Scroll through below all of our classes that we offer at St. John Fisher School. To see online courses only, click here. Technology-Enhanced Reading Strategies for Students with Learning Disabilities: Monday, 2/27, 4:30 – 6:00 p.m. Technology can make the process of reading become multisensory, helping students who struggle. Learn about web-based resources for reading, spelling, phonics, and understanding word meanings. Discover methods and tools to help students stay enthused and on task, reduce frustration and gain success. (This workshop addresses NCLB requirements for special education professional development. Integrating Math and Technology: Monday, 3/5, 4:30 – 6:00 p.m. Math and technology go hand in hand, and the ways to integrate them are abundant. Discover new ways to enthuse your students in their mathematical endeavors using technology. Lesson plans, interactive sites, worksheets, and graphing ideas will be presented. Technology Resources for Social Studies: Tuesday, 3/13, 4:30 – 6:00 p.m. Teachers will be amazed at the wide array of interactive web-based resources available for history, geography, map skills and economics. Lesson plans and global projects will be shared, along with games and activities to help students in K-8 learn various social studies concepts. You will find many projects that can enrich classroom learning beyond what a textbook can provide. Keep your students up-to-date with current events and find lesson plans that work well with news topics in this workshop. Using the Internet to Explore Science: Monday, 3/19, 4:30 – 6:00 p.m. Students can use the web to learn about themselves, their surrounding world, the animal kingdom, space and the universe. In this workshop, some fascinating resources to enrich the science curriculum will be presented, along with virtual science experiments and activities. Find sources for lab lessons and classroom lessons. This class is a must for all science teachers! Language Arts and Technology: Tuesday, 3/27, 4:30 – 6:00 p.m. Read/hear digital stories, develop phonics skills, properly place punctuation marks, develop good proofreading skills. Work on grammar, practice your spelling words, read and write poetry. Explore folklore and mythology. Improve reading comprehension and vocabulary, and learn to properly cite resources in a bibliography. In this workshop, teachers will explore engaging technology tools useful in improving language arts performance and utilize creative lesson plans available online for students in grades K-8. iPad Out of the Box: Tuesday, 4/17/12, 4:30 – 6:00 p.m. and Tuesday, 6/12/2012, 9:00 – 10:30 a.m A beginner class for those with no “i-experience.” Basic operation of the iPad, powering on and off, basic settings, establishing an iTunes Account (required for iPad users), using iTunes to create playlists, burning CDs, downloading music and apps, preinstalled iPad apps such as YouTube, camera, notes, calendar, maps, etc. Participants must have access to their email for this course, so bring your username and password! Understanding CPDUs and Certificate Renewal: Monday, 4/23, 4:30—6:00 p.m. Participants will establish their own ECS (Educator Certification System) accounts on the Illinois State Board of Education Website, and learn about the various activities that earn CPDUs and can be counted toward teaching certificate renewal. This workshop provides step-by-step directions on entering credits and renewing the certificate. On the Move with iPad: Tuesday, 4/24/12, 4:30 – 6:00 p.m. and Tuesday, 6/12/2012, 10:30 – 12:00 p.m. Now that it’s set up, let’s get going! Review of settings, connecting to a wireless network, multitasking, using the iTunes store and the App Store to find free and low-cost apps, music and podcasts. (prerequisite: iPad Out of the Box or established iTunes Account – please bring your username and password!) Apps for Primary Students (PreK-4): Tuesday, 5/1/12, 4:30 – 6:00 p.m. and Wednesday, 6/13/2012, 9:00 – 10:30 a.m Participants will share and collaborate with one another on the best educational apps for the youngest students. Facilitators will also provide a list of resources and a chance to try them out. Bring your recommendations for apps across the curriculum. Each participant will leave this workshop with a list of apps suitable for their grade/subject. Apps for 5th-8th Grade Students: Tuesday, 5/8/12, 4:30 – 6:00 p.m. and Wednesday, 6/13/2012, 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Participants will share and collaborate with one another on the best educational apps for the youngest students. Facilitators will also provide a list of resources and a chance to try them out. Bring your recommendations for apps across the curriculum. Each participant will leave this workshop with a list of apps suitable for their grade/subject. iPads on the Web: Thursday, 6/14/2012, 9:00 – 10:30 a.m. A wealth of resources on the web for teachers and students as you begin your "iPad-in-the-classroom journey.” Tutorials, recommended apps across all grade levels and curricular areas, lesson plan ideas and methods of incorporating iPad use across all grades and subjects. School iPad Deployment: Thursday, 6/14, 10:30 a.m. – p.m. This class is designed for educators, administrators, computer teachers, media specialists or librarians, or anyone in an educational setting just getting started (or hoping to get started) with iPads in the classrooms. Participants will learn about hardware options for syncing, charging and projecting, management of multiple iPads from one computer, volume discount purchasing for schools, classroom and school procedures and acceptable use. NEW - KidBlogs: Tuesday, 6/19, 9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. There are many ways to incorporate blogging into your curriculum. KidBlogs provides a safe, private and free environment for class blogging assignments. Teachers have administrative control over their students’ posts. In this workshop, participants will learn how to establish teacher and student accounts in KidBlogs. Lesson plan ideas across all areas of the curriculum will be provided. NEW - Safe School Social networking with Edmodo: Tuesday, 6/19, 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Teachers will love this wonderful (and free) Web tool for assigning and grading work and testing students. Participants will learn to create a teacher account, establish classes and create online assignments. Students can then submit their work to the teacher electronically for grading. Gain the freedom to grade right from your computer and eliminate the endless piles of paperwork. Collaborate with teachers world-wide to share lesson ideas and teaching strategies. Teacher friendly, student friendly, parent friendly! Student Teams and Technology: Wednesday, 6/20, 9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. Watch your students become engaged, cooperative learners, involved in a variety of online projects that span all areas of the curriculum. These projects give you a chance to collaborate with other teachers, and your students the opportunity to join the world-wide community of learners. Google Tools: Wednesday, 6/20, 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Google is a perfect way to search the web, but did you