Welcome to I.D.E.A.S.

IDEAS applications have helped teachers integrate technology into their classrooms for the last five years.

All of our programs have been created at the suggestion of teachers, and are constantly modified according to teacher requests for new features and capabilities. The acronym I.D.E.A.S. stands for Instructional Development of Educational Applications Service and that is just what we do. We create applications for students and teachers to use in instructional settings.

Toolbox Pro, our latest and greatest product, is the culmination of all of our efforts combining the tools that teachers have asked for into a single integrated interface. With Toolbox Pro you can create a class website, create online quizzes, tests, and activities, upload files and documents you want your students to access, communicate with parents and other teachers, and even post podcasts. Visit http://www.toolboxpro.org

For more information about IDEAS or about any of our programs, email us at IDEAS@gstboces.org.

Many students are familiar with PowerPoint and how to use it to create great presentations, but if they want to try something a little different — have them take a look at Prezi.com!

Prezi.com is an online presentation tool – that lets you create and share dynamic presentations via the web. With Prezi.com, it is quick and easy to create a great looking presentation that combines text, images, documents, and video. You can also create visually dramatic effects by scaling and rotating text, and transitions.

You can present your Prezi live in your browser, or you can email the URL to others to view at their convenience. Your Prezi can be embedded in a web page (see below), shared via Twitter or Facebook, or downloaded for offline presentations from any computer.

The presentation above was created in about 15 minutes to show you some of the features of Prezi. If you would like to give it a try – go to Prezi.com and create an account for yourself. The Learn tab at the top of the page has lots of links to information and short tutorials about getting started using Prezi.

The interface that you use to edit the various parts of your presentation is a simple Bubble menu. The menu sub-selections are Write, Insert, Frame, Path, Colors, and Show. Write is where you create your text. Insert lets you add images, documents, and movies, and has a sub-tool for creating arrows and other lines. Frame helps you visually orient each screen of your presentation, and Path lets you define the order screens will be viewed. Finally, Show lets you present your creation.

Any of the objects you create can be scaled, moved, and rotated around the canvas using the "zebra", a circular tool with striped areas. The outer ring rotates the object, while the inner ring scales it. Clicking and dragging the center circle can move the object to a different location.

As mentioned before, Prezis can be downloaded to your computer and copied so that they can be presented from any computer – even one without an Internet connection. (The only exception is that if you have inserted a Youtube movie clip – you obviously need the Internet to play it back.)

All in all, Prezi.com is a great site for creating online presentations. You may want to try it, or recommend it to your students as a change of pace from regular run-of-the-mill presentations. It does not have all of the bells and whistles that a full-fledged presentation package like PowerPoint or Keynote has, but its features are powerful and really easy to use. Anyone who can point, click, type, and drag can create a sharp-looking presentation in minutes. And sharing it with other on the Internet is just as easy.

For IDEAS Community Members and Friends: If you or your students do use Prezi, let us know about it. We would like to know. How did you use it? How did it work for you? Did have any problems with the program? Did your students like it?

As always, keep in touch with us – drop us a line at IDEAS@gstboces.org, or post a comment to this blog. We want to hear from you.

Horseheads Middle School, Horseheads, NY recently held a Reading Frenzy Event. The information for this article was provided by the school librarian, Maureen Frei.

What was the Reading Frenzy Event all about?

Joanne Doherty, a reading specialist at the Middle School wanted to create a reading event that would be fun for the entire school. She had the idea of continuously reading aloud from one book, trying to complete the reading of the whole book in a single school day. She chose the lobby of the school as the setting because students, teachers, and parents pass through there all day long. The purpose was not necessarily for anyone to listen to the whole book, but to be able to hear bits and pieces and see how the reader's were progressing throughout the school day.

How did it work?

Teachers signed up for a 15 minute time slots using a Google doc spreadsheet, and a web cam was set up so that the event could be streamed live on the Web. This made it possible for the event to be experienced by students from anywhere in the school during the day, not just from the few seconds they were passing through the lobby. Parents were able to check in on and view the event from their computers at home.

