tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67466834796863006522024-03-13T18:59:26.717-07:00LORETTO TECH TALKWelcome to Loretto Tech Talk. This blog is a place to gather and share ideas and technology resources.
Are you using fun, innovative technology in your classroom? Let's hear about it! We want to spotlight the great things happening with technology at Loretto. Feel free to post questions, comments, or ideas on what works for you and your students.
Bookmark this site and come back often!Alice Larsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03526188204986362655noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6746683479686300652.post-50468176172590525452009-05-12T08:31:00.000-07:002009-05-12T08:44:38.991-07:00Award Maker Site<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Rhrhm7ySm3k/SgmZRhYI8WI/AAAAAAAAAYk/QGzfiV-SB2o/s1600-h/blueawardribbon.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 121px; height: 200px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Rhrhm7ySm3k/SgmZRhYI8WI/AAAAAAAAAYk/QGzfiV-SB2o/s200/blueawardribbon.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334963759893508450" /></a><br />I recently came upon a great site on a <a href="http://www.ncs-tech.org">blog </a>that I follow. It's called <a href="http://www.myawardmaker.com">MyAwardMaker.com</a>. You can choose from a large variety of certificates. It's as easy as downloading, personalizing, and printing! Plus, it's FREE. :) It does, however, save as a PDF file, so you will <strong>not </strong>be able to save the certificates. You must print it or lose the changes you've made. Enjoy!Alice Larsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03526188204986362655noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6746683479686300652.post-10865652825919307082009-04-20T09:41:00.001-07:002009-04-27T13:39:49.256-07:00Technology TidbitsI recently attended STC Level 1 Training at the Schultz Center and wanted to bring back a little about what I learned....<br /><br />We were given a tour of the "behind-the-scenes" areas that help run the district's data/computer system. It was very interesting to see how all these components work together!<br /><br />There are a couple of things that they wanted us to remind our faculty...<br />1. Upon turning on your IBM computers (teacher OR student), you MUST let the Trend scan (black box with all the white writing that pops up) run! This is what helps get your computer its updates and keeps it free of viruses, spyware, etc. Do NOT "x" out of this.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Rhrhm7ySm3k/SfYVjznFPQI/AAAAAAAAAYE/UiCS1jsiDbk/s1600-h/keyboard.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Rhrhm7ySm3k/SfYVjznFPQI/AAAAAAAAAYE/UiCS1jsiDbk/s200/keyboard.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329470913933294850" /></a><br />2. Teachers are NOT allowed to be logging students' computers in under their own login information. This is a BIG no-no. The reason being that we just do not know what our students may be doing online when we aren't watching them carefully. (They told us some horror stories, including a student as young as 9-years-old surfing inappropriate sites on a school computer!)<br /><br />* Students' login information is: Login - "s" followed by their student #. (ex: s12345678). The password is - last 4 digits of the SSN#. If they do not have a SSN# available, it would be the last 4 of their Florida ID#. This is also their new AR login information, so that should be helpful. Students must LOG OFF when they are finished using the computer - before another student uses it.<br /><br />3. In order to increase the speed of your IBM (black) computers, we can do a couple of simple things...<br />* Delete <a href="http://support.microsoft.com/kb/278835"> Cookies</a><br />* Delete <a href="http://support.microsoft.com/kb/260897">Temporary Internet Files</a><br />* Run a <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/atwork/getstarted/speed.mspx">Disk Cleanup</a> (only the first part - "Free Up Disk Space")<br /><br />Running these programs at least once a month can help increase your computer's speed, so you're not like this guy! :)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Rhrhm7ySm3k/SfYVVP-_W0I/AAAAAAAAAX8/6t_21XNzU8c/s1600-h/man+screaming+at+computer.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Rhrhm7ySm3k/SfYVVP-_W0I/AAAAAAAAAX8/6t_21XNzU8c/s200/man+screaming+at+computer.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329470663851727682" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Please contact Alice or Norma with any questions. Thank you!!Alice Larsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03526188204986362655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6746683479686300652.post-88167384010666044012009-04-13T11:59:00.000-07:002009-04-13T12:18:50.530-07:00SmartBoard Cleaning<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Rhrhm7ySm3k/SeOP89EqvZI/AAAAAAAAAMA/aCyH8EWTcfY/s1600-h/hands2-color.