Jenn's May Report from AGHS:

My professor was successful in setting a folder so my classes could access my "Voices of Protest" Web Activity in time for our trips to the Internet lab. (http://144.26.180.191/WCU/JWaite/index.html). I learned some helpful hints for next year once my students started to navigate my sites. This is the first time I had them save everything to the "shared" network folder that all students could access & that was fantastic! If someone's partner was absent, no problem- the other one could pick up where they left off the day before without worrying about passwords etc. It was a lengthy process getting to the network folder the first time, but most caught on after the first day! I tried to use the projector system in the library lab to model how they could navigate my sites & get to the folder but I could not get it in focus for some reason. It was better than nothing but I wish it did not give us a headache looking at the screen.

I learned from that mistake & did a quick overview on PP expectations in my room on a different projector system & it was great. Next year I will give an overview of the web site & how to save in my classroom before we even go to the Internet Lab. I keep their attention in the classroom much better than when they have a computer in front of them & it would have saved time in the lab. They created PP presentations once they researched & gathered information about their social protest groups. The class filled out the required information about each social protest group on a chart during the group presentations. Overall they liked the experience; for some it was their first time using PP. I also find PP presentations are usually better organized & the visual aspect helps the other students record necessary information.

Currently Mary & I are working on the HS PP slides & finishing up the year. I hope everyone has a great summer.

Mary's Report:

Most of my contacts within the building have revolved around helping people finish or fine tune projects that they have already started. Most staff members are not ready to try to tackle a new concept at this time in the school year. With all of the computers in the high school being slowly upgraded to Windows 2000 from Windows 95, many of the discussions have revolved about cleaning up the server, getting materials back and finding out how to work with some of the differences that exist between the two operating systems versions. The upgrade in my own room was a nightmare and I am still trying to do damage control and reorganize files as well as clean up multiple copies of files on the server. One of the activities that I did required students to use an interactive web site from PBS on Guppy populations for a study of Natural Selection in action. This required shock wave which is not on the computers in the library, so it was easier to use the room computers and have students work through the simulation in rotating small groups. Gives me lots of ideas for next year and my summer plans are to find more of these areas to work on for next year. Ditto with the great summer for everyone.

What did you do this month? What do you have planned for next month?

This past month, Jenn and I at the High School have been busy working not only on our own projects, but helping various staff members throughout the high school with different problems and questions they are coming up with. Several staff members have needed some help with Power Points, Word documents and downloading items from the Internet. Due to time constraints having Cyber Cafes on these topics have been impossible, so Jenn and I are just going into classes or taking a few minutes before or after school to help with these problems.

Mary: As far as individual work after coming back from the NSTA Convention, I have been working using the PBS site to develop some projects on Evolution and adapt some of the lessons to my class. Loading ShockWave on all the computers in my classroom has been just one project involved in this activity. This has also been shared with the other biology teachers in the department.

Jenn and I also had several projects to put together for the Technology Fair. I had projects using the computer to gather data for laboratory exercises, and several students also demonstrated their digital lab reports on mitosis and fish egg development.

Jenn: This month I have been extremely busy getting 2 of my classes ready for theTechnology Fair. We finished our unit of study on Latin America by comparing & contrasting the U.S. & Mexico today. The students researched on the Internet, wrote perspective papers, and “interviewed” AGHS ESL students for their comments about life in the U.S. v. Mexico. The classes decided that they wanted to find an artistic way to express what they had learned. One student wrote lyrics for a song based on the data we gathered. Then three of them got together & wrote music for the guitar. 2 separate groups of students, (guitar & rap), used these lyrics to perform for the class. We took digital pictures & videotaped the performances. Based on the lyrics & data the class put together a PowerPoint slide show, which they worked on at the Technology Fair. Although we have moved on to Japan, I saved their performances & plan to learn how to place clips into an I-movie to use for next year. It was a class-wide effort & the end result even surprised me.

(By the way: I thought the Technology Fair was a great opportunity for us to see how other teachers & buildings are using technology in their classrooms! )

In U.S. history I have been designing a web site on “Voices of Protest”- social protest groups of the 1960s. Although done, I am having problems uploading to a web site where my students can easily access it. Currently it is housed in my class folder at West Chester, but my professor is working on helping me find an easy way for my classes to access it on the web. I am planning on using the site next week- so we shall see!!!

What did you do this month? What do you have planned for next month?

