Making Stories Talk

Have you been testing this week? It's a pretty straight-forward format - teachers read directions, students are quiet, read the questions silently and mark their responses. When they are finished for the day, both teachers and students are looking for exciting ways to express their ideas and things they are learning and have learned throughout the year. So why not put some sound in the mix and make your stories talk!

Below are a few of the tools I like to help the teachers incorporate into their lessons and students request them as a favorite and fun way to share their ideas (and even do a homework assignment).

Blabberize is a fun way to take a photo and make it look like it's talking. Your creation can be done in just a few minutes by uploading a photo, mark the moving points for the "mouth", and record your voice/message. It can then be shared on a blog or website.

Voki allows you to add your voice to a talking avatar that you've created or use one provided. It is a great way to present an idea and can be shared on a website or blog. The Voki website has free lesson plans for all grade levels and subject areas.

Voicethread is a easy way to create an audio presentation and allow others to comment through phone, text, microphone, webcam, or upload a file. You can even draw on the page while recording your comment.

Here are some of the ideas we used for our "talking stories."

• "All About Me" story
• Events from a field trip
• Book Talk
• Movie Trailer
• Demonstrate a Concept, Rule, etc.
• Explain a topic (Cyberbullying)
• Present an "Oral Test"
• Recreate an historical event

Whenever you get ready to have the students create a story, demonstrate a mathematical process, review for a test (and the list could go on forever), maybe one of these tools will bring a little "vocalization" into your classroom. Feel free to share your ideas for a talking story. I'll help spread the word.

A Different Way of Looking at the World

While looking for some 4th quarter Social Studies resources to share with the teachers I noticed some interesting sites that were shown at the NCTIES conference earlier this month. The show.mappingworlds site in particular caught my attention. It has a new and different way of looking at data for our states and the world. All the collected data allowed numerous possibilities for projects in more subject areas than just Social Studies.

It is easy to get started – choose from USA, World or Japan, then select a subject and topic. The states or countries or prefectures change shape according to the data collected. Being able to watch the states change size and shape helps to make the information more meaningful. Who would have thought that the top two states, Iowa and Illinois, produce the most corn and would have the shape of a man’s face?

What a great way to help students remember facts. Included with the visual changing of the states are sections for maps, rankings, books, and interesting facts. The animated maps can be embedded or downloaded as an image. The data can be downloaded as an Excel file to use for graphs and charts.

This is a site with endless possibilities for making collected data come alive visually. Where would your fact-finding adventure take you?

Meeting Standards Using Online Resources

As part of my instructional technology responsibilities, I try to help teachers use whatever resources they have available in their lessons. Teachers have access to computers, the Internet, some interactive whiteboards and numerous applications so they can create new activities and assessments and/or use SMART or ActivInspire lessons that coorelate with the desired standard.

I have really enjoyed finding resources and helping the teachers learn where to look for different types of activities to compliment the standard they are teaching. The Learning Village resource has been our one-stop shopping experience for finding everything from a grade-level pacing guide, instructional tool such as Thinkfinity, links to subject-area wikis, technology integration activities, and much more. Learn 360 and netTrekker are two resources that correlate the videos, images, etc. to a specific standard. This makes it very easy to develop an activity or assessment. Some of my favorite reading/language arts activities come from ReadWriteThink and Wonderopolis.

Our elementary group has pulled together many of the Elementary Resources into Livebinders by grade level. They are on our DIT wiki and available to the teachers. We update the binders and wiki pages as we find resources for the core subject areas.

If you need an idea for an activity or are looking for a website to reinforce an objective you've taught, why not check out one of the above online resources. I highly recommend any (really all) of them to help make learning fun.

Ah Ha Moments - Using Student Response Systems with Websites

In one of my workshops we were viewing, testing, and working with lots of online resources trying to find more ways to integrate a technology piece into vocabulary curriculum. The freerice.com website brought about a lively discussion; each spoken idea sparked another way to use the site in all subject areas.

