The Sims 2: In MY Classroom?

I teach high school students with a wide-range of special needs from learning disabilities to autism. I've used RollerCoaster Tycoon in all its variations (we're using Gold/Platinum editions of version 3 right now) for several years in many ways. I make my own materials for the RCT units, including tutorials that the students have to go through before they can actually start the project. The students also get rubrics and have checkpoints where they have to show progress; at the end they fill out a reflection paper and do a presentation. My students have enjoyed it, and started campaigning to get me to use the Sims for the next project. I was hesitant---we have 3 laptops, so the students have to work in groups of 2 or 3, and the laptops can't connect to the school network for Internet access. Price is always a factor, so we definitely won't be using Sims 3. I've purchased Sims 2 to try out.
If I do wind up creating a unit based around the software, I will be shuffling groups (I do each quarter anyway), and I will be making each student responsible for a specific section of the tutorials. All students will fill in all questions, but each packet will have a letter or number that codes to questions they are required to do. I think this might prevent some of the "lazy man" I see, and the lack of actual team work in some groups. I know there are some this won't help, but we'll see if this is a step in the right direction.
Now to see if the download code has shown up and to begin the search for materials...

Reading for Information: Amusement Parks & Board Games

The 2nd quarter project for Basic Skills involves a reincarnation of my amusement park unit. Instead of a PowerPoint project, the students have to create a game board based on the amusement park they've chosen and researched. You can find the worksheets here, and some of them are fillable and savable in Adobe Reader.

The groups also have to create an amusement park in Rollercoaster Tycoon 3. We have several licenses of the software installed on laptops we received 2 years ago from Best Buy's Te@ch grant program. A note: If you own the original copy of RCT 3, you cannot purchase the expansion packs for the water parks or zoo. The expansion packs do not install properly. We had to purchase RCT 3: Gold, and RCT 3: Platinum. The Gold & Platinum versions install and run well.

At the wiki link above, you can find tutorial worksheets for RCT 3. I did not make the worksheets fillable, because it would be too hard to fill them out on the laptop while engaging in the software. The tutorials for RCT 3 require significant reading ability, which is something that most of my students have this year, but if your students do not have a 4-6th grade reading ability, you would be better off doing the tutorials as a group. You can do this by hooking a laptop to a TV with an S-Video output, an interactive whiteboard (if you're lucky enough to have one!), or an LCD Projector to a screen. I plan to give the game a shot on our interactive whiteboard, just because it seems like a really cool way to play.

The worksheets also include a rubric for the amusement parks, and the game boards. I allowed the students to choose the kind of game; many chose a Monopoly-style game, although 2 groups chose PowerPoint games: Jeopardy and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. The last thing that is now available is a PowerPoint webquest for students to complete. The new version has added questions, and a box at the bottom of the page to put the link where they find the picture or text. It also has a project reflection sheet included. My students will likely be using this for their mid-term exams if I can get laptops.

Commercial Advertising Projects

In early November, my students wrapped up their commercial advertising projects. Several of the groups REALLY got the concept, and created an actual advertisement for their products. Overall, it was a success, but there are some things I would do differently. I've implemented some of the changes for the 2nd quarter projects (now almost over... the fall has been chock-full of emergencies and bad news), which I'll detail in another post.
In the meantime, here are some of the best of the group videos:

The Smart Guitar: A guitar that comes preloaded with songs, all you have to do is pretend to strum!


Flavored Air in A Can: The solution for decidedly smoggy, polluted city air!


Flava Flava: Custom sodas for your enjoyment. The soda version of Coldstone Creamery!


The Suit: Clothing that grows with you!

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Commerical Advertising-Classroom 2.0 Style!

Over the last few weeks, my students and I have been closely examining both television commercials, and print ads. The students have used a form for responding to the commercials they have viewed, and also to print ads. You can find all of the materials for the project (and as fillable/saveable PDFs, no less!)here.
The final project for the unit has the students inventing a product (they can use a basic one already created, a soda perhaps, but there must be something unique about their item) and then using Animoto to create a commercial. Animoto does have educational accounts available so you can use the full site without paying.

We started off with each student individually watching commercials and using the television response sheet. All of the commercials are from YouTube, and I downloaded them ahead of time to avoid school computer issues. I found a variety of old and new commercials. After that, in groups, students used computers to examine print advertisements with a response worksheet. The print ads were mostly from Flickr's Creative Commons.

Students have truly been engaged in the project: the group work has been amazing, and the discussions have ranged from defending a choice of product, and to how things have changed in TV & print ads since the students were children, and since the teachers were children. One group has decided their product is "flavored air"... how often do you get that kind of creativity?

