JEFFCO ED TECH

Students take ownership of the digital tools

11/5/2021

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PictureStudents at Vanderhoof work with Ed Tech Specialist, Emily Elkins to learn WeVideo
Entering our third year of TechforEd, the Ed Tech team wanted to create opportunities for our 5th grade students to learn the digital tools through an asynchronous course.  Students start by joining a Google Classroom for the following tools: Adobe Spark, WeVideo, Book Creator, or Soundtrap.  These four tools all allow for the 4 C's: Critical Thinking, Creativity, Collaboration, Communication.  The students have an opportunity to grow their own knowledge and choose how they want to show their understanding of the digital tools through their creations. 

Using the Tools

Each of the Google Classroom course begin with learning around using the tools designed specifically for 5th grade students. Then the students complete the course by submitting their own creation to the Ed Tech Team.  So far we've seen videos, books in Book Creator, music made with Soundtrap, flyers, and web pages.  
Our 5th-grade student ambassadors are learning more than just technical skills with the Digital Tools Student Course.  They are now taking on a leadership role in our school and sharing what they have learned with their younger peers. ~Jessica Jones, Media Specialist, Kendallvue Elementary
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When asked why they might use Book Creator, students responded that they were more likely to use it because they now know how to use the tool and they liked being able to be very creative.  They also liked that they could help their classmates with the tool.  ​Cooper at Kendallvue Elementary said, "I think I would use Book Creator for a class assignment because I know lots of stuff about Book Creator and I can help other people."
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Lucy, a 5th grader, created this story using Book Creator. She was able to import pictures, use existing backgrounds, and write a story about a gorilla told from the gorilla's perspective. Before she created the book, Lucy worked through the course to learn the different elements of Book Creator so that she could utilize the different multimedia tools available.

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Beckett at Wilmot created this flyer using Adobe Spark.  He chose to pick a relevant topic to show his creativity and was an innovative designer as he worked through the process of learning a new tool.  As more and more students complete the course, the more students have the knowledge of the tool and can then help their classmates and teachers too!

Learning & Creating Independently

"This type of independent, self-driven learning helps differentiate for kids what they are interested in and has them very motivated to learn new technology!" ~Lisa Polacsek, Digital Teacher Librarian, Vanderhoof Elementary
 5th grade students all across the district can now learn the functionality of several of the district purchased digital tools. This allows them to have more voice and choice with showing their learning! For more information contact the Ed Tech Team.
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Google Goodness: Updates

8/26/2021

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Over the past few months Google has made some updates that will allow users in Jeffco to be more productive in the classroom.  Students and teachers both can benefit from the updates.
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The Google Play store is now open for all grades.  The play store allows students to download apps to their Chromebooks.  Currently these google play apps are available.

Google Meet 

Ed Tech recommends scheduling your Meets using Google Calendar. Using the calendar to schedule meets adds the following functionality to the meet:
  • Change owner of the meet so a different user can have the host controls prior to the meet.
  • Preassign breakout rooms by inviting your guests/students.
  • Turn off quick access prior to the meet.
  • Generate a static link you can use again.
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Meet controls all in one place at the bottom bar of the meeting window.  The leave call button has been relocated to prevent accidental hangups.

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Meeting details, participants, chat and activities are all on the bottom bar.

See what you're presenting

When you present your screen, you can see other participants—and what you’re presenting—at the same time. 

In the meeting window, point to your presentation feed to:
  • Unpin your presentation (view it as a tile) so you can view more participants.
  • Mute or unmute any audio playing in your presentation.
  • Remove your presentation from the meeting.
Note:  You can't interact with content in the meeting window. To move through the document you’re presenting, go to the window or browser tab you're presenting from. 
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Now, when you are in Docs, Slides and Sheets there is an option to Present to a meeting. 

