The Techno Cheetah

If you’ve gone to Bellows Spring’s website recently you’ve probably noticed it has changed.  The school system is in the process of giving a uniform look to all the elementary school websites.  This transition has also brought about a change for the PTA.  The PTA now hosts their own website at http://sites.google.com/site/bellowspringspta/Home.

Keep an eye on Bellows new website in the next month as this year’s staff pictures and other updates are rolled out.  If you have any suggestions for what you’d like to see on the new website, please leave a comment.

There are several exciting changes this year for technology class:

1. Mrs. Quinn will be the new .6 technology teacher.  She will be at Bellows on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

2. Technology class will no longer be on wheels!  (I’m very happy about this as the computer cart was very heavy to push around the school.)  Technology class will be located in the portable that Mrs. Hughes occupied last year.

3. A new version of Pixie, Pixie 2, has been installed on all the laptops.

4. Although the order has not arrived, we will be receiving an interactive whiteboard.  An interactive whiteboard connects the computer to the projector and will allow the teacher and the students to control the computer from the projection on the whiteboard using a special pen.  This will make demonstrations and student presentations more interactive.  I can’t wait for it to arrive.

Whiteboard Image Source:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Interactive_whiteboard_at_CeBIT_2007.jpg

Over the summer, Bellows Spring’s student Alayna Lightfield, organized a fundraiser for a charity close to her heart.  The fundraiser was a great success.  What really impressed me was how the family used technology (they created a blog) to promote and highlight the fundraising effort.  What a great idea!

You can read more about it on the Lightfield’s family blog- http://thelightfieldfamily.blogspot.com.

This post is directed towards Bellows Spring’s teachers.

Please consider applying for the grant to get an LCD projector for your classroom.  To help inspire you, I found this brief video made by a math teacher named Dan about how using a projector has transformed his teaching.  Dan teaches high school but his overall message still applies to teachers of younger grades.  Please take a minute to watch it; the video is inspiring and truly captures authentic technology integration.

dy/av : 002 : the next-gen lecturer from Dan Meyer on Vimeo.

Hello to the Bellows Spring Community!
I am very excited about teaching at Bellows Spring Elementary School this year. I will be at BSES on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I will also teach at Deep Run Elementary School on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
I have taught in the county for many years and for the past fourteen years was the GT Resource teacher at Mount View Middle School. I am taking classes at Johns Hopkins University in their Leadership in Technology Integration Program. As a result of this course work, I decided to pursue a position as a technology teacher. I love working with technology and look forward to sharing my expertise with the students.
I recently vacationed in Cape Hatteras, North Carolina and Cape May, New Jersey. My final vacation will take place in New York and Pennsylvania for two family reunions. Some of my hobbies include photography, art, travel, and playing frisbee with my dog Elvis.
That’s all for now. I look forward to a fun and exciting year!
Thanks to Mr. Robb for inviting me to join this blog.
Mrs. Lorraine Quinn