Smartboard Gallery Activities

Seeking to find quick interactive activities to use with the SMARTBoard? Then search no more, Blake has created a video that shows you how to find examples of the activities that are included in the SMARTBoard Notebook software. Click play below to start your SMARTBoard journey!

How to Orient a SMARTBoard

All's well with the SMARTBoard, until it happens..you write on the board and the words appear on the opposite side, not where you think they should appear. Have no fear! Blake has created a video to show you how to orient your SMARTBoard in case this scenario occurs. Just click on the play button below to view.

SMARTBoard Online Tech: Opening the Notebook 10 Software

Written by: Kadeijah

With the arrival of nine new SMARTBoards at TLC students will be able to directly engage in content in a way that they have never been able to before. To start off this journey, students at TLC will be creating screencasts to explain how to use the SMARTBoard technology. The below video explains how to open the Notebook 10 Software.

Click HERE for alternative link to screencast.

Creating an Elephant Dictionary

Did you know that scientists at Cornell University are trying to develop a dictionary so we can understand what elephants are saying when they communicate with each other? This topic seemed to spark interest with students at The Learning Center so we partnered via video-conference with high school students from New York to learn how they were assisting the Elephant Listening Project to work on this task.

Video footage of an elephant's natural habitat was shown to us and then the New York students showcased recording equipment that is used in the field to collect the sound recordings. After we understood the environment and procedures for sound recordings, the students from New York explained to us how they obtained actual elephant sounds and then translated those recordings into graphs. It is by analyzing these graphs that scientists are able to construct a dictionary of their sounds.

This was a very fascinating video conference in which students learned about ultrasonic sounds, elephant habitats and elephant forest conservation. It left us pondering...could we create an animal dictionary based upon sounds? If so, then what animal would be like to be able to communicate with on a regular basis?

TLC Students Training Teachers

Seeking to improve your technology skills by learning how to use Google Docs? Then look no further than Josh and Tiffany, two of our most technological savvy students at The Learning Center. Tiffany and Josh took their expertise to Stonewall Elementary teachers by providing two professional development trainings entitled "Google Docs Part I" and "Google Docs Part II". For both trainings they met with teachers in Ms. Ford's computer lab so that everyone in attendance could have a first hand experience using the resource.

To start off the event, Josh and Tiffany explained the basics of Google Docs and assisted everyone with creating an account and logging into the site. The fun really began when everyone had the the ability to edit a  document that was shared with everyone in attendance. Imagine typing a document at the middle of your screen then seeing words appear at the top and bottom of yours at the same time. That was the experience the participants had as they were given first hand experience of the power to use a Google Doc for collaboration. In fact, up to 50 people can edit the document at the same time and a single document can be shared with up to 200 people.

Once everyone was comfortable with the editing process Josh and Tiffany plunged right in with "Google Docs Part I" by explaining basic features such as creating and naming a document, simple editing features, auto saving, sharing and modifying permissions, finding newly created documents, and how to use the revision history for accountability. It was an exciting session, so much so that Ms. Ford asked Tiffany and Josh to return to Stonewall for a "Google Docs Part II" training.

The "Google Docs Part I" training involved working with documents in Google Docs while "Google Docs Part II" revolved around the creation of forms and how to use the spreadsheet to collect data. Josh and Tiffany started out "Part II" by asking if anyone needed clarification from the past training and reviewed information they provided. Once the review session was complete they briefly explained how to organize files in Google Docs, showcased some of the editing features and explained how to upload files. 

Once these tasks were completed, the topic of Google Forms became the focus of the event. Different question types that are available on a Google Form were showcased by having participants answer questions from a form that was created specifically for them. Participants were then led through the simple process of creating their own form and shown how to analyze the resulting data. In order to illustrate the power in Google Forms the website "66 Interesting Ways to Use Google Forms in the Classroom" was shared with participants.

Both of these trainings were conducted in a very professional and organized manner which resulted in many kudos for Tiffany and Josh. This was a wonderful learning experience for students at The Learning Center in which many valuable lessons were learned from how to successfully organize and conduct a training to learning of the topic itself. We would like to graciously thank Stonewall Elementary for giving us the opportunity to be a part of their school as they patiently allowed us to venture into unknown territory.

If you have a technological topic that you would like for our students to provide a training, please contact Mrs. Humble at The Learning Center.