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 128px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Rhrhm7ySm3k/SeOP89EqvZI/AAAAAAAAAMA/aCyH8EWTcfY/s200/hands2-color.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324257461831122322" /></a><br /><br />A Kindergarten teacher recently asked me how to clean a SmartBoard (A Kindergartener with dirty hands!? Shocking, right?). I didn't know the answer...but my friend, Google, helped me. <a href="http://www2.smarttech.com/kbdoc/77938">Here</a> is an article from the SmartTech website that tells how to keep your SmartBoard surface clean as well as how to remove marker, fingerprints, etc.Alice Larsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03526188204986362655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6746683479686300652.post-64095478160142861382009-01-27T08:32:00.000-08:002009-01-27T09:53:50.886-08:00SmartBoard TroubleshootingWoohoo! The SmartBoard technician showed me how to rid ourselves of that pesky yellow notepad that pops up when you're trying to use the SB on a website. If you're using your mac, here's what to do:<br />1. Go to the little <strong><em>Apple</em></strong> icon at the top left part of your Desktop screen<br />2. On the Dropdown Menu, click on <strong><em>System Preferences</em></strong><br />3. Go to the <strong><em>Ink </em></strong>icon and click on that<br />4. On the <em><strong>Ink </strong></em>settings, make sure that the box that says "Allow me to ink in any application" is <strong>UNCHECKED</strong>.<strong></strong><br /><br />Hopefully, this will fix the problem. :)Alice Larsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03526188204986362655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6746683479686300652.post-86438302434837009892009-01-19T17:34:00.000-08:002009-01-19T17:40:03.293-08:00"Geek It Up" with Your Own Blog!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Rhrhm7ySm3k/SXUrD3aqHnI/AAAAAAAAAKk/NlmVzQaC82c/s1600-h/google1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 80px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Rhrhm7ySm3k/SXUrD3aqHnI/AAAAAAAAAKk/NlmVzQaC82c/s200/google1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293184282459250290" /></a><br />For those of you who are interested in creating a blog through Google's Blogger website, <a href="http://onceuponateacher.blogspot.com">Melanie Holtsman</a>, the Instructional Technology Coach at Chets Creek, created a wonderful resource for us. It's called <a href="http://sites.google.com/site/geekitupnow/Home">Geek It Up with Google</a> and it gives specific and visual directions for creating a blog. Please let me know what you think by responding to this post in a comment. :) I look forward to adding your blog on our school's website!Alice Larsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03526188204986362655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6746683479686300652.post-90787523781142437062009-01-19T07:13:00.000-08:002009-01-19T07:16:59.318-08:00Reading Series ResourcesThere is a school district in California (Santa-Maria Bonita School District) that uses the same Reading series we do. They have compiled a fantastic list of resources that you can find <a href="http://www.smbsd.org/page.cfm?p=35">here</a>. If you look on the left side of the page, you'll see all the grade levels - "Kindergarten Teacher Idea Sharing", "First Grade Teacher Idea Sharing," etc. Check it out!Alice Larsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03526188204986362655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6746683479686300652.post-44559913194867909232009-01-18T16:30:00.000-08:002009-01-18T17:53:22.985-08:00Smartboard Online Course<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Rhrhm7ySm3k/SXPYd3wrTfI/AAAAAAAAAKc/qJdlqN32d6Q/s1600-h/j0424428.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 146px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Rhrhm7ySm3k/SXPYd3wrTfI/AAAAAAAAAKc/qJdlqN32d6Q/s200/j0424428.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292811994786385394" /></a><br />I subscribe to a blog called <a href="http://smartboards.typepad.com/smartboard/">Teachers Love SMART Boards</a> in my <a href="https://www.google.com/accounts/ServiceLogin?hl=en&nui=1&service=reader&continue=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Freader%2F%3Fhl%3Den">Google Reader</a>. (This is a central place where all of my blogs are gathered to allow for easy reading). You can find out more about Google Reader <a href="http://googlereader.blogspot.com/2009/01/google-reader-for-beginners.html">here</a>. <br /><br />Well, there was a post on the Teachers Love SMART Boards blog about an online course available for free. I decided to participate in the course through a website called <a href="http://www.teacheronlinetraining.com/courses/">Teacher Online Training</a>. This is a place where teachers can participate in online "courses" or