Emerging+Tech+April+2008

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Attendees:
Chris Clark (Apollo Ridge), Maria Borokowski (South Allegheny), Jake McCutcheon (Montour), Aileen Owens (Mt. Lebanon), Scott Kelly (Chartiers Valley),Chris Hutter (Montour)

Jing
Norton discussed how he's using [|Jing,]a free screencasting tool from the same company that created Camtasia, for his [|course at Carnegie Mellon]. (Look at the Professsional Development section for examples.) Maria responded that teachers love Jing at South Allegheny. The teachers like to watch screenshots instead of getting paper handouts. Norton explained that the free version limits the user to 4 minutes. Maria stated that her teachers found that this was a good length.

Wikis
The group discussed wikis in general. Maria mentioned that PBWiki was also available for educators, but [|Wikispace] was easier to use. Norton shared how Al Walker, a middle school language arts teacher was using a wiki for peer writing and editing. The students wrote over 30 versions for some of the chapters. Instead of writing for a teacher's approval, the students were publishing for their peers.

Blogs and Laptops
Aileen mentioned that in Mount Lebanon teachers were using blogs, but not wikis. The question came up about time to work on new technology. Scott Kelly suggested that district-purchased laptops provided time for teachers to work at home. Norton related that this happened in Fox Chapel when the district moved to a laptop program for teachers.

Moodle
Jake asked about the use of Moodle. Norton showed the [|Fox Chapel Moodle site]. Norton highlighted how the librarian at Dorseyville Middle School has incorporated Google Calendar into his site. Norton explained that teachers use Moodle as a learning management system. They incorporate resources and activities into courses for online access by students. Norton added that he was challenging teachers to think beyond just presentations and pdf's. Like the Classroom for the Future project, Moodle should really provide an opportunity to engaging and interacting with students.

Nettrekker
Jake asked about a tool to find resources quickly online. Norton suggested [|Nettrekker]. Maria stated that she's found that Nettrekker works better for elementary teachers.