I found this video by Bill Cosby as he speaks about graduating college from Carnegie Mellon. He gives his own definition about being a Nerd and why someone would chose that label – great story at the beginning of the video – which I used to discuss with my leadership students about being labelled a leadership student. We elaborated on that question even further by how different groups on campus interpret the term leadership student.

My favorite part of the video comes five minutes in, when Bill – a master story teller – shares an experience as a young comedian of finally making it big. Bill bombs terribly and almost walks away from comedy all together. With some prompting Bill goes out and kills on his second set. His point, don’t let anyone – including yourself – talk you out of being you. This clip starts about 5:20 into the keynote and lasts a little over 10 minutes.

It’ s Time to Play

When I first heard of this app, I became excited, an all inclusive app that finds video from a specific year for me. When I started to use the app, I became more excited as the resources here are invaluable as an educator. For example, I am currently watching an animation on the sinking of the Lusitania made in 1918. Certainly a propaganda film, but still a great example of film and animation in the early days of theater. This could easily be used in History, English, Film Studies, Film Production, Cultural Studies, Art & Animation … wherever you may want it to go. I could see using some of this as background research for The Great Gatsby as understanding WWI is the precursor to understanding the Roaring 20′s. Even better, could kids make the connection that the sinking of the Lusitania is like that of the attack on 9/11?  Again, things that make the kids think are always good.

My biggest appreciation of the Video Time Machine app is that it gives me, the teacher, options. I can let my kids loose to see what they find and then have them share – narrowing down my videos to four or five out of 160 in a particular year. I can choose a specific video to watch, guiding my students to the topic and asking them to write about, make a connection, or find a similar film on their own. Even better, I get it all for just .99 cents. No companion pieces to the literature, so major additional research on my own time, just an app on my learning device. Additionally, I can share the videos via Twitter and Facebook. So, with all of my students on Twitter following my class feed (SoethEngClass) I can share the videos that way and see how many watch the videos prior to class; or, how many watch them again once we leave class. Learning is about interacting, and what better way for kids to take the video with them to interact with on their iPhone, iPod, other smartphone or home computer. Now I just extended the learning beyond my classroom at no extra cost to the student.

As a newer program, they are still growing, so the 10,000 videos will definitely increase. Right now, 1860 has one video, the first sound recording. However, if I look up the year I was born, 1978, there are 165 videos, big difference.  All I can say in hang in, I’m sure more will be added, and in any context, this is till a great resource.

On a side note, Video Time Machine wants to know how you are using the app, if you create a video you can submit it to them to post on their site. This app is also good for grandparents, check out this video with “Mimi,” a user submitted video where one person looks at the year she was born, 1931.

A big thanks to Bill Engelhardt who brought this app to my attention. It is well worth the .99 cent price tag.

I know I may be somewhat unpopular in this statement, but technology is not the reason we have bullying.  My tormentors in the third grade did not have cell phones.  The bullies I knew in high school did not have laptops nor access to the web to spread their message of hate and embarrassment.  This is why it frustrates me to see schools banning cell phones and other technology to combat bullying on the web.  If cyber bullying is the direct result of having access to technology, let’s get rid of every piece of technology at our school: phones, computers, smart boards, mp3 players, projectors and anything else with a microchip.  If the kids don’t have access to anything, then they will not have the ability to go online and tease, hate or ridicule anyone.  Sounds logical, in the education world, if someone is getting hurt of if it creates a problem, ban it. 

There is another thought, what if we teach kids what is appropriate? I know I might be perceived as crazy, new age or too progressive, but I have always thought that in school we teach the behaviors we want our kids to exhibit.  I know when I ban something, I tend to get students who find ways to sneak around or hide their devious behavior.  In contrast, if I set up an expectation, and discuss why, and the kids and I reach an agreement/understanding – the behavior is a non-issue.  Now, there is an understanding of rules and there are clear consequences. 

Currently, most schools ban the use of cell phones.  How successful is your school is supporting this policy? How many phones get taken on a daily basis? Most of our students engage in “ninja texting” often getting messages sent and received under desks, in bags, binders, books, and in pockets – often without even looking at the key board.  In doing so, a student who brings out their phone, or is caught, is dealt with on a technological level, not a personal one. 