The Great Gatsby Goes to Pennsylvania

Students in Ms. Straney's English class had the opportunity to lead a Literature Circle with students from Hickory High School in Hermitage Pennsylvania via videoconferencing. The selected book was The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald


It was very evident that Ms. Staney's students had spent many hours in reading, researching and preparing for the event based upon the thought provoding analysis and questions that they offered to the participating school. Not only were they mentally prepared for the event, but they had even designed posters and created a board game to illustrate to the partner school how an effective Literature Circle can be orchestrated.


The in-depth analysis that The Learning Center students provided to the partner school was outstanding and a deeper understanding of the classic novel was achieved. Ms. Straney's leadership in organizing and conducting this Literature Circle is to be commended in which she has top notch students who are very passionate about making opportunities such as this a success.

KET + Virtual Art Galley = Amazing!

"Thank you KET!" is the  resounding statement that the educators at The Learning Center wish to express to our presenters who instructed us on how to create a PowerPoint Virtual Art Gallery. Not only did we learn how to develop a Virtual Art Gallery, but KET also shared with us the plethora of resources that they have available. 

Resources shared included: KET EncycloMedia, Scale City,  Lincoln: ‘I, too, am a Kentuckian', Electronic Field Trips, Mission US and the Kentucky Virtual Art Museum. Regarding the Art Museum, be sure to take the time to view Bottle Up! 

Once we had absorbed these resources, the training regarding constructing a Virtual Art Galley was initiated. Our presenters were kind enough to provide us a template from which to work.  Upon viewing this template it was obvious that a considerable amount of time was involved in its creation. Yes, we are very grateful for their hard work since it allowed us to "jump right in" and start adding artwork to our own Virtual Art Galley. It was amazing how easy it was to create (given guided instruction, of course) and modify our own imported images. From the intense looks of concentration in the room, it was obvious that everyone was focused upon creating their own Gallery.

Example of a PowerPoint Virtual Art Gallery

Once we had determined  how to add items into our Virtual Art Gallery and were comfortable with the process we had the privilege to tour the KET facilities.  It was amazing to get a "behind the scenes" view relating to a production studio! The entire experience was incredible! Thanks KET! 
 
Links related to our training:

Creating a PowerPoint Virtual Art Gallery

Online Student Art Galleries

Pics4Learning-Copyright free images

Wikimedia Commons-Public Domain Images

Copyright Information

Greetings-Yonkers, New York!

Thanks to the Kids Creating Content Community Contest http://kc3.cilc.org/ TLC students were able to connect with students in Yonkers, NY and present a videoconference entitled "The Progressive Era in America". Our students worked diligently in constructing student generated videos and guided discussions to lead students from the Educational Opportunity Center of Westchester to a deeper understanding of the events in the Progressive Era.

The event started with our talented moderator Danielle who warmly welcomed our guests into TLC and provided highlights of our Lexington culture. She then passed the discussion over to Josh's group who started the presentation with a very creative puppet show which led to a student designed introductory video on the topic of Woman's Suffrage. His group would introduce an idea, provide a video clip for our guests and then discuss its implications.  His group's discussion concluded with a question/answer session that produced many thought provoking responses.

Danielle once again took the stage to introduce Korey's group as they talked about Racial Inequality. The interaction with our guests was powerful as they were able to answer many questions that were given to them on the topic. The highlight of their presentation was a student developed video that showcased racial inequality as it occurred during the Progressive Era. Korey's group asked our guests many questions about the video and they responded in kind which produced a high level two-way discussion across our country.

The Kids Creating Content Community Event was a success and TLC is looking forward to further opportunities to "Go Global!".

Going Global!

Brandon and Nick setting up the Polycom

Finally, the long wait is over. The eager anticipation of any type of delivery truck to make it's way onto the grounds of TLC has now ended. The Polycom HDX 7000 has made its way into our school and is awaiting its first connection. What is a Polycom you might might ponder and how did it make its way into the TLC doors? Simply stated, a Polycom HDX 7000 will allow us to participate in and provide video-conferences to groups both locally and around the world. We are Going Global! All of this was made possible by a grant that our students wrote and the district awarded us, without their leadership none of this would have been possible.  As you can see from the picture, our students assisted in the set-up and programming of the device to make it ready to go for our first video-conference with the device. Details on that conference will be coming soon!

