LESSON NINE

ANIMOTO ANIMOTO ANIMOTO

ANIMOTO ANIMOTO ANIMOTO

ANIMOTO ANIMOTO ANIMOTO

ANIMOTO ANIMOTO ANIMOTO

Well I decided for you to do something special for your last assignment.  It's going to involve a wonderful website called Animoto.  Kids really like it.  It can be found at:

https://animoto.com/education/classroom

This site will allow teachers to apply for free accounts for your students so I would suggest doing this since it is sure a wonderful deal.  So how do you use Animoto?  Click on the link below for a tutorial..  There's lots of them to choose from.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=animoto+tutorial+2015

Want to see some ways that you might use Animoto in your classroom?  Want to see some examples?  Check out the following site.

http://www.brighthubeducation.com/teaching-methods-tips/57062-animoto-com-in-the-classroom/

One possible use for Animoto in the classroom is to do book reports or book trailers.  Check out this site.

http://www.booktrailersforreaders.com/

With this project it might be the perfect time to teach your students the importance of NOT using copyrighted images.  You'll probably find the following site useful.

http://globaldigitalcitizen.org/15-best-sites-open-source-images?mc_cid=fcb4d18778&mc_eid=8e298c6ee6

ASSIGNMENT NINE:

OK you guys, here is your final assignment.  Choose one of the subjects you teach and create an Animoto lesson plan for your students to actually do for an assignment.  You'll have this one as an example for them to see.  Type a paragraph listing all the details for their assignment such as number of photos to be used, length of video, number of text slides, etc.  Upon completion send me the directions paragraph plus the URL for your video.  Voila, that's it.

LESSON EIGHT

I'm sure you all have used PowerPoint.  It has to be one of the most used presentation programs of all times. Today I'm going to show you two alternatives to PowerPoint. They can give us some of the same PPT features we want plus the ability to upload it to the internet with ease so that it can be shared with our students.  The name of these tools are Google Drive Presentation and Empressr. Let's take a look at both.

GOOGLE DRIVE PRESENTATION

Presentation is part of the suite of online tools called Google Drive formerly Google Docs.  In order to find it go to the following URL:

https://drive.google.com/

Below is a simple tutorial for you to watch.

ASSIGNMENT EIGHT:



Review the this online presentation site.  Follow along as you view the tutorials.  If you want to investigate further, go to YouTube and check out other tutorials.  Once your research is complete do the following.  Do at least a six slide presentation tellipertaining to one of the subjects that you teach.  Then write a paragraph in which you compare and contratst it to PowerPoint.  Your presentation will finally be uploaded to the internet and you will send me the URL so that I might view it along with your paragraph.  Remember, if you have any questions, contact me for assistance.

LESSON SEVEN

Screencast-o-matic has to be one of my favorite online tools.  I probably use it as much or more than any other.  Well today you're going to learn how easy it is to create screencasts.  "So why do screencasts?" you might be asking yourself and that's a good question.  The reason I do screencasts is to make tutorials for my students.  If you want to explain how to do something, instead of using just text, why not create as video? Videos are all screencast are.  They can be very simple or rather elaborate.  Don't worry, we're going to use just the basics.  So to begin, go to http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/ and create a free account.

Won't to see one of my simple screencasts?  Well you probably already have if you've seen any of my tutorials.  I've included one of them below.  Click on it and see what you think.

 

http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/watch/coVteEezh6

 

 

  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQeky1RG0jU

NOTE:

First, the dotted box can be changed to whatever size you desire.  Secondly, you can pause your recording and restart it.  This is how I record PPT presentations.  I record one slide, pause, open up another slide and then start recording again.  Thirdly, I've recorded on Google Chrome without any problems.  However, if one browser doesn't work, try another one.  Lastly, once you start recording with one size box, you can't change midstream to another size.  I do all my screencasts on my laptop which has a webcam and microphone.

