55 Technology Projects for the Digital Classroom

by Jacqui Murray, Penelope Windsor (Editor)

You don't have to be a miracle-worker to the 10% of applicants accepted to a military academy, but you do need a plan. For the thousands of students who apply every year--and slog through the numbing concatenation of decisions preceding a nomination--there is no greater discouragement than the likely event that they will fail. This, though, is the Board's peek into an applicant's moral fiber and an important ingredient to the go/no go decision. In the words of James Stockdale, USNA '46 and Medal of Honor "The test of character is not 'hanging in there' when you expect a light at the end of the tunnel, but performance of duty and persistence of example when you know that no light is coming." This is the true story of Maggie Schmidt, an All-American kid who dreamt of attending the Naval Academy when her research into the typical Midshipman uncovered a profile alarmingly like herself. This book describes her background and academic interests, her focus, as well as her struggle to put together a winning admissions package. Along the way, you gain insight into the moral fiber that grounds everything she does and the decisions she must make that some consider impossible for an adolescent, but are achievable for thousands of like-minded teens. This workbook walks you through the long process, provides check lists of everything required, decision making matrices, goal-setting exercises to determine if USNA is a good fit for you, and a mix of motivation and academic advice to balance a decision that rightfully might be the biggest one most teens have ever made. If you have trouble reading this digital book, please contact the publisher for assistance.

Genres: Teaching

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

I'm a teacher, writer, mom and dog-lover. I'm the author of a self-help book for teens called Building a Midshipman, the story of my daughter's journey from high school to the United States Naval Academy as well as the Rowe-Delamagente series, thrillers about terrorists, geeks, and world-ending dangers. As a break from non-stop thrills, I write the Man vs. Nature series which follows early humans as they struggle to survive a world where Nature is King and they are nothing more than prey.

I'm also an adjunct professor in tech ed, editor of a K-18 technology curriculum and over one hundred technology training books for K-12, webmaster for four blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, a columnist for TeachHUB, monthly contributor to Today’s Author and a freelance journalist on tech ed topics. You can find my books at my publisher’s website, Structured Learning.

Currently, I'm working on the trilogy Crossroads, next in the Man vs. Nature collection, which should be out next Spring.

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a retired Chief Petty Officer, I never attended the United States Naval Academy, but my 23 years in uniform gave me some strong opinions about what it takes to make a good naval officer. Building a Midshipman is an excellent guide to the intricacies and hurdles of the USNA application process. More than that, it's a set of clear navigational markers for succeeding as an officer, a human being, and an American citizen.

Part memoir, part workbook, and part strategy guide, this book follows Maggie Clara Schmidt (real person/fictional name) from her freshman year of high school through her swearing-in as a Midshipman at Annapolis. Along the way, readers will discover the challenges that Maggie faced, the solutions she chose, and the questions she asked of herself as she worked toward her goal. Scattered throughout the text are worksheets that encourage potential applicants to identify their own challenges, develop their own strategies, and - ultimately - make the grade for one of the most exclusive learning academies in the world.

The Appendices contain copies of Maggie Schmidt's USNA cover letter, her student resume, and other sample documents that are key to the application process. The entire book is a wealth of useful information, accompanied by quotes and bits of inspirational wisdom from the leaders of the past and present. The author herself offers more than a few pieces of insight, including this one... "Though some people succeed by skill or brilliance, the more dependable route is persistence."

Building a Midshipman is a must-read for anyone who is considering the U.S. Naval Academy, or a future in the United States military.

[Jacqui · Rating 5 out of 5]

The all-in-one K-8 toolkit for the lab specialist, classroom teacher and homeschooler, with a years-worth of simple-to-follow projects. Integrate technology into language arts, geography, history, problem solving, research skills, and science lesson plans and units of inquiry using teacher resources that meet NETS-S national guidelines and many state standards. The fifty-five projects are categorized by subject, program (software), and skill (grade) level. Each project includes standards met in three areas (higher-order thinking, technology-specific, and NETS-S), software required, time involved, suggested experience level, subject area supported, tech jargon, step-by-step lessons, extensions for deeper exploration, troubleshooting tips and project examples including reproducibles. Tech programs used are KidPix, all MS productivity software, Google Earth, typing software and online sites, email, Web 2.0 tools (blogs, wikis, internet start pages, social bookmarking and photo storage), Photoshop and Celestia. Also included is an Appendix of over 200 age-appropriate child-friendly websites. Skills taught include collaboration, communication, critical thinking, problem solving, decision making, creativity, digital citizenship, information fluency, presentation, and technology concepts. In short, it's everything you'd need to successfully integrate technology into the twenty-first century classroom.

[Jacqui · Rating 5 out of 5]

The all-in-one K-8 toolkit for the lab specialist, classroom teacher and homeschooler, with a years-worth of simple-to-follow projects. Integrate technology into language arts, geography, history, problem solving, research skills, and science lesson plans and units of inquiry using teacher resources that meet NETS-S national guidelines and many state standards. The fifty-five projects are categorized by subject, program (software), and skill (grade) level. Each project includes standards met in three areas (higher-order thinking, technology-specific, and NETS-S), software required, time involved, suggested experience level, subject area supported, tech jargon, step-by-step lessons, extensions for deeper exploration, troubleshooting tips and project examples including reproducibles. Tech programs used are KidPix, all MS productivity software, Google Earth, typing software and online sites, email, Web 2.0 tools (blogs, wikis, internet start pages, social bookmarking and photo storage), Photoshop and Celestia. Also included is an Appendix of over 200 age-appropriate child-friendly websites. Skills taught include collaboration, communication, critical thinking, problem solving, decision making, creativity, digital citizenship, information fluency, presentation, and technology concepts. In short, it's everything you'd need to successfully integrate technology into the twenty-first century classroom.