Note-taking is a very important skill that students can use in many classes to help them better organize and learn. The process of note-taking can be very valuable because it helps the note taker make the information meaningful, stay focused on what is being said, and identify important concepts. In addition, students are able to review notes taken to help them recall key points, apply them to future projects and use them to study for tests. With the WBAIS laptop program in full functioning mode, paper-and-pencil note-taking continues to fade away and note taking becomes more and more high tech.
Teachers at WBAIS offer several opportunities for students to take notes with their laptops. During HS lectures, teachers often ask students to take notes. In addition, students in both the middle school (MS) and high school (HS) take digital notes when researching for projects, similar to the way they used to use note cards.
Digital note-taking programs offer students options that they don't have available with pencil-and-paper. For example, most programs allow the note-taker to quickly move ideas around a page while taking notes, highlighting along the way. In addition, some note-taking software allows students to add images, audio and video files to their notes, as well as automatically pull citations for bibliography use directly from websites.
Students and teachers in the MS and the HS have lately been experimenting with a wide variety of note-taking programs. In the MS Microsoft OneNote seems to be catching on. Often utilized in the business world, OneNote can help students gather, organize and store information in individualized ways, especially for research.
Also, some students, especially in Resource and ELL classes, have been using open source Webspiration, a graphic organizing tool that helps students map out ideas and thoughts.
Other note-taking programs happening around campus include the ubiquitous GoogleDocs, which allows for web-based storage and easy access almost anywhere. Blogs are also being employed as note-taking devices. In some classes teachers select individual students to take notes, which then are shared with the group at large.
Other note-taking programs exist: Note Scribe, Take Note, Sticky Notes, Tiny Notepad, etc. One of these should probably work for your child.
So as the school year continues, students in our MS and HS will probably try out a number of the note-taking options available. Hopefully, each student will discover which program works for him.
Resources:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/onenote/default.aspx
http://www.mywebspiration.com/
http://docs.google.com/#all
http://www.notescribe.net
http://www.takenote.com
http://www.sticky-notes.net
http://www.sharewareconnection.com/tiny-notepad.htm
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Going Digital 9: HS Laptop Program
The first quarter of the school year recently ended and with it the first quarter of the WBAIS high school laptop program. Without a doubt, across the the wide spectrum of the high school curriculum, each student's laptop clearly functions as an essential in-class learning tool.
In science, students analyze animations, do simulations, and create labs straight on their laptops rather than through overhead projection. Also, students often answer teacher-generated questions on their laptops to show that they can apply concepts learned. During labs the students work with laptops by reading instructions and filling in tables with data from experiments. Specifically in physics, students draw graphs using computer applications, especially programs for regression lines for various correlations between variables.
In Middle East History, as a small group of students discuss thought-provoking issues in the center of the class, the other class members backchannel, allowing them to be "quiet" participants through live blogging comment and reflection. Later on their teacher has easy access to their comments and reviews, offers feedback, and evaluates their backchanneling.
Students in AP English 11 have benefitted from the technology to develop their cross-curricular research notecards and outlines as well as to search on-line using many internet resources and search engines. Yes, students still use books for research but now more than ever they incorporate on-line books through sites like Questia and GoogleBooks.
In other ways in the humanities classes students employ laptops. In several social studies classes, power point presentations are viewed through Blackboard as reviews for tests; in AP English, students see posted documents in Blackboard, replacing multiple paper copies; in AP English 12, students blog their creative writing and then share via the internet or through the class projector. And in Art History, students create charts for each unit (ie. Egyptian, Near Eastern, Greek, etc.), allowing them to insert the most pertinent information such as the name of art piece, its date, the culture, the important characteristics – all of which is a fantastic learning and study tool.
The Study Skills course unit on Information Literacy allows students learn how to search the Internet, to stay safe online, and to use digital collections and Web 2.0 tools for research papers.
