Sunday, December 29, 2013

Technology in Education

Paul Hamilton presents 'Technology in Education', a creative and artistic look at the challenges edtech faces.
Creator of the Science AR App, the critically acclaimed educational app Formative Feedback for Learning and the revolutionary iBook series My Prep Year, Paul is changing the way digital content is being delivered in schools.

Apple Distinguished Educator Class of 2013. Paul is a leader in the implementation of Augmented Reality in schools to improve learning outcomes, Professional Development of staff with integration of ICTs, and has expertise in the implementation of mobile devices into pedagogical frameworks.

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Fantastic ideas about different ways wikis can be used at any grade level

Amber Kowatch from Ludington's Franklin Elementary shares how her 2nd grade students use wikis to help them connect and reflect as they write. Amber gives some fantastic ideas about different ways wikis can be used at any grade level.

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Merit and OARnet are now connected


OARnet 100 Gbps Network Lighting from OH-TECH on Vimeo. Merit Network and the Ohio Academic Resources Network Light Fiber-Optic Connection in Hillsdale Enhanced Collaboration between two statewide education and research networks Ann Arbor, Mich. -- Merit Network Inc. and the Ohio Academic Resources Network (OARnet) announced today that they have completed construction and lit optical equipment providing a secondary connection between their respective networks. "Merit has long had a strong collaborative relationship with OARnet, our sister network in Ohio. This additional connection between our organizations is another step in increasing the collaboration opportunities for us and our Members. The new connection in Hillsdale provides both organizations with increased redundancy for our networks, this is important in our efforts to ensure we continue to provide a resilient network for our communities", stated Bob Stovall, Vice President of Network Operations and Engineering for Merit Network. The additional connection between Merit and OARnet, a member of Ohio Technology Consortium, is located at Hillsdale College. As part of the Merit REACH-3MC project, Merit not only built a network route across the southern border counties, including Hillsdale County, but was also able to rent collocation space for network equipment at Hillsdale College. In collaboration with Merit and Hillsdale College, OARnet has also arranged for collocation space at Hillsdale College, providing the location for both networks to interconnect. This additional connection now provides the Hillsdale community with four redundant network paths in and out of the county. Merit and Hillsdale College have an extensive relationship, dating back over 20 years. Merit connected the College to Merit's backbone network and later helped foster collaboration in the community that would connect the City of Hillsdale and Hillsdale Intermediate School District. "Hillsdale College has been a Merit member since 1992," stated David Zenz, executive director of information technology services for Hillsdale College, "and it was always a dream to figure out some way to eliminate expensive data circuit costs to free up funds to purchase more bandwidth. In 2008 The City of Hillsdale, the Hillsdale Intermediate School District, Hillsdale College, and Merit figured out how to do just that." The idea of a connection between OARnet, Merit's network, and the fiber-optic network collaborative in Hillsdale grew out of planning for the REACH-3MC network, and after a few years of hard work, the project is now a reality. The network connection in Hillsdale now provides superior redundancy and performance for organizations in Hillsdale. "Merit and OARnet have always looked for innovative ways to collaborate to provide better services to their end-users," said Pankaj Shah, executive director of the Ohio Supercomputer Center and OARnet. "The connection is another exemplary effort between Merit and OARnet, further cementing the relationship between two leading networks in the Midwest. Hillsdale offers OARnet numerous benefits, from increased connectivity to network resources in Chicago to improved robustness of our circuits throughout Northwest Ohio." "Merit's REACH-3MC project not only provided improved broadband access to much of the un-served regions of our state, but the connection to OARnet in Hillsdale has also allowed both organizations an opportunity to improve service to our Member institutions in both states," stated Don Welch, president and CEO of Merit Network. "Only in the digital age could a little community on the digital frontier come to be one of the best connected locations in the country. That is just plain "cool!" stated Zenz.

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

GoldieBlox & Rube Goldberg "Princess Machine"

Here is a STEM Christmas Gift idea that help with creativity and engineering for young girls.

Saturday, December 7, 2013

Technology Quote

"Technology is not a teacher–even with the best software, the technology is not the professional in the room" – Talbot Bielefeldt, Senior Research Associate.

Thursday, December 5, 2013

TEDxNYED - Heidi Hayes Jacobs - 03/05/2011

Phase IV - Advanced Mapping Tasks

Phase II - Launching the Process of Curriculum Change

Phase I - Laying the Foundation for Curriculum Change

Heidi Hayes Jacobs and the Four Phases of Curriculum Mapping

TED Talks: What FACEBOOK And GOOGLE Are Hiding From The World

Teaching and Learning with the iPad Conference: iPads in Elementary Educ...

Book Review -- Teaching and Learning With The iPad by David Mahaley

Understanding Tutoring Options And Finding A Great Tutor

Understanding Tutoring Options And Finding A Great Tutor

Sal Khan's One World Schoolhouse -- Powerful Ideas Persuasively Expressed

Sal Khan's One World Schoolhouse -- Powerful Ideas Persuasively Expressed

10 Reasons Why Edmodo is an Excellent (and Hugely Popular) Digital Learn...

10 Education Technology Implementation Pitfalls and Ways to Avoid Them

Student learning, technology and the importance of failure

Failure is Part of Success!

