Even more Powerful
It is official, we have upgraded to PowerSchool version 7.
Besides all of the great "behind the scenes" changes Pearson made (all Java, etc.) there are some great changes that Teachers and Parent/Students will notice right away.
Here is a video about the major changes to the Teacher Gradebook!
Also see this cute clip about the "Making of PS 7"
iLike the iPad for day-to-day
I attended the PSUG of Michigan Summer Conference in Battle Creek, June 27-28.
My friends from Brother Rice let me borrow a gen1 iPad (thanks Br. Rice!).
I used it both days of the conference and while not everyone agrees (see 10 Things Netbooks still do better than iPads), I found it to be an adequate replacement for carrying my notebook.
One of the things I kept thinking about during the conference was "wouldn't this be a great device to use if I was still in school..." Bingo! I think the iPad or a like device is only a year or two from changing students' lives.
Here are a few things I found:
- Middle School Math a Perfect Fit... (iPADModo)
- 10 iPad Apps that Preschoolers will Enjoy... (Examiner)
- Replacing a Pile of Textbooks with an iPad (NY Times)
SMARTBoard pictures
As promised, here are some pictures of our SMARTBoards in action:
Jen is using Google Earth to show the students an aerial shot of St. Regis, the students tried to guess when the image was captured based on where cars are parked, if students are on the playground and shadow locations!
1st SMARTBoard classroom done!
A lot of extra time and effort has finally paid off: 1 down, 2 to go!
The tech team would like to thank Alison Gleeson and Garry Arbuckle for their time and talent in pulling together all the information and people needed to make this project happen. Also, thanks is due to the private donors (including the Moms and Dads Club) for making this effort financially possible!
We would also like to recognize the 3 teachers who have been extremely patient while their rooms are being worked on: Kathy Balch, Michelle Lee and Jen Roman.
For details on the equipment that was used in each classroom see the scope of work (2008-001).
For details on the specific SMARTBoards chosen by the team, click here.
Pictures to follow soon!