ASSIGNMENT SEVEN:

Decide on what you want to do your screencast.  I would suggest something that pertains to one of the subjects that you teach.  You may use just one image; however, personally I think this might be somewhat boring.  This is why I do lots of mine in PowerPoint.  I can use as many slides as I like.  They may contain text or photos or both.  Remember, that there is a fifteen minute limit, but I don't think any of you will do one that long for the first time.  Once recorded, save it to the Screencast-o-matic webpage and send me the URL for your video.  That's it.  As always, if you need help, contact me.

 

LESSON SIX

Below are 18 signs that you are a 21st century teacher.

1 You require your students to use a variety of sources for their research projects...and they 

cite blogs, podcasts, and interviews they’ve conducted via Skype.

2 Your students work on collaborative projects...with students in Australia.

3 You give weekly class updates to parents...via your blog.

4 Your students participate in class...by tweeting their questions and comments.

5 You ask your students to study and create reports on a controversial topic...and you grade 

their video submissions.

6 You prepare substitutes with detailed directions...via Podcasts.

7 You ask your students to do a character/historical person study...and they create mock 

social media profiles of their character.

8 Your students create a study guide...working together on a group wiki.

9 You share lesson plans with your teacher friends...from around the globe.

10 Your classroom budget is tight...but it doesn’t matter because there are so many free 

resources on the web you can use.

11 You realize the importance of professional development...and you read blogs, join online 

communities, and tweet for self development

12 You take your students on a field trip all over the world...and never leave your 

classroom.

13 Your students share stories of their summer vacation...through an online photo repository.

14 You visit the Louvre or other famous museums with your students...and don’t spend a dime.

15 You teach your students not to be bullies...or cyberbullies.

16 You make your students turn in their cell phones before class starts...because you plan 

on using them in class.

17 You require your students to summarize a recent chapter...and submit it to you via a text 

message.

18 You showcase your students’ original work...to the world.

ASSIGNMENT SIX A:

First, list any of these eighteen items that you have already done either personally or with your students.
Secondly, list the five items that you would like to do most as a teacher and explain why.
 Lastly, list the five items that you are not interested in doing whatsoever and explain why.

ASSIGNMENT SIX B:

You'll notice that I put certain words in red.  These words were or referred to online tools.  Choose one of these red tools and list as many educational uses in the classroom as possible.

Classtools.net is a wonderful site that contains several free educational tools.  One of my favorites is Arcade Games.  All the students that I've shown it to just love it and they enjoy creating them also.  These Arcade Games can be used to introduce a new unit, review for a test or even assess student knowledge.  So to begin with, go to http://www.classtools.net/  .  Click on Arcade Game Generator in the list on the right side of the site.  I've included a YouTube tutorial below.

Click here for a tutorial.

I want to add something to the tutorial concerning writing the questions.  Use short questions that have short answers.  Type the question*answer.  Here is an example.  Which day follows Wednesday*Thursday . That's it.  You must have a minimum of ten questions.  I prefer twelve to fifteen. Be sure to remember your password and copy the URL for the game.

ASSIGNMENT SIX C:

Create an arcade game with at least twelve questions that would serve as a review for a test in one of your classes.  When finished send me the URL so that I might view your game.  Good luck and contact me if you need my help.

LESSON FIVE

Want site that can help you:

*Introduce a new unit

*Review for a test

*Create lesson plans for a sub

*Flip your classroom

*Catch up students who have been absent

*Differentiate your instruction?

If so, why not try...

EDUCANON

It's name has changed but it's still the same wonderful website and it's found at

https://educanon.com/.

Click here to view the Edcanvas above.

Click here for a tutorial.

Click here for YouTube tutorials.

ASSIGNMENT:

This has to be one of the most favorite tools by teachers that I have ever introduced.  Some have told me that they plan to put all their lesson plans and units in Edcanvas.  For your assignment you are to create a lesson plan or use one that you have already and import it into Edcanvas.  This lesson plan should include written text or a document, a PowerPoint presentation, a video and an assessment which is one of their newest features.  Include anything else that will enhance what you are  teaching.  I've included one that I have created as well as tutorials explaining how to use this tool.  I am expecting some excellent lesson plans as well as Edcanvases.  If you need my assistance, please contact me.

