Thursday, October 2, 2014

Imagine K-12 Educator Day

At the recent IK12 Educator Day, there were 16 companies that tried and represented themselves to show that they belong in this highly competitive market.  A few stood out to me, actually 13 of the 16 stood out.

Brightloop: a mass student observation tool that puts Confer to shame, and one of the many great qualities of Brightloop is that it is FREE!!

Chesscademy: A fun and easy way to learn chess

Educents: a place to buy the things you are already planning on buying for your classroom, but this way you can pay up to 90% less.

Edusight: smart, simple, gradebook!!

Mathchat: math collaboration via mobile device

Picolab: the tool Robert is using for our meetings!

Readworks: Have a book and need a lesson to go with it? Perfect site! Want to have the text and a related article handy? Perfect site! FREE, and non profit!

Smartestk12: Make any test, paper or not, managed through web browser.  Edit, create, get result live!

Tickle: Scratch but BETTER!

Trinket: Take coding and apply it to instruction

Friday, September 26, 2014

Thanks Liza!

So, does this post count for being fashionably late or better late than never? 

Family life has been a-calling and I've had a lot of 'unplugged' events happening (my daughter just got married) and it's been a busy time. 

I have a few things going on in the classroom that I'm playing with but mostly I've been  using Apple TV and it has been a blast.  I've been using it as another visual for almost every subject.  I've mostly been using Doceri but I've also used Pages to make a  quick anchor chart for a simple shared reading such as 'What's next?'  Bring your clipboards, pencils, etc. (adding pictures as well).

~Dellamano

Ps It is great to have a patient grade level buddy to help you navigate this new experience; Liza!

Monday, September 22, 2014

iMovie

I've definitely a Mac fan, especially when it comes to their easy to use programs like iMovie. Our school PCs have Windows Movie Maker for videos, but it is definitely not as smooth and visually appealing.

For our first PBIS Assembly, we will be showing a video made using iMovie. It is a spoof off of Magic's "Rude". For this video, I recorded my voice over an instrumental track of the song, and then saved it as an audio track I then used in the video. Video is too large for me to upload here - contact me if you would like to have it shared via R-Net. Also, I'd be more than happy to help if you'd like a tutorial on how to use iMovie.

Friday, September 19, 2014

Thinking About Design Thinking

Last night was the best meeting I ever attended! Why? We were asked to dig in and create.  What fascinated me the most was how the steps that we needed to follow led to a depth of understand for another human being in such a short period of time.  Initially, I was frustrated on multiple levels. I had to not partner with my friend and teaching partner and go sit with a stranger.  Blessing.  He was wonderful to talk to and I think I got more out of the lesson because we had absolutely zero prior knowledge of one another...hmmm, teaching point??? Also, the control freak that I am was having severe issues not understand what the end product was going to be? I absolutely lacked vision.  As we continued through the process, understandings became clearer and I began to relax...a little.  You can't stop a control freak in just one lesson. :) Then, the best part ever! I got to play!!! Was my "design" good? Oh, heck no! Was it fun? Absolutely and even better than that, it served a purpose and got my point across.  Amazing how questioning about a present can lead to designing a portal where my partner, "Hennessy loving, beer forgetting Xen needs a way to show gratitude because he has extremely loyal, life changing impactful friendships", can magically access whatever he needs to celebrate those bonds.  Thanks for the mind expansion Techie world!!!

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Design Thinking Prototype

I had no idea how the initial need would turn into a product.  That was such an interesting process and produced very cool results.

design thinking

i would like to explore design thinking more. i am looking forward to taking the design thinking class during wednesday PD's later this year!

Toothbrush ft Floss Invention

We came up a toothbrush that had a floss dispenser inside it.  WHY DOESN'T THIS EXIST IN REAL LIFE?!?!

Also we just talked about making tools to make our lives earlier in history class and I think that this activity would be fantastic to do with the students.  They designed their ideas on paper but did not actually try to create them...

-Whitebread

The Simplicity of Sharing on RNet

I absolutely love my district 8th grade ELA team and they all have so much to contribute.  Of course, physical distance separates us and doesn't provide us the opportunity to meet regularly.  Yesterday, we physically met and planned out our next Writer's Workshop unit.  The best news is that we established our planning calendar, poster sharing, and shared resources all electronically.  The RNet bridges our physical gaps and helps us support one another with ideas, pacing, and collaboration in general.  Yay for technology!!!

