This PowerPoint answers a few common questions about technology. If there is a critical topic that you think should be added, let me know. I can update the deck.
Click the play button (single click) and the presentation will go by itself.
Like many other people, I use Google Reader as my main RSS feed reader. However, I like to keep my class feeds separate. For years I have used a free piece of software called RssReader. This simple program keeps all my feeds in a stand-alone app with one big bonus. RssReader archives all edits. So if someone changes a post, the reader keeps track and shows all versions. This is super handy when using blogs with students.
The main problem with RssReader is its age. It was last updated more than five years ago. As a result, it lacks some of the features of newer readers, plus I’m starting to get random errors with some of the blogs I read.
I went looking for a new reader and found this list at the Open Directory Project. Specifically I was looking for a reader that could handle sorting by tags. I found FeedReader3. As you can see below, the feeds can be sorted by tag.
When I give a blog assignment in class, I have the students add a very long and specific tag to each post. This does two things.
1 – I can sort the posts in my reader by assignment. This makes grading much easier especially if there are several posts which are similar. I can tell which post goes with each assignment.
2 – The students can find each other easier. Google picks up each post with its tags and a search of one of the tags will show all posts by all students. At some point I always have students consider the work of other students. These tags make it easy to see what everyone else is saying.
So far FeedReader3 has worked well. It has an OPML import and export feature, so moving all my feeds into FeedReader3 or out to something else is snap. From what I see, I will probably stick with this one for a while.
If you have worked in educational professional development, at some point you have asked your audience this question. “What technology would you like to know more about?” I asked this question to my school district in the early 1990s. Microsoft had just come out with Office 3.0 (the first version) which contained Word 2, PowerPoint 3 and Excel 4. I think they averaged those numbers and gave it the version number three.
For several years I repeated summer PD with my teachers and each year the same “technology” was requested. Most teachers were interested in learning more about Microsoft Office. Sometimes there would be a few teachers asking specifically for one application like Excel or PowerPoint, but it was always something to do with Office.
Times have changed. The number one item I hear about now is the SmartBoard, but Office follows in a close second. If a school does not own SmartBoards and does not plan to buy them, Office is still number one.
The funny thing is, I have never taken a class to learn any version of Office. I have read several books and used assorted online resources, but I have never sat in a class for the purpose of learning how to use Office. Yet, I have learned to use sixteen different word processors since my first job.
The technology standards for the state of Ohio have an indicator which states all ninth graders will:
Demonstrate proficiency in all productivity tools (e.g., word processing, spreadsheet, database, desktop publishing).
And these standards were adopted almost six years ago in 2003.
I am using Office 2007 right now. Office 2010 will be out later this year. The freshmen I have in class this fall will still be using the old version. Long before they graduate and get jobs in schools, Office 2010 will be out and widely adopted. By the time they teach ten years, few people will still be using Office 2007.
This is why a personal professional development plan is so important. If we do not keep up with the basic technologies on our own, we will never master the use of advanced technology tools which really are exciting to use in the classroom.
Sometime yesterday Protopage had an upgrade. Here is what the site looked like before the upgrade.
Below is the same page after the upgrade. Notice how everything is shifted down about half an inch so that the options tab can be seen at the top.
The options tab is not new. Before this upgrade, the tab was at the bottom. That was nice considering that I use the options tab only a few times each year. I have posted a “downgrade” request on the Protopage blog. While I wait for a response, I’ll spend a little more time scrolling on my startpage.