Okay…let’s try something new. To help eliminate the extra stress with trying to fit in another meeting let’s meet online. In this post I have included our January Agenda with some topics we need to discuss. First and foremost, we need a plan for next week’s optional workdays. I am putting together two Technology Work Shops, one on the morning of the 20th and the other the morning of the 21st. Let’s shoot for 2 hours for each session. Teachers can earn .4 CEU’s if interested. The topics will be “How to Use What We Have”and “Not Just Your Ordinary Power Point!”
“How to use what we have”I would like for a few of you to volunteer to show how you use the equipment we have. I know a lot of you are doing wonderful things in your classrooms, now is the time to showcase what you’ve been up to and give others an idea of how they can better use the equipment that is available to them. “Not Just Your Ordinary Power Point!”
Are you trying to find a way to make that next project fun and interesting for your students? TJ Wolfe and I will be showing you some tips and tricks to turn that ordinary Power Point into extraordinary by adding video, podcasts, and more.
Okay let’s get to work. I want to hear your thoughts. See the january mtac document below for more agenda topics. Please feel free to comment directly on this page so those on the committee can view your responses.
Thanks so much for your help!
Jen
I have been asked by a few teachers to show what Meebo is and how to use it. I may be able to do something quick with this on Tuesday. I may be able to get Rosen in on it too so we have a LA and Math perspective.
I can’t wait to attend your’s and TJ’s session on beefing up PowerPoints as that is one of my students’ complaints. As far as the school website goes, I think we should add a virtual tour feature which captures some of the many cool things we have at MCMS. If you need me to lead a session on the doc camera, I can do. However, I would love to go to a session where the interwrite tablet was explored. Fundraisers…. years ago we used to do a big thing for Minutemen Madness like March Madness. There was a faculty verses student basket ball game, food, and games in the courtyard. It used to bring in some bucks. When I taught at Bogue Sound Elementary, I ran our NCSF booth. While doing so, I connected with the amusement people. The guy in charge said they do a lot of fundraiser type stuff as 50% of the profit goes to the organization raising money. If we could access Wellons Properties perhaps through Mrs. Moore, we could use the plaza. The amusement rides and activities would be a huge attraction to our student body as well as the community at large. As far as the interactive math boards, Croatan uses tablet pcs. My sister indicated they are doing incredible things with this technology on the math front. It might be worth a visit to see what they are doing. Love the blog, Mrs. Lancaster
Sounds great! I’ll plan on you (Megan) presenting. Awesome idea of getting Dee involved. If you need help with planning this or creating handouts let me know. I would like teachers to walk away from your session with something in hand. You could possibly walk them through how to set up a Meebo account and have them practice using it. Great idea Megan!! I LOVE IT!!
You ROCK Dega!!! Great ideas! Would love for you to lead a session with your doc camera. I’ll try to schedule sessions that do not overlap so you won’t have to miss out on anything. Thanks so much for volunteering! I’ll talk more with you about the fundraising ideas. I like what you’re thinking.
I would love to learn how to set up and use the “clickers”, not just have one handed to me so I can enter an answer or two session that I have been through at least 3 times. I would also love a session by someone who uses the interwrite pad in a much more spectacular fashion than I do. I use it already for a variety of things, but I am not sure I function in the image for which they were intended!
Yeah – I’m pretty excited about the PowerPoint workshop. Got word from my nephew over the holiday (he’s a software programmer for an upstart internet company after a year with IBM – VERY tech savvy) that Power Point is still THE mode of p resentatiof or businesses and their customers – so – a really important program to know well. One of our student’s parents owns Coldstone Creamery. In the beginning of the year, she said they have some easy fundraisers. I’ll call to check out if you like. Don’t know about others, but I really need a screen – big and white. Would love to have a wireless keyboard – More useful than interwrite tablet in ELA class. I’ll check with the rest of the team for input. Can’t wait to see our new website!!
I think these are great ideas. I am interested in the PowerPoint one as well. As for using technology, I don’t think I am using anything new or that we haven’t see before. I love the quizdom, but we have seen that 2 times now in meetings. The only thing new there I guess I could do is show them how I set up the questions? I used voice thread last year. That was pretty cool. Here is an example of one: http://voicethread.com/#u81019.b120077.i620150
Agenda:
1) Prof Dev:
a)Done, would have loved to seen them both! Darn weather!!!
2)Needs:
a)TI-89 overhead calcs
b) access to internest sites, especially virtual manipulatives for Math Blast
3)Future:
a) I think all teachers should have their own laptops
b)fundraising sound like a great idea, but I have no ideas at this point
4)I have full trust that you will make the website clean, professional and organized!
Jen I did read the agenda. Oh, and sorry about the Meebo class, I just got the bug before everyone else I guess.
