May 16, 2014
Dear 223 ILT Families,
Wow! It has been awhile since we last met on this blog. I have great news--students have finished their research project and we are about to begin our final unit of the school year, Unit 8 Cyber-Skills. First, we will learn how to use a Wacom Bamboo tablet and pen to access folders, programs, and launch the Internet. This includes an artistic expression activity in which students draw the shape of a rock and creatively transform the rock into something else through a pictorial drawing on Paint. Second, we will read Peter Reynold's book, The Dot, and "make our mark" on Mr. Reynold's Fablevision program Animation-ish. Everyone has an ISH inside, and during this activity students will release their inner ISH! Third, brings us to June. We will start off June by taking a keyboarding assessment. Then we will review our cyber-skills, which include Digital Citizenship, Online Safety, and Cyber-bully Awareness & Prevention. Fourth, a little bit of research and website evaluation as students use online resources to gather facts and statistics to support what it means to be Digital Citizen, use technology and the Internet safely, or ways to keep oneself cyber-bully free. Fifth, it's time to design a storyboard for our final project of the year: Create a Public Service Announcement that informs or educates society about the importance of Digital Citizenship, Online Safety, or Cyber-bully Awareness & Prevention.
With that, we will come full circle on our 180-day journey through Information Literacy & Technology skills.
Sincerely,
Ms. Thackston-Dodge
Friday, May 16, 2014
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Week 26: Unit 7 Research Skills
Dear 223 Families,
Unit 7 Research Skills is underway in 223 ILT. We began this unit by building background knowledge on using Internet resources on a fact-finding mission. Students watched a video on Discovery Education that reviewed our Internet skills. We went on our fact-finding mission by using BIS Library Databases to identify ten famous African Americans. Our second hunt required us to select and apply criteria to determine appropriate resources for specific purposes and to identify our informational needs. We will also engage in an online activity that teaches us the importance of cross-referencing sources--and avoid overusing one resource.
Our task this unit is to conduct research on one of the U.S. National Parks based upon the categories of Location, Founding of Park, Wildlife, Activities, and Geographical Features. In April we will transform our research notes using Google Earth to create a virtual field trip of the park. We will conclude the unit in May with presentations of the Google Earth tours.
Mark your calendars:
> Week 29: March 31-April 4 students will take the written Unit 7 Assessment
> Week 34: May 5-9 Google Earth tours are due
> Week 35: May 12-16 students present tours
Be sure to log onto Moodle, our online classroom, to preview, review, and make-up missed assignments.
Sincerely,
Ms. Thackston-Dodge
Dear 223 Families,
Unit 7 Research Skills is underway in 223 ILT. We began this unit by building background knowledge on using Internet resources on a fact-finding mission. Students watched a video on Discovery Education that reviewed our Internet skills. We went on our fact-finding mission by using BIS Library Databases to identify ten famous African Americans. Our second hunt required us to select and apply criteria to determine appropriate resources for specific purposes and to identify our informational needs. We will also engage in an online activity that teaches us the importance of cross-referencing sources--and avoid overusing one resource.
Our task this unit is to conduct research on one of the U.S. National Parks based upon the categories of Location, Founding of Park, Wildlife, Activities, and Geographical Features. In April we will transform our research notes using Google Earth to create a virtual field trip of the park. We will conclude the unit in May with presentations of the Google Earth tours.
Mark your calendars:
> Week 29: March 31-April 4 students will take the written Unit 7 Assessment
> Week 34: May 5-9 Google Earth tours are due
> Week 35: May 12-16 students present tours
Be sure to log onto Moodle, our online classroom, to preview, review, and make-up missed assignments.
Sincerely,
Ms. Thackston-Dodge
Friday, February 14, 2014
February 14, 2014
Dear 223 Families,
BIS is buzzing with excitement--Valentine's Day and a week of vacation just around the corner. In 223 ILT, students finished Unit 6 Visual Literacy by creating a picture story on Google Presentation. Since our Google Drives are "in the cloud" students are able to access documents on any Internet-ready device. Ask your student to share his/her story with you.
When we return on February 24th, we will begin Unit 7 Research Skills. Although we will primarily be using the QUEST and Big6 Skills methods of Internet inquiry, students will also learn valuable research strategies such as Ctrl+F, skimming, paraphrasing, and MLA formatted citations. Be sure to visit Moodle to preview, review, and make-up missed ILT assignments.
