Volume 3, Issue 6
November 14, 2014
Microsoft IT Academy and WVDE
Inside this issue:
By Laura Mills
Common Core Conundrum
2
Paperless
2
Shakespeare
2
Is It June Yet?
3
Catch Those Moments
3
Brain Pickings
3
App Talk
4
Digital Citizenship Week
5
Upcoming Events
6
EDITOR Laura Mills, Business Education, Woodrow Wilson High School Greg Morgan, Teacher, Greenbank Elementary-Middle School Josie Burch, Special Education, John Marshall High School
As everyone knows ,WVDE and Microsoft have teamed up to offer high school students, as well as teachers, the opportunity to attend the Microsoft IT Academy.
It you are a TIS or are thinking of getting your TIS certification this would be an opportunity to learn
If your work in career and technology center (CTE) or a high school, contact your TIS or ask your principal .
The IT Academy provides every teach and administrator with the chance to enhance their skills using application software. This program affords everyone the opportunity to become a Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS), a Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA), or a Microsoft Certified Professional.
with word processing, spreadsheets, presentation software, and databases are necessary.
For all others ( elementary and middle school, county level employees, or a RESA employee, a form must be completed and submitted), contact Becky Butler 304558-7880 (bbutler@k12.wv.us) for more information. something you and your faculty and staff will utilize.
For more information go to http://tinyurl.com/nf8cfc5.
In most, if not all fields, some sort of knowledge
Microsoft Office 365 - Android and iPhone By Laura Mills
Microsoft Office 365 is a wonderful tool to use as many of you have found. However, on the other side of the coin are the staff members that tremble at the words “we are going to a new email system.”
This means the email on your android, iPhone, and all of your other electronics will need to be changed. If you check the WVDE of education website, they offer a quick start guides to changing your email, mov-
ing your email, and putting your email on your Android and iPhone for those of you that check your email on the run. For more information go to http://tinyurl.com/jvhq7ly.
TIS an THAT
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Common Core Conundrum By C. Josephine Burch
Secondary teachers all over the state are scratching or shaking their heads over the move to Common Core. Regardless of subject taught, most teachers face some common major challenges where the movement to common core is concerned. Several websites are available and provide resources and support to teachers when they are planning instruction for students. Every little bit helps when teachers are trying to be leaders in their profession and facilitate the learning of students in the 21st Century. At www.corestandards.org, teachers, parents, and students can access a
plethora of resources to use in and outside the classroom. The website is great for background, but teachers need to visit the website about the new state assessment as they begin to plan with the end in mind; www.smarterbalanced.org offers teachers unmatched support in implementing common core correlated curriculum in the classroom while offering information as well as practice will a new way of testing. The West Virginia Department of Education is implementing a Smarter Balanced assessment for
our students in English and math at the end of the school year. Students are no longer tested separately on literacy and writing skills. All core content area tests will be used to assess literacy and writing skills as students prepare to complete performance tasks instead of bubble sheet tests. Smarterbalanced.org offers teachers, parents, and students help with tackling the new Smarter Balanced Assessment with information including practice tests. The website offers optional benchmark testing as well. Check it out; practice makes perfect.
Is the Office of Special Programs Going Paperless?
By C. Josephine Burch
Okay all you SETIS out there, LISTEN UP! Currently under construction at the West Virginia Department of Education is a new WVEIS application. The new application allows teachers of students
Shakespeare Anyone? By C. Josephine Burch
In an effort to make Shakespeare's plays more accessible, the Globe Theatre has posted videos of 50 productions online. Enjoy!
with IEPs access to copies of the full IEP. Special Education teachers no longer need to make paper copies to distribute to the student’s teachers which will save countless minutes and money. This new application will make the mandatory notification of a student’s rights to services in the general education classroom to each teacher of the student a breeze.
Log into http://www.globeplayer.tv/ to view select plays productions. Log in to http://shakespeare.mit.edu/ to view texts of comedies, history plays, tragedies, and Shakespeare’s poetry.
The new WVEIS application should be available by the new year. If not, count on it for next fall. Until then, don’t forget to document those verifications of receipt signatures for each student with the the an IEP on the new form. (Verification of Dissemination of IEP House Bill 4384)
Volume 3, Issue 6
Page 3
Is It June Yet? Halloween is gone. All that hyperactivity with the sweets has just about worn off. Football season is wrapping up as well as marching season. The leaves are gone. Time has shifted backwards again. Daylight is getting shorter, and that drab, dreary feeling is just about to take over. Are you going to let that happen again this year like in years past? Do you need a little inspiration now that the newness of the school year has given way to monotonous humdrum misery?
Don’t give in to the “dark side!” Here are a few remedies that may help. Listen to music. You know what you like, you know what songs can get you “pumped up,” and you know what songs can ease the stress after the students are gone at the end of the day. Grooveshark is free!!!! It has the most obscure songs available. Create your own playlist to enhance your mood or let your students create school appropriate music for the next dance.
