OS Educational Technology News
November 2016
This issue of the newsletter contains information about our newest free, online course, "Google Mapping Tools in the Classroom;" information about some of the amazing resources in the LearningExpress Library; Discovery Streaming updates including the Election Content Collection; registration link for "Creating & Collaborating with Google Drive" workshop; information about a free, webcast from the National World War II Museum on Pearl Harbor; "Hamilton's America" resources from PBS LearningMedia; free, online professional learning provided by the TRIG project; and more.
~Laura
New Online Course! "Google Mapping Tools in the Classroom"
Google Maps is the Google mapping tool that most of us have used to get directions at one time or another. Because of things like Street View and Photospheres, Google Maps is now so much more than a method of finding your way from Place A to Place B. Google My Maps is a newer Google mapping tool that is associated with a user's Google Drive. It provides a way for you and your students to create and share customized maps. Google My Maps allows you to add images, movies and text in Placemarks to create interactive maps that tell a story, outline historical events, explore geography and more!
If you would like to get started using Google mapping tools in your classroom, sign up for "Google Mapping Tools in the Classroom." You will be guided, via video and text-based tutorials, through all of the steps needed to use Google mapping tools. It is expected that it will take 9 hours to complete the course. This includes the time you will spend developing mapping resources and activities to use with your students. Note: You can begin and complete the courses any time between now and November 13, 2017.
Click here to register for "Google Mapping Tools in the Classroom!"
Example of an Elementary Student Map
Michigan eLibrary News: LearningExpress Library
LearningExpress Library has been a mainstay eResource in MeL for over ten years, and it continues to evolve in scope and content. LearningExpress library includes test prep resources, eBooks, skill builders and more! Remember, all Michigan residents can access these resources free of charge!
SAT and ACT( Test Prep
Twenty-five new resources were added for 2016 SAT test preparation, including complete, full-length practice tests in a test-simulation mode that helps students become confident with the format, timing, and content of the official exam. Complete practice tests and two writing practice tests were also added for the ACT test.
New eBooks
The eBook collection includes new eBooks for GED test prep, time management, communication skills, and Praxis II test prep, plus new editions of Nursing School Entrance Exams, Nursing Assistant/Nurse Aide Exam, Praxis: Core Academic Skills for Educators (5712, 5722, 5732), ASVAB Core Review, and Border Patrol Exam.
New School Center Resources
High School Math Skills Improvement has grown, with five (5) new practice tests aligned to the Common Core State Standards.
CLEP( Test Practice
Two (2) practice tests for the CLEP(r) College Mathematics exam have been updated to match the latest CLEP(r) test specifications.
Discovery Streaming Updates
Discovery Education has provided a curated list of Fall updates below, which includes links to relevant resources and virtual events available within our current DE Streaming accounts.
Timely Content: Election 2016
- Use a piece of digital content from the Election Day Content Collection with an Instructional Strategy, The Question Is..., as an easy-to-implement classroom activity
Upcoming Virtual Experiences:
- Operation Prevention: Grade Level: 6-12
- Explore the science of addiction to understand how prescription drugs and heroin affect the brain and body.
- Students will get the unfiltered facts about drugs and addiction, and have their questions answered by leading experts, including DEA agents and pharmacologists.
- Tundra Connections Virtual Field Trip Series:
- DE and Polar Bears International bring students a series of webcasts to learn about the annual polar bear migration. Students will prepare for this series of virtual field trips with an online collaborative project using Global Labs.
Professional Learning Opportunities:
- What Can You Do with Discovery Education Today?: New to Streaming? Need a refresher? Check out this Board Builder to see the 7 best ways to make the most out of your current Discovery Education Streaming service.
PBS Learning Media
All new classroom resources from “Hamilton’s America” - Grades 5-12
“Hamilton’s America” gives viewers a look at the creative process of Lin-Manuel Miranda and his colleagues during the years leading up to the Broadway opening of the record-breaking musical.
“Hamilton’s America” shows just how timeless the hot-button issues of today’s America are: immigration, states’ rights, debt, income inequality, and race relations. These were the same fights that defined Hamilton’s time, and they are the driving force of Miranda’s historic work. The film endeavors to brush the dust off American history, much as the musical does, and provide a unique new way for us to view our national heritage and current political landscape.
