We've Moved!

Due to Blogger's terms of use, we had to move to a different Blogging platform. Please visit our new Ed Tech blog at edtechjeffco.weebly.com.

That's a Wrap!: Ed Tech Teacher Advisory Team

Last Tuesday, the Ed Tech Teacher Advisory Team wrapped up their final meeting of the year. This team was composed of 25 teachers representing grades K-12, in a variety of articulation areas, including Title 1 and option schools.

Over the course of three meetings, the team learned more about the new ISTE Standards for Students and looked specifically at tech integration, tech professional learning, and tech planning throughout their schools and in our district overall. Throughout these meetings, the team had the opportunity to discuss what technology integration currently looks like throughout the district, their vision for how they hope it can look in the future, and how schools are creatively tackling challenges while also celebrating the amazing things that teachers are already doing in their classrooms. Check out some of the things the team discussed below:


We’d like to thank the Teacher Advisory Team members for all of their great thinking and focus around thoughtfully integrating technology into classrooms and schools across our district. This team was an excellent reminder of the exceptional talent and vast knowledge that the teachers in our schools have when it comes to ensuring that all of our students will be successful 21st century learners. Make sure to follow the Ed Tech Team (@JeffcoEdTech on Twitter) to learn about more opportunities like this in the future.

Connecting Students & Families with Amazing Summer Activities

Reading

JCPL continues to partner with Jeffco Public Schools to promote our students love of reading and engage students in new learning opportunities.  Not only are they offering a  summer reading program for all  Jefferson County students, with loads of prizes, including free books & coupons to great places, but they also offer activities for all ages (including computer lessons):

JCPL Summer Reading Program - Kids, Teens & Adults

JCPL Summer Reading Events - Kids, Teens, & Adults

JCPL Culture Pass - provides free passes to a variety of museums and activities around the Metro area. (Butterfly Pavilion, Colorado Parks Pass, Denver Firefighters Museum, and so much more!)

Barnes & Noble - Offers a summer reading program that provides every student in grades 1-6 the opportunity to earn a free book and grow their love of reading!

MyOn - Title I - An online platform for all of our Title I students access to over 5900 books online at a variety of levels.  Most books are nonfiction, but over 1400 titles are fiction.  Students have easy access using any device that has web access.

Buncee, PebbleGo, PebbleGo Next & Capstone - Buncee, a web tool for educators and students to create and share engaging multimedia presentations, interactive lessons, digital stories and more has connected with Capstone to promote summer reading. They have opened up to provide teachers and students free access to Buncee, PebbleGo databases and Capstone books for 3 month! Teachers need to sign up to allow students access . What a great opportunity for our students!

Activities - A variety of events & activities for families around the metro area.

Denver Free Activities

JCPL Culture Pass

Farmer’s Markets in Colorado

Be sure to check with your local Parks and Recreation department to learn about additional opportunities for children and families.

Movies - Free or low-cost movies for families around the metro area & elsewhere.

Regal Theaters

Cinemark Theaters

Volunteering - A collection of various opportunities around the metro area for teens to volunteer.

Teens can Volunteer with JCPL

Denver Museum of Nature & Science

Denver Botanic Gardens - Teen Volunteer program

Denver Zoo Teen Volunteer Program - closed for 2017 (Opens in January for 2018)

Volunteers of America - Youth  Volunteer Program

Children’s Hospital Junior Volunteer Program

Ed Tech Learning Opportunities at Jeffco L3- Registration Opens Today!

Mark your calendar!

August 7th, 8th, and 9th Ed Tech will be providing professional learning opportunities at Jeffco’s Academy for Professional Learning- L3.

Find your favorites and REGISTER HERE  starting today, May 9th at 4:30pm

View Ed Tech’s available sessions in the presentation below.

Questions about our courses? Contact Ed Tech
Questions about registration or other L3 opportunities? Contact the Center for Professional Learning

Say Aloha to New Ideas!

It's no secret that teachers learn much of what they know about technology integration from watching other teachers. But when teachers are isolated in their own room for much of the day, how do they get the opportunities to see the meaningful way their peers are using technology in the classroom?

That's where Pineapple Charts and #ObserveMe can help shift the collaborative culture of teachers within a school.

