Technology and Learning

  Every year I have the opportunity to attend THE BEST CONFERENCE; The TIES Conference in Minneapolis!  There is NOTHING worth your money more than this!  The BEST of the BEST come to Minneapolis to showcase their technology wisdom!!!  Everything from iPads, to apps, to the Four C's, to totally amazing website - you can SEE IT ALL!  I literally have to decompress each night and then again when I get home because of all the terrific things that I am exposed to.  Now - really, it's no one different from us - they just have the guts to display and show what we may of may not.  MANY of the things down there I have seen but MANY of the things I have not - THAT'S THE BEST PART - you can pick and choose which session you want to attend - walk out if it isn't what you thought - and jump in on another one you think you might like instead.  TWO DAYS OF TECHNOLOGY NERDS!!  That's right - ya'll - fellow teachers, technology specialist, media peeps and m...

    I can't remember if I have talked about our school newspaper, Trojan Turf, but it is SO fun and SO worth looking into if your school doesn't have an online paper.  Mrs. Gross, one of our English teachers, teaches a Journalism class.  Students in grades 10-12 can be in the class as an English elective.  The students learn the ins and outs of newspapers, writing stories, taking photos, and editing documents.  She has all the students write in the class, she chose two editors, and one student does all the online publishing, which I help mentor.  They also have to keep a blog and write on that every week.  The topic is his/her choosing, but they are responsible for keeping that up to date.  I love this as it teaches them how to become online writers and see the importance of it.      Our site is hosted by SNO , which is an online and mobile publishing site.  I want to say we pay like $300 each year for them to host ...

    Mr. Hermes, one of our Math teachers, attended the NCTM Conference a few weeks ago and came back with some great websites I'm not sure everyone knows about.  He mentioned in his write up the following, "Some of the key points I took away was the attention span of the average person is five minutes.  What I took from this is that we have five minutes to hook them and get them vested in our lessons/discussions, or whatever we are doing for the day.  How our students brains work are changing.  A majority of our students are “gamers” so they are used to failing.  To be successful we must incorporate failing into our classrooms.  Most video games you play, you get so far, then fail.  Start over get so far, and then fail.  Start over again get so far, and then fail.  Sooner or later you figure it out."  Which I TOTALLY agree with - and he shared the following websites: 1. Sumdog - an entire website based on the idea of ga...

I HAVE to brag about two students (Jimmy and Ethan) that worked to create switches for some students.  I wrote a blog a month ago about a device called a Makey Makey .  The idea is that you use electricity to create a switch for students that maybe can't use a computer mouse or keyboard.  By plugging the Makey Makey into the USB of your computer, these students can then activate the space bar or click button to moves things, play games, make music, etc.. on the computer.  So here is what Jimmy and Ethan came up with: Here is an example of a joystick type switch where they can play PacMan, or mover directionally.  They used cardboard and then glued tinfoil onto it to attach the alligator clips to.  They also took markers to draw arrows on the tinfoil to show directions. This shows them playing a "piano" that was created again with cardboard covered in tinfoil.  You will notice that when they play they are wearing a "bracelet" that they made to ...

  Today, Mr. Schmitt, a science teacher here, asked about a web based program (with an app component) called ClassCraft .  I have NEVER heard of it.  So, he sent me the link and I have been doing a little "learning:)!"  The idea is that your entire class is a "ClassCraft" team where each student has a character in the game.  The students are also in a team of 3-5 that is trying to complete certain "tasks" through acting appropriately, getting homework done, volunteering, and behaviors that you WANT the students to do.  You as the admin can also take away points and values for UNWANTED behaviors such as not completely homework, acting out in class, and being disrespectful.  When they earn points they can purchase thing and power up their characters and teams.  When they do unwanted behaviors, the teacher can take away points which then demotes the characters and teams.  The whole idea is to encourage and motivate kiddos to do what they are sup...

