tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61924495101743652132011-11-27T15:29:41.443-08:00Come here to hear the ranting and raving of a middle level technology teacher. I hope to share some of my insights as well as gain some insight into the teaching of those at the middle level.John Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048080301869447087noreply@blogger.comBlogger351100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6192449510174365213.post-24330268171983849752009-05-20T21:23:00.001-07:002009-05-21T19:19:15.420-07:00

I recently found a website called http://www.textthemob.com/ through a blog/podcast I subscribe to called TechTalk4Teachers. The site was mentioned as Mr. Grissom as the tech pick of the week. The site enables you to set up either multiple choice answers or simple discussion questions that people can respond to via their the text messaging feature of their cell phone. One of the best parts about

John Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048080301869447087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6192449510174365213.post-72696110008750804782009-05-06T21:10:00.001-07:002009-05-06T21:10:15.222-07:00

This is tech Wednesday for 5-6-09. There have been a few of you asking me more about Microsoft Groove lately and how I can see it being used or how I use it. Thank you for sharing your responses in how you have been using it or how your students have been using it, even if it was by accident.My building started exploring Groove as a way to communicate between classrooms and office staff in lieu

John Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048080301869447087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6192449510174365213.post-69284085778442466012009-04-28T21:11:00.001-07:002009-04-30T13:14:38.008-07:00

It's been a while since my last post. We have been in the middle of our state standardized testing over the last month and that coupled with a few other things has zapped my energy. I am back now with another free online picture editing tool called pixlr.comPixlr.com is an online picture editing tool similar to Adobe Photoshop, Paint, and many others with one major difference it is free and no

John Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048080301869447087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6192449510174365213.post-1436687778243191412009-04-01T17:03:00.001-07:002009-04-01T17:27:14.665-07:00

This Week I am showing MS Groove 2007. This is an instant messaging program on steroids. It gives you the ability to not only chat, but also to share voice recordings, send files instantly, as well as create a simple easy document workspace. It is a nice program that can be used to foster collaboration both locally and around the world and is fairly inexpensive. It is a great tool to use in the

John Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048080301869447087noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6192449510174365213.post-24734717361120561542009-03-11T20:57:00.001-07:002009-03-15T20:22:51.857-07:00

This week I am showing you a website called spellingcity.com. Spelling city is a new twist on the good old spelling list. This website allows teachers, students, and/or parents to build spelling lists or choose from list of words already created and practice or test on those words. I remember as a kid in elementary school having to get out my spelling book and practicing over and over again word

John Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048080301869447087noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6192449510174365213.post-57533583057231405452009-03-05T20:02:00.001-08:002009-03-05T21:59:08.188-08:00

I wanted to take some time this Wednesday (ok Thursday) to talk about online tools. Thanks too Google and the open source movement we have some wonderful tools that are helping to break down the digital gap. As a middle school tech teacher I sometime forget that once students leave my classroom not everyone has access to the same tools or access to tools at all as they do in the classroom. This

John Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048080301869447087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6192449510174365213.post-88065725884703226092009-02-25T20:04:00.001-08:002009-02-26T19:06:15.616-08:00

I have been using Microsoft OneNote for a couple of years now as a way to keep track of meeting notes, class notes, research notes, and conference notes. It wasn't until recently I started experimenting with the shared notebook feature that I really started to see the power of OneNote The shared notebook feature allows a teacher to do more than just simply share a notebook with their class,

John Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048080301869447087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6192449510174365213.post-34676236457220744282009-02-18T21:21:00.000-08:002009-02-18T21:43:37.149-08:00

This Wednesday finds me at NCCE in Portland Oregon. I have been coming to this conference for the past 8 years and have enjoyed each time coming. Conferences are a great way to see what others are doing and what new technologies are out there. However they are more than that, they are a great way to energize and infuse one's teaching with new ideas and energy.There is an energy surrounding

John Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048080301869447087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6192449510174365213.post-33094467840642013542009-02-11T19:59:00.001-08:002009-02-11T21:13:18.083-08:00

