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As I noted in a recent e-mail, the reflections will change course this month. Instead of responding to a prompt or question, share your work.
Share something that you're doing or have already done at your school. Give us a paragraph, a link, a picture, or whatever you'd like to demonstrate your work! Any questions, send me an e-mail. DIRECTIONS: ~ Click where it says COMMENTS. ~ Provide your FIRST and LAST NAME in the "Name" field. ~ Include your Fulton County e-mail address. ~ Write in the COMMENTS section.
254 Comments
11/6/2015 09:52:37 am
Enjoyed very much GaETC. Loved the new features on Nearpod presented yesterday. Thinking about virtual fieldtrips during my ecology unit so that my students can explore biomes around the world. An early morning session taught us about Edcamps. I love the format of it being teacher driven and led. Comfortable setting for all to share various topics. Hoping to come back next year as a Vanguard member. Also thinking about presenting with my Tech Specialist.
Kelly Parker
11/6/2015 09:59:19 am
I was really moved by the keynote and how students need to know they matter. I really want to incorporate that message into the branding of the #TaylorRoadWay. It also fits nicely with our strategic plan and how important relationships are to student learning.
Lynn Early
11/6/2015 10:00:50 am
Excited about the new technology I just absorbed after attending the GaTEC. My head is spinning and I hope to carve out some time to play. I am considering between ipads and chromebooks with small budget. After all the new information I took in about GAFE and Google classroom, not sure which way to go?? Loved getting the information from Tony Vincent on sources for pics you don't have to site/or worry about copywrite and ideas for infopics. He gave a great statistic about how information presented with illustrations (after 75 minutes) is 55% more likely to be remembered than information with no illustrations. If you did not see his session check out learninginhand.com. 11/6/2015 10:03:05 am
Great week at GaEtc
Benjamin Lynch
11/6/2015 10:11:32 am
I enjoyed teachingbooks.net and I also found Nearpod quite interesting. I do hope to have time and support from my administration to begin pushing things out in general to the school community. The truth is, there's so much at GAETC that it is a wonderful example of the paradox of choice. You have so many choices that you can be in danger of wasting too much time in searching for the perfect ap or tool for a moment rather than seizing on and working with the good enough... 11/17/2015 10:23:16 am
A great deal of the work that I do can be found on twitter. Because I know hashtags have more eyes than the a mere blog, I've slowed up on my blog. But if you follow me on twitter, you can find plenty of evidence of some things going on. :D 11/6/2015 10:19:24 am
Once again went to some great sessions at GaETC. Many of them lead by fellow "Vangardians". Got some great ideas from David for using Sphero's in the curriculum. We ordered these a while ago so when they actually arrive I can post a picture. Karen rocked 3D printing and I look forward to taking the printer out of the box. The Dolvin ladies Emily, Megan, and Renee did a great job of presenting PBL. My brain is on overload because I already have some ideas on how to incorporate all those together in a unit. Looking forward to fitting this altogether.
Lisa Sinon
11/6/2015 10:32:16 am
I've been using wheeldecide.com in my physical education class to create spinning wheels for our jump rope unit. I spin the wheel and the students have to perform the jump rope skill that the spinner lands on. Next month we are using iPads to tape student created dances. Students will self-assess their group routines along the way by viewing their dances.
Anu Bhardwaj
11/6/2015 10:45:18 am
I am very excited to get the approval to use Gismos for another with my Physical Science students. If you are a science teacher and struggle with quality inquiry based labs
Caroline Boddiford
12/1/2015 09:11:09 pm
I <3 Gizmos!!
Margarita Dragoumaniotis
11/6/2015 11:05:17 am
GAETC has been great! I haven't used this yet, but have already started creating a classkick lesson. I had never heard of this and am anxious to get back to my classroom and put it to use! Its very similar to nearpod except the kids can work through at their own pace, the teacher can give feedback, you can allow students to give feedback to eachother (without seeing whose screen they are commenting on), you can grade it and so much more. Its very user friendly. Check it out! *only works with ipads CLASSKICK
Munifah Zeigler
11/6/2015 11:11:02 am
I started using the nearpod app during my guided reading and I love it. I have not completely abandoned books during guided reading, but I use nearpod as an additional tool to engage and inspire my students during guided reading. We analyze characters, draw story maps, and take polls on who was the round character in the book.
Barbara Rucker-Lott
11/6/2015 11:30:32 am
I thoroughly enjoyed the GAETC. I was able to network with new professionals and I reconnected with former professionals (Nice!). I planned my conference time to attend as many workshops/ presentations as possible. I work at the high school level, but I attended an elementary presentation that identified animation apps that I can adapt for older students. Some of the Apps used triggers
Shawanna Arnold
11/6/2015 11:35:14 am
Of course like everyone else, I am excited about the new things and possibilities from GAETC. The very first thing I am going to do a coaching plan with the teachers I will coach. I want to know how they see themselves with the use of technology, what they want to do, and how they think I can help. The next thing I am going to do is to create a One Note Notebook for our staff handbook, meeting minutes, agendas and lesson plans. I am going to create templates for teachers to drop information into these templates. Finally, I am going to work with my STEM committee to really "beef" up our hour of code this year by making it a week of coding activities. There were so many other things I picked up at the conference this year, but these are my top three!
Chris Sinon
11/6/2015 11:37:29 am
I have been looking for new ways for students to show their understanding of a specific standard. This is an example of a POWTOON presentation from my 6th grade Health student.
Fawn Bell-Palmer
11/6/2015 11:40:38 am
With Halloween just around the corner my grade level decided to do something fun yet educational for our students. We wanted our students to display their understanding of standards that have been taught. So we came up with "A Fall Carnival." Our students completed an activity to show their understanding in reading, writing, and math standards. Students had to work collaboratively in groups of 4 to produce a Smore, and a iMovie. To incorporate math students had to create a menu with ticket and food prices which they use to create multiplication and division word problems. Students did this work throughout the week and on Friday, the teachers on my grade level came together and threw the students a carnival. We came up with carnival games and put a educational spin on it. We also showcased students Smore and iMovies they completed. This was such an awesome way to engage students and they truly enjoyed all a parts of the process.
Dana Munson
11/6/2015 12:02:55 pm
My favorite tool right now is AppleTV, my iPad and my Flickr account. I take pictures of my students working, their work or my samples and then upload them to Flickr. I have my screensaver on AppleTV set to the album that I upload the photos and within minutes my kids are enjoying their work on screen. It gives them a sense of accomplishment and I can share work from multiple classes.
Brian Madej
11/6/2015 01:00:41 pm
At High Point, we have restructured our "computer lab" into a learning space. We have placed the computers along the wall, and added two small-group tables to the center of the room. Teachers can conduct RTI sessions with small groups while others work on personalized learning tasks like Redbird. You could also do guided reading in this room while other students worked on IB or PBL projects.
Ashley Ellis
11/6/2015 01:45:07 pm
I throughly enjoyed that sessions that I attended. I focused my attention this year on Professional Development sessions that would help my school with the ongoing struggle of finding the time to implement professional learning and providing quality professional learning to all teachers for all different ability levels. I am interested in implementing more job-embedded professional learning opportunities at my school with coaching, modeling, and co-teaching. I also learned that have professional learning available in a variety of components will not only make it more accessible but can address the individual needs of each teacher. Its funny that we focus so much on differentiation for our students and meet the students where they are at but we do not doe the same for the teachers. This is my goal - to meet each teacher where they are at and provide them professional learning that will be beneficial to them. I am working on a PD website for the school which will house all the resources needed for teachers such as video how-to, details on each tech tool, uses in the classroom, and a place where they can request trainings.
Chanel Johnson
11/6/2015 02:58:46 pm
I had an amazing time at GaETC 2015! This year I had an opportunity to present for the first time and really enjoyed myself! I received positive feedback from people who attended my session. I loved going into other sessions, watching how they present and planning for my next opportunity to get out there and show what I know and what I love. some sessions really made me reflect on how I am delivering technology resources and Web 2.0 tools to my teachers. Some sessions provided me with an aha moment! Overall I look forward to being apart of GaTEC
Angela Winchester
11/6/2015 03:30:15 pm
I feel like I am actually trying baby steps on what I'm doing with what I'm learning this month because I just came back from the GaETC this afternoon. I am so energized and can't wait to start tinkering.
Lori Jackson
11/6/2015 04:27:41 pm
GaETC2015 was an awesome hands-on and real-time experience! 11/6/2015 05:32:32 pm
My school received clickers for all in learning. I used them to help capture the struggles my students were having with the current unit. I found the students really wanting to see the data so they can help themselves. The students were able to look at the data and determine what small group they need to go to, to help them with their quiz. I noticed that the quiz grades did improve by using the clickers.
Caitlin Robinson
11/7/2015 06:41:17 pm
My kids have done a great job with recording themselves writing on a whiteboard and using time lapse to teach others about a concept. They have gotten really into this, and it's a great way for them to teach their peers. I've noticed them taking pride in their work and putting forth effort since their peers will be watching and learning from it.
Megan Weaver
11/8/2015 06:41:59 pm
I loved the opportunity of attending GAETC and learning from some phenomenal educators! One thing that I want to start implementing immediately is Aurasma - an app that uses augmented reality and links words or images to live clips. I've heard of it before, but I've never actually implemented it in my room. I think the kids would love to explore with augmented reality and it would be a great way to draw in some of my "at risk" children! 11/8/2015 10:19:26 pm
Last year out PE Department really needed updated equipment to continue our goal of providing our students with more positive experience. Last year and this year I applied for an grants that provided us over $8,000 dollars worth of materials using donorschoose.org. We have be able to order 6 ipads and several pieces of fitness equipment. If you are really looking to provide your school some funds to support your department smart goals I would really consider applying for a grant using Donors Choose. 11/9/2015 09:44:49 am
I've completely done away with paper in my classroom and now operate on a flipped model. Since December of last year I have been using google classroom to deliver content and assignments. The features of google classroom allow me to customize classes, sometimes to the student. For example, everyone starts out in the same class (Multi Lit let's say) and then takes a diagnostic. Based on that diagnostic they are assigned their course content. Some students score low on very specific standards such as writing and supporting an argument; those students will start out in a writing boot camp. Some students will score very high, and they are placed in an entirely different section of multi lit with more advanced, independent work. Since nearpod works seemlesly with google classroom I have been using nearpod to deliver content with adjoining googledoc discussion questions or reading guides to be completed while students go through their nearpod presentations. I have completely redesigned the course content for 9th, 10th, american, world, multi lit and US history and assigned it to google classroom, sometimes with multiple classrooms per course depending on student need. Students use iPads in the classroom, but many also use desktop computers, their own personal tablets, laptops of phones. Things I'm developing for the future are textbooks made by iBook or Adobe inDesign available for the students via pdf, and project based sections of multicultural lit where students will be making their own digital portolio or web site based on a novel of their own choosing (we were able to obtain a wide variety of literature because of our striving readers grant, and I focused on books from multicultural authors that appeal to a wide variety of audiences).
Velma R. Thompson
11/30/2015 11:58:07 am
I thought I would never eliminate paper in my classroom. It is like a clutch for me. I have been so stigmatized by the way teaching use to be that I can't believe I am actually trying something new. My daughters have changed the way that I am teaching. Everyday I see how technology is changing and in order for me to keep up, I must make the chage with them. I am getting into the habit of learning something new from my students daily. I have learned to incorporate Google classroom slowly, but it is effective because it puts more responsibilty on the student and the teacher as a facilitator
Kate Arthur
12/1/2015 04:01:22 am
I would love to talk to you more about how you are establishing multiple classrooms per course.
Dr. Jamnique Kengwa
11/9/2015 10:51:38 am
This month, I'm working with teachers on their grade level capstones. The capstone will consist of three components:
Ashley Runyon
11/9/2015 11:26:59 am
I loved the conference this week! I learned about so many ways to use formative assessments in the classroom and I cannot wait to start implementing them next week!
Dianna Locke
11/9/2015 02:03:56 pm
I enjoyed all the sessions I attended! Robbie did a great job on how to promote your media center! Leslie Fisher is great as always! I enjoyed learning more about Digital Copyright with Renee Hobbs.
