- Welcome from Paul, Lead Trainer on Apple and STEAM
- Some thoughts on remote teaching and learning
- Something to make you think
- Something we think you'll like
- Updates in Hangouts and Docs
- Tip of the week: Book Creator
- Featured online course
- Microsoft, Google and Apple tips
- Classroom + Lesson Idea
- Website of the week
- Get to know Xero - student learning
- New Zealand PLD Update + Computational Thinking Progress Outcome 1 demistified!
- Win a Circuit Scribe
- Latest blog posts
- Join the UTB Team
- Win a free online course
Welcome!
Well it’s been a busy few weeks for the team at Using Technology Better. The highlight, without doubt, supporting teachers overseas continue to connect and teach their students online as a result of school closures due to the Coronavirus. The team has been conducting a number of webinars to support teachers not only with the tools to implement online learning but also the pedagogy that goes hand in hand with the tools.
I think Summer Howarth said it best when she stated :
“Coronavirus and the need for us to strengthen our operations and accessibility is a good example of necessary innovation brought forward. We need to make sure to use this as a silver lining for new ways of working and delivering and education worth having”.
- Paul
REMOTE TEACHING AND LEARNING
The hot topic at the moment is obviously the impact the COVID-19 is having around the globe.
The UTB team are working to create, compile and share resources that we hope will support you through this challenging time. Keep an eye out on our Facebook, Insta or Twitter feeds for access to our upcoming FREE webinars and online training options.
The team at Using Technology Better has decided to clear our schedules internally to help support schools and businesses before the curve in NZ and AU. We are offering a 30-minute consult to provide some advice and assistance specific to your needs to support remote teaching/learning and working. We have been working with many schools and businesses in Asia and Europe and would like to dedicate our time and resource to support NZ and AU over the coming weeks. You can schedule a time here.
These two articles from Microsoft and Google are a great resource for thinking about how you can utilise your platform for remote learning.
Please reach out to us if there is anything we can do to support you, your staff and students.
Something to make you think...
Brainstorming questions, not answers
Have you ever stopped to consider the link between brainstorming and creativity? I hadn't until I recently listened to a podcast which discussed how brainstorming can actually hinder creativity, rather than encourage it! A big part of this comes from a fear of our ideas being judged, so we're more likely to hold back the wild ideas and only share those that we think would be acceptable to the group.
I dug into this a little deeper and found this really useful article - Better Brainstorming. It discusses how brainstorming questions, rather than answers, is a better approach. The article lays out a step-by-step process that has been put to the test in large companies around the world.
If you're thinking about doing a brainstorming exercise with your students, take a look at the article and consider trying a different approach. You might just see your student's creative thinking flourish!
- Samantha
Something we think you'll like...
Viewing Minecraft in AR
Did you know that you can view your Minecraft creations in Augmented Reality. Layer them on your kitchen bench or scale them up and walk right through them. UTB trainer Paul is running an AR workshop in Brisbane on the 30th April.
Registration details here: https://usingtechnologybetter.com/transforming-learning-with-augmented-reality/
Updates
Check out the recent G Suite updates for Hangouts, Docs, Gmail and Sheets.
Google have made the premium features of Hangouts Meet available to everyone until July 1, 2020 as a way of helping all those affected by closures due to the Coronavirus.
They're also making some updates to accessibility features in Google Docs as well as being able to position an image in a fixed place in Docs.
Multiple signatures are coming to Gmail and there are improvements to how data can be selected in Sheets. You can even filter Sheets by colour now!
You can read about all these recent update here.
Tool or tip of the week
Book Creator
The more I use this awesome tool the more I absolutely love it!
Over the last couple of weeks the UTB team has been running a series of webinars for a group of international schools that have been impacted with school closures due to the COVID-19 virus. A series of webinars that I’ve been hosting have been all about Literacy. While I was putting them together I kept coming back to Book Creator as a tool that can do it all! Within this one resource you can design lessons, scaffold research, communicate, create and connect with students.
I’ve put together this eBook to share with you! It covers the basic features of Book Creator and gives you some ideas of how you could use it to support your students consuming, creating and connecting with information.
If you’re interested in learning more about how digital tools can transform and enhance your Literacy programmes please let me know! It’s definitely an area of passion for me and something I’ve been working with a number of schools on.
