Staff Development

Staff Development at my school is fairly difficult. Our classroom teachers have a TON on their plates right now, so they don't have much "free time" to come and listen to me. Also, we have a technology integrator who covers a lot of the technology inservicing. Needless to say... I keep trying. I strongly believe we need to advocate for our position and prove to be indispensable to the teachers!

The last "big event" I did with/for my staff was an ebook inservice. I was given some time on an early release afternoon. I showed ebooks and how to use them in the classroom. The teachers were soooo excited! I then handed out wish lists to them to write down titles or subjects they would like to see on ebooks. The bummer was that I couldn't find a lot of what they requested. There seems to be a lot more non-fiction available, and my teachers wanted fiction titles that support their reading/writing curriculum. I sort of feel like I bombed with this. Needless to say I consistently am on the lookout for ebooks that match the requests.

I also did an inservice on Discovery Streaming with my tech integrator. That was great, but teachers are not finding the time they need to "explore" and find useful content.

Some other things I've done with/for my staff:
* Newsletters- sharing new books, cool web sites and important updates in the library
* Emails when I find great sites or something to share
* "Books & Breakfast"- to highlight new book orders (of course I bring in food)
* "Open door policy"- we are always open and willing to help. Teachers (hopefully) feel comfortable coming to me when they need help.

The Future of Web 2.0

I believe the future of Web 2.0 is just beginning. When I say to people, "I have a Blog and a Wiki", they look at me like I'm crazy. Although I've learned an extreme amount of Web 2.0 tools and language in my summer Stritch classes, there are so many people out there who haven't yet begun to know about it. The best part is the interactive piece. People of all ages are now posting thoughts and comments where before we were just reading about things. Of course, this has also led to a vast majority of people blogging their thoughts and opinions about ANYTHING! But this gets to my next point- the social piece. People who don't know each other are communicating. Instead of handing in a paper to their teacher, students are posting their work to an unlimited audience. Kids are writing throughout the summer more than ever before. As Dion Hinchcliffe states in his article, The State of Web 2.0, "Users generate the majority of the content." So how can anyone think this is going away? It's just spilling into school districts and classrooms. The best part too is how you can use all these tools for free! I have 2 Blogs set up, a photo sharing site, a Wiki and a WIkispace. I haven't spent a dime. My Blog saved me while teaching summer school to make life easier for first graders to get to some sites they needed to use. Kids can communicate with each other about books, assignments, projects, all from the comfort of home. I can't wait to share what I've learned this summer with my colleagues at school. Although there are hesitant teachers out there, and district people looking out for safety and filtering, Web 2.0 is our future. We adults need to learn it, model it, and utilize it in education.

Our First Summer School Podcast!!

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Listening to Podcasts

I listened to a large sampling of podcasts at EPN-The Educational Podcast Network. This is a great site to use as first exposure to podcasting because of the large variety of content. I was also enjoying the fact that these podcasts are from all around the world- I listened to some from Hong Kong and the UK!! I used this site as an introduction with my summer school podcasting class. Because of the large amount and variety, there are some terrific examples, but also some podcasts to use as "what not to do". Podcasts are divided into elementary, middle, and secondary as well as divisions by subject. The kids have come up with some very cute names: "Dream Extreme", "Club Kidcast", "Radio Popcorn", "Small Voices", and "Pod Jockeys". Some positives we found were that the podcasters were extremely enthusiastic and motivated within their broadcasts. This made listening to them more entertaining. Also, some of the shows incorporated music which added a more "professional" approach. Many students spoke clearly and fluently, which we knew meant they must have practiced a lot. They also had given themselves fun on-air dj type names. Some negatives were that some podcasts simply didn't work, others had no introduction so we didn't know what exactly we were listening to. Also, speaking skills are necessary- not too fast or too slow. Although podcasting is fun to use in the classroom, there is some work involved! We spent 4 days planning, setting up themes and formats, scripting everything that would be said, and of course PRACTICING! The kids had a blast! Some uses during the school year would be to broadcast projects that the kids have done. For example, our fourth graders do book reports/recommendations which could easily be broadcast to encourage others to read great books. They also do Powerpoint presentations on famous Wisconsinites, but they could do the oral version through a podcast, or turn their work into an interview format and have fun that way. Poetry readings and Reader's Theater would be more examples of use. This is a terrific way to build oral speaking skills along with fluent reading. The possibilities of utilizing podcasting in education are endless!!!

Using Audacity for Podcasting (Report 4)

Audacity is a free, open source software for recording and editing sounds. This program can be downloaded and used on Macs, PCs, GNU/Linux and other operating systems. This site is fairly easy to use. All the schools in Wauwatosa have it and use it for their projects such as podcasting. The site lists all the many things you can do with Audacity: Record live audio; convert tapes and records into digital recordings; edit MP3 and sound waves; cut, copy, mix, and splice sounds together; change the speed or pitch of the recording; dub over existing tracks to create multi-track recordings; and import and export files. Editing is also easy to use. You can copy, cut, edit and paste in this feature. You can fade in and out and use a variety of built in effects. Through the editing process, you can eliminate hissing and background noises which often leads to poor sound quality in a podcast. Along with this software being free of cost, you are also free to use it, study it, improve it, and share with others. We have our podcasting class using Audacity this summer. These kids range in age from third grade to seventh grade and can easily use this program.

Using Google Calendar (Report 3)

Wow- this is a pretty cool resource. I happen to be completely obsessed with my calendar because there's always so much going on. Also, if I don't write it down, I will forget. So Google Calendar is a great tool for me! You need time to explore the site, but here are some things I discovered it will do. You can add it to your toolbar, and edit the settings to make it personalized. You can share it or keep it private. There are a variety of views- day, week, next 4 days, month, and agenda. You're able to type in individual data, or set up daily, weekly, or monthly events. There is a public calendar search which allows you to find and place sporting events, TV shows, and much more! It even tells the episode name, summary, and if it's new or a repeat TV episode. You're able to go ahead and/or back into previous months. When you enter events, you can add details and pop-up reminders. You can add holidays, weather, and send to your mobile phone. The possibilities are endless! I see the benefit also in this being online. So wherever you are, as long as you have Internet access, you're good to go!

Using Box.net in Education (Report 2)

Box.net is a free resource used to store documents, photos, and more. These files can then be shared and viewed by others just by connecting to the Internet. You can access important files from your desktop, laptop, or mobile phone- no software is needed. Instead of sending attachments or saving files to flash drives that you could forget, just send a link to Box.net, or connect and retrieve your needed materials. Your data will be kept safe and secure and there are no bandwith limits. Your material is not public access. You can create public links by right-clicking, or posting a link on your web site, blog, or wiki. Also, RSS feeds can be automatically created, letting your subscribers receive instant updates. This is a terrific site to store photos throughout the year for your students to use in their projects. Also, parents could log on to see your kids in action.