Robbie Barber
11/9/2015 04:13:30 pm
Thank you! It was fun and the only real problem, besides major technical glitches, was the fact it was in the Marriott. Glad you were there.
Amanda Smith
11/9/2015 03:56:20 pm
I enjoyed working in the BrainPOP booth during the GAETC conference. I was able to meet one of the engineers for their assessment piece and share what Fulton is doing with Personalized Learning, priority standards, proficiency scales, and evidence blueprints. She was interested to see how BrainPOP could support our work. We are planning to talk again to explore possible options. It is always exciting when vendors are genuinely interested in helping you reach the learning goals you have set for your students/district. 11/9/2015 04:18:55 pm
I focused the GaETC on 1:1 programs. In general, the programs that were most successful recommended two years of teacher preparation, training, practice BEFORE implementing a 1:1 program in the school. It does not matter whether it involves laptops, tablets, etc. It takes some practice and learning to decide how to run 1:1 in the classroom.
Heather Farrar
11/10/2015 08:45:09 am
The time at GaETC was very beneficial. Most of the sessions I went to were great and I left with my head full of things I'd like to try. The first is sway...can't wait to put together my first presentation using sway. Suzy Lolley was a dynamic & knowledgeable presenter. Stay tuned for my first sway!
Matt Bosarge
11/10/2015 10:54:15 am
Yeah, there were tons of great tools/info at GaETC. So many I felt like my brain was going to explode! I'm still going through my notes. Like Robbie, I was struck by the preparation needed for going 1:1. Our school is going through that now, but probably could have used more prep and training. One thing I thought was cool was that the kids at one school were allowed to create selfies for their wallpapers, which also included the device number and goals for the year. Something to personalize, but also a reminder of what they're working toward. 11/10/2015 02:09:55 pm
My favorite activity this month has been creating student Weebly pages. The students researched endangered animals in GA and have been developing plans for how to save them. I created Weebly accounts for each class and they are in the process of making their webpages!
Alexandra Larson
11/10/2015 04:17:56 pm
One of my goals this year was to begin personalized PD small groups based on TKES goals for the teachers and Leadership Essential Competencies for the paraprofessionals. I formed a PD Committee, and we worked together to create small group sessions that will run throughout the year. First, the teachers took a quick survey to let us know which two TKES goals they would like to work on, and then we created groups based on the results. Paraprofessionals were placed in a single group with two leaders. As for the TKES goals, we focused on Standards 2-8, with some combined. Aside from the para group, each group is led by one PD Committee member. The goal of these small meetings is to introduce new strategies (one per month) that can be practiced in the classroom for period of time. Then, the teachers regroup, reflect on the last strategy, and discuss a new strategy based on the same TKES goal. The meetings consist of the following: A reflection of the prior month's strategy (15 mins); a discussion by the group leader that includes an article/video or activity (15 mins); and a presentation on a new strategy presented by members of the group (15 mins). Each member was able to decide which part of the TKES standard they wanted to present (leaders unpacked their standard) and with whom they wanted to present. There will be a total of 5 presentation sessions and one reflection session this year. We aim to create new teacher leaders/"experts" within our school! Our first meeting was in October and it went amazingly well :) I can't wait to see if the concept of focusing on multiple strategies within one particular professional goal will help teachers in their day-to-day teaching. My team is working to help teachers find ideas that they can bring back immediately, implement easily, and practice over time, all while being held accountable.
Cassie Zielinski
11/11/2015 07:49:46 am
The last few weeks I have tried using classflow - an app that allows me to see what each student is working on as if they were writing on a whiteboard. I can stop and view their work as they are working on it. I was also able to use student work to help other students - pairing them up with similar ideas. It worked pretty well and it was nice seeing what they were doing in one place - a task that is hard to do even when you are walking around a classroom.
Dorian Gower
11/11/2015 10:27:11 am
Like everyone else, I loved the GaETC conference. I was able to gain so many new ideas to implement in my classroom. I am still going through my notes and exploring the apps and websites as I go.
Jonathan Adel
11/11/2015 01:55:38 pm
We had our school based Vanguard team meeting a few weeks ago (after much navigation of scheduling conficts!), and it was a wonderful time to get to discuss the expectations of Vanguard, as well as toss around some instructional technology tools and ideas for implementation. While I haven't gotten to coach much, I have had the opportunity to support some classrooms with instructional technology, and even "freaked out" some kids in a 5th grade class when I joined their Edmodo group! 11/11/2015 02:39:59 pm
No more printing paper for media center announcements. I love smore! 11/11/2015 02:44:26 pm
Let's try again to see if we can get the link to work for my smore.
Kathleen Simon
11/12/2015 03:28:32 pm
I've caught the Nearpod bug and really love it!! I realized that my Kindergartners and First Graders needed a little intro to Nearpod before I jumped in with the Digital Citizenship lessons so they would know how to handle the tech. So I made me own super basic presentations so they could learn to type, draw and complete a quiz. We will work on the other features as we move through the school year. Here is the one I made: https://app.nearpod.com/#/?pin=HEPSG . It super basic by design. I was so happy when the older kids asked if we would still use Nearpod when we are done with Digital Citizenship. I assured them that I loved it just as much as they did. :)
Beth
11/13/2015 04:54:35 pm
Hi Kathleen, can you post the link again? I wanted to see your presentation but the PIN isn't working. Thanks!
Lauren Busing
11/12/2015 04:52:48 pm
I am excited about seeing the people I am coaching putting their new skills to work! In the picture you will see one of the people I am coaching creating her first symbaloo for her third grade students to use on an upcoming research project. This is a tool others at my school have used before but now it has become for useful and popular!
Charla N. Fields
11/12/2015 09:24:04 pm
I'm looking forward to using teaching students how to use some coding apps (learned at GaEtc) for the Hour of Code coming up in December. I plan to show 2nd grade students how to use Kodable and Scratch Jr.
Charla N. Fields
11/12/2015 09:26:30 pm
Yikes! My apologies for the typos. I'm typing faster than I can get my ideas out. :-)
Briana Harrison
11/13/2015 08:48:18 am
My 10th graders are starting narrative writing and this year I'm making it a multimodal project. Students will have choice in the kind of narrative writing they complete (This I Believe essay, memorable family tradition, writing from a photograph or object from home are some topic examples) and will create an audio version, or podcast, of their end product. They will use Google docs to collaborate with one another and with myself as they edit and revise their work, and we are submitting finished products to different publications in the hope that we get published!
Katie Rope
11/13/2015 01:44:13 pm
I loved learning so many new things at the conference last week as well. I was able to walk away with TONS of great resources. One of my favorite sessions was about formative assessments. I am so used to using white boards to formatively assess and occasionally an online resource. After this particular session at the conference I was able to have so many awesome ideas for even my young kindergartners. I am excited about: comic strip maker, That Quiz, Padlet (which I knew about but didn't think of all the great ways to use in K!), edulastic, and pear deck. So excited to start incorporating some of this!
Cary Beth Garretson
11/13/2015 01:45:38 pm
After being introduced to Seesaw by my school tech and then going to the GaETC conference session about Seesaw I have loved using it in my classroom. Students love being able to upload and comment on their own work. I love the parent communication component. I have been impressed with the ease of use for all ages and compatibility on different devices. im looking forward to my students building their portfolios throughout the year and taking time to reflect on their learning.
Duane Wilson
11/13/2015 01:54:28 pm
This week my students had the chance to experience A Google A Day and they were so intense throughout the experience that I think I may have to do it again next week. A Google A Day turns students Google experience into a gaming one. I'm trying to find a way to introduce Augmented Reality to students next week. I'll be working on that this weekend.
Jodi Moskowitz
11/13/2015 01:54:32 pm
I've been excited this past week as I observed in classrooms. I feel like things have come together as I saw so much variety being used with technology in classrooms: I could see the fruits of my labor in coaching, modeling, and professional learning coming through in other's teaching. There was everything from assessment to creation to entire lessons being done on iPads. Good stuff! 11/13/2015 01:54:53 pm
My favorite tools is to imbed my Google Calendar into a Weebly page. See link below. I post all of the lesson videos along with pdf copies of all of the assignments/activities from Google Drive. Students can access anything they need from any device any time. We are in the embryonic stages of the 1-1 journey. Right now we(The HMS VanTeam) are trying to get as information as possible on the comparisons of Microsoft 365 vs Google Classroom. We feel it is vitally important that the entire school be lock step on which platform the school will use when we do go 1-1. I would love any lessons learned input from any concerned party.
Joe Cambre
11/13/2015 02:04:13 pm
I went to a great presentation for Nearpod, and I made one for our PBL about designing a museum exhibit. I assigned it for homework too! Here is the pin: VEFUP. Just go to nearpod.com and check it out!!
Jessica Karp
11/13/2015 02:05:19 pm
First of all, THANK YOU for the GaETC conference! I got a lot of inspiration and encouragement.
Ariel Flinn
11/13/2015 02:17:11 pm
As other elementary music teachers have discussed previously, I have loved using Quaver's Marvelous World of Music for teaching tons of musical concepts to my K-5 students. They recently added a new feature called "Student Interactives" that includes LOTS of hands-on activities for kids for computers and tablets (I have been borrowing an extra set of five iPads from 1st grade this year since they have fewer classes than last year). Some of the activities are a little drill-and-kill, but some of them are really geared towards student creativity. Last week I had my first grade students work in small groups (3-4) to "compose" melodies using their "Sliding Sounds" activity. They each got to choose a sliding sound shape for their part of the melody to contribute to the overall group composition, and then each group practiced singing their composition. I showcased each group's composition by using Mirroring360 to show the iPad on my projector screen for the whole class to see and hear. Next week I am stealing an idea I got from Megan Endicott and I will have them sing and draw their own shapes and record them using either ShowMe or Educreations so they can post online! They loved it!
Tanisha Lewis
11/13/2015 02:32:20 pm
I have a wonderful new position where I get to help kids control their behaviors in the classroom. I use NearPod to keep the off task kids focused on what I am discussing and to keep them focused.
Stephanie Immel
11/13/2015 02:37:43 pm
There are so many ways to formatively assess a student's understanding. In fact, it can be as simple as monitoring their notes. I use Nearpod in HW mode often so students can move at their own pace. While they use Nearpod, they then are asked to create their own notes that go along with the Nearpod information. This gives them the freedom to write their notes as they wish. I've had students take screenshots of the Nearpod and write more explanation in their own words; students have drawn pictures of what the notes are saying; students have even created quizlets along with their notes to help them review. It's through each of these avenues in one setting students are able to best express their learning in their own way, while also providing themselves unique opportunities to connect and review. 11/13/2015 02:45:57 pm
Wow! There has been so much going on in October and November! We had an awesome time at GaETC! I learned about so many great tools and instructional strategies to bring back to the teachers here. One of my mentees has already started sharing what she learned by doing mini-jam sessions with the teachers in our building. It makes me so proud of her to see her being so proactive. I've also been busy with "Tech Tuesday" trainings for the teachers at my school. Teachers wanted a way to learn more about the online content and creation tools available to them, so I have been offering weekly trainings during their planning periods. It has been great to see people start to adopt new tools and experiment with how those tools can change how they teach. Finally, I've been spending a lot of time finalizing our Personalized Learning plans so that we can begin to move onto the device selection phase of this initiative. It is a very exciting time here at The Trail! 11/13/2015 02:53:41 pm
How do we upload a picture? 11/13/2015 02:56:36 pm
I learned a lot from Tony Vincent's session about do it yourself study aids. I had my students start creating their own study aids, and I put the links to them on my class webpage so they can use each others. It was a great success! If you would like to check out their work, visit http://www.mrslarsonhse.com and visit the class work page.
Ana Moreno
11/13/2015 03:02:13 pm
One of our teachers from last year decided to teach abroad. She has decided to send our school a "Where in the world is Miss Lear" so to extend this experience my class with Skype with her 1st graders in Poland. My students will prepare a list of questions to compare and contrast our learning experiences. I love that we can practice a skill, compare and contrast, in a fun manner.
Kirsten VanWagner
11/13/2015 03:15:31 pm
I had a great time at GaETC. I presented, my first time, and it was well received. My former colleague and I spoke about how to use technology to re-energize your classroom, your teaching and your students. I also enjoyed meeting up with others and see what they've been using in their classroom. I am excited that so many teachers are taking what they learned just last week and implementing in their classrooms.