- Lara
Featured: Online Course
Introduction to Minecraft Education Edition
Are you ready to engage and excite your students in some pretty incredible ways?
Want to give your students the opportunity to immerse themselves in the world of their favourite book or film?
Do your students like to blow things up but your principal isn’t so keen on seeing the Science lab go up in flames?
Minecraft Education Edition is FREE for many NZ and AU schools and gives you and your students the opportunity to do all of the above and much, much more!
I first came across Minecraft Education Edition at a Microsoft conference in Feb 2018 - I wasn’t super happy to spend one and a half days in it and (if I’m being really honest) didn’t see the point! By the end of the first half day I was hooked. Actually I was incredibly frustrated!!! BUT I could see the huge potential for learning and developing 21st century skills (hello perseverance!!!) that this tool offered. Since then I’ve loved seeing how the community of teachers, the resources, the worlds, the lessons and the platform itself continue to grow into something that can truly transform teaching and learning.
We have an ‘Introduction to Minecraft Education Edition’ online course available to help you get started. You can check it out here.
I’m also running a series of workshops in Central Otago/Southland - find out more about that here!
Microsoft Tip
Keyboard shortcuts for OneNote 2016
The OneNote Windows desktop application has always been my favourite version of OneNote. So I was really pleased when Microsoft announced late last year that they were continuing support for this version!
Here are a few really handy keyboard shortcuts that I use regularly in OneNote 2016:
Ctrl-M: Open another copy of the OneNote window - great for when you want to view two different notes side by side!
Ctrl-Alt-N: Create a new page below the current page.
Ctrl-Shift-Alt-N: Create a new sub-page below the current page.
Tab: Press this after typing a word to begin creating a table.
Alt-Shift-F: Insert the current date and time. Great for when you are taking notes during a meeting or phone call.
Ctrl-1: Adds the 'To do' (checkbox) tag to the page. You can also use this shortcut to tick or clear the check box.
Pick your favourite and start using it today so you can commit it to memory!
Google Tip
Create an event from an email
Do you often think about how much time you spend in front of a laptop screen?
Being efficient with our workflows and processes can help reduce this and give us back some of those precious moments.
When you receive an email that then requires something to be added to your calendar, you can do it straight from the email.
Click on the 3 dots and choose 'create event'.
For even more options check out Sam's blog here.
Apple Tip
Today's View
Did you know that you can keep 'Today's View' open on your iPad Home Page? You can even edit what is viewed there.
Classroom / Lesson Idea
Using PowerPoint to create engaging maths tasks
Maths in our classrooms today can often mean worksheets and pages of a textbook. But it doesn't have to be that way!
PowerPoint is a fantastic tool for creating fun and engaging activities that students and their families can all be a part of.
Here's a great activity for developing maths strategies and having some fun at the same time.
Website of the week
Ever wanted to remove the background from a video?
Awhile ago the UTB team shared an awesome website that quickly and easily removes the background from a photo.
Now the team who created that super handy website (just in case you're not sure which site that is - check out remove.bg) have created unscreen.com.
It strips the background from a video - we know! How cool is that!
At the moment it only saves as a gif but it's a fabulous start.
How much could you do with this in the classroom?
EXTRA
Get to know Xero - Student Learning
Want access to a FREE Xero learning course? Xero has created a "Get to know Xero" short course available exclusively to UTB Educators!
Get practical hands on experience learning tasks that will help you understand Xero.
Topics covered include: Xero dashboard, bank reconciliation function, invoices, bills and contacts as well as useful business reports.
Express your interest to register for for this exclusive online short course (just 45mins) here.
P.S. Are you reading this, wondering what the heck Xero is? Here's how they put it: Xero is beautiful business software, built in the cloud which offers anywhere, anytime access to your business' financial information.
NZ PLD Update
CT Progress Outcome 1 - Demistified!
Applications for Ministry of Education PLD funding have come to a close for most regions in the country, with the exception of the Bay of Plenty - Waiariki, which close on the 19th of March.
If you have put an application in and would like to chat about how the UTB team can support you to integrate DT into Numeracy, Literacy or any other curriculum areas them please get in touch with lara@usingtechnologybetter.com
Each fortnight we’ll be breaking down one of the New Zealand Digital Technology Progress Outcomes and giving you some ideas for teaching them in your classroom.
