Our 3D printer!

Part of the Library as Learning Commons program is to provide a venue for students to explore and be exposed to new ideas and technologies they may otherwise not have access to. As such, the Library has acquired a MakerBot Replicator 3D Printer, a small step into a "maker" culture and philosophy. Basically it can slowly "print" (create) three dimensional objects from PLA or ABS plastic filament. Here is our club as they set it up, and the first item they printed (about the size of a quarter, took 15mns). Check out a few links below for more info. 

The 3D Club with Mr. Le will be working on an initial project to design and replicate scale models of the library furniture to help with re-designing the space.

I encourage anyone who wishes to learn about the system for any potential class projects. We can imagine a host of subject-relevant projects in Art, Sciences, Math, Business and more (how about locally designed trophies or badges?). We will be asking club members to hold demonstrations and workshops.

We will most likely be running it on a cost-back basis (the material costs ~5 cents a gram). Generally the items will be small for now (the bigger and denser the objects, the longer it takes and the more material it uses). We will be opening it up for broader student use eventually: they may submit applications to print designs they have designed themselves (not downloaded pre-fab designs), or we may open contests (ex: design a solution to a problem). Details will be worked out later.

A few ideas to learn more about 3D printers:

·         3D Printers in schools

·         Demonstration (with a scanner which we don't ~yet~ have)

·         Art teacher designs a mug

·         High School Projects

·         High School students furnish a castle

·         Thingiverse - a site for sharing printed objects and the design files to create them

·         Lucky Charms - a solution to a problem you didn't even know you had

A few starter tips:

• Getting started with SketchUp (which is installed on all school computers, and free download for home use)
• Tinkercad, another 3D design program

It's a fun future!

April snow showers

Yes, snow. In April. In Toronto. Never mind, we'll be too hot soon.
Meantime, here are a few reviews and tools to enjoy.

DI 

Edugains has posted a U of Ottawa report on DI:  Evaluation of the Ontario Ministry of Education's Differentiated Instruction Professional Learning strategy.

From the executive summary: "Looking across this range of experiences and settings, several key findings emerged. While teachers are certainly aware of DI, many lacked a real understanding of what it entails and how it might apply to their specific grade or subject. We also found that in fact, most teachers were implementing DI strategies including flexible grouping and choice in their classrooms (...) Misconceptions surrounding DI, such as its incompatibility with senior academic classes, play a role in this confusion.

(...) Some teachers also felt that in implementing DI, they had experienced an increased workload and in fact had less time that they have had previously. Certainly the greatest impediment to DI implementation listed most often by all participant groups was time."

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Apps

Two sites that do a nice job of pairing "apps" with purpose.

Student use: Do you want students to create digital content? an ebook? images? videos? respond to questions or poll the class? control a computer or smartboard? use ipads in math? improve student organization? 

http://edtechteacher.org/index.php/teaching-technology/mobile-technology-apps/ipad-as

Teacher use: a handy dandy infographic with apps for teachers, with ideas for sharing screens, assessing student work, creating new media and more: 

http://learninginhand.com/blog/2013/4/7/ipad-as-the-teachers-pet-infographic

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Google Apps

TDSB is now a Google Apps for Education customer. This means that our district has access to all of Google’s Educational products and services at no cost with no ads, in our  own  private and  secure part of Google. Currently, TDSB is using a number of Google Apps including Calendar, Drive, Contacts, Docs (word processing), Sheets (spreadsheets)  and  Slides  (presentations). Every TDSB student and staff member has access to all these Google Apps through AW Academic Workspace 3.0. More info: http://aw.tdsb.on.ca/sites/awresources/GoogleApps.aspx

Things students never say when using Google Docs: 

A couple of useful add-ons for google docs:

TextHelp Read & Write

Just a reminder that all student computers have a program called Read & Write (under Programs>TextHelp) which allows students to instantly have any text on screen be read outloud. 

For a simpler version: anyone can install the Chrome extension for TextHelp to read contents of any Google Doc. Fewer features, but handy. Come and see me if you'd like help with it.

