Patricia Hawkenson’ Blog

It has been a while since my last post, but I have been still in the game.  Just recently I was awarded the Excellence in Innovation in Education award from our local Chamber of Commerce.  I am so pleased that the efforts of my students and I have been rewarded.  Thanks to the DEN for the initial push into the world of technology.  It is exciting to see where the path is taking me.

 Also, I just received my Livescribe Pulse SMART pen!  It is really amazing and I am eager to learn how to use it.  My mind is swimming with possible classroom applications.  When I have something worth sharing, I will let you know how it works in the trenches.

Recently my regional area had our yearly dinner for the new National Board candidates and those with current certification.  It is great to see our group growing.  If you are considering the process, I encourage you to go for it.  The network of support is out there to help you.

I just started my 6th graders in our Wiki site during class today.  With only 7 students entered during class, they went home and chatted with over 65 comments back and forth to each other!  What a great way for quieter kids to connect with a social group!  We set up this wiki for our tech team to have a place to plan their upcoming cable access tv show.  I can easily monitor their comments and I hope these original 7 go back to school tomorrow and spread the word of how fun it is. 

I missed the virtual conference today!  I never received the info for connecting after completing my registration.  Perhaps I registered too late??? Emails to LC were not responded to.  I feel left out of the loop!  Hopefully, I will be able to get another opportunity. 

WI is in the deep freeze!   Snowday today due to sub-zero weather…and I left my pile of correcting back at school!  So sad, NOT! :D  This gives me time to surf the warm waters of the net and time to catch up on the DEN.  Forecast for Sat. DEN event looks more favorable.  I hope to head down and meet the gang in Verona! 

My students and I were recently showcased on WEAU TV in their Friday Technology Spot.  Check it out at:

http://www.weau.com/technology

It focuses on our latest SMART Board project.  I was exposed to this project through the DEN.  There are SO MANY great ideas found within the Educator’s Resources.  Check them out!  If you want to see the links our students used to get them started, check out our classroom webpages at:

www.quia.com/pages/hawkensonlanguage.html

www.quia.com/pages/hawkensontech.html

I am busy sending out reminder emails for my upcoming SMARTBOARD Training to be held Jan. 26th at South Middle School in Eau Claire, WI.  Feel invited!  You can register at: http://www.prestoregister.com/cgi-bin/order.pl?ref=ITItraining&fm=1

My students LOVE using our SMARTBOARD. I have formed a student Tech Team and we have many projects underway.  Our plan is to have a spring showcase to share our student projects with our community.  Check out our student Tech Team website at: www.quia.com/pages/hawkensontech.html.

I am busy with my sixth grade students creating 1″ magnets, pins and zipper pulls to sell as a fundraiser for our Tech Team.  Our first goal is to purchase a SMART Board for the seventh grade staff so that students can continue their skills into next year.  Check out our web page at:  www.quia.com/pages/hawkensontech.html  

I am thrilled to tell you about my recent successes with the SMART Board I obtained from InFoCor!  My sixth graders LOVE it… almost as much as I do.  I will be sharing my expertise as an InFoCor Certified Trainer to educators in WI (and anyone who cares to make the trip!) in a series of workshops coming up in December and January.  I will be sharing the final dates, location and times as soon as they are finalized.  Email me at:  phawkenson@ecasd.k12.wi.us if you would like to reserve a spot in one of my workshops or if you would like help to get a SMART Board for your classroom.  

SMART Boards make it EASY and fun to use all that Discovery Streaming has to offer.  You can run videos, stop in midstream and write comments right on the image.  Then you can take a picture of these notes and share them again later.  My students are creating PowerPoints to show on our SMART Board and are linking Discovery Streaming audio clips to the images along with linking and embedding videos.   Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg!  You have to see a SMART Board to believe it. If you already have a SMART Board, add a comment and share the excitement. 

School is back is session and I have already completed my first two events which keeps my STAR status! (yea!)  I am spending this first weekend checking out the changes to the DEN and Discovery Streaming.  The new format looks clean, easy, and inviting.  I always rely on the DEN to keep me up-to-date on the latest and greatest.  Thanks again for making me look good back here in WI!