Add a co-host in google meet

Need someone else to take over the controls of your meeting? Once you are in the Meet you can designate someone else as a host. That person or up to 25 others can be a co-host in the meeting. Check out this video to see how to add a co-host.
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Google Goodness: Drive Tips and Tricks

3/22/2021

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Google Drive is our storage area for all Google files. 
Read on to see how Drive is so much more than cloud storage.  

Find it

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The priority page allows you to access the files you need through a combination of suggestion and work spaces.

​The prioritized files are the documents that Google thinks are most relevant to you.  It will also pull up files that you open regularly at that time of the day or week. 

Workspaces help you categorize. 
​Google will suggest work that it thinks is a part of the same project or tasks. You can easily add these files to workspaces so that you can collect content and access it quickly and easily. To add a file to a workspace, go to your drive, right-click the file and select Add to Workspace. There is a limit of 25 files per workspace.
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Narrow your search. 
​Do you have trouble remembering where everything lives in Drive or finding the exact document you need when you search? Use the advanced search features to search by a specific type of file (Slide, Sheet, video) or a specific owner (you or a teammate). You can also search by people it's shared with, words in the title, and date modified.
Star it.
Find important files or folders quickly so that you can find them later! When you star a file, it is also added to the Starred menu in the left-hand folder navigation of your drive. You can star a file by right clicking on it in Drive and selecting "Add to Starred" or by opening the file and clicking small star next to the title of the document. You can unstar files the same way to remove them from your starred section of Drive. It's helpful to clean out your starred content each school year.
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Make it Visual

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Color code folders. 
If you like visual cues, you can organize your Google Drive folders by color. Right click a folder in Drive and then select "Change Color." If you are changing the color of a folder that is shared with others, they will not see your color selection and can choose their own color within their own Drive.

Manage files

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Store files in two places at once.
You can make a file appear in more than one folder by using shortcuts. This is different than making a copy, as the shortcut traces back to the original file. Anybody with access to the folder can see the shortcut. However, if they don't have access to the actual file, they won't be able to open the shortcut.
​To make a shortcut right-click the file and select Add Shortcut to Drive.

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Convert Microsoft Files and PDFs to Google.
​Upload a Word file or PDF to Drive by dragging it from your desktop into the correct folder in Google Drive. You can also click the +New button in Drive and then select "File Upload." Then, in Drive, right-click your Microsoft file and choose "Open With" and choose the appropriate Google Match for your file 

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Keep multiple versions of a file.
From Drive right click on the file and click "Manage Versions." You can then upload and save a new version of the same file. Versions will be deleted after 30 days unless you manually select "Keep Forever."

App Tips

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Use the Explore button.
You will find a star shaped button at the bottom of each of these Apps that will open a right-hand pane while you are in the program. 




Sheets
: highlight your data and Explore will offer you functions, formatting, data analysis and more!
​Slides: Explore in slides will offer suggestions to make your slides more visually appealing.
Docs: Explore in Docs allows you to do manual searches. You can also cite your source.

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See Revision History. 
When you are in a Google File (Docs, Sheets, Slides etc.) you can click on File > Version History > See Version History. Here you can name versions, see who made which edits, and restore the document to an older version, if necessary. Note: you must be an editor of the file in order to use version history.

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Use the right mode for the job.
Editing: The standard editing mode. 
Viewing: Let's collaborators see, but not edit, a file.
Suggesting: Each edit you make to the document will strike-through, underlining suggestions for editors to either accept or reject.



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Access Calendar and Keep from Google files. 
This is handy so that you don't have to open multiple tabs in your browser. Simply click on the Calendar, Keep or Task icon in the right-hand menu of your screen in Docs, Sheets or Slides. You can also drag and drop content from your Google Keep directly into your Docs, as well!

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Communicate while you collaborate.
Google Drive shows your fellow document collaborators in the upper-right corner.  Click the chat bubble next to the collaborator chatheads and type your message. Unlike a private message, everyone else in the file can see your discussion, too.

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Ed-U Coming up on Friday!

3/9/2021

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This Friday, March 12, various departments will be gathering (online, of course!) to provide professional learning opportunities for teachers. The EdTech department will be bringing you a variety of options throughout the day to further your skills and knowledge on our digital tools!

