Microsoft Word (2010) Tutorial

New to the Microsoft (MS) Office Suite?  Or just need to brush up on your skills?  View this video which provides a tutorial on MS Word that includes learning to open and close documents, how to make shortcuts, and new features included in the 2010 version. 

 

This video can assist you and will cover additional formatting features that we will discuss further very soon.

 

 

 

Creating and Designing a Blog (Online Lesson Plan)

Objectives	Goals
-Improve literacy by viewing a variety of well-written and designed blogs and to learn the benefits of blogs. -Learn about web design and development by constructing and editing their own blogs. -Develop their ability to infer details from text and use their imaginations by constructing a creative blog that draws heavily on the original text.	-Students will be able to create, design, and maintain a blog. -Students will demonstrate undertsanding of the text by including images, captions, volcabulary, and a set of topics for their chosen topic -Students then can help one another develop their blogs by acting as editors during the creation stage and reviewing and commenting on one another's blogs upon completion.

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How many times have you heard the word blog?  Blogs are infromative and centered around a broad topic.  As a result, many subtopics can be shared and discussed.  Blogs can be used for personal use, as a job, and for educational purposes. Click here more details on blogs.

 

Your assignment is to create and design a blog.  Scroll down to the bottom of this page to view my blog Computers in Education. T.S. Long's Tech Update.  You may also want to take a look at Cupcakes Takes the Cake,  Cooking with Amy, and Reuters Soccor Blog. These are just a few blogs you can view as a reference.  This will give you a feel for what a maintained/ongoing blogs looks like.  For additional assistance and "How To" instructions click here.

Your instructions are as follows:

• View the instructional video (located right) to get you started; 
• Go to blogger.com.  Begin by opening a new Google account or by using an existing Google account. 
• Choose your templates and colors;
• Choose1 of the following titles for your blog (Decorating, Party Planning, or Technology in the Classroom)-as you can see mines is Computers In Education;
• Focus your post (only 1 entry needed) on a subtopic (i.e. if the title of your blog is Party Planning, your blog entry can discuss appropriate steps or various themes for parties);
• Key 5 sentences related to your topic and upload a picture (add a caption);
• Assess yourself by viewing the blog for all of the requirements before submission;
• Upon completion publish and email your blog url to tslong@ncat.edu; and 
• Post a comment to this blog; this will be used as a reflection (you may comment on the video, or the overall experience of creating your own blog).

Blogs will be evaluated based on the abovementioned requirements (50 points wil be given for the acutal creation and design of the blog, 25 for the template, title placement, and your posting, and 25 for your comments. If you have any questions feel free to contact me at my office during business hours at 336-555-2549 or via email at tslong@ncat.edu.

QR CODES

Wow!!! I could have used this for the emerging technology presentation.  Have you ever heard of QR codes???  These codes (pictured left) can contain an enormous amount of information.  In fact, if you create your own code you can set it up for text messages, direct links to web pages, PayPal, YouTube links, social media links, email, and etc.

I attended a conference in Chicago this past February.  In order to view the agenda and to complete evaluations, we had to scan qr codes to retrieve the documents.  This is definitely the new wave of the future and an emerging technology.  How do you get the qr code scanner??  You can download it as an app on your Smartphone.  If you don’t have a smart phone consider catching up.

I am sure there is some way that educators can incorporate this into their classrooms.  Interested in trying it out?  Download the app and scan the qr code (pictured left) for an important message.  Comment and tell me what you think or what ways you would incorporate this into a lesson.  Happy scanning!!!

PowerPoint, Research, and Music

Hmmmmm.....PowerPoint, Research, and Hip Hop have three things in common.  I know you are probably thinking there is no way.  But actually there is.....

When I began teaching years ago, I was young and my students were in middle grades.  They loved hip hop music so much and I wanted to create a lesson where I could incorporate what they love into a great teaching moment and learning experience.  I typed, printed, and cut slips of hip hop, r & b, and even some of my rock and country favorite artists names and placed them all in a bag.