NOTE:

If you're looking for an excellent multimedia tool for students to use for a presentation, this is it.  It would work beautifully in middle school and high school.

LESSON FOUR

http://www.thinglink.com/

Today's lesson deals with a wonderful online tool called Thinglink.  What is ThingLink?  ThingLink helps you create and discover rich images.  Be creative!  Make your images come alive with music, video, text, images, shops and more!  Every image contains a story and ThingLink helps you tell your stories.  Follow image channels from your favorite bands, bloggers and friends.  Your ThingLink Interactive images form a channel that other users can follow.  Share your channel with friends on Facebook and Twitter and follow your friends.  Touch and discover.

Click on the image above.

Click on the image above.

Click on image above.

Youtube Thinglink tutorials can be found HERE

 

ASSIGNMENT FOUR:

Sign up for a Thinglink first of all.  Then decide upon the image that you would like to tag that could be used in one of your classes.  I'd like for you to have five tags.  Try to use sites, text and videos if possible.  Once completed send me the URL for your Thinglink.  Remember, each Thinglink has its own URL or web address.  I've included what I feel is enough instruction in the form of videos for you to complete this assignment.  If, however, you have problems or questions, contact me.  Good luck and have fun.

NOTE:

This online tool might be a good alternative for a written report for your students; however, I would not try to get elementary students to use it.  Why?  Some sites suggest that children under the age of thirteen not use their tools because of questionable photos in samples displayed on the site.  I'm not talking about anything pornographic.  I'm talking about photos that the parents of an elementary child might object to.  So look at all sites, investigate the examples displayed and use good judgment.  With that said, middle school and high school students will most likely really enjoy this site.  BE SURE TO CHECK AND SEE IF IT IS UNBLOCKED BY THE COUNTY.  If so, kids could use it for homework.

LESSON THREE

YouTube has thousands of videos that are suitable for classroom use as an educational tool.  However, it has gotten some bad press because of lots of videos as well.  Because of this YouTube is definitely blocked to students as it should be.  But teachers still have access to it and can incorporate as many of the videos into their curriculum as they want.  I used them constantly in my classes because of the number and quality of art videos that I found.

Alright, you have found a video on YouTube that you would like to use in one of your classes?  What are your options?  First of all, you can play it directly from the YouTube website and project it using a data projector.  But what will you do if the internet is down that day?  And this does happen occasionally so be prepared for an alternate lesson plan.  This is what I would do.  At home I would download the video onto my laptop, flash drive or external hard drive.  Then I would take these devices to school the next day and project the video once again using the data projector.  Oh, you didn't know that you can download these videos?  Want to learn how? Well this is the topic for lesson three.

First of all there are lots of free programs that you can download that can be used to capture YouTube videos.  The one that I use is iLivid but why download a program when an online tool can do the same thing just as well?  The online tool that I'm talking about is referred to as "YouTube to MP3".  Do a search and you'll find several of these sites such as:  http://www.ixconverter.net/ and http://www.flvto.com/ .  What exactly do these sites do?  They convert YouTube videos to either MP4s or MP3s.  MP3s can be used for podcasts.  Below is a brief tutorial.

ASSIGNMENT THREE:

YouTube is not the only site that contains videos.  There are two others which are most likely not blocked. They are TeacherTube and Vimeo.  Use either of these three sites or others that you can find which are not blocked by Columbus County Schools in order to complete this assignment. Choose one of the subjects that you teach and think of a lesson plan that would work well with a video. Find three videos that you might use, download them, type their URLs and a paragraph for each describing how the video would be used to enhance what you are teaching.

LESSON TWO

How many of you bookmark sites that you're interested in or that you want to look at more closely later?  I use to do the same thing but it presented me with a problem.  When I was at home I needed the bookmarked sites on my classroom PC and vice versa.  What to do, what to do?  Well with the advent of "the cloud" my problem was saved.  I started to save my bookmarks in the cloud so that I could access them anywhere that I had a computer and the internet.  Want to know how?  The answer is by using a site called Scoop.it.

