March 3, 2014

Hi everyone,

Happy Quint 4! 

A week into quint 4 here's what has been happening with teaching and technology:

What's working:

• Randy and his students are having a blast creating 3D pottery images using a fun smartphone app - Jono is surpassing Randy with his app wheel creations - http://www.potterygame.com/   Students are printing off their designs on this French site: http://www.sculpteo.com/en/ and on Shapeways: http://www.shapeways.com/
• Lisa Beemster and Kathryn Wallace are each using Pinterest - a visual bookmarking tool - to collect lecture ideas/images that inspire... check it out here: https://www.pinterest.com/ 
• Megan and Catherine Seaver met with the 9th grade to discuss Social Networking last week - it included a panel of peer mentors discussing how technology makes their lives great and also challenging, an anonymous activity to raise awareness that there is no digital shredder for words you wish you hadn't said, strategies for dealing with feelings while using our devices and a mindfulness meditation activity.  Check out Daniel Goleman's videos on Focus here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quS2kK27U_4&list=PL10g2YT_ln2gmPbtzIWIPXKsNR2_-BrWn
•  Our Helpdesk ticketing system - email helpdesk@northwestschool.org - is working fabulously. The IT team has resolved 523 tickets/issues since September! And that doesn't include answered phone calls, hallway conversations etc... way to go team! Just a reminder to all - please submit an email to helpdesk@northwestschool.org if issues arise. Call 4357 (HELP) on the phone if it's urgent, but either way please keep letting us know what's going on. That way we can keep responding promptly.

What you wish for:

• This Friday, March 7th is National Day of Unplugging - http://nationaldayofunplugging.com/ - there are a lot of ways to model and talk about this with your students.  What will unplugging allow you to do in your life?  Consider thoughtfully and perhaps download this sign to share with your students: http://nationaldayofunplugging.com/download-your-unplug-sign/
• Here's a quick video tutorial about how to embed videos into your teacher page: http://screencast.com/t/fdIJfM2nM

What's wonky:

• The VHS/DVD player in MF Spanish is not working.  Somehow the cord was ripped out, leaving the pin still in the machine.  We are looking at replacing it and possibly transitioning away from a VHS player in the space. 

A wild card:

• As more teachers experiment with our school-wide license for Voicethread, consider using Voicethread for differentiated instruction – check out some great examples and research here: http://voicethread.cmail3.com/t/ViewEmail/y/A7E5DFA88E810A53/508741A9680284D4BA4AF9908B8D85ED

A really wonderful thing:

• I received this video from Curtis Erlinger – it’s a NWS Environment Video made almost 20 years ago.   Andrew Matson found it here: https://vimeo.com/63750561   Password = nwsclassic

I hope all this helps to brighten your day!  Thank you again to all of you who share your journeys, take risks and keep learning with us.  It is a pleasure to work with you!

-Catherine and Alicia