Stories

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Stories from MLTI teachers across Maine. In them you will find how, in understandable terms of teaching and learning, 1 - 1 wireless access is changing things for the better in Maine schools.)

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This category has 46 stories.

• Teacher at Sea A Maine middle school teacher was part of Teacher at Sea program that gave him the opportunity to work with scientists on a ship in the north Pacific and communicate with students about his work.
• Laptop ID Labels Mt. Ararat Middle School Teacher Leader Lisa Hogan and Tech Lead Drew Logan found a creative way to label laptops for easy identification.
• eCYBERMISSION eCYBERMISSION is a math, science, technology competition for students in grades 6-9 sponsored by the US Army.
• GIS Day 2005 Geo-Spatial Science Conference and College Fair Information about GIS Day 2005 Geo-Spatial Science Conference and College Fair, sponsored by the University of New Hampshire.
• SubEthaEdit as an Assessment Tool SubEthaEdit is a collaborative text editor that many high school teachers are beginning to use with students. Most often it?s used with a group of writers who wish to create a document collaboratively, but it can also be used as a controlled chat environment. In one case, it was used as an assessment tool to check students? understanding of the elements of fiction. Emily Ellis of Hall Dale High School sends us this report...
• Wescott Junior High School's iTeam The Fred C. Wescott Junior High in Westbrook has a very busy student technology team. Steve Moulen, one of the Wescott iTeam's advisors, sends us this report.
• Multimedia at Middle School of the Kennebunks Recently the MLTI team visited the Middle School of the Kennebunks to work with teachers and students on using multimedia in their study of distance, time and space. Below is Kelly Arsenault's report.
• Learning by Doing: Impressionist Paintings on the Laptops Lisa Gilman, art teacher at Winthrop Middle School, was convinced that students could use their laptops in art class for something more than Internet research and writing. She has developed a unit where students combine Internet research with digital "painting" to learn more about the Impressionists.
• MainePix - How Much Is a Picture Worth? MLTI has given teachers and students the tools they need to effectively communicate with images. The question now is - where will students go to find those images? Jim Moulton offers one innovative solution...
• The Ken Burns/Jim Moulton Effect? Sometimes it only takes a little spark to light a huge creative fire. Todd R. Nelson, Principal of the Adams School in Castine, sends us this report of Jim Moulton's work with teachers and students there.
• As Maine Goes, So Goes the Nation Election results and GIS have proven to be the perfect combination for helping students understand how technology can help us get a better picture of our state and its residents. Lydia Leimbach, Technology Teacher at Hall-Dale High School, sends us this report of an exciting project her students have undertaken.
• Rube Goldberg Contraptions in Poland Students in Poland built Rube Goldberg contraptions to show what they know about simple machines and used their laptops for research and to document their progress.
• Middle School of the Kennebunks' Apple Tree Student Tech Teams play an important part in the success of MLTI in our middle schools. The Middle School of the Kennebunks, has formed a tech team and has developed an innovative method in which staff can communicate their needs for technical assistance to the students.
• Confessions of a PortaPortal Princess Ocassionally we come upon a story by a teacher who really speaks for all of us. Nancy Hayes from Lake Region Middle School wrote this story for a class she is taking and has given us permission to share it here.
• 7th Graders Use iBooks for Policy Work - and Go National with Their Support for Maine?s Laptop Program Jen Coose, an intern at Lyman Moore Middle School, has been working with students on Project Citizen, a civics unit in which students learn how to research and influence public policy. Here is her report:
• iBooks Help Students with Disabilities in Trenton Students with disabilities at the Trenton Elementary School are experiencing success with the iBooks. Doug Bird sends us this story:
• Students as Teachers Present iPhoto How-tos Our Student iTeam Conference in January '04 inspired many schools to start their own student technology teams. Students from New Sweden School are proving that students can teach teachers a thing or two. Ernie Easter sends us this report...
• Family Heirlooms and Their Stories 7th graders at Rangeley Lakes Regional School have been involved in a project where they learn the stories behind their family heirlooms and write those stories for publication on their school Web site.
• Testimony given to the Education Committee of the Maine State Legislature on April 5, 2004. Ernie Easter of New Sweden testified before the State Legislature's Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs in a hearing to determine support for the expansion of MLTI into high schools. This is the text of his testimony.
• MLTI at Governor Baxter School for the Deaf We've seen how successful one-to-one computing can be in regular 7th and 8th grade classrooms but how effective is the MLTI with special needs students? Rob Gillies of the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf sends this report:
• iBooks and Inquiry at Skyway Middle School Should windmills be built of the top of Mars Hill Mountain? This is the question students at Skyway Middle School in Presque Isle tackled. Laura Chase, RIM for the Aroostook region sends us this report of how the iBooks helped 7th graders answer a real-life question