I JUST finished updating all our GRADE LEVEL app lists to the 2015-16 school year.  This will give you an idea of what WE use in Barnesville.  One thing that I STRONGLY encourage you to think about would be "Can I use this app cross curricular?"  I would recommend that MOST of the apps you have on student iPads to be the case - which it is NOT here!  We ONLY bought the 16GB iPads, so storage IS an issue for some grade levels.  Our 7th and 8th graders that are also in band and choir STRUGGLE all year for storage space as the apps they have for band/choir and science are BIG!!  SO, consider this when you are in that stage of looking for apps......the more cross curricular the better!   I will get the content area app lists uploaded today - but not quite done with them.  You know how it is when YOU have things to get done, BUT the other needs come first;)! Happy Monday all, Mrs. I:)

  I have been looking for some virtual field trips and came across a few that would be worth checking out.  Not ALL of them work on the iPads, but there are some AMAZING ones here:)! 1.  National Museum of Natural History - Why not start with one of the most AMAZING museums that you can visit!  This site allows you to take a panoramic virtual tour around the Museum of Natural History and jump floors and explore what they have to offer - SO SO COOL! 2. National Parks by National Geographic - This is an app to download on your iPad but it shows 25 of the best parts in the United States.  It's FREE and SO worth the download:)! 3. Google Cultural Institute - Find various collections and exhibits from museums all over the world.  You can search topics or choose from those already showing.  4.  Polar Husky - This site has amazing journeys taken across the Arctic.  It's free curriculum and has been since the site was created.  Th...

Our adaptive physical education teacher came to me yesterday asking about a Makey Makey !  She wondered if I have ever heard of it and I say YES YES:)!!! I gave one a few years ago to a neighbor boy who was interested in building things.  I asked him to bring it in for us to try!  Her plan was to use this device to act as a "switch" for a student to use with the Wii to bowl, bat, etc.. as the student is able to hit a button but not grasp a controller.  So, today, myself, Casey,  and three other students set out to get this bugger working.  It DOES NOT work with the Wii as the sensor control doesn't catch it - however - it DOES work perfectly with a computer!  See below: Basically, the Makey Makey is a control board that allows you to use the space bar or click on your computer by tapping an object you have alligator wired to the circuit.  In the picture above, for example, a student created a Pac Man joystick using the directions on th...

  I WISH I had a great answer for this - but I don't!!  Some kiddos have DONE the update and others have NOT as they don't have enough storage - which is OUR problem.  Each student only has a 16GB iPad, so with the iOS 9 taking up 1.2 of that, it doesn't leave much wiggle room for apps like Notion , GarageBand , Music Theory for Beginners , Cell and Cell Structure , and Frog Dissection .  Those are JUST a few.  AND if kiddos use Dropbox at all - that takes storage, too - UGH!!  That's not even counting other amazing apps for creation like iMovie and Explain Everything ...... so for now what do you do - if they CAN do it - they ARE doing it as wanted.  Then, if I have trouble doing updates or adding additional apps for electives, I end up deleting the iOS 9 update - nothing else to do I guess. With that being said, there are some REALLY neat features with iOS 9 - those being converting websites to PDF for kiddos without Internet and split screens - ...

 I am going to TOTALLY copy and past what my Apple guy sent along - ugh:)!! Hardware Highlights from Recent Announcement Apple iPad Pro 12.9 inch screen with Keyboard Option and Apple Pencil -  http://www.apple.com/ipad- pro/ All new iPhone 6S and 6S Plus - http://www.apple.com/iphone/ Apple TV with new TVos open to developers -  http://www.apple.com/tv/ iOS 9 * iOS 9 is a free upgrade and will ship on September 16th -  https://www.apple.com/ios/ whats-new/ * iOS 9 is supported on iPad 2 and greater. * iOS 9 will take much less free space to install than previous iOS updates. iOS 9 is full of new management capabilities that many of you have been asking for.  These include things like: * Assign and deploy a VPP purchased app to a device (not a person) using your MDM server  without the need for an Apple ID on the device. * Deploying apps to a device while keeping the App Store restricted so the end user can’t see it or use it. * Restrict users fro...

