Gearing up for the TECHNOVATION CHALLENGE! BRING IT!

A couple of weekends ago at a Code.org Workshop, the clear message was of the importance of promoting an awareness of computer science to students of all ages, the high demand for computer programming in the world, the need for it to be offered as courses in our schools, but the one that caught my attention... was the underrepresentation of girls and students of color who actually pursue an education and career in the areas of math, science...

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Google & Office Can Play Nicely- Check Out the Updates!

Medfield's full transition to Google Apps for Education happened this past July, leaving teachers wondering how are they still going to make use of all those Microsoft Word, Excel, and Powerpoints slides??  While you can convert them on upload to Google Drive,  most Office Files lost their formatting- adding to more time needed to fix them. The bottom line: Google and Office just didn't play well together. Well.. here's one technology...

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Highlighting our 1:1 Classrooms for Parents! #AMUST!

Blake Classroom Highlights Session for Parents This year has been one like no other.. it's Blake's first year going completely 1:1 iPad for all grades! The result is some fabulousity in the classrooms. Teachers are transforming their students learning beyond what they could have done pre-mobile device! The learning looks different. The studying can look different. The support for students may look different.   This is where our Parent Highlight...

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Count Medfield in for the Hour of Code!

Computer Science Education Week.org states: There will be 1 million more computing jobs than students over the next 10 years (adding up to $500 billion in salaries) Computing occupations are among the highest-paying jobs for new graduates. Yet fewer than 3% of college students graduate with a degree in computer science. Fewer than 20 percent of AP Computer Science students are women. Fewer than 10% are Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino. See...

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PTA: Back Up Your Work in Explain Everything & Notability

Attention all Students:  I want to remind you about the importance of backing up your work particularly when using Explain Everything and Notability. Many students have stopped by my office after their iPad crashes! Even if you have iCloud setup, you must MUst MUST follow these steps to save your work in these two apps.  Explain Everything only saves locally to your iPad. It does not save to iCloud. Therefore, you will...

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We'll Go Somewhere Where There's CLAYMATION!

Wallace and Gromit, The California Raisins, oh no and can't forget Mr. Bill... Claymation has a long history dating back to 1897!  Like anything, it has evolved over time especially with the insert of a mobile device, the iPad. Let's take a peek into Mrs. Delaney's 6th Grade Art Class to see how it's changed! By the time I came into the Art room, the process was already in midstream. Students were grouped together to work as a production...

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New! Parent Workshop Series: All About Google

Our parent community has asked! And we're responding! As important as it is to provide professional development and support to staff and training to students, do not forgot one other key component.. PARENTS! Just think.. with Medfield's move to a digital world of communication, workflow and creation to prepare students with 21st Century Skills, parents not only need to be informed, but also educated with what we're asking students to do in our schools! This...

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CaptureBlake- our new photo-sharing community blog!

                                October is Connected Educator's Month.... but what about including how we as educators can connect with our students too? At Blake MS, we launched a new blog called CaptureBlake. The idea behind it is to take advantage of everyone's access to a mobile camera & use it to capture life as a Blaker! It works like this..students...

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Follow our Journey through HASHTAGS!

Blake MS has caught Twitter Fever! A big push has come from the principal, Nat Vaughn (@nat_vaughn) who encourages teachers to use it to share their students' work and experiences, for connecting with other educators professionally and to help build a school community. It's been a wonderful way to share the many fieldtrips students take to places like Boston, Washington DC, and ... the 7th Grades' week-long trip to Lake George called Nature's...

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"I Survived Tech Bootcamp Day!" said every 6th-7th Grade Blaker!

With the 6th and 7th graders now entering in the 1:1 iPad journey,their teachers thought the best course of action was to designate one full "Tech Bootcamp" day during these early weeks --making sure everyone had their iPads setup correctly and taking time to introduce their new workflows and apps.  A side note: You might be thinking, well what does #HackersWednesday and #TechAttack really mean? One thing you'll notice about...

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Bienvenido Vamos a clase española con su ipad!

Our first week of the 2014-15 school year has been extremely hectic for Blake Middle School students with getting to know their new teachers, possibly a new school and  learning with a new tool- the iPad!  Yes, this year also brings over 700 mobile devices into the school with the expansion  from 1:1 iPads at the  8th grade only to now including all grades. So..things went from 0 to 100.. 300 quickly! As you...

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Get Ready. Get Setup .....

The 2014-15 School Year is right around the corner!  There is mucho excitement about Blake MS going 1:1 iPads for the entire school! That's right.. 6th.. 7th... and 8th graders will all have iPads in hand. Prior to school starting, there are a few things students should do to help setup their iPads for the first day. Mr. Vaughn has email detailed information about the following: 1. Creating your own school non-credit card Apple ID   ...

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Memorial School is Representing at the Better Together Conference!

This Fall, the MA School Librarian Association (MSLA) and MASSCUE are sponsoring a professional development event with projects that emphasis deeper learning and the collaboration between librarians, technology integration specialists and classroom teachers while tackling the Common Core. Well,  Randie Groden, Memorial's Librarian, Julie Colantoni, First Grade Teacher and myself- Diane Horvath, TIS will be presenting a transformation of...

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What Do You Wonder About?

What Are Your Wonderings? The first graders at Memorial School have a lot of them! They're wondering about stars, hurricanes, spring, caves. You name it. They're wondering about it. I bet you are wondering why we're doing some much wondering?! Well Memorial's Teacher-Librarian Randie Groden (@randiegroden) is revamping the Big 6 research project to the Stripling Model of Inquiry- with the focus on learning how to ask good questions...

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Digital Distraction Management Tips

Digital Distraction Management Tips View more lists from Lisa Johnson...

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Look Who's Talking?!

What's all the talk about creativity on the iPad? Well one of the simplest ways to add creativity to any lesson or activity is by making an image talk in two quick steps. That's right, first you'll choose an image -anything in your camera roll or draw your own (like Sketchbook express or Drawing Carl). Second, use an app like  Chatterpix or Yakit to add a mouth or face and record your voice! Voila, C'est a piece de resistance! Another...

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Redesigning the 6th grade team!

The Koala Cluster got a face-lift! After a year long pilot using the Nexus tablets, looks like the 6th grade team maybe moving onto the iPad next year. We had to  have a little fun as we concluded the final Nexus workshop...

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R-E-S-P-O-N-S-IBILITY!

Every month, Memorial School holds a very special assembly called the Get Along Gathering to promote social learning. This month's theme tackled the topic of RESPONSIBILITY! and Mrs. Colantoni's first graders stepped right up to the task! And this time around.. we tried something new! Instead of playing the same ole tune (get it- hahaha) of just drawing and writing a sentence to share... the first graders turned to drama and their acting...

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