Blended Solutions Project Update

As the Blended Solutions Project at Leamington District Secondary School, Mill Street Public School, and Pelee Island Public Schools comes of age, the Ontario Knowledge Network for Learning is sponsoring a series of symposia around the province to show off some of the success of the project and to allow key teachers the opportunity to share their experiences with others. The Western Ontario Region will hold its Symposium on February 20th at the Thames Valley District School Board in London.

The program has a number of presenters from Greater Essex County.

• Tammy Bush & Cindy Loop-Snyder, Multimedia Activities in a Primary Classroom
• Keith Balkwill, Considerations - Prior to the Addition of Technology & Special Projects in Your School
• Staci Nuets, Using Technology in Special Education Classrooms
• Al Halfper & Jenni Donohoo, Getting Teachers to Expand Their Use of Technology in a Secondary School

Good luck to all of the presenters. Some of these resources are available at our Blended Solution Project website. Workshops sharing some of the successes are also scheduled for later this spring.

The Weather

Remember the old saying "Everyone talks about the weather but nobody does anything about it?"

Not any longer. Students taking Grade 10 SNC visit their teacher's website to experience some Essex County relevant weather activities. Jean-Louis Bontront has developed this site to give students the opportunity to understand the weather as it happens. With links to weather maps and animations being displayed live, you can really get a sense of just when and how badly the next weather system will hit us.

It's a great experience and certainly exploits the promise of the Internet for up to date, current data.

Rumours have it that there's an answer guide to the online activities. If you drop the author a note, he might be willing to share it!

Student Reference Portal

The Student Reference Portal exists to give all Greater Essex County students a common starting point when they get on the Internet. Frequently used links are there to make navigation to some sites just a click away.

In the top left corner of the opening screen, there is a a 107 by 140 pixel space for rent. This area changes on a regular basis to show off artwork, multi-media creations, holiday themes, etc. If you or your students have something suitable for that size and would like to show it off, send me the file. I'll be happy to display it for all to see.

The current object is a Happy New Year's button -- downsized. Here's the original. Multiply it by a lab of 30 and you'll see why I didn't have the nerve to put this version on the portal!

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