from john neiers ... "The quote: If you don't have the time to do it right, when will you have the time to do it over." ... not original, I picked it up along the way ...but they are words to live by.

PCI
-- A Compendium of Tried and True Ideas --
Proven Curriculum Ideas

In teaching with technology for over 20 years, I have seen many proven curriculum ideas that elicit smiles not tears ... send ONE GOOD IDEA that is a PCI to me at bergen@chapin.edu and I would be glad to add it to this list, as long as it is clear from the content that it is GOOD and it is PROVEN ;-) -- steve bergen --
p.s. I have also started compiling a summary of strategies for teaching with computers.

PCI CHAT ROOM DISCUSSION: Instead of conducting the traditional classroom discussion of a book or any other theme, conduct the same discusson in a chat room using laptops and asking students to spread out around campus
PCI COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD: We know of one geography teacher who requires each student to travel around the world and find a wide variety of specific facts about many different countries that they visit during their online journies; recently, he incorporated technology into this proven project by adding a webquest component with many online resources and by taking photos of each student in appropriate outfits for that country and having them use Photoshop skills to make it appear as if located in that country
PCI FACTORY STYLE. We have used this style for almost 20 years, the days of the Apple II computer. With one computer hooked up to a big screen, a teacher can conduct this style game with a variety of software programs. Each group designates one scribe, one runner, and one person who stands (the boss); one more role can be the roamer who can get out of his/her seat to see the screen more closely. Teacher throws challenges to the class. Answers are written on cards and posted in front of the room. One scoring system is to award 6 points to the first group if answer is correct, otherwise zero. The second group gets 5 points, if answer is correct, otherwise zero. And so on. You may well see this teaching style with The Factory by Sunburst at Summercore,but it can be adopted to many other software programs: one computer, one big screen,groups of 3-4 students scattered around the room,teams competing against other teams.It works!
PCI FORREST GUMP PICTURE: Students create a Forrest Gump picture in Photoshop in which the student appears in a scene with a famous person or well known environment. This PCI can be used in a literature or foreign language class to encourage students to explore the culture or time period of a country or an era.
PCI FOREIGN LANGUAGE BURN A CD: Having the French teachers (or Spanish or whatever language) get together and plan an audio CD for curriculum distribution is a very effective curriculum and PR technique. The audio CD by the teachers can provide quality examples of speaking various levels of the language, with appropriate pauses for the student to listen and repeat. Alternatively, the burning of an audio CD can be student created, motivating the students to work at their best recording (take 2,take 3, take 4) in pronouncing and speaking a certain passage that would benefit next year's class.
PCI GETTING TO KNOW YOU: Opening week of school. This is a great way to get everyone to use e-mail, learn about cc and to communicate with key people. Ask each student to write a few paragraphs about his/her own community. We have had great success with this at Nobles in grade 9 where the theme of the ninth grade history course (HHC/history of the human community). The paragraphs must be e-mailed to all teachers of the student as well as the students' advisor.
PCI INSPIRATION AS A DISCUSSION GENERATOR: Teacher creates a complete Inspiration page and then projects it on a whiteboard as a means to focus discussion. Students can add notes to their own version that they previously downloaded or the teacher can print copies for each student, who then takes notes on the handout. Teacher can add to the Inspiration chart as discussion progresses either by adding to the original file or by using the white board to manually write in new ideas.
PCI INSPIRATION AS A NOTE TAKER: Teacher can print and distribute one of the blank templates offered in Inspiration or create a new blank template that corresponds with a particular reading assignment in any subject area. Instead of traditional notetaking, students fill out the Inspiration template.The next day they can turn it in as homework or if they have used the actual program,they can project their homework onto a whiteboard and lead a discussion on the reading assignment.
PCI GRAVESTONES OF FAMOUS PEOPLE: Have students pick a famous person who is the antithesis of Larry Bird. The person must be non-white or gay or non-male. Have each student do some research on this famous person and his/her contributions to life. Have each student create a ONE PAGE GRAVESTONE to this person that can then be displayed on a bulletin board celebrating diversity!
PCI LAB MANAGEMENT TRICK: at one school, the computer teacher keeps a statue figure above each monitor and kids post a question "near the sword" if it goes to the computer teacher; at another school, kids put a CUP on the monitor if they have a question (summercore 2001; session#3)
PCI MATH EQUATION: Use Green Globs by Sunburst, one of the best pieces of software for intriguing students into the fascinating world of graphing algebraic equations. But once they succeed in solving a difficult problem with judicious and clever equation Hits, have them as a homework assignment or project assignment, publish a one page poster. This poster would contain a screen shot of the game along with a word processed set of paragraphs explaining why he/she used the specific equations to win the game!
PCI MP3 POEM. A middle school geography/history teacher requires each student to find a song on the Civil War, find a tune tha fits it and create an MP3 file