A couple of years ago my students showed me an amazing tool that I am only now harnessing that of doing animation in PowerPoint. I found myself fighting to have the students work on projects and skills that I had setup for them and not these animation projects they were working on till last year. My students would be begging me to open the lab and/or stay after school to work on animation

John Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048080301869447087noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6192449510174365213.post-33243363746758875802009-02-04T21:16:00.001-08:002009-02-05T05:58:02.372-08:00

This week I am showing the site voki.com. This is a simple voice avatar creation site. I was turned on to this site by a teacher I saw a one of the many conferences I attend this time of year. I visited her site and saw she had a Voki of herself posted to her site. She used the Voki to give her students little reminders about assignments and simple 60 second directions. I was intrigued and

John Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048080301869447087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6192449510174365213.post-64273386917927376922009-01-26T20:38:00.001-08:002009-01-27T19:44:24.478-08:00

I apologize for missing last Wednesday's tech Wednesday post, I was a bit under the weather so I will do two this week. I am also hoping that blogger will let me post video this time. My Fold it! Post was supposed to have video but there was an error in transferring the video.This week I will be talking about Outlook. I really love this program as both a communication tool and as a planning tool

John Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048080301869447087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6192449510174365213.post-68255993291779419192009-01-14T20:52:00.001-08:002009-01-27T19:44:47.942-08:00

Fold.it is a game developed by a father for his kids and students to gain help in solving problems/puzzles involving protein folding. The game is a free download available at http://fold.it/portal. The developers of the game are university professors at the University of Washington and Carnegie Melon. The hope is that with all the gamers out there working on protein puzzles that maybe someday a

John Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048080301869447087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6192449510174365213.post-49877266278203705252009-01-07T20:25:00.001-08:002009-01-07T20:25:15.850-08:00

This tech Wednesday is about an interesting new (ok relatively new) piece of hardware, the Nintendo Wii. I have read on other blogs and podcasts about the Nintendo Wii as any of you may have in the past and its possible applications in education. The possibilities are numerous from music education to physical education, and many others in-between. I have to admit I was a bit skeptical at first

John Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048080301869447087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6192449510174365213.post-83146800212153697362008-12-18T11:28:00.001-08:002008-12-18T11:28:54.790-08:00

As I sit here at home for a second day of no school I find myself pondering the age old conundrum of the snow day. A snow day to an educator and student is kind of like a double edge sword, on the one side you get a day off from school but on the other side you have to make up the time either in February (for those of us who have a mid-winter break) or in June (or whenever your end of the school

John Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048080301869447087noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6192449510174365213.post-26341823773001259512008-12-16T20:43:00.001-08:002008-12-18T19:52:57.177-08:00

This will be my last Tech Wednesday post for the year; although never fret I will pick this back up in the New Year on January 7th.You may be wondering why I chose the NORAD tracks Santa site as an educational site to share. I know it is not non-denominational but it is a cute site with some interesting goodies packed in there. Although I do recommend that you check your district policies

John Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048080301869447087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6192449510174365213.post-52993706582100134372008-12-10T19:13:00.001-08:002008-12-12T07:35:00.040-08:00

For my second installment of Tech Wednesday I am demonstrating the website xtimline.com. I first heard about this site on another blog whose name escapes me at the moment. Their comments about how it was a great web2.0 tool that had excellent application in the classroom caught my interest and I ran with it from there. I am currently testing it out with my staff as I write this so more to come on

John Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048080301869447087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6192449510174365213.post-61558470677804182612008-12-01T20:36:00.001-08:002008-12-04T18:16:18.194-08:00

I am going to be trying out a new feature to my blog in an attempt to get more traffic coming its way. The overall purpose of this blog is to serve as a forum for teachers and readers to share successes, advice, and general rants and raves about technology. In the past I have posted helpful websites and tips on minor tasks but now I would like to offer a bit of online training on programs and

John Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048080301869447087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6192449510174365213.post-52703477229857395912008-11-07T21:08:00.001-08:002008-11-07T21:08:41.076-08:00

