Sunday, November 6, 2011
Animoto
For English class, I would have an assignment called "Dismantling Cliches." Each student would select a cliche and then craft multiple new metaphors or similes to replace the cliche, and then create an animoto video with pictures and videos representing their figures of speech.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
A video about fractions
Recorded with a Flip video camera and edited in Windows Live Movie Maker.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Sunday, October 2, 2011
PLN: "It's so Easy Teaching Green"
In Tech & Learning’s July 2011 issue, there is an article in their News & Trends section titled “It’s so Easy Teaching Green.” This article outlines three different projects carried out by students at schools across the country that actually improved the school’s energy efficiency. Students didn’t just observe wind turbines being built and placed or solar panels being installed. The students actually got hands-on experience implementing these green technologies. Anne Seifert, a coordinator for K-12 STEM education in Idaho Falls says, "It motivates students to apply real-world science to learning in the classroom."
I think it is amazing that students are learning such advanced science at such a young age, and I really think these projects seem like a win-win for everyone involved: the students learn advanced science topics in a way they will always remember, the school saves money, and the local power companies get to be a part of the community and perhaps even recruit some future employees. Along with all those benefits, it also educates young citizens about the importance of saving energy and protecting our environment.
When I was a senior at Great Falls High School, students in an advanced physics class did a similar project with solar panels. Unfortunately, the teacher initiating the project was not as ambitious as some of the project designers mentioned in the article, and the project did not have as much of an impact as it could have.
Zuger, S. (2011, July). It's so Easy Teaching Green. Tech & Learning, 31, 12.
I think it is amazing that students are learning such advanced science at such a young age, and I really think these projects seem like a win-win for everyone involved: the students learn advanced science topics in a way they will always remember, the school saves money, and the local power companies get to be a part of the community and perhaps even recruit some future employees. Along with all those benefits, it also educates young citizens about the importance of saving energy and protecting our environment.
When I was a senior at Great Falls High School, students in an advanced physics class did a similar project with solar panels. Unfortunately, the teacher initiating the project was not as ambitious as some of the project designers mentioned in the article, and the project did not have as much of an impact as it could have.
Zuger, S. (2011, July). It's so Easy Teaching Green. Tech & Learning, 31, 12.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
PLN: "Award-Winning Strategies"
In the July 2011 issue of Tech & Learning there is an article titled "Award-winning Strategies," which features the stories of four schools which applied for grants and received them. An elementary school in Massachusetts which was rapidly falling behind NCLB standards applied for a grant to turn their school into an immersive technology environment, in which all students have access to iPads, iTouches, and interactive whiteboards. The school framed these improvements as a "curriculum-delivery system" overhaul and won a grant for it. After the improvements, students met AYP. Another elementary school in New Jersey won a grant so they could launch a project for their fifth-grade students. The fifth-graders produce a daily news program, called the Falcon Report, which is streamed live over the Internet. The people who put that project together say that if they were to do it again, they would "involve the school district's IT department in the process earlier," because they had a few problems implementing the new technology.
This article would be helpful for any teacher or administrator looking for funding to start a new project. The descriptions of the projects are useful as inspiration or a springboard for brainstorming new projects, but i think the parts that are really informative are under the headings, "Why they think they won," and "What they'll do differently next time." I think the article could have been even more helpful if it walked readers through the process of applying for grants.
I believe the reason the Massachusetts school saw an improvement in test scores might not be as strongly related to the influx of technology as it may seem. It may just be that with the improvements came a new sense of pride that someone believed in the school enough to give them money, and that pride got the teachers excited about teaching again, and the students excited about learning.
Careless, J. (2011, July). Award-Winning Strategies. Tech & Learning, 31, 12.
This article is also published online at: http://www.techlearning.com/article/award-winning-grant-strategies/48104
This article would be helpful for any teacher or administrator looking for funding to start a new project. The descriptions of the projects are useful as inspiration or a springboard for brainstorming new projects, but i think the parts that are really informative are under the headings, "Why they think they won," and "What they'll do differently next time." I think the article could have been even more helpful if it walked readers through the process of applying for grants.
I believe the reason the Massachusetts school saw an improvement in test scores might not be as strongly related to the influx of technology as it may seem. It may just be that with the improvements came a new sense of pride that someone believed in the school enough to give them money, and that pride got the teachers excited about teaching again, and the students excited about learning.
Careless, J. (2011, July). Award-Winning Strategies. Tech & Learning, 31, 12.
This article is also published online at: http://www.techlearning.com/article/award-winning-grant-strategies/48104
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