TIS and That Aug 30 2013 V2 I1

Volume 2 Issue

1

MONTHLY Technology Integration Specialist NEWSLETTER

TIS @nd That

August 2013

This Issue Microsoft® Innovative Educator Program P.1

Editors

Bring Your Own Device? P.2

Josh Matheny Berkley County

Cyber Safety P.3 Project 24 and Upcoming Events P.4 Symbaloo and Edmodo Vs. Schoology P.5 Useful Links P.6

Mark Moore, WVDE, MIE Trainer

Microsoft ® Innovative Educator Program In June, Mark Moore, from the WVDE, introduced the Microsoft® Innovative Educator Program (MIE) to the 2013Jenna Alley Monongalia County

2014 TIS cohort. The MIE program is a professional development program for K-12 teacher trainers. The program is designed to help educators better understand and integrate Microsoft products into their curriculum.

Once you have completed the MIE course, you will be an official “Microsoft Innovative Educator”. You will have access to training materials and will join a network of other MIE’s around the world.

Julienne Longsworth Putnam County

For more information about the MIE program you can go to: http://bit.ly/133KdiQ Mr. Moore is available for free onsite trainings. You can contact him at mramoore@access.k12.wv.us For training videos, visit Mark Moore’s training page at http://bit.ly/mmtutorialvideos

Microsoft® has many free, interactive tools to help engage our students and energize lessons. Many of the free tools are applications that do not require extensive training.

Here are a few to get you started!

AutoCollage-create a unique piece of art with students’ photos.

Mouse Mischief-makes classroom PowerPoint lessons interactive using the computer and multiple mice.

Photo Story (Windows® XP)-quickly turn digital photos into slideshows.

Windows Live® Movie Maker-make movies with your pictures and videos and easily share online.

Microsoft® Math-plot 2D/3D graphs, solve equations, inequalities, and simplify algebraic expressions.

For more information and many more free tools, http://bit.ly/msfreetools and http://bit.ly/mmfreetoolslist

10 Commandments

Catered Party or BYOD?

for BYOD

1. Create thy policy before procuring technology 2. Seek the flocks’ devices 3. Enrollment shall be simple 4. Thou shalt configure devices over the air 5. Thy users demand self service 6. Hold sacred personal information 7. Part the seas of corporate and personal data 8. Monitor they flock-herd automatically 9. Manage thy data usage 10. Drink from the fountain of ROI http://bit.ly/BYODTIPS

33 Interesting Ways to Use Mobile Phones In the Classroom

http://bit.ly/phonenclass Tablets, Laptops and Mobiles in the Classroom: Top Tips from Teachers http://bit.ly/TLMinClass 5 Ways the BYOD Model Can Benefit Special Education Classrooms http://bit.ly/5waysbyod

What’s really best for our students and their education?

Cell phones and mobile devices have become a major issue in today’s classroom. How should the school address these issues? There have been so many disruptions in the classroom, that administrators and teachers want to ban mobile device use during school hours. Is banning a form of useful technology really in the best interest of the students? Should we continue to utilize textbooks, which can contain outdated material as soon as they’re printed, compared to using readily retrievable and current information at the touch of a button?

Most students already possess this capability, but we have been quick to dismiss it. Within the digital age our students shouldn’t be restricted, but rather encouraged to grow as technological individuals. The jobs of today and tomorrow are and will be dependent upon the advances of modern technology. As educators, it is our responsibility to teach and prepare our students for life beyond the four walls of a classroom. Most students, at various levels of education, already possess a mobile device. They’re no longer reserved to call mom and dad when the student safely arrives at his/ her destination. It’s their lifeline. It becomes part of their personality. Is it our job to discourage the technological use, or do we need to educate both students and parents on the proper etiquette for mobile device use in schools, jobs, and society?

At this year’s state technology conference, I listened to three different companies talk about how “easy” it

was to allow students to bring their own device (BYOD). Although I may not be convinced that this would be considered an easy transition, I was able to appreciate many positive aspects of this concept.

One of the most valid points made by all the companies was how much money the districts that did use BYOD saved. Theoretically, your school would have a 1:1 ratio of students to device without purchasing new computers, tablets, and programs.

Furthermore, students wouldn't be limited to using the devices and programs on school grounds and during school hours. BYOD enables them to have information at the tip of their fingers anytime, anywhere.

Do you remember the first time you got a new mobile device? How long did you play with it? Have you put it down since? Most of us “Google” something everyday. It isn't about memorizing information and reciting what you've found. Our goal should be to know where to find the base answer, then implement and configure it in order to apply it and solve the issue at hand.

