There are many ways to use manipulatives to teach geometry concepts in the classroom. The Innovation Station makes sharing these so much easier. Projecting a close-up image of a student made shape helps all students in the classroom analyze the shape to see if it meets the project criteria.
Capturing the images using the document camera will allow the teacher to use student-made geometric examples for classroom projects or visual examples that teachers could use during lesson assessments.
Texas technology assessments include assessing students on their ability to use spreadsheets. Some of those skills include formatting text, changing row and column sizes, and drawing borders. In an amazing coincidence, we can use those same tools to create 2D geometric shapes that can be printed and cut out to build 3D shapes. Spreadsheets can help students visualize the measurement of perimeter, area, and volume while also practicing technology skills at the same time.
Download this Excel document is a two-page sample that teachers can use to develop their technology-friendly geometry lesson. Lesson scaffolding ideas are included for elementary through high school students. Edit the file and make it your own!
http://austinit.pbworks.com/f/geometry+spreadsheets.xls
Spreadsheets can be a valuable tool for teaching geometry concepts and the Innovation Station can help share their small examples much more easily.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Does My Projector Need A Dentist?
Your projector doesn't need a dentist, but some do need regular cleaning. Those classrooms with Epson projectors will need to remember to get the filter cleaned. (The 3M projectors are DLP which means they do not have filters.)
What does the filter do? It keeps some dust particles out of the inside as the machine draws in air to cool the mechanics. Unfortunately, as the filter gets more clogged, less cooling air comes in and the machine will more quickly overheat or burn out the bulb prematurely.
Remember, dead bulbs are the consumable cost of the campus. Help them live longer by keeping the filters clean! The official Epson directions for cleaning a filter can be found here.
Otherwise, one can carefully locate the filter, remove it, clean it, and replace it with minimal techno-skill.
This filter is very clogged. When you see it, think "running a marathon breathing through a straw!" It really needs to be cleaned.
This filter was cleaned. One can carefully tap the large excess dust chunks off or use a small vacuum to pull out the dirt, but pouring water slowly though it will wash the dust out of the filter. Air dry if possible or carefully pad the filter with soft absorbent cloth to get the water out.
Keeping your filter clean means checking it every 2-3 months. Don't let it get bad enough to kill the projector.
What does the filter do? It keeps some dust particles out of the inside as the machine draws in air to cool the mechanics. Unfortunately, as the filter gets more clogged, less cooling air comes in and the machine will more quickly overheat or burn out the bulb prematurely.
Remember, dead bulbs are the consumable cost of the campus. Help them live longer by keeping the filters clean! The official Epson directions for cleaning a filter can be found here.
Otherwise, one can carefully locate the filter, remove it, clean it, and replace it with minimal techno-skill.
This filter is very clogged. When you see it, think "running a marathon breathing through a straw!" It really needs to be cleaned.
Keeping your filter clean means checking it every 2-3 months. Don't let it get bad enough to kill the projector.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Quick Classroom-made Videos!
So you are getting used to using a document camera during your instruction. Are you taking advantage of the video capture capabilities? The AISD Innovation Station's document camera will capture video onto the SD memory card that came with it. Many other brands of document cameras will also capture video. Try capturing project directions on video and putting it out there for the students to review on the school shared network or your online classroom website.
But can the students also use the video capture? Sure they can! We have middle school Language Arts teachers capturing student book report presentations on video. We have student math demonstrations in high school being captured as a group reteach resource. I've been in discussions with elementary teachers about using captured video clips in a student's digital portfolio that travels with him from grade to grade.
Dr. Lodge McCammon, demonstrates how 'paper slide videos' are easily made in the classroom. These are videos with a mounted camera, like the doc cam, and students create their visuals on separate pieces of paper. Sometimes the content is student-created graphics that illustrate an educational song (many cool tunes available on DiscoveryEducation.com that cover high school-level economics through elementary science) or videos like the example here which is a simple voice-over with graphics.
Don't be afraid to try something new or different. Remember, our digital natives are often looking for reasons to come to school in the first place. With an already-made audio, your doc cam or digital video camera, and warm student body, a teacher can spend half a class period making a video that could stick in their heads the rest of the week. (Believe me. I still have the sublimate song stuck from 3 weeks ago!)
But can the students also use the video capture? Sure they can! We have middle school Language Arts teachers capturing student book report presentations on video. We have student math demonstrations in high school being captured as a group reteach resource. I've been in discussions with elementary teachers about using captured video clips in a student's digital portfolio that travels with him from grade to grade.
Dr. Lodge McCammon, demonstrates how 'paper slide videos' are easily made in the classroom. These are videos with a mounted camera, like the doc cam, and students create their visuals on separate pieces of paper. Sometimes the content is student-created graphics that illustrate an educational song (many cool tunes available on DiscoveryEducation.com that cover high school-level economics through elementary science) or videos like the example here which is a simple voice-over with graphics.
