Mrs. Morrow's Tech Blog

Katie's Flickr Photos

2008-09-04T07:43:00.000-07:00

Atomic Learning Desktop

2008-04-27T10:46:00.000-07:00

"Atomic Learning is proud to unveil the Atomic Desktop. This complimentary downloadable tool allows users to quickly and easily access on-demand software training by offering an easy-to-use interface to search and view tutorials that answer their common 'How do I do that?" questions - all directly from their desktop without ever having to open the browser or leave a software program."

We will put this on the student image for next year, but I highly encourage teachers to download and install it before you leave for the summer. It's like having a little teacher right on your desktop whenever you need to ask technology-related questions!

To download the Atomic Desktop, please select the Downloadable materials tab in the Atomic Toolkit (www.AtomicLearning.com/atomictoolkit).

I'm ashamed!

2008-04-12T11:56:00.000-07:00

So, I am great at starting new ideas and creative projects and not necessarily following through with them 100%. Although this was one of the first blogs I ever created, I have drifted away from it over time and branched off into more specific blogs written for more specific audiences. Imagine, to my surprise, when the highly respected TechChicks (http://techchicktips.net) linked to this blog in their podcast episode notes! AHHH! Lesson learned: Keep your digital content current. If anyone wants to view blogs, podcasts, etc., that my students and I have worked on far more recently than this one, please check out www.mrsmorrow.com. I'll TRY to stay more organized in my future digital endeavors!

Upcoming ALI Writing Opportunities for Students

2007-04-16T10:53:00.000-07:00

Hello high school English teachers!

These opportunities sound neat. The deadline for the 1st one is this Friday, April 20th. Read more about all three by clicking on the links.

~Katie

In celebration of National Poetry Month, the Apple Learning Interchange is pleased to announce the launch of "2:25PM / Real-World Writing," a collection from The Student Publishing Program that features exclusive poetry readings and writing advice from many of the world's top writers, including U.S. Poet Laureate Donald Hall.
These resources provide three educational programs through the latest technologies most prevalent in the lives of teens - on-demand video, podcasts and other mobile formats - with the common goal of bringing real-world writing into the classroom and classroom writing into the real world:

"Ask America's Poet Laureate" invites secondary students and educators nationwide to submit their text or video questions to U.S.
Poet Laureate Donald Hall until April 20th. On April 30th, we'll publish his video responses to the 10 questions that help student writers the most. Click here to submit a question!

http://edcommunity.apple.com/ali/story.php?itemID=10728

"Publish with the Poet Laureate!" invites secondary students to submit their text or video poetry for possible publication alongside the poems of U.S. Poet Laureate Donald Hall. This program is a free, ongoing contest to help inspire students to write for a larger audience, and to help students recognize their work as publish- worthy. Click here to submit a poem!

http://edcommunity.apple.com/ali/story.php?itemID=10726

"Greatest Living Writers Project" invites people of all ages to experience exclusive video poetry readings and writing advice from many of the world's greatest writers - Poet Laureates, Pulitzer Prize- winners, National Poetry Slam Champions, best-selling novelists, playwrights, and musicians. This resource not only preserves and shares the voices, writings and teachings of literary icons, but also brings these top writers into the classrooms through on-demand video as a means to inspire our next generation of literary icons (today's
students!) to share their own.

http://edcommunity.apple.com/ali/collection.php?collectionID=784

Palms, anyone?

2007-04-12T11:59:00.000-07:00

Just a few new things that have surfaced recently regarding the Palm handhelds…

… Who knows, with all that free time everyone has on their hands, we may be able to look through it and actually use something! (Ha!)

All kidding aside, this Dale guy is a pre-service teacher who does his own programming and has created some GREAT apps. They can all be accessed from http://dalesapps.blogspot.com . Many are for elementary age students (clocks, money, double-digit multiplication, etc.) but some have applications for 7th graders as well. I like the SRC one which has simple reading strategy templates (KWL, 5Ws, etc.) for kids to use for reading comprehension help. Probably the coolest thing about his website is that you can watch short little videos on how his applications work before you download them. A picture is worth a thousand words!

I’m also linking to an “oldie, but a goodie.” It is a pdf file with 217 ideas (many quick and easy) for using Palms with students. Almost every one has a website that you can click on to find the information, application, or additional resources to go with the idea. Good ideas for a rainy day!

Finally, Go Know is sponsoring the 4th annual Sketchy contest. ( I think I already sent some of you the info.) Rules, etc., can be accessed at http://www.goknow.com/sketchycontest. We’ve had winners from O’Neill every year prior to this one, so the kids kind of know what it is about. If any student creates a Sketchy that they would like to enter, I would be happy to submit it for them so you don’t have to mess with it. Just give them the invitation and some students may surprise you!

