CNN David Houle: Predictions for the next decade of education: more technology-based than ever

Enjoy! and see the link about flipped classroom:

http://schoolsofthought.blogs.cnn.com/2012/12/28/my-view-predictions-for-the-next-decades-of-education/

Jude

Sample Flipped Class Session Agenda

The flipped classroom is one of the most effective ways to use technology to boost Differenciated Instruction and student achievement. It is worth giving it a try for one learning unit and see how it goes. This example of class agenda can be applied with small changes to virtually any grade level:

Sample Flipped Class Session Agenda [INFOGRAPHIC] | University Business Magazine

Jude

Solving Runtime Error in Explorer

Profile teachers and students:

Bad news: When opening Internet Explorer, you might see an error message starting with "Runtime error..." Good news: it is easy to solve: 

.  In Explorer 8, go to Tools>Internet Options>Advanced>Reset. Click on reset. 

- In older versions (which you need to update) of Explorer, look for Internet options and  follow the same process.

. In explorer 9 (Windows 7), go to control panel, type Explorer in the search vindow, and follow the same process.

Any question, send a Tech Support Request!
                                                                                    Jude

Best way to deal with Microsoft Word on your ipad

After trying and spending about $30 in apps, I found out that the best app depends on the complexity of your text format.
I had to work on a native Word  +30 page doc  with footnotes and comments,  no graphics. In this case, CloudOn, a free app, turned out to be the best one.
- Pages does not handle footnotes nor comments.
- Office 2HD does not let you edit or add comments nor footnotes.
- QuickOffice does not handle footnotes but does a good job with comments and the navigation throughout the document is the smoothest of all apps.
- You can edit Google docs with the Drive app, but this only works for native Google Docs document; you will hit a wall trying to edit a native Word document stored on Drive.

Only CloudOn will let you create and edit Word, Excel and Powerpoint documents. The only flaw of CloudOn is the delay between uploading a document and being able to edit it. It took 15 minutes for my +30 pages document before it was made accessible on CloudOn. The layout is almost completely similar to Word on a desktop, so the learning curve is minimal. It would be useful to hear from teachers using also pictures in their document and see how CloudOn responds to the challenge.

Jude

EasyBib tool bar

Profile teachers,

this will be useful to all students writing papers.

EasyBib added a browser extension for Google Chrome. You can download it here.

Once it’s installed, you can cite anything on any website you’re browsing. Just click on the red EasyBib book in your toolbar and you’ll see a drop down menu.

If you click “Cite on EasyBib” you’ll get a pop up window that has all of the citation information formatted and filled out for you. From there you can browse to EasyBib or hit the “View Bibliography” button to see all of your citations.

You can check out the extension in action on YouTube!

Credits go to Emily Gover, M.S. University at Albany

Jude

Ps: EasyBib is a web tool for creating work cited lists using standard formats such as ALA and Chicago style. The main site is here

Hiding the content of your monitor when using Smartboard

When you do not want your audience to see the content of your screen, you have two ways to go:

- If you want to hide it temporarily, use the digital screen in the "other tools". This one can be partially or completely deployed, pretty much like an actual sheet of fabric  hiding a picture. Very convenient to show gradually the content of your screen, too. However, your computer monitor will also show this hiding screen.

- If you need to use your PC and also need to hide your monitor from your audience  (for instance, you are entering grades while the class is taking a quiz), just press "Hide" on your Smart remote control. You'll be able to bring the picture back on your smartboard by pressing "Hide" again.

Jude

Profile Faculty Meeting Sept 12, Tech Moment

It is crucial to update to  Notebook 11. 
The key is in a shared doc that was emailed to you today.
First, uninstall all Smartboard components
No more updates during the year!

Google “Bookmarkslet”
Google alerts: http://www.google.com/alerts
Advanced Search vs operators
Google Search by image
Google Drive  (also app for  ipad)


News from the Media Center:
Book Lexile level on Alexandria and Media Center webpage
Learning and Research form on Media Center website:
The form, the results

ipad battery draining fast

If your Ipad2 or 3 seems to have a battery draining faster and faster, check Apple's battery  recommendations here, and also try this.

If you see no difference and your ipad is under waranty,  then contact Apple' support.

If you are not sure whether your ipad is still covered, just enter its serial number here.

Jude

Back from Google Apps Bootcamp

I participated in a very rich bootcamp on Google Apps for education this summer. Here is the 12-hour schedule we followed. Each activity is linked to tutorials you may find useful. Naturally, I'll be happy to go over these with you:

Google customized search (much more than you would suspect, definitely useful for Common Core)
Google Sites
Google Calendar
Google Docs
More tools...

