Welcome to 2015
As the first newsletter of the year, I want to welcome you back but also use this as a way to share some new tools and helpful tips for the remainder of the school year. Please review the section on Trouble Reporting. We need your help to improve the process while meeting your needs.
The Answer Pad for Formative and Summative
I am always on the lookout for new tools to share. This one came from January's Ideastream meeting. The Answer Pad (http://theanswerpad.com/) offers a way to use existing paper quizzes with a digital tool for answer completion and grading. There is a free version and a paid version. I am always a fan of sites that allow a usable free component to allow teachers to really explore and benefit. The site has plenty of information if you want to try it out. Please contact me, if I can help with any implementation.
Animoto
This was another tool from Ideastream. Teachers can sign up for a free Plus account that allows unlimited videos and presentations. This is a great tool for creating and using digital content in the classroom. There are some short videos at the bottom of the page that show how teachers are using this with their own classrooms.
Powtoon
This was mentioned at Ideastream. I shared it at one of last year's PD sessions. There is a free education version. I do encourage you to look for education versions of tools that you encounter on the web. The education version usually provides premium features to educators and no extra cost.
Powtoon is another fun presentation tool that allows you to create animated videos and presentations. The nice part about tools like this and Animoto is that they are fast, easy to use and save time. Often it is hard to create content like this due to the amount of time involved. I do encourage you to share creations that you make for students with others who teach the same content. You can divide the work and save time.
Ideastream Education Resources for the Classroom
I would recommend bookmarking this site for free resources.
Ideastream Instructional Resources for Educators is updated regularly with new content. If you are looking for streaming video content, check out PBS Learning Media and Ideastream. They have full programs and clips from a wide range of educational topics.
There is a direct link to Infohio. If you haven't taken a look, it is loaded with resources for teachers K-12. There are various search functions on the site. There are many interactive and digital opportunities.
The remaining content links range from content for really young students to high school.
Trouble Reporting Tips
One of our goals in 2015 is to improve the error reporting process so we get to your needs faster. This requires a little help from you. Please make sure you report issues early. If something is a reoccuring issue, please let us know so we can help. Don't let it get to the point of frustration.
For High School: Please email HSTrouble.Reports@westg.org
For Elementary: Please contact your AV/Tech Supplemental Holder. They will put is a Trouble Ticket that will make us aware of the issue. This is important because it allows us to organize and keep track of progress.
Information that we need from you:
Date:
Time:
Room Number:
What is the problem you are having:
Were there any error messages?
What were they?
Does this happen all the time or in specific situations?
The more you tell us, the faster we will pin down the actual problem and be able to resolve you issue.
