Looking for easy technology tools for distance learning? This presentation, first shared as part of the professional development menu for Granite teachers at the beginning of the school year, introduces several great options and ideas for connecting with and engaging your students.
Tools covered include:
Earlier this month the Utah Coalition for Educational Technology (UCET) and the Utah Educational Library Media Association (UELMA) held their annual conferences. Many teachers, school technology specialists, and library media educational technology specialists from Granite presented at these conferences, and we collected links to their presentations in the table below. [Read more…] about Granite Presentations at UCET 2019 & UELMA 2019
Coming in September 2018, all teachers in Granite School District will receive an updated and expanded set of Technology Integration Progress (TIP) Cards!
You can download a digital preview of the card sets here:
These cards provide teachers with a handy collection of quick help guides for a range of classroom technology tools and digital resources, as well as tips and ideas for new ways of using these tools and resources with students. Short URLs on the cards link teachers to a full menu of tutorials and other resources. TIP Cards comprise just one aspect of the Technology Integration Progress framework, an initiative of Granite’s Educational Technology Department. Read on to learn more about the TIP program. [Read more…] about TIP Cards Revised and Expanded for 2018-2019
Chris Larsen, Director of Educational Technology, and Jenny Peirce, Educational Technology Specialist Team Leader, recently presented at the 2018 International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Conference held in Chicago, sharing our department’s Technology Integration Progress initiative.
Click here to view the slideshow from their presentation or read below for details about the initiative and links to additional resources. [Read more…] about Presentation: Technology Integration Progress Initiative
Have you ever wondered what school technology specialists and library media educational technology specialists do on their Friday trainings? Heidi Meenen, one of our Educational Technology team leaders, gives some insights into our department’s Friday professional learning in the video above.
In this meeting, technology specialists learned about a new technology tool, the Explore feature in Google Sheets, and then had the opportunity to engage in a lesson that integrates that tool into learning. They experience first-hand how the lesson works, then take it back to their schools to share with students through co-teaching opportunities, modifying when necessary to meet specific classroom needs.
Additionally, technology and library media specialists spend time at Friday meetings in collaborative groups creating original lesson plans. Each month they focus on one or two specific topics or tools from our Technology Integration Progress menu. The goal is to create and amass a library of lesson plans aligned to specific core standards that integrate innovative technology use and 21st century learning practices such as those described in the ISTE Learning Standards. Technology and library specialists share what they create with each other and bring these lessons back to teachers and students at their schools.
You can see snapshots of some of these shared lessons in action in classrooms by browsing our @EdTechGSD Twitter Feed. As time passes, selections from these shared lessons and resources may also be shared publicly on our Technology Integration Progress Resource Pages.
Spotlight Created by Heidi Meenen, Educational Technology Specialist and Team Leader.
Last week the Utah Coalition for Educational Technology held their annual conference at the University of Utah. Sessions were led for and by educators, and many of Granite’s teachers, school technology specialists, and library media educational technology specialists attended and presented at the conference. Below is a roster of the sessions shared by Granite teachers, along with links to resources from the sessions if available.
| Session Title | Presenter(s) |
|---|---|
| BreakoutEDU | Brenda Duford (STS, Silver Hills El.), Stephanie Evans (STS, Monroe El.), and Dave Taylor (STS, Moss El. and Pioneer El.) |
| BreakoutEDU | Michelle Reed (LMETS, Jefferson Jr. High) and Mary Anne Wiebe-Strong (LMETS, Churchill Jr. High) |
| BreakoutEDU | Tricia Fenton (STS, Vista El. and Western Hills El.) and Sarah Robinson (STS, Oakwood El. and Calvin Smith El.) |
| Bringing the World into Your Classroom with Virtual Fieldtrips | Adam Brough (STS, Diamond Ridge El. and Gourley El.), Samantha Mitchell (STS, Academy Park El.), and Will Walden (STS, Bacchus El. and Rosecrest El.) |
| Code Unplugged | James Baliff (STS, Bridger El. and Jackling El.) and Aaron Kammerman (STS, Hartvigsen School) |
