ETLO Class questions....

In answer to our class assignment questions.....

How do you think this kind of transparency affects the school community?
After perusing a lengthy list of blogs....I find that it is refreshing to see that administrators and teachers are real people, with real opinions, and real feelings. It reminds of when I was a child and I would see my teacher somewhere besides school and just about faint...or when I was teaching and kids would see me at the grocery store and hug me in disbelief that I was not in my classroom...they thought I undoubtably lived there since I was there when they arrived and there when they left. They never considered I had "Life Part 2" when they were at home.I think that the community would be well served in feeling a connection to the school. Being able to gleen a "around the dinner table" view of the joys and hurts all associated with educating the children.

Were you more drawn to those posts with personal reflections or did you prefer to read blogs in which the author focused on the issues important to school leaders?
Well...personally I enjoy both types. I think all it is important. We need to understand undertones to clearly interpret the overtones when dealing with a complex personality such as it requires to be an educational leader....inside or outside of the classroom/school.

What are your initial thoughts about the type of blog you would want to maintain? I like stories. I really like stories that are entertaining and educational. I like to be able to relate to a variety of folks when I speak with them. So, I will probably keep a fairly relaxed platform but try to entertwine some useful information, ideas, and/or links in the meantime.

How would this type of blog meet your administrative needs?
If I can save a teacher/tech coach/media specialist a few minutes of their precious planning time by sending out a current topic activity or lesson in a link....then, that would meet one of my needs in my position at work.

Podcasts - on a PC...

Hey...I realize (mostly because my kids remind me often)...a lot of times I am about a day late and dollar short in finding out about stuff....sometimes because I hear about it...and then, promptly forget it....or, I procrastinate and forget it....or, well, the reasons are as many as the ideas....however, because of an online course that I am taking to learn all about the Web 2.0 tools and how we could effectively use them in the educational world....I had to make a podcast...using my pc and 2.0 tools. Ok...Well, after struggling with downloading Lame after a successful download of Audacity....(if i had followed directions....Lame would have been a breeze the first time....)....then, in my most humble opinion...I did not find the obvious directions on Podbean to be too helpful. Frustration overtook me! I was ready to scream....when I resistantly caved and clicked on the help button. Much to my chagrin...there were the step by step directions, that when followed, resulted in an uploaded and published podcast through which the world could be enlightened. So...then, I had to figure out what to do with it....so, I added a podcast player to my Facebook page....and pushed it out to that....then, I added one to my blog. So...if you click on the pretty box on the left hand side....or push play on the little menu...you can actually listen to my podcast. Well, all is good and right in the universe now. I am a happy techy once again.

I plan to create another podcast and this time record step by step bulleted instructions...and log an approximate time frame in which a beginner could actually build a podcast and have it online for others to hear. Teachers need to be using things like this in their classrooms...administrators need to be using these free tools....I'm sure there are many that do....but for those who are not, and are not because they don't know how....You, my friends, will soon NOT have an excuse. Because now, I am living proof that ANYBODY can create, upload, and publish a podcast!

Resources for Internet Safety, Cyberbullying, and Sexting

Resources for Board Members
http://www.educationlaw.org/ - Serving three divergent constituency groups from across the country: Attorneys, Professors, and School Administrators.

http://www.nsba.org/site/page.asp?TRACKID=&CID=397&DID=8638 - Toolkit for online safety

http://securedistrict.cosn.org/tech/resources.html - Internet Safety Policies and CIPA

Resources for parents, grandparents, and caregivers
Many sites include resources suitable for multiple age groups, parents, and educators.

http://www.deletepredators.com/ - A Tennessee Police Project. This is a project of the Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police. It has materials for children, parents, schools,and law enforcement. It has links to some materials from the NetSmartz organization.

http://connectsafely.org// - Forum is for parents, teens, educators, advocates - everyone engaged in and interested in the impact of the social Web. The site has tips for teens and parents, as well as other resources for safe blogging and social networking.