Blended Learning and Flipped Classrooms aim to engage all students, making them more involved. Full student engagement and interest can lead to a decrease on behavioral issues in the classroom. Ask yourself, “Do you want to cater the party or BYOD?”

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), may be overwhelming, but its not hard ~maas360.com

Cyber Security: The Building Blocks of Protection One of the most common mistakes of a technology user is to use simple or obvious passwords that can be easily cracked. It is important to have passwords that are high in security and low in vulnerability. The downside of this is secured passwords can be hard to remember. One way to create passwords that are secure and easier to reAt the June 17th WVTIS meeting, Spence spoke about the many cyber dan- member is using mnemonics devices. (Example: I Can’t Remember My Password = ICRMP) Then with your mnegers that exist and how we as teachers monic password you can add padding to the front and can protect and educate ourselves and back of your password. The padding is a short pattern our students. It is important to have the understanding of the building blocks that are needed for your protection. that you can memorize easily. (Example: @45ICRMP@45) Putting the padding plus the mnemonA computer can be attacked many ways and technolo- ic phrase plus the padding again it creates a password that is very hard to hack. gy is getting more advanced. One of the biggest threats that we face today is Social Engineering. Social EngiKreb’s 3 Basic Rules for Online Safety neers use basic information (name, phone number, ad If you didn’t look for it, don’t install it dress, pictures, and place of work…) that can be found  If you installed it, update it very easyily from your digital footprint. They only need  If you don’t need it, get rid of it a few pieces of information to put together the puzzle and create chaos that will take several hours for the victim to Some of the most important things to remember and to repair. teach your students are: to keep your computer updated, have an antivirus program on your computer, make sure Other threats are: Malware, Virus, Spam, Phishing, the firewall is turned on, use a pop-up blocker, disable Random Scams, Fake Anti-virus, and Remote Access Trojans. How do these threats affect the user? They can JavaScript, do not use password storage on your computadd attachments to e-mails, QR codes, shorten URLs and er, and back up your data. alter URLs. Don’t fall for one of these tricks. It is imIt is also important to be aware and have your students portant to have a current and updated version of antibe aware of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. virus.

The Protection Act regulates online collection of inforGeotagging: Each time you take a picture, video or make mation for students under the age of 13 and companies will need to have parental consent. a social media post, GPS coordinates are embedded into the metadata. Why is this dangerous? Hackers can deterYour digital footprint is something that is with you mine where you are or worse where you are not. The best forever.

It is important to understand that once you post way to protect yourself from falling victim is to disable it, that post does not go away. It is important for you to this on your electronic devices and remove personal inforthink about what you are posting. mation from the metadata.

Joshua D. Spence is a Cyber Security Expert (USAF) and an Independent Cyber Security Consultant.

Spence also discussed Identity Theft and ways to protect ourselves. The most commonly used piece of stolen information is a social security number. Every three seconds someone has their identity stolen. It takes an average of 58 hours repairing existing accounts and 165 hours to repair damages caused by a new fraudulent account.

There are several steps that can be taken to protect our identities.  Shred Personal Documents  Do not carry your SSN card  Ask for the Company/School Privacy Protection Policy  Present and seal documents (i.e. birth certificates, medical records, etc.)  Teach children not to give out information over the phone or internet  Check your credit reports regularly.

As educators, we need to be able to protect ourselves and feel comfortable teaching students how to protect themselves from online cyber predators, cyber bullies and identity theft. We need to understand the policies that have been set up to guide us. Educators need to teach students how to become good digital citizens while “practicing what we teach”. Social Media is a part of our lives. People are being held accountable for their online actions. Technology is how the world works, learn it.

It is a digital world…we have to learn to live in it and work in it.

Project 24:

State and District Level Planning for Progress

Former WV Gov. Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education Gov. Wise, Keynote Speaker at the WVSTC, is promoting the initiative to help school districts plan and effectively use technology and digital learning.

Project 24 is a program developed to addresses the need for a more universal approach to planning effective use of technology and digital learning for all students in K-12 public schools. Project 24 offers comprehensive district-level planning tools, expert advice, creative ideas, and tangible suggestions from experienced education experts and nonprofit education membership organizations.

The “24” in Project 24 represents the next 24 months, beginning February 6 2013. This is a time when the nation’s schools will be moving to higher expectations, “College and Career Ready” standards and begin using online assessments to measure student growth.

There are four major challenges that public school district leaders must address in the next 24 months: (1) graduating all students “college and career ready”; (2) managing shrinking budgets; (3) training and supporting teachers; and (4) the growing technology needs of students and society.

