Random Musings

Thoughts on nothing in particular

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New Brighton Story Walk 2011

This past Saturday, March 5, 2001, the New Brighton Elementary School had it’s annual story walk.  The story walk has been going on for about five or six years.  I have taken my daughter the last two years, she thoroughly enjoys the day.  The staff from several of our schools, and in some cases their families and former staff, come in school and create a family reading, craft, and fun day for several hours.  Laura Fryer, our Elementary Librarian organizes the event and works on getting the funding through various grants.

The story walk itself consists of a number of areas where students are read stories and get to create crafts related to those stories.  There are several other stations where they can make a healthy snack, play in the gymnasium, or listen to music.  Every child in attendance gets to choose a free book to take home and keep forever.  It seemed like many of the children remember this fact, because the books were rushed right off the bat.  For awhile we were unsure if we would have enough books, but the demand evened out and we did have a number to keep for next year’s event.  This year there were 5 or 6 stations with the event having on overall open theme.  Last year, the theme was a story from every continent.

This year over 260 children and their families attended the event, a marked increase over the past couple of years.  A number of parents gave unsolicited feedback about how they enjoy the event and their kids look forward to it every year.  It would be nice to think that the numbers will continue to improve, bringing the community together with the school and strengthening the overall relationship.

With budgets shrinking or being gutted, we are already brainstorming ways to fund the endeavor next year. The goal is to ensure that we can meet the growing demand and allow all the children to participate fully in the event.  We believe we can make it happen with some help from the community and others in our personal networks.  Hopefully next year’s post will talk about how the numbers continue to increase and have more success stories of collaboration between our schools and the community.

1 Comment Posted on by Dominic Salvucci Lessons and Teacher Things, Random Musings

Web 2.0: Putting it all together

Okay, I realized last year that I was too spread out on the Internet to be effective for my students. This year, my goal was to focus my efforts and make my web presence more effective. In an awkward way, I am doing so by using more Web 2.0 Tools…kinda ironic isn’t it.

The way my online presence was set up became ungainly and cumbersome. I outgrew the wiki I was using as my main site a couple of years ago and began looking for alternatives. I used BlackBoard which became too expensive, went to Moodle, which did not work out, then on to Edmodo, which rocks. I went with a “Two Way Street” model, I push out information via Edmodo, students would use the class wiki for their informational platform.  My students still use the wiki for posting their projects, but the everyday information has fallen off. We have a class blog where the students post their writing assignments for the world to see, warts and all, or as @bpasquale likes to say, “the unvarnished work of students.” My parents were directed to the various sites by either our school’s Edline page, or the class wiki. This set up just did not work, the reasons are plentiful.

Well, here is my game plan. I needed a one-stop shop to direct people around my many sites that was not cumbersome and did not require a log in.  I finally jumped on creating a website. This is now my main site, located at http://www.mrsalvucci.com, surprise, surprise.  From here you can, or will soon be able to, access everything that is necessary for success in my classes.  I will still use Edmodo as my online classroom, the blog for longer student writing pieces, and the wiki as a student publishing platform.  However, my website ties everything together and strengthens the connection between the existing sites.

My website will contain all of the information parents, students, and even my administrators need to keep current with my classes.  I will even use the site to showcase samples of student work, and hopefully spur interest in the main sites where student work is published.  I will explain not only the tools my students are using, but the reasons behind their uses.  This should clear up some of the confusion that occasionally arises throughout the year.  The site will also host ways to sign up for tools and services I use such as Textmarks, my new self-made Droid app, Netvibes, Google Docs, Evernote, and others.

I am hoping this tool streamlines the other sites and reinvigorates their usage by all parties involved in the educational process.  The potential is there for the sites to be powerful learning tools, but as I often like to say in my classes “potential and $4.95 gets you a small frappachino latte at the chain coffee store.”  These sites need to be more than potential tools, they need to be effective in the real world.

