Pining 4 Pinterest

Have you heard about Pinterest? It's a great web site that functions as a virtual bulletin board. As you surf the web, you can "pin" a web site-- including pictures and notes-- to your board. If you find a good recipe on Food Network, pin it to your recipe board. Need to get  organized for Christmas? Create a board for gift ideas. And that's not all.
Pinterest is interactive like Facebook. You can follow your friends, comment on their boards, and "repin" their ideas for future use.
So now you know that Pinterest is like a virtual bulletin board. It's fun and interactive. But how does this apply to your classroom?
Some teachers are using it as a shared, collaborative space to collect lesson ideas and web sites. You might start with your grade level teams or departments and create boards for upcoming topics or units. For example, I have boards with the following categories: Promethean, iPad, and School (as well as boards for recipes and craft projects.) http://pinterest.com/j_waldroop/
Jennifer Stelzer, our Art teacher, has a board for Zentangles. http://pinterest.com/jenniferstelzer/zentangles/
Check out these boards and see what you think. But beware, it's addictive! :)


Website of the Week:
Smithsonian Education has created resources for easy book projects designed to get families talking about their heritage and creating a memory book together. Check out the samples and instructions on the Smithsonian web site. 

                                                                                

Tip of the Week:

Take 5 minutes and update your Activinspire software.

Open ActivInspire> From the Dashboard, click on Configure then click Check for updates.

A Note About OneNote

Get Organized with OneNote

Are you planning an event, working on a new curriculum unit, gathering ideas and resources for a project, or just trying to get your life in order? Microsoft OneNote could be your answer. You may have seen it listed in your printer list or within the Microsoft Office folder in the Start menu.

Described as a digital planner and note taking program, OneNote is much more than that. Think of it as a digital version of  the one notebook or a collection of notebooks that  you just couldn't live without.  OneNote can contain photos, videos, audio files, meeting notes, random thoughts, documents, highlights from websites (complete with a source link and the date/time of access), and so much more all neatly organized into tabbed sections.  Each section can contain as many pages as you need to organize your work and/or personal life. Any part of a notebook can be shared with others or password protected from being viewed by others. It is one of the best research and collaboration tools available for students as well. All that is needed to get started is Office 2007 or 2010 and a Windows Live Account for accessing your notebook/s online.

Get to Know OneNote:

• 5-Minute Demo Video
• Getting Started with OneNote (from Microsoft)
• OneNote Tutorial
• Top 10 Reasons to Use OneNote
• 8 Essential Microsoft OneNote Tips
• Using OneNote for Web Research

Website of the Week

Johnnie's Math Page is one of the largest collections of online interactive math tools for K-8 found on the internet.

Tips of the Week

#1  Do you need to get a handle on your email?  Outlook 2010 can help you get started cleaning up your inbox or any other folder.  On the Home tab, click the drop down arrow next to "Clean Up" and choose "Clean Up Folder".  Outlook will remove any redundant messages, leaving only those that contain new information.  The removed messages will be sent to the Deleted Items folder. Don't worry....Outlook will not delete messages that contain attachments.

#2  For those of you who have subscribed to this blog and receive weekly email updates, don't forget that you can visit the blog anytime at http://dragonits.blogspot.com to check out previous posts and our growing list of technology websites. Add it to your favorites, today!

Around the World...in One Class Period

What is a Virtual Field Trip?

Take your students to the TajMahal, the Smithsonian,the Tower of London, even Mars all in one class period! It's easy to create interactive web based experiences that spark student interest and motivate learning with virtual fieldtrips!
A virtual field trip is an interactive online adventure that guides students through an exploration of places, time, themes, and content. Virtual fieldtrips offer students a chance to go to places they would't be able to go to otherwise. You can be their guide or let the students guide themselves.



Advantages of Virtual Exploration

• Virtual field trips are the next best thing to being there and actually have some advantages over the traditional on site field trip.
• Virtual field trips are free and easy to plan. No permission slips. No transportation arrangements needed.
• Virtual field trips offer lots of opportunities to explore with the class using the intearactive white board or students can explore on their own at their own pace.
• The field trip never ends. Students can revisit as much as they want to review or simply explore some more.

Helpful Hints and Tips
Try one for yourself! Click here to take a panoramic interactive tour of the Smithsonian. Think you are ready to create your own? Here are some tips to help you get started.

1. Think first, then plan. What is the purpose of your trip and what do you want students to gain from it?
2. Setting up your first virtual field trip takes time, just like a traditional field trip would. So plan ahead. See your instructional technology specialist for assistance.
3. Search the internet for pre-made virtual field trips to get ideas. Maybe even use one you find. Here is a great site with premade virtual trips by topic that you can use tomorrow
4. Check those sites! Make sure you preview your field trip to ensure that the sites are appropriate for your students.
5. Take the trip yourself first to make sure all links and pages are working before you go.
6. Get the students involved! As an assignment, let groups of students create their own virtual field trips to share with the class. Save these trips so you can use them in the future. The students will love it.

Want to learn more? Then sign up now for Oh the Places You'll Go webinar, presented Wednesday, Nov. 9 beginning at 8:00 p.m. You'll learn how to create your own trip and will get tons of resources and 1.5 hours of staff development credit! Click here to register.

Website of the Week:Spicynodes

Spicynodes is a free website which allows you to create interactive mind maps as well as interactive journeys through the web. It's easy, fun, and visually appealing. It is interactive and makes a great alternative to lectures and notes. Students can click their way through the information you chose for them or they can create their own spicynodes to show what they have learned. (This would make a great start for a virtual field trip, too!)

Tip of the Week: Outlook Alerts-Be Careful!

If you are using your laptop (or your desktop) as your presentation station, remember to close Outlook before you start teaching. If you have desktop alerts turned on, then email notifications will appear on your board over your flipchart or presentation for all to see!  To keep this from happening, use your teacher workstation to check email. To turn on or off desktop alerts in Outlook, go to File, Options, MAIL, Message Arrival, then Desktop Alert Settings. Uncheck the box which says "Display Desktop Alert."