Monday, June 30, 2008

Monday, June 30 - Session 1 and other thoughts

Earlier, I blogged about which demonstrations/concurrent sessions I would like to attend. Presently, I am sitting in a concurrent session, "Quick and Easy Computer Activities for Kids."

As of right now (7:45am), it hasn't started, but it should fire up here before too long. I'm excited to see what they have to say. This is specifically geared toward elementary students, which I get a lot of questions about during the workshops I teach. There seems to be plenty of materials and resources for middle and high school, but finding things for elementary students isn't as forthright.

Plus, my wife teaches elementary students, so I can help her directly with the information I gain here!

As much as I can, I will be blogging 'live' during the concurrent sessions I attend. It will help me take notes and keep you informed, too!

The presenter is Tammy Worcester and she has a web site with her tips, etc: Tammys_Technology_Tips_for_Teachers

I did not bring my camera today, because it is really the co-op's camera and that thing is pretty bulky. But, in retrospect, I may take a jaunt back to the hotel and grab it up later. We'll just have to see!

If you have never been to NECC before, here's a tip: you can often 'hop' between concurrent sessions. Generally, you can stick your head in, or even grab a seat, get the handouts or web info, then 'hop' over to another session during that same time period and repeat the process. The exceptions to this are the sessions that wait until the END before giving out the info and the sessions you really DO want to attend. I wholeheartedly recommend staying for the whole session if it is one you really to see.

I am going to publish this (8:15am) then immediately come back and start adding. As I add new ideas, I'll publish it out again, so you can keep up 'live' as much as possible. Be back shortly!

The room is nearly packed, and people are still coming in. This room is one of those 'big' rooms that can be divided in half, but they have not divded it. It's a good thing, too! Apparently, there is a HUGE demand for elementary student computer software.

Not 3 minutes after my last comment about nearly packed,' the place is at standing-room-only as many participants are actually sitting on the floor waiting for the presentation to begin. I am in an end seat, next to a power outlet, as is the guy in the seat behind me.

8:30 - starting up. Tammy has a slew of books, evidently, so I will check those out in ISTE Central later. As with most presenations, the presenter provides a commercial for her site, her books, etc.

The Tall Tale writing activity. Teacher teaches the 'normal' way, and have the students put their tale in 3 columns then print it, cut apart into strips, tape end-to-end, so they end up with a TALL tall tale! Easy to add tech to it!

T-riffic activity - powerpoint - blank slide - turn page sideways (portrait) - add word art "I'm T-Riffic Because" (press enter after 'riffic') - leave 1/4-/13 blank above - add text box below word art. 4-5 reason why t-riffic (play piano, etc) CTRL-SHIFT > (larger text) Fold in half lengthwise then tear out half a U, then tear a '7' and when you unfold, it looks like a t-shirt! Also use science, history, etc or 'our school is t-rific' etc.

Building healthy bodies - how can we keep bodies helthy. Execise, sleep, water, sunscreen, seat belt, wash hands,sont smoke, etc. powerpoint - 2 slides - add rectangle covers half side-to-side lengthwise. type building a healthy body by tammy, make text larger, change bg color to white. add smiley face. 2nd slide, add rectangle 1/4 of bottom. ctrl-d duplicate. make another smaller on top. add ideas have students print and cut out then make a person! print as handout 2 per page, smaller characters!

Create greeting cards with powerpoint - turn to portrait. card has 4 slides, then print as 4-page handouts and fold! Use Word Art on slide 1, turn upside down. Slide 2 - keep blank. Slide 3 - clipart. insert slide 4 - add text for card. print and fold.

print on 3x3 sticky notes. powerpoint. blank slide, page set up. 7.5 and 7.5 width and height. add whatever you want to print. proofreading checklist. reminders. duplicate slide to get 4 slides. print 4 at a time. first print on regular paper 4 per page. put 4 blank sticky notes over the prints. put page back into the printer correctly. re-print and your messages will be on sticky note.

fact flipper - students write 5 questions about a topic, 5 answers. 12 slides. 1st slide with topic and instructions. 2-6 will have questions. slide 7 has name, teacher name, etc. slide 8-12 answers. print handout 6 slides per page. page 1 has title and questions. page 2 has student name and ansers. cut flaps (bottom of each slide and up sides) from page 1, put page 2 behind page 1 and there you have your flappers. Have older students make them and donate to younger students.

excel - dog, cat, fish - add results, highlight cells with data, use chart wizrd and make chart. put picture on each bar. clipart. click once in cell, pause then click again so only one bar selected. choose matching clipart (dog, etc) and change each bar! click on bar, doubleclick and choose fill effects. stack and scale 2 units per picture! creates pictograms in excel.

algebra challenge - look this one up on her site... lol, conditional formatting. cell value equal to correct answer, set parameters. can also be used with capitals, people, dates, etc. can set up to three conditions per cell. great for interactive whiteboards!

The presentation then turned to several other project ideas that can be found on her site. Thanks for tuning in, and check back later for another 'live' session!

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