Zip it Up!

Ever gotten tired of adding one picture at a time to an email or uploading individual files to a website? Then this post is for you.

Zipping files is a simple trick that has been around forever. Originally designed to compress files and make them smaller (which you still can do), zipping is more frequently used to combine multiple files into a single file.

This trick can save you plenty of time when you have to have to send or upload many files at once and it is very easy to do. Keep in mind that by combining a number of files, your overall file size can get very large. Here is a video on how to resize your pictures, making them small enough to email as well as add into a zip file with other files that are similar in size.

Below is a video showing you how to zip your files and then upload them into Moodle:

Digital Citizenship: Whose Responsibility is it?

Don't complain if you're not prepared to do anything about it.
- Andy Cunningham

However uncommon it is to quote oneself when writing, it certainly fits into the topic of today's blog post. These are the words I uttered to my dad after listening to him whine and complain about his telephone issues (who still has a land-line anyway?) for a couple of days while refusing to try and figure out what the problem was. Einstein's definition of insanity may have been another applicable quote.

At the end of last week I attended a Digital Citizenship Symposium that was put on by the CRCPD in Calgary. This symposium brought together educators from around the province to discuss issues of digital citizenship and the role the education system has in teaching our students how to become digital citizens. In fact, many conversations revolved around removing the word "digital" from the conversation, arguing that simply being a citizen in today's world involves understanding issues of internet privacy, safety, cyberbullying, copyright, and cyber commerce. A teacher librarian created 2 word clouds from wikipedia definitions to compare digital citizenship to citizenship. Below are the 2 word clouds:


You can see there are many similarities, most notably the words citizen, community and participation. There are many other words in the areas of education, information, and democracy.

As fans of technology, everyone at the symposium would argue for increased technology use in the classroom. However, there is also the understanding that many teachers are reluctant to utilize technology and the Internet for fear of jeopardizing the safety of their students. While many of these fears are certainly real, they have been largely over-blown and sensationalized by national and international media.

While there are no definite answers, there seemed to be a growing consensus that the opportunity for educating students to be safe falls within the realm of education. As such, the first steps need to be educating all stakeholders - students, parents and teachers - about the actual risks, what to watch out for, as well as safe online habits.

What do you think? Whose responsibility is it?

In the coming weeks, I will be delving deeper into the topic of digital citizenship in greater detail. Until then, here are some more resources to build your understanding of digital citizenship:

CBE's Digital Citizenship Page
Mr. Young's Bouncy A - Internet Safety Videos
Managing your "Digital Tattoo"

Welcome Back!

"Up your nose with a rubber hose!"

- Vinnie Barbarino

Sorry. I couldn't find any inspirational words from Mr. Kotter. I hope everyone had a chance to relax and unplug over the summer. You never really realize how dependent on the Internet you've become until you are in the middle of nowhere with no service for an extended period of time. It was hard to shake the IAD (Internet Anxiety Disorder) although it was nice to re-connect with the sunshine once again.

Hopefully some of you had a chance to try out some of the many sites mentioned previously in Techronicity and begin building your PLN (Personal Learning Network) over the summer. If not, now is an especially great time to do so since it could save you hours of time in the future. Grasslands Public Schools is now on Twitter, under the username @GPS6. Grasslands is hoping to use Twitter as an effective messaging system to communicate important messages (such as school closures) with students and parents. Encourage parents to follow Grasslands!

Here is a sneek-peek at what is down the pipeline for Techronicity this year:

The 9 Elements of Digital Citizenship

Web 2.0 Tools for Teachers

Moodle

Smartboard Tips

I'll leave you with some motivational pictures:

Summertime, And theLivin' is Easy

If you're like me, you have a mile-long list of things to do over the summer because you think you'll have time to do it. At least that is what you tell yourself and everyone you talk to. Realistically you know you won't get much of this list done, if anything at all (I know I won't).


Well, I'll try not to add too much to your list, although I know that I have already for some of you. If you don't have anything to do, browse through the blog posts on the right of this page and you'll be sure to find something that piques your interest. There are many things worth investing your time in.


Now, I'd actually like to show you something that could save you time this summer. Many teachers are in the midst of transferring their lessons into SMART Notebook to make them easier to use with their SMARTboards. Is this a necessary step for everyone? No, its not. Is it more convenient to have your lessons in Notebook rather than Word or PDF? I would argue yes.


So, how can you get your lessons into Notebook from another program? There are 3 different methods that I'd recommend, depending on the situation.


#1. Copy and Paste. As simple as it gets. Highlight your work. Select copy. Paste into Notebook. This method is the best method due to the fact that you can still edit text in Notebook by double-clicking on it. It allows for more customization than the next two methods because of this. However, it isn't the fastest method.


#2. Screen Capture. Certainly the slowest method, screen capture will allow you to copy your lessons into Notebook by selecting an area using the screen capture tool. This method is one to consider if you cannot copy and paste your material. However, with screen capture, you will not be able to edit text because you are capturing images. If you can't remember how to use screen capture, watch the video in this blog post.


#3. Notebook Print Capture. This method is the fastest out of the three and is like a one-click screen capture method. It will take a picture of each page and insert them into a Notebook file. Like screen capture, each page is an image so you are unable to edit them. Occasionally, the quality of the images are suspect. If this happens, you should use option #2 - screen capture. Watch the quick video below to see how Print Capture works.

Learn through Blogging.

We know that blogging can be a very effective tool when used in the classroom. But, it can also be a great tool for developing your PLN. In fact, it's probably the easiest way to get started. You can easily find thousands of blogs relevant to your area of interest or expertise on the internet through a quick search using Googleblogs, Ask.com or Technorati.


Once you've found a blog, begin by reading some of the posts. The most current post will be on the first page you see. There is generally an area where you can navigate to previous blog postings (For instance, on the right hand side of this page you can access all blog postings from the past). Take a quick browse through to see if there are any titles or blog posts that interest you. You will quickly be able to judge whether or not that blog is a site that will be valuable for you.


Your next step should be to start contributing to the conversation. Topics and ideas presented on blogs will get you thinking. Ask questions, answer questions or tell others what you think. The whole idea is to have a conversation to deepen your understanding of a topic.


The final step is to create your own blog and express your beliefs and knowledge with others.


In the meantime, here are some of my favourites that deal with technology:


Free Technology for Teachers
My 2 Cents
ICT in Education
The Whiteboard Blog
Weblogg-ed