Here’s is an overview of the sessions being offered by our department this week… Also linked below, some of these sessions come as asynchronous learning eBooks as well!

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If you have questions about any of these sessions, please reach out to your EdTech Specialist. To join these sessions and to see the full line-up of sessions for Friday, please click here.
Student Collaboration & Engagement Strategies For a Digital Environment
Instructor: Kala Munguia
Time(s): 10:00-11:00, 1:00-2:00
Target Audience: K-12 Educators
Description: This course supports teachers with strategies for increased student collaboration and engagement.  All strategies were recommended by Jeffco teachers who are seeing success in their own classes. Check out our self-service eBook!
Developing Proficiency With Vocabulary Using Flashcard Factory 
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Instructor: Amie Adams 

Time(s): 10:00-10:45, 1:00-1:45

Target Audience: All teachers and staff 
Description: As part of developing proficiency in a content, students must master new vocabulary. Teachers can leverage the power of Pear Deck’s collaborative, game-based digital tool, Flashcard Factory, to develop concrete meaning for new words. Come play flashcard factory and walk away ready to use the tool in teaching and learning! Check out our self-service eBook!
Pro Tips for Organizing your Google Drive
Instructor: Amie Adams
Time(s): 10:45-11:30, 1:45-2:30
Target Audience: Any
Description: Do you struggle with keeping your Google Drive clean and tidy? Do you need help looking for specific files or figuring out where everything lives? Come learn how to better organize your Google Drive so that you can work more efficiently!
Google Classroom Tips and Tricks eBooks for Students and Teachers
Instructor: Kala Munguia
​Time(s): 11:00-11:30, 2:00-2:30
Target Audience: Educators who have already been using Google Classroom
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Description: Come prepared with a few favorite hacks and tips you would like to share around the use of Google Classroom and we will share a few of our own, too! Check out our self-service eBook for teachers. Check out our self-service eBook for students.
Introduction to Actively Learn
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Instructor: Kali Devor
Time(s): 10:00-10:45, 1:00-1:45
Target Audience: 5-12 Educators
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Description: Actively Learn allows you to engage students through texts (and videos) for ELA, Science, and Social Studies. Scaffolds and higher-order questions are available to support students in reading and engaging with these texts. All Jeffco 5-12th grade students have access to premium Actively Learn accounts through #TechforEd. At the end of the session, you’ll be able to: log in to Actively Learn for the first time, set up classes (sync with Google Classroom), find appropriate reading assignments, edit assignments to meet your students’ needs, assign readings to students and locate grading features. Check out our self-service eBook! 
Going Deeper with Actively Learn
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Instructor: Kali Devor
Time(s): 10:45-11:30, 1:45-2:30
Target Audience: 5-12 Educators
Description: This session will walk teachers through importing articles and PDFs for use with Actively Learn’s assessment tools and will delve deeper into the video functionality of this dynamic tool. During this session, we will also learn about the Actively Learn Research tool extension which allows students to conveniently gather and organize articles from around the internet for later use. Check out our self-service eBook!

Securly Classroom: A Tool for Digital Classroom Management
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Instructor: Lisa Summitt
Time(s): 1:00-2:00

Target Audience: All Educators (does not work on iPads) 
Description: Classroom by Securly is a district-purchased, cloud-based classroom management tool that gives teachers the ability to guide, monitor and communicate with students. The tool works for remote, hybrid and in-person learning and can remove distractions and keep kids focused on learning when using their devices (does not work on iPads). All Jeffco teachers and students have access to Securly Classroom. In this 1-hour, basic session, you will learn how to complete the following tasks: start your class,  lock screens, lock students into websites, push & block websites, create class announcements, chat with individual students, and view student browsing history, open tabs and screen activity. Can’t make this learning? Check out our self-service video learning and Securly Classroom eBook!
Securly Classroom: A Brief Overview of New Functionality 
Instructor: Lisa Summitt
Time(s): 11:00-11:30


