The Top Ten Tech Tools I can't live without:
10: Feedly: Favorite RSS feeder - this used to be google reader, but since its death was announced, I've switched to feedly... great rss feeder...this is how I get my news.
9: Evernote: as much as I love the idea of using a moleskin notebook, evernote is my notebook now. everything i need to remember is stored there.
8: Dish Network Hopper - DVR, DVR, DVR...what can I say...I can record the 4-5 shows (out of the 200 channels) and watch them when I get a chance. Like June.
7: Netflix - movies, tv shows, etc. keeps me happy, but more importantly, keeps my 4 yr old occupied at those really busy times...
6: Amazon Streaming - (see Amazon prime) - great movies, documentaries, tv series, free with amazon prime.
5: Amazon - I buy 99% of everything other than groceries here...get amazon prime, it's completely work it
4: U-verse Internet connection - I went through a period of about a year trying to get the internet service to run consistently at speed - no internet = lose my MIND!!
3: My MacBook Pro - always works, ultra portable, handles the top 10% of heavy uses (see iPad)
2: My iPad - the best portable computer around, for 90% of all of my needs
1: My iPhone 5 - this is what saved me while the U-verse connection was down...my main mode of communication with the outside world, news, etc. I never go anywhere without it.
Monday, July 15, 2013
Week 6: Mobile Apps
Four mobile apps I use in my classroom:
Twitter - for updates, study tips, question and answer
Amount - A unit conversion app - handy because while I teach in the metric system, we constantly stop & refer it back to the imperial measures that kids are most familiar with..
Khan Academy -great info, videos on just about every subject - the chemistry series is very good, but a little dry...
Periodic Table of the Elements - just a handy little tools for quick reference.
Week 5: Digital Citizenship
What does it mean to be a good digital citizen, and why is it important?
Everyone seems to believe that when they are on the internet, they can act however they want, say whatever they want, and that they are completely anonymous, have no responsibility, and no repercussions. This is not true. IP addresses can be traced. You can be found out. You are still responsible for what you say and do online. (Ask any number of famous people who have been exposed being involved in something improper, illicit, or illegal because of an electronic "paper trail").
There are repercussions. Bad thing can happen if you are not careful online.
But regardless of whether bad thing will happen or not, people should act decent online. Don't troll. Don't harass. Be careful what you say. Be VERY careful what pictures you post. Treat others with respect, even if they don't deserve it. Be a good example, not a cautionary tale.
A good starting point is Virginia Shea's book Netiquette: it offers 10 Basic Rules for online etiquette:
Rule 1: Remember the Human
Rule 2: Adhere to the same standards of behavior online that you follow in real life
Rule 3: Know where you are in cyberspace
Rule 4: Respect other people's time and bandwidth
Rule 5: Make yourself look good online
Rule 6: Share expert knowledge
Rule 7: Help keep flame wars under control
Rule 8: Respect other people's privacy
Rule 9: Don't abuse your power
Rule 10: Be forgiving of other people's mistakes
Everyone seems to believe that when they are on the internet, they can act however they want, say whatever they want, and that they are completely anonymous, have no responsibility, and no repercussions. This is not true. IP addresses can be traced. You can be found out. You are still responsible for what you say and do online. (Ask any number of famous people who have been exposed being involved in something improper, illicit, or illegal because of an electronic "paper trail").
There are repercussions. Bad thing can happen if you are not careful online.
But regardless of whether bad thing will happen or not, people should act decent online. Don't troll. Don't harass. Be careful what you say. Be VERY careful what pictures you post. Treat others with respect, even if they don't deserve it. Be a good example, not a cautionary tale.
A good starting point is Virginia Shea's book Netiquette: it offers 10 Basic Rules for online etiquette:
Rule 1: Remember the Human
Rule 2: Adhere to the same standards of behavior online that you follow in real life
Rule 3: Know where you are in cyberspace
Rule 4: Respect other people's time and bandwidth
Rule 5: Make yourself look good online
Rule 6: Share expert knowledge
Rule 7: Help keep flame wars under control
Rule 8: Respect other people's privacy
Rule 9: Don't abuse your power
Rule 10: Be forgiving of other people's mistakes
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Week 4: Material Generators
Many different options exist to help teachers with material generation -here are a few that I have used in the past:
Test generators - Most textbooks come with an exam generator - I used Holt's Examview software - it was great for suggesting a starting point for test questions - I usually modified the questions some from the suggestion, but it save tons of time. I was also great for generating a study guide of questions for students to use to prepare for the test, or even sometime I would pass them out at the beginning of a section for students to follow along and guide them in note-taking.
Graphic Document Generators - Used to create certificates - I find that Powerpoint and/or Word are fine for this. Powerpoint works especially well - you can import graphics (either found or created) and really make a pretty good looking certificate with it.
Graphics Programs - I used lots of diagrams and images and Photoshop is not only very expensive, but has a pretty steep learning curve. For 99% of what I needed to do day-to-day, Paint.NET (freeware - available online) was a great easy to use tool for making diagrams, cropping & editing pictures, etc. It's only available for Windows, so on a Mac, the closest program is GIMP - again, available free online.