Our current school culture is one that promotes sneaky behavior and poor decision making.  At no point do we address the issue of what is right and wrong, at no point do we teach our kids about correct behavior and consequences.  We should develop a school policy that supports teachers in educating students in the right and wrong things to do with technology.  Our goal is to correct the behavior, not to bring down the medium used for its exhibition. 

Today’s post was contributed by Matt Soeth, technology coordinator for CADA.  Matt has eight years experience in teaching English and leadership at the high school level. 

Activities are like that, we area always planning ahead, preparing for the next year.  So much so that it can be hard to finish the year we are currently in.  Next year will be my school’s first senior class, I can’t help but look with excitement and anticipation at what will be.  Sure, this year has been good, but next year, seniors.  Will our culture be complete? 

As I sit here grading essays, my mind is focused on the task at hand, but looming – pleasantly – is the future.  I look forward to a school that is developing an identity, tradition, spirit.  A school with a sense of pride, unique in our endeavors.  Time will tell, but I look forward to seeing of our seniors step up and help take our school to the next level.

When you see kids learning, that’s when teaching get’s fun.  This post looks at the process for me, as an educator, how amazing it is when I see kids I have been working with all year have their “a ha” moment:  http://wp.me/p3Fhl-2c

Yet, we still managed to get there.

In fact, every day we still manage to control the climates at our schools. We still
control the weather forecast through student activities. We make something come
from nothing, and we manage to give the students everything they need outside of
the 3 R’s. I am sure we all agree that reading, writing, and arithmetic are essential
– but I also think that we believe that just as important are relationships, social
development, and now technology.

So what motivated you to become an educator? Was it your passion for a particular
subject area? Was it for the opportunity to serve others? Maybe it was that you
had an innate desire to have summers off? I think it is safe to say that whatever the
reasons are, we all aim to make a difference in the lives of our students.

CADA helps us do that. The collaborative opportunities we are afforded allow us
to share our ideas and use our combined intellect to make an even better learning
system for our students. We learn how to behave and act differently. We learn how
to be better and never stop wanting to improve. We learn how to help our students
follow our example. We create a sense of PRIDE (Personal Responsibility in Daily
Effort).

Yes, we have the utmost responsibility of meeting the individual needs of all the
students that pass through our lives, and we teach students to use and develop their
unique strengths to help each other. We also have a responsibility to take care of
each other and take care of ourselves. CADA allows us to do that – and that I am
forever thankful for.

No matter what happens on a day-to-day basis, we can pause for reflection and
even a month after the state convention, we can look back (and look forward…start
planning for Reno now!) and smile at the many things we were exposed to. I
encourage you to make time to do this at least once a week. Look back at the
handouts you received. Read the book that you bought that is still unopened.
Stay current on the blog and website and make sure you keep up with your fellow
educators on Twitter and Facebook.

We are now all part of the CADA social network and that is a community you need
to stay active in so you can continue to stay energized. CADA is not just a once a
year experience. For those of us involved in local activities and boards, it is not
just a once a month experience. It can now be an experience that we have access to
at all times. It is something that connects us together – something we all have in
common…

Today’s Post was written by Richard Noblett, Principal of Olive Middle School in Baldwin Park, CA. Richard has  15 years in education, Taught 6, 7, & 8th graders for 5 years, AP for 3 years and is finishing his 7th year as a Principal. He also teaches at Azusa Pacific University as an adjunct Math Professor. As a teacher Richard helped with Yearbook and ASB/Leadership. When the activity director retired, Jodie his wife became the ASB director and for 7 years Richard was her lackey. When he became Principal she had to leave Olive and since then I have been the administrative support of some amazing ASB/Yearbook/leadership teachers. He is involved all the time and is the go-to-make-things happen-guy.