PCI NOTETAKER: Provide one student (different each day) with a laptop and charge him/her to take notes of class today electronically. Afher class, the notes get e-mailed to everyone, possibly after the teacher proofs them!
PCI OTHER ACADEMIC COURSE: Prepare a one page information sheet as a handout that would be useful to a teacher in another academic course . Once done, the info sheet can be shown to the teacher (by the student) or e-mailed to elicit his/her reaction and potentially to be a handout for that class.
PCI PENPAL WEB PAGE: Each student at your school becomes a penpal of one student at another school. The two of them then collaborate on a web page, exchanging e-mail and modifying the contents of the HTML and critquing what they have each done. The posting of the web page is by the teacher. The dialogue back and forth between the two penpals ("e-pals") becomes part of the grade and evaluation process by the two teachers at the two schools.
PCI POSTER ON RULES: Go over the rules at your school with students ("acceptable use policy") from the small change ("no food or drinks") to big change ("do not visit any web site or send any e-mail that would embarass you if sitting next to the grandparents of the head of the school"). Each student chooses one rule and makes a one page poster on this rule, including the name and year of graduation of the poster designer. These posters can then be displayed around the computer lab from year to year and younger students can then see the posters (complete with text and graphics) of the older students, some of whom have graduated!
PCI POWERPOINT QUIZ GAME: Teachers use the action buttons of PowerPoint to create a quiz show game.
PCI PUBLISH A COLLECTION OF PAPERS: Each student chooses one paper that he/she is proud of; using graphics and scanning and the desktop publishing features of Word, Appleworks or Pagemaker, the student then turns the paper into a book or newsletter.
PCI SKETCHPAD CHALLENGE FOR THE DAY: This proven idea has worked with Geometer's Sketchpad, but is adaptable to other projects. Students walk into class and the teacher at the whiteboard poses a challenge. No technology. This takes 5 minutes. Then the teacher at the projector demonstrates the start of how to solve or how to attack the problem. This takes 5 minutes. Then the students (in groups of two) grab a laptop and attack the problem, with laptops facing the perimeter so that the teacher can see all machines. This takes the majority of the class period. Then in the last 5 minutes of class, the students close the laptops, turn around and talk about generalizations and insights which the teacher writes on the whiteboard.
PCI SPECS FOR EACH PAGE: The entire set of specifications for writing a paper get spelled out on one piece of paper. Rules such as single vs double spacing, quotes more than 3 lines, location of title, footnotes, all get incorporated into a school document called Paper Specs. Head of English Dept and Head of History Dept collaborate with computer coordinator, a sheet gets published (perhaps on school web page) and students then benefit by consistency!
PCI ONLINE GRAMMAR CHECKING: Teacher creates an online resource with links to specific grammar problems. Then using the websites as a resource for explanations and quizzes,teacher uses the technology as an electronic whiteboard to explain writing errors and to quiz students to ensure comprehension.
PCI SPELL-CHECKING DATABASE: Have students take words they mispelled and fill out in some fashion (paper or electronic) the field of
name of word:
what context found:
memory trick for spelling correctly the next time:
use in a sentence:
your name:
date:
Now the teacher collects these entries, puts them in a database and holds onto them from year to year. This database can be a poster display or approach to highlight spelling, as well as lots of fun to see the words contributed by older students, some of whom have graduated! PCI TECHNOQUICKIES ... see below for examples
PCI THREE GENERATIONS PICTURE: have students create a picture in Photoshop involving scanning photos of the student, a parent and a grandparent all at the same age. This project is based on an exhibit by an artist and has been a big hit with students (and parents). Or, the student uses photographs of him/her at 3 different ages and puts them into one picture, tricking the user!
PCI TYPING STRATEGY: By indicating goals and creating a daily/weekly schedule of typing practice during the summer, we notify the parents that the typing activity and typing practice must go on during the summer or fall wintervacation. This can even be publicized to parents once the student is accepted as a necessary task for that coming fall, e.g. "we expect that over the summer, your child will practice his or her typing and improve to be 35 WPM with 95% accuracy."
PCI TYPING STRATEGY: Some typing programs are so glitzy that they do not contribute well to improvement. Here is a PCI regarding typing that works on any word processor. Withoutlooking at the keyboard, type the letters a then b followed by return. Do this at least 33 times so that you can do it easily.
a b
a b
a b . .. and so on, at least 33 times
Now do the same with a b c:
a b c
a b c
a b c ... and so on, at least 33 times
This strategy has helped hundreds of my students over the last 20 years ... it is not easy and takes weeks to perfect ... you cannot allow yourself to go on to the next level until you master the previous level. (steve bergen)
PCI TYPING KEYBOARD COVER: at one school,they use BOXER SHORTS to cover the keyboards while doing practice typing -- instead of speedskins (summercore 2001; session#3)
PCI WEB PAGE ON A SINGLE THEME: Have students make one web page on a single theme: women in history, inventions, computer vocabulary, periodic table of elements (we have many samples to show you); the collection of web pages can then be used by a subsequent class in another year

PCI WORKSHOP A PAPER: Students send their drafts to the teacher via e-mail. The teacher loads up some of the papers onto a big screen, possibly leaving names out (teacher choice) and shows how to revise the paper, using color and big font sizes.




