Look out for some great OHS student-created podcasts coming your way in the near future!

Biology classes with Mrs. Paris and Mrs. Fernau have been or soon will be podcasting about biomes, while Mr. Corkle's classes have produced podcasts as a "layered curriculum" choice for 8th graders. Spanish students with Mrs. Brown will soon be creating their own podcast productions, as well. Look at the smiles, here!

September School Board Meeting

Thanks so much for all the enthusiasm for laptops that the teachers at last night's School Board meeting showed! We also had a handful of students and parents who also shared wonderful points and ideas. Although the Board did not approve the purchase of 7-12 laptops, they didn't vote it down, either. They want us to research a little more on a few things... skeptical teachers, parent opinions, Internet at home, student safety, management, etc. So please keep helping things progress forward by sharing any ideas on implementation as well as things other districts are doing to make their initiatives successful. In my opinion, if we can predict some of our biggest obstacles now, we can more successfully solve problems as they come. So, onward, for now...

Free Software

Here is a great list of free software for the Mac.

http://web.mac.com/simon_elliott/iWeb/simon_elliott%40mac.com/Software.html

September Teacher Pilot Group meeting

Steve Przymus from South Sioux City High School visited us this past Sunday afternoon. Steve did a great job of demonstrating how he creates web content out of his Spanish I course. Some students take his course in person while some take the same course entirely online independently and he feels it is a way to reach more learners with the Spanish content and course offerings. His district uses Angel from My eLearning as their course management software and O'Neill will be attending some training on Angel at the ESU next week as well. Many of our pilot teachers are interested in enhancing their course by creating content and projects available for student access via the web. We all thought that what we learned from Mr. Przymus will mesh well with our objectives and goals of a 24/7 Laptop Learning initiative.

http://tech.ssccardinals.org/cc/index paz.htm

Viewpoints on 24/7 Learning... from the Students

You have been introduced to the power and potential for learning with a MacBook computer. Now, imagine the possibility of having this tool in your backpack 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. What benefits to your learning would this create? What problems, if any, would arise if every student had their own school-issued MacBook. Brainstorm possible projects, learning opportunities, and things that would change if O'Neill adopted a 24/7 Learning Initiative.

For more student responses, read the blog posts on Mr. Peterson's Class Blog as well:
http://mrpetersonsclassroom.blogspot.com/2007/09/laptops-for-everyone.html