Summer Updates 2015!

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We are well into July, and it’s less than one month until our opening inservice day! I hope you’re all enjoying a summer filled with relaxation, time with family and friends, and lots of smiles.

Below are some updates from elementary instructional technology. It would be very beneficial for you to take some time over the next few weeks to read through the information listed here. Please don’t hesitate to email me with any questions!

 

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Elementary Instructional Tech Info 2015-16 – This document has many “need to knows” for elementary teachers for the new year, including the digital citizenship pledge and kick off lesson we’re asking all teachers to address in the first week or two of school, info about Qwertytown and other content providers, and resources to support technology integration. (This doc is also a great example of how to incorporate a responsive table of contents into your Google docs!)

 

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August 19 In-service Day – From 8 AM-12 PM on August 19, we will be offering sessions focused on instructional technology and teaching & learning. Many of your colleagues are running these sessions! For those of you new to certain content providers, sessions may be mandatory. Please read the schedule carefully. The tech day wiki and sessions can be found here. Please be patient and check back if a session you’re interested in does not yet have a session description listed.

 

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August 21 – Get Googly!

On August 21, I will be hosting Google-centric training sessions at Brecknock Elementary School for all elementary staff. The sessions will cover a variety of Google Drive/Docs must-knows, Google Classroom info, Google Chrome tips and tricks, and best practices for staying organized and using Google Apps to its fullest potential. Choose the session that best meets your needs, and/or stay for all three! Topics may vary during the sessions based upon the needs of attendees. Register for these sessions in My Learning Plan, found in the District Catalog!

9:00-10:00 AM – Rookies – Google Drive basics, organizing files and folders, sharing and collaborating, the basics of Docs, Slides, Forms. Intro to Google Chrome and its features.

10:00-11:00 AMSeasoned Players  – You’re comfortable and familiar with the basics of Drive and the productivity suite. We’ll look at Research Tools in Docs & Slides and ways to promote collaboration in your classroom, and Forms for formative assessment. Google Classroom basics will be reviewed for use with supporting rotational learning in your classroom.

11:00 AM – 12:00 PM – Veterans – You know the basics that GAFE can offer, but how can you more meaningfully integrate the suite into your work with students? We’ll look at going deeper with Google Chrome using apps and extensions, and the use of Google Calendar to promote home-school communication via your Edublogs site, and advanced options like using Flubaroo to self-grade Google Form assessments and other Drive add-ons.

 

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Wired Wednesdays – This year I’ll be offering digital learning workshops on scheduled Wednesdays from 4-5 PM. Please click here to learn more! Hope to see you there!

 

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Want to stay updated on the latest posts shared on this blog? Enter your email address in the Subscribe to this Blog box to the right and never miss a post! You can also subscribe via RSS in your Outlook inbox. This is the space where I share information about instructional tech throughout the year, and the pages along the top navigation bar will lead you to information about the content providers and other digital resources we use here at Elanco.

Photo Credit: mountainpete via Compfight cc

Formatively assess with Flippity!

flippityFlippity.net offers ways for you to design interactive assessments in the form of a Jeopardy-style review game and also with flashcards. It works directly with Google Sheets to bring an engaging way to review content to your classroom!

Click here to learn more about how to create a Flippity Quiz Show.

Click here to learn more about how to create Flippity flashcards.

Enjoy! Let me know if you need any assistance setting up your Google Sheets or Flippity activities!

This tool was shared by the one, the only, Rich Kiker, Google edustar! Follow him on Twitter and check out his Symbaloo mix of Google tools – you’ll love it! 

Google for Education on Air – A Virtual Conference Worth Exploring!

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Mark your calendars for Google’s Education on Air conference, hosted May 8 and 9. You can check out a number of keynote speakers and a diverse range of sessions for learners of all levels. The Google Apps suite is a versatile, feature-rich productivity, creativity, and collaboration suite, that all of our students and teachers can utilize. Please consider taking some time to learn  more about how Google Apps can ignite teaching and learning in your classroom!

Click here to register for the conference!

If you participate in any of the sessions, email me and let me know what you’ve learned! And you will then be awarded with a Google Education on Air digital badge! 🙂

What’s a badge, you ask?! Haven’t joined Credly yet? What are you waiting for? Display what you’ve learned and the ideas you’ve applied to teaching and learning this year? Celebrated you! 

