Corinne Carriero, Director Instructional Computing
Ellen Robertson, Editor
Points and Clicks Technology News Published by and for the staff of Half Hollow Hills June 2010
In this issue: Our newest Laptop Teachers: The Flight Techs Exciting technology-based activities of Pilots, Navigators, and Co-Pilots What Laptop Teachers are saying about the program Special Kudos!
Celebrating our Laptop Teachers Information literacy is a critical skill for 21st century citizens, students and teachers especially. Integration of technology can only take place when teachers are comfortable with and able to use technological resources and tools that support instruction, communication, collaboration and innovation. The Half Hollow Hills Laptop Program currently composed of over 200 “Pilots”, “Navigators”, “Co-Pilots”, and new “Flight Techs” strives to give teachers the tools necessary to enhance their instructional practice and help their students become 21st century learners. This issue of Points and Clicks is dedicated to their work and provides a window into how technology is changing teaching and learning.
Interested in the Laptop Program? For more information about the Half Hollow Hills Teacher Laptop Program, please go to: http://www.hhh.k12.ny.us/page.cfm?p=976252
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Introducing the 2010 “Flight Techs� The following staff members will spend three summer days and one day in the fall and winter exploring new instructional strategies utilizing their new laptops Colleen Balsamo Zoe Chiam Angelica Conway Christopher DeRose Catherine DiGennaro Maurya Domozych Rebecca Donders Pamela Doughty Rosemarie Elder
Laurie Guillem Donald Herr Jennifer Hogan Elizabeth Hunter Sharon Kaplan Sarah Krinsky Charlene McLaughlin Jeanette Passerello Christine Paulsen Catherine Perri
Wendy Wohlmann Emily Prinzevalli Beatrice Reiser Lou Ann Roche Christine Russo Erica Schultheis Ken Smyrk Christina Zanelotti Allison Zusmer
Congratulations to all new Laptop Teachers! Flight Tech training dates: July 13th, 14th, 15th October 23rd January 22nd
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Projects From Our Pilots Donna Colavolpe
Laptop Pilots, Navigators, and CoPilots were asked to share their technology-infused lessons and also some thoughts about the Laptop program. The following selected excerpts are some of their thoughts, in their own words.
“My class communicated with another class via email this year. The class is located in Japan. We began by exchanging letters of introduction with our e pals. Then, my students researched habitats on Long Island by examining web site links on my eBoard. They took notes on the animals, landforms, and plant life on Long Island. The students then created PowerPoint presentations about Long Island. These presentations were emailed to our e pals in Japan. The Japanese students created their own slide shows and sent them to our class. The students in both classes were able to compare/contrast our two different environments and learn from each other. We then researched and made presentations about each other’s habitats. The epals project can be seen on our class eBoard.”
Namrata Dixit
We celebrate their accomplishments here and congratulate them for their hard work in developing 21st Century skills within their practice.
“I have been using the Delicious bookmarking tool for creating favorites and linking them to my eBoard this year. This enables students to locate all the resources for a particular unit to assist them with exploring each unit in depth. I continue to use the clips from Unitedstreaming and Nettrekker for searching interactive activities for homework assignments, too.”
Susan Helf “I have concentrated on supplying my students with resources and activities that are technology based. Instead of running off numerous activities on paper I simple direct them through my eBoard to one of the interactive sites that I have
chosen. It is a great way to save paper! An important lesson for the ELA classroom involves teaching students the importance of story elements and their interdependent relationship within a piece of literature. After teaching characterization, an activity I use to check for understanding is for the students to create a “Character Trading Card”. The interactive site that they use is the Character Trading Cards - ReadWriteThink at www.readwritethink.org
Debra Herbert “I used a FLIP camera to film children reading so they could watch themselves and assess how they were doing. They were given a questionnaire to answer and we discussed such topics as fluency, expression when reading, and decoding issues.”