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PETE & C: Arianna’s First Presentation

This year’s PETE & C was my third year attending and second year presenting. My favorite moment came at Monday’s Birds of a Feather session on Mobile Technology in the Classroom, when my daughter made a cameo appearance.  She and my wife were walking around the lodge and strolled past the session. 

Arianna came into the room to say hello and then proceeded to conduct an impromptu session on Meegenius with my iPad.  She quickly found the app, by “looking for the little owl.”  Once the Meegenius app was opened, Arianna quickly opened up her favorite story, “Little Red Riding Hood” and had the app read to her.  Meegenius is her favorite app, it has the ability to read stories to her while highlighting the words.  I like it because it is free and has many free and/or inexpensive stories that go with it.

She is four years old and can not only manipulate the iPad better than many adults, she can also explain the process.  Granted, she uses four year old terms in her explanations, but she also drops words like “plethora” in conversations…and with correct usage.

She has demonstrated the use of iPods and iPads for me before, but only through short video vignettes. Her brief appearance last Monday was her first live presentation…further proof that there is no logical reason why schools should hold off implementing 1 to 1 programs until the older grades.

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‘Kelsey’s CHRISTmas’ brings smiles to kids – WeirtonDailyTimes.com | news, sports, jobs – Weirton, Hancock County — Weirton Daily Times

‘Kelsey’s CHRISTmas’ brings smiles to kids

December 31, 2009
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“Kelsey’s CHRISTmas” is a holiday collection and distribution effort conceived by 17-year-old Kelsey Andrews in memory of her sister Kristin, who lost her battle with cancer in 2007.

“This year’s ‘Kelsey’s CHRISTmas’ left the staff at UPMC?Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh speechless,” said Joan Andrews, mother of Kristin and Kelsey.

via weirtondailytimes.com

This article is over a year old, but still very relevant. We took my daughter to Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh for a check-up last week, it was one of two regularly scheduled trips there each year. Since it was during the holiday season, she was given a teddy bear from one of the nurses, compliments of St. Jude’s and she received a set of pajamas too. The pajamas were in a ziplock baggy with a label, “For Someone Special From Kelsey’s CHRISTmas.”

Being naturally curious, I Googled “Kelsey’s CHRISTmas” and found the article. It is great to see that this was at least the second year in a row that something was organized for the children and staff at the hospital. There was no other information about the effort, I even checked Facebook to see if there was a group. I just wanted to say, “Thank You,” and bring attention to the efforts of those who put this together. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Leave a comment Posted on by Dominic Salvucci Cellphones in Education, Random Musings

My First Post From My Droid

After way to much fretting and deliberation I finally got a smartphone.  My wife bought me a Droid X as an early Christmas gift.  I want to thank all of those in my PLN who have put up with and answered all of my questions on the topic.

The last phone I purchased was the Envy 2, at full price.  Two months later, the phone was being sold for under fifty dollars…and my phone always ghost dialed others…much to their annoyance.

Anyway, I am digging the new phone, it is a bit more bulky than my iPod Touch, but it is not overly clunky and awkward.  It is nottaking too much effort to become comfortable on this new platform.  I already downloaded most of my regularly used iPod apps and am looking into the new ones such as the mobile microsoft office app suite.

The big geek excitement will be when I successfully tether my other mobile devices and my laptop off of this phone to have full mobile access.  The goal is to be able to work from wherever I would like, preferably sitting on a deck overlooking a beach with a cup of coffee in the morning.  I tend to enjoy being at the beach in the summer, and this will allow me to do that and still have the ability to work, a necessary task until I become independently wealthy.

Happy holidays!

Leave a comment Posted on by Dominic Salvucci iPods in Education, Lessons and Teacher Things, Random Musings

The Latest iTunes Update: WHY!?!

Yesterday, September 10, 2010, I updated iTunes on my Macbook and started pushing out the update to my classroom iPods. It seemed like no big deal, I was in a hurry so I did not read about the new update, a big mistake on my part. If I would have taken the time to read over what was new with the update, I would have saved myself a lot of stress.

