NETA Conference 2012

Nebraska Educational Technology Association (NETA) 2012 Resources & Information

Thursday April 26^th, 2012

Keynote:  Trends, Tools, and Tactics for 21^st Century Learning – Kevin Honeycutt

http://www.kevinhoneycutt.com

http://web.me.com/khoneycuttessdack/kevinhoneycutt.org/Downloads_files/Friends,%20Tools%20%26%20Tactics.pdf

Other presentations… http://web.me.com/khoneycuttessdack/kevinhoneycutt.org/Downloads.html

iPads in the Classroom – Tammy Worcester

http://www.tammyworcester.com/TWHandouts/TW_Handouts/Entries/2012/4/17_iPads_in_the_Classroom%21.html

http://www.tammyworcester.com

Equipment – iPad Doc Connector ($25); Belkin Flip KVM Switch ($29)

Before they Click – Kevin Honeycutt

http://web.me.com/khoneycuttessdack/kevinhoneycutt.org/Downloads_files/Before%20they%20click-CTE%3AHawaii.pdf

See eBook Preview on site http://web.me.com/khoneycuttessdack/kevinhoneycutt.org/eBook_Preview.html

Analog Twitter – How are you today?

http://www.rescuetime.com

10 Free Tools to use Tomorrow – Pam Krambeck

http://pk-neta.wikispaces.com/10+Plus+Free+Tools

http://pk-neta.wikispaces.com/

Blended Learning – Craig Hicks

http://bit.ly/I45IuX

http://portal.gnenc.org

http://learn.gnenc.org

Flipped Classroom Resources – Ginny Gustad

http://center.uoregon.edu/NETA/uploads/NETA2012/HANDOUTS/KEY_320912/FlippingtheClassroom.ppt

Camtasia Studio

Screencast.com

Show Me app

iAuthor

Other Presentation:   http://center.uoregon.edu/NETA/uploads/NETA2012/HANDOUTS/KEY_320863/iPadPresentation.ppt

Google is the New Angel – Janelle Coady

https://sites.google.com/a/nsdtitans.org/neta-2012-coady/

Totally integrated, public for students and parents can set things to private

Friday April 27^th, 2012

Keynote:  It’s About TIME! – Tammy Worcester

http://www.tammyworcester.com/TWHandouts/TW_Handouts/Entries/2012/4/26_Teaching_for_the_21st_Century_-_Its_About_Time%21_4.html

Show Me

Postcard app

Going Digital – Travis Allen

http://ischolinitiative.com

List of apps and resources to solve education challenges (paperless, grading, gaming, tutorials, etc.)

Going paperless…

http://center.uoregon.edu/conferences/NETA/uploads/NETA2012/HANDOUTS/KEY_329885/GoingPaperless.pdf

Idea Sketch

Phone Drive

Cinex Player

Go Docs (Google Apps)

Paper Helper

Scratch Work

Cram Berry

Study Blue (Cross Platform)

http://quizlet.com

Sundry Notes

aNote (Awesome Note)

Achiever’s Writing Station

Gaming…there have always been distractions -> it’s about engagement…

Stealth Learning (Learning when you don’t realize it)

iAnnotate

PLC Tips for a Generative Environment for Peers – Dale Holt & Jarrod Rowe

http://tinyurl.com/neta2012

Red Cat microphone (portable mics)

10 Apps/Projects for Social Studies Classroom – Greg Miller

http://connectseward.org/edu/sms/miller/Mr._Miller_8th_Social_Studies/NETA_2012.html

Virtual Scrapbooks – time period journals

Roaring 20s Newsreels

Westward Infomercials

1960s-90s Event Glogster – recommend assigning fictional characters

Classroom Webpage/Interactive Activity Days

Fake Facebook Page – an event, person, etc.

Chrome Coordinates

Art Project by Google

Virtual Tours

Google Earth – flight simulator

Google App – Ancient History Encyclopedia

Google Apps – USE THEM!