Jennifer Ievolo “My students used digital video cameras, microphones and iMovie to film their projects which were then presented to the class via my laptop and projector.”
Nicole Jackson “As a culminating activity and in preparation for the end of the unit assessment, students worked in small groups to search for photographs of one of the six diverse groups of people living out west in the mid 1800s during westward expansion. Students used Comic Life to display the photos. They also included speech or thought bubbles with each of the photos as well as a brief statement. The contents of the speech or thought bubble reflect what life was like for each of the six groups.”
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Continued cooperative groups to create a persuasive presentation.”
Kristen Leslie
Maria Lennon “As part of our persuasion unit students had to create a persuasive sales presentation designed to persuade their peers to purchase their product. For example, students assumed the role of spokespeople for either iPhone or the Droid and had to research their product and present an oral presentation for the board (their peers) persuading them to buy their products. The board had $500,000. to spend and decide how to spend it. Students were free to choose what type of media they would use to persuade the board. Some students created movies, some created commercials, some created flyers, and most created PowerPoint presentations to enhance their presentation. Students enjoyed the freedom that came along with their assignment and worked well in
“This year instead of creating a class video for my students at the end of the year I set up Voicethread accounts for all of them. I then used the Voicethread PDP wiki and taught my kids all about Voicethreads. The students have been verbally commenting and writing their opinions at all different times of the day. Some kids even go on at home! After our end of the year party I exported the Voicethreads as mp4 files and then uploaded them to our HHH podcast server---so easy and now all my students can have their Voicethreads on their iTunes and iPods!”
Valerie Levy “Leading up to a visit to the Metropolitan Opera to see Simon Boccanegra with Placido Domingo, each student recorded the Opera in Italian in play form using GarageBand. To enhance their podcasts, they imported pictures of the five main characters (many students drew their characters after researching dress of 14th century Italy using Appleworks). Some students also imported clips of various arias.”
Meaghan Martin “Student were placed into collaborative groups and asked to create study guides and assessments
based on the novel The Pact. The groups used a variety of websites (such as EasyTestMaker.com) as well as, PowerPoint to create a variety of differentiated learning tasks. This activity helped the students with questioning strategies, as well as providing them with a new form for studying (which many students struggle with).”
Marianne Mead “Students in Architectural Design II created a 3D digital bridge inspired by a lighthouse. They used Iron CAD as a tool to help them to create a unique design. The laptop enabled me to create digital demonstrations on skills needed and upload them to my e-board (under Iron CAD). Students can review the lessons learned at any time. Students were able to present these bridge designs at the Annual Architectural Review this May 2010 using the laptop. In addition, I interviewed Kevin O'Reilly while working on the bridge project. This interview is part of the course overview movie, which will be available for students to view during course selections.”
Tara Pinzino “After taking many pictures at Caleb Smith State Park on our fifth grade trip, students created a storyboard to retell about our day. We put the pictures and narrative together using the GarageBand podcasting program. Students enjoyed watching their pictures and hearing their voices.”
Danielle Reed “My students used Kidspiration to brainstorm words that fit into a spelling pattern each week. The
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Continued lesson was differentiated so that students could either spell the words or drag and drop pictures to represent the words they brainstormed. For example, when we studied the beginning "ch" sound, students would either spell or drag pictures of items such as chair, cheese, and chocolate.”
posted on my eBoard as well so that others can download and play for review.”
Allyson Uttendorfer
“This year I used HHH.Schoolweblockers.com to develop on-line labs in Regents Physics (Grades 11-12). Students were able to input data directly to their lab submission using the laptops on the cart during the lab activity. Students could then share data via email and submit the lab to me using the SchoolWeblockers—no wasting of paper!”
“I incorporated the use of wikispaces.com as an instructional tool in the Video I curriculum. Students used this website as a means to organize, embed and reflect upon the videos that were made throughout the school year. This provided a central location for students to view peer work, display films for criticism and share projects with friends and families. The use of this site promotes 21st Century Learning and digital citizenship, as students are building skill and understanding in digital media and tools. Students will be able to transfer their knowledge of the applications used to learning new technologies and during new learning experiences, both in and out of school.”
