21st Century Classroom Research

When technology is integrated into the classroom, magic happens! Students are engaged for longer periods of time, they are self-directed and self-monitoring, and unbelievable amounts of knowledge are gained and shared! With a combination of campus netbooks, desktops, and several students who bring their own devices from home, this classroom is researching self-selected topics and in the process of targeting each and every Technology TEK along the way.

Discovery Education Board Builder

Second grade students are utilizing a new tool in their animal research project. Discovery Education's Board Builder app is a great way for them to continue researching their topic and digitally share their new-found information in a visual way. Students were able to add text and search for supporting images and video from Discovery's robust media library. With tons of design options, the students were excited about sharing their knowledge!

TechStars Finale

The Berkman TechStars met for the final time this year. Together we celebrated all of the new programs they were able to explore and use including MIT App Inventor, PicMonkey, WeVideo, and Google Apps. This great group of kids have used problem solving and creativity to further explore the world of technology. Way to go!

Poetry Publications

Second graders are studying poetry this time of year and writing some of their very own poems. Students in Ms. Tyler's class used MS PowerPoint to publish their poems and record themselves reciting the prose. Afterwards, they worked on the design element, adding color and images, which will ultimately come together in a multimedia movie production. Students in Ms. Chamberlain's class decided to see what Google Drive could do for them! They are publishing their poetry in a Google Doc as a way to become more familiar with the environment and look forward to sharing with classmates as part of the peer review process.

G+Hangout with Amanda Johnston, Poet

All five Berkman 2nd grade classes participated in a Google Hangout with poet Amanda Johnston.  Mrs. Johnston shared two of her poems and an additional Shel Silverstein favorite. Students were so excited to be able to listen to a published, professional poet and ask questions about her craft while teachers appreciated the information Mrs. Johnston gave about the importance of revision! The event was held in the library and coordinated by the Berkman librarian, Mrs. Bamford. Mrs. Johnston recently earned earned a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Stonecoast through the University of Southern Maine. She has achieved many honors and grants and enjoys sharing poetry with students. Currently, she is the administrative associate at Grisham Middle School.

Digital Drop Box

Students and teachers continue to utilize Google Apps as part of the writing process. Students in Mrs. Young's fourth grade class frequently receive shared docs from her as part of their assignments. Students can work from templates or create their own products within their Google Drive accounts. No need for a printer, with a simple click of a button, students share their assignments back to the teacher where she can view and make suggestions for editing and revising.

Science Fair Preparations Begin

Do you remember the science fair? Do you remember walking through the long isles looking at everyone's presentation and materials related to their project? Berkman students are in the middle of their research and experimentation in preparation for the 2014 Science Fair hosted by Austin Energy. Students are utilizing many digital resources such as online databases, searching through web content for the right information, and choosing tools to help them organize their findings, such as PowerPoint. Science and Technology come together for a memorable experience!

Celebrate Texas Public Schools Video Contest

A small group of students in Mrs. Loft's class took on the challenge of creating and producing a video for the Celebrate Texas Public Schools Week video contest. They brainstormed all of the qualities they loved about their school and made a plan for how to capture those qualities on video. With lots of quality video footage, it was quite tricky to narrow it down to sixty seconds, but they got it done. Fingers crossed, we win! Great work to all of the kids highlighting why we are Proud to Be a Berkman Bee!

The Hour of Code Gets Angry and Zombified

The Hour of Code finally arrived! The energy and excitement was intense as students learned they were about to be programming along with some of their favorite characters, Angry Birds and Plants vs. Zombies, for the very first time ever! Students enjoyed learning about programming in a very basic manner and some even explored some of the more advanced tutorials. Students were happy to learn they would have access to the coding activities beyond their one hour class that day.

Students to Participate in The Hour of Code

Students in fourth and fifth grade will be participating in The Hour of Code, as part of Computer Science Education Week, December 9th -13th. What is The Hour of Code? It's a one-hour introduction to computer science, designed to demystify "code" and show that anyone can learn the basics to be a maker, a creator, an innovator. Computer science provides a foundation for virtually any career - everybody can benefit from learning the basics. Visit code.org to learn more and be sure to ask your child about their coding experience!

