Hour of Code

This week is the Hour of Code. We had students all over the district participating. Below are a few pictures. #csedweek #hourofcode
 

What Happened This Week! 10/26/2015

This week started with our PD department tackling Twitter. They created a department Twitter account as well as professional accounts for each instructional coach.

I also visited Rancho Village where we learned all about Socrative. This school has been focused on tools for formative assessments this fall.

On Tuesday, I started at Coolidge. We were able to get all of the 6th graders logged in to their Google Drives on desktops as well as chromebooks! Success!!! Sadly, I don't have 1 picture from the morning event:(

Tuesday afternoon I met with teachers from Fillmore and we were able to  learn 10 ways to use Google Docs. This event was awesome.

Wednesday was our regularly scheduled department meeting and then Part 4 of the Hour of Code series.

Thursday we were able to attend SMART Amp training. SMART Amp is COOL!

On Friday, I visited Wheeler to meet with a 4th grade teacher who is exploring gamification and has had wildly awesome improvements in test scores!

9.28.15 - What I'm Seeing this Week in Classrooms!

This post is about all of the random cool things I am seeing in classrooms around the district. 

On Tuesday, I started my day at Pierce. I saw GoNoodle and quite a few brain breaks. Brain breaks are a great opportunity to get students moving and are a nice way to transition from one activity to another.

Also this week, my blog post about Part 2 of 5: Hour of Code Series was posted. This week consisted of learning to code with Code.org and then setting up your class in Code.org to have students start coding.

As I visited another school, 5th & 6th grade students were practicing their Google Search skills as they researched and learned about Jamestown. 

Then I stopped by school to follow up with a few teachers and found more students using technology. My favorite room was the nonverbal special education class where students were using the SMART board and switches to take assessments. 

Anything is possible! What a great week! I love my job!!!

Unplugged Coding!

I've started a 5 part coding series to assist teachers learn more about coding as well as how to teach coding. Part 1 was recently held and we began with unplugged coding or coding without technology or devices.

You can checkout my original post, titled Unplugged Coding...No Devices Required, on the OKCPS ETS blog.

We had the opportunity to experience one activity about programming and debugging and a second activity about deadlocks. All of the teachers were excellent and engaged participants. 

We all had a blast and will continue with teaching with Code.org soon!

iPads & PBL

I am working with an elementary school who currently has iPads, but they use them for testing and skill & drill. I had the opportunity to meet with each grade level to discuss project based learning (PBL) and how to incorporate the iPads.

We started off by discussing creation type apps such as ShowMe, Educration, Explain Everything. We used the app ShowMe. Then we moved on to and quick example of PBL...The Marshmallow Tower challenge. I had to shorten the activity so we had 6 spaghetti sticks and 1 large marshmallow. Then each team had 4 minutes to construct the tallest tower they could. During the building process they had to take pictures. After 4 minutes, we took 5 minutes to create a narrated slide show about the process of building the tallest tower.Here is an example of their final project.





We also had a few minutes to debrief about the process. The response was positive and they reported having a better understanding of PBL. We laughed all day and enjoy creating projects on the iPads rather than skill & drill!

Web 2.0 Tools Part 2

Here are some additional Web 2.0 Tools I have seen teachers using or wanting to use as we are back to school.

6. QR Codes

Quick Response (QR) code is a bar-code-like image which you scan and it takes you to a specific, digital destination. Create a QR code using a free generator. Then use an QR code reader app to scan the code. My favorite QR code reader is I-nigma.

7. Symbaloo
Access your bookmarks and online favorites by creating tabs and shortcuts. This is a free bookmarking services which also provides and education service.  This is great to have on student computers for fast and easy access to their favorite websites.

8. Thinglink
Transform an image into a rich and interactive experience by adding music, video, text, images. Thinglink also provides and education service where teachers can set up a class.

9. Skype
Have your class connect across the world, go on a field trip, or have an author read to your class. Also try Mystery Skype with another class, if you are adventurous!

