Twitter is a great way to share news and information about your school with the world.  Twitter can easily be integrated with your school’s website or even manually updated.  Anyone can learn to use Twitter in under an hour and updates take just a few seconds because of the 140 character limit.  Best of all, Twitter is free.

In the late 1990s it became vital that churches and schools had websites to establish an online identity, but that is no longer enough.  Now, it is crucial that your school have a strong Web 2.0 presence as well.  Twitter is just a small part, though.  Social networking sites like Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, etc seem to be appearing daily.

Does your school need to make use of all of these?  Probably not, but some consideration should be given to each of them.  Perhaps YouTube would be a good way to share PR and marketing videos with the community or maybe some students or classes could post a series of video Lenten and Advent devotions.  Flickr could be use to share student work with families.  There are an infinite number of possibilities.

What’s important is making it easy for current and potential families and students to find information about your school and to help them understand the ministry being done there.  To paraphrase Scripture, it’s time to be the light of the world and put our schools on a hill so that all can see what is being done there, not for Earthly glory, but for the glory of our Lord and Savior.

Join the forum discussion on this post - (1) Posts

Today my classroom took a semi-major transition.  I had a parent come in and create a reading corner.  Before I just had a few bookshelves with a bean bag for my reading area.  Now I have it as a cozy pillow lounge.  I didn’t resist, because it does make the room look more inviting (maybe not with the Easter pink,purple, and violet rug in a room of all boys).  This does also open up the other bookshelves where I could put my professional and own personal reading books on, so they are not jammed in a cupboard.  I can not also put different containers into the cupboards to get them off the floor and spare desks. And what does books have to do with wires and wires being cut?

I am getting there.

In preparation for our new reading corner we did some major cleaning.  We cleaned out our desks, even I took time to clean out my desk and reorganize it.  One thing I have way too much of is wires.  I have wires all over my desk.  Wires connecting my laptop to the projector.  Wires connecting my laptop to my 2nd monitor.  Wires connecting to my portable number keypad.  Wires connecting my computer to my iPod and Cell Phone (so I can charge them during the day.) Wires connecting my computer to my router.  Wires for my small personal fan.  Wires for my computer speakers.  Wires for my tablet.  Wires for my trial AVer Pens.  That is just my desk.  I have four student computers and one student netbook.  Wires connecting each of those computer components.  I have wires taped to my wall for internet, projector, and DVD/VCR Sound System.  WIRES WIRES WIRES!  I HATE WIRES!  I much rather have things wireless.  I understand you still need some wires, but in a room that was built 50 years ago, Outlets are much needed (which reminds me the wires I have for my power strips and extension cords to outlets.)  I had our art teacher put together football helmet curtains where I do hide a lot of the cords behind on my desk.  I taped the cords on my walls so they somewhat look better.  I know conduit would be much better.  One problem is, each summer everything needs to be removed from the room to have the floors waxed.  I HATE WIRES!

So when I was looking at these wires, I just wanted to cut them.  Some people in power positions do not like wireless internet.  They are fearful for some reason.  If each computer used a wireless router, I could get rid of most of the wires on my walls and free up space on my desk.  That would be so nice.

But, as I thought about this post title, I thought about my fellow teachers.

Beware: Wires will be cut.  We need to cut the strings to our students.  They are not puppets that we should control and have them all do the exact same thing.  One thing we try to teach our students is that we are all special to God.  As my freshman High School Religion teacher would say, I am a unique child of God, full of potential.  UNIQUE, but we treat each student as the same.  They all have different strengths and weaknesses, but we give them all the same worksheets and homework assignments.  CUT THE WIRES!

How are you cutting the wires?  How are you treating your students?

Join the forum discussion on this post - (1) Posts

Also, we here at the Lutheran Educators’ Guild have begun talking about creating a Lutheran Education-focused podcast.  We’d like to know how many of you listen to podcasts on a regular basis as well as how many of you might be interested in listening to one focused on Lutheran education.  What would you like such a podcast to “look” like and what topics would you want to have discussed?  Please, let us know in comments, on the forum, or via email.

Join the forum discussion on this post - (1) Posts

This week’s focus is Pixlr.com.  Pixlr.com is not just one tool, but an entire suite of image editing and sharing tools.  There are four components to the Pixlr suite: Pixlr Editor, Pixlr Express, Pixlr Grabber, and Pixlr Imm.io.

Pixlr Editor is a very powerful image editor and creator with a feature set that is very similar to that of high-end commercial products.  It offers layers, filters, and a host of brushes and pens.  If you are at all familiar with Photoshop, you’ll feel right at home in Pixlr Editor.  Pixlr Editor allows you to create images from scratch, or upload an image from your computer or website for editing.

Pixlr Express allows you to upload and image from your computer or a website for fast, basic image adjustments.  You can resize, crop, adjust color levels, and apply various effects.

Pixlr Grabber is an add-on for Windows or Firefox that allows you to right-click an image on a webpage and upload it to Pixlr for editing.  I’m not certain if Grabber is Mac compatible.

Imm.io is an image sharing service that you can use to share your images with others online without needing web hosting of your own.

