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Thursday, March 15, 2012

ITEC iPad and Google App Training Coming Soon!!!

ITEC iPad workshop ad
Want to learn tricks about using your iPad?

Looking for tips on engaging your students using Google Apps?

ITEC has found the need and we are filling that need - - - - - - AGAIN!!!

We are presenting workshops throughout Iowa to support educators in integrating these new technologies into their teaching.

Here is the calendar of events:


iPads in the Classroom Training (8:30 - 3:30)
This is a HANDS-ON workshop where you will be introduced to the basics of using iPads in the classroom. Programs will be suggested for you to download before the workshop and we will review using them during our session.

March 24     Cedar Falls @ UNI
March 31     Sioux City
April 14        Cedar Rapids
April 14        Algona
April 21        Decorah
April 28        Nevada

Google Apps in the Classroom Training (8:30 - 3:30)
Another HANDS-ON workshop where you will use and innovate using the Google Apps suite. 



March 31      Nevada


Cost:   ITEC Members   $125         Non Members  $150 (includes Membership)
             Lunch will be provides.

Questions about the workshops?
Contact Andy Crozier (acrozier@gmail.com) or Stacy Behmer (sbehmer@gwaea.org)

Questions regarding payment?
Contact Jeff Sypersma (jsypersma@nwaea.org)

If you have any other questions or comments, leave a comment below.  Have you attended one of the ITEC workshops in the past? What did you think?

Z




Sunday, March 04, 2012

ITEC's IT Conference on March 15 & 16 Tailored for Techees

ITEC Logo
Here it is.  An IT conference specifically designed for Technology and IT Directors.

This is where you can come to learn about Networking, Filtering, Firewalls, Moodle Setup, Google Apps Scripting . . .

This conference is NOT for everyone.  It is for people who have a technical interest in making technology happen in our schools.

When?   March 15 & 16   (Registration Deadline is March 8)
Where?  Ames Middle School in Ames, IA (3915 Mortensen Road)

Here is a list of some of the topics included:
  • Google Technical Deployment and Google Dashboard
  • Google Apps Scripting
  • Filtering and Firewalls
  • Networking (both Basic and Advanced)
  • Moodle Setup, Management, and Modification
  • Virtualization
  • Bring Your Own Desktop panel discussion
  • Deploying Netbooks
  • Deploying Chromebooks
  • iOS Management
  • Apple Lion Server Management and Imaging
  • Wireless solutions
  • School Web site products
  • Open Source Tools
  • How Students Can Provide Technical Support
  • Department of Ed session on SIF integration
  • How to Select Projectors and other A/V Equipment
Here is the grid for the many sessions. Click on the graphic to make it larger to read.  If you want a .pdf version, you can click here for a link to the actual grid of sessions.
Cost
  • ITEC member (1 day)                $65
  • ITEC member (2 days)            $125
  • Non-ITEC member (1 day)        $90
  • Non-ITEC member (2 days)    $150
  • Students                                    $10
Sound interesting?  This is the first of its kind in the state of Iowa.  Come be part of history and build technology skills that you can use immediately.

Saturday, March 03, 2012

Dr. Z Records the Roman South Theater in Jerash.

Photo of Jaresh, Jordan
Traveling to Jordan was a wonderful experience. You will find my musings and reporting in previous and subsequent postings. Believe it or not, I after 5 days of non-stop conferencing, consulting, broadcasting and schmoozing, I had a day to play tourist. I wanted to go to Petra, but It was a 3-hour drive each way which meant 6 hours in the car on my only day off. Therefore I decided to join my friends, Andrew and ??, in a visit to Jerash. 50 Kilometers north of Amman, it was only an hour drive to the location. It is known for its Greco-Roman ruins. It was conquered by the Romans in 63 BC and absorbed into the Roman province of Arabia in 90 AD. We visited a number of the ruins including the Hadrian's Arch, Hippodrome, South Gate, Zeus Temple and the South Theatre. We enjoyed the Hippodrome and Arch but I was really interested in the South Theatre.

This amphitheater has some of the best acoustics around.  Stand in the center of the stage in a selected square meter and you will find yourself in the "sweet spot."  It is designed that if you even whisper from that location you will be heard from throughout the theatre. This theater will seat up to 3,000 spectators. It is still used for some concerts and events.

Here is a video I made of a couple of performing Jordanian musicians.  It was amazing to see the number of bagpipers I bumped into during that week.



While standing there, Andrew urged me to sing my song about writing ABCD objectives.  here it is. At long last you will be able to see/hear a recording of Dr. Z singing "Are You Going to Write Objectives?"  The best part is that it is being sung in a Roman Amphitheatre
in the middle of Jordan. This must be serious!  BTW, notice how far away Andrew was from Dr. Z when he was signing this. There was no microphone, just the incredible acoustics.


So it's a little flat . . . it's the thought that counts. 

I hope that you enjoy these videos. It's just the beginning of my Jordan report.  Give me some feedback. What do you want to know?

Z

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Should Students Be Able to Use Social Media in High School?

