385-646-5000
2500 South State Street Salt Lake City UT 84115
F.A.Q.
Translate:

Educational Technology

Granite School District > Educational Technology > Blog > Digital Learning Resources

Digital Learning Resources

Featured Resource: SMART Learning Suite Online

Post by Jenny Peirce, Educational Technology Specialist and Team Leader.

Many teachers in Granite have SMART Boards in their classrooms and have been using the SMART Notebook software to add interactivity and engagement to their lesson presentations. SMART has introduced a new platform to share SMART Notebook and SMART activities in an even more engaging and interactive way – SMART Learning Suite Online (SLSO).

Teachers can create or upload their SMART Notebook lessons and activities in SLSO so students can access them and follow along on any Internet-connected device. Within these lessons, teachers can create SMART Lab activities and Notebook pages that students can work directly on from their device.

SMART Learning Suite Online is available to teachers in our district who have a current subscription to the SMART Learning Suite. If you are interested in using SLSO, contact your school STS or LMETS to find out if you have a current subscription and for them to arrange to set up your account. Any teacher is welcome to set up a free 45-day trial account. To access SLSO, visit https://suite.smarttech.com and use your Granite Microsoft Office 365 (graniteschools.org) account to log in. Several online training videos are available on the SMART website, or contact your STS or LMETS for more information using SMART Learning Suite Online in your classroom.

Featured Resource: Google Meet

Post by Teresa Bruin, Educational Technology Specialist and Team Leader. This post originally appeared in our Ed. Tech. Monthly Newsletter for teachers.

Using Google Meet for Universal Collaboration

Google Meet (https://meet.google.com/) is available for all staff in Granite School District to use as part of our G Suite For Education accounts. Granite District staff can create a Google Meet with others outside of our district. Google Meet is not open for students, but students can participate in a Google Meet that the teacher has organized.

A Google Hangouts Meet is easy to setup and easy to join. See the information and videos provided for help with getting started.

Google Meet - Screenshot
Screenshot of Google Meet – a simple interface to start or join a meeting

Below is a list of a few ways Google Meet can be used in the classroom.

  • Mystery Meets with other classes (classes use Y/N questioning techniques to solve mysteries about a location, book, animal, etc.)
  • Author Chat
  • Meet with a scientist or other expert

What You Can Do with Meet

  • Make video calls. Meet makes it easier than ever to start and join video meetings from mobile devices, computers, or a conference room. You can meet with up to 25 (G Suite Basic), 50 (Business, Education) or 100 (G Suite Enterprise, G Suite Enterprise for Education) people at a time. There is also no time limit on meetings you host with G Suite Enterprise or G Suite Enterprise for Education.
  • Invite people inside or outside your organization. Schedule a meeting using Google Calendar or invite people after you join the call.
  • Dial in from a phone. A phone number and PIN is automatically added to Meet video meetings. Anyone can use the number to dial-in (including external users and people using other G Suite editions).
  • Schedule meetings. All meetings scheduled with Google Calendar include a Meet video link.
    • Meetings also include a dial-in number so people can call in for audio access.
    • You can also dial-out to add someone by phone to a video meeting.
  • Start an instant meeting. On your phone, open the mobile app or, in your browser, go to https://meet.google.com start a meeting, and then invite others to join.
  • Share your screen. While in a meeting, you can share your screen to present slides or other information on your desktop.
  • Record a meeting. You can record video meetings for other people to watch later if you are the meeting organizer or in the organizer’s domain.
  • Use multiple devices. Scheduled meetings are synced automatically across devices, so you can start a meeting on your computer and continue on another device, such as your phone.

Featured Resource: The National Archives

Post Author: Jessica Moody, Library Media Educational Technology Specialist, Olympus Jr. High School

The National Archives Educator Resources page is a great resource for K-12 teachers.

DocsTeach is a repository of lesson plans, graphic organizers, and Primary Sources Documents focusing on American History. You can browse or search by time period, topic, activity type, or grade level. The graphic organizers are simple and fun. The Interpreting Data exercises are a great way to link History, Analysis, and even some math skills such as reading graphs and charts. All DocsTeach lessons align with Bloom’s taxonomy and the National History Standards. Follow @DocsTeach on Twitter to see highlights of new additions and interesting documents from the National Archives that relate to the National History Standards.

Be sure to subscribe to the US National Archives YouTube Channel for a variety of videos and professional development.  If you look at their Playlists, their videos are organized by topics and interests.  You can even find professional development for teachers. Be sure to use the search option on their channel page to search for specific videos for your next lesson. In their Uploads stream you can see a few of their upcoming live streams that will be posted soon. The Illusions of Emancipation will be posting on February 27th, 2019. This video will deal with the slow process of ending slavery in America.

