Lehighton+Area+MS

Lehighton Area Middle School
 * 2009 - 2010

Advisor: Mr. Charlie Bachert

Tech Wizards: Maeann Brougher - 7th Grade Emily Cerimele - 7th Grade Stephanie Kinsella - 7th Grade **

Session 1 - November 11, 2009 **Audacity** During the first session of this years Tech Wizard Program we leared to use the program called Audacity. This program is used to create podcast, and MP3 files. Our first assignment was to survey some teachers and students to see what they think about technology in the classrooms. Then we were to make a podcast to share our ideas with the rest of the class. Teacher Questions: Do you like using technology in your classroom? Are you comfortable when you use technology in your classroom? What aspect of technology would you like to see improved in our school? Students Questions: Do you like or dislike when teachers use technology in your classes? Do you wish teachers would use more technology in your classes?


 * __We had some technical difficulties when trying to record our podcast with Audacity, so this portion of our assignment is still under construction!!__

Session 2 - December 15, 2009 **



VoiceThread is a web-based communications network for K-12 students and educators. Simple, powerful and safe, Ed.VoiceThread is a place for creating and collaborating on digital stories and documentaries, practicing and documenting language skills, exploring geography and culture, solving math problems, or simply finding and honing student voices. It is: Students participate in VoiceThread only after being added by an educator or administrator with an Ed.VoiceThread class or school subscription. Students are added via the online Administration Tool, one-by-one or by importing contact files. For each student, a first and last name is collected, along with any teacher, school and district information. Student email addresses are not required for participation. By default, a student identity/avatar only shows the pupil's first name. All other information is available only to the administrator. Educators are free to override this restriction if parental permission is received. All VoiceThreads are private by default and creators can easily control who can view, edit and comment on content. Within this private state, educators can collaborate with students, students with each other, and entire classes with other classes around the world. It's never necessary to make a VoiceThread publicly viewable, but we do believe students grow when they share and collaborate with others. The act of publishing content, that can be seen by anyone anywhere, reinforces the idea that student work is unique, valuable, and worthy of the world's attention.
 * An accountable environment where all users on the network are known users, responsible for their content and behavior.
 * Restricted to K-12 educators, students and administrators, all content is created or vetted by registered members of the community.
 * There are no free accounts, students may only participate after being added by their teacher or school, and **student email addresses are not required**.


 * Our Mission from Session 2 is to create a VoiceThread asking the following question.**

How can technology be used to enhance education?

After creating thje Voicethread, we must get a minimum of 10 students, 10 teachers, and 1 administrtor to comment to our question on our voicethread.

Here is the link to our voicethread for our mission for this session: []

** Session 3 - January 12,2010 ** Thinkfinity **FREE educational resources for everyone To access this website** [|**http://www.thinkfinity.org/home.aspx**]


 * Thinkfinity.org is the cornerstone of Verizon Foundation's literacy, education and technology initiatives. Our goal is to improve student achievement in traditional classroom settings and beyond by providing high-quality content and extensive professional development training.

This free, comprehensive digital learning platform is built upon the merger of two acclaimed programs Verizon MarcoPolo and the Thinkfinity Literacy Network. **

**National Content Partners**

 * Thinkfinity draws upon the strength of our [|content partners], who produce a wealth of discipline-specific, standards-based educational resources. They are: **


 * **American Association for the Advancement of Science**
 * **International Reading Association**
 * **National Center for Family Literacy**
 * **National Council on Economic Education**
 * **National Council of Teachers of English**
 * **National Council of Teachers of Mathematics**
 * **National Endowment for the Humanities**
 * **National Geographic Society**
 * **ProLiteracy Worldwide**
 * **Smithsonian National Museum of American History**
 * **The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts**

**Educational Resources**

 * Thinkfinity.org makes it easy for educators to enhance their classroom instruction with lesson plans, interactive activities and other online resources. Thinkfinity.org also provides a wealth of educational and literacy resources for students, parents and after-school programs.

All of Thinkfinity.org's 55,000 standards-based K-12 lesson plans, student materials, interactive tools and reference materials are reviewed by the nation's leading education organizations to ensure that content is accurate, up-to-date, unbiased and appropriate for students. **

**At Thinkfinity.org, you'll find primary source materials, interactive student resources and grade-specific research lists to help you tailor materials to meet your needs. Start** **exploring now!**


 * During this session we also learned how to use Google as search engine to navigate the internet to research information.

We learnedhow to use the following tools that are a part of Google. **

**__Similar Search:__ - Allows you to search for similar and relevent search topics.

__Advance Search:__ - Allows you to narrow your search for a topic.

Example:**

Find web pages that have...

