The most popular website at my school is Minecraft–hands down, starting in 1st grade (I’m amazed parents let six-year-olds use this sometimes violent game, but they do and students do and the mania starts). Because kids would live in this blocky virtual world 24/7, I only let them play it two lunch periods a week. Those days, my lab is always packed. Kids have no idea they’re learning math (estimation, geometry, shapes), science (geology, rocks, minerals), building, or softer skills like thinking and reasoning, problem solving, hypothesis-testing, risk-taking, and collaboration. They don’t realize they’re exercising that delicate skill called ‘creativity’ or care that Common Sense Media raves that “Minecraft empowers players to exercise their imagination and take pride in their digital creations as they learn basic building concepts.”
14 Educational Websites Students Will Ask to Visit This Summer
Posted: May 24, 2013 by Jacqui Murray in critical thinking, Parent resources, Tech ed, websitesTags: gameplay, minecraft, simulations
5 Strategies to Assess Student Knowledge
Posted: May 23, 2013 by Jacqui Murray in classroom management, education reform, teacher resourcesTags: assessment, education
This is always challenging, isn’t it? Finding evidence that students have learned what you taught, that they can apply knowledge to complex problems. How do you do this? Rubrics? Group projects? Posters? None sound worthy of the Common Core educational environ–and too often, students have figured out how to deliver within these guidelines while on auto-pilot.
Where can we find authentic assessments that are measurable yet student-centered, promote risk-taking by student and teacher alike, inquiry-driven and encourage students to take responsibility for his/her own learning? How do we assess a lesson plan in a manner that insures students have learned what they need to apply to life, to new circumstances they will face when they don’t have a teacher at their elbow to nudge them the right direction?
Here are my top five strategies to determine if I’m succeeding:
Anecdotally
I observe their actions, their work, the way they are learning the skills I’m teaching. Are they engaged, making their best effort? Do they remember skills taught in prior weeks and apply them? Do they self-assess and make corrections as needed?
Dear Otto: Do Students Still Need to Learn Keyboarding?
Posted: May 22, 2013 by Jacqui Murray in Ask Otto, classroom management, KeyboardingTags: edtech, education, education reform, Keyboarding
Dear Otto is an occasional column where I answer questions I get from readers about teaching tech. If you have a question, please complete the form below and I’ll answer it here. For your privacy, I use only first names.
Here’s a great question I got from Joe :
I am a tech teacher at my school, and I just got word that the admin want to discuss eliminating “teaching kids to type”. She feels it is not an important skill to teach our “tech savvy” kids. This stems from the idea that many devices have virtual keyboards instead of physical keyboards. While I have my check-list of the reasons why typing is important for kids to learn, I also want to collect ideas and reasons from other experts in the field. Any research based data would be great too.Thanks for your help,
Before I answer Joe, I need to send a shout-out to my son, Sean, in Kuwait, as he defends America’s liberties–HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
Back to my regularly scheduled post…
Hi Joe
Tech Tip #50: The Easiest Way to Outline
Posted: May 21, 2013 by Jacqui Murray in Computer hardware, keyboard shortcuts, problem solving, Tech TipsTags: Alt key, Keyboard shortcut, Screen, shortkeys, teacher resources, Tech Tips
As a working technology teacher, I get hundreds of questions from parents about their home computers, how to do stuff, how to solve problems. Each Tuesday, I’ll share one of those with you. They’re always brief and always focused. Enjoy!
Q: My fifth graders are learning outlining in the classroom. Is there an easy way to tie that into technology?
A: Outlining can’t be easier than doing it in Word. Here’s what you do:
- Select the Numbered List or the Bullet List in MS Word. MS Word 2010 even lets you select the style up front. MS Word 2003–it’s a bit more complicated
- Your first bullet or number appears on the screen. Type your item
- Push enter to add another number or bullet
- To create a subpoint, push tab after you’ve pushed enter to start the next bullet/number
- To push a subpoint up a level, push Shift+tab after you’ve pushed enter for the next bullet/number
That’s it–three keys:
5 Must-have Skills for New Tech Teachers Plus One Extra
Posted: May 20, 2013 by Jacqui Murray in classroom management, teacher resourcesTags: new teacher
If you teach technology, it’s likely you were thrown into it by your Admin. You used to be a first grade teacher or the science expert or maybe even the librarian and suddenly, you walked into school one day and found out you’d become that tech person down the hall you were always in awe of, the one responsible for classroom computers, programs, curriculum, and everything in between. Now that’s you–the go-to person for tech problems, computer quirks, crashes and freezes, and tech tie-ins for classroom inquiry.