Sara Faircloth
11/13/2015 03:18:30 pm
I was inspired by Angela Maiers' keynote address and did a short version of the talk with my AP Lang students today. I showed them the video of the little girl singing and then had each student write a "you matter" note to put on the bulletin board or give to a friend. We compiled about 40 "you matter" messages between two classes and they're now brightening up the back of my classroom! The students really enjoyed the quick activity, and I was thrilled to be able to spread the message :) #youmatter 11/13/2015 03:19:32 pm
I was very excited about GaETC this year and feel that this year's sessions were SUPERIOR to last year's. Part of this, I believe, is due to TONY V. being back on the circuit.
Suzanne Laisney
11/13/2015 03:32:15 pm
I found the link for the cool SOLO software available to all of us in Fulton schools. It gives us the ability to paraphrase test questions and test vocabulary on our assessments and lock the text to later be read aloud to your struggling students as they work through the test independently.
Beth Valentine
11/13/2015 05:34:56 pm
November so far has been a time of immersing all the grade levels in digital citizenship lessons in the library. I find the "K-2" Common Sense Media lessons are not all as effective with K as they are with 2nd grade but I've been modifying them to suit the students. The upper grades do a combination of research skills for projects they are working on and digital citizenship which they seem to enjoy very much. They are pretty surprised by the new information they are learning about internet safety!
Kwanza Lippitt
11/13/2015 05:38:10 pm
I really enjoyed the tech conference and I am excited to share some of the new tools with my teachers.
Sara Lepkofker
11/13/2015 06:01:40 pm
Sandra Bennett
11/13/2015 06:12:37 pm
A portion of this month has been completing the blended learning station rotations in the unit on Cells, as was shared in the Roving Reporter. I thought some of you might be interested in seeing the Blendspace I used for Cell Parts and Functions. I’ve found that Blendspace is one option -- and it works really well-- to provide online station assignments.
Sandra Bennett
11/13/2015 06:24:57 pm
Also, I was reminded about Gizmos as I read another reflection. That is a great online resource for Science using a virtual lab/ simulation type format. I've had students use Gizmos as the online station in the Classification unit as well -- and will likely use it for another!
Lynn
11/14/2015 12:14:38 pm
At Gaetc, I learned about EdPuzzle. I have already set one of my TAG classrooms up on this. What a great way to personalize instruction and support a flipped classroom. I had already set my classes up on edmodo so I just link them to Edpuzzle from their edmodo group. Teaching TAG to all grade levels means I have many different topics to cover. Edmodo helps with this as well. I can link sites to the grade level group and this facilitates with research. When products are done, I can post on a padlett, tweet it out and parents can see final projects. 11/15/2015 10:44:40 am
I picked up some good tips at GaETC with regard to some of the add-ins for Google sheets. I've started doing my beginning of class focus questions through Google forms. I'm am trying to work on having their choice of answer direct them to either a remediation link or an enrichment link.(I think it can be done).
Mary Justice
11/15/2015 11:09:15 am
Enjoyed GaETC! Attended personalized learning sessions (including Emily Davis, etc). Learned a lot and got many new ideas to try.
Lynn Johnson
11/15/2015 12:29:15 pm
I loved GaETC of course! I challenged my staff who were attending not to get overwhelmed but to pick one piece of information or one thing they will try with fidelity. So, of course, I have to do the same! I've been a lover of OneNote, but thoroughly enjoyed the training on OneNote...not sure if my staff will be happy or sad, but I'm going to try OneNote for Staff...I'm going to start with a small group of teachers where we can share lesson plans, collaborate together, etc.
Ayo Richardson
11/15/2015 12:38:38 pm
We had our first Discipline Committee meeting last week. We are investigating becoming a PBIS school. Resources were shared from the district level which included an AWFUL video. This got me to thinking; hmmmm let's try to personalize this. SO....I made a SWAY! I included the recommended video but also included two others as well as articles and other readings. It was basic and the formatting was off, but was a great opportunity to model for my staff how easy it is to incorporate a bit of choice and independent learning. They also have the link to refer back to for further reading if they'd like. It was easy and quick and will hopefully inspire someone to try it out. I'll definitely use it again!
Tammy Felton
11/15/2015 03:03:57 pm
I have been enjoying using Seesaw with my students so far. They have enjoyed sharing their published work with their peers and I have enjoyed getting to see more of their work. It makes it easier to grade and if we don't have time to share it's can be easily found on our class newsfeed. I absolutely love it!
Nate Golla
11/15/2015 05:02:03 pm
I have enjoyed using many of the tools such as Kahoot, quizizz, near pod, Padlet, etc. we are working on digital citizenship, and creating online portfolios in my class. Students are working on documenting and assessing their own work via these online notebooks.
Darcel Hogans
11/15/2015 05:33:57 pm
I had a great time at the GaETC and I learned so much that I can't even keep it all straight! However the number one thing that stood out was the VR apps. I thought I was doing something when I introduced my children to Aurasma. I knocked them off their feet when I came in on Monday morning with Google Cardboard! There are so many apps to choose from I must say the Discovery Ed app is one of the best. Many of our students have phones however Google Cardboard works best with an Iphone. Other phones will work (I have a Note 3 and 4) but they are too big and the students have to hold the phone as well as the viewer. The viewers are around $17 and if you have not spent all of your money, I would seriously suggest purchasing at least 2 as a class center. Since I previously upgraded to a Note 4, my students use my old phone (Note 3) that way I can monitor the apps.
Ashlie Szatkowski
11/15/2015 07:44:56 pm
My students have always loved Kahoot. At GaETC I learned about Quizizz and gave it a shot in my classroom. My students absolutely LOVED it and keep begging to do it again. I even love it more than Kahoot because the students are working the entire time versus waiting for everyone to answer the question. My students are also creating book on Book Creator. They are having fun looking for text features, explaining how they are help to nonfiction texts, and then recording themselves. We can't wait to publish them!
Amanda Mauldin
11/15/2015 08:29:53 pm
I got my class set of Chromebooks that I was hoping for! Still building the self-paced mastery classroom for on-level biology...trying to stay ahead of the fastest kids while providing additional support for the slowest. Going to try out the Chromebooks in honors biology (still traditional classroom setting) with some of the cool apps I've seen/heard about and haven't tried yet.
Kristy Ventre
11/16/2015 05:38:00 am
Nefertiti Singleton
11/16/2015 07:40:44 am
Since the conference I have been using two tools with my K-2 classes. I found out that brainpopjr and brainpop have added more features that allow students to write in responses through the write about it link, it also suggests library books for them to read through the read about it link, as well houses teacher lesson plan activities, word walls that read to the students, etc. I've used brainpop for years, but not in its entirety. I look forward to creating more of my own quiz questions, and to what the new layout and design of the website looks like.
Gary Wludyga
11/16/2015 07:49:56 am
I use Socrative to check for understanding and for quizzing on what we have learned. It provides immediate feedback for students and gives me a real time idea of what students are grasping and what they are not. 11/16/2015 09:35:50 am
The green screen is set up in the classroom--the room is pretty small so the "studio"seems to take over. We use iMovie, TouchCast, DoInk so far to create work that supports our ELA standards. The kids get very excited about the technology so "buy-in" is more easily come by.
Jennifer Garmon
11/16/2015 12:42:41 pm
During my facilitation of data and the importance of students knowing their data workshop, I decided to create a nearpod to not only present the information on data to my coworkers but also show them the cool things nearpod can do in their classrooms. The nearpod makes the teachers aware of when students are engaged in the lesson they are usually going to score better. The same is true for data, when they are involved in their data they are more involved in the classroom. I used a virtual field trip for an example of when teaching the Berlin Wall (students got to explore the wall and ask why questions then they got the information they needed to know). In the nearpod I also attached the googleform that teachers will complete for the weekly PLC meetings about the weekly data and how they shared the data with their students.
Maria Alvarez
11/16/2015 12:43:18 pm
I am always looking for new ways for my students to share their work. I also want them to become "experts" on their topics. I decided to record the Moon Phases as Paper Slides. The students worked in groups and gathered the facts they needed to teach each other the 8 phases of the moon. 11/16/2015 02:36:00 pm
As usual, GaETC was a lot of fun and I left feeling overwhelmed and excited at the same time. I always love learning about the lastest gadget from Leslie Fisher and of course learning all things Google from Chris Craft. This year I was the most blown away by the Lily (like a drone/GoPro mashup)—I’m already trying to think of reasons why our school will NEED one next year (Vanguard funds…LOL). Because our school uses Google classroom and all of our students have Gmail addresses, I paid close attention to Chris Craft’s Google sessions—I’m considering attending the Google training in February! As the METI of our school, I come into contact with hundreds of students daily, and many of them are asking me questions about apps or shortcuts to make GoogleDocs even easier. I’ve already shown several students how to add UBlock Origin to their Chrome browser to block annoying ads, and I’ve shown the Daum equation editor to some “mathletes” who hang out in here. The Google Translate sign feature is super cool and I’ll be showing it to my World Language PLC’s very soon!
Amy Rubin
11/16/2015 03:53:37 pm
In conjunction with our school-wide assembly for Veterans Day, I developed a mini research activity and Padlet as a part of my "Mack Me In" program: https://www.smore.com/p305d
Kerry Shorr
11/17/2015 08:32:01 am
This month I used newsela.com in my Language Arts class. It is a great resource for current event news articles that are modified based on Lexile. My students were identifying bias in the media and were able to read the same articles/information at their own appropriate level. This is an assignment that I have always given in my classes, but this web page made this assignment much easier to differentiate. I am still playing with the features on the web-page and looking for a way to specifically assign a Lexile to each student. The way that it is set up now, the student is able to choose his or her own level. 11/17/2015 10:39:37 am
This week 5th grade students made touchcast videos explaining how to write a great personal narrative and then put together a slide show that they added into the presentation as well showcasing their work. An example can be found here. https://youtu.be/vnyJTvEIOK0
Kelsey Goldstein
11/17/2015 02:51:14 pm
My students have started using educreations to teach others about a skill or topic we have been working on. They are able to take pictures from their world around them to show how these things are present in our everyday world. They have loved creating and sharing their work with others!
Jamie Silverboard
11/17/2015 02:56:31 pm
I too enjoyed GaEtc, and it was such a great opportunity! It was so great to learn from colleagues, and especially fellow Vanguard members. Since GaEtc, I have added to our iPads and also reevaluated some of my lessons. I also have added an 'App of the Week' to my weekly newsletter for parents. This gives the parents the opportunity to learn about what we do in the classroom, and also give them an introduction to new apps. A school to home connection! 11/17/2015 02:57:07 pm
My accelerated and advanced math students are currently using Tynker in order to promote coding skills that coincide with the different concepts currently being taught in class. I have personalized projects and activities for these students that integrate coding skills that can be showcased as presentations in class. Once the presentations are finished, I'll have them uploaded to my website.
Christina Sheara
11/17/2015 02:57:36 pm
9th grade students are finishing their study of The Glass Castle. I had them create a multimedia public service announcement about one of the issues that is addressed in the memoir. Issues included homelessness, child abuse, child neglect and alcoholism. Many students created imovies and prezis on their topics.
Julia Raposo
11/17/2015 03:05:25 pm
I have my 9th grade AVID classes work on autobiographical essays every year. Specifically, I ask them to focus on the events and people who most influenced their lives. I also have them bring visual-audio-kinesthetic connections (meaning pics, vids, songs, or actual objects, like a trophy or souvenir) that remind them of those moments. While the written portion of the assignment is non-negotiable, students can present their project in whatever ways they choose. Some make videos, some make posters, or powerpoint/prezi presentations. I like giving kids a chance to be creative and to pick how they want to share their knowledge/information. While most projects have not been turned in yet, here is a link to a fun one that I got early: 11/17/2015 03:08:39 pm
This month I lead a PD session on the ELA Pearson online resources. It is unfortunate that the county purchased all of these resources; however has not provided any training to the ELA teachers. These resources are great for personalized learning. There are standard based diagnostics which can once administered will create a personalized study plan for the student based on the data. There is also a writing coach that provides insist feedback for writing for students. There are also video resources that provide instruction that can be used for flipped classrooms. I have learned how to use these tools by trial, error and self paced tutorials. Most of my colleagues don't have the time or inclination to "play" with resources. In the long run these resources will save many teacher time as the district moves toward personalized learning. It just doesn't seen fiscally prudent to continue to pay for additional resources when we have resources that are manageable and student friendly if teachers knew how to use them.
