Tech Tuesday Newsletter for February 20, 2018

Black History Month and MLK Day

As I’ve been around different buildings in the district, I have seen several displays and student projects honoring the life and work of Martin Luther King Jr. and reflecting on the significance of Black History Month. Two of these projects happened to be using technology so I decided to share them with you. Civil Rights Radio Dramas by WMS This YouTube Playlist is the home for WMS radio dramas. The two most recent dramas are about The Brave Boys of Greensboro and the Freedom Train. 28 Days of Black History Month by WIS Poetry readings from 28 Days - Moments in Black History that Changed the World by Charles R. Smith Jr. Starting February 1st, the WIS Student News features one poetry reading each day from this book. They have also created a Google Docs template that students can use to fill out information about each poetry selection.

Meeting the diverse needs of our students

Podcast Resources Student diversity comes in many forms: learning abilities, physical abilities, economic resources, and racial and ethnic diversity. You know I love podcasts, and in the episodes below, these two authors challenge us to think about how we can more appropriately serve and educate historically disadvantaged youth.

Listen to the podcast interview with author Monique W. Morris

Listen to the podcast interview with author Baruti Kafele

Google Tip of the Week

Sir Links-a-Lot My 3 minute YouTube video about Sir Links-a-Lot This creative Google Chrome extension helps you move past basic document sharing. By selecting the corresponding link you can have your recipients receive the Google Doc in different ways. Their own copy A preview A template A PDF

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: Benji Lewis, MTES Fourth Grade Teacher Tool: Google Classroom Technology Items: Google Classroom Chromebooks Google Drive Google Docs/Slides/Sheets/Forms Benji uses Google Classroom mostly with his math lessons. For each daily lesson in the iReady Textbook, he creates a HyperDoc that contains a daily to-do list that is distributed in Google Classroom. (Here’s a great example that Benji shared with us.) It tells students what Problem Solving pages they are responsible for that day, but also gives them choice-time activities and games. He uses hyperlinks to send students to other activities such as Khan Academy, Quizlet, iReady/Clever, Educreations, Xtra Math, Prodigy, etc. He also includes a Google Form, where students turn in a Problem of the Day answer digitally. These answers automatically go to a Google Sheet where he can do a quick item analysis to see which students are struggling. With all of these digital tools, he can get a good sense of how his students are doing, and gives the students access to a wide variety of question types. Benji uses Google Classroom in other subjects as well. It’s easy to share directions for Writing, Social Studies, and Science projects. Google Classroom helps him send links to resources that will help students in all of these areas. They can also create docs and slideshows themselves directly from the assignment. Benji loves using technology and enjoys connecting with other educators and reading about how they are using technology as well!   Connect with Benji: lewisb@wws.k12.in.us           Twitter: @BenLewisEdu                       x8694

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