 

Let me show you a photo of my dashboard which contains the topics that I'm constantly scooping.  So far I am scooping three topics:  Instructional Technology, AIG Learners and Artists I Like.  NOTE: Now you're allowed to have only one topic for free.  Any more than that now will have a monthly or yearly fee.  Look at the following URL for a closer look at one of my topics.

http://www.scoop.it/t/instructional-specialist

Here is a Scoop.it that should tell you everything you need to know about it.

http://www.scoop.it/t/what-is-scoop-it

You might also want to check out YouTube for video tutorials.such as the one below.



There's hardly a day that goes by that I don't scoop something and I get email notifications when someone rescoops one of my scoops.  Sound confusing?  Well once you sign up for a free account and get started, you'll probably use it quite a bit.  Scoop topics about the subjects you teach or your hobbies, or whatever.  Good luck scooping.

I decided to do a quick tutorial on the very basics of Scoop.It.  Hope it might clear up some of your questions.


ASSIGNMENT:

Sign up for a free Scoop.it account.  Choose the topics that you want to scoop.  Remember you can only have one free with the new account system.  Then start scooping.  If you need to check out the site I attached or the YouTube videos.  Make sure the videos are current because Scoop.it has changed within the last year.   If you need to ask me a question email me.  I listed my email address on m first post.

Once you get everything set up and start scooping, copy the URL to your account and send it to me via email.  I'd like you to have at least two topics with four scoops per topic.  Now go forth and scoop.

LESSON ONE

ASSIGNMENT ONE:

 

There are always lots of times that you and your students could use a photo editor for various assignments or activities.  This is what your first lesson is about - photo editors.  But these are not editors that you have to purchase, these are all free online editors.  Look through your photos or find one online that you might be able to use in one of your classes.  Upload the original photo and then make four copies of the same picture using one of the online editors below.  Completely change it, add text or objects.  Finally write a paragraph telling me which one of the photo editors was your favorite and why.  To recap, here is what I'm expecting: one original photo, four alterations of the same photo and a paragraph explaining which editor you prefer and why.  Also include how you might use a photo editor in your classes.  That's it.  And one more thing: BE CREATIVE!!!!!!!!

Four free online photo editors for you to use for this assignment:

1) http://www.phixr.com/
2) http://www.befunky.com/
3) http://www180.lunapic.com/editor/
4) http://www.picmonkey.com/
5) http://www.fotor.com/

WELCOME TO

Hello everyone.  Welcome to my newest blog called Lateral Entry Technology.  My name is Larry Hewett and I am high school AIG Specialist and Instructional Technology Facilitator for Columbus County Schools. I was very excited when asked about doing this professional development for two reasons.  First, of all, I absolutely love technology.  I have two PCs, two iPads, two laptops and a smartphone.  What can I say other than I like to stay in touch and informed.  The second reason that I was excited about doing this PD is because I came on board with Columbus County Schools through lateral entry also.  And this was almost 23 years ago.  Lateral entry does work.  I'm proud of all of you for making the decision to become educators. If I can ever assist you in any way, feel free to contact me at lhewett@columbus.k12.nc.us or lhewett1@yahoo.com  .  

This blog or course will consist of enough lessons to allow you to receive the required number of CEUs of technology credit. Each lesson will have an assignment or two that you will be expected to complete.  Upon completion you will email me the assignment so I can check it.  You will either receive credit for it or will be asked to redo it if it is not correct.  I will keep a record of your completed assignments.  I suggest that you keep a record also. Most of the lessons will pertain to FREE online tools that I have found to be very valuable in the classroom. I consider technology to be one of the greatest educational tools to enhance learning.  This is why it is so important to integrate it into your classroom and curriculum.  WORD OF WARNING: Technology is wonderful when it works!  But it can also be a major pain when it doesn't and this will eventually happen.  So be prepared for alternate lessons.  

That's about it.  I hope you all enjoy our time together.  So let's get started with your first lesson.

Larry