A Plug

From June 12-14, I'll be teaching three technology classes at TRF's North West Sercive Coop.  The deadline for registration is June 1st, so if you're interested contact them and sign up.

Here are the classes:

20 Apps and Sites That I Can’t Teach Without

June 14, 2012 ~all day

Instructor: Kurt Reynolds, TRF Lincoln HS communications

This will be taught on both Windows and Mac Platform. 

Learn to meet the millennials where they’re at with these 20 apps and sites in your classroom. These are the 20 apps that I could not possible imagine teaching without. Yet, I didn’t use a third of them and sites relevant to education. 

First, we will explore web apps such as Polleverywhere, Zamzar, Twitter, Popplet, Slide- share, Scribd, Vuvox, Wikipedia, Khan Academy, Evernote, Dropbox, Youtube, iTunes U, Picassa,

and so on. 

Second, you will be able to select which apps or sites work best for you and your classes. With that in mind, we’ll work to help you develop a specific lesson plan featuring one of these apps or sites, so you can leave with an actual product that you can implement in your classroom.

Using Cell Phones in the Classroom: If You Can’t Beat ‘em, Join ‘em.

June 13, 2012 ~ All day

Instructor: Kurt Reynolds, Thief River Falls HS Communications Instructor This will be taught on both Windows and Mac Plat- form.

This class will focus on numerous ways to imple- ment cell phones into your classes. First, teachers will not only discover practical ways to use their cell phones, but they will also learn of numerous applications and websites that will allow them to turn their students’ cell phones from a nuisance to a classroom necessity.

Second, we will explore several of the available apps and websites. We will also learn how to apply these to our specific classes to engage students more fully.  The apps include Waffiti, twitter, Yodio, Poll Everywhere, Wall Wisher, Zoomerang, and Pandora.

Third, there are other basic features that cell phones can offer educators. Some of the ones we’ll explore: handheld scanner, white board archiver, be- ing a digital witness, and reminder list.

Finally, we will explore several websites from educators who actually practice what they preach and use cell phones as learning and teaching tools.

Podcasting

June 12, 2012 ~ All day

Instructor: Kurt Reynolds, Thief River Falls HS Communications Instructor

This will be taught on the Mac Platform.

This session will introduce the world of podcasting. 

1. Explore what a podcast is and where they can be found (using iTunes and sources such as pod-castalley.com). 

2. Discuss how to implement podcasts in our classes and use them in our lives. Examples

        will be provided. 

3. Explore the basics of creating podcasts using GarageBand (part of Apple’s iLife) for audio podcasts and iMovie (part of Apple’s     

        iLife) for video podcasts.

For audio podcasts, some of the basics covered will include:

 *implementing audio files into Garage Band

 * recording voice tracks via Garage Band

 * imbedding music fils to create a unique "jingle" for your podcast.

 * developing a podcast formant.

 * importing art work.

 * uploading your podcast to the net

 * sharing your podcast with your students

For video podcasts, some of the basics covered will include:

 * importing video and audio to iMovie.

 * imbedding music or audio to enhance your podcast.

 * using images or jpegs in iMovie

 * adding transitions to iMovie.

 * uploading your video podcasts to the net.

 * sharing your video podcast with your students.

Finally, you will learn how to make a podcast for use in a class.