CPP Technology Today
A Communication of the CPP Technology Committee - Vol 2.1
In This Issue
- Smith First Graders Tackle NWEA on Chromebooks - by Jill Mertus
- What's New on the CPP Technology Website?
- Getting Ready for Computer-Based Testing
- Instructional Technology Professional Development
- Resource Spotlight - District Subscription Active for Typing Club
- Google Docs - Text Files In the "Cloud"
- Chrome Corner - Creating a User On Chrome
- District Technology News - In the Home Stretch with BrightBytes
- Technology Committee - Members
- BITS Team Members
- Updates from Tech Services
- Newsletter Suggestions and Ideas
Tuesday, Oct 4, 2016, 10:00 AM
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Smith First Graders Tackle NWEA on Chromebooks
By Jill Mertus
When setting up the NWEA testing schedule one of the first grade teachers at Smith Elementary School, Jennifer Gillette, offered to have her students try taking the test using the new Chromebooks. After learning how to get everyone logged in they were off and running.
There were very few glitches along the way and as the students finished they were able to stay in their seats with their headphones on and go to Starfall.com to work individually on that site. This assisted in minimizing distractions as students finished testing and did not cause slower workers to start rushing because they knew their friends were done.
Overall, it was a very positive experience and one that will definitely be explored further.
What's New on the CPP Technology Website?
Teacher Resources Re-Organization!
In response to teacher feedback, we are re-organizing the teacher resources section. There will be four sections in that area:
All Teachers - this section has information relevant to all teachers grades pre-K-12. Resources in this section include
- the Google Apps Hub, with tutorials and guides for all the different Google Apps (Programs)
- The Technology Professional Development Schedule, detailing after-school instructional tech PD opportunities for all teachers
- The District Technology Scope and Sequence, showing the continuum of tech skills taught and learned at each grade, K-12
- Workshops and Trainings - resources utilized in different technology trainings, August Days, and workshops
- CPP District Technology Newsletter - Current and archived issues of this newsletter
- The 4Cs - Ideas and Resources for utilizing instructional technology to enhance the curriculum in ways that wouldn't have been possible without tech tools, using the 4Cs (Communication, Collaboration, Creativity and Critical Thinking) as a framework
Grade-Level Specific Resources:
The other 3 sections will be organized by level - Elementary, Middle and High - with resources and information specific to teachers at those levels. This re-organization is intended to make it easier and more efficient to find information that is pertinent to you and your students.
Elementary - Currently, the Elementary Section contains the following sections:
1. Presentations and Forms for Students:
- the "Care and Handling of Your Chromebook" presentations for students in grades 3-5
- documents distributed to students and parents regarding the use of technology in the district
2. Technology Skills Instruction and Instructional Resources:
- Tech Skills Scope and Sequence for each grade level
- Tech Skills Integration Planner Templates, K-5
- Completed, collaboratively created integrated units created last year
- Webpages, online games and other resources to help teach students instructional technology skills, sorted by the skills categories identified in the scope and sequence
3. Programs and Resources
- Links and tutorials for different instructional technology programs
4. Computer-Based Testing
- Information and Ideas for CBT
- Programs to encourage the Access and Frequency needed for students to develop technological literacy skills
- Question Samplers from NYSED to enable students to practice using a digital format to take the 3-8 ELA and Math assessments
5. Chromebooks - 3-5 Teachers, check out the Chromebook page for some quick tips on using your new Chromebooks!
Email: bcameron@cppmail.com
Website: cpptechnology.weebly.com
Google Apps for Education
Getting Ready for Computer-Based Testing
CPP will be utilizing computer-based testing (CBT) for many assessments this year. In order to help teachers prepare for these assessments, resources are being gathered to help teachers prepare students for digital learning and testing.
The key to ensuring that students will be successful on CBT isn't "test prep" - it is allowing students the opportunity to develop technological literacies, the skills and understandings necessary to use technology to create, communicate and learn. Students who are able to use digital tools authentically to help them learn their content area curriculum will develop those skills necessary for success.
To help figure out if students' tasks in class are helping to build technological literacy, teachers can examine the access to and frequency of utilization of digital tools. Do students have access to technology? Are they using different programs that enable them to build different skills? Is the use of technology frequent and routine, or is it "special" or occasional?
In order to help support teachers as they examine how students are supported in developing technological literacy, CPP and the Technology Committee are:
- working to help teachers know what tech skills to support students in learning at different grade levels, through the K-12 Technology Skills Scope & Sequence
- developing and curating resources on CBT and making them available on the district website
- working to provide teachers with curriculum planning and professional development on how to implement instructional technology with the content curriculum
Please contact your BITS representative or any Technology Committee member if there are specific resources or supports that will help you better help students learn technology literacy skills and prepare for CBT!
Instructional Technology Professional Development
Unless otherwise indicated, classes run from 3:30-4:30. Teachers are welcome to attend trainings in any building. There is no pre-registration process - "drop in" when you're able! Be sure to sign in for in-service credit.
Contact the team members offering each class with any specific questions.
October Classes:
10/4 - Smith Computer Lab - Jill Mertus - Google Calendar (All Teachers)
10/11 - Middle School Library - Carrie Howe - Managing Your 1:1 Classroom (All Teachers)
10/17 - Severn - Jen Taylor - Google Drive (All Teachers)
October 18 (3:15-4:00) - Laura Tolbert/Jamie Nichols - Carder Library - Typing Club Overview (All K-5 teachers)
10/18 - MS - Carrie Howe - Beginning Google Sites (All Teachers)
10/27, 3:30 -5 - Gregg, computer lab - Rachel Ketchum - Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides Overview- Beginner - (All Teachers)
Resources Spotlight
District Subscription Active for Typing Club
The K-5 District subscription to Typing Club is now active! This program, with pre-created accounts for students, allows them to practice keyboarding skills, while letting teachers and parents monitor their progress.