Krista West “Create Your Own Jeopardy Game! I gave my 7th grade Mathematics students the opportunity to create their own Jeopardy games. Students can download a blank template that I created directly from my eBoard and enter in their own topics and questions. This assignment serves as a great review activity. Once complete, students are able to send me back their completed templates for review. These games have been
Projects From Our Navigators Julian Aptowitz
AnneMarie Bachmore “As part of my Human Impact on the Environment Unit, students were required to research and present a case study on a particular environmental issue. One of the presentation options was to create a “news report” video. Several students picked this option and did a phenomenal job! Samples of student work can be found posted on my eBoard under the Regents Bio tab.”
Chuck Bartolotta “Video Analysis of One Dimensional Motion. Students in my class used FLIP video cameras to videotape the motion of an air rocket and used the video to slow down the motion so that it could be analyzed during our study of one dimensional free fall motion. Video clips were downloaded onto laptops or desktop computers into iMovie to watch them frame-by-
frame. Using the fact that frames lasted 1/30th of a second, students were able to measure the velocity of the air rocket much more accurately than using a stopwatch like a traditional physics class would. Students then used the video clips to create a movie in the form of a lab report in place of a conventional written lab report.”
Sheen Brennan “My students had to develop an original skit that exemplified their understanding of The Scarlet Letter. A FLIP video camera was used to tape the performance and then students edited the video in iMovie.”
Mary Jedrilinic “Students in my class used laptops for a guided tour of the Prado Museum in Madrid, Spain. One important goal of the Spanish 8 program is having the students learn to deal with "realia" (actual information documents, tickets, menus, railroad guides, schedules, report cards, etc.) The student went to the Prado Museum website (in Spanish) and filled out a research questionnaire on all the practical information related to a museum visit: what subways and buses to take, when the museum was opened and closed, the cost of an entry ticket, the student rates, the major exhibits, whether or not food was available, etc. After they filled out the questionnaire, they went to a link on the website and participated in an interactive art project. The next day the students submitted their questionnaire and were formally assessed on the accuracy of their research.”
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Continued Joo Lee “I designed a project based on Photoshop Elements in which the students created an artwork consisting of images and text related to their future profession for West Hollow's Annual Career Day which was held in May.”
Geri Sundermeir “After learning about cells, students were asked to create analogies for each of the organelles. We brainstormed some different ideas using Google images and other science sites. In the past, students created posters, but this year students used the FLIP camera and PowerPoint to create some fantastic presentations. One of the projects was submitted to Celebration for Teaching and Learning. Although the project didn't win, it was one of the semifinalists -- my students did an amazing job.”
Projects From Our Co-Pilots Ann Frenzel “My 1st grade students and I created a podcast of our trip to The Old Bethpage Restoration Village. During our trip, the students took pictures of life in the past. We then wrote out a script to describe the photos and put it all together in GarageBand as a podcast.”
Michelle Aulet “This was my first year in the CoPilot program and I was very nervous about making podcasts. I was amazed at how easy and fun it was. My students loved the idea of
creating something and posting it on the web so they could show their family at home and even around the world. For this particular podcast, we read and compared fairy tales from around the world. My students chose Rumpelstiltskin as the fairy tale they wanted to recreate. We wrote a script, created puppets and put on a show! I was able to record their voices and take pictures of the "actors". The students were so excited after it was all put together for everyone to see. Podcasting is a wonderful tool and I plan on doing more of it next year.”
to participate in the History Alive Online Textbook Program.This became a “match made in heaven” for my fourth grade students. Students were all given individual accounts where they could not only view the text online but they could download worksheets, find extended readings, search for the main ideas in the content, and engage in fun assessments of their content understanding. The CoPilot program, with the use of the projector, gave me an opportunity to further engage the students through PowerPoint presentations, videos, and interactive graphic
Jim Diver “This year I prepared a podcast for my US History Class. The podcast featured a first hand account of the devastation caused by the earthquake in Haiti. One of my students, Stephanie Docteur, survived the earthquake, and wrote about her experience. I used her words, along with various images, to reflect the impact that the earthquake has had on so many lives. I used the podcast in my classes to show my students how natural disasters impact all of our lives.”
