Almost 600 Jeffco educators attended the first ever Get Your Tech On professional learning event on Friday, January 5th at Green Mountain High School.
Jeffco Ed Tech hosted the all-day event which included an influential keynote speaker, prizes, demo slam, and 48 sessions facilitated by Jeffco educators. Thought-provoking sessions were focused on how technology is transforming teaching and learning in Jeffco classrooms. This was the best tech conference I have been to... including ISTE!! The sessions were applicable to what we are doing now in schools. Our entire instructional staff went and every teacher responded to my google reflection form that they were inspired and ready to try their new learning. The presenters and topics were very knowledgeable of what teachers experience and were able to relate to the classroom. Inspiring Keynote Ken Shelton, currently works as the Educational Technology Strategist for the Google EdTechTeam. He is an Apple Distinguished Educator and Google Certified Innovator.
“Transformational Teaching and Learning with Technology” presented by international guest speaker, Ken Shelton, took us back in time for a nostalgic glance at how technology has changed the way we have lived over the last few decades. He gave us a glimpse at how technology has not only changed, but transformed how we learn.
Ken examined the impact on student learning when the focus shifts from solely making changes to transformative experiences.
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Why Sketch? Have you ever found yourself doodling during faculty meetings? During guest speakers? During professional development? If so, you understand how engaging the kinesthetic portions of your brain can help you focus and remember the content you are attempting to learn, but why is that? "It turns out that various forms of doodling have all kinds of benefits for our brains. Doodling is actually a form of mnemonics, connecting images with information and significantly increasing our ability to remember what we’ve learned. In a 2009 study published in Applied Cognitive Psychology, 40 participants were asked to listen to an extremely boring recorded telephone conversation. Half of them were instructed to doodle as they listened, and half were given no such instructions. At the conclusion of the study, people who doodled remembered 29 percent more information than their counterparts who did not doodle." (Education Week) What's a Sketchnote? A sketchnote varies from a doodle in that the images are purposefully related to the content that the listener is absorbing and sense making. Sketchnotes are a way to take notes, as well as a method to allow for creative expression. To be a successful sketchnoter, you do not need to have artistic skills, but you do have to be willing to practice synthesizing ideas using symbols, figures, text and icons. Consider how some students might greatly benefit from sketchnoting as they listen in the classroom. How can you use sketchnoting to have students demonstrate learning after watching a video or listening to a lecture, guest speaker, audio book or podcast? How can sketchnoting engage the brain for some students in the way 2-column notes and graphic organizers cannot? Get to Sketchin' - How do I get started?Some sketchnoters prefer to sketch with ink and paper, while others prefer to sketch digitally. If you are interested in sketching digitally, you might want to check out the Procreate for iPad app (approved for Jeffco), as well as the Musemee stylus or the Paper by Fifty-three stylus. Although this equipment works well for many teachers to begin their sketchnoting journey, it is often outside of the price range for a typical classroom. To get your students sketchnoting, consider allowing the physical and digital words to collide. Encourage students to show what they've learned and how they have made connections by sketching on paper with pencil or ink. Using a mobile device, have students capture their sketch with the camera or a scanner app. These images can be uploaded to any of the G Suite tools, Google Classroom, Schoology, Google Sites, and more. Interested in learning how Sylvia Duckworth does her digital sketchnotes? See the video below! The Sketchnote Challenge Thursday, January 11th, is World Sketchnote Day #SNDay2018! We challenge you to try creating your own sketchnote showcasing a bit of new learning! Share your sketchnote with @JeffcoEdTech on Twitter. Don't forget to add the hashtag #SNDay2018, as well. We also encourage you to get your students sketchnoting in the classroom as a way to sense-make new content and make connections. Sketchnote Resources
Throughout the month of October, Jeffco Ed Tech hosted a Twitter Challenge inspired by Connected Educator month. Our schools offer a lot of face to face ways for educators connect and learn, and we wanted to offer a way to connect and learn digitally. We asked, what if educators in our system had the chance to learn from each other regardless of which building they work in? How might we grow our educators through continued work with PLCs, but also grow their Professional Learning Network (PLN)?
From that question, a Twitter Chat was born! Each week through the blog, we taught basics of Twitter in preparation for the Chat: Challenge 1 and Challenge 2. The questions were designed based on common questions/discussions that Ed Tech Specialists have in a variety of schools. On October 19, 2017, we invited teachers to engage with us in the evening, and encouraged them to extend the conversations beyond that time. Here's a little summary of some of the Tweets! 