Test generators - Most textbooks come with an exam generator - I used Holt's Examview software - it was great for suggesting a starting point for test questions - I usually modified the questions some from the suggestion, but it save tons of time. I was also great for generating a study guide of questions for students to use to prepare for the test, or even sometime I would pass them out at the beginning of a section for students to follow along and guide them in note-taking.
Graphic Document Generators - Used to create certificates - I find that Powerpoint and/or Word are fine for this. Powerpoint works especially well - you can import graphics (either found or created) and really make a pretty good looking certificate with it.
Graphics Programs - I used lots of diagrams and images and Photoshop is not only very expensive, but has a pretty steep learning curve. For 99% of what I needed to do day-to-day, Paint.NET (freeware - available online) was a great easy to use tool for making diagrams, cropping & editing pictures, etc. It's only available for Windows, so on a Mac, the closest program is GIMP - again, available free online.
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Week 3 Blog: Online tools
Week 3 Blog:
This week we had to use several new tools on the web to create various items illustrating the use of technology in the classroom.
1) Bubbl.us - This is a nice little web-based tool for creating concept/mind maps. The application was reminiscent of visio, but with a more specific purpose. The mind map I created on Matter - Pure Substances vs. Mixtures:
Not too bad, easy to use.
2) Glogster - education focused blogging tool? I found this too restrictive in use and too difficult to build. The create tools were less than intuitive to me. It may be just a personal viewpoint for me, others may find it a really good tool. (I'm biased because I actually work on web development for several years before becoming a teacher.) The Glog I created is located at:
http://coachgill.edu.glogster.com/gills-glog
3) Animoto - Used to create videos. I'm just not a fan of videos for presentations. The interface was easy to use, but the pop-up messages from the app were distracting and hard to work around. The video I made is located at:
http://animoto.com/play/x3boRZDLkBby6zm8CBZlIA
4) BigHugeLabs - miscellaneous mini apps, nothing all that useful though. I have attached 3 items created using the site:
This week we had to use several new tools on the web to create various items illustrating the use of technology in the classroom.
1) Bubbl.us - This is a nice little web-based tool for creating concept/mind maps. The application was reminiscent of visio, but with a more specific purpose. The mind map I created on Matter - Pure Substances vs. Mixtures:
2) Glogster - education focused blogging tool? I found this too restrictive in use and too difficult to build. The create tools were less than intuitive to me. It may be just a personal viewpoint for me, others may find it a really good tool. (I'm biased because I actually work on web development for several years before becoming a teacher.) The Glog I created is located at:
http://coachgill.edu.glogster.com/gills-glog
3) Animoto - Used to create videos. I'm just not a fan of videos for presentations. The interface was easy to use, but the pop-up messages from the app were distracting and hard to work around. The video I made is located at:
http://animoto.com/play/x3boRZDLkBby6zm8CBZlIA
4) BigHugeLabs - miscellaneous mini apps, nothing all that useful though. I have attached 3 items created using the site:
Week 2 Blog: Hot Topic...Wikipedia as a resource...
Should wikipedia be used as a resource? Yes.
Should wikipedia be the ONLY resource? Absolutely NOT!
Wikipedia is a good starting point for students to get general information about a subject and to engage the student. Is is trustworthy? usually - but the idea is that students get a start on learning and then verify the information with further research. One of the ideas I try to get across to my science students is to never take anything at face value. For data to be valid, it must be verified and repeatable - one-off results are not verified.
Should wikipedia be used as a resource? Yes.
Should wikipedia be the ONLY resource? Absolutely NOT!
Wikipedia is a good starting point for students to get general information about a subject and to engage the student. Is is trustworthy? usually - but the idea is that students get a start on learning and then verify the information with further research. One of the ideas I try to get across to my science students is to never take anything at face value. For data to be valid, it must be verified and repeatable - one-off results are not verified.
Week 1: Introduction
My name
is John Gill, and I have been a science teacher at Central High School in
Phenix City, AL for 2 years, but am currently transitioning to a smaller
private school nearby. I teach
chemistry, physics, and physical science, and I also coach football and
soccer.
I
grew up in a small town in Middle Georgia and went to the University of Georgia
where I received a degree in Chemistry.
I spent 3 years as a Chemist, went back to school to get a degree in computer
science, and then worked in the corporate world for 14 years before leaving to
teach. This is my second year teaching and I have loved every minute of
teaching thus far! I suppose it is in my
blood to teach, considering that my mother was a teacher as well, and actually
began teaching at the same age as I did – 39 years old!
I am
married (just celebrated 17 years) and I have two boys, one age 14 and the
other 4 years old. My hobbies include
reading, hunting, and…well, with teaching full time, coaching year round, and a
family at home, who really has time for a hobby? Actually, teaching still seems more like a
hobby than a job to me; after all, a job can’t be this much fun, can it? I’m looking forward to teaching many more
years.
My
most rewarding moment, and thus far greatest contribution to education, was
when I told my class the first week of school that it would “behoove” them to
take notes…and them explaining what the word “behoove” meant. A couple of weeks later I was on the
sidelines at a football game. After a
particularly good hit on the field, one of my students, a football player, told
me “it would behoove [the other player] to get out of my way!” Finally, proof that someone is listening and
learning in my class!
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