Sir Ken Robinson Zeitgeist Americas 2012

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

What will the 22.i Michigan State Educational Network (SEN) Look like as we move forward

Ruckus and ZF9.7 coming in December

Software:  ZF 9.7 will be released in December.  It has many hot features likeSmartWay Bonjour gateway and client secure features.
· What is SmartWay? Ruckus SmartWay is a solution for Bonjour Gateway solution that supports all Apple Bonjour for devices and services such as Apple TV and iTunes.  SmartWay will enable organizations to enable and bridge these services in designated networks and areas.
· In AF 9.7, security features such as client isolation will also be available.  Client isolation protects mobile devices and their data by ensuring no one else can see the device or the traffic in the same subnet.  This protects devices against advanced security threats.
· ZF 9.7 will have a long list of features and as always, there are many bug fixes and enhancements associated with this software release
Mobile Apps: ZoneDirector Remote provides the capability to configure & monitor ZoneDirectors and attached Access Points. Previous versions of ZDR only supported read-only, and ZDR 9.7, for the first time, enables read-write capabilities on ZDs running 9.7.

Saturday, November 30, 2013

Education in Wonderland

A quote from Alice in Wonderland

“Alice: Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?

The Cheshire Cat: That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.

Alice: I don't much care where.

The Cheshire Cat: Then it doesn't much matter which way you go.

Alice: ...So long as I get somewhere.

The Cheshire Cat: Oh, you're sure to do that, if only you walk long enough.”
― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

How it would read in Education in Wonderland

“School Teacher: Would you tell me, please, which way I should teach here?

The Cheshire School: That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.

School Teacher: I don't much care where.

The Cheshire School: Then it doesn't much matter which way you Teach.

School Teacher: ...So long as I get somewhere.

The Cheshire school: Oh, you're sure to do that, if only you teach long enough and hard enough.”

But will you really get your students were they need to go! If you want to get them to achieve mastery of subject, then you need to have a plan where you are going to get there. Teach with purpose to get there.

Friday, November 29, 2013

5 Hidden Google Calendar Gems

Get more out of Google Calendar wit these 5 tips.

Tips for a tidy Email Inbox

Overwhelmed with email? This video gives simple tips for managing your inbox in Gmail so it's always empty. Find more tips on the Google Apps Learning Center:

http://learn.googleapps.com/apps-in-a..

Thursday, November 28, 2013

College Readiness and Completion: Procedurally Prepared, Socially Supported

TFT II Google Hangout On Air A Theory for Change - Thinking Boldly About...

A Vision of Students Today

a short video summarizing some of the most important characteristics of students today - how they learn, what they need to learn, their goals, hopes, dreams, what their lives will be like, and what kinds of changes they will experience in their lifetime. Created by Michael Wesch in collaboration with 200 students at Kansas State University.

An anthropological introduction to YouTube

CoSN What leardership role can they play in your state and organization

CoSN Chapter in Wisconsin - WiscNet Third Thursday

What is CoSN and what is the leadership role that they play in creating the leadership needed to move our organizations in the right direction as educational leaders.
This video has some dead air time for the first 9 Min. So you may want to skip ahead to the start of the conversation.

TEDxKC - Michael Wesch - From Knowledgeable to Knowledge-Able

TEDxKC talk synopsis: Today a new medium of communication emerges every time somebody creates a new web application. Yet these developments are not without disruption and peril. Familiar long-standing institutions, organizations and traditions disappear or transform beyond recognition. And while new media bring with them new possibilities for openness, transparency, engagement and participation, they also bring new possibilities for surveillance, manipulation, distraction and control. Critical thinking, the old mainstay of higher education, is no longer enough to prepare our youth for this world. We must create learning environments that inspire a way of being-in-the-world in which they can harness and leverage this new media environment as well as recognize and actively examine, question and even re-create the (increasingly digital) structures that shape our world.

Education leaders should take a page from the "balanced scorecard"

A few years back I was visiting Ferris State University and my long time friend Scott Thede show me how they were moving to Dashboards and Balanced Scorecards. Here is a summery of an article that will help us to understand what this means.

"Education leaders should take a page from the "balanced scorecard" approach that has reshaped how private- and public-sector firms have approached data and management. Making Data-Driven Management a Reality Today, even school districts routinely heralded as data-driven have rarely invested in the technology; hired the personnel; or developed the requisite expectations, feedback loops, analytic competencies, and accountability processes necessary for breakthrough management. Consequently, today many schools and systems are at the edge of their capacities when they seek to produce achievement data in a timely fashion. This is a problem. We do not term a hospital "well-run" because its doctors use diagnostic tools. We would instead reserve that label for hospitals where staff were competent and efficient, supplies were carefully tracked and promptly refilled, data files were up-to-date, personnel needs were quickly handled, and so forth. Yet, in schooling, systems that have embraced only the most basic tenets of professional practice are deemed paragons of modern management. What would it take for systems to start collecting data for breakthrough management? There are six steps. They form a rough hierarchy, so we will start with the most essential.

Step One: Accurate Collection of Basic Student, Financial, and HR Data. The first step for any organization is to collect the most fundamental data on what it does and how it spends its money. School systems are generally pretty good at this. Federal law now requires systems to test students and collect basic achievement data, while financial management requires districts to track spending, enrollment, attendance, and payroll.

Step Two: Data Linked across Time. Once districts have the initial building blocks, the key is to link them across time in order to determine how to improve performance. In general, a district that can collect its basic data accurately can also link them longitudinally. There are significant exceptions, however. Some systems do not maintain consistent identifiers across years for students or employees. One common problem is that organizational change is not accounted for in financial coding systems. Districts may assign costs only to offices (such as the Office of Instruction) and not functions (such as math professional development). The result is that when a district reshuffles its organizational chart, it cannot make comparisons over time.