Daniel Hodge
11/17/2015 03:08:45 pm
At Shakerag Elementary, I am currently wearing many hats when it comes to technology integration. I have been facilitating Redbird training in 1-3, introducing students to Seesaw in Kindergarten, sharing the formative power of Curriculet with 3-5, and preparing an Office Mix to flip the introduction of Hybridge for my K-5 Reading teachers.
Linda Herrington
11/17/2015 03:12:15 pm
I did attend GaETC and attended several great sessions! Powtoon was my biggest take away from the conference. The presenters gave examples that their student's work. I have introduced this to my 5th graders and we will begin our Epidemic Powtoons soon! They are very excited!!
Aysha Farooqi
11/17/2015 03:19:16 pm
Hi,
Whitney Beem
11/17/2015 03:36:04 pm
We are just starting to roll out a school-wide online assessment platform called Naiku. I am currently working with teachers on how best they can utilize it in their classroom as well as how to use the data it produces. Some teachers are grasping it quickly and becoming experts while others are scared of it and need more support. I think it will be amazing once teachers understand the kinds of information they can get out it and what that means for their teaching and differentiation.
Renee Morris
11/17/2015 03:36:11 pm
We have been doing a lot of green screen work at our school this month. One of my favorite projects was when our Fourth Graders had to design a virtual field trip to space. Students used Touchcast and DoInk to create videos using the green screen! The kids loved doing research, writing scripts, and creating videos.
Amy Palermo
11/17/2015 03:38:52 pm
I loved the GaRTC conference. Some take aways: #youmatter, Twitter, quizizz and other tools mentioned by Leslie Fisher. I also loved the OneNote seminar and have just finished creating my first one note for a novel study. I have a student who will be missing school for 3 weeks and this sparked me to create a OneNote! I love it!! I can't wait to eventually put all my units on there and then have students be able to submit their work on there. I also led 2 mini tech sessions for my fellow 6th grade teachers to share some of the tools I found so useful and easy to use from the conference. Both were a success- I love sharing ideas and learning new ones! :)
Gigi Whiteside
11/17/2015 03:39:35 pm
Good afternoon, these past few weeks I have been pushing into classrooms across the NWLC introducing SEC teachers to Universal Tools and Bookshare.org. This Friday, I will be working with program specialists to outline a training for teachers in January on how to implement UDL and accessibility features in their classrooms and device roll outs. We are struggling with county policies attached to student logins that are preventing students from changing settings in the Ease of Access menu, i.e. speech recognition and voice selection. Hopefully, we will hammer out a solution that can be pushed as a group and not implemented one student at a time.
Jessica Jackson
11/17/2015 03:48:21 pm
I have really enjoyed creating and modeling Math Centers using the Nearpod homework feature for one of the teachers I am coaching. She has implemented the station rotation model and has been able to use the Nearpod data to guide her teaching. :)
Martha Powell
11/17/2015 04:09:13 pm
I am trying to incorporate a PBL approach as that is our school's goal. I am supporting several teachers with ideas and 'real world problems' to help solve at our school. We are brainstorming apps, sites, organization and outside audiences in this process. It is going very well and the students are giving great feedback for their ownership in the project. I was able to sit in with our PBL coaches today in grade level meetings and will support projects with transition ideas like" a paper and pencil flipbook' to photo documentation into an imovie. I am trying to do some rotation with lessons I teach... I think it goes pretty well but sometimes it's hard to get the feedback from staff or to see that as modeling strategies that stick. I am hopeful these PBL transitions will really open the door for that coaching opportunity.
Stacy Hubbard
11/17/2015 05:08:47 pm
We have been doing a series of Skype lessons with various classrooms across the country with four teachers in my building. We focus of our coaching sessions was being a global learning and what that could look like. So far we have hosted 3 Mystery Skype Lessons and one Book Talk. In the book talk, the two teachers had their classroom read the same book and the two classes exchanged what they liked most about the book and lessons learned.
Ellen Reagin
11/17/2015 05:57:40 pm
This week I observed a math teacher who was using station rotations to personalize learning for her small group special education class. It was very exciting to see the students listening to their lessons on their iPads and working on problems as they went along. The teachers had created 5 stations and recorded lessons in nearpod. She was working on trying to get the students to make the link between the math problems they were working on to the math concept they represented. I was so impressed with the preparation time she had obviously spent getting everything ready. During class she was able to provide individual and immediate feedback because students were so engaged! 11/17/2015 05:59:24 pm
I presented my first staff wide professional development on technology tools with my mentor this afternoon. I was inspired by Tony Vincent from GAETC a couple of weeks ago. I have attached the link to the Prezi presentation I created to present with.
Sharnitra Mathis
11/17/2015 06:00:20 pm
http://bit.ly/1PyPyLr
Terrill Reynolds
11/17/2015 06:09:01 pm
I was really excited to attend the GATEC conference, it gave me an opportunity to well tune my skills on using technology. Also gave me new and engaging activities for my students in the classroom.
Terrill Reynolds
11/17/2015 06:12:56 pm
For my students I have created a google document for students to turn in their work for their Social Studies Fair Project. Years before I would have them to create folders in order for them to complete their assignments, but instead of collecting papers I have decided to make everything on line to make it easier on me.
Jennifer Lawson
11/17/2015 06:15:02 pm
For the month of November- WOW! I loved attending GaETC and hearing energetic speakers that give a breath of fresh air to what we do everyday! I have been using Kahoot.it to review and/or engage from the beginning in all 3 of my classes for our current Social Studies units. I have also downloaded and am having my students try Seesaw as a presentation piece. They will be wrapping up this week and hopefully I can post something, we had some issues with iPads and so we might have to use ShowMe instead. We shall see if it all works. I have also been using the search on Mackinvia to get comfortable with the way to use that and integrate into my lessons. Its been a great experience. My 3rd graders are currently using QR codes with task cards for Maps/Globes/Geography. I am also incorporating Genuis HOUR with my 4th grade S/SS kids that are not in TAG on Thursday. We talked and discussed last Thurs. and they are brainstorming, we talked about a driving question and what they are passionate about. I am hoping to have their blogs set up soon so I can share in December.
Christel Bonner
11/17/2015 08:10:13 pm
As I begin this journey to delve in deeper into coaching my peers, I'm trying to come up with more solutions to overcome time constraints. The first thing I did was develop a Google doc that has been used as a way to gather data that I will use to formulate a plan to meet the individual needs of each of my mentees.
Quatoya Tyson
11/17/2015 08:33:47 pm
Right now, our school is undergoing a plethera of changes including, staffing, a new school move in January, and a 1:1 device deployment. To keep my sanity, I have created a team of student "techs" to help with the day-to-day device issues that I am inundated with. They set-up new iPads, walk students and teachers through iPad questions, teach teachers how to use specific apps, trouble shoot...you name; they do it. I named them AstroTechs after our school mascot, the Astros. They are my lifeline! Their presence has created a comfort among the students and staff knowing that they have these little resident "tech-perts" in the building who can fix their problems or find a solution to their problems. It's pretty awesome! 11/17/2015 09:57:48 pm
I'm just winding up the first set of tag units with all of my students. I am giving them personal choice to create products to demonstrate what they've learned. So far they are creating paper slide videos, chatterpix, newspaper articles generated at fodey.com, text messages from ifake text.com, and green screen movies using the DoInk app. My website to showcase what is going on in my classes is searcytag.com and you can follow us at # searcyTAG 11/17/2015 10:59:19 pm
Had an awesome time today presenting with my mentee during her first school wide PD on technology tools. Happy that we inspired more teachers to get excited about integrating effective technology use in the classroom. After the PD, lots of teachers had questions and wanted to learn more about some of the student presentation and communication tools. We will begin having "mini PDs" for interested staff. We'll offer them 1/2 Hour of Tech Power on Techie-Tools days. I loved the idea that Robbie Barber gave during her session at GaETC of offering time for all staff, not just the techies/ teacher mentees opportunities to meet about technology. I'm excited to begin working with many more teachers. In addition, hoping to offer some support to our students and families as well. Should be fun and interesting!! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Break...
Anne Alarcon
11/18/2015 08:06:48 am
I really enjoyed GaETC this year. I learned lots of tools and tricks to take back and share with the staff. One of the tools I learned about was Quizizz. In the past couple of years I did professional development sessions for the staff using Socrative and Kahoot. Last Thursday I did one for Quizizz. I also met with two of my mentees and helped them make a quizizz for review and find a few to use for homework sessions. They both were very happy with the lessons. We liked the features on it better than both Socrative and Kahoot.
Allison Scenna
11/18/2015 08:08:51 am
This month, I'm gearing up to start a 20Time project with my Honors sophomores. I did this same project last year (it was inspired by a GaETC workshop--shout out to Nick Provinzino!) and the students really appreciated it, but I need to tweak it this year so that there are more accountability checkpoints throughout the process. So, for the months of November and December, we're working on self-publishing through blogs or wikis in class and, outside of class, I've asked them to carefully sort through their interests to see what type of project they would be interested in pursuing. The whole point of 20Time is to give them classtime to learn about something they care about, but I don't want them to spend too much time next semester (when the project is actually being assigned) figuring that out. I'm trying very hard to get them to do the legwork ahead of time. We'll see how that works... 11/18/2015 08:49:53 am
This week a fellow Vanguard Team member and I conducted a sit and get on the Seesaw app. A few teachers attended and found the demonstration very beneficial. Seesaw allows teachers and students to upload pictures, links, and lots more to get feedback and comments from others.
Jenny Soberanis
11/18/2015 11:20:23 am
Hi everyone,
N'jemele Bush
11/18/2015 11:20:29 am
Having the opportunity to attend great sessions at GaETC is always awesome. I had the opportunity to present (again). I presented with K. VanWagner and our session's name was “Re-Techurize Your Classroom”. Feel free to use the resources.. Wow, this opportunity always amazes me every time because I love seeing people learning. Another thing that is a part of my work is using tech tools in the classroom more. I find that my students tend to be more engaged as I integrate tool after tool. This year so far, I’ve used Voki, Wordle, Instagrok, PowToon, Pixton and Kahoot. I have noticed that providing these alternatives help them become more creative and involved in their projects and classwork. A part of my work is working with my fellow team members at LHHS. At the beginning of the year, we conducted a session-oriented PD during faculty meeting. At the end of the third session, we asked the staff to complete an exit ticket. We then used the results to figure out what were the needs of our staff. Because of the information that they shared, we are now creating a website and creating other sessions related to meet their needs. We working to create a plan for our personalized learning initiative. I created a form for our pilot group and together, we selected two teachers to help us gather a perspective of how personalized learning will function at our school. I enjoy working with my team members. I am still energized and catch wait to see what happens next!
Cathy Blodgett
11/18/2015 12:37:59 pm
With broadcast video classes we looked at the law on copyright infringement together as a class. The students wrote some multiple choice reading comprehension questions to assess their understanding of this vital informational text. I put the questions into a Kahoot game and Voila! Test prep that applies to the real world!
Brittany Boyajan
11/18/2015 12:45:16 pm
https://vimeo.com/146143550 11/18/2015 02:55:10 pm
We started coding with our 3rd graders using Code.org course 2 curriculum.
Nayeede Bailey
11/18/2015 03:55:24 pm
I have been working with my students to create smores. We put on an educational carnival in which students had to 11/18/2015 08:39:50 pm
I have being using Nearpod for a while now, but as of GaETC I have started using it in a new way! I used to use it as a whole group instructional strategy. This was effective for keeping students engaged and monitoring progress on the spot! I absolutely adored where it was able to take my class.
