tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-367275832024-03-23T13:53:43.135-04:00Lost JohnsAn educational technology and leadership blog that attempts to keep educators from getting lost like the Johns Family.WBishophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15851031945528954101noreply@blogger.comBlogger136125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36727583.post-83423446818104740892009-12-07T22:54:00.001-05:002009-12-07T22:57:59.164-05:00RTI & EDUCATE AlabamaIt has been a while since I took the time to blog. Better yet it has been a while since I have had the time to blog but a new approach that we are utilizing in Alabama is worth sharing. Actually, there are two new approaches worthy of mentioning. First, we are now in the process of Implementing RTI or Response to Instruction not to be confused with its predecessor RTI or Response to Intervention. The second approach that we are in the process of Implementing is EDUCATE Alabama. I’m not really that proud of the name but the program does have merit. EDUCATE Alabama is the replacement of the former teacher evaluation process called PEPE. PEPE isn’t a little mule, although some may claim that it had some of the same attributes as a little burro. PEPE stood for Professional Education Personnel Evaluation Program. Part of PEPE is still being used as EDUCATE Alabama takes its place among the evaluation programs but seeks not to evaluate so much as to educate and improve teaching methods.<br /><br />The great thing about RTI and EDUCATE Alabama is that they both tie together and attempt to improve classroom instruction. In our fast paced 21 century with jobs changing daily both of these programs seem to have a great deal of merit for Alabama educators and students. I attended my first RTI meeting last week due to numerous circumstances and what I came away with was “Student Engagement.” As educators we have and must find creative ways to engage our students in productive learning.<br />RTI is also about reading and other curricula but as I see it is primarily about engaging students and making them think about the learning process. It is beyond rote memorization and more about problem solving for all students with special emphasis on special populations. The essential components of RTI have to be the three tiers of instruction. Tier One takes into account around 80 to 90 percent of all students. Tier Two takes into account 5 to 10 percent of all students. And Tier Three takes into account 1 to 5 percent of students. In laymen terms Tier One accounts for “What students get from instruction.” Tier Two accounts for students that need a little extra push or “addition focus and intensity.” Tier Three accounts for students that require a great deal of help or “modification of instructional strategies.” All of the tiers require administrators and educators to evaluate students individually and to modify teaching methods accordingly. <br /> <br />EDUCATE Alabama ties into the equation by helping educators understand their current teaching practices. It doesn’t evaluate them with numbers but rather focuses on where they are from an educational standpoint. Is a teacher Emerging, Applying, Integrating, or Innovating in their educational practice? Most average teachers will fall in the Applying range and will have to work on their teaching strategies to reach the Integrating or Innovating ranges. The interesting thing about the process is that it focuses on improving teaching and not just writing down a score. As I see it, RTI will help teachers reach improved levels of instruction which should improve student engagement and learning across the board.<br /><br />At the Center of Technology we are and have been implementing programs that engage all of our students and we have used some tier instruction. As such, we welcome these processes and look forward to utilizing them within our current programs of study. The key for me is to learn as much as I can about each of these programs so I can help educators do a better job in the classroom. This is the only way that we will be able to supply the workforce of tomorrow. Much of this can and is being accomplished through new innovative 21st Century Technologies. Seldom do I enter a classroom in our school system that the teacher isn’t utilizing technology. Unfortunately, not all teachers have the same ability to utilize technology or care enough about the technology to apply it to their lessons in a meaningful way. This is something that all of the administrators must help with as we move forward not only with RTI and EDUCATE Alabama, but also with technology.<br /><br />Warm regards,<br /><br />William “Bill” Bishop AKA LostJohnsWBishophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15851031945528954101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36727583.post-85876912500429664612009-03-12T00:04:00.001-04:002009-03-12T00:07:00.408-04:00Career Tech OpportunitiesAs of January of this year I was transferred to the position of Interim Center of Technology Director/Career Tech Director while retaining the position of Assistant Principal in my school system. As such, I find that my time is even more limited than before. The transition has been wonderful and I am blessed to have the opportunity to work more closely with the great teachers at the center. They are all wonderful teachers and this has made the transition easier than expected. I am trying to help the teachers and the school move toward excellence and we are currently looking for ways to improve all of our programs. <br /><br />As stated last year, I haven’t forgotten about this blog, but I am trying to figure out how to best to utilize it to help current leaders, future leaders, and technology enthusiasts move forward in the 21 century and beyond. A lot of my time currently is focused on workforce development, grant opportunities and how to best train highly skilled worker for today's workforce and the workforce of tomorrow. If you have any ideas shoot them my way. Thanks for dropping in and God bless.<br /><br />Warm regards,WBishophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15851031945528954101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36727583.post-11347846846193428452008-05-08T10:27:00.001-04:002008-05-08T10:29:37.758-04:00ALSDE SUMMITA video from one of the sessions at the ALSDE Summit<br /><br /><embed src="http://www.teachertube.com/skin-p/mediaplayer.swf" width="425" height="350" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" menu="false" flashvars="height=350&width=425&file=http://www.teachertube.com/flvideo/12272.flv&image=http://www.teachertube.com/thumb/12272.jpg&location=http://www.teachertube.com/skin-p/mediaplayer.swf&logo=http://www.teachertube.com/images/greylogo.swf&searchlink=http://teachertube.com/search_result.php%3Fsearch_id%3D&frontcolor=0xffffff&backcolor=0x000000&lightcolor=0xFF0000&screencolor=0xffffff&autostart=false&volume=80&overstretch=fit&link=http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=d1296214afd7cc367045&linkfromdisplay=true&recommendations=http://www.teachertube.com/embedplaylist.php?chid=56"></embed><br /><br />Enjoy<br /><br />Warm Regards<br /><br />William Bishop (Bill)WBishophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15851031945528954101noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36727583.post-20823682846825316372008-02-06T23:03:00.000-05:002008-02-06T23:06:51.712-05:00New Beginnings!As of two weeks ago I was named Assistant Principal of my high school. As such, I find that my time is even more limited than before. Nevertheless, it has been a wonderful transition and I am blessed to have the position. We have a lot of wonderful teachers and administrators in the school and this has made the transition easier than expected. I am trying to help the teachers and the school move toward excellence. <br /><br />In the near future I hope to help teachers more with technology integration among other things. Also, as stated prior in some previous postings, I am also finishing up my Ph. D and this in and of itself takes up a great deal of my time. I haven’t forgotten about this blog, but I am trying to figure out how to best to utilize it to help current leaders, future leaders, and technology enthusiasts move forward in the 21 century and beyond. If you have any ideas shoot them my way. Thanks for dropping in and God bless.