DyKnow Vision at Park Tudor School

Although DyKnow Vision is not as prevalent in K-12 schools as it is in higher education institutions at this point, many teachers and students at the K-12 Park Tudor School have found the technology both useful and inspiring. To hear some of their thoughts, check out the Park Tudor School DyKnow Vision video clip (produced by students!!!) under the "What Students Are Saying" section on this page: http://dyknowcollaboratory.com/community/students.aspx

It seems like two of the major benefits to students are the better organization of class notes and an increased ability to focus on what teachers are saying. Meanwhile, teachers find that the program saves them valuable class time and helps engage their students. If only we had unlimited budgets... !

Shelfari Fun!

Are you looking for a way to keep track of books you have read or reread lately? You might want to start a Shelfari bookshelf! Shelfari allows you to create a free account in which you search for book covers matching your recent reads, add the book covers to your bookshelf, rate the books, and even annotate or review them if you'd like. You can also see what friends are reading and read others' comments on books you've read or are about to read. Check out my budding bookshelf here!

DyKnow Monitor

I was pleased to read that DyKnow, the company that created the "DyKnow Vision" product discussed below, has also come out with classroom/ library management software called the "DyKnow Monitor." This product allows you to see thumbnails of all students' screens, to push screens or sites to students' computers for class use, to restrict computers to certain sites to ensure focus on the lessons, and to freeze screens or send student attention messages when necessary.

Check it out here: http://www.dyknow.com/monitor/ .

A Few Favorite Blogs

Check out three of the blogs I'm reading these days:

• Esme Codell's The PlanetEsme Plan: The Best New Children’s Books from Esme’s Shelf: http://planetesme.blogspot.com/ This blog contains great book reviews, suggestions for related books, and ideas for book extensions. Esme is endlessly creative-If you need further proof, read her hilarious, inspiring book Educating Esme: Diary of a Teacher’s First Year !
• Library Stew: http://librarystew.blogspot.com/ This is an elementary school librarian’s blog about controversies, books, creative projects, relevant articles, and technology.
• Kathy Schrock's Kaffeeklatsch: http://kathyschrock.net/blog/ This blog contains Kathy Schrock's thoughts/ tutorials on educational technology. Her Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators site (http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/) with annotated lists of helpful websites for educators is definitely worth bookmarking too.

What are your favorite book/ technology/education blogs? I'd love to start a list of suggestions!

Tips for Using DyKnow Vision

Well, I still haven't found too many documented complaints about DyKnow Vision, which is probably a good sign. I still wonder why students' survey responses weren't even higher in the last link I posted.

I just found this teacher tip sheet, though, and I thought I'd pass along the link in case you are ever fortunate enough to have this system. Although this is geared towards university professors, its technical tips and advice for encouraging interaction will be useful to educators at other levels too.

University Students Comment on DyKnow Vision

The last few pages of this article show university students' reactions to DyKnow Vision. The percentages of positive responses are high, but I would expect them to be even closer to 100%. What do you think?

Linking Documents Within a Blogger.com Blog Post

Since there doesn't seem to be a way to link documents directly within Blogger.com blog posts, I set out for answers this afternoon. Thanks to a high school librarian in the district where I am doing my practicum, I now know how to solve the problem. I have compiled the steps that she explained to me over the phone in a Tutorial. Check it out! :)

If you know of a way to link documents directly, though, please let me know. I would love to learn how!

Intro. to DyKnow Vision

What is DyKnow Vision?

For the next few weeks, I will be blogging about a technology called "DyKnow Vision" in addition to other findings of interest. DyKnow Vision is a very dynamic student/teacher interaction system that transmits teachers' notes to students' screens so that students can concentrate on understanding the material and annotating class notes instead of trying to scribble down all of their teachers' notes while listening in class. This system also allows students to play back the notes while studying to see how diagrams, charts, or equations were created. Additionally, DyKnow Vision enables teachers to poll their classes mid-lesson to check for understanding and to collect, comment on, and return students' work electronically as students complete practice assignments in class.

For more introductory information, visit http://www.dyknow.com/products/vision/ .

Welcome to my blog!

Hello, and welcome to my blog about advancements in technology! As an elementary school teacher, an M.S.L.I.S. student at Syracuse University, and a future library media specialist, I have become very intrigued by technology and its possibilities. I am on a quest to learn it all-- the newest technologies, classroom and library applications, benefits for student learning and engagement, and implementation issues. If you too are interested in technology and its educational applications, please post your comments and check back for frequent updates! :)