The Google Slides Module is now open on our Chromebook Basics and G Suite Online Training site for Granite teachers. The module walks you through the basics of Google Slides, but also includes some additional helpful tips and tricks. [Read more…] about Now Open: Google Slides Basics Online Module
Google Slides
Teacher Spotlight: Ashley Moore, Diamond Ridge Elementary
Blended Learning at Diamond Ridge Elementary
Diamond Ridge has one Chromebook for every student in all grade levels this year. Their School Technology Specialist, Ashley Moore, works with teachers and students in the classroom to help them integrate the technology in fun and meaningful ways.
On this visit to Diamond Ridge, Ashley pushed into a fifth grade class with Mrs. George and a first grade class with Mrs. Harbaugh.
Cindy George, 5th Grade
Mrs. George’s 5th graders learned about using onomatopoeia in their writing and picked up some new tech skills along the way.
Her students drafted poems using Google Slides. After writing their poems, students used the Screencastify Chrome extension to video record themselves reading their poems.
They then posted their poems to a shared wall using Padlet, where all the poems could be enjoyed by the whole class.
Stephanie Harbaugh, 1st Grade
Mrs. Harbaugh’s 1st graders learned about the life cycle of a pumpkin and practiced using the Chromebook trackpad.
Ashley taught Mrs. Harbaugh how to use LanSchool with her students, so that getting websites and documents out to her little learners is easy.
Many thanks to Mrs. Moore, Mrs. George, Mrs. Harbaugh, and their students at Diamond Ridge Elementary for allowing us a peek into their blended learning classroom activities.
Spotlight Created by Teresa Bruin, Educational Technology Specialist and Team Leader.
Teacher Spotlight: Shelly Prettyman, Arcadia Elementary
Shelly Prettyman is a 5th Grade Teacher at Arcadia Elementary.
Shelly went through Granite’s Educational Technology Endorsement Program (ETEP), learning many ways to integrate technology into her lessons.
Students in Ms. Prettyman’s class have had opportunities to learn coding and work on digital projects using a variety of web tools.
She also mentors students in a FIRST Lego League team and goes to a district competition with them each year.
Ms. Prettyman has the support of her School Technology Specialist, Ross Pope, as she plans and carries out lessons enhanced with the use of technology.
In this video, Ms. Prettyman’s 5th Grade students were working on their Colonial Projects.
Shelly and Ross worked together, as students learned how to use some new web tools (Google Slides and PowToon) while creating projects around their colonial studies.
Spotlight Author: Teresa Bruin, Granite District Educational Technology Specialist
Teacher Spotlight: Tricia Fenton and Katy Halliday, Western Hills Elementary
Tricia Fenton is the STS at Vista Elementary and Western Hills Elementary. She collaborates with teachers at both of her schools on the integration of technology into their lessons on a regular basis. Tricia is excellent at all aspects of her job as an STS. which includes front line tech support, helping implement district online tools, and training students and teachers in multiple programs and technologies. She notes that her favorite part of her job is going into classrooms and working with the teachers and students.
Katy Halliday is a 3rd grade teacher at Western Hills Elementary. She eagerly seeks out ways to enhance learning through the use of technology. She isn’t afraid to try new things, knowing that it doesn’t always go perfectly the first time, but that’s what learning is all about. She finds ways for her students to think critically, communicate, collaborate and create with the use of technology.
In this short video, students share the biographies they’ve been working on. They are able to wirelessly cast what’s on their Chromebook screens to the projector for the class to see by using Google Cast For Education. The students have done their research using the Chromebooks and have built their presentations using Google Slides. Katy sends out assignments using Google Classroom, which makes managing digital assignments a breeze.
Both Tricia and Katy are excellent teachers individually. Teamed up together, they make a Dynamic Duo!
Spotlight created and authored by Teresa Bruin, Granite District Educational Technology Specialist
Granite EdTech Monthly Newsletter | September 2016
Granite EdTech Monthly Newsletter – September 2016
The first 2016-2017 edition of our department’s monthly newsletter recently went out via email to teachers in Granite School District. If you missed it you can access it here.
Highlights from our September 2016 Newsletter:
- Now Registering For: Introduction to Chromebooks In the Classroom
- Now Registering For: Google Classroom For Elementary
- Donors Choose and Classroom Project Funding
- Learn About Chevron Fuel Your School Funding
- Getting Started With Google Classroom
- You Can Now Create a Quiz in Google Forms!
- Never Miss Student Questions With the New Audience Tools in Google Slides
- Educational Technology’s Website Gems
The Granite EdTech Monthly Newsletter is edited by Teresa Bruin, District Educational Technology Specialist. You can access all of our past newsletters at http://etnewsupdate.wikispaces.com/.
Teacher Spotlight: Alisha Kerby, Truman Elementary
Ms. Alisha Kerby is a fourth grade teacher at Truman Elementary in West Valley City. I had the opportunity to visit her class and watch the innovative things she is doing in her classroom. Ms. Kerby’s students use Chromebooks in their classroom. While I was visiting her classroom the students were studying fractions.
Her students were actively engaged in the learning process. The students reviewed fraction concepts using Kahoot, and then created their own fractions using Google Drawings. Students created fractions using the drawing tools and then rotated from computer to computer at their tables and came up with equivalent fractions for each fraction drawing.
The students in Ms. Kerby’s class were also working on creating presentations using Google Slides, sharing what they had learned about rocks, habitats, and new year celebrations in other countries. She has created a classroom environment where the students love learning.
Spotlight Creator: Heidi Meenen, Granite District Educational Technology Specialist
Teacher Spotlight: Laverna Benally, Lincoln Elementary
Laverna Benally teaches 5th Grade at Lincoln Elementary in South Salt Lake, Utah. This spotlight begins with her students expressing a few of the reasons they enjoy having Mrs. Benally as their teacher. We see students working on research projects and creating collaborative Google Slides presentations using classroom Chromebooks. One student states that he enjoys using Chromebooks because they help him become more engaged with research. Meanwhile, we see Mrs. Benally roaming the classroom consulting with students individually to meet their needs. Special thanks go to Mrs. Benally, an excellent teacher who engages and supports students in her classroom each day.
Spotlight Author: Patrick Flanagan, Director of Educational Technology, Granite School District
Presentation: Twitter for Teachers
This is an updated version of our slideshow Twitter for Teachers. It first explores some of the reasons why teachers could or should use Twitter, then follows that up with some of the basic mechanics of twitter, how to sign up, etc.
Feel free to copy all or portions of this slideshow and adapt it to your specific training or presenting situations. For more resources on Twitter from our blog, click here.
Reading & Chromebooks
Click through this presentation to find a wealth of digital resources and web tools for using Chromebooks (or other devices) for reading, including text-to-speech tools, online reading materials, annotation and note taking tools, and much more. This collection was created by Stephanie Seely, Library Media Educational Technology Specialist at Granite Connection High School, and presented to secondary English Language Arts teachers as part of Granite’s August 17, 2015 professional development sessions.
Chromebooks: What We Know Now
Will you be using Chromebooks in your classroom this year for the first time? The presentation above is filled with valuable tips, ideas, and resources for preparing, managing, and using Chromebooks in the classroom. [Read more…] about Chromebooks: What We Know Now