Resource and ELL teachers utilize laptops in many ways too. Inspiration and its sister program Webspiration, software programs that help students who have written language deficits, are visual graphic organizers that help students with the pre-writing stage by turning ideas into an outline. Also, simple word processing on laptops greatly enhances how well teachers can foster student learning and improve the steps of the writing process. And students in Resource classes take advantage of a variety of assistive technology programs to address their learning needs like Kurzweil, which reads text and also allows students to highlight and extract highlighted text in a formatted manner. It is a tool that teachers can use for testing too.
In the Modern Language Department, laptops are integral. Students access online newspapers and read texts based on individual reading skills. Videos and speakers are also available for oral comprehension, and students blog in writing or report back orally using their laptops. Specifically in upper level and AP Spanish, students experience interactive exercises and online literary readings.
Finally, in mathematics, laptops often figure in class learning. Geometer's Sketchpad, a dynamic software for exploring math, enables the students to examine, construct and measure geometric sketches in a tangible, visual way, which reinforces a more complete understanding of the core concepts of Geometry. In Algebra, Excel is also a great asset in improving student evaluation of expressions. Also, students sometimes work with a math website to solve a series of problems to unlock a number of boxes to win. The answers to the problems are then used as the address to get to the next box. And like in many subjects, worksheets and lab activities appear on Blackboard for the students rather than on photocopied pages.
Even though our high school laptop program has only been functioning for a few months, teachers and students clearly have discovered many benefits with the technology. No doubt student laptop usage will continue to grow. Teachers will discover and apply more innovative educational activities with the technology. And students will continue to learn on the cutting edge of technology.
In science, students analyze animations, do simulations, and create labs straight on their laptops rather than through overhead projection. Also, students often answer teacher-generated questions on their laptops to show that they can apply concepts learned. During labs the students work with laptops by reading instructions and filling in tables with data from experiments. Specifically in physics, students draw graphs using computer applications, especially programs for regression lines for various correlations between variables.
In Middle East History, as a small group of students discuss thought-provoking issues in the center of the class, the other class members backchannel, allowing them to be "quiet" participants through live blogging comment and reflection. Later on their teacher has easy access to their comments and reviews, offers feedback, and evaluates their backchanneling.
Students in AP English 11 have benefitted from the technology to develop their cross-curricular research notecards and outlines as well as to search on-line using many internet resources and search engines. Yes, students still use books for research but now more than ever they incorporate on-line books through sites like Questia and GoogleBooks.
In other ways in the humanities classes students employ laptops. In several social studies classes, power point presentations are viewed through Blackboard as reviews for tests; in AP English, students see posted documents in Blackboard, replacing multiple paper copies; in AP English 12, students blog their creative writing and then share via the internet or through the class projector. And in Art History, students create charts for each unit (ie. Egyptian, Near Eastern, Greek, etc.), allowing them to insert the most pertinent information such as the name of art piece, its date, the culture, the important characteristics – all of which is a fantastic learning and study tool.
The Study Skills course unit on Information Literacy allows students learn how to search the Internet, to stay safe online, and to use digital collections and Web 2.0 tools for research papers.
Resource and ELL teachers utilize laptops in many ways too. Inspiration and its sister program Webspiration, software programs that help students who have written language deficits, are visual graphic organizers that help students with the pre-writing stage by turning ideas into an outline. Also, simple word processing on laptops greatly enhances how well teachers can foster student learning and improve the steps of the writing process. And students in Resource classes take advantage of a variety of assistive technology programs to address their learning needs like Kurzweil, which reads text and also allows students to highlight and extract highlighted text in a formatted manner. It is a tool that teachers can use for testing too.
In the Modern Language Department, laptops are integral. Students access online newspapers and read texts based on individual reading skills. Videos and speakers are also available for oral comprehension, and students blog in writing or report back orally using their laptops. Specifically in upper level and AP Spanish, students experience interactive exercises and online literary readings.
