How do you Solve a Problem like Maria?

Maria Maini teaches French as a Second Language (FSL) at L.A. Desmarais Catholic Elementary School in Windsor. She does not have to teach the von Trapp family children about the journey of life, but she is entrusted with helping over 150 young people learn a new language. In September of 2012, Maria noticed the students were having trouble making and saving documents and then being able to submit them to her. LAD is a school that has embraced TOOLS2GO, or Google Apps for Education. It is great to witness students sitting down to a computer to create a document or presentation. They do not have to access any software or use a flash drive to find their work... they simply login to their Tools2Go account and start creating. All of their work is saved in the cloud in a safe, secure environment, moderated by the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board, WECDSB. With the direction of Maria and other teachers at LAD, most of the students have organized their files like the ones below.

This is a screenshot of the folders created by Connor from Mrs. Barnes' class at
St. John de Brebeuf Elementary in Kinsville

One of the nice features of TOOLS2GO that Maria, as an FSL teacher, really appreciates is the ability to make documents with appropriate accents and formatting. 

This is a Google Document created by Samantha, a Grade 6 student in Mrs. Laporte's at LAD

Maria and her students have reaped the benefit of a staff that has embraced Tools2Go and the use of technology. Students are creating mindmaps, documents, presentations, prezis, and more, all in the cloud, accessible from any computer! Further, they are collaborating in real time as all of their creations in Tools2Go and prezi can be shared and accessed by more than 1 person at a time. L.A. Desmarais has truly integrated technology into the daily learning at school and at home.

AN EXCELLENT OPEN-ENDED LEARNING OPPPORTUNITY

Ten by Ten is a website that defines itself as,

"an interactive exploration of the
words and pictures that define the time."

Every hour, 10x10 collects the 100 words and pictures that matter most on a global scale, and presents them as a single image, taken to encapsulate that moment in time. Over the course of days, months, and years, 10x10 leaves a trail of these hourly statements which, stitched together side by side, form a continuous patchwork tapestry of human life.

One of the unique features that may inspire critical thinking in our students

is the access to the HISTORY of 10x10.

Users may access previous "10 by 10"s, by choosing the HISTORY link

below the grid and choose a previous date back to 2004.

Have students compare the events from...

and