National Middle School Association October 31, 2008

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Technology and Designof the 21st Century Classroom

Conference InsiderConference Insider Staff

Students from two Douglas County Schools served as the Conference In-

sider reporters for the NMSA 2008 Conference.

Students from Sierra Middle School in Parker, Colorado conducted inter-

views, wrote articles and took pictures. The Friday crew included: Jed Palmer

(teacher), Taylor Fischer, Meredith Hog-gatt, James Kadolph, Ahren Moydell,

Kyra O’Neill and Abbey PhillipsStudents from Castle Rock Middle

School in Castle Rock, Colorado pro-vided video coverage. The Friday crew

included: John Veit (teacher), Cami Sherwood, Lisa Wetzig and

Courtney Cosgrove.

by James Kadolph and Meredith Hoggatt

When you think of a classroom you usually think of a chalkboard and desks in rows. In the 21st Century classroom you do most of your work on a laptop and use a Prometheus touch screen board. For science, you can look under the microscope and view it on a flat screen T.V. For partner projects, there is a special room where there is a table perfect for two people. There is also a lot of color from red to violet, and most of the walls are white boards so you can write on it. Also in some classrooms, you were able to sit on beanbag chairs and on the floor.

Most classrooms have a computer or two, but this class is full of computers. Every student

has one. All students were given a laptop and the different teachers had varying projects they were working on. Ms. Straayer and her class form Sagewood Middle School were working on an iMovie project. She said, “This classroom has lots of technology opportunities and tons of potential and excellent ways to show what we know and learn new things… this is the classroom of the future.”

The 21st Century Classroom is not only about technology, but it has superb design as well. The room has three smaller rooms and one larger main room. There are many colors and all the windows have a different color of glass. The

walls are all white and a little red, and the majority of the white walls are dry erase boards. The only thing some of Ms.Straayer’s students and she herself would like more is natural light and some more space. Students work on desks, beanbags, tables and stools. The chairs, desks, stools and tables have a modern design, the sleek white and silver.

“Technology helps students learn better, but, in any environment the best students will always learn, technology will speed up the process and will always be helpful,” said Jim Collins, Friday’s keynote speaker. Hopefully this classroom will change the classrooms of today for the better and students will learn in a more exciting way. Hope in the future you can enjoy this technology too.

National Middle School Association October 31, 2008

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Video Insider: October 31, 2008Students from Castle Rock Middle School created a video of Day 2 of the NMSA 2008 Conference. In-cluded are reactions to the Jim Collins Keynote Address and highlights of the 21st Century Classroom. Check the NMSA website for more information. http://www.nmsa.org/annual/

Full Sized Videos are available at http://www.schooltube.com/categories/244/NMSA-2008

Learning Outside the School EnvironmentEducational Travel Companies provide enrichment trips

There are many opinions on educational traveling but in my opinion the good things out-weigh the bad. In an everyday run of the mill classroom students don’t and aren’t as willing to learn as well as they could, because it is much more fun and it’s easier to comprehend if you learn it hands-on. “We take education on the road to provide real life experiences which support classroom learning!” Say’s Dixie Smith from School Tours of America.

Through educational traveling you can incorporate history, social studies, art, drama, science, math, and many more subjects into everyday experiences. There are many, many tours to go on through a variety of companies. For example Disney provides tours through all of the Disney parks! They are 35% off the front gate price. Charles Coburn describes the Disney tours as “ Not just a tour, but a memorable life experience! The world is their classroom and they can apply what they’re taught to real life experiences.”

Both Educational Tours INC. and School Tours of America offer tours to all over the US such as DC, New York, Orlando, Boston,

Williamsburg, Plymouth, and Salem. The tours cost between $100 and $2,500, depending on where you live and the trip’s length. Every school should give serious thought into fitting an educational tour into their budget, because it gives the strength to understand the things they learn in school and see how they are put to use in the real world.

by Taylor Fischer and Kyra O’Neill

National Middle School Association October 31, 2008

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Toys and Games In the Classroom?Improving Middle School education with creative activities by Ahren Moydell and Abbey Phillips

One of the school rules: No games, no electronics, and no toys. In the past toys and games were not considered to be educational but just mere distractions. If kids were found with these they were stripped of the novelty but what if there was a toy that was educational and fun? Would schools allow them? Toys or Educational props? This is the main question. Many people now are saying that they help in the classroom. Will the school districts accept the fact that fun is educational or will they be too stuck in the past? The fact of the matter is that the future is here and as time is increasing we should follow it. Here at the NMSA Convention many new ideas are thrown out for teachers to see and take hold of. A 7-year loyal customer and employee of K-nex, Robert said, “Imagine you have something in a text book. You

don’t understand because you can’t visualize it. With these you can have a model. It has high interest and you can see how it works. I have been educating in classrooms for 30 years and been working with K-nex for 7. They have made teaching so much easier!” For only $250 you can buy a classroom set of K-nex. It seems to be well worth the cost for a toy because it guides you into a deeper understanding of your learning. When you’re putting off doing your homework and playing a game instead, have you ever thought that you could actually be learning? Games like Monopoly teach you how to deal with money, and games by Unnecessary Entertainment Corporation help you in class. The various games like Four Squares board game can help you learn about the different food groups, and Highest Power