The live video stream was available from the Middle School Library's web site (created with IDEAS's Toolbox Pro software), and had a timer that showed the countdown to the end of the school day. The reading of the book started when students came through the front doors in the morning, with the hope of finishing before the final bell. The Toolbox Pro site page counter showed that more than 500 people had visited the page during the day.

What Technology did you need for streaming?

The technical part was really very easy to do. All that was needed was a cart, a wireless laptop, a web cam, and a Toolbox Pro account. Andy Gillette, GST IDEAS specialist, assisted with setting up and testing the stream. (Actually the laptop did not have to be wireless to create the stream, but it helped make it possible to stream the event from a location that did not have a network connection.)

The Reading Frenzy Event was a great success and was enjoyed by parents. staff, and students.

If you have any ideas about how Toolbox Pro could be used to enhance an event at your school, let the IDEAS team know about it. Drop us an email at IDEAS@gstboces.org.

Terry Freedman of the ICT in Education website has released a free ebook called The Amazing Web 2.0 Project Book. You can grab this Ebook here.

The book contains information about 87 projects, 52 applications, and the benefits and challenges of Web 2.0 in the classroom. It is compiled from material by 94 different contributors.

Visit the ICT in Education web site for more information about Web 2.0 and Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

Let us know what you think about our articles by posting a comment or send us an email at ideas@gstboces.org.

Google has developed so many great tools for searching – you might not be familiar with this one, Google Wonder Wheels.

Here is a link to a quick start guide that we developed that will show you how to use Google Wonder Wheels under five minutes.

Visit the Google Wonder Wheels Quick Start Guide created by GST BOCES IDEAS.

Let us know what you think of this advanced search tool from Google by posting a comment or dropping us an email at ideas@gstboces.org.

Who doesn't like free software?

Today I came across a great piece of free software that makes it super easy to format video for mobile devices or for uploading to web sites like Youtube or TeacherTube. It is called Mobile Media Converter and is a product of MikSoft. You can visit their site and download the software at http://www.miksoft.net/mobileMediaConverter.htm.

The software is cross-platform. They provide pre-compiled binaries for Windows, Macintosh and several flavors of Linux. An image of their website is displayed below. The different text balloons on the page highlight some of the important features like the many converters it supports and formats that it will output.

The actual interface of the program is very simple to use. It displays a window in which you add the videos that you would like to convert, then choose the desired output format, and click the convert button. The window changes to display a progress bar, and then notifies you when the conversion is finished. It couldn't be easier than that.

The image above shows the main window of the Mobile Media Converter program. I tested it by loading an .AVI file that I copied from my FlipCam, and converting it to an .MP4 file that I could load to my iPod. I also tried converting to a few other format including Flash Video (.FLV) for an upload to Youtube. All of the conversions that I tested looked and sounded good.

If you are looking for an easy-to-use program for converting video from one portable format to another, I think this program is a great choice. And did I mention that it is FREE?

Download Mobile Media Converter Here

Note: Remember that we always like to hear your feedback about our IDEAS web site and our articles. Send us an email at IDEAS@gstboces.org to let us know what you think.

It is no secret that our classrooms are using more and more digital resources in instruction. Content providers of all types are rushing to get their materials online to make them accessible to teachers and students. Sales of E-book readers like the Kindle and Nook and other hand-held devices are soaring. Textbook publishers are releasing their content in PDF and other digital formats to keep up with the marketplace.

In the midst of all of this rush-to-meet-the-need madness, the state of California has created an initiative to create free and open source digital textbooks for all students.

California's Initiative

http://www.clrn.org/fdti/

California’s created its Free Digital Textbook Initiative (FDTI) to "provide students, teachers and parents access to free digital high school textbooks that meet California’s rigorous academic content standards." At the Governor’s request, the Department of Education and State Board of Education invited content developers to submit materials for review so that schools would have access to standards-aligned digital math and science textbooks in time for the start of classes in fall 2009. This initiative was coordinated by California Learning Resource Network (CLRN). Textbook reviews and links to each textbook download are available at CLRN’s web site at http://www.clrn.org/fdti/.

