tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43267065205614097542024-03-05T03:42:18.327-08:00Opening Doors to Digital LearningOpening Doors to Digital LearningMarthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17385620050816283099noreply@blogger.comBlogger222125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326706520561409754.post-73904851748406518442016-04-18T09:42:00.000-07:002016-04-18T09:42:27.944-07:00Terri Sligar Google Certified Educator!Congratulations to Terri Sligar at Mount Baker Middle School for completing the Google Certified Educator Level 1 course and mastering the assessment to earn her Google Certified Educator Level 1 Certification! This course and assessment do a great job of highlighting the pedagogy and not just the tools. The course takes time, thought and reflection to complete, but in the end, you have increased your skills in using the tools available to help your students create, collaborate, communicate and think critically. You also get a cool and coveted badge to place in your email signature and people even write blog posts about you. :)<br />
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Mount Vernon teachers can earn clock hours for completing this course and passing the test through our <a href="https://sites.google.com/a/mvsd320.org/digital-literacy-workshop/home/Digital-Literacy-Workshops-15-16" target="_blank">Cloud Academy Courses</a>. The cost of the exam is $10 and is administered online by Google.<br />
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The course is self guided, but I am considering developing a cohort of teachers next year who are interested in working together to earn their certification. If you are a Mount Vernon teacher and think that you might be interested, please let me know. <br />
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<br />Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16288500081425834836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326706520561409754.post-29867243019689019992016-02-28T15:37:00.000-08:002016-02-28T15:37:37.421-08:00Disrupting Education: Holly ClarkI had the opportunity to attend the NCCE Google Summit in Seattle this last week. Holly Clark an inspiring educator who works with the <a href="https://www.edtechteam.com/" target="_blank">EdTech Team</a> gave the Keynote speech titled, Disrupt Education. At this point in the conference, the wireless was pretty sketchy, so my notes are a little hard to understand. But I was able to jot down several of the key statements and ideas that she shared. <br />
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<br /><iframe src="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1qmbC2dPcQpph_SBWNkE0jT3zvQudYLBjq15R8z6SJok/embed?start=true&loop=false&delayms=3000" frameborder="0" width="480" height="389" allowfullscreen="true" mozallowfullscreen="true" webkitallowfullscreen="true"></iframe>Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16288500081425834836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326706520561409754.post-38616222964233074892016-02-28T13:36:00.001-08:002016-02-28T13:36:12.535-08:00I Can See Clearly Now: Tools for Visual LearningI did a fun, low key workshop just looking at some ideas for using visual tools to promote and share learning. Holly Clark talks about the importance of being "transliterate". We need to be able to read and speak all different types of informational media including images. I tried to focus more on the pedagogy and ideas and not just share a lot of resources. As Kevin Honeycutt says, it is not about the tools, it is about the possibilities. In all of my sessions, I tried to make sure that I included opportunities to create, collaborate, communicate and think critically. This is my new mantra. This needs to be a part of everything I teach.<br />
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<a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1E7VgtgjEvjIo6ThIvYig4CMHAmgxop52HqKPf8Z9dw8/edit">Here are the resources</a><br />
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<a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1E7VgtgjEvjIo6ThIvYig4CMHAmgxop52HqKPf8Z9dw8/edit">. </a>
<iframe allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0" height="389" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1jlge4q11dJxbIOHcbo-iwqg39FIx6Z1ePj8W1e2VW5U/embed?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="480"></iframe>Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16288500081425834836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326706520561409754.post-11316393009908064062016-02-28T13:28:00.002-08:002016-02-28T13:28:17.022-08:00Great Google Gear for Teacher WorkflowI did a workshop at NCCE this last week on Google tools for Teacher workflow. I knew going in that I had really bitten off more than I could chew trying to share all of this in a 2 hour workshop. You really need time to work through each of these tools and practice how it would work with your workflow. The workshop might have been a bit of a brain blower, but if you take just one step at a time and take advantage of the resources shared, there are some really great tools here for you to explore the possibilities for how they might help you out in your classroom.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0" height="389" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1IE-iMY3eBEluAQJdyWCfs39Xuy3qkqOG3o0Jlvnlem4/embed?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="480"></iframe><br />
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<a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1U6hBCw0N7oO3ie8o4katWas3XV7aZPu5-POD39QELe4/edit">Resource Page</a>Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16288500081425834836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326706520561409754.post-37350254304503541402016-02-28T13:20:00.001-08:002016-02-28T13:20:39.404-08:00Chrome is the New Black
I had the opportunity to present a session at the NCCE Google Summit this last week. I definitely feel that Chrome is the best browser, especially with Google Apps for Education. There are so many cool things that you can do in this browser if you just dig in a bit.
In addition to the presentation slides, I also shared a <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KvlMOkRM94d8S7jiaq705L04k6SxyU07LQJkYhJ8-64/edit">resource page</a> that goes into detail about many of the great things you can do with Chrome.
<iframe src="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1w2zxhqdlcDrRSfPHT7HN1JJVjNyK6uQZZ3qKN5ir3w8/embed?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000" frameborder="0" width="600" height="409" allowfullscreen="true" mozallowfullscreen="true" webkitallowfullscreen="true"></iframe>Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16288500081425834836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326706520561409754.post-41743933408444996862015-11-24T13:28:00.000-08:002015-11-24T13:53:01.734-08:00Taking time to Create, Collaborate, Communicate and Think Critically <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This fall I have had the great opportunity to teach a class at Western Washington University. The class is called Digital Decisions. The course is for pre-service elementary teachers. Most of the students are currently in practicums and will be starting their student teaching soon. The course is designed to help prepare students with the tools and knowledge needed to successfully and effectively use technology for learning in the elementary classroom. Although much of what I am teaching is similar to what I share with teachers in our district, I've had some opportunities to do things a little differently in the university classroom. Probably the main difference has been time. My opportunities to work with teachers in the district is always so limited by time constraints that I often resort to the fire hose approach of just trying to share as much as possible during the limited time available crossing my fingers that teachers will somehow find a way to revisit and explore the information shared. This is not an approach I like and it is not good teaching. When working with technology, teachers (and students) need time to play and explore. Especially if tech is to become anything more that a "how to" productivity checklist. Although I still feel the constraints of time teaching at Western, I do feel like I have a little more time to actually model and teach in a way that I would hope we would work with our students. I make sure that each session involves an opportunity to create something using both <b>creativity</b> and <b>critical thinking skills</b>. Students have many opportunities to <b>collaborate</b> and <b>communicate</b> with others in class and also with teachers and experts in the field beyond the classroom walls. Although, college educators are called "professors", I try to do as little "professing" as possible. I want my students doing the talking. I ask lots of questions and have students work together and share what they are learning instead of me just standing and delivering my knowledge and expertise. <b>The reality of taking time for learning is difficult when the goals of the class are many and the time is limited.</b> But there is great power in forcing ourselves to do this. <br />
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Although I feel like I was able to have success with this with my college students, I am still struggling with how to make time for staff/students to create, communicate, collaborate and think critically when I may only have a one hour window of time to teach a certain group of staff members about instructional technology during a given year. I try to have structures in place to use a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blended_learning" target="_blank">blended model</a> of instruction providing materials, resources and activities that can be done before and after training. But this approach requires a commitment to extending the learning outside of the training time. It requires a commitment to continued learning and exploring. And from me, it requires the ability to follow up with staff and teachers and determine current needs and next steps and the ability to help teachers make those next steps. Yes, we are all in the business of learning and learning can be hard and time consuming work. <br />
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<b>Today is a great day to learn something new. </b><br />
