Days and Nights at the Museum by Ms. Watkins and Mr. Hoskins

This year TMS was host to over 1700 students from across the school district who came to visit the Ancient History Museum housed in our lower level that was recently vacated due to the opening of the new Middle School.  The composition of these visitors were over 60 Advanced Placement World History students from TBHS, 1600 plus elementary students from fourth and fifth grades from six of our sites, and over 730 students from TMS proper who came with their social studies classes.   In addition we had over 75 people visit the Museum the night we were open to the public.

The project started as an idea that all of the social studies teachers had at the beginning of the year I.T.F. meeting.  It was considered at the time as something on the table for the future.   A history fair would be a great idea and J.J. Hoskins put this in the back of his head until one day he had to go down to the lower level and saw we had the perfect spot to do this.  After seeing the possibilities of decorating the old rooms as ancient civilizations, he decided to approach Chris Watkins about the project. When J.J. Hoskins presented the idea he brought it forth as a technology based project whereby students would create artifacts and do research based on their civilization and artifact of choice.   It was important to give students a lot of choices in what artifact they created and what technology they would use to present their research.

It became readily apparent that it would take a lot of resources (paper) to decorate such a large area and when we looked at the stock available to us and color choices, we noticed that there was not that much paper left for us to use and we did not want to use all of the paper and take away from other teacher’s projects.  We decided to ask the TMS PTSO for funds for the project and as always the hard working parents agreed to give us almost $1000 for paper and supplies for the project.    

Because the idea was brought forth by the sixth grade social studies as a group, we wanted to involve as many students as possible in the history fair.  Mr. Hoskins visited with Mrs. Hunchberger at TBHS and invited her Advanced Placement Students to participate and students were also invited to participate from TSMS through their teacher and a google form.  However, logistically it was difficult to try to get participation from students at TSMS this year due to time constraints as well as method for artifact delivery and staff absence due to maternity leave.  

Students  began the project by doing research in the classroom to decide what artifact from what civilization (Prehistory, Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, Ancient China, Ancient Greece, Rome, Medieval Times/Vikings) they would create and research.  Students used a variety of sources including the new Google Arts and Culture App and a smattering of old books from the library about these ancient civilizations.    It was not easy for students to sift through so many choices at first because so often they are not able to have choice but eventually they were all able to find an artifact and civilization that appealed to them.

Prior to creating the artifact physically, students had to do research about the artifact and learn about the civilization that the object came from.  Students submitted via a Google Forms their artifact they were interested in researching.  After students were informed of their artifact choice, they began to conduct research.  Students spent about one week researching their artifact and thinking about what materials that were readily available to  be used to create the object.  Chris Watkins busied herself with gathering unused items that could be used to create artifacts because it was important that it be a student created piece at school rather than a parent created piece at home.

While all of the research was being conducted in class, Mr. Hoskins and his AMP students started constructing ancient civilizations downstairs.  We started with trying to find a very old technology piece to help in this endeavor.  After looking throughout the school, we finally found an overhead projector that could be used to project drawings on the wall to trace various items for the decorations.  At first many of the students had no idea what an overhead projector was and why there was a giant mammoth on the wall. Students were amazed at how it all worked!

It was evident to Mr. Hoskins that if the Museum was going to be completed on time it would take more manpower so he asked his High School students to come and assist two different times during the evenings to try get things done and hang the paper up high for decoration.

Mr. Hoskins could see that this was going to turn out to be something truly special and he wanted to share how students were using technology at TMS with the elementary buildings so he began visiting the elementary school principals and proposed the idea that the fourth and fifth grade students come to TMS to take tours of the museum.   The elementary principals and staff were very receptive to the idea to the point that the museum opening for one day only became an impossibly small amount of time and even one week would not be long enough in the end.

While Mr. Hoskins was coordinating elementary visits, AMP students were working on decorations Ms. Watkins had her students start creating their artifacts.  Cutting cardboard, gluing, taping, and painting made for a busy day.  Artifacts started coming together quickly with students bouncing ideas off each other.  Watching them share ideas about each other’s artifact was teamwork in action.    After about a week artifacts started to take shape.  Once the students artifact was completed and the research was finished, students began to work with Mr. Hoskins on creating the ancient civilization museum rooms.

Mr. Hoskins started to drive Ms. Watkins crazy by jumping from room to room in a mad dash attempt to get everything done in time. It was interesting to see so many different things going on at once and a bit maddening at the same time.  In the end the last room to be finished was Rome and Rome was built in a day.

Feedback from students involved in the project was positive and we opened the Museum one night per Dr. Penny’s request.  Parents who visited the evening the Museum was opened to the public really enjoyed touring the rooms with their families.  

