Sending large files

E-mail providers often put a limit on the size of a file you are able to send as an attachment. In addition, students are often unable to move files from home to school and back again. You Send It, yousendit.com, is a great free service that can be helpful for you and your students when you need to move large files back and forth.

For students who are at home, all they need to do is to fill in their personal email address on the yousendit.com page, browse on the local computer for the file (up to 1 GB in size), upload it, and send the note to themselves. In a bit, they will receive an email with the hyperlink to click on to download the file. They should remember to copy down this URL before they go to school to retrieve the file. Then, they can simply visit the link and download the file. It stays on their server for up to 7 days. When at school, they can simply repeat the process and retrieve the file when they get home.

As teachers, you can use this to send large items to colleagues or also use it to move large files between home and school!

Kathy

National Citizenship Day Links

On September 17, many classrooms will be studying the Constitution in honor of National Citizenship Day. Here are some lessons and resources to help you in your planning! (Here is a link to the Federal Register notice about the observance of this day in schools.)

National Archives Digitized Constitution

Online Hyperlinked US Constitution

NARA Observing Constitution Day

Continental Congress Broadside Collection

Consitutional Convention Broadside Collection

National Constitution Center Lesson Plans

Creating a Classroom Constitution (6-12)

You and the Constitution Lesson Plan (Gr.4)

Debate on Ratification Lesson Plan

Congress for Kids: Constitution

The Preamble to the Constitution:
How Do You Make a More Perfect Union? (Gr. 3-5)

The Constitution: What the Founding Fathers Said (Gr. 6-8)

James Madison: From Father of the Constitution to President (Gr. 9-12)


Kathy

PowerPoint Presenter View Mode

Okay, perhaps I am the LAST person who uses PowerPoint on a regular basis to know that there has been a Presenter's View built-in to the software for the last couple of versions...both on the PC and the Apple versions. This mode allows you to set-up your laptop (or a desktop with two video cards) to show the presentation on the monitor the audience can see, while it allows you, the presenter, to see your notes view as well as small thumbnails of the slides, and it includes a few other useful options, too. Simply type "presenter" in the PowerPoint help file and there are well-done directions for setting up the dual monitors and the views. I am so happy I don't have to drag my paper notes with me anymore for presenting!

Two tips...the iBook does not have the ability to do anything but mirror the laptop monitor (unless you install an update which I actually did successfully on my brand new 12" iBook after taking a big breath), so I do not believe you can use the presenter's view. And, on my Windows XP laptop, I could not have the mirroring turned on (function-F10) when I was trying to get the presenter's view to work on dual monitors.

Just in case anyone else did not know about this!

Kathy

Handhelds and the new Net technologies

For those of you using handhelds for personal and professional use, as well as using classroom sets of them with your students, here are a couple of Web sites you can access to allow you to use the newer Internet features with via the handheld.

For RSS feeds, you can download specific software for your handheld platform so you can read your favorite blog updates off-line, or you can simply sign up for a free account on Bloglines. They have a mobile version of their RSS feeder which works well on a handheld computer called Bloglines Mobile.

A list of various titles of RSS reader software for the handheld computer may be found on William Hungerford's Palmtops site on about.com, for Palm and PocketPC.

If you are still investigating the use of Wikipedia in the classroom (see an earlier post for more information about that!), there is a handheld computer version that parses well on the small screen called Wapipedia.

Kathy

Wi-fi on the road

During NECC 2005, in Philadelphia, I was hanging around the street corner, using my 30 free days of T-mobile wireless access that came with my Palm Lifedrive by surfing the signal from the T-Mobile store on the corner. Boy, did I feel silly, especially when people I knew walked by! Of course, I also picked up a access point called "Starbucks", and, looking across the street, I realized it would be much nicer to go inside, have a latte, and use the T-mobile access from Starbucks!

Are you often looking for places to check your email with your laptop or wirelessly-enabled handheld computer when you are away from home, like I am?

This site, MetroFreeFi, provides lists of free wi-fi hot spots for all regions of the US. Take the time to view your town, and, if you know of any free access site that is (legally) available and not included, add it to the database! (To submit a new hotspot, simply look at the list of "latest hotspots" and the link to submit a site is at the bottom.)

In addition, you can download a database of up to 1000 hotspots to the notes section of your iPod using wiPod.

Gotta love technology!

Kathy

Handheld Research Article

The Journal of Technology, Learning, and Assessment recently included an article entitled "Designing Handheld Software to Support Classroom Assessment: Analysis of Conditions for Teacher Adoption."

The key research questions included:
What kinds of software designs can be feasibly implemented in classrooms that support effective assessment practice?
What are the conditions under which teachers can adopt handheld tools to support classroom assessment?

However, the 3-year study provides additional information that can be used for a number of purposes, such as learning more about handhelds and assessment, addressing assessment in general, for justification for writing your own grants, and much more.

Kathy

pbWiki

Don't you just love summer vacation when you get a chance to experiment with the new technologies? So far, I have compiled all of the information in my various blogs into this single blog, have completed my second interview via podcast, and today I created my own wiki at http://kathyschrock.pbwiki.com/

What's the difference between a wiki and a blog you ask? It's simple....this blog allows me to post information and questions, and, if I want to, I can allow you, the reader, to make comments.

A wiki, on the other hand, is "owned" by more than one person, and anyone with the password can edit the information on the wiki. A record is kept of all the changes that are made, so anyone visiting can go back and see the process.

There is a site, (pbWiki), which will allow you to create a wiki of your own. Whoever you share the password with will be able to edit the content. Give it a try...the directions are easy to follow!

Kathy

NYT Circuits Section: Back to School w/ Technology

The August 3, 2005 New York Times Circuits section deals with technology and its impact on teaching and learning. Several educators are highlighted including Paul Reinhart, Kathy Schrock (!), and Bonnie Bracey. Take a look! (There is a free registration process required for viewing the online NYT.)

The Circuits section also covers new technologies, podcasting by elementary students, and much more!

Kathy

Snacks for the Brain-- Science Resources

I recently conducted an ansynchronous interview with Scott Merrick, a high-energy educator I met at a workshop where we were both presenting. It has been mounted as a podcast, and you can download it from this page in MP3 format if you wish!

Kathy