The National Archives also feature apps, ebooks, warm up activities, and political cartoons to assist you.  This is a great place to find bell ringers and more in-depth lessons.  The eBooks are free and are in PDF format so that they are easily accessible.

The Online Exhibits are a great way to host a virtual field trip. There are many topics including Art History, History, World Geography, Science & Technology, and even When Nixon Met Elvis.

Of course, there is much more to be found. What will you find?

Featured Resource: W3Schools Online Web Development Tutorials

Post Author: Teresa Bruin, Educational Technology Specialist and Team Leader. Originally appeared in our Ed. Tech. Monthly Newsletter for Teachers.

Learn Coding and Web Development

If you or your students are looking for more advanced opportunities for learning coding, w3schools.com is an excellent website. W3Schools is the world’s largest web developer reference site. It features an extensive library of tutorials, references, and reusable code examples.  It has something for everyone from beginners to experts in the world of coding and web development!

Topics covered include

  • HTML
  • CSS
  • JavaScript
  • PHP
  • SQL
  • Python
  • XML

and much more.

In addition to references, the site features numerous “Try It Yourself” editors in which a user can modify and experiment with actual code to immediately see how it affects the design and function of a web page. The code could then be copied and pasted directly into the user’s project.

#GSDEdTech Blog Editor’s Note: By coincidence I’m currently using W3Schools and their W3.CSS framework as a key learning and building reference for a personal web project. It is an incredibly useful resource whether you are a student, a professional, or just a hobbyist/lifelong-learner.

Featured Resources: Student Podcasting

Post Author: Teresa Bruin, Educational Technology Specialist and Team Leader. Originally appeared in our Ed. Tech. Monthly Newsletter for Teachers.

NPR Student Podcast Challenge

NPR is currently hosting a student podcast challenge.  Teachers of students from grades 5-12 can submit student-created podcasts until March 31, 2019. Two teachers of student groups will win the opportunity to have NPR and/or station reporters come to their school to meet and interview them and their student(s) and have the winning podcast discussed in a news segment that will appear on an episode of NPR’s All Things Considered or Morning Edition.

How To Enter The NPR Student Podcast Challenge

NPR Student Podcast Challenge: Official Rules

Submit To The NPR Student Podcast Challenge Here

Starting Your Podcast: A Guide For Students

Teaching Podcasting: A Curriculum Guide for Educators

Using Synth For Student Podcasting and More

Synth is a simple podcasting tool that can be used to create short podcasts of about 4 1/2 minutes using audio or video.

Bring more people into the conversation. Others can add on their own short podcasts to an original conversation starter. There are lots of ways to use podcasting with students. Use it for interviewing, global collaboration, creating your own audio story, practicing a foreign language, and so much more. Here is a list of 50 ideas for using podcasting with students to get started.

Podcasts and Podcasting — Additional Resources

[Read more…] about Featured Resources: Student Podcasting

Featured Resource: Puzzle Hunts

Post Author: Celia Powell, Educational Technology Specialist and Team Leader

Teachers have embraced the breakout boxes both physical and digital in recent years to help students solve problems, think critically, and develop engagement in the classroom. Alex Rosenthal and his colleagues have taken the principles of a breakout box several steps further in their annual puzzle solves. Check it out for long-term projects and challenges for students.

Additional Links

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.)


[Read more…] about New Books in Sora for Winter Break

Let’s Get Coding / Granite Hour of Code Social Media Round Up

Last week was Computer Science Education Week, and many Granite teachers took the opportunity to introduce students to programming with Hour of Code learning activities. Scroll down to see our round up of social media posts from Granite classrooms where students tried out coding projects. If you missed CSEdWeek it’s not too late to share these activities with students. See the “Let’s Get Coding” section below for activities that can be used in the classroom or at home at any time.  [Read more…] about Let’s Get Coding / Granite Hour of Code Social Media Round Up

Hour of Code and Computer Science Education Week, 2018

Computer Science Education Week is December 3-9, 2018. Many schools, educators, and students participate in an Hour of Code during Computer Science Education Week.

If you host a coding activity please share it with us! You can leave a comment below or share pictures via social media including Twitter or Instagram, using the hashtags #gsdedtech and #HourOfCode. We will collect all the shared social media posts in this Wakelet collection.

Read on for more information and links to resources and activities for Hour of Code and Computer Science Education Week. [Read more…] about Hour of Code and Computer Science Education Week, 2018

Featured Resource: Sora, the New Reading App from OverDrive

Sora is a new reading and listening app from OverDrive and Granite School District. With Sora, students and staff can access a large collection of ebooks and audiobooks for independent, recreational, or teacher-assigned reading. Students can read or listen to these books using a Chromebook, desktop computer, or personal mobile device.

[Read more…] about Featured Resource: Sora, the New Reading App from OverDrive