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.