The 3rd grade team at Belvidere wanted a way for their students to complete centers with technology independently.  So, Tyler Stolberg took the recommended centers from the Treasures reading series and embedded technology where appropriate.  They use QR codes for students to easily access websites such as Dogo News, Todays Meet, Webster's Dictionary and more that correlate to the center. They also used several free apps such as Educreations and Raz-Kids during center time as well.  Mr. Stolberg recreates the centers with Google Slides and prints out the directions for student to use and tapes them to the Treasures center tents.  Take a look at some example centers the 3rd grade team have used with their students.

Christina Phyall, Kindergarten teacher at Meadowmere was excited when she heard about Screenchomp.  Screenchomp is a free and very easy to use screencasting app and she knew her students would be able to use it as a way to practice their blended sounds.  She had students create their videos and turn them in using a Google Form. Check out a few videos below by clicking on the pictures!

Want to know how to build centers with technology? We will be offering a summer course on how to do this!  Details to come in the following weeks.
Diane DeLaTorre

Students at GHS have been creating movie trailers about books that they have read for their English classes. Book trailers create opportunities for students to re-enact the story's plot and show their understanding of the events using visual cues such as video clips, pictures, music, and more.  Many students have been using tools available on the MacBook, like iMovie and QuickTime Player, while others have opted to try a web-based tool, Stupeflix, for a simple drag-and-drop solution to combine text, video, and photos into a movie based on their books.  Students had few restrictions when creating their trailers: conveying the overall plot of the book, using a combination of text, voice-overs, music, and video/photos, and making sure that it all matched the overall theme of their chosen book.

Check out this amazing book trailer created by two sophomore students in Ms. Cameron's English class about the book Insignia by S.J. Kincaid. This is a great example of what students can do when given the freedom of choice in completing a project! They chose to use Adobe Premiere and the streets of downtown Kansas City to create an elaborate movie trailer based on the book!  Excellent job!