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Target Audience: Advanced Users 
Description: Securly Classroom: A Brief overview of New Functionality  will walk you though some of the newest functionalities.  Come and see a demo on multiple block lists, audio in teacher screen share and learn how to use the predefined link list.  The session will include a general description of how dependencies work with the site block function.
Feedback in Pear Deck
Instructor: Keri Douglas
Time(s): 10:45-11:30, 1:45-2:30

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Target Audience: K-12 Educators already using Pear Deck
Description: Wondering how to give students in-time feedback? You can send feedback during any type of lesson, whether it's in Student-Paced or Instructor-Paced mode. This means you can use Pear Deck to help students develop a deeper understanding of your lessons in a remote learning setting, as well as give individual students private feedback in a live classroom.  Check out our self-service eBook!

Feedback, Comments & Discussion in Google Classroom
Instructor: Keri Douglas
Time(s): 10:00-10:45, 1:00-1:45

Target Audience: Educators who have already been using Google Classroom
Description: Have you used Classroom to facilitate discussions and give students feedback yet? Come learn about the Question features of Classroom, creating a Comment Bank, and assigning Comments to students. We will also explore embedding Screencastify to give audio/video feedback.  Check out our self-service eBook!
The Power of Creative Communication with Digital Tools
Instructor: Amy Oelschlager
Time(s): 10:00-11:00, 1:00-2:00
Target Audience: K-12 Educators
Description: Many digital tools support student creation. In this learning, we will explore Book Creator and Adobe Spark.  Both tools allow students to create polished and exciting content that they can share for wider audiences.  This session will talk about both tools and how they can be used in the classroom for creative communication.  General knowledge of the tools is preferred. 

Blending Learning with Pebble Go for Elementary
Instructors: Heidi Floyd & Julie Hohman
Time(s): 10:45 - 11:30, 1:45 - 2:30
Target Audience: Elementary Educators
Description:  Pebble Go is a database designed to support our K-3 students. Elementaries across Jeffco have been given full access to PebbleGo Science for the next year.  Come explore these Science resources while connecting with upcoming curriculum units.

Research Resources for MS & HS
​Instructor: Heidi Floyd & Julie Hohman
Time(s):  10:00 - 10:45, 1:00-1:45
Target Audience: MS & HS focus, open to all K-12 Educators
Description:  As part of the State Libraries Grant, Middle Schools and High Schools in Jeffco have been given full access to a collection of interactive ebooks.   Come explore these research resources and more, while connecting with upcoming curriculum units.

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Creative Communication with Digital Tools

2/8/2021

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Using Digital tools to create in the classroom

Numerous digital tools allow for student and teacher creation.  Two of the digital tools that our students have access to that are great for creative communication are Book Creator and Adobe Spark. Both tools are packed with ways for students to create and communicate their learning.  Teachers can use these tools as alternate ways to deliver lessons and communicate with their students and families.  Let's take a look at these tools.
The ISTE creative communicator standard says that students communicate clearly and express themselves creatively for a variety of purposes using the platforms, tools, styles, formats and digital media appropriate to their goals.

Book Creator

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Book Creator allows you to bring creativity and critical thinking to your classroom in any grade level or subject area through the creation of digital books. Combine text, images, audio and video to create: interactive stories, digital portfolios, research journals, poetry books, science reports, instruction manuals, 'about me' books, comic adventures and more! All Jeffco K-12 students have access to premium Book Creator accounts. ​

How can book creator be used?