board game that teaches you the responsibilities and requirements of the United States government. Jodine Hubbard, the actual creator of the games said, “The games are good for people that can’t read well and you can learn and have fun at the same time. The games are good because you challenge people and ask each other questions. It makes you have to discuss what’s going on. You get to learn without having to think about the subject your doing.” Each board game is $36.99, but are said to be well worth it. They last a long time and students will love them. Legos is a common name amongst children and adults alike. Everybody knows Legos as the building block toy. You never would have thought that they are educational too. Although the Robotix kit is somewhat expensive at $1400 for a classroom set of 12, when students see the familiar Legos symbol they will have no idea that they are actually learning. Brandy Pudlick said, “They can work in teams of 2 and work on science, engineering, and math. In younger grades there is a booklet that takes you through problems, tells you what to build, and asks you questions. Every kid likes Legos.” Toys and Games in school? Its up to the schools to decide, but these companies are not going down without a fight.

National Middle School Association October 31, 2008

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Do You Have a CSI in Your Classroom?Investigating Forensic Science Techniques by Taylor Fischer and Kyra O’Neill

Bored of Life Science? Aren’t you tired of the same curriculum year after year? I know your students would appreciate some diversity to their everyday lessons. Maybe adding a little of the fun, hands-on, CSI Forensics Science course would liven your day up. “Forensic Science is the power of observation. Your students will learn to observe everything in their surroundings.” Diane De Sequera tells the inexperienced teachers.

In this course the students would participate in many labs, interesting activities and fun projects about crime scene investigations, most of which involve tracing fingerprints and analyzing them, hair and fiber examining, inspecting DNA, and studying the elements of blood spatters. The teachers got to experience an activity that their students would be taught about analyzing blood scatter.

The teachers had to calculate the angle of the spatter, the distance it was from the butcher paper, and the lines of consequence. With this information they could go onto match a weapon to the crime and the

approximate time the felony was committed. The “students” cut pieces of string and measured to angles of all the lines where the blood was spattered. The lines were taped down and then finally when all the lines had been calculated the center of the blood spatter could be seen clearly.

Gina Gamnis told me, “I got some really good ideas to use at the end of my Life Science unit. My students should most likely enjoy the lines of consequence project as much as I did.” Hopefully many teachers are considering adding some forensic activities into their regular classes. The labs sounded very enjoyable and the projects, such as “Homecoming Homicide” absolutely sounded like an 8th grade project any student would enjoy. It’s too bad my science teacher wasn’t here to discover this awesome course because I would definitely pay more attention in science class if we were learning about lines of convergence and how to lift a print from a real live crime scene.

National Middle School Association October 31, 2008

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Very Cool Brain Compatable ActivitiesNew activities to help engage your students by James Kadolph and Meredith Hoggatt

Did you know the brain is 78% water? And we learn best teaching others? In this session, teachers learned a few brain compatible activities that we can use to teach each other. There were a lot of people, but everyone was engaged. Kathy Hunt Ullock, the presenter hopes “everyone walks away from this class

with at least one out of the ten” One of the first activities the class did was the communication cards. You got in a group and the teacher decided a topic. Then the group picked five cards with pictures that they could use to describe what

they thought about the topic. Many teachers like Ann Stillwell really enjoyed this activity. She said, “I like the creativity and can hardly wait to use these in my classroom.” Another activity was one with index cards that was used to synthesize information that had been learned. You made nine note cards with different ideas or words on them and you shuffled them up and made a three by three grid. Then you have to write sentences for the first row, second row, third row, first column, second column, third column and then the two diagonals. In this one there was many variations and when trying it out some of the teachers found it pretty difficult. One of the many variations was to be in groups or individual. This was a very interesting session and many teachers got a lot out of it and the activities could definitely be used, the teacher just needs to be aware of kids who don’t like moving around and talking in front of people.

What Does This MeanHelping Students Understand by Ahren Moydell and Abbey Phillips

Life long lessons, change, preparation. These are qualities a teacher should give a student. “What Does This Mean?” the title of a powerful presentation. It means how can the teacher get something to really “sink in” for their students, to give them an understanding.

Christy Marrella-Davis provided an inspirational speech for some lucky history teachers. She follows the saying of “no child left behind”. She teaches students of all variations. From students with Asperger’s to the class overachievers and makes sure everyone understands. Christy said, “ There is nothing more important to me than knowing where you came from and where you’re going.” You can tell she is passionate about her students but she is even more passionate about her

students understanding their past to get farther in the future.

When a teacher comes to their class they should follow the 3 rules, BDA. This means BEFORE you read ask yourself why am I going to read this? DURING reading, what should I do or think about while I am reading this? AFTER reading what should I remember as I walk away from this. Christy claims that this has helped her students so much. Fellow history teacher and devoted listener, Andrew Roundy states, “The biggest problem is reading. I am going to try to use the before, during, after technique.

“What Does This Mean?” You have to guide the students but let them figure it out by themselves.