It was just a bit hectic, which is not an excuse, just how my day was going. I had students coming into my homeroom for extra help, when I began updating the iPods, then we jumped into first period. I had a couple of students come into my class second period during my planning time, but I kept updating the iPods in the cart. @bpasquale from twitter was in my room, we were planning out the scavenger hunt our Freshmen will be doing in the next couple of weeks, so I was not very focused.

By fifth period, I had a number of iPods updated and the students were finishing up their blog assignment. That is when one of my students showed me an app that they thought shouldn’t be on the iPod. I have been asking them to keep track of content on them and let me know if they find things on the iPods that should not be there. The app was a game app and my iTunes account ID was in the log in screen, (See image below).

Highlighted by circle and arrow.

Highlighted by circle and arrow.

I could not delete the app, either by holding my finger on the screen to make it deletable (sic), or by going back into iTunes and pulling the app off of the iPod.  I asked several students to double check my process and they siad i was going about the delete process correctly.  Around this time, I was denied access to the iTunes Store, which added to my concern.  I logged out of iTunes and tried to sign back in, when I received a message that my log in was shut off for security reasons…so someone had tried to log in to my account…my blood pressure was rising.  As I double checked which students had access to the iPod in question, I was bothered by the fact that none of the students who had that iPod seemed like the type of person who would try and hack into my account.  I pulled the iPod in question out of class access and focused on the last two classes before lunch.

In the moment I did not think to ask if anyone else had that app on their iPod, which was another mistake.  By asking the students that question I would have seen the multiple apps and known it was not a single student issue, but something much different and less troublesome.  I chose to not bring attention to the issue with students, reverting to I am the boss and” know it all” of the room, ugh.

At lunch I found out that the school web filter was adjusted, political correct terms meaning locked down, so that was probably the cause of getting bounced from the iTunes Store.  No more updates would happen today, software updates need access to the iTunes Store, not just the controlling laptop.

My period 8 Freshmen were working on their blog posts, when I decided to ask one of my super tech proficient students for assistance.  I explained what was going on and he quickly responded, “You can’t delete anything iTunes puts on your iPod.  Did you update to the new iTunes?  If they built the app into iTunes you can’t get rid of it unless you downgrade iTunes…”

His explanation continued, but I lost the words as I realized how much stress I had caused myself because I had reverted to “Master and pupil” mode when I encountered a possibly bad situation in class. I thanked him for the advice and finished out the day, in a much more relaxed state of being.

I can actually laugh about the entire situation now, especially since I can get back into my iTunes account and everything is okay.  I just need to remember that the students are partners in this iPod project and they sometimes know more about the iPods than I do.  There is no shame in admitting that and asking for their help when I encounter issues that are difficult to overcome.

As for Apple, thanks for forcing an app onto my iPod that I have no use for…but I will always remember to read the update details before pushing info out to my class iPods.

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Student Blogging: A new perspective.

I presented at Laurel School District’s Tech Camp recently and an issue was brought to my attention…I was bashing writing, or at least my desire to grade student writing.  I didn’t mean to come across that way, but after further review…I was.  I do not push too many formal writing projects in my class.  Students use the writing process in my class and with all projects, I just do not have them turn term papers.

I need to make an adjustment, and it will happen now.  All of my students will now blog as part of their class grade for my courses.  Not all of my classes will have to blog on a regular basis, some may be once a nine weeks with the option to post more often for alternate assignments.  In the past, I encouraged students to blog for enrichment assignments, but I had few takers.  This new system should change the lack of participation, although educators know there are often students who do not turn in assignments or make up tests they miss.

