Gary Coyle

What’s Happening:

• Grade 1S students are using the Explain Everything app exploring 3D shapes.
• Students in Grade 1K are demonstrating their knowledge of 3D shapes by creating presentations using the Strip Design app.
• Students in 2S, 2L, and 2D are updating their student blogs with a variety of recently created projects(poetry powerpoint, Systems photo maps created in Popplet)
• Students in 2Team are creating systems photo maps using the Popplet app and are also learning how to back up saved work/ photos on flash drives.
• Students in 4E are recording realistic fiction stories on VoiceThread and adding a cover created using the Drawing Pad app.
• Students in 5Q are presenting their migration projects using the iPads and an Apple TV unit hooked up to the classroom projector.
• Students in 5th grade are doing lots of word processing and collaborating using Google Docs.

Migrating to G-mail – As you know AES is switching from First Class to G-mail at the start of SY 12-13. If you have not already migrated from First Class to G-mail we would like to encourage you to do so BEFORE you leave for summer. There are a couple good reasons to do so. First, doing so now will give you some time to get used to the G-mail interface during the summer. More importantly, at the end of July you will no longer be able to send or receive e-mail through First Class only view what is in there. If you have any questions or would like help doing this, please ask anyone on the ES tech team.

Website of the Week: Apptic – last week in this space you learned about Appadvice a site that vetts apps for a variety of purposes. Apptic does the same thing but specifically for education apps. Curated by Apple Distinguished Educators you can search over 1,800 recommended apps by a variety of criteria including themes, Bloom’s taxonomy and multiple intelligences.

App of the Week:  SlideShark - is an app that allows you to use your iPad to present PowerPoint presentations. You simply upload your PowerPoints to the SlideShark website, then download them to your iPad and viola you’re ready to present. I tried this service out for a classroom presentation last week and it worked great! Free

What’s Happening:

• 3Team has been creating Courage Lessons with Puppet Pals, you can view an example here.
• 4E has been recording their realistic fiction stories onto VoiceThread.
• 5Q is continuing to use the iPads for their Migration research project
• Students in 2S created Poetry movies using iMovie on the iPads check out an example here.
• KG Live streaming from the incubators and brooder continues check out the view here.
• 1Ph and 1P are writing poetry using the Noteshelf app on the iPads.
• Students in 1K are using Explain Everything for formative assessment on Fractions .
• Students in 1L and 1S are experiementing with the Tangram app.
• 2Team students are using iMovie, Explain Everything, Popplet and Strip Design to document their learning during the Systems unit.
• Students in 2S and 2D are creating systems webs using the Popplet app.
• Students in 2L have upload poetry presentations to their blogs.
• iPad pilot in World Language
• LMC finishing up Operation Library movies and will be uploading thus week.

What We Got –  iPads for Teachers over the Summer – Many teachers have been asking about taking home iPads over the summer. As you know all ES teachers will be getting a new third generation iPad for next school year. Unfortunately, those devices are not scheduled to be delivered until the last week of school which will probably be too late to prepare them for you to take home. Our back up plan is to have iPad 2’s with all of the ES apps installed on them available for ES teachers to take home over the summer if desired. In addition if there are apps other the those installed you would like to try, the school has agreed to reimburse you up to $20 for apps you purchase in your own iTunes accounts for school evaluation purposes.

TumbleReadables is becoming iPad compatable. It was only a matter of time, but in the coming months, they will be creating iPad content for their entire TumbleReadables collection. If you are interested, check out their first iPad-compatible TumbleReadable, “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” and tell them what you think by dropping an e-mail to TumbleReadables. 

Please return flash drives – If at any point of the school year you borrowed a flash drive from ES133 please return them as Hardayal will need them for his end of the year work.

Website of the Week: AppAdvice - with hundreds of thousands of apps available for the iPad it is a daunting task to find “good” ones. AppAdvice takes some of the guesswork out of the process. Appguides, Appreviews and Applists all provide solid and unbiased feedback on apps for almost any situation.

App of the Week:  AppStart - for those of you feeling new to the iPad and looking for a place to start you should download and try AppStart. Created by the people at AppAdvice, this app starts out pretty basic, but by the time you get to the end you’ll be performing all the tricks that truly make the iPad “magical.” Throughout the app you’ll also find special sections that tell you apps you’ll need to turn your iPad into a specific kind of tool for a specific user (musician, mom, or teacher for example). Free now for a limited time.