Step Three: Customer Service and Satisfaction Data. Every company knows that its existence depends upon the satisfaction of its customers, and great companies measure customer service from several sources (internal and external) to diagnose potential problems quickly. Making such data managerially useful requires not just collection, but also ensuring that the data are routinely and systematically mapped onto processes and programs and analyzed.

Step Four: Data with Sufficient Granularity to Illuminate Units and Activities within Departments. Measuring efficiency and effectiveness requires measuring outputs and processes in units that are often overlooked. In regard to the role of HR, various measures might signal opportunities for improved productivity. Such measures might assess how long it takes an HR department to vet, interview, and hire or reject an applicant; how HR managers apportion their time; or the resulting quality and quantity of applicants. Typically, systems will know how much is spent on HR and the number of staff but not how much time the HR staff spends on recruitment or responding to the needs of teachers.

Step Five: Data Connected across Content Areas (and to Outcomes). Even if the efficiency of HR processes has improved and vacancies are filled more rapidly, more is needed to judge effectiveness. For instance, do the new teachers achieve better or worse student outcomes than the teachers that came before them? Do they stay longer? Answering these questions requires connecting the HR system data to student-level longitudinal test data to retention data to survey data. This level of data sophistication makes activity-based costing and cost-benefit analysis possible.

Step Six: Doing the Above in Real Time. Ideally, district management should be able to find out instantly which schools are waiting for textbooks or which teachers have received what professional development. Collecting and connecting these kinds of data allows school system leaders to determine which programs are cost-effective, how their system compares to others on a range of activities, and where they need to improve. Few or no school systems have all of these elements in place today. Most are currently at step two. Consultants or internal district analysts can--with enough time, manpower, and supplemental data collection--provide school systems with analyses that may push to steps four and five--usually on a project basis. Getting to step six is a whole new ballgame.

The Numbers We Need So what kinds of data should systems report on a balanced scorecard? We identify six essential domains. Unfortunately, even those that have been an ostensible priority have been shortchanged by a focus on what elected officials demand rather than on what will help leaders improve schools.

Domain One: Tracking Student Outcomes. The most important measures are those tracking student outcomes. Just a decade ago, most districts had abysmal systems for tracking achievement and school completion. Today, most can provide coherent data on how well students are doing on state assessments, but outcome metrics beyond state assessments can be difficult to come by.
Key data include: Performance of students on various substrands (for example, number sense or spatial relations on the math test) of state tests with results accessible to the classroom teacher. Item-level analysis at the individual student and classroom level. This allows teachers to analyze whether all or most of their students miss the same test items, and then to adjust their teaching strategies. Employment or enrollment status of students after high school.

Domain Two: Tracking Students, Staff, and Inventory. Monitoring the number of students and teachers, facilities, and district assets provides important operational base lines. Systems have historically been good at tracking these kinds of data, largely because state and federal requirements led districts to configure their data systems accordingly. Unfortunately, there has been less success ensuring that these data are captured with sufficiently useful granularity or are matched with expenditures, programs, and outcomes. Key elements would include: Authorized staff positions, the location of the positions, the purpose and reporting relationships of the positions, whether they are filled and by whom, and whether they are full or part time. District assets and materials, where they are located, and the transfer of assets between locations (for example, the delivery of textbooks). Students, which schools and classrooms they attend, and the teachers and staff in those classrooms. This should include not just the "teacher of record" for the students, but also aides, tutors, and other staff working with the students.

Domain Three: Finance. This is another case in which systems routinely track transactions but few have invested in tracking expenditures in ways that permit their impact to be assessed clearly. A management-friendly system for tracking expenditures would link dollars with programs, actual employee time, activities, and students. If a professional development coach or a gifted-and-talented teacher works at multiple locations, this should be readily trackable and linked to the teachers or students in question so cost-effectiveness can be assessed. Key questions rarely addressed well include: Are dollars being spent in specific schools and classrooms or are they being spent by a central administration and then "allocated" to school sites based on calculations and projections? Who decides which expenditures to make, and for whom does the expenditure take place? For instance, is a school-based professional development program purchased by the central office or by an individual principal?

Domain Four: Instructional and Curricular Operations. Instructional and curricular operations have received heightened attention as a focus on instructional leadership has led district leaders to devote more time to providing professional development and related resources. Nonetheless, there are few districts that collect and track instructional and curricular services in a manner that informs judgments about program efficacy and efficiency. Most tracking does not permit leaders to identify particularly effective tactics or personnel, or opportunities for cost savings. Key data should include: What professional development is delivered to which personnel, when, for what length of time, and by whom. What tutoring or afterschool programs are delivered to which students, when, for what length of time, and by whom. Which reading programs and which math programs are used by which schools and how well they are implemented, at what cost, and with what results.

Domain Five: Human Capital Operations. More crucial than any other element of school-system management may be human capital operations. Dramatically improving the quality of teaching requires that a system be able to monitor personnel; gauge performance; and competently manage hiring, transfers, benefits, employee concerns, and termination. The key is to develop metrics that reflect meaningful organizational performance, such as: The quantity of applicants for positions, how rapidly they are screened, and the rapidity with which successful applicants are placed and prepared. The satisfaction of employees with the support and responsiveness of HR to various concerns. The performance of personnel on various relevant metrics beyond student achievement (such as soliciting performance rankings of teachers by their principals and of other employees by their managers).

