Technology Integration

Mr. William's Google Earth Website Featured on Google Earth Blog

2012-01-27T13:50:00.001-06:00

Mr. Williams’ Google Earth website was recently featured on several blogs including Google Earth Blog. Since the posting, Mr. Williams’ geteach.com has received thousands of visitors from over 120 countries.

Links:
Google Earth Blog Post- “Using Google Earth in the Classroom”
geteach.com

Westwood High School Student Wins the District’s Course Catalog Contest

2011-10-26T16:27:00.003-05:00

Chloe S., a Westwood High School 10th grader in Mrs. Hovenkamp’s Web Technologies class, had the winning entry in the RRISD 2011-2012 District Course Catalog Contest. RRISD has been hosting this competition for the past several years, headed up by Ms. Rosemary Kelly, Director of Guidance and Counseling. Teachers in our district are invited to provide students with the opportunity to participate, and there are generally a few hundred entries from our middle schools and high schools. Chloe’s catalog design, which she created using Adobe PhotoShop, is already in print. Ms. Kelly visited Westwood High recently to award Chloe with a poster-sized framed copy of her winning entry and a pizza party for her Web Technologies class

Ballet 1-4 and Jazz 2 Use PREZI to ImPRESS their PEERS with Multimedia History Presentations

2011-10-26T08:48:00.007-05:00

Karen Searles opened history lessons on Ballet and Jazz with a Prezi presentation. In groups, the students has to research their own history topics and make their own presentation to the class. Jazz 2 and Ballet 1-2 had to pick a famous dancer, choreographer, production, or era of jazz/ballet dance. Ballet 3-4 had to pick a famous ballet story. All Prezi's had to incorporate pictures and videos.

Ballet History Prezi link:

http://prezi.com/t31pyv9fve7y/ballet-history/

Jazz Dance History Prezi link:

http://prezi.com/bumw6dhd6ikg/jazz-dance-history/

Student Work:

Jazz 1 (Gene Kelly)--> http://prezi.com/iyvzro7xioy5/copy-of-gene-kelly/

Jazz 2 (Wade Robson)--> http://prezi.com/wca9wsjy-1jj/copy-of-wade-robson-by-alissaveronika/

Ballet 1 (Michel Fokine)--> http://prezi.com/bhn5rrdq1sbz/copy-of-michel-fokine/

Ballet 4 (Romeo & Juliet ballet)--> http://prezi.com/gnh2deby2toj/romeo-and-juliet/

Karen Searles

Dance Teacher-Academy of Visual and Performing Arts

Josh Williams Uses Google Earth for Instruction

2011-10-24T16:33:00.006-05:00

Mr. Williams' Teacher Web

Piano and Technology

2011-10-24T16:29:00.003-05:00

Piano Performances are in the middle of their semester notation projects:

Piano 2 students are doing an arrangement of any holiday song and we will make a CD recording of all the arrangements when they are finished.

Piano 3 students have analyzed "Theme & Variations on Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star," by Mozart and are writing their own Theme & Variation keyboard composition on a children's tune. They will each perform their composition for the class the first week in November.

Piano 4 students are composing an original composition for any keyboard instrument in a mode (Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian) and they, too, will perform their composition for thye class the first week of November.

Students also are usiing Musition (theory program) and Auralia ("ear training" program) to improve their individual skills.

Pam Kalmbach

Westwood Physics Technology

2011-10-24T14:41:00.002-05:00

Kerry Johnson, a physics teacher at Westwood, uses technology on a regular basis:

I use Google Docs to give quizzes (I know there's Moodle, but Google Docs is very quick and easy to set up for a quick 5 question quiz).

I have my students go to ExploreLearning.com and do Gizmos on subjects we're learning in Astronomy and Physics.

I had students create podcasts to present how they would set up vacation packages to the different planets (kind of like listening to a commercial).

I am exploring ways to have the students use their smart phones (and laptops for those who don't) for polling, quizzes, and informational games.

I also have them research using laptops for in-class projects like creating scale models of the Solar System.