Free Rice is a site that can be viewed in English, Spanish, Italian, French, and Chinese. Everything on the site changes into the chosen language. What a way to practice another language! It appeals to those who want to help others, make a difference in someone else's life, and just have fun learning new words and their meanings or the multiplication tables or Chemical symbols. For each correct answer, the United Nations World Food Programme donates 10 grains of rice to help end hunger. The teachers quickly figured out ways they could find time for the students to participate and even set up a "challenge" to see which class could help contribute the most for this non-profit organization.

As we discussed the possibilities for the freerice.com site to be incorporated with Social Studies, one of the teachers shared an idea of how she was going to use her student response system with the site. She is going to create a questionnaire with A, B, C, D responses to choose from for the students to respond to as she marks their answers on the website. They all will be able to participate, learn new vocabulary and help end hunger. Some of the teachers were going to create vocabulary questions, using the terms from their studies, and have the students do quick assessments with the response systems. They felt the students become more engaged when using the technology.

It was so much fun to see the "Ah Ha" moments of how to use the websites with the technology available to the teachers and students. Maybe you could share one of your "Ah Ha" moments - the more, the merrier!

Listening is Powerful

This past week I have been attending PLC and LTM meetings in my elementary schools and talking about how I could help them with technology activities that would go along with their lessons ( Yeah, TPACK). I learned so much as I sat and listened to each grade level break down an objective into What to Teach and How to Teach.

It was very interesting to "see" their thought processes as I listened to the teachers pull out key words, discuss what basic skills were needed and how they could teach the students. Individual teaching methods and comfort levels with technology were evident. Listening to the ways they were going to teach the skills made me think of numerous ways to use technology to produce the same results.  The availability of technology in the classrooms produced some concerns, but we were able to work with what they had and everyone could see the possibilities. The teachers were very appreciative as I shared resources they could use to develop an activity. Offering my time and services to help them with it made them realize more possibilities were within their reach.

I found that providing a listening ear was very powerful - we listened, we heard, we learned and the students are going to be major winners.

Need some more summer ideas?

OK, so your children (and maybe you, too) are home for the summer and you hear the first, "I'm bored." They are home from summer camp, family vacation trips, or wherever and need something to occupy them. My husband and I were in the same frame of mind last summer when our 11 year old granddaughter came to stay with us for a month. Luckily, we had lots of ideas and events from the local community and pulled a few more fun things to do from our technology backgrounds.

So when swimming all day, every day loses its appeal, you could check with the local YMCA and Chamber of Commerce to see what activities are on the schedule. I've included some websites below that have tons of ideas; everything from puzzles to making crafts and even some cooking.

 

July activities from Activity Directory Today

Enchanted Learning Crafts and Activities

The Teachers Corner
July Calendar Events
Activity Ideas That Work

Summer Activites from Barbara Feldman / Surfnetkids
International Joke Day is July 1st : submit your joke

Independence Day Activities for the 4th

PT Barnum's Birthday is July 5th

Circus Online Coloring

National Ice Cream Day is July 17th - make it, take it, definitely eat it!

Ice Cream Pictures to Print and Color

Newest Coloring Pages - free downloads, print out and color

Independence Day Online Games

Thinkfinity ideas for creating Comics, book/CD/DVD covers, trading cards, stories and more

These ideas are just the tip of the iceberg (or putting one toe into the water since it is summer). What are some of your summer activity suggestions and how do you keep the boredom out of their time off?

images courtesy of Glitterfly, 123Greetings, Authentic History, and Carvel

Working with Words on the Web

On June 20th, as part of the grand finale of technology training for this past school year, I was able to share lots of resources that would help teachers teach and work with vocabulary from their curriculum. The web was our playground where we used different websites to connect the technology standards and objectives for both teachers and students.

I used my Vocabulary Teaching Tools livebinder to introduce the websites, tools, lesson plans and activities. This resource can be accessed either at school or home by going to our WSFCS wiki. You don't have to join the wiki to use any of the resources.

After going through several of the sites, explaining the benefits and how to use them, everyone went into the livebinder to create activities from the free websites and find more lessons that would help them teach vocabulary from any subject area. All but a couple of the sites were free and only needed to have a login created. Then the product could be saved, printed and used later. Two biggest advantages to the sites were that they were interactive and very visual. A definite plus for increasing student interest.