Domain Six: System Operation. Finally, it is essential to monitor business practices that facilitate system operation, such as procurement, IT, data management, and maintenance. The functioning of these elements is crucial to support school leaders, classroom educators, and school communities effectively. The key, again, is to measure these services not in terms of inputs but in terms of core metrics that accurately reflect performance. Key metrics would include: How long it takes the district to process a supply request, how rapidly supplies are delivered to the classroom, and how the system's cost per order compares to benchmarks. How rapidly school personnel are able to access the results of formative assessments, how satisfied they are with the user-friendliness of the data interface, and how intensively and extensively faculty make use of formative assessments and student data."

This is a summery from an AEI Article to help us understand what factors are needed in a Balanced Scorecard and for training technology people on what is needs to be understood in creating a system to help improve our system using all facets of our systems.

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Book Club 106 - Mindset - Chapters 3 & 4

Streamed live on Nov 14, 2013
The second Book Club 106 conversation for Mindset, covering chapters 3 and 4. We talk about whether the author has gown too far in trying to simplify her concept of fixed and growth mindsets, and we eagerly anticipate learning some effective strategies for improving mindsets.

12-Year-Old Discovers All U.S. Presidents Are Direct Descendants of King...

Monday, November 25, 2013

Using Technology vs Technology Integration

Here is a chart created by TeachBytes in 2013 that shows the difference in using technology in a classroom and integration of technology

How We Think Without Thinking: Malcolm Gladwell on Great Decision Makers...

Malcolm Gladwell and Analytics

Book TV 2013 Book Expo America: Malcolm Gladwell, "David and Goliath"

Malcolm Gladwell: Who Needs Google?

Malcolm Gladwell Outliers

Dan Pink: Drive -- Our Motivations are Unbelievably Interesting

TEDxKC - Michael Wesch - From Knowledgeable to Knowledge-Able

Alan November and Fostering Student Engagement

Using Social Media in the Classroom - Cathy Cassidy

Alan November and Fostering Student Engagement

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Why I use Khan Academy - an educator's perspective

Teachers and administrators share their successes with implementing Khan Academy in the math classroom. The video addresses how Khan Academy contributes in the following ways: enhances personalized learning, strengthens data-driven instruction, ensures mastery-based learning, and helps teachers engage and challenge their students with meaningful interactions.

Thinking Out Loud: The Future of VLANs - blog.scottlowe.org - The weblog of an IT pro specializing in virtualization, storage, and servers

Thinking Out Loud: The Future of VLANs - blog.scottlowe.org - The weblog of an IT pro specializing in virtualization, storage, and servers:

'via Blog this'

Technology education in Plymouth Canton Schools in Michigan

Learning and Technology. They often are mentioned together when talking about education. Plymouth-Canton Community Schools has a history of supporting educational technology, not just the current trends, but the 'right' technology to support and enhance learning. Sounds a lot like 'Always On Learning.' It may take us awhile to get there. One technological trend forecasting firm believes it may take the rest of the decade before we are truly collaborating globally. The 2020's will see our first use of Tangible computing. By the end of the 2030's, education is not only Always On - it will be interconnected with every aspect of our lives. Today, Plymouth-Canton Community Schools is ready.

Saturday, November 16, 2013

Affordable Wireless HDMI: DVDO Air vs. Belkin ScreenCast AV4 120,000 lum...

DVDO's Air and Belkin's ScreenCast AV4 eliminate the hardwired link between your source devices and HDTV. Which one is worth your cash? Vancouver Canucks use 4 30K lumen Digital Projection projectors to wow fans pre and post-game... this is a sick system! Plus, All Quiet on the Western Front on beautifully restored Blu-ray!

Belkin Tablet Stage Demo

Belkin Tablet Stage demo at ISTE 2013

Belkin Tablet Stage Installation for iPads

The Belkin Tablet Stage allows for the seamless sharing of documents and three-dimensional objects with the usage of a tablet device with camera. This video demonstrates how easy it is to assemble and install your own Belkin Tablet Stage with just a few steps and simple tools. The Belkin Tablet Stage makes learning engaging for both instructors and students with the usage of just about any modern tablet. Watch the above video for a visual demonstration and visit http://belkinbusiness.com/products/b2... for more information about this product.

Calls for State to Return Local Control to Newark, Jersey City and Paterson

Local Control of Education - Don't give it away

Here is a speech that talks about Local control and how it is being attacked.

TN Student Speaks Out About Common Core, Teacher Evaluations, and Educat...

Glenn has been talking about the dangers of Common Core for quite some time now, and as the new standards are rolled out in more and more states, parents, students, and teachers alike are speaking out about their frustrations and concerns. On radio this morning, Glenn played the anti-Common Core plea one concerned student, Ethan Young of Farragut High School in Knox County, TN, gave at a local school board meeting in Tennessee earlier this month. What did Ethan say that had Glenn calling it “the best argument against Common Core?

“The best argument against Common Core has come in from a student, and this kid is making the case so well, honestly I can’t believe that he’s in public education,” Glenn said. “He had a group of great teachers that taught him well, and he applied himself because, if you listen to this case against Common Core, it is right on the money. And listen to the crowd because the crowd seems to be teachers. The best case we have heard… against Common Core.”

How Gardening Enables Interdisciplinary Learning

High school student Pierre combined biology, math, economics, and more to transform his campus greenhouse into a sustainable aquaponic system that provides fresh vegetables for the cafeteria.

Reframing Failure as Iteration Allows Students to Thrive

At New York City's game-based learning school Quest to Learn, sixth graders take risks in the process of designing a Rube Goldberg machine, which enables more creativity, innovation, and engagement. More resources at: http://www.edutopia.org/made-with-pla...

