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

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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"!