Technology Medley

Time for another fun video from YouTube! This video is a parody showing the introduction of the book at a time when only scrolls had been used. I’m not sure what language is being spoken, but there are English subtitles.

There is a learning curve involved with anything new, and everything was once new, even the book! I believe that every single teacher in my schools used something in technology last year that was new to you, and you did it with great success. Don’t be afraid to try new things, and please, never hesitate to ask for help. Consider me your modern day (medieval) helpdesk.

West Salem teachers, I have great news! Our new set of Qwizdom remotes (clickers) has arrived. South Salem teachers have been using these for a few years now, and the other 2 elementary schools haves sets as well, so now we can share quizzes and other activities division wide.

On the student surveys, several students at South indicated that using Qwizdom was their favorite technology activity . South teachers, if you have not been using these, you’re missing out on a great opportunity to keep your students engaged in any subject review at any grade level. West teachers, we’ll have an inservice early in the year to introduce you to this new system.

With the division wide emphasis on assessment next year, these remotes will provide a quick and easy way for you to determine how well your students understand concepts in all subject areas. Most of the time, we use multiple choice questions, but you can design other questions types as well. Start thinking about how you might use these throughout the year with your students! If you’ll give me the questions, I’ll even set up the quizzes for you. (Oh yeah, I’ll need the answers too!)

As this school year comes to a close, I’m thinking ahead to next year, as I suspect most of you are (whether you’ll admit it or not!) We spent so much time planning for online testing this year that we really didn’t have very many other technology related training opportunities. On the staff development survey, several of you requested more workshops with ideas for using the SmartBoards, so that will definitely be a priority for the fall. Others were interested in online flashcard and quiz sites. Creating websites with Google Sites or blogs was another popular request. Then there are new sites such as VoiceThreads that are awesome for elementary classrooms, but unless you have used them, you may not know they exist, so we have lots of ideas for training topics. Of course, we also need follow-up training on the software we have currently installed in the lab and on laptops as well.

I need your help though. What formats work best for you? Do you prefer one-on-one training? Grade level specific training? After school workshops in your school? Division wide inservices at a central location? Credit classes? Online tutorials that you can use at your own pace?

I would love to have your feedback in the comments section below!

Our online SOL testing is finally over, and everything went very smoothly at both schools. Scores are already in, and they are really good, and in many cases, they are awesome! This would not have been possible without the assistance of everyone in the school… from the parents to the teachers, from kindergarten to fifth grade, from the custodians to the cafeteria workers, from the paraprofessionals to the office staff. This entire process was indeed a team effort.

Even though we have different positions and responsibilities, we are all on the same team. We want the best for the children.

This video is about a softball game, but the amazing sportsmanship shown here reminds me of the way everyone pulled together during testing. Job well done, team!