tutorials for various Smartboard functions and applications. All you have to do is create an account for free and you're set to go! The course I completed is called: Introduction to Tables in SMART Notebook 10. It was free with an "Enrollment Key" that the facilitator provided. Otherwise, the course would've cost $4.95. I highly recommend completing this online course. It only took me 30-45 minutes. <br /><br />This course is focused on <span style="font-style:italic;">"introducing the teacher to the table object in Smart Notebook Version 10. Participants will create an animal identification application that can be used inside the classroom. The techniques learned in this course will allow participants to utilize the table object efficiently and effectively in other Notebook applications. Participants will learn how to add and move tables, how to add text objects to table cells, how to add images to table cells, how to insert rows and columns, how to merge and delete cells, how to lock tables, and how to add cell shades to table cells."</span><br /><br /><br />I am working on getting an Enrollment Key for another course entitled: Notebook Application: Interactive Review Game. The site says that <span style="font-style:italic;">"This course will guide the participant through the process of creating an interactive vocabulary review game using any list of words."</span> and <span style="font-style:italic;">"Participants will learn how to apply special page backgrounds, use flash-based resources from the Gallery, use a table to simplify tasks, and set default shape properties. In addition, participants will learn how to use and apply the infinite clone feature and apply a basic animation to objects to create stimulating user interaction."</span><br /><br />I hope you get a chance to participate in the Introduction to Tables course. For those who aren't comfortable with that yet, there's also a course called Introduction to SMART Boards. If you do participate, please write a comment on this post to share your experiences. :)Alice Larsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03526188204986362655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6746683479686300652.post-18546330883992144802009-01-11T10:56:00.000-08:002009-01-11T11:05:58.392-08:00Create Your Own Blog<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Rhrhm7ySm3k/SWpC_gZOm9I/AAAAAAAAAJ0/vCY0FtMN2Tk/s1600-h/blogger+icon.png"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Rhrhm7ySm3k/SWpC_gZOm9I/AAAAAAAAAJ0/vCY0FtMN2Tk/s200/blogger+icon.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290114371095010258" /></a><br />Our last BYOL session was focused on creating your own class blog. Unfortunately, due to server problems, we didn't get very far. I wanted to remind everyone of the directions for creating a blog. Check them out <a href="http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=ddxmvf6p_47ghnhc8gx">here</a>!<br />We will continue to work with blogs for this week's BYOL, which will be on Thursday, Jan. 15 @ 7:50.Alice Larsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03526188204986362655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6746683479686300652.post-8544469718401926052009-01-04T18:18:00.000-08:002009-01-04T18:54:48.464-08:00Social Bookmarking 101<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Rhrhm7ySm3k/SWF2Lg7fbLI/AAAAAAAAAJc/MLA3VimB2Sc/s1600-h/homepage_logo.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 198px; height: 91px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Rhrhm7ySm3k/SWF2Lg7fbLI/AAAAAAAAAJc/MLA3VimB2Sc/s200/homepage_logo.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287637377699769522" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Rhrhm7ySm3k/SWF2GT0FxQI/AAAAAAAAAJU/nu8WnJb48OE/s1600-h/delicious+logo.bmp"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 60px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Rhrhm7ySm3k/SWF2GT0FxQI/AAAAAAAAAJU/nu8WnJb48OE/s200/delicious+logo.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287637288279721218" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Have you ever bookmarked something as a "Favorite" on your home computer and then wanted to access it on your computer at school? Well, that used to happen to me all the time. (I just used to email myself links) Now, through the use of social bookmarking sites, you can store all your "favorites" in one location - online! <br /><br />Plus, social bookmarking sites allow you to "tag" your links with multiple keywords for easy searching. For example, <a href="http://primarygames.com/Spending%20Spree/start.htm">this </a>game I found online could be tagged with: Spending Spree, money, smartboard, math. This way, I can find the same website under all 4 of these keywords. Cool, huh?<br /><br />Plus, you can share your bookmarks with your friends, view others' bookmarks, as well as create groups for even more sharing.