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<a href="https://sites.google.com/a/mvsd320.org/digital-literacy-workshop/home/Digital-Literacy-Workshops-15-16" target="_blank">Take a look at the online courses I have compiled and created for teachers in our district.</a> By using the "Just in Time" Flipped model approach, I am hoping to meet the professional development needs of more of our teachers. Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16288500081425834836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326706520561409754.post-74883845776092367052015-11-12T10:33:00.000-08:002015-11-12T10:33:03.950-08:00Join the Sharing RevolutionIn my job, I have the opportunity to get out into schools and see the amazing learning happening in classrooms across the district. I don't think that a day goes by that I am not asking a teacher or a student if it is ok if I share with others what I observed or learned from them. <b>We have so much to share.</b> This should be a part of what we do. We have so much to share and we also have lots to learn from the teacher in the room next door, or the school down the road. In addition to sharing with our fellow teachers, which in itself is so powerful, we should also sharing with our community. <b>Our community is and should be part of our learning village. </b>Whether we work for the district or not, we as a community all want to know about the great learning happening in our schools. This week, Andrew Bishop shared his latest <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN2NUgYHwVM" target="_blank">"Ask a student" video</a> with our community via Youtube, Facebook and Twitter. And as a community, we celebrated the thoughtfulness of the students and the creativity in sharing. With the social media tools we have available to us as teachers, we have the opportunity to not only open the doors to our classrooms so that students can learn beyond the walls, but we can also open our classroom doors for all to see the amazing things happening in our classrooms. George Couros, a champion in building innovative learning cultures in schools,shares this idea in one of his <a href="http://georgecouros.ca/blog/archives/5781" target="_blank">latest posts.</a> <br />
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Two things can happen here. We commit to share with others and we also commit to learn and celebrate with others. What a powerful idea! </div>
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Of course, not all of what we see and hear on Social Media about our schools is positive. The best way to change this is to make sure that we are faithfully sharing and celebrating the good stuff and intentionally reflecting on even the "bad stuff". And because George Couros does such a nice job of sharing with others, I will end this blog with another great quote from George. "<b>We need to make the positive so loud that the negative becomes almost impossible to hear."</b> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<br />Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16288500081425834836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326706520561409754.post-16977398322486793052015-11-12T09:35:00.000-08:002015-11-12T09:35:05.803-08:00Building Communication and Collaboration Skills with Shared Computers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We are rolling along in the Mount Vernon School district providing more and more access to technology for our students. This school year alone, we have placed over 800 more devices in classrooms across the district. As we continue to push forward, with available and planned resources, we have looked at several models. The trend seems to be toward a One to One or as I like to say One to World model. As we have researched this model and as personal devices have become more affordable and accessible to our students, we have considered whether our students need devices assigned to them that they have access 24/7 or do we need to have all classrooms equipped with technology so that students have access at school whenever needed. We have also have implemented models that allow students who do not have access away from school to be able to check out the devices they need to continue their learning at home. We are researching and building ideas and beginning to build toward that capacity with the funding sources we have available.<span id="goog_1930615895"></span><br />
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Our current reality is that we will continue to distribute devices to classrooms, as funding from our 3 year tech levy permits. This will result in more that 1750 new student devices added to our district on top of the classroom and lab devices currently available to students. The plan with this levy is to have shared carts for each elementary grade level and secondary content area. With our current funding, we will not get to one to one. But have hopes to move closer and possibly even achieve that goal when we run our next tech levy in another 2 years.<br />
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As I have worked with teachers on how to best use these shared devices, I have made a few observations.<br />
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Although it is sometimes nice to have all students individually working on devices at the same time. With this model, students can get through tasks quicker and every one can be on the same page. But often collaboration and communication skills are not a part of this type of use. This model doesn't always take advantage of the powerful learning students can achieve when working together. And since, for the most part, we are working with shared carts. This means that this type of work becomes an "event" when you can get the cart instead of a ubiquitous tool in the classroom. </blockquote>
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Managing the devices by distributing to all of the classes sharing that cart requires a different plan for using the devices. The devices become a center in a rotation or they become one of many tools available to to a group of students working collaboratively. This model allows for students to work more on communication and collaboration skills. With this model, students begin to see the devices as tools for learning and less as an event. It does have some drawbacks such as the distributing, storing and charging devices becomes a bigger challenge as devices are assigned to one cart which may or may not be in a convenient location for everyone in the team to access. </blockquote>
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I see value and challenges in both models and I think that with teachers working together on a schedule, that both of these models can be possible with flexible planning. I encourage artists in the craft of teaching to make the most of the tools you have. Remember that the tech is the tool, not the teacher. Think of how you can best take advantage of the situation. The necessity to share can lead to great opportunities for small group work, project based learning, collaboration and creativity. Make the most of this. Build on the strengths of your current model. <br />
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<br />Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16288500081425834836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326706520561409754.post-72494601201187091322015-10-27T13:33:00.002-07:002015-10-27T13:33:38.489-07:00Time to Sign Up for the Hour of Code<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The time is now to get your class signed up to join in on the <a href="https://hourofcode.com/us" target="_blank">Hour of Code.</a> December 7th through 11th. Each teacher who signs up will receive a $10 gift card. If every class in the school participates, they could be eligible for a drawing for $10,000 workd of technology.There are many options available for participating. If your students participated last year, there will be new activities for them this year. There are activities at different skill levels and <a href="https://csedweek.org/unplugged/thinkersmith" target="_blank">even opportunities to learn about coding in a fun and hands on way even if you don't have access to student devices in your classroom. </a><br />
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This summer I went to a workshop on coding and computer science put on by Code.org<a href="http://code.org/" target="_blank">code.org</a>. I think that my biggest take away was the importance of exposure. Although there are attributes to learning coding that make it useful for all students. (Great problem solving, critical thinking, sequencing, etc.) Computer Science will not be the field that every student chooses. But, if we don't provide students the opportunity to learn and explore computer science starting at a young age, we build a generation of students who see coding and computer science as hard, and an unattainable goal. Students who have the exposure at an early age, see computer science and coding for what it is, a fun and challenging field that they might enjoy and might choose as a career choice one day. <br />
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This last year, I had a few opportunities to visit the Google offices in Seattle. I wish I could provide that opportunity for all of our students. (Except for the part where I got stuck in an elevator for over an hour.) At the Google offices, you definitely get the impression that computer science is not just for the Big Bang Theory crowd, but that computer science is just down right COOL! I would love for all of our students to have the opportunity to someday work in an environment like that. Being exposed to these skills, helps build future opportunities. <br />
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One thing that I wish I would have seen more of at the Google Campus were women working in the computer science field. And Google will tell you that they agree. We need to make sure that we are also exposing our girls to the idea of computer science as a career choice. I actually believe that Mt. Vernon, although maybe off to a late start with the Computer Science opportunities is now making great efforts to insure that our girls are welcomed and encouraged in classes and clubs for computer science.<br />
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Besides encouraging you to find a way for your students to participate, I have a challenge to you as teachers. I challenge you to participate in the Hour of Code as well. Remember, it is just an hour and you don't have to wait until December 7th to give it a try. I warn you though, that once you start, it can be hard to stop. As you "play" with coding consider what learning benefits your students will get from this activity. How can this help them be better mathematicians, communicators, artist and scientists? How can this fit in with what you are currently teaching? Which of your students might be inspired to learn more?<br />
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<a href="https://hourofcode.com/us" target="_blank">Learn more and register your class here. </a>Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16288500081425834836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326706520561409754.post-32641234292685271042015-10-27T12:19:00.000-07:002015-10-27T12:19:06.241-07:00Visible Thinking Through App Smashing <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I often talk with teachers about the idea that we should balance our student's screen time between consumption and production, going heavy on the production side as that is where students are able to construct knowledge from the material they have "consumed". Many teachers struggle with the idea of students using the technology for more than just going to a single site and following a prescribed program. Depending on the site, the prescribed program may be outstanding, but it represents only a little of the amazing possibilities available when we teach our students to use the tech tools as a way to construct new knowledge and show their thinking in visible ways. I like to encourage teachers to think beyond the boxed programs and help students to begin to develop a whole tool box of useful tools for both constructing knowledge, sharing their understanding and even more amazing, showing their understanding in multiple ways. These tools can provide opportunities for students to ask further questions, show their understanding in a way the makes sense to them, and then celebrate that learning by sharing and collaborating with others. Just as you wouldn't try to build a house with just one tool, we shouldn't expect our students to build knowledge in this way. And most likely, each of us would choose at least slightly different set of tools for performing the same task. Students should have some choices in tool selection as well.<br />