You have no idea where to begin.
Here’s a peek into your future: On that first propitious day, everything will change. Your colleagues will assume you received a data upload of the answers to every techie question. It doesn’t matter that yesterday, you were one of them. Now, you will be on a pedestal, colleague’s necks craned upward as they ask , How do I get the Smartscreen to work? or We need microphones for a lesson I’m starting in three minutes. Can you please-please-please fix them? You will nod your head, smile woodenly, and race to your classroom for the digital manuals (if you’re lucky) or Google for online help.
Let me start by saying: Don’t worry. Really. You’ll learn by doing, just as we teach students. Take a deep breath, engage your brain, and let your brilliance shine.
16 Memorial Day Websites for Students
Posted: May 17, 2013 by Jacqui Murray in Parent resources, teacher resourcesTags: holiday, memorial day, websites
Memorial Day is the time we remember all of those soldiers (and anyone in the Armed Forces) who gave their lives in the defense of American freedom. In war and peace, they made the ultimate sacrifice, and because of them we are privileged to live the American Dream.
Once a year, we honor them, their sacrifice, and those they left behind. Here are some activities to help students understand the import of this day:
It’s Here! K-5 Tech Curriculum Aligned with Common Core!
Posted: May 15, 2013 by Jacqui Murray in classroom management, K-5 Tech training, lesson plans, Product ReviewsTags: education, ipads, tech curriculum
The educational paradigm has changed. New guidelines (most recently, the National Board of Governors Common Core Standards) expect technology to facilitate learning through collaboration, publishing, and transfer of knowledge. Educators want students to use technology to work together, share the products of their effort, and employ the skills learned in other parts of their lives.
If you purchased SL’s Fourth Edition, consider the tech changes in education since its 2011 publication:
- Windows has updated their platform—twice
- iPads are the device of choice in the classroom
- Class Smartboards are more norm than abnorm(al)
- Technology in the classroom has changed from ‘nice to have’ to ‘must have’
- 1:1 has become a realistic goal
- Student research is as often done online as in the library
- Students spend as much time in a digital neighborhood as their home town
- Textbooks are considered resources rather than bibles
- Teachers who don’t use technology are an endangered species
- Words like ‘blended learning’, ‘authentic’, ‘transfer’, ‘evidence’ are now integral to teaching
- Common Core Standards have swept like a firestorm through the education community, most timed to take effect after 2011
Here’s what you’ll find in the SL Technology Curriculum–5th Edition (see slideshow below):
Tech Tip #49: The Fifteen Second Slideshow
Posted: May 14, 2013 by Jacqui Murray in Computer hardware, keyboard shortcuts, problem solving, Tech TipsTags: Alt key, Keyboard shortcut, Screen, shortkeys, teacher resources, Tech Tips
As a working technology teacher, I get hundreds of questions from parents about their home computers, how to do stuff, how to solve problems. Each Tuesday, I’ll share one of those with you. They’re always brief and always focused. Enjoy!
Q: My kindergarten and first grade students are too young to create their own slideshows for Open House (or any parent day) and I’m just too busy. What’s an easy way to display their work digitally for parents that also involves the students in the preparation?
A: I had this problem last year. I simply ran out of time trying to prepare so I offloaded the work onto the students. I was worried it would be too much, but it turned into a wonderful experience for students and parents alike. Here’s all you do:
11 Ways to Make an Inquiry based Classroom
Posted: May 13, 2013 by Jacqui Murray in classroom management, critical thinkingTags: inquiry
You became a teacher not to pontificate to trusting minds, but to teach children how to succeed as adults. That idealism infused every class in your credential program and only took a slight bump during your student teacher days. That educator, you figured, was a dinosaur. You’d never teach to the test or lecture for forty minutes of a forty-five minute class.
Then you got a job and reality struck. You had lesson plans to get through, standards to assess, and state-wide tests that students must do well on or you’d get the blame. A glance in the mirror said you were becoming that teacher you hated in school. You considered leaving the profession.
Until the inquiry-based classroom arrived where teaching’s goal was not the solution to a problem, but the path followed. It’s what you’d hoped to do long ago when you started–but how do you turn a traditional entrenched classroom into one that’s inquiry-based?
Weekend Website #127: Brown Bear Typing
Posted: May 10, 2013 by Jacqui Murray in first grade, Keyboarding, Kindergarten, Parent resources, second grade, websitesTags: brown bear, Keyboarding, websites
Every week, I share a website that inspired my students. Here’s one that I’ve found effective in… Here’s a great website to answer that question.