http://www.ikeepsafe.org/ - The Internet Keep Safe Coalition is a broad partnership of governors and/or first spouses, attorneys general, public health and educational professionals, law enforcement, and industry leaders working together for the health and safety of youth online. iKeepSafe uses these unique partnerships to disseminate safety resources to families worldwide. Website has links to materials for educators, parents,and children.

http://safekids.com/ - Guidelines for Parents of Pre-Teens

http://www.kidzui.com/joinus/safety?term=1885916- The KidZui browser was designed to offer kids the same expansive experience adults have on the web. KidZui brought together a team of over 200 teachers and/or parents to scour the web in search of the best content for kids.

http://www.commonsense.com/internet-safety-guide/index.php - Keeping your kids Internet safe and smart

http://www.staysafeonline.org/ - Safety Tips for Families by the Internet Education Foundation – includes video tutorials

http://www.fbi.gov/publications/pguide/pguidee.htm - A Parent’s Guide to Internet Safety

http://www.netbullies.com/pages/7/index.htm - US-CERT (United State Computer Emergency Response Team) from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security

http://www.internetsafety.com/internet-safety-tips-for-parents.php - Cyber Language Quiz -
Want to know what all those letter mean that your kids use in chatrooms and text? Take this quiz!

http://internetsafetyeducator.com/internet-safety-terms/ - a list of Internet safety lingo

http://www1.k9webprotection.com/ - K-9 Web Protection Free Internet Filtering

http://www.adcouncil.org/default.aspx?id=56/ - A Tennessee Police Project

http://www.isafe.org/channels/sub.php?ch=ai&sub_id=2 - i-SAFE is a non-profit
foundation whose mission is to educate and empower youth to make their Internet
experiences safe and responsible. The goal is to educate students on how to avoid
dangerous, inappropriate, or unlawful online behavior. i-SAFE accomplishes this through dynamic K-12 curriculum and community outreach programs to parents, law
enforcement, and community leaders.

http://www.thejournal.com/articles/15921 - Parry Aftab is heavily involved in Internet safety and security for children, senior citizens and victims of cyber-stalking and abuse. In her pro-bono role, she runs the world’s largest online safety and help group that works closely with all major law enforcement agencies worldwide.

http://www.stopcyberbullying.org/educators/index.html(Grades 9-12) - Creating a Safe Online Profile

US-CERT (United State Computer Emergency Response Team) - http://www.uscert.gov/cas/tips/

http://www.netsmartz.org/netteens.htm - NetSmartz Teens - Lessons and Videos geared toward teens

http://internetsafetyeducator.com/ - An Educational Resource for Parents, Educators and Law Enforcement

Bibliographic Citations for Students by Grade Level (1-6)
http://secondary.oslis.org/resources/cm/mlacitationss -Copyright Resources including Lesson Plans and Web Quests

http://www.copyrightkids.org/ - A website designed for kids to answer questions about copyright laws. It even has a place for kids to register their own copyright.

Music and Pictures Resources
Free Music (Creative Commons) – http://www.podsafeaudio.com/
Royalty Free Music – https://magnatune.com/genres/
Royalty Free Music – http://www.royaltyfreemusic.com/free.html

Royalty Free Pictures – http://www.freefoto.com/index.jsp

Free pictures - http://www.pics4learning.com/

Resources for Students
Many sites include resources suitable for multiple age groups, parents, and educators.

K-12
Legal
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/referenc.html#copyright - Pics4Learning is a copyright-friendly image library for teachers and students. The Pics4Learning collection consists of thousands of images that have been donated by students, teachers, and amateur photographers.

http://www.podsafeaudio.com/ - Royalty free music by genre

http://www.royaltyfreemusic.com/free.html - Royalty free music

https://www.wiredsafety.org/forms/stalking.html -Cyber 911 – a place that kids (anyone) can report cyber crimes

http://ikeepsafe.org/iksc_kids/ - Faux Paws Fun Zone for Kids. The Internet Keep SafeCoalition is a broad partnership of governors and/or first spouses, attorneys general, public health and educational professionals, law enforcement, and industry leaders working together for the health and safety of youth online. iKeepSafe® uses these unique partnerships to disseminate safety resources to families worldwide. AT&T’s Internet safety game for kids is designed to teach elementary school children about safety and security while surfing the Web.

