Friday, October 30, 2015

College Tours via Google Hangouts at Landis Elementary


Will Henry, technology specialist at Landis Elementary, recently used Google Hangouts to take his students on a virtual tour of Texas Southern University.  During the Red Ribbon Week College Day Celebration, students were able to follow Mr. Henry into classrooms and explore the Sterling Student Life Center without ever leaving their rooms.  Teachers connected through their Alief Google accounts.  Due to the informal nature of the tour, the students were able to see what everyday college life is like.  Although there were a few technology hiccups experienced, that students still had unprecedented access to college life. Upon returning to campus, Mr. Henry received a warm welcome from his students, who were extremely grateful for the experience.  For more information about how Will was able to make this happen, please contact him via email.  Be sure to check out some of the other exciting things happening at Landis Elementary by following them on Twitter!



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Friday, October 9, 2015

Tech Tuesdays at Budewig Intermediate

You know that awesome feeling when you try something at your campus and your administration fully backs you and supports your efforts?  That's what Monique Hawkins is feeling over at Budewig Intermediate School.  Allow me to introduce you to Tech Tuesday!  At Budewig Intermediate, Tuesdays are being transformed.  This is the one day each week where technology integration is non-negotiable.  Every teacher, every class, every Tuesday, no exceptions.  The administration has fully supported this initiative, and many of the teachers are embracing it as well.  As you can imagine, initially there was some push back. However, now even the most reluctant teachers are integrating some type of technology into their lessons on Tuesdays.  For pictures, follow Budewig on Twitter at @budewigbulldogs and follow me at @edtechqueen.  You can also search twitter using the hashtags, #TechTuesdays.  Stay tuned for more information about Tech Tuesdays.  An interview with Monique about this process will be featured on the blog soon!







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Thursday, October 8, 2015

Library Technology Integration at Hearne

In an effort to increase the amount of technology being integrated in the library, I partnered with Hearne Library Information Specialist Anna Arevalo to plan some integration activities.  We chose to work with a group of 2nd grade students on Wednesdays during PLC time.  Working with Ms. Scott, the campus Science/Technology Specialist, we decided on a lesson that would integrate science TEKS while using the library iPads.  The lesson was a review of living vs. nonliving things, followed by an introduction and review of manmade vs. natural resources.  It was such a huge hint with the students!

Rissman, Rebecca; copyright 2009
The Lesson 
We read one of the Capstone eBooks together, pausing to ask questions and clarify vocabulary.  The students went on to work with a partner to identify objects, classify them as manmade or natural resources, and explain their classification using academic vocabulary.  In teams of two, the students worked their way through the library scanning QR codes to complete the activity.  The full lesson plan and all lesson resources can be found on the Google site that was created to host the PLC activities.  Click here to visit the Hearne Library PLC site, and feel free to use this lesson and the resources with your students.
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