VOLUME 2, ISSUE 8 DECEMBER 13, 2013
Robin Haupt ABE/SPOKES/TIS RESA 8 Mineral County Technical Center
600 Harley O Staggers Drive Keyser, WV 26726 rmhauapt@access.k12.wv.us 304-788-4209 (304)788-4209
Tis and That December 13, 2013 How About a Virtual Field Trip? By Martha Roberts
Well, now that you finally have some time off from school to enjoy Martha Roberts your family, what can School Technology Contact/TIS A.T. Allison Elementary School you do? The weather in 600 Railroad Street, West Virginia in DecemChester , WV 26304 ber (or any other month mirobert@access.k12.wv.us of winter) can be unpre304-387-1915 dictable, to say the least. Making a plan to go somewhere can be arbitrary. Will it snow while we are there? Will we be able to get back? How about taking a virtual field trip from the warmth and comfort of your home? Many places allow you to travel online to visit. INSIDE THIS ISSUE You could visit a national park, a museum or maybe to the US CapPlant Plan 2 itol to listen in on congress. Color in Our 3 Classroom OER Project
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TASC
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Web Pages for
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Apps for Fun
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We made it to Grandma’s house, will we get back home? December 2012.
National Parks by National Geographic Try the National Parks app by National Geographic which is full of breathtaking pictures and information on National Parks including Acadia, Mount Rainier, Yellowstone and Zion. With details on weather conditions and interactive maps, this app is a great resource for bringing the National Parks to you. Gettysburg For a virtual tour of the Gettysburg Battlefield, the Gettysburg Battle app can be at home to get information about this Civil War battle. With information on a variety of sites at Gettysburg, including video clips and audio, you'll find plenty to interest kids and adults, alike. NASA Earth Now For a trip a little farther afield, try this app to visit different hemispheres.
Trees Pro HD Nature Trees Pro HD Nature Mobil app gives you information on a variety of tree species located in North America. It has high-quality images and easy-to-read graphics to make you feel like you’re in the great outdoors. Timeline - Art Museum With this app, a trip to the National Gallery or Sistine Chapel isn’t out of the question. This app includes a variety of works including Rembrandt and Lichtenstein, to name a few. Getty Museum The Life of Art app designed by the Getty Museum focuses on four items from their collection. With detailed information on each object, students can learn more about the history and characteristics of each item by tapping and spinning the threedimensional artifacts. Continued page 2
TIS AND THAT
DECEMBER 13, 2013
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Virtual Field Trip Continued:
Smithsonian Institute Visit the museums in Washington, D.C. from using your Smart TV by clicking the link www.mnh.si.edu/panoramas . You can walk from room to room seeing all the exhibits and even view some past exhibits while sitting in front of the fireplace.
U.S. Congress While in D.C., maybe you should stop in and visit your representatives. With your PC or your tablet, visit www.senate.gov/vtour and see the Capitol building and find out about our legislative branch of government.
Whether you “travel” with your family or with your class, virtual field trips can be a safe and inexpensive way to see the world! No passport required! July 31, 2013 Monica Burns Educator and Blogger, ClassTechTips.com EDUTOPIA
Plants Plan by Robin Haupt Students, teachers, and staff spend thirty or more hours a week in a classroom. An enclosed space with carpet, electronics, furniture, paint and other caustic finishes for what seems to be hours on end. NASA and numerous universities have conducted studies on enclosed environments. The answer air purifiers or plants. So how about going to outer space for the Plants Plan? According to NASA there should be one 8-10” plant per 100 square feet of space in order for the plants to be most effective. Besides making the space more attractive the plants absorb chemicals from the air like formaldehyde, trichloroethylene, xylene, benzene, ammonia, and carbon monoxide. Even better, plants create a more relaxed, less stressful environment that increases student concentration up to 70% which plays an important role in productivity. Plants also have been shown to lower blood pressure.
Plants also filter germs, so illness, sore throats and coughs can be decreased by 30%. The benefits, plants provide oxygen for student’s brains. The Plants Plan Step 1: Get permission from your building administrator. Step 2: Figure out the square footage of your classroom. (Good math problem for your class) 1 plant per 100 square feet Step 3: What kind of light do you have in your classroom? Natural light, low light, etc. Step 4: Select plants from the to the right that will thrive in your classroom. You can purchase the plants or ask for donations. Parents or friends with houseplants maybe willing to give you cuttings. Step 5: Place plants around your room.