Tech Star Club Forming

Join Our Google+ Community

As part of our Google initiative, we continue to explore how we can use Google products to create impact in the classroom. Teachers have been introduced to Google+ which is a social networking site that we use to create online communities centered around education. Teachers have joined our campus G+ Community to share educational research and best practice. We also have a G+ Community called Tech Tuesdays where we share and comment on new technology tools. There are also several district level communities that teachers participate in, professional development being the most prominent, where they can access resources and materials from trainings, ask follow up questions, begin conversations, etc. Google+ Communities have allowed us to create wonderfully collaborative online environments where teachers can share with teachers, both on campus and from around the district.

The Students are Going Google

Word is spreading like wildfire! We have Google accounts?! They have Google accounts?! Yes! The newest batch of students to explore their Google accounts were third graders in Mrs. Kuntz's classroom and fourth graders in Mrs. Wilshusen's classroom. Students practice writing to a great extent, so after they learned how to log in, they began learning about their Google Drive and all of its functionalities. They were surprised at how easy it was to get started, that they no longer have to "save" their documents, and how easy it was to share their work with their teacher. We can't wait to see their writing pieces.

Fifth graders in Ms. Johnston's and Mrs. Berry's classrooms also dove in to their Google accounts. In addition to logging in and navigating the new workspace, students began using Google Spreadsheet to create bar graphs. They left for Thanksgiving break ready to collect data! 

Google Apps Accounts for Students

A very exciting initiative this year involves Google Apps accounts for students in grades two through five! Wow, that means Gmail, Calendar, Drive, and various other apps for 7 - 10 year olds! Yes! Mrs. Ascencio's fifth graders were so excited to log in to their Gmail accounts for the first time. Students are learning the "art" of logging in and navigating their new world. The excitement was contagious and they thoroughly enjoyed sending their test emails to their teacher!

Your Teachers are Google Ninjas!

Several Berkman teachers attended the First Annual Round Rock ISD Google Ninja Academy on Saturday, November 1st.  Ms. Ascencio, Mrs. Yau, and Ms. Aguilera attended the all day event at Round Rock High School, exploring new and exciting uses for Google, honing their  They came back excited and energized to begin using Google with their students.

ActivExpressions to Check for Understanding

As part of our interactive, technology-rich classrooms, students in fourth grade are using Promethean ActivExpressions to answer questions and give feedback, allowing the teacher to check for understanding in a new and compelling way. Students in Mrs. Young's classroom are using the ActivExpressions as they learn new material and are even experimenting with taking assessments directly on their handheld devices!

IXL Math

Kindergarten was super excited about their new resource for building math fact fluency! IXL Math provides a fun, colorful way to practice math. Students work to compete with their friends and uncover new prizes on their game boards as they progress through TEK aligned activities. They're sure to gain new math skills and confidence along the way!

Excel Graphing in First Grade

Students begin learning about graphs as early as kindergarten! They practice reading and analyzing graphs and soon they are creating their very own. Ms. Duffy's class ventured into Microsoft Excel as part of their math lesson to introduce the students to using a computer to create a graph. Each student sorted a handful of shape tiles according to color and created their data table. From there they made a graph and worked on formatting the labels. They took turn reading each others' graphs to determine relationships between the amount of colors.

Vocabulary Rap

What's better than mixing music with rhyme? Fifth graders in Ms. Johnston's class are doing just that! They are creating vocabulary rap videos using new and important vocabulary words from each unit in math, science, and language arts. Their rap videos get televised to the rest of the school on the morning news broadcast. Kids are having a blast and increasing their vocabulary in the process!

Writing with Storybird

Students in Mrs. Yau's third grade classroom explored a new and creative way to enjoy writing! Using a web 2.0 tool called Storybird, students used the artwork provided by various artists to illustrate their expository writing. They enjoyed publishing their writing for a larger audience and finding beautiful illustrations to fit their piece.