Olga LaPlante

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To learn about the proposed syllabus go the wiki page here.

Here is a simple way to create a meaningful podcast, that you can use immediately with your community, if you publish it online.

Check out this water conservation site that offers dozens of tips on how to save water. Some of them will definitely apply to you and your area. Find 3 tips you like most or find most appropriate. (Remember that change starts with you!).

Then quickly make a search to find pictures/photos or use your own original work to illustrate your message.

Open GarageBand (if you have it!), and record your wise tips, using a Male or a Female Voice Track. Once you recorded your voice (narration), add some background music or a jingle to make your recording more expressive. This article may be helpful. Also, don’t forget to use your own Learning Center on your MLTI computers.

Bring in your pictures, to create a video podcast. Time them to transition from one to another in sinc with your narration.

Helpful Tip: Make sure that you don’t leave gaps between pictures. Pictures are easily “stretched” to take up all the room available.

Finally, show/play your podcast to a colleague to make an impression. Share it using iTunes, or send it as a file to your desktop. Enjoy your learning as you are helping raise awareness of water-wasting habits in your community!

Post it to your Edline account as a file or an assignment. (For Westbrook Teachers only).

A number of resources collected for those who are interested in expanding their knowledge and use of interactive whiteboards. This is not necessarily limited to using just SmartBoard Interactive Whiteboards, - other than the training on the software specific to the SMART brand - but is also a collection of interactive resources from the web.

Good places to look for stuff:

- The WhiteBoard Blog

- Becky Rank’s Portaportal: Be Smart

- My Delicious bookmarks

- SMART Tech website: Support

- SMART Tech website: Educator Resources

- MISTM: Math Interactive Resources

Notes from the session in at the Camden Hills High School, August 19th, 2008 - see link below.

notes-from-session

It’s very peculiar to go to youtube - everything seems to be there! Legally or not legally, you can find tons of stuff to watch, some of it will definitely be of poor quality, and some of it simply inappropriate if you think of school use.

Now, it does to a huge degree represent what people - with a computer, web access, and a web cam - can do, will do, won’t do, and how they put it together in front if a little camera that opens them to the world with very mixed messages, and often out of context.

There is a professional presentation by Michael Wesch on the YouTube community; wish I could give you a link, but he uses some authentic language that I am afraid to offer to students. But if you go to Will Richardson’s blog (link provided) then you will be able to view his presentation, which is very deep, very positive, very interesting, and very moving. I cried in the end - because it’s not just silliness and a waste of time, some people heal by joining this community, and learn to live in this world - not to be labeled “losers who have nothing better to do”.

Check it out - you will never think of YouTube - or a similar community - the way you think of it now. It’s simply amazing.

Anyway, just felt strongly about it. It’s worth every minute you spend on it.