As Typing Club is web-based, students will be able to access Typing Club from home as well as at school. Teachers can find in their accounts information to share with parents to help them assist their children in accessing the program at home.
In order to show strong growth in keyboarding skills, practice should become a regular part of each student's classroom routine. One of the reason's Typing Club was selected by the district is because it is flexible enough to be worked into the classroom routine in a variety of ways. There is an established keyboarding program, that teachers can allow students to work through. Teachers can also input their own text for students to practice, allowing students to practice keyboarding while also practicing vocabulary terms, spelling terms, passages from class reading or any other text that teachers would like students to work with.
CPP's Typing Club domain can be accessed at http://cpp.typingclub.com (those of you that participated in the trial last year will note that this is a different address than the trial). Teachers can log in with their network ID. Emails directly from Typing Club were sent out yesterday with password information. If you didn't get one, please contact Jerry Dieg or Lori Pruyne. Students will also log in with their network IDs. Their passwords are the same as for their Google Apps accounts (the letter "c" plus their student ID# - i.e., c1234567).
Please utilize the Typing Club page on the district technology website to find further tutorials and information on Typing Club, or contact the BITS representative in your building for assistance!
Note: To access Typing Club with full features, use Google Chrome as your browser!
Google Docs - Text Files in the Cloud
What makes Docs different than other text programs is its collaborative features. Because the entire suite of Google Apps is based in Google (in "the cloud") every file created in Docs "lives" on the internet. It has its own URL and can be accessed online from any web-based device. It can also be "shared" with other users, and accessed and even edited by multiple people at the same time. This enables students to work together, to work with teachers, or to share and collaborate with others both in and outside of the classroom. Additionally, teachers can collaborate with others, check on students' work and share resources easily and without confusion.
When a Google Doc is shared, CPP users have a variety of choices in terms of who they share with and what access those users are given. CPP users can choose to share with specific individuals (say, the 5 other teachers that teach in my department with me). I can choose to share a Doc with anyone else who has a @cppasd.com account (tutorials that are shared in this newsletter are shared that way). Or, I can allow anyone at all to access a document, regardless of whether that have an @cppasd.com account (if I want to share information with parents, or the community).
In addition to choosing who gets access to my Docs, I can choose what level of access they enjoy. I can choose to just let them view a document - they can see it, but not make any changes. If I'm working collaboratively, I can choose to let those with whom I share the document edit it, making their own changes. Finally, I can allow others to comment, leaving me suggestions and ideas that I can think about on my own, and choose to incorporate (or not).
Google Docs can be accessed through click the "New" button in the top left of Google Drive, or directly at http://docs.google.com. Below this article are links to several tutorials to help get started in Google Docs!
Chrome Corner - Creating User Accounts on Google Chrome
One of the features of the Chrome browser is the ability to create a user account right on the browser. The two main advantages to this are:
- Have multiple Chrome windows open, each logged in to a different Google Account
- Create a shortcut on your desktop that automatically opens/logs in to a specific Google account (to save time signing in)
Creating the account is a one-time process, and you can then use it on multiple devices. The tutorial below walks you through the process of creating the account - check with your BITS team member or email Lori Pruyne if you have any further questions!
District Technology Updates
In The Home Stretch with BrightBytes.
Again, the information gathered in last year's survey informed many technology decisions this year, including choices regarding the 1;1, devices and professional development opportunities. This year, the survey will allow us to learn more about the technology needs and views of teachers, students and parents in CPP, and see areas in which the technology program has grown, and where we need to concentrate in the future.
If you haven't had the opportunity to take the survey yet, they can be accessed on the district technology webpage.
Technology Committee Membership
BITS Team - Instructional Technology Support
Last week in this newsletter, the Building Instructional Technology Support (BITS) team members were introduced, and their roles were discussed. Remember that these individuals are available within your buildings to help teachers utilize instructional technology. They can recommend programs and resources, suggest ways to implement technology and tech skills instruction into the curriculum, and provide teachers with help in introducing programs to students. Any hardware-related issues should still be referred to IT, with requests sent in by emailing helpdesk@gstboces.org.
BITS representatives in each building include:
Carder – Jamie Nichols, Laura Tolbert and June Keuhn
Gregg – Rachel Ketchum and Colin Sinko
Erwin Valley – Jen Haischer and Peggy Marsiglio
Severn – Jen Taylor and Karen Cleary
Smith – Mike Clarke, Jill Mertus and Matt Cornacchio
Winfield – Kathy Rapisarda and Shari Smith
CPP HS – Robin Robarge and Stacie Martinec
CPPMS - Carrie Howe
District - Lori Pruyne
BITS representatives are also going to be conducting after-school professional development classes on various instructional technology topics after school each month. These sessions will be held around the district, but all sessions are open to all teachers - you do not have to attend only sessions held in your individual buildings. Class times and locations will be listen on the Professional Development Opportunities page of the CPP Technology website.
Updates From Tech Services
"The Cave" All Walled Up
Some of you may have noticed that cell phones or other devices normally connected to wifi haven't been working.
The WiFi network "The Cave" has been retired. If you have a device that needs to be connected, check with a technician and they will be able to help.
Newletter Information
Email: lpruyne@cppmail.com
Website: cpptechnology.weebly.com
Location: CPPHS B215
Phone: 3503