Lizzie Fragale
11/19/2015 08:49:14 am
Oh boy, it has been a year! Like so many of my fellow Vanguardians, I was just totally pumped and inspired by GaETC! I think the idea that stuck with me most is this idea of a student tech squad. I attended a session for a high school in Rockdale that has begun this, and I thought, "Dude, we could SO do this at our elementary school!" I got my principal on board, and I am going to meet with our technology club leader to see if the two can overlap. Looking forward to using the students to teach their peers and even the teachers :) :)
Cheri Mills
11/19/2015 03:37:28 pm
In my 3rd-5th grade coding classes, we are trying something brand new. After watching commercials and seeing a glimpse of tools they could use, the students got to decide what their next project would be to learn coding- would they work with Spheros, Makey Makeys, Cubelets, Javascript to create a game, or HTML to create a website. This week they got to play with their tools and begin their design process. After Thansgiving Break, the students will begin implement their design processes, making something really cool, and hopefully learning more about coding during the process. (IE one group has decided to code Sphero successfully get through a maze).
Jennifer Lee
11/19/2015 04:47:38 pm
As this time, one of the big things that I'm doing with my health classes is giving more choice based on learning style. Instead of everyone doing a test on our current unit (tobacco), students wrote a contract and decided how they best want to show they've mastered the standards. I have a couple of students in both of my classes who elected to do the test and with that they are creating at least four types of study aids. Some are doing things like Bingo Baker and Kahoot, while others have opted for paper versions of flashcards and foldables. Other students are creating PowerPoints or Keynotes to show their knowledge. I also have some who are making iMovies. Lastly, I have a couple who are making 3D type models on cigarettes and then adding pins to display the knowledge. I have created a folder on our class Edmodo site that contains LOTS of links to reputable sites to do research.
Marquita Jones
11/20/2015 12:36:05 am
Hi, 11/20/2015 08:37:41 am
This month I decided to get my nearpod certification. I watched the webinar and created a nearpod dedicated to supporting teachers with taking a running record. I also had the nearpod company to come out to my school to train my teachers this week on how to use nearpod to personalize the learning in their classroom. I received my nearpod certification this Tuesday. I am ver excited!! 11/20/2015 09:10:13 am
This month in grades K-2 we are having a blast using a green screen (Green Screen by Do Ink) to showcase their Thanksgiving projects. In grades 3-5 we're using Nearpod lessons to support classroom instruction. 11/20/2015 03:25:00 pm
Most of the teachers at my school are not aware of the great uses of technology. This month, I tried to demonstrate two simple ways of integrating engaging technology for the teachers who are struggling. I consistently use gonoodle and kidblog to keep students moving and to keep them responding. Starting simple for new users of technology, right?
Tarneshala Simmons
11/20/2015 03:34:19 pm
I recently began using seesaw. Seesaw is an electronic portfolio that allows students to independently document what they are learning in their class. Students can upload videos, pictures, physical work with added commentary or their digital creations. I used www.seesaw.me for quick writes as well as to collaboration projects and assignments. My drama students used seesaw to video their monologues. They were able to tag other students to solicit feedback helped them to improve their performance. It is a great tool for middle school students because it is very user friendly!
Crissy Wade
11/20/2015 04:03:09 pm
I have so many ideas from the GaETC conference! Now it's just finding the time to try them. I started with the Screen Chomp app. I created some reteach videos. Students who needed extra support with a math concept watched the teaching video and then completed a task to practice.They were able to go back and watch as needed while completing the task. The students who didn't need a reteach were asking if they could do the activity! I also used this for students who were absent and missed the lesson.
Justin Evans
11/20/2015 04:37:08 pm
GaETC was really interesting. I learned about many new technology tools that I had never heard of, though the great majority were targeted at elementary school. I didn't find any homeruns as far as new tools to use in my classroom, but I did walk away some some amazing ideas about professional development. Two of the best PDs I ever attended were at GaETC, and they were, interestingly, about PD. PD on PD. 11/20/2015 05:12:52 pm
APP SMASHING IN THE MUSIC CLASSROOM!
Andrea Rioux
11/20/2015 05:21:18 pm
So excited that we are almost done giving out iPads at Autrey Mill and can now focus instructional practice.
Laree Brown
11/20/2015 08:10:29 pm
I learned so much at GaETC !! Recently , I use nearpod to teach informational writing to my 2nd grade class. I actually created a power point and uploaded it to nearpod and added activities(i.e. draw it, research .quiz, etc.) throughout the presentation for my students to do. They absolutely loved it!!! I enjoyed using it as well! Additionally, I introduced my students to Book Creator and they were able to use information from a current research topic to create an informational book that included non- fiction text features.
Cindy Goodwin
11/20/2015 08:53:33 pm
This month I helped a k teacher set up a website on weebly where she can share what is happening in her classroom. She was very nervous about trying it but got very excited about the ease of use.
Lynn LeBreton
11/21/2015 10:41:25 am
As a member of Vanguard at Ridgeview I have been trying to anticipate what tech will be desired/required by the whole school now that we have rolled out iPads to all (almost all) of our students. As a classroom teacher one of the things that I know will be a must-have is the ability to project a student's iPad screen onto the classroom smart board (mostly Prometheans).
Jodi Schechter
11/21/2015 12:47:47 pm
I recently returned from my maternity leave since the beginning of the school year and have been eager to kick start the technology in my classroom. My second graders love to create so we've been starting prezis/educreations and will introduce iMovie after the break. One thing I started doing this year is instead of using one padlet for the class to contribute, each child is creating their own padlet based on our topics and they love it! I think I may do the same with Kahoot - have them create tests for other groups.
Kristin Siembieda
11/22/2015 08:25:12 am
I was super inspired by the GaETC. I have tried a few things and plan on working over break to integrate others. One of the easiest things to integrate was Nearpod. I also, was able to use the Quizizz website. I used it for 2nd grade, and I think I like Kahoot better for them, but Quizziz would be great for the older students. I am going to explore Go Formative and Seesaw over break. They seem to be wonderful. 11/22/2015 08:27:07 am
As I move toward personalized learning in my school I was able to share this amazing resource (after speaking to Tony Vincent centers in the classroom).
Christian Padgett
11/23/2015 05:56:25 pm
As part of the learning space I manage, I co-teach. This week, I designed a lesson so teachers could see how easy it is to get students to collaborate using online tools such as Google Drive. In the following link, the media specialist came in and worked with a group on a Circle Map about James Oglethorpe while I was working with a group on using Minecraft to create Native American homes. It was so great how involved the kids were. https://twitter.com/SoontobeEdD/status/667367495439884288
Stacey Story
11/23/2015 11:17:18 pm
I learned about a new way to use QR codes at GaETC and I have implemented it in my classroom. Using qrvoice.net, I have been making qr codes with directions for various different activities. Students can scan the qr codes to be reminded of what they are expected to do. I have shared this idea with my grade level and others at my school. 11/24/2015 09:12:04 am
Loved attending GaETC! I learned so many things during the short 3 days. I was motivated by Tony Vincent to use driving questions about what interests my students to make learning fun. I also attended another session about cultivating digital and multimedia literacy in the classroom that demonstrated how to use Adobe Slate to have students create slick presentations of their reports. The light bulb went off and I decided to have students create an opinion writing of how they would like me to spend my Vanguard money to benefit our classroom. Students were very excited when they found out that they would truly have a say in purchasing items for our class to use. I learned of some new tools and the students had fun learning to use research and writing for a real world purpose. Click the link to experience one of the student's creations: https://slate.adobe.com/cp/Wwl0e/ 11/25/2015 01:38:13 pm
In my classroom, I want students to reflect on what they have learned. Students are required to write a reflection for each unit that we covered. Students are encouraged to think critically about what they have learned. Students get to select which tools will help them do the best job on their reflection. I am hoping that this will encourage students to investigate various tools. I have introduced students to Smore. Students create flyers with visuals to support their points in their reflections. Below is a link to one of my students Unit 2 Reflections. https://www.smore.com/0qypn
Beverly Watola
11/25/2015 01:44:19 pm
Sorry, mistyped my own name!!
Carly Shaw
11/25/2015 09:22:07 pm
Here is a link to the first P.A.W.S Science Department Newsletter I created since we will not meet for two months with the holiday breaks. I am thankful I am a member of Vanguard because this is much better than multiple emails to communicate information and provides a "one stop shop" for the resources I have been sharing all year. I am very proud of the final product. Please check it out: https://www.smore.com/app/pages/preview/9deqk 11/27/2015 05:14:38 pm
I came home from GaETC supercharged to make some changes in the way I utilize my ipads. Our tech specialist is loading my new apps as soon as we return! I shared the format with my class before we left, and am excited to have the class post their creations to a Padlet off my blog when we return. I've spent a big chunk of time over the holiday writing a grant app for an NSTA grant I learned about at ISTE. It's been SO MUCH WORK, but I think I've perfected the format so I can resubmit this to other grant opportunities as well. Fingers crossed that the opportunity Vanguard hooked me up with turns in amazing tech tools for my school!!!
Heather Temske
11/27/2015 05:18:39 pm
I have been working with each of my mentees on different things. It has mostly been talking about what they are doing, what they would like to do and then giving some ideas/suggestions. They have all been very receptive to trying out some new things. I've shared about Nearpod, XtraMath, Front Row, Plickers, SeeSaw, Misson US, green screen options, the Global Read Aloud, and I lent my Osmo to one of the teachers. Each of these was shared for a specific issue to address/reason. I feel like I am definitely being more useful this year and personalizing for my mentees.
One of my math teachers saw the Padlet with voice and choice work from other classes and took the leap to do this with her classes on Everyday Expressions and Equations.
Marisa DiSano
11/28/2015 01:52:24 pm
In my current position, I am responsible for getting information out to many different people. This year I created a video to deliver information to teachers on their own time instead of pulling them together during a time that works for me. I found that many of the teachers were receptive to the new idea and were more comfortable asking questions in a one on one (written) atmosphere. 11/28/2015 04:06:16 pm
I am currently using many tools in the classroom. The students work in groups and a few choose to work alone. I make a choice board and the students choose the tool they like to work on. My favorite tool by far is Nearpod. The students are engaged and love the interaction. When the students are in stations, or working on projects the students love Sway, Minecraft, Padlet, Gloggster, Quizziz, QR codes, creating imovies, and of course my favorite in small groups in educrations. Minecraft is my new favorite for the year, it allows the students to think outside the box and I get a chance to walk around and communicate the students on the activity. We just finished up Paul Revere, several students created a Minecraft of his midnight ride, several created Sway's and one group, created a Gloggster. There are so many tools out there, I practically throw them in a box and ask the students to pick the one they would like to use and go for it. They know my expectations and follow the rubric. The tools, would fall under the Adaptation section, of the matrix.
Candyce Heath
11/28/2015 10:06:57 pm
I've been doing so much in my classroom this school year and it's been going great! The first great addition to the classroom was our iPad minis and Osmos that were donated by Chevron via Donors Choose. The students love these centers and are so excited to use them. My students have been becoming avid researchers and love picking topics based on their interests. I've also started a class Instagram page for my parents to follow in order to keep up with what we're doing. I know that newsletters can be a bit boring, but I feel as though remaining up to date in the classroom via social media is much more convenient for the parents. Also GaEtc was a great experience for me. I got a lot of great ideas and resources that I am going to gradually start to implementing in my classroom. 11/28/2015 10:33:01 pm
Ms. Pickett- Persuasive Writing Practice - Edmodo
K. Swearingen
11/28/2015 10:57:24 pm
Elijah Simon
11/29/2015 12:34:04 am
First I would like to say, “You matter, and you are enough. Not if you do this or change that but just as you are, you matter.” This is the first thing I learned from the keynote speaker at my first ever GaETC. Its impact on me was far greater than any website, gizmo or app could possibly make. It is the people that implement the tech that make the difference.
Lametric Patterson
11/29/2015 01:26:15 am
Students grades 1-5 have been introduced to Tellagami during media sessions and collobarations with teachers. 4th grade and 2nd grade students learned how to use Blendspace to access lessons and quizzes set up by their classroom teachers. 5th grade and 1st grade students worked on their narravtive and informative writin skills using Lego Story Starters. They learned how to use a digital camera and iPad camera to take pictures of their creations in preparation for the Story Visualizer session after the break. 11/29/2015 12:44:31 pm
I recently delivered a Personalized Learning PD sessions to Assistant Principals. The session was developed to serves as a general orientation on PL with an emphasis on: PL Evaluation practices, Blended and Flipped learning models, and teacher success stories (using one of instructional models).
