Upcoming MLTI Workshops for January and February in Northern Maine

January 28, 2013: Madawaska Middle/High School
Connecting the Humanities Jigsaw using Geographic Tools
Geography is the study of spatial patterns, processes and relationships, and can act as the background for all humanities study: all historical events have a location, literature can be studied through its setting and economics is bound to the land. Therefore, teaching students how to use digital geographic tools can give them the grounding needed for studying the humanities. This session will focus on the use of online geographic information systems and Google Earth, and will present strategies for research, writing and presentation in all areas of the humanities with these digital tools.This is a new session for this spring. Your attendance at the MLTI Fall Social Studies session is not a pre-requisite for this session.
This is a new session for this spring. Your attendance at the MLTI Fall Social Studies session is not a pre-requisite for this session.

January 29, 2013: Madawaska Middle/High School
Supporting Students with Special Needs Using MLTI and Universal Design for Learning
This hands-on workshop will begin by exploring accessibility options and adjusting preference settings on the MLTI device to meet the needs of the learner. Participants will also learn to create lessons that target Response to Intervention and incorporate different learning styles to increase universal access for classroom activities. We’ll also examine exciting ways to “provide multiple means of engagement” for students through creating social stories and learning how to socially navigate the world around them. Participants will explore ways to apply these skills to creating Digital Portfolios. Students will ultimately be able to showcase projects that target their Individualized Education Plan benchmarks and goals as well as self-assess their work.
This is a repeat of the Fall 2012 session but we encourage you to join us again to review and spend more time on applications on your own.

February 4, 2013: Houlton High School
Instructional Design with Tech & Next Gen Science Standards

With the publication of Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) early next year, science teachers face the challenge of adapting and aligning their teaching to "keep up." We will look at the 8 Practices, and the other dimensions of Disciplinary Core Ideas, and Crosscutting Concepts from the Framework to see how applications on the MLTI image and from the web can be part of reworking lessons and units for science instruction.

This workshop will provide the time and assistance necessary for hands-on instructional design to folks who attended the Fall MLTI science workshops, as well as introducing the new standards to folks who will be participating for the first time. Careful attention will be paid to how the NGSS align with the ELA and Math Common Core State Standards.

February 28, 2013: Houlton High School

Shift Happens! Common Core, ELA and Digital Literacy

This session is designed for middle and high school teachers who are using the MLTI device and is flexible to meet the diverse levels of knowledge/use of technology and of the CCSS. We will approach the ELA/Literacy standards from the perspective of "Six Shifts" in pedagogy and instruction required for a standards-based approach to be successful. We will explore applications on the MLTI device (as well as other web-based tools) that support teaching with the Six Shifts in mind, including Preview Annotation Tools, Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite, and OmniGraffle-- and more! Since the ELA/Literacy standards are intended to address literacy across content areas, all are welcome to attend!

This is a repeat of the Fall 2012 session but we encourage you to join us again.

February 28, 2013: Houlton High School

Connecting the Humanities Jigsaw using Geographic Tools

Geography is the study of spatial patterns, processes and relationships, and can act as the background for all humanities study: all historical events have a location, literature can be studied through its setting and economics is bound to the land. Therefore, teaching students how to use digital geographic tools can give them the grounding needed for studying the humanities. This session will focus on the use of online geographic information systems and Google Earth, and will present strategies for research, writing and presentation in all areas of the humanities with these digital tools.

This is a new session for this spring. Your attendance at the MLTI Fall Social Studies session is not a pre-requisite for this session.

For more information and to register for any of these workshops, please visit MLTI's PD site.

Calculate While You Google

While I was assisting a classroom today with a video conference with NASA, I decided to Google the term "golden ratio" (which was a topic that was brought up for the students) on my iPad. My search returned this pretty cool interactive calculator right in my search results.

This feature was introduced in July 2012 after Google launched their weather OneBox.

It's not a fully equipped scientific calculator, but can do most general Maths with a few advanced Math functions like SIN, COS, and TAN.

