R2: Digital Conversion: October 2013

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Orson Wells "War of the Worlds" Broadcast 75th Anniversary

Tim Childers of the L&N STEM Academy in Knoxville, TN challenged his teachers today with the following and I would like to do the same with you.

"75 Years ago today Orson Wells changed radio history with his broadcast of "War of the Worlds." The technology of the day (radio) was used to creatively make an entirely unbelievable and implausible idea both believable and plausible in the minds of millions of listeners.

Are you using this story in your lessons today?

How are you using today's technology to transform the lives of your students?"

NPR - 75 years ago, the War of the Worlds started a panic; or did it?
Radio Lab - The War of the Worlds Take a deep dive into one of the most controversial moments in broadcasting history

i3: Digital Conversion Turns 1 Year Old

This week, i3: Digital Conversion turns a year old. Wow, what a year it's been!

Let's look at how people are reading...
Since the inception of the i3 blog there have been 11,654 page views.
Music to My Eyes is the most viewed post with 554 views.
Not only are people in Richland Two and across the United State reading the blog but also from France, Germany, the UK, Poland and many other countries.
The blog is viewed in the Chrome Browser 41% of the time.
60% of people are reading from a Windows device and 15% are on mobile devices.

From our first blog post was announcing Richland Two as a Project Red Signature District; to learning about different apps and tips; to snapshots of how technology is being used in our classrooms the i3 blog hopes to make you inquire about technology integration, ignite your learning of technology integration, and inspires you to keep reaching for the next level of technology integration in your classroom, school, and district!

Happy Birthday, i3: Digital Conversion!

Richland Two ITS, administrators and district staff! Keep up informed about the wonderful technology integration lessons going on in the schools by submitting a Technology Spotlight!

Who should submit a Technology Spotlight?
Administrators, the School Level Instructional Technology Specialist, or District Staff

Who can be featured in a Technology Spotlight?
Teachers, Staff persons, ITS, Administrators, District support staff - ANY Richland TWO employee dong great things with technology!

Fill out the Spotlight Form and send MaryAnn Sansonetti-Wood a few photos or video link.

Friday, October 18, 2013

Chorus and Chromebooks! - Ms. Belch, Kelly Mill Middle

Last week, I spent some time with Ms. Belch, Choral Director, at Kelly Mill Middle School. The class was listening to and singing She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways.

To help the students understand the music and how to sing the song, they discussed what they were singing and the students used Google Drive to recreate the lyrics in their own words. This was the first step in a multi-step process to have the students create a new score. Yes, the students would be creating their own original score of the song. How will they do it you ask? With the shift to Chromebooks, Ms. Belch found NoteFlight to help her students compose music. The students will us Noteflight to put in composition, lyrics, and melody new score created. The students will also be able to collaborate on the different parts of the melody online.

"Noteflight lets you write, play back and share music notation on the web.Noteflight is an easy to use, full-featured application to write, play back and share musical scores. Write sheet music using our award winning notation editor and become part of the world's best online music composition community. Share your scores to get feedback from other composers and musicians and learn from viewing and listening to their shared scores. Noteflight works with all modern web browsers and on many mobile devices, including iPhone, iPad and Android phones and tablets." -Chrome Web Store

Ms. Belch challenged the students to feel the emotion of the original song/score and to create their own version. The class period was filled with singing; engagement in writing and composing; and learning proper singing technique. It made me want to be in middle school again. :)

Are you a fine arts teacher in a school using Chromebooks? A great way to get started is to be sure you are using the Chrome browser on your computer. Be sure to check out the Chrome Webstore to see what apps are available for your students to use that might fit your needs. Also work with your school level Instructional Technology Specialists to help you plan or offer suggestions on where to get started.

Student has Noteflight and lyrics side by side to help write the music.

Ms. Belch has been the Choral teacher at Kelly Mill Middle School for eight years. She is a graduate of the University of South Carolina with a Master of Music.

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

SC Midlands Summit is coming back for a 3rd year!

SAVE THE DATE:

We are doing it again! This year we are focusing on Common Core, the 4 C's, and Innovation with technology. This is a conference you won't want to miss!

We have a great lineup of featured speakers on hand to share their expertise with us. Our confirmed 2014 Presenters are Steve Dembo, Catlin Tucker, Ewan McIntosh, Leslie Fisher, and Tim Childers! Check out our featured speakers page for more information.

Be sure to follow us:

twitter @scmsummit

Google+ +SC Midlands Summit

Questions?
The SC Midlands Summit is hosted by Richland School District Two. Other districts are invited to participate in our planning process and attend the Summit. We are happy to answer any questions. Please e-mail us at scmidlandssummit@gmail.comand we'll get you an answer!