All I can say is THANK YOU Preston!!!  He was the Apple man that I was talking to the other day and mentioned a produce that Bretford makes - YAHOO!!!  This is what we ordered - it is called a PowerSync D20 and I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT:)!!! Not only does it work FLAWLESSLY, it takes up VERY little space and can handle all the "algorithms" that these cords have - I REALLY don't know what I'm talking about there, but I TOTALLY trust my 21 year old Apple Preston from Texas:)!!!  So for now - we are a GO!  I currently have 12th and 11th grade done and have to get 7-10 done by next Thursday - my day JUST got better because of this device!  SO NOT CHEAP as I think it was roughly $1100 but we are getting another one as you can chain them and get 40 done at a TIME!  Now, if you have Casper you obviously don't need this as you don't use Apple Configurator, BUT if you DO use Apple Configurator - I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS EVEN AFTER TWO HOURS OF USE:)!! Happ...

OH BOY HERE WE GO!!  Oh wait, no we haven't - NOTHING HAS BEEN WORKING!!!  UGH - I thought is would be OH SO simple this fall - NOT SO!!!  The following is a list of VENTS from Mrs. I: 1. Apple Configurator is updating in September - GO FIGURE, RIGHT?  Now I get it, Apple, you have to market to the business world, as unfortunately, education isn't the biggest field for you - HOWEVER - I WISH they'd keep in mind that we DO start our school year then and EVERYTHING will change now - UGH - more to come on this topic.  For now we are doing things AS USUAL, and will deal with this beast when the update comes out.  In the meantime - I will get you some links  that our "Apple Guy" sent to become familiar with some of these changes - coming soon... 2. When I DID start hooking up the iPad minis to Apple Configurator - it WOULD NOT recognize them - NO!!!!!!!  So - I was able to do like 5-6 at a time - when you have 900+ to do - this is NOT an option so ...

  I just wanted to share this quick before it gets put on the back burner:)!!  The high school choir teacher, Mrs. Gylland, found this and passed it along.  It seems SUPER helpful if you're NEW to Excel and haven't used it a TON:) 20 Tricks That Can Make ANYONE an Excel Expert   Happy Monday to everyone!  I HOPE to post things like this randomly as they come up or as I find them - so will be in touch weekly I hope!   Have a great one, Mrs. I:)

IT"S OFFICIAL!  WE.  ARE.  DONE.  WITH.  iPAD 2s!!!  Cloud Blue game in and JUST pulled away from BHS with ALL our iPads - YAHOO:)!!  WHAT A RELIEF!  They will now bring them back and count all and figure out a grand total of what kind of money we will get for them - TBD!!   However, didn't have a CLUE what to expect - so I had to take some pictures of what actually went on here.  First we loaded ALL the iPads from Casey's office:  Next, we loaded sets of iPads into a crate that held a cardboard box with dividers in it: Finally, they totaled the boxes up and put them on pallets for loading onto a truck - DONE!! I MUST say what a relief - and the CRAZY thing - I had a GRAND TOTAL of 963 iPads - they had a grand total of 967 iPads - AND we found 4 that were completely a loss from our iCare repair place - YAHOO - SPOT.  ON.  Like that will EVER happen again, right:)? So, here we are onto the NEXT adventur...

    With only two weeks to go in the school year, there has been a LOT going on at BHS:)!!  iPad minis are ordered, and actually JUST found out TODAY that they will be in here in about 5 days - YAHOO!!  That means that I can totally use the kiddos IN SCHOOL to help code, case and arrange all 900 of them:)!  That makes me SO SO SO happy:)!!  I also found out that May 29 is the "official" pick up date for our existing iPads.  We are going to start collection next Thursday with K-3, Friday with 4-6, and the following week with 7-12 pending when they have finals, etc... YAHOO!  I will hook them ALL up to Apple Configurator and remove all iPads, which will give us back ALL redemption codes to use on the minis.  I am then going to restore all iPads back to factory settings so they are all set and ready for the company to resell.    Teachers have also turned in their app requests for next year, or the apps that they no longer want on st...

