Ho! Ho! Ho!

Hey Cedar Valley!

Here's a cool message Santa sent to me especially for you. Click on the link and enjoy!

http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/watch/ggn8r3yt2U1kI-m3fKjRywA

You want to send one too? You can with PNP - Portable North Pole console! (http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/home) Send personalized Nice or Naughty list messages to special people in your lives. They have options for children or adults. Santa refers to the special person by name. You can add pictures and wish lists for more personalization as well as special reminders. (Make sure to opt out of partner emails....if you want to) My family thinks it's awesome! I'm sure yours will too.

Technology Skills for LIFE

Members of the FAC class are starring in their own Public Service Announcements by creating videos to help peers learn how complete everyday tasks. With a little help from the ITS on production, two of our Cedar Valley Jags are featured in this video:

They figure sometimes you just have to see it to understand it.

The catchy tune in the video was found at: http://www.aquafresh.com/Mom_Experts_Downloads_Songs.aspx

**This is not necessarily an endorsement of the product or what you may find at other areas of the site, but you should consider visiting for other neat teeth brushing activities and resources.**

Think INSIDE the Box

Our Foreign Language department is at it again...but this time they are thinking inside the box--the comic strip box, that is!

The students are working on perfecting their written grammar and conversational wording by creating scenes full of dialog. Using the comic strip creator found at http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/Comix/ students are able to choose from a variety of formats, characters, backgrounds, props and speech bubbles to add to their scenes.

Here are some examples of their work (click link after picture to view bigger):

http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/Comix/?comix_id=1974021C602993

http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/Comix/?comix_id=24492330C601751

Bonus (TechKNOWLEDGEy Tip):

Here's another idea (perhaps if we decide to have a BYOD--bring your own device--day...) You may want to look into the Sock Puppet App. I read about it here. (She's got a great tutorial!) My kids and I tried it out and it's pretty hilarious. It's definitely another way to think INSIDE the box.

TechKNOWLEDGEy Tips: 20 x 20

Do you ever feel that your presentations have fallen into a rut? You're always doing that same old thing? Perhaps you have chosen to rely on the comfortable relationship you have with your overhead projector. Perhaps you've flirted a little with other presentation platforms like Prezi. But, in the end when it comes to technology, you always come back to the familiarity of PowerPoint.

This is where I'd like to introduce you to Pecha Kucha: Have you heard of it?

In a nutshell, Pecha Kucha was invented by some architects in Japan who wanted to use a presentation space, had a limited amount of time, and had a lot of presenters who needed to share ideas. They created the 20 x 20 format: 20 slides, 20 seconds each. Presenters have 6 minutes and 40 seconds to get out the information....and then they're done.

Click here for an extended history of Pecha Kucha (right click on the link and choose "Open link in a new window" so that you don't get lost), but make sure to come back to see how it can be used in an educational environment.

I'll wait......

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....You back? Good!

Cool, huh?

Now watch this video. It's an example of the potential of Pecha Kucha in education.

So, some of the cool things I got out of this:

1. As a teacher, I could use this to introduce a topic and then have time to work with my students.
2. As a presenter, I have to be concise in my choices and make sure that what I put on the screen really assists me make my point instead of allowing the audience a chance to get totally lost in all the words.
3. If we were to do this during Staff Development days, we could get a lot of information!!! and no one presenter would feel left out.
4. I could teach my students this format to present in class and know how many presentations I can get through during one class period.
5. The format can be modified if needed....
6. This is a great stepping stone to PODCASTS!!!

Do you want more examples of Pecha Kucha? Of course you do....click here. Think about it. You can do this!