News

Distance Learning Resources in Granite School District

March 2020Josh WhitingLeave a Comment

During school dismissal and this period of distance learning, Granite School District and the Educational Technology Department have created two centralized resources to provide students, families, and teachers with access to essential digital tools, best practices, and resources for distance teaching and learning.

distancelearning.graniteschools.org

This website is intended to help students and families access digital tools that Granite teachers may be using during school dismissal. Your student’s teacher will provide you with detailed information about accessing learning during this time. Please reach out to individual teachers with questions.

distanceteaching.graniteschools.org

The purpose of this website is to provide Granite School District teachers with resources to support them in setting up, creating, and distributing distance learning to students. Click on the images below or the tabs at the top of the website to navigate to the different pages. Please reach out to your STS or LMETS for training on these tools.

You can find all updates from Granite School District on school dismissal and COVID-19 at this link: https://www.graniteschools.org/blog/category/covid-19/

Digital Learning Day 2020

February 2020Josh Whiting

In the Granite Educational Technology Department we celebrate learning with technology every day, but today, February 27, 2020, is Digital Learning Day! This day was created to give educators nationwide a platform to showcase the innovative teaching and learning happening in their classrooms and libraries.

[Read more…]

Now Registering: Adobe Spark (Ed Tech Tuesdays Pick Five Series)

February 2020Josh Whiting

The next sessions of our GSD Ed Tech Tuesdays professional development series happen this evening and in two weeks. Join us in the library at Granite Connection High School on Tuesday, March 3, 2020 or at the TLC on Tuesday, March 17, 2020 to learn the basics of Adobe Spark, an easy creation tool which is available to all students and staff members in Granite School District.

Adobe Spark is an easy and fun way for you and your students to create graphics, webpages, and videos. We’ll explore the ins and outs of using these tools and several ideas for getting started with them in your classroom.

Click here to sign up to attend this or other future GSD Ed Tech Tuesday ‘Pick Five’ Sessions.

[Read more…]

Teacher Spotlight: Kim Gardner, Upland Terrace Elementary

February 2020Josh Whiting

Kim Gardner, fifth grade teacher at Upland Terrace Elementary, and Kacie O’Maley, school technology specialist, were featured in the most recent episode of UEN’s PDTV web video series. The episode focuses on the innovative ways their students are exploring and creating worlds in Minecraft EDU to engage in social studies core curriculum and showcase their learning. Watch it below!

Now Registering: Code.org Training (March 2020)

February 2020Josh Whiting

Notice: Session Dates Have Been Moved to March 18 and March 25, 2020*

Hey, did you know that well paying, exciting jobs in Computer Science go unfilled in Utah? Did you know that Code.org can engage your K-5 students and give them a basis in those computer science standards, using online coding games and unplugged lessons? Did you also know that the content is easy to access, follows the best pedagogy practices, and requires minimal teacher prep time? Did you know it’s free? Click Here to sign up for Code.org teacher PD in March 2020.

[Read more…]

Now Registering: Making the Case for Makerspaces (Ed Tech Tuesdays Makerspace Series)

February 2020Josh Whiting

Would you like to learn how to start or improve your classroom or school makerspace or even just learn more about what makerspaces are? Our GSD Ed Tech Tuesdays professional development series for teachers includes a Makerspaces Course, with classes held on the second Tuesday of most months in the 2019-2020 school year. In this course, you will learn:

what makerspaces are and why you should use them,
practical ways to start or improve your classroom or school makerspace,
tools and activities that you might consider including in a makerspace.

Each month, we’ll cover an aspect of implementing a makerspace and spend time doing activities and using tools related to a specific theme you might include in your makerspace. You’re welcome to attend one or all of the classes!

Join us on Tuesday, February 25, 2020 ~~March 10, 2020~~ for the sixth and final session of our Makerspaces course, with the topic “Making the Case for Makerspaces” and the theme of Making Art, Music, and Movies. This class will be held at the Educational Technology Satellite Lab at Jackling Elementary from 4:30-7:30 PM.

