User Groups

Forums and Forum Posts

graeme horton — Fri, 11 May 2012 13:30:31 GMT

As the group owner, you have the ability to set up a single forum, or host multiple forums for your users. These can be discussion forums or be set up as question and answer forums. Learn more about forum features and functionality in the Group Owners Group!

Files and File Galleries

graeme horton — Fri, 11 May 2012 13:30:09 GMT

Add one or more file galleries to your group by selecting the 'New Post' button within the 'Files' area. You may set up several categories and develop your own structure for providing access to folders and files. You may wish to add some of your favorite, tried and true resources from the Planet! Learn more about wiki features and functionality in the Group Owners Group!

Blog Sample

graeme horton — Fri, 11 May 2012 14:10:40 GMT

As a group owner, you have the ability to set up one or more blogs associated with your group. In addition, you can also assign permissions to specific members to enable authoring capabilities. Learn more about wiki features and functionality in the Group Owners Group!

Wiki Sample

graeme horton — Fri, 11 May 2012 13:10:01 GMT

This is an example of a wiki article that may be written for your members. There are many different uses for the wiki and you have the ability to control which members have the ability to contribute. You can use the wiki to create a listing of FAQ's for your group or a shared set of documents that several members can contribute to and share ideas. For example, you could start developing a lesson plan, then allow others Chemistry teachers to collaborate and edit the document as well, resulting in a living document that can be modified and tweaked until it's ready to use! Learn more about wiki features and functionality in the Group Owners Group!

PD Generates Effective Classroom Implementation of IWB Technology

Adina Popa — Tue, 08 May 2012 11:50:00 GMT

When we opened our brand-new, technology-rich school four years ago, we were both excited and overwhelmed. We were excited to have access to cutting-edge technology that would allow both students and teachers to work and learn in 21st century environments, but at the same time we were overwhelmed for the same exact reasons. All of us wanted to use our interactive whiteboards effectively, but we knew that we needed to approach this technology in a premeditated fashion, creating (and participating in) professional development sessions that allowed everyone to learn and use the boards in most effective ways.

As a Technology Resource Teacher, I am in charge with staff development as it relates to technology initiatives in my school, and training staff to effectively use the interactive whiteboards was my first task in the new school. I created a Professional Development (PD) Plan that addressed this need, and implemented it from the start. Each year, I tweak the PD plan to adress the needs of staff at that point in time, but the skeleton (so to speak) remains the same.

We all know that students are better engaged in the new, faster-paced lessons delivered through IWBs (Smith, Hardman and Higgins (2006)). We also know that teaching via lectures and recall exercises is no longer a welcomed component of an interactive classroom. Furthermore, Betcher and Lee (2009) suggest that it is important to differentiate between simply projecting content on the IWB, and truly using the whiteboard in an interactive way. It was very important to us, therefore, that we knew how to effectively implement our interactive whiteboards in the curriculum.

I first started with research, demonstrating effective uses of IWBs, and then developed a school-wide professional development plan that leveraged and sustained successful strategies. The final result was a PD plan through which we learned how to create interactive flipcharts that maximized the power of IWBs, as suggested by Marzano (2009) and Betcher (2009). Although this plan is always a "work in progress" depending on each year's needs and wants, it is now our guide to effective use of interactive whiteboards.

Promethean Professional Development Plan

Goal

All teachers will demonstrate intermediate Promethean skills by the end of the 2011–2012 school year. Teachers at any level of expertise will showcase growth between two or more points in time.

Overview

This PD plan is the result of several suggestions and decisions made by the Steuart Weller Elementary PD focus group, a group of teachers representing each professional area in our school. Coming from different environments and facing different needs, they suggested actions that would benefit all of our staff, when implemented.

PD Focus group members

Grades K-2: One kindergarten teacher, three 1st grade teachers, and one 2nd grade teacher
Grades 3-5: One 3rd grade teacher, two 4th grade teachers, and two 5th grade teachers
Special education: One teacher
Specialists: Three specialists
Administration: Principal

Training Overview

Professional development will take place through three modules, delivered both face-to-face and online. The three modules build upon each other, the first addressing beginner skills, the second addressing intermediate skills, and the third addressing advanced skills. Learners can "test out" of any of these modules by creating flipcharts showcasing the tools required, and explaining how the tools are used.

