CPP Technology Today
A Communication of the CPP Technology Committee - Vol 2.6
In This Issue
- What's New on the CPP Technology Website?
- Instructional Technology Professional Development
- Resource Spotlight - Typing Club - Assigning a Lesson
- Resource Spotlight - Slideshare - By Peggy Marsiglio
- Resource Spotlight - Planbook Updates!
- Library Media Update - Hour of Code: Coming This Week to a Library Near You - By June Keuhn
- Applying Google Apps: Navigating in Google Drive - "My Drive" and "Shared With Me" - By Matt Middlebrook
- District Technology News - Updates to Computer-Based Testing for Grades 3-8 - By Kerry Hochreiter
- Master Plan Technology Goals - Goal 3: Assessment of Technology Skills - By Carrie Howe
- Technology Committee - Members
- BITS Team Members
- Updates from Tech Services
- Newsletter Suggestions and Ideas
Tuesday, Dec 6, 2016, 10:00 AM
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What's New on the CPP Technology Website?
Teacher Resources Re-Organization!
In response to teacher feedback, we are re-organizing the teacher resources section. There will be four sections in that area:
- The Fun and Facts page has been updated with some resources regarding Winter Holidays. Of particular note is the Google Earth Santa Tracker Lesson Plan page, with activities ranging from games to teach students about coding to interactive maps teaching geography, to sites that match students up to charities that match their interests
- Updates have been made to the Professional Development Opportunities Page
- A link has been added here for the Technology Request page, with information on the new process to submit a technology request, and the Form to submit the request.
- The District Technology Scope & Sequence has also been added here
Planbook.com has updated, and several tutorials for using the program have been added, including one on how to link your CPP Google Account with Planbook!
Professional Development Workshop Dates have also been added for December!
Email: bcameron@cppmail.com
Website: cpptechnology.weebly.com
Instructional Technology Professional Development
Unless otherwise indicated, classes run from 3:30-4:30. Teachers are welcome to attend trainings in any building. There is no pre-registration process - "drop in" when you're able! Be sure to sign in for in-service credit.
Contact the team members offering each class with any specific questions.
December Dates:
12/5 - Carder Library - Laura Tolbert - Google Forms and Flubaroo - 3:00-3:45 (If you have a completed form with some submitted responses, bring it along!) (All Teachers)
12/6 - CPPHS Library - Robin Robarge - Trello for Teachers (All Teachers)
12/12 - Winfield Library - Kathy Rapisarda - 3:30 - Google Drive Q&A (All Teachers)
12/13 - Gregg Computer Lab - Rachel Ketchum - 3:30-5:00 - Google Forms (All Teachers)
12/13 - Middle School Library - Carrie Howe - Creating a Google Quiz and Setting Answer Keys - 3:30-4:30 (All Teachers)
12/14 - Smith Computer Lab - Jill Mertus - Bring Your Questions Open Labs Time - 3:30-4:30 (All Teachers)
12/20 - Middle School Library - Carrie Howe - Google Drive Sharing and Managing Content - 3:30-4:30 (All Teachers)
Resources Spotlight
Resource Spotlight: SlideShare
Slide share (slideshare.net) is a valuable resource to have bookmarked for educators at any level. It is a website where professionals can go to upload power point presentations on an array of topics. The content ranges from elementary level up to college and professional development. Teachers can save time, get an alternate perspective, and utilize new resources by utilizing already-created resources on SlideShare.
Users can create accounts in SlideShare using your LinkedIn account if desired, by an account is not needed to look for and use shared presentations. Users can search for any topic; however, you may need to make sure you are a bit specific. For example, I was looking for a presentation on copyright and wanted it specifically for 4th & 5th grades. When I initially did a search for "copyright" the program brought up a lot that were way above students' level, but when I searched for "copyright & plagiarism" online it popped up a bunch that I could.
Ideas for Use:
- Access presentations to see ideas for how others shared information about a topic
- Use a presentation in class during direct instruction
- Link several presentations through Google Classroom, a Symbaloo or a website and allow students to access and read several presentations on their own or in small groups, and create a "mix" presentation using information they learned from several presentations and share their mix with the class (in this case, all you're doing is finding the presentations. The students are directing their own learning through the rest of the process!)
Planbook Updates
- collaborate on plans with colleagues
- to share sections of plans (ie, homework) with students and parents
- to easily move lessons around from one day to another when modifications are needed (an unplanned assembly, a snow day, a flu outbreak :) )
- to add state and national standards taught and learned to lessons through an easy drop-down feature
- to attach materials to lessons via upload or directly from Google Drive!
Planbook has recently updated and added even more features. New tutorials for the program are available on the CPP Technology website, and more will be added soon!
Tutorials can be accessed here:
1. Create a CPP Planbook Account
2. Creating and Customizing Classes in Planbook
Library Media Connection
Hour of Code: Coming This Week to a Library Near You
By June Keuhn
The Hour of Code is taking place this week (December 5-9). This national event brings educators together to pledge to provide students with a one-hour introduction to computer science, designed to demystify code and show that anybody can learn the basics. Many different websites participate-Tynker, Code.org, Kodable and Scratch, just to name a few.
Many district libraries are participating, including Carder, Erwin Valley, Gregg, Smith, Corning PP High School & Middle School. At Carder, all library classes for grades 3-5 will be learning how to use Tynker. Students can sign into Tynker using their Google Classroom login and more assignments can be added. Students will get a choice between the games to design on Tynker, Minecraft on Code.org or the coding by Disney based on their new movie Moana.