Even though this project was VERY intense we believe it was a great learning experience for students that either helped create the museum or visited.  They felt empowered from being able to have choices, and proud of their accomplishments.  This was noted when they spoke to former teachers, parents, siblings, and friends.  Additionally, this project promoted technology use at the elementary schools in that teachers were able to look at the projects and get ideas of things that they could possibly do with their students next year using these different apps.

Apple Mentoring Program

This semester students have been piloting a program called A.M.P.   What is A.M.P. or Apple Mentor Program?  The Apple Mentor Program is designed to help bridge the gap between helpdesk and education.   There are issues and problems that can be addressed by properly trained mentors that are not truly related to technical issues but instead are related to user training and use of the device. The goal of the Apple Mentor Program is to assist these users in a timely and relevant fashion so that their devices are available more quickly.  Additionally, properly trained mentors can assist teachers both inside and outside of the classroom by better understanding functions related to education and instruction.

Students in A.M.P. are selected based on interest, ability, dedication to school and school community, and teacher recommendation.   A.M.P. students meet once per week with Mr. Hoskins their instructor and the rest of the week they are housed in the library with direct supervision and instruction from Rebecca Williams, the Librarian.     Jesse Atwater and the technology department also assists in their training.   Students who are in A.M.P. have to be self-directed and willing to serve as volunteers to assist students and staff with technology problems and projects.

This semester so far students have assisted with over 300 problems that students and staff have submitted.   Other than technical type content and fixes, the program will utilize two different Apple Curricula for the program, mainly Swift Playgrounds and the Apple Mentorship Program.  They have also learned the intricacies of programs such as Garageband, iMovie, and Stop Motion Studio. Most recently they have started coding on Swift Playgrounds which teaches Apple’s language, Swift, while also teaching programming concepts that can be easily transferred to other languages.  While in class, students are gaining confidence by talking in front of other students and assisting their peers with their devices.   A.M.P. is also helping students manage their time more wisely by teaching them about the pitfalls of procrastination because of the online content. Another goal of the program is to be of benefit to the student involved, the other students at school, and school district personnel.

As I.T.F’s, Dona Barnhill and I utilize the students to test items of interest to teachers that we later can present during Coffee Beans and Screens sessions.    Additionally, students have been instrumental in the preparation of large scale projects such as “A Day at the Museum” and the Deckromancy projects for Mythology and the Civil War.  From time to time, students have been called upon by various staff members for assistance.  For example, Chris Higginbotham was assisted recently by Serrina Paasch in learning Stop Motion Studio so that she could later utilize it with her class.

I have found doing the A.M.P. program to be very rewarding and the students who I have had the distinct pleasure to work with have also enjoyed the program.   I would like to state categorically that the program would not have been possible without the support of Rebecca Williams, the LIbrarian, as well as the T.M.S. administration, Dr. Kelly Briscoe, and the approval of Lori Horner and Dr. Todd Culbertson, who gave final approval for my time to be devoted to the project.

A Visit to Pike-Lincoln Technical Center

TMS 8th grade students had the opportunity to take an informative and interactive field trip to Pike-Lincoln Technical Center. PLTC offered the opportunity for our students to select their three areas of interest. The courses offered to our students to choose from were: 3D Animation and Modeling, Auto Collision Technology, Auto Service Technology, Computer & Networking Technology, Diesel Technology, Digital Design, Health Sciences, and Welding Technology. Building Trades is also offered to high school students, but we were unable to have our students tour due to the course being site based. The students were able to go to their first choice and then rotated through another course either of their choosing or where there was additional room. The beginning of visit took place in their large conference room where students met the directors and counselor of PLTC. The counselor discussed course offerings and the directors discussed safety during the tour for the 8th grade students. After the brief introduction and presentation, students were split into their groups. Each class gave a brief description of the course, tour around the room, and then provided a demonstration or interstice lesson with our students. Computer & Networking Technology allowed our students to splice wires, take apart a hard drive, and observe students creating code. Diesel Technology had a student ambassador discuss various aspects of the course with students and had games related to Diesel Technology prepared. Welding Technology discussed the importance of mathematics in their field and emphasized welding is skill which requires a lot of practice, our students received deer head welding pieces made from the Welding Technology students.

   

   

A Virtual Museum of Earth's Changing Surface by Mr. Harper, Mr. Wire, Mrs. Barnhill, and Mr. Hoskins

Students in Mr. Harper’s and Mr. Wire’s class created Thinglinks to show how the Earth’s surface is constantly changing. The goal of this project was to compare catastrophism with uniformitarianism and show how both types of events can change the surface of the Earth. First they had to research different global events and determine if the event was catastrophic (happened quickly) or uniform (happened over a long period of time). Once this was determined the students then had to describe how the event impacted the surface of the Earth, and how the event occurred through scientific processes.

