Self Paced Courses

In this course attendees will learn: how to navigate and find resources in Discovery Education including: Multimedia instructional materials, Spotlight on Strategies lessons and lesson delivery modalities. They will also learn how to use the instructional tools in Discovery Education including: Studio to create boards for instruction and student projects as well as Quizzes and Video Quizzes to test students comprehension. Participants will also preview the student experience in DE so they can help their students navigate the platform independently.

Google Earth is an online globe that students and teachers can use to explore the world around them. They can virtually visit countries, and cultures too far away to realistically explore in-person. They can even explore the ocean, inside of a building and go back in time. If you have heard the term Virtual Field Trips and thought you’d like to give that a try, then Google Earth is for you! This is a self-paced 2 hour course that includes video tutorials, assessments and Your Turn components. Google made major revisions to Google Earth in the summer of 2023. Even if you have taken a course on Google earth before, you might want a refesher on the new layout and tools!

In this course participants will learn: - How to manage their account in Google Chrome - How to create and organize files in Google Drive including uploading existing files and converting Microsoft files - The basic features of Docs, Slides and Drawings - How to share files in Google Drive including sharing folders and using Shared Drives - Additional tips for getting and staying organized in Drive through advanced search techniques, the use or Workspaces and using Google Drive for Desktop. 

Are you new to using Google Workspace for Education or feel like you know just enough to be dangerous? Do you spend way too much time lost or unsure if this is the best way to access something, or if you’re using the best tool for the task? In this course we will take you from Google novice to Google expert in all things Drive and the Big 3. 

Google Forms is an awesome survey tool that can also be used to create self-graded assessments. Topics covered during this course will include:

• Writing questions

• Importing questions

• Tips for form set-up

• Making it a quiz

• Skip logic and response validation

• Getting responses

• Sharing through Brightspace

• Viewing responses

• Generating a spreadsheet

• Organizing the spreadsheet

In this course participants will learn:

• How to create a Google Site.

• How to add content to the site, making sure all is visible to viewers.

• How to customize the look of their site.

• How to publish their site for their intended audience.

Google Sites allows students and teachers to design beautiful websites independently or collaboratively with its easy drag and drop interface. Student portfolios, informational sites, blogs and more can be created and shared giving our students and teachers a powerful tool to showcase learning. This is a self-paced 2.5 hour course that includes video tutorials, interactives, Your Turn components and assessments.

In this course attendees will learn:

• How to build from scratch in SLSO

• How to upload and edit existing files including all supported file types

• How to customize their settings to improve the experience in SLSO for them and their students

• How to deliver a lesson to students

• How to access and view results after a lesson has concluded

Lumio is SMART's online activity creation and delivery system. Teachers who know SMART Notebook will find it easy to transition to Lumio, but so will teachers who love Nearpod, Wixie, Kahoot and Discovery Education. With Lumio teachers can build instructional resources, games, interactives, and assessments that can be shared with students and accessed right on their Chromebooks. Students can work independently or collaboratively in Lumio and teachers can monitor the learning in real-time or after the lesson has ended. This is a self-paced 4 hour course that includes video tutorials and assessments.

SMART also includes the SMARTboard hardware and Notebook software available in classrooms and on teacher computers. Specific information about the boards and Notebook is covered in the self-paced course titled SMARTboard & Notebook Basics which is also available on Unified Talent for registration. It is not required that staff take both courses, or take them in any order; the content is designed to stand on its own.

In this course attendees will learn:

• Why educators use Minecraft Education

• how to install Minecraft Education on your device

• the basics of gameplay

• to import and export worlds and how to access the Library worlds

• how to host a world

• how to code in Minecraft Education

You will never find a more engaging education tool for students than Minecraft Education!

Nearpod is best described as PowerPoint on steroids. Instead of delivering your content in one platform, and including your engagement, interactives and checks for understanding in a separate platform, Nearpod does it all. In this course we will learn

• The options for accessing ready-made Nearpod lessons and for creating your own lessons from scratch.

• The options for sharing lessons with students, colleagues or even parents.

• The options that teachers and students will have to engage with their lesson content during delivery.

• Various ways to customize your lesson settings.

• How to view reports to see student engagement and progress and assess student learning.

The course includes two My Turn components that ask you to apply what you have learned and turn in content. These submissions are required for course credit.

In this course attendees will learn:

• The different SMARTboards in AACPS, the various features of each model and how to tell which model they have in their classroom

• What is Notebook software and how to install it on a personal computer if they wish

• How to use the tools on the Toolbar in SMART Notebook

• How to use the Tabs in SMART Notebook

• How to add and edit content on the page in SMART Notebook

• How to import and export files into/out of SMART Notebook

• How to use their SMART board with other applications like Microsoft files or their Chrome browser

The combination of a SMART board and Notebook software is an amazing instructional tool that allows both students and teachers to get hands-on with their content. The board allows drag and drop activities and digital ink that users can interact with without having to hide behind their computer screen. Notebook software allows teachers to create lessons, engaging interactives and formative assessments that students can work through whole class or small-group.

SMART also has an online platform that allows teachers to share lessons and interactives with students through the SMART Learning Suite Online. Specific information about the SLSO is covered in the self-paced course titled SMART Learning Suite Online which is also available on Unified Talent for registration. It is not required that staff take both courses, or take them in any order; the content is designed to stand on its own.

WeVideo is an entirely online video recording and editing platform. Editing options include everything from basic cropping and splicing videos, to adding effects, layering audio and even green-screen. And because it is entirely online, it works on our Chromebooks and any web-enabled home device. Throughout this course you will watch short tutorial videos designed to get you started wokring in Wevideo to create instructional videos. This is a self-paced 2 hour course that includes video tutorials, assessments, and Your Turn component. 

WeVideo is an entirely online video recording and editing platform. WeVideo Classroom is a tool contained within our AACPS WeVideo accounts. It allows teachers to assign students a video project that can be completed and submitted by students entirely within the WeVideo Classroom environment. This is a self-paced 2.5 hour course that includes video tutorials and assessments.

Wixie is a publishing app that allows students to combine text, drawing, images, speech, and video to create one of a kind projects to demonstrate their learning. Students can create from scratch, or use one of the thousands of premade templates. All AACPS students PreK-12 have access to this incredibly flexible tool to showcase their imagination and learning, and teachers can easily view and provide feedback on their work. In this course participants will:

• Learn to navigate the Wixie dashboard and canvas

• Explore premade templates from Tech4Learning and AACPS

• Create and modify templates

• Create and modify rubrics

• Assign to students in Wixie and Brightspace

• Grade and provide feedback to students