netTrekker Blog

Thanks to our ISTE2010 booth presenters!

Jackie Shanti

A big thanks goes out to all of our netTrekker Customers who shared “Best Practices” and their love of netTrekker with the many visitors who stopped by at our ISTE 2010 booth.

Jackie Shanti, Milwaukee Public Schools, made TWO guest appearances in the netTrekker booth.  On her first visit, Jackie shared her winning entry in the netTrekker Personalized Learning in Action video contest.  As one of the two winners – she received a scholarship from netTrekker to attend ISTE 2010.  Congratulations Jackie!

On her second visit – she had a surprise for the audience!  As she began to discuss the benefits of Online Learning – she literally got into character as she donned her typical dress when she participated in netTrekker’s Online Learning Class, NT101 ……… HER PAJAMAS!  As she received a cheer from the audience – I noticed quite a crowd gather around to hear her presentation.

Jackie provided insights on NT101:   “I had a great experience and didn’t realize the depth of the software until the class.  netTrekker has limitless capabilities and is very helpful to find and create engaging lessons to meet the needs of all learners“.

… And insights on participating in an online class as the perfect answer to fitting professional development into your busy life:

• “You can participate anytime-anywhere“
• “Your classroom has no borders or walls“
• “No need to feel uncomfortable expressing your opinion or ideas“
• “It’s just a great way to learn!“

Thanks Jackie for sharing your time with us at ISTE 2010!

We also had some other fabulous teachers share their netTrekker stories:

Casey Ellisor from Blythewood Middle School Richland School District 2, South Carolina, shared best practices using My Portfolio in a Science and Social Studies classroom.  As one of teachers chosen to participate in the iPac initiative for the district, Casey commented that netTrekker was an essential part of transforming teaching and learning with technology.  Thanks Casey for sharing your experience with us at the netTrekker booth!

Andy Losik from Hamilton Community Schools in Michigan, was our 2nd winning entry in the netTrekker Personalized Learning in Action video contest.  Andy took advantage of the great location for ISTE 2010 and brought his family along for a roadtrip.  He discussed how Hamilton uses netTrekker to meet the needs of their staff and students to find educationally relevant websites.  Congrats to Andy and thanks for sharing with us at the netTrekker booth!

Debra Goldberg, a long time fan from Lawrence Township Public Schools in NJ, shared her experiences on ways netTrekker can help ALL students.  Debra highlighted uses for Read Aloud, Readability, and Dictionary Hot Key.  Thanks Debra for sharing with us at the netTrekker booth!

Mike Evans from Forsyth County Schools in GA provided insights into his districts use of netTrekker … way to go Forsyth for winning the top netTrekker usage award for 2 straight years! In his first presentation, Mike discussed using My Portfolio to manage digital resources.  In his second presentation, Mike demonstrated a unique way to manage small group activities using My Portfolio.  Thanks Mike for sharing with us at the booth!

Adina Popa, Loudoun Co Public Schools in VA, took the audience through an end of the year project.  The audience was totally engaged as Adina discussed her use of netTrekker and BrainPOP to prepare her students to create a Space Control Center in their classroom … we were all relieved as her students were able to bring two lost students back from space!  Thanks Adina for sharing with us at the booth!   Be on the lookout for netTrekker & BrainPOP co-presenting webinars this fall – with special appearances from Adina!

And last but not least … Barb Wagers from Aurora Public Schools in CO, provided us with some great ideas for using resources found in netTrekker’s Reference section.  Wordsmyth, not only a premier dictionary, it also has great tools to enhance literacy learning.  Project Gutenberg is a fabulous resource to find your favorite eBook.  And then Barb took the audience through her favorite resource … Create a Graph.  Thanks Barb for sharing with us at the booth!

netTrekker Spotlight User: Jan Williams Shares How netTrekker is a Hit with Teachers!

netTrekker is excited to introduce this week’s Spotlight User. Jan Williams is the Educational Technology Coordinator for Youngstown City School District in Youngstown, Ohio. Jan shares how teachers have enjoyed exploring netTrekker through integration with other technology and professional development.

This is the first year we have had netTrekker in our schools.  It has been a huge hit among our teachers, and we have had many workshops to roll out the training for the teachers.  Everyone loves the efficient way to drill down the results according to readability and the other options.  The opportunity for differentiation is phenomenal and easy to use.  Since we have many teachers using Promethean Boards, they love that they can search for flipcharts in netTrekker and be sure they are good ones!

We have asked the district to provide the money to renew the subscription for next year due to the high use and high satisfaction.  There are currently 5 people taking the nT 101 online course right now, so each of those folks will become our next netTrekker trainers in their buildings and in the district.