<br /><br />Warm regards,<br /><br />William Bishop (Bill)WBishophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15851031945528954101noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36727583.post-4581778570335416432008-01-17T10:28:00.000-05:002008-01-17T10:31:16.809-05:00Fresh air! Macbook AirThis is really cool. I'm a PC person, but I want one...<br /><br /><object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/gtkMMQRKqB0&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/gtkMMQRKqB0&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><br /><br />Warm regards,<br /><br />William Bishop (Bill)WBishophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15851031945528954101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36727583.post-38317378137796965002007-12-17T21:57:00.000-05:002007-12-17T22:07:24.359-05:00Web 2.0 Student PlanningI was visiting <a href="http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/">Vicki Davis’</a> latest post and it seems that she has her students doing some Web 2.0 planning. All of their initial plans look great, but I particularly like the first one. It’s a private school wide social network for parents, students, grandparents, and teachers. Facebook, Bebo, and Myspace move over for Vicki’s class! In Vicki’s words,<br /><blockquote><p><br /><span style="color:#3366ff;">“The students decided immersive learning is the best. Additionally, they wanted the elementary students to participate. After a meeting with me, I set up<br />the site, they joined and I made them administrators (yes I did.) They customized the look, added RSS feeds, and have just done a tremendous job. They are in the process of setting up groups for every class.”<br /></span></p></blockquote>My first thought is what a great concept and tool. My second thought deals with safety issues. My last thought on the issue is a question, How long are we going to wait before we get on board and start implementing these technologies for the good of our students? Of course, I realize that we have to make sure that security is in place, but we must also move forward when we are able. <br /><br />In most cases our curriculums are out dated due to circumstance. What is the circumstance? Most curriculum coordinators know little or nothing about technology. Technology has advanced at such a rapid pace that it has left most teachers, coordinators, and systems behind. Personally, I have to make time to investigate theses new technologies. That’s what I’m doing right now. Then I have to figure out whether or not they apply to my classes and if we can use them safely. This is exactly what Vicki is doing with her students.<br /><br />Warm regards,<br /><br />William Bishop (Bill) <br /><br />Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/web2.0" rel="tag">web2.0,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/technology" rel="tag">technology,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/teaching" rel="tag">teaching,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/social_networks" rel="tag">social_networks,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Vicki_Davis" rel="tag">Vicki_Davis,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/william_bishop" rel="tag">william_bishop,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/lostjohns" rel="tag">lostjohns,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/" rel="tag"></a>WBishophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15851031945528954101noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36727583.post-12518581933507131362007-12-04T23:10:00.000-05:002007-12-04T23:15:37.354-05:00Idle thought and new beginnings!My class hasn’t had the opportunity to work on our wiki, blog at our blog, or moodle about as much as I would like because our library is being renovated. Nevertheless, I had the opportunity go in there today and it looks great. We have some nice new flat screen televisions on the wall and they should be fully functional soon. Then we will be able to show videos and use them for presentations. Also, our library has new bookshelves, reference desks, and a fresh coat of paint. It looks great!<br /><br />The students and I are very blessed to have such nice facilities. Our superintendent and the board spent the money well and now that the renovation is almost complete, I hope to get my students back into the media center soon. However, this semester is almost over and with testing taking place in the library over the next couple of weeks things look bleak. Oh well, we will get back in there when we can...<br /><br />Unfortunately, my aspirations will one day most likely take me away from the classroom and the media lab. Sad but expected! I feel that I could be much more productive promoting 21st Century Skills from an administrative position. Hence, that is why I have to spend so much time away from this blog. Not only do I have my regular duties to attend to, but I also have my doctorial classes to keep up with. Maybe, it will all be worth it one day in the near future. Until then I will continue to do what I can to promote educational technology within my classes. I’m not promoting technology for the sake of promoting technology mind you. I’m using technology to promote learning.<br /><br />What is the premise of using technology to promote learning? Well, it’s like getting the most bang for your buck. In public education we need to make sure that we are using our funds well and appropriately. We have to think about what teachers and students need and what they get from the experience. For teachers, the most bang for the buck usually comes from professional development. We have to make sure that PD is productive and worthwhile. For students, we need to make sure that we are spending our money in areas that will produce positive gains in learning for their future. I believe by utilizing our state and federal funds correctly this can be accomplished. Moreover, Web 2.0 technologies can provide a positive avenue to accomplish the aforementioned.<br /><br />Unfortunately, many administrators don’t have a clue as to what Web 2.0 technologies are or how to apply them. This is unfortunate with the expansive growth of the information superhighway and our ever evolving networks. The world is becoming flatter by the second. As such, digital immigrants and digital natives come to mind.<br /><br />Is there really such a thing as a digital native? If so, does being a digital native really have anything to do with age? Young teachers coming into the system often know less about technology than some of us older folks. Personally, I’m not certain that age has anything to do with technology skills. Technology skills in my opinion come from application thereof. With that being said, who is promoting 21st Century Skills in your school?<br /><br />Warm Regards,<br /><br />William Bishop<br /><br />Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/21st_century" rel="tag">21st_century,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/21st_Century_Learning" rel="tag">21st_Century_Learning,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/technology" rel="tag">technology,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/School" rel="tag">School</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/2.0" rel="tag">2.0,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/william_bishop" rel="tag">william_bishop,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/" rel="tag"></a>WBishophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15851031945528954101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36727583.post-74413120351043860682007-11-27T19:59:00.000-05:002007-11-27T20:14:14.198-05:00Laptop Security and FortiManager Article<a href="http://directory.ua.edu/facultystaff/details.cfm?people=1475">Dr. Margaret Rice</a> at the <a href="http://education.ua.edu/">University of Alabama </a>brought this article to my attention. Well, I say my attention. She actually posted it for her technology class that I am enrolled in at the University of Alabama. Her class and my Intermediate statistics class at UAB, the web based and IVC courses I am teaching through <a href="http://accessdl.state.al.us/">ACCESS</a>, and my regular teaching assignments have taken a great deal of my time this semester. Nevertheless, I wouldn’t take anything for any of them. I have learned a lot this semester about networking, quantitative statistics, and dealing with web based and IVC students. I am blessed, but busy. Maybe, I can find more time to blog next semester. I guess that I will just have to make the time. There goes my self diagnosis of ADHD again…Sorry...