Wisconsin

My district has recently installed Microsoft Sharepoint. This is a dynamic tool (albeit from the MotherShip) that allows me to create and control groups where users can collaborate though shared documents, discussions boards, blogs, and wikis (and many other features).

My initial observations of Sharepoint made me realize that it has a distinct Microsoft footprint - heavy on tools, but clunky to use. It reminds me of that spoof video fantasizing if Microsoft had packaged the iPod. In any case, I futzed around with it for a while until I was semi-satisfied.

I have to admit - the discussion board is a powerful tool. It engages my students on a level that they would not comfortable with in the classroom. It challenges them to raise questions they would not ask in class. It actually brings more discussion into the classroom. And this was only after a week of discussion. (NOTE: the power of a discussion board is not new to me, but this is the first time I am able to use one under my district’s IT reign).

This is exactly a tool I have been looking for, as I have a colleague in Sweden who wants to have our classes collaborate on a project. Since SKYPE is blocked, this would allow the students to actually have that collaboration - supervised by me and my Swedish colleague.
Sharepoint is quite powerful in that it allows multiple configurations for its users with many layers of permission. There are a few no-brainers that I already have setup to protect my students. First - they can only post, but can’t edit or delete their entries. This helps to reinforce the idea that once something is posted on the internet, it is always there. Secondly, I don’t allow anonymous outside registration either - outside registration would have to be added by me or would have to be requested.

But I am not clear how to setup other student permissions/identities and if I should allow outside access for viewing. I have a few options:

1. Lock down the site so that ONLY students in my class can see and participate in the discussions
2. Lock down the site as above, but allow it to be viewed by any student or teacher in the district
3. Allow outside viewing, but protect student identities - make them create unidentifiable usernames
4. Other options?

If you use student discussion boards, what advice do you have? What are the benefits and drawbacks of these configurations? I want students to be safe, feel free to speak their mind, but I also want to emulate the outside world as well.

You can see what I’ve done (and what the students have done) so far. Their identities are protected - so I am currently using option #3. Most likely, these settings will change in the future. [Link]

This school year, I was fortunate enough to have an interactive whiteboard (from Interwrite) installed in my classroom. I was hesitant to get it at first, as I would lose some valuable front-board real estate to have it mounted.

However, once I started using it, I soon found out some interactive and intriguing ways ways to enhance my instruction. Here’s what I like about it:

1. More Student Interaction. I often find myself working too hard. That is, teaching to my students instead of working with them so that they can teach themselves. The IW has really helped to get students out of their seats and truly be more interactive in the lessons. Students love to write on the board, and it’s a great way to get students to contribute to the class.
2. New Technology WOW Factor. There are only a handful of IW’s in the school right now, and students still think it’s a pretty cool gadget. It’s like I have the iPhone of education hanging on my wall (sorry for the metaphor).
3. Great for Graphing. As a science teacher, I always have my students collect and graph data to analyze in class. The IW allows me to display graphs and write on them for analysis (usually through Logger Pro). The ‘write-on-able’ feature and the fact I can go back or save make the IW far superior to an overhead and some markers.
4. Import Work and other Media. The IW allows me to easily import many types of media. This is particularly nice when working with online or CD-ROM textbooks, as I can incorporate media directly from student texts into my lessons. I can also use non-digital media, as we have a copy machine in our building that will scan documents and e-mail them to teachers.
5. Save and Export Work. As I mentioned, I was a little cautious about losing some traditional whiteboard space. But I found that the IW actually expands this space, and I can create multiple pages and scroll back and forth. I can also record my movements on the IW to export them as a movie, and export the pages to a PDF file.
6. Demonstration and Interactive Use of Programs. I particularly like to use RasMol for molecular imaging. I can use the same basic mouse functions on the IW to manipulate the molecule on the board, as well as certain structures with the IW pen. Here’s an exported video of me manipulating a GFP molecule with the IW.
7. Interwrite Board + SMART Airliner Tablet = Extreme Whiteboarding! I still use traditional whiteboards integrated with the IW. I can assign multiple tasks for student groups to tackle on their own whiteboard, then take a picture of each and upload them to view. The students can present it on the board as I bring up their whiteboard picture. All the while, I am sitting in the back and can correct or add comments with a SMART Airliner Tablet or wireless keyboard/mouse. Again, the students produce, review and critique their entire lesson with my guidance.

