"Forget About It"

Landing at the Philadelphia, Penn. airport wasn't such a big deal, but when I crossed the Delaware River I realized that I was really in New Jersey.  Riding down the highway toward Atlantic City was not at all what I had imagined.   I had visions of black Cadillac sedans and graves lining the forests and some big brute saying "forget about it"; that's what I saw in the movies.  Actually, it looked a lot like KY, except there were tall pine trees and a lot of sandy soil.  I arrived at beautiful Stockton College and had an amazing time with some great educators from all around New Jersey and Pennsylvania. William King and  I presented several sessions and we were overwhelmed by the favorable reception we received.  So...why am I telling you all this stuff?  Bowling Green City Schools has some of the most innovative and talented group of teachers whose experience and talent are second to no one.  As I travel around the country to various conferences, it is clear we are doing some exceptional work in our district.  We are leaders in tools such as:  schoolpointe, turning point, edmodo, dropbox, animoto, intelligent classrooms, ipads, flipped classroom concepts and more.  We have a number of teachers who are truly "Rock Stars" when it comes to technology.   We also have a number of teachers who still need to consider using technology more effectively as a means to engage students.  Please contact me or your school integration specialist to assist in any of your projects.

Here are some upcoming events available for you:
Google in the Classroom                 9-4-2012           3:30-6:30      The Academy
Microsoft Innovative Educator        9-25-2012         3:30-6:30       The Academy
Teachmeet KY                              10-05-2012        8:30-3:30       WKU

Follow me on twitter:  @allenraymartin

Teachmeet New Jersey 8-23-2012

Less Time Grading, More Time Teaching.

¡Turning Point Anywhere

¡Turning Point 2008

¡Question Point

¡BrainPop

¡ResponseWare

¡Video of Skype and Turning Point

Tips for BGISD Educators - "A Must Read"

Welcome Back to School.  I would like to share some links and thoughts with you I believe will be of interest to you this year.

• Follow Me on Twitter @allenraymartin - if you have not signed up for twitter, I highly recommend you sign up and get your PLN (Professional Learning Network) On.  Many of our schools have accounts and are sharing great resources with each other.  Remember you do not have to get all of the tweets, think of it like a waterfall and grab a drink when you need it or have the time.  I recommend Hootsuite.  Hootsuite allows you to categorize your tweet feeds and follow specific hashtags.

• Edmodo has been a great success for our students and teachers.  I believe all of our schools have at least one teacher using this tool.  Veteran teachers who are slow adopters of technology are already raving about how they appreciate the tool.  Sign up using the shortcut on your desktop or by going to my edmodo page.  You will also find how to's for you and your students.

• BG Schools participates in E-Rate discounts from the federal government, as a result we save 70% on our communication costs (approximately $80,000 a year).  Part of the requirement is to teach Internet Safety to our students.  We have a couple of recommendations:
• Common Sense Media Lesson Plans
• Atomic Learning Tutorials and Workshops for Teachers and Students.

Below are a couple of websites that your STIS can help set up and account for you.  Should you need any assistance, let me know:

1. www.atomiclearning.com  (username: "your email")  ask your STIS  for the password
2. SchoolPointe Website (All teachers should have an active website)

Come To Teachmeet KY on Oct. 5 at WKU Randsdell Building

Iste 2012

What makes a conference work? In my opinion going to a conference has multiple purposes: 1. You learn in lecture mode (which is fine). 2. You get inspired by presenters who set a fire under you and help create excitement about your profession 3. you network with colleagues from different geographic locations 4. If you attend with colleagues from the same district, you develop stronger bonds and a develop healthy relationships 5. You should realize that what you are doing already has significance and that you are contributing 6. You realize you are way behind and it inspires you to get better. For me, I participated in this international conference and realized that BGISD has great teachers implementing some amazing technology initiatives and should be very proud of the work we are doing. With that said, several teachers are "slow-adopters" and must get on board and create engaging lesson plans that use technology to support and engage student achievement. I can't wait to get started next year to begin making a significance in what we do in Bowling Green. Things for you to do: 1. (Re-) Discover you passion for working with students 2. Create a Game Plan to do Rock Star teaching! 3. Decide you want to inspire your students 4. Learn one or two education technology tools you want to learn and develop this year. 5. Make it Happen and Follow Through!!!

Shutting Down Technology for The Summer

Printable Copy

BGISD TECHNOLOGY “SHUT DOWN FOR SUMMER CHECKLIST

€       KEEP COMPUTERS, PRINTERS, DOC CAMERAS, REMOTES, ETC. IN SAME ROOM UNLESS APPROVED BY PRINCIPAL AND SCHOOL TECHNOLOGY SPECIALIST

€       SHUTDOWN MONITOR, PRINTERS, COPIERS AND COMPUTERS COMPLETELY

€       COVER DOCUMENT CAMERAS WITH THE COVER THAT CAME WITH IT OR USE OTHER MATERIAL TO PROTECT FROM DUST AND DEBRIS

€       RETURN RESPONSE CARDS SYSTEMS TO LIBRARY OR LOCK SECURELY

€       UNPLUG AND SECURELY STORE THE FOLLOWING DEVICES:

○ MICROPHONE/AUDIO ENHANCEMENT

○ INTERACTIVE TABLETS/MOBIS

○ IPODS AND IPADS

○ REMOTE CONTROLS FOR INTERACTIVE EQUIPMENT

€       SAVE AND/OR BACKUP IMPORTANT FILES YOU MAY NEED IN THE FUTURE.  SAVING TO YOUR NETWORK FOLDER H:\  IS IMPORTANT.

€       SAVING TO THE FOLLOWING CLOUD STORAGE OPTIONS MAY BE BENEFICIAL:

○ SKYDRIVE

○ DROPBOX

○ GOOGLE DRIVE

€       NETBOOKS, LAPTOPS, IPADS, IPODS, CAMERAS, AND ANY OTHER PORTABLE TECHNOLOGIES SHOULD BE ACCOUNTED FOR AND RETURNED TO CARTS AND/OR PROPERLY STORED AND SECURED

€       PROPERLY SECURE ALL ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY

€       NOTIFY TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT VIA EMAIL ON ANY OUTSTANDING OR CURRENT TECHNOLOGY ISSUES.

○ ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS:  STEVEN.KIRTLEY@BGREEN.KYSCHOOLS.US

○ JR HIGH AND HIGH SCHOOL:  JAY.MORGAN@BGREEN.KYSCHOOLS.US

○ CO, ACADEMY, GROUP EFFORT, CRISIS CENTER AND ALL OTHERS:  SHARON.LOGSDON@BGREEN.KYSCHOOLS.US

○ District Technology Resource Teacher:  allen.martin@bgreen.kyschools.us

TEACHER NAME:  __________________________

DATE:  ____________________________________

Please return to your school office.

The technology department would like to thank you for a wonderful school year.  There are many changes and new initiatives in the area of educational technology and our desire is to work as a team with students, teachers, administrators and parents to develop and lead our students into the 21^st Century.  Please use this checklist to ensure that your technology is ready for you and your students when the 2012-2013 school year begins in August. 

Mother's Day, Discounted Software and Training Software

Here are a few iPad apps I like:
PuppetPals
TourWrist
Evernote

This is an example of videos McNeill kindergartners created for their mothers...

• Check out this link if you need a new computer or need to purchase Microsoft Office

• Check out www.atomiclearning.com for training on tools like:  imovie, garageband, prezi and more.

California Animoto

My Animoto Video