<br /><br />The article that Dr. Rice pointed out to the class can be found at <a href="http://www.thejournal.com/articles/21572">http://www.thejournal.com/articles/21572</a>. The title of the article is Laptop Security: Covering the bases. From what I can tell the article address many of the issues that my system is facing and some issues that I hope we get to face in the near future. I’d love to get a grant for 3,000 student laptops for my system. Where do we sign up? <br /><br />More specifically, my system may be interested in <a href="http://www.fortinet.com/products/fortimanager.html">FortiManager</a>. According to the article, “FortiManager is an integrated monitoring and management solution, the district receives active reporting from all laptops, regardless of whether they are on or off campus.” In the words of Solis, “We can follow up on exactly where certain laptops are pinging. [and] From there, we get more detailed sketches and actively circumvent any problems by, say, denying access to those IP addresses and/or Web sites." This all sounds pretty cool to me. Maybe someone who stumbles into my blog will benefit from the article. I know that my system is always looking for solutions like FortiManager. I will have to pass the article on to the IT staff at my school. <br /><br />Warm Regards,<br /><br />William Bishop (Bill)<br /><br />Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/network" rel="tag">network</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/security" rel="tag">security,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/busy" rel="tag">busy,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/" rel="tag"></a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/laptop" rel="tag">laptop</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/security" rel="tag">security,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/FortiManager" rel="tag">FortiManager,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Dr" rel="tag">Dr.</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Margaret" rel="tag">Margaret</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Rice" rel="tag">Rice,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/UA" rel="tag">UA,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/UAB" rel="tag">UAB,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/lostjohns" rel="tag">lostjohns,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/william_bishop" rel="tag">william_bishop,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/" rel="tag"></a>WBishophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15851031945528954101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36727583.post-24919429998812726412007-11-02T11:05:00.000-05:002007-11-02T11:56:01.749-05:00Did you know 2.0?It's lunch and I was checking some of my favorite blogs and low and behold I came across a revised version of "Did you know?" Well, with all of the hype about Web 2.0 why not advance Karl Fisch's video to the same level. Why NOT! That is exactly what happened over the summer. I must have been busy because I am just now coming across the revised version. Well, better late than never. Below is "Did you know? 2.0" Enjoy!<br /><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/pMcfrLYDm2U&rel=" width="425" height="355" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent"></embed><br /><br />Warm Regards,<br /><br />William Bishop (Bill)<br /><br />Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Karl_Fisch," rel="tag">Karl_Fisch,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Fischbowl," rel="tag">Fischbowl,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/21st_century," rel="tag">21st_century,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/web2.0," rel="tag">web2.0,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/school2.0," rel="tag">school2.0,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/classroom2.0," rel="tag">classroom2.0,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/lostjohns," rel="tag">lostjohns,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/william_bishop" rel="tag">william_bishop</a>WBishophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15851031945528954101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36727583.post-57989433825212792562007-10-29T00:35:00.000-05:002007-10-29T00:49:32.291-05:00Dr. Bill NOT Dr. Phil!Yes, just in case you are wondering, I am still alive. I am finishing up the last few classes in a Ph. D. program and I will be ABD. “Good Lord willing and if the creek doesn't rise,” I plan to start my dissertation in May. Someday, I will be Dr. Bill. <span style="color:#ff0000;">NOT Dr. Phil, Dr. Bill!</span><br /><br />Keep my family and me in your thoughts and prayers as I have a very limited amount of time this semester. Nevertheless, the promise land is just around the corner and I plan to keep on keeping on. Now I just have to figure out what I want to do when I grow up. One thing is for sure, I plan to continue blogging. Wish me luck with it all...<br /><br />Warm Regards,<br /><br />William Bishop (Bill)WBishophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15851031945528954101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36727583.post-51466077667109989762007-09-24T22:33:00.000-04:002007-09-24T22:44:34.520-04:00Not oh what! OoVoo!I received the following comment to my post about <a href="http://lostjohns.blogspot.com/2007/08/interactive-video-conferencing-classes.html">Interactive Video Conferencing Classes</a>…<br /><br /><blockquote><span style="color:#6633ff;">“Hi Bill, Interesting to see your work in this area as I have been looking for similar case studies using free video conferencing.I write for ooVooworld, the unofficial WOM world about the free video chat download ooVoo, and wondered if you think this kind of app is 'the future' as much as the more expensive, supervised systems you discuss here - potentially more democratic and accessible to everyone? Do you have any experiences or opinions of people using applications<br />like ooVoo in teaching in this way? Many thanks, Molly”</span></blockquote><br />Now, I answered her question and I directed her to <a href="http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/">Viki A. Davis</a>. I could have directed her to <a href="http://www.wesfryer.com/">Wesley Fryer</a> or <a href="http://21stcenturylearning.typepad.com/">Sheryl Nussbaum-Beech</a>, <a href="http://crispen.typepad.com/">Patrick Crispen</a> or countless others, but then I got to thinking about her questions and I was wondering if any educators out there are using ooVoo as a teaching application with their classes. <strong>Is anyone out there using </strong><a href="http://www.oovoo.com/about/"><strong>ooVoo</strong></a><strong> as a teaching tool</strong>? My question reminds me of Pink Floyd lyrics “…is there anyone out there?” Let me me know!