Wichita Technology Rich Classrooms Project

May Training

2009-05-11T12:41:00.002-05:00

In reflecting on your learning this year, what is 1 thing you would like to make sure you use next year?

April Reflection

2009-04-16T07:56:00.004-05:00

What would you like to learn at our last TRC training in May?
-ipods, airliner-how to use it, when to use it/

What would you like to work on during our one-on-one meetings?
ning/excel(professionally & with kids)/

Reflection Time Jan. 22nd training

2009-01-15T14:16:00.002-06:00

Please share with us:

3 New things you learned today...

2 Things you want to try in your classroom...

1 Thing you are going to share with another teacher...

Plagiarism Article

2008-08-19T11:36:00.004-05:00

Please click on the following link, read the article and answer the reflection question below.

http://www.edutopia.org/plagiarism

How do you help students and parents in your class understand plagiarism?

Year End

2008-05-07T11:09:00.002-05:00

Well, the end of the year is upon us and so is the end of the grant. How has this grant changed you as a teacher? As a learner?

What advice would you give teachers who are coming upon year 2 of their grant?

Energy Drinks in the Classroom

2008-04-03T11:51:00.002-05:00

Check out this article from Technology & Learning, March 08.

http://techlearning.com/showArticle.php?articleID=196605072

What are your thoughts on it? How might you use this in your classroom?

Vision for your Classroom

2008-02-04T11:50:00.002-06:00

I am reading a book right now about instructional coaching and in it the author talks about working with teachers on creating a vision for their classrooms. He then goes on to discuss how the visions helped focus the participants to find their voice. This made me reflect on you and my desire to help you find your voice within your own classroom.

I thought it would be helpful for you to write a personal vision for your TRC classroom. Think about your classroom and how it is functioning right now, is it working the way you want? Are you happy with how you are integrating technology? What is your classrooms LoTi level average? What worked well? What didn't work so well?

If you feel comfortable posting your vision for next year please do so, if not at least write it down for yourself to reflect on later. Instead of posting your vision for next year, please post on this question: What is your biggest fear about the grant ending? What ideas do you have on how to overcome this fear?

Top Ten Children's Book Titles Reflection

2008-01-31T15:11:00.001-06:00

I want you to reflect on your TRC experience over the last semester and compare it to one of the following book titles:

Top Ten Children's Book Titles 2007 (taken from TIME http://www.time.com)

10. Olive and Cherry
9. City Lullaby
8. Smelly Bill
7. The Chicken chasing Queeen of Lamar County
6. Diary of Fly
5. Great Joy
4. Iggy Peck, Architect
3. Motherbridge of Love
2. Today I Will Fly
1. When Dinosaurs Came With Everything

Which one best describes your experience and why? Once you have written your response, respond to someone elses post as well.

Half way through year 2

2008-01-10T07:56:00.000-06:00

We are half way through year 2 of the grant, reflect on how you have changed. Share with us several ways being in this grant has changed you as an educator.

Data...Data....Data

2007-12-03T14:31:00.000-06:00

How does data drive your instruction in a Technology Rich classroom? What can technology do to help?

Best Practices for Wiki's

2007-11-07T15:43:00.000-06:00

Please good to the following link, read the blog and post a comment to it.

http://www.pbs.org/teachers/learning.now/2007/10/identifying_best_practices_for.html

Wiki's in the Classroom

2007-11-02T14:30:00.000-05:00

Go to the following link and read the article
Wikipedia becomes a class assignment

http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showclips.cfm?clipid=2718

What is your reaction to the article? Read all the posts and respond to one.

How are you preparing them?

2007-10-22T13:08:00.000-05:00

After watching the two videos below, please reflect on how you are preparing your students for the world they will work in...what are you doing right? What might you change?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4CV05HyAbM&mode=user&search

Podcast and Screencast in the Classroom

2007-10-11T11:39:00.000-05:00

After learning about Podcasting and Screencasting how do you plan to introduce these tools in your classroom?

Blogging

2007-09-17T14:42:00.000-05:00

List several ways you plan to use blogging in your classroom this year.

Technology & Learning Article

2007-08-23T13:46:00.000-05:00

Please copy and paste the following URL into your address bar and read the article. After you have read it post a comment about your reaction to the article.

http://www.techlearning.com/showArticle.php?articleID=196604487

Welcome Back

2007-08-22T11:19:00.000-05:00

Welcome back to a new school year and the second year of the grant! I wanted to open up the blog by asking you two questions:

What are you excited about doing with the grant this year?

What are you nervous about this year, pertaining to the grant?

Accessing Primary Sources

2007-05-03T08:12:00.000-05:00

After reading Ch. 4 of the book Empowering Students with Technology by Alan November, how can the use of primary sources mentioned in this chapter change the way you and your students currently use or view primary sources?

Information Literacy

2006-11-29T13:59:00.000-06:00

In the article Students struggle with information literacy Many students know how to use technology, but fewer know how to apply it to find what they're looking for written by Justin Appel, Assistant Editor, eSchool News he discusses that the report, from Princeton, N.J.-based ETS, found that the majority of high school and college students lack the proper critical thinking skills when it comes to researching online and using sources. Later on in the article he reports that:

One of the problems, Zaborowski points out, is students' over-reliance on search engines such as Google when it comes to researching topics. The study found that students typically will type in a search keyword, then simply go to the first search result and use it as an authoritative source. The problem with this approach is that a number of top search results on Google are often slanted or biased. Through a process known as "Googlebombing," people can alter the top results for a search term. For example, when you type the word "failure" into Google's search engine, the top result that appears is the White House biographical page for President
George Bush.

After reading that excerpt, why do you think the students are making this mistake and how can you help your students NOT make the same mistake as the students in this report?

Blogging in the classroom

2006-11-15T13:47:00.000-06:00

Read the article below, what is your reaction to it? How do you think your students would react to it?

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2006-11-14-blogs-education_x.htm

2006-10-30T13:04:00.000-06:00

Please read this article, Students don't know much beyond google By LEILA FIDELSTAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/15134538.htm

How do you feel that the TRC grant is helping to make sure this isn't a problem for the students in the TRC classrooms?

Marratech Video Conferencing Software

2006-10-18T15:07:00.000-05:00

In learning how to use the Marratech software how do you see yourself using it in your classroom?

PBL in the Classroom

2006-10-18T15:05:00.000-05:00

Please reflect on this question before answering it:

When thinking about Project Based Learning in the classroom, how have you begun to change the way you teach?

Empower Students With Technology by Alan November

2006-09-06T13:28:00.000-05:00

We are doing a book study on Alan November's book, Empowering Students With Technology. I know it has impacted how I think about the internet.

What impact has this book had on you?

Change and New Beginnings

2006-08-09T10:20:00.000-05:00

Where did the summer go? It seems to have gone by too quickly, I hope everyone enjoyed the break. Change is scary for me and so are new beginnings. We have incountered both of those here with many staff changes, a new school year and a new grant. The four Technology Rich Classrooms (TRC) are being transformed by all of the technology that they have received from the EETT grant.

With this grant the four TRC classrooms received each of the following per classroom: 12 laptops, a laptop carts, a digital video camera, an interactive wireless white boards, a LCD projector, and a digital camera. The group also received a scanner and an Elmo Document Camera to share between the four rooms as needed.

I am so excited for this school year to begin and to see the TRC classrooms come to life.