Jude

10 Excellent Free Social Studies Resources for Teachers and Students

10 Excellent Free Social Studies Resources for Teachers and Students

Flipped classroom - three major resources

Following up on our recent exchanges about flipped classroom, I recommend three sites to see what you can accomplish by flipping your classroom. The education Division of Ted Talk, especially, walks you through examples and offers a convenient matrix for flipping a lesson: TED-Ed Coursera Flipped Learning Jude

Best Education Apps | Unbiased, Data-Driven Comparisons. | Diigo

Some digital fireworks for July 4th :)

Best Education Apps | Unbiased, Data-Driven Comparisons. | Diigo

                                                                                                    Jude

Introduction to Google Drive

Dear Profile staff,

there is a very clear and straightforward introduction to Google Drive here. Make it a summer project to transition to it, it'll simplify the management of Google Docs.

Jude

Emails asking for your logon, pasword or other ID info

Just a reminder that the school will never email you to verify your login info such as username and password. Such types of emails are called phishing. Phishing emails ask you to provide personal info mostly to access your  financial asset and tools (bank account, credit cards, investments...). If you receive an email asking for private info, even if it looks official, do not reply. Use your common sense. If there is a chance that the email is authentic and you actually have an account with this particular company, contact them by phone, using the number you are familiar with, not the one showing in the suspicious email.  "Welcome to the Jungle..."
                                                                                                                                              Jude

Ipad pilot program at Profile: Fifty Essential Apps for new iOS device users

Profile teachers in the Ipad Pilot program, you will enjoy thoses:
Essential apps for new iOS users 
                                                              Jude

Great resources from SMART Technologies

Every teacher using a Smartboard should subscribe  to ED Compass and its blog and receive monthly updates on free PD, apps, widgets,  lesson plans and latest class activity material for Smartboard, including STEM material. This complements checking out the Teachers Smart Exchange which includes downloadable lesson plans and activities organized by standards, grades and subject area.

Also, if you have an Iphone or Android smart phone, get the SMART PD app, which alerts you of new, free  PD training and also allows to access them directly on your handheld device.

Enjoy!                                                                                                             Jude

SMART Notebook app for iPad coming soon

Teachers on the ipad pilot program, soon you'll have even greater interface capability between your two favorite devices: your Smartboard and your iPad. Check this out! 

Thank you Tara T. for alerting me!
                                                                                  Jude

How to open and create Smartboard Notebook files without the software

Profile teachers,

In order to access, create, and modify a Notebook file, simply go there, nothing to install. And if you are not sure whether you'll have internet connection later, you can quickly install the lite version of Notebook and keep working on your file :

http://express.smarttech.com/#

Enjoy!                                                                                                   Jude

Adobe Creative Suite 5 available throughout the school

This is one of Profile's best kept tech secrets: we own a site licence for Adobe Creative Suite 5. 


Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 Design Premium software is the ultimate toolkit for designing eye-catching print content, immersive digital magazines, elegant eBooks, dynamic PDF files, world-class websites, and interactive SWF content that displays consistently across screens of virtually any size. This includes, among others, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Flash, Fireworks, Illustrator and even Acrobat Pro 9.


To install Adobe CS5 on your school computer, just download the install file and key from the Tech Stuff in the Staffshare folder. 


Wonder how to master the beast? Use the tutorials on Atomic Learning. Login and password infos for our e-subscriptions are shared on Google docs.
 Enjoy!                                                                                                    Jude

Aliens stole my Student Response System software

If, one day, your Smartboard Student Response System (aka, clickers)  is gone, don't blame aliens for it. It's just that it is time to update your notebook software to version 11. The process requires to uninstall manually each and every component of Smart software and then install the brand new package.

If you do not use the Student Response System, you can keep using Notebook 10. But I have to tell you, you'll love the Notebook 11 improvements.

How to update: The daring ones can do it entirely by themselves. Download Notebook 11 here, and remember to uninstall first every part of Smart software, including a printer driver called Black Ice. Plan a couple of hours. You will not need to enter a license number, it is stored in your computer. When the installation package starts, choose only the software you already have (notebook, drivers, smart tools, and  math tools if you are a math teacher) For the less daring ones, just send me a tech request.

There is a good news: starting this year, all updates from Smart Technologies will be sent in June, so they can be installed after the end of the year.
                                                                                                     Jude

Access to filtered websites

Access to filtered websites

- For occasional, on the fly access, teachers can override the filter for a default period of time of three hours. You do not need to enter the amount of time, these three hours apply automatically when you override the filter.

- Only teachers can override the filter. Also, they need to be logged in with their own credentials to the computer that will acess filtered sites. In other words, it is not possible for a student to override the filter, and it is not possible for a teacher to override the filter from a computer if someone else has already logged in this computer.

- If there is a need for permanent access to a blocked website by the general student population, please do call Dan Inghram (x 219) in advance to unblock this site. There is no guarantee that the site will be unblocked as various factors may be involved, some being technical, other requiring administrative or policy approval. The earlier you contact Dan, the better. 

Jude

Harvard Business School Blog

I never thought I would ever do this one day but, in all fairness, I must admit that  the Harvard Business School Blog Network features excellent entries on professional strategies which are quite transferable to the world of education. So, as the saying goes, "if the shoe fits..."
                                                                                 Jude