May 2013 Volume 3, Issue 5

hosted by

Newsletter

Special Interest Articles

• SummerOnlineTrainingCourses

Individual Highlights

• Projeqt• GamestarMechanic• Vialogues• Popplet• ComicMaster• InanimateAlice• Trackyourfamily’swater

usage• VirtualLemonade• WorldwideTelescope• ProfessionalOportunities

PRISM Summer Online Training CoursesThePRISMteamwillbeofferingsixfree,onlinetrainingcoursesthissummer.WeofferProfessionalGrowthPlan(PGP)pointsforeachcourse.

BasicMoodleforTeachers(10PGPPoints)–AbasicintroductiontoMoodle2.5.Youwilllearnhowtobuildaclassroomcourseandpopulateitwithfiles,assignmentsandquizzes.

Session1:June04–July02Session2:July09–August06

IntermediateMoodleforTeachers(10PGPPoints)–AcontinuationfromtheBasicMoodleforTeacherscourse.YouwilllearnhowtousesomeofthemoreadvancedfeaturesinMoodle2.5.

Session1:June06–July04Session2:July11–August08

CreatingLessonPlansonPRISM(4PGPPoints)-LearnhowtouseanotherfeatureofPRISM.YouwilllearnhowtomakedigitallessonplansthatcanbeembeddedintoaMoodlecoursemakingiteasytosupplementyourcoursematerialwiththeexpandingresourcesoftheInternet.

Session1:June05–June26Session2:July10–July31

Contactusyouhaveanyquestionsorwouldlikemoredetailsaboutthecourses.Allofthecoursesarecompletedonlineatyour-own-pace.

Ifyouwouldliketoregisterforacourse, VisitthePRISMwebsite(www.rose-prism.org) Login,andclickthe‘EventRegistration’link. Usethedrop-downmenutoselecttheappropriatecourseandclickthe ‘RegistrationForm’button.

Youwillseeacompletedescriptionofthecoursefollowedbyanonlineregistrationform.Tosignupfortheevent,simplyenteryourinformationandsubmit.Youshouldreceiveaconfirmationemail.Ifyoudonotreceiveaconfirmationemail,pleasecon-tactus.Ifyouknowsomeonewhomaybeinterestedinthecourses,feelfreetopassthisnewsletteralongtothem.

PRISM News Page 2

Projeqt

Gamestar Mechanic

Vialogues

WithProjeqt,yourpresentationsneverremainstatic.Grabyourolddustypresen-tations,orcreateonefromscratchwithouruser-friendlydashboard,andletyourstoriesfree.Bypullinglivetweetsorblogfeeds,insertinganinteractivemap,add-ingaudionotesorsimplystreamingvid-eosthatyou’vefoundontheweb-theycanallliveinreal-timeandbesharedforeveryonetosee.Letyourpresentationsbeasdynamicasyouare.Projeqtisdevice-agnosticandworksonanymodern-daybrowser.Whatthismeansisthatyoucanstartviewingyourpresentationonalaptopordesktop,take

ittoamobilephoneandfinishitonatablet.Haveafewpresentationsthatcoulduseabitoflife?WithProjeqtyoucaneasilyup-loadandconvertaPowerPoint,PDFdocu-mentorbatchuploadmanyimagefilesatoncetocreateaProjeqtinminutes.Addsomedynamicslidesinbetweenandyou’regoodtogo.What’sthepointofmakingaslickpre-sentationifpeoplecan’tseeorshareit?Projeqtofferstwoconvenientsizestohelpmakeyourstoriesportable.

