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Instructional TEchnology Newsletter May 2018

Technology Updates

20 Teachers have earned their Google Certification so far this year!

Below are PDSD's Most recently Google Certified Teachers!

Congrats Allison, Colleen, Melissa, Matt, Randi and Joe
Congrats Jen, Ken, Jess, & Renee!

A special thank you to all of those teachers who have worked on the Google Differentiated Supervision option this year. All who participated have made great strides with technology and instruction. 20 teachers have earned their certification so far and I know several teachers are finishing up this week. Good luck and thank you for all of your effort!

If you have passed the exam but haven't let me know please send me an email. If anyone has any questions finalizing information for MyLearningPLan please let me know and I'd be happy to help.

*Reimbursement reminder: If you would like to get reimbursed for the cost of the exam, please email me the receipt and I will submit them for reimbursement after May 15th. Anyone who has attempted a test, passing score or not, can be reimbursed for a single exam

Schoology

Thank you to all teachers at NMS and SV who are beginning to use Schoology with their students. Remember Google integrates with Google so all those resources you created can integrate into this new LMS. Training for Schoology will be ongoing and get more specific to teacher and student needs as we make progress with this tool. Below is a link to many resources that can help you get started or explore additional features.

Class link

This summer our tech department will be adding facial recognition as a login option for students K,1,2 as well as specific requests for students or grade levels by building principals! We also hope to streamline access to a single entry for students as they open their device. If you come across additional apps or links you would like added please let me know so they can be added in.

Want to participate in a PDSD TWitter ed Chat but not sure how?

Additionally selecting "latest" once in the EdChat page is helpful as you will not have to refresh.

Book Creator For Chrome

Book Creator is open-ended, creative and cross curricular. Have students turn their writing or projects into ebooks that can be shared in a classroom digital library or combined into 1 class book. Add images you have or from the web with Google Image Search. Drop in videos, music, even record your voice. Use the pen tool to draw or annotate, place shapes and arrows to explain your ideas. Many layouts options even comic templates - panels, stickers and speech bubbles. Publish your book online, download, or keep them private in a digital class library. Create a class library and invite students to join via a code. Students can access and read each others books. Create 40 books for free.

If you have used Google Slides to create ebooks this is the next level specifically designed for this task. Generally easy to use with beautiful outcomes with all the digital features you expect.

Google Earth Engine Timelapse, See how the earth has changed since 1984!

Example shows 2 screen shots of Alaska's Columbia Glacier's retreat from 1984-2016. On the site the transition is animated and can be slowed or stopped for additional analysis.

Google has been collecting satellite imagery of the world for decades. With their Time lapse site from Google Earth Engine, you can see how our world has changed from 1984 to the present. This is a powerful way to see the impact people have on our world, urban sprawl, glacial retreat, deforestation, other natural formations, and more. If it has changed you will see it. This is truly something students or the general public previously would never have access to!

For simple use:

1. Open the link

2. Move the map to the area you would like to observe change in

3. Adjust the rate of the time lapse ( by clicking the lower left hand side) I like slow the best

Google also highlights specific areas under the map you can click on that have had obvious changes over the last 30 plus years.

Explore Graphing with Desmos!

an amazing resource! From simple graphing calculator to complex and engaging graphing activities & collaboration - all free

Accounts are free and you can sign in with Google! A go to for any teacher who teaches graphing!

Display simple or complex graphing to all students via projector or have students use this tool to complete their own work. Many features to work with here! Start simple and try it with greater depth as needed or as you get comfortable. Desmos offers a tremendous amount of activities and ideas there is a lot of value to explore, start simple.

Need a free alternative to Padlet?

As Padlet has recently changed its pricing structure from FREE, don't let cost deter you from having the same functionality with similar programs. Richard Bryne shares several alternatives to Padlet at the price we love FREE!

Working white noise for the clasroom Noisli.com

It’s website which has several white noise selections that will make the classroom less quiet but equally focused. Using white noise in the background has been known to improve memory and attention. Options include: Rain, Wind, Thunderstorm, Forest, Rustling leaves, Running water, Ocean waves, Crackling fire, Nighttime with crickets, Busy coffee shop, Train cars.

Tech Tip

PDF to word doc, easiest way to access content for cutting pasting or editing!

1. Simply download the PDF to a known location

2. Open word, go to file open

3. Select the PDF you wish to open and just click ok when prompted

Please let me know how I can support you with technology.

cgorniok@pdsd.org X8318

Follow me on Twitter @CgorniokEdTech

Thank You!

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