Friday, December 19, 2008

Monday, December 15, 2008

Monday, December 8, 2008

Message from Apple Development Executive Barry Svett

Amy, Steve, Katie and everyone else at O'Neill Public Schools,

Thanks so much for hosting an outstanding 21st Century Learning Leadership Institute! We've been involved in many of these over the past few years, and this was one of the very best. The promise of 24/7 learning was not only clearly articulated, but powerfully demonstrated as well. All the success factors were evident, and the attendees were impressed and inspired. We are proud to be your partner, and look forward to working together and holding more Leadership Institutes in the future.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

High-Tech Wrestling Invite




The O'Neill Wrestling Invitational was held on Saturday, December 6, and evidence of technology use was everywhere! Students captured the images of the meet on digital cameras and periodically transferred them to a MacBook which Mr. Corkle and the janitors rigged up to be projected on the gym wall. All day long Douglas Stahlecker added photos to a continuous slideshow for fans and athletes to enjoy. In addition, Douglas used ichat to get updates on the results and team standings to add into his projected iMovie. During the finals, Gary Hostert and OHS alum Jess Fernau teamed up with Mike Peterson to share the action via ustream. A newly discovered feature of picture-in-picture allowed for the sports broadcast to showcase more than one mat at a time. Congratulations, O'Neill High School, for not only winning the wrestling meet, but also for using technology in innovative ways!

Challenge Based Learning -- Week #1

The freshmen are off and running with a whole new way of learning... challenge based learning, that is. Their challenge is to transform apathy into engagement in our community. Here are some photos from Week 1. To follow their progress and join in their conversations, you can visit a collaborative webspace/social network that we created for this project at: http://oneillcbl.ning.com

21st Century Learning Leadership Institute - O'Neill Public Schools



Over 50 different educators from approximately 15 different school districts across Nebraska and Iowa attended the 21st Century Learning Leadership Institute on December 3-4. Sponsored by Apple Computers, and hosted by O'Neill Public Schools, the event was a resounding success. Participants witnessed firsthand 24/7 Learning at O'Neill Jr./Sr. High School. The schedule consisted of speakers from Apple intermixed with presentations from O'Neill teachers and administrators from which the participants could gain additional insight. You can view the 24/7 Learning overview by Katie Morrow here and one of the teacher presentations (by Science teacher Bryan Corkle) here. A panel discussion including various stakeholders (students, teachers, admins, and board members) was held for question and answer purposes, and a tour of the school allowed for guests to see things in action and ask questions of those "in the trenches." In addition to the two days of the Institute, guests were treated to a dinner at the Blarney Stone at which approximately 20 students shared their projects and talents in a before-dinner showcase. Comments from those who attended the LLI event were overwhelmingly positive and included such statements as:
  • "Your staff seems to have all bought into your plan and it is working. All positive."
  • "Favorite part of the Leadership Institute was seeing student motivation to learn beyond their potential. Loved observing students being so professional in the classrooms."
  • "I wish I could have brought more teachers. I felt like I was at the NETA conference and was wishing more could have been here to see this. It was great!"
  • "I enjoyed it ALL!"
  • "Favorite part: input from teachers and a variety of perspectives. Teachers' ideas were great!"

Safe Image Search (Google Customized Search Engine)

Monday, December 1, 2008

Christmas Picture Contest!

From: opsbrash
Subject:Christmas Picture Contest!
To: All course individuals, All course students
You may have seen my announcement posted this morning but if not here is a reminder. I am holding a Christmas Picture Contest. You can submit (using the drop box) a picture that falls into these categories:

A) You take a funny Christmas picture with your friends or alone
B) You create a cool or funny Christmas picture using Photoshop or Illustrator
C) Create a Christmas movie in Flash or iMovie
D) Create a Christmas slide show using Keynote or powerpoint

I have expanded these choices from just pictures to test your skills with different programs. Feel free to make more than one in different formats (please only one picture per format). If you have any questions please email me through Angel in the O'Neill Student Lounge Group.

Thanks Everyone!
Brett Rash