You Know You’re a Geek When…
Posted: May 9, 2013 by Jacqui Murray in geeks, humorTags: geeks, jokes, nerds
Thanks to Julia Hayden for this lovely list:
- You look at a movie trailer and think, “I have that typeface.”
- You get sudden attacks of bittersweet nostalgic feelings when thinking about your long-lost old Commodore 64, Sinclair ZX-81, TRS-80 (or other hardware), and use large amounts of money/time trying to track one down.
- You are wearing ten year old spectacles, made of steel.
- You realize you never cook, eating only take-away pizza.
- You seriously consider devoting a web page to your computer. (Not the brand, mind you, but the actual computer itself)
- You get depressed when you get less than 10 e-mail messages a day.
- You plan to get two Masters degrees.
11 Ways to be an Inquiry-based Teacher
Posted: May 8, 2013 by Jacqui Murray in classroom management, education reformTags: classroom management, ib, inquiry
It’s hard to run an inquiry-based classroom. Don’t go into this teaching style thinking all you do is ask questions and observe answers. You have to listen with all of your senses, pause and respond to what you heard (not what you wanted to hear), keep your eye on the Big Ideas as you facilitate learning, value everyone’s contribution, be aware of the energy of the class and step in when needed, step aside when required. You aren’t a Teacher, rather a guide. You and the class find your way from question to knowledge together.
Because everyone learns differently.
You don’t use a textbook. Sure, it’s a map, showing you how to get from here to there, but that’s the problem. It dictates how to get ‘there’. For an inquiry-based classroom, you may know where you’re going, but not quite how you’ll get there and that’s a good thing. You are no longer your mother’s teacher who stood in front of rows of students and pointed to the blackboard. You operate well outside your teaching comfort zone as you try out the flipped classroom and the gamification of education and are thrilled with the results.
And then there’s the issue of assessment. What your students have accomplished can’t neatly be summed up by a multiple choice test. When you review what you thought would assess learning (back when you designed the unit), none measure the organic conversations the class had about deep subjects, the risk-taking they engaged in to arrive at answers, the authentic knowledge transfer that popped up independently of your class time. You realize you must open your mind to learning that occurred that you never taught–never saw coming in the weeks you stood amongst your students guiding their education.
Let me digress. I visited the Soviet Union (back when it was one nation) and dropped in on a classroom where students were inculcated with how things must be done. It was a polite, respectful, ordered experience, but without cerebral energy, replete of enthusiasm for the joy of learning, and lacking the wow factor of students independently figuring out how to do something. Seeing the end of that powerful nation, I arrived at different conclusions than the politicians and the economists. I saw a nation starved to death for creativity. Without that ethereal trait, learning didn’t transfer. Without transfer, life required increasingly more scaffolding and prompting until it collapsed in on itself like a hollowed out orange.
Tech Tip #48: Quickly Switch Between Windows
Posted: May 7, 2013 by Jacqui Murray in Computer hardware, keyboard shortcuts, problem solving, Tech TipsTags: Alt key, Keyboard shortcut, Screen, shortkeys, teacher resources, Tech Tips
As a working technology teacher, I get hundreds of questions from parents about their home computers, how to do stuff, how to solve problems. Each Tuesday, I’ll share one of those with you. They’re always brief and always focused. Enjoy!
Q: I’m copy-pasting between a Word doc and an Excel doc on my computer. I know how to do that, but here’s the problem: I have three Word docs open. I don’t want to close the other two because I’ll need them soon. It takes a lot of time to click down to the taskbar, bring up the Word group and find the correct Word doc. Is there an easier way?
A: Oh yes, Much easier. Use Alt+tab. That takes you to the last window you visited. If you’re toggling between two windows, this is the perfect solution. I use it a lot for grading and report cards.
Dear Otto: How do I prevent printer pandemonium?
Posted: May 6, 2013 by Jacqui Murray in Ask Otto, classroom managementTags: classroom management, printing
Dear Otto is an occasional column where I answer questions I get from readers about teaching tech. If you have a question, please complete the form below and I’ll answer it here. For your privacy, I use only first names.
Here’s a great question I got from Cheryl in Indiana:
It seems that my well-structured primary tech classrooms fall apart when it is time to print. Some students just keep pushing Print & end up printing multiple copies, 25 students scramble to the printer to collect their printouts. Total chaos! Any ideas?
