Where Did You Go This Summer?

Ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu once stated, "A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step."

Or, today, we could begin with a single AR/VR tool. 

If you haven't yet ventured into using augmented and virtual reality tools, imagine the excitement of bringing literary events to life or exploring underwater caves with your class!  Or, using AR to allow new students to explore your school or practice using a combination lock.  All of this and much more is available using anything from phones to Chromebooks to projected screens. And, almost as cool as the tools, many are totally FREE! 

Here is a quick list of fantastic free tools you can use right away:

Immersive VR Education
Google Street View

Google Arts & Culture
Nearpod
JigSpace
WWF Free Rivers
360Cities
Discovery VR
CoSpaces EDU
Timelooper
Qlone - Apple/Android
WallaMe - Apple/Android
FigmentAR - Apple
CatchyAR - Apple



So, what will you tell everyone when they ask, "Where did you go this summer?" 
How will your journey begin? Where will you go?

Already traveled by AR or VR with your class? Tell us all about it! 
Want to learn how to try some of this with your class?  Contact your ETS Consultant!

OKCPS Educator Spotlight

As I discover new tools I am anxious to share them with fellow educators. I look forward to hearing the feedback and hoping they find them as awesome and exciting as I do. I am fortunate to be working with someone who is just as excited to share new ideas as I am.

Marlene White is currently the Instructional Coach at Heronville Elementary and has been an educator for 13 years. As an Instructional Coach she has embraced a variety of digital tools to introduce to her fellow educators and help them fully implement their visions. I had an opportunity to converse with with Marlene about some of the tools she is using and the impact they have in her career.

Marlene White

How has technology changed the way you work? 

It has helped me collaborate with educators globally through social media. Apps and software have brought new opportunities for teachers and students to gain knowledge, access opportunities, research in a revolutionary way and foster a love of learning.

What are some great examples of technology integration you are seeing in the classroom?

Google Classroom, shared lesson planning and data digs through google drive, RTI, graphing through google sheets, Trello for lesson planning, apps for individualized instruction and centers for Kindergarten, Flipgrid for formative assessment, Skype for live author interviews, Remind for parent updates,  group me for school wide updates, Adobe Spark for hooking kids and building on their prior knowledge.

Share any thoughts you have about the evolving worlds of education.

Ed tech has so many opportunities to personalize how we communicate, how we are shaking up the role of educators, changing philosophical shifts in approaches to our teaching and learning, and remodeling the way we view our classroom.

The Challenge

Marlene has challenged her teachers to use a new tool each month. This month's challenge in Flipgrid. Below are several of the tools she mentioned. The ETS team challenges you to try one of the tools below. We would like your feedback on tools you are currently using in the classroom and how they have impacted your classroom.

 
 

Help and Resources for G-Suite

Educators are often looking for help or additional resources for G-Suite. A full staff PD over G-Suite could potentially last hours and leave advanced users bored to tears and novice users hopelessly lost. YouTube is a great resource, but the sheer volume of videos can be overwhelming and it can be time-consuming to find exactly what you are looking for.

  There are many online resources for G-Suite from individual users to official Google publications.

The ETS website has tutorials for all G-Suite tools as well as many other Edtech tools and all district employees have the opportunity to earn badges that showcase their accomplishments.

Another option is going directly to Google for the answers you are looking for and we don’t mean doing an internet search. The G-Suite Learning Center has multiple resources with many solutions to common problems as well as tips and downloadable cheat sheets. G-Suite is tailored mainly for general or business use but offers a good overview of G Suite tools.

Hoonuit is an excellent resource for all things education and teachers who earn certificates can upload them to MyLearningPlan and receive OKCPS PD credit. The G Suite tutorial is broken down by tool and teachers can choose to watch only those videos they are interested in learning about. Hoonuit (formerly Atomic Learning) is linked on every district laptop and accessible
with your district login.