I came across this AMAZING article about education in Finland.  NOW, it has NOTHING to do with MOVE 21 and what we are doing her in Barnesville with iPads, BUT it is SO SO SO worth your TIME to read this one!  I am in TOTAL agreement with it, and as an educator who also spends countless hours of my own personal time on things for the classroom, it's enlightening to hear that MAYBE, just MAYBE this will be the United States someday:)! 11 Ways Finland’s Education System Shows Us that “Less is More." More IS Less - remember that! Happy Wednesday - Mrs. I:)

  I MUST SHARE:)!!  We are now in our THIRD week of publishing our school newspaper.  CHECK IT OUT!  It's called The Trojan Turf and it really is SO SO NEAT!!  Mrs. Gross, and English teacher here, has a Media/Journalism class that she teaches here.  Each kid in her class has a blog that they need to write on every other week, but they also have to write every other week for the paper.  Whether it's student life, sports, news, or meet the teacher, once the article is written, they have to turn it into one of the four editors.  They fix major mistakes, and send back to the write for one more revision.  Once completed, students send them to me, along with a picture, and a student then uploads them all to the SNO website that we have bought for publication.  It has REALLY been a great experience for the kiddos!  Next year it will be a year long course, pending enough students take it!  Every Monday the new publication comes out ...

  While observing Mrs. Nelson, a 6th teacher, I saw two really FUN things that she is doing with the kiddos - 1.  Kahoot - I am not sure if I have mentioned this site - but CHECK IT OUT!!  She was doing a review for science and gave them a quick informative assessment from the lesson the day before.  The kids were EXCITED, ENGAGED, and EAGER to see how they did.  It was SO great!  Kahoot is simply a website where you create a free account and you write little quizzes for kiddos to do.  They then log into the site with the quiz number and BAM - Ready. To. GO! 2.  The OTHER thing that she did that I had NO NO idea she had done, was create a digital textbook using iBooks Author - LOVED IT!  She makes an iBook for each chapter or related standards that she has to teach and then the kids use THIS instead of the bulky book where they only cover certain topics - GENIUS:)!  She can embed video, interactive links, photo galleries, etc.. int...

  Sorry again for not posting in a while - seem SO busy - yet seem to get NOTHING accomplished - ever feel that way?:)  We have been meeting GALORE regarding next year and what exactly to do.  As of now here is what we're looking into: 1. Sell the iPads that we currently have to a MN company and then buy iPad Airs again through Apple directly 2. Get iPad Minis for our K-2 or K-3, since this will save us so money to offset the cost of buying new through Apple 3. Possibly get 32MG iPads for 10-12 as they tend to need a little more storage; especially with band and choir students 4. Keep Macbook Pros that we currently HAVE as teachers really want them to stay:) NOW - with all that being said is that what we will FOR SURE DO - WHO KNOWS???:-)  But that is what we are recommending to the Finance Committee tonight so I will update tomorrow on what was actually decided or what is going to go to the board again for final approval. We STILL plan on using Apple Con...

  If you are a Google Apps for Education district and use Google Docs a TON - you MUST check out Read&Write for Google - A  M  A  Z  I  N  G!!!  In a nutshell - you can take ANY Google doc, presentation, form, PDF, etc. and have the option to have it read to you, highlight, annotate, find definitions for - etc.. UNREAL! It really it SO SO cool and I can think of about a GAZILLION ways that this would be a valuable tool for students in any classroom.  It is simply an add-on extension that you download in the Chrome web browser and use with Google Docs, or actually ANY website as well.  I took this graphic from the SpeechTechie blog - if you want to check out his article in entirety!   This is something that I am TOTALLY going to start spreading the word about.  It's FREE for educators, and a cost for students - I am checking into it as we have many students that would benefit from this greatly!!  A single licens...