I have a two-step solution to that:
- Teach students how to print. I take lesson time to show them the print box, the varied spots where things can be changed, and how to do it right. After that, I know it’s not lack of knowledge causing problems
- I don’t let them go to the printer. First, it gets to be the lab water cooler–everyone hanging out back there, chatting, while they wait for the stuff to print. That’s no good. Second, I’ can’t monitor that everything printed is appropriate if they’re taking papers from the printer. Third, if they print more than one, I want to chat with them about it.
- Consistent offenders aren’t allowed to print. I’ll email it to parents/teacher, but they lose the privilege
15 Great Simulations to Gamify Your Class
Posted: May 3, 2013 by Jacqui Murray in classroom management, critical thinking, free tech resourcesTags: education reform, games, minecraft, second life, sim
I’ve been spending every spare moment editing the upcoming 7th Grade Technology Curriculum Textbook (click to be notified when it’s available–projected: June 2013). One unit I’ve fallen in love with is ‘Gamification of Education’. I haven’t spent a lot of time on that topic and am now over-the-top about its possibilities.
If you’re into gamifying your classes, you understand.
Here are 15 websites I’ve found that do an excellent job of using games to promote critical thinking, problem solving skills, and learning:
Subscribers: Your Special is Available
Posted: May 2, 2013 by Jacqui Murray in Keyboarding, Subscriber SpecialTags: Keyboarding, online classes, sales, subscriber special, tech ed
Every month, subscribers to Ask a Tech Teacher get a free/discounted resource to help their tech teaching.
This month:
Summer Online Keyboarding Class
Regular price: $99
Early Bird Special: $59
(includes K-8 keyboarding curriculum ebook and keyboarding wiki membership)
CSTA Conference Coming Up!
Posted: May 1, 2013 by fraserwoods in teacher resources, Tech edTags: conference, csta
The 2013 CSTA Annual Conference (click here for conference link) is fast approaching. This lively get-together provides professional development opportunities for K-12 computer science and computer applications teachers who need practical, relevant information to help them prepare students for the future.
Here are some details you’ll want to know:
Dates: July 15-16, 2013
Location: Quincy, Massachusetts, USA
Conference Hashtag: #CSTA13
Important Dates:
Tech Tip #47: Tool Tips
Posted: April 30, 2013 by Jacqui Murray in Computer hardware, keyboard shortcuts, problem solving, Tech TipsTags: Alt key, Keyboard shortcut, Screen, shortkeys, teacher resources, Tech Tips
As a working technology teacher, I get hundreds of questions from parents about their home computers, how to do stuff, how to solve problems. Each Tuesday, I’ll share one of those with you. They’re always brief and always focused. Enjoy!
This week’s tip: I’m supposed to find a tool on the toolbar, but there are so many and I have no idea what they are for? It’s just as bunch of pictures to me. Is there an easy way to figure this out?
A: To figure out what a tool does on the toolbar or 2007/10”s ribbon, hover your mouse over the tool (place the mouse above it without clicking). A tool tip will appear with a clue as to what it’s for.
This works in any program with a toolbar or ribbon–MS Office, the internet, Photoshop, and more.
Which is better for schools: iPads or laptops?
Posted: April 29, 2013 by Jacqui Murray in Ask Otto, classroom management, iPadTags: classroom management, education reform, ipads, laptops
Dear Otto is an occasional column where I answer questions I get from readers about teaching tech. If you have a question, please complete the form below and I’ll answer it here. For your privacy, I use only first names.
Here’s a great question I got from Roxi in South Africa:
Please could you share with us your opinion on school i-pads for ALL work the learners do. We have many requests from parents wanting to know when we will be switching to i-pads only. There seem to be many schools over the world that actually only use android devices for all their work and have great success in doing so. I have just started to research recently but up to now it seems to me that one cannot do all the academic stuff you need to do on an i-pad as comfortably and as inexpensively as you can do on a computer. Also the paradigm shift and hours of work to apply the curriculum to using androids might prove to be quite a daunting tasks for teachers who not confident with technology.
We have 3 labs at our school – I find that our learners are very much challenged and learn something new every day using laptops and computers. Please could you let me know what your findings are.
Hi Roxi
This is a question so many schools are struggling with. IPads are the exciting new toy (like laptops were just a few years ago) so schools are taking the issue of whether or not to buy seriously. Consider these Pros and Cons:
IPads have a great purpose in education:
- kids love them, are excited to learn anything that is taught via an iPad. What’s not to like about that as a teacher? Students will practice math facts, read books, happily gamify learning.
