New Robotics Course

Blair will be offering its first course in robotics next year.  The class will be a year-long course.  Students will exploring robotics concepts with hands-on projects to solve autonomous and remote control challenges. Topics will include include gears, torque, mechanical systems, introduction to programming with sensors and motors, and technical documentation & presentations.  The course will be taught by Mr. Adams.

Google Contacts

Boarding schools and colleges are just beginning to see the use of Google Glass on campus. This new technology allows users to connect to the internet and look up information without having to look at their smartphone. Is this the next big thing? Some people think so, but here's something even more startling... Google Contacts. The article below describes the potential for 'smart' contact lenses and the fact that two patents for the ideas were approved last week. Described as 'assistive' technology, the contact lenses are intended for medical biofeedback and can alert wearers to low glucose levels among other things.

Google Contacts

Using Google Forms in New Ways

More users are learning to use Google Forms, which provide a simple solution to surveys, questionnaires, online quizzes, and sign-up sheets.  

Students were encouraged to sign up electronically for Senior Seminars this week using a Google Site designed especially to make the process smooth and fair. The seminar topics were announced in an email from Ms. Matzkin on Tuesday evening. The Google site went live at 11:45am on Wednesday and an email with the site link was sent to all seniors at the same time.

Seniors who were prepared to stand in line at the back of the dining hall to get their first choice could use any of three laptops made available for signing up. Word quickly spread that you could also use a smart phone and the link provided by Ms. Matzkin in her email. Several seniors in the middle and at the back of the line were seen tapping on their phones and then leaving the line. Others who were in class when the site went live didn't have to pick from what was left over from those who happened to be in the dining hall at beginning of sign-ups. 

"That was easy!" exclaimed one senior as he left the table to go on with the rest of his day. Ms. Jessica Matzkin remarked how different the process was from years before, when sign-ups were done manually and on paper.

Teachers Working with Google Sites

Several teachers at Blair are beginning to experiment with Google sites.  It allows them to bring together all of their course materials online into one location.  It also fully integrates with Google features already being used in the classrooms such as Google Docs and Google Calendars.  Mr. Bacon is one such teacher who recently began using a Google site in his class.  He remarked that his students find it appealing, and he's eager to collaborate with other teachers about how to use Google Sites effectively.  Interested in seeing what Mr. Bacon is doing?  Check it out here:

Classroom Website

Yik Yak and Responsible Internet Use

Considerable discussion arose this week about responsible internet use after students reported inappropriate comments being posted online using the Yik Yak app.  Mr. Fortunato made a brief announcement at the beginning of Chapel urging students to be responsible in their use of the internet.  Cyber bullying has been a topic of increasing concern at boarding schools and colleges, but the fact that Yik Yak allows anonymous posting makes it particularly worrisome.  Please remember:  if you are posting something online which would embarrass you to have others know you are posting, you shouldn't post it.  If you are posting something which is intended to make other people feel badly, you shouldn't post it.  You can hear more about the Yik Yak debate here:

Yik Yak Debate

Internet Upgrade

Demand for internet capacity has grown at Blair even faster than we anticipated.  We upgraded to a 100Mbs connection earlier in the school year, and are already maximizing our capacity for large blocks of the day.  Work is underway now to triple our current bandwidth.  The next upgrade should go live around the third week of May.  The image below is a snapshot of usage for the last 24 hours.

Technology Training

Barbara Angiolelli started this year at Blair as an Instructional Technologist.  In addition to technical support work, Barbara has been creating workshops and individual help sessions to help faculty and staff learn to use technology.  The goal is to create and promote a culture of technology use in both the classroom and office environment.  Recent topics include Google Sites, VoiceThread, and Excel.

Parent Health Forms Online

Last year, Blair went live with an online enrollment process.  This allowed us to significantly reduce the physical mailings being sent to parents, and allowed parents to fill out forms electronically, rather than on paper.  This spring we have added a new product, Careflow, to the line-up, which allows parents to submit all of the necessary student health forms online for the first time.  This is part of a long term process to reduce paper mailings, reduce the need to submit the same information multiple times, and reduce data entry into school systems.

Technology Office Renovation

The Technology Office on the ground floor of the Timken Library has undergone an extensive renovation.  The floor was waxed, the walls were painted, custom cabinets and work areas were built, new ceiling tiles and light fixtures went in, and new pictures were framed and hung on the walls.  The goals were to make the space welcoming to visitors, bright and cheerful, connected to the rest of Blair, and functional as a work area.  The office is adjacent to the experimental math classroom, the technology elective classroom, and the technology training room.

Digital Signage in Bogle

Blair's first attempt at digital signage went live this month in the lobby of Bogle Hall.  This project came about as a follow-up to last summer's renovation of the science and math classrooms. We have included images from the science department, a video science feed from Rutgers, highlights of current Blair news articles, and the daily schedule.  The hardware is made by Samsung, the software is a cloud-based product called Signage Live.