Frog Dissections

Students in 7th Grade Science classes prepared for frog dissection by going online.   The learned about frog anatomy and dissection techniques by running through a virtual dissection on the computer the day before the frogs and scalpels were brought out.   On Dissection day students worked in groups of 3 or 4 to make the cuts and find and identify the various organs.

RMS Staff Get to Play with Augmented Reality

The week leading up to the Spring Holiday, Ridgeview Staff were sent on a Easter Egg Hunt.  To participate the needed to load Aurasma on their smartphone and follow the Ridgeview Middle School Channel.   They could then hold their phones over the image on the Eggs and watch images come to life.    All the eggs had examples of how this tool could be used in the different subject areas to highlight student work or to help students dig deeper into a concept.   As the teachers found each egg they were able to access a google form through the app that allowed them to log their find.  The results were fun for all who aprticiapted and was a good way to introduce to teachers to another way that BYOD can be used in the classroom to enhance instruction.   Professional Development opportunities to develop their own auras will be coming soon.

The teachers were also asked to take "selfies" of videos with the eggs.  Some of these images are in the video below.

7th Grade ELA Brushes Up on Reading Skills

Students in Mrs. Porter's and Mrs. Pickle's classes spent the week before STAAR using the school netbooks and online resources to help prepare for the upcoming STAAR Reading Test.   Students worked through stations including grammar rules with the help of BrainPop videos and online quizzes.    Another station had students on Newsela reading current events and answering questions based on their own reading levels.   This allowed the teacher to work in small groups with other students to review key points and review strategies they had learned all year.

Reviewing for 8th Grade Science STAAR

8th Grade Students went online to review for the upcoming STAAR Science test.  Using materials chosen for them to address high stakes TEKS students interacted with the science concepts and got to clear up misconceptions the weeks before the Science Test.  

Science Review with Kahoot!

The excitement in Mr. Sralla's room was evident as students reviewed for an upcoming unit test on Plate Tectonics.   Using Kahoot students try to be the first person to answer correctly to get the most points.  They quickly lowered their laptop screens so no one else could see their answers to try to get the most points possible.   All students were highly engaged in this activity and Mr. Sralla took the opportunity after each question to clear up misconceptions and examine why they might have chosen the wrong answers.   Walking around the room the students were talking to each other about why they chose the wrong answer or why they got it right. This video is a small snipet of the activity today.

Human Body Systems in Science

Students in Ms. Billing's room were learning about different body systems through an online presentation and Brainpop videos.   In addition to checking on the students notes they took from the resources that were shared, Ms. Billings checked for understanding  as she had students composes a paper tweet about what they had learned or what questions they still had about what had been studied.  In Ms. Filary's room students learned about the respiratory system by examining a website and answering questions on a handout.

Onboarding Party

Students were invited to bring their devices to the library the mornings of February 18, 19 or 20th to take advantage of the district provided wifi on campus.  Students were divided into groups based on the operating system of their devices and were walked through the instructions with several teachers and staff on hand to help out as needed.   Over 300 students took advantage of that opportunity and can now use the district wifi while on campus.   Any student or staff member can onboard their device at any time following these directions.