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Twitter

10/20/2014

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This is not in intended for instruction but just commentary and suggestions!
Why?  It is simple!
A great tool for short 140 or less characters.  It is very nice for quick updates, sporting events, updates on new books, announcements…  Check out GSD and #TuesdayTrivia, or #ThrowbackThursday links below.

This is where the hashtags (#) have made their stay.  Hashtags are just a way to group things.  Anyone can hashtag something and many different users posts will appear.  However an @TheOlyCenter will show up only at theolycenter (Library) and for the user who posted it.  I'll get a notification (in Twitter and an e-mail) and can chose to retweet it or not.
Think of it this way;
  • @ = a single location or user (@TheOlyCenter, @LibraryMediaGSD @GraniteSchools)
  • # = a group discussion or topic  (#tuesdaytrivia, #throwbackthursday, #bannedbooks, #graniteedtech)

I tell people that if they want me to post something on twitter to have them post it and tag it us using @Olympus_High.  But be careful of #(hashtags) as anyone can # anything! Both # and @ show up as "links" on twitter.

Another wonderful feature is that I put an rss feed in an iframe on our webpage and "TV's".  That sounds so nerdy!  Instead of updating our school webpage It is easier/faster to send a tweet and it goes to our school website.  If someone else  such as the counseling center, football team.. ETC… (from GSD) tags me (our school) I get a message and can retweet it. Then their tweet shows up on our school webpage!  Slick.

My concern or question is.... Should I, as Olympus High, (Or, the Library) follow students?  
  • No. I want my page, profile clean of personal posts from individuals and only to show School/Educational events
  • Yes. Get the kids involved and excited about being followed.
Please comment about this.

Best thing is that you can have multiple accounts on one device.  Except a computer!  I manage 3 on my phone.  Olympus High, The Oly Center (library), and me.  I do not post much as me personally put do update the other two quite often.   As with Facebook I do try to have other (employees) post things as well. It is not a one person job… unless it is their job!

I also have my (Library account) set up so that whatever I tweet gets sent to my school face page too!  Even here at my Weebly blog I have an option to send my blog update to Facebook and Twitter.  I only send it to twitter and let twitter send it to Facebook.

Good or bad…? I may or may not have logged in to the account an SBO’s phone so that they may tweet on behalf of the school as well. No I did not give them the password - that would be a different issue altogether. 

It is interesting (ironic) that Facebook will allow other users to post but will only allow one log-in (or account) on a device at a time.  But twitter will allow many account on a device but not let others post!  (Go figure!)

Over all, yeah it’s a crazy interconnected social media world.  Is my way the best? Of course not but it works for me.  Were do Instagram, tumblr, pinterest, etc, all fit in… Who knows!

Summary?  Use it.  But use as whom? Again I like to keep my personal life out of work/school.  Everyone has personal, political, religious viewpoints and various interests.  Keep them away from your captive audience.  

BTW ... I know this posts jumps around a lot and is not well written.  Sorry.  
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Facebook

10/15/2014

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Yes

Yes, I am on Facebook in a few different ways.  I keep my personal life (Facebook Profile) private, but it is fun to post School stuff too.  So I created these
  • A "Work" Facebook profile
  • A School page at facebook.com/OlympusSr.
  • A Library Page - facebook.com/theolycenter
(You'll notice there is not much activity on the Olympus Sr page.  Our administration did not want to do it so I gave it up.  However I keeping up the Library page.)

Here are some reasons thoughts
  • Check your District or School Policy
  • DO NOT use your personal self.  Sign up with your Teacher/School e-mail and wear that hat.
  • There is a lot of "Professional stuff" out there
  • Make your profile Public.  Do not keep anything private (this is your professional page and you want full disclosure).
  • Be careful when liking "things".  Make sure your "School Hat" is on.
  • Don't require it of students, no homework posts or anything. 
  • Don't name it as your school or classroom.  What will you do if you change schools, or grades?
  • You a separate device for each account. Personal phone for home school ipad for School posts

NO

  • Your School/Work friends/students do NOT need to know what you are having for dinner or where you currently are.  Nor do they need to see pictures of your pets.
  • They especially don't need to see your religious or political views.
  • Not as their personal self.
  • Be careful who you are posting as.
  • Your personal life is NONE of your students business.
  • Keep your personal side... private.  Check your settings.
  • Do not be friends with students.
  • I would not even friend other employees unless they have a "Professional page" too. Don't drag their personal life into your professional life.
  • Be careful who you are posting as.
Picture

Page

Profile

Basically it is a webpage that people can follow on Facebook.  This is what YOU follow when you follow or like something.  You should make one for your school/class.
Benefits
  • You are the admin.
  • You can give rights to others to post to the page, and see who posted what.
  • Very easy to add comments and postings here.
  • Sometimes (if I remember correctly) you have to post to the page from your profile.  But updates happen!
  • You can set posts to "post" on specific days. So you can create a post but not let it be seen until a certain date.  It is quite nice for events you know are happening in future.
You have heard the stories of bosses or students finding things out about you via social media.  Instead of avoiding it fake it - Make a work account! And keep it for that purpose. 

Use your school e-mail and create a new account.  I run my school and library page from THAT profile.  However I also liked both pages from my personal account and then gave my personal self admin rights to that page!  Clear as mud?  Yeah, I don't know who I am sometimes either!
This all being said... Keep in mind that most students have moved away from Facebook! 
It is mostly for parents!

