Wednesday, December 9 and Wednesday, December 16 are the final two Wired Wednesdays of the semester. I’ll be holding informal drop-in sessions where you can bring your device(s) and discuss any instructional tech info you need to feel supported in your implementation efforts. Want help organizing your Google Drive? Let’s work on it together! Want to learn more about Google Classroom or Edublogs? Let’s chat about it! Need an idea for how to integrate technology into a classroom project or activity? We can explore options together!
No need to register in My Learning Plan, just drop on by for as much time as you need, and hopefully have your questions answered and/or explore anything new that interests you. If you’d like me to prepare resources for you in advance or have a specific system ready for you to engage with, please email me a few days in advance of the date if possible.
Wed., December 9 – Blue Ball Elementary – 4-5 PM in the library
Wed., December 16 – Brecknock Elementary – 4-5 PM in Room 101
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!
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!
You’ve been working hard, learning about new ways to integrate technology into the curriculum, and getting systems and classroom accounts up and running. You and your teammates are learning more each day, collaborating with one another and working with district reousrce members to skillfully attain proficiency with the Spartan Digital Competencies. It’s time to celebrate your accomplishments!
What’s Credly?
Credly is a service that allows organizations to create and distribute badges for various accomplishments. Your friendly Elanco tech coaches will use Credly to build, manage, and share badges with Elanco teachers and admin to acknowledge your learning efforts throughout the year. Some badges are specific to a learning system, while others are general and include things like “Happy Helper!” for someone who helps colleagues with instructional tech, and “Growth Mindset” for someone who consistently shows a willingness to learn and grow professionally.
How do I get started?
Create a free Credly account (we recommend using your elanco.org email account) to save your accumulated badges and showcase your skills!
How do I display my badges?
Link to your Credly page on your teacher blog, or add a link in your email signature! We’ll be showcasing staff accomplishments on this Edublogs site, Elanco Learns.You can also right-click to download the individual badge picture files and print those images and display them proudly on your classroom door! And/or make stickers out of them! (A preview of things to come?? 🙂
How do I claim badges?
Each badge has a specific claim link and code. Many are applicable to a large number of teachers, so we will update you with codes and claim links as they become available. Others will be workshop/PD-specific and Tim and I will distribute those codes/links via email to the workshop participants.
After logging in to your Credly account, click “Claim Credit” at the top of the page, and enter the claim code provided.
Here are some badges to get your collection started! Click on the name of the badge to visit its direct link to enter your claim code.
(P.S. We’re operating under the “honesty policy” – please do not claim badges you do not truly deserve!)
Looking to learn more about instructional technology topics this summer? Look no further! IU13 Instructional Media Services is offering a variety of sessions at this summer’s IMS Summer Academy!
Free, online, courses are now available through Google in Education. These self-paced courses share content via video tutorials and activities, and allow participants to view, review, and practice the concepts taught.
Course topics include Internet 101, Google Apps for Education Overview, Google Drive for Educators, Gmail for Educators, Chrome and Chromebooks for Education.
If anyone is interested in starting a small group/PLC team to engage with the online content and further develop ideas learned by meeting face-to-face before or after school or during common planning time for PIT time, please let me know! I would love to facilitate this for you!
Today, 10/22/13, at 4 PM ET I’ll be presenting about digital storytelling in the elementary grades for Simple K-12/Teacher Learning Community. Registration is free! I’ll be sharing more about the tools Little Bird Tales and Storybird. I’m happy to come to your classroom to support your students’ use of these tools in their digital storytelling endeavors, and/or to meet with your team to discuss how these tools can be integrated into your classroom activities.
Looking for a great way to be inspired and learn more about educational technology and other hot topics in education? Consider attending one of these fine events!
Edcamp Harrisburg, November 2, 2013
What’s an Edcamp? An Edcamp is an inspiring “unconference.” Sessions are facilitated by the event attendees. There are no pre-scheduled sessions. It’s participant-driven learning at its best! And, it’s free to attend! See the flyer below for more information, and click here to register!
This conference will be held on December 3, 2013. This is a day of learning designed for classroom teachers and specialists to learn more about how to best integrate technology into teaching and learning. Sessions will be presented on a variety of topics. Please contact your building principal if you are interested in attending (or if you are interested in presenting, email me and your building principal – they are accepting session proposals!)
Please mark your calendars for a workshop on the Polyvision Eno interactive whiteboard and accompanying Easiteach software. John Styer will be facilitating this session!
The workshop will be held on August 20, from 8:30-11:30 AM. We will meet in the middle school, room 214.
Please register for this session in My Learning Plan. Bring your whiteboard pen along with your laptop if you received new equipment and have not yet had your pen “synced” with your laptop.
As you’re busy making memories with family and friends this summer, take some time to check out the elementary instructional tech workshops being offered. You can find the sessions in the Elanco catalog in My Learning Plan. The dates/times/session titles are as follows:
July 30, 8:30-11:30 AM: Google Docs in the Elem. Classroom
July 30, 12-3 PM: Research, Copyright, & Creative Commons
All sessions will be held in the Blue Ball Elementary School computer lab. Feel free to bring your own laptops to use.
We are also working on plans to provide training to those teachers who received new Polyvision boards at the end of last year or over the summer. Stay tuned for more details!
Sonya Green via Compfight
