Newsletter 4/14/2016 Free EdCamp Neo Reminder, Edpuzzle, Google Classroom Polling, Open Ed Resources

Ed Camp NEO Reminder

http://www.edcampneo.org/

Reminder: On April 16 from 8:00 am to 1:30 pm, Mentor will be hosting a free Ed Camp. If you haven't had a chance to attend one of these, it's a great opportunity to learn how to use instructional tools for your classroom. There are many teaching ideas to be found and the chance to collaborate with others who have similar classroom goals. I am planning to attend. I hope to see you there.

Note: Click on the "What is Edcamp?" link to get an overview on how this is different from a traditional conference.

EDpuzzle

https://edpuzzle.com/

It's always great to find an amazing video that delivers content to your students. It is so much better when a teacher can check for understanding. Ed Puzzle is a great tool because it allows you to take a video from the internet, such as YouTube, and make it fully interactive. You can add in your own questions, comments or discussion points throughout. You can also get feedback on student progress and understanding. It takes a passive experience and makes it interactive and it is FREE!

Google Classroom Adds Polling Feature

http://googleforeducation.blogspot.com/2016/04/4-ways-to-use-polling-in-Google-Classroom.html

Google's free Classroom tool is continuing to improve. They just released a brand new polling feature. You can use this to create exit tickets, gather feedback, to help students self monitor and more. The article above goes into more specifics but the tool expands upon the great features already available.

Free Interactive Open Ed Resources

https://t.co/PIkZwJ7Y7S

Finding resource that matches the needs of the Common Core is often a stressful concern. Stephanie DeMichele joined us during PD Day for the App Smashing session. She's written an informative and easy to use ebook on how to organize and use Open Ed Resources to benefit classroom instruction when traditional textbooks are not enough or are missing large amounts of required content.

It is filled with links to free resources that you can click on right from inside the book. It is worth checking out!

Trouble Reporting and Appointment Scheduling

As is the case with any of the tools and resources that I share, this is a starting point. Please reach out if I can help in any way, when you try to implement any of these resources. If you are trying a lesson, I would be happy to stop by and check it out or help in some way. 

One of our goals in 2016 is to continue 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 reoccurring 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 and Middle School: 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. 

HOW TO SCHEDULE A TIME TO MEET?

The easiest way to contact me is through email at sean.whelan@westg.org. Please let me know what you'd like to meet about, your room number, free periods, and any other info that might be helpful to me in order to prepare for our meeting. I'd love to meet with you to see if I can help facilitate any issue you might be having. Also, if there is something I share that you would like to implement in your classroom or with your team, please let me know. I would be thrilled to help.

Newsletter 3/4/16 : Khan Academy, Wedge Grant Writing Opportunity

WEDGE GRANT WRITING OPPORTUNITY

WEDGE is currently accepting applications and will continue to do so until March 18, 2016 at 5 pm. (Note this is a clarification from the original notice) Anyone in the district may apply. 

In the past, the Foundation has awarded up to $1500 to teachers, student groups and staff as long as their project meets the trustee's review for innovation.  All applications must be approved by the school's principal.  

In the interest of supporting staff members who may want to apply, Brenda Harriss and Chris Kiec will be holding a set of two 1-hour session to help you with the application process. The sessions will be held Tuesday, March 15 at 3:00pm for HS/MS and 4:00pm for elementary. A stipend of $26 will be given to participants who would like to attend.

You must use this Google Form to sign up so we have accurate numbers.

If you are unable to attend, you can still apply.

If you have any questions regarding the application, they should contact Chris Kiec, Program Chair, at 216.276.0597 or by email at chriskiec@gmail.com. 

The following link:  http://www.wgef.dreamhosters.com/programs/ contains a discussion of what the board does fund and a link to the application.

Note: This information is also available under the “staff” section of the district main page.

Khan Academy

Chris Howell's Third Grade Classroom has been exploring the use of Khan Academy with her students. Using a combination of the computer lab and the classroom iPads, she has connected her students to the prescriptive math tools to support her lessons on fraction. I had the opportunity to stop by and check it out. I really enjoyed visiting with the class and seeing the culture of students helping students get more comfortable with the tech tools. Thanks for the invite.

Newsletter 3/1/2016: Ed Camp NEO, More with Code.Org, Wizer.me, Trouble Reporting

Ed Camp NEO

http://www.edcampneo.org/

On April 16 from 8:00 am to 1:30 pm, Mentor will be hosting a free Ed Camp. If you haven't had a chance to attend one of these, it's a great opportunity to learn how to use instructional tools for your classroom. There are many teaching ideas to be found and the chance to collaborate with others who have similar classroom goals. I am planning to attend. I hope to see you there.

Wizer.Me

https://app.wizer.me/

This is a great web site for teachers who would like to easily make interactive activities that can be shared with students through Google Classroom or link on a web site. It does allow for immediate teacher feedback. I attached a video that gives an overview. If you are trying it out and have specific questions, please let me know. I am happy to help.

Shout out to Josh Timmons and Richard Bryne for this cool web site. 

