Post on 05-Jul-2020
T E A C H I N G & L E A R N I N G S P R I N G 2 0 1 1
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Teaching & Learning An Official Publication of ISD 15’s Office of Teaching & Learning
GOT NEWS?
If you have news, information, or photographs that you would like to share with the district and public, please contact one of the Site Community Relations Coordinators listed below. Sandra Benson, Cedar Creek Cassie Schmoll, East Bethel Beth Anderson, SFE Joe Fredrickson, Middle School Brent Stavig, High School
Technology Integrated into ISD 15’s Classrooms
This issue of Teaching & Learning is focused on the different ways that technology is being used in our classrooms throughout ISD 15. Whether it is using SMART Boards in kindergarten or web-based communication in the high school, ISD 15 is committed to providing its students with access to the best technology and most recent innovations for our classrooms. We believe that ISD 15 should be the first and last stop for parents looking to give their children the best chance to succeed with an integrated technology curriculum.
Last Day June 7
Last day for students
Work Days June 8-9
Staff Work Days
Graduation June 10
7:00
St. Francis HS
TEACHING & LEARNING
2
SPRING 2011
Digital Storytelling Comes to SFE By Jodine Sheerin
In the past two years, several teachers at St. Francis Elementary have integrated technology into the teaching of writing by using digital storytelling. All of our students love to tell stories, but to be literate today students need to be able to think, learn, and express themselves through words, pictures, and their own voices. Why teach digital storytelling? Below are a few reasons
taken from the professional resource, Make Me A Story by Lisa C. Miller: 1. Digital storytelling engages and empowers reluctant readers and writers and different types of learners. It makes everyone want to write. 2. Digital storytelling projects can change how students see themselves and their classmates and can build community in the classroom. 3. Digital storytelling projects do not have to be complicated to be effective.
To begin this writing project, students choose a subject and their pictures. They can use pictures they have already taken or they could use a digital camera to create new photographs for their chosen topic. In composing a digital story, students create the draft on paper first using all of the writing process steps. They need to choose an interesting question to answer or story to tell. Their story needs to make an impact on the viewers, with a clear point of view. As they revise, they are reminded that their pictures would also tell part of the story, so creating impactful sentences was important. The next step is to upload the pictures on the computer using a program called Photostory 3. After uploading, they record their story slide-by-slide, or picture-by-picture. Once they are satisfied with their story recording, students choose background music to upload that matches the mood of their story. Students are very excited about their finished digital story, and eager to share with their audiences. Last year we were able to copy their digital story onto a CD for them to take home and share with their families. These could also be emailed to parents to view at home with a free Photostory 3 download to their home computers. This is a great way to share their writing with audiences beyond the classroom.
TEACHING & LEARNING
3
SPRING 2011
iClub Allows Middle School Students to Explore Their Creative Side
by Joe Fredrickson
Creativity meets technology during the iClub meetings
at St. Francis Middle School. A small group of Students
in grades 6-‐8 meet six times during the trimester to
meet other tech savvy students who want to explore
“Apps” on the iPad.
Sixth grade student Thomas Frias stated, “ I like that
there is a club that lets you use your own iPod to
make video. They use our quotes and images to make
movies that teach about things like hallway behavior
and anti-‐bullying”.
Students are utilizing the ISD#15 iPads as well as their
own iPods to create these short instructional clips.
iClub advisor Darin Bourasa said they have been
exploring and using many animation and creativity
apps. The students have made clips using Animoto.
The iPad allows for portable technology that can
search the web and utilize applications that compile
the student’s creative clips and images.
“This afterschool offering provides opportunity for
students to forge relationships with peers, explore
and utilize new technology, and create a product to
share with staff and students at the middle school,”
Bourasa stated.
The link to the iClub creations has been sent to the
SFMS staff and has received much positive response.
“Pretty impressive! It made me want to hear and see
more,” said Susan Whittlef, SFMS staff member.
Arts Come to Crossroads Recent Arts and Entertainment Events a Big Hit at the Crossroads Learning Center
The most recent event to come to Crossroads was Climb Theatre; they came to perform at the end of March. They performed a play called “Social Security.” This particular show demonstrated and identified the ways cliques function in school, the characteristics of students who attain popularity, and how cliques include or exclude peers. This was a powerful message to students here at Crossroads.