Based on a survey created by our county and completed by each of our faculty (Appendix C), we realized that our staff is very diverse in Promethean skills and applications. This year we welcomed 19 new members, each at a different level of expertise. Because of this environment, we need to provide differentiated training and materials, and therefore we adopted the module model (Appendix A and website).

Since all activities have student achievement in mind, we decided to also use a Checklist for Effective IWB Lessons (Appendix B), applying the skills learned to planning lessons that increase student motivation and achievement.

Things to Consider When Training Adult Learners to Use IWBs Effectively

(Adapted from Professional Development that Works (1998))

Create an environment in which adult learning is valued. Provide 15–60 hours annually for staff development. If we don't spend enough time on well-designed training, staff will not want to switch tools.
Clarify the purpose of training. Teachers' time is in high demand, and we need to make sure that everything they do is perceived as valuable. In order for professional development to be effective, it should be a deliberate process that occurs within the context of teachers' daily activities in the classroom environment and connects back to student learning.
Effective learning happens when we stop delivering staff development as something we "do to" teachers. Instead, we must give adult learners choices in the process of their learning.
Never leave the focus from student learning!
Address emotional challenges of adult learners. Develop confidence, comfort, calm and competence.
Create an ActivGroup that assists the Technology Resource Teacher in providing timely mini-lessons to adult learners who need attention right away. These individuals also help with formal training, as the applications and connections generated by a group of experts are more valuable than if generated by one person alone.
Use surveys and assessment to guide planning. We must regularly survey teachers about their preferences, level of expertise and learning styles, in order to better create opportunities for learning.
Provide time for invention and lesson design.
Create effective and exciting programs that engage teachers.
Be persistent in helping all learners grow. Excellence requires time and effort.

ActivGroup Members

Centers: 2nd grade teacher
Effective design: 5th grade teacher
Using tools effectively and innovatively in math and social studies: 4th grade teacher
Innovative ways to use the ActiView and ActivExpression: Art specialist
Different ways to use multimedia with the interactive whiteboards: Librarian
Using tools effectively and innovatively in science: 3rd grade teacher
Using tools effectively and innovatively in language arts: 1st grade teacher
Morning routine: Kindergarten teacher

Planned Activities

Formal Meetings

August, new teacher orientation – completion of Module 1
November/December, three mandatory after school Tuesday sessions – completion of Module 2
January, three mandatory after school Tuesday sessions – completion of Module 3
February – ActivWeller (school-based mini conference during which teachers exchange best practices and effective uses of Activ tools).

Each staff member has the opportunity to "test out" of options 2 and 3 by creating flipcharts showcasing the relevant tools of those options, as well as innovative applications of these tools. If anyone wishes to choose this alternative, they can use the resources under on-going support to complete their projects. This year there are quite a few mandatory training sessions for our staff and we wanted to give them the option to work independently towards achieving this project's goals.

On-Going Support

Monthly staff meetings: Quick 10-minute tutorial of a tool or application delivered by an ActivGroup member.
Tuesday training (optional): Each Tuesday after school we hold one-hour sessions, presenting tools and innovative ways to apply these tools in a lesson. The Technology Resource Teacher announces what tools are featured, via our school's morning news, and teachers have the choice to participate in the training. The TRT or one of the ActivGroup members delivers the training on Tuesdays.
Team meetings: Technology Resource Teacher delivers 10-minute training sessions during grade level team meetings, at the request of the team.
LMS: Compile video and written tutorials (Appendix E) pertaining to different tools and their applications. Make these tutorials available to staff on our LMS. Use this collaboration tool to communicate with staff as well as post successful lessons, strategies and applications.

Evaluation

Quarterly surveys created by the county (Appendix D)
Observations
ActivWeller
End products (flipcharts and ActivExpression activities stored on LMS)

Measuring Outcome of Student Learning

Observational data: Are students engaged when Promethean technologies are involved?
Anecdotal evidence: Are students "getting it?" Is information retained better? Longer?

