Content Area Focus « point a to point b

Linking Design Questions, Instructional Strategies and Technology Tools

This coming school year our professional development program is focused on Marzano’s Art & Science of Teaching. Cross-district teams organized by grade or subject area (“Design Teams”) will be meeting to focus on design questions brought up in the book. Over the course of the next 3-4 years we will undergo district-wide conversations around the [...]

Fear of Google Docs

This fall we will be rolling out Google Apps for Edcuation district-wide. With the snap of a finger, all 12,000 students and staff will have access to Google’s cloud services. OK, so it’s more than the snap of a finger, but with the skillful work of our dedicated IT technicians and developers, it will appear [...]

MUVEs Finally Make Sense in Education

Multi-User Virtual Enrionments (MUVEs) have been around for a number of years. Second Life is by far the most well known. For at least a couple of years I have had a Second Life avatar (Coffee Roffo), and participated in a number of different events “in world”. As hard as I have tried, I have [...]

The Writing Process

Clear, articulate, concise writing is important for our students. The mind of a middle schooler may often be anything but clear, articulate and concise (and that is OK). What strategies can we use to help students acquire and integrate learning of the writing process?

Better Answers is a writing program we are working on [...]

Worksheets and the Internet

Content Tech
Ideas for Technology Use in the Classroom

Using a worksheet to research information on the Internet and fill in the blanks is a popular activity. In its most fundamental state, this is a form of the strategy cues, questions, and advance organizers. Students use questions on the worksheet to (hopefully) guide them through a website [...]

Content Tech: Google Lit Trips Followup

Content Tech
Ideas for Technology Use in the Classroom

A few weeks back in Content Tech we looked at Google Lit Trips as unique way to study literature through geography. In Mrs. Calandra’s English 9R class, we used the Lit Trip as part of their study of The Odyssey by Homer. Reading this book can be [...]

Content Tech: Google Search and the Wonder Wheel

Content Tech
Ideas for Technology Use in the Classroom

You may be noticing a Google theme to Content Tech recently…I’ve been attending a BOCES workshop on the multitude of Google tools available, and the list continues to grow.

There is a new search tool recently released titled Wonder Wheel, that provides a [...]

Content Tech: Google Advanced Image Search

Content Tech
Ideas for Technology Use in the Classroom

Following up on the advanced Google search tip last week, an advanced image search in Google presents some very useful filters. Today we’ll look at one way to do an advanced image search to find copyright-free images.

Items produced by the U.S. Government [...]

Content Tech: Google Advanced Search

Content Tech
Ideas for Technology Use in the Classroom

We all use Google to search for information to help us teach. Have you tried an advanced search to get more of what you are looking for? For example, do you want to find PowerPoint files related to an upcoming unit? What about flash video clips to use [...]

Content Tech: Google Lit Trips

Content Tech
Ideas for Technology Use in the Classroom

Mrs. Calandra’s English 9R class is about to embark on a journey in Google Earth as they read The Odyssey by Homer. Google Lit Trips are very interesting and a new way to teach literature, incorporating the geography of the book. We’re planning to have students create their [...]