Edmodo, Social Media & Classroom Management – Richard Gilson

http://center.uoregon.edu/NETA/uploads/NETA2012/HANDOUTS/KEY_319419/NETA2012.ppt

http://www.edmodo.com/

Have You Got the Itch for New Software?  Scratch! – R. (Dick) Gottner

http://scratch.mit.edu

http://learnscratch.org/

http://info.scratch.mit.edu/Video_Tutorials

iPads vs. Textbooks

Created by: Online Teaching Degree

Tennessee and Ian Jukes…

It has been a few years since I heard Ian Jukes speak at the T+L Conference in Nashville (October 19, 2007).  However, his words continue to ring in my ears, and I want to share some of them with you as I reflect on where our school district is with embedding technology in learning.

Ian Jukes said:

“We have access to some new technologies but their use is generally optional not integral and certainly not required of all teachers – and the technologies are often used to reinforce old practices and assumptions about teaching and learning and assessment and do not require the teacher to change their current instructional practices.”

“Ask yourself this very important question – would your students be there in your classrooms if they didn’t have to be? Are they there because they want to be there? Or are they there because they have no other choice? And if they’re there only because they have to, what can we begin to do differently to help more students want to be in our classes?”

“…Our emphasis as professional educators has to be on more than just LOTS.”

“The starting point for making the necessary changes is that as educators we have to understand how truly different our students are.”

“This shift is so fundamental – the gap between them and us is so wide – that there’s no going back to the basics. There’s no going back to the way things were when we were kids.”

“The problem is that many educators just don’t get that there is a digital divide. Many of us pay lip service to the notion that this generation is different. We knowingly nod our heads but then we shut the door to the classroom and go back to business as usual where it could just as easily be 1960 all over again.”

“Most teachers know very little if anything about the digital world of their students – from online gaming to their means of exchanging, sharing, meeting, evaluating, coordinating, programming, searching, customizing, and socializing.”

“The bottom line is that we really don’t understand their digital world and we never will until we take the time to honor and respect where they come from. But to do this we have to be willing to acknowledge their world and start to educate ourselves about that world.”

“If we truly want to make a difference in the lives of our children, schools must become a place where students are actively engaged in constructing their own knowledge and know how…”

“The context of a significant event provides a frame of reference and relevance for remembering the specific information about what you were doing long after the event. By providing a context for the new information teachers are actually helping students with long-term memory.”

My summary and challenge to myself and others that continues today:  As educators it is time that we take responsibility for our own learning.  If we want to create self-directed learners, we must become one.  We must model self-directed, independent learning, and we need to discover how our students learn in the 21st Century.

NPPSD Technology Days Presentation…

The Creation – Consumption Continuum

http://prezi.com/4dxykmcolwa9/the-creation-continuum/

Online Resources on Inference

Inference – Online Resources

Simply put, an inference is also known as reading between the lines.  The reader must put together the information the author provides and the information that the reader already knows to come up with the answer.

Lesson Plans (K-12):

http://www.liketoread.com/read_strats_infer.php

http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12/articles/71905.aspx

http://ethemes.missouri.edu/themes/1666

http://eduscapes.com/sessions/pilot/pilotinference.htm

http://www.lessonplanet.com/search?_kk=making+inferences+lesson+plans&_kt=864f8932-f3fa-4ec6-9cb6-e018e6b72567&gclid=CInAv4iPraUCFVVi2godAireYw&keywords=Making+Inferences&media=lesson&rating=4

Ideas (K-12):

http://www.edutopia.org/comic-books-teaching-literacy

Science (6-12):

http://www.teacherlink.org/content/science/class_examples/Bflypages/nos.htm

http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/articles/bahcall/

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/neutrino/

Logic Problems (K-12):

http://www.nationalmathtrail.org/il4a.html

http://school.discoveryeducation.com/brainboosters/

Elementary Activities:

http://ethemes.missouri.edu/themes/1675

http://www.gamequarium.com/readquarium/skillsi-p.html

http://www.brainpopjr.com/readingandwriting/comprehension/makeinferences/preview.weml

Middle School Activities:

http://ethemes.missouri.edu/themes/848

http://www.gamequarium.com/readquarium/skillsi-p.html

http://www.tv411.org/lessons/cfm/reading.cfm?str=reading&num=11&act=2&que=1

http://www.quia.com/pop/43335.html

High School Activities:

http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12/articles/40409.aspx

Resources (K-12):

http://www.brocktonpublicschools.com/page.cfm?p=2097

http://www.englishcompanion.com/pdfDocs/inferencenotes.pdf

Speech-Language:

http://www.angelfire.com/nj/speechlanguage/Onlineactivities.html

Differentiated Instruction via Technology

Differentiated instruction (sometimes referred to as differentiated learning) involves providing students with different avenues to acquiring content; to processing, constructing, or making sense of ideas; and to developing teaching materials so that all students within a classroom can learn effectively, regardless of differences in ability (Tomlinson, Carol 2001).

Identifying differences in ability is a key step in gathering technology resources for students to utilize.  We can easily identify students that have differences in ability via pupils that have an IEP.  Often, we can access resources that we have used for these students and modify them to meet the needs of other students.  This really is a good foundation to draw upon; however, we want to focus our attention on student strengths and constructing knowledge when it comes to differentiation, and multiple intelligences are another good place to start.

Howard Gardner is a leading researcher on the topic of multiple intelligences and is an excellent resource to draw from when focusing on differentiated instruction.

http://www.howardgardner.com/MI/mi.html

Gardner has extensive research and resources that can be found at the above link, and I highly recommend reading through his information on multimedia and technology and their relationship to multiple intelligences.  Some other good Gardner resources can be found at the following links:

What are my learning strengths?  (Inventory)
http://mail.nppsd.org:8080/~nhokanson/MI/MI_Inventory.pdf

Products for Multiple Intelligences
http://mail.nppsd.org:8080/~nhokanson/MI/MI_Product_Grid.pdf

Utilizing Gardeners inventory is a quick way to identify learner’s strengths, and the product lists provide teachers with ideas on what various students might create in a project based environment to show what they know.  Most of these products can be produced via technology tools.  This product list can provide a reference point to work from in order to create lessons that will build a foundation for varied learners to construct knowledge and reach their project goal.

As a former building intervention team chairperson I found myself faced with researching various strategies to provide accommodations for students that were struggling in various subject areas.  I found technology to be one tool that met many students’ needs.  The following web site and tutorial page is an older example of online activities that shared similar information in a variety of ways.  The strengths and needs of particular students in my classroom guided my efforts to assist students in gaining the basic information in my geography classroom, and not all students completed all of the online activities.  The activities helped me to differentiate instruction, practice, assessment, and re-teaching based on particular students’ abilities.  After those basic skills were in place I could then draw upon Gardner’s multiple intelligences product ideas to expand student opportunities where they could construct knowledge via projects to show what they knew.

Hokanson’s World Geography
http://homepage.mac.com/nhokanson/Sites/socialstudies/geography/index.html

Hokanson’s World Geography Tutorials
http://homepage.mac.com/nhokanson/Sites/socialstudies/geography/tutorials.html

Most of the activities in the above links were created, over time, by my students and I via an online “quiz maker” called Quia or a program called Hot Potatoes.  I also utilized a program called Game Show Presenter to do whole class review over basic information that students needed in my geography classes.  These activities served as scaffolding exercises to build knowledge toward student created projects.

Quia:  http://www.quia.com

Hot Potatoes (Installed on all NPPSD district computers since 2007!):  http://hotpot.uvic.ca/

Game Show Presenter:  http://www.almorale.com/

Now, with today’s World Wide Web there are many online resources that serve the purpose of many of the initial activities I created years ago (See links below).  Teachers also have access to technology based resources via subject area textbooks especially online.