<br /><br />Warm Regards,<br /><br />William Bishop (Bill)<br /><br />Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/ooVoo" rel="tag">ooVoo,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/free" rel="tag">free,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/video_conferencing" rel="tag">video_conferencing,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/classroom2.0" rel="tag">classroom2.0,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/school2.0" rel="tag">school2.0,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/wesfryer" rel="tag">wesfryer,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Vicki_Davis" rel="tag">Vicki_Davis,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Sheryl_Beach" rel="tag">Sheryl_Beach,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/patrick_crispen" rel="tag">patrick_crispen,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/william_bishop" rel="tag">william_bishop,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/lostjohns" rel="tag">lostjohns</a>WBishophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15851031945528954101noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36727583.post-6645332800636655232007-09-24T00:37:00.000-04:002007-09-24T00:43:44.891-04:00Great Opportunity from Teacher TubeGreat Opportunity from Teacher Tube<br /><br />Did I tell you that I am teaching traditional courses, IVC courses, web-based courses, working on my Ph. D. and the list goes on…With all of the irons that I have in the fire, it’s hard to find time to post anything meaningful or otherwise. Nevertheless, I promise when things like this pop up I’ll do my best to post them for my readers that haven’t given up on me yet or that have an RSS feed of this blog. Teacher tube is going to give some lucky teacher a state of the art classroom. Here is the information.<br /><br /><br /><blockquote><p><span style="color:#6633ff;">“We at TeacherTube wanted to make sure our community members were aware of a great opportunity to win an interactive classroom makeover worth over $15,000.00. That\'s right-- $15,000.00! Interwrite Learning and TeacherTube are partnering to bring this contest to classroom teachers. Check out all the details at <a href="http://www.teachertube.com/makeover">http://www.teachertube.com/makeover</a>. </span></p><p><span style="color:#6633ff;">Your video submission could be<br />the big winner!<br /><br />If you haven\'t been to TeacherTube.com in a while,<br />please come back and check out all the new videos and groups that have been<br />added.”</span></p><p align="right"><span style="color:#333333;">Warm Regards</span></p><p align="right"><span style="color:#333333;">William Bishop (Bill)</span></p><p align="right">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/teachertube" rel="tag">teachertube,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/free" rel="tag">free,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/classroom2.0" rel="tag">classroom2.0,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/" rel="tag"></a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/school2.0" rel="tag">school2.0,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/opportunity" rel="tag">opportunity</a> </p></blockquote>WBishophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15851031945528954101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36727583.post-90535720551682452642007-09-06T23:37:00.000-04:002007-09-06T23:49:52.003-04:0021st Century Skills and NCLBThings that grap my attention....<br /><blockquote></blockquote><blockquote>"College and workforce preparedness, 21st-century skills, and the use of data to inform instruction are among the new points of emphasis in a draft version of a bill to reauthorize the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Proposed by Rep. George Miller, Democratic chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, and the committee's senior Republican member, Buck McKeon." ...<a href="http://www.eschoolnews.com/today/today.cfm?ArticleID=7356">eSchool News</a></blockquote><blockquote></blockquote><blockquote></blockquote><blockquote></blockquote>NCLB has some good points and some bad points, but adding 21st Century Skills to the bill isn't a bad idea. I just hope that the idea is funded and that ample consideration goes into the design process before it becomes law...<br /><br />Warm Regards,<br /><br />William Bishop (Bill)<br /><br />Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/eschoolnews" rel="tag">eschoolnews,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/NCLB" rel="tag">NCLB,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/21st_Century_Learning" rel="tag">21st_Century_Learning,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/William_Bishop" rel="tag">William_Bishop</a>WBishophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15851031945528954101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36727583.post-7732560723545202422007-09-04T01:13:00.000-04:002007-09-04T01:19:24.810-04:00Microsoft Office, Open Office, OOXML, ODF, and ISO…I’m all about free open source software. The main thing I like about FOSS is the price. Nevertheless, to use an old cliché, “you get what you pay for.” Last year there was some talk within my school system about switching over to open office for all of our publishing needs due to the ever increasing price of Microsoft Office. It made sense due to the price, but referring back to the old cliché, it just wasn’t practical. The number one hindrance in switching over is that <a href="http://www.openoffice.org/">Open Office</a> isn’t totally compatible with Microsoft Office. Moreover the state department of education, universities, and other entities within my state and outside of my state use Microsoft Office as the standard. Hence, switching to Open Office last year, this year, or in the near future isn’t going to happen. Why? It’s called OOXML.<br /><br />For those who don't know, OOXML is open office XML an alternative to ODF (the open document format Open Office uses) and recently OOXML has been trying to become the ISO standard.<br /><br />It’s all about <a href="http://www.iso.org/iso/home.htm">ISO</a> which stands for the International Organization for Standardization. The group describes itself as -<br />"a bridging organization in which a consensus can be reached on solutions that meet both the requirements of business and the broader needs of society, such as the needs of stakeholder groups like consumers and users."<br /><br />It seems that the OOXML is most likely going to be the next ISO standard from the buzz around hyperspace, but what does this have to do with Microsoft Office and Open Office? Ironically, well formed OOXML documents produced by Open Office will not open in Microsoft Office. In the words of <a href="http://stephesblog.blogs.com/my_weblog/2007/08/microsofts-fail.html">Stephen Walli</a> –<br /><blockquote>“It means Microsoft Office DOESN'T ACCEPT WELL FORMED OOXML documents not<br />produced by Microsoft Office.”</blockquote><br />Hence, if you receive an OOXML file you won’t be able to open it without Microsoft Office. I’m just glad that I own personal copies of Microsoft Office 2003 and 2007.<br /><br />By the way, if you are having problems opening Microsoft Office 2007 documents, you should get the <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=941B3470-3AE9-4AEE-8F43-C6BB74CD1466&displaylang=en">Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for the Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats.</a> The Compatibility Pack will let you read Office 2007 documents in Microsoft Office 2000, Office XP, or Office 2003. So you can open a .docx file with Word 2003 or .pptx with PowerPoint 2003. Some people are trying to say that you have to upgrade to Office 2007 and that just isn’t the case. However, I do recommend upgrading to Office 2007 when you have the money.