Cool Cat Teacher Blog is at coolcatteacher.com

Kellie has a great post on her blog as she contemplates the evolution of PD. She says : "A recent a post from coolcatteacher ( “Get Past Teaching Apps” ) got me thinking about how to approach technology “instruction,” but it’s honestly been something that I’ve been thinking about for awhile. Her post is about what she does with kids in the classroom, but with our upcoming summer technology workshops, I am wondering if we should shift our focus for teachers.... With all the talk of transforming education rather than reforming education, maybe we should use technology workshops as a way to look at “new” methods of instruction based on brain & learning research." Please read her whole post - -it is right at the heart of what many of us involved in PD at our schools are thinking. (Me too!) What started as a mini comment evolved into a full blown blog post, so I'm cross posting my comment to her blog here. My response to Kellie's questions: "This is a tough one ...

Adrian Bruce's Educational Teaching Resources-Reading Games-Math Games-Educational Software-Motivational Posters-Line Symmetry-Readers Theater-Art Lessons-Science Lessons- Cool website from a professional developer in australia with a lot of links to websites he's tested. tags: education , games , all_teachers , elementary_teacher

This one came across twitter when Pat Sine said she had just set up her new interactive whiteboard with her Wiimote. I asked what she meant and started getting feedback on this. This is the video demonstrating it. Here is the video teaching us how to set this up: I love how he projects this onto a flat table and demonstrates that anything may be turned interactive with this configuration. He also demonstrates that if you use TWO pens it is a multi touch interactive system. Wow! He also uses the same system to turn an LCD display into an interactive whiteboard also. I highly recommend you visit the inventor's website and page about the technical details as well as the software that you should download. What you need: A Wiimote (it only uses the infrared camera built into the front of the controller which is sensitive to only sources of infrared light -- if you understand this, you'll understand how this works. One then only has to create "pens" that emit infrare...

What Applications Does a Genius Keep on His Task Bar? on Flickr - Photo Sharing! While I'm not a personal fan of Richard Dawkins, I find this flick photograph with hotspots pointing to all of the apps on his computer fascinating. It demonstrates how any time we are in public, people may not hone in on what we think they are "there for" and may come away with something entirely different in this mashable, amazing, world. tags: education , apps , tools yWriter4 - word processor for authors yWriter is a free, highly rated, novel writing program that I found through a very complimentary review in PC Magazine. It is for the PC. Just save your file as an RTF with chapter headings and it will import right into ywriter. tags: education , literature , language , edu_newapp , techintegrator , professionaldevelopment Buzzword The online word processor from Adobe. This is one to watch because of testing and future compatibility with Adobe Air, a "plugin" that will let y...

simulpost with TechLearning Blog As part of our curriculum, my students use as many application programs as we can get our hands on! For word processors, we've used Google Docs , ZohoWriter , ThinkFree , Open Office AjaxWrite , and Adobe BuzzWord with Microsoft Word as our starting point. This is just our "word processing" module. I want them to be technologically fluent. What is Technology Fluency? It is not just about being able to use "geek speak" without being overwhelmed. I define technological fluency as "the ability to determine and use the appropriate technology tool(s) for the task at hand in a manner that allows seamless transfer of created objects and documents to flow easily between the selected tools without outside intervention." What would technology fluency look like? So, a student would be fluent in word processing if they could sit down at whatever word processor is at hand and use it to accomplish a task . Or, if they determined ...

Where, Oh Where, Has Cool Cat Teacher Gone? I'm still here working away leaving my blogging for another day. Expanding horizons, blogging my mind , Making senior slide shows and graduation movies till I go blind. Checking efolios and grading some blogs , so much work, my mind is in a fog. I love it when some casually say "I'd love to be a teacher & relax one day!" Little do they know the joy and the pain the loss of sleep and frustration of gain (weight gain that is!) Tis not a profession for the weak of heart nor puffed up of mind stuffed shirts wouldn't make it a day in my class, I find. Debates swirl about this and that, what will work and what's old hat . While others debate teachers have jobs to do, until the final bell rings, we're never through. Perhaps you'll remain and be here when I return with a burst but for me, as always, my classroom comes first! (I miss blogging and somewhere in the back of my mind, I hope I won't "lose...

Julie and I are very excited about the Flat Classrooms workshop we'll be holding in St. Louis on July 8th and 9th. I'm getting excited, because the enrollments are starting to come in and it is an amazingly diverse group of teachers, researchers, and maybe even an admin or two. Don't have too much time to talk about it now, but it will be very exciting! Take a look at our information and join us!