Project Red, White & Food

I've already shared many times that I'm an active volunteer with the Red Cross, and last year on 9/11, I shared my story from that day... and the weeks that followed as I served at the Pentagon with the national Disaster Relief Operation. Last year was also the first year that community service club I co-sponsor created an activity for this day.
This year, in recognition of the 9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance, club students created Project Red, White And Food. Our school colors are red, white & blue, so the name was both recognition of the school and of our chosen project. We chose to make sandwiches to donate to the DC Central Kitchen.
The club set up stations during all of the school lunch shifts, and each student had the opportunity to make a sandwich. Everybody that made a sandwich received a foam sticker in the shape of a piece of food as a thank-you. We made 374 sandwiches before running out of lunch meat, but we were able to donate the additional gloves, hand sanitizer, and bread to the Kitchen, along with some fresh produce.
At the end of the school day, we had a pep rally, and the students ran relay races where they have to put together sandwiches made from one of the play food kits. The senior class showed their class spirit by making the most sandwiches, and winning the relay race at the pep rally.
The project would not have been possible without support from Whole Foods-Reston, Wegmans-Sterling, and Giant Food-Sterling. Thank-you!

Coming Up Next: A New Year

I've dived into the deep end this year... Somebody should remind me to look next time! This year will probably be hectic, and interesting. I'm not sure yet if interesting is a good thing or a bad thing, but give me a few weeks and I'll see if I can't figure it out.

I have two new roles this year at my school: autism resource & team-taught history. My school has had some success integrating the principals of Universal Design into science classes, and so now they would like to try history. Its not exactly a secret that I have a laptop welded to my back while at school, but I wasn't aware anybody knew about my secret passion for non-fiction documentary-style books and movies, especially 20th Century history. Or that I worked at a Renaissance Faire, and minored in history in college. Guess I need to hide that weakness a little better...
The autism resource is also really not a surprise: I worked as an autism teacher for an extended school year program when I started teaching, have always had at least one student in my classes who had an autism spectrum disability, and spent 3 years working at place known for their work with kids with autism.

School opens for students on Tuesday, and so I've been creating materials for Basic Skills this weekend, and trying to help the general education teachers I'm teaming with adapt materials for history. The students who have had me for Basic Skills before know that I like to do projects... This has not changed. Our first project will have them invent a product, research a real version of the product using Wikipedia. Side note: Do NOT twit at me about using Wikipedia in school; if we don't show the students how to use it properly, how will they ever learn? Just like we need to teach students about advertising, we need to teach how to use other media resources! The last part will have them create a commercial for their product. Originally, I was going to have them make a commercial of themselves, but decided to do the group thing. And, while I have access to a video camera, I'm not sure if doing that first thing in the school year is a good idea... Thanks to the UD Tech Toolkit I found a cool site called Animoto. There is a version of Animoto for schools to use, but I created this in about 5 minutes using the regular site. Very, very cool. So, I may use this for their commercials. It is a lot more structured, and much easier to use than actually creating a video themselves.

Donor's Choose

Donor's Choose is a website that lets teachers post needs for their classroom and request funding. Its kind of like a mini-grant application and social networking all rolled into one. The website was started in 2000 by a teacher from New York City; at first, only schools in NYC were eligible to participate. I've kept it on my radar, but really didn't have anything that would fit the bill until last year. I've always done pretty well with grants for technology, and purchased or created most of my own instructional materials. And that would be why I'm paying for a storage locker because of all the functional materials... I really should try to sell some of them, but then what if I need them? Ah, the mantra of a teacher. I think most teachers are closet hoarders. Anyway...
Last year I went looking to see if I could do anything about transportation for the service club I co-sponsor, but discovered that you can't do a field trip request as your first action on Donor's Choose. I reluctantly shelved the idea, because I didn't really need things for my classroom at that time. One of the nice things about doing a lot of functional teaching is that I have not had to buy things for awhile.
But, this is a new year with a new classroom (more about that in another post). I'll be teaching kids with autism. My room is rather bright and echo-y: cinder block, linoleum, and fluorescent lights. Not exactly the ideal setting for kids with autism spectrum disabilities. And I remembered Donor's Choose!
In a very few minutes, I was able to find a decent sized rug, some floor lamps and light bulbs. I wrote up my request, and we were on the way! The project went live yesterday, and a dear friend has already contributed toward the request. No, this is not an advertisement for my project (but I won't object if you'd like to help fund it!), but Donor's Choose is a great idea. Check it out!

What I Learned...

