GRREC Districts Technology Resource Teachers Meeting

877 East Eleventh Avenue

Bowling Green, Kentucky

January 22, 2007

 

Attending

Darthy Bush                             Allen County

Robbie Grizzle              Allen County

Amy Serrano                            Bowling Green Independent School District

Amanda Jordan                        Bowling Green Independent School District

Gary Grant                               Meade County

Tom Bromer                             Warren County

Jeanine Elwood                        Warren County

Gaila Adams                             Bowling Green Independent School District

Sandra Gardner                        Glasgow Independent School District

Lisa Willian                               Hart County

Theresa Banks                          LaRue County

Deana Paden                            LaRue County

Nancy Brandenburg                  Bowling Green Independent School District

Susan Throneberry                   Warren County

Ginger Garmon             Cumberland County

Valerie Stokes              Barren County

Melinda Owens                        Barren County

Melissa Moss                           Barren County

Amy Flanagan              Hardin County

Mary Carruthers                       Hardin County

Marlane Youngblood                Elizabethtown Independent School District

Ann Burden                              Green River Regional Educational Cooperative

Terri Stice                                Green River Regional Educational Cooperative

 

GRREC Announcements

 

Digital Storytelling - http://www.storycenter.org/ - Terri Stice and Ann Burden attended a workshop sponsored by the Center for Digital Storytelling.  The workshop held is 4 consecutive, intensive days of instruction, independent work, and collaboration.  The Green River Regional Educational Cooperative will be offering the Digital Storytelling Workshop; however, the workshop format will be different.  The days will not be consecutive days, but spread over a period of time.  The goal of the workshop is to design and produce a 3-5 minute digital story. Students craft and record first-person narratives, collect still images and music with which to illustrate their pieces, and are guided through computer tutorials which enable them, with teacher support, to edit their own stories.

Earlene Cool, announced, KET has agreed to purchased unitedstreaming for all Kentucky public schools for another school year (2007-2008).  This purchased was made with Title II Part D money.

 Discussion regarding the Interactive Classroom –

      Teachers are looking for examples of what good instruction looks like in the interactive classroom. 

        Discussion about creating a resource CD for teachers. The CD might feature video vignettes showcasing what good instruction looks like in the interactive classroom. 

Barren County

Currently Barren County is in the process of implementing Compass Learning district-wide.  Compass Learning – is the innovative education technology solutions company, delivering research-based, standards-based assessment, aligned PreK-12 curriculum and comprehensive data reporting for improved student achievement.  It also integrates with the MAP testing Barren County has been doing district wide for the past few years. 

 

Warren County

 

Currently installing Destiny Library Manager - brings all your district’s library automation together on one server. Because it’s designed exclusively for K-12, Destiny Library Manager is easily implemented and quickly learned. The browser-based application allows access through any workstation with a supported web browser, through the district WAN, the Internet, or both. 

 

Meade County

Currently finalizing the installation for the VBrick System - VBrick Systems, Inc. provides complete solutions that capture live real-time video, store it and then manage the delivery of the video over local area networks and the Internet. VBrick's award winning standards based solutions provide full screen, full motion, DVD quality viewing on network attached PCs, televisions, or PDAs.

Meade County has agreed to host the GRREC TRT meeting in February to showcase their new video system. 

Hart County

Lisa Willian, the curriculum, instruction and technology specialist at Hart County High School, spoke in reference to the development of interdisciplinary academic/career technical courses to teach required core content.  Specifically, reference was a course being developed and planned to be available for students in the fall on construction and geometry.  For more information or to preview the course you should contact Lisa at lisa.willian@hart.kyschools.us

 

 

Bowling Green Independent Schools

Amy Serrano is currently working with Moodle investigating ways she might use this on-line tool with her students.  Moodle is like an electronic classroom – This  program allows a common place for students to go for many classroom resources.  Using Moodle, you can post new items, assign and collect assignments, post eletroic journals and resources, and more. 

Nancy Brandenburg reported that Potter Gray Elementary is expecting to add three interactive classrooms to their school this spring.

Gaila Adams reported, Parker Bennett Curry has recently completed an upgrade to their lab and will now be compliant to do on-line testing. 

Cumberland County

 

In December Cumberland County hosted their first technology showcase.  It was very successful and they hope to expand next year to include the middle and elementary schools.

 

Cumberland County is the process of renovating their high school.  With that renovation they plan to include adding interactive classrooms to their high school.  Currently talking with the vendors that offer interactive classroom solutions to determine the route they wish to take. 

 

LaRue County

 

LaRue County is currently building a new elementary school, which will result in two of their elementary schools merging into the one building scheduled to open, fall 2007.  Every classroom will be equipped with a mounted interactive board and projector. 

 

Glasgow Independent Schools

 

Sandra Gardner reported that Glasgow is in the process of installing several interactive classrooms in their districts.  The elementary schools will be state-of-the-art including all bells and whistles.  In order to determine the teacher who will get the interactive classroom, the district required teachers to apply and commit to professional development.  Sandra reported that process seem to work well in their district. 

Glasgow High School – is piloting a reading program, Reading Plus The program targets student goals and follows their progress in reaching toward those goals.  Kelly Bell, (email:  Kelly.bell@glasgow.kyschools.us) the high school principal is the contact person who is responsible for the implementation at the high school.

 

 

My Reading Coach – By Mindplay

 

Meade County purchased 10 seats for middle and high school kids and Potter Gray (Bowling Green Independent) purchased a couple of seats for their school too. 

 

       Very expensive product – but well worth the money because non-readers are reading now. 

       For non-readers

       Provides a reading specialist for every child

       Pinpoints deficiencies in student reading skills

       Provides a prescription for each individual child

       100% computer based. 

       Students spend approx. 30 to 45 minutes per day on the program

 

 

Allen County

 

The high school just opened a new science addition to their building.  The classrooms are complete with active boards and projectors. 

 

Seeking feedback in regard to Accelerated Math…No one seems to be using the web-based version.  Other programs being used included Orchard and Number Worlds.  

 

 

 Earlene Cool – KDE

 

As soon as KDE approves the final draft of the RFP for the Technology Integration Specialist grant it will be released.  Expect the timeframe to run similar to the following:  the grant will be due back in toward the end of March, with money to be available July 1, 2007. 

 

Technology Resource Teachers will meet at KTLC on Wednesday, March 7, 2007 from 2:00 – 4:00 Eastern Time in the Convention Center, room #211.

 

KDE is changing the name from Technology Resource Teacher to Technology Integration Specialist. 

 

KDE has launched a new improved website.

 

KTLC (Kentucky Teaching and Learning Conference) will be March 7, 8, & 9 2007.  Registration is on-line. 

 

Elizabethtown Independent

 

Working on getting fiber through-out their district. 

 

Technology skills/knowledge testing for E-town Independent students and teachers.

o       Performance based test which takes approximately 30 minutes to complete. 

o       Addresses Internet searching, PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, and Keyboarding

 

Elizabethtown High School’s award winning video production class has won more awards!  Congratulations on more outstanding projects!

 

Ohio County

 

In the process of replacing student machines with new funding.

 

In the process of dealing with a major recall from Dell on motherboards.

 

A new district wide technician was hired and now on board.

 

Some schools moving from primarily PC platform to MAC platform.

 

Western Elementary adding wireless to their school and plan to add a MAC portable lab.

 

High school has added a music/technology course for students.