edTechCCPS

What is an LMS?

2018-06-15T10:44:00.000-04:00

What is a LMS?

What is an LMS and why should I use one? You may have heard the term LMS (Learning Management System) talked about in meetings, or read about in the board docs or ACTS notes. Well, what is it? And more importantly, why are moving in this direction?

An LMS is a learning management system that will provide a true one stop user experience for your teaching materials, assessment tools, projects, rubrics, learning outcomes, group conferencing, etc. The learning management system we have chosen to purchase is Canvas. Canvas is a large company that currently provides LMS functionality to many major universities, the Virginia Community College System, and the entire K-12 public school system in North Carolina. Canvas allows you to create assessments, manage instructional content, conduct group discussions or video chats/leave student feedback, create rubrics, and will auto grade your assessment materials. Canvas integrates with all the G Suite apps you use right now, maintaining cross platform compatibility with Google Drive. Also, Canvas will allow you to use installed LTI* “apps” like Discovery Ed, No Red Ink, eMediaVA, Flipgrid, WeVideo, and many more directly from your Canvas home page. *Learning Tool Interoperability

You will be able to create robust formative and summative assessments from a well sourced bank of vetted questions, and any assessment question you create will automatically be archived within Canvas’ question bank. The assessments you create, and those of the assessment bank, known as Gauge, are tied to the Virginia Standards of Learning. So you can rest assured the assessments that are made and shared are relevant and related to the standards you’re teaching.

Inside Canvas you can create classes, courses, modules, and small groups based on your specific needs. Those groups can be anything from instructing students, online learning, professional development, or PLN/PLCs. All of these can all benefit from the integrated collaboration tools within Canvas. Additionally, Canvas will be tied to our Student Information System (SIS) so all your classes will roster automatically, but that will not prevent you from creating your own classes, courses, clubs, or PD/PLN groups. As an instructional professional you will have the ability to create groups within and across classes for personalized instruction or targeted interventions. The wealth of functionality within Canvas is really impressive. Additionally, your ability to flip your lessons, incorporate blended learning, or teach synchronously or asynchronously will be greatly enhanced with Canvas.

As technology advances we in CCPS have recognized the need of something that truly unifies our many needs: Course/class/module creation, assessments, SIS integration, and many, many others. Training will be coming to make you comfortable with using Canvas.

Burning questions teachers have: What do I do with it?

How do I start? When can I begin? Who has access?

What can I add to my already awesome teaching?

Don’t fret! Join the Instructional Technology Team and other like-minded teachers to get in the know right
from the start. The “Canvas Kickoff” will commence during three half-day sessions in August. You will learn
about creating courses, best practices, and, of course, integrating Canvas with Google and other awesome
digital resources we currently have.

Simply sign in to SDRWeb and “Search Available Classes” for “Tech Canvas Kickoff” to register.

There are morning and afternoon sessions for August 9, 13, and 14. This means you have 6 interactive,
informative, and creative sessions to choose from! To prepare for this awesome opportunity, to get in
on the ground floor, and to be a pioneer, there is a self-paced, online “Introduction to Canvas Course”
as a prerequisite. This can be done at your leisure from wherever you wish.

Come join us for the “Canvas Kickoff” and paint a new beginning in your classroom using Canvas.

Author Information

Matt Tobin is a graduate of Monacan HS. After completing his degree in elementary education from VCU he began his teaching career at Chalkley ES. When not occupied by the wonderful world of edTECH Matt enjoys riding his mountain bike.

Kari Kuebler has served in education for 24 years, 21 of which have been within Chesterfield County Public Schools. She taught in the elementary school setting and is passionate about her position as a technology integrator. Kari attended University of South Carolina - Coastal Carolina, and Virginia State University earning a Masters in Education. At home in Chesterfield County, she has a wonderful son and her favorite pastimes include biking, hiking, camping and generally staying active. Kari grew up in Chicago and is an avid Chicago Bears fan!

Your End-of-Year Tech List: Closing Out Your Digital Classroom

2018-05-14T09:40:00.002-04:00

Your End-of-Year Tech List:
Closing Out Your Digital Classroom

Just as you close out your physical classroom for the year, you should also close out your digital classroom. To help you do so, we have created the following Tech List, with helpful links and hints.