Pineapple Charts

In Hawaii, a pineapple on the door is a symbol of hospitality, warmth, and welcome. From this symbolism, the idea of Pineapple Charts was created. This school-wide system provides the opportunity for teachers to invite one another into their classrooms for informal observation, as a way to share ideas. On this weekly chart, teachers list activities and lessons they would like others to see. The chart is then placed in locations where teachers visit on a regular basis (lounge, office, work room, bathrooms, etc.). If a teacher sees a lesson or activity of interest, he or she visits the classroom at the indicated time and watches... no note taking, conferences, forms, write-ups, or time limits are required. The teacher just watches, learns, and gathers new ideas.

Pineapple charts can be a great way for teachers to see new technology in action. You might consider inviting others in to your room to see:

• Google Expeditions in action
• Teacher or student use of Google Forms to assess learning or collect data 
• Student-centered discussions or backchannel chats 
• Using Schoology or Google Classroom to facilitate a flipped or blended classroom model
• Differentiation using HyperDocs

Below are some examples of Pineapple Charts.

#ObserveMe

Robert Kaplinsky, an educational consultant and trainer, was increasingly concerned that teachers work in isolated environments, not often seeking feedback or ways to openly share successes. This concern inspired him to create a call to action to increase the collaborative nature of teachers in schools.  His idea? Post a sign outside of your classroom to invite other teachers in to see what you are doing. On this form, share a few areas for which you would like feedback. He also recommended providing an observational tool, such as the Jeffco Teacher Rubric, to make it easier for observers to provide feedback. Adding a QR code or shortened URL that connects observers to a Google Form is an excellent way to seek, collect, and analyze data.

But how does this connect back to technology in the classroom? Consider seeking feedback on your use of technology in the classroom!

• How often are students using their devices?
• How are your students spending most of their time on their devices? Are they using devices to improve communication, collaboration, creativity and critical thinking? 
• How is technology improving student learning and teacher facilitation?
• Are technology-based activities student centered or teacher driven?

Below are some examples of #ObserveMe signs.

For more information check out these blogs:

• Pineapple Charts: Cult of Pedagogy
• #ObserveMe: Robert Kaplinsky 

Teacher Spotlight - Standley Lake High School Summer Reading Program with Tanya Jensen, Digital Teacher Librarian

First year Digital Teacher Librarian, Tanya Jensen, has been collaborating with the Jefferson County Public Library (JCPL) and her English teachers to develop a website that supports summer reading at Standley Lake High School. The website functions like GoodReads, but has been created specifically for students; high schoolers can write reviews and search for titles based on genre and recommendations. In addition, the staff will participate and add their reviews to the website. The school's vision is to grow the site so that it is an easy way for students to locate books of interest, based on peer reviews. Students can also submit suggestions for books they want the library to purchase in the future.

The summer reading program has changed from giving students a list of books they have to choose from, to allowing students the freedom to select any book they want. Students that don’t know which book to choose will now have this peer-generated list of recommended books to guide them. In their English class next fall, with the support of the Digital Teacher Librarian, students will write book summaries and reviews for the website.

The kick off for the summer reading program at SLHS is during during Literacy Week, which falls from April 24th-28th. The JCPL team and Tanya are working together to introduce the students to as many books as possible in a short amount of time through a book speed dating activity. There will be tables based on genre, and the students will peruse the books for five minutes at each table to determine where their interests lie. Students will be provided with bookmarks to jot down interesting books they discovered. If students find a title they want to check out, they will be able to do so through JCPL. On Friday, April 28th, Barnes and Noble will visit the school for a mini book fair, where students will be able to purchase books that match their interests.

The staff is excited about this exciting new website, and they feel this will be a better fit for students to find books that match their interests. The JCPL summer reading program entices teens to read through the summer by awarding an Eliche's 1-day pass to the first 5,000 readers, achieving 8 hours or more. The Jefferson County high school with the most readers will receive an $800 prize.

Link to SLHS Summer Reading Website

Speed Dating with Jefferson County Public Library

Lights, Camera Action: Live Broadcasting with YouTube Live

Video is an ever evolving form of educational technology; however more often than not, the way educators have used video in their classrooms has not evolved quite as quickly. One component of video tools that you should get on board with is live streaming or broadcasting. A live broadcast takes the components of a regular recorded broadcast, but adds the capability of interacting with your audience in real time, easily sharing your videos with very little lag time, and allowing you to save your broadcast for others to view later.

