Last month I spoke in Philadelphia at the Philadelphia Learning Consortium about integrating technology into your classroom. After the talk I was speaking with Gene Kelkris - of Philadelphia Public Schools (and who will be at the new “School of the Future” in Philly opening next year) - about some of the challenges teachers and administrators face when trying to change the school climate and bring it into the “21st Century”. I received a very nice email from him the day I left Philadelphia and we have corresponded now on a couple of occasions.

I want to copy some of the email I sent to him here because it has some advice I think everyone starting out with this while technology thing would be good to remember, and also it has a couple of good sites to check out too! Let me (and Gene) know what you think.

It was a pleasure meeting you this weekend and presenting to the group. I had a fantastic time and am very excited for the opportunity you have with your new school. Believe me when I tell you this, for I’ve been in your shoes, that the road ahead is challenging but also very fun! The secret to your success, and the success of your school, will be the commitment that your administration and your TEACHERS have to the new teaching strategies, methods and  ideologies ahead of you. The secret is to create relationships (like the one we have now) with people that have experience integrating technology into their schools and districts and stay in touch with them; read blogs and listen to podcasts of educators and technology professionals, this helps with your own professional knowledge & development and  inspires you to try new and innovative practices; and finally, do not be afraid of the future and to try new things - they might not always work, but the knowledge you gain through the process of experimentation is invaluable.

I want to give you some links for some of the shows, blogs, podcasts that I get insporation from and may be interesting to you.

TWIT - [ http://www.twit.tv/ ]http://www.twit.tv/   TWIT is the podcasting newtwork created by Leo Laporte (of Tech TV, Screen Savers, Call For Help and his national syndicated radio show) His podcasts have been more inspiring to me than anything for learning about new - and trying out - new technology, as well as  keeping up on the latest in what is happening in the tech industry.

To create or join a network of educational colleagues, check out the following:
1. Twitter - [ http://twitter.com/ ]http://twitter.com/   The bset way to explain twitter is to just go and see for yourself. The secret is to follow other professionals who are into technology that share there information and ideas. This has been the latest source of good info for me.
2. Ning - [ http://ning.com/ ]http://ning.com/  -  Ning is a site which allows you to joing, or create you own, social network. There are thousands, and I mean thousands, of professional and social networks for almost any interest. There are really good educational technology groups that you can join and start communicating with.
3. Classroom 2.0 - This is a relatively new community I have joined, but I really like the collaborative nature and potential of the discussion. It is a community for educators using Web 2.0 and collaborative technologies!
AND OF COURSE, Wired Wednesday! [ http://wiredwednesday.com/ ]http://wiredwednesday.com/

These are a few ways to meet and get involved with other professionals in the area of ed. tech.

To answer your questions, from your email, check out these sites:
1.  For plagiarism:  Turnitin! [ http://turnitin.com/static/index.html ]http://turnitin.com/static/index.html
2.  As far as blocking bad websites, you need to speak to newtork administrators and create a firewall at your district or school level to keep out pornography websites.
3.  Check out these good websites for info about copyright:
[ http://library.acadiau.ca/tutorials/plagiarism/ ]http://library.acadiau.ca/tutorials/plagiarism/
[ http://www.indiana.edu/~istd/examples.html ]http://www.indiana.edu/~istd/examples.html
[ http://library.villanova.edu/Help/AcademicIntegrity ]http://library.villanova.edu/Help/AcademicIntegrity
[ http://www.lite.iwarp.com/reg102004.htm ]http://www.lite.iwarp.com/reg102004.htm    (Scroll down to the bottom of the page for excellent resources on plagiarism)

Gene, feel free to keep in touch and email any time you like. Thanks Gene and have a great day.

I’m not sure why I’m pasting the email here, only except that I believe strongly in what I told Gene and what I teach my teachers and fellow colleagues every day. Enjoy waht you do, and if you don’t enjoy what you do, then find out why. Then figure out how to start making what you do FUN! I have found that tech is a good way to do that.