Tag Archives: #edtech

Apr
04
2017

Interactive Assessments with Sandra Story

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We had an excellent and informative session with Sandra Story on March 16th, 2017. Sandra is a returning presenter to TLP-C and always comes with an extensive list of tools to share.


The first tool Sandra walked us through was Edulastic. Edulastic is an interactive formative assessment tool that can align with standards to provide authentic assessment to prepare students for the SOL. A few things to know as you get started, you will need to create a free account and you can link it to your Google Classroom. Edulastic has created some tutorials to support new users. This video will show you how to create an assessment:

Next, Sandra showed us another comprehensive resource that teachers can use to create formative and summative assessments. From exit tickets to creating a platform for a flipped classroom, Socrative is a dynamic resource for all teachers’ tool kit. Though this is another free resource, Sandra pointed out that it is not as easy to search for pre-made assessments, and it not as user friendly as some tools like Kahoot.


The next three tools Sandra covered were Wizer Me, Spiral, and Quizizz. Wizer Me is a resource to enhance worksheets. Spiral is a collection of formative assessments to be utilized throughout the lesson. Quizizz offers students a gaming platform, similar to Kahoot, but differs by allow the assessment to be student/player-paced. For a complete rundown of these tools, watch the recording here: TLP-C Interactive Assessments

Thank you to Sandra Story for sharing her knowledge of interactive assessments and several great resources during our March session of TLP-C. Consider joining us live for our next session! Thursday, April 27th from 4-5pm EST Cary Hanson will be covering digital citizenship and information literacy. Come with question or ideas for how to utilize resources and tools from Common Sense Media. Log on a few minutes before 4pm on the 27th using this link.

Jan
17
2017

Curating Digital Content to Boost Student Engagement

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Thank you to Carmen Canales for sharing her knowledge and insights about how EdPuzzle can boost student engagement and accountability at our most recent session of TLP-C. Weren’t able to join us live? Watch the recording here:

TLP-C Curating Digital Content to Boost Student Engagement Recording

Carmen wisely launched her session by asking us to be students. See her same video lesson by clicking here. Carmen highlighted the powerful tools of EdPuzzle: the ability to insert questions, narration and audio notes and to go back and view student responses. Carmen then walked us through the steps of how to set up an account and create a video lesson. She did a great job explaining which features she uses with her class and how they have impacted the English Language Learners that she teaches. Please remember that to use EdPuzzle with students under 18, you need to collect parent permission. See your building TIS to a form letter to use for this purpose.

Consider joining us live for our next session! Thursday, Feburary 9th from 4-5pm EST Tyler Eckhoff will share how he has used WeVideo to make student learning visible. Log on a few minutes before 4pm on the 9th using this link.

Feb
24
2016

MinecraftEDU in the Classroom

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Do your students wear pictures of green, blocky creepers to school? Do they talk about crafting tables and mining all the time? Harness their excitement about the game Minecraft by using it in school.minecraftEDU

We are pleased to have David Talbot of Hammond Middle School sharing with us his adventures using MinecraftEDU in the classroom. Dave will talk about why he uses Minecraft and what he has learned from trying it in his classrooms. This will be a fun session if you just want to know more about the game or if you are thinking about how you could use it in your classroom.

Join us Thursday, March 3rd from 4-5pm by clicking on this link (link only active on date of presentation)

https://acps.blackboard.com/webapps/bb-collaborate-bb_bb60/launchSession/guest?uid=fa8e8505-3e30-48c2-bd92-110c38c52601

Sep
27
2015

Getting Ready for the Global Read Aloud

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It is only one week until the lgraaunch of The Global Read Aloud! We were so honored that during this busy time, Pernille Ripp, founder of The Global Read Aloud was able to join us for part of our discussion of The Global Read Aloud. If you missed the live session, please listen to the recording here.

Recording of TLP-C The Global Read Aloud using Blackboard Collaborate

or watch here for video only

[kaltura-widget uiconfid=”11958342″ entryid=”1_29gjsjrw” width=”400″ height=”333″ align=”center” /] We began the session by describing what TLP-C is and what our goals are. If you are already familiar with us, you might want to skip ahead to minute 9:49.    If you’re reading this and wondering what The Global Read Aloud is, let us clear things up a bit. The Global Read Aloud is an opportunity to read a book at the same time as other classrooms around the world. As the classroom teacher, you decide how you want to connect with other classrooms. It is a great opportunity to give students a global perspective, let them write for authentic audiences and connect with a book in a powerful way.

It was wonderful to hear from Pernille directly about how she got the idea to create the Global Read Aloud. I think we got a real sense of her passion for reading and for turning students into readers; as well as a sense of how big this project has become. When talking about how the Global Read Aloud impacts students, Pernille said,

“It starts a revolution in their brain that all of a sudden leads to them identifying as readers and writers.”

Looking for advice about the Global Read Aloud? “Do it, ” says Pernille. Just get involved. Read the book and try one tool.

In addition to Pernille joining us, classroom teacher, Denise Radomski, also joined in for this information-packed session. Denise teaches sixth grade at George Washington Middle School and participated in The Global Read Aloud last year. Melissa King, Technology Integration Specialist, also shared her thoughts since some teachers she works with will be joining The Global Read Aloud this year.

