Tech Talk Tuesday 9/29
From the Office of Dr. Rachel Evans
Introduction
I am Rachel Evans, and I am the Instructional Technology Specialist for Madison County Schools. You can call on me if you ever need assistance with classroom technology integration, instructional best practices, integrating technology into your collaborative team (PLC) meetings, STEM instruction, and grants related to STEM! I also work alongside our Digital Learning Partners (DLP's) and our Library/Media Specialists. I have worked at the elementary, middle, and high school levels in the areas of instruction, curriculum development, and assessment. I am so excited about this school year and the digital instructional tools we are using to meet our students' needs. I would love to join you at your school to see students in action with instructional technology and STEM learning!
Looking forward to working with you!
Rachel Evans
X 61285
Techie Teaching Tools
Pear Deck for Google Slides is an excellent resource to increase student engagement, incorporate formative assessment, and increase student achievement! Check out this Smore that Paige Craig from Buckhorn High School created about Pear Deck: https://www.smore.com/2v3wa.
Pear Deck was purchased by our district for everyone and can be found on your Chrome Extensions toolbar.
Each campus received two brand new Swivls and tripods from the district to utilize for virtual teaching and learning. Several teachers are already utilizing these devices and sending the links to their recordings to their students through Google Classroom, SchoolsPLP, GMail, and/or Canvas. Here is a tutorial to help get you started:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ls5rTon1RnI.
I recommend that one person is responsible for checking the Swivls out to teachers (librarian, DLP, tech contact, AP).
Congratulations to Shari Appel at Hazel Green Elementary School for winning the Swivl drawing at our DLP meeting last week! Her school is already utilizing their current Swivls, so she was grateful to add another device to the mix!
Send me pictures of your school using the Swivl cameras to revans@mcssk12.org!
Google Meet Livestream
Did you know you can livestream a Google Meet? Click on the carrot beside "Join with Google Meet" to add the livestream feature.
LMS Buffet
This summer, several of our Madison County Schools teachers facilitated virtual lessons for their colleagues regarding all things Google Classroom, Canvas, ScreenCastify, Google Meet, and Chrome Extensions. Click HERE to view a list of topics that you can learn about.
Get a Grant!
Below are several EASY grants that are currently available for teachers and administrators. Don't miss out on free money to provide more tools and resources for your students.
I will spotlight our grant winners in the Tech Talk Tuesday Smore!
AMSTI Robotics Grant
This grant is due Wednesday, 9/30, at 5pm. Click HERE to apply. Email me if you are interested and I will help you get the signatures you need.
Governor's App Challenge
Click HERE to learn more and apply!
This grant is due January 15, 2021.
STEDTRAIN STEM Grant
STEDTRAIN is a Committee that administers a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Seed Grant program that provides funding up to $1,000 to Huntsville, Alabama educators for innovative hands-on classroom projects that will stimulate children's interest in science and technology.
The Science and Technology EDucation and TRAINing (STEDTRAIN) Committee will begin accepting proposals for the next school year on February 1, 2021.
Apply HERE.
See this year’s winners HERE.
PPG STEM Grant
Each school within Madison County is eligible to obtain up to five $1,000 STEM grants per year from PPG! Be sure to take advantage of this for your kiddos. Click HERE for more info. Click HERE to view a template for the grant.
This grant is available until the five grants for your school have been claimed each calendar year.
EL Tech Resources from Mrs. Cantrell
Mrs. Jessica Aguirre-Cantrell, Title I Resource Specialist, has created a Google Slideshow for teachers regarding best practices in communicating with EL students and families. You do not want to miss this awesome information. Click HERE to view her slideshow on Talking Points, Google Translate, and Say Hi!
myON in our Elementary Schools
Our elementary schools are using myON to make sure our students have access to digital books. This month, our library/media specialists have a challenge going on, and the student at each school who has read the most books will receive a pizza dinner. Check out our stats from Friday below!
SchoolsPLP Resources
Some helpful links are below:
- The Schools PLP Video Resource Catalog can be found HERE
- SchoolsPLP support email address: support@schoolsplp.com
SchoolsPLP Knowledge Base: https://schoolsplp.helpscoutdocs.com
Extraordinary Events
2020 Northrop Grumman STEM FEST
Thursday, October 1st, 8-11:30am
Click HERE to view more!
Let me know if you have any STEM or Tech events coming up so I can share it in the Tech Talk Tuesday!
Contact Me
Email: revans@mcssk12.org
Website: www.mcssk12.org
Location: 1275 Jordan Road, Huntsville, AL, USA
Phone: (256) 852-2557
Twitter: @RachelEvansEdD