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The idea of App Smashing, encourages teachers and students to start building a menu of appropriate tools and then choosing what they think are the appropriate tools for the learning at hand. We might use one tool for collecting information, another tool for synthesizing that information and yet another tool for sharing the learning with others. At first, our tool boxes might be limited and our choices to complete the task may be suggested or very similar to each other. But as our tool box grows, so do the possibilities. </div>
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So how to we start growing this process with limited time to teach the tools and most likely limited devices? </div>
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One way I have seen teachers solve these issues is by creating task cards, with either an app menu or specific app suggestions for the activity. If constructed at an appropriate level, even very young students are able to follow the task cards independently. </div>
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B8GCtfkPuHuffmVrcWtpbUFlMDdsam9YRmgybFRVZy1XT3JfQzdFd0dJMjJ6azViTk1PYVk&usp=drive_web" target="_blank">Here is an example from 1st Grade Teacher Meghan Zigmond</a>. Students learned and wrote pumpkin facts. She then created a simple task card using the pumpkin carving app on the ipads. The task cards included pictures that showed the student what apps to open and step by step what to do. Students saved their pumpkin pictures on the camera roll and then opened up Chatterpix. Students used Chatterpix to record their pumpkin facts. She then published the videos to YouTube.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/cXS-5MueC7c/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cXS-5MueC7c?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/megster84" target="_blank"> Shared on Meghan Zigmond's YouTube Channel. Check out all the other cool projects. </a></div>
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Based on the ideas I have learned about App Smashing and the belief that giving students choice is important, Paula Dagnon and I have built a few App Menus to help you get started doing some App Smashing of your own. We've tried to limit our list, so that you or your students don't end up with an overwhelming laundry list. We've also included both iPad and Web Based apps so that you can use the tools appropriate to your classroom. </div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0" height="300" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1vVl31gUF2-_ytkBifCIgrBf1QYIA8KuGDBlf8M9dQI0/embed?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="200"></iframe>
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What I would LOVE to see happen is that we as teachers begin to build and share task cards for our students using apps and programs we have available in our district. Let me know if you are interested in doing some collaborative App Smashing. <br />
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Resources:<br />
<a href="https://www.smore.com/c7v36-app-smashing" target="_blank">All About App Smashing</a><br />
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<span class="_Tgc" style="font-size: 16px;"><b>App Smashing</b> is the process of using multiple apps to create projects or complete tasks. <b>App Smashing</b> can provide your students with creative and inspired ways to showcase their learning and allow you to assess their understanding and skills.</span></div>
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<a href="http://k12technology.weebly.com/app-smashing.html" style="color: #660099; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">App Smashing - K-12 Technology</a></h3>
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<cite class="_Rm" style="color: #006621; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal;">k12technology.weebly.com/<b>app</b>-<b>smashing</b>.html</cite></div>
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Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16288500081425834836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326706520561409754.post-73715699612195565932015-10-27T10:43:00.000-07:002015-10-27T10:43:10.411-07:00Library Media Specialist Get Techy<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span id="docs-internal-guid-55004f56-aa5a-47a0-1cba-fb611f919472"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Several of our Library Media Specialist had the opportunity to attend the </span><a href="http://www.wla.org/wlma-conference-2015" style="line-height: 1.38; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Washington Library Media Association Conference</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> this last weekend in Yakima. </span><a href="https://twitter.com/monicahodges32?lang=en" style="line-height: 1.38; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After seeing a few tweets</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> from the conference, I decided to ask our Library Media Specialist if besides all the great stories, books, and literacy, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">did they learn anything techish?</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thanks to those who have shared. Looks like it was a great conference. I look forward to new great ideas from our very innovative librarians as they incorporate what they learned and what inspired them at the conference. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; clear: left; color: black; float: left; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="350px;" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/7MoKI-tDjHjcCREWbaKP64TxTuqiMlOsh9fBajtRFDo38IEEh709dS8XDcWgjGwB9P6YkXlI_5eyYvL2HgIrYp8_rx7DLe8h67O9eFquwnWTJ9A1JTal5oH8-yDCaDIeoraCcleH" style="border: none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="319px;" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Monica Hodges from Jefferson picked up some great ideas for using Chromebooks with </span><a href="http://destiny.mv.k12.wa.us/quest/servlet/presentquestform.do?site=101" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Destiny</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and </span><a href="http://worldbookonline.com/wb/products?ed=all&gr=Welcome+Mt+Vernon+School+District+320%21" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Worldbook</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. She also learned about a set of books called </span><a href="http://www.savvycyberkids.org/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Savvy Cyber Kids</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> that is available for free. (I think that she learned this from her Tech Savvy daughter who is a Senior in Computer Science at the UW, but she did share this.) And check out Monica’s Library Blog. </span><a href="http://mrshodgeslibrary.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Hodge Blodge</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Monica regularly writes about books and other happenings in the Jefferson Library. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jim Coldwell from Centennial is excited about setting up a </span><a href="http://library-maker-culture.weebly.com/makerspaces-in-libraries.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Makerspace </span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">in his library media center after attending a session on the Maker movement. This is a big movement now, and it is taking root in many library media centers. I look forward to seeing this idea grow. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon Sadzewicz at the high school shared about </span><a href="http://piktochart.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Piktochart</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Infographics are a useful literacy format and creating them is a great way for students to synthesise large amounts of information into visual and easily interpreted chunks. There are many free tools for creating infographics. Here are a few of those tools.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Infographics</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<a href="http://www.dailyinfographic.com/why-your-brain-craves-infographics" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Why your brain craves infographics.</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.schrockguide.net/infographics-as-an-assessment.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Great Information on Creating Infographics</span></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.edsurge.com/news/2014-04-27-how-real-kids-create-real-infographics" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Article about how a teacher taught a lesson with infograms as the product.</span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tools:</span></div>