Joy Harrison
11/29/2015 01:00:06 pm
At GAETC, I learned about Quizizz (http://quizizz.com/) as an alternative to Kahoot. I have used it a few times in my reading small groups, and I enjoy how students can go at their own pace. This makes it so that I don't have to do it as a whole-group activity and I can use it as a formative assessment in my small groups. I love how they get feedback right away, and after they complete the questions, I have been going over the answers with everyone to make sure that they understand why they might have gotten an answer wrong. It's a great supplement for Kahoot, and now I have two resources that kids love that I can use both in whole-group (Kahoot) and small-group (Quizziz)! 11/29/2015 04:16:10 pm
As a Curriculum Support Teacher, my goal is to provide support to students, staff, new & veteran teachers, parents & administration with resources and professional development/instruction to help them be the best! One of my goals this year is to provide pd support for staff in implementing curriculum infused with technology. Once or twice a month we hold a Tech and Training Thursday. This personalized pd offers sessions teachers choose (and offer to teach) based on interest surveys. Here are a few Smore training info newsletters from the past for you to view:
Marisa Wesker
11/29/2015 05:00:44 pm
With our iPad rollout complete, this month has been all about 1 to 1 and personalized learning. I've been relying heavily on Google, since we are a Google school, and it has been fantastic. While I am still working on individual personalization, I was able to do a lot with student choice this month. Our most recent review activity was based on choice and areas that students felt they needed the most work on. Students were required to choose from different sections and topics, but were able to do activities that suited their learning styles. The best part...no paper...at all. Loving having all of our resources right at their fingertips and being able to keep tabs on their work without always collecting everything!
Julie Whelan
11/29/2015 07:11:30 pm
As many others have already commented, I left GaETC both inspired and overwhelmed. One of the first things I did upon returning to my media center was to set up SeeSaw accounts for several of my classes. Our school will be having its first-ever student led conferences in early 2016 and SeeSaw is a wonderful tool to store some of the great things the students have created.
Jessica Taylor
11/29/2015 07:53:23 pm
While I was attending GaETC (which was AWESOME- thank you!), I didn't want my students to get behind and I didn't want to have to leave them with "busy work" for three days. So I used the app on my iPad called "Explain Everything." Using this app, I prepared tutorials of lessons for my students to watch and listen to while I was gone. I went over the same material as I would have if I was there, which was pretty cool! I thought it was better than just giving the students a link to a Crash Course video or Khan Academy (which are great, don't get me wrong). I felt the students would get more out of it hearing my voice and wording then somebody else's. So I spent my lunch hour recording them and uploading them to YouTube and then created tiny url's for the videos for the students to watch on their smart phones while I was gone. I keep a box of old school headphones in my room for cases like this. I am back after the conference and could just easily pick back up and move forward and I felt like they got it! So here's a link to one of my videos: https://youtu.be/P9gXRDOzARw
Megan Waters
11/29/2015 08:00:13 pm
I too enjoyed my time at GaETC this month! I attended many wonderful sessions, including Leslie Fisher's augmented reality session, which gave me several ideas of how to incorporate augmented and enhanced reality to create a more interactive learning experience. I have begun to explore these possibilities with the use of Aurasma.
Jen Lawson
11/29/2015 08:35:25 pm
I have been trying out and gave some students the option to use the Seesaw APP for a final project on Explorers. I have already written the reflection earlier this month but wanted to share one of the products.
Karen Artis
11/29/2015 09:02:21 pm
To help with our coaching efforts I created a One Note TEKs Artifact portfolio template. My goal with this portfolio was to demonstrate the collaboration of the coaching experience and to provide a personal data collection tool. I choose OneNote for its easy ability to include future Skype chats, class note data from student assessments, or even a collaboration between two courses with shared classroom permissions. Additionally it’s an easy upload onto the evaluative platform. I have provided a link for anyone that would like the use of it.
Hannah Rome
11/29/2015 09:05:16 pm
GaETC was fabulous!
Alyssa Morris
11/29/2015 09:13:06 pm
I absolutely loved learning about new ways to incorporate technology into instruction and differentiated learning at GaETC! This was my first year attending - I'm very thankful to have the opportunity to attend this year!
Jeff Burch
11/29/2015 09:17:46 pm
As a cohort 1 school, we are preparing for receiving our Surface 3s. It is very exciting but we have had a lot of work that we have completed. Now I am creating some different teacher groups as we prepare for the rollout. We will have committees in charge of student meetings, parent meetings and teacher meetings to disseminate all of the necessary information dealing with usage and connectivity. It is just really exciting to be in the final stages of this project that has taken over a year of preparation.
Laura Williams
11/29/2015 09:34:15 pm
After attending the GAETC I have started implementing Seesaw with my students in our Advanced Math Class. They are really enjoying sharing their work and progress with each other and then comment on each other's work. This is huge for so many mathematical discussions that foster learning and growth. I am really enjoying watching my students get excited to post their work and want to improve in each post. We are working on our math fact fluency and students are enjoying encouraging their classmates toward their goals.
Kevin Cooke
11/30/2015 07:15:00 am
I am very inspired by many of the comments above. Thank you for posting! I loved the GAETC experience. Most of the sessions I attended were good, some were excellent. One of my "concentrations" was on Office365. One my goals is to help our staff to get on to OneDrive and off of ShareDrive. I'm regularly offering my services to any and all who want to shed the dreadful tether and fly in the cloud!
Cassie Zielinski
11/30/2015 08:20:06 am
This semester I used the movie characters Minions to integrate circular concepts and equations. Upon their completion, the students had to create their own Minion that represented their group. I am currently in the process of taking the student work and trying to make it into a programmable piece for our on-campus 3D printer. The students had a lot of fun creating their character and figuring out how technology and geometry come together using math concepts that are not easily seen until dissected. 11/30/2015 10:46:43 am
I just started a pbl with 5th grade that I'm really excited about. Ms. Napolitano's reading class is going to research and create thematic resource lists for our 1st grade teachers and students. They are using Destiny to find print resources that meet certain criteria and match the curriculum units that are upcoming for 1st grade. They are using Mackin Via to find digital resources for this purpose. Every single item must be read and evaluated for reading level, content and interest. They will create resource lists on Destiny and Mackin Via so they can share the information with 1st grade and also with other schools in the district. We'll use their list to pull print materials for the 1st grade Curriculum Cart.
Beverly Green
11/30/2015 10:59:47 am
As a Media Specialist, I have been sharing and communicating with teachers on how to access MackinVia and the digital databases that are available for various instructional tasks like research projects, pleasure reading, and content specific lessons.
Erin Shurbutt
11/30/2015 11:28:55 am
It has been a short month at school for me. I returned from maternity leave just 8 work days ago (yes, I am counting). I was very sad to miss out on GaETC, but have enjoyed hearing about sessions from coworkers that did get to attend. I have been trying to get readjusted, but I was welcomed back to a fabulous surprise! My school got 5 chrome books per classroom! I immediately started putting them to good use. Students have enjoyed using iReady, xtra math, brainpop jr., and typing on them. My long term sub had started a project with students that many needed to finish upon my return. I had a few students finish early on my first day back. I quickly pulled out the chrome books and had them watch two videos related to erosion and drought. Then, the students used Adobe Voice on the iPads to create a presentation on both erosion and drought. They really loved getting to use both forms of technology! For a thrown together project, I am proud of how well they did. I am looking forward to expanding our use of this new technology. 11/30/2015 11:41:16 am
I am using Google Docs to collect the vast majority of work submitted by students. Using this allows students to collaborate with their peers by enabling editing rights to specific Google accounts. It also allows them to make comments or suggest edits. I can see all of this because Google keeps a log of any changes made to a document. When students are ready to submit their work, they simply move the finalized document into a folder on Drive that I have shared with them.
Lory Cox
11/30/2015 12:33:07 pm
I enjoyed GAETC, most notably the session on 1:1 learning and the sharing of new applications, such as quizziz and goformative. I am looking forward finally to be able to formally "share" MackinVIA with the teachers at a PD session in January.
Maria Hines
11/30/2015 12:49:09 pm
I truly enjoyed attending my first GAETC conference (ISTE w/o steroids:), and I left with numerous resources that I will incorporate in my classroom as needed. Even though I have used Padlet and Symbaloo before, I never thought about using them for my students' digital portfolios. As we prepare for our STEM Connections Night in January, having my students' work in one area will be extremely helpful. Also, I have created screencasts before using Screencast-o-matic, Recordist.co, Screenleap, Explain Everything, etc, but it was a pleasure to be exposed to other screencasting options via Quicktime player and iPad/Android devices. The screencasting feature in Quicktime came in handy two weeks ago when I needed to make a quick video for my students who needed additional assistance completing their websites. I was able to create it in less than one minute and upload it to Edmodo for them to refer to as needed.
Tashika Gresham
11/30/2015 01:48:48 pm
I thoroughly enjoyed my first experience at GaETC! I was so excited to learn all the new application and get new ideas for old applications for technology in my classroom. As we prepare to be more personalized at our school, I decided to try out some of the strategies/apps that I learned about. I have decided to "app" smash with Nearpod (lesson), Storybird(product), and Edmodo (sharing/collaboration) in my ELA class. The students absolutely loved using multiple modes of technology to learn, present and share their ideas. I truly look forward to transforming my classroom even more!
Kelsey Ferguson
11/30/2015 02:00:39 pm
Attending GAETC was a great way to rejuvenate me as an educator! I was reminded of amazing tools that I have used in the past while learning new tools to aid in my students' learning and understanding. Some of the tools that I have been using since attending are Symbaloo, Quizzizz, and Google forms with Flubaroo rubrics. These tools have helped me to assess my students quickly, using differentiation within assessments, and create a space where my students can use choice for their technology tools.
Cynthia Cox
11/30/2015 02:27:11 pm
I was tapped to host a Digital Resources Fair for parents after they attended the Thanksgiving Luncheons Thursday and Friday. Using a Nearpod Presentation they collaboratively created, students in grades 2-5 taught parents all about multiplication.com, Henry Anker, Mackinvia, Safari Montage, Open Ed, NewsELA, Moby Max and Edmodo. The engagement of both students and parents as they navigated through each session was nothing less than phenomenal. They topped it off with an uber competitive Kahoot! and everyone was all smiles. At GaETC I missed the session about creating a Student Tech Team. but I believe we at least have the makings of one! Check out the pics on my Twitter page @tagyoureitcox
Kelly Williamson
11/30/2015 02:44:27 pm
This month I spent observing what my colleagues took away from GaETC - because we were given passes through Vanguard, thank you, we used our additional school passes to allow teachers that have expressed interest in applying for the 2 open Vanguard spots for our school attend the conference for the first time. Our teachers were really excited about Quizizz and Nearpod. They have used both in daily math and science lessons since the conference. The kids loved both and the word is spreading down the halls to additional classrooms about these resources. :) 11/30/2015 03:35:43 pm
Thanksgiving break offered a lot of opportunity to reflect, especially after GAEtc. I am trying to keep in mind student voice and choice and GaETC certainly provided a lot of inspiration for that. My mentees are 1,2 3 and 4th grade teachers who have been reluctant in the past to use technology, but showing them how technology can enhance their centers by including a QR code for online task to be completed, or instructions for center activities (1st, 2nd and 3rd grade) got them excited! It is the little things! Personally I am not a huge fan of QR codes, but in centers it is putting technology in the hands of the students and now we can focus on teachers to become more adventurous too!
Tiffany Waller
11/30/2015 04:15:05 pm
This year, as part of a grant from the Sandy Springs Education Force, I was able to start 5 new STEAM Clubs at my school. Each club focuses on a different component within STEAM. On an even more exciting note, students on Free and Reduced Lunch account for over 60% of the clubs! Every teacher within the school serves on a committee that supports each club and almost all volunteer their time after school to lead the students through science, technology, engineering, arts, and math activities. As the coordinator for the clubs, it is my job to support teachers and students participating in this opportunity. I have already had to put my coaching skills to work in order to engage teachers, increase buy-in, build capacity, and provide authentic, technology driven activities for students. I cannot wait to see what each club produces at our first ever STEAM Forum in February.