TEACHING & LEARNING
4
SPRING 2011
East Bethel Incorporates Digital Into Classes by Cassie Schmoll
SMART Boards are being used to enhance each student’s learning experience. Some examples of this are being able to travel around the world without leaving their classrooms through Google Earth, being able to manipulate 3-‐D objects with a touch of their finger and chatting with professionals in the science fields. The sky is the limit when it comes to the opportunities the SMART Board brings to the classrooms at E.B.C.S.
iPads
With a classroom set of iPads students are discovering there is a world of knowledge right at their fingertips. Subject area applications are being utilized to reinforce concepts and allow for students to practice in a motivating and fun way. Students are loving and embracing the iPads and they are pushing themselves to new limits as they strive for success.
School Pride
Eagle Pride is a community-‐building program East Bethel Community School has implemented. It revolves around the students taking responsibility in what their school community feels and looks like. When a student goes above and beyond expectations to improve their school community, they are often given an Eagle Feather. Every feather moves them closer to being one of the top Eagle Feather winners in their school. Prizes are awarded to the top students each year.
SMART Boards
TEACHING & LEARNING
5
SPRING 2011
SMART Boards Start Kindergarteners On the Right Track
By Sandra Benson
The kindergarten curriculum in ISD 15 St. Francis is an intensive program, which includes a 90-minute literacy block, 60-minute math block, and science and social studies units. Kindergarteners need to experience a lesson or an objective multiple times and in a variety of ways in order to internalize the information. Using technology is a motivational way for the students to interact with the subject area over and over again in unique and exciting ways and helps to enhance and increase learning potential. Technology is one of the biggest and most exciting changes that we have seen this year in our classrooms, where we were given smart boards and document cameras.
In kindergarten, one of our math units is patterns. Children need to identify what is a pattern, create their own patterns, and copy patterns. As kindergarten teachers we developed lessons on the smart board to enhance the district math curriculum Think Math. With a smart board lesson, the whole
class was able to see the lesson on patterns and then children could move shapes around to create or copy a pattern.
The intent within our Kindergarten study group was to allow teachers to collaborate and share ideas with one another. We wanted to develop specific lessons that kindergarten teachers could use in their classroom. We developed a schedule of who would write and design lessons and what lesson needed to be developed and uploaded on the district smart board site for kindergarten. With all of the kindergarten team uploading lessons, we have a very large choice of lessons to use every day. As kindergarten teachers, we shared lessons that would use best practice teaching examples of exciting activities that enhance learning in our kindergarten classrooms. This was done so all kindergarten children would have access to smart board lessons.
The technology and training we were given this year is one of the biggest and most exciting changes that we have seen in our classrooms. We embraced it and have enjoyed sharing lessons with each other.
The foundation for creating lessons for each of our curriculum areas has been laid. As teachers, we really enjoyed experimenting with the smart board and trying new things. The kindergarten teachers have gained confidence in themselves and their ability to use the smart board to enhance their lessons.
THE FOLLOWING ARE IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER FOR SPIP AND IPDP STAFF MEMBERS:
PAST DUE: Last day for observations was April 25th NOW: Registration for 2011-12 Academy classes is open May 31st: Final PRT completed for Career Incentive Bonus June 30th: Final PRT completed
Contact Jeff Fink with questions.
SPIP & IPDP Dates
TEACHING & LEARNING SPRING 2011
Crossroads Students Stay Engaged With iPads. By Brock Libby
In an effort to keep the students at Crossroads School and Vocational Center engaged in classroom activities and to stay current with technology, Mr. Berger and Mr. Libby have each been involved in piloting five iPads in their respective classrooms. Mr. Libby teaches Social Studies and has found the iPads to be an invaluable tool for current events. The iPads have many news applications on them and he has been using them to teach his students about media literacy and recognizing bias in the media. The students have found it extremely eye-opening to contrast two different articles that report on the same topic. The iPads have made the logistics of current events much more streamlined in Mr. Libby’s class as well. It has been much easier to pull out the iPads and hand them out instead of tracking down newspapers and having them strewn about his room by the end of the day. Another benefit of the iPad news applications is that they update in real-time so the current events that are covered are more current than day-old newspapers. The games on the iPad have worked as a great reinforcement for the more challenging students and have been a great motivator for them to stay in class. Playing chess is WAY more fun on an iPad, after all. In Mr. Berger’s class, the response by the students has been equally ecstatic. Students have been using Doodle Buddy to work on the same drawing at the same time, collaborating with one another. After they have finished their diagrams they then get to publish their work to the web.