My Prezi

My first prezi for in-class presentation today.

http://prezi.com/zup7s4_glthy/why-you-need-a-document-camera/

I think I'm done for the day. Despite losing my wifi for the day, I think I was very productive. Most of the time was dedicated to getting my Prezi up to speed, but I also experimented with glogster, voicestream and wallwisher. Each of these are great examples of Web 2.0 and how educators and students can collaborate effectively.

I especially like voicestream as the digital world needs the tone and emphasis that can only be communicated through audio and video. How often are emails and comments misinterpreted because it's so hard to hear the tone of typed communication.

Publishing Grades

We are in the information age. The Internet is about sharing and one of the biggest questions that students have today is how they are doing in the classroom. Teachers don't want to give up control over their gradebooks but I think they're fighting the incoming tide. Post some thoughts on this wall to facilitate this inevitable conundrum.

http://www.wallwisher.com/wall/publishgrades

Whew!

Just finished my first Prezi. Learning curve was pretty steep but I got the hand of it by the end. My biggest issue was getting videos formatted correctly as it only would take youtube or certain file types and the videos I wanted to use were in FLV (Flashvideo). I had to download Camtasia and then do a video capture of my screencast videos. Then upload to Youtube. I thought there'd be an easier way but couldn't find it.

Looking forward to presenting tomorrow and I'm keeping the Prezi offline so as to keep it interesting tomorrow.

Sharing Grades in Real Time

Sharing Grades in Real Time
5/19/2010
I jumped in with both feet. I decided it was time to share my grades with my students in "real time". No more of the scramble at the end of the quarter when students want to know their grade, how it was calculated and what they can do to raise it. By using Googledocs and ImportRange function, I now have my master gradebook shared with my students. Each student can see their grades as soon as I enter it in my master spreadsheet. This has a number of benefits for me. First, it makes me grade work faster since my students are much more aware of the status of their papers. Secondly, students can identify if and what they're missing.

Response Handheld Units

One Way to Use the Response Units
11/15/2009

I have seen the potential of the Response handheld units but felt that the work needed to get a lesson plan together was pretty onerous. I was also disappointed with how the class went because students could not work at their own speed. The class must wait for every student to answer before moving to the next question. This puts undue pressure and singles out the students that need more time to answer. I think I have found one way that might address these issues.

Document Cameras

Document Camera

2/25/2009

I am a big fan of the document camera in the classroom as it allows me to present anything I want when I want. Recently, I built a relatively cheap document camera using a camcorder and a homemade stand. The quality of the video reproductions from this budget model seem to be much superior to that of the more expensive "real" document cameras. Please feel free to come by my room to check it out sometime.

Why I like a document camera in the classroom:

Overhead Projector
As a overhead projector, you can project anything instantly and in color.
• Provide notes while maintaining eye contact with students
• Textbook examples, pictures, word problems
• Student work (both model work and where students need help)
• Easy to have individual or group presentations – students don’t have to write their work on the board or use transparencies
• Manipulatives, experiments, calculators and timers are all real-time and enlarged
• Establish routines through set index card transitions

Object Scanner
As an object scanner, you can instantly digitize any object or document and then manipulate it in software (like Smartboard Notebook).
• Import examples, problems, pictures or 3-dimensional objects into Notebook software
• Document class notes for absent students
• Archive your class activities for next year

Costs (estimate $110)
• Approximately $30 for stand
- $15 Panavise 854-1/2 " Micro Conduit Security Camera Mount
- $15 for millimene, conduit, elbows, etc.
• $10 Firewire cable 4pin to 6pin
• Digital Video Camera $70 (ebay)

For more information, check out http://lightsmithimager.com