Richard's Site: Free Technology for Teachers
“Geek of the Week” Links
Chat Log:
richardbyrne -> Hello
alicebarr -> Hello marragem
sarahsutter -> Hi there! Just got in.
cheryloakes50~ -> Hi Sarah!
alicebarr -> Hi Sarah
hshawjr -> hi everyone
alicebarr -> Just starting!
alicebarr -> Hello hshawr
cheryloakes50~ -> Hi marragem, hshawjr, welcome, and all
bobsprankle -> hi all!
sarahsutter -> Fabulous. Love the image of a webkin holding a mic.
bobsprankle -> hi sarah!
sarahsutter -> Hey there Richard!
richardbyrne -> Hi Sarah
marragem -> Hi everyone...sorry was distracted for a bit
richardbyrne -> Hi Harold
sarahsutter -> Bob- what photo tool do you use with your iphone to do all those cool effects?
cheryloakes50~ -> Oh, PeggyG hello
sroseman -> Hi Cheryl and company
cheryloakes50~ -> Hi Connie S, welcome
PeggyG -> Hi! great to see you -- just getting my audio started
cheryloakes50~ -> Oh, Sroseman
alicebarr -> Hi sroseman
cheryloakes50~ -> Hi Ajblanco, welcome
sroseman -> yep that's me
alicebarr -> Hello ajblanco
Connie Sitterley -> Good evening everyone
ajblanco -> hello all
bobsprankle -> http://bobsprankle.com/365/?page_id=2
PeggyG -> audio is great!
sarahsutter -> You make it look so seamless when you post - they are great shots.
sarahsutter -> Thanks for the link.
PeggyG -> I was lucky--got a bunch of iTunes cards for Christmas gifts so I can keep adding iphone apps :-)
bobsprankle -> thanks sarah :)
hshawjr -> Hi Rich how have you been
PeggyG -> I've been following your photos on Flickr, Cheryl!! Some great photos!!!
cheryloakes50~ -> Thanks 365 photos is very fun!
cheryloakes50~ -> hi teachtech!!
teachntech -> Hi
PeggyG -> I couldn't keep up with 365 photos myself but loved it!
cheryloakes50~ -> Welcome to the chat room, thanks for joining us tonight.
hshawjr -> How to I get audio with the Mac? :)
teachntech -> thx, just seeing what this is about...
PeggyG -> @hshawjr--click on the first icon under EdTechTalkA and it will open in itunes
cheryloakes50~ -> Richard Byrne, Free Tech 4 Teachers, Oxford Hills Comprehensive HS, Oxford, ME. Has been blogging for 28 months
PeggyG -> Exciting to be hearing from Richard!!
cheryloakes50~ -> Hello Maureen
Maureen -> Hi Cheryl
hshawjr -> @peggyG the Stream Status link? or the sound icon?
PeggyG -> sound icon
cheryloakes50~ -> Please click to listen on ETTA itunes or real player
hshawjr -> thanks :)
PeggyG -> I'm on a Mac and the itunes sound icon works best for me
Maureen -> Silly Firefox is cranky tonight- crashed again just as I was logging in. Back to chrome again
sarahsutter -> Saw your post about the video app - good post. Nice comparison among a few different types of applications that worked.
PeggyG -> @Maureen-I've been having a lot of crashes recently with FF too! maybe because I have toooooo many tabs open!!
sarahsutter -> Nothing ventured, nothing gained . . .
PeggyG -> we have some awesome Google educators in our chat today!!!
sarahsutter -> They want to know if you are brave enough to try it!
Maureen -> @PeggyG I know I have(had) too many tabs open, but lately it's been extra cranky. Guess I have to check and see if a recent add on is causing a problem.
cheryloakes50~ -> Yes Peggy, they have stopped by! to share.
cheryloakes50~ -> Hi carolteach4 welcome
PeggyG -> I was thinking about applying for the Google Admin Academy but I'm retired so I'm not sure I'm eligible
carolteach4 -> hey!
cheryloakes50~ -> Hey tim, welcome!