What’s Happening:

• Over the week-end, KG students enjoyed the live streaming from the incubators in their classrooms to their teacher’s blogs. Check out an example here
• Students in Grade one are using the Noteshelf app to create Poetry, the Whiteboard plus app as part of their Unity unit and the Tangram app for math exploration.
• Grade 2 two students are revisiting what it means to be a responsible user of technology and using the Popplet and Photogene apps to create mind maps and collages for their Systems unit.
• Students in the grade three team room are creating digital stories using Puppet Pals.
• Grade two music students are finishing filming and starting to edit their Their interpretation of Roosters off to See the World.
• Grade four math students are using the Singapore Bar Model app to improve their problem solving skills.
• Students in 5Q are working on their migration projects using a variety of creation apps on the iPads.

What We Got –  Network Upgrade Update - Over the week-end, additional access points were mounted in classrooms that did not have one. It will now take a day or two for the network guys to activate them. They do not need to go into classrooms to do this. During this time there should be no disruption to normal network traffic but by Wednesday we should notice a difference in our network speed, coverage and stability.

Planning for SY 12-13 – iPad Pilot Year 2 – Next year in the ES we will have 360 iPads 3s and 200 laptops available for student use.

These devices will be carted and “parked” in various locations around the school with the understanding that they can be used by anyone at anytime they are available.

In this second year of our iPad pilot our goals are to:

1. Continue to explore and develop best practices and action research projects for using the iPad as a tool to integrate technology with rich content and sound pedagogy.

2. Pilot iPads 1-1 in a classroom for SY 12-13 in preparation for all classrooms in grades 3-5 (and possibly grade 2) being 1-1 in SY 13-14.

3. Explore ways in which the device can be used for differentiating instruction for EAL and Learning Center students using 10 dedicated devices.

4. Provide a variety professional development opportunities for all faculty and staff to support the meaningful use of these devices in their classrooms.

In the spirit of transparency, the ES Tech Team and ES administration used the below criteria for selecting the 1-1 pilot classroom for SY 12-13:

1. We wanted a grade 5 teacher as it was felt that the curricular demands in grade 5 would push the device as much as it would be in the ES. It was felt that grade 5 discoveries would be easier to scale down to lower grades than scaling up discoveries from the lower grades.

2. The pilot classroom could NOT be a team room. We didn’t feel we needed to take 40 devices out of circulation when we could learn what we needed in a class of 20.

3. We did not want the 1-1 classroom to be a teacher new to AES in SY 12-13 as they would have plenty on their plates already.

4. We wanted a teacher who understood and embraced our philosophy of tech integration and had a proven track record of integrating technology in a variety of meaningful ways. In other words we wanted someone that would find the limits of what the iPad was capable of in the ES classroom.

To this end we are pleased to announce that Gene Q has agreed to be our test subject.

If you have any questions, comments or concerns about the second year of our iPad pilot please ask.

Please return flash drives – If at any point of the school year you borrowed a flash drive from ES133 please return them as Hardayal will need them for his end of the year work.

Website of the Week: Every 60 Seconds – Are an interesting pair of infographics that quickly illustrate the impact of technology on the world today. Hat tip to Nira Naik for this one!

Apps of the Week: Geoboard and Number Rack – These two excellent apps support our AES ES math philosophy very well. Number Rack  features rows of moveable, colored beads that allow students to explore and discover a variety of addition and subtraction strategies. Geoboard functions much like a traditional geoboard except it allows you to create peg configurations that would be impractical on a traditional board. Hat tip to Mary Miller for this one! These apps are installed and ready to go on our ES iPads.

What’s Happening:

• KG students are exploring shapes using the Tangram app on the iPads.
• Students in grade one are creating poetry using Noteshelf  and working on Unity, Team talk using Strip Design.
• iMovie is being used by some grade two students to create poetry while others are creating digital poems using PowerPoint.
• Students in the grade 5 team room are creating grammar lessons using Explain Everything to be posted on their blogs.
• Operation Library on the iPads are being finished this week. Look for the final products on the ES YouTube channel soon.
• Music students in Grade 2 are filming and editing their multi-modal / multi-media production of Eric Carle’s book Rooster’s Off to See the World.
• Grade 5 students in Indian Studies  are creating Ranthambhore photostories

What We Got – Tech Training for IAs. In anticipation of the increased number of iPads in the ES for year two of our iPad Pilot, Kavita has put together a terrific opportunity for IAs to become familiar with the device, learn some helpful tips and tricks and also learn how to use Explain Everything. Kavita, Ursula and Rajni will be running these trainings Monday at 11AM or 12:30PM in ES133.

