Take a break from summer...
jumpstart the New School Year with technology
Gearing up for the Fall
The Office of Instructional Technology is pleased to announce Professional Learning Opportunities for APC renewal credit designed for AACPS teachers.
Check back periodically as we will add additional professional learning opportunities.
If you are no longer able to take a section, please withdraw so that others may be added to the class. Register on Unified Talent.
Just Added Brightspace 101
August 12, 9-10:30, Section 90161
August 17, 9-10:30, Section 90162
August 17, 1-2:30, Section 90163
NOTE: If you teach in a Charter School, please check to see if you have the applications before registering for a workshop or self-paced course.
Questions: Debbie Ray, dray@aacps.org
New Brightspace 101
Brightspace can be intimidating, but this session aims to make it accessible by reviewing key terms, explaining the different levels of content, and clarifying the different types of assignments. Participants will leave this session with a clearer understanding of how their prior experiences with Google Classroom will transfer to Brightspace, creating a meaningful digital classroom for students and teachers.
- August 12, 9-10:30 Section: 90161
- August 17, 9:00-10:30 Section: 90162
- August 17, 1-2:30 Section: 90163
Brighter with Brightspace Conference July 27 and July 28th
- Both Days (July 27-28), 9:00-2:00, Section: 90085
- July 27, 9:00-2:00, Section: 90086
- July 28, 9:00-2:00. Section: 90087
A stipend will be available for attendees that attend the conference.
Book Study in Brightspace
If you attended the Everything Google Professional Development last summer, you may have won the book CTRL ALT Achieve. We invite you to attend this workshop and dive a little deeper. We do have a limited number of books still available. Complete the form when you register in Unified Talent to indicate whether you have a book or not.
During this 5 week book study we will explore the teachings of Eric Curt’s Control Alt Achieve. We will explore Google Docs, Slides, Drawings and Sheets as tools to use with our students as we move forward. This will be a combination of synchronous and asynchronous activities utilizing BrightSpace.
Two virtual synchronous meetings will be held:
June 22 and July 20, 10:00-11:00
Section: 89935
Course will be held in Brightspace.
1.0 Beginner Workshops
Exploring Discovery Education
Discovery Education is so much more than videos! Participants will be guided through an introduction of the Discovery Education platform. Beginning with how to search and filter content by exploring the various categories: channels, videos, images, text and boards. How to download resources, so they can be easily embedded into a Google Slide or embedded in Brightspace will be covered. While exploring all that Discovery Education has to offer the discussion will provide ideas for how to creatively integrate these resources into content lessons. Learn about the upcoming school year updates.
- July 13, 1:00-2:30 Section: 89954
- August 3 , 9:00-10:30 Section: 89955
Nearpod for Beginners
Learn how to create engaging lessons with instant feedback from your students. Participants will discover how lessons can be teacher led or student paced. During this workshop attendees will learn how to use the differentiation tools built into Nearpod to meet the needs of their students as well as leave with ideas and strategies to engage students in their lessons.
- August 5, 9:00-10:30 Section: 89939
SMART Learning Suite Online (SLSO) Lumio and Google Integration
During this workshop learn how to save SMART Notebook files to your Google Drive that can be opened, edited and shared with students entirely online. Great interactive lessons, activities and assessments can be shared directly to students devices such as Chromebooks. Students can engage in the lesson content collaboratively or independently at the teacher’s pace or self-paced
- July 7, 11:30-1:00 Section: 89550
- July 13, 9:00-10:30 Section: 89951
- August 11, 11:30-1:00 Section: 89952
Wixie Basics and Brightspace (K-12)
Participants will learn how to make the best use of visual thinking and learning strategies to improve student success and to differentiate instruction using Wixie by assigning work based on curriculum and student needs. Time is alloted for both exploration and project creation. Attendees will explore existing activities, learn how to create new ones as well as how to assign and assess student activities. Attendees will learn best practices to locate resources, see the latest updates in Wixie and how to best use Wixie with Brightspace.
- July 7, 9:30-11:00 Section: 89947
- July 13, 11:00-12:30 Section: 89948
- August 5, 11:30-1:00 Section:89949
2.0 Intermediate Workshops
(New) Discovery Education's Enhanced Video Player and Studio Board (Participants should be comfortable using Discovery Education)
Engage students by creating a video quiz or slideshow. With the video quiz add questions at a specific stop point to assess student understanding. Learn how to add the video, title, directions, and a short answer quiz question to a studio slideshow to create a quick formative assessment for students. Participants will learn how to use the Video quiz Student Led or Teacher-Led. Check out how these new exciting features engage students!