Maureen -> I'm jealous- would love to go, haven't been selected (yet). But happy to be able to learn thru all the gct who share their learning
Tim Levesque -> Hi!
alicebarr -> Hi Tim Welcome!
cheryloakes50~ -> Maureen, keep trying!
PeggyG -> how exciting Richard!
cheryloakes50~ -> Hello pdryden
sarahsutter -> I've seen video applications for jobs come over twitter too - it's part of contemporary society.
cheryloakes50~ -> Hello Shelia!
sheila -> Hi everyone!
Tim Levesque -> Is Richard going to explain to us how he finds time to keep that blog of his running between his Celtics games?:)
PeggyG -> it's great to be able to view all of those videos as examples :-)
pdryden -> Hi Cheryl
PeggyG -> I think it's harder to create a 2 min video than an hour presentation!
cheryloakes50~ -> Hi tasteach welcome this evening
Tim Levesque -> oops
PeggyG -> one minute is even harder!
cheryloakes50~ -> A project! 1 min. video coming to the SEEDLINGS ning!
marragem -> sounds good
Maureen -> I make my 8th graders do a 30 sec to 1 min movie trailer- amazed at what they can do
carolteach4 -> Ever tried writing a 50 word or less description of a project to submit for a contest entry? Really hard.
marragem -> That's what I plan to do with my little ones to start the school year
PeggyG -> the Digital Nation videos are all about a minute long and they are great to view! Cheryl is on there from NECC :-) So is Sharon Peters!
cheryloakes50~ -> Right Peggy, the Digital Nation videos!
Maureen -> I saw that in an email from them today
sheila -> Hi Marragem! Must still be vacation for you! :)
PeggyG -> the premier showing of Digital Nation is coming very soon! Can't wait to see it! Feb. 2
kyteacher -> I often give students a word limit when they have to summarize key events, etc. Forces them to really think about what's important.
PeggyG -> I'm helping to compile videos for the AZ Digital Nation part of the project
sheila -> more limitations = more creativity
marragem -> Yes Sheila. The last Friday of my holidays :(
sheila -> Oh, well all good things . . .
cheryloakes50~ -> Peggy, that is great. You are so funny, when you say you are retired,NOT, you are so busy. We are glad you share all your knowledge.
Maureen -> It takes my 8th graders weeks to make a their trailers. Partly because I am a "mean" teacher and make them use licensed music.
carolteach4 -> Speaking of Google Apps, did you see that they have greatly increased the file size of Word documents that can be uploaded? It used to be 578kb, but now it's more than 2mb - can't remember the upper limits, but it's much more generous.
sheila -> We used Google Wave as a backchannel for our last state edtech meeting.
cheryloakes50~ -> good for you Maureen, help them learn
PeggyG -> if I weren't retired I wouldn't have time to participate in all of these fabulous things!!
cheryloakes50~ -> Great Shelia, was it good to keep track of everything?
kyteacher -> Used it as a backchannel in class one day. Loved the potential, but it didn't play well with our network.
Maureen -> I haven't played yet- too much to learn and so little time
ajblanco -> i got several invites, but don't know what to do with them!
PeggyG -> I'd love to hear more about how that worked for you Sheila--google wave for backchannel
carolteach4 -> On Teachers Teaching Teachers last evening one of the participants said he had 10 invites to give out.
carolteach4 -> I didn't request one; I'm overwhelmed.
cheryloakes50~ -> Hello mmorley and wlwildcat welcome
Tim Levesque -> there are wave extensions for chrome
sheila -> It was the first time, so it was more of a new tool but I think it can be helpful for links, threaded discussions. I think there's potential.
