Most of the time, high school science classes work on things inside the classroom.  My background as an environmental scientist was spent doing science outside – sampling terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and determining  what was living there, how the organisms were doing, and what the future would hold for these organisms under various man-made or natural changes.  I would like to be able to expose my classes to more outside science, and a tablet would be a wonderful way to collect and disseminate data quickly by using the portal and STJLabs.

I plan to make myself available as a resource to others.  Every science teacher here at STJA feels as I do – we do not spend as much time on real world (outside) investigations because we don’t have the time to set up and implement outdoor labs.  If I can set up the system, others can and will use it.

Data collection and dissemination is always a problem.  Taking notes on paper can be messy in damp weather, and the copying and distribution of the material is always slower than we’d like.  With a tablet, students could have almost immediate access to data, and then be able to work up that data as part of a homework assignment.  Using the data you collect immediately is a real benefit to holding a student’s interest and connecting field work to classroom work.

My knowledge of the portal and STJLabs is limited, but I know it would be a great help to my students in doing real science.  If I receive a tablet, I will make sure to learn the intricacies of the portal so I can use it well.

Her complete plan is detailed below the fold.

Lisa’s proposal:

Kindle Fire
Protective Cover

Students in Special Services respond well when they are taught in a variety of ways. Using technology is a great way engage students and spark their curiosity. I will use the Kindle Fire in all teaching formats – large group, small group and individual learning settings. The Kindle Fire can be projected on to a white board. There are many games/apps that would be great for this format: anything from an interactive white board to a math game. There are also great apps that students can use in a small group or pairs plus individually. Downloading books will be helpful for Guided Studies and Study Skills. Students can also use vocabulary apps for studying/review for any class. In my IS Algebra class the Kindle Fire can be used in a variety of ways as well. There is an abundance of math resources for the Kindle Fire that students can interact with while they are learning. The possibilities are infinite.

The Kindle Fire has all the potential of an ipad at a much more reasonable cost. Special Services is always in need of new technology – bringing the Kindle Fire into the department may show a more cost effective option for future purchases.

6 teachers reported in from 6 different departments.

Nola Forbes, Mathematics

How do you use technology in your classroom?

At the culmination of a unit, students use Geometers’ Sketchpad software to show a diagram and write their explanation of the associated problem.   Students learn new steps, show math symbols in their writing and proof-read their sentences (since there is no spell-check feature).  Students help explain the technology steps to each other if needed, while learning to label points & lines, adjust scales on each axis and move the textbox layer.  This results in a more professional looking document and pride in their work.

Previous Computer Science classes (Intro to Java Programming and AP Computer Science A) have relied on research using the internet as well as the integrated environment of JCreator to accomplish the tasks within coursework projects using the Java language.

What works well?

Giving students a short amount of experiment time with Geometers’ Sketchpad before giving them the set of instructions to follow in a step-by-step fashion.  Students sit near at least one other student during the activity to keep an eye on each other’s progress.

What hasn’t worked well?

Student forgetting which computer was used to save their work.  However when they write down their unit number on their instruction sheet it is easy to reference the next day.  Some units have batteries that don’t give much notice before shutting off, so the students at the end of the day are affected more and need to be cognizant of the indicator.

Which use of technology are you most proud of?

When Algebra 2 students create their own word problem using a system of linear equations, then use Geometers’ Sketchpad to show all the work steps with line-by-line explanations of their thinking.  The gaph accompanies this on the same page.

How have your students been impacted by your use of technology?

The last work with Geometers’ Sketchpad gave the Algebraic Foundations students pride in their finished product just before the semester concluded.

David Hale, Culinary

How do you use technology in your classroom?

Technology is used in many facets of the HIlltopper.  All homework is assigned and submitted via email.  We utilize a smart board for classroom instruction, integrating different programs to emphasize points in discussion.  We use the Tech Dept net-books for guided research and standardized testing (DOE assessments and NOCTI certification).  Students utilize a “point of sales” system during their time in the front of the house.  All course materials are available on the portal.

What works well?

Emailing homework: the students quickly become conditioned to check email and respond appropriately.  I can give them direct and timely feedback, rather than waiting to grade a stack of papers.  Guided studies teachers are copied on all assignments, enabling them to work with students in real-time.