10. Plickers
This is a low tech response system. No clickers needed… just one teacher mobile device and printed Plicker cards!  

Have you used any of these tools in your classroom?

What are your Hot Topics?

As I've been planning for the 2015-2016 school year with administrators, I've noticed a few trends. Here is a list of trends and resources to go along with those trends.

1. Google Apps for Education - GAFE
Our district has been a GAFE district for a few years but there was never an official launch. As more people have been made aware of GAFE, they want to learn more. Then once they learn more, that want their staff to use the Google productivity suite of tools.

2. Chromebooks
Many principals have discovered Chromebooks are cheaper than iPads. Then once they realize Chromebooks and GAFE go together like peanut butter and jelly, they are sold! I also like the fact Chromebooks can have a personalized login for each student.

3. Web 2.0 Tools
The popular web 2.0 tools seem to be Socrative, Kahoot and Today's Meet. You can read more about these in the blog post listed above.

4. Online Learning
Faculty and staff want more online learning for that anytime, any place access.

These are a few trends, I have noticed in 2 weeks of working with administrators and teachers as they prepare for school to start. What other trends have you noticed?

Popular Web 2.0 Tools

Favorite web 2.0 tools...

1. Socrative
Socrative is one way to not only engage students but also assess them with educational activities on multiple devices. Some of the key highlights include real-time questioning and instant data.

2. Kahoot
Are you competitive? Then Kahoot is for you! You can create a Kahoot in minutes or choose from ones already made. You can also connect and play with other students from over almost 200 countries in real time.

3. Today's Meet
TodaysMeet is a perfect chat or back channel platform for classroom teachers and learners. The conversations through Today's Meet can transform your classroom. Set it up for a specified time period, then all can join without signing up.  

4. Edmodo
Edmodo is another platform to create a blended online learning classroom.  Edmodo simplifies the process of creating, distributing, collaborating, and grading.  

5. Twitter
Twitter is a great place to find ideas and inspiration.  Follow other educators, build your PLN and engage your students!

This is a VERY short list. What are some of your favorite web 2.0 tools?

Summer Ed Tech Learning Challenge

I had the idea of an ed tech learning challenge after participating in Todd Nesloney's Summer Learning Series in  2014. Our district has low participation in professional development because it is not required and there are no or low expectations for it. I wanted to create a personal learning opportunity which would not be too time consuming, would be engaging and provide resources to use today! Selfishly, I love Twitter and get SO many resources and ideas from my PLN. Naturally, I wanted to involve Twitter in this learning challenge as well.

I decided to create 4 challenges for participants to complete over 4 weeks. We presented 1 challenge per week. We started with Twitter so we could utilize it in each of the following challenges. We also created a hashtag #etlc2015 to track participation and encourage communication and collaboration. Since we are a GAFE district we used Google Classroom to relay each challenge, encourage comments and post announcements.

I was pleasantly surprised to have 100 participants sign up in May. We had 65 active participants and will have 40 participants complete all challenges by July 31st. For a district with no professional development expectations, I consider this a success!

June PD Blitz

Last week was the last week for students in OKCPS. That means...this week is PD for teachers. The curriculum department scheduled this MASSIVE PD event for all elementary teachers. ETS was given a campus to hold Teaching with Technology. My one caveat is, technology is another tool used as we integrate curriculum and should not be a separate entity. All in all, the PD sessions were successful and hopefully we planted some seeds for the 2015-2016 school year.

Lunch & Learn Series

For the 2015-2016 school year, I will be offering a Lunch & Learn Series one time per week to offer 10 minute tech tidbits to teachers and staff members. Hopefully, this will encourage more participation in technology professional development and also help the teacher and most importantly, the students!

A few topics requested have been purifying videos to use in the classroom, Symbaloo bookmarking and Google Docs.I want the topics to be what the teachers are most interested in and motivated to use.

More updates to follow!

