Spartanburg 7: Instructional Technology Blog

Posted by Zachary Maddox

While you may not use Twitter, you’ve probably heard of it and may know that many people use it regularly. Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read messages known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters displayed on the author’s profile page and delivered to the author’s subscribers who are known as followers. Senders can restrict delivery to those in their circle of friends or, by default, allow open access. All users can send and receive tweets via the Twitter website, Short Message Service (SMS), or external applications. [Read more →]

Tags:   news reader · Twitter4 Comments

Posted by Susan Myers

Lucas Gillispie, an instructional tech coordinator for Pender County Schools in NC, uses WOW (common abbreviation for World of Warcraft) with middle school students.  I wasn’t able to attend his session at NCTIES, but he tweeted his wiki explaining how to use WOW with students.  View the wiki here.

World of Warcraft, by the way, is an online multiplayer role playing game.  The user creates a player that can be one of multiple races (orc, troll, human, dwarf, etc) and any type of character (fighter, magic user, healer, etc).  The user enters into a “world” with other people and can talk to them and solve quests with them.  See the Wikipedia article  for more details.

Tags:   gaming in class · World of Warcraft · WOWNo Comments.

Posted by Susan Myers

We will need to check to see if these 1) will run on our network and 2)are unblocked.

To do a screen capture, use either Screen Toaster or BB Flashback Express.  Screen Toaster has in a built in voice recorder.  Teachers could record lessons for students to review later.  The recorded lessons would also be useful for sick students or those on homebound.  I know Larry used this type of [Read more →]

Tags:   free toolsNo Comments.

Posted by Jim Frady

Classworks is a web-based integrated learning system that is aligned to state and national standards.  Each school is scheduled to have its own meeting for its Classworks Implentation Plan during the month of March.   Classworks will be implemented this school year in most of our After School programs.  In the fall, it will be implemented into classrooms.  [Read more →]

Tags:   Classworks · spart7.orgNo Comments.

Posted by Susan Myers

While I was at NCTIES, I saw an amazing board called anEno.  This board is an interactive/smart type board that you can WRITE on with whiteboard markers.  The salesperson said there is a grid, [Read more →]

Tags:   interwrite · smartboardNo Comments.

Posted by Cheryl Robinette

This could be a useful tool for students to use as they conduct online research. By highlighting and adding notes to the resources they find, students will be able to quickly remember what it was about a website that they thought would be helpful.  Click here to see the awesome highlighter.

Tags:   highlighter · shortcutNo Comments.

Posted by Zachary Maddox

The future of computing is here. The tablet computer that everyone’s been anticipating, the iPad represents Apple’s “most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary device at an unbelievable price.” [Read more →]

Tags:   Apple · computer · iPad · tablet2 Comments

Posted by Tony Thompson

This story from the Philadelphia Inquirer almost can’t be true:

Lower Merion School District officials used school-issued laptop computers to illegally spy on students, according to a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court.

The PI article | A followup article

Note: Lower Merion is a wealthy, exclusive suburb just outside Philadelphia.

Tags:   laptops · philadelphia · school · spy1 Comment

Posted by David Beyer

You can double-click a word to highlight it in any document, e-mail or Web page.  Triple click and it will highlight the entire paragraph.

In a document, you can click at the beginning of text you want to highlight, hold the shift key down and click at the end.

You can enlarge the text on any Web page by pressing the Ctrl and the plus or minus keys for bigger or smaller fonts – this is a good tip for middle-aged eyes [Read more →]

Tags:   Shortcuts · technology · windows1 Comment

Posted by Tony Thompson

This GQ Magazine article – which you may have to read outside your school network due to content filter restrictions – might make you think twice about putting that cellphone up against your head. [Read more →]

Tags:   cellphones · danger · wi fi2 Comments