As I circulated around the room I heard lots of great comments on how they were going to use the sites in their classrooms, some oohs and aahhs, and a few said, "Boy! Wish I'd had known about these earlier in the year." I also have a    available that lists some of my favorite sites and tools that you might find useful.

The online tools will be updated regularly because everything changes so quickly on the web and new resources are made available. I have a few of my favorites, but would love to hear which ones you like to use.

Words in the Clouds

 I have been having fun using Wordle to create word clouds for about everything and adding the created  image to blog posts, wiki pages, handouts, and more. While working on a presentation I was going to do at the AIG conference, I found a very similar resource called "WordItOut."  It also allowed me to create a cloud of words from my own text but with some additional features.

My presentation included different ways to teach vocabulary and use words from any subject area. What fun we had taking a paragraph written on a given topic and pasting it into WordItOut. We tried Math terms, Science vocabulary, Social Studies events . . The ideas were flowing. Instantly the words were put into a design that showed the most often used words in larger and bolder print. We could change the colors, the layout and even the target area where the word cloud would show on the page.

WordItOut is another free, online resource and you don't even have to register to use it. The Create tab is where you can start your own word cloud. Just type in the words you want to use or copy the words from a story, blog post, or list and paste it into the box. The word cloud can be changed to fit the mood or style needed - the possibilities are almost endless with all the colors, shapes, angles and more. The Discover tab lets you view page after page of creations created by others. Wondering about a special topic - just type in a keyword search to get an idea and see what has been done. It doesn't show you how many word clouds go with the search, but I don't mind clicking on the Next button to see more.

To find out the latest news or maybe need to report a problem, just click on the Community tab. You can read and share comments or check out the FAQs. If you have an idea for a feature that might make WordItOut even better, send in your suggestion under the Ideas button. I really like the fact that they are open to suggestions that might make their program work better for the end user.

A fun, end-of-the-year project would be to have the students help design a word cloud of things they have learned and then put it on a t-shirt or bag. WordItOut has a great feature to create and purchase customized gift items. What a way to share what is going on in your classroom! Check it out in the Community section.

Here are some other resources and links for ideas and uses of WordItOut and word clouds:

• WSFCS wiki - Vocabulary Teaching Tools livebinder
• blog - Free Technology 4 Teachers
• Twitter - WordItOut on Twitter

I suggest giving WordItOut a try with your next lesson and see how your words look in the clouds.

More Than Bookmarking with Diigo

There are so many resources available to us now through the internet that I am having a hard time keeping up with all of them or remembering where to find the information. Sure, I can use the Favorites menu to mark a site, blog, wiki or whatever catches my eye; but I've noticed my list and folders going completely out of control and it takes me longer to find what I was looking for than necessary.

Others have mentioned using Diigo as their social bookmarking choice and I wanted to share how I've been taking advantage of its features. Some of my favorites are

• building my Library of favorites,
• organizing by tags, lists and groups,
• networking with other users with the same interests.

When I need to pull information together, I can go to Diigo.com, login and type in a tag name that will instantly bring up all my bookmarks for that search. I didn't have to remember where they all were on the web. Albert Einstein said it the best when a reporter asked him (during an interview) why he had to look up his own phone number. "Einstein replies, “Why should I memorize something when I know where to find it?”

While I'm "bookmarking" sites or articles I want to go back to later, Diigo gives me the ability to annotate a link, highlight a portion of the page, take a snapshot of the page, create lists, and even generate reports. This video from Diigo talks about each of these features.

Diigo V4: Research ~ annotate, archive, organize from diigobuzz on Vimeo.

Since I was able to import my Delicious bookmarks, I'm still working on organizing everything into a complete Archive and Lists. I love being able to access my bookmarks from anywhere that has internet access. Having my own personal database to reference and share with others are great benefits. Adding others to my network is as easy as searching for their name, choosing Follow and adding them to a Friend's List. So many resources, so much to share!

The regular Diigo account is free and being an educator, our account has some special priviledges that will allow us to create and manage student accounts and class groups. I see more collaboration in the making. My next task is to work with a teacher and her class on a collaboration project. Want to be in my network or part of a project?

