page background

Technology Tidbits

January 8, 2014

Technology TidbitsJanuary 8, 2014

Contact Information


Danita Russell

drussell@lee.k12.nc.us

@Danitar

http://www.lee.k12.nc.us/Domain/939

Welcome back!

I hope you had a relaxing vacation while enjoying time with your family and friends. Now that we are back in the groove, it's time to start thinking about where we are going on Spring Break! It's only a few weeks away :)


With the new year, brings new changes in our tech department. Allen Vaughan will be leaving Greenwood and moving to Ingram, Rachel Ramos will be moving from SanLee Middle to Greenwood, and Shannon Johnson will be moving from Broadway to SanLee Middle. While we hate to see Allen leave the Greenwood family, we welcome Rachel and Shannon! Please be patient as we all learn and adjust to new procedures.


Stay bundled up and warm as we brave the dreaded January cold that's blowing in. Sometimes there is a letdown after the Christmas holidays. I hope you find some activities in this newsletter that will keep you and your students from the January blues!


Until next time ~

Danita

Upcoming Technology Dates

Greenwood:


January 15 - website development

January 17 - Gaggle Internet Safety due


SanLee -

January 16 - URCast with Amy Thomas

January 17 - Gaggle Internet Safety due

More things to make you go hmmmm......

  1. What happens to an 18 hour bra after 18 hours?

  2. Why didn't Noah swat those two mosquitoes?

  3. Why do hot dogs come 10 to a package and hot dog buns only 8?

  4. Why do tourists go to the tops of tall buildings and then put money into telescopes so they can see things on the ground close-up?

  5. Why is it that bullets ricochet off of Superman's chest, but he ducks when the gun is thrown at him?

  6. Why is it that night falls but day breaks?

  7. Why is it that you must wait until night to call it a day?

  8. What if the Hokey Pokey IS what its all about?

  9. When your pet bird sees you reading the newspaper, does he wonder why you're just sitting there, staring at carpeting?

  10. What happened to the first 6 "ups"?


http://baetzler.de/humor/things_hmmm.html


Teacher Spotlight - Kris Jaggers, SanLee Middle School

I am Kris Jaggers, SanLee Middle School health and physical education teacher.

This is my 2nd year in education.

The most exciting new technology idea I've tried in my classroom is KidBlog. I started using KidBlog after a coworker, Scott Councilman, told me how useful this tool was in the classroom. It is an interactive blog for the students. The students have a new article to read everyday when they come into the health classroom. They must read the article, tell whether they agree or disagree with the article in 3-5 sentences, then they must find another students response in their classroom to comment on in 2 sentences. This is a very useful tool in the classroom because it engages the students in reading and writing and it is a great way to start the class off with an article about the topic we will be discussing in class.


If I were King of the World for a day and could change ANYTHING in education, I would make every adult in the world spend a whole day teaching (elementary, middle, and high school classes) just to get an understanding of what teachers go through on a daily basis.


Teacher webpage: http://lee.schoolwires.net//Domain/1305

Twitter: https://twitter.com/peteachjaggers

An example of my KidBlog page: http://kidblog.org/MrJaggers6A/


Language Arts

RL.6.3. Describe how a particular story’s or drama’s plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution.

Character Traits Activity, Projects, and Lesson -
http://www.ereadingworksheets.com/free-reading-worksheets/characterization-worksheets/

Plot Map Graphic Organizer -
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Plot-Map-Graphic-Organizer-Handout-Story-Map-Elements-Lesson-Plan

Plot Map with Illustrations -
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Plot-Line-with-Boxes-for-Illustrations

Character Sketch -
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Character-Sketch-Fun-Practice-with-Creative-Writing

Character Personality Bubble Map -
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Character-Personality-Bubble-Map

Character Report Card - http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Character-Report-Card-How-will-you-grade


Social Studies

Vision of Humanity

http://www.visionofhumanity.org/


Digital Docs in a box

http://www.digitaldocsinabox.org/kits.html


2013 in review by illustration
http://mariozucca.com/heres-to-2013/


Get Plugged In!

HippoCampus


http://www.hippocampus.org/


What is it?
HippoCampus.org is a free, core academic web site that delivers rich multimedia content--videos, animations, and simulations--on general education subjects to middle-school and high-school teachers and college professors, and their students, free of charge. Teachers project HippoCampus content during classroom learning and assign it for computer labs and homework. Students use the site in the evenings for study and exam prep. Users do not need to register or log in to use the site.

How can I use it in my classroom?
More than half the use of HippoCampus occurs during classroom hours, when teachers go online to project topic lectures and show simulations launched from the HippoCampus site. Teachers can use the site as is, or can create custom playlists of topics in their custom HippoCampus page by creating a free user account. Just click the Log In link in the top-right corner of any HippoCampus page to get started. Further information can be found in the HippoCampus User's Guide.


How do I join?



Where can I find more information?