SMARTBoard Math Tools are Here!

Visualize a world of technology in which you write a mathematical equation by hand and then see it instantly graphed before your eyes. This is not a future technological event, just the SMARTBoard Math Tools Add-On that is making its debut at The Learning Center. Our industrious and determined math teacher, Mrs. Bastin, has been learning all of its capabilities and is about to unleash its power upon her students. 

With its implementation in her classroom, student interactivity will be taken to a new level as a result of students being given the ability to create their own equations, interact with them and see the results almost instantaneously. With the Math Tools Add-On Mrs. Bastin can have students examine relationships between tables and graphs, have them plot a line of best fit, create line graphs and do much more! Students are already abuzz with excitement regarding its use in the classroom.   

So next time you pass by her room don’t expect to see her engaged in direct instruction. Mrs. Bastin will be the facilitator or as they say the “guide-on-the-side” as students are given the power to control how they interact with higher level mathematics.

An Alternative Use for Sprite: Meat Tenderizer!

Have you ever wanted to tenderize meat but had no way to achieve the desired results? If so, then Tiffany has a solution to your dilemma. She presented her scientific investigatory entitled "The Effectiveness of Carbonated Drinks as a Meat Tenderizer" at the Fayette Co. Science Fair on Feb. 12th.

Tiffany tested chicken, pork and beef in the carbonated beverage Sprite in which she varied the time of soaking in the beverage. She concluded that Sprite can be used as an effective meat tenderizer and the longer you soak the meat the more tender the meat will become. So, if you are out of tenderizer, just grab a can of Sprite and all will be well!

Tiffany's enthusiasm and dedication to the project inspired much pride among her TLC family members. Her presentation was very well done and she showcased how TLC is striving to achieve high academic standards. It is a delight to have Tiffany at our school and we are looking forward to the many great achievements that she will have in school and in life.

Ubuntu+Banshee+KAlarm=STEM Fair Showcase

Kudos and Congratulations go out to Nick for his exemplary presentation at the Fayette County STEM Fair on Feb. 12th.

Thanks to this industrious student our school does not have to cringe when classes change due to a shrill bell; but we have leisurely and sometimes robust music to indicate the shift in the school day. 

Nick's Poster Presentation was entitled "Open Source Technology Replacing School Bell System". He utilized Linux with Ubuntu as his operating system then added Banshee as the music player. To pull the whole operation together he created a shell script in KAlarm which was designed to turn very short music clips off and on as needed during the school day. He then connected everything to our school's PA system and we are now changing classes to the beat.

Music selection is determined by The Most Employable Person (MEP) at The Learning Center which is determined by criteria such as preparedness, on-time actions, respect, positive interactions, appropriate electronic usage and pay-it-forward to name a few. The first person to receive the MEP award was Tiffany, who presented in this years Science Fair which was on the same day at the STEM fair.

Google SMS Search Using Cell Phones

The computer lab is closed and you really wanted students to conduct some simple research queries online. A few years ago, you would have been out of luck, but today with a plethora of students bringing in their own technology,  you now have an option. Many students are using cell phones as a way to stay connected with family and friends and from my experience a large percentage of students now have unlimited text which means that they can indeed complete simple internet searches. A very useful tool to make this happen is Google SMS Search. Check out the interactive demo to see it in action. Students text their question to 466453 (GOOGLE) and a response is texted back to them.  Of course, this opens Pandora's Box regarding student use of technology in the classroom, but if we don't teach students how to use technology appropriately, who will?

Free-Tech 2011 Cincinatti Conference

Many would assume that a two day conference sponsored solely by a single entity that was free to attend and provided lunch would engulf you in their product to the point that you would feel like a sole purchaser in a used car lot. Fortunately, Free-Tech 2011, sponsored by SMARTEd which sells SMARTBoards and similar products was able to pull together an exciting conference full of information, ideas and fun while at the same time making their product known, but not overwhelming. The sessions varied from learning the basics of how to create Google Forms to sessions on how schools are actually implementing them into the school environment. A few presenters highlighted how they were creating class websites for their students in which they provided the nuts and bolts behind their sites and how usage impacted students.  For me, conference highlights included the realization that blogs could be composed by sending e-mail to Blogger as a mechanism to post blogs and the unveiling of the true power inside Google Forms. No matter the session I attended, I was able to gather a nugget of information which I could take back to my school and share.

