Month: March 2011

grade8, humanities, technology1 Comment

Creating Graphic Novels

Deirdre Bailey

Earlier in the year our grade 8 Humanities students completed a project where they retold a chosen novel in a graphic novel form. Our two grade 8 Humanities teachers, Dave Scott and Jaime Groeller, recently compiled all the materials they used for this project into an “integrated inquiry resource.” If you have an iPad, iPod Touch or iPhone, you can click here to get the ePub document that contains all the steps of the project, with videos and rubrics. Creating a Graphic Novel – Grade 8 Humanities Created by Dave Scott Jaime Groeller Below is an brief overview of the … Continue reading Creating Graphic Novels

professional_development, technology1 Comment

Digital Publishing Discussion Follow Up

Deirdre Bailey

Thanks to all those who joined us for our first Innovation in Education “Think Tank” discussion event. For those who joined us (either face to face or digitally) you’ll know the content. The resources and ideas presented by Dave Scott and Neil Stephenson were: The 2011 Horizon Report The Future of the Book Video Video from High Tech High [Rigour] The digital resource website created by CSS and shared by Dave and Neil can be found here. As a quick review: Dave and Neil shared ideas around digital publishing in three areas: Student Publishing Teachers Publishing for Students Teachers Publishing … Continue reading Digital Publishing Discussion Follow Up

professional_development, technologyLeave a comment

Digital Publishing Discussion: Today!

Deirdre Bailey

Today we’re holding our first Innovation and Education “think tank” discussion! This initiative is designed to get a range of educational stakeholders together to discuss emerging ideas and possibilities in education, particularly around different technologies and their implication for the classroom. We have planned our first “Innovation in Education” event for Wednesday, March 23rd, from 7:00 – 8:30pm. If you can’t join us in person, you can participate in the event here. A grade 8 teacher from the Calgary Science School, David Scott, and PD/Outreach Coordinator Neil Stephenson will be the facilitators for our first event. David and Neil have … Continue reading Digital Publishing Discussion: Today!

professional_development1 Comment

Inquiry Book Study: Week Six

Deirdre Bailey

Welcome to chapter 6 of our inquiry book study: Making Learning Whole: How Seven Principles of Teaching can Transform Education Chapter 6: Learn from the Team Guest Blogger: Joanna Sanders Bobiash I am a French Immersion Middle Years Educator and Teacher Librarian in Regina, Saskatchewan. I received my B.Ed. from the University of Regina. I am passionate about the integration of technology into the classroom to enable students to think and work together in new ways. I have documented my journey through my blog entitled “My Adventures in Educational Technology” . In 2009, I won the $20,000 “Best in Class” … Continue reading Inquiry Book Study: Week Six

technology5 Comments

How to create a Digital Publishing Culture

Deirdre Bailey

Over the last few weeks a few of our staff have begun experimenting with the potential of digital publishing using ePub, both for students and teachers. We are excited about the possibilities, and we imagine digital publishing being used for: Students publishing their own fiction writing within the school community Students creating images and videos to embed into written documents (i.e., student developed ‘Khan Academy’) Teachers creating integrated digital resources to share promising practices (i.e., multimedia teaching materials) Teachers creating unit guides for students (combination of text, visuals, videos and links) Why create ePubs? ePubs have a number of functions … Continue reading How to create a Digital Publishing Culture

grade7, humanities, technology3 Comments

Creating Trailers for Short Stories

Deirdre Bailey

At a recent PD day, our staff had a lengthy discussion about iMovies. We’ve been a 1:1 school for 5 years, and had Mac labs for years before that – so our teachers have been doing digital storytelling in various forms for quite a while now. As the examples and uses of iMovie have spread through our campus over the last few years, more and more teachers and students have been using iMovies as a way to demonstrate understanding. When used in the proper way, we feel digital storytelling is a very powerful and creative way for students to express … Continue reading Creating Trailers for Short Stories

environmental-education, grade6, math, technologyLeave a comment

Boreal Math Part 2

Deirdre Bailey

Recently we shared some posts about a grade 6 math problem built around the question: Are there enough trees in Canada’s Boreal Forest to be considered the lungs of the Earth? In order to solve this problem, students were given a few pieces of background information and worked in small groups to formulate the specific calculations they’d need to solve to answer the question. You can read about the first part of the project here. One of the two grade 6 teachers, Erin Couillard, has just completed a second portion of the Boreal Forest problem this time answering the question: … Continue reading Boreal Math Part 2

community_post, professional_development2 Comments

Inquiry Book Study: Week Five

Deirdre Bailey

Another weekly post for our Inquiry Book study. You can get to all the posts and comments through this link. Week Five: Uncover the Hidden Game Writer: Sarah MacGregor I am a U of C grad, BGS and soon BEd, specializing in Early Childhood Education. I am passionate about inquiry and enjoy practicing on my three year old son. I’m currently in my last semester and looking forward to an exciting career in teaching. I have a sole publication to date and you can find it here. I live by the mantra, become the lesson you would teach. You can … Continue reading Inquiry Book Study: Week Five

leadership, school-cultureLeave a comment

Exemplary Teaching and Learning

Deirdre Bailey

As a charter school, we have a special mandate in Alberta to provide specialized learning experiences for students in keeping with our school’s vision, mission and charter as well as to share exemplary teaching practices and innovations with other schools. Although we have this common mandate, each charter school is unique. Over a period of several months beginning with our staff retreat at the beginning of the school year in August, the Calgary Science School has been reflecting on our mandate and in the spirit of inquiry, we have been exploring the question, ” What does exemplary teaching and learning … Continue reading Exemplary Teaching and Learning

grade9, humanities, technology2 Comments

Explaining the Charter with Common Craft

Deirdre Bailey

Our grade 9 students recently completed a project where they were asked to take a complex idea (the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms) and explain it in a short, simple and entertaining format. To accomplish this, they used the Common Craft video format. What is Common Craft? Here’s the description of what they do from their website: Our videos may surprise you. They’re short and simple. They use paper cut-outs. They cover subjects “in Plain English.” But lurking under the simple surface are lessons that have been crafted with great care. Despite our fun and lighthearted style, we take … Continue reading Explaining the Charter with Common Craft