It's October Already?!

It's been another busy, short week. I had a lot of fun Monday showing off different Makerspace and integration activities. I heard many great conversations between teachers on how to utilize your new learning in class. Keep those conversations going with us during your PLT meeting times.

Have you tried...

• Google Arts and Culture? Google has partnered with museums around the world to digitally curate art and primary source documents. Take ready-made tours or make your own collection.
• The Reminders App? It's on every iPad and has been my crutch this year. Easily enter reminders in the app or use Siri. I think there's something wrong with my app because the list doesn't get any shorter...
• Using Reader View in Safari? Here's a quick video:

Cool stuff happening in my classrooms (and can also happen in yours)...

• Hats off to Susan Elliot and Nicole Campbell, 7th grade math at Smithton, for getting started with tying learning objectives to Schoology assessments! Now it's easy to determine mastery of objectives.
• 6th grade English teachers at Smithton are gearing up for their first iBook publication of the year. It's a great way to let students publish digitally and share their work in a professional format.

Building your digital PLN...

• Emily Vallandingham, @mle_val - Emily is an instructional coach in Jefferson City. Tons of ideas/examples of high quality instruction. Emily is great! 
• Josh Stevens, @Jstevens54 - Josh is the co-founder of Bloxels, the video game creator used in so many of our schools. 
• BreakoutEDU, @breakoutEDU - the official site for BreakoutEDU. More teachers are getting involved in this fun and challenging project. 

Tech updates that might interest you...

• Time to update to iOS11. Spread the word! 
• Students must download the ST Math from Self Service in order for the link in the Portal to work.

Have a great weekend!

September 22 Updates

I'm getting a lot of questions about the Schoology app vs the Schoology Portal. Accessing Schoology through the portal is just like going to the website. So, questions:

1. Do students need the app? YES! 

2. Do students need the web version? Only when accessing STAR assessments or their McGraw Hill textbooks. Or using portfolios, too.

Here's my take. As a classroom teacher, I would use the Schoology app for EVERYTHING except when needing to access STAR or McGraw Hill. The app is designed for the iPad, so it's going to work for 95% of the daily tasks: assignments, assessments, discussion boards. And it's the best route to quickly distribute and turn in assignments from Notability, Pages, iMovie, Photos, or any other app. 

If you have questions, please let me know! 

Have you tried...

• iOS11? Some seriously great updates are available. I'm going to share a tidbit each week for awhile. Here's how to screen record with your iPad:

• Alright, maybe two this week. Here's how you can enter numbers without switching keyboards:

Cool stuff happening in my classrooms (and can also happen in yours)...

• I spent pretty much all week helping distribute iPads at West and Smithton, so I'm pretty thin on classroom happenings. 

Building your digital PLN...

• Matt Villasana, @mattvillasana - Seriously, if you aren't following me by now, I must have angered you in some way. I'm full of incredible ideas and funny anecdotes, so join in the fun! 
• Guy Raz, @guyraz - Podcasting guru, creator of Wow In the World, which is only the best podcast targeted toward kids
• Flipgrid, @Flipgrid - a web and app based program for sending/receiving short videos. It's all the rage now. Let me know if you want to try it out. 

Tech updates that might interest you...

• My new schedule is set. Here is where I'll be based:
• West Middle - Monday and Wednesday
• Smithton Middle - Tuesday and Friday
• We are asking that students not update to iOS11 until we've had time to test. No, there isn't a way to prevent them from completing the update.
• Enhanced question types are coming very soon to Schoology. More information will be coming out as soon as it's available.
• The "switch accounts" option will no longer be available on computers when logging in starting next week

Have a great weekend!

September 15 Updates (yeah, I need to come up with better post titles)

A shot of the delivery boat after they dropped off the iPad cases.

The row boat has arrived from China which means the rest of the iPad cases are here. Time for pushing out devices to 6th and 7th! Keep me in your thoughts...

I met with eight PLT's across six buildings this week. I love talking to teachers about their goals and coming up with plans to make it happen. I learn just as much from you! 