Google Translate

Language learners can use google translate right inside a google doc to help understand text.

(thanks to Karen Beutler, images cropped from her slide show on google apps Blended Learning with Google 2013)

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Wix.com 

Thanks Jennifer Rashotte for mentioning this easy free website creation tool, BTT students are already using it.

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BOOKS

And finally, looking for an idea of what to read?
Try this handy flowchart, it will lead you down an interesting reading path. We also have it printed in the library if you'd like to follow the yellow brick road to literary happiness.
http://www.upworthy.com/101-books-to-read-this-summer-instead-of-50-shades-of-grey?g=2&c=ufb1 2013

Lisa J. Dempster

ACL of Library, Learning Commons, and Digital Instruction and Learning

Riverdale CI TDSB

“In some cases... we learn more by looking for the answer to a question and not finding it than we do from learning the answer itself.” Lloyd Alexander

March Break Bits

March Break Bits

I should probably post these more often to break them up into more manageable bits, but here's a full one.

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Reading and Brains – your brain on books 

http://oedb.org/library/beginning-online-learning/your-brain-on-books-10-things-that-happen-to-our-minds-when-we-read

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 RIVERDALE TDSB AW news:

·  Riverdale Students now have TDSB email accounts. See AW for details http://aw.tdsb.on.ca, then My Home > Riverdale

·  Access to School Shared folders for all staff and students, 24/7 from any device with an internet connection

·  Create a School Announcement from an email

·  Easier, quicker access to TDSB’S Google Apps for Education - Drive, Docs, Calendars, Contacts & more

·  Share Google Docs outside of TDSB now

·  View up to four Twitter feeds on every AW site.

AW home trick

in case you haven't found this shortcut yet: a super easy way to open AW from home (for announcements or access to your shared documents), just click on the link in on one of the Announcement Email Alerts we get when someone posts a new announcement. This skips all the tdsb.on.ca or mytdsb.on.ca logins.

If you don't receive those announcement email alerts, here’s how to set them up (they can be very handy to not miss news): when you are in AW, click View All Announcements, then Add Alert. You can do this for any AW site you'd like to hear updates about.

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TDSB MEDIANET videos, for loan or online streaming

TDSB teachers can now access MediaNet [DVDs, streamed video & Science Kits] with their TDSB username and password. http://media1.tdsb.on.ca/av/

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APPS

TACKK.COM a new instant “website” creation tool. A simple way to present information online in a colourful dynamic way, instantly add text, photos, media. No need to create accounts (though a free account keeps tackks indefinitely). ex: http://tackk.com/psab1a

SoundCloud or Audacity

Students can use Audacity with our netbooks, or even simpler, SoundCloud on their smartphone, to quickly record their presentations. http://gettingsmart.com/cms/blog/2013/02/soundcloud-qr-codes-a-gallery-of-students-voices/

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MORE ON BLOGGING

Why blog? this might clarify ideas and reasons to blog or have students blog: http://theedublogger.com/2013/01/24/why-are-you-blogging-guest-post/

Kidblog.com offers plenty of ease and control for class blogs, see me or Nancy Lum or Elliette Portal-Stanley for more info.

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Punctuation

Some irreverent silly fun. What new punctuation marks would you create? Morgan Freemark is my current fave... I can hear him now....  http://www.collegehumor.com/article/6872071/8-new-and-necessary-punctuation-marks

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What to read… 

Anne Baird reminds us about Goodreads.com. "some of the reviews are better written than the books themselves!" She's been ordering books to read based solely on their recommendations.

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Ad campaigns

for English, Media and Business studies: here's an infographic (a new kind of media in its own right) on Ad Campaigns:

http://designtaxi.com/news/356043/Infographic-The-Best-Ad-Campaigns-And-Slogans-Of-All-Time/

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A snowy February start

Canada Reads

Want to join a Canada-wide book conversation? The Canada Reads panel discussions February 11, 12, 13 and 14th may be an inspiration. Go to the Canada Reads web site to check out the five contending titles, or join the Twitter book club @cbcbooks #CanadaReads2013. This is a great opportunity to be part of a larger reading conversation focused on Canadian literature, even though it can be difficult to find the time for personal reading.

• Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese
• The Age of Hope by David Bergen
• Away by Jane Urquhart
• Two Solitudes by Hugh MacLennan
• February by Lisa Moore

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Podcasting

Students can record themselves easily with many simple free tools (Audacity is installed on all TDSB systems, we have microphones in the library). The .mp3 podcasts can then be simply dropped in your DropOff folder, or can be published online for more sharing options.

A few sites online offer free podcast hosting:

http://www.podomatic.com/

http://www.podbean.com/

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APPS

If you haven't yet noticed, Google search has a new tab category: Applications. It will search for apps by topic (all platforms).

A few apps that let you use your mobile device to control your home computer, from anywhere. I have tried each of the following. Some are free, some charge a fee up front, some annually. Come and see me for a demo if you wish.

Teamviewer

LogMeIn

Splashtop

iTeleport

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Blooms

With several incarnations over the decades, and the essential question of whether the "lower" levels are necessary before  the "higher" levels in learning activities, this latest version of Bloom's Taxonomy provides some practical categories of thinking activities that students engage in with different learning technologies.

http://www.techlearning.com/studies-in-ed-tech/0020/blooms-taxonomy-blooms-digitally/44988

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More BLOGGING

http://studentchallenge.edublogs.org/: “The Student Blogging Challenge runs twice yearly, …March and September, each year. It is made up of a series of 10 weekly tasks all designed to improve blogging and commenting skills while connecting students with a global audience. The Challenge is open to both class blogs and to individual student bloggers from all over the world and of all ages…”

KidBlogs offers a very controlled blogging platform for classrooms, students do not have to create accounts and you can manage and edit entries. See me if you would like help setting one up.

 A 5 mn video on setting up a Kidblog site

Comparing different class blogging platforms

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Google Docs

Here is a 1.5mn video showing some of the features of Google Docs, which TDSB students and staff have protected access to with AW: http://www.udemy.com/googledriveeducators/. Great for collaborating, but also for commenting on works in progress.

As with any new technologies, there are blips. Here's a fun look at some benefits and drawbacks of digital student work and google apps: http://doug-johnson.squarespace.com/blue-skunk-blog/2013/2/4/10-sentences-google-students-never-hear.html

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APA MLA Details Schmetails

We encourage students to use the online apps that create citations automatically (allowing students to focus more on content and logic than technical details). EasyBib, Citation Machine, BibMe to name a few. Some will even scan a barcode using your mobile device to create the entry.

But they do have flaws:

• They don't always recognize when a word or proper name is to be capitalized;
• APA now includes an extra identifier called a DOI. If you see one in a student reference list, it is not incorrect (the DOI refers to the Direct Object Identifier for online resources, primarily journal articles, but the online systems may add DOIs to other sources when they find one).
• Students still need to edit spelling, and format double spacing and hanging indents correctly.

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Screencasting:

Useful for flipped lessons, and you don't have to be on camera! These tools let you 'record' what your computer screen is doing (so you can demonstrate anything online). You record your voice on top for instruction.

http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/ (others such as http://www.techsmith.com/jing.html and http://camstudio.org/ require you to install software before using).

One enterprising teacher is grading papers this way: students send her the essays, she screencasts as she reads it online and leaves voice feedback instead of written comments. http://www.friedtechnology.com/2012/02/friedenglish-video-grading-using-google.html

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Virtual Museum of Canada

Not new, but worth a reminder that the Virtual Museum of Canada is a great source of images that represent Canada's arts, culture, science and history. Over 600 virtual exhibits are provided and a Teacher's Centre provides lessons. Visit museums from all across Canada from the comfort of your desktop! Thanks http://ramott.wordpress.com/2013/01/30/virtual-museum-of-canada/

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Please feel free to add ideas, share reviews, thoughts, comments, updates, corrections.

