|
I’d love to have a digital projector. What do they cost and where can you buy them?
A: Like most technologies, digital projectors are dropping in cost, but they are still expensive items.
For a new projector, the lowest cost I found was $1,000 retail. However,
be sure to explore the possibility of an educational discount (see Projector People.com) or of buying a refurbished projector.
Refurbished projectors are previously used but are often traded in for upgraded or newer models.
The company services them and you usually get a good warranty on them.
Check out these three online companies (projectorpeople.com, projectorgalaxy.com, projectordepot.com)…there are MANY more.
Shop around…ask for discounts or refurbs! (Last updated: 7/9/07)
I can’t be sure the Internet connection will work at the time I want my class to view selected pages.
A: You can copy web pages, complete with active links, to your computer or network for use in your classrooms.
This way you can view the pages even if your Internet connection goes down.
It also eliminates the problem of students wandering onto other sites because they aren’t really online,
they’re just using the browser to view pages you’ve already downloaded.
Also, you won’t have to wait for graphics to load; a problem if you have a slow connection.
The downside is that you may need to recopy the pages each year since you won’t get any updates that are done to the website.
The software that can let you do this is WebWhacker or Grab-a-Site. The former grabs web pages, the latter grabs web pages and all multi-media.
Both have free demo versions available to try. See
www.bluesquirrel.com for information and to order. (Last updated: 7/9/07)
Our connection is slow…it takes forever for pages with graphics to load.
A: If your students will be looking at specific pages,
open these pages on your computer or the computer center computer the morning you plan to use them.
The graphics will be held on your server and/or a “nearby” server on the Internet.
It will speed up the download when your students open the same pages. (Last updated: 7/9/07)
What is a SMART Board?
A:
A SMART Board is an interactive whiteboard that you can use as a projector, computer, and whiteboard combination.
You can touch the Board to “highlight key points, access applications and Web sites, and write notes in electronic ink.
Then, save all your work to one file that you can print, e-mail or post to a Web site.”
You can touch the screen to control your computer, write in electronic ink, save/print email notes, highlight information on the screen.
For more info, go to www.smarttech.com.
Also, the SMARTer Kids Grant is an educational award that assists educators in the purchase of SMART products for their classrooms.
Grant amounts are 20% to 70% of the suggested list price for the purchase of qualifying SMART products.
http://www.smarterkids.org/k12/smartproducts/
(Last updated: 7/9/07)
I need help in learning to download and copy pictures, graphics, and files from the web.
A: There is a great teacher site that can help. It is called “RichlandClicks!”
and was developed as part of a technology enhancement program.
The “Grab It!” course gives great info on downloading procedures
(see
http://www.richlandone.org/teachers/tips&tricks/tip1.htm). (Last updated: 7/9/07)
I want to build web pages for my course. Where can I start?
A: Keep it simple to start with! You can always add and enhance later (and you will!).
I’m attaching an article on building web pages using Microsoft Word. Most word processing programs will allow you to build simple pages.
One RT had a great suggestion to allow your school’s web class to build them and/or students who have a real interest.
Remember, though, that “bells and whistles” add load times! (Last updated: 7/9/07)
Where can I (and my students) find graphics for presentations and web pages.
A: If you search for free+clip+art you will find lots of sites that let you have a limited access to their collections
and will, of course, encourage you to buy a subscription for full access.
One of these is
http://members.tripod.com/freewebzone/graphics.htm.
If you’re planning to build significant web pages or need significant graphics,
a one-year subscription to a site like www.clipart.com can be very useful.
Another good resource is the
Discovery.com site (http://school.discovery.com/clipart/).
(Last updated: 7/9/07)
Where can I apply for grants for computer equipment/software?
A: First, remember that you can use your mini-grant toward equipment or software as long as it will be used by students.
Other sources of grants include:
Toyota Tapestry Grants:
http://www.nsta.org/programs/tapestry/index.htm
U.S. Dept of Education: http://www.ed.gov
TechLearning.com:
http://techlearning.com/resources/grants.jhtml
Also, you can go to one of the cooperating collections for the Foundation Center,
which gathers info on all of the corporate, foundation, and individual funding programs available
(see http://www.fdncenter.org/collections/index.html for locations).
The online Foundation Center charges a hefty fee…see if your school system has a subscription.
(Last updated: 7/9/07)
My students get frustrated with information overload when asked to do web searches on a topic.
They also can easily get “off topic” either intentionally or by following tangential links. Any ideas?
A: Several, in fact! First, recognize that learning to do web searches takes time and practice.
As you know from your own experiences, there are great resources out there…mixed in with a lot of “stuff!” So…
…if you want to work on web search skills: Consider practicing with a “set up” search, using a search engine
and search words you’ve already tried out. You can do this in groups or as a class with a digital projector
(or even with web pages copied to transparencies). You can demonstrate how to look at the URL
to get an idea of what the site is and how to look at a home (first) page of a site to determine whether it is credible or not.
Great skills to develop! Then you can work with students on learning how to select words to search on.
…if the content is the most important thing. Consider structuring the web search for students.
You have seen several models for this during the Forum. For example,
- Use a Treasure Hunt form to assign specific websites to view and gather info from.
- Give a list of useful sites and ask students to select 1-3 to use and cite in answering questions or finding background info.
(See Neural Networks WebQuest and WISE ‘Taste” units as examples).
- Use WISE to structure the activity; WISE will let you pre-determine how many of a list of sites students must visit before they are “finished.”
(see WISE Organic Foods and Touch units as examples).
(Last updated: 7/9/07)
How do I make sure students actually go to/read/use the websites I assign?
A: Admittedly, nothing can prevent “wandering” if a student is determined!
Using pre-assigned sites helps since web searching can quickly pull anyone off target.
Here are some additional ways to deter off-task browsing:
- Use mini-WISE Treasure Hunt unit to “walk” students through instructions, specific web links, and questions to be answered (even a quiz at the end?).
- Use software such as WebWhacker or Grab-a-Site to bring the info you want students to view to your computer or server…no linking to the Internet at all.
- Ask for monitoring equipment in your computer lab/room so you can “see” all the screens as students are working on them.
(Last updated: 7/9/07)
My students think everything on the Internet is accurate and don’t see the difference in validity between sites.
How can I help them learn to critique websites?
A: During the Forum, you’ll receive both short (Treasure Hunt) and longer forms for helping students critique websites.
You also have the questions from your own website review that can be used.
Try to make this a habit: Whenever students cite the web, they should give some assessment of its validity.
Another great resource is the Texas Information Literacy Tutorial (TILT) at
http://tilt.lib.utsystem.edu/).
There are several tutorials that students can do online and their results are sent to you…free!
The tutorials can help students understand when to use the web, print journal, magazine, newspaper, etc.
Great resource! (Last updated: 7/9/07)
|
