Teaching with Tech Newsletter
March 2019
Newsletter in a Flash
- Tech Conference Announcement
- Top-Notch Tech Tool
- Digital Portfolios
- Excellent Edtech Educator
- Phishing Quiz (Be sure the check this out. It will help you better understand how cybercriminals try to steal your information.)
Tech Fiesta - Nacho Average Tech Conference
We are so excited to announce that our 2nd Annual Teaching with Tech Conference will be Friday, June 28th at Northeast Alabama Community College! The theme for this year's conference is Tech Fiesta - Nacho Average Tech Conference and Eric Curts from Control Alt Achieve will be our keynote speaker. We promise... you will not want to miss this!!! Be on the lookout for information on signing up and/or presenting.
Top-Notch Tech Tool - Seesaw
So if you haven't used Seesaw yet, let us encourage you to do so soon, as it is a great tool for students to be able to keep a digital portfolio. Having a digital portfolio allows students to be able to reflect on and take ownership of their own learning. With Seesaw, students capture their learning and share it with teachers, peers, family members, and even the broader community. Also, the Seesaw Activity Library has thousands of pre-made activities for teachers to share with their students.
Excellent EdTech Educator
Tell us a little about yourself. How long have you been teaching, what do you teach, etc?
My name is Misty McAllister. I am the single mom to two, amazing boys. This is my 19th year of teaching. I have taught K-3rd. I currently teach 2nd grade ELA and Social Studies at Henagar.
What is your favorite tech tool and why?
My favorite tech tool is SeeSaw. It is so easy to make or find things that go along with the standards I’m teaching for the week. My students love using it! I enjoy reviewing their work online rather than sitting and grading papers. I love to hear them record themselves reading a story, making things with their spelling words, and many other activities.
I guess Seesaw helps break some of the monotony of grading! How have you been able to use technology to impact your students?
With SeeSaw, students submit their work to me when it is complete. After I review it and possibly make comments on it, I then share it with the class. Students can then see one another’s work and comment on it. We have discussed that this is a way to encourage others or boost one another’s confidence. Comments come through me so I only approve positive comments to be seen/shared with other students. This is also a fun and engaging way for students to participate in learning activities rather than just paper and pencil task.
That’s awesome! Students definitely need to learn how to build one another up with their words. So do you have any words of encouragement for the faculty of DeKalb County Schools?
I encourage other faculty members to step out of the comfort zone and try new things. I was very skeptical about trying some new technology but what I have found it that it has gotten my students and myself excited when it comes time to do normal activities because it seems different when done on the computer. I’ve never seen such positive outcomes as I have with the new technology I’ve implemented in my classroom. Students are boosting one another up like never before!!!
Yes! It is tempting to give up when something doesn’t work perfectly the first time we try it. As educators, we are in the business of learning. We should always be learning and demonstrating learning to our students. Do we want our students to quit when the first sign of “failure” shows up? By no means! Integrating technology offers us the opportunity to demonstrate perseverance in our learning. Often, what we see as failure is one of the greatest opportunities to learn and grow. Our students desperately need to learn this! And quite possibly… we do too!
Ok Misty, tell us one random weird fact about yourself…
Everyone that knows me, knows I LOVE to sing. I sing every day throughout the day. Real songs or just songs I make up. I feel like singing is a way to relieve stress and cheer someone up (even myself). Life’s too short not to sing!
“As long as we live, there is never enough singing.” – Martin Luther
“The only thing better than singing is more singing.” – Ella Fitzgerald
Thanks Misty!!
What is phishing and can you identify phishing attempts?
To help users better identify phishing attempts, Google has created an interactive quiz in which you try to distinguish between real and fake emails. Please take the quiz by clicking the link below.
Tech Integration Specialist
Abbey Thomas
Email: jathomas@dekalbk12.org
Twitter: @mrstechpig
Rob Hullett
Email: rlhullett@dekalbk12.org
Twitter: @robhullett
If you have any questions or needs please don't hesitate to contact us!