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P interest, really? Last month I mentioned the growing I had the opportunity in March to teach two grade 6 classes O n March 27 th I visited River Heights School. I was T hinglink.com is an image tagging site. It could be great L isa Mueller, teacher at Crescent Heights, has set up a Around the District Digital Presence A pril Fool’s Day landed on a Sunday A pril and May dates for 49 Minutes to technology are D igital Age Learning Professional Learning opportunities student research
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Have Questions?
April Fool’s Day landed on a Sunday
this year. Were you unhappy that you
couldn’t go through the traditional
morning ritual with your students? Before
the Easter break I hope some new ideas in
Educational Technology will come your
way via this newsletter.
I had the opportunity in March to teach two grade 6 classes
about their Digital Presence and responsible use with
technology. It was a great morning for myself and the
students were very responsive and engaged. I will share
more about this opportunity for upper elementary to High
School students.
Google Apps is becoming more and more popular and I
will provide more ideas for you to go with Google. Where
are you headed for the break? Take part in this fun Easter
break survey: Easter Survey
Read and Write Gold is getting more exposure and I will
provide helpful links to get you and your students learning
how and why to use this program.
If you have any curricular, pedagogical or educational
technology topics of interest that you would like to learn
more about, email Terry at [email protected] or
me at [email protected] or give me a call at
extension 6988.
Around the District
April and May dates for 49 Minutes to technology are
listed below. If you see an interest drop in to the schools
listed this month. Sessions begin at 3:30
Digital Age Learning Professional Learning opportunities
finished last week. There were over 50 participants this
year and the feedback regarding the learning was very
positive. Here is a link to the responses from the
participants. I used Google Forms to create the sign up and
feedback forms. It was very efficient. Stay tuned for some
news regarding next year’s Digital Age Learning program.
Digital Presence
On March 27th I visited River Heights School. I was
invited to speak to the Grade 6 classrooms regarding
Digital Presence and appropriate use. I used SMART
Notebook to present my materials but also found a lesson
plan from Common Sense Media called Cyberbullying:
Crossing the Line. It was one of many I could have chosen
to engage the students in critical thinking regarding
responsible use when online. Common Sense media
provides rich units for all grades. Check out the units
specifically for grades 6-8 here. You may have to sign for a
free account. The resources are worth it. If you would like
me to come and deliver an hour lesson to your classroom
on a topic regarding Digital Citizenship, please contact me.
Google Docs, Forms and Calendar
Principal Doug
Lamarche and Connaught
School are going Google.
The staff has a Google
calendar that allows them to share events and what is
happening at school. Once it is set up, adding an event is
easy and the entire school knows what is happening. The
calendar can be shared with others as well. Also, Doug has
used a Google Form to collect data for the Instructional
Intelligence AISI project. Instead of a paper checklist
compiled, tabulated and then digitized, Google forms has
done all of that.
Lisa Mueller, teacher at Crescent Heights, has set up a
computer lab sign up using Google Docs. Teachers can go
online to look if a block is full and they can add their name
to an empty time. No more phoning to the Library or
running down to fill out a sheet. Crescent Heights Learning
Council (faculty) has also used Google Docs to provide
feedback. Have you collaborated using Google? If so
please share by contacting me. To learn ways to use Google
forms and Google Docs in the classroom click these links
below:
32 ideas for Google Docs in the Classroom
32 ideas video tutorial for Google Docs in the Classroom
Using Google Forms in the classroom for Collaboration
Read and Write Gold There has been more exposure and
questions asked by teachers, educational
assistants and administrators regarding
Read and Write Gold. I have presented to
school staffs and EA’s during their PD
days and the response has been positive. I have also been
into the classrooms to present while the teachers and
students learn the program. RWG does take some time to
load, but once it begins running, the text to speech option is
promising. One common misconception is that this
program is for students with learning disabilities. Studies
show that student engagement towards writing increases,
self-reflection happens more often and the needs of our
Digital Natives are being met in an academic way. Click
here for a presentation on RWG. For more support and
video tutorials, click here. If you would like me to come in
and demonstrate with your students, please contact me.
Websites of the Month
Pinterest, really? Last month I mentioned the growing
popularity of Pinterest. Well, if you are a pinner, you now
can enjoy ways to use Pinterest in the classroom. Can you
believe there are already 37 Ways to Use Pinterest in the
Classroom?
Thinglink.com is an image tagging site. It could be great
for PWIM if you learn how to use it. Check out this
YouTube video for more ideas.
Mengahigh.com is a free K-12 games-based math
learning resource. You can differentiate for children so they
can work at their own level. There are video instructions
for problems and it is very engaging. The only drawback is
that it is American. But many concepts we teach in Alberta.
Thekidshouldseethis.com is a blog created to upload
Science, art, nature, music and other kid friendly videos
that teachers may enjoy showing to their students. I can see
this as an opening day exercise, as the site is updated
regularly.
Google Alerts are email updates sent to you when Google
finds new results on items of your interest. If you create an
alert or enter a query, you will automatically be emailed
when Google finds something new that matches your alert.
You will want to be specific to avoid too many emails.
Google Alerts can be very helpful for teachers and students.
A few implications for the classroom are listed below:
monitor a developing news story (Social Studies)
can detect plagiarism
find out what's being said about themselves
(Digital Citizenship/Digital Footprints)
student research
Medicine Hat School District Technology Newsletter April 2012