Yes, typically, calculators are pretty accessible in the classroom, however if you or your students are doing some online research, what a great tool to have by simply opening a new tab in your browser and calculate some general Math, like conversions, distance or amounts of time. By the way, Google also has a unit conversion OneBox.

Try it out. Google an expression OR search "calculator".

Gooru - Free Search Engine for Learning

Gooru is an OER (Open Educational Resource) online beta service that is worth trying out.  As mentioned in the title of this post, Gooru is a search engine.  

What separates this from other search engines, like Google or Bing, is that it sources several resources (websites, slideshows, video, online textbooks, files, etc.) curated by educators and community experts, "guaranteeing you’ll find high-quality materials every time."   Here explains more on how Gooru searches.

Teachers can create their own account, or simply start right in with their easy-to-use menu categorized by content areas - Science, Social Sciences and Math.  Even students can jump right in and start learning.  If an account is made, you will have options for collecting your customized materials and upload your own material and files to be added.

The cool thing about the video options (especially when customizing your own video finds) is that Gooru will allow you to select the specific timeframe within the video for viewers to watch.  This is great when you don't want your audience to have to watch an entire clip in order to get the parts you want them to view.  You could potentially prepare a collection of multimedia in your Gooru account and play segments of an entire video starting and stopping to review other content that you collected in a nice streamlined flow.

Once your multimedia resource collection is ready for viewing and learning, email your students the specific web link given for your collection.

Along with their collections and resources, Gooru offers quizes.

Here is a great little video explaining how Gooru works.

Display Video to Your Class Remotely From Your iPad App

If you use an iPad as an instructional tool in your classroom, you may have had to plug in a video cord AND speakers in to the headphone jack in order to display any video from your iPad or iPad app to your projector for your students.

Here at my local school we are working with an app that allows you to display your video remotely from your iPad when using your apps with out all of the cords.  Just imaging getting ready to show your student a video clip of Hitler for your WWII unit (or you want to use an interactive Math app that has sound) from your iPad while you are walking around your room.

This app is a desktop app installed on your computer called Reflection.  Reflection uses a technology called AirPlay, which allows the user to remotely play media from their mobile device to another projection unit through your computer or to a TV via AppleTV; no messy cords.  The desktop app connects your computer to your mobile device and mirrors everything you do on that mobile or tablet.

Now for those who may already know about AirPlay, here's one thing I that I found out today while working with my 8th grade teachers and my Tech-partner-in-crime.  AirPlay not only will remotely display video footage, but it ALSO remotely plays the auido; no headphone cord needed.  Pretty impressive.

Reflection is relatively cheap.  Here is their price list for single or 5-seat licences.

If you have already been using Reflection, please share your comments below on what you like and/or do not like about this product.

Tweet of the Day

“Slay your dragons before breakfast so they don't eat your lunch.” @michaelhyatt
— Mark Miller (@LeadersServe) November 28, 2012

Getting Best Performance Out of Laptop Series: Intro

Have you caught your self day dreaming about doing something like this, because your computer just is not working properly or running too slow?

I often come across frustrated teachers who tell me how that their Macbook is not operating right, or there is a large amount of delay when typing an email, or their laptop is just plain slow.

This issue will even effect the performance of your interactive whiteboard.  Some teachers will experience long delay when trying to move an object or write with their pen (or finger) and think it is a problem with their interactive whiteboard.

In this series I would like to help with understanding how to minimize these issues and maximize your ability to make the most of your main Teacher Tool, your MLTI laptop.  I will be posting little snippets in the future, each discussing ways that effect laptop performance.  There are a couple of simple steps that can effect the performance of your Macbook laptop.  I hope this series is helpful.  Be looking for upcoming posts in this series.

Also, be sure to find the links to this blog series located in the right column of this blog.

Mac OSX Dictionary/Thesaurus

This is a great feature for our 1to1 students.  Students can not only build their vocabulary, but enrich their writing with this resource.  Each 1to1 Macbook laptop has an onboard extensive Dictionary and Thesaurus that anyone can access with a click.

Apple explains below:

BTW, this any several other "how to" videos about Mac OSX are available in your iTunes store.