Finally, in mathematics, laptops often figure in class learning. Geometer's Sketchpad, a dynamic software for exploring math, enables the students to examine, construct and measure geometric sketches in a tangible, visual way, which reinforces a more complete understanding of the core concepts of Geometry. In Algebra, Excel is also a great asset in improving student evaluation of expressions. Also, students sometimes work with a math website to solve a series of problems to unlock a number of boxes to win. The answers to the problems are then used as the address to get to the next box. And like in many subjects, worksheets and lab activities appear on Blackboard for the students rather than on photocopied pages.
Even though our high school laptop program has only been functioning for a few months, teachers and students clearly have discovered many benefits with the technology. No doubt student laptop usage will continue to grow. Teachers will discover and apply more innovative educational activities with the technology. And students will continue to learn on the cutting edge of technology.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Going Digital 8: MS Laptop Program
How does it work?
This year as the WBAIS high school begins its first year with laptops, the middle school has moved into the final stage of implementing its 1-to-1 program.
All sixth, seventh and eighth graders at WBAIS are now using school-purchased laptops every day on campus. Seventh and eighth graders have the option of taking their computers home, while sixth graders are presently checking them out on a daily basis. (This policy may be changed later in the year at the discretion of the 6th grade teachers.) Checkout is conducted from our new Laptop Center, located below the library in Room 475, where students pick up their laptops every morning between 7:45-8:07 a.m. and return them at the end of the day.
What do the middle schoolers do with their laptops?
Middle school students use their laptops in a variety of ways throughout the school day. Here are a few examples:
• In science classes, students have digital microscopes available to plug in to their laptop to take photos and videos. They can also use digital probeware to find the temperature and pH of substances they are observing. Also, students manipulate data on their laptops, writing up lab reports as shared documents.
• Humanities students use their laptops for web-based research projects. They sometimes listen to audio books online, complete literature analysis in graphic format and play online vocabulary games. In addition, they visit daily websites that directly correlate to literature and history topics covered. Finally, humanities students produce and share presentations in a variety of formats.
• As part of the mathematics program, students are introduced to new topics by watching brief online videos. Their math skills are reinforced when they visit online puzzle and practice sites like Quia, Math Forum and AAA Math. Later in the year, sixth and seventh grade math textbooks will be available online.
• Laptops are used in many other middle school courses, including ELL and modern language classes and a variety of exploratory classes such as Robotics, Stock Market and Info Tech.
What can parents do to support the program?
Parents of middle school students who take their laptops home should make sure that their children remember to bring their laptops to school every day and that they arrive fully charged each morning.
For those with children who check out their computers on a daily basis, please make sure the students arrive at school early enough to check out their computers from the Laptop Center.
Even with middle schoolers, it’s a good idea to ask about their school day. When doing this, be sure to question them about how they are using their laptops and ask them to share some of their digital experiences!
References
WBAIS library online collections
USB Microscopes
Quia Online Games for vocabulary and more
Brainpop Educational Videos
Math Forum
AAA Math
NY Times article on digital textbooks
This year as the WBAIS high school begins its first year with laptops, the middle school has moved into the final stage of implementing its 1-to-1 program.
All sixth, seventh and eighth graders at WBAIS are now using school-purchased laptops every day on campus. Seventh and eighth graders have the option of taking their computers home, while sixth graders are presently checking them out on a daily basis. (This policy may be changed later in the year at the discretion of the 6th grade teachers.) Checkout is conducted from our new Laptop Center, located below the library in Room 475, where students pick up their laptops every morning between 7:45-8:07 a.m. and return them at the end of the day.
What do the middle schoolers do with their laptops?Middle school students use their laptops in a variety of ways throughout the school day. Here are a few examples:
• In science classes, students have digital microscopes available to plug in to their laptop to take photos and videos. They can also use digital probeware to find the temperature and pH of substances they are observing. Also, students manipulate data on their laptops, writing up lab reports as shared documents.