This video is part of the Made With Play series, a co-production with Institute of Play. Videos were made possible through generous support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

How to enable -Offline- access and editing in Google Drive

Saturday, November 9, 2013

The Difference Between Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery

"The Technology Audit---Evansville Schools: 2/11/2013: 1 of 2 video

"The Technology Audit---Evansville Schools: 2/11/2013: 1 of 2 video

"The Technology Audit---Evansville Schools: 2/11/2013: 1 of 2 video

Grant Wiggins - Understanding by Design

Part one



Part 2

Data Center Tiers

Authentic Education - Webinar with Grant Wiggins - Common Core

SIR KEN ROBINSON - How Are You Intelligent?



"Imagination is the source of every form of human achievement. And it's the one thing that I believe we are systematically jeopardizing in the way we educate our children and ourselves." Ken Robinson

AdvancED Summit 2013 - Sir Ken Robinson

Hopedale Chromebook 1:1 Initiative in Grade 6

Saturday, November 2, 2013

Why roll out BYOD?

In this Modern Lesson we discuss the major factors that might encourage you to roll out a BYOD program in your school, district, college or university.

Algorithms and "mathematical modeling."

I think it's interesting in and of itself, but I also found it interesting how often he refers to "algorithms" and "mathematical modeling." I think this shows the power of algorithms, but also the need for our students to understand the algorithms, and also to understand that algorithms are first and foremost developed by humans and are not always set in stone, as when the algorithms appear to "adjust" or "learn" in the flipping sequence. If our students can be begin to understand that algorithms don't supersede our understanding, but can help enhance it, then I think we're on the right track.

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

The difference unconditional love makes in a child's (anyone's) life

John Gabrieli: McGovern Institute Investigator

John Gabrieli, associate member of the McGovern Institute for Brain Research, uses brain imaging and behavioral tests to understand the organization of memory, thought, and emotion in the human brain. 
For more information about the McGovern Institute, please visit our website: http://web.mit.edu/mcgovern

http://youtu.be/TFwXhlx83YU

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Eli Pariser: Beware online "filter bubbles": Inspiring: Informative: Ideas

You need to watch this, a search for information is different based on who you are and what your interest are and who your friends are.

Google Apps (Playlist)

Using Google Apps in Education

Saline Area Schools talks about Google Apps

Chrome browser to provide security updates till April 2015 for XP

For Chrome users on Windows XP, rest assured you can still browse safely after April 2014. We're extending support for Chrome on Windows XP with automatic updates and security fixes until April 2015. Link to Google Blog

How Building Robots Captivates Kids' Imaginations (Is School Enough? Ser...

Making robots inspires such passion in high school seniors Violet and Kjersti that they've begun mentoring younger robotics teams to teach STEM skills -- and save their school's robotics program.

The Next Generation of Education

Launch your own Academy in minutes!

Tablets in education

Please include attribution to OnlineUniversities.com with this graphic.

Teaching With Tablets

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

What Most Schools Don't Teach

Learn about a new "superpower" that isn't being taught in in 90% of US schools.

Starring Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, will.i.am, Chris Bosh, Jack Dorsey, Tony Hsieh, Drew Houston, Gabe Newell, Ruchi Sanghvi, Elena Silenok, Vanessa Hurst, and Hadi Partovi. Directed by Lesley Chilcott, executive producers Hadi and Ali Partovi.

Code.org owes special thanks to all the cast and the film crew, and also Microsoft, Google/YouTube, Facebook, Amazon, and Twitter for helping us spread the word


Computer Science Education Week

Students and staff from Apex High School's Academy of Information Technology talk about their program during Computer Science Education Week.

Computer Science Education Week

Students and staff from Apex High School's Academy of Information Technology talk about their program during Computer Science Education Week.

Thursday, October 10, 2013

SXSWedu 2013 Bloggers' Lounge Session: School Yourself

21st Century Skills

Are new technology tools going to be the downfall of education?

STViewScan Product Information Video

ST ViewScan Microfilm Scanner

Do you have old transcripts that you need to make copies of? The old microfilm printer not working well. Here is an option that will change the way that you do documentation.

The ST ViewScan system is newer than any of the competition and many say the best desktop microfilm digital viewer and scanner on the market. It features one second scanning, real-time viewing, easy to use software, exceptional image quality, compact size, low energy use, and industry first innovations such as "Scissor Cut" cropping, Captured Image Review, on-board USB Ports and more.

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Blue Jeans Network Technology Trends presentation at InfoComm

Live demo of Blue Jeans Network from Scott Sharer's Super Tuesday Technology Trends presentation at InfoComm 2011.

Blue Jeans Network Any(ware) Video Conferencing

A simple way to Video conference people together.

Blue Jeans Network - Video Conferencing Made Easy

So you need new copiers in your school district. Here is a tip for getting independent information on your copier. Ask your vendor for the Buyers Laboratory (BLI) report on the machines they are proposing. BLI has been the gold standard for rating copiers for decades. They put copiers through extensive independent testing. You can glean some info from their website. The detailed reports cost money, but the copier manufacturers and resellers should be able to provide the reports for the machines they sell. http://www.buyerslab.com The website also has a needs assessment and quote service (have not tried either): http://www.buyerslab.com/Advisor

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Laker Schools iPad orientation video

This is the video shown during the Laker Secondary School open house that serves as an introduction to the new one-to-one iPad program at the school. It takes a look back at how classroom technology has progressed over the years, why technology is important in today's classroom, how Lakers and other schools have used iPads and will be using iPads. The video features a clip of the official introduction of the iPad, with the late Steve Jobs, as well as clips from some popular TV shows.