Oliver Wendell Holmes said that "Man's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions." It is my hope that, through this learning process, we have inspired not just our school community, but also the education community at large to bring interactivity to each classroom. Interactive whiteboards are amazing tools, but it is up to us, the educators who use them, to surface the high, positive impact they can have on students' learning.

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Louis Theroux: Extreme Love – Autism, BBC Two... Did anyone watch it?

Liam O'Marah — Wed, 02 May 2012 10:22:44 GMT

I realise that this probably only applies to the Brits that are reading this, but did anyone see Louis' recent documentary on BBC 2 about educating and living with autism in the US? To set this in context for the non-Brits, Louis Theroux is not usually known for his investigative journalism into such as hard-hitting topic, but after watching it I had to really take my hat off to the people in the documentary.

It featured an amazing school in the US (The New Jersey Development Learning Center) that has been a pioneer in helping pupils with autism, and the documentary featured the work of one bright teenager (Nicky) as they were preparing him to make the leap from an autism school to mainstream. There's a really funny instance where Nicky introduces Louis to a friend in school and describes Louis as 'famous' because 'he's got a Wikipedia page'!

Pictured: Louis Theroux with Joey and his mother, Carol (Source: BBC2)

I was particularly interested in the documentary after the work we just did with Mayer-Johnson on Planet to help co-develop their ActivInspire autism resources, but watching the programme made me realise just how wide the autistic spectrum is in terms of autism. And the people in it, your heart really went out to them and the daily struggles they have coping with autistim.

The teachers were quite naturally amazing - and I don't think that it's in every teachers job specification that they have to be experienced in restraint procedures for the more extreme autistic cases. Just the physical side to that role really makes you in awe of them (and also the parents, too).

So, I've tried to Google some links for people outside the UK to read up about it, so here we go:

If anyone else saw this programme it would be interesting to hear your views on it? Has anyone heard of the DLC in Warren, New Jersey?

Liam

Inanimate Alice - Lesson One (LRS)

Liam O'Marah — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 11:19:35 GMT

In order to take maximum advantage from this flipchart, you need to have watched Episode 1: China, with your class.

This flipchart is an LRS (Learner Response Flipchart) with ten questions, based around Episode 1. It requires your class to compare and contrast events that are happening, and have happened, to Inanimate Alice.

It is aligned to the Common Core State English Language Arts Standards in the area of Reading: Literature (though is also applicable to other curriculums).

RL.5.3. Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., how characters interact).

Using a Visualiser in the Primary Science Classroom

Danny Nicholson — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 15:40:00 GMT

We've all been there; you want the whole class to be able to see a flower, a seed or a fossil. How do you show it to the whole class without an unseemly scrum around your desk? An easy solution is to use a visualiser.

A visualiser (also called a document camera) is essentially a small video camera that is connected directly to a data projector or to a computer which produces real-time images on a screen. The camera is typically mounted on an arm pointing downwards. Any object or document placed below the camera is projected on to the screen for the class to see.

If the image is projected on to an interactive whiteboard (IWB), it is then possible to use the pen tools to draw and annotate over the top of the image – perhaps labelling the key features or key words to describe the object.

It is not essential to have an interactive whiteboard, as long as the visualiser is connected to a projector (or large television screen) for displaying the image. Although, from experience, I find that the combination of interactive whiteboard, projector and visualiser can be a very powerful one and getting a visualiser in addition to an interactive whiteboard – budget permitting – allows greater flexibility of working.

Using a Visualiser in Science

Here are some ideas for using a visualiser in the science classroom:

Looking at flowers. Display a real flower up close and, using the whiteboard tools, students can annotate the petal, anther, stigma, sepal and filament.
Displaying 'minibeasts'. Look closely at invertebrates collected by students from the school grounds, such as woodlice, slugs and caterpillars. Students can place these minibeasts under the visualiser to take a close look at their different features and see how they moved.
Demonstrating electrical circuits. If the circuits had deliberately been set up with a fault, students can annotate on the IWB to show how they can be fixed.
Using the zoom feature to look at objects, such as mouldy bread or different types of fabric, in high detail. Look closely at natural materials such as wood, rocks, stones, leaves, shells and pine cones.
Demonstrating how to read scales on rulers, thermometers and other meters.
Taking a close look at germinating seeds.
Modelling which buttons to use on stop clocks, calculators and data loggers.
Displaying images from books, photographs and food labels without having to photocopy!
Modelling graph drawing with real pencil, ruler and graph paper rather than trying to use the interactive whiteboard tools.
Looking at the inside of a child's mouth to explore teeth (some visualisers are mounted on a flexible arm, so not everything has to be directly below it, which makes this rather easier!).
Displaying good examples of student work to the whole class.
Displaying a worksheet – modelling how to fill it in prior to completion during the lesson. Also, for modelling exam questions.