EdTechTeam Napa Valley 1:1 Institute featuring Google for Education



Hi Team,

This just came in, probably into many of your inboxes as well. Many of the team went to the Palo Alto version of the GAFE (Google Apps for Education) Summit in July and found it to be very valuable. If this sounds interesting to you, please contact Robert: rpronovost@ravenswoodschools.org

******************************

A Message from EdTechTeam:


Registration Now Open!

The second annual EdTechTeam Napa  Valley 1:1 Institute featuring Google for Education will be held at  New Technology High School in Napa Valley on January 10 & 11, 2015  . This high intensity two day event focuses on deploying, integrating, and using Google Apps for Education and other Google Tools to promote student learning in K-12 and higher education. The program features Google Certified Teachers, Google Apps for Education Certified Trainers, practicing administrators, solution providers, Google engineers, and representatives from the Google education teams. Learn more...



Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Digitizing Independent Reading

In my class we use a Google form to log independent reading. The results feed into a spreadsheet and from there I am able to sort by student to total pages and grade their summaries and reviews.  Under the independent reading tab click on either class to see the form.

www.tinyurl.com/mshayes

Saturday, September 13, 2014

Google Class

Introduced Google Classroom to my students early this week and went off without a hitch! My students were easily led through creating their first writing assignment and were also able to re-access it the next day without a problem.  The only question I have is if a teacher can turn off the editing tools (mass setting not individually).  So far, so great!

Friday, September 12, 2014

Teaching Coding in Middle School?

From the San Mateo County Office of Education:

This 3-day course will prepare participants to teach Coding through a ten-unit coding curriculum based on Scratch for middle school students.  Discussion and resources will provide support and connect the coding content to computer science and engineering.  Project samples that build on CCSS math and NGSS science practices will be presented.  For teachers who are interested in bringing this directly to their classroom or after school program, an opportunity to have assistance from “Coding Coaches” will be available. No coding experience necessary!

WHEN
Saturday, Sept. 27, 2014 Saturday, Oct. 4, 2014 Saturday, Oct. 18, 2014 8:30 am – 3:30 pm

WHERE
San Mateo County Office of Education 101 Twin Dolphin Drive
Redwood City

AUDIENCE Grades 6 – 8 Teachers

REGISTRATION
http://sanmateo.k12oms.org/442-88366 

CONTACT
Kristen Winn, Science and Engineering Coordinator kwinn@smcoe.org | 650.802.5405

Dreambox Learning - Implementation Thoughts

As we approach the start of using Dreambox Learning, I wanted to share my thoughts on what it will take to use the program effectively for our students. I would love any and all feedback, even as I know this may lead to many questions and discussions about current inequity across the district.


Sunday, September 7, 2014

Google Drive Expansion

     Howdy folks!  Was just setting up my chromebook and came across this little tidbit.  It looks like I only had 30GB of space on my google drive through the district.  But if you head over to https://drive.google.com/redeem you can activate the expansion to 100GB for two years.  Check it.

~Nelson

Saturday, September 6, 2014

Google Classroom!

I've started using Google Classroom with my students... RNet logins/passwords are on sharepoint (under your school's shared documents in the username and passwords folder.)

So far they love it - it took about a week for my students to get used to login on/off with their rnet passwords.

Reasons I love it:
- I can give quick feedback to ALL my students in writers workshop (instead of conferencing with them just once every other week... we have so many!)  
- Their papers stay organized
- Google Classroom is easy to teach to non-tech savvy teachers (as opposed to Doctopus, which can probably do more but isn't user-friendly.) 
- You can keep resources on your classroom page that students can access all year
- Editing suggestions are slightly different then regular Google docs 
- Students have authentic typing practice!

If you find some other google features with it.. please let me know!  


Thursday, September 4, 2014

Bored Keys

In sixth grade, I recall taking a typing class and found it somewhat boring at first but learned to appreciate it greatly afterward.  I always remember how our teacher used 45's on an old record player to keep a consistent tempo.  We listened to songs like "Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" and countless other classic quasi-hits ad nauseam while we typed.  When we increased in ability, she increased the speed of the record player or used a song with a faster beat.  Later in life, I have found this typing talent terrific to have and have always felt gratitude for having been taught this simple yet important skill.