Network Upgrade Update – The replacing of the existing access points is moving along, but due to some additional carpentry needs, is taking a little longer than anticipated (30 minutes per room). At the end of Saturday, Hardayal and the rest of the project team had replaced points in the Ashoka and Neem building and were planning on coming back on Sunday to take care of Banyan so that all points would be replaced by Monday morning. Thanks for the extra effort guys!

Planning for SY 12-13 – Clarification – At the ES Tech Committee meeting last Monday, we shared that next year in the ES we will have 360 iPads and 200 laptops available for student use. We also shared where we were proposing to “park” those carts in order to allow for ease of access for teachers and students. It seems that the proposal was taken as a restriction on what devices would be available for what pods of students. This is not the case. Just because a cart is “parked” in one location it is not for the exclusive use of that pod. As with this year our goal is to provide ease of access to all resources. As such, if you need devices and the ones that are located closest to you are not available you will be able to use any other carts in the ES. To facilitate knowing when devices are available, next year we will scale up our use of Google calendars as the sign-up system for all carts. In addition, with a heads-up we will even deliver carts for you! Hope this clears things up.

Website of the Week: MindShift - this blog from NPR affialte KQED in San Francisco is one of my current favorite educational reform blogs. Topics are generally centered on innovative ideas, projects, processes, and curricula that are transforming how we teach and learn. The writing is here always rich and thought provoking. If you need a break from the end of the year nuttiness stop by and read a thought provoking article or two.

App of the Week: Bloom* - Although there is no educational value in this app, with all that is going on with wrapping up this year and planning for next year it is awfully easy to get stressed out and Bloom* may be a digital part of the solution. Basically, this app allows you to create and schedule reminders on any number of things throughout the day: a reminder to drink water, or to do a breathing exercise, or to take a one minute vacation using your own photos. In addition you can send blooms to others to help inspire or relax them. Here is a short video overview. Give it a shot, it’s free.

It’s That Time of The Year: From a friend’s Facebook status-

“The thing about Internet quotes is that you cannot confirm their validity.”
- Abraham Lincoln

What’s Happening:

• Some Kindergarten classes are using the Spot the Difference app as part of their Alike and Different unit.
• Grade 2S students are creating poetry movies using the iPads.
• 2nd grade music students are starting to produce their multi-modal / multi-media production of Eric Carle’s book Rooster’s Off to See the World.
• Grade 5 students are putting the finishing touches on their i-Movies as part of Operation Library.
• 5 Team students are creating grammar rules presentations using the iPads.
• ECEC students are finishing their water collages using the iPads.
• Learning Center teachers are taking a close look at Google forms to see how they can be used to meet students needs.

What We Got – FileMaker Pro Support – As you are starting end of the year report cards,if you have any questions, comments or concerns please do not hesitate to ask any member of the ES Tech Team for one to one support with this endeavor. We are here to help.

ES Tech Committee Meeting – Is Monday, April 23 at 3:45 in ES132. If you have anything for this meeting please send them to your tech rep. The agenda can be viewed here.

10 Minute Tech Interviews Continue- If you haven’t been contacted by a member of the ES Tech Team we will be requesting 10 minutes of your time (at your convenience)  to talk about your experiences with ES tech this year and solicit you opinions on the future of tech in the ES. Thanks in advance for 10 minutes of your valuable time.

NO Classroom Photo CD Reminder- Unlike previous years the ES tech department will NOT be burning CDs of classroom photos at the end of the year. If you have classroom photos from the year that you would like to share with parents contact us and we can show you several ways to share them electronically.

Website of the Week: No RedInk – Like the xtra math site except made for grammar, NoRedInk allows students to improve their grammar/writing skills. Their engine uses student’s favorite celebrities, personal interests, and friends/family members to generate grammar questions. The system adapts to each learner’s strengths/weaknesses, and also creates display color-coded heat maps for students and teachers to monitor their progress. Since the site is relatively new and they are scaling up incrementally there is a lag bet signing up and actually being able to use the site with students.