These tools are very convenient for quickly editing an image for placing on the Web or if you do not have image editing software installed on your computer.  This would also be a great tool to use in a classroom setting for creating images for art class or prepping photos students have taken for inclusion on the class blog.

Pixlr is free and requires no user account creation.  There are some advertisements on some pages, but those can be easily blocked.  Pixlr is a flash-based application, so you will need to have Adobe’s free Flash Player installed on your computer to make use of it.  Not meaning to belabor a point, but because Pixlr is Flash-based, it will not run on the current iteration of Apple’s upcoming iPad.

In any event, Pixlr is a great tool to add to your Web 2.0 arsenal.

During the budget discussion, it was as bad as I thought.  Like many Lutheran schools and Churches across the nation, we are hurting.  We continue our spending freeze for the second straight year.  There is talk about decreasing the staff and combine classes.  There is talk about taking a salary cut.  There is talk about how much fat can we cut.  We have cut a lot out already, how much more can we cut?

How do you as a teacher stay motivated?

When we as a voter vote on these issues, I get frustrated at times.  Some voters forget that their vote is impacting people lives directly, with mine being one of them.  When they vote not to give us a raise, that affects my life greatly when cost of living continues to rise.  I am not in it for the money, but it would be nice if people think a little before they decide to fire some teachers.  If they fire, who do they fire first?  Last Hired? Those who are the least effective?  Those who are contracted versus those who are called?

How do you stay motivated?

It is hard!  you can’t do it by yourself, that is for sure.  If you think about King David and all that he did that was good and bad.  Anytime David did something on his own accord or for himself, bad things happened.  We need to put our prayers to God.

This past weekend I went to see “The Book of Eli” with our DCE and a few high school students. I don’t promote the violence or cuss words, but I do promote the message and think the movie was really good.  In the end Eli talks with God about his quest.  That he fought the good fight, he ran the race, he had faith!  The main message of the movie is walking by FAITH not by sight.  Throughout the movie it was his path and keeping the faith that kept him motivated to complete his quest (a 30 year journey)

How do you stay motivated? KEEP THE FAITH

So here is your plan to keep motivated

1. Pray
2. Pray
3. Read your Bible
4. Confide in POSITIVE friends that will ENCOURAGE you
5. Pray
6. Write your doubts on paper
7. Write positive plans that will counter your doubts
8. Rip up and throw away your paper of doubts
9. Tell Satan to stay out of your head and do not plant seeds of doubt.
10. PRAY!

Am I missing anything?

Join the forum discussion on this post - (1) Posts

I am not trying to bag on Lutheran Schools, because I LOVE Lutheran Schools.  I am forever in debt to Lutheran Schools, but do we care?  This could apply to public schools also and Catholic schools.  DO WE CARE?

I have been thinking about my students this year and former students, and I might be as guilty as anyone, do I care for my students.  I love my students, even when they drive me crazy.  But, am I doing what is best for them?  Am I making them better students, closer to God, and life-long learners?  I know sharing my faith and openly discuss God has brought students closer to God, and no one can say I do not profess my love for Christ in my classroom.

But do I care enough to do what is best?

I think Lutheran Teachers are put into a hard spot many times.  I have some students that are very distracted and off in whatever world they have created.  I am friends with these student’s parents, even gone out to dinner with them and have them over to my house.  How do I tell them their child needs to repeat a grade?  I think our kindness and wanting to please parents put students behind the ball.  I know I have passed on students, that I did not feel would be ready.  Now some did fine, some struggled and were pass on to the next teacher.

Recently I brought up that I wanted try something new with a student, I am very close to the parent.  The parent did not take to what I had to say.  They did not want to hear their child needs extra attention and we need to find a new way to engage him.  The student is smart, but does poorly on everyday assignments.  He loses focus before he finds it.  So do I give up and get frustrated when the student isn’t engaged and holding the rest of the class up?  Do I care enough to say, this is his plan of learning and do it.  Do my administrator and board care enough to back me up?

This thought process also turns toward teachers and those who are not doing their job well.  Usually in Lutheran schools when a teacher has a problem, we tell them, maybe this isn’t the place for you, but we will give you a good word.  So they move from one Lutheran School to another and never changing their attitude or techniques.

If we just pass a student on or pass a teacher on do we really care?  I am not trying to question your love or even your quality of caring, just want to raise some questions and make you think.  Are we doing everything for the STUDENT or to keep the peace.  I know I don’t have all the answers and I am as guilty as the next person.  I want to care.  I DO CARE!

Join the forum discussion on this post - (1) Posts

Way back in 1989, Apple released another revolutionary device, the Newton Message Pad.  The Newton was a part of Apple’s lineup until 1998.  The Newton (and its cousin, the eMate 300) had an amazing set of features including built-in faxing, infrared beaming, ethernet, dialup networking, cellular access, and, most importantly, a handwriting recognition system that is, even today, considered to be one of the best ever created.  I came to the Newton party very late, getting my first Newton 2100 about 2 years ago.  I was amazed at how it improved my life.  I was able to easily write notes, schedule appointments, and even print via IR to an old HP LaserJet I had.  The following video gives a good overview of just a few of the amazing abilities the Newton had.