A district-supported tool that you can use for live broadcasting is YouTube Live. This is a tool that is available to all teachers in Jeffco using their @Jeffcoschools.us account. Within our Jeffco domain, YouTube Live is not available for student accounts. If you wish to have students utilize this tool, you will need to have them post to your teacher YouTube channel. Please note, that like all district tools, teachers should not give out their log-in information to students and should supervise any content being posted to their account.

YouTube Live is a great tool for teachers to use because it is easy to get started. First, in order to use this tool, you will need a webcam, a microphone, and a computer. For better overall broadcast quality, it is recommended that you use a wired internet connection with your computer. For information on specific equipment suggestions, you can check out the Tech Tips Broadcasting and Video Conferencing page.

Once you have the equipment to get started, check out the tutorial below to learn how to use YouTube Live. If you are looking for more detailed directions, you can also review these instructions from ECTS.

As you begin live streaming, you may wonder about the best ways to share your broadcast to an audience. As with any sharing you do, it’s important to first consider the content that you are streaming. For example, you should never share confidential information, you should always check to make sure you have parent permission for recording, and you should always cite any sources when referencing other’s work. You may also consider categorizing your broadcasts as private or unlisted so that you can select your audiences as appropriate. Once you have taken all of these considerations into mind, you can share your live stream by sending out the URL provided when you create a new event. The link will also be located in the bottom right corner of your Hangouts on Air window. You will have a new URL for each live streaming event that you create.

Hopefully using these quick tips and directions will help you get started using this unique and valuable video tool in your classroom! If you are interested in learning more, please contact your Ed Tech Specialist today!

Schoology Resources - Prepare the way for 2017-18

Don't start from scratch next school year! Leverage the Resources section in Schoology to save, reuse, and share resources you have created. The following step-by-step directions will walk you through these processes so that you can take what you have developed this year and save for use next year, making modifications where necessary.

In your Personal resources, you have a Home collection of resources, folders and files that you may want to use in your account. A collection is a master area that helps organize all of your saved work. This Home collection exists by default, and it’s only available to you. To share collections of resources with other faculty and connected users, you can create additional collections. To share a newly created Collection with others:

1. Click on Resources/Personal
2. Click on the title of the collection you have created
3. You will see a "Share" button option to select.
4. Once you select the "Share" button, type in the name of the person with whom you want to share the collection of resources.

You can create a collection for every year, for each grading period, or for each course.

How to add a Collection: (Schoology Collections)


How to save your course resources to your Personal resources


This area of your personal resources also allows you to create custom learning objectives to align to test/quiz questions and track student learning over time. These learning objectives can also be shared with members of a Schoology group (grade level/team members).

You also have the ability to add resources to a Group’s resources area and to import these resources to your own courses.

For additional support using any of these Schoology features, please contact your school Digital Teacher Librarian, your school Ed Tech specialist or Ed Tech.

TED-Ed Ignites a DTL's Journey to Bring Coding to Girls

It is a definition that tells the story of our teacher spotlight this week. Tobye Ertelt, Digital Teacher Librarian at Oberon Middle School embodies the definition of flexible: "characterized by a ready capability to adapt to new, different, or changing requirements".   It is the combination of adaptation, innovation and flexible exploration that led Tobye to be the spotlight of today’s blog post. Over the past year, Tobye was motivated to explore innovation after meeting retired lawyer Reshma Saujani, who took a chance to pursue a passion and as a result, inspired thousands of young ladies around the world. Additionally, Tobye found herself moved by the story of Logan Smalley, a TED Fellow, who is the brains behind TED-Ed (TED's youth and education initiative). These two inspiring stories incited a passion for exploration and innovation leading to new opportunities for Oberon students today.

In the spring of 2016, after a visit to a TED-Ed conference, Tobye filled out a feedback form and applied to become a TED-Ed Innovator. The questions posed in that feedback form opened a door to share a topic that has been core to Ms. Ertelt's heart,  "What is ethical behavior in the 21st century?" She inherently believes that we, as educators and adults, have done a great disservice to our students separating digital behavior from everyday behavior. And so it is with this essential question that a new door opened for Tobye, leading her to become 1 of 30 educators from 11 different countries selected for the honor of joining the third cohort of TED-Ed Innovative Educators. Our own Tobye Ertelt is one out of an initial group of over 1100 educators who took a chance to challenge each other to collaboratively find solutions to questions and issues facing today's students.

