I am learning a lot about how to do a daily or weekly news show for a school. And it is pretty cool!

https://youtu.be/YIpPrkbc_Ro

And if that video does not have the Closed Captioning, this one does. (For some reason, the video with the still pictures seemed to have a hard time with the CC.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zn0rn-pC6S0

Hardware Inventory

Melanie Smith

LM 550 Spring 2016

Hardware Inventory for C. Elementary

A.     Computers in Classrooms connected to Internet                  281

a.      Windows-based                                                281       

b.      Mac OS-based                                                    0

c.      Chrome Operating Systems                                0

d.      Other                                                                   0

    B.     Computers in Library connected to Internet                         14

a.      Windows- based                                                14

b.      Mac OS-based                                                     0

c.      Chrome Operating Systems                                 0

d.      Other Operating Systems                                     0

    C.     Computers in Labs                                                                    0

    D.     Tablet Computers                                                                   202

a.      Apple iOS                                                            202

b.      Other                                                                     0

    E.      Network Accessible Printers                                                      8

    F.      Stand Alone Printers                                                                   15

   G.     School broadcasting systems                                                       1

    H.     Digital Still/Video cameras                                                        7

    I.       Digital Video Editing Systems                                                     1

   J.       (Number of Classrooms) Projection Devices                            37

   K.      (Number of Classrooms) Digital Document Display               37

   L.      Other

Melanie Smith

LM 550

Spring 2016

Spelling City

Cost analysis:

          Spelling City is free, unless you want to upgrade. The upgrade is $52.95 yearly for a classroom of up to 25 students or $2 (or less) a student for a school/district. There is no training cost and a teacher led short faculty meeting or in-service training would be enough for staff to be able to use the program. The Spelling City website does have training videos that teachers could watch at their discretion. The students could be taught how to access and use the program on the classroom computers or on a home computer.

Selection basis:

          Spelling City is an interactive way for students to practice spelling, language arts, and grammar. There are also links for math, science, and social studies. The program is appropriate for students to use with minor supervision. Spelling City provides additional practice in core subjects in a fun way. The website is available to students and parents at home. There is also a privacy policy in place that helps to protect the students as they use the website.

Effectiveness/use:

          Our students, parents, and teachers are the end users of this software. It is hoped that students will find the games and activities fun and entertaining while they are learning. Students could use it as often as they like, or as regulated by the teacher. If teachers upload their weekly spelling words, parents have a way to find the spelling words even if the student forgets to bring a list home.

           

Criteria for Evaluating Educational Websites

Name: Vocabulary Spelling City URL of website: www.SpellingCity.com Type “Yes” or “No” next to each question. A. ORIGIN -What is the website's origin? The organization providing the site is clearly indicated. Yes There is information about the site's authors (About Us, Our Objectives, Modus Operandi, Mission Statement, etc.) Yes The site's creators have provided their credentials (if need be). Yes The site's creators have indicated the source of their materials where it is necessary to do so. Yes There is an address made available for further information and questions concerning the site's information and content. Yes B. DESIGN -Is the website well designed? The site's general appearance is appealing to its intended audience (colors, graphics, layout). Yes It is easy to navigate through the site -links are clearly marked and self-explanatory making navigation intuitive. Yes The links appearing on the site work (take the user to a new page). Yes Supporting pages have a link back to the site's main page. Yes The text on the site is easily readable (font, size, color scheme). Yes The graphics on the site serve a purpose and are not too big. Yes The site is not cluttered with advertising -overshadowing its content. Yes The site is interactive -there is something to DO on the site (game, fill-out forms, chat, newsgroup/message board, etc.). Yes The site's design and added features (graphics, sounds, video, databases, Active X, Shockwave, CGI, JavaScript and Java Applets) do not hinder the enjoyability of the site but enhance it. Yes C. CONTENT -Is the website's content meaningful in terms of its educational value? The title of the site is indicative of its content. Yes The language is developmentally appropriate for its targeted audience. Yes The use of text and graphics as links is appropriate to level of understanding of targeted audience. Yes The targeted audience has required skills to comprehend content. Yes The targeted audience has required skills to navigate with ease through the site. Yes The site is free of spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, syntax errors, or typos. Yes The site promotes equal and just representations of racial, gender, and religious issues. Yes The content is informative. Yes The site contains a wealth of information and deserves more than one visit. Yes The site has links to other websites relevant to the same topic. Yes D. ACCESSIBILITY -Is the website accessible? The site does not take a long time to load. Yes The site provides a "help feature" or instructions on its use. Yes The site does not require special "plug-ins" or other types of special viewing helpers. If it does, this is clearly indicated. Yes The site does not require usage fees to be paid. Yes, but there is an upgraded version available if you would like to use it. There is a charge for that. The site has rules to its use. Yes The site requires a registration or password to access and use it. Yes E. CURRENCY -Is the website current? The site has been recently updated. No sure, but it updates as users use it. The information recently updated is highlighted for the user. No There is a statement pledging to current updates. No

