Janie Spahr January post

I think I am supposed to blog for January, so here it goes. Well, when we are in school, I try to do as much with technology as possible. I am still learning to use my SMART board, and my students are learning along with me. I am also in the process of learning to use my responders and MOBIs. There is just so much to do with so little time in which to do it.

The biggest task I am facing for second semester is teaching Web Page Publishing. I have never taught this before, so I will be reviewing as my students are learning! If anyone teaches this and has any good resources, please let me know if you are willing to share. I would greatly appreciate it. One of the best websites I have found so far is w3schools.com. It has HTML, Flash, and other tutorials I plan on using this semester. So, I have been doing these tutorials as a refresher, and I am actually liking it this time around.

I am continuing to help our teachers and students with KeyTrain in preparation for the upcoming Work Keys test. I feel these tutorials can also help with WesTest, ACT, SAT, Writing Assessment, and other standardized tests. They are very well designed.

I am in the process of getting CS5 installed on the computers in my lab. I am anxious to see how it compares to CS4 and CS2. If any of you have any insight into CS5, could you please share it with me also. I'm looking for online tutorials for this, too.

I did have lots of snow day time to read my book and work on this online course. I have also put alot of time into planning for my Web Page Publishing class. Hopefully, I will have more days in February to continue working with my CTE teachers and technology. One thing I know I will be doing, as I have been, is helping them create their WEB Top accounts in accordance with Dr. D'Antoni's request for all CTE teachers to have one.

There are some upcoming webinars in which our CTE department will be participating in using my computer lab. I will be responsible for setting up these webinars. It really is a good way to share information when the technology is working properly.

We still are contending with all the blocked websites. I don't know how to fight this battle. If any of you have any ideas, please let me know. Thanks!