Don't be afraid to try something new or different. Remember, our digital natives are often looking for reasons to come to school in the first place. With an already-made audio, your doc cam or digital video camera, and warm student body, a teacher can spend half a class period making a video that could stick in their heads the rest of the week. (Believe me. I still have the sublimate song stuck from 3 weeks ago!)
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Installing Software on AISD PC Computers
In the past, teachers often met a brick wall when they had some software they wanted to install or just wanted to some district-licensed software on all of their computers. This year, some fantastic changes have been made that empower our teachers to install software without any special passwords or permissions, outside of their own.
Sonia Conrad is doing great things with network installs here in Austin ISD. The process has been outlined in a short video by Marc Thrall. You can view the video at http://tinyurl.com/networkinstall .
The basic process to install software on your district PC computers is to:
Thanks to Sonia and her group for providing such a wonderful tool that benefits all teachers!
Sonia Conrad is doing great things with network installs here in Austin ISD. The process has been outlined in a short video by Marc Thrall. You can view the video at http://tinyurl.com/networkinstall .
The basic process to install software on your district PC computers is to:
- Open the Control Panels
- Open Programs and Features
- Click on 'Install Programs from the Network
- Click on the program you wish to install and follow onscreen prompts.
Thanks to Sonia and her group for providing such a wonderful tool that benefits all teachers!
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
January Math!
Happy New Year!! Installations of Innovation Stations continued through the winter break and more are coming online each week. Teachers who get an Innovation Station should be able to use it as soon as the installers hand them a key. However simple it may be to use, please contact your Educational Technology Facilitator (414-6553) to schedule a short training for your campus. There are a few 'Big Ideas' that we would like to pass along to teachers receiving the stations.
One of the great things about the station is the ability to use the technology in an interactive way with the class. Let's look at the 3rd Nine Weeks Math curriculum for a couple of integration ideas today.
In the 5th Grade Week 20 lessons, students are looking at area and perimeter. It used to be fun for students to go up to the overhead and draw on a transparency sheet to show perimeter or arrange small plastic squares to show area. The resulting work would be wiped away so the next student could show their answer. Using the "Exploring Area" Math template in Kidspiration3, the students are given 4 pages to show area by dragging squares. It's clear and easy. Use the wireless keyboard and mouse to let table groups show an answer as a group from their desks.
In 7th Grade, teachers can cover Geometry using Inspiration. I always valued making a large idea web with students to show prior knowledge and then continuing to edit it as we studied the content. By the end, they are very familiar with the idea web, they designed it, and it's a great study guide for a end of unit exam.
Teachers in Rockingham County, Virginia have a collection of Inspiration templates that students can use. Their geometry example (download it) encourages students to define quadrilaterals and triangles by definition and including examples from the internet. Teachers could scaffold this lesson to where students just have to add the definitions to the template or just add the picture illustrations. The end product would contain much relevant information.
In High School Geometry, Wolfram's Mathematica demonstration on similar triangles is a useful tool for students. Wolfram is really teacher-centric and offers many free online webinars for teachers to help learn effective instructional strategies to use with Wolfram resources.
If any of these ideas made you think of another way you would like to integrate tech into your instruction, always feel free to contact your Educational Technology Facilitator for more support. We'd love to hear from teachers. Let us know how you are using your Innovation Station in your classroom.
One of the great things about the station is the ability to use the technology in an interactive way with the class. Let's look at the 3rd Nine Weeks Math curriculum for a couple of integration ideas today.
In the 5th Grade Week 20 lessons, students are looking at area and perimeter. It used to be fun for students to go up to the overhead and draw on a transparency sheet to show perimeter or arrange small plastic squares to show area. The resulting work would be wiped away so the next student could show their answer. Using the "Exploring Area" Math template in Kidspiration3, the students are given 4 pages to show area by dragging squares. It's clear and easy. Use the wireless keyboard and mouse to let table groups show an answer as a group from their desks.
In 7th Grade, teachers can cover Geometry using Inspiration. I always valued making a large idea web with students to show prior knowledge and then continuing to edit it as we studied the content. By the end, they are very familiar with the idea web, they designed it, and it's a great study guide for a end of unit exam.
Teachers in Rockingham County, Virginia have a collection of Inspiration templates that students can use. Their geometry example (download it) encourages students to define quadrilaterals and triangles by definition and including examples from the internet. Teachers could scaffold this lesson to where students just have to add the definitions to the template or just add the picture illustrations. The end product would contain much relevant information.
In High School Geometry, Wolfram's Mathematica demonstration on similar triangles is a useful tool for students. Wolfram is really teacher-centric and offers many free online webinars for teachers to help learn effective instructional strategies to use with Wolfram resources.
