Dr_Dunsker

Session I: ActiveExpression for STEM Classrooms

Mr. Dooley and I both attended this session. Presenters were Kylee Moose and Paul Awtrey, consultants for Promethean Planet. The former was an elementary teacher and Paul, formerly a high school science teacher. At the beginning of today’s session, participants had a chance to preview and use the latest version of ActiveVotes that now include a full qwerty keyboard that permits students to input alphanumeric characters. This means that question stems may require a short answer or numerical value in addition to multiple choice responses. These consultants also included examples of embedded video derived from a google video search on the crisis surrounding decreased populations of bees. The full flipchart and pdf versions of the presentations were uploaded and attached to the GAETC WIKI. Most valuable from this session was the demonstration of how to use the reveal tool to pull objects from a graphic of a box as a matching exercise. Awtry incorporated how one could use math skills to plot a slope of bee populations along an x-y axis to transform data reporting from a table to graph. Posted to the GAETC wiki was a networking collaborative site for STEM lessons called StemNet. Additional links were included in this session posted on the GAETC wiki: StemTec is an invaluable resource for science and math teachers. The latest meta-analysis performed by the CRC in a report to Congress is posted on this session's wikispaces page. The StemEd Coalition is a blog devoted to teach STEM lessons. The STEM Directories out of the UK, home of Promethean provides a plethora of activities, resources, guides both inside and outside the classroom. Finally, the presenters, employed as consultants for Promethean World, suggested that Promethean Planet contains materials dedicated to the STEM theme.
 * Click here for the flipchart from this session
 * Click here for the pdf version of this session

Session II: Traci Redisch from Kennesaw State discussed a certification in Instructional Technology proposed through the Georgia Professional Standards Commission

KSU has been involved with adoption of the National Education Technology Standards for teachers, students, and administrators. The concern statewide is to establish a highly qualified set of standards for instructional technology professionals beginning with the creation of a GACE content area exam still in the works. Much uproar was apparent in the room filled with those professionals already acting in the capacity of either media specialists or instructional technology specialists. The consensus from the PSC is that for one to receive certification, a state approved program of study must be formulated. The catch; the certification will be an S level certificate but for entrance into an approved program of study, only certified //teachers// will be qualified for entry if and when the certification goes into effect. Many of the participants in the session already possessed advanced degrees, many in Instructional Technology, others in Media, neither of which qualifies them for entry into the certification programs. Leadership certificate programs such as the one I completed are based on the International Society for Technology in Education program through Hopkins and ISTE. Tentatively KSU is following the identical plan of certification courses as those offered through Hopkins and other programs designed for Technology Leaders. The other problem, PSC and the State of Georgia’s Department of Education has no immediate plans to mandate positions within schools for any of the Counties in Georgia; so for now Dr. Redisch’s advice is to //wait and see// before investing in programs not yet approved or those of us acting in these roles sans a teaching certificate.

Session III: AdobeConnect, an inexpensive alternative for Web conferencing and setting up virtual classroom spaces by Rick Volkmann.

This was essentially an overview of AdobeConnect, a more flexible and easier venue for conferencing both synchronously and asynchronously. This product, more likely purchased at the district versus individual school site, permits three levels of interaction; host, presenter, and participant. Files, video material, desktops, audio, virtual whiteboards, presentations, can all be shared. Once a host creates a virtual classroom, even once a session has ended, the materials uploaded to the class space remains in place, similar to a virtual office. Connect works with any browser, costs the participants nothing, provides anywhere, anytime content from one to one conferences to classrooms with up to 100 people. A chat feature permits participants to speak to the room or the host can conduct //break out// sessions for small groups. Unlike Illuminate that runs on java platforms; AdobeConnect is based on Adobe //Flash//.