know it is filled with amazing tools which can be incorporated right into your classroom curriculum? Learn tips for successful searching and turn ordinary research into an extraordinary experience. Customize your own online experience with iGoogle, and learn about the many tools existing and being developed by Google. NEW - Wallwisher: Thursday, 6/21, 9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. Wallwisher is a free tool that allows teachers to create an online message board and students to post comments in the form of “sticky notes.” Sticky notes can be text only or can be “spiced up” with graphics, hyperlinks and video. Students do not need accounts to post to the “wall,” and the teacher can monitor all student comments. The wall can be shared online. In this workshop, teachers will establish Wallwisher accounts, explore ideas for using Wallwisher across the curriculum, learn to monitor student comments and to share the “wall” online. One-Computer Classroom – Activities & Ideas: Thursday, 6/21, 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Struggling with ways to integrate technology into your one-computer classroom? Opportunities abound for cooperative learning, participation in global projects, enriching high achievers, incorporating daily activities, and improving all areas of your curriculum. This workshop will provide plenty of ideas you can use the very next day! Animoto - Student-Created Multimedia: Monday, 6/25, 9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. Goodbye poster board, hello multimedia! Learn how to use this popular web tool to create professional slideshows and videos using photos, video clips and music. Learn how to establish FREE full-featured accounts for yourself and your students. Engage your students and learn methods of incorporating Animoto creations into your curriculum. NEW - Digital Storytelling: Monday, 6/25, 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Explore the many new opportunities for writing, incorporating text, images, video and sound. Write a personal narrative with illustrations and/or voice, tell about a historical event including old photographs or primary sources, re-create the life cycle of a butterfly; the possibilities abound. In this workshop, teachers will explore various free technology tools to use for digital storytelling, and be provided with specific examples of digital writing assignments across the curriculum. NEW - Art-Inspired Creative Writing with Storybird: Tuesday, 6/26, 9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. Learn how students can use this tool to produce creative, art-inspired stories. Storybird is available free to teachers and their students. It provides an engaging, collaborative environment that will inspire even the most reluctant writers. Participants will learn how to create teacher and student accounts, incorporate artwork and text, collaborate on stories, and share finished works online. NEW - Study Skills & Student/Teacher Online Collaboration with Quizlet: Tuesday, 6/26, 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. As all teachers know, students learn in different ways - some by hearing, some by seeing, and some through hands-on experiences. Quizlet is a study skills website that addresses all three ways of learning. Learn how to create online flashcards, create online study sessions for your students, and help your students achieve. Back to School with Technology: Wednesday, 6/27, 9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. Tired of the same old September “back to school, what did you do over the summer, getting to know you” activities? Well, using technology allows you to add some excitement to those lessons. Start the school year off right with some brand new ideas for bulletin boards, room decorating, creative lesson plans, technology integration and more. This class will help you impress your newest students and parents. Worksheet and Printables: Wednesday, 6/27, 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. No paid subscription required! Find worksheets and printables you can use with your students in math, language arts, social studies, science, and handwriting – and all are free and available on the web. Also included are worksheet generators that allow you to design and customize worksheets to best meet your curriculum and students’ learning needs. The Complete Picture: Monday, 6/28, 9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. What can you do with a picture? Take it. Edit it. Share it. Present cells, the human body, the world, the universe. Teach complex ideas. Tell a story. Make a cartoon. Learn with primary sources. Inspire visual learners. Learn to use online tools and resources to incorporate pictures and video into your curriculum. Go graphic! Interactive Posters with Glogster: Monday, 6/28, 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Called the “Multimedia Tool of the 21st Century,” Glogster provides students and teachers the opportunity to turn a traditional poster into a multimedia presentation. Incorporate text, images, video and audio files into a web-hosted presentation. Students can work collaboratively with their classmates in a private, safe, and secure environment monitored by teachers. Add an audiovisual component to a traditional text-only project and motivate students to be independently creative in all areas of the curriculum. Learn how in this workshop. NEW: NOVEL STUDIES with Nancy Garrity ($60 double session) Each novel study is a double session because of the vast amount of material that is covered. You’ll earn 4 CPDUs for each workshop. Suggested for grades 5 and up. Each of these units is designed to be taught in four weeks. All the materials that you’ll possibly need will be at your fingertips when you complete each workshop. Introductory material, background information, weekly vocabulary studies, literary techniques, plot development, review questions, quizzes, vocabulary and comprehension tests, enrichment activities, discussion questions, annotation of literature, and additional activities are provided. PLUS, one of the most salient features of each novel study is that you will receive four brand new unabridged PowerPoint slide shows (including text, corresponding pictures, and various supporting details) that correspond with each week of the four-week study. You’ll literally receive hundreds of slides for each workshop. Students enjoy how the novels come alive through these visual aides. NEW ($60 double session): Monday, July 9, 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 a.m. Novel Study: The Trojan War (simplified version of the Iliad by Bernard Evslin). NEW ($60 double session): Tuesday, July 10, 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 a.m. Novel Study: The Adventures of Ulysses (simplified version of the Odyssey by Bernard Evslin). NEW ($60 double session): Wednesday, July 11, 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 a.m. Novel Study: The Call of the Wild. NEW ($60 double session): Thursday, July 12, 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 a.m. Novel Study: A Christmas Carol. NEW ($60 double session): Friday, July 13, 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 a.m. Novel Study: The Lilies of the Field.