OS Educational Technology News
March 2015
FREE "Day of Discovery" at Oakland Schools!
A FREE "Day of Discovery” is being held here at Oakland Schools on Friday, March 27, 2014!
The "Day of DIscovery" is a hands-on, minds-on workshop that will provide participants with exciting and enriching professional development, focused on creative ways to maximize Discovery Education STREAMING, emphasizing instructional best practices for digital media. Cindy Lane, from Discovery Education, will be the facilitator for this exciting day. Whether you are new to Discovery Education STREAMING or you are an “every day, every lesson” user, this workshop will provide you with creative ways to motivate students, engage higher order thinking, support retention and transfer, and achieve learning and curriculum goals with a myriad of creative integration strategies for using Discovery Education media assets. This workshop will begin with the basics and will move on to explore how to use Discovery Education resources to create interactive lesson plans that support all curricular areas while differentiating instruction. You’ll leave feeling empowered to create rigorous and relevant, media-infused learning experiences that support all learners!
A flyer about the "Day of Discovery" is available for printing or sharing. Please forward it to people who might be interested in attending.
Registration is open to any Oakland County educators who have a Discovery Streaming subscription.
FYI, we will be able to reimburse public schools/districts up to $100 for any public school educator who needs a substitute in order to attend.
Here is a link to registration: http://REMC17.eventbrite.com
Digital Learning Day (DLDay) is right around the corner, but there's still plenty of time to get involved.
You can participate in DLDay Twitter Chats:
#edtechchat
Monday, March 9; 8-9 PM (ET)
#edtechchat is a weekly Twitter chat where hundreds of educators connect with one another and share tips, resources, and digital tools. Monday's chat will focus on digital learning and DLDay. Click here to follow the conversation.
Live from #SXSWedu
Tuesday, March 10; 4 PM (ET)
Join @OfficialDLDay and @MHEducation for a #DLDay twitter chat on the future of ed-tech live from the SXSWedu Conference!
Participate in DLDay Activities!
Thousands of students and educators around the world have registered an official DLDay event. Join the celebration and have individuals or groups from your school/district add their activities to the map!
Celebrate the Pi Day of the Century!
Edutopia has provided some very good ideas for celebrating Pi Day. Their resources include a Pi Song and a downloadable packet of ways to learn more about Pi.
Statewide Teacher Technology Training (T3) Course Opportunity
The T3 course has been developed to build the capacity of Michigan educators to effectively plan and implement online assessments and "Any Time, Any Place, Any Way, Any Pace" learning through increasing technology proficiency. This statewide offering allows all Michigan educators to participate in the T3 course developed as part of the Technology Readiness Infrastructure Grant (TRIG) and the Classroom Readiness activity. Through a self-paced online experience, educators can learn more about the changes taking place with next generation online assessments, as well as give educators the skills to change their instruction in the classroom to meet the needs of their 21st century learners. While it is recommended that educators complete all 10 modules of the T3 course, they are able to enroll in only select modules that meet their specific needs. Note: Module 1 is required for all participants.
T3 Course Outline
- Module 1: T3 Course Orientation (Required)
- Module 2: Orientation to Michigan Standards
- Module 3: All About the Next Generation Assessments
- Module 4: Diverse Learners
- Module 5: Creating the Environment for Learning
- Module 6: Helping Students Develop Understanding
- Module 7: Helping Students Extend and Apply Knowledge
- Module 8: Introduction to Blended Learning
- Module 9: Developing Your Own Online Assessment Items
- Module 10: Data Collection and Conferencing
Open Enrollment Through June 30th, 2015
This is an open-access, self-paced online course. Enrollment begins immediately after registration and will be open through June 30th, 2015. This course will close on June 30th, 2015 and all coursework must be completed by 11:59PM on June 30th, 2015.
How to Enroll
If you would like to participate in the statewide offering of the T3 course, please go here to register: http://goo.gl/od84fR.
Registration for the T3 course is completely FREE.
SCECH's are also available for this course, but must be registered for separately. Click the registration form link above to learn more.
Registration for the 2015 MACUL Conference being held in Detroit from March 18-20 is in full swing! There are over 4000 people already registered! If you are not yet registered, there is still time. The registration site is waiting for you!
Be sure to check out the Conference website to get an overview of sessions, featured speakers, volunteer opportunities and more.
YouTubeKids App Now Available
Google has just released a new, "safe" YouTube app for Pre-K through Second Grade children called YouTube Kids! This free app is simple to use with big buttons, easy scrolling, and instant full-screen. It is directly linked to age-appropriate videos, channels and playlists. The app features popular children’s programming, plus kid-friendly content from filmmakers, teachers, and creators all around the world. This includes Sesame Street, Thomas & Friends, and Dreamworks, online hits like Mother Goose Club, TuTiTu, and Super Simple Songs, plus music, gaming, science, crafts, and more.
Google Makes TeleStory & Toontastic Free for Everyone!
Google recently acquired Launchpad Toys, the previous owner of two good storytelling apps, Toontastic and TeleStory which used to contain "in-app purchases." Now that they are owned by Google, they are completely free for iOS devices and that includes ALL of the in-app purchases that were previously a paid upgrade! Both apps are very good storytelling apps for any classroom that uses iPads.
If you are looking for ideas on how to use these apps, check out the resources on #LaunchpadEDU. You will find stories, ideas and tips from other educators who are already using Toontastic and Telestory with their students. You may even end up on this website yourself, if you share the way your class uses either of these apps!
If you are an educator who uses iPads in the classroom, go check out the newly free editions of Toontastic and Telestory. Both are well worth your time.
Toontastic
TeleStory
Digital Driver's License Program
Marty Park, chief digital officer at Kentucky's Department of Education, has worked with a group of K-12 educators to develop a Digital Driver's License for students, which applies the driver's education model to digital citizenship. Since the program launched in 2011, it has been adopted by more than 600 districts and about 60,000 students. The license also addresses what constitutes copyright violation and how to be safe on the Internet.
Google Earth Tip
Moon walks with Neil & Buzz
See the moon like never before with Google Earth Moon View. Zoom in on astronauts’ footprints, watch rare footage of the Apollo missions, and take a tour of moon landing sites with Apollo astronauts narrating the whole experience.
REMC $AVE Bid Product Buying Guides
There are Buying Guides available for the following areas:
Twitter Hashtag
When you are posting to Twitter about things related to educational technology, don't forget to use the hashtag: #oakedtech
Using the hashtag will help all of us Oakland County educators, who are interested in the effective use of educational technology, to connect and better collaborate with each other.
Oakland Schools Educational Technology Consultants
Laura.Cummings@oakland.k12.mi.us
248-209-2283
Judy Nichols
Judith.Nichols@oakland.k12.mi.us
248-209-2080