Comments for Tech4Teachers

Comment on If These Walls Could Talk by Mrmartinsclass

Mrmartinsclass — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 14:17:11 +0000

1- you reminded me about Booktracks apps. The take stories and add a soundtrack of fx and mood music that changes as you progress through the story. You can adjust the speed of fx tracking to match your reading speed. Most are free.
2- y’all already shared on your fbook page, but qrvoice.net not only immediately speaks text you entered for qr, but you have multiple languages to choose from when generating the code.
3- knowing that most qr readers only read about 70% of the code, there are some fun art/graphic design projects with adding small art into the qr codes.

Great post Dennis! Thanks for sharing.

Comment on Straight From the Textbook by Rob

Rob — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 13:06:11 +0000

Holy Cow…That was awesome!!!

In conversations yesterday I was talking about the role of teacher with regards to the new iBooks and you are right, the role of traditional teacher doesn’t change. I think the moment that teachers stop being like gas station attendants (Filler-up Please!), the better off our schools will be.

Way to go!

Comment on What is Your Kryptonite? by admin

admin — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 23:54:30 +0000

Sandy, did you look at the links at the end of that paragraph? The statement is not my opinion. CIPA does not stipulate that sites have to be blocked for adults. In fact it states that if a site is blocked, as an adult I have the right to request that I be given access or permission override or have the filter disabled so I can access the site. I am not even required to give a reason. If your district has policies that go beyond what is stated in CIPA then you may need address that with your district administration. But if they are not allowing you, or any adult access to a site, citing CIPA or COPPA as the reason for doing so, then they are wrong. I just wanted to inform teachers of their rights. If that’s a “resume generating event” in your district, then that’s unfortunate.
What’s also unfortunate is that there are some teachers who would abuse this right as something to give them free license to practice inappropriate workplace behavior. As a teacher, we have a moral and ethical responsibility to set examples for the students and parents. What we do and what we access online at the workplace should be focused on student learning and our curriculum goals. Teachers here a my school are trusted with that responsibility and given access to bypass blocked sites on our school network. That is as it should be. It is my job as a professional educator to determine what is and is not appropriate for my students, not the IT department.

Comment on What is Your Kryptonite? by Sandy Groom-Meeks

Sandy Groom-Meeks — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 23:19:18 +0000

If I’m understanding you correctly, your statement regarding bypassing firewalls, “As a teacher and an adult you have the right to override a school Internet filter” is advocating blatant disrespect for rules and policies that may be in place within a school system. As an IT person, I’m appalled at this statement. Teachers do NOT have the right to override the policies their school has put in place. Disregard for that is a great “resume generating event”, in my opinion.

Comment on Interview an Elf by admin

admin — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 02:39:57 +0000

Sherry,

I happy your students are enjoying “Interview an Elf”. I like the Voki idea. I’ve also used Audacity to add a high pitched voice to a dolphin picture using Blabberize. Keep up the great work. Merry Christmas.

“If teaching isn’t fun, you’re not doing it right.”

Comment on Interview an Elf by Sherry

Sherry — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 00:48:06 +0000

I’m using this lesson this week with my 8th graders. It’s their first introduction to Audacity and they’re loving it! We’re planning on sharing our interviews with Kindergarten students. They’re also recording a separate talk by an elf using Audacity that they’ll add to a Voki. Thanks for a great and engaging holiday lesson!

Comment on End of an Era by Stephanie

Stephanie — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 11:23:19 +0000

Chrome is better than Firefox in my opinion. Maybe I hadn’t explored Firefox as much but Chrome seems easier to use too. Also the speed, as you mentioned. Chrome is faster than other web browsers.

Comment on A Thankless Job by Rob

Rob — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 18:17:47 +0000

Amen…I’m guilty as charged as well! I often forget to praise publicly and criticize privately. Thanks for the reminder to encourage them more!

Comment on What is Your Kryptonite? by Kyle

Kyle — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 19:24:16 +0000

Well done, as always, sir.

Comment on What is Your Kryptonite? by admin

admin — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 22:43:26 +0000

Annette, Lee Ann, Peg,
Thanks for the compliments. Let’s keep the momentum going throughout the school year. I too miss my DEN Superfriends.

Dave,
It’s hard when parents want education to be better, but they don’t want it to be different. Another piece of Kryptonite, for sure.

Charlene,
I read (and loved) Meg’s post. I even left a comment. She’s definitely a superhero too.