Making the Rounds

Today, I had the opportunity to visit SouthSide elementary, the Middle School and of course the High School.

I visited SouthSide Elementary in the morning and a little bit in the afternoon.  In the morning I met with Mrs. White to figure out and discover her MimioTeach.  The MimioTeach turns any whiteboard into a Smartboard, which allows students to draw on the computer screen through the use of a stylus pen, insert pictures, create venn diagrams and so much more.  It was an awesome experience and something I hope Mrs. White uses extensively with her students throughout the different classes she goes into at SouthSide Elementary.
I also met with Mrs. Speake to discuss different ways to integrate and support technology at SouthSide.  Some ideas came up related to: how to better use the 2 laptop carts, how to link grade level web sites to SchoolFusion, using Kidspiration, learning how to use the IowaAEAOnline resources, becoming more comfortable with the lcd projectors, and creating digital stories.  All great ideas in which I hope to take full charge in integrating and showcasing to the teachers throughout the year.
In the afternoon I met with Mrs. Nelson to show her how to wirelessly connect to her projector and how ti more efficiently use her laptop with the projector for both teacher and student use.

In the afternoon I met with Mrs. Braun at the Middle School to discuss the First Lego League.  This will be something new for me as I have not messed with Lego Robotics since college.  I think it will be a great experience for her students and hopefully something that we can take a couple groups of students to compete against other Iowa students, in relationship to Lego Robotics.

Throughout the day at the High School I provided some web sites to teachers interested in interactive flash cards, and using interactive writing tablets in the classroom.

Awesome day and I am sure the rest will be just as good.

HS Student Laptop Orientation-1st Day of School

My first day of school within the Hampton-Dumont CSD consisted of having the former Bulldog Byte members (students interested in technology) showcase their "Taking Care of Laptops" skit to the whole student body at the very beginning of the day.  They did an awesome job.  I then had the opportunity to speak to each grade while they received their student laptops to keep.  I talked to each grade about proper care and handling of their laptop, as a reminder from the previous year when they first received their laptops.  I then had the opportunity to help the students get logged into their laptops, and to learn some new faces.
In the afternoon I was able to surface some ideas to get technology integration rolling for the Technology Professional Development sessions which will start next Wednesday.
On Friday I will be visiting South Side Elementary to help a teacher learn how to use her Mimio and will meet with another teacher on different technology concepts that the teachers would like to incorporate.  I am also going to meet with a couple teachers in the afternoon at the Middle School to talk about Lego Robotics.  Lastly, I am hoping to help out a High School teacher to create some google docs for voting for student council members for each graduation class.