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Writings from Dr. John Hendron, director of innovation & strategy
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Jan 30 2012

This Week… in instructional technology

This week we’re offering two classes on Monday. Zoe Parrish is doing another session for us on “Beyond the Apps” and using iOS apps in the elementary classroom. This will be at 4 PM at the CO training room.

I’m teaching a session at the same time on Creating Infographics at GHS LMC.

Bea Cantor this week participated in the Henrico-sponored #RVAUnconference at Glen Allen High School. I’m interested to hear what she gained from this new and innovative experience in our area.

Wednesday I’m meeting with a teacher about iPad use for English as a Second Language instruction and Friday we’re meeting virtually with Janet Copenhaven from Henry County about their iPad deployment.

By John Hendron • General News •

Jan 23 2012

Gary on Apps…

As we explore the potential of mobile devices in our schools, I’d like to point out Dr. Stager’s thinking (via @beacantor):

> Pretending that artificial intelligence has advanced to the point where competent teachers may be replaced by apps is at best wishful thinking, regardless of what the vendors tell you. I am saddened most by educational technology enthusiasts advocating uses of computers that reinforce the worst aspects of schooling.

I want teachers to know that when I am choosing which apps go onto our devices, I am specifically avoiding certain kinds. I’ve gone so far to install some drill-type apps that I think have at least some merit. But I am far more interested in the higher-order possibilities, and that’s why we’ve installed the likes of Garage Band and iMovie on almost every device.

Dr. Stager is concerned about software where no new knowledge is created, and I know that in some cases, some of the titles we have can provide that “feature,” a case being “Stack the States,” which is also mentioned by Ms. Davis in the article. If I don’t know where the states belong, and I put them in the wrong spot, I’ll eventually figure it out.

We’re still early in the development of mobility devices, and I believe it’s critical to approach them slowly enough to choose the right experiences for our students (with the best software) which will include patience as the better stuff is developed.

By John Hendron • Learning for Teachers • • Tags: iOS, ipad, iPod

Jan 19 2012

iBooks and Textbooks

Apple today announced a new application for Mac OS X called iBooks Author. This Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion) app is free for the development of rich-media textbooks.

To learn more about updates to iBooks on iOS and the development tool, visit Apple’s website. I’m certainly excited about this new potential!

By John Hendron • General News • • Tags: apple, iOS, textbooks

Jan 19 2012

iPads visit Mr. Neufer

neuferipad2

Today I observed Mrs. Cantor introducing the iPads into one of Jim Neufer’s classes at Goochland High School. They were trying out an app called Contig, which reinforces both “in-the-head” arithmetic and algebra. It’s an engaging game!

neuferipad1

The level of engagement today was pretty cool to see, you could hear a pin drop as I watched students totally engaged with the process of mastering the game. “This was fun, but it really made my head hurt,” a student told Mrs. Cantor from a similar experience last week.

By John Hendron • General News • • Tags: ghs, iOS, ipad, math

Jan 19 2012

Flipping Revisited

Via Blair Grigg, an article about flipping classrooms from CNN.

The post chronicles the efforts of a principal of a high school in Michigan where flipping has resulted in success.

By John Hendron • Resource of Interest • • Tags: flipping

Jan 6 2012

Avoiding Potholes

pothole_project

Today I had the pleasure of introducing Scratch to some of Lisa Brown’s students at Goochland Elementary School.

While some students had used Scratch in the past, some had not! I started with an example file (available here with instructions) that gives students the problem of how to form a game using the character of a car and the foe of a pothole. It’s an open-ended project, although one solution is provided in the link above.

Scratch is free software that runs on Macs, Windows PCs, and Linux. While students see it as game- and story-creating software, it’s an “introduction to programming” tool from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

pothole_project2

By John Hendron • General News • • Tags: ges, scratch

Jan 3 2012

Creating Infographics

Infographics Example

My earlier blog post on graphic organizers and infographics focused on the thinking about using visuals with instruction. The example I created above is documented in a new wiki page. We have an after school class scheduled for the 30th of January.

I know we wrote this up in several G21 plans this year and I think it’s an exciting project for students. You may choose to start “light” like I did and use a published report that has good data. The next level would be for students to generate or collect their own data set to be used in the poster.

pew_report_printout

I used only three applications: Safari, Pages, and Numbers.

By John Hendron • Learning for Teachers • • Tags: g21, infographic, visual

Jan 2 2012

Creating Video for Learning: iOS Workshop

Mrs. Ferguson at RES

This morning I delivered this 90 minute workshop to teachers at Goochland Elementary School. I think we had a lot of fun putting a video together about the life cycles of plants and animals.

iMovie iOS Instructor’s Guide

The guide may be of interest to teachers at our three elementary schools this morning that took part in this training.

iOS Screen Picture

Thanks to Dr. Geyer this morning for helping me out at GES!

And thanks to Beth Ferguson at RES for the picture that captures well the enthusiasm I saw yesterday from our teachers exploring the potential of these mobile devices!

By John Hendron • Learning for Teachers • • Tags: elementary, imovie, iOS, ipad

About this blog…

This is the blog of John Hendron, Ed.D., director of innovation & strategy for Goochland County Public Schools. Through this blog I share information for teachers, administrators and families dealing with learning and teaching with technology.

You can contact me via e-mail! I look forward to hearing from you.

John Hendron Goochland Schools

Blogroll

  • Bea Leiderman – ITRT
  • Bruce Watson – Director of CTE
  • Connected Principals
  • G21 Framework
  • Goochland Leadership Blog
  • Peter Gretz, Assistant Superintendent
  • Rushton's Resources
  • Steve Geyer – Assistant Superintendent
  • Tom DeWeerd – Director of Technology
  • WordPress Planet
  • Zoe Parrish, ITRT

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