When my students entered the room, they all had to choose a slip/artist out of the bag.  Of course by this point they were wondering what they had to do.  So here were there instructions:

• Research the artist on the Internet (find facts regarding birthdates, high school, inspiration for music etc.),
• Incorporate that into a creative and timed PowerPoint Presentation, and
• Attached a sound byte of their music in the presentation.

Boy did my students have fun with that assignment!  The students even enjoyed presenting their presentations in class.  Not to mentioned, not all student got an artist that they liked but because they has to learn about the music artist, they were able to gain a new level of respect for that genre of music.

Another topic was I did was Notable African Americans-but not just your typical Martin Luther King Jr. pieces, I had students learning about Clarence "Big House" Gaines (from Winston-Salem) and a host of others who many don’t know about. 

The students wrote me notes and letters appreciating what they learned and what I exposed them to.  Hey...you can’t go wrong with PowerPoint, animation, music, and the Internet....with this type of lesson, students become self-directed learners at an early age. 

Try these ideas!  I’m sure you will be pleased.

Templates.....Templates.....and more Templates!!

Give your students options with creativity

As a teacher do you incorporate using templates in your lesson plans?  There are so many available via web (copyright friendly of course) for you to use.

No matter what your content area is there are templates for reports, resumes, spreadsheets, calendars, PowerPoint presentations, and a host of other categories.  So if you are thinking of increasing the creativity and level of work, not to mention the professionalism it will give your students, try incorporating templates into your lesson plans.  If you ask me, Microsoft Office has some of the best and efficient templates online.

What are you waiting for????  Try it!!

Mixable-Combining Social Media and Academics-An Emerging Technology

Have you heard about Mixable?   Introduced last year at Purdue University, it is an online web application that students can use to network, complete, assignments, and gain assistance on Facebook and Twitter.  In fact, it is somewhat similar to blackboard.  The major difference is that it is an app on Facebook, the courses never go away after the semester ends, and you can access it directly from your smart phone! 

                                        

There were a total of 150 who took part in the pilot program which was a success!  Since releasing the application, Professors have noticed that more students take part in asking questions versus the normal face-to-face traditional setting, where some students may have been too shy. 

So what about the opportunity for students to cheat on assignments?  Kyle Bowen, the Project Manager of Mixable, states that the concern of cheating will exist no matter the technology, but no student can log on to Mixable completely anonymously; a student id is attached to every user. There are several articles online that discuss this new emerging technology.  Information contained in this blog can be found at WLFI18.com.

Although, this has not broadened to K-12 and Higher Education institutions around the country, it is definitely something to look out for in the next couple of years.  I emailed Kyle Bowen to get his thoughts on Mixable extending to other learning institutions-at this time I have not received a response.

For more information regarding this emerging technology, please view my Graduate Student Presentation link in the discussion board.

E-Portfolios and You

As a teacher or even a practitioner in a different field of work, do you keep track of your achievements?  These achievements can be seminars or workshops you have conducted or attended, newspaper clippings in which you are included in the articles, your teaching license, current certifications, and etc.  In a nutshell a portfolio can illustrate your personal and professional growth.

I revisit my 3 ring-binder portfolio perhaps once a year, considering I have been out of teaching since 2006.  I have certificates, newspaper articles, performance appraisals, conferences I have attended, articles, my current teaching license, copy of certifications, and past transcripts in my portfolio.  Right now it is located in my office at home. But as technology has advanced so has portfolios.  In fact, a lot of people are using the web to create e-portfolios. 

Think about all the features you could use for an e-portfolio.  You could add videos of yourself teaching your students (an online observation if you will) and instead of making copies of all of your certificates and achievements you could scan and upload the documents to your personal e-portfolio website.  Not to mention, you don’t have to go through the hassle of finding where you put your portfolio last because you can just use your url time and time again.

Learning how to create a e-portfolio is also a great unit to introduce to students when covering web essentials. Take the survey to the right of the page and let me know your position on e-portfolios.