During the second half of this semester I will be blogging about iTunesU. I have no idea what it is or how it works so I will be learning right along with the followers who will be reading this to gain information. The tag line on the top of the iTunesU website is "Learn anything, anytime, anywhere". Certainly that is a bold statement that is very intriguing. iTunesU is obviously an Apple product and by looking at the URL it is a part of their education outreach.
My journey begins with the What is iTunesU? tab on the homepage. It is a means to distribute information to learners of any level. It also allows educational setting to host all of their digital content in one place. iTunesU not only is usable on Apple devices but also PCs.
Ok wow this is cool... iTunesU is educational audio and video content that is accessible though iTunes. So if you are able to download and listen to your favorite songs you should be able to use this with ease. It provides access to information for individuals with disabilities as well. I will explore this topic in a future posting in greater detail. An iTunesU site can be kept private within an educational institution or made public for the world to see. An iTunesU site is free of charge from Apple.
I am going to stop there for the initial posting so I can learn more before presenting next week. I will say that this might become a piece of my collaborative project's final product. I will keep you informed if this becomes a reality.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Thursday, October 21, 2010
The last one about IWB's... for now!!
So the thing that I have really enjoyed from my course work in IDE is that every class opens my eyes to something that I didn't know anything about, that kind of consumes my curiosity for that semester. Interactive WhiteBoards is that thing this semester. I am planning on extending the collaborative project from this class into a year long alternative evaluation project through my school. I was interested in continuing this blog topic so that I could have a forum to present weekly lessons and sites that I will use with my students. I have decided to allow someone else to pick up the topic of IWBs for the second half of the semester. I have really gained a lot of knowledge and excitement from creating this blog. I am so grateful that after 10 years of teaching I am able to discover something new that will improve my teaching abilities. I am eager to collaborate with other educators who are more proficient with IWBs so that I can use them to their fullest potential.
Just today, the entire 2nd grade team gathered in the library to learn about a pen-pal project that we are going to be doing with Van Dyne School. The students watched a BrainPop video about friendly letters and then wanted to take the quiz. Another teacher was sitting at the computer and using the mouse to manipulate the screen. So I stood next to it and just tapped on the answer and the kids went wild. They did not know that it was a touch screen. I told my class to get ready because we are going to be doing a lot of work with the SmartBoard and they will have plenty of chances to touch it once they are taught how. It was a pretty sweet moment to see how excited they got. I hope that it carries over from week to week as we continue to develop lessons that use the IWB as an important teaching tool.
Just today, the entire 2nd grade team gathered in the library to learn about a pen-pal project that we are going to be doing with Van Dyne School. The students watched a BrainPop video about friendly letters and then wanted to take the quiz. Another teacher was sitting at the computer and using the mouse to manipulate the screen. So I stood next to it and just tapped on the answer and the kids went wild. They did not know that it was a touch screen. I told my class to get ready because we are going to be doing a lot of work with the SmartBoard and they will have plenty of chances to touch it once they are taught how. It was a pretty sweet moment to see how excited they got. I hope that it carries over from week to week as we continue to develop lessons that use the IWB as an important teaching tool.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Some cool last minute stuff
Since this will be my second to last blog about IWBs, I wanted to show off some interesting things I have discovered while learning about them.
Here is a video clip where a remote for the Nintendo Wii is used to create an IWB. I thought it was just used as the pointer but I was very wrong.
As a huge sports fan, I find it super cool that SportsNation on ESPN has a regular segment in which the hosts use an IWB. Take a look at this example.
If anyone else has any examples showing IWBs being used outside of the classroom, please share them.
Here is a video clip where a remote for the Nintendo Wii is used to create an IWB. I thought it was just used as the pointer but I was very wrong.
As a huge sports fan, I find it super cool that SportsNation on ESPN has a regular segment in which the hosts use an IWB. Take a look at this example.
If anyone else has any examples showing IWBs being used outside of the classroom, please share them.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Our New SmartBoard
My school recently underwent a library make-over from Target. As part of the renovation, a SmartBoard was mounted on the middle wall. I had a conversation about this particular IWB as well as IWBs in general and related topics with our school's library media specialist.
My school currently has 4 SmartBoards including the new one in the library. The other three are located in the1st, 3rd, and 5th grade Inclusion classrooms. The 4 boards vary in size from 60 inches to 72 inches diagonally. The three located in the classrooms are operated with portable front projectors that need to be orientated before each use. This process involved touching 9 targets so the board can sense the boundaries of the projected image. The library's has the front projector mounted on top of the board itself. The library's IWB is also accompanied with a side mounted sound system. A comment from an earlier blog asked if there was a preferred type in schools, if so why, and how much did they cost? The answers are: SmartBoard is the brand the SCSD purchases, the reason being that the district likely signed a contract with them, and the new one our library just received costs $3,800. That is the total cost for the IWB, audio system, cables, and mounting.
