CLX Digital Lead Teacher Newsletter
January 2018
The ACS AR Sandbox is at CLX on January 8-17!
Imagine teaching about landforms and then have students manipulate sand to create landforms and a computer generates a typographical map in real-time?! This is just ONE of the many possibilities that we will have with the new ACS AR Sandbox! Our ACS Maintenance Department and ACS IT have combined efforts to create an amazing new tool for our students to use.
Our designated time with the sandbox this year is in January. I encourage you to talk with Amy and I on how we can integrate this into your classroom. We have some ideas here with links to PebbleGo or other resources that are appropriate for your grade level (we'll be adding more as we go along). We can then schedule your class for a lesson that integrates content you'd like to cover.
Ms. Trefzger's students were the first explorers!
Hour of Code Recap!
First graders in Ms. Barta's Class play with Dash robots!
Learning on Code.org
Coding Club Leaders supporting in other classrooms
Coding Club Leaders supporting in other classrooms
5th graders using Sphero to learn about measurement
Rey and BB-8 come by to nerd out on computer programming
Apples don't fall far from trees...
Welcome to Twitter!
Shout out to Mark Ackerman for jumping into Twitter! Want to learn more about Twitter or how you can use it as a professional learning tool? Let's chat and find out what the #hashtags are all about :)
Spheros and you!
The CLX Media Center recently updated our Spheros to include 12 SPRK Edition aka clear Sphero aka totally rad robots! We have been using these robots so much that we wanted to invest in the robots that are getting used.
Shout out to Mr. Williams, Ms. Gibson and Ms. Lotter for integrating these robots during your math lessons.
Ms. Lotter's Class exploring coordinate grids
Ms. Gibson's class explored angles and triangles to make ROBOT ART!
Mr. Williams's class measured out mazes for Sphero to be programmed through
Live broadcast of Skype Engineers
Upcoming Digital Learning Competencies Sessions
- Thursday, February 1: Analyzing Data
- Thursday, February 22: Using Rubrics
- Thursday, March 22: Using Inquiry Strategies
- Thursday, April 12: Innovative Strategies, Part 1
- Thursday, May 17: Innovative Strategies, Part 2 *if testing allows*
Congrats to Lindsay Barta for Leveling Up and receiving a Level Up! badge. *cue happy dance music*
Broken tech? Contact your Tech Ninja: Shelly Powell!
We are excited to start the new year off with Ms. Powell as our tech contact. She has been undergoing training since September and you will see her more often in the media center as our assistant/tech contact starting this month.
Knowledge is Power.
- Epic Reads: The Epic Reads YouTube Channel from HarperCollins Publishers is the perfect place to get your students excited about reading. The channel’s enthusiastic hosts review books, interview authors, and celebrate being “book nerds.”
- Fluency Tutor: Fluency Tutor allows students to record themselves reading aloud, so they can become more confident readers. Students can record assigned passages on their own, then share them with teachers who can track progress over time. This is a great tool for emerging readers or ELL students.
- Make Formative Assessments more Student Centered: From Common Sense Education, great tip sheets and video on how to make your formative assessments more student centered.
- Digital Citizenship and Safety Course for Educators: Brought to you by Google for Education and a great check in on how you are integrating Digital Citizenship
- EDU in 90 on YouTube: Want to keep tabs on the latest updates from Google for Education, but don’t have much time? Check out EDU in 90, a new video series from Google for Education. Each episode, they focus on an important topic for educators, administrators, and school leaders - things like product updates, new programs, and helpful resources for the classroom.
- Common Sense Education YouTube Channel: This channel provides educators with digital learning tools that engage students and teach them how to explore the online world in a safe, responsible, respectful way. Videos include tips on teaching with technology, lessons on digital citizenship and ways teachers can protect students’ privacy on social media.
Hashtags for Claxton:
#clxleaders #clxsocialjustice #theACSway
Hashtags for Educators:
#nced #5thchat #4thchat #2ndchat #3rdchat #1stchat #kinderchat #skype2learn #mysteryskype #edtech #TLIM