What hasn’t worked well?

I am still in need of more training around better use of the smart board.  I also struggle to utilize my class pages on the portal effectively.

Which use of technology are you most proud of?

The email homework has had many benefits that I did not consider when I started.  My next step is to better integrate my class pages and build more dynamic assignments and interactions through the portal.

How have your students been impacted by your use of technology?

Some, who resisted the email assignments, have become very strong in their use of this simple technology.  Students are slowly starting to look to the portal for resources.

Kathy Hockman, Science

How do you use technology in your classroom?

I try (there is emphasis there) to use technology every day in my classrooms. Yes, multiple classrooms which is one more reason to go technological. If all I have to carry is my ThinkPad, then surely I can hurry, right?

I use my personal laptop or my loaner Thinkpad to write notes and then display them using several different venues, depending on what is working and what is being shown. Powerpoint is an old favorite, but I am working to update my use of it. I also use a digital projector to do the projecting. And lately I have begun to use my iPhone to take pictures of class agendas or notes so that I can quickly erase them and move to the next classroom. Most recently I have used the phone to take pictures of students’ white boarded activities so that they do not get lost and so that we can refer back to them in future discussions.

I am currently spending more time to try to get my portal user friendly and functional for my students and I. I am planning to use the drop box for assignments and other options, including Google docs for students to submit their work.

What works well?

Well, its technology so none of it works well all of the time. I think the thing that is most successful is being able to pull everything together into one spot. Word works well for me (as I have used it for years), but I am not convinced it is the best avenue for where I would like to go. Powerpoint works well when all the requisite pieces are also functioning.

What hasn’t worked well?

Accessing printers is a constant frustration that requires putting something on my thumb drive, carrying it to a computer somewhere and hoping it is on and attached to the printer or copier I am hoping to use.

My own commitment (or lack thereof) has interfered with the success I feel is looming in using the sites and programs that are available. I am working to overcome this deficiency and get more comfortable using the notepad as it was demonstrated by the Master himself. It is a work in progress that is somewhat delayed by the burden of planning, etc. that the first year of classes entails.

Which use of technology are you most proud of?

I have used Vernier labware in the past and have been most excited about the success we have had in collecting, analyzing, and understanding the data from our studies. I miss that kind of fun. We do have a different kind of lab ware at SJA, but I have not ventured in to borrow it or to add one more thing to the already full plate.

How have your students been impacted by your use of technology?

I think students are impacted by the effective use of technology and are appreciative of the efforts we make in that regard. When it works well, it is great for all of us. I am determined to make it work well more often. =)

Molly Muller, History

How do you use technology in your classroom?

I use technology on an almost daily basis. I type my notes for class which I distribute weekly to students who require them or miss class. I post my syllabus, powerpoints, and other materials on the portal. I use my desktop computer and classroom projector for powerpoints, videos, youtube clips, and to notify students of important webpages for research.

I also have my classes in the library at least once every 2-3 weeks working on research or doing projects on computers.

One thing I am going to try and do is have students use their smart phones (gasp!) in a limited way in class.

What works well?

Being able to project powerpoints rather than writing on my chalk board has been great. It also helps just to put images or directions up rather than printing out a copy for each individual student. I am then able to easily upload this material to the portal for students to view later. This helps with review as well as encouraging them to listen as well as take notes, not just write down what is in front of them.

What hasn’t worked well?

As I know many other teachers complain about, the internet speed is very difficult to deal with. I do internet work at home so that I do not have to waste time at school due to outages or slow speeds. The computers we have access to are also old and slow. I find it frustrating to spend time doing things in twice the amount of time they should take.

On that note, I wish we had more computer carts/additional writing labs. As a History teacher I use computers often, and it is frustrating to have to schedule time far in advance or be boxed out of facility use.

Which use of technology are you most proud of?

I am most proud of projecting the notes for students in powerpoint form. I think my students benefit from not having to squint at the board and being able to review the information later, and I can focus on teaching rather than writing on the board.

How have your students been impacted by your use of technology?

Yes. I had my students fill out a survey about how they learn best and they almost all said they enjoyed powerpoints when I am presenting information. They also take comfort in knowing that they can review the information.

I also think just by requiring my students to type papers they are building skills and becoming more proficient which will help them in the future.

