Thank you ISTE 2010
Well everyone, ISTE 2010 has come to an end, but what a great conference.
As usual, I have made some new friends, met up with some old ones and have been inspired to be a better tech teacher like never before. Every second I spend talking edtech with my fellow tech teachers inspires me to do more in the world of school technology.
My notebook is full of ideas to take back from my school, ideas from presentations, workshops and exhibitors — I can’t wait to get back in the classroom.
Thank you everyone for another great ISTE.
See you next year.
Second Day Presenting at ISTE Denver
Denver, CO — I had a great time meeting with new people from all across the world as I did my four presentations at the Atomic Learning booth at ISTE today.
During my presentation on iPads I had one gentleman in the back that kept looking at me funny when I said anything critical of the iPad. During one slide I talk about the possible knock-offs that could be made by other computer manufacturers like the new HP Slate, I caught the dismay on his face when I mentioned it. Later, after most of my people left, he introduced himself as being from Apple. He said he enjoyed my presentation overall but there were some parts he didn’t really like. We had a good talk and it was great to meet someone who is truly concerned about providing the best possible school technology solution. He said that Apple is closely monitoring how iPads are being used with students and will make any improvements that might be needed.
In other news… I have met quite a few of the followers of this blog, which is always kind of fun and strange at the same time. I am still trying to get used to the fact that people know me through my online work.
Tomorrow I am off from presenting so I am just going to go and enjoy the rest of ISTE. Hope to see you there.
Read MorePhysical Aspects of the Netbook Classroom
Storing Netbooks and Their Components
This book was developed with a “one to one” school initiative in mind (i.e. every student in the class has their own netbook). This does not include the idea that netbooks are shared among classrooms or grade-levels via a portable cart. In a one to one vision, netbooks are stored in a classroom. Therefore, the teacher needs to choose a location that is convenient for his or her students to get to multiple times per day. There also needs to be a power outlet in close proximity so that all the chargers can be plugged in. Sufficient room to store the headphones also needs to be considered.
We have found the most affordable and easy way to store netbooks is in plastic bins or tubs on a set of shelves or a cart. We drilled holes in the back of the bins and marked each hole with the corresponding number to match the netbooks. We then put the charger cords through the holes then plugged all the chargers in to power strips and we were ready to go. Most netbooks come with a storage sleeve which we have the students put the netbooks back into when they put them in the bins and attach them to the chargers.
The best solution, if you can afford it, would be cubbies. In this setup, every cubby could hold a netbook and headphones. There would of course have to be a charger cord in each cubby. The cubbies should also be lockable so that the netbooks are secure.
There is no doubt that 24-30 chargers can make a spaghetti mess of electrical wires behind the bins. Try to wrap the wires to make them and the bricks as neat and compact as possible. Splitting the netbooks into two locations is a good idea since one electrical circuit might not be enough to handle all the chargers.
The headphones we got came with 7 foot cords. This required us to tie a knot into each cord, turning them into three-foot cords instead. The best solution for headphone storage is to either have the students put them in their desks, or have a wall of hooks that they can hang their headphones on. The headphones should be numbered and assigned to a specific student.
Your wireless classroom
You do not want to have network wires running to every netbook, instead you need Wi-Fi in your classroom. This is something that I’m sure your district has policies for, if not plans for doing in the immediate future if it is not already installed. Most schools around the country are being converted to have Wi-Fi networks. If your school does not have Wi-Fi, talk to your district IT department about how to make it possible. It might be as easy as plugging in a $100 Wi-Fi hub into your current network jack in your classroom.
Printers
Although we will talk later on about running a near paperless netbook classroom you will always need to have a printer in your classroom. We recommend a black and white network laser printer. Make sure it is a network printer. These typically cost around $300.
Netbooks and USB Flash Drives
Students and flash drives drive me crazy, that is because students loose and wreck these little drives so easily. I have heard everything from, “My dog chewed it,” to, “It went through the washer and dryer and now it doesn’t work.” It is my suggestion that you stay away from flash drives. Instead, have the students save their files to a school server or an external Internet storage location. If your students are using Google Docs, then all of their documents (like reports, presentations and spreadsheets) are already stored online.
A company called Adrive.com provides 50 GB of online storage for free, which is so much more space than a 2 GB losable flash drive. When my students work on big files like movies, they keep all the files on the netbook while they are working on it, and then when they are done they export it as a smaller file and store the final copy on their Adrive account.
Netbook Maintenance
Each month our students follow a maintenance checklist to keep their netbooks in optimal running condition. They check for damage, blow out the ports, and clean the netbook. We have found that having the students maintain their own netbooks really gives them ownership and responsibility for it, which we find true for most pieces of school technology. Furthermore it saves us from having to pay a tech from the IT department to do it.
Read MoreGreat time presenting at ISTE 2010 Denver
Denver, CO — Many thanks to everyone who came by the Atomic Learning booth today at ISTE to see me present. I had a great time talking with educators from all over the country, people who are as passionate as I am about school technology education and gadgets.
My biggest crowd was during my presentation on iPads in the Classroom, it seems that many school districts are considering them. So as you can imagine I was pretty busy during the question and answers part of my presentation.
I would also like Atomic Learning for sponsoring me to speak, I have always loved their product and I feel it is a privilege to be backed by such a good company. In fact, just before ISTE began they announced that they have new online training for both the iPod Touch and iPad as part of their digital library.
I speak again tomorrow so come and stop by to see me if you have the chance.
Read MoreCome see me today at ISTE 2010 Denver
Attending ISTE 2010? Join me for a free session in Atomic Learning’s booth #674:
MONDAY
10:30 Teaching with Netbooks
11:30 iPads in the classroom
1:00 Tech Integration
2:00 21st Century Skills
TUESDAY
9:30 21st Century Skills
10:30 Teaching with Netbooks
11:30 iPads in the classroom
1:00 Tech Integration
My presentations are full of great examples form my classroom showing my students using 21st Century Skills and the best practices using school technology.
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