If I had to sum up what I discovered while reading teacher blogs, and really, other blogs, is that blogging isn't always easy. Its hard to keep it fresh and interesting. If you do not post often, people won't read your blog. In fact, they make become actively annoyed if it isn't updated regularly.
I see the lack of updating often on other Red Cross chapter blogs, and when we started blogging for the chapter, I had to promise our Chapter Exec that we would have at least one post per week. In the beginning, it was a struggle... My partner and I have a list of "back up blogs" should there be a week when nothing is happening at the chapter. The topics are like our very first blog post which was an "interview" with the chapter and include ideas like favorite disaster books or movies, disaster foods, etc. The same is true of Twitter: I try very hard to tweet at least one update daily from the chapter's account.
Last week, we used mobile Read/Write Web tools to post about our trip to Kings Dominion. Every hour or so, I used TwitPic to send a picture taken with my cell phone's camera... the links to the photos were posted to Twitter & our Facebook status. I was truly surprised at the number of comments we received when I got home later. People really wanted to see this stuff!!!
I must admit that I'm having trouble coming up with a specific unit, mostly because I know that I can't blog with my students... I'm thinking about doing something with community service/service learning, maybe. I know I want to encourage writing, but beyond that? I don't know.

Summer Classes

This summer, I decided to take two on-line classes that explore using digital portfolios and Web 2.0 (Read/Write Web) tools. Arguably, I'm already using Web 2.0 in my classroom, but I am hoping there are some positive suggestions on how I can incorporate the tools in a more structured fashion. The students enjoy doing it, but I think the quality of some of their projects leaves a bit to be desired. I'd also like to be able to use the tools without feeling like I'm being sneaky. Logically, I know that I'm not doing anything wrong as long as we don't publish anything, but still... It seems a shame that my students can post and get feedback.
I'm not talking SecondLife here, or Facebook, but blogging would be really nice. So many of my students need to work on writing, and they hate it. I might get more response to vocabulary activities or summaries or resumes or job research if the students could post to a blog and then get feedback.

I've also become heavily involved in my Red Cross chapter's social media efforts, and regularly blog about events the chapter has participated in. We have everything connected through Facebook, and I have another volunteer & friend helping with the tools. We also have a volunteer that goes to the scenes and takes photographs for us to include. I see this as a good way to show the citizens of our county what the chapter does, and how we provide services. I'd like to step it up a bit, too, though, add a little spice to some of the posts.

And, of course, coming up with a way to incorporate the digital portfolios. I really think these would be a fantastic way for my students to have input at their IEP meetings, but the goal of most of the meetings is to get done as soon as possible. I have some problems with that, although I do understand why getting them done & over is important. But I really bought into the self-determination thing when I was in grad school for transition planning.

Ideas are, as always, welcome!

Flat Stanley: Flying Back

Dear Friends,

I had to get up very early this morning (and it was tough because we were at Disney until 1:00 a.m.!) to catch our plane back to Baltimore. I almost got left behind at the hotel, but fortunately one of the teachers with the group found me. It would have been a very long walk from Orlando to Baltimore.

It was cold this morning in Florida. Our flight left Orlando very late, and so we missed our connection in Atlanta. We did not get back to Baltimore until after 4:00 p.m., so everybody was very tired by the time the Red Cross picked us up at BWI. We saw snow flurries on the way back (and its APRIL!).

When we made it back to the high school, the group had a present for the Red Cross staff that picked us up: a Mickey Mouse light saber. How cool! It even lights up in rainbow colors.

As soon as the teachers have all the pictures of me done, they are going to send me home. I can't wait!

Flat Stanley: Walt Disney World

Dear Friends:

Today, we went to Walt Disney World Resort. Walt Disney World has many different parks to visit. My group went to Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Magic Kingdom. The other students also went to Typhoon Lagoon, which is a water park.

At Magic Kingdom, we went on a lot of rides. We went on Space Mountain, and the Tea Cup ride. We also took pictures of the fireworks and Cinderella's Castle at night.

At Animal Kingdom, we went on the safari and saw lots of animals, including a tiger, hippopotamus, and an ostrich.

We ate dinner at Hollywood Studios at the Vine restaurant, and then went on Terror of Terror, and shopped at the Star Wars store to get a Jedi Mickey light saber for a friend.

The students who went to Typhoon Lagoon went on the lazy river, lots of water slides, and the wave pool. They also snorkeled with sharks.

Flat Stanley: Fondue!

Dear Friends:

Tonight, I went to dinner with the students from Extra Mile. They went to a fondue restaurant. This is a restaurant where you cook your food at your table. They started with cheese fondue. You dip bread, apples or vegetables in the melted cheese. Or, I guess anything you might want, but the restaurant gave us bread, apples and vegetables. Then, we got hot broth to cook the main dish in. One girl at my table only eats vegetables, so I got to try eggplant, and spinach tortellini, along with steak and shrimp. The last course was chocolate fondue with marshmallows, brownies and cheesecake to dip in the chocolate.

After dinner, we took a group picture around the fountain, and headed for Downtown Disney to visit DisneyQuest and
do some shopping. We are going to Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios tomorrow. I am not going to Typhoon Lagoon with the group because I don't like water very much.

