This is an RSS feed for the Laptop Lounge website. You can subscribe to this feed to keep up to date with upcoming events and find out about updates to the website. http://fcit.usf.edu/laptop lfperez@mail.usf.edu The College of Education has been selected as a pilot program for the implementation of USF’s iTunes University. Through USF iTunes U, our students will be able to download podcasts to their Macs or PCs. They will then be able to listen to and view the contents of these podcasts on their Mac or PC or transfer them to an iPod or other MP3 player. The concept of iTunes university has been piloted successfully at Stanford, Berkeley and other universities. Along with the iTunes U and USF partnership , Dean Kennedy announced the COEDU Podcast Incentive Program. Approximately $10,000 is available to fund COEDU faculty proposals related to USF’s iTunes U. The funds will be used to purchase iPod bundles, each consisting of a video iPod, accessories, and software needed to produce, access, and deliver educational podcasts. We encourage all Laptop Initiative faculty to take advantage of these grants. The Laptop Initiative is already working with several faculty members who are producing excellent podcasts, and we will be happy to provide any technical assistance you need to make your Podcast Incentive project a success. For more information about the Podcast Incentive Program, visit this website. http://fcit.usf.edu/laptop/newscurrent.html#podcastincentive The Florida Center for Instructional Technology's No Strings Attached website has recently greatly expanded the number of technology-infused lesson plans available. Each lesson plan is correlated to Sunshine State Standards and national technology standards, and includes a video of the teacher presenting the lesson and reflecting on the lesson. This is a great place to find lesson ideas that incorporate iBooks. http://fcit.usf.edu/laptop/newscurrent.html#nsa FCIT has recently published a website with more than 20,000 presentation backgrounds free for download. There are versions formatted for both Powerpoint and Keynote and the site is aimed specifically at teachers and students. This site also has links to other online resources, including free photo, video, and music sites. http://fcit.usf.edu/laptop/newscurrent.html#presentationsetc FCIT recently published Tech-Ease for Mac, a website where teachers can find quick answers to real classroom technology questions. Tech-Ease for Mac answers common questions from teachers about hardware, email, chat, images, file management, and the Internet. Tech-Ease for Mac also has a section covering classroom management issues related to the use of computers in the classroom. http://fcit.usf.edu/laptop/newscurrent.html#techease On Tuesday, March 7th, the Laptop Lounge hosted a workshop on the use of GIS (Geographic Information Systems) in education. The workshop was facilitated by Dr. Shannon White, who was visiting from North Carolina State University. Dr. White presented some ideas for the use of GIS in different subject areas, from social studies to language arts. The workshop also had a hands-on component where participants learned to use ESRI's ArcView software. http://fcit.usf.edu/laptop/newscurrent.html#gis The Laptop Lounge took part in the College of Education's Children's Festival held on Saturday, March 4th. The children who visited the Lounge were able to participate in a number of technology centers. In one center, the children took pictures of themselves using an iSight camera, then used this website to create an inspirational poster they could get emailed home. In another center, they were able to use TuxPaint, an open source drawing program intended for children. Visitors to the Lounge were also able to record their own songs using Garageband and a USB keyboard. http://fcit.usf.edu/laptop/newscurrent.html#childrensfestival Recently, the Laptop Lounge's James Welsh was quoted in an article about technology integration in area schools. The article features Edgewater High School in Orlando. Principal Rob Anderson has started offering morning announcements as podcasts the students at Edgewater can download to their iPods, and more than a dozen teachers at Edgewater plan to start podcasting their lectures. The article also mentions other examples of technology integration using Palm handheld organizers. While James mentions several advantages to the use of technology in the classroom, he cautions that teachers should not use technology for technology's sake. "If they are just clicking, you are not teaching," James is quoted as saying. http://fcit.usf.edu/laptop/newscurrent.html#orlandosentinel This article from USF's Oracle looks at how one professor in Texas is using podcasts to deliver his lectures to his students. University of Texa professor William Carner records his lectures using an iPod, then posts them online so that his students can download them and listen to them on their computers or MP3 players. The article even mentions a website, Pickaprof.com, where professors can post their lectures as podcasts. While Carner is a strong supporter of this new delivery method for lectures, other professors have reservations. Shawn Bingham, a USF sociology professor, says access to podcasts may encourage students to skip classes. The article can be read online by visiting the Oracle website. http://fcit.usf.edu/laptop/newscurrent.html#ilecture The Lunch at the Lounge training series will continue on Tuesdays at noon for the rest of the year. Here is the best part: free music! At the conclusion of each training, we will draw the name of one lucky participant who will receive a gift card redeemable online at the iTunes Music Store http://fcit.usf.edu/laptop/newscurrent.html The Laptop Lounge has been hosting workshops demonstrating technology integration in the classroom. In one recent workshop, students from a USF education course were split into small groups and asked to produce a 30-60 second video on topics ranging from promotion of the College of Education to a commercial for a Key West diving company http://fcit.usf.edu/laptop/newscurrent.html#techintegrationworkshops On Thursday, October 13th, the Laptop Lounge hosted a training session in a free web authoring system called NVU (pronounced N-view). The application is comparable to FrontPage or Dreamweaver, but is free and open source. NVU provides a free and easy way to create and edit web pages. The session was facilitated by LI student and ACOMP trainer Crystal Henriott. To download Nvu, visit our Support page http://fcit.usf.edu/laptop/newscurrent.html We have microscopes and science probes that plug into your computer to record real time science data. We also have MIDI keyboards that allow you to create completely original music in GarageBand. We have friendly Lounge staffers Luis and Jason to show you how to use all of the above http://fcit.usf.edu/laptop/newscurrent.html#musicians If you have been to a recent workshop at the Laptop Lounge (EDU 252), you may have noticed that we have been incorporating our Smartboard interactive white board into all of our training sessions. This Smartboard is available for you to check out to use for classes here in the college http://fcit.usf.edu/laptop/newscurrent.html Every Wednesday in October at 12 PM, the Apple Store at International Plaza will host a free interactive workshop on mastering Microsoft Office. For more information, visit their website http://fcit.usf.edu/laptop/newscurrent.html#freems The Carrollton-Farmers Branch school district in Texas is using iPods as part of a pilot program to bridge the gap between home and school. Carrollton-Farmers Branch is one of a handful of districts across the country finding ways to use iPods in schools. The idea came from Duke University, which gives iPods to all incoming freshmen http://fcit.usf.edu/laptop/newscurrent.html#ipods The "Room 208" Podcast, produced by third and fourth grade students from Maine, was featured in an article in the New York Times http://fcit.usf.edu/laptop/newscurrent.html#room208 The Duke University Information Science + Information Studies (ISIS) program recently held what organizers believe to be the first-ever academic podcasting symposium http://fcit.usf.edu/laptop/newscurrent.html#duke