✔	Task	Tips	Helpful Links
	Google Classrooms	Archive your Google classrooms to prevent students from unmonitored posting. If you delete a class, you no longer have access to posts or its associated resources.	Written Video
	Edmodo Classrooms	Archive your Edmodo classrooms to prevent students from unmonitored posting. If you delete a class, you no longer have access to posts or its associated resources.	Directions
	Google Drive (Students)	Have students create a folder labeled 2017-18 and drag all of their current docs and folders into it to “clean-up” their drive.	Directions
	Google Drive (Teachers)	Take some time to organize your drive using folders and color coding.	Written Video
	FlipGrid	Freeze your FlipGrids to prevent students from unmonitored posting.	Directions
	Chromebooks (Elementary)	Student profiles need to be deleted, broken Chromebooks reported via Helpstar, and all carts stored in one secured location.	Directions
	Gmail	Delete/organize/archive your email.	Archive Organize Written Organize Video
	Leaving your school or the county	Teachers who are leaving CCPS need to download their Google Drive files (if larger than 15 gb) or transfer (if less than 15 gb) and/or transfer ownership to a department chair or colleague if they require access. Students who are leaving CCPS will need to download their Google files to take with them.	Download Files Transfer Files Transfer File Ownership

While it may take a few moments to organize and pack-up your digital classroom, your time spent will be rewarded when you begin your new year with ease. Have a wonderful summer!

Author Information

Beth Sepelyak has been with Chesterfield County Public Schools for 15 years. She has been an integrator for the past 11 years. Beth, her three children, parents, and grandparents all attended Grange Hall Elementary, are proud graduates of CCPS, and are staunch advocates of its excellence.

Cultivating Creative Crafters in the Language Arts Classroom

2018-05-07T15:07:00.001-04:00

Watching math and science teachers integrate Makerspace activities into their classrooms has been both inspiring and confounding. Knowing how excited my students were by the opportunity to build, create, and innovate made me want to include Makerspace ideas in my lessons. However, I was stuck with the question, How do I give this a Language Arts spin?

Brainstorming and Preparation Process

Once I set my mind to the idea of a Makerspace, I spent a great deal of time perusing Pinterest for different ideas for hands-on, Language Arts ideas. Finding a variety of activities was key for me, which had the potential to send me down a rabbit hole. Thankfully, I met with my integrator, Althea Hudson, as part of my brainstorming process as well. Between the two of us, we were able to find several different activities for my students.

As another layer of my preparation, I met with two other teachers who had previously run Maker Stations in their classrooms. Their number one suggestion was to have written directions available for students during the rotations. Based on this information, I spent time creating a slideshow to be distributed via Google Classroom.

Implementation

On the day of our stations, my students walked in to our room already set up in pods with group members listed at each table. Materials were already set up at each station, along with a piece of poster paper labeled, “Our Norms.” Before we began our Maker Stations, we took time to discuss our learning targets for the day and the purpose of each station. From there, students worked in their pods to create three to four group norms to set them up for success. Each set of norms was shared out and discussed.

For each station, groups had twenty minutes to work collaboratively for a single product, or as individuals to create a personal piece. At the end of twenty minutes, groups were prompted to clean up and rotate. In hindsight, not all stations required the same amount of time. While twenty minutes was perfect timing for some, three stations could have used much more time based on how detailed my students are with their work!

Looking Ahead

I was pleasantly surprised by how much my students loved these activities! The te Helping Harry and classroom logo design stations were by far the favorites of the bunch. For our next round of stations, I would like to implement some of the other ideas I found during my brainstorming process. In particular, I would like to do a digital magnetic poetry station using my Smartboard. One key component for planning my next round of stations will definitely be the consideration of time and making sure that each station requires an equal amount. Both my students and I are looking forward to our next round of stations that will take place after our SOLs!

Tips and Tricks

1. Frontloading is the key to a seamless Maker Station experience. Preparing materials ahead of time and having each station set up before students arrive will eliminate down time. Having a slideshow with visual directions available for students to review the directions, expectations, and have links to outside sources/sites allows groups to move more independently.

2. Strategic grouping creates a positive work environment. Having the students grouped appropriately for your specific class will allow for students to support each other and cut down on off task behavior. I found it incredibly beneficial to create groups with my more tech-savvy students evenly dispersed.