Maybe you would like to try social bookmarking as a way to keep in touch and share information and resources. Give it a chance by setting up your Diigo account and adding my Diigo profile to your network by following me as a friend.

Web Tools for Brainstorming

Brainstorming can take all shapes while developing an idea. Students used to get excited when you asked for ideas about a topic and they saw those ideas written on a piece of paper or on the board and how they were all connected. Some still brainstorm that way. Computer programs like Kidspiration and Inspiration have made brainstorming on curriculum topics even easier - visually and connecting to ideas on the web. More resources have been made available through the internet and as our District has increased the numbers of SMARTBoards and ActivBoards in the classrooms, more student interactivity accompanies each developing idea.

While preparing to present at conferences and helping teachers find more resources to help develop 21st Century skills, I've found several tools worth checking out. Some of my favorites are:

Bubbl.us

Corkboard.me

Mindmeister

Wallwisher

Most all of the online, brainstorming tools now are free. Some do ask you to register, but it isn't required. I like being able to work with others and see the changes and additions as they happen.

Here are links to a blog post of the Top 5 Web 2.0 Brainstorming Tools and take a look at the Brainstorming page in our Student Online Collaboration livebinder. Have fun brainstorming on one of your favorite topics and let me know which program you liked the best or share one of your own.

Need Videos for Your Curriculum?

It seems that most of the time when we think about using a video to go along with our lesson, YouTube pops into our minds. I know it is probably the most popular website for videos, but it really causes concern for teachers and school districts because of the inappropriate content available to anyone and everyone. WS/FCS blocks YouTube in our district like so many other school districts.

WS/FCS has two fantastic, educational paid solutions, Learn360 and netTrekker, for teachers to find video. They are correlated with the NCSCOS and many examples have already been linked inside the lessons in Learning Village. The videos within both applications have been checked out by educators and are approved by our District because they follow CIPA guidelines.  Along with these two wonderful resources, maybe you would like to check out a few additions and/or alternatives that have been approved by our Software Clearinghouse:

 
Great educational site with videos, images, and other Teacher Resources

        Wonderful site where you can browse categories, find Educator Resources, watch and upload videos, and much more.


Kid's video site, filtered and has two rules - be kind, positive, and encouraging with comments and NO profanity



Although there are many choices out on the web, why not try using one of these to compliment your next lesson?

March - Women's History Month

There are many aspects to think about for Women's History Month.

We could focus on the struggle for women to win the right to vote. Find out more at Social Studies for Kids and check out who was arrested for trying to vote for president and ordered to pay $1,000. Maybe we would have a woman mayor, lawyer or even president some day.

Graphic courtesy of ArtToday

Thinkfinity has a great listing of lesson plans, newsletters, and calendar events noting women's accomplishments throughout the years.

How about getting the scoop on who was the first First Lady and how she changed the way people thought about the presidency in EDSITEment. So many lessons, student resources, and websites to become acquainted with.

There are over 400 search results for Women's History in netTrekker. It was exciting to view the online exhibits from the National Women's History Museum and become a part of the history through audio, video, and images.

Here are a few other resources with activities, lessons, timelines, and much, much more:
Women in World History Quotes
Time for Kids
TeachersFirst: Women's History Month Resources
Women's History Month Livebinder by KB..Konnected (Resources tab)

March Resources

Even though there isn't a National Holiday during the month of March; many more events are happening. You can find events that are celebrated for the whole month, for a week, or for each day of the month.

About.com has a "Long List of March Holidays and Special Days such as
Women's History Month
Irish-American Heritage Month
Youth Art Month

It was really interesting to see that March 7th was the day that Alexander Graham Bell's Telephone Patent was granted and that the first paper money was issued on the 10th. What a fun way to do trivia questions, journal entries, or a great lead-in for a project.

Check out these other websites and resources for lessons, videos, and activities.
Learning Village:

• The Encyclopedia Britannica in NCWiseOwl spotlights Women's History.
• Thinkfinity for what's happening "Today in History"
• "This Day in History" in Learn360
• "Women in History" in netTrekker

Outside sources:

• Surfing the Calendar at Surfing the Net with Kids website by Barbara J. Feldman
• March Madness activity in SMART Exchange
• Social Studies for Kids
• My Vocabulary - Home of the VocabularyUniversity

Most of these can be subscribed to so you will get updated information monthly, some are weekly.

Here is a website for teachers called The Teacher's Corner with lots more lesson plans, thematic units, and activities. The calendar can be printed to help remind you of what is coming up next.

Image created in Wordle

Testing Techniques

When I was asked to help administer a math test, I really didn't think much about it. Testing is testing, right?

All the students looked much the same as when I was in high school - young, studious faces; some a little nervous with others holding onto the "I can do this attitude." The most noticable difference was the technology piece available for them. Times have definitely changed. I had paper and pencil to figure out my solutions to the extensive questions. Some problems would take an entire sheet of paper. I watched the students read the problem and then reach over for their T1-84 calculators without a second thought to start plugging in the information. Within seconds, there was the answer. Of course, they still had to know the method to get the correct answer. It was exciting to see the changes from pencils flying across the page writing numbers and characters to fingers pressing buttons on the calculators confidently and quickly.

As the technologies advance and try to stay up with our thoughts and needs, I just wonder how we'll do testing in the future - touch screen with calculating capabilities built in, headset with microphone and individual testing areas, or devices that can read your thoughts and record the answers. The possibilities are endless. What direction do you think we're going?

Ninja Words - A Super Fast Dictionary

While looking on the web for more reading resources, I found Ninja Words, a super fast online dictionary created by Phil Crosby. Type a word in the search box and Ninja Words shows the definition(s) within a few seconds. Wiktionary provides the definitions. You can get single definitions by typing in the word in the search box and pressing Enter or typing in a combination of words separated by a comma and get multiple definitions to compare. Typing the terms in the browser address bar is another quick way for results. The history of your searches will show on the right of the screen or can be hidden from view.

Students would find this a good resource on any computer for all subjects. They could create their list of definitions for a particular assignment or topic and then bookmark it for later use or even send that link to other members of the class. Divide and conquer the work load!

Linking Ninja Words on your blog would allow students to quickly look up words they were having trouble with understanding or pronouncing while reading the blog articles.
Firefox or IE 7+ allows you to type in the Ninja Words address plus the words in question in your search toolbar and will bring up definitions, synonyms, antonyms, and thesaurus examples.

For those of you with an iPhone, try out the Ninja Words application by Matchstick Software. Some of the features listed on the site are:

• Works completely offline.

• Spellcheck!

• Word of the day each time you start the app.

• Touch to get a random vocabulary word.

• Recents.
• Favorites.
• Thesaurus (each definition has synonyms)

One of my favorite features would be Pronunciations! Although it requires network access, it has audio pronunciations for words with a click on the speaker icon. I wonder if there are different languages.

So, if you want to be like a Ninja – smart, accurate, and really fast – try using Ninja Words the next time you need a definition.

New Adventures

The NCTIES conference theme was discoverying new adventures. They provided speakers, sessions, and vendors that shared many ways and ideas to help teachers and students develop and extend their 21st century skills.

As part of my experience, I had the opportunity to volunteer at the North Carolina Special Interest Groups (NCSIGS) booth where people with similar educational interests and issues could Get Connected! to share resources, best practices, and collaborate on new technologies. There are 17 groups available on the Ning with more to come as the interests unfold. You can join as many of the groups as you have an interest in and join throughout the year. I look forward to being a part of this initiative and sharing the resources.

Over 80 vendors and sponsors were available to discuss ways of integrating technology into the curriculum with their latest resources. I wasn’t lucky enough to win one of the document cameras, iPods, or periodical subscriptions, but it wasn’t because I didn’t try.

Ron Clark was our luncheon speaker – what adventures in life he has had and created. Started teaching in rural North Carolina, taught in Harlem, honored by the President for his accomplishments, wrote a best seller, and started The Ron Clark Academy just to mention a few. He is very inspirational and makes you want to hang onto every word to hear what he might say next. The hardest part is keeping up with him – there are no limits on his energy.

