Tech Tuesday March 21, 2017

Westfield Washington Schools Tech Tuesday Newsletter March 21, 2017 Odds and Ends What's Going On in This Picture?   Today I am sharing an interesting picture that I hope peaks your curiosity. What are your observations about this picture? What does it make you think of? Take my little trivia quiz about this picture. Answers will come in a special early edition of the Tech Tuesday Newsletter on Thursday, March 30 due to spring break. Link to High Resolution Image   App Pick of the Week Screencastify https://www.screencastify.com "Screencastify is the easiest way to Record, Edit, Annotate, Store, and Share video screen captures.” Use Screencastify to record your device screen and your own voice to explain what you are doing on the screen. Teachers can use this to record lessons and students can demonstrate their learning by explaining their work. Screencastify works in the Google Chrome web browser on Windows, Mac, and Chromebooks. Direct link to Screencastify Chrome Extension. Google Tip of the Week Google+ https://plus.google.com Google+ is Google’s failed attempt at creating a world dominating social media site. It’s kind of a mashup of Twitter and Facebook, but many people have never heard of it. That’s too bad because Google+ is really a fantastic tool for facilitating discussions, especially ed tech discussions. Google+ is organized into communities. There are communities about almost any educational topic you can imagine. I highly recommend checking out the community called, “WWS Tech Tuesday Discussion.” This community is private, so only Westfield employees can view and join it. It is a great place for us to discuss and collaborate on topics in these newsletters or any other ed tech conversation you would like to have. (Just a note, Google does require your date of birth when joining Google+. That is normal and it will stay private unless you decide to share it.) Jump into the conversation by clicking join on the left side! What I’ve been training on New Employee Training For this topic, I need your help! What should new teachers and staff know about technology at Westfield? I am working on a process that will get staff the basics when they are hired. This will include topics such as how to check email, how to access the portal, and how to create help desk tickets. What else should I add to this? What do you wish you were told when you started working here? Just reply to this email to let me know. Thanks for your help! Teachers Using Technology Do you know of a great use of technology by a Westfield Teacher? Share your own technology tip with me or nominate another teacher! Teacher of the Week: Beth Salsman, WWES 1st grade   Tool: ClassDojo https://www.classdojo.com Technology Items: ClassDojo App Computer Projector Phone/iPad Beth uses ClassDojo to take classroom management and parent communication digital. She is able to reward students by giving them points for positive behavior choices or evidence of our habits. Students are motivated because they can use the points that they’ve earned for prizes and special opportunities. Parents are able to continuously monitor how their child is earning points and are alerted if their child must lose a point for a negative behavior choice. There is also a messaging component which works a lot like texting (but without giving parents your personal cell phone number). Beth or the parents can conveniently send a quick message throughout the day. The Class Story feature allows Beth to post pictures and messages so that parents can see what the class is learning and doing. Overall, ClassDojo provides a centralized system for Beth’s classroom management. If students are not earning positive points (or if they are getting several points taken away because of negative choices) it generates a good conversation between Beth, the parents, and the student about how they can fix the situation. Connect with Beth:         salsmanb@wws.k12.in.us      x7941   Access the archive of past newsletters in this shared Google Drive Folder. WWS Tech Tuesday Newsletter Archive