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Archive for January, 2011

Transparent Not Invisible

Posted by Kathy Adkins on January 28th, 2011 No Comments

Can you see my boxer?

Technology integration needs to be transparent and certainly not invisible. With the influx of smart phones and other mobile devices in learners’ hands, communication and collaboration is ongoing and escalating via social media networks. Learners, teachers and students, are capturing information, images and data at all times of the day. Internet  2010 in Numbers, was recently shared by Royal Pingdom via charts and visual data. The numbers for Twitter and Facebook are mind boggling. Did you see 30 billion pieces of pieces of content (links, notes, photos, etc.) shared on Facebook per month?

The time to move away from making these devices invisible to making them transparent in the classroom is now. We all have a role in making this shift happen. Personal Learning Networks are sharing many ideas and strategies to make transparency of devices a reality. The question is not will you be a part of this shift, the question is when?

Four for Friday – From Invisible to Transparent

The Complete Facebook for Teachers from Jeffrey Thomas is an excellent resource. Thomas’ blog, Tech the Plunge, provides useful information for your toolkit..

The Ultimate Twitter Guide for Teachers is from Edudemic. Twitter is a great resource for gathering information on BYOT(Bring Your Own Technology).

The #edchat Daily is an online paper.li newsletter that highlights current trends and useful information from educators across the globe. Paper.li, is an application that lets you create and share Twitter and Facebook as a daily newspaper. It was shared in an earlier posting, Tasty Tweets, A Daily Newspaper.

A Day in the Life of an ipad Classroom recently shared project information on the usage of iPads versus textbooks. Read and find out what happens when an eighth grade classroom replaces textbooks with iPads.

Photo – A recent snapshot from north Georgia

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TUIT – Don’t Wait for August 14, 2012

Posted by Kathy Adkins on January 21st, 2011 No Comments

Do you have a TUIT? It is time to get a round TUIT. This round TUIT will remind you not to put off what you can do today. Granted your lists are long and time is not always on your side and getting a round to do something takes motivation, drive and passion. A recent article, August 14, 2012,  via The Journal by Therese Mageau, shares an example of a future getting a round TUIT. Mageau states, Karen Cator, the director of the Office of Educational Technology at the United States Department of Education, declared at a recent State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) meeting that Aug. 14, 2012, will be “the date that schools are going to flip from being print to digital institutions.” Therese Mageau, believes making technology so integral to teaching and learning that we don’t even have to talk about it anymore. She shares, “Let’s make Aug. 14, 2012, the date we’ll look back on and say, That’s when the conversation on education technology changed.” What are your waiting to get a round TUIT?  Don’t wait for August 14, 2012!

Friday Flash – Five Projects to Get A Round TUIT

Join a project. The Tooth Tally Project runs from Feb.1 until April 30. K-2 graders can share their experiences on losing teeth in so many ways. You can follow Tooth Tally on twitter @toothtally and like on Facebook. Can you get a round TUIT and let students create and share as Mrs. Watkins’ kids shared with Our Tooth Fairies?

Share Doodle 4 Google with your learners. Registration closes March 12, and entries must be postmarked by March 16. The winning doodle will be featured on the Google.com homepage on May 20, 2011.

Differentiate and share Google Science Fair Project with learners who are budding Einsteins and Curies. The competition is open to all full-time students and home schooled students aged 13 to 18, from around the world. The project opened this month and all entries are due April 4, 2011.

Take a virtual field trip to Alaska with learners and follow the huskies.  Join The eiditarod Project by January 28, 2011 or register now with Go North! 2011. The journey begins in February!

Photo – My TUIT given to me by a dear friend. Share a TUIT!

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Happy Birthday Reflection – Evolving

Posted by Kathy Adkins on January 14th, 2011 2 Comments

Learning as well as reflection is continuous. Looking back at the first posting to this blog a year ago, Achieving Balance, only demonstrates that the purpose of this blog is to inspire and share the love of life long learning. Sharing has always been an attribute since 1999 with a one page newsletter. As time moved on and learning continued, ideas were posted in Techno Bits and Bytes in 2000. It became increasingly evident that teachers had little time to learn from these postings so in 2002, professional development was paired with food to promote learning and attendance with Munch and Learns. Time continued to be a factor so from 2004 to 2007, html e-mails were pushed into inboxes and shared information via e-links. Fast forward to 2010 and information has been shared via Friday Flash. Will this blog be the best method to share learning?

Methods of sharing learning have changed over the past decade and exponentially in the past year via Facebook and Twitter.  Time to share and learn will continue to evolve as districts open the door to social media and students bring their mobile devices into the classroom.  How will you evolve and share your learning?

Five for Friday – Mobile Learning Resources

The Continuous Learner – Recently posted a great video, Mobile Year in Review from 2010. Mobile learning is not just a fad.

Mobile Learning – Resources shared by Lee Summit, MO R7 School District.

ipods, iphones and ipads in Education – A wiki with many resources including a few management tips.

From Toy to Tool – Cellphones in Learning – Conversations to follow and learn about integrating cell phones in the classroom.

Birthday Cake Photo Created via RedKid.net an awesome sign generator!

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Make Everyday Count in 2011 – Project 365 Challenge

Posted by Kathy Adkins on January 7th, 2011 No Comments

Have you heard of Project 365? It is an opportunity to take a photo a day to improve your creativity and skill in the field of photography. Doing something daily, such as taking pictures, can only improve your photography skill by inspiring you to capture photos at different times of the day, of different objects and different settings. If you can’t commit to 365, can you commit to once a week or everyday for a month? Many 365 projects evolve around a theme or topic, such as self portraits, hobbies, sports, etc. Even though the school year is half  over can you capture 100 days of engagement in the classroom? What would a collage of this week in photos look like? What would a daily math photo look like? Better yet, put the cameras in the hands of the learners? Can they design their own photo discovery project with you as the guide on the side? Can you help them make everyday count in 2011 with their photos?

Four for Friday  – 365 Day Ideas to Make Everyday Count

Digital Photography School – The DPS provide lots of resources for becoming a better photographer. This year’s 53 Weekly Themes for your 2011 Project 365 guides you with weekly topics and even provides a spreadsheet to keep you on track. Still not sure but would like to tackle this project, then check out their 11 Tips to Succeed With a Photo365 Project. 7 Photography Projects to Jumpstart Your Creativity has lots of ideas!

Photojojo – Photojojo also lists tips for Project 365. Be careful not to spend money at this site but grab ideas!

Creating Keepsakes – This site provides 365 Ideas, a two page document that shares many ideas. What ideas could young learners share?

Scholastic’s 100 Ways to Use Digital Cameras - These ideas aren’t new but could a photo a day inspire a question, a poem or story? Make Everyday Count!

Photo: Flower from irewired’s summer garden.  Text To Path compliments of Adobe Fireworks

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