The current initiative only addresses the content areas of Mathematics and Science. Phase 2 will seek to add texts geared toward history and the social sciences. The illustration above  shows two sample pages from the CK-12 Geometry textbook (freely downloadable as a PDF here).

While not all of the e-books are in this format, the PDF format makes it easy for people to download and view the textbooks using the free Adobe Reader or any other PDF-capable application. The scaling features of PDF viewers also make it easy to zoom in on any text or graphics that might be more difficult to view in a traditional textbook format. Being digital allows the content in a textbook to be updated regularly and allows it to be edited and re-arranged by other users. (While reading about digital textbooks, I came across the concept of a "flexbook", which is a digital textbook that can be customized on-the-fly to include only the chapters or topics that they need to present. How cool would that be?)

While the textbooks in the FDTI are aligned directly to the California Learning Standards, NYS teachers still may be able to use them to supplement and enhance the texts that they are already using. The State of Florida has also made some attempts to get free (and low cost) textbook materials into the hands of their students. They provide a digital repository called the Orange Grove which has eTexts on a wide-variety of topics. (I did a few simple searches and found many different types of resources. Visit the Orange Grove to give it a try. Choose Browse Resources, and then Orange Grove Resources to reach the search interface.)

It seems that California and Florida have jumped right in and are leading the movement toward providing free digital resources for teachers and classrooms. Will New York State jump on the band-wagon?

Whether or not NYS creates an initiative like California or provides a digital repository like Florida, the good news for teachers is that there are a lot of great, free textbook resources that can be used as texts or to supplement the texts already in their classrooms. A simple google search on 'free digital textbooks' brings up lot of links that can explored as needed.

IDEAS would like to hear your input about digital textbooks. Please add a comment below, and take part in our poll.

Pics4Learning is a neat site that I came across while I was looking for images to use in a project that I was working on with students. The "About" information on the site describes it well – "Pics4Learning is a copyright-friendly image library for teachers and students". The images in the collection have been specifically donated by students and teachers with permission granted for use by teachers and students. http://www.pics4learning.com/

The home page lists a large directory of topics and indicates that many topics also contain subtopics. It is very easy to browse the site by topic or to do a quick keyword search. There is an advanced search link that allows you to add boolean operators to your search, and to search specific fields like location, caption, and photographer.

Here is one of the images that I found from a quick search for "frog". The table below the image gives you the basic information about the image. I like that it includes bibliographic information so that students can cite the source in their projects.

The site has lots of good images in a variety of different sizes. This image of Mount Rushmore is displayed at 500 pixels wide by 375 pixels high, but you can see that the source image is much larger (2272 by 1704 pixels).

One other nice feature of Pics4Learning is that it has a library of lesson plans on various topics that can be used in conjunction with the images found at Pics4Learning. The image below shows part of the lesson plan directory displaying some of Language Arts and Science lesson titles.

Pics4Learning is useful site for teachers who are looking for free images. It has thousands of images categorized by topic, and searchable by keyword. It also has lesson plan resources that can help teachers use the site as part of their instruction. 

As I was doing some research recently I came across this blog and I must admit that I was amazed by all of the posts about great sites and resources for working with Smartboards in the classroom.

Teachers Love Smartboards is the blog of James Hollis, a certified secondary mathematics teacher and professional development specialist for SMART board users from Aurora, Illinois. In his blog, James writes short posts about and provides links to sites that can be used with SMARTboards. Recently, he wrote a series of posts promoting sites with great content for smart boards without distracting or inappropriate advertising placement, "SMART Boards and Ad-free Resources" Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. (Take a quick look at these posts and visit some of the sites to preview the content.)

Here is an image from the Science NetLinks site that James blogged about in one of his posts this past January. This is an interactive activity called "Power Play" that lets students figure out the tools necessary to build a machine to harness power.

A link to the Power Play Activity on the Science NetLinks site.