3. Setting norms will provide expectations for students. Spending a few moments before the stations begin to review norms, both visually and verbally, will be worth every minute! Having students spend time completing a “Looks Like/Sounds Like” for these norms will solidify a clear understanding of your expectations, and ensure a smoother class. If your Maker Stations will be broken up over two class periods, take a moment at the beginning of day two for students to reflect on their success with the norms.

4. Use a timer to keep consistent time frames for each round of rotations. Providing a specific time frame that students have to work at each station gives not only a sense of structure, but also lens to a sense of urgency among each of the groups to ensure that the task is complete.

Resources

Class Logo Design Lesson

About the Author

Jessica Martin has been with Chesterfield County for nine years and currently is a 7th grade Language Arts teacher and department chair at Robious Middle. Puzzles and problem solving, both in and out of the classroom, are one of Jessica’s great joys. In her free time, Jessica loves reading, exploring the outdoors, and working in her garden.

Letting Go: Giving Students Choice

2018-05-02T12:08:00.000-04:00

Choices, Choices, Choices! When you walk down the toothpaste aisle at your local grocery store, there are so many choices. Decades ago, you had two choices: Colgate and Crest. Now we have to choose between the brand and variety: cavity protection or whitening, gel or paste, mint or bubble gum, and so on.

Our students are born in a day and age where they have numerous choices, and, with technology, they can research and find the best choice that suits their needs. Well, education should not be any different.

Choice boards and student menus are excellent avenues that allow for student choice, but still give you, the instructor, an idea on how students are learning and mastering specific content.

Choice Boards

A choice board is a graphic organizer that allows students to decide how they will learn a concept or demonstrate mastery of content. Choice boards focus on students' interests, abilities, and needs. In the example below, you can see the student has to pick three activities to complete in a Tic-Tac-Toe fashion. When designing a choice board, be sure to include activities that will accommodate the various learning styles: visual, aural, verbal and physical, logical, social, and solitary. You will find that choice boards are easily adaptable to various learning levels in your classroom.

https://www.smore.com/z12ay-tic-tac-toe-choice-boards-menus

How to Create a Choice Board

Identify the instructional focus.
Determine your students' interests, needs, and learning styles.
Design tasks that meet the students' interests, needs and learning styles.
Arrange the tasks in a 9 celled table.
Have students pick tasks in a Tic-Tac-Toe fashion: diagonal, vertical, horizontal.

Student Menus

Student menus, like choice boards, allow for student choice. The difference between a student menu and a choice board is how the information is presented. Let's take a look at a student menu.

https://iqe4efxsuu-flywheel.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Digital-Menu-for-Student-Creation.png
Tom Spall, Creator

In this example, the student menu is set up like a HyperDoc. Students choose an appetizer, main entree, beverage, side dish, and dessert. This menu can be adapted to any grade level, content area, and learning ability.

Here is another example of a student menu.

https://www.smore.com/z12ay-tic-tac-toe-choice-boards-menus

Letting Go

Are you ready to let go a little by creating a choice board or learning menu? Your Technology Integrator would be happy to assist and facilitate the process. Let's give our students the opportunity have voice and choice in their learning.

Resources

Choice Boards: Menus and Tic Tac Toe

How to Use Choice Boards in the Classroom

Interactive Learning Menus

What is a HyperDoc?

About the Author

Becky Poljac is a technology integrator with Chesterfield County Public Schools. She recently moved to the Richmond area from Springfield, VA where she was a high school teacher and a school based technology specialist in Fairfax County. She enjoys spending time with her husband and two young children, gardening, running, and traveling.

Re-Situating Hapara

2018-04-23T07:53:00.000-04:00

Best Practices for Supporting Students Working in the Digital Realm

When you hear people talking about “Hapara,” what comes to mind? Is it “that website that works with G Suite?” Perhaps it’s “that tool that lets you close student browser tabs.” If you are not familiar with all of what Hapara can do, it can be easy to get caught up in Hapara's administrative features and use it just to police student chromebook activity. In this post, we’ll “re-situate” Hapara so that you will be better equipped to support learners working with tools in G Suite and beyond.
Why Hapara?
You may have read or heard about the research of John Hattie, a Professor of Education at the University of Melbourne in Australia. Hattie synthesized a wealth of existing studies to determine the most impactful ways to raise student achievement. The top five strategies include: student visible learning, formative assessment, acceleration, feedback, and other metacognitive strategies. Hapara was created with these ideas in mind. The three main components of Hapara (Highlights, Dashboard, and Workspace) work together to make student learning visible, even in the digital realm. Teachers can use these tools to support learners in differentiated activities, major projects, research, or other assignments. Let’s look at each one in turn.