Taken from:

http://pages.infinit.net/seguind/criteria.htm

Criteria for Evaluating Educational Websites

Name: BiblioCommons URL of website: www.Bibliocommons.com Type “Yes” or “No” next to each question. A. ORIGIN -What is the website's origin? The organization providing the site is clearly indicated. Yes There is information about the site's authors (About Us, Our Objectives, Modus Operandi, Mission Statement, etc.) Yes The site's creators have provided their credentials (if need be). Yes The site's creators have indicated the source of their materials where it is necessary to do so. Yes There is an address made available for further information and questions concerning the site's information and content. Yes B. DESIGN -Is the website well designed? The site's general appearance is appealing to its intended audience (colors, graphics, layout). Yes It is easy to navigate through the site -links are clearly marked and self-explanatory making navigation intuitive. Yes The links appearing on the site work (take the user to a new page). Yes Supporting pages have a link back to the site's main page. Yes The text on the site is easily readable (font, size, color scheme). Yes The graphics on the site serve a purpose and are not too big. Yes The site is not cluttered with advertising -overshadowing its content. Yes The site is interactive -there is something to DO on the site (game, fill-out forms, chat, newsgroup/message board, etc.). Yes The site's design and added features (graphics, sounds, video, databases, Active X, Shockwave, CGI, JavaScript and Java Applets) do not hinder the enjoyability of the site but enhance it. Yes C. CONTENT -Is the website's content meaningful in terms of its educational value? The title of the site is indicative of its content. Yes The language is developmentally appropriate for its targeted audience. Yes The use of text and graphics as links is appropriate to level of understanding of targeted audience. Yes The targeted audience has required skills to comprehend content. Yes The targeted audience has required skills to navigate with ease through the site. Yes The site is free of spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, syntax errors, or typos. Yes The site promotes equal and just representations of racial, gender, and religious issues. Yes The content is informative. Yes The site contains a wealth of information and deserves more than one visit. Yes The site has links to other websites relevant to the same topic. Yes D. ACCESSIBILITY -Is the website accessible? The site does not take a long time to load. Yes The site provides a "help feature" or instructions on its use. Yes The site does not require special "plug-ins" or other types of special viewing helpers. If it does, this is clearly indicated. Yes The site does not require usage fees to be paid. Yes The site has rules to its use. Yes The site requires a registration or password to access and use it. Yes E. CURRENCY -Is the website current? The site has been recently updated. Yes The information recently updated is highlighted for the user. No but there is an updates link.   There is a statement pledging to current updates. No

Taken from:

http://pages.infinit.net/seguind/criteria.htm

Data Management and Productivity Programs

Melanie Smith
LM 550 Spring 2016
Data/Productivity Programs Data Management and Productivity Programs- Huntsville City Schools

1. Atriuum by Book Systems- This is used in the Library Media Center to help with circulation of library materials.
2. Book Tracks by Book Systems- This program is used for textbook, laptop, and equipment circulation throughout the school.
3. Accelerated Reader- The AR program is used to help students seek and find books on their reading level. It also helps students, parents, and teachers keep track of which and how many books students have read.
4. STAR by Renaissance Place- This program is used to measure the progress of students in Reading and Math.
5. Alabama Virtual Library- AVL is used by the staff and teachers to support students at they conduct research. It also makes more resources available to students than what is physically in the school building.
6. PebbleGo by Capstone- This is an online data base for elementary students to do research on a variety of subjects. This site is used by teachers and students.
 7. InfoSnap- This program is used by parents and school staff. It is a data collection program that helps with enrollment and management of personal information.
8. SETS- SETS is used by the Special Education teams to write IEPs for students who receive services through the school system.