**Connected Learning Environments for Teachers and Students** **Julia Fuller, Oconee County School**

This session held in a salon and encouraged as a BYOL session takes it roots in wikispaces adjusted for learning content. The purpose of a consortium of schools subscribed to connected online communities of practice (COCP) that seeks to place a merger between classroom activity and extend communication among school constituencies. One goal is to link student assessment to teacher evaluations and rate effectiveness. Online environments create a blended instructional approach. Meta-analysis showed from the state that blended instruction showed higher levels of achievement vs non-blended. Part face to face and part online is blended approach. Replacement courses are totally online, enhanced courses are blended. Delivery modes are synchronous and asynchronous. Blog posts are asynchronous, expository instruction entails podcasts, video lectures, active learning inquiry based ie virtual worlds, and interactive learning inquiry based collaboration. Transactional distance entails dialogue and discourse, distance and modes of discussion and dialogue can lead to misunderstandings, more dialogue, less distance. Structure also important and learner autonomy (learner control). Facilitate dialogue via [|diigo], golive campus, bubbl.us etc. Create structure looking at levels emerging, proficient, exemplary. Bloomin’ Google  using Bloom’s Revised taxonomy.

 A Picture is Worth 1000 words, Infographics as a creative assessment by Kathy Shrock.

Schrock’s presentation on this topic may be found via: [] to provide an overview, history, links, and a video how to guide. The definition of an infographic is a visual creation of information, data, and knowledge in a concise manner [|visual.ly.com] History of infographics began with petroglyphs, pictograms, and finally pressed text. William Playfair invented the bar chart (1759-1823) Charles Joseph Minard graphed Napolean’s army, Otto Neurath created isotype, London Underground Railroad and Henry Beck plotted the underground map led to the railway trains of today. George Rorick created the weather map Since 2006, Good is a magazine made up of infographics, flowtown.com gathers statistics, mint.com presents data representation of fast food students require research, interactive infographs such as one on flags and pie charts ACRL created a visual literacy set of standards, technology literacy included in NETS…ELA Anchor standards for reading, speaking and listening lend themselves to infographics Process of creation: photoshop elements or photoshop, online and vector based graphics Jess Bachman infographic of one trillion dollars, PowerPoint slide converted into jpg, glogster can be used to interpret and communicate knowledge. Chart Chooser permits students to convert data up into graphic form, manyeyes from IBM where student upload data and generate infographic, use creative commons to talk to students about copyright (1) attrib tuition (2) noncommercial (3) no derivative works (4) share alike Advanced Google look for creative license Print Effect is a source that creates your infographic, visual.me takes a resume from linkedin to create a infographic resume. Have students write essay from the visual, NY Times has a unit on how students can create infographics. Check out her links to resources on infographics for easily accessable content.

<span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Webonize it: Georgia Virtual School <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">, Wendi Williams

<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 120%;">Georgia Virtual Learning website located via: [] The Georgia Virtual School is located via []Tami Echard is the manager for Georgia’s Virtual Learning Need personal organization? Doodle It! Functions as a personal scheduler and organizer, contains a polling function, hide it, limit options, send an invitation, provides participation. Problem, how to get people somewhere and brainstorm planning, use thinkfold.com Permits students and teachers to collaborate on a document synchronous and asynchronous. Jing allows for screen captures, add audio, webcams and creates simulations and uploads to screencast. Use Googledocs to work with faculty simultaneously. Collect inventory through use of a spreadsheet or use googleforms that collect data into an Excel spreadsheet Homework support: Use online textbook logins, embed google calendars, create googlesites: <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">[|https://sites.google.com/a/gavirtualschool.org/webonize/home]

<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">GADOE IT <span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Tech Advisory Committee Speak Up Survey <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';"> Oct 10th-Dec. 23rd No further EdTech funding as TITLE II funds are no longer available, more parents, teachers, students that take the survey, more feedback: <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 120%;">[|www.speakup4schools.org/speakup2011] passcode su_ga for teachers. Georgianets.wikispaces.com to provide feedback Georgia virtual school will move to OER Chris Ealy, PARCC online assessment currently piloting online assessment in December Deadline for all assessments to be online is 2015. The clearest message this participant took away was that all teachers across the PSC are required to create blended instructional environments and that the issue of assessment from the advisory standpoint is less on development of the content and for now the issue of gathering infrastructure knowledge from all the systems in Georgia. The speakup project is not district mandated but the PSC desperately needs the information from all schools as they push toward putting together online assessments.