Maureen -> It seems to me that if I have to "learn" it that it isn't for me- least not yet
Tim Levesque -> ...on pc
sroseman -> Chrome on the desktop ..do you recommend
tasteach -> Sue Waters and I have used it for chatting about the student blogging challenge for 2010. Getting ideas from teachers on how to improve etc
carolteach4 -> My husband had to deinstall Chrome; it wouldn't allow him to use Adobe Photoelements.
sroseman -> sorry Chrome on the mac with Leopard ..do you recommend
PeggyG -> Chrome has a lot of limitations but what it does, it does very well
Tim Levesque -> Chrome is an excellent browser but it still has its hitches
cheryloakes50~ -> Sue, do you mean using Chrome locally and saved to desktop./??? I on ly use it as browser.
carolteach4 -> Having Google Apps for Schools makes widespread adoption of the tool much easier.
sroseman -> Chrome as a browser
sarahsutter -> Our Google Rockstars are perhaps not the same as what the students would consider famous or worthy of note.
Maureen -> We use google apps for faculty and staff- hope to buy a domain and have it for the kids next year. Does anyone know if you can use it for under 13- if it is your own google apps domain- and you get parent permission?
carolteach4 -> Most of our students (7th and 8th) had never used a shared document or presentation until they were introduced to it in school.
PeggyG -> good question Maureen!
kyteacher -> I'm so envious...
Tim Levesque -> richard's blog = amazing
Tim Levesque -> i <3 richard's blog
ajblanco -> me too Tim!
Maureen -> Great blog- use it every day
bobsprankle -> hi colleen!
Tim Levesque -> :)
cheryloakes50~ -> Hi colleenk, welcome!!
colleenk -> Hi Bob! Hi Everyone!
carolteach4 -> Can you drop the link in the chat?
marragem -> awesome blog!
cheryloakes50~ -> www.freetech4teachers.com
tasteach -> one of the first blogs I got feed for along with Larry Ferlazzo
PeggyG -> Richard is a fast learner!!! so impressive!
sroseman -> Cheryl, I want to use it as a browser with Leopard 10.5
carolteach4 -> Oh, yes, now I remember. What a great resource. So many folks mention it in their blogs, that it's no wonder he gets lots of traffice. Also, twitter.
Maureen -> I like the way you have some main ideas and always have the related links, which are so useful
marragem -> first blog I check each day in my reader
PeggyG -> I'm using Chrome as a browser with Leopard 10.5--works great but I don't use it often
cheryloakes50~ -> Sroseman, I am using Chrome on my snowleopard, imac and fine. I also use on the school macbook.
marragem -> we are & we love it!
carolteach4 -> I'm happy if two or three a week look at my blog.
Maureen -> No cable - no cell for me. We just got broadband this fall- had a yucky satellite/dial up for years
PeggyG -> great story Alice!
Tim Levesque -> The state just allocated more money to expand broadband to rural areas of the state..hopefully dial-up will be a thing of the past.
Maureen -> My students can't believe that I only get 1 TV station- DTV did in all my fuzzy ones
carolteach4 -> I just heard that MacDonald's is going to offer free wireless.
cheryloakes50~ -> Tim, that can't come soon enough.
Tim Levesque -> yeah..dialup is big up here in the county
Maureen -> I'd like cell phone access here. I won't buy one unless it works where I live- probably never
carolteach4 -> Talk about retweeting; I reblog.
cheryloakes50~ -> good thing Carolteach4, that is good to share!
carolteach4 -> Wow! Five things a day! Gosh! You are dedicated.
tasteach -> how do you find all these great resources?
PeggyG -> I can't imagine blogging every day!! Wow!
Tim Levesque -> I want to know how you find all of the web apps and tools..PLN's? RSS Feeds? Email? Telephone?
kyteacher -> Good to set limits...never more than 7 per day. Would love to get 2-3 per week.
Maureen -> OK- what's your teaching load? I can't imagine how you can find the time
cheryloakes50~ -> good point kyteacher!
cheryloakes50~ -> welcome monika!
Tim Levesque -> I would explode from information overload..
monika -> thank you
PeggyG -> this is great to hear! so many places to get new resources!
tasteach -> yeah twitter has great resources
cheryloakes50~ -> yes Peggy, new places to search
kyteacher -> My "for later" seems to be sometime in the year 2020.
