WCS Tech News and Info

Biographies using MovieMaker and PowerPoint

2010-06-03T12:33:00.001-04:00

Mr. Kunkel's 6th grade students are working on a "fun" biography (as described by Ashli). The biographies are about their peers' lives - 6th grade memories, upcoming events, and the fun stuff of being a 6th grader! Students are using MovieMaker and PowerPoint to develop their final products. Working in teams, students inteviewed each other, collected photos, and created a narrative of each other's 6th grade lives. Images and narratives were then collected into MovieMaker or PowerPoint. Mr. Kunkel's goal is to use different media types to express and present biographical information. Students are having fun too. :)

6th grade Skype session on Remember the Titans

2010-06-02T12:26:00.003-04:00

6th grade students ask questions of Donna, Coach Boone's daughter of Remember the Titans fame via Skype today. Teachers Lisa Sanders and Teddy Bolton had their students watch the movie and then prepare questions for Donna (an aunt to one of our 6th grade students). Students asked questions related to the realism of the movie and questions related to the social issues of the day. Thanks to WCS Tech Scott Powers for his assistance in getting everything setup. Learn more about Skype and find a directory of classes around the world interested in connecting on our Skype page.

Third graders use PhotoStory for contest submission

2010-05-18T11:22:00.004-04:00

Our Wyoming third graders are at it again, this time using PhotoStory to prepare mock-ups of books for the Kids Are Authors competition sponsored by Scholastic. Diann Blizniak, REACH Teacher and Gifted Coordinator for Wyoming City Schools, assisted students in using PhotoStory to create the video mock-ups of three books the students created for submission. You can view the video mock-ups of the books below:
- The Fantabulous Book of Blended Words - written by the 3rd grade REACH students - Elm
- Flagalicious - written by the 3rd grade REACH students - Hilltop
- What Would Happen If? - written by the 3rd grade REACH students - Vermont

Diann notes, "The students not only wrote all the words and illustrated all the pictures, they also decided on the book topics, determined what the layout should be and conceptualized how the book should be formatted! Win or lose, it was a wonderful learning experience."

An excellent, authentic use of technology for our students.

Middle School Surrealism

2010-05-14T13:36:00.002-04:00

Julie Anglim's student-artists are pictured here today creating surrealistic images in Photoshop Elements. After students received instruction on the concept of surrealism, they pulled random adjectives and nouns out of a jar which became the basis for their artwork. Using Photoshop Elements, students must follow a checklist for their artwork and note how they used certain tools within Photoshop to achieve particular aspects of the surrealistic style. In the video below, Wyoming Middle School student David describes the activity including the adjectives and nouns he has to work with for his image.

Skyping with author Jordan Sonnenblick

2010-05-12T11:28:00.003-04:00

Stefani Brand's 3rd graders conferenced with author Jordan Sonnenblick today via Skype. Mr. Sonnenblick spoke to students from his home in Pennsylvania while in his kitchen where he does most of his writing. Students prepared questions ahead of time for Mr. Sonnenblick focusing on the writing process, the development of his books, and future plans. Ms. Brand worked with one of our tech specialists, Susan Sagan, ahead of time to be sure she was comfortable with the technology and had her students practice ahead of time to make sure they were comfortable with interacting via Skype in a group setting.

Mr. Sonnenblick is known for his "Dodger" trilogy of books for young children, however most of his books are written for young adults. His big words of wisdom, "You cannot be a writer unless you are a reader!" More on the author available at http://www.jordansonnenblick.com/.

Data analysis - from SMARTBoard to Excel to PowerPoint

2010-05-06T13:38:00.001-04:00

Ultan Killean has his students reviewing data sets on the SMARTBoard to determine an area of interest for an upcoming project. Students are obtaining the data from the Statistical Abstract - a summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States from the US Census Bureau. Students will be selecting an area of interest for data analysis that will have them download data into Excel, create charts and graphs from the data, and prepare a PowerPoint presentation to share their findings. The Analysis Tool Pack add-on will be used by students as well (learn how to add-on to Excel from our Microsoft Office page). Ultan will be creating his own PowerPoint on a statistical set as a model for his students.

Don't wish to dive into Excel? The Census Bureau has a variety of tools itself to assist with data analysis. They can be found at http://www.census.gov/main/www/access.html.

Geometric shapes, Notebook 10, and stuffed animals?

2010-05-04T09:32:00.000-04:00

Jane Lance is pictured here working with one of her 2nd grade students using the SMARTBoard and Notebook 10 software. This math lesson began with students using stuffed animals to teach students the concepts of flipping, rotating, and sliding. She then modeled how to manipulate geometric shapes inside SMART Notebook 10. Students had the opportunity to come to the SMARTBoard and demonstrate their understanding. They then each took a laptop back to their desk and worked off a shared notebook file to manipulate various shapes.