Kristin Durnin “Our kindergarten class used Photo Booth to take pictures of ourselves and then used the program Comic Life to create posters for Sunquam's Curriculum Celebration about Awesome Authors!”
James Foy “The Co-Pilot program allowed me
organizers. In comparison to previous years, Social Studies was truly “brought to life”. Students were not only able to read text and look at pictures, they were able to experience things that are only possible with the tools made possible through the teacher laptop program.”
Colleen Hoffman “I made several podcasts/videos of my class working on projects. We did a podcast on our first economics lesson of the unit. I had
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Continued the lesson recorded using the building’s shared FLIP camcorder. I then uploaded it to my own podcast page and have shared it with parents, in various social studies committee meetings, and have used it as a learning tool with my students. We also made a podcast of the class working on their moon projects for science. This was also posted for all parents to view as well as a memory for the students to look back on. We also displayed this video during the annual curriculum fair for all to see. Another great thing I did with my laptop this year was Skyping with another 2nd grade class in the district. We discussed all the things we studied this year and shared poems we wrote with the other class in Writer's Workshop. The children were all engaged and thrilled to be involved in such a great collaboration with children their own age.”
Michelle Jacobs “After taking a workshop on Google Lit Trips, I created a trip for my students to view while reading Julius Caesar. We took a virtual field trip through Rome, and then moved on to Phillipi to look at battle scenes. Additionally, I developed a PDP course on Google Lit Trips to be able to share this wonderful resource with my colleagues.”
Kristen Knoetgen My students used Comic Life to create a “mystery matter” project. Using form A in the program, the title was called What's the Matter? They needed to include a picture of themselves, and used the three
boxes at the bottom to add adjectives about their matter. When the paper was flipped up, they included a picture of their matter. They loved it and it became an awesome interactive bulletin board display outside my classroom!”
Tracey Kueck “This year my students created podcasts in math. I paired up the students and had them use Inspiration to brainstorm ideas. Then they wrote scripts for their podcast using Microsoft Word. After their scripts were written the groups used a FLIP camera and a digital camera to take pictures and then imported the pictures into iPhoto. They used GarageBand to create the podcast and the final product was uploaded to the district podcast server.”
Brandi Levine “I used Kidspiration very often this year. We used the webbing feature to brainstorm ideas. My students used the drawing tools to illustrate their understanding of plants in the science curriculum. They drew and labeled the parts of a seed and flowers. The activities feature was beneficial during centers as well. For example, in math they experimented with patterns and caterpillar subtraction. Science templates were helpful during our weather and seasons units. In reading and writing we wrote stories and poetry. Social Studies was their favorite when pictures
were dragged into the correct categories for goods & services and wants & needs. My students are very comfortable using this program independently now.”
Audra Lianos “I have been using Discovery Education with my students and have found it to be an incredibly useful resource. I am able to post assignments for them to complete and submit online. They are so motivated and excited about it! I am also in the process of creating an iMovie of our year together for us to view at the end of year picnic. I also created an iMovie for fifth grade students entering West Hollow in the Fall.”
Janice Nelkin “I used Google Earth to show second grade students an aerial view of Paumanok. I used my projector to show students how to look at maps on Google and how to switch to satellite and earth modes to see actual photographs of
locations. I showed them how to zoom in on a location. I took a "snapshot" of the view we saw. I printed copies of the aerial view of the school and its immediate
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Continued surroundings and demonstrated how to draw what we saw. We created a beautiful artistic rendering of a map of our school. We integrated social studies and technology into art.”