Flat Stanley: National Youth Institute

Dear Friends:

Today we spent all day in workshops learning about how the Red Cross does different activities. One of the highlights was the lunch session: there were 5 different groups from the same area as the Extra Mile club students who are hosting me. This was really amazing to see all of these teens working to make their communities better. They ate lunch together and got to know each other a little bit. There was also a slide show that the students from Extra Mile were in because they worked at the Presidential Inauguration!

After dinner, we had a birthday surprise because two of the students had birthdays. The local Red Cross chapter helped the Extra Mile group get a birthday cake. Then, we went to the dance. I must say, I looked stylin' in my neon bracelets!! Some of the students investigated the hotel swimming pool... but I don't like water very much!

---Flat Stanley

Flat Stanley: Flying to Florida

Dear Friends:

I flew to Florida today with some of the students from the Extra Mile Club. Half of the group went on a different flight, but the students I traveled with stopped in Cincinnati, Ohio before getting on another plane to go to Orlando. I'm waiting impatiently for the pictures, so I can post them here.

We had a storm delay, but finally got to Florida and found the other group. We had some problems with a car rental, and so didn't get to the hotel until really late. We had to miss our trip to NASA because of that. How sad: I've always wanted to go in a rocket!

Tonight we did conference activities, and then we went to Magic Kingdom at Disney World. Tomorrow, we are at the conference all day long.

---Flat Stanley

Flat Stanley: Arriving in Virginia

Dear friends,

Today I arrived in Sterling, Virginia. I'm being hosted by the Extra Mile Club from Park View High School. The students in the club do community service activities. Some of the activities that they have done this year include ringing the bell for the Salvation Army, working at the Presidential Inauguration, and making/sorting cards for veterans.
The club is going to Florida tomorrow to attend a Red Cross Conference for Youth. They are also going to go to Disney World, and a fondue restaurant.

---Flat Stanley

Guest Blogger

Starting on Thursday, April 2, ITC Fusion will be hosting Flat Stanley as a guest blogger on the site. Flat Stanley lives with A & his family. Flat Stanley has come to visit us because the students in the Extra Mile club (the community service club I co-sponsor)are going to Florida.
We'll be attending the National Youth Institute, which is co-sponsored by the Red Cross, visiting Kennedy Space Center, and Walt Disney World. It should be an interesting trip...


But, we'll let Stanley tell you about it as he experiences it. We will also take pictures of Stanley (and the students!) while in Florida! :)

North Dakota

For those that do read this blog, you're aware that besides teaching, my other major activity is serving with Red Cross Disaster Services. I work locally, and when I'm available, nationally. The Red Cross is a grassroots, community-based charitable organization. The majority of the people who provide assistance during a disaster are volunteers, with other jobs, just like me. Please consider helping your local chapter right now: it may not seem like much, by an hour answering the phones is a huge deal!

With that said, I also wanted to share that I am so pleased to see that the Red Cross is automatically doing videos & pictures and making those available as they post news & updates about national disasters. There are so many people in this country who either cannot read English, or have difficulties with reading, that getting the information out in so many ways is important. Kudos to them for embracing new technology that makes getting the word out to ALL people.

Long Overdue

I haven't updated the blog as often as I should have in the last few months... I was feeling a bit guilty because we have been doing some interesting activities. One group completed all of their This I Believe essays, and have moved on to working on a recipe project. Students were instructed to find a recipe that meant something to their culture or their family. They were then required to complete a worksheet about the recipe, and a research worksheet that asked why the recipe was chosen. For the research worksheet, students also had to use websites to find the origins of at least 3 foods. The food origins was harder than it should have been; I will need to find better websites for the students to use for this portion if I want to do this activity again. I've included a link to the worksheets on my wiki. All of these projects are easier to do with the grant we received from Best Buy last year.

In another class, students are working on identifying deductions and earned income, fixed and flexible expenses. For years we did this activity using a postboard with velcro and "pieces" that attached. This year, I've updated the activity so it works on Classroom Suite, and I might also do a version that will work in ActivStudio on the Promethean Board. Of course, to do that part I really need to get the software installed on my laptop. Right now there are also worksheets to reinforce the concepts learned in the hands-on activity on my wiki.

The students in the club have been busy as well, and we had 9 students work the 2009 Inaugural, and 12 students completed training in order to serve. We have 8 students going to the National Youth Institute in Florida in a month, so we have been fund raising like mad. We were very fortunate to get some local corporate and individual sponsors that enabled us to get the students to the conference! Just last week one of our students spoke about what we have done this year, and what volunteering and being in the club has meant to her to the Disaster Action Team in our county. We showed an incredibly cheese video I made of their activities after her speech.