- iPads are light-weight, easy to care for, boot up quickly, and are fairly sturdy
- compared to a laptop, iPads are affordable. That leaves lots of money for other uses
- they are easier to care for, have less IT issues, and are not as likely to be ‘messed with’ by students. Plus, a certain amount of the upkeep can be performed easily by teachers
- iPads are great for collaboration–maybe better than laptops (unless you’re a Google Apps school. That could drop this off the list)
- for those parts of education that are media-centric–such as viewing videos, reading books, drawing–it’s hard to beat the iPad.
- iPad battery life is long compared to a laptop. Students don’t have to remember to recharge as often
- iPads have a much higher ease of use and accessibility than laptops. Between instant on, touch screen, not as many choices, they are much simpler to get up to speed on.
- I have to admit, iPads make recording, taking videos and pictures much simpler than if I used the laptop. Find out how important this is to teachers as you make your decision.
But there are downsides:
Weekend Website #126: BrainPop Game Up
Posted: April 26, 2013 by Jacqui Murray in first grade, Kindergarten, Parent resources, second grade, third grade, Uncategorized, websitesTags: brainpop, websites
Every week, I share a website that inspired my students. Here’s one that I’ve found effective in… Here’s a great website to answer that question.
What’s Trending on Ask a Tech Teacher
Posted: April 25, 2013 by Jacqui Murray in free tech resourcesTags: Tech Tips, trending
I calculate what’s trending on my blog by which of my posts are popular in a
particular time period. Here’s the run-down so far this year:
- 20 Great Research Websites for Kids
- 20 Common Computer Problems and Solutions (a Third Grader Can Do)Great Websites
- 107 Favorite iPad Apps for K-8
- 31 Human Body Websites for 2nd-5th Grade
- 2nd Grade
- 62 Kindergarten Websites That Tie into Classroom Lessons
- 18 Online Keyboard Sites for Kids
- 20 Valentine Sites For Your Students
- Great Websites
- Great Lesson Plans
Another part that’s interesting is where viewers ‘click through’ once they find my site. This tells me the resources they like enough to spend time on seeking out. Here are the top then:
Why Keyboarding Should NOT be Dead
Posted: April 24, 2013 by Jacqui Murray in classroom management, KeyboardingTags: common core, Keyboarding
Teaching keyboarding in the classroom continues to be a hot topic. Sides have formed up and dug in–is it critical or unnecessary? Can students teach themselves or will that create bad habits? Educated, knowledgeable experts fall on both sides of these question so it’s going to come down to what works for you, in your classroom.
If you are Pro-keyboarding (as I am), here are some reasons to consider as you make your decision and prepare for what might be a all-out battle for Truth and Justice with your Admin:
Tech Tip #46: The Easiest Way to Explain Right and Left to (Little) Kids
Posted: April 23, 2013 by Jacqui Murray in Computer hardware, keyboard shortcuts, problem solving, Tech TipsTags: Alt key, Keyboard shortcut, Screen, shortkeys, teacher resources, Tech Tips
As a working technology teacher, I get hundreds of questions from parents about their home computers, how to do stuff, how to solve problems. Each Tuesday, I’ll share one of those with you. They’re always brief and always focused. Enjoy!
Q: I teach kindergarten. They don’t always understand the difference between left and right.
A: There are two times kids get confused about right and left when I’m teaching:
- right mouse button
- clicking in front of a spot (to edit, use the tab key, format–stuff like that)
I’ve found an easy way to clarify. Here’s an example:
Dear Otto: I need reading resources for ELL/ESL
Posted: April 22, 2013 by Jacqui Murray in Ask Otto, classroom managementTags: classroom management
Dear Otto is an occasional column where I answer questions I get from readers about teaching tech. If you have a question, please complete the form below and I’ll answer it here. For your privacy, I use only first names.
Here’s a great question I got from Shelley:
Tomorrow is a half day planning day so I can’t wait to look at all of the websites you have for 1st grade. I’m wondering what recommendations can you give for ELL/ESL students? One of my student’s home language is Spanish and the other home language is Pashto. Thank you for any recommendations!
I found three websites that share story books in lots of languages:
- BookBox
- Children’s International Library
- Sounding Board–create custom boards using AbleNet symbols or your own photos; designed for children with autism or other special ed needs
- Speak-all–designed to help children with special needs learn the process of constructing sentences.
- Talk and Touch–create custom buttons that ‘talk’ when pushed
- TapTapSee–takes pictures and speaks aloud what the object is. Designed to help the blind and visually impaired identify objects they encounter in their daily lives.