The Project 24 framework helps districts address the following seven concepts as they engage in their Planning for Progress process. The Project 24 framework includes: Academic supports; Budget and resources; Curriculum and instruction; Data and assessments; Professional learning; Technology and infrastructure; and Use of time. Implementation of these learning outcomes will be supported by appropriate technology applications and aligned to the new, higher expectations for learning.

Participation is voluntary and we are happy to report that West Virginia has a 100% participation rate!

For more information about the project: http://bit.ly/project24

Upcoming Events Global STEMx Education Conference Online September 19-21, 2013 http://www.stemxcon.com International Talk Like a Pirate Day September 19, 2013 WVCEC Conference October 17-18 WV Higher Education Technology Conference October 28-29 http://wvconference.com Digital Learning Day February 5, 2014

ISTE June 29-July2, 2014...Atlanta June 28-July1, 2015...Philadelphia June 26-29, 2016...Los Angeles

Symbaloo: Access to your links anywhere

http://edu.symbaloo.com/

Personal Learning Environment (PLE) to visually organize and share the best of the web with your students and colleagues.

With Symbaloo:  you can have all of your favorite websites at your fingertips anywhere and anytime.  you simply choose your favorite websites and within a few clicks, you can have your own webmix.  you never have to type in an address.  it is free, no advertising.  your webmix is stored in the cloud, so there is no risk of you losing your settings.  when you are a member of symbalooedu, you have access to teacher forums to exchange ideas.

Strengths

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Organized help sections Accessing grades anywhere on the site Reward badges to students Built-in calendars Straight-forward and user-friendly Step-by-step help for new users Students see groups and can connect Access codes for parent tracking Direct parent-teacher communication

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Weaknesses Few features and resources Students give their parents the access codes Doesn't seem professional Limited features for student activities No attendance Limited options for creating quizzes Difficulty trying to connect with teachers within the school

Learning Management Systems (LMS) software that allows educators to offer online classes to students.

Schoology: https://www.schoology.com/ Edmodo: https://www.edmodo.com/

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  “Edmodo vs. Schoology: who wears the crown in K-12 online learning?”  Verneshia JohnsonWinston-Salem Education Examiner 

Strengths Attendance records Ability to post comments/documents when providing feedback Time limit options Templates for classes Google compatible: conference/edit with students and collaborative work Direct contact with teachers Teachers provide parent codes Album/galleries of pictures Closer to BlackBoard used in colleges Blogging/class discussions Easier to add clubs and groups Whole school system set up Students see multiple classes/groups/messages in one place from multiple teachers Ability to create multiple courses and folders Structured, detailed, and organized More detailed option for creating student profile Weaknesses Help section requires using a search box Grades accessed only through home page Learning styles and preferences not included when creating student profiles Having to import Calendars Hard to navigate quiz and attendance pages Requires too much time to learn the system, frustrating More sophisticated and challenging than Edmodo

http://bit.ly/17kvORP Great Math Apps for the iPad         

Action Grapher Algebra Card Clutter Cover Up Diamond Factor Function Mystery Machine Hop the Number Line Pointer Plotter Submariner Algebra Tortoise and the Hare Algebra

unts H r e g cavan S h c EdTe sEdTech r o f s n Idea it.ly/5idea t n a i catio b ll / u i / d : r p E B t 5 in ht odes S C R use Q QRCODE o t r s y Wa n You it.ly/7 I b n / y / u : g F p o l 7 htt echno T e t ra Integ Tomorrow s o t s ay ay re W Classroom 50morew o M / 50 bit.ly / / : ps p t ht d Ap h n a s e t th Sit .ly/TopMa a M 0 it Top 5 http://b

Great Math Apps for Android         

Math Workout Einstein Math Academy Brain Exerciser Mental Math Falling Math Mad Math 4 Kids Math Ninja Arithmetic for Kids Free Math Ref Free

Math 180 Math 180 is a revolutionary Math Intervention for the Common Core. This program uses a variety of instruction for the math concepts.

Students participate in whole group instruction for the first part of the class. Then they are broken into groups to have direct instruction in a small setting and personalized learning on the computer. The computer program adapts to the students need and will provide reteach to help the students understand the concepts.

This program is for grades 6 and up. http://bit.ly/180Math

Bring a new twist on a favorite game of all.

Ken Ken is a new kind of Sudoku.

These puzzles will challenge you to think.

To Learn More go to http://www.kenken.com

“New technology is common, new thinking is rare.” - Sir Peter Blake “Teaching in the Internet age means we must teach tomorrow’s skills today.” – Jennifer Fleming