The blogs will vary in length and purpose, but will be graded on a rubric that includes grammar, spelling, and other areas of literary importance, along with being on the topic of the assignment.  The most important aspect of the assignments, is that they will be posted publicly.  In retrospect, my issue with the writing assignments of yore was that students wrote for a specific length, based on words or pages, then discarded once graded.  Students would toss them out, toss them in the hallways or stairwells, lose them in their lockers, etc. There was no purpose outside of a grade, or practice for the PSSA, at least in the students’ minds.  No matter how much I emphasized the purpose of the assignment and the importance of learning the subject, the students were only concerned with the final grade.  Now, their work will have a purpose beyond a grade, it will be published for eternity on the Internet.  They are all set up as contributors, so I will have the ability to keep work private until approved.  I will write more about this reasoning shortly.

For now, all that counts is that I found a problem and I believe I have addressed it for the better.

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First Day of School: Less than two weeks away

Ah…the first day of school is less than TWO WEEKS away…and I could use another two months of summer…I have been creating a mental “To Do” list for the first two weeks of classes.  During this time period I initiate my students into the wonderful world of technology in education.   I have them sign up for most of the tools and programs we will be using in class, run them through basic tasks on the iPod Touches, and explain what is expected of them. As of now, I will not be pulled from my classes to be the district’s Technology Integrator, we have not received any funding from Pennsylvania as of yet, so I will be in my classroom full time.  That may change if funding goes through, or some other opportunity, or random happening occurs.

So without further adieu, here is this year’s list, or at least what I have thought of so far…it is an aggressive schedule and if I find the students need more time, I will give it to them.

If the office has my class lists ready on Tuesday when I stop by the school, I can create my class lists and organize my Google Apps for Education accounts for my students.  I can also create Discovery Education Accounts and organize my students Gaggle.net email accounts.  These are tasks I must do for them, most of the other stuff, the students will do in class…which makes my life easier!

Day One’s agenda, I will hand out my class expectations and Textmarks documents, along with introducing the iPods to the kids.  The sign out and sign in process will take almost half of each period.  I am hoping that I do not have more students than iPods, but if I do, I was promised five laptops to help out.

Day Two’s agenda will begin the sign up process for Web 2.0 tools.  I will start with Edmodo, which will be my online classroom platform.  Once they sign in or up, the students will answer a survey question on technology experience, post a note in the discussion board to introduce themselves to me and the rest of the students, see how I will be posting documents for them to access online, and follow a link that I post out to the class wiki.  They should have time to also look over some of the iPod apps once they complete the above mentioned basic tasks.

On Day Three I hope to have them log in to their Google Apps for Education accounts and see how the Documents 2 app works on the iPods.  They can type a quick note and upload it from their iPods to their Google Apps account.  If this does not take too long, I will then have them log in to their Gaggle email accounts.  Between Gaggle, Edmodo, and the Google Apps for Education accounts my students will have extended access to the classroom.

On Day Four, the students will sign up for Evernote accounts and practice using the tools we have discussed in class.  I can do this by providing the URLs to every tool used in the Edmodo classroom.  The students will have their choice of using Documents 2, Evernote, or paper and pencil for class notes.  I will encourage one of the web-based tools since they can access the information without worrying about forgetting papers in their lockers, or at home, or in their car, or a friend’s car, or…you get the idea.

Day Five’s agenda will start with a reminder about signing up for my Textmarks account and a preview of the flaschcard apps on the iPod Touches.  I will have shared out a couple of sets of flashcards in .csv file format via Google Apps for Education.  The students will be able to sync the flashcards to their iPod Touches using the flashcard apps.  They will have time to see how the apps work and possibly find one they like more than the other apps.  I am going to encourage the students to contribute flashcards to the class by creating their own accounts to the flashcard sites online.  I will offer points for the creation of the resources.  This will get the students more involved in the learning process and take some pressure off of me to be the sole creator of educational information for my classes.  I am using only free flashcard apps, so students may have to create more than one account if the “free accounts” limit the number of flashcards they can create.  I will also model how we will use the flashcards on the Polyvision Interactive Whiteboard (IWB) in my classroom.