In my classroom, I'm already incorporating some teaching typing color-coded keyboards I picked up at RAFT for a dollar a piece (yeah, I went overboard and bought 32 of them in order to be prepared for future classes).  It does mean adding time so students can get the keyboards out and attach them to their laptops but man are they having fun with them!  They're so enthusiastic, already sitting up straight the perfect distance from their desks, curled fingers feeling for the f's and j's, writing what I have them practice and then what they choose. They truly try to use the proper fingers for each key and some even tilt their heads up toward the ceiling to see if they can do it without looking.

Even though I learned to type early on, in high school I'd still sometimes ask for favors and even pay others to type work out for me.  I'd procrastinate every now and then and need someone who would type faster than me who I could dictate to so I could get assignments in on time.  In terms of having someone type for me (not in the procrastinating part, right?) I kind of still do this when I use Siri and Dragon Naturally Speaking to write on my phone or computer.  These programs are so much faster and require much less effort, the latter software being quite amazing as it learns from your speech patterns every session you use it.  I actually used it to write PACT in Spanish a few years back.  It made a horrendous task such as that at least a little bit easier.  With advances such as these, one might almost think keyboards will soon be neglected peripherals gathering dust in the corner of a district warehouse.

Yet, even though existing technology makes writing faster, typing is still an absolutely basic element in data input on virtually any computer system.  It's key to being a well-rounded tech user and is less prone to having a bug that prevents it from being used.  Keyboards aren't going anywhere anytime soon.  Typing allows us to think through our writing at a more precise level, without the pressure of saying it right the first time when dictating.  It's wonderful that using a keyboard at an acceptable level is now included in the 21st century skills on our report cards.  20 words per minute in fifth grade is a necessity not a luxury.  Just as we teach students accurate and neat printing and cursive, teaching to type on a keyboard should be as important a skill to be introduced at a decently early grade as any other.

heyy

Hi Everyone,

I am going to start using google classroom which I am excited about it. I am hoping to get my fourth graders to write one of their writing assignments on the computer and to upload it. They had a hard time last year so I am hoping that through being part of techie team I will be able to present this in a better way to them and for my students to feel comfortable using technology for school purposes confidently.

We are getting typing club accounts this year so I am hoping this will help them with their typing skills and I will be able to monitor it unlike last year where they did not have personal accounts.

Marla

Using Infinite Campus With Your Mobile Phone

Did you know you can login to Infinite Campus from your mobile phone? Why the heck would I want to do that you might ask...

For convenience! Staff can quickly lookup parent/guardian information while on the playground. PE teachers can use it to do attendance while walking around the field. Take a look and see if its a useful tool in your arsenal.

Type this URL into your phone's (Apple IOS, Android, Windows Phone):
https://ic.ravenswood.k12.ca.us/campus/mobile/ravenswood.jsp 

Use your normal username and password (it's a secured web page).





If you find it useful, make sure you make a link to it in your phone's browser, or add an icon for the website onto your phone's home screen!

Chrome Extensions

Hey Gang,

Really excited to be using so many great chrome extensions this year to make my life easier!

Let me point out some of my favorites.  All are free and available in the Chrome Store!




The orange clipboard is called "Clipboard History" and keeps track of anything that you copy so that you can copy multiple things and then access them at once.  Very convenient at times

The Green icon to the right of the clipboard is the "goo.gl expander"  and is a quick way to make goo.gl adresses and also to get QR codes for whatever page you want.

The lightbulb is called "Turn off the lights" and is great for using youtube without all the popups and recommendations.  It also can let you know when a video is fully loaded.

Also, my new favorite is the little red dude who turns webpage called "Announcify".  This allows for most webpages to be read to the students, highlighting what is being read as it goes.  You also can highlight what you want to be read aloud!

Check them out!

-Senor Panblanco
misterbread.weebly.com


Hi Techie Team

Hi Techie Team! I am excited about being on the team and learning from all you. In time, I hope to bring new knowledge to the table as well.