<br /><br />Warm Regards,<br /><br />William Bishop (Bill)<br /><br />Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Microsoft" rel="tag">Microsoft,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/MicrosoftOffice" rel="tag">MicrosoftOffice,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/OpenOffice" rel="tag">OpenOffice,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/ISO" rel="tag">ISO,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/OOXML" rel="tag">OOXML,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/ODF" rel="tag">ODF,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/k12" rel="tag">k12,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/technology" rel="tag">technology,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/" rel="tag"></a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Office2007" rel="tag">Office2007,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/William_Bishop" rel="tag">William_Bishop</a>WBishophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15851031945528954101noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36727583.post-66165216654732652622007-08-27T23:11:00.000-04:002007-08-30T23:31:21.931-04:00I am afraid!I often wonder why more teachers aren’t using 21st century technologies with their classes, but then I have a reality check and realize that most teachers have little or no formal training with 21st century technologies or the time to learn them. I was fortunate enough last year to be a part of the <a href="http://www.bestpracticescenter.org/21stcentury.htm">21st Century Learning Initiative</a> through a Microsoft grant tied to the <a href="http://www.bestpracticescenter.org/index.asp">Alabama Best Practices Center</a> and I learned a great deal about these technologies. Unfortunately, we are not participating this year because the 21st Century Initiative lost its Microsoft funding. As for the ABPC meetings they were useful, but not as useful from my perspective as the 21st Century Initiative.<br /><br />The 21st Century Initiative didn’t really teach me that much at the meetings per se, but it did provide me with an avenue where I could take the initiative and learn on my own. This is what I am all about. I love technology and I love learning. I love thinking of new ways of using technology with my classes and other classes. Last year after school, I would come home and spend hours researching other blogs, wikis, and new free open source software. I hate that the Initiative lost its funding because I believe that a number of schools benefited from the process. That is the thing with Initiatives, they don’t last. This is what scares me about School2.0 and Classroom2.0. How long will these movements stay alive? I hope that both will make it for the long haul, but only time will tell.<br /><br />Personally, I plan to continue to promote and use 21st century technologies in my classroom while I am a teacher and then later in what ever position I end up in. I also hope that other individuals will also keep the initiative alive. If we don't keep them alive, then who will?<br /><br />I’m getting a slow start this year due to all of my other endeavors, but I started trying to fix <a href="http://moodle.org/">Moodle</a> today for my classes. Also, our new tech staff got it loaded online for my students and I am looking forward to seeing how this works out. Nevertheless, I know that using Moodle in combination with other 21st Century technologies will help my less tech savvy students improve their Spanish skills and their tech skills at the same time. As the old saying goes, it’s like killing two birds with one stone.<br /><br />As for the really tech savvy students, they are already ahead of the game. However, don’t take my word for it. Go and visit Sheryl N. Beach and read her post “<a href="http://21stcenturylearning.typepad.com/blog/2007/08/be-afraidvery-a.html">Be afraid...Very afraid.”</a> Maybe, posts like hers will get more individuals involved with these technologies. Nonetheless, it is a very cool post and worth reading!<br /><br />Warm Regards,<br /><br />William Bishop (Bill)<br /><br />Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/21st_Century_Initiative" rel="tag">21st_Century_Initiative,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Technology" rel="tag">Technology,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/K12" rel="tag">K12,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/APBC" rel="tag">APBC,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/School2.0" rel="tag">School2.0,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Classroom2.0" rel="tag">Classroom2.0,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Sheryl_Beach" rel="tag">Sheryl_Beach,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/21st_Century_Learning" rel="tag">21st_Century_Learning,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Lost_Johns" rel="tag">Lost_Johns,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/William_Bishop" rel="tag">William_Bishop,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Bill_Bishop" rel="tag">Bill_Bishop</a>WBishophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15851031945528954101noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36727583.post-32939290267873551302007-08-24T00:13:00.000-04:002007-08-24T00:22:36.130-04:00Google Sky<a href="http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2007/08/take-you-class-sky-high-with-google.html">Vicki A. Davis</a> beats me to the punch again in her blog post entitled "Take your class sky high... Oh well, I don’t really have time to blog right now anyway so I will direct you to a really great blog and blogger (<a href="http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/">CoolCatTeacher Blog</a>)<br /><br /><br /><blockquote><span style="color:#990000;">“Ok, teachers of science. Go to Google and </span><a href="http://earth.google.com/sky/skyedu.html"><span style="color:#990000;">download the latest version of Google Earth</span></a><span style="color:#990000;"> and you will have a super cool new feature called Google Sky! View Google's mini tour to the left (which they </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMhGpzyFdhE&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fearth%2Egoogle%2Ecom%2Fsky%2Fskyedu%2Ehtml"><span style="color:#990000;">handily posted to youtube</span></a><span style="color:#990000;">.)This lets you turn heavenward to look at constellations and all sorts of things! You can explore: planets, constellations, the moon, galaxies, the life of a star, and the atmosphere.I'm also fascinated by the </span><a href="http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/postlist.php/Cat/0/Board/sky"><span style="color:#990000;">Google Earth Community</span></a><span style="color:#990000;"> which allows you to make and share these files.”</span></blockquote><p>I use Google Earth to highlight the 21 Spanish speaking countries with my Spanish classes. I also show them our school and my house for fun. I’m not sure how I will use Google Sky with my classes, but I will introduce them to it for fun.<br /><br />Vickie suggests using Google Sky in the following ways…<br /><br /><strong>Ideas for use:</strong></p><ul><li>Use it in junior high for earth science to interactively explore the sky.</li><li>Discuss the life of a star.</li><li>Use it on your smartboard to explore, zoom in, and discuss things.</li><li>The Hubble Telescope images are available to you and your students!<br /></li></ul><p>Too bad I’m not a Science teacher. Well, maybe in the next life!<br /><br />Thanks for the great post Vicki!<br /><br />Warm Regards,<br /><br />William Bishop (Bill)</p>WBishophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15851031945528954101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36727583.post-7120098736761040702007-08-23T23:30:00.000-04:002007-08-23T23:40:58.309-04:00Being busy is a blessingI consider myself blessed, but busy. I am currently taking six hours of post graduate work for my Ph. D. at two different institutions. I am taking an intermediate quantitative stats course at <a href="http://www.uab.edu/">UAB</a> and a computer networking course at <a href="http://www.ua.edu/">UA</a>. I am the chairperson for my High School’s <a href="http://www.jostens.com/renaissance/">Jostens Renaissance</a> program, one of the senior play directors, head of the English department, and I teach over 150 students Spanish on a daily basis.<br /><br />I teach traditional classes, IVC classes, and web-based classes. I teach 128 students on campus, 16 IVC students, and 12 web-based students. My IVC students and web-based students are part of <a href="http://accessdl.state.al.us/">Alabama’s distance learning program ACCESS</a>. Additionally, I am a husband, father, friend, leader, and avid user of technology. <a href="http://www.rolltide.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=8000&SPID=3011&SPSID=37423">Plus football season is starting</a>. Life is busy, but good!