RAINER ELEMENTARY

Mr. Hogans Class

11/10/2013

Its Going Fine in 209

This Weeks Plan
M Musical Play (A Bugs Life) Book Reports Due

Attack of the Mac

What do you use in your home or office workplace? Many adults are biased to Windows based (PC) computers, but the Macintosh is starting to take over. The new iOS operating system is as simple as ever, and many kids have an easier time picking up how to operate these computers over the traditional PC. Our school has recently purchased 75 new iMac computers to be placed in the 2nd and 5th grade computer labs, along with the Fine Arts department. These new computers still have the ability to run Windows 8 through software called BootCamp, allowing teachers to be able to present material through both operating systems. We have chosen Macintosh (Apple) computers to be placed in our labs because of the durability and reliability of the machine, as well as their functionality. As previously stated the user interface is super simple and kids seem to enjoy the change of pace from a traditional PC. These new computers also support many more educational software packages, as well as design stu-

Library Trip Assembly Art, P.E, & Music Day

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Eye Exams Picture Day Kendras Birthday

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Read for 30 minutes

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Its Standard to follow Standards

Gym Clothes Musical Costumes Book Reports PICTURE DAY Library Books Many parents in the past have asked me why we follow the Common Core Standards of Missouri. These standards exist to give the teachers a basic guideline of what should be taught in their classroom, and what is expected to be taken away by the children. They are relatively easy to follow, and are available for each of the core classes, which are taught in my room. By closely following these standards, other teachers and myself are able to create a lesson plan, which coordinates with these standards, and also will prepare the class for any standardized testing. All of the standards can be found online, for free, at dese.mo.gov (Department of Elementary & Secondary Education). Although the standards look to be quite boring and dull, I promise to introduce these ideas to your children in the most interesting and engaging fashion that I possibly can. I believe that these standards can become very useful to the parents as well, because
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Its Going Fine in 209

Still Going Fine in 209

How Rad is an iPad?

This year our 5th grade classroom was chosen to be gifted twenty-five new Apple iPads to be used daily. The children on today seem to have a natural knack for these advanced technologies that people of my age missed out on. By calibrating the iPads to fit in with the master computer, and SmartNotebook the students will be able to interact with the other children in the class as well as myself on the presented material. The introduction of iPads in the classroom may also be the first step towards the elimination of heavy paper textbooks. Most of the books used in our curriculum also come with a digital copy as well that is iPhone and iPad compatible. Instead of the school district having to pay for both, we will save a substantial amount of money by doing this, and your childs backpack will be tremendously lighter. While we will continue to study the same material as everyone else, our class will have a different way of approaching the material, and I personally believe that the class will take more from the lecture because of their interest in technology.

The Smartest Desk in Town

A SmartBoard can be seen in each of our classrooms in the building, and they are something that teachers and students both love to use because of the easy and engaging interface. At Smart Technologies they are constantly working on creating new educational products that are fun to use, but that are also highly purposeful and functional. In the center of our library (located right down the hall) our building has bought the newest piece of equipment, the SmartTable. It is a freestanding ta(Continued from page 1)

ble, about the size of two standard size classroom desks, with a touch interface. The flat surface has a backlit screen, much like a television, which allows for up to eight individuals to touch it at once. This can be used for many fun and educational activities from Pre-K all the way up to high school. The demo that I witnessed this summer had to do with 1st graders coming together to put a puzzle together, as well as 5th graders working on a group presentation and physically tossing the PPT

across the table to each other. It is a great new tool for collaborative learning, and I look forward to showing my class this new piece of equipment in the upcoming week, as well as all of the parents at the tech seminar next Tuesday at 7.

Contact Information
Mr. Andy HoganRoom 209 Office: (315) 599-2354 Cell: (314) 637-8858 E-Mail: Hogan054@live.missoruistate.edu

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dios for the Art departments. We will be hosting a learning seminar this coming Tuesday at 7pm for parents to come up to the building to see the new computers and have any questions answered. We hope to see you!

you at home will have the ability to ask and quiz your children on what they know, and can follow the standards sheets yourselves. They keep every 5th grade student right where they need to be in the academic world!