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<a href="http://piktochart.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Piktochart</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.alicekeeler.com/teachertech/2013/04/21/have-students-create-infographics-using-google-draw/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Google Slides/Drawing</span></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.canva.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Canva</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://easel.ly/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Easel.ly</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://infogr.am/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Infogr.am</span></a></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Estevan Vivanco at Madison Elementary learned about how to create a video news program for kids. The students create a script, then revise it and once the teacher gives it a stamp of approval, they record the news interview with a camera. Students can have access to great lighting and even a green screen and their teacher can edit the video and make it look professional! The presenter at the workshop also showed some ways to make a cool intro with news-program-sounding music. Might be a fun thing to try in Mount Vernon!</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dale Fournier at Washington shared that she went to a great session on jazzing up a library website making it more informative, and inspiring for students. She plans to try a tool called </span><a href="https://www.librarything.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Library Thing</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to suggest new books to students. A few other additions to add to a library webpage are One Click Digital and </span><a href="http://daily.tumblebooks.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tumblebooks of the Day</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.38; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Eva Greenwald was excited to learn more about Destiny, some great tips about incorporating tools like </span>Screencasting, Photostory, <a href="http://www.livebinders.com/welcome/home" target="_blank">Live Binders</a>, <a href="https://www.symbaloo.com/home/mix/13eOcK1fiV" target="_blank">Symbaloo</a>, <a href="https://www.voki.com/classroom/login_status.php" target="_blank">Voki</a>, and <a href="https://www.smore.com/" target="_blank">Smore</a><span style="color: #44546a; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">into her lessons and she is interested in exploring the idea of using a service such as One-Click Digital to provide audio book access to our students. (Student's currently have access to this with a Public Library card, but if this service was available in the schools, it could be managed through Destiny. Some neat possibilities. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our Library Media Specialist are such great resources for our students and teachers. We remember that they know books, but we sometimes forget they they also have a lot of great information on other learning resources and they are happy to share not only the very best book ideas, but also great ideas and resources for research, literacy and more. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">HInt How to get the most out of a conference you didn’t attend. </span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Have those that go share a Google Doc and keep collaborative notes that can be shared with others.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Find out the </span><a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23wlma15" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Twitter HashTag for the Conference </span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and follow the discussion online. </span></div>
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<a href="http://www.wla.org/wlma-handouts-2015" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Often times you will find links to the presentations online</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span></div>
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Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16288500081425834836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326706520561409754.post-47617599117126746842015-10-14T12:38:00.001-07:002015-10-14T12:38:13.175-07:00A Few of My Favorite Reads<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As a part of my job as a Digital Literacy Specialist, and well really as a teacher, I am constantly reading and learning new things from a variety of sources. I do my best to share some of what I learn with you. <br />
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I use a tool called <a href="http://feedly.com/" target="_blank">Feedly</a> to gather the blogs I read into one place so that I can easily sort through and find information to share. <br />
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I thought I'd quickly share a few blogs that I enjoy and learn from frequently. <br />
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Richard Byrne at <a href="http://www.freetech4teachers.com/">http://www.freetech4teachers.com/</a> shares great resources daily. He reviews new tools and shares tutorials he has created to show teachers how to effectively use the tools in their classroom.<br />
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Alice Keeler at <a href="http://www.alicekeeler.com/teachertech/">http://www.alicekeeler.com/teachertech/</a> appeals to my Googly and nerdy side. She shares great ideas for using Google Apps for Education in your classroom and the coolest part is that she creates and shares her own scripts to add even more functionality to Google Apps.<br />
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George Couros shares at The Principal of Change <a href="http://georgecouros.ca/">http://georgecouros.ca/</a>. He is a principal at a school in Canada. He always has challenging ideas about how to make schools and teaching better.<br />
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I'll stop there for now and share more later. <br />
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I encourage you to use a tool such as <a href="http://feedly.com/" target="_blank">Feedly</a> and to start gathering a library of blogs that you enjoy and find informative. (They don't all have to be school related.)Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16288500081425834836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326706520561409754.post-59840431832689125942015-10-14T12:13:00.000-07:002015-10-14T12:13:50.470-07:00Beware the Transformation TrapA few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to watch <a href="http://www.teachinglikeits2999.com/" target="_blank">Jennie Magiera's</a> Keynote Speech from CUE 15 online. I love sharing videos, but this one is about 45 minutes and I struggle to get people to find the time to click a link much less sit down and watch a 45 minute video, but as I watched this video, I wished that my local teaching friends could all hear Jennies speak. Jennie is a 4th and 5th grade teacher who works with students in an impoverished area of Chicago. She has built such an amazing relationship with her students and with her teaching style and passion, she has empowered her students to use technology in truly transformational ways. The activities she does with her students truly show a redefinition of learning. Not only is she using tools such as Skype and Twitter to help her students have a voice that reaches beyond the classroom, but she has empowered her students with the ubiquitous use of technology in her classroom. The tools and resources are very much in the background. The tools are not the important piece, just as we don't think much about a pencil when we pick it up to write, these students don't think much about the tools they are using, they think about the actions they are making by using the technology. As I said, the video is long, but it is very entertaining and inspiring. The use of tech doesn't have to be elaborate or hard to be effective. Students just need to know about and have permission to use the tools available in empowering ways. <br />
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How can you expand your students world beyond their classroom?Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16288500081425834836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326706520561409754.post-55793227413137818782015-10-14T11:54:00.000-07:002015-10-14T13:15:07.209-07:00When Resources are Sparse, Think Redefinition<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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Yesterday I had the opportunity to send out notifications to another round of <a href="https://sites.google.com/a/mvsd320.org/digital-literacy-workshop/mvsd-early-tech-adoption-team-grant" target="_blank">Early Tech Adoption Team Grant recipients</a>. It is fun to see the responses of those who have received the grant and really hard for me to send the messages to those teams who will need to continue to wait. Due to the nature of the levy, money rolls in over a three year time frame and not all at once. Thus the need for a roll out model and the reality that some teams will have to wait longer that they would like. For this levy we chose an Early Tech Adoption model that encourages those who are ready, to make a plan, participate in team directed professional development and share their experiences with others. It is our hope that with this model, when teams receive their technology, they will already have a plan in place and be ready to start learning and then sharing with others. By the end of this year, we will have placed <b><span style="font-size: large;">28 mobile carts</span></b> with teams across the district. That is <span style="font-size: large;">840 student devices</span>! And the response so far... <span style="font-size: x-large;">MORE!!!!</span> We need <span style="font-size: x-large;">MORE</span> and we need it <span style="font-size: x-large;">NOW!</span> Once teachers get a taste of what can happen when students have more ubiquitous access to devices, they really have a hard time with the idea of sharing one cart with a whole team of teachers. The uses of technology changes when students and teachers have regular access to student devices. So as exciting as it is to roll out these carts and build more and more access for our students, it is also important to note that even though the district is moving in the right direction at speedy and steady pace, we still are in a relative desert to what could actually be utilized for our students. So, with that in mind, we need to be mindful of making the best use of these valuable resources. Sure, there are many great, engaging and in some cases, time saving ways that we can use these devices in our classrooms, but with the resources being limited, it is valuable to plan to use technology that allows you to do things you could not do without the technology. Dr. Ruben Puentedura has developed a model to help teachers identify effective and transformative uses of technology in the classroom.<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 19.2px;"> </span> <a href="http://www.schrockguide.net/samr.html" target="_blank"><b>The SAMR model</b></a> divides activities into four categories with Substitution being the most basic (and the one most often seen in classrooms,) and Redefinition being the most transformative. With redefinition, the lessons you design uses technology in a way that allows you to do something you could not do without the use of technology. Take a look at this video to learn more about the SAMR model.<br />
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It is important to note that teaching "below the dotted line" is not a bad thing. It is a progression. The SAMR model is a great tool for reflecting on lessons and planning new activities. Where do your activities fit? If they all seem to be Substitution and Augmentation, try stretching your thinking and redesigning the lesson with the capabilities of the tech in mind. What more can you do now that you have technology?<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">"Technology is not a panacea. Not all technology is good for
pedagogy. And great pedagogy can and will exist without technology. We have,
however, greatly miscast and underutilized technology’s power. When we enlist
technology in the service of exploratory learning for all, watch out! On the
other hand, if we plod along with standards and assessment using technology
only as a prop, we will get what we deserve: a higher level of tedium.” Michael
Fullan “Stratosphere: Integrating technology, pedagogy, and change knowledge.”