Book Creator can be used in a variety of ways in the classroom.  It can also be used for professional learning and as a way to communicate with other teachers, parents, and students.
Teachers can create exemplars, how to books, or even a course guide or textbook.  Book creator can be used as a way to communicate with students and parents.  
50 ways to use Book Creator in your classroom
50 ways to use Book Creator in your classroom
Click to read this book, made with Book Creator
https://read.bookcreator.com
Students can use book creator in a variety of ways too!  Check out these great examples.
​read.bookcreator.com/library/-LTvfdeq_hgYPLcaEn_4

New to Book Creator-Templates

18 beautifully designed templates have been added to Book Creator today! All free and available now.
Book Creator has been asked numerous times by teachers over the years for editable templates that students can use as a springboard when making books in Book Creator.
Now, when you go into Book Creator and click the ‘New Book‘ button, you’ll see a new option to toggle between blank books and templates. Choose the one you want, and then add new pages from the template page picker!

Adobe spark

Adobe Spark is an integrated suite of media creation applications for mobile and web developed by Adobe Systems. It’s comprised of three separate design apps: Spark Page, Spark Post, and Spark Video.

Adobe Post

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Adobe Post allows students to make graphics, posters, flyers, and infographics. These single images can combine text and images. They’re saved as picture files. There are numerous templates or you can start from scratch. Here are some ways to use in your classroom:

Adobe page

Adobe Spark Page is a web page builder that puts the power of creating a web page in the hands of anyone with a story to tell, a product to sell, or a passion to share.
Adobe Page is a great tool to create web pages, slides, and web stories. Some ideas for the classroom include:
➊ Photo Essays
➋ Portfolios
➌ Online Journals
➍ Reports

Adobe Video

With Adobe Spark Video, you and your students can create compelling videos in just a few minutes using professional looking themes and music. Adobe Spark Video is a free online video making software that allows you to easily combine images, video clips and icons into a beautiful, shareable movie. Add text, music and your own voice to personalize your video. Here's a video made with Adobe Spark Video:

Making it work in the classroom

Both Book Creator and Adobe Spark are great tools for creation and allow students to express themselves. Students can create original works, communicate complex ideas through a variety of multimedia tools within each of these and publish and present their work to their classmates, teachers, and globally if they choose. Check out the Technology Integration Ideas for Upcoming Units for  ways to use these tools in the classroom.

​For more information on these tools check out the Jeffco Ed Tech website or our YouTube channel. 
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Google Goodness

1/14/2021

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ENHANCE STUDENT COMMUNICATION AND CRITICAL & CREATIVE THINKING WITH ORIGINALITY REPORTS

Today’s students are dealing with a complex challenge: In a time where all of the world’s information is at their fingertips with a simple Google search, how do they balance what is already created with their own unique perceptions and ideas?  
Educators have spent endless hours copying and pasting passages into Google Searches to check if student work is authentic.  This process is not only inefficient but also biased.  
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Originality reports use Google Search to help students AND teachers.  Originality reports are available in Google Classroom and in Schoology using the Google Assignments app 

Originality reports how-to guide

“Originality reports are created by scanning submissions for matched phrases across hundreds of billions of web pages and tens of millions of books.” (Google for EDU)
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When assigning work in Classroom and Assignments, teachers will have the option to enable originality reports with the simple click of a button. Students will then be able to run up to three originality reports on documents they attach to the assignment before submitting their work. This gives students an opportunity to proactively improve their work. 

After submission, a comprehensive originality report will be available for use when grading the assignment. Originality reports will highlight text that has missed citations and/or has high similarity with text on the web or in books.  The report will also show the web matches and even give the teacher the link to investigate for themselves.

Student Benefits

Students today have to learn to navigate between millions of other people’s ideas and their own. They also need to know the tried and true methods of how and when to properly cite sources.  Fortunately, now Jeffco students can use originality reports to support writing original thoughts while also teaching them about properly citing sources!
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Advantages of student use of originality reports (From Google Support):
  • Teaches students how to build on outside ideas and properly incorporate them into their work.
  • Helps students learn how to support their ideas by scanning work for recommended citations. 
  • Catches unintentional plagiarism before students submit work. 
  • Teaches students how to cite outside sources properly.
  • Shows students both the plagiarized passage count AND the % of the paper that is plagiarized. 
  • The % report can help a student understand just how much of their work is original vs. copied.