GamestarMechanicisagameandcommunitydesignedtoteachkidstheprinciplesofgamedesignandsystemsthinkinginahighlyengagingenviron-ment.Itisdesignedfor7-to14-year-oldsbutisopentoeveryone.We’veincludedfeaturesinGamestarthatmakeitusefulforkidsplayingthegameontheirownorwithfamilymem-

bersathome,aswellasinmoderatedandeduca-tionalsettings.GamestarMechanicin-cludesaself-pacedlearn-ingexperiencethatusesgame-based“Quests”tohelpyouthlearnhowtodesigngameswhiletheybuildcritical21stcenturyskills.EachQuestcontainsmissionsthatchallengeyoutoplay,modifyanddesigngamestohelpyou

levelupfromplayertodesigner.Asyoucompletethesemissions,youearnitemsthatyoucanusetomakeyourowngames.

RegisteringanaccountatGamestarMechanicisfreeandincludesaccesstoyourfirstgamedesignQuest,theabilitytomakeandpublishyourowngames,andaccesstotheGamestarMechaniccom-munity.

Vialogues(whichderivesfrom“videodialogues”)isanaward-winningdiscussionplatformthatprovesvideosarebothpowerfulteachingresourcesandtheultimateconversationstarters.Vialoguesprovidesaspaceforuserstoholdmeaningfulanddynamictime-stampeddiscussionsaboutvideos.Togetstarted,uploadavideo,grabonefromYouTube,orchooseonefromthegrow-ingcollectiononoursite.Onceyou’vecreatedavialogue,youcanencouragethought-fulconversationsbyposingquestions,addingpolls,andreplyingtocomments.Youcanevenembedavialogueintoyourwebsite,LMS,orblog!Concernedaboutprivacyissues?Noneedtobe!Youcanmakeyourvialoguespublicorprivate.Weencourageyoutojumpintoandcreateasmanyvideoconversationsasyoucanhandleandalsotoleaveusyourfeedback.Vialoguesisasmuchyoursasitisoursandwewanttohearfromyou.

http://www.projeqt.com

http://gamestarmechanic.com

https://vialogues.com

PRISM News Page 3

Popplet

Comic Master

Inanimate Alice

Poppletdeliversaninteractivewaytocreateconceptmaps,mindmaps,andoptionstobrainstormorstoryboardrightalongwithpeers.The“popplets”canbeconstructed,moved,colorcoded,typedin,drawnin,andhaveimagesorvideosinserted.Poppletisaniceadditiontotheteachertoolboxthatcanmeetavarietyofneeds,includingconceptmapping,col-laboration,andevenpresentingcontent.TIP:Havestudentsmakeagenrepre-sentationbytakingaseriesofbooksandworkingcollaborativelytomakevariousconnectionstobooktrailers,images,andmore.

LanniLuceWestsharesherEnglishlessonplansinwhichstudentsusedPopplettodocumenttheirunderstandingofstorycharactersandusedadjectivestode-scribethecharacterstheyweregettingtoknowinthebook.

“Needlesstosay,thestudentshadablast!Theyquicklylearnedhowtomanip-ulatethepopples,changecolor,addtext,draw,andarrangetheirthinkinginanorderlyfashion.Allthewhile,theywerelearningandbeingaskedtodosomedeeperlearning.Theydidn’tcomplainonce.Infact,anumberofstudentscom-mentedhowmuchfuntheywerehaving.“

Comicmasterisafree,easytousetoolforcreat-ingshortgraphicnovels.Whilethebackgroundsandcharactersaresome-whatlimited,it’spossibletomakeandprintcomicsatthissitewithoutcreat-inganaccount.Thesitealsohasaneducationalresourcespagewithlesson

plansandideasforusingcomicsintheclassroom.Tip:Havestudentscreateorwritegraphicnovelstoshareamongsttheirpeersinthelibrary.ComicMasterusesanin-teractiveWeb2.0toolthatallowsstudentstoeasilycreatetheirowncomicbooks/graphicnovels.

ComicMasterdoesmakeyousignuptosaveacomic,however,studentsdonothavetoactivatetheiraccountsotheywillnothavetochecktheiremailatschool.ThetoolisofferedbytheReadingforLifeOrganization

Createdasareading-from-the-screenexperienceforthedigitalgeneration,InanimateAlicestandsalongsidethebestnovelsforpre-teenandemergingteenreaders.Itre-quiresthereadertodrivetheactionforwardattheirownpaceandencouragesread-erstoco-createtheirownversionsofthestory,eitherfillinginthegapsordevelopingnewstrands.

