Technoflash

Hundreds of Bellevue Public Schools students participated in The Hour of Code during the week of December 7. This gave students the opportunity to learn computer science skills. It builds problem-solving skills, logic, reasoning and creativity. Students learned how to code by working through tutorials that included fun themes such as Star Wars, Minecraft and Frozen. It was a powerful event.

Shoutout to everyone at Logan Fontenelle Middle School where the entire school participated in the ‪#‎HourOfCode‬ last week! The Hour of code concluded with IT speakers, certificate presentations and a visit from Mr. Harwood. A special shoutout to Santha Walters for all her hard work in organizing this awesome opportunity for students and staff!

Teachers started off 2016 on the right foot with a fantastic PD day on January 5th while our students enjoyed one more day of winter break. Teachers attended breakout sessions run by Bellevue Public Schools teachers and administrators, our ESU # 3 Professional Development Team, and Chris Arvanitis from Schoology. It was fantastic to see so many of our very own Bellevue Public Schools teachers presenting a session. We can all learn so much from one another.

Teachers had choice in selecting from several technology sessions including:

• Engaging Online Learning Using Technology - Robbie Jensen

• You Tube Playlists, Channels, Instructional Videos - Greg Schwanke

• What Can I Do with Just One Ipad in My Classroom? - Kate Carlson

• What Can I Do with Just One Computer in My Classroom? - Jeff Ingraham

• Zaption.com - Santha Walters & Philip Loomis

• Applying Schoology for Principals & Building Tech Coordinators - Chris Advanitis, Jeff Bernadt, Jeanette Carlson, and Ann Feldmann

All principals and Building Tech Coordinators attended the Schoology session with Arvanitis. The session was developed around the guiding question of “How can Schoology enhance communication within your building?”. Arvanitis demonstrated the key benefits of Schoology, with a specific emphasis on communication and collaboration at the building level. In the session, principals and BTCs collaborated and added resources to a building course. All teachers can join their building courses and have one place to access all materials. The goal is for all staff to join their respective building courses by the end of the year.

We will continue to build our Schoology skills this year. All materials for the February inservice will be available to staff via our “Bellevue Professional Development Days” Schoology course. You will be using the Schoology account that you created at the beginning of the year. Be sure you know your log in information. If you have any questions or need any help, contact your Building Tech Coordinator.

Great work by Laura Swanson's HAL students at Fairview Elementary as they showcased their littleBits projects during the last week of the semester! Innovation and creativity were at the center of these awesome projects that included a candy machine, robot, vehicles, and more! What are littleBits you ask? Bits snap together with magnets to create instant circuits for foolproof inventing. littleBits are becoming more common in classrooms today, especially in makerspaces. These kits promote creativity, innovation, problem solving, and collaboration among students.

One of BPS teacher who has stepped out of his comfort zone this year is Phillip Loomis. Phillip had been interested in implementing project based learning (PBL) into his classroom for a couple of years, however, it wasn't until last summer that he took the leap to transform his classroom. PBL is a teaching strategy that starts by presenting students with an engaging and complex question, problem, or challenge that students work through over a period of time through which students gain knowledge and skills. Content and curriculum are weaved throughout the project in a natural

Would you like to learn how to create a global classroom? Come learn multiple ways to connect your students to other classrooms and experts inside and outside of the Bellevue community. Learn how to use Google+ Hangouts, Mystery Skypes, Facebook, Twitter and other tools to help your students connect and learn globally. Join us for TechieTuesday on February 23, 2016! To attend a Techie Tuesday contact your principal and fill out the Request to Attend a Conference form.

Our very own Tech Trio is now Google Certified Certified Educators Level 2! This is great for our district but now the challenge is being extended to any and all teachers in the district. So many BPS teachers are doing amazing things with Google in their classrooms and are experts in many parts of GAFE (Google Apps for Education). If you are interested in becoming a Google Certified Educator Level 1 or 2 see the information below or you can contact Ann, Jeanette, or Jeff.

Google Training click here.

Google Certification click here.

Front Row

Front Row gives teachers the ability to differentiate in math and reading based on student needs. Front Row starts by giving students diagnostic questions so that they can be placed at the appropriate level for their own needs. Questions are graded immediately and instructional videos are provided for help. Students work at their own pace and level which truly individualizes their learning.

Use Twitter to be connected! If you are a tweeter, remember to tag your tweets with #bpsne and #tt4t so more teachers can see what is happening in your classroom. Sharing is the name of the game! Remember there are lots of great chats to explore to connect with others in your content area. Just pull up the hashtag and enjoy the conversation.

http://www.edtech411.net

Jeanette Carlson

jeanette.carlson@bpsne.net

Twitter: @mrsjcarlson

Ann Feldmann

ann.feldmann@bpsne.net

Twitter: @annfeldmann1

Jeffrey Bernadt

jeffrey.bernadt@bpsne.net

Twitter: @jeffreybernadt

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