<br /><br />So if I don't get around to blogging as much as usual you’ll have to forgive me. I’m too busy to blog. Nevertheless, I still plan on having my students using technology when appropriate. We will be <a href="http://bishopblog.edublogs.org/">blogging</a>, updating our <a href="http://bishopblogs.wikispaces.com/">wiki</a>, and using moodle when we can fit it in with our lessons. Also, I plan on having my students create some photo stories in Spanish to help them and future students learn and retain the language.<br /><br />Nonetheless, if you need my help with anything let me know. I’m sure I can find some time to help somewhere. Being busy is a blessing…That’s my new motto!<br /><br />Warm Regards,<br /><br />William Bishop (Bill)<br /><br />Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/busy" rel="tag">busy,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Spanish" rel="tag">Spanish,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/blogs" rel="tag">blogs,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/" rel="tag"></a><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/wikis" rel="tag">wikis,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/" rel="tag"></a><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/life" rel="tag">life,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/students" rel="tag">students,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/" rel="tag"></a><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/distance_learning" rel="tag">distance_learning,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/k12" rel="tag">k12,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/" rel="tag"></a><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/william_bishop" rel="tag">william_bishop</a>WBishophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15851031945528954101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36727583.post-2396109637336576322007-08-15T22:24:00.000-04:002007-08-15T22:43:26.581-04:00Interactive Video Conferencing ClassesI am fortunate enough this year to have the opportunity to teach some students on the other side of the state via IVC. We are just now getting all of the bugs worked out with our network, lab, and<a href="http://www.polycom.com/"> polycom</a> IVC unit, but this type of instruction looks promising. Our new lab was funded by a grant and I am teaching as an <a href="http://accessdl.state.al.us/">ACCESS</a> teacher.<br /><br />Now, I just have to work the bugs out of my teaching and figure out how to best serve the students in my local classroom and the students in the classrooms on the other side of the state at the same time. My local students keep watching me on the televisions rather than watching me. Imagine that! A generation of students more interested in the video monitor than the real thing.<br /><br />If you’re not familiar with IVC process then you are missing out. Our lab is set up with a polycom unit, which has two cameras. One of the cameras is dedicated to the instructor and the other is dedicated to my students. In the lab three plasma screen televisions, a computer, document camera, and LCD projector are connected to the polycom unit. Additionally, two very sensitive microphones are mounted in the class. Like the cameras, one is dedicated to the instructor and the other is dedicated to the students.<br /><br />Connecting to the remote schools requires imputing the external IP addresses for the IVC units there and pressing call on a remote. Once connected with the remote schools I can see both of my remote classes and communicate with them. The lag time of our connection is less than one second and the IT people in my school are working diligently to decrease it even more. However, this will require a new dedicated switch for the lab. In laymen terms, the switch will create a almost direct route to our new lab and IVC unit. The new switch should almost entirely eliminate the lag time and make the process more efficient.<br /><br />At the remote schools each lab has a facilitator to supervise and help with the classes there. Also, Alabama Super Computer Authority keeps the connections between the schools flowing at a sufficient rate. All in all, this is a very high tech setup and it is indeed the wave of the future. I’m just happy to be a part of the process now.<br /><br />What does all of this mean? <a href="http://lostjohns.blogspot.com/2007/04/shift-happens.html">Well, in the intelligent words of Karl Fisch, “Shift Happens!” If you don’t understand the term then you should visit one of my old posts featuring his informative video. It can be found HERE</a>.<br /><br />Warm Regards,<br /><br />William Bishop (Bill)<br /><br />Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/ACCESS" rel="tag">ACCESS,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Alabama" rel="tag">Alabama,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/IVC" rel="tag">IVC,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/polycom" rel="tag">polycom,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/technology" rel="tag">technology,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/" rel="tag"></a><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/k12" rel="tag">k12,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/school2.0" rel="tag">school2.0,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/William_Bishop" rel="tag">William_Bishop</a>WBishophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15851031945528954101noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36727583.post-88597096577552040172007-08-13T22:33:00.000-04:002007-08-13T23:11:59.456-04:00Words of Support!Our Superintedent was nice enough to send everyone an opening message and I thought that I'd share some of it here. I don't think that he would mind. Furthermore, it says a lot!<br /><br /><blockquote><p><span style="color:#3366ff;">Effective teachers also understand the importance of a name. You realize that personal attention begins with a personal salutation. To you, students are not anonymous entities. You seek to affirm the student for his/her individual worth and by doing so, you let them know that they truly belong – that they are more than eight-to-three residents in some netherworld of<br />a small desk. To paraphrase Thomas Carlyle, “Great teachers show their greatness by the way they treat their students.” You are teachers that have come to realize that a pat on the back has enough force to propel a student toward excellence. </span></p><p><span style="color:#3366ff;">I thank you and congratulate you for the successful start and<br />for being an effective teacher leader sending the message that [our schools] are “CARING, COMMUNITY SCHOOLS PROVIDING EVERY CHILD EVERY CHANCE<br />FOR SUCCESS!” </span></p><p><span style="color:#3366ff;">Keep-on-Keeping-on throughout this year and beyond…</span></p></blockquote><br /><br />Thanks Dr. Baggett for the kind words of support!<br /><br />This is exactly what our Renaissance process is all about. It is about recognizing every student for his/her individual worth and letting them know that they truly belong in our schools. It’s the pat on the back that Carlyle and you speak of and more…<br /><br />Once again, thanks for the kind words of support and thanks for supporting the Renaissance process…I am going to post this at our <a href="http://haleyvillerenaissance.blogspot.com/">Haleyville Renaissance Blog</a> as well. What encouraging words…<br /><br />Warm Regards,<br /><br />William Bishop (Bill)<br /><br />Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/teaching" rel="tag">teaching,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/support" rel="tag">support,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/renaissance" rel="tag">renaissance,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/students" rel="tag">students,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/excellence" rel="tag">excellence,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/william_bishop" rel="tag">william_bishop,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/dr_baggett" rel="tag">dr_baggett</a>WBishophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15851031945528954101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36727583.post-18455061884074496612007-08-11T20:01:00.000-04:002007-08-11T20:16:21.862-04:00Correction about DurffMrs. Durff isn’t an English teacher per se. She was nice enough to drop back by the blog and leave another comment and correct my first assumption. Mrs. Durff is like many of the wonderful teachers out there she is busy wearing a variety of hats. In actuality, she is a library media specialist with emphasis on the word specialist due to all of the roles she has to fill within her local school setting.