Beyond Big Brother
Hapara Highlights is so much more than just a way to monitor student browsing activity. Did one of your students find a fantastic source for a research project? Open the same resource for the whole class by clicking the “Open Tabs” button in the upper right-hand corner of the Highlights screen and typing in the URL. Take Snaps of student screens to remind you of the sites they were using and use them as a conversation starter during a conference/pulse check later on. The beauty of Highlights is that it lets you, the teacher, engage with your learners in real time as they collaborate with one another, complete research, or review for an exam.
None of this is to say that you should not ever use Hapara’s browser management functionalities. These features are there for a reason and, if needed, can help you redirect students working on their devices. If you do observe off-task behavior in Highlights, send the student a quick message first and encourage them to move back to their assigned task(s). This best practice lets the student take the initiative to correct behavior and become a more responsible digital classroom citizen.
A Continuous Feedback Loop

Teacher feedback on student work also figures prominently in Hattie’s research. Hapara Dashboard allows you to view, at a glance, all of your students’ Google Drive files for your class. Without having to click through a lot of Google Classroom windows, you can offer constructive feedback on papers, slide decks, drawings, and other projects in progress. You can leave a comment on a Google Doc or even use Vocaroo to record personalized audio feedback for students! Later on, you check in to see how students are utilizing your feedback. Doing this from the conception of a project all the way through its completion will better support your students and hold them accountable for making steady progress and not procrastinating until the last minute!

Differentiation, Student Voice, and Cooperative Learning- All Together!
Hapara Workspace is a flexible learning environment that provides for differentiation, collaboration, and student voice all in one place! Workspace divides student resources and learning artifacts into four columns that are typically utilized respectively as: goals, objectives, and standards; resources; evidence and learning artifacts; and reflections and rubrics. Each item in a column has its own “card” that may include a link, an image, a description, or any combination of the preceding. Cards (and students!) can be grouped to facilitate differentiated projects and resources, scaffolded instruction, and cooperative learning. You can even give your students voice and choice by allowing them to create their own resource cards to share with classmates and their own evidence cards to demonstrate learning. Take advantage of the flexibility offered by Workspace and watch your students’ creativity soar!
Your building technology integrator is a fantastic resource for additional information. Your integrator would love to sit down with you, show you more about Hapara, and talk about how you can best use it in your classroom. In addition, be on the lookout for two brand new Hapara Learn and Earn modules coming to the EdTech Hub this Fall. If you really want to dig deep, you are encouraged to explore the Hapara Champion Educator course. In this course, you will further explore the ideas presented in this post while earning a Hapara certification. Any of these resources will help you to more effectively use Hapara in your classroom. Have fun making learning visible!

About the Author:
Wes Dunnavant joined the Technology Integrator team in January of 2017. He grew up attending Chesterfield County Public Schools: Jacobs Road Elementary, Manchester Middle, and the Specialty Center for the Arts at Thomas Dale High School. After receiving his bachelor's degree from the College of William and Mary, he taught math and music at Clover Hill High School before becoming an integrator. In his free time, Wes loves to play the piano for middle and high school choirs around the county. He also serves as Music Director of Bethany Place Baptist Church in Chesterfield.

Ozobots in the Middle - Bringing Playtime Back Into The Center of Your Curriculum

2018-03-28T09:21:00.002-04:00

Why is playtime important for students? We often recognize the need at the elementary level, but even secondary students can greatly benefit from playtime during the school day. According to Dr. Hilary Conklin (Time.com) Playtime Isn’t Just for Preschoolers—Teenagers Need It, Too (2015).

Meet Evo + Bit, ozobot.com/img/products/products/tile-color-codes.ab0d3c62.jpg.

She says, “Giving students occasions to learn through play not only fosters creative thinking, problem solving, independence, and perseverance, but also addresses teenagers’ developmental needs for greater independence and ownership in their learning, opportunities for physical activity and creative expression, and the ability to demonstrate competence. When classroom activities allow students to make choices relevant to their interests, direct their own learning, engage their imaginations, experiment with adult roles, and play physically, research shows that students become more motivated and interested, and they enjoy more positive school experiences.”