With regards to the faculty, we have been encouraging the staff to participate & display their technology projects at the AGSD technology fair in April. We would like to see as many departments recognized as possible.

Here at the high school we have been working on a few projects.

• Mary has been doing some digital labs- lab reports using camera for collecting data and then using PowerPoints to write up the laboratory report.
• Students and teacher have been learning other ways to use the digital camera and scanner as well as some of the different ways of
  putting information on presentation software.
• She has also been helping some of the other science teachers adapt lessons to internet use and work with some of the interactive programs out there.
• Next month Mary plans on utilizing some of the ideas that she is hoping to get at the National Science Teachers Convention, especially with use of the digital camera and computer laboratory software.
  
  
• Jenn has been learning how to design basic web pages. I wanted to create a 1950s resource page of web sites to help guide my students to relevant information they could use for their project. The site worked great to keep them on task when we visited the Internet lab. I found that they got more done since they did not waste time typing in addresses and it was not as easy for them to wander off task since I knew the "designated" sites. http://www.geocities.com/mjjmwaite/50websites.html
• I am also looking forward to receiving the answers to my students' questions about life in Mexico from the ESL students. My students used my web quest on Mexico to research the relationship between Mexico & the U.S. They gathered relevant knowledge on Mexico in order to ask informative questions of the ESL students here at AGHS. The ESL classes will be responding soon & my classes will decide how to visually display what they have learned about the similarities & differences of the 2 cultures. I am sure some will have a technology component!
• Last on the agenda is to start working on researching web sites about the social protest movements of the 1960s and to create an activity for my AMC classes

• Jenn and I have been working on setting up a work shop- cyber cafe format- for after school on January 25th. Based on a survey we did of the faculty, several of the teachers would like to learn how to use PowerPoint and we have decided to make that our focus. We will decide, based on faculty requests, what we will do with the next meeting and when we will have it.

  Mary has been working with the digital camera and trying to come up some different applications in the classroom for it. I have also been working with the scanner and trying to find the best software applications for different usage with mixed media materials so that I can assist the science department with some of their problems. I have also worked with several of the integrated science teachers on developing a lesson using the Maryland Public Broadcasting program on the Chesapeake Bay. Next month I plan on continuing with many of the same projects, and working more with using the camera for actual lab data recording.

  Jenn: First to follow up on the Cyber Café, which we had yesterday. We were a bit surprised that only 4 teachers showed up, since we had received over 25 survey responses, but it was easy to pay personal attention to those present. Over all it went well. We introduced someone to PP who has never used it & refreshed another on how to perform some forgotten functions. It was a good start to offering help to those you want & need it! Mary & I will have to rethink & figure out how we want to approach the faculty for next time.

  Personally, I am busy with my sophomores working on a WebQuest I designed about present day Mexico. Right now they are discovering information & then we will use the knowledge we have learned about the country & culture to "interview" some of the ESL students here at AGHS. This is the first time I have attempted this joint project with the ESL teacher & I am excited to see how things will turn out. Basically, I want my students to learn about today's Mexico & meet some of our students who call it "home". Sort-of create a bridge between cultures. My students will have to design a "visual" element for the final activity, and as a class, we will determine what that will be. Some are interested in trying I-Movies & have already e-mailed Joyce for help!
  

• At the high school, the staff has been gearing up for midterm exams, so as a school neither Jenn or I have worked with them other than in quick easy problem solving situations. Personally, I have been trying to work with the scanner and digital camera and trying to learn a little about some of the possibilities for using these more in the classroom. Next month I want to continue with this and students will be using the Iinternet for a lot of research on a genetic disorder report.
  
  I, Jenn, will be working on designing an Internet based project for my CWC students to compare & contrast live in Mexico & the U.S. I have also started another technology course at West Chester, and believe we will be working on web page design. I look forward to designing a project geared toward my AMC students and plan to focus on the 1970s-1990s. Mary & I need to get back on track with offering cyber cafes for the staff here at the HS & plan to focus on organizing and planning our first one for sometime in late February.

• Happy New Year! At the end of November, we sent out a survey to the HS faculty asking them what they wanted to learn about integrating technology into the classroom. We have gathered their responses and now need to organize & prioritize the results. We will set up workshops, to start in Feb., based on the needs of the building.
• Individually, we have searched for valuable subject area information, and we have met with various colleagues about computer questions and ideas.

What do you have planned for next month?

• Mary will learn how to use the new scanner that just arrived at her door!
• As stated before, we need to get ready for cyber cafes in the future.
  
