2/15/2012
Tierney Brothers K-12 Tech Update 2-15-12
Latest News
· Tierney Brothers is now a SMART Certified Training Center
· Planning to use iPads in your Classroom? Register for our upcoming Professional Development Opportunities
Upcoming Free Webinars
· 2/21 SAFARI Montage Overview
· Coming Soon: pre-recorded webinars on topics including SMART Response VE, SMART Response, SMART Table Toolkit, SMART Notebook Updated/Mixed Reality, SMART Notebook 11 Updates, SMART Response Updates
Upcoming Training/Professional Development Classes
· 2/16 Using SMART Response CE
· 2/21 Advanced iPad Content/Lesson Development and Integration
· 2/22 Using SMART Response in the Classroom part 1 of 2
Blog Posts
· Three Web 2.0 Tools for the Classroom
· Two iPad Apps for the Classroom
· Marrying SAFARI Montage & Mobile Devices: Three Integration Strategies
Latest News
Tierney Brothers is now a SMART Certified Training Center
We are pleased to announce an agreement with SMART to become a SMART Certified Training Center (SCTC). The new designation will allow us to provide SMART Certifications, an official recognition of the knowledge and skills for those who complete various training sessions. We are excited to be the first SCTC based in the Midwest and one of only a small handful in the United States!
If you missed our announcement last month, we launched a brand new professional development landing page where you can sign up professional development courses which are delivered via live online classes, face to face classes or video on demand.
Official Press Release here: Link
Our new professional development landing page here: Link
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Planning to use iPads in your Classroom? Register for our upcoming Professional Development course:
Using iPads in the Classroom
This course is designed to:
· Introduce and develop how the effective and relevant integration of the iPad can enhance student learning opportunities and drive student engagement.
· Support hands-on and true integration learning opportunities.
Content and Learning Opportunities Covered: Setting up an iTunes account, customizing the settings of the iPad, and downloading Apps to the iPad Investigate effective integration strategies for the iPad. Best practice strategies for using the iPad to drive student engagement and collaboration Intentional State Standards, Common Core, and ISTE alignment Teacher collaboration session
More Info and Register Here
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Upcoming Webinars
SAFARI Montage: Digital Curriculum Management & Distribution Overview
Learn about SAFARI Montage digital curriculum management system in this complimentary overview.
SAFARI Montage provides K-12 school districts with a comprehensive solution for their digital media networking and visual instruction needs. The full suite of integrated products provides a single interface for accessing all visual resources from inside the school district intranet or from home.
Tuesday, February 21st
3-3:30pm or 4-4:30pm Central Time
Click Here to Register
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Upcoming Training/Professional Development
Using SMART Response CE
This course is designed to:
• Develop and extend the SMART Response CE integration skills of teachers and other educational professionals which will simplify and deepen the data collection and investigation process with Smart Response CE and SMART Notebook software.
• Support hands-on and true integration learning opportunities.
Content and learning opportunities covered:
· Interaction with and integration of the Teacher File Set-Up, Formative Assessment Creation, and Summative Assessment Creation.
· Best practice strategies for assessment creation and student engagement.
· Implementation and integration strategies for lesson management and classroom management.
· Intentional State Standards and Common Core alignment.
· Effective investigation of the SMART Exchange and modification of downloaded assessments.
· Teacher assessment creation and collaboration session.
More Info and Register Here
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Advanced iPad Content/Lesson Development and Integration
This course is designed to:
• Develop and extend the effective and relevant integration of the iPad to enhance student learning opportunities and drive student engagement.
• Support hands-on and true integration learning opportunities.
Content specific learning opportunities covered:
· Exploration of popular apps that will be useful in organization, productivity, collaboration, creativity, reference, and communication.
· Investigate effective integration strategies for the iPad.
· Best practice strategies for using the iPad to drive student engagement and collaboration.
· Intentional State Standards, Common Core, and ISTE alignment, along with teacher collaboration session.
More Info and Register Here
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Using SMART Response in the Classroom part 1 of 2
This course is designed to:
• Develop and extend the SMART Response integration skills of teachers and other educational professionals which will simplify and deepen the data collection and investigation process with the SMART Response units and SMART Notebook software.
• Support hands-on and true integration learning opportunities.