During their use of Notebook 10, students learned and practiced software commands that are common to several applications such as undo/redo, copy, clone, and commands associated with manipulating graphics. In all, a very nice example of going from the concrete to the abstract while working in the tech.

Global exchange of postcards presented

2010-04-28T13:27:00.000-04:00

Jen Sauvey and Laurie Marks are pictured here preparing for a presentation last night at the April 27th, Wyoming Board of Education meeting. Their presentation included the use of the ELMO document camera and a laptop to show off artwork from a global awareness project undertaken at the Middle School this year. 7th grade students exchanged personally made postcards with students in Japan by way of an interdisciplinary project that involved researching Japanese history, art, and poetry.

For more information on learning that can involve a global perspective, check our page on project-based learning.

Digital Storytelling in Practice - James and Luca

2010-04-19T06:21:00.004-04:00

On April 7th, Vermont's Night at the Museum unveiled student projects on documents and artifacts supplied by the Wyoming Historical Society. Adam Beard's 3rd grade students were charged with interpreting the primary sources and communicating what they told about Wyoming's history.

Traditionally students have presented their findings on presentation boards, but two students, James and Luca, presented this year with a digital story. This was a great opportunity to model digital storytelling and the use of the technologies involved. James and Luca not only collaborated with each other on the content, but taught each other to use specific software and hardware. They followed the steps below:

Planned their project using paper and pencil storyboard templates.
Digitized photos of Wyoming homes using the ELMO document camera.
Typed their narration in Microsoft Word.
Edited digital photos using Microsoft Picture Manager.
Imported edited photos into Microsoft Photo Story 3 where they organized their project based on their storyboard, added narration, and mixed their own music to accompany the project.
Exported a three minute movie for display.

James' and Luca's project was displayed on 6 computers set up as a listening and viewing station. Both students assisted visitors and answered questions about their project. A full write-up on Adam's Night at the Museum can be found in the Cincinnati Enquirer, Students' museum represents active learning. You can find plenty of information on Digital Storytelling right here on our website including ideas, templates for planning, rubric, and help with the technologies involved. Both James and Luca did an outstanding job from start to finish on this project. It was not only an experience in using technology, but an opportunity for them to use technology for an authentic purpose.

2010 Horizon Report - Emerging Technologies K-12

2010-04-15T09:53:00.003-04:00

From the NMC.org website on Monday, April 12th... "The New Media Consortium (NMC) today released the 2010 Horizon Report: K-12 Edition, the second in an annual series of reports focused on emerging technology use in elementary and secondary education. The report identifies and describes six emerging technologies that will likely have a significant impact on K-12 education in the next one to five years."
2010 Horizon Report: K-12 Edition (PDF)
2010 horizon report: k-12 edition released. (2010, April 12th).
Retrieved from http://www.nmc.org/news/nmc/hzk10-released

New Google features for collaboration

2010-04-15T05:00:00.005-04:00

Google announced updates to their suite of Google Tools on Monday. New features include...

Real-time editing to files in Google Documents; multiple people on same document will see each others edits in real-time (already a part of their spreadsheet tool).

New editions to Spreadsheet tool - formula bar for cell editing, auto-complete, drag and drop columns, and simpler navigation between sheets.

New standalone Drawings Tool lets you collaborate in real time on flow charts, designs, diagrams and other graphics.

More on using Google Tools in the classroom available at http://oot.wyomingcityschools.org/training/google.html

Student Action Plans - a great model for PBL

2010-04-14T07:36:00.001-04:00

The Earth Day Network provides a "Green Your School Guide" that includes student action plans to guide students in bringing change to their school environment. Mentioned in the previous post, the guide is worth highlighting as the action plans could be the nucleus for some great project-based learning. Each guide is focused on an area of the school campus and includes background knowledge and lesson plans in addition to the student action plan. Action plans include general ideas on organizing such as getting volunteers and fundraising. But where the plans really shine is in the short-term and long-term planning. Tables are included that show students week-by-week and month-by-month strategies for attaining their goals. A listing of "Allies" and resources are included as well. Worth a look even to use as a template for helping students to develop action plans for other types of projects. One example of their action plan available here.

More on Project, Problem, or Challenge based learning available.

Earth Day Curricular Resources and Contests

2010-04-14T06:31:00.002-04:00

An Earth Day 40th Anniversary curriculum featuring standards-based lessons and multimedia resources is available from the Earth Day Network. They also provide a "Green Your School Guide" that includes student action plans to guide students in bringing change to their school environment.

Students in grades 5–8 can enter the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) Earth Day Photo and Essay Contest. Students take a photograph of change that is taking place in their local environment. An accompanying essay focuses on the causes and impact of the change taking place. Photos must be from April 19 through April 30, 2010. Prizes awarded such as digital cameras. Contest deadline is May 12.