Click "Comments" (or "No Comments" if you are first) below.

More January musings.

Google Forms:

With AW, TDSB students and staff have automatic accounts in Google Docs (go to AW for Riverdale, then Documents, then Google Docs). Google docs allows users to share documents to edit simultaneously and to easily create "forms" (surveys, polls) that collect results into a spreadsheet.

This account is tied to your TDSB email address, and the same is true for students.

I've created a tiny form to sample here, if you have minute (only for TDSB members):

https://docs.google.com/a/tdsb.on.ca/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dGtyZmVKQjdMMzZYQ2JpZWl2eWFnSEE6MQ

We used a Google form for the gr. 9 Geography students (all 250+ of them) for a library research scavenger hunt. We've discovered a few strengths and weaknesses of the TDSB platform:

• It can be anonymous or it can automatically register the time and name of the student completing the form.
• you can make a question mandatory or not before moving to the next
• you can allow users to edit and view responses or not
• the results will be in a spreadsheet as well as a summary with graphs (not editable)
• it may be best suited for brief assessments
• The results spreadsheet provides an easy way to scan the whole set of answers for patterns. You can adapt the instructions and descriptive feedback instantly
• UPDATE AS OF MAY 2013: You can now include IMAGES in a form!

Weaknesses:

• You cannot enter hyperlinks in the form (you can have users right-click to open websites; using Chrome works best)
• you have no font/colour/size options except by selecting the theme
• if it crashes during a user response, the user has to start over (it does not auto-save as they answer)
• you can't manipulate the summary charts, but you can export the results spreadsheet into excel and use whatever data you need
• As you add and move questions to the form, they do not dynamically rearrange in the spreadsheet (but you can do so later in excel)
• The questions are not numbered (but you can put your own in)

Feel free to come by the library if you'd like help setting up documents, or tell us how yours worked.

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AR - augmented reality

Most fun demo of AR I've seen. Can imagine lots of classroom applications in the future!
And if you’ve heard about AR but have never seen it, this fellow does a terrific little 2mn demonstration (good for Whovians too) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUBxHd3bMhg

Imagining the future of classroom demonstrations with hand held devices using AR...

Anatomy 4D

A superb AR anatomy app: anatomy http://site.daqri.com/products/4d-anatomy-viewer . Print the "target image" (or view on an computer screen or projection), then use your device to view anatomy from any angle, any depth. (I have it set up already if any of you want to come and see it work).

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Are we there yet?

Intel presents their vision... still a very traditional "sage on the stage" at the start, but I can still see it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYMd-7Ng9Y8

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Game changer?

Citelighter will collect your highlights and notes as you browse online, create the citations for you, and recommend similar sites. It is now connected with Cengage/Gale. There is much positive here in terms of focussing more on the research than the mechanics, but might it encourage shoddy work with less analysis? As always, it depends on how it used. I'll try it with some students. http://www.citelighter.com/tutorial

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APPS

Map Pad

Use your finger to add lines onto maps, print, send, save. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/map-pad/id478731154?mt=8

Flashcards

Apps to create flashcards on your device; good for notes and presentations.

A simple version that syncs to Brainscape for free, can include images and graphs if you use Quizlet: Flashcardlet https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/flashcards*/id403199818?mt=8

Simple version, designed at Harvard, requires a small fee to sync: Flashcards+ https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/flashcards+/id408490162?mt=8

(there are hundreds of flashcard apps, reviews and features here: http://www.flashcardapps.info/)

Create your own

Would you or your students like to start developing apps?

http://blog.web20classroom.org/2012/05/soyou-wanna-design-your-own-apps.html

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What about Wikipedia?

A colleague has created this useful decision page to help students decide when to use Wikipedia, and how to use their own judgement:

http://library.wrdsb.ca/research/evaluating-sources/what-about-wikipedia/

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Want to create a website?

