Good Afternoon and Happy Friday!

Technology is on the schedule today for PLC. We will be visiting some colleagues' classrooms to see how some tech tools are blended with traditional approaches. Here is our schedule --

1. Please choose a reading below:
The SAMR Model - a model to help us infuse technology into our classrooms.
How Blended Learning can upgrade the traditional public education "operating system." by Angel Cintron Jr. on Blended Teaching DC
Can Blended Help Close the Gap? by Connie Parham on Blended Teaching DC
'Personalized' Instruction Using Tech Yields Uneven Results, Study Says by Michele Molnar on blogs.edweek.org

2. Take a few minutes to read it individually, then formulate your thoughts around the Thinking Routine - Connect, Extend, Challenge. Share your thought in pairs or triads. 

1. What is a connection you can make from the reading?
2. What is something that extended your thinking?
3. What is something in the reading that is still challenging your thinking?

3. Go to one or multiple breakout sessions, using your article as the filter that guides your thinking. Then address one or more of the following prompts in the comments section below. Keep reading as comments are added and reply to a colleague:

• Make a connection between the article you read and the session you attended.
• Do you see the potential for using this Blended Learning tool in your classroom? Why or why not?
• What puzzles you about moving forward with this, or any other Blended Learning tool?

THANK YOU for all your hard work Bobcats! Have a wonderful weekend.

Go Noodle!

Go Noodle is a great way for your students to "get their wiggles out."  Go Noodle has free activities and a premium service that you can try for free for a limited time as you decide whether you want to fork over the $10 a month.  It provides brain breaks for kids and has a great library of videos that get students up and moving around to counter the time they spend sitting in their seats.  According to the video, "In the morning, they can stretch with Maximo, play Run With Us in the afternoon, and use Airtime to reduce stress before a test."

Jaime Jackson has used it with her second graders.  When I visited her classroom, her kids were playing "Bodyspell."  They were following an online, animated robot, telling them what word to spell and the kids were standing up and forming the letters with their bodies as they called out the letters.  At the end, they had to repeat all of the words they just spelled.  Jamie had preloaded Bodyspell with all of the words that students had been learning to spell, which she said was very easy. 

This is another great example of the way technology is enhancing the learning in the classrooms at Bill Roberts.  Nice work Mrs. Jackson!

Podcasting for English Language Learners

Kim Douglas is working with a Hungarian student new to our school.  She decided that it would be a good idea to record a read aloud so that the student could hear the story with English inflection and in the voice of his teacher.  She and I met on Monday morning, by Monday afternoon I had the podcast in my Google inbox.  Great job Mrs. Douglas!!

She accomplished this by downloading Audacity, a free piece of software to record her voice on her computer.  Ben recommended that she download it from Sourceforge.  She also downloaded the LAME MP3 encoder, which is a bit of software that works in the background and allowed her to turn her recording into an MP3 file.  She plugged in a mic that she borrowed from Suzy, hit the record button, read the book, uploaded it to Google Drive and shared it with me.

Her young Hungarian friend can access the file if she shares it with him, she can burn it to a CD so he can play it on a CD player, or she can make it into a movie with a simple picture and upload it to YouTube to be accessed from any computer anywhere (thanks Jamie Salturelli for that idea!)

She says she won't win any audio book awards for the recording, but I beg to differ.  Listen for yourself.

(This is a widget from Cincopa, which is a podcast hosting site.)

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(Below is a test recording uploaded to YouTube, if you are at school you will have to type in your credentials to 'allow' it to play in the building.  It won't play on the YouTube Education site.)

Top 10 Tech Time Saving Tips...

Terrific!

Google Drive PLC

Google Drive training in Friday's PLC was the first step in attempting to get everyone "proficient" in the use of Drive and its many features.  As with most PLCs, it probably left many with more questions than answers.



Here are some of the questions that are still lingering:

1. How do we connect our DPS Google to Outlook?  Here is a link to instructions for forwarding Gmail to your Outlook account.  I just did it with my email accounts and it seems to work fine.  YOU WILL STILL NEED TO LOGIN TO YOUR DPS GOOGLE MAIL IN ORDER TO SEE SHARED DOCUMENTS.  This is a good solution so that you don't have to constantly check both.  You will be able to just check your Outlook mail and you will be notified when something lands in your DPS Gmail Inbox.
2. Can I have more time?  We will have a technology training every other month at least.  We will also have a "choice" Friday on the third Friday of the month.  This will be a good opportunity to do more basic trainings so you can continue to familiarize yourself with Google Drive.
3. How can I tell who I shared something with and can I unshare?  You can see who you shared with by clicking on the 'Share' button on the upper right of you document, spreadsheet etc.  You will see a list of who has access.  Simply 'x' out those who you wish to unshare with (see picture on the right. Click to enlarge.) 
   
4. How can I use this with my kids and math?  I don't use Docs with my students yet, so we will have to see if an answer emerges as teachers use this tool more and more.  You can insert math equations using the equation editor within Docs (thanks to Brad Tobin for pointing this out..)  I would also add that we know that writing is a big part of math and perhaps students could collaborate on a response to a math word problem or collaborate on how to best explain their math thinking.
5. Color Coding within spreadsheets, how to do it, refine it?  Could this be another Friday training for those interested?
6. How safe is student data?  There is information about DPS Google security HERE and some general Google Education security info HERE.
7. How do I organize the files within Shared With Me folder?  You should be able to make a copy of the file ONLY if the owner gives you permission to do so.  The file will then appear in My Drive, but it will now be a file only you own.  For example, Colleen Sechrest shared a presentation with me, I make a copy and rename it, the new copy is mine and is not shared with Colleen.  I still have the original that Colleen shared with me in my Shared With Me folder.
8.  Are the formulas in spreadsheet the same as in Excel?  All the functions are HERE,  I think they are the same.  I have only created really simple formulas.  I know there are probably experts in the house that can work with us on questions.  I always consult my wife, who is a formula whiz!
9. Can you create a contact list?  I am unsure what the question here is..  if it is yours, please clarify.
10. How do I put all the kids in folders? Again, I think there are experts in the house that can help us.  There is a lot on the DPS website that may help.  Here are some scripts that could help with keeping track of student work.  I also think it would be time well spent to sit down with a small group and figure this out.
11. How do I increase student engagement with Google Docs so that all students can see responses together to build a more collaborative community of learners?  I think Barb Cramer, Jon Havens and Brad Tobin are good resources in house to help us with this process.

Please contact me if you have any questions.

Triptico

Triptico is a great set of resources developed for teachers, and they are free!  I added the premium membership last year for around $24, mostly to add the student group app, which will automatically create student groups for you.  Two other apps I can't live without at this point: Student Selector PLUS, which will randomly select a student from your group and the Circle Timer, which will visually show your students how much time is left in an activity.

This resource is a great one for ALL grade levels.

Get the free download here:  http://www.triptico.co.uk/

A New Challenge!

 This year, I am taking on a new role that will be a very exciting challenge.  I am working with teachers on better integrating technology into their classrooms.  As a D.R. (Differentiated Role) Blended Learning Lead, I will be working with a cohort of 6 teachers.  It will be up to them to decide what kind of role they want me to play in their technology integration.





My plan for this space is to:

• document resources for teachers to access at their convenience
• highlight great technology integration that is happening in my school
• share research and ideas that I come across as I collaborate with my own cohort in this role
• document my growth as a teacher leader and coach

I am very anxious to get going and excited to see what this year will bring!