Google for Education: Training Center (not to be confused with G Suite Learning Center) has many resources for Teachers. Google for Education is arranged similar to G Suite, but is geared specifically towards educators. For help with specific Google tools, click here and find the information you need to maximize your teaching practice. Google for Education also offers certification for educators interested showcasing their google abilities.

Mastered G-Suite? Earn your  Badges, or get Google I Certified!

Interested in earning your Google Educator Level I certification? Contact ETS for a free voucher!

*Any teacher who completes their Google Educator Level I certification is eligible to earn 3 hours of OKCPS PD credit in My Learning Plan.

A Google Success Story with Google Classroom

My name is Jenna Rudek and I am a sixth grade teacher at Fillmore Elementary School. I started migrating to become an online, technology-based teacher, once I experienced what Google Classroom had to offer.

I would always rush to the copy room early in the morning to make copies. If my copies would run out, I would struggle to find paper and have all the students copy my work from the document camera. Then, if students would lose an important document/worksheet, I would have to find my original copy to make more copies. Once I started using Google Classroom, all those worries disappeared.

I am able to create my own worksheets, answer keys, tests, and assignments from home. I can include various videos and slides to my work, for better understanding. Now, I can visualize what concept and standard each student needs help on, and create small group instruction from their Chromebooks. #googlesuccess

A big thank you to our guest blogger, Jenna Rudek. We appreciate you sharing a small piece of your classroom with the world. 

If you are an OKCPS staff member and would like to be a guest blogger, please contact your ETS point of contact. 

So You Want iPads in Your Classroom?

Are you dreaming of a class where each of your students has a mobile device? Are you a frequent user of Donors Choose and want to consider writing a grant or request?

Let's begin with a story...
One year after attending a conference, I began to see more teachers using iPads in their classroom and I knew I wanted them too! I started looking at grants and donations as my main source to build a class set. I learned two things through this process. First, donations of one or two devices at a time was not going to get me to a class set. Second, I was only looking at devices and not the learning environment. 

Devices do not make a classroom innovative or cutting edge. We must make our environment innovative. One way this can be achieved is through flexible learning spaces. When you start to write a grants/request, especially from Donors Choose, consider your environment and what you need to make it innovative and to meet the needs of your students. Edutopia has a great article to read when considering flexible seating in your classroom.

If you truly want to build a 1:1 classroom, receiving one or two devices at a time will not get you there. A better, more efficient way to achieve a 1:1 classroom is to work with your principal to order a cart of twenty-five to thirty devices at a time. This will ensure a true 1:1 environment where each student has a device and the device is not shared. 

So what do I need to do next?
Our awesome IT department has OKCPS Technology Purchasing Guide, with all the important information about purchasing/requesting mobile devices. This site is utilized by campus principals when they start considering the purchase of mobile devices for their campus. Below is information from the OKCPS-IT department to consider when discussing mobile devices:

If you are writing a grant for mobile devices, follow the guidelines listed above to ensure the devices work on our district network.  Most importantly, contact the district's Grant Management department for assistance!

For more information on Donors Choose please check out the ETS FAQ page. 

Differentiate, Engage, & Impact Student Learning with Google Classroom

What is Google Classroom?
Google Classroom is a digital platform to create an online classroom space for assignments, announcements, discussions, grades, feedback, and a calendar. Classroom helps keep teachers and students organized, productive, and communicative.

How can I use Google Classroom?
Alice Keeler has some AMAZING Google Classroom resources. In her 50 Things You Can Do with Google Classroom blog post, she offers numerous great ideas, here are just a few of those ideas. 

1. Make class announcements
2. Create a lesson
3. Go paperless
4. Create a discussion
5. Classroom collaboration
6. Document digital work
7. Virtual faculty meetings
8. Provide peer feedback
9. Student projects 
10. Communicate with parents

How are Other Teachers Using Google Classroom?
We have several teachers using Google Classroom in our district across all grade levels.  Mr. Paul Turner's Fifth Grade class at Stand Watie is using Classroom to complete assignments as they move towards a paperless classroom.

