Tech Tip Tuesday ... Snowflakes!

I grew up in Houston, so paper snowflakes were pretty much the only ones we ever saw. 

I don't think my snowflakes were ever this pretty. In fact, I'm pretty sure that all of my snowflakes were made on recycled copy paper from my mom's work (which means that every snowflake I ever made was on the back of some Church Bulletin or Order of Worship that had one too many typos. 

Paper snowflakes are still fun, but there are all kinds of online sites where students (and you!) can create amazing snowflakes for projects like winter poetry or even a math lesson about symmetry!

You've got to check these out:

• Make a Flake by Barkley - create your own fabulous flake by using the "scissors" to cut away at the folded "paper". Oh, how wonderful to have an UNDO button if you accidentally snip the wrong spot!  When you're finished, Save your flake for others to see in the gallery! You can also email your flake to a friend or download your flake to your computer to use for any type of winter project!
• SnowDays by Popular Front - This is one of the best online snowflake sites I've seen! Create your own flake, or catch one of the MILLIONS of falling flakes. I mean literally - millions! As of Monday morning, there had been 10,241,786 snowflakes created on this site!
• Snowflake Workshop - this site is new to me this year, and what a treasure! This one actually gives you very clear instructions on how to draw the lines with a "pencil" (use the "eraser" if you make a mistake), then click on the "scissors" to cut out the flake. Like the other sites, it gives you a chance to add your name, then the snowflake shows up in a fun gallery for all the world to see and enjoy.
• Snowflake Designer - this snowflake site is a little different. You choose your type of scissors, then start snipping away. It gives you an instant preview of your beautiful creation. When you are finished, just simply click the "Copy to Clipboard" button, and your design is ready to be pasted into any other document! (I had to load Shockwave for this site to work correctly for me, but it was quick and painless!)

Whether you use these sites just for fun, as part of a classroom activity, or individual student project, I hope you enjoy them!

My hope for all of us this year is that we smile more often, we laugh more often, and we are more open to trying new and innovative things in our classrooms with our students. 

So, how 'bout a little snowflake humor???

 

Teen Driver Resources

I'm actually having a hard time sharing this with you today, because it's hitting awfully close to home right now. Earlier this week I attended a beautiful memorial service for a dear friend's 16 year old son who was killed in a car accident two days before Christmas. I also have many other friends with young drivers in their families, and my own niece is the proud owner of a Learner's Permit - soon to be driving on her own.

So, when I found this Teen Driver site, it was just too important not to share. Although this really isn't a site I would use with elementary students, many of you have your own kids nearing the driving age, or maybe you could share it with teachers that work with the older kids.

"Toyota and Discovery Education have teamed up to create Toyota Teen Driver, a comprehensive program designed to help teens avoid distractions and help them stay safe behind the wheel."

There are three sections of the site - one for students, one for parents, and one for educators.  

The Students Section includes different Driving quizzes, many educational tools (including budgeting sheets and calculators to help kids figure out if they can afford a car), and a Mutual Driving Agreement.

The Parents Section includes a quiz to help you evalutate your own driving, and then several resources on your role as the parent of a new driver. It also provides several practice driving activities.

The Educators Section includes quizzes to see how prepared we are as educators, lesson plan ideas, and several take-home activities.

Heads Up is an interactive game that kids are sure to love - but it's not just about fun. This is an interactive road distraction challenge. It will hep students practice their driving skills and see how they handle distracting scenarios, such as sending text messages, changing a radio station, or drinking a soda.

I hope this site will be helpful to some of you. 

Tech Tip Tuesday ... Lit2Go

I'm excited to show you a site with a great collection of stories and poems that you can use in your classroom, in the computer lab, or just about anywhere with an mp3 player! Florida's Educational Technology Clearinghouse has put together this great collection.  Each reading passage can also be downloaded as a PDF or printed for use as a read-along or as supplemental reading material for your classroom. 

Lit2Go is a free online collection of stories and poems in Mp3 (audiobook) format. You can:

• Download the files to your Mp3 player and listen on the go,
• Listen to the Mp3 files on your computer,
• View the text on a webpage and read along as you listen,
• Print out the stories and poems to make your own book.

You can search for reading passages by title, author, keyword, or even reading level (Reading Levels are primarily determined by Microsoft Word (the Flesch-Kincaide Grade Level score), but they have also consulted other educational sources to help better determine the reading levels.

I personally prefer just browsing the titles, so all I did was scrolled down to the very bottom of the screen and clicked on Titles. When you select a title (books are in italics, the other titles are fables, speeches, documents, poems, fairy tales, etc.) you will see information about the passage that includes its reading level, origin, genre, and Sunshine State Standards (remember, this site was created and is maintained in Florida!). Scroll down to find the audio and text files.

Did you see any passages you're going to use with your class? Did you see any you want to download and listen to while on a long car trip this month? What other sites like this do you use? As usual, your comments are always welcome.

By Popular Demand ... Email Signatures

I've received many questions recently about creating and using email signatures. I'll try to give you a few suggestions on how you can create your own super-cute signatures and how you can get them to work in Groupwise.

There are really only three steps ...

1. Decide what you want your signature to say and if you want to include a graphic.
2. Create your signature in some sort of image editor (I will show you using my favorite FREE online image editor, Pixlr, but you can use the editor of your choice.)
3. Set up your Signature in Groupwise.  Now that we are using Outlook, the directions have changed!

Step 1 - Planning Your Email Siggy

You should definitely include your name, but what else? Perhaps you should include your campus name, job title, phone number and extension? There's no need to include your email address since this will be attached to an email from you, but you could include the URL for your class or campus website.

Many people like to include pictures or graphics. Try to keep them relatively small and not too distracting. You will also want to keep them education-friendly!

Click here to see several blank Email signature files. You can download them to your computer and use them to personalize your very own siggy!

Step 2 - Create Your Siggy

• Go to Pixlr
• Click Open Image Editor 
• Click Open image from computer, then browse to find the signature file you saved
• Click the Text tool, click into the body of the signature file. Enter and edit your text in the pop-up box.
• To move the text, click the Move tool (top, right tool on the tool palette), and then click and drag your text.
• Add additional text boxes for the other information on your signature
• The Layers palette (on the right side of the screen) shows you each different "layer" or item you add to your Pixlr workspace. If you need to select a specific part of your design, select it by clicking on the layer in the layers palette.

• When you are finished, File > Save 
• Stay on the My Computer Tab, give your signature a Name, leave it set to JPEG, and click OK

Step 3 - Set Up in Groupwise  Check out this post about how to set up your signature in Outlook 2010!

• In Groupwise Client, Click Tools > Options, then double-click the Environment icon
• On the Signature tab, click New
• Name your new signature
• Click the double-arrows at the far right side of the toolbar across the signature "box"

• Choose Insert Picture, then Browse to find your saved signature image. Alternate Text, Layout, and Spacing information is optional. Click OK.

• Designate whether to automatically add or prompt before adding your signature. (I suggest "prompt before adding" because you probably don't want to use your signature on every email.)
• Click OK to set this as your email signature

Helpful Tips

• After you set it up, send an email to yourself (your school address) to see if it works.
  
• You may want to include your class website address. (If you don't already have a "Friendly URL", please contact your IT so we can set one up for you. A Friendly URL is one that doesn't contain a long string of numbers ... for example, my website address is www.emsisd.com/ctucker) 
  
• If you don't see your signature, check to make sure you are viewing the email in HTML. (Tools > Options > Environment, then click on the Views tab. Select HTML option for the Default Compose View & Font AND the Default Read View & Font)