The EdTech Connection

Making the connection between ed and tech: 06 Oct 2021

Digital Citizenship Week

Next week is Digital Citizenship Week (October 18-22, 2021)! Here in Forsyth, K-8 have early release on Wednesday and Thursday, while Friday is a District Collaboration Day.

Luckily, there are plenty of platforms who already have good activities ready to go!

NEARPOD: Nearpod has interactive lessons designed for every grade level, ready to share each day of the week! I especially like Tuesday's suggested lesson, "Sourcing Your Information" (for 6-12).
PEAR DECK: Pear Deck has partnered with Google to bring interaction to the "Be Internet Awesome" activities. They are available for FREE and even come in Spanish!
COMMON SENSE MEDIA: Common Sense Media has updated its curriculum and now includes a variety of short (15 min) activities for each day of the week.

Are you Nearpod Certified yet? It's easy!

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Anti-Bullying Videos

Along the same line, We Are Teachers has put together a collection of the 20 best anti-bullying videos that can be shared in your class. Each video has a short description and a recommendation for the target age group.

Unfortunately, some of the videos are blocked on FCS using BYOT, so I am working on creating a folder in MyVRSpot with all of the videos (might not be done until the end of the week).

The "It Only Takes One" is one of my favorites.

QUICK TIP: Check out the File Activity

Have you ever wanted a detailed look at what has been done to or with a Google File, but don't feel like opening it up to see the Version History? It doesn't take a ton of time, but if you're trying to see that detail for lots of files, it can add up.

Here's a quick tip: in your Drive, click on the first file (don't open it). Then press the "I" on your keyboard. It will open the Activity Panel and you'll be able to see when someone edited the item, changed sharing permissions, etc. Especially helpful when a student tries to say that they spent hours on an assignment and "everything just disappeared."