CDO+Teacher+Forum

Attending NECC has proven to be the most valuable training I get each year. It is very difficult to stay on top of all the new technology tools and how they can be used in the classroom while teaching full-time. NECC enables me to get a handle on all these tools during a 3 day period each summer while I attend 12-13 sessions. These sessions are well done and many are hands-on. I can then take what I learned and share it with teachers at my school, as well as those teaching throughout the District and AzTEA conference, by offering professional development classes. Some of the classes I’ve taught include: Making Movies, Flip Video Cameras, Web 2.0 Tools, Wikis, Blogs, and Incorporating Sound. Without going to this conference, it would be a struggle to be able to pass on the most effective tools for classrooms teachers and students. I know what I bring back from NECC has impacted the classroom teachers and their students in a positive way.
 * Beth Malapanes- CDO Librarian- District Technology Trainer **


 * // Watch CDO Movie on flash drive //**

Here are some of their stories: Beth’s technology training has helped me tremendously with classroom instruction and parent communication that I would otherwise not have been involved in because I am somewhat computer phobic. I can honestly say that in my two years here at CDO, I have learned more about and use technology more frequently than I had in my thirteen prior years of teaching.
 * Wendi Ousley-English **

With Beth’s assistance, I have: Losing funding in Ed Tech would be a disaster for our students. If we are to help our students remain on the cutting edge of technology and help them be more competitive in the 21st century as college applicants and future employees, then we ourselves need the skills to assist them. The trickle down effect would be very costly to those we are responsible for educating.
 * 1) created my own teacher website which I update weekly to help my students’ parents be more informed about what is happening in my classroom and what assignments their children are responsible for.
 * 2) learned how to blog with my freshmen English classes, which I require my students to engage in as a companion assignment to their independent reading.
 * 3) mastered uploading my grades and linking it to my website so that parents have constant access to their children’s grades.
 * 4) begun to discover new tools for my German language students to improve their speaking skills (Audacity, creating Avatars)

Beth Malapanes has been an enormous help when I need to use technology in the classroom, whether I am taking a class from her or just consulting her. She helped me put together a Podcast for my class even though I hadn’t been able to take the tech class on it. She showed me how to use Audacity, how to record, how to add music and how to publish it. Beth and the other librarians are always great about teaching my students how to search databases, or use Advanced Search capabilities when we are in the Computer Lab.
 * Charlene Stone, Ph.D. - Human Biology, Anatomy and Physiology**

I really enjoy taking Tech classes from Beth, she explains things extremely well and understands how the application can work in the classroom or computer lab. You know that when you take a class from Beth you will understand the practical ways it can be used to support your curriculum. Of course a tech person can show you how to use the software, but Beth can show you the pros and cons of using it with your students. She is also helpful in designing lesson plans around the tech programs we use.

I often take advantage of the Tech classes at Wetmore. Last year I took 3 classes and they were all excellent. Beth was helpful this year when I was signing up for tech classes, we talked about what I wanted to accomplish and she made recommendations. This year I signed up for 4 classes. So far I’ve taken MovieMaker from Beth and I will use it in my Biology classes in April. I’m looking forward to taking a class on Wikis, Blogs and Advanced SmartBoard.

I met with Beth Malapanes to receive instructions on setting up a wiki for my Economics and AP Economics classes. Students are using the wiki to collaborate on supplemental reading material. They are also using the wiki to prepare class presentations.
 * Rick Werbylo** - **Economics/Government**

I took a technology course on blogging and set up a blog for my government and economics classes. Students had the opportunity to take part in online discussions regarding assigned topics.

I took several technology classes to help set up my website for students and parents. Students and parents are able to access homework assignments, study guides and other documents. Both students and parents also have instant access to grades. I really don’t know how I’d run my program without my wikipages…and I have Beth Malapanes to thank for that! Since I’m assigned to three high schools, the only constant for students who are absent is being able to access my wiki to see what we did in class on the day they missed. I love being able to upload assignments, create links to blogs and maintain and update my pages from any computer, no matter where I am. I’ve shared this technology with several other teachers, who have all seen the benefit of using wikispaces. I’ve taken so many classes that the District has offered, it’s hard to remember them all. But by far the most useful to me, at this point in my career, has been the support Beth provided while I’ve learned how to design my wikis to their best advantage. Of course, learning about sites like Delicious has been extremely helpful, since I am at 4 different District computers in the course of a week and can easily access my bookmarked websites. I love learning and sharing my technology knowledge…and Beth has been a tremendous resource! I and my students have benefitted from the Technical training available at the Wetmore offices and here at Canyon Del Oro. Because of the training, I have been able to offer my students learning experiences that are relevant to their reality. These are a few of the things that have been made possible through Amphi’s technology training/professional development: Blogging Wikis Diigo Del.icio.us RSS feeds Poll Everywhere (surveys via cell phones) Wordle Google Docs (and sundry other Google classroom tools, i.e. Google Sites) Clustr Maps Zamzar to convert files (ensuring equal access) And more….
 * Jennie Ammden-Career Internship **
 * Holly Reynolds - English **
 * Students engage in teacher made WebQuests (CDO)
 * Students submit work to turnitin.com or the District’s “drop box”(CDO)
 * Class wiki for lessons and links as well as collaborative projects (CDO)
 * SmartBoard training so that we will be ahead of the learning curve when it is our class’s turn to receive one (Wetmore)
 * Blog page for class discussion and interaction (CDO)
 * Database training for efficient research (CDO)
 * Web 2.0 training (Wetmore) to include:

