Past+Meeting+Notes


 * July 28th at the WEC Computer Lab**

This collaboration was attended by a few members but in spirit by many more. Mabye the middle of the summer is not the best time to collaborate but we still accomplished a great deal. We discussed how to use the website tagxedo.com. This is another word cloud web tool much like Wordle. Tagxedo is unique in the fact that it will make each word a hyperlink. At the collaboration we figured out how to make tagxedo do a Google search that was more focused than just that word. For example, if the word "Women" was in a Tagxedo word cloud on the US Civil War, we were able to make the Google search the phrase "Women Civil War." That way we get search results that are more closely related to the word cloud theme. We also discussed how to embed the word cloud into a website and also how to download YouTube videos for classroom use.

June 30th at WEC Computer Lab

This collaboration was pretty well attended despite the fact it occurred during the summer break. During this meeting we discussed the following topics:

Wiffiti​ - Wiffiti publishes real time messages to screens in thousands of locations from jumbotrons to jukeboxes, bars to bowling alleys and cafes to colleges. You can interact with Wiffiti from your mobile phone or the web. Here are some of the ideas from the conversation:
 * Really neat for use where students are allowed to have cell phones in the school.
 * Students could reply to specific questions posted by the teacher and they show up almost immediately on the screen.
 * The site can also capture images and filter respones so only "G" versions appear.
 * The site can also switch to a list view where all responses are shown in the order they arrived

PortaPortal - Portaportal is a web based bookmarking utility that lets you store links to your favorite websites online. Now your bookmarks are no longer limited to any one machine. This site was shared by Kelly Wegley. Blabberize - Blabberize is a website that can make any photo (one you upload or get off the web) and make it speak in a Jib-Jab style video. The site is free but takes a little practice to get a good Blabberized photo. Once you have the hang of it, making additional videos is simple.
 * They have a free version but Kelly has opted for the $15/year version so she can upload files too.
 * This can be a one stop shopping for students to get all of their online references from teachers.
 * This site can be used to provide students with a list of top sites to visit rather than letting them search the entire web for a particular resource.
 * This could be used to introduce a topic or lesson plans to students. It is a real attention getter.
 * Students could create their own videos to demonstrate their understanding of a topic.
 * Videos can be saved and either embedded into other websites or converted to an offline version and used in PowerPoint, SmartNotebook, Mimio Notebook or any other way one would use a video.

May 26th at Brookside Elementary School -

We continued the sharing of student work with various Web 2.0 websites. This month's presentation was almost solely the presentation from Shane Tisdale.

**Toon Doo** **- Toon Doo** is a cool, comic-creating tool from [|Jambav], a fun site for kids. Jambav is devoted to creating a unique array of free and customizable online games of educational value for children of all abilities. Here are some pointers from Shane:

Glogster - Simply put, Glog is a kind of poster - fully designed by yourself! Glog is a fancy creation from text, images, music and video. No matter if it is colorful, stylish or emo. Your Glog will stand out. It gives you a perfect tool to express yourself. ​ Google Wave - Google Wave is an online software application product from Google, which Google described as "a new web application for real-time communication and collaboration" It was first announced at the Google I/O conference on May 27, 2009. It is a web-based service, computing platform, and communications protocol designed to merge e-mail, instant messaging, wikis, and social networking. It has a strong collaborative and real-time focus supported by extensions that can provide, for example, spelling/grammar checking, automated translation among 40 languages, and numerous other extensions. Initially released only to developers, a preview release of Google Wave was extended to 100,000 users in September 2009, each allowed to invite additional users. Google accepted most requests submitted starting the 29th of November 2009, soon after the September extended release of the technical preview. On May 19, 2010, Google Wave was released to the general public.
 * Give the students one day to learn the program by "playing around" with the interface. This should be enough for the students to be able to start to create their comics in the next class period.
 * Start with a blank slate and students can select the number of frames per page.
 * Middle school students were able to create 2-3 slides per class period.
 * Have the students email thier "toon" to the teacher through the Toon Doo website. This will help make the activity/project paperless.
 * Have the sttudents use their Worthington Schools ID and passwords. That way if a student is absent, the teacher can still access the account for their partner. Also, it will be very clear which student submitted the project.
 * There are other versions of comic creators online like Comic Life (which is a paid version) that have more options.