Computational Thinking - Progress Outcome 1
“In authentic contexts and taking account of end-users, students use their decomposition skills to break down simple non-computerised tasks into precise, unambiguous, step-by-step instructions (algorithmic thinking). They give these instructions, identify any errors in them as they are followed, and correct them (simple debugging).”
This PO aligns with curriculum level 1 of the NZC. At this stage the focus is on students being able to break down problems into smaller steps, realise if they’ve made an error and fix it up. The idea is that they understand that big problems can be solved in pieces, but those pieces need to be solved carefully.
There are a lot of really great connections with this to learning that will already be happening in your classroom. Think about position and orientation, giving and receiving instructions etc.
This is a great video demonstrating how important it can be to have clear, precise instructions. As humans we have the ability to infer and empathise so we can work out if an instruction isn’t quite right. Computers can’t do this, they’ll just do exactly what they are instructed to do.
Here’s a lesson I did in a NE - Y2 classroom recently. The students at systems as a focus for the year and life cycles is a part of this. We had a blast working out the order of the life cycle of a butterfly and programming our “robot” friend Rufus to understand the order. We finished up with a fun game outside where students ran to different places on the courts to show the order of the life cycle. Many links to Science, Maths and Literacy!
In the next newsletter we’ll take a look at how the next Computational Thinking Progress Outcome builds on from this.
- Lara
BONUS
WIN a Circuit Scribe Intro Kit or a Kano Computer Kit
Feeling lucky? Enter the monthly iWorld competition to WIN a Circuit Scribe Intro Kit or a Kano Computer Kit to get your STEAM journey started well!
To enter the competition, click here.
Blog posts you may have missed
Check out the practical, helpful tips in our blogs below.
Something you want us to blog about? Make a request here or check out our website to see all our posts.
Three ways G Suite can support your Literacy programme in a digital age - Integration of digital technology is key for teachers who already face a tightly packed curriculum. The good news is that there are countless ways that you can use technology in meaningful, engaging ways to enhance your curriculum and excite your students! - By Lara Kirk
Getting started with G Suite - Do your students end up with their Google Drive full of untitled files? Does their poem about aardvarks show up first in their Drive? Getting your students started with G Suite the right way can make all the difference to your classroom. Use our checklist to build good habits from the beginning to save them (and you) from frustration.- By Karla Sanders
3 steps to developing a PD plan that actually works - If you are organising the learning for your staff, you know that it is near impossible to organise anything that pleases everyone! Let’s take a step back and look at WHY you are organising profession learning opportunities for your staff... - By Mike Reading
Join the UTB Team as a trainer!
We have a few training opportunities to join the UTB training team in Australia and New Zealand.
We're keen to hear from people who may be interested in full time, part time or casual work with us.
If you are a passionate educator, digitally savvy and keen to explore training options fill in this form to express your interest. We'll get back to you with more details!
WIN A FREE UTB COURSE!
SHARING IS CARING!
We love getting your feedback about ideas you've used from this newsletter or from one of our training sessions!
In fact, we get such a kick out of it that every fortnight we want to give someone who shares the love a free online course of your choice - valued at up to $300!
All you need to do is a share a photo or video of an activity that was inspired by something we shared with you (could be from face to face, online training or the newsletter), with a quick caption telling us what's happening in it!
Here are a couple of ways you can share...
- Share it on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and tag us in with @Usingtechbetter, #utbSHARE and #utbPD
- Not on Facebook, Twitter or Insta? No worries - email it to us at support@usingtechnologybetter.com and we'll share it out on our social media
SHARE TO BE IN TO WIN NEXT FORTNIGHT!!!
Credits:
Created with images by Andrew Neel - "Woman working by a window" • KOBU Agency - "untitled image" • Daria Nepriakhina - "Here you can download the canvas: http://solutioncanvas.com" • Lucrezia Carnelos - "untitled image" • Christian Wiediger - "untitled image" • Hal Gatewood - "Windows laptop with focus on the windows key." • Annie Spratt - "Child completing maths homework" • Tim Mossholder - "Love to Learn" • Diogo Nunes - "untitled image" • Anastasiia Chepinska - "Delicious sweet donuts or doughtnuts on a special stand at a party or event, dessert, desserts, sugar, treat, sweets"