http://www.safekids.com/ - Internet Safety and Civility

http://www.isafe.org/channels/?ch=ai - i-SAFE Inc. i-SAFE is a non-profit foundation whose mission is to educate and empower youth to make their Internet experiences safe and responsible.

http://www.netsmartzkids.org/indexFL.htm - Safeteens - Tips and articles geared toward teenagers.

http://www.cyber-safety.com/preteens.html - Cyber Safety for Kids in a Wired World (Pre-Teens)

http://www.cyber-safety.com/teens.html - Cyber Safety for Kids in a Wired World (Teens)

http://www.idthecreep.com// - online safety quiz from Cybertipline

http://kids.yahoo.com/ - Yahoo! Kids is Yahoo!’s entertainment and education site for children aged 6 through 12. Launched in 1996 as "Yahooligans!," Yahoo! Kids uniquely combines the power of the Yahoo! network, our relationships with the top producers of children’s content and kid-safe search built on more than 10,000 Web sites vetted by our editors.

http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/tips/ - US-CERT (United States Computer Emergency Response Team) from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security

http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/games/privacy_playground/ - Privacy Playground: The First Adventure of the Three CyberPigs (Ages 8-10) In this first adventure, the CyberPigs learn about online marketing, and about protecting their privacy as they surf the Internet.

http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/games/cybersense_nonsense/ - CyberSense and
Nonsense: The Second Adventure of the Three CyberPigs (Ages 9-12) the three
CyberPigs learn some important lessons about authenticating online information and
observing rules of netiquette.

http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/games/allies_aliens/kids.cfm - Adina’s Deck - website & learning program especially suitable for 13-17 year old girls.

Digital Citizenship
http://www.clubpenguin.com/ - Disney’s Club Penguin. Safe Social Network to practice digital citizenship.

http://www.whyville.net/smmk/nice
Whyville is a virtual world where boys and girls from all over the real world come to chat, play, learn, and have fun together. You design your face, earn clams by playing games, hang out at the beach, and go to town events at the Greek Theater. You can start your own business, buy a car and give your friends a ride, or write for the town newspaper.

Sexting
http://www.sextingisstupid.com/ - A website concerning Internet Safety and Responsiblity
http://www.iroc2.org/events/iroc2-responsibility-21c - Institute for Responsible Online and Cell Phone Communication
http://www.mtv.com/videos/news/483802/sexting-in-america-when-privates-go-public-part-2.jhtml#id=1631892 - This video concerns the "fallout" from Sexting....even when famous people do it and get caught.