In Summary

Visualisers make it much easier for teachers to show resources and artefacts to the whole class, without having students crowding around struggling to see what is going on. Many teachers who have a visualiser make use of it almost every day across the entire curriculum, not just for science. Their simplicity to use, at least at a basic level, makes them something that many teachers and students can start using straight away. They make an excellent addition to any primary classroom.

Web Links

Danny Nicholson is a PGCE Science Lecturer and Interactive Whiteboard trainer. He blogs regularly at The Whiteboard Blog and Teaching Science. He is also a primary science PGCE lecturer for Billericay SCITT, Essex, UK.

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So I Have Some ActivExpressions, Now What?

Claudio Zavala Jr — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 15:34:00 GMT

Several schools in my school district have purchased sets of ActivExpressions for the grade level teams. As a technology specialist, some of my responsibilities include training teachers to use Learner Response Systems (LRS) in their classrooms. Many teachers are excited about the potential LRS devices may have on improving student interaction, motivation, and learning. However, they have also expressed some trepidation with the setup and use in the classroom.

One of the strategies that has been successful for me as a trainer is to recommend teachers take “baby steps.” Here are some ideas for building one's capacity for implementing LRS devices. (For purposes of this article, I will refer to ActivExpressions, ActivInspire, and flipcharts. Feel free to substitute another LRS device and comparable software.)

Where Do I Start?

My first recommendation for using ActivExpression LRS devices is to use ad hoc questioning via the Express Poll feature in ActivInspire. This tool gives you a set of question types (multiple choice, true/false, Likert scale, sorting, and texting). The advantage to using the Express Poll is you can ask a question, without the need to create a voting session/quiz ahead of time. What this means is that you do not need to launch any type of question wizard. You can either verbally ask a question or annotate a question on the flipchart.

Prior to using ActivExpression with content specific questions, I suggest asking the students questions on pop culture or current events. For example, you may ask them to text in which musical artists is their favorite. Which MLB team won the World Series in 2011? A) Rangers B) Tigers C) Brewers D) Cardinals. This gives the students an opportunity to navigate the ActivExpression and answer accordingly. How many questions should you ask? This will depend on your students, but I recommend trying each type of question several times so students can become accustomed to which buttons to press. In addition, I believe this helps lower students' anxiety during content specific voting sessions because they have already had practice using the devices.

What Is the Next Step?

So you’ve asked them some questions about pop culture, what's next? What I recommend to teachers in my trainings is to continue using Express Poll but add some resources. Up to now, they have created their questions “on the fly.” To make their job a little easier, I suggest using content that is already created or that they are already using. Case in point, many of our teachers have a web version of the student textbook and have the equipment in the classroom allowing them to project it on a digital-whiteboard. Display a question or practice section and ask students to answer a series of questions based on the image. For example, in the following example (see image below) I would ask students to text in the coordinate points for E if I wanted ABEC to be a parallelogram.

Think of the possibilities! Along with using Express Poll with online textbooks, think about the times you have watched a video in class and wondered if students are actively watching and taking notes. For example, your English class has been studying literary devices and they are going to watch the 1954 version of Animal Farm. Their task is to find examples of literary devices in the movie and input them into the ActivExpressions. In addition, you can stop the movie and ask questions based on a character’s dialogue or a scene in the movie.

Moving On

Express Poll is a great way to introduce polling or voting sessions to your students. You can do a lot with this tool without having to use a question wizard. Take advantage of material you may already have as a time saver and unlock the potential to engage and empower students. Once you and your students have had time to practice with Express Poll, your next option is to create your own single question session or a self-paced voting session.