Content and learning opportunities covered:
· Interaction with and integration of the Teacher File Set-Up,
· Formative Assessment Creation, and Summative Assessment Creation.
· Best practice strategies for assessment creation and student engagement.
· Implementation and integration strategies for lesson management and classroom management.
· Intentional State Standards and Common Core alignment.
· Effective investigation of the SMART Exchange and modification of downloaded assessments with teacher assessment creation and collaboration session.
More Info and Register Here
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Blog Posts
Three Web 2.0 Tools for the Classroom
1. Dipity-Multimedia and Interactive Timeline Creation Tool
http://goo.gl/Ikb1B
2. Symbaloo - Organize and share the best of the web with your students.
http://goo.gl/GjT4B
Video Introduction:
http://goo.gl/KXDC0
3. Thinking Blocks
Thinking blocks is a website that allows users to model their math problems. After selecting the type of problem (addition, multiplication, fraction, and ratio) user are then given a word problem that they build a part - part - whole model off of. A great visual to help all math learners.
http://goo.gl/W9cB6
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Two iPad Apps for the Classroom
1. Book Creator
Book Creator is an app that allows users to create their own e-publication. It allows students to create their own children’s picture book, photo book, art book, cook book, manual, textbook, etc. Users can import photos from their iPad camera, copy and paste from Safari, or draw their own with another drawing application and import them into Book Creator. Sound can be recorded within the app or brought in from you iPad’s library. The book that is created can then be opened in iBooks to share with classmates.
http://goo.gl/Uqkb7
2. Free Graphing Calculator
http://goo.gl/JlBxO
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Marrying SAFARI Montage & Mobile Devices: Three Integration Strategies
I recently collaborated with an innovative group from Hastings School District. This district, which is located in the Twin Cities region of Minnesota, has many forward thinking staff. While meeting with this group of education professionals the topic of mobile devices and SAFARI Montage was discussed. Can they work together? What would it take to get this done? What are the benefits of marrying our [Hastings School District] SAFARI Montage system with mobile devices? Those, among many other questions, lead to great discussion and a list of integration strategies. Below I have shared three of these strategies in detail.
Strategy #1
Support the “Flipped Classroom” Environment
I have a challenge for you. Go to any instructional technology conference and try to ignore the “Flipped Classroom” conversation. I bet you can’t! This conversation and instructional technique is all the rage and has been very beneficial, in various forms, for many teachers and students. What does SAFARI Montage have to do with the “Flipped Classroom” environment? The connection is as simple to facilitate as it is to explain. SAFARI Montage allows teachers to upload pre-requisite lessons and/or resources into the SAFARI Montage Creation Station module. Upon the uploading of these instructional resources, they become instantly accessible to students. Now here is the kicker, using the SAFARI Montage App for iOS devices or the browser in other mobile devices students can have instant and repeatable access to the content that teachers have created and uploaded to Creation Station for them.
Strategy #2
Individualized, Private, and Digital Teacher Feedback
If you are a teacher think about how you give students feedback on a project or assignment. Does it include a red pen and paper? If you are not a teacher, do you remember how you received feedback when you were a student? Again, most likely in pen and paper format. What if students could have 24 hour access to individualized, digital feedback. One example could be teachers podcasting their feedback and sharing with students. Another option for a teacher is to record their critique of an assignment or project using a SMART Board and the SMART Recorder tool. There are many other options for creating digital feedback, but SAFARI Montage has the capability for a teacher to share digital feedback that students can access whenever needed.
Strategy #3
Student Created Teaching and Learning Materials
In many collaboration sessions I have been involved in or professional development sessions facilitated, there have been many questions asked about students creating teaching and learning materials. Does it make sense to have students create lesson content? Is this an engaging way for students to demonstrate understanding? Is there a resource that can support teachers and students participating in this teaching and learning strategy? All of these questions were valid and SAFARI Montage has a solution. As shared in Strategy #1, the Creation Station module within SAFARI Montage has the ability for teachers and students (with the change of one setting) to upload resources that can be used for instructional and assessment purposes.
I appreciate the opportunity to share the fruits of many conversations regarding the integration of mobile devices and SAFARI Montage. Please feel free to contact me to continue the conversation as we know there are many other effective ways to engage and assess students using SAFARI Montage.
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