School-based Inservice Workshops for Teachers
The University of Maryland at College Park
Montgomery County Public Schools
This Web page is also available in Polish
and in Ukrainian.
1. Improve your Image I: Acquiring, Enhancing, and
Using Digital Images - The Basics (2005)
How to use a digital camera and scanner; using image editor software; importing images into other software; preparing graphics for Web pages; obtaining high-quality color printouts, cropping, resizing, changing formats, improving image quality; relationship between image size and resolution; (mathematics connections: area and perimeter); meaning of brightness and contrast; the image histogram; the meaning of graphics file formats; the role of compression. Learn how to create stand-alone slide shows and display and post photos on a remote sites and save your hard drive space.
Three-hour hands-on workshop format: Part 1: illustrated presentation on the principles of digital images and image processing; Part 2: demonstration of installation and operation of Paint Shop Pro; Part 3: hands-on practice with step-by-step directions.
Requires a Windows computer lab.
Each workshop participant will receive a free custom-made CD-ROM containing: A collection of ideas for using digital cameras in the classroom collected from teachers; copies of the workshop slide presentation and handouts; Sample Pictures used in the demo portion of the workshop; Examples of student projects created with scanner and digital camera; Demo image editing software for Windows and Macintosh,and much more.
2. Improve your Image II: Acquiring, Enhancing, and
Using Digital Images - Intermediate Techniques (2005)
A follow-up to the Improve you Image I workshop, for those already familiar with the basic image editing techniques. This workshop will cover: retouching and repairing damaged photos, cosmetic portrait enhancements, multi-layer images with transparency, text labeling, special decorative and artistic effects, and other topics. Bring old family photos. Bring your Digital Camera. Bring photo files to practice.
Three-hour hands-on workshop format: Part 1: demonstration of tools and techniques; Part 2: installation and operation of Paint Shop Pro software on CD; Part 3: hands-on practice with sample images and step-by-step directions.
Requires a Windows computer lab.
Each workshop participant will receive a free custom-made CD-ROM containing: A collection of ideas for using digital cameras in the classroom collected from teachers; copies of the workshop slide presentation and handouts; Sample Pictures used in the demo portion of the workshop; Examples of student projects created with scanner and digital camera; Demo image editing software for Windows and Macintosh, and much more.
3. Using Templates to Produce Web-Publishable Multimedia
How to use templates and simple text editing to create multimedia projects for publication on the Web; incorporate prepared graphics and images into Web pages; organize class-based Web projects related to a curriculum topic in which each student in the class contributes the content (writing and artwork) for one page. Covers text editing, Copy and Paste, file organization, directory navigation, project planning, using a Web browser; and searching for and capturing graphics from the Web (if the facility has an active Internet connection). Encouraging student to think of themselves as producers as well as consumers. Using templates rather than a Web editor program requires no specialized commercial software, speeds up project construction, and helps to focus student attention on the content of a project rather than the format design aspects. We will provide templates for class projects, individual student projects, and templates for converting KidPix slide shows to Web format. How to modify and customize the templates. Requires Windows or Macintosh computer lab.
Three-hour hands-on workshop format: Part 1: examples of Web projects created by elementary and middle-school students; Part 2: demonstration of the construction process; Part 3: hands-on practice with step-by-step directions.
Requires a Windows or Macintosh computer lab.
Each workshop participant will receive a free custom-made CD-ROM containing: Copies of all handouts; step-by-step instructions for assembling sample sites using text and graphic content provided; a set of eight re-usable templates usable for Windows or Macintosh; a large set of examples of class projects created by students with these templates.
4. Locating and Evaluating Information on the Internet (2005)
How to find the best curriculum-related sites for your students. An overview of the various types of information sources on the Internet: library card catalogs; Library of Congress; searching for articles in print magazines and journals; patents and trademarks; Web indices and search engines, collections of lesson plans and student activities. The best way to use Web "search engines". Special search enginesfor kids. How search engines really work. What to do if you get too many hits. What to do if you get too few hits. How search results are ranked. Special techniques for searching for graphics, images, and clip art. How to evaluate Web sites. How to find the source of "unsigned" Web pages. How to save links to sites and transfer them to other machines.
How to create a Web site for your classes using TeacherWeb (http://teacherweb.com/). Each attendant will leave having created a real and permanent class Web site that their students can access from any Internet-connected computer, including a "hot links" page for collecting, organizing, and annotating links found for students to use in their classes.
Three-hour hands-on workshop format: Part 1: presentation on the principles of searching; Part 2: demonstration of TeacherWeb; Part 3: hands-on practice creating a TeacherWeb site and searching for curriculum-related sites.
Requires an Internet connected Windows or Macintosh computer lab, with each computer connected to the Internet.
5. Interactive Software and Web sites for K-8 science and
mathematics education (2000 - 2001)
A review and hands-on exploration of software and Web sites for K-8 science and mathematics, with a special emphasis on interactive, discovery-oriented, open-ended, creative, exploratory, constructive learning experiences, interactive computer simulations, virtual construction sets, and creativity software. Also included are sites containing organized collections of printable lesson plans ans student activity sheets and some examples of quiz construction software, which students and teachers can use to create various types of computerized tests and quizzes for other students to take. All of the software is either freeware, shareware, or functional demos of commercial software, and is included on a CD distributed to all participants. Two demonstrations of technology-enhanced lessons will be modeled: (1) "When Dragons Eat the Sun", a lesson on the stars, planets, moon, sun and solar eclipses, using the shareware planetarium simulator program CyberSky as well as several Web sites. (2) "In Living Color", a lesson on the science and mathematics of color, using free software, Java applets, and Web sites. Both lessons include interactive Web sites and printable student worksheets for students to record their observations and answers.
Three-hour hands-on workshop format: Part 1: Overview and demonstration of freeware, shareware, demos and Web sites; Part 2: demonstration lessons; Part 3: hands-on exploration of software on the CD.
Requires an Internet connected Windows computer lab, with each computer connected to the Internet.
Each workshop participant will receive a free custom-made CD-ROM containing copies of the handouts and sample lessons; copies of all freeware, shareware, and demo software demonstrated in the workshop; and a collection of Web sites from which other educational software can be downloaded.
6. Computer Sound and Music, Parts 1 and 2
Part 1 (three hours): Computer Sound. Using and adjusting
a microphone; checking the sound settings; recording sounds;
playing sounds using a computer sound player; putting sounds on
Web pages; downloading sound from Web sites; constructing an
audible alphabet book.
Part 2 (three hours): Computer Music. Recording live music; recording from a tape player; playing sounds using a computer sound player; recording and writing audio CDs; recording from an audio CD into compressed MP3 format; making a custom audio CD; arranging MIDI songs; music lyrics Web sites; classroom karaoke.
Each workshop participant will receive a free custom-made CD-ROM containing copies of the handouts; sound processing shareware used in the workshop; sample sounds in various formats, and a collection of Web sites related to sound and music.
Requires a Windows computer lab that allows the installation of
7. Adult Education Courses,
also suitable to teachers (2008 - 2013)
Basic PC Troubleshooting
Required facilities: We conduct these workshops in your school, using your school's computer equipment. The workshops are best conducted in a computer lab setting, with a maximum of 20 participants (one or two to a computer). A presenter's computer and video projector and screen are also required.
Price: $500 per workshop, plus travel expenses if overnight travel is required. Price includes instructor preparation time, all handouts, and CD-ROMs. Workshops can be customized for local purposes.