Catching Up and Having Fun

It has been awhile since I have written on my blog. The start of the year has been incredibly busy. It is wonderful to see the children use Compass Learning. They really seem to enjoy it. Our teachers have done such a great job of making assignments and helping their students learn how to use the system. Even our youngest children are online and learning. We are going to be getting some new teacher laptops so more of the old laptops will become workstations for Compass Learning. We have figured out that if we reimage the old laptops they can access Compass Learning. We will be having more staff development soon about Compass Learning. Lisa is a wonderful resource in the mean time.

I have been using a program called Smilebox which makes interesting scrapbooks and ecards. Parts of Smilebox are free but they do have a premium service which I love. You can send your creations to relatives and friends by typing in their email address. They pick your creations up online so you don’t have to worry about attaching huge files to emails.

Here is one of my Smilebox creations


Make a Smilebox photobook

This is made with pictures from my husband’s cellphone, because, of course, we forgot the camera! This site is so much fun and helps me keep my mom up to date on my grandchildren’s antics! If you like scrapbooking, this site is for you!

Schedules

I have been spending the first two weeks of school getting the MLTI computers ready to go.  This is frustrating for me because I would rather be spending the time in each school working out the bugs that you are experiencing as you start the year.  Next week (9/8-9/12), I am hoping to start my regular rotation:

Monday:  SES

Tuesday:  CES

Wednesday: CMS

Thursday:  EDS

Friday:  Office

If you want to get in touch with me, PLEASE don’t leave a message on the office phone.  As you can see I am not there everyday.  The best way to reach me is by email.

I am so happy that some teachers have already approached me with technology integration ideas for the year.  I really enjoy working with you to help you and your students integrate technology into your learning.  Jen and Mysti at EDS spent many hours this summer visiting important places in their two communities and interviewing the people who work there.  They are in the process of making a DVD to use as a resource for their community unit.

We have the Kurzweil program in two of our schools.  It is a program which allows you to scan in a book and the files you generate will be converted by the Kurzweil program in files which the computer can read to your students.  This is great for students who are learning disabled or are behind in reading.  Cassi, at CMS, is an expert using this program.  If you have questions, she is the person to ask.  The program is only available at CMS and EDS.  (Your MAC computers can also read to your students.  Ask me how when I am in your building, if you are interested.  You can also record your voice on your macs to make files for your students to listen to. )

Five more teachers got new MacBook computers this week so if you see any of your colleagues with foolish grins on their faces you may know why.  These computers include ISight cameras which allows a teacher to do portfolios of a child’s reading.

Have you ever gotten a file you can’t open in an email?  Try this website to convert files:  http://www.zamzar.com/

Have a great week!