If any of these ideas made you think of another way you would like to integrate tech into your instruction, always feel free to contact your Educational Technology Facilitator for more support. We'd love to hear from teachers. Let us know how you are using your Innovation Station in your classroom.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
A Managed Volume is a Happy Volume
"Dear ET, The sound coming from my IS desktop is very crackly compared to my desktop. This disturbs my students greatly. What can I do?"
Most the of problems we initially have with bad sound often come from the volume levels of the computers attached to the IS. The document camera is automatically set at 50% volume. The computers also have their own volume controls, but these are more often manipulated by teachers during normal use. Volume that is set to 100% on the computer will often sound 'too loud' or 'crackly' even when the IS audio is set low.
Manage your volume by keeping the volume on the computers set to 50-60% volume. Leave them there and, when connected to the IS, don't adjust the volume through the computer, but only use the WACI pad volume controls.
In these examples, both Mac and pc audio levels are set to 50-60%.
Most the of problems we initially have with bad sound often come from the volume levels of the computers attached to the IS. The document camera is automatically set at 50% volume. The computers also have their own volume controls, but these are more often manipulated by teachers during normal use. Volume that is set to 100% on the computer will often sound 'too loud' or 'crackly' even when the IS audio is set low.
Manage your volume by keeping the volume on the computers set to 50-60% volume. Leave them there and, when connected to the IS, don't adjust the volume through the computer, but only use the WACI pad volume controls.
In these examples, both Mac and pc audio levels are set to 50-60%.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Making FireFox Work Better For You
This link came across my Twitter account today and it has some pretty good tips for new and seasoned users of the Firefox web browser. On Austin ISD computers, the user has the ability to change Firefox settings, so these tips can be done by the teacher without any special permissions.
Ten Killer Firefox Tips, Tricks, and Shortcuts! posted on Mashable.com .
In that article, there are some nice basic tips that all users should learn. What I wanted to bring out today was the three that teachers may not know and that could play a role during instructional time with the web browser.
Tip #5: Changing the email default. Wouldn't it be nice if you could click on an email address in the browser and NOT have to open up Outlook, MacMail, or Lotus Notes? Well, you have control over that. You can set it to even open your Gmail account online if you wanted. This tip can remove the annoying delay in waiting for an app to open, just so you can close it to get it out of the way.
Tip #9: Setting Up Multiple Homepages. No, you don't have to view the AISD Main Webpage every time your browser opens. Have it automatically open up your classroom webpage, or your online classroom bookmark collection, or the 'Today In History' page you use each week. BETTER YET, have Firefox open them all if you wanted.
Tip #10: Clear a Single Site From the History. We often may visit a mistyped a website address, which is really no big deal. But when you type a similar address in the future, Firefox puts that mistyped address in your history of sites it thinks you may want. Well, if you typed the .com or .org instead of .gov Whitehouse website, you may not want the results to pop up when you type 'whitehouse'. So, Tip #10 shows how to go into your history and delete a particularly annoying website that may appear in your list.
Firefox can be incredibly customized with many plugins that offer advanced features. Knowing how to use the tool better makes it a better tool for the classroom.
What sites would you setup as your multiple Homepages?
Ten Killer Firefox Tips, Tricks, and Shortcuts! posted on Mashable.com .
In that article, there are some nice basic tips that all users should learn. What I wanted to bring out today was the three that teachers may not know and that could play a role during instructional time with the web browser.
Tip #5: Changing the email default. Wouldn't it be nice if you could click on an email address in the browser and NOT have to open up Outlook, MacMail, or Lotus Notes? Well, you have control over that. You can set it to even open your Gmail account online if you wanted. This tip can remove the annoying delay in waiting for an app to open, just so you can close it to get it out of the way.
Tip #9: Setting Up Multiple Homepages. No, you don't have to view the AISD Main Webpage every time your browser opens. Have it automatically open up your classroom webpage, or your online classroom bookmark collection, or the 'Today In History' page you use each week. BETTER YET, have Firefox open them all if you wanted.
Tip #10: Clear a Single Site From the History. We often may visit a mistyped a website address, which is really no big deal. But when you type a similar address in the future, Firefox puts that mistyped address in your history of sites it thinks you may want. Well, if you typed the .com or .org instead of .gov Whitehouse website, you may not want the results to pop up when you type 'whitehouse'. So, Tip #10 shows how to go into your history and delete a particularly annoying website that may appear in your list.
Firefox can be incredibly customized with many plugins that offer advanced features. Knowing how to use the tool better makes it a better tool for the classroom.
--Instructional?--
How do you use Firefox options or add-ons to improve your classroom delivery? I have helped teachers setup their laptop and projector combination so that the projector acts as a second display and does not just mirror the laptop's screen. To save me time in the morning, perhaps I would have Firefox automatically open Gradespeed, Slideshare.net (where I saved my morning agenda online), and countdown timer site. I could slide the agenda and timer over to the projector's screen while I leave Gradespeed on my laptop for attendance.What sites would you setup as your multiple Homepages?
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