Every school in the district has at least one IWB. Two of the elementary buildings have one per classroom. My school has two more IWBs on the way but the librarian was not exactly sure when they were expected to arrive. These would be given to the 2nd and 4th grade teams to house. Ideally, each classroom would have their own but there has to be funding to purchase that amount of equipment. The school district does offer inservice courses for staff to learn how to use IWBs. One is provided by the Teacher's Center and provides very basic information about how to set it up and turn it on. There is a more advanced course offered from time to time which provides more in depth ways to use the IWB. The librarian said she has heard people desiring to have a course that offers participants to create their own lessons using the supplied software. The district purchased a license to use the SmartBoard software and its own technology department installs it in the computer that will be used. The library media specialists meet monthly and have been charged to include technology in each of their weekly sessions with classes. It has even been suggested that there be less time spent on reading stories aloud in favor of technology education. Standards are being developed by the SCSD in conjunction for technology proficiency for each grade level.
In terms of how to go about using an IWB in your classroom, the LMS had a few suggestions. The biggest thing is to just try it out. If there is an interest, attend professional development that is offered. She suggested visiting Smart Exchange to explore lessons that teachers have used that incorporate IWBs. She also demonstrated how to use a Word document for editing practice. Teachers might worry about students knocking into the board or projector while moving about the classroom. Defining a space for the board with tape can prevent students from getting too close to the expensive equipment.
The bottom line is that students really respond to lessons that utilize IWBs. They are eager to interact with the image and show their knowledge. The LMS shared a story about an Autistic student who is in 5th grade. He has participated in lesson using the SmartBoard in his classroom. He eats lunch in the library to avoid the noise of the cafeteria. Earlier this week he asked the LMS if she could turn the SmartBoard on and figured out how to get to the site used in class and was solving math problems in no time.
Here are some pictures of the new SmartBoard in the library.
My school currently has 4 SmartBoards including the new one in the library. The other three are located in the1st, 3rd, and 5th grade Inclusion classrooms. The 4 boards vary in size from 60 inches to 72 inches diagonally. The three located in the classrooms are operated with portable front projectors that need to be orientated before each use. This process involved touching 9 targets so the board can sense the boundaries of the projected image. The library's has the front projector mounted on top of the board itself. The library's IWB is also accompanied with a side mounted sound system. A comment from an earlier blog asked if there was a preferred type in schools, if so why, and how much did they cost? The answers are: SmartBoard is the brand the SCSD purchases, the reason being that the district likely signed a contract with them, and the new one our library just received costs $3,800. That is the total cost for the IWB, audio system, cables, and mounting.
Every school in the district has at least one IWB. Two of the elementary buildings have one per classroom. My school has two more IWBs on the way but the librarian was not exactly sure when they were expected to arrive. These would be given to the 2nd and 4th grade teams to house. Ideally, each classroom would have their own but there has to be funding to purchase that amount of equipment. The school district does offer inservice courses for staff to learn how to use IWBs. One is provided by the Teacher's Center and provides very basic information about how to set it up and turn it on. There is a more advanced course offered from time to time which provides more in depth ways to use the IWB. The librarian said she has heard people desiring to have a course that offers participants to create their own lessons using the supplied software. The district purchased a license to use the SmartBoard software and its own technology department installs it in the computer that will be used. The library media specialists meet monthly and have been charged to include technology in each of their weekly sessions with classes. It has even been suggested that there be less time spent on reading stories aloud in favor of technology education. Standards are being developed by the SCSD in conjunction for technology proficiency for each grade level.
In terms of how to go about using an IWB in your classroom, the LMS had a few suggestions. The biggest thing is to just try it out. If there is an interest, attend professional development that is offered. She suggested visiting Smart Exchange to explore lessons that teachers have used that incorporate IWBs. She also demonstrated how to use a Word document for editing practice. Teachers might worry about students knocking into the board or projector while moving about the classroom. Defining a space for the board with tape can prevent students from getting too close to the expensive equipment.
The bottom line is that students really respond to lessons that utilize IWBs. They are eager to interact with the image and show their knowledge. The LMS shared a story about an Autistic student who is in 5th grade. He has participated in lesson using the SmartBoard in his classroom. He eats lunch in the library to avoid the noise of the cafeteria. Earlier this week he asked the LMS if she could turn the SmartBoard on and figured out how to get to the site used in class and was solving math problems in no time.
Here are some pictures of the new SmartBoard in the library.
The front view
Notice the overhead mounted projector
The complete work station
Look its my blog!!
Monday, October 4, 2010
Any questions for an "expert"?
I am meeting with my school's librarian Thursday morning to discuss what she knows about IWBs. If anyone has any specific questions you would like me to ask her please post them in the comments before 8am Thursday morning. I am looking forward to this conversation. I will also be taking a picture of the new SmartBoard that was installed as part of out library's renovation provided by Target.
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