 

Spring Happenings

3716278873_4b49212edaApril is Poetry Month!

It’s the perfect time to have your students compose and share their creative writing! Storybird is one way to support students’ literary creations. With Storybird, students can build poetry, longform, or chapter book creations. Sets of stunning illustrations will inspire students to include creative details in their writing. I can help you set up your classroom accounts and show you how to manage student projects. Learn more about how Storybird is celebrating Poetry Month! There’s even a #dailylark challenge so your students can participate in the literary fun!

See also these ways to get involved with Poetry Month via Edublogs!

Digital Citizenship Lessons

Digital citizenship lessons in grades 1-6 have begun this spring during computer lab special. It is always exciting for me to spend time with students and learn about the ways they’re using digital technologies to create, communicate, and collaborate in their personal lives. Through these lessons emerge important conversations that focus on safe and appropriate use of technology, respecting the rights of others, and crafting a digital reputation of which we can be proud! Our lesson materials are from Common Sense Media. You can see the full scope of the lessons they offer here. Remember, while it’s nice to offer these lessons in isolation to give students more direct instruction in these topics, it’s up to us as the adults in their lives to model and talk about respectful, empowering online behavior whenever we use technology with our students to support their learning!

Googly Goodness

Many of you were interested in learning more about Google Classroom to use as a platform for sharing digital resources with students during rotational learning classes next year. Click here to access resources where you can learn more about the features of Google Classroom and how it can support your work with students. Please email me to arrange a time when I can meet with you and/or your team to show you what this tool can to!

Looking for a quick start guide for Google Forms? Look no further!

Chromebook tips every teacher should know

Happy Spring! 🙂 I look forward to working with you and your students!

Photo Credit: Ken’s Oven via Compfight cc

Digital Learning Day is Coming! March 13, 2015

Gallery_DateNext Friday, March 13, is Digital Learning Day, a day each year where we celebrate the ways technology can enhance teaching and learning and provide students with agency and voice in the classroom.

Learn all about Digital Learning Day here!

We’d love if you could share your digital learning activities on the official DLD website by completing this form! I’d also love to highlight the work you and your students are doing on this blog, so email me with the details/summary of activities and I’ll spread the word!

Perhaps your students will be blogging next week, or using Plickers or Socrative or Kahoot! for formative assessment in the classroom, or are creating digital stories using Storybird or sharing their learning via Google Slides or PowerPoint. Maybe they’re engaged in literature circle discussions via Wikispaces or connecting with one another in Edmodo or Google Classroom! Maybe they’re trying some activities from the ConnectED Are your students reading their favorite stories online via Raz Kids or BookFlix. No matter what the activity, there is surely something worth sharing with your school community on Digital Learning Day!

There are also a number of professional learning opportunities available to you through the Digital Learning Day Live! and other activities. Check out the website and learn more about how you can get involved! You can follow the hashtag #DLDay on Twitter to follow along with the day’s events, too!

Sharing from Pete & C

Pete & C was held this week and there were a number of great resources shared for all content areas and educators. I attempted to compile some of the highlights of sessions offered to share with you. Peruse the resources below and/or check out the main session listings for additional topics and resources. Let me know how I can help you plan to incorporate some of these ideas into your classes!

Participate in ConnectED Classroom Bingo!

Principal Brad Gustafson shared this exciting activity board for the month of February to celebrate “I Love to Read Month,” and I wanted to pass it along to you with the hope that you could plan to complete one or more of the activities on the board! The activities were proposed by various teachers and admin from Brad’s PLN. They incorporate a number of different technologies and can help enhance students’ literacy experiences! Do not be intimidated by the tools listed- if you are interested in one of the literacy activities, please contact me to plan for how we can engage students with the tasks in your classrooms. We can plan for alternate digital tools if the ones listed are unavailable or unfamiliar to you. Make it about the literacy learning, not about the tech component! This is not just for language arts teachers!! As Brad says,

We are striving to facilitate student-centered connections between authors, educators, and classrooms.

Please email me if you’d like to complete an activity (or two or three!) with your students! I will keep a master board and check off completed Elanco activities. Here’s hoping we can call Bingo!

ConnectED Classroom Bingo Game Board link

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