Middle School
- Carolyn Curtis - Solution
- Ms. Curtis tackled her problem using Palm Pilots loaded with the software miniMusic. She was able to give almost every student a hand held device with the software suite which allowed her students to practice pitch on their own while she worked with the choir at large.
Review her problem. Tags: High School, Middle School, Music, Hand Held Devices
- Catherine Colagross - Problem
- Catherine Colagross is a high school drama teacher at Oxford Middle School. Ms. Colagross saw a lack of communication in her school community between students, teachers and parents.
View her solution. Tags: Middle School, Community
- Catherine Colagross - Solution
- Ms. Colagross convinced her peers to form a Web Ambassador program where teachers learned how to create web pages through School Center and how to support and coach their peers in website development. Now more 95% of the teachers have web pages with information like homework grids and content expectations.
Review her problem. Tags: Middle School, Community Portal, School Center, Web Development, Technology Support
- Kelly Deboer - Problem
- Kelly Deboer is a computer teacher at Immaculate Heart of Mary in Grand Rapids, MI. Ms. Deboer saw in her students an apathy towards social studies, in particular history. She saw that the work the students were required to do in their class didn't line up with real world problem solving and team building.
See her solution. Tags: Social Studies, Middle School, History
- Kelly Deboer - Solution
- Ms. Deboer used a claymation, using digital imaging and video editing, to create a project that required her students to analye important historical events and their effects. She had the students conduct Internet research, use the program Inspiration to create outlines and then use digital images to create the animated videos.
Review her problem. Tags: Social Studies, Middle School, Video, Digital Imaging, History, Animation
- Laura Glish - Problem
- Laura Glish is a physical science teacher at Baker Middle School in Troy, MI. She found that her students understood the effects of physical phenomenon such as waves and magnets, but had a hard time conceptualizing the cause.
See her solution. Tags: Middle School, Science, Physical Science
- Laura Glish - Solution
- Ms. Glish used animation to help illustrate concepts using digital video cameras and the programs FrameThief, iStopMotion and iMovie. Her students draw out a concept on paper under the digital video camera and then sequence the animation together using the different programs. They would also add titles and music, then create a QuickTime movie that they could take with them at the end of the project.
Review the problem. Tags: Middle School, Science, Video, Digital Imaging, Animation, Physical Science
- Marilyn Western - Problem
- Marilyn Western is a 5th and 6th grade computer teacher in Mt. Pleasant, MI. She has found that students have had a difficult time understanding the reasons for the seasons, confusing concepts about the Earth's orbit and tilt and how they affect the seasons. She also has felt that the students often have a hard time understanding concepts that are not directly related to them.
See her solution. Tags: Elementary, Middle School, Science
- Marilyn Western - Solution
- Ms. Western devised a lesson plan using technology that makes the experience of learning about the seasons active and personal to her students. Using Weather.com she has her students record sunrise and sunset and use Microsoft Excel to plot the length of days for an entire season. Ms. Western also uses digital images to take a picture of a stationary object on the playground over a series of eight weeks to illustrate the shadow growing or shrinking.
Review the problem. Tags: Elementary, Middle School, Science, Digital Imaging, Graphs, Animation, Excel
- Traci Holboth - Problem
- Traci Holboth is junior high computer teacher in the Mount Morris Consolidated School District. After becoming the media specialist, Ms. Holboth felt unqualified to help her peers with their technology needs.
See her solution. Tags: Middle School, Technology Support
- Traci Holboth - Solution
- Ms. Holboth started using students proficient in different technologies for just-in-time support that her peers needed. As the students gained more confidence and the teachers more trusting of this support, the tech aides became a more enfranchised group, with training sessions and technology instruction to broaden their areas of expertise.
View the problem. Tags: Middle School, Technology Support