If you are interested in learning more about using Google Classroom, check out the resources below or take a look at the tutorials in Atomic Learning!

Alice Keeler

Shake Up Learning

Christine Pinto

Google Classroom Support

Google Classroom Training

OKCPS ETS Google Badges

Experience a real example of Google Classroom!

Want to be more efficient as a classroom teacher?
Desire to give students more timely feedback but struggle with how to do it?
Heard the term "paperless" but aren't convinced it can work?

Well, get inspired! 
Daniel Covey, science teacher at Belle Isle Middle School, has gone paperless using Google Classroom, and you're invited to see how it works!

Covey has created a duplicate version of his students' Google Classroom.  Interested OKCPS teachers and staff can join the duplicate class to visualize and experience how he digitally facilitates learning.  (The model Classroom keeps enrolled staff separate from his live students and their data, so you are free to explore to your heart's content.) 

Want to check it out?  (Of course you do!)

1. Go to Classroom.Google.com.
2. Click the plus-sign (+) in the top-right corner.
3. Select Join Class.
4. Enter the Class Code:  kx97c7

After completing the steps above, you will then be enrolled in the Classroom as if you were a live student! Note the assignments, announcements, resources, topics, descriptions, and directions Covey uses to organize the space.  Then, when you're ready, try Google Classroom with your students (or with your department, or grade-level team, or staff... oh my!).

Thanks, Mr. Covey, for inspiring others by sharing the great things you do!

Google Form Share-a-thon Results

The first-ever OKCPS Google Form Share-a-thon and Competition was a hit!  Submissions ranged from beginners creating their first Form to pros sharing their best ideas.

31 Forms were submitted from 27 different people
representing 18 schools and the Central Office!

 

Highlights

Here are just a few of our favorite submissions and ideas:
(Please do not actually fill out and submit these Forms.)

• Pre/Post Assessment with Images
  - Johnstun and Jantz @ Jefferson Middle School

• Get-To-Know-You Student Survey
  - Kirk @ Rogers Middle School

• Student Self-Assessment
  - Kerr @ Eugene Field Elementary 

• Grading-Scale
  - Kerley @ Taft Middle School

• Student Reflection and Test Question Creation
  - Phipps @ US Grant High School

• Parent Survey from a Teacher/Classroom
  - Stewart @ Van Buren Elementary

• Parent Safety Survey from a School
  - Stull @ Belle Isle Middle School

• Instructional Coach - Request for Coaching
  - Holt @ Mark Twain and Pierce Elementary Schools

• Idea: QR Code on Wall for Quick Form Access
  - Criminger @ Arthur Elementary

 

Sonic Drink Winners

The winners for the Most Creative Form Use are the science-duo:

Chanel Johnstun and Vera Jantz

The randomly selected participant-winners (courtesy of Random.org) are Kirk Wilson, Northwest Classen Principal, and Christen Watson, Central Office Budget Manager.

 

Support

Are you curious, inspired, and ready to save time and stay organized by using Google Forms?  If so, check out the concise and helpful tutorial videos in our training series.

 

What's Next

Continue doing amazing things with digital tools to increase efficiency, effectiveness, and learning!  And keep your eyes peeled for the next resource share-a-thon and competition, coming soon to an email inbox near you!

Ready for School ETLC Week 4 - Google Forms & QR Code

If you have not taken a look at Google Forms before now, you have been missing out! Google Forms provides an easy way to gather information from parents such as contact information, signing up for conferences, classroom wish list items, classroom volunteers and more! You can create the form and send a link through Remind to your parents or create QR Codes parents can scan during Back to School night or Open House. 

Here is your challenge:
1. Create a Google Form to gather information from parents.
2. Create a QR Code for parents to scan. (They will need a QR scanning app on their device. Most FREE ones will do the trick.)
     a. Copy the URL (web address) of the live form.
     b. Go to the website: goqr.me (or your favorite QR Code generator)
     c. Paste the URL in the text box.
     d. Download and save the QR Code to your computer, (Remember where you save it!)
     e. Paste the QR Code into a document to print or display on computer or SMART Board.
3. Be sure to tweet out one way you are going to use Google Forms to gather data next year. Include the hashtag: #okcpsetlc 

Take a look at these resources to help you!
OKCPS Atomic Learning Tutorials
Getting Started with Forms
Innovative Ideas for Using Google Forms

Some great new things in Google that were just announced this summer!