There are several website creation tools and sites out there, but Weebly might be the easiest to set up and is free with no advertising.

http://www.weebly.com/ for the stand-alone version or

http://education.weebly.com/ for the education platform where you can manage student-created sites as well.

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More on blogging.

For blogs, a couple of the most popular platforms are blogger.com (with associated gmail and google account), and wordpress.com, but there are many others. Please post reviews from some you are already blogging with so we can learn from your experience.

Some are directed at education only. Here's a comparison chart of a few of those:

http://www.slideshare.net/krisrocs/blogging-platforms-for-educators-compared

Once you blog, you do have to, shall we say, creatively or securely manage some of the less-than-creative comments people may leave. If you have students blogging, that will be a key component: managing their digital presence and footprint, and handling the global nature of the communications. But it is also one of the great strengths to appreciate, and changes the nature of student writing and responsibility as they shift their audience to the potential public.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/121863886

Aaron Swartz.

Damn. Depression takes another strong mind. http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2013/01/aaron-swartz/

Cheers for New Year's!

Hi everyone!
I hope you've had some peace over the holidays, and perhaps acquired new toy or two?
Some of our toys turn out to be game-changers and great for the classroom too.

I've pulled together a few resources I came across for anyone interested. I'd love to hear your experiences too.
Have fun!
Lisa

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Student Blogging - connecting with the outside world, not just the classroom.
http://blog.kylewebb.ca/2012/12/21/students-blogging-about-science/
This could apply to any topic. This teacher had a clear simple start, and a way to get students thinking critically around their subject . It also opens up the world both ways, if the blogs are public, students learn to deal with their online presence and connect with others.


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A few apps for the i-folks out there:

Confer: providing a unique way of keeping track of student progress. http://www.conferapp.com/
Educreations - free, for IWB demonstrations. http://www.educreations.com/
Both are mentioned and reviewed here: http://www.kleinspiration.com/2012/12/conferring-notes-student-data-paperless.html
Slow Motion Science - demonstrations of experiments shot in slow motion http://samhankin.co.uk/?portfolio=slow-motion-science
Case Study Teaching in Science - many of the best cases based on contemporary, and often contentious, science problems that students encounter in the news http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/cs/
Grade papers on your iPad http://gradeonipad.com/?ref=396637 (untested)


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SAMR
And speaking of trying new apps for teaching or learning, the following is a handy model to assess what effect any technology may have. I'm finding it to be a usefulway to look at the resources and tools we use, to see if they simply replace, enhance, or fundamentally change what students can do.


SAMR is a handy model that can help us assess and integrate different technologies into teaching and learning.
The four levels of the SAMR model:
1. Substitution: the computer/application stands in for another tool without a significant change in the tool’s function.
2. Augmentation: the computer/application replaces another technological tool, with significant functionality increase.
3. Modification: the computer/application enables the redesign of significant portions of a task.
4. Redefinition: the computer/application allows for the creation of new tasks that would otherwise be inconceivable without the technology.

For more, see
www.educatorstechnology.com/2012/12/ipad-apps-classified-by-samr-model.html?m=1
and http://www.hippasus.com/rrpweblog/archives/2012/08/23/SAMR_BackgroundExemplars.pdf
and in Puentedura’s podcasts at iTunes U.


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Theories

If you are a theoretical thinker, or like to debate learning theories, or just use them to poke your thinking, 'connectivism' offers a view on how students learn via connecting information and connecting with others. It provides a perspective on digital learning.
Here's a one page visual:
http://edudemic.com/2012/12/a-simple-guide-to-4-complex-learning-theories/
or more depth:
http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm
and critique:
http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/523/1103


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Nerdy Science Jokes

And a final bit for the Science afficianados www.buzzfeed.com/babymantis/20-spectacularly-nerdy-science-jokes-1opu?s

Cheers for the New Year,

Lisa

“In some cases... we learn more by looking for the answer to a question and not finding it than we do from learning the answer itself.” Lloyd Alexander