Top Twelve Things Every Educator Should Know About Technology

1. Take the new apps you hear about (Twitter, Digg, Jing) for a test drive. Experiment.
2. Sometimes the kids will know more than you do about certain technologies or applications. It is OK.
3. Ask your students for help. Have them show you how to do things. They’ll like being the “teacher” for a change and it is modeling to them the importance of being a lifelong learner.
4. Don’t be afraid of showing your unfamiliarity with certain technologies with your students.
5. Don’t lecture to the students about how the technology works. Let them play with it on their own. Teach by doing.
6. Give your lesson a trial run at school to make sure everything is working properly. Have a back-up plan in case the technology malfunctions.
7. Watch and consult with other teachers on how they integrate technology into their classes.
8. Take classes to learn more about all of the wonderful applications out there! Be current!
9. Technology can enrich the curriculum and get students excited about learning. Try to offer students different options (Powerpoint, video, poster board, brochure, media collage) for demonstrating their knowledge.
10. Consult/work with the Technology Integration Specialist and/or Library Media Specialist at your school. They just may be able to make that good assignment or project great by suggesting different resources or applications.
11. Google is not just a search internet. It has other great tools like Google Reader, Calendar, Earth, Docs, and the wonder wheel.
12. Most apps are FREE on the internet: Picassa, Google Docs, Open Office, Vimeo, Jing, Creative Commons to name just a few. There are many Open Source or free tools and applications available on the internet. Research them.

SOPAC is Awesome!

I was kinda all over the place this week. First I was researching Follet Destiny because that is what our LMS proposed two years ago. It was quite confusing moving around the site and just getting a good overview. I finally had to submit my name and email and then I received a link to a very boring and dry webinar!

I then heard about Koha from the boards and I was intrigued but then their website turned me off with all of its text.

Alas, through a serendipitous path of researching on Clusty.com, I found a link to this library science class's wiki and a student's awesome project all on SOPAC! I was so pumped after reading her awesome overview with great links and her multimedia collage! So so cool that frankly, it was hard to imagine improving upon it. Thank you Sarah Redmond. wherever you are! FLA? I tried to see if there was a way to contact her but I couldn't so I may try on twitter.

I fear my proposal is not as "academic" in content as others but I really was confused by all of the different options there. No wonder it takes over a year to do all of the research! Breeding's site is also very confusing and overwhelming.

Overall, I'm glad I came across SOPAC and others like it because boy, it makes this job even more exciting!