Week off Ending; KYSTE Coming

Well my first week of summer break is about to come to an end. It has been a good one and I've gotten caught up on cleaning and some other chores. We are working next week, but it won't be too much work really. We get to host our state tech conference here in Bullitt County. The KYSTE (Kentucky Society for Technology in Education) Conference is coming to North Bullitt High School next Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday the 17th, 18th, and 19th.

More information about the conference including session offerings, accomodations, etc. can be found by visiting the KYSTE website at www.kyste.org/conference.

I am looking forward to the presentation my colleague and I are doing entitled "Why Raise Your Hand When you Can Click a Button." Here is the description that I included in my presentation proposal:

This session will cover the versatile uses of student response systems. Using the eInstruction CPS "clickers", the presenters will show how to go beyond manually typing questions into the CPS software by using questions from various places to check student understanding of concepts. CPS clickers can be used within Study Island, ThinkLink (Discovery Education), History Alive, any other document or website that has questions already created, or even a question right off the tip of your tongue. These are wonderful opportunities to engage your students with bell ringer activities and common assessments and gets you out of grading papers all evening. Other uses of the CPS software will also be shown including attaching KET Encyclomedia/United Streaming clips within a question as well as the use of Examview.

I'm sure it will be a wonderful conference as always! If you are an educator join us if you can! Then after KYSTE comes the trip to DC for NECC..Can't wait for that!

Susan

Students on the Island...Study Island

Good evening! We finally made it back to school today here in snowy Bullitt County, Kentucky. This gives me a good opportunity to talk about another "Tool of my Trade!"

For the last year and a half our school district has subscribed to a web based program called Study Island (www.studyisland.com). Study Island is built from state standards for each individual state and is made to be used as a tool for instruction, review, assessment practice, etc. The activities within Study Island are very versatile using various presentation techniques including test modes and game modes to help motivate and engage students. Teachers have the ability to set up their own class roster and make specific assignments for their classes using it just like they would a worksheet or page out of a book. Activities in Study Island be done either at school or at home if the student has Internet access.

One of the coolest things that our teachers love about Study Island is the fact that it can be used for whole group review and flashbacks using the eInstruction Classroom Response Systems or generically referred to as "clickers." Study Island and eInstruction have partnered together to make the use of the "clickers" user friendly for teachers and giving them the ability to quickly review concepts with students and allowing them to gain instant feedback.

So, if you are a teacher or school employee take a look at the site. If you are a parent or know someone with kids ask their school about it!

Enjoy and have a great evening.

Susan