindy