REACH Students Participate in Star Gazing Video Conference

This past week, all of the students at REACH High School participated in a video conference offered through the Perot Museum. Each month, the museum offers a ScienceCast session with a different topic. This month, the session was led by Rachel Thompson and was titled Star Gazing. Students learned about star maps and how to use the maps to find constellations in the night skies. Students also learned about comets and were given instructions on how to follow a comet currently in view. On January 7th, comet Love Joy was closest to earth and could be viewed moving from just below Orion toward Taurus the bull.

Click here to see upcoming ScienceCast sessions and contact me if you would like to register for any of these sessions.


Rachel gave several great resources for students and teachers to use as they begin to look at the night skies!

Virtual Telescope
  Look at the sky online

Google Sky
  Accessed via the web or android device

Star Walk
  App for iPhones

Create an Online Interactive Map

Heganoo.com is a free website that allows you to create interactive maps. What a great way for students to map out areas that they are studying about! Once a site is plotted, you can add a plethora of information in the description, including URLs. Here is a quick sample of a map of CISD that I created. It was very simple to create!

Encouraging Higher Order Thinking with Tech Tools

We have heard it said many time that to enhance student learning, we need to incorporate higher order thinking. However, sometimes we find it hard to implement this type of thinking. The use of technology can certainly aide in this process. In the article I have referenced below, the author, Susan Brooks-Young, gives 5 great examples of how to get students to think at higher levels.

Link to Article

All CISD student netbooks/notebooks already have access to applications listed below:

1. Use Movie Maker  to record the one-minute video using the built in webcam and microphone.

2. Use Audacity or RecordMP3.org to record the short podcast using the built in microphone.

3. Use infogr.am or Piktochart to have students create their own infographic.

4. Use either Smart Recorder or Screencast-o-matic to have students explain a concept via screencasting.

5. Use VoiceThread to create a Five Photo Story.

Implementing One-to-One - October 13th Training Session

Classroom environments are changing with the implementation of one-to-one. In Castleberry ISD, every 7th-12th grader is issued a netbook so that they have access to digital content at school and at home. As we have entered into the 21st Century, students are acquiring digital skills that will transport them into their future. However, just carrying the netbook to class each day does not provide the student with these 21st Century skills. Teachers must continue to examine the strategies they are using in the classroom as they implement one-to-one to ensure that the students are using the devices as a tool so that they are thinking at higher levels. In the course I am instructing on October 13th, teachers will examine tips and strategies for best practices when implementing one-to-one. By the end of the class, teachers will be able to answer the following question: How can you improve the way that you implement one-to-one in your classroom?

Web App Highlights - Recordmp3.org and GroupZap

If you have not tried out RecordMP3.org, you need to take a minute to see how powerful this tool can be in your classroom. For the teacher, you can leave personal messages on the Wall of your Gaggle classroom. Teachers can record instructions for students as well. But students can use this app to enhance their learning in your classroom. What a great way for students to reflect on what they have learned in class. I can also see students using this tool to practice answering questions at a higher level. There are so many ways that teachers and students can use this app in the classroom...just use your imagination!

Another web app that I just found recently that is great for collaboration is GroupZap.com. This online whiteboard allows teachers and students to collaborate, using sticky notes and badges to brainstorm together. What I really like about this app is that students do not have to have an account to use a whiteboard that the teacher has shared! Again, this is a great app to start training students on how to answer questions beyond the basic one word answers. Try it out and see how you could use this app in your classroom!

One-to-One: How to Maximize the Use of Technology on a Daily Basis

Today I am meeting with teachers from the middle school to begin preparing for the 1:1 environment that will be in all classes this year. With change, there can be fear. But that fear is overcome by walking through it. I remember as a kid walking out to the end of the diving board, and then returning to the ladder because I was afraid to jump. My Dad would encourage me to jump, so I would walk back out to the end of the board and just stand there. It would not take long before I was walking back to the ladder. My Dad would tell me that I needed to walk out without stopping and jump. I finally got up the nerve and jumped. Once I jumped, I couldn't wait to get back up on that diving board. I wanted to jump again and again.

The fear of utilizing technology on a daily basis can be a frightening thought at first. However, with encouragement from your coaches, administrators, and even students, you will realize that infusing technology will enhance learning and you will want to use it again and again.

Reflect back on the initial discussion held today in class about your hopes and concerns on maintaining a 1:1 classroom. Using what you learned today about managing a 1:1 classroom, address your three concerns with solutions.

Where is Your Vision as You Drive Your Classroom?

This morning, I heard a powerful lesson presented by Chris Seidman. In the lesson, he gave an analogy to living your life that I immediately applied to the classroom. So, here is my twist to his analogy!

First of all, imagine yourself driving your car. You can continually look in the rear view mirror to see what is behind you, but without looking ahead, you will swerve and not be prepared for what is ahead of you. Additionally, you can continually look through the windshield without ever referencing what is around you, however your navigation could be altered if you do not reflect periodically on what is behind you. Or finally, you can drive looking through the windshield, ever so often checking your surroundings through the rear view mirror as you head toward your destination. Think of how small the rear view mirror is as opposed to the large windshield. This reflects the amount of time you should spend looking in each direction to maximize the probability of a successful journey.

As a teacher, you take your students on a journey of learning. If you continue to only use teaching strategies that you have used in the past, your students will not be prepared for what is in their future. However, if you are only implementing new teaching strategies and do not reflect back on effective strategies used in the past, there can be learning bumps along the way as well. Educators must have a good balance of using new teaching strategies that prepare students to be successful using 21st Century Skills, yet periodically look back on the strategies used in the past to help guide the implementation of 21st Century Skills so that student learning is enhanced and they are prepared for their future.

New students are about to arrive in your classroom, buckled up and ready for you to take them on a learning journey. Where is your vision as you prepare lesson activities for the upcoming school year?