Learn, Create, Connect
News and Updates from the MASD Technology Integration Committee
Wednesday, January 24, 2018
Scroll down to read this edition's features...
- Coming Soon! TIC Members Bring Hands-on PD to Your Schools
- BrightBytes - It's Time to See How We're Doing
- Blogs to Learn From - Control Alt Achieve by Eric Curts
- In a Classroom Near You...MMS 8th Grade Encore Classes' Toy Maker Project
- Resource Review - Google Earth Voyager - Show your students the world!
One note...you can access last month's LCC under the "Previous Issues" tab at the top of the page.
Coming Soon! TIC Members Bring Hands-on PD to Your Schools
Your TIC members have been hard at work developing informative, hands-on professional development opportunities designed to help teachers learn more about the new digital learning curriculum and how it can be implemented in the classroom. The focus of the first round will be creating Empowered Learners, to support the first transfer goal. Watch your email for information from the TIC members at your building and/or grade level for dates, times, and locations.
At these sessions, you will also be introduced to the new MASD Digital Learning Commons. The Commons will provide information and resources related to each of the seven digital learning transfer goals. It will also feature "The Toolbox", an alphabetical listing of instructional technology tools and resources, along with links to tutorials or other "how-to" information to help you learn the tools.
The MASD Digital Learning Commons is in its infancy, so please check back often for new updates. The Toolbox page will feature a link to a Google Form allowing you to provide suggestions for tools or resources you would like to see added. We welcome your input so we can make this resource as useful as possible for all MASD teachers.
BrightBytes - It's Time to See How We're Doing
Think back a few years (if you've been here that long)...Do you remember when you had to sign out carts of computers weeks in advance and still had no guarantee they'd be available when you needed them? Do you remember students having to find the same computer they used last time in order to access the document they'd started? Do you remember trying to sign out cameras for a video project? While it's still not perfect, I think most would agree that our access to technology has improved over the past few years. Some of that is due to changes in the technology itself, but we've also been more strategic in our purchasing based on input from all of you, via conversations, as well as the results of the annual BrightBytes Technology and Learning Survey. Check out the infographic to the right for some highlights of how we use the data.
In a few weeks, you will again be asked to complete this 15-minute survey. Yes, the questions are the same as the past few years, but BrightBytes is working on a refreshed version that will be available for next year. That survey will also allow us to add a few custom questions specific to MASD, to help us find some of those answers the current survey doesn't give us. For now though, your responses to this survey allow us to compare "apples to apples" and see the areas where our efforts are paying off and where we still need to focus our energies. Thank you in advance for taking the time to provide your honest input.
Your TIC members will share the link to the BrightBytes survey at your next faculty meeting. If you have any questions related to the survey, please don't hesitate to contact Anne Reardon.
BrightBytes One-page expanded.pdfBlogs to Learn From
The tagline of Eric Curts' blog, Control Alt Achieve, is "transforming education with technology". While the devices themselves don't guarantee significant changes in the classroom, the strategic use of digital tools to help students learn, create, and connect can be transformative. Eric's blog is a goldmine of ideas and resources and is organized in a way that makes it easy for busy teachers to find what they need. Scan through the labels in the right sidebar to link to posts relevant to your content area. The "Resources" tab under the main title has links to Eric's library of tutorials about dozens of ed tech topics. Keep this one at your fingertips!
In a Classroom Near You...
What happens when you give students the opportunity to take the knowledge and skills they've learned in several different classes over the course of a semester and use that learning to do real-world work? That's exactly what happened last semester in the 8th grade "Encore Classes" at MMS. Students in Tech Ed, FCS, and Computer (BCIT) participated in The Toy Maker Project. Using their knowledge of child development from FCS, groups proposed an idea for a learning toy suitable for preschool-aged children. They then used their design, production, and marketing skills from Tech Ed and Computer to create the toy and develop a marketing plan for it. The results are impressive! Students and teachers presented the project to the School Board on January 23rd. Scroll through the presentation below to see some of their toys. Be sure to watch the video on Slide 10 (the audio is a little low, but turn it up) to hear H.J.N.C., Inc. explain their project, The Animal Maze. Click on the rainbow on Slide 11 to see The Rainbow Company's website and then scroll down the page and click on the rainbow again to check out the app they created (if it prompts you to allow Flash to run, click "Allow"). This project and the work these students did are great examples of our digital learning curriculum - Empowered Learners, Innovative Designers, Creative Communicators! Thanks to all these students and to their teachers, Jenn Beck (FCS), Zach Love (Tech Ed), and Melissa Meyer (BCIT) for making this project happen!
Resource Review - Google Earth Voyager
What is it?
Google Earth Voyager is a collection of "tours" built around specific topics. Organized in categories such as History, Culture, Nature, and Travel, the tours feature stops at important places with a brief bit of information about each one.
Who might be interested?
Anyone who has any curiosity about the world! There are tours to appeal to just about anyone.
How could it be used in the classroom?
Teachers can use Google Earth Voyager to build background knowledge about places, ecological issues, or even natural disasters. Students can also explore on their own!
How do I get started?
On a computer, open Google Chrome and go to Google Earth Voyager to start browsing. On an iOS or Android device, you'll need to have the Google Earth app installed.
Pros
- Easily build background knowledge and geographical awareness
- Tours for many different topics
- It's FREE!
Cons
- If you plan to have students access Google Earth Voyager on iPads, be sure the devices have the Google Earth app installed first.
Anne's Thoughts
We all recognize the importance background knowledge plays in the development of vocabulary and in building understanding of new content. Google Earth Voyager is a great way to take a virtual field trip to places you probably can't take students - and that many students might never visit in person. Whether you're exploring a science topic, reading a novel set in a far-off place, or studying the history of an ancient land, there just might be a Google Earth Voyager tour for you!
Quick update on last month's Resource Review of Padlet...
Padlet just released some awesome new features, including the ability to directly record audio and/or video onto a Padlet (think Flipgrid-style!) and the option to draw on a Padlet note. This tool just keeps getting better!
