Through Young Eyes

Welcome to teachers around the globe. Please join our global group today!

The new school year is underway! The students are in the early stages of becoming familiar with the tools that will be needed later on in the year to work on this project. That includes MS Publisher, MS Word, PhotoStory and MovieMaker. Our focus this year is on local plants and animals! It’s going to be a great year!

I recently returned from the Microsoft Partners in Learning 2012 US Forum in Redmond, WA, on July 31-Aug 2. I am filled with new ideas for using technology in the classroom and for expanding this project. I would like to involve teachers in my school across the grades. In addition, I’d like to include other elementary school classrooms throughout the great state of Alaska. My first task will be to get the word out! I’ll be using various social media to do so. If you’re reading this and interested, please register for one of the groups in this blog and join the conversation!

I'm on the left (with my project in the background).

Microsoft Picks Seward Alaska: Through Young Eyes http://http://bit.ly/LNnykT

Mrs. Ray’s classroom project has been selected to participate in the Microsoft Partners in Learning 2012 US Forum!

102 Educators Selected to Compete for Top Honors at the Microsoft Partners in Learning 2012 U.S. Forum

Nation’s most innovative educators will seek to represent the U.S. at Microsoft’s global competition in Athens, Greece, this November.

REDMOND, Wash. — June 6, 2012 — Microsoft Corp. today announced the 102 finalists selected to attend the Microsoft Partners in Learning 2012 U.S. Forum. The educators will travel to Microsoft’s campus in Redmond, Wash., July 31 through Aug.1 to showcase the creative ways they are transforming learning through technology. An unprecedented number of applications were submitted this year, and the chosen innovative projects represent 25 states across the Pre-K–12 spectrum and include creative uses of blended learning, student video game design, professional development, flipped classrooms with students teaching their peers, and improving communications skills for those with autism and other special learning needs.
 “These educators have applied the technology lens in trailblazing ways to develop real-world learning experiences that are certain to engage students and provide them with the 21st-century skills that will set them up for success, both in and out of the classroom,” said Andrew Ko, general manager, U.S. Partners in Learning, Microsoft. “Recognizing the unparalleled influence today’s teachers have on tomorrow’s leaders, Microsoft’s commitment to education is deeply rooted in empowering teachers with the tools they need to help students succeed and celebrating them as heroes in our society.”
These are the 102 finalists selected to attend the Partners in Learning U.S. Forum:
• Alaska  – Leigh Ray, Seward Elementary School (Seward)

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I love the tourist season in Seward! We’ve got cruise ships, new faces, traffic, and visitors to the Chamber of Commerce! Many tourists to the SeaLife Center will also get to see the new Iditarod Trail commemorative statue, which is centered in a garden spot in the parking lot.

Iditarod Trail Mile 0 Commemorative Statue

This blog is for comments about Mrs. Ray’s classroom history project called “Seward, Alaska: Through Young Eyes.”  You can see the project in its entirety here. First and second grade students completed the unit at the end of April 2012 with great success! After all was said and done, the students ended with a Skype session with their buddy classroom 5,000 miles away in Quakertown, PA. They shared what they learned about Seward’s history using posters and paintings they made. They did an excellent job of sharing what they learned. I’d say that using technology as a tool for teaching goes a long, long way in making learning real!