For more ideas visit the Learner Response Group

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Tour the Universe via Your Interactive Whiteboard

Danny Nicholson — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 13:21:00 GMT

I've often heard it said that the interactive whiteboard can become your window on the world, by bringing video and images from all over the world into your classroom. But it can also be more than that – it can become a window on other worlds, and take your class out into the solar system and beyond.

If you are teaching a topic about the planets, then there are many great tools that you can use on your interactive whiteboard to show your students what the planets look like and to demonstrate how the planets move around the Sun in relation to each other. There are also some excellent archive sites for images of other galaxies and nebulae in deep space.

Here are a few of my favourites.

Astrotour

Astrotour is a very useful site that lets you view how the planets in the solar system move around the Sun. You can see how some move faster than others and use the dates to calculate how long it would take some of the outer planets to complete one orbit.

You can run it automatically, and change the speed, or pause it and step through slowly. You can choose to view the whole thing with the Sun at the centre, or to follow a particular planet around. Click and drag any planet, all the others will move in time with it.

The controls at the side let you zoom in so you can see a few planets more closely. You can also make the planets bigger to make them easier to see on an IWB.

Solar System Scope

Solar System Scope is a very impressive interactive 3D model of our solar system. You can zoom in and move the planets around the Sun to see how they move in relation to each other.

You can switch between a heliocentric view, geocentric view and panoramic view of the solar system. Earth-centred view is great if you then use the play controls to move the time forward, as you can see how the day/night changes across the surface. Heliocentric view is good for showing how we get seasons, as well as demonstrating the movement of the Moon around the Earth in the course of a month.

The scale of the planets in relation to each other is not accurate, nor is the distance apart, but these are necessary changes to make the whole thing fit on a screen and be useable!

The site a little advert-heavy, but you can put it into full-screen mode to remove the adverts.

Also check out Sun Moon Scope and Sun Aeon by the same people.

Google Sky

Google Sky lets you explore the universe in the same way that you would explore a Google Map. You can zoom in on any area of space to view it in more detail. Links along the bottom of the screen take you direct to special features of interest such as images from the Hubble Space Telescope of galaxies and nebulae. You can also run Google Sky within the Google Earth downloadable application.

Also worth a look are the Google Moon and Google Mars sites, which let you explore the surface of the Moon and Mars in great detail and see where the various space missions landed and explored.

World Wide Telescope

World Wide Telescope is Microsoft's version of Google Sky. You can download the client software or use it via the Web (needs Silverlight installed). The software enables you to explore the universe, bringing together imagery from the best ground and space-based telescopes in the world and combining it with 3D navigation. There are also narrated guided tours from astronomers and educators featuring interesting places in the sky.

NASA Images

NASA Images was created to bring public access to NASA's image, video and audio collections in a single, searchable resource. The site contains everything from classic NASA photos to educational videos, and the resource is growing all the time.

You can also find video segments created for NASA here on Promethean Planet, courtesy of Planet's partnership with America's National Institute of Aerospace (NIA).

Day Night Demonstrator

Primary teachers who want to demonstrate how we get day and night should take a look at the Day Night Demonstrator from ICT Games. This very simple simulation lets you show your class how we get night and day, and can be used to help explain seasons and Moon phases.

Moon Phases

The Children's University of Manchester has some very useful resources for different science topics. The Moon Phases simulator is well worth a look for any teacher trying to explain to their class how we get phases of the Moon, in addition to getting out the torch and football!

Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD)

Each day a different image or photograph is featured on APOD, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. It's a great site, albeit slightly random. Dip into the site on a regular basis to provide a little awe and wonder in your lesson. You can also view the archive and search for particular images.

For ideas on how APOD is being used in the classroom, a teacher's guide is available.

National Schools' Observatory

If your school is in the UK or Ireland, you can register to make free use of the National Schools' Observatory, a professional robotic telescope designed for scientific research. The telescope is located on the island of La Palma in the Canary Islands and is known as the Liverpool Telescope. The site also has archive images and other resources to help teach about space.

Don't Forget to Screen Grab

Remember you can use the camera function in your interactive whiteboard software to make screen grabs from any part of the map and bring it into your IWB software to annotate over the top. You can also put these images into your resource library/gallery for later use. (You should check the source of any images you capture for copyright information so that you comply with the terms of use.)

