Technology Training...In Pictures

I love my job, but sometimes it can be frustrating trying to meet the needs of all the teachers and staff members in my district. I constantly look for ways to give teachers instruction that they can do on their own or in groups, together. These are not meant to replace the face-to-face training that I do or the other resources I create. They are merely there to provide that additional information some teachers/staff need.

In the past I have blogged about TechEase. This is a great training resource out of the University of South Florida that provides some really basic information for teachers on how to do everything from burning CD's to using email to hardware/software troubleshooting. While I love this site I needed something else to help give teachers a leg up on specific software they use in their classroom and I needed it to be easy to follow and understand.

In Pictures does exactly that. According to their website the In Pictures project was created as a research project for the U.S. Department of Education, with the ultimate goal of providing easy to use computer tutorials to students and adults with learning disabilities. The site contains tutorials for all major Microsoft Office Products like Word, Excel, Publisher, Power Point and Access, both the 2003 version and the 2007 version. There are also tutorials for Open Office programs, creating basic webpages, MySQL, Perl, and PHP basics.

What makes this site stand apart from all the others is their approach. Quoting from their website:

Where's the Snazzy Stuff? So where are the color screenshots? The cartoon characters? The video animations? We don't use these things, because our research showed us that:

• The simpler, the better.
  Tutorials should be as simple as possible. Multimedia animations may look nifty, but they can be hard to follow. That's why these tutorials use static screenshots.
• Black-and-white is better than color.
  Color screenshots can create a "kaleidoscope" effect that makes it difficult to focus. Black-and-white doesn't. That's why these tutorials use black-and-white screenshots.

I have already had several of my teachers tell me that they learned more going through the tutorials on this site then in any previous workshops they had. They were able to move at their pace and work side-by-side in the program and the tutorial. The screenshots they use are easy to see and the wording is very easy to follow. Overall, this is a site that I will be sending teachers to for those refreshers they sometimes need, and hey, why not use it with students? Head on over to In Pictures and learn something new today!

In Pictures-Computer Tutorials In Pictures, Not Words

Summer Series-Who Is Hardest To Train?

Last night on Twitter I posed this question:

Let me explain. The group I was talking about was classroom teachers. I know, I know, I have been hard on them lately. But this was not meant to be hard on teachers at all. What I was trying to understand was the opinion of the members of my PLN when it came to teacher training. Did they think that it was harder to train Elementary, Middle School or High School Teachers? Who did they feel were the group that was easy to convince when it came to adopting new technologies and who did they think would need convincing? The answers I got surprised me. Here are a few I got: (I have left out the names to protect the innocent...)

In my experience elem is the easiest, middle is much harder.

In my experience elementary are the easy adopters. High school to me needs more convincing. I think high school is harder because most (not all) are very dependent on direct instruction. Hands on Tech scares them.

Elementary need convincing due to responsibility of teaching all subjects, with little time for planning and prep.

I'd say high is the biggest challenge, middle looks easiest at 1st but elementary will go farthest when they see value.

Hmm, from my experience elem is the late and resistant adopters.

I'm helping train elem. and it definitely hasn't been easy. They seem stuck and unwilling to try new things. Elem. is all about hands-on learning. I think many don't consider using a computer or technology as "hands-on".

I think elementary because they have a hard time understanding how items apply to the younger student.

In my experience the middle/high school teachers have 1 or 2 subject areas to focus energies on and it is less daunting. Elem teachers think they don't have time in already packed days & already have projects & systems down, hard to change minds.

Early adopters=elementary. Convincing=Middle School. Resistant and defiant=high school

There were others along these same lines. What was surprising was that several people said that Elementary were the late adopters of technology and the hardest to train. In my experience I have seen just the opposite. My workshops and Professional Developments are filled with Elementary teachers eager to learn new skills because they understand their kids are so eager to use the tools. I don't see Middle School and High School teachers too often but I don't believe it is because of any of the reasons outlined above. I believe it is pressure from above. Curriculum standards, testing, time, all contribute to a lack of teachers taking part.

I am interested in what you think? Tech Trainers, who is harder to train? Who are early adopters? Who take a while. Teachers, what do you think? I look forward to reading your comments.

Before I go, I must leave you with this awesome answer I got to my question. Think about this...

Which is the hardest group to teacher group to train? Those who need training, yet are unwilling to accept or seek help. Who are easy adopters and who needs convincing? Easy adopters are those who are GOOD teachers who want to grow.

Computer Training....In Pictures

As many of you know, or have read, I am responsible for the technology training at 18 schools. 1 man, 18 schools...you do the math! I love my job, but sometimes it can be frustrating trying to meet the needs of all the teachers and staff members in my district. I constantly look for ways to give teachers instruction that they can do on their own or in groups, together. These are not meant to replace the face-t0-face training that I do or the other resources I create. They are merely there to provide that additional information some teachers/staff need.