The Reference Link

During the NT101 course participants collaborate on the discussion boards to share tips, strategies, resources and Best Practices.  Often times, early in the course I have to send out a few re-assuring words to make people feel comfortable to post ideas.  However, this summer the discussion boards are “on fire.”  During the first content module, Barb Wagers from Aurora Colorado posted a great sample best practice article about the power of the Reference Link.   Enjoy Barb’s Best Practice article below.  Thanks to Barb for her great submission.

The Reference Link

If you have not explored the References link in the Features box, you are missing a ton of resources for you and your students. Teaching students to access the References button gives them several resources, literally, at their fingertips. There are two areas that I would like to specifically highlight.

Students always want to use images and sounds that may be copyright protected. Using Find Sound, students can download free sound clips that can be used in presentations or video production. Click on the Reference tab and scroll down to Find Sound under the category of Finders. You can search for a specific sound or browse through a list of sounds available by clicking on See Examples in English link. Once the students find the sounds they want, they can download them onto their computer and use them legally.

In the Multimedia area on the References page, there are several sites that offer free clip-art and images. The Elementary tab is a bit limiting, but have your students use the Middle or High school tab and they will see several websites that offer free clip-art and images. Many of the sites have the images in subject categories, which is very useful to the students.

There are several more resources in the References link, so check them out and teach your students to use them as well.

Barb Wagers
Instructional Technology Coach
Aurora Public Schools, CO

We would love to hear your tips, strategies and Best Practices for implementing  netTrekker in your classroom, school or district.  Your ideas may be published on nT Village or in our netTrekker newsletter.

Best Practice Submission Process:
Please describe (in 500 words or less), a netTrekker Integrated Best Practice. Include details that support using the Collections, the Features, Web Tools, and any of our Integrated Partner Products. In your entry, include the external links, a copy of any educator created materials, and any other pertinent documents and resources you incorporated to make your lesson a Best Practice.

Send this information to aellisor@nettrekker.com to be considered for publication in the Best Practice section of the netTrekker newsletter or on netTrekker Village.

Tags: best practice, Features and Tools, lesson plans, NT101, references, staff development, Training

Beat the Cyber Bully!

The Education Business Blog (Lee Wilson) recently posted an article highlighting the challenge schools face when educating students on cyber bullying. Lee explains that, while cyber bullying incidents will likely occur outside of school grounds, the effects have a direct impact on a student’s performance in school. In addition, many students simply aren’t aware of the potential consequences of their actions online. You can find the full blog post here, including mention of netTrekker as an effective combatant to cyber bullying.

Research on cyber bullying prevention indicates that prevention programs should be implemented at the classroom, school, family, and community levels. To aid this effort, netTrekker has partnered with CyberSmart! Student Curriculum to help K–12 educators get started in the prevention of cyber bullying at all these levels. netTrekker subscribers have free access to all of CyberSmart’s student curriculum lessons and activity sheets.  Students can learn how to examine their own and others behaviors and learn what constitutes cyberbullying. They can also explore how to deal with cyber bullying situations. Users can keyword search “cybersmart” in netTrekker to see the full collection of Cybersmart! student curriculum, or keyword search “cyberbullying” to target only those resources.

Cybersmart! also offers professional development workshops for educators. One of CyberSmart’s 4-week fully-facilitated online workshops is titled “Manners, Cyberbullying, and Ethics.”  This workshop supports  safe schools and digital citizenship  initiatives, as well as:

• Equips staff  model shared vision of acceptable use and good cybercitizenship
• Avoids legal issues or situations embarrassing to school administration
• Examines the ramifications and prevention of cyber bullying
• Clarifies educators’ copyright use

To learn more about Cybersmart! Online Workshops, click here. You can also contact your netTrekker Representative to learn more about effective strategies to beat the cyber bullies!

Tags: cyberbullying, cyberethics, CyberSmart, Education Business Blog, Lee Wilson, netTrekker

Learning from Afar

Unfortunately I was unable to attend ISTE2010 this year, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be involved! Even though I have been quite busy with work, I am still checking in on Twitter and Facebook to see what people were talking about, join in on a uStream session, and read blogs coming from the sessions.