Picture of Student Work:

Picture of Corrected Student Work:

If you can’t afford an interactive whiteboard this year, check out the economy solution - made from a Nintendo Wii [Link].

(Also posted on www.explodingsink.com]

The Library of Congress has recently made a huge step in embracing such Web 2.0 concepts such as creativity, collaboration and sharing between users.In an effort to provide better access to their collections, while symbiotically harvesting more information about those collections, the Library of Congress has created a Flickr page to host copyright-free pictures:

Out of some 14 million prints, photographs and other visual materials at the Library of Congress, more than 3,000 photos from two of our most popular collections are being made available on our new Flickr page, to include only images for which no copyright restrictions are known to exist…

…We want people to tag, comment and make notes on the images, just like any other Flickr photo, which will benefit not only the community but also the collections themselves.

More information is available on the Library’s Web site here and on the FAQ page here. You can read Flickr’s take here.

-from the Library of Congress Blog

While this is a tremendous offer, don’t forget about the slew of resources already available from the Library of Congress (including a section for teachers). Check them out for your classes and for yourself.

And there is also an underlying motive here. To help the Library on this project, Flickr has even created a new publication model for public collections called The Commons. Both the LOC and Flickr are hoping to encourage other public institutions to follow their lead. (In fact, the National Library of Australia is already doing a similar project with Picture Australia).

But of course, making these collections easily available has tremendous implications in education. This is a perfect way to teach about tagging and sharing in the classroom, while using historically important content without the worry of students accessing inappropriate content. And these pictures have no copyright restrictions, so they can easily be used by students and teachers in endless and creative ways in many classes. Too bad Flickr is blocked by Websense in my district.

What could you do with these pictures?

(also posted on www.explodingsink.com)

Here is a press release from Space Explorers (De Pere, WI):

Senior research scientist Dr. Michael Wolff will host a live, online chat with students and teachers on Thursday, January 17, from 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. CST. During this event, Dr. Wolff will answer students’ questions about the Martian atmosphere. Space enthusiasts are encouraged to submit questions before or during the scheduled chat time by visiting this LINK.

Dr. Michael Wolff is a senior research scientist with the Space Science Institute, headquartered in Boulder, Colorado. Dr. Wolff graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Madison with a Ph.D. in Astronomy in 1993. Dr. Wolff is actively involved in several current spacecraft teams, including the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MARCI and CRISM instruments) and the Mars Exploration Rover project. Among his current research interests are radiative transfer, interstellar dust, remote sensing algorithm development, electrodynamical scattering theory, and many aspects of terrestrial planet atmospheres.

Space Explorers, Inc. is sponsoring this chat event. The company provides kindergarten through twelfth grade standards-based science programs including virtual simulations, experiments, and data analysis tools to thousands of educators across the United States. Through these programs, Space Explorers strives to inspire a new generation of explorers to pursue careers in science, math, and technology.

The use of digital photo frames to show slideshows is nothing new. But while I was setting up our house for Christmas (tree, lights, etc), I noticed the digital photo frame in the family room that has been repeating the same family pictures for the last 11 months (it was a 2006 Christmas gift).

Immediately, I realized that it could easily be used for another Christmas decoration. So I went to Flickr, searched for “Christmas” and found a slew of high quality, general Christmas pictures. After realizing that my frame only recognizes JPEG’s, I selected only those files - and ones that were shot horizontally (they look better in the frame than vertical ones).

Here is the result:

So I was able to create a temporary, yet dynamic Christmas slide show (interspersed with family pictures at Christmas). Beyond using this idea for other holidays and special days, I realized that I could do the same thing in my classroom. Imagine topic-specific pictures that can showcased to peak curiosity, engage discussion, and generally highlight the topic at hand. These pictures can easily be changed by swapping out memory cards, so it would be fairly easy to get it ready for several lessons over a school year.

As digital photo frames are getting pretty cheap, they can easily be purchased for the classroom. Or, if you are like me, then your old electronics end up in your classroom. I might have to upgrade mine at home and use my old one at school!