PowerTeacher Gradebook Setup

A refresher for teachers at back-to-school time. (Courtesy of Mr. Lent and Mr. Woody)

-          One of the main mistakes when setting up the grade book is not being consistent with your style of grading (you must do total point for all marking periods, or category weights for all marking periods, depending on your choice). 

-          Another common mistake is entering in a points assignment and grade(35/50), when the grade book is set up for category weights (all assignments 100%), or vice versa (you enter in a 90% for an assignment, which is category weights, rather than entering in a total points grade). 

-          If you are going to use category weights, the total of all categories used must add up to 100%. 

 

Thank you Mr. Lent for your screen-cast help video!

 

Other resources:

PowerSchool Teacher Tutorials from Connecticut Technical School

I ♥ These Sites!

I have been searching for FAR too long for a website that would convert videos from the Flip video output format (MP4) to a format that would work in Windows Movie Maker without a fee, without a huge logo being stamped on the video, without frustration with the user interface, without asking me technical questions in language I didn't understand, and that wouldn't crash half-way through the hours it was taking to convert the video. At last I found one; you might have heard me cheer across the county the first time I realized it worked! And I am happy to report it has worked every time I have tested it and as an added bonus ~ you don't have to download the program to your computer!

The website is: www.online-convert.com. It converts other things as well, though I haven't tested the others out. It is very user friendly but I did create a short video in case you want to see (one I also had to convert, lol, to get it to post here). If the video does not work it is likely a temporary blogger issue, not a conversion issue... promise!

So, another site I love is the one I used to create the previous video... http://www.screenr.com/. This site allows you to make a screencast ~ a video of what you are doing on your computer screen. In the classroom, a screencast could be posted to a blog or website and students can get the directions on how to use a computer application on their own desktops and review it at their own pace... no more repeating directions over and over in front of the classroom! This site is free and is internet based... no download of software required! You do need to register to save your video.

Want to use just a clip from an existing video from YouTube in your instructional presentation? This site ~ http://tubechop.com/ ~ allows you to focus on only the part of the video you hope to share... no awkward in front of the class searching for the right part of the video! After you have "chopped" the video the site offers several ways to share the clip (link, embedding, etc.).

One more just for fun: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-the-Heart-Symbol-Using-a-Computer! I have been wondering the trick behind creating a heart (like the one used in this blog title) and today I figured it out! On a laptop hold down FN, Alt, and L at the same time. ♥ If you substitute other letters for the L, you can get other symbols (and annoying beeps if you pick certain letters). ☻☺♣ ♠ Gotta keep up with the kids you know!

More Than YouTube

As you already know, the Internet is a wealth of information, but sometimes it is too much information to wade through. I am going to bring your attention to a few specific sites today that will be useful to you when you are gathering instructional resources. Multimedia resources have become a significant part of life in the 21st Century. With the introduction of YouTube and online video streaming students have access to more video clips than ever. Educators can take advantage of many of these free resources and open a window to the outside world for their students.

Video clips are great instructional tools when used appropriately. Make sure that when you show a video you set the purpose for your students and ask them to draw conclusions from the video. Many instructional strategies can be used while students watch a video. (Think-pair-share, similarities and differences, graphic organizers, summarizing and note taking etc.)

If you like the idea of YouTube but you’re looking for something with an educational focus here are some free video sharing/hosting websites:

www.techertube.com
www.schooltube.com
www.video.google.com
www.snagfilms.com/films/
www.kidsknowit.com/interactive-educational-movies/index.php
www.teachers.tv/

Some other sites that may have resources for your content area are TV network sites such as Discovery Channel and The History Channel. Check these out and see what you can find this week. You may want to show one to grab the student’s attention at the beginning of the lesson. Or maybe you want to add it t your blog or webpage so students can view it on their own time and submit a response as homework. As always if you need help planning or implementing one of these ideas, contact your ITRT!