p. 78</span></blockquote>
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And for those of you who are interested in learning more about how to use technology in ways that goes beyond just substitution, I have a <a href="https://sites.google.com/a/mvsd320.org/digital-literacy-workshop/home/Digital-Literacy-Workshops-15-16/DLW-15-16-transforming-instruction-why-tech" target="_blank">Cloud Academy Class</a> just for you. Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16288500081425834836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326706520561409754.post-25056940704002587372015-09-29T13:21:00.003-07:002015-09-29T14:10:44.920-07:00Sharing our Story in 15 Seconds<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMfphdT5cTO1B_esQWSx9LZqZJaUwksAIBE0adkoapd3nfFA9J64pr_soHWpqAEEL_hq0XayeCq09sc_qr-1JE_nhNPOutBGlR0CumlDUAQwy0r3Yy3lSOmk6iqAa_YQ_1VgwP2V1tAAZ7/s1600/instagram.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMfphdT5cTO1B_esQWSx9LZqZJaUwksAIBE0adkoapd3nfFA9J64pr_soHWpqAEEL_hq0XayeCq09sc_qr-1JE_nhNPOutBGlR0CumlDUAQwy0r3Yy3lSOmk6iqAa_YQ_1VgwP2V1tAAZ7/s320/instagram.png" width="320" /></a>More and more, schools are seeing Social Media tools such as Twitter, Facebook and Instragram as effective tools for communicating and sharing their story with the community. While in the classroom, we still tend to see Social Media as a distraction and possibly even a danger for our students. Recently, I saw a quote from a student on <a href="http://georgecouros.ca/blog/" target="_blank">George Couros</a>' blog that said,<br />
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"Social Media is like water. It is all around us, you can let us drown or you can teach us to swim." </blockquote>
We need to teaching and modeling the proper use of social media so that our students can indeed swim to success. One way to do this, is to jump in as teachers and schools and use Social Media as a place to put our best foot forward for our community to see. <br />
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In her blog<a href="http://langwitches.org/blog/?s=social+media" target="_blank"> Langwitches,</a> Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano has a series of articles on using Social Media in powerful ways in school. She shares of an exercise she did with educators where they had to create a 15 second video sharing the story of your school.<br />
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<b>Challenge: Tell Your School or Classroom Story in 15 Seconds</b><br />
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An Instagram Video is 15 seconds. I challenge you to share the story of your school or classroom in a 15 second Instagram video and then tag the video with #mvsddigital. This is a positive way for us to brag on the great things happening in our district. Let's see if we can get at least one video (and hopefully more) from each school in the Mount Vernon District. You can share your classroom story or your school story. You can do it all by yourself, or you can enlist some colleagues to team with you. These videos will be posted to our Digital Literacy Google+, Twitter and Facebook pages oh and of course on Instagram. <a href="http://digital-doors.blogspot.com/2015/09/9-4-15-fresh-start-and-new-ways-to-learn.html" target="_blank">(Have you liked or joined these groups?)</a><br />
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By the way, I recently had to sit through a 13 minute video telling the story of a district in our state. Great district, but 13 minutes was too long to hold my interest. You can get a much bigger bang for your buck if you practice your summarizing skills and keep it short and sweet. <br />
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<a href="http://www.weareteachers.com/blogs/post/2014/08/07/10-ways-to-use-instagram-in-the-classroom" target="_blank">Using Instagram in the Classroom</a><br />
<a href="mailto:http://langwitches.org/blog/2015/09/09/social-media-for-schools-developing-shareable-content-for-schools/" target="_blank">Social Media FOR Schools</a><br />
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<b><span style="color: red;">When sharing photos or work of students. Please be sure to check that their parents have not opted out of publishing student work. </span></b></div>
Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16288500081425834836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326706520561409754.post-34844046972564765742015-09-29T09:45:00.001-07:002015-09-29T09:52:36.213-07:00A Very Smart Sidekick<br />
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This year, as I have visited schools, you might have noticed that I have a sidekick with me. She is no ordinary sidekick, she is a very smart and talented sidekick and I am thrilled to be learning with <a href="https://wce.wwu.edu/people/johns552" target="_blank">Dr. Paula Dagnon</a> at my side for the next two quarters. Paula is a professor of Instructional Technology at Western Washington and she has chosen to work and learn alongside of me for her sabbatical. This is a great win for the Mount Vernon School District as she has a lot to offer as we move forward with integrating technology in meaningful and transformative ways. She and I brainstorm, plan and problem solve together. Actually having my own PLC has been extremely helpful. Paula digs in and helps in anyway I ask. Currently, she is working on updating the iPad lessons that are used by specialist in some of our elementary schools. We are also doing drop in visits at all of the schools and working with the teams of teachers who have received technology through the Early Tech Adopter Team Grants. Paula's is interested in learning all of the struggles and celebrations of teaching with technology in the K-12 environment so that she can better prepare her students at the university level. So when you see Paula, be sure to give her a warm welcome and perhaps invite her into your classroom to show her how tech is being used in the Mount Vernon School District. </div>
Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16288500081425834836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326706520561409754.post-86316024908892374982015-09-29T09:18:00.000-07:002015-09-29T09:18:18.766-07:00Googling my Weekend Away<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This weekend I had the opportunity to present at the <a href="http://seattle.appsevents.com/" target="_blank">AppsEvent Seattle Summit Featuring Google For Education.</a> It was great to learn, be inspired and share with so many educators using Google from around our region and even around the world. I picked up a few new tips and tricks that I am excited to use and share with others. It is exciting to see how responsive Google's education team is to teachers and how they continue to tweak and improve products to help teachers and students.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amtechnology.org/" target="_blank">Allison Mollica</a> with AppsEvents shared a newsy presentation about several of the new features in Google Apps for Education. She is one of my tribe who believes that there is power in sharing so she has given me permission to share her presentation here.<br />
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Another common theme throughout was the idea that Google Apps are just tools, what can make them amazing, or not so amazing, is how they are used. Just by using Google Apps or other tech, does not mean that your students are getting a huge learning impact. But when tech is used with good pedagogy, amazing learning can happen. <br />
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It is important for us to build our tool box of available tools and learn to use these tools well. It is really fun when we get to the point where we can mash up the tools like a wonderful recipe for learning, using a dash of one tool and a cupful of another tool. But all of this is even more amazing when we attach this engaging tech to great pedagogy and purpose. Keep your goals in mind and don't get swept away in a sea of tools and apps. <br />
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<a href="https://sites.google.com/a/mvsd320.org/digital-literacy-workshop/_/rsrc/1439269730527/home/google-education-training/9.png?height=300&width=400" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://sites.google.com/a/mvsd320.org/digital-literacy-workshop/_/rsrc/1439269730527/home/google-education-training/9.png?height=300&width=400" width="200" /></a><a href="https://sites.google.com/a/mvsd320.org/digital-literacy-workshop/home/google-education-training" target="_blank">Here is a link</a> to the three presentations I did. All three focused on using different types of tools for instruction, assessment and feedback. <br />
<br />Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16288500081425834836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326706520561409754.post-27009186822970177182015-09-17T13:09:00.003-07:002015-09-17T13:09:41.133-07:00Early Tech Adopter Team Grants To Be Reviewed Oct. 1st. <div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="241px;" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/FYOz1_GRUq_YQfTUZUtcTjlG1926MpO3-YsvtvXwclQzP3FnUyT5qsN9CTYRhniDgWYE1AvYOzfm-pfOqunokiQOFYDQ6uG80FY0-0Fa-hPNEWLUt2uGyoa_GwJ0m832vg=s1600" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="319px;" /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tech Levy funds were used to place 13 carts of mobile devices for use with grade level (elementary) and content area (secondary) teams throughout the district. As funds for the three year levy roll out, we will continue to place technology in teams where teachers have shown that they have developed a plan for use, for sharing and for professional development. Several Early Tech Adopter Grants have already been written and are ready for the process to begin. We will be reading grants for the second distribution round on October 1. If your team has already completed and turned in your grant, you may want to revisit it before that time to make sure all of the information still applies to your current needs and plans. If you are thinking about getting a grant ready to be read, this is your heads up that the next reading will be happening in a few weeks. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To find out more about the reasoning behind the grant process, and to access the grant, </span><a href="https://sites.google.com/a/mvsd320.org/digital-literacy-workshop/mvsd-early-tech-adoption-team-grant" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Please click on this link.</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span>Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16288500081425834836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326706520561409754.post-44850358634488900822015-09-04T14:03:00.002-07:002015-09-04T14:09:26.475-07:009-4-15 Fresh Start and New Ways to LearnWe are off to a great start in the Mount Vernon School District. Students are excited, and teachers are ready and set for a super year. That is one thing I love about teaching. Every year, we get to start fresh. We've reflect on what worked, we challenge ourselves to try new things and we dive in to another year of learning. As you can see in the Doc below, we've created lots of ways for you to stay in the know about all things Digital Literacy in the district. I certainly don't expect you to frequent all of these avenues, but hopefully, you will pick an avenue that fits into your style and be able to keep up to date and perhaps even share cool things that are happening in your classroom with others. <br />
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<b style="color: blue;">Challenge!</b><span style="color: blue;"> </span><br />
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To get us rolling, I am going to offer a series of challenges each week. Those who participate, will be entered into a drawing for a small, but exciting prize. <br />