- World Library
Weekend Website #125: Starfall Math
Posted: April 19, 2013 by Jacqui Murray in first grade, Kindergarten, Parent resources, second grade, websitesTags: Kindergarten, Math, Reading, websites
Every week, I share a website that inspired my students. Here’s one you may have missed. Starfall is a lot more than reading…
12 Great Websites for Earth Day
Posted: April 18, 2013 by Jacqui Murray in websitesTags: conservation, earth day
April 22nd is Earth Day. Celebrate it with your students by letting them visit these six websites:
- Breathing Earth
- Breathing Earth YouTube Video–of CO2 use, population changes, and more
- Conservation Game
- Environmental footprintEco-friendly houseEeko WorldBreathing earth– the environmentConservation GameHome of the FutureMy Garbology
- Ecotourism Simulation–for grades 4 and above
- EekoWorld
- Electrocity
- Eyes on the Earth–from NASA
- Footprint calculator Read the rest of this entry »
Platform for Good Hosts Me
Posted: April 17, 2013 by Jacqui Murray in Digital CitizenshipTags: digital citizenship
Come read an article I shared on a Platform for Good entitled “How to Teach Your Students Digital Citizenship”. Can’t make it? No worries. I’ll have it over here soon.
Jacqui Murray has been teaching K-8 technology for 15 years. She is the editor of a K-8 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum, and creator of technology training books for how to integrate technology in education. She is the author of the popular Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy. She is webmaster for six blogs, CSG master teacher, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers, presentation reviewer for CSTA, Cisco guest blogger, a monthly contributor to TeachHUB, columnist for Examiner.com, featured blogger for Technology in Education, and IMS tech expert. Currently, she’s editing a techno-thriller that should be out to publishers next summer. Contact Jacqui at her writing office or her tech lab, Ask a Tech Teacher.
Summer Keyboarding Class–How to Win FREE K-8 Keyboarding Curriculum
Posted: April 16, 2013 by Jacqui Murray in fifth grade, fourth grade, Keyboarding, second grade, third grade, websitesTags: Keyboarding, lesson plans, summer school, Typing, Web 2.0
Every summer, I teach a keyboarding class to 2nd-8th graders. It’s sixty minutes a day, five days a week, for three weeks. This summer, I’m moving it online, through my Keyboard Wiki.
Ready? Don’t need any more information? Click here to join.
There will be two sessions:
- June 24th-July 12th (no class July 4th)
- July 15th-August 2nd
Class will be self-paced, self-managed, the sixty minutes arranged whenever the student can make it fit into summer schedules. Required materials include:
- The Essential Guide to Teaching K-8 Keyboarding–digital or print, as a guide to weekly activities–ebook free when you join class
- membership in the Keyboarding Wiki–also free with the class
- access to the internet and/or Skype
- a full-size keyboard (not an iPad)
Dear Otto: What’s a good Website program?
Posted: April 15, 2013 by Jacqui Murray in Ask OttoTags: class website, websites
Dear Otto is an occasional column where I answer questions I get from readers about teaching tech. If you have a question, please complete the form below and I’ll answer it here. For your privacy, I use only first names.
Here’s a great question I got from Kay
Can you recommend a user friendly place to create a class website….preferably free, or close to it! Thanks
I use Wikispaces for my class website. It’s versatile, robust, takes most of the widgets that make a class website exciting, and is free. Here are some of my class wikis:
Humor that Inspires–for Teachers! Part II
Posted: April 11, 2013 by Jacqui Murray in UncategorizedTags: great quotes, humor, teachers
If you liked the last Humor that Inspires, here are more to kick-start your day:
- “It was the experience of mystery — even if mixed with fear — that engendered religion.” – Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
- “If everything seems under control, you’re just not going fast enough.” – Mario Andretti
- “I do not consider it an insult, but rather a compliment to be called an agnostic. I do not pretend to know where many ignorant men are sure — that is all that agnosticism means.” – Clarence Darrow, Scopes trial, 1925.