Brenda Smith talking about NWEA, Compass Learning

Laker Secondary School teacher Brenda Smith talks about the NWEA testing and how it connects with Compass Learning to help gauge where students are in their academic skills within core subjects and to help boost those skills where needed. Lakers has been using NWEA/Compass Learning for three years.

Jaime Orlik using iPads for math quiz

Laker Elementary fourth grade teacher uses iPads in her classroom for a math quiz. She can see the students' answers immediately. Therefore, if students aren't understanding a concept she's taught, she can do a review right then and there. The iPads offer many tools and options that teachers wouldn't have otherwise. See the full story on the home page of the EPBP Laker website, www.lakerschools.org.

"Teaching Common Core Math with iPads" with Monica Burns

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Panic Button: ePanic Button Overview

With Safety becoming a bigger issue every day in our school systems this simple looking product looks to meet that need.

Thursday, September 12, 2013

AirWatch's Mobile Content Management (MCM)

Is a Chromebook Right for You?

Video hands-on with Google's new $249 Chromebook

Google's newest Chromebook, made by Samsung, only costs $249 and offers the same general performance of ChromeOS is a smaller, lighter package. How'd they do it? This model uses the same chip type that powers smartphones and tablets. Take a look at my hands-on thoughts

Saturday, September 7, 2013

STOP STEALING DREAMS: Seth Godin at TEDxYouth@BFS





STOP STEALING DREAMS: On the future of education & what we can do about it.

Seth Godin is the author of 14 books that have been bestsellers around the world and have been translated into more than 35 languages. Permission Marketing was a New York Times bestseller, Unleashing the Ideavirus is the most popular ebook every published, and Purple Cow is the bestselling marketing book of the decade. His free ebook on what education is for is called STOP STEALING DREAMS and it's been downloaded millions of times since it launched in January, 2012.

In addition to his writing and speaking, Seth is founder of squidoo.com, a fast growing, easy to use website. His blog (which you can find by typing "seth" into Google) is one of the most popular in the world.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

Noam Chomsky - The Purpose of Education

Noam Chomsky discusses the purpose of education, impact of technology, whether education should be perceived as a cost or an investment and the value of standardised assessment.

Presented at the Learning Without Frontiers Conference - Jan 25th 2012- London (LWF 12)

Mr. Flanagan you need to fund education, if the business people want trained employees.

If the corporation in the state would pay there taxes they and not find loop holes how to get out of paying taxes then there would be enough money to support the educational process that is needed for the skills that they are looking for. When will the leadership in the legislative branch and the government employees see that we are not funding education to be able to create the students that business wants.

Bill Gates and his thoughts on the CBS Show TEACH

TEACH | Premiering on CBS on 9/6 at 8pm ET/PT

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Can Technology Help Students Find the “Sweet Spot” for Learning? | MindShift

Can Technology Help Students Find the “Sweet Spot” for Learning? | MindShift: "Can Technology Help Students Find the “Sweet Spot” for Learning?"

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Khan Academy Idaho | Shelby Harris & Kuna, ID

What is a 3D printer? in less that 2 minutes

Removing Spyware and Malware from a Windows PC Using Spybot Search and D...

Are you ready for Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and statewide online assessments

What you need today may not be what you need tomorrow. Future network needs associated with Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and statewide online assessments will require even greater investments in bandwidth. Are you ready?

I predict with the new requirements of Mobil computing that there will be a high demand for true enterprise wireless networks. The technology leaders will need to look at the Internet Bandwidth demands and be able to supply a solid network backbones ready to carry 10 gig traffic on all be the smallest networks.

Bandwidth for 21st Century Learning and understand how Ethernet Services play a role Simplified network architecture - Running multiple applications on a single network
Your staff - Use technology already familiar to them Network changes on the fly
Modify routing schemes, insert encryption, and run protocols of your choice Scale ability - For future growth as your district expands
Technology is transforming - Teaching and learning.

Start planning for your future bandwidth needs today.

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Introducing the Chromebook

Chromebooks are built and optimized for the web, so you get a faster, simpler and more secure experience without all the headaches of ordinary computers. Take a look: http://www.google.com/chromebook

Chromebook - Guided Tour

Chromebook - Speed

Chromebooks for Education: For every student

Chromebooks are fast, intuitive, and easy-to-manage computers that gives students and teachers access to all the educational resources of the web.

Whole Brain Teaching: Grade 1 Classroom

Whole Brain Teaching in first grade classroom.

TechDecisions Chromebooks in the Classroom

iOS 7 on the iPad Hands-On

It's been two weeks since Apple released iOS 7 beta to developers, and even though it's a dramatic refresh to the user interface, that doesn't mean that like every piece of pre-production software, it didn't have its significant bugs. Apple has now released iOS 7 beta 2, and among the changes we have some apparent enhancements to how natural the voice of Siri is, the voice recorder app returns to the iPhone, and other bug fixes here and there.

Probably the coolest news about this update is that iOS 7 now works on the iPad. In this video we go hands-on this new refresh to Apple's tablet line-up and tell you all there is to know. Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder and we will admit that the refresh does make the iPad look better than it ever did, but then again, not everything seems finished in this update, so make sure you watch the video to make your own opinion.


Why technology is important to education

Did You Know - Technology and why we need to look at our educational system

Monday, September 2, 2013

Khan Academy on 60 Minuets

Installing Active Directory, DNS and DHCP to Create a Windows Server 201...