<br /><br />Mrs. Durff referred to herself as a “gopher,” but based on her blog as well as other entities it was easy for me to ascertain that she was just being modest. She was also nice enough to leave the URL to her professional blog in her comment. It is <a href="http://durffsblog.blogspot.com/">http://durffsblog.blogspot.com/</a>. She has great quote there by Mr. Lewis. "The next best thing to be wise oneself is to live in a circle of those who are" CS Lewis. Based on her blog role she not only believes in this creed, but she lives by it.<br /><br />The more than impressive video that I plugged from <a href="http://www.teachertube.com/">teachertube</a> about student blogging into my last post is from a teacher in New Zealand according to Mrs. Durff. Unfortunately, I haven’t taken the time to research the video, but I love it nonetheless. It presents student blogging in a positive light. What a great video!<br /><br />Warm regards,<br /><br />William Bishop (Bill)<br /><br />Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/teaching" rel="tag">teaching,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Durff" rel="tag">Durff,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/" rel="tag"></a><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/teachertube" rel="tag">teachertube,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/educational_technology" rel="tag">educational_technology,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/william_bishop" rel="tag">william_bishop,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/lostjohns" rel="tag">lostjohns,</a>WBishophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15851031945528954101noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36727583.post-16403756480992850142007-08-10T23:21:00.000-04:002008-12-13T05:43:40.352-05:00Blogging requires passion an emotion which leaves out most people!<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QKW9lRoNdJA/Rr0rtMuAvTI/AAAAAAAAAJA/r9mICto5fOs/s1600-h/durffblog.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5097278408761589042" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QKW9lRoNdJA/Rr0rtMuAvTI/AAAAAAAAAJA/r9mICto5fOs/s320/durffblog.gif" border="0" /></a>Durff was nice enough to drop by this blog and leave a comment about my last posting. As such, I found myself wanting to know who exactly Durff is. Well, it’s Mrs. Durff and she is an English teacher and blogger. I actually got the title of this post and the cartoon strip picture from her blog. I borrowed it and used it for this post. I hope she doesn’t mind. The URL for her blog is <a href="http://www.classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger_id=54610">http://www.classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger_id=54610</a><br /><br />My favorite thing about her blog is the quote by Alvin Toffler under the heading “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn. Alvin Toffler.” Inspiring! I also found this video at teacher tube as a result of Mrs. Durff's website. Enjoy!<br /><br /><embed pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" align="middle" src="http://www.teachertube.com/flvplayer23.swf" width="400" height="350" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars="config=http://www.teachertube.com/flvplayer2.php?viewkey=be6ec9b852b0a542e2f3&vimg=http://www.teachertube.com/thumb/838.jpg" quality="high" bgcolor="#000000" wmode="transparent" loop="false" scale="exactfit"></embed><br /><br />Warm regards,<br /><br />William Bishop (Bill)WBishophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15851031945528954101noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36727583.post-87233008154700900512007-08-09T20:33:00.000-04:002007-08-09T21:00:48.061-04:00Digital Directions, Education Week, & Michelle DavisI am very excited because I got an email today from <a href="http://www.edweek.org/ew/contributors/michelle.davis.html">Michelle Davis</a> from <a href="http://www.edweek.org/">Education Week</a> asking me for an interview for an upcoming article on wikis in the classroom. The article will be featured in Education Week’s new technology magazine <a href="http://www.edweek.org/ew/dd/toc/2007/06/20/index.html">Digital Directions.</a> <br /><br />I called her this afternoon after school and had a very meaningful conversation with her about my classes and our Spanish wiki. I also spoke with her about other ways that we are implementing technology in our schools and student safety. It was an honor having the opportunity to interview with Michelle Davis and I look forward to reading her article in what I believe will be the second issue of <a href="http://www.edweek.org/ew/dd/toc/2007/06/20/index.html">Digital Directions</a>. According to her, the next issue should be out sometime in September.<br /><br />If you love educational technology, then I suggest checking out the first copy of <a href="http://www.edweek.org/ew/dd/toc/2007/06/20/index.html">Digital Directions</a>. There is a lot of useful information for educational tech enthusiasts in the new publication. One of my favorite articles is the article entitled <a href="http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/06/20/01sr_curriculum.h01.html">"Digital Tools Push Math and Science to New Levels."</a> Ironically, the article was written by non other than <a href="http://www.edweek.org/ew/contributors/michelle.davis.html">Michelle Davis</a>. Not only does this lady write well and cover all of the bases, but she does it with style. These are the type of articles that I enjoy reading. Looks like I will have to keep a closer eye on Education Week, their new publication, and articles by Michelle Davis. By the way, if you are interested in other articles by Michelle Davis at Education Week, they can be found <a href="http://www.edweek.org/ew/contributors/michelle.davis.html">HERE</a>.<br /><br />Warm Regards,<br /><br />William Bishop (Bill)<br /><br />Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/interview" rel="tag">interview,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/education_week" rel="tag">education_week,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/technology" rel="tag">technology,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/wikis" rel="tag">wikis,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/digital_directions" rel="tag">digital_directions,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/new_magazine" rel="tag">new_magazine,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Michelle_Davis" rel="tag">Michelle_Davis,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/William_Bishop" rel="tag">William_Bishop,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/educational_technology" rel="tag">educational_technology</a>WBishophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15851031945528954101noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36727583.post-87083271093386725022007-08-09T20:26:00.000-04:002007-08-09T21:07:23.740-04:00Back to SchoolThe school year is back in full swing and as usual this has been an eventful week. On Monday we had our institute day and I was fortuitous enough to be ask to develop a short video highlighting our High School’s Renaissance program. I used Microsoft Movie Maker along with some pictures from the <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.jostens.com/edserv/renaissance/default.asp">Jostens’ National Renaissance Conference </a>to complete the video. I received a lot of thoughtful comments from a number of the faculty and staff at my school regarding the video and that always makes one feel good.