Cheryl+R

=Reflections from Texas...TCEA '07!= Here is an outline of the sessions I attended while at this conference. Many of them have included on-line resources for us to share!

Here's our Snapfish site with all of our incriminating photos. http://www1.snapfish.com/groups/texasinvasion I believe the password is Texas....

= = =**Moving right along to March & April...**=

Honestly, March was a blur. Then came April, which started out slow because we didn't know what we had for money. Then the momentum kicked in again and I'm not sure that I'll come up for air again until June.

Here's what's been going down Jen Ives at SSHS is working on a collaborative project with a school outside of Toronto with an outfit out if York University called ABEL. ABEL provided the classes with a wiki to use and provides on-line meeting time with a software program called BREEZE. I'm not fond of either tool. We're not really the Admin on the wiki and Breeze has been buggy. Oh well. Such is life. We're using wikispaces to communicate as teachers. This is far more user friendly!
 * **Collaborative Projects**

Originally, the teachers did a great job of planning and setting out a time line. The kids started communicating and in no time the kids from TO had posted a few inappropriate comments to the site. They were reprimanded and things slowed down. Kids on this end were frustrated as their partners really weren't holding up their end of the bargain. Jen emailed the TO teacher to express her concern and now things are back on track. The time line has been extended, but things are looking up. We are using a vid kit supplied by the Dept which has been working great.

I've also done a bit on Research Tools with the kids to help them along with their reports. They were very receptive. After Moira and I did a few of these inservices, we realized that we really need to get these resources out to all of our schools. Thus, we've been putting a folder in the student share drive with the following document enclosed (or we've made shortcuts within). I don't have access to this drive in all schools, but we're working on communicating the message so that someone places this folder for us!

Heidi Brown at SJDA is working on a Global Teenager Project which is going well. The kids from SJDA did an outstanding job with their question and answers. The quality was the best of the group (in my humble opinion!). Now were are working on a wiki where each group has a page. They are displaying their assigned question and the class's responses, as well as info on the country. We're also posting some podcasts on this site. I used a Macbook to create the podcasts which was so incredibly easy. Looking forward to the end result.

SSHS has a couple of students doing an independent study for music. We have them doing some composing using Garageband on a Mac mini. They're working with a keyboard that Andrew Jones loaned us, and they've really been putting out some amazing stuff. During the course of this year I've discovered that there is a teacher at SJDA (Mr. Corey) who has been working with Garageband with some of his students. I may have even mentioned this in a past report. The project involved raising money for charity and one student chose to do so with a concert. There is amazing talent coming from this school. Kendra Gayle is an example. She's getting airtime already!
 * **Garageband**

Thus Mr. Corey and I have something in the works. My two boys from SSHS are going to head down to jam and record with the SJDA students using Garageband. Here's the cool part. There's a band coming to the school on May 18th as part of a special Music Day. Our kids are going to work with the band and each other all morning, and then watch the concert in the afternoon. A couple of students from Grand Manan may be joining us as well. I can't wait to see how it all turns out!

Just to try something new, I used my ipod recorder to capture a great concert that took place at SSMS at the end of March. I used Audacity to edit and then put it up with Our Media (and a lot of help from Wendy T!) Want to know more? Please click on the link below to hear the whole story! Kids are Amazing!
 * **Speaking of Music...**

http://ia350609.us.archive.org/3/items/TheDirtyKraftBand_HotToddySSMSBlues/firstcrack.mp3

I've also been doing a fair amount of Imovie work with SSHS. A media studies class has to solve a problem or answer a question in the film. The editing is going well and we've learned a lot of neat things in the process. One group is using Garageband to create the sound track for their film. All groups will produce professional looking DVD's for their final project. I'm looking forward to the seeing the end result here too! Moira had been doing some really great work with Internet Safety at the Elementary level. I "spun off" and did a day of sessions in Blacks Harbour which went wonderfully. I have 2 more booked for next week and I'm really looking forward to them. I'm going to add some notes to the presentation so you can see where I go with the slides. It's all in my head right now, so I need to get it down in writing! I conducted another session recently. This is always so much fun. The hardest part is still in the burning. A lot of teachers want a DVD and its such a process to change it. Maybe the next generation of Notebooks will have DVD burners? I'm doing some work with a Literacy Mentor using Photostory. The big push lately is on having students build their own stories using images. We're going to put together digital media kits to store on the student share, then have students build and narrate their own stories. We are looking for resources of copyright free images that go together to download and use if anyone has any suggestions. Continues to be hugely successful. We have already had requests for next year! I really feel that this was incredibly valuable and has allowed me to really "get inside" of schools. It's kind of like counseling in a way...teachers have to allow themselves to be vulnerable and admit that there's something they don't know. This is a really safe and constructive way to help.
 * **IMovie**
 * **Internet Safety**
 * **Photostory**
 * **1-2-1 PD**

We'd really like to set up an end-of-the-year Technology Showcase. We're in the brainstorming stage at this point. Any input from you all would be greatly appreciated.
 * **Looking Ahead**

Sorry I missed you all in Fredericton. I hear that there were some really great sessions. A lot quieter that usual though...coincidence?

I really think that the momentum is continuing to build and we are really moving forward. I'm so glad that we're not having the rug pulled out from under us at this point because I think we would really loose credibility and have to start from scratch all over again.

Thanks for listening! Cheri Russell District 10

=**Technology Mentor Report 1. Month: December ’06/January ‘07**=

Accomplishments/Work in Progress:

//General://
Ø Photostory session came together and went very well. Have a great deal of interest for more sessions in the New Year. Ø Plans are underway to attend a conference in Texas in Feb. Taking 3 teachers and a VP from SSMS. Yee haw! Ø After our meeting in December, it was decided that we would try a new approach to PD. We are now going to offer individual sessions to teachers for 90 min blocks (may change). The school hires a supply and away we go, working on the subject of the teacher’s choice. Teachers to date have had a very positive response. We are better able to meet teachers where they are, and they are more likely to ask questions in this setting. They don’t have to miss much time and they don’t have to give up their evenings. Principles love it because their teachers are only missing a period or 2..not a whole day. And the cost…? Far cheaper from our point of view. I am enjoying this very much. I’m learning too! Ø Had a great Immersion/Intensive Tech session with Fiona Cogswell from UNB. She did a section on the pedagogy of Web Quests and then I did a blurb on resources and the baby steps leading up to creating one. The afternoon got snowed out, but I think the teachers who came did get something out of it and walked away with some good resources. Ø Traveled to Grand Manan to see the “sites” (ha ha). Worked on Classerver and SynchronEyes. Shadowed a few classes to see Tech-Knowledg-y teachers in action. Good things are happening, but it also showed me that we’re not all that far behind.

//SSHS//
Ø One Mac mini has been delivered with a security cable. Ø The comment has been made to me that BBT modules at SSHS might need an update. Mentioned this in the last report. Still need to do something here. Perhaps some curriculum mapping with SSMS is required, seeing as the Notebook kids will arrive in 2 short years plugged full of tech savvy knowledge. Ø Working to get technicians in to check out if the two Macs allocated to the music teacher are salvageable. May rearrange allocation based on this info. Ø Weather station in the works. Ø Want to learn more about this school’s use of SynchronEyes and Classserver. I will be doing more with Classserver, focusing on Gr. 9 teachers. It won’t be long (hopefully) before they have Notebooks too! Ø Surveys back. Will be used in one-one one sessions to come in February (after exams). Ø Promoting Research Tools here as well and teachers are enjoying PPT games. Ø Jen Ives has signed up for a Collaborative Project. Just an informal grouping of the two classes. Sandra is going to do some PD with her as well.

//SJDA//
Ø Met with the Principal. He has a vision for improving the use of technology among his English and Soc. Studies teachers. He notices it being used in Science and Math, but wants to see more. Expressed a desire to have these teachers pulled out for a day for inservice. I think his needs will be addressed with the one-to-one PD. Ø Surveys are back and will be used for one-to-one sessions. Ø Principal is finishing up his Claymation project. Really enjoyed it. I hope to get down to Saint Andrews to see the end result soon. They decided to use moviemaker for this assignment and had no problems. Ø Heidi Brown is beginning a Collaborative Project, “Global Teenager”. Looking forward to it.

//SSMS//
Ø Encarta Junior en Français is something the FI teachers at SSMS would like to have. This is something Kevin M. has in the works. Ø Continued to teach classes at SSMS based on Research Tools. Ø SynchronEyes and Classerver are up and running at SSMS. PD for teachers has begun. There have been bugs with SynchronEyes. Some students end up in the wrong groups or the connections get lost. Chris is aware and is working towards a solution. Classerver has been introduced, but teachers needed a bit of a shove to get going with it. The secretary now has a Homepage done up, but she’s not in love with the program just yet. Ø E-Mail is an issue. It was introduced in one class and spread like wildfire. I didn’t even teach it to my classes..they learned from the other kids. A group was caught cheating on an assignment. SynchronEyes will block the site when it is up and running properly, but what an issue! Kids can minimize so fast! Teaching teachers to keep an eye on the task bar at how many different applications are open. Personally, unless the students are using it for a project, I see no need for them to have E-Mail. I witnessed many kids “chatting” during class time using their E-Mail. Spoke to Chris about blocking it. He is looking at different options. Ø Classes have begun working on their Digital Portfolios. I created a template and the kids have taken off. I can’t wait to see some of their final results on “Parent Night” which is on the 31st.

//LSES//
Ø One-to-one PD is scheduled here. Many of these teachers attended my Photostory session and had a great time. Neat school.

//BHES//
Ø One-to-one PD is in the works for this school and the Principal seems on-board with the whole idea. Ø Met with a teacher to discuss merits of Infocus, Mimio/Smartboard & Airliner. She would like to “update” her resource room. To date, she doesn’t even have a whiteboard ☺ ! She does do a lot of traveling around the school, so that needs to be taken into account.

//CICs//
Ø Went with Moira for a visit. Learned my way around a bit and helped the kids.

Our jobs are all so different around the province. Hard sometimes to remember that we are all in such different places.
 * //Concerns://**

Respectfully submitted; Cheri Russell District 10