Example web site (blog) with links to resources for differentiation:  http://oxpower.wordpress.com/

Textbook Resources:   http://www.glencoe.com/sec/socialstudies/ushistory/taj2005/index.php4

Secondary Online Resources:  http://mail.nppsd.org:8080/~nhokanson/online_resources_hs/index.html

Elementary Online Resources:  http://mail.nppsd.org:8080/~nhokanson/online_resources/index.html

All of these resources are simply tools to assist students as they construct knowledge, but each tool and resource allows for deeper understanding of content and provides a foundation for students to build upon their strengths as they piece together information.  Remember, technology is one vehicle toward learning, it is not the focus, and it cannot be an event.  Technology is a tool that can be utilized to differentiate instruction and ultimately support individualized learning.

Other “quiz” makers to explore:

http://yacapaca.com/

http://testmoz.com/

http://www.contentgenerator.net/

http://www.curriculumbits.com/prodimages/details/misc/quizscorer.swf

http://www.quiz-creator.com/blog/2009/09/free-online-quiz-creator-tools-create-online-quizzes/

ISTE NETS for Teachers

Prezi on the ISTE NETS for Teachers

Moodle, Mahara, WordPress, ISTE, and …

Hello out there!  I feel I have dropped off the face of the earth here at H I T, but I have been quite busy establishing several tools for our district and putting together an equipment deployment to keep us busy over the summer months as we prepare for the return of students and staff in the coming weeks.  It has been an exciting time amidst trying times in education with budget cuts, staff layoffs, and a generally not so good economy.  I have also witnessed the high school graduation of my oldest child and her plans to move into higher education.  That has kept me busy enough!

Our district has been the beneficiary of helpful stimulus funds that have allowed the purchase of several pieces of equipment that will provide learning tools for students and staff.  We will see projection devices in all K-12 classrooms by the fall be it a projector and document camera and/or a new Epson Brightlink system in K-5 classrooms that don’t already have a SMART Board.  We infused over 1200 netbooks into various schools over the past year and after my first three years here at this district I feel we are making progress in providing 21 Century devices that can enhance the learning process.

New tools we are adding to the educational process include Moodle (a content management system), Mahara (an ePortfolio system), and we have established our own WordPress server.  These open source tools are key in assisting teachers and students as they learn, grow, and show what they know in our educational endeavors.  We are determining whether or not to continue utilizing Gaggle for student email or to try Microsoft’s Live@edu.  That decision will come soon, and I believe cost will be the deciding factor.  A robust wireless network has been established over the past three years enabling the use of these tools across the district in our 13 school buildings.

I have plans to attend the ISTE conference in Denver in the coming days and look forward to meeting several of you I have met over the years via this blog and through efforts such as Quest Atlantis.  Denver is a four-hour drive from my neck of the woods, and I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity.  I hope to learn many new and exciting things on the trip to bring back to our community.

Busy times require focus, and I just can’t seem to find the time to share here.  Reflection is an important part of the learning process, and this blog has enabled that for me in the past.  I know I learn so much from the many out there that put forth their efforts, trials, errors, and accomplishments, and I need to give back so much more.  Here’s hoping that I can do just that has time marches forward.

Netbooks: A Cost Effective Digital Learning Solution

The following is an article I posted on our district website detailing our recent netbook deployment.  North Platte Public Schools in North Platte, Nebraska has roughly 4200 students:  1 high school, 2 middle schools, and 10 elementary schools.