Here were some of my favorite tweets from ISTE2010 today:

• web20classroom One of the first things to think about when teaching kids about Critical Thinking is to examine where information comes from.#ISTECT #ISTE10
• oswego98 Favorite quote of the day: Teachers have the right to hide in a cave but they don’t have the right to drag students with them #iste10
• TeachaKidd: Chris Lehmann: “We teach kids, not subjects”
• mtrump :  Technology doesn’t improve education, it changes it……TEACHERS improve education. #ebc10 #ISTE10

If you didn’t have the privilege to attend ISTE 2010 in Denver, it’s not too late! Try backtracking to see if there are any videos available from sessions on ustream.tv. You can search either by #ISTE10 (the official conference hashtag), #ISTE2010 (another popular hashtag), or by the presenter’s last name (such as Chris Lehmann). I have even found a few interesting videos on YouTube! Plus, you can check out blogs about ISTE from those who attended. Some of my favorites include Tim Childers, Vicki Davis, and Jeff Utecht.

Of course, one of the funnest things to do at the conference is visit the exhibit hall. It’s like a candy shop for educators! You can see what’s new, find new potentials, and reconnect with old favorites! If you visited the netTrekker booth, you have probably seen a sneak peak of changes coming in the fall and learned about netTrekker’s new partner, NSTA.

I am so looking forward to next year’s ISTE. Philadelphia, my birthplace, will be the host for a conference that is more than technology – one that reaches all areas of education. I hope I get to see you all there in person!

Tags: ISTE10, ISTE2010, twitter

KISSES in Training

Rod's creation with the candy provided during training.

In high school, I used to plan events for fellow students. I’ll admit that I was one of those annoyingly perky and bubbly kids, so I made sure each event was themed. Everything had a meaning – even the candy we used!  To this day, my candy still has a meaning. For example, if I’m sending a candy bar to a teacher to thank them for their extra effort, I’ll include a note saying “I think you deserve an extra grand for your hard work.” Even the candy I use for training has a meaning.  I consider what I know about that district, the area, and details about their netTrekker use, then I look at the candies on the shelf to decide which fits best.

Here are examples of my favorite candies for training:

• Hershey Kisses, because netTrekker Keeps Internet Searching Simple, Educational and Safe. I’ll often pick up a multi-flavor pack too. After all, netTrekker has multiple tabs and channels, depending on the “flavor” you’re looking for!
• Twizzlers are always a favorite because educators need to be flexible (and a little fruity)! When I train, I’m willing to be flexible and change the agenda to meet your needs.
• Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are also relevant because there is more than one way to eat a Reeses, and there are multiple ways to search in netTrekker!
• Hershey Nuggets are perfect when I do short 1 hour trainings because I share “nuggets” of information about netTrekker.
• Hershey’s Miniature Packs help illustrate how users can refine their netTrekker search results with the Refinement Menus, just like they can refine this candy treat!
• Lifesavers are great to have in a pinch, just how netTrekker can be a lifesaver to a teacher in need of new teaching and learning material when struggling with a particular standard, (or just bored with old lessons!)

I recently did a training in Canton, NY with the St. Lawrence-Lewis BOCES, and explained why I bought the candy. They asked if I would write a blog post, to which I agreed, but only after they let me take a picture of Rod Hooper’s candy creation! Check it out above! Thanks Rod, and good luck with your Technology Camp this week.

If you’re at ISTE2010, stop by the booth and learn how you can Keep your Internet Searching Simple, Educational and Safe. I’m not sure if the Hershey Kisses made it there in this heat, but I can promise that there are some exiting announcements, great presentations, and wonderful people waiting for you at the netTrekker booth!

Tags: Candy, KISSES, Training

netTrekker Spotlight User: Linda Steward Shares Her Favorite netTrekker Tools and Features

netTrekker is excited to introduce this week’s Spotlight User. Linda Steward is a Standard Support Specialist at Knollwood Elementary in Rapid City, South Dakota. Linda shares how netTrekker’s personalized learning tools have been an asset to her and her students.

I use netTrekker everyday!  I like it because I can always find something that fits what I am looking for – whether for the students or as a teaching aide. Once I set up My Portfolio and add sites, finding and using them is a piece of cake.  I have found many sites that I use over and over by searching netTrekker!

The search result icons are fantastic – I always know just what the site offers. I’ve also used the Read Aloud feature more often and shared it with my students. This feature enables all kids to use the site, no matter their reading ability!

Tags: Spotlight User

Action Required: Reactivate Your Registration Keys!

netTrekker Admins will need to reactivate expiring Registration Keys for the new school year!

To protect the security of your netTrekker subscription, all Registration Keys expire after one year. However, you can easily reactivate yours!

netTrekker generated Registration Keys for the 09-10 school year expire July 29, 2010. Admin generated Registration Keys expire one year from the creation date. (All expiration dates are clearly visible in your Admin Tools.)

Click here for a step-by-step guide to reactivate your Registration Key.