App of the Week: PromptWare Plus - This app allows you to use the iPad as a teleprompter for student presentations or recordings. Simple, straight forward and easy to use this app will easily increases eye contact during presentations. In addition, since the crawling rate of the app can be adjusted this could be used to by students to improve their reading rate by pasting in reading level appropriate pieces of writing and having students read them aloud. Free and soon to be installed on the ES iPads.

What’s Happening:

• ECEC students are creating photo collages using the iPads.
• Kindergarten Art students have been exploring contour using the iPads camera and the Drawing Pad app.

• Kindergarteners are using Drawing Pad and Doodle Buddy during free exploration to reinforce use of drawing tools on the iPads.
• 1S students are practicing place value using an iPad app.
• Students in 1L  are reinforcing ‘team talk’ for their Unity unit using the Strip Design iPad app.
• Students in 2D and 2S are revisiting important Digital Citizenship ideals.
• 3G students are practicing comparing fractions using the Oh No Fractions app.
• 3 Team students are doing formative assessments of math skills using Explain Everything on the iPad.

• 4S are using the iPads for the entire writing process for their realistic fiction pieces.

• Gd 5 Team students are reinforcing math skills using the Singapore Math app on the iPad.

• Indian Studies  students in grade 5 are finishing creating Digital Photostories about their Ranthambore trip for the Tiger Fundraiser this Thursday and Friday.

• Project Library in the LMC has Grade 5 students creating iPad movies on being respectful, responsible, caring and honest with library materials.
• Spanish students in grades 4 and 5 are creating movies for their Celebrations of Learning.

What We Got – MAP Testing Returns – There will be a significant interruption in normal laptop access this week Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday when we will be shuffling carts of computers around the school to facilitate the the second round of MAP testing in the grade 3,4 and 5 team rooms. For exact details please refer to last weeks MAP specific e-mail.

ES Tech Committee Meeting Postponed – Originally scheduled for April 16 this meeting is being postponed until April 23. If you have anything for this meeting please send them to your tech rep. The agenda can be viewed here.

10 Minute Tech Interviews Continue- Over the next three weeks the ES tech team would like to request 10 minutes of your time (at your convenience)  to talk about your experiences with ES tech this year and solicit you opinions on the future of tech in the ES. Ruchira will interview ECEC, Kindergarten and Grade 1, Gary will interview grades 2 and 3 and the specialists, while Phil will cover grades four and five. EAL teachers will be divided up by the grade level they most frequently work with. Thanks in advance for 10 minutes of your valuable time.

NO Classroom Photo CD Reminder- Unlike previous years the ES tech department will NOT be burning CDs of classroom photos at the end of the year. If you have classroom photos from the year that you would like to share with parents contact us and we can show you several ways to share them electronically.

Tech Spring Cleaning – As part of your Spring cleaning routine please take a few minutes to delete any unneeded files from both the ES faculty and ES student shared drives as they are both nearing capacity. Also if you have any classroom e-waste please send it up to ES 133 and we will dispose of it properly.

Website of the Week: Amidst a Mobile Revolution in Schools, Will Old Teaching Tactics Work? – As we continue to shift our model of tech integration and look to increase the number of iPads in the ES, one important question to ask ourselves is, “Does our pedagogy help us leverage our technology in the best way to deliver our content in meaningful ways?” Hardly a rah-rah technology article, this well written and balanced piece asks some difficult questions and offers some solid advice for us especially in the section Possibilities and Potential. Highly recommended.

App of the Week: Teacher Notes – functions as an easy way to file written notes, photos, movies or audio on multiple children, domains and content areas all at one time. These notes can then be sorted and  exported and possibly used as the basis for report card comments. You can find a series of How-to training videos here. If you would like to see real world examples of use check with Gene Q  or Mary Miller who are currently using this app. Free

What’s Happening:

• Gd1 S and 1Ph are using the Whiteboard pro app as part of their Unity unit.
• Students in 1K are using the  Drawing Pad and Explain Everything apps to create reflections about working in a group as part of their Unity unit
• Students in 1P and 1VZ are using Explain Everything to demonstrate their understanding of Place Value
• Students in 2D are learning and practicing some photography tips and tricks
• The grade 3 team room  is examining a variety of math apps on the iPads.
• 4S are using the iPads for the entire writing process for their realistic fiction pieces.
• Students in 5F, T and K are using Google Docs to facilitate the editing process of their fiction stories.

