RJ Stangherlin

Keystone Technology Integrator and STAR Discovery Educator

This site is for Mrs. Stangherlin's classes at Salisbury High School.

Your Digital Dossier

I found this video via a tweet from Andy Carvin, watched it, and kept it open in one of my 30+ tabs on Firefox, with all good intentions to blog about the video.  Time, lately, has not been my BFF, and meanwhile, Steve Dembo posted the video, with a message worth repeating.  From his blog:

”Andy Carvin shared this video via tweet that does in incredible job of summing up what the New Permanent Record is, in a much more succinct way than I’ve ever managed to.

As you watch this video, consider what these students will look like when they enter your classroom. Honestly, will they care one whit whether you put their first and last name on the same page as their photo? Will their parents insist that you keep their identity private… or will they insist that you exhibit their learning publicly?

Is your school prepared for students that will have a larger digital portfolio before they enter kindergarten, than most of us educators have as adults?”

As an educator, I am mindful of my responsibility to teach--and model--responsible digital citizenship, so I have used Steve Dembo‘s New Permanent Record material extensively over the years. Although I will add the Digital Dossier video to the mix of things I use with students, I want you to know, Steve, that nothing surpasses the work you have done on this subject.

BTW, love the shiny new look of your blog!

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State of the Union?

Yesterday, President Obama delivered his State of the Union address. 

Although I did not see the entire address live, I watched it virtually afterward, and must say that I am impressed with the man and the message, although concerned about taxing the top 2 percent.  What I find interesting is how the remixed (and updated to 2008 data) Karl Fisch Did You Know impacts the state of the union.  I would be interested to hear what you think.  And if you want an easy visual to analyze all SOTU addresses, written or oral, for key words, click here.

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SOTU
President Obama
Wordle
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How To Upload Xtranormal Videos to YouTube from Heverly and Attilio

Link to SAT Video Contest

Courtesy of Megan Heverly, the following video will explain how to sync xtranormal with YouTube.

Sample SAT video courtesy of Megan Heverly.

Sample SAT video courtesy of Mark Attilio

Highlighting Student Voices: Keagan Collins

Why Computers Are the Most Important Invention

Of all technological advances in the past, the most important invention to benefit our world, so far, is the creation of the modern computer and its features. There has been no invention so far that has made communication as simple as the computer. E-mailing and other forms of computer-based communication have made contacting another person as simple as the click of a mouse.  Easy information gathering has had a huge effect on the way research is done. Computers make information gathering quick and painless, offering us thousands of sources from which to conduct our research. Finally, computer technology has had quite a large effect on the entertainment industry as well.  Computers have taken a step up from the basic entertainment technology to allow things such as videos and games, even music, to be accessible with ease. Although the computer was invented not long ago, it helped to make some central aspects of living faster and easier than ever before.

Faster communication is one of the major benefits of computers.  With important additions to the computer, such as e-mailing, communicating with someone thousands of miles away takes much less time than before.  Before computers, having a conversation with someone in another part of the country often required an expensive long distance phone call.  With a computer one can simply send an e-mail to a friend and wait for a reply, taking as little as five minutes.  Instant messaging is also an important feature to a computer that makes communication simple.  If someone wanted to have a conversation with a friend, it once required him to spend valuable money and time talking to that person on a telephone.  With instant messaging, one can hold a conversation with many different people at once while completing a separate task such as doing homework or eating dinner, which was much more difficult while talking on a telephone.  While communication may have seemed easy in the days of the telephone, the modern day features of the computer have made it easier than ever imagined and also allow us to communicate information.

A second benefit of present day computers would be information sharing.  Online encyclopedias as well as thousands of websites have added to the ease of researching. Finding sources for that ever so strenuous essay or project used to take hours upon hours of reading through books and spending time at the local library looking for anything that would be of benefit.  With a computer, researching is as simple as typing in exactly what you wanted to find on a search engine or online encyclopedia.  While not only adding to the speed at which information gathering is conducted, computers have also made it easier for use to document our findings.  Without the constant aching hands and having to erase the hard work put into writing a paper, simple programs allow one to type an essay or create a brochure much faster than having to do this by hand.  Documents can be saved and retrieved much easier as well using the computer’s memory.  The invention of the modern computer has shortened the time spent gathering and presenting information by drastic amounts, but has also effected ways to entertain ourselves while working.

Finally, modern computer technology has had massive effects on the entertainment industry.  In the past the options for digital entertainment were limited to television and simple, but enjoyable, video games.  With a modern computer these options are still available, but are much easier to access and much more complex.  Many websites exist that allow the sharing of videos as well as music.  Rather than spending twenty minutes driving out to the local video store, one could simply log in to one of these websites and search for the video that he wanted to see.  Video games have also benefited greatly from computers.  Simple video games were enjoyable before, but with new computer technology a person could play with millions of others in an online game or access a less complex game to pass the time.  Modern computer technology has widened the entertainment industry and has made it much easier to access and enjoy, having endless benefits.

