GWAEA Digital Learning Update
to ensure success for all learners - March 2019
Episodes 56-59 - Creativity, Collaboration, Communication & Critical Thinking
The latest episodes of the EdTech Take Out focused on the 4Cs in honor of Digital Learning Month! These skills are for all learners across and can be applied across the curriculum!
Episode 56- Can You Hear Me Now?
Episode 57- Collaboration Nation
Episode 58- Critical Thinking
Episode 59- Cultivating Creativity
You can follow Jonathan (@jonathanwylie) and Mindy (@TeamCairney) on Twitter, and see all the tweets from the Grant Wood AEA Digital Learning Team at @DLGWAEA. You can also email us with questions or ideas, podcast@gwaea.org. If you enjoy the show please share it with your friends and colleagues and/or leave us a review on your podcast app of choice.
THANK YOU for listening. We really couldn't (or wouldn't) do this without the support of listeners like you!
March Challenge: Design Card Challenge
Creating for someone or for a purpose is this March's Makerspace Challenge. Check out how Maker School this month - Solon Intermediate School - as they use Design Cards to help focus their making around a specific audience. Solon Students use Mock-Up Cards to give them constraints to a prototype for a specific audience to complete a specific task.
A big thanks to Jan Johnson & Miranda Kral for inviting us in to be a part of their makerspace kickoff with this Think, Make, Innovate!
There are so many different ways you could complete this challenge and we've shared some design card examples in our resource section in our lesson plan - check it out! We want to see how you interpret this idea!
Join our Maker Community by sending us your photos or videos through social media and tag @dlgwaea or #havefunmaking OR send an email to makerspace@gwaea.org and we will post them on in our Online Maker Community on www.dlgwaea.org.
February Was Digital Learning Day & Month
Blog Posts
- Don't Be Afraid of Creativity by Amber Bridge & Gina Rogers
- Questioning + Reflection + Goals = Critical Thinking by Corey Rogers & Beth Swantz
- Guest Blog: Sharing the Story of #SpartanShare by Miranda Kral
- Collaboration is Key by Lynn Kleinmeyer & Maggie Pickett
- Above All Things Communicate by Mindy Cairney
4Cs: Communication in Today's Classrooms by Jonathan Wylie
A BIG thank you to our area educators who took over our Instagram account and shared throughout the month! You may be seeing more of this because it was so much fun.
Gina Miller
Andrew Fenstermaker
Joey Lankelma
4Cs Summer Camp!
Tierney Rowe & Class
Makey Makey Invention Literacy Workshop for Educators
You will need to bring your own laptop to this workshop. The only cost of the workshop is a $20 fee which will cover the cost of a Makey Makey that you can take home with you.
Monday, April 8th 2019 at 8:30am-3:30pm
4401 6th Street Southwest, Cedar Rapids, IA
DLGWAEA 4Cs Summer Camp
Join us on June 11-13 for our DLGWAEA 4Cs Summer Camp. It's designed for educators who want to redefine their classrooms with a meaningful integration of collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking.
Come and learn how digital learning can leverage the 4Cs to evolve your classroom practices. Participants will engage in hands-on learning and application, while also reflecting and setting goals for implementation. Space is limited, so sign up today to reserve your place!
Grant Wood AEA is excited to welcome back Craig Badura as our closing keynote. The session will focus on the importance of fostering creativity, communication, collaboration and critical thinking to help give students the skills they need to thrive. Craig Badura is the K-12 technology coach at Aurora Public Schools in Nebraska. He is passionate about making technology ubiquitous in the classroom. He loves his family, coaching golf, teaching and technology! Follow Craig on Twitter @mrbadura and on Instagram @mrbadura.
The cost for the 4Cs Summer Camp is $100 for 2.5 days of learning & lunch is included. Participants taking this class can opt for one hour of recertification credit (for an additional cost).
Building Bridges: Accessible and Assistive Technology Conference
“Making Learning Awesome for All”
The Building Bridges Accessible & Assistive Technology Conference will provide the opportunity to see firsthand the latest in accessible and assistive technologies (AT), practices, and services for school-age students. This conference event will serve as a unique opportunity for area education professionals, parents, administrators and service providers to exchange and gather information on the current status, consideration and use of a wide variety of accessible technology supports and tools. In addition, opportunities for district leaders to cast a vision for the provision of accessible instructional materials and supports will be shared. The sessions presented at the Building Bridges Accessible and Assistive Technology Conference are divided into five main focus areas which include: Accessible Embedded Technologies; Augmentative and Alternative Communication; Assistive Technology for Improved Access, Leadership and Instructional Design for All.
GWAEA is excited to welcome Chris Bugaj, author for the ISTE book The New Assistive Technology: Make Learning Awesome for All!
April 16, 2019 8am-4pm
GWAEA - 4401 6th Street
Easy Graphic Design for the Creative Classroom
Easy Graphic Design for the Creative Classroom can be taken as a 1-credit hour class for license renewal in the state of Iowa.
Getting Started with Tour Creator by Jonathan Wylie
If you've been mesmerized by the virtual tours in Google Expeditions and have wondered about creating your own, then Google's Tour Creator is exactly what you need. Tour Creator makes it easy to build immersive 360 degree tours on the web with a Mac, PC, Chromebook or iOS device. Viewers can watch your tour on the web, on a mobile device, or in a VR headset, and if you sign in to Tour Creator with the same account you use for Google Expeditions, you can even lead your students through your VR tour via the Expeditions app!
From Consumer to Creator
When Google Expeditions first came out, it wowed us with its immersive views of locations all around the world. Well crafted tours that include multimedia elements and good probing questions help involve students in the learning, but the logical next step was to move from consuming tours to creating tours.
Tour Creator is a web-based VR tool that gives you that ability. You can access it by visiting, vr.google.com/tourcreator. Teachers can log in with their school Google accounts, however, it is not part of the core tools provided by G Suite for Education, so when creating tours with students, it is probably best used with kids aged 13 or over. Continue Reading...
Use “Momo Challenge” as an Opportunity to Better Protect Your Children Online
The Carpool Lane, a blog by GWAEA, is focused on resources and opportunities for parents. In light of the recent "Momo Challenge," the latest post provides some resources and guidance for parents to help support them in keeping their children safe online. Many of our educators are aware of these resources for use at school, but it's a great reminder for educators to support parents in continuing conversations on digital citizenship and online safety at home.
Here is the link to the latest blog post you can share with parents!
Links to a few guides and resources for families:
- Family Online Safety Institute- Resources and toolkits for talking to parents and students about digital safety.
- Connect Safely parent guides by parents, for parents. This is a growing collection of clearly written guidebooks that demystify apps, services and platforms popular with kids and teens.
- Common Sense Media - Family Engagement Resources are available to help students navigate their social media engagement.
New GWAEA Media Center Website
We have updated the GWAEA Media Center Website to help our educators more easily find resources to support teaching and learning! Did you know we have items ranging from adaptive PE equipment to student eBooks? Learn more about these collections and what else can be delivered to your school on our updated webpage!
Need something else? Have questions? Try searching the Media Center Catalog at http://media3.aea10.k12.ia.us/media/wwhome.htx, send us an email at reservations@gwaea.org, or call at 319-399-6754 or 800-642-4107.
Save the Dates for 2018-2019
Iowa 1:1 Institute - April 3, 2019
Building Bridges AT Conference - April 16, 2019
ITEC Student Technology Fair - April 30, 2019
About Us
Email: digitallearning@gwaea.org
Website: http://www.dlgwaea.org
Location: Cedar Rapids, IA, United States
Phone: 319-399-6700
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dlgwaea
Twitter: @DLGWAEA