• Humanities students use their laptops for web-based research projects. They sometimes listen to audio books online, complete literature analysis in graphic format and play online vocabulary games. In addition, they visit daily websites that directly correlate to literature and history topics covered. Finally, humanities students produce and share presentations in a variety of formats.
• As part of the mathematics program, students are introduced to new topics by watching brief online videos. Their math skills are reinforced when they visit online puzzle and practice sites like Quia, Math Forum and AAA Math. Later in the year, sixth and seventh grade math textbooks will be available online.
• Laptops are used in many other middle school courses, including ELL and modern language classes and a variety of exploratory classes such as Robotics, Stock Market and Info Tech.
What can parents do to support the program?
Parents of middle school students who take their laptops home should make sure that their children remember to bring their laptops to school every day and that they arrive fully charged each morning.
For those with children who check out their computers on a daily basis, please make sure the students arrive at school early enough to check out their computers from the Laptop Center.
Even with middle schoolers, it’s a good idea to ask about their school day. When doing this, be sure to question them about how they are using their laptops and ask them to share some of their digital experiences!
References
WBAIS library online collections
USB Microscopes
Quia Online Games for vocabulary and more
Brainpop Educational Videos
Math Forum
AAA Math
NY Times article on digital textbooks
Monday, June 08, 2009
23 Things to Do Over the Summer
Whether it began because of Michael Jordan's jersey, someone special's birthday date or just a convenient number, the number 23 has caught on recently as the ideal number of "things to learn" in technology. This spring our library staff guided a group of teachers through the K12 Learning's "23 Things About Web 2.0" program where they learned about things such as podcasts, wikis, and social bookmarking; PC World published "23 Things to do with a Thumb Drive" and the Design for Learning blog has a post entitled "23 Things about Classroom Computers"
With vacation approaching quickly, the tech department is proud to present "23 Things to Do Over the Summer" - a list of technology based activities for both you and your child. We hope you will find these activities both interesting and enjoyable!
At this time we bid farewell to Steve Roberts, tech coordinator and Kim Eggerton, tech team member. We will miss you both tremendously and wish you all the best in your new locations.
Have a safe, fun vacation!
The WBAIS Tech Team
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
23 Things to Do Over the Summer
1. Purchase a new family laptop. As part of our one-to-one laptop program in 2009-2010 ALL high school students will be REQUIRED to bring a laptop to school. If you have not yet purchased a laptop for your child to use in school, this summer is the time to do it! Talk to your child about his/her computer use and do research together to find the machine that best meets your budget along with these needs, then go buy your new computer and start using it!
2. Organize and clean up your email. Delete messages that you no longer need, including those in your "Sent Mail" and "Trash" folders. Organize the remaining messages with a folder or tagging system and leave your "Inbox" for new incoming messages only.
3. Create a family blog about your summer travels. You can easily do this by signing up to use Google's blogger tool (http://www.blogger.com) or any other free blogging program.
4. Learn more about the features of your family's digital camera. Read the manual or simply play with the different buttons! Many camera companies also include online instruction on how to use your camera, so be sure to check out the site of your camera's manufacturer for more ideas.
5. Make an online photo album of your family's summer activities and share it with others. There are a number of free online tools to do this, including PicasaWeb (http://picasaweb.com), Photobucket (http://photobucket.com), Flickr (http://www.flickr.com), Kodak Gallery (http://kodakgallery.com) and others.
6. Create a book of your travel photos. Many photo storage sites (like those listed above) include this feature. If you are a Hebrew speaker, you may also be interested in the Lupa program (http://lupa.co.il) for creating photo books and t-shirts.
7. Use Google Docs (http://docs.google.com)to write a collaborative story about your summer, along with your children and others who share in your travels.
8. Ask your child to show you the social networking sites that s/he uses (i.e. Facebook, MySpace, Ning, etc.). If you don't already have one, open up an account of your own and get in touch with some old friends in a new way!
9. Find a game you played as a child that now has an online version and teach your child how to play, like Scrabble, Monopoly, Risk, Gin Rummy, Go Fish, etc.