Ipad/Apple TV resources

Ipad/Apple TV resources
I set up 5 Apple TVs in fellow teachers classrooms! Super excited that people are ACTiVeLY using the technology we have!
I have been sharing (and am more than happy to share we you all of you, too):
* my favorite iPAD apps (Doceri, pic collage, educreations)
* you can use your ipad/Apple TV like an interactive whiteboard. If you buy and use SmartBoard APP (even if you don't have a smartboard) because you can download and use all of the SmartExchange smartboard files that other teachers have already made (hate making my own sort, for example, if someone else has already made it)
* I bought tons of different stylises and 2 different devices to hold the ipad (it buckles to your hand), a stand to use the ipad as a doc cam (it's really just a metal dishes rack), headphones with microphones
If you want to borrow anything, you can email me lsawyer@ravenswoodschools.org

Technology when I was young versus today

The only technology our teachers had when I was young was a carousel slide projector and an 8 mm (or maybe 16 mm) film projector.  I believe they were still using mimeograph machines.  There was no technology students were able to use.  Compare that to today when my students made book trailers, created a website, used Kidblog to share information with each other and with me and to give their thoughts about their reading (instead of long writing).  It is so exciting that my students can communicate so many different ways.  Powtoons and Goanimate were great arenas for some students who said they don't like to write as well as those who do.  Students get so excited about using technology - even when they were just using Word to spellcheck their essays before asking questions of others or me.  I hope I can get my new 7th grade students as excited about it this year as the 4th graders were last year.

Hip Hop Culture Blogs!

This year I have the privilege of teaching an elective course titled "Hip Hop Culture: Cultivating Self-Expression Through Music, Spoken Word, Dance, and Art". Students are already immersed in hip hop culture more than they know; the goal is to now get them to think critically about the music, videos, etc. that they consume on a daily basis.

Blog Directions:
1) Post a video, lyrics, or artwork that pertain to hip hop.
2) Write a paragraph or two about its significance to hip hop.

SAMPLE BLOG


I am excited to see how these blogs turn out! Stay tuned for updates!
~Julia

Screencastify :)


I highly recommend using Screencastify!  I was able to give a tutorial for teachers to upload lesson plans to Google drive, share grade level meeting notes and so much more.  My techie teachers are able to watch the video once and go whereas other teachers who are less familiar with technology were able to re-watch the video and move at their own pace.

Aurasma

I am really excited to have my students create book trailers using Tellagami and Aurasma! I am not great at blogging, so, I'll be working on making longer blogs.

BE ON TIME

Wow! This is a learning experience!! First of all, NEVER show up late to a Techie meeting when you are the slow learner. This is a lot of information for the first 5 minutes. BUT in this world of technology, you die if you can't keep growing.  Just keep swimming! Just keep swimming!  It is definitely a way to connect with children who struggle in my class.  I know enough to catch up, but I am never ahead.  Time to put my head down and FOCUS!!! I know I can! :)

ShortenMe Chrome extension

Hey techie team!

Use the Google Chrome extension ShortenMe to create shortened URLs without having to copy and paste to another website.  It will add an ellipses symbol to the left of your address bar that you can click to be provided with a shortened link as well as a QR code.

TECHIE Team minutes folder

This link is only accessible to TECHIE Team members.

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

EdTech Innovation Symposium on Oct. 27

In case we have any aspiring speakers:


Speak at the @sccoetech EdTech Innovation Symposium on Oct. 27 in San Jose.

Here is some information about the Symposium:

This event is held on October 27, 2014 from 8:00am - 4:00pm in San Jose, CA at the Santa Clara County Office of Education, and is being sponsored by the Educational Technology Services Team, in collaboration with local districts, schools and the San Mateo County Office of Education's STEM Center team.
Our theme this year is:

  • EdTech Innovation Symposium: Redefining - Learning - Connecting
  • Creating collaborations to develop, support and become leading educators


Our efforts are focused on bringing together the best practices in district leadership, site leadership and classroom methods to develop deeper EdTech collaborations across the Silicon Valley's districts, as we embark into effectively integrating technology in Common Core.