- August 3, 11:00-12:30 Section: 89956
- August 11, 9:00-10:30 Section: 89957
Intermediate Nearpod (6:00-7:30)
Have you ever wondered if other applications can be used with Nearpod? During this workshop, participants will learn how to integrate the use of applications such as Discovery Education, Google Arts and Culture, National Geographic, the Online databases and others into their Nearpod lessons. Participants will learn how to integrate the use of these applications into their lessons as well as leave with ideas and strategies to engage their students in their lessons.
- August 12, 9:00-10:30 Section: 89943
3.0 Advanced Workshops
Nearpod for SPED, SIST's, and ESOL
During this workshop participants will learn about the tools that Nearpod has to differentiate classroom materials, how these tools work, and how to create differentiated lessons from any subject to meet the needs of students. Attendees should have materials available to use to create a differentiated Nearpod lesson for their students.
This is not a beginner Nearpod. Participants should have Nearpod experience.
- August 19, 9:00-10:30 Section: 89944
APC Renewal Self-Paced Courses Registration opens June 14
All Self-Paced Courses will be held in Brightspace
Registration ends August 1, 2021
(New) Engaging Digital Lessons
June 22nd- August 20th
Section: 89959
4 hours to complete/0.27 APC renewal credit
In this course attendees will learn:
Engaging interactive lesson tools
Engaging Collaborative lesson tools
Engaging Real-world tools
Engaging Student Choice tools
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(New) Google in Brightspace
June 22nd- August 20th
Section: 89958
4 hours to complete/0.27 APC renewal credit
In this course attendees will learn:
How Brightspace organizes Google files in Google Drive for teachers and students when Google Assignments is used
How teachers can create Google Assignments and what features they can include
How students can access, complete and turn in Google Assignments
How teachers can access and give feedback on submitted and in-progress Google Assignments
How student can access returned assignments to see feedback and resubmit if needed
How teachers can share Google Forms with students in Brightspace
How teachers can manage whole class or small group collaborative assignments using Google files
How teachers and students can communicate within Brightspace
If you are transitioning from using Google Classroom with your students, or if you are just a big fan of using Google files for all instructional resources you share with students, then this course will help you get set up for success. This is a self-paced 4 hour course that includes video tutorials, handouts, interactives, and assessments.
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Google Earth
June 22nd- August 20th
Section: 89960
2 hours to complete/0.13 APC renewal credit
In this course attendees will learn:
- How to navigate in Google Earth
How to access settings to customize their experience in Google Earth
How to find and share Voyager Stories
How to use the I’m Feeling Lucky tool
How students can build and share their own Project in Google Earth
How to use the measurement tools
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Google Drive and the Big 3
June 22- August 20th, 2021
Section: 89962
5 hours to complete/0.33 APC renewal credit
In this course attendees will learn:
- How to manage their account in Google Chrome
How to create and organize files in Google Drive including uploading existing files and converting Microsoft files
The basic features of Docs, Slides and Drawings
How to share files in Google Drive including sharing folders and using Shared Drives
Additional tips for getting and staying organized in Drive through advanced search techniques, the use or Priority Workspaces and using Google Drive for Desktop
Are you new to using Google Workspace for Education or feel like you know just enough to be dangerous? Do you spend way too much time lost or unsure if this is the best way to access something, or if you’re using the best tool for the task? In this course we will take you from Google novice to Google expert in all things Drive and the Big 3. This is a self-paced 5 hour course that includes video tutorials, handouts, interactives and assessments.
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(New) Google Sites
June 22- August 20th, 2021
Section: 89961
2.5 hours/ 0.17 APC Renewal Credit
In this course participants will learn:
How to create a Google Site.
How to add content to the site, making sure all is visible to viewers.
How to customize the look of their site.
How to publish their site for their intended audience.
Google Sites allows students and teachers to design beautiful websites independently or collaboratively with its easy drag and drop interface. Student portfolios, informational sites, blogs and more can be created and shared giving our students and teachers a powerful tool to showcase learning. This is a self-paced 2.5 hour course that includes video tutorials, interactives, Your Turn components and assessments.
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Other Google Tools
June 22- August 20th, 2021
Section: 89963
5 hours/ 0.33 APC Renewal Credit
In this course participants will learn:
how to utilize Jamboard for instruction
how to create and manage notes in Google Keep
the instructional uses for Google Keep
how to create and share a Google Site for a variety of purposes.