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<b>This week's challenge is to <span style="color: blue;">Like our Facebook Page.</span> </b> Now if you have chosen not to be on Facebook, I will tell you that the chance of the small, but exciting prize will not be worth your effort. Just wait until the next week and maybe you will find something more up your alley. But, if you are someone who regularly checks Facebook, "liking" our page might prove to be the best way for you to receive tips and useful tools, Instagram photos from around the district and links to blogs written by other teachers in our district. <br />
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Just click this link and hit like and you are connected!<br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/MountVernonSchoolsDigitalLiteracy/" target="_blank">Like Mount Vernon Schools Digital Literacy on Facebook. </a><br />
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For those 74 of you who have already liked the page, you are in the drawing as well. :)<br />
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Here are some other ways to get connected. <br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="88px;" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/bAk3lAdmG2p447krqkQm4M52-x-ifoT2mxDe4d4aNg9FGJU2FpXmegIzIM89l682b6hU_fXx5K76dDhrJTRGrblq2yl7kiY6j4brh7SHu1bYpPoXl2xEXoMJi6kT82tLNWm6Dm8" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="117px;" /></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ready for more tech in your classroom? Get your grade level or content team together and check out the MVSD Early Tech Adopter Team Grants. </span></div>
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<a href="https://goo.gl/ZdaZpb" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://goo.gl/ZdaZpb</span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="88px;" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/RkkTzEHYMEp_5-VkdhWbdkeRVXv6l1k2OUdMfKrCK_CarO_9ecvcpWGJGAqqehqwYVm8crhP5Mw3OAs07LjHDhxLTfnLhStw7AeT9d9ks0_cZNvAFw3bKX6_bmnzJTShuj3gdUk" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="117px;" /></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Itching to learn new things? Of course you are! Check out the MVSD Digital Literacy Workshop Cloud Academy. Set your own pace, try out new things and reflect on learning. Earn clock hours in the process.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<a href="https://goo.gl/TmFBvf" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://goo.gl/TmFBvf</span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="117px;" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/DYAfCvN5pMGdZwWbAT-KuAikGl7U_a26lLbpCkDwoEprwU0ikl6YxFdI6DwcxUg13TvcQF_VPUA_RojjkPLEWaErT0QnNB2EYPmPnXkI0L0SBr8Vlz40j9C5p-4pAqIZJhOfGy4" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="117px;" /></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mount Vernon Digital Literacy Facebook Page: Join to get updates, resources and celebrations of all the great things happening in our district.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<a href="https://goo.gl/oLblGV" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://goo.gl/oLblGV</span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="91px;" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/5_IOKp5fMIyMI-mqMmdgijV4CFZ2uCx-vy57uPq5cyIp6yl7mAHPKhulzoBaeKADE1970riSLI1BsURtwFkO1dCw0TrWQvCwxpQ7MiceeT6gAArFJ0fbxBZi691-Expp1r3VC8Y" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="112px;" /></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Follow @MVDigital on Twitter: Pretty much the same info, but for the Twitter crowd.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/mvsddigital" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://twitter.com/mvsddigital</span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="67px;" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/KdlEtrV2fTXxZyscJf161MK7gjpHH3a-NxdEwPetoqhHzlKL2riDcSM_Lufdd0GoihZIwd2m6YvflGfGRLgm9im2GIJgUtPWHVwvkn6sx6YhRsKa_doBw_2tr3tnIqT910zE2F4" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="117px;" /></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you are interested in Pinteresting, check out the things I am pinning on Pinterest. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<a href="https://www.pinterest.com/mvdigital/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://www.pinterest.com/mvdigital/</span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="117px;" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/a_uXrfkr26xKaJznSberNpZKt0E86WhnImhDsMeGBY1ya-H3ZzrA2CqWbplc5Wm1hTd4cYkoh6R8_5UeS-xoX5O-7VR6JXq6DpWORcV8Fv4AktWm76E5Gbivfg8xup6uDIQea3s" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="117px;" /></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Join our community on Google+ to get updates, news, ask questions and share learning celebrations. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You must be logged in to Google+ in MVSD320.org. Search for MVSD Digital Literacy Professional Development or try this link. </span><a href="https://goo.gl/Y4tzlT" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://goo.gl/Y4tzlT</span></a></div>
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<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="88px;" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/F8qTuVfzSeiFmBsUiOlBKsbCqVFSlT6pDBITLun1E-NCqXpKBCGzyBIryFI4Wcsdzl4GtjNHVskQwnGz1EU060wPdrInh8XH4d_BDYHcgo3A8Vqx5aWoSVMzBC5vKIdN_zTA_wg" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="117px;" /></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Not into Twitter and Facebook (for work) quite yet? Check out my blog, Opening Doors to Digital Learning or our new Digital Literacy Workshop blog which will (hopefully) have contributions from teachers learning and doing cool stuff with tech throughout the district.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Digital Literacy Workshop Blog</span><a href="http://mv-digitalliteracy.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://mv-digitalliteracy.blogspot.com/</span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Opening Doors to Digital Learning:</span><a href="http://digital-doors.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://digital-doors.blogspot.com/</span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="79px;" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_y_V9zlFk-JPWk_fvnzltaWiivJJll7MTEOBeL-uBDPIwXUnFDq3gBp1UgNywxapeEtZ00N4rdfiaOnkbtdqXxYyIiHEwF2i2WySTuxtoASjm5-qj-fY_X4ODNH5UJmeT0kRWaU" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="117px;" /></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 1px; border-left: solid #000000 1px; border-right: solid #000000 1px; border-top: solid #000000 1px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Check out Mount Vernon Digital on Instagram. My goal is as I am moving throughout the district to snap some of the cool and interesting things I see happening in teaching and digital literacy throughout the district.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you are on Instagram, you can join in the fun by snapping photos and videos that show the spirit of learning in our district share with the hashtag #mvsddigital, (Please be mindful when publishing photos of students that they have not opted out of being published. Don’t caption pictures or videos with student names. Just share what is happening. )</span></div>
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<a href="https://instagram.com/mountvernondigital/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://instagram.com/mountvernondigital/</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> #mvsddigital</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="153px;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/j-hxuR0Hbw6Wn2c_Hl2XVXg1kSp8u9_3hpwQu1pJMFUJ3w8ybg43JzvtRM7woojqfJRg8utPNc8c6xn5yE0cVoZs99WsKD_iM-JH3weXENuYbuO08AeyWRxmcEI-QwAMZ3UT5uM" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="430px;" /></span></div>
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Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16288500081425834836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326706520561409754.post-56427601663766954252015-08-01T22:02:00.000-07:002015-08-01T22:02:15.920-07:00DLW Cloud Academy 2015-16 Digital CitizenshipI've completed another lesson for our cloud academy. Hoping to have several more courses done by the end of the summer. Everyone is welcome to review the resources. MVSD teachers can register, participate in the activities, take a quiz and earn clock hours.
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="600" mozallowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" src="//www.thinglink.com/card/683872178302615554" type="text/html" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="600"></iframe>Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16288500081425834836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326706520561409754.post-81937857015354271602015-07-14T19:08:00.000-07:002015-07-14T19:25:55.425-07:00Transforming Teaching with Technology (a preview)I'm using my summer to create, explore and learn new things. One thing that I am working on is a series of <a href="https://sites.google.com/a/mvsd320.org/digital-literacy-workshop/home/Digital-Literacy-Workshops-15-16" target="_blank">online courses for our teachers</a> for the next school year. This course is designed to provide some foundational understanding of the why behind tech in teaching and learning. I am also participating in the <a href="http://thinglinkblog.com/category/thinglink-teacher-challenge/" target="_blank">Thinglink Teacher Challenge</a>, so I chose to create my introduction to the course using <a href="https://www.thinglink.com/" target="_blank">Thinglink</a>. This is a bit of a mashup. I used <a href="https://www.canva.com/" target="_blank">Canva</a> as my main canvas for creating my infographic. As I started working, I realised that I couldn't find the copyright friendly images I needed, so I created my own using <a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/google-drawings/mkaakpdehdafacodkgkpghoibnmamcme?hl=en-US" target="_blank">Google Drawings</a>.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
(Note to readers, if you create something that you don't plan on using to make money, consider using a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/" target="_blank">Creative Commons</a> license so that other teachers may use, with attribution, to build other great tools that they too, can share.)</blockquote>
When I started looking for short and sweet introductory videos to link to my image, I found some really nice explanations that teachers had created (and shared) using <a href="https://www.powtoon.com/edu-home/" target="_blank">Powtoon</a>. I will be creating another class on creating a Tech Tool Box. It's great to have tools like Thinglink, Canva, Google Draw and Powtoon in my Tool Box.<br />
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So here is a preview of one of my upcoming classes.<br />
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<img class="alwaysThinglink" src="//cdn.thinglink.me/api/image/677656127432818688/1024/10/scaletowidth#tl-677656127432818688;1043138249'" style="max-width: 100%;" /><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//cdn.thinglink.me/jse/embed.js"></script>Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16288500081425834836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326706520561409754.post-21893021821446148062015-06-30T10:20:00.000-07:002015-06-30T10:44:34.985-07:00Thinglink Teacher Challenge 2015: Design Your Digital SelfDoing a little rearranging and always a lot of learning during the summer. I have plans for a new blog, but I am hoping to post on this blog as well as it will have a different audience. <br />
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I love the tool Thinglink, and so I decided to participate in the <a href="http://d97cooltools.blogspot.com/2015/06/thinglink-teacher-challenge-launched-at.html#.VZKw8flVhHw" target="_blank">Teacher Challenge</a> this year. The first assignment is to create an avatar, upload it to <a href="http://thinglink.com/" target="_blank">Thinglink</a> and then create active links. <br />