David Pitman “I have used the laptop throughout the year on a daily basis. Every day we center the discussion on PPT presentations that follow our curriculum. As a class we created an AP review wikispace and a pictorial timeline wikispace that follows US History. The links to these finished products are available through my eBoard.”
Leigh Salvage “This year, my 5th grade class was chosen to pilot the math program Everyday Math. This program focuses on problem solving and critical thinking skills. It also teaches a variety of new methods that the students used when performing basic math skills such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. The students in my class decided to create a series of podcasts in order to create a way to review these new methods at home. They also were able to familiarize parents and students in other 5th grade classes with the new methods we were learning. We used the program Inspiration to brainstorm what a podcast was, what we would need to create one, and what we would include in one. The students then worked in small groups to create scripts, take pictures, find sound effects, and record their voices in the program GarageBand. The students then worked with me to
edit their podcasts. We created title pages on the program PowerPoint and uploaded them to the district’s podcast server.”
Meghan Solmonsohn “During our life cycles unit in science I read the book the Extraordinary Egg by Leo Lionni. As a class we then discussed the various animals that hatch from eggs. I designed a page using Word that was shaped like an egg and had a place to insert a photo. My students then used various animal websites posted on my eBoard to research animals that hatch from eggs. They then chose one of the animals and dragged a photo of that animal onto the egg page. They also had to include a few facts about the animal that they learned from the website.”
Rachel Swift Students used GarageBand to create a class podcast telling what they know about whales. First students were given a vocabulary word or concept to define. I chose specific words and concepts for students based on their skill level. After the students wrote a sentence they illustrated that sentence. I took a picture of each illustration. Then I had the students use GarageBand to record their sentences. I put it together into iMovie to create the podcast. I posted this podcast on
Susan Stiglitz “During my elective, Human Sexuality, I created a blog for students. This was anonymous and students were asked to go to the site several times to answer questions. These were sexuality related and were things we discussed in class. I used the blog for a pre-assessment and post assessment to see if students changed their feelings about a topic after learning more about it. It was enlightening for the students to see anonymous responses together and help them to see others felt the same way or helped to make them more tolerant about certain topics.”
my eBoard so that parents and administrators could comment using the iNote function. I did a similar podcast after our butterfly unit.
Antoinette Tramantano “In my 6th grade American Sign Language class, we were learning about Deaf Literature: Number Stories. The students created their own number stories and I filmed them and created an iMovie for the students to see and reflect on.”
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Continued Ken Voska “I have found that some very high quality materials are available on the Internet that deal directly with my Physics teaching. These are of three types: animations, physics videos, and real world videos. I have been using all three in my classes. These are of a quality that I could not possibly produce on my own. In the animations and physics videos, principles of physics are described and demonstrated. In many cases expensive and complex equipment is involved, so students get to see demos and experiments that we could not possibly run here at HHH. In the real life videos, I use sensational events such as collisions, falling objects, explosions, etc., and explain the physics behind these events.”
Christine Walsh “One of the lessons in which I incorporated technology this year was in my non-fiction writing unit. After learning about non-fiction books and resources, my Kindergarten students brought in newspapers, and explored the many different parts of them. They then decided that they would like to create their own newspaper and make it available to their parents, and other friends in the school. The students chose which section of the paper they would like to write in. They then wrote ideas for their articles. At computer time, they typed the articles and saved their documents. Next, I compiled the articles and published them using a Word newsletter template. I posted the newsletter on my eBoard and viewed it with my students using the projector in my
classroom. The children have been viewing it on their own, during center time and also at home with their parents.”
Rissa Zimmerman In our classroom we utilized SKYPE as a way to communicate and share information with Colleen Hoffman's second grade class in Chestnut Hill. In a series of SKYPE conferences, our students: asked and answered questions about different curriculum areas; shared poetry; and compared what each class was learning in science, social studies, math, reading, and writing. Students from each class took turns answering and asking questions and sharing their own original work. Using SKYPE is a great way for our students to learn about their peers at a different school in HHH. It was also a great way for me to assess my students' ability to communicate "on the spot." Skyping provided our students with an opportunity to interact on a social level and to speak publicly in front of their peers.”