PeggyG -> I often add my thoughts/comments in my own Diigo bookmarks just to remind me why I thought it was valuable to bookmark.
carolteach4 -> I keep a Google Doc open and drop links and annotations into that when I'm searching or participating in a webcast.
Maureen -> I send the history/social studies teachers at my school diigo bookmarks from your stuff on almost a nightly basis
cheryloakes50~ -> Yes, Peggyg, that helps me too. Kyteacher, later= never for me!
sheila -> Oh, that's too organized for me @carolteach4 ;)
cheryloakes50~ -> Carolteach4, I also email myself !
PeggyG -> I sometimes use Evernote too for saving ideas/URLs for later thinking
carolteach4 -> I like using the Google Doc because it's available to me anywhere, and everytime I add to it, it jumps to the top of my list of docs.
alicebarr -> Sound still ok?
sheila -> sounds good!
PeggyG -> good point @carolteach4
alicebarr -> Blipped for a sec
PeggyG -> sound is great for me
Maureen -> I use "read it later" in FF... but I never read it later. It's like another flat surface to pile things on- every other one in my house is covered with piles of "stuff" that I will maybe get to
monika -> no sound for me - is it my vista
kyteacher -> @PeggyG Starting to play around with Evernote. I think I'm going to like it.
cheryloakes50~ -> Monika, look on the page, ETTA and click on itunes or real player
ajblanco -> Totally understand Maureen! I have a "comebackto" in my delicious account and I never go back to it!
PeggyG -> @monika-did you click on one of the sound icons? maybe realplayer would work?
Tim Levesque -> what made you decide to dedicate so much time to blogging? I mean..we all REALLY appreciate it..but what keeps you motivated?
PeggyG -> I'm really liking Evernote for taking notes during virtual conferences and webinars. Saved tons of great things from the Discovery Ed Scicon conference!
monika -> got it - thanks guys
carolteach4 -> I ran into that with Twitter; I'd not logged in for most of Christmas vacation, and when I did check in, it took me over an hour to go through. I only follow about 23 tope educators.
Maureen -> I was teaching RSS to my 7th graders the other day- I cleared my reader- to avoid embarrassment, but there was a ton of stuff by mid day when I taught the class
carolteach4 -> top educators
PeggyG -> I will never be at zero!!
alicebarr -> Me neither
ajblanco -> me either!
carolteach4 -> Despite Kathy Schrock's advice, I think I have over a 1,000 emails in my inbox.
cheryloakes50~ -> I will never be at zero and proud of it!
PeggyG -> me too Cheryl!
alicebarr -> let's start a no zero movement :)
cheryloakes50~ -> yes alice!
marragem -> I like the sound of that Alice!
sheila -> I think no zero is similar to 20+ tabs in browser! :)
sheila -> and a full read-it-later.
alicebarr -> ooooo Sheila, I am WAY over 20 tabs!
PeggyG -> to me it's like people asking me if I'm all caught up now--I just laugh!! That is not in my vocabulary!
sheila -> Love it Alice!
mjgormans -> Do you have a favorite post that stands out in your memory?
PeggyG -> would you believe 90 tabs in my browser?
cheryloakes50~ -> Peggy that is a record!
carolteach4 -> I get so excited when someone leaves a comment on my blog. It's nice to know I've touched someone else.
alicebarr -> My students tease me about my tabs all the time
PeggyG -> that happens to me almost daily!
Tim Levesque -> thanks!
Maureen -> I know we, as teachers, are always saying- we do it for the kids... it's worth it. Are we your kids?
carolteach4 -> Richard, do you try to respond to folks who comment on your blog? I think that is really neat, but it must take a lot of time for someone with as much traffic as you get.
tasteach -> it takes soooo looong for some teachers to get the idea of a PLN andhow it can improve your teaching and save time
Maureen -> Do you have a local PLN at your school or district? Is that a priority for you? Or is the international PLN your audience?
cheryloakes50~ -> tasteach good point
mjgormans -> Did they give you an instant raise?