Finally, the American Chemical Society (ACS) observes Earth Day with its Chemists Celebrate Earth Day program. The ACS offers events, contests, and educational resources educators and chemistry enthusiasts can use to illustrate the role of chemistry in the world. Their Earth Day 2010 theme is "Plants—The Green Machines."

Mentioned in NSTA Express Newsletter (2010, April 12). [Electronic mailing list message]. Retrieved from www.nsta.org/publications/archive-express.aspx

Integrating Notebook 10 software into instructional practices

2010-04-10T10:07:00.002-04:00

Primary, Middle, and High School faculty from Wyoming gathered Saturday morning for three hours of professional development on incorporating SMART Notebook 10 software into their instructional practices. Staff worked with Elana Slagle from SOITA. Participants were charged with thinking about how they could involve their students in the use of the software and how they could use SMART technologies to differentiate instruction. Resources from this morning's session are available under the How Do I Use section of our website or by clicking here.

Have an Argument

2010-04-05T07:04:00.000-04:00

Our Courts is an online project designed to teach civics and promote the idea of being an active participant in democracy. The site includes several online simulations for students to work through. Their latest addition is Argument Wars where students debate historical Supreme Court cases by advancing arguments and backing them up with supports. Inlcuded are New Jersey v. T.L.O., Brown v. Board of Education, Miranda v. Arizona, Texas v. Johnson, and Gideon v. Wainwright. Teachers will find support materials for use prior to and during simulations. Other activities available are Supreme Decision, where students play a clerk to a justice of the Supreme Court and help decide about a student's rights in school and Do I Have a Right?, where students run a law firm and must give advice to your clients using the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

Mentioned in Big Deal Book Newsletter (2010, April 1). [Electronic mailing list message]. Retrieved from http://www.bigdealbook.com/newsletter_archive.aspx

Finding current research in health, science, society, technology, and other areas

2010-03-30T10:10:00.001-04:00

Futurity aggregates research news produced by leading research universities in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The site, which is hosted at the University of Rochester, research in the environment, health, science, society, technology, and other areas. News can be browsed by school or month. An dedicated app for the iPhone and Android is available as well. http://futurity.org/

The Alltop news aggregator strips Futurity down to just the research titles for quick and easy browsing. Worth a look if you don't need all the flash of the actual site to locate what's current. http://futurity.alltop.com/

This is a nice compliment to Google Scholar which pulls scholarly literature from across all disciplines and a wide variety of sources: articles, theses, books, and abstracts from academic publishers, professional societies, online repositories, universities and other web sites. http://scholar.google.com/

WHS Robotics team to compete this weekend

2010-03-26T13:31:00.008-04:00

From drafting, to proto-type, to the final product, the WCS High School Robotics Team has been preparing for competition this weekend in Piqua, Ohio. The Bots IQ Competition allows students the opportunity to apply Math and Science knowledge to precision machining skills in a motivational project. Students also learn skills in teamwork, product design, electrical wiring, and critical thinking. The Bots IQ educational program consists of a robotics curriculum, teacher training, and regional and national competitions. The curriculum itself has components of physical science, algebra, geometry, design methodology, visualization (3D Computer Aided Design), tools, materials & building techniques, electronics, motors, pneumatics, robot control systems, and computer programming. Good luck to the team this weekend...GO COWBOYS!

Helping students create graphs

2010-03-23T04:46:00.005-04:00

Struggling with excel to create graphs? Imagine how our students feel some days. The National Center for Education Statistics Kids' Zone has a wonderful set of tools to create graphs. Students work their way through design, data input, labeling, previewing, and then printing and/or saving. Examples are given for a variety of styles of graphs and uses. The tabbed interface helps step students through the process. A tutorial is available as well. Create-a-graph!

Still need some info on using excel? Check out our collection of resources for working with and integrating Excel into your instruction.

Grow a Mind through a Garden

2010-03-19T05:56:00.004-04:00

How about a garden at school? The National Gardening Association has developed the School Garden Registry to document and highlight school garden projects. Use the Search tool on the Registry site to find out what other school gardeners are up to and connect with those who share your interests. Tailor your search by selecting a state or grade range (K–4, 5–8, 9 and Up, or Any Grade Level).

The NGA sees a school garden program as a "tremendously valuable tool to help young people turn book knowledge into experiential knowledge." Their site includes projects, activities, thematic explorations, parents' primer, classroom stories, exploring hydroponics guide, and a pollination curriculum.

