Technology in Education: Notes from the Closet

Leland iPad Teachers:  here's an Educreations video showing you how to add apps to your iPads using Apple Configurator.  Educreations is already loaded on your iPads if you'd like to use it with students!

Setting the Scene This year Leland became one of Chicago Public Schools' STEM schools.  The designation brought about additional support staff placed in the building to help build the capacity of the teachers and help move the STEM initiative forward.  Our school has a STEM Technology Specialist (me!) and a STEM Math and Science Specialist- my partner, Tom. It's great having a colleague to bounce ideas off of.  Since we are housed in the same "closet" we have a lot of time to communicate and talk about ways to grow the school and our faculty.  We are a great team and support each other's specialties. One day after the middle school science fair we talked about how our science boards had a long way to go.  Being a Welcoming School (merging 3 student bodies and different teachers from across the district along with a new administration) has had it's challenges.  The science fair was one of them.  We talked about the need to express to the teachers...

This week we will have our Open House event to invite our parents in to learn more about Leland Elementary.  Parents will have an opportunity to see their child's classroom and meet their teacher.  They'll see banners like the one above displayed when they enter the building designating us as a STEM school.  But what does that mean?  This post will explain a bit about STEM beyond the acronym of S cience- T echnology- E ngineering- M ath and how it will impact the students at Leland Elementary. In early September the CPS STEM Specialists came together to meet with Pati Sievert, the Director of STEM Outreach at Northern Illinois University. We began by brainstorming a list of what STEM is: Integrating real-world problem solving using technology Encouraging a love for learning about our natural and man-made environment Project based learning (better for early grades) Problem based learning (higher level thinking skills- problem and solution) Prepar...

An Interesting Summer My final post of the 2012-2013 school year focused on the closing of May Community Academy , my educational home for twenty years.  When I left the building I packed all of my belongings, not sure if I would see the inside of the building again. Looking for a job after so long in one institution was a strange experience.  While I received many inquiries my options were somewhat limited; I am four months away from becoming full vested in the Chicago Teacher Pension system and gaining access to my sick-days financially (in the Chicago Public School system you need to work for a minimum of twenty years in order to receive compensation for any benefit days not used).   I had some offers that were interesting but didn't work out to be what I thought.  I had other offers that weren't a good fit for my abilities at this time in my career. In July I learned I was assigned to Leland Elementary, the "Welcoming School" that inhabits May's buil...