Tobye's TED-Ed adventure has included a wide array of experiences. The process has evolved from the initial stages of video conferencing with an array of outstanding educators to defining, refining, and brainstorming solutions.  This led to the culmination of presenting those completed projects on the TED stage in New York City.  As Tobye expressed, it has been humbling and energizing work. Collaborating with such an extraordinarily diverse group of educators with a passion for innovation has allowed differing perspectives and ideas to grow one another's initial concepts.  This synergistic energy led to the creation of Oberon's  TED-Ed Club for students.  It is a weekly opportunity for students to creatively explore ideas and interests of their own, following that same model of collaborative problem solving that inspired the club's creation.

At the TED-Ed  Conference, Tobye attended a session on coding that captivated her - Girls Who Code. She met with the founder Reshma Saujani and after hearing her passionate story and desire to even the playing field in technology for girls. Tobye was immediately inspired to begin a Girls Who Code club at Oberon.  Knowing her middle school audience, Tobye was well aware that the boys would want to have the same opportunity.  She modified her original pursuit of a Girls Who Code club to create Oberon's own Guys & Girls Coding club (G2 Coding Club). Students meet once a week with Ms. Ertelt & fellow teacher Mr. Waalkes during their lunch period to engage in various levels of coding: creating apps, games, programs, and exploring with robotics.

Leading by example, Ms. Ertelt has not only modeled the struggle and discomfort that comes from challenging oneself and trying new things, she carries that passion forward to inspire students to take on that process themselves.  Tobye shared with the TED-Ed community her reason for teaching, "I was born to be an educator. I love watching people find value and inspiration in learning, and I love being a part of that experience. I think it is very satisfying when you are a part of the productive struggle to create a new learning, experience or product.” Not only is Tobye a positive component of that intellectual struggle for students, but she has fostered supportive pathways for each to engage and grow themselves.

Albert Schweitzer said it best when he said, “Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing.”  Great job Tobye, setting that example and providing opportunites for students to engage in the thinking and learning.

Jefferson County Public Libraries Offer a Wealth of Free Resources and Services

Summer Reading is Right Around the Corner!

Did you know Jeffco schools has a strong relationship with the Jefferson County Public Libraries? Each year JCPL runs a Summer Reading School Contest and they provide schools the opportunity to win cash prizes. Now is the time to sign your school up, get cool t-shirts for student helpers, and schedule time to have JCPL come to you to help you get the ball rolling. All you have to do is sign up at the link below. This will give the library the information they need to help your school get started.
Summer Reading Sign Up 

School Newsletters

JCPL also has a newsletter that has valuable information that goes out monthly to schools letting them know different resources that are available and upcoming activities that are happening at the library. If you would like to be on their mailing list please sign up at the link below. This is a great way to stay connected to your local library.
Mailing List Sign Up

Homework Help

One other amazing resource to highlight is their Homework Help. The library offers intuitive, engaging homework help for all ages and all levels with Brainfuse’s Help Now. All you need is your library card number and you can sign in for this resource.

 

Culture Passes

If you like museums, parks, art, etc… be sure to check out the Culture Pass through JCPL as well. They offer free passes to different institutions to sign up for and use anytime of the year. Click the link below for more information:

Culture Pass Information

Contact Information

If you have any needs, questions, or concerns about the public library or the summer reading program, please contact Arra Katona at JCPL, she can be reached at:  arra.katona@jeffcolibrary.org

We hope you take advantage of these amazing resources and get your school signed up for the summer reading program, this is a competitive opportunity for all schools to get involved in reading. There will be prizes for the elementary, middle, high, and option/charter schools. Get started now and don’t let this opportunity pass you by!

Bits, Boxes, Bases... Oh My!!

Why Chrome Devices?

Chrome devices run on Google’s Chrome operating system, and they deliver applications over the internet. This means that software is primarily web-based and does not need to be installed. They provide easy access to all the G-Suite tools so work can be collaborative, apps can be integrated and work is saved continuously to the cloud. Chrome devices boot up quickly so very little class time is wasted waiting on a device. Chrome devices, unlike Windows devices, actually get faster with age as new operating system updates get installed.  But let’s face it, the best thing about Chrome devices is the budget-stretching low price.

Which Chrome Device?

Jeffco is now offering many different flavors of Chrome devices for purchase, so how do you match the right device to the right instructional purpose? The key is to begin with your learning goals and teaching vision in mind, and then choose the device and tools that can help teachers and students achieve those goals. Look through the slide deck for details about each device type.

What are some other considerations?

