DCSD Tech Tidbits 02.19.16
February 19, 2016
Principal Spotlight - Donna Barrett, Carolina Elementary School
The CES Book Club for Read2Succeed had a little change up. Under the encouragement of Mrs. Barrett, teachers were shown Yak it, created short presentations based on their reading logs, then air dropped them for all to see. This was then coupled with discussions. This idea/activity really encouraged teachers to use the technology.
Want to submit your principal for the "Digital Principal Spotlight" Section? Shoot an email to Carla.Jefferson@darlington.k12.sc.us or complete the form here.
Awesome JOB!
Next semester, Josh Bastean's (DHS) students will be doing a gamified PBL research project in which they perform collaborative research and problem solving to survive a zombie apocalypse.
The teachers at West Hartsville Elementary are focusing on questioning. They are recording lessons and analyzing the types of questions asked and the levels of thinking.
Brianna Spivey (NHE) is using Studies Weekly in her class and they have access at home as well. This is helpful for my struggling readers and ESL student because it reads the information to them.
Jennifer King's (LHS) students are using Schoology and Edpuzzle for flipped lessons. Other teachers at Lamar High have begun using MasteryConnect to give assessments, some are playing Kahoot! and using Google Drive as well.
Want to submit a teacher you know for "Teacher Spotlight"? Shoot an email to Carla.Jefferson@darlington.k12.sc.us or complete the form here.
Last Week's Giveaway Winner! Susan Tomlinson, Spaulding Middle School
Don't Miss Out! Participate in our DCSD Digital Learning Challenge!
Join DCSDTech for reminders, tips, resources, and giveaways!
Website of the Week: NEWSELA
Newsela is a great website that allows you to modify news articles to fit several different levels of Lexile Scores. The constant updates of recent and interesting articles helps peak interests in students while challenging them to read at their levels and engage in materials with students reading at different levels. In addition, many articles come with assignments/quizzes at the end that are great for review check ups.
Click here for more information.
App of The Week: Write About This
Write About This is a visual writing prompt & creation platform perfect for classrooms and families! With endless ways to respond and the ability to craft custom photo prompts, it will kick-start any writing activity. 125 categorized images & 375 text+voice prompts included!
Click here for more information
#dcsdtransforms Slow Chat - Every Friday!
#DCSDtransforms Weekly Podcast - 02.19.16
We're a GAFE district!
We've Gone Google!
DCSD is a Google Apps for Education (GAFE) district. All staff and students have Google accounts in the DCSD Google domain to facilitate communication, collaboration and publishing work.
Although Google Drive and other Google tools are accessible, teachers will continue to use MS Outlook for their email.
If you've never accessed it before, your Google login is firstname.lastname@darlington.k12.sc.us. Your temporary password is Password1 and then you will be prompted to change your password.
If you're having trouble logging into your Google account, please see your school wizard or a member of the DCSD Digital Transformation Academy.
Have A Personal Google Account? Learn How to Manage Multiple Google Accounts
Apple Foundations Trainings
The Apple Foundations Courses are designed to allow educators to participate in extended professional development. Each 3 hour course is designed to assist you in learning more about your devices and the applications that are an integral part of Apple products.
February 23rd - Darlington
Amplifying Learning with GarageBand
8:30 - 11:30
In this course, participants will identify the unique strengths of GarageBand for learning and teaching, create, edit, and share audio and music recordings, and develop strategies to share, collaborate, and personalize learning
Making Data Meaningful with Numbers
12:30 - 3:30
In this course, participants will identify the unique strengths of Numbers for learning and teaching, create visually engaging, clearly organized, and data rich spreadsheets and develop strategies to share, collaborate, and personalize learning
SC Midlands Summit
Upstate Technology Conference (UTC)
Darlington County School District - Technology Department
Diane Sigmon, Director of Technology
Carla Jefferson, Instructional Technology Coordinator
Website: https://sites.google.com/a/darlington.k12.sc.us/dcsddti/home
Location: 120 E Smith Ave, Darlington, SC, United States
Phone: 843-398-2298
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/129354490748962/
Twitter: @dcsdtransforms