Thank you to our PSO!

Due to the generosity of our PSO, the technology lab now has student headphones with built in microhpones, and a flatbed color scanner. 

These items will help us to provide resources for students in the following ways:

• The microphones can be used for students to narrate and do other voiceover recordings.
• The microphones can be used for differentiation and narration of assignments. 
• The headphones will allow students to utilize audio and video files individually while in the lab. 
• The scanner will more easily let us utilize student-created artwork and other hard copies of materials, including photographs. 

Thank you!
The StMM Tech Lab Team

7th Grade - Mr. Callus's Trip Project

Students working on the third quarter project for Mr. Callus now have a space they can utilize online to communicate with each other in Moodle.

All student teams have been given a space in a team forum on Mr. Callus's Moodle page, where they can post resources, questions, and information for each other. Only their team members, Mr. Callus, and Mrs. Cadran can see the posts.

A screen shot of this resource is below:

This is a great resource for anyone, especially if a student is absent, or if class is missed for any reason.  Students have 5 minutes from the time they post to the Forum to edit or delete that information.

Thank you!
Mrs. Cadran

8th Grade Updates - Quarter 3

It is hard to believe, but time is flying by for our 8th graders. This is an exciting time of year, and as we look toward the Spring, it is time to begin thinking about graduation.

Graduation Slides

One of the best parts about my job is being able to put together the 8th Grade slideshow. This year, students will be making their slides at home, and uploading them to Moodle.  I am asking for all 8th graders to have their slides uploaded to me no later than Friday, March 7, to allow me time for viewing and compiling them together.

If a student has photographs and needs them scanned because they are not available digitally, I am happy to do this. I ask that these photos be given to me by Friday, February 28 to allow me time to scan them and get them turned around to the student.

Data Collection

Students have been working with me to cover a variety of skills on their information and technology curriculum.  Currently we are working on data collection, and focusing on creating appropriate graphs with data entered onto a spreadsheet. We will move on to the main phases of a research data collection project:

A main goal is for students to see the ways they can apply these skills to projects outside of the computer lab; graphing and data analysis is very useful in a variety of real-world settings.

I will be working with 8th grade on the following phases of this mini-project:

1. Identify a research topic and question
2. Devise a plan to collect data
3. Submit a project proposal for approval
4. Collect, organize, and analyze data
5. Report the results

These  phases, or steps will cover a majority of technical and research-related benchmarks included in our curriculum, and hopefully give a new sense of the value of research and data in our world.  By the end of this week, some students will already have identified their research topic and question (they can indicate a topic of their choosing, or tie in with one of their classroom units/topics). In total, I project this project to be finished by our Easter holiday.

We will take breaks as needed when classroom projects come up, and I will communicate that information as needed.


Thank you!
Mrs. Cadran

7th Grade Updates - Quarter 3

Mrs. Reese and I are partnering to work with 7th graders on an extended project called “Going Local.” Work for this project will cover both science and information/technology curriculums, and will be graded by both Mrs. Reese and me. 

This form of learning, called “Project-Based Learning” (PBL) has shown to be more engaging and authentic for our students. You can find out more about PBLs here.

This ongoing project will allow your child the opportunity to take on the role of a scientist/engineer by choosing a local ecosystem (backyard, field, pond, etc.) and then going through a series of steps to describe the ecosystem, define an environmental problem/challenge within that ecosystem, develop a plan to implement, and then carry out and evaluate that plan.  

This is something new for our 7th graders, and puts them in a very active role, in which they can make many decisions for themselves. I will be facilitating the majority of the activities involved in this project, some of which will require students to keep track of due dates and deadlines.

I will take the project step-by-step, and most work will be done through Moodle.  Due dates will be posted there and in RenWeb Homework.

At this time, we have been spending a few classes getting ready to begin Step 1: Defining and describing the ecosystem.  Students are to spend the next few weeks deciding which local ecosystem they would like to choose. Here are some tips given to the students: 

• Make sure the boundaries of your ecosystem are clear. 
• Choose somewhere you can easily get to: Your backyard, a local park, or pond. 
• You can also choose somewhere on the school campus. 

Inspiration for this project comes in part from the Pacific Education's Institute website and curriculum for project-based learning.

Parents, if you have any interest in helping to mentor students for this project during the design and implementation phases, please let me know!

6th Grade Updates - Quarter 3

Sixth graders are preparing to work with 5th grade on an authentic project called Money Well Spent.

This real-life project will encompass many of the information/technology curriculum skills objectives and let students work across grade levels. Currently, 5th grade is getting ready to survey survey the school on a variety of topics related to school improvement, and 6th grade will be utilizing that resulting data for analysis and interpretation.

So far this quarter, we have been working in Microsoft Excel to refresh our memory and learn about entering data and creating graphs. Soon we will work with entering formulas and sorting and filtering data.  Students will take the survey data from 5th grade and eventually create graphic organizers and charts with the results to share in an appropriate format and layout for a presentation to the school.

I do not anticipate many assignments that would be needed to be completed outside of class, but there may be a situation in which this happens.  Please be advised that if this is the case, I will post due dates in the Homework section of RenWeb.  

If you would like to know more about this project and our updates, please feel free to check back often to this blog, or subscribe for updates that will go directly to your e-mail!

Thank you!
 Mrs. Cadran

Welcome!

Hello StMM Students and Parents,
This new blog will be a place you can come for class updates, tech news, and the latest happenings in StMM classrooms.

Information contained here is for informative purposes, and no personal student information will be shared.  In lieu of parent e-mails, I thought this would be a great way to have a record of updates, so that you can go back to reference information, if needed.

Thank you as always for your support!
The StMM Technology Team