In the past I have blogged about TechEase. This is a great training resource out of the University of South Florida that provides some really basic information for teachers on how to do everything from burning CD's to using email to hardware/software troubleshooting. While I love this site I needed something else to help give teachers a leg up on specific software they use in their classroom and I needed it to be easy to follow and understand.

In Pictures does exactly that. According to their website the In Pictures project was created as a research project for the U.S. Department of Education, with the ultimate goal of providing easy to use computer tutorials to students and adults with learning disabilities. The site contains tutorials for all major Microsoft Office Products like Word, Excel, Publisher, Power Point and Access, both the 2003 version and the 2007 version. There are also tutorials for Open Office programs, creating basic webpages, MySQL, Perl, and PHP basics.

What makes this site stand apart from all the others is their approach. Quoting from their website:

Where's the Snazzy Stuff? So where are the color screenshots? The cartoon characters? The video animations? We don't use these things, because our research showed us that:

• The simpler, the better.
  Tutorials should be as simple as possible. Multimedia animations may look nifty, but they can be hard to follow. That's why these tutorials use static screenshots.
• Black-and-white is better than color.
  Color screenshots can create a "kaleidoscope" effect that makes it difficult to focus. Black-and-white doesn't. That's why these tutorials use black-and-white screenshots.

I have already had several of my teachers tell me that they learned more going through the tutorials on this site then in any previous workshops they had. They were able to move at their pace and work side-by-side in the program and the tutorial. The screenshots they use are easy to see and the wording is very easy to follow. Overall, this is a site that I will be sending teachers to for those refreshers they sometimes need, and hey, why not use it with students? Head on over to In Pictures and learn something new today!

In Pictures-Computer Tutorials In Pictures, Not Words

Provide Answers Effortlessly...

Regular readers of this blog have read about my attempt to provide technology integration and assistance to 18 schools in my district. It is very challenging sometimes to provide the help that teachers and staff need. Wouldn't it be great if I could just point them to a website that answered some of the basic questions I get everyday like what is a cookie, or how do I teach my students what Netiquette is, or how do I use Movie Maker?

While I should create a website (and I am) to help my teachers answer these questions there is a great resource out there from Center for Instructional Technology at the University of South Florida called Tech-Ease that I can point my teachers to. This is a great site that is basically a giant FAQ database on everything tech. There are topics on the Internet, Hardware, Files and Sharing, Email, Images, Chat and Classroom Management. When you choose your topic there is a list of common questions that teachers or other tech users might ask. For example in the hardware section there are questions like what is a flash drive, or how do I burn a CD in Windows XP? The questions are basic for those of us who work in tech everyday but very common for those that don't. Each section also provide additional links to other resources that users can consult when they have questions.

All of the information they provide is great. Very easy to use and understand for even the most basic technology user. All of that is great. But wait! There is more! There are video tutorials available that Professional Development Coordinators or Instructional Technologists can use or point teachers and staff to on a wide variety of topics. Podcasting, Google Earth, Windows Movie Maker, Wikis, and How To Create Interactivity With iPods are just a few topics. Oh wait there is more. There are some really great guides for users to download on even more topics like PowerPoint, Inspiration, Nvu, Google Docs, Social Bookmarking, Second Life, I really can not list them all. You just need to head over there and check it out!

I was an instant fan of this site. I even learned a thing or two. So next time a teacher or staff member has a question or you want to brush up on your skills check out Tech-Ease, oh, and subscribe to their podcast in iTunes. You will love it!

Tech-Ease-Quick Answers To Real Classroom Technology Questions

Smart Notebook 10-Attachments

In today's Smart Video I explain the Attachments tab and how you can use it to store files so that you always have what you need when you are teaching.

Smart Notebook 10-Adding Content

In today's Smart Video I demonstrate how to add your own content to the Gallery and make the content you add searchable.

Smart Notebook 10-Tables

In today's Smart Notebook 10 video I demonstrate the use of the Table Tool.

Smart Notebook 10-The Shape Pen

In today's Smart Notebook 10 Video, I demostrate one of the most requested features in the new version, The Shape Pen.

Smart Notebook 10-The Magic Pen

A new feature here on the Web 2.0 Classroom is instructional videos aimed at helping teachers get the most out of technology in their classroom.

In today's video I talk a little about one of the new features in Smart Notebook 10, the Magic Pen.

The Digital Classroom-Animoto for Education

Do you have pictures of your students taking up hard drive space and you don't know what to do with them? Would you like to create digital slide shows for your parents and students for the end of the year celebrations complete with hip transitions and music? Fear you don't know how? Fear not! Animoto is the perfect site for you. Check out this Animoto I created in less than 5 minutes.



What to create your own? I have created a guide that you can view below.

The Digital Classroom Animoto

View more documents from Steven Anderson. (tags: web 2.0)