- “Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.” – Henry Ford (1863-1947)
- “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.” – Warren Zevon
- “There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.” – Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)
- “If you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.” – Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)
- “The instinct of nearly all societies is to lock up anybody who is truly free. First, society begins by trying to beat you up. If this fails, they try to poison you. If this fails too, the finish by loading honors on your head.” – Jean Cocteau (1889-1963)
- “Everyone is a genius at least once a year; a real genius has his original ideas closer together.” – Georg Lichtenberg (1742-1799)
- “Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it” – Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)
- “While we are postponing, life speeds by.” – Seneca (3BC – 65AD)
- “Where are we going, and why am I in this handbasket?” – Bumper Sticker
- “God, please save me from your followers!” – Bumper Sticker
- “Fill what’s empty, empty what’s full, and scratch where it itches.” – the Duchess of Windsor, when asked what is the secret of a long and happy life
- “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” – Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)
- “Luck is the residue of design.” – Branch Rickey – former owner of the Brooklyn Dodger Baseball Team
- “Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you walk into an open sewer and die.” – Mel Brooks
- Read the rest of this entry »
7 Ways Common Core Will Change Your Classroom
Posted: April 10, 2013 by Jacqui Murray in classroom management, education reform, K-5 Tech trainingTags: ccss, common core, education reform
The biggest pedagogic change to American education since the arrival of John Dewey is happening right now. It’s called Common Core State Standards. Its goal: to prepare the nation’s tens of thousands of students for college and/or career. If you are involved in any part of teaching, administrating, or planning, you are holding your breath, downing an aspirin, and crossing your fingers, knowing a storm is about to hit. You’ve prepared, but is it enough?
46 states adopted the Common Core in an effort to bring consistency and uniformity to the hodge podge of state standards that dot the education landscape from California to Maine and Alaska to Florida. For most states, implementation is piecemeal, a bit at a time, with the full roll out not expected until sometime in 2015.
Besides turning your curriculum upside down, there are philosophic changes you as a teacher will have to buy into to fit the mold that is Common Core:
- Depth not width—Dig into ideas. Make them clearer, more robust. Teachers will cover fewer topics in a year, but with greater detail. Trust that the breadth of learning will come from that deeper understanding. The accepted pedagogy that similar topics be introduced every year, each with more detail, is no longer. Now, students will cover new topics at each grade level–fewer but fuller.
- Nonfiction, not fiction—Literacy and reading is likely to be comprehensive narratives rather than inference from stories. Why? Post-high school reading in both college and career is more often expository than fiction as high school grads study for college courses or receive specific training on a job. Students need to know how to perform the critical reading necessary to pick through the staggering amount of print and digital information required to thrive at the game called life.
- Evidence is required–It will be paramount that students logically and dispassionately prove their claims with organic conversations and authentic, well-understood evidence. Statements must have supporting facts that stand up under cerebral scrutiny. A claim of acceptability because it is ‘their interpretation’ will not be sufficient in a CCSS classroom.
- Speaking and listening--Anyone who thrives in the adult world knows the importance of these two skills. Now, they will be taught in the K-12 curriculum. The youngest learners will have guidelines for how to carry on a conversation–come to a discussion prepared, listen respectfully to others, take turns speaking, build on each other’s conversations, ask clarifying questions. As they advance grade levels, so too will the requirements.
- Technology is part of most/all standards--Not overtly, but teachers will find a fundamental understanding of how technology scaffolds learning to be essential in delivering Standards correctly. Many times, standards expect knowledge be ‘collaborated on, published and shared’. This is done through technology–pdfs, printing, publishing to blogs and wikis, sharing via Tagxedos and Animotos. Students and teachers will use the internet, online tools, software, tech devices as vehicles for achieving educational goals. No longer will they be ‘fun’ tools employed in the computer lab. Now, they will be integral to the curriculum. This means teachers will have to be comfortable with iPads, online widgets, Google Docs, and all those geeky tools that they admired from afar, when colleagues used them, promising they would try them ‘one day’. That day has arrived.
- Life skills are emphasized across subject areas. It’s not good enough students can write in literacy classes. CCSS expects them to communicate just as effectively in every subject. And, where critical thinking has always been fundamental to math and science, that now expands to all classes. Students must understand cause and effect, transfer knowledge from one subject area to another throughout their educational day. That means, math teachers must pay attention to writing and literature teachers to cognitive processes.
- An increase in rigor–Accountability will be expected of students and teachers. Too often, passing a test was all the assessment that was expected. CCSS will look for more–transfer of knowledge (see 6 above), evidence of learning, student as risk-taker, authenticity of lessons, vertical planning, learning with increasingly less scaffolding and prompting, and differentiated instruction so all learners get it.
Tech Tip #45: Your Screen Upside Down?
Posted: April 9, 2013 by Jacqui Murray in Computer hardware, keyboard shortcuts, problem solving, Tech TipsTags: Alt key, Keyboard shortcut, Screen, shortkeys, teacher resources, Tech Tips
As a working technology teacher, I get hundreds of questions from parents about their home computers, how to do stuff, how to solve problems. Each Tuesday, I’ll share one of those with you. They’re always brief and always focused. Enjoy!