PeggyG -> these are such great examples of the power of a PLN!!
PeggyG -> Beth is starting a new campaign to take a newbie to NECC (ISTE 2010) :-) such a great idea!!!!
cheryloakes50~ -> It is such a great idea the power of the community.
kyteacher -> :)
carolteach4 -> I understand that the Red Cross has already raised over $2,000,000 in the past couple of days for Haiti due to the power of the net.
PeggyG -> http://www.iste2010.org/group/iste10newbieprojectsupporters
PeggyG -> these stories are great!
cheryloakes50~ -> Yes, Carolteach4, this has been remarkable with the RedCross.
Tim Levesque -> I couldn't do my job without my PLN..
PeggyG -> http://bethstill.edublogs.org/newbie-project/
Tim Levesque -> well..i probably could...but I'd get a lot less done!
alicebarr -> @Tim that is a great comment
Tim Levesque -> it's always nice to know that if I'm stuck that I can quickly shoot out my problem to either the ACTEM listserv or Twitter and have an answer in minutes...
carolteach4 -> I hate that new lock-step movement - maybe not so bad for math, but what happens to the teachable moments in English and social studies if you feel constrained to be in the exact same place as other ss teachers in your grade.
PeggyG -> I'm so glad it's my turn to do the ETT newsletter this week! I want to feature this session!! So exciting!
cheryloakes50~ -> Yes Tim, I agree, I love the instant feedback from ACTEM and Twitter.
Tim Levesque -> being a tech coordinator with a sometimes impatient clientele...it's priceless
cheryloakes50~ -> Thanks Peggy! this is so great.
Tim Levesque -> haha
PeggyG -> did you ever realize that fast, accurate typing skills would come in so handy on the web?
carolteach4 -> Where does Richard teach in Maine?
Tim Levesque -> matthew broderick is in glory isn't he?
cheryloakes50~ -> Richard teaches in Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School
alicebarr -> @carolteach4 South Paris
tasteach -> you can also see if other kids already know the answers to their peers questions, not only up to teacher to give answers
carolteach4 -> My cousin went to school there many, many years ago.
cheryloakes50~ -> tasteach, that is a great way to put it.
carolteach4 -> Google Forms is really, really easy if you have Google Apps for Schools, Richard.
carolteach4 -> It collects all their names if you wish.
tasteach -> I use google forms to collect registrations for the student blogging challenge
carolteach4 -> I am dying to have my teachers start using Voice Thread.
Maureen -> Is it a 1:1 school?
cheryloakes50~ -> Maureen, it is 1-1 netbooks
Tim Levesque -> i believe he said they're 1:1 with netbooks
Tim Levesque -> yup..there ya go:)
PeggyG -> I love this distinction about "teaching technology"--such a great model to be using technology to teach/experience the content!
cheryloakes50~ -> thanks tim
Tim Levesque -> np
carolteach4 -> @Cheryl -he's not teaching the tools, but by having the kids use the technology, he IS teaching technology - just not directly. It's really the best way to teach.
mjgormans -> Right idea, use technology to facilitate history standards!
Maureen -> It took my 7th graders almost a full class period to sign up for a google account and set up their igoogle page. Painful
cheryloakes50~ -> Maureen, it will be worth it in the long run
PeggyG -> funny Maureen!! it took my university students about the same amount of time as your 7th graders :-)
carolteach4 -> Again - @Maureen - that's why getting your own domain from Google Apps for schools is so great.
cheryloakes50~ -> yes carolteach
Tim Levesque -> my district's biggest hurdle is the fear of giving kids too much freedom. There would be opposition to having a backchannel during a movie...for example.
carolteach4 -> I am the administrator for our Google Apps, and I can easily reset passwords for our students.
Maureen -> @carolteach4- this year google apps for fac/staff - next year all the kids. I have the 7th-9th sign up for google accts so we can use the tools, but I had to get parent permission for my <13 yr olds
carolteach4 -> We are moving away from having students have to use specific technology tools to giving then choice as long as they get the project done.