   We have been in the process of trying to figure out exactly "WHAT" to do for next year.  We KNOW that are getting iPads for sure, that question has been answered.  The problem lies in how to trade in, swap out, buy new, etc... Here are our options: 1. Sell our iPads to Company A, and they will come and package everything up.  They grade each iPad on an A, B, C level - and give us the money after they evaluate them.  We can then buy NEW iPad Airs from Apple with a one year warranty; just like before. 2. Sell our iPads to Company A, and they will come and package everything up, and then trade in for iPad Airs that are ONE YEAR OLD.  They have been used with another "company," for a year, not in student hands.  THEN the best part - they will give us a four year warranty.  If something goes bad, we send the iPads to THEM and they take care of it! I REALLY like option 2 because of the extended warranty, but I don't like the idea of buying...

  I am not sure if I have shared this website with you, but our Kindergarteners are ROCKING IT OUT!  The site is Starfall and it has SO much great content on here.  Below is a list of content for the little ones:    The kiddos today were working on the Learn to Read section.  They had to listen to words, add beginning and ending sounds, and read stories and click and find things as they went.  They were TOTALLY engaged!  They even had a checklist to do once sections were completed to track their progress.    A SUPER fun one for the kiddos is preK-1st grade I would say FOR SURE:)! Bad news - NO iPad as it's flash based:(  - but still PLEASE CHECK IT OUT Happy Monday and night, Mrs. I:)

   Casey and I went to the school board meeting this past Monday and gave the recommendation from the technology committee.  After months and months of researching, compiling data, and talking to other schools, we are going to stay with iPads for our next go around!  We will be ordering the iPad Air this spring for ALL students again in grades K-12.  The technology committee, Casey and myself have gone round and round.  As you know, we have Surface RTs in Mr. Askegaard's business lab and he really likes them. There were a couple of things that we DID NOT like: 1. Their tech support is NOTHING compared to what Apple has in place.  Obviously this will continue to improve, we just aren't willing to buy 300+ of them and then struggle with people helping us. 2.  There isn't a great case for it, and the ones were found started making the device not even affordable for our district 3. The keyboard that goes with it is fine for personal use, but whe...

  I have seen MANY versions of this online and finally decided to make my own:)!!       It has been CRAZY how many kiddos have commented on this wondering if "something" happened and that's the reason that I posted these around the school.  I said, "Nope, I just wanted to have this be a gentle reminder for everyone."  The kids said they should ALWAYS be up as a "gentle" reminder!  That's really it, isn't it?  MOST kids are very careful and conscious of what they are posting or tweeting, but for EVERYONE, we all need reminders of how this can hurt and harm others!!  I love our kiddos!! Happy weekend all, Mrs. I:)

  I have been trying to put together a compiled list for another district of websites that WE use a lot here.  Alone the way, I have come across some neat gems! 1. Free Rice : This website has various content to practice.  As students answer questions correcting, rice is collected and donated to help end world hunger - HOW COOL:)!!! 2. CNN Students : CNN broadcasts this 10-minutes daily newscast for middle/high school students.  What an EASY way to talk about current events and even add writing to your curriculum - GREAT:)! 3.  Grammar Bytes! :  A website to just practice grammar skills.  4. Google Earth : Not sure if you or your students have played with this one, but it will quickly become a FAVORITES:)!  5. Smithsonian Education: Sizing Up the Universe is SUPER COOL!  The students are given information about the earth, sun, planets, etc.. and they input an address (I did mine:)  and it gives them a "comparative" illustrati...

  Mrs. Meyer, a second grade teacher here, has been using a website in her classroom called FrontRow .  This is a site that allows for differentiation in math class.  Now, we have used MANY others like Study Island , Accelerated Math , and Khan Academy , but this has been that one that she likes best.  Student start off by taking a diagnostic test on a particular skill, and then the website/app creates a path for the kids to follow based on how he/she did.  It meets the really low, the middle, and the really high.  There is a companion app called Common Core Math for Teachers by Front Row that we have put on her students' iPads!  She has found it to be very easy for the kids to use, it's been easy for her to differentiate without a TON of work, and the kids love it - what a great combination.  OH YEA - it's FREE:)!!!  Here is what the app looks like in case you're trying to find it:)  Happy Wednesday, Mrs. I:)