Q: My screen is sideways 90 degrees. How do I fix that?
A: If you ever needed this, you’re going to be blessing me. If you’ve never faced that off-kilter screen, you’re going to wonder why I’d post this tip.
Of course, I’ve faced it–I run a tech lab and there are always those pesky prodigies who want to outsmart me. They know if they push Ctrl+Alt+(down arrow), it’ll turn the screen upside down. The first time it happened, I was at a loss. That’s when a different pesky prodigy told me how to fix it:
FREE Tech Teacher Training–But Join Quickly
Posted: April 8, 2013 by Jacqui Murray in classroom management, free tech resources, teacher resourcesTags: csg, curriculum study groups, master teacher
OK, FREE’s gone. Sorry, guys. Now it’s ‘discounted’. I have joined with Curriculum Study Group to teach online tech ed classes for teachers (only teachers). A little background on the program:
Who is Curriculum Study Group
It is a company name, but also a learning style. ‘Curriculum Study Groups’ are a powerful way to transform teaching and learning through online collaboration among teachers of the same subject and grade, under the guidance of master teachers. The goals:
- Magnify the impact of teachers, while providing them with potentially the most powerful professional development of their careers
- Reduce needless reinvention of the wheel, by enabling participants to build on the experiences and resources of master teachers
- Provide tangible support for lesson planning, instruction, and assessment that goes beyond what is offered in published curriculum
- Make high-quality, curriculum-based professional development available to any teacher, anywhere
- Assist teachers in addressing the challenge of meeting Common Core State Standards and other rigorous standards in specific content areas.
Weekend Website 123: Google Gravity
Posted: April 5, 2013 by Jacqui Murray in first grade, Kindergarten, Parent resources, second grade, third grade, Uncategorized, websitesTags: google, gravity, websites
Inquiring minds don’t always need a purpose. Fun is often inspiration enough. Check out this clever rendition of Google Search:
Subscribers: Your Special is Available
Posted: April 4, 2013 by Jacqui Murray in Subscriber SpecialTags: sales, subscriber special, tech ed
Every month, subscribers to Ask a Tech Teacher get a free/discounted resource to help their tech teaching.
This month:
It took so long to get it posted last month, what with the new website and all, we’re extended this special through the month of April. You’ll love it. Lots more products and easier to check out). Here’s a thank you for your patience:
How to Make a Student-created Video
Posted: April 3, 2013 by Jacqui Murray in middle school technology, problem solving, Tech edTags: ib, inquiry, PSA, student video
‘Student-generated’ now has a face–a lively and creative group from Loreto Secondary School in County Meath Ireland. They combined their talents and came up with a fun, engaging PSA to promote dairy.
I fell in love with the video and asked Mr. Tom Kendall (Head of ICT as well as a math and ICT teacher) to summarize the adventure so I can share it here. By the time you’re done reading the next few paragraphs, you’ll be amazed at the inquiry-driven work, the risk-taking employed at ever so many levels, their problem-solving and critical thinking that went into the creation of this four-minute video. If you’re an inquiry-based class or an IB school with an eye to your end-of-year Exhibition, this is a wonderful example. Enjoy:
Aiming for Viral: We Take Dairy and This is Crazy!
A behind the scenes look at the making of a student-created video.
We want to make a Video!
This school year, six Transition Year students in my Digital Publishing class approached me for advice on creating a video for a business competition. In Ireland, Transition Year students fall into the 15 to 16 age bracket.
The competition challenged students to form their own mini-advertising company with the goal of designing and implementing a campaign to promote the importance of dairy to their peers.
What type of Video?
Dear Otto: Any Ideas for Tech Ed Benchmark Assessments?
Posted: April 1, 2013 by Jacqui Murray in Ask Otto, free tech resourcesTags: assessments, benchmarks
Dear Otto is an occasional column where I answer questions I get from readers about teaching tech. If you have a question, please complete the form below and I’ll answer it here. For your privacy, I use only first names.
Here’s a great question I got from Lisa and Tamma:
My district is asking us to create assessments. I was wondering what you have included in them and how/when you administer them. Thanks!
Hi Lisa and Tamma
Weekend Website #122: Dance Pony Dance
Posted: March 29, 2013 by Jacqui Murray in humor, websitesTags: creativity, dance pony, humor, internet, websites
Every week, I share a website that inspired my students. This one’s just for fun–but boy is it fun











