**<span style="color: #4682b4; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">eBooks, Linking the Library to the Classroom **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> **David Starnes, Representative** <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 120%;">120,000 Follett E-books, many of which have unlimited access, vary in price according to whether limited viewing or single user. FollettShelf accessed through Destiny logins, otherwise students would only have read only and would not have the notetaking features. Statistics in ebook check-out. If in Titlewave order via admin login and embed the URL and banners and marc record housed on the Follett server. Not a rental, rather a purchase. Librarian sets the lending times December will have app for Follettbookshelf for mobile devices.

**<span style="color: #4682b4; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Study Skills 101 for the Digital Student **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> **Jeannie Barden, Pinecrest Academy** <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 120%;">Tip one is to create an online ebook library and use of databases and source material based on embedded sites within lesson plans. Questia.com is an online database BYOT is coming “Bring your own” multiple platforms, think security and wifi Require training using tools for laptops, examples: Venn diagram, age differences and skill levels differential..teach using different devices e-readers, pads, netbooks, etc. Organizing skills using digital devices, model desktop folders…teach on Covey, teach google apps, show them how to use a calendar, starfall.com for elementary Readwritethink.org contains student organizers. Make T-chart, use delicious for bookmarking and adding tags for user. Other essay organizers that are interactive, read write and think, inspiration and kidspiration sometimes overload student now use bubble.us or webspiration for free, bubbl.us.com uses bubbles for outlining and note-taking Smart draw (smartdraw.com) can be used for graphic organizers Keepvid.com permits download of most youtube video for replay on classroom computers. Bucks County Community College has a link to visual organizers, [|Holt Interactive graphic] organizers, Promethean Boards have graphic organizers but Office has organizer capability without Internet activity: Word: Smartart, pictures, tables…Flashcard.com or use PowerPoint, create template slide custom animation as e-flash card, Powertalk can read text from PowerPoint presentations. Use excel for notetaking, use graphic as background, use columns for who, what, where, when, vocabulary lists, etc so that as schools move toward BYOT, devices in classrooms can be used productively.

**<span style="color: #4682b4; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Book Trailers: Watched Any Good Books Lately? **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> **Bernajean Porter**

<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 120%;">Down with all book reports, help us think and relate to books, endless stories about students are killed by quantifying reading…see examples, reading is a linguist intelligence, multimedia can diversify intelligence. Reading is the decoding symbols, countries that predict that paper will become obsolete…gaetc2011.wikispaces.com/BernajeanPorter contains all the booktalk and resources. Book reports vs. booktrailers…digitales.us Soundbyte vs summary Does the trailer demonstrate the student’s understanding of the work? The book report challenge using animoto, eyecandy should not overwhelm the story…storykeepers wiki for freedom of copyrights, do as podcast, website, comic books or videos

<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 120%;">Shift summary report into another form of medium, compare and contrast, analyze and conclude, etc Do you see rigor in the assignment, look at themes example __Lord of the Flies__, what influences power? Use visual interpretation, then relate to personal power Use mash-ups for comic books; Nicholas Evans __The Loop__ Then create docudramas- act as if; example number the stars tell a perspective of a character, use camera and have kid in the story as green screen, PSA no longer than 30 seconds, make it authentic, emotional connection to the work, find the essence of the book, images and music and text should be artful and entertaining, make them laugh or cry, craftsmanship having to dance, grip, and immersive experience as a group Meaning makers and media makers

<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 120%;">Georgia movie academy is available for input and feedback and competition…look for illuminations. Transmedia, neverending tale infinite-story.com Bernajean's presentation can be found embedded in this documentation.

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<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">The final session presented by Dr. Dera Weaver, Scott Wilkerson, and Amy Ingalls <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">on making the most of your morning announcements. This was perhaps the best of all the workshops as these practitioners provided much needed tips and techniques for school broadcasts with minimal effort and required technology. The key to their success; student centered written, filmed, edited, and presented broadcasts.