Author: Izora

Apps, Robots and Tablets oh my! -Jen Ushe

Izora

DSC_0182Jen Ushe wanted to change things up for her STEM Engineering Classes by using stations with her students. Additionally, Jen wanted to integrate technology into this lesson.  Jen’s solution:  QR Codes, Robotics Apps, and Google Forms!  First, Jen pushed out directions for students via the Amplify Class Feed and directed them to download QR Droid from the Amplify Market.  Students followed the directions on their tablets and then broke into small groups for the stations portion of the lesson.  Each station featured two QR Codes created using QR Stuff.

Students scanned the first QR code with their tablet’s QR Droid code reader and the QR code took the student to the Google Play Store for the required apps.  Students then downloaded the app that they would use for the particular station activity.  Her students worked in the app, DSC_0165following the directions that had been previously shared via the tablets.  After completing the work, students scanned the second QR code, which took them to an Exit Ticket in the form of a Google Form so that Jen could assess students’ progress.

The students enjoyed scanning the QR codes and moving around the classroom to complete the various activities.  Students were on task, engaged, and motivated to participate.  We heard several student comments expressing how much fun they were having in class today!  For this stations activity, Jen used Code Academy and the Lightbot app.  Additionally, she had students view a YouTube video and then respond using the Google Form.  The fourth station required students to create a program which would allow their robots to draw a line.  Jen followed up this lesson by having students DSC_0178respond via Piazza, an online newsfeed and discussion board tool.  Students responded to the question posed by Ms. Ushe and also to each other in order to build collaborative practices.  This was a terrific lesson and the students had a blast!

TCW’s 2015 Technology Cohorts

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In an effort to better support and encourage teachers to effectively incorporate educational technology and best practices at TC and MH, the Technology Integration Specialists have created a new program based on month-long thematic cohorts.  Each month will provide teachers the opportunity to collaborate with the TIS’s and their fellow educators to expand their use of instructional technology by understanding its effective uses in regards to the ISTE Standards and the ACPS Classroom in Focus guidelines. Learn more on the TC TIS Blog: http://blogs.acpsk12.org/tctis/technology-cohorts/

Long story short:  Meet with the TIS and teachers, learn, do awesome things,and get recertification points.

Collaborate Snip You will work with a tight-knit cohort during one planning period a week for four weeks.  The TIS will organize and run each session, as well as be available to work with you individually for co-teaching and other projects.

Learn SnipDiscover new ways to engage students in content, as well as how to leverage all of the tools available to you.  Explore the ISTE Standards for Teachers and how they can expand your understanding of educational technology use.

Do SnipDevelop new activities, and revamp old ones.  Build lessons and units that reflect the work and collaborative process you take on in the cohort.  Co-teach, reflect, and take chances.

Earn SnipReceive up to 20 recertification points for the cohort.  Different strands of participation earn you different levels of points.  Choose the strand that best fits your availability and desire for a challenge.

Aurasma- Augmented Reality Educational Magic!

Izora

aurasma_primary_logo“What is this magic?!?” That’s what students were saying this year when they were introduced to Aurasma in the TC Williams Media Center. This app lets students scan images to discover secret videos and animation that appear on their device screen! The media specialists used Aurasma to help teach students about different resources available in the library while also keeping them entertained and engaged. Students used iPads and followed scavenger hunt instructions that led them through the media center, scanning posters and books along the way. Each scan brought up interview videos with teachers, students, and media specialists discussing what was available in that area.

Aurasma works using “targets,” which are the images that get scanned, and “auras,” the video or animation that appears. Teachers can use the Aurasma Studio site to connect videos (that they have either made themselves or found online) to different images. Then, these Auras get published to the teacher’s personal channel. All students have to do is download the app and “follow” their teachers channel to have access to the Auras the teacher has created. Math teachers have been connecting example problems to how-to instructions for solving them, and English students have been using it to create interactive posters and presentations. At the Elementary and Middle schools, students have been creating book trailers to inform their classmates about the fantastic books they have read.

The Aurasma app is available for iOS and Android, which means most students can use personal devices to interact with your class in a whole new way!

http://www.aurasma.com

https://studio.aurasma.com/login (free account required)

Digital Citizenship

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Future in Technology My Digital Life: Digital Literacy and Responsibility

Sponsored by Neustar and EverFi, My Digital Life is “a new-media learning platform that uses cutting-edge instructional design, rich media, and simulations to educate teens and empower them with the skill set to leverage technology safely and effectively” (reproduced with permission from http://www.everfi.com/ignition).

E-Readers in the Classroom

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More and more eReaders are becoming the go-to devices for Student reading on Nookreaders everywhere. We love the ability to carry 50 books at time with us on the airplane, to never lose our place because our bookmark fell out and to search names of characters to find when they were first introduced. The English Language Arts department at George Washington Middle School wanted their students to have these same advantages. In the winter of 2013-2014, a 6th grade co-taught Special Education and General Education class began using Nooks for the first time.

The immediate reaction was more than positive. Students loved the layout of the device and had fun discovering all the features available to them. We all love to personalize our devices and Nooks are no different. Students learned (and taught each other) how to change the background image, adjust the font size to suit them and even adjust the orientation to the style they liked best. The ability to make a book their own was a new experience, and it makes a difference, having a book that you can change and modify increases student ownership in the device and increases their interest in reading the text.

