Monday, May 20, 2013

Preparing Your Computer For Aeries.Net

As we transition to Aeries.NET from Aeries.abi we are trying to anticipate some of the issues that will arise. One of the issues we’ve discovered is compatibility with internet browsers. Aeries has provided a list of operating systems that are compatible with the new Aeries.Net, seen at the bottom of this post. You can test out whether or not your computer will be able to access Aeries.Net without problems by trying out the demo site. Go to this blog post to find out how to do access this: http://blogs.lvusd.org/edtech/2013/04/24/aeries-net-demo/

Browsers also make a difference. Our department has discovered the best browsers by system as follows:

Mac users - Chrome or Safari
PC users - Firefox
With any system you will need to download Silverlight to use the Gradebook. [LOOK FOR THE ASTERIK NEXT TO THE OPERATING SYSTEM IN THE LIST BELOW]. There have been several problems with getting Silverlight to work. Here are the troubleshooting steps if once you’ve downloaded it and still can’t access the Gradebook.

  1. Shut down and restart your browser

  2. Shut down and restart your computer

  3. Put in a Helpdesk ticket here: http://whd.lvusd.org/


Friday, May 3, 2013

It’s Project Season – Find some Inspiration to Update Your Projects

In this blog post access my interdisciplinary end of the year project (U.S. History and English) lesson plan here and the tech tools I would use to update the project if I were in the classroom today. 

Nearing the end of the year students are ready to make the connections between concepts they’ve been learning all year, and across subjects. I teamed up with my grade level teachers to create interdisciplinary projects. Most of the students were ready to choose their own projects and partners, and I provided project selection oversight based on their needs. We created the project with student input and offered several choices in their mediums. I’m attaching the project directions my colleague and I created, which include objectives, options, rubrics, and daily progress monitoring checks. 

If I were in the classroom today I would allow my students to create an online project (which I would add to my instructional resources for the following year) using the following content creation tools:

For the Presentation Portion (Powerpoint is so old school):



Online:
Xtranormal – Turns your words into 3D animated movies.
Prezi – Non-slide platform that transforms presentations into stories or conversations.
 
Apps:
Video Scribe HD  A unique way to create engaging animated videos quickly. To see one that I created select the following link: http://youtu.be/fifWcNfFwyc
StoryKit - Create an electronic storybook.
Haiku Deck - a free presentation app for iPad, makes presentations simple, beautiful, and fun.
 

For the Visual/Poster:



Online:
Glogster - Interactive posters loaded with text, graphics, music, videos, and more.
Thinglink – Interactive photographs
Apps:
Phoster: Make your own poster.

For Review Games:



Study Stack - Create online flashcards and find flashcards for subjects already made.
Jeopardy Game – Online creation of this game
Who Wants to be a Millionaire  - Online creation of this game
 

For the Quiz Portion:


5 Online Quiz Generators

 

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Monday, April 29, 2013

Blabberize it!

Looking for a new way for students to showcase their biographies or a creative way to present their research? Blabberize.com is a great tool that will allow students to do just that.

This site allows students and/or teachers to upload a picture of one to multiple people or animals, record their voices, and create mouth movements to match the voice of the recording.  It's an engaging way for students to speak as if they are a historical figure or an endangered species...and so much more.

Check out this video tutorial on how to use this tool:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEtUu1r8Pe4

 

 

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Aeries.Net Demo

If you are interested in learning about the Gradebook in Aeries.NET try the demo site.

You can get to the demo by selecting the following link: http://demo.aeries.net/

Under “Aeries PORTALS” select either “Elementary School Teacher,” or “High School Teacher” then “Start.” A screenshot is shown below.

If you want the manual to learn about the different features, request one via email jpeyrot@lvusd.org.



Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Aeries Gradebook Tip

Have you ever received a phone call from a confused parent about the unwarranted “F” showing in the Parent Portal for a student that has transferred in or out of your class? This post will describe how to fix this student’s grade without having to manually change the grade of all the other assignments.

I will explain how to do this through Aeries.NET and Aeries ABI separately.

Aeries ABI:


Select “Gradebook” choose the class you want under “Choose Your Gradebook” then “Gradebook Maintenance” then “Manage Students.”

If a student has left the class, like Sargiz in the screenshot, then you would put the last assignment he/she completed under the “High Assgn” column.

If a student came to class after the semester, like Christopher, you would put the first assignment they completed under the “Low Assgn” column.

[click on the photo to see the full size]




 

Aeries.Net


Select “Gradebook” on the left, then choose your class by clicking on “Gradebook” in the middle of the screen, then select “Add/Edit” under Edit, then select “Manage Students.”

If a student has left the class, like Thais in the screenshot, then you would put the last assignment he/she completed under the “High Assgn” column.

If a student came to class after the semester, like Jason, you would put the first assignment they completed under the “Low Assgn” column.



 



 

 

 

Monday, April 22, 2013

Cyberbee: Copyright Laws for Kids!

Cyberbee is a fun, easy kid friendly website where kids can find the answers to their copyright questions.  Kids can choose commonly asked questions and get the answers to what they can and can not do.  It is a great place to introduce what copyright means to students and how they use it everyday.