The benefits of a modern day computer are endless.  A computer has many purposes and can be used to complete countless tasks.  Not only does it make so many things faster, it makes them much easier also.  While working without a computer is not such a terrible thing, the workload and stress level would almost always be far less if a computer was involved.  Important attributes, such as the internet and programs, are very beneficial and enhance reliability.  In the future, life is often predicted to be centered on computers and their technological advances.  It is interesting to try and imagine life ten or even twenty years from now in order to figure out where computer technology will take the world.  While making the completion of many tasks much easier, computers have been implicated so much into daily life, that I couldn’t imagine life without one.
Links for Paragraph #2

How Online Communication is Different

The Effects of Online Media with Politics

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Wikipedia

World Book Online

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Animoto

Youtube

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Brinson + Stehly + 16 SHS Students + Presidents’ Day Weekend = NAIMUN 2009

What am I missing this weekend?  A best friend and colleague and 16 wonderful students in Washington, DC, at NAIMUN, the largest model United Nations in the United States.  Nothing can replicate the real-world higher level thinking and speaking skills that this UN simulation creates for thousands of students, and our 16 are more than up for the challenge.  From emails between us, Jennifer Brinson tells me that the students have a chance at an award, although competition from other schools who have a Model UN year-long course in their curriculum makes winning a tremendous challenge against the odds. (But more about their experiences in another blog, student written and hosted on my two school blogs).

In the past few years, I have tagged along. Some say that Brinson was bringing her press corps with her, but she is equal to that task alone with the launching of her new blog, Education, Technology, and Fun. This year, for many reasons, I opted to remain behind.  Much good has come from that decision, including launching Katie Stehly as Brinson’s new helper.  And that makes much sense, since Stehly is a history teacher at Salisbury Middle School, and definitely technologically intelligent as a grown digital native (and Salisbury High School graduate).  But do I miss being in the moment--absolutely.  Am I happy with my decision--definitely.  There comes a time when you transition to a place between career and family, and I am finally attempting to do what I should have done a while ago: make family come first.
Jen Brinson
Katie Stehley
Salisbury High School
Model UN
NAIMUN
Education
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Highlighting Student Voices: Ally Habrukovich

Image via CrunchBase

The Door to the Information Highway

Throughout history there has been many technology advances, but by far the most important advance was the Internet. Without the Internet, we could not gather information in a matter of seconds. It has developed into the most advanced object in the world. So many aspects have been invented to further the development. When the communication through telephones fails, the Internet is there. What started out in 1946 has developed into a phenomena that has taken over the world and has helped out society by furthering education. Little did we know that it would soon be the number one go-to device. It has benefited society and has opened many doors to the information highway.

The Internet has millions upon millions of information seeping through every little crack. With all of the search engines and the websites that have been developed, we can find information in minutes, even seconds. Looking up one single topic now barely takes hassle. Before, you would have to look the topic up in an encyclopedia. Now, you can type the topic in on google and you have hits for every aspect of that topic. Developers have figured out ways to make it even faster and more effective. In the beginning, the internet connection was very slow and these days it takes nanoseconds to connect. Not only did they provide a faster way, but they’ve started a new way of communication.

The internet has connected people throughout the world. Things such as, AOL, MSN, and skype, have created a bond with people you never even imagined you would be communicating with. Granted, cell phones have been created and seem to be in everyone’s hands. Yet, the internet is there when the phones are not. It has opened so many passage ways to other country’s and their culture through a click of a mouse. Communicating with other countries only takes logging on now instead of writing letters and waiting for the postal service to send them. Who ever would have imagined that the internet could connect you to someone in China? Not only is the internet useful through communication, it furthers education and intellect.

Ally Habrukovich
Student Voices
education
technology
digital essays
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Brian Ernst’s Taking It To The Next Level

Brian Ernst, a senior at Salisbury Senior High School in Allentown, PA, is taking his dream to the next level.  At a signing party celebration yesterday in the library, family, friends, and staff met to congratulate Ernst on his scholarship to East Stroudsburg University to play ball.  A uniquely talented all-around person, Ernst will be a dual player as pitcher and fielder to ESU.  He will certainly get a work out, since ESUs baseball schedule puts 72 games inside of a three-month window.

His first-choice school, Ernst plans to major in business or sports management.  Either way he decides, it’s a great fit.  According to Ernst, “It’s exciting to be playing college baseball...it’s always been a dream to go to the next level.” And the next level it is for Brian Ernst.  We are so proud of him as he takes his dream to that next level.

Brian Ernst
East Stroudsburg University
Baseball
Scholarship
athletics
education
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xtranormal + BrainyFlix + YouTube = A Winning Combination from Megan Heverly

What a great Web 2.0 tool xtranormal is.  Not only is this site a learning and teaching solution for making learning fun, but it enables us to enter a video contest without the cameras we thought we needed.  A special thanks to the Discovery Educator Network‘s PETE&C PreConference event last Sunday, and in particular to Steve Dembo, for sharing his top ten ways to make digital storytelling FUN!

xtranormal
BrainyFlix
YouTube
SAT Vocabulary Contest
video
education
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Highlighting Student Voices: Liz Sherr

Image via Wikipedia

Click!  The Future Awaits

Without hesitation the most important technological invention to help society is the computer. With over a billion informational sites, knowledge is easily accessible. Because gaining knowledge is easily accessible more people will be willing to expand their education. Ultimately communication is increasing as well; such as communicating with others thousands of miles away in a matter of seconds is a benefit to society. Finally entertainment is in your reach with just the click of a mouse. Clicking to get exactly what you want is beneficial for the happiness of society. Even though the computer was created in 1936, every day technicians are advancing what we already know.

