CNMT Weekly Update – 5/6/13
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CNMT iPad Specialist candidates enjoyed pizza and conversation with TA extraordinaire, Christian Jimenez, in the RHS Student Union during lunch on May 2.
I am truly excited about a new initiative we are starting that was inspired by a conversation with Marco Torres from Apple Computer. On Tuesday we will be training our first group of candidates to be CNMT iPad Student Specialists, also known as CNMT “Geniuses”.
On Thursday we held our orientation for students who were nominated by teachers or self-nominated, and I was happy to see about 30 students show up to the Student Union at lunch. These students are from all four grade levels and cover the range from straight As to straight Fs, but they share in common a love and talent for working with technology.
This program will help Roosevelt High School to build a solid 1:1 program over the coming year. This last month is just a start. From what I have heard, the Schools for the Future program will expand at least to all the approximately 2,000 students in the consolidated Roosevelt next year, and perhaps to Magnet and ESP as well. Although the school has budgeted for a half time Microcomputer Support Technician, one person can not provide technical advise and assistance to that many students and their teachers in 2 1/2 days a week. Continue reading
CNMT Weekly Update – 4/29/13
Dear CNMT Community,
State testing is almost over! We have just over one month left of school, one month before graduation and summer vacation.
This month is an opportunity for students to do their best to bring up their grades and finish their adult school classes in APEX classes so that they can graduate or be on track to graduate if they’re not seniors. It’s also the month for AP testing and for juniors to take the SAT for the first time.
For teachers, this month is also an opportunity to take more chances with integrating new concepts like the teaching and learning framework comment that Common Core State Standards, and the iPads. Tomorrow morning, our students will have their last chance to get an iPad. If they have a parent signature on the contract, they can come at 8 AM to Room R-211 and we will be distributing the iPads and setting them up there. Continue reading
CNMT Weekly Update – 4/22/13
Dear CNMT Community,
This Monday is Earth Day, a perfect opportunity to discuss the paperless classroom. Although environmental protection is not on the list of justifications for the Common Core Technology Project, let’s think about the potential benefits of going paperless. My essential question is whether iPads have a net environmental benefit.
If you just think about books then it would take a while for an iPad to really have any environmental benefit over books. In fact, studies have shown that when you take into account the manufacturing process and all of the resources used, and iPad equals about 30 to 40 books in environmental impact. So it’s not so clear-cut.
CNMT Weekly Update – 4/15/13
Dear CNMT Community,
This week I would like to give some updates for teachers, students and parents.
For teachers I want to remind you that on Monday you have a period-by-period professional workshop led by Christian Jimenez. It will cover:
- iTunes U Course Overview
- Mobile Device Management (MDM) Introduction
- EdCamp Model Project
- Additional iPads for passporting students
Make sure you bring your iPad to the workshop. Continue reading
CNMT Weekly Update – 4/8/13
Dear CNMT community,
This week we prepare for the future, both immediate and long-term. Next week we start STAR testing, so we have one more week to review and practice so that students can put their best foot forward and demonstrate their learning to the public.
Teachers have been reviewing in their classes using flashcards, Quizlet, and released test questions. We are focused and it shows. I know our results will improve because I’ve never seen this level of commitment from teachers and students to getting ready for CST/CMA before.
This week we prepare for next year in a couple of important ways. First of all, the budget subcommittee of the School Site Council will be meeting on Monday to review a proposed budget for next year. The timeline is very short and we will need to approve the budget so that we can make a final approval at our next meeting on April 16.
CNMT Weekly Update – 4/2/13
Dear CNMT Community,
Welcome back from Spring Break. I hope everybody was able to enjoy a relaxing week with loved ones. I was fortunate to have my parents visit from the East Coast, which gave them a chance to spend time with my little girl.
Now that we are all well rested, we really need to kick into high gear for the month of April. In this month, students will be taking the CST/CMA exams, which account for the vast majority of our API. Also, during April the school community will engage in the process of developing the budget and master schedule for the 2013 – 2014 school year. Continue reading
CNMT Weekly Update – 3/18/13
Dear CNMT Community,
What an eventful week we just had! We had our first full week with iPads, we administered the CAHSEE for the class of 2015 and all other students who still need to pass, we had mock interviews on Friday for 11th graders, sponsored by College Summit, and Powder Puff on Friday evening. All went well.
Times like this remind me how lucky I am to work with such a hard-working, competent group of educators. Thank you especially to Dr. Ibarra and his team for cordinating the CAHSEE administration seamlessly and to Teresa Sutuc from College Summit for organizing Friday’s event.
11th graders participated in mock interviews on Friday, sponsored by College Summit. Thanks to all the volunteers who came out to support our students!
From what I heard from students, they felt very well-prepared for the CAHSEE. Knowing all the work that has been done in their English and math classes especially, I have great confidence that our passing rate will increase significantly and a higher number of our students will have passed that hurdle on the first time on their way to high school graduation and college.
CNMT Weekly Update – 3/11/13
Dear CNMT community,
First of all, I have some bad news for our students. Since Tuesday and Wednesday are CAHSEE testing, the teachers and I decided that those will be iPad-free days. I know that you just got them and you’re just getting to know each other, but it might be good to have a couple of days away to put things into perspective.
Speaking of iPads, I do want to once again thank everybody who made Thursday night a great success. We distributed 275 iPads to our students in one evening, which is quite an accomplishment. This couldn’t have happened without tremendous support from LAUSD ITD, as well as PLAS, Apple Computer, and our own dedicated teachers and staff, especially Christian and Alfred, who put in many hours getting students ready for the big event.
CNMT Weekly Update – 3/4/13
Dear CNMT Community,
I want to give a preview of what the future of teaching and learning will be using mobile computing devices in the classroom. We are not just talking here about giving every student an ipad and hoping that it helps learning and is used appropriately. The plan is to change for the better how the entire process of teaching and learning happens.
Tablet computers have the ability to replace textbooks, notebooks, pens, paper, Scantrons, other kinds of tests, smartboards, photocopies, duplos, printers, audio recorders, cameras, video cameras, dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses, calculators, encyclopedias, planners, and much more, but definitely not the teacher. It does change the relationship between the teacher and student, but the teacher is still essential. Continue reading