Professional Development

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

Now Registering: Personalized Learning (Ed Tech Tuesdays Pick Five Series)

December 2019Josh Whiting

The next sessions of our GSD Ed Tech Tuesdays professional development series start up the week after Winter Recess. Join us in the library at Granite Connection High School on January 7, 2020 or at the TLC on January 21, 2020 to explore the what, why, and how of personalized learning.

In personalized learning, students engage in relevant material and instruction that challenges them appropriately and is based on their interests, skills, and needs. When learning is personalized, every student engages with the right material and instruction to challenge them appropriately and get them to the next level. In this session will look at the what, the why, and the how of personalized learning.

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

Now Registering: Exploring Spaces and Places for Makerspaces (Ed Tech Tuesdays Makerspace Series)

December 2019Josh 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, December 10, 2019 for the fourth session of our Makerspaces course, with the topic “Exploring Spaces and Places for Makerspaces” and the theme of Coding. 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.

Hour of Code and Computer Science Education Week, 2019

December 2019Josh Whiting

Computer Science Education Week is December 9-15, 2019. During the week many educators use Hour of Code activities to introduce students to computer science. These activities are fun and easy to run, and can be done not only in a classroom but as an after school or library activity, or at home. There are activities for any kind of computer or device, as well as analog “no-device” activities that teach coding and computational concepts

You can learn more about how to run an Hour of Code activity in these simple how-to guides:

How to teach one Hour of Code with your class (for teachers)

How to do an Hour of Code with your child (for parents)

You can also skip right to the collection of suggested activities by clicking on the image below, or visiting https://hourofcode.com/us/learn