With over a billion informational sites, knowledge is easily accessible. Having this in mind, more people will take advantage of the ability to learn. If more are gaining knowledge you would think that people would make smarter choices and better decisions. Obtaining primary source information is more accessible as well. One could also find more secondary information from a variety of sources as well. Society would profit also because we are very lazy in general. Since this is true, people would have to look less for the same or more information. The knowledge aspect is simply one benefit of many, as well as communication.

Ultimately communication is increasing as well. One can talk to someone thousands of miles away with a simple email. Instant messaging is also very popular. Our society is very fast paced so talking to someone with a simple click is very pleasing. Many people also communicate through blogs; exchanging ideas this way can really alter ones views. This benefit is also good for society because one can talk to another in the war for the holidays; keeping in touch is a huge benefit. With the war in mind things are always changing and the government needs to be updated. Communications through the computer make this possible in a matter of seconds. Communicating is always beneficial, to every society, although entertainment is needed too.

Finally entertainment is in your reach with just the click of a mouse. One can watch a movie on the computer that just came out of the theaters. Get the latest music albums from the hottest artists. This would make trips to the store happen less because you can buy them from your home. The pollution you create then becomes less. Having so many ways to entertain yourself in your home keeps you out of trouble in the outside world. In addition to education, there are so many educational games to play. This in mind, you’re learning while having fun, valuable is an understatement now.

The improvements that technicians are coming up with are mind blowing. In a simplification lap tops are a huge advancement; battery packed charged computers a bit bigger then a piece of paper. In addition, there are so many variations of computers and operating systems such as the following: touch screen, Mac, Windows Vista and Xp. All of these are branching off the first computer in 1936. There is now a computer you place on a flat surface and you type on whatever the surface is; the surface is your screen. There are also mini computers that are the size of a pen, so you can carry them with you all the time. Cell phones are now computer compatible as well. GPS is basically a computer specifically for geography. With advancement in technology all around us, the computer is just one thing that will most definitely improve.

Highlighting Student Voices: Megan Heverly

Today’s Technology of the Future

The internet is the most beneficial technological achievement to society. This technology allows for an easier collection of information. Instead of taking time to go to a library and sift through useless information, you could just google your topic. The internet also allows the user to search a place before traveling, moving, or visiting. It allows you to check anything about the place including the weather forecast, lifestyles, gas prices and more. Finally, the internet allows instant communication. Instant communication is a great way to stay in touch with friends, get answers from teachers, and other people. Because it will allow complete internet based-learning available to all ages, the future will be greatly impacted by the internet.

The longer the internet is around the faster and greater it becomes. It’s hard to think that the internet has only been around for 50 years, it has expanded way more than anyone expected. Although we may have not been using the internet in the 1960s, it was still around. The speed of the internet allows for an easier collection of information.  Students of all ages can use online sources for research and projects, without having to go to their local libraries. Now we can view encyclopedias, dictionaries, journals and texts online.  The ease of the internet has completely changed the way students do their research.  The easy use of the internet has allowed people to search for reports and other information.

Since the internet allows a user to search, one can search for anything.  Many high school students use the internet to search for colleges. Here they can search by majors, location, college life, and activities or entertainment in the vicinity.  Looking for colleges can also tell you about college activities, on-campus housing and price.  Many people use internet sites to find where they want to go on vacation. The users can also book their flights, hotels and rental cars online.  Online searching can be helpful when moving. A family could search for houses online to compare prices and neighborhood.  This information can be important if you are looking for a house in a particular area, such as rural, suburb or urban.  The internet has valuable resources other than searching.

The internet has allowed for instant communication. Instant communication includes AIM, skype, facebook, myspace, twitter, edmodo and many others, including email. Instant communication has created social networking. Social networking allows students to talk to teachers, friends, or people from online. It also allows a user to ask questions to web hosts or ask questions through email. Instant communication has come into play for chat rooms. Almost all internet games that you sign up for have chat rooms. Game sites such as King, slingo, or shockwave allow you to communicate with other users from around the country, if not internationally. Social networking has made a major impact because it is easier than calling a friend to get the homework or notes from class. The internet has made a big impact on the world now, but it will still continue to affect our future.

The internet has made a big impact on the world so far.  It will continue to change our world. So far the internet has started to create online college courses.  Eventually college courses will be completely online.  The internet has also created cyber school. In the future students will not have to go to colleges to certain take tests, such as midterms or finals, because they will be able to take them online.  Today concerns about cheating on certain tests require the test be taken at a college. Public school will be changed forever.  Eventually all classes will be online.  All elementary students will be using the internet everyday instead of one a week. The internet will continue to change our lives for the better.