If you have any other favourite sites, don't forget to let us know in the comments below!

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Live Stream Recordings

Scott Caulfield — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 14:39:19 GMT

Welcome to the Live Stream Group. If you aren't able to make a particular Live Stream session, do not worry all of them will be recorded and will be linked here.

Using song in the classroom

vivienne creevey — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 11:12:00 GMT

Songs are a great way of injecting a huge dose of energy, fun and positive atmosphere into the classroom. They contribute significantly towards creating an environment where children can join in and ‘just do it’. One of the greatest barriers to language learning is fear of failing, an uneasy worry of getting it ‘wrong’. Joining in with a good old singalong removes this fear almost completely and, at the same time, ensures that the children are actively engaged with learning rather than being passive listeners.

In addition to helping create a great atmosphere, singing also works in terms of hard learning benefits, neatly combining three key aspects of effective language acquisition: rhyme, repetition and reinforcement.

Let’s look at how this can work. Choose the topic you want theme to work on - eg colours, opposites, shopping, days of the week. holidays, food. In the sessions we run in primary schools throughout the country, we set a challenge for the children. It could be challenging them to learn their colours in French in 30 minutes. We start off by introducing individual colours through coloured hankies - rouge, noir, bleu, vert, blanc - usually up to around ten. Coloured pieces of paper created by the children, coloured pencils etc can be substituted for the hankies. We then play a game of holding up a particular coloured hanky, asking the children to repeat it, individually or in groups, working through all the different colours. Hankies are then distributed to the groups who have to wave the right colour when we shout out its name.

The Colours song (you can find it on You Tube under Max et Mathilde - ) then reinforces the individual words the children have just learnt and - believe me! - they will be happy to sing it again and again. All this repetition is reinforcing the words they have just learnt, even more so if you ask them to wave the appropriate colour as it appears in the song.

Make sure when using a song, you select something simple that clearly highlights the words and concepts you have just been working at or the children will be confused by the introduction of too much new vocabulary and will lose confidence and motivation. It’s also important that the singing in the original recorded song is by native speakers,as your little learners will model the pronunciation with the most amazing accuracy whether it is good, bad or indifferent. Research consistently shows the earlier a language is introduced, the more authentic the pronunciation - neural pathways become hardwired to a particular model of pronunciation somewhere around the age of eight. (Noam Chomsky has lots to say on this in Language and Mind if you want more!) Also, in language learning just as in other subjects, children respond positively to modelling from other children so it’s good if you can find songs sung by children.

In order to reinforce what they have learnt, sing the song and play the game as many times as necessary before introducing the next theme. Try getting them to challenge their parents to learn their colours by sending a Colours worksheet home for additional reinforcement. The children will feel an enormous sense of pride and achievement from learning their colours and the confidence they feel will provide the motivation to tackle the next theme you move on to.

Hope this is useful, look forward to hearing your ideas, bonne chance and most of all amusez-vous bien!

FCL presenting at the TDSB Futures Conference

Martha Jez — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 13:51:00 GMT

We are pleased to be working with a team of experts from the TDSB to present our seminar: Successful Teaching Practices: Implementing Technology to Engage Students with Learning Disabilities. Friday May 4th, 2012 from 11:00-12:15pm. Check out the agenda here: http://www.tdsb.on.ca/microsites/futures/pdfs/Seminar_Fri_AM_15.pdf.

We can't wait! See you there!

Autism information flipchart

Tabitha Savage — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:12:04 GMT

I have attached a flipchart, created by one of our group members, Natalie Beach. This is an informational flipchart for teachers. I highly recommend reviewing the material! Natalie created an excellent resource for SPED or gen ed teachers.

Great work, Natalie!

The New Desmos Graphing Calculator

Ann McNamara — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 18:37:00 GMT

Want to learn more about the new Desmos Graphing Calculator? Just watch the movie below.

(Please visit the site to view this media)

This week’s Graph-O-The-Week was so cool that I had to...

Anonymous — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 03:18:00 GMT

This week’s Graph-O-The-Week was so cool that I had to make a video about it. This is the sine function as you’ve never experienced it before - beautifully color coded and with slider bars for each of the parameters. Notice how the pink dot Read More...