Happy Summer!

Start with a Bang...

This week has started with a bang! My co-worker, Julie, & I had an idea about a student technology showcase. Well, on Monday, it came to fruition. We had a great turnout with over 20 exhibitors. We had all grades and regions of our district represented. I could not be happier with the results. Our teachers and students are doing AH-MAZING things and we need to show our community how our students are learning with technology.

On Tuesday, I was able to co-teach a math lesson with 4th graders. This would not have been possible without the collaboration of the math coaches and of course the teacher! The students are now obsessed with creating screencast!!!

iPads...

Our team worked with the Special Services department to roll out ipads. First we met with the coordinators for deployment. Next, we facilitated a blended training with face to face as well as online course work to help familiarize the coordinators with ipads general features. We are now entering the phase of offering trainings every quarter.

Last month, I watched a webinar with TCEA, Accessibility Features of the iPad. This week I am offering a similar training. We are watching the TCEA webinar and then spending time exploring those features and discussing how they work with our students.

Hopefully, they will find this experience useful and meaningful.

Digital Citizenship

Digital Citizenship...every time I hear the phrase, I cringe. I prefer to reframe digital citizenship to character education for the 21st century. Here are some resources for your viewing pleasure!


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Happy viewing!

Transforming Education

There are so many thoughts and ideas about transforming education. Here are a few videos as food for thought....




 What will the future of learning look like?

Coming Soon....

We are creating something new and exciting in the OKCPS ETS office!!! Phase 1 will be completed by February 25th. Cannot wait to share more details and pictures.

Educational Technology Learning Challenge

Whoa...what is an Ed Tech Learning Challenge??? This is a series of tasks, or challenges, presented to staff members. The participants learn how to use and integrate new technologies in the classroom.

This semester I am working with one elementary campus over 12 week. We started out working through the SAMR model using ipads. Next we moved to Google Drive and now we are working with SMART Notebook and SMART Boards. We just completed week 6 this week. The next 6 weeks will include flipping, coding, project based learning, social media and more ipads.

The conclusion of the challenge will be a peer showcase so we can all show what we learned and how we customized it for our classroom and students.This campus has a great staff and is a joy to work with every week!

I will post more after the peer showcase. There will be some amazing sharing at that time!

#OTAEM14

So, I spent the last two days at OTA. Personally, I enjoyed this conference more than any other in Oklahoma thus far. Below are some observations!

1. OTA appeared more professional than other conferences.
OTA had a feel more like a Texas style conference and not so informal. I cannot put my finger on it, but it felt more professional, or maybe, more like what I'm use to coming from Texas.

2. We have amazing and innovative teachers in OK.
It was nice to see so many teachers presenting and facilitating sessions. As educators we get stuck "within our classroom" but sharing helps then entire profession and all students, not just your 24 students. Sharing and collaborating not only helps those actively involved, but also aids in the progress of the field.

3. We need to share resources more.
Okay, so maybe I talked about this in #2!

4. I have a great team.
I learn from my teammates every single day. They are a passionate, well read group of master educators. The conversations within the group grow not only our department but the district and field of ed tech as well.

5. If you're not on social media, you're illiterate.
Social Media, Twitter in particular, is a form of literacy. If you are not participating, you are illiterate in this 21st century skill. Jump on it! We are adding this as a challenge in the ETLC Fall 2014, but need to look at adding more coaching about social media and building PLNs.

6. GAFE trends
There were tons of sessions regarding GAFE, most dealing with apps, add-ons and extensions. There are many schools in our area going GAFE. It was nice to hear how other schools are using Google in various grade levels. I think principals and teachers were also presently surprised as to the many ways they could use Google in their respective roles.

7. iPads & App Smashing trends
iPads have been a trend and there were several sessions discussing the combining of apps to complete projects. It was also SO nice to hear more about using ipads for creation of new ideas and projects and not just for games.

As with any conference, talking with others in the field is always insightful and exciting.