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iTouch, iLearn

We were finally able to use the iPod Touch Cart today with Mrs. Hall’s 5th grade History class. It took some learning on my part to make sure the settings were correct to insure the students would be able to use them on our wireless network in a safe manner. Mrs. Hall had a great [...]

Social Collaboration via Twitter, Ning and Voicethread for a Sharing Experience

In the past with Melissa Tredenick and I worked together with NCAIS Blended Learning Conference. She is now at The Linsly School in Wheeling, West Virginia. She posted on the Voicethread Ning how her and the 5th grade teacher had created a Voicethread to discuss their favorite scene in the book Because of Winn [...]

First Voicethread with Students

It has been one year since a student named Justin Straus died of Chordoma Cancer. I knew Justin since first grade when he was first diagnosed. We had many moments together as did his fellow students. We started using Ed.Voicethread this year and I realized it would be the perfect tool for students and faculty [...]

Camps going well

Good numbers of students learning Lego Mindstorms. Check out the pictures and movies at http://gallery.me.com/damiddleschool#100183 Week two is underway with pictures coming soon. Scratch and Alice camps have had smaller numbers but still working out nicely. We just showed the campers how to create a pong game with scoring. Check out our wiki, gallery and [...]

Summer Camps and Audio Boo

I am in the middle of doing the two summer camps I started last year. Lego Mindstorms and Scratch with some Alice. Lego has been full with this week’s camp having 21 campers. Check out the wiki for more information and pictures. http://dalegoscratchcamps.wikispaces.com/
I have also started testing out Audio Boo on my iPod Touch. It [...]

Learning Projects from the MS Digital Learning Labs

In the last month, the digital learning labs have been a very busy place for students and teachers. Early May found eighth grade students working with Mrs. Birgel and Ms. Kim Arrington (Artist-in-Residence) as we worked with students on multimedia projects based on The Life of Pi book they had read. Students created ID Poems [...]

When the Shelf is Emptied and Learning Leaps

In February I wrote about shelf technology where I lamented the lack of integration of many of the tools we have at the ready for our students. I have had a wonderful week working with Kate Birgel, (8th grade Language Arts) and Kim Arrington (Artist-in-Residence) as we worked with students on multimedia projects based on [...]

Romeo and Juliet Project = Tears of Joy

Every year it seems that a student who I am lucky enough to teach reminds me why I am a Digital Learning Coordinator. This year, Matthew A. showed me what happens when students are given a challenge, some limited instruction, the gift of time, and the opportunity to learn and instruct with their Whole Mind [...]

Telling the Story of Romeo and Juliet

Mrs. Birgel and I started to work with the students on the Romeo and Juliet project. It involves giving students the creative license to retell an Act from a Scene. They are working either alone or in pairs and choose the Act and Scene by “claiming it” in the Moodle discussion forum so all classmates [...]

Who is the Teacher Here?

A long weekend reveals these gems from my “students”.
Dear Mr. Schaefer,
Thank you so much for converting my MPEGs to DVs! I couldn’t have done my Independent Project without you! I really appreciate it! I hope you enjoy my picture of you working on my movie- I did it on Skitch!
Thank you,
Amanda

Ryan created a tutorial of [...]