  I was in Mrs. Tonsfeldt's 3rd Grade classroom today helping her kiddos show their Explain Everything presentations.  They were SO SO great and did such a fantastic job!  They had to come up with a famous person or idea and write a timeline.  Each date had to represent something in his/her life and they created a presentation showing this.  Not only did it help them understand timelines, they had to record their voices into their presentation, include a graphic, and pick their favorite thing learned! Here is an example: LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS:)!  So great and the kids were AMAZING at it!  Their little minds surprise me more and more each day and their knowledge of technology is superb!! Happy Weekend all, Mrs. I:)

  A 9th grader came in yesterday and showed me this: You'll notice that the screen is TOTALLY shattered, the bottom is bent bad, and the home button is missing - GOOD GRIEF - what happened, right? When I asked him what happened, he said that he dropped it out of his bag getting off the bus.  I questioned him, "I don't think this is what happened, as this kind of breakage is pretty bad."  Casey, our tech guy, was also in here and he blurts out, "Are you sure after you dropped it that the bus didn't run it OVER?"  He said, "Well, maybe I dropped it off my bed stand also."  Which CLEARLY is NOT the case.  Just TELL ME THE TRUTH!!  We were DYING laughing;)!   On another note, a girl came in this morning and said that she does her homework on her iPad while she takes a bath.  However, last night she put her iPad on a stand next to the tub, and while she was getting out, she knocked it off INTO the bath water - end of iPad!  O...

  If you haven't seen any of the videos that Kid President (Robby Novak) has created you MUST!!!  His humor, loving smile and inspiring personality really hit home to kids and adults alike.  He came up with one that is SO appropriate for today, since it's Martin Luther King, Jr's birthday!  ENJOY:)!! Happy Monday, Mrs. I:)

  For Mrs. Gross's Independent Reading class, the students have to read three novels during the quarter and do a book review of each one.  In addition, she also has them create a "project" based on the book that they just read.  One of her students did a book review on the book Dark Places by Gillian Flynn - check out his iMovie trailer that he created - DIED LAUGHING - SO GREAT:)!! Some other students chose to go to the  Wordle site.  They had to create a word cloud and explain WHY they chose the words they did in their "cloud."  The more important words had to be larger than the others, and the students had to explain WHY that was the case.  Here are some examples: This one is for the novel White Fang by Jack London: This one is created after the novel 19 Minutes by Jodi Picoult: Two more great ideas to use with ANY novel.  This class is taught to senior high students, but these projects could be incorporated into just about ...

Let's just say that day 2 was JUST as amazing as day 1!  I forgot to mention a quote that Mark Garrison shared in his session and I BELIEVE IT SO SO MUCH!! Whatever is it you do, know you can do better! - Rushton Hurley   Isn't that the truth! Now, we have AMAZING peeps here in Barnesville, but things can ALWAYS be done better and we are learning that each and every day - we ALL are! Session 1:  Reading Comprehension: Digging Deeper Using Digital Devices - Sara Speicher and Julie Walthour gave AMAZING ideas on websites and apps that help with reading comprehension!  Here are the things they talked about.  Many we have used, some were new - all great! * Thinglink – link hot spots to pictures – use with vocabulary – kids can create a channel and you can click through it * Newslea – read the article one time at the lowest level – take quiz – move up to the next Lexile level and read again – continue moving up to improve vocabulary *...

  I am SO SO SORRY that I am FINALLY getting to this so late!  However - the things I have to share are SO worth waiting for - even after a month:)!! Session 1 - The Breakfast Club : Darin Swenson and Luke Stordahl led 10 sessions that they called "The Breakfast Club."  They covered various topics throughout the summer to help teachers with their 1:1 initiative.  They met for two hours I believe, and challenged their teachers to come and learn as much as the could.  Donuts were a BIG HIT as we ALL know food helps:), and they included a 7th challenge with a book called  Teach Like a Pirate by Dave Burgess.  I have hear NOTHING but great things about this book and they say it will "transform the way you teach."  I heard other speakers at TIES talk about it, so it's definitely one I"m checking out;).  These were some suggestions – find the right number of sessions for you, get input from staff, have free play day and let them t...