Netbooks: A Cost Effective Digital Learning Solution

by Neil Hokanson, Educational Technology Director North Platte Public Schools

December 21, 2009

During the fall of 2008, the North Platte Public School Technology Department began to evaluate netbooks as a digital device solution. Netbooks are small laptop computers (with 10 inch screens) that have all the computing power of a regular laptop without a DVD or CD drive. The cost is roughly 1/3 that of a regular laptop and much cheaper than a desktop computer. Best of all the devices are portable opening up use anywhere, anytime. Pilot projects were tried in the North Platte High School Science Department and at Adams Middle School to see how the devices held up and met the needs of teachers and students.

In the spring it was determined, from building level technology plans developed by teaching staff and administrators, that a netbook would be a priority solution to increasing the number of digital devices throughout the school district. Plans were made to identify the number of devices that the district could purchase within the parameters of the technology budget, along with identifying stimulus funding as an additional source, to get devices in the hands of students. Three deployments were developed and the technology department has been facilitating that process since the summer months.

The first deployment brought 150 HP mini devices to Madison Middle School in August. Staff and especially students have been using these learning tools in a variety of ways to provide students new methods and experiences in practice, research, notes, developing presentations, creating art, for communication via email, creating brochures, and photo editing. Furthermore, the initial deployment at Madison has enabled the sharing of a wealth of information concerning the deployment, maintenance, use, and overall value of netbook computing that now spans many schools in the district and benefits other schools as netbooks are deployed elsewhere.

After the Madison deployment, and following budget approval in September 2009 and a meeting with the school board technology subcommittee, the second deployment was started and has been recently completed. 300 netbooks were placed in North Platte High School, 150 at Adams Middle School, and 30 each were deployed to Eisenhower, Hall, Lake, and Osgood elementary schools. Older computers from the high school were redeployed to McDonald, Washington, Eisenhower, Hall, and Osgood to provide equity with a thin client classroom solution that was done in most of the other elementary schools last school year. Since the middle of December 2009, including existing digital devices (laptops and desktops), computing has gone from as much as 12:1 to at least 3:1 digital devices per student in many schools.

The third deployment is well under way and will bring 120 netbooks to Jefferson, 90 each to Lincoln, Washington, and Cody, and 60 of the devices will arrive at Buffalo in the coming weeks. By the end of the 2009-2010 school year there will be at least 3:1 computing, with Web 2.0 capable devices in every school in the district. Schools that are at 3:1 will be identified as “next in line” to receive any new devices in the future and a replacement cycle is now in place to keep digital devices updated and renewed over the coming years.

Netbooks have facilitated a cost effective solution for the North Platte Public Schools in getting as many updated digital devices in the hands of students that we can in an equitable, wise, and fiscally responsible manner. Along with an updated network and server backbone over the past couple of years, teachers and students are reaping the rewards of 21st Century digital learning right now in the North Platte Public Schools, and the future will build upon the use of these devices to increase learning, facilitate collaboration, break down walls by opening up connections to others outside the classroom, and by developing a thinking culture that will prepare our students to be successful in an ever changing world and global economy.

NPPSD Netbooks Slideshow!!!

“Did You Know 4.0?”

NETA Conference Notes & Resources…

It has been a few busy days since attending the NETA Conference in Omaha, and I just had an opportunity to look over my notes and add various links I wanted to share.  The conference was very rewarding once again, and despite the sketchy internet connection, I was able to gain a wealth of information.

If you are interested in viewing the resources that my team and I gathered go to the following PBworks page (So long PBwiki in name, and hello to the new name!); plus, we will be adding more notes over the coming days so check back:  http://hokanson.pbworks.com/NETA-Conference-2009

Map of Future Forces Affecting Education

Now that we are two years in on the KnowledgeWorks Foundation and Institute for the Future 2006-2016 Map of Future Forces Affecting Education where are we now?

Time you are so cruel!

There are times in life when you realize time has passed you by.  This does not become apparent until you reach an age where you realize your favorite music is now part of the “classics” channel on the radio.  As human beings we sometimes get caught in time and don’t realize, because of the day to day grind, that things have changed or are changing before our very eyes and we somehow miss it.