Designedoriginallyasentertainment,InanimateAlicehasbeenadoptedbyteacherseagertodeveloptheirstudents’digitalliteracyskills.Createdaroundahigh-qualityrobusttext,thestoryprovidestheidealcontextforteachingglobalcitizenshipandforlearningacrossthecurriculum.InanimateAliceisTransmedia-designedasastorythatunfoldsovertimeandonmul-tipleplatforms,theepisodesareavailableondevicescapableofrunningFlashPlayer.Aliceconnectstechnologies,languages,cultures,generationsandcurriculawithinasweepingnarrativeaccessiblebyall.

AsAlice’sjourneyprogresses,newstorylinesappearelsewhereprovidingmoredetailsandinsights,enrichingthetalethroughsurprisingdevelopments.

http://popplet.com

http://www.comicmaster.org.uk

http://www.inanimatealice.com

PRISM News Page 4

Track your family’s water usage

Profits from selling virtual lemonade

Microsoft WorldWide Telescope

Someofustakewater,abasicnecessityforsustaininghumanlife,forgranted.Weuseitwithoutthinkingaboutit.Whatdoyouandyourfamilydothatuseswater?

Howmuchwaterdoeseachoftheseactivitiestypicallyrequire?Forexample,howmuchwaterdoesafive-minuteshoweruse?Howmuchwaterdoesittaketohand-washdishes?Ortorunadishwasher?

AccordingtotheU.S.EnvironmentalPro-tectionAgency,anaveragefive-minuteshowertakes15–25gallonsofwater.Handwashingdishesuses12–20gallons

ofwater.Anautomaticdishwasherloaduses9–12gallons.TheaverageU.S.homeusesmorethan100,000gallonsofwater(insideandout-side)peryear(U.S.EnvironmentalProtec-tionAgency).Theaveragepersonuses100gallonsofwaterperday.Estimateandwritedownhowmuchwateryouthinkyourfamilyusesonahot,sunnySaturdaywheneveryoneisathome.

Inthisactivity,youwillfollowaseriesofstepstodeterminehowmuchwateryourfamilyuses,recordyourfindingsinanOfficeExcel2007spreadsheet,andthenwriteareportanalyzingyourfindings.

Whenyourunyourownbusiness,youhavetomakealotofimportantdecisionsbasedonmath.Youhavetocalculatehowmanysuppliestobuy,analyzethedatayoucol-lectfromyoursalesfigureseveryday,andmakedecisionsaboutthefuturebasedontheconclusionsyoudrawfromyourinfor-mation.

Inthisactivity,youwilleachsetupandrunyourownbusiness—alemon-adestand.Youwillmakeallthebusinessdecisionsaboutmaterials,costs,andhowtomakethelemonade.Youwillrunthelemonadestand,recordyourdata,andthenana-lyzehowmuchmoneyyoumadeorlost.

Rememberthatevenifthelemonadeyouselltastesreallygood,youmaynotalwayssellalot.Sometimestheweatheraffectshowmuchlemon-adepeoplepurchase.Youwillgettoseeaweatherforecast,butrememberthatweatherforecastsarenotalwaysaccurate.

GeographyincludesanydescriptionoftheEarth,includingnotonlyitslandandthefeaturesofthatland,butalsoitsinhabitants,climate,andallnaturalandhistoricaleventsthatoccuronEarth.Topography,instead,focusesonstudyingandmappingthesurfaceshapeandfeaturesofplaces,suchashowmuchwaterandlandcoversthesurfaceofaplanet,whatkindoflanditis,whethertherearemountains,andsoon.Hasanyoneseenatopographicmap?Thesemapsshowthefeaturesofthesurface,suchastheelevationofmountains.WearegoingonavirtualtourofthetopographyfirstofEarthandthenofMarsusingtheWorldWideTelescope(WWT),virtualizationsoftwarethatcombinesmanykindsofscientificdatatogiveyouaninteractive,threedimensionalviewofouruniverse.Aswetour,listenfortheinformationaskedforontheStudentHandoutandfillitin.Oncewehavefinishedourtourtogether,youwillhaveanopportunitytousetheWWTtoexploreonetopographicalfeatureofEarthandoneofMarsbyyourself,comparethem,andpresentyourfindings.