PeggyG -> it's not just learning how to use the tool but having it "work" when you need it! that's often a deterrent to teachers
PeggyG -> that should be a drumroll!! :-)
PeggyG -> oh oh--more tabs coming!!
Maureen -> I "taught" a bunch of presentation tools to 6th graders- now they are using their choice to do a collaborative project on the olympics
tim -> hi. my struggle is getting my school admin to even "get" a PLN.
tasteach -> In Tasmania, teachers are expected to integrate technology into their normal subjects and we have a checklist of what students need to be able to accomplish by the endo of year 10
tim -> or any of the tools mentioned here.
carolteach4 -> My biggest frustration is that all the different video cameras capture video in files that are not Window Movies Maker friendly. I am struggling to find a good converter for free.
PeggyG -> @carolteach4--have you tried media-convert?
Maureen -> @carolteach4- I use format factory- free
marragem -> same too in Queensland, tasteach
carolteach4 -> Can you send me the links for those?
mjgormans -> Carol try "Any Video Converter" it is free and workd great. I use flip as hard drive and by-pass the flip software
carolteach4 -> I'll search for those; thanks.
Tim Levesque -> anything google does is ambigous
carolteach4 -> The two I tried today were useless.
PeggyG -> http://media-convert.com/
carolteach4 -> I have a geek of the week. Want it?
Tim Levesque -> sure do!
alicebarr -> Bob: http://amplify.com
Maureen -> I just signed up for that this week- I don't know what amplify does.. but now it sends me emails
sroseman -> one question .. do some of the google lab apps come and go quickly ,,i know rgey are experimental
tasteach -> here is a great website for lots of eTools http://ow.ly/WD15
cheryloakes50~ -> http://www.watchknow.org/Video.aspx?VideoID=15511
Tim Levesque -> My geek of the week is a Google Wave extension for Firefox https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/14973
mjgormans -> I have been told zamzar also converts Flip, best of all does it in the background and then emails it to you
alicebarr -> @carolteach4 Sure!
monika -> gotta go...thanks guys..glad i happened in.
carolteach4 -> From Rushrton Hurley's latest newsletter: http://tweentribune.com/
PeggyG -> this is a great resource for finding conversion tools http://www.cogniview.com/convert-pdf-to-excel/post/conversion-central-10...
Maureen -> http://www.formatoz.com/
alicebarr -> http://www.realworldmath.org/Real_World_Math/RealWorldMath.org.html
carolteach4 -> @Peggy - thanks
PeggyG -> love that term!! googley :-)
Tim Levesque -> would make a good tshirt
Tim Levesque -> "I feel Googley today"
cheryloakes50~ -> A great tee shirt!
Maureen -> @alice- is it like Tom barrett's stuff with math maps?
tasteach -> was using proportions and ratio etc I think
PeggyG -> Thomas Cooper has done some fantastic things with his Expedition Lit Trips on Google Earth
sarahsutter -> Great show everyone. Richard - love your "rambling" - lots of good info there.
cheryloakes50~ -> Remember, this will be a podcast tomorrow. The links will be in the Chat and Geek of the Week,
Tim Levesque -> Thank TWC
Tim Levesque -> for finally fixing his net
PeggyG -> http://expeditionlittrips.wikispaces.com/
PeggyG -> fantastic show again!!! thanks Richard and everyone!!
sheila -> This was great! Thanks everyone!
bobsprankle -> night all!
sroseman -> thanks super show
Tim Levesque -> good night all
cheryloakes50~ -> super show and good night all.
PeggyG -> bye everyone! I'm definitely having a googley day!
tasteach -> thank you everyone, was great to hear Richard in person
carolteach4 -> Thanks, all. This was a really great session.
marragem -> thanks everyone! Great show. Wonderful to be able to listen 'live'
sheila -> Think there will be a brainstorm tonight?
carolteach4 -> Oh, thanks for the help with the video conversion suggestions.