At some point I will introduce the student blogs, probably Day Six will be the day.  I recently upgraded to an Edublogs pro account.  I am not sure exactly how I will roll out the 50 student blogs.  I may make the blogs mandatory and regularly occurring in my Freshman Honors Civics class and keep the blogs as voluntary enrichment in my other classes, or mandatory with less postings required.  I am leaning towards mandatory blogs with less required postings, it will give all of my students the experience they need in a global society.
Days Seven through Ten will be lab time for the students to work with the iPods completing tasks such as sending e-mails using the iPod Touches, uploading Documents 2 and Evernote files.  Taking screenshots with the iPod Touches and emailing them to me.  I will have the students record audio files on the iPods and send them via e-mail.  The goal is to get the students somewhat familiar with the technology before we jump into the curriculum for the year.

I do have to have students sign up for Animoto using my teacher access pass and my Civics students will need to log in to their online textbook during this time period.  I will also show them how my online Elluminate class will work and allow model the features.  I hope to start online office hours by Week Three of school.  I will use the Edmodo classroom to survey the students as to the night and time that best suites their availability.

I am hoping that the mini Eno board that I ordered in the spring has arrived.  The students can practice using the handheld board to work the Interactive Whiteboard from their desks.  My hope is that the students will be able to use the mini board so they do not have to get up and walk to the IWB all the time to participate in class.  It would not be an issue if we had block schedules instead of 40 minute classes, so I must find ways to save time in class.  I hope that by the end of the second week, we can sign the iPods out and in, in under 5 minutes much like the past school year.

The above schedule is subject to change, especially if we have any fire drills, assemblies, public announcements in the middle of class, and the inevitable schedule changes throughout the first several weeks of school.  I am thinking that the students may need more time to complete the tasks at hand and become comfortable with the technology, but they may just surprise me and run way ahead of the schedule…either way I will adjust.

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Could Verizon iPhone Stem Android iOS Assault? » Phone Reviews

As Android embraces 4G, Apple lags in getting aboard the new faster network, and AT&T will be left dragging their heels towards 4G which isn’t good for the future of the iPhone. Thus eventually AT&T will lose their exclusive hold over the iPhone, it’s been on the cards for ages but just why Apple insists on keeping the iPhone tied to a single carrier in the states is somewhat confusing as in other countries the iPhone is available on most networks.

While Android continues to spread across the globe it’s fairly obvious Android will become greater due to the amount of devices carrying the platform, but there may be one little way Apple can counteract Android overtaking iOS, and that is by delivering the much sought after Verizon iPhone, which just lately has been rumoured as coming in January 2011.

via phonesreview.co.uk

The big question I face is, “Do I wait for the iPoe on Verizon, or do I run with the Droid?” I am familiar with the iPod apps which are almost identical to the iPhone. I am looking into an iPad which is the same platform and meshes nicely with my Macbook. Staying in my comfort zone would be nice, and I do use iPod Touches in my classroom, so it benefits me to stay in the Mac platform.

Jumping to and learning the new platform would probably be good for my career, but can I sync all of my hardware and share information between the machines? That will be the big research question I need to address over the next 3 months. I’m am fairly certain that I can push docs out to Google and use that as my home base, since the Droid is their machine and all my other devices can access Google.

Any input from my PLN is greatly appreciated.

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Summer Blogging

I need to improve upon my blogging skills.  If you have read any of my posts, you can see that is true.  I still have a few posts left over from the school year that need posted, but for the most part…not much is going on.

Many people I know who don’t have a blog cite two reasons for not blogging: 1. lack of time and 2. “not very good at it.”  Often I feel the same when it comes to blogging.  But here is my take on the situation.  The first reason is not valid, you only need a few minutes to create a post, the second reason, though valid, can be addressed through practice.  I want to overcome my lack of skills and present a better platform for people to see.

So, how can I work on my blogging skills?  I will write about summer things, most will be non-educational topics, but they will hopefully contribute to me becoming a better blogger.  Afterall, many teachers complain that students lose skills over the summer, who am I to not keep in practice.  Hopefully the topics will not be considered too frivolous, if so sorry, I need the practice.