Snow, IPEVO, and PTO: O-O-Oh!

The photo above was taken with one of our new IPEVO document cameras during yesterday's surprise snow. Of course, I could just snap a photo with the digital camera and save it to my files. However, this is how it happened with the IPEVO -

1. IPEVO was used for a lesson with Ms. Parker's 4th graders to display images from The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg.
2. After the lesson, I pointed the IPEVO at the window to capture the image we were seeing - gently falling snowflakes with the woods as a background.
3. The image was displayed on the SMART Board which made it easy to see the snow crystals and clumps as they fell.
4. We turned off the lights to enjoy the beautiful scene displayed on the SMART Board. One student said it was like having another window - a big window!
5. I clicked the Enter key and bingo! - the picture was saved to a folder created by the IPEVO and placed into my U drive. Now that's service!

As you can see, I'm really excited about the IPEVO which is a cheaper version of other document cameras (for more details & a photo, see my blog from Dec. 10th). Our generous PTO bought six (6!) IPEVO cameras for our school. Four of them went to classrooms with SMART Boards, one to the Library, and the other one is available for teachers to borrow and use with the school LCD projector. Thanks, PTO!

Think + Snow

Teaching often involves trying to engage students' deeper thinking, or Higher Order Thinking skills. This means going beyond restating or memorizing facts and teaching or questioning to promote an increased level of thinking processes.

The current library bulletin board in the hallway features some information on Wilson Bentley, better known as "Snowflake" Bentley. A Caldecott-winning book, Snowflake Bentley, was written by Jacqueline Briggs Martin and illustrated by Mary Azarian a few years ago; it's still a favorite. The display shows copies of the snowflake photographs made over 100 years ago by Bentley, a remarkable farmer-naturalist who changed the way the world looked at snowflakes. The library display also has newer photos taken more recently and displayed on the website, www.snowcrystals.com.

The first photo is a closer look at part of the display with a question that may encourage deeper thinking. Comparing and contrasting are skills designed to engage thinking. Have a close look at the magnification of the penny and it will help you realize the size of an individual snowflake (the blue insert). I don't know if I even want to think about how many we shoveled at our house this week!

BTW, the official Snowflake Bentley website is a great place to spend some time. Have a look at
www.snowflakebentley.com and enjoy!