Category: EdTech

0

South Carolina Digital Library

Posted on By Tom 1 Comment on South Carolina Digital Library
EdTech, Internet

Today I discovered an excellent new online resource.  The South Carolina Digital Library is a collaborative project between several agencies, organizations, and colleges which brings together several digital libraries.  The collections include historical images, documents, audio, and other ephemera.  These items are still housed in their previous locations, but the SC Digital Library brings all … Read More “South Carolina Digital Library” »

Two Libraries, Two Attitudes

Posted on By Tom 9 Comments on Two Libraries, Two Attitudes
EdTech, Internet

Greenville County Library

First, let me make something very clear. Both Greenville and Spartanburg Counties have outstanding library systems. The services both of these systems provide are vital to the education and health of our communities, and we would be much poorer without them. That being said, I have noticed some distinct differences in how each system addresses information in the digital age, and specifically social media applications.

Spartanburg County Library is embracing social media. From their main website one finds links to their YouTube channel, their Twitter stream, their Flickr account, and their Facebook group page. All of these accounts are very active, and appear to be updated regularly. I was most impressed with their YouTube channel, which features a video podcast twice a week. The one for this week is embedded below:

Read More “Two Libraries, Two Attitudes” »

Teachers and Facebook

Posted on By Tom 2 Comments on Teachers and Facebook
EdTech, Internet

Yesterday there was an article in the Greenville News about development of a policy for teacher use of Facebook. The article stated that the board was holding off on approval of the policy because some members had raised “ethical, legal and technical questions.”    The new policy would put into place a procedure for dismissing teachers … Read More “Teachers and Facebook” »

Rough Week in Lake Wobegon

Posted on By Tom 1 Comment on Rough Week in Lake Wobegon
EdTech, Rants

Warning: Rant ahead

I have a dream. I don’t know if it’s even possible. For once, I would like to place a large order of computers, have them be priced appropriately, be delivered on time, and work like they are supposed to when we get them set up. Is that really too much to ask?

This summer instead of purchasing HP computers we bought Dells. Pricing and support arrangements through our local system integrator were the main reasons for the switch. Also, we have had TONS of problems with HP products over the past few years. Last year deliveries were late and we had the perennial problem with the drivers not wanting to do an inside delivery. To compound matters, they tried to overcharge us for half a million dollars AND tried to tack late fees onto that as we worked to get the price sorted out.

That was last year. This summer Dell has let use experience even more different levels of frustration. Our first delivery had the driver refusing to do what was asked. That got ironed out quickly, and we didn’t have any more problems. Then came the deployment. When we tried to boot up the computers, we found that we had purchased 850 bricks – the computers wouldn’t work.

Read More “Rough Week in Lake Wobegon” »

Spartanburg County Instructional Technology Academy

Posted on By Tom No Comments on Spartanburg County Instructional Technology Academy
EdTech

This week we held the kick-off sessions for the Spartanburg County Instructional Technology Academy (SCITA) at USC-Upstate. The three-day workshop was the start of a graduate course that is funded by an E2T2 grant that Spartanburg school districts 1, 2, 5, and 7 had applied for and received. In addition to the graduate course, participants would receive and be trained in emerging technology for their classrooms.

The first day began with an overview of the program and an introduction to the course by Dr. Jimmy Pryor, who will be the instructor. Danielle Stengle from CSI Outfitters then spoke to the group about using technology for special needs students.

Read More “Spartanburg County Instructional Technology Academy” »

Discovery Education MediaShare

Posted on By Tom No Comments on Discovery Education MediaShare
EdTech

The citizens of South Carolina really have some wonderful online resources available to them. For ten years now the State Library has made available a wealth of research and reference materials through the DISCUS project. This is available in all schools, libraries, and colleges, and available at home if you obtain a free password from one of those sources. Then there’s KnowItAll.org and all of the other amazing resources from SCETV. One of the best of these is the Discovery Education video clips available from StreamlineSC. Like DISCUS, this is available free to all schools in the state through a special licensing arrangement with Discovery. At the SCETV conference this week I learned about a new feature that Discovery is promoting called MediaShare. This new service looks really cool, and looks like it will be another great resource for teachers.

As the name suggests, MediaShare allows users to share files of various types – PowerPoint slide shows, Smart and Promethean files, podcasts, and video clips. The idea is that these types of files often take up more space on servers than some districts allow, so Discovery has created this place to host the files. MediaShare is monitored for appropriateness of content, and districts can also set approval levels for files uploaded by their users.

MediaShare-1

Read More “Discovery Education MediaShare” »

SCETV Summer Workshops

Posted on By Tom No Comments on SCETV Summer Workshops
EdTech

DSC_2090

This week SCETV is holding its summer technology workshops. Normally I’m so busy building new schools and putting in computers that I can’t take part in the summer workshops. This summer, however, I decided I would try to make it. I figured that during summer there would be better participation than there might during the school year.

Last spring I did three sessions each day, which meant that I had no down time nor opportunity to visit any other sessions. This time I cut one of my presentations, so I would only be doing two workshops each day – Basic Google Earth and Creating Interactive Lessons with Google Earth. I had also been asked to conduct a geocaching activity one of the afternoons.

Read More “SCETV Summer Workshops” »

Google Squared

Posted on By Tom 2 Comments on Google Squared
EdTech, General Technology, Internet

Google has released two cool new products this week. First, there is a major update to the user interface for Street View.  The transitions between scenes are much smoother, and it reminds me of Microsoft’s Photosynth technology.  One gets the feeling of looking around corners, and actually being immersed in the environment.  For a good example, take a look at Times Square in New York.

As cool as this is, I’m even more excited about the public release of Google Squared, a new search product that creates tables for search results.   I had mourned the demise of Google Notebook, and haven’t really played around with Search Wiki, which is supposed to replace it. This new product is an excellent tool for research and comparison.

Read More “Google Squared” »

Kids and Social Media

Posted on By Tom 4 Comments on Kids and Social Media
EdTech, General Technology

0519091909.jpg

This past week I was asked to advise on guidelines for teacher-student interactions in social media settings such as Facebook.  Essentially, we’re recommending caution.  The new guidelines will be posted in faculty handbooks, and read as follows:

Faculty/Staff members should maintain professionalism in their relationship with students at all times. Activities/behaviors in which faculty/staff members should not participate with students include, but are limited to the following:

1) Posting student pictures on web-based social network sites (Facebook, MySpace etc)

2) Exchange cell phone numbers with students

3) Participate in inappropriate text messaging with students

4) Participate in inappropriate e-mail correspondence with students

The key word here is “inappropriate.”  Unfortunately, no definition is given as to what might be considered inappropriate.  There are the obvious reasons – the unfortunate ones that make headlines.  However, is ANY contact via e-mail or text messaging between teachers and students appropriate?  Our paranoid society would cast suspicion on any of these activities.

Read More “Kids and Social Media” »

Adding Google Earth to PowerPoint

Posted on By Tom 4 Comments on Adding Google Earth to PowerPoint
EdTech, Geocaching and Maps, Internet

I occasionally check to see what leads people to this website – what search terms they are using to find me, or what sites link to this one. Lately I’ve gotten lots of hits from search engines with people trying to find out how to embed Google Earth into Powerpoint. I had posted something a … Read More “Adding Google Earth to PowerPoint” »