Cindy Yantz Cullen was honored by ASSET at its spring luncheon honoring teachers who have developed best practices in the field of educational technologies.
Donna Aiosa won the 2010 BOCES Model Schools Grant for $1000 for her technology infused lessons on animals.
Allyson Uttendorfer and Jeannine Ortiz have been selected to attend a summer all-expenses-paid week of professional development at the Apple Campus in Cuppertino, California
Kudos to these extra special Laptop Teachers…. Deb Goldfarb was honored as an ASSET (Association of Suffolk Supervisors of Educational Technologies) “Bright Light” at their annual winter luncheon honoring teachers who have shown outstanding commitment to the use of technology in their practice.
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Thoughts about the Laptop Program… Christine Walsh “I have been completely changed as a result of using technology. My teaching is so different and I cannot imagine teaching without it. I use Discovery Science for so much of my curriculum, as well as BrainPop Jr. My students do projects on Comic Life and have illustrated stories using Word. I have learned how to access activities based on standards using software I already have on my computer. Kidspiration has opened a whole new world to me about teaching Social Studies, as well as writing. I have created iMovies to share the work we published as well as for assemblies to present to the whole school. I have learned how to effectively utilize and find appropriate websites. I am so thrilled with the program and I look forward to next year where I will learn and use even more.”
Jennifer Walker “I love the program! I love my projector and I love using Discovery Education in my classroom. The projector has allowed me to use my document camera more effectively.”
Jean Szigethy “The program allowed for me to enhance my instruction of technology and to incorporate more of it into my lessons. It helped to make this year an exciting learning adventure!”
Rachel Swift “My students are 100 percent benefitting from my increased use of technology to teach as well as to let me students show what they know! I have gotten amazing feedback from the parents as well!”
Sue Stiglitz “I really like using the laptop and am anxious to try different things next year in the classroom. The projector is a great help.”
Christina Papachristou “Being part of the laptop program has given me the resources and support to teach with 21st century tools.”
Gina Maguire “I have really enjoyed being a part of the Co-Pilots this year. I feel using my laptop and technology has made me a better teacher. I am looking forward to continuing the program next year. I would like to find more ways to integrate
technology into my teaching.”
Audra Lianos “It has become an integral part of our instructional day and used across the curriculum. I feel so privileged to be a part of the program and look forward to what we will be learning next!
Colleen Hoffman “I LOVE the laptop program. It has provided me with the opportunity to really turn my students into 21st century learners. There are endless ways that I can enhance my lessons through the use of my laptop, projector, speakers and eventually, the FLIP video. I am so pleased with the support I have received from the coordinators of the program as well as our consultant, Betty Volpe.”
Kristen Durnin “I have thoroughly enjoyed being part of the laptop program this year! It has truly inspired me to expand my use of technology in the classroom to improve my instruction... which in turn is helping motivate my students to reach their full potential!”
Geri Sundermeir “I feel grateful and privileged to have an opportunity to be a part of such an amazing program. It has helped me to integrate technology into my classroom, almost on a daily basis. I remember one of my students commenting early in the year that he was amazed by the use of technology at Candlewood Middle School. He said technology used to just mean that the teacher used the overhead. I appreciate the endless support that Corrine and Ellen give. Whether it be in the classes they offered, the contests they let us know about or just trouble shooting problems by email.”
Anny Espinal “Being part of the laptop program has been a great experience. I enjoy creating lessons that incorporate technology because the students enjoy activities when they include technology. Next year I am looking to create more lesson using technology and to focus on creating a paper free classroom. I am planning to have my students summit all their work online.”
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All At Instructional Computing Wish You a Happy, Healthy, and Productive Summer Vacation!
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