Starting the Technology Journey

Got Tech? (blog)

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Sharing has become even easier...

At some point in our educational lives, we have all enjoyed a great Math class (or suffered through one!)...

maybe English was your favourite subject?

We have created a document and are asking you to share what you think.

Please add a comment in the table about one or all of the subjects.

You may access this document at

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-qelY3b8FPjOqALAOXqolDA5QSl0S2blfZFSJvt6GGs/edit?hl=en_US&authkey=CPqa9oEO

Are you thinking, "I could do that with my class."?

We hope this may inspire you to start using Google Docs.

GOOGLE Docs is online sharing site that has improved upon an already excellent product.

Upload your files from your desktop: It's easy to get started and it's free!
Access anywhere: Edit and view your docs from any computer or smart phone.
Share your work: Real-time collaboration means work gets done more quickly.

Check out what is new, as of today, at http://www.google.com/google-d-s/whatsnew.html

Citation Builder - Easy Online MLA or APA Format Assistance

Click for source of image

Citing your work is very important. Citing your work properly is even more important. Thanks to my colleague Karen Kasic,  I found out about this great website that can assist students to cite properly in either MLA or APA format.

The site can be located at the following link:  OERB You must be logged in to the OERB for this link to work.  Instructions are below.   The OERB or Ontario Educational Resource Bank is available to Ministry of Ontario Students and Teachers.  The best way for WECDSB teachers is to access the OERB through the Staff Portal:

Thanks to Urs Bill from e-learning Ontario you can find the citation builder here:

The link to the Citation Builder in this blog will only work if you are already logged into the OERB, and have clicked on the "Search" icon.
You can also find the Citation Builder resource (along with over 20 000 other resources in the OERB) by searching for it, either by typing in "Citation Builder" or by searching for it by it's ELO number, which is ELO1198120

The site will give you the option of wether you would like the details about citing read to you or not.

Once the site demonstrates why you should cite materials and how you can build your own citations using MLA and APA for different media:

Students can easily fill out the online forms:

and then copy and paste the citation into their work.

Teachers have commented that one students use this resource a few times they eventually get the hang of it and just source their work on their own quicker.  This is great evidence that this tool can support students to source correctly but not become a crutch.

Please feel free to comment below on your experience with the Citation Builder!

Learn360 - Multimedia Educational Resources

OSAPAC has licensed the Learn360 video library for Ontario teachers to access.  The multimedia library is composed of  resources from TVO, Nelvana, PBS, National Geographic, Standard Deviants, Slim Goodbody, Sunburst Media, and others. Teachers and students have access thousands of educational videos, video clips, newsreels, audio and video files, and still images. All of the full-length videos and video clips are aligned to Provincial standards.  

HOW TO ACCESS LEARN 360


1)  Access the OERB (Ontario Educational Resource Bank) through the STAFF PORTAL.

2) Click on the OERB Icon and 
    then choose the Search Icon.















3) For this example search for "Combustion Engines"  


Next Choose LEARN 360 in the Data Base to Search line.










4) A list of resources that matched your search will appear.  Click on a video of your choice to view it.

Depending on how your computer is setup you may choose between Quick Time and Windows video formats









The video will appear in a browser player like the one below.  Full Screen, and volume options are available.

Each video has information tabs below it containing an 


overview, list of related segments, teacher resources,


provincial standards covered and citations.

Once in the system you can access the search menus on the left to continue your search for more videos.

Don't Have NOTEBOOK Software... that's ok!

Smart Notebook Express

Similar to Powerpoint Viewer, SMART Notebook Express allows you to view, and interact with, all of the Notebook files for the Smart Board, without having the software.


There are basically 3 options:

Open an Existing Notebook file
* it opens most files created in Notebook software and maintains all of the features! (links, interactive objects, and even Flash objects)
Create a New Notebook file
* many of the features are not currently available, but this is likely to improve
Download the Notebook Express software
* this will allow you to use the software without an Internet connection

Take a look at: http://express.smarttech.com/

Math Open Reference

Technology in the Mathematics Classroom.
http://www.mathopenref.com/index.html
The Mission of the Math Open Reference Project is simple:
A free interactive math textbook on the web.
Using interactive tools and compelling animations, Math Open Reference provides an engaging way to learn and explore mathematics. Teachers will have new ways to teach, and the students a new way to learn that is fun and engaging.

Topics include: Plane Geometry, Coordinate Geometry, Solid Geometry, Trigonometry, Several Tools (Function explorer), Scientific calculator, and much more!

Great Extra: Step - by - step instructions for more than 30 different constructions






The Quadratic Function explorer (one of hundreds of interactive applets)

Make a note. Or 500,000 of them.

"Evernote is my most important tool for accessing all of what I need everyday... anywhere."
Kelly Power - Consultant - WECDSB

Visit http://www.evernote.com/about/home.php and start saving now!

SUMMING IT UP - Mathematics Newsletter

April Newsletter,

Please access the latest version of Summing It Up, a newsletter that serves the mathematics community of the WECDSB.

https://sites.google.com/a/wecdsb.on.ca/math-matters/newsletters

Please feel free to navigate around the rest of the site for useful resources and ideas.