I have a teacher interested in setting up student blogs.  Our AP Human Geography teacher wants to send small groups to the CZ (Collaboration Zone) to find, annotate and post articles.  My job is to help them set up a blog and then show them options about posting their annotated articles.  They can do it digitally with a website called scrible.com or they can use colored pencils, take a picture with their phone, and upload it as an image.  Here is a picture of what an annotated article on Scrible looks like.  Note the legend on the right explaining the color coding.  You can hover over each post and the corresponding text will change color.  Highlighting is also an option.  Pretty cool.

So today students came in to practice a presentation and we hit a few snags.
1. Volume 3 ( our student server) wasn’t mapped. = phone call to super busy tech guy.
2. Printer wasn’t networked = another call to our super busy tech guy.

Neither problem was major, but they prevented the kids from practicing. I should have thought about those things ahead of time.

Rocket Football 2014

So… students are a little unsure about access to the Collaboration Zone.  Today I pulled up a youtube video featuring our football team and their 2014 season.  I played it and left the room to see what would happen.  I noticed several football players who were out in the library craning their necks to see in the room and watch the video.  I invited them in to watch a little closer.  They accepted and enjoyed watching the video on the big screen.  🙂

Tuesday is Bow Tie Tuesday at SCHS, so I invited a few students who forgot bow ties to make them out of Duct Tape in our Makerspace.  They did, and it was fun.  We are making a little progress.

Below is the promo I sent out to teachers.  It isn’t very high tech, but it did prompt a U.S. History/AP Human Geography teacher to come down today and ask if he could have small groups rotate in throughout the year to do a mini project where they researched varying perspectives/opinions/bias surrounding a particular topic they were studying. (yay!) He wants them to share with the class etc…  He left willing to explor the idea of a blog where they come to the Collaboration Zone, do a little research, then post a blog entry about their finding.

I’m new to blogging myself, so I’m researching how to set it up for him.  Advertisement Flier

These are the first users!  They loved it!!!  Already the table and chairs have been moved and the lights turned out to help them see.  (below)

Here is the television being installed in the Collaboration Zone. My aide has connected it and we are already on line. Next is the wireless keyboard and mouse. I haven’t publicized the room much. Once this last piece is setup, I’ll start promoting to students and staff.  Yay!!!