New Things from Quizzler

2006-10-18T11:10:00.000-07:00

We have exciting news for Quizzler owners, we have released some new products, more free quizzes, and good news for iPod owners...
We are pleased to announce a new product in the Quizzler family -- Quizzler Server. This application runs on a desktop computer and collects scores from other devices (handhelds or computers) over a wifi wireless network. This is the fastest way to collect scores from a classroom, as several scores can be transmitted all at once, and the results appear immediately on the Quizzler Server screen.
Quizzler Server also allows you to "poll the audience" and send out questions for immediate feedback. Just type in your question, and the students read it and send back the answers right on the spot. The privacy provided by this type of poll gets you fast, honest feedback.
Special pricing is available for Quizzler Server until the end of October.
If you don't use wifi on your handhelds, the Instructor Pack is still a great way to collect scores on a handheld. In addition to infrared support, we've added Bluetooth support, too. Quizzler Maker and the handheld Instructor Pack software are now priced separately so you can order exactly what you need. Instructor Pack is now available for both Palm and Pocket PC handhelds.
If you own an iPod, you have another way to view Quizzler quizzes! The latest version of Quizzler Maker (5.3) allows you to export to iPod.
Not all advanced features are supported there, but you can view your flashcards and multiple choice quizzes interactively, using the built-in Note reader.
Lastly, we're now giving away our premium quiz collection. You can now download free versions of these quizzes: Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Simpsons, TV, and College Prep Test.
Visit http://www.quizzlerpro.com for the latest product information and downloads.
-John Covele
President, Pocket Mobility Inc.
www.quizzlerpro.com

SMARTBoard software update: Service Pack 3

2006-09-20T17:05:00.000-07:00

Service Pack 3 is here and I encourage everyone to download it and test it out. As usual, if you find any issues with the software, please report it to usability@smarttech.com.

New Features

In addition to all the great new features available in version 9.5 (What's New in Version 9.5), Service Pack 3 offers these additional features.

Windows and Mac
Show All Links: When you select the Show all Links feature, all the linked objects on a Notebook page are briefly surrounded by an animated link indicator to help the presenter navigate the linked objects on the page.
Dual Page Display: Use this new feature to display two Notebook pages on the screen simultaneously. You can draw, make notes, import files and add links on either page.
Team Content access: Use the Team Content feature to connect to Gallery content on a shared network drive. Depending on your permission level (which you can see on the file’s security settings), you can use, add content to or delete items from Team Content folders without installing the software as a network administrator.

Windows download available at http://www.smarttech.com/support/software/sb_win.asp
Mac download available at http://www.smarttech.com/support/software/sb_mac.asp

It is important to note that when you download Service Pack 3 you get all the upgrades from service packs 1 and 2 also (if you haven’t downloaded them already).

Updating your SMART Board Software

2006-09-12T14:25:00.000-07:00

Hopefully everyone has updated their SMART Board software to Notebook 9.5. If you are not sure, or just want to check, go down to the lower-right corner of your task bar and RIGHT-CLICK the SMARTBoard icon. Then choose 'Check for Updates'-- this should help keep you current.

ALSO- the easiest way to add the clip art files to your gallery is to open Notebook, click on Gallery, and find the button in the upper-right hand corner that says 'Show Additional Gallery Actions.' Use this to Click on 'Check for Updates' and then 'SMART Essentials for Educators.' This will allow you to download ALL the latest clipart files from Smart. But be prepared, it could take hours to download them... you may want to leave it overnight.

Constitution Day Palm FREE Resources

2006-09-12T14:18:00.000-07:00

With Constitution Day approaching, K-12 Handhelds is offering some free curriculum materials for the Palm. There are ebooks about the Constitution, audio files to hear parts of it, and Quizzler quizzes to name a few of the FREE resources.

Click on http://www.k12handhelds.com/curriculum.php, download the files, hotsync them to your Palm, and beam them to your classes.

Podcasting Workshop

2006-09-12T12:01:00.000-07:00

The ESU is offering a podcasting workshop with Dan Schmit from UNL and Kidcast (he's awesome!). Unfortunately, because of scheduling it has to be on a Saturday. The good news is that the ESU will pay a stipend to teachers who are willing to give up their day to learn about this exciting new form of digital media publishing.
The date is Sept. 23 so you will need to email Lanita at ESU#1 immediately if you are interested so that they don't cancel it!

Palm wireless keyboards

2006-09-12T11:54:00.000-07:00

I accidently loaded the wrong driver for the Palm keyboards on about 80% of our students' Palms. Good news is that Mike Curtis helped me figure out a relatively easy fix...

Hold the UP button while you do a soft reset (let go when you see the Palm logo)
Delete the keyboard app
Do a regular soft reset
Beam the RIGHT keyboard driver to the Palm (probably from your teacher Palm)

Some 6th graders can sure help with this as well as they know what to do!

Opening Attachments with ESU email

2006-09-12T11:44:00.000-07:00

This tip is from Kevin. I don't typically open my email online, but I know that often it has problems with attachments opening, etc. Kevin says that if you hold down control while you click on the attachment it should actually open! (I have also heard of clicking reply FIRST, and then the attachment may open).

...For what it's worth!

