Technoflash

The Super Hero Training Zone has been super busy the last few weeks. The zone was buzzing with New Teacher Technology Training, BTC training and a Techie Tuesday.

New Teacher Training

New teachers completed their final day of technology training for the 2016-2017 school year. Throughout the course of the year, new teacher trainings were a combination of learning how to create a digital workflow, blended learning strategies, and high impact instructional strategies that tie to the Danielson Framework, ISTE standards, and our district curriculum. Topics covered throughout the year included:

• District Technology Overview

• Apple Foundations Training Part 1 - What is Great Learning?

• Macbook Workflow and Tools

• Schoology Basics

• Formative Assessment Tools

• Creation Tools and Strategies

• Creating a Global Classroom

• Becoming a Connected Educator

Bellevue Public Schools is lucky to have such a great group of new teachers who have been eager to learn and grow when it comes to effectively integrating technology into the classroom.

BTC Training

The district’s Building Technology Coordinators had a half day workshop last week. The workshop provided blended learning strategies and tools that they added to their toolbox. The BTC's dove deeper into some of our favorite instructional tools being used throughout the district, including, Seesaw and Classkick. They also continued their work on the Apple Teacher learning program. If you are interested in becoming an Apple Teacher simply click here to learn more and to begin earning your Apple Teacher badges!

HAL Schoology Training

The BPS HAL facilitators continued to learn about the power of Schoology as they collaborated with the district's instructional technology specialists. One feature in the Schoology Enterprise platform is portfolios. Students and teachers can create portfolios which can be shared and downloaded. The HAL team learned about the benefits of using portfolios, examined portfolio examples and learned how to create, edit, and share portfolios in Schoology.

Techie Tuesday

Next up in the Super Hero Training Zone were a group of 25 teachers eager to learn about creation and how to implement an iPad garden (a small set of iPads) into their classroom. The learning centered around the National Educational Technology Standard (NETS-T2a) “Design and develop relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity.”

Teachers learned about different strategies for creation and workflow on the iPads. They were given work time to develop digital learning experiences that tie to their curriculum. Teachers were thrilled to return to their classrooms and incorporate these tools and strategies into the classroom.

“I tried Plickers this morning already, and it went well! I am trying a super slide story next with a small reading group,” said one of the teachers. “Thanks for a great day.”

Learning a tool or strategy and then having time to work is the key to implementation in the classroom. What was one thing teachers liked about the day? “The introduction of new innovative ideas, then time to work and apply the ideas to our classroom.” said another teacher.

What is a Google Expedition?

Google Expeditions are collections of virtual reality content that allow teachers to take students on virtual field trips to sites around the world, in space, underwater, and even in the human body. There are collections of Google Expeditions for teachers to explore and use to complement their curriculum.

How do I get started?

1. Download the Expeditions App on the iPad or smartphone.

2. Choose an expedition that ties to your curriculum and preview the free expedition.

1. Google Expeditions Directory: https://sites.google.com/view/expeditionsdirectory/home

2. Google Expedition Resource: https://www.tes.com/resources/search/?q=%23Googleexpeditions

3. Join the Google Expedition Community: https://plus.google.com/communities/106649979901042240651

3. Student will view the tour right on the iPad.

Have you seen the new Google Sites? If not, it’s one tool within the Google Domain that’s worth your time. Google has restructured their Google Site platform to create a drag and drop environment which makes creating a quality website simple and provides you access to all your Google docs, slides, and other materials.

How could you use Google Slides with your curriculum? This is a great option for students to show their learning. Allow them to create a simple website showing their understanding of a concept of topic. One of the best features is like the rest of Google’s tools, it can be collaborative! Which means, multiple students can be creating and working on the same website at one time! So, instead of working individually on a site, students can work in collaborative teams.

To begin creating simply go to your Google Drive, click the blue button labeled New, click More, and select Google Sites.

Landing Page Options

When students navigate to your course in Schoology you will notice that the student landing page is the Materials page. Would you rather have your course landing page be the Updates page? Simply go to Course Options under the course image on the left side of your course. Click on Edit Privacy/Course Settings. Toward the bottom of the page you will see Default Landing Page where you have the option to choose Materials or Updates. Use Updates to share the daily objectives, announcements or have students complete a quick poll

Screenshot Shortcut

Have you ever needed to take a picture of what is on your computer screen? Don't forget about the handy screenshot shortcut. Hold down Shift-Command-3 to take a picture of your entire screen and Shift-Command-4 to select a section of your screen. The images will be on your desktop.

Schoology Blog: Making the Most of Schoology Resource | March #SchoologyChat Recap

TeachThought: 9 Indicators of Authentic Mobile Learning

Catlin Tucker: Station Rotation Model: Student Designed & Led Stations

Use Twitter to be connected! If you are a tweeter, remember to tag your tweets with #bpsne 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.

The Tech Trio’s Technology Tools for Teaching blog has moved to a new location! Why is this important? Many of you subscribed to our old blog and will now need to subscribe to our new one. If you haven’t subscribed to our blog make sure to click on the link below and click FOLLOW on the right side of the page. This will send our new blog posts directly to your email to keep you up on all the things happening with technology in Bellevue Public Schools.

Click here to access our Technology Tools for Teaching blog!

One of the most powerful parts of Twitter is the hashtag! It connects people, ideas, and creates communities within Twitter. It is a unique way for our teachers and administrators to share the amazing things happening in our schools, classrooms, clubs, teams and organizations. Our district hashtag, #bpsne, continues to grow and is becoming a powerful tool that we can leverage as a district to connect all of our teachers, students, parents, and community members. We encourage you to continue sharing the great things happening in your classrooms. Here is a list of all of the Bellevue Public School educators on Twitter. Let's create the 2016-2017 Bellevue Public Schools story together!

http://www.edtech411.net

Jeffrey Bernadt

jeffrey.bernadt@bpsne.net

Twitter: @jeffreybernadt

Jeanette Carlson

jeanette.carlson@bpsne.net

Twitter: @mrsjcarlson

Ann Feldmann

ann.feldmann@bpsne.net

Twitter: @annfeldmann1

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