Gregg is doing a school wide Hour of Code event with every grade on December 9th. The Middle School and High School are offering an all-day session for students to experiment with coding. The High School is having guest speakers on Wednesday, December 7th and all day coding on Friday, December 9th. There are also coding books in the libraries if teachers or students want to read up on it.
If you choose to participate, you don’t need to sign up your classes, but if you choose too students track their progress or the programs can be easily revisited later. There are many tutorials offered for teachers who want to take a look at coding. Students enjoy this activity and there are certificates to print out if they finish.
Applying Google Apps
Navigating in Google Drive - "My Drive" and "Shared With Me"
By Matt Middlebrook
What is the difference between My Drive and Shared with Me? When you log into Google and go to Google Drive, you are first taken to My Drive. This is where the folders and files you create and you own live. Shared with Me is where you locate files that other people own and have given you access to. Click here to learn more about the difference and how to work effectively within both.
Sharing and working with collaborative documents can be exciting, but can also be challenging. When sharing do you want the people you share with to be able to edit, comment, or view? You can control who has access to your collaborative documents and to what extent. Click here for a some helpful tips on sharing documents.
District Technology Updates
Updates to CBT for grades 3-8
By Kerry Hochreiter
After receiving updates from State Ed, we have opted to only do Computer Based Testing for Field Testing in grades 3-8 for the 2016-2017 state assessment period.
The plan to do CBT in grades 4-8 has been changed and we will do paper testing for the 2016-2017 school year.
We will continue to work on integrating technology skills into daily work and on preparing our students for the upcoming change to computer based testing. The CBT Resources page of the District Technology website will continue to receive updates, and teachers can visit the page to find the Question Sampler to allow students to practice test skills in a digital format.
Master Plan Technology Goals - Year 2
By Carrie Howe
The 2015-2020 Master Plan for the Corning-Painted Post Area School District contains goals to help the district grow in many areas, to better serve our kids and community. Technology is an area identified in that plan for particular growth, to ensure that all students, staff and families have access to the tools - and the training to use them - to support teaching, learning and daily operations for all of us.
Per NYS BEDS requirements, each school district must annually assess students' technology literacy skills at the middle level. Goal 3 of the Master Plan formulates a process to ensure that the district meets that requirement.
The Scope & Sequence is available in the "All Teachers" area of the Teacher Resources section of the CPP Technology webpage. The link is also provided below this article.
GOAL 3: Assessment of Skills: Create and implement a process to assess student progress toward developing technology skills (ONGOING)
Objective 1: To administer an initial assessment to 7th grade students (June 15) (2015-2016) (COMPLETED)
Objective 2:To realign the assessment to the curriculum and K-12 technology skills articulation (June 16) (2016-2017) (ONGOING)
Objective 3:To develop a process of assessing student skill development via embedded rather than stand-alone assessments (June 17) (2017-2020)
In June of 2014 objective 1 of goal 3 was completed and administered to our 7th grade students. The sub committee of middle school teachers identified skills that were specific to grade levels 5-8 with culminatded in the development of a technology assessment.
In the 2015-16 school year this same committee of teachers utilized the skills articulation to better align this assessment for our 7th grade students. A review of the internal assessment and a regional assessment determined that the interactivity of our regional technology assessment aligned with the skills articulation and provided an excellent upgraded assessment. The regional assessment was administered to our 7th grade students in June of 2015 per objective 2 of goal 3.
This, year our sub-committee continues our movement forward by undertaking the tasks outlined in Objective 3 of Goal 3. The technology skills articulation for middle school grade levels 6-8 will guide our remaining work as our sub-committee identifies project-based technology instruction that is embedded within our daily instruction, and determines ways that tech skills are regularly assessed through tasks and projects in students’ regular classes. Throughout this process the regional technology assessment will continue to be administered until each area of the 6th-8th grade technology skills articulation has a matching unit of implementation at the middle school.
Technology Committee Membership
BITS Team - Instructional Technology Support
Last week in this newsletter, the Building Instructional Technology Support (BITS) team members were introduced, and their roles were discussed. Remember that these individuals are available within your buildings to help teachers utilize instructional technology. They can recommend programs and resources, suggest ways to implement technology and tech skills instruction into the curriculum, and provide teachers with help in introducing programs to students. Any hardware-related issues should still be referred to IT, with requests sent in by emailing helpdesk@gstboces.org.
BITS representatives in each building include:
Carder – Jamie Nichols, Laura Tolbert and June Keuhn
Gregg – Rachel Ketchum and Colin Sinko
Erwin Valley – Jen Haischer and Peggy Marsiglio
Severn – Jen Taylor and Karen Cleary
Smith – Mike Clarke, Jill Mertus and Matt Cornacchio
Winfield – Kathy Rapisarda and Shari Smith
CPP HS – Robin Robarge and Stacie Martinec
CPPMS - Carrie Howe
District - Lori Pruyne
BITS representatives are also going to be conducting after-school professional development classes on various instructional technology topics after school each month. These sessions will be held around the district, but all sessions are open to all teachers - you do not have to attend only sessions held in your individual buildings. Class times and locations will be listen on the Professional Development Opportunities page of the CPP Technology website.
Updates From Tech Services
Email Fix: Email From Online Links
(You must have the Outlook 2016 program set up before this will work. You can install it yourself from the START menu)
To fix the email handler for web links:
Click The START button ->Settings ->Control Panel ->Default Programs ->Set you default programs-> Outlook 2016->Set this program as defaultNewletter Information
Email: lpruyne@cppmail.com
Website: cpptechnology.weebly.com
Location: CPPHS B215
Phone: 3503