ShiftHappens

=“Shift Happens”: Technology Tools to Prepare Students for the 21st Century=

A CWP/EASTCONN Collaborative Technology Strand of Saturday Seminars
Are you a "digital immigrant" who is trying to keep up with your "digital native" students? Have you witnessed how technology engages your students? Do you want to harness the power of these technology tools to benefit your teaching and your students' learning? This collaborative Saturday Seminar Technology Strand of Saturday Seminars is just for you! Once a month you can learn one of the new technology tools that are changing our world and transforming teaching and learning. You may register for one or all of these Saturday Seminars. [|**Click here to go to the CWP Online Registration System**].

Podcasting 101 (10/10/09)
The term podcast is a new term that takes pod from iPod and cast from broadcast to define a new kind of audio broadcast that is available to listen to on the Internet. Podcasts are stored as MP3 files and can be played on a computer or can be downloaded and played on an iPod or other MP3 player. Learn how simple these files are to create using Audacity, a free open source software application that’s available for the Mac and the PC. Catch the podcasting wave and have your students start creating their own audio broadcasts of their writing today! [|**Click here for more information.**]

The Wonderful World of Wikis (11/14/09)
Wiki-wiki is the Hawaiian word for quick. In this Saturday Seminar, you’ll learn how quick it is to create a Wiki, a collaborative online learning environment. Using **www.wikispaces.com**, you will learn how to join an existing Wiki, create your own Wiki, invite students or colleagues to join, and post content including files, Web links and widgets. In just three short hours you will create a dynamic online collaborative learning space for your students or colleagues. Provide a space where students have a real purpose for their writing as well as an authentic audience. Once you start using Wikispaces, you won’t be able to stop. No prior experience is necessary. [|**Click here for more information.**]

Digital Storytelling (12/12/09)
Digital storytelling combines writing with audio and graphics or video, a motivating way for students to tell their stories in this Digital Age. Learn how to use Voice Threads and Microsoft Photo Story, two free tools that allow teachers and students to create digital stories. Harness the power of technology to engage students in writing and presenting their work. [|**Click here for more information.**]

Blogging and the Use of eBoards in the Classroom (1/9/10)
As more students enter classrooms with increased technology skills, much of which are self-taught, teachers can tap into their interests with meaningful instruction, such as blogging and use of electronic bulletin boards. In this workshop, teachers will examine effective blogging methods and create one themselves, posting and responding to other blogs. Teachers will review and practice the use of blogs and eBoards for typical classroom assignments, such as reading responses, as well as using these tools to serve as a forum for publishing writing. [|**Click here for more information.**]

Packing a Punch with PowerPoint (2/13/10)
PowerPoint is the premier software used in business to enhance presentations and make sales. Teachers can use PowerPoint to “sell” their content to their students. In just three hours you will learn how to use PowerPoint’s basic features to enhance your teaching and to cement your students’ learning. Bring some ideas and materials with you so that you can leave with a PowerPoint presentation that you can use with your students. No prior technology experience necessary. [|**Click here for more information.**]

Searching and Researching: Literacy in the 21st Century (3/13/10)
The Internet demands that today’s students be literate critical thinkers and informed consumers and synthesizers of information. This requires teachers to teach skills and strategies that are different from those used to search print resources. Learn how to apply the Big6 skills to help students be effective problem-solvers. Explore effective searching and researching strategies to "separate the wheat from the chaff” on the Web. Discuss how to evaluate the validity and reliability of Web sites. Search the "Hidden Web" to find useful academic resources. [|**Click here for more information.**]

Web 2.0 Tools: Free Resources to Enhance Teaching and Learning (4/10/10)
The “read only” Web has been replaced with the “read/write” Web and with it have come some amazing Web-based technology tools. Known as Web 2.0 tools, they provide educators with free or low cost instructional resources that open up a whole new world for teaching and learning. Spend three hours exploring such tools as Delicious, Twitter, Google Docs, e-Pals, Flickr, and Voice Threads. You’ll be amazed at the possibilities! [|**Click here for more information.**]

"Kicking Up Your Writing a Notch": Collaborating and Communicating with MS Word (5/8/10)
”The word processor is the writer’s dishwasher: it liberates you from a chore that drains your energy” (William Zinsser, __On Writing Well__). MS Word, the world’s foremost word processor, is a powerful tool for communication and collaboration. Become a “power user” by learning how to use some of MS Word’s advanced features such as using Track Changes to comment on a student’s work, comparing documents side by side, running mail merges, creating a Table of Contents, inserting section breaks and changing page layouts throughout a document, and mastering bullets and numbered lists. Bring your ideas and materials for projects to create instructional materials and resources for your students. [|**Click here for more information.**]