<br /><br />Ok, check out <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x66lV7GOcNU">this </a>video explaining (way better than I have!!) the basics of Social Bookmarking. You can also find it on the right side of this blog, under "Videos".<br /><br />I've used two sites for my bookmarking. I used to have Delicious and have now switched to Diigo. They're both excellent sites! But, I just decided to try something new. <a href="http://nspb.jiscinvolve.org/archives/9">Here</a>'s info on the difference between Delicious and Diigo. Check out <a href="http://www.diigo.com/profile/larsona?py=3">my diigo page</a>. Alright, get your bookmarking site set up and let's share! :)Alice Larsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03526188204986362655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6746683479686300652.post-42917800699587329202008-12-15T16:44:00.000-08:002008-12-18T12:38:30.305-08:00I ran across this video a couple of months ago and was just amazed. I recently saw it again and thought it was definitely worth sharing...<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/dGCJ46vyR9o&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/dGCJ46vyR9o&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />What did you think?Alice Larsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03526188204986362655noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6746683479686300652.post-50371768555058089322008-12-07T06:59:00.000-08:002008-12-08T16:02:34.379-08:00WordleMy friend, <a href="http://onceuponateacher.blogspot.com">Melanie Holtsman</a>, introduced me to a wonderful website, Wordle. Here's what the website said about it: "Wordle is a toy for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes. The images you create with Wordle are yours to use however you like. You can print them out, or save them to the Wordle gallery to share with your friends." <br /><br />Now, how can this help your teaching??? Well, imagine how great this would be for Writing. You could have a student type up his/her work, and then paste it into Wordle. Let me guess what words will be biggest!.....SAID...AND THEN... This is a great tool to help writers become more aware of their word choice. And it's just plain FUN! <br /><br />I was also challenged to make a Wordle of my classroom blog to see what words are emphasized each month. It's neat to see what we're talking about the most. Here's mine for December 7th - <a href="http://www.wordle.net/gallery/wrdl/368234/Untitled">Wordle</a><br /><br />You can tell that our emphasis is our Social Studies projects. I'd love to see what the Wordle looks like at the end of the year. <br /><br />Try out a Wordle today!Alice Larsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03526188204986362655noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6746683479686300652.post-3688672307673953512008-12-06T06:57:00.001-08:002008-12-07T08:48:21.180-08:00VoicethreadI tried out a neat website, <a href="http://www.voicethread.com">Voicethread</a>, with my students. It allows users to record their voice to accompany pictures, slideshows, etc. I had a couple of students "narrate" the stories they had written (one actually did a PowerPoint). They absolutely loved it! The girls giggled upon hearing their voices as we shared their stories with the class. And the rest of the class thought it was "so cool!" I also posted the links on our classroom blog for our parents to enjoy. I've also seen Voicethread used to tell about how to make a Vocabulary Map. Check that out <a href="http://settingthestandard.ning.com/video/1875370:Video:4125">here</a>. It really is an invaluable tool.<br /><br /><a href="http://voicethread.com/share/274672/">Kennedy's Voicethread</a><br /><a href="http://voicethread.com/share/276376/">Nikki's Voicethread</a>Alice Larsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03526188204986362655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6746683479686300652.post-36091794757468597562008-12-05T12:17:00.001-08:002008-12-07T08:48:53.377-08:00I Remember When...This video says it all!<br /><br />I remember when...do you?<br /><br /><embed src="http://www.teachertube.com/skin-p/mediaplayer.swf" width="425" height="350" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" menu="false" flashvars="height=350&width=425&file=http://www.teachertube.com/flvideo/60602.flv&image=http://www.teachertube.com/thumb/60602.jpg&location=http://www.teachertube.com/skin-p/mediaplayer.swf&logo=http://www.teachertube.com/images/greylogo.swf&searchlink=http://teachertube.com/search_result.php%3Fsearch_id%3D&frontcolor=0xffffff&backcolor=0x000000&lightcolor=0xFF0000&screencolor=0xffffff&autostart=false&volume=80&overstretch=fit&link=http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=f41267e7b443627e48b5&linkfromdisplay=true&recommendations=http://www.teachertube.com/embedplaylist.php?chid=66"></embed>Alice Larsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03526188204986362655noreply@blogger.com0