Totally the coolest piece of technolgy yet! Those wonderful technology folks and ITRT’s have jointly created a universal cart contraining a computer, lcd projector and school pad to interact with the lesson being facilitated.

 Everything is secured and wireless! They even have cool speakers and an extra long cord.

Please consult an Itrt to receive training on the school pad - its great if you like to annotate and walk around the room when you are teaching.

Check out the GALLERY template with the Interactive School Pad software and see your ITRT for lesson ideas and interactive sites.

Your buildings have recently received a wonderful new technology: A universal cart housing a computer, lcd projector, school pad, and speakers!  You know what is even better than that? It’s all bundled together and ready to go! You want more? It’s wireless!

The school pad is a handheld pad that you can annotate on interactively from a website, or any Office document, sort of like a mini smartboard - and mini is the operative word here!

Please mindful not to checkout as just an lcd projector and use it for its intended purpose, the interactive school pad. Let your ITRT train you today!

Wow, this is totally bloggerific and/or blogtastic! The daily reads have really taken off, and I really commend all of you bloggers out there on your successes!

Continue introducing the blogosphere/ blogistan/ blogspace or even blogoverse! in your classrooms by posting reminders. 

Include your link to parents in emails as well as welcoming them to your blogspot!

I can think of so many ways this is working, but most importantly, it’s a different way of doing something!

Some of you are not using the SPELLCHECK feature which is the check-box with the ABC above it.

Please be mindful role models!

This is a very important read for teachers interested in learning more about teens and blogging.

“Helping You Make Informed Reading Decisions :: An initiative by the Public Library Services, NLB ~ Featuring book reviews, librarians’ recommendations, readers’ contributions, and events at public libraries (some call us a Book Blog). We invite readers to post comments or contribute reviews and recommendations.”

Everyone needs a good read now and again.

♥     This is the newest feature to the blog server!     ♥     

Thanks ECON!         

I also have the Grand Canyon History on DVD if anyone wants to use it in their US History Class!

Yep, you got it - there is a tone needed for an effective blog. Although always challenging in the classroom, here we have more time to collect our thoughts and REFLECT on the subject matter at hand.

Of course students you are blogging with are at home after school hours, hmmm . . . they are looking for entertainment, i.e. “what are other people saying??????”  No one wants to hear anything negative, so keep it upbeat and have fun!

This scenario makes it a little different than a classroom setting where you don’t often have time for the proper comeback.

“Effective teachers teach their students with positive regard. In particular, teachers understand the power of praise.”                       

“What Great Teachers Do Differently - 14 Things That Matter Most,” by Todd Whitaker

Here’s a link from Edublog

What a great day! I was so impressed with all of the offerings this year that I am sure some of you would have liked to blog too! In addition to asking an ITRT for help, here are some pointers to get you started! Take the time to look around my blog and click on some of the links to gain a better understanding of blogging.

The handouts from todays session are housed in the Temporary Folder on the X: drive (I like to call them the XFiles!) From the STAFF folder click on NRHS and then HARRELL - there is folder called BLOGGING.  Also visit Chris Baugh’s blog, “Chris Blaug,” and click the tab that says “Let’s Blog.” Watching the first video will show you how to get started.

Keep in mind that Chris is working on a way to organize the blog list, but for now, try the FIND feature which is used by holding down the CTRL button and pressing the letter “f.” A dialog box will appear and all you do is type in one of the words you are looking for and it will highlight it on the page for you - not the one you were looking for? Click next until you find the highlighted word you were seeking.  This is a MSOffice feature which can be used anywhere, great for the internet.

Thanks so much to those of you attending the session today! Great job on your blogs!

As I steadily delve into the world of blogging, I find it equally important to become familiar with its terminology. Although I have a link to a Blogger’s Glossary, I am easily entertained with the musings some are having with this simple word, BLOG.

There’s blogging, blogify, blogger, blogspot, blogroll, and today I read about this ladies five year blogiversary! 

So I decided to peruse the link and discovered these cool ones you should try sometime.

Blogoriphic:  something the blogger finds wonderful (blog + terrific) synonyms blogorephic and blogtastic;

Blogger bash:  a party for bloggers, either online or offline;

Blogography:  the profile or “About” section of a blog, often containing a short biography;

Blogerati:  the collective blogging intelligentsia, commonly understood as being the most influential and highly trafficked bloggers online by page rank and the effect of link traffic (”Most Active”); and yes even

Bloggies:  annual blogging awards, featuring online voting and an offline ceremony with nominations in several different categories!

Blogosphere:  the collective content of the blogs worldwide, taken as whole. The term may also refer to the subculture of the community as well, referring to the social network that the interrelationships that bloggers have with one another beyond the technical network itself. Synonyms include blogspace, blogistan, and blogoverse.

Blogroll:  a list of blogs, usually placed in the sidebar of a blog, that reads as a list of recommendations by the blogger of other blogs. Often indicative of the political affiliations of a blogger, these lists may also include many other kinds of recommended media, including newspapers, journals, books or even companies.

Feel free to add some -but remember I am only doing the “blog . . .” words this time!

Hangman | Bug-out | Garfield’s Scary Scavenger Hunt 

FreeHalloween (may not work at school)

Would you like to know if anyone is looking at your blog, besides you??????? Unless someone leaves a comment, there is no way to understand if you have any readers, makes you think twice when posting another blog, I am so sure!

Last week, I was so envious when another ITRT asked me about someone leaving a comment from another state, as that is a true sign that more than a SPS representative is reading her blog! Congratulations to Tech Bytes!     

Since October 1st, 2007, there have been over 110,000 hits (31 hits per visit) to the blog server.  Broken down, there were more than 1500 “unique” visitors with 3500+  visitors (2.5 visits per visitor) looking at more than 35,000 pages (10 pages per visit). . .  so what does this mean to you? Well, I need a math teacher to take the total number of blogging accounts at 200+ and a calculator.  Personally, I am nothing but excited to know that all of this has taken place in the last 15 days!But would you like to know if anyone is reading your blog? Please provide any comments regarding the positive use of a counter on your blog.

Currently there is no way to add this information, but I would like to entertain the thought based on the justified need.