Digital Citizenship:
This is not a new topic, but it’s taken on new importance thanks to the omnipresent nature of students' online lives. With increased access to 1:1 devices schoolwide, educators will be looking for curriculum and programs to support teaching digital citizenship skills. Want to know more? Check out all of the Digital Citizenship resources on the Ed Tech Website. Project-Based Learning: It’s what’s hot right now! Using a PBL approach to learning fosters student empowerment, an essential component of the ISTE Standards for Students. The thoughtful integration of technology will enable students to take ownership of their learning and will make learning more active, both inside and outside the classroom. Remember, you don’t have to do a technology PBL to integrate technology. Technology can support all PBLs! Check out our recent blog on PBL in Jeffco! Be a connected educator  Welcome to week 3 of Jeffco Ed Tech's Twitter Challenge. Now that you've gotten the chance to lurk and read a few tips for posting a variety of tweets, you'll have the opportunity to become more connected on Twitter by both consuming and producing content during a chat. Save the date: Thursday, Oct. 19 @ 7pm MST! In this post, scroll to find information about how to participate and etiquette during the chat. Final Challenge: Lead Your Nest's V Formation Participate in a Twitter Chat hosted by Jeffco Ed Tech. Here are the questions you can anticipate during the chat:  Move to sharing!Welcome to week 2 of Jeffco Ed Tech’s 3 week Twitter Challenge. This week is all about going beyond the basics and moving to sharing ideas with your followers. When you take flight in the Twitter world, it might take awhile to get your wings. At first, your flight pattern might be to glide through the Twittersphere lurking around. But as you get comfortable, flap those wings! Take your Twitter experience to the next level and dive into this week’s Twitter challenge! CHALLENGE #5: WHO'S IN YOUR FLOCK? CHECK YOUR FOLLOWERS!You can see who is following you by clicking “Followers” in the upper-left hand corner of your screen. See who has joined your flock, and feel free to follow them in return. Challenge #6: Hop around the nest: tweet a picture, tweet an article or website, or tweet a gif!As a fledgling, you’re beginning to hop around Twitter and explore. You have probably come across great resources for your school or classroom. To learn how to tweet a link to the article click here! Did you get a photo of you and your teammates dressed up for homecoming week? Tweet your photo to show your school spirit! Perhaps you came across a humorous GIF that your fellow educators would enjoy. Share it! They might need a laugh today! challenge #7: spread your wings! Tweet an original thoughtIt’s time to soar! Compose a tweet of your own original thought. Twitter is all about what’s happening in your world and what people are talking about right now. So hop out of the nest, and tell us what’s going on in your world! overwhelmed? Use this "tweet sheet" to understand the in's and out's of twitter.
The Results Are In...
A total of 37,103,946 minutes were read by students and community members
12,424,426 minutes were logged by Jeffco students alone 9,111 students completed their summer reading log this past year. 3,916 babies “read” 2,053,010 minutes 19,086 children read 10,896,665 minutes 8,440 teens read 6,267,520 minutes 12,424 adults read 17,863,351 minutes Award Winners..."To make the most of the internet, kids need to be prepared to make smart decisions. Be Internet Awesome teaches kids the fundamentals of digital citizenship and safety so they can explore the online world with confidence." 
Be Internet Awesome is a campaign launched by Google in June 2017 to support parents, educators, and students with the fundamentals of digital citizenship and safety.
Designed for students in 3rd-5th grade, the campaign focus on five fundamentals: Be Internet Smart: Share with Care Be Internet Alert: Don't Fall for Fake Be Internet Strong: Secure Your Secrets Be Internet Kind: It's Cool to Be Kind Be Internet Brave: When in Doubt, Talk it Out 
Over the past 2 years, Jeffco Ed Tech has been thoughtfully building resources to support teachers with technology integration. Read on to find out how you can stay connected with all that is happening in the world of Ed Tech through our website, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest and this blog!
Imagine a one stop shop where you can access all of your Years-at-a-Glance, Standards and KUDs, district-created Resources and Assessments, and TEACHER created Resources and Assessments aligned to the Jeffco Curriculum... This is now all possible in Bridge to Curriculum! 
Bridge to Curriculum is a dynamic, interactive tool that supports instructional planning in Jeffco. It allows educators to access Jeffco’s curriculum including Units of Study; customize Unit and Lesson plans; and work collaboratively with other educators. This powerful tool houses both the Resource and Assessment Libraries where educators can find a variety of teacher-ready and teacher-created supports.
As we embark on the Bridge to Curriculum journey this year, educators will have the opportunity to fully explore the system, collaborate, enter Resources and Assessments, give feedback, and join focus groups. Furthermore, educators can create resources to share with other Jeffco teachers across the district! Be sure to check the Leadership Memo and Messenger for updates and opportunities. Questions? Search the site for answers: Bridge to Curriculum Training and Support Site 
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