Mr. Haney’s Extreme Classroom Makeover

If you haven’t checked out EPALS, your students are missing a world of learning. I started using EPALS last year, and my students enjoyed getting to know students from places like France and Slovenia. This year the students have emailed students in Germany and Kansas. We have a couple of other schools but we are waiting for their school year to start. If you are looking for an educational tie in to account for the time, you could use it for letter writing, research projects, interview skills, history lessons, culture building, and much more. I am looking forward to my students collaborating with the Germany students when we get into the World Wars later on this year. I highly recommend taking the time to check out EPALS. It is definitely worth the investment and the children will love it, guaranteed.

Last week, we received our letters and videos from our friends from the Philippines. It was an amazing experience watching my students read letters from students who live on the opposite side of the world. The students enjoyed finding similarities between them and the students from the Philippines. After reading the letters, we made a video, wrote letters back, and looked up their school on Google Earth. I remember doing pen pals with schools from the next county and I thought it was the coolest thing. Now with the help of technology, students can meet and see where other students live thousands of miles away.

Our Video

Philippines Video

Yesterday was one of the greatest days I have ever experienced not only in my teaching career but my life. The day would not have been as great without the help of ORAU’s fantastic staff, my wonderful family, and the gracious Rocky Hill volunteers. Even though most of the day is a blur, I am going to try to give an account for the memorable day.

Here is a list of my favorite moments of the day:

– From the start of the day, everyone was working hard to help make the reveal special. It reminded me of my wedding. People asking if I needed anything or if they could do something for me. People were constantly moving all around to set up decorations and stations.

– Right after everything had been set up, we had a a couple of minutes before the volunteers were going to arrive. During those minutes, I got to experience a great calmness. It was a moment I had been waiting and preparing for.  It was really nice to look around and everything was done!

– Right before the students yelled move that bus, I was frantically trying to get the oovoo (skype) to connect with my teacher friend from France, Mrs. Calard.  It was going to be the main kick-off, and it was not working. But as soon as I heard the students yell, “MOVE THAT BUS!” I realized it didn’t matter and the students would still enjoy the day. A couple of minutes later it started to work and everything went fine.

– Seeing the students’ faces as the ran in was priceless. I spent the majority of my summer either working in my room or thinking about the makeover so it was really nice to finally see the kids’ reactions.

– One of my favorite moments was just walking around the room and watching the students interact with all the different technology. I have been second guessing my decision with splitting the hardware into different types, and have been wondering if I should have gone with just all laptops. But, it all changed when I watched them play with the iPad. There is just something about it that lures people to it.

– I really enjoyed watching Dr. McIntyre and Mr. Smith playing with the students. Both men are extremely busy, and it was nice to see them relax for a moment and interact with some of the stations.

– Family! My family has been very supportive through this whole process. Espically my wife. I can not count the number of hours she has spent listening to me talk about school. She is always there to listen and give advice. She is my rock, and I was glad she was there to lean on during the day. My mother also cried about 20 times during the day.

– The TV interviews were a blast. I was extremely nervous but I enjoyed pretending to be important. When I watched the interviews later that night, it was very surreal to think that was actually me.

– It was bittersweet. I was really happy for the students to have that moment. They worked really hard and they are the ones who won that money. I was glad they got to use it for a couple of hours but it was bittersweet because it would be their last. I got to be their teacher for one more lesson and that meant the world to me.

I will be forever grateful for ORAU for giving me this day. They have already made so many of my dreams come true and the  school year doesn’t even start until next week. After yesterday, I am even more excited about this year and what we are going to do because of the gracious giving of company who truly cares about their community.

THANK YOU!!!!!!

With the addition of the Mac Airpot, the Mac Notebooks have become an irreplaceable educational machine. I can not wait to watch my students use the internet from their seats or any other place they prefer. I have been using a wireless laptop for my own personal use for years now, and it almost feels awkward to sit in the same spot every time I want to use a computer. Because of the Mac Notebooks, my students will not be confided to the “computer area” in the classroom or my classroom walls. Some of the ways I intend to use the Mac Notebooks are: blogging, wikis, educational online games, emailing epals, research, podcast, movie making, and many more. Like the iMacs, there are hundred of ways to use them but unlike the iMacs they will be able to work anywhere!