Sal Khan talks to Arne Duncan

EducationCity: Engaging student activities and teaching resources

Teachers all across the world have come to trust and use a preferred provider of curriculum content: EducationCity.com! Let's find out why!

Plato Courseware Overview

Plato Courseware provides courses in a wide range of core subjects, electives, global languages, honors, and Advanced Placement® offerings. Courses consist of integrated assessments; including exemptive pretests that allow learners to forgo content they have already mastered and focus on the concepts that need additional work. Course-level assessments also include tests for each course module to ensure concept mastery.

LL - Teachers Role in Star Math

LL - Student Experience 2

LL- Star Math Explanation

How to Set Up New Users on Dibels.net

Educational Innovation at UW-Madison: The "Backward Design" Framework

What do you want your students to know and be able to do by the end of your course? How do you identify learning goals? Do the activities you assign actually help students meet those goals? Professor Erica Halverson in the School of Education talks about curricular redesign and how the "backward design" framework can help you think through these issues.

Dan Pink: The puzzle of motivation



Career analyst Dan Pink examines the puzzle of motivation, starting with a fact that social scientists know but most managers don't: Traditional rewards aren't always as effective as we think. Listen for illuminating stories -- and maybe, a way forward.

TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. Closed captions and translated subtitles in a variety of languages are now available on TED.com, at http://www.ted.com/translate.

Follow us on Twitter
http://www.twitter.com/tednews

Tips and Techniques for Becoming a GPO Expert

Windows Server 2008: create group policy for Active Directory

Windows 7: join an Active Directory domain

Windows Server 2008: create an Active Directory Domain Controller

Saturday, August 31, 2013

How to add a Hyperlink to a Google Spreadsheet

Smarter Wi-Fi for Better BYOD

Paul Mooney, head of IT at the Law Society of Ireland, laments about his need to solve BYOD/Wi-Fi problems - what he did and why.

Educating "At Risk Youth"

Educating "At Risk" Youth Please Visit: http://Fighting4Youth.com for practical and powerful strategies on being more effective with "At Risk Youth".

Engaging Students | How to Keep Students Engaged!

Getting Them All Engaged - Anita Acrcher

Getting Them all engaged - She is an amazing Master teacher and if you ever get a chance you need to make sure to see her speak.

VocabularySpellingCity - Getting Started - Teachers/Parents





This is a fun way to help students learn how to spell. Also there are many professionals as Anita Archer that talk about the importance of Vocabulary as a best management practice for master educators.






Wednesday, August 21, 2013

If you don't think you can fit anything more into your teaching and time then you need to read this.



If you don't think you can fit any thing more into your teaching and time then you need to read this.


THE MAYONNAISE JAR




When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day is not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and two cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him.

When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and fills it with golf balls.

He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured it into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.

He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “YES”.

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

“Now,” said the professor, as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things - God, family,
children, health, friends, and favorite passions. Things, that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the things that matter like your job, house, and car. The sand is everything else -- the small stuff.” he said.

“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “There is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are
important to you...” he told them.

“So... pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Worship with your family. Play with your children. Take your partner out to dinner. Spend time with good friends. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the dripping tap. Take care of the golf balls first -- the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled and said, “I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.”

Please share this with other "Golf Balls"

Free Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning (MACUL) Membership


Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning (MACUL)
Kick off the new school year with a no dues MACUL membership. Join a SIG, access MACUL Journal, and get connected with over 11,000 members worldwide.

While you're at it, find a friend to join too!

IOS 7 tips and tricks

How to track things

Secretary Arne Duncan Quote on education of our children

Secretary Arne Duncan Quote ~ Too many here in Washington believe education is an expense that can be cut in tough economic times. I believe education is an investment.

How to move document around on Ipads

Monday, August 19, 2013

How to do network Ping and Trace Routes from your Chromebook

Chromebook

How to do a ping or trace on a chromebook using crosh.

Press Ctrl-Alt-T this will open a chromebook shell.

tracepath -n 198.109.184.2

ping merit.edu

ping [-c count] [-i interval] [-n] [-s packetsize] [-W waittime]
 Send ICMP ECHO_REQUEST packets to a network host.  If is "gw"
 then the next hop gateway for the default route is used.

ssh [optional args...]
 Starts the ssh subsystem if invoked without any arguments.
 "ssh ", "ssh ", "ssh @",
 or "ssh @ " connect without entering the subsystem.

Here is a command to find more help.
help_advanced
 
Display the help for more advanced commands, mainly used for debugging.

ping [-c count] [-i interval] [-n] [-s packetsize] [-W waittime]
 Send ICMP ECHO_REQUEST packets to a network host.  If is "gw"
 then the next hop gateway for the default route is used.

ssh [optional args...]
 Starts the ssh subsystem if invoked without any arguments.
 "ssh ", "ssh ", "ssh @",
 or "ssh @ " connect without entering the subsystem.

ssh_forget_host
 Remove a host from the list of known ssh hosts.  This command displays
 a menu of known hosts and prompts for the host to forget.

top
 Run top.

crosh> help_advanced

battery_test []
 Tests battery discharge rate for given number of seconds. No argument will
 default to 300s test.

bt_console []
 Enters a Bluetooth debugging console. Optional argument specifies the
 capability of a pairing agent the console will provide; see the Bluetooth
 Core specification for valid options.

chaps_debug [start|stop|]
 Sets the chapsd logging level.  No arguments will start verbose logging.

connectivity
 Shows connectivity status.  "connectivity help" for more details

experimental_storage < status | enable | disable >
 Enable or disable experimental storage features.

