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The D.O.T. - Zone 1

Newsletter of the FWISD Instructional Technology Department

The D.O.T. -Zone 1Newsletter of the FWISD Instructional TechnologyDepartment

The 4C's of Technology Integration

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The 4 C's with HyperDocs

Use 1:1 devices and interactive documents to boost all 4 "C's": Critical Thinking, Collaboration, Communication, and Creativity. Read more about Hyperdocs here!
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Use Videoconferencing to Connect With Learning Partners!

If you're interested in connecting your classroom to others via Videoconference the Region 11 Telecommunications Network (RETN) can help you find partners in learning! Click here to learn more!
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Collaboration tips with Office 365

Are you eager to have your students use their Office 365 accounts to collaborate on work but need some resources to get started? Check out Microsoft's Educator Community where you can find lessons ideas and quick tips! Your Technology Learning Coach can help point you in the right direction!


*Photo by NEC Corporation of America with Creative Commons license.*

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Newsela is a free site dedicated to providing non-fiction resources for all students. Each article from the site comes from a reliable source such as the New York Times or the Associated Press. The Newsela team then provides the reader with the same articles at 5 different Lexile levels.


Features:

  • Differentiated learning
  • Student tracking
  • Annotation embedded
  • Pre-vetted articles
  • Non-fiction for all classes and all students
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OneNote is a Microsoft tool for creating digital “binders” or portfolios. Educators and students can access OneNote notebooks through their district Office 365 account.

**No need to download; already installed on district computers.**


Features:

  • Access anywhere the internet is available on any device
  • Each Class/Staff Notebook has a Read-Only Content Library, Collaboration Space, and a personal notebook for each staff or class member.
  • Differentiate easily
  • Add audio and video recordings
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Zoom is a free video conferencing tool that allows for very simple online meetings. All employees of FWISD received an email from Region XI with a link to activate free Zoom accounts.


Features:

  • Invite participants via an email and with the click of a link, they enter the 6 digit code and are in your meeting

  • Share your screen or allow others to share theirs

  • Record each video conference easily

Tech Tips

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Turn off Those Projectors!

Be sure to turn off your projector when not in use! The expected lifespan of a projector bulb is approximately 2,000 hours, so try to remember to turn it off during your off period, and when you leave your room!
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Sync and Save to OneDrive!

You should never worry about losing files. When you sync your devices to Onedrive, and habitually save there, you will never be in danger of losing your valuable material.

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Restart, Refresh!

Once a week, be sure to hard-wire your laptop computers, by plugging them into the network, so that essential updates can keep your device safe and relevant!

Digital Citizenship

Modeling Digital Citizenship with Proactive Parent Communication

What Is It? When it comes to parent communication, it pays to be proactive! Plus, including students in these conversations builds transparency and trust. But, for busy teachers, keeping up can be a challenge. Thankfully, with the help of some digital tools and strategies, you can make things a lot easier. Finding the right online space for your parent audience and engaging them there helps make follow-up conversations more informed, productive, and actionable. And when everyone’s in the loop, we give students opportunities to take accountability for their own learning all while demonstrating how to communicate as a Digital Citizen.
Suggested Tools for Digital Citizenship
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Remind

Remind
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Seesaw: The learning Journal

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Parent Square

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For More information...

Check out Common Sense Education

In the Zone

In the January 2017 edition of the D.O.T.: School Zones section, we mentioned Technology has divided the FWISD campuses into “zones” that will work together on training and professional growth. In the coming weeks Technology Learning Coaches (TLC) will be conducting training events that will be open to all staff from the zone’s different campuses!


This is also where you will begin to see us highlighting educators and classrooms that are putting technology to work for themselves and their students. Look in the “In the Zone” section of your monthly newsletter to see if we’ve highlighted you or even someone right down the hall from you. See the image below for a list of all the schools in your Zone.
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Collaboration Across State Lines!

At Amon Carter-Riverside High School, English teacher Ms. Wilborn and her students are currently studying Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. They are working in conjunction with Ms. Derleth and her students of Ramsey High School in Ramsey, NJ. The classes use Skype to connect with each other to discuss major points in the novel. They use Google Docs to collaborate daily to examine the characters, themes, symbolism, tone, and narrative strategies. By connecting with a school across the country, both groups of students gain insight by sharing their personal perspective and reactions to the book.


Every month we will feature exciting classroom activities and achievements taking place on the Zone 1 Campuses. The table below shows which campuses are included in Zone 1 and those campus' Technology Learning Coaches.
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