 * all these words: ||  ||   ||
 * this exact wording or phrase: ||  ||> tip ||
 * one or more of these words: ||  ||   || OR ||   || OR ||   ||   ||> tip ||
 * ===But don't show pages that have...=== ||
 * any of these unwanted words: ||  ||> tip ||

Need more tools?
__Date, usage rights, numeric range, and more__
 * Results per page: || 10 results20 results30 results50 results100 results ||
 * Language: || any ||
 * File type: ||  ||   ||
 * Search within a site or domain: ||  ||
 * || (e.g. youtube.com, .edu)  ||
 * Date: (how recent the page is) || anytimepast 24 hourspast weekpast monthpast year ||
 * [|Usage rights:] || not filtered by licensefree to use or sharefree to use or share, even commerciallyfree to use share or modifyfree to use, share or modify, even commercially ||
 * Where your keywords show up: || anywhere in the pagein the title of the pagein the text of the pagein the URL of the pagein links to the page ||
 * Region: ||  ||
 * Numeric range: ||  ||   || ** .. ** ||   ||   ||
 * || (e.g. $1500..$3000)  ||
 * [|SafeSearch:] || Off On ||
 * [|SafeSearch:] || Off On ||

**__Show/Hide Options:__ Another way to narrow the search topic.**


 * Web**

Hide options Show options...

All results [|Images][|Videos][|News][|Blogs][|Updates][|Books][|Forums] **›** Any time[|Latest][|Past 24 hours][|Past week][|Past year] **›** [|Specific date range] **›** Standard view[|Related searches][|Wonder wheel][|Timeline] **›** Standard results[|Images from the page][|Fewer shopping sites][|More shopping sites][|Page previews][|Translated search]

**__Google Scholar:__ - Allows you to search for relavent academic related**


 * __Google Search Tutorials:__**

1. Google Similar Search

2. Google Secrets One

3. Google Secrets Two

4. Google Advanced Search

5. Google Squared

6. Google Scholar

**Session 4 - March 3, 2010**

** MovieMaker and Format Factory **

In this class we learned how to make movies using MovieMaker. MovieMaker is a program that is included on most computers that run Windows XP or higher operating system. It is fun and easy to use, it could be used to enhance any presentation or lecture for any type of class. Movies are created by adding video clips, still pictures and audio clips. For the audio clips of the movie a personal narrative can be included by using sound recorder which can be found in the entertainment link in the accessiories section on most computers. The following is a link that will give step by step explanation of the program and how to use it to create a movie. MovieMaker Instructions 1. [|MovieMakerVideo Imput] 2. [|MovieMaker Music and Photos Imput] 3. [|MovieMaker Storyboarding] 4. [|MovieMaker Text, Titles, Credits] 5[|.Moviemaker Advanced Features] 6[|. MovieMaker Saving a Movie] 7.[|Movie Maker Instructions (PowerPoint)]

** Format Factory ** During this session we were introduced to the free download called Format Factory that is used to convert any type of video file so that it can be used with programs such as MovieMaker.

Click the link below to get your free Format Factory download. []

Whether you're looking to change a video format to save space or because you lack a necessary codec, the freeware **FormatFactory** could be the last converter you'll need. It handles 12 types of video formats, six audio types, eight image formats, and DVD/ISO conversions with speed and accuracy.

We used our Flip Camara to record a PSA (Public Service Annoncment), then we used Format Factor to convert that file to use in MovieMaker so that we could share our PSA with you on our Wiki Page.

Below is the PSA we created during this session.

Right Click on the Video, then click rewind. Then right click on the blue screen and click play. This will allow you to view the entire PSA.

media type="file" key="Tech Wizards Video.swf" width="360" height="270" Session 5 - April 21, 2010

In this sesion we learned to use the Classroom Performance System which is a package of hardware and software developed by eInstruction Corporation. The hardware consists of a radio frequency or infra red receiver unit and response pads. The software and hardware work together so that you can create and deliver course-relevant questions and standards. Then the software reports student performance result.

You can engage every child in class material by creating an interactive learning environment in your classroom. Students who normally remain silent in class can now answer every question without fear of embarrassment. And since you see instant feedback from the entire class, you know whether to move on or continue teaching a concept.

CPS also streamlines administrative tasks. Now you can spend less time grading and more time teaching. Take attendance, grade tests and quizzes, create lessons, and generate personalized reports automatically.

To learn more about CPS, go to: [|www.einstruction.com]