Ready for School ETLC Week 3 (Part 1) - Google Classroom

Google Classroom is only available to schools who participate in Google Apps for Education (GAFE). This tool can be used for online class discussions, announcements, assignment distribution and grading, and an automatic assignment calendar.  Teachers of students as young as Kindergarten all the way to 12th grade are using Google Classroom for efficiency, increased engagement, and to save money on ink and paper. Some schools are also using Google Classroom with their staff to keep everyone informed or have staff participate in professional development such as a book study.

If you created a class website for last week's EdTech Challenge, you may be wondering why you would want a Google Classroom.  Not only does Google Classroom provide privacy (only those invited to join or given a special code can access a particular classroom), but it also has the ability for students/participants to submit assignments and the teacher/facilitator to grade them.

Here is your challenge:

1. Create a class on Google Classroom.
     a. Log into your OKCPS Google Drive account.

     b. Click on the Google Apps button (9 squares in the top right-hand corner).

     c. Click "more."

     d. Click on the Google Classroom link.
2. Create a class. (TB1, Algebra 1, Kindergarten, Cheerleaders) You can create as many classes as you want. 
3. Tweet out how you are going to use Google Classroom with your class next year. Include the hashtag: #okcpsetlc 

Take a look at these resources to help you!
OKCPS Atomic Learning Tutorials (search for Google Classroom)
Features and Benefits of Google Classroom
20 Things You Can Do with Google Classroom!  

Week 3 - #OKCPSetlc - Google Drawings

Google Drawings

Challenge -

Google Drawings is a lesser known Google App. With Google Drawings, you can create, share and edit drawings collaboratively. You can also use this app as a mind mapping tool.

1. Create a timeline using Google Drawings.
2. Create one which is related to what you teach or create a timeline of your summer activities.
3. Share the URL on Twitter using the hashtag #okcpsetlc or write a blog post about your timeline and add your timeline to your blog post.

Helpful Hints -

Google Drawings might seem a little different at first, but we have resources below to assist you in completing this challenge.

1. Atomic Learning Video: Google Drawings
2. Google Drawings Basics

How Do You Google?

How do you use Google in your classroom? Check out this article from Ditch that Textbook which has 20 activities for using Google Apps for classroom innovation. Here are just a few highlights from the article. 

1. Gallery Walks - Teachers can create a Google Site with activities for students to complete. Then, create QR codes and post them around the room. Students are then able to get up, move around the room, scan the QR codes and complete the activities.

2. Interactive Posters - Students and teachers can create a poster using Google Drawings, then add text, images and links to make the poster become interactive.

3. Virtual Manipulatives - Use Google Drawings to create digital manipulatives for students instead of having them cut out paper. 

4. Research Tools - Google Docs and Slides offer research tools to find quotes, scholarly articles, images and more. You can instantly insert your findings into your project. It will also add the citation of you resource in the footnote area.

5. Introduction to Blogging - Introduce your students to blogging by using Google Slides. Give each student one slide and let them write, reflect or create. Peers can add comments and help with editing. Then, put all the slides together and you have a classroom blog.

Don't forget to check out our OKCPS GAFE Resource Site or the OKCPS ETS webpage for more Google resources. Atomic Learning also offers many Google video tutorials for you to access anytime at any place.

Google Tone: Get Everyone on the Same (Web) Page

Being the awesome teacher that you are, you've found an amazing website you want all of your students to go to on their Chromebooks (or laptops, desktops, etc.). You can't wait for your students to get there to start exploring, creating and collaborating. In large, bold letters (and in your very best handwriting), you write the web address on the board making sure all of your students can read it even at the back of the room. Moments later, a handful of student voices begin ringing out, "It won't open!" You know exactly what's happened... they've typed the web address incorrectly. 