10. Practice keyboarding skills! Use the program we teach with in school, UltraKey, by purchasing it or downloading its trial version (http://bytesoflearning.com/english/view/807), take some online typing lessons at a site such as "Typing Lessons" (http://www.typing-lessons.org), or play some typing games at a site such as "Free Typing Games" (http://www.freetypinggame.net)
11. Go to the Atomic Learning (http://atomiclearning.com) website, log in with our school's community log in and password (available through our library site) and learn something new about various software and programs. Lessons in Atomic Learning range start at less than a minute long so you can easily split your studying into short or long sessions depending on your time.
12. Check out the WBAIS Library's blog for parents (http://aisparents.blogspot.com or click on "Library Buzz - Parents" from the library home page). Their most recent post is about Summer Reading but you will also find past articles full of interesting information.
13. Take apart an old computer and explore its contents, visiting a site such as How Stuff Works (http://computer.howstuffworks.com/pc.htm) to learn more about what you see.
14. Create a podcast about your favorite hobby. If you do not have software to do this on your home computer, you can download Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net) program for free. If you do use Audacity and want to create mp3 files of your podcasts, be sure to download the "lame" file as well at http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/windows.
15. Organize your music files on iTunes or a similar program for storing music.
16. Have your child teach you how to play a game that s/he likes to play on the computer.
17. Send your favorite WBAIS photo to our tech team for posting on the school's web site.
18. Have your child go to the WBAIS Library's blog for students (http://libbuzzstudent.blogspot.com or or click on "Library Buzz - Students" from the library home page).
19. Plan a road trip using GoogleMaps (http://maps.google.com)
20. Make a podcast where you read a book to your child, then have him/her listen to it while following along in the book Your older children can do this for their siblings as well! If you do not have software to do this on your home computer, you can download Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net) program for free. If you do use Audacity and want to create mp3 files of your podcasts, be sure to download the "lame" file as well at http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/windows.
21. Download the program Jing (free at http://www.jingproject.com) and create a video to teach others how to do something you're good at doing on your computer.
22. Read and comment on posts in the WBAIS TechTalk blog (http://wbaistech.blogspot.com)
23. Think of your own, original technology based project. Share your idea with others by clicking on the "comments" button below this post in the WBAIS TechTalk blog (http://wbaistech.blogspot.com)!
With vacation approaching quickly, the tech department is proud to present "23 Things to Do Over the Summer" - a list of technology based activities for both you and your child. We hope you will find these activities both interesting and enjoyable!
At this time we bid farewell to Steve Roberts, tech coordinator and Kim Eggerton, tech team member. We will miss you both tremendously and wish you all the best in your new locations.
Have a safe, fun vacation!
The WBAIS Tech Team
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
23 Things to Do Over the Summer
1. Purchase a new family laptop. As part of our one-to-one laptop program in 2009-2010 ALL high school students will be REQUIRED to bring a laptop to school. If you have not yet purchased a laptop for your child to use in school, this summer is the time to do it! Talk to your child about his/her computer use and do research together to find the machine that best meets your budget along with these needs, then go buy your new computer and start using it!
2. Organize and clean up your email. Delete messages that you no longer need, including those in your "Sent Mail" and "Trash" folders. Organize the remaining messages with a folder or tagging system and leave your "Inbox" for new incoming messages only.
3. Create a family blog about your summer travels. You can easily do this by signing up to use Google's blogger tool (http://www.blogger.com) or any other free blogging program.
4. Learn more about the features of your family's digital camera. Read the manual or simply play with the different buttons! Many camera companies also include online instruction on how to use your camera, so be sure to check out the site of your camera's manufacturer for more ideas.
5. Make an online photo album of your family's summer activities and share it with others. There are a number of free online tools to do this, including PicasaWeb (http://picasaweb.com), Photobucket (http://photobucket.com), Flickr (http://www.flickr.com), Kodak Gallery (http://kodakgallery.com) and others.
