Thursday, July 12, 2007

Read at least one tech-related article and
1) identify and summarize the article,
2) respond to it, and
3) develop a Writing Response prompt that grows from your reading.

Website Review:
Microsoft in Education has a website for educators with a search engine that provides access to lesson plans and how-to articles for educators, students and administrators. A search that included the key words: writing, grades 4-6, lesson plans yielded two lesson plan results, each of which identified required software, related links, and correlated the lesson plan to academic standards and ISTE Nets Standards for Students.

Four how-to articles included:
1. Add text to drawings
2. Align student documents with rubric indicators
3. Create assignment directions and prompts using hidden text in Microsoft Office Word
4. Save time when writing letters by using Smart Tags

Although the list of lessons and resources are not comprehensive, they do
provide a useful template for teachers. The content of the how-to articles show practical ways to teach software applications.

The Home Page for Educators includes many links and access to information about grants, scholarships, and free tools for educators. Teachers may sign up for the Innovative Teachers Network. A My Site option allows for storage of personalized information, documents, and photo sharing.

Microsoft Higher Education sponsors an "interactive tour" to learn more about this feature

Writing Response:
Using the link to Microsoft Product and Technology Tutorials, select a lesson, how-to article, or case study to review. What advantages and/or limitations do you notice? How would you compare Microsoft offerings to those we've used on Google?

1 comment:

Laurie Winter said...

Catherine--looks intriguing. I could not, however, get the link to work! Maybe there are too many http's or something. I'll try again. It would be interesting to compare.

Thanks for responding to mine. I know what you mean--there is always malfeasance! And it seems to get more and more advanced. If only these guys directed their genius in more pro-social ways....

See you soon,
Laurie

Purpose

This blog is designed to track my 2008 TechJourney. First, I intend to create a Goggle Apps Prototype using Peninsula Elementary School, a K-8 school of approximately thirty students. Goggle Apps will provide a free platform, using a shared domain, and will allow teachers and students to write and respond to one another's work.

In addition, I plan to initiate a project that incorporates digital sound and images as a way to record and publish student work.