It's happened to all of us, but thankfully Google has come up with a brilliant solution: Google Tone. Google Tone is an extension which instantly shares URLs (or web addresses) to other computers using sound (you add "extensions" to your Chrome web browser to extend the cool things your browser does).

The process is simple. Once users add the Google Tone extension from the Chrome Web Store, the blue tone button will appear next to each tab. Users then just need to click on the blue button, making sure their computer's speakers are on full volume. Computers in the vicinity will pick up the sound, and the URL will be displayed on the other user's Chrome browser. The user who receives the link will then have an option of clicking that URL to open it. In short, Google Tone broadcasts a URL to any other machine within range. Of course, you would need to make sure all of your students have the Tone extension added to their accounts to ensure the sound is picked up.

Check out this video for a demonstration.

If you are interested in learning more about Google Tone or any other Google app or extension, please contact your ETS Coach!

Google Classroom

Classes throughout the district are doing their part to save the district money! Since the district is a Google Apps for Education district, Google Classroom is a tool available to everyone at an Oklahoma City Public School site. Google Classroom is a place where teachers can distribute assignments, communicate with the class, and stay organized. Teachers can quickly see which students have/have not completed assigned work and provide direct, real-time feedback to students. With Google Classroom, teachers are able to grade assignments and return them to students WITHOUT USING PAPER AND INK!

Ms. Luckert's 2nd graders at Eugene Field Elementary have been using Google Classroom. Ms. Luckert posts assignments in Google Classroom and when the students go to the computer lab, they are able to log in, find the assignment, and immediately get to work. No time is lost by passing out paper and verbally giving directions to the students. This gives the students more time to work on their assignment and gives the teacher more time to assist students on their assignment. When students complete the assignment, they turn it in through Google Classroom. Then, the teacher grades it and returns it to the student; NO PAPERS TO TAKE HOME TO GRADE!

Throughout the district, classes from PreK to 12th grade are using Google Classroom. Principals are also using this tool to keep staff informed of events and information and/or as a tool for book study discussions. If you are interested in learning more about using Google Classroom, take a look at the tutorials in Atomic Learning or contact your ETS Coach!

Teaching RMS Students to Track their Own Progress using Google Sheets!

Mr. David Holcomb (Science Teacher) and Ms. Jordan Taylor (Language Arts Teacher) have teamed up to teach Roosevelt Middle School students how to build and use a Google Sheets spreadsheet to track their own data and grades. Says Ms. Taylor, "This will help students see their progress and know how they are doing in class and with the standards."

Pratt's Poe-sters created with Google Drawings

While all students in grades 8-12 at John Marshall Mid/High were taking the PSAT, the 7th graders were getting their creativity on in Language Arts with Mrs. Pratt. 

In this lesson, students researched the life of Edgar Allen Poe, read The Black Cat, and created Google Drawings she cleverly renamed "Poe-sters." Students were divided into groups of six and given varying tasks; each pair within the group was to research either Poe's career, his life, or his death. After the research was complete, the class read aloud The Black Cat, each student following along with an online copy and Mrs. Pratt checking for understanding of concept and vocabulary after each paragraph. 

 The actual creation of the "Poe-sters" was done after Mrs. Pratt demonstrated how to create Google Drawings. She only asked that students include; a background depicting the mood and tone of the story, images related to the story, and a quote from the story to use on the drawing. Students dove into this assignment taking ownership, finding awesome pictures and even asking to make another one for a homework assignment. 



 
Kenzie Pratt is one of eight teachers at John Marshall Mid/High School who was awarded a Chrome book cart for her classroom for daily use, making her classroom a 1:1 environment for each hour. She has truly embraced the 1:1 devices in daily classroom work, creating learning opportunities unavailable before, and allowing the students to have a lot of voice and choice in their learning. 


Check out more Google drawing resources: