May 2022

Tech Tools | Instruction | Digital Citizenship | Helpdesk | Shout Outs!

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

co-written with Michaela Peringer - AAPI Affinity Group Leader & Florina Domenden - Marshallese Consultant

Celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month this May and every day by taking time to learn more about the different cultures represented by students and staff in our ASD community. Explore the histories, traditions and culture of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States while connecting to local resources to extend your understanding further.

Did you know the Auburn Pioneer Cemetery, located on Auburn Way and 8th St. NE, contains monuments for several early Auburn-area settlers including many of the Japanese and Japanese-Americans who resided in the White River Valley prior to World War II? Have you visited the Pacific Bonzai Museum near the border of Federal Way and Auburn or seen the positive impact the Pacific Islander Community Association, PICA-WA, is having on local Pasifika youth?

The second largest population of Marshallese people live in the state of Washington and the city of Auburn often serves as a center for Marshall Islands cultural celebrations. With seven different Marshallese churches and multiple job opportunities in Auburn, the Marshallese population continues to expand within our schools. May is an important month in Marshall Islands history as Constitution Day, May 1, is when the people of the Marshall Islands became the Republic of Marshall Islands. Local Marshall Islands communities connect and celebrate Constitution Day at the end of May during Memorial Weekend with several activities in Game Farm Park, including baseball and volleyball. All are welcome to join and celebrate Marshallese culture!

Pioneer Elementary School students performing The Marshall Islands Flag Dance.

Primary-Focused Professional Development Conference

Saturday May 14, 2022 - Pioneer Elementary - 8:00am - 12:00pm

#ClassClassTechTech is coming soon! It's a a brand new technology conference designed exclusively for primary teachers. There is still time to sign up! Join your peers in learning how technology in primary grades can enhance, engage and empower learners!

For details about presenters and schedule, visit the #ClassClassTechTech website!

Tech Tools

Google Cursive

If you are someone who really enjoys tech, but still prefers to write things by hands, you're in luck. Cursive is a newer app by Google designed to bring the ability to digitally take notes by hand. Cursive is designed to be a digital notebook. There are some neat tools for moving your text around and adding spacing between notes if needed.

Scheduling Assignments to Multiple Classes

In March, Google Classroom received an update that allows teachers to schedule an assignment to multiple classes at once. A great thing about this feature is that you can customize the publish date, due date, and topic for each class all within a single box before scheduling.

Instruction

Robots!

Before the end of year, we are hosting two more In the Classroom With Cubetto and Sphero sessions. These sessions will be held in person at the Instructional Technology Team office in Room 222 at Pioneer Elementary alongside two hours of asynchronous learning. Clock hours and stipend available! With Cubetto targeting K-2 and Sphero 3-12, there's something for everyone! Click here to register. Questions? Contact Ann Goodwin or Mike Signal.

9 May, 9:00-10:30am

2 June, 4:15-5:45pm

Google Certified Educator - Level 1 & Level 2 Training

Are you looking to distinguish yourself in your classroom and career? Demonstrate your mastery and validate your technology expertise with certifications from Google for Education. Using an online self-paced learning platform through Google's Educator Training Courses, educators can put their Google for Edu skills to the test to earn badges and certifications that help them stand out on resumes, portfolios, websites, and more.

In Level 1, or Fundamentals Training, participants explore ways to maximize teaching impact through experiences of other teachers who have incorporated Google Drive, Docs, Sheets and Forms into their instructional practices.

In Level 2, or Advanced Training, participants investigate and implement cutting-edge strategies into their workplace and online classrooms.

Explore further courses covering topics like distance learning, tools for diverse learners, and supporting English learners within Google's Training Courses.

Digital Citizenship

Accessibility Awareness

May 19th is Global Accessibility Awareness Day, also known as GAAD. This is a perfect opportunity to spend some time looking at how you provide accessible content for all. Ensuring content is accessible is a practice we should all be engaged in no matter who we believe we are creating content for. Did you know that PDFs that are images are not accessible by a screen reader? Do your images have alt text? Are there captions for videos you create? These are examples of areas that can get looked over when ensuring accessibility. If you are not yet using the RedCat/Topcat microphone systems in your classroom, now is the time to start! Check out the following resources about accessibility.

5 Tips for Making Digital Learning Accessible

10 Tips for Creating Accessible Course Content (tips 5-10 is a great place to focus on this one)

Chromebook Accessibility

Google Educator Training Digital Citizenship banner

Google Educator Training - Digital Citizenship & Safety Course

The responsible use of technology and online platforms continues to be a topic at the forefront of education. Explore Google's Digital Citizenship & Safety course designed to give educators tools to support students in developing digital citizenship skills to help create a safe and positive experience online. With articles, videos and activities embedded within the course, participants learn how to integrate Digital Citizenship activities into their curriculum. Learn how you can strengthen your instructional discussions on topics including searching strategies, phishing scams, mobile phone safety and more through this wonderful self-paced online course.

Helpdesk

New DoT Staff

Please welcome the newest member of the Department of Technology, Bryan Rivera! Bryan is our new Helpdesk Technician, replacing Mathew Abenojar. He most recently worked at Codeday. He supported workspace operation, maintained infrastructure, acted as the technical coordinator of events, and so much more. Prior to his work with Codeday, Bryan graduated from Auburn Riverside and was a student intern for the Department of Technology!

Welcome back to Auburn, Bryan!

Shout Outs!

Auburn SD at NCCE Conference

Shout out to Adam France (Mountainview) for representing Auburn at this year's Northwest Council for Computer Education conference! We know how much extra work goes into being a teacher and brining professional learning to others. It is so wonderful to see Auburn staff leading both in our district and beyond!