Mentioned in Big Deal Book Newsletter (2009, November 16). [Electronic mailing list message]. Retrieved from http://www.bigdealbook.com/newsletter_archive.aspx

A quest for your brain

2010-03-15T15:00:00.006-04:00

Becky Moehring reviews her Brain webquest with 4th grade students last week. Her student will make use of her Delicious social bookmarking account for key websites.

Webquests can provide students with opportunities for problem solving, information processing, and collaboration. They also provide a great framework to utilize the many technologies we have access to in the district.

Webquests take planning, but they are well worth it. We have resources for webquests on our Methods and Assessment page (once there click Webquest learning environments) to assist in the planning and development. Resources include exemplary webquests, a rubric to assess your webquest design, and a information on creating top notch essential questions.

In-depth studies from the National Gallery of Art

2010-03-15T07:13:00.005-04:00

The National Gallery of Art's Art for the Nation - Collecting for a New Century offers online in-depth studies of works by Steichen, Verspronck, Fauves, Valentin de Boulogne, Harnett, Degas, Vernet, Calder, Cameron, Rembrandt, Johns, Bassano, and Vuillard. The paintings were originally on display from October of 2000 through Feburary 2001. Each study includes information on the artist, technique, and history behind each painting. Experience it at http://www.nga.gov/feature/artnation/splash.htm

Mentioned in Big Deal Book Newsletter (2010, March 15). [Electronic mailing list message]. Retrieved from http://www.bigdealbook.com/newsletter_archive.aspx

Collaborative writing with MixedInk

2010-03-09T04:03:00.004-05:00

"Many people, one voice" is the tagline for MixedInk's quick and easy online document collaboration. While it may seem similar to Google Docs, a wiki, or Adobe's Buzzword, MixedInk has a few special features that make it unique.

From their website: 1) An organizer proposes a topic and invites people to participate; 2) Participants contribute ideas and opinions addressing the issue. They also edit and remix other people's submissions; 3) At the same time, people rate others' submissions, so the ideas and opinions that best capture the group's viewpoint rise to the top and get fused together. In the end, the highest rated text - created jointly by many different users - represents the group's collective opinion.

The interface is simple and clean so it would appear to be suitable for possibly 4th or 5th grade and higher. Advanced moderation and removal of advertising are available for a fee, but under good supervision in the classroom/lab MixedInk is a great way to get small groups or your whole class collaborating together.

Mentioned in the March/April 2010 issue of Learning & Leading with Technology.
Diana Fingal. (2010, March/April). Mixed ink gives voice to the crowd. Learning & Leading with Technology, 37(6), 35.

A "facebook-style" collaborative tool for your classroom.

2010-03-08T04:03:00.017-05:00

Edmodo is a private micro-blogging platform built for use by teachers and students for use in the classroom. With a familiar "facebook-style" interface, it appears to be easy to use and setup. Edmodo provides a way for teachers and students to share notes, links, and files while maintaining student privacy. Teachers also have the ability to send alerts, events, and assignments to students. At the teacher's discretion any item can be put on a public timeline.

Teachers sign up for accounts, and then create groups. Each group has a unique code which is distributed by the teacher to the class. Students then sign up (no email address required) and join the group using the code. Looks interesting for any grade level, but especially for Primary and Middle.

Cost? The basic Edmodo service is completely free. However they do plan on adding premium features that will be for-pay on top of the basic free service.

Practically Perfect Prediction of Weather with Edheads

2010-03-04T06:08:00.000-05:00

Todd Kassner's class at the Middle School has been predicting and reporting the weather with Edheads' Weather Activities. A teacher guide is included, but the site is incredibly intuitive and fun. Kassner's students also make use of the WCPO website for local current weather reports and NOAA for daily national weather maps that show fronts and high and low pressure systems. Kassner notes that Edheads has multiple topics on science, health, and math that are "interactive and that the kids seem to enjoy" (Chris Fiehrer has also used the site for some health related activities). Below, Sydney from Mr. Kassner's class describes her use of Edheads' weather activities.

BrainPOP March Madness!

2010-03-03T00:14:00.000-05:00

Webinars on integrating BrainPOP begin at 4:30pm on the dates below. Learn more and RSVP here.
- Music Webinar (March 3);
- Interactive Whiteboards, Student Response Systems & BrainPOP (March 10);
- Beyond BrainPOP Walls - 21st Century Tools (March 17);
- BrainPOP Loves Library Media Specialists (March 24);
- Classroom Games? Why Not? (March 31)

New movies and curricular tie-ins also available. BrainPOP is quick digital content ideal for both group and one-on-one settings. Use it to introduce a new lesson/topic or to illustrate complex subject matter. It's a great way to level the playing field for all of your students. Content is aligned to state standards and easily searchable with their online state standards tool. Find this months curricular tie-ins and more about BrainPOP on our BrainPOP page. Monthly curricular tie-in are under the"Integrate it!" heading.