What do you need to know if you are making a change to Chrome devices from Windows devices or iPads?  Chrome devices do not run “installed software” like Microsoft Word or Smart Notebook and they also do not print. This can be a shift, especially for teachers currently using a Windows laptop as their primary device.  For students or teachers moving from iPads, the new touchscreens on Chromebooks and flips can ease the transition. Not all iPad apps are available for Chrome devices. Although this might take a little exploring to discover a Chrome app, extension or web tool that has a similar functionality, new apps are added daily.

PLCs and Schoology - A Winning Combination!

Are you a PLC school looking for ways to track your student data to better inform instructional decisions? Are you making the shift from a focus on teaching to a focus on learning? PLCs entail whole-staff involvement in a process of intensive reflection upon instructional practices and desired student benchmarks, as well as monitoring of outcomes to ensure success. PLCs enable teachers to continually learn from one another via shared visioning and planning, as well as in-depth critical examination of what does and doesn’t work to enhance student achievement. Schoology provides many features which can help support these efforts.

Using the tools within Schoology, you can be:

Timely in Response/Intervention. Schoology Tests/Quizzes provide teachers with immediate results which identify students who need additional time and support. With this feature teachers can easily see evidence of current levels of student learning. Five of the six question types are auto-graded, which makes grading a breeze!

Directive. Grading groups allow teachers to provide differentiation and develop strategies and ideas to build on strengths and address weaknesses in learning. Using the Grading Groups feature allows teachers to sort students into groups within a single course section. These groups can be individually assigned graded material and displayed as individual groups in the course Gradebook.



Collaborative. Schoology groups provide a place for collegial collaboration to work together to achieve their collective purpose of learning for all which can turn data into useful and relevant information to ensure success for all students.



Intentional. Using Schoology Question Banks allows teams to create a repository of test questions from which Common Formative and Summative Assessments can be created. Based on the results of these assessments, teachers can identify how his or her students performed on each skill compared with other students. Individual teachers can call on their team colleagues to help them reflect on areas of concern. Each teacher has access to the ideas, materials, strategies, and talents of the entire team.

 
Evaluative. Student Mastery Reporting allows instructors to view student achievement on any standard or learning objective that has been aligned to Assignments, Test/Quiz Questions, or Discussions within a course. This area contains multiple views that allow instructors to evaluate how students are learning and pinpoint students that may need additional attention.


Please contact your school Digital Teacher Librarian or Educational Technology Specialist for more information or training opportunities for your school. 

All Roads Lead to Chrome...Cast for Education

Teach and Learn From Anywhere in the Classroom

Do you ever have students hold up whiteboards to show their answer? Maybe put student work under the doc cam? Do you ask students to share a document with you so you can share it with the class? Now you can do all of these things with a Chromebook and a projector. The ability to cast with a Chromebook is now here for Jeffco. Similar to using an iPad with Air Server, Cast for Education lets you share your computer screen from one Chrome browser to another.

Teachers invite individuals or groups of students to cast by selecting individual email addresses or   by inviting classes that are set up in Google Classroom. Students have the choice of casting one tab or their entire browser. Teachers will be prompted to accept or deny the requests. Sharing ideas and thinking digitally is easier. Now teaching and learning can happen anywhere in the classroom. 

Things to Know:

It is free.

Only one screen can be casting to the teacher's device at a time. 

It DOES work with Chromebooks, desktops, and laptops.

It DOES work in a BYOD environment

It does NOT work with iPads.

Here are some directions to get you going or contact your Ed Tech Specialist for help:

Cast for Education on the Ed Tech Website

A Vision for Technology: Jeffco 2020 & ISTE

Jeffco 2020 Vision

Have you been talking about the Jeffco 2020 Vision in your school? 

In order for students to pursue their life goals, by 2020 all Jeffco graduates will be able to successfully apply the following competencies: Content Mastery, Civic & Global Engagement, Communication, Critical Thinking & Creativity, Self-Direction & Personal Responsibility.

Jeffco Principals and Digital Teacher Librarians had an opportunity at January Leading Student Achievement Days to begin to compare the similarities of the Jeffco 2020 Vision in relation to student technology standards. Teams aligned 2020 competencies to the newly released student technology standards and represented their thinking in creative posters. Teams found direct correlations between the competencies we want students to possess and the technology standards.
Technology is a vehicle for which the competencies come to life in our classrooms! So what are the new standards?