Sincerely,
Ms. Thackston-Dodge
Dear 223 Families,
BIS is buzzing with excitement--Valentine's Day and a week of vacation just around the corner. In 223 ILT, students finished Unit 6 Visual Literacy by creating a picture story on Google Presentation. Since our Google Drives are "in the cloud" students are able to access documents on any Internet-ready device. Ask your student to share his/her story with you.
When we return on February 24th, we will begin Unit 7 Research Skills. Although we will primarily be using the QUEST and Big6 Skills methods of Internet inquiry, students will also learn valuable research strategies such as Ctrl+F, skimming, paraphrasing, and MLA formatted citations. Be sure to visit Moodle to preview, review, and make-up missed ILT assignments.
Sincerely,
Ms. Thackston-Dodge
Thursday, January 23, 2014
January 23, 2014
Dear 223 Families,
Well, the snow sure is piling up this January! With three snow day cancellations and one scheduled holiday, I will need to adjust the time-table for Unit 6 Visual Literacy. Both this week, Week 20, and next week, Week 21, students will be completing lessons for L6.35-L6.36 Digital Manipulation. Students will take a "selfie" using the IPEVO web cam, save it to the pupil network drive, and use 8 photo editing tools to digitally alter their image. We are using the quote "a picture is worth a thousand words" to guide our Visual Literacy unit, and students will put together a slide show with all of their manipulated images to tell a new story about themselves.
Thank you for your flexibility during our time of winter white (a.k.a. snow). Please continue to access MOODLE to preview, review, and make-up missed classes.
Sincerely,
Ms. Thackston-Dodge
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Dear 223 Families,
Well, the snow sure is piling up this January! With three snow day cancellations and one scheduled holiday, I will need to adjust the time-table for Unit 6 Visual Literacy. Both this week, Week 20, and next week, Week 21, students will be completing lessons for L6.35-L6.36 Digital Manipulation. Students will take a "selfie" using the IPEVO web cam, save it to the pupil network drive, and use 8 photo editing tools to digitally alter their image. We are using the quote "a picture is worth a thousand words" to guide our Visual Literacy unit, and students will put together a slide show with all of their manipulated images to tell a new story about themselves.
Thank you for your flexibility during our time of winter white (a.k.a. snow). Please continue to access MOODLE to preview, review, and make-up missed classes.
Sincerely,
Ms. Thackston-Dodge
Monday, January 13, 2014
Week 19
Dear Students and Families,
A new year, new month, new unit. Our return to BIS brought with it Unit 6, Visual Literacy. Our unit this month is driven by the quote "a picture is worth a thousand words". We will begin with two lessons on analyzing images in order to tell the picture's story. This includes making observations about the photograph (people, objects, actions, and clues about location, time period, and purpose), using captions and context to gain a deeper understanding of the image, and creating meaning and understanding from the image. Next, students will look at how photographers have represented history during our lesson on Photojournalism, and how advertisers use techniques to influence our consumer purchases during our lesson on Ad Literacy. Then it will be time for students to use a web cam to take a "selfie" and use a handful of digital manipulation tools to alter their picture--thus changing our perception of reality. We wrap-up our lessons by learning how to use programs designed to tell a story using pictures--Google Presentation, Prezi, Microsoft PowerPoint, and Photo Story. February 3-7 is set aside for students to take the Unit 6 Assessment.
Please log onto Moodle to preview, review, and make-up missed ILT assignments. Our class info can also be found on X2. Also, be sure to check out our webpage at http://www.barnstable.k12.ma.us/domain/578 for quick access to resources we use in 223 ILT--and look through our class pictures!
Sincerely,
Ms. Thackston-Dodge
Dear Students and Families,
A new year, new month, new unit. Our return to BIS brought with it Unit 6, Visual Literacy. Our unit this month is driven by the quote "a picture is worth a thousand words". We will begin with two lessons on analyzing images in order to tell the picture's story. This includes making observations about the photograph (people, objects, actions, and clues about location, time period, and purpose), using captions and context to gain a deeper understanding of the image, and creating meaning and understanding from the image. Next, students will look at how photographers have represented history during our lesson on Photojournalism, and how advertisers use techniques to influence our consumer purchases during our lesson on Ad Literacy. Then it will be time for students to use a web cam to take a "selfie" and use a handful of digital manipulation tools to alter their picture--thus changing our perception of reality. We wrap-up our lessons by learning how to use programs designed to tell a story using pictures--Google Presentation, Prezi, Microsoft PowerPoint, and Photo Story. February 3-7 is set aside for students to take the Unit 6 Assessment.
