Mrs. Porter used the program Elluminate to conduct her online interactive tutoring session.  Elluminate provides synchronous learning opportunities including voice over Internet, web cam video, instant messaging, polling, creation of breakout rooms and the ability to archive and review the sessions.

Visit the Elluminate site  to see if you might be interested in using this with your students.  If you have more questions about the application of this tool, ask Mrs. Porter.

Here are a few screen shots I took last night during the session.

I would like to make you aware of and promote one of our magazine subscriptions, Technology & Learning, whose mission is to provide K-12 educators with essential resources for managing, teaching, and training with technology.     There is also an online version of Technology & Learning.  The site contains considerably more than the print version does, including readers’ reports of Web tours and weekly news updates.  The site offers plenty of information, links, and resources.  One of my favorite features of the online version is the Daily Features section that includes the following: 

Site of the Day
New places to visit each day.

School Site of the Week
A new school site is selected each week.

How To: QuickFlicks
Video tech tutorials every Monday.

The IT Guy
Helpful new tech tips twice a week.

PDQ
Professional Development Quicktip twice a week.

Leaders’ Edge
Great ideas for administrators and tech leaders.

palmOne Pavilion
Handhelds and learning. 

On the sidebar I have provided links for several of these “Daily Features”  so that you can  access these web pages directly from the library blog each time you visit.

Definition:     One of the most powerful Internet tools is the Weblog, or blog, an online journal that is continuously updated by its author or authors.  Blogs facilitate instantaneous publication and allow for feedback from readers. 

Examples of classroom blogs:

1. Math class at Restoration Academy, Fairfield, Alabama,     2.  Mrs. Caldwell’s Senior English classes at Mountain Brook High School,     3.  Miller’s English 10 Classroom Blog,      4.  A math class

How to blog:  Vicki Davis, a teacher and fellow blogger from Camilla, Georgia has provided an excellent informative post on her blog site, The Cool Cat Teacher Blog, about how to be an incredible blogger.  Here she provides a helpful reading list for bloggers.

Recommended site to host your educational blog:    Edublogs

Let me know if you would be interested in participating in an in-service to help you setup your classroom blog.

Here is an interesting video about technology and the lack of it in schools.  It is thought-provoking and all too true.  Let us try and change this situation. 

Download Video: Posted by videointheclassroom at TeacherTube.com.

One of the main goals for our library program this year is to introduce Web 2.0 and provide instruction in the use of these information tools in classroom instruction and also in professional development.   Web 2.0 is a neat vehicle for collaborating learning, writing, evaluation, analysis, and presentation.  Being a librarian during this “digital age” is exciting and I look forward to learning with you and leading in our trek through this vast landscape of information and technology.   Each week we plan on featuring one of these tools and how it can be integrated into the curriculum.

Welcome To Our New Teachers

Thank you Jannelle for letting us know how you are using Google spreadsheet.

Google has so many useful tools. I just recently used the spreadsheet feature available for those who use Google mail. Prior to this year, Marrianne Coleman, Carrie Radice and I would write all the receipts for prom tickets and then one of us would have to compile a master list of all students attending the prom. This year, my husband suggested we use Google spreadsheets. I created a spreadsheet in Google that I was able to “share” with Marrianne and Carrie. Every time we sold prom tickets, we would individually update this spreadsheet from home, school, or any computer that could access the Internet. It was so convenient and operated very much like Excel.  You can also share documents and calendars. I am using the shared calendar with my students to list all homework. By making the calendar “public,” my students are able to access it from home and get their assignments. Google is so much more than a search engine. You should do some searching yourself and explore the many features!  

Jannelle Porter

We have the following titles:  Aespo’s Fables, Bridge to Terabithia, Canterbury Tales, Ethan Frome, Frankenstein, The Art of War, and The DaVinci Code.

Click on the picture for more information.  Let us know if  you have requests for other titles.

“For the past week and a half I have been wearing a really cool hi-tech Samsung Digital Audio Player attached to my collar with a really hi-tech paper clip!  The audio player records my classes…the paper clip is all I could find to ensure the microphone was close enough to my mouth.  With the technical help of my husband, I record my classes and copy the files to my math website.  It has been quite a challenge to teach my lesson knowing it is being recorded.  I want students to be able to access class sessions if they have been absent so I try to use more descriptive methods.  I try to teach as though I am instructing a blind student.  It is very difficult.  And if you listen to any of the recordings, you might be able to tell that I am not good at it just yet.  One of the other pitfalls is having to listen to yourself as you review the recordings.  I do no enjoy that at all!  Aside from these few hurdles, I think it is really going to be an asset to my classroom.  Students will be able to catch up/review when necessary and parents will have the opportunity to hear what is going on in class!  As a parent, I would embrace this opportunity.  To hear classroom audio, go to www.porterweb.net/math and select either precalculus or AP calculus.  Select audio.  These files take a minute or two to download as they are probably a bit too large.  My next project is to work on compressing them.  Any comments, criticisms, or corrections are welcome!”   Janelle Porter