You are here:
DISTRICT | HIGH SCHOOL |
Norwood's Technology Notes
   
New and Notable:

Avatar Filming Progresses
Posted Thursday, April 6, 2000
Videography on the "My Avatar" project has commenced, with three scenes now "in the can."

Personal Web Page Assignment for Spring Trimester Web Page Development Class
Posted Sunday, March 12, 2000
Hello 6th Hour Students: Just click here to see the specifics of your Personal Web Page assignment!

Where have I been lately?
Posted Monday, March 6, 2000
I must apologize for letting a month slip between postings on my page! It hardly seems possible that so much time has passed. I try to make sure that the main district page is updated at least once or twice each week, but I have been negligent in updating my own little spot on the net . . .

As Spring trimester begins at the High School, the Avatar project is about to swing into full production mode, with all major scenes needing to be "in the can" in the next three months.

A new crop of students is beginning the Web Page Design course I co-teach with Ms. Kalahar during 6th hour.

I have picked up several independent study students in Digital Media Production, Digital Audio Production, and Screenwriting.

I've been creating a demo of a staff development/training system which will allow staff members districtwide to access short (1-3 minute) web-accessible video tutorials covering such things as updating their district web pages, using the Internet effectively, and learning various software programs.

Stay tuned!

Election 2000 Curriculum Planning
Posted Monday, February 7, 2000
In consultation with Jerry Abraham and Greg Beck, I've been doing some preliminary planning of curriculum activities to be based around the 2000 Election Campaigns, including a potential MSET-wide mock election in which each MSET school building would hold its own election and mock election results would be covered live on Channel 6 during the afternoon of Election Day next November.

In addition, for the Presidential election each school would be worth a certain number of electoral votes . . . and each electoral vote would have to be cast by appointed "electors" who would be brought to Little Falls (either electronically or live) on the same date the actual Presidential electors meet to cast their official votes.

Please feel free to let me know what kinds of thoughts you have on this germ of an idea and what thoughts you might have on additional activities to be incorporated into the final project.

New iMac Rollout Begins
Posted Friday, January 21, 2000
The latest iMac computers to arrive at LFCHS are completing setup and being shipped out to locations around the school. A number of teachers are receiving the new machines as upgrades to the computers they have been using. Ten of the new machines are being placed in an Industrial Technology / Graphic Arts lab.

Thanks, Sherwin!
Posted Tuesday, January 4, 2000
My thanks to Sherwin Goodrich, who has graciously let me recruit a few of his Advanced Creative Writing students to work on the script for My Avatar. These students are able to receive credit for their class while at the same time completing vital plot development for the Avatar project. You can follow some of their work and discussion on the district Discussion Board.

The Joys of OS X Server
Posted Wednesday, December 22, 1999
I've spent the last day or so hip deep in helping configure a new file server so that we can begin deploying a group of new iMacs and iBooks to teachers and an industrial technology lab. Why a new server? Well, time marches on, and the new machines will not work with our existing management software (AtEase), so we find ourselves beginning the process of switching to the new system that Apple has developed to take the place of AtEase. Only we don't know if it will work with all of our old stuff . . . so we will end up with two systems running simultaneously for a while.

All of this shouldn't make much difference to the end user at the High School . . . things should look and work pretty much the same. It will just introduce some new learning opportunities on the network management end!

Check My Calendar
Posted Tuesday, December 14, 1999
I've decided to try following Cliff Schmitz's lead and use my web calendar to provide updates on what I'm working on . . . and provide occasional clues as to where I might be if you can't find me! Click the "My Calendar" link to the right to see what I've been up to!

News for the Web Page Development Class!
Posted Wednesday, December 8, 1999
The instructions for your personal web page assignment can be found by clicking here.

"My Avatar" Enters Next Phase
Posted Tuesday, December 7, 1999
The "Avatar" project is entering several weeks of heavy character and plot development, as well as storyboarding and scriptwriting. This will lead up to actual videography in late March. The Avatar web site will soon have the working schedule online, as well as versions of the "concept trailer" available for download. The concept trailer will also be shown on the Morning Report next week.

TIES Conference Wrap-Up
Posted Wednesday, November 24, 1999
This year's TIES conference was a wonderful learning and sharing opportunity! District and MSET staff presented a number of sessions, including those listed below. I have included the session descriptions that were listed in the conference guide.

Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere
Jerry Abraham, MSET
Session Description: This session will describe how ten school districts in central Minnesota have wired their buildings to allow programs to be broadcast live from any classroom to any or all classrooms, as well as to the home through local access cable. Information on wiring schemes and necessary equipment will also be covered.

Making "My Avatar:" Little Falls High School Goes Hollywood!
Jim Norwood and Greg Beck
Session Description: Little Falls High School is three months into a year-long movie production schedule. Students are creating "My Avatar," a movie exploring issues of personal responsibility in a digital world. To create the film, students are combining computer animation, digital editing, student acting, and original music. Copies will be available next year, including curriculum materials. Come see the early "rushes!"

An Abundance of Growth Through Technology
Kim Kilmer and Karen Maschler
Gain practical knowledge and tips on creating interdisciplinary, technology-rich units that focus on real life investigations utilizing local resources. Two fourth grade teachers will take you through a tried and true unit, its development, alignment to standards, and student project examples. This is a must-see for all K-8 educators.

Learning at Linden Hill
Becky Zerface, Mary Hanson, Julie Beddow-Schubert, Chuck Forss
What do the Wizard of Oz, Oprah, banking, lumbering, Charles Lindbergh, and the Mississippi River have in common? Learning at Linden Hill! This presentation will demonstrate a community and school effort to uncover Minnesota history in a cross-curricular, year-long study. See how students in second and third grades studied local history and began writing a local Web site for the primary reading level and interest level.

Technology Throughout the Day: Portable Learning Opportunities
Julie Beddow-Schubert and Karen Maschler
In 1997, all fifth grade students at Little Falls Community Schools entered school with a laptop in hand. By 1998, over one thousand students in fifth through eighth grade had immediate access to the technology that we as adults expect in our work environment. This session will address how access to portable technology enhances the teaching and learning process throughout the day in existing curriculum through inquiry-based, communication-rich activities while supporting global learning experiences.

"My Avatar" Project Page Created
Posted Tuesday, November 16, 1999
A web presence for the "My Avatar" project at LFCHS has been created at http://www.lfalls.k12.mn.us/users/myavatar. Please check this link from time to time for information about the progress of our project, which seeks to create video/curriculum/web materials to help teachers deal with the issue of individual responsibility in a digital world, as well as tutor teachers and students on the creation of cutting edge digital media.

"My Avatar" Project Update
Posted Tuesday, November 16, 1999
Some of you may be wondering about the "Avatar" project I spoke about earlier in the year, in which we are embarking on a year-long quest to make a movie for classroom use (complete with curriculum materials) . . . a movie that raises the issue of personal responsibility in a digital world.

Greg Beck and I will be presenting a session about this project at the TIES conference in Minneapolis at 10:30 a.m. next Monday, November 22. A small "skunkworks" team of students has been working on creating a 3 1/2 minute "pre-trailer," a digital music video combining an original song with student vocals (and co-written by students) with computer animation and live action shots.

This music video will be presented on the Morning Report early in December, as we kick off a recruiting drive for students and teachers who want to be deeply involved in the creation of the actual "My Avatar" movie. Script completion and casting needs to occur in December and early January, with principal videography taking place from late January through February and into March. Editing the rough cut will take place from March through May.

Final editing will take place during the summer months, with a "world premier" to be held sometime next Fall!

New Users Being Added!
Posted Wednesday, November 10, 1999
A number of High School faculty web pages have now been set up, and more will be created for staff district wide in the near future. You can click the links on the right side of this page to check them out!

Avatar Project Updates
Posted Thursday, November 4, 1999
A web site for the "Avatar" project (a LFCHS-produced movie and curriculum materials to teach students about personal responsibility and safety in a digital world) will be going live in about two weeks . . . and will soon thereafter have a link to a 3 1/2 minute "trailer" featuring an original song and lots of computer animation created by LFCHS students.

Their work so far will be shown at the "TIES" educational technology conference in the Twin Cities just before Thanksgiving, at which time the goals of the Avatar project will be presented and discussed with other educational technology leaders.

High School staff members volunteer for extra duty
Posted Tuesday, November 2, 1999
Well . . . as beta testers, anyway. As soon as a I clear up a couple of technical problems, I'll be creating pages like the one you are looking at for Mr. Dave Buker, Mr. Jayme Johnson, Mr. Mark Hemingway, Mr. Jerry Snyder, and Ms. Bev Lundorff . . . and perhaps a few more.

After a little bit of testing, there will be a free-for-all as as many people as possible in the district begin maintaining their own pages as well.