New York DEN

 I just read a great idea, “Back to School Back Pack” from A to Z Teacher Stuff.

http://www.atozteacherstuff.com/pages/837.shtml.  The poster suggests bringing in their own back pack to show students a little bit about themselves.  We all carry so much stuff.  But can you really tell something/anything/a lot about someone from what’s in their back pack?  I’d love to see what you carry in your briefcase or back pack.  Here’s mine.  I did not add or subtract anything from my day.

http://www.slideroll.com/player.php?s=889g7n8f 

So here’s my list:

2 new books from our meeting

The packet of Funding Factory brochures from our meeting

Assorted cat5e cables (you never know what size you’ll need)

Assorted chargers

Memory sticks

Nokia tablet

Work laptop

Tech kit (data cables, hub, minimouse, etc)

 Two of my necklaces (Betty Boop and Angel wings)

Well I guess that does give you a pretty accurate picture of me.  Techie equipment, books to further my learning, and two necklaces which give a snapshot into my personality.

 So, what do you have in your backpack/tote/briefcase?

Thanks to David Warlick for blogging about this video on his 2 cents blog. He refers to the video as an “A-ha” video. The U.S. Department of Commerce Ranked 55 industry sectors by their level of IT intensiveness. Education was ranked number 55 — below coal mining. As educators, we have the responsibility to teach our students to use technology and to be digitally literate. If you’re not a tech savvy teacher, I implore you to start slow and don’t be afraid to ask questions of other teachers whether they be face to face or online.

The title of the video is Learn to Change. As lifelong learners, educators are always learning, but to some teachers, technology can be a challenge. It can be intimidating when students are more tech savvy than their teachers, but reach out to them and your colleagues, as well as your friends at the DEN.

The resources available through Discovery Streaming are great stepping stones for teachers looking to create a 21st century classroom. But don’t stop there. In addition to covering the new New York State standards on internet safety, introduce your students to blogs, wikis and social networks. If you’re stuck, you can always get a little help from your friends at the NYDEN.

I’d love for you to post your feelings about the video and how you feel about learning to change and changing to learn.

Standup and be counted. Someone recently shared that they feel disconnected from the
DEN at times because they are an administrator and not a teacher. The New York DEN
would like to recognize the administrators in our midst. April 25th is Administrative Day.
The New York DEN Leadership Council would greatly appreciate it if the administrators
in our group would stand up to be counted. You will find a poll on the NY DEN website.
Or you can email us at ny.den.leaders@gmail.com.

The Horizon Report is “a five year qualitative research effort that seeks to identify and describe emerging technologies likely to have a large impact on teaching, learning, or creative expression within learning-focused organizations.”

The six technology tools for the future are:

1. Grassroots Video
2. Collaboration Webs
3. Mobile Broadband
4. Data Mashups
5. Collective Intelligence
6. Social Operating Systems

Read the article. Are you currently using any of these tools? Are there any technology tools that are missing from the report? Do you have any predictions for the future? Post your comments below. I LOVE to hear from you.

Hello my NY DEN friends! I was wondering how you were doing. Since we don’t get to chat much, I don’t know too much about you. Please take some time to complete my poll so I know what information you’d like to get from our NYDEN blog. If you’re not too shy, introduce yourself in the comment section below.

By the way, I forgot to introduce myself in my prior blog posts as one of your NY DEN bloggers. My name is Christine Southard (Sutherd) and I’m a fifth-grade special education teacher on Long Island in a co-teaching class nicknamed the South-Paris Collaborative. In our class, our students are avid bloggers and podcasters, and technology is an integral part of our everyday learning.

What part of the state are you from? How are you using technology in your classrooms? I look forward to hearing from you.

iGoogle (located at http://www.igoogle.com) allows you to customize your Google experience. After initial setup when you visit google.com as usual, you will now have an option to login.
This will bring you access to feeds, online gadgets, etc. all in one web location. The following Discovery links are available:

• Discovery News
• Discovery News – Planet Earth
• Discovery News – Technology
• Discovery News – Animals
• Discovery News – Space
• Discovery News – Health
• Discovery News – History
• Discovery News – Travel
• Discovery News – Archaeology
• Discovery News - Dinosaurs
• Discovery HD Theater
• Discovery Channel Video Podcasts
• Discovery Channel Top Highlights

I have just customized my google experience in igoogle.com. Now I have access to several Discovery products, a paris webcam, google calendar, google documents, a calculator, an online translator, weather updates and more. Each of these tools comes to me whenever I visit google and login on the right. The possibilities seem so, so vast.

Don’t miss out on the freebies stores offer up this time of year. Many major chains offer teacher grab bags, discounts and things for educators.

Staples Nationwide Events August varies by store

Office Depot Breakfasts August 12 - August 18th

Have you heard of any other nationwide teacher deals?

I recently found an amazing file from Quentin D’Souza. It discusses various forms of technology that fall under the title Web 2.0. How many forms of web 2.0 do you use in your teaching?

Quentin D’Souza’s file: Web 2.0

Share your successes or your struggles. Collaboration is all part of Web 2.0 maybe someone has your solution or has had a similar experience.

The following was posted on the Textually website:

“The Pew Internet and American Life Project found that adult Americans are broadly divided into three groups: 31% are elite technology users, 20% are moderate users and the remainder has little or no use of the Internet or cellphones.

But Americans are divided within each group, according to a Pew analysis of 2006 data released Sunday. The high-tech elites, for instance, are almost evenly split four ways into:

– “Omnivores,” who fully embrace technology and express themselves creatively through blogs and personal Web pages.

– “Connectors,” who see the Internet and cellphones as communications tools.

– “Productivity enhancers,” who consider technology as largely ways to better keep up with their jobs and daily lives.

– “Lackluster veterans,” those who use technology frequently but aren’t thrilled by it.”

Try taking the test yourself and see where you fit in. I’m going to wager that you too are an Omnivore. Perhaps DEN needs to consider adapting an Omnivore mascot to reflect this!

‘Stay Tuned and Stay Connected!’

If you want to see where you fit, try taking the short quiz at the Pew Internet. Not surprisingly my results indicate that I’m an Omnivore. I make up 8% of the public. However, I’m not sure I fit into any of the following descriptors of Omnivores: ‘male, median age 28 (yeah, I WISH!), and student’.