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This would be a fun idea for students at the beginning of the year. An updated all about me. It is also a great opportunity to teach students about digital citizenship and creating a safe and positive digital footprint. <br />
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<img class="alwaysThinglink" src="//cdn.thinglink.me/api/image/672482916533534722/1024/10/scaletowidth#tl-672482916533534722;1043138249'" style="max-width: 100%;" /><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//cdn.thinglink.me/jse/embed.js"></script>Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16288500081425834836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326706520561409754.post-87166229327497729242014-10-27T12:04:00.002-07:002014-10-27T12:10:33.864-07:0010--27-14 EdCamp Mount Vernon, Maiden VoyageWe did it! <span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="7808b1d4-8ca9-444f-a7fc-2c6572fb442e" id="17fb720b-3a93-4054-a5d7-34ac6d5e17ee"><span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="aa65659b-0e47-4472-9dc2-db105978139d" id="aecfedd6-5023-43cd-8d83-c01549b8fc48">EdCampMount</span></span> Vernon is in the books!<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="243" id="vp1AEtMC" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/embed.animoto.com/play.html?w=swf/production/vp1&e=1414436800&f=AEtMCBUUZFIon41M8z12sQ&d=0&m=a&r=360p+720p&volume=100&start_res=360p&i=m&asset_domain=s3-p.animoto.com&animoto_domain=animoto.com&options=" title="Video Player" width="432"></iframe>
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Music created by our <span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="9a820b8e-7d9f-4d9a-b7fd-d376b109762c" id="8419bca8-5eae-4563-aca0-c5b4c42b8aa9"><span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="43cfce41-0701-406b-907c-ab168724ea3d" id="a9730c3f-b1d4-458c-9357-3ad00cffb3f1">EdCamp</span></span> Sponsor <a href="http://flocabulary.com/" target="_blank">Flocabulary</a><br />
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I thought about the line from Field of Dreams, "If we build it, they will come." In the case of <span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="83884515-7492-4d0e-ab30-dbc9cd97becf" id="ea500ad9-6804-4c7b-a5ac-384148175ba2"><span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="8fba6d4e-c3aa-46ec-a6ff-2700d930bcaf" id="b8c62586-1be8-4202-81e3-c98123c9ba49"><span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="7d537c5a-b545-4f4f-8f70-5b24ba83484a" id="81d3c2e0-b33e-4518-b08a-61a901d188cc">EdCamp</span></span></span>, the line could be "If they come, it will be built". Since its inception back in the Spring we have worked hard to learn all that we could about the <span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="e056464b-25af-4114-8002-603bcff658b6" id="6973f342-d93e-49d8-ac5c-38d7135f60bf"><span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="d232baf9-3b64-477a-8a45-13640f7c080d" id="c98a5815-75f4-49a3-8606-0413728ec7a2"><span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="f179ab15-955c-45a3-bb4d-edde7d26d136" id="eddf2660-f696-44bc-b61b-d32826340ce7">EdCamp</span></span></span> model and encourage teachers who have not experienced this model to give it a try. Our biggest concern and work had to do with convincing people to come, not with the organization of the event itself. <br />
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So, after many sleepless nights and doubts that anyone would actually come on Saturday to try a "new" type of PD, I was excited to see the brave and innovative teachers come through the doors of Mount Vernon High School ready and willing to try something new. And boy did these teachers step up to the plate and make this a great day of learning, sharing and collaboration!<br />
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During the kick off to the event, I asked teachers to share what they wanted to learn during the day. Teachers immediately started sharing ideas: writing strategies, global collaboration, hi cap strategies, making coding real, photo sharing, writing strategies, coaching strategies and even ROBOTS! Before the kick off, I had the opportunity to visit with many of the participants, and as the teachers started sharing what they wanted to learn, I felt like a matchmaker, getting excited about the connections I knew would happen that day. I got even giddier when I asked the next question. "What would you be willing to share?" Hands popped up right away. Lots of great ideas and topics, many fitting right in with the learning that people had shared earlier. How exciting!<br />
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Next, I showed everyone an empty schedule board with spots for 20 sessions throughout the day. Immediately, teachers went to work adding sessions to the board. In no time, the board was complete and we were ready to roll. <br />
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The rest of the day was filled with great connections, and sharing resources. We shared our learning on a collaborative Google Doc. <a href="https://docs.google.com/a/mvsd320.org/document/d/1UCZp6u5bMOa2rc8Q04JWCggGbUhuvef2RLdISu2X3us/edit" target="_blank">Check out all the sessions and the notes here</a>. There were sessions on coaching, Special Ed, getting students moving during class, video editing, digital <span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="99a06b32-6faa-4a47-875f-feb524ff2cdf" id="deba1e06-fe64-462d-96d9-94cfaff52acd"><span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="69e22360-7311-4700-998e-4f13189ccf8f" id="d5a9a11c-05da-4f1e-9cf1-b38114b6638a"><span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="16303407-1390-460a-8f47-363901a3d8c2" id="5130f000-af0f-497d-8f30-e067ff75f91c">story telling</span></span></span>, ROBOTS, coding, physical computing, the writing process, and more. With teachers from 7 districts coming from as far away as Olympia there were many great connections made. <br />
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By the end of the day, everyone was asking when the next <span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="2b6b94a9-2baa-4be1-a00f-0f3bdbeebbbc" id="d060a555-6e24-4f75-b373-b308ea59b2a4"><span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="c8a94664-d2d5-438f-ad91-d0da50c22214" id="aad2b043-b3e7-46a2-8484-88b70ef3671f"><span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="2605ff4c-5ccb-4771-ae06-db040643d682" id="38840351-3412-4c71-8690-163aeffa154b">EdCamp</span></span></span> Mount Vernon would be. As we reflected on the day, we all were mulling over the possibilities for using this model in other <span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="b20502b8-bc1f-40df-8319-50dbdc71c6f5" id="5fed24e1-a9fa-4da1-9e9f-25120272da71"><span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="27c0f9d3-a6f7-4d51-ac8a-7521c6fd17e3" id="e41315c1-c12f-47aa-876a-95a0fdb711d5"><span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="87e0357f-a2b9-4273-80b5-eaee4c292966" id="b7b347ed-ec9d-457a-aaef-6bad53aac844">ways including</span></span></span> Staff meetings, district PD, even in our own classrooms. The folks who had joined us from Lake Stevens left ready to put a date on the calendar in February to host their own event and invite all of us. <br />
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I think that the model worked so well, because everyone who was at the event wanted to be there and came ready to learn and share. How very exciting. <br />
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Even though I had hoped that hundreds would show up and remain a little disappointed that more teachers from the Mount Vernon School District didn't participate, The number of people who did attend seemed to be the perfect amount for a group of newbies trying out a new and different idea. I know that after the teachers who participated today return and share with others about <span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="535ce503-90b2-4443-b43c-29d80555b2ea" id="9421b16e-3346-409e-89cd-e205925dde1b"><span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="7ec2e3bd-f71e-4089-a43e-5f8b639ff355" id="7a198872-2e75-42d7-878b-5506cf870511"><span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="a312521d-e4ae-4113-9068-ecddb44c5fc1" id="775f041a-3322-4ec8-8483-c12dd0a9200a">EdCamp</span></span></span>, we will have many more in attendance the next time and even more learning and sharing.<br />
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I am so thankful for all the help from our <span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="abdde319-7674-4390-a0f4-2ed83e4631bf" id="09ae450f-6a0e-41a5-8b4c-3ce31da2af5c">EdCamp</span> Mount Vernon Team made up of our Digital Literacy Coaches, our Teaching and Learning Team and our Tech Department. Their hard work and support made this day possible.<br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/K7d-brhg9uQLSUTanF-WGi7IS3gCJQ9tULJd-rAQ0hF_CII8QcFNxjIFROnGReKIztH_avalFQ6KBB9eCAq-Weys2CZc4Gkg51ubxgfCZf6q0OH8Cl3ZXXOa3od1yREBxA" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160px;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/K7d-brhg9uQLSUTanF-WGi7IS3gCJQ9tULJd-rAQ0hF_CII8QcFNxjIFROnGReKIztH_avalFQ6KBB9eCAq-Weys2CZc4Gkg51ubxgfCZf6q0OH8Cl3ZXXOa3od1yREBxA" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="194px;" /></a>Upcoming Professional Development Opportunities:<br />
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<a href="http://www.edcampseattle.org/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #835ea5; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Can't get enough <span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="2b0cb494-5256-4185-91c3-6ca9471e67ab" id="44be71ca-43cf-4348-a224-a9cd64d674ea">EdCamp</span>? You are in luck. <span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="89a40ed5-ae67-4d71-8bb6-75e56e7d7954" id="58a7a176-1e1c-4431-8409-0ffb4b16da75">EdCamp Puget</span> Sound is just a few weeks away.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://www.edcampseattle.org/</span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">November 15, Seattle Pacific University</span></div>
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<a href="http://digital-doors.blogspot.com/2014/10/e-artc-technology-and-diversity-speaker.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">E-ARTC Technology and Diversity Speaker Event</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> October 29 WWU and NCTA (Mount Vernon)</span></div>
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<a href="https://docs.google.com/a/mvsd320.org/spreadsheets/d/1nl2O_GSuY7AAC9wxJf4OxV-KHvQPCzbwU8LhitdG2_c/edit#gid=0" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Digital Literacy Workshop Calendar:</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Multiple events throughout the year. Hangouts on Air open to all who want to join or watch the archives</span></div>
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<br />Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17385620050816283099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326706520561409754.post-2701303409068314702014-10-07T12:50:00.000-07:002014-10-07T12:50:03.304-07:00E-ARTC Technology and Diversity Speaker Event<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
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To </span><a href="http://www.wwu.edu/transportation/local_regional_travel.shtml"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">WWU</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> and </span><a href="http://www.wwu.edu/ps/parking/directions.shtml"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Parking Office</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">, in Bellingh<span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="ebd26c94-2620-48ee-9360-e7f3932dc0c7" id="e21223c1-941f-4eed-a132-1a6bb8217c29">a</span>m</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">(p.m.)