<br /><br />On Tuesday I had the opportunity to teach three short sessions about blogs and wikis for our first ever school wide technology fair. Various sessions took place at the fair that covered a wide range of subjects. We had the blog/wiki session that I conducted, a moodle session, a clicker session, a riverdeep session, a library media session and the list goes on. I heard a few complaints from teachers about not having enough time to work in their classrooms before the start of school, but most of the teachers were excited about being introduced to these 21st century technologies. Of course, my system is very blessed with thoughtful and caring teachers who want to implement technology to help the teaching and learning process. As such, many of the teachers are currently working diligently on learning and implementing some of the technologies from our technology fair.<br />Wednesday we worked in our classrooms and had meetings with our departments and today the students returned. As a result of the Renaissance process, our Principal decided to have a school wide assembly to honor our student body, teachers, and new students. I will blog about this when I have a chance at the new blog that I developed for our Renaissance program. The URL for the blog is <a href="http://haleyvillerenaissance.blogspot.com/">http://haleyvillerenaissance.blogspot.com/</a>.<br /><br />I created the blog at the beginning of the week to highlight some of the great things our school is doing to promote academic excellence. Currently, there is only one post there and it is about the Renaissance National Conference that we attended this summer. I hope to move forward and improve the blog as the year progresses.<br /><br />Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/renaissance" rel="tag">renaissance,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/blog" rel="tag">blog,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/blogging" rel="tag">blogging,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/wikis" rel="tag">wikis,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/school" rel="tag">school,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/lost" rel="tag">lost</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/johns" rel="tag">johns</a>WBishophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15851031945528954101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36727583.post-4702222543052202782007-08-06T01:02:00.000-04:002007-08-06T01:35:32.985-04:00BloggingBack to school: Back to blogging…<br /><br />I am getting ready to teach some short sessions for a technology fair that we are having at our school on Tuesday. The fair and my presentation as well as the presentations of others are the result of the <a href="http://www.bestpracticescenter.org/">Alabama Best Practices Center</a> and the 21 Century Learning Initiative.<br /><br />Anyway, I am currently putting the final touches on a presentation for the sessions. I am using many of the slides that <a href="http://www.netsquirrel.com/">Patrick Crispen</a> used in his blogging 101 presentation at the <a href="http://www.aetc.cc/index.htm">Alabama Educational Technology conference</a> this summer. As such, special thanks go out to Patrick for all of his hard work.<br /><br />Luckily, I was able to sit in on a couple of Patrick's presentations at the conference before making my own presentation about School 2.0. My presentation is currently online if you're interested in School 2.0. It is entitled <a href="http://www.aetc.cc/presentations.htm">Plunge into School 2.0...</a> The exact URL to download the presentation is <a href="http://www.aetc.cc/presentations/2007/Session83Plunge%20Into%20School%202.ppt">HERE</a>.<br /><br />Enough said!<br /><br />Warm Regards,<br /><br />William Bishop (Bill)WBishophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15851031945528954101noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36727583.post-57410978636543908092007-06-25T01:53:00.000-04:002007-06-25T02:10:51.126-04:00Blogging: It’s elementary, School 2.0, and Classroom 2.0Blogging: It’s elementary, School 2.0, and Classroom 2.0<br /><br />I had the opportunity to sit-in-on a couple of <a href="http://www.netsquirrel.com/">Patrick Crispen’s</a> sessions at the 2007 AETC conference week before last and he had a great presentation on blogging 101 and <a href="http://blogger.com/">blogger</a>. You can download Patrick’s presentation on <a href="http://www.netsquirrel.com/powerpoint/powerpoint/blogging_101.zip">blogging here</a> (It’s in zip format). Although I am very familiar with blogger, I found the presentation worthwhile and even learned a few new tricks and tips. Patrick always does a great job with his presentations. Such is to be expected of a graduate of the University of Alabama! <grin>If you are interested in elementary blogging and Patrick’s presentation doesn’t tell you everything you want to know about beginning a blog for yourself or with your classes, you should visit the following links...<br /><br /><a href="http://www.education-world.com/a_tech/tech/tech217.shtml">E-School News article on Elementary Blogging</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.teach42.com/2004/11/09/more-on-elementary-blogs/">A post by Steve Dembo about Elementary Bloggers</a><br /><br /><a href="http://supportblogging.com/Links+to+School+Bloggers">A wiki with links to educational blogs</a><br /><br /><a href="http://abpc.wikispaces.com/">A wiki tied to Alabama Best Practices Center’s 21ST Century Initiative</a><br /><br /><a href="http://del.icio.us/abpcjohn">John Norton’s bookmarks for the 21st Century Initiative</a> (My blogs are here) Wow!<br /><br />These should be enough to get you started. I would however point out that before you start blogging with your classes you should get your administrator’s approval. You should also make sure that your Acceptable Use Policy is up-to-date. And above all things you need to make sure that you keep your students safety in mind.<br /><br />You can find a number of tips to help with the things you need to know about blogging at the <a href="http://abpc.wikispaces.com/">ABPC wiki</a>. I hope this helps administrators and teachers begin the move toward <a href="http://school20.ning.com/">School 2.0</a> and <a href="http://classroom20.ning.com/">Classroom 2.0</a> if they haven’t already made the move. Enjoy!<br /><br /><span style="color:#33ccff;">Note: In a future post I will discuss my presentation at the 2007 AETC (Plunge into school 2.0 and beyond: But don’t forget your PFDs). I am just waiting for them to get the 2007 presentations uploaded to their website.</span><br /><br />Regards,<br /><br />William Bishop (Bill)<br /><br />Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/blogging" rel="tag">blogging,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/elementary" rel="tag">elementary,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/education" rel="tag">education,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/patrick_crispen" rel="tag">patrick_crispen,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/blogging_links" rel="tag">blogging_links,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/abpc" rel="tag">abpc,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/john_norton" rel="tag">john_norton,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/21stCentury" rel="tag">21stCentury,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/teach42" rel="tag">teach42,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/eschoolnews" rel="tag">eschoolnews,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/lostjohns" rel="tag">lostjohns,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/blogger" rel="tag">blogger,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/blogspot" rel="tag">blogspot,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/aetc" rel="tag">aetc,</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/william_bishop" rel="tag">william_bishop</a>WBishophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15851031945528954101noreply@blogger.com1