Shana Allen
11/30/2015 05:18:24 pm
I am really excited that one of my mentees was able to attend GAETC, where she learned about AR. She decided that to make this a goal and was able to implement the use of Auras in her lessons. She and her students were quite excited about the use of the tool for story telling and about the fact that her 1st graders were able to explore this tool and publish a product.
Ashley Campbell
11/30/2015 05:57:46 pm
This month we started our first ever makerspace in the media center. It was a lot of work to get up and running but in the end it was totally worth it. The driving question in the makerspace was: Can you make a hovercraft float in the wind tunnel?
Jasmyne Burns
11/30/2015 09:01:46 pm
At this current moment, I am, along with some other colleagues, preparing to re-present some of the information that we learned at GaETC. This was a great opportunity and there was a wealth of technology and information to absorb. My Principal thought it would be a great idea to share the information "tech conference style" and allow the teachers to chose which sessions they may find most interesting. Because of the number of tools we have access to, I thought it would be a great idea to re-present the tools and align them with the 7 Principles of Personalized Learning, TKES, and the Technology Integration Matrix. This way, teachers will have a starting point to reference and have some idea of how the tools can be utilized, which tools would be more beneficial in parts of their lesson, and how utilizing these tools will be beneficial to them on TKES evaluations. I feel that teachers, like our students, are more receptive when they can understand the purpose behind the practices they are being asked to use. In addition, I am preparing to redeliver this presentation in a way that is fun, interactive, and on various learning/ability levels. In other words, I'm preparing to personalize my PD!
Holly Berg
12/1/2015 08:54:21 am
Gret idea- would love to see what you finally came up with!
Pegeen Byrd
11/30/2015 09:56:05 pm
I really love Kodables as I have mentioned before and how it has reached and engaged even my special needs kids so check that out but here is something I found completely surprising. We all know Chatterpix right? I did Chatterpix earlier this year as a reward for all my classes and the hard work they had put in on MackinVia building research skills, etc.. Here are three examples that left me grinning and inspired.
Holly Berg
12/1/2015 08:53:17 am
I would love to see the Chatterpix- any links you can share?
Amy Dongarra
11/30/2015 09:57:31 pm
My first graders have been participating in the Global Read Aloud. As part of this, we have been connecting to kids all over the world to share our thoughts and ideas about books. One way we shared our ideas was using the app Show Me after reading the book Exclamation mark! Students illustrated a page showing something that they would use an exclamation mark for then they recorded their voice explaining their art. We posted these to a Padlet which we were able to share with other kids. Here is the link: http://padlet.com/dongarraa/firstgradeGRAExclamation
Kate Arthur
12/1/2015 03:58:23 am
I’m working on giving my students weekly learning goals that they can meet at their own pace. Usually, they have one or two personal goals and one collaborative goal, but these vary depending on the week. My students are also doing Genius Hour, but for the first semester, I was unable to give them the 20% time that I wanted to devote to it. From now until the end of the semester, we are working on finalizing topics, and I plan to fully commit to giving them one class period a week to their GH endeavor.
Megan Endicott
12/1/2015 06:25:05 am
I have been diving deeper into personalized learning and how that can look in the music room. Trying to keep with the school model and work in station rotations as needed while maintaining a consistent music learning environment. So far I have found that Nearpod has been a great hands-on learning facilitator for the teacher-led station, providing just in time instruction with real time data. I send other students off to a TouchCast where I am leading instruction or providing direction through video with embedded remediation / enrichment opportunities through live links. Included in the video are samples for the finished product students will be working on. The video can be reviewed as many times as needed to provide students with answers to their questions. Often times this station leads to some sort of creation activity with an iPad app that can be saved, submitted or shared. The final station has been learning through intuitive software for teaching students. Quaver's Marvelous World of music provides some opportunity to fill the gap here. Questions get harder as students successfully answer questions and easier if they miss. I feel this actually has saved time in our learning outcomes for the beginning of the concept / unit. Following the stations, we pull back together for group meetings and put together knowledge to finally produce music in the sense of music making in the traditional classroom. Since I only see my students once a week for 45 minutes, starting off with stations then moving into creating an authentic shareable performance has been great! Students know the concepts and have more fun putting the pieces together.
Derek Wright
12/1/2015 08:45:10 am
I have been doing a lot with online annotations where the students are collaborative annotating using a document. These are websites like VideoAnt (University of Minnesota), Annotationstudio (MiT), Thinglink, and hypothes.is. The students are able to annotate, reply to each others annotations, in some cases, put videos and multimodal pieces into the annotations. It really allows students to go beyond the paper and begin to socially discuss these annotations.
Holly Berg
12/1/2015 08:51:22 am
What a wild, quick month! GaETC was great. I have gone the last 5 years I believe and I have enjoyed it every year but this year there were so many newbies it sort of revitalized me. I have some great ideas I want to share and -though I have told myself for years to do it- I realie that a website is now a "have to", thing for me and not just a "I should really think about that".
Charlotte Mitchell
12/1/2015 09:10:55 am
https://www.powtoon.com/online-presentation/d...
Meggan Ford
12/1/2015 09:25:03 am
I've been working on providing teachers and students with meaningful online resources. This year, one of my goals is to increase the usage on Mackinvia. I think this is going to be a helpful tool as we move toward personalization. I'm working toward introducing our faculty to different tools for their classes. I also provided training on safari montage.
Molly Scheifflee
12/1/2015 09:30:38 am
Aaron Avera
12/1/2015 09:30:43 am
I have been using Neared in my classroom and tampering with the possibilities of it. I learned more about it at GaETC then I had known prior and was eager to try it out. Being on Vanguard I knew I had a gold account but I had yet to play with it.
Alison Francis
12/1/2015 09:47:16 am
I'm in the process of working with my student tech team to provide feedback to teachers on their upcoming lesson plans. Since students are in so many classes, they see everything! They're a great resource, and they're the ones who came up with the idea of looking at teachers' lesson plans and giving ideas/suggestions/feedback. Teachers who are interested in the feedback are volunteering to submit their lesson plans, and students are providing feedback with guidance. 12/1/2015 09:59:24 am
After learning about reflections and Google Classroom I decided to implement a daily reflective log with the students using technology. We use this as a ticket out the door daily, and I will soon be adding more questions such as: What is the question and How can I the teacher have had a better day
Craig Gendreau
12/1/2015 12:27:12 pm
Had a great time at GaETC. I've been playing around with a few of the apps I learned about. The biggest change has been from some of the things I learned from the OneNote session!
Koia Lawrence
12/1/2015 12:32:09 pm
My fellow Vanguardian, Anitra Morris, and I co-teach Extended Learning with a 2nd grade group. We use Flocabulary to engage students in learning. Additionally, we use BrainPopJr, and virtual math lessons from Schoology. We also use the interactive whiteboard to model with virtual manipulatives.
Koia Lawrence
12/1/2015 12:38:09 pm
Currently, I am working with a Kindergarten group to make a virtual ABC Book or paperslide.
Anitra Morris
12/1/2015 12:36:38 pm
My fellow Vanguardian, Koiabrion Lawrence, and I co-teach Extended Learning with a 2nd grade group. We use Flocabulary to engage students in learning. Additionally, we use BrainPopJr, and virtual math lessons from Schoology. We also use the interactive whiteboard to model with virtual manipulatives.
Katie Pardee
12/1/2015 01:12:58 pm
http://www.picmonkey.com/p/yUXWFpFWQ4F
nayeede bailey
12/1/2015 01:19:59 pm
My students have been working on Smores and iMovies. We had a third grade carnival, where students were responsible for making informational/persuasive flyers to entice people to attend. My students had to work collaboratively in order for both pieces to work. Not only were they responsible for the advertisements, they were also responsible for the ticket pricing, cost of game and food. This was truly a multidisciplinary project. It was one in which the students had a lot of fun. They final part of the project, was a school held carnival run by the 3rd grade team. Below are two samples of student made smores.
Tamara Whitaker
12/1/2015 03:42:59 pm
I still feel like a newbie to this "techie teacher" movement...but I'm getting there! I definitely gained some confidence after attending GAETC and realizing that a lot of the information presented was not new to me at all, and I have already been implementing many of them in the classroom. This year I feel like a student and a teacher simultaneously, as I am still learning about best practices in regards to technology integration, and mentor many teacher inside and outside the building on the same topics! I recently became a Virtual Coach for Fulton, where I virtually connect and mentor new teachers in the county. Much of the feedback I provide to them includes quick and effective technology resources to hone their skills in the classroom. I have also been in constant communication with the teachers in the building that have requested tech support to help them in the same area. Sometimes I feel like Medusa, with all the thoughts and tasks swirling around my head, but I also feel accomplished to not just help students, but also my peers.
Tierra Bagby
12/1/2015 03:53:24 pm
I enjoyed GaETC and still haven't quite had a chance to play with all the tools I picked up. I did however already add a couple ideas to my teacher toolbox. A couple that I will be using in my classroom immediately are coding.org, symbaloo, quizizz, and Tinytap. Coding.org basically takes the kids through the basics of coding and allows them to began coding at a level conducive for them. I usually allow my kids to be involved in a creative/critical thinking center each day and this is where I will incorporate Coding.org. Symbaloo can be used in several ways. I will use it to be a home for all the websites I want my kids to have access. I will share my symbaloo to my class website and from my website they will be able to access any website we use in our class from one place. Quizizz is similar to kahoot, but not as competitive and can be used as a fun quick way to get immediate feedback on where kids are. TinyTap allows you to create your own apps. It has an easy to follow format and not only can create your own apps, but you can also use apps that were created by others. There are so many other great tools I picked up from GaETC, I will share how I'm using others along the way. It's a work in progress. GaETC is GREAT, but gives you a huge headache as you are trying to organize everything learned. It's a good headache though :) I would never complain about having too many options!
Katie Stephens
12/1/2015 03:57:33 pm
I use QR codes with my class of first graders every week for my listening center. Students easily can listen to and respond to the story using padlet. My students have also been able to respond in groups on the padlet wall. My students are also responsible for responding to each other's comments and responses. I have learned a couple of new ideas at GaETC that I am excited to use with my first graders! 12/1/2015 04:25:11 pm
As the data support specialist, I have utilized Google docs to create my agendas for grade-level meetings. This allows me to embed videos, slideshows, and content which the teachers can reference at a later date. The teachers appreciate the resources and I find it a great way to distribute information versus paper.
Shelley Tomich
12/1/2015 04:48:47 pm
I have been trying to give students more control and creativity in the classroom (hard to give up sometimes!). We just did a composition project where students were able to choose either a technology based instrument or a real instrument along with a composition program to work in small groups based on ability to composer a project on solfege. I recently visited with Megan Endicott and look forward to implementing the nearpod and other strategies she was using with students.
Lynette Okenica
12/1/2015 05:23:16 pm
GaETC was awesome again this year. I immediately created a Sway (and was disappointed with the functionality) and came up with an idea for a school showcase using green screen technology and augmented reality. I am also hoping to set up a makerspace for my students. I am meeting with my principal on this hopefully this week. I am also looking into setting up OneNote student notebooks instead of the composition interactive ones I do now. Think of the tree limbs I could save! I am still gamifying my classroom with Classcraft, and, since all of our students are getting Surface tablets soon, it will make the gaming so much more fun using windows based applications and flash! Game on! My students are enjoying Nearpod and complete quests I create in Classcraft for them helping them enrich their content knowledge.
Kenneth Livingston
12/1/2015 06:07:56 pm
I has a very deja vu month. I had to change formats of mentor meetings from regularly scheduled events to impromptu drop-ins and requests due to scheduling changes and increased volume of data meetings, test prep, ect...
Sig Chiclana
12/1/2015 06:19:30 pm
A few weeks ago, I started using a weebly webpage with my seniors. We are working on a year long project - keeping up with as many current events as possible in the area of Environmental Science. The students have to read one article per week and create a scrap book collecting each one of them. They also must write a summary and be prepared to do an oral presentation to the class every two weeks. One of the problems I encountered with this assignment is that many of the students used the internet for the articles but could not print them out due to a lack of a printer or ink. To solve this problem, I gave them an option to create a student weebly webpage that highlight the articles with their summary. Its been a roller coaster ride because even though our students are growing up in the age of technology, they are not all used to the technical process of creating a website. They want things done quickly and lack patience. But they are working on it and is getting easier.
