Winter Break or Not!

Winter Break arrived just when things were starting to take off in Room 118. We have been busy using our new technology tools, all of them acquired through grants.

First, we got a projector and digital camera to be able to leave those old transparencies behind. This hardware was awarded us through the Littler Foundation. It was pretty exciting. We got two sets, so we have set up in 4th grade and in 5th grade. So far, we've used it in math to work on fractions with colored power blocks.

Then we were accepted in the GK-12 Program and had money to spend on equipment.
We purchased a LabQuest to help us gather data in Science. We've already used it for one of our field trips along the Poudre River. We measured the river speed in three different locations on the river: right bank, left bank, center, to see where the slowest speed was and to see if we could have predicted it by looking at the lay of the river bank. We were correct and the data supported our prediction. We plan on using it a lot with our Human Body study as we got a ton of different attachments to measure things like lung capacity, heart rate, etc.

A number of my students are also just finishing up their published pieces to put on their wiki page at studentsinroom118.pbwiki.com. They are excited to share their writing and get feedback from others.

In addition, some of my students are now members of Questia, an amazing research management site. These students are researching Controversial Issues and will use Questia to gather information, catalog it, organize it, quote it, etc. There are school rates. I was able to purchase 30 memberships for $300.00 for a year. (I know! Money! Don't let obstacle block you - ask your parent group, a local business, your spouse, your principal, your local foundations!) Check it out at http://www.questiaschool.com/. It is amazing.

Finally, just at the end of break, I finished a grant application for another projector and an interactive board. I feel fairly confident I'll get it as it is an in-district grant application and they were short applicants so we encouraged to apply at the very end. Initially, two people per school could apply. We ended up with four applications. Cross your fingers!

So, I've spent the break playing on my computer. Check out Scratch. It is a neat animation site that is free to download. Now, I just need enough time to experiment and learn it. I also found a really good poll site that easily goes into my sites as a widget. Check out Vizu.com. I've also found so many different To do List apps online that I am sorting through and seeing which one I like. Right now, I think Remember the Milk is the easiest, but Nexty lets me organize things a bit better. Will the madness ever stop?

Check back in a bit to see what has happened next. Feel free to share ways you are Knocking Down the Walls at your schools.