Summer Technology Job...What I learned about extending the life of my computer.

Well, the summer is flying by.  I have been coming in to school several days a week after my second job as our district's summer technology help. (I never thought I would be installing hard drives and re-imaging computers!)  But I have learned a lot from the job and I am absolutely loving getting the chance to work with our financial secretary...she's working to in technology too!  Love you Donelle!!!

As a teacher, I am not always as up-to-date on new technology as I should be.  I am trying to change that.  This summer I have learned a lot from our district's technology guru, and I thought I would share a few tid-bits that I learned that I thought some of you less tech-savvy teachers might also want to know.

1.  Shut down your classroom computer every night...unless your tech guru tells you not to.
I know, I know...it makes everything run slower in the morning and if your computer is as old as mine it takes forever to start up in the morning, but it is better in the long run for you.  Depending on your operating system, your computer will probably install updates upon shutting down.  This will make your computer run faster in the long run because you will have the latest and greatest that your software company has written.  Shutting down your computer clears out your RAM.  To understand the importance of this you have to understand what your RAM is...Random Access Memory...basically it's a short term storage area that your computer uses to hold information that allows you to access small parts of what is on your hard drive. (I never knew what it was...I always thought I worked directly from the hard drive.)  Your computer makes what is called a swap file of the information/program you are using on the hard drive.  This information is then sent to your RAM to be used.  This action allows your computer to access the information quickly, rather than having to go back to the hard drive to retrieve it.  The problem is, if your don't shut down your computer periodically your RAM will be full.  Once your RAM is full, it will have to start working from the swap files, pulling them off the hard drive...this will cause delay and make your computer seem much slower.  Your computer will seem slower in the morning because it will be the first time everything is being accessed for the day, but that is only because the swap files are being made. Each program will only be slow the first time you open it...after that it will open/run much faster.

2.  Clean our your computer regularly!
Working this summer I actually saw a dust bunny inside a computer the size of a golf ball...no joke...a golf ball.  Once of the simplest things you can do to help yourself...and your tech guru...is to regularly clean out your computer, BUT you have to know how to do it properly!  Do not use a vacuum to clean the inside of your machine.  You can use it to get the stuff on the outside of your machine, but do not use it inside. Ask your tech guru for advice on what they prefer you to use...a technology blower (a vacuum that can be reversed) or canned air.  First, shut down your computer and unplug the power cord.  We don't want any juice going while we work.  Second, press down on your computers power button for 12 seconds.  This dispels any stored power in your machine and can reduce the likelihood of static electricity which can fry your machine.  Third, start by using your tech's preferred method clean the outside vents on your computer.  Your processor creates a lot of heat and needs a lot of air flow to keep from burning itself out.  We want to clean the vents on the front and the back of your machine.  Fourth, remove the outer case panel to allow access to the inside of your computer.  Only do this step if your are knowledgeable enough to keep from frying your computer by accident. If you don't know how to do this, or are nervous about opening your machine...call your tech guru.  From what I have experienced, they are always willing to teach you how to take better care of your machine so they don't have to fix/replace it as often.  Blow out all the dust bunnies (hopefully yours are smaller than a golf ball).  Do not touch any of the components inside unless your are comfortable with what you can touch and what you can't. Fifth, reassemble your computer and attach it to the power cable.  Allow all the dust to dissipate in the area where your computer is stored before starting it back up, or you will just be sucking all that dust right back in.

3.  Back up your files, but do not work directly from your storage device...work from the hard drive.
I'm not sure of the mechanics behind why this is important, but what I did understand is that this can cause you to have problems with your file, making your file unusable at the worst and erratic at best.  I actually experienced this myself.  I have a 50 gig external hard drive for storing my documents on over the summer (our district erases our machine's hard drive every summer and you will lose your files if you don't back them up, and I have a lot of Smart Notebook files that take up a lot of space that I don't want to lose).  Well, I decided it would be easier to keep the files on the external drive rather than moving over to my machine's hard drive each year.  Bad idea!  After awhile, I noticed that I would open my morning meeting Notebook file and all the graphics would be gone. (The first time this happened I freaked out!)  But being the sane person I try to be, I thought...If I close it and don't save any changes maybe it will go back to normal.  I tried it and it worked!  I was so happy.  As the year went on though, I found that I was losing my graphics more and more...they always came back, but I wondered if there would ever be a time they didn't come back.  I talked to my tech guru this summer and he said it was because I was working from my external drive instead of my hard drive...remember what I told you earlier about swap files and RAM?  Well, it had something to do with that, but since I'm still learning tech language, a lot of it went over my head.  What I took away from it was this...large files, or files I use often should be transferred to my machine's hard drive and opened and used from there.

 

Easter is here!

We have been working hard here in first grade.  This week we found a great way to re-use toilet paper tubes.  We have been celebrating Music in Our Schools Month and we decided to make musical instruments.  We made kazoos by punching a hole in the side of the tube and rubber banding parchment paper around the end tightly.  Man, did it get loud in here.  I will post a pic of the finished product soon.

Meanwhile, I am posting another freebie fluency poem.  I think that fluency and recitation in first grade is so important.  Every day we practice saying the same poem all week long. I usually try to find one that is funny or that follows along with our current phonics rule.  But, when all else fails, I write my own.  This little one was drafted to go along with the math and writing activities we will be doing with our chocolate bunnies.  We will be graphing our favorite first bite of a bunny and using the data to help us practice relating addition and subtraction facts.  We will also be writing directions for the best way to eat a chocolate rabbit...I say the ears first.  If you would like a copy you can pick on up here at my TPT store.