  

What help do you need?

What did you do this month?

• Conducted a workshop with Joyce Perry for social studies department on Inspiration in the library Internet lab after school. Followed up with interesting web sites and guidebook for the software program.
• Played around with the digital camera with students to put their photos on the title screen of their PP presentations on the Middle East.
• Assisted various individual teachers with technology/integration questions.
• Worked on more laboratory projects and tried to get more faculty members interested in the possibility of using computer based labs.
• Also did a lot of research on Medaka, a Japanese gillifish that we are going to be using for labs in the winter for a study on embryology.
  
  

What do you have planned for next month?

Jen

• develop an internet scavenger hunt on 1920's.
• How to print and crop pictures from the file using a digital camera.

Mary

• continue updating power points with web links for upcoming units.
• Try to see if can develop a lab using the Logger pro software from scratch instead of using ones already prepared.
• Learn how to use the digital camera.
  

What help do you need?

• We are fine at the moment.

What did you do this month?

Jenn

• Jen and Theresa figured out how to use the LCD projector with the laptop
  Perfected Inspiration software.
• Worked on PowerPoint presentations with students for the first time.

Mary

• Downloaded programs for drawing organic chemistry and is trying to learn how to use it.
• Also worked with other staff members discussing issues about possible computer usage in the classroom- especially art department.
• Web searches for materials for science department.
  Jen and Theresa figured out how to use the LCD projector with the laptop
  Perfected Inspiration software.
  Worked on PowerPoint presentations with students for the first time.
  
  

What do you have planned for next month?

Jenn

• Jen’s goals are designing a hot lists for links in the classroom for student use
• Designing a webquest for a unit on Latin America.
• Jen also plans on showing her department how to use Inspiration.

Mary

• continuing to update PowerPoints with insertion of web links into them
• continuing to attempt to organize files.
• Mary is also looking to develop a new list of web sites for the cell project.
• Would also like to learn more regarding the Chemsketch program.

What help do you need?

• Areas that we could use help in include file management as well as e-mail file management.
• Are there other workshops that would expose us to other ideas about file management?
  

What did you do this month?

Jenn

• Help from Joyce on how to access my web quest I created this summer.
  
• Helped Domenic Martelli learn how to use gradekeeper.
  
• Searched the web for information about American life in 1900- found PBS web site & designed activity for my students to use the 2 computers in my room to access the information. Set up stations around the room- 2 using the computer & discovered I can help my students utilize the Internet with only 2 computers.
  
• Experimented with the Inspiration software; discovered that the District has copies for the HS. Shared my Inspiration concept map with my department- found they were interested in learning more about the software. Touched base with Joyce & will probably plan a Cyber Café on Inspiration in the computer lab for S.S. to see how it works.

Mary

• Worked on installing software- Cyber-Ed Biology Series- on extra computers in the classroom.
• Logger pro and Vernier software also installed on other computers so Lab Activities can be run.
• Designed a new PowerPoint for using the lab probes, updated several power points for work for this school year, rearranged some files, looked up programs on PBS for department work. (Bay Study and Evolution)
• Gave out information on PBS mailing lists to history and science departments. Found several programs from NIH and got mailings from them on these.
  
  

What do you have planned for next month?

Jenn

• Training on Inspiration & help for others using the software
  
• Try family tree software on the pbs web site to encourage students to use it for their heritage paper.
  
• Delete old e-mails properly
  
• Continue to discover ways to integrate technology into my classroom
  Find out about equipment in library that looks like I could use to project images from computer onto screen! (very cool- if it does what I think!!)

Mary

• Continue to find sites for Science Department members and work with integrated science teachers to develop a program using PBS program on the Chesapeake Bay.
• Taping PBS program on Evolution and will work with other biology teachers to see if we can integrate this into program. Have ordered teacher materials on the program.
• Want to upgrade PowerPoints for topics upcoming and rearrange files on the Gateway for better access.
• Would like to spend some time just browsing and looking for extra sites for student projects.

What help do you need?

Jenn

• Joyce will work with me with Inspiration
  
• Mary & I will try the e-mail together

Mary

• Could use some help if anyone has any ideas for sites for High School Science activities, besides Access Excellence and PBS.
• Jen and I could both use some ideas to get more teachers involved. I am getting some of our science teachers involved, but the problems with the system at the HS still interfere with some of the other teachers enthusiasm.