We are here today to tell you how Ozobots can be a tool to help you add this type of playtime back into the center of your curriculum.

OZOBOT. “Ozobot - It's Your Move.” YouTube, YouTube, 31 Mar. 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=zm_H8HXWFZ4.

What Are They?
Ozobots are tiny little robots move all around, delivering a whole ton of fun and engagement into your curriculum. There are two models - Evo and Bit. The Evo model can connect to their app and has a few enhanced features (such as Bluetooth connectivity, Expressive Sounds, and Drive Mode), but both models have endless possibilities for use in the classroom!

Meet Evo + Bit, ozobot.com/img/products/products/tile-color-codes.ab0d3c62.jpg.

How Do They Work?
You can use white paper and 4 marker colors to tell Ozobots where to go and what to do right before your eyes, or you can use their website ozoblockly.com to program them, put them up to the device’s screen, and load the programs with a bunch of flashing lights! The OzoBlockly site is amazing because there are 5 levels students can choose from, allowing non-readers to expert coders participate in an activity and providing teachers opportunities for differentiation in the coding requirements. Students/teachers can decide how complicated they want this drag-and-drop coding experience to be or start with the basics and move up!

This all might sound intimidating, but within a few minutes, you will be on your way to becoming an ozobot pro. It’s inspiring to see applications for Ozobots in the classroom from kindergarten through high school students - engaging students every step of the way! With a little prep work, you can create a lesson with lasting impact.

Get Excited!
There’s no point in going any further until you get some ideas about how these can work in your content area though, right? Think about coding robots for teaching slope, retelling stories, tracing paths of famous voyages, learning about orbits, or solving brain-teasers with critical thinking… We’ve gathered links from the Ozobot site, Pinterest, YouTube, Twitter, and anywhere else we could find and linked them all up for you HERE. Browse for a bit and come up with a few ideas - then, use this LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE to help you get started!

Don’t Be Intimidated!
New technology can be really scary, but these are very user friendly. Kindergartners can get them working in a few minutes! Accept that something will go wrong, and that’s okay, a great deal of learning happens through that problem solving process. You have to be able to embrace a bit of controlled chaos to really get to that magic where connections happen and learning takes place. When success happens, the learning experience will be solidified!

THIS SITE is super helpful and has a bunch of information and videos to check out when getting started. You can also take yourself through THIS TUTORIAL ahead of time to get more comfortable using them. Even better, we have some general SETUP & TROUBLESHOOTING TIPS for you to check out.

Where do you go from here?
Talk to your building integrator to take your Ozobot ideas to fruition! Classrooms everywhere are making this leap and reaping the rewards of engagement, ownership, retention, and FUN!

Resources

https://ozobot.com/

https://ozoblockly.com/

Conklin, Hilary G. “Playtime Isn't Just for Preschoolers-Teenagers Need It, Too.” Time, Time, 3 Mar. 2015, time.com/3726098/learning-through-play-teenagers-education/.

Authors

Stacey Wright is nearing the end of her first year as a CCPS Technology Integrator after teaching thirteen years (five in CCPS) teaching MS and JR High band. A mother of two, she treasures time with her family - especially enjoying time outside enjoying nature and time inside being crafty.

Kristine Vester is finishing her first year as a Technology Integrator for Chesterfield County Public Schools. Prior to this position, Kristine was 6-12 math educator who enjoyed creating STEM lessons for the students all over the Central Virginia area. Kristine has experience teaching students mathematics, science, and VA history. When not learning different ways to incorporate technology into the classroom, she is spending time with her family. You can usually find her on the soccer field cheering on one son or in the crossfit gym with the other son.

Getting the Most Out of Video Projects

2018-03-19T07:38:00.000-04:00

Lights, Camera, ACTION! Arguably the three most famous words any director will say on set, but once heard, everyone knows what they are supposed to be doing in that moment. And sure, that moment might take up to three, four, or fifty-two tries, but everyone is at least aware of their actions. So when we as educators ask our students to make a video project, are they also aware?

In the last five years alone, the ability to edit a solid video has removed itself from mostly being a mac-thing and become a multi-platform choice anyone with a device can do. Smartphones can easily download apps that will even piece together a video for you, free of charge!* So how does one go about planning a video project for students to complete?

Plan...plan…plan…

The Hollywood movie process goes through five stages; Development, pre-production, production, post-production, and distribution1. It is a similar process for student productions as well.