Please log onto Moodle to preview, review, and make-up missed ILT assignments. Our class info can also be found on X2. Also, be sure to check out our webpage at http://www.barnstable.k12.ma.us/domain/578 for quick access to resources we use in 223 ILT--and look through our class pictures!
Sincerely,
Ms. Thackston-Dodge
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Week 16
Dear 223 Families,
Students have been enjoying a week of technology exploration in Room 223 ILT. Using Tynker and Scratch students are creating algorithms with drag and drop coding blocks to design an animated picture, card, story, movie, or video game. It hasn't been as easy as we thought and we have needed to iterate our code to fix bugs, but we are having fun building, creating, sharing, and playing.
When we return to BIS January 2, 2014 we will begin Unit 6 Visual Literacy. Log onto Moodle to preview our month of technology learning and to try some of the activities beforehand. Also, we will be utilizing our online communication tools more often beginning in January--Moodle, X2, class blog, webpage.
I hope all of you have a wonderful week of vacation, a safe and healthy New Year, and a Merry Christmas.
Sincerely,
Ms. Thackston-Dodge
Dear 223 Families,
Students have been enjoying a week of technology exploration in Room 223 ILT. Using Tynker and Scratch students are creating algorithms with drag and drop coding blocks to design an animated picture, card, story, movie, or video game. It hasn't been as easy as we thought and we have needed to iterate our code to fix bugs, but we are having fun building, creating, sharing, and playing.
When we return to BIS January 2, 2014 we will begin Unit 6 Visual Literacy. Log onto Moodle to preview our month of technology learning and to try some of the activities beforehand. Also, we will be utilizing our online communication tools more often beginning in January--Moodle, X2, class blog, webpage.
I hope all of you have a wonderful week of vacation, a safe and healthy New Year, and a Merry Christmas.
Sincerely,
Ms. Thackston-Dodge
Monday, November 4, 2013
Week 10 November 4-8, 2013
Dear 223 Families,
Well, we are just about to finish our fourth unit, BIS School Tools. This week we begin with a review of the seven "tools", finishing the School Tools Sites Table on Google Apps, creating a study guide for the assessment, and brainstorming for our glog. All of our assessments are open-notes, so this first lesson was spent entirely on review and study guide.
The two-part assessment is scheduled for the second class meeting (November 6-8). Part I is a written assessment in which students will identify the tool, username and password hints, and the purpose of each tool. For Part II, students will create a glog that teaches a new 6th grade student how to use one of our BIS School Tools. It is scheduled to take 45 minutes, but students are able to begin the glog prior to the test date, and will be provided additional outside-of-class time to complete the glog (due by November 11th).
Be sure to visit our online class on Moodle. Moodle has a description of each lesson, links, and resources we used to complete the lesson. Lessons are posted in advance so that students may preview, review, or make-up classes online.
Hope things are going well for you and your student. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions email me or write a post.
Sincerely,
Ms. Thackston-Dodge
Dear 223 Families,
Well, we are just about to finish our fourth unit, BIS School Tools. This week we begin with a review of the seven "tools", finishing the School Tools Sites Table on Google Apps, creating a study guide for the assessment, and brainstorming for our glog. All of our assessments are open-notes, so this first lesson was spent entirely on review and study guide.
The two-part assessment is scheduled for the second class meeting (November 6-8). Part I is a written assessment in which students will identify the tool, username and password hints, and the purpose of each tool. For Part II, students will create a glog that teaches a new 6th grade student how to use one of our BIS School Tools. It is scheduled to take 45 minutes, but students are able to begin the glog prior to the test date, and will be provided additional outside-of-class time to complete the glog (due by November 11th).
Be sure to visit our online class on Moodle. Moodle has a description of each lesson, links, and resources we used to complete the lesson. Lessons are posted in advance so that students may preview, review, or make-up classes online.
Hope things are going well for you and your student. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions email me or write a post.
Sincerely,
Ms. Thackston-Dodge
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