               Currently, I am not employed by a school system. I do have a child in the local public school and I also volunteer at some of the local schools. Because of my child I have used InfoSnap to register or update information. The STAR reading and math progress are sent home periodically. SETS is used for the IEP meetings for my child's Speech services. I have also worked with students on AR, both locating books and reading them.
            While volunteering, I have used the AR program, Atriuum, and the AVL. In the future, I would like to better understand how to use PebbleGO and AVL to help my student improve his research habits and abilities.
            Also, I feel that the best use of Accelerated Reading is to let the kids use it as a resource and not as a firm line on what they can or can’t read. I would prefer in the future to let students check out books above or below their level so that they can have more of a choice in their own pleasure reading. I am all for AR parties, but not so much for limiting a child’s book interest. I think AR is the most effective when it is used in a fun, supportive role.

Tech Interview LM 550 Spring 2016

1. What is the most important piece of technology for students at your school?

Because we are a 1:1 technology district, each student has a school issued Lenovo Yoga laptop that has textbooks, office products, and needed student apps already downloaded.

2. Where do your technology funds come from and does that influence the technology purchased?

For the past several years, all technology has been funded and purchased at the district level. The technology plan has been put in place to maximize the money spent. The needs of the entire district as a unit are considered. 2015-16 is the first year the local school has received any money for individual school purchases.  A technology committee was formed at each school to decide how these extra monies were to be spent.  A list was formed based on teacher recommendations and then voted on by the committee. This allowed us to purchase smaller items that were specific needs for Grissom.

3. How does technology impact the modern student?

I asked one of our students to answer this first… She said technology puts information at their fingertips, no borders or boundaries. However, she worries about constantly looking at computer screens. Students use their laptops all day in class, and are on them at night doing homework; or looking at their phones. She thinks that is too much and causes her headaches.

Our students have online textbooks, upload assignments to Edmodo, communicate with teachers in Edmodo, complete assessments online, collaborate with one another on class and group projects through One Drive, and use the cloud for storage. Teachers have software that allows them to see each student’s computer screen during class.

4. What are some of the best ways to protect students while using technology at your school?

The district has a firewall that filters inappropriate material; teachers have access to DyKnow which allows monitoring of students as they work in the classroom; class policies are structured to limit inappropriate access and behaviors.

 5. How have you taught your students to protect themselves while using technology?

Our students are given Cyber Safety lessons in key classrooms and during library visits and collaborative teaching sessions. CommonSense Media lessons are taught to the students.

6. How do you use technology to prepare your students for further education?

Students use technology to devise their Four Year Plans; Each senior is assisted in making application to college using the NAVIANCE online system; Students are instructed in Alabama Virtual Library that will prepare them for college research as well, emphasizing peer reviewed sources, MLA Citations, and different media formats. Students are encouraged to use technology for presentations. Cloud-based products and storage options are used by students. Robotics, Cyber Security, and Green Power Initiative are in place to encourage further education and provide job readiness skills.

7. Do you feel that technology can inhibit students’ abilities to gather information for themselves?

Yes. Students do not have the basic idea of where information is coming from, nor how those sources are organized. There is also a problem with determining credible sources. Most students just ask for information and blindly accept the results. Evaluating sources and information, organizing thoughts, and summarizing content are becoming lost arts.

8. How do you educate your students’ parents/care givers about the technology used by your school?

Parents/care givers are given handbooks at the beginning of each school year that outlines the technology provided within the system. Parents are also encouraged to access information on the school webpage in the parent resource section, hot links for specific topics, and links for current items of interest to parents, or to notify when something needs their attention.

I plan to interview Mrs. Kimbrough and Mrs. Baker, who are the Library Media Specialist at Grissom High School in Huntsville, Al. The phone number to the school is 256-428-8000 and Mrs. Baker’s email is Deborah.Baker@hsv-k12.org.