Tech Tips Tuesday

Exploring Fonts

Since I started creating fancied up classroom resources I've become a lot more aware of different fonts. Fonts can add to the message or detract from it. Some fonts are easy for beginning readers to read and are a good model for handwriting. Others are more difficult to read and are used for their decorative element. Students are fascinated by fonts as well and love to see their words displayed in different ways.

With that in mind I created a simple Word template for students to use to explore fonts. I taught them how to select text and change font. They then changed the word document to display fonts they like, fonts that are easy to read and fonts that are difficult to read. They finished by changing the font to three different sizes.

I added a new category to my Teachers Pay Teachers store - Easy Freebie. As the name suggests, it's easy for me and free for customers, with no fancy cover pages or special effort. My first Easy Freebie is the Word template I created for this lesson. Feel free to download and use it.

Another aspect to my recent exploration of fonts, is the creation of my own fonts using iFontMaker. I love to experiment with different styles - reminding me of the calligraphy I enjoyed as a teenager. This app makes the whole process very fast and somewhat therapeutic. The font can be converted to a file that is simple to download and install to your computer's fonts. I have made a few so far and have used some in my TPT products. Here is one I created that I call "Sticks":

Let's Get Graphing

These lessons were follow-up to the graphing lessons last week.

As I felt that we'd ended on a negative note with our graphing (and I'd had opportunity to reflect as I wrote my blog post) I decided to revisit graphing again this week. One of the boys from my class asked to have a circle time lesson so I taught the Maths this way instead of a traditional lesson. (If you are new to circle time, you can check out the other circle time explanations by typing circle time in the blog search in the top left-hand-side of this page.)

Check In: My name is ... and I feel ... about data collection and graphing.

Mixer: Change places if... (you have a brother, you ate cereal for breakfast, you have Foxtel etc) The student in the center of the circle calls out the requirement and then has to try to find a place when students change places. The last one to find a place becomes the new caller.

Activity: Explain the difference between 'favourites' graphs (those that ask about favourite foods, colours etc) and other surveys (such as hair colour, eye colour, pets owned etc). Students pair off and select a non-favourite style survey to investigate.

Debrief: In preparation for the next day, show students how to enter data into Microsoft Excel and create a graph.

Energiser: Human Graphs. Students form lines according to criteria (eg. amount of teeth lost) and teacher takes photo. Upload images to the interactive whiteboard and discuss the graphs straight away.

Check Out: Any questions about graphing with Excel the following day.

This lesson went REALLY well, except for a couple of the survey topics. One pair chose 'type of car your parents drive' which was a bit tricky for some students to respond to. Another pair chose 'how many letters you have in your letter folder' which proved difficult since the room was set up for circle time and students had limited access to their desk trays where their folders were stored.

The human graph part was hectic, but lots of fun. I was amazed by the differences in amounts of teeth lost. Some still hadn't lost any, while one had already lost nine!

Today we created the graphs with Excel. I did another quick demonstration to review the lengthier explanation from the previous day and set students to work. (The reason I did the two explanations was because we only get 30 minutes in the lab and I knew a 5 minute explanation wouldn't be enough for a new skill, but as a review would work well.) I was impressed by how quickly and capably students worked with this task. They were very proud of their work and I encouraged them to try making their own graph with excel at home.

NOW we're ready to move on from graphs as they have been left with a positive, successful experience.

Feeling Starved

This week I was very disciplined in the use of my computer. Overly so, in my opinion. It was a bit like one of those crazy diets where you only eat celery or something! The reason for this was that I just did not have any free time to devote to doing all of the things I love to do online. I wouldn't have thought that writing report comments would be so draining on my time - but it was. And now, THEY'RE FINISHED!
So, what was the result of my break from blogging, emailing, twittering, etc? Hopefully nothing long term.

• My amount of visitors diminished (nothing new to look at).
• I had things to tell parents of the kids in my class, but no time to email it to them (very frustrating).
• I felt flat. I tried to keep up with a few blogs that I follow, but I didn't feel like I was learning enough.

Now that I'm back on board, I'm hoping to get a few blogs done over the weekend, I'm downloading the podcast from the K-12 Online Conference, and I'm keen to catch up on my readings of everyone else's blogs. Oh, it feels so good to be back. I think I'm addicted!

Glancing Back - ICT in my childhood

I've been thinking a lot lately about the people who have influenced my life in terms of computer technology. My family didn't get our first computer until I was in Grade 7. Fortunately I had some computer access at school prior to that. When I was in Fourth Grade I had a brilliantly techno-literate teacher. He must have been one of the leaders in the field at the time. The year was 1988 and the teacher's name was Don Nethercott. I don't know what he is doing now, but would love to thank him for opening my eyes to the world of technology. If only I can do the same for the children that I teach. He seemed to be looking for ways to integrate technology into his teaching. He found computer programs on dinosaurs for our unit of work. We played Carmen and Sandiego to find out about Geography. We learnt more about angles, direction and computer language with Logo.

1988 was also the year when the National Science and Technology Centre opened in Canberra. In it's early days, they held a special event on Communication. I don't remember all the details, after all, I was only 10 at the time. Google tells me that the building was a gift from Japan. So, for this special event my teacher took me and a few classmates to the National Science and Technology Centre where we used computers to 'chat' with people in various places around Australia. We sent a fax to our school. We went back in the evening to do a video conference with children in a school in Japan. It was an amazing experience, and unlike anything I'd do with computers for the next 10 years!

I did some computer courses and learnt how to type (on old typewriters) when I was in grades 7-10. My next real exposure to computers was at university. My peers and I got hooked on Kangachat, an online chatroom. This was the first time I had ever used the world wide web. Since then, it has been a part of my life, slowly taking over bit by bit...

So, I feel inspired by my history. My fourth grade teacher went out on a limb to explore technology in the classroom. He tried things that most teachers were not yet ready for. Let's be inspired by this and push technology to the limits with our classes. Don't just wait for someone else to do it.