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Countdown to Battle of the Books 2019 District Elementary Competition

The Granite District competition for 5th-6th Grade Battle of the Books teams is coming up on March 14, 2019, from 5:30-7:30 P.M. at Jim Bridger Elementary.

Our @LibraryMediaGSD Twitter account is counting down to the event with daily tweets featuring videos and other information about the competition, the participants, the books, and more. The countdown tweets are also being gathered into a Twitter Moment, which you can view right on this page:

If you have questions about our Battle of the Books program, please contact Nikki Gregerson, District Elementary Media Specialist. Also check out the year so far in Battle of the Books and our highlights from the 2018 Granite Battle of the Books Competition.

This post was also shared on Granite Media, our library media program site.

Highlights from the Granite FIRST LEGO League 2019 Event

Post by Cherie Anderson, Educational Technology Specialist and Team Leader. Photography and video by Tom Sparks, School Technology Specialist at Morningside Elementary and Spring Lane Elementary.

On January 26, 2019, Granite School District held a regional qualifying event for FIRST LEGO League teams. Check out the photos and videos in this post for highlights from the event. Congratulations to all the Granite School District FIRST LEGO League teams who participated in the regional and state tournaments!

Group photo of Granite teams advancing to state competition from district qualifying event.

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#GSDEdTech and #GSDLibraries Social Media Round Up: January 2019

Exciting things are happening every day in classrooms, libraries, labs, and makerspaces throughout Granite School District, and a few of these learning activities are shared on social media. We’re going to highlight activities from January involving the Educational Technology Department by rounding up social media posts shared by those who participated.

  1. Leadership in Blended and Digital Learning Site Visit, Upland Terrace Elementary
  2. Granite Elementary Beehive Reading Challenge
  3. Mock Caldecott with Elementary Media Clerks
  4. Classroom Snapshots

[Read more…] about #GSDEdTech and #GSDLibraries Social Media Round Up: January 2019

From Granite Media: Best Books of 2018

Update 1/29/2019: ALA Youth Media Award Winners Added

On Granitemedia.org, our sister site where we focus on library resources and book reviews written by Granite students and staff, we are collecting links to lists of the “Best Books of 2018” and award winners. These lists come from professional library publications, teacher organizations, and general news organizations. We even have a few Granite-specific lists. School library staff use them to find more great books to add to library collections and recommend to students. You can check out the collection of lists as it currently stands below, but we will continue to update the post at http://bestbooks.edtech.fun throughout the season as more awards are announced or come to our attention. No matter your interests or focus you’re sure to find some new books for your “to-read” list.

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Upcoming Event: 2019 District Battle of the Books Competition

Post Author: Nikki Gregerson, District Elementary Library Specialist. Originally shared on Granite Media, our library media program website.

As we begin to prepare for our school scrimmages and competitions, here is a look at some of the progress we have made with our Battle of the Books program this school year.

Students who want to participate in team competitions need to have read and passed off at least five books on their list by January 31, 2019. Students who have read five books are also eligible for special prizes and rewards. The district’s big annual prize drawing is done right before Winter Break and prizes are delivered to students and staff members at participating elementary schools. Check out some of the winners for this school year below!

Our District Battle of the Books competition will take place on Thursday, March 14 from 5:00 PM-7:30 PM at Jim Bridger Elementary. 5th and 6th graders will compete as teams in a family feud style competition that will test their knowledge of the 15 books on our list. If your school is interested in participating in the program for next year, but not exactly sure how it works, watching battles at our district competition is a really good way to get a sense of how it all works.  Here is a quick breakdown of the sequence of events for that evening:

If you have questions about our Battle of the Books program, please contact Nikki Gregerson. Also, check out our highlights from the 2018 Granite Battle of the Books Competition.

Upcoming Event + Volunteers Needed: Granite FIRST LEGO League Tournament, January 26, 2019

Post Author: Cherie Anderson, Educational Technology Specialist and Team Leader

Students compete in a robot games round during the 2018 Granite FIRST LEGO League competition. Photo by Tom Sparks.

An amazing event is coming to Granite School District, and we need some volunteers!

The FIRST LEGO League Tournament for Granite School District will be on Saturday, January 26, 2019 at Granger High School. It is an all-day event and we need judges, referees, stagers, runners, and table re-setters. If you would like more information on what the event is and what volunteering would entail, contact Cherie Anderson at  canderson@graniteschools.org or 385-646-7112. You can also see photos and videos from last year’s tournament here.

Begin the volunteer registration process by following this link:

https://www.firstinspires.org/ways-to-help/volunteer

https://www.firstinspires.org/ways-to-help/volunteer

Enter the ZIP code 84119 and date 1/26/2019 when prompted to find the Granite event.

Check out our blog post, Highlights from Granite’s FIRST LEGO League 2018 Qualifier, to learn more about this event.

Now Registering: Hyperdocs (Ed Tech Pick Five Session)

January 15, 2018 – HyperDocs

Making the shift to 21st century teaching just got a whole lot easier with HyperDocs! On the outside a HyperDoc looks like just a colorful Google doc with links, but when you dig in deeper you’ll find a research-based digital lesson with interactive elements tailored to each student.

In this session, you’ll experience a HyperDoc just as your students would, learn what HyperDocs are (and aren’t), and examine the pedagogy behind HyperDocs and best practices for creating and using HyperDocs with your students. You will also have time to find existing HyperDocs you can adapt to meet your needs and begin to create your own from a template or from scratch.

Session location: Technology Learning Center (5300 W Cherrywood Lane, West Valley City, UT)

Time: 4:30 – 7:30 PM

Click here to register for this session.

Pick Five – GSD Ed. Tech. Tuesdays

3rd Tuesday of each month – 4:30-7:30 P.M.

All Granite educators looking to add to or improve their use of technology in the classroom are invited to attend any of our Pick Five sessions. Topics will be announced in our Ed Tech Newsletter each month.

All are welcome to sign up to attend any of the sessions. Relicensure points are available. Attend at least 5 of the sessions and complete a portfolio assignment to receive 1 USBE credit.

Upcoming Sessions:

Visit https://sites.google.com/granitesd.org/gsdedtechtuesdays/pick-five?authuser=0 for more information and to register for any of these upcoming sessions.

New Books in Sora for Winter Break

Just in time for winter break we’ve added many new titles in Sora, Granite’s digital library for students and staff. Take some time to read and listen over the holidays. We have several new curated collections, including Best Books of 2018 and 2020 Beehive Hopefuls. Log in with your student number and password at https://soraapp.com or in the Sora mobile app and see what is available. (Visit sora.edtech.fun for more help with using Sora.)


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