Professional Development, Mars Rover, Robots, Virtual Reality, Blob Opera and QR Page Share – Week 25

CN Area Elementary Teaching Team:

Week 25 (February 22 - 26)

Weekly Giggles:               What did the Dalmatian say after lunch?
                                          That hit the spot!

Professional Development. Feel free to sign up for upcoming professional development. See classes below. And, if you missed any sessions this year, see the links below to watch that video content. If you want training that has not been offered yet, please email me. I can ask our team to host a session for all teachers. You probably are not the only one with that question.

These sessions are no longer available. They are not posted here to the blog.

Here are the trainings you have been waiting for:
       Adobe Spark
       EdPuzzle
       Keys to Successful Grant Writing
       The complete list can be found HERE.

Mars Rover. The mission was successful. We have landed! If you missed out on the live video feed of the Mars Rover Landing, that’s okay. You can still view the content HERE. For a list of resources to use in the classroom, check out the STEM Classroom document (under construction and growing) LINK HERE. I have added the resources there for future reference.

Image capture from THIS VIDEO.

Robots. We have programmable robots that can be transported to your site. With permission, you may be able to use the cafeteria and use that space for learning. Painters tape and mission objectives can form that teaching plan. If you need/want help or support with this, please let me know. I would love to support STEM-rich learning in your classroom with you. I can teach the lessons. I can set it up. I can transport those materials. Personally, I like the idea of one site having those materials for a few weeks so there is less transportation involved. Reach out. Email me.

Virtual Reality (grades 4-6). No field trips this year? No worries. Take your kids on a virtual field trip. Right now, Riverview is using these materials for a few weeks. If you want the headsets transported to your site, please let me know. We can get them to your site for a few weeks. I will transport them. I will set them up. I can train you how to use them. For the Riverview site, kids come to the Tech Lab with social distancing in place. We sanitize the materials after each use. There are about 1,000 learning opportunities available in these headsets. And, there are three videos. You don’t have to prepare teaching notes. The cue cards are built in. Read, click, ask questions, explore the environment, then move to the next scene. I’m afraid to post this here; I’m not sure if too many people will ask for the headsets. Let’s see how this goes. If your site is interested, please email me; we can try to set up a calendar for your team. If needed, I can ask my admin team if I can shuffle my schedule to maximize training. Again, email me.

Why grades 4-6 only? The headsets will only shrink down to a certain size. The tiny heads of our smaller students cannot support the size or weight of the headsets. They are even too large for some of our fourth-grade students.

Blob Opera and QR Enabled Page Share. This new gray box that appears on some webpages gives you immediate access to a QR code. If your phone supports QR codes (it’s the simplicity of opening the camera or you have downloaded an app because your phone is older), then voila! You can instantly transfer that information to your phone. Or, copy that QR code and share in a newsletter or put it on a poster.  And, the Blob Opera is fun, in my opinion. Tap the Christmas tree in the bottom-right corner to add Santa hats, snow, and some pre-loaded songs into the app/webpage. Here’s THE LINK to the Blob Opera.

Kindly,
Melissa Culver

[Tech Highlights] State Testing and STEM Integration – Week 24

CN Area Elementary Teaching Team:

Week 24 (February 15 - 19)

Weekly Giggles:               What musical instrument is found in the bathroom?
                                          A tuba toothpaste.

ELPAC & State Assessment. For children who have personal devices, families will need to head here in order to download the Secure Browser in order to test. Feel free to share this with parents in your weekly newsletters. Again, this is for personal devices only. For personal Chromebooks…this will not work. Children would need to use a CUSD device if they have a personal Chromebook.

(Image credit: link above.)

State Student ID. We cannot email State ID information to students. Here is a video that helps families discover their child’s SSID. VIDEO LINK

STEM Integration. Want to bring more STEM into your classroom? HERE’s A LINK to a growing document where I drop in artifacts. Feel free to use this video content or text-rich content for classroom purposes. You can use this in math, engineering, science, computer programming, art, creative writing, opinion writing, or reading. Explore vocabulary, writing strategies, and communication strategies using these items. When possible, I try to make kid-friendly versions of the original links so it’s easier to share in Google Classroom—and so the language is easier to explore from a child’s perspective.

3D Printed Houses. It sounds like a Si-Fi movie, right? Nope. It’s for real. In New York, there is a house for sale that was constructed using a 3D Printer. Real house. Cement walls. VIDEO LINK HERE. Any budding engineers in your room? This would be a great journal topic, classroom discussion, or quick write. Or tun it into a math discussion: perimeter, size, estimate, time, area, cost per square foot.

Image credit here.

Kindly,
Melissa Culver