 * Next meeting will be held at the WEC - 10 am in room 301 (computer training room on the 3rd floor). At this meeting we will learn about:**
 * Wolfram Alpha - a computational knowledge engine (Brian Geniusz)
 * Julaine Bierl - Wix
 * Carin Chmielniak - Exploratree
 * Fran Middaugh - StudyStack & Education Oasis & Smilebox

April 28th at Granby Elementary School -

This session was for some of our volunteer teachers to show their class usage of some of the websites highlighted in this wiki under Cross Content Items. After some technical difficulties with a projector and a website, we were able to see presentations from the following teachers:
 * Mike McGuire** - xtranormal.com - This website is an online video creation tool. Students can write scripts, arrange scene, direct facial expressions etc of cartoon characters. **Mikes big tip**: be aware that there might be some inappropriate gestures and scences that might be offensive to younger students.


 * Kelly Wegley** - Prezi - Kelly continued the presentations with the demonstration of the website Prezi. This is a non-linear presentation tool that has a number of slick transitions and features that can really spice up a dull powerpoint presentation. **Kelly's big tip**: Practice, practice, practice and the website asks that users are over the age of 12.
 * Laura Shearer** - Jeopardy Labs - Laura showed the a website for Jeopardy style games, and Tom Forsgren added another.


 * Next meeting will be held at** Brookside Elementary School **- 4 pm on May 26th. At this meeting we will continue the presentations of the web usage with the following people:**


 * Shane Tisdale - Toon Doo
 * Shane Tisdale - Glogster
 * Shane Tisldale and Brian Geniusz - Google Wave
 * Julaine Bierl - Wix
 * Carin Chmielniak - Exploratree
 * Fran Middaugh - StudyStack & Education Oasis & Smilebox

March 31st at Worthingway Middle School -
 * Procedure:
 * Teachers must visit the WEC and sign out the disk
 * Please return within two weeks
 * Software - These items can be installed at home
 * Microsoft Office 2007
 * Grade Machine
 * DeskPDF - Available for download on the district portal
 * Hardware
 * Loaner Laptops
 * 12 Flip Cameras
 * 6 Elmo (or Elmo like machines)
 * Others
 * If you come across items that you would like to see the district obtain, send the IT department a note and they will investigate the item(s) for use within the district


 * Portal - a similar but slightly different version is available to students and parents. For example, teachers have access to various links that are not for parents/students.
 * Any need for help with the portal, please contact Benu D., Jan B. or Joe N.
 * Blogs: Created to be a safe environment for students to blog with their classes and teachers. This is not the only blog site available in the district but it is the one that is supported.
 * Photos:
 * Each building has a unique login and password (contact computer services for that information)
 * Staff can upload photos of class events and parents and students can view these photos
 * Photos can be downloaded by users
 * Photos are behind a password so only parents at that school can view the photos.
 * Video Upload:
 * Similar to the photos, each building has a unique login and password
 * Staff can upload videos to the video server. These can be YouTube, Google, homemade, etc. videos.
 * Videos on the server are available to the entire school district, not just your building
 * Students and parent can also view the videos but they cannot upload videos.
 * eCopy:
 * The district is currently looking for a more comprehensive copying service so ecopy may change over the summer.
 * This will be an upgrade in the functions of the service
 * My Teams:
 * A place to share documents, tasks, and is somewhat like a wiki
 * Teachers can have a "My Team" for their students - to do this ask computer services to set it up.
 * Teacher Web Pages:
 * This is a simple version of web page creation
 * These pages can serve many functions
 * If a teacher needs more, then that page will have to be created outside of the district but the teacher could also place a link on their teacher web page that directs students and parents to the other web page.

page Granby Elementary
 * Agenda for this meeting:
 * Teachers share some of the Web 2.0 tools we have used in classes with our students - if you have another you would like to volunteer to show at the next meeting, please feel free to edit this page and add your item(s).
 * Mike McGuire - xtranormal.com
 * Laura Shearer - Jeopardy Labs
 * Kelley Wegley - Prezi
 * Shane Tisdale - Toon Doo
 * Shane Tisdale - Glogster
 * Shane Tisldale and Brian Geniusz - Google Wave
 * Julaine Bierl - Wix
 * Carin Chmielniak - Exploratree
 * Fran Middaugh - StudyStack & Education Oasis & Smilebox

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