Code.Org Part 2

For teachers who are trying to help students who are struggling with classroom processes, as well as students who are interested in computer programming, this site offers a rich opportunity beyond the "Hour of Code" that you may have read about. 

This first video gives a basic overview of what a student activity looks like for Hour of Code.

The next video is an overview of the "teach" section of the site, lesson plans and resources available to teachers of all ages.

Trouble Reporting Tips

One of our goals in 2016 is to continue 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 reoccurring 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 and Middle School: 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. 

HOW TO SCHEDULE A TIME TO MEET?

The easiest way to contact me is through email at sean.whelan@westg.org. Please let me know what you'd like to meet about, your room number, free periods, and any other info that might be helpful to me in order to prepare for our meeting. I'd love to meet with you to see if I can help facilitate any issue you might be having. Also, if there is something I share that you would like to implement in your classroom or with your team, please let me know. I would be thrilled to help.

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. 

http://www.westg.org/OnlineTestingResources20152016.aspx

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.

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.

http://www.westg.org/OnlineTestingResources20152016.aspx

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.

More photos

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.

More photos

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:

https://www.khanacademy.org/library

To sign up, check out this link:

https://www.khanacademy.org/

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. 

Creating an account and adding students

Joining a course from the student side

Quick overview of adding a mission and prescriptive instruction for K-12 Math or Programming Courses

Newsletter January 22, 2016

Free Tech Tools

Anytime we run across free tools that will help you in the classroom, we like to share them. Please let us know if you find success using any of these. We would love to stop by your classroom and see some of your success in action!

Evernote

Evernote is another great tech tool that you can start using today with your students. It is also an amazing tool for classroom organization. In a very basic sense, Evernote is an online notebook that allows you to create multiple notebooks, tabs and pages in an organized fashion for a variety of purposes. You can add in clip art, links, videos and most other content. 

Below are links to examples on how to start using the free tool for your classroom.

Evernote Website: https://evernote.com/?var=2

• http://www.theorganizedclassroomblog.com/index.php/blog/using-evernote-in-your-classroom
• http://www.teq.com/blog/2012/11/10-tips-for-using-evernote-in-the-classroom/#.VpUhkI-cHZs
• https://www.pinterest.com/pin/287597126179784751/
• https://vimeo.com/45708548
• Evernote Scanable App - This app turns your iPad or iPhone into a scanner to add content to your Evernote Notebooks.
• https://itunes.apple.com/app/evernote-scannable/id883338188

Lucidchart

A number of our teachers have been taking advantage of the benefits of Lucidchart. We applied to expand our license of this tool to allow more classrooms to take advantage of the wide variety of benefits to using this in the classrooms.

https://www.lucidchart.com/

Below are some links for classroom use. 

http://teacherrebootcamp.com/2013/01/18/10-ways-to-use-lucidchart-online-graphic-organizers-in-the-classroom/

http://www.emergingedtech.com/2013/08/lucidchart-excellent-web-based-diagramming-and-charts-free-for-educators-and-students/

Lucidchart works on Chromebooks and iPads, as well as PC's where the user is logged in via their Google Account. Students and teachers do need to sign up with the "Sign up using Google" option. The license is linked to the West G email account.

Twitter and 6 Tech Tools to Try in 2016

The curriculum and technology site has a direct link to our Twitter accounts. We regularly find a share resources that you don't have to have a Twitter account to access. 

http://www.westg.org/CurriculumTechnology.aspx

An example of this was a recent article on 6 tech tools to try in 2016. These are free and ready to use to potentially support some of your instructional goals. Consider creating your own Twitter account to find and follow educators who tweet about grade level or subject specific content appropriate to your needs.

http://www.cultofpedagogy.com/6-ed-tech-tools-to-try-in-2016/

Newsletter 1/5/2016 : Welcome Back

Professional Development Day

 Thank you for participating in PD Day. We hope that you found the sessions to be of value. They were developed based on the needs and concerns expressed by you and we are always looking to bring you content to support educational initiatives. We also want to thank all presenters and helpers for the amount of work done to make this day successful. 

 A short survey has been developed to garner feedback on what you would like to see more of in future PD opportunities.  Please consider participating.

http://goo.gl/forms/n6VcuqDp7n

 As a quick reminder, please check out the presentations from PD Day. If you were not able to attend a session of interest, the content and resources are of great value.

http://www.westg.org/ProfessionalDevelopmentDayJan42016_201512261210546.aspx 

Daily 5 Newsletter

 If you haven't had the chance, consider subscribing to the Daily 5 newsletter. Regular support content comes straight to your email. This includes "Ready Reference Guides" that are downloadable, one-page documents that will help you remember the key details of the CAFE Menu strategies you want to teach. 

The "subscribe" button is in the upper left hand corner. 

http://eepurl.com/bLv4fn

SAM-R Follow Up

Whether you were able to attend the SAM-R session or not, there are some great resources for including technology in your lessons. Besides what is included on the original presentation. This pedagogy wheel, included many more resources.

Pedagogy wheel with activities and resources