Wiss21
Ten Minute Tech (December 2013)
Welcome to our Wiss21 Newsletter
- Technology Tips and Tricks
- A Story from the Wiss21 Initiative
- Tech News From Around the Education Community
- Bonus Info!
If you are interested in having your class featured in our newsletter please let AJ or Dianne know!
Ten Minute Tech Overview
Singapore Visit
Highlights
Hour of Code
Spotlight Story
Wissahickon Welcomes Visitors from Singapore
The day started off with a meeting and brief overview of the Wiss21 initiative at the administration building with the technology team. Then the WSD and Singapore teams travelled to the high school and participated in a question and answer session with high school teachers and administrators. The tour continued at the high school with several visits to Math and English classrooms to see Flipped learning and OneNote.
Our guests were treated to local fare for lunch – Philly cheesesteaks! After lunch the group travelled to the middle school to see the 6th and 7th graders in their Science, Social Studies, Language Arts and Math classes using OneNote, collaboratively and individually. After the 2:25 bell rang to end school, the teams gathered in a middle school classroom to participate in another question and answer session with middle school teachers and administrators. The visit concluded with a final wrap-up meeting with the WSD technology team at Central Office.
Overall, the day was a great success and not only did the team from Singapore learn about the great technology opportunities here in WSD, but the Wiss team also learned a lot about Singapore and their educational system. It was the beginning of what is hoped to be an ongoing friendship and collaboration.
Computer Science Education Week
An Hour of Code for Every Student (December 9-15)
It's a one-hour introduction to computer science, designed to demystify "code" and show that anyone can learn the basics to be a maker, a creator, an innovator.
We'll provide a variety of self-guided tutorials that anybody can do, on a browser, tablet, or smartphone. We'll even have unplugged tutorials for classrooms without computers. No experience needed.
Watch this "how to" video for more information. Check out the tutorials in beta.
Details:
Ages 6-106
No math needed
No computers either (although it's great if you have them)
7th Grade ELA and Collaborative Tech
Tech-Topia
As part of the study of the novel The Giver, 7th grade students at WMS were asked to create their own society - a Utopia in their eyes. Although this project has been part of the ELA curriculum for several years, with the addition of the Wiss21 laptops, this year it is taking a techy turn. Previously based on photocopied packets, this year's projects are being developed by groups of students in a collaborative OneNote notebook. Each "society" has their own password-protected section of the notebook in which to collaborate on certain aspects of their community such as citizenship requirements, division of wealth, educational system, rights and laws, employment, and many more. Then, the students will use a variety of multimedia technology- their choice - to present their society to their peers with the goal of persuading their classmates to join their community. Check out a screenshot of the OneNote notebook used, below. If you would like to see an actual copy of the notebook, just contact Dianne Krause.
More info on the Wiss21 Initiative
Email: ajuliani@wsdweb.org
Website: wsdweb.org
Location: 521 Houston Road, Ambler, PA, United States
Phone: 215-619-8000