If you missed the conference, surf on over to Cincinnati Handouts for a sampling of the sessions. Also, check out how out how our school is utilizing Google Forms for "Monitoring School Excellence" which was a session I presented at the conference.

If you see a Free-Tech conference near your area, check it out, you'll be glad you did.

TLC Goes Global!

During the school year TLC students and staff have had the opportunity to become virtual travelers and communicate with researchers, scientists and students from around the world.

Below is summary of the videoconferencing opportunities at TLC during the 2010 Fall Semester.

Students Rebuild, a Global Nomads Event from Haiti Polycom Special Event TLC students joined LIVE with a classroom from Haiti and discussed current events, culture, economics and environmental factors that influenced their lives. The videoconference concluded with the Haitian students teaching TLC students a local dance move and sharing their music.	Invisible Universe! Michigan State University Museum Students discussed the vast wealth of information that can be extracted from light invisible to human eyes with a scientist. TLC students discussed the observations, techniques, and discoveries made by scientists working with the Chandra X-ray Telescope and other NASA Great Observatories to understand ways of detecting invisible light, such as X-rays, UV and the thermal infrared to view unknown objects in the universe.
States of Matter: Solids, Liquids, Gases, & Beyond NASA Digital Learning Network TLC students interacted with a NASA specialist to discuss how scientists and engineers utilize the basic principles of the states of matter on a daily basis. Students discussed how the states and properties of matter were very important to the design and construction of NASA spacecraft by engaging in virtual experiments and dialoguing about the extreme cases NASA encounters.	Scientists in Action - People of the Southwest Denver Museum of Nature & Science TLC students were able to interact with Stephen Nash, PhD, curator of archaeology, and Jim Enote, director of the Heritage Center at Zuni Pueblo, to discuss various perspectives on the Ancestral Puebloans of the Southwest. The scientists broadcasted LIVE from Chaco Canyon National Historical Park.
Others Worlds of Architecture Indiana University Bloomington TLC students interacted with a University of Illinois historian about the architectural features in Central Asia and the Islamic World along the famous Silk Road. The discussion included both artistic aspects of Islamic architectural design, as well as the geographic and historical context of their construction. The discussion concluded with a look at contemporary architecture in the modern-day countries along the Silk Road.	The Emerging Technology Game Northern Ohio Research and Training Technology Hub Teachers interacted with a technology specialist and shared ways that emerging technologies could be utilized in classroom instruction. An interactive game was played to showcase the many emerging technologies that are available.

Technology on the T's

FreeFoto.com

A brand new program entitled Technology on the T's has been initiated!

On Tuesday or Thursday of each week personalized technology training is offered after school to the staff of The Learning Center. Days are varied and posted such that educators can work the Professional Development into their own schedule thus giving them the flexibility they need in order to attend.

Last week's starting focus was upon the website Lesson Writer.

Lesson Writer allows an educator to easily construct higher-order thinking prompts based upon online or teacher generated content. Not only can higher-order thinking prompts be produced, but the website also extracts vocabulary word lists from the content and allows for scaffolding of questions. Since these are merely a few of the features offered by the website it will be a continuing topic of investigation for the next Technology Tuesday.

Once educators became familiar with Lesson Writer the training became more personalized. For example, the online digital game for middle school pre-algebra students, Lure of the Labyrinth , was introduced to one educator while another began brushing up on SMARTBoard skills by diving into the online gallery.  Another educator was given instruction into the advanced searches that Google can provide while another was shown features of our current e-mail system. This personalization can occur since educators are given the option to state their learning objectives prior to the event.

The purpose of Technology on the T's is to give educators personalized training that maximizes their use of time. Too many times technology training is not obviously relevant to the needs of educators and/or does not allow them time to try out what has been learned. With Technology on the T's, The Learning Center is hoping to make the implementation of technology practical, useful and desirable.

See you on the T's!

Welcome!

Greetings and Welcome to Tiger Technology at The Learning Center!

Our school mascot is the White Tiger and we are roaring into technology.

This site is dedicated to sharing resources, events and successes from The Learning Center @ Linlee. Embedded in these pages you might find a shout-out to a student or teacher who is incorporating techology in the classroom, learn about educational resources and/or discover the great things that occur at our school. So hang tight and let the journey begin as we "Go Global"!