Development - This is where the project is explained to the students. Expectations, rubrics, and some examples are shown.

Pre-production - I would argue that this step is usually “winged” by students and they jump right into production, but spending just a bit of time in this category will greatly improve the final quality of any film project. Later on we will focus on this stage with examples about storyboarding.

Production - Actual filming

Post-production - Editing

Distribution - How are they going to share it with you?

So let us explore the pre-production step, and try to get the most out of this!

Here is an example of what a completed script might look like, and here is the template. Giving students a template that has them thinking about what type of camera shots they want helps to keep them focused during the production phase of the film. It also allows for everyone to be on the same page and following the same vision for what the expected final product should look like. Plus, you as the teacher get the added bonus of having an approval step before filming begins. I mean, you are technically the “producer” of all these great movies!

Another suggestion for helping students produce better content is to have them go through a filming tutorial. In this example the actor shows us some great tips for how to properly film (including how to hold your phone). Remember, the key to a great video product is all in the prep before filming!

In closing, your friendly integrator will always be happy to discuss further the video editing process, including how to use programs such as WeVideo and the built-in camera on a chromebook or laptop to record your movie. Integrators can do a short tutorial with your students and help familiarize them with the capabilities of our favorite video creation tools...and that’s a wrap!

Steiff, Josef (2005). The Complete Idiot's Guide to Independent Filmmaking. Alpha Books. pp. 26–28.

Doug Fordham transitioned this year into his new role of Technology Integrator after teaching five years for CCPS. A former mathematics teacher in middle and high school, Doug enjoys coaching the James Madison University club Ice Hockey team in addition to spending time with his wife and adorable yellow labrador, Dakota. Also, if you see Doug out in the world make sure to grab a sweet selfie with him!

PoweredUp Portfolios with New Google Sites!

2018-02-27T15:49:00.000-05:00

Student portfolios are a great way to reinforce the use, retention and application of curriculum as a student-centered activity. There are many types of portfolios but the flexibility and simplicity of using the New Google Sites makes this an ideal application. Google Sites makes it easy for students to collect and organize their work created in the G Suite ecosystem into one place. There is a very low learning curve with New Google Sites, and the simple designs give the published website a polished, professional feel. Whether working individually or collaboratively in groups on projects, teachers will find that students are highly engaged and self-motivated with the plethora of opportunities for demonstrating their learning within their own learning style.

Why an e-portfolio?

With the New Google Sites, you can incorporate aspects of the engagement of kinesthetic learning with the efficiency of digital usage. An e-portfolio in the New Google Sites is beneficial for transferable skills.

Published website provides a public forum for students to showcase their work, creating a deeper sense of ownership and accountability

Published website provides a way in which students can examine and evaluate other students’ work

Embedded feedback forms provide a venue by which students can comment on others’ work more efficiently.

What makes an e-portfolio a unique assessment tool in comparison to a test or quiz is that it is a personalized expression of learning for the student. Students are creating their responses, usually from an original thought, so it is more student centered and adapts to their individual learning style. Whether they are a visual learner with image focus learning, audio learner or kinesthetic, the various supporting apps available will allow students to capitalize on their strengths. Being that it is digital, it provides a real time experience that can be logged over a period of time. By doing so, students can reflect on their own growth which instills the growth mindset that we want students to develop as they learn.

What makes an effective portfolio?

Is student-centered
Adapts to student’s learning style
Creates a digital log of student learning over a period of time
Provides opportunities for self-reflection
Employs good Digital Citizenship
Supports the practice of 21st Century Skills
Encourages the 5C’s

The Bells & Whistles!

The best part about working in Google Sites is all of the capability and functionality of working in a website is easy to do. Adding other apps into the mix makes the portfolio building process energizing.

Students can:

Create an audio discussion with flip grid.
Record and embed a video using WeVideo.
Record a famous quote, give directions or practice a new language with Vocaroo recording application.

As mentioned earlier, all of the G Suite apps seamlessly embed into New Google Sites. Embed slides, sheets, forms, images, links and other docs easily by connecting to and signing in to your Google Drive.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Getting Started!
If you are excited about the possibilities, meet with your integrator to brainstorm the best plan of action. Here are few aspects of the New Google Sites that you can use as talking points for your meeting:

Get started directly in your drive by clicking the button or going to sites.google.com after signing in Chrome.
Students cannot create a website in their drive; they must be added as editors to a teacher created site using the share button
Teachers can monitor students activities by choosing to prevent them from publishing to the web or adding their friends as editors in the owner settings

Share sites with one or more students at a time with editable links.

