These days, we all use different applications to modify our websites. Some people use MS Frontpage or Dreamweaver, some use Mac accounts and many people have different types of web hosting, such as Google Pages, Teacher Web, or even Word Press (such as this blog). Whatever tool you use to host your site, sometimes the [...]
I’m sure those of you who are blog savvy have heard the news of Discovery acquiring HowStuffWorks.com . If you’ve never seen the site, it has tons of useful info presented in a manner that kids can enjoy. I’ve had my fourth graders do many different mini-projects and papers using HowStuff Works as a resource. [...]
I keep thinking of some of the general guidelines I try to follow on a daily basis in my classroom; particularly things of educational technology relevance. What pitfalls do teachers want to stay away from when using tech? What things do we want to make sure we do consistently when using tech? How can we [...]
“Lights, Camera, Action!” reverberated through the halls of the Foreign Language Lab at CSUMB Saturday, September 22. Eighteen budding filmmakers (educators all!) from across Central California learned filming concepts, and then shot and critiqued three short videos over an eight hour seminar with Frank Gutter of the American Film Institute Screen Education program. A partnership [...]
You likely know what a podcast is, but do you know what a screencast is? How about a sketchcast? I’ve been using screencasts as tutorials and marketing elements for quite some time now. A screencast is essentially a video of what a user sees on his or her computer monitor, complete with mouse trails, text [...]
If you aren’t yet aware, September 11 will be remembered with a Freedom Walk at many locations across the US. This event will show support for victims of the Sept 11 attacks, as well as all military personal and their families. Personally, I work on Camp Pendleton (the largest Marine Corps Base in the world) [...]
It’s time to celebrate new beginnings! Join us for our final Beach Bonfire of the summer as we kick off the 07/08 school year and welcome Kim Randall and Mike Botte to the DEN team! Bring your family and a even future DEN members as we head down to the beach once again. When: Saturday, [...]
About a week ago, I posted about an AFI (American Film Institute) workshop. We are now proud to offer additional discounts to all DEN members. I attended this training in the spring and it was very engaging and hands-on. The instructor, Frank Guttler, is highly enthusiastic and very knowledgeable. I felt the training and environment [...]
It seems to me that the fall season always holds many conferences. We have CUE in the spring and ISTE in the summer, but most of the local CUE affiliate conferences seem to be in the fall. Who better to present at these conferences than DEN members? There’s no way I can list all the [...]
Well, I have to say that I haven’t owned an Apple computer since my Apple II C, but I wanted to share a neat tip from a few of our fellow DEN members: Howard Martin, Austin, TX and Dennis Grice, CA I didn’t know this, but this may be old news to some of you! [...]
The first ever DEN Second Life party was a rager (as teacher parties go). There were people floating, a lighted disco dance floor, and DEN giveaways. I was up on the dance floor for about 2sec. and had just figured out how to dance when SL crashed. Unfortunately I had another event to go to [...]
CUEtoYOU is proud to announce a special partnership with the American Film Institute (AFI) and Cal State University Monterey Bay (CSUMB). CUEtoYOU will host the AFI Screen Education workshop at the CSUMB Language Lab on Saturday September 22nd. In this hands-on workshop, teachers and administrators of all grade levels and subjects will learn how to [...]
Have It Your Way! As we get deeper into the digital world, we find ourselves using all kinds of digital media. For better or worse, the media formats we use are getting more and more broad with every new technology that emerges. Sometimes,we need to convert an Open Office document to a Word doc or [...]
Second Life (SL) has become a new fetish for lots of us. It’s both absorbing and fascinating. If you’ve been waiting to try it out, now is your chance to get your own ‘avatar’. The DEN SL Leadership Council is hosting the first DEN Gala Event on August 15 5:30-7:30pm. That’s SL time, which luckily [...]
Cell phones seem to work just about everywhere these days. Internet access also seems to be just about everywhere these days as well. Last week, I found myself in a situation where I had internet access, but no telephone service whatsoever. I was at the Discovery National Institute in the Carribbean and there were many [...]
Everyone loves a good deal! Here’s another way to save money using that grand ‘ol internet thingy. I’m fortunate enough to have found myself traveling quite a bit this summer. I’d say that from June to September I will have been on over 10 airplanes. I hope others are getting out there and exploring as [...]
Hopefully we all know that it’s a good idea to periodically back up your files- documents, music, photos and other important stuff you would want to save in case of loss or failure. These days, external hard drives are pretty cheap and will hold all of your "stuff" and more. For those of us that [...]
Summer is now underway and many of you are probably on vacation. One great way to share your summer fun with your new students next year is to create a trip journal. Check out the trip journal I made after my wife came out following the DEN Institute and we tripped around DC. How did [...]
I can remember many moons ago, way back when I was getting my BA…All the fun of communicating with my friends through instant messaging (IM). Back then, almost everyone used AOL IM, whether you had AOL or not. It was free and you could communicate with anyone else who was online, quickly and easily. I’m [...]
Or not so final – the last few days of the DC Institute were packed with activity. This blog cannot hold it all, so keep checking back as we share more of the great ideas that came from this institute. First, let’s answer the quiz question asked in the last update. Who is Walter? Of [...]
What do sharks, avatars, and a guy named Walter all have in common? They have all presented at the DEN National Institute in Washington DC. This week, five CA DEN members have been working at the Discovery Communications headquarters in Silver Spring, MD with Star DEN teachers from all around the country. We have gotten [...]
Flash animation is one of the fun new media tools that has made the internet more engaging. Flash has applications in storytelling (click on the small town on the horizon), mindless games and even the news. But if you’ve ever tried to learn Flash you know the learning curve is steep. However, thanks to a [...]
My friend and I were walking down the street one day: He said, "I hear music…" As if there was any other way to take it in… "I see music?" -Mitch Hedberg I was recently reviewing the new publisher materials for social studies, science and music (can you believe we’ve made it to the point [...]
In many school subjects, we use timelines to account events throughout history. We not only consolidate data and make our own timelines, but we view timelines to help us visual the context in which these events occurred. Google now offers the ability to have your search results displayed in timeline format! What a neat feature! Check out this example [...]
If you haven’t tried the online office suite, Zoho, you’ve been missing out. While Google Docs and Spreadsheets and Think Free are great tools, Zoho usually ranks at least as good or better according to reviews in many major magazines/websites. Anyway the good folks over at Zoho got their creative juices flowing again and came up [...]
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