It is my hope that together we can bring our ICT philosophy to life by exploring ideas that relate to
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Prep Tech Update
March 7 · Issue #1 · View online
We hope these resources will help you - please don't hesitate for assistance with anything you see here.
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It is my hope that together we can bring our ICT philosophy to life by exploring ideas that relate to our school’s mission and the technology skills we hope to develop. If you try any of the ideas in this newsletter, discuss how it goes with a colleague. What worked? What didn’t? By sharing with others, we have our ideas pushed and/or clarified, get feedback and deepen our understanding.
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How might we achieve our goals?
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When we revised our ICT Philosophy in 2016, we included the following statement about how we intend to achieve the school’s Mission through technology:
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At our school, we use technology to nurture creativity, spark imagination and learn from failures. We strive to develop highly effective, self-directed, and ethical learners who make a difference to their life or the lives of others. Devices such as laptops and iPads are used as tools to take an active role in constructing understanding, demonstrating learning and interacting with the world. Teachers and students seamlessly integrate technology as objects to think with, to deepen understanding and innovate in ways not previously possible.
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We said: Every member of the school community shares a responsibility to foster technology literacy in all learners. The following standards reflect the fluid, ever-changing nature of technology. Though specific software and tools will likely change from year to year as new technologies become available, we aim to teach the following skills:
- Self-management
- Communication
- Research
- Social
- Computational Thinking
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Responsible Digital Citizenship
You will see these, as well as ideas from the statement above, as as titles for the sections in this newsletter. Following the headings are blog posts and articles I have come across that might relate.
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It’s Time to Get on the Digital Portfolio Bandwagon - Weston Kieschnick
“It is more than loading artifacts of learning. Students must consider: What did I learn? How did I learn? How can this knowledge be applied in other areas? What could/would I do differently?”
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I particularly like the part of the following blog post that describes traditional vs. digital processes for portfolios and the sample questions/prompts for promoting reflection. It’s all about the process of reflection and using them to share the story of yourself as a learner.
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5 Tips to Getting Started with ePortfolios
(1) Choose a platform. (2) Find resources to support this work (3) Understand the process and product (4) Know what makes portfolios powerful (5) Know the difference
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It's as much about the process as it is about the product
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Learn more about using ePortfolios to support learning by taking part in webinars conducted by Seesaw PD in your PJs over March Break or watch a recording on of their recordings. Details can be found in the link and applied to any ePortfolio platform. |
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It is important to think critically when conducting research online. Fake news isn’t new but when students don’t even know what the reputable news sources are it becomes even more challenging! This blog post provides a few tips on teaching students to separate fact from fiction and links to more.
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Teaching Kids About Fake News
As kids learn and grow up in the 21st century, they quickly realize that information is cheap. Unlike hundreds of years ago, where only the literate could relay information (sometimes with their own spin), now we have everyone, including the leader of [the USA] sending messages directly to the masses in 140-characters or less. While this level of direct communication may seem like a great way to filter out the “fake news” types, it also means that news is not being vetted as it reaches our inbox or Twitter feed. Students (and adults) today now need to take every post, tweet, or website with a grain of salt. Kids may be able to get information freely and instantly, but it takes work to determine what is real and what isn’t…
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In media literacy, it all starts with asking questions: What do you see and hear? Could it be true? Who else says so?
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News Literacy 101 | Common Sense Media
Follow these steps to help kids (and you!) resist fake news, fact-check, and think critically about news and information. Advice from Common Sense Media editors.
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Smartphone + VR app + Viewer = Virtual Reality
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Virtual reality is making it’s way into classrooms. There are many apps that allow you to explore new environments by simply turning your head. The New York Times has adapted some of their news stories for virtual reality. You can “Embed with Iraqi forces during a battle with ISIS. Take a meditation journey to the California coast. Climb to the top of One World Trade Center. Set foot on a planet three billion miles from the sun. Experience stories in an immersive, 360-degree video experience, reported by our award-winning journalists.” Daily news clips last 1-5 minutes and longer stories are also available.
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Virtual Reality by The New York Times
Put yourself at the center NYT stories in an immersive virtual-reality experience with the new NYT VR app.
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“To move beyond pure novelty in education, virtual reality needs to shift from a platform of purely consumption, to one of creation and immersive storytelling.”
- Greg Kulowiec, edtechteacher
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Create Immersive Virtual Reality with Storyspheres
Though impressive, the first Virtual Reality offerings in education primarily consisted of pre-created experiences where students could explore famous landmarks, geographic regions and unique locations. For instance, thoughtfully developed tools such as Google Expeditions and Nearpod VR allow teachers to guide their students through powerful pre-created immersive virtual reality environments. While their approach allows students to consume and experience virtual reality, there are a host of tools now emerging that let users create virtual reality content. What’s more, creating virtual reality environments is no longer limited to those with an advanced skill set or access to advanced creation platforms. Now anyone with a smartphone and access to a laptop can create and share VR experiences.
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With the StorySpheres app you can create and upload 360° images. These immersive experiences can be created by teachers or students. |
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We know that memorizing and repeating facts is no way to go through school. However, there is vocabulary to be learned… Might gamifying learning make memorization a bit better? |
Tinycards — Flashcards by Duolingo
Memorize anything while playing a game! Tinycards is a brand new app created by the team behind Duolingo, the language-learning app.
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How might we make use of collaborative highlighters and highlighted text that can be exported?
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The Highlight Tool - Google Doc Add-On for Writing and Feedback - EdTechTeacher
In this post EdTechTeacher founder Tom Daccord explains The Highlight Tool as a simple but powerful Google Docs Add-On for Feedback.
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It’s a pop-up world where information comes to us 24/7. How might that impact home-school communication?
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Using Timely Text Messages To Curb Missed Assignments and Class | MindShift | KQED News
In a study, automated text messages to parents reduced absences and the number of F’s earned by high school students.
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All icons courtesy of The Noun Project:
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