Amy Huang, Language

How do you use technology in your classroom?

I use apps on iPhone and iPad to help my students review daily lessons and do projects.  I recorded Chinese pronunciation with WavePad and upload to google doc and give students the link, so they will be able to review the pinyin and tones as part of their homework.  Meanwhile, I have each of my Chinese I and III student share a google doc named “Homeworl” with me, so I’m able to check their homework and give instant feedback even at 11:00 pm.  This solves problems of the requesting students to come to conference period.  Sometimes they could just leave a message for me and I can reply to them immediately.  The works especially well when we get a snow day.

As far as the project goes, I use puppet pal so far to have student create their own puppet show, speaking in Chinese, of course.  This app comes really handy for Language folks!!  I’m still exploring and experimenting the options I have and I could have for my class.  It’s inspiring and fun!!

What works well?

- homework reviewing system: google doc
- projecter to show notes from my iPad, iPhone, or Macbook

What hasn’t worked well?

Sometimes I have my notes or files saved in my iPad or need to get online with my iPad, but I didn’t have the password, and it will take another few minutes to get another computer device to work.  I was very frustrated with this part because this just shows technology is wonderful, but sometimes it doesn’t work that well because of password!!

Which use of technology are you most proud of?

Apps for iPhone/iPad, they are fun to play with and most of them has educational value!!

How have your students been impacted by your use of technology?

They get to review Chinese pronunciation at home, and feel they have something to practice with. The google doc helps them to have contact with me more often, and they don’t feel they are asking silly questions because it’s private. The google doc also offers instant feedback when they are doing their homework

Chris Dussault, English

For the past few years I’ve been authoring my own class web pages for Technical Communications 2 (tinyurl.com/2012tc2), English 1, and Freshman Humanities.  Denise Scavitto has taken over responsibility for Humanities for the past couple of years, though I have retained my Technical Communications 2 site.  I know, the word “authoring” carries a certain pretense of tech savviness that makes the average user of technology uncomfortable. They think that if it needs to be authored, then it is best left to someone who works in Cupertino, rides a recumbent bicycle, or is fluent in foreign tongues like Flash, HTML, or Java. You know, programmers, coders, hackers!

I’m writing today to say that this is not the case.  If one can write a document in Microsoft Word, then one can author a web page.  If one can write two documents in Word, they have the start of a website.  Authoring a website is actually pretty easy.  All it takes is a bit of time, patience, organization, and the ability to create an attractive document.

My oldest online syllabus dates back to 2005, so I have been doing this for a while. At this point, it really isn’t much harder than authoring a normal calendar-based syllabus. I do have to take care to transfer all of my files and handouts into a new master file so as not to break the hyperlinks, but that is pretty easy.

This semester I’ve taken on a new challenge. I’ve moved away from using Word as my de facto web editor and in favor of some freeware that was actually designed for the task: Kompozer. This has necessitated my rebuilding the whole page from the ground up.  Since I’ve been using the same template and method for the past 6 years, this seemed like a good move. Over that time there have been a number of formatting bugs that have developed when authoring in Word.  These bugs resulted in an inconsistency in the appearance of the site. It had gotten difficult to uniformly format the font, font size, cell margins and even text color.  Not only was the appearance less-than-perfect, but I had also accumulated a number of files over the years that I no longer use.  So in rebuilding the site with Kompozer, I’ve gone through every singe file and handout, saving the ones that I still use, and archiving the ones that I don’t. While this process has already taken some time and is not yet complete, I’m already much happier with the overall appearance and performance of the site.

Now I know a number of faculty members have built class web pages through the portal or other online website generators.  These tools certainly serve a purpose and offer a great deal of bang for your buck. (“Buck” equating time in this idiom.) Still, I much prefer the authoring creativity that a web page editor like Kompozer or even Microsoft Word offers.  As the author, you have full control over the appearance of your site, and can organize it any way that you want to, as opposed to plugging text into predefined fields.

In the end, I have a product that is easy for my students navigate.  It also helps to answer many parent questions about what is going on in class.  It’s pretty nice to be able to send a link to the syllabus to a parent who is wondering about the content of class. When they open up a site that is organized as a calendar, with hyperlinks to all of the assignment prompts, handouts and assessment due dates, it usually answers their questions about the curriculam, what we are doing in class or what the homework is tonight.  Whenever students say that they have lost a handout, I direct them to the website.  When I happen to be in the library or somewhere else and need a document, I can pop open the site from any computer and access it.  And yes, I can access it all from my phone, as can my more wired students.

