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!

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.

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!!!

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 | Information | Program | Presenters |  Committee | Sponsors | Resources | Pre-Institute 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...

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

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!

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.

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

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!  

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.