Open Source Software

Top 10 Open Source Software Programs for K-12 Education

Everything on this list is available Mac and PC

1. Browser - Firefox (better than counterpart because it is safer, has choices, large number add-ons
AD-Block Plus - no ads on the page (ie CNN without ads)
Video download helper - download movies
Corel IE Tab - opens a page in IE (if not working in Firefox well
Choose search engine(s) for search tool

Browser - SeaMonkey - basically Firefox with html editor

2. Email - Thunderbird (alternative to Outlook)
use with home programs, gmail, yahoo. but as a download rather than online client
link to multiple accounts

3. Open Office (NEO Office on Mac) - STAR Office (another with a few more bells&whistles)

4. Images (GIMP) Graphic Image Manipulate Program (Adobe Photoshop or iPhoto) w/o organizer tool

5. Video Player (VLC) - plays all standard formats include YouTube formats

6. Student Art Creation - TuxPaint (elementary drawing program) similar to "KidPix"
has sound effects
alternative: ArtRage - mix your own paints

7. Sound Recording - Audacity

8. Screen Capture - CamStudio
Screen Capture - Jing

9. Graphic Organizer - Freemind (kidspiration)

10 Desktop Publishing (Scribus) - Publisher

10.1 Typing Tutorial (Tux Typing) K-2

10.2 Rip DVD's - Handbrake

10.3 Desktop Operating System - Edubuntu

STEM in the Elementary Years: Why i'ts Critical to Start Early

Session 1: STEM
STEM = Science, Technology, Engineering & Math

Room change - too many people!

Learning.com

Philosophy of integrating subjects. Combining subjects and focusing on the application.

STEAM (add the arts)

Engineering Grand Challenges to excite and enthuse students.
Make solar energy economical
engineer better medicines
provide access to clean water
restore and improve urban infrastructure

Fun ideas
soap packaging
toy
roller coaster
baseball bat
snow board
ice cream

IDEA: School wide STEM project each quarter

get copy of powerpoint for videos on fun idea engineers in real life

robotics club, science experiments, computer programming (math), bottle rockets, science fair

Practical Examples of STEM in the Classroom
grades 3&4 teacher
some canned lessons (video for classification)
create your own lessons

students log in to access lessons
check out Flipnotes (standard on DSi) http://www.nintendodsi.com/flipnotestudio.jsp
wallwisher http://www.wallwisher.com/
vocab on wallwisher - create a visual dictionary

Good point: limited home access to technology is a GREAT reason to use the technology at school.

TL Summit Part 2

All programs are irregular, partial, hit or miss

Few if any are comprehensive (all students) predictable (grade to grade/school to school),
Accountable (measured & reported)

TL can't personally teach info literacy to every student, they need to make sure that have the opportunities to learn. TL role is of teaching AND planning, managing and coaching. The balance and role depends on the context and situation.

LIT = Library, Information & Technology program

Big 6 by the month (incorporate 6+1???)

Sacred Cows
Collaboration --> becomes cooperation & coordination
Flexible Schedule --> fixed & flexible
Plagiarism --> create a culture of citing (everybody cites all the time) - classroom teachers cite sources too
Collection development --> common core collection (75-85%) district, region, state...
Wikipedia is bad --> good place to start
Books!!!--> I'm a techie!!! (and I like books!)
Reading & Writing --> Process & Produce

Tired of a lesson? Find a game. (The future of education is a game).

MISSION:
To ensure that students are effective users and producers of ideas and information.

Music in library on Friday's? The library is everywhere. Think of this as a free from the shackles of the space!

Back @ NCCE - Teacher Librarian Summit

Thoughts:

Not "this is what I am going to do." Try "How can I help support your curriculum?" Look up CBA's from WA.

Cite Sources. Why??? Try "Give Credit."

Drop of water information idea.

Final Thoughts

As another semester winds down it is nice to look back at all the new information and look forward to using it. For me, I only have one class left, and then I'm a certified librarian. I'm really glad I took this class towards the end of the library program - hopefully I'll get a chance to use all these great tools before they're obsolete! I have really enjoyed using a sprinkling of Web 2.0 tools.

Prezi has been on my radar for quite some time, but I haven't had the opportunity to use it. I think it is a fun, easy to use, intuitive presentation tool. I hope my group mates liked the final product as much as I did. That was another unique experience for this particular class. In the 65 online credits I have completed, this was the first group experience. It was both challenging and rewarding. Communication was huge!

The podcast was fun to make. So many people have MP3 players these days that the podcast is a simple way to provide a lesson. A video, such as one made from Jing or Camtasia would be a great way to demonstrate computer research for students. The slideshow videos of OneTrueMedia or Audacity are great for student projects. Glogster is a great poster making site. I'm glad it was introduced in the quiz. I have seen this tool in practice students really seem to enjoy this paperless poster concept.

It has been a fun semester. The many projects used both sides of my brain!

Podcast Activity 1

I downloaded and listed to Tech Chicks from the School Library Journal website.

This podcast reviews educational podcasts that are available for students. art history, dance, math, vocabulary, book talk, science podcasts are features in this particular audio file. There are several references to an article in SLJ, which I will definitely be looking for in the archives (Dec 2007). Its amazing how many different, quality podcasts existed in 2007 - let alone today!

The sound of the podcast is very simple and amateur. Which creates a feeling of friendly advice rather than professional production, I like it. It also allows users to realize that podcasts need not be perfect, highly technical pieces, but rather can be made simply as well.

I like that they also include clips from the featured podcasts so that the listener "sees" what they are talking about.

One draw back is that its difficult to remember which podcasts are most appealing. It would really help to have the article to reference and star to remember which sites are most appealing.

Check out Learn Out Loud great site with lots of information (even free stuff!)

Kathy Schrock’s Guide for Educators

http://discoveryschool.com/schrockguide/
©2006. Kathleen Schrock. All rights reserved.
What makes a good podcast?

When you listen to a podcast, or when you are making your own, think about these qualities of a well-done podcast.

Your name: Mrs. F.
Date: May 4, 2010
Title of podcast: Tech Chicks: Listen Up!
Feed URL (or URL) of podcast: http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/index.asp?layout=audiocastPlayer&element_id=2140133103&industryid=47162

Creator of podcast: Anna Adam and Helen Mowers

	YES	NO	N/A
1. Did the podcast include content that was useful / relevant for your purpose?	X
2. Were the technical qualities (audio, slides, etc.) acceptable in the production?	X
3. Was a written transcript of the podcast available?		X
4. Was the podcast linked from a site which included subject tags?	X
5. Was the podcast linked from a site which included links to other resources?	X
6. Did the podcast adhere to the copyright guidelines in its use of music, pictures, etc.?	X
7. Was the length of the podcast appropriate for its content? (20 min. or less)	X
8. Was the podcast part of a regularly scheduled series?	X
9. Did the subjects in the podcast have “personality” to keep you interested?	X
10. Did the podcast flow smoothly (introduction, content, summary)?	X
11. Was it obvious how to add the podcast feed to your aggregator? (RSS)		X
12. If the item was an enhanced podcast, did the use of slides enhance the content?			X
13. If the item was an enhanced podcast, was it available in various file formats to allow viewing on various hardware devices?			X

MP3's for School Success!

Growing number of students use MP3 players as a study tool

I really enjoyed this article. Maybe now I'll be a little less quick to judge the teen at the grocery store with ear buds - maybe s/he is learning Spanish!