TWTW Teaching with the Web

The Instructional Technology Journal of

Greenwood School District 50

 

http://www.gwd50.org

 

Volume 4, Number 01

August 15, 2008

 

Back to School

8/15/08 Just a few more days and your new students will be in your classroom!  Not only do teachers need to prepare their rooms, they also need to prepare their laptops!  Please take care of the following to begin the year smoothly:

ü PLEASE remember to update virus definitions and run a full scan on your computer.  Some of you may still have Symantec and some of you have been updated to Lightspeed.  With either program, simply open the program and choose the option to scan your computer.  It is also a good practice to run CCleaner .

ü When you run the full virus scan on your computer, be sure to plug in your flash drive so it will be scanned, too.

ü In most cases, you will have your old desktop to use as a student computer; be sure to plan some lessons and activities that will let students have the opportunity to use that computer.  In some schools, the classroom desktops have been moved to create multi-purpose labs for classes to use; be sure to plan activities that will take your students to those labs.

ü Please plan strategies in your grade level and department meetings for compiling resources that can be used by all teachers.  The Instructional Technology web page is ready and waiting for resources and lesson plans that you create!

Important Teacher Notes

Back to School Tips:

·   During the first week of school, collect email addresses for all parents and create an email group to which you can send information, assignments, and web resources.  Use addresses to let parents know specific information about their student.  Be sure to include your class webpage address on the email (this address could be part of your email signature.)

·   Plan lessons for the students’ first day back that integrate technology.  Use your projector, laptop, interactive whiteboard (if available), and any other technology at your fingertips.

·   Prepare a PowerPoint, Windows Movie Video, or PhotoStory Video to be playing continuously when students and parents come into your room.  Your presentation could include pictures of important locations around the school for new students; pictures of student activities from previous years; student expectations and class rules; and much, much more!  Don’t forget that the District has a license for Soundzabound and you can add music to your presentation.

·    Five tips for the new teacher: 
1-Hit the floor running and breathe when you leave.
2-Always remember, the show must go on.
3-Put on your cheerleading uniform.
4-If you make them the enemy, you will lose.
5-Don't hide your light under a bushel.

(From Cindi Riggsbee in Teacher Magazine 7/28/08.  To read the rest of this excellent article, click here.)

     2008 Olympics

What great timing!  Start the new school year off with the Olympics.  Here are some resources from EduHound:
 

·   International Olympic Committee (IOC)
Offers a history of the games, virtual galleries, results, activities and information about the Olympics.

·   United States Olympic Team Site
Includes pages related to each sport, with bios of U.S. team members, news about the sport, a quiz, a "crash course" in the technical aspects of the sport, a teacher area, newsletter, and the Winter Games schedule.

·   Education World ® Gold Medal Olympics Activities!
Let the Games begin!  Get into the Olympic spirit with Education World's ten lessons about the Olympics.

·   NBCOlympics.com
Contains news, features, results, schedules, athlete bios, and more from the NBC coverage of the Olympics.

·    EdGate Summer Games
Features fourteen Olympic lessons that are integrated with the skills necessary for life and work in the 21st Century.

Site Survey:

Websites that Educate, Enlighten, Entertain, and Engage

·   ProProfs Flashcards
Not just for elementary teachers and students!
Proprofs Flashcards is a site that could come in handy for teachers or students needing to study for tests.  This site has an extensive collection (over one million) of existing flashcards covering a variety of subjects ranging from chemistry to psychology.  The flashcards are organized into nine categories of over 10,000 sets and are free of charge to anyone.  Flashcard sets can also be created and edited by the user allowing teachers to create sets for their students to study or for students to create sets to study during crunch time.

·   Zon
Here’s a new online role-playing game, designed by a U.S. professor who is a top researcher in Chinese education.  Zon aims to help students and adults learn more about the culture and languages of China.  The game requires free registration, but is entirely browser-based, so users can play from home or school.  By interacting in the Zon environment, students are exposed to Chinese language and cultural knowledge; everything they do in the game is another chance to learn new words, phrases, and cultural information.

The Laptop-and-Projector Project Website

Tech Project:  http://www2.gwd50.org/TechPlans/TechPlan2006.htm

Resources: http://gwd50.schoolwires.net/16891058111442710/site/default.asp? 

Previous TWTW Issues: http://www2.gwd50.org/techplans/TWTW-Index.htm

Instruct.  Tech. Specialist:     http://www.gwd50.org/1689105110365557/site/default.asp