I have had discussions lately about the “new” Macintosh G5.  Yes, I said the new G5!  Somewhere, somehow, someone missed something.  In 2005, Macintosh began the shift away from the PowerPC processor to the Intel chip.  You can run Windows on a Mac.  I know most who visit here will know this, but I want you to know that some do not, and it is a shocking moment for these people to realize that, just like hearing Jump by Van Halen on the classics station for the first time, some important things happened as time marched on.

My purpose in this post is not to cast blame, figure out why this happens, to make fun of anyone, or to cry out to the developed world to pay closer attention.  I also am not posting to start a debate over Mac versus PC or the virtues of legacy equipment.  I am, however, here to say that what once was great, isn’t anymore.  If you are waiting for G5’s to make it to your classroom, you are too late.  Nevertheless, you are not too late for AMDs, Intel Core Duos or even Atom processors in tiny little laptops (they are called netbooks).  If you want a new PowerPC processor you can get one in an Xbox 360!

Change is constant, and we can hope to get the last drop of use out of an iMac, or IBM ThinkPad.  I’m all for that, and for being cost conscious, but there comes a time when the cost of maintenance and repair is not cost effective. I type this, mind you, on a PowerBook G3 Lombard from the 20th century, but I can maintain this at my own cost and not at the cost to the taxpayer.  When new is cheaper, faster, and better it is best, and that is what we are looking for:  what is best for students.

I know the G5 was great, shoot I had an awesome IBM AT with a 286 processor.  It found its way to computer heaven just a year and a half ago!  I read LowEndMac everyday, and I think my PowerBook G4 first generation 400 MHz laptop was the best ever, but I refuse to put one in the hands of today’s students.  They deserve the best not what was once the best.

Some things get better with age.  Cheese, Van Halen (I think so), and they say wine.  Digital devices do not get better with age:  they can’t.  As devices get faster, smaller, more portable, and cheaper it makes sense that we move on wisely.  Granted we should get all the life that we reasonably can out of digital devices and plan for the future.  That is the responsible thing to do.

If anyone wants to discuss the G5 I am there for you, but we will discuss its merits in a time that has passed.  As we visit hopefully we will be listening to “Where Have All the Good Times Gone?” from Van Halen’s Diver Down album, but we’ll listen to it as an mp3 on an iPod Touch.

Happy New Year!!!

The new year is upon us and I have decided it is time for my first post of the year!  We have many initiatives going on in our school district at this time.  The main technology initiative is to create new building level technology plans that are student centered (as they should always be!!!) by the end of February.  We began the process with administrators in October and now various staffs throughout the district are in the process.  We have three Continuing Education Days (Dec., Jan., and Feb.) where schools have been given time to attend tech workshops and to develop the various plans.  It is an exciting process and not without hard work and some serious thinking as to what we want to do and prepare for over the next four years.

On the side, I have been researching and developing a gaming in education initiative that has explored various digital games that have educational value.  There is a lot of research out there, and I have been finding time to sort through as much of it that I can.  With limited budgets, I have especially been looking at free and open source games that can meet our student’s needs.  The following link will take you to some of the gaming information I gathered for a recent presentation:  NPPSD Gaming Research.  The project is not over by any means!

I have the opportunity to attend a student leadership activity and will be working with 5th grade student leaders from all over western Nebraska.  I am excited about this opportunity, and we will be creating a short podcast/PSA from the event.  I have also had the privilege of working with 6th, 7th, and 8th grade high ability learners on a monthly basis this year.  Our December activity was a service project for the local Salvation Army.  We will be starting a gaming unit when we meet in a couple of weeks and also in February.

There are plenty of other things I could mention here, but there are so many things to do and so little time!  It has been a wonderful school year, and I wish we had more time in each day to accomplish all that we hope to achieve.  Rome wasn’t built in a day; so, patience will have to rule!  🙂

Peace!