Click here to sign up for this and other Makerspaces sessions.

Now Registering: Adobe Creative Cloud Tools for Photography and Images (Ed Tech Tuesdays Pick Five Series)

February 2020Josh Whiting

The next sessions of our GSD Ed Tech Tuesdays professional development series happen this evening and in two weeks. Join us in the library at Granite Connection High School on Tuesday, February 4, 2020 or at the TLC on Tuesday, February 18, 2020 to learn the basics of Photoshop and Lightroom, two tools available to secondary students and staff members as part of the Adobe Creative Cloud.

In this session, you’ll learn the basics of using some of the tools available to GSD educators in the Adobe Creative Cloud suite to enhance, edit, and create images. We’ll cover Photoshop, Lightroom, and more, and discuss some ways you can use these images and graphics to support teaching and learning.

Click here to sign up to attend this or other future GSD Ed Tech Tuesday ‘Pick Five’ Sessions.

[Read more…]

Upcoming Event: FIRST LEGO League Granite District Qualifier, January 25, 2020

January 2020Josh Whiting

Granite’s FIRST LEGO League event is coming soon! On Saturday, January 25, 2020, thirty-five student teams representing twenty-seven schools will gather at Granger High School to show what they have learned and invented, as well as compete in Robot Games. Eleven of these teams will qualify for the Utah North Tournament at Weber State University on February 1, 2020.

Volunteers Needed

This will be a full, fun-filled day for student participants, as well as the amazing coaches and volunteers who make the event possible. We could use more event-day volunteers! If you are interested, please contact Cherie Anderson in the Educational Technology Department to learn how to get involved. Please browse our highlight posts from the 2019 and 2018 district events to learn more about Granite’s event and find out what to expect.

Parent Information and Schedule

Parents can visit the event at any time but should be aware that their students will be engaged in rotations of closed judging sessions and robot game heats, with practice and break times staggered throughout the day. Judging begins at 9 A.M. Robot Games start soon after in the gymnasium and continue until 2 P.M. The event will conclude with a parade and closing ceremony in the gymnasium beginning at 2:45 P.M.

FIRST LEGO League Challenge: City Shaper

This year’s challenge is City Shaper. From the FIRST website description,

Students will observe how cities and buildings grow, thrive, and change. They’ll create new, innovative solutions to help shape an optimal future, using our environment and modern-day tools and technology to make it last. They can use what they learn to help us plan a strong, sustainable, and inclusive FIRST City.

Questions?

Visit the FIRST LEGO League website to find more general information about the program and this year’s challenge. If you have any additional questions about the FIRST LEGO League program in Granite School District, please contact Cherie Anderson in the Educational Technology Department.

Photos from previous Granite events courtesy of Tom Sparks, school technology specialist and freelance photographer.

Granite Sora Circulation Highlights | 2019-2020 Midyear

January 2020Josh Whiting

Granite students and staff have checked out nearly 65,000 ebooks and audiobooks since the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year! This is according to the statistics shown on the Granite School District Sora Usage Site kept by Alyssa Carraway, Administrative Secretary in the Educational Technology Department. This infographic highlights some of the statistics collected as of the end of December 2019.

Now Registering: Tools & Materials for Makerspaces (Ed Tech Tuesdays Makerspace Series)

January 2020Josh Whiting

what makerspaces are and why you should use them,
practical ways to start or improve your classroom or school makerspace,
tools and activities that you might consider including in a makerspace.

Join us on Tuesday, January 14, 2019 for the fifth session of our Makerspaces course, with the topic “Tools & Materials for Makerspaces” and the theme of Robotics. This class will be held at the Educational Technology Satellite Lab at Jackling Elementary from 4:30-7:30 PM.

Click here to sign up for this and other Makerspaces sessions.