Taylor ISD DuckLink #21
empowering student success and school improvement
Our Mission
In our pursuit of educational excellence, Instructional Technology strives to prepare instructional staff to integrate technology into the curriculum in meaningful and appropriate ways to promote student success. While providing training and instructional support, we utilize technology to both improve instruction as well as increase efficiency in school operations.
Make Your First Infographic
Have you checked out the infographics that are becoming popular in classrooms yet? They can be a great way to simplify complicated subject matter or turn boring subjects into engaging content. Here are some great examples and tools for creating them.
Resources
New Features in iOS 7
You may now update to iOS7 on your iPads when you are ready. Keep in mind that this may make your iPads unavailable for 20 minutes or so depending on how many iPads you may have. We suggest you only update 1 iPad at a time. Here are some of the great new features now available.
- Control Center- Swipe up from the bottom of the screen to access controls such as Airplay, Wifi, calculator, and a flashlight.
- Accessibility- Tap Settings>General>Accessibility. You can enlarge text size, use subtitles & captioning, connect hearing aids via Bluetooth, etc
- Camera Burst Mode- Just hold down the button for multiple snapshots.
STaR Chart Due!
Please remember to complete your STaR chart if you haven't already. It was due on Friday, November 1. This survey should be completed by all teachers and librarians only. It is critical in order to receive eRate funding that saves our district thousands of dollars each year and is a great way to know your perspective on technology. Thank you for completing this. Please refer to my past email for more details.
Understanding the SAMR Model
The SAMR model of technology integration can be challenging to understand. The main idea behind this model is to increase student outcomes by moving from enhancing curriculum to transforming it into something that once was inconceivable. These videos and examples below may be useful.
SAMR in 120 Seconds by Candace Marcotte
SAMR Examples by Jim Cash
SAMR Model & Starbucks Coffee by JP Hale
K-5 iPad Resources to Check Out!
Here are some resources you should check out as you use iPads with your students.
- 10 Criteria Teachers Should Use to Find The Best Apps
- K-5 iPad Apps to Evaluate Creating
- Using an iPad in a Grade One Classroom
- Learning and Creating with iPads in Kindergarten
- Writer's Workshop Poetry Lesson
Things You May Have Missed
Want to learn more about Twitter? A Visual Guide to Twitter
Follow @taylorisdnews or follow me @edtechminute
Be sure to visit the Taylor ISD Instructional Technology site for more information.
Contact Information
JP Hale
Instructional Technology Coordinator
Taylor ISD
Email: jphale@taylorisd.org
Website: http://it.taylorisd.schoolfusion.us
Location: 3101 North Main Street, Taylor, TX
Phone: 512-365-5015
Twitter: @edtechminute