6. Create a book of your travel photos. Many photo storage sites (like those listed above) include this feature. If you are a Hebrew speaker, you may also be interested in the Lupa program (http://lupa.co.il) for creating photo books and t-shirts.
7. Use Google Docs (http://docs.google.com)to write a collaborative story about your summer, along with your children and others who share in your travels.
8. Ask your child to show you the social networking sites that s/he uses (i.e. Facebook, MySpace, Ning, etc.). If you don't already have one, open up an account of your own and get in touch with some old friends in a new way!
9. Find a game you played as a child that now has an online version and teach your child how to play, like Scrabble, Monopoly, Risk, Gin Rummy, Go Fish, etc.
10. Practice keyboarding skills! Use the program we teach with in school, UltraKey, by purchasing it or downloading its trial version (http://bytesoflearning.com/english/view/807), take some online typing lessons at a site such as "Typing Lessons" (http://www.typing-lessons.org), or play some typing games at a site such as "Free Typing Games" (http://www.freetypinggame.net)
11. Go to the Atomic Learning (http://atomiclearning.com) website, log in with our school's community log in and password (available through our library site) and learn something new about various software and programs. Lessons in Atomic Learning range start at less than a minute long so you can easily split your studying into short or long sessions depending on your time.
12. Check out the WBAIS Library's blog for parents (http://aisparents.blogspot.com or click on "Library Buzz - Parents" from the library home page). Their most recent post is about Summer Reading but you will also find past articles full of interesting information.
13. Take apart an old computer and explore its contents, visiting a site such as How Stuff Works (http://computer.howstuffworks.com/pc.htm) to learn more about what you see.
14. Create a podcast about your favorite hobby. If you do not have software to do this on your home computer, you can download Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net) program for free. If you do use Audacity and want to create mp3 files of your podcasts, be sure to download the "lame" file as well at http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/windows.
15. Organize your music files on iTunes or a similar program for storing music.
16. Have your child teach you how to play a game that s/he likes to play on the computer.
17. Send your favorite WBAIS photo to our tech team for posting on the school's web site.
18. Have your child go to the WBAIS Library's blog for students (http://libbuzzstudent.blogspot.com or or click on "Library Buzz - Students" from the library home page).
19. Plan a road trip using GoogleMaps (http://maps.google.com)
20. Make a podcast where you read a book to your child, then have him/her listen to it while following along in the book Your older children can do this for their siblings as well! If you do not have software to do this on your home computer, you can download Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net) program for free. If you do use Audacity and want to create mp3 files of your podcasts, be sure to download the "lame" file as well at http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/windows.
21. Download the program Jing (free at http://www.jingproject.com) and create a video to teach others how to do something you're good at doing on your computer.
22. Read and comment on posts in the WBAIS TechTalk blog (http://wbaistech.blogspot.com)
23. Think of your own, original technology based project. Share your idea with others by clicking on the "comments" button below this post in the WBAIS TechTalk blog (http://wbaistech.blogspot.com)!
Going Digital 7: Sharing with Others
On Sunday, May 31 two members of the tech department were invited to the Leo Baeck Education Center in Haifa to talk about our technology program here at WBAIS. The presentation focused on our current use of Blackboard and Google Apps, as well as the history and implications of our laptop program.
Questions from the Leo Baeck staff reminded us of those that have been raised by our own staff as we have gone through similar stages with our program. It was a pleasure to be able to share knowledge that we have gained with others, discussing how we have worked with our own staff to get where we are today. In addition, various programs and sites* that have been useful to our staff were shared with the group.
Throughout the implementation of our own school's technology program we have looked to others, to learn from their experience and to gain ideas. We look forward to continued collaboration with other international schools, as well as local schools, as we move forward with our own technology program.