All of these opportunities on and off campus have enabled me to integrate more project-based learning into my instructional delivery, better differentiate for learning styles and multiple intelligences, and to provide a classroom experience aimed at ensuring students meet state standards while cultivating computer literacy skills. I could never have afforded to get all this training outside of the District and am more than a little bit grateful that this meaningful training is available to us. Amphitheater is a district that demonstrates its commitment to professional development by creating training opportunities that make sense for busy teachers. I don’t know what I’d do without Beth Malapanes here at CDO, or the other fine instructors at our District office. The classes at Wetmore have been outstanding! I have learned to incorporate technology into my classroom to improve my efficiency and the quality of my instruction. I started as a complete novice but had the training and the continuous support to rise to a highly proficient level. My first year classes taught me how to use an electronic grade book, create a website, and post student grades on line. More recent classes taught me to be proficient in the use of a SmartBoard and introduced me to Internet sites to enhance my lessons. I appreciate the constant support that I receive here on campus that augments the training at the Wetmore center. I look forward to taking classes on creating Wiki’s and using even more technology in my classroom. Without Beth Malapanes’s patient instruction, I’d never have made it into the 21st Century. She has helped me set up and modify my web site, create a wiki (so that I could upload a 33-page study guide for student use), help my students use Microsoft Publisher, and get a literature blog up and running. This instruction is invaluable to teachers, who often aren’t even aware of what kinds of technology, like wikis, are available. Please continue to fund this!
 * Fabienna Godlewski-Math teacher **
 * Lori Minor-English **

The Technology Classes I have taken at the Wetmore Center have been **significantly valuable** to my students and, of course, to myself as an educator. The classes have been innovative and absolutely representative of 21st Century Skills. Ms Malapanes has been **indispensible** in the utilization of the //Photo Story 3// format that is used in inclusion classes with special education teachers and with my specific speech-language students! Beth has been an incredible help to me as I have become more technologically savvy. She has worked with my students directly in the Computer lab as they worked on projects designed to teach them various consumer skills. She has worked independently with me as I was learning how to use Power Point, Easy Grade Pro, Smart Notebook and the SmartBoard. Beth has a wealth of information available to me as I design my lessons, and I always check with her about the library resources that I can use to spice up my lessons. Beth Malapanes tutored Jennie Madden and me on setting up our teacher websites. She also helped us create wiki spaces and we now use those extensively with our classes. We shared how to do wiki spaces with the other two honors internship teachers at the other two high schools and now we all use these as critical aspects of the internship programs.
 * Cari Wright - Speech-Language Pathologist**
 * // Listen to Audio file of Cari on flash drive //**
 * Patti Schmalzel - Culinary Arts/CTE Department Chair **
 * Cymry Deboucher - GATE **

Once I learned to use a wiki, I also added additional wikis on gifted underachievement with discussion forums, articles, etc. This site is open to the entire community.

Beth has also tutored my in the use of Kuder and Aczis sites which are now used by all four internship teachers mentioned above. Last year she was there to help when we piloted a new online gifted identification program. These are the ones that come to mind right now… to say she is an invaluable resource is an underestimation.

//** Julie M Cota, MA - Professional School Counselor **// I have taken the web design class, Excel, Google class and will take the wiki class in March. Technology education allows me to access more detailed resources while assisting students in their post high school education planning.