Nook cartBeyond the personalization of Nooks, students were able to practice a number of different during reading strategies. Students can highlight passages that they find significant, much the way readers in a book club will underline sections they want to share of come back to. Students can also use the embedded dictionary to look up words they don’t know. For reluctant readers, the ability to find out the definition of new words without asking the teacher or physically using a dictionary (and thus showing the whole class you don’t know the word) is a gift. Watching the students read on their Nooks, you can see them smoothly using all these techniques and empowering themselves to be better readers.

As this first class tests out the Nooks and we see the progress they are making, we look forward to expanding the use of the Nooks to more classes and for more novels. Students will be able to check out eBooks from the school library and the public library. We will be able to load novels that specifically match individual student lexile levels and increase their access to non-fiction texts. As we move forward, these devices will continue to give students access to relevant devices, literacy skills and personalized details which increases their interest and engagement with a wide variety of texts.

 

Game-Based Learning

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“Are we playing Dimension M today?”

This is what you’ll often hear in math classrooms across middle school classrooms in ACPS. Dimension M is an online, multi-player video game that requires students to answer math problems to earn points and power up. In other words, students log on, design and avatar and enter a virtual world where they tackle challenges and avoid obstacles. Their main goal is to answer math questions that show their knowledge on topics from properties of multiplication, to estimating results, to calculating rate of change. As you can imagine, students are leaning forward in their seats, shouting with enthusiasm, and begging for more time to play.

Across the nation, schools are seeing that games can be “effective tools for teaching complex ideas because they:

  • use action instead of explanation,
  • create personal motivation and satisfaction,
  • accommodate various learning styles and skills,
  • reinforce mastery,
  • provide interactive, decision making context (Charles & McAlister, 2004; Holland, Jenkins, & Squire, 2002).

iPads at Ramsay

Izora

KinderiPads1William Ramsay Elementary School began working with iPads in the Fall of 2012. Seeing a need to improve literacy in the Primary grades, the school improvement team looked to technology to help supplement the wonderful learning already existing in the classrooms. Having used iPads the previous year at Polk, TIS Bobby Offterdinger worked with Ramsay to develop an action plan involving the purchase of 4 class sets of iPads. Since acquiring these devices, students have been primarily using them to engage in think-aloud activities and to extend their literacy knowledge.

 

TIE

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The Technology Integration Education (TIE) course is a seven week blended course designed to teach ACPS personnel how to integrate technology tools and software available in our school division into the classroom curriculum. In this course, Alexandria City Public School (ACPS) personnel will ascertain the needed knowledge and skills to fulfill the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Technology Standards for Instructional Personnel (TSIP). Featured learning modules include Utilizing Data to drive instruction and Multimedia and the Flipped Classroom to meet the needs of a diverse population of students.

Visit this page for more information.

Teacher Leadership Project-C (TLP-C)

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The professional development strand in ACPS called Teacher Leadership Program – Collaborate (TLP-C) is an opportunity to build and continue a community of practice collaborating, modeling and implementing relevant, engaging and innovative technologies in the classroom. There will be one online session offered each month. Each online session will be co-facilitated by ACPS teachers through Blackboard Collaborate, an online collaboration platform. Teachers will present virtually on digital topics based on teaching and learning in their classrooms. Teachers will share digital tools and resources, effective strategies and student work. There will be time during each session for discussion, exploration and collaboration. This blog is a venue for continuing the conversation and learning beyond the live, online sessions.Teachers collaborating

All teachers are welcome to participate in TLP-C. Levels of participation are Drop-in and Committed Participants. Drop-ins will attend sessions as they are able or can listen to recorded sessions posted on this blog. Committed Participants must be active participants in at least 6 of the 8 live sessions (active participants will be engaged in chatting, raising hands, active in polling, etc) and be present for the entire live session. Committed Participants will also complete 3 reflections throughout the year and provide evidence of the implementation of the tools and strategies presented in the sessions.

For more information and to view recordings from past sessions, check out our TLP-C blog!

If you would like to be a Developer for the 2014-2015 school year, please indicate your interest here: Developer Interest Form

If you would like to be a Committed Participant for the 2014-2015 school year, please indicate your interest here: Committed Participants Interest Form

Teacher Leadership Project

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Teacher Leadership Project 2012Teacher Leadership Project is a cohort of classroom teachers interested in research, sustained new learning and collaboration on how to engage students in project-based learning using technology. Participating teachers will attend 3 full day workshops in the summer, 3 full day workshops during the school year and 3 after-school meetings. Benefits of this cohort include 120 hours of re-certification credit, necessary equipment to facilitate teaching and learning in your classroom and a $300 stipend.

Teacher Leadership Project 2013Teachers spend the year implementing new technology-infused projects into their classroom. Teachers then present their projects at the ACPS Technology Gallery Walk each Spring. In addition to presenting their projects face-to-face, teachers also create an online portfolio explaining their project and sharing student work. Check out past projects here: ACPS Teacher Leadership Project.

Interested in applying to be part of the 2014-2015 cohort? Apply here ACPS TLP Application. Applications are due April 11, 2014.