When talking to my team we thought (if we had any money to spend) that every classroom should have speakers. Bill has been able to rig up a way to mount his speakers to the overhead projectors and it has made a difference when presenting video. I personally would love to get some cheap webcams. I feel that pod casting would be a little easier than some of the other video techniques we have been using.
Also there were questions about Channel One. Did you know that the students can watch it online? Could we project Channel One in the morning?
Also as far as fundraising, the Arts Council in Morehead is doing a Bunco night on the 24th of March. I thought our school could do something similar. We could charge 25 a head, but base prize winnings on 5 dollars a person. If this is too much we could do a Bingo night. We could invite parents and students.
Megan
I think Bunco or Bingo night would be a huge success. We could get local area businesses to donate or give us a deal on gift certificate type prizes. Then, you do not have to worry about the legalities of cash prizes, which could be considered gambling. A couple of years ago, the band did cow patty bingo, and that was a big hit too. We could also set up the Wii on the big screen in the library and have a Wii competition night or a Rock-a-thon.
I like the idea of blogging one month and meeting face-to-face the next.
Sue
My team is okay as far as immediate needs. Tara and I would LOVE to have our projectors mounted, but we also know that this doesn’t constitute as an emergency.
Are we going to reschedule the technology workshops that were supposed to happen on the workday?
As far as fundraisers go, it seems like the kids do better when they are personally involved in it. Something where they nominate a teacher to do something, etc. The kids were so pumped about nominating their teachers to wear the turkey suit. Not all kids are motivated by selling items and with the economy the way that it is right now, I think it would be hard to get parents to come to an event where a certain amount of money was expected. Do we have any other ideas of things we could “sell” to the kids? Other ideas similar to the turkey suit?
Virtual MTAC meeting – I love the idea!
1. Technololgy workshops on January Optional day – I am so sad that we weren’t able to meet. I was looking forward to learning how to use the Student Response System.
2. Budget woes:
i. Speaker sets for classrooms – If we are getting rid of VCR/DVD players as was said in our last meeting then speaker sets are a high priority. I know that the set I use is sometimes not capable of producing enough sound to be heard by the whole class. They are good little speakers that I share with another teacher on the team, but sometimes they just don’t project enough sound.
ii. Video camera – Do we already have a video camera – Would this be a second one? Or do not have one and are we asking if we need to get one for the school?
3a. Interacitive classrooms – Are the items already purchased being used? Do the mimeo and interwrite boards do the same thing as the interwrite pads, data projectors, elmos and mice that we already have. If those things are not being used, then we possibly do not need to invest more money into more things in light of the budget woes. Or did I misinterpret this item – do you mean that we are connecting the classrooms to each other via technology with mimeo and interwrite?
3b. Fundraising – ????
4. Website updates – We have had the same look for many years and a fresh look might be refreshing for us, but for our parents we don’t want to make it so different they have trouble finding what they are looking for. Despite looking dated, our website is AWESOME by comparison to some other schools whose sites I have visited. Our calendars are updated, our faculty lists are this year’s faculty and teacher emails are correct. One thing that I would like to see improved on our site is that the computer lab sign up for the dell lab is not showing up anymore.
OOOHHH – Bunco night! and I don’t even know how to play. Bingo might be more our speed, huh? Anyway – I’ll help however I can. Will get some feedback from my team for tech needs in the classroom, but haven’t heard anything specific lately. Too bad on losing the tech inservice days – I really was looking forward to powerpoint stuff. I’d also love a webcam workshop. Afterschool, maybe?
The only needs that the Encore Department has as far as equipment is wireless mice. We did not receive any when they were given out last year. As far as fundraising goes, we could do a March Madness with games in the courtyard and a basketball game between the students and the faculty. We have done this in years past and called it Minutemen Madness.
While reading over the agenda document I came up with a few questions or thoughts on each item.
Item 1Tech workshops:
- I was wondering if/when the presentations and workshops were going to be rescheduled. I know that I am interested in the Power Point and Meebo items.
- Also are there any Moodle savvy people willing to do something with it? I am using Moodle for an online class now and it seems like it could be adapted farily easy to the classroom
Item 2 Budget:
- I know my team (sailfish) are using all of the resources available to us right now. Besides getting duplicates of items being shared (ELMO projector, interwrite tablet, etc.) The only thing I can see a desire for is overhead mounts for the teachers that want them.
Item 3 2009 and Beyond:
- for fundraising ideas I was wondering if we could somehow tie the upcoming summer reading selection and sales of the novel to raising money for more/new tech.
Item 4 School Website Update:
- The only thing I would suggest for changing the website is just make it as user friendly and you can. It already is pretty user friendly but I think that is the key to getting people who may be less internet savvy to being able to navigate where they need to go.