• Indian Studies  students in grade 5 are creating Digital Photostories about their Ranthambore trip for the Tiger Fundraiser.

• Operation Library is kicking off with some interesting tech integrations to support this initiative.

What We Got – 10 Minute Tech Interviews- Over the next three weeks the ES tech team would like to request 10 minutes of your time (at your convenience)  to talk about your experiences with ES tech this year and solicit you opinions on the future of tech in the ES. Ruchira will interview ECEC, Kindergarten and Grade 1, Gary will interview grades 2 and 3 and the specialists, while Phil will cover grades four and five. EAL teachers will be divided up by the grade level they most frequently work with. Thanks in advance for 10 minutes of your valuable time.

Turn Around Time on iPad App Installations - The excitement the ES staff has shown for the iPads and the requests for new apps has been simply phenomenal. Please keep in mind when requesting a new app that it generally will take about 1 week for us to install new apps as we need to reserve the cart for a sync. Then depending on the number and size of apps being installed, the sync could be an all day process.

NO Classroom Photo CD Reminder- Unlike previous years the ES tech department will NOT be burning CDs of classroom photos at the end of the year. If you have classroom photos from the year that you would like to share with parents contact us and we can show you several ways to share them electronically.

Tech Spring Cleaning – As part of your Spring cleaning routine please take a few minutes to delete any unneeded files from both the ES faculty and ES student shared drives as they are both nearing capacity. Also if you have any classroom e-waste please send it up to ES 133 and we will dispose of it properly.

MAP Testing Returns – There will be a significant interruption in normal laptop access next week (April 16-20) when we will be shuffling carts of computers around the school to facilitate the the second round of MAP testing in the grade 3,4 and 5 team rooms. During these days you may not have access to the ES laptops as you normally would. Exact details will be sent out later this week.

Website of the Week: Thinkfinity - Sponsored by Verizon in partnership with the National Geographic Society, the Smithsonian and other heavy hitters this well designed teacher portal features everything form blogs for your PLN to lesson plans that are ready to go, to interactive online resources. A good jumping in point is the math section which features many excellent problem based lessons and online interactives.

App of the Week: Singapore Math Bar Models (Grades 2,3,4 and 5) - At the request of Melissa White, Robyn Holder and others the full version of these excellent problem solving math apps are installed on both carts of the ES iPads. For those that are not familiar these apps, they allow students to solve word problems using a variety of strategies, include tutorials for when they get stuck, and feature a built in gaming engine and captivating graphics that help raise the level of student engagement. Ready to go now on our ES iPads.

What’s Happening:

• Well deserved rest and relaxation!

Equipment Security Over Break
Please make sure that all cameras, laptops and Flip video cameras are locked up and secure so you can rest easy over your break.

Power Off Projectors
As you walk out the door on Friday, please take 10 seconds to flip the power off switch at the tech hub in your room. Just like you, your projector needs a break

Barcoding
If you have any remaining digital cameras or Flip cameras that have NOT been barcoded please drop them off with Hardayal at the end of school today in ES133. If your teacher or IA laptop has NOT been barcoded please drop it off in David Beaty’s office with Chad Dixon as you leave school today.

iPads Over Break
If you would like to take home an iPad over Spring Break you may then pick up your device today at the end of the day in ES133, please remember to sign the waiver at that time. Happy iPadding!

Website of the Week:
CD Kitchen -One of my favorite things to do over breaks is eat. This cool website has reverse engineered over 1500 recipes from many popular restaurants. Most of the ingredients are available here in Delhi, so if you have a craving for some of Panera’s Broccoli Cheese Soup you don’t have to wait until summer.

App of the Week:
Paprika - In keeping with the food theme, this amazing app streamlines your recipe box, menu planner and shopping list into one place. Visit your favorite recipe websites and save the recipe data with a couple clicks to Paprika and then be able to access them anywhere at anytime. Next pick the recipes you want for each meal in a week and Paprika will create the shopping list for you. $4.99 and worth every penny. Hat tip to Greg Clinton for this one!

Have a restful Spring Break !