Notes from the sessions I attended are on our NCTIES 2010 wiki. Hope you enjoy and maybe discover an adventure or two for you and your classroom.

Reading with eBooks

I was posed with the challenge of finding books for my granddaughter to read. Naturally we went to the local library first. After picking several that interested her, we looked at each other and thought, "OK, which one of us is going to carry out this arm load full of books." I can fully understand why doctors are worried about how carrying around all that weight, either for recreational or school-related subjects, is causing damage to students. Along with the weight of so many books came the fact that we really didn't have a place to store them as she read.

Angie helps keep me in check with the way children are different from a few years ago. She does love to hold a book and read, but is also a true "digital" child. We got to talking about other ways to read books and magazines. The eBook, an electronic version of a book, was one of our other solutions.

I have an account with Free-ebooks and was able to find some fiction and nonfiction titles from their thousands of offerings for her to downloaded to our PDA. The titles were available immediately and we transferred them to our desktop machine for her to be able to read later and not lose her place in the book. Manybooks is another good site with over 21,000 eBooks available as free downloads. They take donations to help keep the site up and running.

All of the eBooks we downloaded use the free software, Microsoft Reader that works on PC desktops, laptops, Tablet PCs, and Pocket PCs. The software is easy to install and use. The interface is simple so you can concentrate on your eBook. Since the eBooks were on the PDA and we had text-to-speech enabled, I am able to listen to the eBook while driving the car. It's exciting to watch her choose a title, start reading it and then jump from the page to a linked audio or video. Everything is hyperlinked, making it easy to go back to the written page or to another topic.

Using the technology comes easily and naturally to this younger generation. The next item on the Angie To-Do List is to create her own eBook. We're working on the story in MS Word 2003 and will be able to convert it using the Read in Microsoft Reader feature. The Table of Contents, hyperlinks and images will be automatically converted from Word to the eBook. As an upcoming fifth grader, she hasn't learned all about how to create the table of contents for her chapters - I'm off to lend some assistance.

Collaborative Photo Books and Albums

Sharing pictures and photo books seems to be getting easier all the time. We used to take the pictures, have them developed, and then let others go through them to share in our experience. Sometimes we put them in a book with some sayings around each picture and add a little flair to go along with a theme (scrapbooking, my sister calls it). Now, with the online software Mixbook, we can take the photos, create a book online, allow friends to help put it together, and share it for all to see or print it out as a picture book.

Mixbook is really easy to use. After joining the site for access, there are just three steps to create a book or photo album - Start with a title to create the book and invite your friends, upload your photos (friends can add some of their own), and Automix to add pages and make edits. Although friends collaborate and add their own personal touches, the creator controls the final product.

My granddaughter is here with me this month from Maine. We are building a book around her activities and sharing it with her dad. Since the cost of a hard cover album with 20 pages is only $12.99, we will probably get one printed for a keepsake. It will be exciting to watch the album develop as her dad and other grandparents contribute to the book.

Some other ways to share using Mixbook would be to create Memory books (Weddings, Guest Books, Baby's 1st Year, School Years or a Yearbook), Family Photos, Scrapbooking, and Digital Storytelling. Everything is online, no software to download. It comes with hundreds of layouts and the frames and text can be customized. Once you've picked a layout, just drag-and-drop your photos onto the page. Each page can have a different layout. A special feature I really like is the way it integrates with other photo storage sites such as Facebook, Picasa, and Flickr. No need to start from scratch each time. You can add an entire album to Mixbook with a couple of clicks. Then you can use them for any book.

Every day with a ten-year old brings new adventures that we can share online and it is exciting to see what has been added from the others. The final step will be to embed the Mixbook player on our blog so all the family and friends can also enjoy the events.

Displays That Bend and Twist

When I am watching CSI, I sometimes get lost in all their technologies. Especially when they are recreating scenarios and use a computer on the desk linked to the triple screens up front and then can "toss" the visuals from one of the screens to another, enlarge them with a touch, and it all looks like it is floating in mid air. I look forward to having that type of technology in everyone's hands. Oh to be able to bend, move, and twist those images.