http://www.microsoft.com/educa-tion/en-us/teachers/plans/Pages/

water_usage.aspx

http://www.microsoft.com/educa-tion/en-us/teachers/plans/Pages/

calculating_profits.aspx

http://www.microsoft.com/educa-tion/en-us/teachers/plans/Pages/

earth-and-mars.aspx

PRISM News Page 5

Professional Opportunities

What PRISM Can Do For You!

2013 PBL Institute Registration is now OpenThe2013PBLInstitutewillfeaturefourdaysofin-depthsessionstohelpeducators: •Workone-on-onewithcontentareaspecialists •LearnfromtravelingfacilitatorswhoareexpertsonPBLimplementation •ParticipateinadvancedlevelsofPBL •Earn“badges”reflectingPBLexpertise •Learnhowtodesign,manage,andassessstandards-focusedprojects •EngageinbestpracticestosupportsustainableimplementationofPBL •Develop,exhibit,andreceiveindividualfeedbackonaPBLunittobeusedintheattendee’sclassroom. •Exchangeideasthroughthefinalprojectexhibition •NetworkwithotherPBLeducatorsfromIndianaandbeyond •LearnabouttheIndianaPBLCertificationprogramsponsoredbytheIndianaCollaborativeforPBL

RegistrationWindows&Fees:January15–May10.............$260perpersonMay11–June14..................$360perpersonJune15–June27.................$400perperson

RegisteratPBLinstitute.com

Schoolteamsoffiveormorepeoplequalifyfora20%discountbetweenJanuary15andMay10.Ateamisdefinedasfiveormoreindividualsfromthesameschool,schoolcorporation,ororganizationwhoarepayingfromonecreditcard,purchaseorder,orcheck.AllPBLbookordersforregistrantsmustbereceivedbyJune1,2013.AttendeeswhohavenotorderedabookbyJune1,2013,mayorderonedirectlyfromBIE.org.

• Easilyfindtheperfectteachingandlearningresourcesfromourlibraryofover4,000.

• Savealistofyourfavoriteresourcesforquickretrieval.

• Createandsharelessonplansthatteachyoursubjectsutilizingyourfavoriteresources.

• Developonlineclassroomswithinteractiveassignments,lessons,quizzesandmore!

• Storeyourclassroommaterialsonlinesothattheyareavailabletoyoufromanycomputer.

• Reachyourstudentsmoreeffectivelybyusingwebmediaforthedigitalage.

• EarnPGPpointsbycompletingPRISMledonlineMoodlecourse–eitherBeginningMoodleorIntermediateMoodlecoursesareavailabletoyouatnocostseveraltimesthroughouttheyear.

• Selectfromfreelearningresourcesthatemphasizevisualization,richcontext,staged-problemsolving,andelectronicallyenabledcollaboration/communication.

• Augmentyourowndynamicpresenceintheclassroomwithteachingtoolsthatmirrortheskillsneededforsuccessinhighereducationandthe21stCenturyworkplace.

Through our strong support from the Lilly Endowment

and others, we are constant-ly growing and improving. Check our site regularly to

see what new resources you can use in your classroom.

www.rose-prism.org

www.rose-prism.org

PRISM is a freewebsite that provides collections of online resources for Indiana educators in thefieldsofscience,technology,engineering,andmathematics(STEM).TheprimarycollectionofdigitalteachingmaterialsisindexedaccordingtotheIndianaAcademicStandardsfor6th,7th,and8thgradeandsecondaryeducationcourses.