Laptop Labs

2006-09-12T11:31:00.001-07:00

The laptop lab carts are currently up and running ( to the best of our abilities!)
We are going to house them during the school day in the 5th and 6th grade hallway and they should receive a good signal anywhere up and down that hallway... possibly even into the 3rd grade rooms. It would be perfectly fine if students wanted to use a laptop during studyhall or classtime if you want to allow it. Please just remember to monitor their use and reinforce these several required actions:
1) Leave the laptop as you found it-- don't change screensavers, desktops backgrounds, install programs, etc... (all this good stuff is covered in the Acceptable Use Policy we sent home with students that they signed)
2) If a laptop has a problem, write what the problem is on a sticky note and place it on top of the laptop lab cart.
3) Make sure the laptop is shut down completely before closing the screen and then make sure it is plugged into a power cord when it is placed back in the lab.

Laptop Labs

2006-09-12T11:31:00.000-07:00

NEW YEAR-- NEW BLOG PURPOSE!

2006-09-12T11:28:00.000-07:00

For the 2006-2007 school year I would like to attempt to use this blog as a way to share small pieces of technology-related information with the staff at O'Neill Public Schools. I'll post tidbits as I think of them and then hopefully compile them monthly into a printed newsletter as well. Hopefully this will make it easier to promote technology integration throughout our district.

THANKS FOR READING!

NECC 06

2006-07-05T10:30:00.001-07:00

Wow! We made it SanDiego and NECC's opening ceremony with a great fireworks show over the water. Although our motel is incredibly low-rate, and the walk to the Convention Center not in the best neighborhood (nothing like good old O'Neill, Nebraska!), I am still PUMPED to start learning! Let the blog posts roll....

Favorite Thing Learned

2006-06-08T09:51:00.000-07:00

Tell about at least one favorite thing you learned this week in class. It can be specific, like a cool tip or trick you never knew about, or it can be more general, like a software program or an idea of how to integrate multimedia in the classroom. I would like to know what was most valuable from this class.

THANKS FOR EVERYONE's patience and willingness to try new things this week!
~Katie

Tips and Tricks for making movies

2006-06-06T15:26:00.000-07:00

Everyone hopefully learned SOMETHING that they didn't know before about producing digital movies today. Share what software you are using to create your digital storytelling example and a tip or trick or two that you learned today for using it. Don't worry if you think everyone already knows that... they probably don't! We all learn a lot by experiementing and doing... and the more you share, the better we all are!

Sharing Digital Stories

2006-06-06T15:23:00.000-07:00

Your favorite digital story sample that you saw this morning...
...explain!

Digital Imaging Lesson Ideas

2006-06-06T06:08:00.000-07:00

Share ideas for lessons involving digital imaging. Think of Photoshop Elements, its tools and capabilities, and ways to incorporate digital image editing into your curriculum.

PowerMediaPlus

2006-06-06T06:06:00.000-07:00

Tell about a video clip that you found for your classroom on PowerMediaPlus.com (the new United Streaming). Anything else interesting you learned can be shared.

Digital Audio Production

2006-06-04T18:51:00.000-07:00

Audio is SO important to multimedia production... I cannot ever over-emphasize this! After this afternoon's crash-course session on digital audio involving iTunes, Garage Band, Audacity, and podcasting, comment on the knowledge you have gained. Topics to cover: a neat podcast you found in the iTunes podcast directory (educational or not!), educational applications for podcasting with your students and curricular area, and maybe a great resource or two on this topic that you do not want to forget for the future.

Who wants an iPod now?

Keeping Current

2006-06-04T18:45:00.000-07:00

Educational Technology is such a rapidly changing field, it is nearly impossible to keep current with the ever-changing tools, strategies, and trends. After listening to the examples in class, choose at least one way to keep current: join a listserv, subscribe to a journal, search for online learning communities, find a blog to follow regularly, etc. After taking on this challenge, describe what you did in your "Comment."
***Remember to choose "Other" and use at least your first name. Thanks!

Multimedia Production in the Classroom

2006-06-04T17:55:00.000-07:00

I'm going to use this blog space as one form of communication for this summer's graduate course entitled "Multimedia Production in the Classroom." If you are not a member of the class and would still like to read and respond to our topics of discussion, feel free! (Especially if you are an educator interested in technology integration!) If you are a member of the class, you will need to post a "comment" on each one of the following blog posts (except for this one). Copy and paste your response and save it for your class portfolio. But most importantly, read others' comments and learn from each other as you guys are far better teachers to each other than I am to you. And now, let's have some fun and do some blogging!

Why Blog?

2005-08-12T13:58:00.000-07:00

This article explains benefits of blogging on the blogger's brain!
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/3/prweb213538.htm

2005-05-14T08:53:00.000-07:00

A sampling of our tools of learning.

2005-05-14T08:51:00.000-07:00

Technology opens the doors of learning for all students.

Blogger Beginner

2005-05-14T08:12:00.000-07:00

I'm attempting to enter the world of blogging. With the encouragement I give to my students to write, write, write, and use technology as well, it only seems to make sense to practice what I preach! Even though summer is approaching rapidly, I'm hoping I can develop this blog throughout the vacation to learn more about this mode of communication and utilize it next school year with my fifth grade students.
Wish me luck!