I attended Beth's class on the FLIP camera. As always, her information was relevant, real world and instantly usable in the classroom. I purchased a FLIP camera shortly after her class and love it! Beth's method of teaching is always respectful of us as professionals, and while that may come naturally to her, that is not always the case with instructors. I'd like to thank Beth for her wonderful "peer" mentoring attitude. The classes have been great and taught me how to use Easy Grade Pro to post grades, Moviemaker, Digital Storytelling, and the Smart Board classes have been incredible and helped me plan great lessons!! My student teachers have also received great help from them to prepare for the technology that I have in my classroom. Ms. Malapanes has been available for assistance with my teacher website as well as a sounding board for technology-based projects and classes I wish to develop in the near future. Although I am an experienced web designer, I stumbled a bit when first using NOVUS. Ms. Malapanes was there to offer a hand – now the whole thing makes sense! We get updates from Ms. Malapanes consistently about new technology and training available to us. In one instance, she came into my pride time class and gave a professional presentation to my students about copyright laws. She covered things that I had forgotten! This will insure that our public movie project starts out without a hitch, and we also have a clear idea of what boundaries we have in the project. Her dedication to disseminating information about technology that can positively impact our classroom provides a much needed stimulus to keep the students buying-in to the concepts we teach. I can tell that Ms. Malapanes not only benefits from her technology training, but passes on the benefits through the classes she offers, as well as the extraordinary support she can provide as an expert in new technology. I have used such information to maintain a blog, where students can collaborate and download assignments, as well as a teacher webpage that keeps parents informed about the progress of their children. I have been praised by parents and students alike for the information available for both. So much of what I learned in the two Google classes Beth Malapanes taught I was able to take and use w/ my students (and family!) immediately! I’ve taught my students how to create iGoogle homepages and created one for myself that makes my life so much easier. I’ve begun using Google calendar exclusively with great results and have uploaded this to my wiki. The G templates alone are wonderful and my mom is now using the one to track her blood pressure!
 * Neala Sillman-ASL and Web Design**
 * Jennifer - Child Development **
 * Demian Quiroz-Physics **
 * Marcie Oropeza - Learning Disabilities Specialist **

Through Beth's guidance, I’ve created work groups for Macbeth within my Wiki page after learning, again through Beth, that this was the more practical way to do it rather than Google, which is what I was originally going to use. Again w/ my wiki, she facilitated an easier log-in procedure for my classes and my kids are very happy.

Beth's help w/ my webpage has been invaluable; the handouts for the classes she's taught for this were clear and easy to follow as I referred back to them time and again later. I want to thank her for always being there when I need her! I have benefited greatly from the Ed-Tech courses I have taken in our District, especially the SmartBoard classes. Without these classes I would not have learned many of the great things I can do on a SmartBoard in my class. Also, I have benefited from the knowledge of Beth and other technology trainers in the District when I have had other types of technology questions (Outlook, Internet Explorer, storing videos, etc.). The web class that Beth Malapanes taught at CDO have been incredibly helpful for me. After taking her class, I was able to go back and create a website for myself that my students and parents can use to find a whole host of information. I was able to create links for parent resources, student resources, college information, athletic information, etc. I was even able to create a link to a document that many students need to use (now they don't have to remember to come by the counseling office to pick up the form. They can just download it at home)! I really appreciate her expertise and her willingness to share that expertise with us! The technology department is an invaluable part of our school. I have taken students up to the computer lab to show them how to navigate the new online text book this year. It is SO helpful to have that SmartBoard to be able to show them how to do that. The library staff was very helpful in showing the students how to create their online textbook passwords and how to navigate the site. Beth Malapanes has also showed me how to do the blogging website when I wanted to incorporate blogs into my Spanish 4 class. She helped our department when we asked for an in-service on how to use Audacity. Technology professional development has been an important part of teaching and learning 21st century skills in my classroom. I have taken several classes that have benefitted me and my students, including classes in PowerPoint, moviemaker, SMART Board basics and web page classes. I have used my web page extensively – all of my class notes and study guides are posted on my web page for students (or parents) to access, as well as updated grade reports. I also use my web page to develop WebQuests and provide links to useful sites for research or just of general interest. I use PowerPoint for most of my class presentations and for direct instruction when needed – this is especially important to my class because I do not have a text book. I plan to teach students to use Moviemaker for future presentations of research or problem-based projects. The SMART Board class was very enlightening – and although I do not currently have a SMART Board in my classroom I will be able to use it more effectively when my class is in the computer lab. I have registered to take a wiki class which I also hope to use in the future, again strengthening 21st century skills and developing an alternate method of assessing students individually. MovieMaker class. I love it! I attended a National Board Candidates working retreat at Biosphere 2 recently. I took pictures and video while I was there. I made a movie to show my students where I was for 3 days. I also showed them the turtle movie I made during the class. This is definitely something that I will use. Thanks! Check out the following. I put my movie I was working on in my PolarTREC journal. I used the flip camera for the video clips. [] If you click on the Feb 27th journal I have the moviemaker movie in there. The Feb. 24th journal has a movie I made just using the FLIP software.
 * Josh Tabor-Math **
 * Michelle - Counseling **
 * Lisa Aukee-Spanish **
 * Mitzi Wieduwilt - Earth and Space Science **
 * Debra Scott – Algebra 1 **
 * Betsy Wilkening – Wilson K-8 Science Teacher **