The Wired Classroom

There are quite a few technology in education conferences taking place in July. As you know, I will be attending and presenting at the Missouri Distance Learning Association (MODLA) Annual Conference at Tan-Tar-A Resort in Osage Beach (that’s July 9-10).  Ruth, Martha, Nancy and Stacey will head to San Antonio, Texas the first week of July to attend NECC- the National Educational Computing Conference.  In addition, Successlink is holding the 6th Annual Technology Innovations Conference  July 17-18, also at Tan-Tar-A. There, Stacey will present on Web 2.0. Martha and Nancy plan to present at Successlink’s conference on several topics: Internet Safety, SMART Board, and Discovery Streaming.

In other education conference news, CSD’s CHARACTERplus is holding its 14th Annual Character Education Conference in St. Louis this summer. Dorothy White, who does an awesome job on the Midwest Education Technology Conference with Nancy and Joan, also works on CEC with a great group of folks from CHARACTERplus. CEC runs July 16-18.

Today Lindbergh’s Cindy Lane taught Using Digital Media in the Classroom (Featuring Google Earth) for a class of eager learners in the tele. Cindy is a past Midwest Education Technology Conference presenter and will also be presenting at METC 2009 at the St. Charles Convention Center in January.

The Virtual Learning Center also wants to congratulate Cindy for being selected to become a Google Certified Teacher- she will represent the Show Me State later this summer when she travels to California for her certification! Great news for a great lady! We can’t wait to learn even more ways to incorporate Google Earth in the classroom…

Creating SMART Board Lessons to Engage and Motivate Students

Today the VLC held an advanced SMART Board class in the tele at CSD. (We originally had two summer sessions scheduled, but this class proved to be so popular, we added this session!) This course is for teachers who use SMART Board frequently in their classrooms already and want to learn more. Some of the topics covered in the class include creating recordings on SMART Boards, using the video player and learning about Senteos and Airliners. This hands-on course has the participants go up to the SMART Board and work with the technology. The teachers also used our Moodle to gain access to many SMART Board resources and learn about other Virtual Learning Center opportunities. Teachers, for more summer tech PD opportunities in St. Louis, Missouri, visit www.csd.org/tele or you can e-mail Joan Forrest to ask for a printed brochure.

Morrie Reece from Apple came in today to give the Virtual Learning Center staff a great tutorial on the updated iLife. Here are some snapshots of our professional development day in the tele:

During the course of the day, we put together podcasts, learned how to turn our iPhoto library into a published book, and how to create an iDVD. We also worked with PhotoBooth, GarageBand, iMovie, iWeb, and the Dashboard. Along with some cheerleaders, John Hodgman and Justin Long even made a brief appearance at the beginning of the morning. Just a day in our iLife!

Cooperating School Districts has announced that registration is open for all St. Louis area educators (superintendents, assistant superintendents, principals, assistant principals, librarians, media specialists, tech coordinators, & teachers) to attend the 2008-2009 TLA. TLA assists educators in developing knowledge & skills necessary to use technology as a tool for more effective & efficient leadership in their schools! 

During 48 hours of professional development in the Technology Leadership Academy, you will:

•Focus on leadership skills in technology 
•Improve classroom use of technology 
•Develop a vision of how to utilize technology to improve student performance 
•Assess strengths & needs of your staff/students in the area of technology as well as develop a practical & useful technology plan 
•Expand your network of colleagues 

As a part of the academy, participants receive:
•Palm T|X handheld computer with Bluetooth & Wifi + wireless keyboard
•GoObserve software for the Palm (a classroom observation tool) 
•Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works by METC featured speaker Howard Pitler, et.al. 
•attendance at 1 day of the Midwest Education Technology Conference

Dates for the 2008-2009 school year are as follows:
•Oct. 1   •Nov. 5   •Dec. 3   •Jan. 7   •Jan. 27* (METC)   •Feb. 25 
Times: 8 am to 4 pm (breakfast & lunch included) | Cost: $1,200/person 

Training sessions take place in CSD’s tele on 1460 Craig Rd.- except for the METC* session- which is at the St. Charles Convention Center.  To register, go here.  P.O.’s and credit cards will be accepted.  Slots will fill up fast, and space is limited, so register now! If you have any questions, contact Martha Bogart at (314) 692-1258 or mbogart@csd.org.

The Virtual Learning Center’s tele (technology enhanced learning environment) classes are filling up very quickly- Transforming Learning with a SMART Board on June 3 and Creating SMART Board Lessons to Engage & Motivate Students on June 4 are already full!

There are a limited spaces left in Teacher Timesavers: Free Online Resources on June 5; Using Digital Media in the Classroom (Featuring Google Earth) on June 9; Cross-Curricular Lessons Using Concept Mapping on June 10; and Transforming Learning with a Promethean Activboard on June 11. Sign up today to participate in these early June courses. Teachers from all over the St. Louis metropolitan area participate; bring a friend from your school, or network with other teaching colleagues from different districts. Remember, too, that graduate credit is available for many tele classes.

Courses in the second half of the month are Empowering Students with Podcasting; Differentiating Instruction with Discovery Streaming; Boundless Learning with Videoconferencing; Movie-Making in the Classroom: Creating Digital Stories and Photo Essays; and Online “Street Smarts:” Being Legal, Literate, and Secure. Tele questions? Call Joan Forrest at (314) 692-1259.

Many of you know CSD offers a great ACT Prep Course over videoconference. We’re pleased to announce that we now will offer a PSAT Prep with The Princeton Review. The PSAT is great practice for the SAT - (keep in mind, the PSAT is a shorter test and has no essay or Algebra II). The actual PSAT is 2 hours & 10 minutes and includes math, critical reading, and writing questions. Who takes the PSAT, and why? The PSAT is most popular among juniors, but some take it as a sophomore.

In this six hour videoconference course, The Princeton Review instructor shows students how to ace the PSAT & great tips for SAT. A high score on the PSAT is the only way to qualify for a National Merit Scholar-ship. PSAT videoconference course package includes:

• 2 PSAT full-length practice tests  
  - to be taken onsite at participating schools -
• 6 hours of classroom time over videoconference

Something to note: public Missouri high school students who completed The Princeton Review PSAT Clinic averaged of 12.1 pts higher on the PSAT, and the top 50% of student scoring 21.6  points higher, which is equivalent to an SAT scaled score increase of 216 points.

When is the videoconference course? 
Tests: September 30 & October 9, 2008  |  Classes: October 2, 7, 14 2008
All sessions- tests & classes- run 3:15-5:15 p.m. CDT
What is the cost? $99 / student ; in order for the class to run, at least 50 students are needed (combined from all sites)
Registration deadline: Monday, September 8, 2008
Questions & Registration: Rebecca Morrison - rmorrison@csd.org 

What we like best about interactive whiteboards:

 Nancy ~ Both SMART Board and Promethean Activboard  encourage active student participation in a learning activity.  A very exciting and rewarding experience for students is  when they become teacher for the moment and “teach” their  fellow students such as reviewing a concept in their own  words. This becomes a powerful reinforcement and review activity because students are hearing the concept explained at their learning level and perhaps in a very different way. The interactive whiteboards get students engaged in learning.  Watching a video becomes interactive when the teacher can pause the video, point out details and have a class discussion before resuming.  Learning how to tell time or make money change becomes more intriguing when the students use the electronic manipulative of time and money.  Reviewing for a test is easier when the teacher captures the instruction both audio and visual from the SMART Board using the built-in Recorder.  Students can play and re-play the lesson in video format.
 

 Stephanie ~ Both interactive boards, SMART and  Promethean, are great student motivators.  Since most kids  today are visual learners, the ability to attract attention and  keep it with a large screen vs. a dry erase board or chalk  board is the first motivator. If a teacher uses the board as  intended- as an interactive board- motivation and learning are further enhanced.  Students always want to be a part of the learning, with both boards the learner is engaged. The SMART Board is great, I have taught with one for over 7 years. The touch-sensitive screen is great and the software is very easy to use.  The Activboard requires a pen, is much more durable, and allows for the user to create very specific lessons. Cool things to do – the boards act as the monitor of your computer so whatever you can do on your computer monitor, you can do on the board. You can record, both audio and video, lessons.  These can be then exported and viewed at a later time for students, parents and even used for sub plans. The boards are very motivating for a student to touch their finger or use a pen on a huge screen in front of the class and make something happen.  What a very empowering feeling for anyone! Both interactive boards come with “slates” and “clickers,” other interactive products, for students to use at their seats. These added products also allow for immediate response to help guide instruction and enhance learning from others. 

What do you like best about interactive whiteboards? 

Technology is a valuable and relevant tool in the classroom that helps engage students to question, think and achieve at a higher understanding. What tech tools do you use to reach and teach your students and make learning relevant?

METC 2009 is bringing together a diverse group of speakers to share their knowledge, experience, strategies and expertise using established and emerging technologies in the classroom. As educators we must prepare our students for new jobs that have not been created by giving them the skills to question, gather, evaluate and finally produce new solutions or products. Technology is a tool that excites and engages students to learn.

METC 2009 goals:

• Offers a program that shares effective instructional technology programs and management strategies.
• Brings together all stakeholders in a school district to explore new and innovative uses of technology and to learn from each other.
• Designs a program that fits into educators’ individual learning plans and aligns with high quality professional development.
• Exposes educators to the latest in quality products and services.

Today was the last Normandy iTEA. A lot was covered! Chatting online, goals, (implementation of) action plans, and further support/professional development needs were all discussed by Stephanie and the participants. The resources & goals they’ve learned about and discussed this year will go into action plans for next school year- in their respective buildings.