We would love to have you present - to submit a session idea, please complete this form: http://bit.ly/sccoeedtechspeakers 

If you have any questions about the event, or would like more information, feel free to contact me or Elizabeth Calhoon, Educational Technology Manager with SCCOE at
ecalhoon@sccoe.org or 408-453-4276

Illuminate Education update


Hi Team,
Liz asked me to share this with the team and I think this is the best way to share new tools, so feel free to post your own updates from blogger.com.

Take Care,
Robert

**************

Illuminate Education

Release 7.0
From a launch of Assessment 2.0 and new interactive Prebuilts to upgrades for the Gradebook that are just beginning, you will be amazed by the wave of summer sensations that have hit Illuminate!

If you've been on a tropical island all summer or just wished that you were, scroll down to the bottom of this message to get other news you may have missed.



Totally Awesome Assessments 2.0
The entire Assessment module has undergone a 2.0 makeover. Users will be given the option to take a tour and then be committed to a brave new world of dynamic assessment analysis!  Watch this 3 minute video of Assessment 2.0 with it's fully-loaded features, new tabs, intuitive navigation links, helpful pop-ups, built-in sub-group achievement reports, and so much more! 

Dude, Incredible Itembank!
Multi-Rubric Constructed Response

The Illuminate Itembank now has Multi-Rubric Support. This item type will be useful for project based learning, writing rubrics, and performance tasks.  Separate the scoring of constructed response into sections, uniquely score each section, and calculate an overall score for the item.
Duplicate Items
Create a rubric once, duplicate it, and edit for use on multiple assessments (think writing text type rubrics).
Add Items to Assessments
Improve your workflow by creating items and then add them directly to an assessment


POW! Prebuilt Perfection
Our Prebuilts Reports just became interactive! We've started with assessment reports. Illuminators can now drill in to Response Frequency, sort tables, and add color coding based on your own criteria. 


Radical Report Cards
For Teachers - Checkout the NEW Report Card Viewer option to preview the RC and enter student information directly onto the template.

For System Admin - There's a new save and copy field feature to speed up report card creation.  




Release Notes 7.0 & more...
Activate
New look and feel
Transcripts
Transcripts can now be added to automation
Import Logo
Districts can add their district logo to different areas of the system
 

OMG! GradeCam Scanning
Autosave now applies to assessment scanning so that students answers are saved while teachers scan in either Teacher or Student mode.
NEW Print Answer Sheet options are coming soon!  For now, use our BETA options to add a line for student names, ZOOM to print bigger bubbles, or add a comment to your answer sheets.


Say What?! - Surveys
There's a new assessment option available for Creating Surveys. We are starting with Anonymous Surveys using blank GradeCam answer sheets to give users access to raw data in an easy to download format.  Next up, student and teacher surveys with reports too!


No Way! Parent Portal Notifications?
Parents using the Home Connection Portal can setup notifications to receive email alerts for: Grades Falling Below %, Zero on Assignment, Scored below % on Assignment, Received Negative Attendance, and Overall Grade Changes (use for standards-based grading grades on 1-4 scale).  


Holy Guacamole - Gradebooks
Reduced clicks!
Teachers can link standards, question groups, or the overall score from an assessment to create assignments directly within their Gradebook.
Teachers can directly link an assignment to Report Card fields as they create the assignment.
There is a duplicate assignment option that allows linked standards, report card links, and attachments to be duplicated directly from the Spreadsheet view!


Super Cool School Focus
Illuminate's "Parent Engagement System" allows teachers to take photos in the classroom, during school activities, etc. that will automatically post to the Student/Parent Portal. In this release, we've added the ability to capture video. If you are interested in getting this option enabled, contact your Implementation Manager.  This feature is free until December 31, 2014. Starting January 1, 2015, pricing options include $1/student, or parent subscription plan available.

Want to see how it works? Watch this short video

Once enabled in your district, teachers will need to download the School Focus 2 App (iPhone/iPAD only). For more information, view our help guide for School Focus.  

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Booktrack Classroom

Via Ms. Hayes at the 49er Academy:



This is pretty cool. It soundtracks books, and allows students to create soundtracks to their own writing.  Seems like it could really bring a narrative to life.


Google Custom Search Engine

Via Mr. Hicks:

Have you seen this? It let’s you create a custom search engine, searching websites that you want to direct your users to. I just stumbled upon it.


