http://blogs.4j.lane.edu/chinn/?p=1013
Hi Everyone,
I hope you all had a refreshing three day weekend. I took the time to play with Gracie and Josie and tried to get outside while it was sunny. Hoping we’ll get more sun in the days to come!
Eight items of note for this week.
• Year End Check Lists – Attached, and soon in your mailbox, is the year end checklist of items that must be completed by teachers before you leave for the summer. If you need any boxes for when you begin packing up loose items (ie: papers, books, desk items, manipulatives, toys, etc…), let Crystal know and she can provide you with some. All loose items must be boxed up so they can be easily moved when rooms are cleared out for summer cleaning.
• Changes to OAKS (grades 3-8) for 2012 − 2013 – The State Board has approved two major changes in terms of OAKS administration for grades 3-8 beginning next year:
1. Students will have 2 OAKS opportunities to test in each subject area. Third opportunities will be obsolete for grades 3-8; 3rd opportunities will remain for high school due to the high stakes nature of the test. This reduction is designed, in part, to help schools start to transition to the Smarter Balanced Common Assessment in 2014-15 where it appears students will have one opportunity to test in each subject.
2. Explicit written parent consent will be required to retest students in grades 3-8 that Met or Exceeded on their first OAKS opportunity. There will be more details at a later time surrounding the policies and procedures ODE has set forth regarding parental notification and obtaining consent.
There will be more to process around these changes, but this district wanted to give everyone a heads up at this time.
• LaneKids Poster contest- $50 prize – United Way and the new parenting education hub, LaneKids, are sponsoring a poster contest for kids under 12. I know it’s not great timing but I wanted to give you the opportunity to participate if you choose. Attached is a simple flier in Spanish and English.
• iPad Case Selection, Due Wednesday – Teacher iPads have been ordered, but we also need to order cases. There are two styles of cases district staff recommend for the basic rear protection case. One is a softer to the touch and one is a bit more solid feeling. Let me know your preference by Wednesday and also your preference of color. The softer case comes in black, blue, red and orange and and harder one comes in clear, dark blue, magenta, and smoke. If I don’t hear from you, we’ll order a variety and you can choose from what we have.
• Teachers can develop apps to meet their needs – Since teachers will be getting iPads to take home over the summer, if any of your are looking for a project or are feeling entrepreneurial over the break, check out this article on how teachers can develop apps to meet their own particular needs. Chicago high-school teacher Jeff Scheur couldn’t find an education mobile application that met his needs, so he worked with a developer to create NoRedInk, a free Web-based app that allows teachers to personalize grammar lessons, track student progress and provide instant feedback. This article highlights Scheur’s app and includes links to app-development guidelines and wizards for educators to use to create their own apps.
• School studies the benefits of iPads in the classroom – Here’s one other iPad article about a district that did a pilot study on whether students benefited from using iPads in the classroom. They found that the use of iPads with students led to increased class participation and engagement, improved behavior in the classroom and increased attendance as well as left a positive impact on student achievement.
• Technology enhances, doesn’t replace great teaching – To balance out and put into perspective the previous two articles, remember that technology can change schools, but it can’t replace great teaching.
• Engaging activities to end the school year – Rebecca Alber in this blog post offers six end-of-year projects that include her three essential elements of engaging classroom activities: choices, creativity and constructing. The projects she suggests include writing commercials, on-campus field trips and students teaching other students a favorite topic or skill.
Nine and a half more kid days! Have a fab week, everyone!
Allan