ff_debug [] [--help] [--list_valid_tags] [--reset]
 Add and remove flimflam debugging tags.

memory_test
 Performs extensive memory testing on the available free memory.

modem [args...]
 Interact with the 3G modem. Run "modem help" for detailed help.

modem_set_carrier carrier-name
 Configures the modem for the specified carrier.

network_diag [--date] [--flimflam] [--link] [--show-macs] [--wifi] [--help]
  [--wifi-mon]
 A function that performs a suite of network diagnostics.  Saves a copy
 of the output to your download directory.

network_logging
 A function that enables a predefined set of tags useful for
 debugging the specified device.

rlz < status | enable | disable >
 Enable or disable RLZ.

route [-n] [-6]
 Display the routing tables.

set_apn [-n ] [-u ] [-p ]
 Set the APN to use when connecting to the network specified by .
 If is not specified, use the network-id of the currently
 registered network.

set_apn -c
 Clear the APN to be used, so that the default APN will be used instead.

set_arpgw
 Turn on extra network state checking to make sure the default gateway
 is reachable.

sound
 Low level sound configuration.  Can be used to play/record audio samples
 and enable beam forming on Pixel.
 "sound beamforming " will enable/disable the feature.
 "sound record [duration]" will start recording.
 "sound play " will play the recorded audio samples.

storage_status
 Reads storage device SMART health status, vendor attributes, and error log.

storage_test_1
 Performs a short offline SMART test.

storage_test_2
 Performs an extensive readability test.

syslog
 Logs a message to syslog.

tpcontrol {status|taptoclick [on|off]|sensitivity [1-5]|set }
tpcontrol {syntp [on|off]}
 Manually adjust advanced touchpad settings.

tracepath [-n] [/port]
 Trace the path/route to a network host.

wpa_debug [] [--help] [--list_valid_level] [--reset]
 Set wpa_supplicant debugging level.

xset m [acc_mult[/acc_div] [thr]]
xset m default
 Tweak the mouse acceleration rate.

xset r rate [delay [rate]]
 Tweak autorepeat rates.  The delay is the number of milliseconds before
 autorepeat starts.  The rate is the number of repeats per second.
xset r [keycode]
 Turn autorepeat on/off.  If keycode is specified, it affects only that
 key.  If not specified, it affects global behavior.

Here is a command to find more help.
help  Display this help.

help_advanced
 Display the help for more advanced commands, mainly used for debugging.

ping [-c count] [-i interval] [-n] [-s packetsize] [-W waittime]
 Send ICMP ECHO_REQUEST packets to a network host.  If is "gw"
 then the next hop gateway for the default route is used.

ssh [optional args...]
 Starts the ssh subsystem if invoked without any arguments.
 "ssh ", "ssh ", "ssh @",
 or "ssh @ " connect without entering the subsystem.

ssh_forget_host
 Remove a host from the list of known ssh hosts.  This command displays
 a menu of known hosts and prompts for the host to forget.

top
 Run top.


Parent volunteers in the classroom

VolunteerSpot: Parent Volunteering Infographic

Thursday, August 15, 2013

How To Create A Paperless Classroom

This link will take you to a site that will show you how to distribute and collect students work over the internet using google Drive and apps. This looks like a great way to collect all your assignments and keep from them organized.

http://www.teachthought.com/technology/how-to-create-a-paperless-classroom-with-your-ipad/

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Faronics Insight Tutorial

Faronics Insight:
Insight empowers instructors with the ability to educate, assist, monitor, and communicate with an entire computer lab from one central computer.

Instructors no longer need to deal with classroom distractions like games, instant messaging, and web surfing when in a a computer lab.

Saturday, July 27, 2013

Acer Chromebook unboxing.

This blog post is being  wrote on an Acer Chromebook. It is the first thing that I have try to create on this new unit that I bought for 199.00. My first thoughts are that this unit is blazing fast. It boots quickly and responds with lighting speed. it has 500 gig of storage and 4 gig of ram. I could easily see this in the hands of children. It has a webcam and hookup to the wireless network was a breeze.

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Benefits of Blended Learning

This is part II of the presentation on Blended Learning. In this presentation, we will go over some of the main benefits of such a learning environment.

References:
- The rise of K-12 blended learning by Heather Staker

Anytime, Anywhere: Online Learning Shapes the Future

Schools and districts around the country are discovering the benefits of online learning: flexible scheduling, personalized learning, and expanded course offerings despite budget cuts. For more videos, articles, and downloads from Edutopia's coverage of online learning

EDUCAUSE Top-10 IT Issues 2013

Project Leadership 101: Top Estimation Tips

Project leadership expert Susanne Madsen uses this quick video to discuss something that even the most seasoned project manager has difficulty with: estimation. Madsen provides tips and tricks to make estimation easier and more accurate, including the use of workshops with users, creating prototypes, and being as detailed as possible.


Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Programming merit badge requirements released « Bryan on Scouting

Programming merit badge requirements released « Bryan on Scouting: "Programming merit badge requirements released
15July
2013
46 Comments

Much of Baden-Powell’s vision for Scouting still holds true today. But put this one in the category of something B-P never could have predicted.

Today the Boy Scouts of America releases Programming merit badge, an elective badge that challenges Scouts to, among other requirements, “write, debug, and demonstrate a functioning program.” Programming MB continues in the BSA’s long tradition of preparing young men for modern-day careers, so I’m a big fan already.

The merit badge’s requirements are available below. Scouts may begin working on Programming MB once pa"

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