Students wanting to add related content to their reports can utilize the Explore feature in Google Docs to find and insert Google suggested content related to their work.


​In conjunction with Originality Reports and Explore, students can utilize the Citation Tool in Google Docs to quickly and directly insert citations into their Google Docs. 

Eductaor benefits

Teachers spend a lot of time giving feedback about missed citations and improper paraphrasing. Integration of the power of a Google search directly into assignments and grading tools, makes the teacher’s job much more efficient.  Originality Reports make it easy for instructors to screen for potential plagiarism and to use those reports to create teachable moments for their students. Originality reports are built to be a teaching tool rather than a “gotcha”.
Advantages of teacher use of originality reports (From Google Support):

  • Lets educators quickly assess authenticity.
  • Saves instructors time when analyzing student work.
  • Highlights missing citations and links directly to the external sources.
  • Avoids searching for web matches manually.
  • Capabilities of saving, sharing, and/or printing reports

Additional features in enterprise for education

Available now!
Educators have unlimited access to Originality Reports
Students have access to three reports per assignment
  • If the teacher enabled Originality reports on that assignment

Originality Reports are available in Google Doc assignments, but will soon also be available in Google Slides assignments!
Coming soon!
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Teachers will be able to receive originality reports that include student-to-student matches within the @jeffcoschools.us domain. 
  • ​This feature will only work if the assignment was submitted via Google Classroom or Google Assignments
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Getting the most out of your Screencasts

1/5/2021

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No doubt you have grown familiar with the concept of screencasting: Creating a recording of your screen or face (or both!) for demonstration and communication purposes. Below is a quick list of best practices and considerations for creating engaging videos for your students, staff or the community! While Screencastify is the premium screencasting tool for Jeffco Public Schools, the hints below are useful even if you’re using another application or web tool!
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  • Length of video DOES matter! Engagement has been shown to drop significantly for videos of more than 9 minutes. Want to keep your viewer's attention? Break up videos into less than 6 minute chunks! (Brame, 2015)
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  • "But how do I get them the information they need?" Stop thinking of your lesson as a 45 or 90 minute block. Think of the lesson content, the examples, and the practice as different parts. Break those up into 5 minute chunks (use more than one video for a section if needed!)

  • Remember, this is NOT your traditional teaching! Speak conversationally, use visuals instead of text when possible, focus on the main concepts. And don't worry about speaking too fast. Students can rewind or pause as many times as they need to! Those days of repeating yourself 10 times are in the past!​

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  • Make it interactive! Ask students to write down notes as you talk, or do some sort of task throughout the video to keep them following along and engaged. Embedded questions and guided notes are a few ideas on how to keep students "with" you.

  • Close any tab you don't need for your recording. People may get distracted by what else you have open!

  • Remember, if you record your desktop, any pop up (Chat, Email, etc.) will show up. Close them or choose Tab Recording.

  • While your camera might not be necessary all the time, showing embedded webcam creates community and connection with students.

  • Don't be afraid to pause. Remember, you can stop to collect your thoughts then continue, trimming out your "um's" and "uh's" can be quickly done in the editor!
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  • IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE PERFECT! Don't re-record for a minor error. Acknowledge it and keep going. To err is human!

Want more information? Contact your EdTech Specialist or come to Office Hours to learn more!

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Digital Teacher Librarians in a Changing world

12/9/2020

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I think we could all agree that our jobs over the past year have changed a lot. Just like everything in 2020, education has changed in many ways. As we packed up last March to what we figured would be a few weeks going remote, it turned into over two months of remote learning. That led us all to start thinking differently about how we do our jobs. When August came around, we were all hoping for some sense of normalcy, but that quickly changed to starting the year remotely--then some switching to hybrid while others came back full time. Now we are all back again in the remote world with, thankfully, more online learning experience.  Yet many of us feel that we can’t catch up or do our job effectively--especially our Digital Teacher Librarians. 