When their research was completed students then created a Thinglink to display their research. The students then created a QR code, so that their projects could be easily accessed by others. The QR codes along with a little bit of advertising were printed out and displayed in the hallway creating our virtual museum.

After viewing one another’s projects, the students then created a Venn diagram using the iBrainstorm app. Using this app gave students the opportunity to collaborate as they compared the similarities and differences of their event with that of a project opposite of their own.  With so many examples in our virtual museum, it enabled students to understand the numerous ways the Earth’s surface can change, whether it be through catastrophism or uniformitarianism.

Reed Flute Cave THE GREAT CHILEAN EARTHQUAKE

Uniformitarianism Catastrophism

Muscular System Thinglink by Coach Pickett

Lifetime Fitness is a physical education class devoted to teaching students how to be involved
in physical activity throughout life and why this is important. One of the units covered in this
class involves the students being exposed to weight training and functional movement
exercises. During this unit, the students also spend time learning major muscles in the body.
To start this unit, students were asked to upload an image of the muscular system into the iPad
application, “ThingLink.” This project ultimately includes 3 different tasks. First, the students will
use the muscular system image in ThingLink to find and label the major muscles they are
required to learn. Muscles include the biceps, triceps, abdominals, latissimus dorsi, obliques,
etc.

After they find and label the muscles, students will spend a few weeks utilizing equipment in the
fitness center to learn exercises to help build and strengthen these muscles. Once the students
spend some time in the fitness center, they will return to their ThingLink projects and add an
instructional video for one exercise for each muscle they identified and labeled.
The final part of the project requires the students to participate in some research to find at least
one functional movement of each muscle they learned. For example, the quadriceps muscles
helps us bend and straighten our knees, which helps us walk up the steps, run, balance, etc.
They will add one final bullet point to each muscle they learned and include what that muscles
helps them do in their lives daily. This will ultimately lead us into a functional movement lifting
unit.

Once this project is complete, students will be asked to write a reflection on what they learned
from this project and why it is important to keep these muscles strong throughout life. This
project not only provides an interactive study guide, it also helps students personalize this
learning experience.

        

Google Expeditions in World Cultures by Mrs. Skiles

Students in Mrs. Skiles World Culture's class completed Google Expeditions as an introduction to human and physical geography. The goal was for students to explore Rio de Janiero and Sao Paulo, Brazil and discover the human and physical geography of those places. This is the first time the student have worked with human and physical geography.  First in their Google docs warm-up page, they created a statement on what they think are human and physical geography.  Next, students are given a t-chart with physical and human geography.  Using Google Expeditions the students explore scenes from Rio and Sao Paulo.  As we explore the students listed what they think are features of the human and physical geography.

During the next class students will continue to explore but this time having a class discussion over the lists they created.  Students will then develop personal definitions for human and physical geography.  (Personal definitions in my opinion are better than standard because they own the definition and can remember it better.)

     

Evaluate Mini-Lessons by Mrs. Cook and Mrs. Zerrer

Once a month, our students take the Evaluate test as an indicator of progress on 7^th grade standards.  As a team, we decide which standards to focus on that month.  For these standards, we create video mini-lessons to teach/reteach concepts.  Our mini-lessons engage students through videos, IPEVO, Nearpod, quizizz and Canvas.

Each lesson takes only 15-25 minutes to complete, so students stay focused by moving on to different topics quickly.  Students gain access to teacher-made videos for examples and demonstration through the Nearpod app on their iPad.  Also included in the Nearpod presentation are questions for the student to attempt to work out on their own.  These are followed up with teacher-made IPEVO videos students can check their work for correctness.  Finally, the last piece of the Nearpod directs student to a 5 question quiz that will check for understanding.   These quizzes are either in Canvas or on website (www.quizziz.com).

Benefits of Mini-Lessons:

1. Student paced - Nearpod can be set on student pace so no one is rushed when trying examples.  If someone wants to rewatch a video or example they can do so, while others move on.
2. Individualized Learning – We have our students show us their scores after each lesson.  If they are at 80% or higher they will move on to the next lesson.  If they are below 80% we will individually discuss the incorrect answers to find the mistakes.
3. Absent lessons – If a student is absent they still have full access to the lessons!  All material is covered in the videos!
4. Parent assistance – MANY times we hear from parents that they don’t know how to help with math homework.  They too can watch the videos and learn with their child.