Have you tried...

• Discovery Education virtual field trips? They're offered live throughout the year and encourage interaction with your classes. You'll also find a huge selection of archived trips sorted by grade and topic that are ready to view on demand. Visit Discovery Education Virtual Field Trips.
• Schoology's new "Course Dashboard? You can see your current courses in a tile format on your Schoology homepage. Want to make it your default view? Access these directions.

Cool stuff happening in my schools (and can also happen in yours)...

Getting their island brochures started!

• Anne Osborne and Amber Todd started their students publishing with the Pages app. Here we're making trifold brochures.
• Today we used Schoology to record reading samples with Midway first graders. Yes, first graders. Really simple to do and a great tool for communicating progress to parents.
• Shout out to Jennifer Lampe! What did she do that was cool, you ask? Well, she has made a standing appointment with me each week to continue her learning. Yes, you can too! 

Building your digital PLN...

• Firouz Bishara, @FairouzBishara - Gentry Principal. Love how she showcases her students and teachers!
• Abbey Upton, @AbbeyUpton - Mill Creek 5th grade. Great updates of how she utilizes technology to support learning.
• CPS Foundation, @theCPSF - Updates from the CPS Foundation. If you don't know who they are, you should! 

Tech updates that might interest you...

• Any interactive tools you may have used in SMART Notebook last year won't work with the new version (it's a Flash thing). So the dice, random name picker, etc you have in your old files won't operate. Sorry. 
• If you have the new iPads, make sure you delete the preloaded Apple apps. They won't work. Then have students download from Self Service. 
• If your document camera goes out on you, it will need to be replaced with department or building money. There are several good options under $100 on the Technology Services website. Or come talk to me about how to use your iPad to display.

Have a great weekend!

September 8th Update

Welcome to September! Funny how the shortest weeks are also the longest. It's been fun meeting with my grade level teams this week. If you aren't on the schedule yet, please let me know!

Have you tried...

• The new Google Integration with Schoology? You haven't? Well, you should. This new feature allows you to create a Google Doc, assign it to your students through Schoology, and it automatically creates a copy for them that is shared with you so you can see live updates. Would love to help you get started...

  

  Google Keep home screen shows all your notes

• The Google Keep app? It's in Self Service and it's a great way for students (and teachers) to record notes by typing, handwriting, pictures, and voice recording. And it's Google, so it's easy to login and save your stuff.
• Viewing my calendar? You can easily look me up through your Outlook calendar and see when I'm busy. Then request time for me to work with you. Dangerous? Yes. But it's efficient. Let me show you how.
• Minecraft EDU? It's coming soon to all CPS teachers and students. Stay tuned for more details.

Cool stuff happening in my schools (and can also happen in yours)...

• Jennifer Lampe was my first teacher to utilize the new Google Integration last week. She successfully assigned a Google doc to students to make their own copy, edit, and turn back in. Super easy. Nice work!
• Maggie Eastman and Sarah Henley developed their own "Get to Know the Media Center" Breakout EDU challenge. Very fun and I don't think I embarrassed myself too badly!
• Mrs. Mullen's ELL class at Smithton is utilizing Schoology's audio submission tool to record reading samples. What a easy way to document growth in reading or speaking skills!

  

  Students recording their sentences and submitting via Schoology

Building your digital PLN...

• Meera Sood, @smssciteacher - 6th grade science teacher at Smithton Middle School
• Sarah Rausch, @SRauschCPS - Instructional Technology at Lange and Oakland
• SpaceX, @SpaceX - the future of space travel! Pretty cool stuff.

Tech updates that might interest you...

• The Schoology issue that was causing documents to show up as "Private Access Only" has been fixed. Hooray!
• Parents are having issues logging into Schoology with their Home Access account information. Direct any issues to the Help Desk.
• The Schoology web links have been removed from all computers and iPads. Students should be directed to the CPS Portal shortcut instead.
• Schoology will be releasing new advanced question types later this month. Stay tuned for update

Hope you have a great weekend! Enjoy baking those snickerdoodles, Sue!