ISTE Student Standards 2016

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) unveiled their updated 2016 Student Standards this June at their annual conference held this year in Denver, which over 75 Jeffco educators attended. "At their core, the ISTE Standards are about pedagogy, not tools. Which is to say they emphasize the ways that technology can be used to amplify and even transform learning and teaching." (Redefining Learning Report, pg.2)
The Jeffco curriculum will be updated for the 2017-18 school year to incorporate the new standards. Professional development will be provided for Digital Teacher Librarians and educators to support this transition.
Looking for resources now to support you now? Download the free report Redefining learning in a technology-driven world: A report to support adoption of the ISTE Standards for Students. The report includes a crosswalk of the 2007 and 2016 standards as well as the research basis for the new standards. Classroom posters and downloads are also available from ISTE.

Jeffco Ed Tech is excited for the work ahead in supporting our schools with bringing our new standards to life!

Kullerstrand Robotics & Coding Club- Bringing STEM to Life

Teaching with Passion

Kyle Walker, the Digital Teacher Librarian at Kullerstrand Elementary, shares the passion of robotics and coding with his students. This year, with the help of a generous donor, Kyle started the Robotics and Coding club at his school. Every Monday afternoon, students collaborate and work together to engineer a robot that can be coded to perform unique tasks.

Community Connection

Kyle has reached out to various community members to help build career connections between computer science and robotics. The School of Mines Robotics Club made a visit earlier this year and shared their own robotics project and mentored the students. Jason Roadman, an engineer at NREL visited the club and shared some of his own engineering expertise with wind turbines, allowing students to build real world connections.

Competitions

Want to see the Robotic club in action? The club will be competing in a VEX Robotics tournament at Red Hawk Elementary School in Erie on February 11th. For this competition, student groups will design, build, and control a robot for the playing field. The robot will complete various challenges like moving objects over a fence, placing objects in containers, and balancing the robot on a seesaw-like bridge. Students will learn to use professional job skills completing these tasks such as teamwork, communication, and time management.

Interview with Kyle Walker

How did you decide which platform to use?

“I knew the two main platforms were VEX and LEGO Mindstorms, so when I attended ISTE last summer, I spent some time observing both exhibition booths. I also researched online.  The other big factor for me was how convenient it would be for my students to attend local competitions. I found out that there is a strong VEX presence up in the St. Vrain Schools system, and they host competitions within easy driving distance. I contacted them and spent an afternoon with one of their robotics clubs to get ideas on how to start my own. The VEX platform for elementary is called VEX IQ. These are primarily plastic parts and are simpler and less expensive. Once you get into middle school, you move up to the option of using VEX EDR. These are primarily metal robots, which are more elaborate and more expensive”.

How are coding skills used in the design of the robots?

“It’s possible to do entry-level robotics, and even participate in competitions without doing any coding at all. There are three ways to compete, and only one of them requires the programming of an autonomous robot. VEX robots can be programmed using any of the four different software/languages. I went with RobotC because it’s an industry standard, and it’s an excellent transition between graphical coding and text-based coding. In other words, if your kids are already familiar with graphical coding (i.e. Code.org, Scratch, Hopscotch, etc.), RobotC’s graphical version moves just a little bit further toward text-based coding without the students having to actually type anything other than the occasional value. In fact, the text of the code is fully visible right there on the graphical components that they connect together to write their programs. Where does coding come into play with robotics? When you want to make your robot do anything other than the standard drive-it-around-and-move-the-arm business, you’re going to have to program it to do so. If you want it to go faster or slower than the default, you’ll have to program it. If you want it to do anything based on the input of its sensors (light sensors, distance sensors, color sensors, bumper sensors, touch sensors, gyroscope), you’ll have to use code to program it with what the values of those sensors should be and what you want the robot to do in response. For example, you could write code that tells the robot to turn 180 degrees and go in the other direction if it comes within 100 millimeters of an obstacle. I had some girls whose robot arm wasn’t moving fast enough to push down a lever, so they had to learn the code to make the motor that turns that arm faster, in order to give it sufficient velocity. With the coding aspect of robotics, you can go as deep as you are willing to go, but it’s always connected to your design. It’s always fulfilling some aspect of what you need the robot to do”.

What advice would you give to someone starting a club?