Have you lost site of why you became a teacher? Have you looked up since school began? Check out ted.com. This site offers inspirational, entertaining, educational, and thoughtful videos to help lift your mood. On average the videos are 15– 17 minutes. Enjoy!!! http://www.ted.com/topics/ education
Don’t give in to the “dark side!”
http://grooveshark.com/
Catch Those Moments By Greg Morgan
We all probably have an electronic device with us all the time, which is capable of taking pictures (as long as we follow the guidelines). In bygone days, photographs were taken in order to show who we were. Now, we take “pics” of moments that are special. Always look for those special moments. I had a 5th grader come in to practice
during recess. Two of my 8th grade students came by, saw him setting up and offered to help out the beginning clarinetist. “One time at band camp…” As a prank students covered the band director’s vehicle with post-it notes. This became a special moment when we all started
writing notes on them, recognizing each other’s achievements. It was “Moustache Day” and the student’s wanted to see mine!!! What do you think???? Always look for those special moments. It may mean something special for you and someone else.
Brain Pickings
By Greg Morgan
In my quest for all things positive, I came across this site awhile back. In particular, I came across a page called, “7 Lessons From 7 Years.” The site, managed by Maria Popova, who is a Bulgarian writer living in New York city, is insightful, intelligently written and thought provoking. For someone wanting to follow the upward trail in life, this would be a good page to follow. Many of her top-
ics cover education and creativity. Guess what!!!!! It’s FREE!!!!! and supported by it’s readers. Take a peek you might like it. http://tinyurl.com/p4hzmzz
55.9% of students ages 6-17 report having some form of electronic device in their bedroom. - Source: National Survey of Children’s Health
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SlideShark
TIS an THAT
App. Talk
Flowboard Flowboard is an interactive application available for the iPad and MacBook. This application is a presentation tool your students will love to create with.
SlideShark is an app for sharing and viewing PowerPoint presentations on the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. SlideShark allows viewing the presentation just as it was created in PowerPoint. The fonts, color, graphics, hyperlinks, and animation remain the same. Simply upload the PowerPoint and SlideShark does the rest.
This is a simple easy application to use. The user can simply download it and begin creating. Flowboard offers six different layouts for each slide, seventeen different fonts with a variety of styles, and colors.
The presentation can be shown from your Apple device or simply connect your device to a projector to present to a large group. The presentation can also be shared online with your audience.
Flowboard offers a free version for the iPad. Flowboard Education for the iPad is $9.99. Flowboard for your Mac is $19.99.
SlideShark provides 25 MB of free online storage and the option to import from cloud storage providers.
For more information go to
SlideShark gives the ability to use your iPhone as a remote control and laser pointer while you are projecting your presentation from your iPad. SlideShark is available for individuals as well as businesses.
https://flowboard.com
Fall Fun Has
Arrived!!!
Of course, parts of the app is free. If you want an upgrade to all the features you must pay a fee. For more information go to https://www.slideshark.com/
Digital Citizenship Week By Laura Mills
To coincide with Digital Citizenship Week - October 20th - October 27th I created a unit based on digital citizenship and being responsible when using the Internet. I found a website - connectsafely.org. This website provides podcasts, slideshows, articles, and much more information about digital citizenship, do’s and do not’s on the Internet, password security, and many more options. The site will let you download pdf’s from the site. If you wish to post or reprint material you must email. The information can be found at the bottom of the page you with to use. I went through this process for the class I taught about digital citizenship. Once you do this and receive a reply the email directs you to the links which are available to be reprinted or posted. This site is not just for teachers and students. Parents can get information about questions they have about social website and how they can handle their digital citizen and the Internet. The information I found was very interesting and useful when discussing and learning about digital citizenship. The complete URL is http://www.connectsafely.org/safety-tips-advice/.
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Volume 3, Issue 6
TCEA Convention & Exposition
* *
Austin, TX February 2—6, 2015 * * * * Normal Registration November 2—January 9 http://www.tceaconvention.org/2015/ register/
ISTE Philadelphia, PA June 28-July 1, 2015
*
Register Now
* *
Early Bird Prices End March 1, 2015
* * *
http://www.iste.org/
Credits Brain Pickings - http://tinyurl.com/p4hzmzz Digital Citizenship Week - http://www.connectsafely.org/safety-tips-advice/ Flowboard - http://tinyurl.com/mkkm4yy Is It June Yet? - http://grooveshark.com/ Is It June Yet? - http://www.ted.com/topics/education ISTE - http://www.iste.org/ Microsoft IT Academy and WVDE - http://tinyurl.com/nf8cfc5 Microsoft Office 365 - Android and iPhone - http://tinyurl.com/jvhq7ly SlideShark - http://tinyurl.com/mlxuq7g TCEA Convention & Exposition - http://www.tceaconvention.org/2015/register/ WVCPD Technology Training - www.wvcpd.org
Fall Fun Has Ar-
rived!!!