IT @ ISM Tech Think Blog

Here’s a quick update on some planned upgrades for this year and next here at ISM.

If you’re wondering what to expect with regards to hardware setup, improvements, changes or other planned IT initiatives, read on and you will hopefully find answers to some of your questions.

One obvious recent priority has been to find someone to replace Dimax, who left us in February for new (and greener?) pastures. This will hopefully be resolved shortly. In the meantime, please bear with us as we try to fill his shoes.

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As part of 5th grade’s unit ‘Why Should I Care about the Environment?‘, students were asked to take action in some personal way. To model this behavior (as good teachers do), Jen has made a personal pledge to stop using paper coffee cups, and has started a blog chronicling this process: Cutting Coffee Cups Out of My Life.

She approached the Allegro staff with a suggestion to give a price incentive to encourage everyone to bring their own mugs rather than buying paper cups, and regular coffee buyers may have already noticed that the staff are currently doing data gathering, writing down every time someone brings their own mug.

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Over the last few months, the strike of the Writers Guild of America has led to a significant shift in viewership from TV to online media, as more and more people got fed up with re-runs of old series. Blogs, podcasts and video sharing sites are among the online media outlets benefitting from the TV exodus.

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What is Social Networking?

Many of our students are members of MySpace. MySpace is a social networking site that offers users a personalized page that can contain photos, videos and personal information about themselves. Students can connect with peers and set up their own online networks of friends. The site has privacy settings that allow users to moderate who can access their site. The minimum age requirement to sign up for a MySpace site is 14, although it is possible that a younger student could sign up and enter a false age.
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Here’s a list of ways to save time when using Microsoft Word (and many of the hints work for other Office programs as well). If you spend a little bit of time practicing and learn by heart a number of these keyboard shortcuts, you can significantly increase your efficiency working with Office programs (and Windows in general), as you don’t have to move your hands off the keyboard to click with the mouse the whole time.

How many of these tips and tricks do you know?

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Back in September, I wrote a bit about podcasting at ISM. In the months since, podcasting has really started to take off in the middle and high schools. During the last couple of months, a number of HS English classes, all the 8th graders and a number of 6th graders have started podcasting projects using www.podbean.com.

For an example, listen to this episode (from Dave Feren’s IB class podcast) featuring a fictional radio program called “Good Morning, Afghanistan”. The purpose of this podcast was to creatively show an awareness of some significant aspect of the historical context for the novel The Kite Runner.
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ISM’s Pre K - 12 technology standards will be based on the NETS standards from ISTE, and we are currently in the process of formulating indicators for the standards. As the school gets standards in place for the various subject areas and departments start entering units into Atlas Rubicon, all teachers will need to become more familiar with the NETS standards, as meeting these will require some integration of technology use in other subjects.
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On Monday this week, we started the new semester with the now annual IT @ ISM Expo. The feedback after the event was good, and many seemed inspired by what they had seen and heard, whether the new ideas came from the intended topic or just something that came up incidentally during conversations. There were several sessions devoted to podcasting, and a number of classes have started experimenting with this over the last couple of months.

One concern brought up by a presenter afterwards was the risk that you might end up preaching to the converted, as some attendees seem to select topics they already know they’re interested in, when part of the intention is to expose teachers to new ideas. However, ideas often come bubbling forth anyway, through conversations with other teachers. The interactive format with small groups gives rise to conversations with people you may not otherwise have talked to, often from other grade levels, departments and divisions.

Another concern was the timing, as some seem to have prioritized report writing over the chance to learn from each other. This is a pity of course, and we can try to avoid that for next year’s event. For those who missed a topic they would have liked to learn about, there is a folder in Staff Resources with resource files/handouts from most of the events (please note that this link only works if you are logged on to the network - if not, you have to log in and navigate to Staff Resources >> CommonFolders >> IT Expo 08 via the public site).

Thanks to all the presenters!

Here is some information about burning CDs and DVDs that was put together by Philip in the AV Office in response to an email query, but I figured it might be useful for others as well. Thanks Philip!

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According to ISM’s mission and our school-wide student goals, our mandate is to develop “effective communicators” and “responsible, caring and ethical contributors“. The NETS technology standards also commit us to developing digital citizens who “practice legal and ethical behavior” in their “use of information and technology“.

This may all sound well and good, but what does it mean in practice?
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