Another terrific resource that I discovered while reading James' blog is the e-Learning for Kids site.

This site is run by a global, nonprofit foundation dedicated to fun and free learning on the Internet for children ages 5 – 12. they offer free, best-in-class courseware in math, science, reading and keyboarding, and are building a community for parents and educators to share innovations and insights in childhood education.

This image, from the home page of the E-Learning for Kids site, shows how you can easily select resources organized by grade level or subject. This site will give you hours of fun browsing through all of the resources it offers.

A direct link to the e-Learning for Kids home page.

I strongly recommend adding Teachers Love Smartboards to your weekly blog reading. It is a tremendous resource chock full of great sites for teachers to use in instruction. Bookmark the site, or subscribe to it using your favorite blog aggregator, or RSS feed reader.

Do you know the Teacher's Domain?

No? Well you should get to know it. It has many free resources that you can use to enhance lessons in your classroom.

Teachers' Domain (http://www.teachersdomain.org/) is a library of more than 1,000 free media resources from public television offerings such as NOVA, Frontline, Design Squad, and the American Experience, designed for classroom use and professional development. The resources include video and audio segments, Flash interactive movies and simulations, images, documents, lesson plans for teachers, and other student-oriented activities. For easy use, the library is organized into several customized "Editions". New York State teachers are automatically connected to VITAL New York, a special edition which organizes the resources by the New York State Core Curriculum, as well as by common subjects and skills for preschool, elementary, and secondary grades. You can view the different editons by clicking the 'Change Edition' link at the bottom of any page.

How do I sign up?

Creating an account for Teacher's Domain is very easy. Just follow these steps:

1. Click the Register Now button on the home page at http://www.teachersdomain.org.

2. Use drop-down boxes or type your zip code to locate your school (institution).

3. Create a login name. The Check Availability button will let you know if it is already taken.

4. Create a password following the guidelines provided below the box.

5. Enter your first and last names. Select a user type, and check boxes for any grades you teach. Optionally you can supply an email address if you wish

6. Click the Start Using Teacher's Domain button, and you are all set.

What resources are available for my class or subject area?

The home page of the Teacher's Domain has a very simple-to-use menu structure presented in a tree format.

You can expand and contract different parts of the tree to reach the topics that are appropriate for your class and grade level. The VITAL Resources are organized by K-8 Core Curriculum and High School Core Curriculum. With just a few clicks you can find the resource you are looking for.

There also is a keyword search box provided toward the top of your home page which will let you do more advanced and targeted searches. The Advanced Search link lets you further filter your search to a specific grade range, media type, or permitted use. The Advanced Search page also lets you search for other resources available at the NSDL (National Science Digital Library).

Here is an image of a quick drill-down to a list of resources about Colonial Settlements. (To get there I clicked Social Studies, then U.S. History, then Colonial Settlement.)

Clicking on the resource name brings up a lot more information about it. From this screen, I can read a quick synopsis of this 2 minute 14 second movie, view a background essay, and see links to the New York State Learning Standards, as well as view and download the video.

Are there any other features of Teacher's Domain?

Teacher's Domain does allow you to save and organize resources to your own folders and to share them with other users. You can upload your own media files to your folders, which can be sharde as well. You can also do some simple networking by creating and joining groups of users who want to share online resources.

Summary

Teacher's Domain is a great, free resource for educators. It can provide you with hours of resources that will enhance your lessons and units. Visit the site. Browse around. Create an account, and let us know what you think about it. Send your comments and observations to IDEAS@gstboces.org or leave a comment here on this page.

IDEAS has created its traditional Holiday Card, and sent it out via email to over 5700 teachers in IDEAS school districts.

You can view the email here, and view the actual card at Happy Holidays from IDEAS.

If you didn't receive the email and would like to get on one of our email lists, send us an email at IDEAS@gstboces.org. 

Send Us your IDEAS, Comments, and Suggestions:

If you are a teacher with an idea for an online program that could benefit your students, IDEAS wants to hear from you. Send it to IDEAS@gstboces.org.