A Digital Teacher Librarian’s job is constantly changing. Sometimes, things change weekly, daily, hourly, and even minute by minute. A DTL’s job is rarely the same day to day, and they are often pulled in many different directions. This year has allowed them once again to reinvent their positions. There are many examples all across the district of ways DTLs are adapting, pivoting, and finding ways to do their jobs to help students, teachers, and parents succeed in this new normal.
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Most DTLs spend some of their time working on the technology in the buildings. This may consist of making sure projectors are projecting, doc cameras are working, that devices are distributed, and students are successfully engaging with technology. This has now become a major part of the DTL’s job. Linda Tatalaski, DTL at Creighton Middle School, has actually gone to families’ homes to help troubleshoot a Chromebook to make sure it functions properly. Tobye Ertelt, DTL at Oberon Middle School, used to have the help of her student tech crew, but since we had to go remote that left more of the responsibility on her.  In response, she created a Technology Guide. This guide helps families troubleshoot and fix their own tech issues. Angie Wagner, DTL at Bear Creek High School, spends some of her day arranging device repair via curbside as well as providing office hours for students and teachers. I am sure that none of these DTLs thought their job would involve so much tech troubleshooting. 

Another way the job of a DTL has changed is how we are checking out books. Remember when you used to be able to just walk into a library, check out a book, and take it home? Now this process looks very different. Libraries across the district had to figure out a way to get books into kids’ hands safely without them ever stepping into the library. One big change this year is students must put books on hold in order to check them out. This is an easy process but does require some instruction from the DTL. Some teachers have assigned this as homework or have set up “Library Time” in their classroom to simulate actually going to the library.  Once the book is on hold, it requires someone from the library staff to pull the books and check them out. Finally, the DTL has to creatively figure out a way to safely deliver the books. Heidi O’Leary, DTL at Bradford North, is using grab and go book stations. These books are from different subjects and genres. Heidi said that the best part is when a student requests a book and she actually can find it either at the Bradford Library or the Jeffco Public Library and is able to get the book into the students’ hands!
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Finally, one of a DTL’s most important jobs is to collaborate with teachers on lessons. They provide resources as well as support students and their learning. This is challenging in a remote world, but DTLs once again are finding ways to get it done. One resource many are creating is a Bitmoji library space. These are fun and engaging for students as well as providing online resources. Andrea Gilmore, DTL at South Lakewood Elementary, created South Lakewood’s Virtual Library that includes virtual books, book talks as well as Hour of Code activities. Oberon Middle School has also created Oberon Middle School Virtual Libratory that links to the Jeffco Public Library as well as links to Oberon’s library resources. Elizabeth Mehmen, DTL at the Bergens, has created Picture Book Nominees for the CCBA Books for students to become familiar with these award winning books, and to vote for their favorite. 

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This has been a year to “pivot” at a moment’s notice and to find new ways to keep the library engaging for ALL students. DTLs are constantly reinventing their jobs and spaces to best meet the needs of their students, teachers, and communities. As we wind down 2020 and can see 2021 on the horizon, we can only wonder what new exciting practices will we see next!

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Collaboration using Digital Tools

11/13/2020

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Whether our students are working remotely, hybrid, or in-person collaboration is a key element to students being successful.  Collaboration allows students to share ideas, fosters authentic learning, and allows for peer interaction and feedback.  As we move into being fully remote, students need collaboration more then ever. 

Considerations when Collaborating remotely

  • How do we make social and emotional connections for students when they are both in-person and remote.
  • ​How can students participate in collaborative work safely online?
  • How are students being held accountable?


​This article by John Spencer speaks to ways to improve student collaboration.​  Watch this video to see the difference between cooperation and collaboration.
In remote learning, students often interact with one another without actually engaging in collaborative work. Here, they are cooperating rather than collaborating. ​~John Spencer

Virtual Small Groups

  • Students can use breakout rooms in Meet and Zoom as a video conferencing tool to communicate with others, both inside or outside of the district. 
  • Teachers may leverage breakout rooms to create small, collaborative groups of students. 
  • The teacher might consider providing sentence stems, protocols, or frameworks for student discussion, debate or conversation. 
  • Teachers may leverage Google Chat direct messages or chat rooms to continue class conversations beyond the video conference. Students may message classmates or teachers to ask questions and receive support.