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Microsoft 365

3/20/2014

1 Comment

 
We had a training on Microsoft 365 the other day and many of us had been dreading it.  Mostly it lived up to that but there were a few things that made it worth it. OneNote and lunch!  I am not sure how much of this my teachers will want to see but I may show them OneNote and the OneDrive.  If we get the time!

Word, Excel, PPT

Mostly all the same features but MS has finally added cloud service so you can work on the same documents "in the cloud".  I know this has been around for a while but WE were just getting introduced to the newest version of it. Anyone who has ever heard of Google Docs knows this is nothing new and it is/was hard to not compare the two, or notice how much longer Google has had a jump on this market.  Why work on your desktop when you can keep it all in the cloud?  The cloud app does NOT have every feature as the desktop version... but it has enough to be very good and stand alone.


OneNote

Not to be confused with Evernote...
OneNote is great because it is tabbed and it is as easy to use as a notebook.
The best way to show you OneNote is to click here.
You will notice that one notebook can have many tabs.  If you make it public and post the link somewhere you have a very easy to update website.
OneNote is a free download - and an App.  I did not bother to see if the other MS Office Applications had apps... but I doubt it.

Storage

Again no wow factor here as Dropbox and Google both install a folder on my hard drive so I can put files in it to sync to the cloud and access files on my devices.

Again typical MS confusion.  We have SkyDrive installed our network computers but in order to sync your files you need to find the folder says SkyDrive PRO which is NOT an obvious icon as the SkyDrive icon is.  And by the way it is no longer called Skydrive it is OneDrive.  Confused?  Me too.

Bottom line(s)

A typical confusing MS product.  Ya know, there is Live.com, OWA, Outlook.com. Skydrive, Onedrive and now Office 365.  Which one do we use?  I think I have accounts at each of them.
Will I show it to my teachers?
Some, if they need it.  Definitely OneNote as it would come in handy.
Will I show my students... No. Most of them have gmail/Google Drive accounts already.  Besides this one our district offers vaporizes 30 days after they un-enroll/graduate!
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Ethics (for teachers)

2/25/2014

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Principals are to go over/review/teach testing ethics with their teachers.  Here is a quick page of only the ethics material gathered from our SAGE testing blog.
We know many of you will say you did this last year... and it is true.  You get it every year.  This years info is even different to reflect aspects of SAGE.

Please use the links below on the left.


Real Links

  • Testing Ethics FAQ
  • Testing Ethics Policy Brochure
  • Testing Ethics Policy Training
After your training presentation you must sign a form that stays on file here at the school.  The forms will be at the meeting.

All these are from Karen's Blog where there is a ton more testing info.

Got questions or comments?  Leave your $0.02 below.

My two cents

  • You can't help the kids take the test!
  • Make them use the 'i'. (information button on the test)
  • Teachers MUST proctor (actively watch/supervise students taking) the test.
  • Absolutely NO student phones/internet (any) devices
  • Remove any signage/posters with content. 
  • You can't help the kids!
  • Follow the TAMS.
  • PRACTICE the test beforehand!
  • Although emphasized during SAGE (and other high stakes tests) these ethics should be used ALL YEAR LONG on all your tests.
  • All TESTING materials must be SECURE.

If you are not sure... Don't do it.


You may think it is simple but if you do something that seems like you might have helped a student... You have 20 (oh wait...39) other witnesses that may or may not be on your side... and their parents, the state, the law...
AND it can make your school look bad for having an "Ethics Violation".

Part of my ethics is reporting any unethical things I see! :(, so please do you part. Yes, I document classes that have a lot of talking, phones out... and other general disruptions.



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SAGE Practice

2/25/2014

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Teachers, Parents (and students) you ARE going to want your students to do the practice tests!!!  No question about it.  The practice tests are NOT about content. It is about using the tools of the test. 

Go to http://sageportal.org/ and click on "Training & Practice Sites".  Then "Training and Practice Tests".  Then the Bicycle "Training Tests".  (or CLICK HERE!)​
You do NOT need a log-in to practice OR a test code!   Leave the "Guest User" and "Guest Session" boxes checked.) Just click Sign in!
  • Pick your grade level and your settings.  (The volume settings will NOT work in this practice session.)
  • Pick a test! (Each one has different features. So, you WILL want to do them all eventually.)
  • ​

These tests are ONLY for learning the TOOLS. Nothing is graded, or even scored - your answers do not matter!

READ the instructions! But here are some tips.

  • Set the volume (and other settings) to YOUR liking - you can listen to the test as needed. BUT you have to set the volume FIRST.  You will use headphones during the actual test. I suggest BRINGING YOUR OWN!  (The text to speech does not work unless the teacher has assigned a test).
  • READ the instructions for each question!  You can't just guess your way through this test anymore ;)
  • Use the ' i '' for information/help/instructions and the Flag to flag a question to come back to. But you MUST answer it before moving on.
  • Play with the Zoom, Notes and Calculator tools.
  • You MUST answer each question before you can go to the next one.  Even if you flag it.
  • After 20 minutes of computer inactivity your test will pause, and you will not be able to change any of your previous answers when you log back in.
  • Do EACH practice test.  There are different things to do in each of the Math, Science and English.
  • Eventually you get an "END TEST" button. Click on it.
  • Have fun - and remember the practice test is NOT about CONTENT!
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