I was very young when I started working with different technologies that were available. I helped my dad build radios and televisions when I was nine years old. We still used tubes and transistors then with soldering irons for connections. Everything was so big to house all the parts and for heat control. Advancements came quickly; radios and TVs got smaller and much more affordable. I remember as a teenager asking my dad if there would ever be a way we could touch the TV screen to make it change channels instead of one of us girls having to get up, walk across the room, and change the station. His response was, "Soon." Short and to the point.

Look at the way phones have advanced in such a short period of time. We used to have to carry around that big bag to hold the phone and power supply and the cost was unbelievable. Now, I've seen phones the size of a credit card that hold a charge for days at a time, have touch screens or are voice-activated. One computer used to fill an entire room and now it will fit in your hand. Along with the main hardware changes, come advancements for all the accessories - keyboards, monitors/screens, mice . . . If I don't want to use my laptop keyboard, I have a keyboard that will roll up like a newspaper. It is very flexible, connects with a USB cable, and doesn't take up much room when I pack my computer bag. The wireless mouse works with bluetooth, and I can connect to a TV for a big-screen view. My thrill would be to have a display screen that would roll up like my keyboard and be able to place it anywhere, such as a wall, a window, or on a table.

According to Jim Brug with HP Laboratories, flexible displays will "evolve into real product designs within five years." Researchers have been working with "ink jet" printing of the transistors onto a thin polymer sheet, imprint lithography, and stainless-steel foil that can withstand high temperatures. Nokia Research has been working on a cellphone that will rollup, stretch out and twist into a bracelet shape. IPhones are great, but just think what it would be like to be able to pull the corners and make it stretch out to a bigger display or be able to roll it around your wrist and wear it like a watch. Samsung has a 4 inch flex display that is only .05 mm thick. Small, but powerful.

If it can be imagined, there is someone working on the process to make it real. I'm just waiting on them to make it affordable.

Last Days of School

Everyone is preparing for the last days of school. Students are studying for exams, catching up on the last few assignments, dreaming of vacations. Teachers are trying to teach and share the last bits of knowledge, review for end-of-year tests, dreaming of some time off to catch their breath. With all the tests, classroom or state, given and taken the last few weeks of school to find out how much has been learned, have you ever wondered how the students really felt about your class and how the year unfolded. A blog post by Vickie Davis, the CoolCatTeacher, reminded me of my days in the classroom and how I could learn more about the students and how to make my teaching better for them and myself. We both used anonymous feedback but with different methods - paper/pencil vs online.

I attended the Scholastic Banquet sponsored by the Kernersville Rotary Club the other night and was amazed at all the accomplishments of the top ten juniors and seniors from East High School and Glenn High School. The seniors were accepted by top-notch universities, all but a couple had declared their majors, and most had secured thousands of dollars in scholarships for the next four years of their lives. One item on the agenda that made this such a special event was when the seniors got together and gave an award and recognition to the teacher they had nominated as "Best Teacher of the Year." The students shared the reasons why and how this teacher influenced them. The number one reason was that the teacher had shown the students they really cared about them and wanted them to be all they could be and achieve their dreams.

When I was teaching in the classroom (let's just say I'm not quite as old as dirt) I used to ask my elementary students to write a paragraph about their year. Yes, it was on paper with a pencil but it had the same effect as when we do surveys with them online now. I did the survey so they didn't have to put their name on the paper. They seemed to feel more powerful and answered honestly because they were anonymous. Using some of their suggestions and ideas helped make me a better teacher with a progressive learning environment in the classroom.

A great way for teachers to do an end-of-the-year survey is to use the custom form page feature on their SchoolCenter website. Create text area boxes for their answers with open-ended questions asking for their honest opinions. The students could take the survey during a lab time or even from home. There will be some silly answers, but since they are anonymous you will probably get their true feelings. Not all the answers will be what you want to hear or read; some may make you really think about the way you've presented the material and hopefully there will be that one special response that makes your day, your year worth every minute of the time you've put into your teaching career.

In these last days of school, why not survey the students to find out what was important or not, how could the year be improved and ask for their HONEST opinion. We'll show them we are listening and they'll feel like they have been heard. All in all the year will end on a positive note.