Katie Rossino
12/1/2015 07:21:46 pm
As the Latin teacher at my school, I teach every level: I, II, II Honors, III, III Honors, and AP! Some classes take place at the same time during the same class period which can be a real challenge! I rely on technology to keep me afloat and keep things running smoothly. Unfortunately, he last month has been disastrous for me. My father passed away suddenly and I missed a number of days. I was freaking OUT because I am control freak who loves to be with her kids and wanted to keep the positive momentum going.
Ann Alvarez
12/1/2015 07:58:32 pm
My students are working in groups of 3 to research and write proposals for an innovative purchase using the Vanguard stipend for the classroom. Students have been introduced to innovations like Lily, 3D pens, rasberry pi, myo, bird, and/or the Qball. Students will be presenting their proposals and will be scored on a rubric to determine what purchases we will make for our class. 12/1/2015 08:10:53 pm
Below is a link to an assignment that my students completed using showme to explain and model their word problem. They worked with partners to answer concontructive response questions and fully understand the steps taken to reach their final results. They received feedback as to where improvement was needed in both presenting and mistakes in the answer.
Stephanie Jeter
12/1/2015 08:33:15 pm
I have taught my students how to demonstrate what they have learned by creating PowerPoint presentations and Google Slide presentations as well. Here is a picture of two of my students working on their Mayor Kasim Reed PowerPoint.
Betsy Skalet
12/1/2015 08:48:49 pm
I want to say that I have enjoyed continuing to use google forms and floobaroo for tests for some of my kids. I have the ability for instant feedback that is just as good as a scantron and I had kids actually request to take thier test "online". I think this is essential practice for kids that will take the milestones online. Also padlet has been a great engaging tool for my advisment group each week. I put questions on padlet for my students to answer and it has become a great tool for them to share their thoughts with the group without having to answer in a "big" group. Padlet has so many uses I encourage everyone to try it!
David Smith
12/1/2015 09:03:31 pm
My students are currently studying economics in Social Studies. They were asked to complete a project where they are to create an original, eye-catching new product. They could make the actual product or draw it on poster board. They had to describe why consumers would want to buy their product. Students were to create a print advertisement (i.e. magazine or newspaper ad) to persuade consumers to purchase their product. Last, students were to persuade their classmates to purchase their product by creating a television commercial. There are many opportunities to use different types of technology to complete all three parts of the project. We have been doing this project successfully for a while now. However, I am working on updating it with some of the tools that I learned about at GaETC for next year. You can see some examples here:
Cynteria Sims
12/1/2015 09:07:54 pm
I have to say that I learned a lot from GAETC. I like the idea of going paperless because as a teacher we are sometimes overloaded with the process of grading papers. So I have been using Quizizz as a way to collect homework because students did not turn it in as often as I wanted them too. Now I have at least 90% participation over all classes to get complete homework. Now I can group students according to how well they did on the homework in their peer groups. Also I was able to show teachers within my department, and they are now using it as well. So I will continue to use Quizizz within my classroom.
Caroline Boddiford
12/1/2015 09:13:02 pm
I finally did a Nearpod in homework mode and it went really well! I had tried earlier this year, but didn't scaffold it properly and my students kind of freaked out and I ended up teaching with the Nearpod. This time, I started by explaining the major concept for 5 minutes, then they watched an engaging video about the topic, then they dove into the Nearpod and took Cornell notes on their own and went so smoothly! :)
Beth Miller
12/1/2015 09:17:10 pm
Since the picture I wanted to share won't attach or display, I'll tell about it. :-) I set up a glass room this year with a green screen in the media center. The students are really liking it and using the green screen with the iPads and the iMovie app. In order for them to use the green screen function on iMovie they are using the iMacs we have in the media center so they can access the full function iMovie program that has the green screen capabilities. I've taught several students how to use the green screen functions and they've created several types of movies with the backgrounds. One project was to create public service ads for various health problems (drugs, good eating, etc). The kids are loving the room and since it's glass we can keep an eye on them without having to be in the room with them! 12/1/2015 09:31:31 pm
PBL
Katie Townsend
12/1/2015 09:52:17 pm
Using iPads in classroom has been so great for instruction. We are now officially 1:1! It's great that all the students have the same device. I have been using a lot of QR codes for students to check their math. They have been using the app doodle buddy to show their work, also them having a stylist is really helpful for showing their work neatly.
Marcus Copeland
12/1/2015 10:39:52 pm
At McNair our students have been getting acclimated to their shiny new iPads. As we prepare to go digital I have been using airdrop to send their documents to their iPads. Additionally I use apple tv and my iPad for instruction. I scan the documents directly using the genius scan app and annotate using adobe reader. I like adobe reader because you can save the documents with annotations. This is helpful for students who fall behind. You do not have to rewrite... just scroll. It is pretty cool and just scratching the surface.
Cathy Moore
12/1/2015 10:43:12 pm
I learned some amazing things at the GaETC! I am getting ready to try and incorporate some of the cool things I learned about Google docs into my first personalized learning unit. Can't wait to see what my students will do with the new things I am incorporating into their unit!
Patti Lee
12/1/2015 11:13:43 pm
A large part of the AVID curriculum is weekly student-led tutorial sessions in our AVID Elective class. These require students to discover their points of confusion and work through them in their content groups using inquiry. My students were encouraged to get creative for their tutorials and use any of the apps on the iPads to assist in their tutorial sessions, so some of the math groups began to insert graph paper in ShowMe app and AirPlay it to the projector. They then started to use the record button to give their own instruction for others working through the same types of problems. I'm loving that they are taking ownership of their learning!
Ann Marie Girard
12/2/2015 12:06:01 am
My AP French class is set-up in a gamification model in which they are in groups and each group represents a different Francophone country. This country is their group identity and everything we do is based on "country" performance... be it on assessments, their behavior, their ability to take risks by speaking French without fear of making mistakes. 12/2/2015 07:26:32 am
In Kindergarten, we were studying about the first Thanksgiving and family traditions. Students created a storyboard with different slides such as title page, first Thanksgiving, my Thanksgiving, dream menus, things they are thankful for...etc. They each worked to publish their pieces using Pixie. They created slides, then picked music, transitions, and recorded their voices. They shared their published pieces to their parents and posted on edmodo. 12/2/2015 07:28:39 am
In Kindergarten, we were studying about the first Thanksgiving and family traditions. Students created a storyboard with different slides such as title page, first Thanksgiving, my Thanksgiving, dream menus, things they are thankful for...etc. They each worked to publish their pieces using Pixie. They created slides, then picked music, transitions, and recorded their voices. They shared their published pieces to their parents and posted on edmodo.
Carolyn Hutcheson
12/2/2015 09:38:35 am
I worked with third grade teachers and students creating "Claymation" projects based on habitats. We used mini ipads Students brought in model magic, fabric, eyes, and other supplies. Each student chose or created their own animal, studied about it, built the animal, designed a set/backgrounds, and created a stop animation movie that depicted the habitat the animal would survive in. It was awesome!
Tamara Creech
12/2/2015 03:56:09 pm
This school year has been focused very much on Personalized Learning. Our school is in Group 2 and we had our first full PD with our staff to introduce PL and district expectations for our school. I created a padlet for the staff to reflect on what they learned. http://padlet.com/t2creech/v81ic3pl3jvj
Vonda Shands
12/4/2015 03:26:31 am
November has been extremely busy at Paul D. West. The GaETC this year gave me an enormous amount of ideas. I focused on sessions and exhibits related to STEMs enrichment. The early-bird technology training sessions continued before school for teachers. We introduced coding to all of the TAG science classes and the Real STEMs student/teacher group through Tyker.com and Scratch.mit.edu. This grant funded initiative through Georgia Southern University allows teachers and students at our school to do real-world problem-based research and tech tasks. The students are excited and the small cadre of teachers are motivated by the students' desire to do highly engaging (coding, app development, robotics, etc.) STEMs enrichment activities. Many of the more recent weekly tasks were gleaned from things I saw at GaETC. The Real STEMs teachers (which include a couple of my mentees) are planning a training day for a Saturday in January in which a Code.org representative will introduce coding to any interested teachers in Fulton. The new Vanguard team members at Paul D. West met and are planning a training session during for the teacher work day in January.
Lauren Dickey
12/4/2015 03:55:04 pm
I loved GAETC! I learned some great things... I am going to start implementing the Seesaw application next semester for my graduate school assignment, and it really helped to be able to see Seesaw in action. I also really liked the new MicrosoftMix. I tried downloading it to my laptop on my own, but we need our school tech person to improve it. I'm excited to see where we are headed with technology in our school!
Cheneal Cassagnol
12/4/2015 08:07:17 pm
I am currently experimenting with blendspace.com. My sixth grade students are given the choice of completing assignments associated with the unit, at their own pace. The students are given a deadline and told what the expectations are on each assignment. All of the resources that I use are uploaded to the learning module, so if the student needs assistance, help is at their finger tips.
Marcus Borders
12/5/2015 07:56:00 am
WOW! So far, this year has been packed with many adventures. I've ventured into learning about creating STEM programs for my school. I presented for the first time at GaETC (which, of course, was amazing - - I didn't do too bad either, apparently). Shout out to everyone who gave me feedback and was there to support me! I'll even be presenting a Tech & Learn in February.
Phil Chaffer
12/6/2015 10:52:29 pm
As always my experience at GaETC was very positive and I left the conference feeling weighed down with new ideas and innovations. The biggest problem of course is how best to feedback to the rest of the faculty and my mentees the vast amount of information and exciting ideas.
Jennifer Beard
12/7/2015 12:51:01 pm
Loved the JavaScript session at GaETC. I was unaware that Khan Academy had programming workspaces that are available for students to play around with even without an account. It was really fun to see how this presenter got the whole room involved in using JavaScript to draw together using Khan Academy.
Sallie Holloway
12/7/2015 05:13:40 pm
I just ordered a set of Finch Robots (finchrobots.com) for my AP Computer Science classes. They're $99/each, but they offer a 10% educator discount. These are very easy to use, tough (thank goodness!), and are a great way to get kids hands-on with programming and robotics. My kids are so excited!
Munifah Zeigler
12/8/2015 09:15:03 am
After attending the GaETC conference, I immediately went back into the classroom and started using the website quizizz. My students absolutely loved the cite and all of the graphics it offered. They were highly engaged in their learning and I particularly liked the excel spread sheet reflecting the data from the test. I was able to use the data to deliver just in time instruction to those students who didn't understand the content.
Margarita Dragoumaniotis
12/9/2015 01:53:10 pm
I enjoyed being introduced to Classkick. Its similar to nearpod except students can move at their own pace. It allows the teacher to grade student responses and give feedback. You also have the option to allow students to give each other feedback! Another plus is that lesson are super easy to create. The only downside is that it only works on an ipad (if remember correctly). I plan to use this in my class soon!
Jenny Johnson
1/14/2016 04:02:39 pm
As always, GaETC was awesome! All of the teachers from my school who are on Vanguard decided to purchase new interactive doc cams by iPevo with our vanguard stipend. I was able to visit the iPevo vendor and play around with some of the tools, Can't wait to get in our new doc cams and give them a whirl! I'll let you know what I think of them!
Amy Showfety
1/17/2016 03:05:52 pm
I have a new obsession with blending educreations and screencastomatics with nearpod lessons that I design. So many resources to give students everything they need to have personlized learning.
K'asha Wright
1/26/2016 07:02:50 pm
Now that my student are starting to understand that they don't need me for every sneeze, belch or word, I have begun implementing centers that require my student to work independently through the use of technology. Most recently, (end of December) I created a blend space that encourage the students to use various website to gain a deeper understanding of the Creek and Cherokee. My goal is to utilize the blend space station each Social studies unit, to provide the students an opportunity to explore the content more. 1/31/2016 12:54:44 pm
My 10th Grade Honors will be participating in the Sejong Cultural Society Essay Contest. We are low on devices and computer labs, so much of the writing will have to take place after school and at home. I have purchased my annual teacher license for Noodletools, Inc., so we are ready for this extended, virtual writing task! Leave a Reply. |
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