Teacher Kate Pole’s freshman world studies classes used Blackboard’s chat feature to great effect during sessions last week. While watching selected clips from the movie The Matrix, students had their netbooks open and used a live chat to discuss how key movie points compared with Plato’s Allegory of the Cave.
“It was fantastic,” Pole said. “The really quiet [...]
I’ve heard of Author Edgar Allen Poe, but I couldn’t tell you much about when he lived or what he accomplished. And if you asked me what a frisson was I would guess it was something you might buy at the CoffeeHound to go with your drink (which isn’t even close in case you’re wondering). [...]
It will be interesting to see how this one goes. We’ve purchased three Wii gaming systems, and some of our fitness instructors will be trying them out with students to see what benefits they may offer. Wiis offer a number of very active games including tennis, dance, boxing, archery, swordplay, canooing, wakeboarding and more; if I’m [...]
…is quite extensive. Faculty meet individually with our principal and technology director to discuss ways in which they are using- and want to use- different types of technologies in their classrooms to better engage students. At these meetings they also get a chance to discuss feedback provided by student, parent and teacher surveys. In the summer, [...]
The on-line course software used by most U-High students and teachers, Blackboard, will be undergoing a major upgrade to version 9 the week of June 1. You will immediately notice a new look to the program, and more importantly, everything becomes “drag and drop”; that is, you’ll be able to drag and drop items between [...]
When Dr. Carol Benson was scheduled to be away from her U-High math classes for a period of time, she was concerned about losing contact with her students. She wanted to make sure she was available to them through more than just email and telephone. After consulting with colleagues and friends, she came up with the [...]
As part of a culture unit in Jean Gorski’s Sociology class, her students conducted research about aspects of Korean history and culture and then made Power Point presentations to their classmates about their topics. Sample topics included Korean fads, the Korean War, Korean Buddhism, and gender issues in Korea. Her students then visited the economics wiki of [...]
Students conducted an inquiry lab looking at two variables, pressure and volume, in relationship to gasses. In the experiment, students moved a plunger in to increase pressure while decreasing the volume of the gas inside while holding the sample of gas and the temperature constant. Attached probes measured the pressure increase and fed that data [...]
In Jim Potter’s French III class, students were asked to use their French language skills and a number of technology resources to plan a spring break trip to France. During the planning process, students wrote a letter to reserve a room in a hotel, used a number of interent travel sites to find transportation to [...]
One of the hottest areas in pc sales these days is the purchase of netbooks, small, lightweight computers that typically cost under $400. We are intrigued by the possibilities that these open up for U-High students in future years. Even now, $350 models sport 10″ screens, 4-5 hour battery life, and almost full-sized keyboards, and [...]