Overall, authoring my own class page has required more work over the years, but I believe that it has also saved me a great deal of work and frustration. It has also served as a fine communication tool for my students and their parents.  Ultimately, everyone with a computer already has the necessary tools to make it happen, as long as one has Word and an internet connection.

I guess that the bigger question in considering something like this is, how committed are we to helping our students develop visual literacy, visual communication skills and actually practicing those design skills that are so prominently discussed within both the Academy culture and the culture at large?  When I heard Jeff talk this morning about spaces designed to encourage cross-germination of ideas – and in light of the fact that we are already discussing designing a media lab – I thought it would be a good time to share this video.  I also plan to buy the Stanford book.

Below is a link to the Stanford video, and the “Get more information about the book” on the same page is informative, also.

http://dschool.stanford.edu/blog/2012/01/18/make-space-the-book/

An Educational Technology Bill of Rights Targets Censorship in Schools

You can do about 99% of what the average user can do in Photoshop and all you need is a web browser.

You can learn more about and download the iPhone/iPad app right here.

If you’re looking for an app to make random selections from a list, I recommend trying out the free “Randomizer” app which you can download right here.

Yet, I find it is my students that often take the reins when it comes to technology.  It is my students who seem to offer suggestions about the best aps to use in the school setting, who know how to navigate between all platforms, and who are willing to teach each other the “little tricks” that seem to increase functionality.  One student in particular, has really taken a lead role in the use of the iPad.  He’s even set up the two iPads in the special services department so the aps are arranged in content based folders.  Another student has become the expert in the Droid and continually updates myself and the rest of the students on the best aps for this device.  So far…the possibilities have been endless and the choices, at times, overwhelming.  But, here are a few that have proven successful within my classroom:

Concept mapping;  (Ipad) – Mindmeister or Simple Mind;  (Droid) – Mindjet – Students can take screen shots and then e mail the finished products to me with all three aps

Note-taking;  (Ipad) – Evernote;  (Droid) – Note Everything (students can send me their notes to view electronically)

Classroom Discussion Board – Edmodo – ap is available on all platforms

*Logmein is an ap that allows your smart phone to “control” your computer (computer must be on)—this has proved helpful in several circumstances, the most recent in which a student forgot an essay assignment that he did on his home computer.  From his phone, he was able to connect to his home computer, locate the essay, and then send it to me via e mail.  It is my understanding that there are several aps like this one.

Turning Recorded Text to Typed Text

I have at least a sketchy beginning to getting my Portal pages working and current. I am also working to get a google docs library uploaded for linking to my portal. The StJLabs google account is the one I have spent the least amount of time on and therefore one that I am spending more quantity time with…hoping that it leads to quality time!

Yet, the question remains, what have I accomplished with this new technology? I do continue to use the Think pad to project notes and Powerpoint presentations for my classes using the LCD projector(s) that are conveniently set up in each of the classrooms that I am working in this semester.

In all honesty, I have yet to really hit a peak in terms of utilizing that notepad to its fullest (alright, not even a high percentage) of its potential. But, I endeavor daily to use it more often and in more ways. I am spending more time out of class and even off campus in what could be termed “playing” with the machine and its software. Since I am a scientist, I prefer the term “experimenting”.

For example, I am, in addition to the above programs, trying to get a handle on OneNote as the savvy tool I have heard about. But I admit that with time constraints (new preps this semester) and technological speed bumps (lack of printing or network issues), I consistently fall back on Word and other familiar (AKA soft and comfy) Office products.

Some other options I have been using are my iPhone in conjunction with the notepad, the LCD projector, and whatever else I can combine that already exists in the three classrooms I am working in so that all I have to carry is my “laptop”, iPhone, and zip drive.

I am still working to overcome the lack of a CD/DVD drive on the ThinkPad. I guess the bottom line here is that I am making progress, albeit not at a warp speed rate…not glacial though either, and I will not be subdued by this challenge. It is one of the many the first year at SJA has offered and I am still upright and mobile. That must count for something, right?