Store the created sites in a shared folder or make individual posts for students in Google Classroom

Don’t forget to consider student privacy, copyright laws and vetted resources as you facilitate the portfolio process with your students. Take a look at this CCPS resource for Powered up Projects iLearn session offered for Secondary level teachers that helps guide you through suggestions, considerations, tips and examples of e-portfolios.

Powered Up Projects-iLearn

Sites Cheat Sheet

Yolanda Eaves has been a licensed educator since 2004. Certified in both Business I/T and Art, she taught combining both sides of the brain in the Digital Arts, Visual Arts and Computer Apps on the middle school level for 7 years and as a visual arts teacher in the elementary school level for 4 years prior to that. Her greatest attribute is her warm, patient personality. She enjoys building relationships with others and makes friends easily. As a designer at heart, she enjoys being creative.

Back to Class in Google Classroom

2017-11-27T07:00:00.000-05:00

Google Classroom is a fantastic bit of software. Whether you're using it to get content to your students, create interactive educational experiences, or provide a storehouse for you educational materials, it's making the lives of teachers are lot easier, and the lives of their students more educational.

[Google Classroom]. (n.d.). Retrieved November 16, 2017, from http://tech.guhsd.net/google-classroom

Whether you've been swimming in it for years or you're just dipping your toe in, this month's episode of the EdTech Hubcast is a great listen.

After checking it out, here are some fantastic next steps:

Now that you know even more about putting Google Classroom to work for you, we'd love to hear about how you're using it. Either drop us a line in the comments or connect with us on Twitter @EdTechCCPS.

Link directly to Google Classroom Assignments and Question Activities

2017-09-13T12:57:00.000-04:00

One of several new features in Google Classroom is the ability to link Google Classroom announcements, assignments, or question activities directly into a presentation, doc, HyperDoc activity, or any other media that can include web links.

Why use this in your instructional practice?

Efficient, saves time!
Less clicking!
No scrolling or filtering to find the activity in Google Classroom!
Post a Google Classroom assignment link in a Synergy grade book assignment! (helps students to find the assignment easily).

How does this enhance teaching and learning?

Students can go directly to the Question activity as part of a lesson that includes facilitating an online discussion, back-channel, or poll (active participation).

As part of a learning activity include a direct link to an assignment in Classroom, where students can add their choice of created products (student engagement / voice & choice). This makes it easy to have student work in one place and allows for timely feedback.

Differentiate activities for groups providing Assignment or Question links for each group. (collaboration / working with peers).

Use Question activities for formative assessments (temperature checks, exit tickets, checking for understanding).

Use a direct link from a Question activity to ask questions where students apply their learning. Here are a few simple questions: 5 Powerful Questions Teachers Can Ask Their Students (Edutopia)

See your Integrator for more great ideas on using Google Classroom in your instructional practice!

Welcome to our new home

2017-06-15T07:34:00.001-04:00

Welcome to the new home of the edTechCCPS blog. We have changed blogging platforms to bring you the reader a more refined experience. Come back here in August for amazing content. Until then check out the archives on the old blogging platform here.

edTechCCPS

What is an LMS?

Burning questions teachers have: What do I do with it?

Your End-of-Year Tech List: Closing Out Your Digital Classroom

Your End-of-Year Tech List:Closing Out Your Digital Classroom

Author Information

Cultivating Creative Crafters in the Language Arts Classroom

Brainstorming and Preparation Process

Implementation

Looking Ahead

Tips and Tricks

Resources

About the Author

Letting Go: Giving Students Choice

Choice Boards

How to Create a Choice Board

Student Menus

Letting Go

Resources

About the Author

Re-Situating Hapara

Best Practices for Supporting Students Working in the Digital Realm

Ozobots in the Middle - Bringing Playtime Back Into The Center of Your Curriculum

Getting the Most Out of Video Projects

PoweredUp Portfolios with New Google Sites!

Back to Class in Google Classroom

Link directly to Google Classroom Assignments and Question Activities

Welcome to our new home

Your End-of-Year Tech List:
Closing Out Your Digital Classroom