Tags: registration key

Check Out What’s Happening at ISTE!

netTrekker will be featuring several workshops presented by educators as well as the netTrekker professionals to talk about how netTrekker can help you access the most relevant digital resources for engaging students in a learning experience that supports their unique needs. Workshops will help users explore netTrekker’s advanced features, hear best practices from other educators, get integration tips and strategies, and more.

See the full schedule at http://www.nettrekker.com/pages/iste-2010

Unable to attend ISTE? Be sure to check out netTrekker Village for workshop highlights, tips, strategies, and more! Find it all at www.nettrekkervillage.com

Be sure to check out all the NEW netTrekker Search features, available for back to school 2010!

Tags: conference, events, iste

Make the Connections with the Timeline

One of my favorite netTrekker features to play with is the Timeline Tool. I love to build a timeline and add layers to make it just what I want. In training, I often showcase this tool by selecting United States History and the WWII Timeline from the events section. This pulls up both the timeline for the United States and their activity in WWII, as well as famous Americans who lived during this time. Nothing shows up for the arts or innovations and discoveries – but so much happened in the arts or sciences during this time! To prove that point I simply add layers, beginning with American Literature. How were stories written during that time influenced by the war? Next I add music and see a famous musician, Duke Ellington. The next layer is Physics, where we discover beta-trons, fission, and atomic bombs. Was the push for the discovery of the atomic bomb influenced by the war? Did it have an impact on WWII?

You can take this beyond just WWII of course. Do your own layering! For instance, would the people of America been so enamored by Franklin D. Roosevelt had he not taken office during the time of the Great Depression and saved the banks? Did the events during his term influence America into a four term president instead of the traditional two term? How about George W. Bush? What would his presidency have been like without September 11th? Did his focus change, and did it influence Americans into another term of Bush Presidency? What about Obama? What is influencing his presidency and will Americans decide if he’s a two term or one term President? It’s not just the laws that are passed – it’s often an event and the response to that event that influences those decisions. Those events will also often inspire art, literature, scientific discovery or invention. Nothing happens in a bubble without touching something else.

It was pointed out that many standards require connections to historical events and people. Make those connections with netTrekker’s  Timeline tool!

Tags: Integration Ideas, netTrekker, Training

New Science Professional Development Resources from the NSTA Learning Center

Recently, President Barack Obama launched the “Educate to Innovate” campaign, a nationwide effort by public and private organizations to improve the participation and performance of America’s students in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).  What is your school or district doing to address this renewed focus on STEM education? Are you looking for ways to help your teachers expand their science knowledge and easily integrate STEM teaching into their classrooms?

To help you improve science education and to give your teachers the science professional development they need,  netTrekker has partnered with the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) to offer seamless access to high-quality online PD resources from the NSTA Learning Center on a wide variety of science topics directly from netTrekker.

A small sample of NSTA Learning Center resources will be freely available to all netTrekker subscribers as part of your netTrekker subscription.  The free resources include:

• 1 SciPack
• 1 SciGuide
• 64 Science Objects
• 132 Archived Web Seminars
• 600+ Free Journal Articles
• 179 e-book Chapters
• Click here to download a PDF with complete descriptions of these resources.
• Click here to learn how to access the free resources within netTrekker.

Schools and districts can also provide extended professional development opportunities by purchasing additional licenses to access to the complete set of more than 4,400 NSTA Learning Center online PD resources.  The resources will be easily accessible, 24/7 from your netTrekker search results.

Click here to learn more about the complete NSTA Learning Center professional development package or ask your netTrekker Account Manager for more details.

Tags: netTrekker, NSTA, NSTA Learning Center, professional development, science, STEM

netTrekker Spotlight User – Emilee Ackerman Shares How netTrekker Drives Success with Student Projects

netTrekker is excited to introduce this week’s Spotlight User. Emilee Ackerman is a 3rd grade Science and Social Studies teacher at PA Cyber Charter School in Beaver, Pennsylvania. Emilee shares how netTrekker has been effective in her 3rd grade virtual classroom.

netTrekker has become an essential component of my third grade Social Studies and Science virtual classroom.  I am able to utilize many resources found through netTrekker to engage my students in enriching cyber activities. netTrekker has proven time and time again to be a safe place for young students to research and explore on the internet.

When I introduced netTrekker to my students this school year they were ecstatic to have a safe resource for finding information.  I had multiple students come to class the day after the introduction of netTrekker with new facts about our science topic, which they had found on their own and were excited to share with their classmates.

As a result of netTrekker I was able to create a personalized learning project by assigning a Social Studies assignment.  Each student was instructed to find information regarding a given state in the United States of America and encouraged to use the safe, educational search engine; netTrekker.  Their grades were fantastic and I believe netTrekker was the main factor in their success.

Tags: Spotlight User