A new collection on PBS LearningMedia includes clips, classroom activities, discussion questions, handouts, and teaching tips connected to the film: http://dptv.pbslearningmedia.org/collection/hamiltons-america/
You can also stream the documentary online for free: http://www.pbs.org/video/2365870668/
December Workshop: Creating & Collaborating with Google Drive
Time: 8:30 AM - 2:45 PM
Cost: $20 in Oakland County / $40 out of Oakland County (Lunch will be provided.)
Instructor: Laura Cummings, Educational Technology Consultant
Prerequisite knowledge: All levels
Grade Level: K-12
Audience: Elementary, middle school, and high school teachers; media specialists; and other interested educators
SCECHs: 5
Description: In this workshop we will spend time with several of the Google Drive Apps, including Documents, Slides and Drawings, looking at how they can be used to create artifacts and how they can be used for collaboration purposes. We will review the basics for each app and then dive into tips & tricks even long time Google Drive users often don’t know about. Classroom examples will be shared and participants will have time to work with each of the featured apps to create their own artifacts. Bring your own laptop or use one of ours. If you bring your own, please have the Chrome browser installed. Everyone should come with their Google accounts set up and ready to use.
Note: Up to $100 in substitute reimbursement is available for Oakland County public school educators who attend this workshop.
To register, click here!
Pearl Harbor - 75th Anniversary Electronic Field Trip
Educators, looking for an interactive learning experience for your students? "Remember Pearl HARBOR— HOW STUDENTS LIKE YOU EXPERIENCED THE DAY OF INFAMY," is being provided by the New Orleans PBS station, WYES, and the National WWII Museum.
The electronic field trip will be held on Wednesday, December 7, 2016.
There will be Two Live Opportunities:
- Webcast 1: 10 a.m. Eastern
- Webcast 2: 2 p.m. Eastern
During the interactive webcast, "Remember Pearl HARBOR— HOW STUDENTS LIKE YOU EXPERIENCED THE DAY OF INFAMY," student reporters will hear first hand from eyewitnesses who were 11-20 years of age during the time of the surprise attacks. Also, military survivors who were at Pearl Harbor during the attacks will share their stories. These recollections will bring the experience to life and serve as an excellent primary source in teaching students. Students will also experience real-time Q&A opportunities, live polls, reporting by students Julia Bresnan from Hawaii and Eliana de Las Casas from The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, artifacts, and on location tours of attack sites.
Download a free classroom guide (geared for grades 5-8) on the Museum’s Electronic Field Trip webpage. Click on this link: CURRICULUM MATERIALS and scroll down to find the curriculum materials at the bottom of the page.
Click here to register for the Pearl Harbor Electronic Field Trip
If you have any questions before and during the Electronic Field Trip, email fieldtrips@wyes.org.
Upcoming Professional Learning from TRIG
- Each course is 3 weeks long, with two live webinars (in the evening).
- First week of the month is rolling enrollment and pre-readings; Webinars begin second week.
- All courses below will be eligible for 6 SCECH credits, pending course completion.
Introduction to Applying Google Apps for Education Course
In this course, you will:
- Understand the potential and value of Google Apps
- Apply the use of Google Drive as a foundation for students working & learning
- Explore apps and extensions for educational purposes and 4) Outline ideas for using some apps/extensions in the participant's work.
Intermediate Google Apps for Learning
In this course, you will:
- Understand how a classroom web presence promotes communication with stakeholders and celebrates student work.
- Develop a practical understanding of using digital portfolios as an authentic assessment
- Explore and create a plan for designing a web presence that supports student work, communicates with stakeholders and improves workflow
Introductory Practices in Literacy Instruction and Technology
Participants will explore how Literacy Instruction and Technology foster critical thinking experiences for students. This course will lay the groundwork for effective instructional strategies that support the foundations of literacy and technology integration
Leading a Culture of Change in Your School
Driving Question: How can we effectively lead change that unites staff towards a powerful culture for learning and achievement?
Personalized & Blended Learning for ALL Students
Participants will apply their existing experience with personalized and blended learning toward the creation of an extended lesson, unit and/or assessment on a functional personalized learning platform.
Authentic Student Learning and Gamification
Participants will discover mind-bending applications for Game Theory in the classrooms through both the case study approach as well as the development of a lesson, unit or assessment that they may apply within and beyond their classrooms.
Save the Date! Digital Learning Day 2017 is February 23!
Created by the Alliance for Excellent Education in 2012, DLDay is a nationwide celebration that highlights great teaching and demonstrates how technology can improve student outcomes.
Learn more at www.DigitalLearningDay.org.
Oakland Schools Educational Technology Twitter posts can be found at: os_edtech
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
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