Digital Tools that promote student collaboration

While there are numerous digital tools that support collaboration while working remotely, a few of our district supported tools are perfect for allowing students to work together and share ideas.  
Google
Book Creator  Login
WeVideo  Login
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Collaborating using Google

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G Suite Apps are collaborative, which makes them highly powerful. They offer opportunities for students to engage in so many different ways. Here are 30 ideas for using them with your class.

Using Book Creator to Collaborate

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How can you use Book Creator to foster collaboration in the classroom? With this open-ended creation tool students can work together on the same page of a book. This means they can add text, images, video and voice to their ebook at the same time. Students can make a plan, provide feedback and work together to create their book. ~Monica Burns

Wevideo as a collaboration tool

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Recently, WeVideo added a new collaboration feature.  Now students can collaborate on projects in real-time.  
WeVideo’s Chief Education Officer, Dr. Nathan Lang-Raad, said, “Real-time collaboration is a core part of every career field and subject discipline. The same holds true for the classroom. More than ever, learning should be part of a social context, as learners collectively rely on each other’s thinking to solve complex problems and create. No matter what subject or concept we teach, collaboration is a crucial component of blended learning.” 


He added, “When students engage in real-time collaboration, they experience the following (both in-person or at home):
  • Higher ownership and investment in the project
  • Increased efficiency and productivity, which means they can channel cognitive energy into creative processes
  • An increase in their individual and collective efficacy
  • More control over the time, place, path, or pace of learning. 

  • The ability to collectively work together in a blended/remote context 
  • Opportunities to build necessary skills of teamwork and cooperative learning as a part of project based learning.”

Collaborating using Adobe Spark

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Adobe Spark is one of the newer tools that we support.  Adobe Spark is an integrated suite of media creation applications for mobile and web developed by Adobe Systems. It comprises three separate design apps: Spark Page, Spark Post, and Spark Video. While real time collaboration isn't available yet, users can pass the project back and forth to create something together. Click here to learn more about how to collaborate in Spark.

WHat's Next?

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While it isn't easy to make collaboration work in a remote environment, when it does work, students are creative, gaining valuable skills that prepare them for the future and teach students to overcome challenges and conflict. 

Comment below on what you've used to get students collaborating during remote learning. 

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New to Jeffco’s Digital Tools Family - Actively Learn!

10/12/2020

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Actively Learn is one of the newest additions to the premium tools available to teachers and students in Jeffco! Teachers and students grades 5-12 have premium access to this robust interactive platform. Filled with carefully curated content including appropriate articles and readings (even some videos!), thoughtful standards-aligned questions in a highly customizable environment with numerous accessibility tools, Actively Learn makes finding, personalizing and assigning readings a snap. Here’s a quick video overviewing what Actively Learn is capable of bringing to your students.

Getting Started

Logging in to Actively Learn for the first time is a little different than other Jeffco Digital Tools. Find the tech tip here!

Or watch this quick YouTube video overviewing the process. 
NOTE: In the future, you’ll be able to simply sign in with Google.

​Students will always sign in with Google; no need to do anything different the first time for them!


Resources

To learn more about how to create classes, customize and assign content, and grade assignments, take a look at this brand new eBook from the EdTech department: Introduction to Actively Learn - Asynchronous Learning.

Jeffco’s EdTech department has also made an Actively Learn YouTube playlist with tutorials for many of the basic functions of Actively Learn.  (See below!)

Need Help?

Actively Learn also has a very robust Help Center to answer your questions on the fly!

​Don’t forget about the EdTech Office Hours for teachers! We are available 7am-4pm Monday-Friday to help with your Actively Learn and other digital tool questions. Find the link for Office Hours and other EdTech resources here!
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