Universal Design for Learning

At the TIS Training, Bridgeport Conference Center we received training with a multitude of tools and resources including Universal Design for Learning. Presenter John Ross offered a book study for the EETT TIS group to participate in. At the finish of the online course, TIS participants were challenged to write and implement a lesson plan in UDL format.

Numonics White Boards

One of the very first objectives that I established this year was to assist the teachers as they developed skills that would help them to bring their classrooms alive for their students. For nearly two years, Spring Hill Elementary had been slowly adopting the use of interactive white boards. Because these had been set in place with a laptop computer, projector, and ELMO visual presenter the boards were more often than not being used as an expensive screen. Very few teachers had been developing lessons that would utilize these Numonics boards and the Intelliboard software. In the summer, Cabell County Board of Education developed two-day training sessions to help expand the teachers' understanding of what these boards could offer. They also gave the teachers the support and time that they needed in order to create lessons that they could take back to their classrooms in the fall. By taking this experience one step further, I was able to offer the teachers at SHE a unique training day to familiarize themselves with the white boards and to present them with the idea of using interactive technology as a means of differentiated instruction. Check out some examples of VWB lessons below.

• Multiplication
• The link above is a complete WhiteBoard lesson file. You must have Intelliboard software, such as the Virtual Whiteboard Viewer to access this file. The links below are html files that are for showcase only. They do not have interactive features available.
  
• Multiplying Larger Numbers
  
• Bar Graphs
  
• Exploring Ecosystems
• Discovering the Americas

• Handout: Designing VWB Lessons
  

Technology Times

I met Gilda Haddox, TIS for Wood County during the Bridgeport Conference in July, 2008. She presented the EETT TIS members with a disc that contained files which would become most helpful as we dove headfirst into the 2007- 08 school year. With these files, Gilda planted the seed for a Technology Times newsletter. At this time, I had not even considered the smallest of responsibilities that would be on my shoulders as the year progressed.

• September, 2007
• October, 2007
• November, 2007
• December, 2007
• January, 2008
• February, 2008
• March/ April, 2008
  

Karen R. Dailey

Upon mentioning my partner in the post made for the State Technology Conference, I have decided that it would be appropriate to introduce my friend and colleague, Karen Dailey. She and I met when I was taking graduate courses at Marshall University to complete my degree in Special Education. On the day that I went in to interview with the Technology Director I asked, "Who got the other TIS position?" To which Dennis replied, "Karen Dailey; do you know her?" Well if I didn't know her well at that time it would not be long before we partnered up to embark on our journey as the Technology Integration Specialists of Cabell County. I am looking forward to attending NECC San Antonio with Karen in June. Puffy tacos, here we come!

WV Technology Conference

Just in time to kick off the challenges of the new school year, Cabell County Schools scheduled my partner and I to attend the West Virginia Technology Conference in Charleston, WV. In the closing luncheon, counties that had been awarded the national Enhancing Education Through Technology grant were recognized and presented with a plaque. The image above shows myself, Ms. P. L. Bailey, SHE Principal and D. A. Adkins, CCBOE Director of Technology. To view my attended schedule and reflections on some of the most influential sessions, visit my WV EETT TIS Blog.

Bridgeport, WV

In July, 2007 I was invited to attend the Foundation for all TIS Models at the Bridgeport Conference Center. This training was hosted by the West Virginia Department of Education as an introduction to the TIS role and overview of the EETT grant program. We were welcomed by Superintendent of West Virginia schools, Dr. Stephen Paine via web conference. His enthusiasm for 21st Century Learning was quite motivating; initiating an atmosphere where teaching and learning for all resonated as the days in Bridgeport advanced.

Upstart

I am exploring the idea of using a blog to create a professional online portfolio. What better way to showcase your digital projects and professional achievements? Using a forum that makes every entry available to the public will be challenging, but I believe appropriate for my intentions.

As the portfolio is composed, I will be forced to consider:

• Privacy
• Copyright
• Source
  
• Audience
• Voice
  

Think different.