If you enjoy your download, leave me a note and let me know!

Time for Spring!

We have been working hard here at our house.  My son's have all started their various after school activities, so I have not been posting for awhile.  Now I am just trying to catch my breath and keep up with my 22 Fabulous First Graders.  We have been doing all sorts of things.  We are just finishing up our unit on time, so I posted some new items in my TPT store.  But I wanted to offer you guys a freebie.  Here is a link to my Telling Time Vocabulary Cards for free!

I think they are cute and my kids loved playing the time matching game that goes along with them.  That is also available for download at my TPT store...right here.

We are gearing up to go to the zoo this coming week, and then of course Spring Break!  I hope to give you all some more freebies over break when I have a little more time to breath and relax.  Have a great week everyone!

The 100th Day!

Wow!  I can't believe the 100th day is here already!  I usually have so many things I want to squeeze in, but my three boys all had the Boy Scout Derby car races this past weekend, plus we went to a birthday party, so it kind of just snuck up on me!  So I am planning on doing the old reliable activities for math that I know are fun, and that work every year.  I thought I would share them with you in case you wanted something to change up your routine...

We will be studying money this coming week, so I usually have my class use the plastic coins in our math series to make 100 cents.  We then record these ways on printable piggy banks to make a bulletin board display.  I have uploaded the printable to my TPT store...

I also like to do an estimation activity using boxes of paper clips.  I get 5-6 boxes of the small paper clips which come in boxes of 100 (no counting for me!) and I have my students group up and make an estimate (using yarn) for how long they think a small paper clip chain will be.  We then tape their estimates down to the floor and I let them link their 100 paper clips in a chain to see how close they were.  The winning group gets to take home the paper clip links.  We also do an extension activity using one box of the larger paper clips to see if the students understand the idea that although there are the same number of paper clips, the length will be longer...I usually keep those paperclips because they are my favorite!

Well, those are my two favorite activities that don't take a whole lot of planning, but result in a lot of learning and problem solving.  Happy 100th Day everyone!!!

Time away to create teaching a different way!

Wow!  It seems like forever that I have written anything on here, but the time has been very rewarding.  I spent a lot of time reworking my centers and learning areas after attending a workshop on differentiating my learning centers.  The presenter, the wonderful Margo Southall, was hilarious, insightful and in my book a genius!  She has some wonderful ideas for making comprehension a part of your Daily Five choices using some very cool printables and creatables.  There will more to come on that project as the year winds down and I try out a few things that I think I want to do for next year's class.  I have a group of kiddos that just don't seem to be progressing with the rest of the class and I am trying some new things to help motivate and get them movin'.

I have also been busy creating lots of new freebies and adding to my TPT store.  Here are samples and links to all the fun new things I have created and will be using with my class for the next few weeks. 

This is a printable to use with your Daily Five working with words if you want your kids to have spelling practice. Click here to download a copy.

This is a poster with pocket chart cards that I am using for fluency practice with my kiddos.  The poem is one that has been around a long time and is adorable!  Click here to download a copy.

Click here if you would like a copy of the shopping list I added to my Work on Writing-Real World Text area.  It is a printable that will give you three shopping lists per page for kids to use to write a shopping list.  I added several cookbooks along with it, and my class is so excited about the area now!

Click here if you would like a copy of the printable I use with my classroom magazines.   I never seem to be able to fit in all of my weekly readers that my school pays for, so I found a new use for them.  I put them in my Work on Writing area, but they would work in the Listen to Reading area also.  I made a shortcut on one of my computer desktops to the online version (which will read to the kids if they choose that button) and as they read they fill out the fact poster. 

This is a copy of my reading log that my students use during Read to Self or Read to Someone...they also can add books they have heard in Listen to Reading.  I added a book response to it after going to my last training...although that idea is still a work in progress.  Click here if you would like a copy.

I also added a rainbow writing paper to my Working with Words area.  The kids just seemed to do better with a specified piece of paper to rainbow write on...so here it is!

Last, but not least, I made a printable to use with all those million of alphabet beads I have.  I created a word building station for Working with Words and added all the beads...some chenille stems (pipe cleaners)...and this printable...VOILA!  Word Building Station.  Click here if you want a copy!

I have several other projects in the works...so check back every so often to see what I've added!

Treasures Companion Pages for Smartboard

I work every week to provide my team with companion pages for th smart board that correlate to the activities in our Treasures Reading Program.  A friend of mine suggested selling digital downloads of these pages on TPT, but I wanted to offer the first one free to test the waters.  It has about 40 pages of activities and references to the program.  If you like what I have put together here please leave a little love note to let me know what you think.

You can get the free download here.

Winter!

We have been doing everything winter around here!  The kids and I thought since mother nature couldn't provide the real deal, we would celebrate snow in our own way.  We have been reading and practicing two new winter poems in our fluency mini-lessons.  The kids started giggling when we first read the snowball poem.  It took a few of the kids a second to figure out why a snowball would pee the bed...but we all got there pretty quickly and enjoyed a good laugh.  There is a cute poster for Shel Silverstein's Snowball poem at Teeny Tiny Teacher's Blog.  You can download it from her here.  She has some great printables to go along with it!

I made a poster for the Chubby Little Snowman poem.  You can grab a copy of it from my TPT store here.

I hope everyone is having a good middle of the week...it's all downhill to the weekend!