SPIDER Plant
Plants List Aloe- needs sun Bamboo Palm/Reed Palm Benjamin Fig Tree/Weeping Fig Chinese Evergreen* Dracaena (red and corn) English Ivy* Heartleaf Philodendron* Peace Lily Pothos*- live in extreme low light and likes artificial light Rubber Plant Snake Plant- lives well in low light Spider Plant *leaves may be poisonous to small children if ingested.
VOLUME 2, ISSUE 8
Color in Our Classrooms
PAGE 3 by Robin Haupt
Just the other day I was sitting at a table with a student in my classroom. I looked up and a mass of whiteness caught my eye. The Smartboard is white, the white board is white and the wall is white. Everything sort of ran together. All that white can’t be conducive to learning, much less keeping students’ attention. Wow! The information available on color is astounding. The color in your classroom can improve your student’s attention and learning experience or put them to sleep. Classroom color should be different based on grade, subject and location. A room should only have
six or less colors, the main wall should be a medium to draw attention and the remaining walls a complimentary hue(s). Primary and bright hues are best for PreK-K then changing to pastels in elementary classrooms. Middle school classrooms are best with darker colors like blues and greens whereas high school classrooms lend more towards natural colors. By using colors effectively in your classroom you can improve student’s attention, reduce stress and stimulate their brains. Since I teach adult students in a Computer Lab, medium colors are suggested
to counter the technology scheme. The white out in the front of my room is not good for the students, besides its ugly. There are numerous resources online for helping select your classroom colors. Below are two of the most useful articles I found. http://goo.gl/EPGAOh Color in an Optimum Learning Environment by Dr. Willard R. Daggett http://goo.gl/qqgwxK Innovative Brain-based Instructional Strategies by Doris Sikora
provide Common Core Standards. Make note of the symbols on the lessons, some are use free which you can modify, some are limited and some you have to use as they are posted. Along with the Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE) and the STEM project, 28 teachers nationwide were divided into two teams: Science and Math to evaluate and contribute to the lessons. The project is currently working on adding Adult Education. The Science Team has approximately 40 resources that have been tested in ABE classrooms, evaluated by a science teacher, and aligned
with the common core. The same process is under way with the Math STEM team. New materials are added to the site daily and it can be quite addictive. I think this would be a great way to have contingent lesson plans or add something new to your classroom.
OER Stem Project by Robin Haupt Open Educational Resource Project is a free resource for teachers to locate lesson plans, videos, photographs, textbooks, science labs, and game based learning. The lesson plans are arranged by content area from elementary through postsecondary. The website offers 50,024 resources for teachers! After completing a short required registration new users will be sent a verification email. I suggest using the filters to narrow down your search or you could spend hours looking at the resources. When you find something of interest you can save it under “My OER” so you can retrieve it later. The lessons also
http://www.oercommons.org/
WV High School Equivalency Test Selected By Robin Haupt
West Virginia has selected CTB/McGraw Hill to provide the new High School Equivalency Assessment beginning January 1, 2014 to replace the GED©. The TASC (Test Assessing Secondary Completion) will be available both paper pencil and computer based transitioning to all computer based by 2016. The TASC will consist of five subtests: Reading, Writing, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies. Scholarships will be provided by the state for students who successfully pass the practice test.
The TASC is aligned with the Common Core Standards and is designed to meet the needs of adults who want to move on to college or a career. Successfully completing the TASC will mean that students have the knowledge equivalent to or more than 40% of graduating seniors. Therefore they have earned their High School Equivalency. Professional development and more information will be provided for Examiners, ABE and Option Pathway Instructors throughout the state during December.
There will be follow-up webinars after the December trainings. The subjects are as follows: Reading Writing
50 Muliple Choice 50 MC 1 Essay
Math Social Studies Science
40 MC 12 Grid 47 MC 47 MC
The TASC website offers sample question and a wealth of Information. http://www.tasctest.com
Websites for Adults by Robin Haupt
Here’s an App to Try!
Great for helping organize your house from top to bottom: www.organizedhome.com www. Flylady.net Great for helping manage your money: www.moneysmart.com
Let’s Dance
By Martha Roberts
If your child is getting an iPhone or iPod for Christmas, you may want to get the “Allowance and Chores Bot!” It helps your child budget his money AND it has the ability to sync with your phone when you add chores. It will send a reminder right to your child’s iPod!
by Matha Roberts
Are you ready for some whimsy? You can “Elf Yourself” at Jib Jab, an app available for your Apple product. It is a free download, all you need to do is take a picture of your friends, then add it to the “elves”, then sit back and chuckle as they do a festive Christmas dance for you.
Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy New Year!