Busy Tech Day @ MSMS

Friday was the kind of day that wears me out but also reminds me why I love helping with technology at Marshall Simonds as the Media Specialist. Technology is always an important part of the school day at MSMS. Overall, this past week was one of the busiest technology weeks I have ever had at our school. Everyday I assisted teachers and students with all kinds of technology. Each day, I scrambled to get minis or cameras or LCD projectors to teachers and students who needed them for class.

On Friday, however, technology integration was more active than I had ever seen it before at our school. Technology was being used in nearly every area of MSMS. Teachers and students were using many different forms of technology in many different ways. Lessons featured SMART Boards and LCD projection of material. Collaborative projects were completed using minis, iPod Touches, and cameras. Students were focused on creating and sharing content using various forms of media and presentation. Students and teachers all over MSMS used school technology equipment along with many of their own devices from home.

I am so proud of the teachers at MSMS for what they have tried to integrate into their daily activities over the past several years. Teachers have continuously updated their curriculum to include technology and have been open to new things each year. MSMS teachers are always ready to use the technology available to them at our school.

The inclusion of technology is not always easy. It takes time to plan lessons and projects and teachers often have to learn new skills just to carry out their ideas. Technology also doesn't always behave and, at times, it can be very frustrating to use new things in your classroom, but the teachers at MSMS have continued to confront the challenges and move forward.

I am more excited than ever about the way we use technology at Marshall Simonds. I believe that the efforts of our teachers to incorporate technology into the curriculum will continue to be a powerful tool in helping our students achieve more in both their academic and professional life.

Here is list of some of the technology, including BPS, teacher, and student equipment, being used at MSMS on Friday alone:

16 SMART Boards

18 LCD Projectors

10+ Mini Laptops

10+ Digital Cameras

4 FlipVideo Cameras

2 HD Video Cameras

20+ iPod Touches

50+ Laptops

Discovery Education Streaming videos

BrainPOP videos

YouTube videos

Here is a little teaser.

We've been in the shop working on a couple of new projects. Pretty soon they will start "rolling" out.

Not tech related

But still a really cool picture. Ran into Wendy (from the science center) in the hallway, with her friend, a red tailed hawk.

kids and tech.

Thought I would share a photo of some elementary students using a reading program on the computers.

How Do I Do That? - Tuesday, January 12

The January session of How Do I Do That? will be held on Tuesday, January 12 in the B10 Computer Lab at Marshall Simonds. The session will be open from 2-4:30pm.

This month's session will feature an introduction to iTunes U. iTunes U is part of the Apple iTunes Store. iTunes U contains over 200,000 educational videos, documents, and audio from podcasts. The material is usually free to download and can be shared to iPods. Some content has been created to work with the iTouch as a tool in the classroom. iTunes U features lessons from some of the world's best colleges and universities as well as K-12 public schools throughout the US.