Acronyms
A Short List of Frequently-Used Internet Acronyms (CAUTION! STRONG LANGUAGE IN SOME)AAMOF = As A Matter Of Fact
AFAIF = As Far As I Know
AFAIC = As Far As I’m Concerned
AFAICT = As Far As I Can Tell
ASAP = As Soon As Possible
BAK = Back At Keyboard, or, Backup
BBL = Be Back Later
BFD = Big Fucking Deal
BHS = Big Hair Syndrome
BMA = Bite My A__ (Arse)
BITMT = But In The Meantime
BOT = Back On Topic
BRB = Be Right Back
BTW = By The Way
CSWGAS = Call Someone Who Gives A Sh_t
C4N = Ciao For Now
CRS = Can’t Remember Stuff, or Sh_t
CTN= Can’t Talk Now
CU = See You
CUL8R = See You Later
CWOT = Complete Waste Of Time
CYA = See Ya
DITYID = Did I Tell You I’m Distressed?
DIY = Do It Yourself
EOD = End Of Discussion
EZ = Easy
F2F = Face To Face
FAQ = Frequently Asked Questions
FBOW = For Better Or Worse
FO = F__k Off
FOCL = Falling Off Chair Laughing
FWIW = For What Itís Worth
FYA = For Your Amusement
FYI = For Your Information
FU = F__k You
GA = Go Ahead
GAL = Get A Life
GBTW = Get Back To Work
GFC = Going For Coffee
GFD = Good F__king Day
GFETE = Grinning From Ear to Ear
GMTA = Great Minds Think Alike
GR&D = Grinning, Running & Ducking
GTG = Got To Go
GTGTTBR = Got To Go To The Bathroom
GTRM = Going To Read Mail
HAND = Have A Nice Day
HHOK = Ha Ha Only Kidding
HTH = Hope This Helps
IAC = In Any Case
IAE = In Any Event
IC = I See
ICU = I See You
IDGI = I Don’t Get It
IMCO = In My Considered Opinion
IMHO = In My Humble Opinion
IMO = In My Opinion
IMPE = In My Previous/Personal Experience
IMVHO = In My Very Humble Opinion
IOTTMCO = Intuitively Obvious To The Most Casual Observer
IOW = In Other Words
IRL = In Real Life
ISP = Internet Service Provider
IYKWIM = If You Know What I Mean
JAFO = Just Another F__king Observer
JIC = Just In Case
J?K = Just Kidding
KISS = Keep It Simple Stupid
KMA = Kiss My A__ (Arse)
L8TR = Later
LD = Later Dude
LMFAO = Laughing My F__king A__ Off
LOL = Laughing Out Load
LTNS = Long Time No See
MorF = Male or Female, or person who asks that question
MTCW = My Two Cents Worth
NADT = Not A D__n Thing
NP = Nosy Parents
NRN = No Reply Necessary
ONNA = Oh No, Not Again!
OTOH = On The Other Hand
OTTOMH = Off The Top Of My Head
OIC = Oh, I See
OTF = On The Floor
OLL = Online Love
P911 = My parents are coming in the room
PA = Parent Alert
PAL = Parents Are Listening
PAN or PANB = Parents Are Nearby
PCMCIA = People Can’t Memorize Computer Industry Acronyms
PLS = Please
POS = Parents Over Shoulder
PU = That Stinks!
REHI = Hello Again (re-Hi!)
ROFL = Rolling On Floor Laughing
ROTFL = Rolling On The Floor Laughing
MAO = My A__ Off... (added to many expressions)
RSN = Real Soon Now
RTDox = Read The Documentation/Directions
RTFM = Read The F__king Manual
RUOK = Are You OK?
SA = Sibling Alert
SNAFU = Situation Normal; All F__ked up
SO = Significant Other
SOL = Smiling Out Load... or, You’re S__t Out of Luck
TA = Teacher Alert
TANSTAAFL= There Aint No Such Thing As A Free Lunch
TAFN = That’s All For Now
TEOTWAWKI = The End of The World As We Know It
THX = Thanks
TXS = Thanks
TKS = Thanks
TIA = Thanks In Advance
TLK2UL8R = Talk To You Later
TMK = To My knowledge
TOS = Terms Of Service
TPTB = The Powers That Be
TSWC = Tell Someone Who Cares
TTBOMK = To The Best Of My Knowledge
TTFN = Ta-Ta For Now
TTYL8R = Talk To You Later
TWIMC = To Whom it May Concern
URL = Web Page Address
W/b = Welcome Back
W/o = Without
WRT = With Regard To
WTG = Way To Go
WTKOT = Way to knock over that!
WU? = What’s Up?
WWW = World Wide Web
WYSIWYG = What You See I What You Get
Y2K = Year 2000
YGIAGAM = Your Guess Is As Good As Mine
YGWYPF = You Get What You Pay For
YPFWYG = You Pay for What You Get
YMMV = Your Mileage May Vary
ZZZ = Sleeping
Excerpted

