Round Rock Tech Guy

A few nights ago I told my wife, “I need some space.”  While she was jumping with glee and ready to send me packing, I felt compelled to make it clear that I was talking about “Web Space.”  She was only slightly disappointed, but she mustered up the strength to support my blog anyway.   So, I’ve stayed up late the last few nights getting it ready just for you! If you were a subscriber to my blog you should know, I’ve moved it to its very own spot on the web at www.techedknow.com.  

This blog was created to support teachers in their endeavors to incorporate Technology + Education + a little Know-How. 

Share this link with other teachers as I’m sure they will find great resources and tools to use in their classrooms and everyday life.  On my blog you will also find links to other RRISD employee blogs that you will also find helpful in your classroom.

If you would like to learn how to subscribe to Blogs (RSS Feeds) or would like to start a blog of your own please let me know. 

Weekly Tech Tip

Templates are a good thing!  For most of us, templates help us save time to not re-create.  This web page is full of power point templates for game show like activities.  All you have to do is copy the slides and fill in the blanks!  How cool is that!? 

Here you will find: Family Feud, The Price is Right, 100,000 Pyramid, Hollywood Squares, Weakest Link, Millionaire, Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy and even Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader.  All of these are pre-built for you.  This page also offers links to other templates and teacher resources that you may find interesting.  Enjoy Saving Time and creating fun activities for your students! 

Here’s the link:  http://www.murray.k12.ga.us/teacher/kara%20leonard/Mini%20T%27s/March%20Mini%20T-Games/Games.htm

PS. You will need to know a little about Power Point in order effectively use these.  If you need Power Point training let me know and we can work that out also. 

eXtra! eXtra!

For those of you that subscribe to Blogs and like to keep up with what’s going on in the world, Google Reader is probably the best RSS Reader I’ve found.  Take a look at the different ways Google Reader can be used. http://googlereader.blogspot.com/2008/01/theres-feed-for-that.html

Take a look at the rest of this blog for lots of info on Google Reader and it’s functionality.  

Here is a video that introduces the Google Reader. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5980861656829941065

The New Classroom (Anywhere Anytime Up-To-Date Learning)

TNC (The New Classroom) is the classroom that goes beyond the building, playground and even the teacher. In TNC the students are more involved than ever. I believe that involvement cultivates learning. In TNC you will find blogs, podcasts, wikis, and other web 2.0 activities. Blogs give students a voice while wikis give the students collaborative opportunities and a community in which to belong. I could go on and on about other web 2.0 services, but my goal is to get you involved in a little of TNC for yourself.

Look at how this school is using a wiki: http://arborheights.wikispaces.com  And this one: http://allaboutmath.wikispaces.com

Here is a blog that you should consider subscribing to: http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/ It’s a blog for teachers. Lots of ideas here! Of course I must recommend my blog: http://roundrocktechguy.edublogs.org It’s full of ideas of how to use technology in the classroom.

Break out the ipod for more than just music; use it for listening to podcasts. A good podcast for teachers to listen to is The New Teacher Hotline. You can go to www.newteacherhotline.com and click the subscribe button. For a directory of education podcasts you can go to www.learnoutloud.com/podcast-directory

For those of you that are already a part of TNC crank it up a notch and help us get other teachers involved. Reply to this blog post with a link to your blog, wiki or podcast so we can see what you and your classes are doing.

Let this inspire you!