“Advice for starting a club: Reach out and find others who are doing so! It’s not necessary to go in completely blind. And look ahead and determine what your long-range goals are. Because you are going to be investing a lot of money in the materials, you don’t want to find yourself down the road with an excited group of students who can’t go to any competitions because the competitions for your chosen platform are all in another state. It would be better for Jeffco to decide on its platform together (VEX! VEX! VEX!) so we can begin to host our own competitions and not have to worry about travel much at all. As far as money is concerned, this will depend a lot on your population. Many parents would be excited about this and your PTA might be a great source. But local tech businesses might be willing to sponsor a school team too, so look outside your building. Put some of the responsibility on the students and have them put together a business plan and do their own fundraiser. Space and organization: My library is a wreck right now. Robotics activities need a work space, and you need a place to store the parts. I bought little plastic bins and organized them that way, but now I need a better place to put all these bins. Teach responsibility and organization: The kids need to take responsibility for a lot of things in a robotics club, so make this one of your main themes. We have adopted “professionalism” as our theme, and I make the kids accountable to being professional in the club and in the classroom. We operate on a “3 strikes you’re out” policy – they have to turn in all their classwork and behave for their teachers. I remind the teachers to use this as leverage in the classroom. So far, it’s paid off”.

Want to start your own Robotics Club and help prepare your students for future careers? Check out Kyle’s website and these additional resources to get started.

Vex Robotics
Vex Crossover Competition

5 Strategies for Tech Integration

Jeffco's Educational Technology Team visited 3 Apple Distinguished Schools in St. Vrain Valley Schools, as part of Apple's school visit program. Although these schools were 1:1 iPad schools, the following 5 strategies can be implemented at any school site to aid in integrating technology.

Flip through our presentation to view the strategies and see some examples from real school settings.

If your school is implementing any of these these strategies, please share your success with our team! We'd love to see your photos and hear your ideas!

Collaboration with JCPL is the Name of the Game...

As Digital Teacher Librarians (DTLs) it comes as second nature to find the collaboration opportunities in all that we do. Multiply that times two and the energy becomes an unstoppable force, something akin to the thing superheroes are made of (Did you know Batgirl was a Librarian during her “off” hours?).

When we combine the energies of our Jeffco DTLs and the Jefferson County Public Library (JCPL) resources amazing things happen for our staff and students. Just as Gru’s Minions each have unique talents, when they work together they are able to accomplish extraordinary tasks.

At this point, you might be asking, how does the work of JCPL combine with our Jeffco DTLs to create this superpower for our students and staff? To begin, each a month JCPL representatives including Arra Katona, Cindy Mathews, Kim Barnes and Ian Livingston meet with Jeffco’s DTL Coordinators (Tara McJunkin & Heidi Floyd) to collaborate and align the work of both groups. As a result of these meetings we have developed a variety of resources that directly align and connect the work of both organizations. One of the newest and most beneficial resources for Jeffco DTLs, staff and students is the JCPL DTL News. This resource has been built specifically to align to Jeffco’s curriculum with JCPL’s resources. It is a collection of differentiated publications - one each for Elementary, Middle School, & High School DTLs. This timely newsletter links Jeffco schools with JCPL resources that teachers and students can be accessing at that time or in the near future to support their learning.

Likely the strongest collaboration between JCPL and Jeffco DTLs is JCPL’s summer reading program. The summer program engages Jeffco students with reading over summer in a variety of ways – the annual reading challenge (tracking minutes read & awarding prizes), offering literacy related programs to students and their families from preschool all the way through high school (and beyond). JCPL has worked with school liaisons to connect with families and community, offering summer reading programs at schools and outside of 9-5 business hours.

JCPL has also coordinated with Jeffco DTLs to offer in-school support – including visiting schools to teach students about the wide variety of free research databases the library offers. These free databases typically require a JCPL library card, which is another area where the teams work together to help students and families receive their public library cards. Not only do library cards grant students access to millions of books and hundreds of databases, but they also connect families with opportunities to learn technology skills and free access to variety of museums in the metro area through a Culture Pass.

At the start of the 2016 school year, JCPL purchased several collections of ebooks that aligned directly with the Jeffco curriculum. In fact, 24 ebooks on Native Americans and 14 ebooks on Colorado were purchased that allowed for unlimited users at once. These texts supported a variety of learning styles, by each including the ability to read the text to students, an interactive timeline and an interactive map.