I recently took some time to list out some of my favorite uses for Google Voice, check it out and let me know your thoughts.  If YOU have any favorites, please let me know.  I’m always looking for more to add.

http://bit.ly/fOpgKd

Thanks for reading …

1. Now that I have the ability to add media and text in one note – I do that all the time.  In class, I will take a picture of what is on the board from our discussion, share about 30 seconds of my closing thoughts by using the recording option, label and tag the note to search it later, and then share it.  I like this in that it frees up my kids to engage in discussion and they can take the notes down later.
2. Books: I’m always coming across books that I need to read, so I have a list going of my favorite books, and I started adding pictures of book covers.  If I have time I add links online where I can buy the books.
3. To do list – I start one of these every day and add check off items finishing all I can before I leave work.
4. I taught my students how to take notes on this app – so much easier and more usable than a notebook in that they always have their phones with them.
5. I take pictures of documents; I have my students do the same.  That way if something is lost I am not making more copies and the kids have a digital copy as a jpg or a PDF file. Homework should not get lost any more.
6. Screen Capture: with so much content blocked on my school server, I have used the screen capture tool of Evernote on my computer to take shots of sites I cannot access at school.
7. Geo-tagging: this is more for admin, while walking around I thought how neat it would be to tag places where certain issues arise, such as where kids hang out during lunch or after school, graffiti, fights, or slow lunch lines.  Then, after tagging that several times with the GPS in my phone, sharing that Evernote file with my staff and ask them to keep a specific eye on an area.  I could easily show them what is going on and where certain events are taking place. It would be so easy to track a pattern and identify what is really happening.
8. In leadership I started having kids create notebooks for projects.  Rather than fill out committee handouts the kids can now post all of their information into the file.  Then, if I need an update, say how the float is looking for homecoming, I can have a picture, video, and text showing me everything is done or in progress and find out the status of the group.  Afterwards, I now have a file that accurately and completely demonstrates what that group did and can now use that as part of the student’s grade as well as a living history for the class.
9. Collaboration: as I work in class I have encouraged other teachers to start using Evernote. We try to share ideas back and forth.  It’s not perfect, but it has started a dialogue and forces us out of our rooms once in a while.  It helps me keep track of lessons online rather than going to my file cabinet or looking for my planning book from two years ago (or more).
10. I had the kids create a notebook/scrapbook on Romeo and Juliet.  The girls were Juliet, the guys were Romeo, and they had to create a notebook with notes that detailed the life of the two young lovers from right before to the night they met.  I encouraged my students to include media: they recorded dialogue, added pictures, and one group went all out and shot a short dance sequence in costume.  So much fun and great presentations at the end. This challenged the kids with their analysis skills and it engaged them with access to a new medium.

I started using Evernote two years ago after reading about it online.  My theory, I carry my phone everywhere, why should I have to carry a notebook as well? After experimenting for a year or so I unleashed this program on my students to see how they would pick up on the software.  They were resistant at first, as well as hesitant as I was giving them permission to use their phones in class.  However, over time, they became quiet adept at using Evernote.

My first assignment was a research project.  Traditionally, I would have the students keep 3×5 note cards to track their sources in a research paper.  This time, I had students fill out their cards and use them for two sources, and then find three more using only Evernote.  At the end, I asked students to tell me which way was easier, most cited Evernote as being easier as they did a majority of their research online.  For those who may have searched in a book, I had them take a picture of their quote and put that in among their resources.  So, at the end of the project, along with their papers, I had 58 notebooks filled with data and research by each student that they would then email to me so I could check out the process they went through.

I did a lot of teaching and modeling on this one.  While kids are good with phones, they still need great teaching on note taking and research.  Also, the kids did appreciate the ability to search their notes and share them, it made their lives and their work much easier.  I also added another assignment, at the end, where the kids partnered up, and using the notebooks they created in Evernote they had to teach someone else what they learned.  I even put a couple of notebooks up via the LCD projector and asked kids the process they went through to create them.

Now, my students have pages of notes all on their phone or home computer.  The versatility of Evernote makes it great for class lessons.  For example, normally I would teach my students how to recognize points of emphasis just by how I change my voice.  Now, I give my students the option to record what I am saying at important points.  They can write it out later and add it to their notebooks.  I am very excited to see how this process grows from here.

How do you use Evernote?