I.T.S. a Tech Update
March 2018 Issue
Using Dictation and Speech in MacBooks and iPads
When you think of Dictation, you mostly think of secretaries taking notes, or students writing down sentences as they are spoken by their teacher. How about using dictation for review and editing of sentences, paragraphs, or essays? Dictation on a MacBook or iPad is more than just substitution for pencil and paper. It's a way to allow all students to edit their writing without the need to wait for the teacher, or for a peer to review it.
By using the Speech function on both the MacBook and the iPad, students can not only check their grammar and punctuation on their writing, but they can use it to have any text read back to them. Below you will find the steps to enable and use Dictation and Speech. We have also included a instructional tutorial.
Enable Dictation On a Mac:
1. Choose Apple Menu ()>System Preferences, click on Keyboard, then click on Dictation.
2. Turn on Dictation.
3. Press fn (function) key twice to active.
*Note: You can add more languages in case you needed to use it in a foreign language class.*
Enable Dictation On an iPad:
- Launch the Settings app from your Home screen.
- Tap General.
- Tap Keyboard (while in keyboard you may want to add other languages so that you can switch the keyboard, as well as the dictation language).
- Tap on the On/Off switch next to Enable Dictation. Green means on, and gray means off.
Educational Technology At I.T.S. Best!
Quizalize has created engaging, interactive student quizzes using past paper questions from STAAR tests (available at tea.texas.gov). These resources are available for tested subjects in grades 3-8 and Algebra I. They’re free to use and designed to help your students master Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). Find out more information about TEKS Mastery in Quizalize here.
You can play quizzes as fun, competitive team games in class, or set them as engaging homework. All the results go into dedicated dashboards that help you track each student’s progress towards mastery of TEKS standards.
Get started by logging in using your Office365 account. No need for a new username and password. Quizalize can be used in any subject area for formative assessment.
If you'd like to invite your student's parents to your Schoology course(s) click on the Creating a Schoology Account for Parents link below to send instructions home with parents so that they can join Schoology and have another way to communicate with you and keep up with their child's classwork and lessons.
If you have any questions be sure to contact your Instructional Technology Specialist.
Awesome Squiggles is a global K-12 art challenge where students are asked to create an original piece of artwork around 4 squiggly lines. They can then have the opportunity to share their creations with students in other parts of the world either through social sharing on Twitter and/or through a Skype connection.
You can check out all the details at http://awesomesquiggles.weebly.com/. Registration is open now through March 9. Make sure to check out the galleries of previous submissions to see the awesomeness that students have created or check out #awesomesquiggles on Twitter.
Are you sponsoring students for the upcoming EPISD Student Digital Film Festival? Learn a few basics that you can take back to your students. We will review the rubric to help you plan for success.
March 6th - Moye Elementary Library 4:30-5:30
March 27th - Kohlberg Community Rm 4:30-5:30
Do you have students that like to write stories, interview members of the community, report news stories, play music or read books? Consider sharing information about the EPISD Student Digital Film Festival with them. Just create a 3 minute digital film using a laptop, smartphone, tablet, or other device. All entry forms are available on http://episddigitalfilmfestival.weebly.com/.
Any school in Region 19 is eligible to participate in the EPISD Film Festival. This year's EPISD Digital Film Festival theme will is " The POWER of Storytelling". Does your film have the POWER to make others laugh, cry, think, or inspire? We look forward to seeing the creative student films using this theme.
Categories: K-2, 3-5
- Animation
- Digital Story/Documentary
- Movie Trailer & Book Trailer
- PSA/Commercial/Newscast
- Music Video
Here are the important dates.
- NOW- Begin brainstorming and start the creation process
- By March 9, 2018 - Sponsor must complete this on-line Interest Form at http://tinyurl.com/filmfestivalepisd This helps us prepare for the amount of films we should expect and create an email list for communication.
- By April 27, 2018 -Entry Packets (Cover sheet, Official Entry Forms, Video Release Forms with Parent Signature) have been mailed/emailed AND Films have been uploaded to EPISD's Film Festival File Folder
- May 3-10, 2018 - Film Judging
- May 18, 2018 - Film Festival and Awards
Visit our Website at http://episddigitalfilmfestival.weebly.com/ for more information, entry forms, and past "Best in Film" awards.
Story Writing Challenge
Early Childhood iPad Survey
New iPad Apps!
- Tell About This (Kinder) Tell About This is an easy platform to inspire and capture children's thoughts and stories! Respond to interesting photo prompts using voice, craft custom prompts and add profiles to personalize the experience! Customized prompts can be done in Spanish to support students in Dual Language classes. This app was purchased but there is a limited free version.
- Write About This (1st, 2nd) Write About This is a creation platform trusted on millions of classroom devices to gets kids writing! Endless student engagement with 175 included images, 375 text+voice prompts, OR customize with your own pictures. Customized prompts can be done in Spanish to support students in Dual Language classes. This app was purchased.
- Quick Math Jr. (Kinder, 1st)- purchasedQuick Math Jr. is a mathematics learning app designed to give children the experiences they need with numbers to develop strong number sense. It helps children progress from beginner counting games to formal addition and subtraction. This app is free but does offer in-app purchases.
- Stop Motion (Kinder, 1st, 2nd)- urchaWant to create movies like Wallace and Gromit or the Lego shorts? Stop Motion Studio helps you to create terrific stop action movies with a whole host of unique features. This app is free but does offer in-app purchases.
- Apple Clips (Kinder, 1st, 2nd)- Clips is a free app that lets you make fun videos to share with friends and family. With a few taps you can create and send a video message or tell a quick story with artistic filters, animated text, music, emoji, and fun stickers featuring characters from Star Wars, Disney, Pixar and more. Clips lets you create videos in real time with simple controls — no timeline, tracks, or complicated editing tools
EPISD App
My School Bucks App
Post-it Plus App
Is there really a Nearpod contest going on?
Am I in danger of losing my Nearpod District User (Gold) License?
It's great that you are creating lessons in Nearpod, but it's even better if your students are participating in them.
Remember, if you have the Nearpod District User (Gold) account, we high recommend that you use it at least once a month with your students, but know that their is no limit, so go ahead and engage your students on a weekly, or even daily basis with this great product. If you, your department/grade-level, or campus needs more information or professional development on Nearpod, be sure to contact your Instructional Technology Specialist by clicking on the link below.
Contact Us
We are Instructional Technology Specialists that serve all campuses in EPISD. We spend most of our time sharing ideas and teaching best practices for integrating technology as a seamless part of learning in the classroom. Please contact us if you are looking for a technology integrated session that would best meet the needs of the students in your classroom.
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