Calling all Activ Educators for the launch of the Canadian Certified Educator Program!

Martha Jez — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 19:35:00 GMT

Fair Chance Learning is thrilled to be promoting the Promethean Certified Educator Program. If you are a Professional, Model or Master teacher using the ActivClassroom we would love to connect with you and see the many great things you are doing in your classroom and help you share your story. Please check out the official program overview and requirements at the following link: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/36945278/Certified%20Educator%20Program.pdf. Cheers to great teachers, great technology and great ideas in the classroom!

Martha

FCL to present at the International Principals Conference in Toronto August 2011

Dustin Jez — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 13:20:00 GMT

the International Principals Confederation Conference (http://www.icp2011.ca/default.asp?d=1) is happening in Toronto the week of August 15-18. Fair Chance Learning is presenting the following workshop on Tuesday August 16th from 11:45-12:15:

Title: Journey Into the Classroom of the Future
Descriptor:
Building a robust and prepared global workforce starts with re-thinking our current education systems. Join two educational leaders, from Fair Chance Learning, for a journey where you will learn how to create a 21st Century learning environment that leverages interactive technologies. Participants will experience a classroom that integrates interactive whiteboards, mobile devices and digital content with innovative instructional strategies to guide students in mastering their learning. This presentation will explore the essential elements needed to promote effective changes in a district’s technology landscape, including creating a comprehensive technology plan with a robust teacher professional development program.

Come see us and our education partners: Promethean and Metafore!

The Importance of Community

Kristi Barber — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 14:03:00 GMT

I recently attended the annual ISTE Conference in Philadelphia, PA. I spent four fabulous days among other educators and administrators that are just as passionate and dedicated to teaching and reaching students with technology as I am. It was rejuvenating and inspiring to hear what others are doing in their classrooms. I walked away every day with new ideas for my own classroom. I was reminded how important it is to belong to a PLN or community that has a similar mindset and are invested in their profession.

At ISTE I had the privilege and pleasure of hearing Ron Clark and his students from the Ron Clark Academy speak at the Promethean Spotlight. He is amazing and awe inspiring. He spoke of personal trials and triumphs in the classroom and how sometimes you have to go beyond your teaching duties to reach struggling students and inspire them to reach their potential. Clark uses Promethean in his classroom to engage his students and is very successful in doing so. Here is a video of some of the students from the Ron Clark Academy performing a special tribute to Promethean. (Please visit the site to view this media)

I also visited the Promethean bus and learned about their recent partnership with Channel One News. I was very impressed by what I saw. Channel One News has incorporated the ActivBoard into their newscasts and offers quality how-to tutorials on features used during the segment. They also have incorporated the ActivExpressions into their segments. As the quiz questions are presented on screen they are magically sent to your students' ActivExpression devices. What a great way to make the newscast interactive and engaging. I was equally impressed how it showed the results of your class verses your entire school. If a school was fortunate enough to supply every class with the ActivExpressions what an impact it would make on keeping the students current on world events. I was a fan of Channel One as a high school student and think this is a natural fit with student desire to be engaged through technology.

I was interested in becoming involved with a Social Studies group in the Planet community to share best practices in utilizing Promethean products in the classroom specifically for our content. It is so wonderful to be able to turn to a PLN to ask for advice, suggestions, guidance, and inspiration. It is a work in progress and I would like to see our community grow to be something that is well utilized and supported by social studies teacher around the world. Join in the conversations, share your best lessons or ideas and inspire greatness!

--Kristi

How do you do?

Kristi Barber — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 14:47:59 GMT

I thought since we are getting quite a few members here we should take the time to introduce ourselves. It would be great to know where you are located, what you teach, and at what level. Also if you could share what you want to get out of this Group that would be great. I'll go first.

My name is Kristi Barber. I teach 7th grade world history and 8th grade American History in a rural community in Pennsylvania, called Coudersport. I have been teaching for going on nine years, all at Coudersport. I have been a Planet member for a few years now and would love to connect with other classrooms and see what amazing things we can accomplish. I would also like to know how other social studies educators utilize Activ Inspire in their classrooms, making their lectures interactive. I hope we can start a solid PLN here on the Planet.