I just received an email from a high school student who was asking about my stance on filtering the Web in a school. She was taking a Law class in her school and they were researching what educators in the field said about which sites should be accessible and which should be blocked.  I have included my response below. You will notice that I have left it anonymous but I thought that it contained some interesting points:

Question: What are your thoughts about students using social networking sites on the new one-on-one laptops

Dear Student;

I am honored that you are interested in my opinion on this topic.

As frustrating as this may sound, my answer is "It all depends."

Providing one computer for each student is not about technology.  It is about providing students with individual tools that will allow them to take responsibility for their education. This means that you will have the ability to access the almost unlimited amount of information available on the web.  It also means that you must act responsibly in what you use and how you use it.

I am not a fan of blocking online sites. This reduces your access to the many resources that you may use for your studies.  However, if you have open access to these sites you must use them in a mature and responsible manner.

It is something like teaching a child about crossing the street.  You can't teach her to look both ways before crossing unless you allow her to cross it. We can't teach students about how to be safe and sane on the Web unless we provide them access.

This does not mean that you have free reign of Facebook or Twitter or YouTube. If you are Facebooking your friends in class when you should be using it to search for pertinent information, you should be disciplined for your actions as you would for any misbehavior in class.  These punishments should be identified beforehand so that both the teachers and students know what to do.

I would strongly suggest that you and your teachers read From Fear to Facebook.   It is 120-page book by a principal who was hired in Cupertino to convert their school to a 1-to-1 school. It is a wonderful narrative that explains how student, parents, teachers and administrators shaped the rules of the school. It costs $10 for a Kindle and you can get it immediately. It's twice the price for paperback. http://tinyurl.com/78sj48o    I use it in my technology coordinator class.

I hope that this has been useful. To summarize, I don't believe in filtering content unless necessary. If it turns out that the students can't responsibly use some resources like Facebook, it should be removed. You responsibilities as a student increase as your access to technology and online resources increase. If you do not act responsibly, then appropriate disciplinary actions should be taken.

Good luck and keep me posted of your success.

Leigh Zeitz
Associate Professor.
Coordinator of Instructional Technology division
University of Northern Iowa

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

#3 - Empowering Students' Learning Through Technology workshop

The third of three workshops in the Technology-Empowered Learning workshop on 23 February, 2012 in Amman, Jordan.  This workshop is being presented to a group of TVET teachers and administrators. It is primarily designed to use the Florida Technology Integration Matrix to identify how technology is being used and how it can be expanded.

There will be some handouts that will not be posted until tonight.

The Empowering Students' Learning through Technology slideshow (in English)
Empower Students Through Technology
View more presentations from Leigh Zeitz

Here is the slideshow in Arabic:
Resources used in the workshop:

#2 - Creating and Using Problem-Based Learning in the TVET Classroom workshop

As the second workshop in the Technology-Empowered Learning workshop series I am giving here in Amman, Jordan, this workshop will be a hands-on experience where the attendees will actually go through the process of identifying a topic, authoring an essential question, designing a plan, and finishing the project with an external presentation.

This workshop includes some handouts that will be attached to this page in .pdf format (but maybe not until tonight.)

Here is the slideshow in English

Resources used during the workshop:

How do you use PBL in your teaching?  Please share your experiences and resources.

Z

Broadcasting from Jordan


Photo of Skype Broadcast from Jordan
Even traveling to the other side of the world will not keep Dr. Z from his students. It is amazing that tonight I used three different formats of teleconferencing to connect between Amman, Jordan and Cedar Falls. This was all through my computer sitting in my hotel room.

My first electronic encounter was with my Classroom Computer Applications undergraduate class at the University of Northern Iowa.  I didn't want to teach a class from here, but wanted to provide my students with the opportunity to video conference with someone in the Middle East, me.  As you will see, I am here at a conference.

Jordan is 8 hours ahead of Cedar Falls, so if my students met for their 2:00 pm class it would be 10:00 pm here.  The content of this connection was yet to be determined, but it turned out quite well.

Sitting in the room with me were my colleagues: Andrew Thompson (Indonesia) and Aziz Aljardan (Saudi Arabia) were at my side when I Skyped back to our Technology Methods Lab in SEC 127 at the University of Northern Iowa.

Things went wonderfully well. Aside from my lousy backlighting, the connection was flawless (Thanks Rachel) and ideas flowed freely. Unfortunately, I didn't record the first half of the broadcast but we held introductions and my friends shared what they were doing here with my students.

We recorded the second half of the meeting and I am happy to share it with you.  Please watch this video and then share your reactions to it in the comments below.



This Skype video conference was followed by a 3-way video conference with my colleagues, Robin Galloway and Jason Vetter where we planned an upcoming meeting.

Fortuitously, my wife, Kathy, followed trend with a Google chat and Skype session.

The possible connections for individuals in today's world are incredible.

BTW, my Jordan adventure is occurring on many levels of experience. I will be sharing them with ou but in no particular order of sequence.

I look forward to your replies.

Z