| Creating Stories, Illustrations, and Collages with iPads | Michelle Hanson (STS, Hillsdale El.) |
| Creating VR for the Classroom | Becky Schaap (STS, Copper Hills El. and Twin Peaks El.) and Tom Sparks (STS, Penn El. and Spring Lane El.) |
| Digital Breakout Edu | Tiffany Pontius (STS, Cottonwood El. and Truman El.) and Keith Reidford (STS, Hillside El. and South Kearns El.) |
| Engaging Students with Toys, Games, and Comics | Quinn Rollins (District Social Studies Curriculum Specialist) |
| Get Hyped About HyperDocs | Stephanie Mondragon (LMETS, Valley Jr. High), Jenny Peirce (LMETS, Kearns High School), and Stephanie Seely (LMETS, Granite Connection High School) |
| Go Unplugged: Coding Without Computers (For Kids!) | Cherie Anderson (Granite District Elementary Educational Technology Specialist), Celia Powell (Granite District Secondary Educational Technology Specialist) |
| Googlizing The Amazing Race | Kris Fox (STS, Elk Run El.), Joell Wilkins (STS, Farnsworth El. and Woodstock El.), and Jaime Woolley (STS, Taylorsville El.) |
| Incorporating Music and Movement in the Classroom with Go Noodle! | Krystal Plott (STS, Driggs El. and Wright El.) |
| K-3 Meets G Suite | Teresa Bruin (Granite District Elementary Educational Technology Specialist) and Heidi Meenen (Granite District Elementary Educational Technology Specialist) |
| La La Land Yourself into Digital Storytelling | Kristen Johnson (Granite District Elementary Educational Technology Specialist) |
| LEGO League Robot Games | Michelle Reed (LMETS, Jefferson Jr. High) |
| Maker Space: Mechanical Hands | Sarah Eyring (STS, Granite Technical Instute), Samantha Spangler Mitchell (STS, Academy Park El.), and Davina Sauthoff (LMETS, Wasatch Jr. High) |
| Motivating Upper Elementary Through Popular Culture: Providing the "Why" | Keith Reidford (STS, Hillside El. and South Kearns El.) |
| Orange Slice Rubric Creator | Jeremy Smith (Spanish Teacher, Taylorsville High) and Lorraine Wyness (LMETS, Taylorsville High) |
| Show What You Know - Creative Assessments in the Elementary Classroom | Maggie Tanner (STS, Redwood El.) and Kareena Steed Vance (STS, Mill Creek El. and Sandburg El.) |
| Sphero Olliempics | Alisha Kerby (STS, Roosevelt El.), Ashley Moore (STS, Lincoln El.), Karen Tinsley (STS, Stansbury El.) |
| Technology and Educational Equity | Chris Larsen (Director, Educational Technology) |
| The $10,000 mistake: Essential Steps Every Teacher Should Know | Dale Roberts (Director, Information Systems) |
| They want formative..Now What? | Misty Butterfield (STS, Beehive El. and Oquirrh Hills El.) and Melissa White (STS, Oakridge El. and Valley Crest El.) |
| Zubi Flyer - The World's First Interactive, Programmable Flying Toy! | Thomas Phipps (STS, Upland Terrace El. and West Kearns El.) |
Thank you to all who shared their ideas and expertise at the conference this year. We would also like to congratulate Chris Larsen, Director of Educational Technology, for being elected to a position on the UCET Board during the conference.
In this spotlight video, first grade students at Bennion Elementary work with school technology specialist Amber Palmer to solve critical thinking puzzles as part of a Breakout EDU activity. The video also highlights the centrality of the Four Cs of 21st Century Learning (Critical Thinking, Communication, Collaboration, and Creativity) to our teaching and learning practices in educational technology. [Read more…] about Spotlight: First Graders and the 4 Cs with Breakout EDU
Helen White is a 6th Grade teacher at Whittier Elementary in West Valley City, Utah. Ross Pope is the school’s technology specialist. Mrs. White and Mr. Pope co-teach lessons often. In the lesson featured in the spotlight above, they led students in a collaborative writing exercise, which proved a great way to integrate the 4 Cs of 21st Century Learning in the classroom. Students utilized classroom Chromebooks and the collaborative writing capabilities of Google Docs to co-author stories based on pictures from The Mystery of Harris Burdick. Thank you to Mrs. White for sharing this great classroom activity with us!
Spotlight created by Heidi Meenen, Granite District Educational Technology Specialist
Classroom and lab computers in Granite School District are being updated to the Windows 10 operating system over the next few months. To help teachers with this update, Heidi Meenen, one of our district technology specialists, has created the presentation embedded above. It goes over the basics of Windows 10, as well as a few of the tricks and new features that come along with it.
You can click through this training presentation yourself, or you can make a copy to modify and share with other staff members or students.
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
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