Wed, Sep 21, 2005 3:37:39 PM


************************
WHAT IS A TECHNOQUICKIE?
************************
As your Upper School Technology Coordinator, this year I will be offering
 a series of 'Technoquickies.' Each will be a short (as in 10 to 30 minute,
  aiming at 10), focused workshop on a single topic, such as 

*How do I change printers? 
*How to I create a web page?
*How do I turn on my computer?
*How can I make list of grades so that I can quickly look at ABC order and 
then Highest to Lowest Grade order?
*What are some great tricks to make using First Class easier?
*What is a blog?
*How do I use the digital camera?

--Ms. Negin


---------------


Lynne Schalman-fs on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 at 9:50 PM -0500 wrote:
Learn one delightful skill: how to make your own personalized clip art gallery 
for the Smartboard Notebook. Quick, easy, and fun-what could be better?

Monday, 3:26-3:44 in the Faculty Lounge!



---------------


Shana Negin-fs on Thursday, November 10, 2005 at 8:27 AM  wrote:
Hello US faculty, 

I wanted to let you all know that I am offering a short interactive demonstration of
 the PC tablet laptops today. The time will be from 3:15 to 3:30 in the ACR (that
  classroom in the back of the library). You will get a chance to try out some of 
  the really fun features of the tablets such as the pen that lets you write directly
   on the computer screen, the twisting monitor that lets you turn your screen around 
   and set it flat, as well as other features. 

You may have seen this computer being used by certain 8th graders who are acting as 
scribes for the week, by students who take Chinese, or by students who take the Java 
programming course. Those students can tell you all about it. Also, last 
year during one of our professional development days, this style of laptop was
 used by the speaker, Tim Fish. I remember a lot of people expressing interest in 
 the computer at that time, and now is your chance to check it out and see if you 
 really like it.

Take a break from your comment writing and come to the ACR for 15 or so minutes today at 3:15.
 They say doing something active and physical at that time of day increases 
 your energy for the rest of the afternoon. See you then. 

--Shana

---------------



Subject:	Re: wednesday technoquickie
To:	conf-TechnoQuickies


Wednesday, November 16, 2005 at 12:40 PM  wrote:
Hello everyone,
Just a reminder, I will be in the LS Science room this afternoon from 3:15-4.
 This week's topic is "How to Scan."  The lesson takes approximately 10 minutes. 
 If this time frame doesn't work for you and you would like a scanner lesson, 
 please email me with a good time.
Mary Beth



---------------

Tue, Dec 5, 2006 6:00:32 AM
Subject:	Re: Smartboard 9.5: really, really cool tips and tricks
To:	conf-TechnoQuickies


Lynne Schalman-fs on Monday, December 4, 2006 at 8:18 AM  wrote:
To all:
Wednesday at 3:15 in the faculty lounge is the perfect time and the perfect place 
to learn a few advanced tips and tricks about Smartboard 9.5. I promise a good time 
will be had by all. We will end no later than 3:45. No RSVPs needed.



---------------

Tue, Dec 5, 2006 11:48:33 AM
Subject:	Re: facebook techno-quickie
To:	conf-TechnoQuickies

Aidan Lucey-fs on Tuesday, December 5, 2006 at 9:22 AM  wrote:
Steve and I will be giving a 15 minute on Facebook, a popular social networking website,
 in room 412 today at 1 pm.  If you have questions or concerns about Facebook, or have no
  idea what it is, please join us.  RSVP for one of the 5 available spots.  We will repeat 
  this again in the next few days.  Thanks.

Aidan Lucey
Tech Department

---------------


Wed, Dec 6, 2006 2:20:47 PM
Subject:	Re: Reminder- Smartboard session today at 3:15
To:	conf-TechnoQuickies

Lynne Schalman-fs on Wednesday, December 6, 2006 at 11:20 AM  wrote:
Topics for the Day
1. Adding clip art to the Gallery
2. Adding a Sound File
3. Adding a Hyperlink
4. Setting the default text
5. Using the Screen Capture Toolbar



---------------

Return to the Summercore Home Page

from john neiers ... "The quote: If you don't have the time to do it right, when will you have the time to do it over." ... not original, I picked it up along the way ...but they are words to live by.

PCI-- A Compendium of Tried and True Ideas -- Proven Curriculum Ideas

PCI
-- A Compendium of Tried and True Ideas --
Proven Curriculum Ideas