GRAmapWe had fun sharing ideas about why it is valuable to participate in The Global Read Aloud. We also had loads of tips and tricks to share that will guide anyone who is new to the project. The best part of this program is that you can really pick your level of involvement. Maybe you’ll just read the book with your student and read what other classes are doing as part of their read aloud. Maybe you’ll find another class in another school that wants to share ideas about the book through Skype, Edublogs, Padlet, WriteAbout or some other virtual format.

Let us know if you join the project this year. We’d love to hear about your experiences, the excitement and the challenges.

May
28
2015

Final TLP-C of 2014-2015!

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roundupOur final TLP-C for the 2014-2015 school year is  Thursday, June 4th from 4-5pm EST (Click here to find out when the event is in your time zone). We are excited to have Dr. Elizabeth Hoover, Chief Technology Officer for ACPS with us who will be giving us an update about technology trends and promising practices. The link for our session is

Link to TLP-C Technology Round-Up

We will be doing a Technology Round-up for our final session.  That means that several different teachers will be sharing a tool they have used that they think others should know about. It will be quick, 5 minute presentations, highlighting the best part of the digital resource and how it can be used in the classroom.

Come find out what other teachers are using or share a new tool yourself. This last session is always a lot of fun and will give you lots of fun things to try out over the summer. Hope to “see” you there!

Apr
29
2015

How to Amplify your classroom

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Thank you to Matt Henry, English teacher at T.C. Williams High School , for sharing his experiences using Amplify in the classroom. Amplify is a classroom management system for tablets in the classroom. It was great to have his perspective on what can be done with Amplify and how it has impacted teaching and learning for him. If you missed this session, you can still check out the recording here:

TLP-C Amplify Your Teaching Recording

Matt began by reminding us all that the first year of an implementation of any technology is going to have some ups and downs but that this presentation was going to focus on the best aspects of using Amplify in the classroom.

amplify1We then learned about playlists and teacher tools. Participants were able to see how a teacher can send out materials to students, freeze their screens and create discussions all via Amplify.

It was great to hear from an actual classroom teacher that is using the technology everyday. Matt was able to explain how the features work in the classroom and how he’s be able to use the features to really enhance the learning in his classroom.

amplify3Matt also highlighted an app called Sketchbook that he found very effective for non-traditional assignments in his classroom. Check out this great drawing he did! Matt shared that this is an excellent tool for visualization or teaching setting and character study.

If you didn’t get to join us, we hope you can watch the recording. We are also looking forward to our last TLP-C of the 2014-2015 school year on Thursday, June 4th. The last session is a Technology Round-Up where participants share a website, digital tool or resource they have been using. Each presenter shares for a few minutes and then we move onto the next technology. Please email the facilitators with your technology idea (Kyle Dunbar, kyle.dunbar@acps.k12.va.us, Jacqueline Mechanic jacqueline.mechanic@acps.k12.va.us, Melissa King melissa.king@acps.k12.va.us).

 

 

Mar
24
2015

Assistive Technology for All

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Please join us this Thursday, March 26th from 4-5pm EST/-5 GMT (click here to find out when the event is in your time zone) for a presentation by Jennifer Holloway of the ACPS Assistive Technology Department. Jennifer will share a variety of resources that can make a difference for students with special needs. She will also show how these resources actually benefit all students. Hear her ideas about using innovative digital tools to get all students engaged and learning.

Use this link below to access our talk. (Link will be live 30 minutes prior to the start of the session on March 26th)

Link to TLP-C Assistive Technology for All

If you’d like to learn more about how technology can help diverse learners in your class, or if you’ve had good experiences using assistive technology, please join us!

Feb
18
2015

Dynamic Projects with Weebly

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Today’s session will be rescheduled. Check back here to find out new date and time!

Please join us next Thursday, February 26th from 4-5pm EST/-5 GMT (click here to find out when the event is in your time zone) for a presentation by weebly-solarenergyJacci Erney of Tucker Elementary School. Jacci is a 4th grade teacher who has lots of great ideas about how to use Weebly in the classroom. Use this link below to access our talk. (Link will be live 30 minutes prior to the start of the session on February 26th)

Link to TLP-C Weebly in the Classroom

weebly-hannahIn this session we will review what Weebly is, how it works and how to create student accounts. We will share some student project examples and discuss the pros and cons of using this website creation services for school projects. Whether you have never heard of Weebly before or use it every day, we hope you can join us to ask questions, share ideas and contribute your thoughts.

Jan
15
2015

Blogging in Primary Grades

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Join us Thursday, January 22nd from 4-5pm EST (click here to find out when the event is in your time zone) to learn more about blogging in the primary grades. Kristin Orwig, kindergarten teacher at William Ramsay Elementary School will be sharing her adventures with getting our youngest learners writing online. Use this link below to access our talk. (Link will be live 30 minutes prior to the start of the session on January 22nd)0115150941

Link to TLP-C Blogging in Primary Grades

Don’t teach the little ones? Still join us, you will be amazed to learn what these kids can do and how blogging changed how they thought of themselves as writers. You’ll find inspiration in hearing their stories.

Already having your kids blogging? Please join us and share your own experiences and ideas. TLP-C is a group of teachers learning together and we are thrilled when our participants have stories to share.