netTrekker Blog

ISTE Winner – Roderick Hames, Gwinnett County Public Schools

At the ISTE 2010 conference in Denver a couple of weeks ago, there was a lot of excitement in the netTrekker booth.  Booth visitors got  sneak peak at the exciting changes coming to netTrekker for back-to-school. We had a full line-up of great customers presenters sharing their own best practices for using netTrekker in their classrooms.  And we had over 125 educators participate in our Explore a New World of Personalized Learning passport game.  The game required educators to learn about the new enhancements coming to netTrekker, find out how netTrekker helps personalize learning, and attend one of the many customer-presented workshops.

The lucky winner of the passport game was Roderick Hames, Business Education Instructor at Crews Middle School in Gwinnett County Public Schools, in the metro-Atlanta area.  Roderick won the grand prize of a brand new Apple iPad and a one year netTrekker subscription for his school.  We asked Roderick to share a little bit about himself, and it sounds like the netTrekker subscription and the iPad will fit perfectly into what he’s already doing to engage students with technology in his classroom.  He shares some great examples below of how he’s made the print-to-digital transition with digital content and project-based learning activities. Thanks to all who stopped by to see us at ISTE, and congratulations, Roderick!

About Our Winner

My name is Roderick Hames and for the past 19 years I have taught computer applications, keyboarding, programming, entrepreneurship, and web design using both Mac and IBM to middle school students.  I hold an Ed.S degree in Business Education from the University of West Georgia. In addition to my teaching assignments, I also serve as Program Specialist which is a leadership position at the county level to help facilitate staff development and other needs for a group of 25 other middle school computer teachers. 

My website: http://www.crews.org/curriculum/ex/compsci/ is widely regarded as a hub of resources for not only my own students but teachers around the country as innovative and engaging relevant lessons.  I also work after school coaching an intramural sports program.  I have presented at numerous national, regional, state, and local conferences.  This was my third time presenting at ISTE (formerly NECC).

I do not use any text books, my entire curriculum can be found online.  My activities are project based and student centered.  I work my units around a theme for each grade level.  For 6th grade it is city planning and urban development.  For 7th grade students learn about leadership character qualities and for 8th grade students focus on financial literacy and entrepreneurship. I work hard to create my lessons as realistic and engaging as possible.  I also strive to make harder lessons video based so student can learn at their own pace. My passion is to see kids who can successfully use technology as a tool to accomplish a project that would otherwise lack creativity and skill. Since one of my passions is seeing young adults prosper and reach their full potential, using technology is a great tool to bring out hidden talents in children.  I love to see kids who problem solve and can express themselves in creative professional ways using technology.

I am excited about winning the subscription to netTrekker and an Apple iPad.  I fully expect to see kids who would have struggled presenting in class fight to use the iPad to present.

Tags: ISTE2010, NECC, netTrekker, print to digital, Project Based Learning

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

Explore a New World of Personalized Learning at ISTE 2010

Are you heading to Denver for the ISTE conference June 27^th – 30^th?  If so, we know that your time there will be jam-packed with workshops and time spent in the exhibit hall exploring all the latest and greatest in educational technology.  We hope you’ll take some time to visit the netTrekker booth #884 to explore new ways that netTrekker can help you personalize learning for your students.

A few of our ISTE highlights include:

• An exploration game that will help you learn more about netTrekker and give you a chance to win an Apple iPad!

• Sneak previews of the new enhancements coming in netTrekker Search for Back-to-School 2010!  Learn how the new enhancements support an even more personalized, productive, and engaging learning experience.

• A full schedule of  workshops presented by netTrekker subscribers that let you explore netTrekker’s advanced features, hear best practices, get integration tips and strategies, and more.

• Demos of the new NSTA Learning Center online science professional development content available in netTrekker.

• Visit our ISTE page for more details and check out our full workshop schedule.

If you’re unable to attend ISTE this year, stay tuned in netTrekker Village for some post-conference highlights.

We’re looking forward to seeing you in Denver at the netTrekker booth #884!

What are you looking forward to most at this year’s ISTE conference?

Tags: integration, Integration Ideas, ISTE2010, netTrekker, netTrekker Village, professional development

iCan Create an iCon

I splurged yesterday and took the day off to spend with my son and a friend of his at SeaWorld. I let the kids play for a bit in the Happy Harbour, letting the kids get wet and run off their extra energy. While there, I met another teacher from Georgia and we started talking about netTrekker. It happened innocently enough. Her child asked a question about whales, she didn’t know the answer, and I said, “Hey, I can help you look it up.” So there we were, with kids running around splashing and screaming all around us, looking up information about whales on netTrekker using the iPhone and eventually her Droid. (Yep, netTrekker works on the Droid as well!)

I mentioned in another post that I have netTrekker as a shortcut on my home screen on my iPhone, and I was asked how to do that.  I made a quick set of instructions, including screen shots of how to do this on the iPhone and turned it into an animation. Did you know that you can take a screen shot of your iPhone by holding the sleep button on top and the round home button on the front, bottom of the screen and then let go. It’s pretty easy to do, and great for making tutorials.

To create the animation, I used an online program called Imator. Pretty easy to use for beginners like myself.  Does someone want to create one for the Droid?

I hope the teacher submits a video entry for the ISTE 2010 scholarship.  I told her she could use the example of her son wanting to learn more about whales at SeaWorld.  She seemed pretty excited when I left her filming her video with his flip camera and him on the Droid explaining how he uses netTrekker at school and now on vacation.

Have you submitted your video yet for the ISTE 2010 Scholarship? Deadline is April 16, and ISTE2010 promises to be fantastic, with plenty of opportunities to learn, connect with your PLN and explore the excellence of technology in education!

Tags: Droid, iPhone, ISTE2010, netTrekker, scholarship