This past week we witnessed history in the making. Not only did we have record turnouts for an election but we also elected our first African American President. I will be honest and say this makes me proud to be a citizen of this county. I hope that you took part in the election by voting, volunteering for your candidate, and possibly hosting a mock election in your classroom or school (if you

John Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048080301869447087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6192449510174365213.post-45321934798354214862008-10-27T19:49:00.001-07:002008-10-27T19:49:32.994-07:00

This year our district is focusing on capturing student voice as it relates to education and the work we do. We are looking at how we can use student voice to design more engaging work for students. We I say engaging work I am not just talking about work that is fun and exciting but work that truly captivates students interest, whether it be hard or easy, and forces them to think and persevere.

John Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048080301869447087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6192449510174365213.post-52984941787656772008-09-08T21:07:00.001-07:002008-09-08T21:07:49.059-07:00

Welcome back to school for most everyone if not everyone. I am officially one week in to the New Year and looking forward to another high energy year with high energy students. It is always nice to come back and see all the bright, eager, young faces ready to learn. I was fortunate this year to run part of our annual staff retreat where we prepare for the upcoming year and develop our focus for

John Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048080301869447087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6192449510174365213.post-28159446653479657752008-07-30T10:51:00.001-07:002008-07-30T10:53:58.083-07:00

This posting may be a repeat but it is an issue I am starting to feel stronger and stronger about, Year round schooling. Yes, yes, yes I know how dare I mention this. I have heard the arguments about kids need time off to work in the fields or family business (and yes I know I am contradicting myself but hear me out), to explore alternatives to traditional schooling, go on the family vacation (or

John Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048080301869447087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6192449510174365213.post-21924040693810138652008-07-02T11:25:00.001-07:002008-07-02T13:10:27.179-07:00

In reading a recent post on edutopia (www.edutopia.org) today by Anthony Cody I was struck with an idea for simple yet effective professional development. In reading the reply to his posting on advocating for education by Bill Ferriter my idea started to take shape. Bill mentioned that he tries to read and respond to three educational blogs/postings a day. In doing this he mentions that he is

John Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048080301869447087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6192449510174365213.post-33050074414856586712008-06-24T11:07:00.001-07:002008-06-26T08:57:21.132-07:00

As no doubt most of us are enjoying summer vacation an interesting question was posed at our school the last few weeks of school. The question centered around what to post on our website in the way of resources/activities for students to do over the summer. It sparked some interesting debate between all of my colleagues. All were in agreement that students lose some of what they have learned over

John Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048080301869447087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6192449510174365213.post-16343117339761964062008-05-13T12:01:00.001-07:002008-05-13T13:01:44.254-07:00

One thing that really gets my stomach in a knot is that state of education funding in my state (Washington). The district I am currently working in is facing some pretty steep budget cuts as are many other districts in our state. By no means is this a rant against my district as I feel they are doing and have done an admirable job of keeping these cuts away from the classroom. This is more a rant

John Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048080301869447087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6192449510174365213.post-9574727550227316122008-04-20T19:11:00.001-07:002008-04-20T19:11:38.623-07:00

Over the past 6 months I have run across some interesting websites that can be used to integrate technology and problem solving into your classroom. In this post I will describe the website as well as some ways it can be used in the classroomKiva.orgKiva.org is a website that facilitates the lending of money to entrepreneurs in impoverished portions of the world as a way to combat poverty. The

John Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048080301869447087noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6192449510174365213.post-4981355946116365622008-03-17T21:30:00.001-07:002008-03-17T21:30:22.931-07:00

At a recent educational technology conference it was mentioned by the keynote speaker and several other speakers that we may be wasting money on 1 to 1 initiatives (take a deep breath). Now I know that in the academic circles I run in the title to this blog alone will invoke cries of blasphemy. I can just hear it now:What are you thinking?Kids are not mature enough to handle cell phones in class?

John Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048080301869447087noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6192449510174365213.post-82486283865683336572008-01-23T21:37:00.001-08:002008-01-23T21:37:42.193-08:00

After reading the following article, 'Think before you ban' (eSchool News 1/21/2008) I find that it struck a chord with me. As a technology teacher it is my job to teach kids how to use technology more efficiently and effectively. It is also my job to help students learn how to evaluate technology. I find it interesting that often times when new technologies come out such as web 2.0 tools the

John Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048080301869447087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6192449510174365213.post-2010942365545450912007-12-15T09:33:00.001-08:002007-12-15T09:33:53.114-08:00

The other day after giving a demonstration on a program called Inspiration (Inspiration.com) to my staff I asked staff for their opinion on whether or not we should entertain purchasing it for use in our computer labs. I received the usual mixed bag of comments but one comment in particular grabbed my attention and kind of shook me. The comment centered on the opinion that computers are doing

John Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048080301869447087noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6192449510174365213.post-11558577262356655162007-11-30T22:40:00.001-08:002007-11-30T22:40:54.582-08:00

Now I will be the first to admit I am not the world's greatest writer. My spelling is not the best (thank god for spell check) but I do try and proofread all my posts before sending them to the web. This is more than I can say for some major and local news agencies. I have noticed over the past couple of years that there are more and more news stories out there that are a writing teacher's

John Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048080301869447087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6192449510174365213.post-60463015373356894832007-11-10T14:21:00.001-08:002007-11-10T14:21:52.384-08:00

In between work, caring for 2 new twins, and personal time I have been exploring a new world. After reading an article in Learning and Leading with Technology (or was it Edutopia, arrgh I have twin brain) about using the "game" Second Life in education, I decided to check it out. Initially after reading the article I was a bit skeptical about using this "game" at all however, I quickly am

John Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048080301869447087noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6192449510174365213.post-68522990391708623832007-10-23T11:06:00.001-07:002007-10-23T11:06:33.860-07:00

I have to apologize for not posting sooner but with the birth of twins in my household I have had my hand full.I have recently applied to be part of a team that is developing Educational Technology Grade Level Equivalencies (GLEs) for our state (Washington). I am not sure how many other states have GLEs for Ed Tech, but I for one am excited that we are finally doing this. I have worked in two

John Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048080301869447087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6192449510174365213.post-72104940795221926352007-09-20T21:03:00.001-07:002007-09-20T21:03:03.881-07:00

Last night I watched the TV show "Kid Nation" on CBS. The concept of the show is that 30 some odd kids ranging from 8 years old to 14 years old were sent to an old west ghost town and give the task of creating a viable town. Now believe me I am not a huge fan of reality TV by any means but this one might be a bit different. One interesting difference between this show and others is that no one

John Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048080301869447087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6192449510174365213.post-86173256297934860482007-09-07T20:15:00.001-07:002007-09-07T20:15:16.983-07:00

As a middle school technology teacher I get the same question from students every year, "Are we going to get to play games?" My pat answer is "no". This usually gets some grumpy faces and less than positive comments from some of my older students. Although as I reflect back on this question of my students I find myself wondering why not allow them to play games? I wonder to myself (and the

John Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048080301869447087noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6192449510174365213.post-46661769052713846272007-08-06T19:52:00.001-07:002007-08-06T19:52:59.516-07:00

I have been working on developing an effective training model for the teachers in my district. This has been a rather interestingly fun task to undertake and I can't wait to start the training. The reason for the training is that we are deploying MS Office 2007 this year and with the both subtle and drastic changes in the interface and some of the features, training is needed so our teachers

John Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048080301869447087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6192449510174365213.post-26785988438612141632007-07-17T14:36:00.001-07:002007-07-17T14:36:59.940-07:00

Welcome to my first foray into the world of blogging. As the description says I am a middle level teacher in the arena of technology. This blog is both a learning experience as well as an opportunity for me to share and gain insights into the tools my students are ad will be using. So feel free to share your thoughts and ideas as we journey through the world of teaching at the middle level.On

John Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048080301869447087noreply@blogger.com0