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One of the most creative things I have done with technology this year, is to create slide shows using Pages to be used as an added dimension to speeches. Students can create a back drop of pictures, points, and ideas relating to their speech topic and control those slides as they present their speech. There are a plethora of slide movements and backgrounds to accommodate the subject being presented. I find that students are more focused on the main ideas of the speech when they organize their slide show to fit the presentation. Take a look at the slide show created by a student for last year's, Kennedy Middle School Stars On Stage! Start small, think BIG! [|Stars On Stage 2008.ppsApril 7, 2009I] think that the document camera is the best thing invented since sliced bread. I have used the camera

April 15, 2009 I am still learning, learning, learning. If only we didn't have to sleep!! I am having fun using Comic Life with students. I find that using Comic Life is great for content that I want kids to learn, but don't want them to just have to read and take notes. In this example, Comic Life is being used for students to research an Egyptian God or Goddess and have a format to express their learning. This lesson is a segue into the next lesson which is for students to create their own God or Goddess based on the Egyptian culture. Here is an example of a Comic Life page.

Yet another entry I think that the **document camera ** is the best thing invented since sliced bread. I have used the camera for all sorts of things, but my favorite is to use it to correct papers with the class. I often correct papers with the kids in order to check for understanding and reteach what needs to be taught. With the document camera, I can download the document I am working on and then use it interactively on the Smarttboard. This way, the page is easily displayed, I can write on it with lesson notes or reteachings, kids can come up and work on it, and I can save a copy when I am done for those students who might have missed the correction. Yahoo, lots of busy work taken care of in one fell swoop.

April 15, 2009 A great day for a merge with my brain and technology! Marilyn Williams is the bomb for assisting with programs, ideas, schedules...... Onomatopoeia.....Use Garage Band. Have students write a paragraph using at least ten onomatopoeia words. Have them practice reading it. Using garage band, have them record their writing, stopping after they speak a "sound" word. Continue on in this manner until the reading is finished. Stopping the recording in between is one way of creating breaks in the thread so you can later insert the sounds. Using the sound choices under the "eyeball", go to the effects section. Have students choose sounds that match the sound words they used in the writing. They can then insert the sounds into the text they have recorded. It's fun, and students really get the idea that words can be connected with sounds.