Learn, Create, Connect


News and Updates from the MASD Technology Integration Committee



Monday, Mar. 26, 2018

Scroll down to read this edition's features...

In a Classroom Near You... Bring Experts into Your Classroom

Teacher Webpages - Don't Wait! It's Time to Move Your Files from Edline

Blogs to Learn From - The Principal of Change by George Couros

Resource Review - Discovery Education - Rediscover It!

(See the "Previous Issues" tab at the top of the page for prior editions.)

In a Classroom Near You...Bring Experts into Your Classroom

In today's world, the ability to communicate and collaborate with others is an important skill. This is reflected in our digital learning transfer goal #7, Global Collaborator:

Students will be able to independently use their learning to use digital tools to broaden their perspectives and enrich their learning, by collaborating with others and working effectively in teams, both locally and globally.

Students also need to be able to build and maintain networks to enhance their learning, reflected in digital learning transfer goal #1, Empowered Learner:

Students will be able to independently use their learning to leverage technology to take an active role in choosing, achieving, and demonstrating competency in their learning goals, informed by the learning sciences.

One way to help students meet both of these goals is to put them in touch with people in "the real world" who have experience or expertise related to what's being studied in the classroom. Our own Joe Reidy wrote about this in his blog back in January, highlighting the work of MASH Earth Science Teacher, Jen Bandura. Recently, two of our middle school teachers have brought experts into their classrooms via Skype.

Sixth grade ELA teacher, Heather Boltz, met Sandra Wilbourn while taking an online graduate class. When she learned that Wilbourn had fought for civil rights in the South during the 60's, Heather immediately connected those experiences to the 6th grade ELA unit, Man v. Society. She reached out to Wilbourn via email and asked if she would be willing to share her experiences with Heather's students using Skype, and Ms. Wilbourn was eager to help. Students in each section generated questions to ask during the call. According to Heather, "Students enjoyed hearing about what they were reading about in class from someone who actually lived and breathed it."

Social Studies teacher, Megan Miller, has found a multitude of connections using Skype in the Classroom from Microsoft Education. After creating a free account, teachers can search for people who are willing to Skype into classrooms to share their knowledge with students. Last week, Megan's students Skyped with a representative from the Virginia Museum of History and Culture to learn more about the Powhatan tribe and Pocahontas. In a few weeks, another class is going to talk with an archaeologist in Greece who will walk the students through some ancient ruins. Megan says that her students love getting a chance to see and hear about the environments about which they're learning from an expert on the ground.

How could you enhance your students' learning by giving them an opportunity to talk to an expert? Reach out to your own professional connections, check out Skype in the Classroom, or search a relevant hashtag on Twitter. These are all great ways to find people to talk to your students. And don't let the technology part stand in the way. If you're unsure about using Skype or another video communication tool, contact Anne Reardon for help. Together we can help our students to become empowered learners and global collaborators who are able to learn with and from others from all around the world.

Teacher Webpages - Don't Wait! It's Time to Move Your Files from Edline

As mentioned last month, our subscription to our previous webpage provider (Edline) ends on June 30, 2018. After that date, you will not have access to anything on your old page. I've done some informal searching and found that there are quite a few teachers whose new webpages still have links back to their old Edline page. If you're one of these people, please make plans to update your page before that deadline. After June 30th, we will NOT be able to recover anything from the old sites.

You can use this link to access the old page: http://www.edline.net/pages/mechanicsburg_asd.

If you are just getting started with the new Edlio webpage system, here are a few online resources that might be helpful:

If you'd prefer face-to-face help, please contact Anne Reardon before the end of the school year to set up a time to learn about recovering information from your old page and making the move to Edlio.

Blogs to Learn From

While some educational blogs focus on practical tips or resources, others take a more "big picture" approach and help us to think about broader ideas in education. The Principal of Change by George Couros is one of those blogs. Couros, the author of The Innovator's Mindset, is an educator and speaker who shares his own learning through his blog. His posts tackle the most contemporary issues in education, and do so in a way that pushes your thinking without making you feel like you have to give up everything you're doing and start from scratch. If you're looking for a way to be part of the current conversations about teaching and learning, I highly recommend following George Couros on Twitter (@gcouros) and checking out The Principal of Change.

Resource Review - Discovery Education - Rediscover It!

What is it?

Long ago (in the days before YouTube...if you can remember back that far), teachers could find videos and other classroom media resources at a site called Unitedstreaming, which was later taken over and renamed Discovery Education. Many teachers spent a lot of time in DE, building collections of videos connected to all kinds of curricular topics. Since access to YouTube was opened, many teachers may have forgotten about Discovery Education, but the service has continued to grow. DE still houses a constantly growing library of video content, but it also provides virtual field trips, professional learning opportunities, and more. If you haven't logged in lately, it's definitely worth a return visit. All district teachers have access to DE. If you don't know your login information, contact Anne Reardon.

Who might be interested?

Teachers K-12 will find videos on a wide range of topics. There is also a library of virtual field trips organized by topic and grade level. You can sign up to participate live or watch the archived trip at your convenience.

How could it be used in the classroom?

One of my favorite features of DE is the editable video clips. Any video marked as "editable" can be downloaded and shared with students, who can then use the clips in their own work. Students could import these clips into an editor such as WeVideo and then delete the sound track and provide their own narration as a way to share their learning about a topic. Students studying a world language could translate a clip and add subtitles in their target language. The virtual field trips could be a great way to build background on a topic or give students a closer look at how people in the real world use the information and skills being learned in the classroom.

How do I get started?

If you have a district login for Discovery Education, you can login at https://app.discoveryeducation.com. If you've never had an MASD account for DE, or if you don't remember your login, contact Anne Reardon for help.

Pros

  • Easy to search collection of curricular videos and other media, organized by content area and grade level.
  • Some videos are available in languages other than English.
  • Many videos are "editable", meaning teachers can download them and share with students for use in their own projects.
  • Videos can be shared directly to Google Classroom to be included in assignments, announcements, or questions.
  • Virtual field trips provide a way to expose students to real-world applications of what they're learning in the classroom.

Cons

  • At the moment, we have not set up student access to DE. If you're interested in your students having the ability to search for videos in DE themselves, let me know and I'll investigate further.

Anne's Thoughts

While YouTube is a great tool, resources like Discovery Education should not be overlooked. The resources are all from known publishers and have been vetted by DE. I'm always impressed by how current the content is and by the variety available. Want to show a Magic School Bus video? an episode of MythBusters? a primary source newsreel video from the 1940s? You'll find them all in Discovery Education!