Week+3+Journal

=**__Week 3 Journal__ **= What a great day for technology! My team is really getting into this! My science team member began class today showing the kids a short video clip of students creating a simple electric motor out of a battery, paperclips, a magnet, and a rubber band. The kids were really interested in watching the video for hints and tips, because they were told yesterday that they would be working with a partner today, to do the same thing. Once the teacher cut the students loose, they were so involved in what they were doing, many were surprised when the bell rang for them to leave! They can't wait to get back to class tomorrow. I overheard several of them talking in the hall about their motor, and what was working, and what was not working. They were offering suggestions to each other while waiting to go into their next class.

Then, I walked into the E.L.A. room, and my team member there, was talking about a project that the kids have started where they are investigating our community, and determining what "pulls" people to our area. They were given "free reign" in determining how they are going to present their findings to the rest of the class. Many groups have chosen to create a PowerPoint presentation, while others are going to make a movie using iMovie. Students were all abuzz about what pictures they were going to take, who was going to be "on camera" for their group, and many other things. They were so engaged, and they were learning, not from the teachers so much, but from themselves. They experimented with the possible programs, wrote interview questions, penned a business letter, and talked with their partners for the entire period. No one was ready to stop when it was time for lunch, and usually lunch is a big deal for 6th graders! This same ELA teacher also made a prezi ([|www.prezi.com] ) on homonyms to introduce an assignment for her class. They loved it! Go to [] to check out how it works.

I can't believe it is Thursday already! This week has literally flown by! The science electric motor lab was hectic, but most groups were able to get it working today. They were then given the opportunity to change one variable to see how it would affect their motor. Most of the students have a basic understanding of how their motor works, though there are still a few who really don't know how they got it to work! Though the science teacher would have liked to have had more students demonstrate a clearer understanding of how electricity works, it was a valuable way to review basic scientific skills of following a procedure, and identifying variables. We did have a few students who were able to explain how their motor worked on camera.

On the E.L.A. front, I helped a class use the "forum" feature in Moodle today. They loved it! We had kids get on from home last night and post to a forum on their own...no assignment. They really think it is cool! Their first assignment was to write a short paragraph about a recent book they have read, and try to convince other students it would be a good book to try. Once they posted their response, they went on to reply to other posts. They were so excited to be doing something different, even the more "difficult" students were fairly engaged in the activity. I think we really have a winner here! My team is doing such a great job! It's exciting to come to work everyday!

This was a successful week. The multimedia project is coming along in the E.L.A. classrooms. Though we had a lot of interuptions to our school week, students have been able to do quite a bit of work on their projects. All 6th grade E.L.A. students have been exposed to the Moodle site now, and most have been able to post to their first assignment. I have still seen some activity on the site over the weekend. The students are really embracing the posting part of Moddle, I think, because it reminds them of social netowrking sites like My Space and Facebook. The E.L.A. teachers are seeing that they are going to need to keep up on having different kinds of prompts on the site to keep the kids interested and excited about posting. The students also used cameras on Friday to take pictures of homonyms around the school. They had a blast, and stayed on task. Once the pictures were taken, the teacher collected them on her computer, and is working on a prezi of them. Students showed understanding by being able to take pictures of appropriate homonym pairs.

The Technology Coordinator has been very positive throughout the beginning phases of this grant. She is trying to help coordinate some PD to be delivered by SOITA. We need help learning how to utilize the iPods in the classroom. Also, she is thinking it might be possible to get us 2 class sets of iPods so kids can get their hands on them. I have been surprised with her willingness to help so far. Frankly, I expected to reach roadblocks much sooner! She is working on possibly setting up email accounts with digital lockers for our students. She recommends [|gaggle.net], so we are in the process of checking them out.