District Administration - May 2007 - (Page 20)

BRIEFINGS Curriculum Update Calculator Controlled Robot ANY SCHOOL CAN ENTER THE world of robotics by using graphing calculators and a small programmable car. Entrepreneur and preservice teacher Becky Norland invented a robot car that runs on four AA batteries and can be programmed by using a Texas Instruments graphing calculator. The calculator attaches to the vehicle by a single connection. The TI Robot kits are ready to go; students install wheels and bumpers and plug in a calculator. The robot is quick and simple to program, making it a good classroom activity for math teachers and their middle or high school students. Norland, who ﬁrst became interested in robotics after a school project when she was 13, believes that most schools don’t know how to properly use the graphing calculators they have. At Norland’s Web site, free lessons can be accessed, including Mission to Mars, Turns and Mazes, and Game Day, along with all the BASIC programming instructions necessary for success. Norland says that some classes have actually dressed up the robot cars as animals and programmed them to drive through a jungle-theme maze. By Ken Royal Digital Lesson Planning Preservice teacher Becky Norland holds a TI Robot kit she helped invent. RIALTO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT (Calif.) is using a new product to streamline weekly planning checks by administrators: eChalk’s Lesson Planner, which allows curriculum specialists to direct and guide teacher lesson plans, and principals to review them digitally. Speciﬁc goals can be met, and teachers can get immediate comments and feedback. Lessons can be viewed forward, backward and archived for reuse. Teachers can easily develop and post plans—including standards covered, homework, and resource guides—to parent-accessible class pages so they can keep abreast of classroom work. www.rialtoschools.org www.echalk.com A penholder attachment for the side makes it possible to use a pencil, pen or marker for tracking vehicle paths on the classroom ﬂoor. This summer Norland will oﬀer a larger, ﬂoor-model robot. www.tirobot.com Baltimore Features Video BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC Schools (Md.), one of the nation’s top 25 school districts, has simpliﬁed the process of using video clips to support instruction. Each of the 169 district schools has a video-on-demand server with over 1,200 preloaded Safari Montage videos available in one searchable library. Teachers can search by subject, grade level, state standards and topic. There is no streaming, so the video plays without hesitation. Fiftyﬁve users can access the server at the same time to share the high-resolution clips in either Windows Media Player or QuickTime. Teachers can play entire videos or video clips. Many give Della Curtis, the library and information services coordinator, credit for bringing Safari videos to the district. Her vision always seems light years ahead, says Middlesex Elementary School media specialist Ann Groth. “I believe Superintendent Dr. Hairston was also important, because he listened to Curtis’s idea!” Groth adds. Baltimore County staﬀ recognized the teaching signiﬁcance of the technology as soon as it arrived, and they will oﬀer professional development for teachers to make optimal use of it. www.bcps.orgschools.bcps.org schools/ces/middlesex 20 May 2007 District Administration http://www.tirobot.com http://www.rialtoschools.org http://schools.bcps.org/schools/ces/middlesex http://www.bcps.org http://www.echalk.com http://schools.bcps.org/schools/ces/middlesex

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - May 2007

Contents
Editor’s Letter
Letters
News Update
Inside the Law
Curriculum Update
Administrator Profile
District Profi le
Focal Points for Pre-K8 Math
Games Students Play
Healthy Choices
Tragic Lessons
Learning with Personal Media Players
New Products
Computer Literature
Problem Solution
Professional Opinion
Speaking Out
Online Edge
Calendar of Events
Research Corner

District Administration - May 2007