All-New TechBadging

Welcome back to a new school year!   This year the TechSpot is back to bring your yet again your TechTuesday blog posts full of new apps, tutorials, showcases and the All-New TechBadge Program.

First we would like to Congratulate all of our former TechLevel earners over the last two years! These teachers went above and beyond to try something new in their classrooms with the end goal of providing a 21st Century Education for their students.

Congrats to the following:

Tech Level 1 Teachers:

Mrs. Eckels, Mrs. Bauer, Miss Defilippi, Mr. Snelick, Mrs. Penn 

Mr. Gavazzi, Mr. Demuro, Mrs. Defilippi, Mr. Henry, Miss Klein, Mrs. McMackin, Mr. Wurm, Dr. Millinder, Mrs. Beck & Mrs. Wensel.

Tech Level 2 Teachers:

Mrs. Sines & Miss Fera

Tech Level 3 Teachers: 

Mr. Brooks, Mrs. Gabler & Miss Stolarski

Thus, the goal of the TechLevel Program was met.  As you can see we have truly built a team of teachers who are great resources for all of us when it comes to tech integration.  So now, it's time for something new!

The All-New SMASD TechBadging Center is here.  (In Beta... or perhaps Alpha stage, but it's here!)

The Badging Center is a place for you to earn/request specific badges based on your savvy tech skills and know-how in the classroom.  It is time to celebrate SMASD teachers and their efforts!  Your badges will be displayed on your classroom door and/or website for other teachers to see.

The Goal?....  We want your TechEfforts to be contagious.  We want  you to learn from each other, but first we need to know what awesome things are happening behind your classroom doors.  

How to get started: 

1. Go to the TechSpot Badging Center.
2. Select a category: Communication, Google, Assessment, Flipped Learning, Social Media... etc.
3. Find a badge that you already deserve, or want to earn.If needed, use links to tutorials and/or meet up with a teach coach to learn more
4. If you haven't already, start using the tool in your classroom
5. Fill out the badge request form
6. Anxiously await the arrival of your digital and print badges
7. Display them proudly on your door & website.  
8. Share what you know with others.

Check Out the Badging Center Now!

The End is in Sight!

Today marks the last Tuesday for the 2016-2017 school year! Check out our "featured post" for some reminders of ways you can clean up your digital files, wrap up this year, and prepare for next year!

This year has been a year of big changes and we would like to send out a big THANK YOU for sticking with us- whether you took time to read the blog, contributed comments, tried something new, and/or just hung in there through all the change! We're looking forward to what next year will bring. If you have any questions or concerns over the summer, please feel free to e-mail one of us. Have a great summer and we'll see you in the fall!

Thanks again for all you do!
          Angie, Jen, and Amanda

Gmail Resources

With all of our email changes this week, there's no new blog post. However, we thought it would be a good idea to have all of the Gmail resources we've created so far in one place. Below you'll find links that will be great references if you get stuck or if you have questions about the new email changes. 

Link to Slideshow: https://goo.gl/H3PLZM

Link to 10 min- Video (Slideshow with narration): https://goo.gl/5cTn5J 

Link to printable tips: https://goo.gl/Uhac0X

Thanks for bearing with us through the change!

Seesaw-Not Just for the Playground!

Portfolios are a great way to showcase student growth, but tons of papers are often hard to keep track of. Seesaw is an online portfolio tool that teachers and students can use to document learning. It is available as an app or online, so it's possible to use on most types of devices and it's easy enough that early primary students can use it! This online tool connects digital and physical learning and is a perfect way to promote accountability with your students. For example, students could explain a math concept, create science reflections, work on writer's workshop, or read aloud and record the week's sight words. This is a tool that can be used across grade levels and content areas. 

Here's how it works:

• Teachers create an account (which takes under 60 seconds) and then set up their class. Each student will get their own online journal within Seesaw.
• Students and teachers can add various items to document student learning, although the goal is for students to do most of the work! This could include photos, videos, and drawings and students can add voice, text, and drawing captions. 
• Teachers can view the items students post and can approve items to be shared with parents via the app, text message, or email. This is a great way to promote the home-school connection!
• Over the course of the school year, students will have an organized, digital portfolio of their work, which is a fabulous way to document student growth!

Check out this video clip from Seesaw for a quick overview of this tech tool:

Why try Seesaw?

• It empowers students to take charge of their own learning.
• It allows students to work on their writing, reflection, and critical thinking skills.
• It documents student learning-without all the paperwork.
• It is a great tool for fostering the home-school connection.
• It helps students develop the 21st century skills critical for their futures.
• It's an easy to use tool within a student friendly, safe, moderated environment.

If you're interested in checking out Seesaw, you can find the app in the Google Play and Apple App Store-search for Seesaw-The Learning Journal or check out the website https://web.seesaw.me/ . If this is a tool you've used, please leave a comment below! We'd love to showcase your students' work on the blog!

Technology and Literacy

Our blog has featured many technology tools that teachers can incorporate into their classrooms and this week is no exception. However, this week's tools all focus on incorporating technology and literacy. The interesting thing about literacy is that it is a piece of all subject areas! The technology to literacy connections below are broken down into before, during, and after reading ideas. They focus on ways to use technology in conjunction with the text, technology for discussions and to use during reading, and technology ideas to use after reading/for culminating projects. You can click on the links to go to each tool's website.

Technology for Text:

• Audiobooks (great for younger students)
• Books using a reading app like Kindle
• Epic Books
• Our librarians also have links to many technology tools for text on each school's website!

Technology for Discussions/During Reading:

• G Suite apps (aka Google apps like Google Docs and Slides)
• Padlet
• Dictionary.com
• Recap
• Word clouds can be created on sites like Wordle
• Blogging sites like Weebly for Education, Edublogs
• Concept mapping sites like bubbl.us, MindMup2, Popplet

Technology for After Reading/Culminating Projects:

• G Suite apps
• Video with apps like iMovie, Windows Movie Maker
• Green Screening with apps like Do Ink, Touchcast
• Other presentation tools like Prezi, Haiku Deck

Do you currently use any of these tools in conjunction with literacy in your classroom? If so, please leave a comment with how you use it. If you have not used any of these tools, we encourage you to try just one! It can be very overwhelming when you see lots of tools at once, so focus on one that you think would be engaging for students in your class.

Google Classroom (As the Student)

Below is a "cheat sheet" for students to use when using Google classroom.

As some of you are going to be the "students" in a Google classroom, you may find this useful!

Click here for the .pdf file of the "cheat sheet"

Create Online Worksheets for Your Students!

Check out wizer.me!

This website is easy to use and a great resource for teachers. 

Wizer.me allows to teachers to create online worksheets to share with their students.  These worksheets can be created from scratch or teachers can search a large database for already created worksheets. Worksheets are automatically graded and teacher feedback can be given. 

Watch the video below to see how to get started and create your own online worksheet...