Friday, February 26, 2016

Newsletter 2/26/2016 : Code.org, Testing Resources,

Testing Resources

As we are heading into testing season, I wanted to make you aware of some resources that might help take some stress off of you and your students. We are regularly updating the Curriculum/Technology web site to support your needs based on your feedback. 


I am including a short video walking through some of the links you may have missed. I hope this is helpful.



Code.Org Part 1

At the recent OETC Conference, one of the founders of Code.org had an amazing presentation on how students from 1st through 12th grade could start learning the the basic skills of coding through their amazing website. I plan to do a few posts over the next couple of weeks walking you through the site and some of the benefits. Attached is a video with the initial account and classroom setup.



Staff Computers

The first wave of staff computers continue to roll out. While we will not be able to reach everyone in this first phase, we will be able to in phase 2 which will begin very early in the upcoming school year. I have noticed that some staff members have not completed the original survey. I will be emailing you in groups with a link to we get accurate numbers on who needs a desktop and who needs a laptop based on instructional needs. Thank you for your patience. We are aware that there are many old teacher machines that need replacing. The board supported taking care of this in a two year cycle so there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Thursday, February 4, 2016

Newsletter February 4, 2016 : Online Testing Resources and Khan

Online Testing Resources Reminder

On Wednesday, the high school held an infrastructure test. The main goal was to check for connectivity issues and to get a needs assessment on devices. While circulating through most rooms, it was great to see such a positive and supportive atmosphere to our students and their questions. Your efforts are appreciated!

We have an online testing resources section that we regularly update. You can find this by going to westg.org, choosing the "staff" tab and going to the "Curriculum and Technology" web page. 

If you see something we are missing, please let us know. We want it to be a source of links to walkthroughs, practice examples and resources for a majority of our state tests.

Currently, we have updated sections on Air/Tide and Map testing.


Lucidchart, Lucidpress and Google Docs in Action!

In the last newsletter, Lucidchart was mentioned as a classroom tool. Traci Hren and Jileen Urbanek were kind enough to share some of the interesting ways that they are using this tool along with Lucidpress and Google Docs to have their students demonstrate their learning. 

Students using Lucidchart for Word Work in collaborative groups.


Students using Lucidpress for an activity showcasing understanding of concepts such as similes, metaphors, and idioms.



Students using Google Docs for an opinion paper that explores peer editing concepts.


Khan Academy (More Than Just Video)

Jack Toriello is doing some really interesting data driven prescriptive instruction in his math courses using Khan Academy.  Often, Khan Academy is considered a video resource but there are many activities covering a wide range of subject matter that is available. 

If you are interested in the subjects and content available, you'll want to check out the library of free content:


To sign up, check out this link:


I have created a few short videos walking your through the basics of starting up the teacher and student side. There is an interesting prescriptive piece for math that could add some potential new interactive learning activities to your content.