Engaging students and community with new technologies is another advantage of this pairing. JCPL recently offered Breakout Edu or Escape Room challenges at their local libraries but then also brought these engaging opportunities to several Jeffco schools. A recent Harry Potter Escape Room was offered at schools in alignment with the release of the Fantastic Beasts movie, based off J.K. Rowling’s book.

So, you might be wondering what is in currently the works for these collaborators.

We can tell you plans are already rolling for the 2017 Summer Reading program, along with several summer coding camps. We continue to discuss resource alignment – matching JCPLs resources and potential resources with Jeffco’s curriculum and the needs of our Jeffco schools. As a partnership, we look forward to our next steps and finding the best ways to collaborate for our students, staff, and community.

Keeping Technology at the Table

At the January Leading Student Achievement (LSA) Days, the Jeffco Ed Tech Team presented Technology Planning, Budget and Instruction: What You Need to Know. We invited achievement directors, principals, assistant principals, DTL’s and technology committee members to gain resources in support of successful technology planning.

The Ed Tech Team understands that there are many forces that drive how your school plans for technology. There are many stakeholders in this work. Your school makes technology decisions based on budget restrictions, assessment requirements, device life cycles, instructional goals and many other outside forces!

Some important information has recently been shared regarding technology equipment and will have an influence in your upcoming technology purchases.

Testing Requirements:

Information was posted in Schoology by the Read Act team on November 9th regarding devices for administering DIBELs. Check the Amplify website for more information regarding supported devices life cycles.

Got questions about DIBELS? Please direct them to the Read Act Team.

Gone are the days of having a sharp #2 pencil to complete state and district assessments. These tests will continue to utilize technology tools for completion. To ensure a good testing environment, up-to-date equipment is optimal.

Stay informed regarding communications through SAC’s regarding technical requirements for testing tools.

IT

The December 13th Leadership Memo contained information regarding End-of-Life Computers.

This is a cabinet level decision and is best practice to have a process in place to manage end-of-life equipment (computers, Chromebooks, iPads). If you are currently using this equipment you have probably noticed that it is very slow and decreases your student and teacher efficiency. Keeping these old computers impacts classroom instruction!

Best Practices for Technology Planning

Before you begin..

Find out what technology you currently have in your school. You can’t plan for equipment when you don’t know which devices are at your school and which devices need to be replaced. Schools can take stock of their equipment through ETAP reports, AirWatch, and other school records. Not sure how to get started? Contact your ITSS to develop a plan for inventory audits.

Start Planning

The Jeffco Ed Tech Team recommends that schools keep three words at the forefront of their decision making as they plan for technology - Sustain, Obtain, Train.

Sustain the technology you currently have in your building

• Is this technology meeting the needs or the current best option? 
• Work with Ed Tech and your ITSS to make informed Sustainability decisions 

Obtain new technology to reach your school’s technology vision

• What do you want technology in your building to look like in 5 years? 
• How will you get there? 

Train your teachers how to use and integrate technology.

• How do your teachers engage in professional development to become proficient with the technology they have available?
• How do your teachers can access to professional learning that impacts their instruction with technology? 

Resources

Ed Tech and ECTS have partnered together to provide a variety of technology planning tools. Partner with Ed Tech and your ITSS to get find out how to use these tools for your school.

We will be hosting a tech planning open lab (drop-in) on January 25th from 12:00-3:30. Come get support from Ed Tech and IT as you work on your technology planning template.
Interested? Let us know by filling out this Interest Form.

Please contact your Ed Tech Specialist to get started with planning for technology at your school!

'Keep' your To-Do Lists Organized with Google Keep

Are your work and personal spaces cluttered with sticky notes reminding you what you need to get done? Do you ever wish you could easily collaborate on your to-do lists or keep them all in one handy place? If so, Google Keep might just be the tool you didn't know you needed.

Check out these benefits of Google Keep:

• Add audio, drawings, photos, lists and checklists to your "stickies."
• Keep is available on your computer and other mobile devices (smart phone and iPad).
• Set time and location reminders so you don't miss a thing! 
• Collaborate on a individual "stickies" by adding another person's email address. When another person is added, you can see their changes in real time! 
• Change the color of your "stickies" to highlight important lists. 
• Filter your notes by different attributes to find things quickly.
• Archive old "stickies" so you can refer to them again, without having them take up space on your screen. 
• Copy your note to a Google Doc for even more options! 

Watch this quick tutorial to learn how to get started with Keep! Finally, don't "Keep" this great tool to yourself, show it to your students so they can collaborate and stay organized, too!