*Programs and sites mentioned in our visit to Haifa:
Blackboard Online Learning System: http://blackboard.com
Google Apps for Sharing and Collaboration: http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/business/index.html
Quia for Creating Online Activities and Tests: http://www.quia.com
WBAIS Presentation to Staff on Lifelong Learning: http://docs.google.com/Presentation?id=df79qwfs_229hgsmg5gs
Videos about Classroom Management in a One-to-One Laptop Program: http://www.irvingisd.net/one2one/classroom_management/cm_video_series.htm
Questions from the Leo Baeck staff reminded us of those that have been raised by our own staff as we have gone through similar stages with our program. It was a pleasure to be able to share knowledge that we have gained with others, discussing how we have worked with our own staff to get where we are today. In addition, various programs and sites* that have been useful to our staff were shared with the group.
Throughout the implementation of our own school's technology program we have looked to others, to learn from their experience and to gain ideas. We look forward to continued collaboration with other international schools, as well as local schools, as we move forward with our own technology program.
*Programs and sites mentioned in our visit to Haifa:
Blackboard Online Learning System: http://blackboard.com
Google Apps for Sharing and Collaboration: http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/business/index.html
Quia for Creating Online Activities and Tests: http://www.quia.com
WBAIS Presentation to Staff on Lifelong Learning: http://docs.google.com/Presentation?id=df79qwfs_229hgsmg5gs
Videos about Classroom Management in a One-to-One Laptop Program: http://www.irvingisd.net/one2one/classroom_management/cm_video_series.htm
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Going Digital 6: 1 to 1 Learning - Share your Thoughts!
As WBAIS continues its evolution into a 21st century school, it is important that students have access to the tools that will build their digital literacy skills and prepare them for a 21st century workforce. 1 to 1 learning with the use of a mobile digital device is an initiative that WBAIS has implemented as part of this evolution. Family owned laptops used by all students in high school, school owned laptops used by all students in middle school, and sets of 1 to 1 laptops in upper elementary school will strive to meet the following objectives for WBAIS students:
Technology support is shared by users and the school. The technology department provides Internet access to all school community users who agree to follow the school's Acceptable Use Policy (AUP). Students and parents are responsible for the proper care and maintenance of school laptops as they are with band instruments, athletic uniforms and any other expensive equipment. Laptop maintenance and support depends upon ownership, warranty, configuration and usage and is provided accordingly by the tech support team.
As the use of digital tools in education increases to enhance teaching and learning, we continually seek the input of our community members to assist us in planning, clarification and use of technology at WBAIS. We would like to answer your questions and are interested in hearing what you have to say about our 1 to 1 program! Please visit our ongoing WBAIS Community Technology Survey (http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?hl=en&formkey=cEdBY2N6R3JaSmhsdzE4SHY4U21oTHc6MA) to communicate with the tech team on this topic.
Please submit each of your questions, recommendations and commendations separately . Feel free to return to this site as often as you like. Thank you for your input.
As stated in an earlier Tech Talk article, we believe “as so eloquently conveyed in The World is Flat, there is no turning back. New technologies will constantly emerge—and, with them, will come social, political, educational, and civic change. One-to-one learning ensures that students will be ready to seize such opportunities competently, intelligently, and with social conscience.” (From “One-to-One Learning, A Review Analysis” by the Metiri Group).
- Create virtual work spaces
- Explore and develop 21st century skills
- Improve student organizational skills
- Build digital literacy skills
- Practice digital citizenship skills
- Create a culture of academic and productive users
- Increase student engagement in learning activities
- Production of video and audio for assignments
- Use of multimedia resources
- Reading and writing blogs, journals and wikis
- Creating and listening to podcasts of class notes and assignments
- Online collaboration, sharing and communication
- Digital word processing, analyzing and diagramming
- Management and storage of files online
- Researching and presenting online
Technology support is shared by users and the school. The technology department provides Internet access to all school community users who agree to follow the school's Acceptable Use Policy (AUP). Students and parents are responsible for the proper care and maintenance of school laptops as they are with band instruments, athletic uniforms and any other expensive equipment. Laptop maintenance and support depends upon ownership, warranty, configuration and usage and is provided accordingly by the tech support team.