Emoticons
Emoticons that Convey Emotion
(<> or <>) = Alienated
:II or :-II = Angry
:@ or :-@ = Angry or screaming
>:-( = Angry or annoyed
I-I = Asleep
:C = Astonished
;)=) or ;-)=) = Big grin
?( or ?-( = You gave me a black eye
:1 or :-1 = Bland face
:0 or :-0 or :[ or :I = Bored
:c or :-c = Discouraged, disappointed, bummed-out
:*) = Clowning
:~/ = Confused
:í( or :í-( or ;-( = Crying/sad
8-# = Feeling dead, Death
:> or :-> = Devilish grin
:6 or :-6 = Eating something sour
}) or }-) = Evil
:] or :-] = Friendly
:( or :-( = Frowning
:/ or :-/ = Frustrated
:D or :-D = Grinning
:{ = Having a hard Time
{ } or (( )) = Hug
{yourname} or ((yourname)) = Hugging you (the more
parens or brackets, the bigger the “hug.”
:*) or :-*) or :X = Kiss
:))) or :-))) = Laughing or double chin
:.) or :.-) = Laughing tears
:$ or :-$ = Should have mouth wired shut
:X or :-X = Being silent, Mute, shut up
:1 or :-1 = Not talking
:Y or :-Y = Quiet aside
:[ or :-[ = Real downer
:<> or :=> = Sarcastic
B) or B-) = That’s cool, (Shades, or Sunglasses)
:í-( = Shedding a Tear
=:) or =:-) = Shocked
:Z or :-Z = Sleeping
:) or :-) = Smiling
:0 or :-0 = Surprised
:() or :-() = Talking
:P or :-P = Tongue out
:& or :-& = Tongue-tied
:^( = Unhappy, looking away
;) or ;-) = Winking
:} or :-} = Wry smile
_O-) = Take a dive
=:-) = I’m having a “bad hair day”
%-) = Cross-eyed
#-) = Feeling dead
:-I :-I = Déjà vu
:e = Disappointed
<:-) = Feeling like a dunce >-< = Furious :-3 = Sour, has eaten a lemon (-: = Smiling (Left-handed version) (8-o = Ooohhhh, nooooooo! (Mr. Bill) ?-( = Sorry, I don’t know what went wrong or what happened X-) = Feeling unconscious, you are unconscious :-II = Very angry Descriptive Emoticons 0:) or 0:-) = Angel (:& = Angry I-I = Asleep _O-) = Aquanaut, Scuba diver :1 or :-1 = Bland face ?( or ?-( = Black eye :6 or :-6 = Eating something sour 8) or 8-) = Glasses :-))) = Double chin :=8) = Baboon @:-] = Baby =:-) = Bad hair day (:-) = Bald :o) = Boxer’s nose *:o) = Bozo the Clown, you are a clown, I was clowning :-{#} = Braces :-E = Bucktoothed, or, vampire :-F = One-toothed, or, vampire missing a tooth cl:-= = Charlie Chaplin C=:-) = Chef Q( = College graduate %-) = Cross-eyed O-) = Cyclops #-) = Dead <:-) = Dunce’s hat, or, Dunce }:-> = The Devil
:-[ = Dracula
[:I or [:-I = Frankenstein
P* = French kiss
%\ or %-\ = Hangover
:-3 = Has eaten a lemon
<<<<(:-) = Hat salesman (-: = Left-handed smiley 8:-) = Little girl :-{} = Lipstick :-.) = Madonna or Marilyn Monroe :$ or :-$ = Mouth wired shut (8-o = Mr. Bill :X or :-X = Mute :<) or :-{ = Mustache .-) = One-eyed :@) = Pig :-? = Pipe smoker P-) = Pirate K:P = Propeller beanie =:-I = Punk rocker [:] or [:I] = Robot *<;:-{{{ = Santa or *<;{o> = Santa
(:)-) = Scuba-diving, diver
.^) = Side view
B) or B-) = Sunglasses, “shades”
:-Q = Smoking
08-) = Starry-eyed angel
B:-) = Sunglasses on head
8-) = Swimmer
:P or :-P = Tongue out
I) or I-) = Trekkie
=I:-) = Uncle Sam, or Abe Lincoln
X-) = Unconscious
(:- = Unsmiley
[:-) = Wearing a Walkman or headphones
{:-) = Wearing a wig
;) or ;-) = Winking
\í) = Winky
Excerpted from:
Brown, Michael J., Vicki Love, Rick Wiita, Michael J.
Harmony, Robin Sundquist, and Donald A.
Garlock, Jr., eds. “Protecting the Innocent: A
Guide to Internet Safety for Parents and
Educators.” Bedford, Virginia, Bedford County
Sheriff’s Office, 2003