To NCTA in Mt. Vernon – driving direct<span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="575d9ced-5131-4768-991c-0f80e1b7dffd" id="1514302a-6a3a-4607-a7d7-8b52c030c499">i</span>ons are on the attached </span><span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">‘<b>NCTA
Parking Permit</b>’</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> Doc</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">(a.m.) at WWU</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;"> - </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">drive to the </span><a href="http://www.wwu.edu/ps/parking/directions.shtml"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Parking Office</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> and
ask for a free permit for this event</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">(p.m.) at NCTA – click on the attached </span><b><span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">‘NCTA
Parking Permit’</span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> doc to print a free pass for your car</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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attend a minimum of 3 hrs. Go to <a href="https://www.escweb.net/wa_esd105/default.aspx">ESD105.org </a> to
create an account/register for clock hour session </span><b><span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">#108031</span></b><span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> Open
the 2 attached </span><b><span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Cl</span></b><b><span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">ock Hour</span></b><span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> form</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> docs</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> for more details</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">For </span><b><span style="color: #c00000; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Questions</span></b><span style="color: #c00000; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">,</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> contact <a href="mailto:Linda.Schleef@wwu.edu">Linda.Schleef@wwu.edu</a> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17385620050816283099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326706520561409754.post-80293299305004534222014-10-07T12:01:00.003-07:002014-10-07T13:26:54.156-07:0010-07-14 Aprendiendo muchos idiomas en Madison<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IJxq7OJlEs4/VDQ0Mj-m1oI/AAAAAAAAJ0o/g26t2S591jM/s1600/googling%2B5th%2Bgraders.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IJxq7OJlEs4/VDQ0Mj-m1oI/AAAAAAAAJ0o/g26t2S591jM/s1600/googling%2B5th%2Bgraders.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Googling 5th Graders in the Madison Lab</td></tr>
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Today I dropped in to learn at Madison Elementary. Madison is our Dual Language school. (Spanish and English). I am sorry to say that after years of being away from a sustained need and opportunity to speak Spanish, I am getting pretty rusty. Time for me to change that. I do great at the listening and understanding piece, but completely freeze when I think of teaching in Spanish. Something for me to work on for sure. My belief is that every child should have the opportunity to learn and be fluent in at least two languages in Elementary School. I am thankful that we have this initiative in our district and that it continues to grow. <span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="6c349461-4898-4c2b-805e-256ed5097321" id="f2091e81-e000-41d5-b894-92facff837f1">Sra</span>. Romero invited me to "speak Google" with some of her 3rd grade students while she worked with another group. It was fun to see how fluent these students already are <span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="59f19af0-e941-489f-8228-9e7f72c62e80" id="9fefc90e-562e-4909-bf51-6976a2761f76">with</span> logging in and using their Google Drive even though they were just introduced to this in the lab last week by the amazing Tech Specialist Melissa McPhaden.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhas9j3O0kqXbz5i5dYIn18ifJ8uC95xHzbYm-_MaTONniKv2dL05emiH4ywhB7uBMkM5fbah8ON83N-xGSwN8IHkChze0b3e992b7HBNhIJ4wM5TqBP_sejKj_TlV8_h-lO4IbYjcPdQ/s1600/IMG_20141007_094257_131.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhas9j3O0kqXbz5i5dYIn18ifJ8uC95xHzbYm-_MaTONniKv2dL05emiH4ywhB7uBMkM5fbah8ON83N-xGSwN8IHkChze0b3e992b7HBNhIJ4wM5TqBP_sejKj_TlV8_h-lO4IbYjcPdQ/s1600/IMG_20141007_094257_131.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="a612e0c1-c6cf-4e59-be48-18193320c188" id="125fe4f6-1ef5-4b4c-9508-fe7ef22a6958">BrainPop</span> in Spanish</td></tr>
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I had fun seeing what they were able to do and giving them a few new tips. Their charge was then to teach the other group what they had learned. Not only are students learning Spanish, English and Google at Madison, thanks to the innovative work of their Library Media Specialist, Sharon Sackett, working with Melissa McPhaden and Leslie Bunzel, the students are also learning the language of coding. Starting in Kindergarten using an iPad app called <a href="http://www.kodable.com/classrooms" target="_blank">Kodable</a>, all the way up to 5th grade where students are creating in <a href="http://scratch.mit.edu/" target="_blank">Scratch</a>. Ms. Sackett has the opportunity to see students multiple times a week, so she is going beyond the normal library lessons and doing a variety of STEM activities including Lego Construction and Coding. She is making connections to Common Core, Tech and Next Generation Science Standards as she encourages problem solving, planning, communication and collaboration.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYg3Z5IIiS9RcsP4HmBr4Z0EIVud6uE8LT49ThCc8nruSY-j9llQOfF7VNiTkr5vY3XK1V017LXWCYqO6HHA5Km98hxDR6GZT7HDesESzrkp5f57H62kSPm8J0hxEkxSMi_qTIa047w6g/s1600/IMG_20141007_095033_018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYg3Z5IIiS9RcsP4HmBr4Z0EIVud6uE8LT49ThCc8nruSY-j9llQOfF7VNiTkr5vY3XK1V017LXWCYqO6HHA5Km98hxDR6GZT7HDesESzrkp5f57H62kSPm8J0hxEkxSMi_qTIa047w6g/s1600/IMG_20141007_095033_018.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fun bulletin board encouraging positive social skills</td></tr>
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Mr. <span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="8696371c-41fa-4801-b7a6-793d28d36c40" id="022960f2-71dc-4347-838b-c6a21ddb8ef6">Hoare</span> had invited me in to see the 4th graders roller skating. He told me that there would be plenty of "uploading" and "downloading" as the kids learned a new skill. Unfortunately, my time didn't work out to get to see that. It was fun to get to meet a couple of the new teachers. I look forward to getting to know and work with each of them. <br />
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<br />Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17385620050816283099noreply@blogger.com0