As the use of digital tools in education increases to enhance teaching and learning, we continually seek the input of our community members to assist us in planning, clarification and use of technology at WBAIS. We would like to answer your questions and are interested in hearing what you have to say about our 1 to 1 program! Please visit our ongoing WBAIS Community Technology Survey (http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?hl=en&formkey=cEdBY2N6R3JaSmhsdzE4SHY4U21oTHc6MA) to communicate with the tech team on this topic.
Please submit each of your questions, recommendations and commendations separately . Feel free to return to this site as often as you like. Thank you for your input.
As stated in an earlier Tech Talk article, we believe “as so eloquently conveyed in The World is Flat, there is no turning back. New technologies will constantly emerge—and, with them, will come social, political, educational, and civic change. One-to-one learning ensures that students will be ready to seize such opportunities competently, intelligently, and with social conscience.” (From “One-to-One Learning, A Review Analysis” by the Metiri Group).
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Digital Citizenship 5: A Message from Ms. Manners
Good manners and civilized social behavior has been traditionally taught by both parents and teachers. The same etiquette we've learned to apply to family, friends and professional relationships, carry into the digital world. It's important that we teach our children to apply these good manners to their use of digital tools. The following ten commandments are presented by Miss Manners as a way of extending our general behavior in society to the digital world.
1. Thou shalt not use a computer to harm other people.
2. Thou shalt not interfere with other people's computer work.
3. Thou shalt not snoop around in other people's files.
4. Thou shalt not use a computer to steal.
5. Thou shalt not use a computer to bear false witness.
6. Thou shalt not use or copy software for which you have not paid.
7. Thou shalt not use other people's computer resources without authorization.
8. Thou shalt not appropriate other people's intellectual output.
9. Thou shalt think about the social consequences of the program you write.
10. Thou shalt use a computer in ways that show consideration and respect.
When in doubt about my manners in the digital world I ask myself a simple question, 'What would my grandma say?" I think many of us can recall an individual in our life who instilled in us the common since to apply good manners to a variety of settings. It's import that we instill in our children the same common sense when applying good manners in the digital settings. For more information on netiquette and internet safety you can visit the following sites.
http://course.cse.ust.hk/comp102/Info/digitethic.htm
http://www.edutopia.org/whats-next-2008-netiquette-guidelines#sidebar
http://www.edutopia.org/netiquette-guidelines
http://www.bpl.org/kids/netiquette.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Et8PzXHlcA&NR=1
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=df79qwfs_149drc2x73g
http://netsmartkids.org/computers.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Esj-PBmXjCU&feature=related
1. Thou shalt not use a computer to harm other people.
2. Thou shalt not interfere with other people's computer work.
3. Thou shalt not snoop around in other people's files.
4. Thou shalt not use a computer to steal.
5. Thou shalt not use a computer to bear false witness.
6. Thou shalt not use or copy software for which you have not paid.
7. Thou shalt not use other people's computer resources without authorization.
8. Thou shalt not appropriate other people's intellectual output.
9. Thou shalt think about the social consequences of the program you write.
10. Thou shalt use a computer in ways that show consideration and respect.
When in doubt about my manners in the digital world I ask myself a simple question, 'What would my grandma say?" I think many of us can recall an individual in our life who instilled in us the common since to apply good manners to a variety of settings. It's import that we instill in our children the same common sense when applying good manners in the digital settings. For more information on netiquette and internet safety you can visit the following sites.
http://course.cse.ust.hk/comp102/Info/digitethic.htm
http://www.edutopia.org/whats-next-2008-netiquette-guidelines#sidebar
http://www.edutopia.org/netiquette-guidelines
http://www.bpl.org/kids/netiquette.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Et8PzXHlcA&NR=1
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=df79qwfs_149drc2x73g
http://netsmartkids.org/computers.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Esj-PBmXjCU&feature=related
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