EdTech@NSCDS
All the Tech & Innovation News You Can Use • Issue #13
EdTech@NSCDS News
News
- Do you have an Adobe account here at North Shore? See Chris J. for an account that will enable you to make the most of Adobe tools, such as Photoshop and Illustrator, on your Mac. Adobe also has some awesome iPad apps for creating images.
- We have 2 new Breakout Edu kits available if you are interested in piloting escape room type of learning activities with your students. I also have 25 codes that will enable teachers to join the Breakout Edu platform and use their library of activities. Email me or come find me if you want more details!
Conferences and PD Opportunities
- Sign up for our laser cutter workshops with JD Pirtle in January and February. Details are available here. No experience required!
- The Northern Illinois Chapter of Illinois Computer Educators (NICE) is hosting a mini-conference at Evanston Township High School on Saturday, January 26th from 8 AM - 1 PM. If you are interested in attending, please let me know ASAP and I'll get you registered.
- If you would like to attend the Illinois Computing Educators conference at the end of February 2019, please let me which day or days are convenient for you as soon as possible and I'll facilitate your registration. We have several US teachers plus Jeff and myself signed up so far!
- Rita in the Visual Arts Department recommends this free digital art workshop taking place on March 1st at Flashpoint Chicago!
Reminders
- Department heads and grade levels, please invite me to any upcoming department meetings. Let me know if you'd like to schedule a time to meet!
- I am scheduling individual meetings with teachers and classrooms visits over the next few months. My goal is to take a deep dive into classes so that I can get a better sense of our next steps with ed tech.
- NSCDS middle school and high school faculty should email me (Lucy) with requests for apps to be installed on their school or student iPads. I will then approve the request or ask for more information and the IT department will install.
- Lower school should email Jeff with their requests and he will approve. Please cc me so that I can see the apps that are of interest to you.
- For subscription services, generally speaking, you should go through your department for these purchases. For example, if you need (and will use) a particular subscription-based tool or app such as Quizlet, purchase it and seek reimbursement from your department. Over the course of this year, I am planning on developing a process for requesting subscriptions prior to the next school year so that we can obtain bulk pricing or negotiate pricing based on users with specific companies.
- If you are experiencing any consistent issues with connectivity in your classroom or any other technical issue, please make sure to email IT at tech@nscds.org.
INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICE - Classroom Discussions
- The Big List of Classroom Strategies - from one my favorite blogs, the Cult of Pedagogy
- Parlay - an online platform that provides prompts for face-to-face and virtual discussions
- The Right Question Institute - RQI provides a protocol for asking questions plus lots of other classroom resources. Free registration is required to browse.
Working with Photos
- Do you know how to sync your photos across Apple devices? Take a look at this support article that will walk you through this.
- Do you know how to work with Apple Photos third-party apps and extensions on your Mac or iOS device? Here's how you can edit your photos that are stored in Apple Photos.
- More more support, take a look at Photos for Mac: the Ultimate Guide.
KaleidaCam - FREE
Prisma - FREE
Pic Collage - FREE
GLOBAL COLLABORATION
NEW! Coding Project with Students at Punahou!
A teacher from the Punahou School in Hawaii is looking for project partners! In this global coding project, students will use Scratch to code a project about "Our Fragile World." Students may share about the UN Sustainable Development Goals, water, pollution, endangered species, or anything that connects to the theme. During the project, students will work in small groups to share video messages, give/get feedback on one another's Scratch projects, and learn about different global issues.
See this flyer with additional details if you are interested.
Upcoming Global Celebrations
The Global Mystery 3D Print Challenge project starts on January 12th. Students create a “Mystery Cube” with 3D printing software. The cube should have clues about the design team’s location (ie. city, country, coordinates, etc.). The file is then emailed to a moderator, who will send you another “Mystery Cube” file in exchange. Students will have one week to use the clues given on the new “Mystery Cube” to figure out where it came from. The answer will be emailed to the teacher at the end of one week. Mystery Cubes can come from anywhere in the world! For more information and to sign up, visit the project's website.
Here is an article with more info about the Great Kindness Challenge and check out plans from an Iowa librarian for World Read Aloud Day. She's looking to connect classrooms for Skype calls.