Genius Hour

In the interest of sharing the awesome things happening across the district and knowing that our teachers rarely have enough time to capture all the amazing things they are doing, I will be posting some things I've seen, heard about, or read about that teachers across the district are doing. Many of these first posts are from Ms. Hayes at the 49er Academy.

I launched a mini genius hour a few months back. I'm trying to manage it using technology. Today I created a form to collect the URL's of their projects (mostly glogs). All their responses appear in the spreadsheet below the form so everyone can see what everyone else has been up to. Check out some of their projects. I literally gave them no instructions. "Go learn about something. Literally whatever you want. And present it some way." I wanted to see what would happen. A baseline if you will.



Under the Genius Hour tab.


Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Report Cards & Gradebook: Infinite Campus or Illuminate?

We looked at the Infinite Campus report card & gradebook possibilities on Friday. The notes are located here (Lara’s: http://goo.gl/9zyfwW) and here (Robert's: http://goo.gl/ZdQ52Q).

After that webinar, the team agreed they'd like to review the Illuminate possibilities. Liz shared the conference information page, so these are the two most relevant presentations from their 2014 Conference:

Please review these two links and give your feedback in this blog post, as it will all be shared to support our decision making for what we want to do with our Gradebook and Report Cards moving forward.

Thanks!

Edit:
Here are the report card samples from Infinite Campus:

Elementary Sample
Middle School Sample #1
Middle School Sample #2

Keyboarding Expectations for Ravenswood Students

Based on our meeting on Friday, I pulled up the research on keyboarding (I think it’s the same that Solomon found, or at least similar. I looked at more research, but it all seemed to agree with this research: http://goo.gl/hpbVgv) and it confirms that below 3rd grade is not effective, students need 15-30 hours to learn the right fingers, and apparently the research shows that the person teaching keyboarding needs to understand it.

WHAT:
Here is a proposed matrix (http://goo.gl/xNkaOQ) for student technology skills from Mary Beth Hertz, a K-8 tech teacher in Philadelphia in a high-poverty school. Each skill is rated per grade as either an Introductory (I)Developing (D) or Applied (A) Skill.


We can use this as a guide or use it to develop our own. Based on this, I’d say the WPM recommendations would be:
3rd grade: 10 WPM
4th: 15 WPM
5th: 20 WPM
6th: 25 WPM

HOW:
We discussed using Typing Club, as a majority of the team has used successfully and appreciate the reports and way students are managed. Sue also discovered that it uses SSO (Single Sign-On), which is great for us, since it means that students can use the exact same password they use to sign onto the computer.

WHEN:
We discussed having this at the beginning of the year when teachers are not necessarily using the computers for writing papers, testing, etc, to support students in typing a certain WPM for that year. Also, if they’ve achieved that WPM, there is no reason they have to continue the keyboarding program rather than doing some true typing (writing their writing workshop stories, blogging, etc).

Please provide your feedback via this blog post so we all can be a part of the discussion and decision making. Thanks!

Saturday, March 15, 2014

Doctopus and Goobric instructions -- use with R-net

I want to share with everyone the instructions for using Doctopus and Goobric.  I got these from Megan Ellis who taught the class about these amazing tools at the SVCUE conference on March 8.

Doctopus and Goobric instructions

Doctopus will send a 'template' document or spreadsheet or presentation to each student in your class with the student's name in the title.  It gives you a spreadsheet with a link to each student's copy, so you can easily work your way down the page and read/grade each one easily.

Goobric attaches a rubric to each document where you can put in the rubric points and add individual comments.  The rubric is then added at the bottom of the document or spreadsheet.

It's easy to use and makes assigning and grading much easier.

Enjoy,
Sue Allen

Friday, March 14, 2014

Teacher Websites

Interested in setting up your own teacher website? Check out www.weebly.com for a FREE, user-friendly account!

Miss Tachibana's Website: www.misstachibanaonline.weebly.com


Welcome!

Hello TECHIE Teacher Team!

Our blog is now up and running and everyone has been invited to post to it via their R-net account. If you have any questions about how to post to this, please let me know.

Here's a photo of some of the team at Denali on Mar 13, 2014: