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The Connected Classroom

“Information on and from Cooperating School Districts of Greater St. Louis' Learning Division”

Tag Archives: Flickr

Tuesday, April 23, 2013 Using Cell Phones as Tools in the Classroom

flickr creative commonsCome to CSD the morning of June 26 and learn several ways to use cell phones in the classroom as collaborative tools to engage and motivate your students. From polling, micro-blogging, exam review and flashcard creation – enlist the cell phone as your ally and not your enemy. The Pew Research Center has determined that 100% of teens text. Kids get their first phone on average at age 12; three out of four students think they have at least one friend who is addicted to their phone. Cell phones are ubiquitous – why not use them to facilitate learning?

Date: June 26, 2013 | Time: 8:30-11:30 am
Cost: $85 CSD member; $125 non-member
Register Online

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Monday, March 18, 2013 The Science Behind Weather Forecasting

flickr creative commonsWe’ve all watched the local TV weatherperson & wondered just what they do to create the forecast they give us. What equipment do they use? What kind of training do they need? How do they determine when conditions are ripe for certain types of storms, whether temperatures will rise or fall, whether or not they should break into TV programs to provide a breaking weather update? What is the science behind forecasting?

Join HEC-TV Live! on April 4 to interact with St. Louis’ KTVI Fox2 meteorologist Chris Higgins to take a tour of his weather studio and find out what goes into creating a forecast.  The program will focus on two very different spring days of actual St. Louis weather—one with clear skies and temperatures in the sixties and one where conditions produced dangerous storms and tornadoes.  How were the forecasts created?  What technology was used to follow the changing weather conditions on that stormy day? What conditions forced the announcement of a tornado watch and later a tornado warning?  How does Mr. Higgins read that Doppler Radar and pinpoint where the tornado is located?  How does he take what he has learned and translate into understandable language for every TV viewer?  Enroll in “The Science Behind Weather Forecasting” videoconference by March 28 to find out the answers to these questions and more.

After enrolling for the program, you will receive pre-program materials that include website resources, information on the two actual weather days that will be used as examples during the program, and pre-program worksheets designed to get your students thinking about the topic of weather forecasting and creating questions they most want to ask Mr. Higgins.  If you wish to participate as an interactive school, be sure to note the deadline for returning these pre-program worksheets to us so we can incorporate your student comments and questions into the program.

Date:  April 4, 2013
Times:  10 to 11 a.m.  and 1 to 2 p.m. Central Time
Grade Levels: 4-8
Cost:  no fee, but please register online

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Thursday, February 7, 2013 Article II of the Constitution: The American Presidency from the Missouri Bar Association

Missouri Supreme Court / Flickr Here’s an opportunity to hear and mingle with some of the top Constitutional scholars in the United States: Dr. Fred Spiegel, Professor Emeritus, University of Missouri; Jean Becker, Chief of Staff to former President George Bush; Mark Updegrove, Director of the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin, Texas; and Greg Willard, partner with the Carmody McDonald law firm in St. Louis, Missouri.

Lots of free materials and teaching strategies for teaching about the court system will be shared during this three day summer institute  (June 24-27) in mid-Missouri. All of the materials and strategies are fully aligned with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s Course-Level Expectation. Participants will gain teaching strategies that will help their students on the American Government end-of-course exam.  The scholars will address the role of the presidency in a system of separation of powers and checks and balances, and how the role of the presidency has evolved in the last 226 years.

WHO CAN COME?  This program is for secondary American history, American government and civics teachers in Missouri’s public, private and parochial schools. They only accept 30 participants for the institute.
WHAT IS THE COST?  All expenses, including meals, travel and lodging are paid.
WHERE?  The beautiful and historic Columbia College campus in Columbia and at the beautiful and historic Missouri Supreme Court building in Jefferson City.
HOW DO I APPLY?  mobar.org/citizenshiped. For more information, call Millie Aulbur, Director of Citizenship Education for the Missouri Bar at 573-638-2250.

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Tuesday, December 4, 2012 State History Bowl & History Bee in St. Louis

flickr creative commons studentsMehlville School District’s Oakville High School will host the regional/(state) history bowl competition on Saturday, January 26. Each state bowl will qualify a number of teams to participate in the National History Bowl to be held in Washington D.C. on April 27, 2013. The National History Bowl uses a quiz bowl style format to run their tournaments.

Schools may register multiple teams for the regional bowl, and can register underclassmen as a JV or Varsity team. Beginning this year, middle school teams can register and participate as well. The registration deadline for the regional bowl in St. Louis at Oakville High School competition is January 24, 2013. In addition, the state History Bee will be held in conjunction with the regional History Bowl on January 26, 2013, all in the Mehlville School District.

Again, the regional/(state) competition will qualify (in this case individuals) for participation in the National History Bee to be held in Washington D.C. on April 28, 2013. Please note that the national level history bowl for middle schools will be held on a different weekend then the high school nationals.

Regional/(State) Registration info:
The base fee for the bowl is $75 per team.  There are some small discounts available, like if teams bring their own buzzers. Learn more at historybowl.com/registration. The fee for the bee is $15 per student: hs.historybee.com/registration.

For questions about the event on January 26 at Oakville High School, contact Rodney Gerdes.

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Tuesday, November 6, 2012 #kidvote brings election to classroom

To see some great images of students participating in mock elections this week, check out the #kidvote hashtag. One particularly active teacher is METC Spotlight Educator Krissy Venosdale of Hillsboro, Missouri. She’s documenting every step of her students’ election process- voting, tabulating, reporting, and Skyping- over several media platforms. You can find links to them all at her Twitter feed, including their mock election results. Remember, for those of you 18 and over voting in the real election, the closing time for Missouri polls is 7 p.m. central time; the Show-Me State is worth 10 electoral votes in the presidential race.

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Tuesday, August 21, 2012 More Online Resources to Try this School Year

Last week, we shared some great online resources from coolcatteacher.blogspot.com. Today we’re sharing even more, focusing on math & history. Take a look at these select lesson plans, compiled and commented on by Georgia teacher Vicki Davis:

Math
• Common Core Math Index of resources (via @sharemylesson #mathchat)
An incredible set of indexed Common Core lesson plans by standard for grades Kindergarten – 6 in math. Share and get ideas. Every math teacher using Common Core should peruse this list.
• Assessing the Common Core Standards: Real Life Mathematics | Edutopia
An excellent set of resources about common core standards and assessment from Edutopia.
• Numberphile Videos
A collection of more than 100 videos that help you explore the world of mathematics. Just about any math topic is covered including probabilities Kaprekar’s Constant and more. These videos will be useful if you’re in the process of working towards flipping your classroom.

History
• World War 1 Lesson plans
June 28 is the anniversary of the outbreak of World War 1. As you discuss this topic, here are some activities and lessons to help you. There are some “causes” activities to introduce World War 1 that may interest some social studies teachers.
• Veterans History Project (Library of Congress)
Veterans History Project Home page — GREAT PROJECT!!!!
• Maps of War ::: Visual History of War, Religion, and Government
A website that takes maps and uses them to teach all kinds of amazing history. These maps are excellent for demonstrating events that unfolded and trends and will allow for great conversation.

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Monday, August 13, 2012 Is Your Head in the Clouds Along with Your Data?

Be sure to read this story on CNN.com on ‘How to protect your cloud data from hacks.’  Within the article, security experts offer tips on how to use the cloud safely, including:

•  Backing up your files in multiple places, including in on-the-ground hard drives
•  Turning on Google’s and Facebook’s two-factor authentication features

To find the five tips they feel everyone who uses cloud-based computing should know and utilize, click here.

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Monday, August 13, 2012 Online Resources to Try this School Year

We wanted to share some great resources from coolcatteacher.blogspot.com. Take a look at these select lesson plans, compiled and commented on by Georgia teacher Vicki Davis:

What did you learn online today?

• Resources for Understanding the Common Core State Standards | Edutopia  Edutopia’s guide to websites, organizations articles relating to the common core. I do think they are missing “Share My Lesson” from the AFT and TES, but this may have been written before that site launched. A great overview.
• Film as a Great Motivator | Edutopia  The right film and the right moment can create mood and meaning. Today in the Olympics, the swim coach was talking about how he had shown a clip from Saving Private Ryan and team members took on a different air of brotherhood and working together as a team. Film can be a great motivator and teacher in the classroom when well done. It can also be a boring “beuller” moment if not picked well. I like how this blog post deconstructs the use of video and how it can be used effectively in the classroom. I think it is a great read for all teachers.
• Pinterest- Search results for classroom door-  Cute ideas for classroom doors.
• Wikis in the Classroom-  A lovely website about wikis and the use in the classroom.

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Tuesday, July 10, 2012 Using Skype to Discuss Using Digital Portfolios to Collect & Evaluate Student Work

Today in her Using Digital Portfolios to Collect & Evaluate Student Work workshop, Stephanie Madlinger connected briefly via Skype to high school English teacher Nicholas Provenzano, who holds a Masters Degree in Educational Technology from Central Michigan University. He discussed with the St. Louis participants at Cooperating School Districts how he uses Web 2.0 to encourage student writing- citing Google Apps, Blogger and Evernote as his favorites. Visit Flickr to see more shots from the full-day workshop.

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Thursday, May 31, 2012 Hands-on Professional Development Taking Place

Here’s a snapshot of today’s SMARTBoard Level 1 workshop taking place in Cooperating School Districts‘ tele.

See more photos from today, and other professional development sessions, on Flickr.

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