Eventually, however, I set my Newton aside and replaced it with a Blackberry.  The Newton was just too large to carry around as my scheduling device.

I’ve kept my old Newtons, though, and I’ve started using them again to take notes and brainstorm projects in my Masters program.  For me, there is something about the physical act of moving a pen (stylus) across a page (screen) that causes my creative juices to flow much better than sitting at a keyboard.

I know that some of you are probably wondering why I’m spending so much time talking about the Newton when this post is supposed to be about the new iPad.  Let me explain.  My hope for the iPad was that Apple would (finally) release an updated Newton-style device; a device that was, essentially, a digital piece of paper, just waiting for me to pour my thoughts out onto it.  Instead, Apple presented us with a device that is essentially an oversized iPod Touch.

The first thing I noticed while following a live blog of today’s keynote, was the iPad seems very unwieldy.  If you saw the video or pictures of the keynote, you noticed that whenever someone was using the iPad they either sat down in a chair or laid the device on a table.  Not once did I see anyone using it while moving around.

The next thing I noticed was that the virtual keyboard (which is the default method of text entry on the iPad) seems like it would be very difficult for a touch typist to use, even if the iPad were laying on a flat surface.  There was an image in the live blog I was following this afternoon of someone typing on the iPad and they had their wrists bent at a very odd angle in order to allow them to type on the screen.  I also wonder if extended periods of typing on an unyielding glass screen might be painful after a time.  Apple does have a keyboard dock accessory, but that forces the device to be used in the portrait orientation.

I really, really wanted to see a handwriting interface for the iPad.  The beauty of such an interface is that it can be use without setting the device down, with one hand supporting it and the other using a stylus.

Several other things struck me as potential areas of concern for teachers and administrators considering the iPad for classroom use.

First, like the iPhone and iPod Touch, the iPad does not support Flash-enabled websites.  I’ve heard all sorts of explanations as to why this is the case, but regardless, Flash is a very important Web technology that is appearing on more and more sites, particularly those with high degrees of user interaction.  The iPad can’t access any of them.

Second, the iPad (again, just like the iPhone and iPod Touch) cannot multitask.  In other words, with the exception of a few special applications (like the iPod features), the iPad can run exactly one application at a time.  This has the potential to be at least an annoyance for using the device to search the Internet for information and take notes on what is found.

Next, Apple chose to not include a camera on the iPad.  The current iPhone does have a camera, while the iPod Touch does not.  You might also remember that Apple recently added a video camera to the iPod Nano.  With the increasing importance of multimedia to 21st Century learning, I thought it would be a “no-brainer” to have a camera on the Apple tablet.  I was chatting with a friend this afternoon about how useful it would be if the iPad had a decent camera and the ability to do simple photo and video editing using it, especially since Apple hinted at the ability of the iPad to easily connect to a digital projector.

The inclusion of iWorks is amazing.  I’m hoping that Apple will provide some sort of volume license arrangement for schools to include this software on their iPadsI haven’t found any information, though, on how students might be able to transfer their created files to a computer or other device.  I also noted that no mention was made of being able to print directly from the iPad.

I also thought the builtin calendar was breath-taking.  It just looked great.

What about cost?  The entry-level, Wi-Fi only 16 GB iPad is priced at $499.  Apple may or may not reduce the price for schools.  If they do, on a device in this price range, Apple usually reduces the price by $50.  So that would make the price $449.  According to Steve Jobs, each program in the iWorks suite is $9.99, adding about $30 for the set to the price, taking it to $479-529 depending on price reductions.  This also doesn’t include the keyboard dock (no price has yet been announce for that accessory).  It’s very possible that may add another $50 or more to the price, bringing it into the $525-575 range.  $575 is almost enough to buy two netbook PCs or one, very-nice, full-featured PC laptop.  It’s also enough to buy one Mac Mini (minus keyboard, display, and mouse) running the full OS X operating system.

This is going to be a very difficult decision for schools to make.  The iPad is not designed to take the place of a laptop (Jobs even said as much).  Will its inherent limitations cripple its usefulness in the classroom?  My personal opinion is yes, the iPad is too limited to fulfill a major classroom role.  The lack of handwriting input and/or a good keyboard solution (by the way, Apple, why not let the iPad work with your very nice Bluetooth keyboard?) will make the device frustrating for students to use.  The omission of a camera means the iPad cannot become a digital creation hub and the pricepoint makes it about as expensive as a good, full-sized laptop.

So, I guess I will still cling to my hope that Apple will one day recapture some of the revolutionary thinking that went into the Newtons of yesteryear and create that piece of virtual paper for me.  Maybe I will change my mind once I actually get an opportunity to see and use the iPad in person.

What are your thoughts on today’s release?  We’d love to hear them in the comments below or on the forum.

Note: I am not an anti-Apple computer user.  I own several Macs and even successfully introduced an Apple-based mobile laptop cart into a PC-only school.

Join the forum discussion on this post - (1) Posts