Modeling Technology

I was reared being taught that you should "be a good example"...."practice what you preach"....etc. With that being said....I feel as though I should be the shining example of technology use that my positional title at work implies that I am...."Istructional Technology Coordinator"...I try to stay current on the latest programs...sites....trends....but, you know....collaborative tools are hard to use by yourself. ;)

In the online course that I am participating....the general course concerns are Web 2.0 tools. Well....I got a clue right up front, that though I may be aware of most if not all of these tools...I had really not experienced using them. I still haven't exactly identified a reason to use some of the ones that have been introduced...but at any rate, I use Twitter and Facebook....Google docs and presentations.....but beyond that I really hadn't gotten too deeply involved. I have a wiki with about 6 or 7 people approved to edit....but, no one has even tried to edit (go figure??). I have a blog now...with 4 followers (Thanks, it's times like this when you know who your truest and deepest friends are....those that will sign up to read your stuff and be so kind as to comment and share). So...I suppose my current quandary is around the following thoughts...how do you model something that no one else is using or perhaps has access to use? How can I perfect the use of these tools just playing with them and not getting a full idea of all of the nuances involved?

Technology Curriculum or not....

Ok...when I completed my Ed.S. program, my major project was to write a Technoloy Curriculum for K-8. I did, and oddly enough, it looked very much like the one that was later adopted by the state, (woo hoo). Then, I went on to write my dissertation on why teachers didn't integrate technology.....as a tool. After all, wasn't that how industry viewed it? But...now that technology looks so very different....it's time for a new Technology Curriculum. Or, is it? I started a new curriculum based upon the ISTE*S refreshed standards....like last year. I filled in the blanks with what was still applicable from the old standards, thinking that with a task force the other blanks could quickly be filled in and Voila....Tennessee would have a new K-8 Tech Curriculum. Well...after much mental trepidation over the whole issue....I now wonder (actually I'm quite convinced) if perhaps technology in K-8 shouldn't be it's own curriculum...but maybe it should be the tool with which we accomplish the academics standards. Perhaps the new academic standards should be retro-fitted with the ISTE*S standards and gurded up with some relevant resources for teachers to accomplish two things in one step. So, now that you're scratching your head and wondering just how I burnt my brain up.....if teachers realized that if the students created a pod-cast to review, say, the scientific method.....how many academic and technology standards they would cover just in that one project?! OOOOps....there's that word....project. If teachers utilized inquiry/project based learning in their classrooms, then, we would be living the technology standards rather than teaching them....and I would hazard a huge guess....that the students would be empowered to learn and easily cover the academic standards with joy and glee. Ok...maybe not joy and glee....but at least with some ownership of their own learning and pride of accomplishment.
Here's a link to my wiki with Tech Curriculum....if you see fit or interest to comment or edit, please request permission through the wiki and have at it! http://tnk-8techcurriculumstandards.wikispaces.com/

TETC - Tennessee Educational Technology Coference - Response to Surveys

First - The conference is growing annually. Secondly - We are striving to provide educators with tools, information, networking, etc. to help them incorporate, integrate, infuse or just use technology in their classrooms. Thirdly - We seriously appreciate the feedback we receive from our participants' surveys. However....for this my first blogging attempt....I must get this off of my chest.....
Quote from survey response "This session was GREAT! But, it was too crowded. You should schedule the "Really Good" sessions in the biggest rooms." My response......My bad, my crystal ball went off line and I didn't see that session getting that many folks and being that great. I'll try to do better next year!

Ok..I feel slightly better now. I will feel a lot better when I get my pod cast completed for my online course.