Lake Orion Community Schools
October 2012
LOCS Technology and Media Newsletter
LOCS Techno Dragons Launch New Instructional Website Flipped Classroom Resources The Flipped Learning Network http://flippedlearning.org/ is an excellent resource for educators interested in implementing this new instructional methodology. They offer Free webinars, a video library and many other resources for supporting a Flipped Classroom.
8 Great Reasons to Flip Your Classroom (and 4 of the Wrong Reasons) This article by K. Walsh from EmergingEdTech.com provides a review and short summary of a new book by John Bergmann and Aaron Sams – “Flip Your Classroom.” Couple this resource with information from the Flipped Learning Network to help you decide if Flipping the Classroom is right for you! http://www.emergingedtech.com/ 2012/08/8-great-reasons-to-flip-yourclassroom-and-4-of-the-wrongreasons-from-bergmann-and-sams/
Celebrate Teen Read Week October 14 – 20, 2012
The LOCS Techno Dragons, a small group of Lake Orion teachers who have come together to work on providing instructional technology and professional development resources for teachers, recently launched a new website designed specifically for their fellow teachers. Check out the LO Techno Dragons Weebly @ http://lotechnodragons.weebly.com/index.html. The site includes how-to screencasts, guides, and links on a variety of instructional technology topics including: interactive projectors, document cameras, Web 2.0 tools, iPads, Google Apps, Office 365 and much more. The website is a continuous work in progress and your feedback is highly encouraged. You can add comments to the “Technology in LOCS Blog” found on the homepage, or you can send suggestions by filling out the comment card also found on the homepage.
Goodbye GroupWise, Hello Office 365! As of September 10th Lake Orion Community Schools has officially transitioned from GroupWise to Office 365. Staff can access their new email account through the Office 365 web portal or they can utilize Outlook 2010 on their desktop (where possible). Both versions offer a variety of features to help users to maximize their email experience. Resources to help users become more familiar with the new email are available on the District’s website @ http://www.lakeorion.k12.mi.us/technology2.htm Help documents are being added regularly, so please check back often. Also, the built-in help feature for both versions has lots of readily available quick guides and video tutorials to help users as well. Happy emailing!
Personal Devices and Network Security One of the most frequently asked questions our tech department receives from staff is - Why can’t their personal device be added to our network? There is one major reason why – Network Security. Personal devices are extremely susceptible to viruses and are not safe for the district’s network which is accessed by all of our users. One exception we are making to this policy is for iPads. If a teacher owns a personal iPad, and they are using it specifically for classroom instruction, we will allow this device on the network. iPads have not yet shown themselves to be susceptible to viruses and are a great tool for instruction. If you have a personal iPad that you would like added to the network, please see your building tech.
iOS Fun Featured App of the Month
myHome wor k a pp yHomew ork app The myHomework app is a fantastic app to share with your students for helping them to organize all of their assignments in one place. Includes a calendar and the ability to set reminders! http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ myhomework/id303490844?mt=8 This app is free and is compatible with iOS and Android Devices! Students can also sign-up for a myhomeworkapp.com account that will synchronize data across all of their android, iOS, and internet capable devices for only $1.99 a year.
(iPads, iPhones, iTouches)
iOS 6 is here! Apple has recently released it’s newest operating system for iOS devices, iOS 6. You will want to update your device by going to the “Settings” on your device. Selecting “General” and then Selecting “Software Update.” Some of the changes in iOS 6 include new features for Maps, Photo Stream, Siri, FaceTime, Phone, and Mail. Visit Apple’s website for a detailed list of new features @ http://www.apple.com/ios/whats-new/ iOS 6 is compatible with iPhone 3GS or newer, iPod touch (4 th and 5 th Generations), and iPad 2 or the New iPad.
APPitic Check out APPitic http://www.appitic.com. This website has a collection of 1800+ apps especially for education. Apps are organized in several categories including Themes, Multiple Intelligences, Bloom’s Taxonomy, and National Technology Standards. Other categories include PreSchool, Special Education, Spanish, and those especially for Teachers!
Tcea Tcea is website designed for teachers that contains lots of iPad and iPhone app resources that are organized into various subject areas. Click here for iPad resources http://www.tcea.org/ipad. Click here for iPhone/iTouch resources https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ ccc?key=0At6rnmB5cDEPdDFkcmhoTUpQNUZzMlZMNXc3SEwyRmc&hl=en_US#gid=0
50 Apps Students will be Using in Your Classroom This recent article by Edudemic highlights some great apps for students. The review is organized by the following topics: Productivity & Organization, Reading & Writing, Reference, Safety, and STEM. http://edudemic.com/2012/08/ smartphone-apps-students-will-be-using-next-month/
Animation Desk Animation Desk allows users to create hand-drawn animations that includes the ability to add audio effects. Read the full description of this awesome app @ http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/animation-desk-for-ipad-lite/ id470899893?mt=8
Timeline Eons Is a free App that provides a graphic timeline of the entire natural and human history. http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/timeline-eons/ id429829445?mt=8
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Lake Orion Community Schools • Technology & Media Newsletter • October 2012
Other Technology Resources Readwritethink.org Readwritethink.org is a wonderful resource for teachers that provides ready to go lesson plans on every topic imaginable. They recently added a series called Teaching with Technology (make this a hyperlink: http://www.readwritethink.org/search/?strategy-guideseries=30098 that offers teachers strategy guides on how to integrate technology into the classroom.
Discover Your World The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has designed a 158-page free activity book with over 43 hands-on activities for K-12 students called Discover Your World. The guide is organized into three sections: Explore the Earth, Understand the Earth, and Protect the Earth. http://celebrating200years.noaa.gov/edufun/book/
Play the Election Rand McNally has created an online resource for students in grades 7-12 to help them understand the election process. This resource includes online games, lesson plans, an interactive electoral map, and a tool that allows teachers to create their own games. http://education.randmcnally.com/
“The 100 Best Video Sites for Educators” http://edudemic.com/2012/08/best-video-sites-forteachers/ Jeff Dunn presents a fabulous resource for educational videos for teachers in his August 10, 2012 article “The 100 Best Video Sites for Educators” on the Edudemic.com website. His article is organized by video resources in the following categories: Educational Video Collections; General Video Collections; Teacher Education; Lesson Planning; Science, Math, and Technology; History, Arts, and Social Sciences; Video Tools; Network and Program Videos; Free Movies and Clips; How-Tos; and Government and Organizations.
29 iPad Resources, Tutorials, and Guides Every Teacher Should Know About Educatorstechnology.com offers lots of great educational technology and mobile learning resources for teachers. An especially helpful resource is their section that provides a comprehensive list of sites that teachers can access on iPads in the classroom. http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2012/08/29-ipadresources-tutorials-and-guides.html
Lake Orion Community Schools • Technology & Media Newsletter • October 2012
Sylvia’s Super-Awesome Maker Show Meet Sylvia a young girl who has created a DIY webshow on all sorts of fun things to make. Watch one of her episodes to learn how to “Make Your Own No Heat Lava Lamp” or “Monochron Clock Kit” for example. For each episode, young Sylvia explains the science behind everything she shows and her site includes free printable resources. Students can also submit ideas on topics they would like to see Sylvia create future episodes about. http://sylviashow.com/
Free History Assessments The Stanford History Education Group has developed a program called “Beyond the Bubble.” They have created free “easy-to-use assessments that capture students’ knowledge in action” through the use of the Library of Congress’ digital archives. These assessments are geared towards student in grades 6th -12th and are great resource for teaching about primary documents. https://beyondthebubble.stanford.edu/
Grants Galore! Education Grants!! Check out this resource from Dell on all sorts of technology grants that are available now through June 2013. http://i.dell.com/sites/doccontent/ public/solutions/k12/en/Documents/k12-grants-calendar.pdf
GetEdFunding http://www.getedfunding.com/c/ index.web?nocache@5+s@llbYtHle5YahE
GetEdFunding is a website created by CDW-G that helps educators find grant funding. What’s especially nice about this website is that it allows you to conduct a grant search by various categories including grade levels, focus areas, content areas, and 21st Century Themes. You can also create an account that allows you to save grant information for future use. 3