http://www.zacbrowser.com/

Notes:

Welcome to The Technology Teacher podcast, episode number 22.

I'm your host, Ron Kroetz, technology education teacher at El Cerrito Middle School in Corona, CA.

This week were looking at safe web browsing for kids and web browsing for autistic children.

Check out KidzCD and the Zac Browser for more info.

Music:

Intro song: Technocracy by Out of Tune   http://opsound.org/artist/outoftune/

Background song: Sky Solo by The Bradford Project   http://www.garageband.com/artist/BradfordProject

This week we're talking about NASA's Kepler mission that heads out in 2009 and celebrates the Year of Astronomy.  Specifically, the Kepler mission is searching for other Earth sized and smaller planets that reside in the habitable zone of other star systems.  In essence, we are looking for Earth 2.

NASA lists the following scientific objectives:

1. Determine the percentage of terrestrial and larger planets there are in or near the habitable zone of a wide variety of stars;
2. Determine the distribution of sizes and shapes of the orbits of these planets;
3. Estimate how many planets there are in multiple-star systems;
4. Determine the variety of orbit sizes and planet reflectivities, sizes, masses and densities of short-period giant planets;
5. Identify additional members of each discovered planetary system using other techniques; and
6. Determine the properties of those stars that harbor planetary systems.

 The interesting thing is that we are truly looking for habitable planets and, in turn, alien life.

A cool part of the mission is that you can put your name on a DVD that will be launched with the satellite.  Sign up and you can get a nice certificate that show your participation.

Music:

Intro song: Technocracy by Out of Tune   http://opsound.org/artist/outoftune/

Background song: Sky Solo by The Bradford Project   http://www.garageband.com/artist/BradfordProject

http://tryengineering.org 

 

Transcript:

Welcome to The Technology Teacher podcast, episode number 20.

I'm your host, Ron Kroetz, technology education teacher at El Cerrito Middle School in Corona, CA.

This week I'm sharing with you a project I use in my Technology Education classes.  IT's called Sail Away and involves the students building sail boats.  I got the original idea from a cool website called tryengineering.org.  The learning objectives are fairly simple in that I am teaching the basics of the engineering design process.  As many of youknow, the design process is a major standard in the Standards for Technological Literacy as published by the International Technology Education Association.

 Basically, I built a small tank in my room, measuring six inches high, 12 inches wide, and 32 feet long.  The students then have to design a boat that will fit in the tank and carry a one pound weight.  Check my blog, at techteacherlive.com, for links to the actual assignment, specifications, and pictures of several boats and the tank.

 This is a fun project that kids seem to enjoy as they get to build something with their hands and test it in class.  It encourages creative problem solving, which is a skill that I find lacking in many young people that come through my classroom.  If you go to my site and you like the project, feel free to use it or modify it in any way.  If you make modifications, let me know.  I'd love to see them.

Do you have a cool website or piece of software we should talk about?  Drop me an email at ron.techteacher@gmail.com and let me know.



Music:

Intro song: Technocracy by Out of Tune   http://opsound.org/artist/outoftune/

Background song: Sky Solo by The Bradford Project   http://www.garageband.com/artist/BradfordProject

I've also updated the website to include a blog.  I plan on giving regular updates andinformation regarding technology education and educational technology.  What do you think?

Do you have a cool website or piece of software we should talk about?  Drop me an email at ron.techteacher@gmail.com and let me know.

As always, you can check us out at tech teacher live dot com.

Music:

Intro song: Technocracy by Out of Tune   http://opsound.org/artist/outoftune/

Background song: Sky Solo by The Bradford Project   http://www.garageband.com/artist/BradfordProject

The contest is open to all U.S. students in grades 5-8.

Entries must be received by e-mail or postmarked by May 9, 2008."

For more information about the contest and how teachers can use it in the classroom, visit strategies dot org slash earth day photo or visit tech teacher live dot com.

After recording this episode, a listener emailed me with some disturbing information. Occasoinally, people are putting some pornographic images up in common rooms.   It still works well in private rooms.  MeBeam is still a good tool, however, it may not be the best choice for the classroom.   I'll keep an eye out for a better option and let you know as soon as I find one.  My apologies to all.

Links:

http://www.mebeam.com/

http://freetech4teachers.blogspot.com/

Transcript:

Welcome to The Technology Teacher podcast, episode number 14.

I'm your host, Ron Kroetz, technology education teacher at El Cerrito Middle School in Corona, CA.

I've got a great site for you this week.  It's called me beam dot com and what it does is allow you to create a video chat room and talk with up to 18 other people.

The great thing about this website is that it offers free video chatting with any one else in the world.  In a classroom environment, it could be used for students to collaborate with students from another class or school, students might be able to talk with a expert engineer about a specific topic, or talk to other students in the same classroom.

Basically, it's a video communication tool that can be used in any you you see fit.  I haven't even had a chance to see what it is fully capable of in my own classroom.  To see the latest capabilities, make sure you check out the me beam blog.  And as always, me beam dot com is free.

Do you have a cool website or piece of software we should talk about?  Drop me an email at ron.techteacher@gmail.com and let me know.

As always, you can check us out at tech teacher live dot com.

Music:

Intro song: Technocracy by Out of Tune   http://opsound.org/artist/outoftune/

Background song: Sky Solo by The Bradford Project   http://www.garageband.com/artist/BradfordProject

http://freetech4teachers.blogspot.com/

Transcript:

Welcome to The Technology Teacher podcast, episode number 13.

I'm your host, Ron Kroetz, technology education teacher at El Cerrito Middle School in Corona, CA.

This weeks episode, we're taking a look at Miro, a video player.  But I already have a video player, you say.  Not like this. 

Many of us have spent hours looking for a video player that will do it all.  I've tried media player, GOM, and severl others.  But Miro is pretty cool.

Miro is really a video download service that is perfect for educators.  Miro has many channels, like BBC net and The Onion News Network.  But, you can also access content from the National Geographic channel, Discovery channel, and the Science channel.  The cool thing is that you can download programs from these channels and save them on your computer to use in class.  You can also download video podcasts and view them full screen in class, and as you know, their are many great educational podcasts on the internet.

This program is a great source for video content that you can use and apply to education. 

BUt, it also plays virtually any file from your computer as well.  This player pretty much does it all.

Check it out at get miro dot com.  And as always, it's free.


Do you have a cool website or piece of software we should talk about?  Drop me an email at ron.techteacher@gmail.com and let me know.

As always, you can check us out at tech teacher live dot com.


Music:

Intro song: Technocracy by Out of Tune   http://opsound.org/artist/outoftune/

Background song: Sky Solo by The Bradford Project   http://www.garageband.com/artist/BradfordProject

Music:

Intro song: Technocracy by Out of Tune   http://opsound.org/artist/outoftune/

Background song: Sky Solo by The Bradford Project   http://www.garageband.com/artist/BradfordProject

Music:

Intro song: Technocracy by Out of Tune   http://opsound.org/artist/outoftune/

Background song: Sky Solo by The Bradford Project   http://www.garageband.com/artist/BradfordProject

Music:

Intro song: Technocracy by Out of Tune   http://opsound.org/artist/outoftune/

Background song: Sky Solo by The Bradford Project   http://www.garageband.com/artist/BradfordProject

Welcome to The Technology Teacher podcast, episode number 9.

I'm your host, Ron Kroetz, technology education teacher at El Cerrito Middle School in Corona, CA.

On this weeks episode, we're going to take a look at Try Engineering dot org.  This site is all about engineering and encouraging students to look at engineering careers.

Directly on the front page, they say, "This is a portal about engineering and engineering careers, and we hope it will help young people understand better what engineering means, and how an engineering career can be made part of their future."

While the site does have a large section dedicated towards students, it has many great resources for parents and educators as well.

For students, there are sections dedicated to finding an engineering university, learn about the basics of engineering, and talk to experts in the engineering field.

For teachers, there are lesson plans and tons of engineering resources that can help you in the classroom.

If you like simulation games, there is a great section that links to many different engineering style games such as bridge building or designing a greener house.

If you haven't seen Try Engineering dot org, go check it out.  It's a great site that kids love and is a great resource for any technology education teacher.

Well, that's it for this weeks show. 

Email me at ron.techteacher@gmail.com

Shownotes at techteacherlive.com

Enjoy your leap day and we'll see you next week.


Links:

Try Engineering Website: http://www.tryengineering.org/


Music:

Intro song: Technocracy by Out of Tune   http://opsound.org/artist/outoftune/

Background song: Sky Solo by The Bradford Project   http://www.garageband.com/artist/BradfordProject

Transcript:

Welcome to The Technology Teacher podcast, episode number 8.

I'm your host, Ron Kroetz, technology education teacher at El Cerrito Middle School in Corona, CA.

On this weeks show, we're going to talk about a great PBS show called Design Squad.

Design Squad is a great program that pits would be student engineers against each other in a competition to use their skills designing projects for real world clients.

The upcoming season begins April 2 on PBS.  You can find out when the show airs in your market by visiting the Design Squad website at pbskids dot org slash design squad.

The show reminds me of a Junkyard Wars episode, minus the junk yard and the projects have more meaning.  The show has three specific educational goals. 

Increase students' knowledge of engineering and the design process

Improve the public image of engineering

Encourage further exploration.

Welcome to The Technology Teacher podcast, episode number 7.

This week we're going to look at online storage for your files.

There are many options for online storage.
    Xdrive http://www.xdrive.com/
    Freedrive http://www.freedrive.com/

A cool option is dropio.  http://drop.io/

Great for educators so that students can submit work from home with out filling up your inbox.

Free.

It can integrate directly and seamlessly into your website.



Email me at ron.techteacher@gmail.com

Shownotes at techteacherlive.com

 Links:

General Information of bridge building:
http://www.garrettsbridges.com/
http://abcdpittsburgh.org/kids/kids.htm

Bridge Design Programs:
West Point Bridge Designer - http://bridgecontest.usma.edu/
http://www.jhu.edu/~virtlab/bridge/truss.htm

A Bridge Building WebQuest by Louis Tocco
http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/pbmiddle/bridges-tech/

Transcript:

 This week we're going to look at the classic technology education project, bridge building. 

Some of you may be saying, "Oh, great.  The most boring class project ever."  But, this week we're going to look at a few different variations that will challenge your students and just may challenge you in the process.

What is the bridge project?  Well, it's as simple as giving your students some materials, like Popsicle sticks, spagehtti, or straws, and having them build a bridge to span a gap of say 10 inches.  Then see how much weight the bridge can hold.

The learning aspect here is that it's a design project that directly relates to the Standards for Technological Literacy.  Specifically, standard 8.  "Students will develop an understanding of the attributes of design."  Their are several different benchmarks for this standard for the various grade levels.  That really is one of the nice things about this activity is that it can be adapted for every grade level as well as individual learning needs.

For middle school, I like to use benchmark G which states, "Requirements for design are made up of criteria and constraints."  I usually focus on this benchmark because middle school students are often trying to expand there boundaries and this activity reigns them in and requires them follow specific rules.

Back to the project, there are many different variations on this project.  Most of them vary by using different materials, quantities of materials, and the distance that is to be spanned.

In my classroom, I like to bring the computers into the picture.  So, I use a program called West Point Bridge Designer and as the name insinuates, it is a free program provided by the United States Military Academy at West Point.

The great thing about this program is that it's a great place to start teaching the students about engineering forces like compression and tension, plus the program requires the students to focus on the most important aspect in design today, MONEY.  I hold a yearly competition to see who can design a working bridge for the least amount of money.

Real life?  Goal of following the set of criteria.

How do you use this activity in your classroom?  Are you a student?

Email me at ron.techteacher@gmail.com

Shownotes at techteacher.podshow.com

ITEA Website:   www.iteaconnect.org

ITEA Email ListServs:  Hemispheres   Innovation Station

ITEA Facebook Group:  http://www.iteaconnect.org/Networking/professionalfacebookgroups.htm

Standards for Technological Literacy 

Email me at: ron.techteacher@gmail.com 

This is our first video episode. If your having problems viewing the episode, please email us at ron.techteacher@gmail.com

Resourses:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stick_figure

http://www.cutoutpro.com/

http://sektorz.com/TISFAT/

If you would like to find some more objects to use in your Pivot animations check out:

http://www.droidz.org/

The student animations were created by students at El Cerrito Middle School in Mr. Kroetz's Technology Education classes.

http://www.podshow.com/images/shows/16448/gallery/large/4963.jpg

Peter Bones home page with Pivot downlod: http://www.geocities.com/peter_bone_uk/pivot.html

You Tube video of stick figure karate: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdzHpr-QZhw 

Wikipedia page for Pivot Stick Figure Animator : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pivot_Stickfigure_Animator

Music from http://opsound.org/artist/outoftune/   "Technocracy" 

The specific song is called Technocracy. Thanks to Out of Tune for making music avaliable under the creaticve commons license.

Here's a cool link for podcast in education:

http://learninginhand.com/ipod/index.html