• Would you like to stand next to a river watching caiman (a type of crocodile) and piranhas? How about waking up to howler monkeys screaming, or maybe even hear a jaguar growl in the distance? On Thursday, February 12th, four Maine teachers will head to Brazil where they may do this and more. They would like you to join them on the Internet.
• Kids as Learning Entrepreneurs How MLTI and one-to-one computing help kids become learning entrepreneurs.
• Time For Reflection One-to-one computing has been in place in our 7th grade classrooms for more than a year now and in 8th grade classes for several months. Some middle school teachers have taken time to reflect on how their classrooms have changed. Three teachers from the William S. Cohen School in Bangor have written their thoughts about teaching, learning, and the laptops.
• George Lucas Educational Foundation Collects Maine's Stories In the Fall of 2003, a team from California arrived in Maine to see and document what was happening with the MLTI. Some of the results of that visit can be found online at the GLEF site. You really need to see it!
• Dynamic School Websites Most schools now have a presence on the World Wide Web, but those of us who have served as school webmasters know how difficult it can be to keep these sites up to date and functional. Two MLTI RIMs (Regional Integration Mentors) have found ways to build school web sites that allow students and staff to upload content easily
• A really big difference in attitude Donna Gagnon is a Middle School social studies teacher at Indian Township School in Washington County. Her story reflects, once again, the change in engagement and personal responsibility for learning that we have seen over and over in the MLTI. If you are a teacher you may recognize the student?
• Tommy knows more... Becky Myers teaches Language Arts in a looping Grade 7 & 8 classroom at Mt. Ararat Middle School in MSAD #75. (Bowdoin, Bowdoinham, Harpswell, Topsham, & West Harpswell) In this story she tells about doing what happens so often in an MLTI classroom - Teachers learning from kids!
• PRISM - Acadia University 2003 - MLTI Goes to Canada! Seven teams of students and teachers in eight schools from around the state of Maine have begun twisting their visions of education based on a foundation laid at PRISM, a week long institute held this summer at Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia.
• The Power & Importance of MLTI Contributions In the MLTI "...if you know something, you share it, and if you need help, you ask for it."
• Successful MLTI Schools Do Some Things Differently... Some schools have had greater success and have gone farther than others with the resources and opportunities provided to all Maine middle-level settings by the Maine Learning Technology Initiative.
• TATER ACT - Potatoes, Community, and Learning in Aroostook County This is a brief write up on how TATER ACT came about and how our project developed and grew. TATER ACT is a community-based learning project that is engaging kids with their community and vice-versa to foster real learning and grow real learning connections.
• Ann Luginbuhl teaches at Charlotte Elementary School in rural Charlotte, Maine. She is responsible for special education, gifted & talented, and technology services in the school. Like many teachers in Maine's small rural schools, Ann works in multi-age classrooms which are present out of necessity, not created by choice. An avid learner herself when it comes to technology, Ann is also a realist in assessing its impact on teaching and learning.
• Amy White teaches computer and keyboarding at Cunningham Middle School in Presque Isle, Maine While most of the MLTI stories highlight student work, Amy's story speaks clearly to "teacher learning," and that is a wonderful thing for all students to witness.
• Kathy Bartley teaches language arts at Lake Region Middle School in Naples, Maine. This is our first story about the role of the iBooks in the community
• Diane B. Briggs teaches social studies and language arts at Reeds Brook Middle School in Hampden, Maine. Classroom observation is a standard assessment tool for all teachers. It is still invaluable in a classroom setting with 1 - 1 wireless access!)
• Michael Richards teaches mathematics at the Mildred L. Day School in Arundel, Maine All teachers know that being out of the classroom due to illness or professional development means extra effort on the part of both teacher and students. This is a great example of how the MLTI has changed real classroom practice
• Eric Chamberlin teaches grade 8 social studies at Boothbay Region Elementary School in Boothbay Harbor, Maine. He also serves as a Regional Integration Mentor for the Mid-Coast Region in the MLTI. (Editor's note: It is worth pointing out that Eric is concerned that his efforts not be seen as "grandstanding," but as a sincere and concerted effort to make the most of the MLTI opportunity. Like all of the Regional Integration Mentors, he works hard to spread his knowledge and inspire and support others as they "go for it!")
• Kaley Saunders teaches science in grades 5 & 6 and social studies in grade 5 at Jay Middle School in Jay, Maine. Please notice that this story is a contribution from a non-MLTI grade level teacher, and yet it speaks clearly of the promise of this effort
• Anne Davies is an internationally recognized assessment expert and educator from British Columbia, Canada She has been spending the fall of 2002 observing, from an assessment perspective, 1 - 1 wireless access in Debbie Jamieson's classroom at Pembroke Elementary School in Pembroke, Maine. Here is part of the story of laptops in Pembroke Elementary
• Mark Gunter teaches science, social studies, and language arts at Shapleigh Middle School in Kittery, Maine He also serves as a Regional Integration Mentor for York County in the MLTI. (Editor's note: It is not surprising that Mark was the first person to take advantage of this opportunity to share stories of MLTI success. He has worked tirelessly in support of all the MLTI schools in his Region, supporting them all in moving ahead to make the most of MLTI