In this self-paced course, participants will explore three Google Workspace for Education applications:
Jamboard is a simple whiteboard app that allows users to sketch out ideas, problem solve or draw collaboratively. With it’s simple interface, and minimal but powerful tools, Jamboard is an ideal application for instruction.
Google Keep is a note taking application that integrates seamlessly into other common Google apps like Docs, Slides, and Drawings. Take notes, draw, create checklists, and set reminders then add them to projects simply by clicking and dragging. Add in the Keep extension for researching on the web, and you have an instructional game-changer.
Google Sites allows students and teachers to design beautiful websites independently or collaboratively with its easy drag and drop interface. Student portfolios, informational sites, blogs and more can be created and shared giving our students and teachers a powerful tool to showcase learning.
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Paper to Digital
June 22- August 20th, 2021
Section: 89988
2 hours/ 0.13 APC Renewal Credit
In this course attendees will learn:
What the Paper to Digital website is and how to access it from Classlink
How to search By Projects
How to search By Apps
How to get inspiration from the Variations on Projects sheet
How to provide students with Digital Feedback on their projects in various applications
How to navigate the Paper to Digital FAQs
Paper to Digital is a website created and maintained by your Office of Instructional Technology. The idea is one-stop-shopping for teachers and students who want to complete more projects in a digital format. We offer a ton of approved applications, suggestions for which apps lend themselves to various project types, features that are available in each app and even step-by-step instructions for how to create a similar project in each app. If you want to get creative with your student projects, P2D is for you! This is a self-paced 2 hour course that includes video tutorials, assessments and Your Turn components.
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SMART Learning Suite Online (SLSO)
June 22- August 20th, 2021
Section: 89989
4 hours/ 0.27APC Renewal Credit
In this course attendees will learn:
- How build from scratch in SLSO
How to upload and edit existing files including all supported file types
How to customize their settings to improve the experience in SLSO for them and their students
How to deliver a lesson to students
How to access and view results after a lesson has concluded
SLSO is SMART's online activity creation and delivery system. Teachers who know SMART Notebook will find it easy to transition to the SLSO, but so will teachers who love Nearpod, Wixie, Kahoot and Discovery Education. With SLSO teachers can build instructional resources, games, interactives, and assessments that can be shared with students and accessed right on their Chromebooks. Students can work independently or collaboratively in SLSO and teachers can monitor the learning in real-time or after the lesson has ended. This is a self-paced 4 hour course that includes video tutorials and assessments.
SMART also includes the SMARTboard hardware and Notebook software available in classrooms and on teacher computers. Specific information about the boards and Notebook is covered in the self-paced course titled SMARTboard & Notebook Basics which is also available on UTLGS for registration. It is not required that staff take both courses, or take them in any order; the content is designed to stand on its own.
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SMARTboard and Notebook Basics
June 22- August 20th, 2021
Section: 90001
6 hours/ 0.4 APC Renewal Credit
In this course attendees will learn:
- The different SMARTboards in AACPS, the various features of each model and how to tell which model they have in their classroom
What is Notebook software and how to install it on a personal computer if they wish
How to use the tools on the Toolbar in SMART Notebook
How to use the Tabs in SMART Notebook
How to add and edit content on the page in SMART Notebook
How to import and export files into/out of SMART Notebook
How to use their SMART board with other applications like Microsoft files or their Chrome browser
The combination of a SMART board and Notebook software is an amazing instructional tool that allows both students and teachers to get hands-on with their content. The board allows drag and drop activities and digital ink that users can interact with without having to hide behind their computer screen. Notebook software allows teachers to create lessons, engaging interactives and formative assessments that students can work through whole class or small-group.
SMART also has an online platform that allows teachers to share lessons and interactives with students through the SMART Learning Suite Online. Specific information about the SLSO is covered in the self-paced course titled SMART Learning Suite Online which is also available on UTLGS for registration. It is not required that staff take both courses, or take them in any order; the content is designed to stand on its own.
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WeVideo for Instruction
June 22nd- August 20th
Section: 89964
3 hours to complete/0.2 APC renewal credit
In this course attendees will learn:
- How to change between Storyboard and Timeline modes
- How to record using the webcam, screen capture or both
- How to do simple editing in Storyboard mode
- Hot to do more advanced editing in Timeline mode
- How to finish and save a project
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For more information about these self-paced courses, contact Tracey Brown, tebrown1@aacps.org or Kerri Lambert, kllambert@aacps.org.
Register for these Self-Paced Courses on Unified Talent.