Examples+of+how+21st+Century+Tools+are+being+used+at+TCS

Technology is advancing at light speed! Before we became an Alabama Best Practice Center's 21st Century School / District, we did not know what blogs, wikis, podcasts, vcast, etc. were. Through the guidance of Cathy Gassenheimer, [|Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach], and John Norton, we were introduced to these tools and their importance in education to engage all students. At times it felt like we were traveling at breakneck speed, but we held on and learned so much! Thank you Cathy, Sheryl, and John!

Through this wiki, we will share what we have learned, examples, and goals for the upcoming year.

__**A blog is a weblog that acts as an online journal. Classrooms are using blogs to increase communication skills of the students, extend the learning beyond the school day, and develop collaboration with other students and schools.
 * __BLOGS__**
 * __[[image:http://www.trussvillecityschools.com/PI/web%20graphics/blog.bmp]]

[|Risk Watch blog] - blogger.com This blog was created by the teacher to communicate with all students at Paine Intermediate School through Risk Watch safety curriculum. I truly enjoyed working with this blog because I understood for the first time how much students have to say that only gets heard by the teacher and fellow classmates. Why learn about reducing the risks of children in Trussville if we can't be heard by the citizens and important officials of Trussville.

[|Communication with Grey Eagle and Soldiers] - blogger.com Five fifth grade students created and maintained this blog with the teacher as facilitator to communicate with the 101st Airborne Division currently stationed in Kirkuk, Iraq. The students wanted to make sure that the soldiers did not feel forgotten and other students understood what was still happening in Iraq. This was an amazing experience for all involved!

[|May the Tech be with You] - edublogs Professional Development on Demand! Most teachers feel that they do not have the time to attend workshop after workshop during the school year. This blog was a partial answer to this age old problem. It is in its infancy, but will be developed greatly over the summer and current year. We now have a District Technology Integration Specialist that will maintain this blog and promote its use.

[|Technology / Media Usage Agreement] form we use.


 * __WIKIS__**

A wiki is a way for anyone to publish documents on the Internet where others can collaborate during the writing process. Wiki is the Hawaiian word for quick. The writing and editing are posted instantly to the site. We have just touched the surface of how the tool can and is being used in the classroom. This is where I feel that we will be exploring the most in the upcoming year.

[|Risk Watch] - seedwiki Students worked in teams to write scripts to promote safety through a short movie (Photo Story 3 for Windows - free). The fifth grade students mainly used this site. It did not work as well for the third graders because it took them so long to type.

[|Learning with Mrs. Looney] - seedwiki Mrs. Looney is a fifth grade teacher who came to a one hour workshop focusing on - what are wikis, why are people using them, how are teachers using them, and how can I create my on wiki. She created this wiki for her unit on Body Systems. The students responded well to the wiki because they mainly thought it was cool to have the information on the Internet and not paper.

May the Tech be with You - wikispaces You are here! The main goal of this wiki is to create an online handbook or manual if you will for technology tools, use in the classroom, and any other support that is needed by the teachers. Again, this wiki is in its infancy. The directions for working with tools are being placed on the site as workshops are created and delivered. The wiki is public, so please feel free to come back for a wiki and edit anything that you feel needs editing or even leave a question.

__**PODCASTING**__ __ __Podcasting is amateur radio published to the Internet. You do not have to have an iPod to hear a podcast. All of the podcasts you will hear were created using Audacity which is a free download from the Internet. Audacity allows you to export your podcast as a WAV file or MP3 with additional software.

[|Thoughts about WPIN] You will hear from four students who were crew members of WPIN, Paine Intermediate School's morning closed circuit television studio. They were reflecting about being a member. This was their first podcast so they did get tickled frequently and have a lot of "um"s.

[|You Light Up My Life], Reader's Theater by Mrs. Jones' Fifth Grade students - scroll down under School Announcements Mrs. Jones was ready to try using technology in her class. She originally wanted to make a 20 - 25 minute video to publish on her website so parents could see the short plays. Unfortunately, we were out of digital video tapes that day. She was open to the idea of trying podcasting. This is the first class to podcast at our school. After each group taped their session, students would often give ideas to make the next session better. Group 4 is the best because of this.

Principal's Podcast Our principals even got in on the podcasting action. [|Mrs. Bruno], Principal, discussed how summer reading is important while [|Mrs. Faust], Assistant Principal, commends the students on the decrease in discipline. The students think their principals are the coolest.

__**MOVIE MAKING __Movies are being used in the classroom to further engage students. Some movies are teacher created for instruction and promotion of events while others are student generated to showcase their knowledge. These movies were created using Photo Story 3 for Windows which is a free download from Microsoft. Other movie making programs are: Windows Movie Maker which normally standard on an Windows XP computer (PC), Roxio (PC), iMovie (Mac).
 * [[image:http://www.trussvillecityschools.com/PI/web%20graphics/j0283592.gif]]

[|First Day of School] - Photo Story 3

[|Masiello, The Icky Bug Man] (author and illustrator) - Photo Story 3

[|Yams are Here], celebrating Youth Art Month - Photo Story 3

[|Camp McDowell], a field trip for 5th Graders - Photo Story 3

__**Being a part of the 21st Century School / District really opened our eyes to the tools that are available to teachers and how they are being used to enhance education. Our goals for next year are to develop a technology scope and sequence for professional develop to build a firm foundation, incourage participation in professional develop opportunities at the school and district level, support teacher implementation of technology, and follow up with those teachers who are activity using technology within their lessons. By working hand in hand with our technology deparment, we will achieve!
 * __IN CONCLUSION