Tuesday Techbytes
January 12, 2016
News from the Office
Mid-Year Change to Monday Edtech Classes: So far this year, the after school training sessions have been Google App based. The second half of the year will focus more on content creation, a look at some newer apps, formative assessment ideas, and more. So, be sure to check MLP after February 1st!
New Coding Club: Starting today after school, approximately 20 students from grades 5 and 6 will begin an eight-week coding session featuring the programming language - Scratch. For the first session, the students were nominated by their teachers. Depending on the success of the session, we hope to be able to offer more sessions to more students in the near future.
News from Beyond
Every Student Succeeds Act Shifts More Power to States: While a “new and improved” version of the hotly-debated No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) would still require reading and math testing in grades 3-8 and once in high school, states would have much more leeway when it comes to defining teaching and learning objectives and outlining accountability measures. To read more, click HERE.
Special Education Shifts to Results-Driven Framework: The Office of Special Education Programs’ (OSEP) new Results-Driven Accountability (RDA) framework changes its accountability system from a primary focus on compliance to an increased emphasis on results. To read more, click HERE
Upcoming My Learning Plan Events:
Jan 19th @ 3:30 - Quizlet and Castle Learning - Third Session (HS104)
Jan 25th @ 3:15 - Google Forms (HS111)
Feb 1st @ 3:15 - Teacher Pages (HS111)
SAMR SECTION - Transforming lessons with SAMR
Lesson: Writing a Short Paper
Taken from: http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2013/08/samr-model-explained-through-examples.html.
Original Assignment: A hand written paper.
- Substitution: Google Docs replaces a pen/pencil in a writing assignment.
- Augmentation: Google Docs and a text-to-speech function are used to improve the writing process.
- Modification: The augmented document created using the Word Processor and text-to-speech function is shared on a blog where feedback can be received and incorporated to help improve the quality of writing.
- Redefinition: Instead of a written assignment, students convey analytic thought using multimedia tools.